Victor's heart beat a little faster as he passed the entry point after the scanning.
He clutched his duffel tighter, knowing the VR helmet hidden in the inner lining might trigger flags but surprisingly it didn't.
Perhaps this wasn't the location where they'd be searched for unallowed items.
Mana Awakening Level: Unknown (Special Case)
Transit Departure: T-minus 38 minutes
Up ahead was a large circular platform, where dozens of young Awakened initiates were already gathering.
Victor found a quiet bench and sat while observing the crowd. He saw kids who looked barely seventeen standing beside teenagers who looked like they bench-pressed cars. It was a strange mixture of potential.
Everyone here had something.
Victor didn't know what he had exactly—but he had resolve.
The waiting area was filled with chatter and the constant buzzing of scanning drones. Soft blue lighting stretched across the silver floors, and black walls were lined with glowing panels displaying countdowns and digital briefings.
Victor eyes were wide as he took it all in. This wasn't some regular school orientation—it felt more like a classified government operation.
At the front of the waiting lounge stood an Awakened Instructor, clad in reinforced black armor accented with dark purple lines.
He had a badge with the Awakened academy insignia, and the scar running across his left eye gave him the kind of presence that silenced an entire room without a word.
"Alright, listen up," he voiced out. "This is Batch 17. First-time initiates, headed for your first year at the Academy."
His eyes scanned them all.
"Some of your peers are already there. The latter batches are for awakeners who were late to register. That means no room for slacking. You'll catch up or be left behind."
Victor shifted slightly. 'Late to register?'
Well, technically he had gone through the second screening so he understood that this meant those from the first screening were already there.
His gaze flicked to his right—and instantly recognized someone in the distant.
A tall and proud looking raven-haired girl clad in the same white academy outfit. Her arms were folded and her expression remained as fiery as he remembered from the screening. She looked like she'd already mentally conquered the Academy.
This was none other than Aria Wolfe.
Next to her was Kai, the cool and strikingly handsome warrior with his black-haired tied loosely behind his head and a sword sheathed across his back.
His calm eyes met Victor's briefly, and Kai gave the smallest nod of recognition.
"Yo! If it isn't Mr. Silent-but-deadly!"
This loud voice came from a familiar muscular spiky redhead with a fierce glare.
He had the same mischievous grin that Victor remembered.
The moment Victor turned, Reed threw an arm around his shoulder with zero hesitation.
"You looked like a secret boss back then at the screening, you gotta show me a few tricks some time."
Victor laughed. "I thought you said I looked like a background character."
Reed shrugged. "Can't a man be wrong sometimes?"
"Batch 17," the instructor voice snapped them back to attention. "You're the last group. We're heading out in five minutes."
The walls slid open, revealing a long hallway that led to a black loading dock. Dozens of silver transportation capsules hovered off the ground—each shaped like a bullet, with glowing runes across the hull and a transparent canopy.
They looked like something between a high-speed magtrain and a spacecraft.
Victor's heart thumped.
The instructor continued speaking as they were led to their assigned capsules.
"You'll be traveling in sealed high-speed transit units. These are equipped with dimensional portal tech and reinforced mana shields. The trip will only take ten minutes, even though you're crossing thousands of miles beyond the safety of the barrier."
They climbed into their capsules in groups of five.
Victor ended up in the same pod as Aria, Kai, and Reed, with a quiet girl he didn't recognize, completing the group. The interior was pretty luxurious with large and soft seating spaces filled with blue holographic lights.
As the pod sealed and began its journey, Reed leaned back with a dramatic sigh. "Man, these seats are nicer than anything I've ever sat in. I feel like I'm about to be launched into a VIP club, not an academy."
"Try not to snore halfway through the ride," Aria muttered with her arms crossed.
Reed grinned. "Ooh, you missed me. Admit it."
Victor chuckled and turned to Kai, who was seated beside him with his legs stretched comfortably. "So, any expectations for what's coming next?"
Kai shrugged and responded with a calm tone. "Danger. Rivalry. Growth. Same as everywhere else—just on a bigger scale."
Aria fixed her gaze ahead. "We're not at a public screening anymore. This is the real deal. Don't lag behind."
Victor smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I plan keep up."
There was a brief pause. Then Kai smirked. "Looking forward to it."
As the capsule sealed shut, Victor's eyes were glued to the front panel, where the instructor's voice continued over the intercom.
"You'll pass through multiple zones. Some are territories reclaimed by human forces. Others… are still dominated by enemy races. If you've never seen the world outside the barrier—congrats. You're about to."
The capsule began to make a low ~twhooshing~ sound as mana energy spread through the walls.
The vehicle shot forward, blurring through a tunnel of blue light.
They emerged from a portal seconds later.
Victor's jaw nearly dropped as he looked through the transparent walls.
The world outside the barrier was nothing like the city.
Forests twisted in unnatural shapes, full of violet trees and crawling vines that seem corrupted. Floating rocks hovered above dark marshlands. Wild elemental storms surged in the distance. Tall silhouettes of beasts roamed vast plains.
The sky was fractured, like an unfinished painting—patches of orange, storm-gray, and deep emerald seemed to be fighting for dominance. Some regions below looked terraformed—swallowed in icy fields or scorched black.
Victor saw a massive fungal jungle in the distance, where trees grew sideways out of floating islands.
The instructor's voice echoed again.
"Look around you. This is what the world really looks like... this is why we fight!"