The first weeks of May were warm. The flowers were blooming, the grass was growing, and the air was finally warming up. The nice weather was constant, almost overwhelming, as if trying to erase the memory of the monster known as Doctor. Destiny was busy diligently preparing for Scholaris, and so was Celeste, apparently, although John never bothered to check on either of them.

Prota had expressed her concerns as to whether or not she could get in, but truth be told, John wasn’t all that concerned. It seemed that she’d gotten quite the upgrade after fighting Doctor. An A-class core, some improved magic, finer control, all sorts of things. Kit even continued to train her in secret, working on teaching her new castable spells, which, in turn, improved her current arsenal of skills.

The problem, then, was John.

Given that the school was built for the elite, he’d have to put, at the very least, a semblance of effort in order to get in. Through this, he’d found out that Scholaris was a bit different than he’d expected.

For starters, age was of no large concern. He was a little worried about showing up as a grown ass man in a school for children, but he’d heard that there were fully fledged adults as students, although rare, so it was passable for now.

Flaunting one’s status was also something supposedly frowned upon, so John didn’t need to worry about them being commoners, although he wasn’t so sure about that. Status and nobility always seemed to be an issue in [Stories] like these, so he was taking that bit of information with a grain of salt.

The material taught was of an elite quality, enough to make any commoner capable of making a decent living on their own. Most students ended up in royal guards, as elite adventurers, or profitable store owners. This was likely attributed to the school’s unique classes.

The school was to be attended for four years, starting from September to April. April to September was a vacation to allow students to go home. Since age was no factor in a student’s progress, levels of education were simply referred to as first, second, third and fourth year. Regardless of which year one was in, students were taught essentials like math, writing, politics and trade in increasing difficulty. However, these topics were not what students went to Scholaris for.

That would be the school’s specialties.

And that was where John ran into a problem. Students wouldn’t be taught everything at this school. That would be a waste of talent. Rather, it was far better to teach students what they were good at and hone them into the best possible version of themselves. The specialties offered at Scholaris were Casting, Fighting, Alchemy, Magical Engineering, Blacksmithing, and Magic Circles. Each had its own exam, where students would be judged and evaluated and then allowed entry on a case-by-case basis.

Here was where John’s confidence in Prota lay, and where his own doubts began. What was he to do? He had no mana, no skills, nothing. Sure, he could fight, but he didn’t fight well. He just fought according to his hundreds of thousands of years of experience. Half the time, he didn’t even know what he was doing. His body just moved for him.

So, sucking up his pride, he went to the only person he could ask: Destiny.

“You want to know what class you should choose?” Destiny frowned, panting as he continued to swing his sword.

“Well, yeah.”

“I didn’t realize you were applying.”

“Did we not talk about this?”

“It’s just, well…” Destiny paused his training to look at John. “You know. Mana.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Let’s pretend for a second that I have mana and a decent shot at getting in. What do I pick?”

“Your intuition isn’t helping?”

“My- no, what do you think? You little- ah, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Me? No, of course not!” Destiny protested, but the smile on his face said otherwise.

Seeing as the conversation would be more than just a quick exchange, Destiny walked over to a bench where a towel and a bottle of water were waiting. He dried himself off and took a deep drink of water, letting out a deep sigh as he rehydrated himself.

“Well, let’s think about it logically. Are you going into any of the crafts?”

“Crafts?”

“You know. Alchemy, Magical Engineering, Blacksmithing, Magic Circles?”

“Magic Circles?”

“Okay, I’ll take that as a no,” Destiny said, ignoring John’s question. Since you can’t cast, you only really have one option, right?”

“...aren’t you also applying to Fighting?”

This was a discussion they’d had during their training to fight against Doctor. Destiny had realized that while Kit was an excellent magic teacher, her teachings in fighting were not nearly as high quality. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a capable fighter, but rather that she simply didn’t have a knack for teaching such a skill.

After seeing Albert fight, combined with the powerlessness he’d felt while fighting Doctor, Destiny had come to the realization that his capabilities were still severely lacking. Since no one in the castle could really teach him all that much without delegating their duties to someone else, Destiny had decided which class he’d take in Scholaris. He had an excellent professor in Casting.

So, he’d follow his sister’s footsteps in the Fighting class.

“Yeah, but what’s it to you?”

“Well, that just lowers my chances of getting in.”

