Reiland gulped heavily. He nodded, bracing for the worst.
“Reiland, I need you to be honest with me. Of what Brian said, how much was the truth?” Arstibal didn’t look mad, but his tone was serious. Reiland weighed his options for a few seconds before deciding to answer truthfully. “I don’t torture animals. What I actually do is hunt them for dinner. I am very interested in how they work, so I cut them open and inspect their insides.” After pausing for a few seconds, Reiland added: “...I might also cut them open and inspect them while they are still alive at times. It is easier to draw conclusions while things are still fresh and working.”
Arstibal seemed lost in thought for a while before answering. “I see. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you. I can see that you view the world as your own little scientific playground. A part of me admires that, in all honesty. But I also don’t think that Brian did this to you because he liked being mean.” Reiland looked at Arstibal questioningly. How was he supposed to believe that? The mayor’s son had done nothing but get in his way for the past year.
“I can see you doubt me, and I get it. Brian did everything he did to you, not to me. But I think seeing you kill these animals caused him a lot of pain, and he ultimately didn’t know any other way to stop you.” Arstibal’s tone had gotten softer.
Reiland considered his words. It was true that Brian had started off just commanding him to stop. Things got a lot worse when Reiland refused. Still, the mayor’s son got it easy. He probably never went hungry in his life, and always ate food Reiland could only dream of. Who was he to command Reiland how to get the food he needed to live? Anger wallowed deep within him. He forced himself to swallow it.
“Ah, what the hell. I am not here to lecture you.” Arstibal laughed, although he still remained serious. “I actually wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn’t have left so abruptly. What you did was impressive, and in all honesty, it caught me on the wrong foot. From how you hid on the roof and seemed to avoid me earlier, I guess you hold it against me. I can’t say I blame you, but still. I am sorry for that.”
Oh, that was unexpected. Reiland was pleasantly surprised by the apology, and shook the hand that Arstibal extended. “I am sorry for blowing your mind as well, old man.” Arstibal dramatically feigned a heartache with an “Aaargh, the pain!” before starting to chuckle. With that, any animosity Reiland had held was gone.
“I think there is only one reason why you came here, and we both know it.” Arstibal let the adapter dangle from its leather strap demonstratively. Reiland nodded, and Arstibal nodded in return. Without another word, Reiland took the adapter, strapped it to his arm and jammed the needle into his upper arm while looking straight into the magician’s eyes. Arstibal winced, mumbling a quiet “Point taken...”.
“I would normally assure that you know the spell properly, but I’m guessing you remembered it well enough from all the watching. Here you go.” Arstibal placed the magimeter onto the table, showing Reiland that he could cast the spell. “『GRANTATIO, ALIAS MK13』!” Even though he’d been expecting it, the Magic Euphoria still messed with Reiland’s head, forcing a dumb grin onto his face. The adapter enveloped both of them in its blue light, and the scale on the magimeter started to rise.
Magic Euphoria wasn’t all Reiland felt, though. A slight tug in the back of his mind, barely noticeable, emerged as the spell went off. It almost felt like a muscle being stretched after rusting away for ages. Following a whim, he tried to flex it.
The glow vanished just as quickly as it came, and the silver spiral came to a stop. Both the Euphoria and the other, stranger feeling faded, the connection slippery like a fish. That was weird..., Reiland thought. He had puzzled together the numeric system from signs and questions a while ago, so he could decipher that it had stopped somewhere between 70 and 75.
“73.” Arstibal exclaimed, letting the number speak for itself. It was... Not good. There wasn’t even any sense in debating it. “Well, that was that. I know I said this already yesterday, but that is not enough to get an invitation to the academy. When you are older, nothing will stop you from travelling to the academy and taking the entrance test. It's not cheap, but nothing insurmountable.”
73. Reiland was hit by the number and the following verdict like a blow to the nose. Most of all, he wasn’t going to accept it. “Please let me try again!”
Arstibal let out a sigh. “Listen, Reiland. This is not the first time someone was discontent with their results. I normally don’t, but I let some try twice. Over the years, at least twenty to thirty people. Do you know how many managed to improve their score?” Arstibal’s question wasn’t a question at all, the answer all but implied. “It was the same number as those of the people who backed down upon hearing that. Everyone thinks they are special. That said, there is no one else lining up currently. If that is what you need for you to accept it, then so be it. 『Obscurantha, ALIAS MK14』.”
