The cacophony of voices fills the dormitory dining hall, a typical breakfast scene where students gather at long wooden tables. Within moments, food materializes before them, the menu a daily mystery, its origins and creators equally unknown.
This dining hall operates on an all-you-can-eat, all-the-time principle, where students can return for every meal and order unlimited portions without spending a single coin.
Free food… often comes with a commensurate level of quality… Because the taste is worse than rotten pineapple. And that's why the convenience store teems with students and faculty. We two learned the levitation spell from Professor Nita, a spell without incantation, requiring only a precise wand flick and focused thought of clouds beneath one's feet to transport the user.
For me, holding the wand correctly in my mouth proves quite challenging. I've resorted to gripping the base and extending the tip, then bobbing my head and using my tongue to flick it. This solves the complex casting issue. If I were human, no spell would be beyond my reach. Anya, meanwhile, has mastered spells in Professor Aek's class to the point of defeating several opponents in the self-defense club, a result of our combined training.
"What's that crowd gathered around, Nappo?" the girl asks, before floating towards the notice board near the entrance. Over a hundred students from various years are clustered around some announcement, which strangely draws me in.
"What are you all looking at?" I ask Cher-Tam, whom I happen to spot in the throng.
"Nappo, just in time! They're holding the school's Magic Tournament," she says with a smile, pointing to a poster depicting silhouetted male and female wizards casting spells at each other, with large letters proclaiming:
'Esculia Tournament' Annual Combat Tournament Sign up with the Self-Defense Professor Note: All Self-Defense Club members are required to participate.
Reading this, Anya and I exchange a look of dread.
"You two are in the self-defense club, right? Looks like you'll be training hard," Raymond says, arms crossed, his pet kinkajou, Cole King, perched on his broad shoulder. It waves a paw and chirps a greeting. Believe me, I have no idea what it's trying to say, but it seems to understand me somewhat.
Raymond, after his defeat by Professor Aek, has dedicated himself to self-defense studies more than anyone. He even joined the club and can now hold his own against senior Kalos, nearly cornering him and almost achieving victory. "If I get a rematch with Senior Kalos, I'll definitely win," he declares.
"He's straight out of a shonen manga…" I mutter under my breath, floating away from the crowd with Anya.
"We're getting stronger now, though, even if we can't beat Senior Kalos yet," the girl says excitedly, before ending the levitation spell and touching the ground where there are fewer people. Then, she heads towards the convenience store.
Today, we're lucky; there's hardly any queue for the products. Our usual breakfast consists of chemical-free frozen meals. Of course, I've asked the staff or the system creators and found that chemicals in this world are as much of a myth as mobile phones, so I don't worry about food contamination like in my previous life. Believe me, many people died because of it back then. I ask for Anya, my beloved master, because no matter what, I'll be eating dog food anyway, so I'm not as concerned.
"Curry rice again today?" I ask while eating dog biscuits, waiting for her to warm up the lunchbox with a fire spell and a levitation spell to protect her delicate hands from burns. "Didn't we have this yesterday? Eating lunchbox food every day, every meal, is going to be bad for you."
"It's fine," she replies with a wry smile, eating her food slowly, one bite at a time. "We do have cooking equipment in our room, but buying all the ingredients and seasonings costs a lot of money. The money Mom gave me is starting to run low."
"If the school food was better, we could save a lot more," I sigh, having once bravely tasted the legendary current school food.
In conclusion… not even a dog would eat it…
........
Baron and his hamster sidekick, Chabu, confront us on the way to Caronia's Magical Creatures class. Both wear grim, furrowed expressions, ready for a fight at any moment. But neither dares to start, fearing school rules. Baron, however, holds the upper hand; he can report Anya for some infraction. Some students cautiously pass the old man, while the hamster readies itself to pounce… go ahead… this little runt, I could end it with a snap of my teeth. The girl stares intently at the old janitor before deciding to step to the right.
Suddenly, the old man deliberately blocks her path. But when Anya steps to the left, Baron shifts to block her again, causing immense frustration. Her hand tightens on her wand, ready to cast a memorizing curse.
"Step aside, Mr. Baron," she commands sternly, her dark eyes unwavering. "You're blocking the way to class."
"You're the one blocking my way," the old janitor retorts with a scornful look, one he's never given any student before. "You dark arts heir!"
"What did you call Anya, huh!?" I snarl, baring my teeth and barking loudly, the wand held in my mouth, ready to cast a damaging physical spell. But my master stands frozen, trembling, like a small bird threatened by an eagle. "Anya…?"
"Class is about to start, students. Why is this filthy janitor blocking the way?" a young man's voice rings out, as a hand-sized tarantula descends on a thick, cloudy white web from above. Dozens of glowing eyes fix on the janitor. Not only that, but its fangs also click with each word. "Please move out of the way, or one of us might end up guarding the gates of Dante's Inferno."
"M-my apologies, Professor Dufric," the janitor's face turns pale, his body shaking, before he flees.
"Get back to class. Today, we'll be discussing the tournament," Professor Dufric transforms back into his human form.
He's a tall, handsome young man with fair skin, wearing round glasses. His black hair is highlighted with striking blonde streaks. He wears a stark black suit over his slender frame. He hurriedly ushers Anya into the classroom. "Hurry up, we don't have much time. My Mantura eggs are hatching in an hour."
The Caronia Magical Creatures classroom is covered in cobwebs. The ceiling is filled with the eggs of Professor Dufric's pet tarantulas, 'Manturas.' Believe me, these are tarantulas the size of one-year-old babies, covered in a solid black exoskeleton, with horrifying blood-red eyes and a white striped abdomen that makes them even more repulsive. Professor Dufric claims they are the rarest tarantula species in the world. Luckily, it's a female, because the professor can transform into a spider to 'reproduce' and expand the species. His level of eccentricity, exceeding ten skulls, is well-known among students and faculty, so few want to converse with him, especially with the large spider that often clings to his 'lover's' shoulder wherever they go.
"Well, Professor Aek should be the one explaining the tournament being held this year. But Headmaster Connor asked all the professors to help explain. I'll summarize briefly: the competition is similar every year. Ask your seniors for details. The rules differ in that students can use pet assistants to strategize in combat. A little dog like Nappo would be an excellent pet assistant." Professor Dufric rattles on, glancing at the spider eggs under Mantura's abdomen and then at the students. "The prize money is a substantial one hundred gold coins, a ten percent increase from last year due to increased funding from the government. So, please prepare yourselves well, especially students from the self-defense club. For homework, everyone needs to write a three-page report on dragons, due next week."
Finishing his sentence, he transforms into a spider and rushes to check on the spider eggs, which are beginning to stir slightly, a sign of new life emerging. "Class dismissed!" he shouts before spinning a web and launching himself onto the ceiling to admire the hatching baby spiders.
Meanwhile, the students, seeing the army of baby spiders pouring out of the egg sac that Professor Dufric is tearing open with his front legs, scramble out of the room in fear. Believe me, no student wants to take this class taught by Professor Dufric, and he, as the instructor, doesn't want to teach it either.
........
Self-defense club time after school is five o'clock. Members gather at the stadium. Students are playing various sports I'm not familiar with, including casting spells to throw stones, broomstick racing, and long-range target shooting with spells. But the most popular sport is 'magical combat.'
"From today until the end of the magic tournament, there will be no club activities. Everyone should train individually. Don't forget that combat skills are more important than anything else in Caronia right now," Professor Aek says in a flat tone, pulling down his collar to reveal a tattoo that writhes like a stream.
"The Dark Emperor is coming."
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To Be Continue Ep.15