The two young men gave Gust a brief tour of the school grounds on their way to his new home. The most notable buildings they passed were the library, treasury, and a schoolhouse which held daily classes.

It was not uncommon for rival schools to steal from or sabotage each other, the boys explained. As a result, the school’s valuables were always guarded by a Master, and the lower students were only permitted entry under certain criteria.

As for the classes, the various rankings of students each only attended class one day per week. The rest of the time was for training, working, or studying. There were also some specialized lectures, whose attendance came at the cost of merits. These were the currency within the school. Students who completed their daily jobs, extra work, or took on missions were rewarded for those efforts with merit points.

Near the northern wall, the three boys passed dusty training yards where young men and women sparred. Gust could only watch them briefly while he passed by, but the fighters hammered at each other with savage blows holding more strength than seemed possible.

The way a single punch to the chest sent one fighter tumbling several yards backwards made Gust snort. “These people need to work on their acting skills,” he thought. “They must be thrilled, having an outsider visit so they can show off their costumes and choreography.”

Nearby, meditating students covered a square of short grass while one of the masters lectured them. Younger students rushed along the paths carrying water, laundry, or running any number of other errands.

After some time, Gust noticed how they differentiated themselves. While everyone’s robes were predominantly gray, with accents of green, purple, and gold, they wore different types of sashes about their waists. There were also some symbols around every set of robes’ cuffs, but Gust couldn’t make sense of them.

Based on the students’ activities, Gust made a few assumptions. The lowest disciples wore a plain green belt with a single tassel, but some others had multiple tassels at either end. There were older students in purple belts giving orders, like Oba, and Ephraim was at the top with the only golden sash he had seen so far.

“Don’t be so glum,” Theo said suddenly, bumping Gust with a chain-wrapped fist. This boy warmed up to Gust easily. “Oba wasn’t joking when he said how rare it is for a school to admit new members, especially from the underworld! Wealthy families will spend their entire fortunes to get their kids in here! People everywhere work their entire lives and dream of being mages. You just lucked into it!”

The outsider’s jaw dropped. “Lucked into it? By getting kidnapped by a bunch of cultists who keep trying to convince me this is another world?” he asked bitterly.

Up ahead, Oba was clenching his teeth, waiting for them. Theo rolled his eyes. “You still don’t believe us after what Master Ephraim showed you? Alright then,” he grinned.

Theo slapped a leather pouch at his waist and a wooden sword flew out. It stopped abruptly mid-air and spun around, then flew directly at Gust’s face. His heart raced and Gust stepped back suddenly. His arms flew up to cover his face as the wooden blade bared down on him. Just as he expected to feel his forearms shatter, he only heard laughter.

Slowly, Gust lowered his arms and laid his eyes on a plain short sword. It was made of dark, polished wood and floated in the air delicately, mocking him. Gust pressed forward slowly and flicked the tip of the sword. It started spinning.

A chain snapped by Gust’s head and wrapped around the sword, wrenching it back toward Theo, who caught it in the leather pouch that first spat it out. “Convinced, yet?” he droned.

Gust’s mouth was dry. He was trying to think of any way to explain what he’d just seen… and failing. There were no strings attached to that sword. There was nothing propelling the chain on Theo’s wrist.

It was magic. No other way of explaining it. The boy nodded absently and tried to accept the truth.

Gust was a long way from home. He was pretty quiet after that.

At their next stop, a bored young man provided Gust with a couple sets of gray robes with some gold, leafy detailing around the cuffs, collar, and down the middle, though they lacked the trees and symbols he’d seen on other robes. Wrapped inside the robes were some undergarments, an old, gray sash, a book, and a small leather pouch.

“This is a bag of holding,” Theo explained. “It looks small, but it can hold as much as a house. When you want to take something out, tap the bag and think of what it is you want.” Theo did just that and a wooden sword flew out. “See? It, uh, won’t actually work for you until you’ve reached the first stage. Maybe keep this out until then,” he said, handing Gust the weapon.

Gust stared down at the magical bag. He pulled it open and peered in, but it just looked like a normal pouch. He was already getting a headache. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but he started with, “Hold on, first stage?”

“Ah, right. That brings me to this,” Theo tapped the book. Its title read, Basic Cultivation. “Every member of this school started where you are now. With a book just like this one.” Theo made a pensive face. “Well, alright, maybe we don’t start where you are, but we’re not all from the underworld, are we? Your book is a special version, given to outsiders and Demons.”

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Gust wasn’t in the mood for conversation. He merely sighed and said, “Do you really need to keep calling my world that? I’m clearly not dead, why would my home be the underworld?”

Theo winced and paused. Oddly, Oba looked over with an amused expression as the chain-user struggled. “I know you think your world is normal, Augustus, but it’s not. Mana is a vital energy that governs heaven and earth, but your world doesn’t have any! Without mana, your bodies are weak, and your lives are limited. No mage could survive in an environment like that.

“It’s a long shot, but here anyone can cultivate and increase our power to the point of immortality! We could even join the Patrons one day! Your people don’t even have souls, Augustus. It’s like there’s this void in you that is just waiting to be filled with mana. Something about being empty makes it easier for you Demons to cultivate, though. If you can focus on the technique.”

