Arson and Troy pushed open the gates in front of them, and neither one could believe their eyes once the doors yawned open to their maximum.

“You know I shouldn’t be surprised that I am surprised,” said Arson. Troy nodded her head as she gave a hysterical chuckle, responding slowly at first.

“You know, I haven’t seen nearly as much of the realms as you, and this is still absolute rubbish in my opinion,” said Troy, still completely awestruck. The view in front of them was from an extremely high vantage point, offering the view of a sprawling city. Each section of the city was both enclosed and separated by dense jungle. Arson only assumed the individual sections were apart of a unified whole because of the bridges that connected them all that sat above the tree canopies, and the massive wall that ringed the entire area.

If Arson hadn’t pointed out the uniformity of each piece of the city, Troy would have believed them all to be individual ecosystems. Both due to how large they were, and how much space was between each bridge. It was then that the two began to notice the habitats of monsters and their dens everywhere they looked. As well as the floating islands that roamed the sky weaving through the sections of the city below, flying over the bridges, but never over any of the city itself.

“So, what’s the move here,” asked Troy. She looked over to Arson and he shrugged.

“I don’t know how I am supposed to find anyone in this place, let alone the teacher my mom wants me to find, and the random guy Carter wants me to find for him, but I guess that is the challenge here,” said Arson. Troy was going to respond, but a familiar voice beat her to the punch.

“I’d start there, boy, and then try over there,” said Carter Omni, the old man’s pointed finger lifted to direct the pair of young cultivators right between the pair of towns, his expensive robe brushing against both their shoulders as he spoke.

“Hmmm, why those places,” asked Arson unaffected by the man’s entrance.

“What the!” Troy, who hadn’t seen the man lower himself from the sky above them as Arson had, nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Both of those locations have middling to low populations, they will offer the best environments for hiding in plain sight, otherwise, I’d check there,” Carter offered pointing toward a third location.

“We're going to ignore how you just popped in from nowhere and started talking like you have been here the whole time?” Troy still had a hand to her chest, her heart racing at the sudden surprise.

“Yes,” said Carter and Arson at the same time.

“Okay…”

“I’m assuming that other location has the largest populous,” Arson asked moving the conversation along.

“Yes, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to try searching through this entire place to find Michael, but there are many other things I will need you to do in the near future, so I came personally to make sure you weren’t going to be distracted by anything,” Carter said, turning to look at Troy as he spoke to Arson.

“Hey, old man, don’t look at me like that. He invited me here, and if anyone is going to be able to find someone in a large area like this it's me,” Troy said doing her best to not be intimidated by the Ancient's powerful stare. Carter harrumphed, and nodded before looking back to Arson.

“Anything else? You aren’t the type to make personal visits, old man, especially for something as trivial as what you’ve shared so far,” Arson said still analyzing the expanse of lands that was between where they stood and the massive wall that enclosed the jungle.

“I have spoken with Zeal, and she is worried that your interaction with the students yet to make it into the dungeon campus is having an effect that she doesn’t want replicated within my school. And since I have left her in charge due to her unrivaled ability to guide the young I cannot ignore her warnings. She has never failed me in the past.” Arson nodded and looked back at Carter for the first time and smiled.

“And what is this supposed effect I am having on students?”

“One hundred students have made it to the top of the climbing challenge since you changed it, and I examined the course myself, it is far more perilous than it ever has been, this is telling in many ways.” Arson sighed and knew that what the old man left out was going to give him a headache.

“How is this an issue, from what I could tell anyone who made it up after the improvements should be more worthy than those who made it up prior to my guild's work,” asked Arson.

“This is true, but not the point, your actions have changed the mind states of students without the will power to push beyond their limitations of their own volition,” responded Carter. Arson looked to Troy who gave him a nod.

“I don’t know what what the problem is with that, but yeah... there was a large group of new students that arrived just this morning, enough to make the admins worry if something was wrong outside, but they also believe the school will handle the majority of the newbies as long as they don’t catch on to the inner workings of the campus,” said Troy.

“See, problem solved,” Arson said before looking back toward the edges of the perimeter wall.

“Your friend here is correct the school should be able to handle a scattering of students coming in small groups, but that is not what has occurred, as due to the climbing course being so challenging that this group of near 100 students was forced to work together to even make it up the mountain itself, they now have yet to stop working as one solidified force, and are more than large enough to travel to many areas of the school they would normally not be capable of. Enough cause for Zeal and I to increase the rate of energy being dispersed to all monster dens to ensure a higher reproduction rate and higher life force production.”

Arson and Troy shared a look of absolute shock, but their mirrored expressions made them both laugh momentarily, before a mirrored look from Carter made them both stop.

