“What the fuck was that?” Alistair asked, his face ashen as he clutched at his stomach. Beside him, Emyr had fallen to his knees, vomiting into a conveniently placed trash bin. Liliana had to wonder if that was placed there because of how often vomiting was a side effect of teleportation.

Heh, noobs. Liliana thought smugly, consciously ignoring her first time teleporting, and her own debilitating nausea afterwards. It was only thanks to the multitude of trips she’d taken to visit Marianne that teleporting did little more than give her faint, temporary nausea now.

“That would be the experience of teleportation,” Liliana informed her brother, rather unnecessarily, as she was fairly certain his question was rhetorical. The glare he shot her reaffirmed that assumption.

“I’d rather walk,” Emyr groaned out, his voice hoarse.

“Even by carriage, it would’ve taken over a month to get here. Provided we didn’t run into monsters, brigands, storms or other natural disasters.” Liliana informed the two of them.

They knew it was true, too. Had they gone a conventional way, they’d have had to leave the manor almost as soon as they got their letters. Teleporting meant they could take their time preparing. It also meant Liliana got a bit more time with Silas, Jason, Flint, and Clover. All of whom couldn’t come with them.

Guards and servants weren’t permitted at the Academy. Partially for security reasons, and partially because the Academy strove for equality. A funny thing, considering they almost exclusively accepted students from noble families. Then again, it was only nobles who had the funds to enable their children to get the required levels for entrance, not to mention the tuition fees. Only the wealthiest of common families could afford to pay for the early Awakening, weapons and gear necessary to level quickly in this world.

Despite that, the Academy did not let students use their standing to further themselves once enrolled. Nobles were limited to 3 pieces of gear or weapons brought from home, the rest had to be earned from the school, the assignments they were sent on, or gotten as dungeon drops. Students without gear were provided three items by the Academy. They weren’t even permitted to buy gear outside the Academy, unless it was specifically requested by a class. The Academy also allegedly did not permit favoritism based on societal rank or nepotism once enrolled, but Liliana would hold her judgment on if that was a true rule or not until after she saw it.

“Come on, if you two are done regurgitating breakfast we need to get going,” Liliana spoke up, earning herself a dual set of baleful glares that only made her smirk. Over the past year, she had caught up with Emyr and Alistair in levels and strength, even exceeding them, but she still enjoyed being better than either of them at something. Even if it was something as simple as holding her stomach down.

Thankfully, they had no luggage to carry, everything stored in their storage devises. Those weren’t counted as gear, thankfully. The Academy provided students without a storage device one, so they didn’t count them against nobles. Emyr regained his feet, looking a bit unsteady, but at least he was standing. Without speaking, Alistair stepped closer to his friend, and Emyr leaned against him. Liliana smirked again. Turning on her heel, she approached the door to the familiar room and opened it.

“Lili!” A white blur catapulted into her arms. Liliana took a small step back as she caught her friend, not because Marianne was strong enough to push her back, but because Liliana knew it made the other girl feel good to think so.

“Crown princess Marianne,” Alistair said, bowing and almost causing Emyr to fall as his support vanished.

“Crown princess Marianne,” Emyr belatedly echoed, doing his best to bow and not topple over in the process.

“Mari…” Liliana trailed off, her tone warm but mildly exasperated.

“No! You can’t scold me this time! It’s a special day!” Marianne pulled back, shooting Liliana a glare. Liliana raised her hands in defense, a small smile on her face.

“Mari, you know you can’t accost me every time you see me. What would become of your public image if you did this in school?” Liliana asked, her tone dipping into teasing as her friend leveled her with a pout.

“I’m the crown princess. It doesn’t matter what they think! Mother would tell me to just stab them,” Marianne trailed off, looking away with her arms folded. Liliana hid a smile and laugh behind her hand. It did sound like something the queen would say.

“Oh! Hello Alistair, Emyr,” Marianne finally noticed, or more accurately decided to acknowledge, the others in the room. Emyr and Alistair were watching the interaction between the two girls with wide, disbelieving eyes. They’d heard of Liliana’s friendship with Marianne in passing, but had not quite realized how close the two were. Close enough for Liliana to treat Marianne as if she was a normal girl, and not the future queen of their country.

“And please, don’t call me crown princess unless we’re at some official event. It’s a mouthful honestly, and we’re going to be classmates!” Marianne told them, moving back a few steps with a smile on her face as she sketched out a quick curtsy. As the princess, she did not need to curtsy to anyone in their country barring her mother, doing so showed she did see them as her equals.

