Chapter 787: What Now?

“Thanks for the lift, Mr. Roth, I can never get over how efficient travelling by teleportation is,” Professor Jules laughed, stepping away from Alex. The two wizards had teleported to the alchemy professor’s office from the Heroes’ camp. “I wasn't aware that you’d become so proficient at travelling such a large distance in a single jump.”

“Neither was I,” Alex admitted, stretching and looking around. “I got better practising in Kelda’s sanctum…and…”

Professor Jules paused, partway through reaching into her liquor cabinet. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Alex said, a wave of emotion going through him. “Well, that's not quite right. I mean, the Ravener might've stolen the body of a god who didn’t hesitate in killing the Thameish people like he was getting rid of fleas, and the same god’s murderous pet project might escalate and try to wipe out every living being fighting in Thameland…but I don't know, professor, in spite of all that, I feel relieved. It feels like it’s been years since I've been in this office. But here I am, alive, in one piece, and back in Generasi.”

Professor Jules looked at him for a long moment. “Would you care for a cup of something strong, Mr. Roth?”

He shook his head. “No, I don't think so. I need to go home to see Selina and Claygon, give them the news…better if I have a clear head.”

“Well, it’s the end of the workday for me, so I'm going to have a drink. I'll toast your return home, Mr. Roth,” she said, taking out a bottle of dwarven fire rye. She poured herself a very big glass. “I have a feeling I'll need to brew a hangover cure tomorrow morning, but here, let me get you a …coffee, tea, some juice?”

“Do you happen to have hot cider?” Alex asked. “I used to drink apple cider in Alric all the time…I'd love a cup.”

“I have just the thing.”

Professor Jules took a cheesecloth packet of dried apples and a mixture of spices from her cabinet. She put the apples in a strange press that sat on a shelf in the cabinet then turned a crank on its side, crushing the fruit to paste. She added distilled water, the spices, and a dropperful of a potion that heated and liquified the mixture, producing a steaming amber drink that smelled delicious. She pushed a lever on the device, and Alex’s cider flowed into a waiting cup.

Professor Jules handed him the cup and raised her glass. “To your safe return, Mr. Roth.”

“To my return, and to the end of the Ravener.” He took a long sip. It was as delicious as it smelled.

“You have rounds to make once you reacquaint yourself with your family, don’t you?”  The professor sighed, plopping down in a comfortable chair behind her desk and stretching like a contented cat. “You’ll have to speak to Professors Mangal, and Val’Rok, they’ve both been looking forward to seeing you. Especially Professor Mangal, she’s told me that she very much wants to continue your work together.”

“Yeah, I have a lot to tell her too.”

“And Professor Val’Rok said that you would be engaging in that gruesome operation on your mana pool?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I already did that: and the results were worth it.” He took another sip of cider.

“Well, I have no doubt that he’ll be pleased to hear that,” she said, shaking her head disapprovingly. “You'll also need to speak to the registrar: we took the liberty of putting your studies on hold, but it’s required that you inform him of your plans now that you're back. Will you be returning to your studies right away? Or will you continue your hiatus until the Ravener is destroyed and your life becomes less hectic?”

Alex paused, thinking for a while, then nodded to himself and rested his cup on the desk, steam curled from it.

“Professor…” He sat up straighter. “I can cast ninth-tier spells now.”

She paused. “yes…you mentioned something about that earlier, but with so much going on, I didn't really have a chance to process it.” The professor placed her glass in front of her. “You truly can cast ninth-tier spells now?”

“Truly,” Alex said. “I can cast Conjure Ultimate Ally and Summon Astral Engeli. And I think I could learn just about any ninth-tier summoning spell fairly easily at this point. “

Professor Jules’ eyebrows rose. “Conjure Ultimate Ally is a very difficult spell. Ninth-tier…that's the domain of archwizardry.”

“Yeah, I know it is,” Alex said, thinking very carefully about his next words. “Which is why…I was wondering if I could Challenge enough Exams for Credit to get every one I need, so I could graduate early?”

