Races: Online (VR Smartphone App)

Arcois. Brande. Blackthorne. Top Three Students. A random and silly fact went through Han Jing's mind in regards to student performance. People whose last names began with the first letters of the alphabet were said to excel, mostly due to them being delegated to sit in the front row when they were younger. And the letter H...well, it was the eight. So maybe it was kind of true—for his sister, at least.

Although that might not have applied here—fantasy world setting and all that.

Still, Han coughed and scratched the back of his head. "I definitely wouldn't want to get on their bad side, why would you think I would do that?" In a show, the protagonist would always inevitably end up making connections with stronger people—whether it was as friends or enemies. But he wasn't here to be a hero or anything, Han… Han just wanted to be Han.

"The hidden library that was supposed to hold incomparable knowledge to the first one was closed off due to you." Kai gave him a smile.

Han's spine tingled at their face as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't even know what happened—"contemporary romance

"Exactly, that proves my point. You don't even know it but you act like a—" Kai halted and coughed, "Well, if it's you. I think you might get away with it. Whether you attract bad luck or not."

"...I don't know why Kai is being awfully nice to you." Theodore raised a brow.

The Mage grumbled, "Am not."

Han paused for a moment, "I'm just a bad luck attractor?" Somehow those words were quite familiar, but he sighed and mustered a grin. "I think you're mistaken, I'm a calamity attractor—know the difference."

"...You don't happen to have the Gambler Class do you?" Theodore asked.

"Wait, there's a gambler—"

"It's illegal in a way." The Mage explained and shot a look at Theodore. "Playing with Luck is a terrible game."

"Heh. It's kind of ironic when you say it, Kai."

"Shut up."

"..." Han clasped his hands together for a moment and inhaled deeply. Gambler Class. There was a freaking Gambler in this world and he only realized it now?! No, he should have known about it from the start! He'd been uselessly doing Rogue Class and Psion when that kind of thing existed? He could already see how it was possible to min-max that thing. Did the other Races not know of it? He could invest all his points into Luck—

"Sorry about that, I just say the most inane things sometimes." Theodore suddenly apologized and gave Han a sheepish smile. The dude who he almost left in the library was apologizing.

Han coughed and waved a hand, "No, it's fine. Even I kind of say weird stuff, ask Timothy. Anyway, uh, thanks..." He didn't even know what he was saying right now—this guy should have been thanking him at least? He pulled the guy out of the library when the Spectre thing was going mad.

Theodore flashed him a smile, "Don't worry, I just did the right thing."

"Haha, really?" Han had no clue what the guy was talking about. His gaze flickered to Kai for a moment and the dude was not impressed with his deception skills. He coughed and thought of topic—

Kai sighed and asked it for him. "What is he even thanking you for?"

"I saved Ellynn from the prison." Theodore puffed his chest out proudly. "I broke us out—" The man quickly deflated as he sighed and rubbed his neck, "I had to give up my cloak construct during that time to pierce through the barrier, but I was led to understand that it was a notable sacrifice—so you don't have to thank me, Han." He gave him a grin. "But if you want, I can accept a fine cloak."

Han didn't want to question it, but he was kind of intrigued by the man's clear obsession with cloaks. If Han didn't know any better, the dude could have been a Fashionista. But the lightsaber stick said otherwise, "So as an Enchanter… you specialize in animating cloaks and making them—?"

"Animation? Pfft…!" Kai wiped a fake tear, which looked hella realistic with his illusions. "Theo is kind of a genius, I admit that, but there's no one alive who can do an animation spell. At least, the animation I assume you're saying. The matrix for it has probably already been destroyed ages ago during the Golem War." 

Theodore beamed, "Did you just compliment me right in my face and not behind my back? This is amazing!" Somehow the other words just went through his head.

Han was the only who caught it and he blinked. "Golem war?"

"Come on, you should at least know this." Kai raised a brow before folding his hands together and smiled at him, "Unless, you're not from around here?" 

