The Old Man's Wager

The scene was bizarre.

Surrounded by a crowd dressed in fine, eye-catching clothes, a boy in coarse linen received an Arcane badge representing honor and status from Medivh, the kingdom's most powerful mage.

The enormous contrast was painfully glaring to those magic apprentices of noble birth. They dearly wished they could simply look away, but etiquette did not permit them to lower their heads. Otherwise, it would not only be contempt for Duke, but also disrespect toward Medivh, who had bestowed the badge.

Applause rose from the surrounding crowd. Whether they offered sincere blessings or were so consumed by envy and hatred that they wished Duke in hell, at least the applause was thunderous.

"Congratulations, Lord Marcus!"

"Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Flattering voices rang out without end. Now that he had become a full-fledged mage, his treatment naturally changed. Nearly everyone plastered on a smile as though changing faces. It was as if the questioning and even insults from moments ago had been nothing more than Duke's hallucinations.

"Duke, you're still young. The adult world can be this awful sometimes. You'll get used to it." Medivh smiled gently at Duke. An attentive servant had naturally already brought over goblets filled with fine wine. They had originally been meant to celebrate the birth of the Royal Academy of Magic's chief apprentice. Using them now was a slight downgrade in ceremony, but the timing could not have been better.

When Duke mechanically picked up his goblet, Medivh took the initiative to clink glasses with him, then drained his own wine in one gulp.

As a senior and a highly respected court Archmage, Medivh's appreciation for Duke was plain for everyone around them to see. This was almost an honor beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I still have much to do, so please excuse me." With that, Medivh drifted away with effortless grace.

As a court Archmage deeply trusted by the king, Medivh was still faithfully carrying out his duty of assisting the king at this very moment. In the timeline Duke knew, this was also the period when Medivh was at his most active and busiest.

He just did not know whether the Medivh from earlier had been Sargeras, Medivh's own will, or Medivh's will under Sargeras's mental suggestion. After all, two souls inhabiting one body was the most complicated matter of all.

Still, did this count as showing off and running away afterward—how exciting?

Or was it the boss being forced to show off in front of me and then run away—now that's even more exciting?

At that thought, Duke's blood began to boil without him realizing it.

He had never expected that one day he would use the villainous super boss as his shield... Duke suddenly realized that he seemed to have awakened some wicked trait that craved excitement.

What followed had little to do with Duke.

Someone who looked like a host stepped up and announced, "All right, it is now time for the apprentices and mentors to choose each other. According to academy regulations, the mentors required to take in magic apprentices this year are..."

The host went on and on about a whole lot of things that had nothing to do with Duke. This two-way selection process reminded Duke of a job fair, but since he had even turned down Medivh, naturally no mage would come over just to be snubbed.

In previous years, there seemed to have been some sort of award ceremony for the chief magic apprentice. Now that Duke, the chief apprentice, had directly become an Earth Mage, that step was skipped as well.

Duke had stolen the greatest spotlight. Whether apprentices or mages, no one wanted to make a fool of themselves, and they quickly scattered like birds and beasts.

Only then did Daniel and Itana, who had come with Duke, walk over.

"Congratulations, Duke... uh, Lord Marcus." It was Daniel who spoke, while Itana's gaze was somewhat afraid to meet Duke's.

"Just call me Duke."

Daniel seemed somewhat hesitant, but he still said it plainly. "Duke... we've discussed it with Mentor Norton. We've decided to become his disciples."

Suddenly, Itana looked up. The freckled little girl seemed to have summoned tremendous courage. "Duke, why don't we ask Mentor Norton together? After all, he was the one who discovered you in the first place. We..."

Duke raised one finger, stopping Itana from continuing.

Duke thought to himself, If that old man Norton dared to take me in, he would have come over long ago. Maybe people grow more timid when they get old.

He did not blame old Norton. After all, not everyone possessed the aptitude and luck to become a hero. Yet it was precisely the struggle against fate by countless ordinary people that created one epic event after another.

"Everyone has their own position. Besides, the path I'm taking is very different from yours. Study well under Mentor Norton. If any good opportunities come up, I'll look after you."

The two young people nodded, half understanding and half confused.

After everyone else had dispersed, Duke asked a servant for the location. Led by the servant, he passed through a long marble corridor and, beneath the gazes of the people in countless paintings, finally knocked on old Norton's door.

The one who opened it was Sasha, the ordinary second-year female apprentice. Seeing Duke outside, the apprentice with flaxen hair and light brown eyes gave him a kind smile.

She whispered to Duke, "You came after all. Mentor has actually been hoping you would come. He... he isn't a bad person. He just has too many concerns."

After saying that quickly, Sasha raised her voice. "Welcome, Lord Duke Marcus. Mentor is free. You can go in yourself."

Duke smiled and nodded, then entered with his head held high.

Perhaps it was merely a temporary room used for recruiting apprentices, but it differed greatly from what Duke had imagined. More precisely, it was not a mage's room at all, but more like a noble's reception room.

A white rectangular oak table stood empty, with only the ornate golden trim of curved lines along its edges visible. In front of the table was a chair upholstered in red velvet, allowing apprentices to sit comfortably while speaking with their mentor.

The mentor's chair was rather impressive. Two crystal balls infused with Arcane energy were set into its tall back, radiating a soft glow. They probably proclaimed Mentor Norton's specialty—Arcane magic.

However, old Norton was not sitting in the chair. Instead, with his back to the door, he gazed out through the room's nearly floor-to-ceiling window at the lush greenery throughout the academy. The old man seemed to be sighing.

"Sorry for causing you trouble," Duke said first.

"Ha..." The old man let out a long sigh. "Though you've been nothing but trouble since the first moment I saw you, I still never expected you to be this good at stirring things up."

"Do you regret it?" Duke asked with a smile.

"If I truly regretted it, I wouldn't even have let you into this room."

"Then you..."

"I've decided to take a gamble!"