Previously, his use of the teleportation scroll was interrupted by a Stellarspeaker who had locked the space around him.
But this time, the scroll had activated without producing any teleportative force.
From this, it could be deduced that they were no longer on the original floating island or at least had moved beyond the teleportation range of the academy.
Hence, the possibility of reaching the teleportation array they used to arrive here and leaving was virtually nil.
"What do we do now?" Luna asked.
At that moment, the girl resembled a child who had done something wrong, afraid of being punished, her eyes filled with anxiety.
"We go back," Nathan replied succinctly, his response cutting through the tension with decisive simplicity.
...
Deep within the forest, the sound of dripping water in a cave emitted crisp, pattering noises.
Accompanying this were the rustling sounds of insects crawling about.
Deep underground, a glowing magic array shone like a portal to another world.
Countless insects of various kinds emerged from it, all emitting excited chirps, scrambling to crawl outwards.
Beside the magic array, an old wizard in a black robe continuously replenished the magic array with mana.
The wizard was very old, his wrinkles seeming to hide the rings of years.
"Has the connection point been severed?" he asked in a raspy voice, scarcely more pleasant than the insects' chirping.
Anthony appeared beside him, his face marked with confusion, asking, "Mentor, why sever the connection point? Couldn't you just control the insects to kill him directly?"
"That would lead to being discovered! I advise against doing so," the black-robed wizard replied, his expression grave, his tone imbued with rigor.
"What about Luna?" Anthony was almost roaring.
"You bring her back!" the wizard said emotionlessly.
Anthony exhaled deeply, "Yes! Thank you, mentor!"
"Don't let others see you."
"Understood!"
...
"The path is gone! How can it be gone?"
Luna stood in the center of the circular basement, frantically casting detect magic spell after spell, nearly driven to madness.
"Stop!" Nathan quickly intervened.
Luna, frustrated, stamped her foot.
"Doing this is pointless!" Nathan pondered.
"If I'm not mistaken, the staircase we walked wasn't real but rather something akin to a teleportation array or a piece of space magic equipment," he reasoned, recalling and deducing simultaneously.
Luna had a moment of realization: "Yes, that staircase was too clean; it doesn't belong here."
"The first time we went down, we used that staircase!!" Nathan gestured wildly in the air.
He was almost certain that the first circular basement they entered was not the observation station's basement.
And when they exited the first circular basement, they once again passed through that smooth staircase.
Then they arrived at a second circular basement.
However, upon their last exit, they traversed a mottled stone staircase.
Luna gasped in realization: "The first circular basement was a transfer station! It took us away from the floating island we came from and then connected us to this floating island!"
Nathan, stroking his chin, frowned: "That seems to be the case! It's a pity we didn't notice it at the time."
Luna asked, "So where are we now?" Nathan fell silent.
There are many floating islands, but those equipped with observation stations are at least named ones.
He took out his grimoire, exited the basement, and began to search.
However, the Nebula Academy had named at least a thousand floating islands.
Luna also came out and took out her grimoire to help search.
For a time, the basement was filled with the rustling sound of pages turning.
Just then, a wind shield suddenly sprang up around Luna.
Nathan turned sharply, just in time to see a beetle, the size of a thumb with a pointed snout, being repelled from Luna's body with malice.
It then charged towards Nathan.
Nathan released a small fireball, turning the creature into a tiny piece of char.
"It was the enchantment on my clothes!" Luna explained.
Nathan nodded, then slowly looked up.
To his horror, he saw the ceiling was crawling with those black beetles, densely packed together!
Luna screamed and ran towards the basement.
Then, with another scream, she grabbed her hair, retreated, and dashed out of the observation station like a madwoman.
In moments, countless black beetles were continuously crawling up from the stairs, layer upon layer.
Nathan threw out a magical lipstick, which he then activated with a spell to transform into a Flame Cloud, covering the entire staircase.
He sighed as he watched Luna being chased away by numerous flying insects.
But in the next moment, he too was driven out of the observation station by beetles falling like rain.
Insects from all directions pounced on him, striking against the flame shield with crackling sounds.
