Sitting behind an oak desk while looking at a book that described many essential alchemy ingredients a boy who looked like he had just reached adulthood had his feet up while aimlessly flipping pages and vaguely learning what was on the pages. In all manners of speaking the boy looked completely average, maybe even slightly below, in a world with many knights who had very bulky physics his twig frame made him unattractive to the female gaze while simultaneously appearing like a weakling to other men. Yes, he was a mage, a mage with an unsymmetrical face and soft facial features, his only saving grace was that he was an alchemist or at least almost an alchemist. While mindlessly passing the time, the boy named Rory suddenly had his attention drawn to a short girl who entered the registration section of the first floor, she was just under 5 feet tall and was not overly beautiful but was still cute to the extent of being hit on at work weekly. "Jean, you are almost 15 minutes late a
After leaving the registration office Sarah followed Jean as she was led down a hallway and up a flight of stairs, despite receiving many looks from passersby she stayed proud like the noble daughter she was. In truth, usually, a duke's daughter would be greeted by a brank chief or high-ranking individual upon arrival but he father had instructed her to join like an average person to avoid getting too involved in internal dealings with the guild. While the two continued to walk toward their destination Sarah was momentarily distracted as she someone with a very unusual outfit, although she only saw the person's back for a split second she could easily see a blonde woman slightly shorter than her wearing a black and gold leotard that seemed to dig into her crotch along with a pair of stockings and a witches hat.Seeing that, Sarah was somewhat dumbfounded, usually, mages wore reasonably conservative clothing with the riskiest things being skirts that end around the knees, in fact, sh
While Sarah was taking her apprentice alchemist exam William was lead to a small room by one of the employees and given tea and pastries. It has to be said that rich and powerful people are treated completely differently than normal people who have to stand around and wait, because of his affiliation with the Goldridge family he was treated like the owner's son. Realistically it was not a big deal and in someways he would rather sit out and listen to what other mages in the guild talked about. In truth he was still imcredibly ignorant to many things in this world, the current social situation and news about the world that is not important enough to be main stream. It took a little under two hours before a middle aged man with thick glasses and a very thin frame walked into the small room William was staying. "Hello Mr. William, my name is Anton and I will be administering your offical alchemist certifiction test, I have been informated that you have not taken an apprentice test b
When Sarah heard a commotion down the hallway, she was slightly distracted by it and briefly turned to see what was going on. At that moment, William and Anton walk around a corner and could be seen, walking behind them a handful of middle-aged and older people following them and making a scene. Judging from the badges on their clothing, all were officially certified alchemists. Numbering around 6 it was the highest number of certified alchemists Sarah had seen together since entering the guild earlier that day, clearly something abnormal was going on. When he arrived before Mary he gave Sarah a nod before presenting the woman with a wooden rack containing multiple vials of a mesmerizing purple liquid, the onlookers were all solely focused on the dark purple liquid that seemed to have a slightly metallic sheen. Sarah was no different as she had never seen a potion quite like this one in all her life, as the heiress of a duke's house she was the definition of pampered and had acce
After leaving the alchemy guild, William and Sarah returned to the carriage that had brought them originally. It was situated less than a hundred meters away, and the coachman, an older gentleman named Oliver, was waiting for them. William had talked with him a few times and understood that he was Sarah's primary guard while living outside the country and was a very competent mage. Although he did not live in the villa with them, he would accompany them whenever they left for protection. As they got into the carriage, Sarah turned to William. "We should go to a nice restaurant to celebrate doing so well. Do you have anywhere you would like to go?" Hearing her question, William couldn't help but feel a little weird being treated like this but didn't overthink it. She was a wealthy noble daughter, and he was a broke kid from a working-class family. Even with his knowledge, it didn't change that he was currently lacking in his means. Realistically, he had been waiting for the potio
Humans can be bizarre creatures, changing between kindness and cruelty at the drop of a hat, pursuing a noble cause to engaging in debauchery on the same night. Like this, the only constant in human behavior is eternal change, sometimes evolution and sometimes degeneration, humans will always seek novelty. People often create suffering where it does not exist and find happiness in the depths of despair; only with something to compare to can people truly experience the vivacities of life. It did not even take until their main course arrived before William and Sarah experienced the strangeness of humanity. The table with a group of young men and a single young woman suddenly became route abruptly. "Say that again Anton! I dare you to say that again!" "I said, "At least I did not sex traffic my own sister," what are you going to do about it?" Upon hearing that the entire dining room went completely silent, William, who was enjoying his appetizer, a light vegetable soup, frowned
"I am sorry to interrupt, but are you Sarah Goldcrest by chance?" Hearing the soft female voice who approached their table, William turned his attention to the young woman next to their table. After a cursory glance, anyone could tell she was a rare beauty, with dark gray hair flowing down to her low back and pitch-black eyes that seemed to hide a dark secret. Seeing her arrive, Sarah stood up to greet her. "Good evening, Your Majesty; I am Sarah Goldcrest; it is an honor to meet you." It did not matter what number of princess she was. Royalty had to be treated a certain way. "It is good to meet you as well; who might this gentleman be?" "Hello, your majesty. My name is William Sterling; it is a pleasure to meet you." Natalia was dressed in a black lace dress that ended at her knees, contrasting with her pale skin to create a charming appearance. "Nice to meet you as well, William. Do you guys mind if I pull up a chair? I have something to speak to you about briefly." Hear
On the carriage ride back to the villa they were living in, Sarah was feeling highly peeved. People without much experience in noble circles might miss it, but she was well aware that Princess Natalia was continuously disrespecting and attempting to provoke her. From the moment she invited herself to join their private dinner until the end, the princess talked down to her many times and openly flaunted her wealth like a law-class businessman who had just closed their first big deal. If only their statuses were more similar, she would have been able to respond with righteous indignation; unfortunately, she was a princess of an empire while she was merely the daughter of a duke coming from a small country in the surrounding area. In truth, without her own academic and magical success, Natalia would definitely not care about someone like her, but since she took notice and seemed to acknowledge her as some sort of rival, she acted so rudely. Thinking about this, Sarah was enraged;