The students were led to an enormous glass building with a round dome structure at the front. Behind it rose a towering structure, its entire exterior crafted from titanium glass. From the outside, they could not see the interior or whatever activities were taking place within.
Cloud felt overwhelmed, constantly struck with awe without being granted a moment to compose himself, no matter how hard he tried.
'Such… ugh, I don't even know what word to use here. Should I say unstable? That seems right. Such unstable beauty!'
The young man wrestled with his thoughts, searching for the right words to describe the scenery.
Soon, Kelly and Ellen proceeded to lead the hundreds of students into the building. They followed the two women like a flock of sheep. The interior of the front dome turned out to be a vast lobby furnished with plush, expensive seating. Fresh snacks, replenished daily, were arranged neatly on tables before each seat. It was evident that the Academy possessed an abundance of funding.
However, that did not matter to a shameless being like Cloud when faced with food while starving. He struggled to maintain his composure, but his eyes repeatedly drifted toward the snacks with undisguised hunger.
"Please, students, take your seats wherever you wish and enjoy the snacks while we process your temporary hostel tags and distribute them shortly," Kelly announced in a low but clear tone.
Because of this, the students at the back and center had no choice but to follow the movements of those in front, realizing they had been instructed to take their seats among the plentiful chairs. Some of these were even double couches facing each other with a table in the middle. The arrangement was scattered but sufficient to accommodate all the students.
Cloud's eyes sharpened with a menacing glint as they landed on one particular couch, where the table held more snacks than any of the others in his view.
'Oh my Gods. Get the fuck out of the way. I'm taking that plump pillow!'
He shoved aside the students walking too slowly in front of him. Still, he did not run. One thing he had to ensure was that he didn't invite even more disgusted looks toward himself. His "high-class beggar" reputation was already enough; adding another negative impression would not help. At least he was smart enough to reason that, when faced with food after starving all night and into the morning, caution was still necessary.
The young man reached the couch without anyone seated nearby. His gaze immediately fell on the array of snacks as he gently dropped his useless documents and bag beside him.
Two students approached the seating area — a male and a female — and quietly sat across from him without giving him so much as a glance.
To be precise, they didn't even cast a disgusted look his way. They simply ignored him and barely spoke to each other.
He briefly observed them while they remained distracted and straightened himself just as he was about to dive greedily into the snacks.
Cloud grimaced.
The two were clearly from wealthy families, and he hated that they had chosen to sit in his area. Of course, to preserve at least a shred of dignity in front of people like this and avoid being looked down on, he had to at least pretend to maintain some semblance of decorum.
He cleared his throat quietly, folded his legs, and nonchalantly stretched his hands forward to pick up a wrapped chocolate cookie. Peeling off the wrapper, he forced himself to chew slowly, though it was so good it felt as if he were resisting a demon's urge to go completely berserk.
'Fuck it!'
In the end, Cloud abandoned any pretense of composure.
Why bother pretending in front of pampered brats?
He was a proud peasant!
The young man grabbed more cookie wrappers and devoured them in his unruly way, drawing stares from nearby students. The sound of him tearing open the wrappers and munching loudly caught attention, even if only briefly.
His cheeks flushed as his stomach finally felt some relief after the long starvation.
'…This is really good.'
While stuffing his face, he did not initially notice that the boy across from him was staring with a dazed expression, while the girl seemed entirely uninterested. Cloud eventually felt the intensity of the gaze and raised his eyes from the food to see who was staring so intently.
Their eyes met. One was blank, stuffed with food, while the other looked dazed, flicking between the food and Cloud with questioning curiosity. The table was nearly cleared of all the plentiful snacks just as he was about to decide whether to grab another bite.
Cloud blinked a couple of times while staring back and chewing.
'What's wrong with this weirdo? Does he want to eat too?'
The boy, whom Cloud was only just beginning to notice was also handsome, with a sculpted face, curly black hair, and golden eyes, quietly swallowed and grabbed a bottle of water, opening it quickly and drinking it in one go.
Then he stared at Cloud again, who had already sneered and returned his attention to the snacks. After a brief pause, the boy spoke in a gentle, deep tone:
"You should take the snacks slowly. Don't choke yourself, and drink a bottle of water as well. Alright?"
He picked up his own bottle of water, downed it, and quickly glanced away in another direction.
Cloud frowned.
'Okay, now what the fuck is the pretty rich boy's problem? Ugh. Whatever. I can't even… Oh yeah, I should probably drink water too. That's my decision, of course.' He thought, shoving the twenty-fifth cookie down his throat before grabbing a bottle of water from the three remaining on the table and gulping it down with a satisfied look.
For a split second, he caught the pretty boy smiling before he quickly composed himself.
Cloud's face twisted in disgust.
'Weirdo. Pretty guys are actually weird, except me, of course.'
If there was one thing Cloud valued, it was never looking down on himself. He preferred to feed his mind with thoughts of higher positions and superiority to compensate for what he lacked. Regarding handsomeness, he had it, though it was largely hidden by malnourishment and his unblemished skin.
Just as he was about to start stuffing his face again, Ellen and several other academy staff in the lobby began distributing hostel tags with room numbers and assisting students with their luggage. They were then led toward a double door that opened into the tall building behind.
It wasn't long before Cloud was handed a tag with a card attached. It displayed his room number, 88, and indicated that the room's capacity was for a single occupant — meaning he would have the space all to himself.
Inwardly, Cloud was overjoyed. He wouldn't have a roommate.
For someone with literal tendencies toward social isolation, this was the best possible outcome.
The staff member who had handed him the card gestured for him to move along as he was led toward the door.
Cloud managed to grab three cookies and the bottle of water to take with him.
The handsome young man across from him was soon given his own card and trailed behind, led by another staff member along with the girl who had quietly sat with him.
The boy kept his gaze fixed on Cloud, as if trying to recall something.
"White hair? Malnourished? I think I've seen him somewhere… but where… Yes, yes. The Awakening Ceremony. The one who awakened a Unique ability, the first in history… Ah. I met him up close. Geez," he muttered to himself with a smug grin.
Meanwhile, Cloud kept staring at his card, clutching his bag tightly.
His eyes suddenly widened as he finally read and understood a particular sentence he had been struggling with for the past three minutes.
'What the fuck is this…?'