SilverPaw

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

They took a walk to get to their dorm, which was fine. Reagan could have displaced them there, but he didn’t mind getting a more detailed overview of the school grounds. He’d need a while yet to completely familiarize with the place, so taking a stroll with his companions was all well and good. Besides, he didn’t know exactly where their room was, except somewhere in the basement. He hadn’t thought anything of that fact. That proved to have been a colossal oversight.

They descended…the stairs and hallways were ominously dusty, moldy, and cobwebbed. Not a good sign. They passed some machining rooms, full of rusted garbage. Definitely not a good sign. Their…room…Their room… “T-this is it?!” Ray exclaimed, suddenly feeling weak. He swayed, leaning on a dreadfully grimy wall. Ohhh, his parents hadn’t been kidding when they said they’d cut him off. He was certain they couldn’t have possibly guessed or even imagined that he’d be put into conditions such as this. Though…it would also not be completely unlike them to attempt to shock him into running back with his metaphorical tail between the legs.

“Cleaning!” he echoed August, sounding oddly excited about the prospect. “Yes, yes, I can just relocate this crap!” Ray clapped his hands. Of course! Cleaning! Using their abilities to their advantage! It wasn’t exactly what he’d been expecting, but so what? He wasn’t helpless, and he wasn’t so desperate that he’d go cry about it. He’d just been…surprised. All the filth had simply induced a temporary gloominess upon him. That could not be forgiven. This place was in for a renovation!

A manic grin stretched Reagan’s lips as a veritable storm descended upon his mind, gathering ideas in a chaotic whirl of cohesion. “Alright, you guys. There’s so much crap we’re gonna need to sort it.” The teen unzipped his jacket, and fished a notebook from one of his inner pockets. He leafed through its contents, muttering quietly to himself as he did so. “Aha!” he proclaimed happily, ripping out a page. “Here, put this runic sequence on every item you want to keep, alright? Anything untagged gets thrown out.” Ray handed the page to August, since he only had the one copy, and the other male had suggested this.

Reagan stored the notebook back, then brought out another item. It was an engraved cigarette case – his father’s, in fact – but instead of what one would expect of the contents, there were multiple coloured chalks inside. He handed a yellow one to August, and a red one to Feier, while taking a purple one himself. Ray then proceeded to walk around the room, seeking usable things. It was like trying to get something functional out of a garbage heap, but at least there was a lot of stuff. He tagged a table, some chairs, a few kitchen appliances, and one of the mattresses. He grimaced at the metal bed frame, and left it untagged. It honestly looked worse than putting the mattress on the floor.

In the spirit of renovation, Ray had a follow-up idea. “By the way, how are you two with transmutations? We could make us some better furniture. It’ll be just like one of those IIM projects – except useful this time,” he suggested. First, he’d need to displace all the shit items they didn’t need, for sure…And he had just the place to put them. Reagan smirked, wondering what his parents’ reactions would be at all of this suddenly appearing in their bedroom. Oh, if he only could witness the pure horror on their faces…

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@xia@Aviaire

I, the Demon King, Will Summon My Own Damned Heroes!

Asteria

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She’d managed to create a tailstrap knife – perfect! The grass packroll was a success too, but there was no way Ed could possibly carry it by himself to the lakeside town they’d observed. Perhaps they could harness the two or three of them and drag it like that…If they’d had a small cart, that would be even better, as odd as it would be to have rats acting as draft animals. Then again, this was an odd world.

Unfortunately, mother rat resisted Asteria’s attempts to wrap the protective cloth around her. When Ed butchered the goblin, which was rather fascinating if mildly morbid to watch, mother rat stole a piece for herself, and Asteria chittered amusedly. “I’ll go check with the gnome later if that worked,” she informed Ed. “The meat we have left for ourselves may even spoil before we manage to eat it,” she considered thoughtfully. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that though.

Asteria listened patiently to Ed’s recounting of the goals he believed they should focus on, and she nodded in agreement several times. “We absolutely need to get stronger,” she confirmed. “Right now, we can’t even carry all the stuff we have easily enough to make travelling viable,” she commented. “I’d like to evolve to a bipedal form – I didn’t choose to do so the first time because I did not want to be stuck in some sort of Ratwoman line, but if I get the chance again, I’ll take it regardless. So yeah, training and evolution definitely sound good,” the dire rat affirmed.

