After enjoying the tranquility of a wonderful lonesome meal, Thorne showered; he stayed in the beautiful stream of scalding water for multiple minutes as he could feel his tension washing away. He then left the shower and quickly changed into his new robes. The black pants and shirt served as an underlayer to the fluid red and amber robe. The robe clung to Thorne’s body perfectly; the machine that had scanned him the previous day did its job well.
Thorne left the bathroom, tiptoeing in a concentrated effort to not disturb his roommate. Thorne may not fear the human man, yet he knew better than to antagonize someone needlessly. He had learned his lesson on earth; his senses and reasoning were beaten into him from a young age.
He trod the cold metal floor wearing the deep brown shoes provided in his spatial storage. Upon checking the time once again, Thorne saw he had about an hour left before he should leave the room to head to his first class. Hence, he propped himself up on his bed and began reading the books given to him via the spatial storage.
Thorne decided first to prioritize the rulebook; ‘I have no idea of anything going on here. I must catch my bearings in the academy before learning to utilize my powers.’ Thorne sighed. His heart wanted to delve into the cultivation manuals, yet his logical side firmly objected.
The rulebook was a simple leather book with the “Z” crest of the academy planted in the book’s center. It was relatively short, with only a few pages, much more like a guide to academy etiquette than a bureaucratic system of complexly layered rules.
Thorne skimmed over it and acquired the information he desired.
Killing and seriously maiming is forbidden unless both parties agree to a duel. Coercion used to force a party to agree to a duel is strictly prohibited and will result in a severe penalty, decided by either the student’s branch head or the headmaster, depending on the severity of the offense; this applies to killing and maiming as well.
‘oh good, it would be a real pain if that bastard guide could just kill me without repercussions.’
Knowing that the guide, Drathir, was a sable cultivator who specialized in stealth forced Thorne’s hyperactive brain to think of the worst possibilities. The academy is a combat academy; what if the school condones killing? This was a far-fetched thought as he also reasoned that this likely wasn’t true for Thorne’s situation. What progression or benefit was gained by a grade two student by punching down on a newly enrolled grade one student? It wouldn’t help temper any of the two. One would die quickly, killed by the other without difficulty. Yet the thought worried Thorne as he knew he was as easy to kill as an ant to a grade two stealth-focused cultivator.
More rules and guidelines were posted in the book as well. Most were menial offenses, such as skipping classes or leaving campus without permission. These crimes, while being victimless, had harsh punishments posted. For example, you would be expelled if you skipped more than fifteen classes without a reason and prior notice. There was no buildup of punishment. It was zero to everything.
‘It seems the academy truly values their own authority.’ Thorne thought, ‘That’s good, though. I don’t intend to break any rules on purpose. They will hinder the other students more than me.’ He smiled, happy that at least one thing in his new world somewhat benefited him.
Thorne then transitioned to the combat manual. When Thorne was a teenager, he was involved in many brawls, and subsequently, Thorne developed a decent sense of how to fight effectively. He never had any training or professional techniques, however.
‘I just need to implement the combat and energy combat with my current fighting style; the spectrums suit it perfectly.’
He read over the manual, and a slight tinge of disappointment painted his face.
‘Damnit, this is just the true basics. Thorne put the book back in his spatial storage, annoyed by wasting time on the manual, ‘Whatever, well, learn more in the actual classes, and then I can also focus on utilizing my spectrums and energy in battle.’
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Thorne, who had been so immersed in reading and thinking, had lost track of time. He stretched his stagnant muscles, his body morphing into an arching cat. Checking the time, Thorne realized he should probably start leaving the room soon. It was a bit early, 8:25, but he decided to leave a bit early to ensure he wouldn’t be late.
He then realized that his roommate’s previously occupied bed was now emptied. Thorne walked to the kitchen, resolved to at least introduce himself before leaving for classes.
He saw the man sitting alone, eating some alien food. Their eyes met, and Thorne took the initiative, “Hey, how are you? I’m Thorne.” Thorne reached out his hand, implying a handshake. The tall bronze-skinned man did not take it and simply looked at it, brows furrowed.
