Dante’s Immortality – Chapter 15
It didn’t seem conceivable to him that the entire city could be the academy. He was taken completely off-guard. “Where is Kenguard?”
“Kenguard is still half a day’s ride east of here.” Alexander was clearly enjoying his reaction.
Dante stood on the edge of the crater, staring at the city in a new light. He began looking at all the massive buildings and open fields with a newfound interest, wondering each one’s purpose. He hadn’t been overly excited to stay at the academy before, just interested in using it to gain knowledge in the short term, but after seeing it for himself, his attitude couldn’t help but change.
Layla glanced over to Alexander. “We need to go meet with Headmaster Tolli immediately.” She looked back to Dante. “I’ve already told Sir Andres to help you with your application, as well as find suitable accommodations.”
That was convenient. Waving goodbye to Alexander and Layla, Dante went back to the carriage where his possessions and Sir Andres were.
His possessions didn’t account for much, just a bundle of items he took off of the archers after the attack as well as the weapons he had borrowed. He was still hoping to sell the looted items for a decent amount of money though. After taking them out of the storage compartment in the back of the carriage, he went to Sir Andres, who was giving orders to the rest of the guards that would be staying behind.
It took Sir Andres a moment to notice him. “Are you ready, boy?”
Dante nodded somewhat hesitantly. He couldn’t help but find Sir Andres intimidating after their sparring session.
“Alright, let’s be off then.” Sir Andres dismounted his horse and gave the reins to the guard next to him, then began walking toward the academy. The man didn’t say another word on the entire trip, and he wasn’t going to complain about it in the slightest.
He was too preoccupied taking in every detail of the academy anyway. Unlike Alazel, there were no walls surrounding its perimeter. It seemed like the massive crater combined with the thousands of combatants inside were deterrent enough. That wasn’t to say that there weren’t any guards patrolling though. It seemed like there were patrols everywhere, pushing through the bustling crowds that filled the streets, constantly on the lookout for anyone causing trouble.
The people in the crowds themselves were almost all young as well, only occasionally would he see someone who wasn’t in their teens or early twenties.
The thing that took the most of his attention were the different types of buildings. There were some that he could tell their use, like buildings used for housing or different shops. But there were some he had never seen before, like massive towers and large circular shaped stadiums. As he trailed behind Sir Andres, he was busy pondering over how they might be used.
After walking through the academy for around twenty minutes, Sir Andres turned into a relatively large building. It seemed to be far more extravagant than the others around it. The bricks on the outside were covered with white stone decorations, and although it was only one story, it was still larger than most of the others. After looking it over for a moment, Dante followed behind the knight.
Stepping inside and looking around, he had never felt so out of place in his entire life. Even in Alazel, where no one would even talk to him unless in admonishment, he felt a greater sense of belonging.
The room he walked into was completely filled with people that were standing in a line that snaked side to side as it slowly made its way towards the back of the room where an old man with powder white hair was filling out paperwork. The people themselves were what made him feel so out of place though.
Each and every one of them were dressed in fine coats or dresses, openly showing their sigils that indicated which noble house they originated from. Not only that, but it seemed that they all had at least one retainer next to them. Dante stood by the door, in stark contrast to all of them. His tattered clothing, bundle of looted items, and strange appearance already collecting the glares of any of the nobles in the back of the line that noticed him.
Sir Andres seemed to have none of his misgivings though. As soon as Dante stopped to stare at the nobles in the room, the knight put a hand on his shoulder and began shoving him toward the old man in the back. Dante looked on in horror as the two of them sliced through the snaking line undeterred. He, at the very least, tried to avoid bumping into any nobles in his path; but the Sir Andres just trampled over anyone who was standing in his way.
By the time they finally made it to the old man, the entire room was in an uproar. Nobles all over the room were shouting in indignation at the fact that two rugged men had cut them in line, and the ones that Sir Andres had walked directly through were shouting the loudest.
In a tone that brooked no nonsense, the old man addressed Sir Andres. “I’m afraid that you-”
Sir Andres put his combatant’s glove in the man’s face, and as soon as the old man saw the black deer sigil that represented House Calman, he froze. “I am Sir Andres of House Calman.” His voice carried over the crowd, and as soon as they realized what he had said the entire room went silent. Sir Andres indicated to Dante. “I need you to enroll this boy, his name is Dante and he has a Warrior Classification. Put him in Housing District 1, he is a personal guest of House Calman.”
Warrior Classification? There is no way I can fake being a Warrior Classification with how high my Agility and Dexterity are.
Upon hearing that he was a guest of House Calman, the nobles in line were now looking at him with newfound interest.
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Sir Andres looked down at him and saw the confused look on his face. “Don’t worry, your Classification only indicates what type of tutelage you receive for free. Any melee Classifications learn world essence manipulation, which focuses on the basics of swordsmanship, unless they specialize in a different type of weapon.”
The surrounding crowd’s interest only increased at Sir Andres’ words. He couldn’t figure out what the knight was doing. First, he went out of his way to hide his Classification. Then, literally in the next breath, he pretty much told everyone within earshot that he wasn’t a Warrior.
Not only that, but the knight said that it wouldn’t change the tutelage he would get for free, which meant that there were other things that he could learn at a price. There was still too much he didn’t know about the academy.
After his explanation to Dante, Sir Andres looked back to the old man questioningly.
The old man began shuffling through his papers hurriedly, his no-nonsense attitude giving way to a flustered one. “Of course, milord knight, just give me one moment and I’ll have someone escort him to his quarters.”
