When the awakening hall emptied, students split off into small groups, their voices raising in chatter and laughter now that the ceremony was over. Lucien walked out into the courtyard and let the sunlight cover his body, trying to gain some energy after having to sit in a crowded room for hours on end.
The academy felt different to when he first arrived, the feeling of expectation that was once present seemed to have faded away. He sighed as he adjusted his jacket before following the other students toward the residential area. Most nobles here had already visited the academy before, but not him. He never got the privilege to get invited to such things despite being from a noble family himself.
"Classes start tomorrow— did you see the schedule?" One student said loudly while passing him in a large group.
"Yeah i wonder who's going to be the top student… maybe that guy with Divine Shield that's some insane skill." Another added.
Lucien's name didn't even come up in the conversation, his awakening forgotten already.
After a while of walking, he managed to follow behind the group to the dormitory hall. The building was different to the others here, less formal in a sense. It was split into four wings, each branding a different emblem. A huge line had already formed behind him, he was closer to the front as he managed to get out of the ceremony a bit faster than the others.
"Ughhh, we're going to be waiting here for ages." A student behind him shouted, causing their friends to laugh.
Lucien recognised the voice, it was Regis Valmont, the same student that awakened a top tier combat skill earlier.
"Oi… you let me cut in front of you."
Lucien didn't reply, he wasn't even looking that way to know if Regis was speaking to him directly.
"Don't ignore me." Regis said frustratedly as he grabbed Lucien's jacket collar from behind.
Lucien stepped back instinctively before replying. "What do you want?"
"You little sh—" Regis shouted.
"I think you should turn back around." Lucien said coldly.
His words rang sharp in Regis's mind and for just a moment Regis hesitated, his grip loosening before he seemed to realize what he was doing.
A faculty member spotted the interaction and walked over sternly. "Is there an issue here?"
"No ma'am." Lucien replied instantly, before walking into the building, the line had already cleared up and he was at the front.
The hall was decorated immaculately, portraits of previous great students that graduated the academy filled the walls. Each person here achieved great feats while at the academy, impacting the kingdom in different ways.
"Ah, these are some of our greatest students. I see you staring at them, do you wish to be like them one day? Up here on the walls." The faculty attendant asked him while holding a large book.
"No." Lucien replied.
"Why not?" The attendant added.
He stood for a second, trying to think of a good enough explanation to why he wouldn't want to achieve greatness, but the reason never came to his mind. He just stood there with a blank expression before the attendant sighed and gave him his wing and room number.
"North wing, Third floor." He said before going to attend to another student.
Lucien nodded and moved on. The corridors beyond the entrance got tighter as the path narrowed, loud conversations and demonstrations of skills took place inside rooms as he walked by.
As he reached his assigned room, he unlocked the wooden door and stepped inside. The room was modest, not extravagant like some students got, but he was fine with modesty. He's lived in modest conditions most his life so this felt more natural to him. The room had two beds, two desks and one shared window that overlooked the whole academy.
The academy looked beautiful from this height.
He set his things down on a desk and claimed a bed by lying on top of it. He managed to have a few moments of peace from the outside world before his door creaked open gently. He looked up as footsteps pounded against the floor, a boy his age around sixteen walked in. He stood tall, his jacket unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up, completely disregarding academy etiquette as if he didn't even care.
"Mhm, it looks like I'm not the first one here." The boy chuckled while smiling toward Lucien.
"Looks like it." Lucien replied.
The boy snorted loudly, setting his belongings down on the bed opposite Lucien without any hesitation at all.
"Figures… I can never get anywhere on time." He glanced around at the room before looking back at Lucien. "Name's Corin"
"Nice to meet you Corin, I'm Lucien." He said back instantly while offering his hand out for a handshake.
Corin nodded, responding to his handshake with a firm grip. "This room isn't too bad, north wing though… not exactly prime territory to be in."
Lucien didn't reply, he simply nodded along to his words. Silence settled in the room as Corin rummaged through his bag like an animal before pulling out a spare set of clothing as if he was eager to get into something more comfortable than what the academy gave him.
"So what did you get?" Corin said casually.
"Utility." Lucien replied instantly.
Corin made a small noise, something in between dismissal and interest. "I see… I got mobility."
Lucien looked up, slightly interested, he never met anyone with a mobility skill.
"Speed related?"
Corin grinned. "In a sense… I can blink a few steps at a time, I tried it earlier."
He rolled onto his side, seemingly pleased with the skill he awakened. "How about you?"
Lucien hesitated for a moment. "Verbal influence."
Corin blinked before laughing softly. "That's quite vague. Have you tried using it?"
"No. Not yet." Lucien added.
"I see, I guess I'll find out what it does once I see it in action at some point." Corin said before flipping over, getting ready to sleep.
"I snore by the way, and don't wake up early unless there's a threat." Corin added as he let out a yawn.
"Noted." Lucien replied.
Outside the academy started to quiet down once again, as the moon came out and the sky drifted into darkness. Lucien got back into bed and exhaled softly, for the first time in a while he wasn't completely alone.