Someone paid the headmaster to expose him. Kaz could feel it in his bones. There were at least two groups after him; the one who instructed nervous-boy, and the one who paid the headmaster to expose him. They weren’t working together because their objectives clashed. Nervous boy wanted to take care of him quietly. The headmaster’s actions put him at the center of attention and painted a target on his back.

The headmaster and his mother were similar. She was a money-grubbing misery and when the apocalypse started they found out she was like a pack rat hoarding resources. For a moment they thought she knew it was coming, but she’d been raised to prepare for any scenario.

“No. How do we make our lives more comfortable? Answer my questions, by order of–” The boy’s face matched the color of his shirt, a deep read. His hands clawed at his throat before he crumpled to the ground. The students close to him backed away, but after a few concerned glances, they pretended he wasn’t there.

“Tsk. nothing special,” the headmaster said, giving the boy a disappointed look. “Refrain from interrupting. Students will be muted if they speak out of turn. Whether it will be permanent is up to the whims of fate.”

Hands flew to throats, and heads bowed. The space around the boy widened as if he were contagious. The color had drained from his face, but he could breathe now even if his mouth moved with no sound coming out. Some of the pitying glances turned to amusement.

Kaz didn’t care. Only a fool would act out of turn, and he wished there were a few more to test the waters. It saved him from taking unnecessary risks.

“The term lasts ten consecutive months with a two-month winter break. Tomorrow the first of January is the start of term and classes begin at nine o’clock sharp. You will meet your year supervisor who will explain more about your classes. The first class is compulsory, but past that, there are no attendance requirements. How each student decides to spend their time is up to them.”

Anorak, January. Words that shouldn’t exist. His mother spoke English, but her pronunciation was always off. Pieces slotted together. Kaz’s head dropped, making a note: Worlds connected?

That wasn’t the picture his mother had painted. The ring on this finger burned, the temptation of his mother’s journal stronger. She’d made it seem like a unique occurrence, ending up in a different world.

Focus.

Classes Mandatory. He wrote. Kaz didn’t know enough about magic to be skipping class, but even if he did attendance wasn’t required but the headmaster didn’t say what was.

Focus.

Kaz forced his head back. Ignoring the kink in his neck from looking up.

“You are standing in Abyss Dorm. This dorm does not have restrooms or a dining hall, and you will remain here until you meet the qualifications to change dorms. The house mistress is Mrs Pots, she'll answer questions you have about your stay in Abyss Dorm. She is also responsible for assessing your qualifications to change accommodations. This dorm has rules and I expect you to follow them. If not, you will receive demerits. Demerits carry different weights depending on the infraction.” The figure paused, the stone face freezing between expressions.

Kaz sighed. There was a disturbing pattern emerging. Withholding information seemed standard among mages. They’d been told a lot, but no specifics. What were the rules of the dorm? What happens if you get demerits? Kaz wasn’t certain that the house mistress would answer those questions. Or– he glanced at the ring on his finger. Maybe she would, for a fee. After all, time is money.

“Sorry for that. There was a slight mix-up with the spell matrix.” Three students appeared, their clothes rumpled and their faces a tangle of emotions. “Where was I? Ah, yes. The dorm ha– no. That’s not it. Yes, here. Your uniforms will be ready for you in the morning. You only get one set so treat it with care. The standard uniform includes a badge, white jacket, black pants, shirt, and shoes. Please be careful with your badge. If lost it will carry a hefty penalty.”

The headmaster stopped speaking, a stone eyebrow raised.

There was a hand in the air. Kaz couldn’t see who it belonged to, but it was on the boy’s side of the room. It shook and dipped down, but the boy kept it in the air.

“How adorable. What can I do for you?” The face pulled out of the wall further, leaning down towards the area where the boy who held up his hand was. The grandfatherly look on the headmaster’s face made Kaz’s skin crawl.

“Windows?”

Windows? Kaz peered at the back wall but couldn’t see anything.

“Ah–” The headmaster snapped his fingers and black, wooden, panel windows snapped open.

Kaz realized the rattling sound from earlier and the draft was coming from the windows. He couldn’t see them before because the windows were painted black, and the outside was pitch black, allowing no light.

“Quite refreshing aren’t they? They will remain open. The room needs proper ventilation since there are so many students. I assure you, we have a fully stocked med bay should any student need its services.”

Refreshing wasn’t the word he’d choose. Also, there would be a lot of injuries among the students.

