《Human Mage》


 Book 1 — Chapter One: The Archmage from Earth

    A black sedan¡ªornamented with golden filigree and emblazoned with a symbol at both sides: that of a staff circled by a chinese dragon and a sword and spear that interlocked with each other in front of the staff, the symbol of the current Archmage of America¡ªstopped in front of the Lukas Forn building. The driver''s door opened and out came the bedazzled form of the most powerful man on Earth, literally, more powerful than a nuke. He wore a palish blue suit and trousers, and on his chest sat a ruddy checkered necktie.


    A staff made of Narra tree¡ªthe best wood for conducting mana¡ªfloated at his side, following him wherever he went, turning left when he turned, never straying far behind or excitedly jumping ahead. It was just right at his side.


    The Archmage strutted his way on a red carpet and a bazillion journalists and photographers vied for his attention at the sides, just behind the red tape.


    ¡°Sir Merlin, could you tell us anything about your new discovery?¡±


    ¡°...true that you''ve built an epic class device?¡±


    ¡°Did you really finally solve the FTL conundrum?¡±


    Merlin II waved and smiled at the reporters. ¡°All will be revealed soon enough.¡±


    He kept on trundling with poise towards the elevator. Once in, he pressed the button for the second floor and the lift bolted up. He breathed a sigh of relief, stretching a little to relieve tensions on his body. The elevator¡¯s door opened and the first to greet him was a smiling Dr. Io, so he smiled back. In all his two hundred and three-three life, Io had been his constant companion. Ever since he reached the pinnacle at ten thousand kyuls of mana, it was Io who had always been at his side. Io was also the second most powerful man in the world¡ªat eight thousand kyuls of mana and boasting a repertoire of spells as varied and as powerful as Merlin.


    In fact, if Merlin were to be honest, he would find it extremely difficult to defeat Io in a real fight. That''s because Io was the more experienced mage; at an age of four-o-three compared to his two three-three, he was more than a match against Merlin. Merlin''s only advantage was that if it became a war of attrition, winning would be in the bag thanks to his larger mana pool.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Io began, lifting his hands a bit above his pockets and then putting them inside. ¡°Congratulations are in order, Oh great and powerful Merlin II.¡± Io giggled at his last addendum.


    ¡°Please,  Oh unparalleled academic Dr. Io,¡± Merlin chuckled, ¡°to you, it''s just Winston.¡±


    ¡°Well, for this grand occasion, permit me the chance to call you by your official title, Merlin.¡±


    Merlin guffawed, hard and deep. ¡°I guess it won''t hurt to be a little formal, just for today.¡±


    The two friends continued their conversation, each talking a great deal about their discoveries, which they will be presenting today at the pressroom. They made their way across crowds of magicists and journalists walking their way, like them, towards the giant press-hall of the Lucas Forn building. Today, there would be three presentations. The first one would be the newest discovery by Dr. Ivo, regarding mana emissions from twelve ring engines. It was said that he had found a more efficient way to build an engine that had half the rings of a traditional engine, but with twice the horsepower by minimizing the mana emissions produced by the rings.


    The next presentation, a groundbreaking one, was about the magna opulent lasers used by satellites to communicate with ground devices. Dr. Io had developed a newer, more robust design. Instead of using twenty mana crystals to power the lasers, Io has revolutionarily created a laser that used two mana crystals by using a lower frequency version of the mo-lasers.


    The last presentation would be presented by Merlin, he did not reveal any overview about his device except that one snippet: There''s no need for us to surpass the speed of light to reach beyond, I guarantee it. There were even rumors saying that Merlin had somehow created a never before seen epic class item. That would be something if it were true. Merlin and Io took their seats at the frontmost chairs, while their audience slowly swarmed inside. Merlin''s staff stopped in front of him, a little to his right, standing there like a guard. Whispers buzzed all around; excited noises squeaked, and Merlin could just hear some little morsel of their conversations. He listened in and noted that many of them were there for his grand reveal. It brought a small smile to Merlin''s face.


    A quick turn of the head to the right brought Dr. Ivo to Merlin''s view. Such a brilliant man who nevertheless was wasted on very banal subjects of study. The pursuit to contribute to the insipid workings of society were inane to Merlin''s tastes.


    To Merlin, it was only the pursuit of the greatest things that was worthy of his resolve and adamant persistence. To desire the greatest things, and to achieve them is the true meaning of one''s existence.


    When everyone had entered the hall, a man stood up to the podium and introduced the first speaker of the day, then Ivo stood up from his seat and took up the podium. He began explaining and presenting his research and ultimately ending with his astounding results.


    ¡°Quite impressive,¡± said Io, turning his gaze towards Merlin. ¡°His research is quite¡­ what to say¡­. Exciting?¡±


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Merlin scoffed, smirking at the same time. ¡°Simply making an engine more efficient is no groundbreaking discovery. He needs more than that to equal you or me.¡±


    A roll of the eyes met Merlin''s puffed up remark. Merlin twitched and felt slightly embarrassed, but at what exactly he could not tell; it could not have been his words for he believed them entirely. But nevertheless he felt uncomfortable with Io''s looks.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­. Have I ever told you how dumb you are?¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact,¡± Merlin beamed an awkward smile. ¡°You have, exactly one hundred and eighteen times.¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± Io said, wiping his sweaty hands on his trousers. ¡°You¡¯ve been keeping count. As I¡¯ve been saying, you''re dumb. You''re somehow elevating my research beyond what it is in reality. I am not that good, boy.¡±


    There was a tinge of anger in Io''s words. Whenever Io called Merlin boy he was certain to have messed up. But as stubborn Merlin was as the skin of a crocodile is rough, he pushed on with his belief.


    ¡°Yours, Io is a noteworthy research. No magicist in history has ever lowered the frequency of a mo-laser. It was thought of as impossible based on the nature of mana crystals but you¡­¡±


    Io coughed, cutting Merlin off from finishing his sentence.


    ¡°As I was about to say. My research is not entirely my own. It is built on the research of others in the past and concurrently. I was able to reach my conclusion simply because I learned from my forebears and peers. My research, as you would say, is banal and worthy of a sneer.¡±


    Io¡¯s remarks irritated the hell out of Merlin. He was about to launch into a tirade when suddenly, the man at the podium called Io¡¯s name. Io patted Merlin''s shoulder and stood up, smiling at him.


    ¡°Wish me luck,¡± Io said.


    ***


    A loud standing ovation met the end of Io''s presentation. Io smiled brightly and bowed before his audience. Meanwhile, the stubborn Merlin harrumphed and frowned. He was not happy at having been the recipient of Io''s counsel earlier, nevertheless he reached his hand out to the old man and they both shook hands.


    ¡°Despite the fact that I''m irritated at you right now, you still did well.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Io professed, smiling buoyantly at the youth, at least relative to his own age. ¡°Wipe that frown on your face already, or you''ll scare the audience.¡±


    ¡°...please help me welcome everyone, Merlin II!¡±


    The crowd clapped as hard as the stomping of an elephant''s foot on a hardwood floor. They cheered vehemently to the utterance of Merlin''s name, or to be more exact his titular name. Merlin grabbed his staff and strutted pompously towards the stage. He stood at the podium and grabbed the clicker. He pressed a button and the projector projected the title of his presentation.


    Interstellar Travel: Possible and Here.


    Merlin spread his arms and called to the crowd.


    ¡°Have you ever thought of interstellar travel? Of traversing this known part of our galaxy, of our universe, deep into the unknown? Deep into the fringes of our galaxy, or another galaxy? You are aware that as of current, interstellar travel is still considered impossible as our theoretical avenue to reach the stars is still through normal propulsion. Others would argue that if we developed teleportation enough, we could use it to advance deeper into this known galaxy. But we all know that long distance teleportation doesn''t work without the destination point of the traversal being already marked or known. That leaves us with only normal propulsion, which takes years to even exit our solar system. But I have discovered something that will circumvent all of that.¡±


    The clicker clacked and the presentation slid to show a new slide containing an object within its blue themed page. It was a necklace ringed with a bronze chain with a golden pendant that was shaped into an oloid. One of the oloid''s sides was made of transparent glass giving a view of a glowing blue core encased within the very shape.


    ¡°I present to you, the Seraphim.¡±


    Merlin walked away from the podium and towards the center of the stage.


    ¡°My theory began with the idea that perhaps instead of surpassing the speed of light, we could rather punch a hole in the fabric of our universe and connect two places at the same time. A portal if you will. A portal that is only possible by elevating a focus outside the third dimension and from there activating it so that it would fold two separate points in the dimension below it and connect those two points.¡±


    Murmurs of surprise propagated from the audience, which brought a smile to Merlin. He walked to the side furthest from the podium and began addressing the people seated at the far right (from the perspective at the back) where Ivo sat. He winked at Ivo.


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of the spatial aspect of mana, used to power teleportation spell circuits. To instantly disappear from one place and appear in another. People think this to be equal and the same to the never before seen dimensional aspect, which is an idea, as your astute minds know,  that is blatantly false. This aspect is not a true dimensional aspect. For in truth, teleportation of this kind happens by making the human body, or any object, intangible, thereby making it invisible to the naked eye, and by accelerating it so fast that it reaches the speed of light, it arrives at its destination in an instant. It is an illusion of teleportation. In reality, the object teleported never traveled instantly, it traveled in space at impossible speeds. But I have developed the first ever real dimensional aspect and a spell circuit that can harness it. The first ever FTL transportation device, if you will.¡±


    Merlin called out to his staff that was floating at the side of the podium, and the staff jumped to his hand. He slammed its tip to the floor and a shockwave emanated, rippling all throughout the room.


    ¡°Behold, the Seraphim!¡±


    In the air, in front of Merlin, a necklace that looked exactly like the one shown on the projector screen materialized in a blue aura like hue. Its blue core was visible to everyone present. Merlin grabbed it and wore it around his neck.


    ¡°Now to explain how it works¡­¡±


    ***


    [Two hours before the event began]


    In some underground shelter somewhere in the city, a group of men congregated. Some conversed with each other while others sat melancholically on the floor. One of these latter men sat, resting his back on a wall near the corner.


    Alexander was the only Russian in this team assembled by the organization to do the impossible¡ªor at least he thought he was the only one as he saw no one else that looked Russian. A glimpse here and there revealed some southeast Asians, and some Indians; there were, though sparsely scattered, east Asians as well. There were towering caucasians in the group which he guessed to be mostly Americans as they were too jovial for his taste. This strike team was built to steal something, an impossible task considering they''re stealing from an Archmage. He could only laugh at the thought, since their target is not anything like any other Archmage; he was the greatest of them all!


    But the organization promised that the newest device wrapped around their forearms would solve the problem entirely. Taking on an Archmage would become all but too easy thanks to these newly built spell-circuit cancellers. One which the organization assured would work on Merlin II. Plus, the killing blow, they said, would be delivered by someone powerful. Alexander wondered who it would be. In all his years working for the organization he never saw the faces of those at the top, maybe this time he''d finally catch a glimpse of their superiors.


