The truck rolled through the city for nearly half an hour before they finally arrived at Imperial City’s airport.
By the ti Daniel pulled into the drop-off lane, the morning rush had already begun. Cars lined the curb, passengers stepped out with luggage in tow.
Daniel parked the truck with a final rumble of the engine before twisting the key.
"Alright," he said, stretching his arms over his head. "Welco to the glamorous world of economy flights."
Emily slid the door open imdiately and hopped down onto the pavent.
"Finally! I thought you were going to take the scenic route."
"I did," Daniel replied as he climbed out as well.
Marcus stepped down next, grabbing his own duffel bag and swung it over his shoulder. Aren noted that the duffel bag, which was the sa size as his, looked tiny when worn by the senior.
Iris followed right after. Marcus took her bag down for her and she casually grabbed it.
Are these two—?
Professor Sterling must’ve seen him staring before she nudged him on the shoulder.
"It’s complicated," she said quickly. "Both of them won’t admit it but they bicker like a married couple."
"You’ll get used to it after a while."
"Huh...alright," Aren nodded as he stepped out last with Luna behind him.
As soon as he did, Aren pulled his hood up imdiately, just in case any problems might arise. Before he could take more than a few steps, the professor handed him sothing.
A passport.
"What’s this...?"
"A ’fake’ passport," Professor Sterling replied instantly. "Did you really think you would use your real one in this situation?"
Aren frowned. "Good call."
He flipped the passport open. Inside was his photo, but the na beneath it wasn’t his.
"Couldn’t you have done sothing better than Brian?" Aren looked up at her.
Sterling adjusted her glasses slightly, obviously trying to hide a small smirk. "Just randomly thought of the na."
Aren sighed and put the passport into his pocket. The rest of the group had already started moving toward the entrance.
Emily walked ahead with Daniel, while Marcus and Iris followed behind them. He adjusted his hood over his head again before falling into step beside Luna.
Just as he reached the door handle, his instincts flared. Goosebumps started appearing on his hands as he felt a sudden sensation...
That he was being watched...
Aren snapped his head around to scan everything. The people who were strolling towards the entrance, the carriers who made sure traffic wouldn’t get logged up, and even the tour guides who lingered around.
Yet nothing stood out. Luna slowed as she followed his gaze.
"Sothing wrong?" she asked softly.
Aren hesitated before speaking. "It’s...nothing."
Everything looked completely normal.
"...Probably just nerves," Aren said finally.
Luna didn’t look fully convinced, but she didn’t press further.
Ahead of them, Daniel pushed through the sliding glass doors and glanced back. "You two coming or what?"
Emily was already halfway inside the terminal, waving them over enthusiastically.
"Co on! Security lines get crazy this ti of day!"
Marcus and Iris had paused near the entrance as well. Marcus leaned casually against the railing while Iris looked around.
"Coming!" Luna called out as she dragged Aren’s hand along.
The sensation from earlier had already faded. Still...he couldn’t get the feeling off his chest.
There were surprisingly a lot of passengers everywhere, but Professor Sterling moved quickly and easily through the line. Boarding passes were scanned, bags were placed onto the conveyor belt, and the group passed through the tal detectors one by one.
As Aren approached the detector, one of the airport guards spoke up.
"Sir, you have to take off that tal bracelet."
His gaze drifted briefly to the dull tal band around his wrist.
"...That might be a problem."
The guard frowned slightly. "All tal items need to be removed before entering the scanner."
Aren opened his mouth to explain—
But before he could say anything, a hand lightly tapped the counter beside him. Professor Sterling stepped forward.
"It’s fine," she said calmly.
The guard turned toward her. "Ma’am, all passengers—"
Sterling flipped open a small leather holder, revealing sothing inside. The guard’s expression imdiately changed.
He leaned closer, reading whatever was printed there before glancing briefly at Aren’s wrist again.
"...Understood."
Sterling slid it back into her coat as if nothing had happened.
"You can let him through."
The guard stepped aside instantly.
"Yes, ma’am."
Aren blinked once before walking through the scanner. The machine remained completely silent as he passed.
On the other side, Luna was already waiting with their bags.
"...That was easy," Aren muttered.
Sterling walked through the scanner behind him, adjusting her glasses slightly.
"Next ti," she said calmly, "try not to look suspicious when airport security speaks to you."
Aren frowned faintly. "Noted..."
Within another minute, the entire group had gathered their belongings again and moved past the checkpoint. Their gate number flashed across the departure screen overhead.
By the ti they arrived, the boarding area was already half full. Travelers occupied most of the tal seats while others stood near the charging stations or lined up at the nearby café.
A large screen above the gate displayed their flight number along with a simple ssage.
Boarding — 37 minutes.
Emily imdiately dropped into the nearest empty chair and stretched her legs out with a groan.
"Finally."
Daniel tossed his duffel beside a seat and leaned back casually. Marcus set his bag down beside the row of chairs while Iris casually slid into the seat next to him. Luna and Aren took the two empty spots across from them.
Professor Sterling stood next to them before looking around, almost like checking if anyone’s watching before she sat down.
"Since this is your first Wildlands expedition, we should probably explain a few things," she said while looking at Aren and Luna.
"We’ll be out there for about a week and will be on our own completely," she continued.
"During that ti we do three things. First—resource gathering. The Wildlands are full of materials you can’t find inside the cities."
Daniel smirked.
"Treasure hunting."
"Second," Sterling continued, "we cull invasive species. If monster populations grow too large, they eventually migrate toward the cities."
"And third," Daniel continued smoothly from where she left off. "You get stronger."
Sterling adjusted her glasses. "The Wildlands are the fastest environnt for Mystics to improve."
Emily leaned back in her seat. "It’s basically the best training you’ll ever get."
Aren nodded before leaning back in his chair and looking toward the massive window beside the gate.
These people really know what they were doing.
Marcus carried himself like soone who had fought countless battles already. Iris looked quite capable herself.
Even Emily, who joked around constantly, was an expert in Mystic Technology while being a student herself.
And Daniel...
If Aren were to compare pure talent with those from his past life. He’d be comparable to Lucas.
And Professor Sterling herself...Aren knew she was hiding more than she was letting on.
But for the first ti since joining the club—
Aren realized he might have stepped into sothing much bigger than he originally thought.
Is this really just a school club?
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