Roman walked up the stairs; the ground floor was empty; there was a room there, but Roman didnât bother checking as he walked up.
He passed the first floor and then arrived at the second; there was a large hallway with rooms on both sides, so he walked forward, looking at the door, which had the room number.
All the rooms he passed had the number 2, meaning the second floor, but different letters, so he walked forward till he reached the end of the hallway and finally saw the letter B; it was the second room after room 2A.
"That was... a lot of rooms, and this is just the second floor" he muttered.
"Rooms on both sides of the hallway"
"I counted eighteen rooms on each side, thatâs thirty-six... ohh, thereâs one room close to the stairs so thatâs thirty-seven rooms"
"And with two people per room... thatâs about 74 students just on this floor, but the dorm isnât built with this batch of students in mind so it might not be enough or it might be too much"
Roman used the key he was given to open the door and then he walked in.
The room was modest, with two beds on opposite sides of the room, two tables and chairs close to each of the beds, and a wardrobe carved into the wall, with small wooden doors.
Roman moved towards the bed on the right, and first, he opened the wardrobe, it had enough space for his bag, so he simply dropped it inside along with his uniform and then sat on the bed.
Since he was the first here, he was the one to choose, and he chose the right and lay down.
âI wonder who my roommate would be, but it really doesnât matter as long as it isnât the princess or that Firefrost girl, everyone else is fair game, Iâll take my time with my roommateâ
âSince Iâll only get one roommate, Iâll have to find someone else I can have sex with regularly to reset, or else, after having sex with my roommate once, I wonât be able to againâ
âI hope Reina is on the second floor, that way I can get her to come to my room without any issues or too many looks, but the rooms are too close and the people on the other side would definitely hear moaning soundsâ
âWell, Iâll think about that later, after seeing my roommate, Iâll visit the library and take a look at spell books, also time is moving so fast, Iâm fucking hungryâ
The door to the room opened, and Roman turned towards the door with a smile as the figure stepped inside. At the same time, both of them sighed.
âWhy the hell does it have to be her, isnât this too cliche, the only girl in the academy not taken by me apartment from the princess, becomes my roommate, Iâm such this isnât predestined by the goddess but what the heckâ
"Are you my roommate?" Ava asked.
"Iâm supposed to be asking you that since I was here first; why the hell are the two of us even together? Weâre both S-rank," Roman spoke.
"How should I know, you are just an S-rank for the show; your powers canât compare to a female S-rank, even that commoner is stronger than you," She spoke.
"That commonerâs name is Reina, and Iâm pretty sure you would want me to be strong cause thatâs the only way your life wouldnât be ruined by me," Roman spoke.
"You want to be strong, thatâs why you came to the academy; once training starts, youâre going to drop out. Do you think being strong is just by saying you want to be strong?" Ava spoke as she walked towards Roman.
Roman had no idea what was happening, but he felt the room getting heavy like something was pushing him down, till Ava stood in front of him.
Roman couldnât stand, she was right in front of him, but he couldnât move; if it was an illusion or fear created by an illusion, then his ability would cancel it, but this was just Mana; she was simply showcasing her Aura, and Roman couldnât stand.
"Youâre probably the weakest person here, I know of C-ranks that would be at you without breaking a sweat"
"Sure, for now that is...I might be a weakling, but Iâll promise you one thing: Iâm going to win the Queenâs tournament," Roman spoke.
"You do know everyone is participating in the tournament, including me...so you even know the reward for winning?" Ava asked.
"I donât, but I know my reward for winning"
"The official reward for winning the tournament is anything: if the tournament is won by a noble family, the winner gets to ask anything from the Queen; if the tournament is won by a commoner, the winner gets to be adopted into a noble family and given their name" She explained.
"So if I win the tournament, Iâll be asking to join a noble family; what if I join your family?" Roman said.
"Why would you join my family, and besides, how the hell are you going to win? You canât even stand up right now, and Iâm not even using a fraction of my powers, and youâre just going to start learning about magic," Ava spoke.
"Maybe, you can accelerate the progress by teaching me some stuff"
"In your dreams," Ava spoke as she finally walked towards her bed and placed the bag she was carrying on the table. The room returned to normal, and Roman let out a sigh of relief.
âWell Iâm fucked, how the hell am I going to win against another S-rank that has been training all her life, my first goal would be increasing my Mana, Iâll head to the dining hall first and then the library to see what spell books are thereâ
Roman stood up from his bed and walked towards the door.
.
.
.
He stepped out of the room, closed the door behind him, and sighed again.
His heart was still beating fast from that pressure Ava gave off. He knew she wasnât going to do anythingâ but her Aura had completely shut his body down. She didnât even lift a finger.
"Crazy..." he muttered. "If this is how powerful she is, imagine how strong sheâll get after finishing the academy, she going to be a monster"
He walked down the hallway, passing other students who were settling into their rooms. Some doors were still open. He glanced inside a few â all the rooms looked the same as his. Two beds, two desks, and a wardrobe. Nothing special.
As he made his way downstairs, his stomach growled loudly; the last time he ate was morning, and it was already evening.
He walked down and exited the dorm into the open space of the academy grounds, since he already knew where the dining hall was, he headed there without hesitation.
Roman arrived at the dining hall, and the moment he stepped inside, the smell of hot food hit him like a punch in the face.
Chairs were placed neatly around small tables, four chairs each, but the place was completely empty. Not a single student was eating, just two women behind the counter chatting quietly.
As Roman walked toward the counter, one of the younger chefs glanced upâand froze.
Her mouth dropped open. "Wh-what..."
The older chef turned to her. "Whatâs wrong with you? Whyâre youâ" Then she saw Roman too, and her eyes widened like plates.
Roman finally stopped in front of them.
"Hi..." he said.
"H-hi... how are y-you?" the older chef asked, her voice shaky.
The younger one blurted out, "Youâre a maâhow... how are you today?"
Roman raised a brow but smiled. "Iâm fine. I was just wondering if itâs time to eat. I donât know the schedule yet."
"Oh! Uhây-yes, meals are ready all day," the older chef said, still staring. "Y-you just come in and, uh... w-what would you like to eat?"
"Do I get to pick?" Roman asked.
"N-no, no picking," she said quickly. "Grab a tray over there, and Iâll serve you."
Roman nodded, took a tray, and brought it to the counter. The older chef placed a full plateârice, grilled meat, veggiesâand added a small bowl of soup. It looked like too much food for a student, but Roman didnât complain.
"Thanks," he said and walked away to find a seat.
Behind him, the two women whispered, still in shock.
"Thatâs a male... H-how is a male here?"
"H-how should I know?" the younger chef whispered back. "M-maybe heâs just a visitor? B-but waitâwait, I heard the S-rank male had white hair... isnât that him?"
"S-shh! Do you know how many people have white hair? T-that canât be him... why would an S-rank male be here as a student?!"
"How many males have you seen with white hair?" The younger one asked.
"I havenât, but how can you explain him being a student, and we just serve him meat meant for instructors"
"We...you meant you!"