Timer Complete.
Cleansing over.
The sound of the countdown system shutting down rang through the room, but everyone was too busy to even notice.
All their gazes were fixed on one man.
Different voices from the crowd began to voice their complaint, their voices filled with disdain.
"He really is disgusting."
"Yeah, it's people like him that give the school a bad image."
"Just expel him already."
"Yeah, what's Master Lisa even waiting for."
"I won't expect less from a commoner."
As the voices kept increasing by the minute, a gentle and graceful voice made all the others recede.
"Master Lisa, as the princess of Meltonia, I think it is only wise to expel him." A young beautiful lady with a graceful presence, a fully matured body, and blonde hair that stopped close to her knee. "Because this event was put in place to test students' ability to survive while fighting others."
She looked at Kai, her golden eyes glimmering with conviction. "And he only ran away."
"Yeah, I agree with the princess." Another voice said.
"Wait." A familiar voice exploded from behind Kai. "Kai didn't do anything wrong; he didn't want to fight, so what's the problem?"
"Lisa, I hope you haven't fallen for this pretty boy's facade?" The princess said.
"Princess Ariel I think Lisa is right." The tall, lean figure crossed Lisa, who was gripping her skirt in frustration.
"Not you too, Ikenna; you're the son of the Edo clan. I don't see you defending a criminal."
"It's nothing like that, princess; I just think that everyone is exaggerating the matter." Ikenna paused. "Just because you and I didn't run doesn't mean that everyone here did the same."
The crowd grew silent at his words.
What he said made complete sense; no matter how much they talked or scorned Kai for his actions, ninety per cent couldn't say they didn't think of doing the same thing.
But as Matthew retorted, speaking to his classmate gently, others added to the topic.
The subject of the whole matter just sat on the floor; it wasn't as if he was scared to talk or he didn't care about what would happen to him.
No, it was something else, something that was able to make him freeze in place.
'Are you seeing this, Alpha?'
[I am, but even I can't believe it.]
The moment the timer hit zero and Kai was at his lowest, the system UI suddenly appeared in front of him.
It didn't announce anything that could have probably been announced. Neither did it say his achievement like before.
Words that weren't meant to appear to anyone who wasn't an official mage.
-------------
YOU HAVE EARNED A MISSION:
- MISSION -
--- SURVIVE IN NOCTIS ACADEMY AND COME OUT FIRST PLACE IN THE LOCK LEAGUE.
--- TIME LIMIT – 11 MONTHS, 26 WEEKS, 7 DAYS
--- REWARD - ADVANCEMENT TO EXPERT RANK
- CORE ADVANCEMENT TO RED
- 1 RANDOM WEAVED ABILITY
- 3 RANDOM VESPERS
--- DEAR ASPIRING MAGE, BEST OF LUCK.
--------
- SUB-MISSION -
--- LEARN MANA BREATHING TECHNIQUE
--- TIME LIMIT – 2 DAYS
--- REWARDS - 1 RANDOM ABILITY POINT
- 5 STATS POINTS
--- WARNING ⚠️⚠️ - IF THE USER FAILSTOCOMPLETE THE MISSION IN ALLOCATED TIME INSTANT DEATH
--------
- SUB-MISSION -
--- ONE HUNDRED (100) PUSH-UPS – [0/100]
--- ONE HUNDRED (100) SIT-UPS – [0/100]
--- ONE HUNDRED (100) SQUATS – [0/100]
--- TEN KILOMETRES (10KM) RUN – [0/10]
--- WARNING ⚠️⚠️ - IF THE USER FAILS TO COMPLETE THE MISSION IN ALLOCATED TIME INSTANT DEATH
'That's a mission.'
Missions were tasks given by the Cube to official mages outside the dome; each mission required life-or-death battles with drifters, possibly conquering a city or a street.
But at completion that mage's rank goes up by one, and they are also awarded different other incentives.
And those missions that appeared only to mages were right in front of him.
This was better than anything he could ever ask for; he didn't have to fight over resources or have to form parties when going outside the dome only to end up betrayed or dying by another human with a different missions hands.
But why did the Cube do this? He didn't know; all he knew was that he had received something no one in the history of ICUWSA had.
An unofficial mission.
[I want to shout, do you know what this means?]
'We will soon be overpowered?'
[No, that's too shallow.]
'It is?'
[Yes, it is. Soon I will become freaking smart; what else do you need then?
'Ha… you're really full of yourself.'
Kai finally raised his head; seeing the scene that was unfolding, he finally remembered his current predicament.
[What was the topic again?]
******
As the students' voices grew louder and louder, Lisa just watched them from above, and with a slight wave, an unbearable pressure fell on them.
"What does this look like to you? Do I look like a joke?"
No one uttered a single word; even the strong were barely standing on their feet.
Only six, to be exact: Matthew, Ikenna and four others.
"Now you." She faced Kai. "On a normal day, I would have expelled you, but because you passed the timer and because your sister begged me to let you enter the academy, I won't expel you."
She added. "But that doesn't mean I will let it slide." Waving her hands once more, the weight on the students' bodies was lifted as if they never existed. "And considering that no one would agree to accept you on their team except a few."
She pointed the tablet straight at him. "You will be designated as the lowest rank, and you will have to leave your dorm and your class and live in the gutter area."
"Furthermore, you will have a chance to redeem yourself." She continued. "Since you will be fighting as a one-man team until you gather a team of five or six, every point you earn will be given a fifty per cent increase."
She looked at the students to gauge their expression. "That will be all; the location of your new dorm room and class has been sent to your communicator."
[So can we go now?]
Lisa looked at Kai once more. "What are you still doing here?"
Kai stood from the floor, seemingly unfazed by the piercing gaze of the students.
As he walked to the door, Lilia rushed over to him but was stopped by Ikenna, who just shook his head.
And soon the only trace of him that remained was a faint silhouette.
******
After walking for a few minutes with the help of Alpha, Kai finally reached it.
The area of Noctis academy named the 'gutter'.
'Damn, it really is like a gutter.'