The Magimeter’s scale, which had previously been slowly receding back to 0, shot down to 0 in an instant under Arstibal’s spell. Obscurantha, huh? Does this spell reduce temperature? It is so similar to the other spell, aside from the Deity it calls... Reiland pushed his theories aside. He’d been given a chance, and he wasn’t about to waste it.
He chanted the testing spell again, pushing past the feeling of Euphoria this time and intently focusing on the other part. He tried his best to flex the imaginary muscle even harder, but it was already at its full force. As soon as the adapter turned off, feeling the muscle became harder. Reiland struggled, but ultimately lost control over it. Both the feeling of Euphoria and of the muscle faded. However, Reiland felt like he understood everything a little better now.
“73. Well, that was-” Reiland raised his hand to signal Arstibal to be quiet. He needed utmost concentration. He chanted the reset spell, prompting a deep sigh from the magician which Reiland simply ignored. The euphoria felt the same, but the muscle felt a little different. It was the same muscle, for sure... but flexed in a different way. He tried keeping it flexed as well, but control shattered as the Magimeter hit 0.
He chanted the testing spell for the third time, pushing all his intent on keeping the muscle flexed even after the adapter had done its work. The scale rose, and the adapter turned off.
“73. I don’t know what you were expecting, but- Wait, what?” Reiland kept the muscle flexed. It strained hard against him, reducing the actual strength he could muster dramatically. He held it for a second, then two, then three. Approaching the fourth, the muscle rebelled and wrested control from Reiland again. The feeling of magic euphoria faded, but it had been nothing compared to the joy Reiland felt that his theory had proved correct.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Arstibal’s mouth stood open for a second before he swiftly closed it. “85. I can’t believe it. It continued to rise after the adapter shut down.”
Reiland decided to quit while he was ahead and took the adapter off. Small droplets of crimson blood flowed from the pinprick. Arstibal handed Reiland a band-aid, then took and cleaned the needle with a routine stemming from thousandfold repetition, but his mind was clearly absent.
“Shit, Reiland. I might be wrong, but that looked a lot like Kickstarted Continued Casting. That is a technique that high-level mages learn. Even I can’t do it. Shit...” Arstibal finally gathered himself. “That was seriously impressive, Reiland. I am honestly glad that we are alone here right now. Others wouldn’t have understood what you did, but... This is big. Can you lead me to your parents? I would like a little chat with them.”
Reiland shrugged, trying his damnedest to keep his excitement from showing. “Sure Thing. They won’t come home in less than a few hours though. I don’t know what is supposed to be so special about a technique a ten-year-old can come up with, but...” Arstibal scoffed. “You are messing with me, right? You are either something very different from what you pretend to be, or you have the most talent I ever encountered in someone. That is not something I say lightly, either. Also, would waiting for your parents at your place be fine? I would come by in an hour; I got some stuff to take care of beforehand.”
Reiland nodded, Arstibal’s compliment echoing in his head. “Our Home is down the path where you leave the Village in the direction of the forest. You shouldn’t be able to miss it.” If the magician was surprised that Reiland was living outside of the village, he didn’t let it show. Arstibal leaving him alone for a while suited Reiland rather well, actually. He had some things to mull over, mainly his discoveries in the workings of magic today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An hour later, Reiland was sitting in front of his house on top of the boulder, eating the cheese sandwich he had kept earlier – it was, as expected, an absolute delight. He had been thinking extensively, mainly about the fact that he had been able to keep a spell running even after the adapter had turned off. The implications were huge – if the adapter was not strictly needed for maintaining a spell, chances were it wasn’t even needed to get the spell started. If there were any chances that Reiland could learn magic... Hell, discover how to do things that are widely believed to be impossible... He would not pass up on it.
Reiland spotted Arstibal coming down the path. He carried a big Backpack on his back, so he must have stopped by where he left it. He waved as he spotted Reiland, and sat down on a smaller Boulder next to the one Reiland was sitting on. After a short greeting, Arstibal started Reiland all sorts of questions – What his parents did, if he had education, if he had ever been exposed to magic and on and on.
In turn, Reiland got to ask a few questions himself, and learned a lot about the government, the trinity church and how the country was run. He learned that Sully Cottan, the village’s mayor, was, like all people in power, a magician himself. He also asked a lot about adapters, magic techniques and magic in general. Arstibal was very hesitant to answer, stating it could get him into trouble if he spread this knowledge too much. Reiland was a bit disappointed, but couldn’t fault him for wanting to be safe either.
