Random fact: I wrote the last chapter in exactly 30 minutes, yes, I timed myself.
Robin POV
My alarm goes off on my phone causing me to wake up. I use Scarfy shut it off while I continue to lie in my bed motionless.
I had that dream again, the one I love and hate at the same time. But this time it was different. Unfortunately, like most dreams, I can't seem to remember everything, just a small light.
Thinking about it is pointless, I have more important things to worry about today, like my birthday.
As if on cue, Robert busts through my door.
Robert: "Happy birthday!" He yells pulling out a strange cylinder from his pocket and pulling a string that's attached to the bottom.
Suddenly a loud *POP* goes off and confetti covers my room. What a mess.
It's been a few months since we got back to I-317 and I've settled in long since then. It's an odd feeling, this place was starting to feel like home.
Not that I'd ever truly experience that feeling again. I can't replace what was once in my home, I accepted that fact after my parents had died.
But I suppose what I have now is a close second.
Robin: "How did you get into my house?" I ask as I look at him blankly.
Robert frowns.
Robert: "When I greet you happy birthday you should say thanks. Not all this 'How'd you enter my house' mumbo jumbo." He says seriously.
Robin: "Then thanks." I say flatly.
He begins to smile.
Robin: "Now how did you get into my house?" I ask again in the exact same way as the first time.
Robert just chuckles and shakes his head.
Robert: "Get dressed, we're celebrating your birthday." He grins as he leaves my room.
I sigh then get up and begin to get changed
Ever since I became Robin and met Robert he's always been adamantine about celebrating my birthday. Then again, it's not like I actually know my real birthday.
I became Robin but all my knowledge about him is from the game, and since he's just a side character, little details like his birthday were not made.
Then there was my past life's birthday. I stopped keeping track of time after Natalie had died so it's no surprise that I've forgotten my birthday. It was pointless to keep track anyways, who would celebrate it with me?
So I've told Robert a lie, I said to him my birthday is on the same day as the female protagonist's. That way I have a yearly reminder of how much time I still have until the story begins.
And time is running out. Am I prepared? Have I strengthened myself enough? Will everyone stick to their script? Will all characters from both storylines be there? What about all the other side characters and mobs?
These thoughts cloud my head yet here I am getting ready to celebrate my birthday. Am I beginning to falter from my goal?
Knocking from my door snaps me out of my thoughts.
Robert: "Hurry up kid! We don't have all day." He shouts through my door.
I silently agree with him. I need to utilize all the time I have to prepare. So I'll be using Robert to inform me about the school and entrance exam.
I finish getting changed and as I'm about to leave my room, I walk by my full length mirror.
There was once a frail 5'1 blank faced boy wearing a teal scarf staring at me through here. Now four years later that boy was no longer frail and had finally broken through the 6 ft ceiling. Yet the face stayed the same.
Although I remember Robert telling me otherwise.
Robert: "Let's go kid!" He shouts again.
I look away from the mirror, I had to focus on using my time wisely. But maybe I can sneak in a little bit of fun.
Time skip brought to you by a silver haired girl observing Robin with a mischievous grin
This is it, I'm finally on my way to A-137 on an airship after a little more than a week since my birthday. According to the game with a few minor tweaks from me, the female protagonist should have already entered the lost age ruin and claimed her sword.
And she also should have encountered Alex Grant, a teacher at Omnis Magica Academy. Following that, she should have secured a position as a honour student at the school.
Perhaps she's already on the island, or maybe she never even entered the cave. A thought that fills me with unease, what's a story without a protagonist?
I take a deep breath and think about things that calm me down.
During my birthday Robert informed me when the entrance exam would be, he even gave me the ticket I used to board this ship.
My birthday, it was enjoyable. Each year Robert reminds me of what they're supposed to be like. A day filled with entertainment and cake, not painful memories that nudge me off the edge.
Even as I was going through the training camp, Robert sent me a letter on my birthday that was filled with surprise, literally. He had bought a special card that did the same thing as the strange cylinder from the morning of my birthday.
I opened it and got surprised by the *Pop* then got covered in bits of paper. Yet that small event made my day. A simple happy birthday from Robert made me happy, but even that wasn't enough to make me smile. I wonder why.
Now that I think of it, why is Robert always so nice to me? Maybe it's because we've always been seeing each other these past four years, aside from my knight training experience.
It's strange, sometimes I forget that I'm living in a galge/Otome game and that Robert never existed in the game. Everything, aside from the places in the game shouldn't exist.
And here I am, living in this world and all its unknown variables. Everything I've done has affected these variables. The people I've met, the places I've been, the things I've done, it all risks the story.
Yet I don't feel regret.
Though, quite possibly that feeling can change once I finally meet the consequences of my actions. But for now, I'm strangely content.
But I must think about the futures, I need to set my priorities straight.
Priority number one should be keeping my head down. I'm just a side character, I must not interact with the main story.
In the slight off chance that the female leads and protagonist remember me, I need to avoid them at all costs. They are in direct line with the story, if I interact with them then the story might derail.
If I am to lay low, I also need to be perfectly average. So I'll aim for the B-Level class.
It shouldn't be hard, all I need to do is score slightly above average on the written test and magic prowess test then make it look like I struggle against the teacher I'm up against during the practical part. Since I only have basic magic without my guns, the magic part should be easy.
Now that I think of it, the last part is really all my fault.
In the game, once you crush the 'Filter' device you're allowed to keep the affinity stones. As long as they're in your inventory and you actively practice with them, your mastery over that element would increase. They also increase your mastery passively but at an extremely slow rate.
