“CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!” The annoying alarm clock, once again, fulfilled its job. Shut up! An arm shot out of the blue sheets and cartoon bluebird alarm clock was smacked, silence appearing afterwards. Ugh… Groaning, the figure under the sheets rose from his slumber. Looking at the bluebird alarm clock, he regretted having it ‘fixed’. Agh! How did they even manage to screw it up! The original was so much better!
Grumbling under his breath, the figure that just got up walked towards a mirror. In front of him was a sorry sight of a man. A bulging belly, unkempt facial hair, a bald head, and a food-stained jogging suit. His dark blue eyes looked at the image in disgust. Yet, for him, all was not lost. His intelligence was slightly above the majority, giving him an advantage in his job selection. Not that it really matters. Nepotism reigns far and wide. Sighing, he took a seat on an office chair beside a desk. He brought out a laptop and started to search for job applications. Browsing through the sites, one in particular caught his attention. From the stupid title of “Super Job! Apply now!” it seemed like it would be a miss, yet nevertheless he decided to click the link.
Welcome! To apply for the job please print out the form and submit it to XXX. Details are found below. For further information, call XXX.
Reading the information, the man decided that it was not a bad job to apply for. He printed the form and dutifully filled it in. After that, he changed his clothes to a black formal suit. Tying up his tie, he inhaled and exhaled repeatedly. He then went his way.
*** *** ***
Edward woke up and on the side of his bed, on a wooden stool, sat a person covered in grey robes. The person was reading a book covered in leather and seemed too absorbed on reading it, making his waking up unnoticed. Edward looked at the new figure. From what he could see was a tall figure, thin-looking under the cover of the robes and mysterious under Edward’s eyes.
“Bees, eh?” a croaky voice of an elderly male resounded. It was the robed figure’s. Edward, as he heard the words muttered out, froze in embarrassment. Giving out a weak chuckle, Edward inquired, “If I may ask, sir.” You can. “Who exactly are you?”
The robed man looked up at him, and in response, Edward stared at the face covered by the cowl. The robed man sighed and scratched his head. “Think about it little one, a man covered in robes just like mages do in the old tales appears before you and it seems like this certain person is very old.”
“You’re my magic tutor then?” Edwards inquired, though he had already pieced the pieces as he asked the previous question. The robed figure nodded. “Indeed, I am your magic tutor.” Straightening his body, the tutor asked, “However, before we start, tell me, why do you want to learn magic in the first place?”
His question was met with silence and the robed figure looked at the expression of the boy. Edward’s face contorted into a serious one as if he was truly thinking deeply about it. Tap. Tap. Tap. Edward kept tapping the side of his bed. Finally, he replied, “’Coz it’s cool.”
The tutor let out a suppressed laugh. “What a funny answer,” he commented, “It could have been ‘Because I want to protect the ones I love!’ or ‘Because I the want power to get the things I want’ or ‘I want a way to protect myself’ or maybe even ‘I need it to destroy the evil in this world’ but you chose to answer with such an insignificant reason.” The tutor eyed the boy under his cowl. “But you know, with that type of weak rationale, it won’t be unexpected if you decide to give up, deciding that it was too hard," the robed tutor said, “Tell me, Edward of the Arins, do you really want to learn the ways of the arcane? Or will you just give it up, deciding that it was just a childish dream of yours?”
“I’ll learn it,” Edward replied nonchalantly. “In fact I’ll be the best at it.”
Hoh? Thought the tutor. What an arrogant brat. Yet, even with those thoughts, the robed man said, “Then I’ll teach you.” He took a deep breath and gave out a suffocating feeling. “However, I won’t take kindly to those who laze around.”
Edward just gazed at the tutor with disdaining eyes. Inwardly, Edward thought, What an arrogant prick.
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*** *** ***
“Milord!” cried out a sweaty servant. “Why is the tutor of the young master the infamous mage, Treyan?!”
A man sitting on an adorned chair looked at the servant and, in a monotone voice, replied, “You should not spoil the child.” The servant bit his lip. His master was correct; the young master had been pampered a bit too much. Yet, he could not accept it. “But, milord!”
“Silence!” Echoes reverberated throughout the hall. The servant was shut up. The lord sitting on the embellished ‘throne’ growled, “If, by chance, this boy would lose his potential due to our pampering, our family’s chance at the throne would vanish!” The noble glared at the servant, causing the said servant to flinch. “He is our only hope! The other twin is mute, meaning that we cannot waste our chances. Now, what would you do if he was to fall because of our excess ‘love’?!”
“Forgive me, my lord.” The servant bowed his head. “This lowly servant had dared to voice his imprudent thoughts that went against milord’s wise actions.”
The lord tiredly said, “You are dismissed.”
The servant once more bowed and exited the ‘throne room’. Watching the servant’s disappearing figure, the lord closed his eyes. Boy, you better not disappoint.
*** *** ***
Treyan did not want to admit it but the boy, Edward, had exceeded his expectations. The amount of mana exhibited by the boy was tremendous, and what’s more is that it was very pure. Tch… Pure or not, without the proper mind set, he’d stumble along the way. Comforting his self with such thoughts, an explosion startled him.
Dust scattered around the area and made it difficult to see the cause. After waiting for a few moments to let the dust settle, Treyan was shocked. A large crater had appeared in the middle of the field. It seems that I have underestimated this Edward. Though Treyan could make a crater much larger than the one present, this was caused by a boy that just learned how to harness the power of magic.
What frightening potential.
Treyan had realised what a frightening youth the boy had been. Soon after, he had started to wish that he had not offended the boy at all. He started thinking of ways to appease the boy so as not to draw himself harm when the boy actually became a mage. No wait, he thought, job first. “What the hell are you doing!”
The shout brought Edward back to reality. He had stared at the effects of his magic for too long. Hearing the voice that brought him back, he wanted to apologize to the groundskeeper for the damage. But still, that was way out of my expectations.
“Oy! What are you doing blanking out!?” Treyan, Edward’s tutor walked in fuming. “Don’t you have some sort of control!?”
To that question, Edward could only shift his eyes towards the ground. It felt degrading to be scolded by a man he placed no importance on. It’s not as if his ‘tutor’ actually gave some useful advice to him. Then again, the same thing happened to Master Gil… He recalled his sword instructor. Maybe this magic tutor of mine would actually be of some help if I destroy his prejudice against me…
But for now, how do I defuse his anger… Grasping at some far-fetched plans, he pouted his lips and looked up at his tutor with ‘teary’ eyes. As if he was afraid, he made whimpering noises and he looked as if he was on the verge of tears. “Master, I’m sowwy,” he whimpered out, “I didn’t mean to…”
The tutor’s face gradually turned softer. YES!!! Edward inwardly cheered. Then it immediately became ice cold. Shoulda' known…
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Author's Note: Sorry for not posting any chapters for about a week. My laptop had some problems and I was unable to post due to it.