This chapter is about 3500 words long. Chapter 8 is finished and just needs to be edited.

Without edits chapter 8 is 4500 words long. I hope everyone enjoys reading these chapters as much as I enjoy writing them. Chapter 9 may or may not be done for Monday. I will not make a false promise. I had a sudden burst of inspiration and managed to write ~10000 words in two days. This may happen again, or it may not.

Anyways, Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7: Verandus Beginner Academy

The barren land went on into the hills, and probably beyond that. The dirt was a red color, almost like the surface of mars. My jaw drops. What is with this wasteland? How can this planet support life? I cough to grab my mother’s attention, “What is this? It seems so bare compared to, you know. A habitable planet!”

The road the car was driving on is just a long stretch of road that leads into the mountains with no lines painted on it.

My mother laughs slightly, “This planet actually is not a habitable planet. It was a planet overrun by low level monsters before humans conquered it. Some ninth realm freaks decided to colonize this planet because it is near the edge of the universe. The technology mankind currently has is enough for us to send large groups of people to other planets to colonize, and be able to support themselves even without a proper atmosphere. This planet’s official name is ‘Behemoth’. It has this name because the power of heaven and earth on this planet is quite a bit denser than most other planets relative to the safety of the planet. More dangerous planets may have more dense power, however the danger will increase relative to the increase in the power of heaven and earth.”

I nod my head, mostly understanding all the new information. It seems that the universe is indeed different from the knowledge in this body.

The rest of the drive to Verandus is mostly silent, save for Claire and Sayaka singing assorted pop songs together randomly.

After driving past many metallic like buildings, a large open courtyard with a church-like structure in the center. Old style buildings are behind the main church-like structure. The opening to the courtyard is blocked by a large metal gate.

My mother stops the car at the front gate. A man in a tail coat walks over from the gate. My mother stops the car, “Okay everyone, get out of the car and grab your stuff from the trunk of the car. The last little stretch is on foot here. Ryu, come with me to the main office and we will go speak with the principal of the academy.”

I nod and get out of the car nervously. I go to the trunk and grab my one bag of luggage and walk towards my mother. She tosses the keys to the man in the tail coat, “Put the car in the usual storage.”

The man bows slightly then gets into the car to drive off. I take a deep breath as I look at the entrance gate. The gate is roughly twenty feet tall. The gate slowly opens while we stand in front of it. Without waiting for it to fully open, my mother starts walking.

I follow behind her, anxious to meet the principal. Claire and Sayaka went towards one of the buildings in the back, while my mother and I walk towards the church-like building.

We enter through the front door of the building, and walk straight down the center of the hallway. The corridors were empty and had various paintings of fantasy type landscapes. Is this what other planets look like?

My mother suddenly stops and turns to the door on her left and knocks, “Hello, Mr. Principal. I have brought my son, Ryu.”

A warm and comforting male voice comes from inside the room, “You may enter.”

My mother opens the door and motions for me to follow her. I nod as I take a deep breath, then enter into the room.

The room was quite spacious. It had a large desk between two large windows on the back wall. In the middle of the room were two couches on either side of a small table. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with various colored and faded books.

There was a man sitting in a large office chair. He was slim with light brown hair. He looked no older than thirty. I wonder what his age really is though.

The man motions for us to sit down, “Please, have a seat anywhere.”

I sit on the couch on the left while my mother sits on the couch to the right. The principal folds his hands and looks to me, “I welcome you to the Verandus beginner academy. I hope you will enjoy your time here.”

I bow slightly, “Thank you for having me here.”

He then looks towards my mother, “So. Vice principal. I heard you made another decision on your own again.”

She scratches her head, “Oh my. I was found out already.”

I stare at my mother in confusion, “You’re the vice principal?”

She nods without looking at me, making eye contact with only the principal. “That is correct.”

The principal coughs, “I heard that you put him into the girls dorm, not only that. You put him in a room with two other girls, when there are so many empty rooms.”

