Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

I stared at the thing on the table. It had some metal balls grouped together side by side. And just the balls in the sides were moving. Whenever the ball from one side came swinging, the ball in the opposite started moving and this process kept on repeating.

I didn't know why but it was both uncomfortable and addicting at the same time.

"… Though this came out in our favor, the Battlesuin family is rather powerful and they might try to harm you and your family. But I guess even they aren't that stupid. Isn't that right, Helio Romswell Jintel?" The headmaster was watching the fields through the glass window behind his chair. "Both of your family have a long history with each other."

We were basically alone in the room.

"Yeah, pretty much."

'Wait, what did I just say?'

I was so focused on the thing on the table that I'd forgotten I was in the headmaster's office this whole time. 'Oh shit.'

"No, no I mean-" I really had to clarify this before it could get any worse than it already did.

"Protecting the privacy of my students is one of my policies. And as long as you follow proper rules, I won't accidentally leak this information." The headmaster gave me a nice long smile.

Just how shrewd was this geezer? To think he'd use such a primitive thing to confuse me for a second, only to bring the truth out of me!

I sighed. "Alright, alright I get it." I still didn't know why he was bothering with me anyway. "So, what did you want to talk about Sir?"

He turned around, raised his chin a little. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Just what was that yesterday?"

"I'm not sure actually."

He proceeded to take his seat. "I have a rare talent of gauging the strength of others. Of course, we have a machine for that at the school but I trust my skills more." He flashed a smile and then looked at me with utter seriousness. "You exceeded the limits of my perception at that moment."

"What? How- what, are you even talking about?"

"I'm saying you broke past the hundredth mark at that one moment: You're only the second person who broke past that record that I met in this life. Of course, there are others but this, this is rare. And I have a feeling your power stems from something far worse than what we saw that day." His glare softened. "You have seen your own video right?"

"Yes, I saw the short one and-" And I also saw the whole thing inside that white room. 'Should I tell that to the headmaster?'

"And?"

I thought about it. It was worth a shot. And this guy already knew about me being a Romswell. And if he laughed about it, I could have just passed it out as a joke. "Have you ever seen dreams about a white room with shadows and a pretty white girl? Everyone had red eyes by the way."

But then there was the question, just how did he know about me?

The headmaster looked at me with curiosity for a second and burst out laughing in the very next. "I don't know about the shadows but I see pretty girls in my dreams all the time." He kept on chuckling. I shouldn't have mentioned that to this geezer. I was about to tell it was just a joke but he spoke anyway. "Show me your hand."

"What about my hand?" I spread my hands towards him.

He grasped my hand with a swift motion. This geezer was strong. "Let's see…" He trailed some of my veins, it tickled. "You have a seal on you… placed by…." He became a little quiet: too quiet. "This girl you spoke off. What did she look like?" His voice came out rather hoarse.

'A seal? For what?'

"Pretty girl with red eyes and silver hair," I remembered her face vividly.

"Are you sure her hair wasn't white like snow? And her skin too? What about her age?" All of a sudden this geezer got excited. Did he have a crush on girls like that?

"No, her skin looked fairly normal. And her hair was silver and yeah, it did look a bit like snow but I wouldn't call that white like snow. But the room itself was really white so I might not be accurate. And I'd say she was about my age, probably." Besides, it all happened in a dream.

"Well, that explains this." He threw a bundle of paper on the table.

Where the hell he even get paper?

"This girl-" The paper on top contained the information on a new transfer student: a girl with white hair and red eyes.

"Your new classmate from tomorrow. Does she look familiar?"

I looked carefully at the picture. This girl looked familiar and very much like the girl I met back in that room. But this wasn't her. I didn't know how but I knew it. This wasn't her. "This isn't her."

"Even so, I ask you to remain cautious around this girl." He glared at me. "She is trouble and from that family, you don't want to get involved with."

I looked at her name and… "Hyorin Von Battlesuin?"

I had a feeling this girl transferred because a certain someone thrashed one of them. I really didn't want to be that certain someone. But regretfully, I was him.

"Now," The headmaster continued. "About the seal. It's a very potent one. And without undoing it, we won't know what it's suppressing. Well, I suppose we already know." He chuckled. "But it looks like the seal is doing pretty well, so no need to worry about that. "He thought for a second. "Almost as if someone redid it?" He was in deep thought.

I wasn't going to worry about it anyway. I really needed a long talk with mom. If I had a seal on me, mom probably knew it. And yet, she never found the necessity to tell me about it. Meaning, it could have been something very serious, or something not worth telling me. Either way, I needed a good talk with her.

Knock!

"Yes?"

"Headmaster you have a guest. He's from the Bureau." The voice came from the outside.

"Well, I suppose our meeting is at end here. I hear you wish to participate in the upcoming tournament. I won't be here at the time but good luck." The geezer raised his voice. "Let them in."

I turned around. "Alright then Sir. I'll be taking my leave now."

Maybe this geezer wasn't so bad. Though his tastes weren't that great, his attitude and personality made it easy for me to talk with him.

"There's no need to hurry." A man came in the room, followed by a woman.

Both were wearing suits. The man was in blue while the woman in black. She also had a mask on her face.

"He isn't just from the Bureau, he's the Bureau itself," The headmaster mumbled.

The man stood in my way and looked down on me. "You're Helio, correct? Oh, where are my manners? Rober Voxxo Mon Blatenheimn. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

'What's with the weird name?'

"Jintel. The pleasure's all mine." I gave his hand a good shake. He was a large man. And yet, he seemed rather fit. "Now, could you move?"

"Ah yes, yes." He moved a little. "How would you like to work for the Bureau?"

"The Bureau?" The question came out of nowhere.

Was he serious? Was this man serious?

"The International Bureau of Kin. They experiment with Kin and are the leading organization in vaccine production worldwide." The headmaster filled me in. But his voice came out a bit hostile.

Of course, I knew about that but why would some hotshot from that kind of big company want me?

"Why and do what exactly?" I spoke, as though the ground beneath my feet shook.

His grin widened. "You'll be experimented on. Of course, it won't be anything painful. You'll only have to give us some of your blood and let us run some tests on you. And of course, we'll gladly compensate you for it. Let's say, how about ten thousand gold?"

Even if my mother worked her best for the next five years without breaks, she still won't be able to earn that much. Meaning, this was a big amount. 'But won't I become a lab rat?'

Sweats poured from all the pores of my body. I couldn't think and my breathing intensified: my heart beat faster. 'This could end all of my problems. Our problems…'

And Elsa would graduate next year from middle school, meaning, mom would have to work extra hard.

"Now, now. This is a big decision and you should talk it over with your guardian. I trust she's still here?" The headmaster gave me a weak smile.

I smirked. I guess the amount of money had robbed me of my wits for a second. "You're right. How about I give you my answer this evening?" I caught my breath and calmed my head.

"Sure." The Man's voice came out placid but he didn't forget to glare at the headmaster.

"Alright, later." I didn't care who he was, but I didn't like this guy. His smirks and everything about him felt hostile.

It was probably just my imagination. But his offer was a solid deal. Something which I couldn't ignore.