Magika exists in many forms, and as it further spread to the greater populace, those forms expanded endlessly. The typical person might come in contact with three to five different magic, or mana-based, devices in each room of their house.

From the ovens jammed with countless recipe-arrays and alchemical materials, to the simple light emitting gems dotting the surface of their plasterboard ceilings. Its hard to take ten steps without feeling the effects of the industrial control of mana.

In truth only about ten percent of most countries populace can truly exhibit magic, but that’s not to say those without the ability are left to rot. Wands filled with mana and layered in countless carvings are sold on every street-corner. The lack of ability can’t stop capitalism, big wand would never ignore such a massive market.

Even without the ability to create the spells, as long as you could control a wand, you could become powerful. And the more powerful the spells your wand has, the more powerful you can be.

Entire industries exist around different specialized wands, a carpenter might not need a wand packed with fire spells, while equally a baker might not need a spell meant for silencing footsteps. Different wand-strokes for different folks as one famous advertising campaign had said.

The use of wands isn’t universal though, so while ‘Fint’s Pointers’ might have wished it, there were certain markets that remained as impossible to breach bulwarks.

They weren’t foolish enough to try to break into the staff market like a few of their foolhardy competitors.

Sure, it would be nice to have an avenue into Qing, or the Indies, but Chaz was aware of how ferocious the businessmen of the east can be.

Even if the greatest staff craftsmen in the world were to appear at today’s expo, Chaz Fint would stay strong. Or so he told himself as he impatiently paced with the other VIP guests in a courtyard outside one of the Academy facilities.

They would each take turns touring the eight students, the order was based on arrival and Chaz had gotten lucky enough to receive a plague labeled with the number four.

Number Three had been called around a quarter hour ago, so Chaz heart was racing as his turn grew closer with each passing moment.

As usual, the seconds stretched the longer he watched the floating clockface. It almost seemed to mock him, sitting on fifty-nine for far longer than even the driest comic timing.

Finally, the clock hit sixty and a bell chimed with four strikes. Chaz gulped, and then remembered his net worth, which set his mind straight. He stepped proudly across the courtyard, presented his plague to the door, and wrenched the door open in a practiced manner.

The hall opposite the heavy wood door made it abundantly clear how you were meant to proceed, even had he not come before he would have been an idiot not to understand the process. There were ten doors along the hallway but only eight doors were illuminated. The moment he opened the door however, all the lights in the hallway except one turned off in sequence. It was eerie but as a magic engineer himself Chaz could easily discern the way it worked. ‘It was simple really’ he wrongly assumed as he proudly stepped into the hallway and followed its instructions to the nearest lit door.

As he pulled it open, he had no idea that the person inside was searching directly for him, and he wouldn’t let the information slip easily either.

“Welcome!” A cheerful voice almost sang the moment he passed the threshold. Immediately after the words hit his ears, his nostrils were invade by a sweet smell that seemed to appear abruptly.

The inside of the room was decorated impressively, all the bland stone walls were draped with cream colored cloth that shimmered with an almost aurora-like glow.

Chaz though he knew almost all spells in most mages arsenal, but he was immediately stumped without even seeing the student or the presentation.

Finally, he caught sight of the owner of the cheerful introduction.

Although, that part was still missing Chaz realized, so he rushed his hand to his jacket pocket to retrieve a card and shot it out as he stepped forward to introduce himself.

There was an order to things, and he knew he couldn’t neglect it.

“Hello young man.” He began after handing off the card to the slender hand of the long haired student. “I’m Chaz Fint, representing both, ‘Fint’s Pointers’ as well as the Defense Department of Pacifica, although the latter is mostly on paper.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I understand.” The man answered with a nod of his head. “You can call me Rafael, I was born in the countryside so I have no surname, you understand.”

“Of course, Rafael, it’s a pleasure.” Chaz nodded finally turning his attention to the simple set of chairs and set table centered in the demo room. “So, if you don’t mind me asking what is it that you—?”

“Take a seat, please.” Rafael prompted, motioning a few times as he stepped around to do the same opposite. “I’ll start, you understand.”

“Sure,” Chaz agreed calming his impatience as he again stabilized his mindset. “So, then I take this to—”

His words fell off as he watched what he knew to be impossible drop from out a wand that looked to be fairly simple.

“Prefer chocolate or vanilla?” Rafael asked glancing up as he held an empty plate beside the one he’d clearly made for himself.