    Alexander pulled a locket from the cover of his black shirt and opened it up. There were two pictures inside: one where he stood side by side with his wife, and one depicting their daughter smiling, now three years old. He promised that this would be the last time he''d be working for the organization. He would leave this shady life behind and begin a life with his family. Plenty of cash sat peacefully in his bank account, a result of all his ''underworld¡¯ dealings. But enough is enough¡ªit is time to turn a new leaf and live happily with his family. When he left them, his daughter could not stop crying, screaming things like, ¡°I don''t want Dada to go!¡± Those words hurt more because Alexander knew he was leaving them with a lie: that he was going on a business trip somewhere on the other side of the world. But in truth, he wasn''t sure if he had signed his life away or had finally hit the jackpot. If all goes right with this escapade of his, his family would live comfortably until he and his wife die and their daughter outlives them.


    Alex noticed that the crowd began to quiet down and heads were turning towards a specific direction. He too turned his head to his right and saw a burly man in a gray tank top and camo pants. His hair was perfectly cut flat at the top. The gaze that issued forth from his eyes seemed to almost penetrate Alex''s soul. He knew right then and there that this man was dangerous. The aura that the man exuded, if his estimation was correct, indicated about more or less two thousand five hundred kyuls of mana and a mastery of quite a hefty amount of spells.


    The man folded his arms across his chest and bellowed with a thundering voice.


    ¡°Everyone!¡±


    The crowd heard him and began gathering in front of him; that goes without saying that Alex, too, crammed in with the crowd.


    ¡°I am Socuy, the team leader for this mission. I''m going to go over the plans the other officers and I have created. So listen carefully, I''m only telling you this once.¡±


    The burly man, Socuy as he called himself, waved his hand and a three dimensional depiction of the target building, its surroundings, and the people going in and out of its doors appeared in the air.


    ¡°This is a real time feed of our target location, made possible by the earnest work our spies in the Lukas Forn building have done.¡±


    He stretched his thumb and index finger from a single point on a specific area and the whole projection zoomed in on the entrances.


    ¡°There are specifically three entrances, each guarded by three guards. Sounds simple enough doesn''t it? Well, I don''t want to burst your bubble but there are more guards beyond the entrances; they''ve amped up their security just for today''s event. There are approximately thirty guards and there are fifty of us so we outnumber them five to three but don''t get cocky. We may have better equipment than them but cockiness cancels preparedness, remember that rule.¡±


    He zoomed in on a single guard and pointed out a wand slung on a holster at his hip. The wand seemed to be made of polished ebony.


    ¡°They are equipped with merely a type-2 rare wand. ¡®Got a lot of capacity but little impact. Your shields should hold down against an onslaught from these wands. The first step is to overwhelm them with numbers¡ªeliminate all guards, we can''t tempt fate. The second step is to hold all staff and employees in the lobby hostage. This is important, because we can''t just barge into the second floor; fighting in the hallway would be setting us up for failure. There will be academics who are also powerful mages present in this event, and a narrow passage gives them the edge in terms of taking us all out in one fell swoop.¡±


    He zoomed into the building and the giant lobby appeared in sight. Numerous staff bustled around, going into rooms while others took the elevator to some unknown floor. Employees of various companies renting the building went in and out while some drank coffee at a caf¨¦ at the side.


    ¡°This is their lobby, impressive right? This is our edge. Fighting in this area will give our numbers a chance to overwhelm powerful opponents. That is the reason why we take hostages. We want to draw in the powerful men on the second floor down to the lobby and there we fight. And remember this, this is very important, if Merlin doesn''t come down with the others, do not turn on your spell-circuit cancellers, we conserve ....¡±


    Socuy paused for a moment then his face lit up in realization and he nodded. ¡°You know what, wait¡­.¡±


    The man typed something into the screen at his forearm and multiple beeps sounded all over the room.


    ¡°I''ve already modified your cancellers. All of it will now only work if the operators monitoring our mission sees Merlin coming down with the other mages and activate it, if not, you will not be able to turn it on. Remember that it will only last for thirty minutes, which means we have to save it for only Merlin; we desperately need it for a mage his caliber. Now on the off chance that Merlin doesn¡¯t come down, we will risk it and hunt him down.


    ¡°Our spies will lock the elevator from going up during the attack. The organization is also deploying an item that can produce an enveloping shield around the building and between each floor, which doubles as a preventive measure against teleportation. Just in case Merlin decides he couldn''t care less about the lives of the hostages and just suddenly bolt out. This will last for only sixty minutes. It will activate exactly five minutes after we enter the building. So to be more efficient make sure to bring down the guards at least in five to six minutes after entering. This plan all goes south if the other mages decide to just abandon the hostages, but according to our intel, they¡¯re all likely to go down. Only Merlin is the real wildcard here. There¡¯s also plan B for when we fail to take down Merlin¡­.¡±


    Once Socuy finished briefing them about plan B, he swept his gaze around him.


    ¡°That is all, understood?¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes Sir!¡± All members of the team shouted.


    ¡°Now, let''s hope Merlin doesn''t go crazy and just blow the whole building apart. Move out.¡±


    ***


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Motes of light began appearing one by one in front of the Lukas Forn building. Some ended in the road, others on the sidewalk while some flashed on the other side of the road. Alex blipped on the sidewalk in front of the bookstore just next to the building. They had teleported outside because teleportation into the building was prevented by the anti-teleportation mechanism employed by Lukas Forn.


    Immediately, when the guards took sight of them, they let loose a barrage of spell fire towards their direction. His group promptly deployed their shields, a solid translucent film made from force-aspected mana guided by spell-circuit shapes that formed it into a rectangular barrier in front of their forearm. One unfortunate soul however, deployed his shield too late and his head disintegrated from the spell fires. Alex shuddered at the sight; even after five years of fighting bloody micro wars, he still could not get used to death.


