The Fusionist Book 2 -- Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Uh, what do you mean?” he asked in confusion, and it was only then that his friends noticed that he had stopped.

Ricardo looked up at him with a searching gaze, as if he was trying to figure something out. He opened his mouth to respond but noticed that Verne and the others were watching – and listening. “Oh, n-nothing,” he stammered. “I was, uh, just wondering why you seem so much older than the others, that’s all. Nothing meant by it at all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must make sure everyone found the Dining Hall without getting lost, and to check in the with the Registrar for schedules.” The young man quickly extricated himself from the sudden confrontation, leaving Larek looking at the others in bewilderment.

Verne shrugged, followed quickly by Nedira and Norde. “No idea,” his original roommate (now that Norde was his roommate, as well) said. “Reminds me of what those veteran SIC members did on the Network carriage, though.”

Larek nodded, agreeing. Ricardo’s actions were bizarre, to say the least; it was almost like he knew something about Larek, but the former Logger had no idea why fifth-year would know anything about him considering that he had just arrived.

“There was something about him that was different. Just like those Wolfram and the others on the carriage,” Larek remarked, as they began to follow the path that the other students had taken to the Dining Hall.

“Well, he’s a Noble, so that could be what you noticed was different,” Nedira pointed out.

“What? Really? How do you know?”

The fourth-year Naturalist tilted her head to the side in thought. “I’m not exactly sure what it is, but when you meet any Nobles, you’ll instinctively know. Even for those who come from outside the Kingdom, its noticeable. Could you feel something different from him, Verne?”

The tree-like boy frowned. “Maybe? I haven’t met any Nobles personally before, thought I’ve seen some from a distance. There were a few minor Nobles, or so I thought, at Crystalview, but they didn’t feel the same way.”

“Ah, I think I know who you’re talking about.”  Nedira nodded. “Evander and Florit weren’t born Nobles, but instead were brought into the family by marriage. I think blood relationships make a difference.”

“Alright, but what is this… whatever it is? Why are they different?”

No one could answer that, unfortunately, because no one knew.

“Well, at least he didn’t look like he was angry at me,” Larek remarked. That was the strangest part of it all, he thought, as that had not been his experience with most new people who met him thus far. There were a few, such as Wolfram and the SIC members on the carriage, that didn’t react that way to him, but most did. Now that he really thought back to it, he remembered there being something off about that group, but he attributed it to them being strong and powerful. He hadn’t really paid attention to them after a while, not wanting to draw their focus, but he could vaguely remember them feeling this strange kind of different that he had felt in Ricardo.

Were they Nobles, too?

He wasn’t 100% sure, but given what he’d learned about Nobles being much more likely to have potential, he thought it likely. Even if they were, what did it matter? What kind of difference would that make?

None, as far as he was concerned. The only thing that was strange about them all was how they reacted to both him and his Fusions that were on Rheina’s gear. It was a mystery and not one that he was going to solve right then and there, as they arrived at the Dining Hall.

To say that the Hall was larger than the one at Crystalview Academy would be putting it lightly. As it was approaching but not quite peak dinner time, the enormous room was half-full of students in Mage robes in a variety of different colors, weaving amongst the hundreds of tables and chairs that filled the space. The room was essentially the entire width of the structure, around 150 feet at least, and was easily 600 feet long; a half-dozen thick wooden columns created by enormous trees acted as supports along the middle of the room for the roof up above, and for the first time he was able to see that it was made from wood in an arched pattern, similar to the doorways he’d seen in the Academy. The biggest difference was that the internal portions of the roof and the upper walls were covered in a copper-colored sheen, and he wasn’t sure if it was actually copper stuck into the wood or if it was some sort of paint.

Pulling his attention away from his surrounding, Larek followed his friends to the long line leading to the buffet of food in the distance. Weaving through the tables, he found that his presence caught the attention of many a student within the Dining Hall, but only a small number of them had the accustomed looks of derision or anger he was used to. Most of them either ignored him or had a curious or shocked expression on their faces; regardless of their reaction, good or bad, his movement through the room caused a ripple of silence to spread throughout the room as more people caught sight of him.

To his relief, as soon as he stopped at the line, conversation throughout the room resumed. Surreptitiously looking around, he saw quite a few people still looking at him, but most seemed to have gone back to what they were doing before they arrived.

Better than I expected. This bodes well for this place being much better than Crystalview.

Dinner was delicious, even better than the food at his previous Academy, but that was something that didn’t surprise him based on everything he had seen so far from Copperleaf. Everyone who had just arrived was ravenous and quickly ate their dinner, so it didn’t take them long to end up back at their rooms, passing by other living spaces along the way that he honestly missed on their way to the Dining Hall. While they looked better upkept and more spacious, given that there appeared to be only a single occupant in each space compared to their own 4-to-a-room, they weren’t all that different.

