Crow City

Toga continued his journey, and after some time, he found himself on the usual path through the forest.

His journey through the Mountain of a Thousand Snakes had gone smoothly. Only ten more days remained before Toga would reach Crow City.

His passage through the forest after the mountain was uneventful and without any obstacles.

After nearly ten days of travel, Toga could see the walls of Crow City in the distance.

From afar, the walls appeared very tall and imposing, seemingly capable of withstanding anything that might try to destroy the city.

As Toga approached Crow City, he was able to estimate the height of the city's walls up close.

They were approximately 15 meters tall. Seeing them up close, Toga was both shocked and impressed. The walls were much taller than those of his hometown, Olpag City, which had walls only 5 meters high.

Toga hurried towards the entrance of Crow City. At the city gate, there were several gatekeepers guarding the entrance.

These gatekeepers looked robust and intimidating, making it easy to assume they were not ordinary humans but Aden warriors.

As Toga tried to enter the city through the gate, one of the gatekeepers stopped him.

The gatekeeper who stopped Toga was quite tall, around 2 meters, making Toga, who was 1.7 meters tall at the age of 13, look short in comparison. Toga was already quite tall for his age, even compared to many adults.

"Stop! Before entering Crow City, you must report your identity and the purpose of your visit," the gatekeeper said to Toga.

He was then directed to the registration area to record the identities of those entering the city from outside.

Toga had to fill out his personal information, present his identification card, and state the purpose of his visit to Crow City.

Once the registration process was completed, Toga was allowed to enter Crow City by paying a fee of ten silver coins.

Fortunately, Toga was prepared for this, having saved up money from working as a laborer on Mr. Farnan's farm.

He paid the ten silver coins required for entry into Crow City.

Inside Crow City, Toga was amazed by the bustling crowds. He was still on the city's outskirts and had not yet entered the city center, but the streets were already crowded.

After pondering for a moment, Toga decided to explore Crow City and look for an affordable place to stay.

After walking for a few hours, he realized that the city was indeed very large and densely populated.

Toga also noticed that, after several hours of walking, the inns in Crow City were quite expensive, with an average rent of 20 silver coins.

This worried Toga because his funds were limited and needed to be used for essential expenses.

Luckily, after some time, Toga found an inn that charged only five silver coins per night, and fortunately, there was still one room available.

The inn was rather shabby compared to others, but this was understandable given the low rent.

Toga rented the room, received the key from the innkeeper, and decided to rest.

The journey had been long, and although it had been uneventful, it was still exhausting because he had to stay alert throughout the trip.

Feeling relieved now that he had found a cheap place to stay, Toga lay down on the bed, thinking about his next steps: "Should he take the core awakening test immediately, or should he first look for an academy to join?".

Before he could ponder further, his eyelids grew heavy, and he quickly fell asleep.

***

The next morning, Toga woke up feeling incredibly refreshed after a good night's sleep. His body felt rejuvenated.

He decided to explore Crow City and gather information about the academies he might join.

Determined to find out which academy to enroll in, Toga headed towards the city center, where information about Aden warrior academies was available.

Upon arriving in the bustling city center, Toga saw many young people aged between 13 and 17, also seeking information about the Aden warrior academies.

Toga realized that they, too, were trying to decide which academy to join.

He approached the information center and asked for details about the various Aden warrior academies on the northern continent.

To obtain this information, he had to pay a fee of one gold coin, which Toga considered extortionate, as that amount could sustain him for a month in Olpag City.

Faced with this exorbitant price, Toga hesitated. Just then, a boy approached him.

"Hello, friend," the boy greeted.

"Hello. Do you need something from me?" Toga responded.

"Are you also looking to buy information about the Aden warrior academies?"

"Yes, I want to know which academy to apply to, but the cost is very high, and I'm not sure if I should buy it or not."

Seeing Toga's dilemma, the boy made a suggestion.

"How about we pool our money to buy the information together and share it?" the boy proposed.

"That's not a bad idea. After all, it's just information," Toga agreed.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Kevin, and I'm from Crow City."

"Alright, Kevin, let's buy the information."

Toga and Kevin pooled their money to buy the information, which was contained in a rather thick book, indicating the extensive details it held about the Aden warrior academies.

They took turns reading through the book, and before they knew it, evening had fallen.

Realizing the time, Toga and Kevin finished skimming through the book.

"Kevin, have you decided which Aden warrior academy to join?"

"Not yet. I need to think about it some more."

"Alright, how about we meet here again tomorrow to discuss it further? Can I take the book with me tonight?"

Kevin nodded in agreement, and they went their separate ways. That night, Toga reviewed the book again to decide which academy he wanted to join.

According to the information, the Forth North Academy was the largest and best on the northern continent, but its entry requirements were high; one needed at least a low sky class core awakening.

Remembering his previous test by Old Gue, whom he had met on the way to Crow City, Toga still found it hard to believe he had a heaven-tier absorption core.

Furthermore, Old Gue had mentioned that Toga's core had a dark affinity, which was rare and made it difficult to find techniques suitable for it.

Forth North Academy specialized in various affinities, attracting many young people.

However, as Toga continued reading, he recalled that the book mentioned an academy specializing in dark affinity called the Peak of Darkness Academy.

It was a mid-tier academy and not very well-known, due to the rarity of dark affinity.

After thoroughly reviewing the information, Toga made up his mind about which academy to apply to.

He then closed the book and quickly fell asleep, planning to return the book to Kevin the next day so they could discuss their options and finalize their decisions on which academy to join.