“I’m all for getting more information about this world in general, though a map and a compass are certainly a good start,” she nodded. “I’m fine with doing our best to find the Demon King, though I’m personally not too concerned about returning to Earth. Nonetheless, I’d like to meet the person who brought us here and see what to make of him. Who knows, maybe I’ll even feel like leaving this world by then,” she concluded. She didn’t have anything to add, besides, “I’m going to that other chamber to see if the gnome is willing to offer some information for the food you gave him.”

She did exactly as she said, entering the room where she’d previously spoken to the gnome beforehand. “Hello? Mister gnome? I hope that food offering my buddy offered was enough to make me semi-welcome here…” watching if the earth being would appear or not, she added, “Hope I guessed right that food was the thing to bribe you with.”

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

“Mm, it’s been a while,” Reagan nodded pleasantly at August. The blonde was apparently flustered at having his conversation interrupted. Actually, Ray was struck with a realization, wasn’t there a claim that his incident was genuinely accidental…? So perhaps their comrade in chaos was a tad uncomfortable to be considered a fellow havoc wreaker, actually. Nonetheless, Ray was certain Fei and he could ease Gus into their company, perhaps even get his willing participation for any of the inevitable shenanigans that were bound to occur at this school on a daily basis.

Feier had been muttering something to herself all the while, and suddenly burst out with the revelation that AJ wasn’t August’s kid. Ray blinked at her, then burst out in laughter. “Ohh…hhh..haaah…he didn’t have a kid, no,” he chuckled. “Pretty sure AJ isn’t young enough for that in any case…” Reagan muttered, narrowing his eyes at the brunette in question. He was about an inch shorter than himself, but it’s not like he was any younger that 14 at the very least…right? Or was he something more like 12…? Ray cocked his head to the side, but didn’t get to confirm AJ’s age, as the Director began announcing people’s dorms and rooms loudly. Droxl’s shouting was so overwhelming, in fact, that it practically drowned out any other conversation.

Besides noting where he was to stay, Ray perked up at hearing that AJ was apparently something akin to a dark lord. He dearly wanted to find out whether that meant what he thought it did, but the boy left before he could ask. Reagan was still pouting at that when Fei managed to catch him by surprise. Again. “W-what?” he spluttered, turning to Fei with a dramatic pose of shocked betrayal, right hand clasped at his heart.

“Fei-er,” he whined, drawing out her name, giving her his best kicked puppy look. Unfortunately, his demonic visage reduced the expression’s cute-factor and therefore its effectiveness. “Such a betrayal!” he gasped theatrically, wiping at non-existent tears. “And here I thought you were my dearest ally,” he shook his head in put-upon sadness. Ray couldn’t keep his obvious and silly act going on any longer however, and turned a wry grin on Fei.

“For real, though, with my luck it’ll be common knowledge by tomorrow that I’m spoken for.” He couldn’t help the following grimace, though it was much milder than Daria’s actual presence would have made it. “And with that, that bloodthirsty savage!” He shuddered, very much looking like a dog shaking off its coat after a swim. “Oh well… At least that would annoy the pink cat too,” Ray added, not too convincingly. He waved a hand dismissively, trying to do away with the very thought of the violence-prone Leopardkin. “Let’s just go see where they put us,” he conceded.

Dungeon Clearer! The Wonderful World of an Adventurer

Yeah, sure, tracks, whatever points to the bandits, really. Or are we supposed to write about how and where we find them without any input from you?

Dungeon Clearer! The Wonderful World of an Adventurer

Clues? I mean, how would we progress otherwise?

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

The girl whom Reagan had praised not long ago as a mediator suddenly got mad at him, on behalf of a teacher of all things. As if the councilor needed her to intervene! Apparently she was similar to Daria in that regard, and Ray wondered at the coincidence that the two of them would share a room. El’s comments on respect and intelligence drew an involuntary sneer from him, however; she was using an intimately familiar tactic on him. Ray had met more than his share of adults who thought they could model him into some perfect heir, and who meant to control every single aspect of his life with that exact same sorry excuse of an argument.