Ricardo was already there in the hallway when they arrived, and he immediately began to pass out schedules. The fact that the Academy already knew all their names was a surprise, but since they already knew they were coming, he figured the message had somehow been passed along. For a moment, as everyone else got their class schedules ahead of him, he thought that the Dean from Crystalview Academy was further punishing him for his role in the explosion that destroyed a portion of the building by forgetting to include his name, but he discovered he was wrong as his name was called out at the very end.

“Larek Holsten?”

The fifth-year didn’t do more than glance at him as he handed Larek his schedule, which included a map of the Academy on the back. Ignoring his classes for now, he studied the map and saw that it also included Fort Pinevalley and all of its individual training areas, which he thought was a nice bonus.

He didn’t get very far before Ricardo announced, “Curfew is at ninth bell, so make sure you’re in your rooms by then. Study those maps to find your classrooms tomorrow, but for most of you, your first-year classrooms are on the opposite side of the Academy, so make sure you leave with plenty of time to spare to get to class to avoid being late.

“Again, if you have any other needs, please inform the staff and they will see what can be provided to accommodate you. Good night, and welcome once again to Copperleaf Academy.” With a smile at all of the satiated and exhausted students staring at the schedules in their hands, the fifth-year took off after a very brief glance in Larek’s direction.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat after all that traveling,” Verne said, dramatically swooning in place where he stood. “I’m ready to get cleaned up and get to bed.”

“I can’t say I don’t agree,” Nedira said. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” With that, the young woman retreated to her room, which she was sharing with three others, all first-years.

Larek washed up briefly in bathrooms, which were – despite being in a more rundown section of the building – still a step up from what he had seen at Crystalview. He didn’t get a chance to explore much as he was tired enough to want to go to bed almost immediately after arriving in his room. Taking off his boots and setting his axe – which hadn’t left his side after being strapped securely to his leg while they were traveling – up against his bed to lean within easy reach, he sat on his bed and looked at his schedule for the first time.

Introductory Magical Theorem – 9am to 9:50am

Classroom 120

Advanced Fusions 1 – 10am – 10:50am

Workshop 405

Understanding Specializations – 11am – 11:50am

Classroom 110

Lunch – 12pm – 12:50pm

Dining Hall 3

Spellcasting Fundamentals – 1pm – 1:50pm

Workshop 135

The Geography of the SIC – 2pm – 2:50pm

Classroom 180

Monster Knowledge – 3pm – 3:50pm

Classroom 170

Mana and You: Basic Mana Usage – 4pm – 4:50pm

Workshop 155

The Dangers of Scissions– 5pm – 5:50pm

Classroom 160

Looking at his schedule, all of the classes were largely the same, if at different times than back at Crystalview. There were still classes on Magical Theorem, Scissions, Mana Usage, Monsters, Geography, and Spellcasting; the biggest difference was that they were in both classrooms and workshops instead of just classrooms, which was interesting. He also saw that he the Dining Hall they had visited was apparently one of at least three, which meant that there were many more people that went to the Academy than he had even thought was possible.

But what caught his attention the most out of his entire schedule was the fact that his original Fusions and Pattern Cohesion class had been replaced by something called Advanced Fusions 1; not only was it different from what he had before, but it was also in Workshop 405, whereas all his other classes were in classrooms or workshops starting with 100.

“Verne?  Norde?  Do you have the same Fusions class as the one in Crystalview?” he asked his roommates, who were settling into their own beds with visible relief.

“Huh? Uh, yes, Fusions and Pattern Cohesion at 2pm in Classroom 140. Why?” Verne asked.

Norde spoke up before Larek could respond. “2pm? Nice! I’m in your class.”

“When is yours, Larek? If you’re in my class, I’m going to feel so inadequate,” he joked.

The former Logger slowly shook his head. “No, my class is at 10am.”

“Phew! That’s a relief!” Verne said with a smirk. Obviously seeing something in Larek’s face, his joking expression switched to one of concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I have something called Advanced Fusions 1 in… Workshop 405.”

Both of them sat on their beds and looked at him in shock – which was mirrored by Larek, as well. Finally, Verne spoke up encouragingly. “That’s great! Isn’t that what you wanted? What’s the problem?”

“Yes, that’s what I wanted. But it begs the question of, ‘Why?’”

“Why, what?” Norde asked, but Verne already seemed to grasp the issue.

“The problem is why they put you there, isn’t it? Somehow, they know you are good at creating Fusions.”

“Exactly,” Larek agreed.

“Who told them?” Norde asked, catching on.

“Dean Wilburt, perhaps?”

As much as it seemed unlikely given his treatment of Larek, the novice Fusionist had to admit that it seemed likely. The Dean had known that he had “helped” Annika make those Healing Surge Fusions, so it was possible that he mentioned something about it when contacting Copperleaf Academy about the transfer.

But if that was true, what else did they know?

Book 2 Chapter 21: https://www.patreon.com/posts/fusionist-book-2-82376473