“Yes pr-Marianne,” Alistair recovered first, giving Marianne a winning smile. Emyr nodded beside him.

“Good, now that we’re done with that, let’s go! I want to see our new school!” Marianne darted forward, grabbing Liliana’s hand and beginning to drag her out of the room. Liliana sighed and shook her head, but let the other girl lead her on, Alistair and Emyr following a few steps behind.

“So, what class did you get into?” Marianne asked as they walked. Liliana was used to the palace at this point, but as she checked over her shoulder, she could see Emyr and Alistair being taken in by the sights.

“We’re all in class S,” Liliana told Marianne with thinly veiled pride. Class S was the best class in the school. Based on the information they were sent, there were 6 classes per year, S, A, B, C,D and E with S being the top and E at the bottom. Getting into class S was a mark of pride, apparently. Her father had certainly thought so.

“So am I! Then we’ll have the same core classes! Do you know what elective you’ll chose?” Marianne barreled on, her voice chipper. As was typical when she was around Marianne, Liliana found herself relaxing. The girl’s optimism and aura of happiness always set Liliana at ease.

“I’m not sure. I want to get more proficient at Soul, so at least a class with that,” Liliana said with a shrug. The Academy had an extensive list of electives and clubs students could choose from. It was part of what made the Academy so renowned. Any affinity, any weapon specialty, fighting style, jobs, hobbies, it all had a class or club one could take with teachers known to be masters at the chosen topic. They weren’t expected to choose their electives until after the first week, and they could change those electives after a semester.

“I want to take Life and healing classes,” Marianne said with a smile. Liliana nodded.

That was expected. Marianne was a healer in the game, the choice in game was made based on her back story of being terminally ill for most of her life. Awakening had saved her life, and she’d taken her experiences to devote herself to healing others. Liliana had empathized with that story because of her own history. However, she’d taken another route. Rather than focusing on healing others, she’d decided to fight death head on, refusing to be so weak as to be taken by his hand so easily again.

“Don’t fall too far behind or you’ll get lost,” Liliana called out to Alistair and Emyr, noticing they were dropping back as they found new things to gawk at.

Liliana sighed and activated [Threads of Control] grabbing onto their uniform jackets and tugging them forward. The spell wasn’t strong enough to pull a human, but it would be enough to tug at them and emphasize her point.

“Sorry, it’s just so… much,” Alistair said sheepishly as he and Emyr jogged to catch up.

“Don’t make me leash you,” Liliana threatened.

“I’d like to see you try pipsqueak,” Alistair taunted. Emyr stepped smoothly between the two siblings before Liliana could retaliate. With words or actions was yet to be determined.

“Don’t fight. Starting school from a jail cell would be inconvenient.” Emyr said tiredly, subtly pushing the two siblings further apart.

“Huh, so that’s what it’s like to have siblings?” Marianne asked from beside Liliana, her head tilted to the side.

“Yes. Nonstop headaches,” Liliana grumbled.

“A pain in the ass.” Alistair agreed with a solemn nod of his head.

“Alistair, you can’t curse in front of the princess!” Emyr hissed, whacking his friend on the back of his head. Alistair yelped, looking mildly ashamed as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Sorry! Lili rubbed off on me,” Alistair apologized.

“Don’t blame your bad behavior on me!” Liliana snapped, smacking her brother on the arm before Emyr could prevent the attack. Alistair swiped at her, missing, as Liliana ducked beneath the attack. She retaliated with a kick to his shin that was hard enough to make him squeal.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Are they always like this?” Marianne asked from beside Emyr, who had retreated in defeat.

“Yes.” Emyr said with a sigh of one forced to play the mediator for far too long.

[https://i.imgur.com/wtMoTrS.png]

“Getting a knight to drag us to the carriage feels like overkill,” Liliana grumbled from her seat in said carriage, next to Marianne.

“I can’t believe you asked one of the nation’s best fighters to drag us like misbehaving children,” Alistair agreed. Marianne giggled and waved off their grumbled complaints.

“You two were taking too long and we have to be at the Academy by ninth bell,” Marianne explained.

“Feels like an abuse of power.” Liliana accused with a huff, her eyes were glued to the carriage window, eager for the first glimpse of the Academy.

