After dropping off our precious bags of money at our room, me and Mason headed to the dining hall for dinner. Arnav and Chris were already waiting for us at our table, so the conversation started immediately.

“So, how’d your meeting with the Notins go?” Arnav asked first.

“Good, thanks.” I answered. “They gave us 2,000 atlu as compensation.”

“That’s insane! Almost makes me want to get attacked by Victor too.” Chris joked. His eyes became unfocused, probably imagining ways to replicate what had happened to me and Mason.

We all laughed after hearing this, hoping to distract Chris from his fantasy.

“They really do care about their reputation, don’t they?” Arnav remarked.

I didn’t immediately understand this. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Well, they told you not to spread stories about this, right?”

“No? They just said to put this behind us.”

Every once in a while, I would say something that made everyone’s expression change into a mix of humor and pity. This was one of those times, and I immediately knew what was coming next.

“Alric, they meant that you’re supposed to never mention the incident again. They just said it in a polite way.” Arnav explained.

I hadn’t realized that, but after thinking about it I realized that what Arnav said actually made a lot of sense. I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of it myself.

“Oh. I didn’t know, thanks.” I said, embarrassed.

That stopped the conversation, but not for long.

“So, what are you planning to do with that much money?” Arnav eventually inquired.

This made me pause for a moment, since I didn’t actually have any idea what to spend all the money on. As it stood, I’d probably just stash it somewhere in my room and use it slowly over time. However, it was hard to put a plan like that into words that wouldn’t sound lame.

“I’m thinking of getting a new wand, then saving the rest for later.” Mason said.

I definitely understood where he was coming from. Having a better wand would make casting spells much easier, which I could definitely see being useful.

Though we didn’t have official rankings, everyone agreed that Mason was the top student in our class. Plus, I considered him a friend, so following his example would probably be a good idea. It’s not like I had any other plans otherwise.

“Yeah, same.”

And thus, plans were made to get me and Mason new wands.

The sun was already low in the sky when me and Mason finally got off the jobs we had been given as punishment. We headed toward the wand shop that I had visited on my first day off, which I still remembered fondly. It was the only store we visited that day who had a shopkeeper who didn’t look like they were going to kick us out at any moment.

When we walked in, the shopkeeper welcomed us with the same greeting as last time.

“Good afternoon! Will you be buying or just looking today?”

“Buying, and I’ve been here before.” I replied, not wanting to go through the entire introduction.

The shopkeeper probably sensed my intention, as he nodded and went back to doing his own stuff.

I led Mason to the middle of the store. We could afford to spend a decent amount, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to go to the very back.

Last time I had been here, I had just been an observer. I had only looked at the basic details of the wands, like their design and their conductivity. However, now that I was a buyer I would have to be much more careful with my pick.

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Each wand had their basic specifications in big letters that were easy to see, but upon closer inspection their plaques actually had much more than just that. The age of the wand, the element it was best suited for, etc.

I looked around for a bit, comparing the price to performance of the wands I saw. Eventually, I settled on one made of the wingbone of a Turul. It boasted an impressive 118 conductivity for just under 1,000 atlu, which I thought was pretty good.

I was reaching for it when Mason appeared behind me, carrying a wooden wand with him. I saw that he had gotten it from a little further into the store than where I was shopping.

“Are you planning to buy that one?” He asked, pointing at the wand I was going for.

“Yeah. It looks like it’s pretty good value, and it works best with wind magic.” I answered.

“It’s your decision, but I wouldn’t recommend getting it.” Mason warned.

This confused me a bit, since I couldn’t see anything wrong with the wand. “Why not? It looks good to me.”

“It’s bone, right? Unlike wooden wands, a wand created from a living creature requires you to break it in and get it to accept your dominance. And even once that’s done, most tend to remain unpredictable. Some people prefer that, but for a student it’s pretty undesirable.” Mason explained.

I thought about what Mason had just told me, weighing my options. Eventually I decided to go with the safe route.

I thanked Mason, picking up the wand next to my original choice. It was made of a type of pine tree that I wasn’t familiar with, and felt a little thicker than my school-issued wand.

We brought our purchases up to the counter where the shopkeeper was waiting. Mason went first, handing in the wand he had picked.

“Desert ebony with 140 conductivity for 1,500 atlu?” The shopkeeper asked.

“Yes.” Mason confirmed, handing over 15 gold pieces.

I stepped up next, giving the shopkeeper my pine wand.

“White pine with 95 conductivity for 1,000 atlu?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for your purchase, and happy spellcasting!” The spellkeeper said smiling after we completed the translation.

I left with a shiny new wand, but had given up 1,000 atlu. Definitely pricey, but I told myself that it was worth it as an investment.

Dinner was especially fun that night.

“Did you two actually buy new wands?” Arnav asked excitedly.

We both nodded in response.

“Cool! How good are they?” Arnav questioned.

“I went for one with 95 conductivity, while Mason decided to buy one with 140.”

“140? Really?” This time it was Chris, looking directly at Mason.

“Yes. I think it should be worth it, and it’s not like there's anything else that I plan on spending a ton of money on.”

“Can I see it?” Arnav asked.

Mason nodded, pulling it out. “It’s desert ebony, so it works well with fire and earth.”

Arnav took it and started examining. I didn’t think the wands were that interesting, but I guess Arnav disagreed.

Chris watched Arnav for a while, and eventually curiosity got the better of him. Since Arnav was still busy with Mason’s wand, he asked for mine instead.

“Alric, can I see yours?” He asked me.

“Sure. Mine’s made out of white pine, so it’s good for wind.”

“Makes sense.”

Chris’ response was more muted compared to Arnav’s, but otherwise it was

pretty similar.

Eventually, they finished looking over the wands.

“Thanks for indulging me.” Arnav told Mason. “I think I’ll ask my dad for one for one eventually.”

“He’ll actually get you one?” I asked him.

“Well, maybe for the new year celebration or something. It wouldn’t be as good as Mason’s, but I can probably hope for one with 70 conductivity or something.” He responded.

“Alright.” That made sense. We didn’t really do new year celebrations back in Windale, since everyone was getting busy for planting season. I heard it was a big thing in larger towns and cities though, so Arnav and Chris were probably used to it.

“Lucky” Chris remarked to Arnav. “Nonetheless, I want one too. I think I’ll get a summer job to save up for one.”

We talked about wands and their various features for the rest of the conversation. It was pretty fun, though I don’t think I learned a lot of actual facts during the whole conversation.

I went to try out my new wand as soon as I could, which turned out to be right after dinner.

I first decided to try out barrier, aiming for the same result as I usually did.

“Deva catur- barrier!”

It felt amazing- I could spend a fraction of the mana I was spending before the upgrade and still get the same effect.

The next step was obvious- what would spending the same amount of mana as I usually did get me?

“Deva catur- barrier!” I chanted again, this time putting in the same amount of mana as I usually did.

Instead of the small shield I usually got, this one was larger to one of the full body shields you saw big warriors use. I could also tell that it was much stronger than before, which was great.

I was much happier after finishing up these experiments.