Introductions

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"Were you up all night?"

Tommy looked up from his seat, his eyes wild and unfocused, "Umm, I did, didn't I."

And then, he went back to perusing the protocol for issuance of Tier 2 mana equipment.

It started with a quick skim through the orientation packet last night. The Rived Academy held an orientation every week, as the cadets made their way to the academy. And the orientation packets were to be mailed along with admission letter. That meant, a new admit would have 6 weeks leading upto the first official class to go through all the information, enough time for even the tardiest student. That didn't take into account the lifelong planning an machinations that went into the admission process.

He gestured to the mess of sheets surrounding him, "I know nothing - facility protocol, emergency training, code of conduct, Sigil etiquettes... what's a Sigil anyway?"

"Well, A Sigil is like the house key, but for the whole Academy, and it will be on your skin using your own mana."

"Is this like common knowledge? I am going to be kicked out."

"If it helps, I did know. My brother was admitted here before me. I had plenty of time." Aldy replied coolly, "And the Sigil goes on your left buttcheek."

Tommy kept going until the words finally registered. His brows scrunched up, then he snorted, "Wasn't expecting that. Heh."

"Glad to help. Don't fret it, my friend. Cadets plan their entire lives for the admission here. Heck, the Crown Prince graduated just a couple years back. You have to understand how precious this chance is. My father planned the birth of his son to not overlap with the Ancient noble households. All nobles have a rolling schedule. Anyone who steps out of line, their heirs suffer. They would never have the same relations as those elites who went here."

"You are not helping."

"But, you are already here. None of it matters. We were not meant to be here, that goes for everyone we'll meet today. Yet, we get to live this adventure, albeit through a cruel twist of fate."

"The accident you mean."

"Sure, let's call it an accident. I'm glad you recognize your own shortcomings. Let's help each other, alright?"

"Wait, you can't just skip over the tea. What do you know? Tell me."

"Nope. I just did. Twenty eight noble heirs and mage initiates died in a cave collapse. I have my doubts, and I will keep them to myself."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Fuuuu. Come on. Hey, where are you going?."

Not wasting another moment, Aldy turned his back and sauntered to the bathroom.

And so Tommy went back to perusing the pages. Useful yet superfluous. They were dense with information with minimal context, like an acounting ledger. He was both exasperated and glad to have received them - this was his forte, a merchant's eye for digging through banal regulations. He kept on marking the bells rang and he could not delay getting ready.

Entering the brightly lit corridor, he stood in a corner furthest from the giant doors across. The orientation would be held in the training gym behind the said doors. There were a few groups but none paid much attention to him. While waiting for the next bell, he opened the supplementary guide to learn about the tower. He could see it loom in the distance, beckoning, so far yet so close. They were quite close to the dorms at the moment, yet it hadn't been visible the previous night.

'I guess it doesn't glow', he thought.

He was looking forward to finally entering a mage tower, but he was also mortified. Silly, his dear brother, and his theatre geeks had mortified him with elaborate hypotheticals of accidental social suicide.

'Who even gets stuck in the female lavatories. Stupid.'

"You talk about Asva?"

"Huh?"

A blue haired girl was talking to him. Tommy was mortified when he realized he had spoken out loud. She spoke again,

"How you know?"

"Sorry, I was a bit worried about entering the tower. We'll have our classes there but I have never been in one. Have you?"

"Tower? Ah, fire light place. Like sea. Asva break towers. No worry. Nice to meet you", then she grinned and extended her hand.

Tommy gaped. He was quite shocked to say the least. Blue hairs cascaded down her bronze face. This girl. 'Beautiful.'

"We shake hands", she asserted, her tone patient, like explaining basic etiquette to a toddler.

And so he did. "I'm Tommy"

"Good Tommy. We friends. So, tell me Tower."

"Ah, I get it. You were joking, right?"

"Yes, joking."

"Umm, officially it's called Delphin's Remorse. That's where we'll have our classes. Other floors are classrooms, research labs and private quarters allocated the staff. They don't really mention much in the guide."

"Tommy read it? I sleep.", she pointed.

"A little", feeling a bit glad to meet another outsider, one who knew as little as he did. "You are not from the Kingdom, right? Every story here has a mage tower. A cliche really. Story not progressing, a mage tower appears. Southern Army too overwhelming - bam, a mage tower. A princess captured by a fire breathing turtle, of course a mage tower. You get it?"

"Yes. Asva a pirate king. And a princess. Asva go to tower. Shew, shew. Nice to meet you. Batoom!"

She acted out the whole thing, her arms on the waist first, then daintily under her chin, then waving and slashing and a salute and the clap, and a final smirk at the end.

"Heh." His shoulders shook, mirth evident in his eyes, as he snorted. Asva's eyes lit up seeing this.

"You get it. You are hilarious, Asva. Nice to meet you too."

They continued chatting until the bell rang. Not like they really understood each other. And yet, Tommy's stride was finally firm again, after almost a month, like he had finally found solid land. Asva chortled, her face bright and animated. Together, they went in.