Tercius knew that the clue hunt was intended for children, but ever since he read about it in that book years ago, he looked forward to at the very least participate.
The brown-haired Master chuckled wryly. "Young man, I am sorry to inform you, but we stopped with the clue hunt well over two decades ago. There were a few… let us call them accidents, that happened to our applicants while they were out and about the city. Kept happening repeatedly, actually. So we had to put a stop to it. A damn shame really,"
The news the older Master shared brought a bit of disappointment to Tercius. Not only for this clue hunt, but also for the implications this had on some other things. The book was already old when he read it years ago, which meant that most of the information he acquired from Perdinar’s collection of books was out of date. For Gods know which time since he was born on this world, he lamented the loss of Internet and a search engine. In this day and age, Tercius had to manually sift through tomes and tomes of pages. When all is said and done it might not even be relevant, by the time he read it. This was not the first time something like this happened, and his guess was that it won’t be the last. Yet something else the Master said intrigued him.
Tercius tried fishing a bit. "When you said accident…"
"The local authority did not like it, and let us leave it at that. There was no permanent damage, thank the White Heavens, but a few of our applicants did drop out soon after. The Hunt, as it was called by the Master who started the whole thing, was initially a… test, of sorts." the man said and looked at Seliana. "Nothing harmful madam, I assure you, mere observation of how children behave in certain situations."
"Can you tell us more about it?" Tercius asked, curious to find out more about this test. While the averse attitude the Empire had towards the Pyramid was old news, as his uncle and Perdinar informed him and he confirmed from multiple written sources, what worried Tercius was that it was no longer covert. If the forces of the Empire struck at new admissions, what did that bode for the near future?
"You're a curious one, aren't you? I can see you will fit quite nicely into the Academy." the older man chuckled, as he stroked his goatee. "Well, I see no reason to hide it from you folks. The test was to see if we should move the lower age of admission from 11 to 12, and the upper from 13 to 14. The Master who proposed it postulated that it would allow children more time to develop… mentally. It was performed for a few cycles. The city's inhabitants at the time took to the test as fish to water. I remember that people would come over to the Library and ask to be a part of The Hunt. The Masters here would then make tests in such a way that these people would participate. Then that book was written and The Hunt sort of got a life of its own, as such things happen occasionally. As you can see, the test itself bore no fruit, but for a time The Hunt became quite known far and wide."
Master Belior narrowed his eyes in fond recollection and said, "Those were different times."
"And the reward?"
"The transport to the Academy? Well, anyone who managed to complete at least half of The Hunt showed enough development of abstract thought and emotional detachment from parents and enough let us say… intellect and was promptly sent to the Academy. But the others, those who did not pass, and still traveled by foot from here to the Pyramid, were not discarded, oh no. Every single one was admitted. Never underestimate perseverance young man. Without a goodly dose of perseverance, all of those qualities above are near worthless. This path is not for those who quit easily. Oh, I am quite sorry, I must bore you with my long-winded exposition,"
"No, no, nothing to be sorry for. It's quite a fascinating topic, do not stop on my account. I merely read of this test, as you called it, and hoped to participate. The thrill of The Hunt, you might say," Tercius hurried to explain with a small laugh.
Penelope and Seliana merely looked with strange expressions from the sidelines, as Tercius and Master Belior laughed along, like old friends.
"I saw on your paper something that intrigued me. Can I ask you to clarify it a bit?" the older man asked.
"…is it about the number of skills I have?" Tercius asked suddenly left without the joviality he had just a moment prior.
"Oh no, nothing of the sort. Your eight skills, while well above average for your age, are known to happen. Sitting right in that chair, we once had a girl that had two more than you. That is ten skills. Imagine that! It's quite a bit easier for children like yourself to develop skills, and especially those who push themselves, with no outside influence. That pure desire you children possess is known to move mountains." the brown-haired man said, wistfully. "In fact, that was the main reason we rejected pushing up the age of admission when the testing was concluded. By the age of 14, the difficulty for skill acquisition goes from linear to exponential, as they say in mathematical terms. That stage from the age of 4 to 14 is paramount in skill development. Sadly, all efforts to make use of that knowledge have proven to have very limited influence, without some quite extreme measures. But for the amount of dedicated time and effort that's needed, the outcome proved quite minimal. You simply can't force children to do something they do not want and expect a great outcome. The children may do it, but would they want to do it?"
Wait, there was someone who had ten skills at the age of 11? he thought. Did this girl also had my advantage, or… did she do it on her own? I have three more years of linear development? And what kind of extreme measures are we talking about? Torture or something else?
"I am sorry for taking your time like this Master Belior," Tercius said, wincing. Seliana just pinched him on the thigh.
"Nonsense, young man, if you can believe it this is the highlight of my day so far. All those meetings… But I wanted to ask you something earlier. Where the questionnaire inquired about Mana related skills, I saw that you wrote down that you have Mana Manipulation and Mana Sight. Would you mind telling me about your Mana Manipulation?"
Mana Manipulation? Why is that skill strange? Should I have kept it hidden? Uncle… I will kill you.
