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Insecure Magical Being

Custos strode confidently ahead, followed closely by Crystal, who couldn't help but wonder how strictly the academy's schedule was enforced for the students to already be in the dormitories when she was only ten minutes behind the rest.

Approaching the hut's broken door, Custos reached out to touch it, and to Crystal's amazement, it swung open of its own accord. She reminded herself to expect the unexpected, mentally bracing herself for whatever lay ahead.

Both of them entered the hut, and Crystal made sure not to blink like last time as she saw complete darkness vanishing into another night sky, one brighter than the previous.

As they stepped inside, Crystal made sure to keep her eyes open, determined not to miss a thing. To her surprise, she found herself transported into a realm of complete darkness, which gradually dissolved into a night sky brighter than any she had ever seen.

The grass beneath her feet glistened as if freshly sprinkled with water, and the towering trees, ten to fifteen times her own height, were unlike anything she had seen before. Their trunks were green with chlorophyll, and their huge leaves resembled a dense tangle of plants that had yet to fully mature but the size said otherwise.

When Crystal turned around to look back, she saw that she had just stepped out of another hut, very similar to the one on Earth, and the door had closed on its own.

She turned back and saw that Custos was bouncing ahead as she widened her eyes and rushed behind him with her luggage in a hurry and a surge of newfound excitement in her heart.

Two minutes barely passed when she saw huge walls appearing ahead of her as the trees started to decrease in number. The walls were made of red bricks and were even a few inches taller than the trees themselves.

“These are called the Teikhi Prostasias, the walls of protection. Any non-magical being or one known for their bizarre acts among us magical beings is not able to cross these walls, no matter how powerful they are. In the guise of this wall being prepared by the magic of all the kings of the six realms, assembling their core powers,” Custos explained.

Crystal was about to ask a question when Custos beat her to it, answering before she could even open her mouth. "You will soon learn regaring the six realms," he told her. "I am not the one to tell you who you are or what you will be facing from now on. Headmistress Basil Cole Selinofoto will do that for you, to whom we are headed now."

Crystal widened her eyes in panic, as she was not expecting to visit the headmistress of the academy the moment she stepped in.

“Ah-- Why-- I mean, I thought I would be going to the dormitory straight. Why the headmistress? Ha-ha-- ha--” Custos did not answer her again, as he kept hopping forward and hopped inside the wall, leaving Crystal bewildered and standing outside.

“What in the Harry Potter’s sorcery is this?” she murmured to herself while ogling the wall with her widened eyes. She ran her hand over the brick surface of the wall and to her surprise, her hand passed through the wall without resistance as if it was not even there in the first place.

“Are you going to keep being amazed like that by every passing wonder? I have told you already that we are late,” chided Custos as he popped his head out of the wall, and Crystal immediately apologized, looking down at him.

She took a deep breath and woosh, took a jump. Now she stood on the other side of the wall with no casualties. “Oh my gosh, the first thing and I already feel like my energy is draining,” she mumbled to herself and followed the hopping Custos once again.

...

Custos had departed, leaving Crystal alone in a vast office chamber. Every inch of the room was lined with bookshelves, some containing books of enormous size, others with miniature volumes.

Taking a seat before the grand, polished wooden table, Crystal surveyed the surroundings. The ambiance exuded a sense of wisdom, hinting that the owner of the space was a person of advanced age and benevolence.

It was one of Crystal's many talents to discern a person's personality merely by examining their possessions, even as small as a handkerchief. Thus, she had always found her own house devoid of life, as if abandoned.

Suddenly, Crystal jumped in surprise when someone entered the room from the front door, as the bookshelves moved aside. She was about to shriek at the top of her lungs, but she calmed down instantly when the shadow disappeared and an elderly woman emerged. Although the woman's face was covered in wrinkles, her sharp purple siren eyes revealed that she must have been a beauty in her time.

Crystal knew that this woman was the headmistress, as Custos had told her. She hurriedly stood up to show respect as she was unfamiliar with the customs of this new world she had entered, so she did not want to offend the headmistress on her first day.

The headmistress smiled as she approached and took a seat opposite Crystal. Her purple gown complemented her eyes, barely concealing her bony frame, and a black cape hung from her shoulders, its collar reaching her earlobes. Golden locks, highlighted with black and purple hues, cascaded over her shoulders, and Crystal was entranced.

“Sit down, Miss--” Basil looked at Crystal with raised eyebrows.

“Crystal-- Crystal Smith,” she replied, gulping and afraid to leave a bad impression on the headmistress. She immediately sat down. After witnessing how majestic the headmistress looked, she felt a bit insecure as a magical being. She had nothing special about her; her eyes, her hair, and even her height were normal in the human definition.

The headmistress regarded her kindly, flashing a wise smile as she repeated her name. “Crystal Smith. So, Ms. Smith, do you know anything about your origins?” The headmistress asked, and Crystal shook her head, admitting her ignorance truthfully. Basil nodded understandingly. “Then are you aware of your powers?” Now, that was a question both complex and intriguing.

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