NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Wavering Determination
"You could do it.You could do it,"Armin took a deep breather in his room as gripped his empty bag tightly while he sat on his bed.
His room was sky blue with shelves of action figures on the right side of the wall and a tall bookcase across with the two top shelves containing manga of the action and mecca genre and the two bottom cases holding his video games and a desk with his computer on top.
His grandfather opened the door. "Armin,are you getting ready to go?"
"I don't know if I want to do this anymore…A close friend and I made a promise to become Adventurers together but since he got hurt,I don't know what to do."
His grandfather sighed. "Maybe it's the best thing. I mean,look at what happened to your parents.They made a childhood promise to be Adventurers as well to help people but just when they were on their way to come back home,that bloody dragon…"
His grandfather started to tear up,remembering his only daughter,his only child gone.
"That thing took away my daughter and son in-law and got away with it."
His grandfather started to sob,leading to Armin hugging him.
"It's okay,grandpa.I'll keep in touch with you," he assured
His grandfather broke the hug. "Please do.But are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'll be fine.Plus,my other friends will be there as well,so I won't be alone."
"I know you won't.You have some good friends,Armin.Be sure to cherish them before they're gone."
Armin decided to pack up his things including his gaming laptop and two controllers.He looked at his drone on the desk.He held it and looked at two names that were written on two of its four arms:Armin Arlert and Marco Bott.
Armin remembered the time that they built it.
Almost 1 year ago during summer vacation.
"We're finally done with this thing.Took a while but we're done." Marco said, holding the complete drone.
The drone has four propellers,each with a motors under with two going clockwise and two going counter clockwise.below the spherical body of the drone were two handles as landing gear strong enough to lift two average men while going at full speed.
"Well let's test the strength of the landing gear handles."
Armin said as he grabbed a small white controller. "Marco,you could do the honors."
"Me?Are you sure you want me to do it?"
Armin nodded. "I couldn't have finished it in such a short time without your help.So,let's test it."
The two teens left Armin's room and headed outside a few feet away from his house to test it out.Marco grabbed the handles and lifted the big drone above his head.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready."
Armin pressed the power button on the controller,turning on the motors under the propeller making them spin.
"Marco is barely 155 pounds and the average man living in Eldia weighs 185 pounds and since the landing handles can lift twice that weight,it should lift Marco with ease,''Armin pressed the left analog stick to make the drone ascend.
Armin saw Marco's feet lift off the ground.
"Go higher!" Marco said with glee.
Armin made the drone go higher and the drone was lifting the taller teen with ease but Armin wanted to make sure that it could go fast while moving around so,he made the drone go a few laps around his house and the speed was consistent.
Armin and Marco laughed in joy at their newfound success.Armin pressed the right analog stick to descend his friend back on the ground.
"Come on!You should try it!" Marco insisted,handing the drone over to Armin before taking the controller.
Armin swallowed a bit of his spit before gripping the handles tightly before the drone launched up,giving him a higher view.
"Holy crap!"Armin shouted in a mix of fear and excitement.
"Hold on tight!I'm going to start moving around!" Marco warned before moving the drone around.
Armin laughed as he moved around his home, even waving at his grandfather who was hanging sheets in the backyard before landing back down.
"That was amazing!Imagine what we could build if we had more resources…"
"Let's become Adventurers!"
"What?!"
"You heard me,let's become Adventurers!"
Armin's face grew pale. "I don't know about that…"
"But why are you in the Adventurers Program then?"
"W-w-well because they have advanced academics…"
Marco crossed his arms. "You could've joined the advanced program and had the same academic level."
"W–well uh…" Armin sighed. "Okay… I joined the program to get stronger."
Marco looked at him perplexed. "Stronger?"
"Yeah… I joined because I wanted to force myself to get physically stronger.So I joined the program…"Armin admitted.
"I like that.You wanted to get stronger so you put yourself in a more physically-focused program,but you're telling me you had no thought about it?"
Armin scratched his head.He did think about it although rarely.When he saw Eren and Mikasa being so determined to become Adventurers,the thought came by more frequently.Even Floch and Krista tried hard too.
"The thought came to my mind a lot.But i don't know if i could do it."
"Let's do it together!Me,You,Eren,Mikasa,Floch,Sasha and Connie!The seven of us could do it if we work together!"
"I don't know if i could do it…"
"Believe in yourself,Armin!"Marco placed his hands on the blonde's slender shoulders. "You're strong too!You just have to find it!"
Armin grew a smile but a weak one. "ok,I will try."
"I can do it!I can do it!"Armin kept repeating as he finished packing his things in his blue duffel bag but before he left,he looked at the drone on his desk and decided to put it in his dark blue backpack.
