An Apprentice's Fate

"Come on, children, follow me," said the Eternal Elf "big sister" standing in front of the awakening array.

Thanks to the Eternal Elves' racial talent, every elf was born exceptionally good-looking. A pretty big sister held great sway over children at this age.

The children all followed the pretty elf "big sister" into the testing array.

The Eternal Elf "big sister" first took a little girl by the hand and led her to the array.

"Don't be afraid when the awakening starts. We'll all be right outside," the Eternal Elf "big sister" said, patting the little girl on the head.

"Okay, pretty big sister. I won't be scared," the little girl said with a smile.

"Big sister? You must be joking," the Eternal Elf "big sister" said with a laugh.

"Aren't you? You look younger than my mom," the little girl said questioningly.

"I'm not your big sister. Be a good girl and go into the array first," the Eternal Elf "big sister" said, patting her on the head.

"Aren't you?" The little girl scratched her head. Then she walked into the array.

The moment the little girl entered the array, a vast amount of magical energy enveloped it.

The little girl had never seen anything like it. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Don't be afraid. Remember what I told you," the Eternal Elf "big sister" said, her voice sounding in the little girl's ear.

"Okay, big sister. I'm not afraid," the little girl said, wiping away the tears about to fall.

The magical energy gathered by the array began to enter the little girl's body, and she entered a wondrous state.

Magical energy swirled around the little girl, and her eyes shone with magical light. Arcane energy appeared in her hand.

More and more Arcane energy gathered, slowly solidifying from an illusory form. When the energy enveloping the array disappeared, the little girl walked out.

"It looks like you have good aptitude," the Eternal Elf "big sister" said, looking at the Arcane Magic in the little girl's hand.

"You have excellent aptitude. You can become an Arcane mage," Jarod said, walking over and patting the little girl on the head.

"Does magic have attributes too?" Apophis asked.

"Of course magic has attributes," Jarod replied.

"Children, look over here." Jarod clapped his hands, signaling for the children to look at him.

"Children, we mainly divide mages into three schools: fire mages, frost mages, and Arcane mages."

Whenever Jarod mentioned a type of mage, a representative from the mage troops behind him would cast a spell from that school to give the children a clearer understanding of mages.

"This child awakened the Arcane attribute, and she's very talented," Jarod said, taking the little girl's hand. The Arcane energy in her hand danced up and down.

"You have excellent talent. Study hard." Jarod patted the little girl on the head and gave Apophis a look, signaling for him to take her.

After catching Jarod's signal, Apophis hurried over and took the little girl, guarding her like a treasure.

Watching Apophis, Jarod didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But on second thought, there was a reason for him to act that way.

After all, they didn't have the tens of thousands of years of accumulated experience and systematic training methods that the elves did.

"All right, let's continue the tests." Jarod gave the order, and the Eternal Elf "big sister" led another child into the testing array.

A long time passed like this, and by the time the children had all completed their tests, it was nearly evening.

Unexpectedly, all the children had the talent to become mages: three Arcane mages, seven fire mages, and ten frost mages. The smallest Vrykul among them had the most outstanding fire talent, even greater than the first little girl's.

Perhaps because they were all descendants of the Titan-forged, magic had a natural affinity for them.

"All right, the tests are over. You all have the talent to become mages," Jarod said, putting Apophis and everyone else at ease.

Apophis no longer had to worry about how to comfort any children who couldn't become mages.

"Stay and eat before you leave, Apophis. Letting our guests leave hungry isn't how we treat them."

Jarod invited Apophis and the others to stay for a meal before leaving.

"There's no need, my brother. It's getting late, and we need to get back to the village before the sun sets completely."

"We can escort you back. Don't worry, my friend."

"There's no need, brother. You don't know how terrifying the forest is at night. You've already helped us a great deal. Sorry, but we can't trouble you any further," Apophis said, declining Jarod's offer.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony, my friend. It's only a small matter for us," Jarod said, trying again to persuade him.

"No, we can't do that. My brother, we should both be giving, not have you constantly helping us while we accept it all as though it were only natural." For the first time, Apophis wore a serious expression in front of Jarod.

"We can get back on our own. Thank you for your help, 'big brother' Jarod. You've already done enough for us," a Vrykul child said.

"That's right, we can get back on our own!" the other children chimed in.

"I admire your character."

"In that case, take the food with you. Otherwise, all the food we prepared will go to waste." Jarod offered a solution Apophis couldn't refuse.

"Then I'll gladly accept," Apophis said to Jarod.

A while later, soldiers from the dining hall brought over the packed food in magic backpacks.

Several soldiers took the makeshift, single-use magic backpacks and handed one to each of the little mages.

Once the packs had been handed out, Apophis called the clan members together and began to leave.

Apophis and his party set out for home in the last of the sunlight.

Watching Apophis and his party grow more distant, Jarod scratched his head and thought, Getting along with children doesn't seem so hard after all.

"Someone, record everything that happened today, compile it into a report, and send it to His Majesty Snyder," Jarod said to the adjutant beside him.

After that, Jarod returned to his room to rest.

Swish! Apophis used the weapon he had received from Jarod to cut off a wild beast's head.

The sun had almost completely set, and they were still some distance from the village.

Fortunately, they had the magic backpacks Jarod had given them. Otherwise, the aroma of the food would have drawn more wild beasts.

At last, Apophis saw the firelight of the village in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Quick, we're almost home."

Apophis's words filled everyone with strength again. The children were also full of confidence, and the fire mages summoned little flames to light the way home.

Finally, by working together, Apophis and his party made it back to their village.