"Well kid, get excited we have arrived. This is the Capital City Tensire." Said the head merchant who was the one to agree with having Wagner join and pay in labor.
"Wow, This is a city?" Wagner said shocked, noticing that the height of the walls were about 5 times that of his house.
"This is not a city, this is THE City." retorted the merchant head.
"Are all cities not like this?" Wagner asked confused by the statement.
"No, Most cities are about half the size in just about every way." Informed the Merchant Head. "This City is the biggest city in the continent not just this country. While every other city in this country has some schools and some level of nobility; Tensire has the best of all of it. This is the home of the king and the majority of the 8 royal families, as well as the best Academies. The Solnik (Soul-Nick) school of Knights and the Sanno (San-no) school of Mages are both located here. While everyone uses magic, the school of mages is more for researches and those focused on the application of magic at its core. On the other hand the Solnik is focused on weaponry and is more of a military academy."
"Where is Solnik located?" Wagner asked getting ready to head out.
"There are 4 academies total. Sanno is in the west, Solnik in the east, the Craftsmen academy in the North, and lastly the Alchemist school in the South where we are now."
"There are more schools?" Asked Wagner
"Of course, there are dozens more schools, these are just the main locations of each major Academy. Within each part of the city the schools have lesser versions. So in Solnik Academy's location there are smaller schools for Mages, Craftsmen, and Alchemists. This is so nobody can miss out on any learning opportunities. The grading in all schools is very strict and they all have high requirements. You are going to need luck just to pass the lower level schools that only let nobles in, nevermind the top level academies." The Merchant head said trying to prepare the ignorant child.
"So what do I need to do to get into Solnik academy."
"I am not fully sure but there is some sort of entrance test that..." The merchant head said before being interrupted.
"If you want to know about the entrance exam, you must plan on entering huh? If you want you can come with me I can explain it along the way." Said a young girl about the same age as Wagner
"I mean, if you could that would be awesome. Except I don't even know your name yet." Wagner trying to be reserved but his excitement knowing how close he is to entering school.
"Alright, that's fair, my name is Silvana Larche, I am a new mage hoping to learn from Solnik academy as a 3 circle mage so far. My specialty is spirit combination magic and I have an affinity to water magic." Said the young girl.
"Guess it's my turn then, I'm Wagner, I don't have a magic focus yet and I am only 2 a circle mage right now but I do have a fire affinity." Wagner Replied
"Nice to meet you Wagner, I didn't catch your last name. Obviously mine is Larche as in the Royal Larche Family." Silvana trying to determine how she should be treating her new friend
"Oh, people don't have last names where I come from. Also who is the Royal Larche family?" Wagner a little confused
"Remember those 8 royal families I mentioned earlier, the Larche family is one of them. They were made a royal family after the hero of Larche defended the city during a war and completely prevented the enemy from entering the city." Informed the Merchant Head.
"That's right. Although my family is less impressive than the hero that earned our status of royalty. However, the current family aren't slouches either." Silvana showing off how prideful she was.
"Wait, then your ancestor must be the "Sky's Archer" that defeated all the generals using skills to break down their defense in front of a single arrow for each one to finish the job. That's awesome." Wagner
"Seems you know more about my family than me even though you've never heard of us." Said Silvana trying to tease Wagner
"Well all I had out on the farm was books, I've spent a lot of time reading about our history." Wagner said slightly disappointed that his knowledge of history was all he had as opposed to skills he should've developed.
"Well good thing, you can teach me more about history at the Academy. Ready to go see it." Silvana said feeling successful not that she had found a friend but that she had gained a tutor.
"Really!! We can go to the academy already?" Wagner excited that he might have solved his living situation.
"Kind of, we can enter and check it out but there is no full admittance aside from the hallways and the library." Silvana said hoping to get him there to help her with her written exams.
"That would be great, the only thing is that right now I need some way to earn some money and a place to stay. Do you have any ideas?" Wagner just trying to secure himself for the next month.
"Well, if you tutor me I can pay you, and if you need a place to stay my family has a lot of empty rooms." Silvana attempting to keep her precious tutor.
"If you say so, I wouldn't turn down the chance to live with a pretty lady. Let's get going." Wagner said confidently and with pain, mainly because of the slap he received.
"Follow me." Silvana said pretending like she didn't just slap him.
"Good luck kid, also girls are always mean to the ones they like, keep that in mind." The merchant head said, embarrassing the young girl in front of him.
4 hours later:
"Can't we stop for lunch already?" Silvana begged, starving.
"No, let's just get to the school first. I need to at least know what the building looks like." Wagner retorted.
"Fine, its right around the corner, look real quick and than we come right back to eat." Silvana getting desperate for food.
"It's just around the corner? Wait! THATS SOLNIK ACADEMY!?" Wagner nearly shouting
"Yep, Now lets go eat."
"How can we eat when this building is in front of us. Just imagine the library that must be in here." Wagner was in complete awe at the building.
"We will explore it soon but I won't employ you if we don't go to eat NOW!" Silvana yelled
"Fine fine, lets go you royal glutton." Wagner says annoyed by the fact they cant go straight through to enter the Academy.
"You really should remember that I am going to be the one paying you before you insult me again." Wagner and Silvana bickered all through their meal, showing them both what it felt like to be kids rather than aspiring mages.
Now it was time to see Solnik Academy, the best academy for mages who want to fight. The school was so large that all the buildings in Wagner's hometown could have easily fit inside several times over. There was a central building even taller than the city's walls and off of that were two buildings off the sides heading towards two towers slightly shorter than the central building. From there was what looked like a whole city within the campus. Most of the buildings being living spaces and training grounds scattered around. This was aside from the biggest two buildings after the main building the stadium and the library. The stadium was just a typical oval shaped building with a center that could fit a grid of 5 by 5 dueling ground spaces. And the library was almost just as large as the stadium. This amazed Wagner as all the books in the library where he grew up could have been fit in a well organized closet. Everything was separated by sections and floors, there was a clear difference in age from the top floor to the lowest floor implying the ascending of difficulty. The right side of the library was covered in a plethora of colors of books all mixed together while the other side was carefully separated in what appeared to be a difference by element then by sub affinity. Wagner couldn't wait to start reading, and learning that the library didn't close meant he might not take Silvana's offer for a place to sleep as the library might be his near permanent home.