Anise smiled even more widely as I shook her hand, and then she gave Sallia and Felix blinding grins of their own.

“What about you two?” asked Anise. “Will you also be my friends? What are your names?”

Sallia was the firs to speak. “I’m Sallia. I want to be an adventurer when I grow up!” Anise looked at Sallia’s pink dress, before frowning. “Why are you wearing pink then?”

“My parents made me,” said Sallia, making a bitter expression.

“Oh. I hope you can be an adventurer anyway. Becoming a healer when you don’t want to be one wouldn’t be fair.” said Anise, making a face, before her eyes lit up. “Now that you can learn magic, you’ll be able to change their minds pretty easily! Instead of a healer, being a shaper-witch is much better! You can be a super witch with me!”

I resisted the urge to chuckle. Anise’s face was incredibly expressive, and she seemed to be positively full of energy when she spoke of being a super witch. It seemed like this was a long-cherished dream of hers.

While I mused to myself, Felix spoke up. “I’m Felix,” said Felix, extending his hand towards Anise.

Anise looked at Felix with a heavily guarded expression. “Boys are dangerous,” she said confidently. “My mama said if I talk to boys too much, I’ll turn into a bad girl when I grow up. I want to be a super witch, so I can’t be a bad girl.”

I resisted the urge to laugh as Felix’s eye twitched, before he sighed, and chuckled. “I suppose that’s one way to look at things,” he said, choking back a few more chuckles. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard quite that justification before for why a child should avoid boys, but it’s sort of logical.” He turned towards Anise, and gave her a solemn nod, punctuated by a grin. “Your mother is telling the truth, Anise.”

Anise looked at Felix suspiciously, as if wondering why he had validated the idea that she shouldn’t talk to him, before nodding. “I knew mama wouldn’t lie to me.”

I finally lost my fight to hold in my laughter, and started giggling uncontrollably, while Felix gave me an amused glance from the corner of his eyes. Sallia just snorted.

Anise gave Felix a more dubious expression, before she slowly nodded. “I’ll talk to you sometimes anyway, but only a little bit. I need to become a super witch, after all.”

“I’m delighted, Miss Anise,” said Felix dryly. I absently wondered how long it would Anise to break that rule. Since she was physically and mentally about the equivalent of a six year old right now, she probably wouldn’t break away from her mother’s words very easily. However, in a decade or two…

I was broken out of my thoughts by the shaper, who had started speaking again. As the four of us had been talking, the shaper had continued to lead the test. Sadly, nobody else had passed.

“So four of us passed the test this year, huh? I’m surprised that there are so many. This is one of the best years in the past couple decades for apprentice intake.”

I grinned to myself. I was also pretty surprised. I had known that Sallia, Felix and I would pass, but a fourth person passing definitely caught me off guard.

I took one last look at my cube. I had managed to lighten the orange color by a bit, likely as a result of my extreme affinity boosting my instincts for alteration essence. However, I still hadn’t successfully turned the cube blue again. I shrugged, and put the cube down. I had plenty of time to work on my new magic system.

The shaper, now finished administrating the test, moved closer to the four of us and gave us a big, excited smile, as if he had found a sack of gold while walking down the street.

“I’m so very glad that there are a lot of you this year. The others will be so excited as well. Four new shapers in a single year! Come on; let’s go find your magic teachers!” The man quickly led the group of magically talented children out of the hall, leading us towards another building. I noticed that another adult came to lead the other children away, presumably assigning them classrooms and teachers for their year. I quickly lost sight of them.

After a minute of walking, the magically talented children arrived at our destination. The shaper quickly pushed open the door, holding it open for us as he gave the four of us one last grin, and then a quick glance at the spellcaster children to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anyone.

While he examined the group one final time, I looked through the doors to see what was waiting for us. I saw a large gathering of people wearing shaper colors, witch colors, and splashes of white. Everyone had at least a few threads of white on their clothing, but the quantity was usually quite low. However, there were a few exceptions.

The most interesting person that I noticed was an old man, standing near the back of the room, who was wearing the colors of both a wizard and a shaper, which made me grin a bit. So one of the wizard-shapers had come to take apprentices too. I hoped that he was here for all four of us; if we were all apprentices under one person, it would make it very easy to train with Sallia, Felix, and Anise.

Finally, my eyes latched onto another woman I recognized. She was the witch who had overseen our first test. She was standing off to the side, and was examining our group just like the shaper. Finally, she gave us all a relaxed, cheerful smile, before beckoning towards us. “Come this way, children! I’ll give you a quick introduction before the casters and shapers start their presentations.

“So, the way this works is very simple. One by one, each shaper, caster, and shaper-caster will walk to the center of the room and give you a quick presentation. This presentation will detail their background, as well as their specialties in magic. After that, you will tell me who you are interested in taking as a teacher. I will take a quick description of who you are to the caster or shaper in question, and they will tell me who they’re interested in potentially taking as an apprentice. If both of you are interested in each other, I’ll arrange a meeting for you, and once everyone has a teacher, we’ll finish up for the day and you can go home to your families and tell them about your success in passing one of the magic tests! Then, in a day or two your teacher will pick you up and start teaching you. Does that sound good?”

I heard several of the children mutter a chorus of “yep’s” and “uh-huh’s,” and the witch gave us satisfied grins.

Then, the witch turned specifically to Sallia, Felix, Anise and I.

The witch gently smiled at me. “For shaping, there are a few more things you’ll want to pay attention to. For shaping, you’re going to be growing an attunement later on. Do you remember how ‘basic’ shaping is about taking a possible future and making it a reality now? Attunement is… different. Instead of turning a potential future into a reality, you instead take something and directly turn it into something you’re attuned to. For example, a fire-attuned shaper might convert wood directly into flames, even if there’s no nearby future that involves the wood catching on fire. Or they might turn air into water, or something else entirely. If possible, it’s best to either learn from a shaper with a similar attunement to the one you want to form, or with someone who’s comfortable teaching a wide variety of attunements. There’s one person in particular I suspect all four of you will end up learning under, but that’s still dependent on whether you’re interested in learning under him, and whether he’s interested in teaching you. So pay attention!”

“All right. Thank you for the explanation, miss witch!” I said. The witch gave me an even broader smile, before she patted my head. “All right, that’s about it for my quick explanation. If you’re interested in a teacher, after they give their presentation just let me know before the next potential teacher starts talking, all right? I’ll write down who’s interested in who, and we’ll arrange the meetings afterwards. And don’t worry - everyone here has a certain minimum level of competence. We don’t let people who aren’t good at what they do teach children. Casters are required to have at least the ability to cast one fifth circle spell and a few fourth circle spells, and there are a lot of other requirements as well. So no matter who you pick, they’re guaranteed to be a good spellcaster or shaper.”

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The witch gave all twenty-six of the magic students a final grin, before she turned towards the casters and shapers who had assembled to look for students.

“We’re ready! You guys can start now!”

A few seconds passed, as the small group of casters and shapers quickly conferred among themselves and cleared out a spot in the center of the room. Meanwhile, the witch quickly waved us back a little bit, where I noticed a row of seats had been set up for us to sit down if we wanted to stop standing up. Then, the first presentation started.

“I am Callum,” said the first spellcaster. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man that looked like he had spent several years honing his physical ability in addition to his magic. “I mostly specialize in body-strengthening spells. I can cast two fifth circle and seven fourth circle spells, two of which I personally discovered when my team and I ventured into the wastes above. I am also quite proficient in using spears, and I have some proficiency in archery as well. If you’re interested in exploring the wastes and body strengthening, contact me after this and we can talk. I’m willing to accept up to three apprentices.” After that, the man sat back down. His introduction had been brief and to the point, but it actually made me feel a little tempted. I started seriously considering Callum as a master; if he was a former adventurer, he had a lot of experiences I would find useful, and I was certainly interested in improving my melee abilities as well. I was much more focused on swordsmanship than spearmanship, but I certainly wouldn’t mind brushing up on my archery. I intended to mostly focus on alteration, since that was my extreme affinity, but if there were no better options, Callum wouldn’t make a bad teacher. I hesitated for a moment, before I tapped the witch on the side. “If I don’t find any better fits, I might be interested in learning under Callum,” I said.

“I’ll put you down as a ‘maybe’ then,” said the witch. “Let me know if you’re still interested in arranging a meeting with him later, little Miria.”

“Okay. Thank you!” I said, as I sat back down. A few other children, emboldened now that I had made the first move, also went up and added their names to the witch’s first list, including Sallia, before everyone finished making their moves. The witch paused for a moment, making sure that no other children were hesitating, before she beckoned towards the crowd of shapers and casters.

“We’re ready for the next one!” She said. Another woman made her way to the center of the room.

“I am Claudia,” said the next spellcaster. She was a woman with a very slim physique and green hair, and formed a stark contrast with Callum’s robust physique. “I specialize in war spells, especially fire and ice spells. I can form a decent third-circle fireball in only two and a half seconds, and I hold the current record for fastest fireball formation in the city. I can’t claim any expertise in adventuring above ground, but I have fought denizens of the darkness multiple times and kept our food and metal caverns safe against several incursions from the darkness. While I may not seem to fit some of you as well as someone like Callum, I would like to remind you that how quickly you can form a spell is crucial to surviving as a spellcaster in a combat situation. Forming your spells a second or two faster could make the difference between you killing an orukthyri you’re fighting, and getting grabbed and crushed by them. And, of course, I also know a fifth circle spell called ‘Greater frost lance,’ and a few fourth circle spells that specialize in controlling or killing large clusters of enemies. I’m willing to accept only one student, but I promise that whoever I accept as a student will get a lot of care and attention. I hope at least a few of you are interested!” Said the witch, giving us a perky grin.

