Alex laid on the bed, facing the ceiling as the System hovered on his left while he talked to the owner of the body, who was unexpectedly calm.
"So, your name is Mallory Clifford?"
("Yes. And you said your name was Alexander Carter?")
"Just call me Alex. How old are you?"
("I recently turned eighteen years old three days ago.")
"Oh... Um, happy belated birthday."
("I appreciate it, I suppose.")
"You're rather calm considering that I'm taking over your body."
("There's no point in complaining, especially since this phenomenon is considered possible but rare in this world. In all honesty, I pity you for inhabiting this corpse I call body.")
"Anyway," he sat up, stretching his upper body, his gaze drifting around the messy room and the light entering between the closed curtains as the sun began to raise, hearing a bell ring outside, "Could you tell me about this world, where I am and about yourself? Since I'll be in your body for a while, it's better I know some things about you."
("Why do you want to know about me?")
"Well, it'll be awkward to use your body without knowing your life."
("My life isn't important.")
'.....'
"Please, Mallory. I don't know anything about you and your world," said Alex, moving closer to the edge of the bed.
Mallory sighed, ("Alright. My books on the desk and in the suitcase under the bed would help you understand my world. But be careful with getting out of bed.")
"Huh? Wh—" the moment Alex stood and took a step towards the curtains, he fell to his knees, feelings his heart race painfully fast, his hand pressed against the floor while the other gripped his chest tightly.
His heavy breathing filled the room as he felt his lung burn from the little air he inhaled, his arms trembling.
("I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. Sudden movements trigger this reaction.")
Alex struggled catching his breath as he tried calming his racing heart, "I-it..... alright, Mallory."
Ding
[Character info;
Name: Mallory Reuben Clifford
Age: 18
Status: First son of the Clifford family
Height: 5'6
Weight: 18.5 kg/m²
Occupation: Third year student at Orion Mage School
Ability: Ferrokinesis
Stress level: 89%]
[Side Quest: Restore Mallory's health
—Maintain diet
—Stay hydrated
—Reduce stress level
—Unblock core
•Duration: 100 days
•Reward: Mallory's ability
•Failure: Death]
'.....Damnit.'
("What an interesting device you have.")
"Interesting but annoying," Alex groaned, his erratic heartbeat slowly reducing as he tried to stand.
Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by a sharp but gentle voice spoke from the other side of the door, "Mal, it's Thandiwe. Are you awake?"
'Who is she?'
("She's a friend of mine.... well, that's what she tells everyone.")
'What do you mean?'
("She decided that we're friends ever since the first year but I don't know why. Let her in.")
'Oh okay....'
"Come in."
The door opened, and a tall girl with dark brown skin and ebony curly hair with silver metal beads tied in a neat bun and a dark green hat on her head entered the room.
Thandiwe was dressed in a black knife pleated skirt and a trenchcoat over a white dress shirt with a emerald green brooch shaped like a bow and arrow.
Upon seeing 'Mallory' on the floor, she rushed to his side, the sound of her boots on the wooden floor echoed across the room as she knelt by his side.
"Are you alright, Mal?"
Alex gazed into her warm coffee brown eyes that stared at him with concern, "I'm f—"
("Don't say your fine, it would only make her worry more.")
"I-I got out of bed too fast and fell."
"You should've waited for me to come," she held his shoulders gently, her shoulders tense as her eyes checked his body for any bruises.
("Pat her right hand and give her a smile.")
Alex slowly raised his hand to his left shoulder, patting her hand and gave her a wobbly smile, "I-I didn't want to bother you so early. Besides, I wanted to open the windows."
Thandiwe stared into his eyes for a moment and sighed, her shoulders relaxing slowly, then removed her hands and stood up as she stretched out her hand to him, her palm glowing green and flicked her wrist.
Suddenly, Alex was lifted from the ground and carefully placed on the bed, his back leaning against the headboard as he sat.
