《Phantasmagoria》 I was summoned to another world I was summoned to another world. Frankly, I feel like this is a clich¨¦d plot development, but it is what it is. How do I know it¡¯s not a dream? Simple, I have never had a lucid dream. Ever. I could be insane though. You might ask yourself how I got into this situation. In fact, I myself have wondered quite a bit about that. The incident, as we shall call it, was initiated in my Biology class. Or rather, I was sitting in Bio with the other twenty-six students and one teacher, when everything became bright. Like, the bright, fade to white transition effect. There was a faint moment of a not-very-comfortable sensation, and now here I am, in the middle of what, if I am correct, is some large marble throne room. I look around a bit, subtly turning my head to take in the surrounding. The person whom I assume is the king is sitting on the throne, and a beautiful girl with gently waving blond hair and warm jade eyes, dressed in the classic ¡®princess¡¯ style, is standing beside it. If we¡¯re going by the typical template here, this princess should have been the one to summon us through great effort using magic inherent only to royals. On her fathers orders, of course. Also going by the template, if we assume I¡¯m the main character, then she will join my harem along with my three friends from my class, while I, being a blockhead, fail to notice any of my friends or the princess¡¯s feelings. I¡¯m female though. As this runs through my head, the princess, looking beautifully tired, steps forward at the same time one of my classmates lets out a ringing shout. I turn to the sound, and notice that the commotion gets louder, with various people yelling inarticulately, swearing, and a few people vomiting. Lovely. I myself have to force down my rising gorge when I see the reason for the commotion. I don¡¯t think of myself as a squeamish person, but this warrants it. I¡¯m actually surprised at how mild my reaction is. Hmmm¡­emotional deadening? Anyways¡­¡­..my teacher, or rather, what¡¯s left of him, is a rather gruesome sight. Try to imagine, if you will, what a person who melted would look like. And not wicked witch of the west; a legitimate, horror story, graphic collapse of various body parts. This is new. I¡¯m somewhat disturbed by my lack of emotional response, and I quickly decide that discovering what else has changed in me is of utmost priority. ¡°Please, everyone calm down.¡± The princess says. ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk in another room?¡± Obviously I¡¯m not the only emotionally desensitized person here. The class turns its attention to her, and in general consensus, we allow ourselves to be shuffled out of the room, though I believe most of us are in shock. In any case, we have no idea where we are, and no one wants to be near the teacher, so following her is the only thing we can do. We are lead to a large room not too far from the throne room. While we don¡¯t cling to each other, we do stay close, sticking to the centre of the room. The princess, I notice, is facing our little huddle from a couple of meters away, and while her guards aren¡¯t surrounding her, they are close by and ready looking. ¡°You might be wondering what just happened,¡± the princess starts off, ¡°and I assure you I will answer all your questions to my greatest ability.¡± ¡°I am Eleanor Rose Rotelessa, the first princess of this country. I summoned you here because humanity is currently losing the fight against the demons-¡± I tune out of what she¡¯s saying. So far, the clich¨¦d plotline has smoothly appeared, but what was that with the teacher? From what I gather, we, the ¡®summoned heroes¡¯, will each have a super powered ability, along with way higher base stats than most people. We can see them by saying ¡®status¡¯ in our minds. Name: Amaranthe Winter Race: Human (corrupted file) Age: 17 Sex: Female Title: ??? (corrupted file) Strength: ??? (corrupted file) Agility: ??? (corrupted file) Vitality: ??? (corrupted file) Endurance: ??? (corrupted file) Magic Power: ??? (corrupted file) Magic Resistance: ??? (corrupted file) Skill: Enhanced Processing ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­what the fuck. First of all, my name is not Amaranthe Winter. My name is very ordinary, it¡¯s¡­I can¡¯t remember what it is. But it is a normal name, I¡¯m sure of it. Not this name. Beyond that, why is human a corrupted file? And what am I, a computer? I don¡¯t have files in the first place, corrupted or otherwise. The status appears to be both useless and confusing. ¡°-and so, we need your help, heroes.¡± The princess finishes. ¡°Umm¡­¡± a girl speaks up after a moment of silence, ¡°What about our teacher?¡± ¡°Ah, I am very truly sorry about that. The summoning magic only works with those who are not yet fully developed.¡± The princess says, her pale, pretty face looking terribly sad. The girl nods, the class nods, and just like that, he is forgotten. To be fair, he was one of those teachers who you don¡¯t really hate, but don¡¯t really like at the same time. Still, we witnessed his death first hand. I would have expected more of¡­well, something. The class huddles together to discuss this. ¡°I say we go with it,¡± one of the boys says. ¡°We¡¯re stronger than most people here anyways, and they¡¯ll train us.¡± The class murmurs in agreement. I, of course, have no intention of helping fight a war that has nothing to do with me. But I doubt that they¡¯ll just send me on my merry way, so for now I¡¯ll play along. ¡°As we are also humans, it is our duty to help save our race. We will help you.¡± Dramatically announcing the summary of our mini meeting, random guy seems to have gained quite the ego boost. After assuring us of her undying gratefulness, the princess motions to her guards, one of which leaves and comes back with some palace servant who leads us to our rooms. We each have our own room, with a bathroom attached, thank goodness. My memories aren¡¯t too clear, but I know I¡¯m not close to anyone in the class, so I¡¯m thankful I don¡¯t have to share a room with anyone. It will make it easier when it comes time to escape. I might be overthinking things, but I doubt it. Incidentally, I can¡¯t remember any of my classmates¡¯ names. I¡¯m not sure if this is by design, or just a random side effect of the summoning. But my memories¡¯ fuzziness and the emotional deadening are a bit too convenient for the people here, so I believe it was deliberate. In any case, the room is nice. It even has a balcony with glass doors overlooking the front courtyard, although it¡¯s too high up to escape from. They are probably trying to win us over with luxury. We were told that it will be dinnertime in about two hours, and that the same palace servant who brought us to our room will collect us and bring us to the informal dining hall. I decide to look in the mirror, just to check. I doubt anything has changed, but as I stated, finding what has changed is top priority. Even if it means checking unlikely places. The most likely place for a full-length mirror is the closet, empty though it might be, so I walk over to it and open it up. Sure enough, there is one, or rather, the back of the closet door is one big mirror. I look at myself closely, but it doesn¡¯t seem like anything has changed. I have the same old dark brown, waist-length French braid, pale skin, and dark brown eyes ringed by black lashes. Perhaps a boring color scheme, but a familiar one. I¡¯m still five-five, still fit but not athletic. I consider myself in the mirror a moment longer. I¡¯m wearing a large black knit sweater like a shirt, dark jeans, and black sneakers. Belatedly, looking at my clothes, I remember my phone in my pocket, and I close the closet door as I pull it out. I¡¯m hoping that I can still use the camera, but no such luck; the phone is completely scrambled. Obviously technology doesn¡¯t like summoning magic. I turn it off, resolving to see if I can find information on summoning in the library. Then I wonder if I can read the books there. This is another world after all. ¡­Actually, isn¡¯t it odd that my classmates and I understood what the people here were saying? I suppose unconscious translation is another change the summoning magic has imposed upon us. I can only hope it works for reading and writing. But for now, having verified my physical changes, or non-changes in this case, I guess I¡¯ll look at my status again. I bring it up in my minds eye again; unsurprisingly, it looks the same. I imagine clicking on my skill. ¡­It seems that this corruption thing is working in my favour. I wonder if my classmates have it as well? Probably. I suspect it is an unintended consequence of summoning. I decide to see what the sub skills entail, so I envision clicking on the ¡®Martial Master¡¯ sub skill. What pops up is a ¡®skill unavailable at present time¡¯. ¡­okay. I try the others, but I end up with the same result. What¡¯s the point of having all the skills if I can¡¯t use them? With trepidation, I press ¡®System¡¯. opening overload data shutting down skill error.corruption.override skill cannot be shut down shutting down body body shutdown successful> I black out. I awaken to a knocking sound, only to find myself crumpled on the floor. I assess myself for damages, but it seems like I was lucky. I will have to find more information about before opening it again. The knocking sound that woke me comes again, and I realize belatedly that it must be the palace servant getting me for dinner. I rise, straighten my clothing, hover indecisively for a second, then put my phone at the back of the drawer beside the bed; there¡¯s no point carrying it around. I make sure that it¡¯s unnoticeable though; sometimes, my penchant for black comes in handy. I open the door to find about half my classmates standing behind the palace servant. I join them as I close my door behind me, and we all shuffle behind the palace servant as he continues knocking on doors. Eventually all of us are out, and we are lead to the dining hall. It¡¯s big, even if it is the informal dining hall. We are told that the king and the princess will meet us after dinner, and as we sit down around one large table, servers come out with large amounts of food on plates. They set the dishes down in the middle of the table, and it is only then that I realize how hungry I am. I reach for the food, piling my plate high with slices of rare meat, bread, and what looks like broccolini; they¡¯re serving it to us, so I assume it¡¯s fine. The food is good, if simple, and we tear into it. It has been a long day, and it¡¯s not over yet. The classmates on either side of me are also digging in, and I take a moment to study them. To my left sits a girl with fluffy, curly, light brown shoulder length hair, and delicate purple glasses over milk chocolate eyes set in a pretty face. She¡¯s wearing a sky blue blouse over faded jeans. To my right sits a boy with hair closer in color to mine, though mine is a touch lighter. His eyes are bottle green, and he¡¯s wearing a plain black t-shirt over dark jeans. He seems to notice my gaze and looks up, and I note in surprise that he has a small scar above his right eyebrow. He raises his left eyebrow, then turns away and continues eating. I turn my gaze around the table. Most people are sittings with friends, or rather in their friend groups. The two beside me and I appear to be the only ones not in a group. It¡¯s not, I¡¯m sure, that we don¡¯t have friends. Speaking for myself, I am the only one of my friends who takes biology, and I¡¯ve never felt the need to actively become close with any of the people who are in it. I suspect the two beside me are in the same situation. I finish my food quickly, and then, bored, I take to studying the person across from me. It takes much less time to eat when you¡¯re not talking. The person across from me isn¡¯t very interesting, but what I do gather from her conversation with her friends is that they¡¯ve quickly come to accept their new names. I suppose there¡¯s not really much choice if you can¡¯t remember your old one. They¡¯re already calling each other by nicknames, though. There¡¯s something to be said for adaptability. In which case, I suppose I¡¯m Amaranthe Winter. I wonder if my classmates¡¯ names are as weird as mine. I listen in again, focusing on the group across from me and letting my eyes slide out of focus. There¡¯s a Rebecca, a Payne, a Moss, a Cerise, and a Coral. I feel like it¡¯s my last name that makes it weird, though some of their names aren¡¯t quite normal. I refocus and notice that my neighbours have finished eating as well. They are also looking at me. Not that I can complain, seeing as I was looking at them earlier. Seeing me notice them, the girl smiles at me and says, ¡°I¡¯m Wisteria¡±, holding out her hand. I shake it, replying ¡°I¡¯m Amaranthe¡± The boy snorts. I turn from the girl to smile and say, ¡°Is something funny?¡± in the politest, most frost-coated voice I can come up with. ¡°No, not at all.¡± He grins and holds out a hand. With some amount of reservation, I shake it as he says, ¡°Forest.¡± I raise an eyebrow but decide not to comment. At that moment, a guard comes in and announces that he¡¯ll bring us to see the king and the princess to sort out statuses and what we should be doing. We all rise and follow him. As we walk, I whisper to Wisteria, asking if I can see her status. She looks at me for a moment before nodding and opening it for me to see. Name: Wisteria Oak Race: Human Age:17 Sex: Female Title: Summoned Hero Strength: 2000 Agility: 5000 Vitality: 2000 Endurance: 1000 Magic Power: 35000 Magic Resistance: 25000 Skill: Master of Earth Magic Sub Skills: hidden I nod. I have no idea what the average stats are for people here, but since she¡¯s a hero, I assume her stats are good. However, this means that my status is most likely unusual. Not good. ¡°Can I see yours?¡± Wisteria asks politely, and I swear in my head. I really do NOT want to show anyone my status. skill subset ?> a monotone thought crosses my brain, which I¡¯m pretty sure did not originate from me. I will think about this later, but for now I think yes. Thus, Name: Amaranthe Winter Race: Human (corrupted file) Age: 17 Sex: Female Title: ??? (corrupted file) Strength: ??? (corrupted file) Agility: ??? (corrupted file) Vitality: ??? (corrupted file) Endurance: ??? (corrupted file) Magic Power: ??? (corrupted file) Magic Resistance: ??? (corrupted file) Skill: Enhanced Processing Sub Skills: System Tactician Strategist Magic Master Martial Master Master of the Mind Artist Crafter Mechanic Inventor Changes to Name: Amaranthe Winter Race: Human Age: 17 Sex: Female Title: Summoned Hero Strength: 1000 Agility: 2000 Vitality: 3000 Endurance: 2000 Magic Power: 45000 Magic Resistance: 17000 Skill: Enhanced Processing Sub Skills: Master of Air Magic . I show Wisteria, and she nods. Just like I couldn¡¯t see her sub skills, she can¡¯t see mine, but I changed them just in case someone else can. One can never be too careful. Wisteria then asks Forest, showing him hers and prompting me to show mine. Forest¡¯s status looks like this: Name: Forest Snow Race: Human Age: 17 Sex: Male Title: Summoned Hero Strength: 25000 Agility: 20000 Vitality: 10000 Endurance: 13000 Magic Power: 1000 Magic Resistance: 1000 Skill: Master of Swords Sub Skills: hidden When we finish that, we walk the rest of the way in silence; I¡¯m lost in my thoughts, and from what I can tell, Wisteria is thinking and Forest is naturally quiet. I¡¯m divided, honestly; on one hand, I don¡¯t want to abandon my recently made allies. But if I choose to stick with them, escaping becomes much harder. Of course, if they want to be heroes, I¡¯ll leave without a second thought. I have a feeling, however, that their feelings are more in line with me than the would-be heroes. As I ponder how to bring up escape with them, because of course it¡¯s hard to trust people you¡¯ve basically just met, we are brought into the courtyard where the king and princess are standing with a few others. After the king gives a speech to the effect of ¡®I¡¯m very thankful you are willing to fight for humanity¡¯, he leaves, and the princess takes over. ¡°I would like you to sort yourselves into three group; those with magic skills, those with fighting skills, and those whose skills are a mixture of both.¡± I suppose that with my original status, I would be in the ¡®both¡¯ group, although I believe it would have depended on what sub skill I chose. I ended getting them all though. With my new and (kind of) improved status, I can now firmly say I belong to the magic group, so Wisteria and I walk over to an indistinct gathering of people who seem to be the right group while Forest walks in the opposite direction, presumably to join the fighting group. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. When we have more or less divided ourselves evenly, it¡¯s fairly obvious that people whose skills involve both magic and fighting are in the extreme minority. Their small group is flanked on both sides by the relatively larger fighting and magic groups. ¡°Well, now that that''s done, I¡¯ll introduce you to your teachers. This is the Knight Captain of the 1st division, Cain Frost.¡± She gestures to a pretty, tough looking blond woman with a sword at her hip. ¡°This,¡± and she gestures to an unobtrusive brown haired, brown eyed man, ¡°is my fathers best magician, Elias Gray.¡± Then she points at this flashy looking guy with red hair, piercings, and a long sword at his hip and says, ¡°This is the man who is known as the best magic swordsman in the Adventurers Guild, Leon Pine.