ORB

"Hey, wake up," narinig kong paggising sa'kin ng isang babae. Napakunot-noo naman ako at mas lalong binaon ang sariling mukha sa unan. Sino ba 'yon?

"Ayaw niyang gumising, eh."

Ayaw ko talaga.

"Do you think she still has headache?" tanong ng isa pang babae. Ngayon naman tinakpan ko ang tainga ko gamit ang unan.

"No. It must be gone for now."

I scrunched my nose, and slightly opened my eyes to peek at the people talking about me. Kinusot ko ang mata ko para makita sila nang ayos, ngunit blurry pa rin sila.

I shook my head, and sat up in the bed- bed... huh? Paano ako nakarating sa kama? Oh, nahimatay nga pala ako after kong mag-teleport!

Mariin kong pinikit ang mata ko, at minulat ulit 'yon. I repeated it until I can finally see clearly.

I gasped when I saw Lein and Iris near the bed. Na-conscious ako bigla at mabilis na pinunasan ang sarili kong mga morning glory! Buti nalang hindi ako naglalaway 'pag tulog.

"You're finally awake, Exiquel. Today is the start of your classes. We ought to guide you in your first class. We have also prepared some clothes for you," sabi agad ni Lein.

Tumango naman ako at mabilis na tumakbo papunta sa bathroom, pero narealize kong hindi ko pala alam kung s'an ang bathroom! I looked around and noticed that there were four beds. So, I'm in my dormitory?

"The bathroom is the next door behind you," turo ni Iris.

Tumango naman ako, at kaagad na tumalikod. Nakakita agad ako ng pinto na mukhang pang-CR talaga. The moment I opened it, my jaw dropped as I was mesmerized by the beauty of the bathroom!

Nakakainspire maligo! Ang bango, ang linis, at ang daming kung anu-anong bottles na may iba't ibang scents. Anyways, binilisan ko lang ang pagbababad sa bath-tub na sosyal na parang dinuduyan ka pa. Halos makatulog ulit ako, pero pinigilan ko lang ang sarili ko.

I noticed that there were clothes ready for me near the sink. This must be Lein's clothes since we almost had the same figure. It was a simple t-shirt and sweatpants.

It was almost perfect for my figure, but I had to tighten the tie in the sweatpants. I think I'm thinner than her or her hips are just bigger.

Pagkalabas ko, pinasalamatan ko sila agad. Tumayo naman sila, at dumiretso na palabas sa pinto. I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't I have to bring anything?" I asked.

They both shook their heads. "It's all in the watch."

Napatango naman ako. I guess this dimension is sort of futuristic and has adapted some neo culture technology. I sighed and followed them out of the room.

Marami pa kaming nadaanan na mga rooms bago pa kami makarating ulit sa mismong labas ng dormitory area. Speaking of dormitories, I wonder who my dorm mates are?

"What are your classes for today, Exiquel?" tanong ni Lein sa'kin. Iris glanced at me and pointed her wristwatch.

I got the signal, and opened the watch. Sinwipe ko lang 'yon nang sinwipe hanggang sa makakita ako ng icon na may label na scheduled sa baba. Then, the watch showed me a detailed schedule of today, at the same time, nagsalita rin 'yon sa utak ko.

"Your first class is weapon handling for beginners."

"Weapon handling for beginners," pag-ulit ko sa kanila. Tumango naman sila, at nagulat nalang ako nang tumalon sila mula sa railings ng second floor. They both landed to a floating platform.

"Talon ka rin!" masiglang utos sa'kin ni Iris. I shook my head immediately. Bakit naman ako tatalon?

"Male-late ka kapag hindi ka tumalon! Try mo lang. Save ka naman namin kapag sala ang pagtalon mo."

I furrowed my brows. Gosh, Exiquel, 'di ba nga master ka ng chinese garter dati! Tatalon ka lang 'oh, mga 15 feet lang naman itatalon mo! 15 feet ha! Does that sound convincing?

Well, maybe, for me.

Naglakas-loob ako. Umatras muna ako bago tumakbo, at tumalon papunta sa platform kung s'an sila tumayo. My feet landed to the ground, and my jump was successful.

"Kaya mo naman pala, eh." My eyebrow shot up upon hearing that from Lein. Sino bang may sabing hindi?

They continued to jump in different platfroms. Sinundan ko naman sila. We ran or sprinted. Nakarating pa kami sa isang tunnel na ang disenyo ng wall ay parang umiikot at para kaming nasa outer space. There were holographic images of heavenly celestial bodies.

I turned to the front and noticed that it was an endless tunnel, or maybe it was only an illusion. Nagitla nalang ako nang biglang mawala ang outer space na kapaligiran, at biglang nasa isang arena na kami.

There were a lot of students too. I suppose lahat ng beginners or freshman ay narito. Well, the arena is big, so it can really accomodate even hundreds.

In the far corner, there was a table full of weapons. May ilan ding nakasabit. Some were futuristic weapons like cyber guns, bombs, and laser beams, or traditional weapons like axe, halberds, swords and arrows.

Naks! Ang dami kong alam kakalaro ng MMORPG!

Iris pulled me towards one guy, who I assumed is the professor or coach of the class. His right hand was alike to a robot, and I wondered why.

"Professor Hal, this is the new student, Exiquel Four Bellisima," pakilala sa'kin ni Lein.

"Ah, yes. The administrators have already mentioned her to me. Nice meeting you, young lady," sabi ng Prof. Mukha naman siyang normal na prof, wala namang special bukod sa kamay niyang parang robot.

"You first choose or customize a weapon that you'll be using through the month. It is only just to master one weapon at a time. You can check them out first while I continue my classes, Four."

I nodded and strided towards the table of weapons. Nakuha agad ng atensyon ko ang isang yellow na orb. Then I turned when someone spoke in my back, "Only those who have creation magic can manipulate that orb."

I looked back to a man whose eyeglasses were round. Nerd, that described him. He looked lanky.

"Why? What's with this orb?" tanong ko. Hinawakan ko ang orb, at sumakto naman ang pagkabilog n'on sa palad ko. It suddenly glowed of a golden color, and it floated in my hand.

Nagulat naman ang lalaki na malapit sa'kin. "You have creation magic?!" tanong niya.

"What?"

"The orb worked for you. It hasn't worked for anyone since then," he implied.

"Ano bang mayr'on sa orb na 'to?" tanong ko naman habang pinagmamasdan ang orb. Tinaas ko ang isa ko pang kamay, at lumutang 'yon sa gitna ng mga kamay ko.

"The orb is a special power source in which it absorbs the magic of others, and can turn into any weapon you'd like. It's actually powerful since the orb can also copy the powers of other peculiars," paliwanag n'ong lalaki.

Napaawang naman ang bibig ko dahil sa mangha. I imagined the orb to be a sword, and then it did become a sword! So it's true!

"Ikaw ang bagong estudaynte, hindi ba?" tanong ng lalaki sa'kin. Tumango naman ako.

"I've seen you yesterday in our headquarters," banggit niya. Napataas-kilay naman ako. Ibig sabihin isa rin siyang Neoteric?

"I'm Lourd Andrix Rouge," pakilala niya, at bago ko pa maipakilala ang sarili ko, binanggit niya na rin ang pangalan ko.

"And you are Exiquel Four Bellisima, the one who has creation magic."

Ay, teka lang naman po. Bakit may dagdag na description na hindi ako aware?

The Orphic Secret
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

'Yong nasa cover, 'yon na 'yung orb guys HAHAHA.

Thank you for reading!