The Northern District wasn't just home to all the elite schools. But also the place where the Royal Palace was. And all the estates of the major noble families.
The rest of the city wasn't dirty or anything, mind you. Just a bit more cramped in comparison. The streets in the northern district are wider and have alleys of trees in the middle of them. Parks and other places for leisure activities are dotted around here and there. Some private. Others public.
Just like the bridge, you have to cross to get into the Northern District first. But the guards let me cross the second I showed them my invitation letter. Recognizing the crest of Oridalis Academy and stepping aside for me with a salute.
The crest of the Academy on the letter and the fact that I wear the clothes of an initiate clearly mean more than my rough appearance. And speaking of. I didn't necessarily need to wear the clothes all the time anymore. At least not in the near future.
The reason I didn't wear my hood anymore. Why trees were lining the streets, perfectly spaced apart and neatly kept, and why there are parks and such? Despite the weather outside the city being like minus thirty degrees. Well. That was because this city is warm.
Not in the sense of how modern cities are a bit warmer than when you are in the countryside. But rather in a magical way. It was a good twenty degrees in here. The whole city was covered by a magical dome that changed the temperature and atmosphere significantly.
Which was perhaps the most complicated and awe-inspiring magical invention anyone has ever made. It certainly awed me. Experiencing the temperature change was like stepping from a freezer into a sauna.
Not that my clothes made me sweat now. They still kept my body temperature perfectly in check. As they always have. Carrying within them the same kind of magical technology as the dome. But with a lesser complexity.
`I wonder how it works? Does it convert sunlight into energy like a solar panel for the magic to run?` I hum in thought as I continue to walk through the Northern district towards Oridalis Academy. Which the guards at the bridge told me is this way.
`Or is there something going on underneath the palace?` I hazily remember there was a quest where you had to save the city by repairing something. But I only remember that the boss fight of that quest was somewhere underground.
My thoughts are interrupted when I see Oridalis Academy come into view. Another awe-inspiring building. Though all the surrounding buildings are awe-inspiring in one way or another.
Built in a baroque sort of style. With plenty of ornamental flourishes on each building. Style is clearly more important than substance in the Northern District. As one would expect from noble estates and elite magical schools.
All the buildings remind me of old English or French noble estates built in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Every building or park is separated by big metal fences. And guarded by soldiers of the City Guard.
But unlike their colleagues at the gates and around the city, they all stand at attention. Looking sharp and polished. At least whenever anyone is near them. If no one is looking, they probably relax as well.
Not that any of that matters. None of them bother me. Probably assuming that since I got past the bridge, I belong here.
The same can't be said about others. Well. The few people I encounter during my walk up to Oridalis Academy's gates don't really pay me much attention. Just glancing my way before going on with their day. But I do notice the disgust some of them show after seeing my face.
But again. None of that matters. I've never been someone who cared about how strangers view me. They don't know me. And I don't know them. So just as I don't judge them for their appearance, they aren't allowed to judge me. And if they do it, it just goes to show how narrow-minded and stupid they are.
Even though I know the first impression a person makes is largely based on appearance and mannerisms. But regardless of that, I would like to think I'm better than that. Always having at least given people the chance to speak with me before I judge them.
And I don't really care about appearance anyway. Never have. I'm not that shallow. Myra, for example, wasn't actually all that pretty. More average than anything. But what was gorgeous about her was her spirit and personality. Or, differently put, what was on the inside matters.
So I was not about to take anyone who judges me based on my appearance seriously. Including my fellow students. A group that was currently walking past me as I approached the gates of Oridalis Academy.
Some of them are talking to each other and ignoring me. But one or two do look confused or disgusted as they pass me by. Whispering to each other afterward, like typical teenagers do.
"Hahahaha. Yeah. That is something I definitely didn't miss since I left school." The talking behind people's backs. The bullying. All of that. Knowing that if I do make it into Oridalis, I'll have to deal with that again does not fill me with excitement.
