"Good morning" Rel said, as Pyr and Arc started to wake up to the morning sun in their face. That said, Rel was giving Arc a deadpan stare right in his face, which gave Arc a bad feeling. Well that and their faces was not even inches apart. And of course, that is when he noticed both of them seemed to have been wrapped in something other then blankets.

Rather, it was Pyr's limbs.

"Ah...I forgot to warn you about Pyr's sleeping habits".

"Yeah...it would have been nice to know ahead of time" Rel mentioned. "Can you do something about it?"

Arc proceeded to reach around Rel, finding and pressing down on Pyr's nose. Eventually, after a few seconds, this caused him to burst awake, flailing and falling out of the bed.

"Ow!" he said, springing to his feet.

"Anyways...good morning. And, awaken the spirit of the heart" he said, suddenly planting a kiss on Arc's lips. Arc was in full shock, and pyr was in half shock and half amusement, before Rel faced him and did the same. "Awaken the spirit of the heart".

Pyr got entirely red faced and fell back down on his rear, while Arc smiled bemusedly.

"I am going to take a guess and say thats a normal morning ritual?"

"Of course. Its to help invigorate the spirit inside oneself and provide a good blessing for the day to those you shared warmth with. Not doing it...well, its not quite, but its sort of like wishing them bad luck for the day. Or at least, not wishing them good luck I guess? Its hard to explain...I guess your memory loss and lack of cultural knowledge is quite severe".

Either way, with that, Rel decided to give them a few pointers before they got out of bed and got dressed.

"We should be getting close to Astria City any moment now" Rel said, as he finished getting dressed into a new set of clean clothes.

(Image is from Pintrest again. Character appearance designed similar to Naoto from Clockwork Planet)

It was impressive, and a bit interesting, to see how they had gotten quite good at making various kinds of clothing, though it might have had something to do with the fact Rel came from a middle class family.

Well, if one is doing business as a magic tool shop, they will likely deal with all sorts of clients from nobility, and likely have the money to occasionally attend a fancy party or two, so its not that odd. After all, they need to keep up their connections as well as form new ones.

Either way, the trio now looked out the window at the approaching city. It seemed they were only a few kilometers away.

And yet, as they were approaching, a large amount of bells resounded across the train.

"That seems like a lot of ringing to let us know we are approaching" Arc mentioned, when a shadow suddenly flew across the window.

"That isn't a good thing, is it?" Pyr asked, when suddenly a fully grown man fell down right in front of their window, his face contorted with fear and covered in blood.

"Its a monster attack!" Rel said. "They will need help! Its a flock of Shalgar!"

"Shalgar?"

"Its a bird type monster that likes to pick up its prey or toss them off ledges, dropping them to their deaths before eating them" Rel explained as he put his boots on. "And if enough of them worked at it, they could derail the train! We are crossing a bridge right now!"

"Understood. Lets go" Arc said, as he and pyr also put their shoes on and headed out. Thankfully, there was an access ladder right there, so they were able to head to the roof.

Shalgar. It had four wings and a dangerous looking beat. It has quite a bit of strength for a bird, in addition to its speed. It also had an array of blue feathers that let it blend easily into the sky.

As the trio got on, a good number of adventurers were holding their own against the birds, however...

"Is this normal? To see this many?"

"Not this many, not to my knowledge" Rel replied to Arc, as he saw the amount.

There was over fifty of them easy. Furthermore, a few of them were larger, likely evolved varients.

"Water, become our sactuary. Become the great warden that defends us. Blue Haven!"

Suddenly, a gush of water appeared at Rel's feet, spreading out and then encompassing the groups battling near him, becoming a large barrier. However, the moment one of the birds tried to break through, it got wet and drenched and the water seemed to freeze even, slowing its movements and making it easy prey for the adventurers inside. And yet...

"Caw! Caw!"

As they chirped, powerful blasts of wind could be felt hitting the barrier.

"Nice going kid. How long will the barrier last?"

"I have a bracelet of flooding oceans on, but against sustained fire from Wind Magic? Not that long. I had to make the barrier really big after all".

"In that case" Arc said, as lightning surrounded his legs. He suddenly jumped out with a burst of speed into the air, and proceeded to kick one of the birds right into the ground, giving off electrical bursts that paralyzed another two and sent them spiraling downwards into the ravine below. Another one came at him while he was in the air, but he used a weaker windblast to move out of the way while swinging his foot around again, kicking it right in the skull with sufficient force to kill it.

"Hey now, dont let the kid do all the work. Go out and strike the birds when there is an opening, then pull back in when they attack you! It will maintain the barrier the best way while dealing with the numbers they have!"

One of the adventurers made a calm and good tactical analysis based on the situation, deciding to use the barrier to perform hit and run strikes. This forced the birds to focus their attacks on the adventurers, not the barrier, and limited the flight paths they could take. Meanwhile, a few of them stayed behind, casting magic and monitoring the birds movements to warn their allies of the attack so they could dodge or pull back.

And at this time, Pyr decided to move.

"Radiance, embue our warriors, our champions, in your glowing light! Show the power of coordination and teamwork, and reveal what happens when we join forces! Burning Weapons!"

