I looked back to see the small building that was the clinic I came from, and a sign on the door that had an uncouth sign that a clinic likely shouldn't have:
KEEP OUT UNLESS YOU'RE DYING. IF YOU AREN'T, TAKE PILLS OR SOMETHING.
IF YOU ENTER AND I'M ASLEEP, LEAVE THE CLINIC AND GO FIND A STUDENT WITH A HEALING ART.
- TERAC
"I really can't tell whether this Academy is going to be incredible or miserable..." I said questioning whether going to the Academy was the right choice. I turned back around to find my bearings for a moment, finding myself to be in a small path, with a large pond just beyond the concrete path. In the other direction that the road took, I noticed the familiar gates of the Academy just a few hundred metres. In between the gates and I were a few buildings with purposes that I wasn't really sure about.
But, as I stared at the few buildings in the far distance, I heard a loud bird's caw from the pond. Curious, I began walking towards it. "Couldn't hurt to take a small detour, I'm sure I deserve a little bit of leisure after the shit-show I went through," I said with a slight smile.
Eventually reaching the pond, I looked around and watched as an incredible amount of fish species swam around the pondwater, each to their unique paces. The pond itself was likely closed off from public use, seeing as there were fences that prevented passersby from entering any part of it directly from the path.
I'm sure people could trespass if they wanted. Though I probably wouldn't want to engage in any disrespectful activities in the Academy, if what Doctor Terac's implications mean what I think they might mean.
"Wouldn't want to commit an Academy violation and have to watch a recording of myself doing the crime, would I?" I said to myself, as I continued observing the pond. Looking down at the fish, I once again heard the loud caw of a bird, though much closer this time as it came from a patch of tall reeds on the lake. I followed the path next to the pond to get closer to the patch of tall reeds to see if I could see what creature was making the noise, if only to sate my own curiosity. Turning down the corner of the path, I stared past the tall reeds wincing my eyes, as my eyes met the eyes of a red-headed crane with extremely spiky wings looking at me as it attempts to gulp down a black fish. I took a look at my watch out of curiosity, as the crane continued gulping down its meal.
[Uploading information...]
Species: Edgewing Crane
Class: E-
Notes: Edgewing Cranes are complete piscivores. The blades on their wings can extend through the transfiguration of their skeletal systems, and can easily slice through certain objects. They are often solo hunters, and rarely flock with other Edgewing Cranes.
[Uploadinginformation...]
Species: Coalscale Koi
Class: G-
Notes: Coalscale Koi are notable for their scales, which when shed function similarly to fossil fuels along with the identifiable trait of being similar to coal in its molecular structure. This koi species is sometimes used commercially in rural areas.
"You're telling me that crane is more dangerous than the damned hounds?" I said, in shock as I watch the crane completely finish its meal. I thought about the strength of the Orthus that I battled, and compared their physique to the Edgewing Crane which wasn't even half the size of the wolves. Out of pure concern for my safety, I immediately chose to steer away from the pond area and walked to the opposite of where I was heading, back to the Academy gates.
If both the Edgewing Crane and Borealis are Class E-, would the odds of Borealis winning be 50/50? Even with the difference in racial traits and skills? Maybe increasing the Class of Borealis' skills would help in that case. Then again, I'd have to see how strong Borealis can fare against others, monsters or humans.
Walking towards the gate, I eventually arrived in a more open area with less greenery. Here, multiple buildings stood tall, each unique in their size and architecture. One building looked like a residential building, boasting over twenty floors along with an extremely large width of space that it took up. Another seemed like a small terminal-like building, similar to a train station, which meant that there was likely an underground facility of some sort.
Or maybe it's just a restroom. I can't be too sure.
There seemed to be more buildings on a downhill from what seemed like a central area for the insides of the Academy. But, realizing the variety of facilities missing here, I figured that the Academy was much less conventional in the placement of its buildings. I noticed a large stadium-like area in the far distance beyond the stairs going down the hill I stood at, as well as another large residential building.
I wonder which one I'll be staying at.
As I looked around in the area close to me though, I suddenly felt a strange alluring feeling coming from a large walled and secluded area a few ten metres away from me. Its entrance was partly hidden by the twenty-floored residential building that I took note of earlier, and I instinctively began walking towards it.
