Chapter 126 - explore the academy
Her gaze settled on me.
"Oh?"
"You’ve already created a Space Storage?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Her eyes showed genuine interest.
Space Affinity was extremely rare.
And among those who possessed it, very few could actually control it properly.
For many, the power was simply too dangerous.
Some couldn’t control it.
Others died attempting to manipulate something far beyond their understanding.
Yet I had already managed to create Space Storage.
Astrea looked at me thoughtfully.
I immediately took the opportunity.
"Can you teach me more about Space?"
One of her eyebrows rose.
"About Space?"
"Not about creating spells?"
I shook my head.
"Yeah."
"I already have several Space spells."
"But my control over Space is still far behind my other affinities."
A faint smile appeared on Astrea’s face.
"Hmm..."
She studied my hopeful expression for a moment.
Then—
She mercilessly crushed my hopes.
"No."
I almost stumbled.
Again?!
This was the second time she had given me hope only to destroy it.
I looked at her with an aggrieved expression.
"Can you stop doing that?"
Astrea raised an eyebrow.
"Doing what?"
"Giving me false hope!"
She chuckled.
"Hmm..."
"You’ll have to get used to it."
"You’ll encounter plenty of people who will crush your expectations in the future."
I puffed out my cheeks.
This woman is dangerous.
Astrea then turned her attention toward Luna.
Unlike me, Luna didn’t seem bothered by Astrea’s teasing.
Instead, she looked like she was enjoying the entire show.
Astrea smiled and began speaking with her.
Their conversation was surprisingly pleasant.
She asked Luna about her training, her understanding of Light and Ice, and how she had been progressing recently.
Luna answered politely, occasionally smiling as they talked.
After that, Astrea spoke with Amy and Elena as well.
Finally, her attention shifted toward Isabella.
Astrea studied her carefully for a moment before speaking.
"Hmm."
"You’re quite strong for your age."
"You shouldn’t have any trouble entering the academy."
"But don’t underestimate the entrance examination."
"Even someone with your ability can fail if they become careless."
Isabella nodded seriously.
"I understand."
They continued talking for a little while longer.
Eventually, Astrea glanced toward Mother and the Empress.
"I’m sorry, but I can’t entertain you any longer."
"I have work to attend to."
"Tomorrow is the entrance examination, so I need to oversee everything and make sure nothing goes wrong."
She smiled faintly.
"If you’d like, you can let the children explore the academy."
"They should familiarize themselves with the place before tomorrow."
The Empress nodded.
"Of course."
"We won’t take up any more of your time."
Astrea smiled.
"Enjoy your visit."
I waved toward her enthusiastically.
"Bye, Principal Astrea!"
She smiled back.
"Goodbye, Gray."
I immediately turned toward Luna.
"Come on."
"Let’s explore!"
Luna smiled.
"Alright."
We left the room together while talking excitedly about what the academy might have.
Once we returned to the others, the Empress looked at all of us before turning toward Isabella.
"Isabella."
"Why don’t you take everyone on a tour?"
"You should familiarize yourself with the academy as well."
Isabella nodded.
"Alright."
She took the lead.
The rest of us followed behind her.
As we walked through the academy, I looked around curiously.
There were enormous training halls.
Specialized classrooms.
Massive outdoor training fields.
Combat arenas.
Even several buildings that I couldn’t immediately identify.
Everything was far more advanced than I had expected.
This place is incredible.
Eventually, we arrived at a large building containing numerous rooms.
A person was standing near the entrance.
Our curiosity immediately got the better of us.
I looked toward him.
"What is this place?"
The man looked at us.
His eyes immediately noticed something unusual.
None of us were wearing academy uniforms.
And we didn’t have student identification either.
He frowned slightly.
"Who might you be?"
"I don’t believe you’re students here."
Isabella stepped forward.
"No, we’re not students yet."
"I’m taking the entrance examination tomorrow."
"We visited the principal earlier, and she gave us permission to explore the academy and familiarize ourselves with the facilities."
The man’s eyes narrowed.
"The principal gave you permission?"
Isabella nodded.
"She did."
He still looked uncertain.
"How can I confirm you’re telling the truth?"
"If you don’t believe me, you can go and speak with her yourself."
The man studied Isabella carefully.
"Very well."
"But who are you?"
"Why would the principal give you such a privilege?"
Isabella answered calmly.
"My mother is a close friend of the principal."
