Saga of Atlantis

"Are you alright?"

Halting my steps, I looked back toward Grace.

"Are you concerned about my well-being now?" I asked, looking at her.

"No, but it looks like you’re not feeling well," she replied, pointing towards my shirt.

I looked down only to find my shirt drenched with sweat.

"It’s fine; I just need some time to cool myself," I replied.

After having a nice talk with my siblings, we left them as we moved towards the third-year building for the inspection of the next club.

"You sweat a lot when you feel angry." Again, I halted my steps, glancing back at her.

"Grace, please don’t talk about that," I replied, sighing and resuming my walk.

I know she is concerned about my behavior towards my family; she even tried to stop me. But every time I saw their faces, for some reason, I remembered their mocking expressions from the game.

It’s hard for me to believe that the game I played years ago is still fresh in my mind, recalling how they looked delighted watching me slowly die.

Coupled with Eden’s memories of them walking behind me and calling me big brother, it makes me feel sick even to think about it.

I truly feel disgust just considering the idea of being with them or forgiving them for what they did.

"Daniel said you didn’t see them for three years?" She asked, changing the topic as she followed behind me.

"Yeah... I was not home," I replied, slowing my pace so she could be beside me.

"Where were you?"

"Just roaming around the continents."

"Alone?" She asked, frowning.

"Yeah, most of the time."

"Why? Don’t you know how dangerous it can be to be on a journey alone?"

"Trust me, Grace, it was way better than being in this shitty kingdom," I replied, looking at her, to which she slightly nodded.

After a few seconds of silence, she said,

"You know, during these years, the bad rumors about you never stopped."

"You believe in them?"

"I didn’t care about them, but there are some that match your personality, at least the one that you were a few years ago." She replied, and her expression became more conflicting as she remembered those times.

"I know; I have heard most of them," I replied.

The rumors that have been spread about me were meant for people to hate me, but they got so bad that, more than hate, people started to fear me.

They fear me for who I am—a rapist, a murderer, a drug addict.

One of the most famous rumors about me is that I kill people just for my amusement without thinking about the consequences.

This also worked in my favor, as no Jake or Joe would come to me to fight because they fear me.

And the gaze of the students around me has never changed; they either look at me with disgust or fear, well, mostly boys.

Girls have their own fantasies about me.

"Are you not going to do anything about them?" She asked, bringing me back to reality.

"My shitty father didn’t do anything about those rumors, and you should understand there is only one person that can stop him from doing so, the king. Now tell me, what do you expect me to do about it?" I replied frustration was evident in my words.

"At least you can try to change your image in the eyes of the students."

"What do you want me to do? They already have a mental image of me in their minds, and I can’t change that," I replied, dismissing her words.

"At least you can try to do something good; help them so they can see you in a better light."

"Are you implying that I should become a saint?" I asked, laughing at her words. "The last thing I want to be is a hypocritical, wannabe righteous person."

"Fine! Be like the way you are; just don’t come back crying to me when everyone leaves you," she replied and overtook me, walking slightly faster.

"Grace."

"What!"

"Why do you think I will come back crying to you?"

"..."

"..."

"Hey! Walk slowly, Grace!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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which housed one of the most famous clubs in both the academy and the first game.

The first thing that was noticeable was, of course, the huge crowd gathered around the building.

We both were able to get past the crowd thanks to my reputation, and we entered the auditorium of the building.

The auditorium was divided into two parts; from all sides, it was adorned with meticulously arranged seats for the students to watch the show.

In the center, there was a transparent wall covering a large area, marked with silver runes that glowed with the pale light of a crescent moon.

A match was ongoing as we arrived for the promotion of the club.

Both teams consisted of six people: two at the back, one in the middle, and two in the front.

Every one of them levitated in the air, using basic wind, fire, or water magic to easily cover meters of distance without much trouble while attacking each other without any consequences.

A single ball hovered in the air, passing from one team to another as they tried to score a point by landing the ball in the opposing team’s designated area.

It was like volleyball from back on earth, but it was much more fun and interesting.

"They are using gravity runes to make them levitate in the air." As I was attentively observing the game, Grace’s voice brought me out of it.

"Yeah, I can see that," I mumbled, observing the silver runes marked around the transparent walls.

"I will be back in a while." Saying so, Grace took her leave, moving towards the back of the auditorium.

I returned my gaze back to the game, watching them play while the students watching the game were cheering for them.

"Fancy meeting you here, bro!" A high-pitched voice called me as I looked back at the guy.

"Breg."

"The one and only," he replied, grinning as he arrived beside me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, and immediately I felt stupid for even asking that.

"Duh, bruh, I am here to register for the club," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"You have to participate in the match to register; you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I even learned how to levitate for this."

"And how did you do that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I jumped from the first floor again and again until I could position myself while I levitated," he replied with a grin.

...Idiot.

"Good for you," I replied, focusing back on the match.

"And why are you here?"

"To register, bruh," I replied in the same tone as him.

"Where is your girlfriend, Breg?" I asked, as I didn’t find Nora with him.

"She should be with Cassia and Aron," he replied, not a bit bothered.

"Are you fine with it?" I asked, looking at him curiously.

"About what?"

"About her spending so much time with Aron."

"Nah, I don’t have to worry about that; she is my childhood friend who loves me too much," he replied, and a loving smile blossomed on his face as he talked about her.

"Childhood friend, huh?"

"Did you have sex with her?" I asked bluntly, taking him by surprise.

"H-huh, w-what," he replied, his cheeks turning slightly red, which made me look at him in disgust.

"Stop panicking like a girl and tell me," I replied, shaking him by his shoulder.

"I m-mean I did k-kiss her on the cheeks."

"Just that?"

"Y-yeah."

"Sigh!"

I sighed, focusing back on the match.

Nora was the wish fulfillment character in the game, a character specifically created for those guys who like to take other people’s partners.

In the [Twilight Grief Event] shit is going to happen because that event is also known as a tragic event, as many will die there, including Breg.

That girl betrayed his trust while he died protecting her, without even knowing that the girl he loved so much was deceiving him.

kissing and hugging Aron actively during the academic year and gave her innocence to him the day Breg died.

’What a bitch.’

Well, at least I have enough security about my lovers that even the hero, with his heavenly luck, can’t make them fall out of love with me.

"They are taking down the transparent wall," Breg said, tapping my shoulder.

"I can see that," I replied, slapping his hand away.

*Swish*

I turned back, ready to move towards the registration area, but a sudden blur caught my attention.

Without warning, a projectile hurtled towards my face, aimed with precision and strength, that was meant to do harm.

I swiftly raised my hand, blocking the incoming projectile—a volleyball with silver runes placed on it.

As I stood there unmoved and unimpressed, holding the ball firmly, my eyes scanned the surroundings, locking onto the person who attacked me.

"Well, well, if it isn’t ’The Fallen Genius,’ quite the reflex you got there."

A smirking figure looked at me with a demeanor that exuded both arrogance and a desire for attention.