“I’ve seen you fight,” Destiny scoffed. “You’ll be fine. Especially with how Scholaris works.”

“...and what’s that?”

Destiny took a sip of water as he wiped the towel across his face. A pleasant breeze cooled him down quite well, giving him a relief that allowed him to ignore the burning sensation in his arms.

“The exams are tailored to scouting talent. There’s no written exam or anything. The professors look at each exam personally and pick students they want to admit. That’s all it is. If you’re not up to par, you get expelled.”

“Then nobles-”

“Are still there, John. It’s unfortunate, but from what I’ve heard, the training they receive at an early age definitely makes it look like they’re more skilled than they could be. It’s ok. We just wait for the annoying ones to get expelled, right?”

“...right,” John muttered.

Destiny nodded. “Well, you’d better fill your application out.”

“...application?” John frowned. “Oh. Right. Hey, so how do you get an application?”

“What, you don’t have one?!”

“I- someone gave me one as a gift! Surely you can just give me one, right?”

“Well, yes, but you can’t just- argh, seriously, you’re an idiot, you know that?”

With that, it was settled. John wasn’t exactly pleased about it, but again, it was his only option, so what else was there for him to do? May soon passed, and as June came in, so did the day of the exam. John and Prota’s papers had been sent in, and all there was to do was wait. Letters from Danjo had arrived, indicating that he, too, was going to be there, and so it looked like the whole cast had arrived.

“...I’m too old,” John muttered, looking at his body. He’d never really cared about it before, but he did feel a little self conscious about being around so many children while sticking out like a sore thumb.

“John is old,” Prota nodded in agreement.

“I’m not- well, I guess,” John muttered. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

~~~

“What the-”

John stared in the mirror, frowning.

It was still him. For the most part, he looked the same. He was just shorter, smaller, and slightly younger looking. He wiggled his eyes, and the face in the mirror did the same. It really was him. He looked down, patting his body to see if it was just some kind of illusion, but no, it was still him.

He frowned. Was this about him wanting to be younger? It was technically possible to make himself younger with the little [Deus Ex Machina] energy he had left, but why would he do that? There was no point in using a resource as valuable as that to make his life just a little easier. He looked at his hands, which were a little less calloused and rough.

“You don’t remember?” Zero said, popping in to look at John’s new form.

“Ah- damn, what the fuck!?” John yelled, jumping back. “What the- why’re you here?”

“You really don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

“You were really tired last night, and you were a little annoyed by the whole age thing. So… you kinda got some [Deus Ex Machina] energy for free. A very small bit. Barely anything, really. And, well…”

Zero held his hands out, displaying John’s body in full.

“You can see the result.”

John groaned, resting his head on the bathroom counter. “You’re telling me I wasted energy on this?”

“Hey, you still have all the energy left over from the fight with Doctor. Which isn’t a lot, but you still have it. Think positive!”

“I can’t think. I’m a fucking dumbass.”

“...can’t argue with that one.”

John sighed and raised his head, wetting his hands before patting his messy hair down. He pushed the strands in his eyes away, looking at his new form. It didn’t feel weird or anything. It felt quite comfortable, actually. As if it’d always been him.

It was probably the younger version of himself. As far as he could remember, his physical body had never aged. Not once. It was something between that of a teenager to a young adult, young enough to pass off as a high schooler and old enough to pass off as a fresh young man looking to venture out into the world. It was possible to use disguises to amplify a younger or older version, but he’d never really changed.

He wasn’t keen on changing. Despite everything, John enjoyed being himself. He never really felt the urge to be anything else. So while the age change wasn’t a terrible thing, it still felt a little weird.

“The [Author’s] just doing whatever they want, huh?”

“...aren’t you doing that too?”

“Huh?”

“Doing whatever you want.”

John paused, drying off his hair with a towel. He waited as if listening for something, but there was no sound to be heard other than the dripping of water coming from the sink. He turned around to face Zero.

“How the hell am I doing whatever I want?”

“You’re just doing whatever you want. Aren’t you messing with the [Plot] in your own way? You’re not interested in being a “good character.” You’re not interested in the other [Characters]. You’re doing what’s easy, what’s convenient. Doing whatever you want.”

“Not in the way that bastard-”

“Exactly in the way the [Author] is doing whatever they want. Think about it, John. You were given [Deus Ex Machina] energy on a whim, and in return, you used it for something superficial. Sure, it’s fine. No consequence. But in a way, aren’t the two of you doing the same thing? Throwing common sense and quality to the wind in favour of quick and easy solutions.”

John looked away. He didn’t even have a counterargument. For once, his soul’s words had completely shut him down.

Was he really doing whatever he wanted? He was always going around, claiming that the [Author] was going around pulling bullshit moves, using cliches and making things boring, but in reality, was he doing the same? It was true that he’d had his share of asspulls, namely the usage of [Infinity], but he always justified it with the reasoning of efficiency and comfort.

But “efficiency” and “comfort” were antonyms of a good story. Right. Maybe he shouldn’t blame… no, even starting to think something like that went against everything John believed in.

“...John?”

Prota walked into the washroom to find young John, standing in front of the mirror, talking to Zero. She stared at him, rubbing her eyes as if to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She shook her head and looked again, peering very intently, trying to peel back the layers of illusion that surrounded her brother.

“...John isn’t old,” Prota observed. She seemed somewhat hesitant. Suddenly, she seemed to come to a realization and nodded.

“It’s ok, John. Being old isn’t bad.”

“I- hey, no, I’m not insecure about my age!” John protested as she left the room. “Hey, hold on a minute!”

