Part 1

The cold water splashing on my face early in the morning gave somewhat of a refreshing feeling, it resembled the cold showers I used to take back home. Now, here is Alamaria, I have no need to take those showers since my trainings have all been postponed to the evening. Still, habits are hard to drop.

I looked around me, searching for the towel with my initials on it. A means to distinguish it from my brother’s. With it I cleaned my now wet face and chest. As soon as I finished my business in the bathroom I entered the main room where my brother was still sleeping. Out of the two rooms, the bathroom was my favourite. It was small, that’s for sure, but it had almost everything I needed. It’s most appreciable feature was a one-person bath. The only bath I had ever seen since coming to this world was in the Evergard’s mansion. Having one here at my disposal counted as a blessing for a Japanese soul like me. My brother, on the other hand, was way less interested in it than me.

The main room was pretty much what I expected by looking at the dorms from the outside. The floor is made completely out of wood, bathroom included, while for the walls they decided to alternate wood and white stone bricks. Because of it, the rooms weren’t completely soundproof, even though I heard from other students that minor soundproofing enchants were imbued within the walls. The contents of the room were very much apartment-like: a basic kitchen with just a sink and a couple of stoves-like features that worked with fire magic, a small round table that could host at best three seats, one big wooden wardrobe, two single beds that were actually fairly bigger than my previous world’s single size beds, two bedside table and a cabinet. Nothing there was fancily manufactured but they still had their job done.

I was half naked inside the main room, wearing only a pair of this world’s boxers while cooking breakfast. My habit of waking up early was still very much alive but it didn’t bother me, I had more time to prepare for the day. And it indeed was an important day since that morning school officially started. Taking a break from cooking while waiting for the water for the tea to boil I sat at the table and looked towards my bed. There, neatly folded on top of the sheets was my uniform.

[I’d say I’ve been rather lucky with this uniform...even though the similarities with Japan’s uniform are a whole lot!]

The uniform was composed of a pair of basic brown trousers with grey and black lines that formed squares as a motif, a normal-looking long sleeve shirt for the cold months and a short sleeve one of the hot ones. Then a black jacket with three white buttons on the front, two white stripes that generated from the pocket on the left side of the chest chest and other details sewn with white thread. Lastly, to complete the uniform were simple details such as a jet black shirt bow and dark brown suspenders. I decided not to wear the shirt bow since, in the long term, wearing it for the whole duration of the lessons would become bothersome, instead I opted for the suspenders. Of course shoes and belt were up to the student.

I wore the uniform leaving the suspenders down and the jacket hanging on the chair. Just in time that the water boiled and the eggs got ready, brother loudly yawned and sat on his bed, looking at me with a still half-asleep expression he said:

“Still as early as ever I see”

Without answering I just shrugged my shoulders and put the eggs and tea on the table. While only wearing pants, Lucas sat on the table right in front of me. The breakfast went on in almost complete silence, other than a couple phrases here and there about the starting of school. As that, it didn’t take long for us to finish breakfast and I took the role of cleaning the dishes. The time before the ring of the first bell was still plenty so I took my time with my oral hygiene and read a book for a while. With half an hour before the start of the lessons I finally left the room, alone since Lucas still had stuff to do.

I walked down from the second floor and gave my greeting to the lady at the entrance. I was planning to take a stroll in the gardens before the lessons started but, as I was walking towards the gardens in the back, a female voice interrupted me.

“First year Raphael Bluscale-san, right?”

A girl with brownish long hair, close to blonde straight at the top and curlier the more they approached the end, was signaling me to come from the side of the dorm's entrance with her hand. The girl was purposely showing her abundant cleavage, rather the shirt was so tight that the first couple of buttons had to be left open.

“Yes, that’s me. Do I have some business with you?”

“Mhh how coold! Is that a way to talk to your senpai? You are lucky, I’ve been assigned as you guide for the week, I’m the third year, Kiara Saifri!”

“Oh I see, I forgot about the guides that the school assigned us, but...why were you waiting for me soo soon?”

“You see, I’ve heard rumors about you. Some teachers say you’ve piqued the interest of the headmaster, that rarely happens. Soo of course I would get curious about you!”

“Ah, I see”

“Just that?! A beautiful senpai is expressing her interest in you and you give her cold shoulders...you are such a bad boy! Now, now, shall I guide you around the school? Treat me well Raphael-kun”

She finished the sentence with an unexpected kiss on my cheek. Her huge boobs were pressing on top of my shoulder since she was taller than me. As fast as I could, I tried to get away from that weird situation and I almost jumped backwards.