I was suddenly tempted by Claudia’s offer as well. Faster spellcasting was certainly useful, and I definitely understood that being able to get spells out faster would be crucial if I wanted to survive long-term. However, in my heart, I knew Claudia wasn’t the right fit for me. I wanted to focus mostly on Alteration, and while manifestation essence would have its place in my future, I doubted it would take a central role. Truthfully, Callum didn’t really fit either. But both of them were still competent and experienced spellcasters that had their own unique specialties and abilities to teach. I respected that.

The next spellcaster made his offer, discussing his specialties as well. He was specialized in controlling the flow of water, and kept the river clean and the mushroom caverns producing as much food as possible. I was less tempted to learn from him, but he still got a fair number of potential students arrange for a meeting with him through the witch in front of us. Then, after him, there was another spellcaster. And then another.

Eight spellcasters announced that they were potentially interested in taking in a student, before we finally reached the shapers. The three shapers, naturally, weren’t interested in taking in a spellcaster for a student. They were only here for four people.

Us.

“I have a fire attunement,” said the first shaper. “I would be considered a combat shaper, I suppose. My specialty is converting things into fire, and reaching into potential futures where things are alight. As you may have already noticed from your shaping test, futures get easier to bring into our own reality if they’re ‘close’ to the ‘real timeline’ we live in. For example, turning the cube on your desk from blue to orange gets easier or harder based on how close or far away the jar of paint is, and whether or not you have a paint brush nearby. This is because if the jar of paint is right next to the cube, it’s very easy to just grab the cube and paint it orange. Similarly, there are lots of tricks you can keep in mind that make it easier or harder to alter your environment, allowing you to make your shaping cheaper and more efficient. I am only an expert in fire; I have no other real specialties, since I’ve devoted my life to one specific field of study. But I am excellent at it. If any of you intend to form a fire attunement, talk to me. I know that all four of you this year are shaper-casters, but the two of us can still learn a lot together, and even though I’m more specialized than the old geezer over there, specializing has its upsides,” he said, jerking a thumb towards the shaper-caster I could see in the background.

I hesitated for a moment, before shaking my head. I was interested in combat, but fire wasn’t the right fit for me. I would much prefer to deal with healing, illusions, madness, or death. I wanted to activate the keywords for my Ability with shaping, if possible, and fire just wouldn’t synergize with that idea very well.

The man gave the four of us a look, as if hoping someone would step up and express interest. Hesitantly, Sallia walked up and quietly tapped the witch on the shoulder. The witch smiled at Sallia, and quickly wrote her name down.

Then, after a few moments, the next shaper started her own presentation.

“I’m Ella. I specialize in mental states,” she said, giving us a calm look. “Specifically, I can manifest thoughts and feelings as realities, which gives me a lot of utility in fights. I know a fair bit about swordsmanship as well, so I usually give enemies crippling headaches or knock them out before stabbing them. It’s a very effective fighting method. I also have a fair bit of experience adventuring out into the wastelands, and I’ve successfully raided two old spellcaster compounds when I was younger. If any of you are interested in mental states and fighting with bladed weapons, talk to me afterwards. I’m willing to take up to two students.”

I was actually quite interested in Ella. She could serve as an excellent teacher for me, if I wanted to focus exclusively on my alteration. However, I was still sorely tempted by the idea of being taught by another caster-shaper. I added her to my list anyway.

The next three shapers didn’t have specialties that the three of us were interested in. Anise, however, found some interest in the man that specialized in healing; he was the shaper who had administered our shaping test. At least I finally figured out why he was wearing pink.

Finally, the old shaper-wizard stood up.

“I’ll be brief, since I’m sure the four of you are eager to start getting to know us on a more personal level,” said the shaper-wizard, chuckling. “My name is Lauren. I’ve taught the other two shaper-spellcasters alive in the city right now, and while I personally specialize in stone attunement, I have pretty good familiarity with how to teach most attunements. All four of you have potential as both a shaper and a caster, and I’m the only one here who can maximize your potential for both, and help you bring both magic systems together. There are a lot of tips and tricks for using your shaping to boost your spellcasting, for example, that the others here simply won’t be able to teach you because they have never experienced it themselves. I’m also a pretty good teacher, if I do say so myself. I’m willing to take all four of you, if you’re interested. Of course, that’s also assuming I feel we’re a good fit for each other. Talk to me after this,” he said, giving all four of us a final nod.

Naturally, the four of us let the witch know we wanted to meet him after this. She chuckled as she wrote all four of our names down.

After that, the first part of the the mentor choosing ceremony was over. I quickly asked the witch to cross out several of the candidates I had originally been interested in, but later realized didn’t quite fit me, before I looked over the list of remaining candidates.

I had two people I could potentially take as a teacher, since I had removed all of the spellcasting specialists from my list of meetings after more consideration. My first choice was Lauren; he made a very compelling argument for why he would be the best teacher for us. Then, after that, the shaper who specialized in mental states was my second pick.

It was time to figure out who I would be taking as a teacher.