Like always I hope that I'm able to entertain people with my writing.
Some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )
April 18 of the Septian Year 1204
Having finished his morning training, Rean went to take a quick shower and returned to his room to get his schoolbag for the day. Taking a last look at his family photo he left his room only to meet Elliot leaving his room at the same time. After greeting each other they decided to walk to school together, "We may have to pick up the pace a little since it is getting late. I didn't notice the time passing this morning as I was too absorbed in training."
Shaking his head at him, Elliot couldn't help but comment, "I really don't know where you and Laura get the energy to do even more training than what we are already getting from the school, I still feel like dying every time I finished it." Noticing the slight depressed look on his faces, Rean tried to cheer him up, "There isn't a reason for you to feel down Elliot, compared to the beginning you have improved a lot from needing help to get home, you already can move on your own. Besides it is just the beginning that is the hardest, give it a month or two and you will see that you can do these exercises a lot easier, maybe you will even find them too easy." Shooting his friend a look that expressed the doubt in his sanity he just rolled his eyes and began descending the stairs.
At the bottom they met Alisa and Emma who seemed so focused on their conversation, that they didn't even notice the boys approaching until they were right before them. Realising that they weren't alone they turned around to greet them, well Emma did because as soon as Alisa noticed Rean, she shut her mouth and looked sideways as if to ignore him while trying to stealthily glance at him. Felling a little awkward the rest didn't know what to say until Elliot asked, "Are you two on the way to school?"
Sensing an opportunity to escape this situation, Alisa replied "Y-Yeah. Come on, Emma. We are going to be late." and left the building while a flustered Emma went after her but not before she said her goodbyes to the boys. Sighing deeply, Rean couldn't help but lament the lack of an opportunity to apologise for the last two weeks. Patting him on the shoulder, Elliot commented, "I never would have guessed that she would hold a grudge this long. She knows that it was just an accident, right? She has to. Can't believe she would be so…..sensitive."
"Yeah, but then again it was my fault we got in that situation; I just wish she would at least give me a chance to apologise to her. "
"Well, as long as you keep trying, I'm sure she'll understand…. eventually…. perhaps? Our class has got enough tension as it is, what with our two…. erm…prideful warriors at each other throats. So, if you and Alisa could make up, it would be a load off everyone's mind."
"…..I'll certainly do what I can. Whatever that may be…." With another pat, the two left the dormitory and made their way towards the school while discussing their curriculum, the quarrel between Machias and Jusis and after a little run-in with the nobles of Class I, they arrived on time for the beginning of their first lesson for the day History with Instructor Thomas. During which they discussed the War of the Lions, how it began and where Dreichels the Lion heart got his first allies, looking around Thomas eyes settle on Rean, "Now let's discuss the place where Emperor Dreichels first began gathering his army. Rean Schwarzer, would you care to tell the class?"
Surprised at being called, he tried to organise his thought on what knew about the war, "Let's see, the place where Dreichels first started to gather his army was the…." Remembering the answer, he stood up, "It was the Nord Highlands, a region northeast of Erebonia." That was the correct answer while sitting down he noticed that a notebook on Alias's table was askew in his direction, with the words Nord Highlands written on it.
Not even a second later, the notebook was taken back by a obviously flustered Alisa, who was doing her best to stare at the Instructor, realising that she had tried to help him in case he didn't know the answer, caused him to smile a little and thinking that maybe there was hope to repair this situation between them as he continued taking notes.
"Nice work, everyone. You made it through another gruelling day of classes!" At the end of the day was their last class with their Homeroom teacher. Smiling at her students, Sara continued with her speech, "In case you've been living under a rock, please don't forget that tomorrow is your first ever 'Free Day'. Like I already explained, there are no classes, and you can spend it however you want." Raising her hand, Emma asked, "Um… Will the academy's facilities still be open, in case we want to use them?"
"Of course! This school shuts down for no one, you can use any and all facilities as you like. Don't forget a lot of clubs have meetings scheduled for these Free Days as well so if you joined a club, you should probably check on that. Also, before you leave, we should go over what happening next week. On Wednesday, you all will have your first practical exam." Pausing for a moment, to see the understandably, confused faces before her, she continued,
"Before you ask, this exam is part of your combat training, and you will be graded on your performance so make sure you are all well rested and ready for battle by then. I suggest that it might be a good idea to do some training on your own too." Some were eager to try out this exam, other were nonchalant about this while others (Elliot and Emma) weren't exactly looking forward to this. Deciding that she had said enough, Sara prepared to finish the class only to remember a certain detail that she had nearly forgotten.
"Oh, and one more thing! After the practical exam is over, I have got another important announcement to make which includes a very big part of Class VII's curriculum that I haven't mentioned at all yet." Finishing with a teasing smile and a wink, she finally ended the class and left before anyone could ask questions regarding the announcement. Getting slowly used to their instructor behaviour, they could only sigh and roll their eyes at her.
While his classmates were leaving, Elliot and Gaius were approaching Rean, "I'm a little worried about that practical exam next week. I mean, I'm still getting used to this staff and fighting in general." Sharing a glance with Gaius, Rean offered his help, "I would be happy to help you train if you need a sparring partner. The gymnasium looks big enough that I am sure we would have no trouble finding a good spot for it, if you are up for it, we could even start today."
"That's a very kind of you to offer but I was planning on attending club practice today."
"Oh, so you already decided which club you want to join? Which one did you pick?" Hesitating slightly, Elliot answered," I, uh … decided to try for the Band. Though I am not sure how much use they will have for a violinist." Seeing the surprise in his friend's eyes, Elliot quickly changed to subject away from him, "How about you, Gaius? Have you joined any of the school's clubs yet?" Nodding Gaius explained which club, "I have decided on joining the Art Club. I dabbled a little in it back home but since I am mostly self-taught, I feel like this is a good chance to learn the proper techniques."
"Wow that is pretty cool."
"I would love to see some of your works sometime." Before Rean could speak any further, the door suddenly opened and their instructor entered and began walking towards them, "Oh, good. You are still here, I was wondering if someone could do me a teensy little favour? There is something I need picked up from the Student Council room." Confused, Elliot and Gaius tried to clarify what she meant, "Something you need picked up?"
"What would that be?"
"Heh. That's for me to know and for you to find out. All I will say, it's something absolutely essential for students like yourself and somebody needs to get it. Though it doesn't matter who. Any volunteers?" Contrary to her question, she was already looking at Rean with an expectant look in her eyes, rolling his eyes at her poorly hidden meaning, he stood up. "Sure, I will go. I have just to go the Student Council room and tell them you sent me for them to understand why I am there, right? And before you guys ask, I am fine with it besides you two have clubs to go to. I am still totally undecided if I even want to join a club or not, so maybe I will take this opportunity to take another look at a few clubs along the way."
