The group pondered on what to do next.
Ultimately, the one who knew the city best proposed an idea.
"Well since it's already around noon, we should stop and get something to eat, I know a great pasta place that isn't too expensive."
He had his typical characteristic bright smile on his face.
"Great idea, I'm starving."
Kian was pretty hungry, he hadn't eaten since earlier this morning; which was well over several hours ago.
The previous situation on top of the intel grabbing drained all the emotion and energy out of him, so food sounded like a pleasant idea.
Looking up at the sky he could see the sun hovering directly above, indicating it was around noon.
This world didn't have some sci-fi setting like two moons or suns, let alone anything along those lines.
In fact; the world was freakishly similar to Earth.
The foods weren't much different; most animals on earth were present here, though Kian suspected that there had to be different kinds
of magical monsters in this world.
Though he had yet to see one.
As for the spacial and geographical structure, Kian doubted that these were much different.
The sun acted the same as it did on Earth, 24 hours a day; 365 days a year.
The moon appeared to act the same as well.
Kian had yet to see a map of the region so he couldn't tell if there were different continents or if they were on just one big plot of land.
As for materials like gold, metal, and other substances they also seemed to be in this land as well.
It was as if this world was a carbon copy of Earth, with slight changes made throughout; The biggest one being magic.
This is what Kian had taken out of the situation, perhaps this world was created as a replica of the Earth by some despicable god.
And yet he couldn't help but entertain a small unnerving thought that was etched in the back of his mind; What if the earth was a copy of this world and the life he had been living was all merely a misconception, a figment of reality?
That would be a far scarier reality than the one he believed in right now.
In the end, Kian decided to drop these thoughts; whether some insolent god put him and Luna in this world as a form of punishment, or as a reward, didn't mean any difference to him.
Or maybe this was what happened to all humans after they die, perhaps this was his underlying fate.
Well, it didn't matter anyways.
For Kian had his mind set on one goal, and it all depended on the thing that put them here.
This goal was to make it home safely with Luna.
If a god was the one that sent them here; he would try to crush that god if that's what it took to get back home.
If he had to grow stronger somehow and tarnish the very existence of this being he may do so.
If he had to destroy every devotee he would do so without batting an eye.
If he had to pull the rug out from under this god himself then he would.
And if it were some bound of fate that brought him here he'd destroy those ideals and concepts while ultimately emerging victorious.
For that was the man Kian was.
***
Kian, Luna, and Landon were all currently sitting at a round table in a restaurant.
It wasn't too high-end; most people wore casual clothes.
They were eating and talking about various topics.
Kian had a plate of delicious Lasagna; one of his favorite dishes that his mother used to make often.
Though it was usually sad to dig up thoughts like that, sometimes Kian needed the jump start, the small boost of ambition.
Through their random chatter, Landon brought up an interesting topic.
"So Kian, what did you learn in the library while we were away?"
Landon asked while twirling his fork, gathering the noodles before taking a bite of his meal.
Kian turned to him, thinking for a brief moment before answering.
"I focused mostly on the cultural structure of the kingdom as well as the standard ideals and functions of magic and mystic brands."
No point lying here, there was no problem with one wanting to learn more about these topics, So it wouldn't lead him to sound suspicious.
After speaking he turned to Luna, signaling with his eyes he'd fill her in later; she seemed to get the memo due to her slight nod.
"Well if there's anything you need help understanding, you can ask me. After all, I will soon be attending the most prestigious school in the kingdom."
He announced while placing his hand on his chest as a sign of self-approval.
Nonetheless, this subject was a choppy one for Kian.
He never talked to Luna about this plan but he had an idea that would help them tremendously in the long run.
He cut a piece of his Lasagna before delicately eating it, he had to stay gentleman-like for the lady.
"This is a good time to propose this idea to you, Landon, me, and Luna will likely attempt to get into Silverwind Academy as well."
He said in a calm tone while keeping his eyes fixated on his food.
However, the other two people acted quite the opposite.
Luna not so much, at the start, she was visibly shocked at this, but after putting in a little thought she must have realized they needed this.
Landon on the other hand almost spilled his drink after hearing this absurd proposition.
"W-What? You can't be serious…you two didn't even know what magic was, let alone a mystic brand, until about a few weeks ago!"
Landon got relatively louder when saying this, he wasn't speaking in a mad tone but in a disproving voice.
This caused a few stares to come our way, which instinctively made him lower his voice back to a normal level.
His face on the other hand still expressed his feelings.
"Are you crazy Kian? Do you even know what the exam is like? I've trained for years and even I am nervous."
Landon was right, Kian had zero clue what he was getting into.
But it didn't matter, he had no room for failure, plus who wouldn't want to use magic eventually? Being thrust into a magical land after living life in a normal world would cause anyone to seek the available new power.
"Nope, I have no idea what it's like or how hard it will be, but I'm pretty confident we can succeed."
With a Bright look on his face, he turned to Luna, who was still assessing the situation.
"Look Kian… I know you and Luna are fairly smart people, I'd say well above most of the population; but this is well out of your reach. The entrance exams start in four months, there's no way you two could pass."
"Normally I'd agree with you, but we have a great, smart teacher to guide us in the right direction."
He responded while pointing at Landon.
His blue eyes showed slight dismay towards the situation, Kian couldn't blame him though, he'd act the same way if he was in his situation.
"First of all, you don't know any of the curricula, second of all you two aren't very good fighters, and third of all, who said I would step into the teacher role?"
Luna, who was pretty quiet until this moment chimed in.
"Well in a written session I have no doubts me and Kian could pass with flying colors, and I'll have you know, I know many different forms of martial arts, and lastly Landon you'd be a great teacher, it fits you well."
"No words of flattery will work on me. You see, the entrance exam isn't just some walk in the park. Over five thousand students take it with only a few hundred of them passing at best. Take last year for example; if I recall 5,677 students took the entrance exam last year with only 247 passing, that's only a 4.35% acceptance rate. Not to mention how many students dropped out because the courses were way too hard, the odds are stacked against you two by far."
'4.35% eh?'
They had faced worse before.
To get accepted into the prestigious school they dreamed of they had to devote their lives to it, doing many out-of-school tasks, tons of extra courses and even being the leader of various groups.
That school only had a generous acceptance rate of around one to two percent.
Cutting through Kian's inner monologue, Landon continued.
"The school is a four-year course, with each grade usually having around 250 students, and if you think all the students who are turned down are unlucky, they do many times worse than the ones who passed. They get put in life-and-death situations left and right, they have crazily hard exams which are required, and if one isn't able to absorb info and power quickly you're as good as doomed. Over half the students drop out, get expelled, or killed, leaving only about 100 graduates per year."
Kian knew this wasn't going to be an easy task, quite the opposite.
However, this was a crucial stepping stone to achieving his ultimate goal, so like he previously stated; failure was not an option.