Linked Together I / Repeat

As afternoon classes came to a close, a deluge of students flooded the common areas. Some were eager to leave immediately, heading into town to enjoy their evening; others trudged toward their dorm rooms or the library for another grueling night of studying; most, however, met up with friends to pass the time before departing for evening classes, mealtime, or whatever else they had planned for the day.

Despite the elegant stone architecture that transformed classrooms into castles, despite the many ornate courtyards flush with statues, fountains, and perfectly maintained gardens, despite the awe I felt each and every time I witnessed a mage do their work, bending reality to make the impossible possible as if it were a mundane feat…

“At the end of the day, this really isn’t all that different from high school,” I moaned under my breath, more than a little disappointed.

With my final class out for the day, this marked the end of my first week at Fordin Academy. As it turned out, no matter how different things might appear to be on the surface, school was school no matter what world you found yourself in.

Maybe Akio had a point. Isn’t it unfair to force us to go to school AND save the world? That’s too much to ask for!

Even as I complained in my head, I knew full well that my true qualms had nothing to do with school itself. I had always been decent at academics, and I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t find it fascinating to learn more about this world, foreign as it was. But there were a number of difficulties associated with my new school experience as well.

Some were obvious. Transferring to a new school mid-year came with the exact same difficulties here as it would have in my world. Despite being placed in all of the lowest-level classes the academy offered, my complete lack of knowledge of this world made even the simplest lessons impossible to follow.

“Aside from combat training, we professors will be lenient on your academic performance as you build your foundation of knowledge from scratch.”

Back on our first day of classes, Professor Seris had attempted to reassure Akio and me.

“You will attend classes as normal to acclimate to the academy and its students, but you should not worry if you struggle. The faculty will take time to personally tutor you until you can catch up to your peers.”

His words might have been comforting, if not for his final note: “Though, you will still need to study hard to keep up, perhaps harder than you have ever studied in your lives. Fordin Academy is a rigorous institution, after all.”

And study we did. But not in history, mathematics, literature, magic, or anything of the sort. The largest gap in knowledge we faced was a simple yet harsh one: we couldn’t read.

While I inherited many of the primitive capabilities of my body’s original owner, such as the ability to speak and interpret the native tongue of this land, Leusoni, I didn’t retain any of the abstract knowledge Leon had accumulated throughout his life. As I came to learn, that included literacy. Though I was curious as to where the line was drawn, I didn’t want to bother Professor Seris with more questions he might not even know the answers to, so I kept it to myself anytime we ran into each other.

“Hey, that’s Leon, right? Or the Foreigner in his body, I guess.” A hushed voice from behind broke me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah. He and the other one are in my history class. The other guy’s nice and friendly, but this one’s a bit… gloomy. He barely talks, and—”

I stood up from the stone bench I was resting on, ready to return to my room. This lush, open courtyard was a soothing place for a break, but I decided it was about time I left it behind for the day. I was busy, after all, and there was studying to do.

Even if I can’t do much without being directly tutored yet, I still shouldn’t be slacking off. Looking down and tuning out everything around me, I turned in the direction of my dorm room and set off at a brisk pace. I can at least review my notes and prepare for—

A fierce tug on my shoulder spun my entire body around before I realized what was happening. Before me stood a huge man with bronze skin and long, silvery hair. He was at least a head taller than me, and it was obvious from a glance that his thick, tree-trunk-like arms would be more than capable of snapping my body in half if they tried.

“I’ve been looking for you, Foreigner,” he said in a gruff voice, a wicked smile springing forth as he spoke.

His simple linen shirt stood in contrast to the intricate, expensive look of the academy uniforms. Yet, despite his apparel, I knew for a fact he was a student. And not just any student, either.

“I heard you got a taste of blood your first day here. I would’ve been pissed if that bastard died and his replacement was just another coward like the others, but you may be worth my time.”

Vandan Nosi. One of the eight chosen Inheritors, and, as I had heard time and time again over this past week, the most powerful warrior of the bunch, bar none. For reasons I was beginning to gather, Professor Seris had recommended I avoided him for the time being.

“Wh-what do you want?” The question came out so weak, I wasn’t sure if he could hear me.

“What else?” His booming voice had been gathering a crowd since the first words left his mouth. “Let’s fight.”

“H-huh!?”

“I haven’t had a good fight since Leon got himself killed. It’s no fun beating the shit out of the pathetic excuses for fighters this place normally pumps out. So come on. Let’s give everyone a show!” He pointed his head toward the audience, still growing in size.

Are you insane!? I wasn’t sure if I was more scared of him or the crowd.

“I-I can’t fight. Sorry,” I squeaked, barely audible.

His smile vanished in an instant. “What the hell? You kidding me?”

I didn’t respond. I had nothing left to say.

“You can’t even speak up? What a joke. Leon goes out that pathetically, and this is what we get instead?”

He was trying to goad me into a reaction; I could tell. But he couldn’t wound the pride of someone with no self-respect to begin with.

He struck my torso with a light flick of his arm, and I was sent hurtling to the ground. If I planted my feet, I was sure I could’ve stayed standing. But I just wanted this over with.

His expression clouded over, the anger fading and a look of genuine disappointment taking its place. “The other Inheritors this cycle were already incompetent. And now the only one worth half a damn turned into a complete embarrassment. Maybe I’ll just kill all of you as a mercy and do it myself.”

He turned and exited the courtyard without another word. The moment his frame was out of view, whispers erupted from among the spectators. I ignored them. I had no pride for them to wound, so it didn’t matter. I didn’t care.

I returned to my feet after a moment and brushed off some of the dirt. Then, I turned silently and proceeded along my original path.

“He’s right.”

“Did you see that?”

Once I reached an area devoid of people, I started sprinting.

“Holy shit, that’s embarrassing.”

“Dude, I’d kill myself if I got humiliated like that.”

“I feel bad for him.”

I didn’t want to hear their voices.

“The Inheritors already failed once, right? Are we all gonna die?”

“Kinda pathetic, honestly.”

I wasn’t sure which ones were real and which were in my head. But it didn’t matter.

“I get turning down the request, but he could’ve at least defended himself.”

“They’ll ruin the reputation of the academy at this rate…”

I didn’t want to hear any of them. I wanted them to leave me alone.

When I finally reached my room, I slammed the door shut. I needed to calm down.

Why is it always the same?

My back slid down the door.

Why is this happening again?

I tried to be quiet. I tried not to bother anyone. I tried to make it so no one would notice me, so no one would have a reason to hate me.

Why did I expect anything to be different?

I don’t want them to hate me. I don’t want to be hated.

What am I doing wrong?

Don’t look at me. Don’t talk about me.

What am I doing wrong!?

Why are you looking at me? Why are you talking about me?

Leave me alone.

Please leave me alone.

…

…

I don’t want to be alone.

Why am I always alone?

I felt a dull burning sensation in my right hand. When I looked to the side and saw a splatter of blood, I realized I must’ve slammed it against the wall hard enough to break skin. The sight of blood calmed my torrent of thoughts, but the aching in my chest did not ease in the slightest.