The mont Adam reached room number 14 on the fourth floor of the dormitory building he opened the door and stepped inside.
As the wooden door clicked shut behind him his allotted ti in control of Eric’s body expired. It was over. His consciousness was imdiately pulled from Eric’s body.
He returned to his own internal domain his private ntal world.
Eric’s own consciousness his own mind flooded back into his body in a disorienting rush.
It was like waking up very suddenly from a deep dream.
The last thing he clearly rembered was standing in the dormitory courtyard.
He rembered being overwheld by the pressure of the four powerful student factions.
He rembered being offered a place in all their groups.
Now he was standing in a small unfamiliar room. He was surprised to see the familiar blue [System Window] already hovering silently before him. It was waiting for him.
He blinked a few tis looking around at the simple unadorned room. It was a very basic room with just a bed a desk and a small closet.
His mind was a jumble of confusion. Where am I? he thought trying to piece together the missing ti. How did I get here?
His attention then snapped back to the [System Window].
On its transparent surface a summary of recent events was being displayed for him. It was a condensed slightly modified version of what had just transpired in the courtyard.
The summary detailed the confrontation with the upperclassn.
It talked about the easy defeat of the four major factions.
And it described the creation of a new group a new faction for the first-years. However the summary carefully omitted any ntion of Adam. It did not say anything about another being taking control of Eric’s body.
Instead the [System Window] presented itself as the sole actor. The summary read as if the [System Window] itself had created the new group "The New Warriors." It read as if the System itself had orchestrated the entire incident.
As Eric read through the summary a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
The full terrifying implications of what had just happened began to sink in.
He or rather the entity that had taken over his body had openly challenged and humiliated all four of the most powerful student factions in the entire United Academy. And he had done it on the very first day.
A wave of pure terror washed over him.
No, he thought his heart pounding in his chest so hard he thought it might burst.
Now everyone will be after . Not just the leaders but especially all the regular group mbers. I have made enemies of them all. He felt a deep sense of dread.
He stared at the impassive glowing blue window before him. His fear quickly turned to a desperate panicked anger.
"Why did you do this to ?!" he shouted at the [System Window] his voice cracking with fear and frustration.
"If you wanted to kill why did you have to use such a roundabout thod? You could have just killed directly! This is much worse!"
The [System Window] replied imdiately. Its synthesized voice was as calm and emotionless as ever.
"[Your life was in danger Host Eric. You were about to be attacked by the upperclassn. Therefore I took these actions to ensure your safety. At this present mont the threat to your life is at its lowest. No one will dare to attack you right now.]"
Eric wanted to argue.
He wanted to scream at the [System in Window] for its reckless dangerous actions.
But he knew deep down that it was true.
Every single ti he had been in a seemingly impossible life-threatening situation it was the [System Window] that had saved him. It had helped him ti and ti again.
He owed his life to it.
His anger deflated like a popped balloon. It was replaced by a profound weary sadness. "I didn’t see any threat to my life there," he said his voice now a defeated mumble. He felt so helpless.
The [System Window] then said sothing that completely changed Eric’s mood. It said sothing that struck him with the force of a physical blow.
"[These were your exact sentints your exact feelings when your father’s life was in danger at the Emperor’s council]," the [System Window] stated.
Its tone was still neutral but the words themselves were sharp and accusatory.
They were a painful reminder of his own failure. "[You dismissed my warnings then as well. And in the end you had to co to begging for help to save him.]"
Eric was stunned into silence by this. He knew it was the absolute truth. He had been wrong then.
He had been dangerously wrong. His foolish pride had almost gotten his father killed.
But beyond the truth of the statent sothing else occurred to him. He started thinking about the System itself.
The way the [System Window] behaved the way it recalled past events and his feelings the way it... reasoned. It felt less like a tool a magical item or a simple interface.
It felt more like... a living thing. A being with its own thoughts and mories.
The thought that the [System Window] might not just be an empty programmable interface but a conscious entity a living being was a startling almost frightening idea.
For now however he pushed that thought aside. He had more imdiate concerns more pressing problems to think about.
"You’re right," Eric finally admitted his voice a resigned sigh. He was too tired to argue anymore. "You are right. What should I do now? You have made a big ss for ."
The [System Window] imdiately responded.
"[Your body is constantly growing stronger Eric. Every ti you are in a stressful situation or every ti I or Master Adam use your body your latent powers are stimulated. There will co a ti in the future when you alone will be able to handle all the students in this entire Academy. You will not even need my assistance then.]"
Hearing this Eric looked down at his own hands.
He clenched and unclenched his fists. He did feel... different. He felt stronger than before. He felt lighter more agile. It was a subtle but definite change in his physical being. He could feel it.
Before Eric could test his newfound strength or think more about it the [System Window] spoke again.
"[You should rest now. It is evening. Unpack your belongings from your bag and settle into your new room. We will talk again tomorrow morning. When you face trouble again tomorrow I will once again take control of your body and protect you. Do not worry.]"
Eric nodded slowly. A sense of weary acceptance settled over him.
He was too tired to feel anything else. He looked around the small sparse room.
It was his new ho for the next four years. He began to unpack his ager belongings his few changes of clothes and so books.
His mind was a storm of fear confusion and a tiny flickering spark of sothing that might one day grow into hope.
The life at the Academy was going to be much harder than he had ever imagined.
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