Arriving at the entrance, I found that in front of me was an expansive courtyard with walls that made it secure and secluded from the Academy's main path, seeing that I took a small alleyway created by the gaps in between the residential building which clearly had been split to have walkways from sector-to-sector. Entering the courtyard, I watched in awe as large trees of various kinds and colours, many of which I noted to be completely exotic from the City of Nouvem, riddled the courtyard. The courtyard itself had three levels, the entrance being the highest level, and the lowest level being encircled by the second level and first level, with respective stairs that led to consecutive level. At the base level, I stared in amazement as various unique-looking trees and shrubs riddled the greenery sections of the courtyard, with a fountain at the centre.
Still, the alluring feeling had me place my focus solely towards one of the base level's trees, which at a distance seemed to be a tree made of red quartz-like bark and leaves that look like black liquid. I immediately walked down the stairs to come closer to the tree, observing it in detail from afar, and then realizing that the tree was completely exotic to the Concord of Alabaster, and was a plant even I had never seen before.
"Wow... this is unreal... this might be the only time I'll ever encounter a tree like this," I said with my mouth agape as I continued walking towards it. As I did so, I noted the few gilded benches around the fountain, all made from the same wooden material and metallic outlining that seemed expensive to maintain and create. Looking around more, I also saw the countless exotic shrubs in the base level of the courtyard, even in the higher levels, with the outlining greenery of the lower fountain area forming a clover-like shape, while the fountain itself was the same shape, though smaller.
I eventually arrived and stood in front of the tree, enthralled by the beauty of its ruby-like bark. "Isn't this just wonderful..." I said, dazed and completely enraptured. I began reaching out my hand towards it almost instinctively, feeling a sense of passion and affection for the tree. "Just... a touch..." I muttered quietly, still in my slight trance. Just as my fingers were almost in physical contact with the bark of the tree, while my body leaned towards it, a small white moth flew on top of my nose, startling me.
"W—woah!" I shouted reactively, causing me to lose my balance. Before I completely fell though, I instinctively channelled Potentia into my shadow, and felt what I believed to be the rough paw of Borealis cushion my back from the fall, allowing me to reactively hold myself from the ground instead of hitting it. Close call, thank you Borealis.
The moth on my nose stayed on it for a few seconds, until I heard the footsteps of a person coming towards me as I adjusted my hands to begin lifting myself up.
"Hey! Don't touch the trees here randomly," a young woman's voice angrily spoke from behind me, causing my head to swivel as I pushed myself off the ground slowly. "What're you doing here in the Arbour? I haven't seen your face around here. Are you a new tenant for the Crowned Dormitory?" the girl around my age continued. As she spoke, the moth flew away from me and slowly flew until it reached her white hair. It slowly burrowed itself into her hair, before disappearing completely from sight.
Brushing off the dust on my pants and shirt, I looked at the average-height young woman in front of me. She had yellow eyes covered by a black thick set of glasses, white hair held up in a bun by a wooden hair ornament, and a look of cold disappointment on her face. She wore the Academy uniform, though she lacked the blazer and wore a black buttoned top instead of the white top I wore. An Imperial Crest sat tightly on her chest, though another mysterious crest that has an engraved mask on it sat right next to it. The Imperial Crest she wore was the exact same as the crest that the Academy gave to me, a white four-pronged star shape that was surrounded by a silver outline.
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What just happened?
"Wh—what was I doing?" I said in confusion, looking at my hands which moved on their own, almost if I had been possessed and robbed of my own body's controls. I looked at the girl for a moment as I recollected myself, before bowing towards her apologetically. "And, no. I got brought here somehow. Sorry about that. I'm not sure what just happened, but I swear I didn't do that on purpose..." I said curtly, raising my head to meet her gaze.
After I spoke, she gave me a look of slight confusion, before audibly muttering to herself. "Why would the Dean need to see a first-year so early...?" she spoke quietly. "Anyways... did you miss the Orientation or something? Some of these trees aren't safe truthfully, but the Dean could care less to those who are somehow weak enough to be affected or hurt by them, so he keeps them in open access," she continued, briefly sighing after she finished speaking as she contemplated the Dean's choice.
