Chapter 21. Arrival at the Academy.
The rest of the summer went by quickly for Gavin and his friends. The rest of the camping trip was full of adventure and discoveries. He spent all summer working on mastering what little bit of knowledge he was able to gain from Erza and the others that week. Right now, she was driving them to Allario for the first day at the Magic Academy. Gavin took this time to review his improved stats, according to Veronica.
Gavin Johnson. Age 18.
Royal bloodline werewolf shifter.
Level 10.
Hp. 110/110
Mana points. 60/60
Strength 35
Speed 30
Agility 20
Stamina 40
Charm 10
Intimidate 10
Acquired skills.
Hunters howl level 1. When the user activates this skill, a horrifying howl is unleashed. The strength is proportionate to the users' intimidation points. Enemies with a weaker will than users intimidate will flee in panic and fear for 30 seconds. Usable three times a day. Consumes minimal mana.
Shape-shift, werewolf form level 3. The user is capable of shifting partially or fully into a powerful werewolf form. While in a fully shifted state, all stats are doubled during the duration. The more the user shape-shifts, the more proficient and powerful this form will be. Higher levels will grant higher effects. At the current level, the user will experience less mana drain and be more comfortable sustaining shifted form for longer periods of time.
Elemental manipulation level 2. Due to the unique royal bloodline possessed by the user, Gavin Johnson is capable of resonating and using all six known magical elements. Still requires training to be proficient in the use. As the user grows in strength, it will require less mana to use more advanced spells at higher levels. At the current level. The user has basic knowledge of all six primary elemental magics. Earth, air, wind, fire, light and darkness magic are now accessible to the user.
Veronica, is that all of my relevant stat information? Gavin asked Veronica internally.
Yes Gavin. Each level up appears to grant five points to all stats, with the exception being health, mana, charm and intimidation. Health points appear to rise by two points per level. Mana points appear to increase by three points per level up.
Why haven't the charm or intimidation skills increased at all? Gavin asked her.
This is just a guess, Gavin. But I believe they will only increase when you are placed in situations where you have to charm someone, or intimidate them to get the desired result you seek. Veronica replied softly, her presence cooling and soothing in his mind.
I guess that makes sense, Gavin replied internally as she looked out the window.
"We are almost there babe," Erza said softly as she pulled off the interstate exit they needed. It had been a long road trip. It took them about a week of driving to get here. Gavin only hoped this would be worth it. He really wasn't looking forward to spending so long away from her and everyone else back home.
Gavin sat up straight as he looked around the city as they drove. It was a much larger city than their home, Tristane. If Gavin had to guess, Allario was easily three or four times the size of Tristane. Tall buildings shot towards the sky like towers in the middle of the downtown area. The tops of the buildings pierced through the clouds covering the sky. Giant houses and apartment complexes filled the neighborhoods they drove through. Allario was the definition of shiny, expensive and economic power. There was a reason: it was this region's capital city after all.
Erza drove through the congested traffic patiently as she followed the GPS that was set up on her phone that was hooked to the dash. "This city is so massive, don't you think?" she asked him as she drove through the tightly packed traffic. People drove in and out of the traffic lanes, cutting others off, speeding around without a care in the world. It really felt like a different city where no one cared for those around them, compared to the smaller Tristane that Gavin was from.
Gavin nodded as he turned his head, keeping an eye on the nearby traffic while she drove. "Yeah, but the people here are insane drivers," he responded, his voice filled with annoyance. He couldn't believe how people behaved here, inconsiderate and rushing in between. In the few minutes they'd been in the town, he already counted almost a dozen barely avoided accidents because of idiot drivers.
"I'll be so glad when my years at the academy are over, so I never have to come back here again," he said with a grumble.
Erza laughed as she slowed down and turned the corner. The breath left Gavin in a rush of excitement as he realized what he was looking at. The campus of Allario was several city blocks in size. As Erza turned the corner, she quickly came to a halt. She was in a line of vehicles that were waiting to pull into the campus parking lot area to drop off new students. There were signs on bright LED displays that lined up the area offering directions.
