Valar and Viktor decided to leave the Iron Owl relatively quickly after the incident, downing their drinks straight after getting them. The citrus drink Valar got was actually quite good… Why do people even drink beer when stuff like this is available? They paid for their food and said their thanks to Sadie before they left the establishment behind. It was quite late into the evening at that point, and they needed to get back to the academy quickly.

  The front desk of the academy entrance hall wasn’t open all night, so Valar wouldn’t receive his dorm room key if they didn’t hurry. That meant Valar didn’t get to see much of the Rhondell nightlife, but he could always explore later. He had seen the streets already, so it wasn’t that much of a loss anyway.

  The pair arrived at the academy as the sun was going down, and considering it was summer, that meant it was really late. To their great fortune, a tired looking Mary was still manning the desk, managing to keep herself from dozing off with a cup of coffee at her side. Her greeting wasn’t particularly boisterous, but who could blame her?

  “Evening… What can I do for you?” She only glanced up, her dark rimmed eyes not even fully taking in who she was looking at.

  “Good evening to you too,” Viktor greeted the sleepy woman. “We’re here to get Valar’s room key. We’ll be out of your hair after that.”

  The woman finally actually looked up, her sleepy eyes widening as she noticed the approaching pair. She was sleepy, but not sleepy enough to forget that she was talking to an actual onyx ranker. That made her focus enough to survive the discussion without falling asleep… Just barely.

  “Of course… I should have them right here,” The young woman started rummaging around a shelf behind her, small curses starting to come out after a few seconds. “Where the fuck… What in the abyss…”

  She rummaged around for a good minute or two, finally finding the key she had been looking for. It was right on the table where she had been dozing off…

  “Well this is embarrassing… Anyway, here’s the key for you. Have a pleasant stay, or whatever…”

  Valar took the key and thanked Mary, the pair continuing along to actually find his room. As they walked away, Valar realized that he didn’t even know where the room was. He turned back to the desk, but Mary was already sound asleep.

  “How do we know where my room is?” Valar asked Viktor.

  “There should be a letter and number on the key. I’ll tell you where it is if you can tell them to me.”

  Valar inspected the key and found the code Viktor was talking about. C54.

  “That’s the water tower’s fifth floor then. Let’s go see what kind of room you got.”

  Taking a skybridge to the water tower was nice, as Valar got to sightsee once again. He was pretty sure that he would never tire of just looking down at the massive city, its many residents being an endless source of interest for the boy. They didn’t stop for half an hour though, Viktor keeping them at a measured pace so that they would see Valar’s room before night truly fell on the city.

  The water tower was a lot more impressive up close. When he had looked at it from farther away, Valar hadn’t gotten a good sense of the waterfalls. They had looked cool, yes, but up close they were massive. The crashing water was almost deafening, enormous amounts of water falling to lower levels. It was quite the spectacle.

  When they stepped inside the tower, the sound of the crashing waterfalls disappeared entirely. Runes decorated the walls, and it wasn’t hard to deduce that they were the reason the sound had disappeared . That was good, as Valar didn’t know how he would have managed to sleep otherwise…

  Inside, the water tower looked quite normal with a few notable exceptions. The biggest of these exceptions was the thick glass tube in the middle of the tower, water shooting up through it at ridiculous speeds. I guess that’s how they can keep the waterfalls rolling… I didn’t really think about it, but the water has to come from somewhere, right?

  The pair didn’t need to ascend any stairs this time, the skybridge taking them straight to the fifth story. Finding his room wasn’t hard either, as dorm rooms and teaching spaces were numbered logically. Valar walked up to the wooden door and put the key in, excited to see where he would be spending his time for the coming months.

  The first thing Valar noticed was the room’s size. As an orphan, he would have been fine with a tiny room that had just a bed and table, but this was quite different. His dorm ‘room’ was actually a two room apartment, bathroom, kitchen and all!

  “Wow… Does everyone have rooms this big? How do these even fit in the towers?”

  “This is actually on the smaller side,” Viktor muttered. “Every room in the elemental towers is spatially expanded. Some nobility wouldn’t be satisfied with a dorm this size, but I’m glad you are.”

  “Wouldn’t this be ridiculously expensive to maintain? The academy would need huge amounts of mana to keep the spatial expansions up! Even the caravans cost a lot of gold to upkeep.”

  “It's a lot easier to maintain a building than a caravan. A caravan needs to move, so the anchoring process is quite a bit more complicated and expensive. As for the source, I guess you’ll have to figure that out by yourself ”

  Viktor’s explanation was lost on Valar as he took off his shoes and went exploring in his new home. He had his own bathroom, kitchen and most importantly a massive bed. Honestly, it was a ridiculous size for a person of Valar’s size. He needed to jump or climb up just so that he could lay on the luxurious bedding . It was incredibly comfortable, Valar practically sinking in the soft bedding as he laid down.

