"What's this?"
Kael stared at the piece of paper that he received from Mr Venther. On the upper half of the paper, in large, bold font, were the words "Arcane Academy".
He looked at Venther, who was seated beside him.
It was the next day, and Kael, having received another meal(which he inhaled) and an additional night of rest, was much more refreshed. However, an alert by Nurse Phina on the arrival of Mr Venther immediately after his breakfast soured his mood, which brought him to this situation.
"It's the Academy acceptance letter. For schooling."
"School? Me?" Kael pointed at himself.
"Yes."
"Me? School?" Kael stared back at the letter with wide eyes.
"This was the conclusion that we came to yesterday."
"..."
"All you need to do," Venther, thinking he needed more guidance, pointed at a small blank space at the bottom. "Is to sign here to accept the invitation."
"..."
He still couldn't believe it. School was not something that Kael ever saw himself going to, and now that he was in the position to decide, he couldn't comprehend the fact.
He clenched the letter and scrutinised the contents. Above the words "Arcane Academy", There was an image of a tower coming out of an open book. A crescent moon hung above the tower, and the sky was filled with twinkling stars. This image was all contained within the borders of a circle, and undecipherable characters lined the circle border.
"That's the school logo of Arcane Academy, the only magic school in the Kingdom." Mr Venther added on.
Kael nodded and carefully read the text below the 2 words.
'The Headmaster of Arcane Academy humbly extends an invitation for Mr Kael Thorne to join the academy as a student beginning next January.'
Below that line, there were three boxes. The one on the right had already been signed by the headmaster, the one on the left had been the one that Venther had pointed for him to sign, and the box in the middle…
"How is my father?" Kael asked. "When can I see him?"
"I have already made the arrangement. He is still under treatment, so the most you'll be able to do is look at him through a window. I'll bring you there after this."
"Does he have to sign it?" Kael asked, pointing at the middle box, where it called for the signature of a parent/parental guardian.
"Normally yes, but given his current situation," Venther looked at the acceptance letter, "Well, you can try, but if push comes to shove, the Headmaster is reasonable and open to look over it."
"Okay. I'll sign it."
Venther took out a pen from his jacket and gave it to Kael.
But Kael suddenly remembered something.
'How do I sign something?' Kael sat there for a long time with the pen in hand, staring at the blank. Then, as if finally deciding, he put the pen to the paper, and, in a very crude fashion, just wrote his name on the blank and passed both the pen and the paper back to Venther.
"Great. Moving on,"
Venther stood up and went to a corner, picking up two sacks that Kael had been eyeing for a while. "I presume these are yours." He set them beside Kael's bed. "This was left behind when you disappeared."
Kael looked through the bags, feeling his figurines in one piece. He then turned to his father's bag, where the microwave, and the gun(surprisingly) were still there.
"Weapons are not forbidden here, as long as they aren't misused. Guns are also one of the least dangerous weapons here in the Capital, so it's not controlled." Venther explained. Kael nodded in understanding.
After Kael checked everything, he tied the sacks back up. "Yes, everything is ours," he replied.
"Thats great. There are just a few more things in the checklist before I bring you to your father, so bear with me."
Venther pulled out a small card and presented it to Kael.
"This is your identification card."
Kael stared at the card. There was nothing on it. At all.
"Let me explain." Venther cleared his throat. "Normally, as a normal person entering the inner city, you would have to apply for an identification card, get your picture taken, and go through the process. However, for magicals like you, there are specially made identification cards."
"These identification cards respond to arcane energy. It might be blank right now, but once you learn and apply your arcane energy into it, it will automatically record your statistics."
"So I won't have an identification card until then?"
"Yes, that's true. However, if you'd look behind," Kael flipped the card over. "Your identification number is at the bottom. And your name is already engraved above it. This card is already designated for your use. Right now, this empty card can also be used as a placeholder to prove that you are allowed to live in the Capital, before you unlock the true identification card."
"And next," Venther pulled out a sleek rectangular object. "Here, this is your phone."
"Phone?" Kael stared at it incredulously.
"Yes. I remember the reward of finding the bounty," He turned the phone towards himself, pressed a few buttons, and turned it back to face Kael, "was a million gold coins."
