Whoosh—
A great flurry of papers flew through the air and struck the evil intruder.
Michael screamed, cried, clawed at his hair, spun in circles, and hurled everything within reach at the newcomer. After tripping over the floor, he scooted backward on his backside, moving flowerpots and grabbing a wastebasket, anything to block the intruder's path.
"No! Don't! Somebody save me!!!"
Annan stopped and said helplessly, "Don't be like that. I'm only here to ask a few questions..."
"And when you're done asking, you'll ask whether I can do it!"
"Right. Doesn't that count as asking?"
"If I say no, you tell me to overcome the difficulties. If I say yes, you give me funding."
Annan sounded proud of it. "Where else have you seen an employer as generous as me?"
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I'm just a little level-four Mage..."
Annan clenched his fist in encouragement. "Believe in yourself. You can do it!"
"Please, spare me..."
Seeing how haggard Michael looked, Annan reassured him. "Don't worry. The academy's first-year students are about to graduate. I'll let you pick first."
"Really?"
Michael's eyes lit up.
Annan saw through him at last. Michael had been playing up his misery from the moment Annan arrived.
"Get up first. If the apprentices see you, who knows what they'll think..."
Fortunately, Evelyn wasn't there. Otherwise, her notes would gain another entry: "After Annan went in, screams, sobs, and pleas for mercy came from the room."
"I'm not getting up until you promise!"
"Fine. You can pick first."
Annan did the math. The first graduating class would have around 160 Alchemy Apprentices.
The Mage Tower would get one-third, and the Mushroom House two-thirds. The Mage Tower focused mainly on theory, and its work revolved around the tower itself. Divine Temple