CHAPTER (17): Insides of Creston Academy.

"We finally made it to Creston Academy," one student whispered happily.

"I can't believe that moron finally got us here after that long trip."

"He must have been leading us to the wrong place, but after the Replicator showed him his place, he knew better than to mess up again. In any case, I'm glad we finally arrived."

After the security team let them through the gate, the students began walking toward the buildings away from the gate, but before they did, Drake had stopped everyone and made a brief announcement.

"I'm glad we're finally here. I bet most of you don't know where to go from here but don't worry, I'm here to help everyone. I've been to this school countless times in the past, so I know almost every single building here and what it's for, unless the building is one of the newer constructions, but that's just by the way. We should be on our way to the academy registry now to complete our registration. I'm sure everyone here has their practicing license, whether temporary or permanent, because if you don't have yours, I don't think I can be of much help. Hehe, I doubt any one of us here has a permanent license. C'mon, let's go."

'You can't be so sure, dude,' Grey thought, smiling mischievously.

The students set off again. No one wanted to be left out, so they all decided to follow Drake. After all, Drake had brought them to Creston Academy in one piece, and that alone was enough to convince them to follow him again.

Verlice and Grey followed Drake as well, but it wasn't long before Verlice stopped walking to admire the sight of the structures within the Creston Academy landmass.

The Creston Academy landmass was quite vast, housing several buildings of all kinds, large and small.

Not only were there several buildings, but the buildings were ravishingly magnificent.

If the buildings he had seen on the way here were just great, those inside Creston Academy were magnificent and exquisite.

Verlice only looked at the buildings from a distance, but he was already extraordinarily fascinated. What would happen if he got close enough? He'd probably lose his mind and stare at them forever.

Just kidding!

The buildings within the landmass of Creston Academy were perfectly grandiose. The larger buildings were built in rows, while the smaller ones were situated randomly right next to the larger buildings, but not in rows.

All in all, there were just too many buildings within the walls of Creston Academy to count.

At the center of the landmass, a huge building stood out, more giant than any of the other buildings there, and right at the top of the building, the academy crest and the name 'CRESTON MAGE ACADEMY' were boldly carved with a thick black material, coupled with an embellished deep blue wistful color.

Verlice admired this sight from where he stood far away from the buildings, albeit on the same ground.

The whole place had that ambiance that Verlice would spend his entire fortune on, with a nice air calling out to nature. This air was nothing like the air outside.

Not only that but the whole space where there were no buildings, was covered in greenery, thereby giving the place a natural tinge.

While Verlice was enthralled by the entirely new environment around him, the other students had gone very far from him.

"What do you think, Ver-" Grey paused as he looked beside him and saw that Verlice was no longer walking beside him.

He had been talking and walking all the while, admiring the place, but never had he thought that Verlice was no longer with him.

For a moment he was worried, thinking Verlice had left him and fled, but when he looked all around and saw Verlice far behind him, he let out a breath of relief.

"I thought he'd already left," Grey muttered before immediately running back.

'But what the hell is he still doing there? Don't tell me he's…' At that moment, Grey had reached Verlice and snapped him out of his trance.

"Don't you have any plans to move at all? Others had left us behind," Grey spoke in an annoyed tone, although it wasn't really from the heart.

"I was just admiring the beauty of this academy. Of course, I know you guys have already left me. I was planning to catch up with you guys later," Verlice replied indifferently.

"You want to catch up with them when they're already out of sight? How do you intend to do that?" Grey fired back with his arms crossed. A chuckle almost escaped his lips when he said that, but he managed to control himself. Only a little, anyway, as a smile began to form on his face.

"Out of sight? What are you talking about?" Verlice asked, before gently pushing Grey out of the way to see for himself, and that's when he realized he'd been engrossed in his so-called admiration for far too long.

He heaved a sigh of defeat when he could no longer see any sign of the 20 or so students he had come here with.

"Look, I was just trying to appreciate the view of this place. I doubt I'll ever have time for it if I get out of here," Verlice tried to rationalize his actions by making excuses.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, buddy. I understand completely. I guess this is your first time in such a huge place, no offense," Grey said with a smile.

"Yeah, kind of." Verlice nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you come back for me? We haven't been friends for very long, so you're free to leave whenever you want, but you didn't. Instead, you chose to come back."

Grey thought for a while. He really didn't know why he had come back for Verlice. Other people would have left, but he just wasn't able to do that. It made him uneasy knowing that Verlice was far away from him. Perhaps that was why he came back to get him.

"I don't know. I just felt like I had to do it. You're my first friend, so I wouldn't just leave you, Verlice, my first friend." Grey chuckled at how his words sounded, but that was simply the truth.

<Wow, you got yourself a thoughtful friend, Verlice>, Lera teased.

Verlice said nothing when he heard what the boy said. He just nodded along and started walking while Grey followed him.

Although it didn't show on his face, Verlice was in turmoil inside after he heard Grey's words.

He wasn't used to this kind of treatment. Everything was happening much faster than he had imagined. From meeting the boy on the way here, he already had a friend who seem to care about him.

Although he didn't mind, he was a little worried. Lera's words were still very fresh in his mind each time he thought of being friends with Grey for real. 

He doesn't want to put his truth in the wrong person and be deluded later in the future.

Even though he'd loosen up a bit around the boy, trust was still needed to solidify a friendship.

"Hey, man. Wait a minute," Grey said suddenly, giving Verlice an instant pause. "I want to make something clear to you. You shouldn't feel burdened because of what I said earlier. I know you don't trust me yet, so don't feel burdened by what I said. Take your time before you trust me. I also don't always trust people so easily, though I don't know why I trusted you at first sight. Perhaps it's because you're quite distinct from other wizards. I don't know how precisely, but I can feel it, you're unique. Let me just put it this way; I consider you unique."

"I understand that. But I'm not unique. I'm just a regular wizard with an expired license, haha," Verlice said with a nervous chuckle.

"You can't change my assumption that you're unique, man," Grey said with a smile. "Speaking of licenses, I think we should get going now so I can help you get one."

"Yeah, we should be on our way now. But do you even know where those students disappeared?" Verlice inquired.

"If I didn't know, I wouldn't have come back for you. I was just kidding. C'mon, let's go."

Sometime later, Verlice and Grey were already on their way.