A month quickly passed, and Elizabeth arrived at NQSC. The trip had been uneventful, and nothing much had happened. Other than the time, she turned into the body of a two-year-old. Despite her age regressing, she remained as strong as when she was in her normal form, so if she really did end up turning into a baby, she knew that she would be able to walk, increasing her chances of survival even more.
Another thing she had noticed was that the attribute [Siren of the Sea] only seemed to affect mundane humans more than awakened people. Not that they did not stare at her, but they seemed to do it for less time than others did. So to avoid their gaze, she spent most of the time locked in her designated room. Luckily, she did not have to share it with anyone else, so she spent her time reading webtoons and watching a few dramas.
She had not neglected training either. There was a training center aboard the ship, although the use of Aspect abilities was strictly forbidden for obvious reasons, but at least she was not bored out of her mind.
She had expected her ship to at least get attacked a few times by terrifying Nightmare Creatures, but none of that happened. She had noticed a few groups of Awakened discussing how strange it was. Normally, a ship got attacked once or twice during its journey, yet hers had sailed smoothly across the ocean, and they managed to arrive at NQSC a day earlier than expected.
NQSC was grand and truly fit the title of being the headquarters of humanity. It was her first time being there, and she could not help but admire the view. What she really liked about NQSC was the temperature. Although it was in its early stages of winter season, the temperature was still warmer than anywhere in Antarctica.
'Falcon Scott has a lot to improve on…'
Currently, Elizabeth was being escorted to the Academy by a member of the House of Night.
'It really was a great idea to get sponsored. Is this how Legacies live their lives?'
Although she herself could be said to have lived a life of luxury compared to others, it was nowhere near as luxurious as some people she knew, especially legacies.
"We have arrived."
She was snapped out of her thoughts and looked outside, where she saw a massive red gate. She thanked the driver and stepped out of the PTV.
'…Wow, they really do have an entire city for an Academy.'
In Antarctica, their Academy was simply the size of a neighborhood, but NQSC seemed to go far beyond that. But then again, it was the first and best Academy for Awakened out there.
She inspected her surroundings and noticed she was not the only one there. Standing a few meters away was another person, and seeing how he was staring at the Academy gate and was in a police issued tracksuit, she assumed he was a Sleeper as well.
He was short and looked malnourished. His pale skin looked unhealthy, and he had messy black hair. He seemed to be around her age as well.
Next to him was a tall, slender girl around her age too. She had clear grey eyes and a detached look on her face. She had silver white hair that was cut short and neatly parted to the side, wearing a police tracksuit as well. Her presence seemed very detached and distant, as if her mind was elsewhere.
The short guy seemed to stare at her for a moment, and their eyes met. His dark eyes looked unfocused, and he had a strange expression for a moment before he shook his head.
Elizabeth sighed and pulled her hoodie over her head. It was late afternoon, and due to her returning to her normal size, the hoodie did not completely cover her face this time. So she looked away.
Finally, the gates began to open. The giant door slowly started to fall, creating a long bridge. The end of the metal bridge hit the special grooves in the ground and stopped moving after a set of loud clicks.
The three of them crossed it, and at the gate was a man standing guard.
"Sleeper?"
They all nodded, and the man picked up three papers and handed them to them.
"That's the map of the Academy. You will find your department situated in the southern part of the Academy. I wish you luck on the trial ahead."
They took the map and went their separate ways. Elizabeth really did not want to start a conversation with them, with anyone for that matter. She was and is still socially awkward with strangers and tended to avoid people in general.
"Boo hoo… come on, sis, it's really not that hard. Go ahead, the Academy is the best place to make allies. I met my best friend here."
Her brother said as he appeared next to her.
Elizabeth frowned. "Yeah, I know you told me that many times… I just can't, you know."
Elizabeth was not always this way. Once upon a time, she had been social and had many friends. But since her brother died, and she entered her depression era, her friends slowly faded away over time. So did her social skills. By the time she was stable again, she no longer knew how to socialize.
"Nah, sis, it's all in the mindset. If you believe you are socially awkward, you will be. Think positive."
He said as he pretended to poke her cheeks.
