In the following few days, the group of five continued on their training journey. They swept through the outer boundary region at an average speed of killing three to four Second-Grade Magical Beasts per day!
Six-Tailed Poison Centipedes, Bloodthirsty Red Ants, Golden-Eyed Demonic Bats, Giant Swamp Crocodiles…
Meng Lei picked up dropped items and collected kills in the day, while at night, he boosted his spiritual power and magic power—and in turn, all of his other stats—through meditation. His battle capabilities were totally different every day!
However, all good things must come to an end!
A week later, Alison and the other three men's training journey came to an end. The vacation was over, so they were returning to the academy, while Meng Lei also had to return to Magical Beast Village.
Everyone bade farewell reluctantly and went their separate ways.
"You're finally back, kid!"
Upon Meng Lei's return, Captain Hudders' worry finally eased. Meng Lei hadn't returned for more than 20 days, so he had been really worried that something had happened to him. However, Meng Lei was finally back now!
"I was only moving about in the Magical Beast Forest's outer boundaries. What kind of danger could there be?" Meng Lei laughed and changed the topic. He asked, "Captain Hudders, can we make it for the magic assessment if we set off now?
"There are only a few days till term begins at the magic academy!" Captain Hudders shook his head and replied, "It's fortunate that our Magical Beast Village isn't far from the capital city, so it'll take only five days to get there. Otherwise, you'd be crying right now!"
"As long as we can make it!"
Meng Lei heaved a sigh of relief. Fire Dragon Kingdom, as the kingdom nearest to Magical Beast Ridge within the Dragon God Empire, had always existed for the purpose of being the empire's shield in the west. In order to better defend against Magical Beasts' attacks and harassment, Fire Dragon Kingdom's capital city was built right at the fringes of Magical Beast Ridge!
Thus, Magical Beast Village was not far from the capital city.
"Have a good rest tonight, Meng Lei. We'll set off right in the morning tomorrow!"
"Alright, Captain Hudders!"
…
A night of pleasant dreams passed!
Meng Lei woke up early the next morning. After packing his things carefully, he headed over to Captain Hudders' home. What surprised him when he reached was that Jonah, Joseph, Andrew, and their parents were actually there, too!
"Jonah, why are all of you here?" asked Meng Lei in mild puzzlement while looking at the three of them.
These three little fellows were his companions, the kind where they had grown up together playing with mud and wearing split
"Hehe, we're following Uncle Hudders to the capital city to take part in the magic assessment!"
Jonah, who was wearing a long gunny dress, revealed a pair of adorable little canine teeth as she replied to his question with a giggle. She was the only girl among the three. Although her clothes were old and tattered, it couldn't hide her attractive facial features, nonetheless. If she were to change into the kind of lavish long dresses that nobility wore, she wouldn't pale in comparison to those rich young ladies at all!
Meng Lei nodded. "Is that so!"
"Big Brother Meng Lei, I heard from Uncle Hudders that you went into the mountains alone. You didn't meet with any danger, did you?" asked Jonah somewhat anxiously.
"I was only moving about in the outer boundaries. What kind of danger could there be?"
Meng Lei laughed and shook his head. Then, he changed the topic and said, "I'd thought that I'd be the only one going to the capital city. Now that you guys will also be with me, I won't be lonely on the way there anymore! That's great!"
"Yes, yes! Since all of us are going to the capital city together, we can look out for each other!"
Jonah clapped her little hands, her face red and rosy from excitement. She said, "Speaking of that, I've never been to the capital city even at this age! I wonder what it's like over there?"
"I've heard that the city walls are very high and that there are a lot of Dragon People with dragon heads?"
"There are also big and tall buildings, and a neat and tidy Elysium Avenue?"
Joseph and Andrew's eyes lit up. Their little faces were full of yearning and anticipation!
"We'll be able to see them very soon!"
Meng Lei smiled. To villagers living in far and remote places like them, their activity range was solely limited to the villages nearby and Magical Beast Ridge. They might not even be able to go to the capital city even once in their entire lives!
One could say that it was thanks to the magic assessment that Jonah, Joseph, and Andrew could go to the capital city this time. If not for the fact that this concerned their children's lifelong destinies, how could their parents possibly be willing to pay such a high price to send them to the capital city?
