Tyler noticed a group of guys coming into the lounge cheerfully. As he watched them take a booth, he noticed a black and green snake wrapped around and resting on the neck of one of the guys. Hastened by curiosity and upset with himself for not asking for Sophie’s number, he worked up the courage to start walking toward them.

He noticed they were all drinking blood, which didn’t bother him. It was just different. He finally stood by them and introduced himself, trying not to come across awkwardly or unnaturally.

"Hey guys, I’m Tyler. I’m kind of new to this area, I was home schooled, but you mind if I join y`all?"

"Yo! I’m Adam. You’re that phoenix kid right? Yeah bro have a seat, just watch out for these two guys, they might eat you if you’re not careful!" He laughed.

"Fuck off Adam. He’s just busting your balls. I’m Zack and I’m a mage. Zain’s the other blonde haired demon, he’s a Paladin. Adam’s the dark haired one who kind of looks like you. You’re a tamer right?" The taller, blonde haired demon said politely.

"Actually, I’m a summoner," Tyler said nervously.

"Your snake is crazy cool. Can you see what he sees and vice versa? What’s with that really cool green eye connection?"

"Ha, yeah, I’m a serpentine tamer so all of my beasts share my unique eye characteristics. It’s really cool to be able to see in infrared sometimes, especially in dodgy situations."

"Damn man you must be like A rank or something then?"

The group laughed.

"Hell no, we’re all C ranked, don’t blow his head up too big." Zain said while taking a drink of his blood.

"What rank are you?"

"Just D. Hoping people don’t think I’m a weak piece of shit who has a phoenix but can’t do anything.

"Just don’t make enemies with the wrong people and you should be alright. I can help you out with beasts and stuff if you want." Adam offered.

Tyler was beginning to feel comfortable around them. Ash was quiet, which was a little weird, so he figured things were going well. He tried to not press too hard, but he was pretty confused about this world. Everyone was so different. The girl he just met was an ability user and a human, these guys were demons and vampires and aside from Zack, they were different. He knew he needed help with beasts, so he decided to take Adam up on his offer.

"So I only have my phoenix. How exactly do I collect more beasts or whatever?"

Adam grinned. "Well, usually you have to make them respect you. Sometimes respect is enough. Other times, you’re going to have to fight it and if you do enough damage, you’ll be able to tame it, or in your case, form some sort of contract, I think, I’m not really sure, there aren’t a lot of summoners out there."

"You have to fight a damn beast to sign a contract with it? That sounds messed up?"

"It’s not something I really enjoy doing but if they’re going to attack you with full force, you will want to dominate it anyway. It’s just survival of the fittest. Plus, they are pretty protective of you afterwards, so don’t think of it in a negative way. I know that’s a little difficult at first, but you’ll get through it."

"Yeah, thanks. I guess beasts are different from dogs or something anyway." Tyler smiled.

They ordered drinks, talked about what classes they had and Tyler was pretty happy that Adam shared most of his classes. He thought that they were practically the same ability type so it made sense logically. Tyler figured Adam would be great in duels because he could see the patterns and types of attacks people used with his snakes. After about an hour, they all started to get up and talked on their way out.

"Alright bro, it was good meeting you. Just hit me up if you need any help or anything." Adam said, giving him a fist bump.

"Don’t make enemies with the third years, no matter how hard they provoke you, just put your head down and keep walking," Zain reminded him with a friendly smile.

"Yeah and make sure to check out all the hotties at this school. I don’t know what it is about ability users but damn, there are so many fine women here," Zack laughed.

"I’m glad I’m not the only one that looked around and was like, is everyone here good looking? LIke seriously, this shouldn’t be called Ability Academy, it should be called Attractive Academy." Tyler joked.

"Ha! That’s actually a good one. You’re right though, I never really thought about it that way... I mean there are some fuglys but they’re usually the super powerful ones."

"I don’t know man, I ran into this B rank chick and she was pretty fucking goreous," Tyler smiled.

"A B rank year one? That’s insane. Please tell me you got her number," Adam prodded.

"Nope, I’m an idiot and didn’t ask."

"Damn, that sucks, there’s so many people at this school... who knows, maybe you’ll run into her or something. Anyway, we’ll catch you later bro," Adam said as the three walked off.

