4 Project: Mystical Academy - Core Academy - Encounter

"Welcome to the Mystical Academy!!"

The old man extended his arm towards the academy in a welcoming manner. The girl with the sailor uniform stood still with a blank expression on her face

Philip was wide eyed the moment he set foot in this place. He was confused to the extreme at what happened. He never expected to experience teleporting with the use of a portal and his balance was thrown off for a bit. He quickly recovered by manipulating his confusion and erased it when he closed his eyes and placed his right index knuckle on the bridge of his nose

He couldn't believe that portals existed and teleportation was possible, especially considering the era they were in. A part of him accepted it since he knew the coming of magic or mysticism since the year 2020. It should be about time for these things to happen

The old man observed Philip with a discerning eye and as Philip recovered, he gently pat his back and said, "I'm sure your very confused. I'll explain everything to you inside my office"

"Office?" Philip spoke with a grave tone

"Yes. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the headmaster, or the principal, or whatever you call me of this academy. I manage this whole place!"

The old man introduced himself as the headmaster of the academy, the one who manages teh whole place. The old man looked like he has too much vitality. His hair is white as well as his well shaped beard that doesn't reach his neck. He wore a tight leather vest that looked comfortable and showed his toned muscular body, an unbuttoned leather jacket, a necklace or an amulet around his neck, and trousers with a small satchel

The academy was not a small building like the usual schools around the world as it spans towards the horizon to the left and to the right. The academy is measured to be at least 500 thousand km² in size

As the headmaster and the sailor uniform girl was walking towards the arch of the entrance, Philip exclaimed in a brave tone,

"What if I don't want to follow?!"

The headmaster and the girl abruptly stopped. The headmaster, who had gentle eyes and looking downwards, looked up with fierce eyes towards the entrance. The girl, who had no expressions on her face, close her eyes

The headmaster looked back towards Philip and said, "You have no choice since you have what it takes to learn mysticism and I'm pretty sure you've become interested in this place. Besides, what are you going to do since you're here? Walk thousands of miles half around the world to reach your home?"

"I could if I wanted to"

"I believe that. Now, come" The headmaster closed his eyes and continued walking forward with his hands on his back. The girl reopened her eyes with a glint and followed the headmaster behind him

Philip glared at them for a second until they walked deeper to the entrance. He then followed behind them and finally entered the academy

***

As the headmaster and the girl are walking side by side through the tunnel that leads to the academy under the wall, the girl asked a question to the headmaster, "Aren't you going to tell him about himself?"

"I couldn't." The headmaster nervously said as he released his hands behind his back and he rubbed his backhands that are shaking. "His spirit is more potent and overbearing than I thought whenever he is displeased with something..."

The girl looked at the headmaster with confusion as she saw him rubbing his shaking hands and hearing his words

"You should calm down now, Yuze, he's not that reckless and he shouldn't be able to hurt anyone, unless if he wanted to." The headmaster turned towards the girl, who is apparently named Yuze, and assured her as he looked at her eyes

Yuze stared at the headmaster's eyes and looked forward. She closed her eyes and a heartbeat was heard. She opened them and the glint on her eyes disappeared

The headmaster turned his head towards Philip while Yuze took a peek from her right shoulder and they saw him looking forward with empty eyes, as if he was daydreaming or something

Philip noticed their gazes and looked at them with furrowed questioning eyebrows. Yuze looked forward as if she couldn't be bothered and the headmaster smiled at him in a goofy manner and looked forward

Philip found the development to be strange and weird and he contemplated as to why. He did sorts of facial expressions like deeply furrowing his eyebrows, squinting to the point he can't see anything, looked left and right with his eyes, protruding his mouth as if he's confused, and then shrugging his shoulders as he decided to ignore what just happened

***

As they got in from the entrance of the gates, what Philip stumbled upon as the headmaster and Yuze walked to side, was a grand view of the whole academy

In front of them was the Entrance Square which was empty. If this square was bustling with people, this place would be straight out of fantasy, like the typical town or the capital from isekai or fantasy genre