She smiles weakly, “But… the male dorms are full, so I thought-“

He slams his hands on the table, “It doesn’t matter what you think. There was a previous decision to take a section of the female dorm and give it to men who don’t fit into the male dorms!”

My mother has a sad look on her face, “But-“

He stands up, “There are no buts! You are dismissed! Leave immediately! And Ryu!” He shouts my name.

Under the oppressive atmosphere I reflexively stand up and shout, “Yes sir!?”

He gives me a gentle smile as soon as my mother leaves the room, “You can relax. It must have been upsetting to you by being placed into a dorm room with two other women. I have already reassigned your rooming to a section of the female dorms that only has male students who could not fit into the male dorms. You are going to be in a two person room with another person, of the male gender.”

I nod quickly, “Thank you very much. I cannot imagine how horrible it would have been to attempt to focus with women in the same room as myself. Also, I have one question for you.”

He slowly walks towards the door, “Ask me while I walk you to your room.”

I start to follow behind him, “How much do you know about me and my life in the previous world?”

He smiles, “I know everything. There is also no need to hide anything from your teacher and roommate as they have already been informed about you. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you which class you’re in. Ah, I’ll just get your roommate to tell you since you two are in the same class as it is. He will also give you a tour of the school. The school year just started so don’t worry about catching up in anything.”

I let out a sigh of relief as we exit the main building and head towards the female dorms. We enter through a door on the side of the building and the principal turns towards me and stops walking, “This will be your room.” He then hands me a key with the numbers ‘107’ engraved on it, “This is the key to your room. Please do not lose it. One last thing. If you ever have any troubles just come to my office, my real name is Damion, I don’t mind if you use it.”

Damion walks away leaving me alone in front of room 107. I take a deep breath as I unlock the door to the room. I slowly walk into the room with my luggage.

A loud, enthusiastic shout comes from the bed on the left side, “Come on man, hurry up and come in already. What ya so nervous about?”

I walk into the room and close and lock the door behind me. I look to the guy sitting on the bed. He had black hair that was put into spikes covering his head. He was wearing white undershirt with a blue buttoned shirt, with the buttons undone. He had a friendly smile on his face he stretches out his hand.

“Nice to meet ya, my name is Jared.”

I shake his hand with a smile on my face, “Like wise. My name is Ryu.”

He lets go of my hand, “In the previous world I was a country bumpkin who grew up knowing little of the world. In this world it was pretty much the same.” He laughs lightly.

I laugh with him, “I was the supreme emperor, and I ruled the other world for a few years. This world, I was hit by a train and lost my right arm and a few internals. I got a three year timer ticking away.”

He frowns, “Woah. That sounds harsh.” He scratches his head, “I don’t really know much about the other world, but I do know some stuff about this one.”

I sit down on the bed on the opposite side of the room, “Don’t worry about my issues. Nothing that can’t be solved with a little bit of elbow grease.”

His smile returns and he laughs, “True enough!”

We laugh together for a while. I unpack my stuff and put it into the drawer underneath the bed. After unpacking I return to sitting on the bed and look around the room. The walls are a pale white color, the floor was a light brown carpet. There were two beds with matching white sheets on either side of the room. One closet just past the entryway, and a bathroom with a sink, toilet and a small shower. In front of my bed slightly around the corner of the closet is a writing desk, but it only has one chair.

Jared pats my shoulder to get my attention, “Hey.”

I smile, “Yeah, what’s up?”

He points to the door, “The principal told me earlier that you would need a tour of the school grounds. Wanna go do that now to get it over with?”

I nod happily, “Yeah. That would be awesome.”

We both stand up at the same time and I let him open the door. He opens the door and walks out into the hallway. He points to the left coming out of the room, “Down that way is the real female dorm. One of the other students said to me that the older female students live on this side, so they don’t have to worry about us first years trying to get them.”

I wonder how Claire and Sayaka are. I hope they got the news that I wasn’t going to be staying with them.

As if on que two girls come running down the hall, “You two! Stop right there!”

