Selica Bursnan is a mage. A mage who loves spending most of her time with books. Ever since she was a child she has always knew that there was something magical buried deep within her soul. On her 5th birthday she successfully casted her first spell. On her 7th year she finished reading an entire spellbook bought to her by her parents. On her 11th year she finished writing her first spellbook. And now, on her 16th birthday, she has began her journey to further progress her magecraft beyond what the books can offer her.

While she progressed in learning magic at a tender age, her small hamlet town of Vescira hasn't. In fact, she might be the only mage who has ever been born in their village. While Selica's parents has been supportive of her growth every step in the way, it has come to a point where their finances have reached the limit of how much they can provide for her. So in order to progress her study, she has to visit and live in a Mage City.

Fortunate for young Selica, a well known Mage Haven city lies close to her village has just recently opened up their applications for new residency. This city, known as Magecraft City, is right beside the mystical Silicon Mountain Range, located at the prosperous coast by the sea of Gringor just east of their province.

The day breaks inside Selica's study. Hours of packing last night has led Selica to wake up distressed as she awakes from her quick 2 hour nap. "It's already morning?" She groggily pulls herself up, wipes the spit from her face, and tries to fix her overly disheveled curly black hair. Her brown complexion warms as the sun kisses her through the window. She placed her half-asleep self in what she believes as the center of the room as she tries to keep her wits in check. "So, one last check. Is everything in order?" She slowly opens her eyes and tries to make a mental checklist of the stuff around her.

A pair of heavy duty boots to use for travel

A set of travelers gears complete with a brocade shawl for the colder climate of her destination

A large leather satchel bag for her essentials

And a bigger canvas bag full to the brim and is ready to burst.

Obviously carrying a bag that is barely keeping it together is a detriment on its own very existence, but Selica has no other bags left to use. To compensate, Selica grabbed one of her books, touched it gently, and whispered a few words before saying the spell "Lock" on her bag, keeping it magically stable and preventing anything from falling out. But in her opinion, the Lock spell is already being stretched too thin and the spell could fizzle with one big push. "I just need to make sure I don't trip." She sighs and carries her backpack for the first time. The moment she shouldered it Selica almost fell on her back as its sheer weight almost carried her down, but at the last moment she is able to maintain equilibrium. "This is harder than I thought!" She moves next to her satchel bag. It's still heavy, but if she places it in front of her, then it would help balance her backpack.

"There, that should be doable." She releases both bags and immediately takes a bath. It's finally the day, she says to herself. Will I be able to actually do it? What is waiting for me in Magecraft City?

After she leaves the bath, Selica notices something on her table, a pair of books awkwardly standing on it. "Wait, I forgot to pack that?" She walked straight towards the book and inspected it.

The book is titled "The Princess Tales" and it tells the mythical story of the princesses that shaped their world in accordance to their father named only as the King. Selica isn't one to believe in fairytales as much, despite being a practitioner of mythical abilities like magic herself, but she has always been fond of this story, and always tries to read it to destress from her personal studies. Selica grabs the book and inspects it, compared it to her other books This one seems to be the most used of them all, it is her first book after all. "I should bring it," She placed the book inside her satchel, thankfully it's small enough to fit inside.

"Selica!" After a few minutes of meticulous packing, Selica finally decided to climb down from her room. She's fully decked out with the clothes she prepared earlier as she slowly climbs down from her room down to the living room.

"Are you already going?" Her mother asks the young mage as she walks down the flight of stairs ready for an adventure. She approaches Selica, touching her curly ebony locks in fondness. "Mother bless you my child, or maybe I should say Princess' bless you instead?" Her mother laughs a bit. "Mom please!" Selica was absolutely fond of the princess stories during her much younger years. So much so as she started adopting their saying and even made her parents say it as well. Obviously past Selica has just given her parents ammunition to embarrass present Selica.

