"You may enter!" Came the loud and booming voice through the thick carved wooden door. Aarav shivered at the volume a little. 'Is this man the size of mountain?'
Turning the handle, the door swung open softly on well-oiled hinges. A single step inside and Aarav's eyes were met with a spectacular sight. Even after seeing all the opulence of the palace it still awed him to see the incredible works of art that were the ceiling and walls. Each turn showed him something new and mesmerising.
"Ahem, I understand you wished to speak to me?" Aarav turned to see a man so large that even seated in a chair behind the desk he seemed to tower. Granted from Aarav perspective perhaps it wasn't saying much but he was still close to if not larger than the King. But where the King had dignity to temper his oppressive size this man was simply a raw sea of muscle.
Aarav silently wondered what kind of monsters existed in this country and Darf was apparently the smallest of the nations. Per maps paradoxically that meant they were almost forced to have to strongest to counteract the lack of numbers.
Also he was clearly a physical expert of some kind. No mage could develops musculature like that. "Umm, sir. I was asked to come here..." The Slime-fairy began timidly. This was the person that knew their secrets. His and Boren's situation.
"Who asked you to come?" He immediately asked. The intimidation factor of him just speaking was trying Aarav's tongue into knots. 'Does he just enjoy intimidating people or is he that oblivious?' The thought sailed through Aarav's mind before wilting under his gaze.
"Sorry, I...uhh....didn't get her name. She didn't give it to us." Aarav stammered. Not sure what else to do. Had he forgotten her name? No, he was sure she hadn't given it.
He chuckled. The sound, like boulders rolling down a hill. "That Trinny doesn't change. Ms. Garfue to you." He quickly corrected one eyebrow raised.
"Yes! Ms. Garfue! Of course!" Aarav was quick to assert. Never let this man say Aarav disagreed with him.
"Hmm, well, in any case why did she send you to me?" The colossus asked.
"Well, you see..." Aarav told him about what occurred in the classroom and the inconsistency with the affinity measuring device.
"Wafe Meter" The Headmaster corrected midway through the explanation.
"Y-yes, that. Then I was sent here to you." Aarav finished lamely. He wasn't sure where to go next.
"Very well. Leave it with me. On your way! Straight back to class!" The headmaster said dismissively.
Aarav was surprised by this reaction and was rendered momentarily speechless. "Wait. Are you saying that you don't care that this supposedly infallible machine didn't work? Is there something wrong with me that I should be worried about!? For me this is hardly a small matter!" Aarav spoke more eloquently than any 9 year old had a right to, but he was too agitated.
He had gone over the situation in his head a hundred times and it boiled down to two things. Either his body had the muscle memory of having had those affinities before or the machine was broken. Or there was something else he had no idea about. So he was fairly confident in his theory. If he had those affinities before but didn't anymore maybe the machine picked up on it.
But for this idiot in front of him, to basically dismiss his situation that could be potentially life threatening....it absolutely rubbed Aarav the wrong way. He would not accept it!
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The headmaster had returned to his work on the papers in front of him, having completely ignored Aarav's last words. "Sir! How can you behave so casually!"
"Aarav, would you like to repeat yourself to me in a more congenial tone!" His voice was like a cracking whip and Aarav started, his emotions had gotten away from him.
'What am I doing? I have a good idea of why this happened, why am I trying to get a reaction from him?' Aarav thought. While it was unusual, so was he. The headmaster knew who he was, perhaps he had taken that into consideration. Perhaps this was nothing serious.
Aarav decided to leave things as they were and move on. "My apologise sir. I will be on my way then!" Aarav replied and immediately moved to step out of the room. Before he did though the headmaster's rubble followed him. "Tell Boren he will be in another dorm room before the end of the day, I have personally addressed the situation. Also inform him that I apologise for the mix-up. I should have gotten personally involved in the first place."
Aarav turned to face the man and nodded. "About us sharing a dorm....?"
"Not going to happen. It will be too suspicious a fairy sharing with a human when we have different size accommodations." He smirked before adding. "And before you go crying to the King or that Alchemist Haemish. Remember that between these four walls. I am the Boss!"
A small part of Aarav had considered going to Haemish or even the King but then dismissed it. The King had the Berserkers to deal with and Haemish was in the lab working on the Slimes as well as helping the King. No, they were on their own here. He needed to learn to sort things out for himself like he had always done before and had done in the forest before his capture.
Aarav didn't let any of this show on his face. At least he hoped he hadn't and then opened the door and left. Quietly walking away from the Headmaster's office.
****************************************************
Aarav returned to the classroom just as things were being wrapped up.
Ms. Garfue was speaking, "...and so in conclusion. The information that you have on your sheets is the baseline for your magical abilities. It is where you are currently. You should note that if you have a better natural affinity for a particular element then you would be better served focusing on that element. However! It does not mean that you cannot access other elements with time and effort! Quiet! Quiet! I am not done yet!" The class had started to speak louder as students collected their things and prepared to leave.
"SILENCE!" Her expression brightened as the students winced and partly covered their ears. "That's better! As I was saying. With work and effort you can learn to access the other elements. Some of the most powerful beings in our world have access to all four elements to varying degrees. It is something to dedicate your life to!" Many in the class rolled their eyes at her zealous behaviour but Aarav narrowed his and walked back into the room.
"Ahh, Aarav. You have returned, so the Headmaster sent you back?" Aarav nodded and Ms. Garfue simply took it in stride and smiled. "Very well, then I suppose it is nothing to be concerned with!" Aarav thought he saw a twitch in her face toward worry but it was gone before the was sure. Perhaps he was seeing what he expected to see. He couldn't be sure either way and it wasn't worth pondering on.
"I hope you heard the ending of your first lesson. It seems we have quite a few promising students when it comes to.magic from this class. I look forward to seeing what you can do!" Then she collected her things and walked out of the room. The measuring tool remained on the floor next to the desk.
Aarav now alone in the room with the Wafe Meter decided on one more go at it. Unfortunately it gave the same result. Once again as expected the fire quadrant didn't move but the air, water and earth quads finally settled by steadily flicking between half a metre high and the floor. They never maintained either position.
Aarav theory strengthened further in his mind. He would run the theory by Boren and see what he said. For now he needed to review some of the notifications he had gained in the last week or so. Having limited his consumption after the fiasco at the palace and spontaneously collapsing he was going to be more cautious with his skill. On top of that if he gained too much mass too quickly it would be highly suspicious. Already that fairy, Lucile was looking at him funny and that had only gotten worse when his result on the Wafe had come to light.
Aarav sighed, why was society and his need to remain secret such a smothering thing. If he hadn't started at this school he could have gained a lot from unrestricted Consolidation and Consumption. He just hoped it would be worth it in the end.