But it wasn’t Claire and Sayaka. One girl had long hair in twin tails, while the other girl only had hair slightly down her neck. They were both average height and wore some sort of uniform that reminded me of a boarding school.

“What do you think you are doing in the female dorm!?”

I tilt my head and look towards Jared, “Hey Jared.”

Jared was a stiff as a board, “Yes Ryu?”

I point to them, “Why don’t they know this is the guy’s section of the dorm now since the male dorms were full?”

Jared’s face goes pale, “Well, um. I’m not sure but you should really stop pointing. The one with the twin tails is the ‘Queen’ of the first years. While the one with the short hair is her ‘Royal Aide’.”

I look towards the queen and lower my hand. I smile and lightly bow, “Nice to meet you Ms. Queen. My name is Ryu. I regret to inform you that this section is for the male students. I had the principal himself lead me here.”

She clicks her tongue, “Tch. We were not informed of this at all. We will take this to the vice principal immediately!”

Vice principal? Why not the person in charge of it all?

Jared and I get dragged by the ‘Queen’ and her aide to the vice principal’s office.

The ‘Queen’ knocks at the door to the vice principal’s office, “I’m coming in!”

This room was identical to the principal’s office. My mother was sitting in the chair at the desk looking towards the window.

She turns around with a wicked grin on her face, “So, who have you brought to me today?”

The ‘Queen’ pushes us into the room, “I caught these two in the female dorms saying that it was now the guy’s section of the dorm now.”

But it is the guy’s section now! Is what I wanted to yell, but I knew it was not the time to talk back. Also, what is even going on here? Shouldn’t the girls at least know that there is a guy’s section in their own dorm!?

My mother stares at Jared and I, “Oh my. You should know that sneaking into the girl’s dorm is an offense punishable by expulsion, right?”

Jared’s face goes pale and he lowers his head, “I’m sorry ma’am, but the principal has several male students in the female dorms male section due to the overcrowding of the real male dorms.”

A smile appears on my mother’s face for a split second, then it returns to a stern look. Jared who had his head down, obviously didn’t notice.

The ‘Queen’ changes her expression to one full of rage, “You dare talk back!”

My mother raises her hand to stop the ‘Queen’, “Enough shouting. By my order as the vice president you two are now her slaves for your stay at the acad-“

“GOD DAMMIT VICE PRESIDENT!” the door to the office is kicked open by the principal, Damion. “YOU HAD ONE JOB!! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS INFORM THEM OF THE SECTION BEING TURNED INTO A MALE SECTION! YOU HAD A WHOLE YEAR TO PREPARE!! YET YOU STILL DIDN’T TELL THEM!!”

My mother’s face instantly goes pale as the principal comes in the room, “Oh my. Did I forget to do that?”

He finally sees me and Jared standing in front of her desk with the two girls beside us. He angrily looks at my mother, thankfully he didn’t yell, he just sighs. “Why on earth would you drag your own son into this? I heard the part about trying to make him a slave, so don’t even try to hide that. Even Jared! My god you are a despicable woman!”

The ‘Queen’ looks at Damion with an agitated expression, “Who are you to yell at the vice principal?”

Damion smiles at her gently, “I am the principal of this academy.”

Her face goes pale, and she bows, “Sorry sir! Won’t happen again sir!”

The ‘Queen’ and her aide quickly run out of the room. The ‘Queen’ glancing back just to glare at me.

Damion sighs, “Poor Ryu. You fell into a scheme from your own mother. I will call an emergency schoolwide meeting. You two do not have to come as you already know what I am going to talk about. Unless you want everyone to know you have a connection to the principal and even blood relation to this insect.” He points to my mother.

I shake my head, “I’ll pass on being known. I want to try and fly low while I am still weak. Until I reach the second realm I have no skills to use.”

Damion laughs, “Well, at least you’re partway there.” He waves his hand and a book appears in his hand. Hey what was that!? “I forgot to give this to you earlier Jared. This is the one you wanted, correct?” Damion throws the book towards Jared.

