Amos was lying down, sleeping on his bed, the day had already risen, someone knocked on the door,which woke up Amos, who didn't seem to want to get up, covering his face with his pillow.
"Let me sleep."
The door opened abruptly, it was Leah, she headed toward Amos and removed the pillow from his face.
"Wake up, everyone's already getting ready."
Amos sat up on his bed, Leah was standing there, arms crossed, staring at him, he could tell from her face she wasn't joking. Amos sighed.
"You win."
Leah smiled upon hearing those words, then walked toward the door.
"Good, we'll be waiting for you downstairs, and the academy uniform should be in your closet."
Amos smirked seeing Leah acting so responsible, especially considering she was just a 14 year old girl.
"Seems like the princess title is already getting to your head," Amos said, a bit sarcastically.
Leah continued walking toward the door, forcing an elegant walk and flipping her hair dramatically.
"Bet you didn't expect that, huh?"
Amos let out a small laugh watching Leah leave the room, then got up to close the door behind her.
"Alright, let's see this uniform."
Amos headed to his closet, but before opening it, he recalled a nightmare he often had — one where he was inside a closet, a knife in hand, footsteps getting closer.The memory made Amos grit his teeth, his eyes wide with horror. He hated that dream, a memory from his childhood that still haunted him.
"I have to stay focused and avoid thinking about it..."
Amos slowly straightened himself, regaining his composure. He then opened the closet, less shaken this time.Inside, he saw several outfits his size, but one stood out. Amos grabbed it immediately.
"This must be the uniform."
Amos slipped into the uniform, then moved to a mirror to take a look. He turned around to see both the front and back.It was a dark blue jacket with golden edges and matching trousers. It fit Amos perfectly.
"Looks a lot like the ones back on Earth. That's nice."
Fully dressed, Amos made his way toward the castle's front door.Opening it, he found everyone already waiting outside, all dressed in their uniforms, standing beside a vehicle unique to Artasel.
"Looks like I kept you waiting."
The others sighed. Anna got everyone's attention.
"Alright, come on, let's get in this..."
Anna stared at the vehicle, unsure if it was a car or not.An elderly man approached them, dressed properly, and finished Anna's sentence.
"It's a car. We call it the same as in your world, even if it's more advanced."
Everyone turned to him, curiosity written all over their faces.The man bowed, greeting the heirs.
"Pleasure to meet you, heirs. I'm Carl, user of Grace, and the royal family's driver"
Yoan approached him, extending a hand to shake.
"Nice to meet you, Carl. No need to act so formal with us."
Carl shook Yoan's hand in return, looking genuinely grateful.
"Thank you, Mesir Yoan."
Carl moved toward the car and opened the back door, inviting them in.Anna was the first to step in, but before she did, she stopped near Carl, giving him a friendly wink, her tone equally friendly.
"Nice to meet another Grace user."
Carl smiled back before she entered.
"Likewise, Lady Anna."
Yoan followed, then Leah and Amos. Before getting in, Amos teased Leah, his tone playful.
"Hope you went pee before getting in, princess."
Leah, embarrassed, grabbed Amos by the hair and yanked him into the car.
"I'm still a princess, mind your language in public, idiot."
Amos let himself be dragged in without resistance, a look of submission and pain on his face.
"Ouch, alright, alright, I get it!"
After Amos and Leah got in, Lucas was the last to enter.Before he could, Carl tried making conversation, his tone friendly.
"They seem to get along well, don't you think, Mesir Lucas?"
Lucas shot him a look full of disgust, looking down on him as he stepped in.
"Don't talk to me, servant. Know your place."
Carl said nothing, his face unaffected, but he clenches a bit his fist, disapointed by Lucas words. As he closed the door behind Lucas and moved to the driver's seat.He started the car.
On the way, Artasel's landscape was nothing like Earth's.Amos, looking out the window, got lost in his thoughts.
"Artasel is so far ahead of us, yet they still have a monarchy system and medieval-like traditions and expressions,plus the psychic energy that serves both as an energy source and weapon."
Anna and Leah were chatting, Lucas sat silently, lost in thought too.Yoan, noticing Amos so deep in thought, turned to him and spoke.
"Amos, what's occupying your mind so much?"
Amos snapped back to reality, turning his gaze to Yoan, replying
"Oh, I was just thinking how fascinating it is that Artasel mixes medieval vibes with a futuristic feel."
