[Round 0 - Main]
[Kill a living being to join the rounds. The rest will die.]
Time left before the first round:
[19:23:11]
"Good job on killing your mother. I'll give you a prize later."
I finished my statement with a grin.
There was a crowd around us now. They were whispering maliciously.
"He forced the boy to kill his mother?"
"Poor child…"
"He appeared out of nowhere."
I didn't mind the whispers. Maybe I had been influenced too much by Johnny.
I grabbed a roll of tissue paper, tore a sheet, and placed it on the boy's mother's face.
"May the Word be kind to her," I said with a dramaticized bow. I wasn't even sure what the Word was but I had heard it from Harry and had an ample idea of it.
I crouched to face the boy.
"What's your name?" I whispered slowly so that other people may not hear.
The boy sniffled, "Atticus."
Everything halted. My world had stopped. What kind of name is Atticus? I stared at the mother, sluggish and dead. Why would you name your child that? Why not something cuter?
Atticus… was the name of a former friend.
[Atticus will remember that]
[The Narrator is cowering at the sight of Atticus]
The Narrator?
Is this the prize I got for joining the rounds first? A system that narrates my life? What a joke.
"Mister?" The boy asked concerningly. "Is something wrong?"
I sighed and ruffled his hair, comforting him the best I could. I don't feel like I have the responsibility to take care of this child. Definitely not. But I do feel sad for him.
"Not at all. Let's go."
Atticus looked confused but when he looked around to see people staring at us nastily, he nodded and ran with me.
-
"There you are, Reverie!"
"It's Reve…"
After a few skedaddling, I finally reunited with Harry and Johnny.
"Who's this chump?" Johnny sneered at Atticus.
I couldn't help but agree with Johnny. If only his name wasn't Atticus…
My hand ruffled his hair again. "This little man is named Attic. He's part of the rounds as well."
I huffed my chest proudly. Attic looked at me like I was the devil.
Johnny laughed, "What kind of stupid name is that?"
Harry interrupted, "Now, now. In any case, Reverie—"
"Reve."
"—and Johnny. Have you got your sayings by now?"
I was about to say no when Johnny nodded in affirmation.
"Sayings?" Attic responded.
Good! I'm not the only one out of touch.
Harry looked at him rather coldly. Still, he explained: "Sayings are, to put it in the simplest way possible, they are spells. You and Reve should come with me. I'll show you to our weapon shed."
-
"There are two types of sayings; Word, a verbal spell-like saying; regalia, which is the same except you can hold it as a weapon.
"It's not as simple as it sounds. Most common sayings like "I love you" are hard to master— they're practically spell incantations. You have to understand the Word itself."
"Word?" Attic asked.
"Word is simply, in fictitious works, mana. The more common the saying is, the more powerful and the more Word it contains. And a singularity is basically an evolved skill that can be passive."
I listened to Harry as he spoke about sayings and such. We walked along the sidewalk, dodging incoming passers-by.
"It's still unsure where or when sayings became spells but our team is currently researching it. We are currently testing if we can create our own sayings by artificially spreading a sentence through flyers or something. It's still under works." Harry chuckled awkwardly.
I took a mental note of what he said.
"Ah, I almost forgot. Attic?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do The Federation salute, please."
Attic was clearly confused but abided.
A screen appeared in front of him.
—————
User
↳ Atticus di Rain
Attributes
↳ □
Sayings
↳ □
Skill of Singularity
↳ Body Enhancement
Skills
↳ Strength Level 6
↳ Agility Level 2
↳ Endurance Level 5
↳ Word Level 1
—————
Attic looked in awe.
Harry peeked from behind him, "Not bad, not bad! Your skills are so-so but you got a singularity!"
I melted. I felt lampooned.
We continued walking until we reached the shed.
It was a ten foot tall shed, with a large rusty wooden door, chained by padlocks.
"Is it all right for us to grab whatever we want?"
Harry nodded, "Of course it is. Didn't I say this is The Federation's morals?"
"Is that so?" I scanned the walls for a weapon that could fit me. "Anyhow, can you show me how to use a regalia?"
Harry inhaled then raised his hand above his head.
"Presto."
A blade that was unlike a sword appeared in his hand as if released from the wind. I realized now that it was not just a blade but a gun as well. The handle was curved and had a trigger like a pistol. The blade was similar to that of a machete and along the dull opposite side of the blade was the muzzle.
I clapped. "Incredible."
Harry chuckled, "I know I am."
We chose our weapons and left. I chose a thin sword and Attic didn't choose a thing ("You'll protect me, right, mister?" He had said). For someone who just killed his mother, he was in a damn jolly mood.
On our way to the stage where the commander would begin his statement, I asked a favor to Harry.
"Would you stop calling me Reverie?"
His smile didn't falter but I could tell he was annoyed, "Why would I call you anything else but your name? It is your name, right?"
Perhaps it is because the only few people that called me by that name are either dead or had cut me off. So either he had a death wish or he must really hate me.
I was annoyed too because why won't he listen to me? Can't he just call me Reve and move on?
Harry said, "It's not a big deal, Reverie. Don't make it seem like it is."
He escaped backstage. I watched his back as it disappeared through the crowd.
[Harry will remember that]