So time passed...
Every day, Cleo was raped, and without exception she was compelled to have multiple orgasms. Even when Cleo didn't want to, her body didn't obey and continued to make her see the paradise that a villain's cock can provide her.
.
.
.
So the trip finally came to an end.
.
.
Life on the flying airship would be monotonous and boring if not for the presence of women, at least for me.
Moreover, although there was a magnificent view beneath the airship, it eventually became dull, to the point where some students even felt nauseous.
Since the deck was crowded with all the apprentices, it was not a comfortable place to stay. But fortunately, around noon the next day, the flying airship arrived at its destination, in the region of Lucario.
It was a colossal fortress built in the midst of the mountains, completely surrounded by dangerous, towering peaks that stretched into the sky. Clouds drifted within the deep valleys, ensuring that no one could pass through them to catch a glimpse of the ground below. I tried looking down through the window, but even with the aid of the virtual laboratory, it was impossible to see the depths.
The flying airship docked at the first floor of a massive tower several kilometers high, located in the center of one of the mountains.
The entire tower was constructed of enormous iron beams, each at least half a meter thick. Although it looked crude and simple, it exuded a sense of solidarity that made it seem indestructible.
The flying airship did not land on the ground but hovered beside the tower, appearing as small as a fly compared to a dragon when measured against the size of the tower. A wooden plank was placed between the airship and the tower, allowing the apprentices to disembark. The wind swirled violently around the flying airship, creating a small windstorm.
Thus, all apprentices disembarking here had to endure the strong wind while walking across the trembling wooden plank to reach the ground. As a result, every apprentice's heart trembled along with the plank as they crossed.
I noticed that it wasn't just my airship near the tower. Looking toward the horizon, there were hundreds more also hovering in the air, seemingly carrying students as well.
Additionally, I saw countless workers within the fortress.
Whether it was an extremely muscular guy carrying huge wooden logs and walking through the field filled with students, or the guards carrying bows and arrows on their backs and spears in their hands while patrolling the top of the outer wall, most of them were not human. Some had lion heads, others tiger heads, and some wolf heads. They were not human.
Humans represented only a small portion of the population in this place, and most of them were supervisors.
Looking at these weak human supervisors, some of whom were waving their whips and yelling at a fierce-looking "beastman" far larger than themselves, Eclivel couldn't help but be impressed by their courage.
Judging by the muscles of these beastmen, perhaps they could easily crush the heads of these supervisors with a single hand, even without using any weapons! Yet, these supervisors showed no signs of fear; instead, they held their heads high, yelling and reprimanding these beastmen as if they were humble ants.
Eclivel swallowed hard and remembered the magic a mage had previously cast on the wild hawks, completely obliterating the creatures and turning them into ashes. That made him understand the situation on a deeper level.
It wasn't the strength of one's arms that mattered but rather the magic coursing through one's veins.
As we got closer to the ground, something resembling a small city appeared on the horizon. It was a colossal encampment. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tents of various shapes and sizes were arranged, forming a kind of improvised maze, and the place buzzed with life.
My attention was immediately drawn to the people in the camp. Most seemed to be around our age—thirteen or fourteen years old. Acolytes, like us, with curious and eager gazes. They wandered between the tents or stood in groups, observing their surroundings. Their expressions varied: some looked fascinated, while others had exhaustion written all over their faces.
I made a quick estimate and realized there were hundreds of them, perhaps more, scattered throughout the camp. It was an organized chaos.
As soon as we landed and disembarked from the airship, the three white-robed mages, led by Will, positioned themselves in front of the group.
Will, with his rigid posture and authoritative voice, began to speak: "Well! Little cockroaches! Welcome to the intermediate stop of our journey, the Lucario Tower!" His voice cracked like the snap of a whip, and I could almost feel the tense gazes of the other acolytes around me.
"Everything you decide regarding your future academies will be resolved here. Afterward, you will return with your mentors to practice magic at your respective institutions."
Will paused, letting his words linger in the air before continuing, this time with an even darker tone: "Now, listen carefully: you may explore all the academies represented here. However, once you sign a contract to join one, there is no turning back! Anyone who breaks a contract will be obliterated. We will cut off your head and place it on a spike in the center of the camp as an example!"
A chill ran down my spine, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw some of the acolytes around me turn pale. Will's words were as sharp as a blade, and his promise of punishment was clear.
