Weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, I and the two who were under my wing did our hardest, achieving results that were synonymous with the efforts we put in.
And so, after training and tempering ourselves, we found ourselves seated in our Lecture Hall.
Neron Kaelid stood atop his stage and placed both hands on the lectern that stood erect in front of him.
"The time is here, guys. It's time to select your Familiars!"
Everyone nodded, some swallowed, others looked nervous enough that sweat seemed to pour out of them. No matter how experienced or weak an individual was, they weren't ignorant of the concept of Familiars.
Seated in my usual spot, now sandwiched between Edward, to my left and Anabelle to my right, I interlocked my fingers together and gave a somewhat excited smile.
'Huu... it's finally that time, uh?
After so long, for the first time in both my lives... I would get a Familiar!
"As you all know, this is a very important step to take in the journey of everyone—Magic-Users, Martial Artists, and Scholars. As a result, you all need to become undeniably successful in this if you hope to advance further in your respective fields."
From Neron's tone and the students' expressions, one could easily deduce that this was a matter akin to life or death. This Ceremony would usually be yet another thing that separated the talented and those without potential.
'If you end up with spectacular Familiar, Lecturers begin to show interest and can take you in as an apprentice.'
Most apprentice candidates were chosen using their Familiars as yardsticks in estimating their prospective growth. Neron didn't mention anything like that, but I was certain everyone thought of it.
"Due to how important this Ceremony is, we'll be having a joint session with the students of both Middle Class and Upper Class."
My grin widened the moment I heard this.
'So, I'll get to see them again, uh? I wonder how they're doing.'
"You have an excited look on your face, Jared. Did the teacher say something interesting?" A feminine voice appeared from my right.
Of course, it came from none other than Anabelle. She had a somewhat inquisitive glow in her eyes that seemed to want to peer into the recesses of my soul.
"No, it's not that... I'm just looking forward to meeting some people. They are Magic Users I got to know since the Entrance Exams."
With my statement made and my tone initiating the end of the conversation, I returned my gaze to Neron.
"We'll leave for the General Meeting Spot by Ten, so you have some time to yourselves. Also, the Familiar Selection Ceremony begins at Twelve on the spot. Prepare yourselves."
With this as his final statement, Neron took his leave.
As we watched him exit the hall in silence, everyone's uneasy gazes shifted to each other, and carefully waited for our Lecturer to completely disappear.
The moment he did so, an uproar replaced the decorum pervading the room and chattering began. One would think these students were not aware that today was 'The Day' from the way they spoke.
"Are you guys nervous?" I calmly looked at the two who sat on both my sides.
"A little. I wonder what I'll end up with... I hear the Ceremony is mostly a game of chance." Edward honestly replied, making me lightly laugh in response.
'Well, he's not wrong...' My thoughts trailed.
Anything could happen during the Ceremony. There were cases where individuals deemed to be talentless got to have high-grade Familiars, while the seemingly talented ones got the less desirable outcomes.
These situations were rare, though. Usually, the more potential and talent one had, the better the familiar would be.
"We've done our best. We can only hope for our efforts to be reciprocated! I'm not nervous at all."
Edward and I mechanically turned out heads to face Ana and gave her an expression that told her to shut up.
'What best? What effort? This girl and her freakish talent...'
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets thanks to the glare I gave her, and I was sure Edward was doing the same.
Her potential was even more than I expected. It was a good thing I had convinced her to stop wasting away her affinity for Magic. No, it was extremely fortunate that I made her into an ally... though sometimes I felt like I made a mistake.
"Come on, guys. It won't be that hard. By the way, Jared... these people you look forward to meeting... who are they?"
I rolled my eyes and tried to stare into an empty space the moment she spoke. This was the problem with Anabelle... she was too inquisitive, no, clingy!
"Come on, just tell me. Are you keeping secrets from me, I mean... us, now? Edward, tell Jared to spill it!"
I once again ignored her words.
"Come on, I'm sure it's nothing. We should be more focused on the Familiar Selection Ceremony." Edward rightly said, earning my respect.
"Tch, how useless. You can't even back me up."
I winced at those words, and Edward seemed to be struck by lightning as all the energy in his body appeared to be drained off.
"I already told you, don't worry. Be confident in your abilities! Now, support me on this!"
Anabelle kept babbling and I had to shut off my hearing with magic in order to concentrate on other important things.
I had initially found her personality to be entirely absurd and thought it was due to our shared passion regarding Lewis Griffith, but it turned out I was wrong. According to Edward's testimony, Anabelle had always been like that... even to him.
They basically knew all there was to know about each other. Pure transparency!
It seemed like she was trying to adopt that kind of atmosphere in my relationship with her... too bad it was impossible.
I was a bit glad that she considered me close enough to share secrets with, but I wasn't ready to divulge any of mine to anyone... especially not to a 12-year-old.
