"Who're ya and what do ya want?" A voice asked a second after Damien's knuckles pulled back from the gate.

  Somewhat unnerved at the fact that he couldn't see nor sense the owner of the voice, since the gate had likely been runed to prevent outside intrusion, he answered.

  "Um... My name is Damien... Damien Elason, and is this a spear school?"

  There was silence for a short while after his question, and then the voice came back again, this time perplexed with a trace of annoyance.

  "Who the hell walks up to a place without knowing what they're looking for?"

  "Uhh... a stranger?" Damien answered, not at all surprised by the question. He'd react in the same way.

  "You see, I'm sort of new to this place. This world, to be precise," he continued. "And I was just stumbling my way through the city when I came across this building of yours. I saw the inscription on the gate and thought maybe I should inquire."

  Another moment of silence and then there was a loud clanging. A door he didn't know was there pulled back to reveal a large man—maybe seven feet tall —wearing heavy black armor. There was a huge hammer in his hand as he turned a suspicious gaze down on Damien, looking him up and down with wariness.

  "Ya any good with a spear?"

  As he was being studied, Damien studied the man in turn. His facial features pegged him as someone in their prime. Maybe late thirties or early forties?

  He had a trimmed beard and bushy eyebrows that almost covered his black eyes, with pupils that were larger than what a human should have. It wasn't surprising though, considering the cow nose that sat in the middle of his face, spewing out hot air as the man gazed down at Damien.

  His three-fingered hand shifted the hammer closer into view, a silent warning to Damien in case he tried anything untoward, which he wasn't planning on, by the way.

  "I know my way around a spear," Damien shrugged.

  In truth, his skills with the spear were average at best and terrible at worst. It wasn't that surprising, considering that he'd only gotten a few months of training from Elas before his untimely death, and since then Damien hadn't gotten much time to put into his skills. In place of skill, he'd simply relied on brute force to accomplish what he wanted.

  But now that he was here, on another world where it was getting really obvious that people were very fluent with their weapons, it was dawning on him to brush up on his skills and take it to the next level.

  Previously, he'd been planning on asking Vanis to recommend someone for him, but this was better. He always did want to attend class.

  With a slow nod, he stepped through the gate, cradling the little creature in his hands closer to his chest.

  The moment he stepped through, Damien paused. Back when he'd stepped out of the library till this moment, the weather had been noticeably warm, and then continued rising as the hours passed, slowly turning hot.

  But now, as he stepped through the gate, it was like he'd stepped into a different side of the planet, far from the City.

  The temperature dropped with alarming speed, so much so that he thought someone out there had put a thumb to some rune out there and switched the weather from hot to crazy cold.

  Watching as air blasted from his mouth, Damien turned to the guard, who'd been standing a few feet from him.

  "Why's this place so cold?" He asked, trying to keep the shiver from his body.

  As a Spirit lord, he could withstand a good deal of extreme temperature—a benefit that came with the tier. But this? This was something else.

  The guard smiled a little, widening his mouth to reveal two layers of perfectly straight teeth.

  "That's how it always is here. Ya just gonna have to deal with it."

  Damien's eyes widened, and this time he couldn't keep his teeth from chattering.

  "How is anyone supposed to train in this kind of environment? It feels like the world is trying to slow me down."

  Gently, despite the cold, Damien brought the little one into the inside of his coat. Surprisingly, it wasn't shivering at all, or even showing any signs of being affected by the weather.

  "Make sure ya don't act like this when ya get inside. Ya don't want to get thrown out before ya start, do ya?"

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  "Oh," was all Damien said, and then with a little bit of difficulty, he straightened.

  Having a good impression was paramount if he wanted to be accepted in this place—even though he hadn't decided yet if he'd attend—and Damien didn't want to be seen as weak for not being able to withstand a bit of cold.

  With a nod, the man gestured. "C'mon."

  Tamping down the shiver that threatened to crop up, he followed.

  The compound of the Spear Academy... Or whatever it was, was very spacious, with beautiful violet grass running from the gate down to the building a few hundred feet away.

  There was a fountain to his left, with water gushing out of the tip of a spear made from black marble.

  Damien followed as the man led him towards the wooden double doors of the house, pushing them both aside to reveal the interior of a lavish waiting room.

  As he walked inside, stepping onto the rich black wood with white trails, he felt the cold that had plagued him right from the gate loosen a little bit, giving way to a touch of warmth.

  The room was rectangular, with a high, vaulted ceiling braced by long, wooden columns of rich brown. The equally rich brown wooden walls were carved with reliefs depicting various battles won with the spear.

  There was one of a man standing over the corpse of a three-headed monster, each head impaled by a long spear, and another showed a woman standing against an army, alone with just a spear in her hand.

  Long wooden benches lined the walls, each pressed against the wooden walls like they'd been built into it.

