Another day at Aurum Academy.
This time, the last day of the week.
Everything went as it always does, but there was a heavier air in the classroom.
Most students were struggling to keep their eyes open. Between teacher Kafka's classes and all the training we've all been doing in order to help the lower ranked students, I thought it was completely normal for the atmosphere to feel heavier.
But, even Fran had a worried look on his face.
"What's happening?" I asked Cecil, the only one in the entire classroom that didn't look like they were carrying a massive Boulder on their back.
"Don't know, Mr. Alen. It could be anything, really"
"Huh..."
"I heard that there's a ghost on the academy's library, if that's any help"
No, the ghost in the library is an event to recruit a random character.
I guess it could be useful to Kaida as that one character has a nice dark affinity for this early in the game.
"I doubt it"
"Do you not believe in ghosts, Mr. Alen?"
"There are dungeons that have ghosts... I'd have a harder time believing that there's someone out there that doesn't believe in them"
"I don't believe in objects gaining sentience"
"Huh...? What...?"
"Our world has a lot of things that may seem fantastical in a prior time—before gates and dungeons appeared. But, there are still things that are very much fantastical to us"
I had to blink twice after hearing what Cecil said, as I completely forgot that Cecil knows more than he seems at first glance.
"What if a gate opens up and there are objects that gain sentience inside that dungeon... or if that gate breaks, and now objects outside the gate start gaining sentience?"
"Then I'll believe in them. Our world faces a lot of changes, and not being able to adapt to them is what causes extinction"
"I guess you're right"
At the start of this world, only humans lived in Terra. Then gates started appearing, and whenever a gate breaks, it means that the whole world will change.
The first gate to break was a goblin gate. This is the reason as to why you can find goblin and orc's camps spread around the world.
Demi-humans and elves also settled on Terra once their gates broke.
And then, the dragons.
"That's why we have to become stronger, Mr. Alen. So that we're not left behind"
"You just wanted me to agree to train with you"
Cecil grinned and stuck his tongue out. "You got me!" He said I a mocking tone.
Training is the first thing in his head, after all.
"C'mon, Mr Alen. One spar, just you and me"
"Once all these issues with the lower ranked trainings are resolved" I defeatedly sighed.
"What are you two talking about?" Atro approached us.
"We were talking about ghosts" Cecil smiled.
"Like the one that's rumored to be I the academy's library? That one is bullshit, ghosts don't exist"
I can't believe I found the one guy.
"Th-there are ghosts in dungeons... how can you...?" The surprise in my voice was apparent.
"Yea, there're zombies, skeletons, and a bunch of other undead monsters. I think ghosts ar-" even Cecil supported me.
"Have you two ever seen a ghost?"
"I don't need to see a ghost to know that they exist"
"Ghosts, as we know them, are the spirits of something that's died. As far as we know, there has never been a case where a monster or something that was killed inside a dungeon had a spirit come out of it. Every ghost in a dungeon has always been there"
"And what about the ghosts in those dungeons? What are they to you then?"
"Those are merely specters, a type of monster that's very different to a ghost—that doesn't exist. To be a ghost, you have to be born from the dead body of something that was alive"
"What about the necromancers that use the ghost of a dead soldier or monster?" I asked.
"Not actual ghosts, just mere mana projections using the dead body and memories to recreate them. Ghosts should have a soul to them"
"Now that you put it in that way, I guess you're right" Cecil was starting to doubt, to fall on the Sam side as Atro.
"Wha? No. Ghost monsters only appear in dungeons with lots of corpses" I still had to defend my position.
"But only a couple of them appear, and when you kill something inside one of those dungeons, no ghost come out of their corpses"
"Mr. Atro is making a lot of sense, Mr. Alen" Cecil told me with a worried expression.
"I-I don't want to admit that Cecil, we can't lose to him" I whispered in Cecil's ear.
"And why is losing to him that bad?" Cecil whispered back to me.
"We'd be admiting that ghosts don't exist, and they totally do"
"I don't know, Mr. Alen. He did a good job convincing me. I've never seen a spirit rise from a corpse"
"It seems someone else finally sees the truth" Atro rested his hands on his waist, puffing his chest as he laughed.
"Move, you bug" Fran appeared from behind Atro, making him jump away with a scream.
Fran slowly walked next to me and sat down on my desk. She looked like she didn't have much sleep last night.
"Anything wrong, Fran?" I asked when I saw her yawn.
"I just... spent all night getting ready"
Ready...? For what...?
"What were you getting ready for, princess Von Themys?" Cecil asked.
"Next week starts the new month, and parents come to Aurum Academy on the first day of every month" Fran explained with a tired tone.
"Now I know why I'm not worried" Cecil laughed.
Why didn't I remember that from the game?
"It's not required, so that's why most parents don't bother coming to see how their kid's doing" Fran explained.
"Because we're on the S-class—a class that consists of only nobles—our parents are much more strict with these visits than other classes" Theo joined us, equally as sleepy as any other one of our classmates.
"And we have it harder since our parents are kings and queens" Theo crossed his arms and stood next to Cecil.
Franchesca Von Themys, Theo and Julius Der Botcam, and Lyon Alva. Those are the ones that have kings and queens for parents.
Montanev, Raychmen, and Tiasbes. Three kingdoms in the S class.
That only leaves the desert kingdom Viavoule and the elven kingdom Zelueva with no representation in the S class.
Those are in other classes.
But I can see why I didn't remember this thing Aurum Academy seems to do.
Because you follow Kaida's journey in the game. As a true disgraced noble with a tragic past, her father's dead, and her mother has disappeared. Making these visit days irrelevant for her.
But to me, these visits mean a lot more.
If I'm lucky—or unlucky—enough, I could meet the kings and queens of these three kingdoms.
The most important one would be getting to meet with the ki... no... the king is dead... with the queen of the Montanev kingdom, the main villains of the game.
"Atro... have you been challenged already?" Theo asked while rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Y-yea... all four of us have already been challenged by top students at the A class" Atro explained as if he was talking to a military officer.
"When is that?"
"F-first day next week"
On the same day, we have parents visiting Aurum Academy and four duels between the S and A class.
Not only that, next week marks the first exploration event in the game's main story. Kaida and company explore their first dungeon.
Theo simply just let out a long and tired sigh, knowing that they'd have to start the month with a troublesome day.
"What are you all doing to be so tired?" Cecil finally asked what I also had in my mind.
"We need to be ready to meet our parents and... wait... why are you asking me that!?" Theo busted out to his bodyguard that seemed a bit too clueless when it came to what someone other than him was concerned with.
"We have it easy, though. That bug has it way harder than us" Fran pointed at the lion prince who, aside from looking like a zombie without the need to die first, was also acting like a maniac.
His head twitched from side to side, and he struggled to keep awake thanks to many sleepless nights. Sleepless nights, he stayed awake thanks to drinking lots of coffee.
I'm truth, Lyon was the one who suffered the most. He got demoted on day one... thanks to me...
On one hand, I want to help him since I caused all this pain. On the other one, we don't like each other.
"So... do you guys believe in ghosts?" Cecil asked into the air. A question meant for Theo and Fran to engage in a useless chat with us. A useless chat he hoped would make them disconnect from their other issues.