"You said you are interested in knowing your category, sadly for you, I can not help you right now, we have to enter a mana zone or just go somewhere private, you can't just reveal your category in front of normal humans or else you will face consequences"
Caroline told Luck
"That's okay, so let's quickly finish our drinks and let's go to my house, we will figure out things there"
Luck said, he seemed excited about his reveal, it was normal, Luck lived his whole life being bored and bothered, a change like that was a once in a lifetime chance that would never come to Luck ever again so he clinched on it, Caroline admired his enthusiasm
"Hey Luck, do you like someone?'
Caroline asked him, Luck choked on his tea
"What are you saying out of the blue? Yea I do but what does it have to do with this contract?"
"It's related but I don't want to spoil the surprise for you!"
Caroline replied with a smile on her face
'How can this possibly be related to the contract?'
Luck thought, after that a long silence followed, the 2 of them drank their teas and they quickly went to Luck's house, on their way they noticed that people were staring at them
"Hey Luck what's wrong with these people? every time we walk past someone they give us the strangest look"
"You have to get used to it because they do it all the time, they will eventually start rumors about us too, so to avoid that I would like us to talk only through the phone or at school"
Luck told her, eventually they reached Luck's house, the neighborhood was a lovely one, it had a store nearby and a lot of cats were wandering around the area
"OMG!!! they are sooo cute! why didn't you tell me you live in such a nice place?"
Caroline told him as she was petting a yellow cat that was sitting on her thighs, the cat seemed like she enjoyed it, Caroline was also surrounded by other cats
"Hmm? that's weird Sunshine usually avoids strangers, I'm surprised that she allowed you to pet her, and the other cats seem to love you too"
Luck said with a surprised look, Caroline was proud because of what Luck said
"Wait... do you own all of these cats!?"
Caroline asked Luck
"Oh no no, don't misunderstand me, I don't "own" them, they live in this neighborhood and I occasionally feed them if the food is about to spoil, they are more like the neighborhood's pets rather than mine"
"I see, so... can I take one?"
she asked shyly
"I suggest not, they prefer to stay outside rather than inside, you would just strip them out of their freedom if you took one of them"
Caroline wasn't happy but she accepted it, after the small talk they entered Luck's house, it was a small comfy house, the living room and the kitchen were a single room the house also had only 2 separate rooms and a bathroom, you could tell that the house was cleaned daily because everything was in place and it was hard to spot a dirty spot, Luck took out his shoes, so did Caroline
"Give me your backpack, and pick a place to sit, I will leave the bags inside my room"
Luck said as he extended his hand, Caroline gave up her bag and sat on his couch, she looked around as she was waiting for Luck, Caroline noticed that the room had little to no decorations, it also was pretty gloomy
'this place seems comfortable but it missing something, but I can't really put my finger on it'
Caroline thought, Luck quickly arrived
"Now we are finally alone, I assume you can tell me they way I figure out my category right?"
Luck asked with a D E T E R M I N E D look
"I surely can, first you have to bring a glass of water here"
so that's what he did, he poured water on a glass bottle of water and came back, Caroline then snatched it from his hands and drank it all, Luck looked at her with confusion
"Oh don't worry about it, I was just thirsty, now we will actually begin the process"
Caroline then created a mana zone
"We have now entered a parallel world so don't worry about any damages, so stand up and brace yourself because this will probably hurt"
she said as she stood up, Luck stood up too, he was feeling threatened, Caroline then quickly charged at him and punched Luck in his face, he was stunned by the hit
"What the hell are you doing Caroline?"
He said confused, Caroline didn't answer him, she just kept on walking towards him, Luck entered a defensive form, that surprised Caroline, Luck then fought back, Luck threw 2 quick jabs at her, she easily dodged them, Caroline then grabbed him and threw him on the lunch table, Luck was amazed by Caroline's strength but he didn't back down, he grabbed a chair and threw it at her, she smashed it with a single punch, Luck followed with a kick, the chair was just a decoy for his attack but Caroline still managed to block everything
'how can this woman fight like that'
Luck wondered, Caroline then punched him once again, Luck blocked the attack with both of his hands but the attack still did a lot of damage to Luck, Caroline then kicked a small table that was in front of her, and the table struck Luck, he was weakened by all those attacks but he still kept on going, he tried to punch her once again but he missed, his vision began to fade away, Luck then felt a weird sensation running down his body
"Let it run through your body!"