They said it so casually that he had almost said yes. Han blinked and then coughed, "...I'm not good with history? Timothy might know it, but I'm not a reader."

"Yeah, Kai, not everyone is a Reader like you." Theodore elbowed the guy.

Somehow, the word Reader made Han blink. He looked at Kai more carefully, "Reader? Is that a Class too? And you have it?" He might have read something similar and that was enough to get him nervously checking this guy out. What if they were some kind of Regressor or something he wasn't prepared for.

"It's a Class that helps one read faster, it may seem… useless to some, but it's helpful." Kai crossed his arm over his chest. "If I were to keep leveling it, I think I'll gain the [ Translate Language ] skill for texts and that's actually useful for exploring dungeons and other ancient places."

Han inwardly sighed at the explanation.

Theodore however raised a brow, "But it's not like you're going to be an Adventurer, Kai. What are you going to do? Scare monsters with Illusions? Read to them in some mystical language and wait for them to bleed their ears out?"

"...that's not the only thing I do, Theodore." Kai slapped a hand over his face. "Being in the Illusionary House doesn't mean I'm creating phantasms, I play with the senses and not just sight—and I don't even need to explain this to you. You took a Specialization Class!"

"But you got all this Illusionary Mage thing as a nickname—and that's all you practically do." Theodore looked stumped as he pushed his glasses up. "I heard that there was an opening in this Bard's Organization, they may want high-class Illusions to go along as they sing—"

Han had to admit it, Theodore was doing a better job at annoying people unintentionally.

"And what are you going to be after you graduate?" The Mage eyed the Enchanter. "Some toy enchanter? Are you going to make dolls walk—" Kai stopped and sighed. He muttered something incomprehensible under his breath before looking at Han, "Anyway, I'm going. Thank you for letting me get my cloak back."

The Mage walked away from them, the air around him shifted and rippled and the man blinked out of existence. Even leaving them prompted the Mage to put on some kind of illusion display so he could understand the nickname.

But that also meant one thing.

Han was left with Theodore and they were standing awkwardly in the middle of the dining hall. It wasn't like people were paying attention that much, but it was still pretty embarrassing. 

Theodore scratched the back of his head, "Being a Toy Maker doesn't sound really bad—most of the Nobles love them."

"...what kind of toys?" Han asked. "Wait, forget I asked that, I'm going to have lunch too. So uh, see you around." It was time for him to slip away as well. There was only so much interaction he could do with strangers, entertaining or not—but where was Ellynn and Timothy? Han glanced around the cafeteria and the boy was nowhere to be found. He had probably already headed back to his own room. 

Ellynn though? She was still on her table. At least he wasn't going to be alone then, this was great. Han wasn't sure what exactly he was going to talk with her, but he made his way over towards her.

.

.

.

Theodore sighed slightly and waved at the boy walking away from him, "O-oh, okay, have a good lunch." He scratched the back of his head and glanced at the other Students all eating together. There weren't actually a lot of people he got along with… should he just eat back at his own room or at the Enchanter's Work Room? 

He glanced at Roux, Xanthe and Azhura at their table and sighed. He wished he could approach them, but then something else caught his eye. He saw someone with a beautiful cloak—not Ellynn's but what he identified as the boy from the Primrose family… and yet, he probably won't be able to get something like that. Shaking his head and making a decision, the Enchanter looked around the room and activated his skill. 

[ The Eye of Daedalus ] 

The young man made his way towards one of the unobtrusive spots in the Dining Hall and placed his hand on one of the stones, it was glowing in his hand. A pathway opened up for him and he stepped in. The pathway closed once he stepped in, and navigating from here on out was child's play after that.

It was one of the reasons why Kai was chasing him, but even he knew that it was too dangerous. And so the Enchanter walked through the stone hallways, and heard his stomach grumble.Theodore realized that he didn't actually get any lunch and went back.

done.co