Nathan dared not stay a moment longer, sprinting back the way they had come, without looking back.
...
In the jungle, Anthony walked on the ground covered with slime and webs, surrounded by countless insects chirping joyfully, parting ways for him with every step he took.
Ahead, Luna struggled within a large cocoon.
Around him, layers of element shields enveloped him.
Anthony approached, peeled back the cocoon, and looked at Luna's wilted face.
"Anthony!" Luna opened her eyes.
Countless insects flew and circled around Anthony as if seeing their master.
Confusion shone in Luna's eyes.
"Luna! Come with me! I'll take you away from here!"
Anthony, with a heart full of pain, pulled out a pill, which upon closer inspection, was made of numerous tiny insects.
"No!" Luna's face twisted in fear! "I will never be like you!!"
Tears flowed from her eyes, her words laden with despair.
Anthony, holding the pill, brought it close to Luna's mouth.
His other hand shimmered with magical light, directly shattering the outermost wind shield.
Then, one after another, the element shields wrapping Luna began to fail.
"Anthony! I'm going to kill you!"
Fear filled Luna's eyes.
Anthony bent down, his face close to Luna's.
His tone was unexpectedly gentle, as if coaxing a child to take medicine: "You are mine, where could you possibly escape to? Come on, eat this, and then we can be together forever. Whatever you want, I'll give you..."
"And, I won't have to worry about you anymore, nor you about me, how nice that would be..."
As he spoke, he pried open Luna's mouth and pushed the pill, composed entirely of tiny insects, into her mouth.
At that moment, Anthony's face revealed an uncontrollable excitement.
...
In the Nebula Academy conference hall, the atmosphere was tense and serious, as if a storm was brewing on the horizon.
The spacious room was dominated by a massive mahogany table at its center.
The academy's senior members, each clad in black robes with grave expressions, sat around it, their gazes occasionally sparking with intensity as they met.
Dean Jones occupied the head seat, his gaze sharp as an eagle's, sweeping over everyone present.
"Since Frank has put forth his proposition, let's hear your thoughts..." Jones's voice was steady, nodding towards a middle-aged wizard seated to his right.
Frank stood up, holding a thick stack of documents.
Suddenly, the conference room's doors burst open as Lam rushed in like a gust of wind.
"We don't need reforms right now, Lord Jones, our people have been trapped in high-60, a total of six youngsters, in a critical situation. I need manpower."
Lam was panting heavily, his fists clenched.
"Alright, Lam, catch your breath," Jones responded, unruffled, "I've just heard about the disappearance in high-60. But do you really think there's any danger in those woods of high-60?"
A burst of laughter erupted from the group.
Jones signaled a servant to bring Lam a glass of fruit soda before turning back, "Frank, please continue."
Frank, with a smile at Lam, then began to read from the documents in his hands.
With a "bang!" Lam stormed out of the room.
"No, Jones! I have to go see for myself," Cliff stood up from his seat, his voice tinged with anxiety.
"Cliff, do you realize how important this meeting is?" Jones remained calm and collected.
Frank, with a troubled expression, said, "Lord Jones, my next point involves the resource reforms of Sky Sanctuary. If Lord Ralph isn't here..."
He trailed off, but his implication was clear.
Cliff had no choice but to sit back down, whispering something to a middle-aged wizard next to him.
"Professor Mand, this plan also requires your cooperation!"
Frank's eyebrows slightly raised as he nodded towards Mand, who was sitting beside Cliff, offering a polite smile.
...
During an extracurricular activity for the space magic department, Eris was explaining magical knowledge to the students.
A magic origami crane flew from afar, circling above her head before landing on her shoulder.
Eris glanced at the origami crane but chose not to open it immediately.
She decided to continue addressing the question at hand, as another student approached her for guidance.
It wasn't until ten minutes later that she unfolded the crane, and Sophia's anxious voice emerged from it: "Nathan is in trouble, come quickly!"
Eris's eyes widened in shock, her face turning pale.
With a single step forward, she entered a portal.
When she reappeared, she was already standing directly on the teleportation array of a floating island.