Caroline said, so that's what he did, he allowed this sensation to take over his body he then felt his body getting stronger, he then quickly got up and tried to attack with all of his might, Caroline saw the attack coming from a mile away so she easily dodged it, Caroline's hand caught fire, it was strange because the color of the fire was purple, she then tried to attack Luck one last time, this attack seemed deadlier than all the previous ones, the attacked was heading for Luck but in the last moment something strange happened, Luck duplicated, the attack stoke one of them, the attack ended up burning him to ashes, the other Luck looked shocked at the ashes
"What just happened!!!?"
Luck asked confused, he was clearly lost, Caroline then left a big laugh
"So your category is defense, haha, man the irony!"
she said while laughing, Luck was furious
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU LAUGHING? YOU ALMOST KILLED ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!"
Luck screamed angrily, Caroline didn't seem to be offended by his words, it seemed like it made her laugh even more,
"Oh man sorry about that but it was the only way to figure out your attribute and category, people usually awaken their mana once they are about 15 years old but there are some late bloomers, but in your situation, you have to force the mana out of your body or else you would have never figure out that you had it in you in the first place"
Caroline tried to explain to him, although the explanation was logical Luck still couldn't accept it
"I'm pretty sure there is another way that is more practical, well whatever happened, happened"
Luck told her, Luck brushed off the fact that Caroline attacked him, Caroline found it kind of weird, she expected him to be angrier than this but she didn't complain
"So... are not going to ask me what your category is?"
she asked him
"Oh yea I forgot about that! please tell me!"
"So let's start with your category, you belong to the defense category, I believe I mentioned it earlier but I guess you were focused on being angry, and I don't blame you! as for your attribute you seem to have a natural talent for illusion so first, you are going to learn this, after you learn the basics of illusion you will then learn about the element of time but you still have a lot of time before that!"
she said as she winked intensely
'her jokes are as stupid as her'
Luck thought
"Now that you know your category we both have to go to UMP's base, to get there we have to go to the port, a agency man will be waiting there in a mana zone he created, just so you know you have to go alone because I have to finish some business first, oh I almost forgot! to enter a mana zone you have to think of it as a part of your consciousness, to be more exact is like zoning out... ugh damn it! that's not going to work! just do whatever you feel like, I can't explain it properly but I'm pretty sure you can figure it out"
Caroline told him as she was leaving his house
"Wait before you leave let's trade contacts"
Luck told her, they quickly traded phone numbers, Caroline headed back up to the school, Luck then quickly picked up his keys and exited the house, he locked it and started to walk in the port's direction, he took his usual path to avoid any human contact, he lived 15 years on this island but he couldn't ignore the beauty of the island, the flowers were blooming and the sea was calm, the sunlight reflected through it like it was oil
after about 5 minutes of walking Luck finally reached the port
'she said he is inside a mana zone, but how am I supposed to find him?'
Luck thought, as he was standing there trying to figure out what to do he felt an arm grabbing his shoulder, he turned around and he saw a tall man dressed in a suit, he had short black hair, his eyes were black too
"Can I help you with something?"
Luck asked him
"You are Luck, right? follow me!"
the man told him as he quickly began to walk, Luck followed him, the 2 men reached the edge of the port, Luck was wondering why did the man walked there, the man then touched Luck on the shoulder and he created a mana zone, a seaplane suddenly appeared in front of them, Luck was surprised
"Don't look this surprised kid, people can hide objects inside a mana zone, I thought you knew it"
the man told him, he then got in the plane, and opened the passenger's door for Luck
"Get in kid! we are leaving"
Luck quickly entered and the plane took off, the image of the island from the sky amazed Luck, it was his first time looking at the island from a bird's eye view
"Whoa! the volcanos crater looks amazing!"
he said with excitement
"Indeed! this island has some amazing places to relax, too bad that I came here only for a pick up"
the man said
"I'm Luck Gestalt, how about you? what's your name?"
