Deus Didymus: Rend

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Initiation

Y/n slid his shirt over his head, exhaling softly. Never had he thought about going to any class in normal clothes anymore, yet here he stood getting ready for an ordinary school. Sitting at the dining table, Yujin and Jian ate peacefully, both turning their heads toward Y/n as he joined.

"With your sudden transfer, I wasn't able to enroll you into any good schools, so you'll have to deal with it for the rest of this semester," Jian frowned.

"That's fine," Y/n waved. "It's at most two months."

Following their meals, Y/n and Yujin set off to their new school. Unlike the academy's position closer to the center of the capital, their new destination sat toward the edge. The pristine housing and clean paths that engrained itself into the siblings' eyes eroded the further they stepped until they questioned if they were in the same city.

Papers, boxes, and many other detritus littered the streets. Patches of green stained the houses and walls from weeds and other likes alike, and the air smelled far less clean. Much like the atmosphere, the demeanors of those the siblings passed resembled nothing like the amicable people they familiarized themselves with.

"Mom really wasn't kidding," Y/n remarked.

Yujin nudged Y/n's arm, scoffing, "At most two months, right?"

"Yeah."

Y/n took a deep breath as he stood in front of his classroom door. The worn-down halls that once filled with students stagnated. Mutters seeped through the doors spaced around the hall, resembling what he knew before joining the academy. The atmosphere of unkempt youth.

"Remember, Oppa. No fighting. Mom wants our records to be as clean as possible so it'll be easier for her to transfer us next year. Plus, these guys aren't as durable as those at the academy."

"Yeah, yeah," Y/n sighed.

With a faint buzzing at the back of his head, Y/n opened the classroom door, silencing the droning murmurs of the class. As he stepped toward the center of the class, all eyes stuck to him. Y/n returned the stares, tuning out the teacher's voice--instead observing the hostile demeanor creeping around him.

Even the big guys look scrawny.

"I'm Ahn Y/n," Y/n droned. "I hope we can all get along."

The buzzing in Y/n's head grew louder, dying down as Y/n caught an eraser thrown at his head.

"Like hell we will!!"

Y/n placed the eraser on the teacher's podium, sighing. He sat in the one empty desk in the center of the sea of students per the teacher's orders before unpacking his belongings.

Similarly to the other desks around him, the once polished wood dulled in color. Chunks of the corners appeared removed, and the chair he sat on creaked--seemingly due to the constant leaning back from previous students.

While the teacher spoke monotonously, Y/n stared blankly into the blackboard with a dull stare.

I hope Yujin's not going through the same thing. This place sucks.

"Y/n! Are you paying attention?" the teacher questioned.

"Yes," Y/n replied. "The J-shape of a population graph shows only a theoretical visual as it displays exponential growth without limiting factors such as carrying capacity. An S-shaped, logistical growth graph is more accurate due to the finite resources the environment has."

The teacher's eyes widened. He glanced toward the board before turning back to Y/n, "That's... not what I said- I mean, you're not wrong, and you're on topic but... How do you know that already?"