Selia then walked to the driver’s seat and sat inside before she drove away from the airport into the Academy City. Arthur looked through the window at the scenery around him. The city was indeed as beautiful as he expected, if not even more.
Everything about it felt well-thought-out, from the design of the buildings which was a mix between futuristic simplicity and modern aesthetics to the streets and the way they merged and disconnected from each other. The air was also fresh and cold as if Arthur was in nature. It felt like the perfect city even from an outsider’s point of view.
‘They really put a lot of thought into this place and it ain’t even the impressive part. Where did they even get the money to build this city and that goddamn behemoth of a structure up ahead?’ He asked himself.
Everything was indeed great so far, but Arthur didn’t understand how Divinity Corp was able to pull this off. Even if they had the time to do it, this is certainly a massive project of a different scale than anything else. The institution alone was an architectural marvel that would make anyone’s jaw drop to the ground. It will equally make them drop their jaws at how much it cost to build.
“Do you like what you’re seeing?” Selia noticed the look of wonder on Arthur’s face and decided to ask.
“Yeah, this place feels like another world.” He replied as he looked away from the window.
“Thank you for your compliment! We have put a lot of work into this project so honest praise is something we appreciate.”
“How was this even pulled off? I mean, how many years it took for this city and that institution to be built?” He asked as he pointed outside.
“The project has been in the work for the past 20 years or so.”
“20 years huh? Props to the architect that pulled this off, hahaha.” Arthur laughed sarcastically.
The car continued moving through the city, heading toward the mountain in the distance. The closer they got, the more the size of this mountain dawned on Arthur. It was so huge that its shadow loomed over an entire section of the city.
Then, the sight of the institution became even more impressive. Arthur genuinely didn’t know how it was physically possible to build such a thing. He might be dumb, but he at least knew some basics in physics that would make such a thing near impossible.
To begin with, the institution was built on the side of a mountain which was already a logistical disaster to maneuver through. There was also the problem of the uneven terrain and how stable it was to actually hold such a massive structure. It didn’t make sense at all no matter how he looked at it. Even their reason of ‘Protection and safety’ didn’t sound logical at all.
“We are almost there, sir!”
Selia’s voice caught his attention as he looked down. At the very foot of the hill was what seemed to be the dormitory.
From outside, he can only see a glimpse of the higher parts of the buildings with the rest hidden behind the giant wall that surrounded the entire area. The gates were made out of enforced metal and there were guards standing in front of the doors holding what seemed to be guns. To the side, he could see other guards on the walls, well hidden in several corners as if they were watching in secret.
The atmosphere grew tense in one fell sweep. The car reached the gates and stopped very slowly as Arthur felt a slight nerve. He didn’t know why but the intimidating looks of the guards from afar wasn’t fun at all.
“Don’t worry, sir. This is going to be a regular check-in for anyone who walks in or out of the dormitory area. We don’t want any problems to occur.” She said.
“Ok…” Arthur replied. ‘Again, what are they putting all this security for? We’re literally in the middle of nowhere! Nobody knows where this goddamn island is.’
As he was contemplating Selia’s words, one of the guards approached the car slowly with his finger on the trigger, ready for anything. The sound of his footsteps was nerve-wracking to a surprising degree.
He approached the car from Arthur’s window and then knocked on it slowly. Selia pulled the glass down. Looking inside silently for a second, he inspected Arthur with his eyes.
‘Should I say hello or is he going to get even angrier?’ The boy thought to himself.
“Code.” He then opened his mouth and said.
“015452,” Selia replied with an oddly serious tone.
The two stared at each other for a good second before the man finally nodded his head and put his guard down a little. “Good evening, Miss Selia. Please continue.”
At the same time, the gates started opening.
“Thank you! Have a nice day too!” Selia smiled before she turned the car on again and drove inside as the gates started closing behind them. Arthur naturally looked over his shoulder at the guards. Nobody knew what was going through their heads.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to memorize any codes in the future to access the dormitory. It is only for the staff.” She said.
“Hmm, I’m certainly not worried about that,” Arthur muttered as he turned around again. The interior of the dormitory area was as he expected, massive.
There were several streets that spread across the base of the mountain. Each building around him looked the same more or less. They were all huge, luxurious apartment complexes.
“Welcome to the dormitory area. Each building you’re seeing is a part of the male students’ dormitory. The female section is accessed from another gate, but, I doubt that would be something you need, sir Arthur. Entering that area is prohibited for male students.” She said.
“Yeah, last time I checked, I wasn’t a pervert.” He replied with a shrug. He could see why that was a rule.
“In any case, this is only the living area. So, the cafeteria and other indoor facilities are in the higher sections of the institution. You will be provided with the map for the entire place tomorrow so you won’t get lost.” Selia explained casually as she reached the parking lot near the gate and stopped the car.
“We’re going to continue the path on foot.” She said as the two left the car.
“What kind of room does each student get?” Arthur asked.
“Oh, good question! Well, your room will have a kitchen, a bathroom, a sauna, a balcony with a jacuzzi in it, and also a study room. The apartments are still open for renovations and additions in the near future so look forward to that.” She said.
“…”
‘I’m being welcomed to a blissful heaven! A jacuzzi? Did she just say a goddamn Jacuzzi? I have never even seen a Jacuzzi in my life! What the hell?!’
The more Arthur heard, the more he felt like this place was simply trying to constantly blow his expectations to pieces. It didn’t even sound real anymore with how much he was getting from all of this.
The two continued walking through the vast neighborhood. Eventually, they stopped in front of one of the buildings. The sign in front of it said ‘Building number 25.’.
Reading it Arthur naturally looked up toward the rest of the dormitory. It stretched so far east that he couldn’t even see the end of it as it merged with the rest of the mountain.
“How many buildings are there?” Arthur asked.
“Oh, there are exactly 200 buildings and each building has 10 rooms,” Selia replied.
A//N: Thanks for reading.
