C h a p t e r 6

The Dormitory

Ridic had the honor of showing the rooms to the students. The boy’s dormitory was located underground, and the stairway to it was very narrow. It was like a labyrinth, with paintings on the wall. Andy studied the paintings, and he realized that they were telling him tales of the past. The paintings were trailing him, with pictures of knights fighting against golemns and the undead. Below them was a line of fire from a dragon which did not seem to have an end. It was creepy.

All of them had to walk in a single file, with Ridic leading them with his torch in his hand. It was a very long walk until they reached a small wooden door. The door was the entrance to the common room, but only a small child would fit through it. Everyone muttered about it, as most of them were tall and big in size. Even Ridic had to bow his head to walk through it. They had to assist each other in.

However, as they all were inside the common room, they came to realize that the place was far different from back then. They were inside an octagon-shape room, with chandelier hung on top of it. The room was around eight metes high, and it was encircled by carvings and abstract paintings. Rectangular doors to their bedrooms were situated on the room’s upper level. The fireplace stood at the side of the brick wall with a pair of axes hung above it. The room had to have lights everywhere as it would be just as dark as the stairway. Andy wondered how high chimney would be. A big brown carpet was placed at the center of the spacious room. They were marveled by such a fine place.

They were greeted by other new students who were already inside. They happened to have transferred themselves into the room using magic.

“Suit yourself. You will be staying here until you are graduated,” Ridic gave a mocking smile.

The students put their bags on the floor and started checking the rooms. Some of them had started unpacking their bags in their rooms.

Before Ridic left the room, he gave Andy a small glimmering orb. It was just as big as the young boy’s palm.

“Summon my name on this orb and you will be able to converse with me,” Ridic explained. “Call me if you come across any trouble.”

Andy nodded and went to search for his room. He went up the stairs looked at his key. He looked for the door that had the same number with it. It was a coincident that the door stood between him and Sean, as Sean was also looking for his room. Both of them checked their keys, and turned back towards the number that was carved on the door.

“Is this your room?” Andy asked for confirmation.

“Why…yes. Is this your room too?”

Andy nodded. “Would you mind opening the door?”

“Of course,” Sean unlocked the door and pushed it open. The room was very small, with two beds placed opposite of each other. A small desk was placed between the beds, while their cupboards were at the two corners of the room.

Sean put his bag on the floor and lied on the bed. He was very tired. “I like this bed. It is very comfortable.”

As a son of a slave, he had never been given a chance to sleep on a bed. He and his family would sleep in stables after taking care of their lord’s horses.

Sean had told Andy and Sara how he managed to escape from his lord, and how he dreamed of living a luxurious life.

Andy closed the door and sat on the other bed. He put his bag beside him and smiled at his friend. “It is fortunate that we are in the same room.”

Sean did not say anything. He was still lying motionless on the bed, while closing his eyes.

One the other hand, Andy started to unpack his bag. He was thinking that Sean might not be sleeping yet.

“Did you realize something?” Andy asked, forcing his roommate to wake up.

“Yes?” Sean mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

“It seems to me that we are separated from the magic students.”

“We’re still separated from them? I thought they were staying with us.”

“Yes, they are staying with us, in the sense that we are in the same dormitory. But did not you realize that there are two sections of bedrooms here? I believe that the magic students are staying at the right section of this dormitory.”

“What makes you so sure about it? And… why do you make it such a big deal?”

“When we arrived, we were greeted by magic students. They must have arrived here first. I realized that not one of us occupies the right section of rooms.”

“Then why are you so concern about it?”
”Don’t you realize? That the school is actually separating their students into two

major groups: the magic learners and the melee practitioners. There seem to have a border between these groups. Why should they do that?”

“I don’t seem to have a problem with it.”

“We seem to have been separated from each other. Patricia told me that it was a matter of discrimination, but I did not think so. Something must have gone wrong with this school,” Andy explained.

Sean opened his eyes and turned his face towards Andy, “You don’t have to worry about anything, my friend. What matters is that we will have friends in this school and we shall cherish that friendship forever. I don’t care about what the school is up to, as long as I can study peacefully here.”

Andy went silent for a while. He was thinking too much, especially about what Patricia had told him just now.

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Andy jumped from his bed and opened the door. A senior went in. He was very tall, and was heavily built.

“Hullo there, you must be Sean Paul Edward?” he looked at Sean, finally waking up from the bed after he heard the knock. Then, he turned towards Andy at the side of the door. “And you are…”

“Andy… Andy Bennington.” Andy gave a sly smile with a shiver. He felt threatened by the size of the young man.

“I am Van Steamer, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he introduced himself. They both shook hands before the young man sat on a chair next to the cupboard. “So, how do you feel after the tests?”

“We are just glad that we passed them. They were difficult,” Sean replied. “Why did you come here?”

“I just want to meet our new students. Most of the seniors are doing it right now. Some of them are doing ice-breaking at the common room, though it is not allowed. If you want to know, you are going to be staying in our class,” he explained. “We, the melee practitioners are very friendly. If you happen to have any problems, you can always come to us.”