Just like that, the hours passed and Iuli came walking out of the forest. Her gathering bags were filled to the brim with all sorts of edible or sellable things. She spotted Arstibal only when she got close, as the tall boulder Reiland was sitting on had hidden him from her view. “My, My! Who could that handsome man be?” Arstibal got up, dusted his coat and introduced himself. “Hello, Ma’am. My name is Arstibal, a Magician of the Trinity Church, tasked with finding individuals of high magical potential. I want to talk with you about your son, actually.”
“I knew it! My little Rei is special, I always knew it! My name is Iuli, by the way!” A worried look passed her face. “He didn’t chew your ear off talking about how magic isn’t real, did he?” Arstibal chuckled. “Don’t worry about that, Miss Iuli. Could we talk inside for a bit, though?” Iuli beamed, leading the way for Arstibal into the hut.
Reiland noticed that Arstibal had left his Backpack behind. He started inspecting it. It was very well-built and balanced, offering excellent storage room with little encumbrance. It was made mainly of a fabric Reiland didn’t recognize, but felt very hard and stiff to the touch. A book was sticking out from one of the pockets.
“Hey, Reiland! What are you doing?” Reiland flinched back from the backpack and turned around. His father was standing in front of him. Reiland hadn’t noticed him coming from the Village, too preoccupied with his inspection. “Hello, Father. I was inspecting the backpack Arstibal left behind.”
“Arstibal? Is that the magician that is in the village today?” Kuum asked, and Reiland nodded. He didn’t seem too surprised that his son had managed to garner the attention of the visitor. “He is inside with mother, talking to her. You might want to join them?” Kuum stretched his arms. “Might as well, no?” He seemed entirely unworried of another man talking to his wife unaccompanied. Reiland had never understood the fuss some grown-ups made about it anyway.
As soon as the door closed behind Kuum, Reiland pried the book he spotted earlier from the backpack. He wagered the adults would be busy for a few minutes to come; Arstibal must’ve had something important to say if he was willing to wait for Reiland’s parents for so long. The book had a rather plain cover depicting a magic adapter similar to the bracer Arstibal wore.
Reiland flipped through it, greeted by letters after letters, only interrupted by some illustrations that did more to confuse Reiland than anything else. The back cover of the book was notably a lot thicker than the front. Reiland inspected it, and found a magimeter set into it. This would be very useful to him...
Reiland heard chairs being pushed back from within, the dull talking had stopped. In a split-second decision, he decided to take a risk. Reiland hastily closed the pocket that he had gotten the book from, and sprinted to the house. He climbed the protruding logs until he came to the mostly flat roof. He dropped the book on it, making certain it could not be seen from below.
Reiland sprinted back to the bolder and sat down on it, a second before the door sprang open. Arstibal came out, a somewhat dissatisfied look on his face. He approached, and leaned to the boulder. “Hey, Reiland. I talked to your parents a bit – mostly about your economic situation. Let me be straight – I think that if anyone ever deserved an invitation to the magic academy, it would be you. Unfortunately, I just can’t offer that, the other mages would have my head if I brought them a 10-year-old with an MC of 73, even if he could turn lead to gold.”
Reiland’s shoulders drooped. He had been expecting that, but it was still disappointing. “That being said, it might be a different story in a few years. When you turn fourteen, in four years, it would be a more appropriate age. I might not be able to offer you an invitation now, but who knows what some talks with the right people can accomplish. Alternatively, you can always take the normal tests, and I am sure they would see your potential as well. So, here is my promise. I will be back in four years – no matter what you say, actually. It’s my normal routine anyway. If you still want to by then, I will do my best to get you into the academy, all else be damned.”
Reiland was silent for a while, contemplating the offer. It was nothing short of incredible. He didn’t quite know what Arstibal saw in him, but he was not about to complain. “Wow, that is... Incredible, actually. I would be honored. Thank you, a lot.” The words seemed inadequate to the offer he had just received, but his mind was spinning too much for him to do better.
“I got to go now; I still have a schedule to uptake – I am already a bit late thanks to this. Take care, Reiland. Until in four years!” Like that, Arstibal left. It took a minute before he was out of sight, but only an hour after the magician was gone, Reiland dared to grab the book he had acquired. He almost felt bad about having stolen it. Almost.