“It was a joke, and you are the only one getting heated here” he informed El with an eyeroll. “I’d need an acid-proof stomach to even consider it,” he muttered to himself, brushing loose fabric from the damaged part of his outfit. Ugh, this jacket was ruined. Just great. Reagan thought it was still better to keep the thing, however, as he wasn’t certain how much money his parents would be willing to shell out for non-essentials when they were still so pissed.

Reagan rolled his shoulders, and huffed at his friend rather than get fixated on another over-reactive person. “Not any weirder than Betty’s imagination,” he replied to Feier, shrugging. Nevertheless, he was glad for her teasing observation, and his smile showed it.

As the student, whose first name he learned was Helena – not just Hel – due to Betty’s mention, soon excused herself, however, so Ray left her to it. Instead, he listened to the councilor with mild curiosity. “Sounds like you get spilled more often that you’d like,” he commented, rising a judging eyebrow, though the sharp reply was tempered by an upwards twitch of his lips.

“So you’ve decided to put the three problem students in one room? Curious arrangement, but I’m sure you have more than us to worry about,” he said to Betty, amused.

“Yeah, I heard, we’re with August,” Ray chuckled at Fei’s enthusiasm. Her joy was invigorating, and the resulting uplift in his mood was enough for Ray to forget entirely about Daria and Helena. “Sure, let’s go over,” he agreed, pleased to be in the company of a like-minded comrade who also had the perk of exuding an aura of carefree fun.

“Hmm, that incident of his, huh?” he barked a laugh. “I’ll let August tell you all about it,” Ray promised, expecting that to go over well, if well was a synonym for hilarious. He sighed, eyes closing briefly, grinning at the nostalgic bliss one of the more memorable events at the Institute brought him. Teachers and students alike had resembled uncoordinated chickens in their attempts to fix the incident, but their endeavors were laughably pathetic. Not to mention how nonfunctional their preventive measures had been.

“Oh, hey, look at that cutie he’s talking to,” he whispered to Fei. “Isn’t that kid adorable? Makes me want to pinch his cheek or something,” he murmured, expression softening as he looked at the brown-haired boy chatting to the blonde. There was something alluring about the plain-looking lad, though Reagan couldn’t quite put a finger on the why of it.

They approached the duo just as the kid introduced himself as AJ. “Seems like a nickname,” Reagan noted neutrally, mildly dubious despite AJ’s claim. Ray considered himself an expert on nicknames, after all, and that didn’t have the ring of a full name. “That’s fine though. I go by Ray even though my folks named me Reagan,” he confessed, his tone making it clear that he did not find his name appealing.

“Anyhow, we came over to inform August here,” he nodded at the blonde, “that Betty just told us that the three of us are dorming together,” he revealed, gesturing at Fei, the blonde, and himself, displaying another of his open-mouthed grins. “Since we were all expelled from the Institute for causing shit and all that,” he conveyed the councillor's reasoning with a smirk.

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@Cotton @xia @Zinita @stone @Aviaire

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

Reagan had experience with cats of the mundane variant, and Daria bore a striking resemblance to a feline about to pounce on their prey with relentless fury. He was considering whether to relocate himself before she could scratch at his face or attempt to knock out a tooth or two, when another student stepped between them. Ray was sure he’d peripherally heard an introduction from her, but could only remember that her name was somehow related to the underworld. Is it just Hel? Pretty ballsy name to give a kid if so, he thought. That she was actually able to reign in the enraged Leopardkin was impressive, and Ray nodded at her in thanks.

Daria then gave her parting remarks, to which Reagan simply said, “Noted,” with a quirk of his brow. Once she left, he turned to Feier. “Wasn’t that the most cliché development possible?" he asked, seeking seeking to confirm that he wasn’t the only one caught off guard by that. "Seriously? A duel at dusk? Where is that kid from?” he wondered, openly baffled at this recent experience. “Such a classical example of a brute,” he muttered condescendingly.