He catches the book and opens it to the first page, “Yeah, thanks pop.”

Pop? Wait! As in Father!? Really!?

Damion laughs, “I guess Ryu would have found out eventually eh? As you have easily found out. Jared is my son. Another reason he was chosen as your roommate.”

That makes so much sense! I look to the book in his hands, I can’t see the title of the book from this angle.

Jared glances at his dad then looks at me, “In this world I may be his son, but in the other world I was just an ordinary farm hand. I never went for my affinity test, nor did I make it to a higher realm. I was killed by suffocation at the age of five. It was a weird magic from some black robed man in a village on the far side of the continent. All I saw was a man in black robes take a twelve year old child away.”

I get a chill down my spine. Was that the village I was raised in? How can I confirm? I take a deep breath, “So Jared, did that village have a population of less than two hundred?”

He nods, “Yeah. It was a small peaceful village. I feel bad for that small boy though. Anyways, this book is a practice method for those with a lightning affinity.”

I start to panic slightly, “Was the name of the village Korten?”

His jaw drops, “How do you know that?”

I point to myself, “You’re looking at that child that was taken away. Well, not physically. In the other world. Well, you get the point”

He just stares at me for a while. After a long period of time a serious look covers his face, “Did you at least kill the bastard behind it?”

I think back, “I don’t think I ever killed the man in the black robe. However, I did end up killing the man behind it all.”

He gives me a thumbs up, “Then that’s all that counts right?”

I laugh as I put my hand on his shoulder, “I guess it is!”

We laugh together for a couple of minutes.

My mother coughs loudly to get everyone’s attention, “So. Am I good to leave now?”

The principal glares at her, “No! You are coming with me to the emergency school wide meeting!” He then turns to me and Jared, “Jared, if you could take Ryu around the grounds for a tour that would be most appreciated, you may ignore the announcement that will be made shortly.”

Jared and I nod then leave the room.

Jared puts his arm around my shoulder, “Who knew we were born in the same village and even end up on the same planet after coming to this world!”

I laugh while walking beside him, “That is just amazing to me. Once you come to hear some stories, you’ll really be happy about us knowing each other!”

He points to a small building beside the female dorms, “That is the school library. Most knowledge gathered by the UKC is in there.”

I nod slowly. I should go there at some point to try and learn some information regarding this world and the other worlds.

“ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF! EVERYONE PLEASE REPORT TO THE ASSEMBLY HALL FOR AN EMERGENCY SCHOOL WIDE MEETING! I REPEAT! ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF TO THE ASSEMBLY HALL FOR AN EMERGENCY SCHOOL WIDE MEETING!”

The message reverberated throughout the skies.

Jared points to a large dome shaped building, “That is the assembly hall. Graduation and other school events are usually held in the assembly hall over there.”

I laugh lightly, “That looks like it would be crowded.”

Jared shrugs his shoulders, “It’s not too bad. I was only there for the entrance ceremony though.” We walk behind the female dorm and see many female students heading towards the assembly hall. He points to the buildings to the right of the male dorms, “That’s the third year classes. Next to that is second year, and on the end is the first year classrooms.” He points to the building to the left, “And that is the fourth year classes.”

I smile, “That is really easy to understand.”

He nods, “Ya it is! Anyways, our class is the general arts class. This is because there are a lot of people like me who died young without really getting to know much about how things work. You were put in that class, well because you don’t have an element.”

I make a complicated expression, “What happens to the poor souls that don’t have an element that aren’t like me?”

He frowns, “They have their memories wiped and are put into regular society like what our bodies experienced until we establish a link from the other world.”

I quickly change the topic, “So. Is that everything?”

He nods, “Ya, I think that should be everything for now.” He nods to himself again, “Well, I’m going to go to the training fields to try and practice this method I just got from my father.”

Jared runs to behind the male dorms. I guess that’s where the training fields are. What are they anyways? I’ll just get Claire or Sayaka to show me around tomorrow.

I guess I’ll just go back to my room now.