Lucas entered further into the Academy building, the corridor was exquisite to say the least, everything was flowing with extravagance as the wealth of the Academy shone through.
Leo had given him the keycard to Room 306, Lucas went straight to the elevator and pressed the three button. He waited for a few minutes and then the elevator stopped, he walked out and started searching for his room. It was rather easy because this was the floor where Room 300 and above were.
He slid in the keycard and the door opened, he was greeted with a well-furnished room with one side of it having a properly furnished bed and the other side having just a mattress. Lucas could hear the shower running, someone was in here.
He sat down on the bare mattress on the other side of the room and waited for the other occupant to get out of the bathroom. The showers stopped and the other inhabitant of the room stepped out. Lucas remembered the handsome face, but he seemed different, he looked even more handsome.
That was a trait that Rankers possessed, the more they ranked up the more beautiful or the more handsome they became, those who were already physically endowed would have those endowments amplified by ranking up even more.
"Karl Ardent." Lucas said slowly, Karl instantly raised his head, recognizing the voice of the one who had just called him.
He had bags under his eyes but that didn't remove anything from his beauty.
"Lucas!" Karl exclaimed, he had a towel tied to his waist and then walked over to Lucas, he put his hand on Lucas's shoulder, gripped it firmly and nodded.
Lucas smiled at him, he was in the same room with his fearless leader.
"I thought I wouldn't see you again." Karl said as he moved to take off the towel keeping him covered.
"Woah! Woah!" Lucas screamed as soon as he understood what Karl was about to do. "Keep that on or better still let me use the bathroom."
Karl raised his eyebrow, surprised at Lucas's embarrassment. "What's wrong? We're all men here."
Lucas ignored him and walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He had expected many things but he didn't expect to see Karl here. Yes the Academy welcomed people of any status, as long as they were Rankers they were welcomed with open arms. But he didn't think Karl would need the extra training, he was more proficient in using his Faculty during the Imposition than any of them, he was even able to teach David a little bit of swordsmanship.
Lucas opened the tap at the sink and then washed his face, he looked in the mirror, water flowing down his face and dripping down his chin.
For the first time in his life Lucas thought he was fairly okay in the looks department. His external features had been amplified due to his higher rank, he smiled a little and then walked out of the bathroom.
He met Karl seated on his bed, fully dressed.
"So…" Karl began, "are you going to take part in it?"
"Take part in what?" Lucas asked, he knew what Karl was talking about but wanted him to say it with his own mouth.
"The tournament. I'm participating." He declared, Lucas expected this, Karl was confident in his abilities and judging by the smile on his face Lucas was sure that fate and that darn Writ had given Karl some busted Faculty and ability while he had something he had no idea of how it worked.
"Oh!" Lucas exclaimed, acting surprised, he sat down on the mattress with no furnishing and stared at Karl.
"Stop acting like you didn't know, I'm sure you're like me. You want an adventure and Tokyo is the right place for that." Karl said to him, his tone getting a little bit agitated.
"Tokyo. Why would you think that?" Lucas asked.
"It's the perfect place, since the Calamity five years ago, the entire place has been mostly uninhabited. There's a lot of Cursed Creatures running around and killing them would enable us to enhance our Ruin Cores." Karl explained.
Lucas nodded and sighed, he remembered listening to people around saying that the Calamity of five years ago didn't happen in a single place, it spread out across multiple cities in the world which led to the destruction of most of them, Tokyo was one of them.
"I might." Lucas told Karl, the warning Elianna had given him was still fresh in his memory but he also wanted to get more core fragments.
"What do you mean you might?" Karl asked, his agitation becoming visible. "Do you want to remain weak forever?"
As soon as he said that it was as if he had an entire personality shift, his face changed to that of remorse and was now calm.
"I'm sorry." He said, sifted his hands through his hair and sighed. "It's my penalty, I basically get agitated when people don't agree with me."
Lucas almost shook his head with pity, this was the worst penalty for him. His tendency to prioritize the mission over his allies would basically make him and them loggerheads all the time. Lucas also thought of something else, they were the worst combination, he couldn't lie to Karl nor anyone for that matter and so if Karl asked a question, and wanted Lucas to give a suggestion then he would ultimately say what was on his mind.
"That's fine. I'll participate in the tournament." Lucas declared, Karl smiled and then jumped for joy.
"Before I forget, what classes are you taking?" Karl asked.
"Combat, Ruin control, and Survival." Lucas replied, these three were essential if a Ranker, especially one like him wanted to make it through the Second Imposition.
"I'm taking the same classes as well, although combat would be pretty easy." Karl said dreamily.
'Well that's because you've been trained you lucky bastard.' Lucas cursed internally, he sighed to get himself under control.
He then remembered something.
'Fuck! I haven't called Elianna.'
But then reality hit him again, he still didn't have a phone.