It's finally here.
I can't help but get nervous as the massive gate comes into view.
"Are you ready?" Karla asks from my side.
We didn't ride here in the carriage since I'd rather not stand out too much, but the green haired girl in the maid outfit next to me makes that difficult.
"Yes I think so." I respond after a moment.
I recall how I looked in the mirror this morning. My brown hair and bright green eyes haven't changed at all, but the rest of my body is vastly different. Where before I looked like your average skinny shut in, now I've started to appear fit and healthy.
Overall my body has gained definition, and I've never been happier looking in the mirror.
Maybe that will help me stay under the radar, since most people won't recognize me from the tour.
Wait no no no, my plan was to embrace the attention. I can't be falling back before I even begin.
As I'm lost in thought, we arrive at a small table next to the gate.
"Hello! Is this your first time here? Do you need a guide pamphlet?" A bespectacled girl in the academy uniform sitting at the table quickly asks me.
"Uh no, I was here for the tour."
"Were you? I don't remember you. If you're thinking that having the guide is embarrassing, I assure you it isn't." The girl starts to speak quicker, and I'm having trouble following along. She doesn't remember me? There was several hundred people at the tour, does she remember all of them?
"U-um, no I-" I try to tell her I came by carriage during the tour, but she cuts me off.
"Don't give me any excuses! Take a guide and get inside!" She smiles brightly and pushes a pamphlet into my chest, then ushers me past the table toward the gate.
"Ah, wait!" This girl is surprisingly strong.
"Goodbye Morgan, stay safe." Karla seems to have accepted that I'm being taken away.
"Karla save me!" I try to turn back to her, but she just waves to me.
After pushing me onto campus, the girl with glasses turns and runs back to her post without saying anything else.
I'm stunned that I couldn't do anything against her strength. I hope all this training wasn't for nothing. Who even was she?
As I think, I check out the familiar scenery. There are people in uniforms everywhere, and it's very crowded. I bet this area near the gate is the most hectic by far, since lots of people are just arriving. It's still early in the morning, so I can only imagine that it'll get even more packed soon.
I should probably explore. Although I know where all the main buildings are, I don't know any of the shops. I'd also like to get some exercise in, so I'll make my way towards the training center.
Doing just that, I find a few shops that interest me. There's a restaurant that seems to exclusively serve pasta, but the menu only lists prices as 'points'. I wonder what that's about. Orientation will probably explain most of my questions. I also found a nice looking weapon shop, though it didn't seem like it was open yet. It also had a price chart on the window, and it was vastly more expensive than the restaurant. Of course I don't really need weapons, but knowing where I can go to study them is good.
The training center slowly comes into sight over the buildings along the road, and at this point there are very few people around since I'm so far from the entrance. The ones I do see are either in small groups or clearly have somewhere they're headed to.
Though, one person just ahead of me stands out. A kid with an average build and black hair is frantically pacing while holding what appears to be the guide pamphlet. Seeing him staring at it, I realize that I'm still holding the one the girl with glasses gave me.
Somehow I feel like this is going to be bothersome, but against my better judgement I approach him to see what's wrong.
"Hello. Are you lost?" I try to get his attention.
He looks up to me and pauses with his mouth hanging open. His blue eyes light up and he smiles as if seeing his savior.
"Ah! Yes! Yes I'm lost, do you know where the training center is?." As he says this he scans me up and down, and I can't help but be uncomfortable under his gaze.
"Um, it's just over there. I was going there, so I can show you the way." As much as this guy seems odd, I'd like to help him.
"Oh thabk ow! Thank you so much!" He bites his tongue, but recovers extremely quickly.
"Follow me." I start walking past him at a pace just faster than walking. This guy is a mess, and the sooner I can get him to the training center the sooner I can flee.
"I'm Alex!" He keeps up with me with ease.
"... I'm Morgan."
"Hi Morgan! Are you a first year?"
"Yes I'm a first year, how did you know?" This is getting stranger by the moment.
"You're holding the guide."
... I stand corrected. This isn't getting stranger, I'm just an idiot.
"You're impressive! You could find your way all the way here using just the guide. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me."
"I didn't use the guide, I came to the tour a while ago."
"Oh I didn't know there was a tour. If you knew how to get around, why do you have a guide?"
"Well..."
We continued like that for the entire walk to the training center.
I've never been quizzed that hard in my life. If anything, Alex is very good at talking.
When we arrived at the training center he quickly said goodbye and ran inside. I took a moment to recover from his overbearing presence before doing the same. I check in at the front desk and the receptionist directs me towards the main portion of the facility.
This place feels vastly different from anywhere I've ever been before. I can only describe it as 'advanced'.
I feel like I've walked into the future.
This is probably how the rest of the large buildings on campus feel as well. We stayed outside for the whole tour so I wouldn't know.
There are many things around that I don't recognize. I assume they're magic machines to assist in training, but I have no idea how they work so I walk past.
Eventually I find myself in a simple training room with a rack on one wall and a multitude of training weapons. I bet there are many rooms just like this all throughout the building.
I find a spot I like and begin my morning routine.