Uncle Tom, Bobby and Nanda were currently walking towards the academy. The three of them did not enter the city to get to the academy, but the academy could only be entered from outside the city, because the academy was outside the city, not inside the city.
So Bobby didn't get to see what it was like in the city of Balaraja. This is the first time Bobby has gone to this city, so Bobby is very curious about a city where there are many warriors who are stronger than warriors in the village where he lives.
Unfortunately at this time Bobby couldn't enter the city because Uncle Tom didn't allow it either, so Bobby went to the academy without seeing what was in the city first.
"Don't worry Bobby, after you have entered and studied at the academy, you will be able to visit this city when you have time. So don't be sad right now." Uncle Tom patted me on the shoulder and told me that I could still visit this city if I entered the academy.
"Really Uncle Tom? I will be able to enter this city when I become a student at the academy?" I was also very happy because I heard Uncle Tom's words about me being able to enter this city later.
"Of course, you thought that after entering the academy you wouldn't be able to leave the academy during your three years of study, huh?" Uncle Tom told Bobby that he could leave the academy when he wanted to.
"Oh, I thought you wouldn't be able to leave the academy for three years after you entered it uncle?" I told Uncle Tom that I didn't think I would be able to leave the academy for the three years I studied.
"Of course you can leave the academy for hunting purposes, buying your necessities and such. Did someone tell you that you can't leave the academy once you enter it?" Uncle Tom also asked me, where did I hear that after entering the academy you can't leave again.
"I didn't hear from anyone uncle, that's just my guess so far. Because everyone from my village who went to the academy almost didn't come back within three years and after they came back to the village they brought their families to live in the city. So I don't really know anything about the academy." I explained why I thought I couldn't leave the academy since no one in my village had ever come back after three years of being in the academy.
"Hemp… it's because they were weak and lacked courage that they couldn't pass through those forests when they were students at the academy, so they didn't come back in their three years at the academy. It's not because they can't leave the academy for three years" uncle Tom also explained what really happened to the people from my village who didn't come back for three years.
"So I can go back to the village whenever I want uncle?" Hearing that you can return to the village at will, makes my heart happy again.
"Of course you can't go as you please too, you can go outside the academy during semester breaks or on weekends and there are no class hours. When you're still in your semester you won't have time to go far because there will be a lot of assignments that you have to complete at the academy. Later you will also find out for yourself" Uncle Tom erased my image of me being able to return to the academy as I pleased with his explanation.
"Oh, I guess I can leave the academy and return to the village as I please hehe" I scratched my head in embarrassment.
"You'd better not be too relaxed when you're in the academy, because in this place the competition is quite fierce. I heard from my father the higher your score the better the resources for your training you can get, and vice versa" Nanda explained to me that the academy would be full of competition and I couldn't let my guard down.
"Yes Bobby, what Nanda said is true. It's better for now you don't think about returning to the village first, because if you get distracted even a little bit you will be left behind by the others and the resources for your training will decrease" Uncle Tom also asked me not to be careless when I was at the academy.
Hearing the two of them warn me not to let my guard down while at the academy, I nodded my head and said "Okay Uncle Tom and Nanda I won't let my guard down at the academy, and thank you for the warning" I thanked them both for their warned me not to hang around in the academy.
Since the three of us walked to the academy while chatting, this journey was not tiring, even though the distance between Balaraja City and Balaraja Academy was quite far at 15 km. without us knowing that we were getting closer to the academy until Uncle Tom informed us both that the gate of the Academy was visible from where we were.
From a distance we could clearly see the large inscription which had the name Balaraja Academy written in black on a large white board above the large gate, I estimated that the gate was 5 meters high and 4 meters wide. But somehow the black writing can be seen clearly by our eyes at night.
The gate has white as the base and there are black markings on the gate. In front of the gate there were two men who were standing in front of it while wearing armor that looked quite hard in white and carrying spears on their backs, and when the three of us started approaching towards the academy gate. The two men immediately took the spears that were on their backs and put the spears straight in front of them and they both looked at us.
Seeing them like they were taking a fighting position I put my hand on my sword hilt to get ready, Uncle Tom looked at me and said "Calm down kid, they're just on standby. It was their duty if anyone were to approach the academy. Especially since it was past midnight, so they would be more alert than usual. They will lower their spears when they know my face" Uncle Tom told me to calm down, because Uncle Tom had said that this would be fine, I released my hand from the hilt of my sword.
"Calm down you two, it's me Tom the teacher at this academy" uncle Tom spoke to the two men in front of the gate while showing a badge stuck to his chest. After the two gatekeepers heard Uncle Tom's voice and saw his face and badge he was wearing, they both looked at each other and nodded their heads and lowered the spears they were holding and put them back on their backs.
"Welcome back Teacher Tom!"