Green did not have to wait long. Soon, a weathered middle-aged man in a gray robe came up beside him.
"You're Green, right? I'm Newt Clovize. You can call me Newt. Mentor Lilian asked me to show you around the Academy. Come with me!" Green nodded and followed him away.
Newt led Green through a maze of turns and off the open ground. The surroundings seemed somehow restricted. When Green looked around, a thin haze veiled everything beyond them.
"Don't bother looking. You've only passed through the outer barrier. You still have to cross the inner one to reach the Academy." Newt glanced back, saw Green's confusion, and patiently explained.
They walked on until they reached a strange statue. It depicted an animal Green had never seen: a goatlike head with long deer antlers, a long neck covered in scales, eight legs, and even a pair of wings. The sight of the creature, as though pieced together from different animals, made him feel queasy.
"This is the Academy's guardian beast, the Anqivia Goat. Don't judge it by its appearance. It may look like an ugly statue, but it's a powerful creature bred by the School. It has extremely high Elemental Resistance and can face a Formal Wizard head-on. It's steady-minded and easy to control. The Academy paid an enormous price to breed this guardian beast."
A rune flew from Newt's hand and landed on the Anqivia Goat's head. An opening appeared beside the statue.
"Let's go." Newt strode inside.
Green followed close behind. A vast cluster of castles appeared before him. People went in and out of them, though most passersby hurried along with books in their arms.
"Our White House Academy has six main areas: the Teaching Area, Experimental Area, Living Area, Trading Area, Mission Zone, and Herb Area. There are smaller areas too, but you'll learn about those as you go. For now, just remember roughly where everything is. There'll be an orientation for new students to help you get familiar with the place." Newt pointed out the castles, briefly describing what each was used for.
"The students here are under a lot of pressure, so try not to make too much noise. I'll take you to collect your new-student supplies now," Newt told Green in a low voice.
Newt brought Green to a castle with several large piles of supplies out front. Now and then, someone else was escorted over to collect theirs. At the entrance stood a table where an old man with white hair and a white beard sat holding a quill. Whenever a new student collected their supplies, he wrote something in a ledger.
"Newt! Instead of making Potions in the laboratory, you've taken a job escorting new students?" The old man looked astonished to see him.
"It's not a job. He's Mentor Lilian's student, and she asked me to bring him." The old man looked even more astonished. He studied Green closely, as though he were some Miraculous Object.
"See those piles? Take one of each," the old man told Green, pointing at the supplies in front of the castle.
"One gray robe for a Wizard Apprentice, and a pin that marks you as an apprentice and opens the castle doors. Be careful not to lose either. They have Sorcery fixed into them, and replacements will cost you thirty Magic Stones."
The old man gave Green that warning once he had taken one of each item.
Newt led Green on a winding route through the castles. After passing several castles and two Herb Areas, they stopped before one marked as part of the Experimental Area.
They pushed open the castle doors, and Green followed Newt upstairs.
In the corridors, Green passed several other gray-robed people. Most greeted Newt. After climbing dozens of floors, they reached the top of the castle and stopped before a huge wooden door.
They had barely arrived when Lilian's voice came from within.
"Is that Green? Come in!"
"Yes!"
Green turned to Newt and bowed in thanks, then pushed open the door.
A mingled smell of disinfectant and sharp, spicy odors filled the laboratory. Green could not help frowning.
The room was a vast laboratory, nearly filled with glass bottles, beakers, test tubes, and a host of tools Green did not recognize. They were probably unique to the Wizarding World. It felt almost like being back in a biochemistry laboratory.
A desk stood in the center of the laboratory. Mentor Lilian sat behind it, dressed in white. Her plain appearance still conveyed power.
"Green, I trust you've learned a little about the Academy. Unlike the other students, you became a Second-Class Apprentice before enrolling. You're far ahead of them, but you haven't studied the fundamentals of wizardry. For now, take the general courses you need." Lilian set down the test tube in her hand and spoke to him with earnest concern.
Green knew his foundation was lacking. Gaps in his knowledge kept him from putting what he knew to practical use in any systematic way.
"I understand, Mentor," Green replied at once.
Lilian smiled, satisfaction showing on her face.
"Take this." Lilian tossed Green a black scroll.
"I haven't forgotten what I promised you. This is the key to the laboratory on the castle's twenty-sixth floor. It's a complete Potion Laboratory with the usual equipment, and you may use it for free. I'll regularly replenish the herbs in its storeroom. If you do well, you can request more advanced materials from me."
Green was overjoyed. A laboratory had to be expensive, yet he could use one for free already. What a stroke of luck!
"Thank you, Mentor," Green said quickly.
"All right. I need to continue my Potion experiment, so you may go. Remember not to wander around the Academy. We may be a White Wizard Organization, but plenty of Wizards here have strange tempers. Try not to provoke them."
"Yes, Mentor!" Green bowed and left the laboratory.
By the time he stepped out, Newt had gone.
Good thing the Chip can scan and record. I might have gotten lost without it. Green had had the Chip record a Map ever since he arrived. Together with Newt's explanations along the way, it had given him a rough understanding of the Academy.
Most of the dangerous places were in the Experimental Area. There could be a radiation leak or an escaped experimental animal at any time. Wizards were fanatical researchers, and most spent their time there. Green had no wish to bring trouble on himself by wandering around.
Following the Chip's directions, Green reached the Dormitory Area and found a key in the bundle he had received from the old man.
The black key was made of some metal Green could not identify. It felt heavy in his hand, and one side bore the number "666."
Green's mouth twitched at the number. That's a lot of sixes.
Quite a few Wizard Apprentices had already reached the Dormitory Area. Since these were the new students' quarters, it was still rather noisy. Students were swapping stories about what they had seen on the way.
The atmosphere among White Wizards really is better. It would be awful to get snatched away by a Black Wizard halfway here, like in a novel!
Green was a researcher, not a mighty warrior chasing power. If he had to fight, he would follow the example of a certain dark, flying animal hero: arrange a fight in advance, never fight on the spot.
The dormitory was easy to find. The first digit indicated the floor, and the next two indicated the room. Green's room was number sixty-six on the Sixth Layer. He followed the numbers to his room and inserted the key into the lock.
Click. The dormitory door opened.
Wizards have such tremendous power, so why do the student dormitories use primitive mechanical locks? According to the Chip's analysis, any thief could open the door. Green could not help complaining to himself. Looks like I need to learn a protective spell first, or someone might steal my things.
Green pushed the door open, set down his new-student supplies, and looked around.
It was a standard single room with only a bed, a washroom, and a study. Each apprentice actually lived alone. Looks like even White Wizards encourage independent living, Green thought as he surveyed the room.
"Not bad," Green judged.
Before you continue