I was sitting in the waiting room with several others who were obviously also here for their interviews. We were all Iron Rank. I could see from their clothes they were rich. I was wearing my best as well, although I still hadn’t found my shoes, even after emptying out my Hunters Pack. I must have left them somewhere, but I couldn’t even remember where I wore them last.

Some of the candidates attempted to converse with their neighbours, but it never lasted long. I think everybody was too nervous. I didn’t even try because I find quiet to be comforting. I have always liked to be alone, and that has not changed.

There were a couple of bonds in the room. At least, that is what I assumed they were. Nobody seemed to mind, so Kai came out, and I stroked him while I waited.

“Theodore Narelli.”

That was me. I got up, and the assistant directed me to a small office. Inside, a man was seated at a desk. I could not even detect his aura. That meant he was probably gold rank.

“Come in, close the door and sit, please.” His voice was quite deep. He was a Celestine with dark skin. His hair was bright green, and his eyes matched that colour, which was a typical Celestine feature. Other than that, he was a boring human normal. The Celestine race gets a particular focus on magic and spells like elves.

After I sat, he said, “Good, you have reasonable aura control. I am Professor Haoran. I teach magic, but only second-year students and up. Why don’t you tell me why you want to attend the Remore Academy.”

“My friend was here and recommended it. To be honest, I don’t know much about what you do here other than train adventurers.”

There was silence.

“You have never heard of the Remore Academy? We are quite famous. We have trained kings and diamond rankers over the centuries.” The professor seemed quite amused.

“No, sir. Perhaps you could tell me a bit about what you do.”

The professor's eyebrow went up, “Well, as you say, we train adventurers. We train others as well, but adventurers are what we are known for. I assume you want to be an adventurer?”

“I did growing up. I worked hard to earn my essence and some skill stones, but I am not so sure anymore.”

Both the professor's eyebrows went up. I guess that wasn’t the usual answer he got.

“Why don’t you tell me what you hope to achieve by coming here? That will give me a guide as to whether this is the right place for you.”

“Right, I was told you had a list of other academies in the city. I would be interested in that.”

I think the professor might have a problem with his eyebrows. Maybe it is a Celestine thing?

I continued, “I want to finish filling out my skills and level to bronze.” There goes the professor's eyebrows again. I asked, “Do most people coming here have their skills completed already?

“Most do,” Professor Haoran said, “some have the last few slots to complete. How many open skill slots do you have?”

“Eight. I thought I could get some advice here as to what stones aim for. It is an academy.”

“Indeed, it is. That is something we could do; we just don’t have to do it often. You said you are aiming for bronze rank. Are you not aiming higher? Silver Rank is the minimum we expect our graduates to achieve. We have more gold-rank graduates than any other academy in the world.”

“I figured Bronze was enough for now, and then I would reassess. I have sort of lost my focus recently, and I am coming here to help me refocus. It is a school, so I assumed that was part of the purpose here.”

There go those eyebrows again. I think it might just be him rather than a racial trait. I haven’t met many Celestines, though.

“Most students who enrol here are very focused and motivated. Those that aren't tend not to last long here.”

“Well, maybe this isn’t the place for me,” I stood up. “If you have that list, I would appreciate it. If you could also direct me to the office of Arabelle Remore, that would be helpful. I was told she could help me, and I have a letter from her son.”

“Her son? Would that be Rufus Remore?”

“Yes. He is the one who said his family ran a school for adventurers and that I should come here.”

“Why don’t you sit down again, Theo? I just want to clarify a few points.” I sat down. “You met Rufus, but you didn’t know he was the son of the famous gold-rank adventurers Gabriel and Arabelle Remore and the grandson of Roland Remore, the diamond-rank founder of this academy. Roland Remore is the greatest swordsman alive and still comes to teach here when he is around.”

“I didn’t know that, no. He just said his family ran a school and that his mum could help me work through some issues. She is a healer, I believe.”

“She is. Just a minute,” he said, pressing a rune on the edge of the desk. The assistant knocked briefly and then entered. “Jing, could you please go and see if Arabelle is available to join us? Thanks.”

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It might be a quirk of the local culture as the assistant's eyebrows also just went up. She left.

“Arabelle’s office is not far from here. If she is not available, where can she contact you?”

“I am currently staying at the Temple of Death. They will be able to contact me if I am not there.” There goes those eyebrows again.

“Are you a member of the church, Theo?”

“No. As I said, I am just reassessing where my life is heading. I am just a guest.”

“The Goddess of Death is not known for having a lot of guests.”

“No, I don’t suppose she is. All the other people there are clergy or workers.”

There was a knock on the door, and it was opened by a woman with the same dark chocolate skin and facial features as Rufus. The main difference was that she had hair.

