Chapter 13

I was very anxious, sitting at one of the tables in Tommy's Inn. I had arrived before the mages, so I decided to order some food, only to realize I didn't have any appetite. Some short time later, the two robed figures entered into the inn. My heartrate seemed to pick up as I waved them over.

They both took seats opposite me, and called over the host to order their own food. While they waited for that, I decided to push the conversation forwards.

"Well, you two already know who I am, yet I don't know either of you. How's about some introductions?" A slight lie, but it would be weird if they knew I knew one of them. I tried to come off as light-hearted, but one of the mages, the one who I had seen entering the MEB building, and pegged to be Christoph's superior, made it clear this was to be a serious conversation.

"Mr. Withide, our names are not important. All you need know is that we are from the Therian Mage Association. We were looking for you because of your recent results from your annual inspection."

'They are here to kill me' was my first thought.

"Due to the special nature of your sorcery,"

'Yep, I am going to die.'

"we would like to offer you enrollment into the Therian Magic Academy."

"I'm sorry, what?" That was meant to be a thought, but I accidently vocalized it.

"Your sorcerery is very unique," The senior mage re-worded, speaking slowly this time. "The academy is always looking for young talents like you to join. You would be valued more than that of a usual student, as the association believes you are a valuable asset that, if nurtured carefully, could be very useful."

At this point, their food arrived. Christoph did not hesitate in the slightest to begin eating, but the senior mage only moved to bring his hot drink near his mouth, taking a small sip, never breaking eye contact with me.

After a few moments, he finally spoke again, "All of your accommodations would be met at no charge. You would be given access to any resources relevant to your sorcerery. You would not be attending regular lecture classes. Instead, you would be put in a comparatively smaller class of around twenty to thirty students.

"As I mentioned, the association hopes to turn you into a useful asset, so this smaller class would be in hopes of the teacher being able to give you, along with the others in this class, a more personalized touch to your instruction. A touch a magister that lectures several classes of hundreds a day couldn't spare the time for.

"Should you accept, we would be leaving as soon as possible, headed for the seat of the Empire, Theria. We hope you will give an answer within the next few days."

A lot was running through my mind. This was certainly a good offer. It seemed like a childish dream, but I wanted to be an adventurer, for some reason. Also, the academy would put me closer to Torah, maybe getting me an in with House Vanir, so I could look into my mother. There was one glaring problem, though.

How did the Therian Mage Association know about my inspection results?

Only the MEB should know that, and the MEB and TMA were something of rivals. If anyone were recruiting me to a mage academy, it should be the Bureau, not the Association.

"This is all very sudden." My words were paced and thought out. I didn't want to accidently upset them at all, in fear they would retract the offer. "I would need to think it over, and talk with my family."

The senior mage looked a bit annoyed, before adding, "Your family would receive compensation, of course. The association is willing to pay one hundred gold coins at the end of every year you attend the academy. This would all come with two caveats. Firstly, you would allow the association to perform some minor tests on you, to help with research in the field of your... element." a hint of disdain was hidden behind his use of the word element.

"Secondly, the association reserves the right to end your tuition at any time, should they feel you are not achieving what they had hoped."

I was hooked the moment he mentioned gold. Our farm barely passed two hundred gold a year. Around half of that was used to keep the farm running.

There were one hundred coppers to a silver, and ten silvers to a gold. One hundred gold coins would be an unimaginably help for my family. Those two caveats didn't even bother me.

It was probably a bad idea, but I decided, then and there, to agree to their deal.