Shortly after receiving their bracelets from Vanita, they cleaned up the remains of their very last picnic at Maglica Academy and headed to the school courtyard for their graduation ceremony.

  Contrary to Aida's expectations, graduation didn't seem to be a particularly important event in this world. The attendants consisted of the Maglica professors, the graduating students, Affiliates—Aida was wary when she saw Jasper Riolt's distinct figure standing behind them—and a small number of the underclassmen who decided they could afford to take the time away from their studies before their own finals to attend.

  With not too much ceremony, the thirty graduating students were grouped up within their own elements on a small stage, and then accordingly sorted into their final rankings, leaving Aida between Lara and Weyn.

  Thankfully, they weren't expected to entertain themselves; as soon as the students took their places, Professor Havi took the podium at the bottom of the stage, giving a typical speech about how their formal education at Maglica Academy was to end there, but they were expected to continue learning as they went out into the world to help others...

  Aida ignored Havi's address, opting to watch the Affiliates instead. They were also ignoring Havi, instead smiling brightly as they tried to catch the eyes of the students they were courting. Perhaps it was Annie's preconceptions of the employer/employee dynamic coloring her perceptions, but during the beginning of the sun cycle when they had first met the Affiliates, it had seemed very much as if the students had been doing their best to get the attention of an Affiliate; any Affiliate. Now, however, it seemed like the Affiliates were the ones who were desperate for any scrap of attention from the graduate they were pinning their hopes on. What an interesting twist.

  Havi began calling forth students from the Wood category, one at a time.

  "Levi Ashet, ranked as the first Wood in this year's graduating class. Will the Affiliates who wish to present an offer step forward." No less than three Affiliates stepped forward: a Border Strongholder, a Naval Strongholder, and even an industrial Affiliate. They all were holding papers in their hands, and each one held out their offer sheet to Havi, who collected them before turning to Levi and handing the stack to him, along with what looked like a medallion.

  Following Havi's instructions, Levi took the thin stack of papers in one hand and held his palm over the object, making a light flash—a mana transaction, Aida noted.

  Receiving the object with a bow, Levi stepped back as Havi called forth Shon Yanomo.

  So continued the process: Professor Kozu presented the graduates and offers for the Fires, Professor Gemma the Earths, Professor Lloyd the Metals, and Professor Bruce the Waters.

  As Aida stepped forward, Healer Bokar beaming at her, she was startled to see the other Healer who had accosted her in the dining hall yesterday step forward as well. I don't even know her name.

  "Congratulations on two offers, Miss Loreh," Bruce said quietly as he handed the sheets to her. Each offer was written on a thick sheet of paper, the details written in neat, cursive script.

  In Bruce's other hand was the item every graduate had received: a metal plaque with her name, final class ranking, and date of graduation inscribed in it. There was also a blue gem embedded in the center, denoting her element. Placing her palm over the gem, Aida filled it with mana, making it glow a brilliant blue.

  "This is your identifier, to be used for all official documents and procedures going forward; please keep it on you at all times."

  As Aida stepped back into line, she examined the back of the badge. Shaped as a pentagon, it fit nicely in her hand and had one colored gem embedded in each corner, representing the five elements. Each gem was filled with the corresponding professor's mana, showing their approval in granting the medallion to the graduating student. The letters "MA" were embossed in the metal, centered between the five gems.

  "That is all. Thank you for taking the time to attend the ceremony," Professor Lloyd said as Lyn received her one offer from a hopeful sanitation Affiliate and badge. "As a reminder, we will be accepting the paperwork finalizing the graduates' decisions until the end of dinner. Please do not leave the school until you have submitted your contracts," he added to the newly minted graduates. "Golem departure schedules are posted in the dining hall."

  "Excuse me," a lazy voice called, stalling the murmurs that had started after Lloyd's dismissal. "I have an offer I'd like to make."

  Jasper Riolt stepped out from among the Affiliates, holding another sheet of paper in his hand. Kozu held out his arm, stopping Jasper.

  "I'm sorry, the offers have already been given--"

  "I am aware. However, that was merely the Affiliates' chance to present their offers, is it not? Technically speaking, these graduates are no longer students of Maglica, so do not have to abide by the school's rules, correct?" Jasper's silky voice made Aida's hair stand on end. Is he trying to sneak in already?

  "They are still students until they finalize their paperwork," Lloyd said firmly. "So you may not present your offer until after."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "Fair enough," Jasper said nonchalantly. He raised his voice slightly, making sure everyone in the courtyard could hear him. "I'll just wait until after the students complete their paperwork to present the offer from the Riolts. No limit to the number of graduates we are willing to hire, fair wages guaranteed. Placement within the Riolt businesses will be possible, regardless of element or ability."

  Confusion rippled among the students. What is he trying to do?

