Jack took a seat across from us and I started to speak, “So, have you had a look around Heavensward yet?” I asked.

“I have not.” He replied.

“Us neither, it’s pretty huge. Saw a bit of the upper students though, they seemed relatively nice.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“You like cooking?” After I asked that question, it was like his eyes shined for a moment before returning to normal.

“I do, it’s one of the few things I enjoy. A good dish really helps in the long run. It also makes me- Eh-em, I mean, if it’s something I can provide, I don’t mind helping out.”

His tone suddenly shifted when we talked about cooking. Is he a cooking fanatic or something?

“That’s really amazing! Cooking is such a difficult skill to master but you did it! I could never imagine myself being that good. I’m not very useful at much, haha.” Rio chimed in with a energetic voice.

I looked towards Rio, it didn’t seem like he thought he said anything wrong with what he just said. Before I could speak, Jack spoke first, “I appreciate your compliments, but Heavensward is not something just anyone can enter.”

Mm…? That’s a pretty round-a-bout way of saying ‘You’re useful in other ways.’ If that’s even what I’m understanding from his words. He’s quite blunt with everything.

A few seconds later, a voice came from the door, “Oh! There’s some of y’all in here. How are y’all doin?” He had a country accent like Rachel.

He caught the attention of the rest of us as we looked towards him. He had freckles, brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a straw hat, and overalls with a plaid shirt. He seemed like the definition of a farmer.

“Hello.” I replied.

“H-hello!” Rio replied before whispering in my ear, “He looks strong…”

Rather than ‘strong’, I’d say ‘Sturdy’. But I guess it goes both ways.

Jack didn’t reply but I could see him looking at his hands.

“I smelt something that reminded me of two chip-stacks on a gyro-roll of a pork belly, and my stomach starting to rumble, haha. What’re y’all eating?” He headed to our table.

… ‘Two chip-stacks on a gyro-roll of a pork belly’? What in the hell does that even mean…

“No idea, Jack made it for us.” I replied.

“Jack? Oh, silly me, we’re classmates from now on, let me introduce myself. My name is Clay Addis, I’m 19 years old and I came from the small town of Peelsbelly. It’s pretty deep in the west, so y’all probably haven’t heard of it.”

Peelsbelly? West…Mm… The west had a lot of forest and open land if I remember correctly. I don’t think I did a lot of story things there.

“M-my name is Rio Vondheart! It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Clay!” He sounded a little nervous when he spoke.

“It’s wonderful to meet ya, Rio. I hope we’ll get along like 2 clucks on some prairie land!” He extended his hand for Rio to shake, and after a brief moment they shook hands. Clay turned to me before continuing to speak, “How about ya?”

“I’m Leo Vondheart, let’s get along well.”

“Oh! You two are siblings? I see the resemblance now, haha. It’s amazing you both managed to get into Heavensward, let alone the same class. Y’all must be pretty talented. Let’s get along well!”

I looked towards Rio, he had a slight smile on his face and seemed to be thinking to himself.

Clay looked towards Jack before continuing to speak, “How bout yourself?”

“Jack Rowe.” He gave a short reply like usual.

“Nice to meet you, Jack.” Clay’s stomach started to rumble. His cheeks blushed a little before he put his hand on his stomach, “Haha, sorry. I aint eaten since this morning.”

Jack stood up before speaking, “Sit, I’ll cook you something.”

“Oh! You’ll really do that for me?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Correct, now sit and wait.”

“Yes sir!”

Jack headed to the kitchen while Clay took a seat across from me.

Clay Addis - 19

Skills -

Talents - Farming, Gathering, Endurance

Stats: D+

Strength: D+

Agility: D-

Dexterity: F+

Stamina: D+

Mana: F

That’s a lot of talents… He’s textbook definition farmer. He’s pretty good though, I wonder how he’d be in a fight.

“So, Rio, Leo, where are you two from?”

“Slums.” I replied.

“U-Oh! That’s even more impressive then! From zero-to-hero, huh? Haha, I always loved hearing Auntie read those kinds of books.”

“They’re kind of overdone and overly cliche in my opinion. So much tropes where it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re the chosen one! Your skill that you thought was trash is actually an ever-evolving skill that is the strongest!’ Something something along those lines, I mean, I don’t hate those kinds of stories, some of them are really good but they get a little repetitive some times.”

“Uh-?”

“Oh! Another gripe I have is when they’ve only trained for like a week and now they’re suddenly as strong as their master who just suddenly dies from either an illness or the enemy. And now there’s a revenge subplot that just includes the hero going from place to place attacking the villains minions until they finally reach the one who killed their mentor only to let them live cause they had a redemption arc. Haah…”

“Um…”

“Leo…?” Rio tapped on my shoulder.