He had a talk with his uncle and the older man recommended to him to be honest about his Mana skills. 'These folk will be experienced teachers, they will notice things. No matter how good you are at hiding things, they are better at finding them out.' were his uncle's precise words. At the time Tercius had to agree with him, but now… Did I make a mistake? Another pinch on his thigh brought him back. "Not at all Master Belior, but only if you tell me why you find it so strange,"
"Well, when you filled out the paper, in the field below, where it asked if you have any prior teachers in the Arts, you left blank. That would imply that you learned the skill by yourself." the man said and laughed a bit.
"That's right," Tercius said. Since it was already out there, he might as well go all in.
"I see," the man answered, suddenly serious. "Young man, if you’re not in fact lying--"
"I am not," Tercius said, without breaking eye-contact. He would change the answer if he could go back in time, but now that the was riding a horse… "Why would I be lying?"
"--then you are one of a lucky few survivors. Only in the elder days, long before the Pyramid even existed, did the mages gain the skill with no outside help. I suppose that it’s possible that somewhere in the world someone still does it like that, but those who succeed and survive? One in ten thousand? More? We sometimes see a new student that had no teacher with a skill for sensing Mana, but Mana Manipulation? If true, you might be the first ’wild mage’ to our Academy in… well over four centuries,"
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The fact that he might be a lucky survivor, without even knowing it was dangerous in the first place? He honestly did not know how to react to the news like that. You dodged an invisible bullet years ago, how does that make you feel?
"So the process to gain this skill is dangerous?" Seliana joined the conversation, suddenly worried for Penelope. She only had one daughter. If this proved dangerous, it might be better to reconsider this decision.
"With help from another mage madam, there is no danger. You have my word. Ask any mage in this building, and they will tell you the same thing." the man assured Seliana, then turned back to Tercius. "Young man, even if what you say is true, when someone asks you just tell them you had a teacher. It will make your life easier. That is my advice to you. I am not trying to call you a liar young man, but I think you can see how far fetched this whole thing can seem,"
"Thank you, Master, I will heed your advice," Tercius said, profoundly grateful to the man for this revelation. If he knew about it beforehand, he would have done so. Just put in some nonsense name and be done with it.
"Another thing. You do not have to agree, but I would like to check how much Mana your body stores. Is that agreeable with you?" Master Belior asked.
Tercius had made sure he had no Energy inside of him before he arrived to the Library, so he had no problem letting this man check. Especially if the mages had a system of some kind for measuring, and the man shared it with him. "It is. What do you need of me?"
"Just give me your hand," the mage extended his hand across the table, palm up.
Tercius stood up from his seat and placed his hand onto the older man's palm. A moment later a wave swept over him was as if someone drenched him with a bucket of cold water. Pulling his hand back in a haste, he took a look at the older man's face. Master Belior was chewing his lower lip, nose scrunched in thought.
"Hmm, I managed twenty one pulses of Mana, before you noticed. That's eight above average for your age," Master Belior said as if that meant something to Tercius.
"…Master Belior, I do not know what that means, can you explain it in layman’s terms?"
"I sent a pulse of Mana into you, and that pulse has a certain quantity of Mana in it. As pulse after pulse accumulated in your body, and the amount of my Mana in your body goes above the amount of your Mana, you get this… wave of dread wash over you. That’s when you pulled back. It’s an imprecise method of measurement, but it gives an approximate estimation," Master Belior said, then extended his hand once more. "Observe. That’s the amount of Mana in one standard pulse,"
Nothing was seen by the naked eye, but with Mana Sight Tercius observed a ball of Mana hovering above the man’s hand.
"As you know, our skills are fueled by Mana. So are the spells we mages use. When you spend Mana, your body produces more of it. The more it produces, the more it pushes the boundaries of the amount that can be stored inside your body. Do you see where I am going with this? You have a great head start, some of our students in the fourth cycle don't have as much Mana as you do now. I envy the Mana pool you might one day possess if you work hard enough," the older man said. "Well then, let's resume with your admission,"
***
Once they finished with the tests and filled out some more papers, they ended up chatting with the man well into the afternoon. Tea and biscuits were brought by that same airhead who forgot to inform Master Belior of their arrival. He ended up being punished for it by having his books confiscated and being forbidden from taking new ones.
Once he left, Tercius asked about the weird robe the young man wore and Master Belior explained. Master Belior himself did not use one such robe.
"Not everyone manages to get the two essential skills during the first two cycles at the Academy. To go to the third cycle, those are required. Children like that are given two cycles off, and if they manage to get the missing skill or skills in that period of time, they can come back and resume their studies. But if not… well, if they want to, they can join the Order of Scribes. Or leave the Academy. Then there are those like young Ahnar there, who join the Order for the access to books," the older man said and chuckled. "Well then, regarding payment, you have three options. Paying cycle by cycle, paying in advance for whole six or if you do not have the money, you can sign a contract stating that you will pay the money with your earnings as soon as possible after graduating,"
"A contract? A binding?" Seliana asked, her voice shifting from alarmed to outraged in a moment.
