"Lastly, I've been an employee here for many years, and I'm fairly knowledgeable of both the school and the city. You may ask me for directions or advice. My goal is to keep you safe and healthy during your stay in my residence hall until graduation. Now, I ask for your cooperation and show your student IDs. Move along!"
The students formed a line and displayed their identifications.
Dranrir nodded as she continued to memorize their names and faces.
Once Luka displayed his, he followed his hallmates up the stairs. The student noticed that his room, 501, was the only door on the entire floor!
Luka used his room key, which came with his admission package, to unlock the door. Luka discovered a spacious room with a big bed, a desk and chair, and a dresser when he looked inside.
He checked the other door and found a washroom with a bathtub. Luka was surprised because he expected to share the room with another student. Instead, he would live alone. Luka assumed this living arrangement was his reward for being a co-valedictorian of the incoming class.
Luka summoned Bel and Gripper. The two animals looked around the suite before hopping onto the bed to test its bounciness.
[Ah, this bed is nice and soft.] The rabbit complimented as he stretched his limbs in a spread-eagle manner to claim his turf.
Hoot! The gorilla copied his boss and dominated the right side of the bed.
Luka ignored their antics. He walked over to the window and opened it to allow fresh air into his new room. The new occupant spent some quiet time enjoying the view.
Chapter 54
Schoolyard Bullying
When the school bell rang, Luka broke his trance and departed. His companions quickly followed him out the door. As the group walked down the staircase (with the rabbit in the owner's arms), the animals drew curious stares.
Bel and Gripper puffed up their chest and enjoyed the attention.
When they reached the lobby, Drinara noticed the two animals, and she immediately blocked Luka's path. "How did you sneak those pets inside my building?" she interrogated him with an annoyed expression.
"I have magical storage. The rabbit is my familiar, Bel; the gorilla is my contract beast, and his name is Gripper. Are they disallowed in the residence hall?" he asked with worry.
The two animals joined the act and stared at the dorm mother with sad eyes.
Drinara's ears flopped as she staggered back from their emotional assault. "Argh!" She had a soft heart for rabbits since the supervisor viewed them as her ancestors. "As long as you guarantee their proper behavior, I will permit your companions to stay with you," Drinara answered.
The bystanders glared at Luka with resentment because they were jealous that he didn't need to share his dorm room with other students. The school assigned four students per room, and some kids began to fight over bed arrangements.
Luka noticed their hostile looks. He smiled politely and quickly walked out. Since lunch service starts in an hour, the new student decided to explore the campus. He planned to use teleportation magic to bypass the mercurial dorm mother and break the nine o'clock nightly curfew. Thus, the mage will place beacons at all the essential sites, such as the library.
Luka felt blessed that he didn't have roommates to spy on his comings and goings. Otherwise, they may seek to blackmail him for breaking curfew. Frankly, he didn't have a good impression of his classmates at the academy. Luka noticed that many of them enjoyed seeing people suffer. Thus, he planned to minimize contact with these students.
However, Luke wouldn't act cowardly and back away if they purposely create mischief for him. In that case, he might feel hardpressed to avoid using mind control magic in retaliation.
Bel sensed a weird vibe from his servant. [Are you planning to do something naughty?] The demon teased.
"Yes," Luka admitted. "I noticed some hostile looks at me, and I was considering how to protect myself discreetly."
[I pity the fool who messes with you!] The rabbit snorted. Bel knew how dangerous Luka could become if he turns evil.
Hoot! Gripper agreed as he pounded his chest.
"Thank you for your support," Luka replied with a wry smile. He soon arrived at his first destination -- the Morninglory Dungeon entrance. Luka saw an open pavilion with four marble columns stretching two stories tall and a tent-like roof on top. In the middle of this structure was a black, swirly portal. A mage and swordsman sat behind a table on each side of the gateway.
The new student approached the gazebo and bobbed his head. "How can I get permission to enter the dungeon?" Luka asked politely.
