The next day, 22nd of July, Friday morning, 10 o'clock...
Woodbury Middle School Building
Maxwell took some time to look at the noticeboard. Pinned on it were requests and notices, but taking up most of the space were the many posters to join clubs.
He walked through the school hallways, going to the canteen for the snack break. He still remembered Harvey. But since he was gone, who was in charge of the Newspaper Club? Not that he thought it was important. Maybe he can find out later.
He read more of the rules yesterday once he safely got back home. Apparently, while Summoners can die from any cause, be it a monster mauling you to death or getting rammed by a speeding truck, they still get revived by the Observers after a short period. However, it is not without 'consequences'
Summoners who are 'out' lose their memories of the game and go on to live their life normally, even without drawing suspicion from anyone after being brought back. Their phone becomes inactive for a week if they die of natural causes and reactivates once that period is over. But if they are killed by an entity, it will stay with that killer. But as long as another person, Summoner or not, gives the Summoner's phone to the slain, they regain their memories and may participate in the game, although they may lose some zel, karma and such.
That made Maxwell wonder where Harvey is now, seeing as he should have a dose of bad luck to live with by now. Maybe under a bridge? Or just having a really bad day at another school far away from here? Will he stay like that as long as that mysterious girl has his phone?
That mysterious girl... Cool as she looked, she was familiar. Just a little.
There were still a few more rules to read, but Maxwell hoped he would not forget anything crucial once he was done.
He reached the canteen, looking around for a girl with long black hair. Maybe alone, sitting at a table, looking incredibly bored, a little dark and plainly introverted, people probably looking at her from a distance. He idly imagined telling this to a person.
Which he actually did anyway. A gossipy girl had seen her outside in the yard, under one of the many trees. It seemed to make sense for someone like Midnight. She looked like an outdoor-sy person to him when they first met, despite the clothing.
As soon as Maxwell stepped outside, his head was narrowly crushed by a speeding soccer ball.
Whoever kicked that one must have been really strong, because the tree the ball crashed into made a loud, splintering sound. It stayed there for a moment before detaching and falling to the ground, leaving smoke in the new crater of the tree.
"Uh hey there! Kid?" someone called from across the yard, where there was an unofficial playing field on the dirt of the yard, marked by sticks wedged into four points to form a rectangular area. It wasn't too far even if you walked. The yard is not too big for a true soccer field, but not too small for something like an improvised concert.
But Maxwell focused on the older girl calling to him, who stood out amongst a few other players in a ring. She did not seem to be a student though, wearing a black tank top instead of the girls' red sweaters. She wore black trousers tucked into chestnut-brown laced-up boots, making her look like a drill sergeant.
But she had quite a cheery grin; fitting for her vibrant moss-green eyes and wavy hazel hair that spilled past her shoulders. Streaks of lighter shades of brown ran through her hair, and bangs were swept to the left side of her forehead. Her slightly tanned skin suggests she spends time under the sun, but not at the beach. She was pretty tall for her age, probably sixteen or so, like Elle or some athletic high school girl.
"Hey, can you kick the ball over here?" she called.
"Sure!" Maxwell shouted back, picking up the ball (it was not so hot as seen at first) and giving it a nice kick that sent it flying...
...and once it reached within kicking range (they were pretty near, so the kick was not too hard), the athletic girl kicked it right at a male student, who instantly doubled over as the ball slammed into his chest.
"Nice shot man!" she shouted to Maxwell, calling for her friends to keep playing, as if there hadn't been a casualty. The group continued to play with the ball, except for the poor guy who got socked. He crawled outside of the playing field, nursing his stomach.
Maxwell awkwardly kept on walking, intent on finding his fellow Summoner.
Before they went back to their houses in the same neighborhood, she had asked him a variety of questions, mainly about his family and childhood, and how long he had been a Summoner.
He asked her that question too, the answer being surprisingly one day as well. Started yesterday, in fact. He kind of expected her to be experienced as she looked. When he asked why, since the first Mission started roughly a week ago, he only got a deadpan stare and a reply to meet her later tomorrow on the first recess, and trust to not backstab her. Not that it would happen anyway, seeing as they were Friends.
He soon saw Midnight under one of the clumps of trees, on a bench and reading a novel. She was wearing the girls' school uniform: a beetroot red sweater with sleeves reaching past her wrists, a dark green bowtie around her white-collared shirt underneath, like Maxwell's, and a knee-length black skirt. She still wore the same hunting boots, and Maxwell could see the long white thigh-highs rising out of the boots.
