Having rushed in due to the timeline, Everlearn almost stumbled on himself, but he prevented that from happening with quick reflex, standing upright.
Inside the building was the entrance hall, a very, very large area, filled with people, mostly adults, with one or two others around his age.
They were those who wore uniformed blue and white clothes, and he guessed those were the staff.
Taking a quick glance around the room, he soon found a staff member that seemed to be idle and walked towards him.
It was a man with features oddly similar to Everlearn, in that they both had the same color of blue eyes.
Seeing him appear, the man paused for a second before turning his full attention.
"Quite the nice colors you got there, mate," he said, and Everlearn smiled.
"I could say the same for you."
"You won't be wrong, haha. What can I help you with?" he said, and he responded.
"Just trying to get in the academy."
"Oh, nice. You passed the recruit test?" he asked, and Everlearn's hand searched into his pockets, bringing out the card.
"Not sure about that, but I think I got something that'll do," he said, passing the man the card.
He took it, his brows furrowing at the only thing on the card.
It was a simple sign, but reading it—
The Boss
"Woah," the man said, seeing the card.
"You got this from the boss?" he asked in shock, but he paused, regaining himself.
"Sorry for that."
"It's fine, it's fine," Everlearn said, waving it off with a shrug.
The man swiped the card on a device at the side, and quickly he began typing on the motherboard.
The sound of a card engine followed a moment later, and in 45 seconds, Everlearn got a different card. It was a golden card, and he took it from the man.
"Look, that elevator labeled 7th World," he said, pointing at one of the elevators at the end.
Everlearn nodded.
"Just go inside and swipe the card on the reader. You'll find a person waiting for you. Tell her, Horion Wants You Attended."
"Ok, thank you. Appreciate it, man."
"No worries. You cool, mate," the man said, and Everlearn stepped away, moving towards the elevator.
When he got in, there was no button to press; instead, a card sensor, and as instructed, he glided the card over.
A stifling—
BEEEP!BEEEP!BEEEEP!
Sound was made, and in the next moment, the elevator door gently shut, and he felt the mild reverberation beneath his feet.
As for whether he was going up or down, he had no idea at all. The elevator was just that smooth.
The journey wasn't too long.
He stepped out soon enough and found himself in a room.
A room of many doors, at its center being a large desk, whose end sat a woman wearing spectacles.
He walked forward but paused two meters away.
His hand reached out, and he found a glass that blocked him from coming closer.
The touch of his hand against the glass sent a red light through the room, and the woman raised her gaze, turning to look at him.
Everlearn spoke out.
"Horion wants me attended."
A glint crossed through the lady's eyes, and in the next moment, she lightly tapped a button on the side of the desk, the glass going in.
He stepped in, passing her the golden card he had used for the elevator.
She placed it on another scanner at the side, quickly typing on the keyboard.
"A minute, please," she said, and he nodded.
He watched her continue towards one of the many doors in the hall.
A couple of seconds within, and she stepped out before entering another room.
Seventeen seconds, she was out again, going into another door, and Everlearn watched as this happened for about seven of the doors in the room before she finally stepped out.
When she did, she brought out a total of five cards, returning to her desk and adjusting under it.
Quickly enough, a couple of items were before Everlearn.
There was a device still in its box, a single book, a memory card in a tiny nylon bag, and two cards—one purple, one green.
She packed it all up into a golden cross bag before passing it to him, leaving the purple card out.
"Just get back in the elevator and swipe the purple card. You'll be sent into the academy. And don't worry about the sensor not returning the purple card—it's just protocol," she said, and Everlearn nodded.
"When you get to the academy ground, bring out the green card. You'll feel a force field in it. It's clear enough and should lead you right to the doorstep of your dorm room," she instructed, and he nodded.
"And a personal device—when you get to your dorm room, bring out your device and plant in the memory card. The first thing you should read are the academy rules, and check the maps and familiarize yourself with it."
"It'll save you a lot…" she said, and Everlearn took them.
"Thank you," he said, turning back to the elevator, and just as instructed, he placed the purple card in.
This time, the sensor didn't push out the card; it swallowed it instead, and the elevator door shut close.
The last thing Everlearn saw was the woman looking at him with faintly creased eyebrows, and when the elevator door shut close, she shrugged it off as he once more felt the ground reverberating beneath his feet.
This time, it took longer.
Almost like five minutes before the elevator opened up, but when it did, Everlearn was surprised.
Out before him was an open ending from a building, and when he stepped out, it was like arriving in another mini-city.
A city filled to the brim with people around his age, walking around in twos and threes, and some of them blitzing around on hoverboards here and there.
He looked down and found a board already waiting for him, to take him down to the ground, but he paused, looking at the wide world before him.
This was Academy… A Coreers Academy.
Huuuu—
With a deep inhale, Everlearn took his first step towards the board, and soon enough, he was being moved down the elliptical curve, disappearing amongst the other thousands of students all around.