First year students use parking lot A. Second year students use parking lot B. Third year students use parking lot C.
The messages displayed rotated through the list of parking lot instructions as people arrived. "Seems they are trying to keep the students from different grades separate during the first day," Erza noted as she joined the procession to the first-year student parking lot and drop off.
"Yeah it looks that way," Gavin agreed as he looked out the window. To say the campus was massive was a severe understatement.
The size of the campus was several city blocks. It appeared to Gavin that the campus was divided up into four distinct sections. He wasn't sure what each section of the campus was for. All the different parking lots the signs led to were on one such section of the campus grounds, towards the west part of the campus. One thing Gavin did guess at, though, was that in the section towards the south end of the campus, there was one singular giant building that stood taller than all the others.
It was honestly intimidating to Gavin how large this building was. The single building took up the entire southern section of the campus. It must be for some type of grand event the academy hosted. Gavin couldn't wait to get a closer look at it later on.
They waited in line for the first-year student parking lot and eventually found a spot to park in. They shut the SUV off and went towards the back. Erza opened the hatch and Gavin grabbed several of his black bags and Erza grabbed the rest as she shut the door after them.
There were a few tables with information pamphlets and a few senior students handing them out and helping answer questions as Gavin and Erza walked over.
A very short, petite blonde girl with hair that fell just to her shoulders smiled broadly as she noticed them walking over. She wore a dark blue shirt and a long skirt that covered up to her knees. Her cheery personality was infectious to be around as she greeted everyone around her with enthusiasm.
"Hello! Welcome to the Allario magic academy. My name is Stephanie. You can call me Steph for short," Stephanie introduced herself with a wide smile and bright brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight.
Gavin was taken aback by her vibrant positive attitude as he stammered over his words for a second. "Hi. I'm Gavin Johnson reporting for check in," he finally managed to get out. Erza, meanwhile, looked on in annoyance plain to see on her face.
Erza bit her bottom lip as she watched her boyfriend get tongue-tied by the first pretty girl he interacted with. Typical guy, she mused to herself.
"Sure, I can pull your info up right here. Give me just a moment to pull you up," she said, her voice still keeping that helpful energy as she pulled out a tablet from an apron around her waist. "Alright, Gavin Johnson. Eighteen-years old. Freshman. Building Alpha. Third floor, room 27." Stephanie rattled off whatever information she pulled up on Gavin in quick succession. She grabbed one of the pamphlets and highlighted some locations. She pointed to the first spot and said, "This is where we currently are." She moved her finger from the parking lot they were in, over towards the west side of the campus on the map.
"Over this way are a series of large dormitory buildings. Each building is for a year. Freshman building. Sophomore building, and Senior building. Otherwise, they are known as Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie buildings. The purpose is to try keeping each of the grades to themselves to avoid fights and the strong picking on the weak here on campus grounds." Stephanie said with her natural smile on her face. "According to my information, you are going to be a first-year student, so you're going to be at Alpha building, on the third floor, room twenty-seven. You have a roommate assigned to you by the name of Jackson Smith, a fellow first-year student." She said as she showed them the path to the left they needed to take to head over to the right building.
"Do fights often happen on campus?" Erza asked softly, apprehension in her voice.
Stephanie shook her head, her short blonde hair flowing in the wind from the movements. "The staff tries to ride herd on the more aggressive students and weed them out of the program before anything serious can happen. But even they can't be everywhere at all times. I wouldn't worry though," she said as she noticed Erza's hesitation and concern.
Gavin nodded. "Right makes sense. I assume a zero tolerance for bullying and harassment, like most schools, but things still happen even with the best of intentions," Gavin said, understanding what Stephanie was trying to say.
