Freedom Jumper-Chapter 177: Orneas Terminus

Empty space riddled the Tavenas Adventure Guild due to the curfew and rules in place to limit adventuring.

Truly, the war was halting the current goals of this Kingdom, and caused Elijah to tighten his fists while sitting down in front of Enida.

"Do you have any suitable missions?"

Enida sighed as if she was tired of saying the same thing over and over again. "I understand that Songa views your strength in interesting ways, but still, I do not have any available missions. To be quite honest with you... The adventurers who are out on missions right now have all agreed they do not want to bring children."

"I see... Have there been any sightings of the enem— Actually, who are the enemies again?"

"Frostfire is our oppressor. However, Rentri has also been confirmed by Gion to be against us."

"And what are they fighting against? Or rather... what are we fighting for?"

Enida adjusted herself in her padded chair, neatly organized a stack of parchment papers. "We are fighting for our own. For the people, for the land."

Elijah quickly finished the conversation as he needed to check the Education Hall regarding the academy.

What Enida had said didn't mean anything to him. Deep down, Elijah knew there was a deeper reason for the war — related to The Void.

Perhaps the purpose of The Void was what the world was fighting about. Meaning just maybe, The Kingdom of Gion is against what The Void has to offer.

Elijah perused through his thoughts on the matter while walking to the very start of the Orneas Waterway.

Just as expected, there was an entrance fee of 10 Genny which Elijah gladly paid. The cost to experience something of this magnitude meant absolutely nothing to him.

Past the Waterway Concierge, Elijah walked down steep brick steps that led to a platform similar to a subway station.

The name of the specific station is Orneas Terminus.

Dozens of people were in lines waiting for their turn.

To Elijah's right, was a glass wall revealing the current of the river and its 'ethereal' glow. Unseen to the eye, large portions of mana were trasveling about within the water, which was the reason the springs had a healing effect. In fact, the bottom of every spring pool was a large water-based rune meant to turn the ambient water into a pool of low quality healing water. There was no battery needed because the water itself acted as the power source, which was the exact same mechanism behind the boats of the Orneas Waterway.

Upon reaching the final step, Elijah paused next to the side of the limestone wall and stared at the diagram and directions for how the transportation system was used.

Simply put, there were three lanes of 'boats' that would travel on the thin layer of water being created underneath. The lanes were separated and had differences relative to the distance between each drop-off point.

Metallic pipes were seen through the glass floor board bordering the glass window and pulling water inside through angled entrance pipes. Many people chose to take a few moments to appreciate the genius engineering of the environment.

Essentially, this transportation system was a subway that used the principles of magic to increase its efficiency, and even took the time to create room for growth later in the future. To the left of the terminal was a wide underground expanse radiating with bright yellow lanterns masntled to the side of the brick-stone walls. Seating arrangements, public bathrooms, and market stands were in this area providing an opportunity for travelers to rest or wait for the rest of their party.

Of course, there were two sets of three lanes, one heading west towards Ostand, and the other heading east towards Elijah's current position. Also, it seemed there was a VIP section on the second floor of the terminal. Two guards were seen guarding its staircase insinuating it was only used for specific people.

Elijah rolled his eyes while walking forward. "Obviously for the Royals, Dukes, and Nobles. Maybe even for people wealthy enough to purchase access... Anything can be bought with money within Gion."

While watching many citizens pass by himself, he decided to join the fray and board the 2nd lane, which were designated to stop half the amount of times than the first lane.

If one needed to travel three terminals to the west, they would board the second train for one stop, than the third train for one stop. The first train traveled through at least five stops, with a voting system in place for specific terminals.

The half-cylinder enclosure housed rows of 4 soft, ivory leather-padded seats with a walking aisle between them. Thankfully, there was a glass shield that blocked the wind, and nothing to block the view of a beautiful river.

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

Two attendants who were working the boat and the terminal controlling the activation of mana began communicating with each other, and later pressed a button which began the motion of the boat.

Life truly was amazing here. Just based on the conversations going around between the strangers, Elijah was able to tell these people did not hold themselves up inside their homes all day long. Being part of the kingdom and nature was natural and unavoidable.

Soon, the train came to its 2nd stop underneath Holliard Street, which is exactly where the Education Hall stands.

What would've taken Elijah forty to fifty minutes only took him ten!

The moment Elijah had made it inside the Education hall, he was greeted with a question related to his visit.

"I don't have my address listed on my emblem, so I wanted to check if there is anything I need to take care of before the start of the academy."

The tall woman dressed in a black and white outfit smiled at Elijah's request. "Ah, we do have a record of all the children who do not have their addresses known. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Elijah Veran."

Instantly, her head was perked up while walking around to the countertop. "You are Elijah Veran! How amazing! I was told you were a special case considering your classes were forcibly changed."

The woman handed Elijah a blue leather notebook with the emblem of the Gion Kingdom plastered on the front. "Here is all the information you need including your personal academy profile, room accommodations, class schedules, class locations, extracurricular options, club options, and names for all of your professor's and appointed counselors. Please... I beg you to not misplace this. Make sure to always have it on your person when walking into the academy."

Elijah was not surprised by the lengths Gion went to. After all, Gion has been operating for the past thirty thousand years. To not already have an 'optimized system' would be...

Depressing.

"Thank you very much, madam?" Elijah was slightly confused about the dynamics of addressing older people, but thankfully said the right word.

"Absolutely! I know you are only in the advanced class, so please be careful. I say this because over the years I have seen many kids just like you be pushed out of the academy because of reasons regarding ego."

Elijah could tell just by her face that she was deadly serious. "I understand. I have already come into contact with the ego you are talking about. However, I think you are viewing it in the wrong perspective."

The woman known as Aola crossed her arms and smirked. "Really? Then what would be the correct way to view their ego's?"

"Simple... Everyone wants to free themselves from the war, which is creating delusional kids like me with practically impossible goals. This breeds kids to think they are better than everyone, and truly builds that ego you are talking about when they reach the top of their class."

"You are one interesting kid... I assume you are one of those kids that thinks you are better than everyone?" Aola asked while reaching under her desk for a stack of parchment papers.

"Oh, I am better than everyone. Stronger than everyone." Elijah did not utter a single lie in this situation. The banter exchange between them called for this statement.

"Hmmm... I will only believe you when you have made it to the top of the Master's class."

Slam!

The conversation ended with a second pile of papers being slammed into the countertop. It was obvious she had a lot of work to do, so Elijah wished her a farewell.

Elijah walked outside into the mid-morning sunlight thinking about what Niko could possibly be buying. Elijah's first thoughts were the famous Wind Walkers.

However, something told Elijah he would be buying something completely different on pure impulse.