-Sunday Morning, 6th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-
Approaching the city wall, I can finally see the gates up ahead. Carriages and travelers are going in and out of the city, passing by the guards on the way. Gramps slows down the carriage and joins the line going into the city. I watch as the carriages and travelers pass us by while waiting for our turn to come.
"This is one of the busiest times of the year because the Academy's Entrance Exams are being held and the students are returning to the academy," Gramps explains to me, "Normally the crowd is only about half this size."
'That's still a lot.' Looking at the carriages behind us, beside us, and in front of us, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Just looking at this crowd, I can already tell that this place is completely different from the villages and towns we've been to before this.
After waiting for a while, we finally make it to the front of the line. Gramps takes out a silver badge. Engraved on the front of the badge is a woman's figure with two slim wings on her back. Gramps uses it whenever we get stopped at the gates of a town or a village. When I asked him what it was, he said that it's a form of identification, but when I asked what it identifies him as, he had a lonely smile on his face, so I didn't push him for an answer. The guard takes the badge out of his hand and inspects it for a moment before handing it back to Gramps and staring at me.
Gramps meets his eyes and tells him, "This boy is my adopted Grandson, I'll vouch for his identity."
"Yes, Sir!" The guard straightens up and signals the other guards to let us pass.
After we enter the city, I ask Gramps, "Grandson?"
"Why not? You don't have a Grandfather, do you? And you already call me Gramps, so why not be my adopted Grandson?" Gramps offers with a laugh.
In the past week, I've gotten used to messing around with Gramps every now and then, so I didn't take his offer seriously. Although I wouldn't mind being his Grandson, I would have to ask my parents first.
"Can you take me to the Academy?" I feel bad for asking, but I don't know where the Academy is and, 'I don't want him to leave yet.'
"Of course!" Gramps answers me, looking at me with a slightly confused expression. It felt like he was asking me why I asked such an obvious question.
While scratching my head, I offer to pay him more money, but he shakes his head like always.
"But your job is over now, isn't it?" He's paid for everything so far, and I don't want to bother him with that any more than I already have. So, the least I can do is give him some more money for taking me to the Academy.
"Ryner, once you tried to protect me from those bandits, I stopped doing this for money. At this point, I'll stick with you until you pass your exam," Saying that, Gramps pats my head roughly, giving me his usual smile.
"Gramps-" I try to say something, but he knocks me on the head "-Ouch!"
"Alright now, Ryner, don't get all emotional with me. Let's go to a good inn and then go register," Gramps tells me and starts guiding the carriage down the city road.
We pass by a lot of different shops and stands, some large and some small. Unlike Cara Village, all the buildings were made of stone decorated with different colors and signs. At some of the smaller shops, people are standing outside, drawing in customers.
Suddenly, some people call out to us, so Gramps stops the carriage. The moment we stop, people from different shops come over, shoving their papers at us.
"What's that?" I ask him, staring at the small stack of papers building up next to him.
"It's just flyers advertising their businesses," Gramps explains, after accepting another flyer.
"Advertising?" I ask, curious about the word I haven't heard before.
After the last person hands Gramps a flyer, he tells me, "It's when a business gives people some information about themselves to draw people in."
I nod my head, not really interested in the conversation anymore. Gramps waves his hands at the people handing out flyers, and we start moving again. Sometimes he would tell me about the shops we pass by, what they sell there and things like that. After a few minutes, he starts to slow down.
"There's the inn over there," Gramps points to a wide, blue, two-story building up ahead on the left side of the road, "It's one of the best inns in this part of the city."
We stop the carriage near the front of the building and get off. Grabbing my bag, I follow behind Gramps, not wanting to get separated in a new place. I look around, trying to find the name of the Inn. In front of the building, a clean white sign has the name, "Clear Sky Inn" written on it.
"We'll go inside and rent a room first before we go to the academy." He pushes the Inn's door open and walks inside.
I follow two steps behind him and enter the Inn. Looking around, there are lots of different people sitting at tables on the right and left side of the Inn eating their meals. Some people turn to us for a moment but turn back around after losing interest, going back to their meals. We walk up to the receptionist's desk where a young woman in a sky blue dress is sitting with a bright smile.
"Good Morning Sir, how may I help you today?" She asks us.
"I want to rent a room for two."
"For how long?"
After thinking for a moment, Gramps tells her, "Three Days."
"Would you like to add breakfast as well?"
"Sure."
"Then, that will be three silver."
"Alright," He takes out 3 silver coins from the pouch on his waist and hands it to her.
The receptionist places the silver coins inside of a machine on the counter, after 3 seconds, the machine makes a low "Ding!"
"Your payment has been confirmed. One moment please," The receptionist grabs a key from the wall behind her with a room number written on the wooden tag attached to it, "Here you go."
"Thank you," Gramps accepts the key and walks up the stairs on the right. I follow behind him after thanking the lady.
After dropping the bags off in our room, Gramps locks the door, and we leave the Inn.
●●●
When I asked Gramps where the Academy was. He told me that it's in the center of the city. I guess that makes sense since the Academy is like the pillar of the city. I circulate my Qi as he steers the carriage down the roads towards the Academy. A few minutes later, I can see a large gray stone building, bigger than any other building I've seen since leaving home. As we get closer, I can see more and more buildings surrounding that one, some bigger and some smaller. Separating these buildings from the rest of the city is a tall stone wall. Gramps said that it wraps around the Academy's grounds forming a giant circle. I stared at the wall feeling amazed as we traveled to the Main Entrance on the north side of the wall.
After a few minutes, I can finally see the entrance. Some adults and kids are surrounding the gate, probably here to register like me.
"That's a lot of people," Looking at that crowd, I feel even more nervous than before.
"There won't even be half this number once the exam is over," Gramps shakes his head with a sigh.
"Seriously?" I'm feeling even more nervous now.
"The Academy's selection process is tough, they only let the best of the best in." He stops the carriage, and we get off.
I follow him and focus on circulating my Qi, trying to keep calm as we dive into the crowd.
●●●
After a few hours, the crowd shrinks a lot, and it's finally my turn. I walk up to the registration table in front of the Academy's gate.
"Good Afternoon, I would like to register for the Entrance Exam," I repeat what Gramps told me a moment ago.
"Good Afternoon, the registration fee is 10 silver without a recommendation letter." The man on the other side of the table tells me.
"Here you go," I reach my hands into my pouch and pull out 10 silver coins.
He takes the coins and drops them into a machine like the one that was at the Inn. Just like the one at the Inn after 3 seconds, it went "Ding!"
"Alright, please write your name down here, beside the number." The man hands me a piece of paper with multiple names on it. Some look messy, while others look neat.
He hands me an item I've never seen before. He called it a "Pen." When I asked him how to use it. He tells me to push in the tip then write my name. Although I'm a little confused, I do what he told me to and write my name down next to the number. Surprisingly it felt smoother than when I wrote with a quill.
After I finish writing my name, he hands me an iron plate with the number 764 on it. I take the plate and put it in my pocket after thanking him.
"The test will start at 9 am. Be here on time; otherwise, you'll be disqualified." The man reminds me before waving goodbye.
I thank him one more time before leaving the crowd with Gramps.
●●●
-Thursday Afternoon, 6th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-
After I finished registering, Gramps took me to a restaurant to have lunch. While we were eating, he taught me more about the city. When we were done, he took me on a small tour. We spent the whole afternoon exploring some of the West Part of the city before returning to the Inn for the night.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter I'll be introducing a new character so look forward to that! Also, the Entrance Exam Arc starts next chapter!
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