  “I see you’ve managed to find the bed,” Viktor commented from the bedroom door. “I’ll leave for now, but I’m coming to get you around breakfast tomorrow. We have some chores to do with banking and you need some equipment for school. Have a good night.”

  “Good night!” Valar yelled from his pillowy fortress, Viktor barely hearing the muffled sound. He shook his head with a smile on his face and left him in his new room, heading for his own home. Luckily his way home wouldn’t be long either…

  Fortunately, Viktor had locked the door as he left. If he hadn’t done that, Valar would have slept with an open door. The boy fell asleep almost instantly when Viktor left, sleeping fully clothed in his massive feathery fortress. That night, he didn’t dream of a man of light. His dreams were of bandits, fiery phoenixes and great food instead…

  ***

  Valar woke up with the rising sun, having forgotten to close his curtains once more. The bedroom was built to face out of the tower, so he had one of the best views in the whole city. That’s why first thing in the morning he went to the windowsill and just looked around at the beautiful city below.

  The rising sun accented the cityscape and royal palace, shining sunlight making the grand palace look divine in its own right. Of course the cathedral won in that regard, the wings of the angeli atop the gargantuan building reflecting the sunrise with an incandescent luster.

  After around fifteen minutes of just looking out, Valar decided he needed to explore his dorm room too. He had had a cursory look last night, but the bed had claimed him mercilessly. No matter, he had time to look around now instead.

  The first thing that he noticed was the light fixed onto the ceiling of his room. Once again, he marveled at the frivolity of using magical lights for personal use. Compared to spatial expansion though… It’s probably manageable enough.

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  The bonus of magical lights was that he could put them on and off with just the flick of a switch, no need to light oil lamps manually. Once the lights were on, he looked around himself and the illuminated room.

  The room’s walls were a dark blue, matching the aesthetic of the water tower. If he had to guess, the earth tower would have a lot of black and brown, the wind white and grey, and the fire reds and oranges. He was glad that he had not been situated in the fire tower. Valar had enough fire in him already…

  The floor was smooth wood, clearly magical in nature. As a former orphanage resident, Valar liked it. It would be easier to clean than planking or stone and the flooring was still comfortable on his feet. The bedroom also had a desk and chair. Valar was pretty sure he would be spending a lot of time researching magic at that table so he left further exploration for that inevitability.

  Next up was the kitchen. It was not a large one, but the equipment was quite finely made. It even had a magical stove instead of a wood fired one. Valar had never seen one, but the mechanism was simple. Just turning the attached knob would heat up the stove; The further it was turned, the hotter the stove got. Valar was confused on why he would even need a kitchen if the academy had food anyways, but he guessed that some people wanted to make their own food instead. Stupid… Free food is always the best food.

  The last thing he explored was the bathroom. It had a toilet and shower—both magical. The amount of magical equipment was turning quite ridiculous but Valar didn’t complain. It made his life easier and he didn’t even need to pay. It gave some perspective on the academy entrance costs though. He was starting to understand the expensive tuition, especially if this was one of the less luxurious rooms…

  Valar went back to sightseeing after that, but he didn’t have to wait for long. After only a half hour or so he heard a knock on his door and rushed to open it. Viktor was waiting for him, dressed exactly the same as the earlier day.

  “Good morning. Today’s chores should not take much longer than lunchtime, so you’ll have time to explore the academy on your own.”

  “Good morning to you too! Can we have breakfast before chores? I’m ravenous!”

  “You seem to be in a good mood… Yeah, I think we can fit breakfast in. You’ll have to eat dinner by yourself today though, as I have some duties after lunchtime. After the bank, you should have some money to eat out too.”

  Valar didn’t question Viktor on his business. The wind mage was helping him immensely and one of the main things they were going to do that day was set up a bank for Valar. The man was giving him money so the least he could do is not snoop around.

  They left the dorm, Valar taking his key with him and putting it into his pocket as they closed the door. He would need to take good care of it as losing it would cost him a lot.

  The way down the skybridge didn’t take as long as the previous night, Valar having gotten his sights of the city from the window instead. That meant that they progressed through the academy fast, emerging in the bustling city in just a few minutes. The city streets were bustling with morning traffic but the affluent area had specific areas for pedestrians. That made walking the city even in a rush quite comfortable if you just ignored the constant bombardment of sound.

  The pair’s goal wasn’t the most affluent district though. Viktor led them to the merchant district of the city instead. It was still an area for rich people, just not nobility, and the wind mage explained that it would have the best equipment and a trustworthy bank.

  The merchant district was one where Valar hadn’t been in yet, so the ambience came as a bit of a surprise. In many ways it looked more like Lyndale than the other districts of Rhondell. The buildings were neither estates or multi-story apartments, smaller shops littering the streets instead. Everything from food to adventuring gear was on sale, merchants peddling their wares with smiles on their faces. The area was maybe the loudest in the whole city, wagons rolling across the streets to different shops at a furious pace.

  “Our first stop is food, then we go to the bank,” Viktor explained. “Is street food good for breakfast?”