¡± So there¡¯s an Adventurers Guild. Another clich¨¦, but important information none the less. I store it away for later. I switch my gaze to look at my new teacher. Is it better to stay for a bit and learn here, or escape as soon as possible? My instincts are telling me to leave, but what am I going to do if I do leave? In any case, I need to visit the library and get more information on this world and on my abnormal status, so I¡¯ll be here until then, unless something unexpected happens. He smiles at us; it¡¯s not welcoming, though it¡¯s not exactly unwelcoming either. It¡¯s more of an ¡®I have better things to do than teach brats, but I¡¯ll do my job properly¡¯ smile. He looks like he¡¯s around thirty, and like I said before, unobtrusive. The sort of person you wouldn¡¯t really notice if he wasn¡¯t pointed out to you. ¡°Okay, I guess I¡¯ll start by looking at your statuses. I have no idea what to expect, and I can''t teach if I don¡¯t know. You,¡± he points at a girl, ¡°Come up here and show me your status.¡± She walks up to him nervously, and shows him. Obviously, I can¡¯t see her status, as she only showed it to him, but I can see how his face scrunches up, just a bit. He nods, tells her to go back. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll show you guys my status, without the skills, to show you how your stats are different from most people. Keep in mind that I¡¯m considered one of the strongest magicians in this country.¡± Finally, a base line. Now I can see how abnormal we are. Name: Elias Gray Race: Human Age: 31 Sex: Male Title: King¡¯s Magician, hidden Strength: 341 Agility: 453 Vitality: 356 Endurance: 308 Magic Power: 4785 Magic Resistance: 5510 ¡­So basically, we have an extra zero, although it looks like he built up his fighting stats a bit. That, or our stats are very unbalanced. ¡°By the way¡±, he continues, ¡°an average person will have stats around the 100 mark. An average adventurer will have around 150 to 200 for the stats they don¡¯t specialize in, and 1000 to 2500 for the ones they do specialize in. The fighters tend to have lower individual stats, but the total will be around the same, since magicians really only have magic power, unless they¡¯re fighters as well.¡± Basically, he built up his stats, but ours are also unbalanced. It seems that he¡¯s actually pretty overpowered himself. I do have a question I¡¯ve been thinking about for a while, however. If we suddenly have so much strength, then why haven¡¯t we been impacted by it? When I took out my phone earlier, it felt like the same action I¡¯ve been repeating my whole life. But I had a sudden strength gain; it definitely shouldn¡¯t have gone that smoothly. Well, I¡¯ll ask later, I guess. I doubt it actually matters. The rest of the time was spent as each person went up and showed him their status, evidently to get more specialized teachers for us. When it was my turn, I dutifully showed my status. ¡°Enhanced Processing?¡± he frowned and looked at me. I shrugged, feeling some disappointment, though I hadn¡¯t really expected him to know. ¡°Well, since your sub skill is Master of Air Magic, it shouldn¡¯t really be a problem.¡± He frowned again. ¡°Where are the skills for your sub skills?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t use the skill.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the overarching skills are passive, they come into play when you learn the skills under them. You should have some.¡± I shrug, helpless. I don¡¯t have what I don¡¯t have. Then I come to a realization. ¡°What if Enhanced Processing just means I can learn faster, but the skills have to come from an outside source?¡± I say at the same time he says, ¡°I suspect that your skill means you have to learn from an outside source. You¡¯ll probably learn faster than others once you acquire the skills though.¡± His eyebrows flick up in surprise, but other than that, neither of us reacts to speaking at the same time. ¡°Luckily, I¡¯m an Air mage, so I¡¯ll be teaching you.¡± With that, I go back as Wisteria walks up. I don¡¯t know whether this is lucky or not. After he¡¯s seen all our statuses, and helped pick sub skills for those who hadn¡¯t, he leaves with the other teachers. Apparently, tomorrow he¡¯ll be giving us all a crash course on basic magic while the princess contacts the specialized teachers. It¡¯s pretty late; the sky has darkened. It¡¯s not pitch black, but dusk has set in. Somewhere along the way, the princess left, and now we¡¯re just standing around in the courtyard. Interestingly enough, we seem to be sticking to the lesson groups. The magic group appears to be congregating around one of our classmates, a pretty girl with long black hair, nut-brown skin, and dark eyes. Why, I don¡¯t know. I look at Wisteria, who came back to stand beside me, but she looks just as lost as I am, so I poke the guy standing nearest to me. I actually have to walk over to reach him, though. ¡°What?¡± he turns around irritably. ¡°Why is everyone excited?¡± I ask, only at this point wondering if I even care. ¡°Her skill is Master of Magic!¡± he says, half excited about it, half irritated by me. ¡­Okay? My face must look as blank as it feels, because he snorts, apparently disgusted by my stupidity. ¡°Look,¡± he says, ¡°We all have skills like Master of Fire Magic and stuff, right?¡± Not waiting for a response, he continues, ¡°So she has Master of Fire Magic as a sub skill, which means she can learn all of fire magic, instead of just one branch of it.¡± Despite being obviously annoyed, he still explains it properly. I nod obediently, and he goes back to whatever he was doing before I poked him. ¡°¡­Is that amazing?¡± Wisteria asks me. I shrug. ¡°Who knows? I have no idea how the magic system even works. They didn¡¯t exactly explain it clearly.¡± If it is amazing, then I guess I¡¯m amazing as well. The idea is somehow amusing to me. We stand in silence for a moment before Wisteria says, ¡°Should we go meet Forest?¡± I shrug. It seems to have been decided that we¡¯re a group, though I can count the number of words Forest has said to me on one hand, and the random guy I just poked had a longer conversation with me than I have had with either Forest or Wisteria. Although I suppose they are the people who have stood closest to me since we came here, if that means anything. We walk over to the fighters group casually, treading a semicircle around the ¡®both¡¯ group, who are all talking very excitedly to one another. I try to see Forest, but I can¡¯t find him, even though it shouldn¡¯t be that hard. I shake my head in annoyance; there¡¯re only eleven people in the group, surely finding one person among them is within my capabilities. ¡°Ah¡± Wisteria says, and I stop and look at her. ¡°I found Forest.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡± I jump a bit at the voice that comes from my left. He sounds half amused and half irritated. I frown at him. If it wasn¡¯t dusk, I would have seen him. Probably. We stand in an awkward triangle for a few moments. In the first place, we never became friends in class, so even though we¡¯ve kind formed an alliance, we don¡¯t know what to talk about. I look around. We¡¯re in a kind of conspicuous place; a little off to the side, partway in-between the magic and fighting groups, but also not part of the both group. Wisteria evidently realises this too, as she says, ¡°For now, why don¡¯t we go stand over there, by the trees?¡± Forest and I agree, and we walk over to the few trees. I huff in laughter at a sudden thought, and Wisteria turns to me in question. Forest, obviously too lazy to turn his head, slides his eyes sideways at me. ¡°Ah, no, well¡± I say, but it¡¯s kind of embarrassing. Forest raises an eyebrow at me. ¡°If they look for you,¡± I say to Forest, ¡°they won¡¯t be able to see the forest for the trees.¡± Well, it was more of a mutter, but whatever. He snorts, and Wisteria giggles. I will myself not to blush. At that moment, the princess chooses to reappear. I¡¯m not sure whether to be thankful or not. She tells us that servants will be getting us up for breakfast, an hour after sunrise, and that we are welcome to any of the palace facilities. If we need anything, we just need to ask a servant to bring us there. Yes to the library, thanks. We are then brought back to our rooms. Before we separate, Wisteria grabs my arm and says, ¡°Come to my room at sunrise.¡± Surprised, I nod, and she does the same thing to Forest, who raises his eyebrow but agrees anyways. I hesitate for a moment, then decide not to enter my room right away. Instead, I go in search for someone to tell me what they did with the teacher¡¯s body. I didn¡¯t really like him, true. But I like whatever this emotional numbing is even less. We all seem to have forgotten that we watched someone die some hours ago. I frown and increase my efforts. When I finally find a maid who knows, she pales drastically¡­and then throws up. On me. Mostly on the floor, but some did get on me. She freaks out. ¡°I am so sorry miss.¡± She¡¯s on the floor, pale, trembling, almost crying, and in front of a pile of her own vomit. This is not going well. ¡°Well, for now, will you stand up, please?¡± I¡¯m trying to be gentle, truly I am, but the vexation, of the day and the vomit now splattered on me, is in my voice. She pales even more. She jerks to her feet but keeps her head bowed. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have someone come clean this up?¡± I say, gently this time. I would normally just get angrier the more a person acts scared; but in this case, she probably has a legitimate reason to be scared, and realizing that, I soften. She trembles more. ¡°Is there a bathing room I can use?¡± I ask. She nods quickly. I hesitate to ask this, but¡­ ¡°Are there clothes I can borrow?¡± This time, she nods hesitantly. ¡°There are¡­I¡¯m not sure that they are to your liking.¡± I smile wryly. ¡°Anything other than this is fine.¡± She goes stiff. ¡°I¡¯m not mad, so you don¡¯t have to be so frightened. Anyways, will you take me to the bathing room, please?¡± She nods, and says ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll wash your clothes while you¡¯re in the bath.¡± ¡°Thank you, that would be wonderful.¡± We walk further down the hall, and when we pass another maid, I say, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for this, but I was sick, in the hallway there,¡± looking perfectly embarrassed. Well, being covered in vomit is embarrassing regardless of whose it is; though I¡¯d much prefer it to be my own, if it were to happen anyways. After a few twists and turns, we come across the bathing rooms. I could have taken a bath in my room, but honestly, I don¡¯t even want to go near it like this. Then I realize, ¡°Is the bath even going to be open?¡± If we were on earth, it would be around ten at night. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s open at all times. Magic crystals keep the bath water clean and hot all the time, so there¡¯s no need to close it.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I go through the women¡¯s door to find change rooms, of a sort. I immediately strip, handing all my clothing to the maid. Actually¡­ ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± She looks a bit spooked, but answers me anyways. ¡°I¡¯m¡­Sanda.¡± ¡°I see¡­I¡¯m Amaranthe Winter. Pleased to meet you.¡± As I smile, I realise that it would have made more sense to do this while I wasn¡¯t naked. It¡¯s a bit late for that, though. I nod, then point to my bra. ¡°Do you have¡­delicate wash?¡± I¡¯m not really sure what they would call it here, but I think I got the point across. She nods, then says ¡°We don¡¯t have anything like this for you to wear now though.¡± I wave it off, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll wear whatever you have.¡± She nods and leaves the change room, presumably to wash my clothes. I turn to find soap and shampoo. My hair¡¯s still clean, but since I¡¯m bathing anyways¡­ I sincerely hope they have deodorant in this world. I just thought of it, but for all our sakes, please. I don¡¯t want to be around teenagers without deodorant. Heck, I don¡¯t want to be around myself without deodorant. Not to mention the fighters, who will be working out¡­I shudder at the thought. Bath supplies, I remind myself. Bath supplies. I quickly find a shelf with orderly buckets filled with soap, shampoo, conditioner, skin stuff to wash off, skin stuff to put on when you get out, etc. It seems the palace people are really into this beauty thing. There are even different brands and scents, presumably so the ladies don¡¯t have to carry their favourite shampoo to visit the public bath. It might as well be a store for bath supplies in here. I grab one of everything. Why not? I¡¯m not allergic to anything, so what¡¯s the worst that can happen? I can¡¯t find anything unscented, so I go with lilac. I believe I read somewhere that it¡¯s calming, but I like the smell well enough anyways. Putting my haul in a small basket, I move into the shower room. The faucet system is fairly straightforward, so before long, I have hot water raining down on me. I wash my body three times, for the psychological benefit of knowing that I¡¯m entirely clean. Then I have to take my hair out. I slip the elastic around my wrist so that I won¡¯t lose it, and work to undo the braid. I wash it with the shampoo, then apply conditioner and do my best to comb it with my fingers. I turn the tap off and the water stops. I wonder if the plumbing here is different¡­ Sanda said that the bath part is still open, but I want to get some sleep if I¡¯m getting up at sunrise tomorrow, so I guess I should hurry up at bit, though it¡¯s useless if she¡¯s not back with clothes for me. Turning the water back on, I wash the conditioner out of my hair, and regretfully turn the water off again. I pick up the basket of empty bottles and walk back into the change room, grabbing two towels from the neatly stacked shelves of towels. One towel for my hair, one towel for me. After I¡¯m dry, and after I¡¯ve gotten rid of the empty bottles and put the wet towels down a laundry chute, I wait for Sanda to come back with my clothes. I quickly grab another towel and wrap myself in it; no need to flash her twice. The door to the change room opens, and Sanda comes in with more than just clothes. I blink in surprise, but quickly go help her, putting most of the stuff on one of the benches in the room. ¡°I thought you might need more than just clothes¡­¡± she says, and I note that the pile mostly consists of things like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and other essentials. ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s very helpful¡± I say honestly; I shudder at the thought of not having a toothbrush. ¡°Umm¡­I¡¯ll just wait outside,¡± she rushes the last bit, handing me the clothes and scooping up everything else before leaving. That''s my cue to change, I suppose. The underwear is pretty much the same as mine, though the bra is¡­well, it needs some work. It¡¯s really just a tube of fabric with fasteners. Oh well. There are actually two sets of clothes Sanda gave me; one looks like a nightdress, and the other is some sort of pants and tunic combination. For now, I decide to put on the real clothes, even though I¡¯ll just change when I get to my room. The pants are black and made of a thick, flexible material. The tunic is sky blue, long, and exceedingly comfortable, as are the pants. Really, the only thing to complain about is the bra. There are even socks and boots, black of course. The boots are made of leather and have a thick sole that''s pretty soft. I gave my sneakers to Sanda to wash, so I¡¯m glad she remembered to bring shoes. I gather up the nightdress, and fill a basket with bottles of the same stuff I used in the shower today. I¡¯ll want to shower in the morning. Pushing the door open, I re-join Sanda and we walk in silence to my room. I open then door and put the stuff Sanda brought in the bathroom, and I put the nightdress on the bed. Then I turn to her. ¡°I can¡­bring you to where we buried him.¡± She says. She looks rather ill, but at least she¡¯s not throwing up. I nod. ¡°Please.¡± It¡¯s a long walk, and the end result is a little patch of earth with no defining characteristics. I¡¯m not even really sure why I¡¯m here. If this was Earth, I don¡¯t think I would have gone to his funeral. I stand there for a few minutes, shivering slightly. The day was pleasantly warm, but without the sun, it¡¯s now chilly, and I have bare arms. I nod once, then turn to go. I¡¯m not sure what that accomplished. Sanda leads me back to my room, and I thank her. She tells me she¡¯ll drop off my clothes when they¡¯re dry. I change into the nightdress, brush my teeth in a haze, yank open the balcony curtains, and fall into the bed. It has been a long day. I just did magic I wake up with the sun; that was the point of opening the curtains last night. It¡¯s a good thing I have an east facing window, or there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to get up at sunrise to meet Wisteria and Forest. In the first place, why did it have to be sunrise? But I do get where she¡¯s coming from. Every time we¡¯ve gotten to a point in our conversations where we might have said something of importance, we were interrupted. Yawning, I slide of my bed, making as little use of my muscles as I can. I should head straight to Wisteria¡¯s room, but a five-minute shower is, I believe, a reasonable detour. I wash quickly and thoroughly, managing to keep my hair dry in the process. Thankfully, there are towels in the bathroom, and I brought soap from the bath, so I have everything I need. To my delight, when I do a quick perusal of the stuff Sanda gave me, I find unscented deodorant. Sanda is my new favourite person. I put it on, brush my teeth, change into the clothes Sanda gave me yesterday, grab the hairbrush, which also came from Sanda, and exit the room. Finding Wisteria¡¯s room proves rather easy. I was resigned to wandering the hall, but Forest is standing outside it, so my problem is solved. I walk up to him and he knocks quietly just as I reach him. I have a feeling he was waiting for me to get here before he knocked¡­how considerate. Wisteria opens the door quickly; she must have been waiting. We walk inside and she shuts the door behind us, leaving us all standing awkwardly. I yawn and sit down on the carpet, leaning against the bed. It¡¯s too early to bother with manners. Forest and Wisteria follow my lead, though they sit properly. I note that they¡¯re wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Yawning again, I wave my hand and say, ¡°We¡¯re never gonna get anywhere if we don¡¯t talk.