I heard the sounds of collective murmurs and shuffling near the classroom doors and decided I should run toward my dorm if I didn’t want to get caught in an onslaught of foot traffic. The last time I ‘had a conversation’ with someone, they kept trying to talk to me despite me making no effort to reply.

  Sure, etiquette says it’s rude not to reply to someone talking to you, but I’m not in the wrong when I can’t understand a thing they say. If I could, I would’ve tried to politely ask them to stop talking to me.

  Does my summoner have to deal with all of these halls every day? If I had a choice in the matter, I would’ve tried making sure my classes were close together so that I wouldn’t have to walk so much between classes.

  Well, if the foot traffic I saw last time was any indication, assuming they’re all diligent students, distance and time between classes doesn’t seem like an issue.

  Eventually, I made my way back to the building’s exit and saw the dorm buildings across from me.

  As I walked over to the building, I turned around and saw the school I’m soon to attend.

  The thought of it made me feel nervous. Here I am going to school just a day after my reincarnation, with this language barrier impeding any opportunity to understand what everyone’s saying. I was nearly killed, got healed by magic, ended up enrolled through dubious methods, and will have to deal with my summoner, who I am still uncertain as to why he summoned me.

  There’s also the nature of my existence and what significance it has to this world.

  How are summoned beings treated?

  Why did it seem like Mr. Blonde encouraged me to reveal my power?

  What did my summoner hope to accomplish by bringing me here?

  So many questions, yet getting answers would be challenging if I have to use my power to communicate in such a roundabout way.

  I turned and continued my way into the dorm, making my way through the halls and stairs until I stood in front of the room 61 door.

  I inserted and turned the key, and heard a click, before pushing the door open.

  —

  The room looked the same as when I first saw it before I left to go eat. Same shelf of books, large bed, desk looking more used than all of the furniture, and the window with the comfy-looking window sill seat.

  Seeing the view through the window, I noticed the sun hovering over the horizon. It will be a few hours until I’ll experience my second night in this world.

  Assuming my summoner would take the bed, the only decent place to sleep was on the floor space between the bed and the door. It had the most room, and a small mattress placed right wouldn’t make the room feel cluttered. A little rearranging of the table and desk should give my summoner enough room to walk around without it interfering with his schedule.

  My eyes drifted toward the ominous book placed on the shelf, the one I had opened, revealing the depiction of the summoning altar.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Let’s think about this.

  I pulled out the book once more and sat at the table to read. Well, skim, to be precise.

  I need to figure out why I had been summoned, and what that means to Mr. Blonde. He seems to be wary, but not to the same extent as the old man. With the abilities I’ve seen him showcase, he likely believes he can disarm me with those golden orbs. And that dragon by his side. It may be tied to his ability to conjure orbs of light.

  As for the other teachers, it’s clear that the old man sees me as a threat. I’ll have to be cautious around him. Ms. Grey seems nice, showing me the cafeteria buffet. Man, that was delicious. I’m still unsure about her view of me. Since she was at the office where I showcased my power, and willingly approached me outside the door, I suppose it means I’m not a potential threat in her eyes, or she’s good at hiding her suspicion of me. Either way, it feels like I can approach her without having to worry about walking around landmines.

  Still, if this book is here, it’s possible others like me have been summoned into this world. Hmm… maybe that golden dragon is one of them? I have no way to confirm, but it’s possible if Mr. Blonde created an arrangement of golden orbs resembling that altar.

  Now that I think about it, he hadn’t spoken to me as much as the others. In fact, during our interactions, it seemed that he was trying to communicate with me using visual presentations over words.

  Every time we interacted, I had a sense of what he was trying to convey. The schedules, the uniform, the map… Did he know about the language barrier? I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Perhaps giving me those things was standard when talking to a new student.

  But the replica of the altar… The timing and situation it appeared felt as if he wanted me to see it, as if to confirm a suspicion.

  Figuring out this world will be a challenge, but life’s always a challenge, and if there’s anything video games taught me, it’s that with enough persistence, diligence, and time, any challenge can be conquered. You just need to figure out how.

  As I was looking through the book, I heard the door open and saw my summoner enter. When he saw me, he looked shocked. I saw his eyes land on the book I was reading, and he made a mad dash for it and closed it.

  Dude, why are you trying to hide this from me? I’m literally the one person in this room who needs to be informed about this.

  I produced a miniature version of the altar I had been summoned on. I didn’t understand his reaction, but if the book needed to be kept secret, he should’ve picked a better spot than the shelf where it looked so out of place.

  He opened the book and turned to a page before laying it down and showing it to me. It depicted the sphere on the pedestal that I saw him standing next to after I was summoned. When I turned to him, he was aggressively shaking his head.

  Is he telling me not to use the Altar?

  Maybe the reaction I saw wasn’t the look of getting caught doing something illegal or disgusting, but the look of horror as you witness the end of the world being enacted before your eyes.

  I don’t plan on it, and it’s possible I probably can’t. If that sphere needs some form of power, I can’t produce it because I don’t know the complexities of this summoning ritual.

  He continued staring at me dead in the eyes like a madman. I simply nodded, hoping that would appease his worries.

  He sighed in relief before pointing at the wall behind me.

  I looked, but didn’t see anything of note.

  I turned around, but he put his hands on my head and forced me to look in that direction, even pushing my back into the corner.

  Is he giving me a timeout?

  I turned around again to see his hands lifting his shirt, and quickly faced the corner once more, understanding his request not to be watched while undressing.

  I simply waited in the corner as I heard the sounds of him changing. When he spoke, I turned and saw him in a more homey outfit of a t-shirt and shorts.

  On his bed was his uniform neatly folded. He picked them up and moved to the corner of his room, and placed them in the small gap between his bed and the closest wall.

  I got up to check and saw a small basket I hadn’t seen before. It must be where he puts his laundry.

  He stared at me, pissed. I guess he sees it as an invasion of privacy since he was living alone before this, but I’ll have to be his roommate now, since Mr. Blonde gave me another key to his room.

  Suddenly, he jumped into his bed.

  My summoner motioned me to stand on the side of the room between his bed and the door, and made the sleeping gesture while lying on his bed, before pointing to the floor.

  Yeah, I planned to sleep on the floor anyway.