"We would like to make a proposal to you," Caspar continued.
"What is it?" Schmendrick interrupted.
"It's two assignments. First, we want you to be an advanced instructor. Specifically, you have shown expert proficiency with the twin daggers and we want you to teach to any Gifted who wishes to learn from you," Balthazar revealed. "You will receive points for each student you teach."
"Second, we want you to study the dune worm and figure out its weakness. Your Class is now Assassin and you possess the Killer Instinct skill, which will help you identify the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of any opponent that you face," Melchior continued.
"Our inability to deal with the dune worms is the only reason why we can't expand the Recovered Land into the Shar," Caspar added.
Schmendrick thought for a moment. "What if I decline your offer?"
"Then you will be sent back to the Recovered Land. You will arrive in the Northern District," Balthazar replied, "since your character level is too high for the Eastern District."
"I'm not a Gifted. Wouldn't they protest against my presence in Rezdi City?" the boy asked.
"We are the system. We have decided to give you an exemption to stay in Rezdi City," the balls answered in unison.
Schmendrick really wanted to explore Rezdi City and he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away! "Okay, I'll do it."
2.9 - Special Permission
With the Reborn's agreement in hand, the Three Wise Men began to lose interest in Schmendrick. Balthazar and Melchior rose back to the ceiling and stayed up there. The two balls reconnected to the system to resume their constant surveillance of the Reborn.
Caspar remained with Schmendrick for the moment. "Are there any questions before I open the portal?" the brown ball asked.
"Yes," the boy nodded. "Can you explain what the Undaunted skill does?" he asked.
The ball took a moment to consult with the database. "Undaunted is a mental discipline. It allows you to ignore taunts, lies, and other attempts to influence your mind. Your determination is ironclad and you will not be swayed from your purpose."
"That doesn't sound like a very useful skill," the teenager replied with a hint of disappointment.
The brown ball shook violently. "Every skill has its use," Caspar refuted. "There are Aether-fueled magics that could create small illusions and command others to do one's bidding. Undaunted will make you immune to those magical abilities."
"Ah!" Schmendrick understood at once. He was unaware that such magic existed in the Sanctum. He was glad that he spent 100 attribute points to double his Mental score to 200 points. He had no doubt it was because of his high Mental score which opened the way for him to receive the Undaunted skill. He began to appreciate the skill and he was satisfied with Caspar's explanation. "I'm ready."
Caspar hummed softly. Suddenly, a green portal appeared in the middle of the infirmary.
"Where will this take me?" the boy asked.
"The Intake Office in Rezdi City. Now go!" the Wise Man ordered. The ball had wasted too much time on this particular Reborn. It rose and rejoined the other two balls on the ceiling. Caspar resumed his surveillance next to the other two Wise Men.
Schmendrick was surprised by the ball's unexpected outburst. But he obeyed and quickly stepped through the portal. He found himself standing inside a red circle. The force field surrounding him dissipated with a flash of light. The boy looked around. He was inside an office similar to the one at the Recovered Land. In front of him was the computer terminal on the wall. On the other side of the room was a wooden desk with shelves and cabinets on the walls surrounding the desk.
A man sat behind it and he was staring directly at the boy. "Well? I hope you're not planning to stand there all day!" the man said in a sharp tone of voice.
The newcomer quickly approached the desk and sat in a chair. "My name is Schmendrick."
"I'm Tam," the elderly man with wrinkled skin and a short temper replied as he typed into the keyboard. A frown appeared on his face as Tam reviewed the newcomer's file. "This is highly unusual," he grimaced when he discovered that Schmendrick was a Powerless. The Intake Administrator clicked on the footnote at the bottom of the status screen and read it. "The Three Wise Men intervened and assigned you to be a Special Instructor at the Advanced Academy. They gave you special permission to reside in Rezdi City. Well, who am I to override the decision of the system?" Tam remarked as he glanced at the boy. "Very well. Your transfer to Rezdi City has been approved by me as a Special Case. I suggest that you don't disclose the fact that you're a Powerless unless you are specifically asked. Otherwise, the Gifted may harass you. Please exit the door to your right and speak with Seva for further instructions."
