Chapter 03

Unlikely Friendship

Unsurprisingly, Finn was already facing the first challenge of his new life in the form of a large, detailed map of the academy and its facilities. Not even 10 minutes after entering the academy's reception and heading down a random corridor, Finn was officially lost. With a bit of luck and mindless wandering, he, fortunately, or unfortunately, came across the map he was currently staring at with a frown in a random empty room.

His hands darted from left to right as he tried to understand even the slightest detail of the map, why was learning to read a normal map not on the list of priorities in school? Sure, he could make sense of a digital map, yet he was stumped by the map that could have easily been hundreds of years old! This design is clearly primitive in design and not intended for someone born in the last century! Why would the academy leave such a useless map hung up on a wall?! Finn’s brows furrowed at the thought. Maybe he was right, but he still needed to figure out how to get to the dormitory. Was shouting internally at something so pointless going to help him here?

The minutes passed, and Finn had made little progress in understanding the primitive map above him. He scratched his head in frustration, just how do you read this thing?!

He was honestly about to give up and start walking mindlessly through the academy again until he was shocked to hear a curious voice from behind.

“Excuse me!” the high-pitched voice rang from behind.

Startled by the sudden intrusion from behind, Finn’s entire body jolted before he spun around instinctively. As he spun around Finn’s confused eyes met the eyes of the person who had snuck up on him.

Pretty, Finn couldn’t help but think to himself. He was more than justified with that thought as the young girl who stood before him was nothing short of a natural beauty. The short-in-height girl’s medium-length auburn hair flowed down almost majestically to her shoulders and seemed to shine under the dim light given by the modern chandelier hung above, and her bright sky-blue eyes reflected the image before them as though they were a mirror. She was dressed in normal attire, short white shorts followed by a long, peach cardigan. Finn couldn’t help but stare almost creepily at the girl, because compared to the girls from his hometown she was a top-tier model.

The young girl raised her hand and placed it on her neck. “Uhm… Sorry to startle you like that, I just thought you looked a little lost,” she said as she pointed toward the map.

Finn suddenly snapped back to reality, and nodded sheepishly after realizing what she said, “Yeah! I’m trying to figure out how to get to the dormitories, but can’t quite figure out the path from this map,” he explained as he gestured at the map.

“I see!” she nodded assertively. “I can help you with that!” she announced.

Finn’s eyes opened wide upon the sudden revelation, “Really?! I’ve been stuck here so long-” he paused. “I mean… cough, only a couple minutes,” he said, his tone changing to a more confident sound.

She giggled, “I sure can,” she paused as she reached out with her hand, “I’m Lyla, nice to meet you.”

Finn smiled as he reached out to grab her hand, “I’m Finn, nice to meet you.”

*

The duo, or rather Finn following Lyla like a sheep, began trekking through the academy, meandering left and right, down several winding corridors, and past several academy facilities. Fortunately, the academy was moderately quiet and empty because classes were still not due to start for another 2 days—Finn had decided it’d be best to come 2 days earlier to settle in. So they only passed by a couple of students along the way. The duo eventually entered a large, separate building and then into a long, empty corridor lined with tall windows where they continued chatting to fill the awkward silence.

“So you’re not even from the capital?” Lyla asked abruptly.

“Mhm. I’m from Velrid, quite a long ways from here I suppose,” he explained.

“Velrid? So you’re basically a country bumpkin!” she giggled to herself.

Finn shrugged in response, he can't really argue with that since it's mostly true.

“Even so, how did you even manage to get into this school? 99% of the students are from the capital and or major families. You must be pretty amazing considering you were able to get in coming from Velrid,” she said, her joking tone changing to a more serious one.

“I wouldn’t say that. I guess I just worked harder than others,” he said, brushing off her compliments and looking to the side out the window. He couldn’t let such a pretty girl see that he was blushing!

Lyla continued, “Maybe, but even with hard work you still need plenty of talent to be accepted here,” she shrugged, “Anyways,” she suddenly stopped and paused, “This should be your room!” she said, pointing to the door right next to them with a grin.

“Huh?” Finn looked at her, dumbfounded, “Oh!” he gasped, after coming to a realization. “I see! That was way quicker than I expected,” he said, his voice tinged with surprise.

“Well, that’s because I took one of my many, amazing shortcuts!” she said as she almost physically patted herself on the back.

“Of course. I will need to take note of your ‘amazing shortcut’ for future use,” he said, his voice changing to a sarcastic tone.

“Huh?! It really is amazing! Did you not see how fast we got here?” she replied with a pout.

She's weird, but also funny, I think I like her, Finn thought to himself with a smile. “Sure, sure. Anyways, thank you for leading the way, I’m not sure I ever would have found my way here without your help,” Finn said, thanking her sincerely with a small bow.

