17 School Awaits

They were in a flying ship, the exterior gleaming with golden plates that caught the sunlight brilliantly as they soared through the azure skies.

The body of the airship rolled with the structural supports of black polished wood that had been lacquered to shine under the metal.

Long windows of glass ran serially down the sides, allowing the passengers to gaze out over the clouds and the landscape stretching out far below.

Inside, the corridors were paneled in the same dark wood as the body structure, giving a sleek yet cozy feel. Plush chairs with crimson cushions were set alongside small tables and lamps hooked into the walls.

Cabins branched off the main passage, each one furnished just as richly as a fine hotel. At the heart of the airship were the engine rooms, all whirring gears and hissing steam propelling them onward through the wind.

Up on the main deck, few people strolled about taking in the sights or sat in rattan chairs under shade umbrellas.

The wind whipped loudly, bringing the smell of rain from distant storms. Crew members scurried to and fro, checking instruments and adjusting valves to keep everything running smooth.

Their aviator goggles reflected the glow of the setting sun as they sailed off towards their destination.

Northern was on the deck of the ship, bewildered as he took in the entire visage that sprawled out before his eyes.

His eyes was filled with enchanting flames of adornment.

'Just how far has the civilization of this world gone?' Northern glanced around with dancing eyes. 'Now, I'm really looking forward to seeing the academy.'

Intrigued by the intricate workings of the aircraft, Northern decided to do some exploring beyond the lavish passenger quarters.

He made his way down creaking wooden stairs to the lower decks, past whirring gears and hissing pipes releasing plumes of steam.

The engine rooms pulsed with mechanical energy, crew members shoveled coal into fiery furnaces. At the rear core of the ship was the crystal room – a sealed room emitting blue lights from the tiny line of space between its metallic door and the wooden wall of the ship.

Inside the room was a blue crystal shard, resting in enchanted bindings. This crystal was a powerhouse of soul essence harvested from a rift just like the one used as measuring device.

Crystals were just one of the instrumental resources found in the rifts – objects that hold an incredible amount of soul essence.

Soul essence at first sight was thought to be an energy flow that originated from one's soul. That theory was not wrong, although at a point intellectual awakeneds, masters began to think otherwise.

However, they soon found out that there was nothing wrong with the theory, from eons as more about rifts were being revealed, it was the theory became a fact that rifts are the greatest manifestation of souls.

It sounded vague and intangible however, there was no better theory to explain what rifts are.

Of course, the fact that they link another dimension to Ul'Tra-el is one thing that made it dangerously unique.

Another was that it was different entity from the linked dimension itself but if harnessed rightly, rifts had the soul power needed to revolutionize the entire world of Ul'Tra-el to a level of civilization that had never been recorded by other worlds.

The crystal inside this room emitted raw magical energy that allowed the ship to defy gravity and propel itself forward.

Surrounding the Crystal Room is the Engine Bay with steam boilers, pistons, turbines, gears. This machinery helps regulate, distribute, and convert the crystal's magic into controlled thrust for the propellers at the stern/rear.

The steam engines are powered by coal furnaces where stokers shovel fuel to heat boilers that drive the steam-powered components. This reinforces the crystal magic with mechanical energy.

Towards the front and sides are lighter-duty steam engines for electrical, heating, cooking. as well as cabins, galleys, and storage rooms.

There were endless amount of things to look at, to take note of, the people were a sight to behold. Of different regions and cultures, dressed in distincts ways, why some wore neatly tailored suits with panama hats, others dressed in light tunics and baggy pants and tiny shoes, majority wore fancy fabrics of vibrant colors be it male or female.

It kind of insinuated to Northern that they were more of this people on the ship. He wondered if they were all going to the academy too.

The journey continuously became a little bit boring, since he wasn't much of a sociable kid, he wasn't able to strike a conversation with anyone. His white hair often caught people's attention and they would complement him heartily.

But Northern's reply was usually curt. As the increasing compliments began to bother him, Northern spent more time in his room.

After he teleported to the ship, he discovered from Gilbert that all of them happen to teleport into the ship simultaneously, just that his was a little bit later.

He was shown to a small corner room on the ship that hosted a small bed and a table standing next to it. On the table was a lamp and a dusty old book.

Northern tried to read the book but was unable to. Particularly because they were letters he couldn't read. There was nothing spectacular about a book he couldn't read after all several languages existed in Tra-el of which he only learnt two.

The common one – Vaixsic and Krewun which was his mother's native language. He would have learnt his father's too but even Shin wasn't at all fluent in it.

It was a hassle learning from such a person.

Language were vast in diversities, most clans and families had different languages but one could say they all originated from the common one, when their histories are investigated, etymology of each words were often found to be more related to Vaixsic than any other language.

Other continents also had their own language and an even different common language from the central plain.

'I should consider delving deeper into languages too' Northern noted internally, still gazing at the strange book he had no clue about.

It could be a language belonging to any clan for all he could tell. But the mystery of him not being able to decipher it tempted him to steal it.

'Who knows.. there could be a lot of useful information'

Or it could be a total junk. It goes both ways but Northern's curiosity got the best of him.

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Northern was woken by the harsh sound of the ship's horn. It was to signify that a stop point was being reach.

Immediately he woke up, someone kicked his door open arrogantly.

"Get up brat! School awaits you!"