The morning sun blasted against Rondo's face. The glare reflecting off the glass was so sharp it dragged him right out of his unconsciousness.
Rondo peeled his eyes open slowly. Once he was fully awake, he scanned his surroundings—he was still inside the car. He patted down his uniform.
"Where am I? Why did I pass out?"
Rondo touched his wrist. He felt something strange there. He lifted his arm to check. Clamped around it was a dark blue bracelet. Rondo tapped the bracelet with his index finger. A moment later, a semi-transparent light blue holographic screen popped up right in front of him.
[Name: -
Health:
Mood: Neutral
Growth Point: 0
[Stats] [Messages] [Notifications] [Settings] [Close] ]
"W-what is this?"
Rondo pressed the 'Notification' column.
[No notifications]
[1 New Message!]
"Eh, a new message?" he muttered, hurriedly jabbing the 'Message' button.
[Jay]
Hey, you awake?
Come on, get out of your car quickly. You need to get into the school immediately.
"From Jay? Crap, I really need to hurry then."
Rondo scrambled to get out of the car. However, he hadn't closed the holographic UI yet—it kept glitching and blocking his visibility every few seconds.
It was a struggle, but Rondo finally managed to tumble out of the vehicle. Once outside, he stood before a massive open gate. The view ahead left him stunned. He stared in disbelief.
In the distance, a super-magnificent central building towered over everything. Surrounding him were vast, sprawling fields.
Rondo felt a surge of excitement. He started walking through the giant gate, the fresh wind sweeping through his hair. He had only taken a few steps inside when a voice suddenly spoke up.
[Registration confirmed. Welcome to Nexhile School, Rondo!]
Rondo froze mid-step. He raised his hand and realized he hadn't closed the holographic UI on his bracelet.
"God! This thing hasn't closed yet? Oh man... how do I turn it off? Did I break it?" Rondo muttered, trying to press several columns. Instead, he accidentally opened the settings menu, which displayed even more columns, making him even more confused.
"Dummy, you just need to press the 'close' button in the right corner," a girl's voice said into his right ear. She pointed at the specific column.
Rondo quickly pressed the 'close' button. Finally, the UI shut down and vanished completely.
Rondo turned to look at his right. Standing there was a girl with an ash-brown bob cut. She was wearing the same uniform as Rondo, a black skirt with long black stockings.
"Uh, hi. Thanks for the help. I was just-"
"Who are you? So stiff. Come on, hi, you can call me Tira. I used to be a street artist, you know? They usually called me the 'goddess of street art'," Tira cut him off, shaking Rondo's hand vigorously.
"Whoa, really? That's so cool! Nice to meet you, I'm Rondo. I was previously just a regular scavenger, ehehe."
"A scavenger? Hell yea, that's pretty cool too, bro! What did you do with all that junk? Did you build self-made mechatronics? Or... did you build self-made drones?"
"Um... Not really. I just sold it to collectors to get money."
Tira immediately frowned.
"That's all you did with your scrap?" Tira asked, disbelief written on her face.
"Well, what was I supposed to-"
[Broadcast]
[Announcer Voice]
[Announcement, for all prospective students of Nexhile School please queue at Central Control for data collection. Please follow the GPS instructions appearing from Orla. Students are expected to arrive immediately, thank you!]
[Broadcast closed]
"Orla?" Rondo asked, looking totally confused.
Without a word, Tira pointed to the bracelet Rondo was wearing. Rondo laughed awkwardly after realizing it. A moment later, a map with dots, locations, and GPS directions popped up in front of him.
"Maybe we can go faster," Tira said, gripping Rondo's arm tightly. Rondo furrowed his brow. Without any warning, Tira gave a thin smile, then started running, dragging Rondo along. Rondo's body was yanked forward with force. But slowly, he managed to match his rhythm to where Tira's arm was pulling him.
---
When they reached Central Control, there was already a huge crowd of students waiting in line.
"Gosh, why did you drag me like that all of a sudden?" Rondo asked, gasping for air.
"Huff... huff... you're the slow one. Look, see? The line is already this huge, how long do you want to wait?" Tira replied, lightly slapping Rondo's arm.
Rondo looked around. There were several cables dangling slightly, connected to a round tube. Students were being directed to enter oval pods in front of them. A few minutes later, scanners began scanning the students' bodies. He joined the line with Tira.
"Chantira Ploy! Is there anyone named Chantira Ploy here?" a scientist called out, holding a tablet.
Rondo turned to Tira, who looked busy playing with her Orla.
"Hey, are they calling you?"
Tira looked at Rondo, then looked at the scientist who seemed to be looking around for someone.
"Ah, right. Guess they are calling me. Thanks!" Tira said as she walked away, slapping Rondo hard on the back.
Tira walked past the queue and went straight into the tube.
"Women," Rondo muttered, grimacing in pain while clutching his back.
"Are you waiting for your turn?" another student behind Rondo asked. He wore round glasses and was about the same height as Rondo.
"Yeah, but I don't know if this long line is real, or if there's a VIP lane," Rondo replied with a thin laugh. "Ah right, what's your na—"
"Eguchii Kenta! Is there an Eguchii Kenta here?" the scientist called. The student behind Rondo started walking past the long lines and immediately entered the oval pod.
Huh, so he's a VIP too? Rondo thought, his face stuck in disbelief.
---
Slowly, the queue started to thin out. To kill the boredom and drowsiness, Rondo tried messing around with his Orla. He even tweaked the settings. Now the UI on his Orla looked more distinct with a theme of his own choice.
[1 New Message!]
[Chantira Ploy]
Oi, are you done yet?
Taking forever.
Look, I'm already in my room and can lie down comfortably.
[Sent a photo of herself lying in bed. One eye half open, hand raised in a peace sign, hair slightly messy on a white pillow.]
[Rondo Ernias]
It's thinning out, but I don't know how much longer, haha!
That pillow looks comfy.
Getting sleepy out here.
[Chantira Ploy]
Haha! Obviously, it's super soft!
[Sent a photo of herself hugging a white bolster]
"Rondo Ernias?" the scientist called to Rondo. Rondo hurriedly closed his Orla UI.
"Y-yes, ma'am. Is it my turn?" Rondo asked.
The scientist laughed.
"Yes, who else? Look, there's nobody left here," the scientist explained.
Rondo looked around; the room was completely empty, leaving only him. Rondo scratched his head, even though it wasn't itchy.
"Come here, Rondo. Let's start the scan," the scientist said, guiding Rondo to an aluminum platform.
Rondo stepped into the oval pod. His feet touched the aluminum base. The pod door started to close automatically. The scientist began fiddling with the holographic UI next to it, which looked incredibly complicated.
Not long after, the scan was finished. Rondo's complete data appeared on a round tube display. The door of the oval pod opened slowly. Rondo was directed to step out of the machine.
"Alright Rondo, please read this data carefully, okay? Because it will only last for a few minutes," the scientist explained to Rondo.
"Okay, ma'am," Rondo replied. The scientist started walking away, leaving Rondo there.
Rondo read through the detailed data about himself one by one.
"It says here that I'm... in Class E?!"