Can't be more than an hour before he wakes up… can't be…
Ethan had been lying in the same spot for hours. Time didn't fly when you were a glorified knife. There was no way to tell exactly how long it had been, since being on the floor didn't give him a particularly good view of his surroundings.
The only thing he could possibly use to tell the time was the large window opposite the door, where faint early morning light began to seep into the room.
Am I going insane…? Do I even know who I am anymore?
Without internet, anime, or even a phone, time had dragged on and on and on. For Ethan, who never left himself without something to do, the mind-numbing boredom was excruciating. His brain was slowly devolving into pulp.
All he'd been able to do was stare blankly around Adriel's dorm room, noting every tiny detail until there was nothing new to think about.
Suddenly, he heard Adriel begin to stir. Hope poured through him--was Adriel the kind of high achiever who just had to get up at an unholy hour?
"What a nightmare," Adriel said to himself, as if he had forgotten about Ethan's presence. Well, to be fair, he probably had. He got up from his bed, still in his clothes from yesterday. "Why is it always about them?"
Finally, sleeping beauty awakens!
"Them who?" Ethan piped up.
"Shit!!" Adriel hissed, staggering back. His eyes flicked to Ethan, on the ground. "Don't do that! Damn sword."
"My bad," Ethan said sheepishly. "I was about to start naming each one of your floorboards for entertainment. Couldn't help it. Who are 'they'?"
Adriel grabbed Ethan and carelessly propped him up against a wall. "Nothing to do with you."
He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "What happened yesterday wasn't a dream."
"Yep. Are you finally understanding what you've done?"
"Never mind. I'm going to get ready. It's already six o'clock." Adriel went over to the closet, snatching a crumpled Academy uniform, and stalking out of the room without another word.
Ethan was alone with his thoughts again, after only a minute.
Typical overachievers. His first class probably doesn't even start till like nine or something. I bet he's gonna go grind out sword drills.
Even if that was the case, at least Ethan would get to experience being a sword again. He didn't like how it felt to touch an enemy, but using his power, albeit unknowingly, had been super cool.
"He better not be a twenty-step skincare routine kind of guy," Ethan said out loud. "Although, how else could he have such a perfect face? Is it his protag privileges yet again?"
From his new position, Ethan had more of the room in view. He examined all the new details, praying Adriel wouldn't take too long doing whatever a pretty boy like him did.
Around fifteen minutes later, Adriel returned. He stepped through the door, Zarodei Academy uniform magically more pristine than it was before he'd begun wearing it. His hair reflected the light, like an angel.
Man, I'm jealous…
Adriel's rough expression, however, was not befitting of an angel.
"We're doing some training," he barked unceremoniously, easily picking up Ethan like he weighed no more than a kitten. "Time to see the full scope of your power."
***
A long walk through the Academy grounds, and they were in a secluded spot on what had to be the far edge of the school's island.
Water splashed from somewhere not too far off, and a few mysterious pink training dummies were scattered around the grassy field.
Ethan was unimpressed. "The hell are those supposed to be?" he said at a normal volume, seeing as how nobody was around. "They look like glass. I could shatter them with one tap."
"What kind of backwoods village did you live in not to know?" Adriel scoffed. "They're rosalite training dummies. Imbued with a special kind of magic to make them almost impervious to physical attacks," he said, as if reciting from a book.
"Uh huh."
"Do you remember those red and pink crystals in the cave where I got you?" Adriel added. "That's rosalite."
"Whatever, just do something already."
Adriel shifted into a stance, brandishing Ethan like he was trying to intimidate the dummy. "When I swing, activate your power. Get angry. Get surprised. I don't care. Just do something."
"But I can't really--"
Adriel ignored him, rushing forward at inhuman speeds. Ethan felt himself cut through the air, and before he knew what to do, he clanged against the impossibly strong crystal.
"Are you shitting me? I just told you to use your powers," Adriel grumbled.
"I'm sorry I don't have instant mastery over it, Mr Prodigy," Ethan said defensively, irritated.
Suddenly, he was being swung through the air again. He hit the rosalite once more--but this time, sparks flew.
"Good, taunting works, just like I did when we fought that monster," Adriel said, smirking. "Hey, you're good… but not as good as my old one, honestly."
"Boooo! What an award-winningly mid insult, man. Sounds like something a first-grader would say. Whatever you do, do not become a comedian. I'm not even angry, I'm just slightly disappointed."
Another swing. This time, nothing happened, as far as Ethan could tell. But Adriel paused in front of the dummy, staring intensely at it, then his arm, then Ethan.
"What emotion do you feel right now?"
Ethan was surprised by the question. "Uh, not really that much? I'm fine, I guess."
"Hmm… calmness must also be an emotion," Adriel said. "Right now, swinging you just felt weirdly smooth, weightless. When you made sparks before, my arm shook slightly. Now, nothing."
Ethan smiled internally. "Wow, look at you doing science. I'm just built different."
"Again."
Here we go. Cue the training montage.
They practiced for ages as the sun rose from just peeking over the horizon to floating brightly in the sky. The rosalite dummy held firm, with not even Ethan making a dent. Whoever cast a spell on them must have been strong.
"Okay. That's enough training for today," Adriel said, collapsing on the ground. "Hah… I think I could even beat the fourth-years, once I figure out how to make you even stronger. I won't be losing to anyone in my own year any time soon."
"God, you're cocky. Those guys would probably wipe the floor with you."
"What the hell did you say?!"
"Nothing, bro. Just admiring your… uh, talent. Hey, don't you have class yet?"
"Oh. Yeah. I should probably get going now." Adriel sat up and grabbed Ethan from the ground beside him.
That concludes the tutorial, Ethan thought. Now it's time for the annoyingly ambiguous main quest: survive life in the Academy.
I bet something interesting is gonna happen in his first class. It's gonna be the start of a long and messy story arc. Or it could just be something like "offer help to the struggling kid next to you."
Everything seemed pretty chill for now. Other than the dangers of being cursed, Ethan thought Adriel would get along just fine.
But something bad had to happen to him at some point. Doomed was literally part of the novel name. He was ninety percent sure Adriel's problems were caused by the cursed sword itself, but now that Ethan was the sword, he wasn't entirely sure.
Or maybe there could be some corruption to fight. Adriel was probably the chosen one of some holy prophecy.
Adriel and Ethan arrived back at the main Academy building. They went through winding halls, wide common areas, finally ending up at the other side of the building, at a massive classroom that half poured outside.
One side of the massive space had dozens of desks and chairs filled with all sorts of people. The other had an open view of the sky.
"Late again, Mr Kaen?" the professor asked, standing in front of everyone. "This is the second day in a row."
It was Professor Liffey, the one that had scolded Adriel, and inspected Ethan.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Adriel said smoothly.
"Just sit down. Ahem, as I was saying, your assignment for the next month will be raising a magical creature."
A magical creature?! Ethan gasped as Adriel sat down. As in, Harry Potter magic creature class?!
"There's no time to waste. I'll be assigning you each your own creature now. You will be assessed--"
Yeah, yeah, who cares about assessments? This world just went from classic fantasy kingdom to beast-taming novel. I need to find out what she says next--!