12 Journey

This will be the first time that I am traveling to some other place. I was excited but still remained vigilant at the same time. We are using carriages to travel, this is the normal way for people to travel from one place to another, as there are a lot of people with us. We cannot use other means. Unlike my grandmother that has her own tamed monster, we can only go about our way with this carriage. I thought the couch in the carriages would be bumpy and uncomfortable but it seems magic was able to fix that.

The roads have been developed and well-maintained mother said that earth magicians would use magic to maintain it once in a while. The kingdom has a good relationship with the traveling merchants, so they prioritize the safety and well-being of the travelers. I thought that there would be bandits that will attack our caravan, but that did not happen. However, there were a couple of low level monster attacks.

My sister who used to be the most unruly, mischievous and hyperactive child had also become vigilant. It seems that what happened in the past was a huge blow on her. I have also found out that my sister also took the test when she was 5 years old, however, I was still not around at the time. She was greatly disappointed in finding out that she was unable to become a mage, that was why she was focusing hard to become a swordmaster instead.

We would stop and have intervals for rest and breaks. The horses also needed appropriate rest, while my mother is also worried that I am still not accustomed to long travels. No matter how I imagine magic was, I had never expected that it could be this amazing. The things I've read from books are different when I experienced it firsthand. This world is dangerous and yet exciting at the same time. You can always find something new, some may look similar to the animals on earth but they are worlds apart when it comes to ferociousness.

Just like that 10 days had passed without any hiccups. We are now in front of the gates. Most people would need to show their identification, however, our emblem is on top of the carriage as we were able to bypass the other people without any interruptions and questioning.

When I was looking around there was something that caught my attention, which really surprised me. At an area, there are people, whose hands and feet are tied with chains. I was aware that slaves existed till now in this kingdom, however, knowing and accepting were two different things. Some of them came from foreign soldiers that were captured, others were those who committed crimes, but the worst part was those people who are collected for the sake of earning gold coins. There are different species and races for "people" in this continent. Some species and races are hunted because of their beauty and are sold for a lot of money. I find this disgusting as I looked at those slaves with pitying eyes.

I am not strong enough to change anything. That's what I say to myself before I can change anything. I must first change myself and become stronger. Some things will never change as long as you don't have the means for it. The system is rotten, while the nobles sit on their asses waiting for money to come. They are the ones behind this kind of abuse of power. The King is turning a blind eye to these kinds of transactions. The gazes of the slaves looked empty, they are only a shell of their former selves. I could not tear my eyes off those people until our carriage completely pass them.

The carriage continued to travel without interruptions, people gave way to our carriage when they saw the emblem, and we were able to reach our destination. It was the mansion owned by my Grandparents. It was larger than the mansion that we were living in. They have more staff, the people are giving a different vibe, and I was told that the people staying here are mostly trained by my grandpa. I am now 5 but I have still not seen him. I was told that he will be arriving after the test was concluded.

"Alicia, Max. We will be staying and taking a rest for today. I want you guys to stay in the mansion for now as we will be heading for the magic tower tomorrow, understand?" mother said.

"Yes." I and my sister both replied.

"Especially you Max, take a rest so you're in tip-top shape when having the test. Although it's a simple test to measure your mana and potential, it's still best to meditate for today to recuperate from the fatigue that you've accumulated while traveling." Mother said. My sister looked a bit disappointed, that we were not able to explore and have fun, but when she heard my mothers' reason, she did not pursue the matter. Sister then approach me and ruffled my hair while saying, "Take a good rest, Max, I'll see you later." She said that with a smile and walked away somewhere else. Since she has been here before, there might be a place that she wants to visit.

I am more curious about my grandfather which I have not seen. I wanted to see what kind of training they do as I am now 5 years old. The promise my parents made to learn sword arts was after my exam. I also heard that my grandfathers' way of training is like Spartans. It was hard but effective, the results have shown for decades as we prevail in the war against other neighboring kingdoms. Their exercises start early in the morning, so I will try to peek tomorrow before we go to the magic towers.

I then enter the room that was provided me and cleaned up the dirt from all the traveling, while I sit on the bed and meditate.