The Hidden World

The inside of the Academy was as grand as the exterior. It was like the interior of a king’s residence with velvet carpets and extravagant fixtures. With this remarkable show of wealth was the amazing technology that Yuki had yet to understand how they worked or even their functions.

 

When they entered the main chamber, the attendant led Yuki to one of the two sets of massive stairs that were parallel to each other and went into a second floor. On the second floor, there were multiple doors that lead to various rooms. Walking past them, Yuki saw that all of these rooms seemed to be for specific people. Probably faculty. The attendant led Yuki to the furthest left room of the floor.

 

She opened the door and gestured to Yuki to enter, entering herself after him. The room was quite simple with a desk and a couple of chairs. There were no extra decorations of any kind. Yuki took a seat in one of the chairs that stood in front of the plain desk. The chair was extremely comfortable, conforming to the shape of Yuki’s rear.

 

‘It’s better than memory foam. Feels like a kind of gel,’ Yuki thought as he sat there.

 

The attendant took a seat in the desk in front of Yuki. She reached under the table and took out something that resembled a tablet but was completely transparent, the whole device a screen. As she tapped on the device, she began to ask Yuki questions.

 

“So, you want enroll?” she asked looking down.

 

“That is correct,” Yuki replied.

 

“Why do you want to enroll in this school?” she said, still tapping.

 

‘Because it’s the only one I know,’ Yuki thought.

 

“I want to learn. And this seemed like the right place for that,” Yuki answered out loud.

 

The woman looked up with a small smile at his reply.

 

“And you are correct,” she said. “This is the best academy on the whole country and if not the world. Anyway, we are about to start the exam I spoke of before.”

 

Yuki nodded and the woman placed a crystal clear orb on the desk.

 

“I just want you to place your hand on the orb and push your mana into it. I’ll just do some measurements and record some information and we’ll see if you qualify or not,” the attendant explained.

 

Yuki nodded again and placed his hand on the orb. He wasn’t afraid of his status being abnormal any more. Akira, who seemed to still be sleeping, did tell him that he was weak compared to others that used the Universal Records.

 

He pushed his mana in and watched as it swirled inside of the crystal. As it moved, it began to change colors. First turning scarlet red then becoming a bright golden brown before becoming a iridescent grey. While this happened, the woman was muttering to herself as she tapped away at the tablet in her hand.

 

After a minute, the woman waved to Yuki to stop and he lifted his hand off of the orb. The mana within it disappeared seconds later.

 

“Okay,” she started, looking at the device. “Based on the data, you are a dual attribute with affinities in both fire and earth. Your earth affinity is stronger than your fire. Mana capacity is average, about D-2 to D-3. Mana control is excellent for someone your age as well as your mana production.”

 

She looked up with a smile.

 

“Overall, you qualify to be a student in the Academy,” she announced happily. “Congratulations!”

 

Yuki nodded.

 

“You can be a bit more excited,” she said jokingly. “Anyway, there is still some more information that I need before I can register you into the system. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

 

Yuki shook his head.

 

“Alright, then let’s get started,” she said. “What is your name?”

 

“Yuki Mayumi,” he said, switching the places of his name. He didn't know the culture of this world, but it seemed similar to the way people introduced themselves in the United States. So Yuki decided to say his first name first to avoid confusion.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“15, soon to be 16,” Yuki answered.

 

“Mhmm. Do you have experience in any weapons, combat, et cetera?”

 

“Yes,” Yuki replied.

 

As he answered this, he realized that he had left his weapons back at Aether. He failed to sheathe them after his battle with the assassin.

 

‘That’s unfortunate,’ he thought. ‘I lost my father’s weapons.’

 

“Okay~. Do you have any training in magic?” the attendant asked, interrupting Yuki’s thoughts.

 

“Only elemental magic,” Yuki replied.

 

“I see, I see,” she said, typing into her tablet. “So some experience with magic and weapons. That should be enough to qualify you for the advanced class. Or really the not a complete novice class.”

 

She said the last part with a small laugh and looked up at Yuki again.

 

“My next question is more of a personal one than a professional one,” she said. “You do know that the period for registration passed last week, right?”

 

‘Oh, really?’ Yuki thought. There was no way that he could have known this as he had just came to Ethros two days ago.

 

“No, I’m not from around here,” Yuki answered out loud.

 

“Oh! So you’re from the Kiera Forests,” she said. Then she tilted her head. “Why did you come all the way here then? The Faerie Magic Academy is quite capable from what I’ve heard.”

 

“I didn't come from the Kiera Forests,” Yuki said.

 

“Then where are you from? Elves only live in Libra and Faerie. If you’re not from Faerie then you have to be from here and you should have known when the deadline was,” she said, perplexed.

 

“I’m not from Ethros,” Yuki clarified. “I somehow was transported here from Earth.”

 

“Earth you say," she mumbled to herself. Then her eyebrows shot up. "Wait, what! Earth!”

 

“Yes,” Yuki replied flatly.

 

“But what was an elf like you doing on Earth?” she asked in a loud voice.

 

“I don’t think I’m an elf,” Yuki said. “I’m human.”

 

The woman started to laugh.