Stephanie's smile returned to full force as she looked at Gavin, "Yes, exactly. While there is no fighting outside sanctioned events, things do tend to happen, unfortunately. It sort of comes as a result of the type of people that seek power for whatever reason," she said.
"Come on, Gavin, let's get you to your room," Erza said as she tried to steer Gavin away from the petite blonde in front of them. There was something about her that Erza just did not like at all.
Gavin said his farewells to Stephanie, who waved, then turned to help the next first-year student who walked over for more information.
"You don't have to act all jealous, you know," Gavin said softly as they walked down the path that led away from the greeting area.
Erza stiffened and stopped walking as she glanced bashfully at Gavin. "You noticed?" she asked quietly, a slight blush crept up her cheeks.
Gavin grinned in response to her. "How could I not notice? You looked ready to rip her head off," he said with a soft laugh as he walked closer and nudged her shoulder with his. "Relax baby, I'm not going to fall victim to some random girl's charms here at the academy. Not when I have you to come home to." Gavin laughed as he said those words. He noticed that her body posture seemed to relax as he calmed her down. In truth, he had noticed her body stiffen when the cheery and upbeat girl talked to Gavin. There was something inside him that also sensed her raging emotions when Gavin talked to her. He couldn't explain it, but the more time they spent together, the more he could almost sense her emotions before she ever said anything. It was like a primal six sense between them. She acted as if she could sense his emotions at times too. Neither of them really understood what was the cause and more or less just went with the flow.
She hung her head slightly as she continued walking. They slowly made their way through the throng of fellow students being escorted by friends and family helping to carry bags towards the dormitory buildings. The walkway was a well-laid, smooth concrete path that was wide enough for plenty of people to walk side by side and not feel crowded. There were benches placed along the edge of the path every ten or twenty feet it looked like. Trees, bushes, flowers, and plenty of greenery filled the open areas between the buildings. Off the path was almost like walking through the woods back home. Gavin felt like he was going to be escaping plenty of times into those woods for some genuine peace and quiet.
Gavin smiled as he walked alongside Erza as they walked with the crowd. A girl with short, spiky blue hair pushed past Gavin and continued walking. At the moment of contact between them, Gavin felt a peculiar surge go through him. It was similar to what he felt when he shifted for the first time. Something old and primal, yet familiar. He wasn't sure what caused it or what it even meant. But he stopped in his tracks and rubbed his hand over the point of contact on his shoulder as she brushed past. She kept walking without even an apology as Gavin's eyes followed the short spiky-haired girl.
Erza turned with a frown and looked at Gavin. "What's wrong?" she asked as she stepped back to stand in front of him, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
He shook his head as he turned his gaze back to Erza. "I'm not sure. Someone brushed against my shoulder and I felt this strange surge go through me. It was similar to the night of the ambush," he whispered as he looked at Erza's soft amber eyes.
Erza let out a soft gasp as Gavin's eyes found hers. His eyes were blood-red. A sign that his wolf lurked close to the surface. "Gavin, calm yourself. Your eyes are red, baby," she whispered in a warning to him.
Gavin let out a soft curse and closed his eyes. He focused on his inner mana and forced his body to relax. Whatever caused this reaction worried him. He had grown a lot over the summer. He was decent at basic magic and could easily shift at will now. The only time that he struggled to maintain control was if someone threatened Erza. But that did not happen, so why were his eyes glowing red?
He took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. Erza relaxed as she saw his piercing blue eyes that she had fallen in love with. She smiled softly at him as she nodded. "They are back to normal," she said quietly as she pointed over her shoulder towards the Alpha dorm building. "Come on. Let's get you to your room and unpack."
He didn't reply as he was still thinking things over in his mind as he walked beside her quietly. Why did his eyes react this way? Who was that girl that bumped into him without saying anything? What was that surge and feeling he got from their momentary connection? He was running through these questions left and right as he tried to make sense of what exactly was going on.
