The weekend passed in a lethargic way. I felt really bad about it, though, and couldn’t help but feel like I had wasted my time somehow. It’s been too long since I had a pair of carefree days like that…

Unfortunately, since the weekend was over, it was time to go back to school. I was careful to not oversleep, which would be all too easy to do. After all, it was only the second week of school, and I had yet to truly settle back into the groove that came with time.

Regardless, I got up nice and early, and began getting ready. It didn’t take too much time, since we were all required to wear a school uniform, and my body was relatively low maintenance. I don’t even want to think about how many girls would vomit blood upon seeing the way my hair behaved itself as I lightly brush through it a few times. Even the worst of bed-head simply disappears in seconds.

I also grabbed a quick breakfast before leaving, popping a few bits of fruit into my mouth. I made sure to lock my apartment behind me and walked down to street level, where a thin stream of people were heading to various places. The larger part of this ‘crowd’ was making its way to the station connecting to the transport system. This was my destination as well, since I wasn’t nearly affluent enough to buy a personal car. And, the school had been built right next to a station in order to facilitate ease of travel.

My apartment was relatively close to the school as well, as I only had a thirty-minute ride to my station. The train was normally quite empty at this time as well, with the normal rush still a few minutes away. This suited me just fine, as I had a seat to myself, and there weren’t many people staring at me.

The school itself was one of the better in the city, with only a few others being equal to it. It was one of those high-class escalator schools as well, so it was hard to get into without prior connections. I was here mostly due to a fluke.

Since classes wouldn’t start for an hour yet, I went to the school library to kill time. I had become somewhat known for spending time there, especially before school started. I enjoyed reading from the massive collection they had there, and was able to feel a little bit of peace in those moments.

I nodded a greeting to the librarian who said hello to me on the way in, obviously recognizing me. I made my way to a back corner of the library, a book about the mechanics of cosmic quantum physics in hand. It’s useful to review these things every once in a while, so that I don’t lose my edge. Unfortunately though, time passed all too quickly when it’s spent engrossed in something you enjoy. The bell for classes rang all to soon, drawing me out of my enjoyment. I made sure to replace the book properly. I was aware of how rare a paper-book library like this was, and didn’t want to lose it due to negligence on my part.

Of course, there was a marked difference in the school campus from how it had been a scant hour ago. Namely, there was a large increase in its population density, since classes were about to begin, and everyone was here now. I’m the weird one for making it here so early.

I had a bit of trouble getting through the hallways, but then, I always do. Nobody seems to ever notice me trying to make my way to class, and I always get bumped into when I’m on my own. Nevertheless, I made it to the classroom with only a little difficulty.

I sat in my seat, and was immediately called out to by a classmate with a completely shaven head, and a rather delicate face. Apparently, he had shaven his head after being mistaken as a girl one too many times, and was living a life without misunderstandings since then. Nevermind the fact that shaving his head has only made it easier for a wig to be put on him.

“Hey Revy—Did you hear the news, from the forum posts?!” He asked, practically bursting with excitement.

I shook my head, not understanding what he was mentioning.

“Really? You haven’t? The thirteenth God Quest in Ashenload was just discovered you know?!”

Ah, it’s that, then. I rolled my hand to get him to continue.

“Some guy found a person bleeding in an alleyway, and helped him—it turns out that this was the quest trigger, and it’s sparked off a huge civil war between the gods now!”

I nodded, and smiled at him. This classmate of mine’s name is Godard, though he plays in Ashenload as Xavier, the blacksmith from whom I get all my weapons. In real life, his family runs a smithy that creates formidable swords and other equipment necessary in today’s society.

Godard continued, stating that he really didn’t know how I had not yet heard of this. I shrugged my shoulders at that. He continued talking right up until the bell rang, outlining all that’s happened with the new God quest so far. He also talked about things not related to the game—Like the Showcases that I had also seen, which were popular, after all. He also briefly mentioned that one of the High Families made a television announcement on Saturday, since they were opening their own college. It was broadcast to all major news outlets, he said, after making it clear that any college owned by one of the aristocratic High Families was clearly worth avoiding.

I agreed with him, though without saying anything, of course.

At first, people assumed that I was simply shy or something, since I never seemed to say anything. That wasn’t true though. Rather than something like being too shy to speak, or even being incapable of it, as some had feared, it was simply that I didn’t really feel like I had to say anything. I just take taciturn to an extreme. I will speak if I’m required to; though it takes an extreme force of will to get me to say more than four or five words at a time. Besides, most people can understand my body language well enough, and I can write on paper if need be. Nobody seems to find this odd though, so I have no intention of changing my ways.