~~~

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Things were quickly sorted out as John explained what had happened. Prota seemed unconvinced, but she was going along with his explanation, which was more than enough for John. Besides, if it meant that he had a higher chance of getting in, she was all for it. His younger age wouldn’t actually help him get in, but it was what he’d told her.

“Prota, listen. These [Stories] usually have all the kids at the same age. Which is really weird when you stop to think about it. Why can’t they be adults or something? Ah, I’m getting off track. The point is, I stick out like a dumbass if I go in as an adult, right? So this is better. I think.”

Prota hadn’t agreed as easily as John had hoped. She’d looked at him quizzically, but in the end, she had no choice other than to agree. Her understanding of [Stories] wasn’t strong enough for her to argue with him, but she was getting smarter, and his excuses wouldn’t last for long.

“Hey, John,” Destiny said, visibly frazzled as they met in front of his house. “You sleep ok?”

“...hey,” John said slowly, frowning. “Nothing seems… off?”

“No?” Destiny frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t look any different or anything? No?”

“No? What are you talking about? Are you so stressed that it's getting to your head? Are you okay?”

“I’m- ah, never mind,” John said. “Hey, speaking of stress, you don’t look too good yourself.”

“Ah, just some pre-exam nerves. I’ll get over it.”

“You? Nerves?” John scoffed. “After all you’ve been through, this is what you’re nervous about?”

Destiny just shrugged sheepishly. “Can’t help it.”

Celeste was there, as well as Hart, who handed the princess her suitcase. With a wave, the baggage vanished, a glimmer on their fingers indicating that some magic was at play. John suspected it was some kind of dimensional storage. He was familiar enough with the concept that he felt no need to ask about it.

“Come, let us depart,” Haze said, standing at the front of the group. Alan, Destiny’s father, was there, too.

They piled into a carriage that led them through a discreet path in the woods. Prota stared at the scenery in wonder, watching as the sunspots shone through the leaves into the windows, a miniature light show in their little world of a box. Celeste was talking with Hart, who was politely nodding along, although it seemed she wasn’t as familiar with the princess as Destiny was.

“You have something planned, don’t you?” Destiny said quietly as John watched Prota.

“Planned? What do you mean?”

“Well, you don’t have mana, right? How are you going to pass the exam?”

“...oh. Right.”

Destiny frowned. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about this.”

“Ok. I won’t.”

“John, really?” Destiny hissed. He was trying to leave everyone out of their conversation, and it seemed to be working. “How are you going to pass?”

“I’ll figure something out,” John shrugged.

“You didn’t try to find out what the exam was or anything?”

“Eh, it’ll probably just be some kinda tournament or something. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they did. I just have to beat someone up and it’ll be good. I can fight, right?”

“...John, they did a tournament last year. I don’t think they’re going to do it again.”

John just stared out the window.