 

“I believe that you might be from Earth, but there is no way you’re a human,” she said still chuckling. "If you are than I need to fix my eyes."

 

Yuki’s eyes furrowed, thinking.

 

“Why?” he asked.

 

“Because I can clearly see that you’re an elf. I can’t be headmaster if I couldn’t even tell apart species,” she replied, giggling.

 

Yuki’s ear perked up at the new information that he had just heard.

 

“You’re headmaster?” he said.

 

“Yes I am,” she answered proudly. “The first female in over a hundred years. My name is Selene as you should have known no matter where you were from. That’s why I believe your Earth story.”

 

‘She’s quite relaxed for a headmaster of a school,’ Yuki remarked, his mental profile of Selene being revised.

 

“Anyway,” Selene said, changing topics. “You’re an elf or I’m a dwarf.”

 

“But no matter how I look at myself, I’m human,” Yuki said. He pictured a mental image of himself. It looked completely human, albeit very girly.

 

“When you look at yourself, you see a human?” she repeated as a question. Yuki nodded. “Then it must be a disguise. And a fairly strong one for no one to notice it. My eyes are quite exceptional so something like a disguise wouldn't fool them.”

 

“A disguise?” Yuki asked.

 

“Yes. A magical disguise that makes you and the people around you see you as a human,” Selene explained. “That is the only explanation that I can give. Let me test something.”

 

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small compact mirror. Then she stood up and walked around the desk to where Yuki was sitting. She leaned in slightly and placed the mirror in front of Yuki’s face.

 

“Yup. A disguise,” she announced. “I can see it in the mirror. You look human there. But when I look at you directly I can see past it. There is a little shimmer but the magic isn’t strong enough to fool my eyes.”

 

Yuki thought quietly to himself. A disguise over his body. If what Selene was saying was true, then it would explain why he was dragged into Ethros when Akira tried to transport them to his room. It was because he was an elf. At least according to Selene.

 

“Can I see what I look like?” Yuki asked Selene.

 

“I can do that easily,” she replied. “I can also dispel the disguise if you wanted me to.”

 

“I would like to see what I look like first,” Yuki said.

 

“Alright,” she said and she closed her eyes, her eyebrows closing together.

 

She splayed out her right hand and mana projected out of it. It formed a hologram of sorts of a person. Looking at the picture, Yuki could recognize it as himself. But the person in the hologram was also unmistakably an elf and looked even more feminine, something that Yuki didn’t think was possible. The person had sharper eyes than Yuki colored in a bright grey. The hair was slightly lighter and the body slimmer.

 

So this is me,’ Yuki thought. 'And also, she just used pure mana without an attribute.' Then something unexpected appeared before him.

 

[Notice: Self Awareness (1 / 3) Has Been Unlocked. {Human Disguise} Has Been Added As A Skill]

 

‘I can disguise myself as a human now?’ Yuki thought, his eyebrows furrowing. ‘How does that work?’

 

“Your body structure is exactly that of an elf,” Selene explained, mistaking Yuki’s expression for confusion about his appearance. “And quite a pretty one.”

 

“I see,” Yuki replied. He decided to test out his new skill when he was alone. “I don’t think I want the disguise taken off.”

 

“Why not?” Selene asked, her eyebrow raised. “I would have to put you down as human. Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable for you?”

 

“No,” Yuki answered. “But about being uncomfortable."

 

There was something that Yuki needed to make sure of.

 

"What gender did you put down for me?”

 

“Female, obviously,” she answered. “Why would I put anything else?”

 

Yuki thought quietly to himself for a bit. He wanted to tell her that he was male, but it might cause more problems than he would like. She seemed set in her assumption.

 

“Is there an option for other?” Yuki asked.

 

“Um, there is a non specified. But why would...oh,” Selene said with realization dawning on her face. “Yes, yes I understand.”

 

‘Did she realize I’m male?” Yuki wondered.

 

“We’ll try to be understanding,” Selene continued. “We don’t normally have students like you here. I’ll put as not specified and send a message to all the faculty here.”

 

‘Wait,’ Yuki thought. ‘Is she misunderstanding something?’

 

“Anyway, we have finished your registration. You’ll will be put as human and your gender will be not specified,” Selene announced. “Classes start in tomorrow, Monday. You have the weekends off.”

 

‘Well if she did misunderstand something, it doesn’t really matter,’ Yuki decided, shrugging it off. ‘And it seems they use the same days as Earth. Or does Earth use the same days as Ethros?’

 

“Do you have a place to rest?” Selene asked him.

 

“No,” Yuki replied, shaking his head. Yuki had no money to pay for a room in an inn.

 

“Then you can use the school lodging,” she said. She reached under her desk and brought out a smartwatch. “A room was already given to you. There’s a map on this that will take you right there. You’ll need to use this to enter your room.”

 

Yuki nodded his thanks and took the watch from her hand. He placed it on his wrist and saw that the clasp was magnetic. The leather band of the watch fit comfortable around his wrist.

 

“Alright then,” Selene said, waving her hand. “You can go now.”

 

Yuki stood up and went to exit the door.

 

“Welcome to the Academy,” she said behind him as he walked out.