Dren was not a very important town on the global scale, but there was one thing that gave the citizens of Ilyum a reason to remember it. It was the last stop on the International Railroad. A train system that ran from the snowy northern part of Ilyrum all the way to Dren, which hugged the desert area to the far south.
Because of the train's intimidating size, most monsters largely left the railroad alone. This made the railroad the only safe way to get from one place to another quickly. Someone could walk the way between cities, but this was as time-consuming as it was dangerous. So, if someone wanted to go from Dren to Libera, and do so efficiently and safely, they'd have to take the train.
Rin stood in the center of a wooden platform at the station, waiting for the train to arrive. Behind her were Felix, Jay, and her mother.
"I'm honestly still pretty shocked," Felix stated. Rin looked down at her luggage, packed with just a few different sets of clothing, some hygiene-related essentials, and of course, the golden necklace. "I can't believe you're actually leaving."
"Yeah. Is it weird that I feel nervous? Like, more nervous than I have in a long, long time."
"I'd say that's a good sign you're still sane. Or at least, mostly sane," Felix chuckled.
"You've got your IDs on you?" Jay asked with her hands on her hips, and Rin groaned.
"When the hell did you become my second mom?" Rin asked lightly as she searched for her wallet.
"Ms. Jay makes an excellent substitute for when I'm not around." Her mother added with a smile.
"I told you, just 'Jay' is fine," Jay grumbled, before turning back toward Rin. "So, you got it?"
"Yeah," Rin checked to make sure her security token, a simple government-issue token made out of a specific northern metal that had the person's date of birth printed onto it, was in her wallet along with the sex worker's license she had been given upon being hired by the Silver Rose. Admittedly, she didn't need it anymore, but at this point, she also didn't really care to throw it away. "I'm good."
"Alright." Jay took a step back. "Listen. As soon as you get to Libera, you head straight to the academy. I don't know much but I do know that they let students stay at the school dorms. Don't waste any time, go there, pay up, put your stuff down wherever they leave you, and then you can walk around the city. Just make sure you have a place to sleep in first, you know?"
"What should I do about food? I don't wanna starve or anything." Rin stated. Jay rubbed her chin.
"As far as I know, the academy has its own cafeteria. What you actually should be worried about is finding a way to pay for equipment."
"Huh. Do they give loans like regular colleges?"
"No. So, I don't know how you'll manage that, to be honest. That's up to you." Jay said honestly and Rin sighed.
"Alright… I'll figure it out." Rin nodded to herself.
"Anyway, I just wanted to see you off, kid. I should probably get back to the Rose. Good luck out there. You never gave me much trouble; I think you'll do fine. Send me a letter if you need anything, okay?" Then, she looked at Rin's mother. "Ari, you walking with me or what?"
"Yes, just, in a moment, please?" Her mother replied.
"I'll wait over there." Jay pointed at a bench in the shade of the station's wooden balcony.
"Alright."
Rin was left with Felix and her mother. The heat of the sun on her back only served to amplify the weight of this moment. The thick smell in the air as the concrete of Dren's streets gave way to the dirt and metal path that the train would move out from made Rin cover her nose with her shirt.
"Aw, fuck," Felix smacked his forehead. "Now who am I gonna tell about all those cute boys?"
"You'll be fine." Rin smiled.
"But the boys!"
"You can gush to me in letters." Rin chuckled. "It'll be like nothing ever changed."
"… Nah, you were my best friend in there. Things are definitely changing. But, hey, I'm happy for you, Rin."
"I appreciate it."
The two hugged and, for what could be the last time, Rin smelled the scent of the Silver Rose's lounge on Felix. An eternal hint of vanilla.
"See you around, Rin."
"Yeah, Felix. And, uh…" She leaned in to whisper, "take care of my mom for me. If you can, if you find the time."
"Will do. Alright, I'm going to go give Ms. Jay some company."
