{Eren Brown's POV}
Time passed quickly; you could say that I finally reached the starting point.
"Be careful, my son."
It was my mother speaking, looking me over from every direction, searching for any flaw in my clothes.
That feeling was warm.
"Yes, don't worry about me; I'll be back during the holidays in general…"
I was saying goodbye to my parents outside the house.
The house where I had spent the last two months after regaining the memories of my past life—or reincarnating, transitioning, whatever you want to call it—after what happened.
You could say that I had begun to grow attached to this world, and to my parents in particular.
Don't misunderstand me; I was an orphan because of certain incidents in the last two years of my previous life—but that is a story for another day.
Now, you might be wondering what my plan was to get out of that difficult situation about two months ago…
Simple. You could say that I held out until Ashley came with help, while at the same time trying to find the bomb. And you could say she succeeded very well—no, excellently.
Now I am going to enter the academy, where I will face the main characters. I won't lie to you and say I'm not excited; I am excited… truly excited.
I mean, who wouldn't want to meet their favorite characters face to face and interact with them?
But I had been in a dilemma over the past two months; I didn't know what my course of action would be—should I reveal my power or hide it?
I thought about this a lot; each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.
If I chose to hide my power, I would benefit from the element of surprise. I mean, I need to win the Academies' Championship, called the Olympics—the Modern Age Olympics—and I must win it to obtain the final thing I need to build my power.
Speaking of academies…
I forgot to tell you that there are five major academies:
Sun Academy.
Moon Academy.
Shadow Academy.
Lightning Academy.
And Star Academy.
And the power ranking in the last championship followed the same order I just mentioned.
I've strayed from the topic. I would benefit from the element of surprise to gain the upper hand against the villains and avoid getting my name on their blacklist… early.
As for choosing to reveal my power, I could benefit from the resources available at the academy and enter the tournament with ease. If I compared my power to the current rankings, I would be fifth among first-year students.
And I aspire to become first by the end of the year.
That is, if I can surpass that monster, Ren—whose power steadily increases whenever he finds a rival.
So, after thinking about this for nearly two months, I reached a conclusion.
Yes, I will hide my power—but only until the first test, so I can gather information about everyone, and at the same time hide from the eyes of certain annoying people in the academy.
I nodded firmly, affirming my decision.
"Let's hope no surprises happen."
At that moment, I arrived at the train station, which still amazes me every time I reach it.
It was an astonishing area, in the simplest description I can give.
"A futuristic world, huh."
I muttered as I handed my ticket to the train attendant and told him my destination.
"Urbana City."
"Very well, sir."
He handed me my ticket and gestured toward my compartment for me to enter.
I was sitting alone in a spacious compartment.
The train moved immediately, and I was enjoying the surrounding scenery.
Who wouldn't be astonished upon seeing a city floating in the sky—and heading toward it by… a train, which itself was also floating?
It was, at the very least, something fantastical.
The journey continued smoothly until the train came to a complete stop.
After arriving at my destination, I headed straight to the Mana Transporter, which takes you directly to the academy gate.
You could say I am still amazed by the technological advancement.
The moment I entered the transporter, a strange sensation overtook me, as if I were dissolving into light particles.
It wasn't a bad feeling; rather, it was like warm water being poured over your body on a cold night.
I felt like a child again, but that feeling didn't last more than a few seconds.
"Here we are."
I muttered as I looked at the academy—or rather, the academy city.
I mean, it's huge—truly huge. Its size can be compared to one of the massive capitals from my world.
That made me remember a description of the academy from the novel:
[If the size of the academy were compared to that of a city, the academy would become the city, and the city would become the academy.]
Massive walls surrounded it from every direction—gigantic walls that allowed nothing to enter or leave.
So I followed the path I saw people taking.
From afar, I could see the entrance, like a gap in the middle of the walls, so I calmly approached it.
When I reached that entrance, which was a gigantic gate, I found two guards standing there, holding their spears crossed. It was a sight that reminded me of a game I had played before.
"Your card, sir."
There was no arrogance or disdain like you find in most novels; they spoke with full respect, so I responded in kind.
"Here you go."
I handed him the card, and after examining it with a strange device, he returned it to me.
"Student Eren Brown; you may enter. Your room is located in Building Three, which you can reach using those vehicles parked over there."
It was a very detailed explanation.
"Thank you."
I thanked the guards and headed toward the indicated vehicles.
The guards radiated power; I couldn't even determine their ranks.
"Even the guards here are strong."
I muttered, a smile forming on my face. I could become strong very quickly if I played my cards right.
That man's words still lingered in my mind. My thoughts and emotions had been manipulated up to this moment; that is, I hadn't done anything of my own free will. I still suspect that he left some thoughts in my mind so that I would move as he wished—and that is truly unsettling.
I hadn't realized the extent to which he had interfered with my thoughts.
The problem is that I have no idea how to start over, so I will go with the flow for now.
I finally stopped in front of Building Three, which looked truly massive. It was supposed to house a hundred students, and each student had a private room.
This is one of the academy's advantages: every student has their own room, no matter how weak or strong they are, though the benefits provided differ from one person to another.
I entered the building; there was nothing unusual, so I continued walking while searching for my room—number 240. You could say I won't be staying there long, if you know what I mean.
As soon as I found my room, I placed my card on the door, which had an immediate effect as the door opened instantly.
I heard an electronic voice welcoming me:
{Eren Brown, confirmed}
I entered the room right away, and you could say it was fairly ordinary: a bedroom with a single bed, a small kitchenette, and a small bathroom.
"Just as I expected."
I muttered, recalling the rooms of the novel's protagonists; their rooms were far larger than mine and even contained private training rooms.
"Not yet, Eren."
I was remembering what I had planned.
I had nothing else to do, so I went to bed after studying a few things.
And so the night ended between study and transformation, as I looked forward to tomorrow.
"I hope things go well."