Luck asked
"I'm Gnomon Khora nice to meet you, Caroline told me about you, I didn't expect to see you this fast though, what did Caroline do to awaken your mana?"
Gnomon asked, he seemed pretty concerned
"If I told you, you would probably get mad at her so I rather stay quiet"
"She used violence again, I had to see it through, I hope you don't hate her, she is just this way with everyone"
'it seems that Caroline doesn't have the best reputation'
Luck thought, a few moments passed, before Luck knew it they arrived at their destination
PALERMO:10/9/20XX
"Whoa are we in Italy?"
Luck asked as the plane began to land
"Yea! one of our bases is here"
Gnomon replied
"My sister informed me that she is in a restaurant in Palermo so we stopped here"
Gnomon told him, Luck still couldn't get over the feeling of danger since he was taken to a place he didn't know, Gnomon then told him to go to a restaurant he pointed to a map on his phone, the 2 men then exited the place and they set foot on the port of Palermo
"Look for a woman with beautiful eyes"
Those were the last words of Gnomon before he left Luck alone
'well this will be awkward'
he thought as he was heading into the restaurant, but before he could enter the building a woman sitting at the door stopped him from entering
"You are not on the list"
she said in Italian, Luck didn't understand a thing
"I came here to look for a friend of mine she is a woman, she is probably looking for me"
he told her in English
"I'm sorry, what's her name sir?"
she asked, the fact that she could speak English surprised Luck
'What's her name? indeed, I don't know myself'
"N-Nevermind haha"
he told her as he awkwardly left, Luck then quickly phoned Caroline
"The user that you are trying to contact probably has their phone turned off call later"
'you got to be kidding me? I forgot to ask for Gnomon's phone number, and Caroline has her phone turned off, what the hell do I do know?'
Luck wondered, as he was panicking a woman exited the restaurant, she had brown hair tied in a ponytail, and her eyes were dark brown with hints of white on them
'it looks like she has stars on her eyes'
Luck though as she looked in her eyes
"Are you going to wait outside forever?"
the woman asked
'wait she is talking to me?'
Luck thought, the woman then grabbed him by his hand and entered the restaurant, and walked to her table, it was a table close to a window with a view of the sea, the woman sat down, Luck took a seat too
"It's nice to finally meet you Luck, I'm Kamira Khora and I'm the CEO of UMP"
she said as she shacked his hands, at this moment Luck felt a massive force of mana through the air, just by sitting down she emitted a huge amount of mana force
'she is definitely the boss around here'
Luck though as he tried to not faint from the pressure he felt from her mana
Luck was feeling very uncomfortable sitting at the same table as Kamira, her overwhelming power was too much for Luck to handle, the silence was bothering him indescribably, Luck had this feeling of danger, he wanted to leave that table but before he could even stand Kamira stopped him"Sit down kid, I ordered food for you so wait until it arrives, as you can see I'm currently eating that's why I'm quiet, as soon as I finish my food I will explain everything"Kamira's words calmed down Luck"Thank you so much! you didn't need to order me food though, so about Caroline..."Luck tried to ask, but Kamira quickly interrupted him with a deadly stare, Luck instinctively stopped talking, Luck thought that if he continued to speak he would die, Kamira's death stare was interrupted by the waitress"There is your food sir, the meal we prepared for you it's a Pasta Alla Norma, after you are done with your lunch call us so we can also deliver your dessert"the waitress told him in English, Luck w
"Get ready Luck your first fight will start now!"Caroline told him as she pushed him towards the intruder, Luck didn't feel ready to fight him but he didn't have a choice, this man was robbing his house, he couldn't just let him leave, upon closer inspection Luck realized that he knew the man, the man had recently graduated from high school, it was his ex-senior student"Hey, Niccolo! why are you doing this? you know that I'm struggling with money, so why did you come to rob me?""Shut it, you idiot! Who leaves without locking the door? besides, you can't do anything I'm stronger than you and nobody will believe you if you tell the police? You already know that my mum works as a cop"Luck didn't say anything, he just raised his guard up"You truly are unlucky Niccolo, Today isn't really my day so I could use a sandbag"Caroline was surprised by Luck's change of mood, he seemed scared before but now he looked like he has an intent to kill, before Niccolo could make another move Luck c