She’d been around the capital before. Marianne had taken her to see the sights before, but the Academy was outside the capital, technically. Though it was still on the island that the capital was built on. Because of its distance from the capital, they’d never gone to see it, so this would be the first time she saw it in real life, and she was excited to see the place she’d be living for the next four years.

“There it is!” Liliana announced as the towers began to peek over the tops of the trees that lined the roadway. Almost immediately, the other three occupants of the carriage were pushing to get a look, and as they all pressed against the door, the carriage rounded a curve, the trees falling away to reveal the Academy in all its splendor.

A tall wall surrounded the Academy, and its grounds, behind it stood a building that would rival the palace for size. Eight towers rose above the buildings of the Academy, one for each of the core affinities, Liliana noted. As the carriage entered the opened gates, more of the Academy was shown. A large main building greeted them, a long line of carriages full of new and returning students before it. The entire Academy was built of pale gray stone threaded with blue, the same stone that had been used for the wall surrounding Ravencross. It spoke to the wealth of their kingdom that an entire Academy had been built of the rare stone. Though with so many children practicing dangerous magics, stone that was resistant to magical attacks was undoubtedly necessary.

Memories flooded Liliana’s mind as she recalled hours spent in Realm of Hope, exploring this very building. Memories of stumbling upon hidden rooms and pathways, of unlocking secret quests and rewards and the rush of accomplishment that would follow filled her. She remembered mini games used for the classes, of story encounters and choices, quests and rewards. Hours upon hours of memories played in her mind, enough to send her head spinning from the dump of information.

“Lili?” Marianne’s voice broke through her thoughts and Liliana shook her head to dispel the memories, seeing her friend looking at her from outside the carriage with concern.

How long had she been trapped in her head? Liliana gave Marianne a smile to assuage her worries and stepped out of the carriage, looking up at the tall building before her. A sense of nostalgia and familiarity rushed through her. She’d never been here, not in this life and not really in her last life, but somehow coming to the Academy felt a bit like coming home.

“It’s incredible, isn’t it? The jewel of the Cista queendom,” Marianne said as she stood beside Liliana at the bottom of the steps.

“Yea, it’s everything I’d hoped it would be,” Liliana said quietly before shaking off the odd feeling. “Let’s go, we need to learn our new home!” Liliana said with a smile. Marianne nodded and grabbed Liliana’s hand once more to drag her forward. Liliana barely had time to grab onto the sleeve of Emyr’s uniform, which prompted him to grab Alistair, and the four of them walked up the steps of the Academy as a very odd train.

“That felt weird,” Liliana murmured as they passed through the door of the main hall.

“Wards,” Emyr stated quietly, rubbing at his arms as if he was scrubbing off the odd feeling. It was like walking through a particularly thick spiderweb.

I didn’t feel the wards when we went through the gate, though there must be countless ones on them. For them to be so strong you can feel on the buildings themselves, combined with the stones, what are they expecting students to do? Set off a nuke in math class? Liliana wondered as they proceeded further into the hall.

Marianne had dropped Liliana’s hand as she got distracted herself by the artwork and decor of the mysterious Academy. Luckily, they weren’t the only ones gawking at the sights. Other students, who Liliana assumed were first years, were staring around with wide eyes.

“First year class S students this way!” A voice called out. Other voices began to call out for other first-year classes, or perhaps they’d been calling out the entire time and Liliana had just finally noticed them. The four teens made their way to the voice calling for them, finally locating the source. A girl too young to be a teacher stood there, her black and gold uniform marked as different by the red band on her arm. Her most noticeable feature, the Liliana at least, was her bright pink hair tied up in twin ponytails on either side of her head.

Acacia Sailta

Age: 17

Level: 174

Rank: 5

Class: Fractal Illusionist

Health: 2,000

Mana: 21,880

Ah, a second year then? And with a focus on Intelligence and likely Wisdom, so a mage or stealth based fighter. Liliana blinked away the [Identify] screen. She was a bit surprised the girl was only rank 5. She’d expect a higher level for a second year. She remembered I the game that the Academy had been a wealth of experience for her because of the quests she could take almost constantly. Then again, in the game, your character didn’t have to sleep, and classes were nothing more than mini-games that rewarded you with skills and spells if you won enough of them. It was probably harder to balance leveling with classwork in real life.

“Give me your names so I don’t miss anyone,” Acacia called out to the small crowd of students surrounding her.

