Chapter 36 Banquet Of Obelisk (2)

A week had passed as the announcement regarding the event 'Banquet of Obelisk' was announced that garnered different reactions from the students, and even some teachers, who didn't have any idea about the existence of the place called 'Obelisk Center Hall'.

…

Last Friday, the day of the announcement about the 'Banquet of Obelisk, inside a personal training room with the room number 3, a woman with a bob hairstyle, having red hair, with ruby eyes, and with a height of 166 cm.

~Swisssh…~

A training dummy was cut in half by a chained sickle that goes both ways, it was swung by the woman as if it were a normal toy that its weight didn't even need to be considered.

~Ririririring…~

With the sound of a call from her smartwatch, prompting her to stop her ongoing training, she sat down on the ground of the training ground with a cross-legged pose and answered the call.

"How's my daughter?"

A voice of a man came from the other end of the call, exuding a gentle tone yet one could tell that it possessed authority.

"I'm fine, Dad! You're disturbing my training."

Though the sound of her tone was quite harsh for a daughter, it contained something like gladness by having to talk to her father.

"Hahaha, forgive me my daughter, I just want to tell you about the opening of Obelisk Center Hall."

The man on the other end laughed, amused by her daughter as if their relationship is something like of comradery.

"Dad, you know I don't like my name to be in there! Just your name would suffice enough attraction."

Her father was a doting one that provides everything she needs, the downside was that her father wants her name to spread like wildfire as if their family surname didn't have enough reputation!

"Alright, alright! See you on Wednesday, okay? I love you, Anya."

Giving up on his daughter, he bid his goodbye and proceeded to end the call without waiting for her daughter's answer.

…

Wednesday, the day of the 'Banquet of Obelisk'

Classes were suspended for the preparation of the event, even for seniors who were not participants of the banquet with the exception of Student Council and Disciplinary Committee members. This gives them at least a day of rest.

...

Room 26 of the Rigel Building

Russell Moon visited her younger sister, Freya Moon who is residing in this extravagant dormitory. He made an appointment in advance as there's a restriction on meeting students from A-1.

'My dorm is like stables compared to this five-star hotel-like building.'

~Knock knock~

Knocking on the door, with a plate signifying Room 26 above it, a 'click' sound was heard from the inside as the creaking followed next. Soon after, Russell went inside and saw the other two; Amery and Amelie sitting on a couch beside the bed, watching something on the television provided also by the Obelisk Academy.

"Good afternoon Russell!"

Amelie Rose greeted me with her usual demeanor; a cheerful who always smile, while Amery just nodded at me as her greeting, maintaining her aloof atmosphere.

I nodded at both of them, responding to their greetings.

'I don't even have the will to open my mouth.' Russell lampooned, almost prompting him to scratch his hair. Though it's not evident in his expression, he lacked of sleep for a few days thinking about the shadows lurking behind Rumia, observing them for quite some time.

"Oppa, have you prepared a suit?" Freya asked, wondering if her big brother managed to buy suitable attire for the banquet. Unsurprisingly, one could buy an attire inside the Obelisk Academy, in one of its 'Clothing Stores'.

"Yeah, I got one, how about you three?"

He asked, also referring to Amelie and Amery.

"We bought dresses together, do you want to see 'Oppa'?" Freya asked, expecting an answer from her big brother.

"No," he replied plainly, prompting Freya to pout unconsciously.

"You two are really close siblings, you know?"

Amelie interjected, saying what she thought about the interaction between the two.

As they keep chattering about many things, a piece of news on television was heard, prompting the four of them to look at it, and listen attentively.

"Crescent Weaponry Company will soon release various weapons and armor on the 'market'. These new types of equipment were scientifically, and magically proven by renowned scientists and magic engineers…"

…

"Tsk, I hope their types of equipment are affordable, or else, it's always the rich who will get the opportunity." Freya voice her thoughts that simply resemble the gap between the rich and the poor.

'I guess it's time for the first disaster outside the Obelisk Academy…' Russell thought, remembering the details of the novel he wrote.

'This will be a kind of evil on my part, but I guess it's time to make some money… by buying shorts of their stocks in advance. Though I'm not stupid enough to walk through their doors and do such a thing.' He said inwardly as he thought of the upcoming future.

"Weapons…" Amery whispered, prompting Russell, Freya, and Amelie to look at her, with her eyes shining like a star.

"This girl really…" Freya said in resignation.

"By the way, Russell, what it's like in your class?"

Amelie Rose asked out of nowhere, with a look of curiosity in her eyes wondering about the difference in treatment between A-1 class and other classes.

"Freer." He answered with a tone of mockery.

"Ah… is that so? Ours were strict as if there's no tomorrow, everyone is serious… right Freya?" Amelie said, with a tone of dejection.

"What are you on about now?" Freya who was sitting on the bed took the glass with water placed on the desk and took a gulp of it.

"They treat us as more special than others."

Surprisingly, Amery voiced her opinion, and Russell agreed to it.

"She's right by the way, but that's all there is to it."

