The chime of the academy's evening bell roused Isaac from sleep, a deep, resonant toll that vibrated through the floorboards. Outside, the sun had begun its descent;
What time is it?
A glance at the time revealed it was already six o'clock. Four hours of reading, and yet his body still felt horrible. Legs sore, Knees sore. The final light of dusk slanted through the stained-glass window, orange and gold.
Welcome dinner… Right. I gotta go.
Can't afford to be late.
But…
WHAT THE HELL, AVELINE???
YOU SAID THIS STORY WAS SHIT AND IT'S PEAK FICTION???
'Reincarnated into the Finale'.
Sounded shitty from the title, but I am completely blown away.
The definition of what 'slop story' is so fucking different from that of Earth.
What the hell, bro?
Halfway through the story, the plot points are generically unique, and the plot twists are good. The characters are relatable, likable, and all of them are well developed, with them making logical decisions rather than being some stupid fucking loser. And hell, the power system is fleshed out rather than some basic Sword Aura Aether bullshit.
This intrafictional piece of work is considered worse than the minimum, so much so that it's slop???
How the fuck?
If this were to be published back on Earth, not only would this reach stardom, but it would probably surpass 90% of literature.
Isaac lampooned. Multiple thoughts recurred in his head, but one mainly prevailed.
These fuckers are smart. Really fucking smart.
Goddamn it.
I can't prove that everyone is a smartass, but I KNOW it.
For this to be considered, slop would mean the literacy rate of the entire world must be fucking high heavens.
Ah jeez.
Another big divergence.
The main story better be the same lah.
Isaac dragged himself upright and retrieved his uniform from the wooden closet.
It's quite nice for a uniform. Really classy.
It felt cool against his skin, and for a moment, he wondered if the NPCs of this world noticed the way the silver embroidery along the cuffs caught the fading light.
Presentable, mostly. I should smooth my hair down…
Tsk. Stubborn.
Figures.
The state of his room was quite a mess. Dormitory rules were for students to be responsible for the cleanliness of their rooms until the deep clean at the end of every month. In a single day of moving in, Isaac single-handedly messed up his dorm. Pens and mechanical pencils all clicked out and
Fuck… All the documents of my passport and student registration are everywhere…
If the wind blows open that binder, then my room will be even more of a mess.
Should I close it…
Nah, too far across from me.
Isaac exited his room into the busy hallway of seniors and juniors in the hallway. It was filled with murmured conversations and the rhythmic thud of footsteps streaming toward the dining hall. He fell into step with the crowd, shoulders brushing against those of his peers.
Since arriving in this world, Isaac felt the faintest sense of security. Even with his new family, there was that nagging sense of fear. But within the narrative, he was finally just another student among many, drawn by the promise of a warm, welcoming meal and evening chatter.
By my logic, the odds of some Spell being aimed at me right now in this narrative fortress?
Less than one in a hundred.
How comforting.
Eat shit W̴̨̜̺̱̲̓̂͐̄̀͊̉̋̚͜e̷̬̼̮̳̺̲͔̳̘̣͋͑̃͋̈́̇͊̅̈́̉̔̈́͂̋͝͠͝a̴̞͚̞̗̲̟̼̙͊̓͂́̋͑́̍̐̓͌̿͌̽̕͜ͅͅͅv̴̨̢̖̖̱̯̫̗̠̪̥̗̒̓̾̓͛̎̽̇́͠͝ȩ̶̛̖̗̫̠̘̬̳͕̩̩̦̥̼̩͓̣̂̈̾̉̍̿͒̈̔ŗ̵̡̭̣̣̜̩̹̘̮̱̩̘̻̤̂̿ͅͅ ̸̳̪̦͖̳̬̣̝͊̓̔̍̾͑͛ơ̶̡̧̭͍͇̩̰͔͓̟͋̂́͊̒́̇̕͝f̴̭̺̞̲̜̙̦͈̲̭͚͍̐͑̊̉̉̓̐͆̏̅̑̚̚ ̶̡̛̻͖̩͕̜̰̹͓̝͔̹̻̤͓̹̆͌̑̊̕͜͠L̴̨̨̢̧̞̰̣͚̞̮̥̮̹̼͑͗̾ͅę̵̨̢̱͈̦̯̰͉̹͎̪̳̞̮̍̐͂͌͐̍̚͝͠͠ͅt̵͚̦̤̭̮̜̥̝̩̦̮̫̹̅̃͛̀͆͆͑̀͆̚̕͘͝ͅh̷̤̳̻̊̂̿̊͛͊̄̀̈́̊́͑̿͝͝a̵̡̨̡͖͔̗̦͔̺̮̠͆̈́̽̈̕̚ͅr̸̩̫̥̣̟̳͓͇͖͑̑̋́́̅͗͗̊̋̚̕̕͝g̵̢͓̱̥̜͙̞͚̥̦̫̼͂̈́͋͛̓̆̑͂̆̍̐̕͜͠͝ĭ̸̡̡̢̢̢̙̻̻̻̳͍̤̜̩̓ͅc̴̨̨͉̼̯͚̯̖̮̟̩͕̻͈̲̮̣̿͊̅̃͋̽̌̂͠͝ ̴̨̘̙̹̻̯̘̻̖͈̺̺͋̈̀͛͋̒̒L̵̝̭̭͎͍͍̥̣̮̲̝̻͙͓̘̪͎̑̊͛͆͑̐̕ĩ̵̼̗͕͚͙͔͚͇̪̱͙͙̀͛̄̂͒̔̇̔͌̚͜͠͝g̸̟̣̝̫̅̍̊̾͛̿́͒̎̈́́̈͘͝ḩ̷̼̯̞̲̫̯̮̓͜͠ṱ̴̘͇̝̮͖̥͉̳̣̱͎̥̭̓́̔̎̑͂̈́͑̀͜͝
