I'm not sure how much time passed as we stood in line slowly moving up towards the door, but eventually only Alex was left between the door and I. The Princess had just entered the classroom and Alex's demeanor shifted greatly.
"Almost our turn. I wonder what's happening in there..." Alex wonders aloud, looking over his shoulder at the door.
"I'm not sure, but I think you should brace yourself."
He turns back to me and nods with a smile.
"Thank you for your concern."
"More like a warning, but take it however you want."
Grinning even wider, he turns away from me and inhales deeply. Seems like he took my 'concern' to heart. Maybe I should do the same.
Moments later the professor calls from inside the classroom.
"Next!"
Alex walks forward immediately.
"Wish me luck!" He turns back to me briefly as he walks.
"Hold your stomach."
His brow furrows as he disappears into the room.
Another round of waiting I suppose, this time with no company. Wait a second. The Princess was done very quickly wasn't she? Normally it took two or three minutes before Professor Jackson called another person inside, but that was only half a minute at the very most.
Before I can finish that thought, I hear him again.
"Next!"
Even faster this time. I walk toward the door and push through.
"Ah! You again, welcome back." Professor Jackson greets me with a goofy smile.
"Different than you remember?" He asks as I walk to him. He's sitting at a small table slightly away from the door.
"Yes, it definitely is." Last time the room was large and empty, but now I can't even see how large the room is. Surrounding us are pitch black curtains that block all sight, and limit the area to a much smaller size. There's also no suffocation pressure which is a relief.
The professor motions for me to sit across from him. As I sit, he pulls out a few sheets of paper and a pencil from somewhere below the table and hands them to me.
"Please fill these out first."
"Okay."
I look over the papers and am surprised to see that it's just a basic questionnaire. It's long, but not a test so I'm relieved.
As I begin to answer the questions, Professor Jackson pulls something interesting from below the table. It's an orb made of what looks to be the same material as the tablet that the dorm receptionist used to create our IDs.
"I didn't get your name last time." He says nonchalantly.
"My name is Morgan." I pull my gaze away from the orb for a moment to look up at him.
"It's nice to meet you Morgan, can I have you place your dominant hand here?" He gestures to the orb.
"Alright." I do as he says, and place my right hand on the orb. Nothing seems to happen at first, but soon I feel a light tugging sensation on my palm.
"Please stay still for a little while longer, it seems this won't take as long as usual." The Professor nods as he observes the orb.
We sit wordlessly for a few more seconds as the tugging gets gradually stronger. Though I'm certainly feeling it, there isn't any actual force being exerted which has me curious as to what exactly it could be pulling on.
"That should be enough, you can remove your hand." He finally says.
I look closely at the orb as I pull back, or to be more accurate, the area of the orb that my hand obscured. There's smaller silver orb inside that appears to be undulating strangely, which was most certainly not there before.
With the sudden realization of what he was having me do, I turn to the Professor.
"You could have just had me demonstrate my magic, instead of forcibly pulling it out." I lightly glare at him. Although there was no pain, it wasn't an exactly pleasant experience. Curiosity carried me through, but I'm not going to hide my displeasure now that it's over.
"Sadly my superiors would not be happy with just that." He answers with a sigh. "That's all I needed, if you step past the curtain there you can go take a seat with the rest of your class. Be warned, the mana density in there is high. Not as high as you encountered yesterday, but still out of the ordinary. Call for me if you can't handle it, but I have faith in you." The Professor smiles at me as he gestures toward the curtain to his right.
"I understand. Thank you for the warning." I slowly part the curtains and walk through while glancing back at the orb containing my magic. It doesn't feel good to just leave it trapped in there, but I guess I have no choice.
He wasn't joking. It's almost suffocating in here, I feel like the whole building is coming down on me. Off to my side, there are some bleachers set up haphazardly and a small amount of students are sitting on them. Among them are Alex, the Princess, the Prince, and the red-haired girl.
Alex waves to me seemingly unfazed by the pressure permeating the room. Most of the other students don't seem to be having it nearly as easy. I'm probably the one faring the best next to him, but that's really not saying much as I'm nearly convulsing and he's fit as a fiddle.
I shuffle over to him as I attempt to collect myself. The Princess is sitting a fair distance away, and I'm not sure she has noticed my presence which is somewhat of a relief.
"That was quick!" He smiles widely as I sit down on the lowest step, and scoots quickly to join me.
"...Yeah..." I manage to squeeze out a reply without letting the contents of my stomach come with it.
"Oh man you seem to be having a lot of trouble. Do you want some help?" Alex asks as if it's the simplest problem he has ever come across.
I nod in response and he immediately springs into action.
"Ok ok ok, here, follow my lead." He instructs me while changing his sitting posture to a more comfortable position
Alex then proceeds to instruct me on a meditation technique that my addled mind can hardly comprehend, let alone memorize. Luckily for me, my body is very good at imitating, so I somehow manage to follow along.
Although I'm too focused to notice, only a few more students join us on the bleachers. A few minutes after the sporadic flow stops, Professor Jackson enters as well from behind the curtain.