"Huh?" Arion blinked, genuinely confused by the girl screaming in his face. "You've never seen magic like that before?"
The girl, whose hair was slowly starting to smoke from anger, marched up to him until they were nose-to-nose.
"WHERE IS YOUR VERSE? WHERE IS YOUR CIRCLE? AND WHERE IS YOUR OFFERING TO THE GODS?!" she screeched.
Arion leaned back, wincing. "Verse? Ah, you mean chanting. Yeah, yours was cute. 'Sto ónoma tou theoú tis fotiás'… 'In the name of the Fire God,' right? And then the second verse is the offering, and the circle acts as a mana stabilizer—"
"I KNOW MY OWN SPELL!" She stepped closer, invading his personal space. "YOU DON'T NEED TO MANSPLAIN MAGIC TO ME!"
Arion instinctively raised a hand and placed it flat on her face, pushing her back like an unruly puppy.
"Personal space, kid. Personal space."
That was the wrong move.
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY FACE WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS?!"
The entire testing ground had gone silent. The supervisor was pretending to read a very interesting blank page on his clipboard.
"Shh!" Arion put a finger to his lips. "Can you lower your volume? You're going to disturb the other and mak a scene. Why are you so angry?"
"YOU! You make me angry!"
"Me?" Arion pointed to himself. "Do you know me? Do I owe you money?"
"No! I don't know you!"
"Great. I don't know you either. So we're strangers. Good talk." Arion turned around and started to walk away. "Enjoy the rest of your puberty."
He barely took two steps before she grabbed the back of his cloak.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Arion stopped, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky. Why me?
"Okay," he turned around slowly. "What does the little lady want?"
"What was that spell? Was that even magic?"
"Sort of."
"Where was the verse?"
"Didn't use one."
"Where was the circle?"
"Didn't need it."
"Where was the drawing?"
"If I don't use a circle, I obviously don't draw one. Are you listening to yourself?"
Her eye twitched. "So… what is your magic?"
"I can't tell you."
"WHY?!"
"Look around," Arion gestured to the academy walls. "Why are we here? To learn, right? If I explain my magic to you right now, the mystery is gone. You wouldn't need to enroll. You'd just go home and write a thesis on me."
He patted her on the shoulder patronizingly. "Besides, discovery is part of the curriculum. Good luck!"
He tried to walk away again. She grabbed him again.
"I'm not done!"
Arion looked at the supervisor. "Hey, man! Is the test over? Can I go?"
The supervisor looked up, sweat beading on his forehead. "Yes. You… you are free to go until the results are posted."
"See?" Arion grinned at the girl. "Free time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a bench."
"Why do you talk to the supervisor like that?" the girl demanded, trailing behind him like a duckling.
"Like what?"
"Like you know him!"
"I've known him for five years."
"Five years?" She stopped walking. "Wait. You've taken this test… for five years?"
"Six, actually. But who's counting?"
"Does that mean… you failed for five years?"
"'Failed' is a strong word. I prefer 'deferred success.'"
She stared at him, her brain trying to process this information. "How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-two."
The silence that followed was heavy. The students around them stopped whispering and just stared.
"T-Twenty… two?" The girl looked like she had just swallowed a lemon. "You're twenty-two… and you're trying to enroll as a first-year student?"
"Is there a law against it?"
"Yes! The laws of dignity! Everyone here is sixteen or seventeen! You're… you're ancient! You're practically a corpse!"
"Hey!" A voice from the crowd piped up. "I'm eighteen!"
"See?" Arion pointed at the random guy. "He's eighteen. Diversity."
"Shut up!" The girl glared at the eighteen-year-old before turning back to Arion. "The average age is sixteen! You are a grown man! Why aren't you working? Or married? Or dead?"
"I'm here to seek knowledge," Arion said solemnly. "And clearly, to teach patience."
He sighed, realizing this conversation was going nowhere. "Listen, kid. The rules say 'minimum age 16.' There is no maximum age. If a sixty-year-old wizard wants to learn, he can learn. Your narrow comprehension of the world is exactly why you need this school."
He turned and walked away, waving his hand. "May we both get accepted. Or not. Whatever."
"WAIT!"
He didn't wait.
Later that Afternoon
Arion sat on a bench near the front gate, dozing off. He felt a gaze on him—sharp, annoying, persistent. He opened one eye and looked around. No one was there, but the feeling remained.
Stalker, he thought. Probably that fire girl.
A bell rang, signaling the posting of the results.
A massive swarm of teenagers rushed the announcement board like zombies attacking fresh meat. Arion stood up, stretched his back (which popped loudly), and walked over.
He couldn't see a thing over the sea of heads.
"Excuse me. Pardon me. Senior coming through."
Nobody moved.
So, Arion bent his knees and jumped. He didn't use magic, just pure physical prowess. He launched himself ten feet into the air, hovering for a split second above the crowd.
His eyes scanned the list. Top of the list: Sebastian Ambrose. Middle of the list… Bottom of the list…
There. At the very, very bottom.
Arion.
He landed with a thud.
"YESSSS!!!!"
He pumped his fist in the air, startling the students next to him.
"I DID IT! SIXTH TIME'S THE CHARM! TAKE THAT, SYSTEM!"
He pointed at the board dramatically. "I AM OFFICIALLY A STUDENT! Baric is going to lose so much money!"
Meanwhile, inside the Academy Tower
"Is this enough?" A woman's voice echoed in the shadowy office.
"Surely it is enough," the Principal sighed, looking defeated. "You made us pass him, even though we had to put him at the absolute bottom of the list."
"Hmph. Even with all his achievements on the tests?"
"We can't put him at the top," the Principal rubbed his temples. "Because of the Ethical Code. If we put a commoner above the nobles…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know," the woman waved her hand dismissively. "Boring ethical code. Always protecting the fragile egos of the rich."
"Do you think the other families will let this happen?"
"The others? Don't make me laugh," she scoffed. "What they do is nothing. They just sit around eating pastries and pretending to be important."
"And what happens when they come here complaining? Surely, you will be here to handle it, right?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" The woman laughed loudly. "No. I will not."
"WHAT?!"
"But… you have someone else to do that." She turned to the window. "Now, I will excuse myself. I hope you teach him well… actually, wait. Your teaching will be worthless to him."
"Excuse me?!"
"It's better you find someone—or something—unconventional to teach him. Standard classes will just bore him to death. Bye!"
She vanished before the Principal could scream.
"WAIT!! … Sigh." The Principal slumped in his chair. "What kind of person makes me do all this? Single name… no family backing… too old for the academy… This is going to be a disaster."