Henry stood outside of room 68B also known as Ancient Architecture & RuinSurvival. The Important part was Ruin Survival, if the chosen's trial involved survival his best bet would be learning to survive in the most dangerous location possible, ruins… And Ancient Architecture couldn't hurt.
Opening the door, Henry was greeted with a large room, with… no one in it.
Henry peaked around, but it seemed he was the first to be there. It was the day classes started. It was still unbelievable to Henry that he had woken up in that hospital a week ago. For a second, he had almost begun to feel like a normal person.
After finding a seat in the far back, he got comfortable and opened his new notebook.
***
— What did I do during application day?
Attempted to kill another applicant for reasons still unknown.
— Why was I found in rubble.
Still unknown, the hospital refused to give me the records regarding my stay.
— What does being chosen mean?
Being chosen means you are connected to Miasmal energy, this also curses you to complete something called The Chosen's Trial, a test with your life on the line.
— Where is my family?
Currently unknown, the academy doesn't have any records of a home address nor my guardians.
— Who is Henry Phillips?
Henry Phillips, me, is an 16 year old chosen. My father presumably is a chosen as well. I had two parents, however an accident or something else caused me to lose my memories, being found in the rubble of an apartment complex. Another anomaly is that I am unable to see my own face, whether through a reflection or through photos.
Unsolved questions:
— Where was I found, and how was I unscathed?
— Why can't I see my face.
Henry closed the notebook, proud of himself, he had gotten quite a bit of information in the span of a week. He pulled out his past selves notebook and flipped through the pages, maybe more text would appear, however nothing was there.
There was one more thing Henry needed to figure out.
Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out the shiny square trinket he had found with the rest of his belongings at the hospital.
'What are you?'
Studying the square, it seemed to just be a shiny rock, but it didn't feel like a rock. Running his fingers on its surface, Henry felt static. He had attempted to research similar things in the academy library, however all he found were books on blessed tools. Which this square didn't seem to be.
As he studied the square, he heard the loud squeak of the door opening.
A middle-aged man wearing a large overcoat walked in, paying no mind to Henry. The man had a book in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. He walked to a large desk at the front of the class and sat down, taking a sip of his drink before opening the book.
Henry stared for a few minutes, contemplating if he should say anything. Luckily the man put his book down for a second and with wide eyes, noticed Henry.
"Woah!"
He exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.
"Are you what I think you are?! Do you know what class you're in? This is Ancient Architecture & Ruin Survival."
The man stared daggers at Henry, fuming with anticipation.
"Yeah, I'm here for that…"
The man smiled and began writing his name on the chalkboard.
"Well student! I am Mr. Barret. The teacher of this class. You can call me Mr. B, Barret, or even Joshin if you're feeling up to it. What would your name be?"
'What a character.'
"I'm Henry. Nice to, uhm, meet you."
The man tapped on a table in the front of the class.
"Well, Henry, I don't bite! How am I going to teach you if you're so far back."
Begrudgingly, Henry moved to the front of the class. Finding himself wanting to ask questions.
"Excuse me, Mr. Joshin-"
"Just Joshin."
"Sorry."
Henry swallowed.
"Well Joshin I was wondering where the other students were?"
Joshin looked around, jokingly, before turning to Henry with a fake smile.
"You're here, which means that the first student I've had this year is, well… you!"
'I've made a mistake, haven't I.'
Henry's mind filled with the worst case scenario, he had picked a useless class that wouldn't teach him anything. Despair was all he could feel.
His teacher seemed to have noticed this, which prompted him to drop the book he was reading on the floor.
"Whoops."
Joshin lifted the book up and kicked a lever on the floor.
Immediately the room began to shift and turn, where the chalkboard and desk had once been was now a massive replica of a stone house that looked as if it were thousands of years old.
Henry couldn't help but gasp at the sight, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
"I know what you're thinking, "This guy's a nut job, he doesn't have any students, I must have picked the wrong class." Well, I am a bit of a nut job, but at least without students to teach I get the free time to do this."
Kicking another small lever on the floor, the ruin split in half and opened up, showing a perfectly symmetrical interior.
Henry's jaw had dropped to the floor. He was astonished.
"Pretty cool huh."
Joshin crossed his arms smugly.
"Yeah… But, what's the practicality of this? How's this supposed to help me during the trial?"
The teacher's face immediately traded with his student's, his jaw on the floor, Joshin had never heard a question like that.
"How little do you know about the trial?"
Joshin was genuine, in his concern, and his question.
"If I said I knew nothing, would you believe me?"
The room spun again with, bringing the chalkboard back, Joshin quickly scrubbed the board clean and grabbed a piece of chalk.
"How well do you listen?"
***
Hours flew by like minutes, before I knew it, it was dinner time. The most dreaded time of them all. Joshin was nice, but I don't think class is meant to last that long.
Thanks to the teacher, Henry had grown a much deeper understanding of the trial.
When he and the other chosen entered the Conduit circle they would start the trial, they would all be sent to one of six ancient cities, that rest in a second realm far different from our own. The chosen then must find and kill a monster that they are linked to within that city.
'I wish I understood what the conduits were… A question for next time, for sure.'
Though Henry had gotten used to the school, he still got weird looks, and since the brawl with Arden he wasn't well liked. Especially since his only friend, Marlon, who didn't have the best track record. Though having people to talk to was enjoyable, especially since Lumora also would sit with them from time to time, and she was able to get people for the most part off Henry's back.
As Henry got closer to the cafeteria, he saw a face he recognized… Arden. Bandages still covering the left side of his face. When Arden knocked Henry out, Marlon was able to get the jump on him, stabbing him nearly a dozen times in the face with a fork before he was thrown into a wall. After that, a teacher split them up, and the rest is history. Since the fight, Arden didn't bother them, though. Henry thought it was some sort of treaty, Arden comes from a family of brawlers, Henry and Marlon brawled pretty hard, at least Marlon did.
After grabbing his food, Henry sat at his usual spot in the far left of the cafeteria, soon after he was joined by Marlon, and eventually Lumora who decided to break their silence.
"So, how did your classes go? What even are your classes?"
Marlon sighed and hit his head on the table.
"I'm in Advanced Battle Strategy. It was bad."
Slowly, Marlon began eating his food.
"Well, I'm in Ancient Architecture & Ruin Survival the teacher's a bit odd but seems nice, I learned a lot too."
Henry pitched in hoping to bring the mood up, however upon hearing this Marlon sank his body lower.
"I'm doing Creature Studies & Environmental Camouflage I think I've got the gist from the first class, so I expect to do well in the time we have."
Henry sank even lower, his back now laying on the bench, he groaned. Lumora and Henry burst into laughter.
'It's good to have company, even in situations like this.'
"How bad could it have even gone, Marlon?"
Henry asked between laughs.
"They made me play a bunch of ancient games I don't know."
Lumora giggled and remarked,
"You had to play games, oh no."
The two began laughing much harder.
"You guys don't get it, then they made me play chess at the end."
Marlon grabbed Henry's collar
"Henry, I'm terrible at chess."
His face filled with regret, Marlon fell back onto the bench, laying down.
The table erupted with laughter again, and at this moment all three of them felt at ease.