"Sorry, sorry it's just that, well me and your father will miss you so much." Her mother begins as she solemnly walks back beside her husband. "You know, we can go with you, you know? We can travel right beside you up until we reach the city." Her mother's worried eyes makes Selica wish she can bring them along. It would be a great vacation for all three of them to set out into the world like this.

Selica smiles at her loving parents. They have always been like this every since they discovered her ability to be a mage. As retired adventurers, Selica parents were not really accustomed on how to raise a mage themselves, but they did their very best to ensure Selica has everything she would ever need to pursue her dreams.

But though her home is full with love and care, Selica is not blind to the effects of it to her home. She has known for some time that the people in the village, especially the kids, treats her like an odd ball. For them, the life of an adventurer is a far more appropriate path in life rather than becoming a bookish mage like Selica. Her parents has made an effort to shield Selica from the ostracization the village has been giving them, and truth be told, she doesn't want them to suffer anymore because of her.

"It's alright mom," Selica braves a confident smile, "I've been getting ready for this for half a year now, I can do this. Besides, travel may become more expensive if you two are with me." She adds. She can see her mother wanting to protest, but her father places his hand above her shoulder instead to stop her.

"O-Of course dear." Her father half-heartedly agrees with his daughter's notion. "Just, be careful out there. Dangers lurk in every shadow, and the where you least expect them." Her parent's insight has always been precious for Selica, especially now since she's going to travel all on her own. "Of course father!" Selica waves as she opens the door out of her home. "I love you too! Next time you see me, I'll be a great mage!" She left her home with a promise. Deep down she doesn't even know if it will become a reality, but she needs to leave her parents with a happy hope for the future so that they won't worry about her during her travels.

Her journey begins as she walks from her humble home towards the village's central hub. It's a bit of a way as her home is a bit secluded just like any retired adventurer's home since they value the privacy in their now quiet life. Along the way, Selica could feel all the judgemental eyes watching her as she passes.

"Is that Bursnan's child? She's so small. She looks so sickly." One concerning mother comments.

"I heard she is going to the magician's city. Can you imagine spending your whole life studying?" One kid comments to their friends as she was walking pass their home "Really? That's so lame! She could have been a great adventurer. But now she'll be cooped up inside a room all her life." "So what's any different for her, right?"

The young crowd starts snickering. She has been hearing glimpses of these conversations every time she leaves the house. It's irritating, but Selica believes it's just because they don't know better.

Selica steels herself as she bravely walks pass by these scandalize neighbors. She didn't want their chatter to make the start of her journey come off with a poor start. In her heart, she knows that when she finally reaches Magecraft City everything will change. Hoping for the better.

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The travel towards Magecraft City has been quite painless. Leaving her small provincial village of Vescira behind in Hero's Hill, Selica, via carriage, travels through the serene Sulkvien Plains towards the neighboring town of Mushvel. From what she recalls from her parents' during their adventuring days, Mushvel is the first town every aspiring adventurer visits and the last one veteran heroes pass before finally retiring back to Hero's Hill. So as expected, when Selica arrives in Mushvel, the town is divided into two segments; the aspiring young adventurers eager for their first quest, and the old veterans lounging in the taverns retelling their stories. It's the proper adventuring hub, this is where adventurers find their first tasks, and also the opportunity to find mentors to learn the craft of their future.

However Selica wasn't an adventurer, she says to herself despite her "adventuring" right now. She is a mage, and even though there are adventuring mages in Mushvel, she wants to be the kind that studies magic rather than apply it in the field. To study the limits of magic, rather than throwing a fireball at the closest monster in the vicinity. That's why after a short reprieve in one of Mushvel's acclaimed inns she continues her journey towards Magecraft City. From what she could gather, Magecraft City is one of the next cities adventurers travel to especially if they have the finances to buy one magical artifacts. As a coastal city, it also offers transportation towards the neighboring cities across the Sea of Gringor. For what her parents told her, Magecraft City is the true starting hub for serious adventurers who were not scared off by the adventuring jobs in Mushvel. This is where their journey truly begins.

