There was a surprise waiting for Kai, Akane and Andre as they went back to their new dorm room. A new person was waiting inside, setting up some stuff on one of the two available beds. The young man was smaller than most of the other students including the women. Even his sister Arielle who of eleven might be taller. The next thing Kai noticed was the young man’s arms were riddled with glyph tattoos of unknown designs.
“You must be my new roommates. I am Hector DeSantos, attendant to his Lord Franklin Cross, future Duke of the Ashbourne Kingdom, and heir to the region of Cross.” The man’s voice was deeper than Kai would have thought. His speech was crisp and practiced, which made Kai assume he was well educated. He neither bowed nor offered a handshake to the two, instead, his eyes steadily evaluating his two new roommates.
Cross? I believe that’s the area outside the mists.
Andre was the first to act. “It’s very nice to meet you. I am Andre Belton, of the Belton Merchant Group, located in Rille, and this is Kai Cineris.”
Akane yapped behind the two, making sure to remind them they were not free of her presence.
Andre let out a cough to clear his throat. “And how could I forget. Akane who belongs to Kai,” Andre said. “Or is it the other way around?”
“That’s yet to be determined,” Kai quipped.
[Human – Foundation Level 76]
Kai’s eyes lit up at seeing his new roommate’s level. He hadn’t expected anyone entering the academy to be so high in level already. It was obvious now that students who had birthdays much earlier wouldn’t be content to sit around and wait until the academy semester began. For all he knew, Hector took many months to reach this level until the school year started. Kai could have done the same, but he had chosen to spend the few weeks since turning 16 with his family instead of going out every day scrounging for levels.
Despite being standoffish at first, Kai found Hector to be quite knowledgeable. He was the personal attendant to the heir of the Dukedom of Cross. Raised at birth for such an honor and position. Duke Cross was the very same Duke who ruled the territory next to the Illusionary Misty Region.
“What’s with the fox?” Hector asked seeing Akane observe the three from Kai’s bed.
Despite how much she ate, her belly didn’t bulge at all. Kai had an awkward look on his face, trying to think of how to explain it. “It’s difficult to explain, she isn’t mine but is a resident to the village I lived in. I didn’t know she was coming to stay with me at school until I was literally signing up at the admissions booth and she appeared next to me. My father probably didn’t want me to be lonely and brought her secretly on our trip here for all I know,” Kai assumed.
Both Andre and Hector gave the fox an appraising look. Akane was licking her paw without a care in the world. After being around her for so long, he had picked up small tells of hers. Behind her paw, it was almost as if she had a small smirk on her face, finding the conversation funny.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you have tattoos?” Andre broke the silence.
Looking a little uncomfortable Hector answered, “they are a family tradition, I’m not allowed to discuss them.”
“Ah. Sorry I didn’t know.”
Hector waved him off. “It’s fine.”
After an awkward moment of silence, Kai decided to change the subject to something he was more interested in.
“Is it true the Illusionary Misty Region is a part of the Cross Dukedom?” Kai asked. Even though he knew the answer, he was curious to find out more about his isolated home.
Hector’s face dropped. “It is. Technically, that area is contested between the Dukedom and the Hart Empire, however, while both sides claim it, neither will travel through it or take up residence. I’m assuming you’re familiar with the rumors and history of the area?”
Kai shook his head lying. While it was true, he was aware of some rumors revolving around the Illusionary Misty Region, it was only what he had heard from Steve and Bettrica recently. He genuinely wanted to know what residents of the Ashbourne Kingdom, thought of his home.
Sighing, Hector started, “Well first off, anyone who enters that area never returns, or so they say. However, there is a tale that at least one person managed to return. About a hundred years ago, the brother of the duke, who was my Lord’s great uncle, entered the mists, apparently not taking the rumors seriously with a squadron of soldiers. I don’t know why he would enter the mists. Regardless his strength and his soldiers were by no means insignificant from what I’ve heard. After an hour, one of the men stumbled out of the mist half-dead, muttering about unseen monsters, specters of evil, and other crazy things.” Hector waved his hand back and forth in a dismissive manner.
