After a hastily eaten breakfast, John was barreling down the street towards the college. Whilst he hadn't been able to play many games, he was always fascinated by the idea of a mages college in fantasy, a place where magic was developed and wonders were performed. The thought of going to one filled him with an incredible amount of excitement. John froze in his tracks, much to the annoyance of the couple walking behind him. This was the first time he had experienced this level of emotion since becoming a monster, the first time he felt anything more than a vague sense of satisfaction, fear or anger. A part of his brain that had been suppressed until now suddenly coiled its head and was warring to get free. John quickly tamped down on it, putting those feelings back into the box they were meant to be in. Emotions made you hesitate and that would get you killed.

He returned to his journey at a much more reserved speed and after several more minutes walked through the doors of the college. It was the tallest building around, they all were. A stone tower made of twisting, interwoven colours that collided into a large glass orb at the top that emitted a bright white glow. The entrance hall was much less grand than he had anticipated. The walls were covered by reliefs of men and women performing amazing feats of strength in their respective elements but that was all the decoration there was. Cushioned seats lined the room and a worn purple carpet led to a large circular reception desk in the middle of the room with several receptionists sat in the middle.

John approached the only free receptionist.

"Hello miss, how may we help you this day?" The Gnome greeted him with a polite smile.

"Hi, I was hoping that I could sign up for a couple of classes? I have my documentation all here." John lay the bundle of papers that he had gone through with Mary last night. After several minutes of reading and stamping the receptionist nodded and pulled out a silver box.

"All that seems to be in order, all I need from you now is for us to test your class and affinities. These are both for staff use only and will not be available to any students or outside agencies. You can of course decline, however, you will be unable to access any of the classes past the beginner classes. You will also be given one month of free access to our library, you will still be charged if you wish to borrow a book and you will not be allowed into the areas where the more advanced literature is, however, you will be able to read in the library and access the beginner books for free." The receptionist was a little red-faced after the long spiel but was looking at her expectantly.

"Ok, this only reads class and affinities right?"

"I assure you, ma'am, that it reads only that, no more." He said, opening up the box to reveal a glass sphere on a soft silk cushion. The very centre of the ball swirled with a grey mist.

Nodding, John placed his hand on the silver ball and immediately multicoloured lightning shot from the middle, a different colour in every direction, reaching halfway through the glass orb before stopping abruptly. In the centre, a shifting runic script could be seen.

"Please hold miss one moment I think there must be something wrong with our managraph, I'll be back in a second."

The receptionist then immediately turned and walked down a set of stairs in the middle of the reception desk that he had missed earlier. A few seconds later, an old man returned with the receptionist, who was carrying a second silver box. He was older than either Mary or Jax, covered in liver spots and wearing an ashen grey robe that dangled loosely from his wiry frame.

"You must be confused Cecil, I made these myself there is no way one of them is faulty!" The old man was grumbling at the receptionist, who was just walking passively back over to John.

"Sorry for the wait miss, here place your hand on this orb."

John frowned, had this been a mistake? Well, it was kind of too late to back out now, he placed his small hand on the second orb and exactly the same thing happened.

Both the receptionist and the old man just stared at the orb for a second before turning to John.

"Ma'am if it's alright with you, I believe you may be a rather special case. If you would, I think it would be better for someone higher up to handle this." The old man spoke this time before grabbing a crystal and speaking into it in hushed tones.

John was uncomfortably aware of how many people were staring at him right now, he could make a break for the exit but that would just rouse more suspicions and he sincerely doubted that the mages college didn't have something in place to stop a fleeing person if they wanted to. John decided to just wait and see what was going on. Some of his apprehension must have shown on his face, however, as the receptionist smiled at her and said.

"Don't worry Ma'am it's just that we don't get a lot of mages here, they are pretty rare but even then they only have affinities in 2 or 3 elements. We have never seen anyone with as many affinities as you, especially at these high levels."

John nodded, a little of the apprehension leaving him as he was probably not just discovered as a monster, though still a little worried about how much attention this would bring. Ten minutes later, a man and a woman in a blue and red robe respectively walked in from a side door and made their way over to where John was standing.

Over the course of the following hour, John discovered that they were the heads of the Hydromancer and Pyromancer departments and they were there to offer Kelly a special scholarship that the college reserved for only the students with the highest potential in their affinities and class. He was offered free access to the library and whichever classes he wanted and in return and he would be taught how to make spell scrolls and spell books. The college would then be willing to buy any books or scrolls he makes with spells of mixed elements. Apparently, having a mage with so many affinities would be able to propel the research and potential of the college months, if not years, ahead.

John sprang on the offer in a heartbeat and was given a list of all of the classes and their schedules and that he could start them the following day. Apparently, it would take that long to inform the staff of his circumstances and to go through the documentation. John was simultaneously disappointed at the fact he would not be starting today but excited about the opportunities in front of him. The next little while was going to be a blast.