Next day
In the early morning, Winifred was running with abnormal speed in the grassland. The speed at which she was running was shocking. After so many months of training, Winifred's speed had increased dramatically; with her superhuman speed, she was slashing the air.
After running, she stopped at the top of the slope—the same place where they always landed, a place that showed a beautiful view of the city from the top.
As Winifred stopped, she took a long breath. Her heart was beating fast after running this long without stopping in the middle. As she tried to control her breathing, she was stunned once more to see the beautiful view of the city.
Standing on top of the slope, Winifred looked towards the city. The sun was hitting the city from above, making Winifred feel warm. The crowd could be seen at the city gate, and some carriages were heading towards the city gate.
"Beautiful as always," she muttered, admiring the view of the city.
Looking down towards the ground, Winifred jumped down the slope. The distance between the ground and the slope she was jumping from was about the height of a four-floor building. She landed on her feet, also placing her hands on the ground to support herself. Winifred tried not to make any noise, but she failed and made a slight sound while landing.
"I need more practice…" she muttered after jumping from the top.
Winifred started walking towards the route that Elise and she always took when they went to the eastern city, crossing an area where carriages stopped. Winifred didn't use any carriage; she wanted to enjoy the view while walking through the city. She walked on the plain road, taking in the fresh air and looking at the city as she walked.
Winifred was carrying a small bag on her waist. It wasn't the first time Winifred had come to the city alone. In the past seven months, Winifred had come many times alone to buy various things that Elise told her to.
Suddenly, Winifred's eyes caught something as she walked towards the city gate. She stopped at a carriage coming from the city. This was a different carriage than the others; its back was open. Winifred spotted a girl of her age wearing a witch's hat, smiling as she sat inside.
As the carriage passed by, Winifred's ears caught the words coming from it.
"Three months to go for the witch's exam..." the person in the carriage spoke.
Hearing these words, Winifred's legs suddenly stopped, and she took a long breath. She started walking again, thinking to herself, I can do it… Only the defensive spell remains, and after that, I'm ready to become a witch. I have three months to master the defense spell.
Winifred knew one fire spell as an attack spell, and she was also able to move things without touching them. The only thing left to master was the defense barrier spell, which could also be used for protection. She had to master it to pass the exam.
"No problem, I can do it. I know…" she said with confidence.
Inside the city…
Winifred was in the second circle of the city, standing in the middle of the circle, waiting for someone. Suddenly, someone placed a hand on Winifred's shoulder from behind. Winifred quickly turned around and saw a girl smiling at her. Winifred smiled back.
This girl was Luna, the girl Elise and Winifred had helped when they first sat in the carriage.
"You always shock me…" Winifred said with a smile.
"Using my skills to shock you always makes me happy," Luna replied with a smile.
"Hahaha…" they both laughed.
"So, where are the others?" Winifred asked.
"Ray is buying a new sword in the third circle, and Leo and Luke are helping him. Let's go; they need our help, you know. Otherwise, they'll never find a good sword, no matter how many times they buy a new one," Luna replied with a smile.
"Yes, you're right about that. Let's go. I also want to see how the weapon store looks," Winifred said with a smile.
"Okay, then, let's go," Luna said with a smile.
Winifred and Luna started walking towards the third circle, where Ray, Luke, and Leo were looking at different swords.
In the weapon store
The weapon store was on the side of the road. It was a small, old shop, but it looked good. As Winifred and Luna entered the shop, an old man greeted them both.
Winifred saw that Ray and Leo were choosing swords, standing at the end of the room. The shop was deep inside but of narrow width, dividing it into two parts: a counter and an area where people could stand. Luke was standing, looking at different magic staffs placed in glass cases on the opposite side of the counter.
There were a total of six people inside the store, including Winifred: two shopkeepers and one female customer.
As Winifred and Luna entered the shop, Luke noticed them and quickly spoke.
"You're late, Winifred…"
"Yeah, sorry about that," Winifred replied.
"It's fine. Both of you should help Ray. It's been an hour, and he hasn't liked any sword we picked for him," Luke explained the situation.
"Yeah, we tried…" Winifred said with a smile.
"Ray, pick something quick, otherwise we're going!" Luna yelled with an angry expression on her face, walking towards Ray and Leo.
Hearing Luna's voice, Luke and Leo's expressions changed to fear.
"I told you to hurry up. See, she's here now," Leo said in a small voice.
"I guess I don't have any other option. Let's pick one. You choose," Ray replied.
"Oh, okay then. Hi, Luna, Ray finally chose his new sword," Leo said, looking back after Ray was ready to pick the sword Leo had decided on.
When they saw that Ray had chosen his new sword, a smile appeared on everyone's face—but not on Ray's.
"Ahhh… I don't have any choice…" Ray thought, knowing his time was up.
"Well, it's a good thing you chose the sword," Luna said, placing her hand on Ray's shoulder with a smile.
"Yeah…" Ray replied, looking back at Luna.
Everyone knew that Ray had chosen his sword under Luna's pressure.
Suddenly, Winifred noticed that Luke was again looking at the magic staff inside the glass. Winifred looked at the glass and was shocked by the different colors of the staff placed inside. The wood of all the staff looked like beautiful tree branches.
Winifred knew that magic staffs were mainly used by all B-rank and under B-rank mages.
"Did you like this one?" Winifred asked, looking at Luke, who seemed very interested in the staff in front of him.