Finally, it was just Rin and her mother. Unlike the other two, her mother appeared distinctly saddened. Rin hugged her before any words were even exchanged.
"You counted the gold?"
"Yeah, a hundred all in all, maybe a few more. Ten platinum."
"Good. Good." Her mother reached for something and Rin arched a brow. "Here, take this."
She held out some strange amulet. It gleamed, shining with a strange pink color.
"What is this?"
"It used to belong to your father. He got it from his grandfather, that fought in Libera's revolution." As Rin listened, she found her mother looking at the jewelry fondly. "It's enchanted to enhance your Essence abilities."
"Spells? I don't know any though."
"They'll probably teach you a few over there. If they're any good at their jobs anyway," her mother replied. "Keep it on and once you're out there in the wild, never take it off. It could save your life."
"Oh. Uh, mom, I don't know what to say. Thank you," Rin replied as she smiled up at her mother.
"Don't mention it, sweetie. Just, promise you'll be careful?"
"Yeah, of course." Rin nodded.
"I'm serious, Rin. There's a reason the Academy has barely any standards as to who they let join in. Adventuring was a really popular job about a hundred years ago, but the more people did it, the more people died. When you rose through the ranks, you became more than human but, anyone who couldn't keep up… Well, yeah. It ended up with the academy being made because parents like me were tired of losing their kids to these adventures because they weren't ready to handle things."
Rin was stunned.
"But… I understand that you want to give this a try. Just know that, if you ever change your mind about it, you can come back and we'll try to find something else for you. Just... Just know that you've got options."
"Alright."
"Well, that's it, I guess." With one more firm hug, Rin felt a tear drop onto her shoulder and her mother said, "take care."
"Bye."
The train arrived forty minutes after that moment. It was a marvelous thing, a giant mechanical contraption moved by a mixture of engineering and the mages at the ends that telekinetically push it back and forth. Some officer told the amassing crowd to wait as the people inside the train walked out. There were people from all different walks of life. Merchants, peasants like her, looking for a new life, politicians, and ambassadors.
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The officer made a gesture and, as part of a line, Rin walked forward. She boarded the train, dropped a few coins into a box, and was directed to an empty window seat, and sat down. She wondered if reservations were made for seats but when she looked around, she found that there were a lot of empty chairs. Does no one want to go to Libera? With a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Anyway, it's happening. She thought. Holy shit, it's happening.
A middle-aged woman sat next to her. Rin couldn't help but ask.
"Excuse me," Rin started, "how long till we get to Libera?"
"First time?" The woman asked, and Rin nodded. "Around eight hours give or take."
It was the first interaction she had with someone else since she stopped being a sex worker. With that in her mind, she hoped that Jay's brothel would keep prospering. She hoped Felix would never change. She hoped some of the men and women she knew would find their own happiness, and if they enjoyed that job, then she hoped they'd get to do it for many years to come.
An announcement was made by a woman in a simple brown shirt and skirt of the same color that they would be heading to Libera now. Before Rin could even register it, the train took off. Her time in Dren, a total of twenty years had officially ended.
At first, as the area to the north of Dren had some woodlands to carve through, Rin did not get to see much. But, as soon as the train moved past that and entered a clearing that seemed to last miles and miles, Rin's jaw hit the floor. Sky-cutting mountains in the distance, fields of cream-tinged tall grass, but what truly caught her attention were the bird-like creatures soaring through the skies.
She mistook them for dragons but then she pressed her forehead against the window and noticed their dark beaks. I've never seen birds like those before. For them to be so big, even from here, they must be massive up close!
Rin was in awe. The surprises did not let up. A few minutes later, Rin saw a river in person for the first time. A large body of crystal-clear blue water to the right, letting the sun reflect brilliantly off its surface, was sprawling to the far horizon. Rin was speechless. Even further ahead, she saw all kinds of animals that she'd only heard about or seen in drawings in school textbooks. Cows, sheep, longspikes, flowerbulls, all sorts of creatures Dren never had.
