Chapter 6: Good food and an uncomfortable question

Felix Sythias’ POV (continued):

I had been dreading the question all day long. I’d thought about how I was going to answer, how to talk about it, but now that the moment was actually here, I was at a loss of words.

I realized I wasn’t ready to talk about it, yet. I was afraid. Afraid of what people might think, afraid of what they might do. And I didn’t want Alex to think lesser of me. Only children and creatures like monsters didn’t have a system… What conclusions would he draw? I didn’t want to know.

I glanced down at the table and there was an uncomfortably long silence, but I found my words eventually. They were simple, and straight to the point. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He frowned a little, confused. “You don’t want to talk about your own hatchingday… Did something happen?” His eyes glazed over in that telltale way of someone reading a System prompt. His frown deepened. “Why don’t you have a level?”

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I mean it Alex, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I… no, you’re right.” He deflated in his seat. “I was being nosy. Sorry.”

Awkward silence settled on the table as we both sunk into our thoughts. We sat like that for a while until Alex spoke up again. "So," he said, really drawing out the 'o'," I was thinking about taking Swords and Magic 101, what do you think?"

Glad to break the silence, I went along with the change in topic.

"You want to become a spellsword?" I asked. A spellsword was usually a sword fighter, though any blade would do, who used spells to enhance their weapon, or use their weapon to fling spells at the enemy. They were very versatile fighters, but their dependency on their blade made most of them powerless if you managed to disarm them. Most who tried to do so quickly found themselves dis-armed, though. And that was if they didn’t have Skills to circumvent that exact issue. A strong path to go down for sure.

“Yeah. When I was younger, there was an attack on our village and the Academy mercenary that came to help was a spellsword. The way he froze enemies with each cut, and flung air-blades at the bandits that ran away… It really stuck with me. Though I’m not sure how realistic my goal is; I haven’t even learned the most basic of magic yet.”

I thought for a moment. “In that case, I’d say take Magic 101, as well. And If you can, Unconventional Casting Media, too. It’s a class all about how you can use anything as a casting medium, like, say, a stick if you lose your sword in combat. As for difficulty, hmm, let me think for a moment, I don’t really know more than the basics on this stuff.“

I leaned back and tried to remember.

I had read up on all the classes the Academy offered years ago. I’d been impatient to join and had consumed all the information about the classes that I could find—I’d read books, flyers, and had even asked some professors about their subjects. Knowing what to expect had only made the impatience worse, however, as it made me feel prepared and ready to start. Eventually, I had just learned to live with it.

It had given me a good working knowledge of the classes and what they taught, though. They changed a bit from year to year, but the Academy had long ago found a system that worked, so change was minimal. I had read up on some of the contents and even convinced Sìnna to teach me more about magic. But swords, and anything related to swords, hadn’t been on that list, as I couldn’t really use one, anyway.

But Sìnna had covered the basics of using a weapon as a medium during her lessons and had given me a few practical examples.

“It really shouldn’t be that difficult. Not in the beginning at least. If I remember correctly, all you’ll be doing is channeling mana through your weapon, and depending on the affinity of the mana, it will manifest in different effects. Like a sharper or hotter blade. Really, anyone with magic could… do… it. Huh.”

Anyone with magic, huh? It seemed I would be taking Unconventional Casting Media too. That was one of the three remaining slots filled, two to go. I’d take a look at the booklet later. Reading was faster than remembering.

“Something wrong?” Alex asked, looking a bit concerned.

“Oh, it’s nothing, sorry. I just had an idea, is all. Where was I? Right! As long as you figure out mana manipulation, you’ll be fine, I think.”

“You think?”

I smirked. “As much as it seems that way, I’m not actually all-knowing. You should take my advice with a pinch of salt. And you should ask your mentor, they actually have experience with this sort of thing. Who is your mentor anyway?”

"I don't know yet, we're meeting them on Friday."

Today was only Tuesday, so that would be quite a while still.

"I'm pretty sure it's in the guidebook they gave you. Actually, let me check."