But I just shrug and push on. I walked up to the two guards standing at attention by the gate and introduced myself. "Hello. My name is Daniel Blackwell. I have an invitation letter from this school." I hand my letter over for them to check while I wait.
Looking past the guards while they read the letter and double-check things. Looking at Oridalis Academy. Or parts of it. The school grounds are huge, of course. Large swathes of it are filled with parks and other places for leisure activities.
`Difficult to tell, but I'd say it's about the same size as some of the largest University Campuses back on earth. Definitely larger than the University my sister went to.` I wasn't able to tell how large it was exactly. But it was definitely a few dozen square kilometers in size.
Dominated, of course, by the Academy itself. An enormous multi-story building comparable to a castle or palace. Surrounded by smaller buildings. Some of which were solely reserved for leisure activities and pursuits.
Even from outside the gates, the place was oozing opulence. And I stuck out like a sore thumb in this place. While being guided to the main building by a staff member of the academy, the guards had called for me.
Well. Not called from the academy. But from a small house hidden near the gate. The young, sharply dressed man didn't even bother to introduce himself. He just said to follow him. So I did.
Feeling even more out of place because there was nothing to talk about on our way. And it wasn't like it was a short walk either. We spend about thirty minutes walking at a brisk pace across the campus. Past groups of students mingling around or doing whatever they are doing.
Past dormitories that could be considered mansions by themselves, and other buildings that wouldn't be out of place in commercials for modern high-tech universities with millions or even billions of dollars behind them.
Though I get the sneaking suspicion that building this place cost way more than the equivalent of a few million dollars. Almost every stone you see is polished marble. And it's not uncommon to see gold or silver accents on places where there really shouldn't be any.
Like door handles made of solid gold. I mean, who does that? Well. Oridalis Academy does, apparently. That's what I see and feel when we enter the main building's foyer. The foyer alone is large enough to make my head spin as I look around.
The staff member of the academy dutifully waits for my shock to pass before he waves me to follow him further. To the side of the foyer and into the offices of the staff. Or at least I assume so.
Based on all the office tables stacked with papers. The stressed adults were scribbling things furiously on paper, and the younger people were running around frantically. Things in here look very much like a school about to open for yet another stressful year.
But at least we leave people alone. We don't bother any of the people who are busy. Instead, we walk through the room until we reach one of the many separated offices. The staff member knocks once before opening the door and ushering me inside.
Then gives a brief statement before walking away. Leaving me with a middle-aged, stern yet sophisticated-looking man. Wearing elegant robes and just overall looking very well-kempt. Clearly placing big importance on appearance.
Which causes me to grin at my own state. The lecture I can see forming behind his eyes is cut short by my introduction. "My name is Daniel Blackwell. I'm 15 years old and received an invitation letter for this school. But unfortunately, my airship crashed some two months ago. And I had to walk here. So, forgive my rough appearance." I explain with a fake sophisticated tone.
Trying to sound like I think a noble would. For my time's sake. I wasn't about to listen to some lecture about grooming habits from some stuck noble.
And my explanation seems to do the trick. Whatever he wanted to say about me instead dies on his lips. He looks at me, a little stunned. But quickly recovers with a cough while smoothing his robes down. "I see. We at Oridalis Academy are glad that one of our young initiates is still alive after such a horrible event. We feared that no one survived the crash. So any survivor is, of course, more than welcome." His words were clearly rehearsed and practiced.
It's a flat, politically correct statement designed not to offend anyone. Which was fine with me. I didn't need any pity or sympathy. "Then I assume that this letter still carries the same weight as when I received it? Can I still take part in the exam to enter Oridalis Academy?" I ask while handing him the letter.
He skims over it and nods. "Yes. Of course." He replies while standing up and walking over to one of the many cabinets in the room. Retrieving some documents and a key. "You are quite fortunate. The last exam of this year will be held in just two days. So you arrived just in the nick of time."