There were houses and establishments lined up across the foot of the wall and it reaches several kilometers towards the center

At the edge of the houses and establishments are spires or wizard towers that are arranged symmetrically like a circle. There are five spires and a few more smaller spires beside them

Inside the circle of spires are domes, arenas, and coliseums, as well as several more structures like boxes arranged in a very artistic manner

There are six large boxes that are also symmetrically arranged away from each other that it looked like a hexagon around the middle structure

The middle structure is called the Core Academy and this is where students of Mysticism gather to test their magic and mystical abilities and prove their strength that they are able to help the world in the future

The Core Academy is almost like a circular castle that has walls with four large triangular pillars attached to the walls in the four cardinal directionsand reaches the height higher that the castle itself

At the tip of the triangular pillars is a large blue orb that glows and pulsates every so often. The orb is surrounded by spikey rings that revolve and rotate around it

Above the orb is a stretched out pyramid, like a spike, that its corners at its base is extended like spikes and holds the orb. The tip of the pyramid is stretched up to a needle point and it releases a film of blue energy around the academy

***

Philip was marvelling at the scenery and at the floating blue orb in the middle of it all. He was having a little bit of vertigo as he was experiencing all of this first hand. Especially since the impossible became possible with a giant glowing orb floating above a structure and a structure above it. He almost became dizzy and fell

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Headmaster spoke with a smile as he saw Philip marvelling over his academy and swaying around

"What is this place?" Philip asked once again as he couldn't take his eyes of the buildings and the spires

"As I told you earlier, I will tell you once we go to my office. It's in that castle under the blue orb"

"How do we get there if it's so far?"

"Guess." The Headmaster crossed his arms as he confidently looked towards Philip

Philip looked around and tried to see some unknown technology that might be a mode of transportation

He looked for something like a flat circular platform on the ground, a rolled up carpet, a circular motorcycle, a circular frame, and a sword. He then looked towards the headmaster and said, "Portals?"

"Well... Close enough." The Headmaster lifted his shoulders and his arms as if he has given up giving quizzes. He then nodded towards Yuze and said, "Let's go"

Yuze nodded back and stepped forward in front of the headmaster and Philip. The wind blew in the empty Entrance Square and she stared towards the Core Academy, where she has a clear line of sight from the Entrance Square

"Hold on to her shoulder, Philip." The headmaster told Philip as he gently place his hand on Yuze's right shoulder

Philip hesitated at first but he did it anyway and held Yuze's left shoulder

Yuze felt a strange sensation from her left shoulder and it was bothering her, in a good way. She then closed her eyes and raised her right hand towards the Core Academy with two fingers pointing to it tightly

Philip saw this and he was confused. He thought that she was like him when he controls fate around him

Yuze then raised her left hand and place two fingers between her eyes like she was about to do some ninja techniques

After a few moments, she then flicked her right fingers pointing to the left and she opened her eyes. The glint in her eyes appeared and it was more intense than before. The Headmaster noticed this and looked at her with worried eyes

She then drived her left fingers towards her right finger to form a cross. As she did this, the scenery around them changed that it warped and stretched as flashing lights covered their vision. Houses passed by them, then the spires, then the boxes until they arrived at the Core Academy

If this was seen from afar, they will see a long streak of flashing light, like lightning, that went to the Core Academy from the Entrance Square

As soon as she formed a cross with her fingers, they were suddenly in a different place, in front of a giant door inside the Core Academy

She then pulled her left fingers back towards in between her eyes. She then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply

She lowered her hands and exhaled deeply and opened her eyes as the glint disappeared one more time

At this time, the Headmaster and Philip already released their grip on Yuze's shoulders

The Headmaster walked in front of Yuze and inspected her eyes, as she opened it, with a discerning look

Philip, however, stumbled on his knees as he felt the intense vertigo that time. Newfound emotions started to swirl around his head and a ringing sound echoed across his brain. He is in the "orz" position for a while as he started to collect his bearing and began to manipulate his emotions and deny the pain of the ringing sound

The Headmaster asked Yuze as he inspected her eyes, "Are you okay? Do you feel anything out of the ordinary?"

