[Entrance Exam] Arrival

[lockdownmods]

You wake up. There’s a dull, throbbing pain in your head that lasts for a few moments. You’re slightly disoriented at first, but once you come to your senses, you realize that you are not where you were last. You lift your head and realize that you're sitting at a desk. You aren’t quite sure where this is, exactly, but from what you can tell--desk and all--this appears to be some sort of...fancy classroom. Maybe there are others in the room who are as lost and confused as you are; maybe you’re the only one. At least you’re not in the dark. The room is well-lit, giving you a proper view of the blue and silver designs that make up the school’s colors.

You feel something around your wrist, so look down at your hands and notice a strange sort of bracelet. Some of you may be able to discern that it's some sort of Fitbit, but try as you might, you cannot remove it.

You only have a few more seconds to process what’s happening before you hear something buzzing on the desk you’re sitting at.

It appears to be a tablet of some sort. It turns on automatically due to a notification that pops up on the screen. The notification reads, “Good morning, Prospect. Welcome to Fayflower University’s Entrance Exam!”

There’s a “Next” button that leads you to another notification: “Please spend the next hour introducing yourself to your fellow Prospects. More information on your peers can be found on the "Profiles" app. Failure to engage will result in punishment. Be sure to adhere to the rules, which can be found in an application called “Rules” on this device.”

There’s one last notification: “When the hour is up, report to the Gymnasium immediately for your Orientation. You will be given further information and instruction there.”

You exit out of the notification. You now understand what the notification means: the tablet has four applications: Rules, Tasks, Profiles, and Maps. If you try to click on the Tasks app, another notification pops up indicating that the application is currently unaccessible. The Maps app only shows you a map of the building you're in right now. There's a little marker indicating your location as well: The one and only classroom in the vicinity.

A large red timer appears at the bottom of the screen. 59:59.

You'd better get started.

Comments

[enjoymyatelier]

There is nothing good about this, actually. I had very important things to do and suddenly I'm just in some school? There's not going to be any explanation for this that's satisfactory.

...

Also, I can use a wheelchair myself, thank you very much.

[escardos]

You're welcome!

[ thAT'S NOT WHAT HE MEANT

nevertheless, flat takes a moment to sift through the profiles before he finds the face that matches kayneth's and oh my god. ]

You're Professor Kayneth! The princess' brother and my professor's professor!!

[ a pause. wait a hot second. ]

But you're dead. How are you here?

[enjoymyatelier]

...

What.

No, I am not dead. That much should be extremely obvious. What are you even talking about? Who are you?

[escardos]

No, no, you're definitely dead. You died in the Fourth Holy Grail War! Ah- maybe you're from before then.

[ he nods to himself as if this makes total sense. oh, right, introductions! ]

I'm Flat Escardos, of the El-Melloi School! It's nice to meet you, Lord!

[enjoymyatelier]

...

....

I'm not dead yet.

[HOLY FUCKING SHIT]

Look, there are infinite parallel worlds, I'm sure I died in one of them, but I'm not dead yet.

[HE CAN'T EVEN REACT TO ESCARDOS HERE HE'S JUST KIND OF LOSIN IT]

[escardos]

[ OOPS ]

Well, that is true! But don't worry, even if you do die in this universe, I can assure you that your memory is preserved! [ he claps his hands together, beaming ] The professor really respects you!! His original name was... uh...

[ it's been so long since he's heard that name...since their first introduction, right? ah wait, he's got it! ]

Waver Velvet! But now he's just known as El Melloi the Second!

[enjoymyatelier]

[there's a pause. a really long pause, where kayneth's expression does some shit.]

Ah. No. Actually, I believe you. I must be dead, because I'm currently in hell.

[escardos]

Eh--?

[ he tilts his head...that's...not the reaction that flat was looking for. ]

I mean, he's not bad. His skills as a magus are kind of low-tier but he's an amazing teacher! And Reines is an awesome student! She bullies him a lot but I think it's because she cares.

[ or because she's a fucking sadist but hey ]

So you have nothing to worry about. And besides, you can't be dead right now because I know I'm not dead.

[enjoymyatelier]

How could this even happen. I don't... I don't want to live in this reality. I wanted a proper successor.

[escardos]

[ this...is definitely confusing. despite coming from an aristocratic house himself, he's never really concerned himself with the details of the escardos matters.

mostly because his parents wouldn't let him get involved but, hey, details. ]

Uh, are you okay? I guess it is kind of hard to take in, but hey, the professor took care of writing all about you so... it's not like you're forgotten either!

[enjoymyatelier]

...

[...honestly, this kid has been weirdly guileless enough that he's not even sure he's lying. like, he almost seems a little too dumb to lie, but...]

...Wait, why would he even do that? I completely slammed his ideas.

[escardos]

Oh.

[ he thinks about it for a moment, as if trying to find some reason in kayneth's confusion. none comes. ]

Well, isn't that normal? The professor always calls me an idiot and useless, but I know he still cares about me.

[ NO ]

[enjoymyatelier]

...Are you sure? Are you sure.

