Meng Lei woke up early the next morning. After packing his things carefully, he headed over to Captain Hudders’ home. What surprised him when he reached was that Jonah, Joseph, Andrew, and their parents were actually there, too!
“Jonah, why are all of you here?” asked Meng Lei in mild puzzlement while looking at the three of them.
These three little fellows were his companions, the kind where they had grown up together playing with mud and wearing split pants1.
“Hehe, we’re following Uncle Hudders to the capital city to take part in the magic assessment!”
Jonah, who was wearing a long gunny dress, revealed a pair of adorable little canine teeth as she replied to his question with a giggle. She was the only girl among the three. Although her clothes were old and tattered, it couldn’t hide her attractive facial features, nonetheless. If she were to change into the kind of lavish long dresses that nobility wore, she wouldn’t pale in comparison to those rich young ladies at all!
Meng Lei nodded. “Is that so!”
“Big Brother Meng Lei, I heard from Uncle Hudders that you went into the mountains alone. You didn’t meet with any danger, did you?” asked Jonah somewhat anxiously.
“I was only moving about in the outer boundaries. What kind of danger could there be?”
Meng Lei laughed and shook his head. Then, he changed the topic and said, “I’d thought that I’d be the only one going to the capital city. Now that you guys will also be with me, I won’t be lonely on the way there anymore! That’s great!”
“Yes, yes! Since all of us are going to the capital city together, we can look out for each other!”
Jonah clapped her little hands, her face red and rosy from excitement. She said, “Speaking of that, I’ve never been to the capital city even at this age! I wonder what it’s like over there?”
“I’ve heard that the city walls are very high and that there are a lot of Dragon People with dragon heads?”
“There are also big and tall buildings, and a neat and tidy Elysium Avenue?”
Joseph and Andrew’s eyes lit up. Their little faces were full of yearning and anticipation!
“We’ll be able to see them very soon!”
Meng Lei smiled. To villagers living in far and remote places like them, their activity range was solely limited to the villages nearby and Magical Beast Ridge. They might not even be able to go to the capital city even once in their entire lives!
One could say that it was thanks to the magic assessment that Jonah, Joseph, and Andrew could go to the capital city this time. If not for the fact that this concerned their children’s lifelong destinies, how could their parents possibly be willing to pay such a high price to send them to the capital city?
10 gold coins!
That was enough to make up a family of three’s expenses for two to three years!
Moreover, this was even a gamble where the chances of failure reached as high as 99.99%. It wouldn’t take much at all for their 10 gold coins to go up in smoke and not even get a single cent of their capital back!
Therefore, this must have been a huge decision for Jonah and the other two children’s parents. After all, there were quite a number of children in Magical Beast Village, but the only ones who really had the courage to send their children to take part in the magic assessment were just these three families!
“Jonah, listen to your Uncle Hudders’ instructions on the way there!”
“Andrew, be obedient. Don’t be cheeky and make any trouble!”
“Joseph, the capital city is not like the village...”
The doors at the village’s entrance opened. Under Jonah and the other two’s parents, the villagers, and their little companions’ looks of envy, an old ox cart slowly drove out of the village.
There were many children in the Magical Beast Village!
However, not many families dared to send their children to take part in the magic assessment.
...
Not only was the old and rundown ox cart constantly creaking, but the ride was also very bumpy. It wasn’t comfortable sitting on it at all. Νevertheless, the three young children, Jonah, Joseph, and Andrew, still looked very excited. They constantly chatted without a moment’s pause during the way there, just like three joyous little sparrows!
Unfortunately, their excitement only lasted for two days before it disappeared. The three children gradually couldn’t take the long, arduous journey anymore. Like plants shriveled from the cold, they became... all wilted!
Captain Hudders had expected this from the start, and there was no other way around it. The term was beginning soon. Even if they had to grit their teeth, they had to endure it all the way to the capital city, regardless! None of them were allowed to give up halfway at this point!
After five days of dry and boring traveling, they finally reached the capital city—Fire Dragon City!
...
Fire Dragon City, the capital of Fire Dragon Kingdom, was also the Dragon God Empire’s biggest and most prosperous city in the west. The city was situated on flat land and divided into two regions, the east and the west.
Fire Dragon Kingdom’s royal palaces, as well as the nobility and high-ranking officials’ mansions, were located in East City.
As for West City, it was mainly an academic city. The majority of magic academies and warrior academies were located there. Thus, West City was comparable to the college towns on Earth!
Meng Lei and the others entered Fire Dragon City in the afternoon that day.
“Wow!”
Fire Dragon City’s level of prosperity wasn’t something that Magical Beast Village could compare to at all. The smooth, level, and sturdy ground of Elysium Avenue, pure white and organized buildings, a dazzling array of products, all manner of people in the crowd...
The three little fellows’ eyes were bedazzled, and they looked just like country bumpkins!
“So this is the capital city? It’s so beautiful!”
Jonah’s eyes were bright and shiny as she looked to the left one moment and to the right the next. She was so excited that she looked just like a happy skylark. However, in contrast to her behavior, the two young boys, Joseph and Andrew, suddenly became awkward and constrained instead. They were clenching the corners of their gunny clothes the whole time.