¡± I will admit that I am considerably less polite before my first cup of coffee. ¡°Right,¡± Wisteria says, ¡°Well, what do you guys think about this whole¡­situation?¡± She¡¯s hesitant, obviously. It is, after all, a delicate subject, and it doesn¡¯t help that most of our classmates seem to have embraced being ¡®heroes¡¯. ¡°Library.¡± I say. She nods. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking. We need more information if we¡¯re to make decisions.¡± Forest nods, agreeing. I hesitate, but, ¡°Are we a we?¡± Wisteria frowns, opening her mouth. Before she can speak, though, Forest raises an eyebrow and says, ¡°Do you not agree?¡± ¡°Not at all. Allies are a good thing. But we don¡¯t know each other¡¯s goals. Alliances break pretty easily.¡± ¡°Then do you want to be the one to start stating your goals?¡± he says, his eyebrow going even higher on his face. ¡°Your eyebrow is going to fall off before you¡¯re twenty.¡± I snap. ¡°In any case, what do you think of the teacher?¡± He frowns. ¡°The fighting teacher?¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Mr. Melty.¡± Wisteria lets out a puff of laughter. ¡°You¡¯re horrible!¡± She¡¯s not too convincing, shaking in laughter like that. ¡°Uh huh.¡± I wait for their replies. Wisteria sobers up pretty quickly. ¡°Well, I had pretty much forgotten about him.¡± Forest nods, watching us closely. ¡°I get what you¡¯re saying, but if we can¡¯t remember then we can¡¯t remember, and if we can¡¯t feel that emotion, then, well, it is what it is. It¡¯s probably a blessing to not remember. Otherwise we¡¯d be emotional wrecks.¡± She continues. I nod, assenting. I feel like we¡¯ve all turned into bobble heads, we¡¯re nodding so much. ¡°Do you know if we can read?¡± I ask both of them, though it¡¯s mostly aimed at Wisteria. She shakes her head, saying, ¡°I haven¡¯t come across any written words yet.¡± We look at Forest, but he shakes his head as well. I sigh. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to figure it out when we get to the library.¡± Wisteria nods. ¡°I was thinking, what is it that you¡¯re wearing?¡± I look down at my clothing. ¡°Oh, I asked a maid to get these for me.¡± Forest raises an eyebrow, and I roll my eyes at him. ¡°You just¡­went up and asked if they would give you clothes?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°Not exactly.¡± I proceed to tell them what happened with Sanda yesterday, though a much-abridged version; I¡¯m sure they do not need to hear every particular. ¡°I see¡­I¡¯ll have to get some myself, I can¡¯t keep wearing the same clothing.¡± Wisteria says. ¡°By any chance, do you know about the bath supplies?¡± ¡°They have a ridiculous amount to choose from. The only problem with daily necessities will be the bras; they are, unfortunately, not up to standard.¡± Forest coughs, ostensibly to get our conversation back on track. I point my hairbrush at him. ¡°You know, we¡¯re likely to be staying in this world for the rest of our lives. It¡¯s better to get the small stuff out of the way first.¡± ¡°Fine, fine.¡± He holds his hands up in a mock surrender pose. ¡°You¡¯re a lot different than I thought you were.¡± Wisteria looks at me, tilting her head. I shrug. People will think what they think. ¡°¡­Do you really think that we¡¯re not getting back?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°We can look into it, in the library, but I doubt there is one. Even if there were, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to find. We do have until we¡¯re twenty-five, but by that point, what kind of life are we going back to anyways?¡± I lean back further onto the side of the bed, looking up and closing my eyes. ¡°I see¡­it¡¯s true that we¡¯ll have disappeared for a while, if we get back¡­why twenty-five?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°Twenty five is when the brain fully matures¡­¡± ¡°The teacher.¡± Forest says. ¡°Mmm¡­I¡¯m quite fine in my unmelted state.¡± We¡¯re silent for a minute. ¡°Hey¡­do you guys¡­want to fight?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°If I¡¯m going to be living here for the rest of my life,¡± Forest says, ¡°I don¡¯t want it to be as a soldier.¡± His face is serious; the first time I¡¯ve seen him like this, though that''s not saying much. I snort. ¡°Pardon the dramatics, but if they think I¡¯m going to obediently fight in war for them after they ripped me from everything I know and love, they¡¯re in for a surprise.¡± Wisteria nods, keeping silent for a moment. ¡°I think we need more information, about this world, before we can make a real decision. But I can see why they¡¯d do all this. If we were in the same situation, would you summon people too?¡± I shrug. ¡°Probably. I¡¯m not really angry; even if I had the ability to be angry with them, I doubt I would be. But I¡¯m not going to play along with them. I don¡¯t have that kind of compassion.¡± Wisteria nods. ¡°Then I¡¯ll follow your lead. If the both of you plan on leaving, I¡¯ll come with you. I¡¯m not overly keen on warfare either.¡± ¡°Well, we should stay long enough to learn a bit, since we¡¯re being supplied with everything we need anyways.¡± I say. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to time it right, when we leave.¡± Wisteria and Forest both nod. ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk it over later, but for now I guess we really do need to learn about this world¡­it¡¯s not like we have any money, or skills we could get a job with.¡± Wisteria says after a moment. ¡°Mmm,¡± I reply. ¡°There is the Adventurers Guild,¡± Forest says. ¡°Once we have a grasp over our abilities¡­¡± ¡°Well, that is pretty much what you do when something like this happens, I suppose.¡± Wisteria smiles. ¡°Since we¡¯re in another world anyways, we might as well enjoy it.¡± Now that Forest brought it up, I won¡¯t deny that the idea of exploring this world is exciting. It¡¯s just that the worry over this entire situation is overshadowing anything else I might feel. Once we leave, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ll be excited. Silence returns to the room, and I realize again that none of us know what to talk about in a situation like this; in the first place, we don¡¯t know each other, so we can¡¯t really trust each other too much. I¡¯m a bit surprised that we¡¯re alike in that, though I suppose we¡¯d already have a group of friends in this class if we weren¡¯t, so maybe it¡¯s not that surprising after all. ¡°Well,¡± Wisteria says, standing up, ¡°I¡¯m going to get clean clothes, and proper bath supplies. I feel disgusting.¡± ¡°Were there not bath supplies in the bathroom?¡± I ask, trying to recall if my bathroom had any other than the ones I¡¯d taken. ¡°There were some.¡± She replies, and I assume that means that there weren¡¯t enough. ¡°I¡¯ll go as well.¡± Forest gets up, so I drag myself to my feet reluctantly, since everyone is standing now. Forest opens the door, and we file out of the room. ¡°How long do we have until they get us for breakfast?¡± I ask. ¡°About half an hour?¡± Wisteria answers, tilting her head, assessing. I can see her thinking. I take them to the baths first, and seeing as I have no idea how I would find Sanda, we ask a random maid we encounter on the way there for clothes. She informs us that they (whoever they are) are making wardrobes for us that will be in our closets after breakfast, apologizes for the inconvenience, and hastens to go get clothes. We all glance at each other uncomfortably. Like Sanda yesterday, she had seemed nervous, bordering on afraid, even though we were nothing but polite. Continuing to the baths, I wait in the changing room for Wisteria to finish, since I already showered. In the meantime, I brush out my hair with the hairbrush I¡¯ve been carrying around, and French braid it again. If, as I suspect, I¡¯m going to be doing a lot of fighting in this world, I¡¯ll have to braid spikes into it or something. I¡¯m too vain to chop it short, but leaving it as-is is too disadvantageous in a fight. While I¡¯m musing about my hair, the maid we enlisted to find clothes for us, or more accurately, for Wisteria and Forest, comes in with Wisteria¡¯s clothes. Now that I think about it, she can¡¯t really walk into the male changing room to give Forest his clothes, can she? I ask, and apparently she got one of the male servants to do it. Thankfully, we didn¡¯t put her in an uncomfortable situation. I suppose we¡¯re going to have to be more conscious of stuff like this¡­well, we¡¯re leaving soon anyways, so there¡¯s no point in getting used to being in authority, though we should be careful for as long as we remain here. Wisteria exits the bathing room wrapped in a towel, and I point at the clothes the maid left on one of the benches. I politely turn my back while she changes, and turn around again when she taps my shoulder. ¡­It¡¯s the same. Her tunic is a blue-ish light purple, but other than that, it¡¯s the exact same outfit as mine. With a sinking feeling, I try not to imagine Forest¡¯s clothes. We grimace at each other, then Wisteria says, ¡°Shall we go?¡± and opens the door, to where Forest is standing, waiting for us in his identical outfit with a dark green tunic. I groan. ¡°Are we some kind of weird pop band or something?¡± Wisteria smiles. ¡°I don¡¯t think a pop band would dress like this either.¡± I groan again. We walk back to our rooms. Forest and Wisteria didn¡¯t take too long, so we should still get there before someone comes to pick us up, but we have no time to go to the library this morning. When we get there, I realise we miscalculated; breakfast is an hour after sunrise, but they¡¯re waking us up ten minutes before that. Which means that the poor person sent to wake us up is very distressed. ¡°Oops.¡± I say, but I¡¯m not entirely sorry. The panic the maid is displaying is acute, which solidifies my idea that we are, for all intents and purposes, under house arrest. Of course, I don¡¯t like distressing innocent workers, but it¡¯s good to know that I¡¯m not just being overly paranoid. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask, with what is mostly fabricated concern. After all, I¡¯m the solution to her problem. ¡°Ah! Where did you go?¡± The maid says, not over panic mode yet. Forest raises an eyebrow, and she looks horrified. Bowing deeply, she says, ¡°Please, forgive my impertinence.¡± Wisteria glares at Forest, who looks somewhat sheepish. ¡°No, not at all. We were just in the baths.¡± I say. She stands back up slowly, still pale, but looking relieved. ¡°Then since you¡¯re awake, do you remember the way to breakfast? Someone will bring the rest of the heroes to breakfast in about fifteen minutes, but since you¡¯re already up, I can bring you there now?¡± We look at each other and nod. ¡°One second.¡± I say, unlocking my door and placing my hairbrush down on the bedside table, then locking it again. Walking down, we stop at both Forest¡¯s and Wisteria¡¯s room so they can drop off their dirty clothes and various filched bath supplies. I memorize the location of their rooms and pay attention to the surroundings as we walk to breakfast. I¡¯m fairly good with directions, and having a mental map of this maze like castle can only be useful. I¡¯m going to have to explore. I don¡¯t want to look suspicious, so I¡¯m not really sure how, but I¡¯ll figure it out. Well, exploring the castle would probably be normal for anyone. But as they say, guilty minds. When we reach the dining hall, we¡¯re the only ones in it, and breakfast is a buffet style. Perhaps sensing my question, the maid says, ¡°The King usually takes breakfast in his rooms, but I believe the princess will be joining you.¡± She then bows and departs after murmuring a polite goodbye. We head to the buffet. I grab whatever smells the most appealing and end up with some sort of smoked, fried fish on toast, what looks like a churro, and the ever-helpful coffee. I¡¯m so glad they have coffee. I wander over to a table while Wisteria and Forest are still choosing their food. I consider eating the fish on toast with my hands, but I eventually pick up my fork and knife as Wisteria and Forest join me on either side. Since I¡¯m on the end, they¡¯re facing each other, which makes a nice little huddle. The fish is good, all brown butter and smoke and flakiness, and the crunchiness of the toast makes it better. Wisteria and Forest look at me like I¡¯m weird for eating with such relish, and I notice they both have the typical bacon, eggs, and toast breakfast. Why spend so long choosing if that¡¯s what you end up with anyways? I roll my eyes. ¡°Live a little. How many times in your life do you experience the luxury of palace food from another world?¡± Maybe I¡¯m being paranoid, but I can¡¯t say ¡®enjoy it while it lasts, because we¡¯re going to leave soon¡¯, can I? Forest shrugs one shoulder, seemingly uninterested in the finer things in life, but Wisteria tilts her head, considering, then gets up to grab something else. As I start in on my fried breadstick with cinnamon sugar (aka churro), Wisteria comes back with some sort of pudding looking thing. She sits down, and a few seconds later, we hear the sounds of our approaching classmates. I nibble on my churro and watch as the class wanders into the room. Somehow, I¡¯m going to have to find time for myself, to check out my status, and investigate . The three of us are going to have to find time to check the library as well, though I suppose we could do it on our own. Wisteria is picking at her pudding, and Forest is already done, with his plate pushed aside. I¡¯m more than halfway done my churro by the time the rest of the class sits down with their food. After a few more minutes in which the class finishes getting their food, Forest fidgets, I finish my churro, and Wisteria gives up on the pudding, the princess comes in. I try to think of where she¡¯d sit¡­there are two seats left open, one beside Forest and one beside the real ¡®heroes¡¯. I hope she doesn¡¯t sit over here. I¡¯d rather the three of us have as little interaction with the people around here as possible; that way, we¡¯ll leave behind less of an impression. Though I doubt that very many people will look for us when we leave. It seems rather confidential, but that might just be me. She gets her food, which is a rather odd image, though she is at least wearing less princess-y clothes than yesterday. ¡­Aaannndd she chooses to sit beside Forest. She smiles at the three of us, and in my peripheral vision I can see the ¡®heroes¡¯ deflate a little bit. ¡°Good morning. How are you today?¡± she asks. As expected of a princess, she¡¯s smiling beautifully, and while she¡¯s polite, it sounds like she cares. If I had to say what my idea of the stereotypical princess was, this would be it. Though at least she¡¯s not stuck-up or arrogant. ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m very well, thank you. How are you?¡± I sound like I¡¯m speaking the phrases you learn when you¡¯re first introduced to a language, and the words taste stale and awkward in my mouth. ¡°I am quite well, thank you.¡± She gracefully inclines her head, then looks towards Wisteria, who smiles. ¡°Good morning. I am also very well, thank you for asking.¡± The princess then looks to Forest, who says ¡°Good morning. I¡¯m very well.¡± I kind of hate formal-ish language. What happened to good old-fashioned hello? The three of us sound so stilted it¡¯s sad. ¡°Today you will be receiving a lecture of sorts on the skill system. We have summoned your individual teachers as quickly as possible, so they will be here tomorrow. Today you will have quite a lot of free time, so do explore the palace a bit.¡± After the princess gives off that spiel about our schedule, we nod. What else would we do? But at least now I¡¯ll feel less paranoid looking around the castle. ¡°Oh my! I¡¯m terribly sorry, but I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve asked for your names!¡± We introduce ourselves, then chat inanely with the princess while she eats. She asks about how we¡¯re feeling, being in another world, and how we like the palace so far. Our answers are perhaps the dullest combinations of words that could come out of anyone¡¯s mouth in this situation. They¡¯re non-committal in a vague, poorly worded way that doesn¡¯t seem deliberate but is. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It looks like Wisteria and Forest are as paranoid as I am. Everyone is thankful when the princess finishes. Thinking carefully about what to say is mentally exhausting, and on the princess¡¯s part, we seem to have bored her thoroughly, though she¡¯s too polite to show it. She smiles at us, excuses herself, and announces to everyone that we will meet in the courtyard we met in yesterday, if everyone is finished. Of course, she made sure that she finished last, so we move as one large group towards the courtyard. I didn¡¯t really think about it earlier, but learning magic seems pretty cool, and I begin to feel a little bit excited. But my overall worry is still pressing down on me, and I barely register my excitement. Actually, since Master of Air isn¡¯t my sub skill, I wonder if I¡¯m going to have trouble? Though I do have Master of Magic as a sub skill, so I¡¯ll probably be fine. I turn my head to look at Wisteria, but she looks as cool about this as she has about¡­well, everything so far. Cool might be the wrong word, though. Mild? Gentle? Mellow, maybe? In any case, if she¡¯s excited at the prospect of magic, she doesn¡¯t show it. Forest, on the other hand, is buzzing with suppressed energy. It looks like he really wants to learn the sword, and it also looks like he¡¯s trying not to show it. ¡°Have you taken any fencing lessons before?