After hours of arduous evening travel Selica's carriage is able to reach the acclaimed city at sunrise the next day. When the carriage reached the city's outskirts, Selica could faintly see a huge brightly-lit city growing bigger and bigger as they approach. Spires in every rooftop. Bustling skies full of flying mages, and a city streets full of what she could only hope for to be mages, and behind all of these wonders is a huge mountainous backdrop sprawling with lights and houses reaching all the way up to the clouds. Her heart quickens, she's finally here she thinks. The city's facade is quite a spectacle for a country bumpkin like Selica.

When the carriage finally arrived at the city gates, Selica notices the different sized and decorated carriages park right beside hers. People, mages as what Selica assumes them to be, are gracefully leaving their carriages and carry themselves with dignity as they move towards the city. "Wow so this is Magecraft City." Selica stood on the carriage's unloading zone mesmerized. To see so many of her kind, mages, collected in one place is still something she is having difficulty grasping.

"Magecraft City?" Suddenly a voice answers her from behind. "That's not Magecraft City."

Selica turns around and sees a middle-aged man wearing worn out overruns while carrying a large rectangular briefcase on his back. His bristled face is covered with wind scars while his hands are coated with a pair of protective gloves. His somber attire is weirdly out of place amongst the already vibrant arrangement of hats and costumes the other mages are wearing.

Selica stares at the man then back at the city. She stares at the people flying freely without any wings and harness and wonders how could this possibly not be Magecaft City. "What do you mean? They all look like mages to me?" As a fellow mage, Selica can sense the same special energy called mana emanating from these people.

"Yes, there are a lot of mages." The man walks closer to Selica, "But this is not Magecraft City. This is Silicon City, or more specifically the Wizard Ward of Silicon City."

"Then where's Magecraft City?" Selica asks, both confused and curious about this man's statement.

"There" The man points up way high through the clouds. "It's on top of there."

Selica keeps looking up and up until she could barely see the mountain top. Pass the glittering houses embedded in the mountain's exterior lies a faintly distinct structure unnatural to the mountain's facade. Selica can see a marble-like wall just at the cusp of the mountain edge, teasing itself for the people below. Selica is befuddled, if the man never pointed it out she would not have noticed the structure up in the mountain in the first place. Selica wants to blame her parents for misguiding her about the city, but recalling that they were just young adventurers at that time, she doubts the difference between the city here and the one up top matters to them.

"But how am I supposed to get there?" Selica ponders as she stares up to the mythical city high above the mountains. There has to be some sort of magical portal, right? Or do they actually have to climb all on their own.

The man answers Selica with a tone of ease, "So you also want to enter Magecraft City as well, huh? Me too." He extends his hand. "Well introductions first. My name is Shellon. I'm a mage as well, and you?"

"My name is Se-!" Selica caught herself mid-sentence. She immediately stumbles back and grabs a book from her pocket. After she creates some distance between her and the man she places her palm on cover of the book and starts to voice out an incantation. "Ice Knife." Suddenly a surge of energy flows from the book and into her other hand. A cold sharp ice starts forming in Selica's open hand. She's been so distracted with the city that she forgot to sense the stranger danger alarm ringing in her head. You're no longer in Vescira now, Selica. Idle curiosity can get you in some real danger.

"Uhm, uhh.." The man is dumbfounded with Selica's immediate, but clumsy reflexes. He just stared at her as she created distance and produced a knife to defend herself.

"You got some proof that you're Shellon, mister?" Selica flips her defense mode switch on. "Just because I'm a kid that doesn't mean I won't put you down the moment I get cornered." At this point, everyone in the vicinity has their eyes on them eagerly waiting for a fight.

