Encounter

Rondo, Melheim (?) - 8:53

"Tch, tch, tch! This kid got no money at all!"

In a dark alleyway, away from the bustling streets and sunlight, a group of four in similar casual attire can be seen surrounding something. Aside from echoes of their talks, one could only hear water droplets dripping down one at a time, orchestrating a gloomy and detached atmosphere.

One of them, a man with spiky blond hair and multiple piercings visible throughout his face, frustratedly searched through what seemed to be a worn-out leather wallet before throwing it on the ground like trash.

-SPIT!

Another one, possessing messy black hair and a fierce expression, let out smoke from his mouth and spit on the boy's shoulder, who was lying face-up silently on the damp ground. He then proceeded to drop the cigarette in the same place and crushed it with his dirty shoes. 

"Where yo money, kid? Spit it out!"

"..."

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"..."

Despite the fella's increasing exasperation, no answer came back from the seemingly lifeless body. No matter how hard he tried stepping on the boy's shoulder with his foot, the only response was an expressionless face - one comparable to a doll.

"Tsk! Is he out of it?"

"Looks like it. Leg's off, bruther! Lemme search him."

"Aye, aye."

The black-haired fella scratched his head frustratedly as he took out another cigarette from a little box and lit it. 

Meanwhile, rummaging through the boy's body was a short man resembling a goblin with his crooked appearance and bloodshot greedy eye. His looks suggest a cliche sleazy gap-toothed man who always tries to compromise for gold when he can.

"There's nothing either. These clothes scream money to me though."

As the little man slowly moved his hand through the fabric to examine the material, salivas began to leak out of his mouth. Even though the man is no professional, it doesn't take one to notice the quality of the finery that wrapped the boy's body whole.

"How much do you think it'll sell?"

The blonde crook, still frowning, diverts his eyes onto the boy's outfit with interest. As long as it costs a lot of money, there's no way he'll abandon this opportunity.

"Probs 15,000 Gils. We could live a few months of that."

"Strip him off then!"

As per order, the goblin guy started attempting to take off the boy's clothes. However, a voice from his back intervened immediately.

"Stop! Do you want all of us to die?"

"AARRHHHH-"

The blond man, even more irritated, turned to the fourth member of the gang with a growl. It was a lass whose hair was a jet-black bob cut, complemented by goth-style garments and a condescending pair of brown eyes.

"You better shut yer mouth, bitch. You join this gang, you do what the boss says..." His eyes drifted to the boy's outfit one more, and this time a disgusting grin enlarged on his delinquent face. "...And what's wrong with asking for some compensation? This little shit bumped into me f-"

"Hush! Look again, dumbass."

Stopping the crook's rambling with a finger, the goth lass then squatted beside the boy and pinched his outfit's logo with her rough hand.

"Dark blue, Collin fabric, Torch logo,...It couldn't even be more obvious! It's the freaking uniform of Astrea Academy. I thought you guys had quite the guts, but to think none of you knew."

The three looked at the lass, shocked by the sudden news. No matter what kind of corner they came from, the name definitely rings a bell to all of them. 

"You mean...that place?"

"Yes, what else?"

It was just a simple affirmation, but horrors were spelled in all of them. The reason was simple:

Astrea Academy, while known to foster a world record amount of talent, is more known for the fact that they housed most if not all students from wealthy backgrounds, or so it was rumored.

If that was true for the boy as well, who boasted a modest appearance in contrast to his uniform, they were in really deep shit.

What was a rude, unassuming passerby who bumped into the boss was now the subject of fear. Depending on how the boy came out of this incident, they could even be captured and tortured to no end by his family for vengeance.

"Shit. Good thing he's still out of it. We should make a run for it then."

The blonde crook, whose complexion has grown extremely pale, commands the gang to retreat from the scene immediately. He knew it was the best decision at the moment, seeing that no one had noticed them with the boy yet.

Doing anything further would only warrant more potential risk.

Sharing the same sentiment, the gang quickly turned their back, planning to head out of the alleyway as soon as possible. 

But was escape truly possible?

All of a sudden, the atmosphere grew extremely heavy, to the point they suffocated. Chills ran down their spine as they stunt in place, their entire bodies trembling without explanation.

-CRACK!

A loud sound can be heard reverberating throughout the alleyway.

***

Rondo, Melheim (?) - 8:57

The boy looked at the sky in a daze. Somehow, the white sky seemed rather stranded, just like his unfocused eyes.

At least it wasn't as dark as the alley where the walls from both sides were unevenly built, leaving a strangely shaped "crack" above that let little to no light in.

'This place...Where?'

Just a several minutes ago, he was on his way back to his inn to pick up his luggage so he could board the train to Astrea City - the metropolis Astrea Academy resides in. 

That was until he was flooded with messages in his head, followed by an unknown trigger that left him in a trance. 

It took a few minutes to sort things out in his head, only to find out he was lying on the ground. Smoke was wafting in the air, alongside a vague damp feeling hitting up his back. 

'Meh, I don't really care.'

He sat up unhurriedly and rolled his shoulder backward since it was somewhat stiff. 

'Now then, let's check where this place is.'

Trying to feel his pockets, he couldn't find any sign of a rough, blunt object. Scanning around was his next option, but only his trusty empty wallet was lying next to his leg. 

'Oh, right...I left it at the inn too.'

