"System..."
°•○●
*Name: Orion
Essence Points: Locked
Stat Points: 0 (New)
-Strength: 6
-Perception: 6
-Endurance: 6
-Charisma: 7
-Intelligence: 7
-Agility: 6
-Luck: Locked
There wasn't anything new, but the important part was here at the bottom. Apart from the stats, there was a sub-window where notifications were added.
There were too many messages about his deaths and other things related to the "cheat your death" function.
Orion remembered seeing a few messages when he realized he had been reborn on the battlefield for the first time. He read the message that said "good luck in your new life" carefully for the first time and smiled faintly.
"Thank you." He spoke without knowing who he was speaking to. If someone heard him, he wanted to show his gratitude.
He continued searching through everything about the system and mumbled to himself about random things. Then he grabbed a big pillow behind him, which he guessed was made of fancy feathers.
After that he rested his head on the cold pillow and drifted into thought while staring at the ceiling above the huge bed.
"The day before I came here... Why can I remember nothing about how it happened?"
..
Orion woke up after a few hours of sleep and felt much better. Sweat covered him slightly because of the thick school clothes. Still, being in an attic with excellent heating brought a strange sense of satisfaction.
"I am starving," he spoke quietly.
Orion had no idea when sleep took him, but his body clearly needed it. He rolled around the bed for a while and stood up. The room stayed almost dark except for the light coming from outside. The sight reminded him of the two moons and made him uneasy.
Waking up in an unfamiliar dark place scared Orion more than dying to goblin fireballs. At least monster attacks stayed visible. Dying more than a hundred times helped him overcome most fears. Darkness and silence carried something he could never shake off.
Orion searched for a light switch for a full minute until he found a chain beneath a giant wall lamp on the opposite wall. He pulled it, and a yellow light filled the room. He explored further and found other light sources. Lamps lined the walls, but none hung from the ceiling.
The pipes and mechanisms behind them suggested a central gas system. He cared little about logic at that moment.
Once his heartbeat slowed, he searched for the toilet and turned on every light along the way.
He found a bathroom the size of an average house on Earth and immediately checked the cabinets filled with bathrobes, towels, and scented soaps. He took one of each and glanced at the enormous bathtub with a crooked smile.
"Nah. My heart cannot handle bathing in a tub. I am not ready for that kind of experience yet." With no one around, he joked to himself and smiled.
Apart from movies, he had no idea how bathing in a tub worked. He shook his head and pushed the thought aside. The idea of a shower began as a joke. He came only to use the toilet. While peeing, his mind wandered as he examined the extravagant bathroom.
A minute later, the thought of a shower seemed more appealing. Warm water would soothe the nerves.
He stepped into a simple shower space beside the giant tub. Water flowed from a pipe in the wall. He would expect plastic walls or at least some cheap curtains to block splashes.
Here, the place directed water at a precise angle and kept everything else dry. It was an astonishing discovery. After adjusting a strange wall panel and burning himself a few times, warm water finally flowed.
He washed under the strong stream for almost half an hour. He touched abs he never had before and the firm muscles on his arms. At one point, erotic thoughts crossed his mind, but the mood never arrived.
Orion left the bathroom in a robe and explored the dormitory. He passed a room where clothes were washed with a magical device and checked the dining hall. His mouth stayed open at the sight of silver cutlery.
"Aren't these supposed to stay in cabinets?"
Then checked the giant kitchen with professional equipment and returned to the bedroom. The open-plan bedroom and living area, combined with the massive balcony, radiated luxury.
The night view revealed the entire campus through wall-length windows. He put on his daily clothes and left the school robe aside, then admired the scenery.
Orion stayed on the balcony for ten more minutes. When dawn appeared, he realized sleep carried him from night to morning without pause.
He went to the kitchen and looked around briefly, but the dining hall felt like the smartest choice for breakfast. He took the files given by the dorm butler Selavi.
Before reading the papers, he prepared a comfortable balcony couch with pillows where he could lie down. When he crossed his legs, he remembered that he was probably in the safest environment and the most luxurious home a human could live in within the human domain.
Before reading the papers Samuel gave him yesterday, he thought being S-1 was only an advantage. Now he had doubts about whether a more average ranking might have been better.
Everyone would expect perfection from him, even a monster. If other S-class students scored full marks at something, he would be expected to break their scoreboards.