The boy who asked the question would have a target on his back. It wasn’t his fault the windows were open, but people needed someone to blame.

“Any other questions?”

Feeling courageous another hand popped up.

“Yes,” The headmaster said.

“Where will the girls change? The boys can see.” The voice started strong but trailed off. Kaz could see smirks and leers on many of the boys' faces.

The head tilted to the side. The amused smile he’d worn melted away. “Less amusing. That depends on the person, doesn’t it? The beds at the front of the room have a sectioned-off area that provides privacy. Also, privacy spells are a staple in any mage’s arsenal.”

According to his mom, mages didn’t start practicing magic until they were older. The most gifted started at fifteen and sixteen but were limited to null spells. Had that changed?

The people in the room pressed closer.

“Back up,” purple-eyes barked.

The boys took an involuntary step back. The ones left near the barrier were Kaz and nine others who looked amused instead of threatened by purple-eyes outburst.

“Not enough beds,” Another boy said, eyeing Kaz.

Kaz glanced at him before looking away. He raised his hand. Kaz preferred keeping a low profile, but that didn’t mean he’d cower.

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“Young Aquileia–what puzzles you?” The headmaster’s amusement was back.

“I go by Huxley.”

The sound in the room increased. Groups reformed, and glances were thrown his way as heads were bowed in discussion.

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“What an interesting year. What is your question young Huxley?”

“What are the school's policies regarding conflicts among students?” Kaz crossed his arms over his chest, his body loose, and a calm expression on his face.

“Life and death duels should only be conducted in the arena, petty squabbles in the dorm will be settled by the housemaster or mistress should they get out of hand. Conflicts are necessary for growth, and it is in their resolution that we find growth.”

Kaz smiled, his eyes meeting the boys closest to him.

“Are you used to fighting young Huxley?”

Kaz opened his mouth to speak before snapping his mouth shut. His body straightened the veneer of civility melting off. The answer to the headmaster's question rattled in his brain, wanting to crawl out of his throat. “And what should I call you, headmaster? I should at least know the name of the man forcing me to do things against my will?”

“I have forced you to do nothing, and I have gotten the answer to my question anyway. Your mother was a silly one, and I can’t say I care for your father past his gold, but the sum of them has produced something interesting at least. It’s Headmaster Onukss. I thought I was a little famous.”

“I had an unconventional upbringing because of a shady deal between my parents. What can a boy do?” Kaz spread his hands, shrugging.

“Yes, unconventional is one word for it.” A scroll sparked into the room and floated to Kaz. “That will help with the bloodlust leaking off of you. There are creatures attracted to it, and we wouldn’t want too many students dying this early in the school year. Well, you have a half-brother and a cousin attending this year with you.” The crowd parted and two boys marched out. Their faces made it clear they were forced to walk. “Not as strong-willed as you, though.”

Kaz didn’t grab the scroll. He didn’t trust it. “I thought I’d hidden that?” he said, ignoring the two boys.

“To some. To most. But there are those with a sensitivity. Grab the scroll young Huxley. Nothing you do can stop it, and everyone would prefer if I didn’t get serious.”

The headmaster was right. Kaz couldn’t fathom how strong the other man was, he just knew he’d lose a confrontation. Kaz clenched his teeth before reaching out and touching the scroll. It unfurled and bathed him in a golden light before burning up. He didn’t feel different.

The Headmaster made Kaz uncomfortable, and the feeling the headmaster was hiding information didn’t sit well with Kaz but he understood two underlying messages. If you wanted something you had to fight and earn it. And, the strong dictated the actions of the weak.

It was similar to his old life to a scary degree.

“Any more questions?” the headmaster asked, scanning the crowd. “Princess Zyaire? Lord, there are a lot of Eytels this year. Young Gram? No? Selene? I thought there would be more questions.” The headmaster looked around but no more hands were raised.

At least he wasn’t the only one singled out.

“Alright, moving on to the next order of business. On each bed, there is a cultivation manual. It is your lifeline to magic. It will help you increase the quantity of mana and the amount of mana determines how far you will progress on this path.”

Thank you’s echoed through the room. Some students were so excited they forgot they’d be muted if they spoke out of turn. Though being cut off mid-laugh didn’t appear to dampen their joy.

Why specify quantity? Quality?

Is this like the cultivation he did before?

How will mana react to Z-factor?

