"If you say so, I won't push the matter any further." Onilia said as she held the collar of his school uniform.
"By the way, after we get back, you should take a bath, or I won't talk to you again." Onilia said with an awful expression on her face.
"A bath?" Zane whispered. That was when it dawned on him.
He had been preoccupied with surviving and adapting, so much so that he had ignored his hygiene.
'Now that she mentioned it, I smell awful...' The thought didn't finish forming when Onilia hurled him up.
The wind whistled past his ears as he climbed the sky.
He looked down and laughed, a tired frustrated chuckle.
'The cliffs are no longer in view. It took me weeks to climb this high, to think I could reach the same distance in less than a minute. But at the speed I'm going, I won't be able to reach the summit.'
As he reached the highest altitude the flight force could send him, Onilia crouched to the ground. The ground cracked beneath her feet, the muscles in her calves hardened and tensed. In one fluid motion, she leapt up as the ground shattered beneath her feet. She reached the same altitude as Zane, caught him mid-air, and hurled him again.
Zane's brain didn't bother tracking the physics. All he knew was that he'd reached the summit by being thrown like a sack of potatoes. Twice.
He laid on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.
'How long do I have to train until I can accomplish such a feat?'
Onilia stood over him and spoke.
"Let's go back. It's late."
"Wonderful view." Zane said with his gaze fixed on the moon.
Onilia looked down and frowned, pulling her nightgown tighter to her body defensively. She wasn't sure if he was talking about her or the sky. However, thinking back on the bathroom incident, she was certain on the former.
"To think you would peek again. Just where do you get your courage from?" Onilia said, raising her heel to smash the boy below.
"What?" Zane rolled to the side on instincts, evading a trip to the underworld.
He then noticed that the girl was wearing something a sheer grey nightgown which hugged her frame tightly. She had followed him out of curiosity, paying no attention to what she wore.
"Wait, time out. You don't have to kill me for every petty mistake I make." Zane waved his hands defensively, taking deliberate steps to create distance.
"Petty?" Onilia raised a brow. "You call peeking under my skirt petty? If my big brother heard this, he would wipe out your entire race."
"Hold up, let's not bring big brothers into this. When I said 'wonderful view,' I meant that moon." Zane pointed at one of the moons the color of glass. It was like a colorless crystal orb.
"You might not know this but I always enjoyed the view of moons."
'Seriously, I didn't peek. A shame, if only I had noticed what you were wearing earlier.'
Without a word, Onilia vanished, probably upset.
"Is it over? Well whatever, let's just take a bath."
The door to the mansion was open, but the bathhouse door-the one that had been wide open, was now a few centimeters away from being shut.
"What the... It was wide open before, did she do this to get back at me? She tells me to take a bath and goes ahead to close the door halfway, knowing full well I don't have the strength to open. Curses, Onilia." he muttered, gripping the edge and squeezing his body through the narrow space like a piece of meat being stuffed into a tube. The door creaked, but his bones creaked louder.
'Why am I always being punished for things I didn't do?'
The bathroom inside was unreal.
Smooth white marble walls glowed like pearls, and steam gently curled around the air, carrying the scent of herbs and minerals. Crystal basins poured warm water into a deep pool that glowed faintly from beneath, as if stars had been trapped inside. Strange glowing vines clung to the walls, giving the room a dreamlike glow.
Zane sighed deeply, taking off his tattered uniform as he sank into the water, feeling the pain melt away from his bones.
"I wonder how much time has passed on Earth…" he mumbled, leaning his head back.
'According to Onilia, a hundred days here is equivalent to a day on whichever planet a trainee came from. That means, for every hundred days that we live here, a day has passed on Earth, Nanaly, and on every other planet of every trainee present.
The time difference between Earth and Nanaly most likely won't be equal, the same could be said about the other planets.
That means the Master is syncing dozens of different timelines, planet with different rotations, different years, to match a single world. The sheer scale of it... Just how strong is the Master to be able to accomplish such a ridiculous feat.' Zane thought, dipping his hand in the water, scooping a handful and allowing it drain through his fingers.