He was expected to destroy dungeons, hunt creatures, and provide military support at certain times to defend human living areas, just like all combat students studying at this school and other magic academies.
At the exact moment he thought everything would be calm and fun, realizing that he lived in a world where humans were seen as food by all other creatures felt disturbing.
He frowned, stopped watching the scenery outside, and started reading the file in front of him.
The first page had a woman's face in a front-facing picture, followed by her personal information and history written below.
Name: Kalista Wynne
Orion flipped past the next nine men and saw that there were ten candidates in the entire file. Since the only woman was at the very beginning, he turned back to her profile. As a healthy male and a man of culture, of course he was going to choose the female one.
Name: Kalista Wynne
Power Level: Lloyd (5th Stage) - Warlord (Warrior Path)
Date of Birth: 5 Solflare, Year 850 (Age 30) (Midka Graduate)
The Power Level section for the other nine male NPCs read something like Bearer (Fourth Stage). Kalista was obviously stronger on paper. Her placement at the very front made that clear.
Orion had no clue what Lloyd meant but still looked a little longer at the woman's cold, intense photo. Beneath her picture's evident beauty and tough stare, there were other absurd details.
For example, the "Psychology" section only had a word: "Introverted."
Psychology: Introverted?
Why the question mark? Are they unsure, or is there some kind of joke? Seriously, is someone messing with me?
All of the other nine men's psychology sections had more detailed and proper explanations. Even the shortest one described the candidates with at least five sentences.
The second strangeness was the odd information about her that was absent from the men's files.
Favorite Color: Golden Yellow (Favorite underwear color: white)
Favorite Animal: Flame Squirrel (A monster squirrel species living in the Southern Azel Forests)
Favorite Food: Kebab
Seriously, who gives a sh*t about this? Maybe the first one a little, but...
Race: Pure Human
Appearance: Golden brown skin, long reddish-brown hair, tattooed shoulders, and a muscular abdomen. Her body is muscular, dynamic, and athletic. (110 - 60 - 95)
Specialty: Aura Mastery, Body Enhancement, Elemental Dance
There was other information, but Orion skipped the terms he did not know and checked only what he could understand.
Within only five minutes, he chose the person who would become his protector and realized that he could no longer endure the growling of his stomach.
Orion left the dorm room and walked down the stairs. Once he descended from his own attic, everything below felt exactly like a usual dormitory. Found the dining hall on the same floor as the lobby and entered inside under watchful gazes. He copied a girl's movements, sat at a table, and waited for service.
A cheerful woman approached and saluted him with professional grace.
"Hello Mr. Vale. My name is Leile. The Royal Dorm assigned me to assist you personally. It is a pleasure to meet you." She spoke with a small, practiced smile.
Orion looked up at the stunning woman and replied with a confident smile. "Nice to meet you, Leile." He never used formal titles in his life, so he addressed her by name alone. He also wondered about aristocratic customs in this world called Midka.
"From now on, I will personally take care of your meals." She spoke as if it meant nothing, though Orion sensed more behind it.
Leile spoke with the ease of someone who had worked for decades. Orion hesitated to respond out of embarrassment. No one ever addressed him this way before.
Her voice sounded mature and her clothes suggested experience, yet she looked around twenty-five.
She speaks as if I am royalty. The feeling was new and addictive.
"May I bring orange juice? It will whet your appetite while breakfast is prepared, Mr. Vale."
"Sure."
Orion nodded along with everything. When the waitress walked away, he noticed every eye in the hall watching him.
The dining hall lacked crowds and belonged only to S-class dorm residents. Others also received service at their tables.
But unlike his situation, the staff attending other tables looked older and managed entire sections. No one else received personal service like him.
Does ranking first truly change everything this much?
When the orange juice and a plate of sweets arrived, a small paper with a number rested at the edge. Orion guessed it was a phone number.
Leile adjusted her cute work outfit slightly. When Orion noticed her gaze lingering on his neck and chest, she leaned closer. With eyes far from innocent, she whispered, "If there is anything you desire but hesitate to say in the dining hall, you may call me anytime Mr. Vale. Regardless of the hour."
Orion stared in disbelief as the voluptuous waitress winked. He finally tasted what powerful and attractive men felt on an ordinary day.
Is this really happening, or am I dreaming?