Surviving in my Own Unpublished Failed Novel

The next day, after the 'Banquet of Obelisk', at the Obelisk Tracking Field

The sunlight illuminated the surroundings that gave warmth to the students on the tracking field as every one of them do their own business. Although the sunlight provided warmth to every student, it was not scorching enough to burn one's skin.

A certain group met on the tracking field after last night's agreement; Russell, Freya, Amery, and Amelie came to do some exercises and train their bodies, especially under the heat of the scorching Sun.

'This heat is considered child's play when compared in Bhaskara…' Russell thought as he remembered the 'Desert' country on the southern part of the Orion Continent.

'Come to think of it… Murock Smith… the attacker last night came from Bhaskan origins based on his name. I am not sure about the other two, but it doesn't matter right now,' Russell thought, remembering the sight of Ceru using the Unique Skill: Predation as he felt like becoming nauseous again.

"Oppa, Samantha wasn't here, didn't you invite her?" Freya, who was sitting beside her older brother asked with a sarcastic tone. Russell put on a forced smile on his expression as he replied to his younger sister.

"On one hand, I met her here for the first time coincidentally. On the other hand, I am not crazy enough to invite her."

'I knew she often comes here sporadically, but I never expected to meet her here that time…' Russell lampooned, as he remembered the first time she encountered Samantha, also the derivation of what he knew based on information he got on her Status Window.

As Russell thought about such matters, the other two; Amery, and Amelie approached them as they just finished running for some time, and took a seat beside Freya while catching their own breathes as the bench was wide enough that it could accommodate at least 10 people.

"Amelie, what happened?" Freya asked as she was curious since earlier they met here on the Obelisk Tracking Field because Amelie's eyes had signs of someone who just cried last night. While Freya asked the question, Amelie just smiled as she don't know what she should reply at the moment, and Russell who looked at Amelie made a puzzled expression as he thought of some mundane guesses.

​ 'Was it the usual afterparty emotion when a person will experience nostalgia as she separated from her friends?'

Russell remembered in his previous life before he became a shut-in stock trader that friend gatherings always produced euphoria, but after everyone went to their separate ways, they would be engulfed with poignant or melancholic emotion.

As he thought about the reason, a gloomy look appeared on Amelie's face, seemingly cannot hold herself to cry, but she looked away from them.

'She's a soft-hearted person…' Russell made a guess as he continue the flow of his thoughts…

'But a soft-hearted person… when forced into a corner would only take a step into somewhere she wouldn't walk away from…'

"Hey, Amelie, if you can't tell ask now, I hope you will be able to… Okay." Freya said with an evident expression of concern on her face and tone, while Amery was just maintaining her usual aloof atmosphere while taking glances at Russell.

'Why are you always glaring at me like that!' He wanted to shout at her face but refrained from the rude act as her younger sister would probably elbow him, then he as thinking about Amery, and took a gulp of water from his water bottle; Amelie Rose asked a sudden, unexpected question that threw him off-guard.

"Last night, a Constellation looked at me, but its name wasn't on the System message."

"Cough! Cough! Cough! Ehem ehem!"

Russell almost choked with water with the sudden question, prompting Freya, Amery, and Amelie to look at him with a deadpan expression, as if the momentum just now become broken.

"What's wrong, Oppa? Are you okay?" Freya asked who became worried, thinking that his older brother might be sick, but she remembered that was impossible in these present times aside from mana-related sickness.

"Ehem… Yes, I'm okay, haha… hahahaha…" Russell replied with a laugh as he's scratching his head. The trio's initial expression turned into a suspicious gaze against him.

"Do you know something about it, Russell?"

Amelie asked with a pair of eyes full of expectation and curiosity, and as Russell was thinking of something, Freya voiced her thoughts.

"Strange, isn't the normal System message would mention the Constellation's name?"

"Right, last night while…" Amelie paused her words as she remembered herself crying then continued after she composed her mind.

"The System message last night was only one… after that nothing followed up."

She recalled the strange System message as she couldn't make a guess of it, while the usual quiet Amery Blight spoke with an aloof tone.

"That just means the message or Constellation was not normal."

Russell nearly face-palmed himself with her words…

'Nice deduction! Why didn't we think of that?' He couldn't help but lampoon inwardly. But her next words caused him to form a frowned expression…

"Right, Russell?"

'What the hell is wrong with this woman? Why asked me?'

Russell barely repressed himself from blurting such words to appear composed on the outside, then he made a reply with his honest thoughts.

"Yes, it's definitely not normal. Well, considering the lessons we always encountered during classes, we often heard professors saying the phrase, 'We were not exactly sure yet'."

Russell subconsciously looked at the afternoon sky as he said his thoughts, though he couldn't see the vastness of space. Suddenly, he heard a System notification, prompting him to look on his left side, under the scrutinizing gaze of the trio.

[Constellation, 'Night of Primordial Chaos', says that one of her subordinates took an interest in an individual named: Amelie Rose Merveil, and asked her for permission to groom the target 'Player']

He didn't know what reactions he should make as he read the System message, but the trio sensed that he got a notification from the System just now, though the holographic screen was personal and cannot be seen in the air aside from the System's message recipient, one could still guess if the person received a message with body language.

