In a certain luxurious bedroom within the confines of the boys-only dormitory in the Academy, two boys of almost similar age are seated around a finely polished oblong dining table. The room is similar in design to others on the same floor, with the exception of personally customized ones. Which apparently means it is different from all the other bedrooms due to it lacking the extra layers of wallpapers and curtains placed over the walls and doors respectively for some unknown reason.

On one side of the table is a boy who might be around 14-15 years of age based on his appearance. Sporting a wild head of auburn hair with pink(?) eyes and a friendly face, he comfortably makes himself at home even though he barged in without permission.

"Oh dear, how thoughtless of me! You must be absolutely famished, give me a moment" Knuckling his head in regret, he lifts himself off the cushioned chair and heads to a section of the wall with a closed circular tube jutting out. He pulls the hinged cover open and speaks into it.

"Hello, we would like to have two sets of today's special sent to... L4-01 please and thank you" He speaks into the tube as if there was another person at the other end.

Surprisingly a polite and clear voice answered the request back.

"Understood, your meal shall arrive in a few minutes"

The other boy whose age is eleven this year, could only stare and knit his eyebrows. His silver eyes capture the movements of his uninvited guest and his brain scrambles through the libraries of information to figure out the current situation.

"Well then, I believe we are not yet done with the introductions. If you please?" He returns to the table and sinks into his previous seat. With eyes that are full of expectation, he leans forward and inquires about Chase's identity.

"I'm Chase.. Blackstone... " Chase answers hesitatingly, he could not make heads or tails of this conversation. Introducing himself normally is one thing but this 'Bolt Skylar' is giving off weird vibes.

"Blackstone.. Blackstone.. ahhh... you must be a northerner! What a pleasure to meet one of the guardians of the infallible gate, so which area did you reside in? The capital Menfang? The oasis Lan He? or is it the mining area Shiroi Yama?" Being a noble, Bolt is well educated and knows a few things regarding the world geography. He recognises the name 'Blackstone' as a common name in the North and based his hypothesis on that.

"Uhh.. no, I used to live in Thanes. It's a small village to the west of here" Having no idea how Bolt came to that conclusion, he could only explain and correct him.

"Thanes.. Thanes.. is that not close to the Millennium Forest? Oh dear, then could you be a survivor of that dreadful event? And... could you be.. a... commoner?" Bolt rubs his chin in deep concentration and starts to deduce things one-by-one. The recent monster attack is known to everyone and the outbreak of monsters from the Millennium Forest is controversial since it had never happened in any of the previous cycles. The absence of any fortifications there worsened the situation.

Staring at Bolt's widened pupils, Chase makes an educated guess that Bolt might be the sort of noble that does not appreciate the company of plebeians.

"Yes, I'm a commoner" He announces simply. He has no reason to hide it, he does not need friends that could not accept him for who he is. Besides, what is wrong with being a normal citizen with a respectable line of work?

"You... you.. you....!!!!" Bolt abruptly got on his feet, knocking the chair backwards. His index finger is dramatically pointing at Chase's bewildered face.

"You are exactly the person I was waiting for!!" He jumps and hops around in excitement, yelping out in happiness once in a while.

"Uhhh...." Chase tries to interrupt the abnormal display of enthusiasm from the other boy. Just what in the world possessed him?

"Call me Sky!! I prefer to be named in that manner, and-" He stops running around and pulls Chase off the chair into a suffocating bear hug.

*Knock* *Knock*

A series of rhythmic knocks on the door is repeated in set intervals, declaring the presence of someone outside the room. Sky turns his head towards the entrance but Chase had his flexibility restrained and could only stiffly look at the other boy's face.

For a second, Chase caught glimpse of Sky's eyes shifting back to a bright red hue but it quickly reverted back to pink.

"It's the food, let us resume our delightful conversation while satiating our taste buds" Having said that, he saunters off towards the door and opens it. Chase slumps back into his seat and breathes heavily while starting to consider shoving the strange boy out with a well-positioned Earth Pillar but decided against it since he would hit the person bringing them food as well.

Returning to the table, he is followed by the new visitor. A man with shiny bald head and finely-combed moustache brings in a silver trolley with two metallic dish covers on top. Neither his steps nor the well-oiled wheels of the trolley made any sound.

He places the two covered platters onto the table and opens them with a flourish and deep bow.

