"No, no, no!!!"
Alex jolted awake, his breath caught in his throat as sweat soaked through his pajamas, his breathing heavy as if he was running.
He was not in an ashen dune, but awkwardly sitting in a confused state on his bed with a frayed blanket, looking around anxiously to make sure he was out of this strange dream world where two mysterious people claimed to be: his, in another world. The words of the man who called himself from Secondniverse or something kept running through Alex's head over and over again about the so-called variants.
"A dream... That dream..." He still felt goosebumps at the realism in every pore.
He thought he must be going crazy. Maybe it was the stress of the university responsibilities, or maybe the fact that tomorrow he would have to compete in the annual fighting tournament against the Wolf Club that would carry the pride of the Lion Club on his shoulders. However, that didn't connect with the strange dream he had just had.
Usually, he would dream of things that seemed pointless and nonsense, but this dream made his consciousness flicker as if it was warning him of something's existence.
"Oh my gosh! What a dream I had, haha..." He laughed dryly, scratching his head.
"By the way... what time is it now?"
He just realized that this was not the time to be concerned with crazy dreams, so he quickly reached out to grab his phone on the nightstand under the lamp.
When he tried to turn on the phone, the screen went completely black.
"I turned off my phone? When..."
As soon as his phone was turned on, a WhatsApp notification popped up. The ringing message sound was deafening. Multiple layers of text windows from his friends were overlapping, including a long history of missed calls, and something made him, who was groggy, suddenly wake up right then.
"Oh shit! Ten more minutes to 9?!"
It's 8:50 on the gadget. There's not much time before Mr. Kim's class starts.
"shit shit shit! I can't be late!!!"
He jumped out of bed in a fluster and went straight to the wardrobe opposite the bed, grabbing whatever clothes he saw and putting them on immediately.
"I can't be late for Mr. Kim's class! I don't want to do the history report again!"
After he put on his T-shirt and jeans, he hurriedly ran into the bathroom. As soon as the faucet was turned on, he quickly scooped up water to wash his face until it was soaked. Water splashed all over the sink, then he quickly brushed his teeth, just so that his mouth wouldn't smell bad. At the same time, the ringtone of his mobile phone rang after him.
Before his face was completely dry, he quickly rushed over and grabbed the phone that was on the bed when the screen showed that Ivan was calling, then quickly swiped the green button to answer the call.
"H... Hello!"
"Hey, bro! Where are you? It's time for Mr. Kim's class!"
"I'm on my way! Sorry, I accidentally turned off my phone."
"Come quickly, bro! Otherwise, you'll be given a history report. Haha, you're not learning your lesson, you dumbass!"
"Yeah, yeah! I know that!"
"Haha, oh... another thing..."
Before Ivan could finish speaking, a call interrupted him. The name on the screen was Penelope.
"Oh, great! Nanny calls"
"What?"
"That's it, Ivan. See you in class!"
After he finished speaking, he hung up his friend and picked up the call from someone he didn't want to talk to, but if he didn't pick up the call, that girl would definitely come and scold him later.
"What?!"
"Why aren't you answering my calls! I sent a message to you until the system warned me it was spam!"
Her voice was so clear that it came out of the speaker even though it wasn't in speaker mode. She must have been really upset that he didn't pick up the phone. These days, she's almost like his mother. That's the sarcastic thought he always thinks of whenever she calls him up or sends many texts to him nonstop until he answers her.
"I forgot to turn on my phone, okay!"
"Hurry up, you idiot! I don't want to help you with another history report!"
"I know, I know! I'm in a hurry!"
He hung up on her without a care, grabbed his notebook and pen, and ran out of the room. But in less than a second, he had to run back because he had forgotten his phone.
"It was nice this morning!"
He managed to grab the phone and rushed out the door again, but he still didn't close it properly.
Once again, he had to reach back and close it with a loud bang.
He ran down from the second floor of the dorm so hastily that he had to slide down the handrail instead of running down as usual. The squeaking sound of sneakers sounded like car brakes in the middle of the road. It was at the same moment that Josh opened the dorm door and entered.
"Hey, man. You look in a hurry. Haha," Josh laughed, knowing that this guy was always late.
"Don't you have class, Josh?" Alex asked.
"I'm free this morning. I was going to take Abby shopping. I mean... to accompany her. Haha." Josh looked a little weird, but he was still as chill as ever.
"Anyway, I gotta hurry. I'm gonna be late for Mr. Kim's class. Oh, and have fun," Alex patted his friend on the shoulder before running off without a care.
The obstacles were not over yet. When he arrived at the university square, he saw many people walking around. Because it was Monday, the university area was crowded with young students. Those people blocked his way. He had to struggle through the crowd like ants.
The University of San Vallojse is located in the center of the city on an area of more than fifty acres, adjacent to a main road that was busy with traffic all day long. Nestled in the heart of coastal California, spreads across a gently sloping hill overlooking the sparkling Pacific Ocean. The campus blends Renaissance revival architecture with modern glass-and-steel facilities, creating an elegant harmony between old-world prestige and contemporary ambition. Because this place was founded in the eighteenth century, there are still some new buildings that were built later. Lush greenery, shaded courtyards, and cobblestone walkways tie the whole campus together, giving it the feeling of a self-contained city of ideas and emotions. Surrounded by a village with buildings of no more than five stories. The people who come to study here are mostly locals.
At first glance, it looks like a normal state university that ordinary people can enter. And most people come to study to get a degree and try the life of an adult amateur. In other words, they can study and graduate just for fun.
"Oh, shit!" He cursed in his mind.
He was trying to find a gap that would allow him to break through the crowd, but those people kept walking without stopping. He stood there for a few times. Finally, he decided that he would not care about any gaps at all. He had to squeeze through.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! I need a way, please!"
He said and asked everyone to go the other way. Some of them gave way, but some of them were pushed by him.
"Hey! Watch out, you nosy bastard!"
"Are you in a hurry to die?!"
"Damn it! Do you know any manners?!"
"I'm really sorry. Hey! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!" He tried to move along the waves of people with difficulty.
When he left the crowd, it took him almost five minutes to get to class. The longer he let time pass, the more his fate hung in the balance.