Luck entered a big rather weird room with the lady, as he took a good look around the place Luck noticed that behind the colorful room there was a weird machine, it looked like a coffin but it had multiple cables and tubes attached to it, there was also a big screen attached to the wall where all the cables came from, the lady guided Luck into this weird looking room"If it's possible take off your clothes and enter the machine"The lady told him, Luck was devastated"Like right now? W-with you in the room?"Luck said embarrassed, the lady sighed and walked outside the room, Luck then felt a little more comfortable, he then undressed and entered the machine'Why does it have water inside it'He wondered as he came in contact with the shallow water"HEY I'M INSIDE, NOW WHAT?"Luck screamed in order for the lady to hear, she then entered the room and walked up to the TV screen, she pressed multiple buttons and the machine rose up"What is happening? What is this machine?"Luck asked, bu
Welcome, all! this is the first C.C(Characters Chapter) of PARALLEL, since 7 chapters have already been uploaded I thought that it would be a good idea to inform you and give you more detail about the characters and the world of PARALLEL, also this chapter is a celebration of my second book being contracted, Now let us start with the characters designs I have in mind Luck: He is an island boy that was birthed and raised in the country of Kesio and his main hobbies are volleyball, working out, and playing video games, he is muscular and quite strong, he likes to do things privately, Luck also likes the idea of fighting to the death because he thinks that someone's true self can be revealed in the blink of death, his favorite food? probably beans, he is 177cm or 5'8ft tall and he is 15 years old and his birthday is on the 22nd of December (22/12), he has short black hair and bright yellow/golden eyes, Luck is also a bit tanned since he spent all of his summers on the beach Caroline: Sh
The atmosphere around Africa and most specifically a village in Kenya was completely different from Luck's hometown, the culture, the people, the weather, everything was different, even though Luck hadn't been to Kenya before it felt like home, and the people are to blame for this feeling, the people welcomed Luck with open hands, they also seemed to have a good relationship with Gnomon"They seem to love us, why is that?"Luck asked curiously"There are multiple reasons for that, we provide them food, academic knowledge, and a safe shelter, they can basically sleep with their doors open and nobody will attempt to steal anything since they don't lack anything"Gnomon told Luck, it was abnormal for Luck"Do you mean that you have money to support a whole city?""No, I don't! We actually have money to support all of the countries in Africa"Gnomon replied, Luck was left with an open mouth, after the small discussion Gnomon guided Luck to his favorite place, it was called "The devil's sn
Caroline and the others quickly exited the house and walked up to a wall"Here it is, do you guys feel it?"Caroline asked them with an excited look on her face"Feel what?"Luck asked confused "The mana of course! I guess you are way too new to mana"Caroline said, she then grabbed Luck and Destiny by their shoulder"Prepare yourselves for what you are about to see!"Caroline said, that made the 2 of them anxious, Caroline then entered the mana zone with them, once they all saw the mana zone they were amazed, it was a brand new world, it was a tropical jungle but the trees and plants had completely different colors, there were also standing on one of the multiple cubes that this mana zone had, gravity was also a lighter there"Oh my god! This place is insane!"Destiny yelled in amazement, Luck thought the same too"Guys come quick! we have to find the mana zone's core!"Caroline told them"Wait! Why do we need to find the core?"Luck asked"To make it simple for you, if we slay the
The hours went on very fast at school once again, Gnomon called Luck and Destiny to his office once the day ended, Gnomon just wanted to inform them that they are free for the day, the 2 of them excitingly exited the classroom and went straight towards to Caroline but before they could reach her Floga and his group blocked their way"Now that I found you alone I want to talk about something, Destiny you can leave, I don't need you"Floga told Luck"If you wanted to have a private chat you would have come alone"Luck said, he suspected that Floga was up to something more than just talk, Floga sent all his friends away so they can talk alone"Luck don't play with my patience, now that I told the others to leave tell Destiny to leave too, I don't want to start fighting before the promised hour""I will leave if you promise that you will not hurt him!"Destiny stood up to Luck"Whatever! now leave!"Floga said, Destiny quickly left them alone"Why were you in Kenya? and how did you get ba
