I quickly returned to the reception after I finished reading the book, hoping that nobody there noticed my prolonged absence.

'What an interesting place!' I thought. Not only did the Tower of Eluvius apparently accept anyone with sufficient magical talent, but it was also said to be one of the best schools of magic on the entire continent...

'I will of course have to find out more information before I make any decision, as the book looked very old and may not have been up-to-date...' I pondered while silently sneaking back to my seat at the table.

I carefully observed the room, but luckily nobody seemed to notice my little excursion; therefore, I continued to happily stuff myself full of the plethora of delicious meals we were continuously being served and then slipped out of the reception at the first opportunity.

The next day, I ventured to the only place I knew would have the kind of information I was looking for: the Merchant's Guild.

I strode right into the map room and began to carefully study the large map of the Continent. Well, more like the parts of the Continent inhabited by humans, as there were still vast swaths of unexplored lands about which we had no knowledge.

After a short while of intensely studying the map, I grinned happily as I spotted a lone spire in the middle of a vast desert. 'Got it...' I thought excitedly. But my elation was short-lived as I traced my finger along the scattered, long, winding lines back to the small dot, which represented Ereneth, my smile slowly dissipating from my face.

'Curse it...' I slumped down on a nearby chair with a sigh. It was very far away; getting there would take at least a month, maybe even more... 'Whatever, at least I will get to travel and explore the world,' I chuckled to myself as I tried to give a positive spin to it before looking into the Guild's records to see if I could find out more information about the Tower itself.

Sadly, there was nothing, not that it was any surprise... Given how far it is, there wouldn't be any trade going between the Tower and Ereneth in the first place. Not discouraged, I went to the counter to try to ask the lady clerk if she could tell me something more.

"I'm terribly sorry, Master Darian, but unfortunately we don't have any records regarding that place..." The lady said with an apologetic look.

"Well, never mind then..." I replied. The disappointment I felt was almost palpable. I wondered if I would be forced to go back to Sir Roderick for more information regarding the Tower, but that was the one thing I absolutely wanted to avoid at all costs.

Luckily, before a depression managed to settle in, the lady smiled brightly and said: "But if you don't mind waiting for a bit and paying a small fee, we can send an inquiry to a branch that is near the Grand Tower, and I'm sure they will be able to provide you all the answers you need."

I widened my eyes. 'Wait, did I hear right? You can directly buy information through the Guild?' I looked at her incredulously, blinking a few times, before the realization of what this meant dawned on me, and I grinned at the clerk.

"Of course! Just a moment, please. I will write it down..." I said eagerly as I began to compose a list of questions about the Tower I wanted to know about. Which I then happily handed to the clerk.

As I was leaving the building, I whistled a happy tune, and I couldn't help but shake my head in amazement. Until now, it never even crossed my mind that you could directly buy information through the Guild. Then I chuckled, 'Why am I surprised?' The merchants would never miss an opportunity to make a profit...

However, it will take some time to receive an answer, so for now I decided to deal with the other pressing matters. Now that I was officially recognized as an Aspirant of the Arcane Arts, my residency status in Ereneth was set in stone.

Thus, I no longer needed to keep my herbalist job. I sighed when I thought about it. It will be quite a sorrowful sight to see Isadora's workshop for the last time, but I think it is time to move on...

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Although it was quite boring at times and having to constantly deal with Elena's nonsense was mentally exhausting, I was glad I could work there nonetheless. Without it, I would never have met with Theo, which in turn led to me learning alchemy and thus amassing such wealth that, in the end, allowed me to finally break free of the constraints of my peasant origins.

Thus, with a heavy heart, I entered Isadora's shop for one last time to terminate my apprenticeship. I smiled as I heard the familiar doorbell, remembering the first time I stepped in here all those years ago.

By now, the news of this year's Measuring results was already spreading like wildfire all around the city, mainly due to the emergence of an extraordinary "Rare" talent within Ereneth.

And although my own result was nowhere near as exciting as Jenny's, it was still above average, so it was also mentioned alongside hers. Thus, when my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior of the shop, the first thing that I noticed was the sight of Elena's frightened face.

The corners of my mouth twitched as I had to try very hard not to burst out laughing at seeing her make such an expression. Long gone was her snooty and arrogant image, and instead there was, in front of me, a meek young woman shivering with fear.

She knows very well that, right now, if I wanted to get back to her, I could simply speak a few words to the right ears, which would then make her life quite miserable. She continued to stand there silently. Her widened eyes looked at me almost pleadingly. I enjoyed this moment of triumph for a brief moment, but then I snapped out of it.

I decided I didn't want to be petty and lower myself to her level. Instead, I will generously forget her past transgressions and move on, as she was not worth the trouble.

So I smiled brightly at her, which seemed to frighten her even more than she already was. "Hello, Elena. Could you call Master Isadora for me, please?" I asked her cheerfully.

"It is y-you..." She said in a shaky voice before bolting out to the back room. I chuckled to myself as I imagined the turmoil that must be going through her head right now.

After a short while, Isadora came out of the doors and greeted me respectfully. "Be welcome, Darian. Let me congratulate you on your achievement. I always knew you were someone special."

"Thank you, Master Isadora. I guess you already know why I came here today..."

She nodded solemnly. "Of course..." Isadora then took out a sheet of parchment from her pocket on which my apprenticeship contract was written and threw it into a fire. "With this, our contract is officially concluded, and I'm absolving you of all your duties as my apprentice."

Despite being of such a shrewd nature, Isadora looked at me quite proudly at that moment. 'I guess from now on she can boast to her fellow herbalists that she once had a real Magi as her apprentice,' I thought amusingly.

I then thanked Isadora once more for all that she has done for me and threw one last nostalgic look at the workshop where I spend so many hours diligently drying the herbs before promptly turning around and leaving the shop altogether. The tingling of the doorbell accompanied me for one last time...

***

While I continued patiently waiting to hear back from the Guild, I decided it was also time to deal with yet another issue that was long overdue: to travel back to our little village and tell my parents the truth about my abilities.

Before, I even briefly considered inviting them to the Measuring ceremony itself, but in the end, I decided not to. Which proved to be the right decision after all, as I saw how everyone treated Jenny there for being a peasant.

I also wanted to be the one who told them the happy news in person. I didn't want them to find out from some rumors they overheard. Now that I wasn't tied down working in Isadora's shop anymore, I could move around freely and do whatever I wanted.

I very much enjoyed this newfound freedom and wanted to make the most of it. But as I was preparing for my journey to the village, I also wondered what to do now. My parents will surely ask me about my future plans, so I had to figure it out beforehand.

Right now, I'm sure about one thing: I want to study magic. However, no matter how my inquiries into the Grand Tower pan out, I knew one thing for certain: most schools of magic accepted only adults, so I still had over two years before I could apply there.

So I had to figure out what to do in the meantime. My potion-making business was making me huge profits, although I had to scale it down a bit to not alert the powers that be as to why there were suddenly so many herbs disappearing from the market.

But I also can't just sit on my hands in my room all day doing nothing, as that would appear highly suspicious. Especially now that there will be many eyes directed my way thanks to my new status as an Aspirant.

'What to do... What to do...' I wondered as I went shopping for a few presents to take with me back to the village.