Silent Forest

The airship sped silently through the sky.

Arro had originally planned to ask Big Brother Desi about the academy while on the road, but after realizing that the airship might be a living creature, he could only abandon that idea.

The blue skies and white clouds outside the window were certainly beautiful, but Arro had flown on airplanes in his previous life. After only a few glances, he was already tired of the view.

So he simply copied Desi, covered his head with a piece of clothing, closed his eyes, and rested.

Bang!

The placid airship suddenly shuddered, and Arro's eyes flew open.

Had they finally arrived?

Arro looked through the window beside him, only to see towering trees everywhere. It was impossible to tell what time it was.

Whoosh!

That heavy sound came again from all around them, making Arro's skin tremble faintly with the vibration.

"We've arrived at Silent Forest. Please disembark as soon as possible, you two students!"

The side opened again. Desi yawned, picked up his luggage, and stood.

"Arro, let's go."

It really gave him that strange feeling of reporting to university all over again.

"Okay."

Arro picked up the Knight's Longsword, slung his bundle over his back, and followed Desi out of the airship.

"Big Brother Desi, are we at the academy already? It doesn't really look like it around here."

Don't tell me there's another test waiting for us?

Arro was getting a little fed up with these tests coming one after another.

"We're already here. Take out your card and stay close to my footsteps."

We're here already?

Imitating Desi, Arro held his card in front of him and curiously looked around.

There was not a single building in sight. Aside from the footsteps of the two of them, there was not even the slightest stray sound around them. It did not look like an academy at all, did it?

Desi led Arro behind an ancient, towering tree. Once the tree's shadow enveloped them both, the metal cards in their hands suddenly emitted a faint glow.

Desi suddenly asked, "Arro, do you know the best way to guard against Anomaly Spaces?"

"Huh?"

Arro looked at Desi in confusion. He truly did not know the answer to that question.

"The best way to guard against Anomaly Spaces..."

"Is to be inside an Anomaly Space!"

Whoosh!

Two black holes suddenly appeared in the ground, and Arro and Desi swiftly fell into them.

Then—

Light burst forth!

"Welcome to—Owl Wizard Academy!"

Boom—!

A dense cacophony suddenly exploded around them. Only after a moment did the roar gradually fade, and as it did, Arro was actually able to distinguish the cries of different insects and birds within it.

Sunlight shone upon him again, while cries of hawkers rose one after another from all around.

"Basic stamina potions, cheap sale!"

"Moon Grass produced in Different Dimension No. 63! Discounts for bulk purchases!"

"Custom-made apprentice clothes, only 26 Silver Coins!"

"Any Elemental System apprentices heading to Anomaly Space No. 13 together?"

"Excuse me, make way."

A voice sounded from behind Arro. He hurriedly stepped forward a few paces to clear the way. Before long, a Young Man dressed in gray-black apprentice robes passed by and merged into the flow of people on the street ahead.

Arro looked behind him, only to find that directly behind him was a narrow dead-end alley.

"It's getting late. Let's hurry. You still don't have a place to stay, and it'll be troublesome if we arrive too late."

Arro hurried after him, curiously eyeing all sorts of strange things on either side as he asked, "Big Brother Desi, where are we going?"

As he walked, Desi explained, "Since you didn't arrive during the normal enrollment period, I can only take you to register at the Mission Hall."

"Once you've registered, they can arrange a room for you. Then I can hand over this mission as well."

Arro was interested in everything around him and desperately wanted to stop and have a proper look around.

But Desi had a point. The important thing now was to settle these trivial matters first. There would be plenty of time to learn about everything around him later.

The people around them were dressed much like Desi, and Desi walked quickly. Arro did not dare let his attention wander and followed closely behind him.

Before long, the two of them reached another dead-end alley.

"Arro, do you see that patch of shadow on the ground?"

Arro nodded uncertainly. "I see it."

"That's where Space Transfer happens. Through it, we can quickly reach many places in the academy."

Arro hesitantly looked ahead.

Why did this alley look exactly like the place where we appeared earlier?

Desi noticed Arro's confusion and explained, "All places capable of Space Transfer look more or less the same."

"We call places like this Corner Paths."

"Streets covered in Corner Paths are called Corner Streets."

"The same Corner Path can only be used again after an interval of three hours."

"So if you're in a hurry, you need to follow the Corner Street and look for the next Corner Path."

The same spot had a three-hour cooldown?

No wonder Desi had led him around for so long.

"Quick, stand on that patch of shadow."

Arro hurriedly followed. He carefully watched the ground and cautiously gathered every edge of his clothing, making sure not even a corner remained outside.

Once Arro was standing properly, Desi stamped his foot and chanted, "Aristides!"

Whoosh!

Arro and Desi fell into the ground once more.

After only a moment of dizziness, Arro looked up at his surroundings, only to discover that nothing around him had changed.

"Arro, let's go."

"Huh? Mm? Are we there already?"

Arro blankly followed behind Desi, looking around in confusion.

Did it fail?

Desi looked at Arro with amusement and smiled. "We're already here."

"We're here?"

Arro looked outside in puzzlement.

There were still people coming and going outside. Nothing had changed in the slightest from before.

Desi encouraged him, "Try taking two steps forward."

Arro hesitantly walked forward.

Boom—!

"I want to take the A-136 mission!"

"I worked so hard to finish that mission, so why did I only get this many Magic Stones?!"

"Hurry up, hurry up, I want to go back and sleep!"

An incomparably vast hall unfolded before Arro's eyes. Listening to the exceptionally clamorous noise and looking at the ceiling dozens of meters overhead, Arro could not help but become dazed.

Had I arrived at an airport terminal?

Desi walked cheerfully to Arro's side. "Scared you, didn't it? I was the same the first time I saw it. I never imagined a Mission Hall could be this big, or have this many people."

"Come on, I'll take you to register. Let's finish this up early."

Carrying large and small bundles on his back, Arro was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, constantly looking left and right, finding everything fresh and fascinating.

Desi took out his card again and swiped it against a Stone Pillar nearby.

Then a faint glow rose from the card, revealing a string of numbers.

No. 136!

Huh???

Arro froze.

What was going on?

Don't try to fool me—I know what this thing is!

Desi waved the card in his hand. "Do you think it's amazing?"

"Ahem, yeah... it does feel a little amazing."

Desi waved a hand casually and said with a grin, "Once you lay it all out, it's really nothing special. You'll understand later, so I won't shatter your beautiful illusions."