    A deluge of adrenaline washed over his body and his heart beat faster, his breathing quicker, and his mind alert to any threat. He bent his legs like a frog then began creating a spell-circuit he had by now mastered around his legs; like a spring winded down so tightly, his legs decompressed and a loud pop reverberated in the air. He accelerated towards one of the guards.


    The guard was caught off guard by his sudden acceleration and was about to duck when suddenly, Alex took a knife with his hand and reached out to the ducking man and sliced his neck clean. The guard fell down in a pool of blood.


    Quickly, having taken his first victim, he surveyed the area for more guards. But it seemed his colleagues had already taken care of them. A quick raise of his forearm brought the digital clock to his attention. It took three minutes to eliminate all the guards. A commendable record, but it''s not the hardest part yet.


    The whole group started rounding up the hostages at a corner. Some were screaming and pleading for mercy while others closed their eyes in prayer. Alex didn¡¯t want to hurt them, so he hoped none would start acting up and play hero..


    ¡°Alright everyone!¡± Socuy shouted, sauntering to the center of the lobby. ¡°Good job! And to the hostages¡­.¡± He turned to look at their shuddering captives. ¡°No funny business or you''ll soon lose your necks.¡±


    Socuy took a phone from his hip and began dialing a number of some sort. He raised the phone towards his ears.


    ¡°Let''s get this show started.¡± He spoke loudly to the phone''s microphone with a cunning and devious grin.


    ***


    The speakers on the ceilings cackled and a gruff male voice spoke from them.


    ¡°Let''s get this show started.¡±


    Merlin was halfway through his presentation when this occurred. A big frown messed up the contours on his face. Murmurs of speculation dotted the entire room.


    ¡°Attention everyone on the second floor! Specifically you mangled living corpses of mages. I come before you with a proposition. Your lives in exchange for the lives of the hostages we have at the lobby. In exactly ten minutes from now, we would start beheading hostages every minute. Your call.¡±


    The crowd of magicists and journalists broke into an argument. The journalists argued: whoever the guy on speaker was, he was simply bluffing, there was no way they could take on thirty guards armed with rare wands. The mages on the other hand didn''t want to tempt the idea that perhaps the guy on speaker was telling the truth until¡­. The ground below them started turning transparent, showing them men armed with exoskeletons and various other items and a slew of hostages cowering in the corner.


    ¡°As you can see, they''re telling the truth!¡± Rumbled Dr. Io who had cast the spell. It was a very simple spell that no one in the room, possessed by panic, even thought of casting.


    Merlin was about to cast one himself, but got beat to it by his friend. Very impressive how cool headed the experienced mage was.


    Io stood up as the translucent ground began to solidify again, confident and unafraid.


    ¡°We don''t have much time, everyone. Journalists this is not your fight; I know you''re scared but you can''t do anything about it. These men came here for us mages, more specifically, I deduce their real target is Merlin; all of us are merely collateral. I want all journalists to stay here while the mages take on whoever these lowlives are. I''m sure you''ll be safe; they came for us, and we will strike back.¡±


    ***


    Alex waited anticipatingly in front of the elevators along with his group. The two elevators dinged and out came about twenty-two powerful mages.


    A fire blast met Alex''s team, but a siphoning spell from Socuy sipped the fire and extinguished it. Immediately after, a man, whose looks matched that of Ivo in the files, lunged at Alex, a glowing sword in hand. Alex panicked and forgot to turn on his shield. He sidestepped and got a considerable portion of the left arm of his exoskeleton slashed off. The exo-arm along with his left arm hung limply at his side. He jumped back making distance between his aggressor.


    He clicked his tongue and ripped the left exo-arm from its attachment, freeing his left arm for movement. Ivo ran towards him again but this time a team member blocked him midway. They were locked in battle, but it was clear that Ivo was winning. Whenever the man got blown away by one of Ivo¡¯s spells one of the other members would replace him, then when that other one got overwhelmed the other one would take his place. Afterwhich, as if on cue, the two of them attacked Ivo all at once. But a force blast pushed them a distance away and down to their backs. That was Alex''s cue. He bent his legs and began preparing the spell circuit for his signature spell. Afterwards, he launched towards Ivo at incredible speeds. He brought his knife in front of him and readied to pierce through Ivo''s heart. But Ivo was quicker, his eyes flickering in blue light, indicating some sense enhancing spell.


    Ivo pivoted in place and when Alex''s stretched body passed, Ivo caught his collar and spun him with him. Alex felt the force of gravity churning his insides. Ivo released his grip over him and he flew towards the lobby''s counter. This all happened in under two seconds. Alex''s exo-suit broke his fall, but he still felt some aching from where the suit met his body.


    A simple glance to his left  brought the two other members to his attention. They were now back up on their feet. They launched balls of kinetic force towards Ivo, but Ivo simply canceled them by applying a greater kinetic force at them. The leftover force from Ivo''s attack pushed one of the men towards the wall. A loud crack sounded as the exosuit the man wore crumbled to pieces and the man fell to the ground limp and possibly dead.


    A tinge of fear ran through all over Alex¡¯s body. They weren''t fighting any ordinary mage right here, he reminded himself. He instantly stood up and extended his knife. A surge of mana came out of his pool and they formed the necessary spell circuit on the surface of the blade. Then, the spell circuit siphoned the ambient mana and converted it into the light and solid aspect, quickly forming a hot blade made of light around the knife, with the solid-aspected mana acting as the solidifying factor on the blade.


    Alex jumped to his colleague''s rescue and blocked Ivo''s light sword from decapitating him. The two danced with their blades producing sparks in the air. Ivo relentlessly attacked Alex, but Alex was able to barely parry all his attacks. It seemed Ivo was the better swordsman of the two. But when Alex held his ground; Ivo summoned a pole of hardened rock made from earth-aspected mana. The pole struck Alex''s sternum, the part that his exosuit left exposed, and he buckled from the pain. That slight opening gave Ivo the chance to strike a horizontal slice towards Alex. Alex closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but when he opened them, he saw that his body was still intact. As it turned out, his teammate had pulled him away from the cutting blade.