He meanwhile enchanted all the weapons they had with a heavy dose of flame magic, increasing the attack power of the veteran adventurers. This allowed them to deal more damage to each bird with every attack, which was especially useful to the archers.

"Archers, prioritize the bigger ones! They are likely leading the flock, so if we can defeat them, it will make things easier on us!"

"Don't let them coordinate!"

"Don't mind being unable to get any materials! We cant let them get the train or its passengers!"

All of the adventurers were working together, although in the background, one was staying behind, looking at Arc, and then Pyr. Thinking something, he approached Pyr from behind...when suddenly, he seemed to trip and fall, going face first into the roof of the train.

"Hey mister..."

"...you should watch where you walk!"

A pair of twins said that, as they walked by him. But when they locked eyes, his will to do what he planned dropped down to zero.

"I suppose its our time to shine, sis".

"You got it, bro".

The two twins, Era and Ara, walked forward.

""Spirits, hear our sacred union! The union of blood, of power, and of kindness. From the hidden stars we call upon you, to bring the astral fury upon these tresspassers. Astral Rays"".

Doing the same chant at the same time, they held each other's hands as they cast the spell. The dualality of their casting amplified each other, allowing for a greater spell to be cast. And from the sky, beams of light and whitefire came down upon the birds, ensuring many of them were reduced to ash.

"Era..."

"...and Ara..."

""of Astria Academy Student Security. Here to assist"".

"Oooh! I heard of them! They were capable first years who appeared in the arena last year!"

"How marvelous!"

Yes, they were known. Though, no one quite knew the whole truth about them here. As expected of professional Shadows, they did not seem like Shadows at all in public.

"Flame Nexus!" Pyr cast, as a circle of flame appeared around the circle of water, about 1 meter wider in radius. And at four points equal distance from one another on the circle, pillars of flame appeared, even in mid air where the line went over the air to the sides of the train. Those pillars would then launch flame bolts at any bird that flew near it.

A defense of water. A defense of fire and an offensive boost of fire. Rays of light coming down from above. And an attack whose body was giving off lightning and sparks. Not to mention every other adventurer making use of these things to attack the birds. Without a doubt, a massive display of teamwork, and one would think enough to render the birds incapable of harming. However...

"Caw!" one of them shouted, as a twister appeared on top of the train. The winds raged and raged, ripping arrows from their path and destabilizing the pillars of fire and barrier of water. Two of the evolved varients had come together, and seemingly dual cast the spell.

Arc let loose a wind blast from his palm, trying to destabilize the twister, but it bounced right off. His wind blast lacked the force needed to match the more powerful wind spell. One adventurer got picked up by the winds and thrown aside.

"Oh dear...ara ara..." a familiar voice said. A woman stepped past Pyr and Rel, drawing a sword at her waist. The moment she left the water barrier, with a fast strike she swung her sword. And in the next moment, the twister was cut in two, and destabilized, collapsing and no longer becoming a threat. In addition, a powerful wind magic brought the man who had been tossed overboard just now back to the train.

"Its the Silverwind!"

"The Silverwind is here! Yes!"

Yes, it was the headmaster of Astria Academy, the famous adventurer known as Silverwind, and a high ranked noble, Marquess Elina Sera.

And then, at the snap of her fingers, blades of silver wind appeared from around her and shot themselves at the birds, getting dozens of them in an instant.

"Headmaster?" Era questioned.

"Ah, it got noisy, so I decided to see what the fuss was about. The other matter has already been handled anyways" she mentioned. That said, one of the evolved varients launched a powerful wind missile right at her, with other birds doing the same. And yet, they all got cut down in an instant as she swung her sword, and silver wind blades were created from the slash, slicing up even more of them.

As Arc kicked another bird while in the air, he was impressed. She was clearly better then anyone else here as a fighter. Realizing what was about to happen though, Arc did a backwards flip while in the air and got behind the others, so he was no longer in the way of any major offensive spells.

And the moment he did, Elina took a step further, and several more birds were suddenly cut apart. They barely had any numbers left, considering the amount the adventurers there took out already combined with her own. Seeing this, the flock decided to retreat at this time, flying away before any more damage could be done.

"So they finally left, huh?" Rel said, deactivating the water barrier and falling backwards on his rear, catching his breath.

Arc also collapsed like that, partly because his legs were throbbing with pain.

My recovery speed was great, but as expected, it wasn't entirely complete. Still...if I rest the entire way there, it should be fine.

"Alright everyone, as much as we might want to celebrate, lets get back inside first so we dont fall over" one of the adventurers said. He appeared to be the leader of a group of four, and was helping to organize and plan the defense.

"Sounds good" another said.

Meanwhile, Pyr went over to Arc, and picked him up, giving him a piggyback. It was a bit tough for Pyr, who was not a homunculus, but Arc was light so its fine.

"My turn" Pyr said playfully, while Rel was able to get up on his own.

"Yeah, lets get back inside...without the adreniline and fighting, its really chilly up here".

Astria City Train Station. Although it was said to be like that, only a few lines existed, and very few stations. As a result, it was rather busy, but not as busy as a train station on Earth.

