7 Mystic Academy

As they were inside their cubicle inside of the bus, the two stared out the window. The bus went inside the tunnel, and after a minute, when it came out, the new students were most surprised.

Suddenly, they had appeared in a whole new world. Dragons and one-eyed monsters roamed the skies instead of birds. Different four-legged creatures were running in the vast green plateau.

With these unique creatures in their sights, the students' eyes widened, and their mouths were agape.

"Hey, look at the flying eye! What is that monstered called?" Aranea asked.

Her sister opened her bestiary of beasts and opened her book to the flying type beasts section. The moment their eyes saw the picture of the creature on the book, they looked at the monster flying on the sky. They had already confirmed the name of the beast.

"The name of the beast is Floating Death," Elenea mumbled, making Aranea arch a brow at her.

"Why is the beast named Floating Death?"

Elenea's eyes widened more as she read the text on the book.

"It is named Floating Death because once its eye started to glow, its lightning stare is enough to critically hit you, leading to a grave injury, or sometimes even death!"

"What the--" Aranea blinked her eyes a few times. "How the hell is that Floating Death roaming freely in this world!?"

"Simple. The monsters can roam because we have magic that can subdue these beasts."

Hearing an unfamiliar voice in their cubicle, the twins instinctively looked at their unexpected visitor. He sat on the seat in front of them, making the twins feel slightly uncomfortable.

He has brown, unkempt hair, his eyes are blue, and he wore glasses. He wore a casual shirt, and he wore worn-out jeans as seen by the fading colors. He looked quite simple for a guy with magical powers.

"Er, who are you?" Aranea asked, caution evident in her voice. The man in front of them chuckled, sensing their nervousness.

"I'm Vayne," he introduced himself, then he adjusted his eyeglasses to prevent it from falling. "I'm a second-year student. I assume that you guys are freshmen?" he said and asked, making the twins nod slowly.

"Yeah," Elenea answered flatly.

"Welcome to Mystic Academy," he welcomed them, and the two gave him a small smile. "I hope you don't mind me sitting with you guys," he added as he scratched the back of his head. "Everywhere else is full."

Aranea nodded, "It's fine."

"So," Vayne started, making the two girls look at him. "What are your names?"

"Oh!" the red-haired girl chuckled, realizing that she and Elenea hadn't introduced themselves to Vayne. "The name's Aranea, and beside me is my twin sister, Elenea."

"Nice to meet you two!" The three did a handshake, now finding their atmosphere less awkward. "So, what's your magic, guys?"

The moment he asked this, Aranea bit her lip as she looked at her twin sister. The girl now felt embarrassed when she realized that she's going to Mystic Academy when she doesn't even have a magical ability like her sister.

Not wanting to make her sister feel bad, Elenea smiled and talked first.

"I can heal people magically when I start singing," she said, making Vayne's eyes widen in surprise.

"Woah, that's amazing!" he exclaimed, making Elenea smile.

"Well, what's yours?" Aranea chimed in, not wanting for her to share that she doesn't have any magical powers.

"Oh, me?" Vayne said as he scratched his cheek with his finger, feeling rather shy. "My magic is unusual. I can connect my shadow with another person's and control him or her," he answered, making Aranea grin from ear to ear.

"Oh, you're just like Shikamaru from Naruto!"

Hearing her remark, Vayne laughed out loud, agreeing with her.

"Yeah! I get that a lot! I thought it only happens in the shows that we watch, turns out I have it, too!"

With that, the bus had stopped, making the students stand up and peek their heads out of their cubicles.

"We are now in Mystic Academy, quack! Everyone, mind your things and get down quickly, quack!"

With the bus watcher's announcement, everyone got their luggage and started walking down the bus. The moment their foot stepped outside and saw how the academy looked like, everyone was in awe. Mystic Academy looked like a fantasy from a book!

The whole academy was floating. The shadow of the academy enshrouded all of its students as they looked at it from below.

It looked like a castle in the sky, in its full glory. The forest surrounding the castle also brimmed with life, even though it was not attached to the ground. They saw the waterfall's water flowing, but it amazed them to see that its water hadn't fallen from where they are.

'Woah, how is this possible?' Aranea thought to herself as she held her twin sister's hand.

"Amazing isn't it?" Vayne reacted, making the twins nod. "I was also amazed like you the first time I saw the academy," he added, making the twins look at him.

"How are we going to enter the academy?" Elenea asked, making Vayne smile as the students waited for what's going to happen next.

"Wait and see," he just said, and at the same moment, an old woman appeared in front of them.

Her gray hair was in a bun. She was wearing a long forest-green dress that hid her footwear. Her robe dragged behind her as she walked. On her right hand was a rod taller than hers, with a green orb on top of it. She smiled at everyone, then greeted the students.

"Welcome to Mystic Academy. As the headmaster's representative, I, Gertrude Mayfair, welcome each one of you with open arms."

Aranea elbowed her sister and whispered against her ear, "Is she like Professor McGonagall of Harry Potter, but with a rod?"

Hearing her sister's joke, Elenea stifled her laugh, making Aranea grin from ear to ear.

"Now let's patiently wait until the garudas appear for us to go to the academy," Gertrude said, and at the same time, the gust of the wind strengthened, making everyone hold on to their robes.

As the students looked up, the freshmen's eyes were wide open as they saw that large beast-like birds were flapping their wings on the sky.

Aranea poked Vayne beside her. "Wh-what is that," she asked, fear plastered in her voice.

"Oh, that?" Vayned trailed off as one of the garudas landed beside them. It extended its head to Vayne as if asking for a pet. "This is a Garuda. It can accommodate three people as it flies towards the academy," he added as he patted the beastly animal on the head.

"Woah!" Aranea walked closer to the beast and held its wing. Surprisingly, it felt softer than it looked! "We're going to ride them?" she asked, making Vayne nod.

"That's right!"

"This..." Elenea furrowed her brows as she hid behind her sister's back. "I'm scared of heights," she added, making Vayne chuckle.

"Don't worry, Elenea! You will be riding with me. You can stay in between both us!"

With that, Vayne lifted Elenea and put her down on the Garuda's back, making her squeal.

"Eep!"

"Right on!" Aranea laughed as she effortlessly climbed on the garuda's back and wrapped her arms around Elenea's waist. "Don't be scared, sis! I'm here behind you!"

Vayne had already climbed on the Garuda's back and went in front of Elenea.

"Let's go!"

Knowing how to do its job, the Garuda started flapping its gigantic wings, the gust of wind around them getting harsher.

"Oh, jeez!" Elenea exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Vayne's waist, making the boy chuckle. "I'm afraid of heights!"

With just one flap of its wings, the Garuda took off from the ground and started flying towards the academy.

"Woooh!"

Aranea shouted at the top of her lungs, making Vayne shout along with her.

"Mystic Academy, here we go!" he shouted as the air started getting colder on their skin as the altitude went higher and higher, also making it difficult for them to breathe, but it was bearable.

Feeling annoyed at the same time with how Aranea and Vayne were enjoying at the moment, Elenea just closed her eyes as she hid her face on the man's back.

'Jeez, how is this enjoyable?!'