Axel's head throbbed as he set himself upright and the memory of what happened previously slammed back into him.
That student. That fourth year student...
The moment before everything went dark, he had felt something crush down on him, like the air itself had turned into lead. Gravity.
When he witnessed Ares being toyed with by it, he didn't know it was that bad. He hadn't expected it to be so... violating.
Whatever it was, it wasn't normal and it was dangerous, so were many other mutant abilities he had yet to come across and it reminded him exactly where he was, which was The Oval Academy.
A place filled with monsters disguised as students.
Axel rubbed the back of his neck, wincing. If that was the strength of a fourth year… would he ever get strong enough to stand toe to toe with someone like that, maybe when he gets to the fourth year? His mind spiralled at the thought but he set it aside.
One problem at a time.
And right now, the biggest problem was where the hell he had ended up.
His vision adjusted, not naturally, but through something new. A faint glow settled over his eyes, sharpening the edges of the room around him. The air wasn't as dark as he first thought. His new skill or whatever the system had installed in him was letting him see clearly in low light.
He started scanning his surroundings. Steel walls, steel floors and a steel door.
It was a holding cell. Everything was metallic and cold, sealed tight with no windows and no escape route except the front door, which was definitely locked.
"Great," Axel muttered. "Second day here and I'm already thrown into jail. Perfect."
He paced for a moment, frustration building. Then he remembered something, something more important than the headache, the cell, or the gravity student.
His mission.
He hadn't completed it yet.
"System Interface."
He commanded and instantly, the interface popped up before him. Why he still needed to say that out loud made him feel weird. What if he was on a date or something and he remembered he needed to check his stats?
Would he just blurt out the words and look like an idiot?
He navigated through the system and ended up in his missions tab.
[Daily Mission: Unknown]
[Mission Update Status: Rob a student of 50 CNTs]
[In Progress]
He sighed and leaned back against the cold wall. His mission was still active, and now he was stuck in a cell with no way out. Rob a student? How was he supposed to do that if he couldn't even leave the room?
He dragged a hand down his face.
"Okay, Axel… calm down. Think."
Before he could form a plan, a faint metallic sound echoed from the other side of the cell door, locks shifting, heavy mechanisms clicking into place.
Someone was opening it.
Axel straightened immediately, fists tightening and pulse quickening.
Whatever was happening next… it wasn't going to be simple.
The metal door slid open with a sharp hiss.
Axel's muscles tensed automatically as if he was ready for anything except the familiar face that stepped inside.
It was Sergeant Cross.
The man's expression wasn't readable as always. He didn't bother sitting since there was nothing to sit on anyway. Instead, he stopped in the middle of the room and stared directly at Axel like he was sent to peel the truth off his skin.
"Axel Vaelon," Cross began. "Let's not waste time. Who is your handler?"
"My… what?" Axel asked, blinking in confusion.
"Your handler," Cross repeated. "Give me a name."
"I don't... I don't know what you're talking about." Axel, who had no idea why he was being interrogated, said.
Cross wasn't messing around. He took a menacing step forward as he spoke.
"Don't play dumb. You're young, but that doesn't mean you're stupid. Just give it up and tell me everything you know about REIN."
That's when Axel paused. The name replayed in his head again
REIN.
He had heard it before. More of whispers and stories and rumors. Some people said they were magic users. Others said they wanted to destroy every ability on Earth. Some insisted they didn't exist at all.
Axel had always assumed they were a myth.
He never imagined they were real, or someone would accuse him of being one of them.
"Wait," Axel said slowly, "you think I'm part of REIN? Why? Why me?"
Cross crossed his arms. "Because the Oval network was breached. Not a common breach, a deep one and that breach happened at the exact same time you accessed a library terminal."
Axel's mind raced back to the moment in the digital library when the screen glitched, flickered, then forced open an old article about Halflings. An article he wasn't really supposed to see since it was something of the old world.
'So… that wasn't just a random glitch?'
Cross stepped closer. "Or are you telling me you didn't do it?"
"Of course I didn't! I don't even know how to hack anything!"
But as he said that, another thought crawled in.
'Did the system do it?' He asked himself
That was the only explanation right? Considering it was in fact the system that gave him the task. If the system forced access into restricted files… then technically the system hacked the Oval network.
And was it possible that the system came from REIN?
Axel felt his stomach twist.
'…Does that mean I'm—'
"If you cooperate, things will go smoother. Think carefully." Cross interrupted his thoughts.
He knocked twice on the steel door. It opened instantly. Without another word, Cross stepped out.
The door slammed shut, leaving Axel alone with the thought of everything he'd just heard.
He pressed a hand over his face. This was bad.
This was beyond bad.
He was being accused of joining a terrorist organization he barely even believed existed. And he had no way to prove he wasn't involved.
He was royally, completely, absolutely and utterly screwed.
And that was when the system chimed and popped up in front of him. A message he wasn't expecting displayed on it. One that could just save him.
[Host has been accused of involvement with the terror group known as REIN.]
[To clear your name, host must escape the holding cell.]
[New Mission Received: Escape the holding cell.]
[Time left: 5 minutes.]
[Reward: 10 EXP]
[Penalty for failure: Permanent incarceration and potential death.]