VELTHRA
Chapter 9 – New Rooms, Old Troubles

The courtyard buzzed with first-years crowding around the massive digital noticeboard. Names, dorm numbers, and class assignments flickered across the screen.

Kael barely got a look before a cheerful volunteer stepped in front of him.

“Kael, right? Come with me. You’re being escorted to your dorm.”

He followed, weaving past excited students and confused parents until they stopped before a grand door etched with his name. The metal shimmered with some kind of nano-light.

“Wait, this is mine?” Kael blinked.

Inside, the room looked like a mini-suite—sunlight through tall windows, a desk loaded with orientation material, and a neatly folded uniform resting on his bed.

“These aren’t mine… is this my roommate’s?” he asked, scratching his head.

The volunteer chuckled.

“Nope. All yours. You don’t have roommates.”

Kael turned to her, still stunned. She grinned and stuck out a hand.

“Name’s Fia. And here, we don’t use family names. Academy rule to promote equality.”

“Ah,” Kael nodded. “Well… thanks, Fia.”

She tilted her head, smiling gently.

“You know, with your combat rank, I expected someone fierce. But you’re kind of a sweetcake.”

Kael’s ears turned pink.

“This room’s bigger than my whole dorm back at the orphanage…”

That stopped Fia in her tracks for a moment. Then she ruffled his hair.

“You earned it. Be proud of yourself.”

She ran him through the dorm rules, then added with a playful wink:

“And if you ever need help, feel free to call me. Being asked for help by a cute junior isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

Kael mumbled something awkward, still stunned by the sheer luxury around him.

“Freshen up and head to the mess. Dinner’s hot and the gossip’s hotter,” she said before disappearing down the hall.

Kael sat on his bed, still unsure if he belonged here.

“Man… I feel so out of place. Would’ve been nice if I could’ve shared this with the others.”

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the dormitory…

“Oh YEAH, baby! We’re in the same dorm!” Calvin fist-pumped, tossing his bag onto a bunk.

“Later,” Rio muttered, scanning his dorm number. “Let’s check Kael’s room later. I heard it’s like a suite.”

“Wait…” Calvin squinted at the dorm listings.

“Oh no.”

“What?” Rio asked.

“We’re doomed,” Calvin said flatly, pointing.

Next to their names was a third: Trollin.

“No. No no no,” Rio muttered. “We are so screwed.”

The mood on the walk to their room was... grim.

Rio: “Trollin’s our roommate? Fantastic. Hope he doesn’t cheat his way into my locker too.”

Calvin (pulling out a squashed snack bar): “Yeah… no. He won’t.”

Rio (frowning): “You were arguing with him five hours ago.”

Calvin (shrugging): “Yeah, I argue with the mirror every morning too. Doesn’t mean I don’t respect it.”

Rio (blinking): “You’re saying you respect Trollin?”

Calvin (serious now): “He’s a pain. Arrogant. Anger issues deluxe. But he never cheats. Ever.”

Rio (quiet): “You sure?”

Calvin (nodding, tossing him a snack bar): “Watched him in training. Broke his collarbone once rather than break a rule. He’d rather lose clean.”

Rio (softening): “Still the biggest pain on campus.”

Calvin (grinning): “Second biggest. I still hold that crown.”

Rio (grinning): “So you know that you are a little jerk.”

When they reached the room, the door was ajar.

Trollin stood inside, arms crossed, glaring at the two like they’d tracked mud across his soul.

“Oh great,” he muttered. “Why are the gods testing me like this?”

Calvin pushed the door open with a smile. “Because they love me.”

Rio slunk in behind him, deadpan as ever.

Trollin looked at the dorm sheet, then at them.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” Calvin said, tossing his bag onto the bed. “Roomies.”

“I’m cursed.”

Rio slid into his bunk and whispered to Calvin, “You sure he won’t murder us in our sleep?”

“Pretty sure,” Calvin replied. “Ninety percent.”

Trollin shot them both a look. “Just stay out of my way.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, now sixty percent.” Calvin said, already putting up a dartboard on the closet door.

The silence that followed was loud and awkward—but not hostile. Somehow, between shared chaos and bruised egos, a strange balance had settled.

Back in Kael’s room, the lights dimmed to a warm glow. Outside, the academy bell chimed softly in the wind. He leaned back on the bed, letting the day finally settle in his bones.

For the first time in a long time, he felt something close to peace.

Even if tomorrow promised nothing but trouble.