Traveling

Wu Xue digested the information he just received and deduced his next choice.

Fredd patiently waited without averting his eyes from him.

After about two minutes, Wu Xue asked, "I want more benefits than the ones you offered in the letter."

Fredd smiled and said, "I can't give you more money since our Magic Realm is currently in a financial crisis, but the deceased professor left all his belongings to us, including his personal Magic Tome.

"I can give you a full copy of that Magic Tome, the fruit of his whole life's knowledge. I believe you know how valuable it is, right?

"Despite not being the original tome, the fact it belonged to a Seventh Star Mage specialized in Life Magic should be enough to compensate."

Wu Xue was confused and didn't understand many things Fredd said, but he could see from his expression and tome that it was already the limit he was willing to give.

"Okay, I accept the deal," Wu Xue nodded.

"Magnificient!" Fredd clapped his hands, "Now I need you to sign a few papers to officialize your employment."

It only took a few minutes for them to finalize all the bureaucracy, Wu Xue noticed that some papers had magic on them that captured a wisp of his aura when he signed them.

"I'm sorry if I look pushy, but we need you in the capital as soon as possible," Fredd said with an apologetic expression, "I already reserved a ticket for the next passenger train going to the capital, the embark time is at the sunset, 0:00 MT."

Fredd then made a huge book appear on his hands, it was the copy of the magic tome he mentioned before, "Take it, you will surely benefit in one way or another."

Wu Xue put the book inside his space ring and was about to refuse the ticket since he liked to fly freely, but after remembering the fact his True Qi wasn't being replenished, he decided to try a novel method of traveling.

He took a round metal clock from his suit jacket's left pocket and saw that he had two hours until the embark time. He bought that pocket clock while wandering the streets with Carl.

"Who should I contact when I arrive at the capital?" Wu Xue asked.

"Don't worry about that, someone from the academy will be waiting for you at the station where you will disembark," Fredd answered, "I already passed a message to them explaining everything through a Communication Platform."

Wu Xue wanted to but held back from asking what it was, he didn't want to attract suspicion by asking something that was common knowledge between mages.

Wu Xue just nodded and bid farewell.

"Gustav, please accompany Mister Wuxue to the exit," Fredd ordered.

"Yes, sir Director," Gustav nodded and opened the door.

Wu Xue stopped for a single instant and corrected, "It's Wu Xue, not Wuxue."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I will keep it in mind," Fredd smiled and watched calmly as Wu Xue left with steady steps.

When Wu Xue was no more on the top floor, Fredd's expression turned gloomy and his skin turned pure white.

"If fated, we shall meet again," Wu Xue bid farewell to Gustav after leaving the Magic Realm.

"Farewell, sir!" Gustav bowed courteously.

Wu Xue returned to the inn and informed he would be leaving. The waitress was reluctant to part ways with a rich and filthy generous client, but there was nothing she could do.

Because he bought a few sets of new clothes and some other things, Wu Xue was not baggageless like when he first arrived.

He put everything he had bought in Cliff City in two leather suitcases, one for his clothes and the other for objects. Of course, he could have just stored them on his space ring, but he wanted to try carrying baggage at least once.

When he was done preparing he took a picture of the room he was staying in with a Memory Crystal he carried from his original world. He did that because he decided to record all the key places he visited and passed by, he was going to write a compilation of his travels.

When the sun was about to set, he was already in his seat on the passenger train, writing about his experiences in Lighting City and Cliff City.

He thought it was a pity to only have thought of that when he was already in Cliff City, he didn't take pictures of Edward's mission and would need to wait for another opportunity.

He was quick with his pen and didn't take long to write everything he wanted, so he got up and began to wander the passenger train, he found many things there interesting. He cast an invisibility spell on himself, of course.

The interior of the passenger train was a marvel of luxury and craftsmanship. Passengers would find themselves seated on sumptuous velvet-covered chairs, surrounded by rich mahogany wood paneling. The ornate brass fixtures and intricate lamp designs cast a warm, inviting glow. The exterior of the train featured a polished locomotive leading the way, with its striking, streamlined design cutting through the air. The carriages, each adorned with delicate decorative trim, formed a regal procession that was as much a testament to elegance as it was to function.

The leading locomotive was a majestic steam engine, with a large, rounded smokestack billowing white clouds of steam. The engine was positioned at the front of the train, just behind the cowcatcher, which was a metal frame designed to clear obstacles from the tracks. That locomotive was considered a symbol of power and progress in the Empire.

Porters and attendants wore neatly tailored uniforms featuring the company's emblem, a silver snake. These uniforms consisted of crisply pressed jackets and matching trousers. Along with this, they wore polished leather shoes and some of them wore a cap or hat bearing the company's insignia. Their attire conveyed a sense of professionalism and service.

When Wu Xue explored everything that could be explored, the train began to move and he returned to his seat.

