Gilliam had sat down a short while ago, although he was nearing done with his food. Since he didn’t know exactly how long the girls were going to talk he didn’t feel it made sense for him to wait with eating. Savia was woken up and had eaten her share, interestingly enough she was already looking better, only after a few days. The magical and soul-based connection might be aiding her recovery more than he expected, in the end Gilliam realised that he didn’t really care much for why she was getting better and rather focused on her getting better at all.

Like normal he had gotten a lot of looks, though they seemed to be a bit different than normal. Before they were like looking at some weird tiger through some solid steel bars, now they were a bit more interested. Gilliam had expected people to try to get on his good side a long time ago, given how much social power a strong mage got in these lands it would just make sense for many to get good with him. Especially since a lot of the kids here were nobles in some form or shape.
Not that Gilliam really wanted much to do with the political dance of bullshit, he just wanted to do his own thing once all of this was done. The helping words from Rotia that calmed the crowd hinted that there were some strict rules surrounding the Circle recruitment thing, things he didn’t know. Parts of him did like it a little, absolutely, most people enjoy feeling sought after, but at the same time; he really, really disliked the political aspect of things.

Eventually the girls came in through the door from the Air Field, they went and got their own food before sitting down.
Gilliam looked at the two, halfway expecting some update or something. “I assume you got it worked out?” He hoped that would start a conversation that would let him in on what they were talking about.
Though he was fine with them having things between themselves, he was also somewhat curious.

“We did.” Angela replied as she started eating. “Regarding tomorrow-” She changed the topic without even trying to be subtle. Apparently whatever they spoke about was going to be secret. “-I think it can be a good idea for you to attend the Circle recruitment.”

Gilliam raised an eyebrow, he didn’t plan to start a circle, it sounded like too much work.
“Subtle, but how come? Won’t that need effort and resources I don’t have?”
Gilliam had to comment on the topic change, but he mostly wondered about the Circle thing. He understood that it was a clan or group of followers of sorts. But the little he had read and the extra info leaflet from the receptionist, made it seem like he would have to care for someone. And he already had two individuals that fell into this group; Petal and Savia. Savia was super easy to feed but it was still something to consider.

“That depends on the contract, before I graduated I signed a contract with some smaller shops, they got to use my name for advertisement and I get a tiny cut of their profits. It’s not huge but it gives me enough to live modestly if I wanted to. And I don’t have to do anything, just check up on them at times to make sure they don’t do anything weird with my name and.. Well... It’s basically free money.”
She shrugged like this was absolutely normal and almost weird of him to comment on.

“The leaflet from the receptionist hinted at something similar, but it seemed like a best case scenario. The most common seemed to be bodyguards or servants, not sure I could afford that.” Gilliam joked at the end. Though he didn’t know how prices or monetary value worked here yet, he at least knew the reaction of people. Odds were high that he could sell Mana crystals without issue if he needed money.
And if in dire need, his ring and sword would fetch a lot, though he refused to even consider those as sellable. Odds were higher that he’d sell crystals or just his healing services.

“Just sell the mana crystals if you need money. From what I’ve seen you can make them fast and... they are more powerful than you think.” Angela seemed to have the same idea about the crystals. Also seems that he underestimated things yet again.

The rest of the afternoon and evening went to talk, Gilliam gave Petal specific orders to allow her to keep some personal things personal. Unless he specifically asks about things or it would be important to share she could keep things to herself. It might come back to bite him later but he felt that it was too important to let her have a personality and some growth. And to be honest any information she had about the demons and their world was already shared, given his time in the demon world he might actually know more about it than her. Stereotypically you didn’t tend to tell your servants more than needed so she had probably never left the Finger where she ‘lived’ before.
During the rest of the talks there were several students around them that seemed like they wanted to say something, but none seemed to really dare, Gilliam didn’t know if it was due to the Circle thing or that he took the arm of Garend not long ago, but he ignored it and enjoyed the pseudo privacy.
Angela and Petal seemed to have hit it off well, something that made Gilliam very happy, Petal was getting a friend in this world. The rest of their talks focused around things he should look for in the circle recruitment, he needed to be careful and not go for the first and best, given that he is a Heptagon Mage and had not only closed two Gates but also survived the one-man-war he had in there. He was going to be popular. So there would be no lack of attention to him. Though this could be a very good thing as well, he could end up with some good people wanting to follow him or just get some passive funding.
Though he should keep Petal close. Given that she is a demon, people might react a bit to finding out these rumours are true.

