( Real World, Leo's POV )
After accepting his fate as Dumpy's new trainer, Leo logged back out of the game, since it was already time for him to shift.
This year, instead of simply moving up the hierarchy and going to sector B, he was moving all the way up to the VIP quarters and he couldn't be happier about it.
"This apartment in sector C was the best and most peaceful place I've lived in and I'm sure I will miss it in the future…." Leo mumbled, as he packed a handful of things from his apartment like his old sketchbook, sector C robes and his mediation manual before walking out of his apartment door, one final time.
"What took you so long? Myself and Amanda have been waiting for ages now" complained Luke, as he seemed to be irritated from having to wait so long.
"Apologies for the delay…" Leo said, as he gave a hearty smile to both Luke and Amanda who were waiting for him outside his apartment, to move to the VIP section alongside him.
Their ankle monitors, which were supposed to be flashing blue to show that they were promoted to sector B instead flashed a unique purple color which was not typically associated with any sector.
"I'm so excited to see this new mansion you were talking about! VIP? Hehehe, sounds posh!" Said Amanda as she clung onto Leo's shoulder and gave him a happy kiss on his cheeks.
Unlike Luke, she did not seem too pissed that Leo had made them wait for hours before showing up, as she seemed more happy that he was taking her with him to the new VIP sector.
Leo didn't have to bring Amanda with him to the VIP sector—he could have easily relocated on his own. But the fact that he chose to take her along was a significant green flag for Amanda, one she deeply appreciated.
'He must really care about me,' she thought, recognizing that Leo's decision to include her in this new chapter of his life spoke volumes about his feelings.
With his status and power, Leo certainly had no shortage of attention from the opposite gender. Yet, despite all the options available to him, he chose to stay loyal to Amanda and this gesture melted her heart in more ways than one.
Hence, she could never be mad at him for simple things like being late, as for her Leo was already a massive green flag on a more important deeper level.
"Have the others relocated?" Leo asked, as Luke nodded his head in acknowledgement.
Most of the Arc Ship passengers had already relocated, with 1.5 of the 2 hours given by the operators for relocation already exhausted.
Only a few slow movers were yet to settle down now and even they were about to complete the process, making Leo and group one of the very last movers within the ship.
"Alright, cover your ankle bracelets as best as you can and let's go over to our new homes–" Leo said, as both Luke and Amanda tried to hide the purple glowing on their ankle monitors as best as they could, as the three of them began moving towards the VIP sector.
Unfortunately, despite Amanda and Luke trying their best to not draw any attention to their ankle monitor colors, the evaluation day was an event where everyone's focus was on the color of the monitor that the other passenger was wearing.
Hence, throughout their journey, there were many who noticed the abnormal color, giving rise to many hushed conversations.
"Is that... purple? What does that even mean?" a passenger muttered to their companion.
"Yeah, but look—the third one doesn't have an ankle monitor at all," another voice whispered. "That's not possible, right? Everyone's supposed to have one!"
Suspicion and curiosity filled the air as more onlookers took note of the suspicious trio.
The absence of Leo's ankle monitor only added to the intrigue, and while Amanda and Luke tried their best to ignore the attention, the murmurs of onlookers followed them throughout the journey.
As they walked through Sector C, Leo's mind wandered. 'This is where I lived for so long… simple, peaceful, but it was nothing compared to where I'm headed now.' The thought stirred something within him—a mixture of nostalgia and relief.
He was moving forward, beyond what he'd once thought possible.
Next, they entered Sector B, the place they would have been assigned had Leo not ascended to the realm of a master.
Luxurious apartments lined the streets, with a sense of status and wealth filling the air. It was still urban living, but upscale in every sense of the word. Leo glanced around, recalling how Sector B had once seemed like an unattainable dream during his days as a Sector E resident.
'I never thought I'd see this place up close, let alone live here.' He thought, as the reality was hard to grasp. Sector B, once the peak of his ambitions, was now just a checkpoint on his journey to something far greater.
As they crossed into Sector A, the change was immediate. The urban sprawl faded away, replaced by individual houses, each standing proudly with spacious yards and private entrances. Leo's thoughts drifted to his past, when he had often been called to Sector A to massage clients back when he was still a Sector D worker. Back then, these homes had seemed like the pinnacle of success.
'Funny... I used to work here, thinking this was as good as life could get.' But now, Leo was on the verge of entering a realm far beyond what Sector A had to offer.
Finally, they approached Sector S—the epitome of luxury, or so Leo had once believed. The grand houses, the extravagant architecture, it was everything one could ever dream of. Sector S had always been the final goal for those climbing the ranks on the Arc Ship. This was supposed to be it, the pinnacle.
'I used to think this was as high as anyone could go...' Leo thought as they passed through the lavish streets. Yet, even this was no longer his destination.
He was moving beyond Sector S, to a place most couldn't even imagine.
As they reached the end of Sector S, a massive gate loomed ahead, which was supposed to signify the end of the area where passengers resided, however, this differentiation only existed for normal passengers.
As Leo approached, this massive gate slowly creaked open without a word, as if sensing Leo's presence.
"Here we go," Leo muttered, feeling the weight of the moment as they crossed into the staff sector—an area that was never witnessed by any other passenger before him.