“Well. I’m sure I’ll figure it out when I get to it.”

~~~

The carriage soon arrived at a clearing where a large building stood. Multiple guards with expensive looking equipment stood on guard, standing to attention as the carriage pulled up.

“Sir Windwalker. Lady Windwalker,” a guard said, saluting as they approached. “The gate has been prepared and is ready.”

“Thank you. To your stations,” Haze said, her voice firm, but not strict.

The guards nodded as the group passed through, leading them to a large circular structure. It reminded John of any other portal he’d ever seen, but for Prota, it was her first time seeing such a thing. The inside of the building was decorated, but it was simple. However, inside the portal was the imagery of a completely different room, simple but visibly something else. The image itself had a shimmering effect as if it were being projected onto water. Prota kept moving around, trying to see if different angles would make the image change, and to her surprise, it did. She could see different parts of the other room as if it were somehow connected by a…

Right. A portal. That’s what this was.

“John. Prota,” Haze said, turning to them. “You may be a little daunted by this, but the portal gate is completely safe. All that is required of you is simply stepping through.”

“Yeah, got it,” John nodded.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like it would be a bothersome procedure. The others seemed to be familiar with the situation and walked through calmly, chatting away as they did so.

“Ready?” John said quietly. Prota nodded, but she seemed nervous. That was a little baffling to John. She’d fought, died, come back to life, encountered enemies with the powers of gods, and she was nervous about going through a completely normal portal.

Go figure.

Despite all the show and lights, everything went through without a hitch. Haze, Alan, and Hart waved, their mouths moving without sound, presumably a goodbye. Suddenly, the portal closed, and all that remained was an open room.

Now that they were inside, John and Prota could see the place they’d landed in. It was more like a giant hall than a room, with dozens of portals lined up side by side, men and women in lab coats standing near the consoles, holding clipboards and checking lists. Dozens, if not hundreds of other people were in the large hall with them, all talking and moving around, the buzz off conversation at a deafening level.

“~~~~~~~”

“What?!” John yelled, turning to Prota as she tugged on his hoodie.

“~~~~~~~”

“I can’t hear you!”

“Where are we?”

John pursed his lips, looking around. Destiny was already moving, Celeste right behind him.

“...Scholaris, I guess.”

Their maps were complete blanks. A new place. A new adventure.

John was not looking forward to it.

~~~

“Seriously, what the hell was that place?” John sighed, making his way to a bench before collapsing. Prota, too, fell onto the bench beside him, sweat pouring down her face. The sheer number of people in such a tight space wasn’t good for her heart.

“The portal hub,” Destiny explained. “There are portal hubs in every major city across Devroth. Those are a feat of artifacts, not magical engineering. We were just lucky enough to copy the spacial magic. I’m sure Danjo would know more about them.”

“Do portals link specifically to other portals? Like, one portal only goes to another portal.”

“No,” Destiny said, laughing. “That would be incredibly inefficient. No, there’s something about co-ordinates and what not, but a portal can be linked to any other portal. Both sides initiate a handshake procedure, and once everything is ready, the link connects and the portals open up.”

“So you can’t just, like, invade using a portal.”

“No, no. The royal castle wouldn’t have one if that were the case. Come on, think a little, John.”

John sighed as he looked around. The school was almost exactly what he’d expected. A castle like structure with spires and walls, ivy growing along the weathered walls. Worn paths went here and there, creating an intricate yet simple maze of walkways for the students to use. All three races were present, too. Dwarves, Elves, and Humans, all bustling around and talking to each other. It seemed racism wasn’t too large of an issue in this place, for which John was eternally grateful.

“Come on, let’s go to the exam hall.”

They walked down a path that both Celeste and Destiny seemed familiar with. John tried to be uninterested, but there was something inspiring about experiencing such scenery with your own eyes. No matter how many times he saw it in stories, there was a unique experience in such an old and sacred place. Prota looked around in wonder, giant birds flying overhead as strange trees grew around the area. They passed by a beachy area with a dock; both small sailboats and giant ships were docked, with even more participants flowing in.

“Portals are expensive,” Destiny explained, seeing Prota looking at the boats. “Not everyone can afford them.”

“You really don’t know much,” Celeste giggled as John nodded. “I thought Des was exaggerating when he wrote about you, but it’s like you were taken out of one world and plopped into this one.”

“I mean, I-” John started, but Destiny rushed to cover his mouth.

“Well! Let’s just keep going, alright?”