I took out the booklet from my chest pouch, and started carefully leafing through it. My talons and claws really weren't made for a delicate task such as this, but I had long since mastered the art of turning pages without tearing them. Stars know I’d had enough time for that. I found the list quickly, with it taking up the entire last half of the booklet and all that. I start skimming through it.

"You really should read this, by the way, it's full of useful information,” I said while reading.

"I haven't had the time. By the time I got back to my room yesterday I was so thoroughly exhausted I fell asleep the moment I laid down, and I only woke up about an hour before you arrived, most of which I spent looking for a towel."

"At least you slept well, then. Ah, found you. Really, your last name is Sandclaw?"

"I'm from a very long, proud and honorable lineage!" Alex responded with an over the top faux-insulted tone, thumping his chest with pride. "You dare mock my family's name?!"

I stared at him, unimpressed, and he broke down into a grin, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, my ancestors weren't very creative. I do really like the name, though, even if I don’t… nevermind—so, who's my mentor? "

"Huh? Oh! Let me see… Ah, it's Sìnna Vuillio. You’re lucky."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Alex recoiled in his seat. "The crazy squirrel lady?! The one who dragged two students away yesterday evening?! How could I possibly be lucky?!"

Well, that wasn't very nice. Sure, she had a strange fixation on squirrels, and she didn’t always make sense, but… Actually, maybe he had a point.

"Really? Already? I expected it to be at least a week before she had to come by. Was my warning really that bad?" I asked, then shrugged my shoulders. "They shouldn't have fed the squirrels."

"No one has seen the students since they were taken away, did she really turn them into squirrels?"

"What? No!” I said, frowning. “She just makes the rule breakers help with her squirrel breeding program. I did mean it when I said there didn't used to be this many squirrels."

He glared at me. "She's over level 600. Everyone fully believes she'd be able to turn us into squirrels whenever she pleases."

“Good.”

“Good?!” he asked, incredulous.

“Then they won’t feed those damn pests. We have enough already. They have no natural predators here and they breed like crazy. They’re everywhere! In the woods, in the trash, even in my own fucking room. They’re not even tasty, either, so they’re just a big waste of space. Also, I think it’s really funny. It’s not like she’d actually do it.”

“Wait, wait, so she can turn us into squirrels?”

“Maybe,” I said, shrugging. “She’s over level 600, how would I know?”

Alex sighed, rubbing his temple. “So, can I request an early meeting, or do I have to wait until Friday? If possible, I’d like to ask for advice now rather than later.”

“Normally you’d have to wait until Friday, talk during the weekend and then pick your classes during orientation week. But I can probably set up an early meeting, if you want.”

“You can do that?” He frowned. “How?”

“She’s a family friend. I’ll just ask dad to ask her.”

“Huh. Your family must be pretty high up in the rankings then. Well, if you can, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

He didn’t know who my dad was? I suppose I never explicitly said I was the son of the Headmaster, but I had said my family name numerous times already. Though, I suppose he wouldn’t know it. He did come from the Dry Territories, after all. They weren’t exactly known for their ability to share information between tribes.

Well, I wasn’t gonna burst his bubble. He’d find out eventually. Hopefully, later rather than sooner.

I smiled at him. “Consider it done.”

After that, I explained the registration process. It was also described in the little guide book and he could’ve read that, but it gave us something to talk about while we waited for the food.

Alex was gaping at the amount of food in front of us. To him, it must have seemed like a ludicrous amount for two people. Almost twelve kilograms of meat. It was mostly smaller portions of a ton of different kinds. There was steak, ribeye, fried Gewee strips, spareribs, pork chops, Flocapi jerky, chicken, venison, turkey, and a few others. It completely covered the table from end to end. With my enhanced metabolism, I’d burn it off before dinner.

I could function off of less, as little as one kilogram per day, but it was deeply unpleasant and I would lose strength over time. Typically, I’d only eat about eight to ten kilograms per day and any extra would go into my reserves. Not my fat reserves though. The reserve was more like a mana-pool for nutrients. It was weird, and even Elena—the best healer we had—had no clue how it worked.

“This could’ve fed my entire family for a week,” Alex muttered.

“And it feeds me for about a day,” I responded. “I did say I ate big. Take as much as you like. I personally recommend starting with the Gewee strips.”

