Job Advice

Jeffrey nodded, "Yes I do think they seem interesting. But unfortunately, I believe that my idea of "fun" lies elsewhere."

He stared at Leo, who was still preoccupied with the book.

"Any ideas on what you want to do?" Jeffrey asked.

As he was flipping through, Leo had a slight frown form on his face. He didn't speak for a few minutes.

The silence awkwardly continued on until Austin made a light cough.

"Ahem. So any ideas?"

"Hmm?" Leo looked up, startled, "What is it?"

Both of them were speechless. Just how invested are you in that book?

Leo looked confused and felt a little bad about their reactions. Has he done anything wrong?However, Jeffrey soon laughed it off.

"It's alright. I was just asking if there is anything you wanted to do in your future."

"Ah, I see."

Leo quickly understood and thought for a moment.

'Since we're all friends here, I guess I shouldn't need to hide my intentions.

'Besides, sooner or later I would have to talk about it eventually.'

Placing the book on his lap, Leo finally responded, "Well, I would like my life to have a bit of thrill and discoveries.

"I think going on adventures to explore this world would be a very fulfilling thing to do."

Austin looked both a bit stunned and amused. Jeffrey, however, seemed to have somewhat expected this.

"Is that what was bothering you this term? Thinking about going on adventures?" Austin asked sincerely.

"Yeah," Leo rubbed his neck, "I know it sounds a bit immature, but I seriously meant what I said. There are just so many things one can experience outside the borders of their country."

He glanced at Jeffrey beside him who seemed to have a queer look on his face.

"Just asking, but," Jeffrey began, "Are you perhaps a big fan of the epic tales of heroes we learned about in history?"

Leo's cheeks turned slightly red at the subtle teasing. He forgot how shrewd Jeffrey could be. Nevertheless, he was undeterred in his decision.

"There are still some heroes in present time," Leo attempted to switch the topic, "They've all experienced amazing things in this new world, despite the dangers. I just want to try to see if maybe I can stand the same chances as them."

"Well, to be fair," Austin said carefully, "It isn't a bad idea to try, but... I'm not really sure if you can find a proper job that can support your decision. We do have adventurers in our kingdom, but they aren't a true professional group to be a part of.

"Why don't you just settle down first? Maybe after accumulating enough money and knowledge, you can set out on traveling the world in a couple years."

Leo only lowered his head when he heard his friend attempting to persuade him. It wasn't like he never considered this, but it was ultimately not the kind of life he wanted. It felt too "safe" and cautious.

As for being an adventurer... At this point it may well be his only option.

The Adventurers Guild was established only less than a hundred years ago. Right now, they still needed to improve certain parts of their organization.

Jeffrey became thoughtful at their discussion. Suddenly, he introduced his own idea.

"Actually... There are other professions that can fit what you're looking for."

"Oh?"

Leo stared at Jeffrey as he wondered what the other party had to say.

Jeffrey however, didn't look as optimistic as his usual self.

"I heard from some nobles that the royal family has a special elite group that is a part of Bavalon's military. The members are called the Treasure Seekers."

"Treasure Seekers," Leo repeated with a dubious look on his face, "That sounds like something pirates would name themselves."

"Haha, I thought so too. But they are actually a well composed unit comprised of all kinds of skilled individuals whose purposes are to find, discover, and even explore any mysterious magical artifacts that are found in this world."

"By "artifacts"," Leo spoke slowly, "You mean the conceptual items that have been appearing since the Dawn of Magic?"

"What else?" Jeffrey chuckled.

After the world had changed, in the addition of new sentient species, strange objects have been randomly spotted in different lands in the past five centuries. Possessing unique abilities, they have been studied by many scholars and mages. However, it has been rumored that only less than half of them have been fully understood. Regardless, they still possess immense value, as some of humanity's understandings of magic have been the direct result of these studies.

There are many theories to their existences. It had once been thought that the gods themselves had sent them from the Heavens, but so far all of them have denied it. Other theories include the belief that these artifacts were not "made" but rather formed from the nature of magic itself. Whatever the case, their origins are a mystery that may never be uncovered.

These artifacts come in various sizes and states. There have been recordings of large structures in the form of buildings that suddenly popped up from the ground. Other items include weapons, armors, and even substances like liquid. Each one carries a special property that has yet to be comprehended.

Before they were discovered, humans had originally categorized magic items based on their levels of power, rarity, and/or usefulness. But the appearance of these artifacts have subverted the common understanding. Their powers have been described as something more abstract.