“What was that for?! Also, what’s up with that much confidence?!”

She didn’t reply, she just chuckled and glared at me as a hunter looks at its prey. For a moment I could swear I saw her licking her lips, but I soon discarded that thought that I deemed impossible. For the next half an hour she kept guiding me around the school grounds, showing me places I had already seen and constantly invading my private space. The only good things that came out of that situation were the tips I received regarding quiet and hidden places within the school grounds. Even though I had a feeling that the use I had in mind of those places was way different than her’s. Luckily I was saved by the bell. A horde of students started amassing in front of the school entrance. While the first year students were being kept by the side by a teacher, the other students slowly left for their own classrooms.

Part 2

“Please first year, follow me into the auditorium. The headmaster will give his speech” Said the professor managing us students.

Once we reached the auditorium I looked for the best seat. Not too far in the back, not too close to the stage, right in the middle, covered by a wall of students, inconspicuous. The only two people that I knew were nowhere to be seen, it was rather difficult to spot them within the over sixty students spresent.

“Welcome everyone to Alamaria Magic Academy! I’m sure that all of you are eager to start your lessons and meet your new classmates, but please hold off your curiosity and listen well to my speech. I'll do my best to keep it short. Everyone present here comes from different cities and counties, different social statuses and different races but I want to clarify that none of them matter while you’re a student here in Alamaria Academy. That is thanks to the “ranking system” that I’m sure all of you know….”

Contrary to what he said, the headmaster’s speech was not short. Most of it consisted of tedious rules and explanations of the various facilities but the interesting thing was that he elaborated on the subject of the “ranking system” and the “points” that were only cited during the entrance exam. Basically points are currency within the school. The cafeteria has free menus but if one’s willing to pay with some of his points he could be able to afford a more fancy meal. Same concept goes for extra lessons, some books in the library and the use of some facilities within the school. The question was, how to gain points? The headmaster explained this in detail. There are various ways to gain points. First of all they can be won by dueling other students while betting one’s points. Then there are classroom tests. It’s completely up to the professor either to do those tests or not. They are written tests or practical tests regarding the arguments treated in the lessons. If the student scores higher than a certain threshold( determined by the teacher) he gains some points, if not then points are subtracted. The last method to gain points are the “mid-year event” and the “end of the year event”. Whether to participate or not in the “mid-year event” is up to the student, the other is mandatory. Those tests are difficult and to clear them requires both strength and knowledge. Only a small number of students are considered winners and are able to gain a large number of points, in case of loss no points would be subtracted. The identity of those tests is hidden but I heard some students around me saying that they used to change them every year.

“...and with that I finish my speech. I thank every and each one of you and I hope that you will experience a fun and interesting year! Now, a few words from our student council!”

[Oh come on! There’s more?!]

As an obligatory round of applause roared through the auditorium, two people walked into the stage. The first was a girl around the age of sixteen, maybe seventeen. Short blonde hair that barely reached the end of her neck, green judging eyes and a mole right on top of her lips. In short, bossy. Even the way she walked seemed fabricated in order to give her an air of superiority. But she wasn’t the person who piqued my interest. Beside her, a small boy whose age was probably between fourteen and sixteen, was giving quite the cold glares to the younger students. He had a darker skin, compared to the porcelain white of the bossy girl, dark black eyes, short curly grey hair and small pointy ears. While his whole figure was rather interesting, the real trouble layed where few eyes could see. I learnt from Kyvern how to see one’s mana circuit. I was still far from mastering it but I was at the point where I could at least recognize the outlines of it and that guy, he had a fearsomely developed mana circuit. During the past few days I haven’t just been going around school randomly, I was looking for interesting people or people to watch out for. Other than him, only few students seemed to be of high level.

“Hello new students my name is Martha Algher Tinler and I’m the student council’s president. My only wish is for you to respect the few rules of this school and cause as little trouble as possible. It is one of our duties to punish those who misbehave so I’d suggest to keep an appropriate behavior, that is if you don’t wish to experience a rather...complicated school year. Applications for the student council are very welcome. Our office is on the west wing of the second floor. Other than applications, please contact one of our members if you spot someone breaking the rules or if you have any question or need. We hope for each of you a fulfilling year!”

With simply that, the bossy girl gently bowed and rapidly left the stage as if it was something annoying that had to be done. Once again, the headmaster took word.

“And that was our student council president. Now you are all free to go to your classrooms, your teachers are already waiting for you there. During the past few days you were asked to choose various different lessons so for the ones who still don’t know which classroom they are supposed to be in, please look at the bulletin board outside of this room. I wish a good day to all of you!”

