“So he forced your hand.”

Charlotte gave Roland a sideways look as they walked, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever.

“He's grown, Steve was right about him being the most promising one we've had in years.”

Kynos waited alone in the office, awaiting his results. He feared the worst, having had such a shameful display against the weakest seer. Kynos wondered if they would take away his magical eat-for-free ID. It had been a full week since he had seen Mith as well, and that too weighed on his mind.

The door opened, and the two seers of the primary school entered. Roland stood beside Charlotte, who sat down in her usual chair. She pushed a single document towards Kynos, with four numbers and a single line below them.

Kynos received the paper, which read: 95 83 67 86. He didn't have a clue what it meant.

“Congratulations, young Kynos,” Charlotte spoke, before he could read the sentence, “you are now an official certified mage of Incanta, having passed a university level exam and being able to fight on par with a seer.”

Kynos blinked in surprise. The line read 'A-class mage certification granted.'

Charlotte continued. “Sadly, as our city is less than a hundred years old and we mages are yet considered more weapon than scholar, we cannot continue to keep such talent wasting away in this school, despite someone's best efforts. You will have to make a choice.”

She cleared her throat as Roland looked on.

“The first and most popular, is to register with the Incanta mage's guild and be assigned work. It is generally safe, though some work will involve extermination of monsters and bandits.

The second choice, and second most popular among combat oriented mages, is to join or form a party and explore the various labyrinths in the cities of eastern Alva and Ladria. It is dangerous, but can be highly profitable, and many artifacts of great worth have been discovered.”

Kynos tilted his head at that one. He knew from Mith's lectures that there were labyrinths scattered across every continent. They were a valuable source of magic crystals and artifacts, and were essentially the ruins of what Mith thought was an ancient world-spanning civilization. Monsters had taken residence in many of the ruins, and tunnelers made many additional paths, creating dangerous dungeons and infested sunken cities to explore.

It seemed that the Imperium was hiding information about their labyrinths, while the holy kingdoms banned any exploration of theirs. The countries and city-states of eastern Alva and most of Ladria allowed delving, and many smaller cities were formed around such labyrinths. He had even heard Mith mention that Incanta was built on a cleared labyrinth for a specific reason.

“Also, as a third option, generally taken by mages sent by influential families, you may become a retainer of a noble in another country. You would move to that country and carry out the wishes of your lord,” Charlotte continued, “it is something you may wish to do for Mithandra's family, if not now, then in the future.”

Kynos nodded to the third option. He would obviously consult with Mith, but it seemed unlikely that he would choose anything else. She would be the person to empower his revenge, after all.

Roland then spoke up.

“However dear lad, Ailize is embroiled in war at the moment. I would like to present a fourth option, which is to train with a colleague at the college of magic nearby. She has already agreed to accept you as an apprentice. You may be interested to know that she is also on the council of mages as the eight seat, and a life magic user.”

Kynos left the office in some confusion, holding a new ID. He had been given a good amount of money, which he was told had been inherited from his mother's possessions, and miraculously, he retained the scholarship and the free food benefits that came along with it. The card also qualified him as a certified mage, allowing him to use many facilities non-mages weren't allowed into. He returned to his room and opened the door.