Soon, they reached a giant building with a large crowd outside. It seemed that the exams had not yet begun. There was once again a large conundrum of noise, but it was a lot more tolerable since there was such an open space. The group found a tree to sit under, getting out of the summer sun.

“Reminds you of something, huh?” Destiny smiled, closing his eyes.

“I don’t wanna go back to that clearing ever again,” John muttered, pulling a piece of jerky out of his bag.

“Aren’t you hot?” Celeste said, pointing to John’s scarf. “That doesn’t seem very comfortable.”

“...I’m fine,” John said. “Thanks, though.”

He chewed for a bit before turning to the Elven princess.

“Shouldn’t you be a little more worried, though?”

“About what?”

“You’re the princess, right? Isn’t that, well… an issue?”

“What issue? I’m strong,” Celeste said, flexing her arms. There wasn’t much muscle on them. “Hmph. I’ll have you know I can handle myself.”

“That’s not what I- never mind,” John said, shaking his head.

Destiny turned to him with a frown on his face. “So you are aware of what being royalty implies.”

“Yeah? I just don’t care.”

“Seriously…” Destiny sighed.

Their conversation was cut short as a familiar dwarf ran up, carrying a giant bag. An elvish lady followed behind, holding onto her straw hat.

“Danjo!” Destiny called out. “Olivia!”

“Fate- Destiny!” Danjo said, relieved to see a familiar place. “There’s way too many people here, you know? I got lost.”

“Is this your friend?” Celeste said, standing up. “Hello!”

“Ah- hello,” Danjo said shyly, nodding his head. “...who is this?”

The moment Danjo asked the question, John’s mouth curved into a diabolical grin. “This is her royal majesty, the Princess, Celeste Elvus.”

“Her- her-” Danjo gulped audibly, sweat dripping down his face. “Um- pleased to meet you, your majesty!”

He bent down stiffly at a ninety degree angle. Destiny laughed, punching John.

“She’s not that kind of princess. Come on, Danjo, say hi.”

“Um. Yes. Hello,” Danjo nodded, looking back up.

“Hello, Your Majesty,” Olivia smiled, nodding in respect as well. “Well, I’ll be heading back now.”

“But-”

“I can’t stay for too long, Danjo. They still need help dealing with the aftermath,” Olivia said, giving him a hug. “I’ll be waiting for your return!”

“I-” Danjo started, but then a look of resolve entered his eyes. “Yeah. I’ll do well.”

“Hey, hold on. They’re still working on that?” John frowned.

“...yes, unfortunately. Such problems are not resolved so easily. And healers are needed.”

“It’s been a few months, no?”

“Indeed. It seems that man’s roots spread their poison further than we thought. Well, not that it matters to us anymore.”

Olivia turned to Danjo, ruffling his hair. “It was good seeing you all again. Best of luck!”

“...that was short,” John muttered.

Before anyone could say anything else, the crowd grew silent. It was starting. Everyone got up to see what was happening.

The building in front of them had two giant barn doors, but they only opened a slit before closing again. John squinted to see what was going on, but all he could see was a small girl standing in front of the giant crowd. He frowned, trying to get a better view.

“Hello, everyone.”

The voice was young, but it was filled with power.

“{Please remain silent for now.}”

Immediately, any and every voice was silenced. She wasn’t intimidating or anything, although there was something different about her. Somehow, her words had literally commanded the crowd. John frowned, wondering what was going on.

“...what did she just do?” John muttered, trying to get a better look. Destiny jumped up and covered John’s mouth.

“Hey, man, what th-”

Destiny stared at him with wide eyes, shaking his head. Was it a thing of respect? Sure, John would play along. He tried to turn back, but Destiny wouldn’t let him, instead forcing him to read the writing on the ground.

“Do… you… not… remember… oh. I see.”

Draconic speech. The ability of dragons that Prota did not have.

That small girl… was a dragon?

“Ah. Shit,” John groaned, holding his face in his hands. “We’ve got the three thousand year old child. God dammit.”

Thankfully, the girl didn’t seem to notice John’s immunity to her ability. She scanned the crowd before nodding.

“I am Sofya Ohrein, headmaster of this school. I formally welcome you to our humble school. In the following week, you will undergo a series of tests and trials to judge your ability to enter this establishment. That is all.”

The doors behind her slowly slid open.

“Then, let the Scholaris entrance exam begin.”