Elizabeth walked the road exiting Lapidus, setting out on her way to join the Grand Infantry and take her next step in becoming the next great Archmagus. In every step, she became more anxious than the last. Leaving her village behind proved to be a trial in itself. She could've turned around and gone home before her journey went anything further, but she shoved those thoughts away and kept marching forward.
Elizabeth travelled for what felt like hours, until the trees beside her changed from dark needles to bright leaves. The snow thinned as she walked, until the grass began to show. The sun finally began setting as she reached a fork in the road, giving way to two different paths. She walked up to the fork, using what remnants of daylight she had left to read a wooden sign, which had two arrows pointing down either path.
She read the names of the two towns in her head, "Merkat to the left, and Brutas to the right, both heading south. Merkat is a town full of commerce and trade, while Brutas village is similar to her home, except they're the kingdom's primary source of woodworking instead of stonework and masonry." Elizabeth thought to herself, remembering what her Uncle Roy had taught her. "Merkat should be a few kliques further than Brutas, but I should be able to get there before the next nightfall..." Elizabeth contemplated her decision carefully, weighing her options. If she went to Brutas village, she'd make it there sooner, but the most direct way to the capital was through Merkat.
Elizabeth had made up her mind, knowing that she would save a few hours in the long run if she took the path to Merkat, she decided that's where she'd go. She continued down the road to the left, figuring she'd head a bit further down before daylight expired, then set up camp.
As she walked, the worn dirt path under her feet was tougher than she had expected. Her boots were starting to feel heavy, and her feet ached with a dull pain, just after the first few hours of walking. Her pack was beginning to weigh down on her shoulders as well, so far nothing she couldn't handle, but as she pulled off to the side of the road, she immediately felt the relief from taking her back off and breathed a large sigh, letting her shoulders drop.
As the sun grew closer to disappearing behind the horizon, Elizabeth unzipped her pack, pulling out several collapsible metal rods and a small, foldable tent for herself. She began to set it up, doing so with speed and precision, given to her by her experience. She remembered everything Roy and Dalia taught her about camping and how to set up a tent, especially the repeated reinforcement of the information more recently, as they knew she needed to camp at least once on her journey.
After she finished setting up the tent, Elizabeth wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, inhaling deeply, looking at her complete work. Her tent was small, only able to fit her and her belongings, and was colored grey and black. She grabbed her pack, unzipped the tent, and made her way inside. She took her sleeping bag, attached to the side of her backpack, and unrolled it inside. She took out her canteen from a different pocket and drank a little bit before pulling out rations of dried meat and veggies. Not long after, she bundled herself up in her bedroll and went to sleep, marking her first day on the road to the capital.
Late in the night, as Elizabeth was sound asleep, she jolted awake, panicking. Her mana immediately became rigid, causing a strong gust of wind in her tent. She heard a noise in her sleep, something was outside of her tent, something inhuman. She heard a sniffing, and the sound of heavy paws striking the grass periodically as it stepped. The sounds made Elizabeth alert, quickly, even with the weariness from awakening, the hairs on her neck rose at the sounds just outside.
Elizabeth rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away any remaining fatigue. She rapidly blinked her eyes, then squinted towards the thin veil of the tent from the outside world. Elizabeth surged her mana towards her hands, ready to use her magic at a moment's notice, waiting for any sign of the creature outside. She could tell it had to be a magic creature, as no human she'd ever seen could make noises like this. Just as she had made that realization, she saw the shadow of the beast drawn across her tent. The shadow stood on four legs, it seemed to have gruff fur, matted and unmaintained. It was large, about twice the size of an average adult, and its snout pointed towards the ground, sniffing the area around the tent.
The shadow growled between its sniffs, recognizing the smell of food in the tent. Elizabeth didn't need to harbor much of a guess, she knew instinctively it was a Greywolfe. They were hungry creatures, indigenous to the mountains. As Elizabeth thought about it, she realized how odd it was for a Greywolfe to be this far from the mountains. Something was off, but she couldn't tell what, and it made her even more uneasy, causing a cold chill down her spine.
The imposing figure loomed over the tent's entrance as it stalked what it hoped to be its prey. Elizabeth got her hands ready to blast the beast if it tried to tear through the thin layer of cloth. The Greywolfe walked away from the entrance to the other side of the tent, and this is when Elizabeth decided to make a move. She slowly rose, unzipping the tent's entrance as delicately as she could, making as little noise as possible to avoid alerting the monster. She then took a step out of the tent, turning her head to see just the tail of her unwelcome visitor.
"Gotcha!" Elizabeth shouted as she dove to the side and blasted the unsuspecting Greywolfe with icy wind, using her magic to freeze the creature's legs to the ground, preventing it from moving. "Alright, bud, let's check what's going on here," Elizabeth said as the Greywolfe began growling erratically, struggling against its icy confines. Elizabeth could feel the waves of mana from the magic creature, they were wild and untamed. Elizabeth began to examine the strange occurrence, knowing full well the oddity of a Greywolfe this far from the mountains.
