“A beast!” Screamed Nathan, but then his sight returned only to find himself laying on the ground clutching a bed post.
Knocks came from behind. Surprised, Nathan turned around, banging his head against the wooden beam. Clutching his head, he got up before another knock resounded through the room.
“May I come in?” It was the guide’s voice and came from behind a black door.
Confused, Nathan looked around. He was in a small room with a bed, a cabinet and desk. There were other things, but he could figure that out later. “Yes,” Nathan answered, after setting his robe straight.
“I’m coming.” The door did not creak, and entering, the gilded mage’s eyes set on Nathan, causing a look of concern to set on him. “What happened?”
Nathan stopped rubbing his head and looked around in search of anything which might have worried the mage. That’s when something red invaded his vision and burned his eyes.
The guide ran up to Nathan and inspected his forehead. After a few moments, he spoke with an apprehensive tone, “The cut doesn’t seem bad … it’s just a lot of blood. Here.” He grabbed a vial from his robe and poured its contents on Nathan’s forehead. “What happened exactly?” he asked.
Not knowing what to say, Nathan hesitated, “I… I… I just tripped on the bed post when I appeared.” The memory of the dream was still vivid. But if such visions appeared each time he used the teleporter, how would he go about living?
Still suspicious, the mage peered into Nathan’s eyes, trying to find a lie in what he had said, but he couldn’t find anything. He then looked at the bed, and indeed, next to the bed post there were a few drops of blood.
“Be more careful next time, potions aren’t free. Consider it my gift for a new noble joining the Tower.” He tapped Nathan’s shoulder. “Just remember to look at your surroundings after a transportation.”
“Yes,” answered Nathan, rubbing his eyes, which were still burned.
“Anyhow, this is your room,” said the guide. “Since you can’t control teleportation magic yet, know that whenever you step on the platform, you will automatically be sent to this room. If you ever want to leave this floor, you’ll need to ask permission from the floor master.”
“Floor master?” asked Nathan.
“Yes, he oversees all those who reside on this floor. You will find his office easily enough once you step out of the room.”
“You won’t show me around?” he asked.
“No, you should walk around and explore. There are two gymnasiums, fifteen classrooms, two cafeterias, one hundred and five rooms, and many more facilities. Since there’s still four days left before the entrance ceremony, you might as well explore on your own, no? Get to know where you’ll spend your next year and those who’ve already arrived—Oh! And don’t forget to go and say hi to the floor master, of course,” he smiled. “Well, that’s all I have to say.” He placed his hand on his emblem.
Remembering Julia’s teachings, Nathan did the same.
“I wish you the best of studies, and I eagerly await your full ascension to magehood.”
“And I wish you the best of work and will await the day I stand by your side,” answered Nathan.
The guide let his arm fall to his side with a slight grin. “Although I’ve seen a hundred nobles to their rooms, it’s always a good day when I do. It truly is from an honest sense of happiness and pride that I wish you luck.” He flashed one last smile before walking out Nathan’s room and closing the door behind him.
When Nathan couldn’t hear the guide’s footsteps anymore, he collapsed onto his bed. Who knew there would be so much bureaucracy to joining a Tower? Here he thought they would take him, lock him in a shed, or the equivalent of such, and have him face trial after trial until he reached his full potential.
#
As he rested on his bed, Nathan began to sweat. His room was hot, and his clothes heavy. He took off his boots and socks, and for the first time he had a good look at his feet, his gag reflex kicked in, and he had to swallow it down.
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His big toe’s nail was ripped halfway, and blood congealed where his nail bed was exposed. His small toe’s nail was so long it looped to form the shell of a snail, and his feet were tainted in blood and mud. Not to mention the musky smell they dispersed into the room.
Not wanting to puke in his new room, Nathan slipped his socks back on, but having seen the state of them, he couldn’t help but cringe in pain. He didn’t have a choice but to take them off to relieve the pain. And although he was still sweating and burning up, he didn’t dare take off his robe in fear he’d find more horrendous wounds. He sat up and looked around his room to try and forget the pain he found himself in.
His room wasn’t much bigger than what he had in the snowy plains of Grival, but it was furnished with things, he didn’t even know of.
