Alphonse was rushed to the orientation by Ethan and Sasha.
"I hope they haven't started yet…" Sasha was worried, "I don't think we'd get in trouble, but I heard there would be a feast afterwards too… I hope we aren't punished for being late and miss out on the meal…"
"Nah, no way they'd do that," Ethan on the other hand, was confident, "This isn't the Knight's School, there's no way we'd get that strict of punishment."
"Where have you boys been?" a young lady looking the same age as Ethan and Sasha greeted them angrily in front of two towering doors, "Hurry up! I was so worried that'd you'd miss out on the Orientation!"
"Don't worry about it, Jess, Wait till I tell you how Al here got clobbered by the Halstein twins," Ethan smirked.
"Hi Jessica, we're coming from the infirmary, so we're a little behind schedule. Let's hurry and go in, I don't want to miss the food!" Sasha exclaimed in a hurry while dragging bot Ethan and Jessica by the sleeves of their robes.
"Wai- Wha- Ethan what do you mean Al got clobbered?" Jessica asked worriedly.
"We'll tell you after!" Ethan laughed back.
The four entered the auditorium. Thankfully, it appeared as if the orientation hadn't started yet as quite a few students were still shuffling around. The auditorium itself was far larger than any auditorium Alphonse had seen back on earth. Despite its huge size, the entire room looked so elegant it reminded him of the Cathedrals in Germany or the Taj Mahal. It was truly out of his world.
The ceiling was so high up that it looked as if you could fit a 10 story apartment complex inside. Instead of a regular roof, there seemed to be a thin membrane that showed the sky outside that also let in natural light.
On the ground level, there was a stage set, as well as a large number of round tables. Although they looked like ordinary tables, they were certainly not so, as they all possessed a small bead of light floating about two feet above it, illuminating the table just enough for those who sat there to see what was on it. The surface of the table looked as if it was marbled granite.
The chairs that surrounded them, however, were simple wooden benches. At least, that's what Alphonse thought at first. Upon sitting down, the seat was immediately warmed the same way luxury brands such as m*rcedes and BM* would have in his world. The wood also felt as soft as your typical office cushioned chairs.
'As expected of a magic school!' Alphonse thought to himself as he sat down with his friends.
Atop the tables, he could see silverware and a small plate, but no food. It seemed that the food would be served later.
"Ahem!" a voice rang out across the whole auditorium.
"Shh! It's Headmaster Flicker!" Another freshman who was sitting at their table shushed them.
"I know, I know!" Ethan whispered, giddy with joy. "That's Professor Hans and Professor Grani next to him as well!"
Headmaster Flicker appeared to be an elderly woman, who wore a vibrant silver and blue robe. Although she was visibly older, she had excellent posture, not indicative of her old age. Her hair wasn't gray, and she was full of energy.
Professor Hans looked to be a relatively strong gentleman. He wore what appeared to be a military outfit with some badges. He had a handlebar mustache, which looked a little out of place for someone in their thirties. However, his calm and imposing aura definitely made him feel strong.
Professor Grani, however, looked extremely out of place. Her robes were bright violet and silver and had a raised collar instead of a hood. She was also wearing what appeared to be a cross between a military uniform and the standard office secretary blouse and pencil skirt. But what made her stand out wasn't her clothes, instead, it was her very obvious nervousness and how one could see her blushing and fidgeting, even if they were sitting in the very back of the auditorium.
"Ahem!" Headmaster Flicker coughed again, this time, her voice booming just a little louder. It appeared as if it were amplified by some sort of amp, but there was no microphone or speakers in sight.
As if on cue, the beads of light above the tables dimmed, which only left the stage brightly lit.
"I want to welcome you all to Aaro's Academy of Mages. I want to welcome back the returning second years and third years as well as the freshman who will be joining us as we all progress to become stronger and more accomplished mages." She started, gazing through the crowd of students.
"This year, Professor Hans will be returning after his last military expedition to teach the class on Warfare Magic." she introduced. Professor Hans saluted her and the crowd before returning to his firm and stoic stance behind the headmaster.
"We also have a new Professor this year, Professor Grani! I want you all to welcome her as she eases into teaching the class for Mage Combat." She gestured to Professor Grani, who bowed hurriedly before waving nervously.