  “I’d love it! We can also walk while eating, so the chores can be done faster!”

  They ended up grabbing some sandwiches, the ham and egg filling making for a good breakfast while walking. One sandwich filled Valar right up, so he didn’t have to worry about eating for a good while.

  Spotting the bank wasn’t hard by any means. It was easily the largest building of the district, the huge stone construction seeming more like a palace than a store.

  “That’s the Rhondell bank. Basically, it’s the second biggest bank right after the royal one. It’s run by the Dalton house, one of the biggest noble houses in the kingdom…”

  “That means that…?” Valar’s confused tone got a chuckle out of Viktor.

  “It’s a really safe bank. You put money in there and it’s not going to disappear.”

  “I guess that’s good to hear then.”

  If the bank had looked a bit like a palace from the outside, the indoor areas only fortified that image. Lots of white marble, red carpeting and gold decorations made the wealth of the bank clear. The Daltons must be the richest in the kingdom… This is ridiculous!

  The entrance hall of the bank had ten silver rank guards. The bank was clearly not playing around about safety, and any robber stupid enough to attempt a heist would probably be dead within seconds. It certainly made Valar trust the bank more. His money would be quite safe indeed.

  The clerk at the front desk, a man in his 30s, welcomed them with a polite smile on his face. “Welcome to the Rhondell bank! How may I assist you today?”

  “We’d like to set up an account for Valar here,” Viktor said. “After that, I will transfer some coin from my account to his. Would that be possible?”

  “Certainly. You can go to the private room over there, and I will call a banker to set up your finances promptly. I hope you have a pleasant stay!”

  Valar and Viktor walked over to the door that the clerk had pointed at, thanking the man as they left him to his duties. The room they entered was opulent but not excessively so. Its walls were made of the same white marble as the main hall’s, but the wine red carpeted floor made it more comfortable to look at.

  The room was set up with a sofa, table and armchair. The sofa was clearly meant for them, so they sat down and waited. Their wait wasn’t long.

  A well dressed man in his thirties entered the room from the doorway, observing Valar and Viktor with a smile on his face. His smile twitched marginally when he spotted Viktor, but the man kept his cool despite the clear connection between the two men.

  The man was dressed in a suit quite like the clerk in the hall, but his suit was of a much higher quality. His only accessory was an opulent silver watch, a truly expensive sight in Leorian society. Watches were not easy to make and the cost reflected that… Even Valar knew a watch was a sign of wealth.

  The man was carrying a thick stack of papers and a pen. Valar guessed that they were meant for setting up an account, but he honestly had no idea. Banking was almost as new to him as magic after all.

  “Greetings to you both. I’m Gregory Dalton and I will be your banker today,” The man introduced himself. “Viktor I already know, but you, Valar, are unknown to me. Nice to meet you.”

  The man came over and shook both of the men’s hands, Valar mostly fumbling around. He had never had to shake hands, the practice completely unknown to the orphan boy. Why even do this? What does it even accomplish?

  Gregory proceeded to sit down opposite the two men and set the stack of papers down on the table. He slid the first sheet away from the rest and pointed at it with his pen.

  “This paper here is the most important one in the whole stack. We will fill it with your basic information, setting up the account with your name, features and magical signature. That will make for the most secure foundation for your account.”

  “What’s a magical signature?” Valar asked, not familiar with the term.

  “In simple terms, one’s magical signature is a sample of their aura. Every trustworthy bank in the kingdom has devices that are made to scan a person’s aura, as those are essentially impossible to fake,” Gregory explained. “That’s also the primary reason why we can’t make accounts for unawakened children, as they don’t have an aura to check. I will have to say, you are the youngest awakened I’ve ever had dealings with. I hope you will have a fortuitous future ahead.”

  After the brief explanation, they got to work. The documents were many, seeming more like an army of beasts than simple paperwork. Luckily, Valar had both the banker and Viktor help him with filling them out. Generally, there were no great problems as Valar was an adult by the kingdom’s laws. Even orphans were taken into account in the paperwork as Valar didn’t need to fill out any information related to his family lineage—a simple checkbox was enough.

  Lastly after tens of minutes, maybe even hours, of filling out paperwork, the time for an aura signature had come. The bronze rank banker pulled out a fist sized device and handed it to Valar. It was a cube with flowing lines of runes snaking along its white surface.

  “You are newly awakened, so I will explain the process of giving an aura signature for the first time. It’s quite simple really… Take it in your hand and try to extend your aura to the cube. It can take some time to-”

  The cube lit up bright green, the device emitting a faint hum to signify that the signature was recorded. Valar was looking at the device with a confused look on his face.

  Gregory’s expression was worthy of a grand painting, the man’s jaw practically closer to the floor than his own nose. Viktor was grinning ear to ear, his eyes shining bright silver.

  “I guess with that out of the way, we can get to the transfer of funds,” Viktor mused. “I would like to transfer 10 gold to this young man’s account, please and thank you.”

  Wait what?