Avoiding the carpet gang was the right decision. After taking a short detour to the south, Felix found a better road that neither refugees nor villagers occupied. However, the road was crowded with traffic.
The south of Big Zoot City was designated as farmlands. As food was crucial to the city, many soldiers guarded this area to prevent immigrants from intruding or causing damage. Anyone not there for the annual exam or trading was turned away.
Felix drove his ATV to the back of the queue to enter the city. As usual, many people eyed him and his ride. However, due to strict patrols and many watchful eyes, nobody approached Felix for a conversation.
He discreetly checked the system map to gauge their intentions. Surprisingly, everyone waiting at the southern gate, including the guards, showed up as either green or yellow.
Felix was relieved. This was the place he wanted to be, not the slum or among the carpet people.
While queuing with the other rchant wagons, Felix saw several farm wagons of immigrants being escorted away from the town on the sa road. He watched them leave and pitied the people, who reminded Felix of his ho country.
'Yeah, life sucks for illegal immigrants.' Felix thought.
After ten minutes in line, three knights in silver armor approached Felix. They wore full helts and plate armor that glead in the afternoon sunlight.
While Felix wondered how they handled the heat in those armors, one of them asked, "What are you here for, kid? Annual exam?"
Although Felix disliked being called a kid, he pretended to be young. "Yes. Has the exam started?"
"You're two weeks early. Anyway, is that your familiar or a tad beast?"
The knights didn't seem surprised by his ATV. Felix played along. "It's a golem."
"Is it yours?"
"Yes."
"How old are you?"
The questions started to get personal. Felix wondered if he should refuse to cooperate but decided to play nice for now. He answered without hesitation, "I'm 15."
That was obviously bullcrap.
"You're older than you look," the inspecting knight said, amused.
"That's what I'm told."
"How many circles do you have?"
"Two."
The knights didn't look surprised, "Very impressive. Last question, do you have any recomndation letter or a guarantor?"
Felix pursed his lips as he didn't have a guarantor. However, he rembered that he had Garudeer's token. He pretended to fetch it from his pocket but actually pulled the wooden token out of his system inventory.
"Is this token enough?" Felix showed the silver knight Garudeer's wooden token.
As soon as the token appeared, the knights paused and gave Felix a strange look. The inspector shifted his gaze to his colleagues and gestured with his eyes. He ordered, "Go get Sir Macron to check the token."
The two knights nodded and sprinted to the gate, where another tall knight in golden armor leisurely leaned against a stone wall. They explained the situation and guided the golden knight over.
The golden knight didn't wear a helt like the others. He was a senior knight, 51 years old, with a dark brown full beard. His half-bald head still had brown hair on the sides, but the center was smooth. His tanned and sagged skin showed that he had always been under the sunlight.
"Young man," the golden knight, Macron, ignored the crowd nearby and approached Felix, "can I see the token?"
Felix passed Garudeer's token to Macron.
Receiving the token, the gold knight inspected its insignia. A gray light shone from his fingertip, seeping into the wooden plate, which in turn, emanated green and blue light.
The gold knight brightly smiled and politely bowed to Felix. His color on Felix's system map changed from yellow to green.
"Welco to Big Zoot City, esteed sir. Please follow . I shall guide you to the Storm Tower."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "I have no business with the mages from the tower, though."
Macron laughed. "Don't worry. If you wish to tour the city first, we will provide an escort and servants to guide you around later."
It seed that Felix and the knight spoke different languages. Felix shrugged, giving up persuading the elder knight.
"Alright. If you say so."
Felix got down from the ATV and stored it in his inventory. As soon as the vehicle vanished, the gold knight grinned while his followers saluted, showing their utmost respect before returning the token to Felix. They made way, gesturing for Felix to skip the queue and enter the city directly.
Felix retrieved the token and followed them without saying a word.
The bystanders gazed at Felix in envy. Several rchants smacked their lips, regretting that they hadn't befriended Felix when they had the chance.
…
The gold knight's influence was powerful. He visited the garrison barracks and spoke a few words. A mont later, several knights in silver armor ran like headless chickens, shouting and scattering in every direction. Within five minutes, they brought over a luxurious horse-drawn carriage and ten horsen to escort the esteed guest.