Another round of applause started roaring while many students rushed out of the auditorium and packed in front of the bulletin board. I took my sweet time before going outside, I was waiting for the line that formed in front of the two doors to thin out. I didn’t even care about the board, I already knew where I needed to go. Room 1-D, ground floor, practitioner tier theoretical magic course. Once the line thinned out I walked my way out of the room and around the huge crow of pushing students. My classroom was not so far from the auditorium.

I was one of the first to enter the room, it was just me, a couple of unknown students and the teacher. Even though I hoped the number of students wouldn't increase much, in the next ten minutes many other students entered that room. The final number of students who applied to this course was seventeen and, fortunately, none of their faces was of that Gallher guy.

The first lesson was nothing fancy. General introductions, an explanation on how the course worked, the requirements to pass the final test and the absence of written tests for points. Only the remaining twenty minutes before lunch break were spent on the actual lesson.

With the first lesson finished and an empty stomach, I lazily walked towards the school's cafeteria, hoping to meet with the only two people I knew there.

Part 3

“Oh Raph finally! I’ve been looking for you ever since this morning. Where the hell have you been?”

A rather preoccupied Lucas approached me, almost running, as soon as I entered the big room that was the cafeteria. All around us, students of various years were sitting in groups on wooden tables while others were forming a line to pick up their desired menu.

“Sorry Lucas, mmhh let’s just say I was...kidnapped? Or something of the sort”

“Kidnapped? You? Oh well doesn’t matter, let's just get food! I’ve got some pretty spicy news about my class!”

“Uuhhh Lucas is already on the mooooveee!” I said while finger gunning in his direction.

An awkward laughter exploded between the two of us. While we were waiting in line I saw a few people spending their first points in fancy and tasty-looking menus, it goes without saying that me and Lucas were not comprehended in that group. I had literally zero points while he had five, we were not in the beast of conditions.

A few tables were free since a lot of people were still in line picking their food so we had the leisure to choose our seat. I picked one table far enough from the chaos of the middle. I’ve always treated lunch and dinners as relaxing times, alienated from worries and disturbances, but in the academy I didn’t have that luxury.

“So, about your class Lucas?”

“Oh yes yes, listen here! Thanks to you having me check my classroom a couple of days ago I already knew where to go so I was the first to enter. There are only eight people in my class and the majority are girls! Especially, there was one that was literally stripping me with her eyes!”

“Yeah yeah, let’s say I believe this blatant lie. How was her?”

“I swear it’s not a lie! She was hella sexy! Red hair that went straight down on her shoulders, a fit body and damn she had a nice ass!”

“Hahaha it’s all too good to believe!”

“Come on, I’m telling the truth!”

“Ok ok, stop making that angry face hahaha! Have you at least talked to her?”

“Well, not really…”

“So you don’t even know her name!”

“Ahhh just you wait! You’ll not be laughing when I’ll have my face sandwiched between her tits!”

“Mmhh, what an interesting conversation you are having here...mind if I join you?”

The blood in my veins froze as the familiar voice of Sora came from behind my back. She was pissed, very pissed. Her tone was identical to that of my mother whenever she was angry at father. Instinctively I covered the back of my head, waiting for the slap to come. But it didn’t.

“Mhh? Why are you defending Raphael-san? Are you perhaps feeling guilty of something?”

“No no no, absolutely not! Unlike my brother, I haven’t been looking at any girl’s ass! It was just a reflex!”

“Ooiii don’t rat me out like this! Aren’t you my brother!” Cried Lucas, now facing the angry Sora.

“It's all fine...I just hope that you won’t take after your big brother’s example”

“Am I now the villain or something?” Cried out Lucas resulting in only making his situation worse.

Both the atmosphere and Sora’s mood changed as soon as she sat with us and made some light conversation while eating. One thought kept resonating in my mind though: “She’s scary!”.

Little by little the whole room was filled with people eating, only a few tables were left free. It seemed to me that groups had already started to create, just like every other school. If in my previous life being excluded from a group would have probably made me feel bad, this time around it actually felt like a blessing. I had no eyes focused on me, I had the few people I wished to talk to around me and it was rather reassuring that I was being ignored. Or so I thought.

One student who seemed to be fourteen, a little smaller than me, with the ugliest bowl cut I had ever seen, piss blonde hair and an angry look on his face approached our table. He walked fast while stomping his feet on the ground as if he was trying to either attract attention or make himself sound mightier. He wasn’t in the group of people I found to be “interesting”, rather he was someone I had never seen before. That ugly bowl cut wasn’t something that could go easily unnoticed. Even if he wasn’t in that group I still found him rather intriguing.

