Knock knock

Like every morning she knocked on the door of Zack's room to call him for breakfast.

Katerine, the maid assigned to serve Zack, was already used to her routine, so after calling a couple of times she took a couple of steps back and waited for the answer from inside.

In the palace, it is common for certain influential individuals to use designated servants to serve them for certain services of dubious nature. Even if these people deliberately hurt the servants, most often it is the servants who are punished for it.

It can´t be helped, a noble´s word versus a commoner´s, one would know how things end up.

When she found out that she had been assigned to serve one of the heroes, a feeling of unease filled her heart, wondering what kind of person he was. However, after a few days of serving him, not only her, but all the servants assigned to the heroes breathed a sigh of relief.

Contrary to the stories mentioned by some of the more experienced maids, none of the maids assigned to attend to the heroes had any complaints about their treatment. Most seem more concerned with training than anything else.

The status of the servants of the magic tower may be higher than the rest of their companions, but the main disadvantage is that this place is isolated from the rest of the castle so only rarely can the servants of the magic tower chat and exchange rumors with the rest.

Katerine has heard from her fellow servants the routine of the other heroes. All the heroes practice diligently every day, but some of them have taken a special interest in interacting with the castle dwellers in their spare time, while others have found things to do to relax.

That lets her know how abnormal Katerine's assigned hero is.

Like most of the wizarding tower's residents, Zack prefers the study of magic to make connections with the other wizards, but Zack's dedication is something few can match.

Katerine has seen his routine firsthand and knows that few can match it. Not even the other heroes with magical classes compare with him in the time spent studying.

Zack's bedroom door opened suddenly, just as she was about to signal him to follow her, Katerine froze for a moment.

Zack's appearance was fine, the problem was those huge circles under his eyes that gave him a dead look, indicating that he had not been able to sleep all night.

Fortunately for Katerine, as a palace servant, one has to undergo very strict training to work here, otherwise her screams might be heard throughout the palace.

Katerine quickly turned around so that the hero wouldn´t notice her expression, and led Zack along with the rest of the heroes.

If Zack had been more attentive, he would have noticed that the maid's steps were a tiny bit faster than usual.

…

Zack, Austin, Shun, and Miyu were having breakfast in the small dining room assigned to them like every morning.

The only thing different is that they were eating in silence.

Albert's announcement yesterday about exploring the dungeon was too sudden. The mere fact that they will have to face monsters that will try to kill them was enough to make them unable to sleep all night. Evidence of that is the deep circles in his eyes.

A tense atmosphere filled the room as the four of them ate slowly to gather strength.

Zack picked up a muffin and forced himself to eat despite his lack of appetite. Like the rest, he couldn't sleep all night either, but unlike the others, he didn't even try.

Zack knew full well that any attempt to rest would end in failure, so he stayed up all night learning a spell for today's dungeon.

Looking at his status screen and seeing his latest addition to his spell column, a small smile spread over Zack's face.

Still, thinking about what might happen in the dungeon was enough to make his smile fade.

They'd only been here a month, they weren't ready, and while the danger they face is likely to be minor, it's not something that should happen so soon.

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Zack tried to erase those thoughts. It wouldn't help to worry, the important thing now was to try to calm his nerves.

When they had finished eating, one of the servants opened the dining room door, and two guards armed with swords entered and approached Zack and the others:

“Heroes, we are the ones in charge of escorting you. Please follow us” said one of the two guards as he turned and started walking.

(Why doesn't anyone in this castle wait for us to finish what we were doing before leading us?) Zack wondered as he got up with the rest of his companions and went after the guard.

Zack thought that they would go to the central building to meet with the rest of his classmates, but they didn't.

Once out of the magic tower the guards headed in the direction of the castle walls.

While going to their destination, like always, all the people they came across, no matter if they were the magicians, the maids, or the rest of the guards stared at them as if they were an attraction. Zack and the others tried to ignore them as best they could, they were used to it after all.

Fortunately, the further they advanced, these encounters became less and less frequent.

At one moment, the path in front of them was becoming narrower, and the plants seemed less beautiful and more common.

“Ugh, what is that smell?" Miyu asked as she did what she could to cover her nose. The others were also trying their best not to smell him.