After short while later, another senior joined their conversation. His name was Chadwick Wilson, another classmate of Sean. He was much smaller than Steamer, and wore spectacles. “Mr. Edward, how very nice to see you. I have heard a lot about you.”

“Sean, if you please,” Sean stopped him from continuing.

Wilson did not talk much after that, as he was more towards a good listener than a good talker.

Sean introduced himself the way he introduced himself to Andy and Sara. He stressed them as not to call him Edward or Mr. Edward or Mr. Sean Paul Edward. It seemed to become his formality of introduction.

Steamer and Wilson paid more attention towards Sean than Andy, as he was the real champion of the second test. Most of the seniors respected him for his skill of fighting despite his age. A 10 year old boy had impressed seniors of about 18 years of age.

Andy however, did not prove his ability compared to his companion. He fought like anyone at his age would fight, thus he was not their subject of interest. Moreover, they assumed that he had used magic against Patricia, and it was unforgivable. They felt fortunate that he was not going to join their class.

Later, another young man entered the room. He was bigger than Steamer, and had a grim look on his face. Steamer and Wilson shivered, as they knew who this man was.

“You,” he pointed his finger towards Andy. “User of magic. What is your intention of coming to this school? To humiliate us?”

Sean stood up, trying to defend his friend. “How rude of you to come in and speak the dweller of this room like that. In fact, it is not his fault that Patricia had lost to him.”

“He uses magic. It is undeniable. Patricia admitted herself! How dare of you not to admit your own fault?”

“Yes,” Andy lowered his voice, “It is my fault. But I did not realize that the magic that I had possessed was uncontainable until I fought against her. I myself could not comprehend the power that I have right now. That was the reason why I took the melee test. I would not even dare to say that what I have unleashed this evening were to be considered as an act of magic.”

“There is a truth to that,” Wilson boldly answered, “There’s a probability that you are a natural born alchemist. Have you been reading books on alchemy lately?”

Andy shook his head, “No. I only knew of the term ‘alchemy’ after it was introduced by a friend of mine in this school.”

An alchemist was capable of performing actions similar to magic, except that the actions may not be as complex as the acts of magic. According to the principle of alchemy, reading people’s mind would be considered as a telepathic skill rather than magic. Wilson believed in such theory.

“If that is the case,” the big man said, “I shall not say anything now. But I’m still suspecting you of trying to overpower us with whatever magic that you have.”

“If that is my intention, I would have killed you without even using magic which I myself could not do.”

The big man came closer towards him and shook his hand, “I am Timothy Zimm, a pleasure to meet you.”

Andy was uncomfortable with Zimm’s grin, thus simply replied, “Andy, Andy Bennington.”

Steamer and Wilson sighed in relief as Zimm did not do anything outrageous in this room. He was actually a good man, but he was also a hard-headed person. A tough man, as his classmates called him.

Still not letting go of Andy’s hand, he said in a good manner, “Need to remind you that I really hate magicians.”

“In fact, we all hate them,” Steamer agreed. “They are the creatures of menace. And it seems like we are their slaves in this school.”

“You see,” Zimm walked towards Wilson and tapped his shoulder, “This boy would rather be an alchemist than a magician. He studies here just so that he could go to the Institution of Alchemy.”

Wilson pointed, “Magicians are those who are gifted, whereas any people are capable of learning alchemy. But magicians are always putting themselves higher than ordinary people. We really hate that concept.”

“Alchemy is improving throughout the years,” he continued, “but magic has a limited knowledge as it was written a long time ago.”

He stressed most on the importance of logical thinking, rather than unexplained theories. He wanted Andy to know that a person can be powerful without magic.

“Life is about reasoning in order to survive,” Steamer explained. “You can’t expect to use magic in everyday life. Once you have lost your power, you cannot do anything.”

Andy saw that he had a point there. He did not say a word. He quietly listened to his further explanations. He started to tell the concept of nobility which magicians did not acquire. He shared his experience with both Sean and Andy.

Steamer was once a traveler from Ogria. He wanted to see the world by traveling a great many miles to Havens. He could not afford to study in Ogria, as its education fee was expensive. However, in Tamamura, he did not have to pay for any fees. He just had to go for its tests. That was the other reason why he traveled.

As he reached Havens, he decided to stay there and lived with its people. As he mixed up with the people, he came to realize that the village was once destroyed by a ‘great fire’. Everyone in the village believed that it was the work of a magician. They still could not figure out why he wanted to kill innocent lives. After the tragedy, the people of Havens decided to rebuild the village. They took only three years to accomplish it with their bare hands. Steamer was impressed with the reconstruction, and started to learn principles from them. One of the principles taught was that ‘you should avenge your friend’s death with the revival of what was lost, not with destruction of another being’. However, the principle was not accepted by some of his friends.

It a few years back before Andy and Ridic reached Havens. However, they were not very welcomed as the people of Havens thought that Ridic was a bad person. They knew that Ridic was a magician, and they should treat him like one.

