I had to shield my eyes as we shuffled out of the room, but once they adjusted, I couldn't help but feel relieved.
Unlike the room we came from, the hallway we emerged into was clean and well lit with windows set high into the walls. The vaulted ceiling made it feel like an old gothic cathedral. Many people in various robes went about their business, but made sure to make room for us to pass. At the end of the hall was a large archway leading into a circular room. The sound of heavy foot traffic could be heard coming from it, but my classmates were blocking my view so I couldn't see much else.
Like a tour guide, Aureo gave us an explanation of every room we passed. Most of them were used to study these "artifacts" they had recently come into possession of. It's likely the machine I saw earlier was one of them.
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"Once again, I truly apologize for the inconvenience this has caused all of you."
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"It's all right. You don't need to apologize so much, sir."
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Nathan seemed to have warmed up to Aureo significantly. A few students voiced their agreement, while others seemed a bit uncomfortable, and remained silent. I for one shared Nathan's opinion to an extent, but understood the rest of my classmate's hesitance to trust him. It doesn't seem like he intended for this to happen. And with the irrefutable proof of magic, it suddenly seems very plausible that we were involved in some scientific/magical accident, as unbelievable as that sounds… Unfortunately, we don't have any other option available to us at the moment.
As the thought crossed my mind, my dream from this morning flashed through my head once again.
Now that I think about it, the glow from that person's suit was the exact same colour as the machine in the room we were summoned in.
… Not only that, but the design was exactly the same.
I felt my blood run cold as the realization dawned on me. I decided to tell Isabel about it later.
I pushed the thought to the back of my head for now, I didn't want to miss any important details as we walked.
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"Thank you, young man. I'm glad to see that the children of Earth are so well-mannered."
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He smiled kindly in response to Nathan's question, and many of the students seemed to pick themselves up a bit when they heard his praise.
We eventually emerged into the main room, and the sight which met us was breathtaking. In the middle of the room was a large, circular counter to match the shape of the building. Behind the counter, a large bookshelf-looking structure reached all the way to the domed ceiling, intersected near the top by four pillars which curved down to the floor evenly spaced between the walls, and the counter.
Many important looking documents floated to and from the bookshelf, and the clerks behind the counter distributed them to people who took them and quickly departed through one of the three archways set in the walls, one between each set of pillars. Except for a fourth one which had a large set of double doors set into it. Nobody seemed to be going in or out of that one. The walls had no windows, but glowing crystals were embedded in them, with waterfalls cascading over them and into small rivers which flowed underneath elaborate golden grates on the floor, and towards the counter where they disappeared to some unknown location. The entire building seemed to be made of some sort of marble.
Aureo mentioned before this was supposed to be an important building in their capital. It certainly looked the part.
There were many people bustling about, carrying documents and a wide variety of unfamiliar objects. Books and papers were constantly floating to and from the bookshelf into the hands of clerks who took and distributed them from behind the counter.
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"This is our reception hall, most of our paperwork is handled here, and it acts as a hub for nearly all activity here in the state building of Sanctus Petra."
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At this point I was starting to feel more like I was on a field trip than in a different world.
We continued to follow Aureo who smiled and waved at the people milling about the floor. Many bowed in his direction as soon as they saw him, and some military-looking officials saluted him as he passed.
My classmates instinctively drew closer together as the admiring gazes which followed Aureo shifted to us and turned to curiosity.
We began to move towards the large double doors, and as we got closer we could see the intricate designs and gold patterns carved in them.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped.
I spun around to see Isabel with an apologetic look on her face.
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"Haha, sorry" she whispered "This place is… I don't even know how to describe it."
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My heart, what the hell Isabel.
I took a moment to calm myself and nodded in agreement.
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"This place is huge. And look at that." I made a small gesture towards the bookshelf in the middle "this really isn't Earth, is it?"
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A pensive look crossed her face.
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"I don't know" she sighed "I'm still wondering if this is a dream."
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I pinched her arm, payback for the scare earlier. She laughed and pulled her arm away.
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"Well I guess that answers that"
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I smiled. Her reassuring attitude was actually making me feel a bit better.
We reached the doors and Aureo touched a gold circle set between them.
They slowly swung inward, revealing a crescent shaped room built to conform to the main one.
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"In you go" he ushered us in, and the doors swung shut behind us.
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The room itself was decorated similar to the entry hall, but was rather barren save for a large conference table and a bunch of chairs.
Sadly, no waterfalls in this one. The room was absolutely silent save for our footsteps and hushed voices.
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"Please, take a seat."
