Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Entry

I woke up the next day and made my way to class.

I opened the door and looked inside.

The classroom was composed of the teacher's stand facing ten long desks capable of having three students each. Since I was cutting it close, there weren't lots of places left, so I sat in the upper corner. When I sat, I realized that there was a holographic projector embedded in the desks for each student.

I then took the time to look at my classmate.

¨Holy shit¨

I murmured. The class consists of the top student of the first year.

I don't know the ranking that well after the top 5, but all of them were here, and I recognized at least five other people who are in the top 20. At that moment, the door opened to admit another student.

It was a short Korean girl with black hair in a bob-cut that covered half her face. She was slim with no form but seemed agile and quick. She had freckles and a baby face. She wasn't the most beautiful woman in the class, but she is above average.

She nervously looked around and then walked towards the seat next to me. I remarked that her uniform wasn't the same as the rest of the class.

Wait a minute...

I looked down at my uniform and saw that mine was the same as her. Instead of black, red, and golden, ours was gray, dark green, and black. That's when it clicks, they gave a different uniform to scholarship students, which is probably why she's coming to sit next to me.

¨Hi, I'm Vox Ross¨

I greeted her. She timidly responds

¨H...hi, m...my na...name is Lily P...Pira¨

¨Don't be so nervous, we are both scholarship students.¨

¨S...sorry.¨

¨Don't be. Anyway, do you know what's up with this class roster?¨

¨Y...yeah, each c...class has 27 st... students, and the r...roster is decided by the r...rank plus two s...scholarship students. It m... means that this c...class consists in r...rank 1 to 25 plus us. The next class has 26 to 50 and so on and so on.¨

¨So in short, they put us in the most advanced class of the first year¨

¨T...that's why I'm so n...nervous¨

¨Understandable. Anyway, let's stick together.¨

She put on a small smile and nodded.

The bell rang, and the teacher entered the classroom.

¨Good morning students, I will be your main teacher for the rest of the year. My name is Albert Vannez, and I am a researcher here, so I am not the one you need to ask combat-related questions.¨

He then started taking attendance.

¨Rank 1, Vincent Portem?¨

¨Present!¨

¨Rank 2, Richard Cromwell¨

¨Here.¨

¨Rank ......

.... Rank 25, Luke Lucky?¨

¨Present.¨

¨Perfect, it seems everyone is here¨

Wow, they don't even bother taking our attendance.

¨Since today is the first day, I'll keep it short and explain how the year is going to go. First, in the morning you will come here for theories classes, and then, in the afternoon, you'll go to your specialized class. For Magitech students you'll need to go to room ...eeeh... 34 of this building, and for combat students, you need to go to gym number 2. ¨

He took a pause and continued. He continued to explain things for almost two hours.

¨This school has a test every three months for a total of four. Each one of them is composed of two individual tests and one group test. Any question?¨

Nobody raises their hands.

¨Good. Since it's the first day, there is no class in the afternoon. Class dismissed!¨

He then took his document and left.

The students quickly started following his example. I turned towards Lily and asked.

¨It's almost noon, do you want to go to the cafeteria with me?¨

She nodded, and we started making our way out of the class, but we got stopped.

¨Well well well, if it isn't the scholarships students? Did you really think you could leave so easily on the first day?¨

It was a short, nerdy guy with google and the type of guy to get bullied by others. I think his name was Frederick Tori? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's ranked 23.

¨Eh, yes? The class is over, and the teacher is gone soo...¨

¨Hehehe, exactly, the teacher is gone.¨

¨Yeah, great talking with you¨

I take Lily's hand and walk past him. He shouts at us.

¨I never said you could leave! You commoner need to learn your place!¨

He quickly follows us, but I close the door on him, and he falls on his back. I use this time to get away. Lily ask me.

¨Is it really ok? Won't you get in trouble for that?¨

¨Don't worry, I looked into the school rule book, and as long as it isn't to the death, fighting is allowed. Also, if this guy comes looking for trouble, I'll ignore him or resit so much that he won't want to bully me. I don't really care what others think of me, but I won't let a bully have its way.¨

I release Lily's hand, and we make our way toward the cafeteria.

We take place in line behind an order screen. Since we have a scholarship, every food of category 3 or less is free for a maximum of 4 items. I do not know what category 3 means, but it can't be that bad. When it was finally my turn, I looked at the menu.

Category one is composed of drinks, category two is deserts, snacks, and just things that are not meals, and category three is basics meals. Category four is luxurious meals, and five is a full course meal made by pro-chefs.

The choice in category three we're actually very decent. I ordered a combo hamburger with fries and waited at the counter. After receiving my food, I took a seat with Lily and took a bite of my hamburger (which was delicious) when someone joined us. I looked at him and nearly choked.

¨Care if I join you?¨

It was Vincent, the rank 1. I quickly swallow and responded.

¨Shouldn't you be with other high-ranked?¨

¨They wanted me to, but I prefer sitting with people that don't eat whale for breakfast.¨

¨Do they really?¨

¨No, but they eat a lot of fancy stuff.¨

¨Yeah. Sure you can sit with us. I"m Vox Ross, and this is Lily Pira.¨

He sat down with us, and we talked while eating.

And just like that, a couple of months passed.

¨So, detective, what exactly happened to those people who disappeared?¨

¨Nobody knows, they all just disappeared from thin air¨

¨Do you think they are all dead?¨

¨Well, I can't say. Some of the known victims of this mysterious phenomenon are active heroes. The first victim we can retrace was even a young rising star that was predicted to become a top hero in 2035.¨

¨Ah, you're talking of Jonathan Mariati.¨

¨Yes....¨

I turned off the Tv and concentrated on my study. I had learned a lot in the last three months (suffered a lot too), but now, exams are coming up, so I'm putting all my free time into studying.

