242 Chapter 3 Maxi rushed over to Anette, who was staring at the cat with bleary eyes. The girl cocked a dark brown eyebrow at Maxi. “Is this for today’s experiment?” “N-No! He’s mine.” Aghast, Maxi hastily took Roy into her arms. Anette’s round face crumpled into a scowl. “Now look here, Max. Even if the senior mages are too busy with their Advancement Exams to supervise the workshop, it’s still not an open invitation to bring your pet.” “P-Please let him be here just this once. My window latch got damaged… so I couldn’t leave him alone in my room. He already snuck out this morning and made a mess of Miriam’s work—” “Miriam’s?” Anette said abruptly. Her eyes darted to the cat again, and a pleased smile spread across her sullen face. She ruffled Roy’s head with a large, calloused hand and roared with laughter. “I’m impressed, Max. How clever of you to use your familiar to meddle with the competition.” “R-Roy is not my familiar! He’s just an ordinary cat. A-And it was never my intention to disturb—” “All right, all right. If you say so.” Anette gave a conspiratorial wink before sweeping past, marching away on her muscular legs. Maxi stared after her incredulously. Though it was well-known that mages were not the best listeners, the Godric siblings were on a tier of their own. With a sigh, Maxi trailed Anette into the communal workshop. It was a space mainly used by the novices of Nome Hall. Inside, the first thing she saw was the huge furnace spitting out flames. The Godric brothers were busy tossing charcoal and firewood into the chute. A man, who was fairly tall for someone of the Umri tribe, vigorously worked the bellows beneath the structure. Next to the furnace, four other novices of short stature were hammering away at a steel plate. They all seemed to be working on a magical device. Maxi lowered her hood over her head to block the stifling heat and sought a relatively quiet corner. She flung her bag on an old desk by the window and gently lowered Roy to the floor. The cat crawled under the desk and curled himself into a ball, escaping the frightening and unfamiliar place. After stroking the cat’s back with a comforting hand, Maxi took out the drafts of the magic runes she had organized the previous night. The Godric twins promptly stopped what they were doing and rushed over. “Are these the runes you’ll be presenting at the competition?” Dean Godric asked with avid interest. “Let me take a look,” said Alec Godric, extending a plump, soot-covered hand. “I’ll check over it for you.” Maxi hastily backed away. “W-Wash your hands first!” “Ah, you nobles, always fussing over the silliest things.” Pursing his lips, Alec wiped his hands on his grimy apron and snatched the drafts out of her grip. Maxi yelped. The Godric brothers thumbed through her presentation, not seeming to care about the sooty prints they were leaving along the edges of the parchment. “Nome Hall’s reputation rests on the outcome of this competition. If you’re submitting flimsy spells, I will object to your participation. We have to put those Kabala bastards in their place once and for all!” “You keep forgetting… but I’m not a mage of Nome Hall yet. I’m currently learning fire magic at Kabala as well.” The brothers, inspecting Maxi’s runes with big, bright eyes, jerked their heads up at her reminder. All around the workshop, the other novices stopped hammering, the jetting sparks from their anvils dying out as they turned hostile gazes on her. They all stared as though she were a traitor. Maxi could not help but shrink back. Taking pity on her, Alec clicked his tongue and said, “You still haven’t given up? Maximilian, you have absolutely no talent for fire magic.” “He’s right,” cut in Anette, who had just pulled out a wyvern-shaped steel device from the kiln. She made an opening in it with her bare thumb and forefinger. “Your affinity to fire magic is practically non-existent. Why don’t you aim for water magic instead? At least you have an affinity to that, albeit minuscule.” “My affinity to water magic… is not minuscule!” Maxi exclaimed. “Then why have you not taken a single class at Undaim this semester?” She pressed her lips together at Dean’s teasing question. It was obvious to everyone that her mana affinity leaned heavily toward earth magic. Though she displayed some aptitude for water magic, it was, as Anette pointed out, minuscule at best. Water and earth magic were polar opposites. Thus, she had been dubbed “Sludge” while taking the basic courses at the water tower. Anette scoffed and took off her gloves. “Just give it up, Max. You’re painfully unsuited for fire magic, and you don’t fit in with the water mages either. The senior mages already believe you will receive the earth rune.” “That’s right. And wouldn’t you rather be The Giant of Nome Hall than The Sludge of Undaim?” said Alec with an impish smile. Feeling despondent, Maxi swept her gaze over the fifteen novices of Nome Hall. All of them were of short stature, with round faces and bushy hair. The majority of the earth mages remaining at the Mage Tower were from the Umri tribe. As descendants of the ancient dwarves, the Umri were blessed with strong affinities to fire and earth magic, as well as exceptional talents for smelting and crafting magical devices. Studying with them had allowed Maxi to master a variety of spells at pace. However, she felt that she was growing further away from the mage she dreamed of becoming the more time she spent at Nome Hall. Strictly speaking, earth mages were closer to craftsmen than spell-casters. Maxi heaved a dejected sigh as she recalled how easily Princess Agnes had summoned flames. When she first arrived in Nornui, she had dreamed of becoming a fire mage just like the princess. She had been willing to do anything to become a powerful wielder of magic that Riftan could rely on. However, the results of the mana affinity test had dashed those hopes. As it turned out, she was thoroughly incompatible with fire magic. “Mages with earth affinity usually have varying degrees for fire magic as well, but you, strangely, have an affinity to water. It’s a peculiar combination,” Dean remarked, shaking his head. “Still, you show exceptional talent with earth magic,” Alec chimed in. “You’ll have a much easier time if you would just give up on fire.” “But,” Maxi retorted, looking discontented, “I wish to learn offensive magic. An earth mage… no matter how talented, can only offer support from the rear during battle.” “Well, that’s unavoidable since earth magic is more suited for defensive spells by nature,” Anette said flatly, inspecting the wyvern-shaped piece. “If you want to learn offensive magic as an earth mage, you’ll have to work your way up. You can learn forbidden spells if you become a mage on the upper floors.” “I-I don’t want that! I wish to leave this island as soon as possible, but high mages… are forbidden from leaving Nornui as they please.” “And what’s so terrible about that?” Dean said, shrugging. “I don’t see why you prefer the outside world with all those monsters running free. And at worst, you could even get sent to stand trial before the Holy Tribunal. A lifetime of studying magic within Nornui sounds better than living with heresy inquisitors breathing down your neck.” “Such things… rarely happen now. Mage persecution is in the past.” “True, for ordinary people like you. But mages with non-human lineage like us would fall prey to heathen hunters the moment we left this island.” Tired of repeating the same argument they always had, Maxi heaved a weary sigh. “Times have changed. Even His Holiness cannot send the Tower’s mages to the Holy Tribunal without just cause, and the rulers of each kingdom dare not offend Nornui.” Anette snorted, but Maxi appeared to have perked Alec’s interest. “Is there a shortage of mages where you’re from as well?” he said, his eyes bright with curiosity. “Of course. There is a shortage of mages all over the Western Continent,” Maxi replied. “The landed nobles of each kingdom are desperate to have more in their employ. And they are treated much better than they used to be.” Suddenly pensive, Alec stroked his round chin. “You said you’re from the south of Wedon, didn’t you? Do you perhaps know anything about the Lord of Anatol?”