Nevan took in a deep breath before opening the door.
And when he did, he was met with a sight that he hardly expected to see.
He thought he would find himself inside a large academy, but instead, the door led him to a hallway of mirrors.
The hall was luxurious and designed like one you find in a palace. Paintings and ornaments were spread across the walls, depicting events that he was entirely unfamiliar with.
One caught his eye. The image of a naked man ascending into the clouds. His facial features were blurry, but something about the image stood out to him.
There were five large mirrors spread across the hall, all evenly spaced out from one another. However, one stood three times as large as the rest and was placed at the centre.
Nevan scratched at his chin in confusion.
This doesn't look much like an academy at all.
Slowly, he made his way over to the mirror furthest to his left.
As he saw himself in his reflection, a sudden block of text appeared in his vision.
«The Classroom is currently inaccessible to you. There are no lessons in progress.»
The words were strange and held no meaning to him.
How can I access classes through a mirror?
Afterwards, he walked directly to the right and stared into the next mirror.
A block of text appeared again, though this time it was different than before.
Alongside the strange words, Nevan felt a strange sensation drawing him towards the mirror. As though it contained properties beyond his understanding.
Slowly, he reached out his hands...
As his fingertips pressed against the glass, they met little restrictions, before suddenly disappearing into his reflection.
Instinctively, he pulled back his hand, glad to see that his fingers returned to him normally.
Shit... Are these some kind of portals?
Now looking at the mirrors in a new light, Nevan made his way over to the third.
The mirror at the centre.
Coming from it was a sensation that felt ten times more powerful than the previous. It was as though his mind and body were desperate to jump inside of its reflection.
The large central mirror was the only one with golden artistic ornaments lined around its perimeter. It was clear that it was the most important of them all.
Nevan skipped over it for now, not even daring to get close enough to see what the text would say.
Not yet.
The fourth mirror was normal, and as he stepped close to it, the words written upon his vision were:
This mirror felt the same as The Nexus, which meant that he could press his fingers onto the glass and watch them slowly disappear.
And then, the fifth and final mirror, which had a stronger feeling than the others, though not as strong as the central mirror, read;
Hunting Grounds... What would I need to hunt for?
Food, perhaps?
Shaking off the thought for now, Nevan stepped back from the mirrors and took in the sight before him.
There are so many options, and yet, I have no idea what any of them are. Only faint clues.
What if I step through one of the mirrors and find that I have no way to return?
It was a serious possibility that he had to consider. And so, he came to a decision.
Nevan made his way over to the first mirror, which was currently inaccessible to him.
If he was to take a risk by entering one of the mirrors, then a classroom seemed the wisest.
A classroom usually means other students, as well as teachers. It will be my best chance to gather information as to what's going on.
The problem is... I don't know how frequently the classes take place.
Having made his decision, Nevan sat on the floor beside the mirror and leaned his back up against the walls of the hallway.
I guess all I can do is wait.
---
After what felt like hours of sitting in his thoughts, Nevan was interrupted by a pinging sound in his head.
A new text appeared in his vision, granting him an announcement.
«You have a Destruction Class starting in 5 minutes. Please head to the Hallway Of Mirrors. Failure to attend class will lead to punishment»
"Finally!" He cheered as he pushed himself to his feet, trying his best to ignore the mentioned 'punishment'.
He had no intention of finding out what it was.
Nevan dusted off his coat and made his way to the first mirror. The words were now different as he approached.
«Destruction Class in Progress»
He wondered what the lesson would be about. In the strange system presented to him, he had seen that there was a Destruction Vein, alongside many others.
A type of magic then? We'll be given a magical lesson.
Making sure that his golden monocle was still placed over his eye, Nevan took in another breath and prepared to step through the mirror.
First, he probed with his finger, making sure that the portal worked. If not, he would jump face-first into solid glass.
After confirming that he was ready, Nevan slowly stepped inside and felt his body submerging into the ethereal space.
He had expected to travel through some sort of ethereal tunnel. Perhaps he would find himself floating between the spaces between realms.
But instead, only a split second later, he found himself inside a large white room, as if he had simply walked through a door.
Instantly, the sounds of chatter filled his ears. A grand contrast to the earlier silence.
For the first time, he spotted roughly twenty others in the room wearing clothes just like his, though their sheathes and gun holsters contained weapons, whilst his was empty.
At the centre of the large room was a man standing atop a raised platform.
He was older than everybody else, with a long moustache that made him look funny. Atop his head was a top hat, which most likely covered a bald head.
It was so much to take in. Nevan wondered if he should go around and talk to some of the other students, but they all seemed to either be in friendship groups or were happy to be by themselves.
But before he could even make the decision, it seemed to have been made for him.
"Welcome to destruction class, students. As always, we will spend our time in open sparring. Remember, you are limited only to destruction magic, and I have placed a restoration spell on you that will stop you from dying." The moustached man on the pedestal spoke, swiftly bringing the room to silence.
"In your visions, you will see an orb floating above the student who I would like you to engage with. Now, I don't want to hear any complaints. These are all randomly decided after all!"
Nevan's heart lurched in his chest.
Open sparring? Do I even have a destruction spell yet?
Why is everything moving so fast? This is only my first day! I still know nothing about this place.
As the man spoke, Nevan quickly opened the strange menu in his mind and focused on his Destruction Vein.
To his surprise, he found a destruction spell. Though there only seemed to be one.
───〔 Destruction Vein: Standard 〕───
› Spell Unlocked: Push
Use a weak burst of wind to push your opponent in a chosen direction.
• Daily Usage: 10
———
Nevan stood there, jaw wide open.
I'm screwed!