Spirit Game

"Yosh!" Rain slapped his cheeks as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was back in the real world. The days felt like it had flown by.

Tomorrow, Rain was sure his Novice Lord Title Challenge would come. He was ready.

But right now, he needed to attend this therapy session, or the guidance counselor wouldn't let him get away with his absences.

It was a Saturday morning, and Rain had to go back to school while Nathan and the others were probably enjoying their weekend.

In the past month, Rain hadn't hung out with them during weekends as he always had before.

"They're probably wondering what's going on with me," Rain muttered to himself as he walked to the bus stop to head to school.

"I should hang out with them as soon as I receive my first title," Rain promised himself.

Everything had been so hectic this one month; he deserved a break, even if just for a day.

When Rain arrived at the therapy session in one of the classrooms, he was surprised to find Alice there!

Sitting pretty with her short black hair and big doe-like eyes, she glared at him when he smiled at her.

Ignoring her go-away look, Rain sat beside her and beamed. "Alice, what brings you here? Wait . . . did you also make this kind of excuse before?

Come to think of it, you were absent a lot in the past months. So that's why."

Alice glared at Rain and signaled with her eyes to stay quiet. "Are you nuts? We don't discuss it here."

"Why not? There's no one here except us. I guess we're too early. How's your Apprentice Lord challenge going on?" Rain continued to ask, oblivious to Alice's annoyance.

Realizing she couldn't do anything about Rain's obliviousness, Alice sighed and answered in a bored tone, "My territory is just fine, and my challenge isn't up for months to come. There's still a lot of time between the next lord title challenge, you know."

"Is that so?" Rain beamed. "That's great then; you have plenty of time to prepare."

Alice grumbled under her breath. Rain's positivity was hard to break, and she couldn't help but ask, "You seem to be in a good mood. Did you already pass your Novice Lord Title?"

Rain's smile slightly faltered. "Ugh . . . I think it will come tomorrow. I still have two days in the Spirit Realm to prepare." Then his countenance brightened.

"But don't worry! I am confident that I can overcome it!"

"I'm not worried at all!" Alice growled. "I'm more surprised that you're still alive."

"Of course I am! I have a lot of luck and good karma. Eheeheehee."

An annoyed, angry vein popped on Alice's forehead. How could a man like Rain survive the Spirit Realm all this time? Usually, guys like him who had their head in the clouds and were too naïve and gentle were the first to die.

And he was supposed to be in the Barren Wasteland where the percentage of death was more than 90%! Alice's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Did he lie to me?

Looking at the idiotic face of Rain, Alice immediately dissolved the thought. There's no way Rain was clever enough to lie about anything.

After the uneventful therapy session, Rain and Alice both left the school. Alice hurried out of the building because Cedrick was already waiting for her by the entrance, when Rain chased after her, calling her name and attracting a lot of attention.

"So annoying and persistent," Alice grumbled. Since the therapy session, she had to endure Rain's nonstop rambling about the Spirit Realm no matter how hard she shushed him.

Good thing the others only thought of it as an escape from reality, another coping mechanism of the mind to get out of their supposed depression.

But now, Alice had enough. She stomped her foot and pointed at Rain. "Enough already! You're so annoying. I told you that we're not friends and we're never going to be. Keep your distance from me and don't talk to me!"

Instead of getting offended, Rain only scratched his head and handed Alice's clip that had fallen from her hair.

"I'm just returning this to you," Rain said, his smile never leaving his face. He was just too high after everything finally going well for him in the Spirit Realm that all the negativity in the world couldn't affect him.

"See you on Monday then," Rain said and waved at her goodbye with a big grin on his face.

Standing there with her mouth gaping, Alice could only watch as Rain disappeared from her sight. She shifted her eyes to the clip in her hand and then stared at where Rain was heading.

There was no malice in him, and Alice could sense a sincere genuineness, which added to her annoyance. She didn't want to be associated with him in any way and definitely didn't want to be close with him, but that guy had a certain charisma that made it impossible to really hate him.

"Do you know him?" Cedrick asked as he got out of the car.

It was only then that Alice's senses returned. She quickly hid the clip and got in the car. "A classmate in the same class and . . ."

"And . . . ?"

"And he's also a player." Alice didn't know why she revealed that part, but eventually, Cedrick would find out. It was best that he heard it from her.

Cedrick's expression didn't change. "Is that so? Maybe you can recruit him to our alliance then. What's his title and where's his territory located?"

Alice shook her head in protest. "He's no good. He's only a noob and hasn't received his Novice Lord title yet. And worse . . ."

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". . . His territory is in the Barren Wasteland, so we couldn't use him in any way."

Cedrick was quiet for a moment, and Alice could see that he was thinking.

"Could it be that his name, by any chance, is Rain Weathers?"

Alice was surprised. Had she already given Rain's name? She didn't, right?

"How did you know?"

Cedrick closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and starting the engine of the car. "It's a small world. It just happens to be that my little brother is going to the Barren Wasteland as per the association's request to save a newbie player there."