Joan told Albion that sign-ups would start in the early morning and last day and night until the tests began. She also told him that he would probably have to stay at the school until the tests were completed, so she packed him some food and sent him on his way with Pudgy in his arms.

  He got to the doors of the school as soon as the sun began to rise over the horizon, the only entrance to the school was through the large gate that sat in the center of the mighty wall that surrounded the entirety of the school, and as soon as they were opened Albion was allowed his first peek inside.

  It looked magnificent.

  He could see streets of cobblestone that had been lied perfectly on the ground. Beautiful buildings were designed to look as grand as the school felt. He was ready to start his adventure here.

  “Hello, young man, are you here for sign-ups?”

  A young woman stood behind a desk, she must have been an upperclassman tasked with signing the new students up. She seemed like a kind person.

  “Oh, um, yes.”

  “May I ask how you got here so early?”

  “I’ve been in town for a while. I, um, got here a little early on accident.”

  “Hmm? How? The trains don’t run during the off-season.”

  “Oh, I just walked, I didn’t know any trains came through here. I realized my mistake when I was already here.”

  Albion was a bit embarrassed, his cheeks reddened whenever he thought about how stupid he had been. Why didn’t he just spend a day reading a book that was actually up to date? He based everything off a book from god knows when.

  “O-oh. Okay, um, what is your name?”

  “Albion Eldridge.”

  “Age.”

  “18.”

  Well at least that’s how old he was physical, he still wasn’t sure how long he spent in the Library.

  “Okayyyyy, now I just need to know what studies you are signing up for.”

  “I want to Major in the research of Beasts, Languages, and Ruins. I want to also Minor in Magical Taming and Magical Combat.”

  “You, um, you are aware that the test will be more difficult the more studies you wish to take…correct?”

  “Yup!”

  Albion gave the young woman a beaming smile, she wasn’t sure what to make of the young man…was he dumb. Was he actually strong enough to take a test that hard at such an age? She didn’t recognize his family name so he couldn’t have been from any of those families. Most of them couldn’t even take a test that hard.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Alright, your number will be 00001, your room is in building number one, and your room is number one. You will be called for breakfast and for lunch. Anything you need to practice and study for the test is likely available in the building, but if you have any questions just ask one of the upperclassmen assigned to your class. One last thing before you go I also need to make sure that your pet is accounted for in the system, what is his name?”

  “He’s not my pet we are partners. His name is Pudgy.”

  “Alright then…you are free to enter. Please go straight to your room and do not wander around the school. It is a punishable offense to wander without an upperclassman escort. Good luck!”

  “Thank you!”

  When Albion disappeared through the gates and was on his way to his room the young woman finally let her smile fade as she thought about the strange boy, and the strange pet in his arms.

  ‘What a weirdo. Who calls a pet their partner? He has no clue how hard those test’s can be.

  She slumped back down into her chair and waited for more people to arrive. She couldn’t wait until her replacement came.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Albion walked through the cobblestone streets of the school and admired how vast it was within. He had never quite gotten an idea of how grand the school really was, but now that he was inside, it was a city of its own. On the way to his building, he passed shops and markets. He passed other students on their way to their classes and teachers discussing the incoming students as they walked to their offices. The buildings were large. The streets were bustling with activity.

  It was magical.

  The building he arrived at was one of the largest he had seen yet. There were others just like it that surrounded it. There were so many floors on each building that stretched into the sky, he had never seen buildings so tall in real life. When he got inside he learned that all the incoming students would be staying on the top floors of their buildings and that all of the floors below were going to be where they trained and studied.

  Albion was practically freaking out.

  He got to sleep all the way up there!

  He would be able to see the whole school from that height. Who wouldn’t be excited to see the world below them like that?

  Albion found large runes painted on the ground, they were teleporters that allowed you to move to the floors above. They filled a room on the bottom floor, and there was likely one on each floor that connected the teleporters altogether. Albion found a device next to the rune that allowed him to change the location. He chose the top floor immediately and felt that nauseating feeling he got whenever he teleported. He was glad he was used to it by now or he might have vomited, at least there would be no one around to see him if he was in such an embarrassing state.

  He ran to his room, opened the door with the key that the kind young woman had given to him, and was met with what he could only describe as decadence.

  The room was filled with fine furnishings. There was a fully stocked cupboard, even a special cupboard that had frost magic imbued into it, allowing him to store anything he needed to keep cold. He felt rich!

  What caught his eye was an orb floating in the middle of the room. It looked a little…strange. He had never seen one of them before. So he immediately started to tinker with it. He poked, prodded, and eventually hit something to turn whatever this magical device was on.

  It was a projector.

  It was showing fights between competitors in the student arena.

  Albion was mesmerized.

  He had never seen real duals before.

  That was something only the well-off had a chance to go see.

  And they always had to pay for tickets!

  He got to see it for free!

  Albion was about to pass out from overexposure to the lifestyle of the rich. They really had such amazing commodities all along.

  Had he really missed out on so much when he was just the owner of a little bookstore?

  It looked like he had made the right choice to go to this school. This was so amazing. He liked living with Joan better but he could get used to staying in this place…just for a little while.

  Knock Knock

  “Hmm?”

  Someone was at the door. Albion quickly opened it to see another upperclassman standing outside his door.

  “Welcome to Aberelt, I’ll be your freshman advisor, Gerald, if you need anything you can find me or one of the other advisors on the bottom floor at the advisor desk. A few of us will be there at all times for the duration of the freshman sign-ups and tests. You are…Albion correct?”

  “Um, yes.”

  “Good, if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask. Good luck.”

  Gereld promptly turned around and walked down the hallway, out of sight before Albion even had a chance to say another word.

  “That was a bit…strange.”

  Gerald felt a bit…off?

  His voice didn’t fluctuate one bit during that whole conversation. He sounded inhuman.

  ‘Whatever, time to unpack.’

  Albion put all of Joan’s meals in the cupboard or in the chilled cabinet so that they could stay fresh. He didn’t want to eat them all today after all. They were for him to eat for the next couple of days. In case he got hungry and they didn’t have something he wanted. Joan was very thoughtful of him.

  What Albion didn’t realize was that she was being thoughtful of the school, not him. She didn’t want the young man to put those poor chefs in a predicament. She knew how hungry the boy got and she knew that those chefs would have a hard time sating his appetite with just any meal. For some reason, that young man ate anything she gave him, no matter how energy-packed the meal was he just never tired of eating.

  Once he was unpacked and all his food was in its rightful place Albion sat down to relax and enjoy some of the fights being projected on the table before him. It was amazing how detailed they were. It was almost like he was there. Towering over the arena like a giant.

  ‘Haha, imagine a giant watching humans fight in an arena.’

  Albion enjoyed watching some fights, and even spent some time staring out the window towards the world below. Everything was so small from up here. Everyone was going about there day. Shuffling about. Some students ran, some just walked.

  Albion was glad he finally got to relax for a bit.

  If only that damn journal would let it stay that way for once.

  He was tempted to just ignore it and continue looking outside. He wanted to watch the sunset from here.

  {Task: Help the Visitor of the Library with what they need.

  Reward:10 Prana crystals of Low concentration.

  Punishment: Loss of all the Key’s charges.}

  “I used so many Prana crystals to charge that thing, don’t you dare. How is there even a visitor anyways?”

  {There are gateways throughout the world to the Library. If you don’t want to lose your charge then assist the visitor.}

  “Alright, alright…whatever…I never get a break. Wait…they aren’t dangerous are they?”

  {No.}

  “Fine then. Let’s go.”

  Albion opened a portal to the library. Very reluctantly. And went to help whoever it was that decided to visit.