Chapter 27 The Contract

As they entered the building, they found it deserted, as it was summer break. Inside the already open, heavy-looking metal doors was a medieval-looking lobby. Gray stone and dark wood made up a majority of the room, including the floor and walls. Red and silver rugs along with drapes over windows as wide as Evernya was tall accented the stone and wood adding color to the room. Even the furniture had a medieval feel to it if one ignored the cushions. The area to the right as they entered had rows of wooden tables and chairs providing ample seating. Straight ahead was a long stone counter occupied by a woman in her twenties. To the left of the counter was a five meters wide hallway with a touchscreen placed to the left of the hallway.

After surveying the lobby, Evernya inquired, “What else is this building used for?”

“The primary purpose of this building is helping enrolled students train their magic and bodies. There are many rooms, both public and private, with various tools to help with training. It may be a good idea to have one of your conditions to be a private room reserved for you when needed since they could be useful to you and the training hall can get crowded during the semester. You will see what a private room is capable of when we get to your testing.” Responded Meira.

Satisfied with the answer, Evernya moved on to her next question as they walk through the lobby. “I get what the mage’s test entails, but what is a full evaluation? I never got to ask you left so quick yesterday.”

“Since we know next to nothing about you, I figured it would be a good idea to take the chance to put you through a more extensive series of scans. I don’t know the exact procedure of a full evaluation as it's not my specialty, but I’m sure they will explain everything before they administer the test.” Replied Meira.

“So supercharged versions of the scans you ran on me?” Evernya guessed.

Meira paused for a second before responding, “Sort of, but yes, a full evaluation is much more powerful and in-depth.”

As they approached the counter, a group of four entered the lobby from the hallway. Evernya recognized Elizabeth and faintly Dr. Sarah Adams from her blurry vision from yesterday, but not the other two men accompanying them. Evernya’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the nicely dressed but friendly-looking man who appeared to be in his late thirties, releasing a subtle mana aura feeling no weaker than Meira’s.

Noticing who caught Evernya’s attention, Meira whispered to her, “That is Thomas White, the Chancellor of DIOM. Many humans with high mana grades like to leak their mana aura to command respect. However, Thomas doesn’t like this tactic, preferring to earn respect through action. Besides, everyone knows Thomas is one of the top three mages in Druth. He is using his aura to drown out Richard Taylor’s mana aura, our uninvited guest. He is the head of the DIOM combat section and a board member with similar standing to Elizabeth. Like Elizabeth, he is an Awakened grade 9 mage, so he’s no slouch either. I would be careful around him. I’m not sure what his reason for coming here.”

Evernya glanced toward the other male in the room who was a tall and muscular, aging man with gray hair. As soon as their eyes met, Evernya tensed, but she refused to back down, holding his gaze for a few more seconds before turning it back to the rest of the group as they approached them.

Thomas held out his hand for a handshake with a smile. “You must be Evernya. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Evernya accepted the handshake as she replied in a polite tone, “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Chancellor.”

“No need to be so formal. Call me Thomas in private. Besides, my university is benefiting more from this deal. We get to have such a talented young woman to enroll at our university.” Thomas replied, causing Evernya to blush.

Thomas’ friendly demeanor shifted to seriousness as he asked. “Has Meira has filled you in on the latest development?”

While keeping a respectful tone, Evernya responded, “Yes sir, she told me about the unneeded development. Before this development, I was looking forward to attending your university, but this contract sours it as I dislike feeling trapped.”

Thomas sent a glance toward Richard as he stated, “I am sorry to hear of your displeasure. When I learned of the development, I became most displeased. I dislike it when someone forces me to break my word.”

Meira inquired while glaring at Richard. “I would like to know why Richard is here. I made it clear Evernya’s test and examination must be private.”

Both Elizabeth and Thomas scowled as Thomas revealed, “We voted that at least three board members must be present for this deal, and Richard insisted he must attend.”

Meira blew out an annoyed breath before compromising, knowing Richard’s personality. “I don’t care if he stays for the contract signing and the mage’s test. However, he must leave before we do the full evaluation for confidentiality reasons.”

Thomas nodded his head in agreement. “I think that is fair. The data from the mage’s test is all Miss Evernya needs for registration, satisfying the original deal. I would consider the rest private information which Evernya has every right to choose who can see.”

No longer willing to stay silent, Richard interrupted while staring at Evernya with barely concealed greed. “As her future Dean, I believe I am entitled to all relevant information about her during her enrollment at our university.”

Done with Richard’s obviously selfish intentions, Thomas commanded while releasing his aura onto Richard to drive the point home. “My decision is final! I allow you to stay until we finish the mage’s test, then you must leave. You will receive any information required for you to do your job correctly, nothing more.”

Unable to stand up against his boss's mana aura, Richard backed down, but not before casting another greed-filled glance at Evernya.

Growing uncomfortable from Richard’s glances, Evernya commented, “Can we work on this contract now? I want to see what conditions the contract forces upon me if I sign it. I don’t care if he stays for the contract or Mage’s test, but I will not have someone I do not know nor trust see information that could be personal.”

