Silver Leaf Town, inside an old villa…
"Stop faking your study. You're not cut out for magic," a cold voice interrupted Kent as he tried to study a basic-level magic spell.
Kent adjusted his glasses and turned his gaze towards the beautiful woman before him, Thea Frost– his promised bride. She was five years older than him and worked as an elder at the same wizard school where Kent was a student.
Kent was matched with Thea by her grandmother, who had adopted Kent. Last year, their grandmother died, and from that moment on, his nightmare began.
"What are you staring at? Get up," Thea snapped, interrupting his thoughts once again before closing the spell book before him.
"Wifey, what's going on?" Kent asked Thea with a pale face. Though Thea disliked him from the start, she had never been this forceful to him.
"Your freeloading days are over, Kent. I promised my grandmother that I would take care of you until you became an adult. Today is your 18th birthday. So, find some work and feed yourself from now on. Also, leave the villa in a few days; I'm selling it," Thea declared harshly, showing no consideration for his feelings.
"But, Thea, I'm your husband. Where can I go?" Kent asked, not taking Thea's words to heart.
"You useless piece of shit, stop calling me 'WIFEY'. No one marries a loser like you. All you want is a sugar momma; go find one," Thea spat as she took the spell book from Kent.
Though angry, Kent remained silent and didn't utter a single word. His adopted grandmother had made him promise to always love Thea, no matter the situation. Her last words were still fixed in his heart.
Five minutes later, Kent stood outside the door with his old, tattered bamboo bag. Thea locked the door and called for her pet with a whistle.
Without having any pets to carry him to the Wizard School, Kent continued to walk down the road with a depressed face, thinking about what part-time jobs he could get from his 3rd-grade Magus level.
Just as he reached the wizard school entrance, two bald eagles landed forcefully before him.
'Ahh~'
Taken aback, Kent fell back on the road, a second later blood started dripping from his elbow.
"Hey Kent, where are my coins? You said you would pay up today," a lady with a round, fat face and plump bosom demanded, ignoring Kent's bleeding elbow.
Kent slowly stood up, blocking the bleeding with his bare hand. "I don't have any coins now. Give me a few days. I'm starting a part-time job today, and I will definitely pay up as soon as possible," he replied while blowing his burning elbow.
"That's not our deal. You should pay up today. It's just 20 bronze coins. Don't you have any parents for pocket money?" Mona questioned in a mocking tone.
Before Kent could reply, Mona's boyfriend chimed in. "Mona, let's go... He is a pauper without any backing. We need to go on a date after classes. Let's hurry," said Ric, a fat young man who sat on another bald eagle beside Mona, his gaze fixed on Mona's milk bags.
Kent felt like beating the two love birds before him. He knows that Mona's family isn't wealthy, but to get along with the heirs of the rich, like Ric, she would always flaunt her figure in tight clothes.
"Hmmhh… Kent, I don't care what you do; you should pay by this evening. Otherwise, I will complain to the elders," Mona warned Kent before taking flight.
Ric purposefully hovered above Kent and stirred up all the dust and trash on the road. After letting out a mocking laugh, the evil duo left for school.
Just as they left, Thea's eagle flew by him. She stopped for a brief moment above him and tossed a few copper coins. "Treat your wound."
Kent felt despair as he stared at Thea, who had completely shattered his pride. Cursing himself for his low cultivation, he moved forward. But after a few steps, he stopped before a large stone tablet that was placed at the school gate.
"Sky Family Wizard School..." The letters were deeply engraved into the rock by a master-level wizard.
Kent's gaze lingered on the school name. His fists clenched in anger. For the last two years, he remained in the same 3rd-class Magus level. It is his third year in the same class. His classmates had already surpassed him, and he alone was struggling with his juniors.
Kent was not a lazy disciple. From his first day at school, he worked relentlessly to become a successful magus and take care of his grandmother and Thea. However, for some odd reason, his meridians couldn't hold much aura at a time.
Despite his grandmother taking him to several healers, no one could pinpoint the exact problem.
Kent's fists clenched as he recalled how futile all his efforts had been so far. While staring at the school name, Kent let out a heavy sigh and turned away from the school gate to seek some work in the town.
Walking along the narrow, empty streets, Kent pondered where he might find some work. He visited a few herbal stores, asking for a storeboy position. But nothing worked. After noticing his 3rd class Magus level, no one showed any interest.
With a depressed face, Kent began walking towards the outskirts where daily laborers worked.
Just as he turned into a narrow street, a gust of wind pushed him back, and a large raven, the size of two adult humans, landed before him.
"Nooo… Don't eat me. Don't eat me," Kent shrieked in fear, hurriedly moving back with his eyes closed.
The raven had crimson-evil eyes, sharp feathers, and golden claws. It pinned Kent to the ground, giving him no chance to escape.
But even after a long time, the raven didn't attack Kent as he had expected. Controlling his trembling limbs, Kent slowly opened his eyes to see why he was still alive.
His gaze landed on the raven's silver beak. For some odd reason, the raven is staring at his face with a scrutinizing gaze. As Kent's gaze met the raven's crimson gaze, his heart began racing with fear.
'Akk…. Akkk… kkk…'
The black raven made coughing sounds, and in the next instance, a crystal ball appeared on its beak. The raven slowly bent its head down, gesturing for Kent to take the sky-blue crystal ball.
Even though he was quite baffled, Kent slowly stretched his shaking hand and picked up the crystal ball from the raven's beak.
As soon as Kent grabbed the sky crystal with both hands, it vibrated with an incoming communication request. The image on the crystal ball belonged to a middle-aged woman with youthful looks.
The lady continued to stare at Kent's face with a deep look.
"Hi," Kent replied in a confused tone.
In the next second, the lady's eyes filled with tears, and in an emotional tone, she spoke, "Kent, do you remember me? I'm your aunt."
Kent was shocked. For instance, he thought someone was playing tricks on him. But the tears in the woman's eyes and her emotional outbreak seemed genuine, convincing him of her sincerity.
'Grandmother said I didn't have any relatives. Then where is this aunt coming from? She called my name directly. That means she's definitely looking for me.' Kent's thoughts raced as he struggled to digest this sudden twist in his life.
"Kent, I'm really sorry. I should have found you a little early. But I promise you that from now on, I will really make up for my mistake. Due to our enemies, I couldn't meet you in person. Soon, I will clear up all the problems and meet in person. There is a piggy card in the raven's pouch, and I have deposited 5,000 gold coins in it for your pocket money. If you spend it all, just send me a message. Your mom left a fortune for you. I will tell you all the details when I meet you personally. Love You, Kent."
The woman's image faded out on the crystal ball, a special edition of Sky Ball from the wizard association. Kent finally believed that he really had a relative in this world.
While the raven still stood steadily before him, Kent controlled his fear and reached his hand inside the creature's feathery pouch.
($ $)
'What… It's a golden piggy card.' :D