Whatever that novel was, it somehow allowed Maxwell to get up close without the girl noticing. She was rather focused on it.
I don't think Midnight of all people would not notice me though... She said something about hunting a few rabbits before right?
She was still engrossed with her book. Maxwell gently tapped her on the shoulder-
Swish! Thunk!
Fast as lightning, a knife embedded itself in a tree next to Maxwell. Midnight's right hand was outstretched while the book was closed in her left.
That knife was in her sleeve this whole time!? She had been holding up the book with the left hand, while the right was resting on her lap.
It was cool, but Maxwell slowly looked at the small foldable knife in the tree. You could throw it like a dart and no one would notice if you hid it in your sleeve. Midnight truly is a natural assassin.
Somehow, no one noticed. Midnight's eyes seemed to refocus for a second before she blinked.
"Maxwell? My... my apologies. I was reading about this particular move in this novel." She seemed to be calm now, thankfully.
"I-It's a-all right. I mean, I'll probably get hurt and all later fighting anyway," Maxwell managed to reply, calming his heart down.
She looked around to ensure no one was looking, then dashed over to the tree and swiftly plucked the knife out. It was safely withdrawn into her blazer's sleeve.
She then turned to look at Maxwell, asking, "I assume you do not have much knowledge about this so called 'game' we are in."
"Not a clue why or what," he agreed.
"Now, we have approximately the next nine hours before the next Daily Mission appears. By the time school is over, we would have four hours to freely do whatever we want."
After their Daily Mission, a timer appeared when Maxwell checked on the Summoner's App when he wanted to dismiss Avant. It had already started counting down from 24:00:00. By the time it ends, a Daily Mission would certainly appear.
"And what are we gonna talk about?"
Midnight gazed at Maxwell with a look he was familiar of: partial exasperation.
"Resources, other Summoners, new equipment and weapons, the like of course."
"We can't keep on using simple manmade stuff can we? Avant said I can't use my bokken on Fire-types anyway."
The taller girl nodded. "But while I am not very familiar with the game itself, we were able to retrieve several materials like those Green Herbs. They were rather common in that area."
Maxwell had already caught up to what she was going to say. "We could find other materials from Brave Frontier, and use them to make better items and stuff! But... how do we do that? In the game, we just find the materials and Karma, go to the Sphere House and press buttons to make them. Do we just actually make them like we do in real life or something?"
Midnight muttered something like 'We use Karma?' and went back to the bench, sitting on it and looking thoughtful. Maxwell sat down beside her on the long seat.
"The game instructions had mentioned Emotispheres," she said.
Maxwell had read about that in the guide given. Emotispheres were special Spheres unique to the bearer, helped given form by the Summoner's App and will appear any time during times of great stress. But to accelerate the process, Empty Spheres can be bought. These eventually fill with energy over time, but are guaranteed to only start at their lowest form.
"Like they are... emoticons?" Maxwell asked, unrelated as it sounds.
Midnight raised an eyebrow. "I don't think it is like that, although supposedly they are emotions given form. Perhaps the term was coined by a Summoner from our world, not that anything was ever said about it. At any rate, we can replace Emotispheres temporarily with our current equipment, but there are still other items of interest we could find from Brave Frontier."
"Huh... Do you think we can find some place where we can make stuff?"
~~~LD~~~
New York Penn Station, 3 o'clock in the afternoon
"You have arrived at Pennsylvania Station. You have arrived at Pennsylvania Station."
As a huge wave of people burst out of the train doors, two teenage girls stood out, going along with the flow. They were not weird-looking, but they simply look and act... more unique.
One of the girls had waist-long, wavy black hair and shiny violet eyes. She wore a lavender vest over a white T-shirt, a purple skirt that reached her knees and wrinkled brown laced-up boots. A big red ribbon tied up a long lock of her hair at the back, which seemed to stand out the most in her outfit. A small round earring made of attractive gold and diamond decorated each of her ears. Her little grin was something to be taken note of, like she expected an adventure with every step.
The other had curly creamy-pink hair that reached her shoulder-blades. Her lapis lazuli eyes were less eye-catching. She wore a pink sweater over a blue skirt with black leggings underneath, normal black and white running shoes, and an orange puppy hair clip, tongue waggling, clipping hair together to the right of her head. In her arms, pressed to her chest, was a pink dog plushie. She looked like a softie who did not have any intention of hurting anyone, yet is not afraid to tell someone off.
