The ship creaks softly as it jolted in a light motion signaling that it was back in operation. They had been stuck in the middle of the sea and the stillness of the surrounding accompanied by nothing but darkness make that night specifically eerie. Yet the moment the ship started moving, life came back to them. The tension building up lessen when they finally heard the familiar sound of sea waves and the churning of the ship's machine.
"My dear passengers, we were highly sorry for all the inconvenience you have been through in this journey..."
The mechanical sound reverberated but no one was able to pinpoint where exactly the recording is coming from. The voice sounded as if the speaker was talking from all sides, surrounding them. A short interference after that, they heard a sound of static as if something was wrestling control on the microphone. When the announcement resumed a differe
Not too far away, Audrey saw a group of people lining up. She walks towards someone from the line to ask what they were up to. "Pardon me milady, but may I ask why you guys are falling in line here? I beseech you to please guide me along as I came here alone and I am new here." Audrey decided to ask around since she basically knew nothing about this place. With an earnest look, she waited for the lady across her to answer. Yet, instead of answering her question the lady creased his eyebrows together and shoved her away. "I don't have time to spare for the likes of you. You better stop messing around with me." The lady waves her hand impatiently. She was a true beauty and the frown on her face did not make her look any less beautiful. Possessing both brain and beauty partnered with prestigious upbringing, this comely lady was very familiar with this kind of propaganda. Countless hot-blooded young men had been pursuing her all this time a
Of course, the 'accomplice' was no other than Prince Niccoli. He was intending to look for the man who saves him back on the ship during the attack of the harpies. Hoping to guide him along with the entrance exam as an act of reciprocation from saving him. Since he noticed that the young lad seems to be unaffiliated, he hopes to help him especially because it looks like it was his first time going on Iridos. That is why he was so adamant about lending him a hand. If possible, he even wants to make friends with him. Upon arriving at the entrance of Iridos, he immediately departed with his prince brother since it still has something to deal with. Deciding that it was best for him to start looking around at the area were the fresh buds of the school were usually teleported, he made his way there. Fortunately, he made the right call because as soon as he arrived at the area he spotted Andrew the moment he looked at the fresh buds of the Iridos falling in line to take the entrance examin
"Ohh stony stone. Please be good to me. You have to cooperate or else... I will go and smash you right here, right there." In that instant, the prism started to emit a faint light, gradually turning into red! "Phew! That was a close call. " Audrey heaved a sigh of relief upon witnessing the prism radiating red light. The light was so faint that it pales in comparison to those light emissions from the previous examinee, but that was the least of her concern. At this point, she cannot afford to be choosey, at least she was now eligible to be a student of Iridos. Yet, before she could rejoice for her achievement, the red light faded! Horror struck her and she almost plucked her hair out of frenzy. "What the heck happened to my red light!!!! It is definitely there, I swear!" She hurriedly explained herself to the test administrator who was resp
Thankfully, the pavement was only one way and it led to a single destination and no other so Audrey and Nero would have less to worry about getting lost. Meanwhile, the moment they arrived, the first thing that greeted their eyes was the tall white buildings. This cluster of towering buildings rose from the ground, reminiscent of a crouching behemoth prowling in the mountain. Its sheer grandeur bestowed it with a natural air of majesty and authority. Likewise, the place was already crowded and this made them even more excited. It did not take that long before Nero took the lead and he took the girl to one fine-looking building nearby. Standing next to its archway, Audrey saw a signboard hanging on it. Using neat calligraphy, the word 'BRUJERIA' was written on it. Probably indicating the name of this place. From the current look of it, this seems to be the commercial center of the school since there were various goods that were being sold inside. Cauldrons of all sizes, v
The room where they will be staying was relatively large in size. There is a total of three double-deck beds placed next to the walls. The double-deck bed at the far-end corner of the room is already occupied by the two students who came before them. Crossdressing to hide her identity, Audrey decided to pretend as a young man to avoid the arranged marriage that her clan agreed upon on her behalf. She was supposed to wed Prince Niccoli's older brother; Prince Nike. The two initially had a good rapport. In fact, Audrey even had a crush on the said prince, but that is not enough reason for her to jump into the concept of marriage right away. Being forced by her own family to marry a man that she was not truly in love with, Audrey made her mind and ran away from their residence. Then with her cat, they opt to try their luck and start their quest towards Iridos. Now, here they are standing awkwardly stiff as a statue not daring to even touch the door frame. An imaginary co
"Hmmm. I wonder how does the last one look like??? Maybe, it's not really a bad idea to be sharing a room with these guys. At the very least, I will be able to have my eyes feast on these beautiful creatures to my heart's content"The small voice inside Audrey said and an internal, let alone say, evil laugh issued as soon as this thought crossed her head. On the other hand, the double-deck beds are arranged in a pattern of inverted "U". Allan and Steve already occupied the bed located at the far end corner of the room. Now the remaining options are the beds at either side of the room. Niccoli chose the one on the left side, lower deck. Since Nike will be staying with them as well, he should be occupying the upper deck of the bed. On the other hand, left with no choice, Audrey settle herself at observing the wooden cabinet next to the double-deck bed at the right side. She will be sharing the double-deck bed on the right side of the room with their last dorm mate. Before
After a while, Prince Nike also arrived and he handed them a piece of paper. "Those are the things that you have to prepare for this school's term. Since we just arrived today, they will be giving us time until tomorrow to gather them. " "Brother, why are you the one distributing it? Have you applied for prefect?" "Nope! It's just that on my way here, I met the prefect responsible for handing the guidelines for this school's term. Since I know that he was a busy person, I took the initiative to hand the guidelines to our dorm mates upon learning that he will be heading on our place." "I see... Right! Have you bought your school stuff already? Why don't we go together at MAJIKA with Su Yan so we can show him around?" Niccoli thought that his idea was great but Audrey almost cough out the water that she was drinking at that time. "Why don't you just go shopping with your brother? Why do you want to keep dragging me???"
With a total of 100 mage coins at hand, Audrey started on her shopping spree. She and Niccoli visited different emporiums. 'Magus Athenaeum' was written majestically at the entrance of the first shop that they visited. As a new student, obviously they have to buy the book for their studies. So it is normal that their first stop will be a book store. There are a total of six books listed on the paper given to them and they look around the library for these specific books. Meanwhile,the library was divided into different sections and they were neatly separated by subject. The bookshelves for Herbology and Beasticology for the study of mystical plants and magical beast respectivelywere placed side by side. While the elementary guide for the basics of Apothecary is located on the third shelf. On the other hand, the creepy looking books for Arts of Voodoo were at the corner of the st
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou