After bidding farewell to his family members Asta started his journey with his uncle John. Unlike yesterday's rainy weather today it was a sunny day.
Normally it would take 2 hours to reach the city but due to the bad condition of the road because of yesterday's heavy rain allowed them to cover only half of the journey in 2 hours.
Asta who had never been to the capital city before asked out of curiosity "Hey uncle what is the capital city like ?"
After thinking for a while his uncle answered "It is a very big and is also very beautiful and..... uh , well if I had to describe in words it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen in my whole life...". Asta's uncle was a merchant who had been to many cities before "...but , it also has some dark sides to it...well not that it will have anything to do with you." said John.
"Hey we will be reaching the capital city now." said John.
Asta peeked out of the cart to see what the capital city was like. When he saw the capital city he was simply dumbstruck by brilliance and the beauty of the city. Asta had not seen a scenery this amazing. From the distance one could see the three huge walls surrounding the city. For Asta it was a very beautiful sight but at the same time he knew that the city was made to defend against the attacks from the bandits , barbarians and the demons. The city was made on slope. On the top was the castle for the royals which was separated by the biggest wall from the area which was made for the nobles and which was further separated from the area meant for the commoners and on the outer side was yet another wall which acted as the first line of defense. Furthermore the slopes provided the defenders with the advantage of height and making enemy's arrows almost completely useless. On reaching near the gates he noticed that the path had suddenly taken a turn to avoid getting any momentum to the enemies. It was simply an unfathomable defense.
After reaching the gates the guards checked the carriage for anything suspicious and after that they let them enter the city. Upon entering the city Asta could see the neatly paved roads and many shops as well. John on seeing the joyous expression on Asta's face smiled and said "See, didn't I tell you ?" Asta replied while grinning with his face full of happiness"Hehe , Yup !! You certainly were right."
"Okay, now come with me we should rest for today in an inn and then tomorrow you can go to the royal academy for examination." said John.
"Okay." Asta replied.
After that they took a room in a nearby inn to get some rest.
"By the way do you know what type of test they will be taking ?" asked John.
"Yeah ! First one will be a written examination and the next one will be a one vs one against other participants." answered Asta.
"What!? Did you say written examination!? Have you studied properly ?" asked John.
"Well..... haha...no not really.... but well you see, dad told me that as long as I can win all of the rounds and the finals of one vs one I would be able to get admission into the academy." replied Asta.
"What the.... Due you even know how many people apply for the academy ? Do you really think that you would be able to beat all of them ?" said John furiously.
"Um... Well I won't know until I will try would I ?." said Asta his eyes full of confidence.
"Huh!!... You are just like your father." said John with an expression of delight ness but still he could see some hints of worriness on his face. His uncle was a very honest and hard working man who always cared about others. He wasn't Asta's blood relative but Asta's dad had somehow saved his life in the past, that's why he always tried his best to support James family.
Next morning.....
"Are you nervous ?" asked James.
"Wh-Why do you ask ?"
"Well you are shaking soo..."
"What are you blabbering about !? It's just because I am excited."
"Ha-hah, You are shaking too much to be just excited."
"Well... how do I say but everyone In my family is expecting me to get selected."
"Haha, Now that's not like you." said John while patting on his back.
They kept on talking and didn't even realize when they got in front of the 'Royal Academy'.