The people who trained, either with a sword or simply their physiques, could be counted on two hands. Apparently, he was one of them. That boy had the same arms as me and Lucas. The arms of someone who knows how to wield a sword and spent countless hours practicing it. Even his hands proved it. Prominent calluses could be easily spotted in both his hands. I grew curious about him.

“So-” He said as soon as he reached our table “-who of you two is Raphael Bluescale?”

“That would be me-” I said while drinking what remained of the water in my cup “-do you perhaps have some kind of business with me?”

His eyes were fixed on me as he slammed his fists on the table, making some water spill from Lucas and Sora’s cups. He was mad for some reason. I tried recalling my last few days but I didn’t seem to remember ever doing something against this guy, least of all meeting him.

“Of course I have business with you! You are the one that insulted and made a fool out of the great Gallher-sama! You should be ashamed of yourself! Yet here you are, without a care in the world, while you should be prostrating yourself and licking the soles of his boots!” Screamed the blonde boy right at my face with inexplicable rage.

Being offended like that out of the blue made me really want to punch his face, but rules are rules. No fights, unless it’s a duel, are to be held in school grounds. I only looked at him, glaring in his eyes as the tables around us started to fall silent.

“Listen here, I don’t know who you are and I don’t know your relationship with that Gallher or whatever, nor do I really care. If you’ve said what you wanted, then good job, you’ve done your part. Now would you please leave? As you can see I’m in the middle of lunch”

Veins in his temples and neck started popping up. He was getting even angrier. Well, I did intend to make him angry and make him either attack me or leave but I never imagined he could get that angry. He slammed his fists once again, this time making the cups fall, spilling water all over the table and floor.

“Leave?! I don’t think you’ve got my point. You are now going to grovel at Gallher-sama’s feet and ask for forgiveness!-” Seeing how I was unfazed by his shouted claim he once again started shouting right in my face “- I am Floyd Nave, a lowly commoner who proudly serves the great Delvin Gallher-sama! And you...oh you, a lowly commoner like me, dared to sully his good name!”

The way he talked was really starting to tick me off. “A lowly commoner who proudly serves”. Why would you even be proud of that? I was trying to figure out what was this guy’s deal, why was he so stuck up on defending that punk of a noble. The curiosity I felt before was slowly dissipating, making place for annoyance.

“Good name? What good name are you talking about? That guy tried to force himself on an engaged girl, claiming to be his boyfriend while I know for a fact that said girl had a fianceé. Also, you can call me a lowly commoner as much as you want but in this school the only thing that matters is strength!”

It looked like I'd gone too far. His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth were grinning and his fists were heavily pressed against the hardwood. Insulting his master seemed to be his limit. He raised his voice to the point where almost all the cafeteria was able to hear him.

“Don’t you dare insult him or any noble ever again! That’s a cr-”

“Why shouldn’t I?” I interrupted him with a sound slam of my hand on the table.

“B-Because they are nobles you ignorant fuck! Nobles’ blood is completely in a different league from ours! Don’t you understand? All us commoners are tasked to do is serve them, laying our lives for them! A kingdom works only because the nobles shoulder it! That’s why they should be praised like...like saints! You must respect the nobles!”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. As he fell silent, waiting for me to reply, I stood up and silently walked in front of him until I could look at the white of his eyes. He gritted his teeth and tried puffing up his chest in a pathetic attempt to look more menacing. When I finally spoke I wasn’t able to control my anger and, just like how the headmaster had done in his office, I involuntarily let out some of my aura. A tangible representation of my mana brought forth by my strong feelings.

“Listen here little doggy, do not come and speak of respect to my face. I don’t have to respect no one! If you want my respect either show me your strength or show me your heart, but only I decide who to respect and neither you nor your petty master have earned it. Now I must ask, have you been making all this scene in order for your master to praise you? Does this little doggy want a treat or his belly rubs? Just go back wagging your tail to that pathetic master of yours...that is unless you wanna try and earn my respect! I’m always open to challenges, doggy!”

All the tables started murmuring in excitement while Sora, from behind the blonde guy’s shoulder, was making a rather troubled face. Lucas was just observing, with his right hand gripped around the metal knife. I was waiting for an answer from the guy in front of me but none came. I could only feel wariness mixed with fear coming from him. He was slightly sweating, with little drops falling from the side of his cheeks. He gulped, so hard that even Lucas had probably heard it. And finally he opened his mouth.

