Extra And MC

63  Chapter 59 - Arcana Academy

Arcana Academy.

Located on a fairly large yet lush floating island in the sky that was encircled by mystical cascading waterfalls that never seemed to reach the ground while being covered by a pulsing transparent dome, Arcana Academy was situated directly at the center of the nation of Arcadia.

The academy architecture perfectly combined ethereal elements with a modern futuristic design, blending an enchanting yet seamless natural beauty to invoke a fantastical feeling of euphoria.

This fantasy academy that stands as the epitome of excellence, was where almost every excellent ranker presently known to the world had graduated from and it was also the dream of almost every youth present in Arcadia that was of age to attend it.

Teleportation portals which were situated at the ground levels were usually taken to gain access to the academy because the pulsing dome asides serving as an impenetrable fortress of protection, also served as a repellant to prevent people from getting into it the academy through various other means, specifically via their magical abilities.

The island which the academy was situated on, was literally a small nation of its own and every form of status, be it nobility or being a commoner, was completely cast away.

It had its own currency, its own small quarters and districts asides the academy itself, its own set of guidelines to follow and live-by and most of all, it was self-sustainable.

How they had done it, so many people still could not fathom till date but one thing was completely and irrefutably certain in everyone's mind.

All of Arcana's prestige and self-sustainability had only been possible because of one man who was the sole creator, owner and also the head and dean of the academy.

This enigmatic and mysterious man was also the only EX-Ranker presently known to the world, but that's a something we'll eventually circle back to.

At the academy, only strength and power would take you far, along with a good amount of reasonable intelligence and wit.

Normally, Arcana Academy would have just sent letters to every youth who was of age in Arcadia when the time came and then, the youth themselves would then prepare to have all their luggage and what-nots packed to begin heading straight for their gates.

This year however, much to everyone's shock and surprise, the academy had decided to organize an entrance exam! The very first of its kind!

When inquiries about the reason for this sudden change had been put forward and asked of by the Dean of the Academy, he had responded with a short official statement that although the entrance exams were now going to be a thing moving forward, it would not be a criterion for an individual to be selected for enrollment.

Instead, he had explained in his statement that everyone who received a letter for enrollment was welcome to join the academy, as long as they took part in the entrance exams, regardless of whether they passed or failed.

This was also the reason why Aiden and Flynn had cursed after reading through the contents of their enrollment letters.

Never, not even a single time did an 'entrance exam' occur throughout the entirety of the novel, not even years after Aiden had graduated from the academy in the novel and had decided to become a 'Delver'.

Both of them had known, that definitely, one way or the other, this was definitely as a result of their actions but what exactly it was that had caused it, they had no freaking idea.

This was far too much and way too big of a butterfly effect than they had expected.

This new yet odd rule from the Dean of the Academy, was also met with so much confusion from the masses at first but gradually, it began to transform into a fever-like excitement.

This was because the Academy began releasing glimpses of what the entrance exams were going to entail while also detailing that parents, guardians and other people who were interested could come and watch the entrance exams, along with the information that the exams were going to be broadcasted all over the nation of Arcadia.

They had even gone as far as to almost make it seem like a big festival and as a result, it was now the hottest topic in Arcadia, making even the fervor and craze previously directed towards the creation of an advanced grade potion die down a little, much to the Belmont's relief.

Just a week after Flynn, Aiden, Ivar and Ivelia had received their letters, they were now presently in front of one of the many teleportation portals littered across Arcadia that could take them to the Academy along with the Duke who was currently carrying Briar and the Duchess who was telling her sons to be super careful.

After she was done with them, the family of six turned to face the portal once more.

Leopold had pulled a few strings here and there to ensure they were the only one who would be available to take the portal at this specific time, precisely 7:25am in the morning.

He really did not want to deal with the paparazzi and their bullshit so early in the morning.

"Fuuu…" Flynn let out a deep breath of air while watching the swirling white portal with a soft hum in front of him, his eyes glancing over to his brother who was standing right next to him.

"Well, here goes nothing…" Aiden said while also returning Flynn's glance and without a single moment's wait, they both stepped into the teleportation portal along with the rest of their family.

