Clo stepped out of his shuttle room with a bit of regret. He had been on the thing for the past three months and enjoyed the luxury. He had been given a private room. One that was bigger than any place he had ever lived in before. That wasn’t saying much considering the biggest room he had ever was barely big enough to fit a bed in. The shuttle on the other hand had two beds, both of which could easily fit two people.

He moved through the hall quickly, although he kept his eyes out the many windows. Students were milling about outside, in what he could only describe as an active battlefield. He recognized the semi-hostile gazes among the students as they gazed at each other. It was probably just because of the inherently competitive nature of the academy. He didn’t meet them. It wasn’t time yet to reveal anything. There was too much he didn’t know about the academies. Even reading as much as he could on the tablet that the school had provided, didn’t really enlighten him. The school obviously covered up the actually important pieces of information. The website would have you believe that everyone would just love to work together. No, they might as well have said that everyone shat rainbows for how much of it he trusted.

He didn’t waste the months he had though. That time went into studying the fundamentals. There was little chance his grades would ever be among the top students, but he was determined not to rest at the bottom. Or admit to anyone that he didn’t have a basic education. Twelve hours every day had gone into that, and the rest went into learning how to use a sword. Thankfully, the school had provided plenty of instructional material when it came to sword combat. He only had the internet for the other subjects. This meant that most of his knowledge came from abbreviated versions of instructional texts that he could find, along with some rather high-quality YouTube videos.

The shuttle hovered just above a stone platform that looked like an old-fashioned train station. It had a yellow line on the ground indicating that he should not be standing where he was. Beyond that were stone tiles that led to a small staircase. Beyond a few benches, trashcans, and the students, the train station was empty. He took in his surroundings, noticing the students separate into groups as they filtered toward an academy building. A pair of eyes met him, and a student started toward him.

Shit, what had he done now? He shook the thought as he recognized the man’s uniform. Unlike, the relatively standard school uniform that Clo was actually wearing, this man had a staff outfit. The differences weren’t that noticeable. Clo’s uniform was a full suit and jacket, and actually came in every color, he chose black. The staff outfit was similar but they had the word staff printed just beneath the breast pocket. Most students didn’t wear the uniform. There was no choice for him since it was the only nice set of clothes he owned. The school had several online shops where he could get clothing, and he had placed orders already. They were all branded with the academy's crest somewhere. While he didn’t care about school pride, he wouldn’t reject free undamaged clothes. Luxury clothing, like what he saw on some of the students was pointless. And stupid. Outing their status, whether rich or poor was just dumb. With his clothes, he could just fake some school pep.

“Hello there!”

Clo stared flatly at the man as he approached. He had blonde hair that was slicked back like a movie villain and a smile that should’ve belonged on a snake. His eyes flashed with a constant stream of information as he used some very obvious implant. Yeah, he had a perfectly punch-able face.

“Hey. I’m Clo, and obviously very new. Um, are you a teacher? And why is everyone in a rush?”

Clo’s voice was perfectly amiable. In fact, it could even be described as peppy as he smiled openly at the man. It was so out of place on him that the staff member froze for a moment.

“Wow, you’re a pep kid?” The man asked the question but didn’t wait for Clo to answer. Instead, he just answered it and barreled on talking. “Nah… I don’t think so, and you can drop the act too. I’m leaving this world after today. Plus, it doesn’t really work when you were all black, and your bangs drop to your eyes like some stereotypical emo kid. The shuttles do provide haircuts, although there are better places for it on school grounds. Either way, not important right now. What sector are you from?”

Clo paused at the rush of words but didn’t drop the act entirely. He kept the smile in case one of the actual students glanced his way but didn’t try to sound so friendly.

“The waste worlds.”

His words were cold and quiet. The man nodded; his eyes widened fractionally but his face was otherwise smooth.

“Ok, you are going to gate 13 over there.’

The entrance into what was obviously the school’s main grounds was large and was split into separate gates. The last of which was labeled 13, and the line that led to it was the smallest. He expected the discrimination, but this felt petty. Also, a little backward considering how long the other lines were. He didn’t argue.

“Thanks.”

He moved to walk past the, now much less talkative, staff but was slowed by another question.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Do you have any bags in the shuttle that must be picked up?”

The man’s friendly demeanor had died when he realized that Clo wasn’t a golden goose. Clo didn’t care, and he answered normally. Doing something to piss off a member of staff would just be stupid.

“No, I’m good. Thanks though.”