"I swear thank you gods, I no longer curse you. I have a host who isn’t a complete fucking moron!" Ash playfully chirped.

"Ha, glad you think that. Let’s head out back. Are you hungry? Do you eat what I eat? How does that work?"

"I could go for some fish. Fish always makes me happy. Otherwise, I also can absorb nutrients from your body but it’s better if I eat so I’m not stealing your power. The stronger we both are individually, the better of a duo we can be," Ash said confidently.

"Where do I get fish?"

"The lake 30 miles South of here..."

"So the cafeteria. Got it." Tyler laughed internally.

"Damnit, I thought I had you..." Ash said playfully.

Tyler walked out back to let Ash out to use the bathroom and started talking to his system as they walked back to the cafeteria.

"Hey system, what type of fish is most beneficial to a phoenix that’s available at the cafeteria?"

[Salmon. Just order it with your normal meals that are paid for. You receive a free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everything other than that will cost you additional money.]

"Ok system, what other ways can I earn money? What is the currency here?"

[It’s similar to the US dollar from Earth but they are called credits. So twenty credits is the equivalent of 20 US dollars. You can earn money from taking jobs on quest boards, which I don’t recommend, performing well in school and attending all of your classes, or by taking a job part-time outside of school.]

"I don’t know, that seems like a lot. I’m already new here. Does the school give you any allowance?"

[10 credits per week if you attend all your classes, yes. It’s not much, but if you save it, you should be ok. The pricing for students is pretty reasonable.]

"Wait, didn’t you say I had wealthy unassigned parents and I have a luxurious apartment. How many credits do I currently have?"

[You will receive 3000 credits per month per their will. You currently have 5,000 in savings, but I wouldn’t blow through that either. Your rent is paid in full for the year, so if you choose to live there again next year, you will have to make another down payment.]

"Thanks system."

Tyler made his way to the cafeteria and ordered Ash 3 salmon and one for himself. He loved fish on Earth so he figured the food would be really good, as his earlier meal was delicious. He still couldn’t believe how amazing the Academy’s food was. They had nothing like this on Earth. You’d have to go to a 4 star restaurant to get this quality of food and it was expensive.

"Man Ash, I gotta tell you, I could get used to eating like this, even if it cost me 100 credits."

"You and me both! This is some delicious stuff right here. I feel amazing." Ash said while slurping down another salmon.

"Hey phoenix douche!" A larger, bulkier student yelled.

’Shit, I’m just going to ignore him.’

"Asshole, I’m talking to you. Didn’t your parents ever tell you to respect seniority?" One of the other students snarled.

"Just trying to eat with my familiar, not trying to cause any trouble."

"Well I think if you can afford a meal like that, you can pay us to not kick your ass. I think 500 credits a week is a safe bet, what do you think Blake?"

Tyler recognized him. It was the same kid with the decorated school blazer that caused him to run into Sophie earlier in the day.

"I ain’t paying you shit, get lost." Tyler said.

"I think we teach him a lesson, don’t you Tim?"

Before Tyler could blink, Ash flew into him and a giant ice hammer smashed his face. He knew this was going to be rough, but he didn’t expect lightning to continuously shoot through him as he absorbed several ice hammers. He just wanted it to stop.

"System... Do... Something"

[Fire magic cast.]

A weak burst of flames shot out at the two third year students who stood laughing.

"Pathetic. He has a phoenix and that’s all he can muster?"

"ENOUGH!" A professor yelled while rushing over to an unconscious Tyler.

"Sorry Professor Davis. We just were having a bit of fun."

"Just get out of here before you cause any more trouble, I swear if your parents didn’t donate so much money to this damned school," the professor said while using healing magic to wake Tyler up.

"Hey kid, are you ok?"

Tyler nodded, but his face was too bruised and swollen to speak. His entire body was bloodied and beaten, and the professor quickly picked him up and took him to the medical wing.

"Nurse Becky, are you in?"

"Yes professor, oh my! What happened to this poor student?"

"Tim and Blake and their usual shenanigans. I’m not even sure who this student is, can you check him for an ID or something?"

"Yes I’ll take care of him, don’t worry."

The last thing Tyler remembered was the very beautiful nurse putting something over his mouth until he faded off to sleep, no longer feeling any pain.

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