The pair walked into the station's concourse, standing by the escalators that would lead to some shops and restaurants. The bustling crowds before them were overwhelming, especially for the creamy-pink girl, but both of them did their best to look for a driver friend who was supposed to meet them here.
It was all arranged by a mutual friend of theirs, which happened to be one of the girl's cousins.
"Gee... You think Yuro would at least make sure everything is here on time," the girl in purple complained.
"Now now Lunar, at least we... managed right?" her partner tried to pacify her.
"We missed the train somehow before, all because the taxi driver was new to his job, and way before that the flight that got us here forced us to wake up at like..." Lunar yawned for a moment. "Five o'clock, YESTERDAY."
"I think it was six maybe, but you're still tired?"
"Shimmer, I needed my beauty sleep and so did you, and I wasn't finished watching anime. Although, I think I see our ride over there."
The middle-aged driver was friendly enough, taking them to a car and driving them to a hotel named Holiday Inn, in Midtown. He asked them a few questions, mostly about where they were from and if New York City was what they expected.
Well, it was certainly crowded, they can say that for sure now. The streets were pretty easy to navigate if you got a map and started living in the city for a while. But it was the many pedestrians and vehicles that surprised them a little. They seemed so natural against the background of the city, what with their assorted clothes and all, but each one clearly had a purpose. All of that seemed to involve going somewhere.
That was what Shimmer thought until she saw a badly-dressed homeless man pushing a trolley and causing the crowd he was in to go around him, like a rock that jutted out of a river with a fast current. The only purpose he clearly had was to make a living selling whatever was in the trolley, which even then did not erase the manic look from his eyes.
"That bloke's been around here for awhile now, selling junk and whatnot," the driver said when they waited for a red light. "I got no idea what he's got, but you'd probably do well to steer clear of him."
Shimmer heard the shutters and clicking of a camera. She turned from the homeless one to see Lunar with her phone out.
"Lunar, did you just take a picture of that man?" Shimmer could already predict what she was going to say though.
"A hobo just stood out amongst the crowd Shimmer!" the older girl whispered loudly. "Those weird, orange and ragged clothes, those strange items he was selling, and the fact that he's been around here for some time..."
"You want to meet that old man?"
"Yup!"
"But... we got something to do here remember?"
"Uh huh, but it's gonna take like... three more hours before that guy gets here. C'mon Shimmer we got the time!"
Shimmer did not see the point in doing that, but two things: 1. Lunar can be stubborn and determined, and 2. she is the type to get into trouble, despite her fighting prowess. Both of these facts meant Shimmer, as her unofficial guardian, had to make sure nothing bad happened.
"F-Fine, but we'll see him after we get to the Inn," Shimmer said.
It took two hours to get settled into their new lodgings, then half an hour to rouse Lunar from her power nap in one comfy bed. Eventually they walked back to the spot where they saw the old man, seeing as it was near to the Inn.
He wasn't in the middle of the crossing, so Lunar suggested going to the nearby alleyways, where 'a little of the generally unfortunate part of society would typically to live in'. They looked around the dusty alley, finding it to be riddled with dustbins and dumpsters, but no hoboes.
"Well hey there!"
"Hyai!?" Shimmer jumped and made a sound between a yelp and a greeting. Lunar just whirled around.
It was the homeless guy, grinning at them by the wall behind them. The same trolley they saw earlier stayed next to him, loaded with all sorts curious trinkets.
"Hey mister!" the older woman greeted properly. "We saw you selling some stuff and they kinda looked interesting. Can we see them?"
The stranger obliged happily, showing off junk, all of which were supposedly valuable. There were a few springs, gears, levers, clock faces, mechanical stuff, but there were few other pieces of practical-looking metal and more kiddy and fluffy stuff.
Shimmer hugged her pink, fluffy dog, taking comfort in its fluffiness. This weirdo was giving off strange waves of suspicion, but the shy girl paid more attention to how better the stuffed toys could have been improved. She gasped silently when she saw stuffing coming out of one teddy bear. Seeing them in such a bad state made her want to steal them all and sew them back up, but that would be rude to the homeless man.
Lunar picked up a golden medallion, wreaths rimming it. "Summer... Olympics... Seriously, this golden medal got here of all places?"
"Oh I assure you its genuine! But y'know, there's something funny about it," the man said.
"Oh? Do tell."
"See, ever since I found it in a bin, from just another day of scavengin', I keep gettin' gold stuff."
"Wh-What!?" It seemed that Lunar just bought the story. "Then how are you not a rich dude?"
"Ho there, it ain't real gold! It's just painted stuff."
"Aww..."
