Chapter 7: Entrance into the Academy
It had been four days now, and Arteus had been flying west the whole time, occasionally stopping to rest. He usually stopped at night to sleep. As for landing? The first time was rough. No—it's better to say it was wet.
He landed straight into a river, using the water to cushion his fall. Afterward, he had to dry his clothes by a campfire, completely naked and alone in the middle of a forest.
The next few landing practices weren't much better. He often rolled across the dirt and grass, bruised and sore, but at least he learned that his wings were tough.
But the next few landings were a bit better. He practiced a landing, which was a slow, fixed landing, where he started by hovering in the air and slowly descending through gentle flaps, landing by slowing his fall, just as he had done back in the undercity.
Then the next was what he called a Stop-Decend. Where he starts while flying forward then stopping mid-air by flapping his wings forward as well to cancel momentum, followed by gentle flaps to descend.
Then.. the hardest landing which he named Dynamic landing is where he doesn't stop his momentum but instead slows it down.. so that he can land gently on his feet he could continue it right away into jogging or a run.. it took a few tries because he sometimes would land too rough or too fast making him trip and roll around.
And he just kept practicing those 3 landings until it became instinctive or at least habitually.
And.. as for food .. well he mostly hunts for it.. and that too, took a lot of practice. At first, he hunted for fish.. flying over a river or a lake and diving down when he saw a fish slightly on the surface.. not only did the fish instantly react to him, but it was also hard for him to cancel his dives making him plunged head first into the river.
Through this.. he learned how to take off while he's on a body of water. And how to dive even faster. But he never learned how to do what the bird does where they dive and change direction upward to not fucking die.
Despite practicing for a while he just couldn't catch a damn fish. Not even close. So he switched targets. Which was birds.. since he was confident that no bird could outspeed his wings.
And he was right..he could easily catch up to the birds.. but he still couldn't catch a single one because of the sheer agility they have.. they could twist and turn in the air.
He saw aerial maneuvers that he didn't even think were possible.. he learned a lot from those birds. And he only managed to copy a few maneuvers because the others were just too complex for a beginner like him.
After that, he also switched targets to small critters, like bunnies, and forest rodents.. which he easily caught because of the stuff he already learned from the previous targets. And since then he has started hunting for fun and food.
Along the way, he also practiced something he called "minimum-energy flight" — riding wind currents, relying on light, accurate flaps, and a lot of gliding. It only worked at high altitudes where the wind was strong, but he didn't mind. It helped him get used to the thin air.
By the end of the week, Arteus had already arrived — nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to flying.
In front of him a couple of miles away he could see it. An entire group of islands suspended in the air. The center island houses a magnificent and gigantic building akin to castles and mansions.
With that, he stopped gliding and began flying faster. He was about to land when he was only a few kilometers away into a secluded forest to hide his wings. Only to spot a person flying. But unlike him, the person's lower arm is engulfed in flames and it looks like they were using it as a propulsion to fly about.
While another was flying without anything on him.. just him.. in the air..
With this. Arteus thought that he didn't need to hide his wings since people around here were not normal.. just like him.
Smiling excitedly he flaps his wings and flies faster and goes towards the grand building below the island.. right on the surface.
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Now that he was just a few meters away from the building he realized that there were more people than he thought.. some were coming from a carriage.. some on foot.. some were flying like him except having no wings..some even appeared out of thin air.
Though he noticed something.. he's really the only one with wings... As he flew by over them some people yelped and held on to their hats or skirts as the wind blew against them. Then he slowed down into a dynamic landing with a small jog before he began walking with his wings casually tucked behind his back. It wasn't tightly folded into a cape but more casually folded.
Lots of people's eyes landed on him.. especially on his wings... But he didn't pay much attention to it. Although it made his stomach tie up in a knot
Then he followed what everyone else was doing and began walking into the building in line. Arteus doesn't know what kind of building it was.. but to those more knowledgeable in architecture, it would resemble a colosseum with a dome instead of an open roof.
