Thud, thud, thud. The steps Lintur Market sounded like a stampede of elephants, but it couldn't drown out the images in Belial's head, which he clutched for dear life, his fingers swallowed by his black hair.

  "Damn it..." He groaned. After waking up in a field some distance from here, tears and snot covering his face, Belial was immediately met with flashes of distorted bodies through his mind at such a rapid rate that it hurt. He had, in his pain, heard the noise oozing out of Lintur Market like a particularly yucky liquid. He then went there, thinking the outside chaos would distract him from his inner one.

  "Who the hell's playing this shit on repeat in my head?!" He gritted his teeth, attracting some judgmental stares from nearby bystanders before they went back to their business.

  [That knowledge is not accessible-]

  "Shut, you're not helping." Belial kicked a pebble he almost tripped on.

  This voice in his head, calling itself G.O.D., yeah, not God, randomly started speaking to him around 30 minutes ago, when he started babbling about triangular prisms being the source of life, already on the brink of losing his mind. He didn't like it, but he also didn't despise it. Whenever it spoke to him, it usually gave valuable information, so at least it was useful.

  "You said this was Lintur Market, yeah? But where exactly is Lintur Market?" Belial asked, lowering his hands from his head to the pockets of his jeans, stained with bits of dirt.

  [Torrent County]

  "Thanks, that helped a lot, dipshit." Belial snickered, wandering randomly through the market, idly inspecting the various products.

  "Fire Stone, Flying Frog meat, Unicorn Urine... this really is another world, huh?" He sighed, still finding this whole experience ridiculous. Who would think that he, Belial, the useless child, would get another chance at life after being killed by his sister, whom he noticed too late through a cracked mirror.

  "That also means I can't get back at them." He clenched his fists, his palms shaking with barely contained rage. He didn't know why he was so angry, kinda, he knew that his family mutilated his Uncle, he knew Alteria killed him, but still, the him from before definitely wouldn't have this much murderous intent.

  He shook his head, continuing his walk with a mumbled 'Whatever'.

  Just then, a man, probably a merchant from the way he dressed, stopped right in front of him, the short guy needing to tilt his head a near 90 degrees to look Belial in the eyes.

  Belial raised an eyebrow.

  "Hello?" He called, since the merchant seemed to be waiting for him to speak first.

  The merchant's grin grew even bigger as he laughed.

  "Oh, how's your day been?" He started, outstretching his hand for a shake, which Belial reluctantly gave, not even having enough time to mouth 'good' before the merchant cut him off.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  "My name's Rup, I'm the best merchant in a... thousand-kilometer radius." Belial responded with a sarcastic 'uh-huh'.

  "I've been looking at you for a while now... and I gotta say, you've got quite the physique on you." Rup started fondling Belial's bicep with casualness that reminded Belial that this was another world, different laws, standards, and everything- this guy could also just be a creep.

  "So I've decided to bleed a little and give you one of my most prized possessions for 99.99% off." He started rummaging through his little bag, which could've passed for a middle-aged woman's purse, all while Belial just stared.

  "Yo, G.O.D., who's this guy?" He mentally questioned, not sure how trusting he should be of someone who just finished molesting him.

  [Rup V. Hubertt. A merchant his whole life, he makes a living by selling various tickets, cards, and other trinkets that allow access into an area, organization, or force. He is indeed well-known in a thousand-kilometer radius, and even farther, he just hides his identity for family matters]

  Belial's interest was then fully piqued. Family-related problems? Wasn't this exactly like him?

  "Like what matters?" He couldn't help but become a little noisy. Maybe if he learned about Rup's family issues, he could find a way to handle his.

  [Not telling; not your business]

  Belial grunted, muttering 'fucking gatekeeper' before focusing his attention back on Rup, who had finished going through his purse.

  "Ta-dahh!" Rup pulled out a small crest, a white shield with golden vines on its edges and a golden roaring lion's face on the front. Belial leaned down, curiously inspecting the crest.

  "Feast your eyes as you should." Rup smiled smugly.

  "This is the Registration Token of Lionlock Academy, a priceless artifact!" Rup practically shoved the thing into my face.

  Belial's eyes narrowed, trying to remember if he'd ever heard something like Lionlock Academy; he obviously hadn't.

  "What's that?" Not knowing the answer himself, he just asked the person who did.

  Rup's eyes flickered with confusion before returning to their joyous luster.

  "Lionlock Academy is one of the best academies in Torrent! Even local nobles aren't sure they can get recommended to take their trials, much less an immediate ticket to them." Rup patiently explained.

  His eyes then glinted with something far less patient, even licking his lips.

  "And let me tell you, the female professors ov-" Belial cut him off with a wave of his wrist.

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm not interested in old, saggy professors, though." He shook his head, ignoring Rup's 'Your loss'.

  "But I am interested in the crest and the trial." He looked away from Rup's face to the crest clutched in his hand.

  "You said something about registration, are there any requirements for it? And do I meet them?"

  Rup quickly recovered from his feelings of betrayal.

  "Ah, yes! But you don't have to worry about them, the Token makes them all meaningless." He gestured towards the crest.

  "And where is Lionlock Academy?" Belial tilted his head to the side.

  Rup clapped his hands.

  "Just keep walking West until you reach the edge of the market, then continue with a carriage through the North path. You'll see a city, Florincia, at the end, and after that, it should be pretty easy to spot a branch of the academy." Rup vividly directed with his fingers in the air.

  "Oh, I understand." Belial nodded, but the tingling in his mind, the pain, was slowly returning- he had to hurry up and end this conversation.

  "So can I get the Token now?" Belial pulled a hand out of a pocket and stretched it towards Rup.

  "Of course, of course!" Rup joyfully planted the Token into Belial's palm.

  "Then, I guess I should head to this Lionlock Academy soon. Bye." Belial turned and waved at Rup before walking away, disappearing into the crowd.

  "Hope you buy from me again!" Rup waved a chubby hand back, then realized something.

  "Wait... buy? What did he use to buy the Token?" Rub scratched his head.

  Meanwhile, already some distance West of Rug was Belial.

  "Do people here just give shit out for free?" He wondered, playing with the Token.

  "Well, works to my benefit, I guess." He looked straight ahead.

  "Student life, here I come."