10 gold coins!
That was enough to make up a family of three's expenses for two to three years!
Moreover, this was even a gamble where the chances of failure reached as high as 99.99%. It wouldn't take much at all for their 10 gold coins to go up in smoke and not even get a single cent of their capital back!
Therefore, this must have been a huge decision for Jonah and the other two children's parents. After all, there were quite a number of children in Magical Beast Village, but the only ones who really had the courage to send their children to take part in the magic assessment were just these three families!
"Jonah, listen to your Uncle Hudders' instructions on the way there!"
"Andrew, be obedient. Don't be cheeky and make any trouble!"
"Joseph, the capital city is not like the village…"
The doors at the village's entrance opened. Under Jonah and the other two's parents, the villagers, and their little companions' looks of envy, an old ox cart slowly drove out of the village.
There were many children in the Magical Beast Village!
However, not many families dared to send their children to take part in the magic assessment.
…
Not only was the old and rundown ox cart constantly creaking, but the ride was also very bumpy. It wasn't comfortable sitting on it at all. Νevertheless, the three young children, Jonah, Joseph, and Andrew, still looked very excited. They constantly chatted without a moment's pause during the way there, just like three joyous little sparrows!
Unfortunately, their excitement only lasted for two days before it disappeared. The three children gradually couldn't take the long, arduous journey anymore. Like plants shriveled from the cold, they became… all wilted!
Captain Hudders had expected this from the start, and there was no other way around it. The term was beginning soon. Even if they had to grit their teeth, they had to endure it all the way to the capital city, regardless! None of them were allowed to give up halfway at this point!
After five days of dry and boring traveling, they finally reached the capital city—Fire Dragon City!
…
Fire Dragon City, the capital of Fire Dragon Kingdom, was also the Dragon God Empire's biggest and most prosperous city in the west. The city was situated on flat land and divided into two regions, the east and the west.
Fire Dragon Kingdom's royal palaces, as well as the nobility and high-ranking officials' mansions, were located in East City.
As for West City, it was mainly an academic city. The majority of magic academies and warrior academies were located there. Thus, West City was comparable to the college towns on Earth!
Meng Lei and the others entered Fire Dragon City in the afternoon that day.
"Wow!"
Fire Dragon City's level of prosperity wasn't something that Magical Beast Village could compare to at all. The smooth, level, and sturdy ground of Elysium Avenue, pure white and organized buildings, a dazzling array of products, all manner of people in the crowd…
The three little fellows' eyes were bedazzled, and they looked just like country bumpkins!
"So this is the capital city? It's so beautiful!"
Jonah's eyes were bright and shiny as she looked to the left one moment and to the right the next. She was so excited that she looked just like a happy skylark. However, in contrast to her behavior, the two young boys, Joseph and Andrew, suddenly became awkward and constrained instead. They were clenching the corners of their gunny clothes the whole time.
"Country bumpkins!"
The noblewomen and young ladies going to and fro were dressed in trendy clothes, wore lavish jewelry, and also wore fragrant perfumes. None of them bothered giving Meng Lei and the others a proper glance at all!
Young noble ladies born in the capital city naturally had an innate sense of superiority. This caused Joseph and Andrew, who were entering the city for the first time, to develop a sense of shame and inferiority, and they didn't dare to meet their eyes.
Upon seeing the two boys' reactions, Captain Hudders shook his head and didn't say much. This was always the case when people like them entered the city for the first time. His reaction had been even more unseemly than Joseph and Andrew's back then!
He could only say this—it would be fine once they got used to it.
The precondition was that they had the chance to, though!
What surprised Hudders was Meng Lei, however. He sized up the crowd going to and fro, clicking his tongue in wonder and admiration as he looked at them curiously. There was no sense of awkwardness or inferiority coming from him at all!
As expected, this child has extraordinary character!
Hudders nodded secretly to himself. Then, he brought the four children with him and headed to West City.
That place was the gathering point of all the great academies. Assessments to evaluate one's magic talent were specially set up over there, and it was also where the children's destinies would be determined!