¡± I ask, curious. If he wanted to learn the sword so badly, it¡¯s not like there weren¡¯t instructors on Earth. He glances at me. ¡°No, the timing was never right.¡± I nod. ¡°Have you taken any fighting lessons?¡± he asks in return. ¡°Well, I took self-defence classes.¡± I shrug. I¡¯m not a genius at fighting, but at least I can put up a fight. We both look at Wisteria. ¡°I¡¯m a black belt in Aikido.¡± The more I learn about Wisteria, the less I have figured out about her. Though I feel like Aikido suits her, once the original surprise wears off. I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. Just because she looks gentle doesn¡¯t mean she is. Of course, just because she takes Aikido doesn¡¯t mean she isn¡¯t gentle, but it¡¯s not something I would have guessed for her. I don¡¯t know her, and I don¡¯t know Forest. Though I suppose I have to start somewhere. Worrying about it isn¡¯t going to help, so I¡¯ll just take my time with it. No one becomes best friends within a few days of meeting. Besides, I may not know much about them, but I feel like I have at least some sort of grasp of their personalities; enough that I¡¯m fairly sure that they¡¯re thinking with ¡®we¡¯ when making plans. While we are talking, we reach the courtyard, the last of the large clump of people moving through the doors. This time, the class separates into the three groups without being asked, as if it¡¯s something natural. Even though this is only the second ¡®class¡¯. The adaptability is both admirable and mildly disturbing. In any case, we separate from Forest and join the magic group. Elias Gray is back in front, and after a minute or so while the class finishes shuffling, he starts right in on what I suppose is a lecture. ¡°Your individual teacher¡¯s will be arriving tomorrow, so I¡¯ll be giving a general explanation of how the skill system works. Also, until you receive proper instruction, please do not attempt to use your magic by yourself.¡± He looks at us with the same faint disinterest as he did yesterday. ¡°Just so you know, it¡¯s not like everyone has skills. For the most part, people who are born with skills have a natural aptitude for them. For instance, I was born with ¡®Air Magic¡¯ as a skill. My magic stats are naturally higher than my other stats, and they are also easier to raise.¡± ¡°Of course, I can also learn other magic, as well as fighting, and I have. However, as I am ¡®unskilled¡¯ in such magic, it takes me twice the efforts for half the results, and I need to learn it from an outside source, as it¡¯s not an inherent part of my skill.¡± ¡°Main sub skills are branches that the overall skill has. You can only choose one branch, and you must fully master every part of that branch before being able to choose another sub skill. You can learn magic from skills you don¡¯t have, but its twice the work for half the results, and you can only learn the very bottom tiered skills, so most people don¡¯t bother.¡± ¡°In the branches, in order to learn the higher tiered skill set of said branch, you must master the lower ones. At first, only a few low-tiered skills are available. Once you master said skills, you can start learning higher tiered skills.¡± ¡°Right, did you all get that?¡± he asks. The class is silent, though whether it¡¯s because they have no questions or because they haven¡¯t yet awakened from their glazed-eye state, I¡¯m not sure. That was one long chunk of exposition. If this was written down on paper, I¡¯m pretty sure the entire class would just look down to the tl;dr. I don¡¯t think he even cares whether we really understood it or not. I suppose if we were born here, we¡¯d know it already, but in this case, we can¡¯t help our ignorance. I wouldn¡¯t call it vital information, but it¡¯s not really trivial, either. More like¡­we would have figured it out eventually anyways? I guess teaching people common sense is kind of irritating from his point of view. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it. Dismissed.¡± ¡­That was short. Or rather, was there any point to doing this at all? I mean, it¡¯s good information, but it seems kind of like a waste of time and effort to gather us all, plus the teachers, who are all hotshots, for a really short information dump. Maybe that¡¯s why he was even less enthusiastic today. The class stands around blinking, then various friend groups disperse. They seem vaguely disappointed that we didn¡¯t learn magic today. Though looking back on what the princess said, this is all that was planned. Wisteria and I look at each other. I shrug, and we turn to go find Forest. ¡°Hold on.¡± I jump a little bit. Shit. When did he get behind me? Composing myself, I turn around. ¡°Mr. Gray.¡± I smile politely. ¡°Just call me Gray.¡± ¡°¡­Uh-huh¡­¡± He smiles wryly at my discomfort. ¡°No one actually uses titles like that. If you want a more formal title, you could call me ¡®magician¡¯ or ¡®teacher¡¯.¡± I think for a second. ¡°Yes, magician.¡± ¡°A stickler for manners?¡± he seems amused. Not at all. I just don¡¯t to become friendly with anyone in the palace¡­not that I can say that. ¡°Just a bit. Did you need me for something?¡± ¡°I said it yesterday, didn¡¯t I? You have air magic as your sub skill, so I¡¯m your teacher. Since I¡¯m here already, we might as well get started.¡± I look at Wisteria, who tilts her head and says, ¡°Well, we¡¯ll meet after you¡¯re done, I guess? In my room.¡± I nod in reply, and she walks off, presumably to find Forest so they can explore the palace¡­and the palace library. Lucky buggers. Well, Forest doesn¡¯t strike me as a library person though. Why did I choose air anyways? I could have chosen any other element, and then I would have today to explore. But no. I chose air. I turn my attention back to the magician. ¡°For now, should we go over there?¡± he says. It¡¯s a question that¡¯s not a question. He points to a spot on the grass that¡¯s a bit further away from the trees than where we are currently. Though we aren¡¯t really that close to the trees in the first place. We walk over, and he immediately sits down cross-legged on the grass. After a second¡¯s pause, I follow suit, sitting across from him. ¡°The first thing you¡¯re going to do is sense the mana around you.¡± He says. ¡°No skills?¡± I ask. ¡°Skills are a shortcut to shaping the mana. Besides, you don¡¯t have any anyways.¡± Right. ¡°So¡­why didn¡¯t you just do this with the whole class?¡± He raises his eyebrow slightly, and I get a faint sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡­damn Forest. ¡°Do I need to explain everything to you?¡± ¡°¡­As a teacher, shouldn¡¯t you be happy that your student is interested?¡± Not that I really consider him my teacher, but still. It¡¯s his job. ¡°I would be if my student was showing interest in what I¡¯m trying to teach her instead of asking irrelevant questions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not irrelevant. I¡¯m simply asking why I¡¯m the only one to get taught.¡± I refute. ¡°For someone who cares about manners, you seem quite fine talking back to someone in authority.¡± He doesn¡¯t seem bothered by it, but I am. That inconsistency could lead to our plan of escape being exposed. Well, it¡¯s not likely, but still. I need to work on my acting. This paranoia is wearing on my nerves. He sighs. ¡°First, the people summoned to be your teachers are all top class. As such, they¡¯ll want to teach their own methods, so I¡¯ll just be interfering by teaching. Second, one person is going to have a hard time teaching ten teenagers who are excited about magic but can¡¯t control it. I don¡¯t want to have to clean up the mess when one of you set fire to the palace trying out a skill.¡± I nod. ¡°Is question time over now?¡± he asks, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± I¡¯m sarcastic, but I doubt he could tell with the tone I used. In the end, being too inquisitive isn¡¯t good for my plan of being entirely unmemorable. On the other hand, the more questions I ask, the more I¡¯ll know, and in this situation, knowledge is power. Life is a balance. ¡°For the first time you sense mana, it¡¯s easier if you close your eyes. Think of it like meditation. You do have that where you¡¯re from?¡± It¡¯s called Earth. I nod. Now is not the time to correct him. I don¡¯t want it to seem like I have too much attachment to the past. Well, I don¡¯t in the first place, but I also don¡¯t want to forget. Ah, this is stifling. Tiptoeing around and watching my words isn¡¯t my style. You do what you have to, I suppose. And soon, I¡¯ll be out of here, so I should endure. I nod again, closing my eyes. I¡¯m not entirely sure what I¡¯m supposed to be doing, as I¡¯ve never actually done meditation before. I have the faint idea of breathing + meditation, so I start to pay attention to my breathing. In, out. In, out. A circular motion. Nothing¡¯s happening. After a few minutes of nothing, as I search my mind for clues, I remember a vague snatch of conversation, in the way that one might see the faint outline of something in the mist that wasn¡¯t there before. ¡°¡­imagine¡­breath filling¡­body¡­head to toes¡­let it out¡­¡± I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s right, but, well, what the harm of trying? The lack of clarity in my memories is a bit disturbing, but now is not the time to think about it. I imagine my body is empty, and as I breathe in, the air swirls into it, filling not just my lungs but the entire empty space my insides have become. Then I breathe out, and the air rushes out in a tumble. After I repeat that a few times, I finally begin to feel something. It¡¯s not exactly a tingling, but a feeling in-between lights, electricity, and an awareness of sorts. It crawls across and in my skin and my muscles and my organs, and I can see, in my mind¡¯s eye, a network of points and lines, drawn in electric lights, spread in an elaborate three dimensional pathway all across and through my body. And then I sense the mana. It¡¯s like dust particles made of light and electricity in the air, and as I breathe in, it swirls into my body, bringing a faint crackling electric taste with it, then leaving as I exhale. I watch this in my mind¡¯s eye while I sense it with my physical body. It¡¯s almost like I¡¯m occupying two bodies. I continue to inhale and exhale the mana in the air until I realize that at this point in the process, I¡¯m probably supposed to keep the mana. Though I don¡¯t remember any stories where the characters actually breathe the mana in. Of course, relying on my memory of Earth is probably not the brightest idea. This time, as I breathe out, I will myself to hold onto the mana. Surprisingly, it works, and I only breathe out air. But the mana just sits in my body. Hesitantly, I will my body to absorb it, and it moves towards various points of light in the pathways and I feel a mild heat in my muscles. Then I open my eyes and gasp a bit. What is it they always say in yoga? Don¡¯t forget to breathe? Oops. ¡°¡­¡± The magician looks at me for a second. ¡°Breathing is important.¡± I nod. It¡¯s a bit embarrassing, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with what he said. Though it would have been fine if he didn¡¯t say anything at all. ¡°Did you sense the mana?¡± ¡°Yeah, it went into my¡­muscles I think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He looks at me again. ¡°I told you to sense the mana.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Not absorb it.¡± ¡°¡­But isn¡¯t that what comes next anyways?¡± I ask. He sighs. ¡°How did you absorb it?¡± I¡¯m hesitant. ¡°I breathed it in, then it went into my muscles?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how to deal with it yet. Now you just have unneeded energy you can¡¯t use in your body. You might be fine now, but if you do it more, you¡¯ll start to feel bad.¡± ¡°Oh. If I do it enough, will I explode?¡± I ask, curious. ¡°¡­That is possible. However, your rate of absorbing mana is roughly proportional to your ability to store it, so you would start to feel sick long before you exploded; unless you were really stupid, you would stop.¡± I nod. ¡°Now I¡¯ll teach you how to absorb it properly.¡± ¡°Properly?¡± ¡°Yes. You absorbed it from the inside, but for most skills, you absorb it from the outside. Try absorbing some into your hand.¡± Hmmm. I go back into the meditation state, this time noticing my ¡®separation¡¯ from my physical body, and when I get there, I focus my minds eye on my hand. I remember to breathe. Since it went through the points when I absorbed it from the inside, I guess I¡¯ll try the points on the outside this time? I¡¯m not sure how my will can be exerted on the mana particles that aren¡¯t touching me, but whatever the reason, when I imagine them entering the points in my hand, they do. Or maybe the points are acting like magnets for mana? Instead of being absorbed into my actual body, this time the mana turns into something like a current, cycling along the paths between the points in my hand. Rather than a feeling in my physical body, it¡¯s more of an awareness. Well, I can see it clear as day in my mind¡¯s eye anyways. I wonder if I can make the cycle bigger? I encourage the current to move to points along the surface of my arm, and it willingly obliges. To no small surprise, I notice that as soon as I increase the area the current is cycling in, my body automatically absorbs more mana to keep up the speed of the cycle. ¡°Good. Now open your physical eyes.¡± His voice sounds far away. ¡­Does the body in my minds eye have eyes that I can open? ¡°Do not do what I think you¡¯re about to do.¡± He warns. It seems I¡¯m giving myself a reputation for being a bit of a troublemaker as far as magic is concerned. Damn. It¡¯s not like I was really going to do it. Right now. Well, I should listen to the guy with experience, I guess. But seriously, how does he already have that impression of me? I¡¯ve been trying my hardest to fly under the radar. I open my eyes and I¡¯m sucked back into my physical body. The vision is gone, but I still have that faint awareness in my hand, that spread up my arm when I increased the circuit¡¯s area. ¡°You should feel the mana, right?¡± I nod. ¡°Now here¡¯s the hard part. Hold out your hand, palm facing me.¡± I obediently hold out my hand, and he pokes the centre of my palm. I start a bit as, originating from the place he poked, the mana in my arm gets drawn back into my hand and starts cycling in a different way. I can feel something building up; my hand is getting warm. ¡°Let the mana go now.¡± He says. ¡°How?¡± ¡°However you want.¡± Thanks. That¡¯s real helpful. My hand is now somewhat uncomfortable as the mana cycling keeps accelerating. Well, whatever. I try to push it out with my mind, and surprisingly enough, it comes out as a slice of air. As I wasn¡¯t particularly aiming at anything, given that I didn¡¯t know that I had to aim it, it nearly slices the magician. He dodges it though. ¡°Now replicate that.¡± He says, not minding the fact that I nearly took his head off. Well, it probably would have only sliced off a bit of his ear, but still. I look at him like he¡¯s kind of crazy (I mean seriously, he could have told me what that would do, so that I knew to aim), but I draw mana in with the intentions of creating another air blade, and the mana automatically cycles according to the pattern needed. At least it¡¯s somewhat easy. I slice it out, and once again, it emerges from the center of my palm, which is still facing towards my teacher. Once again, he calmly dodges it. ¡°There you go. Now you know magic.¡± He says. ¡°What?¡± ¡°A bit, anyways,¡± he says, disregarding my tone of disbelief. ¡°We¡¯ll continue tomorrow.¡± Only after he says this do I realize that the sun is beginning its descent. After I notice the sun, I also notice the vast emptiness in my stomach, which takes that exact moment to loudly complain. Which is fair, I suppose. I¡¯ve missed both lunch and dinner. I don¡¯t remember so much time passing. Maybe while I was doing the meditation? But hey. I smile. I just did magic. Finally, the library. It¡¯s around nine at night. I have a hard time believing I lost track of that much time just because I was meditating, but the darkening sky is proof. The magician left right after the lesson finished, so I¡¯m now on my way to get food¡­hopefully there are people in the kitchen. I still have to go meet up with Wisteria and Forest. Since the courtyard¡¯s attached to the dining room, and the dining room is attached to the kitchen, it¡¯s not that hard finding my way. I scare all the people in the kitchen when I walk through the door though. Which, all things considered, makes sense, given that it¡¯s nine, and everyone else has eaten. I¡¯m also probably not supposed to be here. I didn¡¯t really expect to have a hard time getting food, but it¡¯s still a bit disturbing seeing how much they panic when all they have to give me is bread and cheese. Seriously, why is everyone in this place so afraid? They want to cook something for me, but I really need to get back to Wisteria and Forest. Now that the satisfaction of magic has worn off, I¡¯m impatient to learn what they discovered in the library. I convince the kitchen staff that I don¡¯t need any elaborate food, and after eating my bread and cheese in a couple of gulps, I leave to go find Wisteria¡¯s room. It¡¯s a good thing I have a decent sense of direction; the palace looks different in the dark, and the way is difficult enough to find as it is. Pretty soon I¡¯m quietly knocking on what I¡¯m fairly certain is Wisteria¡¯s door. The door opens, and as I walk in, Forest walks back and sits down on the carpet. It¡¯s Wisteria¡¯s room, but it seems like he¡¯s always the one who opens the door¡­. I sink to the floor, folding my legs neatly and completing our little circle. ¡°So what did you guys find?¡± I ask. ¡°First of all, we can read.¡± As Wisteria says that, I swear I can hear Hallelujah playing in the background. ¡°Secondly, we¡¯re not allowed on the second floor of the library.