Caemor Academy's clock tower and steepled gothic roofs and stained glass windows almost looked more regal and magical when I arrived to move in. I was one of many students rounding the fountain in the center of the courtyard in front of the academy's entrance with an acceptance letter in hand.

People of different ages and from different places--humans, halflings, tieflings, elves, orcs, all eying each other wondering if we'd really get along here or if we'd be tearing each other to shreds. Metaphorically, for some.

There were people in the entrance hall with magical banners hovering above their heads that labeled them as tour guides. They echoed each other with the same script lines.

"Welcome to Caemor Academy!" said one, gesturing for the group that'd formed around them to get closer.

"I'm your tour guide!" another said, waving eagerly.

"Are you excited to be starting your first year here?" one said near me in a loud whisper with a wide conspiratory smile to a small group of new students who nodded back with wide eyes.

Since it seemed tour guides weren't assigned, I joined the tail end of a group already heading out on their tour. The guide was a young half-orc woman with braided red hair. She was dressed in a loose-fitting white uniform, as with the others. She wore a skirt, though many were also wearing pants and shorts. Her shirt collar was lined with ash gray silk, as was the thin ribbon she wore as a tie. From what Rolf and Alis had told me, that meant her Soul was F-Class, Stage 2.

[Notice]

Congratulations!

You have completed your Quest [Find a Tour Guide at Caemor Academy]. Mastery of [Lucky Number 7] has increased by .05%.

What a stupid Quest.

The tour guide rattled off facts as she started the tour. There was a long hallway leading deeper into the building. We passed several students and a few teachers along the way. We reached the end of the hall, and she pointed to the left.

"That's the dining hall," she said. The hall was a large chamber with vaulted webbed ceilings like how I imagined the inside of those gothic churches looked like. There were four long tables with benches on each side. "We eat in here altogether for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but in-between meals are served in student housing too."

The other students in her tour group nodded. One asked what food they served, and she explained that there's a set menu for each day, but there were ways to get other food, too. With money or with magic.

"We also have a library and a music room." The tour guide pointed down one corridor but then led them down the opposite way. "The library is this way. I spend most of my time there. I think it's one of the most important places at the academy."

While there seemed to be some whispered disagreement among the group, I was sure the library would be pretty important for me, too. What I'd experienced of the education system in my original world was that a lot of the most important information was often restricted. Here, I imagined that translated to the best potion recipes and the best spells and anything substantial about the System. Probably included contracts and Avatars as well.

At the end of that hall, huge double doors led to an enormous library. There were shelves upon shelves of books, different stories. There were books circulating in the air near the top of the ceiling in the atrium, darting here and there with a purpose. Probably to be checked out or to be returned back to the shelf.

"This is the library," the tour guide said. "Your acceptance letter will give you access to everything, including the library, for today, but our uniforms are made with magic that lets you come and go from the academy as you'd like. You can borrow any book here, too. There is a restricted section, but it's not that hard to access if you know how. You can come find me if you're having any trouble with that. Come on, I'll show you all the sections."

And she did. Normally, I'd be bored. Instead, I was stunned watching books shelve themselves, pages turn by themselves, some students with their bags floating behind them as they found tables to study at or were leaving for the day. Magic had never felt quite so every day. I hadn't quite realized how devoid my life had been of magic until now.

At the Viscoti estate, some of the servants used magic to clean and cook, but it was never quite so open and obvious like this. On the battlefield, patrolling as a guard, on missions as an assassin, magic had always been this nebulous other thing that happened at a distance.

Now it was like I was in the middle of it. It was like the air here was charged with magic. My fingertips felt the static of it. I could almost taste it in the air. I'd been stupid to put off trying to understand magic better. Dad had always said my stubborn ways would be the death of me. Maybe he'd been prophetic.

After the library, the tour guide showed us the battle arena, the greenhouse, some of the class rooms, the common rooms of the four different houses that we could look forward to joining at the end of our welcome week. Each house was the size of a small mansion where those who joined lived together. Bedrooms, study rooms, and shared common spaces all rather luxuriously decorated for being student housing. Magic sure was amazing.

Then we arrived at the common room for first-year students--what would be our cohort's common room for the duration of our time here. It was a round room with a few sitting and eating areas, as well as a few desks grouped together for studying. There were three different staircases to the second floor where the bedrooms probably were.

"Once you join one of the houses," the tour guide explained, "you'll move out from here and move into a room there instead. You'll still always have access to your common room though, so you can meet up with friends who might be in different houses than you. I still do a lot of studying in my cohort's common room."

"So we'll dorm here only temporarily?" one of the other students asked although the answer had already been provided.

"Yes, until you join a house," she reiterated. "If you don't join any at the end of this week, then, then I suppose it's not quite so temporary. I'm in Steo Fror. We're known for being friendly, welcoming. A lot of first years want to join us because we have a mentorship program set up."

She pointed toward the stairs now. "But until then, you'll all be rooming here together. A few of you lucked out with a duo, but a lot of you will be stuck with triples or quadruples. Beds, to be clear, I'm talking about the number of beds, and thus bodies, per room. The doors are labeled, so go look for your name. You're welcome to explore campus on your own now. Feel free to find me if you need anything."

While the group I was with turned to each other for introductions, I headed upstairs to look for my bedroom. Found it on the fifth floor. Seemed I lucked out with a double with a nice view of Brugge. The bedroom was simple. Two narrow beds, a stack of sheets and my uniform folded on top. Two dressers with a mirror on top. Two desks, each one placed under a window.

[Notice]

Congratulations!

You have completed your Quest [Find Your Temporary Room at Caemor Academy]. Mastery of [Lucky Number 7] has increased by .05%.

Another ridiculous Quest. The System was getting very uninspired.

I closed the door behind me. Since my roommate hadn't been here yet by the looks of it, it was the perfect time for me to hide a few things. Once I was done with that, I stored my luggage under my bed, changed into the Caemor uniform, and returned to the library.

The first person I saw was Rose. She was surrounded by a large group of people. They were all talking loudly. When she saw me, her eyes widened. That was when I heard her being called Princess Rose. Just when I'd decided to pretend I didn't know her, she extracted herself from the group and headed toward me.

Her face lit up. "I can't talk long, but I wanted to say congratulations for making it."

"Princess Rose, was it?"

"Please don't," she said, scrunching her face. I had to admit, it was nice seeing a familiar face here, especially one who had secrets to keep. "Just call me Rose."

I couldn't believe how much I'd lucked out having met a member of the royal family at a night market. Not only that, I knew she had an entirely separate apartment she probably kept secret from others. There was also a level of protection offered for those who knew the royal family. Or at least that was how it worked in Naedoven. I'd probably need that protection sooner or later, so no killing Rose for a good long while.

"Will I get in trouble if I just call you Rose?" I asked.

"No, of course not." She hit my arm. "There's a party tonight at Tespana, if you're interested. It's a tradition in our house to do a little séance at the beginning of the school year, ask our patron Shevira for protection, for whatever that's worth, you know? Normally first years aren't invited, but being who I am, I can make exceptions. Who's your patron Shevira? Mine's Ket'ha."

That seemed fitting for her. Ket'ha meant crown in the Divine Tongue, and she was a royal.

"Ket'ha as well," I said. "What time?"

"How about I come pick you up from the library at dusk, first year?" She grinned. "It's a date then."

[Notice]

Congratulations!

You have completed your Quest [Receive Invitation to Tespana House]. Mastery of [Lucky Number 7] has increased by 3%.