Before he left the village, the people of Havens wanted him to send their regards to Patricia. He took the task seriously and tried to look for her in Tamamura. During that time he was introduced to Kieza, one of the greatest fighters in the school. Kieza was still a trainee. He was yet to become a master.

Their conversation was interrupted by Zimm who was interested in Andy. He gave Andy’s shoulder a loud tap. “Come on, my friend. I have something to show you.”

Zimm dragged Andy to the center of the common room, and grabbed both axes on the wall. He tossed one of them to Andy. “I have not seen you fighting seriously.”

Zimm was always like that. He liked to challenge people who were not very good at melees. These people must accept his challenge to avoid harmful consequences.

Andy shivered, as he did not know what to do. “Are not we going to disturb the other students who happen to be sleeping now?”

“I do not mind if the students from our course wake up, because I’m intending to do so,” said Zimm. He knew that his melee friends would certainly be delighted to see the fight. “You see, the rooms are protected by a shield, in which no sound could penetrate in. I believe it was purposely made by our teachers.”

“In short, the common room is ours at night,” Steamer interrupted.

“And as you can see, the teachers purposely made fighting as one of the important lessons, since that there is also an invisible shield that protects us from severe injuries. It was told by one of our teachers,” Zimm continued.

“I believe that you are actually grateful to the use of magic,” Andy grinned.

“It does not mean that we like these shields. We are just taking advantages out of them,” Wilson disagreed.

Meanwhile, Steamer was starting to clap his hands. “In close combats like this,” he told Sean, “we need to chant our traditional fighting song. Just follow my lead!”

His voice was heard all over the place.

Ho ho they started to fight

Ho ho who will win the fight?

Ho ho oh fight with might

Ho ho don’t lose your fight!

He repeated the same verse, followed by Sean who tried to catch up with the words. He started to clap his hands, trying to follow the rhythm of the song.

“Since that you are a good friend of Sean, you should be able to fight like him,” Zimm insisted. He quickly swung his axe forward, hoping that Andy could avoid it.

Andy stroked it away with his axe, and straightened himself. Then, he dangled his axe towards Zimm’s face. Zimm leaned his head.

“That was dangerous,” Zimm shook his head. “Luckily I was quick enough to dodge the attack.”

“I am so sorry,” Andy felt guilty. He did not seem to focus on his attack. He was too hasty.

“You must think before attacking,” Zimm reminded as he blocked Andy’s attack with his axe.

Andy could feel the impact of the clash. He staggered as he tried to pull his axe away from Zimm’s. Zimm smacked Andy’s face with the hilt of his axe. Andy was thrown backwards.

“There should be no mercy in melee. You should be aggressive, yet be aware with your actions,” Zimm played with his axe before he started to dash forward towards Andy. Andy carefully examined his action.

“Watch out, Andy!” Sean shouted as Zimm hid the axe behind him while he was dashing forward. Then, he continued with the traditional song with laughter. The chant had turned faster than a while ago.

Andy lifted his axe upwards and swung it forward with might. It struck Zimm’s axe as he swung his axe from his back. It was the loudest collision during the fight.

The chant was also becoming louder, as the fight turned to be more aggressive. Sean started to be addicted to the song.

Andy’s eyes met Zimm’s, and both of them gave a grim look on their faces. Andy could not push himself forward, thus he backed off. It took him some time to regain his energy before he could make another move.

The chanted started to slow down, as both fighters stopped the fight. It was an exhausting clash as both were holding heavy axes. They could not control their axes properly, but they continued to dangle their weapons against each other.

There seemed to be no end to the clash. In the end, Andy gave up, and passed his axe to Sean. Meanwhile, Zimm tossed his axe towards Steamer and another fight took place. Andy chanted the traditional song with Zimm, even though both of them were tired out from the fight.

However, it only took a few minutes before Sean managed to pin Steamer down. He pointed his axe towards his fallen opponent, and gave his opponent a sly smile.

The chant faded, and all the seniors came closer to congratulate Sean for his victory. Andy on the other hand, smiled at his friend as he was proud of the young boy.

Zimm tapped Andy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, my friend. You will be just as good as your friend. You just have to be patient.

Before Andy went to bed, Steamer reminded him and Sean that they should not descent to the lower floors. He told Andy that he heard his teacher said that the place was haunted.

“Why is it haunted?” Andy asked.

“I don’t know,” Steamer replied. “But nobody ever went down to the dark place. Just do not try to go there.”

Andy understood as he nodded, and took his words seriously. Then, Steamer continued, “There have been a lot of stories about this school which I found them ridiculous. Some reported that the school was once an old prison. Some even say that it was actually a palace, where the king of men once dwelled. I have no idea where our friends acquire such stories. Just don’t believe in any of them.”

Andy did not say a word. He turned his eyes towards Sean who was murmuring while he was sleeping.

“Ho ho don’t lose your fight!” he said as he grunted.