BXBX NOVEL Chapter 52 Back To The Academy City
The lava pillar cooled instantly and the hag\'s fingers slowly came to a stop. Abby waved her hand and the small fires instantly died down. Carter looked behind him at Lee Seng and then back at the pillar hag.
"I thought there wasn\'t supposed to be anything this dangerous in the forest." Carter looked at Abby.
"This sector is filled with E\'s, D\'s, a couple C\'s, and a very small amount of B ranks. A hag wouldn\'t make sense to show up... like this." Abby explained. She tapped her wrist watch and a floating screen appeared. She tapped away and then motioned Carter to come over. Lee Seng\'s curiosity pulled him towards the two and he peeked in-between them to see what they were looking at.
"There are no records of an A-rank monster even being registered in this sector." Carter read. "Either something progressed naturally within the forest or..."
"Somebody brought it." Abby swiped the screen away. "We honestly don\'t have time to ask questions about this. We\'ll ping for clean up. If you did it right, we should be able to gather some DNA on it." Carter nodded and the two of them turned to look Lee Seng. He stared at the both of them and then turned around.
"Fine, let\'s go. I guess I technically was out the moment the blood puppet did that huge spike spell." Lee Seng marched back towards where they came from. Carter sighed and followed after Lee Seng.
"We\'re coming back." Carter tapped his watch.
"What took you guys so long? He walk farther than you could see?" Alex asked.
"No, a hag appeared. Abby\'s pinging the location for retrieval." Carter explained. Abby tapped her watch and then pointed her hand at the lava pillar and waited until her watch pinged. She sighed and quickly followed after the two boys.
Lee Seng stepped into the opening of spotted sunlight and yawned with a stretch. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around. The dead direwolves were further to his left while the other Numbers seemed to wait on the other side of the forest. Lee Seng rubbed his eyes and continued towards the Numbers. Nicole, Scarlet, Dr. Valentin, and Alex were standing together chatting away. They were all looking at something in the middle as Lee Seng came closer.
"I guess everything else is going smooth." Nicole observed. "I think we should be fine. Just have the observers continue their work. We need to be prepared." The four Numbers nodded and the screen in-between them disappeared as they looked away. Scarlet turned to look at Lee Seng who was rocking himself from left to right. She smiled and looked past him. Carter and Abby quietly chatted as they came closer.
"We\'re all here." Alex spoke. Nicole nodded and turned to look at Lee Seng who still rocked back and forth. She watched him play with the bowstring on his chest. Even if she didn\'t like Lee Seng, she couldn\'t ignore his feat of killing a B-rank monster and take the gift that came with it.
"Alright, everyone. Let\'s leave." Nicole spoke. Alex pulled out a small disc and turned and threw it onto the ground. The disc grew five times bigger. Everyone began to move towards the grown disc and stand on it. Lee Seng followed the group and stood on it. Scarlet wrapped her arm around his neck and smiled.
"First time seeing a portable telepad, huh?" She asked. Lee Seng nodded and she patted his back. "These are only good for one use. They disintegrate after the use. They\'re used for groups thus their size."
Alex checked to see if the whole group had gotten onto the telepad. He counted multiple times and nodded. Nicole raised her watch and then tapped it. The telepad lit up and everyone began to shimmer and shatter into tiny light.
In an instant, they were standing on a telepad. This telepad was huge and the high ceilings caught Lee Seng\'s attention. The neutral colors with a lot of white made the space look like a transportation center of sorts. The group began moving and Scarlet pulled Lee Seng along.
"This is the Main Center. This is where all students and/or faculty use to get to place to place. If you get in, you\'ll be using these to traverse the different sectors and areas of the Academy campus. We also use these for missions outside the Academy. If you wanna get back and you\'re far from the Academy\'s telepads, you\'ll have to have a portable one to get back." Scarlet explained.
They came out of the large doors and the Main Center was bustling with all kinds of people. People were chatting, making their way to one of the many telepad areas, or inquiring with some staff. Scarlet pointed towards the middle of the lobby. It was a raised round counter. Staff members stood behind it while people stood around it.
