"Hey, you damned midget!! Wake up! We'll be late!" Hal called out and reprimanded at the top of his lungs, repeatedly banging his fists at the door of another room.
They arrived at the City of Aeloria three days ago and had taken in the wonderful sights, such as the breathtaking skyscrapers of unmatched architecture, the fancy restaurants Hal's mother had always talked about, the widest streets they had ever seen, and many more they had never imagined existed, or at least existed to such a degree.
All that for the small part of Aeloria they'd explored.
The two were also done finalizing their enrollment at the Grand Magic Academy, which, contrary to their expectations, was completed at Aeloria City Hall, so they hadn't actually been to the academy yet.
Unfortunately, due to their limited funds, they couldn't even dream of staying a night at the cheapest lodgings in the city itself and had to travel two hours on foot to the nearest town after finishing their paperwork, where the run-down inns were infinitely more affordable.
They had to leave two hours earlier today to make it to the opening ceremony on time.
Alas, Ennya was usually punctual, but there were random days when she slept like a log, and this important day just had to be one of them.
"Hey! Why are you so noisy?! Can't you see people are sleeping?!" an angered voice shot back as the red-haired midget slammed the battered door of her room open.
"Damn it, Ennya, why?! Why today of all days?!" Hal complained, almost weepingly to the high heavens. "Get your damn ass ready! We're late for the opening ceremony!"
This wasn't the first time this had happened to her, so Ennya knew exactly what to do.
She got ready as quickly as she could, deciding to skip her cheap makeup today and simply go with a clean look: the blackish-blue academy uniform consisting of a wizard's silk tunic hoodie and skirt, which she had purchased for a few copper coins, along with a bit of light powder on her face.
Ennya didn't know she looked infinitely better this way in Hal's eyes.
Checking her inn room one last time to ensure she didn't leave anything behind, the red-haired midget grabbed her huge sack bag and sprinted off to the academy with Hal.
An hour and a half later...
The duo huffed and puffed in exhaustion, but they made it on time, though just barely...
It was only a few minutes later that the two had recovered, allowing excitement to course through their young bodies as Ennya blabbered on in a low voice during the boring part of the opening ceremony, where the academy instructors and higher-ups spoke about the academy's rules and merit system.
"Hey, hey, Hal, what do you think your mana-bound item will be? I think mine's gonna be something epic, like a void orb of infinite destruction that boosts my void magic by one hundred twenty percent! Nyahahaha!"
The red-haired midget got a bit too excited, earning her a glare from the marshal watching over their area.
Hal suppressed his urge to laugh and simply pretended to ignore the overly enthusiastic shorty.
Heck, even a simple 60% boost in any type of elemental magic would already qualify someone as a candidate for the academy's core students, and the darned midget wanted a 120% boost, in the elusive void magic at that.
Her optimism was borderline mad, but also infectious, making Hal wonder what kind of item he would receive.
The mystical Arcane Repository, after all, gifted each individual only one Mana-bound Artifact in their entire lifetime.
Whatever they got would permanently serve as the cherry on top of their talents.
And since it couldn't be stolen, obtaining an item that somehow even managed to overshadow one's mana affinity could make a person's future infinitely brighter.
This was why Hal still hadn't given up all hope.
If he could somehow obtain an item that could rival the Lamp of Heaven, the greatest recorded mana-bound artifact to date, known for boosting its user's Light Magic by 200 percent, then his one percent mana affinity wouldn't matter in the slightest
He didn't even need something on that level.
A more modest item that boosted his mana affinity by sixty to seventy percent would already be more than enough for him.
His self-confidence, relentless nature, and hard work would take care of the rest.
Hal just wanted a fair fighting chance.
Lost in their daydreams as they imagined what kind of artifact the Arcane Repository would gift them, the opening ceremony ended before the two even realized.
And soon, they were asked to queue up in a single long line, arranged based on the time they reported their arrival for the opening ceremony... so Hal and Ennya were scheduled to receive their artifacts last.
They just had to wait a little longer than the others. No biggie.
For Hal, that is, as the midget was infinitely less patient than him.
Before long, they arrived at the Arcane Repository.
It looked like a mystical portal of myriad hues, set in the middle of what appeared to be an ancient pyramid.
The first student stepped forward and stuck his hand into the portal, pulling out a translucent yellow talisman.
Words woven from mana itself then floated above the item, declaring its name: Thunder's Snap, along with its effects: "25% boost to thunder elemental magic."
The first student was pretty happy with what he obtained.
While the boost was five percent less than the average boons, the thunder element was one of the rarer paths for a wizard, and it was most certainly for battle.
The young man was bound to become a combat wizard.
"A great find! Everyone, a round of applause for our future Imperial Army Wizard!" echoed the voice of the deputy-headmaster.
The first student was naturally in an excellent mood as he descended the stairs of the Arcane Repository.
Soon ascended the second student, then the third, then the fourth.
Before long, many students had acquired their artifacts, and it became harder and harder for Ennya and Hal to stay still as they watched others receive grimoires, orbs, and more.
They wanted to know what the gods had in store for them.