After two weeks of getting to know Rean, they were already somewhat familiar with his character, so they just accepted his help meanwhile a happy Sara explained to him where the Student Council was, "Their room is in the Student Union building next door, at the end of the second floor. It's open until quite late, so there's no reason to rush. Thank you, my dear! I leave EVERYTHING in your capable hands!" With that she left the classroom while humming a happy tone, putting the nagging feeling that this favour wasn't as easy as she made it out to be, he said goodbye to his friends and left too.
After walking around for a while on the school ground to try familiarising himself more with the campus, Rean arrived at the front the Union Building but before he could step inside, he heard a voice calling for him. Looking at the source of the voice he found an older boy with a bandana in his grey hair and a bag over his shoulders walking towards him, he couldn't remember haven met him before but before he could ask who he was, the other person spoke first, "How is it going? Has Academy life been treating you well this past half-month?"
"Oh. Yeah, it has. (Guess he must be a second year.) It's not easy, but I'm managing somewhat, though I have a feeling that the hard parts are yet to come."
"Haha, of course. Your class is going to be far more intense than the others, too. But you just hang in there, okay?"
"Sure. Wait, you're a second-year student, aren't you? Do you mind if ask your name?"
"Hey, now! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First let me show this cool trick I have been practicing; I just need to borrow a fifty Mira coin and I am good to go." Not sure where he was going with this, he gave him the coin and watched as he put his bag down and began flipping the coin in his hands. "All right, watch closely." He flipped it pretty high following the coin falling down to see the second year cross his hands to catch the coin. "Now! Which hand is the coin in? Left, or right?"
"It's in your right hand."
"Too bad." Opening his right hand, Rean could see that it was empty, "Guess, you win. I am usually pretty good at following moving objects, too….. Wait, you said this was trick, which means…" Surprised that he had caught on so quick, he opened his left his hand too, to show that it was empty too. "Haha. Keep up the good work, man. You are going to need to be pretty tough to get through a year with Sara as your Instructor."
Picking his bag up, he began to leave, "Oh and the Student Council room is on the second-floor furthest room back, can't missed it. See you around, have a good weekend and pass Towa my regards and tell her I won't be in town this weekend. Thanks." With that done, he left in the direction of the school gate. Noticing, that he hadn't given his fifty Mira back, Rean could just watch him leave. "He got me, and he seemed to know, I was heading to the Student Council room too… somehow. Guy's good and who is this Towa? Perhaps she is a member of the council, well just one way to find out. Now that I think about it, I haven't met any of the second years yet. I wonder if they're all like… that."
Entering the building he greeted the cafeteria lady and shopkeeper and made his way towards the second floor. Approaching the last door, he knocked and waited until he was called in by a voice that seemed to belong to a very young girl, "Hello. Please, come in. It's open."
(Wait, I know that voice from somewhere.) Pardon the interruption." Finished speaking, he opened the door to step inside the room only to find the young girl he mee on his first day at school, sitting behind a desk filled with books and papers, "Oh! You are that girl from back then." Smiling at him while standing up she approached Rean, "Heehee. It has been about two weeks, hasn't it? Welcome to the Student Council Room, Rean. I take it Instructor Sara sent you?"
"Yes. So, you're a member of the Student Council, then? (I wonder if she moved up a few years. She seems even younger than Fie.)" Noticing his confusion, she tilted her head to one side and asked, "Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just wondering if you are a second-year student?"
"Ahaha. I am but there's no need for formalities with me, in my book there is no junior or senior. But where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself. The name is Towa Herschel, and I am the Student Council president." Shocked at this revelation, Rean couldn't help but shout out his surprise, "President?!"
"I guess you weren't expecting that, anyway I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities to interact with you and the other first years during your time here. So, if there's anything you need help with, you just come and let me know, okay? As president, I will do everything in my power to help you out." Recovering from his surprise, he thanked her for offer, "Th-thank you. That is very kind of you. (She's the Student Council president? That is somewhat hard to believe…. Wait, she said her name is Towa, could she be the one that second year was referring to?). Excuse me, there was a second year that asked me to give you his regards and to tell you he won't be in town for the weekend."
"Huh? A second year told you that, who was it?"
"He didn't give me his name, but he was a bit taller than me, he had grey hair with a bandana…." Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Towa's eyes flash with recognition that was soon followed with annoyance, "Oh, come on! I told him he has to start taking this seriously if wants to graduate, he is already way behind his studies too…."
Raising an eyebrow at her outburst he watched as she continued murmuring for a while getting pieces like, "Next time I will get Angie to restrain him!" or "Maybe George could build a room to put him in so that he can't escape." Coughing in his hand, he tried to steer the conversation back on track, "Umm, so… the reason I have come here, is because you are holding on to something for Class VII, right? (I better not tell her, what exactly happened given her reaction I wonder if he is a troublemaker.)"
Now it was her turn to regain her composure, reaching for some notebooks on table she gave them to Rean, "Oh, of course. Here you go, the one on top is yours. I apologise for taking so long to give them to you but Class VII's curriculum is pretty different from the other classes." Opening one he found that these were student notebooks, "Oh, our notebooks! I completely forgot about these."
Bowing her head again as an apology, she continued with her explanation, "The battle orbment that you are using are a different kind than the standard ones, so yours had to be compiled separately. All the student notebooks double as instruction manuals for their accompanying orbments and since the other first years are using the same type as last year, we could re-use the template from last year. But the new Arcus Unit works completely different, so we had to write a whole new set of direction from scratch."
"Wow, that makes sense, but wait who is we?"
"Pretty much … just me? Instructor Sara asked me do it on her behalf which means it's my fault this has taken so long. I am really sorry."
"No, no! If anything, it sounds like we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for putting so much time and effort into it. I can't just help but wonder, is this really part of Student Council duties, though? It seems more like a job for our instructor, than it is for you. Now that I think about it, this really belongs to her duties." Closing his eyes in annoyance that his instructor had once again managed to give her work to someone else.
"Technically you are right, but she is always so busy, and I also help the other instructors all the time, so I don't mind lending her a hand from time to time." Sweat dropping at this, Rean couldn't help but think, "(What a nice person, maybe a little too nice for her own good. I doubt she ever gets a moment rest around here, if she has to help the teachers out too.) So, you just need me to give these to the rest of Class VII, right?"
"Yes, please and I really appreciate what you've all agreed to do, too."