    ¡°¡®Still got to finish this.¡± The man winked at Alex.


    Alex smiled. ¡°Indeed,¡± he said.


    The both of them stood side by side, with Alex holding his light sword and the man turning on his shield. Ivo made a move to strike Alex but his teammate blocked it with his shield, afterwhich, he pushed his shield up, catapulting Ivo''s sword above his head. He then backed away, and Alex moved forward. Alex launched the point of his light sword towards Ivo''s stomach. But for a split second, Ivo phased through the sword as if his body became like that of a ghost. Ivo then stepped back lest the sword remained in his body as he solidified.


    When Ivo became tangible again, Alex''s teammate activated a spell that summoned thousands of sharp nails in the air, which he directed towards Ivo''s direction. The nails clumped whenever they hit each other as if they were magnetic. Seconds later, Ivo''s whole body got covered by these nails. Alex thought that was the end of it, when suddenly Ivo''s body deflated, leaving only a heap of useless nails which evaporated when his teammate stopped feeding it with mana. They looked around to where Ivo could have gone until Alex noticed a slight vibration underfoot. Realization dawned on Alex and he pushed his teammate to the side while he jumped opposite him. The ground broke into pieces a moment later, while Ivo exited with his hands gripping a giant drill made of rocks which disappeared once his foot hit the ground. That was too close, had Alex not moved in time he and his teammate would have become minced meat against Ivo''s summoned drill.


    Alex''s teammate was the first to stand up, shield on one arm and light sword on the other hand. He attacked Ivo with a vertical slash, which Ivo deflected to the right. Then, Alex''s teammate offered a backhanded strike from where his sword got deflected, aiming for Ivo''s ribs. But Ivo jumped so high, possibly with the help of some physical enhancing spell, that the man''s sword merely passed under his feet.


    Ivo, from the height of his jump, lunged at Alex''s teammate, tip of his sword forward. The man got lucky and was able to sidestep in the split second window before the sword impaled him. Alex jumped to action, preparing to slice Ivo in half with his light sword. But Ivo struck his palm in the air just in front of Alex, and a gust of wind exhaled from it¡ªnot enough to hurt Alex but enough to push him back, making him slide on the floor.


    At the same time, Alex''s teammate brought the hilt of his sword above his head while the tip of it pointed down, towards Ivo''s back. But Ivo, without blinking, extended multiple light swords¡ªabove the skin on the line of his spine¡ªoutwards, skewering Alex''s teammate. The man coughed up blood, and as the swords dimmed and disappeared, the man fell to the floor, eyes unblinking, and dead.


    Alex, angered by the death of his co-criminal, tried to stand up from the floor when he realized that he could not lift any part of his body up. That''s when it registered to him that some sort of sticky substance held him down to the floor, no doubt a trap Ivo had devised during who knows when. Ivo walked towards Alex ready to decapitate him to pieces. Alex was prepared to meet his end, his one and only regret that he never quit the organization right after he had gotten married.


    But before Ivo could do the gruesome act, the tip of a metallic blade appeared to jut out of his chest. Then the blade extended as if it was being sheathed through Ivo''s chest. Ivo retched out blood, and the blade retracted and Ivo fell to the floor, dead. Behind Ivo, now visible to Alex, stood the towering facade of Socuy now cleaning his blade with a handkerchief from all the blood it accumulated today.


    ¡°Good work,¡± he said. ¡°Now onto the hardest part.¡±


    ***


    ¡°He what?¡± Socuy screamed into the microphone.


    The operator''s reply was broadcasted to everyone including Alex.


    ¡°He disappeared from the feed, Sir.¡±


    ¡°Impossible, did he teleport?¡±


    ¡°No such traces, Sir. Apparently no traces of invisibility either.¡±


    ¡°How is this possible!?¡± Socuy screamed, scratching his sideburns. ¡°He couldn''t have known we were monitoring him, and the live feed is all but impossible to tamper with. Where was he last seen?¡±


    ¡°In the press-hall, Sir, right after the journalists vacated the room and hid in the bathrooms. He vanished amidst the chaos.¡±


    ¡°I guess we have to do this blind. Everyone, move out.¡±


    Alex and the rest of his group boarded the elevators. From a strong fifty, they were now down to thirty-seven¡ªinfo that he learned after their head count earlier. He didn''t know if that number was enough to handle an Archmage. He heard Archmages were capable of toppling down a whole city. Merlin in particular had been known to destroy vast areas of land when testing out his new spells. Could the cancellers really bridge that gap in power? Alex pushed that thought away, he needed to focus. The elevator dinged when they reached the second floor, and the whole team exited them.


    They walked in a steady staccato, snake-like as they traversed the hallways.  Their shields were up, and their attention ready. When they reached the double doors of the press-hall, Socuy kicked them and they flung open; the other door seemingly aslant as its top hinge broke down.


    They entered one by one with no one catching sight of Merlin. They searched the area, kicked some chairs, thinking he might have morphed into one, but still no luck.


    When suddenly, behind Socuy, cracks in the air emanated from a single point and green energy started leaking out of it. Socuy turned but he was too late; a hand holding a light knife slit his throat open and Socuy fell to the ground convulsing, then dead.


    Alex suddenly became alert and scared. What just happened?


    From the cracks in the air emerged the confident form of their target¡ªMerlin II in the flesh.


    ¡°HE CAME OUT OF A POCKET DIMENSION!¡± Someone screamed.


