The journey to the next town over was fairly uneventful. The group only encountered one creature that was gold-ranked, but Frida took care of it easily.
The carriages did have to make a few stops to eat and have bathroom breaks. Thankfully, Liam calculated these stops and knew they would all make it to the town in time. He thought there would be more setbacks but was happy to see there were fewer than what he expected.
Once the group made it to the next town over, they all took their time gathering their things. They were nearly two hours ahead of time so they had some free time to do what they wanted. Sadly, it was already late at night and most of the stores were closed.
There was only one place that was still open. The place was a late-night convenience store that was open 24 hours.
The large group entered the store to look around. Most people bought some drinks and snacks. Some bought miscellaneous items to keep themselves entertained for the rest of the trip.
Once everyone finished buying their items, they all met up with Liam and Frida. They were all wondering how they were going to get to the royal capital from this town. The carriages already left and the group didn't know how they were going to travel now.
Liam gave everyone a large smile and said, "We'll be taking a train from here to the royal capital."
Everyone was looking at each other in confusion. No one had ever heard of a train before. Kevin stepped forward and asked, "What's a train? We've never heard of such a thing."
Liam quickly gave the group an explanation of what a train was. However, trains worked a little differently in this world. Instead of using fuel to power the train, they used runes.
Once Liam explained what a train was to the group, everyone looked at each other with excitement and curiosity. The only person who wasn't so excited was Ian.
Ian was lost in thought ever since the mention of a train. As soon as he heard that word, he immediately turned to Liam in excitement. When he realized that he was excited at the mention of a train, he became confused.
"Huh. Why did I get happy and excited over a train? I've never even seen or heard of a train. Or have I? It sounds familiar but I don't know why." After a moment, Ian decided to put the thought to rest. Right now was not the time to worry about some random thought.
Seeing that everyone was getting excited to see and enter a train, Liam gathered everyone's attention and guided them to the train station.
The train station was very large and still a sight to behold for the group. To them, the largest building they've ever seen was the testing center in the village. However, the train station was around the same size. Not only that but it was also made out of stones and bricks similar to the testing center.
The inside of the train station was also amazing for them to look at. The interior was filled with polished stone. It was unlike anything they'd seen before.
The group walked around the station looking at all of the decorative patterns made from polished stones.
After walking and looking around for a bit, they all finally made it to the rail tracks located outside in the back of the station. They looked at them curiously. Since Liam explained what a train was and how they worked, they all knew the train would show up there.
Many of them got excited to finally see a train. However, they still had an hour left before the train arrived. Seeing as that was the case, everyone either walked around some more or sat down on the benches around the station.
Emmett and Zoey decided to walk around for a while longer while Ian, Ellie, and Kevin chose to sit on a bench outside by the train tracks. They wanted to see the train pull up into the station.
As they were sitting on the bench, the three of them chatted with each other.
"I can't wait. Just a little bit more before we finally get to the academy," Ellie said happily.
"I know, I can't wait either. Finally, we'll get a proper education and we'll be able to learn more about our world. I'm really interested in learning about runes," Kevin said. He then leaned towards Ian and said, "I'm also interested in seeing all of the hot babes."
"I heard that," Ellie angrily said as she pulled Kevin by his ear. Afterwards, she turned to Ian and asked, "What about you, Ian? What are you excited about?"
Ian took a moment to think and said, "I just hope I can learn more about my condition or if other people have gone through the same thing and how they dealt with it. Being able to finally control my powers is what I'm excited about."
"That's fair. It makes sense that you would want to learn how to control your powers. But is there anything else you're interested in?" Ellie asked
Ian took another moment to think before saying, "I guess I'm interested in world history. I'd love to learn about all of the wars and battles that were fought and about how people learn to use their abilities in creative ways. It may help me get a better understanding of my situation."
"You always seemed like a history nerd to me. I guess I was right. Does that mean you are going to become an archeologist? Are you going to go around the world looking for ancient artifacts and lost civilizations?" Kevin said jokingly.
"Who knows, maybe I will. I've always enjoyed going out and exploring on my own. However, such a job is extremely dangerous. Not many people want to be archeologists since there are so many dangerous creatures roaming around the world. I can imagine how difficult it is to do such a thing," Ian said.