I had become good friends with Lily, and while I spent a lot of time with Vincent the first month, he quickly became closer to the top five through sparring, so we started spending less time together. We still talk together from time to time, and we aren't on bad terms, so I'm ok with the way things are.

I thought I wouldn't have to learn to fight since I was in magitech, but I was wrong. Each morning started with basic combat training. Apparently, that's because I'm in the high-rank class, other classes don't have combat class in the morning.

After two hours of study, I stopped and went to bed. Tomorrow was the first of the three tests, the group expedition.

We will be separated into groups of nines and enter a modified dungeon. The groups will be a mix of magitech and combat students, and the dungeon has challenges catered to both types of students so that everyone is graded fairly.

The next day.

I was currently sitting next to Lily on the navette towards the portal. We quickly exited the school grounds and made our way into the station where we took a portal to the foot of a mountain. The teacher gathered the student and said.

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¨Listen up everyone, the dungeon is up the mountain. Since dungeons obstruct portals, we will have to walk for about 15 min to reach it. Do not stray from the group, any lack of discipline will result in points deducted from the examination.¨

We all formed a semi-coherent line and started following the teacher.

I was talking with Vincent when we hit an intersection. I heard the teacher saying.

¨Err, I don't remember the path branching?¨

He looked at the sign and pointed left for us to see.

¨That way everyone!¨

While everybody followed him, I got closer to the signs.

<=== The path.

There wasn't anything indicating the other direction, so it was weird, but the teacher must know what he was doing, right?

I caught up with the group and wanted to go back next to Vincent, but Emma had taken my spot, so I went next to Lily instead.

After around 20 min of walking, the class started getting rowdy. Richard asks the teacher.

¨Wasnt it supposed to take only 15 min? Are you sure this is the right path?¨

The teacher responded, flustered.

¨Yes, we just walked slower than I expected.¨

He didn't look that sure of himself, but we had no choice other than follow.

After another ten minutes, I got attacked by a fly, and it made me look back. At first, I didn't see anything wrong, so I looked back in front.

In front of me were around 10 students and the teacher. I frown. I looked behind once again and said.

¨Um guys? Where are the others?¨

The rest of the class looked behind. Vincent said.

¨What do you mean?¨

¨Well, the majority of the class is gone, no?¨

He looked around.

¨You're right... Mister, what's happening? Did the test start already?¨

We all turned back to the teacher, who was sweating profusely.

¨I...I don't know. I don't know what's happening.¨

At those words, we panicked until Richard stepped up and said.

¨Calm down everyone, let's just go back on our steps.¨

We retraced our steps, but even after thirty minutes, we were still in the wood. I looked behind again, but there was nobody other than Lily. I turned back towards the front but then froze, causing Lily to bump into me.

¨W...why are you stopping?¨

¨T...they are all gone!¨

I was now all alone with Lily.

¨Grab my hand. Let's not leave each other side.¨

We started walking hand in hand. After five minutes, the world around us started to change. Night came and the star with it, but the more we walked, the further the night extended, and it then started coming down and engulfing us. After a while, it seemed that we were in a tunnel made of the night sky.

I squeezed Lily's hand, but after two seconds, the sensation of her hand in mine disappeared. I looked back, but I started falling backward. Soon, I was engulfed in darkness and seemed to fall for a long time until my back hit the ground.

I opened my eyes and saw the sun. I looked around me.

I was in the middle of a cereal field. I saw in the distance what looked like a castle, but I couldn't be sure. As I was regaining my footing, a screen popped up in front of me.

^WELCOME TO THE PATH^

We congratulate you on your entry of the past. You are currently on a beginner-level world named: Farotiaz.

You have received: Authority of the traveler.

you have gained access to the status

Would you like an introduction to the path?
^ ^

What? The path? Authority? What's happening?
I guess I should accept the introduction. How do I accept? Vocal command maybe?

¨Yes?¨

^Introduction to the path^

The path is a series of worlds with a multitude of quests and problems. To progress to the next world, you need to complete a certain amount of quests or one quest big enough to be deemed world-changing.

When progressing the path, you'll have access to amazing rewards and power for you to obtain and bring back home once you finish the path.
^ ^

Ok now, what the fuck is this. Did I get isekai'd? Seriously?

I rolled around in the fields for a bit before sitting up.

I guess I need to check that status thing.

^Status^

Name: Vox ross

TP: 1000

Physique: Slightly above average

Magic: Slightly above average

Brains: Above average

Luck: Slightly great

Talent: Average

Skill: 0

Authority of the traveler: Modify

Special traits: None
^ ^

That's pretty self-explanatory up until the skills. I tried to click on the authority.

^Authority of the traveler^

A unique authority that is given to every traveler on the path.

Modify: Can use TP (Travelers point) to modify existing things. The stronger and bigger the modification, the more points it cost. Modification of living being needs the subject to agree.

TP can be gained through quests, exchanges, and the sale of items in the TP shop.
^ ^

That seems interesting. I start with a 1000 point, can I modify myself?

I try to modify my physique.

^Physique: Slightly above average -> Great^

^Confirm? Yes/No^

I selected yes

^Not enough point^

^Changed to
Physique: Slightly above average -> Slightly good

Yes/No?
^ ^

Oooh, it works. It seems asking for a great physique is too much. I selected no.

Let's wait a bit before spending my point, I don't know how much a thousand is.

I stood up and sighed as I looked at the horizon.

¨Sigh... I guess I'll go towards that castle over there. I should also try to look for Lily. She must be there since we were together right until a few minutes ago... Sigh... Well, let's do this.¨

And with that, I started walking toward the structure in the distance.

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