[1903 / 110 / ?]
The old man looks at your papers, then back at you, then back at the papers again. The border control room is pretty cramped and dusty, you can tell not a lot of people use it, the man looks inconvenienced at the fact he even has to do his job for once.
Finally, he looks back at you and asks, "Are you sure this is what you want? Once you leave, you'll lose native citizenship, if you do decide to come back, you'll only ever get the worst jobs meant for new blood immigrants."
You nod.
"The world out there isn't what it's like in stories, it's dirty, it's ruthless, and humans just aren't as resistant to the magical horseshit as the rest of the races."
"Actually, that's a myth." You correct him. "Humans aren't less or more resistant to magic than most races, we just have a lower mana pool which makes it harder for us to prepare protective spells-"
"Same difference," he interrupts you. "Also, seriously, you're going out there for a magic school? The thing humans are the worst at? Couldn't you be an engineer or something? Okay, maybe not that, not really allowed to share trade secrets..."
He yawns, and digs into your massive backpack. "Let's see, you got a gun, a laptop and a phone. All solar-powered too for obvious reasons. We're going to biocode them so they melt when someone other than you try to use them, and then you'll be on your way. I'll ask one last time, are you sure you want to leave?"
You nod vigorously, yes! You want to leave! You've been stuck here for hours! You have the paperwork, the preparations, the supplies to make the trip, and most importantly, the letter of admission to the school for the magically challenged!
You had to send biocoded drones to prove your aptitude and motivation just to be admitted! Drones you had to pay out of your pocket because your parents didn't approve in the slightest! Why does everyone think this is a spur of the moment decision when you've worked so hard for it? You don't care that they're less technologically advanced outside, you can live with that as long as you get to learn magic!
The man leads you to the imposing front gate. The man makes a sign to another up the gate, and it starts to rise with a slow, loud rumble. It reveals the outside, the blue sky, the green grass, and a road that leads to your dreams. You look back to the border control man, and he shoos you away. You almost trip over yourself as you run past the gate into the unknown.
Finally, he looks back at you and asks, "Are you sure this is what you want? Once you leave, you'll lose native citizenship, if you do decide to come back, you'll only ever get the worst jobs meant for new blood immigrants."
You nod.
"The world out there isn't what it's like in stories, it's dirty, it's ruthless, and humans just aren't as resistant to the magical horseshit as the rest of the races."
"Actually, that's a myth." You correct him. "Humans aren't less or more resistant to magic than most races, we just have a lower mana pool which makes it harder for us to prepare protective spells-"
"Same difference," he interrupts you. "Also, seriously, you're going out there for a magic school? The thing humans are the worst at? Couldn't you be an engineer or something? Okay, maybe not that, not really allowed to share trade secrets..."
He yawns, and digs into your massive backpack. "Let's see, you got a gun, a laptop and a phone. All solar-powered too for obvious reasons. We're going to biocode them so they melt when someone other than you try to use them, and then you'll be on your way. I'll ask one last time, are you sure you want to leave?"
You nod vigorously, yes! You want to leave! You've been stuck here for hours! You have the paperwork, the preparations, the supplies to make the trip, and most importantly, the letter of admission to the school for the magically challenged!
You had to send biocoded drones to prove your aptitude and motivation just to be admitted! Drones you had to pay out of your pocket because your parents didn't approve in the slightest! Why does everyone think this is a spur of the moment decision when you've worked so hard for it? You don't care that they're less technologically advanced outside, you can live with that as long as you get to learn magic!
The man leads you to the imposing front gate. The man makes a sign to another up the gate, and it starts to rise with a slow, loud rumble. It reveals the outside, the blue sky, the green grass, and a road that leads to your dreams. You look back to the border control man, and he shoos you away. You almost trip over yourself as you run past the gate into the unknown.