Sir Andres just nodded to him, then looked back to Dante. “Your first lesson will be in yard one tomorrow morning, don’t be late.” After that, the Sir Andres walked back through the crowd, which was now making way for him, and left the building. Dante just looked on in silence, he thought that the knight would at least stay with him until he was done enrolling.
Don’t be late? He didn’t even give me a time…
The old man in front of him was still shuffling his papers furiously. “Ah, found it!” Pulling a particular paper out of his stack, he grabbed a block of wood that was sitting in a pool of ink off his desk, then stamped the paper with it.
After that, he opened a drawer under his desked and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a key. “Alright, everything seems to be in order.” He looked toward his left side where the attendants were standing. “Hobert please escort...” He paused for a moment to look at the paper in front of him. “Dante to his quarters. He will be staying in Housing District 1, building 43, floor 3.”
The attendant, Hobert, grabbed the key from the old man and turned to Dante. “Please follow me, my lord.” With that, the attendant turned walked back to where he had been standing previously and opened a door to the outside. Hobert stood there with the door open, gesturing to him.
My lord?
He wasn’t sure how he felt about being addressed as ‘my lord’, even if it was just an attendant being courteous. His feelings concerning the nobles he had met thus far were complicated to say the least.
Without wasting any more time, Dante followed the attendant out of the building.
The nobles in line, who had been staring at the scene wide-eyed, watched him intently as he left. Their examining gazes were more than uncomfortable.
As they walked, similarly to Sir Andres, the attendant didn’t say a single word. Dante assumed that the man would engage in conversation with him if he asked him too, but he had no interest in talking to the attendant in the loud streets, even if he could answer some of his questions.
The walk towards Housing District 1 wasn’t far. If the streets weren’t so crowded, it would have probably taken roughly ten minutes, but as they moved at the crawling pace of those around them, it took around half an hour. So far, he hadn’t seen a street within the academy that wasn’t crowded, but it was still around noon, so he held out hope the crowds would eventually die down.
Housing District 1 itself stood far apart from the rest of the academy. The buildings were all identical, and ornately decorated with three floors each. Not only was the entire thing surrounded by a guarded gate, but the lawns in front of the buildings were also immaculately manicured. Thus far, it was the nicest area of the academy he had seen.
Hobert lead him to the gate in front of Housing District 1 where two guards were standing watch. As soon as the two of them noticed them, Hobert gestured toward him. “This is Dante, he is a new resident of building 43 floor 3. He is a personal guest of House Calman and doesn’t have an identification card yet, so don’t cause problems for him.”
Without waiting for a response, Hobert motioned to Dante and walked through the gate. He was expecting the guards to be at least slightly upset at the treatment, but as soon as they heard he was a personal guest of House Calman, they just stood a little bit straighter and more attentive while they nodded at Hobert’s words.
Perhaps telling Layla and Alexander his Classification wasn’t a mistake after all.
Hobert then led him to building 43. It wasn’t hard to find, as they walked through the gate buildings 25 and 26 were directly in front of them. All they had to do was continue walking down the line until they reached 43.
Upon reaching building 43, Hobert led him up the stairs on the outside to the third story. “Here you are my lord, Housing District 1 building 43 floor 3, your new residency.” Hobert opened the door with the key the old man had given him, then handed it to Dante and turned to leave.
Seeing the man leave, he panicked. He had no idea where anything was in the academy. He cleared his throat, catching the attention of the attendant. “I have a few items that I need to sell, is there a place I could do that?”
“Yes, the trading district. But I would wait until your servant comes and brings your identification card before leaving Housing District 1, even though I warned the guards, they are completely incompetent.” Hobert’s expression twisted slightly, as if just thinking of the guards was distasteful.
“What servant?”
Hobert saw the confused look on Dante’s face and hurriedly answered him. “I’m terribly sorry my lord, but retainers aren’t allowed for students of the academy. Therefore, as a resident of Housing District 1, one will be provided to you by House Calman. They should be here within the hour with your identification card.”
He actually thinks I have retainers?
Dante glanced down at his tattered clothing, then back up at Hobert, trying to perceive whether or not the attendant was having fun at his expense. Unable to tell, he dismissed him. “Thank you for your help.”
After dismissing the attendant, Dante entered the third floor of the house, now full of excitement. He had rarely even seen the inside of any home, much less had one that he was staying in himself.
Stepping inside, he was blown away. The initial room was fully furnished; drapes over the windows, carpets, two couches, and even a circular wooden table with six chairs surrounding it. Even though the walls and floors were just made out of standard wood, the room looked amazing. There were three doors that seemed to connect to adjoining rooms, and Dante immediately ran to inspect them.
The first door to the left opened to a small kitchen, it was fully equipped with enchanted equipment, the cost of enchantments must have been ridiculous. There were other things inside as well, like cutting boards, knives, pots, and pans. Dante looked at each of them closely, but he had never used any of the items before and didn’t know how to evaluate their quality. He didn’t see many other items of note, so turned and left.
After leaving the kitchen, Dante checked inside the other door that was on the left side of the room. It was a bedroom. He didn’t even notice anything else in the room, just the bed.
In his entire life, the most comfortable thing he had slept on was a bundle of rough blankets. Looking at the full mattress and plush pillows in front of him, he was speechless.
Dante slowly walked up to it. Reaching down, he began feeling the firm, yet soft mattress and the cloud-like pillows.
Immediately giving up on any thoughts of searching the rest of his new living quarters, Dante crawled on the bed and went to sleep.