"Show me your student ID card," a mage demanded. Once he received it, the guard checked the back of this item and shook his head. The caster returned Luka's identification and said, "You lack special permission from the headmaster to enter as a solo adventurer. Therefore, you must follow standard school policy and enter with your class and under an instructor's accompaniment."
"I see," Luka nodded in understanding. "Thank you for telling me." He quickly moved away from the pavilion and continued exploring the campus.
Luka went to his next destination: the training grounds. He joined the crowd to observe a pair of male students sparring with wooden swords.
"HA!" One fighter grunted with each attack while his partner evaded with the grace of a ballroom dancer.
"Get him, Troy!" "Drop that chicken dance, Balthus!"
As if on cue, Balthus stumbled and lost his balance. He earned a whack on the shoulder for his miscue. The pain forced the student to drop his sword. "It's your win, Troy," the loser said with a smile.
"Nah, you were just unlucky and slipped," Troy replied with a grin. He slapped his partner on the back.
Luka thought both students were upperclassmen due to their refined and mature physiques.
The bettors in the crowd began to exchange money. When Troy joined his friends, some of them furtively passed him a handful of coins. The fighter glanced at Balthus and winked.
Luka quickly realized that the two engaged in a fixed match to earn dirty money. He shook his head in disappointment and began to leave the courtyard. However, a group of older teens blocked his path.
"Hey, freshman! This place ain't no zoo. We'll be confiscating those animals," someone said.
Luka eyed the speaker and replied calmly, "No, you won't." He saw a male student with a thick body that resembled an orc.
"Whoa! This kid has big balls or what? Rory, he's looking down on ya." The group burst into laughter.
"His gold stripe means nothing to us!"
Rory's ears turned red. "Someone needs to teach you to respect your elders." He cracked his knuckles and casually approached Luka. The bully aimed a meaty fist at the brat's face!
Suddenly, Bel intercepted the punch with his paw. He hopped forward, turned his back, and smushed his butt into Rory's face for a smelly headbutt!
The bully made a disgusted expression and spat out the hair in his mouth.
"Whoa, that rabbit is nasty!"
Bel puffed his chest while sitting on Luka's head.
Some bystanders laughed at Rory's miserable state.
"Serves you right!"
"Stupid jerk!"
"That's our incoming class valedictorian!"
Rory started wheezing and became out of breath from his anger. He glanced at his followers and said, "How dare you humiliate me! It looks like we have to teach this freshman how things go in this school! Get him, boys!"
The bullies rolled up their sleeves and charged at Luka, Bel, and Gripper!
Luka closed his eyes and activated his Spatial Sense. He instantly tracked the movements of all seven attackers. The defender calmly pulled his companions back into dimensional storage to face these bullies alone.
Luka feared that Bel would maim or kill a student and receive capital punishment in turn. After all, the familiar was a demon king in disguise, and Luka wasn't certain Bel could hold back his bloodlust.
Moreover, Luka desired to see the respo
nse of his classmates and the school. Would the freshmen bystanders join the brawl and defend him? Or did they fear the upperclassmen and pretend not to see this incident? A 7-versus-1 fight would give more credence to Luka's narrative of being a victim of bullying. He hoped this would raise sympathy from the headmaster and reduce his punishment for fighting in school.
Luka sidestepped the first punch -- from Rory -- and shoved him into the warpath of another student. Unfortunately, the follower couldn't stop in time and slammed into the instigator. Their bodies tangled and turned into a mess.
The other fighters tried to avoid their friends, but Luka took advantage by kicking the attackers. They fell backward and soon joined the growing pile of humans.
One freshman joined the melee and bodyslammed his opponent to the floor. Then the victor casually tossed the dazzled upperclassman as the topping of the human cake.
Luka looked at the newcomer's face and recognized him immediately. "Matty, you shouldn't have joined in," he said. "You might get expelled for fighting."
