Chereads / Curious Case: the Magician / Chapter 3 - CHAPTER 3: A MAZE WITH NO EXIT

Chapter 3 - CHAPTER 3: A MAZE WITH NO EXIT

Great. Just great. If forgetting my magic wasn't bad enough, it feels like I'm still in the process of forgetting everything else, too. Case in point: I just realized I don't even remember where the dorm is.

Actually, scratch that—I don't even remember the name of this academy. I just know that I'm supposed to be here.

So here I am, wandering around the school grounds, looking for anything—literally anything—that might help me.

Maybe a sign, a friendly face, a map? Heck, I'd even settle for an arrow scribbled in chalk pointing the way. But this massive academy? Empty. Completely, eerily empty.

When I first stepped out of the classroom, I didn't think much of it. But now that I've been wandering for a good while, it's starting to gnaw at me.

There's no one here. No friends chatting in the hallways, no students rushing to their next classes.

Even Emily, the girl I just met, was a good distance away from the classroom. Was it always this quiet between classes? Maybe I'd been too lost in thought to notice anyone before.

Whatever the case, my goal now was simple: find someone—anyone—who could help me figure out where the dorm is. And where I am. And what on earth I'm even supposed to be doing here. I could've asked Emily earlier, but nooo, I had to let my embarrassment and scrambled thoughts get the better of me.

So, off I went, starting what I could only describe as my "Great Adventure to Nowhere." One classroom after another, I peeked inside, hoping to find a soul who could help me. But no luck.

The place was so deserted it felt like I was wandering through a ghost town.

Seriously, who designs a university so massive and labyrinthine that students are at risk of getting lost in its endless corridors? A map. That's all I'm asking for. Just one little map.

Finally, after what felt like half an hour of aimless searching, I spotted someone. My savior! They were just turning a corner up ahead. I don't know what divine intervention led me here, but I wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.

"Hey, friend!" I shouted, sprinting toward them. My pace slowed as I got closer—I wasn't about to repeat my earlier tumble and make a fool of myself again.

The figure didn't seem to hear me at first, so I tried again, this time a bit softer: "Hey, friend! Stop!"

That did the trick. The person—a boy about my age—stopped in his tracks and began turning around. By the time I reached him, I was gasping for air, panting out, "Thank God I found someone!"

The boy raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled by my dramatic entrance.

I took a moment to catch my breath before blurting out, "Hey, do you know where the dorm is?"

His expression shifted to one of mild confusion. "Are you a freshman?" he asked, glancing at me like I was some kind of rare specimen. "Don't you have a class in, like, 20 minutes?"

'Oh. So I have a class in 20 minutes. Good to know.' I thought

But I couldn't exactly tell him the truth, could I? "Hi, I don't remember my own name or where I'm supposed to be, and I think someone erased my memories. Help?" Yeah, no. Time to improvise.

"Yeah, but I really need to go to the bathroom," I lied, hoping he'd accept the excuse.

He didn't. "If it's the bathroom you want, there's one right outside your next classroom," he said, his tone a mix of helpfulness and suspicion.

Great. More things I didn't know. I thought

My brain scrambled for another excuse. "Uh, yeah, but I just really like the dorm's bathroom more," I said weakly.

The boy gave me a look that screamed What is wrong with you? I couldn't blame him. Even I wanted to smack myself for coming up with something so ridiculous.

After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, he sighed and pointed toward a distant corner. "Go to that corner and think about the dorm when you turn it," he said cryptically.

I blinked at him, confused. "Think about the dorm? What does that even mean—"

But before I could finish, he was gone. Vanished. One moment he was standing there, and the next he'd disappeared into thin air.

I spun around, looking for any sign of where he'd gone. Nothing. Just like before, people were vanishing left and right.

And then it hit me: Of course people are disappearing—it's an academy of magic and science.

Shouldn't this kind of thing be obvious to me by now? Clearly, my years of studying magic hadn't prepared me for even the simplest of magical phenomena.

Sighing, I trudged toward the corner he'd pointed out, muttering to myself about how much I hated riddles. "Think about the dorm," I repeated under my breath. "What kind of nonsense—"

The moment I turned the corner, it felt like I'd stepped through a veil.

The once-silent academy erupted with noise—students chatting, footsteps echoing, the hum of life. I blinked in surprise, finding myself standing right in front of the dormitory gates.

Well, at least that worked.

But now came the next challenge: finding my room.

Just as I was about to start looking for someone to ask, someone bumped into me.

"Sorry, dude," the stranger said as we both stepped back.

I turned to see a boy about my height with hair so bright and purple it could probably be seen from space.

"Who dyes their hair purple?" I muttered under my breath, not realizing I'd said it loud enough for him to hear.

"I do," he replied, smirking as he tapped his forehead.

What. Can he read minds? My heart skipped a beat. Quickly, I tried to clear my thoughts. My mind is empty, my mind is empty, my mind is empty…

He chuckled. "Relax. I can't read minds. It's just written all over your face. Happens all the time."

"Oh," I said, feeling both relieved and embarrassed.

"Anyway, sorry again for bumping into you," he said, waving a hand dismissively.

"No, no, it's fine. I was kind of in the way," I replied, forcing a polite smile.

"Well, catch you later!" he said, starting to jog away.

"Wait!" I called after him. "Do you know where I can find my room?"

He stopped, turning back to look at me. "Bro, I'd help you, but I'm super late for something. Maybe next time?"

And with that, he disappeared around a corner, leaving me standing there, frustrated.

Not again.

As I stood there, trying to figure out my next move, a voice—soft but clear—spoke directly into my ear: "Just think about how you got to the dorms."

Startled, I spun around, looking for the source of the voice. But there was no one there.

"Great," I muttered. "Now I'm hearing voices, too."

Still, I figured I might as well try it. Closing my eyes, I focused on the memory of walking to the dorms, picturing the path I'd taken.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of a door. My door.

Well, at least something was going right for once.