The Path 038
*doo-doo-dowh*
"No rest for the wicked," mused Will, rising from his terminal to see who was at his door.
"You're not gonna ask me to go?" asked Ohta.
"I didn't hire you as a gopher, and I doubt you would appreciate being asked to perform such menial tasks," replied Will, stopping at his room's entrance to add, "I trust you to do what you think is necessary to ensure my protection."
"Everything you say annoys me..." grumbled Ohta, setting aside his book and bouncing to his feet to follow in Will's wake.
"Not by intention, I assure you," replied Will, an amused smile adorning his face. Fortunately, as Ohta was behind him, the pint-sized Demon couldn't see it.
Reaching his dorm's entrance, Will opened it to find the well-dressed man charged with operating the elevator.
Placing his hand over his heart and bowing, the man said, "My sincerest apologies, Sirs, but I have been asked to inform you that the banquet for First Years has begun. Your Head Professor, Master Naitus, requests that you make haste to the Proto Star Hall."
"Please convey my apologies to Master Naitus, as neither I nor my friend here will be attending the banquet," replied Will. "I've never been fond of ceremonies, and my less-than-welcoming encounter with the Beta Star of the Cursa Asterism has left my appetite wanting."
"Understood. I shall convey Sir's words verbatim," responded the man, raising his head and promptly departing. He was just a messenger, so if Will refused to comply with the summons, he wasn't in a position to force the matter.
Closing his door, Will turned around and looked down at Ohta, smiling as he asked, "You hungry?"
"I'm all for skipping the banquet, but it might be taking things a little too far if we left the campus now..." reasoned Ohta.
"That's fine. I always carry a surplus of ingredients and spices with me, just in case," said Will, stepping past the confounded-looking Ohta as he made his way to the kitchen.
"You're telling me you had ingredients for food this entire time?" asked Ohta.
Shrugging, Will argued, "I didn't feel like cooking earlier. Besides, did you see the look on our waitress's face when I tipped her? That was my good deed for the day."
"You're unbelievable..." grumbled Ohta, turning around and departing for Will's room in a huff. The latter was tempted to ask if he planned to eat for free, but as he enjoyed cooking enough to have it as a Skill, he didn't mind 'indebting' Ohta to him further...
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"Ugh...I hate mornings..." groaned Ohta, dragging his feet as he followed behind Will with half-lidded, baggy eyes.
"Aren't you curious to meet our classmates?" asked Will, wearing his usual smile as he led the way to his and Ohta's homeroom, located in a massive, five-storied, heavily fortified structure that resembled a mansion made for Giants. Each story had a five-meter clearance, and three-meter-tall bay windows covered the exterior like turrets. The predominately sloped roof was covered in dark blue tiles, creating an eye-pleasing contrast with the building's white facade, and there were also four towers with conical roofs at each corner, serving as classrooms for Mage Course students and focal points for drawing in Mana from the atmosphere.
"It would require genuine effort for me to care less..." responded Ohta, his expression apathetic but his eyes scanning the area and each person they happened to encounter or pass.
"Mmm...that's a little paradoxical, but I understand what you're trying to say," expressed Will, nodding for effect. He could convince himself to care in the heat of the moment, but it was difficult for him to get excited by the prospect of competing with a bunch of kids. He had no problem humbling those who needed it, but as a six-time reincarnator, he couldn't take pride in triumphing over those he had a natural advantage against.
"Looks like this is the place," said Will, stopping outside a thick metal door designated as Epsilon 1: Feabhas. In response to their presence, an eye in the door's frame opened, looking between them and releasing an invisible pulse of energy intended to dispel enchantments and detect curses. After it was finished, the eye closed, prompting the door to slide up, revealing a second set that promptly opened from the center.
"The security in this place is insane..." remarked Ohta, following after Will as he took the lead to enter the room, structured like a lecture hall with a large, slightly curved display in place of a traditional blackboard.
Instead of responding to Ohta's comment, Will met the gaze of the only person present in the room, a tall, lithe figure adorned in black-and-gold-trimmed robes. Various golden accessories decorated the figure's body, but their most prominent feature was their face and head, resembling an anthropomorphized black cat with yellow, blue-slitted eyes.
"First, you fail to make an appearance at the banquet. Now, you arrive at class more than an hour early. You're a very cautious young man..." said the cat-faced figure, its voice deep, masculine, and bearing a distinctive, purr-like quality.
Maintaining a relaxed smile, Will replied, "It's good to meet you, Head Professor Naitus. And, to answer your question, yes and no. Generally speaking, I'm a fairly easygoing person. But, since there are quite a few people who want me dead, I prefer to remain unpredictable."
"Be that as it may, there are rules and traditions you must abide by if you wish to remain at the Academy," explained Naitus, his voice measured and calm. "As the Head Professor in charge of the First-Year Elite Class, I have no choice but to deduct ten points from your and your companion's Social Credit Ratings. Ordinarily, you have been subtracted at least fifty, but as I have yet to explain the metrics used to evaluate you and other students, I have afforded you leniency on this one occasion..."