[escardos]

[ he nods. ]

Yeah! Once, my friend and I were in big trouble and he rescued us. He even risked losing something very important to him. Therefore I think it was the same thing with you.

[enjoymyatelier]

...well, granted, even if the Escardos family isn't particularly well-regarded, I'm sure if he let you die there would be very serious repercussions.

I have to say, though, even if he does secretly care about you, I... can't really say I felt the same about him.

[escardos]

[ flat shrugs, not making any more mention of that situation. truth be told, he's certain that his parents would be quite thankful if he ended up dead.

but what matters is the lord's confession. the smile fades to something blank, weighing in his head what kayneth's words mean. it's undeniable that the lord doesn't like the professor, which isn't something that sits well with him. but the professor respects him, and greatly so.

in the end, what matters most to this unorthodox magus are the professor's ideals and opinions so, once he comes to this conclusion, his expression lightens again. ]

Yeah, well that's just how it is, then! Did he cause you a lot of problems?

[enjoymyatelier]

Well, mostly just the one that snowballed into many bigger problems when he stole the relic I was going to use to summon Alexander the Great.

...

Maybe he just felt guilty about it or something. I don't know. I don't see why, since it sounds like he ended up more successful than I did in the long run, since he obviously survived and I didn't.

[escardos]

He stole a relic?! No way, I kind of did that too!

[ a pause. wait...that's not how it goes. ]

Well, it wasn't a real relic. It was just a toy he got, apparently! And yet it still worked and I summoned Berserker with it! And technically, he did give it to me, but he didn't think that I would end up going to a Grail War. 'Cuz it's just a toy. Can you believe that, sir?!

[ he shrugs, smiling sheepishly due to the memory. it's almost as if the 2 hour rant had only happened yesterday-- well, actually it had! ]

Still, that sounds just like the Professor, you know? He probably feels bad that he, somehow, ended up causing your death. From what he wrote, you sounded like a really important guy and that your death set the Clock Tower back a decade because of all your progress! So he's probably trying to make up for it, somehow.

[enjoymyatelier]

...I mean, I'd say pull the other one, but it seems as though you're entirely guileless. I suppose you'd probably get a fairly weak Servant without a proper relic.

...well, in any case, I think summoning Lancer didn't necessarily lead to me dying, necessarily. He just lead to other complications.

[...god. there's something at the back of his mind, but... he doesn't want to ask. he does but he doesn't. he's been trying to push it out of his mind because he's not sure he wants to hear the answer.

at least like this, he can at least pretend she's alive. maybe like, off with some fucking irish shithead. but alive.

and he'd like to keep thinking that.]

He wasn't a particularly good Servant, but Waver Velvet wasn't the only Master in that war fighting dirty.

[escardos]

Aw, there's no such thing as a bad Servant! Just an inefficient Master.

[ beaming and absolutely unaware of the fact that he just insulted one of the most talented lords in the clock tower or the fact that said lord is currently having his small crisis, flat escardos continues. ]

Besides, I think Jack was pretty powerful. We managed to do a lot, you know? But... [ he pauses for a second, the smile falling from his face as his gaze flickers to the two remaining command seals on his hand. ] Well, we almost got into a lot of trouble. But I managed to rescue them. It's a shame, 'cuz I had to use one of these cool-looking Seals, but hey, it's a necessary exchange!

[enjoymyatelier]

No. There are definitely bad Servants. You just probably got lucky with yours.

...

I'm not even going to ask about the identity of your Servant, because I don't think that's sporting and also because it's probably very stupid.

[escardos]

No, I'm pretty sure about what I'm saying. Maybe you should've tried to befriend your Servant. It's not that difficult!

[ he wonders if it's worth keeping the identity of his servant a secret anymore. after all, kayneth is dead at his time...and hey, it's not like jack's gonna find out! ]

I told you, they're Jack! As in Jack the Ripper! You know, the serial killer?

[enjoymyatelier]

I did not fight in the Holy Grail War to make friends with someone who was probably going to backstab me over the Grail at the first opportunity, or at least run away with my fiancee, because that's what he does.

[...]

...you know, in some totally backwards way, that vaguely makes sense given your catalyst. Well... done, I guess. Hopefully your Servant didn't end up taking a bus full of women of ill repute to a forest to murder for some reason like the serial killer Servant in my Holy Grail War did.

[escardos]

[ flat would comment on kayneth's opinion of his servant, but something else grabs his attention, and not exactly in a good way. ]

W-what?! [ he waves his hands nervously, as if trying to wipe that idea away ] No way, no way! We're not here to kill anyone! In fact, I was trying to save someone with them before, well, I got brought here.

It's a shame someone was doing that in your war, though. It's such an inefficient use of people, don't you think?

[enjoymyatelier]

...that's... a way to describe it, yes.

[...like. flat, that's creepy, even when kayneth personally sort of just looked at a bus full of kids and went "what a shitty magus who can't control his servant"]

But yes, it was basically spitting in the face of the rest of us, who were trying to have a proper Grail War without going out of our way to murder civilians or what have you.