Chapter 245 Home Sweet Home? [2]
Silas' eyes washed over the town-like city. It looked much bigger than when he was a child. He thought that coming back here would have the opposite feeling since he was so much smaller, yet, that was not the case.
A melancholic smile was on his face as he strode through the town with the rest of the students. He could not help but tighten his fists as his eyes fell upon the places he used to go to.
Memories of him and his sister coming to the town center to buy bread from old Jack flashed before his eyes. He could almost see it. The images of him and his sister running around through the town. Images of his sister talking to her friends while he looked on from the distance.
Images of her trying to take care of him.
Silas almost smelled the aroma of freshly baked bread waft into his nose. Almost.
The aroma was quickly interchanged with the stench of animal feces and smoke.
Men and women sat around, drinking and smoking without care. Almost everyone there was an adventure. There were no bakers anymore. Or at least the ones that Silas used to go to looked rundown, having been replaced by a bar that seemed to operate at all hours of the day.
Silas's emerald eyes swept over the town-like city of Uladia, his usually stoic expression bearing a touch of melancholy. The place appeared more extensive than his childhood memories, a surprising revelation. He had anticipated a feeling of diminishing proportions, given that he was much smaller the last time he had been here. Instead, he felt a pang of nostalgia mingled with something darker.
As the students strolled through the streets, Silas couldn't help but tighten his fists, his fingers digging into his palms. The memories surged before him like specters, ghostly images of a long-time time.
He recalled himself and his sister visiting the town center, their small hands clutching meager coins to purchase bread from Old Jack, the friendly baker. Silas could almost taste the freshly baked loaves' warmth and feel the dough's soft texture in his mouth. The sight of his sister, her laughter echoing through the cobblestone streets as she chatted with friends while he looked on, returned to him.
In those memories, Silas's sister was a beacon of light and warmth, her presence a source of solace and safety.
But now, the streets told a different tale.
The once-peaceful town of Uladia had transformed into a shadow of its former self. A pervasive air of desolation hung heavy, like a shroud over the place. It was as if the very soul of the town had been tainted by the passing years. The cobblestone streets that once gleamed with pristine charm were now marred with grime and dirt, their surfaces worn by countless feet.
Gone were the quaint, small businesses that had once filled every nook and cranny. The cheerful bakeries, the charming toy shops, and the cozy bookstores had vanished. In their place, rowdy taverns and smoky dens had sprung up, where adventurers and travelers congregated, their raucous laughter and boisterous chatter filling the air.
The aroma of freshly baked bread had been replaced by the acrid stench of tobacco smoke and the sour tang of spilled ale. Men and women sat haphazardly around crude wooden tables, indulging in drink and merriment, their laughter ringing harshly in Silas's ears.
In the past, carriages had traversed the cobbled streets, carrying goods and townsfolk to their destinations. Now, the streets lay eerily empty of such conveyances, their absence adding to the unsettling transformation. The buildings that had once housed cherished memories of Silas's childhood now looked dilapidated, their windows cracked and boarded up.
Silas's heart stirred with mixed emotions, both anger and melancholy. The town he had once known as a place of solace and simplicity had been overrun by the hustle and bustle of adventurers and the darkness that seemed to accompany their presence. It was a stark reminder that even the most cherished memories could be tainted by the relentless march of time and change.
Silas' eyes drifted toward the pink-haired figure in the distance who seemed to be looking at everything around her with the same expression as Silas.
Though, her anger was far more evident than Silas'. However, Silas expected as much. To him, she was a child. She was allowed to get angry and upset at her childhood town changing this much.
Its warmth was no more, cruelly replaced by the coldness of greed.
In Uladia, the poor had only gotten poorer, resorting to more profound and dirty ways of earning money rather than the fair and lawful lifestyles they held before.
The poorer women fell into depravity, while the men fell into an endless cycle of viciousness.
A cold smile extended from the corner of Silas' lips as he turned his head and gazed at a certain direction.
Within the church in the middle of the city, an older man felt every hair on his body rise. He looked back hurriedly, causing the two knights next to him to raise their blades and point in the same direction.
"Is everything alright, father?" They asked after not seeing anything in the direction that the man was looking at.
"I-It's nothing... Must be those damn demons." he waved his hands before tapping his heart twice in the symbol of Gilea.
While the priest tried his best to ward off the evil ghosts, the students had walked a couple hundred meters and had reached a significantly large building. It had multiple stories, and from what it looked like, it was most likely the place they would stay at.
Silas' eyes quickly moved through the crowds of students before a question emerged in his mind.
'Where the hell are the rest of us going to stay?' He thought to himself.
There were only about half a thousand of them, but that number alone was high enough to fill a large portion of the town.
The town itself only had close to 10 thousand residents, from what Silas had counted. It was a lot higher than how many they had before despite half the population dying almost six years ago.
Aka, standing at the forefront of the gathered students, surveyed the bustling crowd with a tranquil smile. Slowly, he placed both hands behind his back and addressed the assembled students.
"Two hundred of you will stay here," he announced, causing a wave of relief to wash over half the students while sending the other half into a state of disbelief. The idea of being left behind in the town was met with mixed emotions.
Silas, Nymira, Alex, and the remaining two hundred and ninety-seven students were destined for the forest. Aka's voice carried a calm assurance as he continued, "The rest of us will camp in the forest."
His words hung in the air, a heavy silence following them. The students grappled with the reality of the situation. Two distinct groups were formed: those who would experience the comforts of town life, and those who would venture into the depths of Uladia Forest. The teachers, including Silas and his companions, would accompany the larger group into the woods to ensure their safety.
An array of emotions swirled within the group destined for the forest. Anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty danced in their eyes, each student processing the imminent expedition differently. The prospect of facing the enigmatic forest sparked both fear and curiosity, a complex blend of emotions that they would soon confront head-on.
The transition from the lively town of Uladia to the outskirts of the forest was stark. The students, along with their teachers, followed a winding path that gradually led them into the embrace of the dense woods. As the town receded into the distance, the sounds of everyday life were replaced by the soft rustling of leaves, the chirping of unseen birds, and the distant murmur of a flowing river.
The air grew cooler, carrying a crisp, earthy scent that spoke of centuries of untouched wilderness. The golden grasslands were now a distant memory, replaced by towering trees, their ancient branches forming a natural canopy that filtered the sunlight. Shafts of golden light pierced through the dense foliage, creating a mesmerizing interplay of shadows and illumination.
The forest itself was a living tapestry of colors and life. Vibrant flowers dotted the forest floor, their petals like scattered jewels amidst the lush green carpet of moss and ferns. Occasional butterflies flitted by, adding fleeting bursts of color to the otherwise serene landscape.
As the group delved deeper into the forest, the air grew denser with mana, and the ambiance began to shift. The atmosphere became charged with an otherworldly energy, and the students could sense the subtle change. Even the wildlife seemed to grow more elusive, their distant calls echoing like whispers through the woods.
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