Since one day on Earth equals a hundred days here, and he'd been in this realm for nearly two months, only a few hours must've passed back home. The thought felt weird. Back on Earth, people were probably still screaming and running for their lives… and here he was soaking in a magic hot tub.
He stayed in a little longer, then finally pulled himself out and dried off, stepping into the hallway in simple robes.
He looked down the corridor that led to Onilia's room and paused.
"…Should I check on her?"
A part of him was curious, but a louder part of him said no.
Probably the wise side of him; he headed straight for his bed instead.
The moment his head hit the pillow, he was out cold. No dreams, no thoughts—just pure exhaustion.
**
Onilia lay on her bed staring at the floating crystal orb. "Zane Walker, he would do just fine. And there I was, wondering where I could find the permit. After he enters the tower, everything will go according to plan."
Her mind suddenly drifted away, to a time long gone.
"In this world, you'll meet all kinds—strong, weak, rich, poor, freaks, psychopaths. Doesn't matter. The people worth keeping aren't the strongest or the richest. They're the ones who show up when you're at your lowest. Weak, strong, crazy—if they'll bleed for you, then they're family."
Onilia's late brother had told her once, during a rare visit home.
"You can't fool me, big brother. You're Error ranked and all your friends are strong too, so don't lie to me." Onilia had shot back.
"That may be so, but most of my friends are people I helped along the way. I can't explain how lucky I am to have them. Mind you, they weren't all strong when I met them. We were all a bunch of ignorant Rankers trying to survive in the tower back in the day. What I'm saying is, should you meet someone who needs your help, don't hesitate to help them."
Her late older brother had explained.
She blinked away the memory and sat up.
'I should probably wake him, if I'm going to help him.' She thought as she stretched her legs over the bed.
'If only big brother hadn't died, filth like Zelkish wouldn't have even dreamed of taking Nanaly.' She thought bitterly as she moved towards her door.
***
Zane felt a sharp pain after which everything went dark.
[System Notice]
{Player Zane Walker is dead.}
Zane gasped back and found Onilia sitting at the edge of his bed, wiping blood from a sword.
He then felt a sharp pain in his neck. He traced his hand over the healing wound.
"I know it's your lodging but, what are you doing in my room? And did you just kill me? I already told you I didn't peek." Zane spoke with a calm tone but couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice.
"Screw you, Onilia. I don't care whether you're an Apex-ranked, you can't just do whatever you want...." Onilia's foot slammed into his side mid-sentence, sending him crashing against the wall like a broken doll.
Zane coughed blood as he stood. Almost immediately, she slammed his head against the wall. She held him and threw him across the room with one hand.
"I get it, Onilia. I get your message loud and clear. You're saying I'm weak and pathetic, but why are you telling me something I already know?" Zane said as he wiped blood from his jaw.
"You really are smart. What you said is true. But we'll change that. I'll try to take your life every time you close your eyes, until you can dodge my thrust in sleep. I'll train you until you can at least escape from a strong opponent. I'll help you become stronger, Zane Walker."
Zane stared at her with a bored expression as she talked about his life so casually.
"There are over eight hundred trainees on this planet," she began. "Among them are Apex-level candidates. You already met one earlier—Nenis."
Zane's brows furrowed. The name jogged his memory.
"Is she talking about the one with pointed ears and purple skin who showed up when she was picking a room for me?" he thought, his mind replaying the encounter.
"There are also many renowned rankers among the trainees. Fighters with real experience, like Mechanius, Drex and many more. Some have survived planetary wars. Others have killed countless Elite Ranked Geminis and above. And you, Zane…"
She stepped closer, narrowing her eyes.
"You're by far the weakest one in this batch."
Zane felt the words hit like a punch to the gut.
She wasn't wrong. Not even close.
Back on Earth, he was just some messed-up rich kid with a broken past.
Now, he was the same guy—just dropped in a world where the air itself could crush him if he breathed too hard.
Everyone else was so powerful. And he—he didn't even feel like he belonged in the same story.