  On his left was an open doorway leading into a different section of the house. It was shrouded in some kind of darkness that blocked out all his senses.

  Damien was led towards what seemed to be a receptionist table, thick and made from some kind of black wood, the same as the floor. Behind it sat a Beastkin woman who had dull green scales running from her cheeks and disappearing into the collar of her shirt.

  She was sitting on a high-backed leather chair, which looked very comfortable compared to the wooden benches lining the room.

  "Hiya, Syncra! I've got a newbie here wanting to join the academy."

  The woman, Syncra, looked up from what seemed to be a book on her table. Slowly, she closed it, and then shifted the clear glasses on her face and looked up, shifting her gaze from the guard towards Damien.

  "Hello," she said.

  "Good afternoon, ma'am," Damien greeted.

  "You want to join the academy... Do you have a recommendation?"

  "Uhhh," Damien blinked, looking towards the guard who'd led him for help, only to find the man halfway back to the entrance.

  Damien turned back to the woman. "Umm ... I don't. Is that going to be an issue?"

  She looked at him for a short while, eyes roving up and down his body. "No, it's not. Recommendations are one of the main criteria for recruitment, but it's not the only one."

  "Oh," Damien smiled, a breath of relief rushing out of him. "What do I have to do?"

  "You'll have to take a test, but unfortunately, the instructor who'll test you is not available at the moment, so I'll have to schedule you for another time."

  Damien blinked, not expecting that. "Okay..."

  "Good. May I have your name?"

  "Damien. Damien Elason."

  The woman nodded, jotting the name down on a piece of paper.

  "Return here on the day after tomorrow, master Rhude should be free by then."

  ***

  The hot sun bathed down Keilan's body as he strolled, turning his natural tanned skin a bright shade of gold.

  He smiled as he walked, enjoying the gentle breeze wafting around. His right hand stretched forth, grasping as if to grab hold of an invisible object, and he smiled wider when the gentle wind seemed to blow a little harder.

  Tiny whispers snuck into his ears, incomprehensible yet with a human tone. He knew that if he listened deeper, he'd understand a little of what the wind was whispering to him. But this wasn't the time or place to delve deeper into his elements and what came with it.

  Instead, he simply enjoyed the view. The golden sky, the beautiful environment, and the chaotic noise seemed to blend into a marvelous melody that sang to him like a heavenly choir.

  Slowly, he approached the giant tree that rose above many of the buildings in the area. This wasn't his first time visiting the area—the last time had been with his brother. Today, Keilan wasn't going for training or anything official, he wanted to see a friend.

  A few turns later, he found himself standing in front of a quaint little cafe situated at the edge of the huge tree.

  The tree was tall, with a huge, fat trunk that sprouted hundreds of branches, which in turn bore beautiful red leaves.

  The roots were sort of abnormal, rising out of the earth in loops to form chairs and tables that sat dozens of Spirit lords, most of whom were awaiting their turns to get into the Proto space situated about half a mile from the cafe.

  Instead of taking a seat on the naturally made chairs, Keilan made his way towards the cafe at the edge.

  The lower half of the building was made from bright ivory stone, a contrast to the onyx black stones that seemed to saturate the entire city. The upper half, on the other hand, was surrounded by a layer of clear, see-through glass, with parts opening up at small sections to let the air in.

  The inside wasn't much different from the outside. There were lots of people, enough to fill the room, and also the noise wasn't tamped down one bit.

  Behind the counter at the opposite end from where he was standing, a team of waiters stood, calling out orders for customers.

  Keilan sighted a young man among them, roughly his age, with brown hair and deep hazel eyes. He had handsome features that were highlighted even more when he smiled at something a lady standing before him had said.

  Keilan made his way forward, apologizing to the people he pushed past. He dodged a few carrying filled-up plates as he moved forward.

  Eventually, he reached his destination, smiling as the young man finally took notice of him.

  "Hey, Tym."

  Tym, an acquaintance whom Keilan had met during his previous visit to this cafe, blinked, a look of surprise on his face, and then he smiled wider.

  "Uh.. hi. Keilan, right?"

  "Mm hmm."

  "Umm, what brings you to this place?" He glanced at the twin purple pillars rising a distance away. "Are you here for another delve?"

  "No," Keilan shook his head. "Uhh... I'm actually here to see you."

  Tym eyes widened, and then a blush went up his cheeks. "You are?"

  At this point, the lady who'd been speaking with him earlier had already moved on, leaving behind a scathing look which she threw at Keilan. He didn't really mind.

  "I did promise to come see you, didn't i?"

  "You did?"

  Shaking his head, Keilan sighed in an exaggerated manner. "What's with you handsome men and being forgettable?"

  "Umm... I'm sorry."

  "Noo, don't be," Keilan waved it off. "So, what time do you get off work?"