The sensation all four teenagers along with Briar felt as they stepped through the portal, definitely gave them an exhilarating experience when it was factored into consideration, that asides from this being the first time they were entering a portal, they had also traversed space and time in an instant.

As they stepped out through the other side of the teleportation portal though, a tingling sensation and a lingering sense of weightlessness washing over them, all five of them watched in awe and wonder as the sights, scents, sounds and chatter of various other people who had also come here for the entrance exams came into full-view in an instant. Almost as if they were instantly thrust into a whole new region.

The atmosphere was absolutely crackling with palpable yet boundless excitement but likewise, the air was also charged with a feel of nervous anticipation too.

Maybe due to this peculiar atmosphere, no one had particularly noticed that the Belmonts were also moving among the crowd with them.

As the Belmonts kept advancing forward on the very long yet modernly and beautifully designed walkway along with other candidates, parents and guardians, they soon reached the Academy's courtyard.

Arcana academy's sprawling courtyard which was graced with gentle rays of sunshine that enveloped it in an inviting atmosphere was completely packed, even at this early morning with a vibrant tapestry of different types of individuals.

Candidates and their families or guardians who had gathered here from far and wide, could be seen chattering away while most continuously tried to suppress their excitement and nervousness.

Parents and guardians could also be seen engaging in animated discussions about their children's potential while impromptu friendships that had formed between candidates themselves in just over a few minutes, causing them to have detailed conversations involving their magical prowess, dreams and aspirations.

This immediately transformed the courtyard into a buzzing atmosphere of intricate but almost chaotic conversations that just seemed to make no sense if one tried to listen to them.

Booths and stalls lined the periphery of the courtyard, offering festival-like dishes, potions, peculiar and 'seemingly enchanted' trinkets and unique talismans that quite a lot of parents and guardians were now perusing through, looking for charms that promised good luck or 'enchanted trinkets' that might aid their children during the exams.

Some families however, especially the noble ones like the Belmont's, just took in the almost festival-like atmosphere.

Soon though, the Belmont's ambience was broken by a singular person who had exclaimed.

"Wait a minute…. Isn't that Ivelia & Ivar Steelblade and The Belmonts?!!!" he screamed, almost as if he was meeting his most revered celebrity.

"Oh crap!" Flynn muttered just as everyone now turned their eyes on them and suddenly, the vibe of the entire courtyard changed in an instant as people began to flock towards them to catch a glimpse of the two young geniuses who had created an almost miraculous healing potion.

"It's really them!"

"They've been on complete lockdown for the past month so much that they subtly went under the radar! I can't believe I forgot that they would also be showing up here today!"

"She's so young! And so beautiful too!"

"Even the brother is just as good-looking!"

"Amazing! They really are so young! What a phenomenal achievement you two!"

"I'm sure they'll create something even more groundbreaking in the future!"

Briar who was still not used to the sudden onslaught of people clamoring around her and her family members, quickly buried her head in Leopold's chest and closed her eyes tightly shut while Anna gently patted her head.

Flynn however immediately casted his [Force Field] spell without batting an eye, seemingly surprising the people who kept flocking towards them and halting them in their steps but immediately almost after, Anna casted another barrier-like dome spell of her own that pulsed with a radiant golden hue.

The silvery green-haired youth then turned towards the twins and asked in a playful manner, his voice raised to its max volume so they could hear him over every other person's chatter.

"So! How does it feel to be the most popular people in all of Arcadia?"

"Overwhelming!" Ivar answered with a shout, still completely taken aback by everyone's high opinions of them even after this past month.

"Immensely overwhelming!" Ivelia added with a louder shout of her own, her hands raised to her ears to mitigate just how exponentially louder the crowd around them was getting.

Aiden on the other just went over to them and placed his arms around both of the twin's shoulders while speaking loudly enough for them to hear.

"You guys better start getting used to it! Last month was bad enough but this is really how bad it can get!" he explained.

The Duchess and Duke however just sighed at this.

There really was nothing they could do in this scenario asides just maintaining the barrier spells and waiting for the entrance exams to commence.