—Art Devion's Point of View
Knock.
Knock.
It was already evening, and I was still seated on the sofa when a sudden knock caught my attention.
I opened the door and saw a lady in a maid uniform, holding a service trolley.
"Good evening, sir, this would be your food for this evening," she said. Though she hesitated at first, she proceeded to the table and set out the food.
"Thank you," I said gratefully.
"It's my pleasure," she said, bowing her head before leaving the room, leaving just Cecilia and me.
"What's that?" Cecilia asked, confused.
"That's a maid; highly trained, they work for the academy," I explained, clearing up Cecilia's confusion.
"I see." It seemed maids didn't exist in her world.
"Anyways, let's eat. There are too many things to get ready for tomorrow." Tomorrow would be the start of the academy entrance exam. Today was supposed to be the preliminary exam; it was just an advanced exam, so it was still rather okay.
"Okay," she said as she materialized into her human form. Her golden hair shone brightly in the room, and I couldn't help but look at it.
"Art, this looks delicious!" Cecilia muttered, her eyes sparkling like tiny stars.
"Yeah, let's eat." The food for the evening consisted of beautiful medium-rare meat, and delicious fruits and vegetables lined the table. It was fancy... too fancy. I never had a chance to eat this kind of food in the modern world.
We spent most of our time eating. After finishing our baths, we quickly went to bed. Cecilia, who was already in her spirit form, fell asleep first.
It was already morning, the sunlight filling my room and waking me up.
Getting up, I looked at the circular window of my room. White clouds surrounded us, and soon we'd arrive at the academy.
"G-Good morning," Cecilia said, her voice vividly connected.
"Good morning," I replied. I looked at the clock; it was already 8:20 AM. I quickly washed my face after getting up.
The maid who had come yesterday evening returned with a new tray of food for breakfast. Without doing anything in the morning, the sound came from the airship captain.
"We'll be arriving at the academy."
The sound, coming from a magic circle embedded in the room's walls, echoed through.
We were closing in. I quickly gathered and tidied my things. Going outside the room, I quickly headed for the top of the airship.
Nobles, professors, and some students from the east and north gathered. It was rather hard for me to speak to them.
I was a commoner.
I knew well how commoners were treated at the academy; even with the academy's protection, they couldn't just kick out high-class noble students.
Being a commoner was considered pathetic. I just thought it was absurd, getting inside a different world ruled by hierarchy, power, and authority against the lower class.
Swoshh....
Air gushed on the side of the airship, which was currently covered by multiple layers of magic barriers.
Art, look! Cecilia said, her voice sounding excited.
Looking at the scenery, I was awestruck by the sight before me.
The dense clouds that had been covering the ground vanished, turning into a clear view: mountains on the horizons, birds, and a large castle-like structure.
It was the Arcanena Academy, located on the flying Island of Suede, known as the Great Sky Island. Conspiracy theories said it was filled with gold and mana, which made it float in the sky for an infinite time.
The other people outside also looked astonished. Although they were nobles, they probably found it more beautiful; even I thought royalties would be fascinated by the sight before us.
"What do you think about it?" A sudden voice behind me caught me off guard.
"That looks beautiful," I said, just continuing to look at it.
"Haha, is that so? It's indeed beautiful," he said. It was Aqua Vilgos; he was wearing a normal black and white shirt with thin gold stripes and the academy logo on the side.
"We are approaching the academy; better get ready now," he said as he showed me huge cases full of things.
"Y-yeah..." I said, looking flabbergasted at his belongings.
"Is that all for you?" I asked curiously.
"No, some of it is from my dumb sister.
She's probably just the same age as you," he said, scratching his head.
"Is that so?" I said, looking at him awkwardly, waiting for his reaction, figuring out she was literally behind him.
He's dead, Cecilia added, understanding the situation, although he couldn't hear her.
"What do you mean by 'dumb'?" A rather gentle voice, filled with mystery, echoed. Aqua, whose face went pale hearing the voice, slowly turned his head to the back.
A girl wearing the same robe as Aqua was staring at him menacingly. Poor guy, I thought as I looked at them.
Creak-
Her hand, which moved faster than Aqua could dodge, perfectly hit his stomach. I couldn't help but be surprised; if it were me, I'd surely be dead.
"Owh... That hurts, stop!" he said as he dropped to the floor, holding his stomach with both hands. It was too painful.
