The Capital

While they were walking, a carriage was headed towards them. There were about eight horsemen driving around the horse, all of them heavily armed. One didn't need a soothsayer to tell them that it was someone important inside the carriage.

"Oi! Kids, leave the way!" A burly man sat beside the person that was driving the carriage. He had a whip as thick as an adult's arm in his hand. He cracked the whip in an attempt to intimidate the them.

Tiana and Alder peacefully stepped away from the path of the carriage while Zemfry remained stationary. His eyes had a mischievous glint in them.

"Oi! I'm gonna whip you if you don't leave?" The burly man screamed.

Tiana looked a bit surprised but her mouth remained close. She knew Zemfry, he wasn't stupid. If he was standing there then he was up to something.

Alder on the other hand hadn't spent as much time with Zemfry so he didn't know what was happening. He was gloating in his mind.

'See this stupid guy. Why can't he just leave the road like the both of us. Now he's going to get whipped to death, hehe'

The burly man furrowed his brows. He cracked the whip and lunged it at Zemfry.

A large tentacle formed on Zemfry's back and lunged at the whip that was coming towards him.

Pah!

The whip and the tentacle collided resulting in the tentacle being flung away from the arm of the burly man.

Zemfry was also affected. He took a couple of steps backwards before smirking at the burly man.

The burly man looked as if he had just seen a ghost. After a few seconds, he got himself and looked at Zemfry. "Mage?"

"What's it to you?" Zemfry said proudly.

"Cut the crap kid, I know what all that was about. You're looking for a free ride. At first you wanted to go travel with one of the merchants but after seeing this carriage, you realized that we were transporting someone important. You decided to change target and decided to use that little show of strength to get me to ask you and your friends to travel with us"

Zemfry:"..."

Zemfry was speechless. The burly man instantly saw through his 'master plan'.

"You can come if you want to come. We'll pay you as well. It would be a shame to let three Mages travel with his without pay" The burly man said.

"We'll be getting off at-" Zemfry was interrupted.

"The Capital. It's time for The Academy's admission test right?"

This time, Zemfry wasn't shocked. If three young Mages were headed towards The Capital, then the most logical train of thought was that they were going because of The Academy.

"Alright lads, go take a rest inside the carriage" The burly man said to two men riding the horses surrounding the carriage.

He allowed Tiana to continue that journey inside the carriage. To Alder, it was the most adequate thing to do... Pamper a girl. To Zemfry, the burly man was a sly fool.

While it may seem as if he was offering Tiana comfort due to her gender, he was actually using her as leverage.

That way, Zemfry and Alder who were riding the horses wouldn't have any thoughts of running away since he had their friend hostage.

Scratching that, if bandits or any other threats approached the carriage, the horsemen surrounding the carriage were the most likely to be affected. So in a way, the man was cutting down on his losses.

The journey to the Capital was relatively smooth. There weren't any mishaps on the way.

After they reached the city, the trip seperated from the carriage. The burly man gave them a small sum as a security fee.

After walking for a while, the trio stood at a cliff and sucked in some air. They realized why this was the Capital of Grenfal.

"Fucking hell!" Alder muttered under his breath.

When one entered the city gates, it was a straight road leading up to a cliff. If one reached the cliff, then it was a very long downward slope leading up to what was supposed to be a valley.

The 'valley' however, was a mountain range. There were various houses built into the mountains or the cavities formed on various spots of the mountains.

At the end of the mountains range was a very fall building. The building was about ten storeys tall. It's architecture was similar, if not the same, as medieval castles.

There were gargoyles and stone knights places at strategic locations of the castle.

There was a large gate in front of the castle, few meters away from which there was a huge signboard. There were two words written on the signboard. 'Grentfak Academy'

The trio sucked in another puff of air when they saw the Academy. That was the Academy that produced so many monsters, the pillar of the Grentfal Kingdom.

To all of them, the castle represented something.

Alder wanted to get in because that was what the elders in the village told him to do.

Tiana wanted to get in because she wanted to be stronger.

Zemfry on the other hand wanted to get in because... Because that's what 'he' wanted him to do.

He clenched his fists as he looked at the castle, his expression suddenly turning serious.

'I'm here father, just like you wanted me to be' He thought.

All of a sudden he felt something warm and soft circle his clenched fists. He looked downwards and saw that Tiana was holding his hands.

When she saw him look at her, Tiana smiled and turned her head towards the Academy.

Zemfry replicated her actions soon after.