"Today's special is Fist Shark's fin lightly broiled and spiced with over 28 different herbs and spices from the Western Continent, precisely cut, cleansed with Snow Wine from the mountainous regions of Hwalren and also salted with finely grind salt stone of the Rasorio Caelo mountains. The salad dressing is freshly picked from the garden of Druids and arranged by famous food artist, Wazteofa Gudmeel. Enjoy ze meal" Righting himself up, he nods at the two boys. He pushes his now empty trolley out of the room and closes the door behind him.

"Ah, Fist Shark fin, my favourite! What a fortunate turn of events, first I discovered you and now this!" Sky claps and laughs then proceed to put on the napkin set beside his dish.

Chase gazes at the food before him while his eye twitches from the overload of fancy explanations. No matter how he looks at it, it is just a broiled shark fin with some vegetables placed around it. He doubts he could even get full from this, not that he has any appetite at the moment.

*Munch* *Munch*

"Hmm? *Gulp*" Sky stops his fork halfway to his mouth as soon as he realised that Chase had not touched his food. Showing his noble birth, he naturally pats his lips with the napkin.

"Is the food not to your tastes? Perhaps we can arrange for another meal to be se-"

"Who are you and what do you want from me?" The question had been buzzing around in Chase's mind for a while. He could take Sky's behaviour as a strange personality trait but the colour-shifting eyes, the declaration that says he was waiting for Chase made the eleven year-old uncomfortable.

"Ah, did you perhaps not catch my name? Very well, I am Bolt Skylar but call me Sky because I don't particularly like the name Bolt and-" Knife and fork still in both hands, he moves them around vigorously while gesturing out his unspoken emotions.

"Not that, what's up with your eyes and why did you say you were waiting for me?" The eyes, they remind him of himself. There is no doubt they hold some ability but what? Why was he seen as a blind person while the ability was activated? Or was it deactivated?

"......You are sharp to have noticed, a fine trait of commoners to pay attention to the tiniest details" The word 'commoner' that rolls of Sky's tongue does not carry an insulting tone to it. Rather, it was filled with awe and perhaps admiration.

'You've gotta be kidding me, you were flashing those eyes from red to pink right from the start damn it!' Chase rebutted Sky in his mind.

"If you must know, I was blessed or perhaps cursed with an ability" He leans forward over the table and put his cutlery down as a sign of going into a serious mood.

'You don't say' Chase restrains himself from sighing.

"It is called the 'Opacity Canceler' " He slows down his voice to the point that it is almost a whisper and names his 'hidden' power.

'Opacity Canceler? Wait.... does that mean?!' No, how could it be? How can such a dreadful ability exist?

"It is an ability that allows me to see-through layers of object. In more definite terms, it enables me to bypass the visual feedback of three-dimensional objects that first enter my line of sight and see beyond them" His eyes change to red as if to demonstrate.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

Not caring about damaging the floor, Chase performs repeated back flips and cartwheels while conjuring Earth Walls to put distance and cover between him and those disgusting eyes.

"What the hell?! What sort of perverted ability is that?!" Chase shouts from behind his miniature fortress of stone. He shivers in disgust, to think he would be naked even in clothing.

"I see no reason to panic.... it's not like I am constantly using my ability. Besides... I can only see through four layers of objects" Sounding hurt, Sky tries to defend himself.

'Four? One... two.. three... damn I'm short by one layer!' Chase counts the layers of Earth Walls in front of him.

*Boom* Another wall comes into view, hiding Chase even deeper within the forest of bricks.

"Look, trust me but seeing through objects is not as indecent as you are led to believe. If you are visualizing me using it to ogle at women and enjoying myself, you are terribly mistaken as it does not work that way" There is one fatal flaw with the ability that makes it impossible to be used for such stimulating experiences.

"What?" Chase's voice feebly seeps through the openings of his earthen castle.

"I cannot select objects to see through. In other words, if I chose to see through one layer I would immediately cancel out the visual data of all first layer objects that come into my view. Which means... even skin"

'...'

"I see.." With a flick of his hand, Chase returns the gouged out floor back to its original shape by filling it back with the conjured Earth Walls.

'He can't choose what to see through.. If he chose to see through one layer, that would include clothing and skin. If I am an example, he would be able to see the undershirt on my chest and the skull on my uncovered head. If he decides to see through two layers, he would see my bare chest and naked brain and organs up top!' This ability which shows so much promise, could never be used for perverted means. Unless someone wears the same layer of clothing over themselves, Sky would not be able to see the figure of a normal human being when he uses his ability.

