“Why did you just drink those potions? I assumed they would be tested before anyone would drink them.” Arthur said as he looked at the elf and dwarf who abruptly drank his potions.

“The statistical probability of someone brewing anything dangerous is very low when it comes to these potions. That is why we have all members who want to sell their wares through the club brew a batch of each. And we are gonna need to test out that phantom ink.” The elf took the vial of phantom ink and a quill and scribbled down a random assortment of lines before she conjured a small flame that revealed the ink.

“Looks like it works, and I assume you both feel the effects of the potions.” Lydus said as he returned the ink vial to Arthur.

The elf and dwarf nodded, but that was not necessary as the effects could be easily seen on their faces. Hekrel the dwarf was looking far more jolly and happy while the elf Thalia looked quite tired and mopey.

“In that case I think we can say that the novice mage Arthur has passed and will be allowed to sell his alchemical creations through the club. Are there any objections?” Lydus quickly looked over the three judges and found them all to be nodding in agreement with his decision.

“Very well, Arthur, you have now been granted the privilege to sell your alchemical creations to the club. Good luck to you and your future endeavors.”

**********

The very first thing Arthur did after having official permission to sell off his alchemical creations was to sell half of what he was keeping in his dimensional bag. This gave Arthur another gold and five silver coins to his wealth and allowed him to rent a nicer room for the next few nights while he waited for the showing of his soon to be new home.

Eventually another three days passed and Arthur was ready by the bank at the very moment noon started. While he might have looked quite calm and orderly he was very excited, it was his first home after all, and when he discussed it with Calavia she was quite happy for him.

‘Ok, where is he? I do recall him saying to meet him here at noon today. I hope he didn’t forget about this.’ Arthur looked around the outside of the building wondering where Sevinus from the Department of First Time Homebuyers was.

After about three minutes of looking Sevinus eventually did exit the bank and gave a large smile upon seeing Arthur waiting for him outside.

“Good afternoon Mr. Arthur. I am terribly sorry if I made you wait, I had some last minute business I had to take care of.” Sevinus said as he walked down the steps of the bank.

“It's fine, I haven't been here all that long anyways. So where is the property?” Arthur quickly switched the subject, hoping to take a look at the home he wished to buy.

“Of course, I will take you there right now. But I must warn you it will be a bit of a walk to get there.”

**********

The walk to the property took only about fifteen minutes, for Arthur it was very simple, but Sevinus was doing his best to keep the light fatigue from showing to little success. The property was located just a few blocks from where the fire managed to spread during the attack upon the southern district by the criminals. Clearly the owners did not feel all that safe in such an area, and the few civilians that lived in the area didn’t look to be all that friendly as they kept their distance from the duo.

“Ah, here we are. It is a nice home for its size, but it might be a bit too small for a man of your importance. You just need to say the word and I can show you another property I think you would like.” Sevinus not so subtly tried to convince Arthur to consider something bigger.

Arthur simply ignored the comment and using a key that Sevinus provided he entered the house and took a look around. The front door was connected right into the living area/kitchen making it the first area Arthur looked at. It was very simple, with a second door on the right side of the back wall and a small cooking stove and a chimney, the room was more like a large hallway but for its price and the space Arthur quite liked it.

Next up was the bedroom just through a door on the right, it had the same length as the living room/kitchen but only half of the width. The room was most likely designed for more than one group of people to sleep there at once. The two windows on each side of the room further proved this point.

‘I'm not entirely sure what I would do with all this space, but I’m sure I can find something to fill it with.’ Arthur thought to himself as he walked around the bedroom.

Last up was the spare room that Arthur thought would be the perfect place to keep and use his alchemy tools and ingredients. The room had the same length as the other two, but the width was smaller than the bedroom and there was only one window.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

‘This is perfect, I could keep my apparatuses on a table here by the window, my ingredients and finished products could be stored at the other end of the room leaving me with more than enough room to work. Heck if i really wanted to I could grow my own ingredients with all the extra room I have.’

“I like it. When can I pay and move in?” Arthur turned to face Sevinus with a large smile who put on his own to keep from annoying his customer.

“Well the paperwork will take a while, so it might take a day or two. I can send a letter to you when I am done though, is there currently a place you are staying where I can send it?”

“I am a part of the mages guild, you can send me the letter through there and I can pick it up.”

“Ah yes, of course. I will of course require your full name and rank, then I can send you the letter.”

