AWCU Tour (Part 1)

This is the fifth episode for the Crusaders of the Constellation Novel.

## Story

The main school building, as the students learned, is at the centre of the academy grounds. As Samson put it, the king will teach them the ways of the dimension warriors through training, and classes like those on Earth. They will learn about their classmate's dimensions to better defend them, and perhaps bond with them as well as learn about the enemy's weaknesses. They walked through the hallways, which have torches to light the way. Delmare asked Samson if they can peek at the classrooms. "Why not?" he said, "They're where you'll get yer education from." She looked through the door window and saw that just like the hallways, the classroom she saw has torches that light up the whole room. It has desk chairs and real-live universal stars on the classroom ceiling. "You will get your holographic textbooks in there. Be patient." Husdent said, adjusting his glasses. "We also have classrooms for those who want to have simple and easy lessons. You know who you are, and someday, you'll graduate to the big boys." He said, glancing at the other students. They went to the computer rooms, the science and medical classrooms, the Room of Peril, a holographic training facility for putting the student's knowledge to practice. They also went to the ArtHub, a building that has a theatre, a recital studio, a concert hall, and dance studios. It is connected to an art gallery. "For those of you studying the arts, this is where you'll be learning many of them," Samson said. "Maybe some of you are great at singing, dancing, acting or drawing. Your talents will shine like the stars here." They went out of ArtHub to the hallways.

Some students went to the restrooms for a break. King Athos told the rest that they can wait till they're done. After the toilet breaks, Samson told them that the restrooms they used are futuristic, in that they can adjust the temperature of the water by pushing buttons. Oh, and the soap there is made with natural ingredients. They went to the library, where Husdent explained the rules of borrowing to them and told them that students will have to clean it if they were found guilty of breaking the school rules. The library has electric light on the ceilings, floating chairs and reading tables (If you want to read in peace, just give the floating chairs and table directions, and they will fly there), clocks, and flaming torches for when blackouts occur. "How frequently do blackouts happen?" A crow tengu asked. "Once in a blue moon," Husdent said. Samson took out a storybook and opened it. The pages popped out pictures of soldiers like holograms. "Wonderful! That book's about the history of France. This thing's the battle of Waterloo. King Athos loves learning about the history of all worlds, including Earth's." He said excitedly. They went to the King's office, which contains a throne just like the one in his floating castle, and a sand floor. "I hope that you're not called here because you're causing trouble." Samson said, "But that because the king wants to commend you."

They went to the gardens outside the library. Exotic plants from other dimensions grew there, and Phrixus, seeing Chrysomallos there, brought Ranald to the fat winged ram to play with him. Bai Tu walked up to the ram and eyed it with caution. "Is he fluffy?" he asked, stroking Chrysomallos's sides. "Why yes of course. If you want, I can ask my mother back in Hellenos to knit sweaters for you and your friends." Phrixus said to the two boys. "You can grow edible plants there," Samson told the students. "And ornamental plants too. Some are weird, like this money tree." He reached out to the coins growing on the money tree and gave some to the students. "Of course, eating in the school dining hall is free of charge. Just be sure not to waste these coins."

One thing about the gardens is that it is in front of the library but behind the silver building which contains the Main Hall of AWCU. There are classrooms surrounding the Main Hall, and the domed building containing the Dining Hall is in front of it. The Main Gate and its garden are in front of the Dining Hall with its surrounding classrooms.