  "You can't do that!" one Affiliate said angrily. "You're trying to override Affiliate privileges!"

  "I am not," Jasper said disapprovingly. "You are still the first choice presented, and the Maglica graduates could still decide not to take any of your offers regardless of the circumstances. In which case, they would then be free to seek employment elsewhere."

  "This is ridiculous!" another Affiliate fumed as he turned to the professors. "Are you going to allow him to disrespect the Affiliate system?" Several other Affiliates raised their voices in agreement while the professors, to their credit, acted relatively quickly in trying to quell the anger, though they were unable to offer any solutions without consulting each other.

  "There is already prejudice in the Affiliate industry system! How do you expect the growing companies to compete with an open Riolt offer?"

  "We did not sign up and put in so much time and effort so that we could have our hires stolen from us!"

  "You must mandate that the students choose from the existing offers!"

  "Skies above, some of you sound unbelievably entitled," Jasper observed as the clamor became more and more unhinged, his eyes gleaming with mirth despite his morose tone. "Do you think the Maglica graduates are so unintelligent as to be unable to make their own decisions? They are adults now, after all."

  Aida pushed through the crowd of confused students, several of whom were already whispering to each other, weighing their options as they held offers they weren't too happy with. It was clear the opportunity to work in the Riolt family was a powerful draw.

  She tugged on Levi's sleeve, who was watching Jasper with a hard gaze.

  "What's he trying to do? Why is he doing this?" Aida whispered. "He's not even doing a screening process!"

  "He's not lying when he says placement is possible," Levi said lowly. "The Riolts' core business is in construction, but they've grown large enough that they can start entering into other industries—I expect any Maglica graduate, regardless of element, will be able to contribute significantly to their expansion designs."

  "I have a proposal," Jasper said, cutting through the rising chaos. He spoke with the heavy regret of a self-sacrificing individual who just wanted peace, not as the person who instigated all the disagreement in the first place. "Let me make just one offer, to one student. If that student refuses to accept my offer, that is it; I will walk away."

  Jasper's silver eyes, so like Ezra's, swept the crowd of students on the stage, lingering on Aida for a brief moment, making her skin crawl, before he took in the classmates around her. Does he recognize me?

  Aida took comfort in the fact that someone so self-absorbed was unlikely to remember someone—garbage, by his standards, not worth remembering—he had only met once.

  "You can't possibly be serious," Professor Gemma exclaimed, echoing Aida's sentiment. "Your proposal would still violate the spirit of our agreement with the Affiliates."

  Jasper shrugged helplessly. "If it eases your conscience, I have strong reason to believe she will reject my offer."

  Aida scanned the faces of the remaining Affiliates, most of them looking resigned, while a few still looked outraged as they weighed the ramifications of Jasper's proposal. She couldn't blame them; the Riolt representative had deployed a clever trap, pressuring the Affiliates and Maglica staff into one of the two options that still allowed Jasper to walk out with a valuable resource.

  Because Jasper made it known the Riolts were willing to hire any—even all of them, theoretically—right off the bat, and would patiently wait for the students to come to him, that effectively made it so that he could snag a good number of students. While if they agreed to his "compromise," where he only propositioned one student, at least the rest of the Affiliates still had their chance with the remaining graduates.

  Only rich people can afford leverage like this, Aida thought grimly.

  "Very well," Professor Bruce said grimly. "If the Affiliates agree to your proposal, then we shall also not oppose it."

  "Which student are you planning on recruiting?" Naval Strongholder Jaret asked abruptly.

  Jasper spread his hands. "I don't mind sharing details of my offer publicly." He glanced through the students on the stage again, a smirk on his face. He knew he won.

  Every other student on the stage held their breath, wondering who he wanted to recruit.

  "As some of you might know, we have been involved with several communities across Wyndia as we discussed ways we could improve the safety and defensibility of everyone's homes—especially in light of current events. We are ready to proceed with these projects, but in the interest of improving efficiency, we would like to have our own in-house sanitation specialist who can help lay the framework, so to speak."

  Aida felt her blood freeze as Jasper’s eyes casually lingered on hers. Did he recognize me? Did he look into Aida's background?

  However, the sleek silver man didn't look at her again.

  "I may have been late in meeting this year's Maglica graduates, but when I sensed her mana ability, I knew she would be the best person for these projects." Jasper paused, basking in the attention. Unlike Ezra, the elder brother was a real performer with a flair for the dramatic.

  "The contract will be for one year to start, with an option to extend and renegotiate after the duration ends. The base salary for the renegotiation will not be lower than what is originally offered." Jasper met every student's gaze, making sure they understood his generosity, reminding them of what he could offer them if the Affiliates didn't agree to his proposal. Cementing his threat. "We are looking for a partnership, not merely a worker.

  "With all of that said...the student I would like to make an offer to is Miss Lara Lorr."