Glenn stared at the unassuming hut in front of him, perplexed by the disappearance of the guiding blue orb. A sense of unease crept over him, and he couldn't help but question the choices that had led him to this moment.
With hesitant determination, he knocked on the wooden door, fearing it might crumble under his touch. Time seemed to stretch as he waited, but no response came. Steeling himself, he carefully pushed the door open, the creaking sound resonating through the shabby hut.
"Er, hello?" His voice trailed off, as he ventured further into the dimly lit room. The room was peculiarly pristine, devoid of even a speck of dust, in contrast to the dirty window covered in soot and dust that stopped the sunlight from entering the room.
Glenn clutched his recommendation plate tightly as he took a few more hesitant steps inside the room until a beam of light shot from the plate toward the floor. A small stone pedestal emerged from the floor. There was a rectangular slot carved on top of it, the same size as his recommendation plate.
Silently, Glenn placed his recommendation plate in the slot, and a strange, mystical sound emanated from the pedestal. In a disorienting moment, the plate was ejected back into Glenn's hand, and an overwhelming wave of nausea washed over him. The world around him seemed to warp and twist in every conceivable direction, leaving him disoriented and sick. When he finally dared to open his eyes, the urge to vomit prevented him from immediately assessing his surroundings.
He somehow managed to spot a conveniently placed trash can nearby and hurriedly ran up to it, falling to his knees and puking his insides out. Glenn heaved with difficulty, his stomach turned upside down. After he eventually recovered his senses, Glenn wiped his mouth and cautiously looked up, realizing that he wasn’t in the shabby hut anymore.
No, it made more sense that he had been somehow drugged and that what he was seeing were hallucinations. Because that sight was simply impossible.
Glenn stood in the center of an awe-inspiring hall fit for titans, carved in white and black marble, and lined with gold and silver. His gaze rose to a ceiling that simply wasn't there, replaced by a starry sky. Despite the absence of an obvious light source, the hall was brilliantly lit, though Glenn couldn't discern its origin. In his mind, Diamanes, his internal companion, was struggling to comprehend the surreal scene.
'W...What the hell is this place? There are...so many enchantments I almost feel like I'm drowning!' Diamanes exclaimed, struggling to accept the unbelievable sights through his eyes.
The hall was bustling with activity, be it with the individuals moving about by walking, running, flying, or floating. A speeding object in his peripheral vision forced him to duck his head down instinctively. He glanced at the object, his eyes widening when he discovered that it was a broom, autonomously cleaning a dirty patch on the polished marble floor, moving with hurried and short movements. Glenn stared at the floor itself, watching in awe as it changed color to a white crystal-like composition, shifting like a living being.
“Holy fuck…” Glenn muttered, overwhelmed. He stepped away from the trash can, his gaze darting around in disbelief. There were also flying books, winged or scaled beasts ridden by mages donning cliché mage robes, while others displayed more original attire. He even saw a man flying with heavy-looking plate armor, completely unbothered by the steel’s weight.
He paused next to a group of scholars deeply engrossed in discussion, curious.
"Maybe if we try using Concalo alongside Saxeus and Nitens, we might be able to create gold!" one of the men in the group proposed.
Another man shook his head, crossing his arms. "Sir Olinca already tried this formula, but he only managed to expend all his Mana for nothing. No, I say we try with Aes and Lucrum, maybe that'll summon gold as we wished for..."
Glenn scoffed and turned away, “How nonsensical…” He shook his head and clicked his tongue, “...If it was possible, gold wouldn’t be worth anything. Why bother using it as a currency then?”
A sudden nudge from the recommendation plate in his right hand drew his attention, stopping him. He turned his head just in time to see a strange pattern lighting up in blue on the plate. In a matter of seconds, a stranger cloaked in a blue hooded robe materialized before him.
"Glenn, is that right? Please follow me," the cloaked figure said with an androgynous voice.
Glenn nodded hesitantly and followed the hooded guide as they traversed a labyrinth of inexplicable phenomena. Even though they had been standing in the middle of the hall just a second ago, their surroundings had already changed to something entirely different, completely impossible to describe. They suddenly arrived at a formidable door constructed from a red and green metal.
The cloaked figure halted before the door and opened it, “Please enter, “ They said as they motioned for Glenn to enter. Inside, he found an imposing chamber with ten massive chairs arranged in a half-moon formation.
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The ground featured an intricate compass rose, with the north arrow pointing toward the chairs and the south indicating the door they had just come through. Glenn walked to the center of the compass rose and looked up at the chairs, confused and excited at the same time.
An old man's voice emanated from one of them, although the occupants remained concealed behind a peculiar veil that distorted Glenn's perception.
"Glenn, an Advanced Initiate, was recommended for a Savant position by Tom Delora. Who votes for?" the voice inquired.