All were dressed in the same uniform, with small deviations. A black jacket over a gold shirt and either a black tie or bow, with the school crest embroidered over the heart. Skirts and leggings or trousers depending on personal choice in black with gold thread and edging, or gold strips on the side for trousers and black shoes. Liliana had chosen trousers for her uniform. She didn’t have anything against the skirt, but it would be troublesome if she had to fight in it. Class S students also had a single star under the school crest. Liliana noted Acacia had two stars under her school emblem, marking her a second year Class S student.

“Marianne Summerwarden,” Marianne introduced herself.

“Oh! Your highness I apologize for not noticing you,” Acacia apologized, curtsying to the princess. Students murmured around them at Marianne’s introduction.

“Please, don’t. Station doesn’t matter at the Academy and since you’re a second year, you’re actually above me here!” Marianne was flushed as she tried to get the older girl to stand up.

“Yes, of course. I apologize,” Acacia said as she stood straight, looking slightly flustered.

“Liliana Rosengarde,” Liliana stepped forward to introduce herself and cut off anymore awkward conversation.

She could tell Marianne was uncomfortable being treated with deference here. Liliana ignored the whispers that began with her name, though it was a bit harder to ignore the whispered derisive words when Alistair introduced himself next. Emyr went after him and the rest of the gathered students came forward to give their names, no few glances being sent the way of the four teens standing to the side.

“There goes any anonymity,” Liliana sighed, crossing her arms.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Alistair grumbled. His hands were clenched into fists at his side and Liliana felt anger flaring in her. Her brother wasn’t as used to spiteful whispers and cruel words as she was. For so long, he’d been the golden boy. Revered by nobility as the next Duke Rosengarde. Now he was the son of a murderess.

“Zir’elon Kastrioti,” a voice called out. Liliana’s head whipped around to lock on a very familiar face. He towered over the surrounding students, dark purple horns crowned a head of similarly colored hair, with streaks of vivid red woven throughout. Glowing violet eyes with no sclera or pupil looked back at her. Zir’elon, one of the five playable heroes in the game, prince of the Alfein Empire.

“Diana Baker,” another voice called out, and Liliana tore her eyes from the Dæmon prince to a head of blond hair. The last playable hero, the prodigy commoner.

Liliana wasn’t naïve enough to think she’d befriend all five heroes. She’d already seen how her actions had changed the events of the game. There was no telling if some butterfly effect had occurred that caused Diana and Zir’elon to change from who they’d been in the game. In the game they’d been Liliana’s enemies, in this life she just hoped they’d stay away from her. Diana was her least favorite character. Even in the game, her sweetness had come off as fake. And Zir’elon was an elitist. Liliana doubted he’d want anything to do with a half commoner like her.

He’d been one of the original Liliana’s most staunch bullies in the game, though he had the best path for a front-line fighter, Liliana’s preference in the game. As was normal with Dæmons, he’d unlocked a Fire affinity upon Awakening. He naturally progressed along a sword fighter path if left on his own, using his Fire affinity to devastating effect in combination with his sword skills.

Diana could turn into anything, and typically if you didn’t play her, she chose whatever fit best for your existing party. She unlocked all eight core affinities when she was Awakened at 13, in her back story her parents had saved for years to afford Awakening and her unprecedented unlocking of all affinities made her into a prodigy. In the game, the original Liliana had hated her for being a commoner, and earning the respect and adoration of the other nobles despite her background. Something the original Liliana had always been denied, no matter what she did.

Liliana could try to befriend her. They had something in common, after all. But in her opinion, her roster of heroes was filled. She would be happy to make friends in the Academy, but she’d like to avoid dealing with anymore heroes.

“Koth’talan Kastrioti,” another familiar name was called out, and Liliana looked away from Diana to see a second Dæmon.

Dark red orange horns twisted above a riot of flaming hair. Amber eyes shone with the same unearthly light as his brother’s, but what drew attention to him were the glowing lines engraved on his face. Infernal marks. Those, combined with his status as a bastard son, removed him from any chance of becoming the emperor of the Alfein Empire. However, it was alleged that his father, the emperor, loved Koth’talan’s mother and so gave her son his last name and status as a prince. He wasn’t a playable character and had only a few quests tied to him, mostly tied to Zir’elon, who despised his half brother.

“Our classmates look so cool!” Marianne whispered beside Liliana.

“Yea,” Liliana agreed distractedly as she rubbed her temple. She had a feeling her time at this school would be more stressful than she expected.