"That's what you get," she said, crossing both of her arms.
"..." I just stared at the two siblings; it was best not to intervene.
"What are you looking at?" she said, noticing that I had been staring at both of them.
"Nothing." I glanced away from them—it was better not to continue the conversation.
"...Let's go," she said, glancing at me before turning her head, grabbing Aqua's ear, and just continuing to pull him away.
"Owh, that hurts! Hey, Art, h-help me!" The way he said it made me want to glance back at his horrible position, but well, it wasn't my problem; at the end of the day, I had my own problems too.
The airship had landed in a large floating harbor. It was like a harbor in the sea, but this time, it was a flying one.
It was something amazing, especially when seeing it with your own eyes; massive numbers of people were walking in every direction, which was pretty much making me dizzy.
"Come in line." It seemed like the onboarding process had begun. I quickly moved into one of the lines, holding my belongings.
"Tsk." I suddenly heard a click behind me. They seemed to be disappointed. Ignoring them, I headed toward the exit.
The crew of the airship guided us toward the exit. There are so many noble people, Cecilia said. I was left just nodding in agreement.
After walking for minutes, I reached the outside. Although the number of people around me still hadn't decreased, people were in a fuss.
Some people's eyes sparkled like they saw something angelic. Glancing at the fuss from far away, a figure stepped outside, a long golden hair shining brightly in the afternoon sun.
It seemed like she was here, one of the story's heroines and the first princess of the Alvon Kingdom, Alea Alvon.
Who's that? Cecilia asked me. The first princess of the Alvon Kingdom, I answered back at her question.
The crowds lined up, greeting her arrival at the academy. I just looked at them from a far distance and continued on my way.
As I remembered, she would meet the other special admission students after the academy examination results were revealed.
I already had a plan: to watch them from afar, only interrupting in dangerous times—there was no need for such connections.
Creating a far distance, I thought, and quickly headed to the academy. I still had to walk to the entrance; it wasn't that far from here.
The other nobles rode carriages escorted by their guards. Some just preferred to walk towards the entrance; I didn't mind walking.
Walking around, the scenery looked beautiful: houses, trees, and grass surrounded us. It looked like a normal thing?
After walking for minutes, I sensed something. Were we here earlier? It seemed like Cecilia had noticed it.
I looked at the students around me and the carriages; it looked like they didn't notice anything.
Taking this into account, we were like stuck in a one-space dimension. It looked like we were making progress going to the academy, but in truth, we were stuck in a one-space dimension.
Could it be? Cecilia was about to say something. I quickly analyzed my surroundings.
Activating Wisdom Eyes, my eyes glowed into vibrant sky-blue threads of information, flowing into my head and analyzing any questionable details that flowed.
Minutes passed. I continued walking, and a sudden notification showed in front of me.
[ SPATIAL ERROR: unstable spatial corridor has been noticed by the Ponifix System. ]
Everyone here seemed to be just a copy. To make it more sense, they were holograms of their real selves, but in a different space.
"..." I looked at the sky and activated Atomic: Starium. I had practiced using this magic; by using the mana in the air, I could create magic.
Although my vision on Atomic: Starium magic was still low, I could make a good enough magic that could disrupt the flow of space around me.
It seemed like the instructors loved to give students and upcoming professors headaches and unannounced tests.
Atomic: Starium"Particle Disperse"
The surrounding space slowly crippled as tiny particles around the air collapsed. The space around me changed visibly.
From the outside, the scenery turned from a relatively dark space where I could see people wearing the academy uniform and the professor uniform seated on huge seats around me.
"I'm surprised," he said as he looked at me like his eyes could pierce someone just by him looking.
"Ohoho," one said while holding his long white beard.
"Our first passer," she said as a large witch hat covered her face.
"..." One was just sitting while giving a great smile. Her eyes were covered by bandages, and her white hair especially attracted my attention.
Art.... Cecilia tried to warn me early, but there was no need; I already knew the people sitting on the chairs.
They were the instructors for this examination, and a major shift in the game's story. There wasn't supposed to be something like this; it was supposed to go normally in the story.
'A major plot change.'
But well, I couldn't do anything. Seconds had passed, and they were staring at me, their faces rather showing different kinds of reflections on me.
Well, let's just hope everything goes well after dealing with this. Not getting myself to suffer inside the academy would be great, hopefully...