“I-I acce-”

Suddenly, as the tension in the room, dictated by the excitement of the first duel of the year, was reaching its peak, the blonde doggy got interrupted by a heavy tap on both his and my shoulder.

“Hey hey, I think that’s enough for today uh Raphael-kun?-” The one placing the hand on my shoulder was none other than Kiara. She looked at me for a brief moment with her playful expression before giving me a wink and turning her face towards the blonde bowl-cut guy “-And you...don’t you see that you are ruining the mood for everyone’s lunch? Have some manners at least! Ah ah ah, and don’t even start on the noble shit, ok? Even though my family has fallen, I still have noble’s blood in my veins. You wouldn’t wanna contradict yourself, do ya?”

The way she acted with me and with him was totally different. While she was playful, cheerful and almost flirty with me, she was cold and subtle like a viper with that guy. Two completely opposite personalities. I found that interesting.

“I-I understand. My methods have been rude and unsightly. I apologize for the disturbance”

Said the guy, not even looking me in the eye. He was not apologizing to me but rather to the people around us. Once he finished he discarded Kiara’s hand and left for a table on the other side of the room. The murmuring around us stopped with no small number of sighs. Apparently many students there were waiting for an opportunity to spectate a duel.

“Hehehe, now Raphael-kun you owe me!” Said the flirty girl while sitting beside me at the table.

“Owe you? There was no need of your help there though”

“Uff how cold!”

“She’s right though Raph. If you really wanna keep a low profile, being in the first duel of the year wouldn’t really help you on that!”

“Tch, yeah, yeah...thanks or whatever!”

Part 4

“Can you not be late, just for once Lucas!”

“I said I’m sorry!”

“You don’t look sorry to me!”

“We arrived there right? So no need to be so angry ‘bout it”

“We were late...our first lesson at the dojo and we were ten minutes late! All because you had to flirt with that girl from school!”

“Well, can you blame me? She was soo hot in that dress!”

“Mhh, I can’t really say anything against it…”

“I know right haha! Next time you can ask Sora out for a d-”

“Not interested thanks”

“Tch you’re no fun! Oh well, once at home I’ll get into the-”

“I call dibs on the bath!”

“Not fair!”

The road that connected the dojo to the main street was filled with houses and little shops. It was rather far away from the center of the city, but I guess it’s to be expected from a dojo. It’s kind of isolated from the nearing buildings, surrounded by a garden with small ponds and a training ground made out of gravel and sand. We weren’t able to take a look inside the dojo since we were late but just by looking at the exterior one could fathom the style of the interiors.

A lot of people were crowding the streets. Especially the main road. Not only humans but also the elegant race that came from the woods with their peculiar pointy ears, the elves, and also beastmen. People that had both the features of humans and animals like cat ears, dog tails, ecc. Clothes, jewelry and other shops were still open. Of course bars, restaurants and taverns were just getting into business since it was already time for dinner. About 9 P.M. I think. Adventures, civilians and soldiers were all minding their business accompanied by the sweet sound of music that came from inside the various taverns spread around the city. It was such a warm atmosphere, emphasized by the yellow street lamps and the always so colorful building with their banners.

Kids could be seen running around with little flags in their hands while others were drooling in front of a pastry shop or daydreaming with their heads stuck on the window showcasing the swords created by the smith. Soldiers finishing their shift were drinking away their fatigue while partying with a group of adventures that just came out of the guild after finishing a quest.

My eyes were widened. That was what I dreamed of when thinking of a fantasy world. That was what I was expecting of this new world. That view only fueled my excitement for my future travels. Will I be seeing views like this or will the other cities be different? Do other races behave differently or are they similar? I couldn’t stop myself from cracking a wide smile while pondering on those thoughts.

Looking at all those people made me realize something. We had a very limited amount of money. Just one silver* each that our father gave us before leaving for Alamaria. Even though it would last us for quite a while if we spent it smartly, in the long run we would need to find a way to gain some income. Looking at the adventurers partying gave me the idea.

“Lucas, what’s the minimum age required to be an adventurer?”

“Uh? Oh, if I’m not wrong it should be eleven...no no, twelve!”

“Lucky us!”

“Mhh what’s up with that?”

“Nothing major, I just got an idea. What’d you say if I told you to get a job as adventurers?”

“...WHAAAAAAAT?”

* 1 silver coin= 100 copper coins 100 silver coins= 1 gold coin 100 gold coins= 1 platinum coin