After a while though, Rin's eyelids felt heavier and heavier. And, with her eyes on the sky, she fell asleep. When her eyes reopened, the sun was still out but the sky had taken on an orange tinge. Rin yawned and looked to her left, finding that the woman next to her was writing in some kind of notebook.
The woman noticed and raised a brow at Rin, who looked away quickly.
"It's fine to be curious." The woman said and Rin turned back to her.
"Uh, what are you writing?"
"I'm keeping track of the things I see." The woman replied with a small smile. "For my kids when I see them again."
"Oh."
"Yes, I had to visit Dren for a business meeting, so I figured I may as well document my time outside of Libera."
Rin nodded slowly. [Maybe I should do the same?] Rin wondered, looking back out the window. I guess it would be good to have something to give to mom, Felix, and everyone. Just, jot down the things I see.
It was right when the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon emerged to replace it that someone announced that they had arrived at Libera. Rin leaned out the window and found the kind of place Dren could never hope to compete with. A city with large grey stone walls that only gave way to an opening for the train to use, but behind them, Rin could see large elegant, and colorful buildings. The train slowed down until it was moving no faster than a person could walk while it entered the city.
The people on the train stood up and along with them, Rin walked out of the train. The difference between this place and Libera was instantly noticeable. A man carrying a strange instrument was singing nearby, the people who lived here were dressed carelessly, with some of them having more of their bodies exposed than even Rin's coworkers would have back at Dren. Rin didn't see as many weapons on people's bodies as she did at Dren either. In Dren, if you weren't ready for an altercation at all times, you were considered a fool. Here, that seemed like it was the last thing on people's minds.
Wow. Rin was lost in it all, but she shook her head. Right, Jay said I need to find the academy as fast as possible. I guess I'll ask around. She walked up to a nearby guard.
"Excuse me, where can I find the Adventurer's Academy?" Rin asked.
"Just a few streets away from here, take a left, then a right, keep going straight and take another left. After that, just keep going straight and you'll see it."
"Thank you." Rin bowed and, with her luggage by her side, walked away.
Her eyes roamed over every detail in the city. The houses combined bricks and stone to create colorful buildings and the streets, though narrow, felt like walking on clouds. Even the windows were different! Unlike in Dren, here, the windows were carved into the buildings and had no glass, instead, it looked like people used some strange wood to shield themselves from the sun. The last bit that she noticed was the multiple small bridges that the streets transformed into. They had water running under them, where people used boats to move from one place to another, that was another thing she'd never seen before.
She followed the guard's directions and eventually ended up in front of a place that made her freeze in awe. Behind a metal gate and a large field of cut grass, there was the academy. Colored a dark brown and taller than most of the other buildings nearby, it was looming. Instead of the festive and fair nature of the other places Rin had seen, this structure seemed prideful and old.
A few guards were standing at the gates and when they watched Rin approach, they postured up.
"Uh, hello, I'm here to sign up."
"Seriously?" One guard looked her up and down and snickered. He turned to his partner and said, "it seems like all we get is outcasts nowadays huh."
"Yeah, no real heroes anymore. Damn shame."
Rin narrowed her eyes at them. What the hell are they talking about?
"Sure. Go ahead. The secretary at the front will send you up to the dean. You can pay then, and someone will take you to the dorms."
"Thanks." It almost sounded like a question. The men let her through and, officially, Rin was inside academy grounds.
The garden-like smell hit her nostrils and Rin basked in it. She still couldn't believe it was all actually happening. The anticipation of this new life nearly swept her legs out from under her. She had to walk a little bit faster just to vent the excitement. A glance up at the moon let Rin know it must have been around 8 or 9 pm. When she stood in front of the large brown double doors that led into the academy, she paused.
Here goes nothing.
And on that note, she opened the door. The first thing she saw was a series of old paintings on the wall behind a singular desk ahead of her. Each one depicted people dressed in all kinds of armor and with equally varied weaponry. Then, she looked down and saw a woman that she assumed to be the secretary watching her with a subtle annoyance.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Academy." The secretary said emotionlessly. "How can I help you?"
