Past the numerous stone buildings and verdant trees in the South Ward, lay a magical bridge that connected it to the North Ward.
The sun had already set and the sky was dyed a shade of velvety dark. The twin moons, Selene and Luna, appeared high up in the night sky and bathed the lands below in an ethereal glow.
The Lunar Bridge, undisputedly the most famous landmark in Moon City, reflected the splendor of the twin moons and shone brilliantly.
From his balcony, Adam could see this awe-inspiring sight and couldn't help but marvel at it. "So beautiful!"
The bridge looked like it was made of countless little stars. Adam had never seen something so spectacular in his life. He looked at it for a few minutes and then sighed emotionally. "The world of magic is truly fascinating…"
He went back into his room and sat down on the couch. Slowly, he unwrapped the bloodied bandage on his left arm, all the while wincing in pain. Next, he took out the healing potion, uncorked it, and downed it in one go.
A sweet taste permeated in his mouth, followed by a slightly bitter taste. Within a minute, he felt an itching sensation in his left arm that only increased with each passing second.
Adam grimaced as he focused on his injured arm. Slowly, the bones began to heal and the tendons and muscles began to restore themselves. This continued for a minute and then finally the skin also regenerated. In a matter of minutes, his originally crippled arm was completely healed.
"What should have left me crippled for a lifetime was healed in just minutes!" Adam's eyes shone brightly as he moved around his once-injured arm.
After testing out the efficacy of the healing potion, he went to the bathroom and took a long shower. Then, he climbed onto the bed and bounced on it a few times. "So fluffy and… luxurious, haha!"
After playing around a little more, he finally lay down and stared at the wooden ceiling. "In seven days, the examination takes place. I can't wait to join the academy!"
Adam let his thoughts run wild and soon went to sleep.
…
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed and the day of Clover Academy's entrance examination had finally arrived.
Adam's eyes shone with excitement and anticipation as he walked the crowded cobblestone streets of the South Ward.
He was wearing a dark blue tunic that had white seams. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, displaying his toned forearms. He was also wearing white cotton pants and black bamboo shoes. His outfit looked neat but they'd been washed so many times that they were nearly worn out.
His jet-black hair was parted from the middle. His hair had grown a lot since he left his hometown, and now it reached his shoulders.
The distance from Sherman's Inn to the entrance of the academy was only a few hundred meters. Very soon, the white marble archway was visible to Adam. This was the entrance to the academy.
However, soon, he was stunned.
"So many people!" He muttered in astonishment.
Hundreds of children had lined up in an orderly manner outside the academy's entrance. At a rough count, there were at least five hundred children gathered here!
Looks like children from all over the Nightingale Kingdom as well as the other kingdoms of the Southern Federation have come to enroll at the academy. Adam thought to himself as he calmly walked toward the end of the queue.
"Hey, everyone, look at this guy!"
"Where does he think he is?"
"Haha, what a clown. Is he lost?"
"Go back to the rice fields, farmboy!"
When the nearby children caught sight of Adam standing in the queue, they couldn't help but be amused. After all, although Adam was wearing clean clothes, it was undoubtedly of highly inferior quality. Clearly, he looked like he didn't belong here.
Adam ignored the others and stood silently with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Although he felt disgruntled by the harsh words spoken by others, he didn't wish to banter with them at the moment. His full focus was on the examination.
A freckled youth standing right in front of Adam saw him and thought of having some fun. He turned around and intimidatingly stared at Adam. "Oi, peasant. Why don't you go tend to the cattle?"
This caused the other children to burst into raucous laughter. However, Adam remained unfazed.
Seeing this, the freckled youth was slightly annoyed. He firmly clasped Adam's shoulder and repeated, "Bastard, didn't you hear me? I said, go back to the—"
But the words got stuck in his throat.
Adam opened his black abyss-like eyes and glared at the boy. "Piss off!"
The freckled boy's knees weakened and he stumbled back a few steps. Beads of cold sweat began forming on his forehead. When he looked into Adam's eyes, he felt his head hurt for some reason.
And this scared him down to his core. He couldn't help but avoid eye contact with Adam. Immediately, he left the place and ran away. Finally standing at the end of the queue, far away from Adam.
The rest of the children were stunned seeing what had just transpired. They simply thought that the freckled boy was a coward. But still, they stopped bothering Adam after this incident.
Over the past week, Adam spent all his time absorbing souls and going through herbalism knowledge. After absorbing tens of small motes of light, his soul had strengthened tremendously.
Adam's soul would sometimes emit a very minute amount of pressure. This is exactly what happened when the freckled youth looked into his eyes. The boy's soul was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure Adam's soul was releasing.
In fact, Adam's soul was already as strong as someone who had just recently become a Rank 1 Magus!
However, after absorbing so many souls inside the mysterious space of the white lotus, he was beginning to feel 'full'. He suspected that soon he would reach a point where he wouldn't be able to consume any more motes of light.
When that happened, he didn't know what he would do or how we would proceed.
Very soon, a group of people wearing dark green cloaks with a four-leaf clover crest came out of the academy and stood in front of all the children present. An old man, standing in the middle of the group, loudly declared.
"The Clover Academy's entrance examination will now begin. Everyone, follow me!"