(Yeah, I needed the weekend off. Update: POG I FOUND MORE FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG! Also, Mt. Patron is pronounced like the tequila brand. Hopefully this makes it easier to read.)
I was a bit excited. This would be my first time using a teleportation platform. I was still curious how spatial magic worked. It would seem that it was a highly controlled skill as it could easily turn the tides of a battle if used effectively. The only person outside of the professors that I had seen using it was Titus. Unfortunately, he would only say that it was a "state secret." What kind of bullshit is that?
There were about 150 of us including the professors. We were also told there'd be at least a thousand students from the other academies. It was a controlled area so there was no worry about any external forces interfering.
I was towards the middle of the line, standing with Jacob and Yanni. "It seems that we are going in groups of ten. I wonder how it will work once we get there."
Jacob sighed. "While these field trips are great, I was warned by my parents about them. Apparently once we get there, it's a free-for-all. The professors only watch over us to ensure we don't die."
I grimaced. "Are we going to have to worry about students from other academies?"
Jacob nodded. "That's the main concern. Fortunately, the cordon off the areas and assign a year to each one. This way, they avoid the older students dominating all of the rewards."
I nodded, sighing in relief. "Well that makes things much easier."
Yanni shook his head. "I'd be more concerned about the students from this academy than the others. There's a few students that are extremely jealous of you stealing their spot as friends of the royals." He made finger quotes as he said "stealing."
I rolled my eyes, chuckling as I waved away his concerns. "I have no worries. If my life is in danger, the professors will save me. In any case, I'd feel bad for anyone that attacks me as the lunatic would make their lives hell if I'm hurt."
As if my words summoned him, a piece of chalk flew out of nowhere, hitting my square in the temple. A cackle rang off in the distance. "HA! CAN A NORMAL GENIUS DO THAT?"
I rubbed the side of my head, sighing in defeat. "Where in the fuck did that even come from?"
Jacob shrugged. "That, I do not know. Oh, it's our turn."
I immediately perked up. This is what I was waiting for. As we were invited into the room by Hanako Sensei, I looked like a kid in a candy shop.
I appeared completely ridiculous next to Jacob and Yanni. Being a prince and the son of a duke, they had teleportation platforms in their estates. As important officials, they needed to be able to move quickly for various reasons. Most of them related to national security but sometimes they were used for leisure.
The teleportation center was very mystical from the bricks on the floor all the way to the spotless ceiling. The floor was made of etched marble bricks that pulsed with light. Each of these pulses was mana coming straight from the academy's mana reactor to power the formation. The etchings in the floor looked like a labyrinth as they snaked towards various conductors at the base of the platform. The walls were much more simplistic, made of cracked marble bricks. It without a doubt added to the aesthetic and made the whole room even more mystical. Covering the room was a ceiling made of arches. Each and every arch of marble was chiseled with sprawling dragons that were similar to the classic Chinese dragon.
Then my eyes landed on the teleportation platform. It was deserving of being the centerpiece of such a carefully designed room. The platform was mostly made of marble slabs that formed an umbrella-like pattern. Thick lines of some metal that I hadn't seen before ran up the stairs on the side of the platform, connecting to some larger blocks of the metal. All of the mana in the room was feeding into the networks so I assumed it was like a wire but for mana. I would definitely learn about this if I took advanced magesmithing courses.
The center of the platform was where the formation was located. It was made of the most pristine marble bricks I've ever seen, almost purely white. On the outside was a ring of the mana conductive metal. It ran in countless thinner strips to the weird looking stones that were inlaid within the marble circle. On them were strange symbols that I presumed to be runes.
Upon first glance, the platform looked way too simple. Why is something like this such a big deal? However, I quickly realized that there must be more to it. Many hidden mechanisms and various other things must be hidden beneath the platform. Otherwise, it wouldn't need an entire lecture hall sized room dedicated to it.
Hanako saw me dawdling, examining every inch of the room in awe. "Callum, move along or we'll be late."
