Astrid woke up the next morning feeling better than she had in a while. Today she would attend school for the first time.
She put on her newly washed dress, which she had found the time to mend last night, and combed her hair thoroughly before braiding it as neatly as she could. She wanted to wear her best outfit today.
It was with a mixture of nervousness and excitement that she made her way downstairs for a quick breakfast before setting off towards the private academy. Since she had never attended a school before, she didn’t know what to expect or how she was supposed to act. Still, this was her chance to be around other people her own age, so she couldn’t mess this up.
The academy building was stunning. Yesterday she had been so focused on the other children entering that she hadn’t noticed, but now she took a moment to appreciate it. The stone walls stretched high, fitting in with the rest of the buildings in this area of the city. The details in the masonry spoke to the work of a high-level craftsman and countless hours of labor. Even with her limited knowledge of stones, she could tell that not all of them were from the local area. The door was made of dark wood, and symbols belonging to the god of education were painted on the frame in vibrant colors. It must have cost a fortune to build.
She went into the building but then stopped, unsure of where to go. Other kids moved past her. Most of them ignored her, and a few sent her glances before returning to the conversations they had with their friends.
“How do I find out where to go?” Astrid asked the man guarding the door.
“Go to the office and talk to the principal.” He answered in a monotone voice, keeping his eyes on the door where students were still streaming in.
“Thanks.” She knew where it was but figured she should probably pretend she hadn’t been here before. After all, when she visited yesterday, she had been disguised as her sister. She asked the man for direction, and he pointed her towards the office.
Soon, she reached her destination and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Astrid entered, and the principal beckoned her to take a seat.
“You must be our new student, Sigrid,” the principal said.
Astrid was about to correct her when she remembered that she had named her older persona Astrid and her actual self for Sigrid.
“Yes, it's me,” she said, realizing that now she had to get used to going by her dead sister’s name. The reminder of all she had lost made her eyes burn.
Don’t think about it, she scolded herself before the grief could overpower her resolve.
“We’re happy to welcome you to Largon Academy. My name is Gertrud, and I’m in charge of this school. You can call me Principal Gertrud or just Principal, understand?
“Yes, Principal Gertrud,”
“Wonderful. Your schedule should be available in your system by now. You’ll find it under occupation. Do you see it?”
Astrid concentrated and brought forward the occupation tab in her system. She had never used it before, as she had never had an official occupation. None of the quests her mother or Sham had given her nor the quests she had taken in the job hall counted as an occupation. She was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of information it contained, so she quickly scanned the content until she found the schedule.
Schedule:
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8.00-9.00: Otimranian studies.
Location: classroom 3
Description: The history, religion, and language of the kingdom of Otimra.
9.00-12.00: Elective specialty.
Location: Information will be available once an elective has been chosen.
Description: Information will be available once an elective has been chosen.
“Yes, I see it. Which specialties can I choose?” Astrid asked
“You should have a list in your system with your options. They all have vacancies and no need for prior knowledge, so pick whichever one you want. But you should pick wisely, as the skills you gain in those classes are going to determine what you study later and what kind of jobs you can get after graduation.”
“I’m not sure what I should pick, though.”
“You can think about it. Just make sure to decide before the elective class begins. I believe that's all for now. Classes start in fifteen minutes.”
Astrid said her thanks to the principal and headed off towards classroom three. While walking, her thoughts circled around which specialty to choose. She had found the list that principal Gertrud had mentioned, but she knew next to nothing about what each elective would teach her, and without that information, it was difficult to decide.
In the end, her decision should be based on what she wanted to do with her life, but she still wasn’t sure what that was. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She wanted to rid the world of monsters, but that was impossible. Monsters were the price of living in a world with magic, so the best anyone could do was keep them from leaving the dungeons where they spawned and slay those who escaped before they could cause trouble.
She could imagine that several of the specialties would be beneficial if she wanted to play a role in dealing with the monsters. An appeal for action could be made through journalism, and governance would put her in a position of power, which would enable her to dictate what needed to be done.
She could also fight monsters on her own, like she had already been doing, but did she want to risk her life every day doing so? She had firsthand experience with the dangers it entailed, and that was just from level one and two monsters. Stronger monsters would pose even more danger. The school didn’t offer monster-slaying classes either, but it did teach sword fighting and combat magic. She had always wanted to learn magic, but she had never had the chance to do so.
Then again, no matter what she chose, it could take years of training before she would be able to do anything, and the city couldn’t wait that long. There had to be people already qualified who could step up to the task. Surely someone was already working on it.
She made it to the classroom, which was easy enough to find as a big number was painted on the door. She still hadn’t made up her mind as she found a seat. Around her, the other students talked, and no one even looked in her direction.
For a moment, she thought she had accidentally made herself invisible, but then remembered her cloak was in her inventory. She had decided to only do it when she disguised herself as an adult to better distinguish her two personas from each other.
Suddenly everyone in the class stood up, and Astrid scrambled to follow them as she saw a man she assumed was the teacher enter the classroom.
“You may sit,” the teacher said, and the class did so. The teacher was a tall, middle-aged man with graying hair and a protruding belly.
Astrid listened to the teacher go on about important people and dates for an hour, trying to take notes and remember everything the teacher said. By the end of the class, her focus was almost depleted.
As the students around her began packing up their stuff, she panicked. She still needed to decide her specialty, and she was almost out of time. She scanned through the list again. She wished she had time to figure out more about the different classes, but a decision had to be made.
Uncertainly, she focused on the combat magician elective. She figured it would be the most useful skill at the moment. It would give her an extra attack option during monster battles. One she could do out of reach of most monsters, a thing she had wished for multiple times in the past few weeks. Having made up her mind, she mentally confirmed her decision and instantly got notified about the update to her schedule.
Schedule:
8.00-9.00: Otimranian studies.
Location: classroom 3
Description: The history, religion, and language of the kingdom of Otimra.
9.00-12.00: Combat magician
Location: classroom 8, training ground.
Description: The conditioning and magical training needed for duels and battles.
For the rest of the school day, her classes would focus on her specialization. Astrid was the last student to leave the room, and she hurried to the next class.