After a few moments of realization, Shellon just laughs out loud. Selica felt insulted to just be laughed at after declaring a serious threat. "Oh, apologies. I was not being aware of myself." He grabs a small piece of plastic from his pocket and slowly slid it towards Selica.

Selica cautiously crept closer to the plastic and grabs it, by this time her book is already back in her pocket. She looks at the plastic while still pointing the ice knife at Shellon.

Lieutenant Shellon Binsarani of the 15th Ben Hallow Frontier Corp

Beside Shellon's name is the symbol of a Two Rifles with a star insignia behind them. The Symbol of the Frontier Corp.

Selica squints and looks back at the lieutenant. "Okay, lieutenant." She slowly walks towards him and gave back his ID. "I don't know what this Ben Hallow thing is, but I'll take your word for it for now." She gives him a "I still don't trust you, but this will do for now" look.

Shellon pockets his ID back and gave a big sigh. "Well I'm relieved then. So when are you going to line up, or what?" The crowd surrounding them dispersed in disappointment.

"Line up for what?" Selica asks him then she realizes that there are large gathering forming up all across the street. From their location by the entrance, the groups are not cohesively formed yet, but as Selica follows their trail a more rigid and structured lines seems to form by the foot of the mountain. "Where does that lead?" "It's the line going up to the Magecraft City." Shellon picks up his stuff and starts walking, Selica instinctively follows. "You asked me how you're supposed to reach the city in the summit, right? Lining up here is the safest way to do so, especially today."

"Huh," Selica looks at the line and tries to look up to towards the city as well. She can see some people flying straight to the mountain with their own spells, but their numbers are very few and most of the applicants seems to be going through this line alone. "Then I guess I should line up as well." Selica starts walking straight to one of the crowded groups to line up.

"Hey wait!, I'm lining up as well." Shellon shouts and follows Selica from behind. "Also I should really accompany you since its dangerous for a kid like you to just walk around all on your own here." He announces.

Selica gives Shellon another look of distrust. Can she really trust him? He's been pretty aloof all this time despite having been threatened with a knife already.

"Hmm," She looks around her vicinity. There's plenty of witnesses here at least, and doing anything harsh in an open place in broad daylight like this is pretty really reckless. "Okay, but you better keep your hands to yourself, sir." She sternly reprimanded him then continues her walk towards the line.

The crowded streets is bustling with life as the line towards Magecraft City gradually grows by the hour. At first there were just a couple of mages slowly walking towards the mountain, but after a few more hours, lines starts to form as more and more applicants start gushing in.

Of course, as foreign visitors starts to gather, opportunistic vultures have also began to hover around their new prey.

"Would you like a small apartment while you wait, little girl?" A strange hobbled woman starts conversing at Selica while she's patiently waiting in the line. "You can rest inside the house while we line up for you."

The offer is honestly tempting. Selica hasn't been outside for too long, and her limits in waiting under the scorching sun is making her consider.

"Don't worry mam," Shellon notices the hobbled woman and places his coat over Selica covering her sight completely. "We are okay, just fine." He gave the woman a simple smile, a cloaked facade to keep his intention civil.

"Tsk." The hobbled woman starts walking away and towards deeper in the line.

"Thanks." Selica breaks through Shellon's coat, "Her offer was really tempting."

"They were planning to steal your spot while getting paid for it, you know." Shellon tells him bluntly.

"O-of course I knew that!" Selica blushes from embarrassment, "Of course it was a scam. I was just saying that the heat and the line is just making it really tempting." Selica then notices the hobbled woman up front to be shaking her hand with somebody else and replacing them in their spot. "But it seems like the other mages are not aware of it."

"Told ya." Shellon gives a big grin over Selica's realization. "Don't worry I'll keep you safe." Shellon pats Selica's head which she immediately removes his hand over her head.

"I said keep your hands to yourself!" Selica sighs as she reflects on her aching feet and sweating forehead. It seems like her struggles to be a part of Magecraft City has only just begun.