"Esteed sir, please," Macron said, opening his palm and gesturing for Felix to take the ride in the carriage.
Felix looked up and admired the dieval wagon. Although it was made from wood planks, it was painted black. The rims were decorated with pure gold plates, carved with the insignia of Big Zoot City.
Seeing the insignia, Felix almost burst into laughter. It was the seven-leaf icon image of marijuana.
'Yup! Big Zoot, alright. The founder of this freaking kingdom must be a crackhead from Earth for sure,' he thought.
Felix entered the horse-drawn carriage and took a seat inside. The interior was wide enough for four passengers, but Felix was the only one there. The cushioned seats were stuffed with cotton, which Felix appreciated. As soon as his sore butt rested on it, he couldn't help but sigh.
'Ah, I'm gonna get hemorrhoids if I ride that ATV for another day. It's aching,' Felix moaned in his mind.
…
Macron gently closed the door and gestured for the horse knights to guide Felix to the destination. He also accompanied the group as their leader.
Sitting in the carriage, Felix started searching for Jane's whereabouts. He consulted Jessica, whispering, "Can you search for that pervert golem and Jane? Can you show them on the system map?"
Instantly, Jessica picked up the golem's signature. She revealed its location on the system map, pinging a blue dot amid many yellow, green, and red dots. The golem's location was two miles away.
Curious about their well-being, Felix activated the cara to see the golem's point of view. A video window appeared in front of him.
In the video, the golem was looking at a garden courtyard, stone paths, and a marble fountain at the center. Several armored n also stood nearby, patrolling the area.
Felix was confused about why it was standing still outside. Nobody in the video conversed or chatted, which Felix found strange.
"What's he doing?"
The scene didn't change for a long ti. Felix waited for the golem to move or for the patrol to slip so hints. However, no one uttered a sound, as if they were British Royal Guards on duty.
Watching the video and observing the patrolling guards made Felix forget about ti. Thirty minutes later, the gold knight brought Felix to the destination. He opened the door for Felix to step out.
"We've arrived, Esteed Sir."
"Oh?"
Felix closed the video window and got down from the carriage. When he looked up, he found a citadel-like place behind tal fences and tall bronze gates. Next to the gates, a large signboard displayed the na of this place. Behind the barred fences and gates, a dozen middle-aged n in blue robes stood in line along the main road as if they were waiting for soone.
Unfortunately, Felix couldn't read it as usual. He asked Jessica for translation assistance.
"Storm Tower?" Felix repeated.
The gold knight smiled. "Yes. Please demonstrate the token to the mages in front of the gates. They will guide you to see His Excellency Garudeer."
"Ah, thanks."
"Very well. This is as far as I can escort you. I wish you good luck on the exam."
"…"
There seed to be a misunderstanding, but Felix didn't bother correcting it. He deeply sighed and rechecked his current location on the system map. The distance between the golem and him was slightly less than two miles, directly east of there.
Felix wanted to turn right and visit the golem. However, as the knights and the mages behind of the gates were watching him, he satisfied their curiosity by walking toward the gate and bringing out Garudeer's token.
"I'm Felix Ariel. I've co here for… er… visiting."
*CLANK*
Suddenly, the gates opened by themselves. One of the mages inside walked out to retrieve Felix's token. He looked at it and inserted his mana into the wooden plate.
After taking the wooden plate and inspecting it, the middle-aged man brightly smiled.
"Welco to Storm Tower, junior. Before we invite you in, could you tell us how many circles you have?"
Felix sighed internally at the repeated question. He answered honestly, "Two."
"Good! Which elent do you have?"
"Oh, er, fire?"
"Oho! A fire mage? This is good. And how old are you?"
Having already lied, Felix doubled down. "Fifteen."
As soon as everyone heard Felix's age and rank, they clamored and cheered as if they had won a lottery. The mage in front of Felix gently smiled, his face slightly wrinkled with age, but his warm smile reminded Felix of his grandfather.
Felix glanced at the system map, reassured by the green dots indicating friendly intentions.
"We have about two weeks before the test," the mage said. "We promise to accommodate you and get you ready. Co inside, we'll guide you to see our headmaster."
There seed to be a major misunderstanding. However, Felix ignored it and followed the road and the mage's gesture, proceeding to the magic tower for the first ti.
Reviews
All reviews (0)