An old woman full of wrinkles was on the seat just beside his, she seemed to be on the brink of dying of old age and Wu Xue could feel she would at most live a few weeks.

Because he didn't know her, he ignored her presence and began to read the magic tome he earned from Fredd.

The writer of the tome was named Jonath, he wrote briefly about himself on the first page of the tome. He was born a pheasant but had a great talent for magic and managed to reach the Seventh Star of the Magic System.

It was then that Wu Xue finally learned about the world's power progression system.

At the bottom was the Defiant Class, where a person had to study magic and build enough skill to form a Magic Star in his heart and thus become a First Star Mage.

Each time a mage managed to form a star in the heart, his/her magic prowess would grow exponentially. But it was very difficult to advance, and the effort and talent required were absurd to most people, who were struggling to have food to eat every day.

It was said that a mage could light up to ten Magic Stars in his heart, but very few known people managed to light up the tenth star, so most wouldn't even dream about it.

Unfortunately for Wu Xue, the magic tome didn't explain how to get started with magic, and was mostly a magic tome about advanced Life Magic, it wasn't written for newbies.

Regardless, he found all of its content to be incredibly interesting, he learned a lot about the physical body and how healing magic worked on it. Somehow, he felt he could even deduce how to get started with magic with the knowledge he gained. But he restrained himself for fear of messing up.

He spent the travel time reading and meditating, without noticing that the old woman beside him was paying more and more attention to him.

When the Empire's Capital, Royal Lamp City, could be seen on the horizon through the trains' windows, the old woman started a conversation with him.

"Are you perhaps a Defiant?" was the first thing she said, "Oh, sorry for my rudeness. My name is Rose, I'm just curious about you."

"...I am," Wu Xue said without much thought.

"Then, you must be going to the Magic Academy of the capital, am I right?" Rose asked with bright eyes.

"Indeed," Wu Xue nodded.

"Would it be a bother to talk a little bit about magic to me? I always dreamed of learning it, but never had the opportunity," Rose asked with a bitter smile, "I'm really sorry if I'm being a bother right now, but I couldn't contain myself now that I can basically see my twilight."

Wu Xue felt a bit troubled since he knew very little about magic, he only recently learned a few things he could understand from the magic tome.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Do you want to know anything about magic in particular?"

"Oh, yes!" Rose nodded with shining eyes, "I want to know what enables mages to cast magic.

"I once heard that it was called Aura and that it exists almost everywhere."

"...It is Aura that fuels magic, but what casts magic is the soul," Wu Xue answered after some thought, "Aura by itself just exists, it is the will of a mage with sufficient and adequate knowledge that can use Aura to cast Magic."

"I see," Rose's eyes were even brighter, "Does it mean that anyone can learn it? I once heard that only those born with talent were able to learn magic."

"Anyone can learn, but not everyone has the chance to develop their knowledge enough to transform into mages," Wu Xue shook his head, "It's very difficult for someone who fights daily for food to find free time to study magic. And even if he does, from where will he get the right knowledge to learn from? And even if he has that available knowledge, his tired mind and body will make it more difficult for him to progress."

Rose's eyes turned dim after hearing his explanation, "Yes, the world has always been a harsh place."

Wu Xue frowned and said, "Knowing it is harsh by nature, wouldn't it be even worse if all humans were mages?"

Roae looked at him in surprise and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wu Xue felt disappointed by seeing someone so old but still clueless about humanity's dirty nature.

"Forget about it," he shook his head, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Wu Xue."

"Wuxue?" Rose tilted her head, "Is it a foreign name?"

"Yes, I'm not a native," Wu Xue nodded, "I hope you live the rest of your days in peace and happiness."

Roae didn't feel offended by his words and smiled, "Thanks for your auspicious words, Wu Xue."

Wu Xue felt a bit surprised that Rose spelled his name right on the first try, it was the first time in that world.

He cast a small healing spell with his True Qi and healed some of her hidden deceases, it would enable her to live for a few more months until her life span naturally ran out.

Rose felt a wave of refreshment coursing her body, but she was clueless about what could have caused it.

When the train finally stopped at the station, Wu Xue bid a final farewell to Rose and left with his two suitcases.

Just as he took a few steps away from the train, a middle-aged man wearing butler's clothes called, "Are you sir Wuxue?"

"It is me," Wu Xue nodded, "Are you from the academy?"

"Yes, our academy's Principal ordered me to wait for your auspicious arrival, sir Wuxue," the man bowed slightly, "My name is Roger, an employee of the Polar Magic Academy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Roger looked at Wu Xue with narrowed eyes, he couldn't feel an ounce of Aura from him and thus concluded that he was either a fraud or a powerful mage capable of rejuvenation.

But Roger trusted that Fredd, Cliff City's Magic Tower Director, was skilled enough to sense the truth better than him, so he relaxed and believed that Wu Xue was the real deal.