After escaping from the terrifying quagmire, Ebert wandered aimlessly in the forest for a long time until he was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, it was already the next morning.
He opened his eyes, and the warm sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, dispelling the cold and fear of the night and making him feel a little comforted.
He stood up, stretched his muscles and bones, and felt that his body had recovered a lot.
He looked around and found himself in a dense forest, surrounded by towering giant trees, with branches and leaves intertwined to form a natural barrier, isolating everything from the outside world.
He didn't know where he was, nor which direction he should go. He could only walk in one direction based on his feelings.
He walked and walked for a long, long time, and finally, not far ahead, he saw a glimmer of hope.
It was a wisp of smoke rising from the edge of the woods, outlining a peaceful and tranquil picture in the blue sky.
"There are people!" Ebert was delighted, he quickened his pace and walked towards the direction of the smoke.
After passing through a dense bush, Ebert finally walked out of the forest and came to an open field.
At the end of the field, there was a small town.
The town was not large, with only dozens of families. The houses were built of wood and stone and looked very simple.
But for Ebert, this was enough.
He was eager to leave the dangerous forest, find a safe place, take a good rest, and sort out his thoughts.
He walked into the town and found that the residents of the town were all wearing simple clothes and speaking a language he could understand - an ancient Sanskrit dialect. In fact, he had already learned the language of this world through the interaction with his own black statue.
Their eyes were full of curiosity, after all, strangers were not common to them.
Ebert greeted them in a friendly manner and asked where this place was.
"This is Varanasi," an old man replied, "Young man, where are you from? Judging from your dress, you don't look like someone from our area."
"I come from far away," Ebot said vaguely, "I am traveling around to gain more knowledge."
"I see," the old man nodded, "Then you have come to the right place. Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in our Agora. There are many ancient legends and mysterious relics here. You will definitely like it here."
Ebot's heart moved, "Agora? What is that place?"
"Young man, don't you even know Agora?" The old man asked in surprise, "Agora is the name of our land. Long, long ago, our ancestors lived on this land and created a brilliant civilization."
Ebot suddenly realized that people of this era did not know that the land they lived in was India 800,000 years later. They only knew that the land they lived in was called "Agora".
He also learned that this "Agora" is a world where magic and technology coexist.
In this world, magicians are the noblest profession. They have powerful powers that ordinary people can hardly imagine and dominate the fate of this world.
And technology is an auxiliary force developed on the basis of magic. It can help people make better use of magic and create a better life.
Ebert also learned that this world has a strict hierarchy similar to the caste system.
The top level is the "Brahmin". They are the owners of magical power, have powerful powers that ordinary people can hardly imagine, and dominate the fate of this world. Ordinary people such as Kshatriya and Vaishya can also be promoted to Brahmin through learning magic, but the assessment is relatively strict.
Next is the "Kshatriya", they are warriors and rulers, responsible for maintaining order and defending the country. Although they have no magical power, they have strong military and political power, and are the ruling class second only to the Brahmins.
Below is the "Vaishya", they are merchants, farmers and craftsmen, they rely on their own labor to create wealth for the society, and are the backbone of the society.
The lowest level is the "Shudra", they are servants and slaves, they have no rights and status, they can only obey the rule of the upper class and live a hard life.
Ebert realized that the two magicians he met before were obviously from the top "Brahmin" class.
They have powerful magical powers, and in order to compete for a jade treasure called "gravitational magic", they are willing to fight and even kill each other.
Ebert didn't know what the "gravitational power" was, but he could feel that the treasure must have extremely powerful power, otherwise, the two magicians would not be so crazy to get it.
And what kind of connection does the black metal statue on his body have with this world?
All of this is the mystery that Ebert wants to solve.
He knew that in order to solve these mysteries, he must improve his strength.
So he decided to learn magic.
He asked the residents of the town where he could learn magic.
Although those residents were surprised that a foreigner wanted to learn magic, they enthusiastically pointed out the direction for Ebert.
They told Ebert that there was a magic academy far away from the town. It was one of the most famous magic academies in the entire Agora continent. Every year, young people from all over the world came here to become a powerful magician.
Ebert thanked those residents and set off for the magic academy.
He believed that he would be able to find the answer he wanted there.
---