The Harbinger's Children (Guardians Of The Arcane Chronicles Vol. 2)

Chapter 3: Double Life

Fun Fact: Unsurprisingly, some magi jobs are more lucrative than others, and the population of these jobs are skewed to certain classes.

Sorcerers and Clerics have the biggest chance of landing a high paying job, while Necromancers and Shamans are limited to niche and unsought fields of expertise.

Most, if not all metas, can only work in physically demanding jobs due to their lack of magic.

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The next morning arrived swiftly, although it slowed to a crawling pace right after that. A cooling breeze blew through the lecture theatre, but the room seemed more stagnant than ever. Some heads nodded as though in constant agreement with the man droning on at the front, while others bowed down with respect for his 'engaging lecture'. It would seem all of the students in the room had made the wrong choice attending a lecture at eight in the morning.

Well, almost all.

Sorcerer Gaius Deusdedit scribbled away furiously in his notebook, fully intent at copying down as much as possible before the professor saw fit to remove the words on the blackboard that no one else seemed to care about.

"-This part is important," the old Shaman said in a tone that only suggested that it was anything but. "It's going to be on your midterms. See you next week."

Movement shuffled around the sophomore college student as his course mates miraculously woke up right on cue, as though their professor's closing words were some sort of alarm. Gaius hurriedly swept his lecture notes into his bag, eager to head back to his dormitory for a quick nap before his next lesson.

He stopped in his tracks, turning around to the source of hurried footsteps behind him.

"May I help you?" he asked the daintily dressed girl. Her sleek, purple hair was braided to the side, brushing against her tanned shoulders ever so slightly in the wind. She looked at him with a slightly shocked expression, as though surprised that he had managed to catch her following him.

"I... uh..." She blinked a few times and tucked a stray fringe behind her ear. "Hey, I... I've been noticing you in class a few times, but I never got to speak to you. D-do you... want to be friends... with me?"

"I'm not interested in buying anything," Gaius said bluntly.

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" The girl shook her head vigorously as her face started to match the colour of her eyes. "I mean, do you want to... study with me some time? I don't really know anybody here and you're the only one who seemed interested in this module, so..."

"Oh uh... Yeah... Sure thing," Gaius mumbled awkwardly, taken aback by her forwardness.

"Really? Oh, thank you so much!" the girl piped, stretching out her hand. "My name's Parthena Mors, and I'm a Soothsayer. I'm studying to be a Bard."

"I'm Gaius Deusdedit and I'm a Sorcerer. I'm from the Dark Magic course." Gaius shook her hand. "Interesting module choice for a Bard though. I can't fathom why you'd want to take up an elective about higher beings."

"Oh, this module isn't part of my course requirements," Parthena replied shyly. "I only took up this elective because of my personal interests."

"Well, it's nice meeting you, Parthena." Gaius stretched lazily. "See you next week in class?"

"How about tomorrow?" the girl said with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. "I'm free for the whole of tomorrow! Are you up for a study session?"

"T-tomorrow?" Gaius widened his eyes in surprise. "I... well... I suppose I can be free tomorrow as well. Alright, let's meet up tomorrow then."