The monk looked up and down at his friend's body. Matty breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Luka wasn't injured. "I'm glad you're not hurt. I couldn't stay still when I saw that scumbag pull out a knife and tried to backstab you," he explained. Matty pointed at the weapon on the ground.
"I appreciate your help," Luka replied. He already knew what the person intended because Luka tracked his movement via Spatial Sense. The mage pretended to be unaware and planned to use Blink to avoid the backstab. Luka had intended to disarm the attacker and pursue a complaint with Tirli City's knights for attempted murder.
While Luka didn't mind an old-fashioned school brawl, everyone involved must follow an unwritten rule -- no weapons allowed. Unfortunately, Matty's intervention prevented Luka from pinning a criminal charge on that bastard.
Luka wondered if Matty became involved because he was following Pope Demetrius' order to serve as Luka's bodyguard. However, a loud noise interrupted his thoughts.
Clap-clap-clap-clap! "That was a marvelous fight!" a male voice praised.
The students turned around and immediately winced.
The newcomer was a barrel-chested man with black skin and a bald head; he wore small earrings embedded with gemstones. White tattoos covered his head, cheeks, neck, and upper torso.
"Hahaha! I love the energy and enthusiasm of young kids. I guess you can't wait to get started in my gym class. Hahaha!" the man laughed. "I'm Hansie Fortuin, your freshman year physical education instructor. Pleased to meetcha!" Hansie rubbed his bald head.
"Now, I'm not sure if I should be amazed at having new and talented freshmen or embarrassed for my former students who got their butts whupped. I mean, you lost seven-to-two! And you're two years older!" He sighed aloud.
Without warning, Hansie started dispersing the dogpile -- by kicking each layer! He saved his hardest kick for the kid who pulled out a knife; the perpetrator vomited blood! The gym teacher casually glanced at Luka and Matty and winked.
The two boys got the message: Hansie will internally handle this brawl. If they complained to the administration, Hansie would retaliate in class.
Luka inwardly groaned as he saw the bystanders escaping the courtyard like rabbits chased by a wolf. He realized that Hansie implicitly enforced an unwritten code of silence through fear and intimidation. The students familiar with this teacher's tactics did not wish to become involved.
"Do either of you carry a healing potion? This kid needs one," Hansie said while pointing his chin at the boy who pulled a knife.
The two traded glances before Luka spoke up. "I can heal him." The mage held out his hand. "Light Cure!"
The gym teacher grunted in satisfaction when the student's condition visibly improved. Hansie placed his hands on his hips and said, "Your punishment for losing today is to run fifty laps around this yard. Now, go!" He clapped his hands.
The students obeyed and charged with Rory in the lead.
The instructor asked, "What are your names?"
"I'm Luka Heavensfell."
"Matty."
"Since this is your first day of attendance, I'll be generous and tell you this: the training grounds is my domain, and I'm its feudal lord. Even though you're the incoming top-scorer who whupped a B-ranker's ass, you must obey me when you stand inside my turf. You got that, kid?" Hansie stared hard at Luka.
The student nodded politely. Luka remembered how Drinara acted inside her residence hall when someone broke one of her rules. He realized that the employees here were very territorial. "Should I run laps, too?" Luka asked politely.
"Why? Do you want to work up a sweat like them?" the teacher snorted. "Look, kid. Those knuckleheads tried to bully you and failed miserably. I'm reminding them of the consequences of their bad decision. But don't think too poorly of them. When they were freshmen, the upperclassmen also oppressed them; these kids wished to vent their frustration on newcomers."
"The biggest fist talks loudest in this courtyard. That's the tradition here. If you desire to build a school gang and gain followers, this is probably the best place on campus to gain everyone's respect. But it's up to you to make it happen."
"I'll think about it," Luka replied. He was surprised by Hansie's laissez-faire attitude toward poor student behavior. Luka bowed respectfully and left with Matty following behind him.