"What do you mean?"
"Heehee. I heard all about it from Instructor Sara. She said you've agreed to help the Council with our work and since apparently you already began helping out the townspeople out during the last two weeks, I can see that you and Class VII are off to a great start here at the academy. Helping us out with our workload, trying to better yourselves and prove that you are worthy of being part of this prestigious new class is really praiseworthy."
Remembering the conversation with Sara, Rean couldn't help but pinch his nose and exhale a sigh. Noticing his expression Towa thought that she had somehow misunderstood the instructor, "I am sorry. Did I misunderstand her or something?! This is so embarrassing, I didn't mean to start trying to force work onto you, especial since you have just enrolled!" Seeing her panicked, Rean quickly said, "No, no. Instructor Sara is absolutely right. Your plate is as full as possible, so if I can help you in any way, please let me. (There is no way I can let her down now.)"
Visibly relieved Towa relaxed, "Phew. I thought there had been a terrible misunderstanding here for a moment but don't worry I won't give you anything too difficult. It will be just fulfilling request from the people in town, like you have been doing and from students in the academy. I will pick some and put them in your mailbox tomorrow morning, is that alright?" Nodding his head at her, he glanced at the paperwork on her desk, "Sure things, thanks and since I am already here, how about I help you with these papers?" Towa tried to tell him that, she doesn't need to help but he insisted, so in the end she relented, and they began working on the mountain of work before them.
Later in the evening Rean walked out of the Union building, looking around he found that it was already dark, "Sigh, what a day. I can't believe she wound up treating me to dinner in the cafeteria as thanks for my help and she still has got more Council work to do yet. How is she so busy?!" His musings were interrupted by the ringing of his Arcus unit, picking it up he pressed the answer button, "Hello? This is Rean Schwarzer speaking."
"Guten Abend, my favourite little wunderkind. I heard you had a nice little dinner date with the Student Council President. Seems like we have a little Casanova here, last time it was Alisa and now Towa." Rolling his eyes at the caller, he answered, "First, we already went through this Instructor Sara, there was nothing romantic going on back then and there is nothing like that this time too. Second, if this is how you treat your 'favourite little wunderkind', I shudder to think how you might treat people that you don't like. Would care to explain why you've been, again I mind add, signing me up for things behind my back?"
"I will spare you the boring details for now but let's just say it got something to do with the announcement that I have planned for next week. I thought it would good if at least one of you could do a little rehearsal before the main event and since the Council is really busy, I figured why not kill two birds with one stone? A fine plan, if I do say so myself."
"I have a felling the reason why they are so busy is because of certain instructors but I will bite. Basically, you want me to spend my free day helping the Student Council, right?"
"That is entirely up to you, if there is a club you want to join, far be it from me to force you away from it."
"That won't be a problem, there isn't one that interests me and so I am basically free. There is just one question I would like to ask and get an answer for. Why me? This seems like the kind of task typically entrusted to the class president or vice president. So, either Emma or Machias and even if you were choosing based on social class Jusis and Laura both belong to the nobility. So, what makes me so special, exactly? And please, don't say it has to do with my request to train in the old schoolhouse because that excuse is already getting old."
"Well, in a sense, you are effectively at the centre of Class VII, I am not saying you are its leader, of course. In this class we have nobles, commoners and an exchange student, your actual situation is in particular…. special. Surely even you can see that, no? In this class you could even be seen as good example of possible cooperation between the two sides."
Realising what she was implying and the knowledge that she had of him, Rean couldn't help but stiffen and using a neutral tone to question her, "I didn't realise that my 'social' situation, was of interest to the academy and pray tell me Instructor Valestein. How did the academy acquire this particular information since I am pretty sure it wasn't nowhere asked in the applications I wrote when I applied?"
"…. No need to get your hackles up, Rean. No one besides me and the principal in this school know about your home situation but since this class deals with the new Arcus Unit, the Board of Directors asked for a background check on everyone and the founder of Class VII got the checks done on everyone, it wasn't just you." Letting a breath out, he tried to relax by rubbing the back his head.
"(This just throw more questions up, whoever the founder is must be pretty high up in the chain of command in Erebonia since doing background checks on minors, especially if they are the son of the Imperial Governor and a son of House Albarea, isn't something anyone can do because they want to. No sense in brooding over this now, especially because I am sure that any question, I ask concerning this will be just avoided.) I see. I am sorry if I was out of line by asking you this, Instructor Sara."
"Didn't think you would be this sensitive about this but then again, I can see why you would be. No need to apologise as long you drop the 'Instructor Valestein' forever, ok? Getting back on track, I wanted to give you 'first dibs' so to speak on this because I wanted to get an idea how things might go from here on out, there has never been a class like yours, after all. There you have it, the beans have been spilled, what you do now is up to you." Taking a moment to think, he suddenly heard some gulping sounds coming from his Arcus. "Wait, what are you drinking?"
"Beer, of course. It's the weekend and I am stuck wasting away in my room, all by my lonesome, if I only had a classy older gentleman friend who would go out drinking with me. But woe of woes, such a man is nary to be found!"
"Umm… Are you okay?"
"Never better, but you! Instead of trying to put everything in its place, why don't you just go with the flow for a change? It looks like you are desperately trying to find 'something'… but if you don't stop running after that 'something' and try to plant yourself somewhere, you are just going to be blown away with the next big gust that comes along and, on that note, make sure that you are back before curfew and all transgressions are forgiven. See you." Looking at his Arcus with a stunned look, he could only chuckle, "She may have a few screws loose, but she has a point. Maybe it is time I try to go with the flow besides what is the worst that can happen?"
Afterwards he went back to the dormitory and began giving his classmates their notebooks until only one remained. Standing before the door of room 302, he hesitated if he should give the inhabitant of the room their notebook himself or just leave it on the floor like last time, gathering his resolve he knocked on the door. Inside the room, Alisa was just finishing with her homework when she heard someone knock on her door, wondering who it could be she raised her voice to ask.
"Who is it?" While making her way to the door, just to stop short of touching the doorknob when she got an answer, "It's me, Rean." Surprised at who her visitor was, she stepped away from the door and blurted the first that came on her mind, "W-w-what do you what want? What are you even thinking coming to an innocent girl room this late at night?" Though Rean couldn't see, she was glaring straight at the door with her hands on her hips, "Okay, good point…I wouldn't have under normal circumstances but there's something I need to give you."
(He has something for me? What is he talking about?) Before she could voice her question, he explained that the student council president had asked him to hand out their class student notebooks. (So that's what's going on and of course he is helping again with things that have nothing to with him, this the instructor's job, not his. Honestly, is he student or an assistant for the instructor, not to mention all the help he does around town.)
