He lays on the ground as rain masks his tears. Yaku cries in agony as Bone held down the witch in that hut until they both burned. His body was paralyzed by poison, but thankfully it was no more than that — a temporary paralysis poison, because the witch needed them alive to devour them. Yaku cries until he passes out, and when he wakes up in the morning, the poison has worn off. The rain has stopped, and the hut is burned to the ground.
He walks to the hut, finding nothing but ash. He leaves the place after making a grave for Bone — just a rock on top of dirt. That's all he could do. There are no traces of the horse; the witch might've eaten it somehow. Yaku looks for food in the back of the carriage, but he only finds sacks of flour.
Sad, disappointed, and broken even further, Yaku continues his quest to reach Bagio City. He intends to visit the magic archive to understand magic more. He never had real training before, and if he intends to finish his secret hidden goal, then he needs to master mana control. He reaches Bagio City in six hours on foot. He laments, If only I had not gone into that side road, Bone would be alive.
The round city of Bagio is a beautiful city, with a wall all around as high as the eyes can see. The outer layer is reserved for poor people and slaves, and the inner circle — within another high round wall — is where the nobles reside, along with the lord in charge of the city: Lord Doth the Executioner, known for killing anyone who opposes him — even nobles.
There are guards letting people in, case by case. Yaku reaches the Bagio gate, and he is stopped. One of the guards asks him the reason he intends to enter the city. Yaku doesn't lie. He answers, "To learn magic in the archives."
The guard asks him for his mage classification emblem, but Yaku doesn't have any.
"I can't let you in without proof of your magic abilities," the guard tells him.
Yaku gets frustrated. "I'll show you my magic if you want," Yaku says in an aggressive tone.
"What's going on here?" a man in a robe asks. The guard explains the situation to him.
"Okay, show me what you can do," the mysterious man says to Yaku.
Yaku channels 30% of his mana into his sword, and it gets coated by mana.
"Hmm… interesting. But this amount of mana is extremely low-class. If that's all you have, then I can't let you in," the man tells Yaku.
"Fine, I'll double the output," and so Yaku channels 60% of his mana into his sword. The reinforcement is much better now, and it's noticeable.
"Hmm… you doubled it. You were holding back. This amount is still low-class, but some students at the magic academy are at this level. Follow me," the man says.
They both enter the city and walk through the outer layer. Yaku is shocked.
"W...what is this? So many ill people on the streets, homeless and malnourished people, houses barely holding up," he asks.
"This is the outer layer, where poor people and everyone with tiny or no mana capabilities reside. They're the same level as southerners — no mana talent at all," the robed man says.
Yaku clenches his fists and holds himself back from just punching the man for such disrespect toward human life.
Once they reach the inner circle, Yaku sees people bidding for slaves publicly, nobles drinking alcohol in the middle of the morning, resting their feet on their slaves.
"This... This is not what I expected," Yaku thinks to himself.
They reach the entrance of the archives.
"You will be tested here two days from now at the beginning of noon. You must be here by then. You can rest at an inn or anywhere you please. Goodbye," the robed man says as he is let into the archives.
Yaku stands in shock as he has no money to stay at an inn.
He walks the streets, wondering how it is possible that only a wall separates the wealthy and the misfortunate. While noblemen drink wine and laugh, kids are dying of hunger. He wonders if there is a way to defy this and one day achieve equity. As he walks the streets, the smell of freshly baked goods hits his nose. His mouth starts to water, and the smell guides him to a bakery.
Yaku sees a girl with long black hair. She has a side bang on her forehead, her nose beautifully small, her lips small but beautiful, her pale skin gleaming like the moon, brown eyes that stare into his soul. She wears a short top showing some of her perfect figure, her stomach as flat as his sword's surface.
He stands in shock, staring at the most beautiful lady he's ever seen.
"Ummm, may I help you?" she asks with her unconventional voice. Her soft, beautiful voice is better than hearing music play. Her shy demeanor sends chills through his body.
"I... I'm sorry. I followed the smell of bread, but I don't have any money to pay," he answers.
With a compassionate look, she offers him a piece of bread.
"You look beat up. Please eat," she tells him.
Yaku takes the bread from her beautiful, womanly hands and takes a bite.
"It's the best bread I've ever had," he replies.
She smiles at him with such compassion that his heart stops beating for a moment. She closes her eyes and smiles.
"I'm glad. I made it. My name is Emilia. What is yours?" she asks.
Barely able to get the words out, "My name is Yaku," he answers, frozen in place, just staring.