To his right, there was a small green light covered by a beige shade. On his left there were two chairs and a small round table. In front of him, there was a desk where another light sat, writing tools, paper, parchment, various trinkets, and a bag which resembled the one in which Julia kept her coins.
His curiosity piqued, he got up and went to sit on his desk’s chair. It was no match for the chair in Mage Bistro’s office, but that wasn’t to say it wasn’t nice, it might even have been great. His senses had just been spoiled.
The area in the middle of the desk was covered in a rigid and smooth plank. It was the perfect surface on which to write. But he wasn’t interested in that right now. No, he took all the sac and trinkets which were set on the side of the desk and put them on the mat.
First, he opened the bag. Peering inside, he found gold and silver coins. Pouring them out, he stacked the gold in two columns of five and the silver in four towers of five. Although he didn’t know how much this would get him, there was no doubt it would be of use.
Next up was a small silver pendant with no engravings or anything else. He pushed it aside and took the next thing, a key, probably for his room, and then the last trinket was a long cylindrical piece of metal. For now, he decided to keep the keys in the inside pocket of his robes. He was sure someone would explain to him the use of the other things at another time.
Having gone through everything on his desk, he turned his attention to the door next to it.
Opening it, he found another room with a sink, a shower, and a toilet. If there was one thing, his father told him when he was in a nostalgic mood, which was exceedingly rare. It was how he missed washrooms.
Just as he was about to leave the washroom, Nathan spotted more trinkets next to the sink and a cupboard above it.
Entering, his feet scrunched up. The floor, made of brown tiles was cold, but it did draw his attention away from the pain in his toes. Anyhow, next to the sink there was a small glass cylindrical container with a metal cap and a polished twig which had a little brush on one side. This was a toothbrush he recalled correctly. And … he twisted open the cylinder. Inside, there was a cream-like substance, tooth cream if he remembered correctly. His father had told him that he didn’t need to brush his teeth since he was always drinking recovery potions, but that in the Tower, there was no need to consume it that often, not to mention buying them would leave any student, even small-time mages cash strapped within weeks.
Taking the brush, he scooped up a chunk of cream and smothered it on his teeth. The brush was rough and scratched at his gums, but he continued to brush his front teeth with a straight up and down motion, trying his best not to pass over his gums. Slowly, he brushed further back into his mouth. While he did this, he kept his head down as to let the cream fall into the sink.
After doing so for three minutes, he spat out what was left in his mouth and set down the brush. Checking out the other trinkets, he found curved, small metal scissors. Not knowing what to do with them, he set them back. There were also towels and, in the corner, he found one restoration vial. He would keep it for an emergency. Finally, there was the cabinet over the sink, however, when he opened it expecting more goods, he found an abominable animal.
Jumping back, Nathan quickly realized that the person he was looking at was himself. This was a mirror and, unlike still water or ice, he could see himself as if through the eyes of another. He was hideous with his oily, tangled-up silver hair. His forehead stained in dried blood, and skin wrinkled in some parts, but also as if buffered out with a coarse rock in others.
Closing the window’s cupboard, Nathan pushed up the sink’s lever out of which came a cold stream of water … but then, he remembered that’s what the shower was for, so he stopped the flow of water and headed for the shower. However, he couldn’t wash himself fully clothed, nor did he want to take off his clothes right now.
Although it might have been a waste, Nathan grabbed the potion, but right as he was about to drink it, he bent down, took out his keys, and with their serrated teeth, sawed off his nails. There was just a bit of bleeding where he accidentally sawed too deep and cut into his flesh.
Nathan popped open the potion and chugged it down. In two gulps it was gone, and although he didn’t feel particularly better, his broken nails grew back. But that didn’t mean that his feet looked any better. At least the pain was gone. Taking off his robe, Nathan opened the shower and stood under the waterfall. Looking down, he watched black and red water flow into an array of holes beneath him.
He then noticed another cylindrical container set next to his feet. Squatting down, he twisted the cap off and scooped out a grey cream similar in consistency to the cream for his teeth. He rubbed it all over his body and by the time it had washed off it was as if he could breathe through his skin.
Stepping out, still soaking wet, he grabbed a towel to dry himself, then put his robes back on.
Heading out of the hot and humid washroom, a cool air brushed against his skin. He hadn’t felt this good day in his life. It was time to go and explore the Tower.