Grumbling to herself, she made her way again to the door to open it just to remember something else, (Wait a moment, don't these notebooks have the full name of the owner inside? Oh no!), She suddenly opened the door, to see Rean holding her notebook in his hand and faster than he could react she snatched it away from him and held it behind her back, glaring at him she growled, "Did you open it?"
Perplexed at the sudden turn of events, he didn't respond at first, which caused Alisa to repeat her question again but this time with more force in her voice, "Did...you…open…it?" Finding his voice again, he took a step back while raising his hands up in surrender, "No, I didn't. I gave the others theirs already and since you were the only one remaining, I didn't have to open it."
"Hmph…. or so you say." Looking him in the eyes, she didn't see anything that implied that he was lying, just confusion at this situation, suddenly she felt relieved that he hadn't found out her family name but that feeling was rapidly followed with guilt and embarrassment, guilt that she had him falsely accused him and embarrassment given their situation for the last two weeks. Before she could try to amend the situation her pride reared her head again and she reverted to her defence mode, "A-anyway, that's all you wanted, isn't it? Good night, then!"
Leaving a still confused looking Rean behind, she closed the door. In the room a frustrated Alisa made her way to her bed just to fall on top of it, (That is it, the final proof that I am an absolute idiot. What was I thinking instead of thanking him for bringing me my notebook, I just snapped at him while he was once again doing me a favour, and this was such a good opportunity to apologise too. I really am an idiot.)
Not sure of what had just happened, Rean remained still for a few moments before he began moving back to his room, (Well that went better than I expected, I was sure that she wouldn't even talk to me at all. The fact than she was willing to speak to me is already an improvement, compared to the last two weeks. Still, why was she so flustered about the notebooks and if I had opened it or not?) Making his way back, he took out his own to take a closer look at it. Like he had already seen before, it was just a normal notebook, (Besides the manual for the Arcus unit, some general information about the academy and my class placement and my name, there is nothing of importance inside of it. Oh, now I see! She was worried that had seen her last name in it. Guess that I should have made that clear from the start that I didn't peek inside. Great, just another thing that I must apologise for, good going Schwarzer, instead of making the situation better with her you're making it worse. I really have to start paying better attention to the feelings of the people around me, Elise and Mom already warned me many times over the years, that I should watch what I say and how I say it.)
Putting his notebook away, he took his tachi and started to go into his stance, (Though honestly, I don't see any problem myself maybe I should just stop speaking altogether. I think a bit of training will do me good and since I don't know what is waiting for me tomorrow, I should train now so that I can sleep in a bit tomorrow and it also will be a good distraction.) Shaking his head at himself, he grasped his tachi more firmly while clearing his head from all distracting thoughts, he began practising the eight forms of his sword style until late into the night.
The next day after breakfast and helping Elliot with unpacking of the many boxes his sister had sent him, Rean made his way to his mailbox to find a letter with tree papers inside, "Let's see what have, helping a student find her notebook, delivering some orbal tech for the engineering club and looking into the old schoolhouse? Now this is interesting, and the request came from Principal Vandyck but what did he mean by strange phenomena, what could have happened there? No sense thinking about it now, I am sure he will explain everything when I ask him. I got three requests, I should probably leave the old schoolhouse for last, since the schoolhouse is pretty big and will surely take the most time. Which leaves me to decide if I should start with the delivering request or the notebook request?"
After thinking for a while, he decided he would start with helping his follow first year and go do the deliveries after. Arriving at the Union building where the requester supposedly was, he found her pacing nervously around the first floor, after explaining who he was and that he was here to help her, she told him that she lost notebook yesterday, she found out about it on her way to the library. She had already searched everywhere she had been besides the main building. Excluding the classrooms, Rean searched from top to bottom for the notebook just to find it on the sofa on the second floor.
After returning it to her, she surmised it must have fallen down as she had sat briefly there yesterday in return she gave him an accessory as thanks for his help, he tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary. But she insisted on it with the reason that he should be rewarded for his work, and she had bought two of this as a mistake, so he was helping her by taking one this way she didn't have to let it gain dust. Thanking her for the gift, Rean made his way to the engineering building, knocking on the door he was let in by the same person he had seen beside President Towa on his first day, greeting him with a smile on his face, "Nice to meet you again, I am George Nome, second year, Class III. I am also head of the Engineering Club and you are Rean Schwarzer from Class VII, right? Towa told me that you are helping her out today."
"That is correct. I saw your request that you needed help with some deliveries, so here I am. How can I help you?" Chuckling at the eager first year George moved to the back of the building, signalling Rean to follow him while he looked around the inside, "It certainly fits the bill as an engineering building with all the machines and equipment around here." Looking back at him, George gave him a small smile filled with pride, "Yep, you can basically think of this as the academy's very own orbment factory. The club has overseen maintenance of the orbments around here for a long time now."
"Wow that is impressive. I assume you repaired all the stuff you wanted me to deliver for this request, too?"
"That's right. I handle that stuff here too, if someone has a problem concerning anything orbal in Trista, they usually come here. I also am normally the one to deliver them, but I am a little bit too busy this month. Can I ask you to do it for me?"
"Of course. So, what do I need to know?"
"Awesome. First up is this orbal scale which I need delivered to the Cooking Club. The club meets in the Home Economics room on the second floor of the main building, and you can give it to the head of the club, Nicholas. The next two are in town, this antique orbal lamp is for Micht, the owner of the pawn shop in the southeast part of the town in the shopping district, it is kind out of the way so keep an eye out."
"I know where the pawn shop is, I take it Micht is the middle-aged man with grey hair and amber eyes, that works in the shop?" Surprised at the unexpected question, George only nodded at him as an answer, "Well, this is surprising, I didn't think you already meet Micht." Rubbing his neck as he remembered that first time he went into the pawn store, "Well, I wouldn't say meet, more like he told me that I should either buy something or do my window-shopping somewhere else."
"That sounds like old Micht, don't take it personally he is like that with everybody, but I really am surprised that you know where he is, most first year spend three to four months in the academy before they even realise that there is a pawn shop in town."
"It's an old habit of mine, every time I am in a new place, I try to walk around the entire place so that I know where everything is, especially if I am going to spend a lot of time there. So, I spend two afternoons walking everywhere in Trista and I stumbled upon his place during that."
"Seems like you know a thing or two about Trista already, let's put your knowledge to a test then. This orbal wristwatch is the last item I need you to deliver. This one is going to Michael over at Radio Trista. Can you tell me where in Trista that building is?"