After the teacher arrived, the lesson started. Since it was mostly review, I spent the time thinking about various things. Time seemed to pass slower than normal, moving at a lethargic pace which was enough to drive millions of school kids insane. As is normal in a classroom.

I had nearly convinced myself that the class was never ending, when the bell finally rang for break. Immediately, a few people made their way over to me. I felt someone pick me up, and before I knew it, I was on that persons lap.

I looked up, and it turned out to be Sabrina, a girl in the class who seemed to be fond of cute things. She was also taller than me by a good amount, though that’s not really all that hard. I squirmed a bit to try and get her to let me go, but she simply held a chocolate cracker up in front of my face. Ugh—She certainly knows how to handle me. I sullenly took the cracker, and began nibbling on it.

A small group had formed around me in the meantime, with those I was closest to in the school. There was Godard, Sabrina, a big and wild looking guy with red hair named Kormic, another girl with glittering black eyes and hair named Haven, and a rather thin and sickly looking guy named Ussen. Don’t let that sickly appearance fool you though, since he’s rather strong. In fact, right now he’s in his Awakened form, since it can be easier to gather Mana like that. He normally looks really fit, with a muscular body, and an energetic appearance. I think he went through the Awakening process last year, along with the majority of my peers. In fact, I’m the only one in this class who hasn’t gone through it here.

The process of Awakening is rather mysterious. Essentially, it’s the act of using machines to forcibly push large amounts of Mana into a body. It’s a painful experience to most people, since we weren’t originally meant to house that force. However, the mystery comes afterwards. The general consensus is that due to that fact that the human body gets pushed over the brink, it manifests a separate form capable of handling the energy in the moment of Awakening.

It’s another self, and separate body that can house your soul—And you only needs to concentrate for a second to bring that Awakened self to the forefront, and assume its characteristics. Oddly enough though, there are as many Awakened forms as there are planets inhabited by people. While some have an Awakened form that isn’t different from their normal body in any way, others become something that simply can’t be called human anymore.

For instance, the girl whose lap I am currently sitting on—her awakened form is of an Elf. That’s right, an honest to goodness Elf. Ussen’s is a wrath, hence the reason he looks so wan and pale. I don’t think anyone knows what Godard’s is, since he seems to be rather secretive about it. Even I don’t know what it it.

Kormic becomes, oddly enough, a Giant. And Haven becomes a Demoness, to everyone’s amusement. The irony is much appreciated.

Anyway, all this is fact. People have Awakened forms, and they are of various fantasy like species. However, what trips up scientists, is figuring out why people have the forms they do. Sometimes, the form aligns with a person’s personality. But, they conflict just as often as well. Ussen is one of the nicest people I know, but his Awakened form is something normally seen as sinister. Some have suggested that it connects to a person’s subconscious, but I don’t see any evidence of that at all. Others have simply given up, and call it random, but I can’t see that either. The universe simply isn’t random, and it follows a deep set of rules. Perhaps the mystery of people’s Awakened forms follows a rule in the universe buried too deeply for us to see at the moment? After all, people used to attribute all natural phenomena to fictitious gods that watched down upon the mortal world.

I will admit that I find the idea of gods amusing. I did quite a bit of research on them at one point; so intriguing was the topic to me. Nobody really follows religion anymore, preferring to pursue individual strength now—though I’ve heard that there are some sects still practicing in backwater planets or societies.

These thoughts accompanied me for a while, until someone poking into my side brought me out of my daytime reverie.

“Are you listening, Revy?” Asked Sabrina from behind me, as her finger incessantly prodded me.

I shook my head, and made an apologetic face towards everybody. They simply smiled, all too aware that I tended to daze off while thinking, and not care about what was happening around me.

Sabrina sighed, “We were talking about the possibility of creating a party in Ashenload for the sake of joining in on the thirteenth God Quest.”

I shook my head again.

This time, Haven spoke up. “You know, we’ve never done a God Quest with you, right? Why don’t you want to join us?”

I hesitated, before speaking up in a soft voice.

“Prefer playing alone.”

“Nonsense! You’ve gone on quests with us before, right? Why is this any different?”

I thought carefully before answering.

“God Quests…Challenging.”

Godard understood what I was trying to say, and translated for the rest of them.

“Ah right. You like to do the challenging quests without a party, no? I’ve noticed that the quests we do as a group tend to be more fun than intense, and the God Quests are known to be the largest challeges in the game.”

I nodded, happy that someone knew what I was trying to convey.

Everybody else had a face that said ‘Ah, so it’s that’, and left the topic alone afterwards. Meaning, I avoided some awkward questions for the moment.

