[https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1324311850/images/174c15cb4940464a503787001126.png]

"Everybody hurry up and get ready – we're off to Northfire! I'll wait for you at the school gates. See ya down there!" And with that, Nimum vanished out the door.

"Northfire? Where's that?" Fiff asked.

"It's one of the most Northern countries in the magical world," Elva explained. "The landscape is supposedly very strange."

The students immediately started theorizing about what might be behind the Dimension Door and what kind of place Northfire would be.

"Everyone, pipe down!" Mr. Krollon ordered, and the whole class grew silent. "Northfire is certainly a beautiful country. But beware – members of the Order of Terram have been spotted up there recently, so stay alert!"

Sophie had no idea who the Order of Terram were, but judging by the expressions of her classmates, it couldn't mean anything good.

"But of course: As long as you're with a teacher from the School of Wonders, you'll be safe. And Nimum may be the best out of all of us, otherwise she'd never have been named as the Seventh Daughter of Mother Earth. So, I hereby grant you permission to leave class early. Dismissed!" Mr. Krollon said, concluding with a military salute, which the students returned.

The students packed up their things and hurried down to the schoolyard where Nimum was waiting for them. On the way down, Sophie stuck with Elva so that she could ask about the Order of Terram. At first Elva looked at Sophie like she'd just asked what color the sky was, but then she remembered how little Sophie still knew about the magical world.

"Terram is a malicious group that causes all kinds of trouble. And they particularly don't like us."

Sophie looked confused. "Us?"

Elva nodded. "Anyone who's connected to Unum or the human world. They say we're creatures of chaos, that we upset the balance of the worlds, and that we'll bring about the end of the world."

"But why?"

Elva shrugged. "Lots of reasons, unfortunately. In the old days, humans did all kinds of bad things. And magical beings that visited Unum or the human world sometimes changed behavior – for the worse – in ways they never would have if they'd stayed in the magical world."

Sophie couldn't help but wonder what humans might have done that was so bad that so many beings from the magical world wanted to sever the connection.

"Of course, that's just a small fraction compared to all the good that has come from Unum and the human world. But most beings unfortunately tend to remember the bad stuff much more clearly than the good..."

Elva grew quiet. Sophie wondered if Elva's parents were among the people who looked at Unum and the human world with disdain. Elva herself had only been allowed to attend their school in Unum after Principal Marro had personally shown up at her home to talk to her parents.

"Um... Soph?" Trom came trudging up next to her. His ears were still drooping.

"I guess it was a good thing you got that key from the slime hydra... It probably was worth the effort, so I just wanted to apologize... I mean, if I'd known what the key was for, I would have tried to get it as well."

Elva raised an eyebrow. "We'd all have gone for the key if we knew what it was for. The difference is that Sophie actually went for it, unlike the rest of us."

Trom furrowed his brow. "I'm just saying, if the situation had been different, I might have -"

"I'll believe that when I see it," Elva cut him off, condescendingly. "Honestly, I doubt any of us would have been bold enough to try to steal a chest from a slime hydra, apart from Sophie. And certainly not you, Trom – no offense."

Trom stared angrily at Elva. "You know, I'm not completely useless. I can be bold too!"

"Oh really? Well, tell me [https://img.wattpad.com/1cf098a9dac515b6255785e5c1b1cf70d1c54d4f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f68414633556f4764456a77396d513d3d2d313332343331313835302e313734633162613237656537393832383132303337313632343539322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"Oh really? Well, tell me. What kind of bold choices have YOU made?"

"I've...! Back in my village... I..." Whatever Trom was about to say, he didn't, and instead he stomped away angrily.

Sophie watched Trom walk off, feeling a bit guilty about not having said anything to support him. She had to admit though, if Trom wanted to be bold, he hadn't done all that much to show it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

But he wanted to be bold like her. Sophie couldn't help feeling proud about what Elva had said. That she was the only one who would have gone for the chest. Elva had become a lot nicer since Sophie had joined the class, at least in general – she could still be pretty harsh sometimes, especially toward Trom.

"I do think Trom might have gone for the chest if the situation had been a bit different."

"Oh, don't defend him, Sophie. If people can't back up their words with actions, they shouldn't say them at all. He should spend more time trying to figure out who he is than claiming to be something he isn't."

The students stepped out into the schoolyard, where Nimum was eagerly waiting. She waved them over to her, and then gave each of them a small glass bottle with a blue liquid inside.

"What is this? It smells terrible!" Elva exclaimed, having uncorked her bottle and sniffed the contents.

"It's an elixir that'll help you understand other languages. Can anyone tell me why you'll need it?" Nimum asked, looking from student to student. She smiled as they all put their hands up.

"Sophie, why do we need this elixir?"

"Because we all come from different places where we speak different languages," Sophie said, happy to show off one of the few things she knew about the magical world.