"The radio station is southwest of the shopping district; it is the building near the west exit."
"Got it in one, I'm impressed. Just tell the receptionist why you are there, and she'll call Michael out for you. Here are the items, it's not going to be easy carrying all of those around, but I am sure you'll manage." Taking the items, he placed the wristwatch in his inner pocket to keep it secure and took the rest of the items one in each hand. Saying goodbye, Rean left the building and made his ways towards his first destination, the first stop was the cooking club where Nicholas gave him as blank recipe book, where he could write his culinary experience down, as thanks for the delivery.
On the way to town, he met another first year who was fishing at the small river that ran through Trista. Recognising Rean as a fellow angler, he invited him to fish back at the pond behind the school whenever the fancy struck him and left him with a new fishing rod. After arriving at the pawn shop, he explained why he was there, as thanks for the deliver (or an attempt to get rid of something he couldn't sell) he gave Rean a pair of cards from a new game called Blade for free. Done with that he made his way to the Radio station to give Michael his watch, who in turn informed him of a new show called Abend time they were starting this evening.
"Now that I am done with this, I should go back to George to report. Hmm, is that Machias over there?" Sitting on a table outside of the inn was Machias drinking coffee while having his books spread on the table, calling out to his classmate he made his way over there, "Hi Machias, enjoying the morning with a cup of coffee and some studying, I see."
"Hi to you too, Rean. There is nothing like starting the day with good cup of coffee or drinking it while studying. I am going to take a break for a few minutes, care to join me?" Thinking about it for a few moments he nodded, thinking that it couldn't hurt to spend a few minutes with his classmate, and he was done faster than he expected with the errand anyway, so he took a seat at the table and ordered some tea for himself. Taking a sip of his tea, he enjoyed the morning breeze in silence until he felt Machias stare at him, or more precisely at his tea, "Something wrong Machias? Do you want to try some of my tea perhaps?"
Shaking his head at Rean, Machias tried to explain his action, "Sorry, I never understood the appeal for tea, it doesn't help that I always associate it with nobles. In fact, I saw one particularly irritating noble arrogantly sipping away at a cup the other day."
("I don't even have to ask who he is speaking about but how does one sip arrogantly?) Tea isn't just exclusive for nobles though, there are a lot of people who are commoners that like to drink it, be it in the empire or outside of it. Why don't you give it a try, though? I am not saying you have to drink it every day, but tea always helps me relax most of the time." Startled Machias noticed his own words, "I didn't mean to sound like I was judging you or anything. I mean you're not even a noble." Taking a moment to answer, Rean tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, "…Haha. Don't worry about it. The offer still stands, who know maybe you will end liking it."
"I-I guess, I could try it, but you should try some of my coffee then too, they use high-class beans for their coffee here. There is a rich flavour behind the initial bitterness and the fragrance is utterly fantastic."
"Really? Maybe I should try some then I don't think I ever had coffee made from beans, as far as I can remember the few times I had coffee, it was always Instant coffee from vending machines." He stopped speaking as he saw Machias face change from shocked to the most insulted face he has ever seen, including the times he was arguing with Jusis, "You…. you… only instant coffee, Aidios above how…." Worried about his classmate, Rean tried to reach out to him just to be startled as Machias slammed his hands on the table nearly sending the beverages flying,
"This is an atrocity of the highest possible order, sorry Rean but this cannot stand, it is high time that you are introduced to the true flavour of coffee. I am going to order some coffee for you." Standing up with a look that screamed righteous anger at some injustice, he made his way inside the shop just to stop as Rean called out to him, "Can you order a cup chamomile tea for you too, please?"
The answer that Machias gave him was a curt nod, then he disappeared inside the shop leaving a dumbfounded Rean behind, (Wow, talk about stepping on a landmine.) Sometime later, Machias returned with two cups in hand putting the coffee before Rean, he took a seat and raised his cup to him. Seeing this Rean took his own and the two took a sip at the same time, Machias was the first to speak though, "… You were right, this isn't so bad at all. Not saying that it beats coffee or anything, but I can see the appeal. So, Rean, how does your first cup of true coffee taste like?"
Taking his time to savour it, "It tastes better than instant coffee that's for sure, I will give you that. I might consider even having some coffee next time I am studying." Wearing a look that seemed to say, that now everything is alright with the world, Machias gave him a proud smile, "Haha, you do that, keeps you sharp between the ears. How about the two of us study here together sometime?" After making plans for that and spending time talking about the curriculum, Rean left Machias to his studying and made his way back to the engineering building.
Looking up from his work as George heard the door opening, he greeted the newcomer, "Oh, hey. Seems like you are done with those deliveries. Nice work, I would have asked you what you thought of those places, but I wasn't expecting that you already knew Trista better than I thought."
"Well, like I said old habit of mine but even if I didn't have it, after today I would have known anyway. I take it Instructor Sara asked you and President Towa for a task like this, where I learn more about the town or more precisely that one learns more about one's environment by walking through and experiencing it, then hearing or seeing it from afar."
Seeing that George jaw had dropped, Rean explained how he found out about their little plan, "There isn't a need to be so surprised, there were enough clues to help me figure it out. The first was that everyone that got a deliver today was surprised how fast the repairs were which either means, that the repairs were a lot easier than you thought or that you repaired them in advance and since you seem the type that is extremely meticulous with his work, I think that the second option was more likely. Second were the locations, like you said they were not places where most students would go on propose and the third was that Instructor Sara said that this work for the Student Council had something to do with a part of Class VII curriculum. Each of this point alone could be just a coincidence but all together well it wasn't hard to reach this conclusion."
Laughing out loud, George gave him a thumbs up, "You are a sharp one, I didn't think that you would see through this little play. Seems like Sara doesn't have much to worry about, at least about one of the groups if you are there." Raising his eyebrow, at his comment, "One of the groups?" Seeing that he had let something slip up he hurriedly changed the subject, "Knowing Michael, I'm sure he talked about this new show that is starting this evening, so are you going to listen in?"
(Huh, so we are going to be spilt up in different groups for this, I shouldn't probably pry further he already looks uncomfortable with just this, better to stop here.) I would love to but unfortunately, I don't own an orbal radio."
"In that case, here you can have this one. It's the latest model, too. Same one I have got, take it as a little prize for seeing through our little play." While speaking he put a fancy looking radio before Rean, not sure what to make of this, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure?" Waving his concern away with his hand, George explained, "Of course. I brought it for research purposes, but I never really found the chance to make any use of it. It would be a waste to just leave it here collecting dust, so I would be thrilled if you actually got some use out of it."