A brief silence hung in the air before the old man's voice resounded in the vast chamber once again. "Who votes against?"
Another pause ensued before a wooden hammer struck a board, creating a resounding echo.
"Glenn, Advanced Initiate, has been accepted for the Savant position. Next ordeal."
Glenn felt himself being magically pulled toward the door, and the heavy metal gates closed before his eyes. He stood there for a few moments, bewildered by the abrupt turn of events.
“What the fuck was that even for…?” He asked in confusion, wondering what the hell just happened. That was the strangest meeting of his life.
Weird, I couldn't find anything out either...' commented Diamanes within Glenn's mind.
"So that's it?" Glenn mused aloud, still confused by the rapid succession of bizarre occurrences.
"Hi, Glenn!" A cheerful voice chimed in from behind him. He turned to see his interlocutor, a girl with a friendly demeanor, though her appearance remained concealed under a hooded robe.
What's with the mages and their robes, for real?' Glenn wondered inwardly.
The girl extended a small hand toward him, and Glenn shook it, still grappling with his bewilderment.
"I'm your handler for today. Welcome to the Magi Brotherhood; I'll be showing you around and explaining what being a Savant means."
Glenn nodded, his gaze briefly returning to where the metal doors had been, now replaced by a stone brick wall. He attempted to shake off his confusion before focusing on his guide.
"Nice to meet you, miss..."
She smiled, well, Glenn guessed that she did, as her expression was hidden beneath the hood. "Nirva Dalum, nice to meet you too! Let's start the visit, shall we?"
She then started to walk in small but hurried steps. Glenn didn't have an issue following her just by making large strides. The path seemed to warp itself, as they arrived in some kind of workshop with targets and dummies everywhere, people throwing spells on them.
Glenn looked at a man shoot a literal laser from his eyes, destroying one of the steel targets, before writing something in a notebook with a disappointed look. The lady guiding him turned back toward him, gesturing at the room. Glenn had the feeling that the room was small but huge at the same time. He couldn't exactly pinpoint what he felt in this place, as his senses were completely twisted.
"This room is the Savant room. It's where mages invent and try out new spells. There is an unlimited supply of dummies and targets, and the space will distort in function of your need. Don't ask me how it works, no one knows."
She stepped aside as a bird-shaped thunderbolt flew past her.
"Of course, it might be a little dangerous to work in such conditions, but we believe that the threat will help the mages create more potent spells that will work no matter the condition."
She nodded toward one of the mages that was playing around with a ball of magma in his hands, before handing Glenn a little black stone shaped like a diamond.
"You just have to put this in your recommendation plate, and it will give you limited access to the warping magic of the HQ. Oh, yes, of course, this entire place is called the Magi Brotherhood Headquarters, and this specific place is the Savant Ground."
Glenn could only nod as he absorbed the new information, casting a fearful gaze at a mage running as fast as he could, a giant sphere of malevolent darkness following him slowly.
'Did I just land in an asylum of some sort?'
Glenn rubbed his neck, before summoning his recommendation plate, his hand holding the black stone hovering above it. He wondered where he should place it, when it suddenly got pulled by the plate, encrusting itself naturally in one corner of it.
"To finish, you can summon a terminal anywhere in this place or in the whole HQ to input knowledge of magic, be it spells, rune combinations, efficiency against certain types of creatures, etc, etc..."
“Depending on the quality of the information inputted, you’ll receive credits, which is the currency here. Don’t bother trying to exchange gold for it, it won’t work. The only way to earn credits for someone in the Fringe is to contribute, so…” She smiled under her hood, “...Contribute, okay? That’s the whole crux of the Savant position.”
She was about to step back but remembered something, "Oh, and of course, if you want to leave, you just have to hold your recommendation plate and infuse Mana in it with the idea of leaving. You'll get transported to the last beacon you used. If you want to come back here, it's the same process as the first time you got here."
She rubbed her tiny hands together, before clapping them.
"Well, it has been a pleasure. On those words, have a good day!"
She then suddenly warped out of existence, leaving a bewildered Glenn alone in the middle of the explosions of magic that the other mages created without a care in the world.
"Why is every handler in such a hurry every time? First Sir Reginald, and now this Nirva Dalum."
Diamanes made a puking sound in his mind.
'What's up with you?'
The being in his hand answered weakly, his voice shaking a little.
'I don't know, this place gives me nausea. There is simply too much magic piled onto each other, you're walking through layers and layers of different spells. Give it a glance with a Mana Sight and you're done!'
Glenn shook his head, before looking at his surroundings his hands on his waist, his brain practically fried up. This place was insane, so insane these past few minutes felt like a fever dream. Perhaps it was? Glenn pressed his hand against his forehead, but it didn't appear any different from usual.
Well, then.
What should he do now?