The councilor spoke confidently, explaining to Wilt his value and what he could accomplish. He paid attention eagerly, but some of what she had said was truly terrifying. Apparently, he had the potential to become more than a rival to the house of Larkin, and that he would need to defend against them. Those people were monsters who had decimated armies in the last major war. Would he really grow to that level, and could he bring himself to attack other people? He wasn’t sure but imagined he could do something if it was to protect his homeland.

“So, how about it, are you willing to work under me? I am not the most powerful of the councilors, and any of them would accept you, but I will guarantee that I won’t let your potential go to waste. They would likely have you lounge in safety, but I will show you how to push the boundaries of power, even beyond just Ein.”

She brought it back to the crux of her intentions. The councilor wanted to recruit him to some group of hers. It seemed like each of the councilors had their own faction, and he guessed that this was what she was inviting him to. Her words were filled with praise though, and he already knew that she was a good teacher. He considered waiting for the other councilors to approach, but remembering Stella made him accept. She had wanted to work together, right?

“Yes, I would love the opportunity!”

He said the words with a little too much enthusiasm and could feel his face heating up a bit afterward. It didn’t seem to bother the councilor, and she nodded. Her assistant muttered something, but he couldn’t make out what she said.

“Good. You will meet the others in the group tomorrow, please do be here at four in the afternoon. Officially it is labeled as the Order of Development, but that is only to meet certain requirements of the institution.”

Wilt knew what she was talking about, having read about it in his orientation documents. After the first month ended students would be required to join an order, after which they would choose additional classes related to that order.

“Can I do that; don’t I have to wait to the end of the month? What happens if I fail?"

He saw her looking at him speculatively, and he realized that he had just interrupted her. He wanted to squirm under her gaze, but she didn’t seem to mind as she continued.

“Even if you had no talent for forming chants, you would not be failed. You simply have too much Ein to not be useful. However, that is not the case as you have already demonstrated a sufficient degree of competence in that area. Not to mention you are one of the few students to have already begun studying. No, I can confidently tell you that there is no chance for you to be failed out.”

There was no hesitation in her words, and he guessed that a councilor would be able to back up her words. Strangely, Wilt didn’t feel relief wash over him. Unconsciously, he had been expecting to fail, to escape the pressure and return to his father’s library. That seemed increasingly unlikely, and he couldn’t help but let out a shallow breath. He immediately regretted it realizing that acting exasperated in front of his new teacher probably wasn’t a good idea. With a little bit of awkwardness, he forced himself to speak.

“Sorry, it’s been a surprisingly long day, and I think I would like to get some rest.”

He didn’t manage to project what he wanted from his voice, and the councilor noticed.

“I fully understand, make sure you rest well, I’m sure you will enjoy it here.”

There was a lot of reassurance in those words, and it did help Wilt to feel a bit better, but he couldn’t completely shake off the day yet. He was glad to be excused and left the room in a bit of a stumble. As he left, he took one last look at the room.

It was an amazing place, filled with devices that he had never seen before. Shelves lined the walls, and he saw dozens of small plates that were covered in wards resting inside of them. The walls and floors were crisscrossed by wards as well, and he couldn’t help but think that this was a bit much. This went beyond just preferring wards and went into the realms of an obsession. Although the sight didn’t dissuade him, and was in fact, one of the reasons he accepted. It was clear that the councilor was dedicated, and that was something he had been lacking, even after applying to the institute.

His application had been done aimlessly because he realized that he was just going to end up staying in the library his whole life. While he enjoyed the place, it wasn’t as if he had a particular drive to stay there. Honestly, he had almost never felt a particular pull to any task but had been able to manage at anything he tried. He didn’t even expect to get accepted but had hoped that it would offer something that really interested him.

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So far, his experiences had been good, and he was already eager to learn more. Inwardly, he worried that it was only temporary, and he would soon lose his drive. Not letting him fail out was a nice gesture, but it also felt a like leash around his neck. Now, he would need to hope that something here would be able to hold his attention. Warding held his attention to some degree, but so did the chants from his first class.

Once he got out of the room, he dashed down the hallways trying to find an exit. He wanted to take a nap and was eager to get back. However, that didn’t stop him from glancing at the other rooms’ doors as he moved. Some of them were open, and he caught a brief glimpse of something incredible. The one that stood out the most was some kind of thin pipe that was transferring lightning. He didn’t know what the function of that was outside of a fight, but couldn’t chanters just do more with a chant? Plus, it was too small to do any real damage. Maybe he could get some information on stuff like this tomorrow. He could probably even get some advice on the gift for his sister.