As Elizabeth looked, keeping a large enough distance from the rabid biting and growling of the beast, she found small slices and a rope trap tied around the creature's neck, causing it to struggle to breathe. After noticing, Elizabeth could see the labored breathing of the Greywolfe, realizing it's not just from the attempts to break free from the ice, but the poor creature's struggle to breathe. Elizabeth felt nauseous from guilt, understanding that some idiotic hunter must've laid a trap and forgotten it, causing the Greywolfe to attempt to free itself, resulting in the scratches and the nipped-off end of the rope wrapped around its neck.
"Aww, I'm so sorry some hunter did this to you, no wonder you're down here, your pack must have left you behind, and you needed to find fresh food and water somewhere." Elizabeth shook her head as she returned to her tent and grabbed a knife from her pack. She began to approach the Greywolfe carefully as she stepped back out, trying to soothe it. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise, let me just..." Elizabeth trailed off, managing to get the knife in between the Greywolfe's nape and the rope, with the Greywolfe still seemingly growling and ready to eat her, but being forced to due to the ice trapping it to the ground. Elizabeth began slicing the rope, taking only a few seconds before the rope fell off the beast's neck.
"Does that feel any better?" Elizabeth asked in earnest, with the Greywolfe shaking its head to let its matted down fur down, as it whined and whimped, poking it's head at the ice at it's feet. Elizabeth smiled, knowing what it was asking, even without words, and she tapped her ice with mana in her hand, dispelling her ice, causing it to shatter into small shards and then fall to powdered snow at the animal's feet.
The Greywolfe turned its head to look at Elizabeth, its head being about eye level with her own, even as it stood on four legs. It bowed its head for a moment and then looked back up, then, turning around, and trotted off back into the tree line. The second the beast was gone, Elizabeth took a long breath in relief, placing her hand on her chest.
"Phew..." Elizabeth exclaimed as she walked back into her tent, zipping it back up and continuing to try and get some sleep before the rest of her journey.
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After another few hours of travelling in the morning, Elizabeth reached the town of Merkat, the cornerstone of trade for every village and town in Northern Rege-Uptus. She walked the main street, leading through the whole town. The path was made out of cobblestones, and the buildings weren't all log cabins, which gave Elizabeth a bit of a shock, her eyes going wide as she walked through the town. The beauty and color of the houses, shops, and even the clothes people wore were so different from what she had seen. There were even patches of flowers growing throughout the path in little soil plots. Trees with branches full of green leaves shake with the breeze, the entire town a buzz with trade of various goods from all through the North.
Shortly after arriving, Elizabeth left the town, continuing down her path towards the capital, now more encouraged than ever, her heart practically racing at the thought of the beauty of the largest city ever constructed in the realm. She even began using her ice magic to create snow under her feet to increase her travelling speed, while also helping to improve her control over her magic and total mana output as well.
The sun once again started to fall behind the clouds, casting a red-orange hue to cover the kingdom, signalling to Elizabeth it was time to set up camp once again, marking her next successful day of travel. As she began setting up camp, she felt the strain she had put on her body by pouring her magic out to move faster. While it didn't take much aman to create snow, to create enough to propel her forward became tiring quickly, which she tried to ignore, but as she finally lay down to rest, she felt every muscle in her body ache. Her mana too felt weak from the extreme overuse during her second day's journey. Even with most of her body feeling like it was on pins and needles, Elizabeth was able to sleep soundly, her body crashing into a slumber soon after lying to rest.
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The next few days were much of the same for Elizabeth, with nothing much of not occurring. She reached several towns and villages on her way to the capital, never being able to stay for long, but remembering each place, their uniqueness, and their differences. She would eventually get to revisit them, whether it be as a member of the Grand Infantry or to return home, but for now, she had to make it to the capital before the exams began. She couldn't risk staying in one place for too long, otherwise there was a chance she would waste her chance to even take the Grand Infantry exams.
As the days went by, Elizabeth saw more and more things she had never been exposed to in the mountains. Not just the plants, the homes, the people, but the magic itself was different this far into the kingdom. While her mana sense wasn't fully developed, she didn't need much of one to tell the towns and cities held so much more mana than her village, it was like having her eyes opened for the first time. Mana and magic were everywhere the further she went, and the closer she got to the capital.
Elizabeth had heard from her Uncle Roy that there were classes in magic and mana, with Lapidus being by far the bottom of the kingdom in that regard. But still, with people using mana for everyday chores and applying it in ways she had never seen, it was like something from a fantasy book in her mind. She had watched several families using mana to achieve superhuman feats, like lifting objects they physically couldn't lift otherwise. It wasn't that she hadn't heard of reinforcing one's body with mana, but she thought it was a skill reserved for those with exceptional mana. Yet the closer she got to the capital, the more commonplace applications of mana like this were.
