<h4>Chapter 215: To the Dormitory</h4>


    The Ascendance Academy of Midgard stood at the heart of a vast valley, ringed by mountains that rose like solemn sentinels. Their slopes were draped in forests woven from every shade of green imaginable... deep pine, vivid emerald, and shes of bright new growth that caught the light like fire brought to leaf. The trees climbed until they blurred into the mist-wreathed summits, where jagged peaks kissed the endless sky. The air itself carried a sharp, untamed freshness,ced with the resin of pine, the sweetness of blooming flowers, and a faint metallic tang, as though thend’s very roots whispered of hidden mineral magic.


    The academy grounds unfolded before Eleanor like a kingdom of their own, vast and deliberate. From the steps of the Administrative Building, she could see three-storied structures rising amid the trees in every direction. Their red-brick walls, patterned with gothic arches and crowned with elegant gables, seemed shaped by the dreams of medieval masons. They glowed warmly beneath thest touch of sunlight, as if the valley itself had epted their presence into its ancient design.


    The other side of the buildings stretched open fields, rich and green, their surfaces smoothed with impossible precision. Courts for football, basketball, volleyball, hockey, and tennisy in measured symmetry, their white lines bright against the turf. Further away, an outline of a swimming pool shimmered... not a mere basin of water, but a wless mirror of the heavens, turning the low sun into a sheet of liquid gold.


    Led by Ondina, the group marched forward along a smooth ck pitch road that wound in graceful arcs to join the scattered structures. On either side, tall trees stood in stately lines, their branches arched high overhead to weave living vaults of leaves and blossoms. Yet these were no ordinary trees... some bore blossoms as wide as a hand, glowing faintly with inner luminescence; others gleamed with silver bark, polished so bright it caught every wandering ray of light.


    At their roots bloomed wildflowers in radiant clusters, colours colliding into an artistry that seemed too perfect to be chance... blues as deep as ocean chasms, reds brighter than me, yellows and violets that pulsed like jewels alive. Vines coiled and uncoiled between them, tipped with crystalline petals that fractured the light into tiny rainbows. Bees with wings like stained ss driftedzily among them, while hummingbirds darted past in streaks of iridescent emerald and gold.


    Above them, stretched a sky wless and immense, shading slowly from unbroken blue to the amber and rose of sunset. The sun sank low, scattering its light across the valley until every leaf, every stone, and every de of grass glowed with a golden sheen. It was as though the world itself held its breath, suspended in thest perfect moment between day and night.


    Yet beneath all its solidity, something else stirred... an undertone of strangeness. At the edges of visiony a shimmer, a subtle reminder that this ce was not bound by the ordinary rules of Earth. Every tree, every flower, every stone of those castle-like halls seemed alive, vibrating faintly with a quiet, unspoken majesty.


    While Eleanor was greedily basking in the beauty of the academy, Ondina broke the silence. "Look to your right. That is the dining hall. Tonight, you must report there at eight o’clock sharp. It’s nearly six now, so you have two hours to prepare. Don’t bete on your first day."


    Eleanor and herpanions turned their heads. Unlike the taller, gabled buildings of three stories, this hall did not strive upward but stretched outward, its vast breadth giving it the weight of a giant sleeping across the earth.


    Its roof swept high and wide, d in dark te tiles that caught the fading light in a soft sheen. Tall arched windows marched along its sides in perfect rhythm, each framed by carved stone lintels. In the glow of sunset, those windows burned like panels of molten copper, flinging the sky’s fire back at them.


    Lotus spoke next, her voice lower but carrying a hint of mischief. "It would be wise to read the dining hall section in your guide. Tonight, General Maximilian Veers, the officer in charge of the dining hall, will brief you on dining protocols. He treats every cadet as though they were soldiers. Discipline matters most to him. If you’re prepared, you may earn extra points. He is generous... with both rewards and penalties."


    Corallina cast a wary nce about before adding in a whisper, "Please don’t tell others about this. We’re not supposed to speak this way, but... think of it as a secret gift from your guides."