"You have a fair point. I can imagine not a lot of people would want to take such risks. And if people were to take such risks, I'm sure it would cost a lot." Ellie said.
Ian stared off into the starry night and said, "For someone to become an archeologist, I can imagine they would have to be strong enough to take care of themselves or have enough money to hire bodyguards. If I were to become an archeologist, I would want to be strong enough to take care of myself. That way I don't have to pay anyone else for anything and I'll be able to earn a good amount of money that way."
Kevin patted Ian on the back and said, "Well, we have the next four years to figure out what we want to do in the future so let's not worry about that now. Our time of glory will come one day, and when it does, we'll be there to cheer on each other."
Ian smiled at Kevin, knowing he was right. Now was not the time to worry about the distant future.
Ian looked between Kevin and Ellie and said, "I can't wait to see what kind of future you two will have. I'm sure it will be fantastic."
Ellie looked at Ian and proudly said, "Well I already know what my future will be like. I'm going to become a great swordmaster and continue to carry the torch of our family. I will make our dad proud by mastering the Crest sword techniques and reaching platinum rank. I already have all the basics figured out and I'll gain control over the water element when I rank up to silver. Once I become silver-ranked, I'll be able to start my true training."
Ian gave Ellie a wry smile and said, "That's not what I meant but more power to you."
The three of them continued talking for a while longer until Emmett and Zoey joined them. Once all five of them gathered, they all talked in between each other until Ellie spotted a light in the distance.
She gathered everyone's attention and said, "Look, the train's coming."
Everyone turned in the direction Ellie was facing and saw a bright light moving on the train tracks. They all stared at it as it got closer to the station. Soon, they all began to hear the sound of the train's wheels spinning. It was very quiet at first but then they started to hear the chugging get louder and louder.
Eventually, everyone else began to hear the train's chugging so they all headed to the back of the station. Soon, everyone was at the back of the station to watch the train pull up. They all stared at the train in awe.
Finally, once the train got closer to the station, it began to slow down. The train was now in full view and everyone stood back as it pulled up to the station and came to a complete stop.
With the train now in full view, everyone looked at it in amazement. It was larger than what they expected. The outside of the train was made mostly of metal material. The train looked similar to a bullet train but the wheels were like a steam engine train. The combination looked out of place.
Along the outside of the train, there were glowing blue lines of light that traveled across the train and all of its carts. These lines pulsed with blue energy. Upon closer look, these lines were actually small runes placed on the train. No one knew what the runes were exactly for but most could guess they helped power and move the train.
Seeing that everyone was already at the terminal, Liam gathered their attention and led them inside the train.
One by one, everyone entered the train. They all stared at the interior, looking at all the unique aspects of the train carts.
Within the passenger carts, there were two seat rows on each side going down the entire cart. Everyone started filling a seat, sitting in pairs of two.
Liam and Frida sat together in the front of the train cart. Emmett and Zoey sat together near the back of the cart. Meanwhile, Ellie, Kevin, and Ian tried to figure out who should sit with who. After talking for a while, the three of them decided that Kevin and Ellie would sit together while Ian sat in the row in front of them by himself.
Ian was perfectly fine sitting by himself. He wanted to think to himself about his future, not only in the academy but also after graduating. Plus, he wanted to get some sleep on the ride to the royal capital. If he sat next to Ellie or Kevin, he knew he would have difficulty sleeping since they would want to talk.
Soon, after everyone entered the train, it blew its whistle and began moving forward. Everyone stared out the windows as the train pulled out of the station. It began to pick up speed as it got further away from the station. After a few seconds, the train reached its top speed of almost 100 miles an hour. It was moving way faster than your average crystal rank.
The train ride would take around six hours. By the time they reach the royal capital, it would almost be the afternoon. The sun would start to rise two hours into the train ride.
As the train made its way to the royal capital, most of the group started to fall asleep. Emmett and Zoey were some of the first few to fall asleep. Even Liam and Frida fell asleep. Only Ian, Kevin, Ellie, and two others stay awake for a while longer.
Kevin and Ellie spent their time quietly talking to each other while Ian lost himself in thought. He felt nervous, unsure if he would find the answers he was looking for. Even so, he was also excited. A new world was going to open up to him and this would help him grow.
After a while of thinking to himself, Ian smiled at his reflection in the window before laying back on his seat and falling asleep.