    Immediately Alex realized the impossibility of the fact. It was impossible for living creatures to continue living inside a pocket dimension. Pocket dimensions were quite handy for storing objects. It did this by creating a small pocket in space, which expanded internally but never externally. All objects inside a pocket dimension were wrapped tightly within this space. No air could possibly exist inside such pockets and the tight wrapping of space could suffocate any human inside. How in the thousand stars could Merlin enter a pocket dimension and exit out alive!?


    ¡°I see you''re surprised.¡± Merlin cackled like a harrowing witch. ¡°Don''t be. ¡®Have been developing this technique for years at the behest of the military. ¡®Expect the unexpected,¡¯ that''s the rule of soldiers is it not?.¡±


    At the end of Merlin''s sentence, everybody''s cancellers  immediately beeped and turned on. Merlin looked annoyed at first but stroked his chin after.


    ¡°Would you look at that, can''t believe your underworld tech is capable of blocking me. Set specifically to block my mana control and coded to specifically affect my mana''s frequency, quite inventive.¡±


    Alex breathed a sigh of relief, looking around it seemed his teammates were similarly relieved as well. Their little gadget worked¡­.


    ¡°Locked me away from twenty percent of my power. Quite impressive.¡±


    The relief turned into desperation as they heard Merlin''s words. Two of Alex''s teammates started bolting out, afraid of dying a quick and worthless death. There was a world of difference between fear, knowing you have a chance at winning, to fear, knowing everything is hopeless. The latter made you want to run away, it made you fear death itself. When the two men were about to cross the doorway, they hit an invisible barrier, the surface of which rippled outward from the area they hit.


    Merlin laughed. ¡°There''s no escaping for the two of you.¡±


    Merlin gestured with a finger and the two men combusted into raging flames. Alex saw the whole thing and he started doubting his life choices. He really did sign his life away. But forget all that, right now he must not die without a fight. So Alex extended his knife and summoned his light sword. He sprung to action, arching his sword for a simple vertical slash. But when the sword closed in on Merlin, he stopped the sword with just a finger, the finger staying healthy without showing signs of getting cooked under the heat of the sword.


    ¡°Tut, tut, tut.¡± Merlin glared at Alex, but the glare was rather playful than one where he recognized someone as a threat. ¡°We can''t have you attacking now.¡±


    Some invisible force started wrapping around Alex¡¯s body; it constricted him and forced him to back away from Merlin. The sword in his hand fell as he was forced to let go of its hilt. The invisible force made him sit down on the floor, unarmed and helpless. From his position, his colleagues who were in his field of vision were also being forced down to the floor like him. It was safe to say that this invisible force was forcing down everyone, including the teammates he couldn''t see.


    Slowly but surely, one by one, the rest of his team died. Some died while acid ate away at their skin, leaving only skeletons. Others died by combusting into hellish flames. There were those who got impaled by metallic spikes that protruded from the floor. One by one Alex''s teammates died. Then finally, only Alex was left.


    ¡°Saved the best for last,¡± Merlin taunted, grinning from ear to ear, devious and merciless. ¡°You have heart. It''s a shame I have to dispose of you.¡±


    Alex trembled where he sat, life flashing before his eyes. His wife¡­. His daughter¡­. He wished he could have at least told them the truth. That he was not truly the hero his daughter thought him to be. He thought about doing it: telling them the truth. However, he feared his wife would leave him, and his daughter scarred forever. What daughter or wife would be proud of a father working for the criminal underbelly? He wished¡­ he wished to turn back the time and quit the organization right after he had gotten married. Then perhaps his daughter wouldn¡¯t grow up to be fatherless.


    ¡°I''ll give you one free punch,¡± Merlin announced as he moved his face closer to Alex.


    Suddenly, the grip on him loosened and he could finally move his arms. He had a fighting chance, not in the sense that he could beat Merlin but in the sense that he could do plan B¡ªmark Merlin for teleportation. The barrier that encased them and prevented teleportation to the outside would also turn off during Merlin¡¯s abduction. It was in the plan, he only had to perform it. Just a single touch. Merlin''s ego would be his undoing. Loosening Merlin''s grip on Alex was his biggest mistake.


    Afterward, Alex clumped his right hand into a fist, punching Merlin in the face, marking him at the same time. Merlin realized what he had done a bit too late and his body¡¯s contours started dimming and getting blurry.


    Alex felt happy, he survived this¡­.


    Suddenly something solid¡ªno, it was pressure¡ªbrushed his chest for an instant. He then felt hollow in that portion of his body. The culprit? Merlin''s force spell that escaped him at the last moment and punched a hole in Alex. Blood oozed out of the wound, and Alex coughed up blood. The joy that had possessed him not long before now turned into despair. He fell to the floor face first and died.


    ***


    Merlin appeared later inside a glowing blue orb that rippled on its surface. That maggot of an expendable underbelly soldier, he had the gall to imprison this great Archmage who had never even once succumbed to anyone''s traps¡ªnot even during World War IV when Russian spies tried to set up an elaborate trap within a forest just to capture him, but which he easily evaded and dismantled. Just a simple punch and he was abducted. Thankfully, a well placed spell, that had activated just before he got completely snatched, killed the bastard on the spot.


    But now he had to find a way to get out of this place. He looked around and saw that on the other side opposite his orb sat another blue orb containing a woman. On closer inspection, Merlin realized that their orbs were attached to a metallic beam, the center of which was fastened on another metal. It was a lever that balanced the two orbs. His orb, since it seemed that he was heavier than the woman, was placed at the furthest end of the beam while the woman''s orb was a little closer to the center. It then clicked to Merlin at that point that he was in one of those so-called sacrifice-one-to-save-yourself traps. It was a simple mechanism: whoever teleported first out of their orb would be the one to live. The act of teleporting out  would mess up the balance in the orbs¡¯ energy, which were kept balanced by the energies within both its captives, causing them to explode. That is why these kinds of traps only worked for two or more captives. Whoever built this thing¡­ whoever trapped him here was a sick psychopath.


