Class of Heroes: Boys Side Edition

Class of Heroes: Boys Side Edition
Author: Garlyle Wilds / Genis Irving
Origin: Class of Heroes

[Class of Heroes] A follow-along with a team of Particus Academy youth discovering adventure, and love(?), on a grand scale
I do not own Class of Heroes or its cast/setting, nor make profit from this. Original characters belong to me and my friends, any similarity to others is a coincidence

A/N: I've long been a fan of man-on-man. I've also been casually a fan of the Dungeon Crawler genre. And for some reason, even after two Etrian Odyssey games, Class of Heroes is the one that makes me want to write. I wonder why? Well, whatever strange reason it turns out to be...
Warning 1: There will be spoilers - Sorry, but it's bound to happen D: I'll try to keep them low-ish, but I can't stop 'em forever! This will sorta be following along with my own progress through the story.
Warning 2: Original Characters - Sorry again, but CoH is about creating and guiding your own team to success, so while NPC characters will have roles here too, expect OC/OC and OC/NPC combinations.
Warning 3: Potential Squick - I'll list all relevant codes for smut at the top of a chapter, since I can't guarantee even I know what'll be written far enough in advance to keep the tags up-to-date. (Oh, and not every chapter has smut. Sorry!)
With that said, please enjoy.

Akira I ~ Disorientation
Warnings: None

I had been warned that the Academies garnered tonnes of students every year. Mother, ever concerned for me, told me that I'd have to work to be noticed, and wished me on my way, but I believe her thoughts were closer to, 'You'll never make it, there are too many people, and they don't care. Please realise this and get rid of your foolish dream'. At first I hated her for thinking like that, but viewing the crowd within the main hall that day made me pause and wonder if perhaps she was right.

The principal's address drifted across a crowd with intent to speak to us all as a whole, but I don't think it really reached anyone's ears - after all, it wasn't meant for an individual. Without an identifier - no names, no races, no personal links - there was no reason to listen, because we were not being spoken to.

It wasn't like I expected to waltz in and turn heads. Yes, I was far too aware of what people thought for far too long to be so naive. All the same, the sheer scope of what I was now exposing myself to could only be realised now that I could see it.

All around me, students of all of the ten races, mixed in with one another, standing together at attention - or floating, or hardly standing and looking bored - like a ragtag army rather than a set of students. But, in a way, I guess we were to be an army of "Humankind": against the monsters, against the dungeons, against the mysteries of the world.

Those around me looked as bored at the proceedings as I was, but we all returned our attention when his voice announced we were to seek out the professors for our appropriate majors to complete registration.

I was for a brief period hesitant. I had made the journey here in the hopes of studying to become a Psychicer, for I always thought I had a great understanding of human nature, but when I had initially applied, the young sprite who led the classes for it looked me over and shook her head. "Sorry, but it's not actual Psychic ability, just very good intuition." That's what she told me. I pondered protesting it to her by going over to her gathering anyway, because I really had no idea.

So I stood there, jostled about as people moved and pushed and crowded and tried to find their professors. A tall, blue-haired Drake didn't bother apologizing as he nearly knocked me over - and a ivy-haired Celestial caught me with a smile on his face, setting me back on my feet before drifting up above the crowd on white wings to get where he was going sooner.

It was no surprise that I could sometimes tell the class just by the races that were gathering for them - most of the Drakes in the crowd could be easily spotted amongst a congregation forming near the eastern wall, along with Dwarves and Humans; they must have been seeking Warrior training. That... was not for me. I was not at all out of shape, but I definitely didn't possess the physique necessary for such a task.

Similarly, a great many Halflings and Sprites gathered likely marked Thieves - I couldn't really make out a teacher, who was probably another Halfling anyway so it was no surprise. No, I was not so agile. Celestials and Erdgeists hovered over dwarves in one corner... Devouts? No, I wasn't so inclined at all, and being a medic wasn't something I wanted to stomach. Maybe a Mage? ...Nah.

The crowd was dispersing and there was merely me and a few others left, all looking equally undecided or hesitant. It probably looked bad to those with purpose - were we merely undecided, or flat out having second thoughts? An energetic Human girl was striking up conversation with a Dwarven girl, sharing thoughts as they both tried to make up their mind. But for me, nobody, at least, not at first.

"You ought to not just stand around, you know."

I turned sharply to see a tall, middle-aged elf behind me. Before I could ponder what exactly constituted middle age for an elf, I noticed he was studying me. So I studied him back. Long blonde hair a little burnt... an outfit that looked a clean and regal white, but I could tell his crossed arms were covering up some sort of green liquid stain. And the gloves he wore, though not leaving dirt on his clothes, looked battered and worn, although solid.

"...You're the Alchemy Professor?" The things I had noticed were hinting at it.

"Wonderful!" his face lit up with enthusiasm that kind of worried me. "Yes, I'm Doc." Doc what? No answer, he just continued, "and you're very sharp-eyed to have figured this out."

"You're also not with your other enrollees," I noted. "Or... are there none?"

That enthusiastic look returned to his aged features. "Right again!" How could any teacher be happy about having no students!? ...Wait. I think my realisation must have crossed my features, because he smiled even more. "You know, an intuition like that would make you a wonderful candidate for Alchemy."

It took me a moment to confirm that, yes, the professor of a hopelessly empty class had just picked me out of a group of undecided students. "Intuition, huh?" I looked up at him curiously.

"Well, yes. You seemed rather lost in contemplation," he shrugged. "Humans usually have something they're good at, and since you didn't seem to be jumping headfirst into another discipline like your comrades, I figured it must be thinking you're good at."

I didn't particularly like the fact that he basically just insinuated I was incapable of anything else, but... he had a point. "Well, I--"

"Wonderful!" Hey, don't cut me off, and definitely don't grab my hand and pull me away! "We'll get you formally registered then. What's your name?"

Damn, I thought Elves wouldn't have the strength for the kind of grip he had. But, it would be a starting place if nothing else, I realised.

"Akira. My name is Akira."