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His voice echoed off the walls. Aureo gestured towards the table, and we all sat down.
Some of the scientists from earlier were still with us. He whispered something to one of them, who nodded and quickly exited through a side entrance.
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"Now then, I imagine you all have some questions?"
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"How do we get home?"
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The first to speak was the unfamiliar upperclassman.
Aureo sighed and sank into his chair a bit.
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"To be honest, the machine that was used to bring you here appears to have broken upon use."
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The room immediately grew louder at that.
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"Now, please, that doesn't mean it's impossible to send you all back home, so please bear with me."
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Everyone quieted down, anxiously awaiting his next words.
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"While the machine itself is broken, that doesn't mean we can't either fix it or find a replacement."
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"And how long will that take?"
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Isabel spoke up this time.
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"I'm not sure. We need to send in a team to find more documentation on the machine itself, or hopefully another one which isn't broken, although the chances of that are rather slim…"
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So, basically, we're stuck here.
As the knowledge sank in, the students went silent.
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"So-"
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As one of my classmates began to speak, the scientist from earlier returned through the same entrance they left through carrying a small machine whose design was the same as the one we were discussing.
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"What is that?"
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The same classmate from before spoke up again. His name is Yuuki Sakuragawa, his parents were from Japan. He didn't usually say much in class, so this level of contribution was somewhat surprising.
Aureo took the machine and placed it on the table. It immediately moved towards the nearest student and it's lights began flashing in a strange pattern. She looked terrified, but stood completely still as it seemed to scan her for something.
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"This measures the magical aptitude and innate ability of a person, and displays the results on this here."
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He pointed to a small screen, which displayed a set of words and numbers.
It read: Megan Williams - Age 17, MP - 1892, MM - Unknown, MT - Ice.
One of the scientists gasped when he saw the results, and Aureo made an odd face.
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"W-what? Am I dying?"
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Aureo chuckled.
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"No, no. We were just… surprised. You mentioned your world has no magic, correct?"
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She nodded, still looking fearful.
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"Well, for whatever reason, it seems you have a large amount of magic potential despite that being the case. In fact, You may be the strongest mage in the country."
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He seemed excited for a second, but quickly regained his composure.
Megan's fear turned to excitement.
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"What, so I can use magic then?"
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"Yes, given training I'd say you could be quite strong. That MP value is a basic measurement of your magic potential. My most powerful court mage has a score of around 1040…" at this point he turned to the rest of the students. "The rest of you don't have a problem with being tested, I hope?"
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At this many students began to clamber to be next. Isabel remained silent, watching Aureo, while an excited gleam entered Nathan's eyes.
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"Don't worry, we'll go in order, starting from miss Megan."
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The machine slowly made its' way through the students, one-by-one. A scientist followed it, closely recording the results.
Most of the students tested were around the 1800-1900 range. A few outliers dipped below 1800 slightly, while a few reached to 2100. Yuuki received an impressive 2132, but surprisingly only received an "unknown" for his MT. The upperclassman, whose name is apparently Hans Foster, received the highest score of 2264, with a MT of Materialization, whatever that means.
Surprisingly, Nathan received a pretty average score of 1836 and an MT of fire. He didn't explain what MT meant, so I just assumed it was the type of magic they could use?
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I was near the middle, so it didn't take long for the machine to reach me.
I watched it with baited breath, excited to see my results.
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Sabi Trabant - age 17, MP - 0, MM - ?, MT - ?
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My heart sank as I saw the results.
I chuckled nervously
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"is this thing broken?"
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Aureo gave me a sympathetic look.
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"It's quite rare, but it is possible for someone to be born with zero magical potential…"
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I dejectedly sank further into my chair while Isabel, who was sitting directly to my right, tried to encourage me.
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"It's fine, we'll be going home soon anyway…"
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The machine moved on to her, she watched nervously as it scanned, and looked at me with eyes full of guilt as the screen displayed her results.
Isabel Perez - age 17, MP 2037, MM - Storm, MT - Body strengthening, Lightning.
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"Somehow I'm not surprised. It's fine." I said dryly.
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I tried to smile and pretend I wasn't bothered, but her expression didn't change.
The machine finished its duty with no other major problems, and promptly shut down.
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"Well then. I must say, the results are rather unexpected. However… I believe this may prove beneficial to both of us."
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"How so."
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Feeling bitter, I chimed in somewhat rudely.
Aureo gave a weak smile.
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"Well… those with a high affinity for magic may be able to have a more active role in their return to Earth, if you so choose. Although I warn you, it will be rather dangerous."