Gilliam both found enjoyment but also a weird feeling of uncomfortableness considering that he was interesting enough that he had rumours and potential world-spread information about him.

Another weird thing that he hadn’t thought about before was the weird muscle soreness from the training. The dome healed you instantly and you felt fine inside it but there seemed to be some weird after effects that he didn’t remember from before, it felt like the normal soreness you had a day or so after working out. It wasn’t bad, it just sounded odd.

In the end, after their chat lasted into the evening, they went to their separate rooms. Falling asleep was not a problem in the slightest, though the dome kept you healthy and energised it didn’t do much once you left it. Fatigue didn’t slam into you with a vengeance but you didn’t exactly feel peppy. Petal was in the same boat and frankly she had been training more than Gilliam today, so it made sense that she’d crash as well. Savia just kept sleeping most of the day like it had become her norm, Gilliam was really looking forward to when she was better, she seemed to enjoy just flying about and now that she could talk he hoped that she could get a life of sorts as well. The positive thing was that he could sense content feelings through their bond, so it was not bad at least.

These were parts of the thoughts that rummaged about in his mind as he drifted off.

* GONG, GONG *
Waking to the fucking heartattack was becoming it’s own norm, he hated it but what could you do. At some point he might get used to it but that required exposure, he didn’t really want that if he could avoid it.
At least it gave him the adrenaline kick needed to not go back to sleep. Though it was definitely shortening his life.

Going through the normal morning process, getting dressed and somewhat acceptable looking, toilet trips and washing up. They headed down to the breakfast hall like normal.
Today it was packed right away, normally people didn’t start funnelling in properly until the second bell, but today the hallway was packed with people and the mess hall filled up fast with both people and the sound of a group of people talking over each other. It was a problem finding a place to sit and eat, to the point that they ended up having to wait a little before finding a place both of them could sit at the same time. People were still reacting to him weirdly but they seemed to be too focused on their own things.
It didn’t take too long before Angela came in through the Field door, and since Petal somewhat stands out it seemed that she found them easily enough, sitting down after getting her own food.

“It’s busy today.” Angela smiled, not trying to hide that she’s a bit excited as well. “It was like this the other years as well.” she smiled widely.

Gilliam didn’t really have much to add, he was a bit excited as well, it wasn’t hard to see, but at the same time he was a bit uncertain about it all. It just felt so weird.
“You going to look for people this round as well?” He couldn’t remember seeing any rules about how that part worked but there were apparently a lot of things he didn’t know.

“I might, if I find someone with a good deal. You can always use more money, though due to me being on almost the lowest point of mages it’s hard to get someone who is willing to give something good in return. Though tiny percentages of revenue do add up over time.” She smiled, clearly not against the concept of free money as long as they can use her name for things.

“How do those deals of yours actually work, I mean; what’s in the contracts?” Gilliam had to finally ask, he had wondered this for a while now but it just felt a bit odd that people would give percentages of their revenue just like that.

“My contracts are simple, they can use my name and likeness for advertising. In a few cases I have eaten some cakes and other products and given my reviews... perhaps a bit more flowery written than I would normally do. And as a graduated mage this gives very solid advertisement as this little bakery is now sort of validated by a mage. It might sound weird to you but in V’ida that means a lot. More since it became normal, I think some clever mages had some good ideas here-” She sat down in her chair and wagged her finger in a matter-of-factly manner.
“-Some influential mages started this, and since that became a thing more and more wants this as the boost in sales is apparently rather substantial. Though, since I am a low-tier mage I usually only get smaller people contracting with me, I’m not influential or powerful enough to be given gifts or anything as grand as land or slaves. But what I do have is a bunch of smaller businesses giving me a tiny, tiny percentage. Which piles up to an acceptable sum in a bank.” She smiled at the end.

