Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol. 1- Novus Magus

[Revision/Edited] Episode 64: Hotsuku Dorm

-"The morning dawns on a new world"

*Yuzuki*

I stared at the wooden totem in my hands as Orion, Ayawamat, and I made our way to our dorm. Since I was finally a second-year, I was allowed to call upon a familiar. Using the paper they gave me, I was to open a portal into the spirit world. There I would meet my partner in magic. Although, not all found their familiar in the realm of spirits. Some students found theirs in our physical plane.

"Is that the familiar totem?" Orion asked. His eyes were like those of a child's as he took in the sight of the totem.

I hid it under my coat. "Yeah, but right now, it's just a cylinder of wood. I haven't searched for a familiar yet."

"How come?" Ayawamat asked. "Uh, not that I care."

I snickered. "I'm waiting for my fated familiar."

He laughed. "That's it? You expect it to drop out of the sky or something?"

I crossed my arms and grumbled. Of course he wouldn't understand.

Orion walked on ahead and summoned a silver wand. He transformed the wand into miniature needles. "It works just like Brother told me!"

"You mean your brother-in-law?" I questioned. "Or do you actually have a brother?"

He laughed as he walked on ahead. "Yeah, my in-law. My only biological sibling is my sister, Stella." He reverted his needles back into their wand form and turned around, flashing me a slight grin. "By the way, uh, thanks for being my tour guide."

I smiled. "No problem. It's kind of a boring day for us upperclassmen. Helping you will ease some of that boredom. Now, where do you want to go first? The library? The Magic Arena? Your dorm?"

His eyes lit up again and he jumped up and down like a child, much like Lei would do in such a situation. "Magic Arena? What's that?" Orion asked.

Once again I had managed to get Ayawamat's attention as he too turned over to look at me.

"Its name gives it away, well, kind of. It's not an actual building. It's not even a singular place. There are multiple where students can challenge each other to magic duels. One of the largest is in the plaza between the two dorms. You see, here, we have a ranking system. The more matches you win, the higher your rank within your grade, and the school as a whole."

"What's your rank?" Ayawamat asked, smirking.

I danced around lightly and lifted up three fingers. "I'm ranked third in my class. School-wise, I'm ranked tenth." A smile covered my face. "In fact, last year, I won the tournament that you just participated in."

Ayawamat scoffed as he continued to hike up the dirt trail. "So, you're the strongest of the second-years? Ha, hard to believe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. I sighed. "That said, I didn't make it to the finals this year." Ning and Ori did.

"Then that must mean that the top two second-years are among the ten in the entire school," Orion said. He chuckled similar to Lei whenever he got the chance to find a new mage to battle.

I glanced up at the sky. 'What is he doing now? Has he already seen his dorm?'

Side glancing at Orion and Ayawamat, I said, "Want to meet them? The top nine, I mean."

"Of course," Ayawamat said with a grin.

Orion's eyes glimmered like actual stars. "Yeah! Oh, but first, we should head to our dorm." He took out a piece of paper. "It says here that the dorm is called Hotsuku."