Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 24: The Adventurers Academy

While leaving Wence, Koko had felt terrible, almost as if she were abandoning her caring family entirely. Though now that she was away and two days had passed, she now started growing excited again as the trees of the forest were finally clearing she could feel the city getting closer by the minute. As if on cue, the coachman on top of the carriage announced that the city was within sight, and Koko couldn't resist sticking her head out outside again to watch the tall towers become closer just as she had last time.

With the situation somehow feeling even more incredible now that she was alone, Koko gazed up in wonder at the towers until eventually the entire city came into view with it's large wall dominating most of the city. Since she'd been there, several more farm fields had been added to Goldgate's outskirts, and it also seemed like the stable had expanded as well, though she didn't get to see if everything inside was the same or not as the carriage suddenly took a well-maintained side path and started going in between a pair of farm fields with one side seeming to be growing lettuce and the other what looked like strawberries. Though, even if the plants and fruits were similar, Elnor had it's own name for them. They were Gusta Leafs and Red Drops, and while everyone else seemed to know that by heart, it still slightly bothered Koko as she knew them by completely different names.

As more and more fields passed by, they soon started being replaced by large fenced-in areas where entire herds of horses were grazing, and they eventually turned into large open areas with both training fields as well as archery ranges as they grew closer and closer to the Adventurers Academy. The closer they got, the more interesting things grew as the academy's students finally started coming into view, a few of them wearing the same black uniforms while most wore casual cloths unless they were either training or sparring with each other as they then wore normal armor. Though that was only for the second year students, as even now Koko's carriage was passing by all of her fellow first years as they walked on the road towards the academy. And suddenly, Koko wondered just what kind of entrance she would be making at the academy when her carriage finally made it to the academy, seeing as most of everyone there would be commoners. She, of course, saw commoners as equals to herself and wanted to make friends among them, but she doubted that they would see it that way if she rolled up to the academy on an expensive carriage like hers that would obviously mark her as a noble.

As she was fretting about how she would be seen in the carriage, she suddenly didn't have to worry about it anymore as the vehicle suddenly stopped, making Koko almost think that they'd arrived before she realized that they were merely stuck in a line of other carriages that were all waiting to get to the academy. Apparently she wasn't the only noble arriving today, and she started becoming impatient with it before she finally pulled herself through the carriage's window and climbed on top of it so that she could receive her luggage.

"L-Lady Koko, please don't do that! It's dangerous!" The coachman said in shock as he realized what she was doing.

"It's alright. If it's fine with you, I'm just going to walk the rest of the way." Koko replied, making sure that she had her luggage before she jumped down from the carriage and started walking away. "Please be safe on your way back!"

"M'lady." The coachman tilted his hat in a makeshift bow before the carriage pulled out of the line, turning completely around as it headed back down the road. And while her sudden departure from the carriage may have turned a few heads from the first years, Koko didn't mind them as she started pulling her suitcase behind her while heading towards the large buildings in the distance. Each of them appeared to be four-stories tall with windows covering the outsides, and Koko guessed that these were most likely the academy's dorms before she finally got close enough to see the main institution.

Made of the same colored brick that Goldgate's castle was constructed from, the academy seemed more like a fortress rather than an educational facility as it had a tall outer wall with battlements and everything. The main facility, which would more appropriately be called a keep more than anything, seemed to have just as many windows dotting it's brick walls as the dorm rooms outside had, and it seemed imposing as Koko finally made her way through the walls by following the stream of other students. However, she now found herself in a large crowd as it appeared that they were all being made to wait by several people who stood on a stage as if there to greet the new students. And from the looks of them, they were most likely the instructors from the academy.

Smirking to herself as she saw all of the nobles clumped together at one side of the crowd, obviously displeased that they were being grouped together with the commoners, Koko let out a short laugh before an experienced looking knight climbed up onto the stage along with the other instructors. And while they greeted him normally, Koko guessed that he was the one in charge as he was far older than the rest and immediately walked up to the front of the stage once he's finished greeting the others.

"Shut up!" The man yelled abruptly, making Koko raise her eyebrow at him as she'd never heard of an opening ceremony that had opened with those words before. However, seeing as the chatter all around her had been rather loud, she forgave him for it.

"Before we start, I just want to remind all of you of a golden rule we have here at the academy." The man stated. "Adventurers risk their lives together all of the time, they fight together and depend on each other more-so than any other profession in the world because they are constantly battling monsters and bandits. They see more action on a daily basis than a royal knight would in their entire career, so I want to make one thing straight here and now! Be you noble or commoner, as soon as you entered the premises of this academy, you all became brothers and sisters of equal rank! Any discrimination or threats made using one's family name is absolutely forbidden, and should we catch you in violation of this rule, be you commoner or noble, we will expel you immediately! Am I understood?!"

Resisting the urge to suddenly shout 'Yes, Drill Sergeant!', Koko agreed in the same tone along with all of the others, all the while secretly grinning at the nobles that had separated themselves before as they huffed up and several of them simply left altogether. However, in the end, the majority of the nobles stayed, and the man up on stage nodded his head slowly at them before turning to face the entire crowd once more.

"Now that that's over with, my name is Conner Dougal, and I'm the headmaster here." The man finally explained. "To all of you that stayed, don't bother becoming accustomed to the facility as more than half of you will probably be dropping out within the first month. Battling monsters is not an easy job, and it is more dangerous and has a higher casualty rating then even Harven's infantry. As adventurers, you will be expected charge into impossible situations and return alive from the experience, so you can believe me when I tell you all that we will make you think that you've left Elnor and somehow ended up in hell instead to train you to be up to the task! The training will be harder than the military's, the punishments will be harder than the military's and your opponents will definitely be harder than the military's! So if you don't think that you can handle it, then you can leave now and nobody will blame you!"

Pausing for a moment, Koko watched with wide eyes as almost a quarter of the crowd suddenly turned around and walked back the way they had came. Most of the nobles did as well with only the most dedicated still standing in the small group. However, after everyone had left, there was still a good number of students remaining as they all waited for the headmaster to continue.

"Alright, now that we have the recruits with a bit of a spine in them, I want all of you to split up on go to the dorms to register yourselves. Girls dorms to the east and boys to the west. Once you register, you're free to take the rest of the day off to get settled in." Conner spoke, though he did it while smiling at them sinisterly. "Oh, and before I forget, welcome to the Adventurers Academy."