On the phone was nine followed by five zeros, with a small rotating gold coin beside.
"This will serve as a wallet. It contains your money. The phone also has other functionalities, which you'll find to be very useful."
Kael received the phone, eyes almost popping at the sheer amount of money it had. 1 million gold was enough to sustain a livelihood from birth to death. Back at Garbage City, only credit points were distributed, a currency that could only be used within garbage city, and meant nothing outside. Not even a thousand credit points, which could be used to buy clothes, equated to one gold. And now he had a million.
Except - "Why is there only nine hundred thousand recorded here?" he looked at the number, confused.
At this statement, Venther averted his eyes and looked away in guilt. "For the medical expenses."
"Did my treatment cost this much?" He looked back at the phone with wide eyes.
Venther coughed again. "Your treatment wasn't that expensive. It's your father's medical expenses that made up most of the cost."
One hundred thousand gold! For medical expenses! Kael couldn't believe it.
"And that cost is already considerably subsidised. You should know that the original cost was 136,000 gold coins, but in lieu of your situation it was lowered to 100,000." Venther mentioned.
One hundred thousand gold was already the lowest?
"Anyways, next thing." Venther quickly took out another piece of paper and handed it to Kael.
Kael was forced to put down the phone and receive the paper.
"In lieu of your only recent awakening and your unfamiliarity with the inner cities, the headmaster has decided to assign you tutors to bring you up to stage for the school year." Venther pointed at the paper, where different times were scribbled on. "You will have three sessions each week for each tutor. This will be your new timetable for weekdays. It starts right away tomorrow, because you have quite a bit of catching up to do compared to your peers."
"And that wraps everything up. Now," Mr Venther stood up. "You can follow me to see your father."
But Kael did not move. He just looked at Mr Venther.
"Whats the problem?"
"The Miss forbids me from walking."
"The miss? Oh you mean the Nurse?" Mr Venther asked. "Then, how am I supposed to take you to your father?"
Kael shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know. "Call her, I guess."
Venther gave Kael a long stare, before getting up and walking out. A few minutes later, he returned with the Nurse.
"What do you mean move? You want to make him permanently disabled? Don't you know what happened yesterday? He tried to walk, you hear me? And that set his treatment back by weeks! Weeks I tell you." Nurse Phina did not seem particularly enthusiastic at being called.
"I understand your concerns, nurse, but Kael wishes to be taken to his father. Besides, injuries like this can be recovered easily."
The nurse looked at Kael. "Must it be now, of all times? Can't you wait a month?"
Kael nodded.
After a while, the nurse finally gave in. "Fine." She walked to the doorway, and pushed in a wheelchair that she had brought. While Mr Venther watched, she pulled off Kael's blanket, exposing his body.
"Tell me if you feel uncomfortable." Kael looked in interest as she pulled out a small measuring tape and started measuring the size of his limbs. Then, she placed it back in her pocket, and placed both hands on his arm.
"Dont move."
Kael followed her instructions, looking at her hands. Somehow, he anticipated something interesting was about to happen.
And it did.
'Woah…' he thought inwardly. 'So this is arcana.'
A translucent aura came from the palm of her hands and surrounded his arm. Only when the arm joint was covered did she let go. Kael tried moving his fingers, but to no avail. It seems like the aura was blocking all movement.
"There you go. That will protect you from any unprecedented injuries or pressure." She responded. "It will restrict movement at the most vulnerable parts."
Carrying on, she repeated the procedure for the rest of his limbs.
Then, with one hand on his back and one hand on his legs, she lifted him from the bed and placed him on the wheelchair.
With a small yelp, Kael, who wasn't ready for the effortless carry was thrust into a seating position.
"Thank you Nurse." Venther stepped forward and grasped the wheelchair handles.
"Return in 2 hours. Any longer and the cast will disappear." Nurse Phina replied. "Do you know what room the patient is in?"
Venther nodded. "Yes. I was told when I booked the slot. It's at 6F-48."
Nurse Phina nodded in response. "Then hurry, quickly." She stepped in front and pushed open the door.
Venther, grasping the two handles, did not waste any more time and pushed the patient out.
Kael was on the way to reunite with his father.