13 Cafeteria

Leaving the small villa, Aser briskly walked back to the main road through the forested path. The slight breeze and the autumn sunshine kept invigorating him to explore everything he could. Coming back to the main road, he instantly noticed that there was a large amount of kids heading near the main plaza. Being new and unfamiliar with anyone, Aser simply decided to follow behind as curiosity bubbled up in his head.

Looking at the excited kids whispering to themselves, Aser kept walking until he saw them crowd around the plaza. Squeezing in to try and get to the front, he finally saw why the kids were so excited. There was a large notice posted near the fountain, and upon reading the contents, Aser felt like he wanted to vomit and faint.

"Today, First Son's Academy, is proud and excited to announce that the final awardee of the Gold Standard Scholarship released by The Guild has been approved to attend First Son's Academy. The student in question, Aser Scholt, will be attending the new term this year! Along with his admittance, the Academy has decided to increase all rewards from Competitions, Exams, and Trials completed or attended by any and all students.

Each activity detail (inclusive of approved Competitions, Exams and Trials) has been updated with the additional rewards in hopes that our students will show their excitement for this brand new period in First Son's Academy.

Finally, we of the First Son's Academy welcome everyone to gather together for the First Son's Annual Gala on August 29th to introduce new faces as well as welcome back the old!"

Staring at the notice, Aser had only one word going through his head. "Shameless! Shameless! They are so shameless!! Why didn't they tell me anything about this??"

[They did Aser. I received the notification and approved it for you.]

"Wait, you did? Why didn't you tell me?"

[I wanted to Aser, but you told me that non-critical information to be delayed until an appropriate time if you are cultivating or studying, and that is all you've done since today.]

Rubbing his face, Aser decided to not continue on that topic anymore. Looking around to make sure no one recognized him, he quietly left the crowd and headed towards the East District. The presence and atmosphere of the East District was completely different from the tranquility of the West District. If Aser could describe it simply, it would be "boisterous". He saw students walking from building to building, talking and chatting excitedly.

He saw boys running from what seemed to be the gymnasium to a large circular building in the distance, seemingly a stadium. He saw girls walking from the library to the nearby cafeteria. He saw groups of friends playing with cards in a corner, and people selling their old books and clothes. Looking at all of this, Aser was completely surprised. This didn't seem like a noble's school. Why weren't most of the kids pompous and arrogant? Why weren't they acting cool and stoic, not paying any attention to their peers? In fact, Aser's own air of pride seemed to be completely different from the atmosphere around him. Feeling slightly awkward, he decided to first get something to eat in the cafeteria.

Walking in to the large cafeteria, Aser saw that it was similar to a buffet where you have to pay for entree and then eat as much as you want. You could get a one-time entree, a full-day or even longer periods of time. And finally, Aser saw why this school was only for the wealthy. Each entree ticket was priced at 10 Silver Notes, which is enough for a commoner family to live on for a week! Taking a deep breath and knowing that the scholarship is paying for his food, Aser goes ahead and buys a ticket for one meal with the crystal chip.

Heading inside, he saw exotic foods such as clams, oysters, lobster as well as more down to earth dishes such as yak burgers and rice with beef. Grabbing a plate and stocking up on some of the dishes he's never had before, Aser started looking for a place to seat. Most of the tables were occupied, but he spotted a table where a girl with auburn hair and glasses sat alone. Not finding any other spots nearby, he decided to ask her if he could share the table with her. Approaching her, Aser saw that she was similar in age to him, and seemed like a new student as well. When he went next to the table, he saw that she was reading a book and eating a slice of bread. Not wanting to disturb her, Aser waited there for her to realize that he wanted to ask a question.

Just like that, five minutes went by before Aser realized that she still hadn't realized he was standing there. Throwing out a light cough, he went up and asked politely whether he could sit down. The girl seemed surprised that someone was talking to her and looked up at Aser.

"Umm, are you talking to me?"

"Yeah, do I mind if I sit here? I can't find any other spots."

"Oh, uhh, no problem sure."

"Thanks! My name's Aser uhh….", remembering the notice out in the square, Aser stopped himself from saying his full name for a moment, and then decided to just go ahead and sit down to eat. Looking at the girl after sitting down, he noticed that she didn't even seem to hear him as she dove into reading her book again.

Not bothered by her ignoring him, Aser simply decided to finish eating and head out. Even though he got a lot of food, he finished it rather quickly, and the girl was still taking small bites out of her toast by the time he was done. Thanking her briefly for letting him sit there, Aser decided to head out of the cafeteria and continue exploring the grounds.

Seeing Aser leaving, the girl finally got out of her reading frenzy, and looked at his back curiously. "Aser huh….I think I heard that name somewhere before", she mumbled before continuing to read.