The Lord's Manor was far more extravagant than the Viscount's estate, a fact that Green couldn't help but note as he stood amidst the bustling crowd in the grand hall. His eager eyes darted toward the center, where a sorcerer clad in a voluminous gray robe occupied the highest seat. Just as Mary had described, the sorcerer's face was obscured, as though veiled by a shroud of mist, rendering it impossible to discern his features.
Before the sorcerer lay a crystalline orb, emanating a soft, mesmerizing glow that filled the hall with an air of profound mystery. Beside the orb, a red-eyed frog perched, croaking incessantly. Is this the legendary sorcerer? Green's heart raced with a mix of excitement and trepidation. This was his first encounter with the fabled wielders of arcane magic.
Near the sorcerer's crystal orb, a chubby girl with brown hair stood nervously, her eyes tightly shut as her trembling hands brushed against the orb. The hall fell silent, the crowd holding its collective breath. Green turned his gaze toward the trio of children standing behind the sorcerer. His attention fixed on one particular girl.
Her?
It was unmistakably the same girl Green had seen at the Viscount's estate—the one who had carelessly discarded The Hunter's Guide to Olfactory Reconstruction and Scent Mapping, a tome of magic. Over the months, he had learned more about her. She was none other than the sole daughter of Bissel City's Lord, a young noble blessed with privilege and power. Undoubtedly, the portly nobleman from before was the illustrious city lord himself.
The other two appeared to be siblings—perhaps twins, judging by their uncanny resemblance. The boy exuded arrogance, his chin held high as he sneered at those undergoing the sorcerer's apprentice qualification test. His sister, on the other hand, seemed timid, clearly unaccustomed to such intense scrutiny.
Could they have been identified as potential sorcerer apprentices? Green speculated.
Indeed, his guess was correct. The siblings had been discovered by the sorcerer in a neighboring city, their aptitude marking them as rare gems among countless children. Emerging from obscurity, they had swiftly become the darlings of groveling nobles. This sudden elevation fueled the boy's belief in his divine destiny. Yorkris and Yorkliana, as they were called, had risen from a humble hunter's family to bask in the reverence of the elite. Yorkris, brimming with newfound hubris, regarded the hopefuls lined up for the test with contempt.
If it were so easy to become an apprentice, why were my sister and I the only ones from three cities, aside from that dimwit outside? he mused, his disdain palpable. In his eyes, even the Lord's daughter had only secured her place through bribery.
"Spirit strength: 6. Unqualified. Next," announced the sorcerer. The chubby girl paled and reluctantly vacated the orb.
"Another failure," someone murmured.
"Looks like there's little hope here," another sighed.
Disheartenment rippled through the crowd. By day's end, no one besides the Lord's daughter had passed, leaving the remaining hopefuls clinging to their aspirations solely because they'd already paid a gold coin for the test.
"Spirit strength: 5. Unqualified. Next."
One by one, the candidates failed. Green, inching closer to the front of the line, felt despair creep into his heart. Becoming a sorcerer was evidently no easy feat. Ahead of him stood Wade, the son of the Moon Bay Tavern's wealthy proprietor. The tavern was the most opulent establishment in Bissel City, and its owner's wealth was legendary.
Nervously, Wade approached the orb. His hands trembled as he touched it, and its glow began to intensify. But Green's sharp eyes caught something—a pouch being discreetly handed to the sorcerer, filled with peculiar stones. A bribe?
"Hmm. Spirit strength: 10. Join those behind me," the sorcerer declared after pocketing the bag.
Elated, Wade bowed. "Thank you, my lord!"
Green's face darkened. He had nothing to offer as a bribe. Would the great sorcerer even deign to accept his family's lone gold coin? His thoughts swirled chaotically as he stepped toward the orb.
"Place your hand on the orb and close your eyes," the sorcerer instructed. Green complied instinctively.
The world around him seemed to dissolve into silence. The bustling hall fell still, as though ensnared in a frozen moment of time. When Green opened his eyes, he was startled.
The people in the hall were eerily motionless. The Lord's daughter still pouted, tears frozen mid-air. Yorkris, his mocking grin revealing sharp teeth, stood as if carved in stone. Even the coin being tossed by the fee collector outside hung suspended mid-flight.
Yet amidst this stillness, something else drew Green's attention. On a table laden with elegant dishes, bizarre creatures with colorful, gelatinous tentacles floated gracefully above the fruit platters. Covered in countless tiny eyes, they resembled jellyfish drifting lazily in the air.
What are those?
Fear coursed through him as he inched closer. The creatures seemed startled and quickly retreated into the wall, which rippled like water before swallowing them whole. Green stood in stunned silence. But as his gaze shifted, another anomaly caught his eye—a candelabra unlike the others. It was shaped like a roasted pig's head, its candle burning atop the grotesque sculpture.
Why hadn't he noticed this earlier? Approaching it sent a chill down his spine. The pig's glassy eyes moved, locking with his own in an unsettling stare.
A sense of dread seeped into the air, tangible and suffocating.
Suddenly, a raucous laugh shattered the silence. "I've finally ascended to the highest realm! Skies! Earth! Dragons! Nothing can stop me now!"
Startled, Green turned toward the source. A paper figure, seemingly torn from the pages of a book, had risen, sword in hand, from a nobleman's discarded novel.
"Who are you? A deity of the divine realm?" the figure demanded, its expression animated yet unnervingly flat, like a single-sided drawing come to life.
Before Green could respond, the floor beneath him cracked open, forming a jagged, gaping mouth that echoed the paper figure's words. From the abyss, a crimson tongue emerged, composed of writhing serpents, and snatched the paper figure into the void. Its screams echoed before fading into silence.
"This can't be real..." Green whispered, trembling.
Suddenly, the crystal orb flared with light, pulling him back to reality. The hall returned to its bustling state, the eerie phenomena vanishing as though they had been but a dream.
"Spirit strength: 12. Excellent. Stand behind me," the sorcerer declared.
Stunned, Green rose and joined the others. Around him, whispers of envy and fear rippled through the crowd, but he barely heard them. The sorcerer's daughter and Wade eyed him briefly before dismissing him as unworthy of further attention.
As the hall settled, Green's thoughts remained adrift. The sorcerer's world had begun to reveal itself—a world as wondrous as it was terrifying.