After Yuri Burns led away the wizard prospects with Level 5 and 6 aptitude, the remaining group dispersed. Locke and Lorne soon realized they had been assigned to different mentors.

Lorne’s letter read:

"Evocation School, Light Magic Sub-branch. First Circle Wizard. Southeast Quadrant Luminescence Society Mentor. Lilith’s Cottage Healing Wizard Mentor. Inventor of the Deathlight Curse, Mr. Hamrick Us."

Meanwhile, Locke’s letter bore a far simpler inscription:

"Life School, Plant Magic Sub-branch. First Circle Wizard, Sophia Seraphina."

Lorne frowned. "Why does my mentor have a string of titles, while yours just gets ‘First Circle Wizard’?"

Locke shrugged. "Who knows?"

"At the end of the day, ‘formal wizard’ is the only title that matters. I’ll head to the location listed in my letter first."

Lorne nodded. "Alright. Though judging by this, we’ll likely need to find our own lodgings in Lilith’s Cottage’s city after enrollment."

"How about we room together? It’d be safer for both of us."

"Your two friends weren’t assigned to the same academy as you, and neither were mine. I don’t trust anyone else here."

Locke had no objections. "Fine. After I return from meeting Mentor Sophia, we’ll regroup here."

Patty had remained at Virdantia University, while Kode, rejected by Virdantia, had joined a small wizard organization called the Crow’s Nest Brigade, which reportedly had only one First Circle wizard and was so newly established it desperately needed apprentices.

Thus, Locke agreed readily. Rooming with Lorne offered mutual security, and Lorne’s discreet, trustworthy nature meant Locke wouldn’t need to worry about his secrets being exposed.

With his belongings slung over his shoulder and the recommendation letter in hand, Locke traversed Lilith’s Cottage’s port city toward a wooden hut on its southwestern outskirts.

His wizard apprentice robes ensured unimpeded passage, pedestrians parted silently as he passed, their deference underscoring the status of even a lowly apprentice here.

Soon, the city’s edge gave way to open fields dotted with a few simple huts, each encircled by a ring of river stones.

As Locke stepped across the stone boundary, the seal on his letter flared crimson, heating briefly before cooling. The wards had recognized him.

Unlike centralized academies, Lilith’s Cottage operated as an open-network organization, its facilities scattered across multiple cities. Without proper credentials, outsiders couldn’t so much as perceive these structures, let alone enter them.

Past the wards, the huts revealed their true scale, far larger inside than out, their interiors brimming with alchemical apparatuses and tome-laden shelves.

In the central hut, its door ajar, a young witch hunched over a desk, her gray hat adorned with a vine-wrapped bloom. A monocle glinted as her quill raced across parchment, sketching an intricate spell model with startling speed.

Every three minutes, she completed a diagram, only to toss it onto a waist-high pile with a dissatisfied click of her tongue.

Without looking up, her voice, surprisingly youthful, almost girlish, cut through the silence.

"Mm? An unfamiliar apprentice. State your business. I’m occupied."

Locke, taken aback by her casual tone, presented his letter.

"Mentor Seraphina, I’m Locke Augustine, this year’s new student at Lilith’s Cottage. The academy assigned me to you. I’m here to report in."

The quill stilled. Sophia Seraphina lifted her head, revealing a face far younger than Locke had anticipated, round-cheeked and bright-eyed, her expression one of genuine surprise.

"They assigned me a student?"

"But I haven’t even signed a mentorship contract with the academy yet."

She coughed, abruptly straightening as if remembering her station. With a flick of her fingers, the pink flower on her hat shifted to a more austere white.

The letter levitated into her grasp. After a brief inspection, she nodded.

"This is indeed Lilith’s Cottage’s seal."

"So they’ve dumped you on me."

She muttered under her breath, "Trying to incentivize me to stay, are they? But,"

Addressing Locke, she adopted a stern(ish) tone. "Very well, Locke Augustine. I’ve reviewed your file. Level 3 aptitude is... middling. But aptitude isn’t destiny. Apply yourself, and nothing’s predetermined."

A hint of sheepishness crept into her voice. "Since I only became a formal wizard a month ago, I don’t have any first-class apprentices under me to serve as your seniors."

"Therefore, I’ll be teaching your specialized courses personally. Will that suffice?"

She added hastily, "I’ve substituted for First Circle wizards’ classes during my apprentice days, so I’m not completely inexperienced."

Locke blinked.

Now it made sense.

Lorne’s mentor had a laundry list of titles because he was established. Sophia’s bare-bones introduction? She was freshly promoted, essentially a first-class apprentice who’d just crossed the threshold.

No wonder she lacked pretension. No senior apprentices to delegate to. Just raw, hands-on mentorship.

And that, Locke realized, was a hidden advantage.

Normally, second-class apprentices might glimpse their formal wizard mentors a handful of times a year.

But he? Every specialized lesson would be taught by a true First Circle wizard.