Gwen remained in her room and engaged in mana mediation until an NoM servant knocked on her door.
"Ms Gwen, there's a man outside who says he's here to see you and Mr Richard."
"I'll be out in a minute."
Gwen had been expecting the house call since babulya had stated that Magister Luo, the Dean of Fudan, requested an interview at their earliest convenience.
Having received a hint from her grandmother that Magister Luo had an eye for the aesthetic, Gwen elected to plan her outfit meticulously. From the top, she piled her hair until it coiled into a messy bun, showing off her slender neck and dignified shoulders, leaving enough of a fringe to frame her face in a feminine manner. For her outfit, she settled upon an antique-white, elbow length blouse from Singapore, with a tailored allowance for her bust and a tightly tapered waistline, showing off her sharp collarbones. A cobalt ribbon tie accentuated the collar, matching the high-waisted pencil skirt in dark charcoal, finished off with her signature Mary-Janes.
When Gwen finally exited her room, she found Richard and another fellow in pleasant conversation, applauding herself as she watched their eyes light up with admiration. The awe came as no surprise, for the Chinese Mageocracy could arguably invest in talented NoM designers from Europe.
"Nice." Richard gave Gwen a smile of approval.
"I am inclined to agree." The stranger approached with an open hand. "Magus Jin Ru, at your service. I am here to deliver you to the Dean."
A Magus? Gwen felt shocked as they shook, then retreated a step and bowed. A Magus just to deliver two Neophytes? Babulya was better connected than she thought.
Jin beamed at her appreciatively. "I bet the old man can't wait to see you. Now, before we leave, I need to verify one thing."
"Sir?" Gwen tilted her head enquiringly, causing a single lock of style hair to hug her cheek.
"Lightning and Void, if you could give me a small demonstration." The Magus seemed a little embarrassed by his request. "For verification, of course, it's a little hard to believe that someone could access two oppositional elements."
"Of course, Sir." Gwen turned to the middle of the training hall and inoculated the Magus against shock by materialising both Ariel and Caliban.
Ariel appeared the same as always. Conversely, Gwen felt that Caliban was more robust and vigorous since its consumption of the Elder Gila.
"SHAA!" She received an empathic demand from Caliban to transform into its new form, though she suppressed the creature's whining.
Jin watched the two critters chase one another around the hall after fighting down a bout of vertigo when Caliban emerged from the dark space between Planes.
"Very impressive, Ms Song. I do believe we may proceed."
"Thank you, Magus Ru." Gwen dismissed her familiars, then followed the Magus out of the Song compound.
A car awaited them outside, a dark SUV embossed with the Fudan logo, a pictogram of the words' Fu-Dan' composed in the character style of the late Qing. As the vehicle left the compound, Jin gave the duo a history lesson on the university.
"Fudan stems from the final era of the late Qing Dynasty," Jin began. "The characters were chosen by its founder, Meister Xianbo Ma, from the Confucian Sect of Shangshu Dazhuan. Its intended meaning, 'Itinerant as the twilight, the sun glows, and moon luminesces', represents our expectations for the Mages who graduate from the college. Our motto is to learn extensively and adhere to aspirations, to inquire earnestly and reflect with self-application."
The man continued to speak as he drove.
"Our university is a survivor. We have outlived the Qing, the first Great War, the Second Beast Tide, the Communist Revolution, hail the Chairman, and finally, the global conversion to western Spellcraft. Today, we remain one of the only independent universities in China, as well as possing our very own Faculty Tower for apprenticing students."
"Fudan owns a Tower?" The last point came as a surprise. Gwen hadn't realised that other Towers apart from the PLA and the Pudong Tower existed in Shanghai.
"Well, technically no." Jin battered a hand as he turned into the Second Orbital Highway. "It's an experimental Tower, made to simulate conditions within a real tower. Quest boards, training rooms, Meditation suites, Cognisance Chambers. There's are no combat engines, an army of Golems, or Shield Generators. It was designed so that students could compete for resources. For obvious reasons, under the PLA, the mobile-fortress function of the Towers has been defunct and neglected since the 1970s..."
"However, you are welcome to participate and even take a room in the Tower should your grades and academic ranking allow. Your grandmother, our alumina, once possessed one such room near the top floor."