"Enough. I just don't want to, okay?"
She said, and a few people on the street looked at her strangely. She could feel blood rushing to her face, but she did her best to push it down. She sighed as she dismissed her brother.
A few moments later, Elizabeth finally arrived at her destination. It took her a few more moments to find the building she was supposed to go to for the beginning of the induction ceremony.
When she was inside, she was slightly in awe at the amount of people there. All of them had to be Sleepers. She had not been in a room full of Awakened since her brother's memorial.
Everywhere she looked, she saw people who radiated confidence. Some of them were wearing expensive looking clothes, obviously being from Legacy clans. There were more Legacies in this room than she had seen in her entire life.
As she observed, she quickly found the two Sleepers she had seen at the gate. The silver haired girl was standing alone with headphones on, listening to music, while the other seemed to be engaging in a conversation.
'He's more social than he looks.'
Suddenly, the person they were talking to slapped him and walked away in anger. Although he did not seem bothered by it. Heck, he was smiling.
'…Never mind.'
As she was walking to an isolated corner she had managed to locate, someone interrupted her.
"Hey! You're a Sleeper too, right? Me too! I can't believe it. This is exactly how they described it in the webtoons I read, don't you think so?"
Elizabeth blinked, unsure how to respond. She could only let out a small "yeah" before she tried to move away.
Suddenly, another person jumped into the conversation.
"Right? It's always been my dream to become an Awakened… although after my first Nightmare, I'm not so sure anymore."
They let out an exaggerated sigh and shook their head in disappointment while glancing at her.
Elizabeth stared at them weirdly before nodding.
"Uh… cool… excuse me, passing through."
But then again, she was blocked by someone else who joined the conversation.
"Really? What kind of Nightmare did you have? I doubt it's as horrible as mine."
Before long, a small group of people had formed around her.
'What… is going on?'
Was this another effect of her attribute?
When the group got larger, she pulled her hoodie down and managed to walk away.
"Huh, where did she go? I wanted to ask her name!"
One of them said.
"Hey, do you think I have a chance with her?"
Someone else said.
"Dream on, frog face. You're proof that not all Awakened can be attractive."
Elizabeth sighed as she managed to reach her destination. Although the isolated place she had found had become slightly more crowded, the biggest crowd surrounded a handsome looking man with slightly tan skin, messy black hair, and green eyes.
They were talking loudly, so she could only sigh as she looked at the clock in the distance.
'When will this induction ceremony start? Hopefully before evening…'
She really did not want her flaw turning her older than she currently looked. Most of the time, she ended up looking like a middle aged woman with a busty body. She doubted her clothes would be able to handle her figure later.
She sighed again.
'I should have brought my headphones as well…'
"WHAT? Ascended? You received an Ascended Aspect? What… what was your Appraisal?!"
Suddenly, her ears perked up.
The young man smiled gently.
"Oh. It was 'excellent.'"
Elizabeth chuckled internally. That man was probably considered a genius to others. That really went to show how much potential her Divine Aspect really had.
'It really wasn't a big deal…'
Suddenly, she heard an echo of her thoughts.
"Ascended, excellent? That's it? What's the big deal?"
She turned her head and noticed it was the short Sleeper from before.
'Does he have a Transcendent Aspect?'
After a few seconds, one of the young man's companions blinked and laughed.
"Uh… friend, you must not know a lot about the Spell. Caster's results are truly remarkable, impressive even. He is a Legacy, after all."
The short Sleeper scratched his head.
"Are you trying to pull a prank on me? You call this remarkable?!"
The bewilderment in the eyes of the surrounding Sleepers slowly grew, a few of them seemed to get mad.
'Although it's not impressive to me, an Ascended Aspect is still pretty great.'
Again, someone echoed her thoughts.
"Listen, friend. If you don't think an Ascended Aspect is remarkable, then please share with us your own amazing results. What, pray tell, was your Appraisal?"
Again, the short Sleeper scratched his head.
"I would let you know… my Appraisal was, uh… it was 'glorious.' Yes, glorious. And the Aspect I acquired was of the Divine rank!"
The moment Elizabeth heard that, her eyes widened in surprise.
'…What?'