Edmund, the muscular tigerkin apprentice of the Great Detective Enigma, sat on a hill overlooking the fields East of Magistrum City. As he looked over the map bequeathed to him by his dear teacher, he recalled the conversation that led up to this moment.

---

They had met as they did every other week, Enigma drilling the fundamentals of magecraft into his apprentice the best way he knew how, through practical application. Dressed fully in their Magistrum Regalia, they began their duel.

For nearly every bolt of lightning and deluge of water Edmund sent hurling towards the wolfkin, a response. Lightning fizzled out before it struck true. Pressurized jets of water losing cohesion, splashing harmlessly off target. At the same time, the legendary mind mage had been working to dominate his apprentice's mind, forcing young mage to juggle between offensive pressure and maintaining his own mental defenses.

Though lacking in the sheer outward, bloody spectacle of a clash between swordsman, a fight between mages is no less intense. What felt like a eternity for Edmund passed in mere minutes until their struggle finally reached it's end.

In all of his years fighting in the streets, these words never once crossed Edmund's lips. Never once would it even cross his mind to say them. And yet, every two weeks, when he dueled with Enigma, the battle ended when they passed through his lips. It was the sign that his mental defenses, strengthened through training and study, were once more breach by Enigma the Mind Mage.

"I yield!"

He could feel the moment his guard had been shattered, and similarly he could feel the tendrils of his professor's magic released him. Each time, it took the wolfkin ever so slightly longer to establish control, but inevitably he would.

And yet, Enigma, ever the constant professional, had more important uses of his time than gloating.

"That vacation was helpful for you, I see. A few short weeks at the resort and you're not just where you were before your crisis of faith, but you're already starting to improve once more. At this rate, you'll soon be ready to take on case work again. Soon, but not now."

"C'mon, Teach." Edmund spoke through haggard breaths. "I ain't studyin' just because. I wanna be like you. Go out on adventurers. Solve cases. See the world!"

"I've told you before, Edmund. Comparison is the thie-"

Edmund's impatience flew in the face of his manners, as he interrupted his professor. "Thief of joy, Teach. I know, but I still wanna go out there. Ya haven't given me a mission, or anything, since we got back from bustin' Pops and Foxy."

In comparison to his mentally exhausted student, it would have been difficult to tell that the professor had just ended a duel from his relaxed posture. He stood a moment, contemplating Edmund's request, before coming to a decision.

"Very well. It's not case work, but it might be enough to satisfy you."

Searching the pouch on his uniform, Enigma pulled out a scroll, larger than the pouch it came from, handing it to the tigerkin under his tutelage.

Still recovering from their match, Edmund sat down on the floor to take a few breaths, opening the scroll. "What's this, teach?"

If Enigma had any feelings about the question, he did not show them. "A map."

And sure enough, that's exactly what it was. Having gone of a few nighttime flights with Morty to go sightseeing, he recognized a few of the landmarks depicted on it.

"But what's it lead to, Teach?" He gave the professor a quizzical look.

But alas, it did nothing to break Enigma's stony visage. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. That defeats the entire point of going on an adventure."

"Adventure, Teach!? You serious!?"

All fatigue left Edmund's body the moment he realized when Enigma was saying, and he leapt to his feet. That was enough to crack his professor's mask, and the wolfkin gave a quiet smile.

"Consider it your reward for landing your first spell." The Master of Mind Magic unfurled the cape of his uniform, revealing that his vest had been splashed in the duel. Harmless, but progress all the same.

"Golden tits, Teach! Golden tits!" Overcome with emotion, Edmund gave his teacher a hug.

"Oplentians have the strangest exclamations, I swear." Though taken off-guard, Enigma concluded it was best to just let it happen, returning the gesture. "Report to me when you've found whatever is marked on this map."

"You got it!"

---

After taking a moment to regain his bearings, Edmund's eyes honed in on an oddly shaped alcove that aligned perfectly with the diagram on his map.

"I'll make ya proud, Teach. This adventurin' stuff is kinda fun."

---

Y'know, it's been quite some time where I wrote something where Enigma and Edmund have the chance to be Master and Student, and it was high time I changed that.

Thanks to  LittleBadWolf for this excellent depiction of my Edmund going on an adventure of his own.

Please favorite the artist's submission here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/61293547/

Art by  LittleBadWolf
Edmund and Enigma belong to me.