The carriage rolled slowly along Pat City's bluestone streets. Inside, Ang looked around at Georgie and Aden beside him, then at the new companions across from him, a warm smile on his face.
"Georgie, Aden," Ang said, "let me introduce you. This is Quintina, a full-fledged mage. These five are Senior Magic Apprentices: Pri, Leander, Ellis, Isi, and Mons." He pointed to each of them in turn.
Georgie and Aden quickly straightened their backs and carefully studied the unfamiliar faces before them.
"From now on, Georgie, you'll study under Pri. Aden, you'll study under Mons," Ang added with a smile.
Georgie and Aden immediately stood up straight and respectfully called out to Pri and Mons, "Teacher!"
Pri and Mons were clearly caught off guard. They exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded in response.
Watching their interaction, Ang continued, "Georgie and Aden are both quite talented. They have fire-element affinity and have already learned basic Magic Theory under President Aden. Next, they'll need your guidance to help them grow. There aren't many people in North Wind Territory who can use magic right now, so we can only use a one-on-one teaching approach. Once we have more people in the future, we can consider an academy-style system."
Pri nodded. "Understood, my lord. We'll do our utmost to teach them."
Ang nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Pri and the others. "You all have a solid foundation, but you're still quite a ways from becoming Rank 1 Mages. Over the next year or so, focus on improving your spellcasting proficiency, condensing your mental power, and building up your mana reserves. Try to all advance to Rank 1 Mage before the Empire's investiture ceremony."
The five nodded, their faces full of determination. Pri spoke first. "Rest assured, my lord. During this time, we'll