Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Socializing Start!
So let me get this straight… Epico are basically human Boke'mon (Poke'mon reference).
"So that means Epico are basically locked to the capabilities of the gene they have within them?"
"That is correct, Cora right here is a Manticore. She has bat wings, a tail of a scorpion, the ability to shoot barbs and many more. All of you that are currently here have their own powers, some don't even know what their power is."
The Principal turned teacher shot me a sidelong glance, smiling playfully as he did. Sometimes I ask myself how short staffed they were and why he had to teach me even after training, but I was afraid that voicing it out might cause another air bullet to fly the wrong way.
The hooded guy raised his hand and almost instantly, he caught Xion's attention.
"Hey teach, why do we have to learn these things? Isn't history about oddities already bizarre enough, not to mention pointless in our day and age?"
Huh? So he does have a brain. Not to mention that despite our odds against each other, I agree with him here. What purpose will it serve to review deceased people or animals?
However, Xion shook his head.
"You are forgetting some crucial information. Remember that their power is internal. It stems from the genes itself so the power from previous generations may arise in the present day. Do not tell me that people like King Arthur nor Merlin or any Epico that were not recorded in the past for that matter, never had any offspring or relatives who had offspring. If you doubt me, well then let me give you an example. Klaus, please step in front."
The tall man that fought with Wyzen stood up and walked in front. He had a frown on his face and a puffed out chest that seemingly portrayed his pride. Klaus stared at the class with a serious expression that reminded me of a soldier.
"Greetings, I am Klaus Skybound, hailing from the United States of America. It is an honor to meet you all."
Xion looked at him with a lopsided smile before cutting him off.
"A nice introduction, but I am a afraid that we do not have the time for pleasantries, Klaus. Why not show them what you can do?"
The guy nodded and with a bright glow, two brown wings emerged from his back. Their details resembled the wings of a bird rather than an angel's. He flapped them once, releasing a strong gust of wind that blew away most of the stationery we had, tossing them across the room.
"As you can see, Klaus is the ancestor of the Thunderbird, a monstrous bird that terrorized the plains of the Canada. The best guess we have as to how he acquired his power would be a distant relative in the past gaining contact with the creature. As time passed by, Klaus's DNA mutated into what we see today. His powers have manifested into reality."
Having finished his explanation, the Principal tapped Klaus's shoulders twice before sending him off to his seat which the man promptly followed.
"There are many more things like this, and as such we have to study each and every tale so we know an Epico's strengths and capabilities once we do end up running into combat. Knowing is always half the battle when it comes to your kind."
Yeah, this is definitely like Boke'mon.
The discussion then turned into a class about cryptids, creatures, and mythology which was pretty interesting since I enjoyed listening to powers and monsters thanks to my video game addiction.
As for other people, Adria dozed off, Cora stared out the window, The guy from earlier just scribbled on his notebook before shifting to daydreaming, but the strangest event to happen was Shan staring at the man who looked at the ceiling for inspiration. It was an odd feeling considering she heard him threaten me, but I decided to let it burn into the back of my mind for now.
After what seemed like hours of discussion, the bell rang as Xion packed his things.
"Alright, that is all for today, please enjoy your lunch. To those new people, please ask someone to guide you to the cafeteria. Our sponsors have ensured that you have free food."
Betting twenty bucks that Express or Nord VPN would be one of them.
Not hearing my thoughts, Xion flashed us a small smile before exiting the room. And just like that, break started.
Beside me Cora let out a soft yawn as she reached for the sky with her arms. I turned to face the woman who looked at me with a blank expression.
"So uh… you got someone to eat lunch with?"
The lady nodded her head in response.
"Silian said she had some macaroons… I wasn't able to get to her ever since my mission involving you so I want to make up… She did summon me to her office anyway."
O-Office? Just who was her friend?
"Silian… what position does she hold?"
The bat girl paused for a bit before facing me.
"The President of the Student Body, she is my friend, alongside Adria who introduced her to me…"
E-Eh?! Then I should probably keep my distance if it is an official meeting. I am a nobody after all!
"I see… So it isn't fine if I intrude right?"
Cora's lips curved into a smile before nodding
"Pyre is a deviant… He always does weird things such as picking fights with his classmates on day one and befriending that strong fox after only a day of staying here... I'm afraid something weird might happen between him and Silian…"
I tried forcing a smile but my lips twitched ever so slightly when she talked over those key points. I mean it's not like I started any of them nor did I want any of them to happen! I just wanted to get home and play games, yet even that proved impossible.
"Sure… Well Adria is hanging out with Robert so I'll go ask Shan out for a meal or something."
Cora tensed up when she heard the fox's name. She looked at me with narrowed eyes before her cheeks puffed up to a pout…
However I simply shrugged and turned tail to find Shan. I don't want to ruin a moment for her and her friend.
Besides it might make it sickeningly awkward if I joined them. And so I searched for the foxgirl only to find her together with the man with goat eyes.
She seemed flustered over something, her face still bright red as she approached the man.
For safety reasons I decided to move close by and interrupt the mood for them.
"I-is that so Geon! So do y-you mind me joining you guys for a meal?"