“No problem, really! I didn’t have much to do anyway, classes don’t start just yet,” she brushed it off before continuing. “Ah! We should exchange contact details just in case you get lost or need help again.”

“What? I’m not that bad I swear,” he joked. “But sure, ‘just in case’ I get lost, exchanging details could save me,” he said with a shrug.

They reached out with their arms and touched each other's watch against each other gently, followed by a light “ding” sound confirming they had exchanged details. Shortly after, they said their goodbyes, and Lyla left back the way they came. Finn smiled as he watched her move further away and down the long corridor. She was quite energetic, but hey, I basically made a new friend already, right?! He thought to himself excitedly.

That was a surprisingly eventful encounter, maybe it was a good thing he got lost, right? He was surprised they got along so well, her excitable and energetic personality was almost the opposite of Finn’s, but hey, friends a friend.

Finn shook his head with a smile as he turned around and faced his door, only to be shocked to see there wasn’t a door handle, and neither was there a keyhole.

“Huh?” Finn audibly gasped.

Finn suddenly remembered back to earlier in the day, when the clerk at the gate had said his identification card was the key to his dorm room. He nodded in understanding, reached into his warm pocket, and pulled out his small identification card. He held the small, weighty card in his hand as he looked at it with intrigue, just how was this a key? He questioned to himself. He spun the card around in his hand, only to find nothing that could help on the back. He thought for a moment before raising his shoulders, maybe if I just touch the key against the door it will magically open? He chuckled at the thought.

Stolen story; please report.

He shuffled the card towards his fingertips and slowly reached towards the freshly painted, brown door. The moment the card came into contact with the door, Finn felt a light amount of mana get absorbed from the card and sucked into the door, disturbing his senses. Shortly after followed a sudden burst of dim, white light, that forced Finn to squint his eyes to keep them open, and just after the sounds of gears twisting and turning filled his ears, eventually followed by a light-clicking sound only for the door to suddenly swing wide open, without being touched or influenced in any way by Finn. Finn stood outside the open room, dumbfounded. His eyes were open in awe and his jaw was almost on the floor. What on earth just happened? He questioned to himself. A few seconds passed as he stood still, shocked by the door opening itself at just the touch of the identification card. Until he finally shook his head. He steeled his resolve, then confirmed that he was to study that door one day, something that cool couldn’t be left alone, it needed to be studied. Taking one final deep breath, he finally stepped forward. This was his new home, his new room for the foreseeable future.

Finn’s eyes lay upon the barebone room in all its glory, and he couldn’t help but smile. Sure it was basic, bare, and somewhat small, but he felt it was perfect. He could make it feel as homely as his room back at home with a bit of decoration and renovation. The room was square, with the nearest right corner to the entrance cut off for the on-sweet bathroom. In the back right of the room lay a small single bed, with simple white sheets and a thin duvet set. Right next to the bed was an old wooden drawer set with a small glass lamp illuminating the room resting on top. Just above the drawers was a small window overlooking the almost endless, luscious garden surrounding the academy. As he looked out the window into the seemingly infinite garden, he saw that the sun was now nowhere to be seen, as the dark of the night had enveloped the surroundings. Opposite his new bed lay a medium-sized closet, perfect for storing his limited amount of clothes.

Saying to himself that he would unpack everything tomorrow, Finn let his suitcase lean against his bed as his exhausted body sank into the soft mattress. Finn smiled as he breathed a deep breath of relief, the fresh smell of the newly renovated room, filling his nostrils. He wasn’t a big fan of the smell of fresh paint, but he honestly didn’t care right now. All he wanted to do was rest. Finn slipped off his shoes without sitting up and pulled the duvet over to cover himself. Closing his eyes, he reflected upon the long journey and the big step forward toward his dream he had taken today. He was happy and proud of himself. The anxiety he had once felt during the morning was almost nowhere to be seen as he pushed it down to the depths of his mind, Finn truly felt like nothing could stop him now. Twisting onto his side he let his mind wander, and let the warmth and softness of his new pillows overtake him, pulling him into a deep, well-deserved slumber.

*

Finn’s unruly slumber was eventually disturbed in the early morning by the sounds of his stomach growling angrily. As it turns out, due to how busy he was the day before, he hadn’t had time to eat anything except for the breakfast his caring mother had prepared for him.

Awakening with a muffled groan, Finn forced himself out of bed and over to the bathroom he had yet to check out. He wouldn’t normally get out of bed this fast, but he felt that if he didn’t eat anything soon, his stomach might start eating him from the inside out. Washing himself up quickly with the basic sundries provided by the academy, Finn dressed himself in similar attire to the day prior and headed toward the door. Opening the door with just a simple touch of his identification card, he stepped out into the corridor and watched the door close behind him autonomously with awe. Definitely going to learn how that works, Finn affirmed to himself once more.

Racking his brain quickly on how to get to the cafeteria he nodded, thankfully Lyla’s “amazing shortcut” had taken them past the cafeteria yesterday.

