Is this the inn the teacher booked for us? I really can't tell anymore. This district has a lot of inns and most of them look the same. This is near the dwarf hub so I am sure our inn is somewhere in this area.

However, they have the same layout. A small restaurant/bar at the bottom with the second and third floor for the rented rooms. They even have the same type of customers, residents of the dwarf continent!

I already ate and, even though I didn't receive some allowance from the prince's group, I still have some money to spend on an inn myself. I don't want to spend it though, since a room is already paid for me. It might be a communal room, since the academy wants to save every copper piece they can.

It can't be helped, I'll try to find an open room. It's only for one night after all, I will just ask for coins from the prince's group tomorrow. I can pass on the meal since I already have some meat and a drink stored away in my storage skills.

"Is that you brill? Oi!! Hey!! Over here!!"

It looks like I won't have to spend anything tonight. The teacher found me first!

"Good evening teacher! Did the others return yet?"
"If you are looking for your friends then they haven't returned. Some of your classmates are already here including the class belle. The others might be too excited in being here, they might be drowning in alcohol from the other continents in a bar somewhere."
"For their sake, I hope they don't spend all the money they have on the first day. I am sure some of their family gave them extra for souvenirs and I won't loan them the money if they are short."
"It looks like we have to polish our rules and guidelines on the next trip. Their wasteful sacrifice will not be in vain, I will use it as a story for the next generation of students."

*drag* *drag* *drag*

"B-Brill! T-Teacher!! Please help me!! He is too heavy!!"

Hmm? Is that chatterbox carrying a stretcher? Is that victor lying on the stretcher? It looks like he got beaten up at the arena. Bruised and bandage yet still smiling, it looks like he had a happy day.

"Oh, if it isn't bell, what happened to victor over there?"
"He passed out after fighting 3 battles in a row in the life arena. Please help carry him, I can't drag him any longer!"
"Chatterbox, why didn't you rent a carriage or something? I am sure a place like the arena has a lot of competitors that end up like victor so the wounded combatant delivery service should be popular there."
"...I...uh.. used up all my money."

*Glance* *Glance*

*sigh* *sigh*

Looks like the teacher is thinking the same thing. Speak of the devil and here it appears.

"Alright, since you started hauling your classmate all the way from the arena, I commend your effort. However, You started this so as a teacher, it would be a blatant disrespect of the student's hard work if I interrupt you right now. Finish what you started! This teacher will bear witness to it all!"
"Chatterbox, as your friend I also think the same. What kind of friend am I if I got in the way of your hard work, your perseverance, your dedication! Whatever the teacher said, etc, etc. I will bear witness to it all!"
"Damn you two!!! Hrnghhh!!!"

*Drag* *Drag*

Well, our little fun aside, victor looks fine. There are plenty of times he got this beaten up when he overdid it with the sparing. He's used to this, his body is used to it. He isn't in any danger, he will recover soon. Just pass him to the combat healers and he will be good as new after he wakes up tomorrow.

"..haaah..haaah...haaah...here!"
"Good work, as expected of my student."

You can stop the act now teacher, I think he is too lightheaded to even hear you now.

"Hmm, a couple of broken bones here and there. Bruises all over his body and a lota of scratches. Did he fight a clawed race from the beast continent? There are indentations on his chest that looks like a hoof so not only a clawed race but also someone with a strong kicking power. Those should be fine but the worst injury is this stab wound on his arms, I guess he used it to block. A horn attack but it has a weak corrosive and paralysis magic on it. A resident from the demon continent, I bet. You really are reckless, usually you heal yourself before fighting the next one. Did your battle lust took over your brain?"
"How is he teacher?"
"He will be fine, he did fight in the life arena and this is still the central island. No one would dare violate a rule just for a battle frenzied newcomer. The corrosive poison is used to break through his defense, while the paralysis to calm him down from his frenzy. Those from our continent are inherently tough so they would need that at minimum to break our defense. I will get the combat healers look at him later, he will be up and about tomorrow morning. I will talk to him then. The combat healers haven't come back yet but they should be returning soon. Those from the army course are disciplined so they won't run wild like the other's, you take bell to the room. This is the room number, just knock on the door the others will open it. I have the key so if you went out late at night to piss only to find the door locked, come find me in this room number. If I don't answer then I can't help you. I have to sleep too!"
"Yes! Come on chatterbox can you get up or do you want to be dragged by your feet up the stairs?"
"I...can....walk....."

