Once I reached the station area, I gazed about with interest. Even though it was early in the morning, it was quite busy with multitudes of people dressed in everything from business suits to school uniforms rushing about their day. The station itself was a large three-story building reminiscent of a European-style chapel that had been remodeled to become more modern and the shops and restaurants around it reflected a mix of modern and older architecture that presented a unique yet cohesive mix.
Taking it all in, I strode into the station building, following the signs to buy a ticket at the counter.
“Hi, how can I help you?” An older lady dressed in a dark blue uniform asked in a gruff voice.
Smiling as innocently as I could, I pulled down my hood and glanced at her name tag before responding. “Good morning Miss Miriam. I’m a student trying to catch a train to First High Magic Academy, would you be able to help me?”
The woman blinked slowly before her wrinkled face turned red. Flustered, her demeanor immediately softened, and she coughed before gently responding.
“You little flatterer. I’m too old to be called Miss. Call me Auntie Miriam instead.”
“No way I can do that! You’re too pretty to be an auntie! Big Sis Miriam. Can you please help me out?” I smiled even wider as I leaned as close as the glass separating us would allow.
“Ye-yes of course. If you have your student ID card, your ticket is free of charge and the next train leaves in 20 minutes. If you don’t have your ID, I’ll help you find a way to pay.” Miriam quickly blushed as I handed her the ID card. She quickly scanned it with a machine and handed it back to me along with a paper ticket.
“Thank you, big sis. Can you point me to the closet bathroom?”
"It's to the left by the stairwell"
"Thanks again, big sis. Bye!"
Once I grabbed the items, I winked at her before pulling my hood up and turning away. As I walked away, I heard her voice call back to me.
“Good luck student! Come visit me again.” As people turned to look at me, I pulled my hood down further over my face and continued walking.
The charm of rank A. Clearly in effect. How nice.
I quickly stopped at the bathroom and commandeered the only stall. After tossing the taser and wallet in the trash, I took out my trusty brick and the cell phone and began smashing the cell phone to bits, flushing each individual piece down the toilet until nothing remained.
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When I came out, an older man who was washing his hands looked at me curiously before smiling knowingly, “Ate the wrong food kid? I heard you flushing like crazy.”
I gave him my most innocent embarrassed smile while holding my stomach as if I was in pain, “I tried some breakfast burritos from this cheap spot. It tasted good going down but now I really regret it.”
The man laughed boisterously, “I’ve done that a couple of times myself. Cheap food is cheap for a reason. You be careful next time kiddo.”
“Yes sir!”
I washed my hands diligently as he left the bathroom. Once he was gone, I strolled out casually and followed the signs until I found the correct train heading to First High Magic Academy. It was a luxury high-speed train with a clean interior and spacious seats. The train cars were surprisingly empty and I quickly entered the last most one.
“Attention, passengers: this is your conductor speaking. The train is now headed to First High Magic Academy Union Station. Please take a seat. The trip is about 30 minutes. We will be moving shortly.”
The train doors shut, and I stared out the window deep in thought.
First High Magic Academy was located on a reinforced island in the Gulf of Farallones which was off the coast of San Francisco, the city I woke up in. The naturally occurring island had been wiped of all mana-modified wildlife and artificially fortified and enlarged with both magic and technology to become a city that not only contained academy grounds but also a regular thriving population in a city that contained over half a million people. The city itself contained awakened individuals and regular people alike who provided services and collaborated with the academy.
This academy was one of the top 10 institutions for magic learning in the novel Heroes Rise Again. These academies were established after many people gained gifts and began tackling more dungeons as a way to help standardize the way people learned about their gifts and incentivize them to join big guilds and become heroes. The schools were spread out all over the world, with four schools located in the United States alone. The schools operated as a government entity that collaborated tightly with the 9 families as well as other private businesses.
Once a student finished their mandatory common high school education at 16 or 17, they would have the opportunity to enroll in a magic academy. If they were gifted, they would have to undergo an additional special test to gain entry into one of the top 10 academies that accepted only the best of the best students or students with familial connections. Once enrolled, students could remain at the academy for six years although only three were mandatory to graduate.
Each year, First High Magic Academy accepted a batch of a thousand students into their campus. These students were generally the top talents who came from all over the world and studied everything from magic theory to battle techniques, scientific and magical research, and more from top-ranked heroes. The goal was to give students a general understanding of their gifts, train them to fight and utilize their skills, and eventually have them join society in a helpful manner. As more dangerous dungeons spawned, awakened students with battle-inclined gifts were prioritized and thoroughly trained.
It was at this school that I would meet this world’s protagonist as well as his allies. The top-ranked students of this generation and the children of the 9 great clans. As I gazed out into the dark blue sea as the train drove on invisible tracks, their names and details ran through my head.
Lionel Lionheart - First Magic High Academy - Rank 1.
Solomon Nova - First Magic High Academy - Rank 2.
Evelyn Isolde - First Magic High Academy - Rank 3.
Although they weren’t the only children of the 9 clans attending First High Magic Academy, these three were monsters that continually dominated the school rankings.
At the thought of seeing characters I only read about in a book, I felt a sense of anticipation and a sense of dread.
The opening ceremony was tomorrow and every student was required to attend. Remembering the fact that Basil Lionheart would be attending the ceremony and speaking with each individual student about their gift, I needed to figure out if hiding my status screen details with my skill would be effective against him. After all, he was without a doubt my enemy, and his rank was so far beyond mine it was laughable. Even though an effect curse was removed, it never hurt to plan for the worst.
“Attention, passengers: this is your conductor speaking. The train is arriving at First High Magic Academy Union Station. Please stay seated until the train comes to a complete stop. Thank you for using Light Speed Railways. Have a pleasant day.”
The announcement sounded out, interrupting me from my thoughts.
“Well, I guess I can deal with that later. First off, registration I guess.”