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"What are you talking about? You want us to fight or something?"
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Yuuki asked incredulously.
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"No, I don't expect you to wage my wars. Our beautiful country is currently undergoing a period of unprecedented peace. No, I simply ask you to help my teams recover the artifacts and documents which may help us repair the machine to send you home. I believe with your help, we could have the solution to your problem much faster than anticipated. At the same time you will be contributing greatly to the scientific advancement of our world. Of course, you'll be properly rewarded."
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I looked to Isabel, who seemed unsure of what to say. The rest of my classmates murmured among themselves, clearly intrigued but hesitant.
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"So, how exactly is it dangerous? We just need to get some machines and books, right?"
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Nathan gave Aureo an inquisitive look.
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"The site itself is deep underground, and there are many dangerous creatures which make the journey extremely perilous." He cut himself off as he saw my classmate's response. "Well, to people of your ability, however, it should prove a relatively simple task."
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Of course.
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"I'll do it"
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Nathan's once again showed a strong eagerness to comply.
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"Just like that? Did you not hear what he said?"
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Isabel seemed a little angry at Nathan's recklessness.
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"What. You want me to just sit on my ass and wait until they find the means to go home for us? Did you not hear what he said? It's dangerous. Do you really want to send people you don't know into some dangerous ruin just so we can get home?"
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Isabel gave him an angry look, but didn't argue. Her sense of justice likely wouldn't allow her to do such a thing, but she seemed hesitant to trust Aureo. Oh and maybe the whole delving into a dangerous ruins thing didn't sound great to her, which is understandable.
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"I think I agree with Nathan."
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This time it was Yuuki who spoke up.
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"We can either sit and wait to go home, or we can do it by our own means. We have the strength to do it, so why not?"
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The rest of my class seemed to be warming up to the idea, and I heard more and more people voicing their agreement.
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"So, where are we going to stay until then?"
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I wanted to change the subject as I felt completely left out.
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"I have a private estate near the extraction site. I can have a few of my best mages teach you how to use your abilities there, and once you feel ready you can begin. Please, don't feel pressured, if you decide to simply wait until a solution is found I will not stop you from doing so, and will make sure your stay is as comfortable as possible."
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He glanced at me as he said this, along with a few of my classmates, and I felt anger rising into my chest.
I didn't choose to be unable to use magic.
Assholes.
A few more questions were asked, but I tuned them out and focused on the wood grain in the table instead. It was clearly expensive wood. And polished until one's reflection could be seen.
I did hear one question that piqued my interest, though:
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"How can we understand each other if we're from different worlds?"
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The one who asked was Colin Davis, a standard nerd who could usually be found playing magic in the library and just overall trying to speedrun not getting laid until 40.
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"We're not actually sure why. It could be due to the teleporter perhaps. Your guess is as good as ours."
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After hearing that disappointing answer I once again tuned out, until eventually the discussion ended.
It was decided we would be transported to the aforementioned estate for now until we could master our magical capabilities.
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"Hey… I'm sorry."
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Isabel, despite other classmates trying to get her attention, waved them away and stayed by my side.
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"Why are you so interested in me?"
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She shrugged.
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"I'm not sure. You-"
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"Well I don't need your pity."
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She tried to stop me but I couldn't look her in the eyes for some reason. I felt like a piece of shit for reacting this way, but seeing everyone else get such amazing abilities while I had nothing was a pretty poignant metaphorical slap in the face.
I put some distance between us and maneuvered through the crowd until I was near the front. We were back in the reception hall, but this time we were heading to a smaller set of doors which seemed to lead outside.
A few classmates who saw what I did shot me angry looks, but I ignored them.
When we arrived outside, the sun was already low on the horizon and the shadows were quickly growing larger.
The rest of the nearby buildings matched the design of the one we came from, like we had travelled back in time to when gothic architecture was popular. We loaded into some car-looking things which were powered by magic stored in a crystal battery of sorts, and steered much like a regular car.
They moved very fast, and the suspension was good so the ride was relatively smooth.
The ride felt like it lasted at least an hour, and the mood between the students seemed to lighten up due to the familiar atmosphere.
When we finally arrived it was completely dark outside, and the stars could be clearly seen. Sure enough, not a single familiar feature of the night sky could be seen.
We were all tired from the drive, so not much was said as we were shown to our rooms, and told we would be guided to the kitchen and given a proper tour of the estate in the morning.
Isabel tried to get my attention, but I quickly went to my room and locked the door.
Wanting to escape the situation, and tired from the hectic day, I quickly fell asleep.
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