CHAPTER 3: Like a Domino

Every road leads to a neck}

{Every story leaves me lonely}

"Strai-tus Albarobe," he muttered underneath his breath pointing his wand towards his red-striped uniform, using one of the basic spells he had learnt to try and straighten his shirt, sighing the moment he discovered that only half of his shirt had been repaired and the other half still looked rumpled, 

Not wanting to wait any longer, Ashan dropped the closed box into one of the skin bags he used for his books, even though all it offered was a good covering and it didn't close all the way, 

Quickly, knowing fully well that he had to be back before dinner was over or he wouldn't be able to get back into the Academy, especially since he knew no one in the city of Drago that would take him in.

With his wand in one hand and the wrapped box in the other, Ashan left his room, making sure to lock it behind him as he headed out the second year building, past the other buildings surrounding it, 

Managing to sneak past the cafeteria where most of the students had gathered and some were still entering for dinner, pleased not to have come across a single student as Ashan headed towards the main entrance, 

On arrival at the gate, he met no one, as usual, slowing moving forward towards a rectangular glass-like box as he easily entered into it, feeling it pass over every inch of his body including all the items he had on him, 

"Beep...Beep… You are Falorn Ashen, Born in the season of the wind, Second-year student of the light academy, Class B, Rank 50…" stated a deep male voice whom Ashen had never seen but was by now used to, 

"Time of exit: 6:15 pm, expected time of return is from now till tomorrow evening at 6:15 pm. Failure to return will lead to immediate search and rescue and also your instant removal from the academy," the voice said as it continued to speak, while at this point Ashen was already impatiently tapping his feet knowing fully well that in one more year he would no longer have to go through the box and would instead get a platinum card, as long as he was able to pass the exam, 

"May the lost gods be with you," the voice said in its usual tone, enabling Ashen to step out of it with a satisfied expression on his face as he began walking forward keeping in mind how dark it would be in a couple of hours and seeing the deserted landscape all around him, 

The light academy was at the edge of the city of Drago without having any obvious influence over the city same as how all other academies, such as that of Green, dark and other academies were never built within the cities surrounding them mostly to keep magic influence away from people that were unable to wield it, 

The best students in his year were already able to cast basic teleportation spells but Ashan hadn't even been able to comprehend the beginning of what space magic entailed, 

So instead, Ashan plucked a huge branch from a stringy tree that he was able to find, knowing the exact and quickest path he needed to get to the city and the market he needed to go, 

"Airus- Nevafallnos," he casted waving his wand on the branch as he tried to pass across the image he visualized in his head towards the inanimate object he had placed on the floor in front of him, 

Opening his eyes, he was delighted to see the branch raise up on its own as it began to float in the air,

Excited, Ashen quickly climbed on it, using his wand to direct it in the direction he needed to go but he had only been on it for about a minute when the branch suddenly began to teeter from side to side almost as if it had lost whatever energy and was now too tired to keep going,

"...and here I was thinking that my magic was better and I would no longer have to walk through the entire journey," Ashan whispered underneath his breath to himself, waving his wand faster than he had while seeming to pour all his focus into ensuring that the branch flew and as fast as he could make it, 

"I'll have to do what I can now and leave the rest for later," he thought as he flew through the path and fastest shortcuts he knew to the city while making sure to hold onto his wrapped box almost harder than he held on to the branch that made him dangerously float a few feet above the ground, high enough that a fall would definitely break more than a few bones, 

Ashan was bad at astrology and Astromancy but one thing the Academy had ingrained in the students the moment they entered was the art of telling time just by looking and analyzing every part of the sky, which was why Ashan was super glad the moment he got down from his branch and saw that he had arrived at the edge of the city and he still had about twenty more minutes to go until it was seven, which meant that if all went well he would back at the academy by eight with exactly what he came there for,

Irrespective of the fact that although he had flown there, he heaved deeply, trying to suck in as much air as he could almost as if he had just ran a 500meter race and his next breath might as well be his last,

Without needing to cast another magic spell on himself after safely hiding away his branch since it would be easier to use since his mana signature was already ingrained inside it, Ashen easily entered the city through the back gate, especially since the guards immediately turned a blind eye to him the moment they laid eyes on his uniform, going as far as to ignore his presence entirely,