A large man entered, a full head of dark red hair nicely trimmed at a medium length rested on his head. His figure was quite large, probably reaching six foot seven based purely on the way he subtly bent his head down to enter the door.
His dark brown cloak trailed behind him giving breathing from his royal blue opulent vest to contrast against the man's relatively dark outfit.
He scanned the room with a practiced familiarity that was until he got to my side of the room.
The man's gaze stopped and peered curiously at me, probably due to the lack of a wheelchair resting against the classroom wall.
"Albert."
"Professor Havel," I replied.
The silence was pregnant with the curiosity that often led to more questions, but to my surprise he just stayed silent for a moment refusing to pursue the oddity any closer.
His eyes widened as we stared eye to eye, then he nodded once, to confirm what he was seeing as real, before removing his gaze and walking to the teacher's desk across the room from the door to do what he needed to.
"Very well," He said, his voice carrying the same roughness we were used to. "Open your texts to Chapter Seven. The Great Sundering. The rise of nations and their falls, and most interestingly the rise of mysticism and miracles."
His curiosity wasn't missed by me
A slight remark hidden by our curriculum for today.
I opened my book to chapter seven as asked by my classmates and I and sat quietly looking forward as Mr. Havel began to write the information of the chapter on the chalkboard in front of us.
I know they weren't worried about the lesson.
I could feel their stares burn into my body.
They have no right to know the truth, and I wouldn't tell them even if they did.
I had no reason to prove myself to those who despised me, I wouldn't be a source of amusement for them any more.
My objective wasn't to come back to make noise.
I am here to build a storm, slowly and quietly, I had to be discreet until it was too late for anyone to stop it.
I didn't need anything from the people around me: not their pity or fear.
However, I would use them if it came down to it.
As the lecture droned on about divine errors and forgotten gods, I found myself wondering about The Great Sundering.
The morning dragged on slowly, taking every bit of my remaining mental strength.
History ended with no outburst thankfully, no confrontation, just awkward silence and general discomfort. As the other students whispered and stole glances at me. It wasn't that big a deal, just annoying to a certain extent.
I left as soon as Professor Halden dismissed the class swiftly making it out the door before the rest..
I made sure to stop by my room which was on the way to the next class to swap out the books I needed.
Next was Alchemy Theory.
The smell of the hall reminded me of the small garden my family had, the herbal smell of silver root and elyptus leaf wafting through the contained hall.
As I approached the classroom it's characteristic greenhouse appearance brought a smile to my face.
The small sparks of colored light from failed concoctions could be made out through the frosted windows installed in the door.
Unlike the history wing, the alchemy department held a floral design mixing stone brick with lively wood and shrubbery. Personally it was my favorite design in the whole school regardless of my friendship with Valerie.
Valerie was already at the front of the class when I arrived. Her white lab coat was stained with ink and potion residue, Her blonde hair tied up into a beautiful ponytail.
Her eyes widened, just a little as she saw me walk into the building..
Then she waved me closer as a radiant smile filled her face.
"Albert," she said, folding her arms. "You're walking."
"I am."
"How?"
"I can't explain it.. At Least right now"
She didn't press for more. That was the thing about Valerie, every minute detail to just trust me.
I greatly appreciated her attitude but unfortunately my dismissal wont work on everyone.
Her eyes flicked toward the corner, where my old assisted desk sat. It was still there, empty.
"Sit wherever you'd like Al!," she said with glee. "You've earned it."
The class was small. Mostly commoners, two or three lesser nobles. People who were two scared to go to martial art classes or not skilled enough to do so. My people.
Or at least, people I used to be like.
Alchemy passed without incident.
I loved alchemy and I feel like I have learned a lot during my time in the cultivation world. I learned a lot, staying up with Akari as she taught me what she knew. Which surprisingly or non surprisingly depending on who you ask was quite a lot.
I took the mortar and pestle in my hands and threw some common medicinal herbs in the mortar. I absently mildly grinded down the herbs into a powder while injecting my mana into it. This wasn't taught in class, but instead something I learned from akari to make the potions stronger and have a longer shelf life before the mana dissolved from the potion.
After I was finished with the powder I threw it in a conical flask in front of me used in the process of mixing the ingredients. After the powder I added mana water and blood with a high concentration of mana within it, thankfully it was provided by the school and I didn't have to horrify my classmates by cutting myself open.
The potion would take a while so I just rested my head until the bell rung for classes to change.
After class, I lingered.
Valerie was still organizing her notes when I stepped closer.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
She looked up with a confused expression on her face "For what?"
"For not treating me like something broken. Thank you for treating me like a human."
Her smile faded, replaced by something softer. "I didn't do anything extraordinary, I just treated you as I would have liked to be treated.."
"Maybe not extraordinary to you," I said with a genuine smile filling my face. "But it mattered to me. In a time I didn't have a lot you gave me something to look forward to each day."
She looked at me for a moment, then returned to her notes. "Then don't forget it. Just make sure you stay alive Al!."
I nodded. I will never forget what she did for me. I will make sure she lives a good life, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I failed to repay her.
With my mental promise I waved bye to Val, as I walked to my next class. One I haven't had the pleasure of attending for a while. "Martial Application." was my next class of the day.