After a day of arduous travel, Green finally learned the name of the enigmatic wizard: Arovos. Their destination was a wizarding academy known as Lilith's Cottage. The journey to this institution was arduous, requiring at least two months of sailing across the vast ocean.
"Before we reach the port of Zerrato Harbor, we will pass through two cities. During this time, if you have any fundamental questions, I shall answer one of them for free," Arovos intoned, his voice measured, as the seven of them made their way along the road.
Observing throughout the day, Green noticed that among the six wizard apprentices, the one closest to this great wizard was Kiram. It was hardly surprising; Kiram seemed little more than Arovos's personal attendant, bustling about to ensure the wizard's comfort and reaping the rewards of favor multiple times.
Yet this closeness earned him the disdain of the other five apprentices. His face perpetually bore an expression of haughty superiority, looking down upon the others as though he were inherently above them.
"Master, you are truly magnificent. The mental meditation techniques you taught me the other day are still somewhat obscure and difficult for me to fully grasp…" Kiram carried a massive bundle, stuffed with the wizard's sundry belongings, taking advantage of his proximity to seek guidance first.
Wade, wishing to consult the wizard as well, muttered under his breath: "What a sycophantic fool." He pursed his lips and quietly trailed behind.
Yorkris, with his sister Yorkliana at his side, lingered further back. Observing the scramble of the first two to approach the wizard, he scoffed: "Fools lacking any wizardly talent. Once I become a great wizard, they will be nothing more than my footstools."
Yorkliana remained silent, seemingly without will of her own.
Green abstained from the fray. He had two pressing questions, yet the wizard had allowed only one. More intriguing was the wizard's mention of the word "free." Did this imply that once they reached the academy, consulting a wizard would no longer come without cost?
Determined to make the most of this opportunity, Green's gaze settled on the sullen figure at the rear: Raffie. The daughter of the Viscount of Bitser, she had been coerced by her father into this journey to Lilith's Cottage. She was the only apprentice who had not volunteered, and perhaps she knew more about the academy than the others.
Green's questions were simple yet profound: What was the true nature of the wizarding world, and why were wizards able to wield such mysterious magical power? The second question was likely too abstract, but the first—he reasoned—Raffie must have some insight.
He quietly moved closer to her.
"The wizarding world?"
Raffie, still burdened with sorrow, cast him a surprised glance. Having endured so much, she initially misread Green's approach as a gesture of intimacy—a common enough occurrence among nobles, of which she had witnessed countless "accidental" encounters since childhood. Yet while she disliked closeness with nobles, she loathed commoners even more. Normally, she would have greeted Green with disdain. But contemplating the trials ahead, she sighed softly, her exquisite face shadowed with melancholy.
"In truth, the wizarding continent is far from the idyllic place you imagine. First, all your current status is meaningless there—you may never return," she murmured.
Green's heart leapt. Never return? Imprisoned perhaps?
Seeing his misinterpretation, Raffie continued gently: "Before becoming a full-fledged wizard, we will live perpetually on the so-called wizarding continent—a vast, boundless land, far larger than you can imagine. There, wizards reign supreme, or rather, the power they wield is absolute…"
Half a day later, Green was left profoundly shaken. If the wizarding world were truly as Raffie described, it was far less enchanting than he had imagined.
"Without power, without magical stones, without influence, you'd best remain humble and tend to your duties. Otherwise, death is merely a common fate," she warned, her tone cold and resolute.
Green swallowed hard. Slowly, he began to accept this grim reality, even hesitating—should he abandon the path entirely? The world she described was terrifying: human life seemed worthless, and no noble could restrain the wizards. A mere apprentice like him could vanish at the whim of a powerful wizard, erased from existence. He was, after all, a commoner who had never glimpsed the world beyond his village.
Seeing his fear, Raffie did not wish to further unsettle him. She shook her head.
"Of course, the wizarding continent is not entirely dreadful. It operates according to its own laws, and those who understand these laws—the wizarding academies—wield unimaginable power."
Silently trailing the group, Green finally lifted his head, his gaze resolute. To retreat in fear might return him to the comfort of Bitser, but it would cost him the singular opportunity to witness this wondrous world. Besides, recalling the arrogance of the Viscount's steward and the torment he and Old Hamm endured at the hands of the knights, contrasted with the respect shown to him now as an apprentice, Green's resolve hardened.
Raffie, noting his determination, allowed herself a cold smile.
"Indeed, you have made the right choice. Had you dared voice a desire to quit, Arovos would have ended you without a second thought. Look—just as I said."
Green followed her gaze to the front of the group, where his jaw dropped in horror. Seven or eight ragged bandits, axes and curved blades in hand, lay strewn lifelessly, their eyes frozen in terror. Green had barely realized that nearly all the attackers had been eliminated before he could react.
Boom!
A towering, red-eyed frog plummeted from the sky, crushing the last fleeing bandit into a splatter of blood and flesh. Yorkris, consulting the wizard moments before, was paralyzed with shock, legs trembling uncontrollably. Green, too, felt his knees weaken, face pale with fright.
Raffie, though equally unnerved, retained composure.
The frog shrank, leaping into Arovos's hand as the wizard continued leading the group as if nothing had occurred.
After the passage of a sandglass's worth of time, Green respectfully approached Arovos.
"The principles behind a wizard's mastery of magical power?"
Arovos regarded him with unexpected approval. "An excellent question. Very good indeed."
Green blinked in surprise.
"I have guided countless apprentices. Over ninety percent implored me to teach them the arts of killing, neglecting the essence of wizardry. The remaining ten percent asked trivial, unstructured questions. You, however, perceive the essence—a rarity unmatched."
Perceive the essence? Green had no notion what he had discerned.
Arovos handed him a book.
"To borrow the words of a great wizard: 'Give me infinite knowledge, and with myself as the fulcrum, I shall move the boundless world.' For a wizard, true power lies in the knowledge they possess and the magic within themselves. Ultimately, the source of all wizardly power is knowledge itself."
He gestured to the book. "This Meditation Guide is my gift to you. Within, I have recorded some of my insights."
Green held the book dumbfounded, eyes wide with wonder.
"To leverage one's own magic and infinite knowledge to move the world… If both personal power and acquired knowledge form the foundation of a wizard's strength, why claim that knowledge alone is the ultimate source?"
Questions tumbled relentlessly through his mind. Yet, seeing Arovos walk away, answering only one question per apprentice, Green dared not pursue further.
Unbeknownst to him, each question he had considered was a thread leading into the vast tapestry of wizardly knowledge.