Even though I've awakened my powers, it seems like I'm still a disappointment.
Which meant I had to take some more injections, to make me stronger of course, The injections would 'help my growth.' I guess this sludge-hand thing is part of that?
Well, that's beside the point. It's been about 4 years and I'm 16 now.
Which means.. I have to leave the orphanage and go to an academy.
In case you're unaware, at the age of 16. Should a person be awakened, they must be admitted to an academy. It's not optional.
I'm not sure how I'm suppose to go into an academy, but they just told me to climb up the walls or something.
I sighed as I packed my bag.
'Clothes, underwear, a communicator everything's all packed'
I zipped the bag and stood up, carrying it on my shoulders.
Walking past the kids sleeping on the floor, I arrived at the entrance
"You remember what you need to do when you head to the academy right?"
A gentle voice came from behind me
I looked to the back to see a woman, her brown hair tied into braids. Her gentle, wrinkled appearance flashing with a smile. She was my caretaker
I nodded.
"I'm so proud of you'
And.. my heart skipped a beat.
Did she just.. say she was proud of me?
My eyes widened slightly and my mouth was agape.
I quickly returned my expression to a normal, blank face.
'She's… finally proud of me'
After years of not receiving her affection, the feeling felt strange.
Ignoring it, I bowed, thanking her.
She simply waved her hand
"Remember to report if you meet someone who proclaims themselves as a hero. And be sure to befriend people and keep your good looks up. It'll make people want to blabber their mouth to you. Remember to keep it a secret too. Also, Show off your ice powers to the instructors."
Smiling, she nagged once more
"Understood"
I waved back, walking away.
'Report if I see a hero? Hah'
No way. If I were to report someone who proclaimed they were a "hero" to her, she'd put all her attention on them!
And then… she'll abandon me!
I can't have that!
Besides, I'm a "destined villain", my position is in conflict with a "hero", isn't it?p
Sighing, I walked out of the orphanage, carrying a map in my hand
'Why is it so far?'
She told me to go to an academy named.. arclight sovereign academy?
Looking at the map, it seemed to be… in the middle of nowhere.
Why the hell is an academy in the middle of nowhere?
Actually, the orphanage seemed decently close to it, and there was a town that seemed to be a day's travel away from the academy
'I need to get there in 4 days so I should have enough time.'
Sighing, I closed the map and went on my merry way.
***
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my shirt
'I really need to do laundry..'
It's been about 4 days since I've set off and now I'm about.. 200 meters away from the academy?
The sun was hot as hell and frankly, my ability to withstand heat is well, trash.
I used mana to surround myself in ice, even made a popsicle to suck on (it tasted bad) and everything melted.
Not only that, I was attacked during my journey!
Random monsters and even a golem appeared to attack me!
Luckily, I pierced their bodies with ice.
And now, here I am, drenched in sweat.
Maybe I could've bought some clothes from the town but I didn't bring any money.
Sighing, I walked onward.
I walked, and walked.. until. I was met with a wall.
'?'
I checked the map again, this should be the academy
So… why is it a wall?
In my head, 2 ideas popped out
One, I have been abandoned by them because I was a disappointment and sent to the middle of nowhere. But that didn't make sense. They say I'm a disappointment purely because I have potential, why would they abandon me? Wouldn't they turn me into a dummy or something then?
And two, this is secretly a test set up by them to prove my worth!
And to prove my worth, I must.. scale this wall!?
That's easy!
I clenched my fists, injecting it with mana, before opening them wide and slamming them against the wall.
On the wall, appeared icicles.
'Now, I just need to climb the wall!'
And so, I started slowly climbing the wall until I felt an attack
"!"
The two options I had at this point was to summon a shield or jump off.
Normally, I would summon a shield but…
'It's way stronger than anything I could manifest'
I quickly leaped off the wall, landing on the ground which had turned to ice at this point
"To attempt to invade the academy alone during the opening ceremony is quite daring, I'll give you that."
A low, masculine voice echoed in my ears.
I immediately summoned a barrage of icicles and looked around, looking for his voice
Suddenly, in front of me burst multiple flames
'!'
I quickly made a shield, surrounding myself with ice but the flames broke through it and threw me back.
Using ice to break my fall, I surronded myself in a ball of ice.
"Your combat instincts are pretty good, are you upset you were unable to get into the academy or something?"
The flames that had blown me away quickly merged together into a giant wall and from the wall, rose a man.
He looked quite similar to someone I've seen before, like the one I saw when I went to the awakening centre.
Anyway, it seems that this is an actual academy, not a test they set for me.I had to answer him
"Me? I'm just trying to get into the academy. I'm a student!"
His tilted his head slightly as fire rose from his hand
"Is that so? I'll confirm it after I knock you out then."
Huh?
Around the shield I had summoned, flames had appeared and quickly burned the ice.
Startled, I immediately tried to reinforce the shield when my instinct told me to duck
I immediately ducked and felt pressure from the tree that was behind me.
Looking up, I saw the man punching the tree and the tree falling over
"?!"
I immediately summoned an icicle, trying to stab him in the abodomen but his knee came flying towards my stomach.
"AH!"
I groaned in agony, it hurt like hell.
I felt a pressure struck my head and I collapsed onto the ground, my vision turning to black