However, before the uncomfortable silence could settle, a jovial and lively voice broke the tension:
"Haha! Will! Late again this time, huh?"
I turned toward the voice and saw a peculiar figure emerging from one of the larger tents in the camp. It was a man with a golden beak—a duck-man, dressed in a white robe similar to Will's. He walked toward us with a relaxed smile on his face, a stark contrast to Will's seriousness.
"Don't scare the lovely rookies like that, Will!" he laughed.
Will sighed and replied, "There were some difficulties along the way. We were attacked by wild hawks."
"Ah, I see..." the duck-man responded, nodding in understanding before turning to our group with a jovial smile.
"Well, rookies! Follow me to the camp!" He gestured, beckoning us to follow him. "You can call me Doger, from the beautiful Blutil Tower. Trust me, if you're choosing an academy, Blutil Tower is definitely the best choice!"
He sounded like a market vendor trying to sell his product. Something about his exaggerated enthusiasm made me suspicious, but I chose not to show it.
As we followed Doger toward the heart of the camp, I noticed that the white-robed mages, including Will, had separated from the group. They probably had more important matters to attend to.
The environment around us grew even noisier. Shouts, laughter, and the sound of animated conversations filled the air. The chaos reminded me of the markets from my previous world, with voices blending together and people trying to grab each other's attention. Some vendors were advertising scrolls, magical ingredients, and even small artifacts, while academy representatives stood at booths, trying to attract acolytes with promises of power and glory.
As I observed, my heart began to race. This was the beginning of something big, and I knew that every decision from now on would have a profound impact on my future.
We were led by Doger to the heart of the camp, where an immense, pure white tent was erected. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Around it floated bright, strange, and almost hypnotic lights. They seemed like decorations, but there was something about them that exuded mystery.
I couldn't resist my curiosity and approached, narrowing my eyes. "Virtual laboratory, analyze this thing."
["Decoding..."]
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the virtual laboratory processed the data.
["Beep!"]
["Executing..."]
The information came, but to my surprise, the analysis showed... nothing. It was as if the tent and those lights didn't exist. There were no patterns to decipher, no traces to follow.
"How is that possible?" I murmured, frowning. My eyes returned to the tent, observing the patterns that seemed to twist and shift every second. The whole thing felt alive.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed in my ears, something I couldn't identify. It was as if the air around me was distorted. The lights that had seemed harmless before began to bend and pulse, and then everything went dark.
I felt my body being pulled by an irresistible force, as if I were being sucked into an infinite black hole. A visceral panic consumed me. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. My muscles were paralyzed, my mind plunged into a terrifying void. It felt like I was being obliterated, reduced to nothing.
And then...
"Eclivel! Eclivel! What's wrong with you?"
A strong slap on my shoulder snapped me back. My entire body trembled, and I suddenly woke up, gasping and sweating. I was on the ground, my vision still blurry.
I looked around. The other acolytes were standing, attentively listening to Doger's speech, which continued as if nothing had happened. Apparently, no one had noticed my fall except for Styg, who stood beside me with a worried expression.
"What the hell was that?" I thought, trying to catch my breath. I glanced at the tent again, but now it looked as harmless as before, as if everything had been nothing more than a hallucination.
"Virtual laboratory, replay the previous situation!"
["Beep!"]
A pale blue holographic screen materialized in front of me, showing images of what had happened. I relived it all: the distorted sound, the lights, the absolute void.
And then the warning messages appeared:
["An anomaly has been identified."]
["An immediate inspection is proposed!"]
["Staying away from this location is advised!"]
["The host body has returned to normal."]
My throat went dry, and my heart felt like it would burst from my chest. "So that was real... or something close to it," I thought. If Styg hadn't shaken me, I might have been left there, ignored, lost in a place I couldn't even describe.
I looked at Styg, who scratched his head awkwardly. "Man, you were acting weird, so I woke you up. I wasn't gonna leave you behind."
I swallowed hard, staring at the tent again. Something about it was wrong—dangerously wrong. But now I knew I needed to be even more careful.
"Brutal, literally..." I thought. Every step in this world seemed to carry greater risks than the last.
Taking a deep breath, I said to Styg, "Thanks, man. I won't forget this."
He just gave me an awkward smile. "No problem. But next time, don't go acting all crazy, okay?"
With that, I adjusted my posture, looked out at the camp ahead, and prepared myself.
...
1831 Words