Outsider : Classroom Of The Elite

Chapter 1.1 - Welcome, Levent

I was breathing.

"....."

No... That's weird.

I inhaled. My chest expanded as cold air rushed into my lungs, tainted with the heavy stench of exhaust fumes and cheap air freshener.

​I exhaled. The air left smoothly.

​Inhale. Exhale.

It was effortless, like it has always been... until the moment when I got stabbed.

My mind was screaming. Once you experience the feeling of suffocation, and the mind numbing sense of blood breaching your lungs, you'd come to realize just how precious each and every single breath can be.

That's why I found it weird... I should not be breathing at all.

The last confirmed fact of my existence was the sensation of drowning on dry land. The metallic taste of my own blood. The feeling of Teruko's mana-laced tongue brushing against my own. The inexplicable feeling of my soul slowly exiting my body.

I know exactly what it felt for my heart to stop. So why can I feel it beating against my ribs again?

My eyes snapped open.

The very first thing that came to my view was the gray coloured floor directly below me. When I propped my head up, I was having a hard time making heads or tails out of the unbelievable sight in front of me.

There was a group of young people sitting directly parallel to me. They were all wearing school uniforms. For some reason, I was also wearing the same uniform.

Why am I wearing a school uniform? Didn't I pass that like, 4 years ago?

The glass window behind the highschool students revealed the presence of a large water body, probably an ocean. Every now and then, the view would get momentarily obstructed by the occasional appearance of bridge structures that speedily moved backwards. Perhaps I was in a moving vehicle.

"....."

Once I realized I could move my arms again, I tried using them. My hand moved towards my stomach and pressed against 'the spot'. My point of origin and death, where I got stabbed. I was subconsciously bracing for that sickening sensation of wet, warm sludge of my own blood slipping through my fingers.

But... there was nothing.

I could only feel the dry and rough texture of the shirt I was wearing. I prodded through the gaps of the shirt and felt the intact skin beneath.

The wound... What happened?

'Confusion' is probably not enough to describe what I felt.

Was I dreaming?

My right hand clamped down on the spot. I dug my fingernails into the flesh, pressing harder and harder until the skin tore apart and a sharp stinging pain flared up my nerves.

Still, I didn't wake up. A man can never wake up if he's already awake.

Then, was I hallucinating?

I brushed my hand across my uniform, then pressed my knuckles against the cold glass window behind my head. It was solid. The vibration of the engine hummed directly into my bones. The objects had physicality and the textures could be felt. I don't think hallucinations could produce something as realistic as this.

So, a comatose state?

Coma usually comes from brain damage. I would probably not be able to think as coherently like I am now if that was the case.