Ranald, Phrixus, and Bai Tu were having fun playing with Chrysomallos, when suddenly, a scream sounded in the air. Bai Tu freaked out and hid behind some pearl berry bushes. Phrixus and his pet stopped and looked around, then headed to the source of the scream. Ranald crouched on all fours like a lion and sniffed the air. He followed the shepherd and found a funny sight: An anthropomorphic tawny lion in armour hugging a tree branch, while a cockroach was crawling on the ground. Delmare who was admiring the flowers, saw the students laughing. "Poor dear, did this bug scare you?" she asked the lion. "I...I...I..yes...I...uh...fear no man or beast except...this blasted disgusting thing," he answered. "And you call yourself brave, Anbesa my big brother. Are you going to shame the Nemean family name?" A smaller lion sarcastically questioned. He has a black mane, greyish fur, yellow eyes, and wearing a white cape with some leather armour on a grey jumpsuit. "Please, stop mocking me, Arye. Just remove this thing from me!" Anbesa screamed, hugging the tree branch tighter. Ranald glowered at Arye, who reluctantly caught the cockroach and placed it far away from the students. The big tawny lion fell to the ground and landed on all fours. Delmare took out a handkerchief with a dolphin on it and gently wiped his sweat away. Anbesa thanked her and hid behind his younger brother. The cockroach crawled for a while, only for the big black striped dragon to eat it. "Ewww...would you just... leave it be?" Delmare asked. The dragon turned into his human form and said, "I want a snack." "You aren't going to be sick, aren't you?" she asked in concern. "I have been used to eating bugs for a long time," he answered. Bai Tu emerged from the pearl berry bushes and asked what happened.

"Poor Big Brother is scared of a cockroach. Sad!" Arye exclaimed. Bai Tu looked at the armoured lion towering above both him and Arye and chuckled, "This is the king of the animals. How can this be possible?" Ranald having heard the boy's question asked himself if a lion-man scared of tiny bugs can even make a great mentor. "No-one's perfect. You said that you help children overcome their fears. Maybe you can help him overcome his," Phrixus said.

The students went to the school Dining Hall for lunch. In the Dining Hall, there is a lunch table in the shape of a ring, with gaps to allow students to come and go. The chairs float too, like those in the library, and at the centre of the ring-shaped dining table, there is a map of the dimensions the students come from. The students took their lunch and ate. When asked why he ate bugs instead of meat, the dragon spoke, “I was born to a family of evil dragons who steal and eat livestock and burn down villages with dark-fire breath just for fun. I was the only one who refused to participate in their deeds, so they disowned me and kicked me out of the cave. I lived in the forest feeding on insects and bugs, then I found this winged messenger bottle. And the rest is history.”

After lunch, they toured the Research and Development Labs. Samson has to keep them from touching the equipment and explained to them that they will make their own weapons aside from repairing them. He also pointed out that medical students will make cures to diseases known only to their home dimensions. They also went to Aether Health and Medical Hospital, where they toured the garage with flying ambulances. Said garage has a roof that can open up for them to take off. They toured the infirmary rooms and the hospital lobby. The hospital has five floors and has ERs, OR, and ICUs. Its doors have forms on them that read their IDs, diagnoses their ailments and tells visitors who're currently staying in the infirmary. There are voice-activated floating discs that can take visitors to the room they want to visit. It even has a dental office and a psychiatric ward. "You guys will also rescue people from other dimensions, and treat them in this hospital. Your medical skills will be tested here," Samson said. "Hopefully, you won't go there frequently."

They also toured the Cosmos Observatory, where they can observe not only the stars and constellations but also what was happening in their home dimensions. There are rooms containing recordings of every kind of knowledge about every world out there, but they are off-limits, according to King Athos. In the Observatory, there is a room filled with portals to various dimensions, with an elevator leading to the king's floating castle and bases in the centre. "Can we enter the bases someday?" A bespectacled boy in the robes of a mandarin official asked Samson. "When the time is right, then you will live in them," he answered. Next to the Portal Room, there is a garage holding the Dimensional Shuttle, or as Samson called it, his 'baby'. Like in Aether Health and Medical Hospital, it has a roof that can open to let the space ship take off. Husdent told the students not to joyride the bus into space, or else they will pay the fines.

