Ch. 5 - Train Ride

Mrs. Kimberly brought me to different stores to buy me books, academy clothing, and a pet. Out of the many species of pets I could choose from, I decided on a smart-looking rat. The rat had caught my attention in the store. Having grown up near the city, I know that rats were not the cowardly, weak creatures people perceive them to be. Instead, they were the secret overlords of society.

This entire time though, I could tell that Mrs. Kimberly was still disturbed by the events that had transpired in the wand store. Even though I was the target of the hate, I got over it rather quickly. After all, in my eyes, the halfling, Mr. Calvin, was but a dead man walking. I'll be back in the future to collect this debt.

After getting all my school supplies, Mrs. Kimberly brought me to a train station situated on the far side of the and handed me a ticket.

"When the train comes, hand the operator this ticket. They'll know what to do next."

"You're not coming with me?"

"No child, I still have things I need to do here."

"Will I see you again?"

"Absolutely. I am a professor at the academy, after all."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kimberly."

"Not a problem. Stay safe and don't talk to strangers!"

After saying so, Mrs. Kimberly disappeared within in the incoming crowd. I liked Mrs. Kimberly. She is the only one who has ever shown genuine concern for my well-being. She is also the one who has granted me this new life. Although Sister Madeline did treat me nicely, unlike Mrs. Kimberly, her kindness stems from her conviction to her religion, unlike Mrs. Kimberly, whose kindness stems from her heart.

Looking around me, I saw many students around my age also holding a ticket, looking expectantly in the distance for the train. It seemed like one thing that I had to get used to was that my future classmates were not all human. Surrounding me were humans, beast people, halflings, and people with pointy ears, elves, maybe?

Choo! Choo! Choo!

In the distance, the figure of a train emerged over the horizon. Some students started to cheer around me. Only then did I notice that there were no train tracks. How was the train traveling without tracks?

When the train got closer, I saw that the train was not touching the ground; it was floating! I couldn't hide my surprised face after discovering the train defying my understanding of the laws of physics.

"A thin-blood, I presume," said an unfamiliar voice behind me.

I turned around to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed person. Hearing the term thin-blood again put me into a defensive position, and I glared at the person to see what their next move would be.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No need for hostility. I'm a thin-blood as well."

"Oh, my bad."

"Seems like you've already had to deal with those kinds of people."

"What kind of people?"

"People of the Pure Faction, I mean. The ones with a superiority complex."

"Oh. You're right."

"By the way, I'm Albert, a third-year at the academy."

"Hi, I'm Azrail, a first-year."

"Do you know how to use magic yet?"

"No."

"Wait. Did you just learn about the wizarding world?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're going to be in for a surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"As your senior and a fellow thin-blood, I recommend that you forget everything you think you know about the world and start anew."

Choo! Choo! Choo!

"Well seems like we need to get on the train now. One last thing, speaking from personal experience, it's best just to stay away from the pure-bloods. It's more trouble than it's worth. Expect to be treated like shit by them."

After saying so, Albert left just as quickly as he had arrived. Looking around me near the end of the train, I saw an operator holding up a sign saying, "First Years." After making my way to the end of the train, I handed my ticket to the operator.

The operator looked at the ticket before he asked me a few questions.

"Name?"

"Azrail World."

"Age?"

"14."

"Date of birth?"

"February 13th, 1976."

"Thin-blood?"

"...Yes."

"Alright, all the information matches, head inside, make a left, and your room is the 7th one to the right."

I thanked the operator and headed inside the train. Stepping into the train was felt like stepping into a different reality. The inside of the train was a lot bigger than what the outside would suggest. It seemed like the space inside the train was expanded using magic.

Following the operator's instructions, I turned left and entered the 7th room on the right. There was no one else in the room. In the center of the room, there was a table and seats on both sides. Looking outside the window, I could see that there were still many people in the process of getting on the train. I felt a little tired from everything that happened today, so I quickly fell asleep when I sat down on the seat.

----

"Shhhhhh."

"No, you shhhhhh."

"You're the one who's being too loud."

"I'm not the loud one. You are!"

"Why'd you yell! Look what you've done now. You woke him up."

As I slowly awoke from my sleep, I saw two other boys staring intently at me. One was covered in fur, and the other had pointy ears.

"Sorry for interrupting your sleep. I'm Valde Zinyra, the fourth son of the elven Zinyra family. The one who woke you up is my friend Ronald Mo--"

"Ronald Moonchaser! Warrior of the Moonchaser tribe and the future beast king!"

