After thirty minutes of walking around like a headless chicken and stopping several strangers to ask for directions, Verso finally stood in front of a massive structure that looked less like a dormitory and more like a high end five star resort.
The architecture was a sleek blend of glass, white marble, and gold accents that caught the sunlight, making the entire building shimr with an air of exclusivity.
"This is the Star Complex?" Verso mumbled to himself, his neck craning back as he marveled at the sheer size of the place.
From what he had found out, Phoenix Academy followed one simple, brutal rule. rit.
It was a pure ritocracy where effort and performance were rewarded with equal asure. If you were soone who excelled in this place, the academy would treat you like royalty.
This luxurious treatnt that he was receiving right now was the direct result of Team Han’s second place finish in the national rankings.
However, as Verso looked at the pristine gardens and the private fountain in the courtyard, he rembered a detail from the orientation pamphlet.
As luxurious as this place looked, it still was not the pinnacle. There were still two housing tiers above the Star rank, which was the Moon and Sun complexes.
Reserved only for the absolute monsters of the student body.
’If this is just the second tier, what the hell does the Sun complex look like? Do they live in golden palaces?’
"Oh, look who finally made it!"
Suddenly, a loud voice bood behind him, followed imdiately by a heavy, stinging slap on his back that nearly sent him stumbling into the fountain.
"Hey scum, took you a minute to find the front door, didn’t it?"
Verso turned around, wincing as he rubbed his sore shoulder, only to see Moon stepping out of a lowed bright red sports car that looked like it cost more than an upper middle class family’s annual inco.
The car’s engine let out a soft hum before the butterfly doors clicked shut automatically.
Although Verso was still slightly wary of the red eyed noble because of his explosive temper and his tendency to start fights over the smallest provocations, he had grown to respect him.
Moon was kind of refreshing. He was blunt, direct, and never bothered to sugarcoat his words or hide behind the veils of etiquette.
This made him significantly easier to deal with than certain other clan nobles Verso had t —mainly Han, whose every sentence had so sort of hidden aning behind it.
"Hey Moon," Verso said with a tired smile.
"Did everyone already move into the dorms?"
Moon scoffed, tossing his keys to a valet who appeared out of nowhere.
"I don’t know about the other idiots, but I moved in a few days ago. I couldn’t stand staying in that boring place any longer."
As they began walking toward the sprawling lobby of the complex, Moon raised his arms over his head, stretching until his joints popped.
"The rooms here are pretty la compared to my villa in Erald City." Moon complained, though he didn’t actually look that upset.
"But I’ll give it one thing. The dungeons here are all top tier, all of them house pretty strong creatures."
Verso followed him through the automatic glass doors, feeling the imdiate blast of cool and scented air conditioning.
He pulled out his black key card to check his room number.
"Hmm, could you help find my room? This place is a bit of a maze."
Moon didn’t even glance at the card. As if completely ignoring the question, he turned toward Verso with a predatory glint in his red eyes.
"So, you got anything fun going on? Want to go elite hunting this evening? I found a spot in the third dungeon that’s crawling with high tier mutants."
For a second, Verso’s eye twitched. He realized he had just been completely ignored, but he actually took a mont to consider the offer seriously.
He needed to explore all seven of the new dungeons he now had access to and download them into his system realm.
But unfortunately, there was sothing else he had lined up to do for today.
"I don’t think I can today," Verso replied with a sigh.
"I really need to find my room, unpack all my stuff and then sleep."
Moon let out a click of his tongue, looking disappointed but not surprised.
The pair talked for a bit as they headed toward the hallway designated for first year Star students.
As they reached the third floor, it turned out that fate — or the academy’s ranking system — had a sense of humor.
Moon stopped right in front of the door besides Verso’s.
"Looks like I’ll be seeing your ugly face every morning, scum." Moon said with a smirk before swiping his card and vanishing into his room.
"I guess this is my new humble abode..." Verso muttered, stepping up to his own door.
He swiped the black card against the electronic lock. A crisp beep sounded, and the door clicked open.
Verso pushed his way inside, and the sight that greeted him made his jaw drop.
"No way... this is a dorm room?" Verso walked in, his boots sinking into a plush carpet.
The space was massive, easily three tis the size of his previous dormitory.
It was literally a fully furnished, luxury studio apartnt. He had a king sized bed which sat against one wall, a private kitchenette featuring high end appliances and a floor to ceiling window offered a breathtaking view of the Phoenix City skyline.
In the corner of the room, he spotted his luggage, which he had shipped a day prior, already waiting for him.
"I guess I should unpack before getting back to work..."
Verso spent the next hour ticulously setting up his new ho.
He hung his clothes, organized his nonexistent belongings and tried to make the luxurious space feel a bit more holy.
Once the last box was empty, he headed straight for the bathroom, which featured a rainfall shower that felt like a gift from the gods.
After washing away the gri of the journey and changing into a pair of loose, comfortable clothes, he finally slumped down onto the bed.
"Finally, I can get back to work..."
This past week, he had been trying to accomplish a specific goal in the system realm, only to fail again and again. It was a frustrating cycle of trial and error that had been eating away at him.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the realm nu. Just after he the familiar sense of drowsiness take over.
[Entering: The Lost Island.]
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