"So, for fourth level, I finally made it into Anima Mage," I said. "It's a funny thing- despite Anima Mage being meant to advance Binder alongside any arcane spellcasting class, I got in just fine without wasting any levels on Binder whatsoever. And because of the feats I used to do it, I can actually bind higher-level Vestiges than actual Binders who took actual levels in the class."

"Unless they took the Improved Binding feat," Sam said. "You know, the one every Binder takes?"

"Yeah, but I can take that too whenever I want," I said. "And as long as I nab it before eighth level? It's Zceryll time."

"Which one is that, again?" Sam asked. "The weird alien one, right?"

"The weird alien one who grants at-will casting of level-appropriate Summon Monster spells," I corrected her. "The only reason anyone bothers taking Binder, thinking they're going to beat the odds and make it past level 5."

"Yeah, well, you think you're going to beat the odds and make it to level 8," Sam pointed out.

"I've already beat the odds," I said. "I rolled an 18 for Intelligence, remember? I'm twenty two, I'm already level 4... At this point, yeah, I do expect to make it to level 8 at some point. Hell, I might even go adventuring."

Sam snorted. "Make sure you bring an artist with you. I want a painting of exactly what it looks like when you get eaten by a mimic."

I snorted, and jostled her shoulder. "Never took you for a vore enthusiast. Anyway!" I grinned as she coughed and spluttered. "I've gotta go talk to my advisor. Seeya."

"Jackass."

"You know it."

"Congratulations are in order, Dr. Imroth," Professor Tanelye said, as I walked into her office and sat down in front of her desk.

Professor Elendar Tanelye was an Elf. Not a Sun Elf, High Elf, Wood Elf, Dark Elf, Aquatic Elf, Half-Ysgardian-On-Her-Mother's-Side Elf... just, an Elf. Elves were a common sight among Wizards and the nobility; despite the penalty they took to Study XP, they still had far longer of a life to devote to study than humans did, and ended up at higher levels than Human Wizards. Professor Tanelye in particular was roughly middle-aged as Elves reckoned things, having celebrated her 200th birthday earlier this year. Her face was lightly lined, and her once-dark hair was gradually beginning to lighten, but her piercing leaf-green eyes were the same as they'd always been.

"It's not every day someone manages to earn their first prestige class at Level 4. I'm sure you're quite aware that this usually happens at Level 6."

"Alas, study XP doesn't scale by level," I lamented. "Level 4 only takes 4 years of study; to reach Level 6 typically takes ten years."

"Indeed, we're all aware of the time it takes," Professor Tanelye said. "Be warned, you may catch some derision from other Doctors who feel you haven't earned it. But! Nonetheless, you unambiguously have, and by tradition, it is my honor to present you with this."

She picked up a dark wooden box, nestled cleverly within the stack of papers, and presented it to me before opening it. The inside of the box was lined in black velvet, and in the center, nestled into a crease in the velvet, was a simple, unassuming piece of jewelry- a fine braided leather strip that tied in ornate knots at each end, joining it to braided silver wire that grew thicker as it approached the center, where it oh-so-carefully held a small, flawless blue sapphire.

"A Headband of Intellect, +6," Professor Tanelye said. "To improve your sagacity, after proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that you don't need it."

"Plus Six?" I asked, taken aback. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the traditional doctoral gift a Plus Two?"

"Ordinarily, yes," Professor Tanelye said, nodding. "Ordinarily, however, one's advisor is not a Level 12 Wizard. The Planar Binding spell is enough to summon and bind Efreeti, and with some care and enough free time, a single casting is enough to set in motion an endless chain of Wishes. I will grant that a Headband of Intellect +6 is just barely out of range for a Wish spell, but." She smiled and shrugged. "We're already expected to spend time crafting said headband the hard way. Now... Go ahead. Put it on already. You've earned it."

Wordlessly, I lifted the headband from the box, before carefully slipping the leather back over my hair, and around the back of my head. My thoughts sharpened, and I realized the correct answer to a question I'd flubbed on the test I took two weeks ago.

"Thank you, Professor," I said.

"You're more than welcome, Doctor," she said, grinning. "As it so happens, I have other, less traditional gifts for you-"

"You are the best doktormutter," I said.

"-but, before then, I'd like to just... talk," Professor Tanelye said. "What do you plan to do, now that you've achieved your Prestige Class? The University offers continued study courses for cases like yourself, but after nearly two years as your advisor, I can tell that you merely tolerate academia."

