He had almost stomped out of the room, ignoring the man's chuckle behind him. The smaller room he had seen before was actually the entrance to the man's office. He walked out the door and found a spiral staircase going down.

Ah. The Staff Tower. The Archmaster did mention he was on the top floor. He sighed and walked down the stairs, being careful of his steps. Gods, he hated spiral staircases.

Once he was sure his feet were properly on the ground, he lifted the Student Card and looked at it. Unlike the completely black Portal Card, the Student Card had his information inscribed onto it. Except for his name and Card Number … almost everything else was empty. Year, Element(s), Session, Stars, Class … all were empty.

He sighed softly and saw the rune at the bottom. He pressed on it and said, “Map.”

Immediately, the card projected an image of the Academy in the air. Let’s see … he had to go to the dormitories. What did he have to do in order to find the way there? He had left the Archmaster’s room with incomplete instructions, and he had been too worked up at the moment to actually think to ask more about it. And now he was loathe to go back up and ask the man for help.

He stared at the map for a long moment and it felt like it was staring right back at him. He sighed and then decided to try the most obvious way.

“Can you show me the way to the Student Dormitories?” He asked softly.

Immediately, the projected map seemed to be enlarged. It opened up to show a familiar corridor and a red arrow pointing straight ahead. He gathered this was his position and the arrow was supposed to lead him to his destination. He sighed softly and walked ahead, slightly started when the corridor inside the image also started to move … the more he walked, the more of the corridor he was leaving behind, and it was what was shown in the image.

Fascinated, he kept watching it carefully. As the arrow pointed towards the right, he guessed he would have to turn right ahead. Just as he reached the place where the arrow was shown and turned right, his eyes were still on the map. He took one step forward … and rammed straight into what seemed like a hard wall.

He stumbled back, almost losing his grip on the card. His finger was removed from the rune and the image disappeared. He looked up. The wall he had run into was wrapped in a dark blue vest with a long black overcoat. He looked further up and saw a disgruntled face, brows furrowed in annoyance and lips pursed into a thin line, red eyes glaring down at him. Emilio shivered and opened his mouth to apologize.

“Pay attention to where you are going,” the man spoke before he could, his voice deep and cold, sending shivers down his spine.

“I’m sorry,” he gave a shallow bow. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Yes, that is the problem.” The man replied curtly. “Don't walk around blindly from now on.”

And with that, he walked past him without another word.

What a rude man. Was he one of the teachers? Probably. This was the Staff Tower after all. He looked too young to be a teacher though … Emilio sighed, shaking his head. It had nothing to do with him. He just hoped he did not have to attend whichever class that man was taking.

He sighed and opened the map again. This time, he was careful of his surroundings as he followed the map. The mao led him out of the Staff Tower, past the Student Hall and Auditorium, to a massive building. This was like a mansion, except that it had ten different levels and the countless windows only on this side told him that this mansion had a huge population. He saw the sign above.

Student Dormitories.

Here went nothing.

He took a deep breath and opened the door in front of him, stepping inside. He found couches and tables and chairs catered across the oval room, groups of students distributed amongst them, chattering and laughing among themselves.

When he did, the loud noises inside did not cease immediately. They didn’t even notice him at first. As he stepped forward with silent steps and walked forward, keeping his head down, he desperately hoped none of them would notice him.

His luck was out, it seemed.

One of them noticed, then two, then three. They started pointing at him and murmuring amongst themselves, none of them good. He could feel their gazes on him. Some of them were disdainful, some held outright hostility, and some - to his surprise - held a bit of curiosity.

He paused when he reached the room. The most logical step right now would be to ask someone for directions to room 406. He could also pull up the map… but that didn’t feel right at this moment when everyone was staring at him.

He realized what he had felt when they had been at the Hall was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He felt little, almost imperceptible tremors, running up and down his body. He was clutching the Student Card so tightly that its edges were imprinted onto the skin of his palm. He didn't really register what they were saying. But their voices seemed to pound into his head, drilling into his skull. It felt like they were closing in on him, getting louder and louder and louder.

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There was the sound of loud banging, that startled the room into silence and Emilio out of his panic.

He lifted his head and turned towards the source of the noise. It came from a table at the far corner, a comfortable looking little space where there were two couches pushed up next to each other against the adjacent walls, with a round table in front of them. The group of people sitting there had an air of superiority and authority, and everyone in the room seemed to give them a bit of berth. The respectful kind.