"I didn't know Fudan had this facility either," Richard said puzzlingly. "When did you begin this program?"
"The PLA halted the program in the 70s. But we managed to get permission to reinitiate in 1990," Jin answered proudly. "We have two Towers, in fact, T1 and T2, with the joining bottom segment named Guanghua, the Hall of Brilliance. Students wishing to stay in the Tower may choose a mock-Faction, and there are competitions for items and interesting resources. We've since also added the chance to trade CCs for resources as well."
"Nice. That would save us a trip to the PLA or the Pudong Tower," Richard pointed out.
"And it saves you from unnecessary politics before you graduate while giving you a taste for it," Jin replied. "You have no idea how many times we lost good students to the contest of the Towers' hungry for talent."
"Isn't early commitment seen as a good thing?" Gwen inquired.
"If all the talented students are off fighting the Undead, expanding our borders, hunting monsters or digging up Dungeons, who's going to be advancing Spellcraft, creating new spells, and investigating unseen phenomena?" Jin sighed. "Not to mention Party politics is far more dangerous than anything you can encounter in the wild. When you die to Magical Beasts, there's at least a corpse left behind."
Gwen chuckled nervously. She was beginning to get an inkling as to what Magus Ru thought about life outside of the confines of academia.
"You young Mages are still growing into your wings. Sometimes, it is best to pluck the bright feather and fly low until you understand what awaits in the sky above." Jin delivered his wisdom, drove in silence for a quarter of an hour, then turned off a ramp into the University Town of Fudan.
The immediate indication that they arrived was two gargantuan towers stabbing like twin spears into the sky. Constructed of a mixture of brutalist architecture and art-deco from the early 20s, the glass and concrete facade of the Hall of Brilliance cut an imposing presence over the low-lying campus, with parallel shadows that reminded Gwen of a giant sundial.
As the car turned into the university, the passengers were accosted by a bronze statue of the People's Magi, the legendary figure known as Mao Zedong. From coppery eyes that did not see, the great leader looked down upon all who entered Fudan's grounds, its face frozen in benevolence. The statue stood from an imposing height with one hand behind its back; the other pointed slightly forward to urge the observer to look ahead. As part of its facade, the figure wore a modified mandarine tunic in the military style, etched to resemble cotton, showing that Mao was a humble man despite his greatness.
Gwen did not care for the Magi. Instead, her eyes were drawn to the broad, four-lane avenue known as the Dashua Road, or University Road, a place filled with eateries. Alfresco dining spilling out from restaurants littered the four-kilometre boulevard framed by gigantic mulberry trees in earth and emerald. Shanghai was a cosmopolitan city, and so here were Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese cuisine from all over, so dazzling that Gwen salivated against the panes of the car's window.
She had always considered herself a gastronomer in her old life, even if her favourite staple included SPAM.
Since arriving in her current body, with the occasional exception, her entire diet had depended upon the convenience of circumstance. She had seldom possessed the choice of what to eat. Now that they could attend Fudan, she could have her pick of food from anywhere in the world! What's more, with Caliban's help, she couldn't gain weight, uniquely a talent of the surviving Void Mage! Whatever her lessons were was going to be, here was a glorious three years of gastronomic adventure.
Two campuses sat adjacent to the east and west of Fudan's University Road. The old campus was the target of their visit, known as the Handan Campus, while the new campus converted from old hutongs had acquired the new moniker of the Jianghan campus.
The office of the Dean was surprisingly not located in the Fudan Towers, but in an old Victorian Era building leftover from Shanghai's colonial stint called Zibinyuan, located in the lower quadrant of Handan. Most of the buildings in the university reflected Fudan's cosmopolitan nature. To her shock, when they passed the university's central avenue, Gwen even saw 'Japan House', 'American House', and others in the Northern European style, with slanted roofs and pitched awnings.
She was still marvelling at the architecture when Richard opened her door. When she exited, one white thigh over the other, Magus Ru looked away and found renewed vigour in introducing to them the history of the historic manor house that now served as the university's administrative headquarters.
