"Ahhhhh." I've never in my life been happier to take a bath. I moan and groan like an old man as I relax in the hot water. After all, Oridalis Academy is a place for nobles and the elite of the elite.
Instead of just some communal showers, every room had its own bath. Or rather. Multiple baths. The room I'm in alone has five bathrooms at the back of it. Connected via a short hallway to the room. In case multiple students want to bathe at once.
So I enjoy some peace in the hot water for a while. Really feeling the fatigue of the last two months seep out of my muscles. Like I'm melting into the water. Luckily, there is a small, annoying voice at the back of my head reminding me I can't just spend the whole day here.
Eventually, finishing my bath and drying off. Before I stand in front of the sink. A large mirror reflecting my appearance. An appearance I never really had the chance to take a good look at since coming to this world. Until now.
But what greeted me was not the chubby boy that I inhabited when I woke up at that crash site. Instead, I stared at a young man that the world has clearly left its mark on.
Gone are the chubby cheeks I pinched when first waking up. The two months in the wilderness took the softness that a chubby teen should have from me. Replaced by a slimmer, more bony frame.
My weight had obviously dropped fast. Especially in the latter half of my journey. Fast enough to leave loose folds of skin at my waist and underneath my arms. "I'm still growing. They'll probably disappear over time." I comment while playing with the flaps under my arms.
While doing that, I notice just how pale I actually am. "I feel like I've become even paler than before." Which wasn't outside the realm of possibility. I was still recovering from what happened, after all. It was reasonable to assume I was lacking a bunch of nutrients that would give me some color.
Not that I minded being pale. It actually helped make my piercing green eyes stand out. Well. The one I had left. "Yep. That looks bad." The three horizontal scars that the Skjálfhirta (Skal-fitra) left had healed poorly. The surrounding skin is rough and uneven. The skin on the left side of my face is tauter than it should be.
But the worst part was the middle cut. Which tore straight across my ruined left eye. Which was milky white and ugly. "I should probably get an eye patch or something. Even I don't want to have to look at that." Not that anyone actually saw my ruined eye. It had been hidden underneath bandages until I took this bath.
And there was, of course, something that could fix my problem. There are healers capable of repairing the damage I've suffered in this world. But as one might expect, the treatment for something like this was expensive. Way more expensive than anything I could afford.
`It would be easier and cheaper to just buy a prosthetic eye.` Prosthetics actually existed in this world as well. And through magic, they were even more advanced than what we had on Earth. Magical prosthetic eyes were actually even better than human eyes if you bought a high-quality one.
But they are also very expensive. Not as expensive as a healer. Since there was still a bit of stigma around them. However, they were well outside my price range anyway. The cheapest ones in the game run anywhere from fifty Lunthar up to one hundred and twenty.
So, for the time being, the eyepatch was the way to go. So I fashion myself one out of some cloth. But not before I do something about my hair. Which had grown wild and unchecked over the last two months.
I don't cut it off. But I brush it out and smooth it back so it's out of my face for the time being. `I would like to get a haircut. But one thing after another.` I was on the clock after all. Any minute I spend here looking at myself is a minute I'm not studying.
So I finish up and step back outside the bathroom. Dressed only in pants, a shirt, and my trusty boots this time. Looking much less like some dirty nomad and more like an actually civilized person. Hair slicked back. I improvised an eyepatch around my left eye. Smelling good and feeling nice.
And like this, I head to the library. Or I wanted to. But before I can reach it, something else I had neglected a little gets in the way. My stomach growls. However. This time, it was easy for me to sate its hunger.
After all, in the documents, it said I can visit the cafeteria whenever I want to get some food. So I switch targets and grab something to eat first.
Now that I had actually taken the time to read through the documents given to me, I also knew where to go. No longer forced to ask my way everywhere. The documents actually have information and simple maps of every important building on them.
So I arrive at the cafeteria just in time for dinner. And it was packed with people. After all, it was already six o'clock. The sun would go down in just two hours. One of which I spend just to get my food and eat it.
But it's an hour well spent. Because the food is divine. Made by professional chefs and served by hand for each student and initiate. Exactly as you would like it.
At least that's what I hear it's like on the second floor. Where the prestige class eats. Down on the first floor, it's more like a normal cafeteria. Or rather a buffet. You essentially grab some silverware and walk around picking out what you want.
But even down on the first floor, the food is like that of a five-star restaurant. As if to remind me that almost everyone here is a noble. And they had wholly different standards than I do.
Not that I care about standards or appearances. I just grab whatever looks good. And feast like a king. Eating a full five-course meal without a care or worry in the world. So lost in the food and my own thoughts that I didn't even notice people staring at me.
Probably because of how vigorously I eat things or because of my standout appearance. Everyone else in this room isn't wearing initiate robes after all. Though I do notice some aren't even wearing the student robes. Instead, opting to walk around in clothes typically associated with nobles.
Sacrificing their own comfort for style. Which I do get. But also don't. I'm not the type to wear suits or get all dolled up unless absolutely necessary. Sure, when there is a strict dress code, like at a wedding, I'll wear one, but otherwise, you won't ever catch me in a suit or wearing makeup.
I'm not bothered by the stares anyway. Even when I eventually notice them. Far too busy to care about what kind of impression I leave on others. I have no time to waste on appearances at the moment. Many pairs of eyes end up following me when I eventually leave.
But again. I don't care. I just hit the library next. Walking in and waving my invitation letter around like it's the key to every lock. And it kind of is here. Without showing it, I wouldn't have gotten any food. Or access to the library.