********

Arthur quickly wrote down all the required information on a small piece of paper in a small booklet Sevinus kept in his pocket and bid him farewell. But Arthur took note of the look of annoyance in his face. Clearly Sevinus was not happy with Arthur's choice of habitation.

‘I hope he isn’t the type to drag things out to try and get back at me for not listening to his “generous” advice. In the future I might buy something nicer, but for now this is all that I need.’

Now that he had lots of free time Arthur decided to do a few things, first up on his to-do list was to open an account with the Southern Bank of Antium and deposit ten of his gold coins so he could just have them deducted when he eventually bought the house. The clerk that helped him spoke about something called interest and compounding but Arthur didn’t particularly care about that, he was only using the account for one reason.

Next on his to-do list was to look at some furniture to buy when he finally owned the house. This was why he found himself at Antiums branch of the company known as Tindustries, as it turned out they sold a lot more than just alchemical tools and ingredients. They also sold a lot of basic things that most commoners would buy. The term that Arthur overheard from another customer was department store. He did find a few tables of decent size, he would need one to eat off of and another for his alchemy. A few chairs would be nice so he wouldn’t need to stand as he ate and worked, and he found a few chairs that he liked.

But the most important thing he currently needed was a bed, as he had once slept on the floor back when he joined the expedition into Dom Badaher and it was a very poor experience he had no intention of repeating.

And finally he started the process of getting a promotion in the mages guild. As it turned out it was a very long process that required a bit of paperwork and an exam. The paperwork was simple and easy, you just needed to write down what classes you had taken, who your instructors were, and if you passed. If that was filled out correctly and met the requirements then you would get a date for an exam along with several other members.

Arthur obviously met the requirements for a promotion with his skill in the four evocations being categorized as Apprentice level, that being the second level. Now he had an exam scheduled for the very end of the month, the twenty eighth of Hematite.

But aside from all that Arthur simply continued his practice of alchemy and the four evocations, to help fill in any gaps he might have in said disciplines he consulted and bought a small handful of books recommended to him by both his old master Georgius Calvus and his friend Calavia.

After about a week of waiting Arthur finally received a letter from Sevinus stating that the paperwork for the house was in order and that now he just needed to return to the bank to sign everything and pay. Alongside the letter was a card that would allow him to get an appointment with Sevinus and skip the line.

*********

Knock knock knock.

“Come in.” Sevinus shouted to the person on the other side of his door. As it opened he noticed it was Arthur and forced himself to put on a large smile.

“Mr. Arthur, How wonderful to see you. I have the paperwork all set up for you.” Sevinus said as he reached into his desk to collect the legal papers for Arthur to sign.

Arthur took a seat at the opposite side of the table and began to go through the papers as he received them. Thankfully it only took him a few minutes to read through everything and then sign it. The ten gold coins that were deposited into his account were then withdrawn to pay for the home and Arthur was given a key and a deed to the land.

“Congratulations Mr. Arthur, you are now a proud owner of your very own home.” Sevinus smiled as he handed Arthur the key to the front and back door while he thought of something else. ‘Cheapskate.’

************

First thing Arthur did upon receiving the key, enter his new home and take a moment to enjoy the feeling. Yes he did get a look when he first came with Sevinus, but it was different now, it was his to do with whatever he wished. It was a strange feeling he could not describe.

When he was done savoring the moment Arthur immediately started making his way towards the local branch of Tindustries to buy all the necessary furniture. He quickly picked out the two tables, four chairs, and the bed that he looked at before and found that he could pay to have the company deliver them to his home. Since there wasn’t enough room in his bag to carry it all he simply paid an extra two and a half silver for that.

By the time that dinner time arrived Arthur had placed all the furniture where he thought it looked best, with a table and chair in his alchemy room, the bed in his bedroom, and the table and the three remaining chairs in his living/kitchen area.

It wasn’t what you would call impressive to a proper decorator, but to Arthur it was perfect because he did it himself. That night he ate dinner by himself, a delicious burrito filled with rice, chicken, and fish sauce.

Then Arthur decided it was time for an early sleep, and so as he drifted off he thought about all the things that he went through. From the expedition to the vampires to the current crisis with the bandits, Arthur felt welcomed by the people he met but he was always a visitor to them. But now things were different, he owned a home and now he was a citizen of the kingdom, just like everyone else he passed by.

And with those thoughts Arthur drifted off to sleep with a smile and happy dreams.