"An elite apprentice program? What a joke. After all that fuss, didn't they end up doing the same thing as us?
That Roland really does say one thing and do another. He almost had me fooled!"
At the Orthodox School's base in the West Lainer Mage Tower.
Oksaya and the others had begun work for the new semester immediately, just as their counterparts in East Lainer had.
He had not forgotten to keep an eye on Roland's movements, but after making some inquiries, he had nearly burst out laughing.
"Well, there do seem to be some differences," Gallo said calmly after looking into it.
"Just wait. Sooner or later, he'll show his true colors.
I know his kind all too well."
Oksaya spoke with confidence.
"Once they've wasted their time, they'll understand. Making the competition clear from the moment they enroll and weeding out the weak is how you raise the strongest apprentices with the greatest potential."
While Oksaya and Gallo were talking, the apprentices were gathered in a large classroom inside the Mage Tower for a lecture.
"Listen carefully. From this moment on, you are apprentices of this tower.
But don't think becoming a magic apprentice makes you better than everyone else. Quite the contrary: you are now this institution's 'property.' Only by successfully graduating can you regain your rights as people!"
"'Property'? What does that mean?"
"Could you explain that more clearly?"
A stir ran through the crowd.
"I came all this way to learn magic, and you're telling me I'm property now?"
A burly half-orc sprang to his feet in a rage and slammed the desk.
The apprentices belonged to different races and varied considerably in appearance.
Some were brown-skinned Drow with long, upright ears; others were dragonkin with scales on their bodies and lingering Demihuman traits;