"Thank you, I am grateful that you understand my situation" He says with two beads of water forming at the sides of his pink eyes.

"Nice muscles, though" He adds in, his iris turning back to red.

"Get out!!!" Chase thrusts his palms forward and moves the floor in a wave-like motion, pressing Sky against the closed door.

"Will... Do... see.. you.. *Clack* later! *Boom*" Sky squeezes out his words while his body is crushed. He feebly extends his hand to the doorknob and manages to twist it open. As soon as he got out, a hand made out of bricks grabs the door and closes it back.

*gasp* *gasp*

Chase is not gasping from fatigue, but a mixture of embarrassment and anger. How unlucky could he get to be positioned in the room across this weirdo?

'Four layers' Borrowing a small portion of the concrete floor, he creates four separated thin layers that encloses the interior of the room, shielding it from the grotesque observer outside. Since 'Opacity Canceler' works by removing layers of objects as a whole, the thickness of objects should not matter.

'Curtains.. Wallpapers.. pipes!' He recalls the advice he got from another denizen of the floor and rushes for the communication pipe to request for them.

"See you at the ball tonight, and once again I am pleased to be acquainted with a commoner. Let's enjoy a wondrous life and create plenty of beautiful memories in the Academy!" Sky's voice invades the room from outside.

"Shut up and go away!!" Chase shouts back in frustration.

'Ball? Oh yeah... I did read about that in the book, something like a welcoming ceremony on the first day. Got to leave the room before that freak this evening!' The Opening Ball, a customary ceremony held at the beginning of each new semester at the Academy to celebrate the coming of new students and return of old ones. It is more of a means for nobles to create connections with other great families, a political event to be exact. Nevertheless, all students have to attend unless they are sick in health.

Attending to his current top priority, Chase flips open the cover on the communication pipe and speaks into it.

"Hello, I would like to request some......"

Within minutes, a group of staff came over with the requested wallpapers and curtains and professionally set them up in the room. With what Chase suspects to be looks of pity for him, they earnestly did their job and bowed before leaving.

'Finally... some privacy and security....' Thinking that, Chase's shoulders droop and he exhales one long breath.

He takes off his shoes and jumps onto his untouched bed. The mattress playfully bounces back as he lands on top of it. With softness that reminds Chase of clouds and sheep, it gently embraces him.

'Alice, dad, Gillian... I miss you guys...' Having just experienced an encounter with a revolting person, he is having second thoughts about his decision to come here in the first place.

"Maybe I'd see some better people later... like.. Terrence or.. *mumble *mumble*" Unable to resist the tenderness of the mattress and pillow, Chase falls into slumber.

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In the ruins of a village to the East, a wizened, short old man with a head of white hair is pushing a cart filled with bricks. Feeling a sharp pain on his back, he stops for a while and rubs it with both hands while cringing.

'Oof... my body is just not the same anymore. Damn, my back is killing me!' Gillian Cloud decides to rest for a while and places a stack of bricks on the side of the road to sit on.

Eyeing his surroundings, the Veteran Ex-spellsword reminds himself of what they are doing in the ruins of Thanes. Salvaging and rebuilding. They are tasked by the Kingdom to salvage any usable construction materials and reconstruct the village into a garrison to withstand future onslaughts of monsters. Granted, they have been given help by the kingdom in terms of manpower. A team of Earth Mages specialised in construction had been sent over to aid them.

However, in order to create sturdy fortifications they would need strong materials such as concrete. Thus, the Earth Mages could not simply erect earthen walls as they would be too weak to withstand strong impacts. For that reason, they still have to gather the necessary materials and wait for even more building materials sent via caravan from other cities and the capital itself.

One of the original villagers of Thanes who is currently hauling over a large slab of stone spots Gillian by the roadside.

"The White Devil is injured!! He requires our assistance!!" He drops the huge slab onto another man's foot and frantically calls for help. The man who just had his foot crushed yelped in pain and shouted curse after curse that would make even orc shamans blush but he was ignored.

The others who heard the call for help stop in the middle of their work and rushes over to aid the White Devil. Gillian had built up a saintlike reputation among the defenders and villagers over the previous battle, even though all of it had been Chase's doing.

'Crap' Gillian mutters in his mind.

"Are you alright? Someone get me a warm towel!" One of the villagers fusses over Gillian and places a hand over his wrinkled forehead, maybe to check for signs of a fever.