"Well, if that is the case, thank you very much."
"You are welcome. Oh, yeah. There's something I would like you to tell the rest of Class VII for me. Instructor Sara had another request for me besides organising these deliveries. Long story short, she left me in charge of doing maintenance on all your Arcus Units."
"Are you kidding me? I swear that instructor of ours…"
"Don't worry. Like I said, the Engineering Club is basically Thors Orbal Factory and of course, I am pretty interested in your Arcus myself. So, if you need help with anything Arcus or Orbal related, you can just visit me here and I will sort it out."
"Thanks for your help then, part of me feels bad adding to your workload but it's a relief to hear that you will be the one in charge of this stuff. Do you have perhaps a moment then to look at my Arcus then? I just got the manual yesterday; it seems like there are some extra slots that can be opened with sepith, and I was wondering if you can open them?" Taking his battle orbment out, he showed George where the closed slots were following the instructions from the manual.
George leaned closer to take a better look which was followed by a smile filled with anticipation, "Sure that is not a problem, I just need some time and some sepith of all the elements." Finished speaking he couldn't help but frown, as he remembered something else, sending Rean an apologetic look, "Sorry Rean, I forgot that the sepith has to come from you, I would love to help you out with that but the sepith in the club belongs to the academy and I can't just use it without their approval because you need a lot to unlock all of your slots. Now that I think about it, it's the same for the rest of your class."
Reaching inside his pocket, he pulled out a small bag full of sepith and put it before George on the table, "Do you think these are enough to open some?" Surprised at his underclassmen's action, he opened the bag to find various sepith of all elements lying inside, "I will have to measure them all but at the very least I think three slots of different lines should be possible. If don't mind me asking, where did you get this or is this another old habit yours always carrying sepith with you?"
"No, these I got two weeks ago in the old schoolhouse during my orienteering exercise, now that you mention it, maybe one of the reasons we were thrown down there was to get some sepith from the monsters for unlocking our slots. Seems like there is more to our instructor than I thought if she planned this far ahead."
"Yeah, she may look lazy and irresponsible at first glance, but the board of directors wouldn't have chosen her as Class VII homeroom instructor, if that was truly the case. Give her a chance, at the end she is someone you can count on. Returning to proper business, give me ten to fifteen minutes and I should be done with these. By the way, did you know that your Master quartz can grow the more you use it in battle?"
"Yeah, that was also written in the manual, but it didn't say anything specific about its effects or what the use of it is. I was going to ask the instructor next chance I got, but she is already holed up in her room drinking and since this also a free day for her, I thought I would wait for Monday to ask unless you can shed some light on it."
"Actually, I can just let me ask some questions first to see how far your knowledge goes concerning battle orbments. First off, you know that using a battle orbment allows you to cast arts depending on the quartz in it, right?" Seeing Reans nod, he continued, "The energy used to cast these arts come from the orbment itself but there is another energy source that can be used thanks to it, not to cast arts but to strengthen techniques, commonly referred as Crafts. This Crafts can be anything from a simple swing of a sword to more complicated moves, like multiple slashes at the same time. That second energy source let's call it Craft points comes from the human body, it is a type of energy inside of us, a normal person can go her entire life without ever using it but if we give said person a battle orbment, she will be able to use that energy, without any problems. Of course, without proper training it won't amount to much but there is a clear different between using it and not using it. There are other ways to learn how to use these Craft points that is through hard training and from what I saw of your data, you are one of those people."
Nodding again, Rean gave his own opinion, "Yes, I learned from my master how to use it, he didn't call it Craft points, he called it Ki. There are others name for it, but it is just different names for the same thing while I can understand that using a battle orbment makes it easier to use it, my master and I believe that only through hard training and practice can one truly master this energy. But I think we are getting off topic here, sorry."
"Don't be sorry Rean, only through proper discussions like this can we make progress, and I would love to hear your point of view concerning this but you are right we are getting off topic. Where were we? Ah, yes, the master quartz. Its functions can be spilt into two, one is strengthening your body thanks to the energy inside, you will be stronger, faster, better reflexes and so forth, simply put your body will be stronger with it. The second is giving you some extra abilities there are a lot of possibilities with this, it can make it easier for you to recover Crafts points, give you extra strength for a period of time, strengthen your arts, the possibilities are endless but there is just one ability per master quartz, not more."
"So, it basically gives you a stronger body and an ability to make it easier to fight? "
"Simply put yes but that isn't what makes the master quartz so special but that it is able to grow alongside with its user. Are you familiar with the term muscle memory? When you do an action enough times it becomes far easier to repeat it and your body remember it, the same can be applied to this type of quartz. The more you fight using it, the more it remembers how you fight and the more refined its ability becomes."
"Wow, didn't think that a quartz was able to do all that, I take this is another reason we are testing the Arcus?"
"I can't tell you if that is the case or not, but the Arcus isn't the only one orbment that uses this new master quartz system, I heard some rumours of a new fifth generations battle orbment in Crossbell that uses the same system. I would love to get my hands on one of those too, just to compare it with the Arcus, I wonder…" Seeing that George was starting to drift away, Rean quickly reminded him of his request concerning the slots, shaking his head to clear his thoughts he began working.
Seeing that he couldn't help with anything, Rean left the building so that George could work in peace, "Whew! That was a lot of information to take in. It was some good info, though." Hearing some noises, he turned his head to see where they came from. On his left was a dark magenta haired girl clad in black leather clothes putting some covers over something quite large, (Who's that…? If she is hanging around here, she must be a member of the Engineering Club, right? That big thing next to her wasn't here before either…. What could it be? Well, it doesn't matter now. I have got another request to finish but since George will take some time to work on my Arcus, I could perhaps take a look around the old school building before going to speak with the principal."
Having decided on his course, he made his way to the old schoolhouse stopping a bit to take it in its entirety, (Wow, I didn't notice before, but this building must be centuries old, could it have been build when Dreichels founded the academy? That would make it at least two centuries old, still that doesn't explain why there are monsters inside.) Putting these thoughts away for now, he approached the door and tried to open it just to find it closed, (Huh, now that I think about, of course it is closed…!)
Sensing something looking at him, Rean reacted on pure instinct by jumping away from the door as far as he could while drawing his sword at the same time, landing on his feet he quickly looked around his surroundings, to see if there was someone or something around him. Seeing that he was alone and that he couldn't sense anything anymore, he gradually made his way to the door again, not relaxing his guard he stood before the entrance and touched the doorknob again, that feeling didn't return and after another scan of his surroundings gave nothing away, he sheathed his sword.