“The survivor said they were attacked by unknown monsters. They had no chance of fighting back. Whatever monsters lurked there, systematically destroyed them without them having a chance. The soldier wasn’t even sure if the duke’s brother remained alive. An entire regiment was sent in to recover the duke’s brother dead or alive including the one survivor to show them the way. No one ever returned. Following that incident, people moved away from the mists and the rumors grew stronger and stranger over time. It is a cursed place that is forbidden if you value your life.”
Is it me or is it getting hot in this room? His mouth moved to say something, but no words came out. He knew from what his father told him that they would kill any and all trespassers. But the village had effectively killed a high noble and had gotten away with it. He discreetly looked at Akane who was now licking her paw in an even more exaggerated motion, the smirk even more pronounced.
“Does anyone know what is inside the mists?” his voice cracked a little.
“No... All sorts of rumors exist but nothing definite. I figure there must be very territorial monsters of massive strength. Nothing else makes sense,” Hector said with a shrug.
Kai remained silent as Andre and Hector compared theories of what lurked inside the mists. What monsters? The only monsters are those little gluttonous foxes. Unfortunately for the two, the truth was rather dull compared to their imaginations, Andre declared that a dragon must have laid claim to the area. Kai even joined in the fun, claiming it was filled with dark and evil wizards.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The conversation changed topics many times, eventually stopping about their homes and families. Kai found out that Hector was born into a long line of servants and attendants for the duke’s family. He had been raised and trained for the purpose of being the future duke’s assistant since birth, claiming it was a huge honor.
Kai couldn’t imagine being told what to do for his entire life. He figured he had a different perspective on life since both families he was raised by allowed him to do what he wanted and supported him. Kai’s older sister Lyddia had elected to be an enchanter, not following his mother or father profession. As a result, she even began studying daily with the master enchanter in the village a few years back.
Andre was similar to Hector; he had chosen to go into the family business. Discussing their futures made Kai realize he hadn’t given much thought to his own. In his past life, he had become a soldier of sorts for the sake of humanity’s beginning in the new world. A necessity. He had sacrificed both blood and body for the people to push forward and expand their territories, only to become betrayed in the end.
Slaying monsters was all he knew, but the risks involved were significant. It was more likely he would die before his 50th birthday than survive if he continuously fought monsters without pause. His father claimed the stronger the monsters were, the more intelligent they were as well. Setting traps and problem solving was just the beginning of what intelligent monsters were capable of doing. While not necessary, the academy would provide a chance to improve his combat skills and ability to survive in a future filled with the unknown.
Kai was a bit envious, his roommates had goals and dreams beyond engaging in impossible, unrealistic revenge or fighting monsters until death.
The dorm room was quiet. Kai stayed awake long past the time the other two went to bed. Akane had curled up by his side, sleeping peacefully as Kai rubbed her back. In the end, no one had come and claimed the last bed, leaving just the three of them in the room. His initial impressions of his roommates were good. He found them both knowledgeable and interesting. The lights outside the window had continued to dim until they officially shut off sometime before midnight. Finally falling asleep an hour later, his mind wandered until the very end. Although lunch had been a little turbulent, the rest of the day went rather well. Kai could only hope that his first day of classes went well too.
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He woke up to bright light shining through the window. Again, he tried to identify the source of the light but couldn’t tell from where it originated. It was as if a web of light was strung across the entirety of the city’s sky. Hector was already missing, and Andre had only begun stirring. Despite the limited number of courses available, Kai’s schedule was different from theirs except for field training and ethics and law. Neither Hector nor Andre used physical weapons, placing them in the mage class.
There were apparently no uniforms at this school so he would be stuck with what the clothes he brought from home. I guess I can go shopping too, pick up some local wear.
Like many of the students would today, Kai decided to dress to impress. He wore his nicest black tunic, pairing them with some standard brown pants and boots. Stretching his arms, he felt the tunic tighten. If his body continued to grow, he would an entire new wardrobe.
Akane pawed at the door, whimpering slightly. Her stomach had been growling for the last 20 minutes and had only been increasing in frequency and intensity.
“Hold on, give me one more minute,” Kai said aloud to Akane. Grabbing a comb Kai attempted to tackle his messy bedhead before going out.