“You don’t know what you pair have done. Arson having had enough knowledge of how this school works to construct an entire challenge to reinforce natural team work, could not have been without you. And how that is going to cost you, young man, is in the credits the increased mana we are using inside the school.”

“Bloody embers,” cursed Arson. He assumed it would be incredibly expensive, and was immediately sent an invoice that stunned him to silence.

“That bad,” Troy asked and Arson realized his face must have shown his displeasure, nodding in her direction.

Arson: That one hurt…!

Troy: Can’t be that bad after the auction, right?

Arson: What auction, we just got wiped. Just told Jasmine to schedule every auction or gaming event we possibly can!

Troy: *Whistle*

“This is going to affect the school as a whole, so we Adroit Academy will happily accept your donation to sponsor the increased difficulty within our campus as a season long invitational event, as neither Zeal nor I need the ill rapport. Make sure to edit that last part out for me, please and thank you, Lane,” said Carter, wriggling his fingers over his shoulder at the Propeller Palm Drone behind him.

“She wouldn’t be able to keep that in even if she wanted to, would she?” Arson asked, glancing toward the drone. The smirk seen under the hood of the old man and the Drones upward pointed metronome swivel was answer enough for Arson.

“I dare not ask this question, but anything else, old man?” Carter nodded and Arson held his breath in anticipation of what was to come.

“You have already begun to have an effect on the school, but anymore and the system we have built to cull the weak will be overhauled by an absurd team building exercise. If I built the school for that and not finding the realms strongest individuals I would let your actions continue unhindered, but I will scrub the entire campus down, students and all, before I waste time funding a guild building machine.”

“A guild building machine,” repeated Arson as if he’d just heard the greatest idea he’d ever held witness to.

“It's been done before, boy, horribly. Every time. Stop while you are ahead,” Carter drawled while grinding his teeth.

“Don’t say that, now he’s gonna try it for sure,” said Troy, Arson already nodding; his face crinkled in thought as he stared off.

“I know, you see the group of students following you, Arson. Those are some of the worst students in the school’s ranking system, and because of you, a student who has been here all of half a morning, they now gaze on one of the school’s biggest secrets.”

“You're blaming me for the hidden metropolis school being there to be seen, or being seen? I’m confused... why would you put such weak guards in front of something so important?”

“One in a trillion students could win against the guards stationed here, you bloody menace. And that list is incredibly small, containing you, your attendants, your siblings and the rest of the scions from the noble court of realms, but this is beside the point. You will keep your actions under control, and be quick to find Michael, do you understand?”

Arson nodded toward Carter, reaching a hand out in Troy’s direction as he did so, and she took his hand. Without another word, Arson took flight. Troy screaming as he pulled her into his arms and flew at speeds a couple hundred times faster than terminal velocity.

They flew toward the massive perimeter wall, and Troy assumed they would either fly over the wall, leaving the desert terrain behind, and enter the lush jungles beyond, or that they would enter through the gate nearby that led inside. Arson instead landed on the desert side of the perimeter wall, and nowhere near the gate, Troy’s confusion worn on her face to the point that Arson laughed and spoke up.

“Just let me check something first before we go inside, I promise it won’t take long,” Arson said walking the short distance between them and the wall. Once there he closed his eyes and pressed his hands up against the wall and smiled.

“What are you doing?” asked Troy, walking up behind him, looking around as much as possible.

“Trying to direct my closed eye dominion. It's hard, but if I focus hard enough I can orientate where I am within the dome that is projected around me, and see farther in one direction. You okay? You seem antsy since we got that notification,” Arson asked. Troy nodded, her head on a constant swivel behind him, the young woman even scanning the skies above which Arson appreciated.

“You not bothered by anything that it said at all?”

“Welcome to dock 13 of the Port of Heaven, rank high enough within these royal grounds and enter the Port of Heaven as an initiate,” reread Arson aloud, still focusing on the wall.

“You don’t think there is anything wrong with us playing around in a place that immortals are tested to enter lands that lead to Heaven itself?”

“Well yeah, but it's either that or spend our lives being forced to work for people like Carter Omni who don’t care either way whether or not we live or die,” said Arson.

“I guess you're right,” said Troy, jumping onto Arson’s back when he reached for her to take flight once more. Arson took it upon himself to fly even faster, which made Troy shift their conversation to text between Overlays.

Troy: Any reason we aren’t entering the area?

Arson: Yeah, we may not need to.

Troy: Plan on filling me in on why? What are we doing? Where are we going?

Arson: We are going to fly around the entire exterior, and I’m going to make a map.

Troy only then realized Arson’s eyes were closed and that he flew sideways with his hands out toward the perimeter wall. They were flying so fast that Troy hadn’t even noticed that the sky was to her left, and the sand above her was to her right, instead of above and below her.