With a flip of his hair, Ray shook the odd mood off him, redirecting his attention to his friend and Hel. The latter had a wit and temperament he could appreciate from what little he’d seen, so Reagan allowed a small but genuine smile overtake his face as he snorted at her remark. “I am still undecided if I want to waste my time for the likes of her,” he commented. As the conversation topic was non too gently changed, however, Ray shifted gears with grace and a hidden feeling of gladness.

“Fei and I met at the Institute,” he smirked, offering the green-eyed, black-haired girl in question a fist bump, glancing at her briefly with a sly look. “Right, Fei?" he chuckled. "Oh, and by the way, I don’t know if you’d ever noticed him, since his incident was after you were expelled, I believe, but doesn’t he seem like Lacey-Vane to you?” he asked, pointing to the taller blonde boy some ways away.

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by a slime lady, who forced herself into his personal space and began dispensing unsolicited advice. Ray’s eyebrows twitched. Is this how Daria had perceived him? He empathetically did not want to sympathize with her. He stared down the councilor with a thoroughly unimpressed expression. “Seriously?” he exclaimed for the second time in as many minutes. “All you managed to catch was El’s joke, and you honestly…” Ray trailed off, noticing his voice had raised in pitch. Reagan disliked when that happened, so he stopped and allowed himself a long breath.

“It’s not that kind of a date,” he snapped, honestly disgusted at the very idea, tone souring at the offensive word he was forced to repeat. “The only protection we could possibly need to worry about is the kind that’s effective against attempts on one’s life,” he informed her, lips twisted in displeasure. With a huff, Ray shook his head. Here he was, playing straight man to some naïve, doltish professor. How had it come to this? Reagan had wanted to question Betty if she would truly trust as delicate of a matter as she assumed she came across to his most recent prank victim, but let the matter go.

Instead, he smoothed out his expression, bidding the jaws of his mind to release their firm grip on that Daria girl. “But never mind that, Betty,” he began, tone sickly sweet, “the important thing here is you,” Ray declared, an unholy gleam in his eyes. “I have never been able to confirm this, but I’ve heard rumours,” he leaned closer to her, voice hushed as if conveying the greatest of secrets, “that the outer layers of a slime can be used to make the highest quality of jellies,” he concluded, lips stretching into a sharp-toothed grin.

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@RabidAnubis @Cotton @xia @Zinita

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

@RabidAnubis Ball's in your court. Whether there's actually a fight or not depends on Daria now, I should think.

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

Several more students showed up. A shy newcomer, another girl, a blonde and weirdly shining one. Was that holy light? Reagan politely nodded at her, and said, “Welcome,” calmly, regally; as if personally inviting her to feel free to join the conversation. A blonde student began helping a professor arrange the tables, yet he also knocked off some things. Ray smiled, though it was a tad distant, as he was in the grips of a strong déjà vu. I swear that’s…nooo way…Yes way?? Before he could get too excited and ask Feier if she was seeing the same thing he was, one of the cat ladies took offense to him.

The pink haired girl up and went into his face and started bitching at him for his constructive criticism. Feier attempted mediating, and while he glanced at her with a brief expression of gratitude, he wasn’t about to back down. “Thanks Fei, but I got it,” he said, but thought, I hope. His reply to Fia was as gentle as he was capable of making it, yet it still came across as imperious more so than anything else.

Reagan turned back to Pink, as he chose to term her, and glared right back. “Ha? How the fuck is it free when we’re paying for it?” Ray rolled his eyes, and shook his head in bewildered annoyance. “Yeah, you’re apparently so poor you identify with your food and feel insulted alongside it,” he snorted. “It’s not even like you made it,” Reagan huffed, bemused and frankly irritated to be called out on his rich boy’s behaviour. Yeah, so he was used to higher standards, so sue him if expecting bad then getting a shithole was a bit of a shock.

“Ahh, yes, I can certainly see how wretchedly my comments have affected you,” he drawled. “And you accuse me of a fragile constitution?” Ray tone and smile were both obviously mocking, though it couldn’t be said that he took much joy in the situation. He really didn’t need or want some random stranger making assumptions about him.