“Ah— Cho—Vanilla?” Chaz stammered out, still having trouble comprehending how he’d just seen what he’d seen. Then again, he watched as the wand was carefully gestured with a reasonably complex sequence. It wasn’t an unteachable sequence like some of the more complex all-in-one wands. ‘Then how’, Chaz asked himself silently as again a fully formed vanilla cupcake plopped easily onto the awaiting plate.

“You understand, this wand makes only cupcake, highly-complex. Specialized, but possible and maybe simplifiable. Try now first.”

“Y…yeah.” Chaz agreed, realizing he’d been growing hungry ever since walking into the room. He accepted the plate greedily and quickly bit into the cake. It was exactly as he’d expected it to be, apart from the fact that it’s source was thought impossible by modern wand-making standards.

“I have other wands, here.” Rafael spoke unprompted as Chaz continued devouring the treat passionately. With an easy motion, the young man pulled out three more wands, each looking as simple as the previous. Chaz truly couldn’t comprehend how such sophistication could be integrated into what appeared to be a double or maybe triple-cored wand. But again he was in for a surprise.

“This wand was made for friend, but she insist I should at least demo once.” Rafael again spoke in his near perfect but still occasionally broken accent. “Needlessly complex,”

As he said, he gestured the wand with no more than fourteen distinct gestures, again not an impossible sequence to memorize or even use in the heat of the moment, a skilled wand holder could likely kick it out in less than eight seconds.

Again the result that dripped from the wand tip stumped the long-time wandmaker in his seat. First, a fairly simple spell was initiated, that much Fint could recognize both with his sight as well as mana-sense. But after that things grew scrambled, and even Rafael would have warned Chaz against attempting to sense the chaotic flow which churned out from the second portion of the compound spell.

First, a vellum of around eight inches by eight inches was conjured via the first courses of the spell loops engraved in the wand, then a surge of powerful mana churned along the surface of the vellum to engrave a highly complex array that even Chaz had trouble discerning.

‘A friend’ Rafael had said earlier, Chaz immediately connected the dots when he noticed the complexity of the array. Kaitlyn Walsh, the daughter of the man known as the father of multilayered arrays. ‘If she’s really one of the students this year’ Chaz thought to himself as everything began clicking in his head. ‘This means the worlds about to feel another real ‘Academy wave’.’

In manner of months, all industries would likely see a shake up, Chaz knew it inherently when he connected the simple pieces of information Rafael had let slip.

‘It explains how a wand of such sophistication was created so easily too’ Chaz internally gasped, ‘It all must center around Kaitlyn Walsh, she must have developed something incredible just like her father during his time as a student.’

“Internal Monologue done?” Rafael asked uneasily with a wobble of his head. “Time is short, remember. See next wand quick?”

“I can already say I don’t need to even see more. I will agree to any reasonable demand you can make as long as you come work with me at Fint’s Pointers.”

“Then a good idea, I have.” Rafael laughed as if he hadn’t considered what he would want until just now. “Okay two ideas. After I get paper saying I pass. At big party, you come and tell me who of us eight graduates had most important demo. Only one right answer, okay? If you right, then I work for you, no pay no problem, just a house and food. If you’re wrong. One… no, Two million a year!”

“Deal, and deal. Okay, I already want to say, you made the best presentation bar none, but I will judge this seriously.”

“Good.” Rafael laughed with a shake of his head. He knew Chaz would get the answer wrong, so he didn’t even make the bet seriously. If he could really get two million dollars in a year, Rafael would be able to make more money in a month than his village could in an entire year.

He had no idea how much he was still undervaluing himself, Katie as well as most of the rest of his class mates had endlessly chastised him to raise his starting demand but Rafael wouldn’t budge past doubling it, like he had.

Rafael was hopeful he hadn’t accidentally pushed too far, but he had faith in the words his friends.

“I’ll triple it or quadruple that number if I have to, you must come work for Fint’s pointers.”

“Y…” Rafael stammered as the bell tolled for the fifth time, indicating the time had ceased.

Any more of Chaz’s offers fell on deaf ears after that as the assortment of spells around the room forced silence over the chamber giving Chaz no choice but to reluctantly step out in order to inspect the next student.

He almost didn’t care anymore, he’d found exactly what he wanted and the more he considered it the more he wanted him.

Rafael wasn’t just the key to an entirely new industry; he might just be the key to the east Chaz had been searching for. But how had he never heard of such a magnificent wandmaker before now? It was almost a miracle that the Academy had fostered such a talent Chaz thought as he continued to the next room, catching glance of a few other prospectors as they each exchanged rooms.

Everyone wore tired expressions already, and the first prospector hadn’t even reached the end of the hall yet; Chaz quickly realized he was in for an extremely interesting day.