"I'm fine, I just felt a strange sensation before we started the shift." Yuze said quietly as she looked down while fidgeting and shaking a little bit

The Headmaster understood and looked at her ridiculously as if he was teasing her, "Oh?"

Yuze heard the headmaster and looked at him and saw a face of a wide-eyed mouth-covered-by-hand old man

"Wha-?!" Yuze became flustered and almost covered her face with her right arm and left arm in a guard stance when he saw the ridiculous face of the headmaster

"Humpf!" Yuze annoyingly harrumphed, mouth pouted, and stomped forward with close hands towards the giant door. The Headmaster snickered as he saw Yuze's actions

Their interaction were interrupted when they suddenly felt a surge of energy and disturbance in the air. They looked back and saw Philip who was kneeling on the ground with his hands and elbow on the floor

The Headmaster unconsciously stepped back and lifted his right arm to protect Yuze. Yuze hid behind the Headmaster and peeked her head a little bit

In normal people's eyes, if they saw Philip, they would be weirded out as to why he was kneeling down or they would call an ambulance because he also doesn't looked too good and he looked liked he was drunk or about to puke

But in the Headmaster and Yuze's eyes, the air around them was swirling and vibrating away from Philip. A dark aura was also emanating from his body but it's being contained by an invisible barrier. The energy around Philip was chaotic but it's somehow contained that it can't affect matter besides Mana present in the air

The Headmaster and Yuze stood still as this was happening. Eventually, the energy around Philip started to calm down and the air started to flow normally again. Philip stood up as if nothing happened but his right hand is on his head clutching it as if it was in pain

"Are you alright?" The headmaster asked in the distance, still wary of him

"I'm fine... That teleportation was too much for me and it was absurd!"

"Ah! Is that so?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now, don't worry about me. This should disappear later"

'Did he knew about his power this whole time?' The Headmaster asked himself after hearing that sentence. But after he saw him when he exhaled, he doubted it, 'He wasn't using his powers when he was being monitored, maybe it's just a coincidence'

"Alright, where to now?" Philip has recovered from his headache and asked the Headmaster

"Oh, uh uhm... Yeah, just inside here, past this Door of Recognition" the Headmaster jumbled his words at first. The Headmaster and Yuze stepped aside to show the giant door that is blocking the path. The Door of Recognition is made out of a certain type of wood that is intricately sculpted and carved with aesthetic designs that are pleasing to the eyes

"Door of Recognition?" Philip asked as he didn't know why the door was called like that

"Yes, Door of Recognition. As its name says, if a person is present in front of it, the door will decide if they should be worthy to enter the Core Academy. It will recognize a person if they have latent spirit and potential or some whatever reason, the door will glow and that person will be able to open the door. It will however reject the person if they are not worthy enough to enter the Core Academy. It will not glow and it will shut itself and they won't be able to enter it" The Headmaster explained why the giant door is named as the Door of Recognition to Philip

"There's a catch, right? If they are recognized?" Philip caught on to something that the Headmaster said

"Yes there is! The recognized person will be able to push the door based on their spirit and origin. Meaning, if your spirit is weak, you will have an incredibly hard time to open the door, the same as origin. If you have strong spirit and origin, you will be able to open the door with a push of a hand or two. Machines are unable to open this door, the person must open it by themselves" The headmaster explained further as he was proud of the creation and concept of this door

"I see... Can I see a demonstration first?"

"Very well." The Headmaster looked at Yuze, indicating that she should go ahead and enter first. "We'll meet you at my office"

Yuze nodded and proceeded to go in front of the door. The door glowed as it recognized Yuze. She placed two hands on the door and pushed it without effort. The door split in half and opened half way, enough for Yuze to enter. She entered through without looking back and the door closed shut behind her

"See? Yuze easily opened it." The Headmaster had a smug face as his favorite student easily opened the door

"But she was able to open it half way?" Philip stated the obvious and tried to get back at the Headmaster

"Ha... You're right." The Headmaster drooped as he knows this fact. "Well, she was the only one who could open this door by that much"

"There are others in here??"

