chapter 7: An object of ridicule
Quinn swiped the ID card at his door. A pinging sound chimed. Quinn smiled. "Humans are evolving" He laughed. He pushed the door open. The three beds Were neatly arranged, desk and table were set at each place. Wardrobes hung at the wall. The floor was tiled, light bounced off the walls. The scent of polished glass bounced off his nostrils. Quinn jerked his eyes at the window panels. He moved slowly towards it, his fingers met it. A cold feeling dashed through him, he pulled his finger instinctively. He moved towards the bed at the extreme, seeing only three uniforms laid on it. He rolled them into a neat sheet and entered the bathroom.
Quinn walked outside, his body warped by the warm water. Water dropped down at the floor, he patted his face softly with the towel. He turned to face the two pairs of eyes that watched him. One was familiar. The slender silent boy, Eve barely flinched at Quinn. In fact he outright ignored him. Quinn's angled his head at the second boy. He walked slowly to Quinn with a big grin. "Hi... I'm Jake." The boy grinned. Quinn scowled and walked past him. He sat on his bed, changing into mufti. He turned to the watch accessory on each desk. Jake's eyes trailed behind him. Watching Quinn's movement. Quinn put the watch on, a grade appeared on the watch, F. This was a substitute for the Basic grade. Quinn sneered at the letter. Jake reached out once more. "How was your trial?" He asked.
Quinn's cold face remained unfaltering,he walked past Jake and left the room. Eve stood up, walking past Jake. Jake turned to him. "Do you know that guy?" Jake scowled. To his surprise, Eve had vanished into the bathroom, oblivious of Jake's presence as well. "Ok people! What's wrong with you all?" Jake groaned.
***
Quinn glanced at the pamphlet at his hands. His forehead dampened with sweat. Trickling down his chin. He looked up at the hall. His eyes adjusted to the lettering. Somehow, he had to squint to see things during daytime, but his eye view was perfect at night. He shrugged the thought of and entered. It was the library. He moved towards the desk. A woman stood up surprised, "The combat hall isn't here." She gave one nice smile. "No, I want to get books." He said. Her smile faltered. She had thought of the return as an holiday at the academy. Quinn had proved her wrong, her teeth flashed at him. Quinn have a confused smile. All he wanted was a book. She offered him a card. Quinn scribbled his ID number on the card, he returned it and moved around the library. He scanned shelf after shelf. By the time he reached the third shelf he was gasping for air.
He lowered his back, his eyes narrowed at the shelves. "This could take all my afternoon." He cursed. His eyes glanced at the hundreds of book that looked unexplored yet his doubt grew stronger.
[No Shadow talent book found]
The system reminded him, his lips parted. He had a system. How could he have missed it? The shadow talent book wasn't in this library.
"That's odd? Every talent book is sworn to be here." He thought. "unless it was moved." He proceeded to ask the librarian when he spotted someone. Her hair dangled slowly behind her, her face was cold and expressionless. His system shot up instinctively.
[Name: Noelle Darkfrost]
[Talent: Ice control]
[Attributes: 2]
[echoes:----] [memory: 2]
[Grade: intermediate (E)]
Quinn withdrew at the screen. "You didn't tell me I can do that on others?" He scowled in his thoughts. The girl cornered the library. A name flashed across his face. Darkfrost. She was royalty. Her countenance and charisma were all attitudes nobles exhibited. He sneered at her. She turned a corner and opened another door. A guard stood by, he glanced down at her and opened the door. Quinn watched the scene. His eyes narrowed, as soon as he did he could see some books also arranged in shelves, it gave out more stronger auras than this.
"why is there a secluded library only accessible to Royalty?" Quinn thought, but he immediately scratched it out. After all royals had exclusive reach for things the public knew less of. Quinn scowled and returned to the library desk. He turned in his card and headed for the door."You didn't see your talent book?" She asked. "No." Quinn shrugged and left. She sat down, gawking one last time at the door.
"Could a new talent have rose?"
Quinn proceeded down the market within the school, the sun had slowly began to recline. The evening was setting in. Quinn reached the market booth. The air scented old and dusty. The carpet was worn out and torn in numerous places. Quinn shrugged walking to the front desk. "Talent books?" He asked. The man too was shocked to see a student right after the return. He pointed right. Quinn left, his steps faded from the front. He wasted no time and scanned the shelves with his system.
