At this moment, the middle-aged rural hunter, finally unable to contain the overwhelming sadness in his heart, wept for the departed villagers who had borne the weight of vengeance. In the end, he left the magic hall in defeat, his desolate figure disappearing into the crowd...

Chapter 008 Entering the Academy

The country boy who had walked out of the Laris Mountains finally stepped into the sacred hall of magic. His outstanding performance in the magic hall quickly drew the attention of many, and the children who entered the magic academy with Gaia that day even witnessed him light up six magic orbs with their own eyes. So now, Gaia has become somewhat well-known in the magic academy.

That day, after he was brought into the magic academy, he was assigned a place to stay. Because he was favored by Magister Mitchell, he was placed in a double dormitory. This dormitory was beautiful—by far the best room Gaia had ever seen in his life.

The other person in the dormitory was also a child whose magical talent had reached level six, named Tris, about the same age as Gaia, and had entered the magic academy just one day earlier than Gaia.

Tris was also a rather outgoing child. From his attire, it was clear that he came from a good family, most likely of noble birth. Even so, when Gaia appeared in the dormitory dressed in coarse linen, Tris still greeted him warmly and offered him some snacks brought from home.

"Tris, I haven’t had a chance to look around the magic academy yet. Is it beautiful here?" With food offered, the two little fellows quickly became acquainted.

"It’s alright," Tris replied casually.

"Oh, I think I’ll take a nap first and check out the magic academy tomorrow. Ah, I’m so tired." Gaia stretched with a big yawn. He had come straight to the magic academy after getting off the carriage, and the days of bumpy travel had left him completely exhausted.

Gaia jumped onto the warm, soft bed, pulled the covers over himself, and was ready to fall fast asleep. But as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt as if he were still on the carriage, the bed swaying beneath him. It took a long time for this illusion to fade, and only then did he fall soundly asleep.

Mitchell gave Gaia two days to adjust to the new environment, so early the next morning, he asked Tris to show him around. However, Tris told Gaia that he himself hadn’t explored the magic academy yet.

Nick Magic Academy alone covered an area at least three times the size of Mido Town, so it was impossible for them to see everything in a single day. After wandering through a few special places, Gaia’s excitement gradually faded, and he began to worry about how to fill his stomach.

"I haven’t been to other places, but I do know where the cafeteria is," said Tris.

"Oh, let’s go then. By the way, is the food there expensive?" Gaia asked with some concern. When he came here, Jill had given Gaia five gold coins, but while touring the magic academy, Gaia had wanted to buy a roast meat skewer out of greed and found it cost 10 copper coins, which was equivalent to a silver coin. Only then did he realize how expensive things were here.

"It’s alright. The cheap stuff is a few copper coins, the expensive ones cost several silver coins," Tris said, having visited the cafeteria the day before and knowing the situation there.

"Oh, then I’ll stick to the cheap stuff," said Gaia. After all, he was a country boy. Even though he had a bit of money, he didn’t dare to spend it recklessly.

"I’ll treat you to your first meal and take you to eat something good," Tris said generously, clearly not short on money.

"Haha, thanks!" Gaia accepted without hesitation. To be honest, Gaia didn’t even know what it meant to be polite. He had lived in the village of Matu until he was eight, a truly wild child. If he hadn’t seen Uncle Jill buying water and food on the way to Nick City, he wouldn’t have even known that you had to pay for things in this world.

Following Tris to the cafeteria, Gaia’s coarse linen clothes instantly made him the center of attention. It wasn’t because he had lit up six magic orbs in the magic hall and become famous in the academy, but because everyone else in the cafeteria was dressed in clothes that, if not luxurious, could at least be described as refined. Yet Gaia’s earthy, patched outfit... It was as if everyone else was fully clothed, while Gaia was stark naked.

Nick Magic Academy was indeed a noble academy. Even some magicians from rural towns would make a point of changing into nice clothes when coming to such an elegant place. But the thick-skinned Gaia didn’t care about any of that, still showing up in public in his rustic attire.

The cafeteria had three floors. The first floor was the common area, where the food was relatively cheap. The second floor had private rooms, where the quality of food and service was a notch higher. The third floor was the luxury area, where both the service and the cuisine were far superior to the first and second floors. So, you could often tell a person’s family background by which floor they dined on.

Most of the children ate on the second floor, with fewer on the first and third floors. This showed that the very rich and the very poor were both in the minority. Even so, the children eating on the first floor were dressed far better than Gaia, highlighting just how out of place little Gaia’s outfit was.