The first attack dispelled much of the enthusiasm that the task force experienced with having found their first elite talent in the slums. Even as the testing teams nervously returned back to work, there was an air of unease that had begun building up in the task force as they quickly returned to their operations.
Students and assistants looked over their shoulders more frequently.
The security teams that were on the front lines grew more tense and alert as they kept a keen eye for any future threats, combing through the entire district with great care and caution.
The air tingled with faint tension as the testing operations for the second district.
Cæ himself actively partook in the security operations, reducing the number of apprentice mages so that they could increase the number of apprentice mages without increasing their already high expenditures in the operations.
He joined the security team as they expanded through the slums, remaining alert to react in the event that the security team alerted the presence of a threat before he even detected it.
Having yet to master divination magic, he knew that he couldn't yet contribute to surveillance magic despite the fact that he was confident that he could replicate what he was seeing effortlessly.
Of course, that would instantly divulge his status as a pure mage, so he didn't dare to even attempt something this foolish.
His wand remained in his hands, poised to be ready for anything that could pop out at any time. Although he didn't think that there would be any serious pushback this early in their operations, he couldn't let his guard down.
The operations continued even as the setting sun dipped below the horizon.
RUMBLE…
The dark clouds covered the entire sky as thunder roared within their depths after the flashes of light lit up the sky like the Sun for no more than a moment. The cool, icy winds brushed past all the members of the task force, sending chilly shivers across their skin.
"Another one!" one task force member gasped with delight as the premium testing artifact in his hands shined brightly. "We found another talent!"
This time, an twenty-year-old woman looked stunned at the sheer response from the task force to the outcome of test. "W-What does this mean?"
Her long brown hair draped all the way to her hips while her clothes were comprised of oversized, worn-out, and patched clothes that looked like she had picked them out of a junk yard.
"You can become a mage!" The male task force member leaned in closer with excitement. "You can join the Elendir Institute of Magic! You can—!"
BAM!
She slammed the door on his face.
"I'm not interested in whatever you bastards want from me! Go away!" she screamed from inside.
Her tone, fierce as it was, contained a nervous hint of fear.
The male task force student staggered back as though her words had just stabbed him in the heart. "S-Shit… did I mess up?"
He sank further down under the piercing glares of the task force members around him.
STEP
Cæ heaved a sigh as he slowly arrived at the hut, lowering himself down from the air, before reading through the data that the testing teams had recorded.
She was a born resident of the slums, having been born and brought up in the slums, making a living through prostitution; an unfortunate but all too common sector that far too many women in the slums had no choice but to get into.
"Miss… Leanah?" he called out.
"Go away!" she screamed from inside. "I don't want anything to do with you weirdos!"
Cæ's gaze returned to the door, unimpressed, pulling out his wallet.
"I have one hundred leenars in my hand right now."
"…"
A small smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. "It's yours if you give me just five minutes of your private time."
"…"
"…"
CLACK
The door opened slowly as the young woman peered through the crack in the door, gazing at the notes in Cæ's hands, her light blue eyes flickering with greed.
Cæ stretched his hand out freely, leaving only two fingers holding the note.
CLASP
She tugged at the note.
"Only five minutes, alright?"
The task force members frowned at the strange set of words that were exchanged between Cæ and the second scouted elite talent.
If they closed their eyes, they could easily misinterpret it to mean something else entirely.
"Five minutes are all I need," Cæ replied with an impassive tone even as his words added more fuel to the fire.
She gazed at him with a hint of wary suspicion that tussled against her desperation, before heaving a sigh.
"Fine. Come in."
CLACK
The door opened as she moved out of the way, and she opened up her little hut to him.
STEP
Cæ threw a little glance at the gaping students who stared at him with a scandalous expression and a flushed faces, before the door closed on them.
"…"
The students stared in silence for seconds with embarrassed curiosity.
"Ah…!" the young woman gasped as they heard strange noises emerge from within.
Their expressions proceeded to get more red until five minutes later, Cæ emerged from within the hut, with the woman.
Her body was sweaty.
Her clothes were messy.
Her hair was disheveled.
Her face was flushed.
She was out of breath, panting for air, as she turned to look at Cæ with surreal eyes.
"I accept."
"Good." Cæ nodded.
The task force shifted their gaze back and forth between the two of them with increasingly shocked expression. The students gazed at Cæ with stunned eyes and a mixed, uncertain expression on their face as they processed what has just happened.
RUMBLE…
Cæ gazed up at the sky with a dark skies with a knowing expression, glancing at the magiwatch on his wrist with a curt nod.