Though, I really do like completing challenging quests all by myself. The sense of fulfillment you get in the end is pretty significant.

Ah, and yes, this entire group plays Ashenload. It isn’t the most played game in the galaxy for nothing, after all. They sometimes get me to join their party for various fun little quests and stuff. I’m fine with it, since Sabrina seems to have a running tap of chocolate and pastries that I can snack on, both in game, and in real life. They’re also an easy group to get along with, and I’ve been with them for most of middle and high school. In fact, I get along with them so well; that I was surprised to hear what sort of families they come from. I guess it’s to be expected though, since the children of the affluent in this city are normally sent to this particular school, due to its prestige.

The conversation drifted to the Showcase again, and everyone started throwing in their own opinions about it. Unfortunately, nobody seemed interested in the sorts of techniques displayed during the matches, and preferred to talk about which competitors were the best looking.

When I asked about it, everybody shrugged, saying that the fighting was way too fast for them to see individual techniques. Right. I forgot about that.

And then, the bell for classes to begin again inevitably rang.

When the school day ended, I was pulled along with the rest of my group. You see, most of them are members of the student council, due to their popularity. Haven is the student council’s very own president. Ussen’s the secretary, and Kormic is head of the disciplinary committee. The crafts committee is headed by Godard, and Sabrina runs the athletic clubs.

I’m not a member though. It would be more fitting to call me the mascot, or the pet, due to the way I’m treated. I’m constantly being handed food, and being patted on the head as other pass by. It’s like I’m a good luck charm or something.

Nobody in the student council seems to mind my presence, regardless of if they know me well or not. In fact, some of the freshman who joined as class reps last year spoke out against my presence, after finding out that I wasn’t a member. They were mercilessly scolded by their seniors, and nearly started crying. This secured my informal position as student council mascot, and made it so that I would be actively searched for if I didn’t show up. I’m serious. One time, I went home because I felt the whole thing to be a bother, and was hunted down the day after and given some pretty scary ultimatums. That experience made me seriously glad that nobody knew where my apartment was located, otherwise they would have gone straight there.

Though, with the power that group holds, they could easily find out. It’s good then that they’re nice people. Mostly… I think?

During the meeting itself, I sat near Haven, and munched down on the obligatory snacks provided by some nice volunteer. That was one of the things that we had come to an ‘agreement’ on—that there would always be food.

And, other than that, the meeting itself was fairly boring. The school year had just started, so there wasn’t much worth talking about in the first place. Some sporting events later in the year were mentioned, but the main topic were things like getting the classes to hand in various forms, organizing for fundraisers, and overseeing the creation of new school clubs. I felt slightly useless here, but had I said that, people would pipe up and say that I was ‘spiritual support’ for them. Again, it’s happened before. But boy, do I wish that these things ended sooner. Or, that they were at least a little interesting.

Oh well—At least this sort of thing reminds me that my life is normal for now. I don’t have to worry about anything too big, and everything’s under my control.

I still have a year.

I flopped down on my couch, exhausted. While I wasn’t required to do work for the student council, just sitting there and listening to them left me reeling. It was quite a bit like politics, since the littlest of things would be discussed at great length before being dismissed, or implemented. The former is much more common than the later, by the way.

Politics, and democracy have always seemed slightly pointless to me. People are inherently discordant, and very rarely can you get a large number of them to agree on the same thing. That’s why democracy, in the form it had when Earth still contained the whole human population, failed. Nowadays, each mega-city has a democratic council to govern the city and it’s policies. However, these councils answer to the city governor, in the end. He or she can replace them with impunity, and controls the inflow of cash and goods from other parts of the galaxy. How the governor is chosen is a mystery to most people, though I think it has something to do with the High-Families. They do, after all, have the most power. The only thing that can oppose a High-Family, is another High-Family.

That might seem wrong to some people, since humanity has somewhat reverted back to an autocratic society. However, we all learned the history of Earth, and what ‘Democracy’ did to it with ever-growing corruption and stagnation. At least we can have change when there’s someone at the top of the totem pole, giving decisive orders.

Besides, it’s not like the High-Families are all-powerful.

Very few people know that the High-families we have now are not exactly the ones that we started out with. There have been cases where an entire family falls, and a new one rises up in its place. Only the strongest survive, or something like that.

And while you could argue that some of the High-Families conduct themselves unethically, they are mostly balanced out by the Families filled with humility and righteousness. Yes, those sorts of Families exist as well.

And, the worst of the High-Families have been having troubles in the past few years, so they haven’t been able to do that much damage to others.