"You're always pushing yourself too hard, Mal. I know that I shouldn't baby you or treat you as those you're fragile but I want to help you," she took out a bottle of water from her bag and opened it for him before placing it in his hands, "Drink some water."
Alex nodded, mumbling a thanks then slowly drank the water, watching Thandiwe walk to the window, opening the curtains and pushing the windows open as a cool breeze entered the room before she turned away from the window, her arms stretched out and palms glowing green as she began picked up the scattered items on the floor.
'Are you sure you don't consider her your friend or something more?'
("I may consider her a friend or older sister despite being the same age.")
'I see.'
He looked out the window and saw two small aquamarine birds with long wavy tail feathers fly passed the window before his gaze landed on the light orange sky as the sun began to raise.
From where he sat, he could only see three people on the field a few feet away, they wore the same clothes as the one in Mallory's wardrobe with one of them was creating a horse with fire.
"Did you finish your homework?"
("Yes.")
"Yes, I did."
"That's good," Thandiwe smiled, organizing the books on the desk with her hands.
"May I have my history book?"
She paused then gave him a blank stare.
"I just want to read it."
"You need to rest."
"Sleeping too much isn't healthy and I just woke up. I only want to read it."
She raised a brow but he kept his expression neutral, "Tsk.... Okay," she placed the book on his lap, "Do you need anything else?"
Alex shook his head, then paused, "Actually, I'm hungry. Could you please....?"
Thandiwe's eyes lit up as she grinned and headed to the door, "I'll be right back with breakfast and this time you really need to finish it."
The door closed and he looked at the now clean room, "What happened before I came here?"
Mallory hesitated, then after a minute, he spoke, ("I.... I don't want to talk about it, but just know that I fainted yesterday and she blames herself for not being there when it happened.")
"Do the teachers know about it?"
("I'm not sure. It's either they don't know or they're just ignoring what happened.")
"I see," Alex clenched his jaw, his eyebrows furrowed then took a deep breath and forced himself to relax as he opened the book.
In the book, from the very first chapter, he learnt that the Sun and his wife, the Moon, created the world— creating the land, water, sky, time, plants, seasons, animals and humans— before they watched over everything as Day and Night.
Then thousands of years after the creation of the world, there was a kingdom that had walls that stood between two districts and the destruction of the dam caused a flood that destroyed the walls and nearly wiped out the kingdom.
The most people of that kingdom survived the flood with the assistance of witches and the great Queen. However, upon trying to seek refuge, neighboring nations turned them away, leading to nearly half of the survivor died from starvation or sickness.
Then one night, after the Queen prayed to Night and was led to a river described as liquid crystals that tasted like fruits and felt cool to touch. She drank the water and felt warmth spreading from her heart to her body, later that night, she led her husband to the river, then the people, and once morning came, survivors later developed abilities and the heart was called the Core.
"Why does this kingdom seem familiar?"
("Familiar? You know the story of the flood?")
"Maybe.... It seems familiar to me."
("I see.")
There was a knock on the door, before it opened and Thandiwe entered the room carrying a tray with bread, sausage, a bowl of fruit and a cup of tea.
Alex closed the book, placing it on his right as she placed the tray on his lap, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Mal," she sat on the desk and pulled out a book with a red cover from her bag.
Alex began eating and glanced at the title, "The Great Ruler," he read quietly.
She looked up from the book, her gaze drifting from him to the cover, "Oh! This is a new book that was recently published. It's a retelling of Queen Eleanor Augustus's life story."
Alex froze, his fork paused halfway to his mouth, "Queen Eleanor Augustus?"
Thandiwe nodded, her gaze returning to the book, "Yes, the founder of the Core. She's amazing and I hope this retelling would be better than the others that either make her too good or too evil."
("Are you feeling alright, Alex?")
"I'm fine," he mumbled as he resumed eating the food.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
[Holder Candidate Quest Two: Don't get expelled.
—Don't die
—Pass your exams
•Duration: 4 months
•Reward: ??? + Skill
•Failure: Losing all intelligence]