Hearing Jill say this, the two children felt a bit disappointed, but the chance to experience the wider world outside was a huge temptation for kids only eight or nine years old, so they didn’t insist on saying goodbye to their families.

For children from the countryside, there wasn’t much to prepare for a long journey—just bring a few pieces of clothing they felt were decent enough, and pack some dry food for the road.

It took eleven days by carriage to get from Duomi Town to Nick City. Uncle Jill instructed Neil to stay temporarily with the mayor for a month, then took the letters of introduction from the mage and the swordsman, and boarded the carriage to Nick City with the two children.

The carriage seats were fairly spacious. Besides Gaia and his group of three, there were two other people—a father and son. The father was about the same age as Jill, and the son was not much older than Gaia.

“Hello, I’m Jill. Are you also going to Nick City?” Jill asked in a friendly manner.

“Yes, I’m taking my son to Nick Academy. Not long ago, Lord Bruce personally came to our town to assess my son’s magical talent... Oh, my name is Lyle,” the father replied.

“I lit up two magic orbs!” the child said proudly, deliberately glancing at Gaia and Shade, as if showing off his achievement.

“So Lord Bruce was there to assess your son that day? Haha, he happened to pass by our village as well, and he discovered a mage in our village—him, his name is Gaia.” Jill pointed at little Gaia.

“He probably only lit up one magic orb. Lord Bruce said my son has the best magical talent in the whole town,” Lyle said with some smugness.

“I lit up two as well. I should be the one with the highest magical talent in the whole town,” Gaia said, his little tyrant’s aura showing again.

The father and son both looked surprised. They hadn’t expected that this kid had also lit up two magic orbs. Looking him over carefully, they only saw Gaia as a rustic, wild boy, nothing like the elegant and noble image of a mage, so their expressions shifted from surprise to doubt.

When Jill told them that Shade’s battle aura talent surpassed that of Morris, the Lyle father and son thought these country folk were just talking nonsense. The Lyle family lived in a small town on the edge of Duomi Town, even more remote than Duomi itself, without any authoritative mages or swordsmen. So if a talented child appeared in their town, they would invite Bruce and Morris from Duomi Town to assess them. Swordsman Morris’s strength was recognized as the best among these towns. And now, this greasy-faced country hunter was claiming that the child’s battle aura talent surpassed Morris’s—without seeing it with their own eyes, they would never believe it.

Chapter 005: Exceptional Admission

Gaia had never ridden in a carriage before. At first, he found it novel, but after a day, the carriage’s constant bumping became unbearable, and his interest gradually faded, replaced by a heavy, aching pain in his little backside.

For eleven days straight, except for stops at some towns to buy food, Gaia’s butt suffered constant torment. But when the carriage finally entered the bustling Nick City, his listless demeanor suddenly became lively. He looked here and there—the luxurious buildings he’d never seen before, streets wider than the entire Ma Tu Village, people dressed in bright, shiny clothes—everything was so new and fascinating. Little Gaia seemed to come alive in an instant!

None of the five had any intention of resting, and since the Lyle father and son deeply doubted what Jill had said and wanted to expose this country hunter’s lies, they decided to go with them to Nick Swordsman Academy...

Nick Swordsman Academy was located on a vast tract of land in the eastern part of the city, with Nick Magic Academy right next to it. The two academies occupied the north and south of this area, and although they were in different locations, there was no clear dividing line between them.

They first went to the Swordsman Academy. Since it was already the last few days of student recruitment, they didn’t have to wait in a long line to take the assessment.

The assessment at Nick Swordsman Academy was simple: with a letter of introduction from a local swordsman teacher, the child would be tested again for battle aura talent. If the talent met the standard and the child was under twelve years old, they would be admitted. Of course, a hefty tuition fee was still required.

“Why are you coming so late!” A man in his thirties glanced impatiently at these roughly dressed people.

Jill smiled apologetically and was about to explain, but the man waved his hand, his attitude extremely arrogant: “Whichever child can release battle aura, let him come with me.”

With that, the man walked into a lavishly decorated room in the hall with his hands behind his back, and Jill hurriedly urged Shade to follow him in.

Seeing the child named Shade go in, the Lyle father and son began to snicker to themselves, thinking: You country bumpkins are so full of hot air. When the results come out, let’s see how you save face.

“Oh! Teacher Fleming, come quickly, this child... this child!” Suddenly, the man’s excited voice rang out from the room.