(Just a couple notes real quick. Me, myself, and I have made the executive decision that she has now cleared the game in a year, not three. It will not be called school, but academy. Blood drunk is not a sudden flipped switch, but ramps up to it. Also Avidia is now 19 because only a year passed.)
"Join your academy!? I went through enough of that prison in real life. No thanks." Avidia didn't have any friends irl, so school turned out to be a lonely place.
"Let me rephrase that," said Darious as he straightened himself back up in his chair. "I would like you to join the Adventure Guild. In order to do so, every person is required to go through at least a year at our academy." Darious then gestured at the weapons beside Avidia. "Furthermore, not only do I want you to attend our academy, but i would also like you to teach there." At this Avidia raised an eyebrow.
"You want me to teach and learn at the same time?" She realized that this might just be the perfect opportunity to gain information that she missed out on during her year long stint.
"More specifically, I want you to teach the scythe wielders at the academy. The scythe wielders in Fallen Tower are in an abysmal state. Due to the weapons general incompatibility with combat, all those who were assigned scythe as a weapon have been struggling to keep up with the rest."
"What about the automatic attack system?" In Fallen Tower, players could use a system to automatically perform very basic attacks. This system was in place to allow players to slowly get used to their weapons and eventually develop their own style of combat. Avidia, who had always been obsessed with the idea of using scythes as weapons, was already rather proficient in wielding a scythe. She ended up switching off the automatic attack system at around floor 5.
Darious frowned. "Well they do have the system to help them, but the attacks are far too telegraphed and slow to be of any use. But, seeing as you obviously don't use the system to attack, I hoped you could help guild those at the academy." Avidia sighed. She might as well use this as her second chance at academy life. Maybe she can make some friends this time around.
"Alright, I'll help you out," said Avidia. Darious sighed in relief. "However, I have to tell you a couple things first." He looked back up to see a serious expression across Avidias face. "None of this information that I am about to tell you will leave this room. Understood?" Goosebumps rippled across Darious's body.
"Of course this will be completely confidential." Avidia reached into her inventory (it's a subspace thing I never explained it apologies) and took out her black and gold flask. "First things first, if you couldn't tell earlier, I was quite drunk in the bar." Darious didn't dare laugh at her obvious statement while under her piercing gaze. "I will be teaching the class while tipsy, as I am far more proficient in combat with some alcohol in my system. As such, I will be called Avi when teaching." Darious opened his mouth to interject, but Avidia shushed him and carried on. "Second. Do not pry about my past. It has been a traumatic year and I will not be indulging you with any specifics." Darious kept quiet in his chair. "And third. I will be keeping my student and teacher lives separate. Therefore, I will keep this mask on while attending classes. Those are my conditions." Darious stammered for a second before falling silent again. After a couple uncomfortable minutes, he replied,
"Very well. I can comply with those conditions. But, if that is the case, I would also like you to give extra lessons in magic to your students. Possibly magic that combines well with the scythe." Avidia began laughing, causing Darious to give her a concerned look. "Is something funny?" After calming herself down for a couple of seconds, Avidia responded.
"It's just theres one small problem with that request. I can't use any magic. At all." Darious was stunned.
"Nothing? Not even a simple light spell or fire starting spell?"
"Due to various circumstance, I am unable to cast even the simplest of spells." Avidia smirked. "You reconsidering your choices there old man?"
Darious suppressed his curiosity and responded.
"No no I would still welcome you to teach and attend the Academy. It's just a slight shock that someone so powerful who is able to shift her weapons and even outclass jensen in speed and strength, can't use any magic." Avidia scoffed.
"Was that Jensen something special? And is it not common to shift the size and state of a weapon?" Darious had a bemused look on his face.
"Well, to tell you the truth, Jensen is among the top ten most powerful players in Fallen Tower. Despite how he looks, he's known for his incredible prowess in battle. Furthermore, there are only a few players that can shift their weapons. I am one of them." Avidia was stunned.
"I guess its all the more reason to invite me huh," said Avidia.
"My thoughts exactly," said Darious with a nod. He then stood and reached out his hand to Avidia. As she shook it, Darious proudly said, "with all of that said and done, I officially welcome you as both teacher and student to Adventure Academy."
…
The next day, Avidia found herself sitting in a massive crowd of students under a blazing hot sun. Well, it wasn't so much the weather as the stifling feeling of wearing a plague doctor mask amongst a crowd of judgmental students. On top of the stuffiness, she was bored out of her mind listening to Darious (who turned out to be the Dean that sneaky bastard) prattle through the usual school droll at an opening ceremony. On top of it all, Avidia had no one to talk to and was getting flashbacks to her own days at school. (Though she attended school, she dropped out her sophomore year of high school to be a professional gamer) After the whole ceremony was finally done, Avidia was promptly shoved into the school to attend shortened classes with cringe worthy icebreaker activities. Since she was usually the quiet kind that sat in the back of class, she did the classic move of saying the bare minimum and skating by with minimal social interaction. As she passed through classes in strategery, magic, first aid, and even guild history, Avidia found herself longing for scythe combat lessons, where she could finally let loose a little bit.