Among the ones sitting at that table, all of them seemed to surround one person. The person was now out of his school uniform and wore a white shirt with an open vest. Wavy blonde hair framed his angular face. His golden eyes seemed amused as they met the Emilio's.

He clapped loudly and all attention was immediately on him. "Calm down, everyone. Young Master Florian is here on the recommendation of the Archmaster. We should respect our Elder's decision." He turned to Emilio. "Where has he assigned you, Young Master Florian?"

Even without the regal air about him, Emilio would have recognized this person. In Aeloria, only Royalty had golden eyes. And there was only one person in the Royal Family who was at the age of attending the Academy.

Crown Prince Louise Aeloron.

His tone was perfectly amiable, different from the derisive snorts around him. Even so, that unblinking gaze made him feel so uncomfortable. His words … they seemed nice on the surface. But he really just shat on Emilio, implying that he was only here because of the Archmaster. It was the Archmaster he was respecting, not Emilio.

Emilio had already expected that from even the lowlight of commoners, let alone the Crown Prince.

Now that his panic had subsided somewhat, he put on the calm mask that had become so familiar to him in the past years.

"Room 406," He answered, somehow managing to keep his voice steady.

A series of chuckles echoed around him.

"I suppose that makes sense," the man grinned. "The Laik and the freak, together."

"Now, now," the Prince spoke up again and those chuckles and murmurs hushed down, though Emilio noticed a few dissatisfied faces. He couldn't pay much attention to them, because the Prince had started speaking again.

"All you have to do is go up those stairs," He pointed towards a door where Emilio saw a glimpse of a staircase inside, "and you'll find room 406 on the 4th floor. This is the Floor Zero, so the 1st floor actually starts on the second story."

He looked at the Prince suspiciously. He just smiled back. He did not like amusement and the glint of … something in his eyes. He was too occupied and anxious to properly discern it.

He nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness."

The Prince chuckled. "Please. It's Louise. In the Academy, everyone is equal. We leave our statuses at the gate."

Emilio paused. He wasn't sure how true that was, considering the fact that everyone seemed to be licking the Prince's boots around here. There was also a clear divide among the students, which even Emilio in his haphazard state could see.

Nonetheless, he gave a small bow and walked through the door. He walked a few steps up the stairs. He finished the first flight of stairs before looking back towards the ground where the light was peeking onto the floor through the doorway. He could hear the conversations picking up again, many of them no doubt about him.

He bit his lip and then opened the map, asking for the way to room 406. It seemed this was the correct way. He sighed and walked up the stairs, noticing a similar doorway on every level. He peeked into one and saw a series of doors neatly arranged opposite to each other in a large corridor. There was another wall at the end and a door, with "Ladies" written over it. Males and females separated? It made sense. He stepped back and kept going up the stairs.

Finally, he reached the 4th floor. He stepped inside the corridor. Thankfully, it seemed empty. Most people were probably downstairs. Still, Emilio tiptoed across the floor just in case anyone was there.

He looked up towards the room numbers to find his room. The even numbers on the right, the odds on the left. 402, 404 … ah, there it was. 406.

He stood in front of the door and knocked.

No response.

He waited for a few moments. And then he knocked again.

Again, no response.

He frowned and looked up and down the door. Was no one inside? How was he supposed to get in then?

He examined the door and noticed a rectangular. black box where the keyhole was supposed to be. There seemed to be something written there. Emilio frowned and leaned down to read.

"Enter your Card here."

He supposed that meant Student Card.

Emilio still had that clutched tightly in his hand. He sighed and pressed the card inside the empty slot in the box. There was a strange whirring sound before the door clicked. Emilio cautiously reached forward and pushed it open. He took his Card out of the box and stepped inside.

"Hello?" He called.

Once again, no response.

He sighed and closed the door behind him.

The room was fairly large, though not as large as his room back home. There were two beds in the room. One of them was in a state of disarray, with different books and clothes spread all over it. And the other was clean and neat, with Emilio's luggage tucked up against it. He supposed that was his.

He looked around and saw another door. He walked up to it and knocked. When he got no answer again, he experimentally pushed the door. It opened to a bathroom. There was no one inside.

It seemed his roommate was outside.

Well, he could introduce himself later. Now what he needed was a good wash and changed clothes.

He went back and opened his bag, bringing out a towel and a fresh set of clothes. He didn't take long in the bathroom. Half an hour later found him walking out as he rubbed his hair with the towel to dry it, feeling exhaustion settle deep into his bones.

"Are you my new roommate?" A sudden chirpy voice spoke up beside him.

He snapped his head, only to find himself coming face to face with a formless purple mist.