A few hours later, Cerion and I accompanied Michael to the academy, where he would be completing his examination over the course of a few hours.
We looked around in wonder as we entered the ornate white building, which was situated at the edge of a central district used exclusively for this academy.
There were several in the city, but none were as prestigious as the white oak royal academy, the school that served to educate royals, nobles, and the most talented commoners alike. The guild had managed to give a spot in the examinations to Michael, as a reward for his outstanding intelligence stat and hard work.
We werent allowed to spectate the written tests, but there was an interview afterward that we were allowed to spectate. In reality though, Michael just needed a little boost in confidence, because the stress he exhibited was imnse.
Listen, Michael. Youre going to do fine., I said, And if things dont work out, you can always join a normal school back in Reito. The end result will be the sa, even if you join one of the royal academies, anyway.
The little kid turned to and glared.
Ive been studying for months now, on top of what my father taught ! Im not giving up! he replied fiercely.
I raised my hands in surrender, trying to de-escalate.
Thankfully, Cerion intervened.
Of course, of course. What I believe Arthur ant is that you dont have to worry about their approval, only about your performance. Whether they see your talent for what it is depends on them.
That seed to calm him down slightly, though a stubborn frown remained present on Michaels forehead.
Im not worried about my performance. Im just scared people will think less of you, Arthur, if they dont like .
What in the seven hells are you talking about, Michael? None of these people will even recognise . Im a nobody! I whispered, trying not to draw attention from the other visitors to the academy grounds.
We currently found ourselves in a large garden leading up to a dod, white building. The pathway that led up to the as of yet closed examination center was busy as can be. We were surrounded by people wearing expensive clothing, strange warriors with eccentric armour and a few sagely old n, wearing long robes and carrying staves. The diverse group all had two things in common, they accompanied a small child Michaels age, and they looked rather influential.
Turning back to , the brat countered my earlier argunt.
Yeah, but you wont be for long! When the seeded participants get announced, everybody will know your na! If soone rembers you accompanying and I fail he finished sadly.
I sighed. The chances of that happening were low in and of itself, and if sobody judged by sobody elses achievents, that person wasnt worth knowing anyway.
With a smile, I told Cerion as much, after which he quieted down. Cerion supported my argunt.
As much as Id like to claim that this is a montous occasion, Arthur is right. Theres just no way anything important will change for him depending on whether you pass or fail. Focus on your own progress, not on Arthurs.
Exactly. I echoed.
With that, Michael seed placated. For a mont, I wondered how he had even gotten that notion into his head, but after a few seconds, I rembered. A few months ago I told Michael he might be discriminated against in the academy if he was associated with because of my affinity. I supposed he had sohow turned that into both of our reputations being interlinked. The poor kid had been stressing out about that for a while. With a grimace, I promised myself I would be more careful with what I told kids in the future.
The three of us waited in the courtyard for another half hour. Since we were served refreshnts as we waited for the examination to start, we werent exactly complaining. None of us knew any of the other people around, so we mostly kept to ourselves. Our little group was in a strange situation, where we knew several of the countrys tier 6, but almost none of the other, weaker influential people. Politicking wasnt for , though, so it would stay that way if I had anything to say about it. After the tournant, I was running for the hills, that was for sure.
I smiled, staring into space, as I considered heading back ho to practice my skills for a few months before tiering up. My little sibling was on the way, my mother being 6 months along by now if mory served. With the tournant and festivities taking about a month, I felt like a break from combat afterward wasnt exactly a bad idea. Still, those were matters for the future.
Eventually, another one of the academys teachers appeared, this one more elderly and sagely than any of his predecessors. With a beard dragging behind him on the ground and eyebrows that had sohow grown to be half as long, he asked for our attention by knocking his cane on the ground several tis, quietening the crowd.
May I welco you all to the white oak royal academys annual entrance examination. I am Solchandres, a tier 5 [Master Impact wizard] and the principal, or headmaster if you will, of that very academy. Forgive this old man for not greeting you all properly, but we havent the ti. If the aspiring students could please follow into the hall? The rest of our guests may follow the vice principal to the atrium for entertainnt while you all wait for your charges to be interviewed. Please keep in mind that exploring the rest of the academy is strictly forbidden for non-students here. Good day to you all.
The elderly wizard finished his short speech rather hurriedly, showing a clear lack of patience for soone so old. Still, I appreciated him getting right to business. With a shove, I shooed Michael to the gathering group of kids near the headmaster.
Good luck, Michael. Keep a cool head and stand proudly. I encouraged him.
He smiled back at , before walking briskly to his group. Before we knew it, the kids had entered the examination center, following the principal.
A few minutes later, Cerion and I found ourselves in the atrium, a large open space near the center of the academy. A reception had been set up, with a buffet along the side of the hall. Though it might have been impolite, I wasted no ti getting so of the tastiest looking roasted at and fish and piling it all onto a big plate. Cerion seed to cringe at my display, but couldnt stop himself from joining in my debauchery for long, much to the apparent distaste of so of the more prudish guests, who simply bid to ignore us.