Before she could say anything, he continued. “I've been giving this a lot of thought, professor. And—while I enjoy my classes—the fact is, I'll have to use my time efficiently. Which means spending a lot of it on helping Thameland, doing research on the Ravener with the team, and taking care of everything else that I need to. And since attending classes isn’t really going to teach me much…and uh…”

“I think I understand where you’re going. The fact is, attending formal classes that teach third and fourth-tier courses and spellcraft, would be of little benefit to you, is that what you wanted to say?” Professor Jules cut in.

“Yeah…” Alex said. “A lot of what I had to do to even be able to cast spells when I had the Mark of the Fool, helped me advance real fast once those limits went away. And now, the Mark of the General helps me learn spells fast, if I apply it in the right way.”

“I see,” Professor Jules said.

“I know you don’t like students trying to rush ahead with their studies, but—”

Professor Jules raised her hand. “Save your words, Mr. Roth, I'm not unreasonable. I don't like it when students try to rush their studies before they’re ready to advance. And many prove that they’re not ready though they might think they are. You, on the other hand, are ready for graduate studies and more, considering your level of skill. It’s really quite extraordinary.”

“Thanks, professor…” he paused. “There's one other thing. I kinda don't…jeez, this is hard to say. I’d like to graduate before anything happens. We don't know what the Ravener’s next move will be, and if something happens to me…I'd like to know that I’d achieved what I came here for; to become a wizard and graduate from the University of Generasi. Does that sound weird?”

“Not at all.” Professor Jules shook her head. “We have things we want to accomplish before our lives end. I understand. You’ll have to speak to other faculty members about your…change in situation. We can arrange things with Registrar Hobb, once there is consensus among your professors and the department heads once you discuss the matter with them. But, Mr. Roth…I would like to ask you a direct question.”

“What’s that?” Alex asked.

“What do you plan to do?” she watched him steadily.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “I plan to go to the villa where my family is—”

“I mean later.”

“Like we talked about, work on researching the Ravener, working on defending my homeland—”

“No, Alex,” she said. “I mean after all of that.”

“Oh…ooooh,” he paused. “You mean when the war’s over?”

“I do,” she said. “You're talking about wanting to graduate, but have you thought about what you're going to do with your life afterward?”

“Well, I'm definitely gonna marry the hell out of Theresa,” Alex said with enthusiasm. “Then, you know, there's my business with Toraka Shale…my other businesses. Alchemy is pretty awesome, so I'll continue to study that—”

“But you don’t have to,” Professor Jules pointed out. “You don't have to, Mr. Roth.”

“Wait, what now?” he said.

“You've gotten rid of the limits placed on you by the horrendous Uldar,” she continued. “You're not confined to alchemy any longer. You can study any form of magic that you wish, you can explore all of wizardry, travel anywhere you wish to.”

“Huh, I…” He paused. “I never really thought about that, especially with the Mark of the Fool and all.”

“You should,” Professor Jules said. “Your name continues to spread all over the city. There are going to be endless opportunities ahead of you, and it would be a terrible shame to see you flounder, or not explore your great talents once the war ends.”

“You know, it didn't occur to me that I could choose to do something different,” Alex admitted. “I guess I didn’t have time to really consider what it means to be free of the Fool’s Mark. Uh, I guess I should give all of that some thought. It's kinda sad…to think that I'm not gonna be taking courses anymore, though.”

“You don’t have to graduate early if you don't want to,” Professor Jules pointed out.

“Well, I’ve been here before…I was sad when I left the church school too,” Alex told her. “I liked studying there, learning, I liked my teachers, and I was pretty much used to everything. I'm wondering if maybe I'm just going through the same thing right now. But realistically, I don't really think it makes a lot of sense for me to continue taking undergraduate courses if I’m capable of casting ninth-tier spells.”