“Country bumpkins!”
The noblewomen and young ladies going to and fro were dressed in trendy clothes, wore lavish jewelry, and also wore fragrant perfumes. None of them bothered giving Meng Lei and the others a proper glance at all!
Young noble ladies born in the capital city naturally had an innate sense of superiority. This caused Joseph and Andrew, who were entering the city for the first time, to develop a sense of shame and inferiority, and they didn’t dare to meet their eyes.
Upon seeing the two boys’ reactions, Captain Hudders shook his head and didn’t say much. This was always the case when people like them entered the city for the first time. His reaction had been even more unseemly than Joseph and Andrew’s back then!
He could only say this—it would be fine once they got used to it.
The precondition was that they had the chance to, though!
What surprised Hudders was Meng Lei, however. He sized up the crowd going to and fro, clicking his tongue in wonder and admiration as he looked at them curiously. There was no sense of awkwardness or inferiority coming from him at all!
As expected, this child has extraordinary character!
Hudders nodded secretly to himself. Then, he brought the four children with him and headed to West City.
That place was the gathering point of all the great academies. Assessments to evaluate one’s magic talent were specially set up over there, and it was also where the children’s destinies would be determined!
Chapter 17: Magic Academy, Humans Beneath Beasts
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“There are a total of 70-odd academies in our Fire Dragon Capital City!”
/> As they walked down the gray crystals-paved Elysium Avenue, Captain Hudders spoke on and on without even a moment’s pause and gave them an introduction of the academies. He continued and said, “Out of which, only three are magic academies. They are respectively the Fire Dragon Magic Academy, Douglas Magic Academy, and Dragon People Magic Academy. All of the rest are warrior academies!”
“Only three magic academies? There are only so few?”
Jonah and the other two boys looked surprised.
“Talent is required to cultivate magic!”
A smiling Captain Hudders continued his explanation. “And only one in ten thousand possesses magic talent. This has led to the magic academies’ inability to increase in numbers!”
Jonah and the other two boys turned nervous and uneasy at once when they heard what he said.
One in ten thousand? Would they be the lucky ones among the ten thousand people?
“Captain Hudders, is there any difference among the three magic academies?” asked Meng Lei.
“There are always differences in everything, be it people’s statuses or even a tree’s circumference. Magic academies are naturally also divided into different classes. Take these three magic academies in our Fire Dragon Capital City, for example!”
Captain Hudders smiled and gave them an introduction of the academies. He believed that Meng Lei possessed magic talent and would definitely be able to enroll in and study in a magic academy. The key here was which magic academy he should choose!
Thus, there was a need to give him a thorough introduction!
“Fire Dragon Magic Academy is the best magic academy among the three. Set up in the Fire Dragon Kingdom’s name, it is the kingdom’s official magic academy. In other words, the national magic academy!
“Due to its background as an official academy, Fire Dragon Magic Academy’s teachers have very strong and solid qualifications. With a complete range of facilities and the best cultivation resources, the Magicians that they groom and nurture are the most outstanding!
“Thus, Fire Dragon Magic Academy fully deserves the title of the top magic academy in our Fire Dragon Kingdom!”
Captain Hudders gave Meng Lei a meaningful look at this point, and added, “Thus, Fire Dragon Magic Academy is naturally also the first choice for magic geniuses with exceptionally great talent!
“Be it Drakes or humans, as long as they have exceptionally good talent and can meet the requirements, everyone is qualified to enroll in Fire Dragon Magic Academy to study. In this aspect, we humans and the Dragon People are equal in status!”
“I see!”
Meng Lei nodded quietly, a brilliant glint at the bottom of his eyes!
“In comparison, the remaining two magic academies are slightly inferior!”
Captain Hudders went on and said, “Dragon People Magic Academy mainly caters to Dragon People with mediocre magic talent. Of course, there are also some human nobility descendants with mediocre magic talent there. As for Douglas Magic Academy, it mainly recruits human commoners with mediocre magic talent, and is considered a commoner academy.”
Fire Dragon Magic Academy!
Dragon People Magic Academy!
Douglas Magic Academy!
I didn’t think that schools would also be divided into the elite and the ordinary in this alternate world!
Meng Lei shook his head lightly and walked on ahead. And as he had put it, weren’t the three magic academies precisely an elite school and ordinary schools?!
Gradually, more and more pedestrians appeared along the path. Most of them were in combinations such as two adults and a child, or a family with a few members. Additionally, most of them were nervous and uneasy. Evidently, they were also people here to take part in the magic assessment!
Meng Lei’s group followed the crowd and quickly arrived at the place where the magic assessment was held—Fire Dragon Square!
Fire Dragon Square was a large public square occupying an area that could fit a few soccer fields. In the center of the square stood a 100-meters tall Golden Colossal Dragon statue!
Its golden dragon scales were vivid, as though they were alive!
Its dragon wings spread wide, covering and blocking the sky!
Its dragon mouth was wide open as it roared into the sky!
