"Hyah!"
At the spell-training grounds of Kamar-Taj.
James eyed the half-crouching apprentice beside him with suspicion. Xiao Li's dark, round face had turned a little purple from straining. James even wondered if the kid was suffering from altitude sickness.
"Tell me, can you actually do this or not?"
A wisp of green smoke suddenly rose from the half-formed portal in front of Xiao Li, and it vanished completely. His left arm remained extended stiffly, as if he'd turned to stone. With a Sling Ring around his finger, he turned to James with a deeply aggrieved look.
"It's all your fault! I was this close!"
The apprentice had learned that James was leaving and insisted on seeing him off. He claimed he'd mastered the Sling Ring and could open a portal, but the distance from Kamar-Taj to the New York Sanctum was enormous. At his current, half-baked level, it was still a tall order.
James gave an awkward smile and protested, "Isn't this supposed to be basic? I've seen every sorcerer do it—"
"I'm not even a sorcerer yet! I'm the best apprentice there is!"
James glanced at the few young apprentices in the corner, practicing basic spell gestures. The oldest of them couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen. He thought about how the boy was only trying to help, and decided not to rush him anymore.
He quietly watched Xiao Li concentrating, a faint smile playing on his lips.
The kid was probably the least talented person in all of Kamar-Taj. James wondered if there was anything from the outside world that could help improve a sorcerer's training, something he could do for him.
"I did it! I did it, big bro!"
Xiao Li jumped up excitedly and shouted with pride. It was the best he'd ever done