The carriage procession from the Astoria Kingdom academy continued to advance, cutting across the long overland route. The carriage wheels kept turning as time passed, passing through various natural landscapes, until unnoticed, the sun slowly began to set on the western horizon.
The blowing afternoon wind brought a rather biting cold that pierced the skin. Seeing the day growing darker, the carriage procession gradually reduced its speed until it finally came to a complete halt.
Dean Saires, who was leading the group, decided that it was time for them to rest. He chose a quite spacious and flat meadow right by the side of the main path as a temporary campsite.
One by one, the board of teachers and hundreds of students began to step out of their respective carriages to stretch their stiff muscles after sitting all day on the journey.
"It is almost nightfall and the journey is still very long." Dean Saires called out with a loud voice so the entire group could hear him. "It is best we set up tents and rest here to recover our strength!"
Hearing that instruction, the students began preparing to take out their camping gear. However, from the direction of the frontmost carriage, Arvin stepped forward and approached the dean.
"Setting up tents here?" Arvin repeated with a slightly doubtful tone. He looked up, staring at the gray clouds starting to gather thickly above. "Dean, why not build a temporary house instead? Look, the sky is already starting to get cloudy. Ordinary tents won't be comfortable enough to withstand the cold and heavy rain later."
Dean Saires turned and looked at Arvin with a furrowed brow. He was quite surprised to hear a suggestion that, according to his common sense, was completely absurd.
Building a temporary house? In the middle of nowhere in this meadow? Dean Saires thought in confusion. How could anyone build a shelter for hundreds of people in such a short time? Aside from taking days, the wood and stone materials that need to be prepared are impossible to find in this place.
Arvin perfectly understood the train of thought of the middle-aged man in front of him. The Dean's surprised and confused expression was enough of an answer that the plan of manually building a house was an impossible feat in their eyes.
Without saying much, the youth walked away, heading toward an empty area a few meters from where Dean Saires stood. All eyes were now fixed on him, including Allen, Alrain, Ordion, and Alvein, who were also watching their husband with curiosity.
Upon arriving at a fairly flat area, Arvin squatted down. He placed both of his palms right on the grassy soil surface. He closed his eyes, centering his focus and his mana flow to combine three magic elements simultaneously with precision: the ice element, the earth element, and the transparent element.
I have to create a sturdy foundation and walls from a combination of ice and earth magic, then the inside will be manipulated using spatial magic. For the roof, it seems enough to just use ice so its mass is lighter and doesn't burden the building's structure.
Dean Saires, the teachers, and all the students felt confused and curious seeing Arvin just quietly squatting.
Crack!
A loud crystallization sound shattered the silence of the meadow.
Suddenly, from beneath Arvin's palms, a thick layer of ice crept rapidly along the ground, forming a medium-sized rectangular pattern. The house's ice foundation slowly began to form and thicken.
The glint of the clear blue ice reflecting the remaining afternoon light successfully left everyone in awe. However, they still did not understand the actual purpose of the moderately sized ice building Arvin was making.
Rumble...
A soft vibration began to be felt beneath their feet. The earth around the ice foundation suddenly rose upwards as if it had a life of its own. The solid layer of earth slowly coated and reinforced the ice foundation, then continued to tower upwards forming thick supporting pillars.
The process happened incredibly fast and smoothly. Sturdy walls of hardened earth began to merge, leaving precise holes for windows. At the front of the building, a single entrance door was formed, while on the right side of the building, the earth wall split to form a double door of a much larger size.
Crack!
The sound of crystallization was heard again. This time, the ice layer crept up, coating the entire exterior of the pillars and earth walls, providing extra protection as well as stunning building aesthetics. And in the final stage, chunks of ice curved at the top, merging and locking the structure until a beautiful blue roof was perfectly formed.
Everyone there widened their eyes, as if forgetting how to breathe. A sturdy two-story building with an elegant design now stood tall before them in just a matter of seconds. Even Allen, Alrain, Ordion, and Alvein, who had frequently seen their husband's magic, were left gaping in disbelief.
Arvin stood up and turned around to look at everyone who was still standing frozen.
"Come on, everyone, head inside!" Arvin invited casually, ignoring the uniform expressions of shock from the hundreds of people in front of him. He pointed toward his created structure. "That single door in the front is the entrance for people, while the double doors on the right are the entrance to park all the carriages along with their horses!"
Hearing the invitation called out in such an ordinary tone, not a single person moved from their spot. They only looked at each other with looks of immense confusion.
"Arvin... are you serious with what you just said?" Dean Saires finally spoke up, stepping forward to verify his student's sanity. "That house is indeed beautiful, but how could it possibly hold all of us, numbering in the hundreds? Not to mention you telling the carriages and horses to go in there?"
Arvin merely gave a faint smile in response to that doubt. "Please go in and see for yourself, Dean Saires. Please lead the way and invite everyone inside before the rain really starts pouring."
Even though he was still completely engulfed in disbelief, the Dean gathered his courage to step forward, approaching the main entrance. His hand reached out to grasp the door handle made of solid ice.
Click!
The single door opened quite wide. Dean Saires stepped inside.
The next second, the middle-aged man widened his eyes broadly. His jaw practically dropped seeing the sight inside that small house.
Instead of the cramped room he had imagined from the outside, the interior of the building was vastly spread out like a grand palace hall. The ceiling was incredibly high, and the room was divided into two floors with facilities that seemed very adequate to accommodate hundreds of people, complete with a very spacious designated area on the right side to park dozens of horse-drawn carriages.
"What kind of house is this?!" Dean Saires shouted from inside the house, his voice echoing outside and making the students gasp. "Did you use spatial manipulation magic to expand the dimension inside this small house?!"
"You are correct, Dean Saires!" Arvin answered loudly enough from the outside, confirming the guess. "If I hadn't combined those three elements simultaneously, how could that small house possibly accommodate hundreds of people and horse-drawn carriages all at once?"