Stepping into the dojo, he expected someone to be waiting for him. Instead, he was met with a bit of silence; he could hear hushed whispers coming from another door a few feet ahead of him. Looking to his left and right, wall placks were above each door; the two on the left showed "A" and the other "B." There were "C" and "D" to the right, respectively.
The hallways ended to the right and left, which possibly meant that there were more rooms; he wasn't going to check, though, since he could see a few people as he approached the door ahead. They appeared to be sitting.
He opened the door only to be met with a student sitting down in front of a robbed figure; the ones at the very front wore a white tunic. It was similar to the one she wore, and it made sense since she was sitting at the front. Behind that row were students wearing light blue tunics, and behind that row were students wearing red tunics. All of them are similar in design except for a few key features.
The color was different, and the tunics looked worn down as he descended the rows. He looked better than the people in the final row. The second thing he noticed was how they were sitting. The front row had soft pillows on which they sat. The rest had something similar, except it didn't look as comfortable.
When he came in, most turned to look at him, and he must have seemed so weird simply standing there and looking at everyone. A female was at the front of it all, wearing a black robe; this time, the hood was pulled down, but the smell of flowers was ever-present.
"Sit down, Charlotte, behind those with red robes. I was about to explain a crucial topic; you came just in time."
Charlotte nodded as they sat on the wooden floor. There weren't many things in the room—a few murals depicting beasts and humans on the walls. He tried to look around more, but his focus was somehow forced onto the woman at the front.
"As I was saying, welcome back new and returning students. I hope you enjoyed your vacation and are ready to keep working on ascending. We have new students, but sadly, most are out of commission; someone took the test battle seriously."
She looked at the woman he fought at the front; she still had that same sad look after their battle. Now, he figured that this might just be how she always looked; that crazed smile she had during combat might be something else.
"You all already know the rules of this school, but I must explain to Charlotte how things work. Please do listen up."
She called out, although his focus was already being almost forcefully drawn to her.
"I assume you already experienced your living quarters, Charlotte. It must have been quite a shock. I want you to understand this: this school will provide many things. If you prove you are worthy of such things, you must make due on your own for now. You are at the bottom of the people we care about."
She spoke very matter-of-factly; Charlotte nodded along to her words. This was not new to him; he was already used to struggling alone.
"That's not to say we won't provide anything to you, but everything we offer you will be lesser than the others. You and the other resting with you will be given the same treatment; your status outside this school matters little to us. Power is the only thing respected and valued here. At the end of every month, we hold a competition where you can challenge someone for their spot if you win. Then you move up, and they take your place at the bottom. I don't need to explain where you want to reach, correct?"
Charlotte looked at the front; there were five people total, all wearing a similar white tunic. He shook his head.
"Good, with that out of the way. I hope you pass the message along to your roommate, Charlotte; for now, everyone can head to your classes. I will be showing Charlotte around."
Everyone began getting up to walk out; Charlotte looked at the other students. A total of ten students were wearing light blue tunics and red tunics. A few of them spared a glance at Charlotte, but they mostly talked and kept to themselves.
His gaze moved to the girl from before; as she passed by, he tilted his head and waved at her. Her expression remained the same, but she did wave back. He starts lightly punching the air, which causes her to look at him a bit confused.
"You want to fight again..."
Her expression had finally changed to one of surprise. He didn't notice, but a few people behind him looked at him like he was crazy. The woman at the center covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"Ah, not right now...at least not yet. I was trying to say good fight."
He laughed nervously, recalling almost getting frozen and possibly killed by her. She seemed to hesitate before walking off; she gave him a thumbs-up as she passed.
As soon as everyone left, he and the woman sitting at the center remained. She would compose herself as she stopped laughing and smiled.
"I find it amusing when idiots are so bold; I hope you survive, Charlotte."
She got up, lifted her finger, and gestured for him to follow. His body got up on its own as he followed behind her. He didn't like being controlled in such a way, but right now, he didn't know how to fight it.
"Do you have to be controlling me like this? I can walk on my own."
"I gotta make sure you don't run away or go anywhere you aren't supposed to. Be a good boy and listen, okay?"
She kept smiling, but her tone held some sinister undertones as the smell of flowers changed slightly. It now smelled almost like death, which made him want to cover his nose, but his body didn't listen.
He had some terrible luck with the people he got stuck with sometimes, Stella and the guy from earlier being the only good ones.