Chapter 6: School Adventure

Sitting at my table were three other people. Two weird girls and a weird boy.

Ivy Watts, the weird girl. Black hair, weird golden eyes and a bright personality.

George Ironwood. Brown hair, weird silver eyes and… is that darker line supposed to be muscle? On a five year old?

Anyway, Party Feature. That's what I wanna know.

"The Party Feature is exactly what it says, a party feature. You can equip up to 4 other people into your party. When someone is equipped into your party you'll be able to see their health, mana and stamina, as well as location on the mini-map (when you unlock it) at any time. Also there will be a 10% increase in EXP if they're in a party." The handy black cat explains. "To equip someone, simply place their picture in the party slot."

Truly, the greatest guide. Cat's on par with the Terraria Guide in terms of usefulness.

When clicking the Party Menu, a translucent black square appears. My face, alongside 4 empty boxes, line up in a row. Below them is a grey area with 3 different faces. George, Ivy and Le Fay.

Really cool.

Mr Tengu starts teaching the class.

"Okay Year 1. You must understand that this school is not like others. We're a 1-6 school that has things like magic, combat and supernatural history in its curriculum. So I'm handing you these notes. Make sure your parents sign them." Mr Tengu hands them to all of us while constantly reminding us to get them to our parents.

The note pops up on the screen. It's a permission note for the school to be allowed to teach 5 year olds magic, combat and supernatural history amongst other subjects like interrogation, religion and POLITICS. There's even a waiver. Charming.

Mr Tengu starts teaching the class what everything on the note means, before taking us on a tour.

The school was massive, housing 8 massive buildings. One building was 1-2. Another was 3-4, as well as a 5-6 building. Besides these three buildings, there was the Office, boy dorms, girl dorms and 2 buildings that Mr Tengu didn't expand upon.

These buildings encircled a massive spire in the middle. Apparently people were only allowed to access this area during their graduation ceremony. Students are only allowed to enter during their graduation night.

There was also an arena and a gymnasium.

"So, does anyone want to test their strength against each other?" Mr Tengu asks. What the hell is he saying to children?

5 year-olds beating the living daylights out of each other? It's a wonder how this school didn't get some sort of magical lawsuit against them.

"I'll fight!" Ivy excitedly declares. This is a joke right?

"Then you must pick an opponent. Any volunteers? " Mr Tengu says patiently.

My god, he wasn't kidding. Who made this script? They should get arrested for distribution and creation of child abuse material.

Ivy looks around the room with squinted eyes. They then land on me. Perhaps because the game wanted to introduce me to fighting, she challenged me.

I guess it's nice that the game is helping me clear the tutorial.

"Eddie's my fighter!" Ivy yells. What a loud child. I thought she was part of the kind, quiet, library girl archetype. I've been proved wrong.

Everyone pushes me into the arena. A massive hexagonal area with a grass floor and a very large seating area for the audience.

『PICK A FIGHTING SYSTEM (TEMPORARY UNTIL COMPLETION OF 0-0-3)』

The gamer system the black cat promised me was activated.

The bracketed part. Does that mean that after 0-0-3, I'll have to choose one to main? Is 0-0-3 my free trial or something?

Hmmm, But which system to choose? Since I'm unarmed and a small child, I should pick a system that negates or at least alleviates those disadvantages. Off the top of my head, the only game that allows the size and age of the character to not matter when they fight other characters is… Super Smash Bros. Small characters will be light, but not at complete disadvantages.

Also 'kills' are actually just the character being sent off the screen, and there isn't a health bar, so it might be non-lethal?

『SUPER SMASH BROS ULTIMATE?』

May as well.

Suddenly, my camera shifts. I can see myself and Ivy. I'm looking in the same way that you would see in Super Smash Bro's. It's like I'm looking at them through a window. The camera stays fixed in one position and the player is responsible for locating the character they are playing.

『START!』

Ivy comes rushing towards me, attempting to punch. I activate my shield. Instead of a blue, red, yellow or green shield, my character put his hands up and blocked the punch. I then released the shield as she hit me. She was blown away as I used a parry.

[My character pushes his forearm into Ivy's, causing her punch to be thrown back. Cool animation.]

In that brief time, I hold my neutral, locking her into a jab combo. The particles weren't green, but grey. It looked like I was repeatedly hitting her in the stomach with my two fists.

[My character follows through with his parry and hits Ivy a lot with his fists, left and right.]

Her percent went from 0 to 20%. Perhaps because she's also a child? 20% with a jab lock doesn't seem feasible with my character.

She manages to mash out of my jab lock. She then rushes towards me, jumps and tries to hit me with her shoe. That's probably her side attack.

[Ivy pushes away from my character, jumping a little bit up in the process. She then rushes back in. She seems to slide in the air as she jumps towards me, putting her whole body into a kick.]

I press the shield button, but then move the joystick, rolling behind her. She's currently unable to react due to already using her side attack. After getting behind her, I hit her with my down attack. She gets her feet swept, and tumbles to the ground. 35%.

『FINISHED!』

Ivy starts bawling. My camera changes back into first person. Mr Tengu walks up to me.

"Good job, but remember to not harm fellow members of your cohort." He says.

Rude.

The orientation ends, and all students are sent home one final time before their locked in this institute for the year.

Truly, the worst of prisons.

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My mum was waiting for me at the school entrance. She plops me into the car and drives home. Asking things like 'how was school', 'did you make any friends,' do you want to quit? It isn't too late'. She is a very nice mother.

After we arrive home, I'm greeted by my dad at the dinner table, with my fake sister. We're having pasta for dinner tonight.

