Van could feel the warmth of the sun on his cheek as he stared at his seemingly empty desk. While the other students all had their pens and parchments ready, his thoughts were having a race of their own.
"...With our class' upcoming Portal Excursion, we will all be giving you Crystals for you to absorb. We have already discussed this before, but as you absorb a crystal, not only does your Base Level go up but your System Level as well."
With the look on the other students' faces, the instructor seemed to be telling something very important, but alas, Van was in his own world.
"Each Crystal will give you a different set of EXP. Your Base Level absorbs all of that, while your System only gets half of what your Base Level receives. Most of you have probably already leveled up both your Base Levels and System Levels, if not, then I would surely be disappointed", the instructor continued his lecture.
"We have discussed all of this before, but not every System levels up the same way. Some of you might unlock new Skills as soon as you first level up, while some may not even after 5 levels. But you don't have to worry, the Skill Points you get are all the same and you can level up your skills as soon as they become available to you".
"Also…"
The instructor's words fleeted, going in one ear and quickly out the other. Van could not even focus even just a single second as he remembered what Sarah said last night.
Sarah's sister and he are the same. Sarah's sister, Scarlett, was a very special System Holder, or so goes Sarah's story.
Similar to Edward, she unlocked her System at a very young age.
At first, Sarah and her family thought that she had a Mage-type System, but as soon as she became a teenager and was able to develop her skills, Sarah realized that she was more than that, she was special.
Scarlett was able to manipulate water and bend it to her will, it was a typical Skill that most Mage-type System Holders have in abundance. However, soon, she was able to create water from thin air. She was regarded as a genius. But once again, her powers developed further than anyone could have ever imagined.
Even if it was slight, she was able to control the weather itself. And so, once again, Sarah told her that she was special...
...And Scarlett was starting to believe it too.
How could she not, if Sarah was always telling her that she was? Sarah told her a million times that she was special, even amongst the System Holders. Sarah loved her sister and doted on her too much that she wasn't able to see…
...She wasn't able to see her descent to madness.
It came to the point that Scarlett started talking about how her power was not a System, but it was actually gifted to her by the gods themselves.
It was so silly, Sarah thought. But still, she indulged her sister's fantasy and told her that it might be a gift from the gods, not only her powers but also herself.
But after Sarah said that to her, Scarlett became even more obsessed. She started writing on the walls of her house and she started speaking to herself.
As soon as Van heard the word 'gods' when Sarah told him her sister's story, he quickly felt his heart skip a beat. He could not help but wonder…. If he and Scarlett really were the same.
But then Sarah's story took an unexpected turn, it just happened so suddenly… Scarlett died. Sarah found her in her house, she drowned herself in the bath. Her family then later found out that Scarlett had been telling her friends in the Academy that she was able to breathe in water. But it turns out…
...She couldn't. Her sister… wasn't special after all.
Stupid. It was a senseless death.
'I was stupid', were Sarah's fleeting words. If only Sarah stopped indulging her sister's fantasies, if only she told her that she really wasn't that special, maybe she would still be alive.
Her family tried to hide it since her grandfather held a certain position in the country, but still, rumors spread fast. Within the week, almost everyone in their circle was spreading their whispers and gossips that Scarlett was insane and that she killed herself.
But Sarah… Sarah was unable to accept that. She wanted to prove that she wasn't insane. That Scarlett was, indeed, special. And so, she spent her time searching. Searching if there were others like her.
She spent years trying to find someone that was similar to her sister. She even went to Charlotte Gates, but she only laughed at her when she started mentioning gods and other stuff.
'I'm abnormally strong, girly. But I trained for my powers, not gifted by some made-up things the government is using to poison our minds!', was Charlotte's words before Sarah was kicked out of the estate.
She also approached Angela Elton, asking her if she had any special students that stood out amongst her students. But the only thing Elton said to her was that all of her students were special.
Sarah searched for years, but nothing and no one ever came. Even her grandfather was telling her to stop. That whatever it is she was doing won't change the fact that Scarlett killed herself, and that she was the reason.
He blamed her for making a mockery of their holy and glorious government. He blamed her for being a sinner. He blamed her for indulging Scarlett's fantasies...
...He blamed her for Scarlett's death. And the truth is, it really was her fault, Sarah's words were full of regret and sorrow.
Sarah was about to give up and accept that her sister really was just someone who lost herself from her own power.
But then, Van came.
Van just unlocked his System, but he was already able to do things that no other System Holders were capable of doing-- the same as Scarlett.
Van… Van is special, like her sister.
Sarah hoped that one day, maybe the gods would talk to him. Then finally, Sarah could prove that her sister… her sister was not crazy.
"..."
"Van!"
"Mr. Van!"
"!!!"
The sound of Van's chair rolling on the floor reverberated in the classroom as he instinctively stood up from hearing his name being called by the instructor. "Are you even listening to what I said just now!?"
"Repeat it, what did I say!?"
"Uhh… That you guys have Skill Points that you can distribute?"
As soon as the instructor heard Van's answer, she took in a deep breath as she felt her chest slightly tremble. "That's all you got from everything I said!? And we have already discussed that part before! I swear, even if you're considered to be the most promising freshman in the Academy, don't think that you could slack--"
"...Then why are you teaching it again, Ms. Mila?", Van could not help but accidentally blurt out. Instantly regretting it after he realized who he was talking to.
"Y… you...
...Get out of the class now!"