"Wow…"
The view was incredible. They were so high up that they could see the full grandeur of Arcadia Academy. They could see the floating Arcadia Academy, its waterfall, and the golden bridges. Everything.
"We are falling."
Eh?
Yep, the wind did an uptake. They were definitely falling.
"Do not be concerned," Jalaric yelled in the most monotone tone ever. "We are spearheading into the Forest of Light! As far as I am aware, it is a place of pea—"
"Why is Feuerflügel falling in the first place!?"
Jalaric grunted as he tried to bring back control. It wasn't working and some semblance of annoyance seeped. "She exhausted all her mana trying to get through to the barrier! I-it seems the barrier was too much! Tch!"
The basket trembled and the thread connecting it to the pegasus snapped. Leo didn't panic, he just face-palmed. Jalaric's gloves were still magically connected to his companion's fiery mane. It didn't matter, they were falling, falling, falling—until boom! The three of them crashed into a forest. They broke through four trees before coming to a stop.
"We…are okay?" Jalaric opened his eyes. Leo and the basket were right there with him. "We are okay! Ha, as expected of my faithful companion! You did it!"
Feuerflügel the fire pegasus forced himself up and then collapsed.
Leo had a hand out. It was because of his wind magic that they managed the landing. He cut on their momentum and sliced the trees. It was a close call. Leo hopped out and dusted off his uniform.
"Phew, not too damaged..."
Jalaric, on the other hand, had splinters and shrapnel of wood all over his uniform. Unfortunate.
"Come on, let's go. The students haven't gone inside yet. We have to join in and act like we didn't forcibly break through the barrier."
"No, no, what about Feuerflügel?" Jalaric asked. "Let us tell the professors what happened—"
"Look, if you're going to tell them, leave me out of it. I don't have people behind me, I might get suspended."
"Hrm, true. I do not wish to inconvenience you either…" Jalaric looked around. "Huh, this is..."
"Yeah, you noticed, right?" Leo said. "Everything here is supersized."
Big trees, big mushroom, big grass. The sounds of wildlife were loud and innocent. Nothing dangerous here, for now anyway.
Jalaric dropped down and began to examine a horse-sized mushroom sprouting from the base of a tree.
"Yes, there is no doubt…this is the Forest of Light. Many rare herbs and plants grew here. The trees are specially durable and hundreds of years old."
Leo cleared his throat. "Then let's get going. Feuerflügel will be safe and have plenty to eat too."
"....I suppose you are correct." Jalaric returned to the whimpering pegasus. "Do not worry. I will be back. Stay here." His gloves stroked the flaming manes without injury. The pegasus nodded and closed his eyes. "Good bye."
They got going. Leo closed his eyes and felt the wind. "This forest isn't too far from the Arche Hamlet."
Jalaric nodded. "Being a sensor must be useful."
"It comes in handy."
***
The Forest of Light was indeed as peaceful and lovely as Jalaric said it was. Some critters observed them from afar but not one attacked them. It appeared that they were used to the presence of humans in their forest.
With Leo's sensing skills, it didn't take long to exit the forest and see the hoard of students waiting outside. Luckily, they were not waiting for them.
"Welcome, welcome! Professor Ivan Jovic at your service!"
This was where the first part of the orientation was going to take place.
'What a lucky coincidence.'
Jalaric turned toward Leo, ready to explain who that was and their plan of action—only to find Leo was already gone. Whoosh! Jalaric had no idea what he did or how he did it. Leo was just gone.
Whoosh!
Leo became one with the wind and travelled all the way to the back. His materialized presence went unnoticed. What a relief. Standing out was okay with him. Doing bad stuff was not.
Leo went on his toes. He…wasn't exactly the tallest person in the world. He jumped and finally saw the silver-haired professor at the front, wearing a massive grin and a long, slightly tattered trench coat that billowed as he moved. His sharp, fox-like features made him look both amused and calculating, and even from a distance, his mana signature was enormous.
Students whispered around him.
"That's Professor Jović!"
"The Joker…"
"I heard he's completely unpredictable."
"He's definitely planning something evil."
Leo, however, wasn't concerned about rumors. Once he was done, he let out a sigh. He was just glad he had made it to Candidate Orientation in time. Professor Jović clapped his hands, bringing all eyes to him.
"Alright, listen up! This is the first part of your Orientation." Professor Jovic gestured toward the towering Forest of Light behind them. "The purpose of this evaluation is to confirm and fully gauge your skill levels. Where you start depends on you." Professor Jović smirked and pointed at the massive forest once more. "To put it simply, the Forest of Light is supersized."
Pretty much all the students already knew and saw this. It was right there, after all. Even so, if everything was supersized…
Did that include monsters? That was the fear.
Professor Jović relished the tension, that smile on his face growing by a fraction. It was a permanently plastered expression and it induced neither comfort or joy. It was just…kinda there.
"No need to worry—no creepy crawling monsters in there!" His smirk widened. "Except for the ones I've placed."
A ripple of nervous murmurs spread through the crowd.
Professor Jović let out a laugh. "Oh, and before anyone gets ideas—the professors will be watching." He waved his hand, gesturing to the various lanterns floating above them and the skies beyond. "From the skies, from the lanterns, from everywhere—so don't worry about dying. Any questions?" Before anybody could ask a question, he added, "Although I would worry about dying in the academy if you can't survive this."
Some students visibly paled.
Leo?
He merely exhaled. Along with the professor, a long row of tables had been set up, each displaying a variety of weapons. Swords, spears, wands, staffs, bows, and more.
Professor Jović clapped his hands.
"Alright, let's get to it! Readysetgo!"
The students were stunned. What?
The Joker let out an exaggerated sigh. "Chop, chop! Come on! Move, move, move! Ready, set, go! I said it already!"
Chaos erupted as students rushed toward the tables, scrambling to grab their preferred weapons. The orientation had finally began.