Dad also asked questions, about the same as my mother. I handed them the note Mr Tengu gave me.

After they look through it, Dad started to go an unsightly red, while my mother seemed deeply confused. But before they could express anything, my fake sister, who's only been watching with a smug smile on her face, snapped her fingers.

My parents suddenly fell into a trance while she took the note.

Her eyebrow arched up. "Edward, Edward. You could've caused me alot of trouble. Surely your little head would be able to figure out that the school I sent you to isn't a normal one, right?"

Yeah, I figured.

"I sent you to this school for one purpose, as an excuse. Weird things are happening all across London, and that school seems to hold important information. On graduation night, parents and guardians will be allowed to enter the school. Your job is to get through the 6 years of school without getting expelled, also if possible you should investigate the school. Don't worry about the reports and parent stuff, I'll be your guardian. I'm legally an adult after all." She signs the form with a pen she seemed to have pulled out of thin air.

I would prefer anyone else to be my guardian. Also I think a 21 year old should not be trusted with a child. They themselves just finished being a child a couple years ago, and they're very unrestrained.

『(0-0-4) Samantha Elms has issued a quest. "Find the Secret of Lordsbridge"』

What?

I progressed to 0-0-4? But I haven't even done 0-0-3 yet.

"DxD is not a linear progression game. Many things happen at once. In the future you may not get one, but 5 or 6 different missions to complete before progressing. So long as you complete all the missions you will be able to clear the game. But you must remember that failure to complete even one of the missions will lead to inability to return, and the title of GAMER being proven irrelevant." the black cat says seriously. Why it didn't tell me that failure to complete missions meant not going home is beyond me.

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My mother and father drop me off at school. This time, it'll take an entire year before I can go home.

My mother was a snivelling mess. Dad wasn't much better.

Heading to the office, I got my timetable. We have magic class with Mr Tengu at 9:00, 20 minutes from now, then we all have to set up our dorms. As the good student I am, I head straight to class.

Only takes me 15 minutes, and only because I got a little lost.

The classroom is stereotypical for a year one classroom. Small tables made for four spread across a blue carpet. After a couple minutes Mr Tengu arrives, alongside most of the class.

As everyone gets seated in the same seats as in the orientation, Mr Tengu starts talking.

"Magic, an ability used by people to survive and function in the supernatural world. We'll be learning human magic, as it's one of the simplest forms of magic that can be used by any race."

I've already learned magic, so anything you teach is worthless.

He starts drawing a really complex set of shapes on the whiteboard.

"To start with, we'll attempt to memorise a basic fire lighting spell diagram."

This is basic?

『ATTEMPTING TO READ DIAGRAM.』

『MUST ANSWER QUESTION TO ACTIVATE MAGIC.』

17s/20s

[If you had 5mg of fuel, an area of 3cm, under ideal conditions, how intense would the fire be?]

Magic can go kill itself.

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After struggling with the spells, Mr Tengu released the top 3 performers in magic for the day. Obviously, Le Fay was at the top. Followed by Gregory and some other child I don't know.

After class ends we're sent to the dorms. We go to different dorms every year, slowly going from ground floor to floor 6. This means in my final year I have to get through 6 floors before managing to get out of the dorm.

Also horny 12 year olds have to go through 6 floors to get to the girls. This may sound ridiculous, but this is DxD after all. Can't be to careful.

The First-Year Dorm is on the ground floor, my room being 105. Coincidentally, my roommate is Gregory. I packed lightly, bringing only a couple changes in clothes, pyjamas as well as toiletries. What more could I need?

George seems to be of the same mind, as he packed about as much as I did.

"So, top or bottom bunk." George asks.

1- Top Bunk!

2- Bottom Bunk

3- I don't really care, you choose.

Down to the real questions, huh?

I don't mind either, but if George pees then I don't want to be underneath him.

I click option 1.

George seemed a little sad, a dark cloud was over his head and his head was low. But that won't change the fact that I can't trust 5 year-olds not to wet the bed.

After getting the dorm organised, I decided to attempt 0-0-4. Clicking the three lines on the top right of my screen, I move to the quest tab.

『(0-0-4) Samantha Elms has issued a quest. "Find the Secret of Lordsbridge".

Samantha Elms has been tirelessly pursuing the evil that lurks through London. After many years and many slip ups she has pinpointed Lordsbridge to be an area of investigation, first priority. Help Samantha by investigating the Secrets Of Lordsbridge Private Academy.

Rewards: New Features unlocked, Rank Up Magic Force, Samantha Relationship increase,』

Since this is an investigation of Lordsbridge, I should have 6 years if I don't get expelled.

Checking my timetable, I locate all the free time I'm entitled to. 3 hours after 3:25 every day, and a 6 hour freetime on sunday. I do take classes on the weekends though. Breakfast is in the respective year cafeteria from 6-8. Lunch is in the same place. Dinner is at 6-7:30, same place. I got magic, politics, Supernatural history, maths, english, science, combat arts, riding and special classes where they teach us specific things.

Tapping George, I get him to come along with me. He seems confused, but by using emotes to the best degree, I was able to get him to follow me. We went around the dorm, before entering the girls dorm. Usually this place would be barred to boys, but what are two innocent, confused 5 year-olds gonna do to anyone?

We were allowed in.

We asked reception where Ivy was, and apparently she was also on the third floor. We waltz up there, only to hear a lot of yelling.

"Why are you putting your towel on my bed! It's all soggy now."

"It's just a bit of water, why would you care!"

"There's hair on my bed sheets! Hair! Switch with me."

"No way, you cut your nails on that bed, and I know you just slipped some off. There's probably still nail clippings on that bed."

Sounds like they are having fun.

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