Armin looked in the mirror and looked at his pants.He thought that it was best to wear something more flexible instead of jeans,so he switched from blue denim jeans to black joggers.So now he was wearing a blue shirt with a worried expression on its face using parentheses,periods and lines to form it with a black long sleeve shirt underneath with black joggers to match.He adjusted glasses before heading out.
He was by the door until his grandfather called his name.
"Here take this,"His grandfather gave him a couple of black straps for his glasses.
"Oh yeah.I forgot about them.I was supposed to buy some last week but i forgot about them.Thank you,grandpa."Armin said,tucking the straps into his pocket.
"Be safe,Armin."
Armin gave him a nervous smile before he left for the train station.Armin checked to see when the train was coming and it was coming in 10 minutes.Armin knew he wasn't going to make it in time unless…
"Time to really test you out!" Armin said as took out his drone and slid his left arm through the landing gear,holding it like a shield and prepared to control it with his right.
Armin pressed the left stick with his thumb to lift him up as he was now a dozen feet up in the air as he flew to the train station.
"Don't look down…don't look down…"Armin muttered to himself.
"Hey daddy,look at that!"A child shouted,getting her father's attention. "Can we buy one of those.please?"
"They look pretty dangerous…"her father said,unsure.
Armin continued to head until he was above the station.He pressed the right stick to descend until his feet hit the ground, placing the drone back in his bag as he ran inside to wait for the train that was coming in a couple of minutes.
When Armin was inside of a bullet train heading north to Ehrmich District.Armin looked through the small window as the train started to move.Armin took out his wireless headset,connected it through bluetooth and started to play the latest Monster Hunter game.Armin got notification on his phone from Eren.
He texted Armin to open the window.The blonde was confused until he looked up to see Eren in midair with backpack on his back with his duffel bag on his right shoulder,holding his phone with his left while holding his shoes with right using his ability to control fire to blast himself towards the train.
The dark haired teen gestured to open the window,forcing Armin to quickly lift the window before Eren threw his bags and shoes through the rectangular window,hitting the ground before he straightened himself like a needle and went into the open window,he then rolled into it to soften his landing but the momentum still sent him crashing into a group of people that were sitting across in the seats next to Armin.
Eren apologized to the frustrated group as Armin quickly closed the window.He wiped the dust off the clothes as he sat down across from him,placing his bags next to him as he put on his socks and shoes.
"What is wrong with you?!"Armin hissed. "What if I didn't open the window in time?"
"I don't know,but you got it open so,no worries."
Armin fell back into his seat,rubbing his face. "I swear,I almost had a heart attack."
The blonde heard footsteps down the hall taking a glance to see that one of the conductors was heading their way.
"Eren!" he whispered to the dark haired teen. "One of the conductors is heading our way.What do we do?!
"Relax,dude,"Eren said. "I have my transport pass in just in case so we're good.Just don't make eye contact with him."
'Please,please don't come here,'
He closed his eyes tightly as he heard the footsteps getting louder and louder and louder,making his heartbeat pump at a faster pace.His teeth started to chatter as the footsteps got even more louder until they stopped and then he felt tap on his shoulder,making Armin scream and falling down on the floor.
"Oh my gosh!Are you okay,young man?"The conductor asked.
Armin looked at the middle aged conductor with his hands shaking on the ground.
"Uh-uh-uh,"Armin choked out.
"He's just nervous for the Adventurer's Exam,"Eren told the conductor. "We're heading there right now and he's getting cold feet."
"Oh!The Adventurer's Exam!Didn't know you two were heading there," The conductor said. "But,you two seem a bit young to do the exam.Do you really want to become one of them?"
"I do," Eren answered the conductor's question. "I don't really have any other option.Plus,we only live once and I want to spend it exploring the world."
The conductor nodded. "And what about you?"
"What about me?" Armin repeated the question.
He looked down to the black carpet floor as he thought about it.
'Believe in yourself,Armin!'
He remembered his best friend's words,making him smile before he stood back up with a proud smile on his face.
"Yes,I do too!"Armin exclaimed,surprising the conductor.
The middle aged man chuckled. "Well, good luck to the both of you."
The conductor walked,leaving the two teens by themselves again.
"Where did all that enthusiasm come from?"Eren asked,chuckling.
"I need to be in a positive mind set,"Armin slapped his cheeks. "I can't get myself down."
The black haired teen smiled. "You're right on that one,dude.Gotta keep yourself motivated if you don't want to fail."
The blonde nodded as the train was getting close to the Ehrmich District.