1 The Job Interview

It is the early summer months of June, and the weather of Stadtspire City is as hot as the summers in Peking City.

Doning the official wizard's robe of Schenkenheier Academy, Xuyi has already sweated buckets from just walking.

If he had not cast a miniature ice shield around himself in anticipation, he would have been drenched in his own sweat by now.

"Is this it?"

Xuyi cranes his neck to take in the entirety of thirty-metres tall tower, its ground floor spanning over ten thousand square metres. when his eyes fall on the signboard, it reads:-

" Elder-Wizard Camilla's Tower."

Thinking of his job interview, Xuyi couldn't help but feeling a little nervous, but he quickly laughs himself out of it.

This is not exactly his first job interview. Five years ago, after finishing his graduate studies, he had went for his first ever job interview at a local mechanical engineering corporation.

Xuyi is not native the magical world. Three years ago, back when he was still on non-magical Earth, he was a engineering whiz in China's largest mechanical engineering corporation, and he is on of the top engineers in the industry. He, then only twenty-four, had had his career pathway well-paved, to say the least.

Alas, unpredictable as life is, during a project surveyance he drowned in an accident, and when he regains consciousness, here he was in this world of magic.

Initially, he thought he would be blessed with some ultimate magical talent like those in the fantasy novels he read. And he will be blasted all straight to the pinacles of wizardry. But cruel Mr. Reality slaps him wide awake.

Well, the fact is he IS a fairly gifted student of wizardry. In a mere half a year, he has accustomed himself to the ways of this new world, and in another two he managed to enrol into a wizardry academy, and finally graduated with the professor's top commendations as a wizarding prodigee.

In all reality, his time spent on learning magic is still too short when compared to his peers, who had been brought up since childhood nurtured and educated to do magic. And he finds all the talent in the world can't outdo this nativeness to magic.

Moreover, he had neither connections nor favours, and he has yet time to build any. So he can only settle for the most ordinary of wizardry academies, and the most ordinary of wizardry courses. Even though he outshines all his coursemates, he barely squeezed into the ranks of the wizarding talents of Connaisance Continent.

Unsurprisingly, after graduating, he fell into the common predicament where most university graduates back on Earth experiences: graduation equals unemployment.

"I must get a job this very day, no matter what!" grits Xuyi to shake off his nervousness. After taking a deep breath, he steps into the tower.

Elder Wizard Camilla is one of the most powerful wizards in Stadtspire City. If Xuyi manages a chance to work under His Excellency's leadership in wizardry research, Xuyi is confident he will be able to increase his wizardry prowess in no time, and to prove his worth in the wizarding world.

The security around the wizard's tower seems not to be as tight as Xuyi had expected, and no guards is to be seen as he approaches the entrance. The several wizards on their way in and out of the tower only glanced at him briefly, before going on their way.

All the wizards he had seen passing him by wore the countenance of a contemplating scholar, the same ones he sees on his colleagues faces back at his old workplace. This odd similarity between the two worlds of old and new comforts him somehow, and he finds he is no longer feeling out of place.

Unhesitantly, he went through the front door. Just as the doors are. Closing, he heard very hurried footsteps from behind him. Out of habit, he immediately held open the closing door and made way for the person to pass him.

He turns to look, and was slightly surprised to see a beautiful young lady. She has beatiful golden blonde hair draping gently on her shoulders. Even when she is wearing the same standard wizard's robe as he is wearing, her slender figure brought out the right curves of the usually ubiquitous robe. Her soft facial features coupled with a confident smile, brought out her youthful liveliness.

Xuyi's gesture surprised her slightly. As she passes through, she smiled her thanks. Xuyi returned her smile and then leaves for the interviewer's office he had noticed when he first entered the tower.

The young lady was again surprised by Xuyi's leaving without any further remarks or banter(as she expects of based on her past encounters with men of Xuyi's age). She thus look curiously at the man as he takes leave and then goes on her own way.

She went up the spiralling stairways, straight up to the very top of the wizard's tower. If Xuyi has better knowledge of the layout of the tower, he would find that the top floor is reserved for the master of the tower, whom is no other than Elder Wizard Camilla himself.

Xuyi has not the leisure to fancy himself of such triviality. Once he had made clear his intentions of apply for a vacant post, the interview was promptly begun. 

And boy it does not go well at all.

At the mere mention of Schenkenheier Academy, the interviewers could barely hide his disdain. Schenkenheier Academy sits at the bottom rang of the ranks of Wizardry Academies in the Kingdom of Landboerht.

"Mister Xu... Xuyi? I see you have not produced any qualifications conferred by the Wizard's Guild?" asked the slightly plump interviewer sitting on the right.

Xuyi's heart warmed when they did not rush their judgment and asked for the industry standard qualifications (at least that is how he views such qualifications), but sadly, he has none. 

With only three years to learn wizardry, and being able to graduate from an academy is already miriculuos as it is. How can he have the time to go for an even more stringent test by the guilds. 

More importantly the stringent test is even more expensive than the tuition fees charged by the wizardry academy. He already barely managed to scrap by, and on top of the living costs, research material costs,  this lowly education at Schenkenheier Academy was all he could afford.

