Pous's Fate

The ninth-month winds were cold, and early winter was in sight.

The eastern sky had only just begun to pale when Pous habitually opened his eyes. His gaze was blank for a second before he sprang upright.

He opened the battered door, only to find steamed sweet potatoes already laid out on the table.

His mother sat beside the table, mending old clothes.

"Awake? Hurry and wash your hair. Look at that mess—it's like a chicken coop. If Master Mage sees you like that, he definitely won't be pleased."

"Huh? It's messy again? I obviously washed it last night."

Pous grumbled, but his feet did not stop as he rushed into the courtyard to fetch water and wash up.

The ninth-month water was freezing. Splashed over his face and head, it made him shiver, but Pous's heart burned hot.

Because today was the day he would interview for the Magic Forest. In his mother's words, if he got in, he would be set for life.

From then on, he would be a "master."

How could Pous not take this seriously?

After eating the steamed sweet potatoes, Pous put on the new clothes his mother had bought by selling her silver bracelet. He was so excited he did not know where to put his hands.

To be honest, he had originally opposed his mother selling the bracelet.

He clearly remembered that, when he was little, his father had wanted to sell it for drinking money. To protect it, his mother had bitten his father's hand, and he had knocked out one of her molars for it.

From then on, he had known that the bracelet was his mother's most treasured possession.

Yet this time, she had stubbornly sold it anyway, just to exchange it for a nice set of clothes for him.

As his mother put it, "Pous, remember this: there are not many chances in life to change your fate. A woman can still rely on getting married once, but you're a man—you have no such chance. If you don't fight for this now, you may rot here for the rest of your life."

Those words were what made Pous stop objecting.

"Don't put pressure on yourself. Whatever the noble master asks, just answer honestly. If he tosses you a sword and tells you to stab your heart, remember, don't hesitate. Stab straight into the middle of your chest. Remember, the middle. Don't miss."

Before he left, his mother softly imparted the most precious wisdom of her life.

"I understand."

"Go!"

Pous nodded, took a deep breath, and strode out of his home with his head held high.

His new clothes made him seem utterly out of place in the Slums. All along the way, he drew astonished looks from neighbors and passersby.

Pous somewhat enjoyed those looks, yet they also filled him with immense pressure.

Just as he was about to leave the alley, he instinctively looked back and was startled to find his mother still standing in the doorway, staring straight at him.

When she saw him turn around, she flicked the back of her hand outward, signaling, "Go on!"

Pous clenched his back teeth and resolutely left the Slums.

Willis in the morning was as lively as ever.

Young apprentices chased and roughhoused their way through the streets, drawing scoldings from time to time.

Breakfast stalls lined both sides of the long street, their enticing aromas making mouths water.

Mercenaries on assignments occasionally passed by in armor and bearing weapons, escorting carts and horses covered in thick oilcloth toward the city gates.

And of course, great numbers of outsiders with unfamiliar accents poured into the streets in search of work.

Pous had never observed the main street so carefully before.

He had always been busy, hurrying from place to place, afraid an employer would use tardiness as an excuse to dock his wages.

Only today did he suddenly realize that Willis City had changed.

It seemed livelier.

That made sense. The Forum said that plenty of country folk now learned Burning Hand and dared to call themselves mages before coming to the city to seek their fortunes.

Little did they know that Mercenary Corps recruitment standards had already risen several levels.

"Envoys passing through! Pedestrians, make way!"

A drawn-out aristocratic shout suddenly rang out from the far end of the street.

Pous quickly stepped to the side upon hearing it.

He was not the only one. Everyone on the street was moving aside.

Even the mercenaries, who had difficulty getting around, restrained their carts and horses and edged toward the roadside to clear the way.

Before long, a formation of unicorn cavalry clad in silver armor marched neatly toward them. Their clopping hooves struck the long street like drumbeats.

Several sealed carriages were protected in the middle of the cavalry formation, clearly the vehicles of important figures.

"Who are those people?"

The outsiders by the roadside watched the slowly passing cavalry with envy and fear.

"You don't know? See the harp emblem on those carriages? That's the delegation from Vias!"

The citizens of Willis answered the outsiders' astonishment with smug expressions, displaying the exceptional knowledge of residents of the imperial capital.

"Vias? Where's that?"

"You don't even know that? It's the Earthly Divine Kingdom of Aphnora, the Goddess of Music! I hear they're all lunatics who would rather go hungry than stop singing."

"Ah, there really are Divine Kingdoms in this world?"

"Jealous? Want to go? Let me tell you, they only accept outsiders with exceptionally beautiful singing voices. Everyone else gets turned away at the door."

"Ah?"

"Look at you, dreaming away. What Divine Kingdom? It's just a city-state, and it isn't even as big as Willis!"

Pous watched the slowly passing convoy while listening to the chatter beside him. He thought that the Empire had really been growing livelier and livelier lately.

Not long ago, the Empire had announced the successful cultivation of Cold-Resistant High-Yield Black Grain, saying it could be fully promoted this winter. The news had caused a huge uproar across the Empire.

Before anyone could digest that astonishing news, Archmages from Willis City had set off one after another with groups of a thousand people, saying they were going to build cities and construct Magic Towers.

And now foreign delegations had arrived. The Empire really had changed, growing livelier by the day.

Thinking carefully, it seemed as though all of this had started only after the Internet appeared.

Or was it simply because of the Internet that he knew about so many things?

Pous did not dwell on it. The delay from making way made him feel as if he were late.

He hurried toward his destination—the Felix Magic Academy.

When he arrived, a Magic Apprentice had already conjured a Landmark Stone Pillar and sat atop it to wait.

A large crowd had gathered there. Looking closely, they were all young boys and girls.

Among them were quite a few noble youths dressed in finery. They wore exquisite silk garments and were laden with magical items around their necks, wrists, and fingers.

The faint confidence Pous had gained from his new clothes suddenly vanished, replaced by inferiority and unease. He even felt the urge to flee.

But when he looked down at the brand-new linen clothes still creased from folding, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay.

For his mother's sake, he could not leave!

A few days earlier, Felix's Magic Forest had suddenly announced that it was recruiting research assistants.

The requirements were simple: literacy and being under sixteen.

After Felix and the Empire Official Website announced the news, it had nearly overnight caused a sensation throughout Willis City.

Countless people had excitedly rushed about through the night.

After all, this was the Magic Forest led by Master Asheff, who bore the title of "God of Agriculture"!

Who would not want to enter and bask in his glory?

The Cold-Resistant High-Yield Black Grain he had developed had long since stunned the Empire and made his name famous far and wide!

His assistant, Erin, had become the dream lover of countless young men across the country after developing Non-Toxic Winter Mallow, though people said she was rather dark-skinned.

Pous followed the Magic Forum, where he had learned that besides crops, Master Asheff had also made history by discovering a method of converting Thunder Element Magic into Light Magic.

The Magic Forum had been discussing the matter almost constantly lately, and all kinds of praise for Thunder Element Magic had emerged one after another.

It had gotten Pous, who was nowhere close to succeeding yet, wondering whether he should specialize in the Thunder Element in the future.

In short, Master Asheff had already become a figure comparable to the Empire's Magic God.

Being accepted under him was naturally an immense honor.

Pous had merely registered by chance, thinking he would give the exam a try. Who would have thought that he would actually pass the written test?

And that was how he had ended up here today.

"God of the Internet, bless me. Please let me pass today's interview!"

Pous silently prayed to the God of the Internet, his palms sweating profusely from nervousness.