"This is the lobby. Often times with the Academy, you\'ll already have everything pre-planned and know where you\'re supposed to go for teleportation. In the case you need help with anything, the staff members are located right there." Scarlet said. As they passed, Lee Seng caught the attention of many people. His tail lowered as his nerves were biting at him. His ears could catch remarks about him and the Numbers.
"Who\'s that with the Numbers?"
"What\'s Mrs. Scarlet doing with that person?"
"Is that a monster?"
"There\'s a lot of Numbers with one person. He must be special."
Lee Seng stepped out of the Main Center and could see they were in some sort of park. The Academy area reminded him of those \'college towns\' he saw in films and pictures. His mom always mentioned them to him and told him they were the "cutest places to get immersed in." School hours were in effect so students were going to and from the Main Center.
"This place is nice. It\'s like those small college towns Mom mentioned." Lee Seng remarked. Scarlet looked at Lee Seng and nodded.
"Yeah, the Academy is like that. This particular side reflects that feel more than anything. Luckily for you, 3rd Years live around this area as the 3rd Year building is that way." Scarlet pointed right. They walked a diagonal path onto the sidewalk and the group was moving towards the street light on the right.
"Was cities always like this place?" Lee Seng asked.
"Mmm," Scarlet pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "Not all places were like the Academy. As you know, the Academy is more high tech because of the funding and position it holds within society. The Academy architects decided to turn the District into mini-districts. So you have your \'college town,\' \'modern\' looks. If you were hear from the beginning, you would\'ve been in a more city-style district."
"Oh," Lee Seng exclaimed as they stood by the crosswalk light. "I don\'t think I saw that. I just remember seeing rows and rows of homes on the way here."
"That\'s apart of it. But, we have many students who come here so there\'s dorm options that\'s close to the Year buildings. Students usually want to room together so we have commute options available. You can usually get them if you have a team." The pedestrian light turned green and the group continued across. They kept forward for the rest of the way. The huge First Year building peeked across the sky towards their left.
"So this is called the Academy District but they broke it up into smaller districts?" Lee Seng asked.
"Think of it as a 2x2 square. The Main Center sits in the middle of the Academy. The First Year district is on the left side. Second to the right. Third is behind the Second and Fourth being the opposite of the First Year district. Each District fuses its own distinct looks. Over time, its a hot pot of different things." Scarlet explained.
"The areas are squares basically and there\'s two straight paths that intercept right at Main Center." Lee Seng mumbled.
"You\'ll get more of an idea when you get shown around if you get accepted. Just know each smaller district mimics the others. The school building is always in the middle of the quadrant."
The First Year building towered. Students were going about. The Academy really did feel like a college town. People knew their schedules and knew where the spots or places they needed to remember were. Lee Seng climbed the stairs. First Years stared as he passed with the Numbers. They walked into the cool building and Nicole hit an elevator button.
"We\'ll split to make it easier. I\'ll see you all on the 6th floor." Nicole said as the elevator opened. Students poured out, acknowledging the Numbers as they passed. Nicole, Alex, Dr. Valentin and Abby stepped into the elevator. Some students poured in and the elevator closed and went up. Carter hit the button and turned.
"So, what do you think so far of the Academy?" Carter asked.
"It\'s..." Lee Seng pondered. "Going to be a tough time getting used to knowing where to go." Carter chuckled and nodded. He folded his arms together and nodded.
"Yeah, it can be tough. Scarlet\'s been all over the Academy so she has a better sense of where things are. I\'m always in the Second Year district, so I don\'t get to come over here often."
The elevator dinged and students poured out. They all waved and nodded at Scarlet and Carter. Each student looked at Lee Seng with a confused look before they continued.
"He has a tail."
"Is that a bow?"
"Why does he have holes all over?"
Lee Seng glanced down and remembered he had holes and felt a little embarrassed about it. He had forgotten about it after they made it back to the Main Center. The Academy was more interesting than his ripped clothes. He forced himself to not cover himself, but found himself folding his arms as they stepped into the elevator.