Ember finally reached the City on the night of the second day of his encounter with the strange masked man. It was dark but few stores were still open, hungry and tired, he staggered to one of the stores to beg for food but the moment the owner, a woman in her late thirties saw him, she picked up the stick by the side of her store and drove him away immediately.
Her screams alerted the other store owners and soon, they began to chase him away with objects. Ember ran with all his might until he found a safe empty building and hid there. When he noticed that they had left, he relaxed a bit but that incident left him disappointed and angry.
"Is this how they behave here in this large city?" He asked. "It's so disappointing! I was thinking things would be a bit different from the village but I was only dreaming!"
"Things were a lot better before," an old voice spoke from behind and Ember turned around in fear only to find an old man seated at the end of the wall. "It seems you are new hwrey, kid," the old man said.
"Yes, I am new," Ember replied and turned to face the man. "Old man, what are you doing here alone?" He asked him, curious about the man's identity and why he was in such a place, looking dirty and unfed.
"My name is Owen and I lost my family and properties after the new king took over the throne," the old man replied.
"The new king? What's your business with the new king?" Ember asked further.
"You will not understand. Let's just say I am an unlucky old man," the man said with a sigh. Ember still had more questions to ask h but he didn't let him ask him any more question, instead, he asked. "What about you, kid? Why are you here?"
"To take the entrance examination into the magic school. I want to become the magic king," Ember replied boldly.
"The magic king?" The old man seeming surprised not only by Ember's boldness but also by his sincerity.
"Yes, I want to become the magic king," Ember repeated.
"Hmmm. That sounds like a good dream, kid but how is that going to be possible? I don't smell magic in you," the old man asked.
"Even if I don't have magic, I will still become the magic king," Ember replied and suddenly, his stomach growled again.
"Seems like it needs to be fed," the old man said, talking about Ember's stomach and Ember could only smile bitterly. "Here, take this and eat," the old man said afterwards, offering him a small leather.
"What's this?" Ember asked, collecting it.
"It's chicken," the old man replied and Ember's eyes lit up.
"Chicken?" He mumbled and opened the leather immediately. A full lap of roasted chicken was inside. "Thank you," he said and began to devour the meat hungrily.
"It seems like you haven't had something to eat for days," the old man stated and Ember nodded his head without replying the man. He was too busy to talk; busy savouring the taste of the meat. He had never for once eaten meat in his entire life so he wanted to savour every taste of it.
After he was done eating, he glanced at the old man who was watching him while he ate and smiled. "I don't know how someone like you has got this in his possession but I am grateful for the help. I am going to pay you back some day," he said to him.
"It's nothing, kid. But if you insist, then I can't say no, after all, that meat was all I got," the old man replied and laughed. "By the way, you should rest up, tomorrow is the entrance examination," he announced and Ember was taken aback.
"What? Isn't it a week today?" He asked him.
"Well, change of plans I'd call it," the old man replied.
"Change of plans?" Ember asked with his brows knitted. How could the Academy suddenly change plans? He's put everything he had into this one dream and if it fails, not only will he become a subject of ridicule but his grandma also.
"No need to worry that much, the exams is tomorrow, see if you can make it," the old man told him.
"Tomorrow huh? Even if it's tonight, I will definitely be part of it! I am going for the exams, definitely!" He replied. He could not say how relieved he was now that there was still hope for him.
"If that is the case, you need to rest very well because the exam's quite a tough one," the old man said to him and then stood up.
"Where are you going to?" Ember asked, seeing the man up on his feet. He thought the man lived in the old house.
"Going out for a walk, I may not see you when I return so I wish you good luck on tomorrow's exams. And, don't forget you owe me," the man replied and walked away.
As Ember watched him leave, he thought the old man looked strange to him.
'Perhaps I am just overthinking things' he concluded in his head and decided to rest because tomorrow was a big day for him. Tomorrow will determine his future.
------------Exams Day----------
Ember woke up the following day feeling energized and excited.
"Eating meat goes a long way in strengthening humans. From today henceforth, my special food will be roasted chicken! When I become the magic king, I'll have all the roasted chicken I want, hahah!" He said happily as he left the old house into the now busy road.
Ember was naive to think everything would be as easy as he imagined. He didn't know that for his new dreams, a lot of sacrifices would have to be made, not only that, he was going to face a lot of challenges.
"Please how can I get to the magic school?" He stopped and asked an elderly man who was seated on a tree.
"It's in the capital," the elderly man replied while gazing at Ember.
"H-how can I get to the capital then?" Ember asked with a stammer. He didn't like the way the man was staring at him but what could he do about it?!
"From the way you dress, you aren't from this city. I wouldn't want to help you but I guess I have no choice but to," the man said and Ember sighed in relief. "If you have magic, you can just fly to the capital but if you can't fly, then there's a transportation means over there but you will have to pay for it."
Ember, following the man's line of sight spotted a place filled with people. 'Pay? We'll, I guess it won't cost me much' he thought to himself.
"Thank you for the help," he said to the man and then left.
Getting to the place where the crowd was gathered, Ember looked through and saw a man standing next to a circular gateway. It's edges were glowing and the center was shimmering, reflecting hues of purple and black.
"What is that thing?" He mumbled.
"With my portal, I can get you to anywhere you want as long as it exists," the man yelled. "The only thing you'll have to do is pay!"
"How much?" Someone asked.
"It's only fifty gold coins!" The man replied and many people were shocked.
"Isn't that too expensive?"
"This man is a robber!"
"It's enough to feed me for a week or two!"
Meanwhile, Ember was more shocked and now disheartened because if he could not make it to the capital on time, his dreams of becoming the magic king would be destroyed.
"Fifty gold coins for a transport? I have never even seen a bronze coin not to talk of a silver one. And if I don't make it in time, I will fail. What do I do? I don't want to steal from this folks because I am still new to the place too..."
While Ember was battling with his himself, a man dressed in a beautiful robe attire walked by. The edges of his robe was made out of fine golden materials and he was wearing a gold necklace on his neck. The moment people saw him, they began to whisper among themselves.
"That's the town chief's son, Zack!"
"What's he doing here and what are they carrying with them?"
"Oh my gosh! He's so rich!"
"Tsk! What's so special about him? Have you forgotten that he makes his money through illegal means?"
"So what? I don't care about his source of wealth, I wish I could be taken by him. I don't mind working as his slave, oh..."
Ember listened attentively to what they were saying and an idea struck his head. He didn't care about the details of what the people were saying and quickly went after him.
"Sir, I see that you do not have enough men to carry loads for you. How about I join them?"