"There are! They're in Genesis Class 1"

"Genesis Class 1?"

"I'll explain everything to you in the office!"

"Well, you keep saying new things that I don't understand!"

"Haha! My fault, my fault"

"By the way, if she has been here before and the door just recognized her, does that mean that the person must be recognized everytime they tried to go inside?"

"Yes of course! We don't want any slackers or people that lost their edge to enter now, do we?"

"That's true... Does it reject evil people or criminals?"

"Not at all! The Door of Recognition does not discriminate!" The Headmaster said with full conviction as he believed that even amongst evil people or criminals, there are some of them that have incredible powers or have the chance to change for the good. Besides, he also believes in himself that he can stop any evil doers that are doing somehing fishy in his academy and he can snuff out all of them

Philip was surprised at this and he began to like the Headmaster. He believed that evil people or criminals didn't chose to be what they are, they were forced to do those kind of stuff due to the intervention of the world and the society. He always believed that they have a goal and a purpose in their lives. What he hates the most are people who are stupid enough to exist in this universe, no matter how good willed or bad willed they are and he wanted to kill them if he can

Philip erased these thoughts in his head as he deemed it troublesome and irritating. He decided to move on and face what's in front of him. "So, should we go in?"

"After you." The Headmaster gestured as he extended his right arm in a polite manner towards the door. He wanted to see how he would open the door

***

As Yuze entered the Core Academy, she went the usual way towards the Headmaster's office at the peak of the castle

But before she headed straight towards the office, she decided that she might well visit her class where she should be at right now, if only a new transfer student didn't get abducted

She walked through the hallway below the floor where the Headmaster's office is located and went to her class. She was met with the chaos that is ensuing in the classroom

There were a bunch of them that are chasing each other in a game of tag and are using their mystical powers and abilities to zoom and confuse the 'it'. There is a group of girls who are chatting loudly at each other while laughing and cackling beside the windows. There is a group who are having a jam session at the back of the room. There is someone who are flying around and a person who floats as he is reading a book with one hand

There are others who are also quiet like a long haired pretty boy that is holding a sword and hovering while his eyes are closed. There is a boy who is isolated in the back seat as he stares at the window with a deliquent girl sleeping with a book covering her eyes and her legs resting above the desk

There is also another blonde pretty boy that are hitting on other girls but gets rejected everytime. There is a boy with white hair covering his eyes like some other genre's protagonist sitting in the front close to the door. There is also a boy with a gentle fierce glare sitting at the back of the room like he was some sort of a schemer. There is a girl who seems to be very scared and has eyeglasses and cowers in the middle of it all with a normal looking girl that is eating a lollipop and reading a book

Finally, a chaotic class is not complete without the entitled one that is standing in front of the classroom and reprimanding everyone to behave themselves and to be peaceful as well as someone who keeps placing their index finger in the bridge of their eyeglasses like he's some sort of a super genius. There's is also a girl who is gloomy and reeks of depression as her fuzzy and messy hair blocks half of her face

Yuze was about to tell the class that a transferee will arrive in several minutes but she changed her mind as she could not be bothered by the chaos that is happening inside

She left before she could enter the classroom and went to the Headmaster's office. A few people in the classroom noticed her presence particularly the blonde pretty boy, the schemer, super genius, floating boy, and deliquent girl

***

As Philip walked in front of the Door of Recognition and stood still, there was pause and then there was silence

The Headmaster was surprised that the door didn't glow and didn't recognize Philip, it was unfortunate as he said it to himself

But then, the door glowed bright, brighter than Yuze's. It might be even brighter than his. Then, before Philip was about to lift his hands, a sound was heard

The door split in half and opened by itself all the way through. The Headmaster's jaw dropped upon seeing this, who would have known that it's possible to open the door without touching it? It was like the automatic doors in malls and this made the Headmaster smile wryly

"So, does this mean that I was greatly recognized by the door?" Philip put emphasis on the word "greatly" and added salt to the wound as he talked to the professor