Yoan let out a knowing sigh at Amos' reflection.
"You're right. Yesterday, I passed by the palace library and learned a few things about this world.Psychic energy, for example, is basically their electricity, but without pollution.But to exploit it and power anything non-living, they use something called an energy stone — kinda like what Naltron mentioned when he talked about turning Leah into a hybrid with the life stone.These stones can store and release energy, just like a human core, they have limited capacity.The more they can store, the more expensive they are.That's all I had time to learn from the books."
Amos listened carefully to Yoan, then nodded at the end.
"That explains why Artasel is so ridiculously advanced compared to Earth.This world's really something."
"Yeah, I agree. You should try reading some books about this world, might answer a lot of your questions."
Amos nodded again.
"Yeah, for sure."
They eventually arrived at the academy.One by one, they all got out, each one amazed by the gigantic Glory Academy of Artasel.
Yoan, usually so calm, was also visibly impressed.
"I have to admit, our Earth academy looks like a joke compared to this."
The Glory Academy was massive, its design futuristic, fitting Artasel perfectly.There were tons of students heading towards the school.
Standing next to Leah, Amos thought out loud.
"There's way too many students, even for an academy this big."
Leah, hearing his comment, responded calmly.
"It's because it's the first day.Artasel's education system is different from ours.Instead of starting school at 3 or 4 years old, they wait until the core matures.So almost all Artasel teens start at Glory Academy to learn."
Amos listened to Leah, a bit surprised she knew so much.
"What spell made you learn so much about this world?"
Leah sighed.
"My parents gave me a whole crash course on Artasel after I... came to your room."
Leah blushed slightly, remembering what had almost happened.Amos quickly remembered too, coughing awkwardly to change the subject, clearly embarrassed.
"Hey, look, the others are going in. We should follow them."
Indeed, the others had already entered the courtyard.Leah, wanting to drop the subject too, followed them, Amos right behind her, his mind in chaos, cheeks slightly red.
"I wonder what she was going to do yesterday, moving toward me...What would've happened if her parents hadn't barged in?What am I even thinking, I should stop, I'm probably just imagining things."
Amos, a bit distracted, accidentally bumped into another student's shoulder.
"Hey, watch it!"
Amos turned around to apologize.
"Sorry."
It was a rich-looking brat, arrogance dripping off him, surrounded by his cronies.
"You think a commoner like you can get away with a simple apology?"
Amos, not wanting to cause a scene, tried to reason with him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Can we just leave it at that?"
But the other student, wanting to show off, started yelling to attract attention.
"Did your peasant parents not teach you your place?"
Other students, curious, began to gather around them.The heirs also turned to watch the scene unfold.
Amos shot the other student a dark glare when he insulted his parents.The other boy flinched a little, but pride made him step closer, preparing to cast a spell.
"You don't scare me. I'll show you what someone gifted with the Strength can do."
Amos, hearing those words, decided to stay and see how he used the Strength.
"It's true, ever since the fight with Lucas, I haven't fought anyone who could use the strength."
Anna and Leah, watching the scene, showed visible worry and anticipation.
"We need to stop this," Leah said.
"Yeah, it's going to end badly," Anna added.
Lucas, confused, turned to Leah and Anna.
"What, you think Amos is going to lose to that guy?"
Leah and Anna sighed.
"Not at all, he's going to die if he fights Amos."
Lucas, disinterested, left.
"I'm out. I'm gonna go recruit myself some minions."
Yoan was suspicious of Lucas' behavior but let it go, turning his attention back to Amos.
The other student began enveloping himself with psychic energy, enhancing his body and boosting his physical abilities.Amos watched carefully, analyzing every move.
The student launched himself toward Amos at an incredible speed, fist ready to strike.
"I'll show you what a noble can do, you filthy mutt—"
But before the boy could reach him, Amos sidestepped, instantly appearing behind him using the Void to accelerate.
"Too slow."
The student, thrown off balance, crashed to the ground.Amos approached him, his expression menacing and merciless, eyes black and empty.
"I need to end this quickly to avoid blacking out again."
The boy froze in fear, feeling the oppressive air around him as Amos got closer.But they were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Amos, not like this at this academy."
It was Headmistress Nike, looking as strict and imposing as ever.
End of the chapter 13