“You can buy World Aspects with coins?” I blurted out loud the moment I regained control of my body.
That was unexpected. In fact, it was totally different from what I'd heard. Daniel’s father said only retinues could be rewarded with World Aspects for overperforming. Obviously, that was not the case.
Not that anything I was taught about the Camp was true anyway. I shook my head.
“In the Grand Camp you can buy everything with coins. Be it serums, beasts to bind, lessons from a Grandmaster, or…World Aspects.” Scott smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Coins are everything, and your ranking determines your monthly benefits,” I murmured, eyes flicking to Scott and Daniel. While I didn’t know how they ranked, they definitely ranked better than I did.
That was part of the competition the Grand Camp wanted to create. An environment with young cadets trying to outperform each other to purchase invaluable treasures. I watched Daniel check out the World Aspects offered by the Camp Shop and suppressed a curse.
[World Aspect] – [World Growth] – [2,000,000 Camp Coins] – [2/2]
[World Aspect] – [Soul Energy Surge] – [1,500,000 Camp Coins] – [4/4]
[World Aspect] – [Species Expansion] – [5,000,000 Camp Coins] – [1/1]
…
No more than a dozen World Aspects could be purchased in the Camp Shop. While that was more than I expected, only one suited Daniel’s needs. Two if one included the Element Expansion at the bottom of the list. Either way, both Aspects were expensive.
“Five million coins.” I grimaced at the number. It was exorbitant, yet that changed little. I had to acquire it anyway. “How am I going to earn that much?”
I owed it to the Zerogs. They helped me so much in the last half a year, the least I could do was to try.
Hard.
Aureus said in my mind, though the Earthheart didn’t seem disheartened. If anything, Aureus seemed pumped, ready to crack the impossible challenge and see it through.
Hard but not impossible. I snickered in response, but I failed to control my expression, which Daniel seemed to notice.
“I will take care of the Aspect. You should settle in the Grand Camp and get used to everything. Forget about what you promised my parents and focus on the Grand Camp.” He said with a smile. His eyes sparked with renewed spirit, and I couldn’t force myself to say something.
Even though I wanted to tell Daniel that I didn’t need his help to acquire the World Aspect, I knew that wouldn’t work. For one, Daniel was more likely to earn a fortune by working as a Beaster. Even if he was to hunt beasts, completing missions, he’d have a much higher chance at earning five million coins. I’d only complicate things with my presence. Furthermore, Daniel just wanted me to be in the Grand Camp with him. He never wanted me to join as a retinue to acquire the World Aspect for his sake. He never liked that.
Stronger!
Aureus was right. We had to focus on our strength first. Step up our game and gain the power needed to purchase the World Aspect – or pool our coins to buy it together.
“You have one year.” Scott quipped, “And there is only one Species Expansion Aspect, which – as everyone but Adam probably knows – is highly sought after.”
Competition was fierce, and it felt like I was not even on the starting line.
“What a mess. Anyway!” Daniel’s palms smashed on the railing, pulling me out of deep thoughts. He pointed at the gangway, where someone waved at us. Probably a crew member considering her clothes, and she was definitely not pleased to see that we hadn’t moved yet. “I think they want us to leave.”
“I think so too.” Scott remarked. “Let’s look at our dorms.”
Daniel turned to the staircase and approached it with quick, happy strides.
“I hope we will be roommates!” he shouted happily, probably already imagining our time together as roommates.
“You won’t.” Scott added just loud enough for us to hear, souring Daniel’s mood almost instantaneously.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelFire. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“We will see about that, buddy!”
***
As it turned out, Scott was right. We weren’t in the same room. I wasn’t particularly surprised, but Daniel didn’t take it well.
“Why!?” He banged his fists against the door, a tinge of defeat flickering in his eyes. “Why are you roommates, while I—…” He grumbled something incomprehensible, but I didn’t have to understand him to know what he was mad about.
Not only was Daniel not in the same room as Scott and I, he was not even on the same floor. As a matter of fact, our rooms weren’t even located in the same building.
“Don’t worry about it. We can always meet to eat, train, and do a lot more.” I patted Daniel’s back with a wry smile before I turned to one of the empty beds in the room.
“Take whichever you like,” Scott said nonchalantly, already placing his luggage on the bed beside the window. A bed near the door, where I could enter and leave unnoticed, was better for me. I’d wake up before dawn either way.
