CHAPTER 8 — The Price of Wine & Fate at the Dojo
The doors of the inn swung open, and Rowan stepped out into the cool night air.
A tiny tear slid dramatically down his cheek.
It was the teardrop of a traumatized wallet.
His mind replayed what just happened like a tragic opera.
---
Flashback—Inside the Inn
After the mage collapsed face-first on the table, Rowan called a waiter.
"Umm… what should we do about him?"
The waiter didn't even look surprised.
"Let him be, sir. It's his daily habit."
Rowan nodded slowly.
'Daily habit? Of passing out drunk?' That explains too much and not enough…
He turned to leave.
But the waiter stopped him — and handed him a bill.
Rowan opened it.
His soul left his body.
'WHAT WAS THIS MAN ORDERING, LIQUID GOLD? CELESTIAL NECTAR? IMMORTALITY POTION?!'
His voice trembled.
"A-Ahh… I will only pay for the two bottles I ordered."
The waiter replied with the gentleness of a guillotine:
"It is the bill for those two bottles, sir."
Rowan's face turned snow-pale.
'Two bottles… cost THIS much?! Is this wine or a fragment of God's tears?!'
His gaze landed on the bottle as he quickly picked it and looked at it's name.
The golden Rumao.
Rowan's face turned pale reading the wine's name.
'So he was really drinking liquid gold!?'
---
Flashback faded.
Rowan now stood outside, a single tear glittering under sunlight.
"I spent one-third of the money I earned from selling wood…" he whispered in despair, shaking both fists toward the heavens.
Then anger flared.
"That DAMN MAGE— AHHH!"
He screamed to the sky like a tragic anime protagonist, pigeons scattering dramatically overhead.
But after a moment of panting, he calmed himself.
"…At least now I know what to do to become a mage."
His expression firmed.
Determined eyes. A heart burning.
Rowan walked forward with purpose — and a question punched him mid-thought:
Wait. How do I explain this to Ma and Papa?
---
Next Morning — Darve City
Bright sun washed across the stone-paved streets. Vendors shouted, children ran, horses clattered past. Between them, Rowan walked with restless energy, replaying his conversation with his parents.
He had told them the silliest lie — something about "unexpected expenses" and "food poisoning medicine prices sky-rocketing" — anything to avoid worrying them.
'I'm a terrible liar,' he groaned internally.
But he had no choice.
Now he roamed the streets, stopping passerby after passerby.
"Do you know where a mage dojo is?"
"…Mage dojo?"
"Any mage dojo around here?"
"Mage dojo please?"
After countless rejections, stares, shrugs and mistaken directions — Rowan finally stood before a pair of grand doors.
---
The Darve City Mage Dojo
Rowan stared in awe.
The massive wooden gates rose like carved giants, painted deep ocean blue with streaks of silver threading through like lightning. No guards, no sentries, just a silent imposing entrance.
He pushed the doors — they opened with a low thunderous creak.
Inside, a courtyard stretched wide. The dojo building's architecture was somthing that he was seeing first time in his life— . Eaves curved upward like soaring wings. Paper screens shimmered with faint mana, patterns shifting like clouds. Pagoda roofs stacked in layers, glowing faintly with twilight. Wind chimes hung along the walkway, each note like soft magic whispers.
Rowan's mouth parted.
'Beautiful… I never imagined something like this.'
He stepped forward—when a voice snapped at him.
"HEY! Who are you?"
Rowan stiffened.
That voice… it felt oddly familiar.
He turned.
A young man stood under the shade — messy black hair, sharp jaw, tired eyes that hinted sleepless nights, a loose robe hanging carelessly, a wand at his waist though it looked more decorative than used. Slight bags under his eyes. A face like trouble incarnate.
And a faint smell of wine.
'Wait— HIM?!'
It was the same mage from the inn.
Rowan gawked.
But the mage only narrowed his eyes.
"Are you deaf? I asked who you are."
Rowan sputtered, bewildered.
"You… don't know me?"
"Am I supposed to?" the man raised a brow.
Rowan leaned forward desperately.
"Last night! In that inn—I bought you drinks! Don't you remember?!"
The mage stepped closer, squinting, face inches from Rowan's.
One second.
Two.
Three—
Then recognition snapped into place like a light turning on.
"Ohhh! You're the guy who knew no magic but wanted to become a mage!" he grinned.
"What was your name again?"
"Rowan."
"Right, Rowan." The mage stretched lazily.
"So why are you here?"
"You said if I get a recommendation letter from a dojo, I can go to the Grand Academy."
"Grand Aetherion Academy," he corrected.
"Yes! That one!"
The mage eyed him up and down.
"Do you know magic now?"
Rowan flushed, voice tiny.
"…No."
The mage sighed.
"Then forget about enrolling anywhere — let alone Grand Aetherion."
Rowan's heart pinched.
"But I thought if I came to a dojo, I could learn—" He paused, squinting. "…Wait. Why are YOU here?"
The mage smiled lazily.
"I'm the vice master of this dojo."
Rowan blinked rapidly.
"Vice master?"
"Mhmm," he nodded proudly.
"So where's the master?"
"Gone to Stormveil City for business. Until he returns," the vice master flicked his hair casually, "I'm in charge here."
Rowan opened his mouth to ask more—
but the man was already turning away.
"Okay bye. It's my drinking time. See you—"
"WAIT!!"
The vice master paused, glancing back.
Rowan clenched his fists.
"I want to enroll in the Grand Academy."
"Aha," he nodded.
"And to do that, I need to learn magic."
"So?"
Rowan inhaled deeply.
"…Will you teach me?"
The vice master's eyes narrowed.
"Has anyone in your family ever been a mage?"
'Huh...' hearing that Rowan thought about his brother. But soon he realised.
'i can't tell him about bhaiya.'
Rowan shook his head.
"No."
"Then I can't teach you."
Rowan's voice cracked in desperation.
"But why?!"
The vice master thought for a moment, scratching his jaw.
"Well… it's my drinking time. Also, I can't just teach anyone. According to Mage Council–"
"I'll buy you drinks!!"
Silence fell.
A heavy, powerful silence.
The wind stopped.
The chimes froze.
Even a bird paused mid-flight(mentally).
The vice master slowly turned fully to Rowan.
Seconds passed.
Then—
"…Lessons starts from to tomorrow."
A soft, victorious smile bloomed on Rowan's face.
But then the vice master added:
"After you buy me drinks tonight."
Rowan's smile froze.
---
Chapter Ends.