"Mister Xuyi, thank you for coming to the interview, but your qualifications are_" The interviewers could only end the session. Xuyi's heart sinks when he hears the word "but", knowing the interview has come to an end.

He has not much money left, and if he does not get hired soon, he will have to return to the oddjobs he had been taking up to put bread on his table all these years. And with this, his path will diverge further and further away from wizardry. Without funds to further his magic training and do magic research, god knows when he might come back to doing wizardry.

At the thoughts of this bleak future, he raised his hand to stop the interviewer.

"Dear Sir. In my opinion, whichever academy I graduate from need not matter. What you need is a competent enough wizard to aid His Excellency Elder-Wizard Camilla with his wizardry research. And not a piece of paper qualification issued by the Wizard's Guild. As long as I can prove my research capabilities, you can still reconsider my application, can't you?"

"Oh?" The plump interviewer eyes Xuyi with a slight glint in his eyes. "What have you to prove your capacity as a researcher then?"

Xuyi takes a small wooden box out of his sling bag, and hands it to the interviewer. "What have you here?" asked the puzzled interviewer, after inspecting the box and sees nothing out of the ordinary.

"Here..." uttered Xuyi as he reached out a finger and released a slither of magical energy into the box. 

The two interviewers do not claim to be powerful wizards, but they still easily sense this slither of magical energy Xuyi released, and they faces showed their surprise. 

Although the magical energy Xuyi released is very weak, they could still sense its purity, and its unwavering stability. This amount of control is rare even amongst powerful wizards. And to see this control in someone who is only in their twenties forced them to view Xiyi in a new light, and make them look at the box more seriously.

The box splits open right at the centre, and out comes a melodious tinkling music. When they gaze fell onto the insides of the box, they were surprised to find a miniature model of a piano. 

The model is only the size of a palm, but the craftmanship is exquisite, so much that each individual miniature piano key is perfectly deliniated. 

The piano keys are not mere ornaments, but move by themselves, along with the flow of the music, as if the piano is played by the invisible hands of a virtuiso.

After a while, the interviewer asks, "This is only a toy piano, how can this toy prove of your research capabilities?"

Xuyi replied, "Dear sir, this box is a toy, but within this toy is a sigil I had drawn which powers its operation. With just the slightest slither of magical energy, the sigil will be activated. Isn't this prove enough of my wizardry skills?

The truth is, although the sigil is the core this miniature piano, Xuyi's engineering knowledge goes a long way into making this miniature piano.

He made this piano during his days at the wizarding academy, where he blends his wizardry and engineering knowledge, as well as his hobby of playing piano. This is the reconciliation of his world of origin and this strange new world, creating this new technology.

Yet, the interviewers seemed unmoved by this new technology, and shake their heads in unison.

"Young man, I am sorry. Although I must say this toy of yours is a fresh take on wizardry, but the sigils you have demonstrated here is that of an apprentice's."

Xuyi can only give a wry smile in response. The people of Conaissance Continent sees wizardry more as a weapon of war, and less as a tool aplicable to everday lives. The wizarding community put a lot of effort to discover ever stronger spells, with ever greater destructive force, and little of the application to daily appliances.

Just as the interviewers were about to declare Xuyi's "death sentence", someone opened the door gently.

Displeased at being interupted, the plump interviewer glanced at the door, but is pleasantly surprised to see who had come. "Oh, good evening Miss Stelvia, what brings you here?"

Xuyi too takes a look and finds that Miss Stelvia is the young lady he had bumped into at the entrance.

Stelvia was equally surprised to see Xuyi, but politely acknowledges him with a slight nod. She then goes straight to the interviewer's table and nonchalantly takes a look at Xuyi's resumé. She then picks up the miniature piano, and after inspecting it asks Xuyi, "Did you make this yourself?" 

Xuyi nodded, confused.

This young lady is no ordinary young lady, thought Xuyi. By the ease she displayed going around the room, and the respectful addressing of the interviewers, this Miss Stelvia is very probably someone of unordinary status.

"Can I have a look?" asks Stelvia pointing at the miniature piano.

"Yes, of course," replied Xuyi, with his hopes rekindled. He demonstrated again the workings of the miniature piano to her. 

"This is really cool," Stelvia remarked excitedly. She then turned towards the interviewers, "Let's hire him." 

The two interviewers looked at one another and replied akwardly: "Miss Stelvia, he is only a graduate of Schenkenheier Academy, and does not have any Guild qualifications to recommend himself with. He can hardly meet the hiring requirement.

Brushing aside the interviewers opinions, she added, "He has a very nimble way of thinking, much better than most wizards with overly rigid minds. Grandpa might find someone like him useful in aiding his research."

Hearing this, the interviewers could say nothing else. The plump interviewer announced, "Mister Xuyi, congratulations. You are hired. When can you start?"

"I can start anytime!" replied Xuyi.

Xuyi felt extremely happy and grateful. He looked gratefully at Stelvia, but Stelvia is totally absorbed with the miniature piano.