"It's much larger than I thought it would be..." Lisa gasped as she sat beside Athelei.
The caravan now was going through gates of shining silver steel and under an arched part of the Blackstone wall.
The outer wall of Aren City was standing at a rather intimidating 30-meters in height and was thick enough for two lanes of traffic. Athelei glanced at his Information Network and saw that there were two similar walls that encircled the central portions of the city. But those two looked much higher than the outer wall they were passing under at this moment.
Aren City was built on top of a lonely plateau surrounded by rolling hills. Athelei read that Aren had a different name before the monster surge a hundred years ago, but the original city that stood here had been destroyed. It was Aren City that rose from its ashes and took on a more military turn to its construction, with fortress-like walls and buildings similar to the ones in Varis Village.
The only difference would be the greater grandeur that Aren bore as a bustling city. The reason being its geographical position—it was in between two mountain ranges. Travellers from the prosperous Avina would usually pass here as they travelled to the Crystal Capital at the very centre of the country. The same would apply to those from the Crystal Capital going to the seaside city of Avina.
Athelei and Lisa sat side-by-side at the front of a carriage and they marvelled at sights around them. Many commercial buildings lined the wide main road and the pair saw all the different products being sold. Food stalls, a few restaurants, clothing shops, and weaponry shops were some of the few types that the pair saw.
There were crowds and crowds of people moving on the sidewalks and moving inside and outside each of the shops.
Athelei breathed in the air of fresh bread being baked for breakfast. His mouth watered at such a simple yet tantalizing scent. When he glanced at Lisa, it seemed she too craved a warm, crispy breakfast.
And it looked like that exact breakfast would be coming soon as Athelei noticed the caravan had stopped at what looked to be an inn. It was quite large, with a few stories in its height and a restaurant on its bottom floor. Moreover, it was an inn that was quite close to the second wall.
There, they got a few rooms for them to stay in for the night. Athelei and Lisa shared a room worth two large copper coins. With the Harmonic Knights getting ready to leave, Athelei thought it right to finally spend for themselves. He gave the coins to Lisa as she fulfilled the expectations people had for the older kid.
Athelei's single gold coin was now 7 large silvers, 8 silvers, and 8 large coppers.
After that, Athelei and Lisa hurried back downstairs to the lobby.
There, they saw the Harmonic Knights waiting by the side as Thallium Yan talked to someone. Curiously, Athelei and Lisa stepped closer, and Thallium Yan swiftly noticed their presence.
"Here they are," Thallium Yan smiled and beckoned the two to approach, "You two, this man is the one I told you about. Introduce yourselves. It's a pleasant coincidence for him to be here, so make use of it."
Athelei tilted his head. 'Indeed, it is good that he is here,' he thought as he recalled who the man was.
The man sitting peacefully with Thallium Yan as they drank tea was someone Athelei had the option to look for when he arrived at Avina. He was Paliver Hare.
Headmaster of a university in Avina called the Sky Cross. Paliver Hare had long, white hair tied up in a man bun and a well-trimmed beard of a similar white hue. His eyes were a beautiful and sharp blue while his face was rugged yet somehow exuded elegance despite it.
By Paliver's side was a beautiful longbow that seemed to be glowing by itself.
'What a beautiful weapon,' Athelei noted the bow as he and Lisa bowed.
"Goodmorning, Sir Paliver." Lisa was the first to speak, "I'm Lisa from Varis Village. Beside me is Orien who hails from the now-ruined town of Mist Pine."
"Goodmorning, Sir Paliver." Athelei promptly made his greeting.
Paliver Hare chuckled at the sight of the very formal introductions made by the two commoner children, saying, "Yan must have been hard on you two, to force all those noble manners and whatnot into your brains in just a month."
He then continued, "I heard about what you two are capable of and know that one of your plans is to enrol in my school. Everything should work out just fine for you, Lisa. I'll arrange for your entry and you can get in without a problem. With the impending war with Illum, it would be necessary for you little ones to gain strength..."
Paliver Hare paused, moving his eyes to Athelei, "Unfortunately for you, Orien, you're too young. The system put in place would be difficult for your physique and may strain your body. When you're closer to the age of twelve, like Lisa over here, Sky Cross would be happy to have you."
Lisa glanced at Athelei when she heard this, and Athelei simply nodded, "That makes sense, Sir Paliver. Thank you. When the time comes, I'll give it some thought."
In the first place, enrolling in Sky Cross was just one of Athelei's future options. He knew that it would be difficult to do things that his body was not ready to do, after all. If he wanted to participate in that competitive school with other outstanding talents at his meagre age of four, he would be in for a world of pain.
It was illogical to bite off more than he could chew.
Paliver Hare smiled, as he thought to himself, 'Smart kid. It seems like what Yan said about his being blessed was true. I need to ask the teachers to monitor him while he's in Avina. If something dangerous happens and the leaders need a reliable second opinion, we can rely on Orien's intuition.'
He then stood up, said his farewells to Thallium Yan, and left as silently as he came.
When Athelei could no longer see the Headmaster of Sky Cross, Thallium Yan sighed as she let out a chuckle, "Paliver's eyes are still as sharp as ever. He should've been in the inner ring of Avina. To think he spotted me walking off the carriages."
Thallium Yan then gave Athelei and Lisa a good, tight hug, before saying, "Well, that has been settled earlier than I expected. The knights and I have to get going as well. Orien, Lisa, I wish you luck and safe travels in the future."
Athelei made sure to return the hug and Lisa did the same. The two kids then waved at them as the few dozen or so Harmonic Knights disappeared into the crowd. Athelei had already said his goodbyes and expressed his gratitude over the course of his spars with all of them.
He enjoyed the time learning from them, and now that that part of the journey had ended, Athelei felt an adrenaline rush course through him. It was a wonderful experience, both the process as well as the results, and he was sure that he would look back at these memories fondly.
"Are we really going to be alright?" Lisa asked, turning her gaze to Athelei. She scrutinized the amazing confidence that such a young child like him wouldn't have been expected to have. As usual, she was awe-inspired as she began to sink into an ocean of thought.
But just before she did, Lisa heard Athelei answer with a giggle, "Perhaps... Now come on! We have a whole day to tour this place!"
And so, the two kids decided to go around the city. They avoided any thieves, kidnappers, and other small-time criminals as best as they could while they went about. There were a few hiccups though, and there was nothing they could do about it except for fighting them off.
Thankfully, Athelei had a dagger that could immobilise any careless attacker, and Lisa carried a squire's training sword at her waist despite her preference of knives. The status of a squire made any ruffians wary of actual knights following the kids from somewhere unseen. They thought that it was some kind of training the knights had put the kids up to and were grading.
The ones who disregarded such a possibility and tried their luck would get hit by a good [Nerve Disruption] but without the Arc Cobra poison. With Athelei's growing proficiency in sneak attacks and his snake-like skills, those troublemakers would swiftly end up with numb legs.
'That's what you get for underestimating the younger, and smaller one,' Athelei chuckled as he left the troublemakers lying on the streets. The passers-by always glanced at the troublemakers in confusion. His eyes then flashed with curiosity as he glanced at every alleyway he and Lisa passed by, 'Now, I wonder if my Nightwalker brothers and sisters might be here as well...'