No, considering the price of a single train ride, although affordable, its probably not something that people do all that much. Besides, there were probably much nicer and more expensive cars for nobles.

While thinking that, with him recovered a bit more, they were able to get off the train. The city was quite large, with many of its buildings made of stone, and its streets were also smoothed cobblestone brick. In fact, there was even a side walk, at least on the main road.

"A number of side alleys and side side streets are still dirt, but I would say the fact that even major side roads in addition to the main roads are like this show a good advancement of the kingdom" Rel mentioned. "There is a very large river that flows through the center of the city. At the upper end of the flow they collect some of it for drinking and such, and built aquaducts to fill various wells throughout the city. Then lower down fresh water is collected by other aquaducts for a few bathhouses in the city. Dirty water is then funneled elsewhere, so it doesn't spread any weird diseases. Some people also bathe, or just go swimming for fun, in the river itself".

As Rel talked about the city, they got to its main street. Horse drawn carriages were coming and going, with places for them to stop along the road. A few children were playing in the street, running around the horses and carriages in a way that seemed rather experienced. There were storefronts as well as street stalls.

There were a few people who were wearing simpler clothing, no elaborate designs, what you would expect from a fantasy world of nobles and commoners. They were probably the lower class, but even if their clothes were basic, and some a bit worn, none of them appeared ripped or in shambles, and they were all wearing the basics of shirt, pants, and shoes. Some even had backpacks or tools, or other such things, likely for their work. And they all seemed rather clean.

"The academy also has a pool. Its important to know how to swim after all, since a lot of students that graduate often become adventurers. Although most people have usually learned by this point, some people come from places that dont have access to a river, stream, pond, or lake for bathing, instead having to pump water from underground resevoirs into bathhouses or wells or such, or relying on water magic sometimes. Its near the edge of the city, but its massive and has a complete set of facilities".

"Wait, so a lot of students? How many exactly?" Arc asked.

"Well, children from noble families all get education, either here or somewhere else, so they need to learn everything they might ever need to know as a noble anyways. But since usually only one child, the first, inherits the land itself, although the others do maintain their name and noble rank, they will need to seek out other kinds of work or positiions. In that case, its best to have a good array of skills. Of course, since middle and lower class generally cant afford to fully support and maintain their children long term, many of them join the guild around our age and take on whatever requests they can to support their families. There are some professions that just have children help out, like farmers, but it doesn't work so well for miners where you need to be very strong, or work that requires experience and intelligence, like clerks or such. As well as those that require...a more mature body".

"A-ah. I see" Arc said, understanding what Rel meant.

"Anyways, as you may have noticed, its rather dangerous and risky. Plenty of people lose their lives as adventurers each year. But because they are also subjugating monsters, going into unknown territory to recover ingredients and materials, and pushing things back, its a very important role that needs the numbers. Otherwise, the roads and train rails would be too dangerous to travel through, and cities would eventually get attacked by large armies of monsters and overrun".

Hearing Rel's explanation, it made a bit more sense now as to why society was the way it was, and how it developed. It's likely that rather then using metal for things like plumbing, they probably use it to make more weapons and armor. Those birds might have looked like birds, but their defenses were not so weak I could kick them and not feel a thing. Considering my body is an enhanced artificial construct, those defenses must have been quite serious. And if it lost a single wing, it was able to stabilize itself with the other three rather then losing the ability to fly and spiral downwards.

In other words, monsters were that dangerous. So it seemed that children were often taught combat and skills and such early in life, and that would even take place in their education.

"Hey now, you are not even mentioning one of the best parts of the city yet!" a voice said behind them.

"Nor one of the best parts of the Academy yet either" a similar sounding voice added on.

The trio turned around, and saw those two twins from earlier there.

"Ah, you are...Era and Ara right?"

"Yes, that is correct. Nice to meet you" Ara said.

"Anyways, you really haven't gotten to some of the best parts yet" Era concluded.

"The best parts?" Pyr asked questioningly, tilting his head.

"Obviously its the fact that, as a major trade city as well as having the Academy and a major adventurer's guild, there is also a ton of dungeons and monster activity here! That means a ton of monster meats, which can be made into delicious food and dishes!"

Ara declared that happily, but Era put his hand in front of her.

"No, one of the best and most convienent things about this city, and the Academy, is the way anyone here can really earn money if they apply themselves and learn a little combat. You see, there is an Arena here, used to help test the skills and improve the technique of visitors and students, and its a great way for people to both train and earn money. Not to mention with the guild and plenty of guild requests, there is always something to do".

"The food is more important".

"No, the Arena is more important!"

The two twins stared down at each other. They appeared to only be a year or two older then the three of them.

"Anyways, you should probably head to the academy first" Era mentioned, pointing in its direction. "There should still be plenty of dorm rooms available, but you might want to just get there first and make sure. I believe each one houses about four per room, so you might get stuck with someone else. They like to foster interactions with each other, so they tend to try and arrange it to everyone having the maximum amount of roommates possible".

"Ah, thanks for the tip!"

"Thats good to know!"

"See you at the Academy!"

And so, the group of them headed off towards Astria Academy.