"Yeah yeah yeah! Brag all you want! Now go in!" The Headmaster stomped as he raised his voice towards Philip

"Okaaay." Philip took his time to enter the door and walked slowly. Later, the door then closed and it's the Headmaster's turn

"Unbelievable." The Headmaster shook his head in disbelief as he witnessed something extraordinary

As he faced the door, the door glowed, it was dimmer than Philip's but that doesn't mean he will have a harder time to open the door

"You may have a brighter glow! But I still win in terms of difficulty in opening the door!" The Headmaster walked forward without raising his hands

The door did not automatically open and it was just closed and didn't budge. The Headmaster walked through the door like it was nothing and the door started to dim. The Headmaster emerged from the closed door to the other side where the Grand Hall is located that has several corridors leading to somewhere

***

From here on out, the Headmaster has complete power inside the Core Academy since he is the one who manages it. He is nigh-omnipresent and nigh-omniscient inside the Core Academy

This means that the Headmaster can feel, see, and hear everything that is happening inside the Core Academy. Since the Headmaster is a decent person, he doesn't want to "see" everything that's happening inside and give them privacy

He can also teleport instantly around the insides of the Core Academy and reach a destination in a blink of an eye. He can immediately stop a fight or a brawl if he heard it happening

"Looks like the Genesis Class is having the time of their lives once again." The Headmaster shook her head as he heard the noisiness that is happening in a classroom. "You go ahead, Philip, and follow the directions to the Headmaster's Office and I'll be joining you in a moment"

As the Headmaster urged Philip to go by himself, he quickly disappeared from his sight without a trace. Philip looked around and found directions towards the Headmaster's Office

He arrived at a Core Academy map that is posted on a glass board on a wall, at the end of the Grand Hall just around the corner. The map was unexpectedly holographic which makes the layout of the floors overlap each other. The layout can be dragged and move to examine each floors and separate each other

"Damn, this is annoying..." Philip said as he saw the complicated routes and hallways displayed on the map. He was amazed at first since this was the first time he witnessed a working real hologram. He became annoyed as he saw the complex paths and corridors, the stairs are also very far from him and he just found out that the Headmaster's Office is at the very top of this academy

"This is really annoying." Philip began to furrow his eyebrows and about to get angry

He fully analyzed the easiest path on the first floor and couldn't be bothered to memories the second floor. He just assumed that their is another holographic map once he reached the next floor

He began to walk through the hallways and about to turn a corner. He bumped into someone as he turned the corner and the one he bumped into fell backwards by the force since the person was running

Philip reached for the person that was about to fall backwards and grabbed her left wrist. He pulled it with his right hand and he subconsciously reached for her right waist with his left hand. Fortunately, he stopped midway and the girl held on to his sturdy left arm for support since her balance was thrown off when he pulled her. Her pink hair fluttered as she went to a sudden stop

Their face went close to each other as if they're about to kiss, good thing Philip didn't pulled her hard enough and the girl stopped his momentum when she held his left arm or else their faces would touch

Their eyes met for what seems to be a few seconds but felt like several minutes. Philip was mesmerized at what he saw. He saw the color of the girl's eyes and he immediately like it

Her eyes are of an Aquamarine Sea Blue in color with certain lines that go across the iris and curve around the top part of the pupil. The pupil is shaped like a teardrop and it's rich in color

"What beautiful eyes!" Philip commented out of nowhere as he was sucked in by the strange yet extraordinary eyes

"Wha-?!" The girl was flustered when she heard his comment about her eyes. She released her grip on his left arm and forcefully pulled her left wrist. She then fixed her pink hair and bangs to cover her eyes in a shy manner

"I'm sorry I bumped into you." She said in a high-pitched cute voice

"No, it's alrig-"

"Also thank you!" The pink haired girl didn't let Philip finish his words and thanked him. She then ran away towards the oposite direction from where Philip is supposed to go

"Hm, interesting." Philip shrugged his shoulders and placed his hands in the front pocket of his gray sweater. He then continued walking towards the stairs to the next floor