Gewee were a slightly bigger chicken analog from the forests below the campus. They tasted about the same, but the structure was different. Chewier.

“I guess. I just didn’t expect it to be this much.” He shook his head. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring the mood down. Thanks Felix.”

I shot him a smile, feeling a little guilty about the wealth difference, but I didn't need to say anything else, as Alex dug in, taking small amounts from each dish and trying them all out. I cut off about half of the steak, and swallowed it in one gulp. We occasionally chatted between bites, mostly about the food. I ordered some drinks, and we both picked the juice of the day that they had on offer, neither of us wanting alcohol. The juice was sweet but fresh and went well with the meal. There was, to my immense surprise, even a hint of mint to it.

Alex and I were done about at the same time, despite him not even eating a tenth of what I ate.

“That was great, though it missed spice. Do you always eat like this?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I usually order only one, maybe two dishes. I only really need ten kilograms per day, and I like to spread out my meals if possible. More sustainable too. Not every restaurant is willing to serve so much to a single customer.”

“Makes sense, I suppose. It wouldn’t be good for business to constantly run out of certain ingredients.” He yawned. “What are you going to do the rest of the afternoon?”

I thought about it for a moment and realized I didn’t actually know. I’d thought that by now I would have been busy trying to get the Skills I’d planned on getting, and then leveling them up. I wouldn’t be doing that now, though. But then what? I suppose I could read that new book, but I didn't want to go home just yet. It would just be a reminder of everything that had gone wrong yesterday. I’d probably just end up moping all afternoon.

Granted, there was good reason to mope. But it had been less than a day. We would find a solution in time, but for that, I had to give it time, first, as difficult as that was. No, moping was pointless and a waste of time. I’d mope when—if—it became permanent.

“I’m not sure yet, I don’t really have anything in mind. Maybe I’ll go down to the forest in the training grounds for a bit.”

“Hmm. I don’t really have anything to do either,” he said, then rubbed the back of his head, looking down at his plate. “And I, uh, haven’t really made any other friends yet. Would you mind if I tagged along? You could show me your favorite places to hunt?”

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do yet in the forest, but I did know I wanted to do it alone. I liked Alex, and I liked spending time with him, but right now his presence just reminded me of the small ‘fight’ we had earlier and the fact that I didn’t tell him what happened. I wanted to tell him what happened. I desperately just wanted to tell someone—anyone—what happened. But then what? Would they laugh at me? Would they shun me? Would they hate me? That didn’t feel like Alex, but really, how well did I know him?

And still… While I wanted to go alone, I didn’t want to actually be alone. And neither did Alex, it seemed. And how could I deny him company? I knew what it felt like to want to hang out with someone, to not go home quite yet, but being told no. Besides, it would probably be better for me anyway. Something told me I would end up moping anyway, if I went alone.

“I… yeah, alright. Though there isn’t all that much to show.”

I paid for the drinks and the food, the total for the meal coming to 243 merit points. A bit more than usual, but still well within my budget. After that, we headed back to the dorms so Alex could grab his gear.

Alex walked out of the building some minutes later, Academy issued light leather armor covering his body, and a well-used sword strapped across his back. He also had a small pack in his hands, with food and medical supplies, but we’d keep that strapped to the saddle. We didn’t need more for where we were going.

The forests below the Academy islands were mostly safe. It had monsters, but the same suppression field that stopped monsters from spawning on the islands influenced the forests below. The field was spherical and faded in strength over distance, so the further you went into the forest, the less of an effect the field would have and the higher level monsters spawned.

The Academy had long ago decided to use this fact to their benefit and had constructed large circular walls in the forest, splitting it into several zones for students to train in. The zone we were going to, zone Zero, was the central one, and didn’t have any monsters higher than level ten, with anything above level seven being increasingly rare.

It was perfect for first-years to train in, and anyone above eighteen years old could enter the place. I hadn’t kept to that rule all that well, but I was stronger, faster, and more nimble than my peers. I had passed every test dad had set for me, and was allowed down there early. I’d been going there for well over a year now, so we’d be fine.

And if the worst did come to pass? Well, I had wings, so I could simply grab Alex and fly us away if I had to.