'Goddess, this timing is too untimely.' Russell frowned, but he became curious about the System message's content as he looked to Amelie Rose while using the Skill: Gaze of the Abyss (EX) as he thought about what would garner the interest of one of the subordinates of the Goddess of Night. He remembered from his setting that only the Primordial Goddess of Night, daughter of Chaos itself could make such a System message appear where the Constellation's 'Cosmic Title' was hidden, meaning that last night it was the Goddess of Night who checked Amelie Rose whom her subordinate took an interest in.

[Activating Skill: Gaze of the Abyss]

[You have chosen to inspect the 'Simplified Status Window' of the 'Target']

AMELIE ROSE MERVEIL

Title: NONE

Health Points (HP): …

Mana Points (MP): …

Stamina Points (SP): …

Age: 16 (Earth Years)

Sex: Female Height: 167 cm

Planet: Earth

Rank: E

Profession: Dark Healer

Constellation: NONE

…

Russell remembered the three kinds of Status Windows; Simplified which only focused on the personal profile, as well as Profession and Constellation name, while the Standard included the person's stats, and lastly, the Detailed where everything can be seen such as regeneration rate of the person.

Five minutes passed as the trio continued to exchange opinions about the matter, letting Russell finished his business of looking at System messages as it was not an uncommon thing, but what made it suspicious from the trio's perspective was the timing of the System message's arrival.

'Goddess, your timing is really bad, I can't interject in their conversation right now!'

Just as he thought about it, he also became curious about Amery Blight's profession, this he used the same skill to check her Status Window in simplified form.

'Blood Swordsman?' Russell almost lost his composure as he was familiar with the class… because it was good at murdering others! It was like a Berserker class, but more composed, cold, calculative, and not hot-headed.

But after some time, he organized his thoughts and just decided to ruminate about some things when he is alone.

'Nothing beats a shut-in in his past life when it comes to thinking alone.' He lampooned as he understood the interest of the Goddess of Night's subordinate with Amelie Rose…

'Dark Healer'

…

"Right, Russell?" Amery asked him as she was sizing him up, but she heard an unexpected reply.

"Yes, it's definitely not normal. Well, considering the lessons we always encountered during classes, we often heard professors saying the phrase, 'We were not exactly sure yet'."

'He's got a point, but my instincts are telling me that you are hiding something…' Amery thought inwardly as she was bad at expressing her full thoughts about just every matter.

'I really suck at explaining things with words!' She thought as she saw Russell frowning slightly.

She remembered her parents told her something…

"Do not force out a mystery, but if you ever felt prying with something based on your instincts… be prepared with your life and regret as some things are not worth knowing for.

"Alright, how about another story?"

"Yes, Mother!" The younger Amery replied with a cheerful expression, a complete contrast with her current self.

Her mood became gloomy as she remembered the past when her parents were still alive.

…

Room 26, Freya Moon's Dormitory, Rigel Building

The evening after their dinner, everyone separated ways, but it was more like Russell who alone just got separated as she, Amery, and Amelie Rose were residing in the same building.

The woman with deep blue eyes and deep black hair, Freya Moon sat on the couch beside her bed as she turn on the television and hugged a pillow of small size, but the words from the news do not register in her ears as she ruminated about the conversation they had in the Obelisk Tracking Field earlier afternoon because based on her older brother's reaction with Amelie Rose's words, she knew in her mind that her older brother knew something about the System message where a Constellation's name wasn't specified.

Freya suddenly thought of them when they were younger…

'Oppa, at first was a shy person like out of instinct… he didn't want to talk with other people, but with Mom and Dad's persuasion, he managed to change…

'Our family back then was so poor that we couldn't eat three times a day, but in recent years, Mom and Dad got a stable job… and Oppa liked reading newspapers, taking interest in daily news…

'Although I find nothing strange with Oppa's mature behavior as he showed his affection towards me, Mom, and Dad… I just hope the secret he will tell me on my upcoming birthday in a few months is everything, and nothing to be left out.'

Freya turned melancholic as she hugged her knees, ignoring the television in front of her.

…

Room 31, Amelie Rose Merveil's Dormitory, Rigel Building

Amelie Rose who just got separated from Freya and Amery inside the Rigel Building slumped down on her bed as she found it tiring what happened today, both physically and mentally.

"Should I tell them?

"Will they avoid me if they come to know of my predicament?

"It was just been a few weeks since the classes started… can I really trust them?

Various thoughts flooded out of her mouth as she looked at the white ceiling of her dormitory, admiring its cleanliness and design, making her fall asleep unconsciously.

…

12:01 AM, in the same dorm room, Amelie Rose woke up as she heard a sound near her coming from a mechanical object as if some news were being delivered.

"Are you awake?"

The voice entered her ears that cleared her trance-like state as if she became instantly sober, she reflexively took out from her Dimensional Inventory a black staff with an 'eye' design on its tip, but before she could cast a necessary defensive spell for the possible incoming attack, she recognized the owner of the voice as she asked in wonder with a shocked expression on her face.

"Russell!?"