"I did miss Orientation, yes. There were some complications, so the Dean asked me to come see him," I responded briefly, to avoid explaining myself further. "But I am curious. What just happened to me? It's like I lost control of my body for a moment. I wasn't even close to the courtyard before I started becoming eager to see the tree," I said, now recollecting the strangeness of my own mind and actions even before I began approaching the tree, in a way that was unnoticeable to me.
The girl looked at me, slightly pulling down her thick-rimmed glasses and stared at me like I was an idiot for a few seconds before she began speaking. "Don't you have a Metimur System watch? Don't tell me you haven't tried it on plants yet?" she said, as if pointing out an obvious fact. This time though, she really did mention an obvious fact. Not once in my mind had I thought about using the watch to identify plants, despite all the fiddling I had been doing since this morning.
"I just started using it today, so I'm not very well-versed in it just yet," I said as an excuse, following it with an awkward laugh that pelted even my ears. "Ha... ha.... ha..."
Cringing inside as I felt the awkwardness of my own laughter, I walked a step towards the ruby tree so my watch could begin to download information.
[Access to Herbarium required!]
[Requesting access...]
[Access granted!]
That's strange. You'd think they'd be compiled in one database. The System's got different databases depending on the target then? I wonder if it works for objects. Wait, does that mean there're restrictions for each database?
[Successfully accessed!]
Species: Alluran Elm
Class: D
Notes: Alluran Elms are well-known for the dangers they pose to unsuspecting travellers. They are naturally alluring and attract any creature around it without the capacity to resist illusion, causing them to calmly approach the tree and make physical contact with it. Once the affected creature touches the bark of the tree, their energy is then sapped from them until death. Caution must be maintained around Alluran Elm trees, as even the strong can be caught unaware.
As I looked at the information, I was baffled by the fact that such a hazardous plant would be in a courtyard within a school institution. "Who in their right mind would allow such a dangerous thing to be here?!" I yelped in shock due to the data I read.
"Calm down," the girl said, "No one's going to get hurt by something like this," she said, in some weird attempt to reassure me.
"Besides, the Arbour's supposed to be an exclusive space for those who live in the Crowned dorms," she continued, placing her hand on her forehead in slight annoyance. "This is why you shouldn't miss Orientation," she sighed.
"Anyways, take a breath. Do you even know which dorm you're going to?" the girl asked before reaching her hand out.
"Oh, well. No, yes? Maybe? Shit, I didn't actually check," I said, realizing that I forgot to check where I would be residing on the campus for the weekdays. I would live on the Academy during weekdays, and go back to the flower shops for the weekend. Luckily, they don't mandate living on campus if you are granted residency, so I can run the shop for two days before coming back here.
"Well, doesn't matter now. My name's Spirea, I'm a second-year student here at the Academy. I'm also a member of the Academy Council and a few of the other student groups here at Nouvem, so if you need any assistance, feel free to look for me or reach out using the watch," she said as I accepted her handshake."I'm Aster Iris, I got admitted a few weeks ago. It's nice to meet you," I introduced myself as we shook hands.
"You too, Aster. Now here," she continued, pulling the wrist where my Metimur watch sat on. As she took my wrist, she hovered a ring on her index finger over the watch, causing the watch to deliver a system notification. "You have my contact now. You seem like the type to need someone to help you out during your first semester here, so let me do the honours for you," she finished.
I embarrassingly smiled as she said so, before taking a moment to view the system message.
[You have 1 new contact]
(NEW!) Spirea Metaksi
As I looked at it, I took the opportunity to view Spirea's profile, curious about the moth that just burrowed itself into her hair.
[Accessing profile!]
Name: Spirea Metaksi
Class: III | Level: Novice
Portens: Domina / Magus | Art: White Dawnmoth Swarm [C]
Class III... her Art's grade is pretty high. Most people, like me, have at most a D Grade Art. People like Spirea and Mori are pretty rare.
