The choice is always yours, "probably"

Marcus rushed home.
When he crossed the gates of the Cannet mansion, the first thing he noticed was... firecrackers. Lots of firecrackers.
And then - an explosion of joy.
Emilia Cannet (Marcus' mother):
- Happy birthday, son!!!
Arthur Cannet (Marcus' father):
- My boy has grown so much... whine-whimper...
Marcus froze. He had only been out for half an hour. And then this... show.
Marcus:
- Uh... what the...?
While he stood there in a daze, he was already hugged, showered with confetti, and almost dragged into the house along with the cake.
The party passed quickly - cheerfully, noisily, with food, jokes, and a couple of accidental falls into a vase of flowers. And then the very conversation that he seemed to have forgotten began.
Everyone sat down in the living room. Emilia poured tea, Arthur looked at his son seriously.
Arthur:
— Mark... have you thought about your answer yet?
Marcus:
— What? What answer?
Emilia (squinting):
— Markus, don't play dumb. You promised to give an answer today. Or did you forget?
Arthur:
— You're old enough to decide such things yourself. I won't force you to do something you don't want to do... But you won't escape the answer.
Marcus froze once again. What are you even talking about? He definitely didn't promise anything. Probably. Maybe. Or did he promise?
Marcus:
— Uh... can you remind me what question we're talking about? He-he...
Arthur (sighing):
— Eh, Mark... two months ago, your mother and I gave you a choice.
He raised his finger.
Arthur:
— First, you go to the Schwaltzfer Academy and finish your studies there.
— Second, you stay with us and become the next Baron of the Kannet family.
Marcus's comment (internal):
"Wow. Now that's serious. So I also have a family with the title of Baron?"
Author's comment (me):
It doesn't matter for now. But it will later. Probably.
Emilia:
— Come on, dear, choose what you think is right. Everything else is not so important.
Marcus (mentally):
"Why can't I go to the academy and still become a Baron? Oh, right. I don't know how logic works here."
He had almost made his choice - after all, the option of "living carefree as a baron" sounded very tempting, when suddenly...
📢 System:
- ATTENTION: if you do not go to the academy, a punishment will be imposed.
Marcus:
- What? Why? I choose myself!
📢 System:
- As was said earlier, your task is to prevent catastrophes and conflicts that can turn this world upside down.
Punishment for disobedience: death.
Marcus (internally):
"Yeah. Of course. There is a choice, but if I choose "wrong" - I die. Excellent."
Arthur:
- Well, son? Have you made a decision?
Marcus (taking a deep breath):
- Yes, father. I will go to the Schwaltzfer Academy.
Emilia:
- An excellent decision. Especially since you were already among the candidates.
Arthur (laughing):
— Oh, that's how it is! And I remember how not long ago you were a little brat who did nothing but whine. Ha-ha!
That was the end of Marcus' birthday - with cake, congratulations and a hint of mortal responsibility. There were three weeks left until the start of the academy. And during this time, Marcus had to learn how to use his strange skill - "Writer".
---
A few days later...
📢 System:
— Sometimes quests will appear. For completing them, you can improve your stats or get a new skill.
Marcus:
— Wow, cool. Are the skills at least useful?
📢 System:
— And what skill do you think could be useless?
Marcus:
— "Writer". Almost useless. It's just a coincidence that today was a birthday. I didn't even write anything about it...
📢 System:
— Yeah, yeah...
Marcus:
— Don't "yeah, yeah" to me here. In any case, I need to learn how to use this skill urgently. Otherwise, I definitely won't pass the selection.
---
He trained. Day after day. His physical parameters began to grow, he began to guess how his ability works... albeit slowly.
📢 System:
— And you're growing fast.
Marcus:
— I'm the main character, after all. But the "Writer" skill is still as murky as ever.
Stats:
Strength: 30 Agility: 23
Stamina: 40 Durability: 34
Thinking: 55 Clarity: 20
---
There were two weeks left until the selection. And Marcus didn't stop for a day. Only three days before departure, he finally ran out of steam.
Marcus:
— Phew... Ah... How tired I am... Maybe I should lie down? Sleep? Die?.. Although the latter is not necessary.
📢 System:
— New skill unlocked!
Marcus:
— What?! A new skill?! Hooray! I hope this is not a "poetic writing style"...
📘 System:
— The skill "Written history": allows you to read events that will happen in the next 12 hours.
Marcus:
— Read the future? That's cool! But... read it every time? You'll have to carry a notebook with you, take notes...
📢 System:
— You'll get used to it over time. The skill is extremely useful - so don't grumble.
Marcus:
— Okay, okay... Now I need to hone my physical skills and learn to read faster. Otherwise, the enemy will crush me before I can finish reading the sentence.
---
Departure Day
Arthur:
— The day has come when we part, son.
Emilia (crying):
— Our boy... Already all grown up... Take care of yourself...
Arthur:
— Try hard. If you don't pass the selection, you'll work on a farm for the whole year. And not even on ours.
Marcus:
— I'll definitely pass! I'll become the best student at the academy!
Even though the Kannet family wasn't his own, Marcus was sad. He had become attached to these people. After saying goodbye, he set off on his way.
Forward — to the Schwaltzfer Academy!