The Intruder

After returning from the hospital to the school together, Qing Yue and I parted ways and each headed to our respective dormitories. I entered the boys' dorms quietly. No one was around, which wasn't surprising - it was around 10:00 PM at night. I was passed out for about 9 hours.

"Looks like I won't be needing to sleep tonight..." I muttered as I patiently waited for the elevator to arrive.

The elevator doors rolled open with a loud 'ding'. I stepped into the empty space and pressed the button marked with a 12. The button was now lit up and the doors closed once again.

The only sound I could hear was the quiet humming of the elevator. No one else came in, which I was grateful for. I had never been good with relationships - I only had one friend, and we used to barely have any chances to meet. Thus, I don't really have much experience with friendship or even simply communicating with others.

The doors opened as I hit the 12th floor and I walked out of the enclosed space. Turning left, I went all the way down to the end of the hall, where my room was. As I fished out the key from my back pocket and inserted it inside the lock, I made sure to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake my neighbors.

Other people don't have to worry about this - instead of a lock, they had a defense magic formation as their security measure. This kind of system was introduced not long ago and completely overtook the old-fashioned locks. The owner had to inject some of his/her magic into the array upon initial set up, which allows the formation to recognize and save it. In order to add a secondary 'owner', the original owner and the person he/she wishes to add have to shoot their magic into the array at the same time. Apart from the owner and those he/she allows, no one will be able to open the 'lock.'

I was different, however. These modern inventions are based on the prerequisite that you had to have some sort of magic - whoever came up with these ideas really didn't count people like me into their calculations. I sighed a little. I honestly can't blame them. With a slight twist of the key and a push, the door to my room was open.

At Shenzhen Magic High School, each student had their own dorm. These dorms were similar to apartments - they contained a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The electricity and water fees were all paid by the school as well, so students don't have any financial strain on their life. Food was provided at the cafeteria - but only for lunch. In other words, just enough to keep you alive. They didn't care about breakfast or dinner.

As I entered the room, I immediately noticed something was wrong. Everything seemed...off. The room that belonged to me suddenly didn't feel familiar anymore. I inspected my surroundings. While everything was where they were supposed to be, some miniscule changes were visible. The tissue box was slightly tilted, the pen holder a little bit to the right from where it was originally at this morning, and the curtains were overlapped right over left, instead of my usual left over right. Normal people would not be able to notice these things. I, however, have trained my physical body to the maximum, allowing me to identify small alterations like such.

None of this can prove someone had indeed been here - after all, people make mistakes, I may have just remembered the positions of everything wrong. But this was not the case. The most important thing...is that this intruder set off my traps. 

Indeed - I have traps set at the entrance of my dormitory, and I activate them whenever I go out. A very thin string, barely visible, was placed in front of the door, with its ends sticking on the walls perpendicular from the entrance. If someone opened the door while I was away, the thread would snap from the impact of attempting to open the door from outside.

Of course, if one knew about this trap, it is possible to avoid it - just open the door  very very slightly and squeeze yourself in. That way, you won't trigger the trap. However, no one else apart from me knows about this - not even Qing Yue.

Bending down and inspecting the broken string, I wondered to myself. Who would break in my room? And more importantly - why? I didn't have any valuable items or mysterious treasure-

"The stone pendant," I murmured, realizing the answer.

I've never really touched the stone pendant ever since the day it was passed down to me, and had always kept it in a secret compartment under my bed. I immediately went over to my bed and after some work, opened the secret compartment.

"Thank god..." I sighed in relief.

The stone pendant was still safe and sound, lying in the same place I had left it two days earlier, on my birthday. No doubt about it, whoever the intruder was, they were looking for this stone. But...why? Did this stone have some mysterious power I did not know about? Or did it hide some great secret? I've always just thought of it as a normal necklace...but maybe there is more to it than I thought.

That aside, the thief that broke in today didn't get what he wanted, so he will definitely try again. Looks like I'll have to leave him some 'presents'. As I was setting down booby traps in preparation for the future, I analyzed the situation in my head, and figured out what I have to do. For one, I have to find out who is trying to steal the pendant from me...

...And for two, from now on, I'll have to keep the pendant with me at all times.

*****

- 2022, November 9th. Nighttime, Xuan Kai's Room -

It was quiet. Too quiet, in fact. I had expected the thief to break in again tonight while I was asleep, but it seems that maybe I was wrong. They might not be willing to risk me waking up. But even if I did, I could hardly do anything...

Click.

Just as I was about to head to bed, I heard a clicking sound, as if someone was picking a lock. As I hid behind the door with a dagger in my hands, the clicking stopped and the door was pushed open, barely missing me.

Picking locks, huh...that skill is rarely used nowadays, since no one uses the old fashioned lock and key anymore.

I held my breath as I stood in the corner, where the shadow of the door embraced me. Unless someone specifically decided to look here, they would not see me. However, the figure that walked in was also hidden by the darkness in addition to his mask and hood, so I could not make out his face. I decided to observe him a bit further before activating the traps.

I watched him lightly tread around my dormitory, slowly opening cabinets and ruffling through them. After a while, he punched the wall out of frustration. Then, realizing what he had done, he quickly creeped over to my bedroom, and listened for any signs of movement.

After making sure he had not woken me up, the figure came back to the living room and scratched his head. He was probably mentally sorting the places he had already rummaged through and the the places he had yet to search.

Coincidentally, the thief just happened to be stepping on a floor tile I had made adjustments to. I pressed the remote controller button in my hands and immediately the tile sprang him up into the air and a net from above dropped down, catching the intruder in a hammock-like trap. This was a special snare I crafted with some simple materials Qing Yue bought me. She had questioned why when I asked her earlier today, but after some convincing, she gave up on trying to find out.