Schmendrick nodded. He rose from his seat and exited the office. He saw that he was standing in the lobby.
Seva turned out to be a lovely woman with a petite frame and long purple hair which settled at mid-chest. She had put her boots on the table and she was busy filing her nails.
The boy slowly walked across the room and approached her desk.
The secretary's purple colored eyes met his and said, "Please take a seat in front of my desk. I will be with you in a moment." Her words sounded professional despite her unprofessional conduct.
The newcomer obediently sat in a chair and waited patiently for the woman to finish filing her nails.
Two minutes later, Seva put her feet on the ground with a stomp. "Name," she asked in a bored tone of voice.
"Schmendrick."
Her brows rose when Seva pulled up his file. "We don't get many Powerless transferred to the city," she remarked. Seva tilted her head for a moment. "You're the first one I've processed in my two years here as the Secretary for this office. I believe my predecessor, Uhlanda, had one as well."
The secretary looked at the seated boy more closely. "You're surprisingly young for a cold-blooded killer. Talk about appearances being deceiving," she shook her head and smiled ruefully. The young woman turned her head away from the terminal and looked directly into Schmendrick's eyes. "How many Reborn have you killed?" she asked.
The boy's eyebrows rose at the rude question. He did not believe that Seva was entitled to this information as part of her official duties. However, he decided to humor her anyway because he wanted Seva to have a good impression of him. "One. The guy tried to have me killed in an accident. When that failed, he challenged me to a deathmatch," Schmendrick recalled.
"When did this happen?" the secretary had read the missions that the boy had completed. She couldn't understand how a deathmatch could have taken place in the context of these two starter quests.
"It occurred inside in the Eastern Control Tower. During my wind turbine maintenance quest. The turbine was turned on prematurely while I was still on it. The wind generated by the blades blew me off and I dropped into the water. I was fortunate that the hovercraft pilot was nearby and managed to pull me out of the water before I drowned. The commander of the tower investigated the incident. He found the culprit who had turned on the turbine; the operator then revealed he was coerced by someone else. The mastermind of this conspiracy issued the challenge to a deathmatch and he lost," Schmendrick explained.
Seva shook her head. She couldn't understand how a Reborn could throw his life away via something as barbaric as a deathmatch. She downloaded the map directly to Schmendrick's brain chip. "Okay, I just gave you a map of Rezdi City. Since it is now evening, you should go to the dormitory and get a room there. It will cost you 100 shekels per week. Do you need a loan for the room fee?"
Schmendrick smiled at her. He was carrying 3,800 shekels in his pouches. "No, I have enough to cover the fee," he replied modestly.
"Good," she nodded. "I will arrange for someone from the Advanced Academy to come get you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, you should grab some chow and a shower." She wrinkled her nose at the boy's foul body odor. Seva entered a command and a green portal appeared next to him.
Schmendrick
blushed with embarrassment. He hadn't bathed since the first day of arrival in this world. In other words, three days ago. "Thank you, Seva." He nodded and got off his chair. He stepped through the portal.
The lovely woman offered a friendly wave goodbye and stared until he was gone from the lobby. Seva had never met an Assassin before. With his good looks and a friendly demeanor, the secretary was very surprised by Schmendrick's Class. But there was no doubt about it. The boy was dangerous. During his recollection of the incident at the tower, his eyes had retained a coldness that Seva had known far too well from her past life.
* * *
Schmendrick found himself standing in a hallway filled with doors. It reminded him of the dormitory back at the Noob Academy. Suddenly, a white ball appeared before him.
"Greetings. I am the Dorm Mother. Please state your name," a metallic voice said.
"Schmendrick."