Inside, the trio walked past the blue shaded lawn and found themselves in a manor's vaulted hall. A guard saluted the Magus as she entered, his eyes lingering a little too long on Gwen before turning forward like an automaton. They then made their way through a hall carpeted in navy and walled with mahogany,
covered from wall to wall with oil paintings of the Revolution.
At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors, which opened into a waiting area with an open door looking into the Office of the Dean. An outlandish looking woman sat at an over-large reception desk, languishingly moving paperwork from tray to tray with agonising slowness and an expression of severe consternation.
As they entered, she looked up.
Holy cows! Gwen's orbs grew wide. The woman wasn't human. Her eyes were two milky-orbs of air with specs of ultramarine; her flaxen hair resembled strands of sunbeams.
"Aeeee—" A chirpy cry emerged from the unlike source that was Richard. With an outburst that surprised them all, Lea separated from Richard's body and materialised herself.
"Whoa! Lea?" Her cousin fumbled to contain his Spirit.
"Kin! Kin!" Lea begged with the eagerness of a child, a reaction that made Gwen think. Indeed, Lea was sapient and sentient, but that didn't mean she was intelligent in the conventional sense. Thus far, Lea was incapable of abstract philosophy and other complex cognitive functions. It was difficult to thoroughly imbue human qualities onto a Spirit, which was why Sufina was both unique and beyond extraordinary. Even one as "talented" as Richard had to request rather than command Lea.
Now that Gwen thought about it, both Richard and Henry indulged in the whims of their Familiars whenever it was convenient or necessary, blurring the lines between Master and servant.
The woman at the table rose from the air to meet Lea, and the two danced a little jig. Despite her human appearance, the Sprite seemed less in control of its 'womanly' form than Lea, losing some of its morphic features to reveal its true self.
"An Air Elemental?" Richard turned to Ru. "A lesser Djinn?"
"Indeed, this is Ellen, the Magister's Familiar."
"The Magister's an Air Conjurer?" Gwen's mouth formed a happy 'o'; it was always nice to know another powerful Conjurer.
"Indeed, as well as a Transmuter and Illusionist," Ru affirmed Gwen's expectant expression with a nod. "Please, leave the Spirits to themselves. It is rare for elementals to meet kin so similar to themselves."
As expected, Richard indulged Lea, using his Conjuration to sever her from his body.
Glancing at the table, Gwen realised Ellen was in the midst of actual secretarial work, a fact that made her feel the true marvel of intelligent Spirits. Was the work perhaps an attempt by the Dean to further humanise the Spirit? She tried to imagine Caliban or Ariel doing the same position and had to suppress a mirthful smile. How could she convince her Lecturer that Caliban ate her homework? What if Ariel zapped her accounts to oblivion?
"Jin! Gwen, Richard! Come in, come in!" Magister Jiang's booming voice came on like a trumpet.
The duo entered while Magus Ru retreated to the door.
"My work here is done. I hope to see you around campus soon."
"Thank you, Sir." They both bowed, took a deep breath, then entered the Dean's open door.
[https://i.imgur.com/2b85nMm.png]
Inside the Dean's office, Magister Luo had his guests' files opened in front of him. He had read through the cousins' stats almost a dozen times since last night.
Richard appeared as expected, a young man with a thin face, lean of limb and body, a square jaw and a Roman nose that hinted at his mixed heritage.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
When the girl appeared behind the young man, Luo felt a jolt of electricity fill the air. The girl was stunning! A heart-achingly pretty face, striking green-ochre eyes, and a lean, lithe figure, standing as the picture of perfection, a poster child.
Luo kept his face impassive.
"Greetings, I am Magister Luo Jiang, the Dean of this University."
Gwen and Richard both bowed deeply.
"I am Gwen Song; it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir."
"I am Richard Huang, Sir; it's an honour."
"I'd ask that you sit, as is proper for western customs."
Luo kept his eyes on the duo. "Conjure Object!" A pair of antique sitting chairs appeared behind them.
"Please sit."
"Conjure Object" was an impressive tier 4 spell, performed quietly and efficiently with great subtlety. There was no ripple in the Astral Plane, no burst of Conjuration mana; it was as though the chairs had always been there. To achieve such a feat required an exercise in Conjuration as natural as taking a breath of fresh air, as passive as blinking.
Gwen and Richard sat with impressed expressions.