"We're here" announced one of the guards as he stopped.

In front of Zack and the others was a building from which all kinds of sounds could be heard, and it emitted a somewhat particular smell.

"Please, wait here a moment" said the other guard continued walking towards the stable.

“Hey, do you think we're going to ride a horse? Austin asked, starting to get excited.

"Do you even know how to ride?" Shun asked with slight disdain.

None of the four knew how to ride a horse, nor has anyone in the castle taught them how to do so, so it is evident that they are going to ride a carriage.

"Can't I dream?" Austin asked sharply.

"Hmm. If you don't like riding a carriage, you can walk” Shun replied in the same tone.

Luckily, before Austin and Shun could start fighting, the guard from before was back, guiding a carriage drawn by four brown horses.

Once he got in front of Zack and the others, he dismounted and said:

“Please get on the carriage. The place where we are going is not very far, so we will arrive in a few hours”

"A few hou- Ugh" Austin was going to protest, only to be hit by Shun´s elbow before he could say anything more.

Zack and his companions got into the carriage one by one. Once they were inside, the other guard closed the door and joined his partner.

Moments later, the guards urged the horses, and the carriage started.

Once Zack and the others got on the carriage, what they saw left them disappointed.

Despite the elegant exterior of the carriage, the interior of the carriage left a lot to be desired. The exterior adornments were not present inside, and the seats were quite hard and somewhat uncomfortable. Still, that wasn't the worst of it.

“Ouch. What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry"

"Oh! You're sticking your head into me!"

"Where are you touching?!"

The interior was cramped. Evidently, this carriage had been designed to be ridden by two people. With four people inside, it was obvious that there were going to be complications.

Despite all the discomfort, they all knew they would have to put up with it, otherwise, they might not even make it the next day.

After a while, the four of them had found a position in which they were relatively comfortable.

Just when Zack was thinking about what to do during the trip, Austin's voice sounded.

“Hey! Look out the window!"

Zack turned subconsciously at the sound of Austin's voice, and his eyes widened as he took a look at the scenery in front of them.

At some point, the carriage had left the castle and entered the city.

On both sides of the carriage could be seen a sight out of pure fantasy.

Beautiful mansions stood on both sides of the street, where their residents enjoyed a hearty breakfast.

Guards armed with spears and dressed in armor patrolled the streets with rigor and coordination rarely seen, while the inhabitants of the place strolled calmly, dressed in elegant suits, talking and laughing.

In front of each mansion, there were lush gardens, each one more magical than the last, with plants of all kinds of colors that showed their excellent condition.

It was a landscape taken from a painting.

As the carriage progressed, the mansions grew smaller, and their inhabitants seemed busier.

After going through some wide doors that divided that place from the rest of the world, Zack and his companions experienced a strong contrast.

If the previous area was a haven of tranquility, there being nothing that could disturb it, then what they saw now was the opposite.

The area was busy, very busy.

People were moving from here to there, talking, shouting, laughing. Merchants allowed their customers to look at their wares while they chatted with them, boys ran around carrying out their assigned tasks, and women walked in groups talking to each other about the latest gossip.

Although the previous area was very beautiful, Zack preferred what he was seeing right now, it was a scene of prosperity.

The further they advanced towards the outskirts of the city, the scenery gradually changed. The further they went there were more people, and where before there had only been merchants, businesses of all kinds appeared on both sides; food, swords, clothing, herbs, and concoctions. All manner of items flooded the shelves of the stalls.

Finally, Zack's carriage and his companions arrived at the city walls, where people wanted to come and go at all times under the watchful eye of dozens of guards present.

The inspection didn't last long, and by the time Zack and the others wanted to figure it out, they were out of town, where the buildings had been replaced by a spacious vista, with grasses that eluded Zack's knowledge growing on both sides of the road, and a clean sky that let the sunshine.

At first, Zack and his classmates were surprised by the landscape that was seen through the window, but little by little the monotony of the scenery made the beautiful landscape less magical.

As the fields passed before his eyes, Zack's eyelids grew heavier, until they fell completely and Zack fell into a deep sleep.

While Zack and the others were asleep, the dungeon was getting closer.