After a few painstaking hours, finally got to prepare for her own class. Since her lessons were right after lunch, Avidia skipped lunch altogether and went straight to the practice field. On her way there, she ducked into an empty classroom and started downing the precious blood that Lydia had given her. Once she started to feel pretty warm in the face, she ripped off her mask and pulled out both of her massive scythes. She used one scythe to hold the door clothes and the other to hang her clothes on as she quickly changed out of the slacks and dress shirt that made up her uniform and into her bandages and ripped baggy pants. Avidia tossed her clothes into her inventory, took another large swig of blood and admired her drunken transformation in the window. Her red hair and tattoos were prominent as always and her glowing red and black eyes and sharp fangs, though cringey, left her incredibly satisfied. With rosey cheeks and slightly off center balance, Avi made her way to the practice fields.
…
When Avi finally arrived at the practice fields, she was disappointed to see a kid getting his ass kicked by three beefier kids. Upon closer inspection, the kid getting kicked on the ground had a scythe laying next to him.
"Ahhh damn I guess I better get involved," said Avi as she swayed her way over to the bullies. "OI. Get your hands, well feet, off my kid." The bullies looked up to see a small scantily clad woman with red tattoos and hair marching over to them. When they saw the scythes in her hands, they started laughing.
"And what are you gonna do about it miss Scythe?" said one of the bullies. He was a taller kid with broad shoulders and a brown buzzcut. "We happen to be superior katana wielders," the kids pulled out large katanas from their inventories, "so if you happen to grovel and beg for forgiveness we might let you off this one t-" The bully's words were cut short as he found himself facedown on the ground, arms behind his back and a scythe at his neck.
"Listen here brickhead. If I see you cousin trouble for my student again, I will make your life a living hell. Got it?" The bully whimpered in response and scrambled away from Avi as she let him go. The other two simply scowled and followed suit. Avidia then turned to the kid who was laying on the ground. He was curled up in the fetal position and shaking violently. "Hey you alright kid?" (Avi likes to refer to people close to or younger than her as if they are kids) Avi had never personally been bullied, but she utterly despised the act itself. After hearing no response from the kid, she plopped herself down next to him, put his head in her lap and started to pet his head. Though she was not used to comforting people, Avi had seen characters in shows do this and had always imagined it was pleasant. As she continued petting his dusty brown hair, the kid slowly stopped shaking and looked up at Avi's gently glowing eyes.
"Who are you?" His voice was quivering, but his eyes had a hint of pride and determination hidden deep within them. There were a few cuts and bruises beginning to form on his face.
"I'm your new teach, Avi. Nice ta meetcha." As the boy realized the situation he was in, his face turned a nice shade of tomato red. He shot up and looked around at the other nine students standing near them. While Avi was comforting him, the rest of the class had slowly trickled in. As he stood there with a dumbfounded expression on his face, the bell rang to signal the start of class. Avi tossed him his scythe and told him to go stand with the others. He quickly ran and stood with two other kids, a cute girl with blond hair that stood in a high ponytail and a sturdy looking guy with chestnut colored hair that hung to his shoulders. After looking over the rest of her new students, Avi smiled.
"Now class, in order to keep you from going through the same thing as lap kid over there," at this, his face turned the exact same color as a tomato, "I will be whipping you guys into shape. I don know whatever circumstances your past teachers had but I'm not the same as those wimps." During her whole speech, Avi had been swaying gently between her two scythes. Before she could continue, a hand shot into the air. It was the blond girl next to lap kid. "Yesh question." The girl straightened out her posture and cleared her throat.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but are you drunk? If so, that is unprofesional and strictly unallowed on school grounds." Avi laughed and launched herself nimbly over the heads of the students, landing right behind the now terrified girl.
"Yur a smart one arentcha? Ya caught me!" Avi took out her flask and took a swig of Lydia's sweet blood. "Truth be told… I'm a battle-hardened drunk!" The students looked on in disbelief as she took another swig from her flask. "However, I'm the best one fer the job and I tend to fight better with a little alcohol in me system so you'll have to excuse my behaviour." Avi then stumbled backwards a bit and scanned the faces of the students. "Any complaints?" At this, the chestnut kid nodded his head.
"How do we know you're skilled with a scythe at all. I feel like we should have some proof before you teach us." With that, the other students nodded their heads.
"Fine fine ya got a point chestnut. I'll flex for my students a bit." Just as she leapt back and picked up her scythes she saw a familiar face storming across the practice field.