Scumbag Fate System-Chapter 12: Rock And Hard Place

The first thing Reinhard registered was the system warning from the night before.

The two-week time limit might not hold any more, if Yor continue to become unstable.

Then the sunlight shining through the curtains at an angle that told him everything he needed to know before he even looked at the clock.

He looked at the clock anyway.

It was past ten.

He sat up slowly, ran a hand over his face, and began recalling everything. The awakening ceremony, his transmigration in this body, his rejection from all departments, and the Fate system.

An hour with Rika, but it might have been more. But he’d stopped tracking at some point in the middle, which itself was worth examining later.

Leaving her room and avoiding the patrol. Before gaining his first Sigil, which opened the world of a Hunter to him. Then he saw Yor in the courtyard, the vision, and the system warning about Yor.

That was a lot for the first day. But now I have to deal with the Resonance club today.

...

The cafeteria was half-empty at this hour, the serving line moving fast with most students already in classes. He paid for the standard breakfast of bread, preserved fruit, and something amber-colored in a glass that the serving staff called morning juice.

He found a table by the window where he could see both entrances.

Old habit.

He bit into the bread and let his mind run through the day’s shape.

He knew Rika’s last class and the time she would be leaving, so he could meet up with her later. He saw her when he was cleaning up and quickly memorized, something he did a lot as a spy.

Then the arena.

He’d been thinking about the arena since the memory files had settled into something navigable. Of everything in this academy, the arena was the one resource that didn’t require department membership.

It was open to all students, official or otherwise, which meant it was one of the few places he could actually train without someone finding a reason to remove him.

Official student.

The phrase swept through him and made him sigh.

He took a long drink of orange juice and let the memory surface properly, since he’d been avoiding it since he woke up, and avoidance had a cost.

...

The headmaster’s office had smelled like old paper and something floral he couldn’t identify. Headmaster Issac was an old man who had a knack for delivering news in a blunt yet comforting way.

"You may remain enrolled at Virellion Academy," he’d said. "However, given that you have not been accepted into any Department, you cannot be classified as an official student." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Reinhard had waited.

"This has several practical implications."

Issac produced a document in neat columns. Numbers he recognized as significant before the man had finished explaining them.

The paper stated: The room and board were not covered. The standard rate for having his own room was five hundred gold per term.

Reinhard had looked at the number for a moment.

Then he’d reached into his jacket and placed the gold on the desk without counting it. Because counting it would have told them something about his reserves that they didn’t need to know.

The headmaster had looked at the coins with an expression of interest and a bit of amusement.

"Meals..." Issac had continued. "The Academy provides free meals to official students as part of enrollment benefits. For non-official attendees–"

"I will need to pay for those."

Yes.

"Medical treatment through the Medical Department is complimentary for official students. For non-official–"

"I pay, or I don’t receive it."

The headmaster had paused at that. Not with discomfort but with something more like assessment. "You understand the situation clearly... How interesting, you are a bit different from when you first came here."

"Tough times change people."

Besides, I’ve been in worse ones, Reinhard had thought.

Then the headmaster had leaned forward, slightly, and his careful eyes had gotten more careful. "My best recommendation, given your circumstances, is that you keep to yourself and avoid drawing attention. Don’t engage with students who may have strong feelings about your presence here."

He pauses as he leaned back with a sigh. "Some students will try their best to bait you and make things hard. I want to be direct about that."

Translation: I can’t protect you, nor will I try. Don’t make it a problem you can’t handle.

Reinhard had nodded, folded the receipt, and left the office without the five hundred gold and official status. It was a particularly cold statement towards him, which the academy and the system uphold.

He was worth nothing to the institution.

...

Reinhard finished the bagel.

Outside the cafeteria window, a group of third-years crossed the courtyard following behind their department professor. They were laughing about something, taking up the full width of the path the way people did when they’d never had a reason to make themselves smaller.

He watched them without feeling much about it.

The headmaster’s warning to keep to himself was the correct advice for the original Reinhard. But it was less useful for him, considering the mission he was given.

Keeping to himself meant no Rika, no club access, and no proximity to Yor. This would stall the mission he needed to complete. Keeping to himself was the strategy of someone trying to survive four years.

But I’m not trying to survive those four years. Reinhard thought. He was trying to survive twenty-nine days and then figure out what the next problem was.

He stood up, pocketed the last piece of toast, and headed for the arena.

Time to test this body out and see what I need to make better.

It didn’t take him long to reach the arena, which was a large and circular building.

He stood at the edge of it and watched for a moment, the habit of reading a room before entering it. He saw countless students from different years moving in and out of it.

Some were sweating, some not yet, all with the particular energy of people who knew exactly why they were here.

Still... Why are there so many? Isn’t it class time? Anyway, I can try it now...

Reinhard tapped into his Sigil and felt a warm feeling pass through him. His silver eyes narrowed, and he began peering five seconds into the future. He headed up the stairs towards the arena door while ignoring the other students glancing at him in surprise.

Three seconds ahead, he saw a sweaty man walking out of the arena. Someone else is moving from the bottom with a grin on her face.

Then it collapsed, and he was back in the present, standing still.

He glanced up to see the door opening up and a man walking with bits of sweat on his body. While glancing behind to see a familiar girl walking towards the arena, a grin slowly formed on her face.

Precognition, he registered. So that’s what that feels like.

He stepped to the side and let both of them pass without contact. Neither of them seemed to notice the adjustment.

He stood for a moment, turning the experience over.

Five seconds wasn’t long.

But five seconds of knowing where things were going to be, delivered at the right moment, was the difference between reacting and already being somewhere else.

This, he thought with a faint smile, is workable.

He then tapped in one more time after twenty seconds. Once again, he was heading up the stairs and opening the door to see a man in front.

But instead of stopping, the blond hair man crashed into him with a sneer. And as he stumbled, he saw at the edge of his vision a short black hair man smirking at him. Then he felt a leg from behind tripping him from behind and making him fall backwards.

Just as another man gently grasped his shoulder as if he was trying to catch him.

But instead of holding him, he just pushed down.

Reinhard crashed into the stairs and began rolling backwards while the men words rang out.

"Watch where you’re going, you idiot."

Then it collapsed, and he was back in the present, making him sigh.

Reinhard sighed, but he began walking forward, following the same movement.

Then he saw the tall blond as he opened the door. He simply shifted to the side, not allowing the blond-haired man to crash into him. But instead, he subtly pushed the man from behind and made him fall down the stairs.

Reinhard didn’t look behind and continued forward as he heard a yelp from the blond man as he fell on the two behind.

He held back the smirk and kept walking, listening to the cascade of yelps and collisions behind him without turning around.

Now it’s time to see what I am working with this body. Hopefully, I can break some limits in the next two hours. I need all the strength I can and fast.