Here he was, finally in the Academy.
Looking around, the fort walls stretched out way beyond what his eyes could see and the land occupied by the institution was gargantuan in size.
Right now, he was walking around on a path surrounded by a large and elaborate garden.
The woman from earlier, who welcomed him here, was leading him to a building of sorts.
As they were walking, the smell of flowers assaulted his nose and overpowered his senses.
By now, summer was long over, and most flora had changed in color to welcome the passing of seasons.
This garden, however, was an infinite expanse of lush greenery and colorful flowers. They clearly took great care of these plants, and one, in particular, stood out to Yohan.
It was a large white rose. Its petals were a pearly-white color and glowed from the remains of the morning dew. The rolls of the petals were mesmerizing and hypnotized Yohan, who stood closer to examine the rose and caught a whiff of its fragrance.
It was a light and comforting aroma that eased the tension of the body and the brain.
Seeing his trance, the woman giggled and told him "You like this garden, right? No figure, our one and only colleague with 'The Florist' Spirit personally grooms this entire garden."
Yohan nodded in amazement, as the size of the garden no doubt made it a challenging task to cater to the needs of the flora for an entire team, even more so for a single person.
"It's the pride of The Spirit Academy, as it has endured from the founding of this institution to this current day..." She said with a prideful expression on her face as she put her hand on her chest.
The two resumed walking.
"When was the Academy founded?" Yohan answered with eyes that shined with curiosity.
"As far as I know, it was founded about 3 centuries ago. Originally, this was a heavily religious school that trained the clergy in the theology of the Divine Spirit but as it grew in prominence, our teachings were extended to the common populace and taught them how to utilize their Spirits"
She continued.
"The Academy was founded by the great scholar Nabil. He received great insight from 'The Treasure of Our Land' and concurrently founded this sacred institution of learning. From the very first day, we have always been committed to making this a safe and sterile place for study, and even if the political situation has changed much since our first days, I can guarantee we have maintained the same values as those of our founder."
Yohan realized the Academy was a big deal, but it seemed like it was even more renowned than he thought.
There was one small inquiry he had regarding her words.
"What is the 'Treasure of Our Land'?" He asked her.
"It is exactly as it says, but what it is, however, I wouldn't be able to tell you, and I am not sure anyone actually knows. It is simply said that this treasure, whether it exists or not, was the reason for both our past prosperity and now, the disaster that is befalling our land. It's a metaphysical 'thing' that transcends human intent and will. Our founder, despite claiming that he possessed knowledge regarding it, didn't offer any details at all." She responded with raised eyebrows and a shadow of doubt over her face as if she was recounting a children's fairy tale.
"On that note, I don't think I have introduced myself to you, have I?" She asked him.
Yohan shook his head, and she struck a strange pose and as if she was reciting a script she has learned long ago "I, am the professor of the Special Recruits Class of the oh-so-great Spirit Academy and I offer personalized teachings to the geniuses and future bigshots of the Muzdahir Kingdom. Being the wielder of the extremely rare Spirit 'The Elemental', I can control the elements! See! I, of course, am the famous Naima!"
As she was performing her introduction, she ignited a fire in her hand and then extinguished it with water, which she then turned to ice. Afterward, she vaporized the ice and shaped the vapor into a fast-spinning vortex.
The show of elements was amazing, but Naima's earlier awkward introduction outweighed the magical show and left Yohan with a poker face.
...
As she looked to his underwhelmed face, Naima coughed repeatedly and her face flushed "Well, a-anyways. I am basically your teacher. Come on, let me take you to the dormitories where you can settle your belongings down..."
The dormitory building was a wide 2-floor structure that had a few towers piercing high.
It was beige and brown and heavily ornamented with symmetrical mosaics and thin pillars that formed into gates.
In the center of it was a large square where he could see people playing, reading, and....fighting?
Two people that seemed older than him were facing each other with wooden swords in their hand.
The two sprinted at each other and struck out their swords, clashing together, producing a *BAM* sound, and pushing the two back.
They were at a stalemate but after dozens of sword strikes and successful parries one of them hit the heel of their opponent, causing him to fall and they pointed their sword to the other one's head and proclaimed "I win!"
The 'loser' on the ground stood up angrily and exclaimed "That was a cheap move. I ask for a rematch."
Meanwhile, Yohan was looking over, dumbfounded at this scene of two people essentially beating each other up in a 'sacred place of learning'.
Naima, who was next to him, burst out laughing and said "Well, we allow duels if the two or more parties involved are consenting so you'd better get used to it."
She then entered the square, attracting the attention of the students, and exclaimed "Kids, would you keep the fighting for later?"
The two who were fighting earlier anxiously paused in their tracks and shakily pronounced "Y-YES, TEACHER N-NAIMA, WE'LL STOP!"
Yohan, who was still on the sidelines, heard a group of students behind him whispering.
"That's Naima, the fearsome demoness teacher of the Special Recruits. I feel pity for those students, even if they're all geniuses."
'Demoness? Fearsome? That doesn't much like the awkward person from earlier...' Yohan had a bad premonition and gulped.
Naima, who separated the students, came back to him and smiled.
Weirdly, her eyes, which previously looked comforting and happy, now seemed a whole lot scarier.
"Let's get going, shall we?" She said.
Yohan nodded and climbed up the stairs of the dormitory building, finding themselves in a narrow and long corridor lit by torches.
There were various doors, and they all had nameplates with the name of the student currently living in them.
After a while of navigating through those corridors, he found a door that had 'Yohan Yerzog' written on the nameplate and the two stopped.
Naima passed him a key and she told him "Well, we don't have any strict rules. Two bell rings from now is lunch time, and then find a student to lead you to the building where the common classes are held."
"At the 18th bell ring of the day, or the 8th bell ring from now, it will be dinner time in the cafeteria, which is right next to the dormitories. Oh, and please avoid going out of your room after dinner time."
Yohan nodded and thanked her.
She smiled at him and then she went on her way, disappearing through the corridors.
Yohan took the key and inserted it in the keyhole, turning and twisting before the door would open, revealing his living facilities in the Academy.
The room had very simple decoration, consisting of a bed, a cabinet, a desk with a mirror and a bathroom.
As he put down his body on the mattress, he found it to be quite comfortable and stretched his body on the oversized bed.
'Second bell ring from now, huh?' Yohan thought to himself.
He decided on having some shuteye before lunchtime, as waking up would perhaps make this feel a bit more real for him.