Thomas took Evernya’s cue to move things along. “Let’s move to our reserved room before continuing.”

As they approached the hallway entrance, Thomas explained, “When you come here alone to reserve a private training room, you have to first sign in at the front desk by scanning your university ID. Your rank within the University determines the time you can spend in a private room unless you have special permission. You will learn about the ranking system at the orientation, so I will not go into that. The screen to the left is a scanner and secondary signing method for students who registered ahead of time.”

Five meters down the hall, they came upon a four-way intersection. To the right had a sign stating public gym, while the left had a similar sign directing visitors to a classroom section. Thomas led them down the hallway straight ahead, labeled private training rooms. A wide, well-lit stairway leading down greeted them a minute later.

As they descended the stairway, Thomas spoke. “we built all our private training rooms underground. These rooms not only provide a safe and private environment to practice magic but also increase the mana density inside the room. The increased mana density helps nourish your mana system while straining it during practice, improving training speed, and allowing students to train longer. The mana density inside rooms increases with each floor, ending on subbasement level 5, where the best training rooms reside. However, level 5 rooms are only available to our top rank students with only fifteen rooms available, while the rest of the floors have at least one hundred rooms each.”

Thomas led them past doors labeled levels one and two as he continued. “we have a room reserved on the third level to provide us with some extra room. Not only do rooms gain higher mana density, but they also grow in size and accommodations. A room on the first floor will only be twenty-five square meters, with the rooms doubling at each floor but also becoming less numerous. A room starting on the third level comes furnished with furniture such as a table and chairs. The fourth adds a small kitchenette, while the fifth-floor rooms are a fully furnished apartment. It isn’t out of the norm for students with access to fourth and fifth-floor rooms to spend their entire summer, winter, and spring breaks without leaving their training rooms other than to relieve and bathe themselves. For this reason, the training hall may seem empty, but every fourth and fifth-floor room has reservations until the start of the fall semester.”

“If everything is underground, why is there a massive building above us?” Evernya inquired.

Thomas smiled as he replied to his future student, “Only the private training rooms are underground. The training hall has many uses beyond providing private training rooms, such as providing space during the winter for many of our more physically demanding courses. The training hall has multiple large gyms, pools, and even an indoor track and arena. With how long our winters are up here, we need to have accommodations available indoors. Otherwise, our students cannot train properly during the cold months.”

“Impressive. No wonder the building is massive. It is at least as big as the hospital, not including this huge subbasement set up.” Commented Evernya.

Proud of his university, Thomas boasted, “This training hall is the primary reason our university is one of the highest-rated Tier 3 universities in the Northern Sespina regions. Another reason is our ease of access to extensive areas of wilds. We built most universities in large cities, which means the wilds are thinner and further away than it is here.”

A few minutes later, they exited the stairwell via a door labeled the third floor, entering a long hallway with numbered doors on each side. Thomas stopped at the door labeled P–303 and opened it before waving everyone in.

The room was about a hundred square meters, with a small table with four chairs tucked into a corner to the right of the door. Placed at the center of the room is an orb similar to the one Evernya used during her mage’s test.

As soon as the door closed, the mana in the air rose to eight times the outside mana density. The sudden change in mana density caused Evernya to sway on her feet for a moment as a comforting high flooded her mind before her body adjusted.

Wow, this room feels so good! It is so tempting to suck this mana, but I would rather embarrassing orgasm. No matter how good an orgasm here would feel, I need to keep myself focused, especially in front of Richard. Still, if a room on the third floor feels this good, I wonder how rooms on the fifth floor would feel. Can I overdose on mana? I suppose I probably can, considering there is a limit on what anyone can eat. Thought Evernya, with a slight blush.

Did I overdose when I escaped the lab? I vaguely remember feeling amazing before pain engulfed me. I will have to be careful sucking mana! Mana vein overload sucks!

Good thing my body doesn’t automatically absorb large quantities of mana unless I actively try to absorb it. It would suck to have an orgasm forced upon me every time I come into contact with large quantities of mana. Evernya rambled in her mind, buoyant from the increased mana density.

Thomas glanced at his distracted future student vacantly staring off into space just inside the room, prompting him to direct, “Evernya, please sit at the table so we can finish writing up the contract.”

Evernya stiffened in surprise before shuffling toward the awaiting chair. As she sat down, Thomas pulled out a sheet of paper from his storage ring, setting it in front of her. Evernya peered down at the sheet of paper titled the magically binding agreement between DIOM board and Evernya. Two columns were present under the title, with the DIOM board side filled and sealed with a magical symbol. Upon reading the list of conditions the DIOM board demanded Evernya’s eyes widened in shock and anger.

What the hell! Are they trying to micromanage my entire college life! The first few make sense, and I would likely have tried out for the fifth anyway, but after that, it’s ridiculous! I’m not some animal they need to keep on a leash!