Gust felt ridiculous but the more he learned, the more he wanted to know about this place. He tried to keep his mind on his home, but he couldn’t help but listen.

Theo returned to the subject of life at the School of Fallen Leaves. “Every day, you’ll work the job I assign you tomorrow. I run the chore house, you see,” he flashed a smile. “But one day a week, you’ll attend classes. Read a bit, try it out, and maybe one of the masters will give you some tips in a few days. You came through our gate, so we’re responsible for you, ya know?”

Theo’s smile was jovial, but Gust couldn’t return it with any real emotion. His mind was racing.

“Anyway, while you’re starting from scratch, the rest of us are usually a few steps ahead by now. That’s why you’re the one and only honorary student we have at the moment. If you can use the cultivation technique in this book to pass through the Mana Absorption stage, and open your first set of meridians, you’ll became a real student and get to have some real fun. If you perform well in the tournament next year, one of the elders might even take you on as a personal disciple!”

It was a lot of information to take in and Gust was already overwhelmed. He waved a hand through the air to get Theo to slow down. “You keep mentioning stages and cultivation but how do I even do that?”

Theo tapped the book again, smiling. “Start by reading. This book’s pretty basic. Once you choose a Patron, you’ll get access to a more specific path.”

Gust’s head spun from all the new vocabulary Theo was throwing around, but the prospect of magical power was hard to resist. He was interested. “Right, right. So, what stage are you two at?”

“Oh, we’re both in the Pathway Establishment phase.” When Gust made a frustrated sound of confusion, Theo chuckled. “Simmer down, Augustus. You’re from another world, remember? It’s gonna take some time to catch up. The very first step, before you can even call yourself a mage, is to solidify your connection to mana. There are only two levels of Mana Absorption, but all of us were born at the first. Without some natural talent, it takes a lifetime for the average person to reach the second level, never mind Pathway Establishment.

“Those of us that can do it, get to apply to a school like this. I’m only at the second level of Pathway Establishment, but Oba over here’s one of the top disciples of our generation! We took the same entry exam, but he’s already opened his fourth set of meridians! The Patrons favor him for sure,” he added with a bit of envy.

Gust flipped through the cultivation manual and caught pictures of students in different postures breathing something in and collecting it within their gut. Absentmindedly, he said. “Huh. How long did that take?”

Theo made a wistful expression. “Oh, what’s it been… fifteen years?”

The older boy nodded slowly.

Gust almost choked. He looked up with wide eyes. “Did you say fifteen? As in five plus ten?”

Theo laughed. “That would equal fifteen.”

“You look younger than me, though,” Gust objected.

Theo nodded, finally understanding. “Every step in cultivation results in a greater lifespan. Otherwise, even Source Creation would be impossible. Jeez, your world really has everything backward, don’t they? How do they deal with the beasts or spirits if they don’t have cultivators?”

“The what?”

Oba stepped in and gave Theo a sharp look. “His room.”

“Ah, right,” Theo said, looking chagrined. “Just focus on your cultivation for now. When you start taking missions, you’ll hear all about that. Come on.”

Along the way, Gust inspected the sash he was given. The gray color was one he hadn’t seen anywhere else, and he was a little embarrassed to ask about it. When he finally did, Theo seemed to be expecting the question.

The boy waved one chain-wrapped wrist while he explained. “The school doesn’t usually accept people with such a low… er, nonexistent cultivation state. Being that you’re an exception, you get the status of honorary student, remember? Reach Pathway Establishment and I’ll give you a green sash myself!”

Gust nodded and even felt himself growing excited. He felt like a fool, but after Ephraim, and then Theo’s demonstrations, he was ready to admit it. Magic was real and Gust carried a book that would teach him how to use it.

All he needed to do was leave his real life behind.

Eventually, they came to a winding path outside the walls, which led into the forest. It was overgrown with tall trees, some of which grew right on top of each other, and dense bushes wherever there was enough open space for them to take shape.

After walking for a minute there was a change in the path. Every six feet on alternating sides, the dense forest abruptly split. Eventually, Theo led him down one such fork.

It was here that Gust found his new home. It was a simple one-room hut with a packed dirt floor mostly covered by a dusty rug and only the most basic furnishing. A bed, a table, and a chest. A pair of boots sat next to slippers near the front door.

By the back of the house, there was a small contraption that required him to pull a lever, which then poured water on him. He just needed to collect the water first.

And for a bathroom, there were outhouses dotting the forest.

“I dole out the chores,” Theo said proudly, “so find me in the morning and we’ll talk about your work. Hey, if you want to live forever, you better get used to being bored,” he added, with an encouraging pat on Gust’s shoulder.

While he had more questions than he had time, Gust pretended to be satisfied when the other boys asked him if he needed anything else. They left him behind without any more prodding, offering only a few friendly words.

“Welcome to the School of Fallen Leaves.”

While he appreciated their kindness, Gust didn’t plan to stay long.