Angela suddenly leaned back to the table and pointed a small carrot at Gilliam.
“Oh, and before you wonder, as you’ll end up in that situation. The Academy can take care of the contracts for a small yearly fee, keeps everything in order and it helps having the Academy’s stamp of validity if something were to happen.”
She sighed a bit afterwards. “Though, you being the Heptagon Mage-” she made a fake-mocking tone to the title. “-They would probably handle that fee for you, the PR and reputation they get from you is worth most things here, really...”

This explained a lot of things, really. First banks were a thing, which sounded very logical in an economical society. But the concept of advertisement, tying faces and brands together is not unlike the modern world. Although a bit different in how small it goes the base concept was pretty much the same. If a famous person leaves a good food review at some burger place, it’s going to see more income through that. Though Angela was a Dot-class mage that could only cast on herself, she was still a recognised mage. That was enough in a lot of cases.
It also re-confirmed what Gilliam somewhat already knew, that his title earned them enough in advertisement that they could waive most things. Like the language training for Petal, or the entire cost for going to the academy they spoke about on the first day.

It just dawned on Gilliam that this was going to become a long, long day. The Heptagon Mage was probably a very sought after person, given the rarity of his existence and the extra reputation with the gates and Petal... He was probably going to get swarmed.
Eventually the Third bell tolled, signalling that breakfast was done. The students that had classes had to start moving towards that, but based on the people flooding towards the Field door it hinted that there might be some school-wide rule that allowed some exceptions on days like these.
The room was almost empty in only a few minutes, which was impressive given the amount of people that were there. Waiting until most of them had funnelled out, Gilliam's group left their table.

Having waited in line for only a few seconds before they got into the Air Field the whole area had changed dramatically. There were a bunch of desks with chairs set up throughout the field, it seems this was going to be an outdoor activity. Walking past several of the desks on the way to the Main Hall, there seemed to be a numbering system for the desks, and a namecard on each of them. Given that the other students were flooding towards the main hall as well there was most likely some list in there.

Following the stream of kids into the main hall, waiting to get inside for a few minutes Angela took the moment to explain.
“There is a large board with all mages who are available, the students use the same board to see where they are sitting. Most of the time the students are placed in the field of their element, if there is room, if not they are placed in the field of their second element, and so on. I’m going to guess you’ll be in the Light of Dark field, as those are usually the least active one.”

This made sense, having some sense of system makes things a bit easier for the Circle joiners as well. If you know you want to join a specific kind of mage it might be easier to find them on a list as well.
As they were getting closer to entry they started getting a bit more elbow room, partly this was due to Petal, perhaps the weirdness of the Albino Angela or just Gilliam being what he is and having done things lately. He didn’t really question it and rather took the bonus room without complaint.

Finally getting inside he saw that the place was outright packed, had it not been for the passive elbow room they got, they would be packed like sardines. Pickpockets would probably have a field day here as everyone was shoulder to shoulder. Mentally considering just flying over everyone he didn’t want to draw even more attention to himself, besides that would just make getting out of the doors harder. Petal grabbed hold of Gilliam’s arm to not lose him, something he found both adorable and interesting. It wasn’t like he wanted to lose her in the crowd so he didn’t comment on it.

Getting close enough to read the boards it seemed that Angela was spot on. She was in the Light Field and Gilliam was in the Dark. Made sense since there were probably not many in the Dark field so there was most likely plenty of room.
Loudly wishing each other good luck they split parts, braving the torrent of people to get to the closest exit door. The closer they got to the doors into the Light and Dark field the more the people loosened up, which made a lot of sense as well. Petal didn’t let go of Gilliam’s arm until they made it through the door into the Dark field.

