holiday

The next three days were a "holiday."

The "boy" had no intention of wasting the "medical excuse" he had obtained with such difficulty (or rather, with a burnt face) by sitting in a classroom.

After leaving the central square, he boarded the train back. Not to his dormitory on the "Service Island," but to the "Entertainment Island."

Morning had just begun, but this island truly never sleeps. The open corridors and gaming zones were still bustling. The "boy" walked through the crowds, ignoring the glances directed at the clean white bandages now covering the left side of his face. The burns were gone, but the annoying itch remained.

He was heading towards his favorite place to spend a "holiday": "Ludifesta," the largest arcade on the island.

The "boy" pushed the door open and entered. The place was dark, lit only by the chaotic flashing of hundreds of screens. The smell of carpet, ozone from the machines, and spilled sugary drinks filled the air.

"Alright, let's raise the rank!" the boy cheered to himself as he started running towards the nearest game machine.

He pulled out a silver card emblazoned with a red fox logo and red eyes.

He swiped it across the screen, and the game began to load. He grabbed the gun and started shooting.

Ping, Bang.

This went on for a few minutes; his score percentage was high.

"Finally!.. Nothing left, I knew training on stones would help!."

The boy smiled a challenging smile as he saw his points start to climb, competing with the top three.

While the boy was busy raising his rank.

In the Central Island.

The sudden explosions in a building and its ignition with high-heat blue flames weren't the only danger, but also the toxic gases and smoke that began to spread.

Firefighters gathered around the place while towers began to emerge. Those were portable towers erected around the fire, sucking in gases and smoke through nano-filters. Separating toxic gases and storing them in pressurized containers.

"Remaining fire is being contained," one of the men says as the towers immediately began releasing clean air.

"Chemical fire needs dry powder extinguishers," says a firefighter while speaking through a radio in a fire truck.

"Why not use what you have?" inquired a man's voice from the radio.

"This... isn't something some fire extinguishers can stop, we need something bigger," the man says while looking at the burning building... "Is there an Esper related to heat nearby?" the firefighter continues, "Water coming out of his feet and soil, I don't think it's enough." The firefighter assesses while looking at four Espers trying to cover spreading flames with mud and dry soil.

"Understood, we will search, you hold on, we will bring specialized tools," spoke the man from the radio.

The firefighter puts down the radio while adjusting his helmet and walking towards the building.

"Support will be brought now, make sure to clear people from here and..." the man said to his colleague while looking at a boy with short ash-gray hair. Wearing a golden school blazer embroidered with an academic emblem over a black shirt.

"Esper?" the firefighter inquired while pointing to the building, "You can participate with the rest in extinguishing the fire if your ability isn't water-based and..."

"Don't worry, leave it to us, we will end this quickly," the blond boy replied as he placed his bag on the ground and advanced significantly towards the building while looking around it. Then He raised his hand. Moisture in the air gathered suddenly, forming a dense fog wrapping the building. It wasn't ordinary fog – it was spinning at a crazy speed, glistening with faint blue flashes.

The blue flames began to retreat, not as ordinary fire retreats, but as if suffocating without air. But there was no barrier blocking oxygen – only that cold fog spinning faster and faster.

Molten metals inside the building solidified suddenly, trapped in vortices of fine ice crystals that formed just centimeters away from them.

The blond boy lowered his hand.

Rain finally fell on the ground.

"What exactly did you do?" the firefighter raised his head to the building then to the blond boy in admiration while starting to run towards him.

"We used cooling with a thermal beam through accelerated water, then utilizing the high heat of vaporization of water, and finally we maintained a safe distance between the water and metals."

"We?" the firefighter raised one eyebrow while looking at nearby Espers, but they shook their heads in denial.

While the blond boy was already leaving, heading towards the station.

Minutes after his departure.

The blond boy arrived at the station then boarded a train.

The train ride was quiet. He sat upright, not looking at other passengers, but staring at his reflection on the dark glass.

The train arrived at the "University Island."

The station here was completely different from the "Central Island." It was less noisy but clearly more luxurious. The floors were polished, and the air seemed purer. As soon as he exited the train, he faced "The Fork."

The station was divided into two clear paths. On the left was the corridor leading to "Universitas Lunognosta," which was bustling with female students. On the right was the corridor leading to "Universitas Leontolyx."

The "Blond Boy" took the "Right Path" without hesitation.

"Leontolyx" looked like a modern fortress. The buildings weren't just glass, but a mixture of reinforced concrete and integrated technology. Even the air here seemed "more solid."

He was walking through a huge square, one of the open "Training Grounds." He passed other students wearing the same golden blazers, talking or practicing their abilities or...

"Today the result is different!!." a student shouts from the square to another student in the same square. "Yes, it's my victory!".. replies the student.

Both launched and started attacking the other. One with an energy beam and the other using vibrations by hitting the ground.

While some students sit on benches watching.

The blond boy looked at the square while continuing to walk until he reached his luxurious dormitory building.

"We think," the "Blond Boy" muttered as he opened his room door, "that placing the Blue Cat Hospital in the Central Island is annoying, but we agree it's the correct choice," he said as he closed the door behind him.

While explosion sounds deafen ears in the background.

"Ah.. I think he will need to go to the hospital," says one of the students who was in the audience seat.

"You think?... Look at where his hand is!.. It was a fun fight for freshmen," says one of his colleagues while jumping from his seat and helping the student whose hand is burnt, while one of the students started dragging the other student while his leg was shattered.

"I won't forget this, do you hear!!." shouted the student with the shattered leg.

"Right, one leg left, I won't forget!." replies the student with the burnt hand.

"Remind me, what were both fighting about in the first place?." yawns one of the students while watching students trying to drag the two students before shattering or burning another limb.

"I don't know, I saw them, I cheered them on," replies his colleague, "but who cares, mostly combat experience, you know freshmen."

"You talk as if freshmen are the only ones who fight this way," smiled a student sarcastically.

"Maybe, but mostly what's kept of stories are freshmen stories, I mean haven't you heard about a freshman student at Universitas Lunognosta two years ago who smashed the arena no less than three times without even entering a fight, and this year once in a fight and once because she wanted to jump to the Central Island from here."

"Hey! Even Leontolyx has its ancient history too in destruction, why do you think our arena's structure specifically is considered one of the strongest arenas of all islands?..".. the student raises his head proudly... "It's.."

"They are fighting again," said his colleague while dodging a random beam, "and this time I think some students entered the fight.. it's a mini war again.. just like every year." sighs the student while looking at his colleague who disappeared in his place, instead his voice was heard in the square.

"You blind guy, can't you aim!.. I will teach you why every freshman has to know how to aim!." shouted the student who jumped and had burn marks on top of his hair while starting to smile then raising his hand, the air around him starting to compress forming a few compressed bullets of air.

"Mini war?.. No, it's a hunting war!.".. he shouts while joining the fight.