Luo congratulated himself.
"I have studied both of your applications, including the commendations from Pudong Tower on behalf of the Morning Star himself. I am impressed, as anyone would be impressed, by your achievements at so young an age."
"Thank you, Sir." the girl inclined her head.
Luo rapped his fingers against the table.
Rap. Rap. Rap. The crisp sound was an onomatopoeic representation of his thoughts.
"However, your applications have come at a difficult time for us. Are you aware that your grandmother, my respected colleague, the esteemed Klavdiya Song, Director of the Second PLA Hospital, has submitted you for a Scholarship position?"
"Sir?" The girl had not heard. She had assumed that she was applying for a full-fee position.
"Are we eligible?" Richard asked the more poignant question.
Luo pursed his lips. The duo held their breath.
"Yes," he said finally. "I am allowing it."
Both Gwen and Richard allowed their breath to escape their lips.
"However, there is a multi-stage process for selection of students for the Lim-Chanrol Student Scholarship prize, or the LCSS, as endearingly known amongst the cohort. There will be a written exam, a Practical, then an interview before a panel. Usually, students have weeks, even months, to prepare. I regret to inform you that you have—"
Luo paused, studying their faces carefully. "—several hours. What say you? If not, you are always welcome to apply for the latter year cohort for 2004's semester 1. I hope you understand that Director Song has sprung this upon me rather unconventionally."
The duo met one another's eyes, nodded, then responded confidently.
"If we fail, Sir, are we still able to apply for the non-scholarship course? Or for the scholarship course again?" the girl asked.
"Of course," Luo answered them. "I should also note that the students selected for the Inter-University Competition are usually LCSS alumnus. That and you need to understand that having failed once, it will reflect poorly, though not critically, upon your next application."
"I see." the girl appeared to consider the hand dealt toward her and her cousin. Luo wondered what they were thinking—play it safe and slow or loose and fast; those were the options before them. How confident was the girl? The young man should have no problems, considering his role at Prince's.
"Shall I explain the stages of each competition?" Luo offered an olive brane.
"Please do." The girl squared her shoulders attractively.
"Very good." The Magister's lips curled mirthfully. "The written exam is an essay on the current status of our precarious world. It can range anywhere between Demi-humans and Humanity, ecological issues with the Mermen, Political treaties between the Frontier Cities. It has the least weighing of the three exams and serves largely as a measure of your eloquence and wisdom in assessing current affairs."
Oh, that's not good. Gwen bit her lip hesitantly. She was a country bumpkin from the woods. What kind of political discourse or sagely observation could she possibly give regarding matters of a world she had barely begun to know?
"The next exam is the Combat examination. You may select a tier of Summoned Creature, then attempt to defeat the randomised creature that emerges from the Conjuration Circle. Rest assured that your life will be in no danger, though I wouldn't guarantee the same for risk of significant injury, so do be careful."
"What tier can we choose from?" Richard asked.
"The exam begins at 5, which is already beyond the abilities of your average University student, and may progress up to 12."
"12?" Gwen turned to Richard questioningly. "What could be tier 12?"
"The Imperial Tier system is largely a generalisation," Luo explained. "As you are both from the frontier, you have probably had little to no contact with higher-order Demi-humans. A member of the Elven race, for example, is usually a fourth tier creature, possessing extraordinary agility and intelligence, not to mention a lifespan of millennia. When you add that age and wisdom to Arcane Craft, however, as well as elemental affinity, an Elven Druid or Sorceress could easily surpass tier 10 regarding raw destructive potential. Conversely, a Dire Bear with Fortified Earth, and so on, which would be 6 or 7, pending bloodline and traits."
"Incredible," the girl confessed to her ignorance, her eyes growing strangely vacant at the mention of Elves.
"The same applies to us. Are we not dangerous in ourselves, hmm? Even though the common man is merely tier 1." Luo chuckled amiably, then irritably, he suddenly recalled that he had given an explicit order only moments earlier. "Ellen! Where is that tea?!"
'Ellen' appeared with a tea set bore on solidified air.
"Use your arms and legs, Ellen," Luo commanded his Familiar. "Come on, now."
