The UDRD

Jacob stepped out of the car, clutching a letter in his hand as he gave the stink eye to the man in black as he drove off.

The man had remained as tight-lipped as possible for the remainder of the flight and drive over here, leaving Jacob with little to go on regarding his next course of action.

It was still daylight out even though he had left Australia at about midday and flown for 9 hours.

Time zones were a bastard, after all.

He was standing at the entrance to the University of Dreamer Research and Development. By all accounts, the place looked like a typical modern university. Large glass buildings and open lawns adorned the area, and he could see people talking around the site, some relaxing at cafes while others simply laid down under the cover of trees.

[Error. Visual sense impeded. Inconsistencies detected]

'What the hell?' Jacob thought, rubbing his eyes while guessing at the cause of the message.

Maybe he was having trouble seeing due to sleep deprivation? He didn't know if his nightmare trial really counted as sleep after all. He certainly hadn't woken up feeling particularly well rested.

Jacob just hoped that the error would resolve with a bit of rest.

He looked down at the letter the man had given.

He was told it contained the location of his dorm and his next steps visa-vi his education.

Oddly enough, he was beginning to feel nervous.

Maybe it was just beginning to sink in that he had just flown across the world.

Maybe it was the fact that he was entering a new world of supernatural existences.

Or maybe it was something far more normal than any of that.

It was his first day at a new school.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the letter in his hand.

It contained a map of the campus with one building circled in bright red. Next to it were the words 'room 213.'

Since there was no time like the present, and he was honestly exhausted, he adjusted his bag and walked into the university.

As he entered its gates, a startling transformation occurred.

[Error resolved. Visual sense reliability re-established]

The once tall glass buildings degraded to stonework architecture, and the few people he had seen earlier were nowhere to be seen.

He could still see traces of modern architecture, possibly from renovations. But the overall feel had changed to a more 'classic European' vibe.

Now lawns were no longer littered with people lazing about. Instead, they were populated with dozens of people crowding around a few.

The ones that were taking all the attention were doing… Well, magic.

Some summoned balls of fire and made them dance above their head as they morphed into different shapes. Others created ice sculptures at the snap of their fingers, there were even those who made trees and flowers grow with nothing but a gesture of their palms.

People were flying around in all manner of ways, some with wings of magic, followed by those who propelled themselves with fire. Some rode on what appeared to be elemental spirits, while some stood atop swords to move around in the sky.

He noticed that although everyone wore different clothing each had a patch on both their chest and back. Many who were grouped together wore patches with the same symbol.

Maybe a house system? He knew of one popular book series about a magic school in England that used such a system.

But he had no scar on his forehead, or ginger comedic relief to aid him.

The area's grounds vaguely reminded him of a school from a famous story about a boy with a scar on his forehead.

Although he would normally have jumped at the chance to watch a magic show that included actual magic. He was honestly too tired and numb from his experiences and the flight over. At this point all he wanted was rest.

Then he'd take his time exploring the supernatural campus.

Following the map led him to his building. For once, his luck held out as he didn't encounter anyone eager to ask him questions to which he honestly had no answers.

Finding his building was simple. It was a large one that was longer than it was wide.

From the best he could tell, it consisted of two floors. Each floor was made up of a hallway running down the length of the building, while the rooms took up the other 2 thirds of the space.

After making his way to his room, he was greeted by a door with his name on it, as promised.

What was not promised was the name next to his.

Shin Jin.

It appeared he had a roommate.

This was a little worrying. One of the reasons he had elected to stay in a studio apartment rather than dorm living despite the price difference was his aversion to people.

Due to his lack of real friendships while growing up he was somewhat against the idea of forced prolonged exposure to a total stranger.

Bracing himself to meet his supernatural soon-to-be roomie, he opened the door.

And was greeted by a high-speed textbook.

Directly to the face.

Thankfully his experience in the Ashling mansion had given him a bit of complex regarding opening doors, so he was a little more vigilant than a person would typically be when entering their own room.

Sadly, this wasn't enough to totally dodge the literary projectile as it collided with his shoulder.

"The fuck, man?" Jacob shouted at his unruly roommate as he recoiled from the force of the book, spreading his hands to help show his outrage, confusion, and disbelief.

"Knock next time." A voice responded.

The man Jacob would be sharing a room with was small, not midget small, but pretty much the smallest you can be while not looking like a kid. He had delicate Asian features and small hands. Everything about him seemed harmless.

That is if you didn't consider his expression.

He looked at Jacob like a restaurant owner looking at a cockroach. His eyes were steady, and his tone was quiet but level and filled with confidence.

This was Jacob's first meeting with his roommate.

He was beginning to worry about how he would survive the semester.