"That's it for today. Time's up. Commence retreat operations."
The task force obeyed his instructions as they rapidly began retreating, unmaking their makeshift base before departing the slums eagerly before the storms were to wash the city. The trucks departed from the slums, returning back to inner city and eventually towards the core where the Elendir Institute of Magic waited for them.
And where Headmistress Lenolia was waiting for Cæ.
CLACK
The doors to her office opened, revealing an intrigued Cæ standing at her door after being summoned to her office upon his return.
"Headmistress Lenolia," he raised an eyebrow. "You summoned me?"
"Yes, Mr. Cæ," she addressed him with a perfunctorily courteous tone. "I did indeed summon you on an urgent basis to inquire about a troubling commonality I have received from the reports of the students and assistants in your task force. Please come in and have a seat."
Cæ's impassive expression morphed into a frown. "Troubling commonality?"
"Indeed," the Headmistress eyed him with a calm expression, as she swept a tuft of her purple-white hair to her side. "They report that you have had an inappropriate sexual encounter after soliciting it from a sex worker in the slums whose magic aptitude met the criteria that I have set for the program."
Cæ's eyes widened with shock. "What…?"
The headmistress raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you deny these reports?"
"I didn't solicit sex from her," Cæ stared at the older woman with an expression of disbelief at the very notion of the allegation.
Headmistress Lenolia gazed at him with a perfect poker face, not revealing her thoughts on the matter. "The reports detail that you paid her a hundred leenars for, quote, 'five minutes of her time,' after reading about her occupation in the reports."
"I wanted five minutes of her time to convince her to join the Elendir Institute of Magic," Cæ retorted with a displeased expression.
"The reports all detail that the sounds of 'moans' were heard amid the session."
"They were not moans," Cæ insisted with narrowed eyes. "She was just audibly aghast at the illusion magic artifacts that I had the master professor of illusion magic in our Institute create."
Cæ had sought to convey the sheer prosperity that they could achieve with illusion magic as one of the ways to 'show' rather than just tell them about the Elendir Institute of Magic and the sheer opportunities that they saw.
When the woman saw the sheer majesty of the campus, she instantly grew attracted to what they had to offer.
"They noted that she appeared to be relatively physically exhausted and out of breath with disheveled clothes and hair."
"She got worked up from seeing illusion magic for the very first time. She started freaking out, hence the audible aghast gasps."
"…" Headmistress Lenolia gazed at Cæ with an inquisitive gaze. "I understand if you have needs as a young man, Mr. Cæ, but do not engage in any inappropriate engagements or interactions with any member of the slums, or anybody else from the institute."
"I. Did. Not." Cæ glared at the Headmistress. "She will even corroborate my story."
"…In that case, I will be sure to follow up on that as soon as possible."
Cæ heaved an exasperated sigh. "Do as you please. In turn, tell me who made those reports."
"I'm afraid I cannot fulfill that wish."
"Tsk."
A small smile appeared on her face. "More importantly, the fact that you have found two people in your search on the very first day is promising."
"Well, yes, we did scour two districts. That's an average of one per district," Cæ heaved a sigh. "That's going to amount to a few dozen candidates at most."
"That alone is very much worth it, Mr. Cæ," she remarked with a pleased tone. "We do not have such a large number of elite talents to the point that this number is meaningless. It does make a noticeable difference. Not to mention…"
He threw a knowing gaze at him. "Once you get to the deeper districts with much greater youth concentrations, you will be able to have much higher successes per district, making our yields even greater. Then on top of the that fact, your brilliant idea of selling the data of those with good talent that didn't meet our critera to other interested magicademies will allow us to not only earn an income but also give the people of the slums more opportunity to break out of the slums and build a future of prosperity for themselves."
Cæ nodded.
It was why he ultimately didn't have any qualms of selling the data that he collected while testing the people of the slums.
It was the only opportunity that they had to leave the slums, work hard and lead a good life. It was also the only way for them to have to make use of their talent, since there was an unfortunate but unshakable alienation of the people of the slums from the inner city that prevented them from going to the inner city to attend the magic aptitude test.
They also tended not to have the legal documentation needed to be eligible to take the tests, making them impossible to reach.
It was also good for Headmistress Lenolia's agenda that allowed her to allow for more upward mobility for the people of the slums, fulfilling her equitist ideology and ensuring that the existing political power structures became increasingly overrun by talented and hardworking people of the slums.
"Keep up the good work, Mr. Cæ," she remarked with an approving tone. "You have done well this far, and very soon you yourself will start benefiting from my end of the deal."
Cæ's eyes lit up with eagerness.
"Finally."