Thomas

At that moment, the young man Drew had named, Thomas, was wrestling with a dilemma in a guest room at an inn in Lincoln Town.

He held a letter of introduction in his hand, left to him by his master, Abel.

His master had once told Thomas that he had been a member of the Corgi Family, a noble family in Stormwind City. He had been found to have a talent for magic as a child, and had become a full-fledged mage at eighteen. Back then, people had hailed him as a genius.

Unfortunately, he had grown arrogant in the height of his success, thinking himself invincible. An expedition beyond his abilities had left him gravely wounded and damaged his mindscape.

He had only just advanced, and his magical runes were not yet stable. After his injuries, they collapsed completely and could never be restored.

His level had fallen from junior mage to mage apprentice, and he would never advance again.

Once a genius, he had become a failure. Abel had been devastated and had endured plenty of ridicule and oppression. In a fit of anger, he had left home to make his way in the world.

During his travels, he had met Thomas and guided him into the world of magic, eventually training him to become a junior mage.

Seeing his disciple reach the same level he once had—and knowing Thomas would surely surpass him—had filled Abel with joy. Then a serious illness had laid him low, and he could no longer watch Thomas grow.

They had spent all those years traveling, but had never come into contact with other professionals.

Abel had only ever reached the entry level of junior mage. He could not guide Thomas any further, and, worse, he was about to die.

Not wanting Thomas's talent to go to waste, he had introduced him to his family, hoping they would support him.

But Thomas knew Abel must have suffered terribly unfair treatment, as well as countless insults and attempts to suppress him.

Otherwise, he would not have spent twenty years wandering away from home without returning or contacting his family.

And since the family had never reached out or searched for him all those years, they had clearly stopped considering him one of their own. Would the Corgi Family accept Thomas just because he had this letter of introduction?

Even if they were willing to take him in for his talent, they would surely treat him as a pawn.

Thomas did not want that kind of life. He had decided to take control of his own path.

By chance, he had learned of an academy that accepted students without conditions.

With little more than a willingness to give it a try, Thomas had come here.

Thomas had been born in a very remote village, to a desperately poor family.

When he was ten, his family had sent him to work as an apprentice at the blacksmith's shop in town.

He had been too young to do much, so until he turned twelve, he had served as a helper and never had enough to eat.

After he turned twelve and grew stronger, he had finally become a proper apprentice.

He did odd jobs around the smithy every day. At least he got enough to eat, though apprentices were not paid.

Only after completing his apprenticeship and becoming a full-fledged blacksmith would he earn money for his work at the shop.

The plan was for Thomas to apprentice for five years before he would have a chance to qualify.

If his life had followed its expected course, Thomas would have become a blacksmith. Then one day, Abel came to the town where Thomas lived.

At the time, Abel was only a mage apprentice. He could not cast offensive spells, only a few zero-rank cantrips.

Life was miserable for mage apprentices who had not yet become full-fledged mages. They could not use offensive spells, so no one wanted to hire them. They could only follow a full-fledged mage and learn from them.

Or, like the apprentices in Dalaran, they could take on small jobs to support themselves.

Physical-class apprentices had it differently. Warriors were strong enough to work as hired muscle or guards, or even do manual labor. Rogue and ranger apprentices were nimble and could serve as informants or scouts.

Some rogue apprentices even learned by starting out as thieves, and could support themselves that way.

But spellcasters' bodies did not change, and might even be weaker. Their spells had no offensive power, so no one wanted them.

How had Abel survived all those years wandering alone?

He had used cantrips to perform magic tricks for ordinary people in remote areas who had never seen a mage, earning enough to get by.

He had traveled to countless places over the years. That day, he arrived in Thomas's town.

Abel drove his carriage to the center of town and set up a stall, with a small stage in the middle.

In front of the stage, an upside-down hat lay on the ground to collect the audience's tips.

Abel began by using the Ignition spell to kindle several balls of fire in the air, drawing a crowd. Ignition could be considered a precursor to Fireball: both gathered fire elements. Fireball could gather and release them with considerable offensive power.

But without magical runes to empower it, a mage apprentice's Ignition could gather only a tiny amount of fire element—enough to light firewood, perhaps. Of course, Abel could also use it as a firework, as he did here.

Once the crowd had gathered, Abel bowed to them and cast the cantrip Mage Hand.

Mage Hand was a cantrip frequently used by mages. Even full-fledged mages used it often.

It was a hand formed from a mage's magic power, and the mage could control it to pick things up.

It was the cantrip Abel had cast more than any other over the past decade.

So what did Abel use Mage Hand for?

Abel cast it several times, and multiple transparent Mage Hands appeared in the air.

He used them to operate several puppets, which walked onto the stage.

Years of practice had made Abel remarkably skilled. His Mage Hands were almost invisible, making it seem as if the puppets had walked onto the stage by themselves.

Throughout the puppet show, Abel made full use of a variety of cantrips.

He used Sound Control to make voices come from the puppets, Wind Breath to stir up gusts and create effects like flying, Water Control to make it rain, and Illumination to conjure a sun, among other tricks.

The puppet show was so good that the audience felt as if they were watching a real story unfold.

The townsfolk loved it. They did not have much money, but every one of them gave Abel a tip.

Before long, the hat beneath the stage was filled to the brim.

The performance had brought joy to the townsfolk, but to Thomas, it was a revelation.

He felt that magic had opened up a new world to him. The door to that world stood right before him.

He did not want to go on living as he was. He did not want to become a blacksmith.

He wanted to learn magic. He wanted to enter another world.

When the show ended, Abel bowed deeply to the audience, thanking them for their generosity and praise.

The townsfolk gradually dispersed. After Abel had packed his belongings and loaded everything onto his carriage, he noticed that one audience member had stayed behind.

It was a small child, and Abel had not noticed him at first. Only after everyone else had left did the boy come into view.

"Hey, kid, is something the matter?" Abel asked kindly.

"Can I learn magic from you?" Thomas gazed up at him eagerly.

Quite a few people had asked to become Abel's apprentices before.

But none of them had moved him, and he had turned them all down.

For some reason, looking at Thomas's small face, Abel sensed his sincerity and his deep love of magic. As if in a trance, Abel nodded.

And so, the town lost a blacksmith's apprentice, while a little follower joined Abel at his side.