¡± I nod. I¡¯m not surprised, considering what¡¯s happened so far. I resolve to make a trip to the second floor of the library. What comes next does surprise me, and it¡¯s not a good surprise. ¡°This is an island nation.¡± Wisteria says, solemn. ¡°The palace is in the capital, so we¡¯re actually in the centre of the island.¡± Damn. Well, as long as the country is big enough, we don¡¯t have to leave right away, but this makes leaving more difficult. I frown. ¡°It¡¯s an island country, but the capital isn¡¯t near the coast?¡± I¡¯m not an expert on this, but I¡¯m pretty sure most island countries have their capitals on the coast. ¡°Apparently the coast is too open to both attacks from enemy nations and tsunamis.¡± ¡°¡­So it¡¯s fine if the enemy army slaughters their way inland until finally reaching the royals¡­?¡± Wisteria tilts her head. ¡°There might be another reason, but this is what was written in the history books.¡± ¡°Not a map?¡± I ask, disappointed. ¡°We couldn¡¯t find any.¡± Wisteria looks faintly troubled for the first time. A map would help us quite a bit in this situation. ¡°The first floor is mostly just novels and textbooks.¡± Forest adds. ¡°So nothing of interest?¡± ¡°Not unless you want to learn etiquette.¡± ¡°¡­those kinds of textbooks?¡± I say, my nose scrunching a bit. Forest nods. ¡°That might actually be worthwhile to learn¡± Wisteria tilts her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think we have enough time to learn much,¡± I say. ¡°I know I said that we should take advantage of the lessons, but I¡¯m getting uneasy staying here. We should take the opportunity to leave soon.¡± ¡°We need the survival skills we¡¯re being taught to live outside the palace.¡± Forest disagrees, shaking his head to emphasize his point. ¡°I know that. Honestly, I think finding an opportunity will be quite a bit harder than we had first anticipated. You guys noticed too, right? It looks like we have freedom, but they¡¯re keeping a pretty close watch on us.¡± They both nod. ¡°So essentially, you¡¯re saying that we should take the first opportunity to leave, because we don¡¯t know when the next one will be?¡± ¡°Exactly. We¡¯ll probably be stuck here longer than we should be, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have time to study anything other than combat.¡± ¡°I suppose it is combat, even though it¡¯s being styled as magic and swordsmanship.¡± I nod as Wisteria falls silent. We¡¯re all solemn now. It¡¯s true that we¡¯re leaving because we don¡¯t want to become soldiers, but it¡¯s sobering to realize that we¡¯re really being taught in preparation of fighting. The palace has been comfortable, and they only mentioned war when we were first summoned. Since training in fighting seems natural considering the plotline so far, it¡¯s way too easy to lower our guard. ¡°How was your magic lesson?¡± Wisteria asks eventually, as there¡¯s not really anything more that we can say on the subject. ¡°More complicated than I thought.¡± I say. Forest raises an eyebrow. ¡°What did you think it would be?¡± I¡¯ll just ignore the eyebrow. ¡°Like, saying fireball, and then a fireball shoots out of your hand or something?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your skill air though?¡± ¡°Does it really matter?¡± I ask. Wisteria laughs a bit. ¡°There¡¯s no way such a convenient system actually exists.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true, I suppose.¡± I¡¯m a bit reluctant to admit that. Given the clich¨¦s we¡¯ve already seen here, is it so much to ask for the ¡®overpowered protagonist¡¯ and the ¡®easy magic system¡¯ clich¨¦s to be present? Of course it is. ¡°So?¡± Forest says. ¡°Right. Well, it was mostly meditation to sense the mana. I did shoot an air blade though.¡± I try to explain the lights and the points, but I don¡¯t do a very good job of it. ¡°You¡¯ll figure it out when you try it.¡± I say, frustrated by my lack of ability to explain it to them. ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, it¡¯s going to be difficult to learn to fight in the time we have.¡± Forest frowns. I shrug. ¡°It¡¯s not like I devised the system. Anyways, we should be able to find training outside the palace, and as long as we have the basics down, we can extrapolate from there. Probably.¡± He raises his damn eyebrow again. ¡°Your confidence inspires me.¡± ¡°Oh, shut it.¡± I grumble, but even I¡¯m unsure of the situation, so I can¡¯t really argue with him. Forest yawns, and I realize that we¡¯ve been talking for a while. It was already past nine when I got here, so it¡¯s pretty late, I guess. Well, I think it was past nine, anyways. I only have my internal clock to go by. But as teenagers, aren¡¯t we supposed to stay up until two or something? Though I guess we did get up at sunrise, which in the summer, is really early. Forest and I let ourselves out, and return to our individual rooms. I¡¯m strangely not tired. I would have thought that using magic would wear me out, but instead I¡¯m feeling good. Like the energy from the mana is still circulating inside me, even though I know it isn¡¯t. Maybe it¡¯s like¡­the aftertaste equivalent of using magic? Or a magic buzz. In any case, lets take the time now to examine . Finally. I open my status and immediately hit a roadblock. Now that I think about, I changed it quickly out of necessity, but I can¡¯t investigate if it doesn¡¯t even show up in my status¡­. skill? > Once again, the monotone thought crosses my brain. This is getting a little creepy, honestly. It¡¯s in my head, and it¡¯s reading my thoughts. My skin crawls and I shudder, thoroughly freaked out. But I won¡¯t learn anything if I ignore it, so I think yes. . Placing limits. sub skill menu available. launch failed due to limits. Open sub skill menu? > It seems that it learned from last time and decided not to open . So it¡¯s in my head, it¡¯s reading my thoughts, and it can learn. Lovely. But again, I do need to learn how this works, so I think yes. ¡­ ¡­How useless. But at least the corruption didn¡¯t happen again¡­or more like, the voice thing blocked the corruption? This is extraordinarily frustrating. But for now, I¡¯ll take a look at . I can use air magic, but it¡¯s not like that¡¯s my actual sub skill. Well, since I have Master of Magic as a sub skill, I wasn¡¯t too worried about not being able to use it. I change my status back to normal (¡®normal¡¯) and sure enough, Air Magic is conveniently written under Master of Magic, and Air Blade is written under that. Once again, I had to interact with that freaking creepy voice. It didn¡¯t really bother me the first time, but the more I hear it, the more my nerves are being scraped raw. also has the menu I just saw under it, but everything else is the same. It¡¯s a really good thing I have , or I would be so fucked. Even ¡®Human¡¯ is a corrupted file. I wonder if I can change other people¡¯s statuses¡­I can¡¯t really check though, seeing as that would expose me, so I¡¯ll put it way on the backburner. So, the result of screwing around with ; I can basically have the status screen show any combination of symbols I want. If I want my status to just say ¡®pie¡¯, that¡¯s all it will say. I can also change it to symbols like ¡®})i({¡®, that¡¯s fine too. Other languages are a go as well. No pictures though. Well, I can pretty much only imagine using it to hide my real status though. There don¡¯t seem to be many restrictions on it, but the freedom¡¯s kind of useless in this case. Now for . ? Yes please. are restricted>. >. I have a feeling that I¡¯m going to get very tired of all these restrictions and limitations. Or rather, I¡¯m already nearing the end of my patience. I¡¯m not entirely sure what¡¯s supposed to be happening, but so far, nothing¡¯s changed. A failure? Idly, I look across the room, somewhat unsure of what to do next. I don¡¯t know what the skill is supposed to do, so if nothing obvious happens, I can¡¯t tell if it works. As I¡¯m thinking, I¡¯m staring at the desk chair. More accurately, I¡¯m staring into space, but my vision is fixated on the chair. And suddenly, a status window appears in my vision, attached to the chair. Item: Chair Materials: Redwood, Steel Creator: Palace Carpenter Primary Use: Sitting Secondary Use: Stepping Stool, Weapon, Breaking Windows, Blockading Doors, Table Substitute, Hanging Rack, etc. I start a bit, but at least now I know how works. Well, I know how works, anyways. I have a feeling that the full skill is quite a bit more than seeing statuses. If it weren¡¯t, then there likely wouldn¡¯t be limits placed on it, and it would probably be called something different, like Appraisal. That¡¯s my own conjecture, though. Anyways, since I can see the status of objects, does that mean I can see people¡¯s statuses? I¡¯ll experiment on Forest tomorrow. I¡¯m a bit scared to aim it towards any of the natives, as I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯ll be able to tell what I¡¯m doing, and I don¡¯t want to invade Wisteria¡¯s privacy. Although I suppose I should play around with it for now and check the limitations. After about half an hour of running around using , I discover a few things. One, if I stare at an object long enough while the skill is active, a status screen will pop up. Two, if I want to see the status screen immediately, I can use mental commands to make it happen. Three, I can set the skill so that everything in my field of sight has a status screen. If this works on people¡¯s statuses as well, it will be really useful. By now, the energy that came from using magic is gone, and I do have to get up tomorrow (and, sadly, every day until I manage to leave here), so I decide to go to bed. As soon as the decision to sleep is made, I lose all energy and my limbs and eyelids grow heavy. The power of psychology is truly amazing, I barely manage to drag myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Thankfully, I have a nightgown, so no buttons or anything. I flick off the lights and collapse into bed. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­... I wake to the sunlight again; thinking back on it, I never did close the curtains. I consider going back to sleep, but eventually I drag myself out of bed. Since I have an hour, I might as well use the public baths. They should be pretty empty, as I doubt there are many people who get up this early voluntarily. But I woke up fairly clearheaded, and I know that if I go back to sleep I¡¯ll just wake up more tired, so to the baths it is. Thankfully, I don¡¯t need to bring shampoo or a towel with me, but I do need a change of clothes. Sanda said that she would bring my original ones to my room, so I assume they¡¯re in the closet. I open it and stare in shock for a moment. Now that I think about it, didn¡¯t that maid say that they prepared a set of clothes for all of us? But seriously, what a waste of taxpayers¡¯ money. The closet is mostly full, stuffed full of different styles and colors. Thinking about the twenty-five other closets that are presumably stuffed with clothes in the same manner as mine, I feel my heart bleed a little bit for all the hardworking citizens who are paying taxes to clothe us so extravagantly. I find my clothes pushed at the back of the closet, but I reconsider before wearing them. They¡¯re not the best clothes to wear if I consider magic training, and I don¡¯t want to seem too attached to Earth either. I put them back and focus on the other clothes. Finding clothes that are practical takes longer than I thought it would. While the clothes in the closet are beautiful, they¡¯re not made with exercise in mind. I suppose that so far, magic training hasn¡¯t actually included any kind of physical exercise, but when I hear the word ¡®training¡¯, I feel like training clothes are in order. Finally, I drag from the depths of the closet thick black pants that, honestly, look a bit like skinny jeans, and a white tunic, which seems to be the standard shirt item. I also find super light black leather lace up boots. They seem to have been made with the idea to have the boot double as light calf armour. There are, I notice, no bags in the closet. Fancy that. I grab the clothing, clean underwear, and the hairbrush and set off to the baths. Since I have time, I can relax and soak in the actual bath. As expected, I was the only one stupid enough to waste an hour of precious sleep, so I am, thankfully, the only one there. When I walk out, Wisteria is standing right in front of the door. Right in front of the door. ¡°Ugyahh!¡± I jump and make an extremely embarrassing noise. ¡°Did you have to stand there?¡± I snap, my adrenaline still up from the start she gave me. She tilts her head and admits, ¡°I probably could have picked a better stop to wait.¡± But she¡¯s smiling as she says it, so it¡¯s definitely not an apology. I have a feeling I know what¡¯s coming. ¡°Ugyahh?¡± she says, still wearing that little smile. I droop inside. ¡°You startled me.¡± ¡°I could tell.¡± She says. ¡°Ugh, whatever. What did you come here for?¡± I sulk. She just laughs. ¡°It¡¯s almost time for breakfast, you know? You weren¡¯t in your room, so we came to find you.¡± ¡­We? I look behind her, and there is Forest, smirking away. He opens his mouth, but I cut him off before he can say anything. ¡°You mention this, ever, and I will kill you.¡± He shuts his mouth. I can actually be pretty scary when I want to be, if I do say so myself. We walk to the dining hall together. I¡¯m sulking, Forest is sulking, and Wisteria won¡¯t stop laughing. Eventually, I break the silence. ¡°Are you going to stop laughing any time soon?¡± I¡¯m not even upset anymore. I¡¯m more amazed that she¡¯s managed to keep it up this long. ¡°Yes, alright,¡± she says, still laughing. ¡°Oh yeah, you said you came looking for me, but it¡¯s not that late?¡± I say, a bit confused. I took my time, but I didn¡¯t take an hour. ¡°The teachers came early, so breakfast got bumped up.¡± I frown. ¡°Early? All of them? Together?¡± ¡°Yes, that''s what we were told.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± We stop by my room for a second so I can toss my stuff in it. Literally: I throw it from the door, and it lands on the bed. As we¡¯re walking to breakfast, I recall my need to test . I consider it for a moment, or rather I¡¯m sorely tempted, but since Forest didn¡¯t say anything about¡­that, I figure I should be nice. Besides, since I don¡¯t know if people are alerted when I¡¯m using it or not, it might be better to wait until we leave the castle to test it. I start humming Behind Blue Eyes as I walk, and a few seconds later, I¡¯m struck by the realization that unless my phone miraculously starts working again, I¡¯m not going to be able to listen to any of my music. It¡¯s a sad realization, and I stop humming almost as soon as I started. Wisteria and Forest notice my melancholy, but they don¡¯t pry into it. They¡¯re in the same situation as me, so they¡¯ve probably also realized it. Our music, television, our favourite books, our favourite movies¡­we¡¯re not getting them back. Our people, too. We will never see them again. I¡¯ve been having trouble recalling anyone, and I would say that most likely, everyone is. We can remember books, and music; but nothing that relates to who we are or who we loved. It¡¯s probably a side effect of the emotional summoning, just like the deadening of our emotions. I¡¯m sure I have parents. I don¡¯t know if I have any siblings. I definitely had friends. I wonder if I had a boyfriend? I unconsciously grab my shirt over my heart. Do I still love people I can¡¯t remember? I don¡¯t think I feel anything like that. I¡¯m alone in this world, and I can¡¯t remember what loving or being loved feels like, and the really disturbing part is that while that bothers me, it¡¯s not to the point where it warrants more than a few moments of somewhat detached musing. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Well, I¡¯ll just take it as I exchanged television for magic, which is way more interesting anyways. The music is still a sore spot though. ¡°By the way, did you guys find out anything about our situation in the library?¡± I ask. I suppose I should at least look for a way to get back first. Forest glances at me. ¡°There¡¯s no way they¡¯d have books like that where we can access them.¡± Well, that¡¯s true. Wisteria states what we¡¯re all thinking. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to get onto the second floor of the library, preferably more than just once.¡± Forest and I both nod silently. At this point in the conversation, we can see the dining hall, so continuing to talk like that is impossible. Actually, considering how open the hallways are, I shouldn¡¯t have brought up the conversation in the first place. The life of espionage is definitely not for me. We finally reach the dining hall, where most of the class are more than halfway done their food. Oh well. This time I opt for what looks like sausage bread pudding, a little orange muffin with almonds on it, and, of course, coffee. The coffee here is surprisingly good. Forest makes a sandwich with bacon, egg, and toast. I can¡¯t really see how that¡¯s different from yesterday just because he put another piece of bread on top, but whatever. He also grabs a chocolate muffin and orange juice. Classic. Wisteria grabs some sort of mini breakfast pie and tea. Once I¡¯ve gotten my food, I look around. If you think about it, it¡¯s really just a super fancy cafeteria. I note with amusement that the princess and the ¡®heroes¡¯ are deep in conversation. I suppose that technically, the entire class would be considered heroes, but there¡¯s been one group particularly gung-ho about saving humanity, so I¡¯ve been thinking of them as the ¡®heroes¡¯. I can¡¯t remember their names though. Or actually, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard their names before. As I stand there thinking, Forest, passing by, gives me a weird look, and I realize Wisteria is already sitting at a table, looking at us. Oops. We¡¯re seated in the same place as yesterday, though Wisteria is the one with the empty seat beside her. We shovel our food into our mouths, so there¡¯s not much room for conversation. I¡¯m pretty hungry, so I make it through my food fast, and I leisurely drink my coffee as I watch Forest and Wisteria eat. Wisteria is eating elegantly, moving fast while looking relaxed. As for Forest ¡­well, it¡¯s pretty neat as far as eating sandwiches goes. I¡¯m enjoying my role as the impartial coffee drinker when the girl next to Forest gets a bit too excited in her gestures and knocks her orange juice all over him. She turns to him, apologizing, and then time slows down as they meet each other¡¯s eyes¡­. Not really. But the girl does blush quite a bit, and after he tells her it¡¯s fine (snappishly), she glances back a couple of times. I smirk at him, but he just rolls his eyes at me. Thinking about it, Forest is pretty attractive. It¡¯s kind of amusing how no one notices him at all. ¡°If you¡¯re done with your little skit,¡± Wisteria says drily, ¡°You might want to go change into a clean shirt.