That was indeed lucky. Depends on who you ask, of course. It wasn't lucky for me. I mean. It was. But also wasn't. Two days weren't nearly enough time for me to do anything. Much less prepared for a whole exam in a world full of magic and monsters.
"Yeah. Lucky." I grin and shake my head. Knowing that the next two days are going to be hectic as fuck. `I'm going to fail so hard they will have to invent a whole new grade for how bad I'm gonna do.`
My thoughts are interrupted by him handing me the documents and the key he's retrieved. "As you can imagine, with the school year starting soon, we are all very busy. So there is no time for anyone to show you around." He explains while returning to his desk.
`That's a lie and you know it.` I think, but don't say anything. Letting him finish his speech. "So, forgive me for just handing you these things so unceremoniously. All the information you'll need is in the documents, and that's the key to your personal locker. The room number is in the documents, and the locker number is written on the key."
And just like that, I'm dismissed. Dropped in the deep end once again. Something that seems to be a bit of a trend with me. Not that I mind. I walk out of the office of that douche and leave the main building with sure steps. Finally able to take a breath and really look around.
`Well. Those are clearly the dormitories. So the room gotta be somewhere in there, right? Or do they have a separate building for initiates?` That definitely sounds like something they would do. So I begin the quest of hunting my room down.
Partially trying to use the documents to figure out where I need to go. And partially just by walking up to random people and asking them to help me out. Most of whom just wave me off dismissively or outright tell me to get lost and not bother them.
Some even make snide remarks, but I just roll my eyes and keep looking. Until after about an hour, I find the right building. Another place one could consider is a mansion. It was similar in style to the dormitories, just not as opulent.
It's fittingly near the gate. But I hadn't noticed the differences between it and the other dormitories before because we were just passing by. And I was thinking about other things.
From here, it's pretty easy to find my room. I've already isolated, on the documents, which is my room number. And while I couldn't read any of the numbers. Which will be a whole new can of worms I'll have to open soon.
They were luckily marked on the doors. So all I had to do was pick a direction to start and walk past each door until I found the right one. And like that, just ten minutes later, I am in my room.
A room filled with twenty beds. Yet it's dead quiet and empty. "Probably because most are already done with their exams." In fact. The whole building was mostly empty. I only saw two people hurrying through the halls. Noses buried in books. "Or because they are way too busy to come out of their rooms."
Whatever the truth was. I was happy about this. Having a whole room to myself will definitely let me do things differently. Or at least I won't get any weird looks while I do my thing.
So I hunt down my locker. Put my backpack inside and pick a bed nearby as my own. Flopping onto it with a deep sigh. "Ahhhhh. Man, that feels nice." After months of sleeping on the ground or in sleeping bags, an actual bed felt like a cloud.
But I had no time to just relax and take a nap. "Up, up. There is much to do." I sit up and grab the documents again. Trying my best to read through them using the knowledge I have managed to acquire so far.
The more I read, the bleaker things looked, though. The exam for this school wasn't just a written exam like I had expected. But also a physical exam and a potential exam. And only if you do well in all three will you be accepted as a student.
"Lmao. They even include the failure rate for the exam in this. That's kinda fucked up." I muse while reading that the failure rate is a good seventy-seven percent. "Bruh. There is just no way I'll make the cut. But I'm still going to give it my best shot."
I owe my parents and myself, as well as Myra and the others, that much. So I get to work. Not by studying, mind you. I would like to. But first, I'll need a better grasp of reading things. And writing is also important. As well as learning numbers and at least the basics of math in this world.
A study plan for the next two days is forming in my head. Though it's a lot more basic than what others are probably doing. `Ey. You gotta do what you gotta do.` So I get up from the bed, close my locker, and head out. Towards the library.
But I pause at the door. Looking down at myself. "Actually. Maybe a bath or at least a shower is in order first?" And with my new plans in mind, I head for the showers.