After a while, however, sobody actually ca up to us. I didnt need to wonder why for long, because when I looked up, I found a large grisly man with a smile that was all teeth, carrying a filled plate of his own.
You fellas mind if I join ya?, he asked humorously, You two dont seem as uptight as the other folk.
Still busy eating, we simply nodded and welcod our guest by gesturing at an empty seat at our table, which the person in question shoved aside, instead deciding to sit on the floor itself. Sohow, we still had to look up to greet him.
So who are you, big guy? Did you accompany your kid here? I asked in between bites.
Laughing uproariously, he spit so small chunks of at around, causing to wince in disgust.
Im a rcenary! I ca here to drop off my son. Talented little fucker, if a little too scared to make mistakes he finished gruffly.
Well, hes not alone in that. and Cerion here are witch hunters. We ca by to bring our little brother in arms, who has similar issues. I replied.
Well, thats why they are kids. Theyll learn. Cerion added, speaking up for the first ti.
With us all falling silent to focus on our food, the giant seed to take a closer look at the both of us.
After we finished all of it, he snapped his fingers, as if rembering sothing.
Wait a minute arent both of you seeded fighters in the tournant? Tier 2 right? Hah! That ans that youll probably co across one of my juniors! Co say hi if you see in the stands, yeah?
Cerion was the one to answer.
Yes, we are. We read about the two rcenary fighters on our list. An oil user and an assassin, right? We look forward to facing them in battle.
You better! Karon might be an arrogant sod, but he has the right to be! Ill tell him to watch out for the two of you! he replied with a big grin, before sauntering off to talk to so other folk.
The two of us just shrugged, laughing internally at the absurdity of the conversation.
A few hours later, a mber of the school staff, a young man carrying an elegant sabre, entered the atrium with a scroll. Slowly, he started to read out the order of the interviews. We found out that Michaels would occur near the end of the day.
Apparently, the interviews would be held by the principal, along with the teacher in charge of whatever class the student would specialize in. For Michael, that ant an elderly witch that used pyromancy.
A few hours later, we were called into a small room that had an upper balcony, obscured from the lower floor by magic. As we entered and sat down, we saw the principal, accompanied by an old woman covered in a large red hat, as well as the man that had previously guided us to the atrium. He was wiry, with a set of round glasses and a large book filled with notes in front of him. After a mont, I rembered that the headmaster had described him as the vice-principal of the academy.
A mont later, the wiry man started to announce Michaels arrival for us all to hear.
Next up is a young man simply called Michael. Hes been sponsored by the witch hunters guild and apparently gets along well with the seeded participant that is representing the guild at the tournant this year. Despite this, his teachers claim his raw talent would have gotten him sponsored on its own as well. He wished to enter the academy and specialize in fire magic like his late father. His test scores were outstanding on all fronts, though his intelligence statistic is the most remarkable out of all of his scores, which is remarkably high for his age. Reaching twenty in the stat before his awakening is a realistic possibility.
The principal nodded along slowly to his introduction, before turning to one of the n standing beside his table.
Attendant, you may escort young Michael into the room.
A mont later, a familiar figure that I recognised as Michael entered the room at a steady pace, before sitting down in the chair facing his three interviewers.
Honestly, the interview was about what you would expect. All the questions on the theory had been asked and graded through magic in the past few hours, so what remained were questions like What do you want to do with your power in the future? and What are your current goals?.
Michaels answers boiled down to him wanting to beco stronger and beco a witch hunter in the future, defeating those that treat other peoples lives like theyre worth nothing. His answers were a bit on the nose, but I felt that he had done a good job showing them his discipline and conviction.
Only one question stood out throughout the entire interview. Coincidentally, it was the only question the elderly fire witch asked. At one point, she lost her lazy outlook and placed her focus on Michael.
What does fire an to you? she had asked.
Michael had pondered for a mont, before turning resolute.
To an, it symbolizes sothing to hold on to. Sothing to light up the dark, wash away fear and cleanse evil.
I winced. It seed that stint in the dark had influenced his ntality more than expected. Unfortunately, I still didnt feel like I had had any other choice at the ti.
Are you scared of the dark? she had followed up.
No. The dark can be both comforting and scary. The sa way fire can both destroy and protect, I guess. he replied, clearly in reference to compared to the necromancer that had killed his father. I was happy Michael had a asured outlook when it ca to those topics.
The elderly witch seed to nod slightly, satisfied with his answer.
A mont later, the principal wrapped up the interview.
Thank you for participating, young Michael. We will deliberate your possible entry into the academy over the coming days. Expect a letter to arrive in at most 4 days. Have a good day, young man.
Michael nodded and left, Cerion and I following a nearby attendant back to the atrium simultaneously. After a few more minutes, we all gathered to leave the academy. I, for one, was confident Michael would be admitted.
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