I nodded and quickly stepped onto the platform, joining the other nine people I would be teleported with.
Once I was on the platform, I turned around and looked at Hanako Sensei. I was curious as to how the formation was activated.
She looked down at the watch on her wrist, promptly nodding her head as the seconds ticked by. "It's been long enough. Off you go!" She snapped her fingers.
Just like that, the runes began glowing with a gentle blue light. An aura of pure mana began emanating off of them, creating an aurora like light around us. I was staring at it in euphoria, it was gorgeous. It was like floating in the center of the northern lights back on Earth.
Suddenly, I felt a slight discomfort as if every portion of my body was being gently pulled in different directions. It was extremely unsettling but fortunately not painful. My vision began to blue and swirl as I was presumably being pulled through space.
I blinked in an attempt to recover my vision but it did nothing. I decided to just close my eyes so that I wouldn't get nauseous from the swirling lights. I quickly was assaulted by a blistering heat as I felt the pulling sensation cease.
The hot wind easily penetrated through the passive barrier generated by the ring. It would seem that it was only effective against a high level of heat. I slowly opened my eyes and was quickly shocked by what was before me.
Unfortunately I didn't even have time to take it in. A stern and deep voice called out. "Get off the platform, idiot."
I snapped out of my reverence as I rushed down the stairs. Jacob and Yanni were laughing at me. "I'm sure you guys were the same way your first time."
Jacob shrugged. "I can neither confirm nor deny."
I rolled my eyes. "Definitely a politician in training. Anyways, shush so I can take in the sights."
I returned my focus to what was around me. To my back was the charred border of a forest. Most of the trees were scorched and clearly dead. Weirdly, there were a few trees that appeared to be in even better condition than a tree under normal conditions. I was genuinely curious about these…
In front of me was the most breathtaking sight I had ever seen. Despite being early in the day, it was nearly pitch black due to the dark clouds that covered the sky like a thick blanket. The occasional ray of light would penetrate through but it would quickly be swallowed up by the endless stream of clouds.
The top of Mt. Patron looked as if it had been chopped off by a giant. A gentle but threatening glow lit up the clouds that were close to the mouth of the volcano. The light was presumably from the magma. I certainly wouldn't be trying to find out.
From the mouth of the volcano, countless steady streams of lava flowed down the mountain side, carrying the blood of Aetheria down to the base of Mt. Patron. The streams of lava would twist and turn, sometimes combining with other flows and then splitting further down the slope. It was truly amazing but this wasn't even the craziest part.
The most awe inspiring part of this whole scene was the countless bolts of lightning raining down from the heavens. The streams of lava would explode when struck by the lightning, covering the surrounding area in the molten rock. Sometimes, a lightning bolt would strike within the mouth of the volcano, causing an explosion of magma. It looked like a bomb went off within the volcano every time this would happen.
After looking around for a while, I began to notice things moving around on the slope. Upon a closer look, I found one of the main reasons we were here. There were so many elementals. They ranged from the size of rodents all the way to elephants. Most of them moved independently but some moved in groups. I guessed that this had to do with their intelligence.
I was interrupted from that thought process by a voice that emanated power. "Good morning adepts. Today is an important day for your development. A good harvest today could change your entire future."
Turning to the origin of the voice, I noticed that a man in an officer's uniform was speaking. He must have been in charge of this excursion. He was quite intimidating in appearance. He had a massive build with broad shoulders. His dark skin glistened with sweat as the faint glow of the volcano and the flashes of lightning sparkled on him.
The man cleared his throat, reigning everyone in. "I am Lieutenant General Brooks. For the next few days, you can refer to me as Mr. Brooks. As I'm sure many of you are wondering how this will work, allow me to inform you…"
He essentially said what Jacob told me back in the academy but in a much more long winded manner. He especially emphasized the no killing each other thing. It made me curious if it had happened often in the past.
Once he finished, I sighed in relief. He announced that the freshman would be remaining in this sector of the area. This made me excited as there was a certain set of trees I wanted to check out...