As they continued eating, the noise of the cafeteria faded into background sound. The three of them, Rhian, Ash, and Aras, were settled into their meal like any normal group of students.
But then another tray dropped onto the table.
Right next to Rhian.
Without needing to look, he already knew who it was.
Nia.
She sat down calmly, without hesitation, as if this was natural. As if they'd been sitting together for weeks.
Ash nearly dropped his spoon.
Even Aras paused briefly, though his reaction, as always, stayed quiet.
Rhian just stared at her for a moment.
She just started eating.
'Was she going to follow him around now?'
He honestly didn't know if she was here out of friendliness… or just because she felt like it.
Not that he minded.
Ash, on the other hand, couldn't keep his curiosity quiet. He kept throwing glances her way, like waiting for a wild animal to respond to him.
He tried to open conversations between bites, throwing harmless questions, and small remarks, but they all fell flat.
Nia's replies were short. Plain. Sometimes just a nod or shake of her head.
Unless Rhian asked.
Then the response was a little longer. A little normal.
Rhian just ate his food.
Somehow, without him doing anything, this table had become his space.
And for better or worse...
It didn't seem like it was going to change anytime soon.
When everyone was done eating, Aras was the first to move.
He stood up, grabbing his tray with his usual quiet grace.
"I've got things to handle," he said simply, his voice as dry and calm as always.
Ash stood up right after him, stretching his arms lazily like the meal had drained all his energy. But of course, he didn't leave quietly.
As he stepped past Rhian, Ash slowed down just enough to glance between him and Nia. With a dumb grin, he winked exaggeratedly and subtly pointed his head toward her, the universal idiot signal for 'ayyy, look at you'.
Rhian didn't even react.
He just gave Ash a blank stare as the fool wandered off, whistling like a proud parent leaving his kid on a first date.
The moment it was quiet between them again, Rhian went back to his food, only for Nia to finally stand up.
She didn't hesitate.
"Come on," she said casually. "I want to show you something."
Rhian blinked at her sudden declaration.
He stared for a second longer, wondering if he misheard.
But Nia was already moving.
It wasn't a request.
Rhian let out a slow sigh, setting down his tray.
'Guess I'm going.'
It wasn't like he had anything better to do before the next class, and besides… curiosity had already taken hold.
Without saying a word, he stood up and followed after her.
Whatever she wanted to show him...
He had a feeling peace and quiet wasn't part of it.
They walked out of the cafeteria without a single word shared between them.
Neither seemed to mind.
Maybe neither of them were good at this whole casual talking thing. Or maybe, for both of them, words just weren't really necessary.
Fighting seemed easier.
They continued through the academy grounds, their footsteps falling into a quiet rhythm. Rhian didn't ask where they were going — mostly because Nia didn't look like the type to explain herself until they got there.
Eventually, they reached the training building.
Rhian recognized it immediately.
Ash wouldn't shut up about this place since they first arrived.
According to him, this building was everything a carrier needed to become better. Strength training, endurance, weapon practice — even control tests for those with dangerous or unstable abilities.
But what caught Rhian's attention the most was the thing Ash talked about in passing — the Simulation Rooms.
He never got to ask Ash about it properly.
Now, it seemed, he was about to see it firsthand.
Nia led him through the hall until they entered one of the empty rooms. It was spacious. Clean. Lined with strange machines and pods along the walls, each one connected with wires and screens. Everything here screamed advanced.
Rhian was a little relieved, though.
For a second, he thought she was about to fight him again.
Not that he hated it.
But considering he still had classes later... saving some energy sounded like a good idea.
Nia finally spoke as she walked towards one of the strange pods.
"This is one of the simulation rooms," she said, motioning with her hand.
"You enter one of these pods, and it connects to a battle simulation. You can fight all out inside — any technique, any ability — without worrying about injury. It makes a copy of your body in the simulation world. You feel the hits, the exhaustion, the pain… but your real body stays safe in the pod."
Rhian stared at it like a kid seeing magic for the first time.
Technology like this?
To him, it was beyond crazy.
A perfect world where carriers could fight without dying or breaking bones? Train without consequences?
Seeing his expression, Nia's lips curled into a small, smug grin.
For once, Rhian's reaction seemed louder than any words.
But as Rhian kept staring at the machines, a quiet, dry thought crossed his mind.
'If they got tech like this... how come the walls back at the outskirts still look like they'll fall apart if you sneeze on them?'
Nia moved over to one of the nearby machines, tapping a few buttons as a screen appeared in front of Rhian.
"Set up your account," she said plainly.
Rhian stepped closer, following the instructions.
He didn't expect it to ask for credits.
A hundred.
His eye twitched.
That was expensive, at least for someone like him, who came from a place where even fixing a fence needed bargaining.
Still, this was probably worth it, considering what it offered.
As he went through the process, more options appeared.
There was the standard version — which allowed you to fight in the simulation, record battles, and even have public duels with other students.
But there was also... premium.
That cost way more.
It had all kinds of extra features. The main one being concealment.
When fighting in public matches or challenges, it could hide your face completely, block any identifiers like scars or tattoos, even distort your voice if you wanted.
Privacy in a place like this? That was valuable.
But it didn't stop there.
Rhian noticed another shocking feature.
Premium allowed you to change your ability set within the simulation.
You could try out different types — abilities you didn't have in real life.
A physical-type could suddenly wield firea and could use mystical arts. Someone with weak magic could experiment with overwhelming strength.
To Rhian, this was insane.
Not only could students use it to test new fighting styles... but this also meant you could fight against or with abilities you'd normally never face, learning how to deal with them.
It reminded him of what Ash once rambled about, something about "people fighting without limits."
Except Rhian had never touched anything like a game or virtual world.
This was just… advanced beyond reason.
A whole different world inside a pod.
Nia casually leaned back against the machine, arms crossed, watching him set it up.
To her, this was normal.
To Rhian It was like staring at another piece of proof.
Proof that the gap between places like the outskirts... and here... was deeper than just walls and fences.
It was a whole other life.