“Arabelle, come in,” said Professor Haoran

“George,” she greeted him, “and who is this?”

“Let me introduce you to Theo. I am interviewing him for admission to the academy. Theo recently met Rufus, and Rufus sent him here. He has a letter for you.”

“Nice to meet you, Theo. I understand Rufus is down helping with the nasty business with the zombies. Is that where you met him?”

“Yes, ma’am. He and his team helped me out a lot.”

“I wasn’t aware he had a team yet? My husband Gabe normally keeps close tabs on Rufus. You will have to tell me all about them. It will be nice to know something he doesn’t.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” I looked at the professor, “May I use your desk?”

“Sure.”

I reached out with my finger, drew a small rectangle, plucked out an envelope, and passed it to Rufus’ mum. “I imagine he has written about it here.”

“I imagine he has, but he is usually quite sparse on details. We will have to catch up later. Was there anything else, George?”

“Indeed there is. Why don’t you pull up a seat?”

There goes those eyebrows again, and Arabelle is not Celestine. I will have to quiz Denice about it at the temple tonight. I don’t want to miss critical cultural clues.

The professor continued, “I am in the middle of the strangest interview with Theo. It is almost like I need to convince him to come and study here, and I almost lost him to another academy. Let me summarise, and Theo can correct me if I get anything wrong.”

That didn’t sound like how the interview was going to me. Arabelle is doing the eyebrows thing again. Should I be doing the eyebrows thing?

“Theo here has come to enrol because Rufus suggested it. He knows nothing about the Remore Academy. He had no idea who you and Gabe were. He has no idea who Roland is. Theo’s current goal is to reach Bronze rank, even though he still has eight skills to fill. He doesn’t know whether he wants to be an adventurer or, in fact, what he wants to do with his life. Rufus did say you might be able to help him work through some issues. Oh, and he is currently staying at the Temple of Death as a guest. Is that a fair summary, Theo?”

I nodded.

Arabelle just looked at me in silence for a minute. I was getting a little uncomfortable when she said, “George, you are assigning him a place as a student, right?”

“Absolutely. If he will accept.”

“Put my name down as a supporting signature,” she looked at me. “You only need one professor to enrol you, but I think you and I are going to be working together a lot.”

I wasn’t sure what was happening here. “Ah. I was told there were scholarships I could apply for. I can't afford it otherwise.”

Arabelle said, “I am responsible for the scholarships for the Healers. You are not a healer, but you qualify anyway. It will be reassessed after the first six-month block.”

I nodded, “Thank you, Ma’am, but I am not quite sure why you would make exceptions for me.”

“It is not an exception. George, why would you accept him?”

George listed the reasons on his fingers: “One, his aura control is tight. Two, he is polite and respectful. Three, he is open to learning and came here seeking help, specifically with his remaining awakening stones. It shows he wants to learn. Four, his whole attitude is going to be like fresh air in this place, and fifth, he has already done something big enough to impress a god. We are lucky if one in a thousand students do that after they graduate. You, Theo, have already achieved more than most of our graduates. This is definitely the place for you.”

Arabelle continued, “In regard to the scholarship. That summary, Theo, shows you have already met the requirements for two different scholarship categories. Those categories are “Shows an outstanding willingness to learn” and “Significant past achievements.” Congratulations and welcome to the Remore Academy, Theo,” She reached over and shook my hand, and the professor did the same.

The professor continued, “Come in on the first day of next week, and you will have an interview with a course advisor who will review your skills. An assessment of combat potential will also be carried out in a mirage chamber. From there, your advisor will work out a course of study for you, and they can advise you on further awakening stones. You will be assigned a room in the student accommodation, and further information on your scholarship will be available then. Any questions?”

I shook my head, “No, and thank you.”

“Now that the official interview is over,” Arabelle said, “I will make an appointment for you and me to meet mid to late next week after you have settled in. In order for me to prepare, I have a couple of questions.”

“I can leave for a few minutes if you want,” Professor Haoran offered.

“Theo?” Arabelle asked.

“I should be alright,” I said.

“Very well. What you did to impress the Goddess of Death was down in dealing with Undeath, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“There is more to it than just being a guest in her temple, isn’t there? We won’t talk about the event. We will save that for next week. It would help me to know what the goddess gave you.”

“Yes, ma’am. She gave me an Awakening Stone. The Divine Awakening Stone of Peace.”

I saw a sharp jerk of surprise from the professor in my periphery vision, but my attention was on Arabelle.

“That's fine Theo, and that is all I need to know for now,” She stood up, “Congratulations on becoming a student. Let me walk you out.”

Arabelle walked me out and started asking questions about Farrah and Gary. I knew she was distracting me, and that was fine. The awakening stone obviously told them something.