Walking down to the same cafeteria from the day before, Kai found Hector already eating. Knowing he would have to split his food with Akane, he grabbed two plates, filling them up before he took a seat next to his roommate. There was no denying the food was more impressive than the kind he ate at home. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of the people who had prepared the food had a chef or cook class.
“Sorry I left early this morning. I had to attend to my lord,” Hector apologized.
“No need to apologize, it’s your job,” Kai replied. The three ate in silence until Andre joined them a few minutes later.
Breakfast passed without any drama besides Akane receiving attention again from her eating antics. There was excitement in the air as all the students chatted loudly. Kai didn’t know if this was the entire student body, but there were at least 300 students in the large multi-leveled cafeteria. It was a sea of fashion. Students were wearing different kinds of clothes, some even a little risqué. A bell rang once and with it, the tide of students began filtering out as they prepared to go to their first class of the year.
Kai found the classroom easy enough. He was early, so it wasn’t a surprise that there were only a few students so far. People stared as he entered, apparently having nothing else to do except gawk at every person that entered. The seating was an auditorium-style seating with rows cascading up higher towards the back of the room. A long desk went from one side of the row to the other side for all the students to do some writing if they chose.
Having picked a spot isolated from the other students, he ignored the continued stares he kept receiving. Akane settled onto the desk in front of him. Yawning, she looked bored.
Kai closed his eyes and began meditating to pass the time until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Opening his eyes he heard, “Can you move down one spot so my sister and I can sit together?”
Kai noticed that the classroom had filled up considerably since he had closed his eyes and “napped.” Almost every seat was taken leaving only a single seat here and there. To his left, two beautiful identical-looking girls were staring at him expectantly. Kai wordlessly obliged and stood up, before moving to the next chair over.
Another minute passed. He could hear the two girls whispering to each other while covertly sending glances at Akane.
“Excuses me,” the twin next to him whispered. “Are you the person who offended Jason Grell, yesterday?”
Kai groaned audibly, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wondered if she had witnessed the incident or if rumors had already spread about a fox-owning commoner disrespecting a noble in the cafeteria.
“I hope not, why do you ask?”
“Our friend saw what happened and told us about a young commoner student with a fox who insulted the future marquess.”
Kai sighed. “There was no intended disrespect. It was a miscommunication.”
There was a pause as the girls considered his words. Kai could tell others were listening in on his conversation. Someone scoffed behind him. Kai chose to ignore him.
“Is the fox yours?” The second twin asked.
Kai nodded.
“Do you think I can pet her?” The nearest twin asked.
“Akane?” Kai looked down and said her name as if asking permission on the girl’s behalf.
Akane opened an eye and nodded her head.
With a hesitant hand, the girl reached over and started running her hand down Akane back. Within seconds she was enthralled going for another stroke, and then another. Almost mesmerized. “It’s so soft,” she said absently.
“That’s inappropriate,” the second twin informed the other, her cheeks puffing up.
“I don’t care. She feels heavenly.” The nearest twin was squeezing her hand into Akane’s fur, completely ignoring the looks around the room.
Her sister watched on with envy obvious on her face. “Can I feel too?” She finally asked, already half out of her seat. Akane nodded her consent. Both girls were now petting Akane, the second even squealing a little.
“My gods, it is so soft.”
“I know right. Softer and smoother than anything I’ve ever felt,” the first twin said.
Akane rolled over onto her back and began pointing at her stomach. Getting the hint, the girls began rubbing and patting her belly. Akane’s tail swished with happiness.
Kai awkwardly watched on, half amused, half embarrassed.
“What’s her name?” Asked the second twin.
“Akane, and I’m Kai,” he said.
“Joslyn, and Katie,” she the first twin pointing to herself first.
“Is she for sale?” Katie asked, a disturbing gleam in her eye.
Kai felt Akane tense for a second before she looked at him with her intelligent slitted eyes. He felt his back chill for a second as if this would be one of the most important decisions of his life. “No sorry.” Instantly the chill vanished.
With a pout, the twins didn’t get to respond as the teacher walked in, all chatter instantly silencing.
[https://i.imgur.com/73OxdDL.jpg]