Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

The carriage moved forward and beyond the boundaries of the town. With each passing second, Emogus was moving away from Jonathan.

"Are you sad?"

Hugo asked as he saw a gloom on Jonathan's face. As a reply, he shook his head while placing the leather bag next to him. The tears have subsided from his eyes and the sadness had mostly faded.

"Even if you are sad, I'd suggest to not be. Life is like this. You might find happiness and peace, but you'll have to lose them one day or another for the progression of the journey."

Though it did not sound as philosophical as Lee Shen's grandpa, he still conveyed his idea in a beautifully arranged set of words. Jonathan could only nod at his words and avert his eyes to stare at the woods through the window.

The carriage was silent for another 5 minutes. Then Jonathan asked-

"I don't know about the academy and kingdom city. Can you give me an introduction?"

Hugo was thinking about something when the boy raised his request. Thus Hugo could not hear the question and Jonathan had to repeat it.

"The kingdom city's name is Equilion. Previously ruled by a True-God, its population is at least 10 times of Emogus. Surrounded by eight subordinate towns in eight directions, Equilion stands surrounded by forests and mountains. The natural fortress of woods along with constant traffic to all eight towns keeps the kingdom city safe.

Equilion is one among three human-majority kingdoms. That means humans are more in population than any other races. Due to this, it is uncommon to find a bunch of people of other race walking down the streets of Equilion.

Technologically, the city is advanced than the surrounding towns. A large number of soldiers and the existence of Explorer's Union is the greatest advantage of the city. If a neighbouring country is to attack, Equilion could fight and force them to go back to their countries. The city is ready to deploy half of its forces at the first distress call from any of its surrounding towns.

The main highlight of Equilion is its academy. Known for producing many talented personals in the past, the Prima Equilion academy has a legacy of greatness. There is only one academy in the kingdom and children travel from the towns and other places to get admitted to the academy.

The academy is known for its excellent tutelage and curriculum. Prima Equilion takes the hardest way of training and it pays off with interest. Each batch that exits the academy at the end of their 5 years is premium quality. To achieve this feat, the academy is very strict in its policies.

There will be classification tournaments at the end of each month and casual duels are allowed inside the campus. This creates an atmosphere suitable for students to mould themselves both physically and mentally, to conquer great heights in the future."

Hugo paused and that was Jonathan's cue to raise his doubts.

"Am I the only student from Emogus?"

Hugo raised his brows as he realised something.

"Oh, I forgot about that. Though you are the only student we have this year, you have a senior hailing from Emogus and he is in his 4th year. His name is Terrin Swanturn, my niece."

***

The journey went on and Hugo fell asleep amidst the journey. This gave Jonathan ample time to meditate while sitting cross-legged.

Somehow, sitting in a lotus position was comfortable and mind-soothing for him. At that moment, he could sense the ground beneath the carriage and could feel a peculiar sensation running through his body.

But this somehow drained Jonathan off of his energy and he felt sluggish. As he leaned back, he fell asleep.

***

"Hey, wake up. We're almost there."

Hugo's voice fell in Jonathan's hear as he felt a hand patting his cheeks. Opening his eyes, he saw that the lieutenant was awake and was telling him that they were nearing the Equilion.

Rubbing his eyes, Jonathan poked his head out of the window and saw a fortress in a distance. It was larger than Emogus and he felt a prideful aura around it even from a kilometre away.

The twin stars had painted the sky with a yellowish-golden hue and it was already evening. The birds flew as in the sky and animals could be seen retreating to their turfs.

"That is Equilion, a kingdom that has been standing for about three centuries. It has a history worth listening to."

Jonathan listened to Hugo's words as he carefully scouted across the horizon and the fortress. Due to racial peculiarities, he could clearly distinguish between beasts and animals hiding in the forest. To be precise, he felt that he could sense the existence of nature around him.

The road leading to Equilion was wide enough for three carriages to go parallel. This wide patch of hard brown soil enabled smooth traffic as people were travelling by carriages, beasts and by foot.

In Jonathan's sight, he could see numerous beautifully decorated carriages entering and exiting the fortress. Soldiers in full-armour were checking every nook and corner of the carriages leaving and entering the city. Another bunch of soldiers were verifying the identity of the travellers.

The carriage was already travelling at a comfortable pace. It got even slower as it joined the queue of carriages. Yet, the carriage moved bit by bit signifying that the soldiers were efficient in their work.

Finally, their turn came to identify themselves.

"Halt."

A soldier raised his hands and asked the carriage driver to halt and the carriage quickly came to a standstill. Another soldier came towards the door of the carriage which was opened from the inside and Hugo stepped outside.

"Oh, greetings lieutenant Hugo."

Hugo nodded and looked around before asking-

"What is the occasion? This amount of security is uncommon."

The soldier took a step towards Hugo to convey the reason.

"Lieutenant, a few days ago, our soldiers detected the active presence of spies in the forest. Through a stealth operation, we caught two of them and they belong to Tyrantine kingdom."