The ball flashed as it connected to the database and retrieved the new arrival's file. "Permission to reside in this dormitory is granted. Please turn around and insert 100 shekels into the coin slot on the wall behind you. This is the required fee for a week's room and board."
The teenager turned and saw a slot on the wall. He opened a pouch and slowly inserted the ceramic coins, one at a time. Above the slot on the wall, there was a coin counter in red which counted the shekels for him. Once he put in the last coin, "100" flashed several times and then the coin counter returned to "000."
"Thank you for your payment," the metallic voice said. "A room has been assigned to you; the door will turn green when you stand in front of it. The communal restroom is at the end of the hallway. To your immediate right is the way to the mess hall. If you need anything, please ask for me. Enjoy your stay, Schmendrick." The white ball disappeared.
Schmendrick decided to take a quick shower and then eat dinner. The communal bath consisted of a few toilets and shower heads, each partitioned for personal privacy. When the teenager removed his clothes and stepped into the stall, he noticed there were a few buttons on the wall. A blue button was labeled, "Water". Next to it were two more buttons: "+" and "-". A green button below the blue one was labeled, "Air". With another "+" and "-". He pressed the blue button and water began to drip out from the shower head. Schmendrick adjusted the water temperature until it was steaming hot. To his surprise, there was no time limit for him to use the shower. Thus, he took his time enjoying the warm water running through his skin. The shower lasted a good 15 minutes. Then he pressed the green button to dry himself off. Once he was dried and dressed, Schmendrick returned to the hallway and jogged through it to the mess hall. The shower had reinvigorated his body and made him feel like a different person.
When Schmendrick stepped inside the cafeteria, the teenager was surprised to find the place empty. Where was everyone? The place had tables in the middle of the room and panels on the wall displaying various types of food. The set up was identical to the one at The Noob Academy. He chose a cheeseburger with fries from a panel. Next, he selected a lime flavored soda from the vending machine to the left of the panels. Schmendrick ate slowly. He wondered why he was the only Reborn sitting in the mess hall. Did the system decide to segregate him from the Gifted on purpose? Because he was a Powerless?
Schmendrick was tempted to call for the Dorm Mother and ask. Ultimately, he decided against doing so. He was cautious by nature and his gut instincts were telling him not to trust the balls which were part of the system. While the balls served the system, they didn't necessarily care about his personal well-being.
When the teenager finished his meal some fifteen minutes later, he deposited the tray into the trash receptacle on the wall. He returned to the hallway and walked slowly until one of the doors turned green. There were ten doors on each side. The door in the middle was his assigned room. When he opened the door, Schmendrick was not surprised to discover that it was empty. It only confirmed his suspicion that he had been segregated from the other Reborn because he was a Powerless.
Schmendrick chose a bottom bunk bed and slept on it. It had been another long, exhausting, eventful but dangerous day. He only hoped that his assignment as an instructor will be boring. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
2.10 - A Dirty Secret
The boy stared at his chest in the mirror. His torso was marred with old scars from cuts and stab wounds inflicted by his grandpa. The man was simply too intense during his training. It was a miracle the boy hadn't died from a mishap by now! The boy applied some disinfectant on his latest wound and involuntarily sucked his teeth at the pain. He cleaned up the blood with some moist paper towels and finally applied a large bandage to the wound.
"Am I doing the right thing?" he asked his mirror image rhetorically.
* * *
The lights turned on by themselves. Not just the ones on the ceiling but on the wall, too, shining right into the teenager's face. The intense light finally forced Schmendrick to awaken. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he opened them. Soon, he discovered that he was not alone.
Standing in the middle of his room was a young man with a familiar face: Malkus! "Are you planning to be late for your first lesson, Instructor?" Malkus asked with a grin.
Schmendrick immediately jumped out of his bed. However, he was hesitant to greet Malkus because he wasn't sure of his current relationship status with his former classmate. Malkus started out as a friend and evolved into some kind of frenemy.
