Four Months Later:
Alger lay beneath the cozy warmth of his blanket, the distant chirping of birds filtering through the window. Morning light crept in gently… and then came the sound of the bell—soft at first, then clearer as it echoed from outside.
Alger slowly opened his eyes...
Damn it… I should've slept earlier.
Groaning, he sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. After a pause, he slowly stood up and dragged himself over to the table.
It looked nothing like it did four months ago.
Now it was buried under piles of books—history, geography, elemental theory, even politics. With a sigh, he began closing them one by one and stacked them into a neat tower on the edge of the desk.
He crossed the room and opened the cupboard—its wooden doors creaked slightly from age. Inside hung a mix of old clothes and a few new ones. He reached for the shearling leather jacket Ivy had gifted him for his seventeenth birthday and slipped it on.
Then, almost out of habit, he walked over to the bathroom—not to bathe, but to stand before the mirror and make sure he looked presentable.
He looked… different.
His hair had grown longer, more unruly, draping over his forehead in strands. His face was still familiar, but leaner... more mature, probably because he was tired. His emerald eyes remained the same—bright, piercing, almost unnaturally calm.
He was also slightly taller, now standing around the height of 175 centimeters, not as tall as he was back on Earth, but still tall enough.
Aside from the hair and the eyes, he sort of looked like his self from Earth... just barely.There was a trace of something else now—something colder, a little more grounded. And maybe—maybe—he even looked a little more handso—
No!Alger, you must not hope for useless things. Hope is the greatest poison...
Before leaving the room, he made sure he had money, his sword, and the keys. He opened the door and locked it right after.
He stood in front of Dawn's room and slightly knocked it.
"Dawn! Buddy, the sun's getting really high! We need to get going!"
Dawn had a little, just a little sleeping issue; he slept like an overworked middle-class worker, someone who hasn't had a decent sleep in 4 days.
The door in front of him slowly opened, and Dawn slowly walked out.
Dawn was wearing simple clothing... a loose trouser neatly tucked into his boots and a simple tunic with pads on his shoulders above.
Dawn was even taller now... around 193 centimeters, dwarfing Alger in height.
Dawn carried a sword—if that's what one could call it.
To Alger, the 'sword' was nothing more than an Iron slab. The 'sword' was a few centimeters taller than Alger in height. He had never seen Dawn wield the sword, and had no idea how it would even be possible.
Dawn was now a Terra Conjuror, and even Ivy was an Aqua Conjuror. Of course, they had only recently become Conjurors and still had a whole year left in their courses.
Unlike Alger, they both had taken only two courses. The fundamentals course for their respective Element and the Unknown Exploration course.
Today was supposed to be an exciting day for everyone in the Unknown Exploration course... and Dawn and Alger were heading straight towards the lecture hall.
"Ah, sorry I'm a little late, Alger.", said Dawn in a soft tone, still half-asleep.
"No worries, we still have time."
They slowly walked towards the staircase...
[Discountinued]