¡± Forest nods, getting up and leaving. Orange juice can¡¯t be that comfortable when it¡¯s soaking your shirt. ¡°Was I a good extra?¡± I ask innocently. She rolls her eyes at me. The princess stands up and says some things about the teachers that I don¡¯t listen to at all. When she¡¯s just finishing up her mini speech, Forest walks back into the room and other to us. He¡¯s moving unhurriedly, but he¡¯s also taking deeper breaths than he should be if he walked here. He just gets back when everyone stands up to start moving towards the courtyard. The girl who was sitting beside him turns to him and smiles. ¡°I¡¯m Cerise Lily.¡± ¡°¡­Forest Snow.¡± We begin moving, and Cerise starts asking Forest questions; is he a fighter or a magician? Does he like the palace so far? Forest¡¯s replies are brief and uninterested, but she doesn¡¯t give up, and they slowly drift away from us. She¡¯s pretty good at manipulating her surroundings. He looks back at us, and I smirk. Wisteria tilts her head and shrugs. He frowns at us. We look at each other and laugh, but Wisteria sobers up quickly. ¡°Can I see your status?¡± I frown, puzzled, but obediently show her my status. ¡°No, not that one.¡± Her casual sentence shocks me. ¡°You knew!?¡± ¡°You were pretty suspicious about it on the first day.¡± She tilts her head as she talks. I think about it, and decide to show it to her, but later. Seriously though, she¡¯s too sharp. I can¡¯t believe she caught that. ¡°Why now?¡± I ask. ¡°I only came to the conclusion after mulling it over a bit. I was pretty sure, but you definitely confirmed it just now.¡± She smiles. Oops. Dammit, I have to step up my game. ¡°Right. Well, can we do this later?¡± we¡¯re approaching the entrance to the courtyard, lagging behind a bit. ¡°Of course.¡± We enter the courtyard, and a barely contained chaos of sounds and colors assaults us. I guess it makes sense, but most of the teachers are wearing flashy clothes that belong in a fantasy RPG. Though I guess we¡¯re pretty much in one right now. I look at Wisteria, only to find her looking back at me. ¡°I¡¯ll help you look?¡± I say, having no intention to try and find the magician in this crowd. We wander around until we find the earth mage, a woman with long brown hair. Then I wander around by myself, idly looking at all the instructors. The magician finds me before I find him, but I expected that, so I¡¯m not too surprised that he shows up behind me. ¡°Come with me.¡± Shit. Even though I expected it to happen at some point, I still jump. I turn around and smile. ¡°Must you come up from behind every time?¡± He just looks amused. We end up in another courtyard in the palace. I look around, adding the route and location to my mental map of the palace. ¡°This is a pretty sorry excuse for a courtyard,¡± I remark absently. It¡¯s true, though. Normally, especially considering this is a palace, you¡¯d expect some sort of decoration or greenery, but it¡¯s just a flat field of grass, not a tree or bench in sight. The magician looks at me askance. ¡°You want to destroy the palace gardens?¡± ¡°? No.¡± ¡°But you want to practice shooting out blades of air in a confined space?¡± ¡°I was commenting, not complaining.¡± I suddenly feel very tired, though this is just the beginning of the day. ¡°Hmmm¡­use the skill I taught you last time.¡± I blink, lift up my hand, cycle the mana, and shoot out the air blade. ¡°Now say ¡®air blade¡¯.¡± He narrows his eyes at me, and I can¡¯t figure out what he¡¯s thinking. ¡°Air Blade.¡± The mana gets sucked into my hand and cycles automatically, then the air blade once again shoots out of my still raised palm. I make a complicated face. Having the magic happen automatically didn¡¯t feel nearly as good as doing it manually. Or rather, while the previous air blade I released gave me energy, this one tired me out. Of course, these changes are very small, but still. There doesn¡¯t seem to be much advantage to using skills over doing it manually. It takes about the same amount of time as well, so I can¡¯t imagine preferring the skill version, especially since there is the obvious disadvantage of saying the skill name aloud. ¡°So?¡± the magician asks. ¡°¡­It doesn¡¯t feel right.¡± I reply. ¡°I thought so.¡± He seems¡­excited? It¡¯s almost imperceptible, but I can sense it faintly. Well, it might just be me though. ¡°From now on, forget skills. Actually, just forget the status window altogether.¡± What? ¡°What?¡± I say, disbelieving. ¡°You didn¡¯t like how the skill felt, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± ¡°Then do what I told you to.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to do it manually.¡± He says, and I can¡¯t really deny it. ¡°I get that it¡¯s better to do the skills manually, but then why are there skills in the first place?¡± I say, irritated. ¡°Not everyone can do it manually. Most people can only learn skills through skill books, or through skill bestowal. They don¡¯t, or rather, they can¡¯t, meditate and absorb mana. They can¡¯t even sense mana; they just rely on the skill system and the status window.¡± ¡°¡­So basically, I¡¯m a cheat.¡± I say. ¡°A cheat?¡± I suppose since it¡¯s more of a cultural reference, so even if it¡¯s translated, it won¡¯t be understood. ¡°Like, I have something that gives me an overwhelming advantage over other people.¡± He frowns briefly, looking troubled. ¡°Yes and no. Over most of the people here, yes. But that also means that you¡¯re joining a class of experts who are much better than you. Right now, you¡¯re like a cat amongst chickens, but if you continue down this road, you¡¯ll definitely meet a lion at some point.¡± So, don¡¯t get complacent? Not that I was planning to. ¡°Then what about the status window?¡± I ask. He explained the skills, but not the window. ¡°In the first place, assigning numbers to strength and whatnot is arbitrary. Beyond that, what really matters is the efficient use and application of your strength, not how much you have. All the status window shows you is your rough position in relation to other people¡¯s statuses. It doesn¡¯t even give a clear idea of who would win in a fight. Besides, no one knows what magic power is in terms of the actual process of magic, so it¡¯s the basest of base indicators.¡± I take a moment to digest that. ¡°Then why do we have status windows?¡± He looks at me, irritated. ¡°How would I know? It¡¯s how the world is.¡± ¡­How useless. He glowers at me as if he read my thoughts. ¡°Then has anyone tried to find out what magic power is?¡± I ask. ¡°Of course. But just like strength, it doesn¡¯t have an inherent numerical value to it, so investigating is mostly useless, since the whole thing is, like I said, an arbitrary system.¡± Huh. Normally in games, or game like fantasy worlds, magical power is purely a number. ¡°What a weird system.¡± I mutter to myself. ¡°So I won¡¯t be using skill bestowal to give you skills. Instead I¡¯ll show you how to cycle the mana, like I did yesterday.¡± I nod. It doesn¡¯t seem that different to the skill system, but I¡¯ll assume he knows what he¡¯s doing. I certainly don¡¯t. ¡°You know what the pattern is for air blade?¡± he asks. I nod. ¡°Try to modify it.¡± ¡°Modify?¡± I say, surprised. He frowns. ¡°Change it, make it different.¡± ¡°¡­I know what modify means.¡± I consider how to modify it. I feel like changing the actual pattern right off the bat would be a bad idea. Maybe I can make the pattern bigger? This time when I cycle the mana, I don¡¯t release it. I pull the pattern further down my arm, to my elbow, keeping the centre in the middle of my palm. It willingly stretches for me, and instead of the feeling of the pattern getting bigger, it feels more like I¡¯m pulling on a bowstring. Curious, I let it go, and this time, the air blade is condensed and much faster. ¡°Huh.¡± I¡¯m a little bit surprised. ¡°Good.¡± The magician says. ¡°Now change it to something different.¡± So he¡¯s going to make me figure all the variations out by myself. I pause for a moment, thinking. Last time, I tried to make it bigger my stretching the pattern further up my arm, but that made it faster instead. If I want to make it bigger, I probably need to increase the size of the pattern without stretching it. However I think about it, doing that on my hand is impossible, so maybe I can move the pattern? Since I¡¯ve only ever absorbed mana into my hand and through my breathing, it feels pretty weird to absorb it through my torso. I cycle the mana according to pattern on my stomach, then let it go. A huge blade of air shoots out in front of me, leaving me a bit shocked. While the pattern on my stomach is certainly bigger than the one on my hand, the actual size of the air blade is way too big for it to be proportional. I look at the magician, and he nods. ¡°The purpose changes depending on where you have the pattern on your body, so of course it¡¯s not going to be exactly the same. Now, again.¡± I frown, but immediately start absorbing and cycling mana. This time, I decide to make a bunch of small air blades by having multiple patterns that are separate from each other, and sure enough, I get my intended result when I release the magic. ¡°Again.¡± I pause to think for a moment. This is really a test for creativity, isn¡¯t it? I make many small patterns again, but this time I link them up, almost like gears. The result is surprising. I feel the entire thing connect like one big system, and suddenly I¡¯m drawing in way more mana from my surroundings than I was before. As soon as I release the magic, it¡¯s almost as though I¡¯m a machine gun. Rapid fire of multiple air blades. My eyes widen a bit. Magic is super cool. Though this one doesn¡¯t seem to be stopping. My body just keeps on absorbing mana to replace the mana that¡¯s being turned into air blades. I think a bit, then impose my will on the mana, and my body stops absorbing it. The last bit of mana is quickly release as more air blades. I turn and look at the magician, who¡¯s muffling laughter. I frown. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing. Anyways, you¡¯ve now learned that while some magic is only used once, other magic will continue indefinitely until you consciously stop it. By the way, every modification you did was a different skill that most people would have to learn separately.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± I say, surprised. It looks like being able to sense mana is handier than I thought. ¡°Oh, and another thing. The restrictions on learning high-level magic aren¡¯t imposed on people learning true magic; it¡¯s only applicable to the skill system. Though it¡¯s unlikely that a beginner will be able to use it anyways. On the other hand, you don¡¯t have to learn every single base level skill before learning higher levelled skills.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It seems like I really did get a cheat. He gives me a measuring look. ¡°Since you¡¯re ahead of all the others anyways, thanks to yesterday, I¡¯ll leave off for today. Tomorrow, I¡¯m going to start teaching you combat.¡± ¡°Combat?¡± I ask, surprised. I¡¯ve barely started learning magic, and he wants me to learn combat? It suits me just fine, but I didn¡¯t expect to be able to learn it before we left. ¡°It¡¯s better to learn both at the same time. Besides, you¡¯ve already mastered all of what I¡¯ve taught you, so you should be fine with the rest of the magic I¡¯m going to teach.¡± The odd tone of voice he uses to say that last sentence tips me off. ¡°Is it weird?¡± I ask, a bit worried. I definitely don¡¯t want to be some prodigy; in fact, if I was worthless as a hero, that would be better. ¡°Normally, people would be fine with mastering skills at your speed, since it¡¯s all automatic anyways.¡± ¡°So, because it¡¯s not skills¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve basically bypassed most people. It¡¯s a bit complicated, but once you learn everything you should, which won¡¯t take very long, you¡¯ll be among the magicians.¡± Fuck. Well, no, this is actually good for me. The fact that the magician knows is what¡¯s bad. I smile, my go to response when I don¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Anyways, go explore the palace and have a rest day, since you¡¯ll be pretty busy from now on.¡± He waves his hand lethargically in the general direction of indoors. ¡°If you were going to give me a rest day anyways, than why did you not just let me have it yesterday?¡± I ask. ¡°I was already there anyways, so there would be no point in just going back.¡± ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re doing right now?¡± He glances back at me, already walking away. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± I roll my eyes and turn around, walking back to my room from memory. The first thing I do is pull my phone out from the drawer in the vague hope that it got over its allergies to summoning magic. No such luck. I sigh and put it back, flopping backwards onto my bed. I feel like there¡¯s something that the magician isn¡¯t telling me about magic, but it¡¯s not a problem I can figure out on my own. I pick myself up and go to the window. Judging by how high the sun is, lunch will be in a couple of hours. I sigh again and leave the room to go find the library. My body is energized from the magic, buzzing with energy, but my mental state isn¡¯t nearly as lively. The stress from paranoia and the desire to escape is wearing me down, and it¡¯s only been a couple of days. I¡¯m wandering the halls, expanding my mental map and looking for someone I can ask directions from, when I decide to leave the library for after lunch. Since Wisteria and Forest already checked it, it¡¯s unlikely I¡¯ll find anything there, so whether I go now or after lunch doesn¡¯t really matter. As such, I start wandering the halls in a slightly more systematic manner, adding to my mental map as I go. It seems kind of pointless to have such a big palace, but I suppose it¡¯s a symbol. By the time my stomach growls at me to remind me of lunch, I¡¯ve found the library, three other kitchens and dining rooms, fourteen various courtyards and gardens, most of which had heroes practicing with their teachers in them, another set of baths, and the royal wing, which I am absolutely not allowed in. At this point, I¡¯m not even surprised they have armed guards blocking the entrance to the royal wing. I head back to the kitchen I¡¯ve been eating in, and after a light lunch of soft cheese on toasted baguette, I head off to find the library, which I did pass at some point in my wanderings. Going off my mental map, I reach it quickly, and open the doors. Finally, the library. Seriously, can I just switch teachers? The library is huge. I mean, I got a hint when I saw the double doors (huge, intricately carved oak), but it¡¯s a truly impressive size. I wander in, glancing around to take in the vast amount of books. As expected, there are guards in front of the stairs leading to the second level, all the way across the room from the door. I meander around the library, checking the different sections of books, but Forest and Wisteria were right when they said that there was nothing that could help us on the first floor. I sigh, and pick up a picture book from the tiny shelf dedicated to them. I wonder if there¡¯s a baby royal somewhere? There are plenty of tables and chairs, so I find one of the more comfortable chairs to curl up on and read. Being honest, it¡¯s the most disturbing picture book I¡¯ve ever read. Not that disturbing is usually a word associated with picture books, but still. It¡¯s essentially teaching children to hate the demon race. Not, I suppose, that it¡¯s that surprising, given why we were summoned here. But still, reading it puts me off enough that I get up and shove it back in its place and leave the library. No wonder the war has been going on for so long; their children are being fed hatred as bedtime stories. I wonder if it¡¯s the same on the demons side. Ugh, what a useless reason to be summoned to another world. I¡¯m fuming, my face set in a frown and my walking pace way too agitated to even pretend I¡¯m not angry. And why the hell aren¡¯t there legitimate books about demons anyways? If you only feed people bullshit propaganda, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be able to strategize in a war. Although I guess it¡¯s natural that most people would get fed propaganda. After all, if the public hates and fears demons, it¡¯s not that hard to convince them that war is the correct action. I suppose the top acting people will have better information. There are probably proper books that they haven¡¯t given us access to. The second floor of the library seems more appealing by the second. The only problem is bypassing the guards. I consider it, but no matter which way you look at it, those guys are ready to kill for their duty. Much harder to get past than most security guards. I wonder if I can get the magician to teach me invisibility magic? Well, I probably won¡¯t be able to use at my current level even if I did find a way to ask without seeming suspicious. They¡¯re doing a pretty good job of keeping us in a cage, gilded though it is. I sigh, the last of my anger dribbling away. I don¡¯t have the mental energy to be angry right now, and besides, there are more important things to think about. Frankly, because of what Wisteria and Forest told me, I didn¡¯t really have high hopes, but still, the absence of anything helpful is depressing. I¡¯ve already mapped the palace, or at least the parts I¡¯ve been given access to, and the library was a bust, so I decide to go back to my room to mull some things over. If I think about it, I haven¡¯t properly sat down and thought this whole situation out yet. I¡¯m a bit distracted as I walk down the hall, immersed in my thoughts, so I don¡¯t see Sanda until I nearly run into her. I manage to move away in time, but it was close. I¡¯m beginning to doubt whether I¡¯m really more athletic than before. After we exchange greetings, I look at her in thought. ¡°Sanda, how do you feel about demons?