"I know many of you freshmen may be nervous, but you have nothing to fear. You have all of us professors as well as your upperclassmen to guide you! If you are ever feeling lost or stuck at a bottleneck, please consult one of us, as we have all walked the same path of magic, and we are all here for one another!"
"Now, as the upperclassmen know, the first order of business we have this year is the Autumn Duel. You will all be expected to participate, yes, even you freshmen. This year we will be holding the competition jointly with the Aaro Academy of Knights, so you will be expected to really step up your learning this year. You can expect to learn all that you need to from Professor Grani in preparation for the upcoming duels! I look forward to seeing you all grow!" The headmaster looked a little teary-eyed and prideful as she clapped her hands, "And without further ado, let the feast begin!"
And on command, the doors on all four sides of the auditorium flung open. Servers pushing carts then streamed through those doors and slowly made their way through each table, stopping at each one to distribute food.
From what Alphonse could see, each cart had something different, and the students could pick out what they wanted from the carts, and it would be served individually onto their plate! This appeared to be a variation of a certain cuisine he had only read about back on earth.
When the first cart finally arrived at his table, he was presented with a choice of rice, mashed potatoes, a whole potato, bread, and some pastries.
"Wow, I'll have the mashed potatoes, please!" Sasha exclaimed excitedly!
"I'll have some bread." Ethan and Jessica said in unison.
"I want the rice!" said the other student sitting at their table. She was clearly just as eager as Sahsa.
"I'll have that too, I guess." Alphonse agreed.
"Huh? You sure about that Al?" Jessica looked at him weirdly, "I thought you hated rice. Your father couldn't get you to eat any before…"
"Uhh, yeah, I'm just craving some right now…" Alphonse said, clearly confused about how anyone could hate rice. As the food was being served, he felt a sense of nostalgia seeing the rice plopped down in front of him.
Although it wasn't Korean rice, it was still something he hadn't had for a while ever since he became a professional athlete back on earth.
He had a very strict diet which he stuck to religiously. But now that he was in a different world, he felt a sense of companionship with the rice.
"Feeling quite risky today, eh Al?" Ethan seemed amused as he looked at the second cart, "I'll have the roast beef, please."
"I'll have the rotisserie chicken and the roast vegetables!" Jessica ordered right after, "Also, speaking of risky, what happened to you earlier Al? Ethan, you said he got clobbered?"
"That's right, he got into a scuffle with the Halstein twins!" Ethan said as his food was served.
"That's right! According to what we heard, he was beaten until he turned black and blue!" Sasha exclaimed enthusiastically, "Oh, I'll have the braised pork belly and sausages too! And the roast beef!"
"Al! What happened?" Jessica asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Alphonse responded, "I'll have the braised pork belly and roast vegetables, thank you."
"How could you be fine?" Jessica pressed on, "You're so frail you'd need a healer as soon as you fell over! How could you possibly be fine getting beat up!"
"Oh, the nurse healed me pretty quickly!" Alphonse replied, eager to start digging into his food instead of answering questions that he had no way of answering completely. He himself had no idea how he got beat up or why he was in that body, to begin with. To him, he was the 22 years old two-time Olympic gold medalist Yoo SungMoon. But now, he was in the body of the apparently frail young boy Alphonse Harvard.
"He got beat up protecting a girl." Ethan smirked, "Guess who it was."
"What? He got in a fight over a girl?" Jessica seemed incredulous at the notion that Alphonse would willingly step into a fight, to begin with. "Who was it?"
"No, no." Ethan shook his finger at her, "Not over a girl, but to protect her from being harassed by the Halstein Twins."
"No, I meant who was the girl he was protecting!" Jessica seemed impatient that Ethan would leave out this detail.
"Guess!" Ethan teased back.
As if he could sense the rage building in Jessica, Sasha answered in the place of Ethan.
"He stepped in to prevent Kaya from being harassed," Sasha said through his mouthful of food.
"Kaya? Kaya who? THAT Kaya??" Jessica was starting to raise her voice.
"Do you mean Kaya Kassadin? Daughter of Duke Darius Kassadin and Duchess Clara Kassadin?" The other student at their table inquired, her voice matching Jessica's, "You protected THAT Kaya?"