    Ondina pped her hands softly, as though to break the secretive mood. "Enough of that. Now, Cadets, look to the three-storied building beside the dining hall. That is your destination. Can you guess what it is?"


    Eleanor’s gaze followed her gesture. The structure before her contrasted sharply with the dining hall. It rose in a square, deliberate mass, its symmetry lending it a quiet authority. The deep red brick glowed warmly in the evening light, though its stern geometry was softened by the golden hue of sunset.


    Three rows of windows lined its sides, tall and narrow, each crowned with an arch of pale stone. Some reflected the sky’s fading colours, while others revealed shadowed interiors, glowing faintly asnterns were lit within. The roofline was t, broken only by short gables at the corners, and the base was ringed by hedges and flowerbeds, a careful touch of softness against its strength.


    Kiara’s eyes lingered on it before she said, "That must be our dormitory."


    Ondina nodded. "Correct. It may lookpact, but it isrger inside. Each floor holds fifty rooms for cadets. Every batch admits one hundred, including the repeaters. The first and second floors are reserved for cadets. The ground floor is used differently... for single staff members, temporary guests, and certain services likeundry and shops. Some rooms also serve as offices. Before you explore, study your guidebook to learn how to use academy points for these services. It will save you mistakes."


    Ophelia asked, "Is there any service for us tomunicate with our family?"


    Ondina shook her head. "Normally, no. But once a month, you’ll have an outing day when you can visit Kvernheim city. From there, you may use payphones to contact your family. On that day, the academy grants each cadet two hundred dors to spend. Most use a portion of it for calls."


    Kiara frowned. "Can’t we just get our phones back for that day?"


    "No," Ondina replied firmly. "The academy forbidsmunicating with families during term. The allowance is meant for food, leisure, and smallforts to break the monotony of academy life. Whether cadets spend it properly or not... the academy turns a blind eye."


    By the time she finished, they had arrived at the dormitory gate. The entrance was not a separate structure but a vast opening carved into the ground floor itself, a great archway that seemed to bear the weight of the dormitory upon its shoulders. From the second storey upward, the red brick continued seamlessly, as though the building had grown around this passage with careful intention.


    The arch soared above them in quiet majesty, its curves etched with patterns Eleanor had never seen before... winding lines like vines, interwoven with stars and moons. The pale stone framing it gleamed faintly in the lingering sunset, as if holding its own light. Passing beneath it felt less like entering a dormitory and more like stepping into the guarded gate of an ancient kingdom.


    Beyond the gate, they saw an extremely beautiful garden. The square-shaped garden stretched at the heart of the dormitory, bnced between precision and abundance. Beds of roses, lilies, and hydrangeas spilled their colours in radiant profusion, each bloom luminous in the fading glow. At the corners rose tall ornamental trees, their boughs arched inward as though to shelter the square. Smooth stone pathways divided the garden into neat quadrants, all leading toward its centrepiece.


    At the very center, a fountain rose from a wide basin of polished marble. Its sculpted tiers sent arcs of water crisscrossing high into the air, droplets catching the sunlight like fragments of crystal before falling back in a soothing chorus. The spray filled the courtyard with a fine mist, cooling the air and carrying the faint scent of the surrounding flowers.


    Encircling the garden, the dormitory walls rose three stories high on all four sides, their rows of windows and open corridors looking inward. Doors to the rooms lined the galleries, their railings decorated with climbing ivy and hanging baskets of blooms, as though every floor contributed to the life of the courtyard below. The symmetry of brick and bloom, water and stone, created a harmony both dignified and weing.


    Just beside the gate, a temporary map disyed the cadet numbers and their assigned rooms. After a moment of searching, Kiara groaned aloud. "Damn it! My luck again! Both of your rooms are in the same corridor, but mine’s all the way across the wing."


    Eleanor gave her a small smile. "Don’t worry. We’re still on the same floor. It won’t take you more than a couple of minutes to reach us."