Troy: Any reason why we are mapping out a bloody wall?

Arson: Because, one, it's hollow and seems to connect all the different areas of the city beyond, and because I’m not entirely sure that Carter didn’t want us to go to the areas he pointed out for reasons unknown, I’d rather just find this Micheal Maelstrom dude and get this over with, rather than end up fighting who knows, for who knows what…

Troy: Noted. How long do you think it's going to take to fly around this place?

Arson: I don’t know, a few days?

After many complaints, and a deal that they would stop for constant meals and bathroom breaks, the pair flew on. Due to kept promises, Arson took seven days to fly around the exterior wall, not even needing to make it completely around to where they’d started before he’d found what he was looking for.

“This should be it,” said Arson, Troy glaring at Arson as he set her down.

“This better not be another trick, if a bunch of monsters pop out of another hole I swear I am going to murder you slowly,” Troy stated seriously, and Arson believed her after the last experience they’d had trying to find a way inside the perimeter wall itself.

“That last one was seriously a work of art, beautiful. Learned a lot in there,” Arson said pulling Troy along, and before she could open her mouth, he pulled her directly through an illusionary wall and into a grand entranceway.

“Oh wow,” said Troy. Arson was also amazed, as his closed eye dominion offered him the detail that the wall had been hollow, but not what was inside the seemingly empty perimeter wall. It felt as if they’d stepped back in time and entered a school made for Olympians.

The regal Architecture was made to withstand battling Demi gods and the like, but had aspects that mimicked advanced sciences, such as sliding doors made of running waters that flash-froze to close.

“I officially hate this school,” said Troy. Arson looked at her brow furrowed and she clenched her fist.

“Going to flip my lid if we just found another portion of Adroit Academy,” Troy growled.

“Sorry to tell you, but I think this school is just separated into more and more difficult spacial pocket dimensions, when I entered originally, there was a crazy amount of places that I could see, but as I got closer to the land below, many of those areas disappeared.”

The pair went silent and began to explore. Arson couldn’t believe that he’d actually found a potential lead so quickly, his mother’s only hint having had been, if you find the gate with the 13 on it, you’ll find the wall, seeming to be more than a little vague, he was more than happy to be wherever it was that he’d found.

“Hey, can you point us in the right direction, I’m looking for a teleportation teacher?”

A kind looking young man stopped and looked them over before he spoke in a near whisper.

“You two must be new, I’d go find a map first at the admin desk and ask them to give you the run down for this place before you go walking around this place by yourselves,” said the young man. He quickly pointed them in the right direction, before wishing them luck and jogging off, Arson slightly nervous by how much power he felt wafting off the young man.

“You feel that?”

“Yeah,” said Arson, grinning to himself as he walked up to the desk the young man had pointed to.

“Hi, we were told to come here for a rundown and directions to a teleportation teacher?”

“Okay, welcome, you’ve made it into Adroit Academy’s secret hall. Lucky you, blah blah... it's a free for all in here and the higher your rank, which is how many other students you have beaten, the more classes you can enter, blah blah... don’t die, I’m sorry that I don’t care if you perish. If you lose too often you will be removed, one loss a day is permitted, but any more and you will end up here or working in other areas of the school, any questions. I don’t care or have the time to answer them, oh and teleportation has a couple teachers but you need to have three or more wins in a day to enter those class rooms, did I say "don’t die"?” The young man went back to reading and Arson looked at Troy.

Troy: should we flee, even angry desk dude is putting out pure pressure. His presence has to be at least as strong as Uncle Winter’s?

Arson: I think I could beat up three Uncle Winters for sure. Maybe not in the same day, but one a day maybe?

Troy: Nope, we aim lower for now, and see what classes we can get into, build from there. If this guy is at the level where people lose, this place probably offers some high level courses.

“Okay, thanks for the weird informational rant. Hope you die too I guess, or good luck whatever is worse for you, my guy. Or better, don’t know what is good or bad for your type,” said Arson making the young man frown as Arson smiled and walked away with Troy.

Arson put down his pet carrier and let Ego out, petting the dog as he looked around. Arson whispered in his dog's ear and Troy’s strange look in his direction was caught by Arson’s dominion and he looked back at her with a questioning gaze of his own as he stood, Ego running off.

“What?”

“Don’t what me, what did you tell ego to do I couldn’t hear you,” asked Troy. Arson laughed and started off after his dog, Troy still following.

“I told him to find anything with low mana, figured it was our best bet at finding students we may actually be able to fight without losing our lives.”

“Not bad, but what are we going to do if we run into someone way too strong for us to handle?”

“You can just turn us invisible,” said Arson.

“I can turn myself invisible,” mumbled Troy looking away.

“Wait you can’t turn me invisible?”

“Nope…!”