The air Sprite took the tray with her ethereal fingers and manipulated the handle, clumsily took a cup and began to fill it with tea. His audience watched in awe as the spectacle unfolded. 'Ellen', as human-like as she appeared, even dressed appropriately in the garb of a doe-eyed secretary, struggling with the pot. At the same time, her slender legs wobbled, struggling to maintain balance without taking flight.
Ellen passed a cup over to Richard, but his Familiar hesitated when she got to Gwen. Suddenly, Luo felt a bout of loathing emanating from his Familiar.
"I'll take that, thank you." The girl reached out for the cup and saucer.
"EEE—" Ellen slipped and flung the tea straight toward Gwen's face.
"Lea!" Thankfully, Richard recalled Lea quickly and caught the liquid before Gwen became drenched in Osmanthus water.
"Ellen!" Magister Luo sent a jolt of mana into his Familiar the addressed the girl. "I am very sorry. It's hard work, trying to humanise your Familiar. You should try it yourself, Gwen."
"It's okay," the girl smiled. "I don't—"
"That was your fault!" Ellen seemed more peeved at Luo than Gwen herself. With a flash of Conjuration, she ceased to exist within the material and bid herself to return to her Pocket Dimension. The tea set was left hanging in the air for a comical moment before Lea caught it expertly in a watery bubble.
"She's a work in progress," Magister Luo confessed with both hands raised. "I acquired her as a mid-tier spirit, and I am trying to improve her fine motor skills and general intelligence, but alas, Air Sprites are willful, proud, and a little too flippant."
Richard asked Lea to bring the tea set to rest against a sideboard.
"Now, dear Lea! What you have there, Mister Huang, is the envy of all Conjurers." Luo watched Lea manipulate the tray expertly. "You'll have to tell me about how you came to acquire such a spirit one day, Richard."
"I look forward to it." Richard grinned at the Magister. "She's not for sale, by the way."
"I would allow nothing of the sort, my boy! I am merely admiring. She's a beauty, she is." Luo snuffed his slight feelings of jealousy.
"She is, is she not?" Richard politely asked Lea to service the trio. Together, they watched her pour the tea clumsily, collecting wayward drops by controlling the liquid.
"Where was I?" Magister Luo returned his eyes on the two young Mages before him.
"The Combat Exam, the Tiers," Gwen answered him.
A smile touched Luo's lips affirmatively.
"Ah yes, the creatures randomly summoned will be within one to two tiers of your indicated challenge rating. You can give up anytime, and we'll banish it."
"Understood, Sir," Gwen replied.
"What if a creature has directly oppositional affinities?" Richard inquired further. "Such as if I were to face an Ice Elemental, or Gwen an Earth Elemental? Wouldn't that be unfair?"
"You have three attempts," Luo informed them. "If you are unlucky all three attempts, then I can only assume that you're not meant to be here. Fortune, my dear boy, is also a keen component of a Mage's growth. Dungeon diving, Adventuring, the discovery of new fauna and flora, all tied to one's luck. Whatever the case, do your best to demonstrate your skills. Brute force, skilful manipulation, wisdom in Spellcraft or even courage under adversity, we take them all into the account."
Luo waited for the duo to digest the news.
"The final component is the interview, conducted by the Magisters from the three main factions within the university. These are not real Factions, like the ones in the Tower, of course, they are staff and student organised social groups. There will be the Faculty Head of Advanced Spellcraft, the Department Head of a school I will refrain from informing you, and the Provost of the General Department."
"Any clues as to what they may ask, Sir?" Richard inquired bluntly.
"A range of questions, to be sure," Magister Luo replied evasively, not wanting to give away the game. "Some personal, some political, others merely of interest to the Interviewers themselves. My recommendation is to be yourselves."
"I see." The boy motioned for Lea to return. Lea ignored him and instead flittered about the room, poking at old photo frames and swirling about crystal decanters that scintillated against the sunbeams shining through the french windows.
Amused, the two spirit-possessing Conjurers regarded one another with looks of mutual understanding. The boon and bane of having sapient spirits were that they had a mind of their own.
"I am good to go," the girl spoke with confidence.
"Excellent." Luo put his hands together. "I will inform the others that you will be joining them."
"How many others, Sir?" Richard asked. "What's the competition?"
