Chapter 10: The Encounter

Arin entered the "Broken Tooth," one of the more luxurious inns in the city. As soon as he walked in, many guests turned to look at him. At sixteen, he was definitely the youngest person in the room, and in his formal clothes, he looked like a schoolboy.

Immediately, a well-endowed waitress approached him. "Are you lost, sweetheart?" she asked with a charming smile, leaning in towards him. Arin couldn't help but notice her prominent cleavage and realized that not many teenagers probably visited this place.

"I'm looking for Maloren," Arin said, trying to sound confident.

The waitress patted him on the head with a maternal smile. "I'll ask for you. Sit over there," she pointed to an empty table and chair.

Arin sat down and watched as the waitress skipped over to the bar. She talked with the bartender for a moment, who shook his head and looked in Arin's direction. The waitress turned back, returned to Arin with a slight smile.

"Maloren went to dig up some well," she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. She started laughing, and Arin joined in. He thanked her and headed towards the old well.

About twenty minutes later, he arrived at the old well. He saw about ten workers trying to dredge the mud from the old well where he had fallen six months ago. Among them was Maloren, who was overseeing the work.

When Arin greeted Maloren, he looked at him and greeted him back. "So, what have you decided?" he asked.

Arin nodded and said, "I agree, I'll enroll in the war academy, but I want to make sure my family is well taken care of. They're all I have in this world."

Maloren nodded. "Don't worry, that will be arranged," he said. "The Duke gave me special instructions." Maloren waved his hand, materializing a pouch, which he handed to Arin. "Here are 100 gold coins. The Duke sends them to you in advance."

Arin hesitated for a moment, having never seen so much gold before. He gladly took it without asking further questions. Maloren smiled and continued, "I'll tell you how we'll proceed. I'll stay here for a few more days to dig up this well, even though it looks like there's nothing but mud in there. At the end of the week, I'll return to the Duke and tell him you've accepted our offer. In the meantime, I'll make sure your mother and sisters join the caravan that will leave for the Duke's city at the end of this month."

"You should start preparing to pass the academy's entrance exams. The Duke can't place you there directly, he can only recommend you, but you must pass the entrance exams like everyone else. Although with your profession, that shouldn't be much of a problem. I spoke with the mayor, and he agreed to let you into the low-level dungeon. The question is whether you should go in alone or with a party, but I'll leave that up to you. I assume you won't want to party with someone from the wealthy class who's awakened. And as far as I know, only one of your friends from school awakened to a combat profession."

Arin nodded and asked, "So I should gain experience in the dungeon for fifteen days and on the sixteenth head to the Duke's city to take the entrance exam? What happens if I don't get in? Does our deal with the Duke fall through?"

Maloren smiled. "We'll all hope you get in."

Arin swallowed and continued with more questions. "What level should I reach to have a good chance at the academy?"

"You should reach at least level eight," Maloren replied. "With eight levels, your success is almost guaranteed. I think reaching level eight should be possible in about ten days. You have an exceptionally strong profession, so you'll have some advantages. The academy entrance exam also takes place in a dungeon where you have to achieve certain results. I know that a summoner has passed the exam before, and most advanced professions, those other than the basic ones like warrior, thief, priest, shooter, and so on, have always succeeded. You shouldn't be an exception."

Maloren continued, "As for equipment, you should buy basic gear for mages. It's usually standardized – a robe with a staff or wand. But you're not purely a mage, so I think you should take equipment for a thief, which means leather armor and a short sword. You might find it useful to block a strike that could otherwise harm you."

Maloren also said he would visit Arin's home at the end of the week and explain the process to his mother. This reassured Arin greatly because he understood that he would have to leave his family in less than sixteen days and head to the Duke's city alone to take the exam he had to pass; otherwise, the deal with the Duke wouldn't hold. This stressed him, but knowing that rare professions like his usually succeeded in the exams calmed him down.

Arin thanked Maloren and set off to the shop Maloren had recommended. He had to go back to the wealthy part of the city. The journey flew by as he kept thinking about all the different things, the information he had received, and looked at his new ring on his finger. He had stored 100 gold coins, all the potions, and two teleportation scrolls in case of danger in the dungeon. Along the way, he tried a few times to retrieve a healing potion, and it fascinated him how it suddenly materialized in his hand with just a thought, allowing him to drink it immediately. It was something he had never imagined. When he learned about it in books or heard stories in school, he couldn't picture it, and now he had one of those rings on his finger.

When he arrived at the shop, which was one of the smaller ones but had been recommended by Maloren specifically because it specialized in beginners and newly awakened, and had a wide range of basic equipment, he entered and saw his former teacher Sunnora behind the counter. She taught him economics and organization at school.

Sunnora looked up from the parchment she was writing on and smiled at Arin. "Arin, what brings you here?" she asked.

Arin began explaining everything he was interested in, repeating what Maloren had told him. Sunnora was surprised because he clearly had information that a beginner wouldn't usually have. She began preparing leather armor for him and showed him several types of swords and sabers.

"A little," Arin admitted. "Maloren gave me some advice. He said I should start with something simple."

Sunnora nodded. She knew Maloren; he sometimes visited their school on official business. Also, her father had some history with him. "That makes sense. We have several types of leather armor and weapons that are suitable for beginners. I think this one might be ideal for you," she said, pointing to a short sword and light leather armor.

Arin tried on the armor, and Sunnora helped him tighten the straps. The leather armor included a helmet, chest armor, belt, greaves, and boots. However, it did not include bracers, gloves, or shin guards.

"That looks great," she said. "And as for the sword, it's light and easy to handle. It should serve you well."

In the end, with Sunnora's help, Arin chose a sword that gave the highest willpower bonus. After talking with Maloren and Sunnora, it became clear that at these early beginner levels, the armor didn't provide many stats or attributes. The equipment he chose gave him 5 endurance and 5 agility, and the sword he selected added 7 willpower. What was good about the armor was that it provided a small regeneration of about 1 mana per second, which could be useful.

Arin paid 31 gold coins, thanked Sunnora, and said goodbye. Sunnora herself pondered how intelligent and thoughtful Arin was. She was surprised by his behavior and had to admit that in the clothes he wore, he looked more like a boy from the wealthy class than from the poor. She thought about how much clothes make the man and where Arin even got those 31 gold coins. She knew he came from very poor circumstances, and she was shocked at how he stored the new equipment in astral space without her seeing any visible accessory he could have used. How did Arin even have such an accessory? The shock and amazement on her face lingered long after Arin had left.

Arin realized he had stored the armor in his ring without even thinking about it. When he left the shop, he understood why Sunnora had such a surprised look on her face. He thought to himself that it didn't matter – in sixteen days, he'd be leaving, and in a month, his family wouldn't be here either. He set off quickly towards home.