(What the hell was that?! That feeling didn't belong to a person at all, I never felt anything similar as that not even during my time at the eastern part of the continent and there were some very weird things but nothing like this. As soon as it appeared it disappeared, it was too quick for me to sense where it came from but if I had to take a guess it could only come from the old schoolhouse.)
Raising a hand to his face he found out that he was sweating lightly, (It didn't give me the feeling that it was dangerous, but it was clearly something not human and the worst of it all, even though it was just a very brief moment my power reacted to it. Besides the first time it appeared it was always quiet, the only times it stirred was when I was in the heat of a battle and even then, I always made sure that I keep a lid on it but now even though I wasn't consciously suppressing it, it still shouldn't have been able to react. What is going on here?)
Taking a few minutes to calm himself and making sure his power was tightly sealed, he made his way back to the Engineering club, (I have to stay calm, whatever that was isn't here now, seems like I now have another reason to go inside the old schoolhouse besides training, there has never been something like this before, maybe there is a clue inside to what the hell I am or at least what my power is. There were some people with special powers in the East but nothing like mine and none of them could change forms like I can, nor did they feel as dark as my power.)
Raising his hands, Rean lightly slapped himself to clear his mind and took a deep breath, (Now isn't the time to think of this, first I should talk to the principal to get as much info as I can about that building and then I will see what I can find inside, maybe I can find some books on its history in the library….) Rean was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even hear his name being called out the first or second time only after he felt a hand on his shoulder did, he notice his friends Gaius and Elliot, standing behind him looking at him worriedly, "Rean is everything alright? Me and Gaius have been calling you for a while now."
"Elliot is right, Rean. You look a bit stressed out; did something happen?"
"(There goes my attempt at calming down I guess and judging from their faces I must have appeared more than a bit stressed out.) Sorry guys, I guess I was so deep in thought that I didn't hear you. Is there something that I can help you two with?" Sharing a concerned look between them, Gaius took the initiative to answer, "We were going to ask you if you want to join us for lunch in the cafeteria?"
Taking a look at the school clock, he found that it was already time for lunch, "I guess I didn't notice how late it was, sure let's go but if you don't mind asking, how did you find me?" Sharing another look, it was Elliot who answered this time, "We tried to call your Arcus, but it was this second year that answered it and after he explained what he was doing with your Arcus, we made our way here."
"Oh right, George. Yeah, he is working on opening the slots inside my Arcus, now that you mentioned it do you guys still have your sepith from the schoolhouse with you?" Seeing their confused faces, he quickly explained what they needed it for while guiding them inside the workshop, where George was already waiting for him. "Sorry Rean, I was working on something after finishing your Arcus and I was so absorbed that as I soon that heard something ringing, I answered without thinking."
"There is nothing to apologise for George, let me introduce my classmates here. This is Gaius Worzel and Elliot Craig of Class VII. Guys this here George Nome, a second year who oversees the Engineering Club as well as our Arcus Units." After the introduction were done, the first years left for lunch while leaving George to work on their orbments during lunch Rean told them what he had done this morning and the information concerning the master quartz, they in turn told them about what they had done with their clubs. "Seems like you two are fitting right in, so what do you guys have planned for the rest of the day?"
"Nothing much, I think I am going to return to the Arts room to practice and Elliot said something about going back to the dorms to finish arranging some stuff he got. What about you Rean, are you done with your requests for today?"
"No, I still have one last to do. I have to investigating the old schoolhouse for the principal but after that I should be done."
"Huh? Did something happen there? Why are you being asked to investigate it?" Looking at Elliot, he took a moment to answer, "Honestly, I'm not sure. The principal just said that there had been some strange phenomena inside, nothing more than that. After eating I was thinking of going to him so that I can get more information." Not noticing the look his friends exchanged, he continued eating until Gaius spoke up, "Rean would you mind if we go with you to investigate the old schoolhouse?" Surprised at the sudden question, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Why? I mean, why would you want to come with me, you guys already have plans. I couldn't possibly ask of you to cancel your plans just to help me."
"Don't worry, it is not a problem besides this could be a good practice for us, concerning that we have that exam coming up next week. You and Gaius are already used to fighting while I am not and with the new slots, I could try using different arts this time around. So, some practice at using them against monsters would be more than welcomed." Gaius gave a nod to support Elliot, leaving Rean not sure how to respond, (Now what do I do? I can't tell them no without explaining why and if I tell them because is too dangerous, they will insist on coming with me because it is dangerous. Alright, first I will talk with the principal to see what this is about, he wouldn't send his students there if he thought that they would be in danger and if the danger inside is indeed too much I will take them outside, no matter what even if it means that I must use my power.)
Having steeled his resolve, he looked at them, "Ok, after we are done eating. I will go to the principal, and you go get your Arcus from George and we will meet outside the old building." Done eating, they each went to their destination but not before Rean reminded them to get some healing items and some EP charger from the shop, he gave them even the money to buy them, insisting that they if they were going to practice, they should be prepared for everything. Seeing Rean leave, Gaius and Elliot started walking towards the engineering building, "So, do you have any idea what that was all about? That was the first time I saw Rean like that besides dealing with Alisa, I have never seen him lose his composure."
"I honestly don't know, but you are right Elliot. Since meeting Rean two weeks ago, I saw him calmly deal with everything be it fighting monsters, or the unexpected exercises Instructor Sara keeps throwing our way. I have a hunch that it has to do with the old schoolhouse though, when we met, he was coming from there and with that look on his face. I don't know if I would call it worried or scared but something definitely happened there. Nice quick thinking by the way, I am sure Rean would have found an excuse to go there alone, if you didn't gave him the reason that it would serve as training for us, we may not have known him for long but even this short time was enough to see that Rean hates to inconveniencing others."
Chuckling Elliot couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, you are right, I just hope that with us there he won't be reckless, I still can't forget that he wanted to stay behind to fight that gargoyle while urging the rest of us to run, like you said the time we have known him is short but I heard Alisa whisper something like 'first running towards a loaded gun and now this' when they arrived to help us with that monster, so if he was alone I have a feeling that he would definitely do something really reckless." Seeing that they had arrived, they went inside to get everything they need and prepared themselves for a trip inside the old school building.
Inside the main building Rean stood before the room of the principal, taking a deep breath he knocked on the door and went inside as soon he was called in. Just to find Principal Vandyck standing at the windows looking outside. Slowly approaching the huge man, he called out, "Excuse me, Principal. I am Rean Schwarzer of Class VII." Turning around, Rean got his first close look on his principal, (He looks even bigger than he did at the entrance ceremony. He must be what, at least two arge tall?)