I find mastery the easiest to understand using levels. At level zero, I cannot use any spells that fall under that element category. If I'm a level zero I can reach level one if I train hard enough but doing so would require for me to solely focus on doing that and nothing else.
Then there are people who are born with an affinity. Those people are born with levels in that element category and their progress multiplier towards levelling that element is permanently increased. Which is why there is such a huge difference between those who are born talented and the rest.
My original plan was to keep the stones to myself and acquire a level in each element. But I decided to focus on my swordsmanship and never had time to properly train an element. Then one thing led to another and I ended up giving all of them away.
In the game all you needed was the stones, but carrying around rocks in my pocket didn't feel right, so I turned them into accessories. Too bad I never got to see how I look in them.
But I think the people who have them now will look better than I ever will.
Luckily I have a very large mana capacity. While the stones increase your mastery, the constant usage of my scarf has been passively increasing my capacity. And my height while it's at it. I suppose it's also been increasing my mastery over normal mana magic.
In the game, normal magic is by far the weakest. It isn't strong against anything and it's not nearly as powerful as elemental magic. Which is why it is looked down upon.
But even the weakest can become strong if they train hard enough. Which is why I'm confident in my abilities to land myself in the B-Level class.
As for the theory test, I've had to redo it after each route in the game so it's been hammered into my mind since it never changes. I also wrote a cheat sheet on the day of the start of my trip to the protagonist's village on the bus. I've been studying it ever since. Needless to say I could get a hundred percent in the test, which was an achievement in the game.
Last but not least, the combat exam where they test your combat prowess. In the game it's the tutorial fight that teaches you how to battle. But since is the real world now and not an RPG I should be expecting real fight. Not that I'd try to win.
The player in the game is paired up with a examiner who's a teacher at the school and duel. As long as the student lands a single hit before they're out then they're most likely to get a graded with a B.
They're allowed to use any magic and your weapon of choice. Since I won't be using my guns or Scarfy, I'll be using the sword that's strapped to my hip. My first birthday present from Robert.
Flashback - a few hours earlier
This is quite the large ship. Before me was a ship that looked like Robert's except it was made to fit hundreds of people. And this was going to take me to the main story.
I was already in my uniform that Robert had prepared for me so I was ready in terms of equipment. My school uniform consists of black pants, a white undershirt, and a dark blue coat. Plus a dark blue tie and Scarfy as my two accessories.
Robert slaps my back and puts my thoughts to a halt.
Robert: "Impressive ship right kid?" He asks with a grin.
Robin: "I'm no longer a kid you know." I state flatly.
He ruffles my hair in response and let's out a hearty laugh.
Robert: "Until you're taller than me kid, you'll always just be a kid to me." He grins
We've had this conversation before and we've both said the exact same things. But Robert is still 6'5 like the day I met him so maybe I'll make it there one day. Unless my mana capacity has a limit and I just stop growing.
Robert releases me from the messy hair torture and lets out a sigh with a smile.
Robert: "You've come a long way kid." He says proudly.
Robin: "I have you to thank for that." I nod.
Robert: "But the progress on your emotions hasn't!" He laughs.
I shrug, he's not wrong, I think.
I take my first step forward towards the ship.
Robin: "Thank you for all you've done for me." I say without looking at him.
Then I take another step as I adjust my backpack. I pause and hesitate for a moment, then I look back at him.
Robin: "I hope we meet again." I say truthfully as I look at his stunned face.
Then it breaks into a smile.
Robert: "Christ kid, it's one year earlier all over again." He chuckles as his eyes start to glisten.
I found this odd, why did he look so happy and sad at the same time? Then he rubs his eyes with his arm.
Robert: "Me too kid, be good ya hear me?" He grins.
Robin: "Yes I do." I say flatly.
Then I give him one last wave before turning back to the ship. This time around, I fight the strange urge to look back once more and see his response.
But fighting was useless since I feel a hand grab my shoulder. I turn around and see Robert with an awkward face on.
Robert: "Er, Uh." He stutters awkwardly as he lets go.
Robin: "Is there something you need?" I ask.
Robert just sighs and puts on a big grin. Then he loosens the sword and its sheath he keeps around his hip at all times.
Robert: "I've always celebrated your birthday with you kid, but I've never given you a present." He chuckles awkwardly, "Honestly, I never gave you one because I had no clue what to give you."
Then he hold the sword out to me.
Robert: "Ain't much of a present, but happy birthday kid." He smiles.
Robin: "My birthday was over a week ago." I state flatly.
Robert just chuckles and scratches his head as I take the sword from his hand and unsheathe it.
I've never seen Robert without this sword so I've gotten many looks at the leather sheath and it's golden chape, but the sword itself was marvellous. If this were in the game then it would be a top tier weapon.
Each part of the sword looks as if it were taken great care of and looks better than new even after all the experiences it had gone through.
The golden cross guard with a cross in the center as it's insignia seems to shine in the sunlight. The intricate lines that have been engraved in the cross was made with great attention to detail.
The leather wrapping around the grip of the sword looks newly added. As I grip the sword it feels as though it were made for my hands.
Then the part of the sword that caught most of my attention, the mythril blade. Freshly polished and cleaned, the sunlight bounces off the blade making it look completely new. But I know the amount of work Robert puts into taking care of this sword.
The small cuts on the blade that are barely visible show the years of history it had gone through, the battles Robert went to with this very sword in his hands.
And now he was giving it to me.
Robin: "Are you sure about this?" I ask him as I sheathe the blade.
Robert: "This old blade hasn't seen action in a very long time, I'm hoping you'll be able use it in the future." He smiles.
I look back at the sheath I hold and see the same cross insignia on the locket. Perhaps it was his adventuring party's symbol. I attach the sword to my hip and look back at Robert.
Robert: "Plus it's dangerous to go alone, so I was hoping you'd take this." He chuckles.
Robin: "You didn't say that when you left me on an island with no money." I say flatly.
Robert: "Well this and that are different things." He grins.
I sigh, then the horn of the ship goes off.
Robert: "Looks like you should get boarding." He says, his smile stopping a bit.
Robin: "Yes, it would be a shame to miss my flight after all this." I comment.
No more words are exchanged and I turn back to the ship. My footsteps grow heavy and my legs become weak. Was I nervous?
Robert: "Knock'em dead kid!" He shouts.
I turn around and see him wave. Suddenly the nervousness goes away. I feel my lips twitch as I wave back at him.
Robin: "It's a school, I'm not killing my fellow classmates." I say flatly.
Robert bursts out laughing as this is the exact same situation as when he dropped me off at knight camp. He knows that I was joking.
So I turn back once more to the ship as the wind causes my scarf to flow behind me. With Robert cheering behind me I felt ready.
But I can't forget my priorities.
Flashback end
I brush my thumb over the golden cross on the sword's scabbard. I'm glad that Robert won't be there to watch me fake a loss.
There are many unprecedented factors that'll affect the game's story. I'll just have to make sure that story stays on track, no matter the cost.
I must reach my goal.
Time skip brought to you by Robert grinning at the leaving airship as he clutches his locket and sheds a tear
The airship had finally landed and I've gotten off. This was it, I've finally arrived at A-137. I leave the port and head directly into the city.
I check my phone and see that I still have a few hours until the entrance exam starts. I might as well start walking now and maybe take in the sights.
As I walk through the streets I'm able to see the clear difference between the big city and my normal island. The streets are packed and I'm able to see the stores that line said streets.
Everything seemed to be high-end stores. From the tailor shop, to the restaurants, to the general stores. Everything was so different.
Everything looked so much better here than the game. But I must not deviate from my main goal.
Eventually I exit the city area and arrive at a dirt path. Soon I'd be able to see the massive academy in the distance.
And just as I predicted, I spot the top of the school in the distance.
But I also hear rustling in a nearby bush, though I decide to ignore it, must stay focused.
Then I hear the sound of a heavy object falling followed by a person groaning a bit.
???: "Omph, ouch."
I sigh and end up moving to investigate. I make it to the bush and pull apart the leaves and branches. Behind it was a girl wearing the same uniform as me and was someone I didn't want to meet.
Clarissa: "O-Oh, hello!" She exclaims cheerfully and embarrassed at the same time.
How could I forget that the female protagonist begins her story by tripping into a bush on her way to the academy. Beside her was a very large bag, but something else that was very large disturbed me.
Her breasts.
This isn't right, in the game she was flat chested. She was flat in the image that flashed in my head. Why has the story already begun to change?
Robin: "Are you okay?" I ask flatly and calmly as I hope she doesn't recognize me.
Clarissa: "U-uhm, Yup, all's fine here." She says awkwardly as she scratches her head.
Then she glances at all of the stuff that has scattered out of her bag. At least she doesn't seem to recognize me.
Robin: "Alright then, goodbye." I say as I turn around.
Clarissa: "Wait!" She calls to me.
Why doesn't that ever work?
Robin: "Yes?" I ask suppressing a groan.
Clarissa: "Soooo..." she stretches out the word, "I may have lied, all is not fine." She admits looking down.
I sigh and turn back to her.
Robin: "Would you like some help?" I ask flatly. I might as well get this over with.
At the simple question, Clarissa's face lights up immensely.
Clarissa. "Yes, please!" She exclaims, "I can't be late for the entrance exam." She explains.
I didn't want to be late either, so I began to help, and so did Scarfy, we're in a hurry after all.
Clarissa: "Woooooah, that's so cool." She says in amazement as my scarf breaks into multiple threads and slithers around each fallen object and places it into the bag.
She seems more interested in my scarf than she is at picking up her stuff. She doesn't seem to have much of an attention span, which also doesn't match her original personality. What have I done?
As gloom begins to wash over me the female protagonist takes notice of it.
Clarissa: "D-Don't be sad! I'll start helping more and if we run we can make it to the exam on time!" She says frantically trying to cheer me up.
I shake my head.
Robin: "Its fine, that's not what I'm worried about. Besides, everything is already in there." I say as I point to the bag that's three times larger than her.
Clarissa: "Oh really?!" She says happily surprised.
Then she turns to her bag and smiles widely.
Clarissa: "Thank you so much." She says as she breathes a sigh of relief.
She walks to her bag and I begin to wonder how she made it here with all that. It's full to bursting and many times larger than her. The protagonist's bag wasn't this big in the game.
To my surprise she picks it up with ease and puts it on her back. She giggles nervously and scratches her cheek with her index finger.
Clarissa: "I'm a swordsman and I was really weak when I first started out." She begins to explain, "So my dad made me eat lots and do lots of exercises for four years."
I blink a few times, I knew that this was my fault. That kind of lifestyle was never supposed to happen and the size of her breasts are equal to the large mistake I've made.
I told her to train with a sword and her whole backstory has been scrambled. If I could slap thirteen year old me I would.
But speaking of abilities...
Robin: "You have a scratch on your knee." I point out.
She gets that scratch from tripping off the path, the next few moments would decide a lot for the future story.
Clarissa: "Oh, you're right. Thanks for pointing that out." She smiles embarrassedly.
Then she holds out her palms towards the wound and a small light begins to shine in her hand. Next thing I know, the wound closes up as if it were never there.
I breath a sigh of relief.
The protagonist is supposed to find out that power when she becomes desperate enough to save her father. Although I don't remember if that desperation was supposed to lead to the forest.
Maybe she was supposed to escape those goblins on her own. The only part about her father's illness that's told in the story is the moment she finds out about her ability to heal.
Clarissa: "Could you keep this a secret?" She asks pressing her pointer finger to her lips.
Robin: "If you keep my scarf a secret in turn." I reply flatly.
Clarissa: "Deal." She grins.
Then I ask a very important question.
Robin: "If you don't mind me asking, when did you discover that ability?" I ask.
She hesitates for a moment before she actually speaks.
Clarissa: "Well...one day I accidentally cut my dad during a training session and I started to panic. Then when I tried to put pressure on it, the magic just sorta...happened." She explains unsurely.
Healing, the special ability of the future saintess.
But seeing how she discovered her ability after the original point in time, does this mean that the story can fix itself? This made me a little more calm but I doubt it could fix everything.
Robin: "We should get going." I say turning around to leave the bush.
I leave without turning back hoping that I'd lose Clarissa on the way. But I was a fool for thinking that it would work out that easily.
Clarissa: "So you're a student going here too, right?" She asks as she pops up beside me.
Robin: "Yes." I answer flatly.
I sigh internally and we continue to walk along the path towards the school.
Clarissa: "Which noble family are you from?" She asks excitedly.
Robin: "None, I'm a commoner." I answer flatly.
Clarissa: "Wow! You're just like me!" She exclaims with a skip to her step.
Robin: "Yes." I answer flatly.
Clarissa: "Do you have any specialties?" She asks with stars in her eyes, "Aside from your scarf of course." She says nudging my shoulder.
Robin: "Swords." I answer flatly.
Then she notices the sword that's strapped to my hip.
Clarissa: "We're so alike!" She squeals as she shows off her own sword that's strapped to her hip. Not out of desperation for a new friend, but simply out pure surprise and joy, like a child who found someone to play with.
Robin: "Quite the opposite." I answer quietly.
Clarissa: "Are you excited for the exam?" She asks eagerly.
Before I can give my one word answer my character senses begin to tingle. Quick! What's the next event after the protagonist begins to walk?
Then I hear the noise of a rolling carriage behind us. Before I can pick up the pace Clarissa grabs my arm.
Clarissa: "Maybe we can ask for a ride!" She says pointing to the regal looking carriage.
Before I can do anything Clarissa begins to wave towards the carriage. I start to get nervous, I haven't even gotten to the school and everything was messing up.
To my displeasure, the carriage stops beside us. Then the door opens up.
???: "Would you two like a ride?" A male voice asks from within.
Clarissa: "Yes please!" She says excitedly.
The person chuckles from inside.
???: "Fredrick, please strap this girl's bag on top of the carriage." He calls to the coachman.
The butler looking coachman says nothing and steps off the carriage. He walks towards Clarissa and holds his hand out.
Clarissa: "Oh, thank you." She smiles as she takes off her bag.
She drops her bag into the butlers hands and it almost drops to the ground and the butler with it. The butler seems strong but I guess he wasn't expecting the bag to be that heavy. He recovers and begins to attempt to place it on the carriage roof.
Then the butler looks to me.
Robin: "I'll be keeping my bag, thank you." I say to him flatly.
He nods and nudges his head towards the carriage. Clarissa happily hops in and I can't help but wish that I minded my own business.
The words to decline the ride get stuck in my throat as I spy another carriage in the distance coming our way. Another one of my fears come true.
Reluctantly, I hop in the carriage and face the music, or should I say the male in the carriage.
A boy with short golden blond hair and perfect blue eyes reaches his hand out to me with a regal air surrounding him.
???: "My name is Lucas Louis Williamson."
Also known as the future king, a male lead from the female protagonist's side of the story.
The image of him in my head was much more high quality compared to the one I got for myself, which makes sense since he's the main male lead.
Not wanting to be rude, I reach out and shake his hand.
Robin: "Robin Cross." I greet him flatly.
Good thing I used the alias 'Wake up' when I met Clarissa.
Clarissa: "And I'm Clarissa Noelle!" She cheers with an arm raised after a pause.
Lucas lets out an amused chuckle, in good nature.
Lucas: "You two have no middle name and your last names don't ring any bells, so I assume that you are both commoners?" He asks curiously.
Clarissa: "Er, yeah, what about you?" She asks with a head tilt.
Lucas seems dumbfounded for a moment, which I find amusing. I lean over to Clarissa's ear.
Robin: "He's the second prince." I whisper.
Clarissa's eyes widen and she quickly becomes flustered.
Clarissa: "I-I-I'm so sorry your highneth." She stutters biting her tongue.
Lucas laughs as I sit there with no reaction. Although I did find her quite funny.
Lucas: "Don't be so uptight, I much prefer people as casual as your friend here." He says as he nods his head my way.
I try to remain as unremarkable as possible. Hopefully he'll focus on Clarissa and not me.
Clarissa: "Actually, I found out his name the same time as you." She chuckles.
Lucas: "Well I think it's nice meeting you two." He smiles.
Clarissa smiles back and seems to regain her carelessness.
Clarissa: "I agree."
From what I can see, the story seems to be progressing normally at this moment. I just wish I didn't need to be here myself. I jolt when they both turn to me.
Robin: "Yes, it is very nice to meet you." I say to the both of them robotically.
They both turn to each other and begin to laugh, as long as their relationship progresses then I'm fine with being the butt of the joke.
I wonder how much Clarissa remembers about me, the less the better. So I need to take a risk.
Robin: "That's a nice necklace, where did you get it?" I ask.
Clarissa turns to me with a frozen expression. Then she grabs the silver cross and holds it in her palm and puts on an awkward smile.
Clarissa: "Would you believe me if I said I woke up with it?" She giggles nervously.
Phew, that's the answer I wanted to hear. I hope she's not lying.
Robin: "You're a rather odd girl so I wouldn't be surprised." I say bluntly.
She pouts and playfully punches my arm.
Clarissa: "Is that really something you should be saying to a girl you just met?" Then she grins, "You're pretty odd yourself y'know."
'Just met', perfect, she doesn't remember me.
Lucas: "You two are awfully close for people who just met." He smirks playfully, "Are you sure there isn't anything between you two?" He asks jokingly.
Clarissa: "Of course not, I'm just a very friendly person." She says laughing it off.
Robin: "A very strange friendly person." I remark.
She pouts at me again as Lucas begins to eye me. I know where he's looking at and I know what he's about to ask.
Robin: "My scarf is a memento of my late parents and no, I'm not hot." I answer him before he asks.
His eyes widen and turn sympathetic.
Lucas: "My apologies." He says bowing his head in his seat.
Clarissa looks at him in surprise at the fact that a prince was bowing his head and then to me after learning more about my scarf.
Robin: "It's alright, everyone asks so don't feel bad." I comfort him flatly.
He raises his head and chuckles with a smile.
Lucas: "Thanks Robin, for this and still acting the same after knowing my identity. It's hard to find people to talk to who don't instinctively bow their head to me." He chuckles.
Wait a minute, aren't we getting a bit too close? Before I can do anything about it, the carriage stops.
Butler: "We are here your majesty." He says as he opens the door for us.
Lucas: "Thank you, shall we go?" He asks the two of us.
Clarissa: "Oooooooh, I'm so excited." She says bouncing her legs up and down before hoping from her seat.
Robin: "Let's." I say as I calmly stand up.
Then we step out of the carriage. We stopped just outside the gate of the school, Omnis Magica Academy, this is where the rest of my life begins. I was going to live through the story, that is my goal.
Lucas: "Sorry to have stopped out here, people tend to swarm the prince when he arrives." He chuckles awkwardly.
Robin: "It was nice of you to pick us up." I say as the butler grabs Clarissa's bag, "Even more considerate of you to let us go first, thanks." I say with a nod.
Lucas just stands there and smiles.
Lucas: "And thank you for the company, if there are more people like you at this school then I know I'll be able to enjoy my time here. I'll head into after you two." He says gesturing us to go forward.
Then Clarissa pops in with her bag on her back.
Clarissa: "It was nice meeting you." She says with a wide smile, "Good luck on your exam."
Lucas: "Same goes to the both of you." He smiles.
Then with one last wave, we split up.
Clarissa continues to skip her way in as I hear her bag and all its contents sway around. I wonder how that bag is holding all that stuff.
Clarissa: "So-"
Robin: "This is where we part ways." I tell her.
The more I stay with her the more I risk the story. Besides, I need to focus on the exam.
Clarissa: "Wuh? Why?" She frowns.
Robin: "I hope to see you around." I lie before turning around and walking away towards a growing crowd.
I glance back and see her hesitantly step towards my direction. Then she bites her lips and her eyes fill with determination, then she begins walking towards a different crowd.
It seems that she's as determined as I am. Good to know that the protagonist is motivated for whatever reason.
The large amount of people who were probably around my age were also all wearing the same uniform. These were all possible classmates and they were all surrounding a set of wooden boards.
These boards held names and the times of our tests. Luckily since I arrived quite late the crowd is quite small.
Here's hoping that everything goes well.
Third Person POV
As Robin makes his way to his first exam Lucas finally makes the decision to enter the school. There's a reason he came late, what he said to the two wasn't wrong, but if there's no one around then who's going to swarm the prince?
Fredrick: "Do enjoy your time sir." He says to the prince.
Lucas: "Yes, thank you Fredrick." He nods to his way to formal servant.
Fredrick: "Your room is already prepared for after the entrance exam." He says as the prince begins to leave.
Lucas waves the back of his hand to the servant as he walks towards the school.
He doesn't seem to notice the eyes of the person that arrived just right after him.
The new student arrives at the school with a grin.
???: "This is the start of my life." He says with a wild grin.
He knows that everything is made for him after all, but he also knows that all the arrogant characters meet the bad end.
He waves away his servant and they ride off with the carriage. He preps his sword and lets his magic swirl in his hand. Then he enters the school with all the knowledge of a twenty-four year-old neet.
Omnis Magica Academy, the most prestigious school in the island cluster, home to over thousands of students. The ages of these students usually range from 17-25, meaning that there is a total of eight years of school.
In this fantasy game world, the age of adulthood is twenty-five and the teenage years go from fifteen to adulthood. Why? Because of the mana particles that are basically the same as air of course.
In this world the game developers wanted it to be pleasing to the eyes, it's half visual novel after all. So they decided that every human absorbs these mana particles as if they were sunlight.
In doing so the mana particles act as a type of cleanser and enhancer in the body that prolong lifespan and healthy skin. Not only are there almost no ugly people in this world, but average life expectancy in this world is over one hundred and twenty five.
Robin never really cared about time as it was a pointless concept to him. Has that perspective changed for him?
While the academy is home for many students, it also provides teachers, facilities, dorm rooms, for only the best of the best. The higher the level you place in the entrance exam, the better privileges you earn.
While most students are of nobility or royalty, commoners with no middle name still attend the school. Everyone has a fair chance, but no matter where you are, that's only a saying. Plastic words that give people hope, and it works too.
The students are all graded the same, but there will always be the weak and the strong. People who are born with talent, and people who work harder than others. They all compete with each other to trample over those beneath them.
That is simple truth.
Robin knows this fact, which is why he'll allow for others to trample over him while he makes progress towards his plan.
And the first step he shall take, is the written theory exam.
As he files into the large classroom that fits over a hundred students, all he focuses on is what's ahead of him. He makes no effort to look around for there is nothing to look for.
That being said, that didn't apply to everyone.
These exams are taken in clusters of students. While the people in each class is randomized, this leaves fate to play its games.
The stage is set, and all of the actors are here. Whether Robin notices them or not is up to him, not that he wanted them to notice him in the first place.
Robin takes a seat in the front corner of the room and a girl with glasses takes a seat next to him. Robin takes no notice of this girl as he runs through the answers to the exam in his mind.
He happened to arrive just on time, as a man that looks almost identical to Robert walks into the room holding a stack of paper.
???: "Hello everyone! My name is Anthony Spillane and I'm going to make this quick."
As surprise and confusion goes through Robin's mind Anthony raises his hand to the sky. It begins to glow and the stack of papers he was holding flies into the air, a set of papers for each student lands in front of them.
Anthony: "Answer as many as you can in a hour, good luck! And no cheating." He says with a glare before leaving the room.
But Robin stopped listening once the paper had arrived, he got to work almost instantly.
He's not the only one who stopped listening, a few had stopped before Anthony even entered. For they were too focused on the red haired boy.
Lisa: "I-It's him...It's really him!" She thought to herself as her jaw dropped when she saw the teal scarf appear in the doorway.
Lisa was seated near the top and center of the room, quite far away from Robin. Ever since the day he left her that note at his doorstep, two years ago, all Lisa had wanted was to see him again. So she thought that she could use her privileges in school to possibly ask for help to find him.
Her first thought when she saw him was that he came here for her. So she was so happy and at a loss of what to do.
Originally, her goal was to do good in school and end up with enough prestige to find Robin. But now that he's here, her goal became to show off.
She begins to caress the ring on her finger as a fantasy enters her mind. She shows Robin a paper that says 'S-Level' and he looks at her in awe. Quickly after that he grabs her chin and tilts it upwards as he asks about the ring and if she'd accept his promise.
As she squeals internally she quickly gets to work.
Then there was the green haired girl about two rows away from Lisa. She had her feet kicked up on the desk before Robin had entered. She had been chatting with her friend but stopped what she was doing when Robin had walked in.
Just as Robin said in the letter he gave her, she found asylum in the academy. Her mother had called for Yukio a few days after Robin's departure and Yukio came straight to the academy.
Her grandmother Marie knew a teacher at the academy and asked for a favour. When Yukio arrived at the school that teacher had vouched for her and she was protected and allowed to stay.
The academy has a special program for select students that allows them to arrive a year before the exam and take classes. Each one of the female leads had taken this special program through a variety of ways.
Yukio had the boy who just walked in to thank for the opportunity. At the moment, Yukio had thoughts similar to Lisa's. She was ecstatic to see Robin again and wanted nothing more than to apologize to him for punching him that day.
Maybe if she did good enough on the test she could use that to show how sorry she really was. Then he'd glare at her and ask for an eye for an eye then accept her apology.
Yukio began to drool at the thought and started to put more effort in this exam than she did in any of her classes these past few months combined.
Yukio's friends beside her became confused at the sudden amount of focus she put into the test. But they decided to focus on their own test's as well.
Time skip brought to you by chibi Robin feeling weird stares from behind
The second the hour was up Anthony popped back into the classroom with his hand raised and glowing. Every paper in the class began to fly into the air again and into Anthony's hands.
Anthony: "Congratulations everybody. After your other exams please check the board to see what your score is." He says as he begins to check the papers, "You are allowed to head towards your next class."
At the dismissal the hundreds of students in the room began to get up. But not as frantically as the two girls. They had the urge to hop over the desks to say hi to Robin but feared that their behaviour could affect their grades.
So they were stuck behind everyone else at the top of their classroom.
Robin on the other hand was on the ground floor and managed to leave the classroom with ease. As he left he heard a familiar voice reassure herself.
Clarissa: "I did good, yeah, I'll be fine." She says confidently.
Robin hopes that she doesn't see him and manages to escape. Both Lisa and Yukio miss the red haired boy leave the room and could only hope that they'd cross paths again.
After that, Robin swiftly began to make his way to the training grounds of the facility where they would test everyone's combat and magical capabilities.
His next test would be the magic exam and he'd blast a target with a simple beam of mana. Just strong enough to get him a B-Level mark.
Of course, there were people who were aiming even higher than him. As Robin's turn went by he did exactly as he planned, the people around were impressed that he was able to create such a strong attack with such a weak spell.
But a certain black and white haired girl wearing an oversized black and white hoodie felt tears welling up. She truly never thought that she'd meet this boy again, but she never lost hope. She came to the academy to protect him so she clearly had plans to find him again.
It takes all of her effort to resist the urge to run through the crowd and wrap her tiny arms around his waist. She knows when he makes the face he has on now, it means that he was focused on something important. She knew better than to distract him.
So instead she wipes her eyes and waits for her turn, and her turn came by. As the the teacher gives her the go ahead Melissa looks around the crowd for the red haired boy, no luck.
She may not be able to see him but maybe he was still watching. So she decides that she will use her strongest attack in hopes to show him that she's stronger than before.
The powers that was forced upon her begins to swirl in her hands. She once thought of this power as a curse that she was forced to burden, but she was taught how to control it and she was determined to use it for him.
Melissa closes her eyes as two shades and two colours begin to merge and overlap each other in her hands. When she opens her eyes she imagines the targets as the science people who attacked Robin that day.
She points her hands at the targets and releases the magic all at once. The elemental mana particles all collide with the center target at the same time fusing together and causing an unnatural explosion.
The explosion is perfectly spherical and just large enough to engulf all the targets. Once the flash from the explosion disappears the students and teachers find that there is nothing left except a perfect half sphere crater in the ground.
Melissa's usually blank face shows obvious triumph at the result as she looks back hoping that Robin had saw. Before she can get a proper glance she is surrounded by other students and teachers all singing their praises.
Melissa, who prefers to be alone, is too caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of people to properly look for Robin. Despite the gloomy feeling of not being able to hug Robin, she takes pride in the fact that she now has power to protect him if needed.
One of the people who was part of the crowd that surrounded the black and white haired girl happened to be a protagonist.
Clarissa is in awe of her future classmate and strengthens her resolve to become stronger with a grin.
Robin continues to tunnel vision as he thinks about his recent success in the magic test. He moves automatically towards a small dirt arena made for the students to do their combat test against a teacher.
He arrives early and gets a close up seat at the front of the arena and continues begins to zone out. The sudden worry of possible problems cloud his thoughts and makes him stare at the two combatants in arena without actually seeing them.
But one of the combatants definitely saw him. A blond haired girl who had a golden brooch pinned above her heart eyes widen as she spots the boy. At a glance it would seem that he was watching her, and that is exactly what Rachel had thought.
She wanted to call his name and wave but she couldn't lose focus on the teacher in front of her. Her fight had been going on for about three minutes and she was beginning to get tired, she was up against a teacher from the most famous academy after all.
But after seeing the boy all of the energy she had lost returns to her body. She couldn't lose now, not when the one who first trained her was watching, with such focus that makes it seem that he's expecting her to win.
Even though this wasn't what he was thinking, Rachel believed in it.
She is kicked back by the teacher and there becomes about three meters of space between them. Rachel grips her sword tightly as she begins directing her magic to her legs.
She thinks about the very first attack Robin used against her and dreams of matching that speed. Her special move that she dubbed as [Blink].
Her legs become light and the world slows down around her. She glances at the red haired boy who seems to stare directly at her and her strength increases tenfold, and she releases it all at once.
Before the teacher could even blink, her sword was at his neck. After a moment of shock he raises his hand and surrenders with a grin, it's been a while since he had lost a duel.
Rachel's determined gaze softens as she sheathes her blade in an orderly fashion. Then she reaches her hand to the teacher.
Rachel: "A well fought duel." She says to him as she nods and shakes his hand.
The crowd goes wild as they all call her name, she's already made quite the name for herself at the Academy. Her reputation has only been increasing ever since she arrived one year ago.
She then turns to the crowd with a steel like face that resembles the look of a knight. The crowd begins to surround her and Rachel is stuck in the same predicament as Melissa.
Even though she panics in her mind her face does not falter. She couldn't see Robin but she knows that he watched her duel, or so she thinks.
Robin had just snapped out of his thoughts and was brought back to reality when his name was called. It was time for his final test.
He moves away from the crowd and towards a different dirt arena as the grip around his sword tightens. He moves to the center and doesn't see much of a crowd watching him, they're all cheering for the people he didn't notice at the moment. Not that he cared.
He stands in the arena waiting for his opponent to arrive. But the person who stepped up was the last person Robin was expecting.
Robin: "Robert?" He asks with a hint of confusion in his voice.
The scar faced man looks at Robin with an extremely wide grin.
Robert: "The one the only." He says proudly.
Robin's stance relaxes.
Robin: "What are you doing here?" He asks flatly.
Robert: "Can't you tell? I'm your opponent." He says unsheathing his sword.
It was a plain one that was most likely given to him by the school. In Robin's head he thought that if he was his opponent, then Robert would know that he was throwing the match.
Robert: "It's been what, two years since we last had a duel?" He asks pointing his sword at him, "Let's see how much you've improved."
As Robin tries to figure out a solution he stands there unmoving.
Robert: "I've always been holding back with you kid, so every battle we've had before is now invalid. Today neither of us will be holding back, so try to at least land a hit." He says cockily.
One student points a finger at Robert and asks his friend a question. This causes a chain reaction of other students taking notice of Robert and making comments.
Student: "Isn't he...
Student: "I thought he retired...
Student: "Is he fighting a student?"
Student: "Hasn't he never lost a duel before?..."
Student: "That poor student..."
But Robin doesn't hear any of these comments. Instead he feels a strange sensation in his body. The urge to throw caution to the wind and to show Robert the accumulation of all his training.
Not that he truly understood the feeling, he just thought it was butterflies in his stomach. But his body knew what needed to be done.
Robin: "I'll do more than just land a hit." He says subconsciously in his flat tone.
If Robin wasn't Robin, he'd be matching the same wild grin that Robert had on. Instead, he calmly unsheathes Robert's gift and throws the sheath to the side.
Robin doesn't notice that a crowd was starting to form around the arena, he seemed more focused on trying to figure out what he was thinking.
His mind was telling him no, but his body...his body was telling him yes!
Body wins over mind and takes control. Robin takes a deep breath as his scarf surrounds his body underneath his uniform. He takes a stance and his unintentionally emotionless cold gaze focuses solely on Robert, drowning out everything and everyone from his vision.
Robert: "I like that look in your eye kid." He grins, "Now show me what you got!" He yells wildly.
At the sound of his booming voice Robin puts the maximum amount of mana into Scarfy and prepares to show the accumulation of his power that he gained within all four years of his new life in one blow.
Robin: "Maximum effort." He whispered right before he disappears from his spot.
What happened next shocked everyone even more than they were now. The red haired boy uses the same move the blond knight that surprised them all, but the difference between the two was clear as day.
Robin leaves a large crack in the ground and a blast of wind pushes all of the onlookers back. Dust picks up in a straight line towards Robert and he's barely able to get his sword up when nothing more than a blur of teal strikes him.
Rachel, who was observing the battle, watched the boy without flinching allowing the wind to blow away her long silky blond hair and couldn't help but admire the gap in their skills. She was happy to know that she still had a long way to go.
Robert Geoff Spillane, the legendary royal knight, the famous adventurer, the strongest teacher in the school, who had randomly disappeared from the world, had his very own sword held to his throat.
The top half of Robert's blade flies through the air and lands in the ground as the dust begins to settle.
Robert: "You've grown stronger kid." He says proudly.
Robin lifts his cold gaze to meet Robert's eyes and it softens.
Robin: "And it's all thanks to you." He says flatly.
Robin lowers the blade and holds his hand out to Robert for a shake. Robert grabs it with gusto and gives it a good shake.
And the crowd goes wild.
Robin finally regains control of his body and realizes his mistake. He had already failed his number one priority.
When Lisa and Yukio got out of their class they instantly began looking for Robin to avail. It was pure chance that they bumped into each other and asked the each other the exact same thing.
Lisa/Yukio: "Have you seen a red haired boy wearing a scarf?" They had asked at the same time.
They both looked at each other in confusion until Yukio received a whisper from the wind.
Yukio: "Follow me!" She said quickly.
Lisa: "And why wou- Hey!" She yelled as Yukio starts to run off.
Lisa balled her fists and decided to risk following the green haired girl.
Lisa: "Don't just run off!" She yelled as she began to run towards the arena.
Melissa always had a strange sixth sense when it came to Robin. So during her written test when she received a strange jolt, she thought she was going crazy from not seeing Robin for so long.
She was absolutely overjoyed when she saw him at the magic aptitude test. She became less overjoyed when she was surrounded by a crowd. The moment the examiner for her test allowed her to leave she quickly left in search for the boy.
The odd feelings in her body seemed to direct her to the arena, and the arena she found Robin in.
Clarissa who had just finished her magic aptitude test went directly to her spot for her next test. When she saw a crowd beginning to form, she couldn't help but be drawn towards it.
It was there she saw her self declared new friend, Robin. She decided to watch his fight and cheer her on, and so did all the other female leads.
They had finally caught a glimpse of Robin's true power and they were amazed.
Robin noticed none of them and no one until it was too late. Everything was about to get worse.
The crowd creates a path for a silver haired girl to walk through. She had a devious smile on as she walked elegantly towards the red haired boy.
Out of the five other girls who were desperate to greet Robin, she was the first to make a move.
Robin's danger meter reaches the max as she walks towards him. He could do nothing in the situation as a girl with platinum blond hair and light violet eyes approached him.
She wears a smooth smile filled with hidden arrogance and carried an air that said she owned everything. And her eyes said that he was included in that everything.
Villainess: "Robin Cross, I've been observing you, and I do declare that you!" She says pointing a finger at him with a devious smile, "Shall be granted the honour of becoming my servant."
Within Robin's unchanging face his brain begins to overload. The girls each have different reactions as the scene unfolds.
Lisa begins to glare and grind her teeth.
Yukio cracks her knuckles with a scary look.
Melissa pouts and stares angrily at the girl.
Rachel's steel face gains a tick mark as she grips her sheathed sword.
Clarissa is absolutely confused at what's happening before her very eyes.
One singular thought runs through each of the female lead's mind.
Female leads: "As if I'm going to give him up!"
Clarissa: "Shoot! My test is going to start soon." She says aloud as she silently wishes Robin the best before running to a different arena.
Then there was the male protagonist who was in a different courtyard.
Male Protagonist: "This isn't part of the story." He says to himself as he waits for his first encounter that never arrives.
Although he's the protagonist, he is completely oblivious at what has been happening.
————
So I don't know what happened, but at around 8352 words Wattpad crashed and I lost well over a half of this chapter. So it was going to take a few days to recreate it all. So I made that last chapter as a compensation! Also I was still kinda annoyed at what I lost and sloppily created the rest of the chapter. If you notice a lot of mistakes, then you now know why. But on a better note, the story is finally cooking up as we enter the Academy. All of the pieces are here and Robin's plan has gone straight down to digital hell, just like half of my chapter. Funny thought, I was going to end the chapter right before 'Third Person POV' but I ended up saying it could use a little more oomph. Now here we are, at 9955 words. Speaking of third person POV, I'm not really used to writing like that but it was a fun little change of pace. See you next chapter!
Razer: "You look mad." He says as he looks to his friend.
Potato: "I'm not mad, just disappointed." He says crossing his arms and staring at the Wattpad app.
Razer: "Anger is a stage of grief, it's okay to mourn for the lost progress." He says putting a hand on Potato's shoulder.
Potato suddenly bursts into tears.
Potato: "Those words were so young!" He cries, "They didn't deserve to go out like that!"
Razer: "There there." He says patting his back as Potato cries mini potatos.
Date of chapter completion: Sept 15
Word count: 10042