There was only one guard standing guard right beside the gate. And the guard looked at him.
"Hey, kid! Please dismiss your wings. You might hit someone with that!" The guard spoke enough for him to hear it.. so did the people around him. Some sneered and laughed thinking that Arteus was showing off like some entitled brat.
"Sorry..but I can't! I've tried everything since it manifested a few weeks ago but it won't go away." He said loud enough for the guard to hear.
"Ah really?..... I see. Go on then.." the guards seem to be surprised by his answer before letting him go.
"T-thanks"
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Inside he stood in line for a few minutes as people one by one entered a room .. then after a few moments it was his turn.. he stepped forward and opened the door and inside he was greeted by a young woman behind a desk.
"Visit Or Returning?" The woman asked she had a visibly bored look on her face her voice low and dull.
"Uhh...is it possible to enroll?" Arteus asked.. not hearing the option of enrollment.
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'Damn.. why do I have to be put in here.. it was just a simple prank! Those bastards! Aren't they being too harsh with their punishment?' Sellia laments in her mind. When her eyes suddenly landed on a young boy
'Look at this show-off.. he's not even dismissing his Dream .. how childish.. but.. he does seem to be a child.. so that's fine...I guess. Maybe he's returning from a quest outside the academy.. or maybe a visitor? A relative of a student?'
"Visit or Returning?" She spoke as the boy finally arrived in front of her.
"Uhh...is it possible to enroll?" Suddenly the boy spoke.. completely out of her expectations.
'wait... enrolling? But he had already manifested his Dream?.. is he a legacy child? But wings? Is there a legacy with a wings manifestation? '
"Uh.. can I ask you last name?" She asked uncertainty.. with now a better tone in her voice.
"Uh..none. I'm just a commoner" A reply came making her even more surprised.
'A commoner and he's already in manifestation?'
"Uhm.. how long has it been since you conceptualize?" She asked her voice now carrying a tone of respect.
".....sorry...what?" The boy tilted his head in confusion leaning the side of his head so that he could hear her better.
"....." she was quiet outwardly but in her mind, she had a few thoughts running around.
'Don't tell me he's one of those people? A Desperados'
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"Ah.. please wait.." the girl spoke and she reached down below the counter and pulled out a rectangular crystal.
"Please put your hand over the crystal and state your name and your purpose.. and answer the questions it will ask." The woman instructs.
'questions it will ask?..this crystal?'
Despite the confusion. Arteus did what was asked.. placing his right hand over the crystal he spoke loud and clear.
"Arteus... Enrolling.. please" Suddenly he felt his hand get colder and a sensation of his palms getting sucked and glued into the crystal tablet came.
He almost panics only to realize the woman seems to be .. just smiling.. 'it's normal I guess..'
He thought as he calmed himself down.
"Arteus, when did your power appear?" The crystal spoke, the voice was cold and unfeeling making the interaction awkward.
"Uh..a-around a few weeks ago?" He answered sweat forming on his temple.
"....Did it appear out of nowhere? Or after or during an incident?" The same voice came out and asked.
"During an incident... I guess" He answered. And suddenly the suction on his palm disappeared and he could finally let go of it.
"All done.. please check your ID for your class information and proceed to the next room." Sellia the lady on the counter spoke and motioned towards the door on her right.
'..w..what? Just like that? No test or anything?' confused and hesitantly he slowly began moving towards the next door.
'And what ID? I didn't get anything!' he talked to himself, he was debating if he should ask or not but decided against it.
And instead checked his palm. When suddenly his eyes landed on strange dots on his wrist.
It is like three horizontal dots across his wrist just like • • •
Unconsciously he runs his other hands thumb across it thinking it'll be rubbed away. When suddenly a flash of light got protected out of his wrist like some sort of hologram.. he probably doesn't even know what a hologram is though...
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Arteus
1st year - class 2B
Room - B2F4R16
•Desperados•
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