"Beast king?"

"The beast people's title for their king," answered the elf boy.

"Oh."

"I apologize on my friend's behalf. He is still very much immature and has yet to grow out of those delusions of his."

"A delusion, you say! Just you watch, one day I will become the king of the beast people and become the strongest existence of this world!"

"Alright, settle down now Ronald. By the way, who are you?"

"Azrail World."

"You are from the common world?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Because you didn't acknowledge your family in your introduction. It's etiquette in the wizard to introduce which family you belong to as well as your position in said family."

On the side, Ronald gave a few nods.

There was an awkward silence between the three of us after I admitted my thin-blooded origins. It must be this damn thin-blooded nonsense again. Just when my faith in the wizarding world was rising, it was shattered again. I noticed that Valde was struggling to say something. Whenever it looked like he was finally going to say what he wanted to say, he would reel it back in.

Ronald suddenly smacked Valde on his back.

"I'll let you know that Valde here is secretly a passionate admirer of the common world."

"You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I wasn't going to mention it, but seeing you struggle so long to start a simple discussion about the common world is just so embarrassing. As your friend, it was just too much for me."

"But you prom—"

"Say, Azrail, what's it like living in the common world?"

"Well, I can't say it's perfect, but it's got its goods and bads just like here."

Suddenly Valde regained his spirit and asked in a passionate tone, "Do you know what this, car, thing is?"

——

For the rest of the train ride, Valde bombarded me with all sorts of questions regarding the common world. Halfway through, Ronald had passed out. I noticed that Valde was particularly interested in the various technologies of the common world. Truthfully, I only knew the basics of the many technologies he had asked me about. Even then, my broad answers only intensified the burning fire in him. Valde only stopped with the questions when the sky outside had turned dark. At this point, I couldn't help myself but ask Valde a question.

"Valde, since you're so interested in the common world, why don't you go visit it?"

Valde's face suddenly darkened in response to my question, and traces of sadness could be seen. At this moment, I could tell that I had unintentionally stumbled into a messy and complicated subject.

"If you don't want to, you don't ha--"

"No, I'll answer it. You see, my family is what one might consider being an ancient family. As elves typically have a very long lifespan, my family thus has been around for a long time. They are also very traditional, a common trait among elves. They believe that people of the wizarding world should make absolutely no contact with the common world. They have forbidden me from visiting the common world and prevented me from getting any information about it. As immature as Ronald is, he is a good friend. He has taught me most of what his beast tribe knows about the common world, but even that the information is minimal. Although I don't hate my family for behaving the way they do, sometimes I wish they were more welcoming of change. The world is changing, and my family and the wizarding world are still living in the past. The common world isn't as weak as it once would. The wizarding world has grown stagnant due to complacency, and the common world will surpass it in no time by embracing change rather than rejecting it."

"You fear the common world becoming stronger than the wizarding world?"

"Yes, but not for the reason you might think. When the time comes that the fact of the common world being as strong if not stronger than the wizarding world is right in the face of the wizarding world. No doubt, the wizarding world will declare total war against the common world. There have been wars between the wizarding world and the common world; however, those have been small in scale and usually end up one-sided, with the common world being decimated in battle. However, if a war is held now, it will unleash hell upon the world. The extent of destruction and death will be astronomical.

"Why do you think that the wizarding world will declare war on the common world?"

"It ties into their unwillingness to acknowledge change. Since the dawn of time, the wizarding world reigned supreme against the common world. For millenniums, wizards and witches alike treated thin-bloods as inferior beings. Though, during those times, wizards and witches were justified in considering themselves superior to their counterparts in the form of thin-bloods. Thin-bloods stood no chance against them in battle or in anything else besides sheer population. However, that is no longer the case now. Besides using magic, I don't think the wizarding world is much better than the common world on any subject. Yet, wizards and witches alike continue to consider themselves as vastly superior beings. When the cold, hard fact that they are not superior to thin-bloods as they consider themselves to be hits them flat in the face, the wizarding world will refuse to accept it; and the only way for the wizarding world to prove to themselves that they are still superior to the common world is through all-out war."

"Damn. What a shitty scenario."

"Even worse, we're probably going to live long enough to witness it and probably fight in it as well."

*Sigh*

"Politics suck."

"They do, but you still need to know it since it will impact your life."

Choo! Choo! Choo!

"Ehm. It seems like we're about to arrive."