The Apprentice Commotion

A group of parents and their children gathered in the village's central square.

The crowd chattered away, drawn by the news Apophis had brought. The chance to become a mage was a precious one.

Ever since the warriors of their tribe had come out of Tyr's Tomb alive and told them about that wondrous and powerful force, they had been curious about it. Now that they had a chance to learn it, they had naturally flocked to take part.

"Everyone, have the children form a group on their own. I'll lead them to be tested," Apophis shouted from the raised platform.

The crowd began to separate of its own accord, with the children on one side and their parents on the other.

Seeing that the crowd had divided, Apophis prepared to lead the children to the Eternal Elves' outpost.

A little later, the apprentices were assembled at the village entrance, ready to set off.

The children chattered among themselves, their eyes revealing their curiosity about magic.

Seeing the tribe's children take an interest in magic gave Apophis some reassurance. After all, an interest in the subject would make learning new knowledge twice as effective with half the effort.

"Move out!" Apophis gave the order. Under their parents' watchful eyes and the protection of Apophis and a squad of armored soldiers, these hopes of the tribe set out to meet their new destinies.

At the Eternal Elves' outpost, Jarod was directing the soldiers as they built an awakening platform specifically for mages.

A squad of soldiers was building the tower platform, while the mages began constructing the awakening array and the Shamans communed with nature here to lay the groundwork for a farm. As for the ranch, Jarod had already sent people to Aikaite'er to arrange for what was needed.

Arcane power gathered there, giving the tower platform a sacred appearance.

"General, Apophis and his group are nearly here," a rogue scout said, appearing beside Jarod.

"I know. Continue with your task," Jarod said.

Hearing the general's order, the scout beside him disappeared into the shadows to continue his task.

"Someone, come here," Jarod called to the nearby soldiers.

A soldier came over at the general's call.

"General, what is it?"

"Go and see how the food preparations are coming along. Our guests have arrived."

"Yes, sir." The soldier went to check after receiving the order.

A while later, Apophis led the prospective apprentices to the outpost where Jarod was stationed.

It was the children's first time seeing elven architecture, and it was all so new to them.

They had never seen buildings like these. The buildings here were much prettier than those in their village, and the unfamiliar architecture caught the children's eyes.

"All right, children, look over here," Jarod said to them.

The children tore their eyes away from the magnificent buildings and looked at Jarod as he spoke.

This handsome older elf was the leader of the elves. Although he had only visited the village a few times, the distinctive air about him had left a deep impression on them.

"It's already noon. Someone will take you to eat shortly. After your meal, you'll bathe and change into the clothes we've prepared, and then we'll begin testing your aptitude."

Jarod's voice seemed to have a special magic to it, and the children found him very convincing.

A squad of elven guards walked over to the children and began leading them to their meal.

The children followed their elven guides into the outpost and arrived at the dining hall.

Inside the dining hall, elven delicacies were brought out. The children had never seen food like it before. Like the buildings outside, the food here was all very "exquisite."

The children gazed curiously at the table full of delicacies, unsure for a moment how to start eating.

The accompanying elves were taken aback by the children's awkwardness, then explained each dish and how to eat it. And so the children had their most unusual meal.

While the children ate, Jarod and Apophis began discussing the aptitude test.

"Brother, what do you think? The children of our clan are pretty good, aren't they?" Apophis said proudly.

"They look good, but we'll have to wait for the test results to know for sure." Jarod gave an equivocal answer because he didn't know what the children's aptitude was really like either.

"The children of my clan will definitely pass!" Apophis said confidently, like a rooster that had won a fight.

"But the number of children of the right age you brought was unexpected."

"What? How was it unexpected?"

"More than twenty children. That's just the right number."

"I thought there would be dozens."

"Brother, we're only a small tribe of a little over a thousand people. If you agree to lower the minimum age and raise the maximum, we could add quite a few more," Apophis said.

"Forget it. Starting too early or too late isn't good for the children's growth."

"Besides, we have limited personnel. This number of children is just right."

"How long do you plan to teach them?" Apophis asked the question he had wanted to ask all along.

"We'll train this group of children until they're capable of handling things on their own."

"Really? That's wonderful. I was worried about how the children would continue their studies later on," Apophis said with a sigh of relief.

"You don't need to worry about that. We'll see it through, as long as you pass the test I told you about," Jarod said, looking at Apophis.

"You don't need to worry about that. I believe in my people," Apophis said.

"All right, go and eat too. Come try our food today." Jarod patted Apophis, motioning for him to follow.

"Then I'll eat my fill. I don't get many chances like this, after all," Apophis joked.

"Haha, there's plenty to go around." Jarod laughed at Apophis's words.

At around one or two in the afternoon, everyone had finished eating and began preparing for the mage aptitude ceremony.

The children had eaten their fill, bathed and changed their clothes, and now stood before the testing array.

Seeing that the children were a little sleepy, Apophis's face darkened. Why are these brats so disappointing? Can't they see there are outsiders here?

"Wake up, you little brats!" Apophis roared.

The children's drowsiness vanished at once. Some were even frightened, and a few of the girls already had tears welling up in their eyes.

"What are you doing? They're still young. It's perfectly normal for them to feel sleepy after eating." Jarod, standing beside him, punched Apophis.

Jarod then walked among the children and began comforting them. The sight of the handsome older elf made them feel much better, especially compared with their fierce-looking chieftain, which made the older elf seem even nicer.

Once the children had calmed down, the testing ceremony finally began.