"There you are. I'm back, but sadly the contract wasn't that favorable for me.

A teacher could indeed be useful for me however I still wasn't convinced. As you know I'm in a tight spot at the moment, what I need the most is information, as well as a way to increase my strength quickly. The six months' worth of training and the full year I'd have to wait are too much.

Mr. Eric, my appointed teacher however surprised me. He seems to be a kind soul, he told me that he sympathizes with my predicament. Hearing my situation he promised to help me, I'll only have to help him on a few errands. Even if my soul isn't linked yet and I can't utilize soul powers, I'm a proud knight.

I'll probably have to dirty my hands for him, but that is a small price to pay. My family is still back there after all..."

The half snoring Nestor had woken up only after Linneo's first sentence. He got poked on the shoulder, but his friend was the stealthy type, with the strange physique he almost didn't emit a sound.

"I see your path your decision to make. Even if we have shortly met I'd like to give you some sort of advice on my part.

I died already once, and believe me, I have learned something from it, do not trust easily. Doubt even the most prominent of authorities, like this council for example. Even if they might seem the most righteous, believe what you see.

Well, HA HA HA!"

The warning that Nestor just gave him, surely reminded him of how foreign this city was to him. Surely putting a bit more caution towards his new collaborators wouldn't hurt.

A bit saddened to hear the rancor that Nestor harbored between his lines. Nonetheless, Linneo was happy to hear him caring for his safety, although only a bit less than a day passed since they met.

Anyway, he became quite baffled in front of Nestor's unexpected laughter.

"Sorry, sorry. My advice was truly heartfelt, only I-I sounded a bit hypocritical within myself. I agreed to the contract, you see.

It was too much of a good proposal for me. For this second chance that I got I would like to be free, yet to do so I'd have to become much more powerful.

I saw the opportunity to start anew with this, even if I'll be temporarily restricted by it."

'Hopefully, I didn't make a complete full of myself. But this is my choice now, not anybody else.'

A brief moment of silence lingered between the two, and only about a minute later Linneo resumed their conversation.

"I understand your reasons, to change isn't a bad thing, even for a monk. Now weren't you tired? Why don't we look for the lodgings together, maybe we could get our rooms to be near each other's."

Nestor felt that his friend's reasoning was on point, as he was about to make him the same question.

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Thus he quickly got up, and together they tried to remember the way back. It wasn't as easy even if they teamed up with what parts they remembered best.

Yet the white corridors of the academy seemed all the same. Even more because of the doors constantly moving, they had fewer points to refer to.

At least some of the scholars that hurriedly walked past them were kind enough to help them by giving directions.

"Yes, I confirm your identity as Mr. Linneo and Mr. Nestor. Let me arrange for your lodgings in a few minutes, as soon as I've finished I'll give you back your tablets."

Teresa, the lady at the reception they previously met, now was responsible to assign them their rooms. The majority of the matters related to gate 3240 were handled by her.

'She either is worked to the bone or batches of newcomers aren't as frequent.'

While thinking this, suddenly another question popped up

in Nestor's mind.

"Miss Teresa, if it wouldn't be rude I'd like to ask you a question. All the other souls that crossed the gate with us, why didn't they get to come with us.

Would they be waiting for their turn, or are they perhaps being discarded because they didn't hold a key?

Or they maybe didn't need to enroll in the first place?"

His inquisitive tone made Teresa drop two drops of sweet, she knew that the man had almost nailed it in full.

"I-I cannot tell you such information. If you are that curious about it you could ask it your teacher directly. However, I doubt he'll give you the green light until you at least reach the first level of soul coalescence.

Oh! Your rooms are ready, now to access them you'll simply have to use your tablets use their keys. Have a good time !"

Teresa quickly handed them their tablets and made a gesture for them to quickly leave.

'They all seem to be telling me not to poke my nose around. On one hand, I feel like I should keep in check my curiosity, to follow their advice.

However, I keep fearing the outcome of my previous life, the naivety that brought me to the stake.'

Nestor felt truly conflicted about how he should behave and if he should trust his guts and follow his nature.

Both he and Linneo had a lot on their plate to think about, thus their travel felt quite uneventful.

'We'll have more time to tell each other about our homeworlds, later on, first, we need to rest. Even I do, although for phycological fatigue more than a physical one.'

Thus they finally arrived. In front of them stood an imposing gothic-styled building made out of light grey polished stones.

Nestor distinguished their most famous characteristic, the elongated pinnacles, the large stained glass windows on the facade, and the various statues placed oìn their walls.

Only, they weren't representing the classic gargoyles, but they were the same ones he saw 'coming to life' inside the gate.

The chained city was already generally darker than back on Earth, due to the white sun not radiating actual sunlight. Yet inside the lodgings, the ambiance seemed to be a lot more dark and gloomy, even with the glass wall gifting the main hall that greenish atmosphere of the city.

'At least inside the academy they filled it up with candles, hanging chandeliers and other strange devices to emit light. These, in particular, functioned thanks to soul power, which I never saw back in Florence.'

The main hall was quite spacious, there weren't many chairs and benches to sit on, as well as a lot of free space. Two rows of stairs were present at the end of the hall, opposite each other, they went upwards in a spiral progression.

Surprisingly enough the place seemed quite desolate, not that they were the only ones present, but in such a specious hall, only up to about a hundred humanoid figures could be noticed.

'I'm sure there must be a reason related to the rhythm of life that the students lodging here have.'

They got up the stairs, given the fact that their rooms were on the third floor the duo had to take on quite a few steps.

They both swiped their respective tablet at the small fissure right beneath the door's handle. They briefly said farewell, promising to exit their rooms in about half a day, in case they could simply knock on their door.

Nestor didn't pay much care to the display of the room, as soon as he saw a bed he jumped right into it. Only a loud, rude voice bombarded his ears.

"You? What the fuck are you doing in my room uh?!"