"Including you, twenty," Luo replied. "A few genuinely talented students, the others prodigies from the Clans and the Houses, here for prestige more so than anything else the Scholarship may provide. There are only two spots for Full-Scholarship, followed by four for Half-Scholarship."
"So, six out of twenty?" The girl nibbled her lips contemplatively. "Do we have to duel any of the other contestants?"
"There is precedence, but no, you will not. The result is objectively determined, based on your performances, then extensively debated."
"I see."
"Very well then, I shall expect the good news. The results will be posted by the week's end. The semester itself begins mid-June. Assuming you succeed, there is still a month to sort out campus accommodations."
"I admire your confidence, Sir," Richard smirked at Luo. "And your foresight."
"I am an open book." Magister Luo glanced at his two proteges, feeling well satisfied. "Ellen will take you to the testing grounds on the other side of the campus. Do take care."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Thank you, Sir."
Luo gave the two permission to go, then, looking around the office, went about fixing himself a happy drink.
[https://i.imgur.com/2b85nMm.png]
Gwen and Richard proceeded away from the Colonial house and down the central Handan promenade, where the entrance to the Hall of Brilliance lay, its three-metre glass doors swinging to and fro as Mages came and went.
Carefully, she observed the cosmopolitan students, mostly Chinese, some European, some Eurasian, a few resembling the Han Chinese but distinctly different, which she could only assume to be Korean or Japanese, as well as a few more exotic faces which she guessed to be South American or Mediterranean.
There was a massive lawn area right before the Fudan Towers, with broad, poplar strewn avenues running down either side. After piercing the greenery, the trio reached the second campus, Jianghan, where the newer Spellcraft facilities resided.
"In here." Ellen's inhuman eyes were scintillatingly beautiful, reflecting the infinite cloudscape of the Elemental Plane of Air. She pointed to a warehouse converted office building with poetry written in red on either side of the door as a couplet.
The first read:
'There exist no shortcuts on the winding path of Spellcraft'
The second read:
'There is no shore when sailing upon the seas of Arcane knowledge.'
To Gwen, both were elegant proverbs.
"Welcome!"
A pair of Mages, a man and a woman, emerged from the shaded double doors of the warehouse, introducing themselves as the Proctors.
"Greetings." Gwen and Richard bowed.
The two Proctors returned their greeting with slight inclines of their heads. One of them motioned for the two to enter.
"The written exam is in here, the General Examination Hall. Would you like to begin? The Dean has asked to give you time to prepare if you need it."
Gwen couldn't think of anything productive she could potentially pertain as to the two hours she possessed, and so she nodded. Beside her, Richard brimmed with supernatural confidence.
The warehouse's interior betrayed the shabby looking exterior, probably preserved to retain the historical look of the campus. Instead of galvanised sheeting, the interior was a vaulted wooden ceiling with soft golden pine, embedded with soft down-lights and climate-controlled to perfection. The hall itself took advantage of the warehouse's arched ceilings, separated and held up by three wishbone dividers. If fully arranged, the hall was capable of housing a thousand examinees.
Currently, there were only four students busily scribbling away at their tests.
Soundlessly, the proctors placed Gwen and Richard into separate, private examination rooms plated with ash-blonde wood, modestly reflective with a pleasant matt-lacquer.
Gwen smoothed out her dress and sat on the unyielding chair.
"You have a hundred and twenty minutes," the Proctor said.
A stack of paper and a single test sheet was upon the table, which Gwen presumed to be the exam paper.
She flipped over the page and read the conditions of the exam.
Written Section
Total Marks (50)
Allow 120 Min for this section:
IN YOUR ANSWER, you are assessed on how well you:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the way Spellcraft may be applied practically.
- Describe, explain and analyse the relationships between Spellcraft, context, and real-world events.
- Demonstrate appropriate use of language and form in the essay format
"Humanity must strive to bring significant and enduring change through the application of Spellcraft."
Address this statement with your observation and opinions.
Gwen felt for the pen and pulled a piece of exam paper toward her chest. She could only write in English and so hoped that the language barrier wouldn't be a problem. After all, the question was perfect; it was perfect for someone like herself.
How should she go about it?
Radical, insightful, or perhaps—groundbreaking?