Lastly, they went to the Celestial Halls of Residence. The Main Building consists of a cafe and pub, where the students can hang out and socialize after saving worlds and such. "You can have your food here," Samson said. "Anyone want to volunteer?" A matronly woman wearing royal robes and queen's crown raised her hand. "Alright, Cassiopeia, aka Cassie, will be the cafe manager. She can hire assistants at will. So don't be afraid to help her some time." King Athos said. They toured the gardens surrounding the Main Building, and then they went upstairs and toured the gym, with lots of sports equipment. "You will have your PE lessons there," Samson said while attempting to lift the barbells. They went to the dojo near the auditorium, where they learned from Samson, that they will practice kung fu and other martial arts. "Someday, you will make up your own," he said. They went to the auditorium next to the gym, where, as the fox spirit noted, they get to "watch us beat up each other live." Zarafa then told her, "Yeah, Kibahime. I think that you get to learn what it's like to be part of a team there." Then, they went up to the Arena, which is the roof of the main building. "And it can be used for friendly sparring or as parts of the school sports game where your teams must fight each other in order to pass the test and move on to the next round. No fatal injuries or dangerous forbidden techniques please," Samson said, doling out information to his audience. The Arena is lit with torches, and it's as big as a battle dome which is the only place they must battle their opponents and classmates. It also has a hatch from which they come out or come down. The students went down to the main floor by lift and took a look at the ten Halls of Residences that are connected to the main building by covered walkways.

Samson told them about the guardhouse with the symbol of the dwarf planet Pluto on it. A pale boy in dark clothes with the flag bearing the Pluto symbol asked Samson, "Is this for me?" "Yes, you be the guard there," he said. The guardhouse is made of solid obsidian, with a skull painted on the door. It is lit by green torches that burn for 24 hours a day, and it has a small window for peeking out, and a bedroom with baths. It is connected to the student courts and the dungeon below it.

They went first to the Hall of Mercury. It looked like a Swiss chalet with the sign of a winged shoe above the door. Inside, it looked like a hotel, with floors covered with red velvet carpets, and in the lobby's centre, a holographic globe of a dimension the viewer wants to watch. As Ranald found out, if you focus on the globe long enough, it will turn into the dimension you come from, and will show you pictures of places you went to or want to go. In his case, they are Egypt, Israel, the USA, and such. The rooms have doors with anti-theft locks installed in them, and inside them are beds and cabinets. King Athos called a young man, a fairy to be exact, bearing a bronze silk flag embroidered with the symbol of the planet Mercury, "Odin, you are the Hall Leader for Mercury. Lead your group-mates well. Let them know that they will rest for today and that we start classes at 8 am tomorrow." Odin nodded, and lead his fellow students into the dorms.

Next is the Hall of Venus. It looks colourful and resembles a big ancient Greek house, with an open courtyard decorated with roses, peonies, and all beautiful flowers. Its roof is painted red and supported by Corinthian columns, with its walls painted in many colours aside from white. The door leading inside is painted in fuschia pink, with a scallop shell on it, its windows have silk purple curtains, and when Samson opened the door ajar, the smell of perfume wafted out to the surroundings. Ranald sniffed the perfume and was about to lie down, only for Phrixus to support him and carry his gold flag. Inside, the walls are rose-pink, with the white window trim, and the rooms have beds are also of many colours. Mirrors are also found in there. "It looks like 3D abstract art," Kibahime noted. "No, it's not. It's...it's..." an elf said with tears dripping from his eyes, "Beautiful. A place perfect for me." He in question is wearing a hat with a peacock feather in it, a turquoise long coat studded with gemstones, and two war fans hanging from his belt. A young nymph holding the white flag with the symbol of the planet Venus agreed with the elf about its beauty. "Anahita, you are the Hall leader for Venus. Lead your group-mates well. Let them know that they will rest for today and that we start classes at 8 am tomorrow." King Athos instructed. Anahita turned to her group-mates and said, "Time for the beauty sleep." All her group rushed in, while she left the flag out and shut the door.