Chapter 42: He probably doesn’t have any talent
But Aric didn’t complain. He was more than happy to entertain so much money. He would deliver the items anyway. Aric didn’t want to be a bad guest, and according to his home traditions, he went to the kitchen and bought some locally made biscuits and also some tea. He wasn’t a fan of tea, and in this region, there was nothing like tea.
He asked Gopher to sit as he was genuinely interested in the magic wand and wanted to know more about the curriculum and the school.
"There is less than 2 years for me to join the school. What do I need to do?" Aric asked. Gopher, who had just been served tea, didn’t like the smell of the tea at all and kept it aside after taking the first sip, probably because the people here were accustomed to sweeter things than spicy or tasteless.
"Save the money," Gopher said with the most serious face Aric had ever seen on him.
"Money? Why?" Aric asked, feeling confused.
"You don’t think education is free, right?" Gopher asked. This was not the answer Aric was expecting. He did think of school, but due to the fact that his parents had always covered it, he had thought he didn’t need any kind of money for education, for some stupid reason in his head. Seeing Aric’s silence, Gopher continued, "Unless you are a son of the internal staff or the faculty, you will need money to get into the school. If you are talented enough, you will get scholarships from the banks or the school itself. If you are less talented, like I am, then it will be pretty hard for you, as being a mage isn’t cheap. Not only will you need to pay the school fees, but also for your own self. If you take up a side profession like runesmith or alchemy, then you will burn through money more than you spend on fees."
Aric didn’t know any of this and had just assumed that his entry to school would be smooth sailing.
"Can you tell me more about the talent and how much money I should accumulate for getting into a school?" Aric asked.
"If your talent is like mine, you will need 100 gold coins per year. And if you are talented, then you will get scholarships, and some even get into the school free of cost. But without money, it will still be useless, as you will need money to sustain yourself inside, as you will need resources. So money is a must," Gopher said.
Aric didn’t expect it to be this complicated. He had more questions now.