His list of questions kept growing. Since his mother developed the meditation manuals on earth, he could assume they were similar. Those manuals had low, mid, and high ranks. Low-rank manuals were common and had few requirements for use. Mid-rank manuals had specific requirements, usually an elemental affinity. High-rank manuals cost a lot of money–

Half your weight in gold– Kaz remembered a bedtime story his mother always told him. To pass through the abyss, you had to pay the devil half your weight in gold. It could be nothing, but he didn’t think so. He wrote it on a fresh page.

“What is he writing?”

“He wants to seem spe–”

Kaz didn’t waste time looking at them. The manual given was low-rank, he didn’t need to see it to know. Mid-rank manuals could probably be bought or found in the library, and the students with high-rank manuals would have gotten them from their families.

That thought led to another. What was happening with the system? The blue screen was still there with nothing on it. It was designed to teach and should have a selection of manuals, but as of now, he could only hope his mom had put a high-rank manual in his ring.

There was an emphasis on quality and quantity with orgone and he didn’t think it was different with mana.

“Ah-” The headmaster said, pulling Kaz from his thoughts. “To all of you planning to use external books and items, I hope you have them memorized. Anything without the academy’s seal will be destroyed if withdrawn from storage items. Your uniform badge doubles as a marker. Earning merit opens several functions of the pin. One function is a stamp that allows you to use non-school-issued items on campus.”

The headmaster ignored the hand that went up. He was probably avoiding explaining how you earned merit or having to expound on the other functions of the badge.

Kaz could guess at least one. It was identification and allowed the school to track students. If Kaz designed them, there would also be a way to spy on students, audio and visual.

“Any more questions?”

Several hands were in the air being waved around. “No? How unusual. Are you sure there are no more questions?”

“Si-” The voice was cut off and the speaker, who Kaz could just see at the middle line on the girl’s side, crumpled to the floor.

“Last order of business, a word from your house mistress.”

“I am Mrs. Amy Pots. You will refer to me as Mrs. Pots and nothing else. The dorm has one entrance; the teleportation circle you are currently standing in. Each student can enter the room three times per day. Naturally, there is one exit which you can see at the front of the room.” Kaz could imagine a stern woman with her hair pulled back into a bun, extending a stiff arm towards the door. As it was, there was only a voice echoing through the room. “You can leave as often as you like. Curfew is from one to three in the morning. My office hours are from nine to five. Students can make an appointment through the interface on their badge. Please make appointments early. If there is an emergency, please tap your badge and say emergency. This function is not to be abused. Your badges have not been assigned, so if you need help say the word emergency. There are more students than beds this year, as such, some students will have to sleep on the floor. There are bed rolls in the chests in the middle of the room. At the front of the room, are fourteen beds with assigned trunks that have perks for the students who claim them-”

Kaz laughed. They wanted to start a fight. He caught the eye of purple-eyes who wore a similar grin.

“Students must sit on the bed for five minutes for their mana signature to register. Students cannot change beds unless the previous occupant changes dorms. Bedrolls are not assigned and students who use them should refold and replace them after use. A word of caution; if you sleep in the teleportation circle at any time other than curfew you risk being stepped on. Out of care, I will warn you to leave early to make it to your first class.”

More hands shot into the air. Even Kaz was tempted to raise his, but he was sure they weren’t answering any more questions tonight.

As expected, the headmaster ignored the students. “A round of applause for Mrs. Pots. It will be a week before her office hours open, but a dorm head will be chosen to take any complaints until then. Volunteers?” The hands disappeared. “Yes, young Green- ah, there are a few greens this year.” Snickers sounded through the room. “Young Scott, thank you for volunteering–”

“I didn’t.”

Kaz recognized that voice. It was from the beady-eyed boy earlier.

“I remembered you did.” The headmaster’s expression turned pensive. “Is my memory going in my old age? No matter. Since there is nothing else, I will leave you to settle in.” The face melted into the stone with little fanfare. It was there in one moment and gone in the next, making Kaz think the theatrics at the start were on purpose.

A clap sounded through the room, and they scattered. Students spread like oil between the sardine-like bunk beds. Kaz reached his bed before most of the others even started moving.

“How the fuck is he that fast?”

“What did they feed him?”

“Argh!”

“Someone help me!”

You’re in my way.”

“You stepped on me.”

“Guys, calm down, do it orderl-”

“Shut up and get out of my way.”

It was chaos.

Katz sat on his bed and watched.