"I'm fine, I'm fi-" Gillian tries to brush them off. It was just some back pain for God's sake.

"He's burning up, hurry up with the towel will you?!!" The man begins to sweat and panic over nothing.

'Damn it, not again!!' Gillian had experienced the same thing yesterday and the day before that. Having such good reputation is actually ruining his comfortable life.

'Aha!' Gillian sees the figure of a well-built man with black hair carrying what seems to be a ten-meter long trunk of a freshly cut tree over his right shoulder passing by behind the crowd.

The man turns his face towards Gillian as if he could feel the older man's gaze on him. Taking a moment to appraise the situation, he smirks. The Ex-Squad Leader and Ex-Squad Member had known each other for a long time and could even guess the thoughts of the other by facial expressions alone.

'Aaron, help me out here!' Gillian tries to telepathically send the message to Aaron. However, his wide open eyes and sweating forehead sent the wrong message to the fussy crowd and made them even more worried.

'Oh my, the great White Devil is in dire need of assistance! What can this retired soldier ever do to help?' Aaron sends back a message by stretching his mocking smile. A response which suits a jerk, for that is what he is, a righteous jerk.

Having completed their brief telepathic exchange, Aaron leaves the scene with the chopped tree. Gillian is left alone to deal with the worried crowd of people on his own.

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The sun is replaced by the moon and the darkness devoured the light. An appetizing smell wafts from a simmering cauldron hanging over red-hot flames. Three people, two men and one girl sits around the fire with bowls in their hands.

The two men are the father and mentor of Chase Blackstone whereas the girl is his friend. Alice Cloud is wearing a cook's apron instead of the leather armour she is usually in favour of due to her cook duties. The womenfolk were given the task of preparing food for efficiency, much to her dislike.

"Put out the fire, Gillian. It's going to crack without any soup in it" Aaron says to the White Devil, prompting the older man to conjure a water ball.

"Whaaaa? Can't hear yeeee... I'm old and useless ye see...." Gillian pretends to be senile as payback for Aaron's reaction earlier today.

"Tch, fine. I'll do it myself!" Aaron points a finger at the fire and strains himself to conjure a globe of water. His efforts could be seen on the popping veins and beads of sweat appearing on his face. His teeth grits against each other, as if he is trying to light a fire with it.

*Gasp* *Gasp*

'I can't do it.. it feels like I've gotten worse with Magic recently. I mean I was terrible before but..' Aaron stares at his hand. If only, if only he had the same ability as the others.

"Ho ho ho, what's the matter? Can't even put out a tiny-weeny fire?" Gillian gloats over Aaron's failed attempt and proceeds to reach out to his Mana source.

"Now, look carefully at a master at work! Eh?" A ball of water did form at his fingertips but the unseen force holding it mid-air disappears and the water lost its cohesion, making it fall and wetting the ground at Gillian's feet.

Aaron looks up to see Gillian's first ever non-successful attempt at casting such a simple spell.

"I.. that was on purpose, ho ho ho! See?" He creates another aquatic sphere and douses the flames with ease. The fire hisses in protest and emits a puff of steam.

'I can't believe I failed just now, just what had gotten into me?' Gillian thought inwardly. Has his back pain gotten to his Mana source? How ridiculous could that be?

"Hmpf.." Aaron sniffs and looks away, denying his inferiority to Gillian in the arcane arts.

"So, Alice how was kitchen duty?" Gillian changes the topic because he does not want this situation to degrade into a petty squabble. Knowing Aaron's personality, it very well might turn out like that if this continues.

"Well.. I guess it wasn't so bad. I prefer to do more physical work but learning how to cook has its merits too if I think about it carefully" Cooking had been a nice break from her usual routine of Close Combat practice. She should not slack off though, she is quite a ways from her goal.

"Well, maybe if you get good enough we can all enjoy a meal with Chase!" Gillian chuckles to himself. He mentioned the name on purpose to see his granddaughter's reaction and also to pull in Aaron's attention.

"..."

"Yeah, let's all eat together when we meet up again! It's sort of lonely here without a FRIEND like him. I mean, I've been looking around for someone else to make FRIENDS with but I just couldn't find anyone around my age. I wish you could understand how terrible it feels to be without a FRIEND as a girl" Alice delivers a series of deathblows in one sentence.

"Umm.. I'm sorry could you repeat that again, Alice?" A feeling of sorrow and pity has started to well up within the depths of Gillian's ancient heart.