[Shadow talent book not found]
Quinn muttered a slight groan. His mind wavered at the thought. His talent didn't exist in the human race. That seemed like the only logical explanation. He scrubbed his hair and walked, but something caught his eyes. A cloak was displayed. Black silhouettes danced around it. Quinn liked it at once. He gazed at the info at the plate. "The first marked one's cloak of camouflage." He read. A scowl lighted his lips. This was faked. The original cloak would be in somewhere safer, why would the marked one give up a memory. Something special to him? Quinn flashed a scowl and walked past. He became slightly angered, there was nothing in the market booth for him too. He thanked the man and left. By now, the students were already reclining into their dorms. Quinn reached the cafeteria, hoping to eat before he reached his room.
As he sat down, a familiar face flashed across him. Blue hair danced behind her. Her robes fluttered by her side. She moved towards the third row, sitting to eat. Quinn traced her every movement. Coordinated, precise and efficient. Those were three simple words to describe her. Her eyes flashed at him, cold and emotionless. Quinn faced his food. He stood up after eating and went to return his plates in the dish washer. She walked towards him. Quinn. scowled at the echoes that sundered off the walls. She returned her plates and turned slightly at him. She stared coldly at him before walking away. Quinn hissed under his breath. "Nobles. Such pompous attitude."
Quinn reclined to his room later tht day. His three roommates were fast asleep. Everyone hoped for the best Monday class. Quinn returned to his desk, his eyes turned at Eve.His watch gleamed F proudly. Quinn scowled. They seemed to be in similar position. Soft wind drizzled down at Eve. Yet, he slept so calmly. Quinn wondered what it was like to be him. "what burdens do you carry Eve?"
***
Quinn's eyes fluttered open. The two others were already prepared, waiting to do one or two freshening before leaving for class. Quinn turned towards his schedule. He had only applied for three classes. Combat classes, mana management class and survival class. Quinn stood up, grabbing his towel, he dashed into the bathroom. Realising he was late for his first class. Eve glanced at him, a shrug tire his lips as he left. Jake was still left in oblivion. Quinn returned seeing they had both left for their classes. He wore his black uniform and dashed out.
Survival hall was silent. Quinn glanced around. There were no others. The soft scent of polished checkered floor filtered into his nostrils. His breathing hitched, he was all alone. No, a silhouette sat in the distance. Quinn slowly walked towards it. As he did, his chest began to burn,warm sensation filled his nostrils. His forehead creased with sweats falling like rain drops. The aura grew denser as he moved closer. His throat clogged and he had to stop. Moving closer was suicide. "Come forward!" The voice ordered. Quinn blinked. Was he insane?
"The mana is too harsh to even come any more feet closer." Quinn thought. The silhouette opened his eyes and the mana signature melted, the hot air cooled his skin. Quinn sighed finally, his breathing relaxed, he trailed his eyes towards his chest. The mana was lessened. Now. He tried to scan the man but his system came up with an error message.
[Error spotted!]
[Task is breaching system protocols]
Quinn blinked, since when was the system paying attention to his commands. The man looked up, his face stretched into a warm smile. "Tell me, why did you come to survival class?" His tone smooth.
Quinn inhaled slowly, he had rehearsed his answer, steady and efficient. "Because the one thing that was essential to my survival was knowledge about the unknown." He recited. The man smiled. His chins stretched. "And what is your name?" The man asked. Quinn faltered, he knew the reactions people gave when he said his name out loud.
"Quinn Stormblessed." He muttered. The man smiled and motioned for him to sit. Quinn sat cross legged on the floor. The man glanced into his eyes, the tension peaked as silence enveloped them. "I am Rey, professor Rey. And I am the the teacher of survival hall." The man Introduced. Quinn nodded and his lips parted. "Why is the hall empty?" He asked. The man smiled, expecting the question.
"Well teenagers won't sit an hour in a boring class talking about what will happen if you have no plant species to harvest." Rey laughed. Quinn nodded, the most essential tool in his survival was knowing how his environment worked.
Rey smiled and turned as the hall door opened once more,Quinn turned and met a face he wasn't expecting.
Noelle Darkfrost walked confidently, her steps were coordinated, precise and efficient. Her face, was eerie with that cold grimace that scared the shit off people. Rey smiled but Quinn grimaced.
"Here comes my Arch nemesis"