Chapter 58: Starfire City

"Good afternoon passengers. We have arrived at the beautiful Starfire City. Please ensure that you have all of your belongings before exiting the train, as this is a layover all vacated carts will be cleaned for their new occupants and all belongings left behind will be placed in a local Lost and Found."

"For those continuing on non-stop to Dark Moon City, you are free to exit and re-enter the train during the layover as long as you bring your boarding pass and identification. If you choose to leave, please ensure that you bring your belongings with you, or lock your private room, should you have one. The staff onboard are not responsible for any lost or stolen items."

"Thank you for travelling with Celestial Rails. Please come again."

After cultivating for several hours, his spiritual power had grown by 10 points.

However, it was pretty draining on his mental strength to focus for that long, so he decided to exit the train for the duration of the layover.

After all, this is the largest city in the southern region, and the second largest in the entire empire, he should take a look.

Exiting the train, Kain bumped into a familiar face.

'That's right, he was taking the Starfire Exam'

"Hey Pheneos! You're here for the exam, right? Would you mind if I followed you to the college? I want to take a look"

"Ah! Kain! Sure…It's not far from here…"

They continued walking forward together, the atmosphere a little awkward since they'd only met a handful of times previously.

"How are you feeling about the exam? Did your teacher finish the full body armor in time?"

"It's difficult to know how to feel since I have no idea what kind of mission I might get. However, thankfully the full armor was finished in time, and It. Is. Amazing!" Pheneos said with his eyes twinkling like stars.

However, he didn't give more details on the effects of the full set, likely still on guard before the exam.

"Wow….major cities really are different." When they exited the station Kain was taken aback by all of the beautiful architecture around.

Although there were a lot of new buildings, their architecture was still designed to complement the historical buildings interspersed throughout the city.

Many of the buildings had intricate stained glass windows depicting astronomical scenes or famous scenes from history.

Every single surface of the buildings was also touched with intricate carvings, almost overwhelmingly so.

Columns, window frames, balconies, and all the buildings' edges were full of asymmetrical and curved lines that vaguely mimic shapes from nature.

If they weren't so well done, the excessive design would have looked gaudy and overwhelming, but instead it just looked classical and high-end.

If he had to compare it to a similar place on Earth, it reminds him the most of the buildings he saw on a family trip to Catalonia, Spain.

It didn't take long before they arrived at the college located in the heart of the city.

Once again, Kain felt as though he was transported through time and space back to his family trip.

The college, towering over every other building in the city, bore a striking resemblance to the Sagrada Familia in Spain. The most major difference being the material used to construct it giving off a golden hue when struck by the sun.

Even Pheneos, who had not looked phased the majority of the way there, likely having visited this and other major cities in the past with his teacher, looked stunned by its beauty.

'It's so beautiful. I wonder what Dark Moon College looks like?'

Curiosity satiated, Kain wished Pheneos good luck and headed back to the train.

"This is the final boarding call for all passengers booked for train 32A, non-stop to Dark Moon City. Please proceed to gate 3 immediately, all doors will close and departure will begin in approximately three minutes. This is the final boarding call for train 32A. Thank you."

"Ah crap! That's me!" He must have spent longer loitering around the city than he expected.

He began to sprint towards the train but bumped into someone along the way, causing them to drop their belongings.

"I am so sorry!" He bent to help them pick up their belongings and spotted a small boy with green hair and oversized glasses on his face.

They both began to run towards the train.

Once they were both safely onboard, Kain once again turned to apologize, he really should not have been running so recklessly.

"It's no problem…we both got on the train just fine" The other mumbled shyly avoiding eye-contact.

"Are you by any chance going to Dark Moon City to take the College exam?" Kain asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

Befriending another test-taker couldn't hurt.

"Uh no…." He said in a barely audible mumble with his head still down. "I am currently a student at Dark Moon, a second year"

"Eeeehhhh!!?? Are you actually a current student?!"" Kain didn't mean to come off as rude, but he really wasn't expecting this small and timid kid to actually be his senior. He had passed that hellish beast-tide exam last year?!

Fortunately, he seemed to think Kain's astonishment was due to the fact that he was heading to the college a full month before the school-year for the current students officially began.

"I was recruited to help oversee the test and heal any injured applicants. If they aren't dead by the time they get to me."

Ah… so he must have one or more contracts with a healing ability. Maybe that's how he survived the exam?

"Well it was nice meeting you senior…hopefully we will be fellow students at Dark Moon next year"

Kain then headed back to his room and began cultivating even more fervently.

Visiting another top 5 college and meeting a current student made the reality that he was about to take the exams even more clear.

His consciousness once again entered the Planetarium.

'I must enter Dark Moon College. No matter what!'