Must be enrolled for one full school year. Must take at least 5 classes per semester. Must enroll in the combat section. Must maintain at least a B grade average. Must try out for the DIOM dueling team. Must follow all college rules to the letter. Must follow all orders that do not break college rules from all Teachers and other staff.

Evernya glared at Thomas, eyes flashing with rage, exclaiming, “What is with these conditions? Are you trying to enslave me to the college! What if a teacher or staff member ordered me to stand still while they raped me!”

While trying to keep the disgust off his face, Thomas explained in a calm manner, “no one can order you to endanger yourself or break any college rules as the order will automatically fail.”

Unwilling to give up, Evernya argued, “Still was condition seven necessary? The other six I can understand, but not that one. I am sure someone could abuse a loophole to force me to do things against my will.”

Thomas frowned as he admitted, “We didn’t agree with condition seven either, but we had to compromise. They originally had over a dozen conditions, such as controlling where you could live on campus and where you could go. With these conditions, you can at least still have a normal college life. To protect yourself, you could set conditions of your own to safeguard yourself.”

“It still doesn’t justify the condition! I’m not a slave to this school! I could learn almost as much from Meira in six months and retake the mage’s test without selling myself to your college.” Evernya growled, eyes glowing with power.

Meira rested a hand on Evernya’s shoulder, gaining her angry kitten’s attention before speaking, “Calm down Evernya, I love that you have so much faith in my teachings, but the truth is their college can teach you much more than I can. I am an expert at enchanting, air magic, and surviving in the wild, but beyond that, I only have basic knowledge which you could learn on the Internet. Unlike me, attending college offers many benefits, such as instructors specialized in your magic classes and many training partners to spar with. Plus DIOM has access to many training devices, such as this room, I cannot provide.”

Meira internally sighed in relief as her kitten’s unusually potent mana aura she unknowingly leaked dissipated as she continued to speak. “Besides the conditions, they want to impose on you, leave a lot of room to add conditions of your own. We can use them to leverage a lot of resources that I cannot provide you with. Let’s see how much we can squeeze out of this contract before you decide anything.”

Evernya sucked a deep breath to calm herself down. As the last of her mana aura dissipated, everyone but Richard sighed in relief, knowing Evernya’s history. Richard stared at his prospective student’s little show of power with greed missed by everyone but Evernya.

Evernya glanced at Richard, causing her tail to puff slightly. What is with this guy? Every time I look at him, I feel that buzzing sensation in my head, almost as if to warn me. Whatever he has planned must not be an immediate danger to me because the buzzing is not nearly as bad as it was in the commons or prior to my sedative overdose. Still, I will have to be careful around him. He probably put the seventh condition in the contract himself.

Meira is right, I could milk a lot of things out of the college because of this contract, but I have no idea what to ask for. According to Meira, the contract must be on both sides for it to take effect. So I shouldn’t get ripped off too badly besides Meira wouldn’t let me sign an unfair contract. I am guessing I can keep adding conditions until the scale symbol between the columns balances out.

After deciding, Evernya inquired, “how do I add and remove conditions to my column?”

Thomas jumped at the opportunity of rebuilding the trust of a talented young lady before anyone else could speak. “To add conditions, push mana to your fingertip and touch your column while picturing your desired condition. With our side locked in, if your condition pushes the scales into your favor, it will reject the condition. Normally on a contract like this, each side takes turns adding conditions until both sides agree and the contract balances out, but this is a unique case. To remove a condition, touch the condition with your finger and picture your desire to remove it.”

Magic in this world seems so simple. Everything involves picturing your desired effect in your mind. Though I’ve only witnessed a small sample size of what magic can do. I’m sure more complex magic isn’t as easy.

To test Thomas’s instructions, Evernya tried to add the private mage’s test condition, which works. She then added a few conditions to protect herself before showing it to Meira, who approved. These conditions only tilt the scale slightly toward balanced.

Lost on what else to add, Evernya turned to Meira seated to her left, to ask, “Meira, what conditions do you think I should add? I don’t want to make a mistake and waste a condition.”

“Don’t worry, after I heard about DIOM forcing this contract onto you, I created a ranked list of conditions,” Meira replied, materializing a list from her storage ring, handing it to her kitten.

Upon seeing the list, Richard Taylor argued, “Meira is not part of the contract! I forbid her from providing help!”

Meira sent a gust of wind, shoving Richard back into his seat before retorting, “Evernya deserves as much help as she can get. Will you stop trying to take advantage of my kitten, you board members combine for centuries of knowledge. What is one list to that? It’s just a list of what I think her priority conditions should be. Those conditions still need to balance with yours, so everything is fair.”

Thomas broke the stalemate by ruling. “As much as I fear what Meira put on that list. I think it’s fair that Evernya uses the list as long as that is her only outside help.”

Unable to go against his boss and a superior mage, Richard glared at the list but remained silent.

With the dispute decided, Evernya opened the list and started reading. A few seconds later, she grinned. “Oh yeah, this list is all I will need.” Commented Evernya before returning to work on her side of the contract.