"Hmm? I can't wait to meet up with Chase and eat together, all of us" She repeats the gist of her sentence, eyes as innocent as ever.

"Alice, what do you think of Chase?" Aaron interrupts and goes directly to the crux of the issue.

"What sort of question is that? Of course I think of him as a really good FRIEND" Looking as clueless as ever, Alice confirms the terrifying news to both men.

Gillian and Aaron looks at each other and starts to communicate silently.

'I'm sorry about your son, Aaron..' Gillian conveys his feelings through the windows of his watery eyes.

'It's okay, Gilian... Chase has to be strong...' Aaron clenches his fist, shuts his eyes and wrinkles his brows.

'Of all people, why must my son go through this ordeal?' Aaron gazes at the night skies with a quivering mouth and glistening eyes.

"Excuse us, Alice. We have to get back to work!" Gillian grabs Aaron and ushers him to leave together. This scene of carnage is too much for them, or any man, to handle. The zone of friends, a truly fearsome place.

Alice watches the shrinking backs of the two men as they went away.

'As if I could say anything else to your questions, stupid grandpa' A soft smile forms itself on her lips and a light blush she had been holding back blossoms on her cheeks.

She grabs a lock of her shoulder-length brown hair and twirls it between her fingers. Under the moonlight, her hair looks like they were shining. Wearing the cook's apron and a set of girl's clothes, she looks perfectly feminine. Not that anyone could ever mistake her for a boy when she is in armour, though.

'Should I keep this longer? But it would be annoying during Combat practice... Well, maybe it would look nicer?' Alice lightly shakes her head and sighs.

'Having a meal together with everyone, huh? That would be nice...' She stares at the starry skies above. It is a good night, the stars are fully visible without any clouds hiding them. The added presence of a crescent moon makes it look like a drawing out of a story book.

"Are you also looking at this sky, right now?" The shape of the moon is reflected on her eyes as she utters her words to a certain boy far away from Thanes.

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Chase Blackstone, currently eleven years old, is definitely staring at the sky at the same moment but perhaps not as Alice had pictured it. He is not leaning over a windowsill with a dreamy expression nor lying down on a bed of flowers while gazing at stars. Chase Blackstone is hanging outside the window with both hands grabbing onto the windowsill and his head turned up towards the sky.

'Why?? Why did I woke up late??' Chase blames his own misfortune and the excessive comfort given by the bed.

He could hear it, even out here. That terrible, terrible sound.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Salutations, friend! Let us depart to the Ball immediately. We have to make haste or we shall be late!" Sky voices out his invitation from outside the door.

'Damn you for blocking the door!' Chase looks four storeys below at the cold, hard ground and gulps nervously.

A few horse carriage are still around there. In fact, they are always there to provide transportation for students. Apparently he and Sky are the only ones left at the dormitory since Chase did not spot anyone going out or hear any other voices.

'It's okay... I've done this before!' Chase recalls the time he jumped down an Earth Pillar during his last move in the siege of Thanes. He survived, so he should be fine this time.. although he is currently limited to Earth and Light to avoid attention.

He could have just borrowed the stones from the walls and created steps down but he is scared of accidentally damaging peoples' belongings by doing so. What if something extremely fragile and valuable falls of a shelf from the vibrations?

So, he opted for a vertical pillar which would slowly descend. Something like an elevator.

Feeling the warm Mana flowing through his veins, Chase sends it blazing through the walls of the building and directs the flow to the ground below. A square platform of soil rapidly rises up to his feet, providing him with a stable foothold. He skilfully manipulates the energy moving the earth, causing the Earth Pillar to shrink and descend at a steady pace.

Touching down on level ground, he immediately breaks off into a sprint and entered an open carriage. The driver is startled by the violent tremors behind him and looks back to see a disheveled boy peering through the window.

"Take me to the Ball, please!" Chase pulls out his pocket watch and looks at the time. He has five minutes, he would definitely be late.

"Understood, please hang on tight" The driver seems to understand Chase's need for speed. He adjusts his hat to a certain angle and smiles. His blood boils with a long forgotten feeling, this rush of adrenaline, all of it had been lost when he quit the horse races.

"HIYYAH!!" He whips the horse into a gallop and the carriage shakes around like a giant was rattling it. The speed is no doubt the fastest that the horses can manage, Chase is in good hands.

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A bit short but with the decreasing amount of time I have this is pretty much the most I can write in a week

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See you next week!

Pinky Armus The Latecoming

For The Curious Mind