Its dragon horns were ferocious and savage, and pierced through the heavens!
A domineering and imposing aura assaulted their senses. They could feel it even from a great distance away. It induced a sense of submission in people, such that they couldn’t conceive any thoughts of resistance at all!
“Praise be to the Dragon God!”
Upon seeing the Golden Colossal Dragon statue, Captain Hudders pressed his hands against his chest, bent over into a bow, and said a pious prayer, which stunned Meng Lei and the other three children.
“Uncle Hudders, what are you doing?”
The bubbly Jonah gave voice to the puzzlement in her mind. Captain Hudders received a shock, and hastily covered her mouth as he looked left and right. When he saw that no one had noticed, he let out a breath of relief, lowered his voice, and said, “This is the great Dragon God statue. You must salute whenever you see it! The four of you, hurry and salute the Dragon God!”
The Dragon God statue?
One must salute when they see it?
It was only then that Meng Lei discovered that it wasn’t just Captain Hudders. Without any exception, all the other pedestrians around them had also saluted piously upon seeing the Dragon God statue!
“Dragon God?”
Meng Lei’s brows drew together.
“The Dragon God is the Dragon God Empire’s founding emperor, and is also the one and only religion!” Captain Hudders said in a hushed voice, “All of the empire’s citizens must believe in the great Dragon God. Those who do not believe in it are considered heathens. If you don’t wish to be burned at the stake, then hurry and salute!”
What the hell!
Meng Lei got a shock and hastily made a show of saluting. How could one not bow to their circumstances when they were under someone else’s roof? He was still very weak right now, so he’d better act according to the others’ rules instead!
“Praise be to the Dragon God!”
Jonah, Joseph, and Andrew also saluted respectfully.
“Great!”
Captain Hudders breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he pointed to the front and said, “That’s where the magic assessment will be held. Let’s hurry over!”
“Alright!”
Fire Dragon Square was very crowded and packed with people. There were many nobles dressed fastidiously, as well as commoners dressed in coarse sackcloth. However, what attracted Meng Lei’s attention the most was still... the Drakes!
Drakes were categorized into Dragon People and Dragon Beasts.
Dragon Beasts were the descendants of Colossal Dragons and Magical Beasts and looked almost no different from wild Magical Beasts. There were Dragon-Wolves that looked like giant wolves, Dragon-Rhinos that looked like rhinoceroses, and earthworms that looked like crocodiles...
There was a rich variety of Dragon Beasts, and they had all manner of appearances!
If these strange beasts had been in the Magical Beast Forest, they would have been the targets of hunting for sure. But here, these Dragon Beasts wore gold and silver, dressed in magnificent clothing, and appeared openly in public!
Not only did nobody dare to hunt and kill them, but they even had to obediently make way for them in abject fear that they would enrage the other party!
This was because everyone knew that each of these ferocious-looking Dragon Beasts came from a notable background, whether it was a Marquis’ son, a Duke’s nephew, or even a member of nobility itself. Who would dare to mess with them?
Even humans are beneath beasts when they are but just monkeys wearing hats!
Meng Lei secretly sighed as he watched the tyrannical Dragon Beasts. In this vast and broad land called the Dragon God Empire, humans were just
appendages and slaves, while the dragons... were the true masters!
As such, every Tom, Dick, and Harry animal related to the Colossal Dragons had become the masters. Not only was killing humans not illegal, but they even got to enjoy various special privileges. Should anyone offend them and be killed as a result, they would only die in vain!
Of course, although there were quite a few Dragon Beasts, there were even more Dragon People!
% of Dragon God Empire’s nobility were Dragon People, and these aristocratic Dragon People’s descendants were also Dragon People. As a result, there was an extremely high number of Dragon People here taking part in the magic assessment!
Some had a pair of horns on their heads!
Some had wings on their backs!
Some had dragon tails at their bottoms!
Some had scales on their bodies!
All of them possessed obvious dragon characteristics!
“Meng Lei, don’t stare at the Dragon People like that. It’s very rude!” Captain Hudders patted Meng Lei on the shoulder and gave him a soft reminder, “If you enrage any with a bad temper and end up being smacked to death with one swipe of their claws, you won’t even be able to reason with them at all!”
“Uhh?! Okay, okay!”
Meng Lei nodded. Then, he suddenly pointed at some Dragon People who were wearing coarse sackcloth and asked, “Captain Hudders, aren’t Dragon People nobility? Why are those people wearing commoner clothes? Are they down and out nobility?”
Birds of a feather flocked together, and like-minded people gathered in groups!
There were a lot of people in the public square, and they gathered in groups of two to three and chatted with one another. However, they largely fell into four groups—magnificently-dressed human nobility, Dragon Beasts that looked like Magical Beasts, Dragon People nobility, and human commoners!
This was exceptionally obvious, and this could be seen based on their dressing and looks. However, what puzzled Meng Lei was that there was still another special group apart from these four groups!
They were all Dragon People, but they were dressed in coarse sackcloth and looked about the same as human commoners. Were they the commoners among Dragon People?
Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-431 Page 10