Chapter 2: East Lake Town

I starfished on the hard wooden bed. I am a starfish. I wish I was a starfish. Why wasn't I born as a starfish? They just lay where they are all day, the food just comes to them, they eat their fill and lay around some more.

It's been three days since the first exam and I still can't get over it.

"What? Lightning? Just come home and inherit restaurant." my mother said, almost sobbing. Actually, after I told her what happened she laughed for 5 minutes straight before she managed to calm down enough to tell me that. She was sobbing alright, in laughter.

I pouted at the ceiling when the sound of my mother's laugh was heard in my head again. How can she be like this? She's my mother! Isn't she supposed to be, you know, encouraging or supportive or something?

I rolled over to my side.

I know what she means though, lightning? I sighed, rolling over onto my belly, burying my face into the straw pillow and screamed.

Lightning is literally the most useless element to resonate with! It was rare, and my score was one in a million high, but so what?! it's lightning! Every lightning syncer has either been unable to do anything or they just caused havoc. One of them tried to use their powers to do electrical work but all he did was fry the circuit boards. Another tried to use it to start fires but all she did was burn an entire 30 acres of land. The most famous and best work a lightning user was known for was powering an alarm clock, like a potato! Like the science experiments!

I just want to live a lazy and leisurely life, that's why I will never inherit the restaurant! I watched mother work 7 days a week for 12 hours a day and man, if she wasn't her own boss she'd be violating so many labour laws. I came all the way here to enroll into ELA so I could be lazy and earn money by lifting a finger for the rest of my life. I heard one of the most famous graduates earned hundreds of thousands of gold with that small gesture. But why? Oh why unknown-entity-above-us, why did I have to resonate with lightning? My lazy future is fading away before me

I wanted to cry, but I already cried for 3 days. I'm all cried out, so I should go enjoy life before facing my bleak future. The second exam is tomorrow and I haven't even been able to explore the town yet. I spent the last 3 days holed up in this dirty attic inn room almost boiled to death. Whatever that drink was the dean fed me made me experience all 3 states of matter. My body was so hot it. It felt like I was being tempered like chocolate, some unknown force shoving my energy back and forth until the molecules lined up so I can be shiny.

Just remembering that experience made me feel sick again. This won't do, I sat up, blowing my sleek, silver hair off my face. I need to enjoy! Exam is tomorrow! I jumped off the bed and headed out to town.

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My inn was located at the edge of town. It was the cheapest and I'd reserved the cheapest room of the cheapest inn in town. If there were nearby towns with cheaper rooms, I would've made the trek to the academy to save money, but alas, this is only town for miles since the academy is in the smack dab middle of nowhere.

Mother only gave me so much allowance and told me if I didn't want to inherit the restaurant I needed to earn my own living. I'd be penniless before the exam is over if they didn't let me stay in the attic! Thank you inn owner!

My family is not poor, but we worked hard for the money we had. She had gave me enough to rent out a normal inn room in the middle of town but I didn't want to spend everything she gave me. Even if everything in the academy is free, you never know, you know?

East Lake Town was located on the border of the Eastern Empire and the Kingdom of Yan high up in the mountains. It's not really accessible since it takes 10 days by car from the nearest city in the Eastern Empire and the town didn't have an airport so you couldn't fly here. That being said, it's a popular tourist and merchant spot, and although it's called a town, it really could be a city. Since the East Lake Academy is here, many travelers and merchants stopped by the town to visit and trade, leading the town to flourish purely with the academy's name.

I'd come from the other side, from the Kingdom of Yan. My family runs a small restaurant in a traveler's town in the country side of the Kingdom of Yan. We served fast food for truck drivers basically, it was more like a cafeteria. From there, it took almost an entire month to get here, it was really an ordeal. Just getting up and doing anything is hard but having to do things 28 days in a row really took a toll on me.

My goal today is to fully enjoy the town, since after entering the academy, I wouldn't be so free and leisurely. The town is known for its good food, so I plan to fill my stomach up to the brim and hibernate until tomorrow.

I made a mental route of the places I wanted to hit up and items I wanted to eat. Let's see, it was beef dumplings, chicken skewers, candied --

Ow, what the hell? Why is there a pillar in the middle of the road? My nose hurt from walking straight into something sturdy and hard.

I grabbed at the hard object. Huh? Isn't this fabric? So it's not a pillar?

I fumbled around trying to feel out what it is I'm touching, my nose and face still planted into the thing I'd walked into.

Wait. Fabric?

I lifted my head slowly and looked up.

A pair of deep, violet eyes stared back at me.