“In some ways, you're beyond the graduate level,” Professor Jules said. “And that powerful Mark of yours means that you could fill in any gaps you have with knowledge and your skills extremely quickly. I think there would be a number of professors who would want you to join the faculty and work with them directly. Actually, I guarantee that if you do continue with graduate studies and beyond, the faculty here will be fighting tooth and nail to get you to work alongside them. I could see the competition turning into a regular blood sport.”

Alex laughed at that. “I don't know if I want to teach or become a professor or anything like that…but yeah. I really don't know.”

“Well, why did you want to become a wizard in the first place?” Professor Jules asked.

He chuckled again. “To become like the wizards I read about in story books, and to use magic to make a good life for me, my sister, and the Lus.”

Now it was Professor Jules who laughed. “But you are already quite wealthy, Mr. Roth, and a lot of the magic that you can wield is the stuff that stories are made of. As a matter of fact, bards are already spinning tales about you right here in Generasi.”

He made a face. “What? I'm not sure how I feel about that. Which is pretty ironic since at one time I wanted my name to spread, and now that it's spreading, I feel a bit weird!”

“I'd feel the same way,” Professor Jules said, taking a swig of dwarven fire rye. “But the fact is, you've already reached a lot of your goals, haven't you?”

“Yeah…I suppose,” he murmured. “Before I even knew it. I know I want to break through to ninth-tier with spells besides summoning ones…but what I want to do as a wizard beyond that? Now that my limits are gone, I can’t really say yet.”

“I'd suggest taking some time to think about it,” Professor Jules advised him. “Taking a good long time to make your decision should allow you to have a better idea of what you’d like to do when the war is over.”

He shuddered. “You know, in all the old stories, when someone has a conversation like this, they’re basically as good as dead.”

“Well, this isn’t an old story,” Professor Jules said, matter-of-factly. “And for practical reasons, you should give some thought to your future before it's here.”

“I guess you're right,” Alex said. “I’ll think about it, professor.” He sighed. “I wish Baelin was here: he'd have some good advice.”

She scoffed. “He'd probably tell you something about crushing your enemies and seeing them driven before you.”

“Yeah, you're probably right,” he laughed.

“That was not a joke, Mr. Roth.”

“I know, but it's still funny.”

“Hmph,” she said. “Oh, before you go. I would like you to come see Registrar Hobb with me in the morning. It's not about you Challenging the Exams for Credit, it’ll be about your access to the library. You'll be expected to show proof that you can cast ninth-tier spells, but once you do, then you’ll have full access to the library.”

He gasped. “That'll be awesome! Thank you, professor!”

“It’s not a favour, it's your right,” she said.

“Well, I'm still glad. So, thank you again.” He shook her hand. “Anyway, I should get going. You've given me a lot to think about, though.”

“It's why they pay me,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Why on earth are you heading toward the door? Aren't you going to teleport to the villa?”

Alex paused, his hand on the door handle. “No, I don't think I will. I haven't been in Generasi in a long, long time. I'd like to enjoy being here, seeing it, slowing down for a bit, and taking it all in. I think I feel like walking for a while.”

“It's probably a good idea to slow down,” Professor Jules said. “Think about your future, Mr. Roth, and I will see you tomorrow at nine in the morning.”

“Thanks again, professor…for everything. If it weren't for you and Baelin, I wouldn’t be here,” he said, opening the door. “And I mean that.”

“Oh, shoo!” she waved him off. “You're welcome, but if you stay here any longer, I'm going to start to cry, and I'd rather that didn't happen. So, off you go! You have family to see!”

###

Hello thirty-seven cool fools, almighty chosen, wise sages, and mighty champions! Thank you for your support!

"What now?"

That's a very scary question we run into time and again in life. I faced that question toward the end of high school, then again during my university career, then during my masters. Oftentimes-when we are transitioning from one stage to another-we have to be faced with 'what comes next?'

Especially if an earlier goal doesn't apply anymore because it's either impossible now or has already been accomplished.

It's a question that needs a lot of thought and guidance from our peers, mentors and our own selves.

To those of you asking yourselves this question for one reason or another, all I can say is...well, maybe Alex will inspire you over time.

Welcome to a new week!