"Your clemency is welcome, but now I feel compelled to ask," said Will, feigning ignorance as he asked, "How many points do we start with, and what are the methods to increase them?"
"Hmmm..."
Tapping his clawed finger on the lectern he was standing behind, Naitus appeared to deliberate for several seconds before responding, "I would ordinarily ask that you wait until your classmates have arrived, so I need not repeat myself. However, as there is quite a bit of time before I expect anyone else to arrive, I will humor you."
"You have my gratitude," said Will, taking the initiative to move over and take a seat in the lowest rung of the lecture hall's seating. He expected Ohta to follow silently, but the diminutive Demon apparently couldn't help himself, asking, "What are you?" with a look of morbid curiosity.
"I take it this your first time seeing someone afflicted with the Curse of the Fae...?" asked Naitus, unbothered by Ohta's rude line of questioning. It had been decades since he was Cursed, so he had a long time to get accustomed to such reactions and queries.
Touching his face, Naitus explained, "This is the consequence of letting one's ego dictate their actions and failing to respect the sanctity of what came before and will persist long after. I sought power beyond my means and paid a price beyond measures of worth..."
Realizing he might have asked something very insensitive, Ohta averted his eyes and offered a meek "Sorry for asking..." before hurrying to take a seat next to Will. This caused a smile to develop across Naitus's face, but only for a moment as he quickly regained his bearing, stating, "Worry not, young Ohta. My appearance is one of the many reasons I pursued tenure here at the Academy. It is my hope that, by seeing me, others might avoid a similar outcome..."
"But you haven't actually told us how you ended up looking like you do..." muttered Ohta, continuing to avoid Naitus's gaze.
"It is something you will learn about in your third year," explained Naitus, implicitly indicating he had no intention of elaborating. Instead, he turned his attention to Will, appending, "Now, on to the explanation regarding the metrics we use to evaluate students. There are three separate categories: Social Consonance, Academic Excellence, and Practical Merit. Those who have proven themselves worthy of the Elite Class begin the term with 100 points in each. To apply for graduation, you must have a cumulative value of at least 2000 points. Inversely, if any of these values decrease to zero, you will be brought before a review board and potentially expelled."
"Mmm...makes sense..." responded Will, nodding. "But not everyone is a social butterfly. If you compel people to interact proactively with others, doesn't that put...less affluent students at a disadvantage?"
"Unfortunately, that's the world we live in," said Naitus. "There will always be those and the top, those at the bottom, and those who seek to elevate their standing. Unless one has the power to force the change they desire, the only way to succeed within an established system is by accepting the hand of those who preside over it."
Shifting his gaze to Ohta, Naitus added, "Our young Demon friend here is a testament to this truth. Young Ohta possesses tremendous power, even by Demon standards. Had you not proactively extended your hand to him, organizations, institutions, and even the Academy itself would spare little effort to bring him to our side..."
Frowning deeply, Ohta pointedly asserted, "I'm not some object that can be bought or possessed..."
Nodding in approval, Naitus calmly affirmed, "That's the correct mentality to have, especially when one's young. But, and I'm speaking from nearly sixty cycles of experience here, everyone has a price, young man. It may not be money or anything of tangible value, but there is always something that someone yearns for or refuses to give up. It is because of this that so many, regardless of their standing, seek ever greater power..."
"..."
Unable to refute Naitus's words, Ohta remained silent. The look on his face, however, made it very clear he didn't agree with what the former had said. Not on merit of its veracity, but the principals being conveyed...
"I have digressed quite a bit..." said Naitus, closing his eyes and taking a moment to run his right index finger and thumb along his brows, rounding his cheekbones before lowering his hand to meet Will's gaze, adding, "So long as you show up to class and other mandatory functions on time, it's very difficult to lose Social points. Furthermore, you can earn upwards of twenty points each month by actively participating in the organization and running of class events and functions. As the Gamma Star of the Oirthear Constellation, you should have few issues maintaining a high Social Credit Rating. So long as there aren't too many instances on par with last night's lack of propriety..."
"I only make promises I'm certain I can keep," replied Will, the corners of his smile curling upward. "But you can rest assured that if I determine it's in my best interest not to show to a specific function, I will apprise you as early as is convenient."
"So long as you're aware that your actions have consequences, I suppose that will have to suffice..." conceded Naitus, knowing full well that it would be next to impossible to expel Will without him outright killing one or more of his classmates. The influence of the Oirthear Constellation was second only to the Royal Family, who historically backed their sovereignty. All Will needed to do to regain the points he had lost was reinforce the sentiment his absence was the result of ensuring his safety and there was little they could do to enforce the deduction. Naitus didn't like it, but, as he had said moments prior, that was simply the way things were. And he knew better than most how futile it was to oppose a system that had been in place for more than five hundred years...
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