Arriving at the magic school

Jake couldn't believe his eyes as he stood in front of the gates of a place he never thought to even be able to see in his entire life.

Being born to a poor family who lived on the outskirts on the kingdom having a very small farm, only barely getting by. Together with his parents, an older and younger sister he made the most of life as he helped his parents working the farm every day.

They didn't have much, but still, they lived happily and had food and clothes to get through the winter. Jake thought this would be his life in the future as well. Meet a girl in town, marry her and take over the farm of his parents. Never had he thought he was now in the capital of the kingdom he and his family lived in.

The Capital Netalia, named the same as the country, was the biggest city in the kingdom and home to the legendary archmage.

Netalia was only a small kingdom on the outskirts of the Eastern continent. The Empire of Geradia claimed the biggest part of the Eastern continent with the rest being divided by small kingdoms like Netalia.

Geradia is a very military-focused empire wanting to conquer the whole continent. They were constantly trying to invade other kingdoms, but currently unable too as the big empire housing non-human species located on the Western continent was keeping them in check.

The Eastern continent was mostly filled with humans. Most non-human species who were in the Eastern continent were here as slaves as humans looked down on them as inferior species.

Naturally not all people were like this and some good people treat the non-humans right. Even some kingdoms allow them to refuge from the greedy hands of Geradia.

Where the Eastern continent is filled with mostly humans, it's the other way around in the Western continent which is filled with many different races. Of course in the Western continent, humans are looked down upon and treated like slaves as well.

Both continents are constantly at war with one another at the long border separating the two. If one shows any sign of weakness the other will immediately invade. Like this, there has been a stalemate for many years, with a lot of people dying on either side.

Surrounding the two big continents is a huge ocean, with seemingly no limits. Every ship that has sailed in the deep end has never returned, so this made all people think there is nothing but water, still, there was no way for sure to know.

Netalia is a Kingdom with both borders with Geradia as well as a coast into the sea, but the biggest benefit it has is the huge mine, mining magic stones. These can be used in a lot of ways and is the main reason Geradia wants to invade Netalia, but because of the troublesome non-human empire of Delgen, it hasn't been able too.

That and the archmage defending the kingdom borders kept out the forces of Geradia trying to invade Netalia. The archmage was the proud of all Netalian people, as he defeated the forces Geradia kept sending to invade them.

Geradia had the power to conquer Netalia, but they would lose very much in the process so they let Netalia be, for now.

But due to the constant war Netalia waged with Geradia and some other small kingdoms, they were in constant need of mages. Mages are very rare on the continent, and they are the primary target on the battlefield.

But still, everyone aspires to be one. Even though they are forcibly conscripted in the army, being a mage means they get to learn amazing spells and their families are well-taken care for.

At age 12 a kid is tested if he or she has the potential to become a mage. If true they are sent to the magic academy for six years until they graduate, after which they will join the army.

Jake and his family were all stunned finding out he had the potential to become a mage, so Jake being 12 years old, would have to leave his home and family behind in order to attend the academy. Naturally, this wasn't easy for him, but knowing his family would gain a nice sum of money he happily agreed.

He knew that with the money the kingdom would send to them they could live better from now on and wouldn't need to live in fear that someday their food would run out. He even hoped that he could become a better mage in order to send more money to his family.

They were still living in an area quite close to the border with another kingdom and there was always the threat of an invasion. So he hoped he could move his family closer or even to the capital Netalia.

Jake rubbed his eyes not believing what had happened in the past weeks and where it had taken him.

*Netalia School of Magic*

Jake was standing in front of the only magic school in the entire kingdom. Here he would train to become a full-fledged mage.

Jake walked through the gate and saw a lot of other kids his age standing in a line to sign up. Jake had already figured some things out from before.

A student needed to attend the academy for six years. There are different ranks between the students in the same year. The top students being in class S, while the lowest ranking students are in class E, making it a total of 6 different ranks.

Jake would start in the E class, as he was one of the poorest to come here. This would only be in the beginning though, as when he would finally learn magic, he could work himself up and go rise in class rank.

There are some differences between the best and worst rank. Naturally, the teaching staff assigned to educate the higher rank students are better than the ones teaching the lower ranks.

Also, the equipment and all other kinds of stuff the higher rank students would be able to use were of higher quality and quantity then the lower rank students could use.

The different ranks also had different dorm-rooms. Naturally, the S-rank students had the best, while the E-rank would have the lowest. Still, the E-rank dorm was better than the old house he used to live in, so Jake didn't care for this at all. As long as he had a warm bed and food he was satisfied.

Jake finished signing up and got his student badge, depicting him as a first-year E-rank student. Also getting the key to the room he would from now on be living in, along with the school outfit he would have to wear each day from now on.

He could now move in the stuff he had brought with him, which wasn't a lot. Just some reminders of his family as well as some clothes.

Arriving in his dorm-room Jake was happily surprised as it was better than he thought. Even though it wasn't much and most people wouldn't want to live in a room like this, it was good enough. There was a soft bed, a nice bathroom as well as a proper desk to study at.

Jake decided to lie down and enjoy the soft bed. Classes would already start the next day and he would finally learn magical abilities. He never thought this would happen to him. Even though he knew he would have to go to the army once done with school he wasn't fearing that in the slightest.

Jake only had some minor knowledge about magic and what it could do, so he was really looking forward to the first day of class. When he arrived in the capital he could already see some magical constructs but he had no clue as to how they worked or what they did.

He realized living in the capital surely was way different than living in some rural town and fitting in would take some time for a guy like him, but still, he was very much looking forward to it.

Jake then closed his eyes and tried to get some good sleep in. Classes would start early the next morning and naturally, he really didn't want to be late for his very first one.

Jake's adventure would start from this very day and it definitely wouldn't be an ordinary nor an easy one for Jake.