"That's a fair assessment," I admitted. "Well... There's always the Magistry. Assuming I survive the training to 5th Level, that'd net me a solid salary to pay off my student loans. After that... Gods, who knows? Maybe I'll go adventuring. Grind out some levels the old fashioned way. And then, when we're finally peers, I'll go back to my hometown and revamp the infrastructure." I sighed. "But, well. I don't really have any plans, per se. Just an inclination towards the default option."

"It happens," she said, nodding. "You spend so long working towards something, it becomes your only goal... and then, once you finally reach that goal, you don't know what to do with yourself. I had a period like that after I took my first level of Incantatrix. Thankfully, I have something that might help you."

"Oh?" I asked.

"The Dean has asked me, once I was finished with my obligations to you, to look into a curious uptick in the wash-out rate among our doctoral candidates. I think it would be a good experience for you to start applying the skills you've learned in the real world."

"...Oh."

"And," she continued, grinning slyly. "Because this isn't an academic assignment, but actual work, I would of course be obligated to pay you for it, perhaps with more items of great power. Things that would be quite useful to a wizard, but which I've absent-mindedly created more of than I personally need."

"Best. Doktormutter. Ever," I repeated.

"It's the least I can do," she said simply. "However, my office is the wrong place to discuss your employment. Would you mind terribly if I were to teleport us to my home before we continue our discussion?"

"Not at all," I said.

She moved her hand in a circle as she gestured. "Teleport!"

Her office disappeared, and in its place materialized the drawing room of her townhouse- a tad on the small side for someone as powerful as a Level 12 Wizard, but then, Professor Tanelye didn't make her life in academia because she wanted to live like a queen.

"Now," she said, standing up. "The room where I discuss sensitive topics is actually not here, but rather, through this door. Follow me."

"What sort of wards did you dredge up that can block even your own teleportation?" I asked, standing up out of the very comfortable and probably magical leather armchair she'd teleported me into. Did she arrange her furniture in her office and home specifically to facilitate this sort of thing?

"You'll see," she said, producing from within her pocket a flat, circular grey stone with blue runes etched into it. The rune lit up as she opened the door, and she stepped through into the room beyond.

The door closed of its own accord behind me, locking us into the vast rotunda that most definitely did not fit naturally into her modest townhouse. This must be-

"A demiplane," Professor Tanelye said. "Teleport cannot cross the planes, after all."

"I... see," I said. "Professor-"

"Please, Selva, I'm not your advisor anymore. You've more than earned the right to call me Elendar."

"...Elendar, I thought Create Demiplane was beyond your ability to cast," I said.

"Oh, I can't cast it naturally, no," Professor Tanelye- I couldn't quite bring myself to think of her as Elendar- said. "No, I just chain-bound enough Efreeti to produce all the scrolls of it I'd ever need, and cast those. Now! We have privacy, and we shall use it. First and foremost, your Headband."

"Oh?" I asked.

"It is now useless to you. I would advise being seen selling it, to explain why you do not wear it. Do as you wish with the gold; it should be enough to settle your student loans."

"I know I just proved I didn't need a +6 to Intelligence, but-" I began.

She cut me off, reaching into a pocket. "The first magic item I have for you is something I like to call the Hairpin of the Gods, +6." It was plain and unadorned, which made me intensely suspicious.

"How do you have time for this?" I asked.

"This demiplane has a time-accelerated room containing a Dedicated Wright," she said. "You'll want a similar setup, once you've reached the point of binding the vestige Astaroth. Now. The Hairpin of the Gods performs the same function as your Headband, but far more discretely, and more broadly."

"...So, it's a +6 to my Intelligence," I began.

"While also being a +6 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, and Wisdom," she said, nodding. "Strangely, it was cheaper to fit all of these bonuses into a single item rather than produce a separate item for each one. An odd quirk of magic."

"Fair enough, I suppose," I admitted. "Well... Alright. That's certainly an item of tremendous power."

"In addition, I have prepared for you a set of Tomes- Clear Thought, Understanding, Gainful Exercise, the works. Finally, I will summon forth a chain of Efreeti to boost your stats ever-further."

"...Why in heaven's name would a Wizard need a Strength of 25?" I asked.

"You never know when a Strength bonus of +7 will come in handy," she said with a shrug. "At the very least, a +10 Constitution bonus won't go amiss, especially with a touch of retraining to apply it retroactively to your levelups."

"I don't think a Level 4 Wizard is supposed to have upwards of forty hit points," I said.

"Free your mind from 'supposed to,'" she said. "We are Wizards; we throttle the heavens. We aren't supposed to do any of this. And yet we do anyways."

"Right, right," I said, nodding. She'd gone on about this before.

"Now. To the Timeless chamber. We have much to cover."