[Lifespan Remaining: 21 days, 7 hours, 35 minutes.]
After parting with Adelaide, Noct had his hands full with preparing to move to the dormitories. Even if the Arcadia estate was somewhat close, the Academy insisted on students staying within campus.
Noct finally returned to Academy grounds, not as a candidate, but as a full-fledged student of one of the most prestigious academies in the entire continent.
However, a thought occurred to him. Rexford Academy was supposed to be this massive place filled with all kinds of environments and terrain. How the hell did they fit all of this within the capital? It just wasn’t possible.
The game already started with Robin inside the Academy, so Noct had no idea how he got there. And doing commissions was always a cutscene away as well.
Looking around, apparently a lot of the other students seemed to have the same question. A few workers were nearby, directing students to head toward the back of the Academy. But as Noct followed the directions, he quickly figured out why.
Parked right in the middle of the lawn was a gigantic ship that could easily fit all the incoming students in one go. Rexford’s insignia was smack dab in the center of its hull, while crew members were already preparing the sails.
If a ship was docked on land, it could only be one thing: an air ship.
"Noct! Over here!"
He turned away from the ship, spotting Annie waving at him from beside one of the paths. Alice stood next to her, with their belongings gathered near their feet. Noct made his way over, relieved to find someone he knew among the crowd.
"You two got here early."
"Not really," Annie replied. "There were already quite a few people here when we arrived."
Alice glanced toward the ship. "Do you know where we’re going?"
"No idea. Though I’m assuming they didn’t bring that thing here just to show it off."
Up close, the vessel was even bigger than he had initially thought. A wide boarding ramp extended down onto the lawn, where Academy workers were checking the papers of students before letting them through.
Some were struggling to drag their luggage up the slope, while those with sub-spaces simply walked past them. Noct was part of the latter group, infinitely happier that he had spent money.
"How are your hands?"
Alice held them up slightly. Most of the bandages were gone, though a few remained wrapped around her fingers. "They’re getting better."
"Good. Would’ve been annoying for classes."
"I think I would’ve managed."
As they spoke, Noct’s attention drifted toward the other students gathering around the ship. Several familiar faces stood among them, including everyone from Base Camp D.
’So everyone passed.’
Everyone who had made it back, at least. His gaze lingered briefly on Group Eleven before he looked away. There should’ve been one more person standing with them, but dwelling on that wouldn’t change anything now.
"Looks like we’re all here."
Finn’s voice came from behind him. The prince approached with his admissions papers in one hand, looking a lot healthier than the last time Noct had seen him. However, the thing that surprised Noct the most was the crest on his uniform.
"You’re...in House Phoenix?"
Finn glanced down at his uniform before nodding. "Yeah. I asked to be placed here. Thankfully, the Headmistress allowed me to."
"You asked?"
Noct looked at him as though he had just admitted to throwing away a bag of gold. From what he understood, most students would do anything to get out of House Phoenix. Yet Finn had apparently gone out of his way to enter it.
"Pegasus would’ve been...a little difficult."
"What do you mean?"
"There are quite a few people there who know my brothers," Finn explained quietly. "If I stayed there, I’d probably have to attend their gatherings. And once I start accepting invitations..."
He trailed off, but Noct understood what he meant.
With both princes gathering supporters, even something as simple as Finn having dinner with the wrong person could become a topic of discussion. Someone would inevitably decide that he was supporting one brother over the other, or hell, even building his own faction.
’Right. Being royalty comes with its own bullshit.’
"I just wanted to attend classes without having to worry about all that," Finn added. "Phoenix seemed like a better place for it."
"Hey, hey." Alice butted in. "Don’t give the guy such a hard time. What about you, Mr. Arcadia of the Great Families? How come you’re also in Phoenix?"
"I thought you said you’d be in Pegasus," she continued. "Something about how we wouldn’t see each other often?"
At the time, he had been quite confident in saying so. Looking back, he probably should’ve waited until his House assignment was actually confirmed before opening his mouth.
"Ugh...don’t even get me started."
Annie then suddenly slung her arms around both Alice and Noct’s shoulders, pulling them in close with a grin on her face. "Well, I’m glad we’re in the same house!"
"Me too," Alice added. "It would’ve been a shame if we didn’t see each other often."
Noct looked at the smile on her face. ’You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you...?’
Thankfully, the call to board saved Noct from any further embarrassment. He handed his admissions paper to the worker beside the ramp. The man who took his papers gave him a surprised look at the sheer oddity of his situation.
An Arcadia who received top marks was all too familiar. Yet that very same one being in House Phoenix was quite the twist. Still, Noct made it through without much hassle.
The deck was considerably wider than it had looked from below. Students gathered near the railings while Academy workers directed those carrying luggage toward the stairs leading under it.
With nothing to carry himself, he took the opportunity to look around.
Up close, the ship appeared surprisingly ordinary. There were ropes, masts, and rows of neatly fitted wooden planks. If someone placed it in the middle of the ocean, he probably wouldn’t have given it a second glance.
Though as the last few students came aboard, a low rumbling began underneath the deck. Noct felt it through the soles of his shoes.
’An engine?’
A steady flow of mana spread from somewhere below, traveling toward the rear of the vessel. Noct noticed it instantly, but realized that the mana was being spread throughout the ship as a way to lighten it.
There simply wasn’t any propulsion, as Noct noticed there were no propellers or anything of the sort attached to the hull. How the hell could this thing even get off the ground in the first place?
But then his eyes caught onto a man that stood at the captain’s wheel, with workers regularly reporting the status of the ship to him. The man adjusted the fit of his black gloves, and looked a lot younger than Noct had expected an instructor to be.
Messy dark gray hair fell over his eyes, while the sleeves of his white shirt had been rolled up to his elbows. A dark waistcoat and a loosely worn blue tie completed the outfit. And even without the students fangirling over him, Noct already knew who he was.
"Look! It’s Instructor Nova! He’s so handsome!"
"Do you think we’ll be able to get into his class? My sister said it’s always crowded!"
Apollo Nova, a 6-Star Arcanist, which was the fifth advancement of the Mage Class. A Royal Magician who had dropped out and entered Rexford Academy to teach instead. Though even among the Royal Magicians, his mastery over telekinetic magic was no joke.
In later arcs, he would become a crucial fighting force as well as a somewhat important character. Noct remembered that much from the game.
Why someone like him had decided to leave the royal court, however, was something he couldn’t recall.
The instructor stepped toward the raised platform. His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone could hear it clearly. "Everyone aboard? Please keep away from the railings during departure. If you haven’t secured your belongings, do so now."
Everyone rushed to do so at his command, with the entirety of Group 13 heeding his words and stepping back. Apparently satisfied, the man lifted one hand.
The boarding ramp suddenly retracted. Then, without anyone touching it, the entire ship just began to...float upward into the air. A soft purple light covered the entire ship, and from what Noct noticed, it all stemmed from the Arcanist’s hands.
’Telekinesis...’
"Whoa—!"
Someone stumbled nearby as the ship began to pick up even more speed. And once the entire thing had cleared the tallest buildings within Rexford, Noct heard the engine suddenly roar to life.
And just like that, they began cruising through the sky. But instead of going more horizontally, the ship began climbing at a much steeper angle, so much so that Noct had to grab onto the nearest object for dear life.
"Where the hell are we even going?!" Finn yelled from beside him, though Noct couldn’t hear him too clearly through the rushing air.
But just a second later, they emerged through the sea of clouds, and that was when he saw it...An enormous island hung above the clouds, its exposed underside tapering into jagged rock. Beyond its edges stood towers and buildings that stretched farther than Noct could see:
Rexford Academy.