“Oh, my bad, shaking hands is a greeting from my world.”
The man’s confusion resolved itself, but still, he ignored Thorne’s outstretched hand.
“I am Zal Chorgrane.” He spoke in an even tone, possessing a thick accent, as if some viscous fluid suppressed his vocal cords.
Zal then looked up at Thorne, and something in his eyes changed. He stood up promptly from his chair, ignoring his food.
“Are you a dual spectrum cultivator?” Zal seemed so excited; he possessed the enthusiasm and excitement of a child visiting the zoo and learning of the wonderous rare animals.
Thorne scratched his head, put off slightly by the manic excitement, “Yeah, I am.”
Zal sat down again, calming himself.
“Wow, meeting and being roommates with you is truly an honor. Your kind very rarely attends these outer universe academies.” This time Zal extended his hand, prompting Thorne to firmly shake it.
“Yes, well, the Zupu academy enrolled me for free, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” Thorne spoke in half-truths, his voice never wavering.
Zal laughed mellowly, “Yes, they truly do cost a fortune. My family could barely afford to send me here, even with a scholarship.” He lowered his head dejectedly before brightening. “But all we can do is honor the school and my family by growing strong and paying back their support.”
Thorne smiled, already liking his new roommate, “That’s a good outlook on life.” Thorne then looked over his shoulder, viewing the displayed time: 8:32.
“Well, I should probably get going; my first class starts soon.” Thorne looked back, speaking to Zal.
The tall man laughed, “Oh, me too. Are you in class A basic combat?”
“Yeah, looks like we might be testing our skills against each other.” Thorne joked.
“Ha-ha, certainly, but I am most excited about testing them against other spectrums!” Zal smiled, his deep, baggy eyes becoming apparent, and a brief shadow clouded his face.
‘He probably didn’t get too much sleep. Must have come in late.’ Thorne reasoned before speaking.
“Yes, that definitely will be fun.”
----------------------------------------
The pair walked out of their abode into the carpeted hallway. Instead of showcasing all the colors of the combat spectrum, this carpet only had amber.
‘Hmm, I wonder why I was placed in an only amber dorm hallway instead of red.’
He voiced his confusion to Zal, who promptly looked at him, his face scrunched; “Do you really not know; red spectrum cultivators are very rare as the talent of pure destruction is not a common thing in most people, and there simply aren’t enough of them here to designate a whole hall.”
“Oh really, is it the rarest?” Thorne inquired, curious if he had truly been given an extraordinary opportunity with a rare spectrum.
“Not the rarest spectrum out of all. Oh no, I’m sure some spectrums are extraordinary to even the inner universe. No red is certainly rare and is the most uncommon out of the eight usual combat spectrums, maybe matched in rarity by black, but not the rarest out of all spectrums.” Zal laughed while looking at Thorne’s crystal of arcane spectrum energy, “If it truly were the rarest, some inner universe sect would have snatched you up.”
Thorne thought about this for a moment, “snatched up? Wouldn’t the Zupu academy stop them?”
“HAHA. The Zupu Academy, man, you are funny!” Zal acted like Thorne had just performed a mind-bending comedy skit, “The academy may be strong in the outer universe and a true behemoth in the small Valtear galaxy cluster. The inner universal factions, though, could do anything to the school.”
“Their power must be world-bending.” Thorne couldn’t even imagine how an organization could squash this futuristic world and academy like nothing.
“Oh yes, the universe is truly vast; a big power here is a small one there, and so on. Who knows, there may be an inner universe to what we call the inner universe, and it’s never-ending.” Zal quipped.
Thorne’s face was shadowed in thought. He truly felt small and insignificant, overwhelmed by the cosmic vastness of space and the apparent reality-bending factions.
Thorne sighed, “I’m just realizing how backwater I am.”
Zal turned melancholy, his thick voice soft and flowing; “In this academy, we all are from poor backgrounds in the grand scheme of things; it just depends on the person if they recognize that and can break through that roof.”
Thorne gave Zal an understanding gaze, the other man returning his look. In that exchange, some silent understanding passed between them, an understanding of each other's nature.