Upon hearing this, emotions ranged across the spectrum: some were happy, others annoyed or even angered to differing degrees, but most were indifferent. All of them, regardless of mood, slowly walked towards the exit.
Among them, a certain boy, a bit younger than the rest, maybe 13 or 14, particularly caught the eye. His light blue, almost cyan, short, fluffy hair was hard to miss as he lingered for a second before following the others out.
Watching from the side, Noctis felt a bit bewildered as he observed the orderly exit. For a group of late teens, their calm and cooperative manner seemed abnormal to him, and he couldn't help but wonder why they behaved so well.
Not pondering this too much, Noctis waited in expectation for what was to come.
With the classroom now empty, Mr. Anderson began explaining how the classes worked and started sharing some tidbits of information.
To sum up an unnecessarily long explanation: with one word, it would be self-study. Calling this a school was, to say the least, a gross euphemism. Most of the basics were taught through books, as the arrival of new students was very inconsistent, to the point that some newly acquired Authority Wealders had to wait for more Authority Wealders to appear before they were enrolled in classes, to ease the logistical burden and simplify processes.
It was quite obvious that there was yet a stone-cold protocol to deal with Authority Wielders, which confused Noctis quite a bit, considering that Authority Wielders weren't rare as far as he was aware; they were the top brass of society, at least most of them were, as his father was more in the middle to lower class of citizens.
The church held them in high regard. The city was not the oldest, but it had some history. If he remembered right, it was created 500 years ago. That made it one of the younger cities, but 500 years was a long time, from the viewpoint of a short-lived human.
It should have been enough time to create an iron-clad process for new Authority holders, who arose regularly.
The high standing of these Individuals stemmed from their great strength as far as Noctis was concerned. Strength was valued everywhere, yet it had special significance here, as beyond the city walls, it was quite dangerous and almost unlivable for normal humans. This wasn't surprising, since the space realm wasn't humanity's homeland.
But Authority Wielders were definitely not rare. He might not run into them daily, or maybe he did, as far as Noctis was concerned. He didn't know how to identify them. Theoretically, he could have crossed paths with them without knowing.
Considering that around fifteen people were here at the moment and would be sent to serve after at most a year, that alone meant they couldn't be too few.
And still!!! There was no clear way to deal with them. This incompetence seemed downright... ridiculous.
Looking past the seemingly incompetent government, Noctis asked the question that had been burning in the back of his head since his talk with Darron and the reminder of Trisha.
"Excuse me, what exactly is the so-called "Call"?"
Noctis asked, brow furrowed, before adding on.
"Someone asked how strong mine was, but didn't bother to explain."
Hearing this, Anderson spoke in a slightly bitter tone.
"The Call is the burden with which each Wielder of Authority has to deal. It is the bane of our existence and at the same time keeps us human."
Hearing this, Noctis shuddered a bit. What could prompt such an ominous description, from a teacher nonetheless? Waiting for Anderson to continue, Noctis stayed quiet.
Riven seemed to have known about it a long time ago and didn't show much of a reaction.
Siana, on the other side, had overcome the pain and disgust of her wound and had fallen back into her emotionless state, wearing an unreadable mask.
"To understand the Call phenomenon, one first has to understand the origin of one's concept fragment or fragment of Authority, how they are called these days. It has never been entirely proven; however, the common theory is that a Concept fragment's origin is a higher being that embodies that concept or authority. And when the higher beings act, they leave behind such fragments of their body and authority.
Giving us humans the option to harness that power.
However, these fragments slowly try to return to their origin, and this is how we came to name the Call, as the gods call for their power to be restored.
For Authority holders, this Call is a constant threat and one of our biggest bains. The strength of the Call is dependent on how developed your fragment is and how close you are to the origin of your concept, physically."
Feeling discomfort creeping in. Noctis tried to hide it, but didn't truly succeed.
"Isn't the Call then... just a simple countdown to our deaths?"Anderson paused.
"In a way, yes. Sometimes, it's worse even than death. But there are ways to weaken it—like realm migration. That only works for fragments from primordial Concepts. Going in depth would take too long. Read the books I've sent you if you want to learn more about these topics."
Hearing this, Noctis was still uncertain how he should feel about this force; was he to run from it for the rest of his life? Yet he was also wondering about his fragment's origin, as he had such a weak feeling of being called to some place, to the point that he was doubting whether he was just diluting himself into believing that it was there, since he wasn't sure what to look for exactly, and how it would feel.
Continuing his explanation about the procedures.
"Besides studying through your books, you'll be going through, there will be three weekly classes in which you'll be examined in practical and theoretical exams. Depending on your results, you can leave as early as 1 month and as late as a year.
This will be followed by a few years of service to the city.
Oh, and if you practice your symbolism or abilities, do so on the training grounds. Any more questions?"
Noctis had gotten more questions than answers, yet to a certain extent, he did not want to know the answers, at least for now....
What was a worse outcome than death that Anderson was talking about?
What was his authority's name?
What was its origin?
And how was he supposed to find these out?
And most of all, he was going to be conscripted either way. Why had Darron even tried convincing him in the first place if he would be forced no matter what? What kind of bulshit is this!?
But from what Noctis had heard, from Darron and Trisha, he knew such information should never be revealed thoughtlessly, at least the first few questions that flew past his mind.
Staying silent, Anderson nodded approvingly and released them, and advised them to go rest in their rooms.
With the still painful wound, Noctis didn't plan on doing much and started heading towards his room.
