Thin Ice (M/M Transmigration)

Chapter 3

The best magical school in the country was called Aurelis Academy and it stood high on a mountain top, isolated from the rest of the world. Once upon a time, it had been a fortress capable of withstanding a siege for years and now it was a highly respected school. It was large and showy, built in a gothic fashion and with high walls surrounding it. Cale lost his breath as he stared at it, just outside the gate into it.

Autumn had finally arrived, and with it, Cale was finally leaving the house of the Frosthaze family.

Calla was twenty years old and two years behind on his studies, which meant that Cale would be going to a class with eighteen-year-old teenagers.

Hopefully, no-one would notice any changes in Calla's personality.

He trudged up further along the mountain path until he reached the high gate. It was made of iron and colored dark, with spikes at the top that gave off an unsettling feeling. Cale swallowed nervously, suddenly hit by the fact that he was going into an entirely unfamiliar situation. He had never been to a boarding school before and although the affairs of the protagonist were told fancily, that was influenced by the protagonist's good luck and miraculous strength. Even the bullying for being adopted ended once the other students saw proof of his power.

Calla's family was of fairly high standing, high enough that he shouldn't be bullied just because, but he was also famous for being sickly and often ill. There was no telling how that might have affected the student body. This might be his last year alive, he really didn't want to have to worry about bullying on top of everything else.

Cale gave the gate a last glance before he walked to the Gatekeeper to the side. He kept a tight hold of the suitcase in his grasp and said, in a subdued voice, "Calla Frosthaze, final year."

The Gatekeeper, an old man that scowled at everyone and everything, looked down at the book he was holding and started shifting through the pages until he came to the page holding the offered name. He scowled even more fiercely and pulled out his pen to draw a short cross next to the name. "Welcome." he hissed out.

Cale gave him an odd look, but the Gatekeeper was actually a character in the book, so he wasn't going to ask.

When the gate opened up, he didn't wait for it to open all the way, instead he hurried in through it right away. The Gatekeeper gave him an eerie feeling and he wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

In the story 'Fire & Ice', the Gatekeeper was tied magically to Aurelis Academy, a kind of last line of defense. The Gatekeeper was over several thousand years old and ridiculously powerful and was sort of an ace in the sleeve for the protagonist. When the villain attacked, the Gatekeeper was able to transfer a large portion of his power to the protagonist so he could win, but in doing so became a mortal and eventually died a few months later. After his death, it was revealed that he was born from a mortal woman and an ancient earth spirit. The earth spirit was so enraged at his death that he attacked the protagonist directly and was defeated after a long drawn out battle. With the earth spirit's death, a series of earthquakes erupted all over the land until a new earth spirit was born.

This caused the deaths of countless innocents.

It was never revealed who the new earth spirit was. Regardless, Cale had no intention of getting caught in the middle of the battle between the protagonist and the villain if he could help it. Which meant staying far away from the allies of the protagonist.

The villain didn't really have a lot of allies, at least not at the academy.

Once through the gate, Cale ventured through the courtyard they opened up to until he reached the doors. With one hand, he held tight to his suitcase and with the other, pulled the door open. It was heavy and he had to lean back and use his weight as leverage to get it to open up all the way. When it was finally open, he hurried through it before it had a chance to close.