I had just started to drift off to sleep, inhaling the scent of the heated stone floor, when my roommate's voice yanked me back. "Aren't you going to be late?" the Dragonkin asked without opening his eyes.

  "Late for what classes?" I mumbled without changing my position. "I just got here. My quota for today is exhausted."

  The Dragonkin merely smirked faintly, baring a sharp fang. It seemed he knew something I didn't.

  Someone knocked on the door. Loudly and rhythmically. "Open it," the white-haired guy commanded. "I don't get visitors."

  With a sigh, I slid off the sofa, dragged myself to the door, and threw it open. Standing on the threshold once again was that same horse-man. He silently shoved a crumpled piece of paper into my hands. "Your schedule. Keep in mind: it's alive. Classes can be canceled, rescheduled, or swapped around right in the middle of a lecture. Keep an eye on the magical bulletin board in the hall."

  I took the paper and absentmindedly glanced out the window. Hanging over the central square was a massive glowing clock. It read three o'clock in the morning. "Are the clocks broken?" I asked, turning back to my roommate. "Or does time flow at a forty-five-degree angle here too?"

  The Dragonkin stayed silent, continuing his meditation.

  I buried my face in the piece of paper. "Magical Defense. Building No. 3. Room 872. Starts in 10 minutes." "And how am I supposed to get to the third building? And where is it even located?"

  My roommate cracked open one yellow eye and nodded toward the window. Drifting slowly past our tower at that exact moment was a massive building adorned with gargoyles. It floated lazily in the night sky, illuminated from below by magical lights. "If you run up to the roof right now," the Dragonkin noted dryly, "you have a chance to jump onto it."

  "You've got to be kidding me..." I exhaled.

  I had to run. First up the stairs, skipping steps (the ones that weren't illusions, anyway). At one point, I seriously considered just teleporting straight into the classroom, but I caught myself in time. Lianel had warned me: "Keep a low profile." Too flashy of an entrance would attract unnecessary eyes, and I was already going to get enough grief for the mask.

  I burst out onto the roof. The air was freezing and whistled in my ears. Floating Building No. 3 had already started to pull away. Circling it in complex orbits were small earthen islands—a sort of living staircase for those who were running late.

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  I bolted from my spot. Jump. My feet hit the loose earth of the first small island. It swayed dangerously under my weight.

  "Alright," I muttered, fighting for balance. "Just don't look down. Dying from a fall on the very first day is too stupid of a bathos even for me."

  I started jumping further. The islands moved chaotically, sometimes drifting closer, sometimes pulling away from the building. I managed to jump onto the last one—the one flying a couple of meters from an open balcony on the third floor.

  A short leap—and I landed on the solid stone of the flying building.

  I reached out toward a massive oak door, but it swung open on its own, nearly smashing me in the nose. "You're late, boy," the hinges creaked. The voice sounded as if the wood itself had decided to lecture me.

  "Listen here, tree," I peered into the empty doorway. "Where is room eight hundred seventy-two?"

  The door stayed silent, turning back into an ordinary piece of wood. Yeah, makes sense. Why help when you can just be rude?

  I bolted further up the stairs. Alright... Room 870. Room 873. I froze, shifting my gaze from one plaque to the other.

  "What? Where are the other two numbers? Did you lose them in a card game?"

  I looked around. No clues, just dust and shadows. Suddenly, a small, unremarkable little bird fluttered out from around the corner. It landed right at my feet, tilted its head to the side, and stared at me with its black, beady eyes.

  "Late... Late... Late..." it chirped. "Yeah, I know," I grumbled. "Stop crowing."

  The bird suddenly fell silent. Its little body rapidly began to inflate, its feathers stood on end, and its eyes glowed with an alarming crimson light.

  BOOM!

  It exploded. Right at my feet. I was blasted with a cloud of feathers and magical dust. "WHAT THE?! Have you people completely lost your minds with these special effects?"

  A growing sound of flapping wings echoed from around the corner. An entire flock of these "living bombs" began flocking into the corridor, clearly zeroing in on me. Deciding that becoming a target for kamikazes at three in the morning was a bad idea, I dove through the first available door.

  It turned out to be a bathroom. Sterile, quiet, and smelling of some obscenely expensive flowers. I walked over to the window to catch my breath. The glass instantly fogged up, even though it was freezing outside. And suddenly, words began to appear on the white veil of steam. As if an invisible finger was slowly tracing the letters from the other side:

  "The door is behind your reflection."

  I turned back to look at the massive full-length mirror in the hall, visible through the partially open bathroom door. In the reflection, the corridor looked different. Right where there was a solid wall in reality, a cozy passageway proudly stood in the mirrored world.

  "Got it. Physics here is a subjective concept."

  I ran back out, picked up speed, and without wasting time on second thoughts, simply jumped straight into the glass.

  POP. Instead of the impact of hitting a solid surface, I felt a cold prick of mana pierce my entire body. I somersaulted in the air and landed on my feet in a completely different corridor.

  Everything was in its proper place here: 871, 872, 873...

  I walked up to the correct door, knocked shortly, and without waiting for an answer, pushed it open. It was time to find out what I had been jumping through mirrors for.