He paused at one door, realizing that it was another exit of the building. He had known that there would be other exits, but this was the first he had actually seen. There was only one for the first-year section, although he guessed that was because it was the closest to the main entrance. He took it for it was and headed towards the exit. It was a glass door, though it was adorned with a simple metal handle. On the other side, he saw a park, but it was not something he had seen before.

It didn’t really matter if he recognized it though, there would be some paths that led around the building, and he desperately wanted to head outside. As he stepped onto the stone walkway, he was surprised to notice that the space was surprisingly empty. Not seeing any students was strange, especially with how crowded the school had felt thus far. It probably should’ve been a signal to him to halt, but his curiosity won over common sense now.

Looking around the park, he noticed a few benches by the occasional tree. There was what looked like a forest in the distance, and he wondered how big the institute’s grounds really were. He looked up and saw that the sun was still up and decided that he wouldn’t mind taking a break out here. Originally, he had planned to return to his room, but this place felt oddly comfortable, and he took the opportunity to take advantage of the nice weather.

He found a bench that faced towards the forest and pulled out one of his books. It was made of stone and felt cool as he rested his back against it. The tree it was near provided just enough shade to shield his eyes. The grounds were filled with grass, and he could see a few stone paths leading around the building, and some even ventured into the forest. Since he was more focused on the park itself, he grabbed his father’s book. He had skimmed through it before but had never given it a proper read. Feeling a little nostalgic, he decided that he would give it a genuine attempt. His father was a skilled writer, even if his sense of titles was poor. The only reason he had avoided reading it was in childish defiance against him.

The book was interesting, and he found himself absorbed as the book started with his father’s experience of the first major invasion by the kingdom of Larkin. It was surprisingly detailed, and the imagery it invoked was somewhat chilling. However, he had only been alive for the end of the invasion, and it wound down quickly in the story. He moved to some lighter topics of how Wilt’s grandfather had to rebuild their family from the ground up and had moved to the capital after their town had been destroyed.

Wilt felt something rub against his leg and opened his eyes in alarm. He had fallen asleep, the book resting in his lap. His attention was drawn to the enormous yellow eye that was staring at him. The eye alone was as big as his fist, and he froze as he looked at the creature in more detail. His body had stiffened unnaturally, and he knew that he couldn’t run even if he wanted to. The creature had a long snout, that ended in a somewhat leathery-looking nose. Sharp blade-like teeth were made visible as the creature opened its mouth slightly. Grey fur streaked across its body, ending in a tail that was as large as Wilt himself.

It was a Terasix. Wilt racked his brain for whatever information he could find but sitting directly in front of the hulking beast made focusing difficult. Finally, some information flashed through is mind, and he remembered that the creatures weren’t harmful. They were peaceful, but there was some kind of ritual he would need to do. Sadly, he didn’t remember all of the details but knew it had to do with physical contact. Presumably, it had already done its part when it had touched him earlier.

Without even the tiniest bit of confidence, he managed to reach his hand out towards the creature. He lifted it slowly, needing to find the courage to move his frozen body. Somehow, he managed it, and the creature moved its head into Wilt’s palm. Two thoughts clashed with one another as Wilt felt the creature’s fur beneath his palms. It was by far the most amazing thing he had ever felt, the creature’s fur somehow managing to be softer than even his pillows. The second thought was that the creature was seconds away from murdering him. Wilt almost drew his hand away out of reflex, but he was saved by his fear.

Simply too scared to move his hand out of the way, he had seemed to accomplish what he needed. The creature was rubbing its head against his hand in a very endearing gesture, and he found himself relaxing. His shoulders practically fell off, as he began to rub the creature’s head. This was a bit too surreal for him, and he idly wondered if he was dreaming. However, the feeling of the creature’s luxurious fur was too real for this to be anything but reality. Wilt continued to pet the creature, treating it as though it was a common pet kix.

The sun was only barely out now, and he knew that he would need to get back to his room. Although, he also didn’t want to risk offending the creature, and didn’t know if he could just leave. The creature seemed quite content to be pet, but that only made Wilt more unsure of whether he could leave or not. Eventually, the creature would leave. At least, that was what he thought until he saw more of the large beasts exiting the forest. This might be a problem.