"And... how long have they been on break now?" A rather young man asked, approaching the girl from the other side of the training grounds.
The woman leaned against the house wall and checked her wristwatch, squinting down at the glass face for a second before sliding her eyes back up.
"Ten minutes."
The man hissed, a sharp sound piercing the quiet air of the training field. "That's already too long." He took a deep breath, stepped right up to the threshold, and screamed into the open door, "EVERYBODY OUT! BREAK IS OVER, YOU USELESS BRATS!"
The command struck the claustrophobic hall like electricity. One by one, they began to move outside, shuffling forward in an uncanny, silent unison. Noen, still lying on top of their heads, felt the people beneath him start to shift like a waking wave. He managed, however, to squeeze himself straight down into the crowd, wedging his limbs between the shifting bodies until his feet finally touched the floor. One after another, they went outside and lined up perfectly along a line painted in red on the dry earth. Noen did too, just following along with what everyone else was doing, desperately trying to blend in.
Once everyone had lined up outside, a chilling silence settled over the training ground. The man stood before the rigid rows, his eyes scanning the blank faces. The man started again:
"HAS ANYONE REACHED THEIR STAT CAP RECENTLY?"
Nobody answered. Silence hung heavy in the air.
The man nodded and said quietly, "Of course not, you lazy bastards..." Then he patted the woman with the stalk of wheat in her mouth on the shoulder and said, "Please go through the program for me today, my dear..."
The woman nodded, her expression cold as the man stepped back. Then she started, her voice booming across the dirt: "ALL RIGHT, WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA TODAY?" She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a schedule written in nearly unreadable handwriting, unrolling the crumpled piece of paper. "TODAY IS ENDURANCE, SO—"
"Um, sorry."
She was interrupted as Noen suddenly came stomping from the back to the front, breaking the perfect formation. He stepped right up to her, looking anxious but determined to get answers.
"I... I think there's a misunderstanding here. You see, I'm looking for someone named Azhuron, and believe me, I'd really love to participate, but I'm in a real hurry, so..."
POW!
The strike was blindingly fast. She smacked Noen right across the face, the sheer force of the blow sending him hitting the ground hard.
"Ow! What was that for?" Noen asked, rubbing his nose.
The woman stood over him, her knuckles white. "You're lucky my role is Medic... if I were something like an Elementalist, I'm telling you..." She clenched her fists. "GET BACK IN YOUR DAMN LINE, YOU BASTARD!"
Noen trudged back, his nose throbbing as he slipped into his spot among the crowd. He stared at the red line, panic tight in his chest.
–I don't have time for this... my mother... I don't know how much time I have ! Besides, Ignaz is definitely going to give me a hard time again, I've probably missed a bunch of appointments by now.–
But just as Noen was walking back, she yanked him by his clothes and held him back, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Wait, you're a new one, I haven't even registered your System yet!" She pulled the schedule out again, her eyes locking onto him. "Name was... Noen, right?"
Noen nodded.
"Open your System!"
Noen hesitated, his hand hovering in the air. "Mhhmm... does it really have to be? I mean, what does that have to do with—"
"THAT WAS NOT A REQUEST!" the woman screamed, her face turning completely red as her patience entirely evaporated.
"Alright, alright..." Noen said, taking a deep breath.
Noen swiped his hand through the air, summoning his system overlay.
[System-Class: Noen]
[Title: The Absolute Zero]
[Role: 0]
[STR: -49.5 / 0]
[AGI: -46.5 / 0]
[END: -37.5 / 0]
[VIT: -46 / 0]
[FOC: -45 / 0]
[AFF: -47.5 / 0]
The woman completely froze. She slowly pulled the stalk of wheat out of her mouth, staring at the holographic screen as if she were seeing a ghost. She vigorously rubbed her eyes, blinking hard to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"Negative stats? A cap of... zero? The name as role..."
She looked over at Noen, who shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other, nervously scratching the back of his head under her intense glare. Her shock quickly shifted into sharp suspicion. She reached down and gripped the weapon she had just tucked away into her other pants pocket, whipping it out and pressing the cold metal right against Noen's throat again.
"Are you messing with me?" she asked, serious.
Noen immediately raised his hands, a second time.
"N-No! That.. that is.. that is really my system.." He looked down, staring at the ground to avoid her piercing eyes.
The woman locked her gaze onto him for a long moment, measuring his panic, before she finally lowered the weapon. Her expression hardened into pure disdain.
"From where you come from, are there many such failures?"
Noen swallowed hard, the lump in his throat feeling like a stone.
"Well... actually.."
"I don't care," the woman said, cutting him off without a shred of interest as she pulled out her plan and began scribbling something onto the paper. "Then.. you'll just stay here until you're at.. at zero everywhere."
She chuckled, the dark amusement twisting her features before she broke out, laughing out loud. The harsh sound rang across the silent training field, though none of the other recruits turned their heads to look.
"So, and now back into your line, you zero. Your title fits really well! Hahaha!"
Noen sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as he turned around and walked back toward the red marker. But just before he took his place in the queue, he stopped short. The words echoed in his mind, sparking a sudden, realization.
–Wait a minute... stay... until I'm at.. 0 everywhere?–