Mage Adam

After Adam threw the egg into the centre of the pool, he found that it started hovering, absorbing the flesh little by little.

In any other world, this scene would be extremely sinister and cruel, fitting of war crimes. However, in the world of mages, this was an everyday occurrence.

In the next seven months, life in the academy became mundane for Adam⁠---every day, he attempted a master-servant contract with the egg, and then, he would go to the library to learn new spells. Afterwards, he would check and correct James, Frank, and William\'s works. Every five days, he would order a new batch of slaves.

Adam didn\'t like the mundane life in the academy. No matter how many new spells he learnt, he had no clue what type of mage he would become.

His telekinesis was unique and useful. However, if he found a way to improve this psychic power, he would not. Psychic power heavily relied on the abilities of the specific individual; compared to ether, which was naturally available all around them, a skilled psychic user would not be a match to an average mage. Magic had more boundless uses, he could travel to other planes and obtain more knowledge.

Adam tried to gauge what type of mage he would become⁠---to no avail. He learnt magic relating to electricity and quickly dismissed the idea of becoming a Lightning Mage. Adam also figured that he might be an all-rounder mage, a choice he also eliminated.

"You can figure it out with time," Elliot comforted while pouring Adam a drink.

Adam remained silent and looked out the window of the library. He took a sip of the drink and the complex taste made him frown. "What is this?"

"It\'s the latest product from Elliot\'s Pharmaceutical Laboratory⁠---the Blood Potion Drink! The ingredients come from the blood of strange creatures across multiple planes infused with the cooling essence of creatures from an icy world. Does it taste good? I know it does!" Elliot proudly introduced her invention.

"Haha," Adam laughed emotionlessly. He opened his portable space and took out a bottle of water to wash the unpleasant taste away.

"What do you mean by "haha"?! This drink is worth at least forty power stones, don\'t you dare waste it!" Elliot complained.

Adam didn\'t want to dwell on this and asked him, "Will I really find out what kind of mage I\'d be in time?"

Elliot snatched the bottle away and poured himself a drink, "You\'ve only been an apprentice for less than a year⁠---look around you, your fellow apprentices are still attempting to build simple runes for simple spells. On the other hand, you have already mastered the magic available to you in the library. What\'s the rush? You\'ll get to it sooner or later."

Adam frowned. He already learnt all the spells he could; he had nothing to do anymore. Adam was dissatisfied that extra knowledge was being gatekept from him.

Elliot took a sip of his drink and furrowed his brows from the taste. "Adam, you\'re only 16 years old. Are you trying to set a new record for the fastest promotion to become a qualified mage? Look, James and Frank are already in their 70s, and they\'re doing just fine."

Elliot chuckled while mentioning their ages. He was 40 and much older than Adam. However, he considered the boy to be his equal, and he was glad that they could be friends.

"What is the point of wasting my time idling away? Knowledge is being kept from me and I want to study everything," Adam muttered while snapping his fingers together to conjure a tiny spark.

Elliot smiled. He had never seen an apprentice mastering every low-levelled magic in such a short time⁠---the idea itself wasn\'t impossible, but it was too time-consuming. Most apprentices wouldn\'t bother to waste their time learning these spells.

He wanted to add that the mundanity of academy life was to ease the apprentices into transforming their lifestyle from a human\'s to a mage\'s. However, he remained silent, thinking it was pointless to inform Adam since the boy had already behaved like a mage from the beginning.

"Don\'t think too much about it. You\'ll need to prepare, your trial begins in two months." Elliot said.

Adam got up from his seat and glanced at the upper three floors of the library. These were sections that he couldn\'t access with his current authority and level. He sighed and left the library.

On his way back to the lab, Adam saw many apprentices that were in his batch. They had matured over the last six months, and under the pressure of the trial, they had no need for petty fights and comparisons.

When Adam saw William on the second floor, he saw his growth. Mastery of psychic powers and magic gave him the confidence he had lost before⁠---prior to this, his confidence relied on magic items, but now, he had the talent to back it up.

William saw Adam and trailed behind him, "I received a combat mission. I\'m applying for leave from your lab to join the mission and to prepare for the trial."

"Granted," Adam said directly.

William smiled. After working in Adam\'s lab for more than half a year, he found that Adam was actually amicable, as long as he didn\'t disturb him too much. When William turned to leave, Adam suddenly stopped him. "Wait, what kind of combat mission?"

William didn\'t expect Adam to be so interested. He replied, "There is an invasion of Wind Wolves in a small town around 33,000 kilometres away from the Academy. The town seeks the academy\'s help in exterminating the wolves."

"Can I follow you?"

"Sure! Eh, huh?!"

...

The next morning, a small team of apprentices were gathered together at the entrance of the Moldo Mage Academy. The team consisted of William and two other companions that he met earlier this year, they took this mission to train themselves for the upcoming trial.

"Since all of us have arrived, let\'s go," the girl said. The girl had long pink hair and held a staff in her hands. An aquamarine orb hovered gently on the top of the staff, flickering from time to time.

"Alright. Are you ready, William?" the boy asked. The boy donned a dark green robe with vines circling around his arms. He stood close to the girl.

William smiled, "Sorry, Riley, Terry, but my... friend wants to join the mission."

The pink-haired girl named Riley frowned. "William, you know this isn\'t in the rules⁠---we signed a contract and the rewards of the task are divided equally. If somebody else joins us, how will we divide the rewards?!"

Terry added to her argument, "She\'s right! Disregarding the reward, the two of us invited you because you\'re strong. What if your friend is weak and drags us down? Missions like these aren\'t games."

"Haha... you don\'t need to worry about that," William said with a strange face. "You don\'t need to worry about him being weak at all."

William was shocked that Adam wanted to join. He couldn\'t figure out why he wanted to tag along.

"I want to go for a walk," Adam answered back to his questions. William frowned at his response; are geniuses mentally well?

William explained the situation, and after finding out that only the three of them would get the rewards, they finally dropped the matter. Riley muttered, "Good. At least we don\'t have to worry about accommodating your friend."

They held contempt in their hearts and didn\'t even ask for the identity of who was going to join them. They knew that William worked in Adam\'s lab, but never in a million years would they have thought that the legendary Adam would be joining their expedition.

William snickered at Riley in silence. There wasn\'t any need to accommodate Adam. In fact, they better watch their tongue so they don\'t get killed for provoking him.

As it was getting closer and closer to the agreed meeting time, Riley and Terry were getting incredibly dissatisfied at how late this apprentice was.

The clock struck 7\' o clock, and amazed shouts could be heard from within the Academy. Everyone, including Riley and Terry, saw Adam flying out the Academy walls. Riley said with envy, "Is that Adam? Is he going out on a mission too? Ah, life would be so much easier if I was his companion!"

Adam landed not far from them and hovered over the ground. William jumped up and down, signalling towards Adam while shouting, "Adam! Over here!"

Terry widened his eyes and fidgeted with the vines growing on his arm, "William... the friend that you mentioned... it\'s Adam?"