Resolving Differences

A tense silence descended on Merlin's study the moment the door that led into the room swung closed. Charles turned with a strained smile to face Arthur, who was basically his senior under Merlin's tutelage.

Arthur stared at him with a blank look before sighing deeply. "Follow me." The blond boy said before turning to lead Charles to a section of the study that was set aside from the tall shelves and bubbling potions.

Arthur led Charles through the study, between the shelves, and around stoves with empty pots that were used to brew potions. He was taking Charles to his part of the study where he conducted his own personal experiments and brewed his own low grade potions. Through his endeavors, he was able to make quite the sum for a boy his age at the adventurers' guild. Although, it was not exactly necessary, as he was from a noble family, and his family could provide all his needs.

When they finally got to his corner, the first thing that Charles noted was that the shelves in this corner were much less occupied. He opened his mouth to ask why that was, but chose to keep his thoughts to himself. He still had no idea where Arthur was leading him to.

"Take a seat." Arthur motioned to a table that was pushed against a wall with a window directly beside it. The window allowed for a fantastic view of the city below outside the castle's walls.

Arthur took a seat opposite Charles and linked his fingers together before using them to support his chin. Like that, he studied Charles for an entire minute before Charles got tired of it and spoke up.

"Look, I know you don't like me, but please, I don't like being looked at like some piece in a museum." Charles finally snapped and looked at Arthur annoyedly, taking Arthur by surprise. He didn't expect that reaction from the boy of lesser status than himself. He was tempted to say something rude back, but held himself back because he figured that Merlin was keeping an eye on them. He trusted the man enough to never get caught off guard like that at any moment. His study was one of his most prized possessions, and he would sooner die before he allowed anything to go unsupervised in his study.

"Wow. I honestly didn't expect you to be able to talk like that, considering how quiet and meek you were in the carriage." Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes. A few moments passed before he continued, "It's not as if I don't like you. It's more like me being pissed that Merlin chose you over me." He said, and Charles' brows shot up. He didn't expect for Arthur to own up to something that normal nobles would be too prideful to admit.

"I wanted to be the mage apprentice, but according to our Master, I don't have the talent he is looking for. Can you imagine that? I have a B+ talent in magic. That's rare as hell! And then you come along, a commoner, and take my dream post. Anyone would be irked." Arthur shrugged and sighed.

"...Why are you telling me this?" Charles eventually asked.

"What? We aren't kids. I'm seventeen, I can own up to my faults." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Haha, I'm glad about that, or things would have been much more difficult. I already have enough noble scions out for my blood." Charles laughed and grinned brightly at Arthur. He was glad that they were able to understand where each other were coming from. Although they were not yet exactly friends, they had at least taken a step on that path.

"So, before Merlin comes back, I will explain the basics for you. For now, I'll just do a run-through of the general stuff, and we can go in depth is there is still time when I'm done with the basics. Does that sound okay?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, that's okay." Charles nodded and Arthur went to work.

"Good. Well, let's start with Merlin's Professions." Arthur stated, "Merlin is not like most people, as you probably already know, but he stands out in more ways than normal. The first thing that you need to know as Merlin's apprentice is that Merlin had more than one class. In fact, he can wield the power of multiple classes at a time. Because of that, he is able to be incredibly proficient at multiple things at a time without going through the stress of changing from class to class and leveling them up again." He explained.

"M-multiple classes?! Is that even possible?!" Charles stuttered out.

"Apparently, yes. For Merlin, that is. I haven't heard of any other person who can wield such powers yet." Arthur shrugged. "Back to what I was saying, so, because of Merlin's ability to wield multiple classes, he took on several important classes that had a relation to both everyday life, as well as magic and combat abilities. Because of this, Merlin has made it his goal to take on an apprentice for each class and train them to become as good as he is in that field. That way, the kingdom of Skyhart can welcome many more powerhouses that can stand for it."

Arthur went on to explain some other important matters relating to his apprenticeship under Merlin, and what Merlin would most likely expect from him as his protégé.

"So, when Merlin comes back, he will most likely take you to see the King, and then after that, you will most likely get a public introduction some time soon so that you will be known as the Apprentice Mage of the Grand Archmage... That should pretty much be it, I guess." Arthur finalized his explanation with his fingers caressing his chin in thought.

Just then, the door to the study swung open. The space around the table warped and Charles found himself sitting before the open door where Merlin stood with a wide smile.

"I am glad you two could settle your differences. Sorry for cutting your discussion short, but I would like for you two follow me now." The old mage smiled warmly.

"Alright." The two boys nodded and followed Merlin out of the study and into the halls of the castle.