It wasn't enough to shake her confidence, as Elizabeth still knew she had more mana than anybody she had come across throughout her journey, so regardless of their usage of mana and magic, she knew with enough practice she could learn those skills and far surpass anyone in those regards.
Eventually, Elizabeth began nearing the capital city, with less than a day's travel from her campsite, she knew she would make it before the next nightfall, meaning she'd have the opportunity to stay at an inn before the exams began. To conserve her strength, she attempted to reserve her mana and walk at a much more comfortable pace than she had been travelling. She had gotten this far much faster than she anticipated, most likely due to her repeated use of her snow magic for propulsion. But she knew she would need every drop of mana she had to spare for the upcoming trials. If everything went well, she would be the first and only Grand Infantry member from Lapidus in history. She could become a symbol for everyone in the Northern villages, that regardless of their upbringing, they could become one of the strongest.
When Elizabeth reached about an hour from the capital, she could already see it. The city was the largest she'd ever seen. It looked larger than some mountains back home. An entire walled city, all surrounding a palace that seemed larger than her entire village. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked up at the capital, the sun beginning to set behind her, giving the view a glow of twilight. It was the most beautiful sight the girl had ever seen, taking her breath away, but she knew she needed to continue marching forward before it got much darker.
As she finally began reaching the gates to the capital city, she saw several guards waiting behind a drawbridge over a moat dug around the entire city. She was still a few minutes from reaching one of the entry gates, with a caravan slightly further in front of her, consisting of two men saddled in a covered wagon of goods, with two Equarous steeds pulling them forward.
It took Elizabeth a moment, but something began to feel off suddenly. She stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes, focusing on that feeling. She began to sense the presence of mana, and a powerful one from a magical creature, and somehow, it felt like it was underneath the caravan and growing larger.
"No, not larger," Elizabeth thought, "Closer! Something's coming for the caravan!" Elizabeth opened her eyes wide in shock before she shouted. "Stop! Stop the caravan! You have to run!" She cried out to the men driving the wagon.
Before she could even get a response from the men, the ground beneath them began to shake, with the road just ahead of the caravan cracking apart and giving way to a giant creature with dark brown scales, and a gaping circular maw lined with teeth that continued to spin after it bored its way through the ground with them. The abhorrent creature's mana was jagged and violent, even from here, Elizabeth could feel it, causing her to take a momentary step back in fear. The creature was giant, easily four or five stories tall, and it had no eyes or face, just teeth to feast on whatever it could. Elizabeth knew what it was from its presence and horrifying appearance, along with its coming from the ground. It was a Terra-Serpen. Elizabeth recalled reading about these in her village; they were a rare threat in the mines, and usually meant a death sentence to any who was unlucky enough to find themselves facing one. Supposedly, they descended from dragons that moved underground instead of moving to the skies. It was considered an A-Rank Mana Beast, meaning if left unchecked, it could wipe out an entire village.
The mounts pulling the caravan panicked, whinnying and pulling back, their feathers ruffling in fear. The men attempted to jump off the caravan and began running back toward Elizabeth, screaming for her to run as well. Elizabeth's body almost listened, but she knew that neither of these men would be able to get away before they were devoured, and the guards at the gate were too far to save them.
In an instant, Elizabeth steeled herself, tossing her pack off to the side, and beginning to circulate her mana through herself. She focused, bringing her hands down, pouring all of her mana into them, and without hesitating for even a second, raised her hands, outstretched towards the Terra-Serpen, and using all of the mana she had at once, created her first spell. A massive spear of ice began to materialize in the air, pointed at what would be considered the neck of the beast. The spear was at least ten meters in length by the time Elizabeth finished conjuring it, and before the Terra-Serpen could move, she launched it with as much power as she could, causing the spear to fly faster than the creature could move, piercing right through the creature and stopping one the head of the spear reached the other end. The Terra-Serpen let out a loud cry, causing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears as it thrashed about violently. Purple blood sprayed from the creature's mouth and fresh wounds, before it finally fell limp to the side, with enough force that it jolted Elizabeth even from a distance.
Elizabeth took a deep breath, breathing out an icy fog that dissipated just as quickly as she exhaled. Her entire body felt strained, like she had just forced herself beyond her limits, she couldn't even believe she was capable of creating a spell that potent.
The two men looked at her, shock stricken on their faces. "H-how did you do that kid?" The taller of the pair asked, and the other soon after questioned, "Yeah, kid. What's your name? We owe you big time."
Elizabeth smiled, opening her mouth to answer, before feeling her vision darken, and her limbs go numb, causing her to faint before a single word could escape her lips.