An array of identical airships floated close to the academy walls, each one slowly drifting towards the center, lowering itself beside the foldable bridge.
These airships paled in comparison to the one Northern had boarded to the academy, both the first and second time.
Those were built with the capacity to take five hundred passengers, while these could only take a hundred.
Ten of them lined up in front of the academy. Students walked on the bridge and climbed aboard their assigned ships. When the seventh ship came into place, Northern and his cohort also boarded.
It didn't matter whether one was joining the contest or not—every student was mandated to leave. Of course, it wasn't compulsory, but they would be missing a lot.
Northern couldn't help but think about Eleina and her stubborn, rage-fueled banter withe the forgemaster.