"She simply gave us permission to explore the academy before the entrance examination."
The man nodded slightly.
"And your mother is...?"
Isabella remained composed.
"She is the ruler of the Human Kingdom."
"And I am the Crown Princess."
The man’s eyes widened.
For a moment, he stared at her in surprise.
He had seen the Empress only a few times before, so he couldn’t immediately recognize her.
However, he knew that the Empress and Principal Astrea were old friends.
He also knew that almost nobody could enter this academy without the principal’s knowledge.
Furthermore...
Isabella’s etiquette and bearing were unmistakably those of someone raised as royalty.
The man finally relaxed.
"I understand."
He didn’t address her by her royal title.
Inside the academy, titles held little importance.
Everyone was ultimately judged as a student.
He then answered our original question.
"This is the Elemental Room."
"You can use academy points to reserve time inside."
"It contains environments corresponding to nearly every known element."
"Inside, you can train your elemental control, purity, and mana manipulation much more efficiently than in ordinary surroundings."
My eyes immediately lit up.
Humph.
What do I need academy points for?
Once I enter the academy, I’ll simply earn them myself.
And then I’ll rent this place and train until I’m satisfied.
I glanced toward the rooms with renewed interest.
This academy had far more resources than I had expected.
Unfortunately, the man didn’t allow us to enter without proper authorization.
So we continued our tour.
Our next stop was the cafeteria.
Several students were already sitting inside, eating their meals.
I looked at the food.
My stomach immediately betrayed me.
Growl...
I froze.
Amy looked at me.
Then she laughed.
I ignored her and quickly pulled a slice of pizza from my Space Storage.
I had barely raised it toward my mouth when—
It disappeared.
I slowly turned my head.
Amy was already holding it.
She smiled smugly.
"Hmph."
"Did you really think you could eat by yourself without giving anything to your amazing big sister?"
I stared at her resentfully.
"You stole my food."
"Of course."
"I’m your amazing big sister."
I sighed.
There was no point arguing.
I opened my Space Storage again and pulled out an entire pizza.
"Fine."
"Everyone can have some."
I divided it among the others.
Luna accepted hers with a small smile.
Elena and Isabella took theirs as well.
Even some of the students nearby glanced toward us curiously.
A few whispered among themselves.
I didn’t pay much attention.
I simply enjoyed my pizza.
After finishing our meal, we left the cafeteria and continued exploring.
The academy was far larger than I had imagined.
And the more I saw...
The more excited I became for tomorrow.
The entrance examination.
My first real step into this academy.
I smiled.
After exploring the academy for what felt like hours, we finally returned to the residence prepared for us.
The academy had provided temporary accommodations for everyone who would be staying until the entrance examination was over.
Once we arrived, Isabella, Elena, and Amy headed toward their rooms.
Luna and I remained in the hallway for a moment.
I looked at her.
"So..."
"What do you think about the academy?"
Luna thought for a moment before smiling.
"It looks amazing."
"I can’t wait to become a student here."
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"There are so many interesting facilities."
We continued talking about everything we had seen during our exploration.
The training halls.
The classrooms.
The elemental rooms.
The enormous fields.
Even the cafeteria.
But there was one thing that had caught both of our attention.
"Did you notice something strange?" Luna suddenly asked.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Something strange?"
She nodded.
"Everyone seemed to be in groups."
"Almost nobody was alone."
I thought about it for a moment.
She was right.
Everywhere we had gone, students seemed to move together.
Some were talking with their friends.
Others were training together.
Even in the cafeteria, most students were sitting in groups.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
But...
It was certainly noticeable.
"Maybe that’s just how academy life is."
Luna nodded.
"Perhaps."
We continued talking for another fifteen minutes or so.
Eventually, we both realized how late it had become.
I stretched.
"Alright."
"We should probably get some sleep."
Luna smiled.
"Good night, Gray."
"Good night, Luna."
We went our separate ways and entered our respective rooms.
Once inside, I took a quick shower and changed into something comfortable.
Afterward, I made sure everything was ready for tomorrow.
The entrance examination was finally approaching.
I had no idea what kind of test awaited us.
But honestly...
I was looking forward to it.
I climbed into bed.
The soft mattress immediately swallowed me.
I pulled the blanket over myself and closed my eyes.
Within moments...
I fell into a deep sleep.
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A/N :-
Echo_7642 2 Chapter I owe you today thank you for your support 😃❤️❤️