A familiar face was standing by the elevator bay waiting for it: it was the blonde young man wearing a jacket and a white shirt with black pants whom he had seen running out of the elevator just this morning.
Raven stood by the elevator bay waiting for it. The young man noticed him and said, "Hello, friend. My name is Jayce."
"Hey, I'm Raven," he replied.
Jayce asked, "I noticed you were sitting with Lady Iris. Do you know her?"
"Lady Iris, huh… so her family is famous," he thought, replying casually to confirm his suspicion. "Not really, and why do you call her Lady Iris?"
Jayce gave him a look of "have you been living under a rock" and said, "You don't know?"
"What should I know?" he replied, a bit confused.
The elevator doors hissed open. Raven and Jayce stepped inside the elevator.
"Lady Iris is from an elite family called the Abrahams; that's why nobody approaches her."
"As expected, her family is famous, but why does nobody approach her because of her family?" he thought.
Jayce pressed the 3F button on the panel. Raven replied, "That's weird. Does the Abraham Family have a bad reputation?"
Jayce shook his head quickly. "No, no, nothing like that. The Abrahams are one of the founding families of the Orbit Academy, and they're incredibly respected. But that's exactly the problem."
"So she's too important," Raven summarized, understanding the social dynamic instantly.
"Exactly!" Jayce confirmed, nodding emphatically. "She's considered a powerhouse. Everyone is intimidated. They're afraid to bother her, afraid to accidentally offend her, or look foolish by comparison. She's essentially surrounded by a wall of respect and fear."
"These people are weird," he thought. "Back on Earth, someone like Iris would have her own fan club. Here, they act like she's radioactive."
The elevator stopped with a chime. The doors opened to a brightly lit, sterile hallway. Jayce stepped out first.
"It seems you didn't get the memo, though," Jayce commented with a smirk, turning to Raven as he followed him out.
"I don't really care about such stuff," he replied, dismissing the comment as he headed toward his class.
Jayce, still walking beside him, asked, "What course did you choose, if you don't mind me asking?"
Raven replied, "Planet survival, and I've been told I could go in other classes if I want to, as well."
Jayce smiled. "That's good, then see you later, Raven."
"I would rather not," he thought as he said, "Okay."
Raven watched Jayce turn into one of the doorways down the hall. As he took out his map from his pocket, his class was located a bit further down the hall.
As he arrived at the door with a 'Planet Survival' plate on it, he noticed two students standing in front of the door looking confused. The girl with blonde hair and blue eyes was wearing a black turtleneck shirt with black pants. The young man with black hair beside her was wearing a brown coat with a grey shirt and black jeans.
"I wonder why they are not heading in," he thought.
The young man noticed him and asked, "Hello, friend. Do you know why the door is locked?"
"Door is locked. Is the class cancelled?" Raven thought as he replied, "No. Did you contact the staff?"
The blonde girl replied, "They don't know."
The black-haired young man looked at Raven with his grey eyes and said, "Well, since we're waiting, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Mark."
"Is this a Japanese anime or something? Why does everyone have different coloured eyes and hair?" he thought as he replied, "Raven.""
"I'm Henna. It's nice to meet you two," the blonde girl said—just as a soft ding sounded from Raven's pocket.
Raven pulled out his communicator; to his surprise, Henna and Mark did the same. There was a notification from the academy. He tapped on the message app and saw the notice.
**The Planet/Xeno Survival class has been cancelled today. It will start from tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.**
"Well, I got some free time since the class is cancelled. I should figure out my limitations," he thought.
Mark asked, "Any of you want to join me for breakfast since the class is cancelled?"
Raven replied, "I already had breakfast. I'm gonna check out the private training rooms."
Henna replied, "Me too."
Mark looked briefly disappointed but smiled. "See you later, then."
After bidding farewell, Raven headed for the elevator bay. As he walked, another ding came from his communicator.
"I should put it on vibrate," he thought as he pulled it out.
Tapping on the message app, he saw a message from the staff.
Wandering Blasphemer, your academy-provided artifacts will be ready by tomorrow. If you want any customizations done, please visit the Artisan's Office on the 1st Floor.
Artifacts you will receive:
— Xeno-Clothing Artifact
— Weapon Artifact
— Anti-Corruption Artifact
"Heh. The academy really knows how to spoil a guy," he thought, grinning as he switched his communicator to vibrate. "Three artifacts right off the bat… not bad."
Then he noticed something odd. Instead of calling him Stargazer Raven, the academy had used his title.
Wandering Blasphemer.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, that's… comforting."
*****
Raven was in the private training room's bathroom, changing into a sleek gray tracksuit.
"The academy doesn't play around," he thought, tightening the sleeve straps. "They give me a luxury private training room just for revealing my title."
He stepped out of the bathroom and took in the space.
The room was at least twice the size of his dorm, lined with armor-plated walls that gleamed faintly under soft overhead lighting. The air smelled faintly of metal and sterilized polish.
On the right side, a rack of blunted weapons—swords, spears, and javelins—waited neatly arranged. The left corner had a meditation area: soft flooring, white candles set in a neat semicircle, and a small console that projected ambient sound options.
"Training rooms with a spa package," he muttered. "They really want me to stay alive."
He walked to the center of the room and stretched, the movement fluid and natural in the fitted tracksuit.
"Let's see what I'm working with."
Raven took a steady breath, feeling the artificial air on his skin. His heart rate was calm. He opened his eyes and looked at a sword on the right side. The air shimmered around his hand; then, in an instant, the sword appeared in his grip.
"First, I'll check if position lock has a duration or not," he thought.
He concentrated on the sword in his hand, focusing on its position in space. Then, after a second, he let go of the sword. The sword didn't fall. It hovered, frozen in midair—perfectly still.
Raven felt that his Neula Essence was being consumed. He felt that he could keep the position of the sword locked for five to eight minutes if he wanted to, but he stopped his ability. The sword clattered harmlessly to the floor.
"Locking the position of the target or teleporting it costs Neula Essence," he thought. "As long as I have Neula Essence in my core, I can use it as much as I want."
He muttered, "But that also means running out mid-fight would be… inconvenient."
Pulling out his communicator, he tapped on the stopwatch app.
"Time to figure out the duration of [Blitz]."