Mercer stood by the window, overlooking the entire training yard of the school. His office was set in the biggest tower that split the campuses between the Mage trainees and the Knight trainees. He could see the campuses slowly beginning to grow, recovering numbers from those who were killed off ten years ago.
Back then, the academy was only a training ground for Knights. He had once attended the school as a young trainee under the headmaster. Sadly, the old man died when the rebels attacked the school first. At the time, Mercer couldn't use magic well, choosing to pick up an enchanted staff that allowed him to become a rune user. Thus began his journey into the Knights.
Alas, that was years ago. Now, as the new headmaster, he owed it to the students to do best by them. Not only to them, but to all of the kingdom, seeing as these would be the ones protecting the kingdom in the future. In the case of some of them, they protected them now.
He could see the Knight trainees working hard, either doing exercises or sparring with each other to get acclimated to new weapons. Mercer couldn't help but let out a small smile, remembering his own struggles through the same experiences.
"Sir, I came to talk to you now that I'm released from the hospital," a male voice said, breaking Mercer out of his thoughts as he looked over the training yard.
Turning around to the door, he was surprised to see Poke standing in the doorway. Mercer quickly made his way to his desk to sit down, gesturing to Poke to sit in the chair across from him.
"Glad to see you're doing well, my boy," commented Mercer as Poke sat down in the chair.
Poke quickly sat down as Mercer just stared at him for a moment. To Poke, it seemed uncomfortable as Mercer stared. To Mercer, it was him just gathering his thoughts. Poke began to fidget, feeling uncomfortable with how long the stare had been going on.
"I hate to break it to you, but as of today, the team you formed with Lyra will be broken up," Mercer began, a tired look coming over his face.
"BUT SIR!" Poke yelled, standing up quickly and knocking the chair over in his anger.
Releasing some of his aura, Mercer's eyes tightened as he looked at Poke. "Control yourself, boy! Have you learned naught from my teachings?" he commanded.
"What exactly did you teach me then, sir?" Poke questioned, hands slamming on Mercer's desk as his anger took over. "You always favored Lyra over Gin and I, yet we still accepted it. When Mages, Wizards, and Witches went missing, some of them my friends, we didn't question it. Gin died believing in you, died protecting me just for you to give up after one failed mission."
Poke huffed as he backed away from the desk. Picking up the chair, he sat back down as he glared at Mercer, trying to hold back his anger.
Mercer could feel the weight of responsibility as he tried to gather his thoughts. How could he tell a student, let alone one he was personally teaching, about the murders going on? So many potential mages died young, most before realizing their potential. Mercer rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache begin to take hold.
"Poke, while your concerns are valid, at the moment I can't risk sending off students who haven't graduated from the academy," Mercer tried to explain.
"Yet Lyra still hasn't returned to the academy, right? I'm older than her, yet I've been on nearly a quarter of the missions she's been on," Poke argued, his hands tightening on his knees.
"You barely give what's left of the students a chance to even prove themselves! How are we supposed to grow and defend the Kingdom if we don't have the experience to defend? Training can and will only get you so far!", he continued. Anger and resentment clearly heard in his voice.
"Experience, huh?" Mercer muttered. "How about this: if you believe the newest students your age deserve a chance, then you can have it. I'll send you and two others of your choice on a mission personally picked by me."
"Really?!" Poke perked up at hearing that.
"Yes, prove to me that the most recent students aren't weak, and I'll start trusting you all with more responsibility," Mercer replied. "I know the students consider you the representative to speak to me, so prove to me the trust they so casually place in you."
"YOU WON'T REGRET THIS, SIR!" Poke yelled, bowing before rushing out the room.
"That boy didn't even ask what the quest was before running off," Mercer muttered, disappointed.
He wasn't convinced by the kids, no, not at all. The only reason he was sending them out was to see if the people targeting the mages would attack them. At the moment, there was nothing to the murders, and all the leads they had found went nowhere.