The dorms weren’t too bad. The floor was wide, and each end had large bathrooms containing a dozen toilets, sinks, and showers. I doubted we’d ever need so many on our side of the floor, but who was I to say how chaotic our mornings would be once the Grand Camp really started?
Were we supposed to compete for toilets too? I shuddered at the thought and let my gaze move across the room. It wasn’t anything special—just a normal room with a large window opposite the entrance. Four large beds, each with a tinge of personal space. A desk, a chair, a tiny wardrobe, and a narrow nightstand stood neatly beside our beds.
“I expected the rooms to be smaller,” I said. I emptied my luggage, pulled out my new clothes, and rearranged them before putting them in the wardrobe.
“Spatial enlargement circuit,” a stranger’s voice said. It was young and so quiet I was certain someone whispered directly into my ear. I turned to see a young man sitting on another bed. He was a skinny guy who couldn’t have been a day older than me. In fact, if not for the age restrictions of the Camp, I would have guessed him to be thirteen. His hair was raven black, his cheeks beet red, and he looked abashed—shy, maybe.
My body reacted instinctively to the stranger’s sudden appearance. I yelled out loud and jumped from the edge of my bed. The young stranger followed my example and leapt up, squealing.
“What? What? What?!” His head flicked left and right, searching for the source—only to find it was himself.
In the Rulers’ names! Did he pop out of nowhere or what?!
“Since… when is that guy here?” Daniel asked, his hair standing on end, electricity rippling across his skin.
“Hm?” Scott stopped unpacking and turned to the raven-haired kid. “I saw him earlier, but didn’t say anything. Daniel was crying too much about the rooms, and he—” Scott pointed at the young stranger. “He looked scared and tried to hide behind his blankets.”
His eyes flashed for a moment, the corner of his lips curled upward, and he refocused on unpacking.
“I—I’m your roommate. M-my name is Spencer... Spencer Steinhart,” he said, averting his eyes and fidgeting with his fingers. A single drop of sweat trickled down his temple, but I just smiled at him.
“Nice to meet you, Spencer. I’m Adam Savier.” I stepped closer, hand stretched out, but Spencer pulled away. He seemed to be panicking, so I backtracked, still smiling.
“No worries. Not everyone likes handshakes.” I snickered, which seemed to relax him a bit. He smiled wryly, his lips parting for a moment only to close again.
“Anyway, what were you saying earlier? Something about spatial—what was it again? Spatial...?”
Spencer’s eyes glittered like a cloudless night sky. “Spatial enlargement circuit, yes, yes!!”
Gone was the shy guy, replaced by a chatterbox talking all about the architectural wonder of the dormitory. If Spencer was to be believed, arrays of ether-fueled lines had been infused into the entire building complex, expanding its insides considerably. Such arrays—modernized and labeled ether circuits a few decades ago—were the cornerstone of almost everything, be it skytrain, my Etheriam watch, or my storage belt.
Surprisingly enough, Spencer recognized both watch and storage belt right away, which pushed him to chatter another minute about mankind’s technological advancements, the efficiency of armaments equipped with ether circuits, and how much easier life had become in every possible way—all thanks to ether circuits.
“Teach tried to explain circuits to me once...” Daniel chimed in when Spencer’s stream of words slowed. He let out a faint laugh and pointed at his watch, storage ring, and belt. “He failed, or should I say I failed to understand anything? I have literally no idea how any of this works.”
The moment Daniel spoke, Spencer transformed back into a shy guy.
“Thanks for the history lesson. I didn’t know that,” I said sincerely. “Do you think you could teach me a little about those circuits? You don’t have to, but I’d like to learn. I think it’s quite interesting!”
My interest was genuine. Of course, I wanted to get to know my roommate better as well; however, the things Spencer said about circuits were impressive, to say the least. Spencer seemed nice enough too, which was all the better. Having a nice roommate was... well, it was nice. Definitely better than a douche.
“What a pain in the ass,” Scott muttered, taking a deep breath as he turned to stare at the open door behind Daniel.
A towering figure appeared in the doorframe, and a young man stepped inside with a vibrant smile that radiated warmth and a touch of ether.
“Hello, everyone.” He offered a faint bow. I was oddly glad and excited to have such a friendly Blessed as a roommate.
“So, you guys are my roommates? What a blessing!”
“Stop that nonsense and reel in your Charm before I rip you a new one,” Scott growled, releasing a shockwave of ether that... did nothing to me.
No—it did affect me. I turned back to the tall, handsome Blessed, my earlier excitement replaced by disgust.