That wasn't a problem, however, as he sensed some other beings present from the sound of subtle breathing. Ether was also present in the same direction, so he turned his head that way.

'Hm?'

Turning to his right, he could see four people turning their backs on him. It was a strange sight, but that didn't matter much to him.

He thought they might know something about the place he was in so he wanted to ask where he was. Nevertheless, having a gut feeling that they would be leaving soon, he felt a need to stop them.

He stood up and cracked his neck, producing a boisterous sound that somehow caused the four to tremble. It seems his neck was also stiff.

"Um, hey...?"

Slowly approaching the four, he raised an innocent voice, hoping to appease the strangers before him as he approached them one step at a time. This was to procure the image of an innocent young man who lost his way.

"May I know which city we're in?"

He asked as he gently placed his hand on the blonde crook's shoulder. In response, the man's body shook even more, as if several shocks ran through his body all at once.

To them, he was a Devil playing with their feelings, and yet that possibility didn't come to his mind. Concerned by their tremblings, he inquired about their states.

"Are you OK?"

TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK! TACK!

Even more shiverings can be felt on the boy's hand as the crook shook his head slightly without stopping. He could even spot some kind of liquid dripping down below from the corners of his eyes, whilst the echoes grew louder and more consistent. It was not the work of the occasional droplets anymore.

'!'

It appeared they were "leaking", but he didn't really know why.

"Hello?"

"""" EEK! Spare uuuusssssss! """"

As if coming to their sense, the four ran away carelessly with all their might, leaving the boy behind in the dark alley.

"At least let me pay for laundry service..."

A bit bummed out, he decided to head out of the alleyway either way. It was his plan from the beginning, but he unfortunately didn't manage to obtain info regarding where he's currently at.

"Oh well..."

As he drew closer to the light source, he could make out the same grey brick he walked on just earlier, but the road was narrower than he initially remembered. Lines of abandoned shops and old buildings also came into sight, but there was none he had special recollections about. 

'Is this the same Rondo I know?'

The reason he was still somewhat sure about the area belonging to Rondo was because it appeared in an almost blanked-out line on a blackened banner. That didn't mean doubts weren't present, though.

"You! Did you just come out of there?"

He could hear footsteps advancing toward him from his left. There it was, a source of Ether more vibrant and powerful compared to the four, and the origin of the voice he just heard. 

"Yes?"

He turned his head to his left and spotted a boy came running his way.

Upon closer inspection, the boy had a handsome round face, which came along with golden eyes and neatly combed long fringes that swayed as he sprinted. The boy was also adorning the same uniform he had on, an obvious sign that they were peers.

A little while passed, and the boy was standing face-to-face with him, the former a bit shorter but more energetic in terms of complexion.

"Was it you who scared them away?"

"Them?"

He tilted his head, thinking about the word "them". The closest conclusion he could come to was the four he encountered not long ago.

"Was it a group of four?"

"Yes!"

"Not me, then." He shrugged his shoulder but his expression remained unchanged. 

'Well, part of it was my fault but that can be glossed over.'

"I see, I see!"

The boy nodded enthusiastically as if he already accepted his words entirely in a heartbeat. Another one with a strange attitude, he thought, but he didn't mind this one since he didn't know much details either. 

"That aside...You're also going to Astrea, right?"

The boy was glancing at his uniform, his eyes sparkling for reasons unknown. Seeing no harm in answering as the truth was light as day, he replied with a slight nod of approval.

"My name's Harry, Harry Lambert. What's yours?"

"Jun, Jun Kether."

Right then, Jun was immediately offered a handshake, which he took without hesitation. It was always a good thing to get along with his peers, no matter if it was inside or outside of the Academy, he assumed.

"Let's get along, uuuhhh..."

"Jun."

"Right, Jun! You may call me by my name too then. It'd feel unfair otherwise."

"Mhm."

It was the overly friendly kind, but once again, he didn't really have any problems with the attitude or the offer, so he just went along with it.

It was then he remembered there was a question he needed to ask, and this was a golden opportunity.

"Say...this is Rondo, right?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Harry's eyebrow twitched at his question - an indication that he was weirded out somewhat.

He noticed that many things weren't adding up from early on, but he was only picking on the little details now that he had a rough idea of the area.

Rondo is the exclusive name of a small capital town belonging to Melheim, which is located all the way up north of the Great North Continent on the Estella Map. As such, this place isn't much of a tourist's destination due to its unstable climate and deadly freezing temperatures, which means snow is an all-year-round feature but that wasn't present at all.

Besides, Rondo is known for being a Level 10 [Monster Mine] with an absurdly high concentration of Ether energy, making any business besides [Blacksmith] and [Guild] almost impossible to grow, hence the inexistent of shops in the original town.

Additionally, this place was warm and humid, unbelievably so in fact. It was a thing never seen in Rondo before, or at least the "Rondo" he knew.

"What's wrong?"

Seemingly catching onto the change in mood from Jun, Harry asked out of concern for the new acquaintance he just made. He was just that kind of person.

"...The capital of Melheim?"

Mumblings left his mouth and entered Harry's ear. What he got back was nothing short of shocking.

"Melham? Where's that?"

Ignoring the wrong pronunciation, anyone living in Rondo would know the region's name by heart. For one to not know where it is was incredibly strange.

"Where is Rondo then?"

"Where else but Kartosh?"

What?