Tower school

After looking at the imposing tower for some time, Frederick ultimately approached it. Surprisingly, a clear road led straight to the tower, and he had no trouble traversing it.

The forest was silent, and no movement could be seen. It was as if he were in a graveyard, and the atmosphere was eerie. Apart from the silence and the atmosphere, nothing was particularly worrying. Even if a fight occurred, Frederick was confident he would not lose.

Soon, he reached the tower. At first glance, it was quite impressive. The main door was huge, and the architecture was pretty solid. Each wall had some small windows which were covered in ivy.

As Frederick approached the door, he realized that it was not closed but wide open. He did not hesitate and directly entered the building.

The interior of the building was pretty plain, and the walls were decorated with some paintings. A spiral staircase led up, and a corridor extended to the left. The room was lit by a single chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

However, what surprised him were the paintings hanging from the wall. They either represented fantastic animals or...

'An alien fauna of another realm.'

The animal paintings were mostly dark or gray-colored. If one looked closely, there were even some strange plants that Frederick had never seen before. Heading toward the staircase, Frederick started to explore the different floors. Each floor had 16 very similar rooms and a common area. At the same time, Frederick realized that the building was a school.

The common areas had several tables and chairs, as well as a few cupboards and cabinets. Each room was made for at least four people and had a door leading to a private restroom.

It was strange at first, as it meant that students' classrooms were right next to their rooms, which also served as a kind of shared space for the students and a place to eat. However, Frederick did not dwell much on it, as each realm has its own culture. Even so, he wouldn't have cared at all either way.

Surprisingly, Frederick also found many personal items. Each room had bags, notebooks, books, and clothes lying around. It was as if they had just left the building and would soon return.

The place was also strangely clean and did not smell foul at all. It was as if time had not passed. Without much thought, Frederick started to read some of the books the students had left.

'So, this place was indeed a school from another realm.'

The school's name was Oranienbaum, and it was located in a world called Terra. It was a "2-star" "tower school" which was considered very good. It has operated for 250 years as the best school in the country called the Principality of Zweibruckenkreis.

Dropping the book on the ground after taking a few glimpses, Frederick was soon on the top floor.

'Seems like this is the last one.'

The last floor was an immense library. Bookshelves as far as the eye could see. They were everywhere and filled with countless books. It was a wonder how the whole building didn't collapse under its weight.

Frederick was a bit disappointed. He was not the least curious about the knowledge stored here. He had already learned the hard way that curiosity would kill him. Moreover, what would be the point of wasting time reading books of a realm he would likely never go to? In the worst case, he would just come back here.

Before he could even finish his thoughts, the sun had already set. Night had arrived.

<Time 0 until the third Collapse: hours minutes>

< Collapse has begun...>

<Night phase has begun>

<Time 4 59 until the fourth Collapse: hours minutes>

Slowly, the rain once again started to pour, and thunder roared in the distance. Frederick could also see a lightning strike through the window, followed by a low rumble.

Taking one of the rooms, Frederick decided to rest a bit. He would rather not advance in this weather, and his body is still recovering from the purification process and the battle against Aurora.

'After this night, I should finally be at my prime.' thought Frederick as he prepared some simple traps.

'Seems like this story would be more difficult than expected. It gives no time to rest. An average candidate would have a few hours of sleep at most per day.' his body fell heavily on the bed. With a sigh, Frederick directly fell asleep.

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A few years before the Chronicles.

 A man with emerald green eyes was staring at his phone in a hospital room. He was lying on a bed and could barely move his hands. His skin was pale, and his cheeks were sunken.

His body was extremely weak, and he was attached to an IV drip. The sound of a heartbeat resonated.

"Is... Is she alright?" asked the man in a tired voice

"What a lovely husband you are, Mr. Field! Yes, your wife is alright, and from what we saw earlier, she's recovering at a good rate. I assure you that she will be fine." said the doctor with a smile as he looked at Frederick's IV drip.

"...I am relieved."

"Good. Now rest. I will take my leave."

"... thank you, doctor..."

As the doctor left the room, the man slowly turned his attention back to his phone. He constantly checked his messages as if desperately waiting for a text or a call. However, no matter how much he waited, nobody contacted him.

The room was empty, and the atmosphere was depressing. The blinds were closed, and the room was lit only by the weak rays of sunlight peeking through. The sound of rain hitting the window could be heard, and the sound of a clock ticking was resounding in the distance.

Suddenly, the man's phone vibrated. He quickly opened it, but his heart sank when he saw the screen. The text was a notification from a social networking site.

The notification was a woman's post. It was a picture of her lying in a hospital bed, like the man. However, unlike him, she had a radiant smile, and family members and friends stood beside her. There was also a caption. "Cured from Leukemia?!"

The man smiled and was relieved... Yet he felt a bit lonely.

"I am truly glad my bone marrow could help her..."

"... I just wished she would at least ask me if I was alright..."

With a sigh, he slowly raised his hand and touched the wounds that he had on his hips. It was covered by bandages and had a red blood patch in the center. It was from this place that his bone marrow was removed.

"I need to take some painkillers..." he whispered weakly.

After a few minutes, he started talking to himself.

"It's okay, Frederick. She probably just forgot since she's with her family."

"... But am I not family? We're sharing the same name… No… I am, but I should stop being egotistic about this. She is probably way more in pain than I am." he thought out loud. Yet, no matter how he looked at her picture, he could not see her "suffering."

Finally, with a tired sigh, the man placed the phone on the nearby table, and his head fell on the pillow. His eyelids slowly closed, and the sounds around him started to gradually become dimmer.

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Waking up from his dream, Frederick was greeted with the morning sun. The night phase had passed, and the rain had stopped. Slowly, the temperature rose, and the sky became brighter.

"What an amusing dream."

After eating some ration, Frederick stretched a bit and got ready to continue his ascension.