While Malkus was bigger and stronger, he was willing to follow Schmendrick's orders and accepted Schmendrick as his leader. But he felt betrayed by Schmendrick for purposely throwing their match in the class tournament at The Noob Academy. It had hurt his pride as a man and it caused him to resent Schmendrick. Additionally, there was a bit of jealousy over his rival's superior talents, which allowed Schmendrick to hog the spotlight and graduate from The Noob Academy on the first day. And not enough time had passed for that cocktail of emotions to dissipate from his heart. Thus, Malkus greeted Schmendrick with only a polite nod.
The owner of the dorm room turned around and started getting dressed. He had awakened in the middle of the night to trade his day clothes for pajamas which were on his bed. "I didn't expect to see you again," Schmendrick said to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Me neither," Malkus agreed. "I broke through Level 5 the next class. It was a simulated fight against monsters found in the Sanctum. The instructor had us fight with our daggers against low-level mobs. I received 1,000 points for the exercise and punched my ticket out of The Noob Academy the same day you left. Somehow, I got lucky and received a magic power from my Evaluation. I have some magical control over electricity. What power did you get?"
Schmendrick slowly turned around and looked Malkus in the eyes. "None," he answered honestly.
Malkus' eyes widened in disbelief. Questions flew out of his mouth like raindrops. "How did you get transferred to this city, then? How did you reach Level 10 so quickly? Why were you assigned to be an instructor at the Advanced Academy?"
The Powerless held up his hand. "I don't want to be late. We'll talk later. Okay?"
The larger teen immediately shut his mouth and grimaced. Something about Schmendrick made Malkus lose his self-control. "I'm sorry. You're right. Let's go!" He opened the door and waited for the owner of the room to step through. Then Malkus exited the room and closed the door quietly. "Dorm Mother, please take us to The Advanced Academy," he requested politely.
A green portal appeared in front of the two and they quickly stepped through.
Schmendrick was surprised to find himself standing before a distinctive looking building. There were marble steps leading to an elevated platform where the school building was housed. The exterior of the school was decorated with columns, which had faces carved on them. The building was a three-story structure made of granite. Next to the building was a courtyard where students were already engaged in various morning exercises.
"Come this way," Malkus said and entered the
main entrance. The interior was a rotunda with a circular staircase leading to the upper floors. The guide ignored the staircase and instead walked straight into the middle corridor out of three corridors connected to the front lobby. The long corridor led to the administrative offices, including the Headmaster's Office.
Malkus stood in front of a gold-painted door and knocked loudly. "Headmaster, I brought you Schmendrick," he announced.
"Please come in," a gruff voice called out.
Malkus opened the door and entered a surprisingly small office. There was a small desk leaning against the right wall with a chair. A computer terminal was on the desk. At the center of the room was a beautiful looking elongated black table with seating for six.
"Please take a seat. I'll be with you shortly," said an old man dressed in a red robe with golden trimmings. He was seated at his desk and typing on his computer.
Malkus took a seat in the middle of the conference table and Schmendrick sat to his right.
Two minutes later, the headmaster joined them and sat directly across from his guests. "My name is Odiene and I'm Headmaster of the Advanced Academy. The Noob Academy is also under my supervision. I'm pleased to finally meet you, Schmendrick." The man with a large gray beard and shortly cropped gray hair said.
"The pleasure is mine," Schmendrick replied politely.
"We're still in the process of soliciting students to sign up for your class," Odiene admitted. "So we're not ready for you to teach Advanced Dagger Fighting just yet. However, since you are here, I'm asking Malkus to take you to the Simulation Room and attempt to defeat the dune worm."
"Sir!" Malkus protested upon hearing a mention of the dune worm, which had never been defeated during simulated fights with Gifted teams. "Are you sure this is wise?"
The headmaster's thick brows scrunched together. "Are you questioning me?"
"No, sir!" the teenager answered immediately with a deep bow as an apology.
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