Ch. 4 - Getting a "Wand"

Two uneventful weeks had gone by quickly. These last two weeks, I had dedicated most of my time to improving my physical condition. One would expect to feel remorseful about leaving the orphanage I had lived in almost my entire life. However, that wasn't the case for me since I've never had good memories of this place.

Although I would love to say that I have become physically in shape and strong in a short two weeks, the truth couldn't be further from that. In two weeks, even with my utmost effort, I had gone from weak to less weak. Although it wasn't much of an improvement, I was still content with my progress.

I very much anticipated the day Mrs. Kimberly returns and takes me away from this awful orphanage. I felt like a child standing in front of a candy store, and the only thing separating me from the candy was a panel of glass.

My wish was finally fulfilled when I heard a knock on my door, followed by Mrs. Kimberly saying, "Azrail, it's me, Mrs. Kimberly. I'm here to bring you to the academy."

I brought with me a small bag containing my few belongings. As an orphan, I didn't possess many items; therefore, it didn't take me long to pack everything.

Holding my bag, I left the orphanage and didn't bother to look back. This was the start of a new chapter in my life, and I believe I'll never return here.

----

"How do we get to the Academy, Mrs. Kimberly?"

"You will know soon, but before that, young man, we need to buy you some school supplies."

"I don't have money, though."

"No worries, the school will pay for it."

Mrs. Kimberly brought me to an extremely common-looking bakery.

"Umm, Mrs. Kimberly, why are we here?"

Knowing why I was confused, Mrs. Kimberly explained patiently, "You see, dear, a long, long time ago, wizards and witches alike wanted to leave the eyes of the general public. To accomplish this, they created hidden spaces all around the world. One can only enter these spaces through specific gateways. This bakery harbors one of the gateways to the place we are going."

I was still a little confused.

"You'll understand once you see it."

With that, Mrs. Kimberly brought me into the bakery and directed me to the backrooms of the shop. In the backrooms, Mrs. Kimberly held her wand and tapped the wall at several different points. To my amazement, the wall suddenly unfolded itself and brought into view a thriving marketplace with stalls selling all kinds of unrecognizable items.

"Get your nimbus salamander right over here for not three, but two gold coins! I assure you won't find a better deal anywhere else but here!"

"Selling hair loss prevention potions of 78% purity in bundles of three for 200 silvers!"

"Starlight fires for 20 coppers each. They're freshly made!"

Many terms I did not understand were being flung around the marketplace. Mrs. Kimberly gestured towards me and said, "After you."

I was in the middle of the marketplace in awe. Everything around me was shattering the reality I once knew. Not only were people performing all kinds of different magic, but some people were also riding beasts that one could only find in folklore. Additionally, I gaped at human-like animals. Like humans, they wore clothes and spoke the common tongue. Some of them were even bartering with the stall owners.

"Those are beast people. They're very similar to humans but possess some animalistic qualities. Also, please don't stare at them like that. It is disrespectful towards them."

I struggled but was eventually able to direct my gaze away from the beast people.

"Follow me closely, Azrail. We're going to go get you a wand now."

"My wand?"

"Of course child, you've got to have a wand if you want to become a magician."

-----

Mrs. Kimberly brought me in front of an ancient-looking store. The plaque of the store read, Bumstead's Store of Special Wands. Before entering the store, Mrs. Kimberly stopped me and said, "Azrail, the owner of this store, is a very well-respected individual. I sincerely suggest that you be as respectful as you can when talking to him." I nodded.

The inside of the store was dim. The thin beams of sunlight that peaked through the small cracks in the ceiling were this shop's only light source. Along the walls of the store were shelves stacked with numerous wands of all shapes and sizes. They were all over each other with no apparent order in how they were placed.

Sitting behind the desk located at the back of the shop was a very old and pale man. Upon closer inspection, he wasn't a man to begin with. His height barely reached my chest, and he had thick hair covering the top of his arms. His face was broader than what is considered normal, and he had massive feet.

