Understanding that he couldn't fall asleep, he decided to give it a go to understand his current scenario since everything started from the merge ability.
With a little focus, he found himself in the real dimension, but this time, his face was plain and his eyes were solemn since his trust had faded a little in the merge ability.
Merge Ability [Level: 1]:
Ability: Origin Fire
Points: 0
Time ratio: 2:1 [2 hours in the real world to 1 hour in the real dimension]
"Zero? But that was above 1000..."
Before he could even analyze his situation, he noticed a card hovering before his sight.
"What is this?"
Taking the card, he flipped it, and his eyes widened before bursting into laughter.
"So, that was the reason."
A black-hooded figure with scarlet blood soaking the ground, shackled with irons imprinted on the card, and information resurfaced in his mind as he got in touch with the card.
"Thank God! Everything was my imagination, and it would've been better if I had checked initially."
He swiped his nonexistent sweat on his forehead and sighed at his own foolishness and imagination, but another thing troubled him—what should he do with the card, lest the card have its initiative to control his body and disappear without even leaving the memories?
His stomach churned at the thought of someone controlling his body without even knowing it himself.
"Maybe I'm into some big shit, and merge ability is not explaining anything except introducing scrap minor details..."
Shaking his head, he exited the real dimension and found himself at the previous place, and his eyelids also grew heavy with every passing moment.
"I should fall asleep..."
...
Sam!
Sam!
His groggy eyelids uncovered the sight, and a yawn escaped his mouth.
"What happened?"
"Sam, we reached the hostel."
His eyes snapped open, and he stood up excitedly.
"So early?"
He noticed that everyone was leaving the bus one by one, and Piyush also moved toward the exit, so he moved.
...
"Nobody's belongings left in the bus?"
The teacher gave a big shout, which helped many students regain their vision.
"No, sir."
...
Creak!
Opening the door, Sam threw himself on the bed and fell asleep quickly, muttering under his breath,
"I still have 2 hours before dinner."
....
Stretching his body, he stood up and braced himself before the golden rays coming through the windows.
"How relaxing to have sunlight in the morning."
Knuckling his palms against each other, he thought about the night where he again fell asleep after dinner.
"I never slept so much... Is that card the reason for my..."
Throwing the thought to the back of his mind, he decided to focus on the present and took to the study table.
Recollecting the memories, he fell into deep thought.
"One month passed, leaving me only one more month. And maybe I spread my hands in many places like the training center, VR world, Rune energy training, and I'm noticing that the effect of the whisper in my ear increased twofold after the trip...
Will I be able to endure in the future?
And I've now come to the conclusion that I have no primary objective, just going with the flow..."
His back leaned on the table, hollowed eyes without any objective staring at the ceiling.
"I need to at least have a primary motive, but what should my motive be?"
He gave a bitter smile at his own thoughts.
"A poor orphan, no one to ask for his well-being, lost in his own world, what should be the objective? To earn money—but for whom?
Maybe this is how it feels to be alone and satisfied by basic needs: three meals a day, a proper roof over the head. And what more would be needed?"
Slap!
He tightly slapped himself, and blood clotted on his right cheek, but his eyes seemed moist, tears threatening to fall at any time.
"I thought this world suited me. I could become super-rich, super-powerful, but..." he smiled bitterly at his own poor judgment, his whole body exuding sorrow.
"I realized after the trip that I can't bear to be alone... I want to go home and eat roasted potatoes, half-burnt chapatti... I really can't be so indifferent to..."
His rational mind was stopping the heart that seemed to miss the previous place where he felt a sense of belonging, but his irrational mind was invoking the heart as if some memories resurfaced after being scratched by students.
Drip!
The moist tear fell on the floor, but his face, without any emotion, stared at the ceiling, and one by one, thoughts resurfaced, and his rational mind kept failing to maintain stability.
Thud!
The foot of the table rotated, screeched against the floor, and his head hung down. A hanging tear dropped to the ground, and taking a deep breath, he decided to keep a final promise to himself.
"I'll, I'll find a way, no matter what it takes."
His eyes showed a dangerous glint as if numerous calculations passed through his mind.
"I won't look back until I become an S-rank runic warrior. And whoever comes in my way, I won't see any right or wrong."
His eyes became more ferocious, and a dangerous light overflowed as his head raised slightly, revealing the red crimson cobweb covering the sclera (white part of the eye), and his pupils seemed blended with the whole blue flickering flame, which seemed to struggle against the red crimson cobweb trying to blend into it.
The pure battle going on in his eyes awakened a primal instinct not to follow the righteous path but to fight against it and choose his own path.
Puukee!
His hand covered his mouth, and a bright red hue painted his palm, and a contorted rage, which twisted his lips and face in such a way that it looked creepy, resurfaced for a split second, and only the cold words coughed out with blood came out.
"I'm already being backlashed.
Want to control me and do righteous work?
I was never against it, but now I'll never allow my will to be gaslit so much... I'll use you... and find your source and show you what it means to be controlled."