The afternoon rain fell like a tangled curtain that refused to stop. Raindrops dripped from the roof of Athevia High School, creating a monotonous rhythm that made the students in the science class even more lazy. The blackboard was covered with chemical formulas that had not yet been erased.
Arkan sat at the back of the classroom with his shoulders slightly hunched, fighting sleep while copying something into his notebook.
"Arkan, try to answer this question," said Ms. Ana, the famously fierce chemistry teacher, in a sharp voice.
Arkan looked up slowly. He actually knew the answer—a simple reaction—but every time he had to speak in front of the class, his tongue felt stiff.
"Um... the coefficient is two, ma'am," he said hesitantly.
The whole class immediately burst out laughing.
"Coefficient two? Wrong! That's so basic," teased Ronald, the class president who liked to bully him.
Ms. Ana just snorted. "Arkan, you should study harder. Your test scores are almost all remedial."
Arkan looked down, feeling his ears burn. He wanted to argue that the teacher had written the question incorrectly, but he was used to being the target of ridicule—what was the point of arguing?
•••
The bell rang loudly. The other students immediately ran out of the classroom, some waiting for the heavy rain to subside.
Arkan slowly tidied up his books, hoping no one would notice. But then he heard a familiar voice again.
"Hey, lab rat," Ronald blocked the door, chuckling.
"He says he's good at science, but he's at the bottom of the class. His brain must only be good for blowing things up," added one of his friends.
Arkan remained silent and tightened the straps of his bag on his shoulder.
"Seriously, you're like a failed professor," Ronald added, patting Arkan lightly on the head, provoking laughter from the others.
To others, it might have been a joke, but to Arkan, it was a blow to his pride. He just steeled his heart and walked away. In his heart, he promised: One day, I will prove myself.
Arkan's house was located on the outskirts of town, a simple building with a narrow yard and a backyard that he had transformed into an experimental garden. His father had been working abroad for a long time, and his mother had died three years ago. The house was quiet, accompanied only by the sound of rain hitting the roof. But sometimes his uncle would come to visit. Of course, not today.
He heads straight to the room that used to be a storage area. He has turned it into a mini laboratory: glass shelves filled with simple chemical bottles, cables crisscrossing the room, and a neon light hanging crookedly, flickering dimly. On the rusting iron table stands a mini thermal-plasma reactor, knee-high, the result of his hard work over the past two years.
After changing out of his wet uniform and into a worn gray hoodie, Arkan sat down in a creaky old swivel chair.
"If I can stabilize the Q-plasma conductivity today, I'll be a real scientist," he muttered, half tired, half hopeful.
He turned on his laptop, typed in commands, and deftly fiddled with the cables.
Night fell with the rain getting heavier. The wind blew the curtains covering the window until they rustled, but Arkan was too immersed in his experiment.
The indicator needle on the screen moved into the green zone—for the first time, the heat fluctuations in the reactor had stabilized.
"Eh? It worked!" he exclaimed happily.
He turned the power knob to the next level, feeling like a real scientist.
But suddenly, the alarm on the screen flashed red.
"Eh... no... maybe it's just a sensor error," he thought, trying to calm himself down.
The indicator needle shot sharply past the safety limit. From the reactor core, blue flashes of light shot out, dancing like small lightning bolts.
"This isn't funny. Please don't explode," Arkan said in a panic. He pressed the emergency button—it didn't work.
There was a boom—not a destructive explosion, but a flash of light that blinded the room. The wind seemed to be sucked into the center of the machine, causing books and curtains to fly around. Arkan tried to jump back, but his body felt heavy, as if being pulled by an invisible vortex.
"AKKHH"
Only his scream was heard before he was swallowed by the blue light and disappeared.
•••
Arkan woke up with heavy eyes, his eyelids feeling sticky as if he had been up all night. Soft light from the lamp illuminated the medium-sized room—shiny white metal walls, symmetrical shelves, and two neatly arranged bunk beds. He squinted, trying to adjust his vision.
"Finally awake."
A calm voice came from the corner of the room. A boy was tidying up his official Ididtera Academy uniform; a dark gray jacket with blue stripes on the sleeves, neat trousers, and an emblem that somehow looked shiny on his left chest. He was tall, with pale white skin, his face seemingly never surprised by anything.