I thought this girl was a recluse… but how did she have the guts to befriend someone who fought with me not even five minutes after I introduced myself…
"Sure Shan, you seem pretty cute after all. It would be my pleasure."
He flashed her a dumb grin that I wanted to follow up with a dumb straight. This guy was most certainly hitting on Shan. I do not know if it was the otaku in me or the weird skewed sense of justice I had… but something within me just didn't sit well with the thought of her hanging out with him.
My body moved without even thinking, my hand immediately reached for Shan's shoulder, gripping it ever so slightly.
"Pardon, I think I need her to be with me so that I can at least find the cafeteria. Is it fine with you guys if I took her for now?"
Yet the man who was named Geon sneered. A wide grin was plastered on his face.
"Eh? Didn't she say she wanted to stay with me you moron! I understand she is cute but give your damn wiles a
break man! The woman's already asking to stay with me after all so maybe go find someone else. Or do you perhaps have no one to ask?"
He slammed his fist on the armrest of his desk, cackling as he pointed at me with his right finger.
I clenched my hands into a fist, trembling ever so slightly with his insults. He was playing me like a damn fiddle, but I know I had to strike back somehow.
However, just when I was planning to swing my arm at him and hopefully bludgeon his face in, a soft tender hand gripped my wrist.
"I'm taking him with me… It should be fine if it is like this, right?"
A soft relaxed voice spoke from behind me. Once again, that person has become my savior… I really need to repay her one way or another.
"Y-You… Cora was it… Are you really sure you want to hang out with that loser?"
The woman set my arm free, stepping up in front of me before giving Geon a nod.
"It was for the express purpose of him being a loser that I wanted to hang out with him… Do you find that odd, or do we have to settle our beliefs the hard way…?"
The man's grin turned into a grimace as he staggered back when Cora stepped up.
Just how strong was the lady with me, and why was she doing this when she had places to go and people to see…
"G-Gotcha then… take care you two, but I am still not allowing you to bring Shan if she doesn't want to join you…"
Hearing his remark, I approached the woman in an attempt to ask her personally as Cora stared the man down.
"Yo, want to join me and Cora for a meal."
She waved her hand dismissively with a smile on her face.
"Nah, maybe next time… I want to get to know Geon here better…"
The slimy bastard… I don't know how but somehow he changed her opinion of him in a matter of seconds. Hearing her response, me and Cora grabbed our stuff and walked out. Yet for some odd reason, the bat girl gripped my right wrist with her left hand.
"C-Cora…"
"This is payment for all the embarrassment you caused me the past couple of days… don't think too much on it."
Cora closed the door behind her as the two of us made our way to the cafeteria, and possibly to her friend Silian once we were done ordering.
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The cafeteria was bustling with people from all walks of life. Some of them had tails, some wore weird outfits, and some looked like normal people. I never actually thought that this would at least look like a normal school but I guess that I was wrong…
It would have been dandy if those black coated students weren't everywhere, but that's the least of my concerns
for now. I attempted to step to the left, to get a better view of the entire room to be exact.
"Pyre… please do not step out of line…"
Cora held my shirt, gripping a small part of its fabric so that I stay in place. I wanted to explore… but with the current circumstances, it seemed nothing more than a pipe dream for now. The two of us stayed in that line while waiting for our turn to be served, and so I observed.
It turns out that the cafeteria was massive. Almost taking a quarter of the building's second floor, the cafeteria sprawled wide with countless of tables, chairs, and two long lines of food that were lined up on both ends of the room. According to Cora, you just grab things like a buffet and when they run out of a certain dish, a new one is sent to replace it. It was like gacha but your luck meant your lunch.
We stayed there moving in line as we got our meals and by the time we finished I had a nice bag of bread ranging from custard buns to tuna turnovers. Cora, I don't know how she did it, but she got a few cupcakes resting on a carton holder, half a cheesecake, and a liter of soda she held close to her clothes, which was a plain black shirt.
"How did you-"
When she heard me talk, she looked at me with crossed brows and a pout, clutching the drink even tighter.
"No sharing…"
"You know very well that's not what I meant but okay…"
I just sighed and chalked it off to coincidence. After that exchange, Cora used her free hand to grab my wrist once more before whisking me away to wherever her friend was.…
After what felt like ages of walking, we reached a door similar to the wooden door on the first floor. It stood about six feet floor and was located on another quarter of the second floor, with the room scaling as big as the cafeteria. I pushed the door open and almost immediately, I was greeted by a cold blast of air, far from that of the air conditions found in the classroom. Just who was in here?
Once fully open, the room revealed a room similar to Xion's, albeit the change of three separate sections that housed the different parts of his own vault.
One part housed a few long sofas and a glass table in the middle. On top of the said table was a beautiful crystalline bowl with an orange liquid in it. The center of a room boasted an elegant red carpet and a table made out of wood that seemed to look like a teacher's table of sorts. The final section of the room had bookshelves that reached to the ceiling.
However, someone had caught my attention, stealing my gaze from the scene.
In front of the entrance was a woman who clasped her hands together as she paced in front of us. She also wore glasses like Shan, and much like her, she flashed me a gentle smile.
"Hello Pyre and I'd love to welcome you into our humble society. I hope you're enjoying your time here…"
What?
Was she SIlian… but if so…
How did she know my name?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone