Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

“Attention ankle biters!” Martha hollers for all to hear. “This here is Elyssia and she’ll be joining your little horde from today on. Be kind and show her the way we do things here and no cockroach shenanigans.”

Where did the sweet grandmotherly Martha go? And what does she mean horde? And what about cockroaches?

As the sweet grandmother-turned-devil pushes me forward all chatter halts for a moment in the kid’s corner and all eyes turn toward me. The species variety here doesn’t seem to be restricted to humans either with some weird species I don’t even recognize. For example the bird-like girls and a boy with skin like rocks… I doubt he can get sunburned.

They don’t really seem... you know, friendly like Martha portrayed them. I feel like a group of street-hardened orphans are looking at me, searching for weakness and a way to use me... Must be my imagination, right?

I contemplate saying a few words to my future… who are they really? Rivals? Certainly not friends, maybe colleagues. Anyway, there’s no need for words, I have nothing to say in the first place, and if any of them are curious they can find me after my stomach has been satisfied.

From what I heard, most of them are here to flee from their miserable lives on the streets. I am different. With that said, everyone here is in desperate need of strength so that might be one thing we have in common albeit for a different purpose. Money is nice and making people do what you want because might makes right does sound pretty sweet but what I need is…Power to protect what is dear to me, my family and my freedom, two things I lost in the past weeks.

I know I’m special here and…

[Mage lvl 22]

[Warrior lvl 32]

[Warrior lvl ??]

[Ranger lvl 25]

[Warrior lvl 21]

it looks like I’m indeed a bottomfeeder, both in level and age.

“After lunch, follow the others to the classroom for the theoretical lessons. The discussion about your build will be on hold for the time being but we’ll find a moment to go over it. Probably. Enjoy your meal.” Before I can say anything Martha disappears again into thin air, leaving me here with the feral kids.

I feel like I’ve been ditched to fend for myself against a bunch of stray animals who’d try to take a bite without even being hungry… Very cool.

I walk over to a bench and plop down a bit away from all the other kids. Grilled meat, crispy veggies, bread, soup. The selection is surprisingly broad. My hands are on the border of shaking as I carefully choose what to eat first. It's just as tasty as it looks so I have no intention of breaking any food-related rules.

As the warmth of fresh proper food fills my stomach the outside world gets tuned out and I hum a merry little tune while chewing like a squirrel. That is until someone takes a seat right next to me. And I don’t just mean choosing a random spot to enjoy a meal, no no no, his eyes, posture, and how irritatingly close he’s sitting…

Eh, no matter, as long as he doesn’t-

“Hey, my name is Victor and-” The guy opens his mouth and I raise my arm to stop him before he can even finish his question. I rarely hope to be proven wrong and this was one of those moments…

I quickly swallow the bite in my mouth before explaining the ground rules. “Until my plate is empty I don’t answer, I don’t move and I don’t exist. Okay?” I’m rude, I know it and I don’t care.

I take his confused blinks and lack of an answer as his choice to act as if I don’t exist and thus acknowledge my rules. I know that rule was a type of family tradition but… I’ll carry it with me, a piece of home wherever I eat.

No arguments, no getting physical, none of that huff and puff… I’m pleasantly surprised words were enough for him to understand this simple rule. Maybe life won't be as miserable here as I first thought.

I don’t even need to wait a minute to be proven wrong.

“Hey knife-eared, get your ass up and sit somewhere else, that’s our spot.” Someone addresses me in a way I don’t particularly like.

I glance behind my back to see a gang of three kids standing there with extremely weak threatening faces. A chubby boy and a girl with interesting skin like caramel both of them around my age, and lastly another dude with scruffy blonde hair who should be a year older than me, judging by his height.

I’ve noticed the kids sitting in clusters around a few people before like bushes growing out of the ground and after seeing these three it’s pretty easy to guess why that is. Self-proclaimed big shots… Classic.

I gracefully ignore the insult and return to my meal because they found me in a good mood, it’s their lucky day.

[Warrior lvl 22]

[Ranger lvl 21]

[Warrior lvl 29]

Or maybe not… Hope they don’t do anything stupid.

Then out of the blue, a hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back like Wyat did many times. I fall on my butt, off the bench I was just sitting on, minding my own business… I soften my fall with my hands, making the spoon I was holding fall to the floor and my temper stooping just as low.

I know where this is going, and I’m not gonna play their game. Let them break the rules Martha detailed literally just minutes ago, I wash my hands.

“Oh look, the mongrel can’t even sit properly.” They burst out laughing. Really, that’s your best insult? “Or maybe you just realized your mistake and were about to give up your seat? Did you mongrel?” He leans closer.

Anger is a difficult emotion to suppress and my slight shaking just confirms my bubbling fury. I take a deep breath to calm that fire in me, push myself off the ground, and pick up the spoon.

It's time to use the secret technique Mom has entrusted to me so carefully. The tactic of pissing off bullies and drunkards.

I look at them like someone finding dogshit on their doorstep, shake my head, click my tongue and turn away. “These halfwits, wasting not just the air they breathe but also the food... They should just go back to the streets to be reminded how scarce a good meal is.” And continue where I was interrupted.

Yesss, perfect execution. Now if all goes well they'll-

All does not go well. I didn’t really expect any of them to go against the rules of the mess hall and use force to fight besides just words… I was wrong. The redhead kicks me in the side strong enough to make me fly off the bench and skid across the floor spilling the food from my spoon right onto my new clean shirt.

The kick is nothing extraordinary, I heard no cracks and besides seeing red I’m perfectly fine. Now the seeing red part… there are lines not even the Gods should dare cross and this fucker just went ahead and shat on that line.

“Seems like your vermin parents failed to teach you how to behave around your betters. I’ll make up for their failure and beat some sense into you now!” His words act like a cold shower instead of fuel to the flames, lending me a moment of clarity at the mention of Mom and Dad.

Now he fucked up.

Even without looking up, I can hear his steps approaching and when our eyes meet I see his nonchalant face as he prepares another kick. So I put up a thin Mana Shield in the path of his shin in the last second and he kicks right into it. Judging by the whimpers and how he collapsed like a house of cards there had to be quite some force behind that swing.

The girl watching the whole ordeal and seeing her friend in pain, and of course, finding me at fault picks up a fork and throws it at me with deadly precision before dashing after it. Mana Shield comes to the rescue again as the only way to make her attack more obvious would’ve been if she yelled before throwing. The fork bounces off the wall of pure mana while the girl vaults over and I raise my arm to protect myself right as she does the mythical flying jump-kick. As the kick connects I slide back even further with my arms throbbing from the impact but my eyes never leave the trio.

That’s it, no more just defending myself and playing by the rules, the gloves are off.

I conjure four Mana Bolts of pure arcane, each with a blunt tip as I don't want to actually kill them and launch the projectiles at my attackers. The girl nimbly dodges the two sent her way but the boy on the ground still holding his leg eats both shots and gets knocked out cold.

With one down and two to go, I’m ready to launch a follow-up attack when someone interrupts my turn. “You imbeciles, stop it right now!” A small, skinny man storms in. “Why can’t you just eat in peace for once? Get over here right now!” He roars, pointing at his feet.

The girl and I just frown before walking over, trading nasty glances along the way. The unconscious boy remains on the ground and the fatty shuffles over as well. I guess we’re in trouble.

“The rules of the mess hall have been repeated countless times already yet here you are kicking up a row day after day. I would slap all of you if it wouldn't kill you right away.” He raises his hand as if actually preparing to swing. “The instructors will hear about this and dish out your punishments. I’ll make sure of it. Now don’t make me come over again or I won't be this lenient.”

“We didn’t even start it.” Lies the girl through her teeth. “This mongrel messed with us and threatened to-”

“Lie one more time and it’ll be your last one, girl!” The man steps closer to her. “You think we’re blind, or deaf? Everyone around you heard everything, we even expected it, and yet you dare-”

“But I didn’t even touch her.” Pleads the third member of their gang, the fluffy one.

“Yeah, still you were about to.” The man looks at the boy’s arm that he holds behind his back. “Put the knife back on the table and come with me. I can’t be bothered with you any longer.”

“That won't be necessary, Jet, I’ll take it from here.” Bennett stands up from a nearby table and walks towards us, a plate of pork still in his hand. “You know how kids are… Full of energy and competition, maybe a bit too much of it.” The smaller dude just huffs and stands aside letting Bennett take over the scolding. “I was curious where this was headed so I let you duke it out a little. I have to say it was pathetic.”

The trio falls quiet as the old man makes an appearance, my confidence on the other hand soars at the sight of his gruff face. “So… can I finish my meal?” The food here is good, like good good. “You know, the rules about food being precious and whatnot…” I try to weasel my wait out of trouble.

Bennett and Jet look at each other and the skinny man starts chuckling. “Gutsy little one aren’t you? But your reasoning is fine, food is precious.”

Bennett just massages his nose bridge, as usual. He has done that more and more since I met him, and I wonder why…. “Fine, I know you are the closest thing to the victim here, however, don’t think you’ll be able to get away this easily, you’re not that innocent. You two on the other hand, after me!” Bennett scoops up the boy sniffing the floor and two idiots follow the big idiot out of the mess hall, making peace return to the tables.

Justice prevails at the end of the day. Now there’s only one more thing to take care of…

“Why didn’t you help?” I ask the boy who tried to strike up a conversation just a minute ago while sitting back down next to him.

As I pick up my dirty fork from the floor and clean it off in my already dirty shirt he points at my plate with the somewhat cold food on it and his empty…

This Abyss damned… We’re playing games, huh? I like games, we’ll see who’s laughing at the end.

[Your Class Skill [Mana Shield] has reached lvl 7.]

[Your Class Skill [Mana Bolt] has reached lvl 4->5.]

I like this stuff too.

***

As the end of my lunch draws closer the boy, I think his name is Victor, so his eyes are drawn to my food more and more frequently until there’s only one bite left and I see him licking his lips, ready to speak up again. After all, my rules state I don’t exist until my plate is empty.

And so I put my fork down, pick up my plate with that one single bite left in the middle and leave that table. Two can play that game.

“Wait.” He quickly realizes my ploy and shuffles after me.

With a face too smug to describe with words I point at my plate and keep walking. Just when I think there’s absolutely nothing he can do to stop me, Victor grabs the last bite and stuffs it into his face before swallowing. I’m not mad because he didn’t chew it whatsoever… a grave mistake. The food takes revenge for me and I watch him choke for a few seconds before slapping him on the back with a hearty swing.

[Ranger lvl 19]

“Now we’re even.” I declare and drop my plate off at a table. “What did you want?”

Why the good mood? Call it bullying or petty teasing or whatever you want, I love that shit. It’s great.

“I don’t think we are but I’m not dumb enough to keep poking the ants’ nest.” Victor takes a few deep breaths. “Introductions aside, you did pretty well, your chances of beating them were pretty high.”

“Thanks?” What the hell is he talking about, it was three against one. “Why did they even pick on me?”

“Because they’re bottom feeders.” He shrugs as if it was common knowledge. “There’s a clear hierarchy here and those three thought they could look tough by breaking in the newbie. They didn’t pick well.”

I like the compliment at the end, I couldn’t agree more, and last but not least… what the fuck? Is this a prison or wolf pack, why can’t they just act like normal kids I grew up around?

“I knew you didn’t need any help so can you really fault me?” I narrow my eyes at his renewed flattery because he’s taking it a bit too far. “Anyway, wanna hang out?”

“Maybe. Can you tell me about how things work here?” I start carefully, more info never hurts.

“Sure. In the morning around eight, we wake up, eat a light breakfast and then it's time for physical training. Some running, obstacle course, the usual. Then around noon, we have lunch, like right now. At one o’clock everyone moves to the lecture room, where the theoretical lesson begins. Some basics like math, geography, a sprinkle of history and the general political situation around us. The worst, believe me.”

Quite the packed schedule. I’d much rather ditch all the unnecessary activities and focus on what makes me actually stronger. Okay, maybe running a little has its advantages.

“This goes on for three excruciating hours.” Victor continues. “Lastly we have specialized training and sparring in the afternoon, which is what mainly helps us progress. Some rest and a bath before dinner at seven and the day is basically over. After dinner, we have some free time but the curfew is at half past eight. Get caught out of your room and you can say goodbye to your breakfast, they can get really strict about sleep, kinda like food.”

What is this, a prison? Almost every hour of our daily life seems to be stuffed with rigorous activity. Where did childhood go? And how are the other kids okay with this when their parents… Oh, right. Orphans… Does that mean I’m the softie here? No…

I’m falling into a downward spiral. Being the weakest, softest, youngest, newest, very not bestest… This is not goodest.

The boy, Victor, jumps up from his seat and waves for me to follow. “I’ll show you to the lecture room. It’s best to get there early else the best seats for a good after-meal nap are gone.”

I follow him absentmindedly, tuning out all the pointless chit-chat coming out of his mouth and pondering about my mentality.

Compared to anyone else here I’m sheltered. Had a stable life, with enough food and a roof above my head. I don’t know the struggle. Am I lacking?

We arrive at a pair of hefty doors before I can come up with an answer and step into a spacious room, well lit by the massive windows on the opposite wall. A few rows of benches and tables are curved around a small podium and a blackboard, the spot for Martha to teach the youth.

“The further back the better.” Victor declares and skips towards the back row.

I highly doubt distance matters. Martha can most definitely, hear, see, or even predict anything in here.

I ignore him and take a seat at the very front. Everything I know about the upcoming lesson comes from a boy who's very much like Frans, an idiot, so I’ll take his word with a pinch of salt. Better see it for myself up close.

“Please don’t tell me you’re one of those teacher’s pet kind of people.” He pleads while plopping down beside me.