Mrs. Kimberly suddenly whispered to me, "He's a halfling."

"Who is it this time Mrs. Kimberly."

"Azrail World, an orphan."

"A thin-blood?"

"...Yes."

The halfling suddenly expressed visible disgust.

"Give me your hand. Thin blood."

I was surprised by the halfling's sudden aggressive tone."

I turned towards Mrs. Kimberly, and she gestured towards me apologetically to follow the halfling's instructions.

"You deaf thin-blood? Stop wasting my time. Give me your hand. I want to get this over with quickly."

Still puzzled by why the halfling was treating me so poorly, I gave him my hand."

The halfling jerked my hands towards him, causing me to lose my balance. The halfling grasped my hand tightly, which caused me to cringe in pain. The halfling proceeded to use his free hand to touch many different spots on my hand.

After a few minutes, the halfling pushed me away, causing me to trip and fall on my behind.

"Go grab a wand from that bucket over their worthless thin blood."

Mrs. Kimberly suddenly got very mad.

"What is the meaning of this Mr. Carrison!"

The halfling glared at Mrs. Kimberly.

"The kid is a thin blood of low blood purity. I'm not going to waste my time tailoring a wand for such waste."

"Mr. Carrison, remember that you've signed a contract with us."

"Yes, and the contract states that I must provide a wand for all the students who don't have one. It doesn't mention anything about me having to tailor it for them."

Mrs. Kimberly looked very mad but couldn't refute the halfling's statement.

"You know what? I'm feeling good today. Thin blood, you can choose any wand you want from that barrel over there, and I'll give it to you for free."

The halfling had a gloating expression while pointing at the barrel covered in cobwebs in the corner of the room. I knew it couldn't mean anything good.

The wands in the barrel were covered in years' worth of dust. These were the ones no one wanted. I knew that these wands were probably the worst in the store and decided to take one at random. At this point, I just wanted to leave this store as quickly as possible.

In the end, I picked a "wand" that looked more like an ordinary twig than anything. Out of all the wands in the barrel, this one seemed to be in the best condition. Quite a tragic situation indeed.

After choosing my wand, Mrs. Kimberly quickly brought me out of the store.

----

"Azrail, I'm sorry for what you just had to experience."

"Why did he treat me so poorly?"

Mrs. Kimberly paused. She looked like she wanted to say something but was hesitant about it. In the end, she finally decided that I should know the truth.

"You see, Azrail. The wizarding world is currently split between two big factions: the Ancient Faction and the Pure Faction. The Ancient Faction wants to maintain the status quo between the wizarding world and the common world. On the other hand, the Pure Faction believes that thin-bloods are inferior to them and should be lorded over."

"What's a thin-blood?"

"A thin blood refers to people whose family isn't from the wizarding world."

"Why did the halfling call me a thin-blood then?

"Because you're from the common world."

"Why do they use the term thin blood?"

"It is theorized that the ability to use magic is tightly connected to the purity of one's blood. The purer one's blood is, the easier it is for magic to circulate in their body. Almost all the common world cannot use magic because their blood is too impure for magic to circulate properly. Therefore, they are called thin-bloods."

"What's the benefit of having purer blood?"

"It's akin to having better talent when it comes to magic. People with purer blood not only conduct magic easier but can also store more magic in their bodies and learn magic quicker."

"Is my blood pure?

Mrs. Kimberly paused again. She was thinking of how to phrase it as best as possible to make it sound not as bad. After all, she considered Azrail a young child who suffered from an unfair world.

"No. Your blood isn't very pure. But don't feel sad about it. I'll let you know that there are plenty of roles in the wizarding world that are not intensive about using magic. So long as you study hard, you'll be able to live a stable life."

After saying so, Mrs. Kimberly grabbed me by the hand to head to our next destination. However, she did not notice the murderous glint of light in the corner of my eyes.