AN In this update we have roughly 50% more content after pairing things down a little and expanding on others. So far with these two updates alone, the first two sections are roughly twice as long and developed. They could be developed even more, I'm sure. But I think this is walking the line between wordy and descriptive right about where I want it to be. :)

Chapter 1.2: You Suck

Several days passed in a rush of movement and dismissal. No longer welcome at his former home, John spent his days sitting alone in his studio apartment. His only thoughts were of what to do with his life. Determined to continue his magical studies, he would never falter in his drive to succeed. There was one issue that refused to be settled with any sense of respect and decency, however. He possessed little in the way of funds.

None of the other schools would take him in as a student or a teacher's assistant. He possessed far greater knowledge than most technical schools offered to teach, but lacked a teacher's certificate. No university would have him because his power raising statistics were too low. In short, John was one of the people who fell through the cracks of academia. Essentially, he was now no different than many other non-gifted humans.

His father was an arch mage of the seventh circle. John could not manifest more than one second-tier spell on any given day, much less a true first circle power field. Ceremonial magic worked well enough for him when it came to small works, but his magical capacity was so limited that half of what he was able to shift or change would be simpler to deal with physically. Why try to use a lengthy and expensive ceremonial magic working to change a weather pattern when he could just use an umbrella or wear a rain coat?

John frowned up at the ceiling. Stretched out on his bed with his hands under his head and his elbows pointing outward, other concerns invaded his ruminations of magical might. The rent would soon come due again. There was no manual labor work in this town for a human since it was easier to utilize demi-human labor.

His father paid for his upkeep all of his life. That was one of the few good things John could say about the hateful old bastard. Throughout the majority of his childhood he felt like one of that man’s little projects. He would not be surprised if they were not even related. In some ways he desperately hoped that the suspicion would prove to be true one day.

It was one of the worst humiliations of his life, the moment he returned home from the chancellor's office. What do most men think when they go home to find their meager possessions on the front porch? The servants would not let him into the house. Barred from the residence without further consideration, he was left with little recourse.

There was no note, no extra money to tide him over for the future, nothing of use to him save for the handful of items he was allowed to keep. Those items were mostly his clothing and some toiletries. When he asked about his television and furniture, among other things, he was told that they were the property of the master and he had no right to them.

The notion of property rights under the law turned out to be incorrect. Throughout the entirety of his young life, he thought that buying stuff with money he'd been given for living expenses would mean that the stuff would continue to belong to him. No legal recourse was allowed to him, despite a visit to the local legal aid office. His father was too respected for a magistrate to even consider the case.

He spent half of the money he had remaining to rent a room at the local motel for a week. His primary bank account was seized by his father with the claim that it belonged to him since it was in his name.

John originally had his name on it too, but he was promptly taken off of the list of people allowed to use the account. The secret account that he opened a few months prior, was suddenly hit by a large number of debts owed, all in his name, but begat by his father. It was expensive to train a son after all.

Now he was practically penniless and out on the street with little more than a week's worth of clothing and his tooth brush. The money he was able to maintain for emergencies would soon be gone. There was little chance of changing that unless he chose to do something drastic.

He didn't know what he was going to do. He possessed knowledge in an assortment of random skills, but he could not put them to good use in town. No one would want to hire him without also having demi-humans that might be of use.

He dealt with those creatures on occasion in classes, but never saw the point of having them around. While some people might keep such a creature as a pet, they were generally useless for the common man unless there was a need to live in the woods. Private industry and the military made good use of them, however. They had their role but he was uncertain what purpose they might serve for him.

The more he considered them, the more he became annoyed at their existence. It was quite common for sexual deviants to speak of their encounters with those beastly women. During his time as a teacher's assistant, he'd silenced more than one hormonally challenged fool who would not stop speaking of his exploits.

Honestly, what manner of man went around boasting about the perky posterior and bouncing bosom of his bestial paramour? Did the rest of the class need to know that his animal lover enjoyed it greatly when he licked the side of her breasts? No! Such knowledge was best kept to one's self, not expounded upon in sacred geometry class!

He knew basic information about those creatures of course; anatomy, typing, breeds, and the other important tidbits. There were many elective classes in both high school and at Goldstead regarding those animal women. However, he wasn't really interested in them beyond their basic function in society.

In many respects when he thought about them at all, he thought that they might be similar to a well-trained animal that could speak and were sentenced to a lifetime of constant unending arousal.

He'd seen a dog once, long ago. The tiny little creature continually tried to hump a table leg to no avail. Demi-humans seemed similar in concept. If it held still long enough, they would fornicate with it. There was no purpose to their mad display of aberrant sexual conduct. They simply assaulted whatever did not attempt to avoid their desires.

Now he was forced out of the safety zone of mystical academia and into the real world of menial labor and starvation. He knew that the only legitimate way he could make a living might be to deal with those creatures. However, he was rather annoyed to do so. They were pretty enough in their way, but he didn't appreciate a lot of the recent changes in the world.

In the last decade or so, demi-humans were removed from purely owned status. They were granted basic rights and freedoms in limited situations. They had to work for it, but eventually they were free to become actual citizens and own land.

The free girls could even attend school, if such a ludicrous notion could be believed. In point of fact, several of them had gone through his former tech school and gone on to university with the coming and going of every class. Such a pointless endeavor, the waste of useful resources on training an animal.

Living in America was not difficult. It was one of the most prosperous of the ancient nations still remaining on the planet. Most countries only survived for a few decades or so due to political instability. America was founded in the late sixteenth century and continued on for a little over five hundred years. Only a dozen other nations could claim such a legacy. Only three were older.

John frowned lightly and closed his eyes. He knew that there was only one job that he could legitimately take that would provide both the necessary living expenses and the potential to earn more money in an expedient and legal manner. Unfortunately, it would mean traveling in company with those creatures. It was ridiculous. It was lewd. Yet, it was his only legitimate recourse.

"So, be it. I need money for my studies," remarked the man as he sat up. He'd taken all the pre-requisite tamer courses in high school. There were also more than a few of those classes in his former technical school that he'd passed with perfect marks.

In truth, he was a little old to begin a tamer career. Still, there was precedent and the law did allow for older tamers to take up the call. It was one change in the laws that John agreed with whole heartedly. The age restrictions were upgraded due to the overpopulation of animal women.

The average age range for a beginning tamer was eighteen to twenty-one years of age. He was outside the main bracket, but he was well within the maximum age restriction of forty-five.

John stood up and grabbed his wallet. His apartment was a tiny and cramped living arrangement, but it was his for two more days. He needed to make the most of it while he could. There was no more time to waste. A new life, and a new path, was about to unfold for him.

...