As I looked at the system message, I watched a small hologram appear from the ring Spirea used to give her contact information. "Huh. An F Class Art. That's... surprisingly normal. You're really piquing my interest here, Aster," she said as she hovered her fingers over the hologram and swiped at my information. "Normally, you'd have to be exceptional to be able to meet with the Dean this quickly," she continued before giving me a strange look.
I looked at her and feigned confusion, unsure of what the Dean might have in store for me. "Truthfully, I'm not sure either. But I heard other students missed Orientation as well, so maybe it's a collective group of us that are meeting him," I spoke with as much honesty as I could fake.
I guess the watch hasn't updated the public database? Her system didn't show the fact that I had two Arts.
"Suspicious," she glared at me with a sinister smile. "Please don't look at me like that, I've done nothing wrong I swear," I responded, raising my hands up to present my innocence.
"There's something special about you, that's for sure," she said as she walked towards one of the benches, took a seat on it, and pulled out a phone from her pocket. "Anyways, I'm going to chill here for a small while. If you're looking for the Dean's office, just go back out onto the main path and keep walking towards the gate until you see a gigantic white building close by the walls. It'll be on your right close by the Academy entrance," she said as meowing sounds started coming out from her phone.
A cat game? You'd think a moth woman would like... cicadas buzzing or something.
"That's helpful, thanks for the directions," I thanked her simply. "I really don't think there's anything special about me, I swear," I said, trying to convince her halfheartedly.
----------------------------------------
Shortly after and without anymore delay, I arrived next to what I presumed to be the Dean's office. The building in front of me was a pearlescent white, the sun reflecting off of the building's marble-like surface like a mirror. Besides this surface, there weren't any windows nor openings of sorts besides the front door and a door on the far end of one of its sides. More astoundingly though, the building itself was only two floors. Not that I was expecting an office to be as huge as other structures here. Still, I thought it'd be more unusual, since this is the same Dean that keeps dangerous plants in a garden.
As I aimlessly looked around the surprisingly simple structure, I decided to walk through the building's automatic doors only to be greeted by a gigantic castle-like space. In front of me was a grand golden stairway with a long red carpet that's been fitted and draped over the floor as to make it seem even more grandiose than the sheer size of the stairwell already had. The stairwell itself expanded far beyond what the two-storey building I saw outside could realistically accommodate. And in front of it was a small receptionist's desk made of dark brown hardwood engraved with white jewels.
Standing behind the desk was a small boy, with blue hair, sharp eyes and eyebrows, and dark skin. He was short enough for me to barely see the top of his forehead, which immediately made me stifle a laugh before composing myself. As I looked at the boy, the boy noticed me and started raising his hand up waving me to come forward. "Over here! Please move forward!" he shouted as he frantically peeked his head over to make sure I could see him.
Did the Dean go mad and start engaging in child labour? What's a kid doing here?
"Can you please come up to the front so I can check you in?" he stated very officiously, though I found it very humorous.
"Oh, sorry. I was just... in awe of the beautiful stairway you've got going here," I said, deflecting my surprise towards a child receptionist to the stairway. As I responded slyly, the boy looked at me like I had said something outrageous before sighing. "I guess I'll just have to show off then..." the boy said.
"Show off?" I responded. After the boy sighed, a thin aura of black particles began rising from behind the desk, likely from him, causing me to flinch and prepare to defend myself with Borealis and my Art.
"Wait! I promise I didn't think you were funny! I'm just surprised the Dean hired a child, which I'm pretty sure should be illegal!" I said, attempting to deescalate. The boy said nothing, and I used my Potentia to allow Borealis to transform my shadow and slowly begin exiting from it.
"You can relax. Ha ha, he's just using a transformation Art," I heard a man's easygoing voice speak from the top of the stairway, though it was difficult to see much of him besides his figure which was silhouetted by the bright gigantic chandelier above.
Standing at the peak of the stairwell was a man with long blue and gold hair layered on each other, circular white-rimmed shades, and a charmingly young smile. He wore a black and white gentleman's outfit, with a finely-tailored suit, and a sharp-appearing fedora that fit his outfit extremely well.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Aster Iris. My name is Fallos Guile, the Dean of the Academy. Shall we have a chat?" the man introduced himself.