As Adam racked his brain to understand where that feeling of familiarity came from and why the red-haired girl triggered his instinct, Julius and the other kids gazed at each other with curiosity and astonishment.
They all came from wealthy and powerful noble families and thus were too arrogant to take the first step to speak with one another, feeling it was beneath them. That's why they didn't understand how such a group of four arrived together.
However, a young girl broke their tacit rule. Red locks of hair flew with the wind as she took confident steps towards Julius. Her blue eyes radiated determination as she said with a beautiful and elegant voice. "Can you ask your friend to stop staring at me?"
Surprised by her sudden request, Julius turned his head left and right to check who she might be referring to. However, he found himself confused as Asha and Louise had been looking in another direction entirely.
Noticing that he seemed genuinely confused, the girl moved her head in Adam's direction in frustration, making the duo's eyes widen in shock.
'Can she see big bro?' Julius thought. Except for Gaston, who used a special item enchanted by a rogue alchemist, no one had ever been able to see his brother. Not even Vikram.
"Quick, deny what she said. My existence must remain a secret." Adam said in a panic, scared to be hunted down by powerful mages because they mistook him for an evil spirit. After all, as the only person who moved to speak with someone else, the girl was pretty high profile among the silent noble kids.
Upon hearing Adam's flustered voice, he quickly replied, "Did you make a mistake? There is no one here besides the four of us."
He was unwilling to see his big brother's presence be exposed too. The events four years ago taught him the hard way to keep a tight lid on that secret.
In response, the girl frowned and looked intently at Adam's silhouette as if trying to engrave his image in her mind before shaking her head in disappointment and returning to where she had been before their discussion.
After she left, the duo sighed in relief. They were unsure about her ability to see Adam but glad she didn't make a scene and attract attention.
At the same time, the registrar suddenly clapped in his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"Follow me in silence. The welcoming ceremony will begin." He declared enthusiastically before walking towards the magnificent building's tall doors.
The thirty kids quickly followed him, discovering the lavish interior of the college's main building for the first time. Everything inside was grand and expansive looking. Contrary to the city, in which only a few magic devices could be spotted, the building seemed filled with them.
As they walked towards a corridor leading to a dead end, Julius curiously witnessed the registrar walk on a magic-looking circle. Then, under the kids' dumbfounded expressions, a flight of transparent stairs suddenly appeared, connecting the ground floors to the first.
Adam marveled at the clever combination of magic and architecture. Using this method, the college could save so much space thanks to those magical stairs.
Simultaneously, the kids hesitated before the transparent stairs, unsure about their capability to carry their weight. However, after witnessing the registrar traverse them without issues, they followed behind him, awed by the magical phenomenon.
After walking and climbing a few more stairs, they finally reached a large amphitheater situated on the college's third floor.
A few hundred older students were already seated inside and watched as this year's freshmen entered with weird looks.
After following the registrar's instructions, Julius sat next to his friends in the front rows of the room, unable to stop himself from curiously peeking left and right.
However, after a few seconds, a loud booming noise resounded from the middle of the stage, startling and attracting everyone's attention.
Julius stood up in fright and channeled his internal energy into his muscles, ready to fight and defend his friends against the potential threat.
Fortunately, before he could draw attention from the distracted crowd, Adam quickly kicked his calf, making him growl and sit back in his seat because of the pain.
"What are you doing? Idiot! Stay seated!" Adam screamed in anguish, with cold sweat running down his back.
Upon hearing his big brother's words, Julius' cheeks reddened in shame after he understood his mistake. He calmed down and focused on the puffs of multicolored smoke covering the stage with a raised brow.
Simultaneously, epic music suddenly filled the room, setting an intense atmosphere and causing his heartbeat to accelerate.
Then, under the fearful gaze of the kids, the smoke swirled and condensed itself, slowly taking the shape of a large, lifelike, blue-eyed white dragon.
However, the spectacle wasn't over as a demonic-looking dragon suddenly formed. Following its appearance, a white crystalline dragon took shape, and then more and more continued to appear.
Julius forgot to breathe for a moment after witnessing so many dreadful creatures so close to him.
Despite not feeling any life force coming from them, their majestic and mighty appearances alone were enough to simultaneously instill a profound sense of fear and awe in his heart.
Ten seconds later, the unmoving dragons suddenly roared, forcing the kids to recover from their daze before they took flight. They danced gracefully in the sky around the amphitheater for a moment before another loud sound attracted everyone's attention back to the stage.
There, Julius saw a silver-haired man who seemed to be in his early thirties wearing a colorful and spectacular attire. He held a long and intricately crafted golden staff adorned with a fist-sized beautiful dark blue gem in his right hand.
Exuding a charismatic aura, the man swiftly captivated everyone's attention. The music's tempo accelerated as he raised his staff, proclaiming, "Transmuting Nova Burst," with a wide smile.
Subsequently, Julius and the kids assisted at a dazzling display of shimmering alchemical essence. These waves ripple through the air, condensing into radiant orbs of shifting colors.
With a whispered incantation, the orbs erupted into a torrent of volatile energy. Each sphere transmuted into a barrage of ethereal projectiles and streaked through the air like shooting stars, leaving trails of arcane energy in their wake as they home in on the dragons.
Upon impact, the dragons exploded, covering the sky in colorful fireworks.
As the kids watched the spectacle's climax in excitement, almost jumping on their seats, the man on the stage addressed them with a smile.
"I'm glad to welcome you as we commence another academic year. You can address me as director or Mr. Shepard." Then he turned to look at Julius before locking his gaze with Adam's burning eyes.
"Shit..." Adam said with a pale face.