They neared the Alpha dormitory building and Gavin was honestly impressed by how nice it looked from the outside. The building was in the shape of a giant circle by appearances. Every room on each floor had a type of balcony area with a door, much like a normal full-size apartment building. The outside of the building had what appeared to be several entrances to come and go. Outside the entrance they faced was a giant community area. Several grills were sitting off to the side. A few pavilions with picnic tables and benches were in the area. It was clear that the campus really wanted people to be as relaxed and comfortable outside as possible while they were there.
Erza let out an appreciative whistle as she took in the outside communal area. "Dang, this puts some apartments back in Tristane to shame," she said, impressed by the open and free space that was around them. "If the outside is this nice, what in god's name does the dorm rooms look like?" she wondered aloud as they stepped closer to the building.
The building itself was a rather simple building made with white marble-like stone. It was brilliant in the sunlight. It didn't have a single crack or blemish on it from what Erza and Gavin could tell. Black steel wrapped around all the balcony areas outside each dorm along the side of the building, a stark contrast to the white marble. The front entry had a solid dark brown double wooden panel wide door with windows on either side of it. The doors were propped open at the moment to make all the moving in and out of the mass of students a bit easier.
Gavin walked through the threshold as he looked around and found a sign pointing to the elevators. The inside was pleasant to look at. Soft, warm lights lit up the interior as they left the brightness of the outside sun. The halls were crowded because of the number of people moving about, so it was a tight fit for Gavin and Erza to walk through. Suddenly, a shoulder rammed painfully into Erza as she collided with someone that refused to move. The action caused her to stumble back slightly in surprise.
"Watch where you're walking trash," a voice called out, followed by mocking laughter.
The words instantly set Gavin's anger on fire. He turned around and noticed a tall man with three cronies behind him staring at Erza. "You know, it's normally polite to apologize when you bump into someone," the man said. Gavin noticed he had a small silver piercing in each ear and brown spiked hair. His cronies weren't worth noting as he quickly walked over and stepped between them.
"Gavin, don't, let it go. I'm alright," Erza said quickly and quietly. She was well aware of what would happen should things escalate. Frankly, that possibility frightened her slightly. The only time Gavin had difficulty controlling his shifting now was when someone was aggressive towards her. He usually lost all control when that happened. She had to defuse the situation before things escalated.
"Why don't you take your own advice then, since you apparently purposely bumped into her and now want to act like the victim," Gavin said with a low rumble in his tone. He had already sized up the four men, and determined none of them were a threat to him with his abilities. That being said, he knew he couldn't just shift there and put them in their place. These were the types of bullies he hated the most. The ones that deliberately found someone, anyone, to pick on and attack. Just to make themselves feel good.
"Watch who you're talking to punk. I might just decide to mop the floors and walls with you," the lead bully with the earrings said as he glanced at the black, curly-haired kid that stepped between him and the hot-red-headed woman. He wanted to take the girl and have all kinds of wicked fun with her. Who was this kid to get in the way of that?
Erza placed her hand on Gavin's shoulder as a gentle reminder to not lose control over this situation. "We will just be on our way," she said softly, trying to defuse the tension. She felt Gavin's muscles under her arm. They were tense, coiled, ready to strike at a moment's notice from these guys.
"Come on Bradley, Teach this punk a lesson," one of the cronies on the right said. He was encouraging a fight to break out. He wanted to see his boss beat the snot out of this punk. The woman was plenty hot for a night or two of some fun with them.
The one known as Bradley shook his head at Erza, "Now, why would you want to go and run off? We only just met sweet thing," he said, trying his best at a southern drawl. When he said this, a vein started pulsing on Gavin's right temple as he felt his anger boil even further.
Bradley reached out a hand to try to grab Erza's hand and was surprised with a fierce grip that stopped his arm in its tracks. "Do not touch her," a deep, menacing voice filled the hallway. Bradley looked at the person holding his arm, and swallowed as he felt a tinge of fear while he looked into a pair of horrifying crimson blood-red eyes.