The first years dormitory stood right beside the academic building, towering and immense. It was a huge, circular structure with 10 floors, surrounded with teleportation slots rather than stairs.
Having had enough of today's unexpected events, Lukas made his way to the teleportation slots spread across the ground floor. Each slot was big enough for two to three people.
He stood in front of one of the slots and tapped the number 45. It was hard to believe that there were over a thousand rooms. Suddenly, an empty slot appeared with a handprint. He placed his hand on it.
[ Activating] a metallic voice ringed.
The teleportation circle beneath his feet activated, and in a flash, he disappeared, finding himself inside the apartment. It would be his new home for the next couple of years.
He took a moment to survey the small space, noticing another circle carved underneath a section, which would likely be responsible for his exit since there were no doors, except for the bathroom and the kitchen with a redirt stove.
On the other side, there was a small section with sand, and in the middle stood a wooden puppet resembling a scarecrow.
As he gazed further, he finally spotted what he was looking for - the rule books. They were neatly placed on the desk, about three of them. Lukas nodded in satisfaction and placed his bag on the soft bed.
'It's much better than expected' he thought, Looking at the bathroom which was also the washroom.
" Let's freshen up, before reading those rules" Deciding that he stood up.
The bathroom was as expected. Not too decent nor was it too shabby.
After freshening up, he laid down, holding a book, and started reading slowly.
A couple of hours passed by, and he remained engrossed in the books the entire time. He was becoming somewhat familiar with how the academy worked. It was a tough job to hide its key features, considering how famous and grand it was.
But as he read through the books, his thoughts began to change. The sheer number of facilities mentioned and their availability was quite shocking.
Finishing the last page of the final book, he stood up and stretched his hands and feet. He then sat back down on the chair with a mana pen and the practice sheet, ready to begin his magic practice.
The practice sheet was a revolutionary invention for mages. In contrast to regular pages that become useless after one drawing, practice sheets are reusable. Simply flicking the page a couple of times makes the drawings disappear, thanks to the ink's connection to mana, ensuring sustainability.
It can also be used for research papers and practice for putting notes and that's what he was doing now.
"Okay, so the rules are quite simple: can't leave before 2nd year, can't enter restricted zones, and will get suits at the 2nd circle," he muttered, holding the pen.
"Easy enough. Now for the features available to new students."
"First and foremost is the Magicians Tower of Jelfs. Access is granted by paying credits, which change every second. By defeating illusions of monsters, one can automatically receive corresponding rewards from the Vault of Owsdin. The higher you climb, the greater the rewards."
Sorting through the information, he wrote down the key points under the title "Jelfs Tower," summarizing it in two lines.
"Can train there with soul gear"
Yes, after being reborn, he didn't have many opportunities to openly research with his soul gear. Now, the restrictions on using it without any care had been lifted.
" Oh yeah, The credit center next"
As the name implies, everything related to credits was there. In the academy, credits were everything, used for buying potions, relics, training chambers, and more.
Writing it down, the next feature was the Open Field Arena.
" Betting for credits"
Writing that down he can finally write down the main thing also the main attraction of the academy.
" Sigils library Of Magus!"
As the name implies, One can find various kinds of sigils here. This was his most important goal here.
"Sigils," the very core of a spell. Although not many were able to create them, there were currently over ten thousand, each with its own effects for altering spells.
The academy only taught certified stable sigils. If a student was interested in enhancing their magic, they could acquire additional sigils by purchasing them from the library with credit points or by combining different sigils.
"These three things will be good to focus on, I think," he muttered.
"First, the tower for training. Next, the arena to observe others' abilities. As for the rest, I'll think about them later."
Despite having restrictions as a new student there were for them twelve facilities available, Factions, Research unit, Alchemists, Golem Unit etc.
But those things held little value to him at the beginning. The only thing he was truly looking forward to were the "Elemental Chambers."
As the name suggests, one could comprehend the basic elements by feeling and sensing their essence through meditation.
As he pondered, he realized he had missed an important one. He quickly wrote it down.
"Gravity Chamber."
"Phew, with that, I guess I'm set for now. Training my traits from the start sounds good too. But sigils are what I should focus on first," he thought.
Traits, almost similar to elements, were rare to come by. Unlike the thousands of sigils available for elements, obtaining trait sigils was extremely difficult. The main reason being that it was challenging to visualize and create the necessary components for the sigils.
Another reason was that unlike basic elements, which had their corresponding effects on each other, traits were special and could easily blend with the elements.
---
With that goal in mind, his first priority was to earn credit points. He stood up and grabbed an apple from the kitchen, knowing it would be replenished daily along with necessary items like flour, wheat, and high-quality meat.
Finishing the apple in a couple of bites, he washed his face once again.
"Looking handsome as always," he muttered, admiring his own face for a couple of seconds.
Grabbing his empty bag, he stood at the teleportation area.
Every student had to obtain their own credit token from the center. He decided to take a stroll through the academy as well.
"If I'm lucky, I can visit the library and make some purchases," he muttered, placing his hand on the slot.
Activating the teleportation spell, he disappeared in a flash, arriving on the ground floor.
"Let's hope I get my credit token first and find some good ones," he thought, picking up his pace and heading towards the signboard displaying the map of the academy.
Locating the Credit Center, he started making his way towards it.
"Good, the library is on the way too. If I get the token quickly, I might be able to buy some sigils," he thought.
With that in mind, he increased his speed, taking in the architecture and the towering magicians' towers scattered throughout the academy.
These unnamed towers were none other than the hiding places of many secrets.
The owner of the tower changes every month, and another important thing is that they don't have a door!
It's like a mystery box. You have to find the portal, enter it, and explore the facility or seek guidance from the old professor. Many people form teams and search for the tower's portals.
"I also have to find this, don't I?" Just thinking about it makes him tired. These towers are irresistible even to professors, as they are filled with facilities focused on traits and the creation of corresponding sigils for spells.
As he continued walking, he arrived at one of the most crowded sections.
"The Sigils Library of Magus!"
A grand, towering building stood before him, with two huge knight statues guarding the big iron gates. The intricate designs on the statues were almost lifelike.
While everyone thought they were statues, Lukas knew very well that they were golems.Just remembering the immense power they displayed, annihilating dozens of Star Behemoths when the academy fell, sent chills down his spine.
But he knew that in order to survive, he had to surpass even that level of power.
"More than that, I have to go far beyond. I have to stop them all," he strengthened his resolve and started heading towards the credit center.
Unbeknownst to him, the scrutinizing glance he had given the statues had already caught the attention of a certain ancient creature.
A smile appeared on the figure's face perched atop the statue. They gazed at the departing figure heading towards the credit center.
"A new student, huh? Not bad."
[To be continued...]