Who in turn smiled at him, "Good, good, I have been waiting for you. Towa tells me you have accepted my request. I truly appreciate you taking time out of your free day to assist me in this." Not knowing why, Rean stood on attention as soon Vandyck spoke to him, "It's no problem at all, Sir. So, you are looking for someone to further investigate the underground area of the old schoolhouse?"
"Precisely and I couldn't have found a better man for the job, considering your class was down there recently. Incidentally, it was Sara who insisted on making use of that trap door, not me. I probably should have tried to stop her, however. Please accept my apologies."
"O-oh, not at all, Sir. You have no reason to apologise. (Instructor Sara on the other hand has, I kind of already figured she was behind it, anyway. I mean, it stands to reason that she would do something like that).
"Getting back to the matter at hand, there are several interesting stories regarding that old schoolhouse. That gargoyle you fought is just the appetiser." Thinking back on that monster, Rean couldn't help but notice now some irregularities regarding it, "Now that you mention it, I did get the impression while fighting it that it was not an ordinary monster, it was more like a fiend or something more."
"Exactly. In our experience if left alone, it will always regenerate to its original statue form…..eventually. Thanks to it the area has long been used by students in tests of strength but in the past year, many strange….'alterations' have begun occurring there. I have received reports ranging from doors appearing out of nowhere to strange and eerie voices from the darkness."
"I see, so you would like me to go and investigate to see if there is any truth to these reports, then?"
"If possible, yes. Specifically, I would like you to walk through the underground area and check for any significant changes compared to last month. A task for which you and the rest of your class are uniquely qualified given your prior experience down there. Sara also told me that you would like access to it for combat practice whenever you want, normally students must ask for permission and have to be accompanied by an instructor before being allowed inside. Sara told me that she thinks that you won't have any problem with the monsters inside given the strength that you have revealed so far. So as a reward for this task, you will be given a key and access, as long you warn an instructor when you are going inside and give a report of everything strange happening inside if you find or see something."
"Thank you very much Principal Vandyck, I promise that I will be careful while inside the old schoolhouse."
"By the way, if the gargoyle has already returned, I would have no objection at all to you turning back, please put your safety above else, you are still young and have much to learn. You can ask your classmates for assistance if you want while Sara said that you are strong enough on your own, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't do everything alone."
"Oh, truth be told two of my classmates are already waiting for me so that we can investigate together."
"Splendid, seems like I was worried for nothing. I believe you will need this key; it is for the front door of the old schoolhouse. Best of luck to you and once again please be safe."
"Thank you, Sir!" With a last bow, Rean left the room and began walking towards his friends, (I guess there wasn't any need to ask if he knows if there was anything else dangerous inside because he would never have allowed this, if that was the case. Still, it seems like that building isn't normal at all, given what I have just heard. If I had been told that earlier this morning, I would have thought that it was just some imaginations of the students but together with that feeling and my powers reacting, something is definitely going on in there. For now, I will just concentrate on investigating and keeping Gaius and Elliot safe. Concerning the rest, I can do that when I am alone there.)
Arriving before the old schoolhouse, Rean told them of his conversation with the principal and made sure that his friends had everything they needed before unlocking door while keeping his guard up. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as he stepped inside, looking around he found that nothing much had changed compared to the last time he was here. Beckoning his friends inside, Elliot couldn't help but shiver remembering what had happened here two weeks ago, "I-I really don't think this is a good idea, but I really do need to familiarise myself with this orbal staff as much as possible if I want a chance to pass the exam next week, so I will give it my all."
Giving his friend an encouraging look, Gaius gave his own opinion, "There are only three of us though, so we will need to watch each other's back and proceed with caution just like last time." Remembering what he had read last night, Rean had the perfect way to proceed, "Gaius is right, I think we should use the combat links this time around while keeping a straight line as formation with me at the front, Gaius at the back and Elliot in the middle, this way you can support either of us in case monster attack us while we are moving. For normal combat situation, we should use the same method as last time just with combat links alternating between us during the fight. What do you guys think?"
No one objected, so they turned they turned their combat links on and went through the main door, that lead to the underground area just to stop as they took in their surroundings. Seeing that the gargoyle hadn't regenerate yet, Elliot let out a relieved sigh, "Well, at least that monster isn't here anymore from the looks of it and no more creepy statues ready to come to life either. Seems like we are in the clear." Noticing that his friends had serious looks on their faces, he looked around to see what had caused it just to realise that this wasn't the same room as last time, "Wait, did it always look like this here, I don't remember there being a door like that last time." Shaking his head Rean took another look around, "No, it definitely wasn't here last time, and the room is definitely far smaller than before and unless we took the wrong door this time, this should be the room where we fought."
"Rean is right, I would say it looks like half the size compared to before." Making sure to keep his guard up, Rean leads his group down the stairs, to the door, (Ok, this is definitely not the same room from before, I honestly don't know what to expect here anymore. First that feeling outside, then the weird alternations the principal mentioned and now a completely different room. Geez, what did I get myself into this time?)
Looking at his friends he asked if they wanted to proceed or not, receiving their nods in return Rean slowly opened the door and stepped trough. Behind the door was a completely different floor, looking around they found that it had changed completely, there was even a river flowing through certain parts of the floor and beside the door was a strange contraption. A wide-eyed Gaius couldn't help but comment, "Unbelievable…..."
"This isn't even the same place! I don't remember passing through an area like this at all! Rean, Gaius am I dreaming right now?" Taking a last look around, Rean turned to his friends, "I don't either because we didn't, the entire layout down here has changed and not just a bit but all of it and it seems it wasn't just the layout that changed." Closing his eyes, Gaius realised what he meant, "I can sense new types of monsters here too. What do you think we should do, Rean?"
"…. The principal sent us down here to investigate these mysterious changes and that is exactly what we are going to do. Given what we have seen here, there is no way that we can go back empty handed. We should head as far in as we are capable of, I know that this seems scary and if you guys don't want to do this, I would understand it." Seeing where he was going with this, Elliot interrupted him, "Here we go then. Sorry Rean but there is no way we are leaving you here alone after seeing all of this."
"Elliot is right, Rean. We're going with you and may the Goddess be with us." Looking at their determination, Rean stopped trying to keep them out of this giving them a determined look of his own in return, they began their first exploration of the old schoolhouse.
With this Reans new life at Thors has begun, next chapter will be the first free day. Thank you for having read this chapter, I hope I was able to entertain some readers and like always critique is always welcomed.
