As they entered the area, a small man came up to them, giving Aika an annoyed look.
“What have I told you about coming here? You don’t have a mount, so shoo. Get lost,” he said, motioning for her to leave.
Roy saw Aika’s grin becoming very smug as she gestured behind her, to him and Ferry.
“I’m showing a new student around, and he has a Beast that he’d like to keep here.”
The man looked between her and Roy for a few moments, as if deciding whether this was some sort of ploy on her part, before slowly nodding.
“Very well. I’ll take her here. Just write down your name and room number on this form,” the man said, handing her a board with a sheet of paper pinned to it.
“I don’t actually…” Roy began, but Aika had already filled it out for him and handed it back.
“Don’t worry. I know which room you’ll be staying in.”
The man took the paper, nodded to Roy then walked over to Ferry.
“Can you ask her to go with him and not fight?” Roy quickly asked as Ferry’s muzzle began to bunch up.
“Oh. Good thing you asked me. A second more and she would have torn that man’s hand off,” Geon replied.
Roy blew a mental sigh of relief at having averted that disaster. He briefly considered yelling at the Dungeon core, but once again, stopped himself from doing so. After spending nearly two months with the core, he was starting to become used to him, but every once in a while, he would pull something like this, and it would severely test his restraint.
“You ready to see your room?” Aika asked as the man left, with Ferry in tow.
“How do I get her back when I need her?” he asked as the two of them left the pavilion and headed down a long, cobbled path.
To either side were rows of low houses, each one set with a number. Farther down, Roy could see the path open up into a courtyard, past which he could see another set of small buildings. He didn’t see any people, which struck him as odd. Not a single other student, teacher, or even maintenance crew, was to be seen.
“Just give him your name and room number,” Aika replied, seeing not at all disturbed by the lack of people there.
“If that’s all it takes, then what’s to stop someone from attempting to steal her?”
“Do you really think Ferry would react well if someone tried to take her?” Aika asked, giving him a sidelong look.
“I guess not,” he replied, now feeling much better about leaving her with the strange man.
“Where is everyone?”
“Oh, I guess it must seem a bit strange for the area to be so empty,” Aika said. “This is the living area, and students only spend time here when they’re either eating or sleeping. It’s kept separate from the training areas, since those need to be more heavily reinforced.”
“I figured the training areas would be separate, but shouldn’t someone be here? A cleaning crew, a student on break, perhaps a teacher out for a stroll?”
Aika gave him another one of those odd looks, to which he was quickly becoming accustomed.
“Everyone who is enrolled in this school is either training or patrolling our borders. Students are expected to keep the grounds in front of their houses clean and orderly, so there is no cleaning staff. And if any of the teachers decide to go for a walk, it wouldn’t be in the housing area. They would go take a walk in one of the school’s many gardens.”
Roy was honestly surprised to hear that. Back in the Shah clan, the younger children had trained daily, but the older teenagers and adults almost never bothered. They were too busy looking down on those beneath them, or just plain being lazy. Maybe that explained how Aika had managed to reach such heights at such a young age.
They continued past the courtyard and onto another row of houses, Aika pointing out various paths leading deeper into the school grounds. Finally, she came to a stop outside the last house on the block. The door was marked with the number 201 and looked as though it hadn’t been touched in years. Roy was already not looking forward to going inside, but then again, it couldn’t be any worse than the shack he’d been living in for most of his life.
“Well, this is it,” Aika said, reaching into her robes and producing a small iron key. “Just make sure not to lose this. They won’t be happy if you do.”
Roy nodded, accepting the key.
“Who exactly is in charge of this school? I know the Tonde clan owns it, and I’m guessing that the majority of the students are in your clan, but who runs it?”
Aika’s expression soured for a moment, and Roy had a feeling he knew.
“That lazy old sack of bones who brought you here, though I have no idea why the Masters don’t remove him from his position, with the amount of time he spends away. I’m guessing it probably has to do with the fact that he’s the only Grandmaster the clan currently has, but who’s to say?”
The fact that Irusaru was a Grandmaster, which Roy guessed was someone who had mastered nine techniques in both Essence and Qi, didn’t come as a surprise to him. After the display he’d put on by killing that giant Beast, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he was told the old man was the head of the clan.
“You’re probably hungry after that long trip,” Aika said, already turning to leave, “so if you want, I can have them send you something from the kitchens. Fair warning, though, it’ll probably be cold, as lunch was over a couple of hours ago, and they won’t serve dinner for a few yet.”
Roy nodded his thanks and waved goodbye as Aika ran off, her body seeming to shimmer in and out of view in the uncertain light that was a constant here in The Crater.
“Guess I should take a look inside and see what they gave me,” he said, sliding the key into the lock.
“Yes, and just as a reminder, you may want to start cultivating as soon as you do. You don’t exactly have any time to waste.”
Sighing, but knowing Geon was right, Roy pushed the door open. What he saw inside surprised him. It was a single room house, with a small door leading off to what he assumed was a bathroom. A small table sat against the far-right wall, with a small stack of cushions piled up near it. A sleeping mat lay against the wall on the opposite side of the room, and a small hearth sat near the back.
It wasn’t the most luxurious room, but it was definitely better than what he was used to. Roy walked in, for once, not needing to remove his shoes since he no longer wore any. He resolved to ask Irusaru about it the next time he saw him, as it was just strange enough to have him curious about it.
He threw the small leather bag with his belongings near the table, then grabbed one of the cushions and sat down in a cycling position. He could explore the house once he’d advanced again and had more time. For now, he had to cultivate and try to grow his core. He kept up his cycling, pulling in the surrounding Power Essence and purifying it. He could feel his core stretching with each passing minute but knew that he would need to pull in a lot more before he was pushing at the boundaries of 2nd Dan.
A knock came at his door, interrupting his cycling. Grumbling to himself, he went to answer and found a young woman standing there, bearing a covered tray.
“Aika sent word to the kitchens that you required a meal?” the woman more asked, than said.
Roy realized that he was frowning and quickly rearranged his face into a more friendly expression.
“Excuse my rudeness,” he said, bowing at the waist, “Thank you.”
The woman smiled and handed him the tray.
“I’m Tonde Airis. If you need anything, I’ll be happy to assist you.”
After thanking the woman, Roy closed and locked the door, and headed to place the tray on the table. He debated ignoring it and returning to cultivating, but his rumbling stomach decided him against that course of action.