“Ah-Sorry, I was just remembering some bad times.”

A few seconds later, Jack laid a plate in front of Clay before crossing his arms and watching him.

“Oh! Thank you, Jack!” Clay looked at the dish before giving it a whiff, “O-Oh my god. What the!? This smells like two peacocks on a flowerbed! It’s absolutely wonderful! I’ll dig in now! Thank you lord for the meal!”

He immediately started to devour the food. Licking the plate dry.

“Oh…Lord almighty up above, have mercy on my soul. That was the best damn meal I’ve ever had the pleasure of having, thank you, Jack.” Clay leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach.

It was only a brief moment, but I saw Jack have a slight smile on his face as Clay was eating.

Jack nodded his head before taking a seat.

“Well, I think I’m going to take an early rest. Night.” I said before standing up.

Rio looked at me before following, “I’m also going to sleep! Good night, Mr. Jack, Mr. Clay!”

“Night y’all, have some sweet dreams like that of a potato!” Clay waved.

“Goodnight.” Jack replied.

…

Rio and I were in front of our doors. I spoke first, “You’re going to sleep-sleep?”

“Yup! I’m a little more tired than usual, I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed. How about you?”

“I was probably going to take a shower, write some more things, and then sleep. Did you enjoy today?”

“I did! I was a little nervous meeting some of the other students for the first time, but it seems like they’re all good people! I’m hoping to make friends with them soon.”

“Alright, that’s good. I’m sure we’ll make friends with most of them. Then, goodnight.”

“Goodnight!” Before I could enter my room, Rio continued to speak, “Wait!”

“Mm?”

He hugged me before speaking, “Goodnight!”

“Night.” I subconsciously smiled and ruffled his hair.

I headed into my room shortly after. I took a shower before heading to my desk with a towel on my head.

For a while now, I’ve been writing some songs in a little notebook. I haven’t performed any of them anywhere because I wanted to perfect them and get a specific feeling from them. It was just a little thing I did before going to bed every night.

…

I woke up to the sound of an alarm clock.

“Mm…” I groaned sitting up and looking around. There was no alarm clock near me.

“The hell?” I could hear the beeping in my head again.

I turned on my lights before looking at the clock, it read ‘6:00’.

I heard the beeping again before taking another look around, the noise didn’t sound like it was coming from one specific direction. Suddenly, I started to hear a voice, “Be prepared in 30 minutes.”

“Huh…? ‘Be prepared in 30 minutes’? Prepared for what? That’s ominous as hell. Um… Okay, great. Does it mean prepared to go to class? At 6:30? I’m pretty sure classes didn’t start until 7:30…”

Despite only assuming what it could mean, I quickly took a shower before putting on the Heavensward uniform. When I woke up, there were multiple on the dresser.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I got lost in thought.

From when I woke up, to this very moment. A lot of things had happened, from being broke to entering the most prestigious school in the kingdom. From looking like a dead fish, to looking like this. I think I’ve truly or at least mostly assimilated with the world I had once written.

It feels…Good.

I took a deep breath, briefly being reminded of the days I would write this world. Wetting my face with water, I headed out of the bathroom, putting on my shoes before heading into the hallway.

I could see some people down the hallway walking towards the common area.

I guess that’s where we need to go. Is Rio already there?

I knocked on Rio’s door before opening it, “Rio, I’m coming in, are you here?”

It seemed like he was still in the shower as I could hear the water running. I knocked on the bathroom door before speaking, “There’s about 5 minutes until the times up, I don’t know what’ll happen if we’re late or something.”

“Leo? Okay! I’ll be out in a second!”

Five minutes later he came out in his uniform, his hair was still wet so he shook his head like a puppy trying to dry itself.

“Looking good.”

“Thank you!”

“Alright, well, let’s go.”

“Do you know what that alarm was?”

“Nope, but I saw some others heading towards the common area, I’d assume it’s something to do with school.”

He put on his shoes and we headed out, towards the common area.

I counted and I could see about 12 others, a complete variety of students. I had no idea who almost any of them were other than Jack and Clay who were standing next to each other.

In front of them all was a middle-aged man with black hair and what looked like a robe on, he had a stern look on his face and looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

Grant Mispholfo - 43

Skills - Two Steps, Arsenal of Water, Connection, Mentor, Quick-Draw, Phase

Talents - Water Affinity, Swords, Education

Stats: A+

Strength: B+

Agility: A

Dexterity: A

Stamina: A+

Mana: A

That’s…Our teacher? Grant Mispholfo, the Ghost-walker…?