Garry advanced, one step at a time.
The stone under his boots was different from the outside road. It was like smooth, cold and worn down by countless footsteps which has passed long before his. The academy gates stayed open, but didn't feel welcoming, with no guards, no banners. Just an opening that assumed anyone stepping through would already know why they were here.
He hesitated for a moment, then he moved inside.
The space beyond the entrance widened quickly, opening into a big yard framed by tall buildings of different styles. Stone paths crossed the ground in patterns, some straight and orderly, others curving softly as if shaped by practice rather than design. Students were everywhere. Some standing in small groups, others moving with determination, a few lingering unsure close to the edges like Garry himself.
Before he could decide where to go, a voice spoke from his side.
"Hey."
Garry turned.
The speaker was a boy slightly older than him, maybe seventeen or eighteen, standing with a casual manner that suggested he was familiar with the place. His clothes were neat, not fancy, showed he had been here long enough to not care about showing off.
"Are you new?" the boy asked.
"Yes, Garry replied after thinking for a bit. I am."
The boy smiled slightly. "I knew it. I'm Lorrance Cali. I'm a student here. Follow me."
He said it without a care, like it wasn't an offer anyone could turn down.
Garry nodded and stepped beside him.
They walked across the yard by moving through the many students. Garry saw how people moved when Lorrance passed. Not stepping aside completely, but changing just enough to not hit him.
Authority, Garry thought, didn't need to be loud.
"You arrived today?" Lorrance asked.
"Yes."
"Good timing," he said. "Orientation's about to start. Saves you from roaming around aimlessly."
Garry didn't speak. He was too busy taking everything in.
The buildings were old. Not broken, but maintained, with each addition and change made over generations. One tower had small windows and sharp edges, its stone darker and rougher. Another was wider, almost squat, made from lighter stone that reflected the morning light softly.
None of them felt decorative.
They had their use.
Lorrance led him into a wide hall with high ceilings and open archways along the sides. Hundreds of students were already inside. Some talked loudly, others stood in small groups, a few kept to themselves near the walls.
Lorrance stopped near the entrance.
"Wait here," he said. "Shouldn't take long."
Then he left.
Garry stayed where he was.
He adjusted his bag and looked around.
The hall was loud with voices, laughter through the murmur, and some were nervous. He saw excitement on some faces and confidence on others. A few looked just as unsure as he felt, standing still with their hands clasped or eyes fixed ahead.
Garry stood near a pillar and waited.
Time passed slowly.
His name was not called. No one talked to him, and he didn't mind.
Then, the room change, like a breath taken together. The talking died down in waves until silence showed, not total but aware.
A person stepped onto the raised platform at the front of the hall.
She looked same age most students present or seventeen or eighteen perhaps, with dark hair pulled back neatly and a posture that showed she has herself together. She wore no special robes, no symbols of rank, yet the way she stood made it clear she didn't need them.
"Good morning," she said, her voice calm but carrying across the hall.
"I'm Liluous Kart. I'm a student in third year. President of the Student Council."
The title stayed into the silence without show.
"For most of you," she continued, "this is your first day at Arcaseic Magic Academy."
She paused, letting her look move across the students.
"So listen carefully."
No one said anything.
"There are many rules here," Liluous said. "You'll learn most of them the hard way if you aren't paying attention. Today, you'll hear only the ones that matter for getting past your first weeks."
A soft feeling of worry moved through the hall.
"First," she said, "fighting is banned within school."
A few students moved.
"You may fight in regulated situations," Liluous went on, "but violence will not be tolerated. You may be suspended or removed for good, for violence you caused."
Her tone didn't change.
"Second," she said, "attendance is not optional. You are expected to arrive at your classes fifteen minutes before the scheduled start time. Late arrivals will be noted."
She paused for a bit.
"Third," she continued, "your dorms are not a safe place. They're for living. You are responsible for what happens inside them. Damage, problems, or rule breaking will be taken care of."
A few murmurs started and died quickly.
"And lastly," Liluous said, "this school does not protect you from failing."
That sentence stayed.
"You are here because someone allowed you to be. Staying is up to you."
She took a step back.
"Now," she said, "we'll begin initial path."
Students were led out of the hall in lines toward the western side of the school. Garry followed the crowd, moving when the line moved, stopping when it stopped.