"I know right? If you ask me thought, it's magic!"
Magic...
"We'll buy it!" The young woman fished her wallet out of her pocket and looked for change.
"L-Lunar!?" Shimmer exclaimed at this.
"What? I mean when a guy who's obviously got nothing better to do than to sift through potential treasure, he's probably truthful most of the time."
Shimmer looked at the man. He was playing around with a purple My Little Pony figurine.
The younger girl sighed heavily. "Lunar, are you sure about this? I mean, what if it's cursed and gives you measles like last time? That was you being a careless idiot!"
"You gotta make the first steps Shimmer, even if it means stepping into lava- I mean maybe brambles and stuff. You know what I mean."
"That's..."
The man's eyes glinted.
A few minutes later, they were back at the lobby, Lunar looking satisfied with all her purchases in one plastic bag. Shimmer decided to buy a compass and a cute little phone strap of a skeleton.
"Lunar Rin? Shimmer Xin?" A man called for them in the lobby.
The man was definitely older than them, in his twenties with his sandy-blond hair. He looked like he came from the beach, in a red Hawaiian buttoned shirt and yellow bleached shorts. He carried a large green backpack that stood out in his outfit.
"That our guy?" Lunar muttered to Shimmer.
"Maybe..." They were supposed to meet with an operative here, who was going to give them mission details and such. Although they were here to reinforce their secret army's hold here, they were not told of the situation in America. So, their Guild, being one of the more free-er ones these days from the missions sent to them, spared two 'professional' Summoners to help with the critical situation here.
The older guy walked up to them, literally looking down on them due to his tall height.
"You two are the professionals being sent? I don't think you look like much, but something tells me you're much more than that."
He has good judgment. "We are," Shimmer squeaked, not comfortable with strangers. "Is there anything we're supposed to do here, that we couldn't get an email of a check-up of this country?"
"You'll see Glaives," he assured them, giving a small grin. "We got a place we need you to scout out."
Woodbury, Rifferton Pine Mall
3 o'clock in the afternoon...
"The map says it's around here somewhere..." Maxwell muttered, looking at a dark corner, near the door that leads to the power room for the mall.
Midnight looked around too, feeling the walls. She felt her hands brush something solid, yet warm and a little uneven.
She suddenly felt herself shift in place and felt light, before she first smelled dirt and woodsmoke.
She quickly looked around, feeling an atmosphere of calm and intrigue; a large change from the more relaxed one of the mall.
The forester was standing in the middle of an ornate circle of interwoven lines like drapes, white chalk on black stone. Modern-looking teenagers and adults warped in after a rainbow shimmer appeared. Midnight saw someone walk towards the circle, stood still and waited, shimmered and disappeared.
Mystical as it was, the light proved to be distracting and annoying, so she tried to look at something else.
The circle was in the middle of a clearing in a thick forest, trunks wider than most cars that squeezing through them will not work. The leaves were varying shades of green and glinting orange as leaves reflected predawn light in the sky, which was odd, since she knew it was three when she checked the time. Tall columns of smoke rose in one direction over the treetops, obscuring some of the light here. A cobblestone path out of the circle led towards where the smoke is.
"Midnight!"
She heard Maxwell from behind her, and turned to face him. He looked a little flabbergasted, but otherwise relieved.
"I thought I lost you there!" he said.
"Sorry about the sudden disappearance Maxwell," she replied.
"Yeah... but at least you found the portal. So."
He did a slow three-sixty spin, taking in his surroundings. "This is Cinuel Dunmi? The World of Lasting Dawn?"
"Indeed it is, and I'm proud to be an inhabitant!"
A green imp - a Healing Imp Fwahl - floated over to them in a friendly manner. Unlike most imps, it had a blue band with golden stars embroidered into the silk.
"Welcome to Cinuel Dunmi, a pleasant world, but more importantly, I daresay you newcomers have come here for more important matters?"
It was rather tough, trying to type this new draft while managing my homework and such, but I finally got this finished.
It was sort of a new experience, having to research about places in real life for this story. Some things may seem inaccurate, but that was the point of adding fictional places like Woodbury and Clemen to this world. Perhaps if I altered a few things in real places, maybe it would not be so bad a thing as I thought.
Anyway, three OCs have been introduced. Writers, I hope you liked how I wrote them.
Other than that, Cinuel Dunmi is actually an anagram for the Latin phrase 'in luce mundi' (or so Google Translate said), which means 'world in dawn'. Nothing else too significant I suppose.
At any rate I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you until the next one.