In the last couple of months, Ivan has felt more at home squatting in an abandoned building than with his mother. However, he began to grow excited with the approach of the grimoire acceptance ceremony. His hopes had been riding on the prospect of getting a well-paying job in the capital with the help of a grimoire. To say Ivan was excited was an understatement.
On the day of the ceremony:
Ivan approached the grimoire tower, ignoring the whispers from the others. Most of them were locals clueing in out-of-town attendees on my troubles. But the worst thing was how loud they were about it, 'can't they wait until I'm not around to be that loud about it,' he lamented in his mind as he began listening in on some particularly loud gossip. Youu see that messed-up part of his face, I heard his mother kissed him on the cheek and gave him a disease," said one of the girls. "I heard his mother sleeps with people for ten yul," said the other.
Ivan had no choice but to ignore them until the doors to the tower opened, and we all piled up, trying to rush in. Once inside, we were met by an old man who appeared neutral yet vigilant. Suddenly, the old wizard began a speech.
"Ever since the first wizard king killed the giant devil... grimoires have been the most useful tool. Some of you are more suited to other pursuits." Ivan quickly lost interest due to the speech not making much sense; he instead waited patiently for the grimoires to be assigned. However, the old wizard continued his speech for far too long, saying things like, Not everyone needs to be a baker," and "Just because you can't make good bread doesn't mean you can't"
"What is this guy talking about?" Ivan mumbled to himself, utterly baffled by the wizard's words.
"And with that hemp-hemp, LET THE GRIMOIRES FLY." Ivan watched as others got their grimoires, but it didn't take long for him to descend upon him. It was relatively plain-looking. The book was mostly mahogany red with a brick red border. He let it hover in front of him for a moment before grabbing it. He then began walking back to the building he was squatting in while reading through his grimoire.
Authority is power, and power is authority. Your body becomes powerful, and your aura scorches.
'Not much of a description, but at least it sounds cool, ' Ivan thought to himself as he turned the page, 'blazing locomotion. Now we're talking,' Ivan glanced over the page, nd something caught his eye. "This spell requires authority of scorch to be active... huh, he murmured as he read to himself the rest of the way back.
In the mountains near Llyne.
Ivan summoned his grimoire to his side, ready to test his spells. "Flame Magic: The Authority of Scorch." Two layers of aura surrounded his body. The first layer was a thick column of fire, while the second was a thin layer of flickering flames.
Ivan had never felt this much mana flowing through him before; it was on the verge of unbearable. He tried desperately to calm it down, but no matter what he tried, it was no use. he was too inexperienced to handle it. He was beginning to panic when he heard a voice coming from behind him.
"ooooh. It's not every day you see something like this" Ivan turned around and saw an old man. "Wind magic: gale lens. A circle of wind surrounded his left eye, and he began examining a panicking Ivan. "I see the issue. You're trying to hold back something that should be able to flow freely, which is what's causing your distress. You are not skilled enough to hold it back, so it is pushing past your blockade."
"So how do I stop it?" Ivan said slightly calmer.
"Just let it flow", the old man said, and Ivan did just that. It took some effort, but he finally began to release control of mana flow. The overwhelming pressure turned into an empowering feeling. That wasn't so hard, was it?" The old man released his lens spell and approached Ivan. "When I was your age, I had just gotten my grimoire, and I was very eager to give my magic a go. So I cast a spell. And it was like nothing I had ever felt. I felt powerful but restricted at the same time. But I had no clue what to do, so I left it go unchecked. But one day it cost me my whole career..."The old man paused with a solemn look on his face, "but that's a story for another time. How about I escort you home?" The old man's smile returned as he spoke.
"Uh, I'm kinda homeless", Ivan replied.
Homeless at your age!? That's no good. Come with me, you will stay with me and my wife." The old man grabbed the back of Ivan's shirt and dragged him into a large cottage.
"WHY IS THERE A RANDOM TEENAGER IN OUR HOUSE? The man's wife yelled
"Calm down, Margaret, he's homeless", the old man replied as Margaret pinched her nose and shook her head.
"Whatever. But he can only spend one night. Do you understand me, Edward Aurelius Sibill the 3rd? You better," Margaret spoke with a fierce tone and said the last part under her breath.
Margaret pointed at Ivan and then at the table. He promptly rushed over and sat down, not wanting to be on the woman's bad side. After a couple of minutes, all three of them were seated at the table. So tell me about yourself," the old man, now known as Edward, asked.
"My name is Ivan Gadric, u, my face is kinda messed up, but it's incurable-" Margaret cut him off with a scoff.
"incurable? That's barely even light work. Whoo told you it was incurable? What were they? An idiot or something?" She summoned her grimoire and chanted a spell. "Cloud creation magic: cradle of wellbeing" Ivan was suddenly scooped up by a cloud and wrapped up in said cloud. He could feel the itchy red patches of skin disappear.
After roughly ten minutes, he was released from the cloud. He ran over to a mirror in disbelief. "It was just a simple rash that went unchecked. Did your parents not get you to a healer or something?"
My mother is a selfish prostitute; she probably wouldn't care if I were dead," Ivan replied, still admiring his smooth skin. The old couple shared a look of concern. "Would you mind showing me my bed for the night?" Ivan asked, and Edward stood up and beckoned to follow him.
Once they were in the room, the old man placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder. "I know I didn't see much, but you have some real talent.If you wanted, I could teach you to control all that power you have." Edward lifted his hand off Ivan's shoulder. "Do you have any desire to be a magic knight?" he asked
"I do", Ivan replied. Edward smirked and turned to leave.
The entrance exam takes place in 6 months. We begin tomorrow".
(A/N) I made this one as long as I could. I know it's not the best, but I do my best. Maybe once things start ramping up, I will be able to make them longer