I was well-aware that a lot of strange things had happened to me over the past few weeks, but if someone had told me I’d be escorted into a private room for a meeting with Ashford Wendigo himself on Magiharu, I’d have told them they were insane. Still, that was exactly what had happened, with the S-ranked mage suddenly showing up on stage after my match ended, and asking me to follow him. A thousand questions raced through my mind at the moment, but I decided to postpone them for later; I had a feeling a few of them were about to be answered soon anyway.

As we made our way into a lavishly decorated private room somewhere inside the arena, even I, who normally didn’t care for such things, was taken aback by this blatant display of wealth. As if the gold-laden walls and shimmering crystal-encrusted chandelier weren’t enough, the room was full of gold-crafted furniture; creating a stark contrast with the exquisite white-marbled flooring. As we sat down on what could only be described as golden-teal clouds rather than sofas, the Chancellor signaled to his one attendant in the room to bring us what I assumed would be refreshments.

‘Ah, I didn’t ask, wine or whiskey?’ he looked at me, inquisitively, as I made a mental note to not always be right.

‘Anything is fine,’ I replied hesitantly, trying my best to hide the inexperience in my voice.

‘Whiskey on the rocks for myself and this young gentlema-… I mean for Mr. Park,’ he commanded as the attendant set two intricately forged glasses in front of us, half filled with almost translucent ice crystals, and the liquid gold that I suspected was the chancellor’s favorite drink.

‘Just Minjun is fine, Chancellor,’ I replied, as he waved to his attendant to give us the room.

‘Haha yes, well I’m glad I met you here today Minjun, perhaps it was my luck that I was assigned to this arena for Magiharu, rather than those two old bats!’ he spoke smilingly as he took a long sip of his whiskey.

‘I’m not quite sure what you mean Chancellor, I doubt meeting a low-ranked mage like myself can be considered lucky for someone of your stature,’ I replied, trying to discern whether he was intrigued by my use of mid-level fire magic, or whether I had given my secret away with the last spell I had used.

‘I’d rather not run around in circles Minjun, if that’s quite alright with you… as you’ve mentioned, I’m quite a busy man,’ he spoke as the aura around the room suddenly became colder, the stark contrast with his previous demeanor sending a chill down my spine.

‘If what I noticed during your last attack, albeit briefly, was actually what I think it was… well then, I think our interests are aligned…,’ he paused briefly before continuing, ‘…the fact that you were smart enough to hide your true abilities despite your young age means that you either don’t want the spotlight, or you want to get stronger before you ‘come out’ so to speak; and given your performance in the last match, I think it’s highly reasonable to assume you’re not afraid of the spotlight,’ he looked up into my eyes briefly, as if waiting for me to respond.

When I didn’t, he continued, ‘…come study at Ashford Academy for two years as a fire-elemental, and I’ll help you hide your ‘other’ abilities, heck, I’ll even provide you access to my personal training room to practice away from prying eyes. I’m even ready to make you a senior member of the House of Ashford, giving you full access to the numerous benefits that come with such a position.’

While I was a bit surprised at the uncannily accurate reasoning this man had displayed even though he had never met me before, I was also relieved. After all, if he couldn’t even do this much, he was not going to be the right ally for me right now.

‘Chancellor, since you’ve been so kind as to share your thoughts with me honestly, I think it would be better if I allayed any doubts you may have about my ‘other’ ability before going forward,’ I spoke as sparks of blue electricity emanated from my fingertips, quickly enveloping my entire right hand in a brilliant array of white and blue.

The slightly menacing aura the chancellor had been displaying so far quickly retreated as he moved himself closer to my right hand, studying it carefully with his now palpable mana sense.

‘Excellent, simply marvelous!’ he reacted joyfully as he finished his silent evaluation, adding, ‘I never thought I’d get to see lightning magic again in person after that day…’ almost retreating into a bout of nostalgia before quickly turning his attention back to me.

‘Yes, very good Minjun. I have no doubt you’re the real deal, and a mage of your caliber is going to raise Ashford Academy to new heights! I mean, just imagine, a lightning elemental graduating from our academy, it’ll br-…’ he cut his speech short, aware that he would have to do a lot better than promises of fame and glory.

‘So, Minjun, before I presume to know what you want, why don’t you tell me? What will it take for you to join us?’ he questioned, in a reserved yet friendly tone.

In my mind, this was actually the best-case scenario I had dreamed of. I had already decided that Ashford Academy would be ideal for me to study at, since I wanted to be close to my family for the next two years. Still, I hadn’t expected that the chancellor himself would recognize my abilities and offer me special treatment. I had honestly thought I would have to spend the next two years hiding my lightning element completely. But what the chancellor was offering was too good to pass. Still, I needed to play it cool. After all, if I hadn’t decided to hide my powers, the chancellors of the top magic academies in the world would be sitting in front of me right now. I knew in the long run, this benefited him more than it did me.

‘Chancellor, I would be happy to attend Ashford Academy starting next month… I just have a few conditions if you’d be willing to hear me out,’ I replied, conjuring up a tone of nobility I had never used before.

‘Yes, please go on,’ he replied, visibly excited at my conditional acceptance.

‘Firstly, I’d attend Ashford Academy as a fire-elemental, and like you mentioned, keep my lightning element hidden until I graduate. That being said, I would like to have access to a secure facility where I can train in lightning magic, as well as access to literature and spell books on the subject which I otherwise can’t procure on my own,’ I finished, looking at him for approval.

‘Done!’ he replied quickly, ‘what else?’

‘Secondly, I’m not going to be joining the House of Ashford at the moment. This is a decision I will make once I have graduated. That being said, I would still require a few of the benefits I would have had if I had joined, namely a high-level security team assigned to my family, as well as access to high-level magical equipment and regalia suited to my fighting style,’ I stated. To be honest, while I appreciated the offer to join his house, I think even the chancellor knew that I was destined for bigger things. Just the fact that I would consider joining his house after graduating was a victory for the chancellor.

‘Yes, yes, I’ll accept,’ he said after taking a few seconds to consider my proposal, ‘…now if there’s nothing else, let’s have a toast to the longevity of our partnership,’ he said happily, raising his glass.

As I brought my glass in to match his enthusiasm, the clinking of our glasses reverberating throughout the royal-esque room, I turned to the chancellor, smilingly stating, ‘…oh and Chancellor, there’s just one other thing.’