He didn’t get a reply and didn’t care for one either. Students didn’t pay him much mind either, or he weaved through the crowd. He caught a glimpse of himself in the shuttle’s windows and saw how his hair looked. He never really bothered with it and hadn’t cut it at all on their journey. It was messy and nearly covered his eyes. The academy was the only thing on the planet and was as big as any four cities back home. It had more normal people on it than trial takers. It shouldn’t be hard to find a barber. The shuttle even had a robotic one, but he didn’t know how to use it. Also, he knew nothing about hair and how to style it.

As he passed the 12th gate’s line, he stared down the sectioned area for the last gate. There were five people in the line. Before stepping in, he brushed his hair slightly to better cover his face. Not cutting his hair hadn’t been part of the plan, but it would help disguise him now. He would cut his hair short as soon as he could. He doubted the people eyeing him from the line would recognize him after that. He walked down the final line. Compared to the other lines that had hundreds of people, this was a weird benefit. By the time he got to the end, the line had emptied completely. Only two more people had even joined him.

There were actually several places for receptionists to stand. They had booths like in the protected food shelters. There was only one receptionist in their line, so he needed to wait for the student in front of him to be finished. It only took them a few minutes, and he approached the booth. It was a simple wooden table with a glass wall that rose to the ceiling. Why wasn’t it automated? In fact, a lot of the stuff he saw felt old school. That feeling died when actually saw the receptionist. The lady behind the desk was barely human.

Cybernetic enhancements were obvious on her. Her eyes were red with strange black symbols in them, which rotated when she focused on him. It was probably from a cartoon. She had black hair that reflected the light like metal. Beyond that, her arms were fully bionic and had visible metal plates running up to her shoulders.

“Hello! I love your goth fit. Even with all my enhancements, I can’t match a natural brooder.”

Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky. She was probably a little older than him, but her appearance and voice were clearly trying to hide that fact. Was she trying to appear his age? To blend into the academy for some reason? Despite being called a brooder, he found her easier to deal with than the man earlier. As before, he saw no reason to be rude.

“Thanks, I guess. What do you need?”

“A name and rank. I’m Lara, a member of the student council, by the way.”

She didn’t seem to care about his background either. He hadn’t checked his rank, but he doubted this was every student. Why would it matter? Either way, he knew how to reveal only the information she requested and did so while replying.

“I’m Clo, and why is an upperclassman helping with this?” He waved at the ticket booth, before continuing. “I thought there was a different world for each year.”

He also let his name and rank become visible as he spoke.

Name: Clo Vilnius

Home World: Atreus Academy World 3

Grade: E

Rank: 87

Her mouth hung open as she stared at the information. It opened and closed a few times without making any sounds. Then she gave up and just stared. He just waited at first. A minute of silence was too long though, and he cleared his throat loudly. She flinched and spoke quickly.

“Ok, wow. You're E grade, and in the top 100. Um, how? No wait, I shouldn’t be nosey. But, dang. An elite from the wastes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that happening. “Her eyes darted up and down as she read something. “What are these gifts and scores? A two in a mental stat! What are-“

She stopped and shook her head violently a few times. Then her hands came up in a quick but deceptive slap to both her cheeks simultaneously. She was one of those people that liked to imitate fictional characters. It made his skin crawl, and he bit his cheek to stop letting his disgust show. It seemed to work, and she regained her composure. She spoke more calmly now.

“Sorry bout that. You are in the Elite dorm, which means private rooms and tutors, and anything else you could want. Luxury clothes and tech. Honestly, you can probably get some sponsors right now if you want and send some money back to the fam. I imagine the Wastes isn’t the best place to live. Hell, you could probably get them off-world.”

Despite her composure, she was definitely still talking too much for his taste. Time to be a little rude.

“Sounds great! How do I get there and inside?”

He interrupted her rant. For him, advice was a sometimes thing. This was not one of them. She seemed to recognize his tone and apologized. At the same time, his tablet dinged.

“Sorry, my friends say I talk too much. I sent you all the basic information you could need, and a customized map with all the best spots I could think of. Just take it as a gesture of goodwill to a new elite. And consider joining the student council. We don’t get a lot of high-rankers, so you would be welcome.”

“S-sounds good. Thanks for everything.”

He almost told her to shut up but caught himself. That was close. Not wanting to risk anything else, he left the booth quickly and entered the academy. He passed the gate and avoided the student groups as he wove into the city. The academy was the largest city he had ever been in. An endless stream of skyscrapers was only separated by prominent school buildings. He had studied the maps a little while on the train, and kind of knew the layout of the city. Time to find a barber.