Chapter 75: Struggling
It was already past 5pm when Rocky entered the main premises which was why he was not supposed to partake in any activities for the day.
Through talking with Nubi, he realized that there were 4 other individuals in here with him right now, however, only one of them was a snake-men.
Apparently, to save the clan from complete extinction after the snake-men ancestor ascended beyond the tower, the previous snake-men clan leader had made alliances with various religions to use their ancestral hall once in a while in return for a defense agreement.
Despite owning the hall, the snake-men could only send 5 of their young ones inside every year as all the other slots were pledged away to various forces, which was why Nagini giving away one position to Rocky was that big of a deal.
She had prioritized giving him a slot over the promising young of her clan and had done so with no immediate benefit in sight.
It was a decision that was sure to be unpopular with the elders of the clan, however, it was a bet that Nagini had taken on a gut-shot.
For the first five hours after his arrival, all that Rocky did was to learn how to make his way around the house without using his eyes and identify certain markers that would help him find where he was should he ever get lost.
Through Nubi's guided lessons, he learnt how to move within his room, how to move to the bathroom to relieve himself, how to change his clothes and more.
He also learnt how to move from his room to the sword training hall, from the sword training hall to the breakfast hall and basically every other place in the main premises, counting the steps to reach each area and committing it to memory.
He got an idea of the general layout in his head and with Nubi's help he even learnt how to tell the time of the day by listening to the clock sound that permeated throughout the house, which had a specific tone for every hour change and half hour change.
Whoever designed the main house had definitely made it so that it was incredibly friendly to blind people as there were no steps within the house at all!
The entire main premise had only slopes with railings available on both sides for movement and there were many recognisable markers that one could feel to find their way.
Although daunting, Rocky got a good grasp on how to move within the house in the first seven hours he was there, however, he was forced to quit his practice a few moments before it struck midnight as he was mandatorily required to go to bed after it.
"Quick question before you go Nubi, what happens to me if I don't follow the routine? Like what if I'm not in bed by 12? Or not at the sword training hall in time?" Rocky said, as he wondered what the penalty for missing the schedule was.
"You have a 5 minute window of grace to make it from one hall to another once the clock bell rings.
If you make it, you are safe, but if not you will be grabbed by your ankles and taken to the punishment hall by a mean red demon with horns, who will torture you till 5pm on the dot.
It's the same punishment if you do not perform any tasks seriously.
If you don't finish your breakfast
Don't train hard enough
Don't sleep on time.
The devil will get you-" Nubi said in a chilly tone as Rocky felt goosebumps run all over his spine.
Just what sort of a place had he entered? While this sounded like a masochist heaven, he was not one of them.
"You're making a very funny face right now Rocky…" Nubi said, barely containing her laughter as Rocky frowned even deeper hearing this comment.
"You may think it's hard, but most people do survive the three months taking one or two penalties, but don't go for more than four. You will go insane if you do-" Nubi warned as Rocky nodded his head.
He quite liked his sanity, and did not intend on taking more penalties than he could handle.
"Anyways, goodnight. We won't be meeting again until it's time for your half monthly evaluation 15 days later. Take care until then" Nubi said in a sweet voice as Rocky replied with a "Goodnight" of his own.
Thankfully, Rocky could not see what happened next as if he did he would have probably been scared out of his mind.
The moment the clock turned 12:05, Nubi transformed from a sweet snake-men girl to a red horned devil as she walked out of Rocky's room and went into the dorms of other individuals staying here.
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Once Nubi left, Rocky was left to his own thoughts as despite his best efforts all he could see with his eyes closed were various colors dancing before him like a kaleidoscope.
Having lost his vision, Rocky's mind kept playing tricks on him, trying to remind him how color looked, as even Rocky took the names of a few colors and tried to remember how they looked to ensure he did not forget their appearance.
"Red"
"Blue"
"Orange"
He thought, focusing on projecting the color as he was satisfied for having a good memory and still being able to remember them perfectly.
"So my biggest flaw is my own perception of myself huh? Why am I not surprised" Rocky murmured to himself as he chuckled.
Ever since he was young he had a main character syndrome as he tried to find relevance in everything that happened around him.
His best friend Taylor got good grades?
It was because Rocky lended him his notebook.
Adam got a girlfriend?
It's because he encouraged him to talk to her.
Riva was in a good mood?
It was because he cleaned her room for her.
This was basically how Rocky's mind worked and while it was not a glaringly obvious problem like lack of strength, it was a much more deep rooted problem that definitely needed solving.
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/// A/N - Chapter 5/8 ///