Chapter 22: Moving Forward (8)

The moment Kyle entered into the carriage, he saw that the inner side of the carriage was lot bigger than how the outer side looked like. The inner side also had quite a bit of furnishing, such as couches, chairs, tables, bookcases and even some miscellaneous decorations. Not only that, but Kyle also felt that the windows looked bigger from the inside than the outside and the moment he turned behind, he felt the carriage shake and was quickly caught by Balor, before he fell down from losing his balance.

"Careful Kyle. The carriage tends to shake a bit during the lift off, but after that initial part, the journey becomes a lot smoother." Balor warned as he had caught Kyle from falling.

"Wait, lift off? Hold it, does this mean that we are...?" Kyle asked with an anxious expression, but before he finished his question, Balor answered with a slight nod as he added:

"This carriage is flying. Technically I'm its driver, but I don't need to be in front to drive it, since this carriage is made to follow certain paths."

Once Balor answered though, Kyle started to feel a lot more confused, so he decided to quickly check the outside view through one of the windows and was left awestruck. The ground was way beneath them and the tower and settlement around it were becoming apart further and further away. After a few seconds, he wasn't able to see them anymore, due to the distance, as well as the fact that fog has started enveloping the ground, making it much harder to make any details on the ground. It was only after a little while that he stopped staring outside of the window and turned around, only get another shock. The door was actually quite a bit bigger than before, to the point of it being twice as tall as him and it was at this point that he started to panic and hyperventilate.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. What the hell is happening now? Why is the door so big now? I swear when I entered, it wasn't this big. And how is this carriage flying? It doesn't make any sense, how does all of this work? Please let there be some-" *smack* "Ow... What the hell dude?" Kyle asked angrily, as he turned his head towards Balor, who was holding a rolled-up newspaper that he used to strike Kyle with.

"Are you done with your panic attack?" Balor asked nonchalantly, as he unrolled the newspaper and sat down on one of the couches.

"Panic attack? I think having a panic attack might be an understatement at this point. Especially with the fact that this carriage is flying and the door suddenly becoming bigger. Just how is all of this supposed to make sense?" Kyle answered back frantically, as pointed at both the windows and the door.

At that point, Balor decided to just snap his fingers and smooth breeze started blowing inside the carriage. That breeze was actually the Soothing Wind spell that he had used previously to calm down Kyle, when he was on the verge of tears at the time and it wasn't before long that Kyle started to calm down once again.

"Are we still going to be repeating the same skit over and over today?" Balor asked expressionlessly, as he put down the newspaper he was holding.

"Sorry, but the fact that a carriage can fly is a pretty big shock for me." Kyle answered back with a calmer expression, as he was adjusting his breathing speed.

"If you are going to be getting surprised by this, expect to be getting heart attacks on a daily basis, once you start learning magic. Hahaha..." Balor jokingly added, before started laughing at the image of Kyle starting to scream at every time he would see miscellaneous spells being cast in front of him.

"Anyways, enough messing around now. Come and sit and you are free to ask me anything you wish to know." Balor exclaimed with a happy expression, as he signaled Kyle to sit down.

"Alright... Besides I have a lot to ask you, so I hope you won't mind asking about everything." Kyle answered with a smirking expression.

"Throw me your worst. Hah..." Balor jokingly answered back as he prepared to explain things to Kyle.

"First things first, what and where is this academy that I have to go to?" Kyle asked calmly, as he looked at Balor's smiling expression.

"Vascolia Magic Academy. One of the three main academic institutions that belong to the Vascolia Empire, currently being the second biggest country, right under Paglianis Empire. The Vascolia Magic Academy, or VaMA for short, is the Academy which specializes in the training the art of magic. It is currently sponsored by the Empire itself and the Magician's Guild, which is responsible on all affairs that include magic. As for VaMAs location, it is in the Vascolian Capital, Varlavia and houses over five thousand students every year and while it is much smaller than the Imperial or Community Academies, every member of VaMA is magician of sorts, be it either an apprentice, a knight or archmage." Balor explained with serious expression.

"Alright, next question. How long will the contract last? That wasn't specified on the contract and I wish to know that, at least." Kyle asked once again with a calm expression.

"That is kind of dependent. The contract is basically made so that half the time is spent on VaMA and the other half is basically your work contract with the guild. You will be paid a wage as normal, but you will be completely unable to take any work in any other companies, guilds or households. That doesn't include part time jobs that you might be taking during your time in the academy though, so you are free to take any kind of work, as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies. Now, as for how long it might take for you to graduate, it will be a minimum of two years, to a maximum of seven years, depending on how far you are willing to advance yourself in the path of magic."

"Alright, what kind of work does a magician usually do after graduating?"

"That again, is also dependent, but it's dependent on the specialization that one might take. One may want to become a combat magician, while another might want to become a crafter of sorts. There are really no limitations to the path of magic and anyone is free to follow any path. Want to become a elementalist and earn your pay through hunting and procuring materials, go for it. Do you wish to learn earth magic to become a constructor, no one is stopping you. Do you believe that wood magic may be the way curing and restoring nature, the choice is all yours. Every element of magic has its uses and nothing is stopping you to mix and mash, as long as you have the drive for it. Besides, who knows? Maybe you will become someone who makes use of dark magic in completely new ways that no one knows of, creating a new magical profession of sorts." Balor explained as he teased a bit at the end.