The building they entered was quieter. Inside, corridors split off into smaller rooms. Students were guided one by one, by disappearing through doors as names were called.
Waiting took hours.
By the time Garry's turn came, his legs hurt from standing. When his name was spoken, he stepped forward.
Inside the room, five people sat behind a long desk.
None of them looked up.
A middle-aged man at the center spoke first, eyes still on the papers before him.
"Name."
"Garry Latherm," Garry said.
The man wrote it down.
"You path you want to take?"
Garry thought for a bit.
He thought of the sky, the mountain, and stillness.
"Earth," he said.
The man nodded once.
He reached beneath the desk and produced a thin sheet of paper, its surface etched with twisted designs that seemed to shift when Garry looked too closely.
"Hand," the man said.
Garry showed his palm.
The paper was placed against his skin.
Light flashed.
Not blinding, but heavy.
Something went inward, like stone settling into his bones. His breath stopped as a strange pressure bloomed in his chest, spreading slowly. It wasn't good, but wasn't bad.
It was thick.
His fingers shook.
"Steady," someone said.
Then the pressure went away.
Garry moved as the paper was removed.
"Next," the man said, already moving on.
Garry left through another door.
Outside, a worker checked his name, and a gave him a key.
"Dorm Seven," the man said. "Room four-zero-nine."
Garry looked up. "Where is Dorm Seven?"
The worker pointed toward a wide building with floors.
"Over there."
Garry nodded and walked on.
When he reached his room and pushed the door open, he fell to freeze up.
The room was a mess.
Garry stood in the doorway before moving.
Clothes were everywhere.
Not thrown in anger, just left behind in movement, as if someone had started ten different jobs and finished none of them. A chair was buried beneath fabric. Books lay open on the floor, some face-down, others stacked poorly as though they had been searched through. A bag lay overturned near the bed, its contents scattered.
Garry stepped inside and closed the door.
The room wasn't small. Two beds stood on opposite sides, parted by a small space. One desk was clear, bare except for a lamp and a few items. The other was a mess, with notes, vials, scraps of paper, and something that looked like dried mud across one corner.
He set his bag beside the empty bed.
For a moment, he stood there.
A sound came from behind him.
"Oh."
Garry turned.
A boy about his age stood near the door, arms full of books, with dark hair tied loosely back. His uniform was messy, with sleeves rolled, like he'd forgotten about them.
The boy looked around the room, then at Garry.
"You must be my roommate," he said.
"Yes," Garry replied.
The boy nodded and moved the books in his arms before placing them onto the desk, which caused papers to fall to the floor.
"I'm Acarme," he said. "I'm new."
Acarme tilted his head. "I moved here last year."
Garry paused. "Last year?"
"Yeah," Acarme said, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't good enough to be in second year."
He laughed. "Turns out learning here doesn't care how long you've been here."
There was a brief silence.
"It's hard to become better," Acarme added.
Garry didn't know what to say.
Acarme looked at him again, narrowing his eyes. "You chose Earth, right?"
Garry blinked. "How did you know?"
Acarme tapped the side of his head. "I can sense it."
That only made Garry confused.
"Don't worry," Acarme said quickly. "You'll learn soon enough. Everyone does."
He looked toward Garry's chest for a moment, then nodded, as if showing something only he could feel.
"So," Acarme continued, changing the subject, "how was the meeting with the student council president?"
Scary, Garry replied.
Acarme laughed.
"Yeah, that sounds right." He waved a hand. "She's that way. She looks like she wants to eat someone. She's never happy."
That earned a faint smile from Garry.
Acarme followed Garry's look back to the room and sighed.
"Right. About this." He gestured at the mess. "Sorry. I was trying to find something."
I didn't think of where to put them.
He rolled up his sleeves. "Before we talk, how about you help me clean the room?
Garry thought about the mess. He thought about the long day and nodded.
"Okay."
They moved without speaking, stacking books, folding clothes, and making space. It wasn't exciting, It wasn't hard either.
But it felt grounding.
When they finished, the room wasn't good but it was livable.
Garry sat down on his bed and let out a breath.
Outside, the school continued to move, with voices in the halls and footsteps showing against stone, a place that waited for not.
The next day would be harder.
For now, this was enough.
---