Chapter 8:Ban Ard

"Remember boy, when we go inside I don't want you to stare at the scenery like a fool, or else the other wizards will look down on you.Remember that first impressions are the ones that last the longest in people's minds. "Desmont commented before opening a portal.

Viltz nodded and followed him,when he came out,he found himself in front of a gigantic walled palace,as they entered through the gate in the walls,the first thing that caught his attention was the beautiful garden carefully maintained in a wild style that gave it a sense of natural beauty,to the north of the palace a large tower could be seen rising majestically.

Viltz remained calm as he followed Desmont all the way through the garden without saying a word,just admiring the scenery in a reserved manner.

When they reached the entrance of the palace, they met two people coming out of the entrance.

"What a coincidence, you're here too, Stregobor!" exclaimed Desmont.

Stregobor had the look of a standard wizard, elderly appearance, a magic staff, and wore a confident smile that made people want to beat him up.

"Looks like you've come too,Zavist,how come Idi let you out of the royal castle?"

Viltz arched an eyebrow,both surprised by the old man's identity and by the way he addressed Desmont,giving the latter a questioning look.

Desmont,apparently understanding his confusion,explained, "Desmont is my real name that I used before I became a wizard,only a few old friends still call me that,now almost everyone knows me as Zavist,you can call me as such as well."

Viltz nodded in understanding.

Some wizards changed their names after they became wizards.

Desmont,now known as Zavist looked at Stregobor with a frown and spoke: "You too have been away from the royal castle for over six months,leaving all the work to me,now that bastard is getting more and more anxious,pressuring me to come up with a cure for his illness as soon as possible,he even made me abandon all my experiments to manufacture the cure for him."

Stregobor shrugged and pointed to the young man standing next to him and introduced him, "This is my new assistant, Istredd,he just graduated a few months ago,originally he was the apprentice of a freelance sorcerer who died due to an accident,I subsequently found him and brought him to continue his training here."

Istredd bowed by way of greeting.

Zavist nodded and said to Viltz: "This here is Stregobor,both he and I serve as royal advisors to King Idi of Kovir".

Then Zavist put his hand on his shoulder and introduced him as well: "This boy is Vilgefortz,he just turned seven this year,although he looks young his magical talent is the highest I have seen to date,I brought him here to enroll in the academy."

Stregobor arched an eyebrow and asked, "Don't you think he's too young?after all most of the children who enter Ban Ard are at least twelve years old."

Zavist just shook his head and explained seriously, "I wasn't bragging before, this kid really has a great talent for magic, in the two months he was with me he memorized all the basic magical theory."

Stregobor was surprised and suddenly interested in the new boy,giving him a look that reminded Viltz of the look a child would give a new toy,making him flinch,stepping back a step.

Zavist patted Viltz's shoulder and said with great regret, "Well boy, this is where we part ways, it's a shame you don't want to become my assistant, but since I promised Elder Vecell that I would take care of you I will give you this."

The old man took a crystal ball out of his bag and gave it to Viltz.

"Remember,if you encounter any problems or need help you can always use this crystal to contact me."

Viltz nodded effusively, not wanting to pursue the subject of being an assistant.

He quickly bowed to the old man, thanking him for bringing him here.

Although becoming Zavist's attendant would have given him great protection and he wouldn't have to spend the money his grandfather gave him on expensive annual fees or tuition, doing so would mean he would be restricted and watched most of the time, which was unacceptable to him considering his future plans.

Stregobor said to Istredd at his side suddenly, "Istredd, why don't you give the boy a tour of the academy while Zavist and I talk?"

"While you're at it you can take him to the chancellor for registration."

Istredd agreed and told Viltz to follow him.

Viltz quickly followed .

Watching the two leave, Stregobor asked Zavist anxiously, "Do you have the flower?"

Zavist nodded and pulled out a glass bottle filled with a green liquid with a blue flower inside.

Stregobor grabbed the bottle and exclaimed, "With this we can cure that useless king's disease."

Zavist nodded and commented, "Idi is an idiot but it is to our benefit that he is still alive, if another king ascends to the throne, I don't think he will be so easily swayed by us."

Stregobor nodded but then asked, "By the way, where did you get that child?"

Zavist sighed and answered: "I became interested in him because a druid from Kovir's circle told me that they had a very intelligent, talented and hardworking boy among them, as it was a short trip I decided to go with him to visit my old friends and to see how extraordinary this boy was.

When I inspected his body with my spell, I noticed that he had twice the amount of chaos energy flowing through his body that boys his age have, so I decided to bring him here to study and at least try to compete against those Aretuza girls.

For the past two months I tried to subtly hint to him to become my apprentice more than once,but he always refused,even refused to let me pay his tuition and yearly fees."

"It seems that boy is very cautious of you."

"That's right!If it weren't for his talent I wouldn't have gone out of my way to try to recruit him. "Zavist sighed.

"Anyway, since you brought him here and taught him for the last two months, he'll surely feel indebted to you. "Stregobor tried to console him.

"Forget it, let's change the subject. "Zavist spoke as he began to walk around the garden, starting a conversation about official matters of the various northern kingdoms.

Viltz followed Istredd into the magnificent palace, walking at a slow pace.

Where are you from Vilgefortz?

"I was born in Lan Exeter," Viltz replied.

"I am from Aed Gynvael,A city in the Narok region,and now I suppose I will return to my old home."

"But didn't Stregobor say that you are his attendant?shouldn't you be going with him to the royal palace? "Viltz asked in confusion.

"Technically I'm still his assistant, it's just that I have to explore some elven ruins underneath the city and so I will be staying there indefinitely until I finish exploring all the ruins," explained Istredd.

"Why are you telling me this? shouldn't this be a secret or something?" asked Viltz.

"Not at all, everyone in Ban Ard knows, so there's nothing to hide."

Vilgefortz nodded in understanding.

"Let's go upstairs, you still have to go with the chancellor to check in."

Viltz nodded and followed him until they arrived in front of a large wooden door,just as Istredd was about to knock on the door,it swung wide open,revealing a lavishly decorated office on the other side.

Sitting in an exquisite wooden chair was an elegant old man smoking a pipe while leafing through a parchment.

The old man looked up and spoke with a gentle smile, "You must be the boy that Zavist brought, Vilgefortz, right? I am Gerhart de Alle, you may consider me the headmaster of this place, though those in my position are called chancellors."

Vilgefortz stood in front of the old man's desk and bowed formally by way of greeting.

"Well,since you have been recommended directly by Zavist and since the entrance exam was taken a month ago,you can enter the academy directly,although you still have to pay the tuition of 200 crowns plus the annual fee of 1200 crowns,the total would be 1400 crowns."

Viltz nodded and directly took out a leather bag with exactly 1400 crowns inside and placed it on the desk.

"Looks like you came prepared, well here you go, fill out this form and sign it."

Viltz took the parchment and glanced over it quickly, it was a simple one-time use academy registration form.

He quickly filled it out with his personal information and signed it.

"Well, now that's all settled you can go.

Istredd, take him to meet his classmates.

Istredd bowed and left, followed by Viltz, after which the door closed by itself.