Legendary Traveler: By Earning Progress Points I will Become Supreme!

Cutting through the crowds of people, Aoni did what he knows best when it comes to social settings and found a dark corner of the room with an out-of-sight couch before making it his resting spot while he waited. It wasn't that he didn't want to interact with other people; if anything, he wasn't exactly socially awkward; instead, there was this hesitation whenever it came to being surrounded by his peers. Be it a side effect of a lifetime of bullying or even the household he grew up in, none of it had conditioned him to be the so-called "Popular" guy. Sure, his family lacked money, and that in and of itself was more than enough to become a target of harassment from kids his own age, but surely there had to be one or two other kids in his age bracket who were in similar situations…right? Wrong Even the other kids with familiar backgrounds to his own would quickly cast him aside, given the opportunity to change their own miserable lives. He'd witnessed it time and time again, some kid getting bullied, and then all of a sudden, he was allowed into the group so long as they, too, joined in on the bully parade. It was sickening, and that was all by the time Aoni had reached 6 years old. It only got worse from there because he had no other option but to wear hand-me-down and well-worn clothing. He didn't smell; no, Aoni had always been good at doing his own laundry and sometimes even bathed 2 times a day, in the morning before school and right before bed. Yet the harassment only stopped when he learned to isolate himself from the public and instead observe everything. Still, that didn't mean that as he sat there, all alone in the corner of the Newbie Lobby, watching friend groups jump up and down after receiving their results, he didn't feel a pang of sadness. He, too, wanted friends to share his life's adventures with. He, too, wanted to talk about the wonderous Land of Genovia. He, too, wanted to be welcomed. Yet through all these depressing thoughts, Aoni's mind drifted back to a certain floof and birb. 'I miss them,' he thought while watching a particularly large group of people cheer when one of them got high marks on their Attribute exam. Although perilous and fraught with danger, Genovia had brought Aoni a semblance of normalcy unlike what he knew: friendship, comradery, companionship. "Wow, you know, in anime, they always talk about a dark cloud hanging over a person, but I never thought it would actually be real." Lost in his thoughts and completely unaware of his surroundings since fighting was banned within the Bureau and was a totally safe environment, Aoni didn't notice someone invading his personal space and plopping down beside him on the couch until the moment this intruder spoke. "Ah!" Flinching away and scooting to the very edge of the couch, Aoni went on defense, crossing his arms over his face as if someone were about to hit him. "Chill dude, what the hell," the person said with a bit of aversion in their voice. Lowering his arms and getting a good look at the person who'd startled him, Aoni realized it was someone he didn't recognize, which wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, considering there were five classes at his Academy. Then again, with four different Academies feeding into this particular Bureau Headquarters, there were bound to be a bunch of new people he'd come into contact with. "Uh…sorry, not really great around people." Sitting on the far side of the three-person couch was a skinny young man with bronze-colored skin. His wavy black hair looked like it hadn't been washed in over a month, and his outfit…well, unlike Aoni's, which was all hand-crafted, the young man sitting not far away from him was wearing some type of store-bought lightweight monster hide armor. However, the most striking thing about this young man was his pink eyes, something that Aoni found unique and contrasting to the color of his skin and hair. "I can see that, anyway, what's your deal, sitting here all alone on what's supposed to be a momentous occasion? Ohhhh, don't tell me, you're one of those loaner types with no friends." As if coming to a realization, the young man crossed his arms over his green leather armor and nodded. This slight shift in posture spoke volumes to Aoni, as it was clear the guy was trying to show off his equipment. To be honest, from his observation, it wasn't anything cheap. "Hellllooo, talking here!" leaning forward, the young man waved his hand in front of Aoni's face, causing the Lad to flinch again before staring at him with a confused expression. "I, uh, don't think I'm a loaner, but then again, I kind of fit the profile." He did his best not to snort or bat the guy's hand away, but it took quite a bit of restraint not to get up and leave. 'Then again, even if I do, I bet this guy would just follow me around until I spoke to him,' Aoni mused while lifting his shoulders and sighing. "I see, I see, so what's up with the gloomy expression and being alone?" Scooting a little closer, the guy seemed actually to be curious, and from what Aoni could surmise, there wasn't any hostile intent in the young man's words, merely curiosity. "I just like being alone," with a shrug of his shoulders and leaning against the armrest, Aoni's eyes flicked to the Orange Access card clipped onto the edge of the young man's armor and read his name. "Anyway, what can I do for you, Damien?" "Heyyy now~, first name basis, that's new, haha, then I'll just call you uh…Aoni, mm, so what is an Orange-Card doing over here by himself when pretty girls should surround him? OH SHIT, wait, are you into guys, if that's the cas..mmMMmmMm!" "Dude shut up, I'm into girls, okay, damn it, I just don't do well with people, it's easier being alone." Shooting forward and covering Damien's mouth with both hands before he said something stupid, Aoni already regretted humoring this idiot because he was VERY CLEARLY the kind of person who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.