As he took in the details of the bare corridor and tried to push down the lingering sense of anxiety rising from the inside, he found himself pleasantly surprised to see the active flow of students funneling out from their rooms. Even a day before classes officially started, it seemed as though the academy was already filling up with plenty of life and activity. The morning sunlight shone through the tall windows that lined the walls and illuminated the path toward the exit of the dormitory building. Taking a deep breath, Finn let the energy of the cheery students around him invigorate his tired, anxious demeanor and began to follow the flow of students, through the long corridor, through the twists and turns, and out through the exit.

Immediately the fresh air of the summer day entered his nostrils as the warm, summer sun gently warmed the exterior of his skin. Finn breathed several deep breaths, before he began to walk through the lively academy grounds, his curiosity being piqued by the interesting mixture of classical and modern architecture of the buildings and facilities he passed, giving the academy a feeling of timeless charm. As he walked, he couldn’t help but feel the same feeling similar to nostalgia like the one from the day prior, he was starting to get genuinely confused.

Stopping, Finn began thinking to himself. This feeling isn't normal. He confirmed. Is it due to the large amount of mana in the atmosphere? I should visit the infirmary if this persists. He nodded to himself in affirmation.

Shaking off the previous thoughts and proceeding forward, the sounds of chatter began to fill his eardrums, along with the sounds of students and professors working busily throughout the many different facilities he began to pass by. He couldn’t help but notice the diverse variety of students that he passed. Magyo was home to the majority of the populous, allowing people of different nationalities and ethnicities to blend and thrive together. Despite their differences, there was a sense of camaraderie between them, a shared journey toward knowledge, growth, and power. Finn nodded in understanding and pride as he walked among them, who could have thought someone like Finn could find himself in a place like this?

He continued down the path, past the many unique facilities and buildings that still felt weirdly familiar to him until he finally arrived at the cafeteria that sat near the heart of the academy. As Finn entered the cafeteria, after meandering his way through the tide of students arriving and leaving, a mouth-watering aroma wafted into his nostrils. As he took in the sight of the cafeteria, his jaw couldn’t help but open wide at just the sight. The cafeteria was a long, very tall, rectangular shape, with multiple different levels and stories seemingly floating above with hovering platforms bringing students up and down effortlessly. There were dozens of benches and seats on each floor, easily capable of occupying thousands of students. Finn’s eyes danced from left to right, up and down in awe with his jaw wide agape.

Everything in this academy is simply insane! He excitedly thought to himself. Something like this simply didn’t exist anywhere else in the world, Magyo was simply incredible. Finn eventually snapped back to reality and headed over to an empty bench. As he took a seat, he was immediately startled by the sudden intrusion of a translucent screen popping up in front of him. Before he could get annoyed he realized that the screen was actually the menu, and was how you ordered your food. Finn’s eyes lit up like fireworks at the revelation, this was even cooler than the floating floors and platforms!

He took his time in deciding what he would order for breakfast, before eventually deciding upon a popular dish he had been wanting to try for almost his entire life from the city in the north, Nordiff. It was a mixture of meat, vegetables, spices, and seasoning only found in the north. Somehow, it tasted so much better than anything he had ever tried, and he devoured it in less than 2 minutes.

Finn sighed a breath of relief, his stomach had finally stopped rumbling! That’s definitely going to be my go-to choice for my time here, he chuckled cheekily to himself. He let his food go down for a couple of minutes before finally leaving the cafeteria. Sure, he could stay there all day and try different foods and drinks, but he had other much more important things he wanted to do today. Mainly, check out the famous academy library! The Magyo Magic Academy was famous for many things, but one of the main reasons was its simply unparalleled library. The library held more knowledge and history than a single person could ever even begin to comprehend, and not only that, it held countless spells and detailed descriptions of magical appliances and weapons! He could study and learn of anything there, within his access level of course.

After asking a nearby smart-looking student for directions to the library, which he offered happily, Finn made his way toward the library. He took his time on the way, taking in all the details he had missed all around the academy, such as important landmarks or facilities he would almost definitely need in the future, before he eventually, after a short, relaxing and sight-seeing walk arrived outside the presumed library. Finn had to take a double take at the library building, he simply couldn’t comprehend how this shabby, wooden shack was the famed Magyo Magic Academy library.

“Hah,” he scoffed, “That boy must have played a trick on me, right?” he questioned with a dumbfounded expression.

He shook his head and was about to leave with a dismissive gesture before he caught a glance at a small wooden sign hanging above the dwarf-sized door labeling that it was in fact, the famous library that he had heard many magical things about. Finn’s face had a look of doubt as he stared at the shabby wooden shack once more, before finally shrugging and walking towards the door. If it really was the library, there must be some kind of magic at play, right? What is there to lose? May as well check it out, he thought to himself.