They really did get a communal room. I just hope there aren't to many of us in there. The communal rooms are on the second floor and like the modern hotels, the private/expensive rooms are on the top floor. Our teacher is staying at the second floor too so I guess he is bunking with the alchemist teacher.

"Come one, we are almost there."
"haah, I...haah...just...need...a....sec..."
"This is why you need the stamina! Didn't you say that you will be a travelling smith for your parent's business? Travelling all the time and stopping to forge would be exhausting so you will need to build up stamina either way. It's better to start now otherwise, your parent's would put you through a worse training to build it up forcefully. I can assure you with their money, they will make you chug restorative potions until you puke during training, which you know for sure!"
"Hiiiih!! H-help me brill!"

Looks like that blew your exhaustion away.

"Ask victor tomorrow, now lug that heavy feet of yours to the room. Come on!"
"Wait! Wouldn't we need to come back down for dinner? Can't we just wait downstairs until dinner? I don't want to climb the stairs twice!"
"Dusk just set upon us so dinner should be a couple of hours later. The regular patrons should be aware of that so they are eating and socializing right now. Don't disturb them, let them have their time. Come on, walk those stairs. Think of it as training and climb up the stairs. We are only one floor up so don't be lazy."

*Knock* *Knock*

"Who is it?"
"Open the door this is your classmate!"
"How do I know you aren't some robber trying to trick us by copying the voice of our classmate?"
"Are you dumb? This is the central island! Robbers would die if they tried to rob someone! Wait, is this larry? You're larry aren't you!?!?!? If you don't open this door I would be knocking you as hard as I'm knocking on this door!!"

*Knock!!!* *Knock!!!!* *Knock!!!!* *Knock!!!* *Pound!!!*

"Waaah!! Sorry, sorry, but hey, it's better to be cautious right?"

*open*

"Do you really think someone would pretend to be your classmate to rob you! No one in our class has anything valueble enough to warrant a robber of that level!"
"You're right, hahaha"

Most of the miners and my blacksmith classmates are back. No one from the alchemist group are here. They must be busy looking for materials. This is a rare chance to acquire materials unavailable in our continent after all.

"It might be cramped but I heard from our teacher that its probably only us who will sleep here. The alchemist students rented their own rooms since they were too excited in making new potions, so we don't have to worry about any explosions!"
"Thats good news, very good news. I'm assuming ms. class president is with the combat healers?"
"No, she also rented her own room. She was supposedly sharing a room with them but the combat healers gave her money to rent her own room. Something about a top secret combat healer exercise, they said. Anyway, what happened to bell?"
"He dragged victor from the arena to here and climbed the stairs. It tired him out so, as you see, he is snoring away."

Top secret exercise? A top secret healing technique? I guess it is normal for them to have some secrets that should be kept within the group.

"Really? Isn't the arena on the outer most wall? To think bell could drag victor all the way here. So what happened to victor?"
"Teacher is taking care of him and if you want to know how it happened then wake chatterbox up. I didn't watch the fights."

I wouldn't watch it even if I knew though. They would probably charge for entrance fee, and the prince group would find out my connection to them. I don't need them trying to rope in my classmates too. They already have forges they will go to, so they would refuse but I am sure they won't keep a tight lid on my information.

"Hey, bell! Wake up!"
"...nnn...Just a light breakfast for me.....I'll eat more before noon."
"No good. Brill, can't you wake him up?"
"Give up, just wait till dinner. He won't stay awake otherwise. It would also serve as a meal entertainment, so just be patient."
"It can't be helped, so where have you been brill?"
"I wondered around here and there, bought something to eat, to drink and came back here. It's only the first day, so I didn't do anything much. How about all of you? Where have you been?"
"We window shopped at the human corner. Their wares sucked. It actually made my skin crawl. I can't believe those things are passable for goods."
"It's not their specialty so just avoid that corner from now on."

Even if we have magic to supplement the lack of technology, you can't really achieve the quality of modern smithing with what we currently have. It only applies to the human continent though, since our skills in magic is better suited to forging, not to mention the earth mana blessed materials and inherent skill of the dwarf with metal.