King Of Limbo

Inside the dark dome away from prying eyes and ears, Lady Uva and Aron were coming to an agreement on the way forward.

"Hmm, so essentially, you don't want the duties that most with your assigned rank hold?" she asked with her brows slightly furrowed while Aron maintained a straight face and nodded. "Yes, be it classes or the like. I'll spend most of my time in your academy's library as there is nothing I feel I can learn from professors present aside from secret arts and techniques which they are unlikely to divulge to me anyway." Aron's response was without hesitation and it looked like the arch mage had expected him to state something along those lines.

"Your terms are far simpler than I assumed," the arch muttered with a sigh of relief as she held worry of him making unreasonable demands. "I value my freedom and time. So long as I have these two I'm content." he replied causing the arch-mage to nod, it really did seem that all he cared about was expanding his knowledge whilst spreading it as well.

"I take it the same applies to the young girl? Also, how do you plan on choosing candidates you feel are worth giving unique knowledge?" The arch mage had been waiting to ask under what criteria he would be selecting people to give knowledge to. As for Evanora, it was only natural to assume she would be under the same privileges as him.

"I won't, you will. As time passes while I am here I will provide a certain piece of new knowledge to you,!it could be runes, glyphs, arts, techniques or theories. Who you distribute it to is solely up to you, I'm unlikely to meet many individuals and my time here is brief, so this seems like the most efficient way to go about this." The arch mage raised her head in thought after hearing Aron's words, it was true that if both him and her were both passing knowledge then it would be efficient, what bothered her though was his statement about his time being brief.

How brief? This was something she was curious about and wanted to ask but the fact he didn't state the exact days or years meant perhaps he wasn't too sure or just didn't want state it. In either case, she wasn't one to push and his terms benefited her most.

In truth Aron just wanted attention to be focused on her as he obviously wouldn't be actively seeking individuals to pass knowledge onto for the sheer sake of it.

p A part of her still felt the scenario was strange but the opportunity he presented was worth risking. "I agree to your terms. I'll be sure they are met accordingly." The arch mage stretched out her hand and Aron did likewise as the two sealed the agreement, one focused solely on knowledge. A true agreement among scholars.

Meanwhile outside the pitch black dome, a great many individuals wondered what was going on. Even the seemingly important figures seated at the front looked confused as to what was happening.

Soon, the pitch black dome vanished revealing the arch mage and Aron standing a few feet apart. The arch didn't delay in facing the crowd of confused individuals and spoke. "I apologize for the abrupt pause of events, as the arch mage, I had needed to confirm for myself that this student was indeed a commoner with an adequate history. With that confirmed, let the events proceed!" Her voice resonated throughout the city and although a great many were confused, they still cheered loudly in excitement.

Aron looked at the arch mage and then the figures seated who had been staring at him in silence. He a gave a small subtle nod towards them before turning and walking away, all eyes on this mysterious young man who came out on top.

Among the many gazes, Juliet's was the most piercing. She looked at Aron like he was some insurmountable obstacle, although one would normally feel defeat upon seeing a figure such as this, her heart burned with only one emotion all but foreign to her before that day. Excitement.

Her face didn't show this but as someone who thought she had no equal among her generation, finding one who not only met this criteria but also surpassed it. She now felt the need—not want but need to fight him, observe him, learn from him and understand him.

All she saw was a challenge she needed to overcome to grow even stronger than she already was, an individual she could compete with on equal grounds, what she saw in Aron was… a rival.

Aron on the other hand, who was completely oblivious to the strange young woman making declarations in her head, returned to his seat. Jagu gave him an odd glance and snorted while Jin had long since fallen back asleep.

As for Evanora who sat beside him, she subtly tugged at his shirt causing him to look at her. Once he did so, she placed her hand on her stomach and patted it. "Already?" he asked with a brow raised as Evanora's appetite knew no bounds. She maintained her sleepy expression and only nodded while still patting her tummy.

Despite this however, Aron had them remain for the remainder of the orientation. They'd been briefed on what followed next and many other details that would help their transition into becoming proper students a lot more smoothly.

By the time it was late afternoon, the ceremony had ended and the majority of students had left the plaza to be given a tour of the academy. Aron and a few others, however, simply bought maps of the academy and went their separate ways. Aron was walking with Evanora and Jin in the direction of the business district but before they could get far, a voice called out from behind. "Please hold on." An alluring feminine voice called out to them and caused them to turn, finding it belonged to none other than Belle, a Grand Mage.

"Yes?" Aron's response was even more lackluster than she had thought. 'What's with his tone...?' she thought to herself with narrowed eyes. As someone who was seemingly used to attention and having her demands met, this type of reaction was very rare to her, but she maintained her smile as she approached and faced Aron. "May I speak with you in private?"

Her question came as no surprise to Jin who knew the hearts of aristocrats all too well. Aron was like a prime piece of meat and they were starving beasts, given he had no allegiance it was only a matter of time before someone made a move to have him on their side. "I feel a seduction ploy coming, so I'm going to excuse myself. I'll be at Hilda's tavern if you need me." Jin turned and waved his hand as he began walking away.

Belle narrowed her eyes when she looked at him, he had after all insulted her earlier but seeing he was close to Aron made her dissolve her anger and show a small smile to Aron, still waiting for his response.

"Of course." he finally responded with a small smile which she reciprocated with her own. Only Evanora stood there blankly and unaware that both these two individuals had already began planning a cunning scheme against the other.

'A man is still a man,' Belle thought as she looked at Aron with a genuine smile on her face.