"Gyahh!" A voice yelped. "What the hell is this?!"

Hold on...a girl?

I couldn't be sure, so I flicked on the lights.

"Good evening," I said.

"You! H-How?!" the thief asked, surprised.

I was now sure it was a female voice.

"It was clever of you to put everything back to the way it was," I responded. "But...unfortunately, you missed a few small details."

"..."

"First off. What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm not telling you," she replied, pouting.

"You already know mine, I'm sure. What's the harm in having me know yours?" I tried to convince her.

After some thinking and eventually concluding that she had no other choice, she gave in with a sigh. "...Fine. It's Feng Mian."

She was easy to sway, it seems like.

"Feng Mian. I see." I continued. "So? What business do you have with me?"

"That's..." she trailed off. Obviously, she couldn't say that she was here to steal something. This was within my expectations, however.

"Well, even if you don't tell me, I already know," I told her. "Looking for this?"

I held up my hand, where the stone pendant was dangling from.

"So you knew I would be coming tonight, huh?" Feng Mian asked rhetorically.

"Why are you trying to steal this from me?" I stopped beating around the bush.

"...I can't tell you that, I'm sorry."

"Thieves don't usually have attitudes like that. So tell me, who sent you?"

I had already anticipated this beforehand - it didn't make sense for whoever was searching for this pendant to come get it themselves. They are probably someone powerful working at the school, seeing as how they knew about my schedules and exact room number. However, there's also the possibility that someone outside had gotten information from one of my classmates or teachers. In any case, I don't think this girl is searching for the stone pendant of her own accord.

"N-No one sent me. I'm acting by myself," she said faintly.

"I'd advise you not to lie to me. Do you understand the situation you are in right now?" I asked her with a hint of malice in my voice. Of course, I didn't actually mean her any harm, and there wasn't much I could do anyway. The closest thing I had to a weapon was a pen. I didn't even have a pair of scissors. The dagger I held was just for show, really. It was more a plastic toy then a real sharp dagger.

So, all this was just an act to make her comply to my request.

"I..." she began, but then closed her mouth again.

"Look. I can tell that you aren't a bad person, from the way you apologized earlier. I can also tell that you don't intend to hurt me, seeing as how you were careful about not waking me up."

"..." she looked troubled.

"I'm sure you've heard about me. Even if I did wake up, there's nothing I can do against you," I continued. "The person that sent you ordered you to kill me if I woke up, didn't he? But you didn't want to, so you protected me by making as less noise as possible."

"T-That's not the case!" she exclaimed, embarrassed that I had figured out and exposed her entire thought process.

"The person who ordered you to do this forced you, am I right?" I continued asking. "Be honest with me."

"N-No..." she replied. But this was obviously a lie.

"Looks like I'm going to have to get a bit physical then."

"E-Eh?! What?!" she screamed.

I approached her and said, "Don't make too much noise now. Are you sure you want other people to find you in here?"

"Wuwuwu..." she whimpered, close to crying.

I stood in front of her, who was hanging from the ceiling in the net I had prepared beforehand, and carefully reached for her hood. Although trapped and unable to move, she was still dangerous - she could cast magic anytime she wants. I took off her hood and long, beautiful blonde hair flew out, spreading a sweet orange scent into the air.

I then proceeded to remove her mask, ignoring her flailing wildly in the net.

Haiz...you really are a nice girl. Too nice for your own good, in fact. If you disliked this that much, simply cast some magic and I would be done for. Yet you aren't making any moves to do so.

As I took off the mask, I realized how pretty she was. In addition to her clear, purple eyes that give off a transparent, pleasant feeling - like you could stare into them forever - she also had a small and cute mouth that was faintly pink. If Qing Yue was an angel, this girl would be a goddess. They were equally beautiful, but had different feels to them.

I stepped back in admiration. No, I was not in love - this was more like curiousity? Before I could figure out what exactly my feelings towards her were, she suddenly stopped crying.

"Eh? That's it?" she asked, a remaining tear still in her left eye.

"...Yes? What did you think I was going to do?" I questioned, confused.

"I thought...you were going to...y'know, um...r-r-r-ra-"

"Rape you? Did you honestly think I was going to do so?" I asked, slightly angry with her for belittling me.

"Um...yes...?" she replied, a little bit hesitant.

"..." So this was the impression I give people. I really need to work on my communication skills.

"I-I mean, I've heard a lot about you, saying things like you are a pervert or the embodiment of lust..." she added, not helpfully.

"Where do you hear these things from? I thought the rumors about me were just the fact that I can't use magic, I'm trash, things like that..." I replied frustratingly.

"Ah, of course! I've heard about that too!" She exclaimed.

"...Right." Although I've came to terms with this truth a long time ago, seeing someone acknowledge that fact so confidently was still painful.

I then decided to change the topic. "So - can you tell me now? Who sent you?"

"...I can't. That would put both you and my parents in danger."

"Ah, so that's how they forced you, huh?"

"..." she covered her mouth, realizing her mistake.

Glancing at her reaction, I couldn't help but note how inexperienced of a thief she was, casually giving away important information.

After a while, I made a decision, and lowered the trap to the ground, letting her wiggle free.

"I understand," I said quietly.

"Huh?" she asked, startled.

"I said, I understand. You have your reasons for not telling me. I won't force you," I explained. "And if you are required to keep coming at me, then do so. If it's to protect your family."

"...Why are you doing this for me?" she asked, having not expected I would choose this.

"..." I didn't respond. Instead, I waved her off and told her to leave here.

Before she left, she turned around one last time. "...You aren't as bad as the rumors say."

Not as bad as the rumors say, huh? No, no. That's not why I let you off.

...It's because I know the feeling of losing your family all too well.