scholars’ discussion

In the tent, Artus was sitting on a small chair; in front of him was a table with a few pieces of paper and a pen. 

Across him, on the other side, sat an older man behind a ground desk; he was Corwin, the second man in the scholar's division; he had an Irritated expression on his face, and the annoyance in his eyes increased when he saw Artus enter the tent.

Usually, he would not involve himself in the acceptance trials of the scholar's division; he would only come when to examine the elite scholars or to discuss advanced topics, but due to the large number of people that he needed to be tested, he was forced by the headmaster of the academy to participate.

"I am Corwin, the Vice Chief of the scholar's division."

 "What's your name, young boy?".

Corwin was annoyed because he was forced to participate in the trials, so he had a simple strategy in his mind; he wanted to finish the tests as fast as possible. He would try to frighten the candidates so that they would lose focus or stammer; he would then announce the end of the exam directly and kick them out.

"Greetings, lord Corwin; my name is Artus."

Artus kept calm, speaking loudly and clearly without an ounce of nervousness on his face.

Corwin was taken aback by Artus's calm and collected response; he adjusted his chair and raised his body to face Artus directly.

"Ok then, Artus, read the article on the paper, please."

Artus started reading. He was sitting upright, his gaze was at the paper, his voice was calm, and confidant, his tone was steady, neither too loud nor too soft, there was no rush or uncertainty, sometimes he would pause for a moment, showing a thoughtful expression but never hesitation, he finished the whole article, then looked back at Corwin with a slight smile on his face.

"Now, I will ask you several questions about what I read."

"What is the main idea that this article discussed?"

"This article talked about ancient music and modern magic, the key points, and the factors that drove the transition to modern magic."

"According to this article, ancient magic was akin to chaotic power of pure destruction, while even though modern magic was weaker, it was more refined and could provide more utility value."

"Why did you think most ancient magic was lost?"

"An ancient mage may be able to destroy a mountain, but he can't build a stone or wooden chamber; even though it required much less energy, it required fine-tuned skills and focus."

"People had no longer use for destructive power. Instead, they focus on researching fine utility spells to complete specific tasks."

"With time, most of the ancient magic was lost."

As Corwin continued to ask questions, Artus continued to answer them, then instead of just asking the questions, Corwin began to discuss things with Artus; it was no longer an examination; it was as if two profound scholars were engaged in a conversation, exchanging information and debating points of view.

****************************

"Artus. I have never seen someone like you in my life".

Corwin was looking at a piece of paper. He asked Artus to summarize everything they talked about and write it down.

Although Corwin had already decided that Artus would be accepted to the scholar division no matter what, even if he did not know how to write, after all, Artus was still a young child, and with his level of understanding, learning anything would be a matter of time, he wanted to know his current level to adjust things for him.

He could not believe what he saw when he looked at the paper; the handwriting was elegant, the lines were smooth, the letters were uniform in size and distribution, and the curves were delicate.

It was as if they were written by an old scholar who wrote thousands of pages.

*COUGH* *COUGH*

Corwin adjusted himself, suppressed his emotions, and maintained his composure.

"Although you somewhat lack knowledge, you have a profound understanding and analytical abilities."

"Your overall performance certainly surpasses many scholars in our division."

"I am sure with enough time, you would have breakthroughs in history."

"Artus, I welcome you to The Royal Arcanum Academy and the scholar's division."

"Thank you, lord Corwin. Oh, before I forget, I want to give you something."

Artus stood up. He brought out Aldric's token and placed it in front of Corwin.

"Artus, if you had shown me this earlier, I would have accepted you directly without an examination."

"Lord Corwin, if I did that, we would not have this wonderful conservation."

Corwin held the token in his hand and looked at Artus's smiling face.

"It seems that you are more than meets the eye."

"Thank you for your praise, lord Corwin".

"Guard!"

The guard was standing outside the tent, wondering why the young child stayed inside for a long time; he thought that lord Corwin would kick him out immediately.

"Please escort Artus to the registration area and help with finishing arrangements."

When he entered and saw Corwin's smiling face, he knew that the child had done the impossible and passed the test; he even had won Corwin's approval.

"Lord Corwin, but Artus had another trial to participate in."

Corwin was surprised at the guard's words; after all, Artus was small and frail-looking, and nothing would suit him other than being a scholar.

"Artus, young boy, don't be foolish. Can you even lift a sword? Let alone swing it".

"I don't know how you got an invitation to the warrior's trails with your body. Maybe you have fooled someone from the warrior's division with your words, after all, they are all muscle, no brains."

"Regardless, don't waste time; register in the scholar division now. I will arrange for you special classes; I will even give you the best room in the student's dorm."

Corwin was shaking his head left and right, talking non-stop, when Artus suddenly said.

"Lord Corwin, I will not be participating in the warrior's trials."

"That's good! Then go finish the registration process now".

"The mage's trail"

"What?"

"It's the mage's trail that I am going to."

Corwin stopped talking; the tent suddenly became silent, and the sounds of other candidates could be heard clearly.

Corwin was faced with Artus's smiling face. He always felt that Artus's smile was unnatural, but it was a bit eerie this time.