Based on the novel he wrote, A-1 Class were considered special among other classes, thus treating them with a more restricted approach when it comes to teaching the students, while the other classes, from A-2 to A-12 were treated as extras, but at the same time, a challenge for A-1 students because being in A-2 to A-12 didn't mean that they're weaker especially if one would only consider the 'Entrance Exam' criteria of assigning the student's class.

"Oppa, I'm curious about your advice before..." Freya said, remembering one of this big brother's advice.

"Ohhhh… what advice? Spill it!" Amelie, being more excited to hear what Russell has to say, while Amery also formed curious eyes.

Thinking about it for a while, though not the exact reason, but also equivalent to the truth, Russell answered what the three of them are curious about.

"I told my younger sister before we go to the Academy after the assignment of classes that she shouldn't make friends with famous people in her class."

"Why? Isn't it beneficial to have a connection with them?" Amelie didn't bother to ask for their names as she knows who he was referring to.

'They're the main characters in the novel I've written! Pure trouble!' he repressed himself from saying such absurd things and gave an answer that is within an acceptable range in perspective.

"Many people will get jealous of people who manage to make connections with them. You will be a target of hate at some point."

'I can't say that some of them have shadows who will investigate you!'

"But… I think you could befriend one of them…"

Thinking about it now, Russell's early morning routine, when she encountered Samantha Hall, was repeated for a couple of days, though he couldn't totally justify if he made the right decision of talking to her, but considering her predicament, it's like he became a trigger for her to be more carefree rationally, at least inside the Academy.

'Though it was supposed to happen sooner, I just fast-forwarded it."

…

After more chattering, Russell bid his goodbye to her younger sister, and the duo who stayed in her dorm room.

"Freya, isn't your brother kind of weird?" Amelie asked, with a curious tone, wondering about Russell's perspectives of things and his demeanor.

"Yes, you could say that, but he's right most of the time."

Freya, who didn't deny his big brother's weirdness sometimes, praised him with her words.

"He has many secrets."

Freya and Amelie Rose looked at the most-of-the-time silent Amery, with a dumbfounded expression on their faces.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean!?"

Freya and Amelie asked almost at the same time, also prompting Freya to look at the ceiling of her dorm room while lying on her bed, remembering the difference in her big brother's usual stature.

"No, she's right, I just remember something… but it's okay, we shouldn't talk about that."

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 The least I could do was to divert their attention away from my big brother.

"Right, sorry, we shouldn't pry about such things, everyone has a secret. Hehe"

This time, it was Amery and Freya who looked at Amelie Rose with a suspicious gaze, prompting her to scratch her cheeks.

…

7:50 P.M, Banquet of Obelisk, 10 minutes before the start of the event.

~Whoaaaa! It really is open!

~What in the hell?

~I can't believe it's a kind of building, too.

Various opinions resounded inside the Obelisk Center Hall, the gigantic 'Obelisk' architecture in the middle of the Obelisk Academy that many people thought was only a symbol, but tonight, it was proven to be an outstanding infrastructure that could accommodate thousands of people.

"Whoaaa! Freya, why does it feel like bigger inside than from its looks on the outside?"

Amelie asked in amazement, and a voice of a man they're familiar with answered her.

"It's a space magic."

"Oppa! I thought you'd be late!"

"Space magic? Isn't that rare?"

Amelie asked in wonder, thinking about the 'space magic' that is a very powerful kind of skill considered among 'Players'.

"I don't have all the details, I just thought of Dimensional Inventory that we have."

Russell said, though he knew that this space was caused by an Artifact called 'Dimensional Square", such detail was controversial, and blurting it out would have him arrested immediately. The Obelisk Scientists and Magic Engineers managed to utilize the Dimensional Inventory in a different way, thus creating the Dimensional Square artifact.

As if understanding what he thought about, Freya interjected.

"Right… we could store objects regardless of weight and size inside the Dimensional Inventory…"

"Hey, hey, is your brother a secret genius? Why is he in A-11?" Amelie made a cheeky remark, prompting Russell to put on a frowning expression.

'I know because I've written it!' he lampooned inwardly, remembering that he knew, but not how it was thoroughly made.

…

"What a beauty!"

"Is that a goddess on earth?"

"The goddesses have descended!"

Different reactions from some students entered the ears of Russell, and the others as the famous figures entered the Obelisk Center Hall, a minute or two before the start of the event.

'Though they didn't seem like close on the outside, due to their parents' connections with each other, they formed at least a bond.' Russell thought.

…

The inside of the Obelisk Center Hall is a spacious ground where the floor was thoroughly cleaned as if it became a mirror that one could see their reflection if they look on it.

Numerous round tables were placed across the venue that could accommodate at least eight seats each table, and on the side were different kinds of delicacies and drinks prepared by staff specialized in catering while on the other side were the technical staff responsible for music and lights that were not ordinary as Skills suit for relaxation were mixed on it.

"Good evening everyone! This marks the start of the 'Banquet of Obelisk!"

As the clock ticked at 7 o'clock in the evening, the alluring voice that could make a person like a living puppet entered the ears of everyone present, prompting each pair of eyes to look on stage where a beautiful woman with platinum hair, purple eyes, and a body befitting a model was standing.