The Lord Mayor's estate was far more lavish than the viscount's, Green noted to himself in quiet awe.
The great hall was teeming with people. Impatient, he peered inside and saw a wizard seated at the highest dais, draped in a voluminous gray robe. Just as Mary had described, the figure's face seemed shrouded in a smoky haze, indistinct and enigmatic.
Before the wizard lay a transparent crystal orb, radiating a gentle, ethereal glow. A pervasive air of mystery filled the hall, while a red-eyed frog perched beside the orb, croaking incessantly.
Could this truly be a wizard?
Excitement surged through Green; this was his first sight of a wielder of such arcane and formidable power. In front of the orb, a plump, brown-haired girl nervously closed her eyes, her hands trembling as she touched its surface.
The crowd held its breath, suspended in silence. Green shifted his gaze to the wizard's side, where three children, similar in age to himself, stood.
Was it her?
The first girl he noticed now pouted, a scowl of reluctance on her face. She was the same girl who had discarded The Reconstruction of the Hunting Nose and Atlas of Scents at the viscount's estate that winter. Green had learned over the past six months that she was none other than the Lord Mayor's only daughter, wielding immense authority.
No wonder the corpulent noble he had glimpsed before was, in fact, the venerable Lord Mayor of Bisser City.
The other two appeared to be siblings—brother and sister perhaps—but from their nearly identical features, they were undoubtedly related by blood.
The boy exuded arrogance, standing tall behind the wizard, surveying each candidate for magical apprenticeship with a haughty sneer, much like the gold-collecting lackeys at the estate gates. The girl, in contrast, seemed shy, unaccustomed to so many eyes upon her.
"Could they be the ones deemed to possess potential for wizardry?" Green speculated.
Indeed, he guessed correctly. This pair had been identified as possessing latent magical talent in a city the wizard had previously visited. To rise above hundreds, even thousands, of children—and to have nobles fawn over them—would instill an intoxicating sense of destiny.
The boy was named Yorkris, the girl Yorkliana, born to an ordinary hunter's family. Once their magical aptitude had been revealed, once-proud nobles fawned over them as though they were tavern wenches, granting Yorkris the exhilarating sensation of being the universe's chosen, the favored protagonist of fate itself. He regarded those vying to test for wizardly potential with contempt.
If magical apprenticeship were so easily attained, how could Master Arovos have brought only these siblings and the fool outside along from the first three cities? In this city, the Lord Mayor's daughter alone had claimed a place, secured through bribery.
"Spirit Power six. Unqualified. Next."
The mysterious wizard's voice cut through the murmur. The plump girl recoiled, pale, and withdrew from the orb as others urged her aside.
"Ah, another failure."
"Yes, seems like no hope for us here."
The crowd, tense with anticipation, sighed. After a day of testing, aside from the Lord Mayor's daughter, no one had shown magical aptitude. Most would have abandoned the attempt if not for the gold coin already paid.
"Spirit Power five. Unqualified. Next."
One by one, candidates left in disappointment. Green, moving closer, felt a rising wave of despair. Wizardry was far from easy.
Ahead stood a boy Green recognized: Wade, son of the Moon Bay tavern owner, a place of luxury in Bisser City. Wade, nervous, touched the crystal orb and closed his eyes as it glowed softly.
"Spirit Power nine… no… hmm?"
Green's keen eyes caught a subtle exchange: Wade discreetly handed the wizard a small bag containing two or three dozen strange stones. The astute Green suspected a bribe.
"Very well. Step behind me," the wizard said, pocketing the bag.
Wade beamed. "Thank you, Master." He eagerly joined the wizard's side.
Green's face darkened. He had nothing to bribe with; surely even this eminent wizard would scorn his solitary remaining gold coin.
Uncertain, he approached the orb.
"Place your hands upon the crystal and close your eyes."
Obediently, Green complied. Instantly, the hall seemed to fall silent, as if the entire world had been shrouded under a colossal dome.
"What… what is happening?"
Opening his eyes, he saw the hall frozen in time. The Lord Mayor's daughter pouted mid-cry, her tears suspended in midair. Yorkris sneered, his fangs glinting. Even the coin-collecting attendant at the door had paused, his coin hovering unnaturally above his hand.
Everything seemed trapped in a suspended, otherworldly moment.
Green's attention turned to a corner table, laden with delicately patterned plates, unattainable for common folk. Each held pastries and fruits arranged for candidates, more decorative than edible.
Yet upon the fruit platter floated two bizarre, multicolored creatures, their gelatinous limbs adorned with innumerable eyes. They drifted and swayed in midair like ethereal jellyfish.
Incredible… what were these things?
Green shivered, face pale. Though he had long yearned for the mysterious world of wizardry, this glimpse filled him with an endless, terrifying unknown. This world defied all he had understood about reality.
Summoning courage, he stepped toward the creatures. They, seemingly startled, merged into the wall, which rippled like water, and vanished.
Staring, Green realized the hall was filled with illusions. Among the four normal candles on the table, one was grotesquely different: atop it burned a candle, but the candelabrum itself was a roasted, crimson pig's head.
At first, it had seemed ordinary, but now its eyes moved, locking onto Green's. An ominous, uncanny aura filled the air.
Suddenly, a boisterous laugh erupted in the otherwise silent, surreal space. Green, though startled, felt no fear and turned toward the sound.
It emanated from a mundane noble's book, a bard's biography: a cliché tale of a poor youth winning the heart of a noblewoman, overcoming trials, defeating a mighty dragon, and claiming his beloved. Illustrations depicted the protagonist's victories over foes.
"D…damn it," Green stammered, staring at the book.
A paper figure emerged from the pages, remarkably lifelike in expression, yet fundamentally still a thin sheet of paper with text on its reverse.
"What…where am I? Shouldn't I be a god?" the figure cried, drawing a paper sword at Green.
"Who… are you? A deity?"
Suddenly, the floor's cracks formed a gaping fissure, opening and closing like a speaking mouth, echoing the paper figure's words. From the darkness, a crimson tongue of writhing miniature serpents shot up, swallowing the figure amid shrieks.
"This… isn't real…"
Green trembled, rooted to the spot.
Then, the crystal orb blazed brightly. In a daze, Green found himself beside it, hands upon its surface. Time resumed, sounds returned, and the hall buzzed with conversation.
"Spirit Power twelve. Well done. Stand behind me."
Pale, Green obeyed, standing behind the wizard. All strange phenomena had vanished: the pig-head candle, the cracked floor, even the animated book. It was as if the previous horrors had been illusions or dreams.
"Damn it! How did he gain magical aptitude?"
"Oh no… our child bullied him before. I hope he doesn't seek revenge!"
The hall murmured with excitement until the wizard's cold exhale restored silence. The Lord Mayor's daughter and Wade exchanged astonished glances toward Green, yet upon seeing his servant's guise, they dismissed him with disdain, uninterested in further conversation.