Arkan looked to the right and left, trying to recognize the unfamiliar room. He—Arkan, who was now trapped in someone else's body—pinched his cheek gently. It hurt. So this wasn't a dream? But who was this person?
"Um... good morning?" he muttered awkwardly, trying to hide his panic.
The boy—named Jeff—glanced through the glass without really turning his head. "You look like you've been hit by a drone. Is your head okay, Herm?"
Arkan was confused, "Herm?"
"Yes, you, Hermiot. Suddenly forgot your name?" He chuckled softly.
That name... Hermiot. Arkan swallowed hard. That's right, this voice didn't sound like his. Don't tell—
"Yeah... it's just... I had a weird dream last night." He grinned, trying to cover up his confusion while thinking clearly.
Jeff just sighed, either because he was too lazy to respond or because he was used to Hermiot's strange comments. But this was clearly not the Hermiot he usually met. It was Arkan who had suddenly entered Hermiot's body!
The door on the side of the room moved automatically when it detected someone entering with light but noisy steps. His name was Bobh, his dark skin contrasting with his official uniform jacket, which he deliberately didn't button up properly. His curly hair was tied back. His undershirt was bright orange.
"Yo! Breakfast is ready in the Cafeteria, but you guys have to hear this first," he said enthusiastically, carrying a thin hologram tablet that was still lit up.
Arkan reflexively turned his head quickly, startled by the volume of Bobh's booming voice. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Bobh laughed loudly. "Haha, at least you're still alive. Did you know there's a battle between levels this morning in the central courtyard! The Masters will be judging. Everyone is excited and can't wait."
Jeff buttoned the last button on his collar and smoothed his black hair in front of the mirror. "It's always like this at the start of the season. Nothing special."
Bobh plopped down on one of the folding chairs near the door. "Nothing special, you say? I heard that this time it's a level A student! More precisely, that amazing female student with pure bloodline, you know who I'm talking about, right?"
Arkan stood frozen, trying to digest every word that came out of Bobh's mouth. The dark-skinned boy. Level A? Pure bloodline? Arkan's head, once filled with high school science theories, felt like it was about to explode.
What does that even mean? What kind of nonsense is this? Maybe his earlier thoughts were right after all...
He hurriedly approached the glass, staring at the reflection of the unfamiliar face in front of him: slightly messy blond hair, silver-gray eyes reflecting the light of the lamp, a firm chin. "So... this is me now," he whispered softly, almost in disbelief. This body also made him feel taller than before.
Impossible.
So he really had entered someone else's body, no, more precisely, another dimension?
Jeff, who was tidying his tie, glanced over. "Are you talking to the mirror again? Hurry up and get ready, we don't want to be late. The Masters must already be in the courtyard."
"The central courtyard?" Hermiot—who was actually Arkan—repeated, a little confused.
Bobh nodded exaggeratedly. "Yeah, you know, the large field in the center of Academy that's usually used for ceremonies and practice duels. All the students are gathering there today. You think that's why I'm so excited? I don't want to miss out on a good seat close to the action."
Hermiot stared at the uniform hanging on the side of his bed. It was an official jacket in the same color as Jeff and Bobh's uniforms, only it was definitely a little loose for his body. He grabbed it and put it on, fumbling a little as he tried to button it up correctly.
"This official uniform... is a bit heavy, isn't it?" he muttered unconsciously.
Jeff turned his head again. "It's a nano protective layer. Just in case. Have you forgotten or are you pretending to forget?"
"Ah, of course, I really did forget," replied Hermiot with an awkward smile.
Bobh immediately grinned widely. "Hahaha! Typical Hermiot. Like it's your first time wearing a uniform."
Hermiot chuckled softly, trying to look relaxed. In his heart, he muttered, "Yes, it is my first time."
Hermiot tried to smile, but in his heart: This doesn't make sense... the explosion in my lab... brought me this far?
He stared at the courtyard from the window: the holographic circle, the wide field, and the crowd of students who were already prepared.
I'm not Arkan the loser anymore... he thought.
"What the fuck..."
And as he stepped out of the room, something in his chest was beating fast. A battle was about to begin—and his life would never be the same again.