    If he teleported now, the woman on the other side would die¡ªhold that thought, scrutinizing closer he realized that the woman was actually a child¡ªa girl in tattered clothing. Probably an orphan. Her body was covered in bruises and scars while she laid on the floor of the orb limp and weak. Sometimes, her body throbbed, as if in pain, and sometimes she groaned.


    He weighed their worth. What was an orphan in the grand scheme of things? Could saving one now ever attain any great impact in the machinations of the world? But saving himself meant he could continue to pioneer impossible breakthroughs, carrying humanity to win in the grand race of the universe. His worth outweighed the worth of the child. Somehow it didn''t sit right with him. No, it''s the truth, he was by all accounts the better choice for survival.


    But then what if he tried a method that would save both him and the girl? Such methods would mean performing meticulous spells that would undo the trap. But he knew that doing so meant risking messing up the energies in these orbs and killing both of them. That mechanism was what hindered him from brute forcing his way out of this trap.


    No. His life was too precious to risk killing himself. He needed a simple and sure way to escape alive. Merlin chose life and teleported from the orb. His body petered out, feeling the pull of a tether to a destination he had already marked. Then suddenly, an unknown force pulled on the tether, yanking it out of its intended direction towards somewhere¡­ near.


    In an instant Merlin disappeared and reappeared on an uneven floor, looking around, he could see the trap hanging above him. He thought the trap was in some facility inside the city, but as it turned out, it was in a cave, and now that his eyes had adjusted, he could clearly see the stalactites of the whole cavern.


    ¡°What the heck!?¡±


    A crusty and hissing sound brought his attention towards the trap. It wasn''t an exploding trap afterall. Instead, the walls of the orbs began turning into acidic gas as he saw it envelop the girl and corrode her flesh slowly but surely. Merlin felt a pang of regret, yet nevertheless decided the choice was worthwhile and necessary.


    ¡°H-help¡­¡± squealed the little girl.


    Merlin felt bile rising from his stomach. A tingle in his head told him¡­ something. But he brushed it off. He clenched his fists and vindicated his action. I have done the right thing, he told himself. He gritted his teeth and stood up. He began pulling mana from his soul¡­ from his pool. Nothing.


    Digging deep with his spiritual senses, he noticed that his meridians had been severed¡ªthe only pathway that the mana in his soul could go through to reach his body, and from there the physical world. Regrowing his meridians would possibly take him at least two years, but he didn''t know if he had that amount of time. Merlin was within enemy territory; escaping without magic was impossible, even for him.


    ¡°I''ll say it again,¡± a voice within the darkness pronounced. ¡°You are utterly hopeless. Dumb beyond any hope of improvement.¡± The voice cackled, with intermittent bursts of grating sounds¡ªlike a snoring man¡ªsurfacing from his laughter.


    A silhouette of a man appeared from the darkness; then the dim light from the trap, which had finally stopped killing the little girl, who was now skeletons, shone light to it, revealing a man he knew all too well.


    ¡°Io!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I am,¡± Io said, smiling shrewdly. ¡°The most convenient spell in the history of mankind, and also the greatest weakness of the greatest mage to ever live.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean!?¡±


    ¡°Teleportation my good friend sets lose the protection a soul has from tampering¡ªi.e. the human body. When a man teleports, if he is standing on a dedicated spell circuit, it is possible to tamper with his soul, such as, and the easiest, most cost-effective, thing to do, severing his meridians.¡±


    Merlin¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Tampering with souls is a forbidden art!¡±


    ¡°Forbidden for sticklers like you, probably, but what''s stopping me from doing it? The government? The world? You? Right now, I''m the strongest mage alive and I''m planning to make it permanent. But first, my prize!¡±


    Io pulled the Seraphim from Merlin''s neck and examined its glowing and peaceful core.


    ¡°It was too easy to predict your decisions boy. Hubris to fall into a trap. And self-importance to take the easiest, least risky path.¡±


    Merlin opened his mouth to say something but a pressure wrapped around his body, forcing him to kneel down. A metallic spike then appeared in the air and struck Merlin through his chest. Blood spurted from his mouth and he fell to the floor, dead.


    ¡°Finally, the greatest threat to world domination has been eliminated.¡±


    Io lifted up the Seraphim and looked at it once again, wallowing in his bonus prize. But wait¡­ the core was no longer beaming! A dud perhaps? Io laughed.


    ¡°Died a failure, eh?¡± He threw the Seraphim on the floor and walked away. ¡°Nevermind that. After I take over everything, I''ll have all the toys in the world.¡±

 Book 1 — Chapter Two: The High Mage from the future

    She stood at the balcony, robed in the magnificent garb that the High Mage always wore. Golden and silver filigree lined the hem of her raiment, while various patterns sewn into the fabric adorned the otherwise boring outfit. On her head sat a crown of silver and bronze; at its center, just beyond the forehead, stood a diamond shaped casting that held a powerful supernal jewel, a focus for casting magic. She did not need a staff with this legendary item, built by herself.


    The purpose of a focus was to receive the damage the mage would otherwise endure during a failed casting of a spell. This was done by casting the spell through the focus, thus tethering the spell to it, allowing any backlash from spell failure to travel through the tether towards the focus instead of the mage.  Although she was already too strong to need any focus, there were other uses for focuses: one was to be able to cast spells at a significant distance from a mage¡¯s body, provided the focus was tethered to the mage''s soul. This tether was obviously separate from the tether that connected the spell to the focus, or else a retaliation from a spell failure might still creep towards the mage.


