Chapter 2 Unhinged

Metal on metal clanged and banged on each other, their vibrations reverberated in the small wooden room. Continuous and unending, it penetrated through the pillow that the kid wrapped around his head. Each strike gave him a sense of danger. He wondered whether it made him scared or if it made him violent. Whichever it was, he didn’t like the feeling. Of course, the maker of those sounds wasn’t a danger, only to the metal that he turned into nails, perhaps. No, he wasn’t dangerous, for the sounds came from the blacksmith across the street. One of the few residents of the street where all the crafters of the village lived. He was simply a nice and hard-working man, a little too hard-working for the kid’s mornings. The annoyed teen stared at the dusty ceiling that was littered with cobwebs, accepting that his day had officially started. He cursed the innocent man for working too early in the morning, for it was his day off. This battle had become both of their weekly routines that they’d been doing for nearly 7 years now. It started ever since the blacksmith retired from the Whelm Kingdom’s military and moved to Timik village, a village where Leveling stops for people who have barely started their Leveling journey. The spider he stared at had also started its day hard at work, the creator of the many cobwebs in his room. It was like a king building his castle. One swipe from a bigger being, and it’s all gone, just like how it is for Levelers. He greeted the spider and closed his eyes again. For a small and quiet village, everyone around him seemed to be so enthusiastic about their repetitive routines. A knock came on the door, to which he didn’t respond. It came again, louder this time. Still no response from him. The person on the other side of the door sighed and tried the doorknob, but it was locked. “You better not be behind this door!” The person shouted. The boy on the bed took a deep breath. It was supposed to be his day off. Black leather boots that went above the ankles kicked the door open, breaking the locks and the hinges off the door itself. Then, the boots pounded on the wooden floor, and they were running. The boy braced, knowing what was coming next. He caught an elbow to the stomach as the person landed on top of him. “Acero, wake up!” The girl screamed in his ear. “No,” Acero replied. “It’s an important day today.” “I know, it’s our day off. Dammit, Sola, I just fixed that door last week,” he finally sat up and opened his eyes. His shaggy black hair went past his eyebrows and partially blocked his vision. “Eh, it’s fine. We got a fresh batch of door parts a few weeks ago from the neighbor,” Sola stood up and looked out the window. She stood a few inches taller than he. She wore a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows; thick, baggy, dark green pants with several pockets and zippers all over them, and tucked into black boots. Hand-me-downs from their adoptive father. They both turn 15 years old this year, Sola being older by three months. “You should get dressed,” she checked her teeth in the mirror. “It starts in about two hours,” she said, fixing her hair. She had a bob that reached the base of her neck. “What’s starting?” he asked. “I’ll be downstairs,” Sola said, left ad, slamming the door shut, which sprang back open. Acero got ready. He wore most of the same things that Sola wore, their guardian’s old work clothes. His pants were light gray instead of green, and he wore a black long-sleeved t-shirt tucked into the pants. He adjusted the collar, feeling a mix of nostalgia and determination. Today felt different; there was a sense of urgency in the air. As he grabbed his old leather jacket, he took a deep breath, ready to face whatever awaited them downstairs. He attempted to fix the messy hair he had, but quickly gave up on it. He'd been considering chopping it all off again. Having Sola attempt to cut it could mean a few weeks of regret, though she might improve if she does it enough times. A part of him believed that she did it badly on purpose because she does fine whenever she cuts her hair. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he went downstairs. It only took him 5 minutes to get ready for the whole day. Sitting on one end of the wooden dining table was a short and stocky man who had dark, leathery skin caused by years of abuse under the sun. The top of his head barely reached Acero’s and Sola’s shoulders, and was the opposite of her bright personality. Cranky and antisocial, that man was their adoptive father, Narra Troso. He read the newspaper while resting his elbows on the table that he built himself. His face looked like he had eaten something bitter. The only thing he had for breakfast and the only thing on top of the table was a cup of coffee. Sola sat on the opposite end, checking and cleaning her nails. “Finally, I was about to leave without you,” she jumped up and out of her seat. “You still haven’t told me what today is,” Acero complained. “The Awakeners are in town,” she extended her hand out in front of Narra, a blue card in her hand, the size of her palm. Sola Groza Level: 0 Race: Human (Earth) Credit: 150G “Oh, was it that time of the year already?” Acero did the same as her. Acero - Level: 0 Race: Human (Earth) Credit: 65G Narra looked up from his newspaper and stared at their Levelcards for a while. He said nothing and resumed reading. “We don’t see any food on the table,” she smiled at Narra. Narra sighed and summoned his Levelcard and tapped it onto both of theirs in quick succession. He did this without taking his eyes off the paper. Acero - Level: 0 Race: Human (Earth) Credit: 65G (+50G) “Thanks, Daddy,” Sola said with an annoyingly fake voice. He slammed the paper down on the table. “Please don’t ever say that again. Especially not out in public. Disgusting.” Sola giggled away and out of the front door. Acera nodded to Narra, and he replied in the same way. He followed Sola out of the door. “Looks like I’m in the lead for making him talk first. Only a few more days until I win this bet,” she strutted on the cobbled streets. “Is humiliating yourself just to win worth it?” Acero asked. Whenever he walked, he had his head down, looking at the ground he stepped on. This caused him to bump his head onto her back when she suddenly stopped walking. She stared into the distance. “Hey, why’d you suddenly stop?” He rubbed his forehead. Sola raised her hand and pointed ahead. Her jawslackenedd and her eyes were wide open. Acero tried to follow where her finger pointed. “Oh, my,” he said when his eyes landed on what she pointed at.