"Right-a-rooney! And then let's go for Mek: Why don't we need those elixirs here in Unum?"

Mek adjusted her yellow sunglasses, which protected others from being turned to stone by her Gorgon gaze. "Because Unum is created from energies from both the human and magical world, and those energies neutralize the differences in language – so here, everyone can understand each other."

"Amazing, Mek! Now, everybody gulp down your elixirs. No need to worry about the effect running out while we're off – I've made sure that it'll last a full week, just to be sure!"

Sophie and the rest of the class uncorked their bottles and were met by a horrid smell. It smelled like rotten yoghurt that had been left out in the sun for a month.

"Down the hatch it goes! It'll only get worse the longer you smell it," Nimum said encouragingly.

Fighting a sense of nausea, the students all managed to force down the elixir.

If it hadn't been for the stench, this would almost taste like milk, Sophie thought, pinching her nose shut as she drank the contents.

The last ones to finish were Varis and Elva. Varis had the best sense of smell out of all the students, so for him it was almost torture. He had to tie his cape around his snout to stand it at all. It was nowhere near as bad for Elva, but she insisted on drinking it in tiny sips, constantly complaining about how awful it was to everyone around her. Finally, she finished the last drops.

"Looks like you're ready to head off to Northfire," Nimum said with a satisfied nod before pulling three green beans out of her backpack. Elva, Trom and Rok's eyes all widened when they saw the beans. They probably recognized them because their races, the elves, trolls and stone giants, were most in tune with nature.

"Oh man, I've always wanted to try travelling with those," Trom said.

"It may be a bit primitive – but I've wanted to try it as well," Elva admitted.

The rest of the class just stared at the three beans, though Sophie was starting to remember an old fairy tale she once read.

"These aren't just any ol' beans," Nimum explained. "These here are totally awesome, megafantastical, ultra-mega-MAGICAL beans, which'll turn into a massive beanstalk! In fact, I think there was an old story about a human who got ahold of some of these bad boys and traveled to the kingdom of the giants. What was it called again? Something like... Li'l Red Riding Hood and the Beanstalk? No... The Ugly Duckling and the... Nah... Maybe it was The Princess and the Beanstalk?"

"It's called Jack and the Beanstalk!" Sophie said. "But that beanstalk went straight up. So is the magical world above us?" She looked up, seeing nothing but blue skies and clouds. She'd never been to the magical world before, so how they were going to get there was a total mystery to her. Actually, she didn't quite understand how the school bus made it from the human world to Unum either – it just did.

Nimum slapped herself on the forehead. "That's it! Jack and the Beanstalk! And you're right, Sophie, usually the beanstalk would grow straight up. But that's nothing my magic can't fix! Now, everybody, gather in a circle around me."

The students did as they were told.

"Rok, could I get you to dig a small hole in the ground right there?" Nimum pointed at the ground right in front of her.

Rok nodded and dug a small hole in the ground with his large stone hand. Nimum plopped in the three magical beans, and Rok carefully covered the hole. Nimum then pulled something new out of her backpack, something that looked like a small soap bubble. She carefully blew on it twice, and as fast a balloon can burst, the soap bubble grew large enough to surround the entire class. Nimum then put her hands together, pointing the tips of her fingers towards the buried beans.

"Hold onto your hats, kids, this is gonna be wild!"

The earth shook beneath them, and Sophie could barely stay on her feet. The tremors felt like an earthquake that could level a whole building.

Nimum swung her arms upwards. "And off we go!" she yelled.

At once, the tremors stopped, but nothing else happened. The students all looked at each other.

"Um, Nimum," Sophie asked, "wasn't it supposed to..."

The earth exploded beneath their feet, and a beanstalk so large that the entire class could stand on a single leaf burst forth with such speed that it broke through the sound barrier – though none of the students felt it. They also didn't feel the wind rushing past their faces, and they barely felt the beanstalk growing beneath their feet. Sophie looked at the soap bubble that surrounded them, which seemed to be what kept the wind from hitting them. Through the bubble, she saw the beanstalk grow up and past the cliff walls that surrounded all of Unum.

"That takes us out of Unum," Nimum said. "Next up we'll be entering the magical world – and Northfire!"

"Next up we'll be entering the magical world – and Northfire!" [https://img.wattpad.com/63d7bf72c35de958febcaa28fb6696849c62116e/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6c6d3073714f51503845344a67673d3d2d313332343331313835302e313735303466333266316630336637353139353938393834333333312e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

- Next chapter will be out on Monday the 20th of March [https://img.wattpad.com/e86b42118f44dca04a83099ff5cbb5444ba39794/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f39733973766b4e724547423359773d3d2d313332343331313835302e313734633135633564666534646162333635363930383534323135392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]