A Difference

It was past 6:30 in the morning when Quinn was transported back to his own world. "10 in the morning, huh?" Quinn walked from the door of his dorm to the mirror.

"AHH-!" Quinn yelped as he looked at the reflection in the mirror, "What happened to my beautiful face?! Why do I look like... nothing but Shadowy mist bullshit?!"

Quinn examined his new self closely: his face seemed to have lost all features except fierce eyes that glowed with a dark, neon-purple colour; his head was like that of a ghastly figure, with flowing Shadows that looked like his hair, but were floating, and another part of the Shadows shaped like a crown. Due to the armour Quinn was wearing, the changes in his body were not visible, although, some dark particles that were, most likely, Shadows, were diffusing through it.

Before Quinn could panic, Void spoke: 'Calm down, boy. It is only natural; after all, you have become a full-fledged Shadow. If it is the human form of yourself that you are worried to lose, worry not: you should be able to naturally alter yourself. Firstly, control your innate Shadow Energy, and suppress it.'

Quinn took a deep breath, and did as told, bending the Shadow Energy inside of him to his will, curbing it so that it doesn't manifest on its own and alter his physical body. The flowing flame-like Shadows naturally receded back into thin air. "What now?"

'You have already succeeded,' Void said, 'You still believe, deep down in that immortal heart of yours, that you are human yet, after all. Thus, the form came about naturally with any further interference.'

When he looked back in the mirror, he was greeted with the same old face that he was so used to, and a variety of cuts, marks and bodily fluids on his armour. "And there goes another pair of perfectly fine clothes under my armour..."

...

Taking his time cleaning up and organising his dorm room, Quinn was done with everything apart from an assignment that was given to all of the first-year students a while back, right after they returned from Butani, before 7 AM. Before he was about to sit down and complete the assignment consisting of advanced math and physics, and a separate assignment of the study of ecology of two planets, he heard the door-bell ring.

Although hesitant to open the door, considering he only had a pair of baggy pants that he wore, he eventually got to the door and opened it. Seeing Luna at the door put a slight smile on his face, "So, what're you here for, princess?"

Luna tried to punch Quinn in the abdomen, but it was too slow for him, so he easily caught the punch with his free, left hand. "Why aren't you wearing anything? Even though you have a nice body and all, you know stuff like this doesn't work on me-".

Quinn pulled her closer and asked: "What does, then? Hmm?"

Quinn wasn't really the romantic type, but it was more like he was just messing around with her, unbeknownst to what his actions may cause. Although he wasn't careless, he often let his guard down completely when he was around Luna. Both of them were just standing in awkward silence now, right before Quinn spoke again: "Yeah, so," he cleared his throat, "What're you here for?"

"Oh, uhh," it was kind of the first time Quinn had seen Luna so flustured. Finally noticing what she was wearing: an over-sized hoodie and shorts, he said: "Hey, isn't that mine? No wonder I couldn't find it anywhere-"

"You came all this way from the girls' dorm to give me this? You shouldn't have; I don't really care..." Quinn said as he pat Luna's head. "No... that's not why I came here," she finally replied as she looked at the floor, "I was just wondering... if you wanted to go the city... together."

Although stunned to speak, as Quinn was about to say something, Sen appeared right behind Luna, putting his hand on her shoulder, "What's up, people? How come you're up so early?" he asked Luna. "Nothing," she replied bluntly as she removed Sen's hand and stormed off.

"Hey, Luna-!" Quinn called out to her, but she did not show any signs of stopping, "Ugh... damn it."

"I... didn't interrupt anything... did I?" Sen asked nervously, "Sorry-!" he clasped his hands together and apologised. "Haah... whatever, don't worry about it. What do you want, then?"

***

After sorting out things with Sen, and the same's worries about Quinn not turning up for the event on time—or ever, he remembered that the reward for killing the [Lich King] was an Ex Quest. Although he would not try and go for the Quest right away, there was no pain in checking it out, and hopefully, prepare for it ahead of time. But, before that, he wished to use the Random Reward Poll Ticket that was obtained after completing the Weekly Quest.

[The Random Reward Poll Ticket has been used. The User may choose the following options as a Reward:

-10 AP;

-New Darkness Skill;

-New Job-Exclusive Skill;

-Random Equipment(A-rank)]

The choices weren't the best, but Quinn did not complain since he could hit the lottery if he selected any of the Skills. The Equipment, he could buy anytime from the Shop, and overall, he had no urgent need for any new piece of Equipment; although the Darkness Skill was alluring, Quinn gave it up on the thought of some OP Skill that he could imagine that he would get from his Job's title, that is: Assassin of the Eternal Darkness.

[You have chosen:

New Job-Exclusive Skill]

———

[Eclipsing Step] Lvl 1

-Job-Exclusive Skill-

Allows the User to teleport to a Shadow within a 20 metre range, leaving behind a Decoy that distracts enemies. The Decoy can absorb a limited amount of damage before dissipating. However, if the Decoy is close enough to the opponent, it will explode and ensnare the target.

Cost: 300 Mana

———

"Oh, hey, that's pretty neat. Not bad, at all!" Quinn was satisfied with the Skill that he got from the Random Reward Poll Ticket. Now that he was done with that, Quinn wanted to check out the Ex Quest that he got as a 'reward', "What a joke: giving me another chore as a reward, that is...".

[Ex Quest: Collect 12 Celestial Essences

Progress: 7/12]

[???

Reward: ???

Failiure: ???]

***

As Luna sat below the canopy of the trees in the forest surrounding the military school at the East, digging her face into her knees and curling up into a ball, thinking back on what he just did, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she could see that it was a close friend of her's that she had made during her short stay at the school: Claire.

Claire was, unlike Luna, quite the prodigy; she had a B-rank ability: Spirit Magic. Complete with her dexterity and nimbleness as a talented archer, mage, as well as a supporter, if needed. She was one of the most promising prospects of this batch of drafted students. If she were to practice and was under the correct guidance, she could be one of the more stronger ability users out in the real world.

She was a beautiful young lass, although slightly petite in stature. Her long black hair, going down to her waist, would rest just over her eyes when she was relaxing, and she didn't seem to mind at all. Although her eyes were cover partially for a most parts, it still couldn't hide their attractiveness, with an unusual mature and sharp look.

"Too embaressed to even look me in the eyes?" Claire asked Luna as she sat next to her, on the galdes. "As if!" Luna pouted as she jolted, raising her head from her knees, "That good-for-nothing Sen just had to interrupt us. Quinn was... so different too; nothing like he used to be. I knew he was always training and pushing his limits, but it feels like he's way past all of that and has... I don't even know how to put it. He was..." Luna, quickly grabbing a hold of herself and realising what she was just about to say, dug her head back into her knees, covering it with her hands as well, trying to hide a full-flushed and reddened face.

If Quinn were here to witness what Luna was displaying just now, in front of her friend, he would be baffled, even refuse to accept that the girl in front of him was Luna, the one he had known for over a decade. She was never the same to Quinn, in fact, it was quite the opposite; she was always stern and put up a tough act, and she would even step up for Quinn during the time that he had no ability and protect him as though he were her younger brother.

"Ahh, so that's how it is ," Claire places her fingers on her lips, nudging Luna with her shoulder.