"You are Caroline huh? Then I guess you came to take me in right?"Floga asked, his whole face was covered with defeat"I am but not for the reason you think"Caroline told him"Then what? execute me?"Floga said ironically"The UMP wants to hire you as an attack unit they can use for a mission, and I will inform you that with the crimes you have done you don't have any choice"Caroline told him, she then released Floga from the chains and broke the mana zone"Meet us tomorrow at the port, there is where we will all leave for a base of ours"Caroline told him, she then opened the door of the roof and started walking down the stairs, Luck tried to follow Caroline but he was stopped by Floga"How long have you interacting in the parallel world?""Why do you care?"Luck replied to him, Luck then tried to leave but he was once again stopped"She knew about this world too"Floga said, Luck froze in place when he heard that"I don't know who are you talking about..."Luck told him"Don't me
2 weeks passed after the awkward conversation Luck had with Caroline, Luck attended multiple training sessions and also kept studying so he can stay on top of his class, during those 2 weeks Caroline had secretly moved to Destiny's house, Luck and Caroline had stopped hugging out together after what happened, because Caroline couldn't face him yet, despite Destiny's tries to make her talk to Luck and settle everything she continuously denied so Luck started hugging out with himself and occasionally with Floga, that happened when Floga's friends weren't around since they would have never allowed Luck into their group, in those 2 weeks Luck learned how to use the basics of all of his elements but elements such as Illusion and Destruction were more advanced from his other, during those 2 weeks Luck also had the time to focus on what happened back there, Luck had his suspicion but he never said anything, he didn't want to blindly accuse Caroline of liking him so he kept it to himself but
Their walk to the hotel was a hasty one since they were racing each other for the first place that secured their turn on the shower, they both ran with all of their might but Caroline was the victor 'Even though I run twice a week Caroline still is superior to me in stamina, I have to make sure I catch up to her if I want make it in this dangerous world' Luck thought as he sat on his bed, Caroline had already gotten into the shower and was showering at the time "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU MESS WITH THE GREAT CAROLINE!" She yelled from inside the bathroom "YOU WERE THE ONE THAT CHALLENGED ME IN THE FIRST PLACE DUMB ASS!" Luck yelled back with a pinch of salt in his voice, Caroline then continued he shower silently but as she was showering she remembered something "LUCK WE FORGOT ABOUT THE GOODS IN THE MANA ZONE!" Luck wasn't very concerned about the items that they didn't get in the mana zone since he doesn't have a single clue about what a mana zone item is like, even though
While Luck and Caroline were on their way to a pizza house they felt a weird sensation of mana, they both felt it but they didn't react strangely to it"You feel it too don't you?"Luck asked Caroline, he stopped walking and slowly turned around to look at her"I feel it but I think it's nothing, it's probably a randomly generated mana zone so we can simply ignore it!"Caroline said as she kept moving forwards, but before she could get ahead of Luck he grabbed her wrist"Why not explore it?"He asked with a smile on his face, Caroline smiled back"I didn't think you are the type to jump in danger but I won't complain"Caroline then walked closer to the source of this weird sensation"I'm entering in if I'm not back in 10 seconds then don't enter"Caroline said, and before Luck could say anything, she vanished like thief in the night, Luck waited and before he knew it Caroline popped out of the mana zone, no harm was done to her"It's amazing inside there, let's go explore!"Caroline t
After a disastrous argument, Caroline ended up running away, Luck tried to chase her but to his surprise, he bumped into his mom, she was coming back from work, right now Luck and his mom are sitting at a café, Luck had many things to explain"A school trip you say? I don't remember our school having this kind of money"Luck's mother said as she looked him in the eyes"The money is not theirs, you see a company came to make some educational lessons in our school and the top students got to visit their H.Q here in New York, that's why I'm here"Luck said with a not-so-convincing face"Then where are the others?""It's a bit embarrassing to say it but I got lost..."Luck's words were suspicious to his mom so she kept on asking questions"What is the name of this company?"that question brought Luck to a tough spot"I'm not so sure, maybe UMP?"he said without thinking'Damn it! Why did I say that? There is no way UMP is a real company?'"United Mathematicians Paradise, a company created