After careful studying, and gaining some guidance from the gods, these objects have since been dubbed by most civilizations as "conceptual items". Possessing powers more closer to an idea than something physical, they are deemed very difficult to measure by the standards of all living beings.

But although they are impossible to measure in terms of levels, whether or not they can be a threat to others is something else entirely. A conceptual item can have the power to either alter creation or do something as insignificant as changing the general notion of what is "day" and "night".

"This group does sound quite impressive," Austin remarked, "But it also doesn't seem like something a regular person can get into."

"Yeah," Jeffrey nodded, "Although I'm not sure on the details, it's been stated that one must have excellent talent and outstanding intuition in order to really join. But even so, they have been said to be very well-armed and quite decently funded by the Felgrands," he then gestured towards Leo, "I can ask around my circles to see if you can possibly join them. The life of a Treasure Seeker should give you enough thrills."

Leo pondered on that prospect. It might actually fit with what he is looking for. Even if he still wasn't sure, he was at least interested.

"Well, I'll think about," Leo said while Austin sighed, "But I'm not sure if I can be qualified. My grades aren't at the top of any of my classes."

"Maybe so," replied Jeffrey slowly, "But you are actually quite a well-rounded mage, aren't you? In addition to taking a few more classes than most students, the classes you're enrolled in tell me you're very diverse with using magic. You even take lessons under Mr. Armstrong's personal combat club. Plus, I've heard that you seem to be doing just fine in all your studies."

Leo speechlessly gave Jeffrey a deep look.

"How do you know so much? Did you just pry information from all the people I'm familiar with around the school?"

Jeffrey waved both his hands.

"Not at all," he hurriedly said, "I just got to know a lot from asking Mr. Armstrong, who told me he is a friend of yours. He actually seemed quite concerned about you when I was chatting with him."

'Damn that guy.' Leo fumed in his head, 'Doesn't he know about personal privacy? Wait, why does it seem like Jeffrey is very familiar with him?'

Seeing the questioning look on Leo's face, Jeffrey simply explained, "I am also a student under him. But only in regular classes, not clubs."

"And you managed to get close enough to glean information?" Austin asked curiously.

"Come on guys," Jeffrey gestured inwardly with his arms, smiling innocently, "Can't you tell I'm a very sociable person? I also happen to be on speaking terms with Mr. Armstrong."

Leo grumbled while Jeffrey laughed. Austin looked impressed, though still surprised.

----------

The school days would pass by incessantly as students steadily prepared themselves for the day they would leave the school.

Some students have been spotted by others to have gone teary-eyed at their eventual farewells. For most of those from the lower class, Halo Academy was like a second home to them. They experienced more of life from here than anywhere else.

Next after the students were the teachers. While some didn't really care as much, there were still many who had established fond memories with their students. To see them eventually graduate after years of teaching them, it was like seeing their own children growing up.

As the days kept arriving, Leo would continuously preoccupy himself with his thoughts. His fears would come true as he realized that there wasn't much time left before he would eventually have to make his decision.

His fear, though, was mainly just having the courage to take the first step forward.

With graduation approaching, Leo would increasingly discuss with his friends about the future. This didn't help, however, as his friends were also preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Anxiety was like a disease, and Leo's own worries began to affect Jeffrey and Austin.

"Can't you just try out adventuring for a few days before deciding if you want to continue?" spoke Austin, who was exasperated with his friends constant discussions, "If it isn't to your liking you can easily give it up immediately, right?"

"No, he can't," interjected Jeffrey suddenly, "I heard that the Adventurers Guild have contracts that adventurers have to sign if they want to first start out. Supposedly, they must legally join their organization for a year before being allowed to quit."

"Seriously?" Austin looked even more exasperated.

"Well, you can pay a sum of money to break the contract early," sighed Leo, "I heard it from Ger- Mr. Armstrong."

"And let me guess," Jeffrey gave a weak smile, "It is quite expensive."

"Yeah, something like that."

Austin groaned, "How fantastic... But wait a minute," he suddenly looked at Jeffrey, "What about those Treasure Seekers? Can't Leo join them-"

"That's off the table too," Jeffrey shook his head, "I learned that most of them must have incredibly high mastery over their training and study of magic. Not to mention, they must have real life experiences in handling life or death situations. So, unless Leo is willing to join the military and display tremendous talent..."

"Definitely not," Leo shook his head quickly. He wasn't bad at magic, but he still fell short compared to his friend Austin. Becoming a soldier was also out of the question.

At this moment, while they still were thinking, Jeffrey decided to suggest something unexpected.

"Hey, how about I just loan you a sum of money in case you ever need to leave the adventurer's guild early? That could certainly save you a lot of trouble."