Little did Damion know that after school that day Ms. Teft met with Dean Thorn and took a look at the test results, purely out of curiosity, she told Thorn. After all, she did not want him to suspect her of trying to help Damion. To Ms. Teft’s delight, Thorn had marked Damion down as having no magical talent, even though the boy had not been tested at the school.
This blatant falsification of facts would be enough to one day get Thorn fired, which made Ms. Teft smile inwardly since Thorn had been one of the people that had forced her to retire from her position as the Dean of Silver Spire Academy, just when she was on the cusp of becoming Headmistress.
Getting even with the man would have to wait though, since right now Damion was just a boy and other than her feeling of him being a great mage one day, she had nothing to back up her belief. She suspected, as Damion knew, another test from the magic crystal would just result in it breaking again. Damion knew this was due to the Magic System, but Ms. Teft believed this was due to his abnormal magic talent.
For now, Ms. Teft made a copy of the test results, informing Thorn that she would look after the group of prospective mages and try to guide them on the path of growing their magic. What she did though, was take the list over to the school principal and get the man on her side.
“Have you taken a look at the list of prospective mages from the test results?” Ms. Teft asked as she dropped the complete list on the principal’s desk.
“I saw the list of positive results, but I saw no point in reviewing the entire list, Helga. No point in paying too much attention to those students that can’t become mages.” The principal said picking up the thick stack of papers to hand back to Ms. Teft.
“If you take a look at it, you will see at least one inaccuracy. Do take a close look Mr. Frederick Telfer and see if you can find the name of the most promising mage in this age?” Ms. Teft responded, refusing to take the stack of papers back.
“And what name should I be looking for?”
“The same name as your most promising student.”
The principal ran a hand through his sandy brown hair as he considered Ms. Teft’s words.
“You mean that six-year-old that just started this year?”
“Precisely.”
“If his result is no magic aptitude as it says, then that is what it is. I didn’t see any funny business on the stage. I remember each student that had a positive result and even made my own notes. Damion’s name was not one that had a positive result.”
“That is because Damion was not tested.”
“What do you mean?” Telfer asked, confused at how the boy was not tested. If his name had not been called, surely the boy would have raised an issue with his teacher, or even made a scene in the auditorium.
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“The boy comes to the library to keep out of his teacher’s hair, because he gets his work done so fast. He’s a good way to reading through all the books in the library too. When I asked if he was going to go and get tested, he said there was no point since Mr. Thorn already told him he would never get to be a mage.”
“And when was Thorn supposed to have said this?”
“The boy ran into him yesterday. Apparently, Damion was eager to get tested and the test crystal Thorn had was destroyed, just by the magic potential when Damion held it.”
“Is that possible?” Telfer asked in disbelief.
“If someone has high mana levels and a strong talent yes. I tested the boy myself and while I can’t confirm his aptitude or affinity, I can tell he has a profound magic core for his age. Stronger than many apprentice mages.”
“Then we should call Silver Spire and let them know immediately. Get Damion on their shortlist for applicants. I know he can’t enroll there until fifteen, but…”
“You think that is the best course of action?” Ms. Teft interrupted. “Right now, Thorn thinks the boy is nothing. If we alert the school, even if they correct the results and send someone else to test him, all the credit for discovery and training the boy will go to Silver Spire.”
“You want to use this opportunity to get back at them for forcing you to retire?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then what do you propose?”
“The boy has read through one of my magic theory books and apparently did not find an affinity in there, or at least he didn’t mention it. This, and the weird feeling I got when I tested him, makes me think his affinity is very rare, so it might take some testing to figure out what it is. In the meantime, I want to train him as a knight.”
“As a knight? Why?”
“If he is to truly rise to the top, he’ll need a strong foundation. Most mages don’t start seriously training their bodies until they are B Rank. By having a head start he will advance much faster than everyone else and be able to focus more on enhancing his magic power.”
“Fine. You know more about training mages than I ever will. Train him how you like, just don’t put the boy in danger and make sure he keeps up with his class work. And make sure you get his parents’ permission.”
Damion had no idea Ms. Teft was making plans for his training as a knight. As he and his mother walked home from school as they usually did the subject of Dean Thorn and the testing of students at the school did not come up.
However, not long after they arrived home Ms. Teft called and after his mother and Ms. Teft had a long conversation, Damion was called into the room after and informed of the decision the two women had made.
“From now on, instead of just reading in the library when your class work is done, Ms. Teft is going to start training you like knights get trained.”
“What does that mean?” Damion asked. Ms. Teft had mentioned that he should train his body like a knight, but now suddenly she was going to be training him.
“First it starts with physical conditioning and then you will start to learn how to channel mana. Once you can do that, she will start training you to fight, but she said that will likely be when you are at least twelve since learning mana control is difficult.”
Damion was not sure what to think as his mother explained that his relaxing school life was about to turn into a bootcamp. Part of him was excited, but another, larger part, was fearful. In his past life he had not exactly been athletic. And while he had striven to be physically fit in this life, largely because of the Magic System, he was not sure if he was ready for a full physical fitness routine. Especially not one designed to train knights.
“Will we be starting tomorrow?” Damion asked meekly as his mother nodded. “I guess I should get a good night sleep then.”