¡± I ask, though I hadn¡¯t meant to blurt it out. Oh well. Her face twists in fear and hate. Not to a great degree, but the word, or perhaps the context, certainly has an impact on her. ¡°I hate them. They-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I got it.¡± I smile awkwardly. Like I thought, they¡¯re completely thought of as the villains. I now thoroughly regret letting my mouth get ahead of me. I mean, it¡¯s possible that the people here have it right; I¡¯ve never actually had any interactions with demons, so I wouldn¡¯t know. I sincerely doubt it, however. In any case, I¡¯m going to have to make sure no one finds out about my real status. Well, Wisteria already did, but no one other than her. My acting must be terrible if she picked it up that quickly though. If my real status gets shown to anyone else, I¡¯m screwed. Since they have such a hatred for demons, I hate to think of what they¡¯ll feel about a corrupted human. Whatever the hell that is. Actually, since the demons are a humanoid species, then there are probably others as well. I wonder what our relationship with the other races is like. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Sanda says, hesitantly, her face back to normal, and I realize that I¡¯ve spaced out in the middle of our conversation. ¡°Sorry, I zoned out.¡± ¡°Zoned¡­out?¡± Sanda asks. I guess this is another untranslated colloquialism. ¡°Lost concentration.¡± I explain. ¡°Oh.¡± She says. I wait for her to speak, but she seems to be waiting for me to say something. ¡°You were going to say?¡± I prompt. She looks confused. ¡°Umm, I wasn¡¯t going to say anything.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Now that I think about it, she¡¯s acting way less afraid than she was when I first met her. I¡¯m glad. ¡°Sanda, are there other humanoid species?¡± I ask. I assume that since she¡¯s a denizen of this world, she has some basic knowledge of it. Then my brain lights up like a firecracker. Who needs to visit a library to research common sense? I probably shouldn¡¯t ask too much, or make it obvious, but just a bit should be fine. I¡¯m getting excited now. Why didn¡¯t I think of this before? ¡°Umm, well, there are a lot of different humanoid species.¡± Sanda¡¯s voice pulls me back from my thoughts. Again. ¡°A lot?¡± I ask, curious. ¡°There are many different species that are secluded, so I¡¯m not really sure I can list them off of the top of my head¡­there is an encyclopaedia of the species,¡± then her eyes go wide and she covers her mouth, ¡°Oh!¡± looking distressed. ¡°Well, if you could just tell me the major ones, that¡¯s all I really need,¡± I say, pretending I didn¡¯t understand what that was about. Actually, I don¡¯t really understand what it¡¯s about. It looks like she¡¯s not supposed to mention books to us, but it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll go away even if they don¡¯t get mentioned, and we even have access to the first floor of the library. I mean, Wisteria, Forest, and I have already been looking in the library. Although, now that I think about it, how many of our classmates have? Maybe not bringing it up is working. ¡°Right,¡± she says. ¡°Umm, I think the major humanoid species would be elves, and dwarves. There are other species, like the Fae, but they don¡¯t really interact with humans very much. Well, actually, dwarves and elves don¡¯t really interact with humans much either, but once in a while there will be a merchant selling elven or dwarf made things, so¡­¡± ¡°So basically, the only humanoid species humans actually interact with are the demons, whom we¡¯re at war with.¡± I say. ¡°Umm¡­yes,¡± Sanda says, her face twitching almost imperceptibly at the word demons. To elicit such a reaction from someone who seems so¡­timid, the hatred for them really is well rooted. I thank her and walk back to my room slowly. I can¡¯t say I was really expecting anything, but this is pretty sad, isn¡¯t it¡­even though I¡¯m in another world, none of the other humanoid species get near humans. Well, honestly, I can¡¯t really blame them. Although I suppose it¡¯s possible that all of the species are secluded from each other. I¡¯ve got a feeling that¡¯s not quite the case though. I also have a feeling that my faith in the human race is being drained away slowly as I stay here. Ah, well, I¡¯ll be away soon. I reach my room and unlock it. As soon as I get in, I push the door shut and unlace my boots, leaving them knocked over on the floor. I dump my key on the table beside the bed and flop down on my back, sprawling across the duvet. I¡¯m so tired. This palace atmosphere is poisonous. I like reading about conspiracies and plots by royalty, but I¡¯ve never wished it on myself. Though in the first place, my wishes haven¡¯t exactly been taken into consideration throughout this whole situation anyways. I sigh. I said I was going to think, but what is it that I¡¯m supposed to be thinking about anyways? What can help us in this situation? I can¡¯t imagine a plan that would allow us access to the library¡¯s second floor, or a plan that would allow us to leave. When I approached the main doors to the palace, or the back doors, the guards visibly tensed. Well, I say visibly, but I only really noticed because I was looking. It looks like the only chance for escape is if they take us on an outing, or if we can find a way to leave through the kitchen doors. But even if we managed to leave the physical building, it¡¯s hard to imagine getting past the gate, though I¡¯d have to look around outside before being sure. It¡¯s the same with the library. I just can¡¯t imagine the guards leaving their post, and the stairs are the only way to get there. Unless I go through the window or something. I spend a few minutes musing on this idea, turning it over, but no matter how I look at it, any situation wherein I would be able to get to the second floor is implausible. ¡°Ugh,¡± I groan, shifting over to lie on my side. I should go map the outside grounds of the palace, if I can. I definitely won¡¯t be allowed out the gate, but perhaps the outer grounds aren¡¯t too much to hope for. The guards probably won¡¯t outright stop me, even if they don¡¯t like it. It seems to me that they¡¯re trying to create a sort of home like atmosphere, to increase our goodwill toward them, so I doubt they¡¯ll overreact. They¡¯ll keep an eye on me though. As I¡¯m thinking this, my mental exhaustion creeps up on me, aided by the comfortable bed on which I¡¯m lying. I yawn. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The next thing I know, I¡¯m awakened to Wisteria shaking me. ¡°Uhh?¡± I groggily sit up. Awakened? I swipe at my eyes with my hands, as they feel kind of crusty. Opening my eyes, the first thing I notice is the lack of noon light that was definitely there before. Then I notice Wisteria, who has long since taken her hands off my shoulders, and Forest, who¡¯s leaning on the wall by the open door, just in the room. Blinking a couple of times, I frown in confusion. ¡°Wha,¡± My throat rasps, and I cough a couple of times to clear my voice. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± I ask. This¡­is my room, right? Why are Wisteria and Forest here? I move slowly, sitting up further on my bed and sliding my legs further toward me, making myself more compact. Wisteria frowns a bit, and Forest looks a bit nonplussed. ¡°We¡¯re here to get you for dinner.¡± Wisteria says. ¡°Dinner?¡± My frown deepens, mirroring my confusion. ¡°It¡¯s dinnertime. We thought you might be in here, but you didn¡¯t answer when we knocked.¡± She says. Dinner? Awakened? I rub the back of my wrist over my eyebrow. Awakened¡­dinner¡­. Wasn¡¯t I going to go for lunch? It takes a few more moments for my brain to wake up and the gears to click in place.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Fuck. I fell asleep. Wisteria and Forest are watching me as I sit on the bed, waking up from my daze of confusion. Wisteria looks a tiny bit worried, and the crease between Forest¡¯s eyebrows is noticeable. I rub my face with my hands. ¡°Shit!¡± I pick up a pillow from behind me and whip it at the wall. So much for checking out the outside of the palace. And the magician said this was the last break day I was going to get for a while. Then I get up from the bed. I¡¯m not moving slowly anymore, but I¡¯m not moving quickly either. Wisteria and Forest look at each other, their frowns deepening. Probably because I threw the pillow. I lace up my boots in silence, standing up and moving to the door. ¡°Amaranthe¡­¡± Wisteria says, and I look back at her. ¡°Go look in the bathroom.¡± I pause for a second, remembering the crusty feeling around my eyes. I trudge to the bathroom, the mage light coming to life with a gentle glow after I grope around for the panel in the dark. It¡¯s just like electricity, really. Looking in the mirror, my eyes are indeed red and puffy, tear tracks all across my face. I don¡¯t remember crying, but then, I didn¡¯t remember that I had been asleep right after I woke up. The tears are dry, so I probably cried a while ago while I was asleep. ¡°Fuck.¡± I grab a facecloth and soak it in cold water, pressing it to my eyes, washing away the tear tracks and attempting to reduce the redness and swelling. I stay with my face buried in the cloth for a few more minutes, and then I toss it in the sink and go back to join Wisteria and Forest. We¡¯re silent as we walk. Given that I walked straight past them out the door, saying nothing, it¡¯s not surprising that they¡¯re holding their words. In the first place, neither of them are chatty people. It was Wisteria who picked up my key and locked my door after Forest shut it. She put the key in her pocket, probably sensing that now was not the time to give it to me. Thankfully, the class is already immersed in the meal, so no one really looks up as we come in and sit at the end of the table, serving ourselves and eating in silence. I barely taste the meal, chicken and rice and vegetables. It¡¯s probably good, but I¡¯m just eating mechanically, going on the faint idea that my body needs food. While everyone around us is chattering, we are sitting in graveyard silence. Until Forest¡¯s admirer, whose name I can¡¯t remember, walks over. As soon as she gets close to his chair, he growls, ¡°Fuck off.¡± I¡¯m vaguely surprised, the emotion cutting, just a bit, through the fog of my bad mood. She¡¯s shocked, but she leaves quickly. Wisteria looks at him passively. It seems my mood rubbed off on him. ¡°¡­I take it your date didn¡¯t go well then.¡± He glares at me but lets me off, snapping, ¡°What date?¡± ¡°This morning,¡± I say, as the worst of my temper leaves me. Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it. ¡°You could have helped me there.¡± He complains. I snort. ¡°As if.¡± We sit in silence for a few more minutes, though this silence is more natural. ¡°So,¡± Wisteria says, ¡°what was that about?¡± It seems that even if Forest is giving me a reprieve, Wisteria has no intention of doing so. I sigh. ¡°It seems I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.¡± Even I¡¯m not too clear about why my emotions were out of whack. ¡°Not that.¡± She says. I frown in confusion. ¡°You were¡­disorientated. When you woke up.¡± Both of them are watching me with little frowns, the worry subtle but there. I fake wipe tears from my eyes. ¡°To think you cared so much!¡± I say, acting choked up. ¡°Amaranthe.¡± Wisteria says as Forest¡¯s frown suddenly gets much bigger, less worried and more annoyed. ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± I sigh. ¡°It happens sometimes, I think. I¡¯m not really sure about it, but I think it¡¯s happened before.¡± Both of their faces are pretty funny right now. Not shocked, but more like, ¡®huh?¡¯. ¡°It happens a lot?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°Most people get a bit disorientated if they fall asleep in the middle of the day.¡± I point out. ¡°Anyways, what happened is probably pretty normal, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°¡­And the tears?¡± She asks. I frown, a bit of my irritation coming back. ¡°Hell if I know.¡± She nods, apparently satisfied with her interrogation. We sit in silence again, but this time it¡¯s more relaxed, the heavy shroud of my bad mood gone. I¡¯m reflecting on my behaviour. I won¡¯t apologize for it; I¡¯m not really sorry. But in the first place, I shouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep. I also shouldn¡¯t have let Wisteria and Forest see me like that. Actually¡­ ¡°Why were you guys in my room?¡± ¡°We came in when you didn¡¯t answer, remember?¡± Wisteria says, tilting her head. ¡°Yes, so why did you come in?¡± I say ¡°To wake you up.¡± ¡°Stop playing around.¡± I frown. She shrugs. ¡°Well, it was open.¡± Forest at least has the grace to look a bit guilty. I stare at her. ¡°I know you said that I was different than you first thought, but I feel like you¡¯re the more surprising one.¡± She smiles slightly. ¡°What did you think I was like?¡± ¡°Gentle.¡± I say, a bit embarrassed by how off the mark I was. She smiles a bit more. ¡°I did it because I was worried though.¡± ¡°That may be true, but most people would hesitate a little bit.¡± She shrugs her right shoulder, just barely moving it, and says, ¡°If I¡¯m going to do it anyways, I might as well do it.¡± ¡­She¡¯s not wrong, exactly, but¡­well, I¡¯ll just let it be. I sigh and lean back on the chair. ¡°By the way,¡± I say, ¡°Did the princess announce anything at last nights dinner?¡± ¡°No, nothing of importance.¡± Wisteria says. ¡°Hmmm¡­I¡¯m gonna go have a bath.¡± I say, my chair scraping slightly as I stand up. ¡°I¡¯ll come as well.¡± Wisteria announces, standing with much more grace than I did. I look at her in confusion, then suddenly remember our earlier conversation about my status. Damn, but she¡¯s clever. I was the one who brought up the bath, and this way, it seems natural that we¡¯re talking without Forest. Forest looks at us, a bit surprised and a tiny bit irritated. Then he gets up, not even bothering to slide the chair back, just letting it clatter and scrape out of his way. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go have a bath too.¡± Maybe, rather than irritated, it¡¯s frustrated? It¡¯s true that he¡¯s on his own when we go off together. We leave the dining hall, making our way back to our rooms to grab clothing. Since I fell asleep earlier, I have that gross feeling you get when you sleep in your clothes, and I¡¯m really looking forward to washing. ¡°I wonder if there are bathrobes in the closet¡­¡± I idly muse, not able to recall if there was one in amongst the closet full of clothes I pawed through earlier. ¡°Bathrobes?¡± Forest asks. ¡°Well, wearing dirty clothes right after you get out of a bath is gross, I don¡¯t want to wear my pyjamas outside my room, and wearing a full set of clean clothes just to get from the bath to my room is a pain.¡± Forest doesn¡¯t reply. Thankfully, when we get to our room, we discover that along with sandals, there are bathrobes in the closet. They¡¯re silk though. What¡¯s more, they¡¯re thick, high-grade, embroidered silk. Seriously, I feel like apologizing to all the taxpayers in this kingdom. We walk to the baths in a comfortable silence and split up to go into the respective baths. Wisteria and I strip in the change room, grab various bath supplies and have showers. It¡¯s only when we¡¯re settled into the bath part that Wisteria brings up the status. ¡°What, you couldn¡¯t have let me sit for a few more minutes?¡± I say in mock irritation. ¡°I¡¯m not a patient person.¡± Wisteria says, smiling. That¡¯s a lie if I¡¯ve ever heard one. I bring up my status screen and switch it back to its natural display. Since I¡¯m going this far anyways, I decide to show Wisteria my sub skills as well. ¡°¡­¡± Wisteria is silent a good few minutes after I show her, sitting with her head tilted, obviously working it out in her mind. ¡°I take it that you having multiple sub skills is a result of the corruption?¡± She finally breaks the silence. ¡°Yeah.¡± I nod. ¡°Why files though?¡± I shrug, and we sit in silence for a few more minutes. Finally, I summarize what I¡¯ve experienced so far with regards to my status. When they say silence is the best way to get someone to talk, they¡¯re not kidding. Wisteria frowns a bit after hearing my account. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem very safe.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have much of a choice.¡± I respond wryly. ¡°That''s true. By the way, none of what you told us about meditation or magic was what I learned today.¡± ¡°Oh yeah¡­apparently it has to do with my skill or something, so I¡¯m not going the normal route.¡± I say, recalling what the magician told me. ¡°Enhanced Processing?¡± ¡°Yeah. You were taught skills, right?¡± ¡°Yes, though I¡¯ll refrain from demonstrating.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably wise, considering where we are.