Noticing a classmate with shifty eyes walking towards him, he didn't plan to engage in small talk, as he had already met his quota for social interactions for the day. Yet fate didn't give him a peaceful return as he spoke."Want to go meet with a few classmates?"Noctis stared, incredulity painted on his face. Does he not see how drained I am? Who has the energy for this after today? Is this guy insane?!
Putting on his most amiable expression, he tried to politely decline him, without being rude.
"Ohh sorry, my hand is quite hurt, and I'm really exhausted sooo..."
"Perfect, I was told that there was booze at the meeting, that should help."
At a total loss for words at how dense this guy was, or was he simply pretending, Noctis started frantically searching for an excuse to get out of these arrangements.
Yet before he even had time to say anything, the guys with shifty eyes started dragging him along.
Struggling powerlessly, Noctis gave up and resigned himself to this fate of his own.
***
Throwing himself into bed, feeling the exhaustion of the day slowly take over, Noctis thought back to what he had just gone through.
That shifty-eyed guy, called Felix Straight, brought Noctis into a room from another student. There were four people. At closer inspection, these were three students from our class, and the one he was most familiar with was Riven.
The other three were the younger-looking guy with cyan hair and green eyes, named Reaf Ekaf. A guy of shorter stature, a lean build, and dark circles around his eyes, giving of a vibe of uncertainty, clearly being a bit unwell.
The last guy was hard not to keep an eye on. He sat next to Reaf, large and muscular, with a bald head and a very uncommon bronze skin tone, normally a sign of status or wealth, but he didn't seem the type, with a rougher, more bestial vibe.
Trying to muster some strength, Noctis asked lazily.
"So am I now allowed to know why I was 'escorted' here?"
Laughing, the green-eyed Reaf came up to Noctis, put an arm around his shoulder, as he pulled him down a bit because of their height disparity, and asked in a charismatic tone.
"Does one need a reason to invite new classmates to a welcome party?"
Looking at Riven, Noctis was astonished that the guy still had the energy to hold up appearances, as he sat there with a straight face, showing little to no exhaustion.
Noctis was different from Riven. It was not that he didn't care about his social appearance, but he didn't care nearly enough to deprive himself of sleep. Mumbling under his breath, showing his dissatisfaction,
"If it takes away my time to rest."
Seemingly not having heard the comment, Reaf continued,
"We do this for all new commers, of course, you've had a pretty bad start with your finger becoming a snack for the Hollowtooth. So it's understandable if you plan on leaving early."
Hearing this, Noctis's eyes brightened up, and he planned on excusing himself immediately, yet before he could. The big-muscled guy started laughing, looking over. Noctis didn't know what to think.
"Oh, come on, it was only a finger, compared to the redhead, that was nothing."
Looking at him for a second with a little interest, Nocits asked.
"What could have been so much worse?"
Looking toward Noctis with an unreadable expression.
"That fiend dug his fangs into his hand and didn't want to let go, ha ha. He had to struggle for a full minute to free his hand. It was truly a bloody scene."
Supplied with such a graphic answer by the rough-looking guy called Brutus. Noctis looked at his hand, or to be more precise, the wound left behind on it. There, one could see a bright red new skin connecting the finger to the hand. The threads from before were gone. If one were able to see beneath the new layer of skin, small dissolving pieces of thread might be visible. At least that was what Noctis believed.
Taking his eyes off the wound, Noctis replied jokingly.
"But losing a finger has to be one of the worst cases."
Still planning on excusing himself, Rowan skillfully redirected and seated Noctis in a seat that stood next to the desk that every room designated for students had. The moment he sat down, he found it much more difficult to bring himself to stand up again, yet he had to do it at some point, and falling deeper into his honey trap wasn't going to help. Not giving Noctis a chance to speak, Rowan took out some cheap booze.
"Want some?"
Not particularly interested, Noctis shook his head. Is this Raef's room?
Why does a child have booze?
Attempting to make his leave once more, he was interrupted again. Taking out some cards, he asked.
"Want to play cards?"
Noctis eyes lit up for a split second before he calmed himself again. At this point, Noctis knew he was baiting him, yet he truly did enjoy cards. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. This guy's good. As far as Noctis could tell, Raef was the leader of the group, and he certainly had the social knowledge and skills to control the tune of how interactions would go, despite his young age.
And Noctis was almost certain that Raef, with his extensive social skills, would have noticed his reaction to the cards. What he certainly would use to his benefit at some point. What Noctis didn't understand was why he was so eager to keep him here.
Uncertain of his motives, Noctis wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. If his gambling experience had taught him one thing, it was to never play when you dont know what you have to lose.
Answering Noctis didn't give Rowan a chance to use what information he gained in the interaction.
"I'm very sorry, but I truly dont feel right. I'd be open for a game at a later date, but now isn't the time."
Tactfully declining, Noctis thought about Reaf's next move in advance, bent on getting out of here.
Expecting pushback, Noctis pre-planned his answers in advance, trying to overwhelm him and then maybe bring uncertainties like Riven into the equation. Yet to his surprise, Reaf simply let him go.
He stepped to the side and said, slightly regretfully,
"Too bad, well, I hope you'll get better, and we can repeat this sometime."
Looking towards his companions, Noctis read confusion in their expressions, yet before he could think further, he quickly made his way to the door and left, not looking back.
Thinking back, did that guy understand that pushing too much could lead to him losing more than he would gain?
And getting physical seemed a pointless move anyway. Riven might have jumped to my side after seeing that something was wrong, especially after they got violent for no apparent reason.
Well, theoretically, he already had one in the bag; getting another person would be the cherry on top. Sighing once more, Noctis let one last thought run through his mind before he finally let his eyelids fall.
That guy is scary.