“Olgarith has no inns kid.” The Mage that Caspian had stopped to ask said as he shook his head and went back on his way.
“Wait!” Caspian called out hurriedly, “What do you mean there’s no inns?” The man turned with an annoyed look on his face, “Do you really not know anything?” He asked sarcastically only to be dumbstruck when Caspian nodded his head.
“Sigh…. Is this your first time in Imperium?” He asked after a few seconds, “How did you know?” Caspian asked with a grin.
“Okay, listen here kid. If you want to survive here, you need to join an Academy or else any random Mage might come to hate you for something like… I don’t know, stopping them in the street?” The man suddenly radiated the aura of a 3rd Circle Mage Scholar and bore his pressure down on him.
“If that happens, no one cares if you die here.” The man said nonchalantly as the pressure disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared and left Caspian gasping for air.
He was far more powerful than Dennison who Caspian had faced a month prior simply from his aura alone, ‘Was Dennison just weak for his rank?’ He couldn’t help but ask himself as he tried to recover.
“I... apologise.” He managed to choke out, his throat was dry and croaked as he spoke. “Hahaha, don’t worry kid I’m not that unreasonable.” Caspian breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped droplets of sweat from his forehead.
Seeing this the man laughed again, probably enjoying the chance to mess with someone weaker than him in the city.
“Head towards the Central Plaza, I heard a few of the weaker Academies are recruiting this week, this is the last day so don’t waste this chance. But, if even they won’t accept you, I’d suggest leaving as soon as possible for your own good lad…” He said seriously before going on his way.
“So, Imperium is that sort of place, if you have the power you can do what you want.” He mumbled as he watched the man disappear somewhere in the crowds of people.
‘An Academy huh? They should teach Mage Techniques, right?’ He thought, a sudden burst of enthusiasm washing over him at the idea. He was eager to see how the Knight and Mage techniques would interact if he trained them together and how they were different from one another.
…
“Candidate 209?” An old man walked out of a shoddy tent that had been setup in the middle of the stone plaza, outside were gatherings of people of all ages from kids to adults as they eagerly waited for their numbers to be called.
There were several tents just like this one with similar groups standing patiently outside as people walked out and then another number was called and someone else entered.
Caspian was also one of these people, he had been randomly assigned one of the tents after not knowing how to answer which Academy he would like to test for – the woman registering him didn’t bother to explain and simply assigned him to one of the testing sites.
He’d abandoned the carriage after seeing it was more of an inconvenience than anything else as sometimes people would simply ignore its existence and almost run over it with their magical beasts without a care for the people in it.
Caspian stood up, ordering the two Demons to wait for him, and stepped forward upon hearing his number being called, he’d been watching for about an hour and a half as people came and went into the tent. Sometimes they would come back out and sometimes they wouldn’t, but the old man would always come back out.
Some tests would take only mere minutes while others would take ten at most, the time varied so drastically it was impossible for him to imagine just exactly they were doing in there. What he did notice however, was that those who came out at the ten-minute mark would without a doubt fail and walk away with dejection.
“So, it’s about being fast.” But even knowing somewhat about the content of the test he couldn’t imagine what it was and prepare himself beforehand.
He didn’t want to make a bad impression and quickly entered the tent, the old man was sitting there on an old wooden chair and motioned for him to take a seat. “Candidate 209; Caspian Flynn?” He asked first.
Caspian quickly passed over a small orb he had been given; the man passed some Mana through it causing a number to float above it with a picture.
He’d been amazed when he saw this, there was nothing like it in his past-life, how it was able to accurately reflect his appearance like a mirror – it was truly otherworldly to him.
“Place your hand here.” A small book appeared on the table with a handprint on top, cautiously he placed his palm on top and waited for several seconds.
Suddenly, he felt as if tendrils were drilling through his fingertips causing him to look up in panic. “Calm down.” His voice had the effect of forcefully calming him down as a wave of relief washed over him.
‘It’s not trying to hurt me.’
‘It’s okay.’
And similar thoughts began to fill his mind and overpower his own thoughts.
[Mental Defences Activated]
“What the-“Caspian suddenly came to his senses and tore his palm from the book much to the surprise of the old man, “How did you?” He asked, lunging forward as he began to analyse Caspian for answers.
Caspian recoiled as fast as he could causing the old man to look at him in embarrassment before collecting himself, “Ah my apologies, I should explain myself.”
“This here,” He said waving in the book’s direction, “Is how we test the aptitude of our pupils, I have no ill intent the charm spell was to simply calm your nerves.” He looked at Caspian with admiration.
“However, I must say that your natural resistance to mental spells is remarkable – you were able to break free of a spell cast by a Magic Scholar within only a few seconds. Unfortunately, although I admire your natural ability in this area, I still need you to go through with the first test.” He said, motioning for Caspian to continue.
Caspian was half-listening and half zoned-out as he nodded, he was still shaken by how easily his thoughts had been influenced. He slowly reached out his hand once more and placed it on the book and allowed it to drill into his fingertips and extend through his body.
He could feel it touching around inside of him as if searching for something before it encountered the ball of Mana in his stomach and suddenly latched on.
The book began to glow red much to the satisfaction of the old man as he grabbed the book and caused it to collapse, retracting its tendrils and allowing him to move his hand again.
“Excellent, you have the basic aptitude for learning.” The old man said with a smile, “It’s that simple?” Caspian asked in confusion.
“Unfortunately, so, our Academy doesn’t have the funding for an Advanced Grimoire. We can only test if you have the potential to learn not what sort of talent you possess.” He said grimly as if his worried that his words were going to cause Caspian to turn around and walk away.
Fortunately for him Caspian had formed a good impression of the man from their first simple interactions.
“Caspian Flynn, you have officially passed the entrance exam to our Academy. Are you willing to enrol with Telimus Mage Academy?” He said formally as he extended a letter of acceptance that, much like the book, had appeared from thin air.
“I accept your offer.” Caspian returned the necessary formalities much to the old man’s surprise, causing his smile to widen as his impression of Caspian grew better by the second.
“Then I, Oliver Perseus 2nd Circle Mage Scholar, officially accept you as a fledgling student of our academy.” He pulled a book out of the air and passed it to Caspian, “This has all you need to know about our academy and a basic training technique, you have the rest of the day to prepare for our departure.”
“Welcome to Telimus.”
Tmrw tis it then
Thanks for the chapter