The stream of students flowed to the House of Tleli. It was clever, arranging the dining hall here, beside the Fire Resonace Archetyped Students. Where else would the kitchens go, if not next to those who summoned the flame itself?
Likewise;
The Gym is closest to House Yves, in which Earth Mages sculpt both land and body with equal fervour.
The Sport Facilities were near House Meris, where Water Mages move with grace even on dry land.
The scent reached him before he even crossed the entrance, roasted meat glazed with honey and herbs, fresh-baked bread, and beneath it all, the smoky scent of fire-charred wood.
His stomach growled, a visceral reminder that Noësis realistically burned calories as fiercely.
The queue stretched with students shuffling forward with trays in hand. Behind the serving counters, chefs, former Fire Wave Binders clad in crimson aprons, tended to simmering cauldrons and grills with ease.
A flick of the wrist adjusted the flames; a murmured incantation maintained the soups at perfect temperature. Efficiency and showmanship moved in unison.
Isaac takes his place in line, eyeing today's offerings:
Most appealing…
Ember-Seared Ribs, still faintly glowing. But the fat~ It's rendered into caramelized perfection. Tempting.
Stone-Baked Flatbread, blistered and chewy, dusted with ash salt. Not bad.
The Daily Catch, a Water Mage's comfort food, is the fish so lightly cooked it is practically sashimi.
Seeing as I need all the protein and calories I can ascertain in a short period before Act I.
I think…
"I'll go for the Ember-Seared Ribs. Thank you."
An Earth Kynetic ahead of him sighs as her bowl of tide fruit soup floats into her hands, the broth swirling lazily.
In general, the hall was a living mosaic of Modular allegiance.
Tleli tables clustered around central braziers, Fire Concordants casually toasting skewers between bites, utilizing their Concordees. A student's sleeve had literally caught fire, and they laughed without concern.
Yves's enclave resembled a mountain of muscle and meat, Earth Catalyxi stacking their plates with amino acids and creatine in the form of beef. In fact, Yves' students were arm-wrestled over a loaf of bread.
Meris's corner rippled with laughter, their meals half-submerged in floating orbs of water. A duo raced shrimp through a maze of floating broth. Interestingly, Isaac noted the appearance of humanoid creatures with scales lining their arm and necks.
And then there was Esyphyr.
The Esyphyr tables were positioned beneath the high windows, where the evening breeze drifted through, lifting napkins and loose leaves of parchment into the air. Isaac was directed to the spot reserved for the entering cohort of students.
He sat down. And with no second thought.
Gobbled.
The first bite of ribs was delicious.
Holy~
Smoky. Succulent. Rich enough to be royalty.
He leaned back, licking honey from his thumb. The academy might be a den of rivalries, absurd traditions, and Modular posturing, but it did feed its students well.
Ah. Speaking about royalty
3.2.1
The dining hall doors swing open.
A hush ripples through the room, subtle but unmistakable, the way wind stills before a storm. Conversations stutter into silence. Even the Tleli braziers seem to dim, their flames bowing like subjects before a crown.
And such. Eleven figures entered.