¡± We stay in the bath long after our fingers and toes have become wrinkled, discussing various things. ¡°Now that I think about it, are we going to be okay getting stuff like tampons and pads?¡± I ask. It hadn¡¯t occurred to me before now. ¡°They have those, though obviously the technology is lacking compared to Earth,¡± Wisteria says, glancing at me, ¡°Did you not get some? There was a box in my closet.¡± ¡°Ah. I probably have it.¡± Most likely, it slipped my notice. I was pretty busy gawking at the extravagant display of misplaced wealth in the closet. ¡°When I think about it, there are a lot of inconveniences, huh.¡± I say, still missing my music. Wisteria makes a sound of agreement. ¡°Did I miss anything from lunch or after it?¡± I ask. ¡°No, we would have told you if you did.¡± ¡°I figured I¡¯d ask anyways.¡± ¡°Are you going to show Forest your status?¡± Wisteria asks, tilting her head. ¡°Eventually, I suppose. I wasn¡¯t exactly planning to show you in the first place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± She acknowledges, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t show anyone in your situation either, but Forest should be fine.¡± ¡°Well, if it comes up, I¡¯ll explain it to him.¡± I yawn. Apparently my sleeping away the whole day hasn¡¯t screwed up my internal clock. I stand up, getting out of the bath and grabbing a towel. After I thoroughly dry myself and slip into the bathrobe, which is admittedly very comfortable, Wisteria comes out of the bath, and we head out to meet Forest. He¡¯s once again standing a little bit away from the door, but this time he¡¯s standing with a few other people, talking. Though as we hear more of the conversation, it seems like he¡¯s trying to extricate himself from it. It¡¯s Forest¡¯s admirer and her friends. Sometimes you really have to marvel at coincidences. I suppose having the baths to ourselves these few times were already unlikely, but it doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll be able to talk by ourselves like that again. We walk up to the conversation, and Forest excuses himself to go back with us. ¡°By the way,¡± I say once we¡¯re far enough away from the baths, ¡°didn¡¯t you tell her to fuck off earlier?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°But she still went to talk to you?¡± I ask, confused. ¡°Did you apologize?¡± ¡°Why would I apologize?¡± I¡¯m not really sure what to say to that, but since I took my bad mood out on them earlier and didn¡¯t apologize, I don¡¯t have much room to talk. Well, I wasn¡¯t as overtly hostile to them as Forest was to her, though. ¡°It was that guy who started talking to me.¡± ¡°That guy?¡± ¡°The blonde one.¡± ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± I have no real recollection of the people who were talking to him, so my response is a bit lackluster, to say the least. ¡°Did you two have your talk?¡± he asks, turning to look at us. I didn¡¯t think he was that sharp¡­I was pretty sure the whole thing was orchestrated naturally too. Well, it wasn¡¯t exactly orchestrated in the first place, which means he¡¯s really sharp, or he¡¯s taking a shot in the dark. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you had such an interest in tampons, Forest.¡± Wisteria says calmly. She¡¯s pretty good at bluffing, huh. And she changed the subject naturally, too. I kind of feel like I¡¯ve unwittingly surrounded myself with amazing people. We automatically head for Wisteria¡¯s room, which seems to have become our de facto base. I only remember the dirty clothes when we¡¯re actually in her room. ¡°Oh yeah, what do we do with our dirty clothes?¡± ¡°Laundry chute.¡± Wisteria says, walking to the corner of the room where it¡¯s located. ¡°Huh.¡± Forest and I follow her, dumping our clothes down the chute. I stare down after them, though all I can see is blackness. ¡°I¡¯m a bit scared of getting used to such luxuries.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Forest says. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to.¡± I say back. We all sit on the floor in a circle, still wearing our bathrobes, meaning we sit in a more restrained way than usual. Now that I think about it, I¡¯m not sure that walking around the palace in bathrobes is any better than walking around in pyjamas. ¡°So, what did you do today? You missed lunch, and almost missed dinner.¡± Wisteria turns her gaze towards me. ¡°Oh, yeah. The magician said that since we had a lesson yesterday, I might as well take today off, since it¡¯s the last break I¡¯m likely to get anytime soon. I checked out the library, which was useless. I also asked Sanda a few things, but mostly I just slept.¡± I say, disgruntled as I remember my wasted afternoon. ¡°Sanda? The maid?¡± Wisteria asks. ¡°Yeah, she said that for the most part, the only interaction humans have with the other humanoid species are warring with the demons, and occasionally buying elven or dwarven wares from merchants.¡± ¡°So there are other species.¡± ¡°Yeah, apparently there are quite a lot, actually.¡± ¡°Did you do anything else?¡± Forest asks. I yawn. ¡°I mapped the inside of the palace, but I couldn¡¯t get outside. Or more like, I fell asleep before I could try.¡± ¡°You mapped the palace?¡± Forest asks, a slight hint of incredulity in his tone. ¡°Just the inside, and I wasn¡¯t allowed into a lot of it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± We¡¯re silent for a moment, and I think that maybe the progress I made today isn¡¯t so bad after all. Too bad the library was a bust. Then I sit straight up. Though since I was already sitting straight to begin with, it¡¯s more like a stiffening of the spine. ¡°Picture books!¡± ¡°What?¡± Forest asks. ¡°The library has picture books! Since they¡¯re often used to teach children, maybe we can find some of this world¡¯s common sense in them!¡± I say, excited now. Forest isn¡¯t so enthused. ¡°¡­That seems like it would take a long time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Wisteria says. ¡°But it¡¯s not like we have other options.¡± I argue. Wisteria tilts her head. ¡°Could we ask Sanda?¡± ¡°We could,¡± I say doubtfully, ¡°but she freaked out when she accidentally mentioned the library to me, so I think it¡¯s better not to.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wisteria says, ¡°I suppose we could look tomorrow after dinner.¡± Forest and I nod. ¡°By the way,¡± I turn to Forest, ¡°Wisteria learned skills, but what did you learn?¡± ¡°The proper stance and footwork.¡± ¡°So no skills?¡± ¡°No, the teacher told me that it¡¯s better to start with the basics.¡± ¡°Well, that makes sense.¡± I say, musing on the differences between the magic and weapons training. Or rather, we¡¯re all being taught way differently, even though Wisteria and I are both learning magic. I now fully understand why the magician taught only me yesterday. Also, is it just me, or is Forest talking a lot more than he was originally? Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter anyways, but still. Maybe he¡¯s opening up or something? ¡°By the way, what type of sword style are you learning?¡± I ask, somewhat interested. ¡°A Japanese sword style. The sword is a katana, but I don¡¯t know the name of the actual style.¡± Huh. ¡°So that was your sub skill?¡± ¡°Yeah, katana mastery.¡± He turns to Wisteria. ¡°You were learning Earth magic, right?¡± She nods. They start in on a conversation about the skills, and I listen and watch, as I¡¯ve already asked all the questions I wanted of Wisteria in the baths. Actually, I feel like most of the conversations we¡¯ve had so far involve two of us talking while one of us listens. It¡¯s kind of a weird group dynamic. I yawn, raising my hand belatedly to cover my mouth. Wisteria and Forest look at each other, then stand up. ¡°Hmmm?¡± I ask, confused. ¡°You look like you¡¯re tired, so we can talk tomorrow.¡± Wisteria says. ¡°We don¡¯t have to stop, and it¡¯s not like you can¡¯t continue talking if I leave.¡± ¡°It¡¯s late anyways.¡± Forest says. I¡¯m not entirely convinced. In the first place, it seems like I¡¯m always the one who starts yawning. But it¡¯s not bad for me anyways, so I just accept it. Forest and I walk to the door, Forest opening it and Wisteria shutting it behind us. I wave my hand a bit, attempt to stifle another yawn, and trudge to my room. Once I¡¯ve changed into my nightgown and brushed my teeth, I¡¯m fighting to stay awake. This time, however, I close the blinds, resolving to sleep an extra hour. I crash into the bed, asleep less than five minutes after I lay down. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­... Since I closed the blinds, I wake up to one of the maids who are going around knocking on doors. I slither crash out of the bed, yelling ¡°Thanks¡± in the general direction of the door. I have a lot less time to get ready this morning, but a quick shower is easy, and I already found the part of the closet that houses the more exercise-y clothes. The only thing left is to brush and re-braid my hair, which I do with quickly. As such, I actually get to the dining room at the same time as everyone else. I grab the mini-pie Wisteria had yesterday, a mug of the all-important coffee, and slide into place beside Forest, who¡¯s sitting on the end this morning. I eat slowly, casually observing my surroundings. It looks like the princess is making a point to eat with everyone, since she¡¯s with a different group today. ¡°You know, since we don¡¯t have television anymore, conversation topics are going to be scarce.¡± I say without thinking. Wisteria and Forest look like they¡¯re not sure how to respond, but eventually Wisteria makes the leap. ¡°¡­Did you watch a lot of television?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± ¡°So why did you bring it up?¡± She asks, tilting her head. ¡°I was trying to remember what I usually talked about.¡± ¡°And?¡± I shrug. ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything specific to myself. You guys are the same, right? But I feel like a lot of it was about books and music that we don¡¯t have here, so I was wondering what to talk about instead.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true we haven¡¯t talked about much.¡± Wisteria nods. ¡°I mean, this doesn¡¯t feel as forced as amnesia, but that¡¯s what it is in the end. I suppose that since our memories only date a few days back, it¡¯s not that weird we don¡¯t have much to talk about.¡± I take a casual sip of my coffee, thinking about what to do after we leave the palace. It would be kind of sad if we spent all our time working. People need to relax, after all. Although I should really be thinking about how to get out of here. I¡¯m already planning how to spend the prize money before I even enter my submission into the contest. But I really can¡¯t think of a way to get out of here. Ah, I¡¯m so frustrated. I sigh and take a sip of my coffee, glancing at Wisteria and Forest. Who are both staring at me. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You seem to space out a lot.¡± Wisteria says, a slight smile on her face. ¡°Oh, yeah¡­¡± I can¡¯t really deny that. ¡°Well anyways,¡± I say, changing the topic, ¡°what are you guys learning today?¡± ¡°The same thing as yesterday¡­?¡± Forest says. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense.¡± I deflate a bit inside. The topic has changed, but the transition wasn¡¯t smooth at all. ¡°Are you doing something different?¡± Wisteria asks, picking up my slack. ¡°The magician told me that I¡¯d be learning combat today. Something about practical experience?¡± I say, wondering what exactly he meant by combat. Hand to hand? Swords? Blasting targets with air blades? ¡°I see.¡± She responds. ¡°Where are you meeting your teacher?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t say.¡± I¡¯m not too concerned about this, since he seems to pop up by himself anyways. ¡°Your teacher seems¡­interesting.¡± Forest says, raising his eyebrow. ¡°Yes, lucky me.¡± I roll my eyes back at him. I¡¯m mostly sarcastic, but I do think I¡¯m kind of lucky, since he seems to be teaching me properly at least. We part ways after breakfast, Forest and Wisteria going to their teachers¡¯ specified meeting spots. I wander over to the plain courtyard where we were yesterday, taking my time, but there are other people in it, so I turn around and wander a bit more. For someone who said I wouldn¡¯t have many breaks, he¡¯s pretty lax with the scheduling thing. ¡°Are you done playing around?¡± ¡°I resent the implications of that. You¡¯re the one who failed to specify a meeting place.¡± I say. Once again, he randomly showed up, though this time in front of me. Maybe because of my comment last time about how he always appears from behind? He raises an eyebrow, turning and walking away. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± This guy really irritates me. We end up in some sort of underground training room that I did not find in my search of the palace. Mostly, I assume, because we accessed it through a secret passage in one of the palace rooms. I can¡¯t believe I overlooked the potential of secret passages. Well, snooping around to that extent would be cause for suspicions though. Still, there may be hope yet for the second floor of the library. I look around with interest. It looks kind of like a really big dojo crossed with an armoury. ¡°So are you teaching me magic, or ¡­are those throwing stars?¡± I get side tracked by the shiny ninja weapons. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like a place for practising magic.¡± I say, still studying the various weapons. ¡°I told you yesterday, today is combat training.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a mage though,¡± I point out, ¡°should I really be spending time learning close combat?¡± Not that I don¡¯t want to, but I¡¯d like to know his motivations for such a weird teaching style. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Aannndd the eyebrow goes up. ¡°Obviously not. On the other hand, no one else seems to be learning opposite to their skill, and I¡¯m pretty sure they don¡¯t want to die.¡± This is purely an assumption, as Wisteria and Forest are the only people I talk to. Wow, that sounded sad. He sighs. ¡°You¡¯re different because of your skill.¡± Well, pushing too hard wouldn¡¯t be good, so I¡¯ll content myself with that shitty explanation for now. ¡°Fifty laps.¡± ¡°Around this¡­place?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I shrug and start running. You would think that our overwhelming cheats would negate the need for conditioning though¡­ ¡°Oh yeah. How are we able to act so normally after our strength increased so much?¡± I ask, remembering a question I had earlier. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I would guess that since it is strength you suddenly acquired from an external source, you can only use it when you consciously exert strength. You¡¯ll need to learn how to use it naturally and control it on it¡¯s own, assimilate it into your natural strength.¡± He says, standing in the middle of the room, watching me run laps. It¡¯s very boring. I¡¯m on my fifth lap, and the magician is still standing in the centre, fiddling with a throwing knife. Seeing a person casually twirling a knife around their fingers is actually pretty disturbing. I sigh with boredom, and suddenly I feel an overwhelming pressure crushing me, as if the air just got way denser. ¡°What?¡± I gasp, squeezing air into my lungs with difficulty. The magician looks at me. ¡°Fifty laps.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°A type of air magic.¡± I know I was complaining about it being boring earlier, but this is not what I wanted. Though as I continue running, I feel a grudging respect for him. The pressure is barely brushing my limits; that is to say, it¡¯s calculated perfectly for my improvement. It¡¯s grudging though. When the fifty laps are done, I collapse onto the floor, lying down and panting. Then I get up and walk, because it helps, even though wading through this pressure is uncomfortable. ¡°Good. Now push-ups.¡± ¡°How many?¡± I ask, feeling a faint premonition of something bad about to happen. ¡°Until I say stop.¡± I lose count somewhere after three hundred, and it¡¯s not until my arms buckle under my own weight and the pressure that he says stop. Next are crunches, then squats, and so on. Only after all of the muscles in my body have been thoroughly liquefied is he satisfied. Or rather, I didn¡¯t know that there were that many different ways to build that many muscles. ¡°Isn¡¯t¡­indiscriminately¡­building muscle¡­bad?¡± I ask between breaths. The magician shakes his head. ¡°Normally it would be, but theoretically, your increase in strength is uniform across your whole body. Think of it like compressing your muscles instead of building them.¡± ¡°Does¡­that¡­even count¡­as human¡­anymore?¡± I ask. To my knowledge, that is not how building muscle works. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the details.¡± He dismisses it. ¡°That¡¯s¡­kind of¡­an important¡­detail.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still human.¡± He says. It¡¯s the future I¡¯m worried about though. Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter that much in this case anyways. ¡°Now¡¯s time for stretching.¡± The ominous feeling is back. He demonstrates various stretches with a degree of flexibility that surprises me, if not amazes me. ¡°Now you.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.... ¡­Suffice to say, it was hell. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for my body to hurt more right now. What makes it worse is that I know what it will be like in the morning. ¡°We¡¯ll do this again tomorrow. Do you remember the way down?¡± The magician asks, not an ounce of compassion in his eyes. I nod. ¡°Tomorrow you¡¯ll also start learning actual combat. This took more time than I thought. Get here an hour earlier.¡± I nod again, resigning myself to the loss of sleep. Seriously, can I just switch teachers?