Cloud stared at the card with unmasked, unfiltered horror. His eyes twitched incessantly, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as though his mind had gone completely blank. A timer was embedded into the card, clearly indicating a mandatory curfew for every student from 6 p.m. until 10 a.m. the following morning.
To someone who relished night walks — did he? — this felt like a suffocating restriction on whatever plans he had for the evening. Besides, the duration was absurdly long.
'…This isn't alright at all. Fuck. I really wanted to check out the Gaming House they said was inside the Academy. If that's not possible, then I'll just have to concentrate on figuring out how to tame that damned dragon,' he thought, trailing behind the staff member who guided him toward an elevator.
The two of them entered alone. The staff tapped the sixth floor on the digital panel. Cloud did not feel the elevator move at all, yet within three seconds, the doors slid open.
He was bewildered.
'Did we teleport?'
The taciturn staff member looked at him but did not step out.
"Your room is at the end of the corridor. Enjoy your stay, and adhere to the regulations while awaiting Test Day. All additional information will be provided in due course. For now, welcome to Great Awakened Academy," he recited in a rehearsed tone before allowing the young man to exit.
Cloud offered a strained smile.
"Thank you. But wait, what about… um… food?"
As the elevator doors began to close, the staff replied with casual indifference:
"Everything else you need to know will be provided to you."
Those were his final words before the doors sealed shut, leaving Cloud alone in the elongated corridor.
He paused to survey his surroundings. There were only four doors. Above each one glowed a green light, except for a single door marked with the number 88. That one emitted a red glow. He immediately inferred that the other rooms were already occupied, leaving his as the last vacant space.
Just as the staff member had stated, his room was at the very end of the corridor. He approached it and examined the door carefully. A small sensor was embedded beside the handle, bearing an insignia identical to his tag.
Cloud glanced at the tag in his hand and muttered under his breath:
"So I'm supposed to place this on it, then."
Following his instincts, he pressed the tag against the sensor. The red light shifted to green, and the door slid open.
Without sparing another thought, he stepped inside.
What greeted him made his bag slip from his grasp.
The sheer luxury and scale of the space felt unreal. Calling it a room would have been a gross understatement. It was an entire flat.
The entrance opened directly into a spacious parlour. The far wall was constructed entirely of reinforced glass, offering a clear view of the academy grounds beyond. Yet it was no ordinary glass. Mounted neatly beside the entrance was a compact control panel. With it, the transparency of the wall could be adjusted at will. At the moment, a subtle tint dimmed the surface, muting the sunlight while still preserving the view outside.
The polished floor reflected a gentle sheen beneath the ceiling lights. There was no television in sight. Instead, one entire wall was lined with built in bookshelves, currently empty and waiting to be filled. A long couch faced the glass wall, and at the center of the marble flooring was the Academy's emblem.
To the left stood a wooden door, slightly ajar, revealing the bedroom. Adjacent to it was another door that unmistakably led to the bathroom.
Cloud ignored the parlour and headed straight into the bedroom without a word.
A queen sized bed occupied the center of the room, positioned against the far wall. It was dressed in crisp white sheets, with a neatly folded blanket resting at its foot. Near the glass wall stood a study desk paired with a comfortable chair. A single book lay atop the desk, but he paid it no attention. The same adjustable glass design extended into this room as well, currently dimmed to soften the incoming light.
A modest bedside cabinet stood beside the bed, while a tall wardrobe was seamlessly built into the opposite wall.
Cloud walked to the wardrobe and pulled it open.
Inside hung seven neatly arranged tracksuits, each in a different color: black, blue, red, grey, green, white, and deep purple. On the bottom shelf rested a single pair of pristine white shoes.
He surveyed the room once again, struggling to process the reality before him. This was merely temporary accommodation.
If this was temporary, what did the main hostels look like?
He could not even begin to imagine it.
Cloud beamed.
'I feel rich all of a sudden.'
Only then did he glance down at himself. He truly needed a proper bath, as he had left his wretched area that morning with nothing more than a splash of water across his face. Now, faint traces of sweat clung to his skin.
He exhaled quietly and removed his clothes without hesitation, letting them fall near the wardrobe before turning toward the bathroom. His body was marred with numerous burn marks from his brief battle with Ignivar, along with several other wounds.
Over the span of a week, the young peasant had not missed a single day visiting the Devouring Crown in hopes of taming it one day. Of course, he had never expected Ignivar to be the dragon he would become so determined to tame, or even confront head on with confidence. However, his fear had shifted significantly after the forced visit. He had come to realize that the Draconic God of Fire and Conquest was realistically all he could manage at the moment, thanks to Conqueror's Rule activating whenever he entered to face the red lizard.
Armed with the new skill granted by it, Cloud had believed he might stand a chance by using Devouring Combustion to absorb the dragon's fiery breath and return a combustion of flames in retaliation. Yet, due to his limited understanding of the skill and its low level, despite its considerable power, he failed to inflict any meaningful damage or execute the maneuver properly. His lack of battle instinct and refined skill further disadvantaged him in every confrontation. Even so, he refused to yield, instead treating each battle as an opportunity to gain experience and deepen his understanding of the ability. Now, he possessed slightly more knowledge of it than he had at the beginning.
Over time, the Draconic God had grown accustomed to his repeated visits and ramblings before being defeated, vanishing, and inevitably returning again. At one point, it even ceased using any attack other than its dragon breath. Cloud, in turn, had gradually learned to endure the pain and scars inflicted upon him each day. The wounds from yesterday's battle still burned and itched intermittently.
Cloud scowled.
"Tsk."
The bathroom door slid open smoothly.
The interior was as refined as the rest of the flat. The floors and walls were lined with stone tiles. A large mirror stretched above a wide sink basin mounted on a floating counter. Soft lighting framed the mirror's edges. To the right stood a glass enclosed shower area fitted with a rainfall showerhead mounted to the ceiling and an adjustable hand shower affixed to the wall.
Clean white towels were neatly folded on a nearby rack. Cloud found himself quietly enthralled by the sight. It was the first time in his life he had ever been in a place like this or held such a position. The feeling was unfamiliar. Strangely enough, he felt both lonely and content at once.
His expression turned solemn as he stepped into the shower and relied on intuition to operate it. In the end, it required only common sense.
"Everything seems… different, I guess," Cloud mused.
Droplets of water fell onto his white hair, gradually intensifying into a steady cascade like rainfall, soothing his searing burns and granting him a fleeting moment of relief as he stood motionless beneath the stream.