"Alliya, your turn!"

Alliya looked up, having spent the last hour or so psyching herself up, but it hadn't helped much. Now she was extremely nervous and had to show skills she didn't have. There was an audition going on as the new teacher's mandatory disciple and it was every student's goal to get picked. Extra resources, extra lessons tailored to your needs, protection and prestige; it was so close she could almost taste it.

Walking down the corridor and heading towards the door at the end of it she almost just walked in, but paused as she overheard a conversation between the dean and teacher Lain.

"You can't just reject every student," he idly commented and received an unladylike grunt in return.

"I know! I'm not doing it on purpose, but if they are unsuitable - no, if I'm unsuitable raise them to heights unseen, what's the point?"

"You're exaggerating. It doesn't even matter that much what you teach them. It's a formality, really."

The new teacher scoffed at that. "I'm sure you think that, but I actually want to win." There was a pause. "What are you waiting for, girl? I don't have all day."

Alliya's eyes widened. She was unable to see them due to the wall in the way, which should have meant they were unable to see her either, but apparently that was not the case. She walked into the classroom, seeing the dean and the teacher turn to look at her. This was it. This was where she would prove to herself and her family that she could become something on her own merit. No pressure. It was just her future at stake.

"Begin when ready," Dean Abenezigel said with an encouraging smile while Lady Lain seemed to have already stopped paying attention. She was sitting there looking down at a sheet of paper, wearing a red dress instead of the uniform school staff usually wore. Well, nothing to it. Time to impress.

She started out with a small flame in her hand, having it dance in her palm. It slowly grew taller and wider, but also fainter. She almost got lost looking into the flame like so many times before but caught herself in time. Swallowing, she switched over to an actual skill.

"Flame wheel!" she called out and her strongest skill went off, taking most of her mana with it. A wheel of flames appeared in front of her staff, spinning, widening, then tightening again as it rushed towards the dummy stone in the corner of the classroom, leaving somewhat impressive burn marks behind. At this point sweat was running down her face from exertion.

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She didn't have enough mana for another proper spell, so instead of embarrassing herself by trying anyway she turned towards Lady Lain, who leaned forward attentively.

"Why did you cast flame wheel there? That costs way too much mana. Show me the flame from the beginning again."

Unsure of what exactly she wanted, Alliya created a flame in her palm, showing it off. It was a beginner skill that any mage, even those with poor fire affinity, would be able to cast.

"Now give it form. Make it a good one."

Alliya was unsure what to do. She repeated the size modification and the flame flickered, but that was about all she could do. Alliya looked questioningly at Lady Lain and could see the disappointment on her face, but after a moment she replaced it with a somewhat forced smile.

"Alright, I'll take her." With that she stood up, apparently ready to leave.

Dean Abenezigel looked surprised. "What? Are you sure? She is barely second step. It'll be a guanteed loss. We still have some more promising candidates. Are you sure you want to choose her? We can't force you to teach her, but you definitely won't be able to send someone else to the tournament to claim the price."

Wait, teachers compete in the tournament? This was news to Alliya, it was advertised as a student tournament and part of the final grades. Lady Lain put the sheet of paper she had been staring at in front of Alliya.

"Sign here. Fair warning, this is a divine contract. Backing out is not an option."

Alliya looked unsure towards the dean who had a thoughtful expression. Being picked as a disciple was a big deal and would propel her forward immensely, but suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Uhm... what am I signing?"

"Excellent question, my soon to be disciple. I'm glad you're not blindly signing whatever someone puts in front of you. It's a master-disciple contract. There are a lot of clauses, but the short of it is that you have to do what I say while I have to protect and teach you. The usual, really."

Dean Abenezigel looked over the contract and frowned.

"This.... Is this really necessary? Those types of contracts are frowned upon in Harrak."

Lady Lain looked irritated at that. "Yes, it is. Makes my life a lot easier. I would not have expected you of all people to object to a contract overseen by Entikku."

Looking at the paper, Alliya spotted the symbol of Entikku, who would do the divine part. It was known that the dean was a [Servant of Entikku]. After a moment he nodded. It was not like he could go against Entikku, who would not enforce a contract if it went against her values.

Slavery was illegal in Harrak and the school put measures in place that young, promising mages could not be cooerced into deals they didn't want. She could just walk away and neither Lady Lain nor Dean Abenezigel would be able to do anything about it. So, before it got any more awkward, she signed.

A moment later Alliya almost collapsed. The contract had taken some amount of her mana while she was essentially empty. She also felt what seemed like chains binding her soul, even though it shouldn't have been this intrusive. Lady Lain stabilized her by holding her arm, and a warmth flowed through her that gave her strength. The feeling of fatigue vanished, the feeling of having made a terrible mistake remained. But no, surely this would be fine.