Races: Online

Akin to a butterfly being trapped in its net, Elliot Primrose was captured by the newcomer with his very own cloak. Or perhaps the better term was being crushed by a grizzly bear in its arms, it didn't appear to be that way when he had seen the somewhat lanky man as his opponent but his captor squeezed him tightly that he found it hard to breathe.

They could have opted to break free via another [ Flame ] Spell but his own cloak was resistant to fire damage, the young man sighed and dispelled his [ Invisibility ] spell. Squirming out of his own cloak, he sighed for a moment and then uttered the words of defeat, "I give up."

And he was quickly released.

He reached for his cloak and quickly wore it back across his shoulders and stared at his winning opponent. They were someone from a village that was supposedly in a backwater place and ought to have a deficient [ Class ] and [ Level ]. Han.

It was an odd name.

And they were a strange person that somehow managed to use their environment to find him out. Right now they were staring off into space witb a stupid grin on their face. Were they daft?

"Elliot!" A shout came from the left and another tackle arrived, Penny flung him back onto the grass. His older sister squeezed him tightly as he fought back the urge to escape from her arms.

He had enough trouble for one day.

.. .

A new [ Class ].

[ You Have Leveled Up! ]

Out of all his recent troubles and struggles, Han Jing finally gained a Class and he had levelled up as well—he didn't even need to kill anyone this time. The beautiful blue screen menu appeared before him, he had already let go the young boy he had fought and assessed his status sheet:

[ Level 3 ]

[ Class: Peasant ]

Born in the Human Kingdom of Yegarian, one is bound to the [ Rules of the King ] and other [ Skills ] of people holding power, reign and authority.

[ Class: Rogue ]

Often marked by sharp wits and a good perception. Rogues all take unique paths but each one is riddled with danger and thrills.

[ Class: Student ]

As an individual undertaking studies in an institution for learning, they are bound to follow the rules of the [ Headmaster ] and other authorities. 

Han Jing noticed the new information appearing in the menu screen and added two and two together. They weren't there before and something like the [ Creators' Will ] kept updating and changing.

With each level up that he did, more information about this game—virtual simulation or whatever this actually was—is revealed. Now that he checked this statistic it was time for...somebody grabbed them by their shirt's collar and proceeded to drag them back into the square of students all sitting down. "Quit embarrassing us when we've just arrived here, Han." Timothy muttered.

Of course his friend was going to worry about their social standing more. Or was it weird? Maybe he should have been the one worrying more, between the two of them, he was the one making more effort. Timothy wasn't willing to befriend a [ Noble ]—withstanding Penelope. But he also didn't want to draw too much attention. Han nodded to his friend, "Thanks, Timothy. I'll uh…"

"Go ahead," Timothy glanced over to the one at the corner of the group of students. It didn't take him a lot to guess that Han would be sticking with Ellynn, especially when Timothy was seated with Penny and Angelika. 

And presumably, Elliot too.

Ambling about through the group of [ Students ], the others gave him a wide berth to pass through and whether that was out of respect, fear or something else… Han wasn't entirely sure. "And I'm back, thanks for the help." He plopped down back beside the [ Half Elf ] as his opponent also took back their seat and the next combatants took their place.

She slightly glanced at him but didn't say anything else.

It was like talking to a wall of stone.

Sighing back to himself, he wondered why she wasn't talking to him and then paused for a moment as a realization dawned on him. His nose had been too used to it to notice but not changing at all since his match with Donovan and then rolling around the grass had probably made him pungent.

So that was why the others were giving him a lot of space.

Han Jing tried not to slap himself.

It was a surprise that Sir Leon and the rest hadn't said a single word about it during lunch time. Did they not care or was it simply out of avoiding a simple conversation? This would have been a good time to have a magical soap or some nice [ Skill ] on keeping one's clothes clean.

"Um, sorry by the way—I must stink." Han muttered quietly. 

A few seconds passed before Ellynn glanced back at him and nodded her head, "And filthy too. You should get changed if you have spare clothes."

"Hah, I guess that's why you've been avoiding me." He chuckled, poking fun at himself. If there was anything that could make somebody smile wryly or even laugh, he wouldn't mind being the butt of the joke—he could laugh alongside it.

It took more than a couple of seconds and even a full minute before they responded, "I wasn't avoiding you...I just think that it's better off if you distance yourself from me."

Did they really think that way?!

A silent memory slid through the back of his mind before he shook his head, "Nah, I think that's kind of stupid." This time, she didn't look his way but he was sure that she was still listening. "Avoiding you just because you're different makes no sense, it sounds like something a coward would do. And that's not really cool."

Ellynn remained quiet after that, but at least he kind of told her of what he thought about this kind of thing. If anybody that had been close enough could hear it, that would be even better.

They shouldn't bully the underdog, even more so that despite losing the spar today—Han was positive that the young woman could beat everyone else...wait, is she really young?

He knew that women didn't like getting asked their age but curiosity gnawed—he was going to clamp his mouth shut. It didn't matter what the actual age of Ellynn was, what mattered right now was that she had a friend.

...or was she over a hundred years old and thought that his efforts of befriending her was both pathetic and silly?

"Alright class, let's wrap it up. Great job to everyone, I hope that you guys all learned something today. We'll have to discuss the results of the spar some other time, so you're all free to go."

And before Han could say anything else, Ellynn stood up and left without much of a word.

...He'll try to get changed now.

.

.

.

There were a lot of things that would plague Ellynn's mind and although she may have been slightly vexed that she wasn't able to resist the [ Noble's ] skills, there was a more important matter that she had to attend to.

Next class was 'Homeroom' and she was sure that skipping it would be of no harm to her, and so without any further ado, she glanced around the empty corridor and made way for the window.

She jumped out.