Rin took a deep breath. Pulling her luggage, she walked up to the woman and stated her purpose.
"I'm here to sign up." The woman, like the guards, gave her a disbelieving look. Rin got annoyed this time and sighed before saying, "yes, seriously."
"Hmph. This is why no one likes us anymore." The woman mumbled and pulled out a few papers. What does that mean? Rin thought. Everyone back at Dren always looked up to adventurers. They're literally the stuff of fantasies. "Okay, do you have the tuition fee ready?"
"Yes. Ten plats, right?"
"Yes, ten plats," she said the abbreviation with distaste. "Another commoner, by the Divine."
What the hell is her problem? Rin shook her head and reached into her baggage. She searched for the large pouch where she was carrying all of her money and one by one, pulled out gold coins until they equaled the ten platinum.
She tried to pile them up into neat stacks and handed them over.
"One… ten… fifty… seventy… Alright." The woman wrote down something Rin couldn't see and asked, "Identification."
"Here." Rin handed over her token and the woman nodded, writing more down.
"Rin Asahiro, woman born on 1224 A.S. and a resident of Dren, oh no wonder." She muttered under her breath. Rin's patience was running out. "Good. That makes you the tenth first-year."
"Okay, so where do I, wait, what?"
The woman stamped the paper she was writing on and put it in a folder.
"Hm?" She asked Rin.
"Tenth?" Rin asked. "As in, this place only has nine other students in my year?"
"Yes."
"What? I just… I don't get it."
"There is a reason we barely have any requirements to become a student. Why we provide so many free services." The secretary's voice took on a more somber almost accusatory tone. Suddenly, it felt like the room grew colder. "Every year, the number of students has diminished. Young hopefuls like you take one look at the state of things outside this or any city's safe little walls and they give up. But you will understand soon enough. As for right now, hm… You will be sharing a room with another student. Come with me, I will take you to it."
"… Okay."
The secretary led her to an elevator. Elevators were rare in Dren, only very rich places had them, so when Rin stepped into this one, she felt a tingle of excitement. There were four levels marked above four buttons.
"The academy has four floors. The first floor, the entrance, is for the administration and the staff. The second is where the dorms are, the third is for classes. First-year and second-year students stay on the second floor. Third-years generally tend to have enough money to buy their own homes outside of the academy."
"What's the fourth fo-, flo, fuck that's hard to say. What's the fourth floor for?"
The secretary rolled her eyes.
"The library, the physical training center, the meditation room, and the cafeteria are all located there."
"They put a library next to a gym?" Rin asked with a raised brow. The elevator came to a halt, its doors opened and they both stepped out.
"The gym is enchanted to be soundproof. Of course, that created a whole lot of new problems, for one, people tend to go there to…" She looked at Rin awkwardly and coughed. "Never mind."
The secretary led Rin to room 2 – E. Here, the secretary opened the door and Rin found herself in a quaint little place with two beds, a small fridge on the side, a few old books, and a window at the back.
"Your roommate has yet to arrive, hopefully, she will be here by tomorrow." The secretary gestured for Rin to walk in. "Make yourself at home. The cafeteria and all of the training rooms are free. Tomorrow, you will be given an adventurer's token. As long as you have that on you, you will be able to visit every part of the academy freely."
"Alright."
"If I am not mistaken, the dean will be addressing the new students tomorrow at eight in the morning. Do not miss it."
Without a goodbye, the woman closed the door and Rin was left alone.
She breathed in the smell of ancient texts and a bed that hadn't been cleaned in weeks and it smelled like change. Next to her bed, a clock was ticking away. I'm here. Rin laughed to herself. I'm here! I did it. I… Holy shit. She felt a tear slide down her face. Her laugh bubbled until she laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
[My new life. I guess it starts now.]