The doors of the elevator opened, making way for a young girl no older than fifteen, likely only a few months into her awakening and shorter than average, depending on which continent one was from.
The girl was wearing clothes enchanted to adjust to the wearer, complete with custom undergarments that could change shape depending on the user's gender.
They cost a fortune. Enough to buy a kidney on the black market.
The girl was nibbling on a chocolate bar. That girl was me, having just shifted forms as I had wounded my male form in the elevator and because I had read enough academy webnovels to know exactly how this was going to go.
I would be greeted by a sexy senior who just happened to be kind and likes them young, she will grow curious about me, become a stalker and get attacked and turned into either a demon or a vampire, depending on author's kinks.
Then me, being the responsible citizen that I am, will feel guilty and subconsciously accept her into my harem. Which I wouldn't be aware of because I would be too dense to notice it.
So by coming out as a girl, I have rendered that entire scenario invalid, and I kept nibbling on a chocolate bar to look cool and also because sweets are good.
But you may ask, what if the same sexy senior happened to like them both young and female?. Then, I'd say it's fate and give up.
So I walked slowly and casually, and sure enough, I was greeted but not by a sexy senior or an uninterested guy. No, no. I was greeted by…
A fucking egg on wheels. And It had a smiley face
On second thought, it was kind of cute but what about my expectations? It's not like I was looking forward to be greeted by a sexy senior or anything… but still, seeing one wouldn't have hurt.
"Welcome to Arcana, the Academic Realm. Please hand over your student ID."
I handed over my student ID.
Looking around, I realized this place was huge, very, very huge. There were multiple elevators behind me, most of them descending.
All around me, I could see kids my age being greeted by egg-shaped bots.
I wasn't sure whether there were more students arriving or more bots. Not that I could dwell on it for long, because the bot made a ding sound. Bell-like, but a little… electrified? If that's the right word.
I got my student ID back, along with a phone..I didn't have any other belongings, since students were advised not to bring anything in the acceptance letter which is. well, technically an invitation letter, but since special admissions guarantee entry, it might as well have been an acceptance letter.
"Data sync complete. Welcome, student Rowayne. Please use your student ID and student code to log into the academy network..You may exit the building via train."
With that, the bot turned and approached another student who had just exited an elevator.
Hold up. Wait, did I hear that right? Exit via train? A fucking train? As in the same trains people use to travel across cities?
"Oi, The fuck do you mean, 'exit the building via trains?' I REQUEST ELABORATION"
It was too late. The bot was already too far away. It was faster than it looked, which was ridiculous, considering it only had one wheel and swayed back and forth as it moved.
Now, where was this train they mentioned?
I followed the signs, specifically the one marked Special Admissions. Yes, there were two different exits leading in opposite directions. One was for normal admissions students who had paid a huge, and I mean huge, amount of money just for registration, with no guarantee of acceptance.
Totally different from my case of free, guaranteed admission.
Apparently, the academy searched for special students using specialized artifacts, with around 50,000 special admissions every year.
The twist was that while both regular and special admission students were prohibited from outside contact, unlike regular students, we did not have internet access. Only the top 2,000 special admission students were granted internet access.
Which raises the obvious question that if everyone is prohibited from outside contact, why allow internet access at all? After all, the internet comes from… well, outside.
To answer your question, the academy had software that prevented the upload of data outside the realm. You could browse the internet, but you couldn't comment or post anything.
Besides that, the academy had its own internal network called AcadNet. Very original name.
Another difference between regular and special admissions was the timing of the entrance exam.
For us, it was six months from now. For them, it was two weeks.
And while we were given time and basic knowledge to grow during those six months, totally unsupervised, they weren't. They went in blind.
If they failed, they were hit with a soul-binding contract that prevented them from mentioning anything that happened after they entered the elevator, and then they were kicked out.
Apparently they bleed out from every hole they have if they break the contract and die,
And as for how I knew all this—well, I opened the phone I had just been given, entered my student ID (or student identification number written at the bottom) and student code, then entered my username—Rowayne,
and, classic—11223344. Super reliable password.
A name I came up with.according to the diary I just read, and since awakening grants you rights. Two rights. And I had used both.
The right to disown my parents. And the right to rename myself.
Anyway, then I searched on AcadNet, and this was pinned on the forum. Which lead to this fun fact hunt
And I arrived in front of the train and got hit with another student ID card check. This was the third time today, and I had a feeling there would be more card swipes.
It was a sleek, modern train—the kind with a beak-like nose. Which remember made me wonder: just how far was the exit for it to require us to take something this aerodynamic?
***
Ten minutes later
A ten-minute ride on a train going at a speed of 260–275 km/h. I wasn't doing the exact math, but that was far.
And for good reason, because if one were to look back after exiting the train and then exiting the building,
they would be greeted by the sight of a massive tower-like structure piercing the heavens. Literally piercing the heavens, as it extended into a tear in space, looking like something straight out of a space movie.
The tower itself was enormous.
Another search later: a 4.5 km radius.
The structure was named Maladie, after the founder of the academic realm.
The outer walls had elevators mounted to them, leading to the realm's only exit. The inner structure, meanwhile, housed the world core and the servers for the academy's database and AcadNet.
That made me curious about another thing.
Another search later, I found that the academic realm was self-sufficient, with farms for food, animals, and beasts, hosting multiple academies.
Each academy had its own management,
all united under a Council of Elders, consisting of those who had taught in the academies in their prime or had contributed to the realm in some meaningful way.
There were four regular academies, each located in a cardinal direction. Three special-admission academies. And one elite academy where the top 2,000 special-admission students would study.
Ding~
And I had just received a notification,
giving me my room location.
***
Two more trains and two card swipes later,
I arrived at the residential city, which was used every year to temporarily house roughly 50,000 special-admission students.
It was huge, and as far as the eye could see,
there were only skyscrapers.
My room, too, was in a skyscraper; floor 101, block V32.
I took a self-driving taxi there. Every transaction in the academy was done through credits, but before entrance, everything was free for prospective students.
Quite generous, I'd say.
And another three card swipes later; one in the taxi, the second at the reception, and the third to enter the room.
I showered and slept. I'd worry about everything else later.