Luck and Caroline quickly packed some things with them in a small bag and they headed to the port, and to their surprise Gnomon was waiting for them there"Hey Captain Gnomon what are you doing here?"Luck asked while he approached him"Nothing special, I just got some complains by my robot saying that a certain someone that may or may not be with us is abusing it"Gnomon said as he stared at Caroline, Caroline noticed"What? Are you jealous that I like your robot self more than you? You just have to realize that you are not a likable person"Caroline said with a look of superiority"Fancy coming out of an annoying girl like you, why did you come here? Don't you have a house to destroy?"Gnomon replied with a smile, Caroline gave him the finger"Shut up dumbass and fly us to New York already!"Caroline demanded'I didn't know that those 2 are this close'Luck thought as he watched them insult each other"Gather around me!"Gnomon told them, Luck stood in front of Gnomon and Caroline u
After these eventful things Caroline took Luck back to his house and made him lay on his bed, he needed rest after what he endured, as for Caroline she went to the UMP's base in Italy, Kamira had some explaining to do to both of them, but Luck could take his turn when he finally wakes up, after a quick trip Caroline arrived at the base early in the morning, Kamira was still there doing some paperwork for the agency, Caroline burst into her office with no care in the world"Kamira what was that yesterday?"she asked her, Caroline was implying about the meeting"I apologize for what happened, it wasn't supposed to turn out like that, you see my father is an unexpected man, I didn't expect that he would actually hit Luck when he did that"Kamira answered, she was afraid of her father and Caroline could see that by the expression she had when she spoke about him"And you expect me to stay calm just because he is "unexpected"? Hell no I can't, I want to speak to him in person and solve our
After their punishment from Gnomon ended Luck and Floga returned to the class as if nothing happen, and the day continued normally, Luck, Caroline and Destiny hung out together and Floga stayed with his "friends", the day passed quickly 'It's pretty nice sitting here and attending a class instead of fighting, it just reminds me how peaceful my life used to be before' Luck wondered with a smile of gladness, meanwhile, Caroline was thinking something else 'I wonder what are we going to eat today, oh wait, the furnace is broken, by the way, why does Luck smell like a cigar? Does he smoke' Well she wasn't specifically thinking about 1 thing, Caroline couldn't focus on the lesson for even a minute, Luck in the other hand was paying attention to everything the teacher said, the time passed quickly for Luck "That's all for today's class, you are free to leave but make sure to review your homework carefully since there are some questions you can't answer hastily" the teacher told them be
After this eventful evening for Luck and Caroline, the 2 of them got back to their home and slept without saying another word, nobody dared to speak after what happened, after their peaceful nap they woke up to a new week, the weekend was over so they had to return back to school, so they both got ready to go for school, even though they wanted to speak on their way to school they still hadn't recovered from the argument they had yesterday so they remained silent, once they reached the school Destiny was waiting for them at the gate of the school"Good morning guys! How did your training go during the weekend?"Destiny asked enthusiastically"Oh man it was very eventful you can say, I don't know if you heard but I got into a fight with Kamira! She is so damn powerful, she launched beams left and right, and the beams were no joke, they produced an explosion almost like half of our school, it was insane!"Caroline said with a stupid smirk, Destiny was left with a wide-open mouth"W-Wait
After Luck used the element of creation to create bullets Risha was left with her mouth wide open, she couldn't believe her eyes'Kamira did say that he was important but I didn't expect him to be this much'Risha thought, Luck noticed Risha's expression and asked her"What's wrong? Did I do something bad?""No everything is good, I just forgot about one thing, so please continue your training while I'm not here"Risha told him, she then quickly ran outside the training and straight into Kamira's office, everyone working in the base's offices was wondering why she was running like that"Miss Kamira I have very important news to tell you"Risha said as she barged into her office"Well if you are barging in like that then it must be important, so what is it?"Kamira asked calmly"Luck... Luck seems to be a divine too!"Kamira stood up"Take me to him!"Kamira said in surprise, Risha then led Kamira to the training where Luck was training, he was still practicing his shooting skills"Luc