So I keep it on me until the exam is over. `I wonder if I can sneak my way around the academy with just the letter, even after I fail the exam? If I'm just confident enough, it might just work.` I think to myself as I peruse the bookshelves of the library.
Though my focus is often drawn to said books. Reading stylized letters on book backs was a tad more difficult than reading the letters or documents that had a uniform writing style. But after a bit of searching, I find what I need.
Collecting four books that no one else here has probably ever bothered to read. Or if they did, they were probably ousted as weirdos. I mean, after all, who didn't know such basic things as the creation myth of this world?
`Well. I don't. Not really, anyway.` So that's one of the first books I open up once I find a table to sit on. Which was also hard, considering there are so many people here. Even though it should be summer vacation for any actual students.
"Summer vacation, huh? Yeah. I had one hell of a summer vacation." I shake my head at the absurdity of things. That it was actually summer on Draumond. Yet it was still this cold outside the city. `I shudder to think what winter is like out there.`
"Anyway. Focus. Focus." I clap my hands together and begin to read. Attempting to read every word without having to translate letter by letter. In hopes it will help me learn to read them more naturally.
`The Creation myth. Or the story of the thirteen stars.` I smirk at the title. `Fifteen actually. But it's aight. They don't know yet.` After all, there are fifteen schools of magic in all in the game. Two of which can be learned from the moons. But they are hidden behind a long main quest.
`Once Nymerel drifted through the endless void in between stars. Lost, cold, and alone. But the thirteen Gods gave it life and a place in existence. Falling onto the cold rock below and becoming the cornerstones of all creation and Parents of magic.`
`Falling asleep after they shaped the planet into what it is today and breathed life into everything. From the tiniest animal to the largest mountain. Transforming into geometrically perfect constructs of unparalleled size that continue to shape the planet and all creatures on it to this day.`
`Becoming known as the thirteen stars. Called so by the earliest humans for their resemblance to the twinkling stars in the night sky. Though today we know each has a different and unique shape.`
And then the book goes on to talk about each of them. Mentioning the four whose location humanity knows in great detail. Each page of the book talks about the four we know, while oozing with pride. Like whoever wrote this book personally discovered them.
Rhaziel. Also known as "Star that burns forevermore." Found in Sarazeth on a high-rising desert plateau that sticks out of the surrounding jungle like a sore thumb. Worshipped and heavily guarded by the Azurael Dominion and the Otho-Tali Empire.
Varek. "Star beneath our feet." Who can be seen in Avestra, partially fused with the peak of Eryndorhal. The tallest mountain in the world. Surrounded by the capital city of the Caelvaris Empire. Also, allegedly, the only star in a semi-conscious state. As the Emperor of Caelvaris claims to speak with him.
Elynd. "Star of the Wind." It is found drifting with the wind over the vast, roiling plains of Caerwyn. Seen as a good omen by the nomadic people that inhabit the plains whenever it silently drifts by or passes overhead.
And last but not least of the known Stars is Serynth. "Star of Frost." Also referred to as the "gliding lady" by many inhabitants of Draumond. Found far beyond the Everfrost Wall on the glacial plains of the North. Forever gliding over a cube of ice that sticks out of the otherwise flat plains of the North Pole.
The other stars are only mentioned by name and title in the book. Mireira. "Star of the Depths." Astrex. "Star of Storms." Veltrion. "Star of motion." Demerion. "Bearer of All Things." Xirames. "The Star Beneath the Skin." Norex. "The Rational Star." Sirelin. "Star of the Turning Hour." Ovelas. "Star of Sacred Threads." And Calyrix. "The Center Star."
Though I vaguely remember that there are four more that one can find the position of if you play the story quests and do everything right. Not that I remember any of them. That was background fluff to me.
But now that this is the real world, I actually kind of want to see them all. `The ones I saw in game were already cool as fuck. I can't imagine how cool and awe-inspiring it would be to see them in real life.`
Not that that was in the cards for me. Stronger and smarter people have tried. I don't have nearly enough knowledge of the game to wow others with my discoveries. And even if I did, I wouldn't be able to do it right now. Not while fighting for my life to just survive in a fairly safe area of the world.
Even this short picture book took me a while to read. The sun had already gone down by the time I finished the first book. But unlike every other day I have spent in this world before. The fading of the light did not stop me this time.
I continue to read under the magical lights overhead. As do many others. Time ticks by slowly as I read picture book after picture book. Getting plenty of strange looks. But not as much as I thought.
And by the time my eyes start to droop and I begin to lose focus more often, it's eleven o'clock. Five more short books lay finished beside me. All of them focus on various things that everyone who lives in this world should know.
Just common knowledge in general. Who the royal family is. The languages spoken across the lands. How the political landscape is at the moment. Those kinds of things. Not that the topics really interest me. I read the books purely to know those things and refine my reading and writing.
Using pens provided by the library at the front desk to take notes. Or rather, trace the letters while doing my best to memorize them. Which is what I spend most of my time doing in the library. At least for the next two days.
Though I don't forget to also teach myself the basics of math in this world. Which really is just me memorizing the first ten numbers. Since their math system thankfully works just like ours. And all higher numbers are made from the first ten numbers. `Thank god or whatever for lazy devs.`
Learning as much as I can until it's time for the Exam. All while I take daily baths to relax and destress. Eat as much as I want. And work out a little in my room. So I can challenge the exam at my best.
The two days passing by in a flash. And on the third day since coming to Oridalis Academy, I once again stand in front of the main building. Ready to give it my all for this exam. The wind blowing through my hair as I run my left hand through it. Ready as I'll ever be.