“Don’t worry, I came here just so no girl could ever possibly be compelled to attach herself to me,” he remarked dryly, though he doubted this hothead would understand what he was actually implying. Then again, no one would unless they were familiar enough with him to know that one of the many reasons he detested his parents was because of their oh so favoured concept of arranged marriage.

“This may be another unwarranted observation on my part, stranger, but maybe try learning that just because you can take shit, why should you?” he suggested haughtily. “Exactly as you confronted me for my poor social graces,” the air quotes for that phrase were loud and clear without Ray needing to make the appropriate gesture, “you can simply not be satisfied with mediocrity, whether for your darling food or whichever other element of your life you might care for.” Reagan concluded, rising a questioning brow at the surprisingly volatile student.

Surviving in a D-Tier Magical Academy - Always Accepting -

Reagan Gideon Breckenridge

When he was done with the admissions officer – and hadn’t that been fun? – Reagan took to exploring the academy’s grounds, getting a feel of the layout and memorizing some convenient locations he could displace himself to. By the time he’d made it to the party that had been advertised to them, a few students had already gathered at the snacks table. What drew Ray’s attention, however, were the teacher’s antics. A dryad was chucking balloons at some guy, and they just stuck to him, which caused the guy to shriek in outrage. Ray covered his mouth with a palm and giggled near-silently at the poor flustered professor.

Strolling to the plant woman, he whispered, “Hey, teach, watch this,” and after takin a few seconds to scan his target and the selected ‘weapons’, enacted his plan. Multiple delayed displacements, easy peasy, Ray grinned, and with a twitch of his fingers, a shadowy portal swallowed three of the smallest balloon clusters. A second later, they reappeared right next to the human professor with a poof of smoke, gently bumping into his torso, the side of his face, head, and limbs, leaving more surface of him covered than not. He barely had room enough to breathe, part of his mouth was obstructed, and only one eye was free enough to glare fiercely at the gathering.

“What is this sorcery?!” he squawked. He was probably genuinely wondering who’d done this to him, and how exactly, but the turn of the phrase was quite the unfortunate one.

“Pfft,” the dryad smirked. “Not bad, kid,” the lady of vines gave him a once over, before looking back at the riotous sight of Professor Cyrus with appreciation. “Minus points for stealing my only source of entertainment though,” she pouted. “He’ll really leave at this rate,” she muttered with a disappointed sigh.

“That would be a shame, he looks like loads of fun to keep around,” Ray replied, undeniable amused. “Maybe y’all can convince him,” he winked at the assembly of bored or semi-occupied professors, and left for the refreshment table. Reagan situated himself so he had a prime position to watch his prank victim still struggling to peel the balloons off his body. This guy is just too easy. Perfect for destressing. The lizard man was already helping the human professor remove the balloons, though more so for the sake of the decorations rather than to help relieve his colleague, Ray thought, the youth’s demeanour still blatantly self-satisfied.

The teenager delicately picked up a muffin, eating it neatly as he observed the goings-on. The chocolate muffin was dry and lacking in sugar content. Ray wrinkled his nose. Ugh, low quality food, this’ll be one of the many inconveniences of this place. Oh well, he sighed, and took a rum ball next, which was marginally better. As the professors’ shenanigans weren’t getting any interesting developments at the moment, Reagan’s redirected his focus to the three female students grazing at – or in the case of the pink-haired one, devouring – the food. Two were cat-folk, and the third…Oh? Reagan cocked his head to the side, a pleased smile spreading across his face. This year just got a 100% better. He didn’t immediately express his eagerness to meet up with Feier, however.

“Hey, guys, I’m Ray,” he introduced himself with a grin. “So, does anyone else find this fodder totally deplorable or is that just me?” he asked, tone and expression full of levity, though he was genuinely wondering. “I bet I could whip up something better,” he stated confidently. “Whoever baked this,” he sighed, and shook his head, “I kinda pity them, ya know? Though it’s really us right now that have to bear with their lack of skill,” he snorted, but nonetheless placed a roll cake on a plastic platter and proceeded to fork it into small pieces, which he ate thoughtfully.