Chapter 55
Matty’s Persuasion
When Luka moved far enough from the schoolyard, he released Bel and Gripper from their dimensional storage.
The two animals stretched their bodies before Bel climbed onto the teenager's head. The rabbit gave Matty the evil eye and then ignored the follower. The gorilla offered a "Hoot" and turned away.
Matty chuckled at their antics but didn't feel offended at all. He realized that the two sought to clarify their pecking order amongst Luka's followers: Bel stood at the very top, and Gripper was the righthand man. Matty was below the two.
Frankly, the human didn't care about these matters because his church assignment was to safeguard Luka from harm. And despite Bel's tiny size, the rabbit easily defeated Rory by himself. Matty was similar to Rory in size, so theoretically, Bel could beat up Matty as well.
Matty's church training included healing with and without magic, creating medicine, and counseling worshippers. Although the Divine Church of Light had templars, Matty received minimal training with this martial force because he was underaged at the time. Instead, he learned physical fitness and barehanded brawling. The apprentice also learned to fight with a mace and shield while wearing chainmail armor. Finally, the church taught him enough light magic to push his proficiency to Level 5.
However, Matty never served as an escort for anyone. Thus, he was glad that Bel and Gripper accompanied Luka because they provided additional meat shields to protect the young lord from danger. But Matty worried that the three of them weren't enough to cover Luka from aristocrats and their large entourages. Therefore, Matty wished to persuade Luka to take up Hansie's suggestion to create a school gang.
Once the group moved far enough from the gym teacher and the punished students, Matty raised his concern subtly. "Luka, what do you think of Hansie's suggestion to form a group under your leadership?"
The other teen stopped walking and turned around. Luka waved his hand dismissively. "Not interested," he replied bluntly. "I'm too busy to play around as a gang leader," Luka explained with a frown. "Besides, do I look like a school bully to you?" he asked incredulously.
The escort raised his hands to placate Luka. "No, you misunderstood my meaning. The school administration seems to give wide latitude toward students and faculty. A natural consequence would be the formation of factions."
"Sooner or later, you will need to join a group. But Hansie believes that you qualify as a leader. That's why I think you should seriously consider starting a group," Matty explained patiently.
"The reason why aristocrats send their kids to Morninglory Royal Academy is to develop
important relationships with influential families. Heck, I heard that the king's daughter is attending as a third-year, and she has many followers. Since you are the heir of a duke's house, I'm sure many students are waiting to join under your banner."
"Also, you fought off a half-dozen upperclassmen in the schoolyard with many eyewitnesses to your incredible feat. Those kids will spread the news of this incident like wildfire. Some students will undoubtedly seek to knock you down to elevate their standing. The question is whether you'll be the hunter or the hunted."
Luka wasn't sure how to respond. Although his first instinct was to reject the notion of starting a group, he also recognized the importance of developing relationships with other students. Finally, he answered, "I'll think about it."
"Good," Matty replied with a nod. He followed along when the young lord began to walk. The escort noticed that Luka was heading toward the library. "Um, I don't think your pets can enter that building," he warned.
"Let's find out if that's true," Luka retorted.
Bel smirked while Gripper hooted. However, Matty's words proved prescient. Once they stepped inside the building, a librarian arose from her front desk and immediately accosted the trio.
"Young man, those animals are not allowed inside the library." She was a middle-aged woman with long auburn hair tied into a bun; the person wore a black jacket over a white blouse, red bowtie, black pants, and flat ballet shoes.
Luka nonchalantly sent his companions back into dimensional storage. "Is this okay now?" he asked politely.
The librarian said curtly, "Please make sure your pets stay inside their storage. If I learn that you disregard the rules and allow them to roam around, I will revoke your privilege to use this facility."
"I understand." The teenager bobbed his head and moved away; Luka started checking the bookshelves and examining the book titles.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 45
