‘Why does this guy keep staring at me…?’ Elyas thought as he tried to avoid the teacher's eyes. Before the class had the chance to turn quiet, or for any of the two men to confront each other, the bell rang.

  RING! RING! RING!

  ‘To think we still use bells…’

  “Class is dismissed.” Said the teacher as he hurriedly walked out of the door, seemingly happier to be done with class than the students. ‘Michael had to go through all that…If alive.’ The thought of his son destroying his body and going through centuries of struggle, did not sit right with him.

  But that only made his resolve stronger. He had to understand this world. He had to survive it. But before that, he needed to understand himself. ‘Alright, I got a few answers, let's do this again.’ As Elyas was thinking, and got ready to leave, someone marched in.

  Barely fitting through the doorway was a man with braids and tanned skin. His muscles and most of his robust body was exposed from under his tight grey robe. His choice of attire reminded one of a monk. Unlike the real thing, his robe was embroidered with golden lines, tightly grabbing onto him showing the giant's stature even through thick cloth.

  He spoke without giving anyone time to process his sudden appearance. “You have physical training next.” He paused, thinking before he spoke again “Don't run away.” Then, as abruptly as he entered, the giant left.

  The entire class was dumbfounded.

  “Who was that guy?”

  “He's scary…”

  “I think he's the trainer.”

  “Oh really? How did you come up with that genius?”

  Elyas put his escape plan on hold, listening to the chitchat of his classmates. It was then that he felt it again. A stare. It was Cid.

  ‘...This kid again. Do I have something on my face? Everyone keeps staring at me today.’

  ‘Doesn't matter’

  Elyas got up and left class. After he had left did his classmates realize that they missed the opportunity to talk with a Legacy.

  …

  Hiding in the bathroom from his classmates, Elyas was going over what he had learnt so far by writing it down in his yellow calendar.

  “I heard from a conversation that D.E.B stands for Dreamers Education Bureau. Also I think I finally understand why I get a headache that feels like heartbeat whenever I use my powers… it's actually my heart. Beating and pumping Will into my head.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “But how do I negate it? That weird teacher mentioned something about Artifacts. Guess I figured out what I'm going to ask next time.”

  Elyas was happy with his results so far. He managed to answer one of his questions while also learning more about Dreamers. He put away the makeshift notebook. “Well, I think they should be done looking for me.” Elyas said as he opened the stall’s door, stepping into the hallway.

  RING! RING! RING!

  ‘A bit faster than expected…but not having to hide from those little demons anymore is welcomed nonetheless.’ As Elyas walked towards his class, he considered wasting time to avoid the inevitable barrage of questions from the children. But when he saw his destination, he froze. The robust man was standing near the door.

  The giant looked down at Elyas. “Follow me.”

  Elyas, confronted with the menacing tall man, kept quiet and followed. They walked down the long hallway. Sunlight peeked from the window to assault them, the cold wind banged against the glass, trying to do the same. “It's not everyday that we get a Legacy as a student.” Said the man, his back facing Elyas as they walked.

  He added: “What brings an associate of the Protocol to our humble D.E.B?” The interrogative tone of the imposing man was not lost on Elyas. He considered his words carefully before answering.

  “To be honest with you, I don't even know what I'm supposed to even learn here and to clarify, I'm not part of the Protocol either, my friend who helped me enroll is.” The trainer abruptly stopped, turning back towards Elyas. “...Do you think I'm stupid?” he said, Elyas expecting his answer, calmly replied:

  “No. Because I'm telling the truth. I was trapped somewhere for four hundred years. My friend from the Protocol saved me and is currently helping me integrate back into society.” The giant paused, looking at Elyas with doubt. Then he turned back and resumed walking.

  Elyas did not worry one bit about the trainer, he was a teacher, and Elyas was currently a student. Creating unnecessary trouble for himself and risking his reputation as a teacher just because a student isn't average is something only idiots do.

  On top of that, Elyas had figured out that a conversation like this was inevitable, so he had prepared the best answer.

  ‘Sometimes it's better to just come clean. I don't have any reason to hide the truth anyways, so I'm not going to.’ That was mostly true. But he has a few dangerous secrets as well, like his second Wish which If revealed, would not lead to any good.

  After a bit of walking, they reached a set of stairs, leading down to the basement. ‘An underground class room?’ Elyas, although surprised, followed his teacher closely behind.

  After thirty or so steps, they reached the basement's first floor. Elyas's eyes widened as he saw the view.

  Walls several metres high made of cement. cubic pillars of the same material, with a few sawed off bits of rebar visible in them supported the massive room. Fluorescent lights illuminated bits and pieces, but most of it was still engulfed in shadows. What Elyas was looking at was…

  A parking lot.

  “Welcome to the training grounds.”

  The teacher said, seeing Elyas's shocked state, he sneered and added: “It's impressive, right? As much as I would like it to be, it's not ours. It's owned by the Protocol… So don't break anything.”

  “No worries…” Elyas said, still entranced by the familiar setting.

  ‘To think I would be this happy to see a parking lot.’ He chuckled inwardly and followed the trainer. Soon, they were in front of a group of kids. They all wore weird outfits. Some resembled gym clothes. Others black shirts and pants that looked too comfortable for training.

  Others were a mix between robes, something vaguely resembling a suit made of hide, and the rest hadn't changed, much like Elyas. There was one thing common between all of them though. They all had an intricate golden badge pinned to their chest.

  The badge depicted several trees, under them were three droopy circles stretched wide and thin, almost resembling mist. ‘Mistwood…The designer must have felt really clever.’

  The giant cleared his throat. “I'm Julius, your trainer. In this class you'll be learning about the basics of combat. The importance of a ready body and in the following weeks, the basics of Will control.”

  ‘Oh, so this is the guy I shouldn't miss the classes of, noted.’

  “For today we'll be focusing on basic strength training and cardio. Any questions?” Mr. Julius asked, not getting a response, he continued, “If you look to your left, you'll see a few kids running around or sparring. If you don't manage to reach the minimum credits of today's test you'll be joining them.”

  The entire class as well as Elyas turned their heads. All they saw were a few collapsed bodies on the ground and people dragging themselves forward or crawling instead of running. ‘Is this legal?… Now that I'm thinking about it, it's a test for children, so an adult or even teenager should pass easily, isn't this a little unfair?’

  As Elyas thought, trainer Julius spoke once more. “Everyone get ready, the test will start in five minutes.” He said as he walked up to the half-conscious students, carrying them away and clearing the testing ground. Five minutes passed in a flash.

  In the same ground where several students lay flat minutes ago, now new lines of five had formed. In the first line, a skinny man wearing a brown vest atop a grey shirt could be seen among the children.

  Elyas was waiting for the call, just like the rest of the first five. Trainer Julius was standing next to them, leaning against a pillar. His hand was raised. In a flash, he cut the air and shouted.

  “Go!”