As they exited the door Gilliam made note of a few things. First there were only two desks there. Nolis sat at one of them and was speaking to a few people that had formed around it. He had his derp-smile on, so Gilliam wondered if they got anything proper out of him.
The other desk had no student at it, which was most likely his, but there was a sizable collection of people that had queued up near it.
Yeah... this was going to become a long day.

Several people looked his way as they exited the main hall, there were plenty of talks to the point of it being near impossible to make out single words from any distance, but it was clear they realised who he was.
Walking to the desk he passed a very varied group of people. Some felt like farmers, some like mercenaries, others were more like businessmen or people with enough oil under their nails to hint to crafters. The collection of races and people here would be a wet dream for all inclusive-ists back in the modern world.

The desk did indeed have his name on it, as well as a few very simple pieces of information on some papers. Sitting down he started checking them out briefly, Petal simply stood behind him at the moment.
The information was mainly that you had to make sure to be specific, make sure to get it all in writing; never use a so-called gentlemen's agreement. Take your time and don’t rush it, if in doubt you could rent someone in the academy to help.
All of this made sense and having worked with employee contracts in the modern world he had some ideas of contracts, also being a computer specialist he had some ideas about lists and explaining things.
The last piece of information was more about the process, which was simple. Shout next when you're ready for the next individual, they should have already queued up so just have fun with it.

Not long after Gilliam had read this he looked at the queue again, the first person seemed to be a young bird-looking half-beast, more man than animal but there were some bird features like larger eyes and feathery arms, he had a collar but seemed in good health.
However, before Gilliam could say anything a small goblin man in a perfect pin-striped suit came in. The goblin’s suit had to be tailor-made, it was either new or very well made, had a slight sheen to it and a small napkin folded in the jacket pocket. He spoke with the birdman and they swapped spots, having the birdman leave with a bow. Seems like he had someone wait for him.

Well, might as well get started.
“Next!”

The goblin walked up and climbed up on the chair opposite of the desk and in a deep, pleasantly suave voice, akin to a radio host or narrator, introduced himself.
“My name is Al-Yan.” He slid a nice looking velvet-black business card with golden letters on it, his name was written Alleyan, he was the owner of some merchant company named Mazewares, their logo was a very simple maze, not unlike what you’d find in newspapers or on cereal boxes in the modern world.
“You can call me Yan if that’s easier.” He continued as he made a polite bow from his chair.

Gilliam didn’t want to milk this to the last drop, but at the same time he had to be somewhat cold or stoic of sorts, he didn’t want to go in with a terrible poker face and end up in some weird situation.
Leaning forward, placing his elbows on the desk as he interlocked his fingers, resting his chin against the thumbs.
“So, Yan-” taking the easier to say name felt appropriate, though he wanted to sound in charge or something, there was nothing against a few pleasantries. “-Let’s just get straight to it; What are you offering and what do you want back in return?”

“Oh, fear not, I’m sure you will find this deal quite beneficial.” The little goblin man had a strange smile on his lips, the best explanation Gilliam had was a professional smirk. Where he was already sure of himself that the deal was done.

Waving to someone to his side he beaconed for this someone to come over, one who showed himself to be a complete beefcake of a man, if there was a muscle that could be trained, this man had reached perfection in it. He had long hair in a low ponytail, a red and golden robe with a golden Mazewares logo over its heart and the man had a weird feeling of taking very well care of himself but also being able to punt people into low orbit.
The man was carrying a business suitcase sized box of black-lacquered wood with the wooden pattern barely showing through. It had golden handles and a red string tying the halves together, acting as a simple lock.

As the man came over to Yan he placed the box on the desk.
Yan continued in his self-certain voice without a hint of sarcasm, irony or joke’y tones.
“Today I bring you quite the deal, at a suspiciously low price.”