Chapter One: The Standard Dormitory, and My First Equipment

Life in the Dorm (1)

Now that I’d successfully registered as a G-Rank at the Explorer’s Guild, I could finally safely consider my first expedition complete. After I bid Reed farewell, I continued on my way back to the dorm. The yet-uneaten hind legs of the horned rabbit we’d hunted dangled from where I’d tied them to my wooden sword’s crossbar.

It had been two weeks since I’d been admitted to the Royal Academy. Certain circumstances had led to me nearly being demoted to Class E—which would have suited me just fine, by the way—until my classmates’ unwanted intervention had cemented my place in Class A. Per Academy rules, students in Class D or above could reside in the Noble Dorm for the same monthly board they would pay to live in the standard dorm—a paltry thousand riels. Considering the cost was identical, the sheer gulf in living conditions between the two dorms was staggering. From what I’d heard, the Noble Dorm was closer to a five-star hotel than a school dormitory, equipped with endless facilities and attendants to cater to one’s every need.

Since my enrollment in Class A was now official, Icould move into the Noble Dorm at any time without any increase in rent. However, I had no intention of moving out of the standard dorm. Better known as “the Doghouse” among students, it was home to very few residents. I had a couple of reasons for not wanting to move over to the Noble Dorm, but foremost among them was the Doghouse’s dorm matron, Thora, and the breakfasts she served up daily.

You see, Thora also worked as a researcher; she studied the effects of ingredients derived from monsters and how they could enhance one’s magical abilities when consumed. The meals she created were far from delicious—to put it frankly, they were disgusting. However, I was holding on to the hope that one of those ingredients might turn out to be the missing link I needed to one day become able to use Emissive Magic. Since I’d been blessed with a second chance at life, and in a magical fantasy world to boot, there was nothing I wanted more than to be able to cast a fireball, or some other fantastical spell.

What’s the point of being reborn into a magical world if you can’t cast cool spells? Strengthening Magic is all right and all, but I want to cast EmissiveMagic...

My research so far hadn’t unearthed any other leads, so at this point, a somewhat mediocre living situation was a com