"White Heavens no! Dear madam, do you think we would do such a thing to a child?" the man said, clearly outraged himself. "No. It has no such properties. This one is in no way binding other than as your confirmation of agreement,"
"So… what's stopping someone who takes your third option from then reneging on it?" Tercius asked, intrigued.
"Reputation, young man," the man answered a small smile on his face. "A tool of great power. We merely need to spread the word, and suddenly everyone knows with whom they have business,"
Seliana kept nodding her head as if finding the thing agreeable. "Full six cycles in advance for both of them, and I assume they get the money back if they do not manage to advance," she said and lowered a coin bag onto the wooden table. "And I have a few questions, if I may,"
"You are correct on that account. Go ahead madam, ask your questions," Master Belior said.
"I am not familiar with the area around the Pyramid, and for some reason, I can’t find any confirmed information on that subject."
"Oh, that's quite intentional. Just ask and I will answer if I can," the man said.
"Well, since Penelope and Tercius are going to the Pyramid, I was wondering if there was a place close to it, where I might buy a house or land to live and practice my craft," Seliana said. "I'm a Brewer by trade,"
"Oh, a sister in craft. I myself am an Alchemist," the older man seemed genuinely happy to hear Seliana’s words. "Yes, there is such a place. A few kilometers south of the Pyramid is Chameos, a town under the purview of the Pyramid itself. I don’t know the specifics, but I am sure that you could find a dwelling there,"
"Can my mother come with us? Using this transport? Please," Penelope asked suddenly, her voice and body language giving a hint of what answer she wanted to hear.
"It is unorthodox, but…" the man said and looked at Seliana. "I will see if something can be managed,"
"Thank you Master Belior," Penelope said, as she grabbed Seliana's hand.
"Master Belior, the kids seem to have forgotten to ask about this. They also have pets," Seliana said, and Tercius chided himself for forgetting to ask. He just assumed that there would be no problems. "Are they allowed to take them to the Academy?"
"Depends. What kind of pets are we talking about?" Master Belior asked.
"Tercius here has a female River Lion, a few months old. Penelope has a male Salamander, in its juvenile stage, and a male Green Vrasta, an adult one." Seliana explained.
"With those last two at hand, you just lack one more major ingredient for one of the recipes for a regeneration potion," Master Belior said.
Seliana just nodded and gave a small laugh.
"Well, the Salamander might have been a problem if it wasn't in the juvenile stage. We will have to check the age for that one, but the River Lion and the Vrasta are not a problem. You will have to provide food for them at your own expense, of course. Taking care of them goes without saying, and if they destroy something you will have to pay for it. I would also advise you to bring your pets to Master Zver, he is the resident Beast Master and dabbles occasionally with enchanting. Talk to him, and listen to what he says,"
"I have a question. How is this transport exactly achieved?" Tercius asked.
"The details are secrets of the trade, I'm afraid." the older man said, seeming apologetic. "Every seven days, we arrange a ritual here, inside the Library. In two days is the next scheduled one. You can see how it looks when you come. If you manage to graduate and someday return to work for the Pyramid, you will be able to learn these things. Oh, I almost forgot. Since you are now our students, if you want, you can get a room on the top floor here in the Library, but you can only use them until you leave for the Pyramid."
Tercius, Penelope, and Seliana exchanged glances. "Thank you, but we will have to decline. We have someone waiting for us in the city, but we will be here in time." Seliana said.
"One final thing." Master Belior took out a box from a drawer. Opening it, he took out two amulets. The man murmured something under his breath and then placed one in front of both Penelope and Tercius. "Hold these for a moment, let it take some of your Mana, and then put them on."
As the man said it would, the amulet took Mana from Tercius, briefly glowing in the process. There was a triangle at the front side, while on the back of it the words, In pursuit of Knowledge we dedicate our lives were engraved. The thing that Tercius found interesting was that it wasn't written in the official language of the Empire, but rather one of the oldest scripts Tercius found in Perdinar's books. Some five centimeters in diameter, the metal medallion felt warm to his touch.
"That's that then," Exchanging a few more pleasantries, the man escorted them back to the front door. "Remember, next scheduled transport is in two days, 20th at noon. Be here a few hours early if you do not want to wait another week,"
It was late afternoon outside, and they went down the front stairs, step by step.
"That went well," Seliana observed. "When I was little, they told me tales of mages. Fangs, horns, eating children, and such. Now…"
"Seliana, earlier you said you were a Brewer, but that man in Tripatis called you an Alchemist. Master Belior introduced himself as an Alchemist. Is there some difference there, or am I just imagining things?" Tercius asked.
"Well, Brewers are considered… lesser cousins of Alchemists. An old belief or something like that. When that weasel called me an Alchemist, he was buttering it up thickly," Seliana explained. "There is only one difference, that I know of, between an Alchemist and a Brewer. Alchemists use their magic to do the work, while us Brewers use skills. How that makes us the lesser cousins, I do not know. And let’s hurry back, Lux must have gotten out of his mind with how long we stayed in there,"