    But really, this focus of hers was a symbol as well as a tool. A symbol that she was only next to the King in terms of authority, and even more powerful than the king in terms of magic. A little secret¡­ actually, this focus is tethered to numerous focuses she had scattered all throughout the capital, and in the off chance of an invasion or emergency, she could use these focuses through the focus on her head to cast powerful spells. Nowhere in the city was safe for her enemies. It was a rather clever way to monitor and protect the city. To be frank, scattering the focuses were easy business. She merely had to create various magical items necessary for daily life that she sold through legal mercantile avenues, allowing them to scatter towards households, businesses and buildings.


    She breathed in, feeling the thick ambient mana suffuse her lungs and her body. Looking at the towering buildings toward the distance, a mix of arcane wooden-like structures and the more modern silver bricks that allowed their civilization to erect buildings as tall as seven-eight-nine meters, she smiled with content. She was filled with gratitude at having been given the chance to climb the path of magic, eventually reaching a peak beyond anyone had ever reached before at a million jiggs of mana. She had lived her childhood as a lowly orphan, before the King took her in and trained her in the path of magic. She couldn''t help but smile at the kindness of the King.


    Enough of that reminiscing. A month from now, she would start her journey to do the impossible. She would be rewinding time while retaining her memories. An impossible task one might think. But she would not be rewinding the time for the whole universe, only for their world. How would she be able to do this? Simple, through the once in a hundred thousand years expulsion of pure mana from the singular Nexus that connected all ley lines of the world. She reached into her pocket and pulled a necklace with a pendant shaped like a dodecahedron. Its faces were transparent, showing a silver glow at its core.


    This item was simply ranked as legendary, but combined with the once in ages event, it would become a true epic item. More powerful than any ever seen in the world. She hoped that by going back a hundred and sixty four years in the past, when she was just fifteen, she could race through the path of magic and reach the pinnacle at the age of twenty eight, far faster than her previous record, in which she reached the peak at the age of a hundred. Doing that would establish their little kingdom as a powerhouse, thereby avoiding the three unnecessary wars they had experienced at the hands of invaders and giving more room for trade, enriching their economy and helping those in the periphery improve their living standards. She pocketed back the necklace and gritted her teeth. She only had one attempt at this, once she had finished rewinding time, she could not redo it again, not for another hundred thousand years, which no matter how long her life extended thanks to mana, she would still never live to see.


    She slowly turned her back towards the view of the city and walked towards the center of her room located at the top of the mage tower. An incantation of the mystical language did not leave her lips, yet magic nevertheless occured as she was swept away by some unknown force towards a destination she had already marked. It''s a wonder how she could perform teleportation without incantations for less expert eyes, but to those who had tasted power, instant incantation within the mind was possible. She arrived at a hall surrounded by elven guards, while a heavily embellished chair, at the top of a dais north of the hall, was occupied by a thickly bearded man, his pointy ears glistening somewhat from the orange rays of the setting sun. She immediately bent down in genuflection.


    ¡°My child,¡± the man bellowed, resting his chin on two clasped hands supported by elbows on either side of the armrests. ¡°You have news for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± the elven woman replied, her head bowed deeply. ¡°I requested an audience for a matter of grave importance. It will determine the present as well as future of our country.¡±


    ¡°Rise,¡± the king said. ¡°No need for formalities, Sapphire.¡±


    Sapphire stood up and looked at the king amicably.


    ¡°I have found a way to erase the three invasions that have left us weakened from the annals of history.¡±


    The king raised an eyebrow at her claim. ¡°I don''t suppose you can rewrite history?¡±


    ¡°I can''t, but I have something better. I plan to rewind time.¡±


    The king''s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Surely there is no such aspect for magic like that, the time aspect is a myth!¡±


    ¡°Correct, My King, but the reason why it is so is because we¡¯ve been looking at the time aspect from a different perspective. Time flows for everything, even for the tiniest insects. Instead of thinking of time as an impossible force moving in one direction, we must think of it as an accumulation of ¡®memories¡¯, which we can harness from a single specific thing. If a rock rolls on a hill and lands at the bottom, there is memory which we can use to trace back the events. Memories such as particular soils that have been smeared on the rock but got stuck in its roughness, cracks created by its rolling, shifting in the soil that shows obviously the path that the rock may have taken.¡±


    The King frowned at her claims, he seemed somewhat hesitant and unsure. But Sapphire was determined to get his blessing, which wasn''t difficult for her to get since she had by far made their little country stronger and stronger by the years, back to its previous might; in fact, her existence alone is one of the deterrents that had prevented neighboring countries from taking more land from them.


    ¡°Let''s just suppose that you''re right,¡± the King said, stroking his short silvery beard. ¡°Surely these ¡®memories¡¯ you''re talking about become less accurate the more time passes, no? How can you rewind time after so long?¡±


    ¡°Oh but there is a specific source of memory that is always perfect,¡± Sapphire said, flashing a confident grin. ¡°Mana. It is the single most accurate source of memory; this ¡®memory¡¯ I call the time aspect. Insignificant for creatures such as us but for a whole planet suffused in deep and thick mana? Entirely possible.¡±


    The king caught on, on what Sapphire was trying to say and his eyes widened in realization.


    ¡°You mean to harness the mana of the world and extract its memory. You mean to¡­ to harness the Nexus!¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Sapphire beamed the king with a beautiful smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s some news you have for me,¡± the king said, laughing minutely. ¡°Very well. You would be doing the impossible child, I hope you''re prepared. Do you realize the dangers¡ªof your theory failing or standing face to face with a monster you can''t overcome?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    The king sighed in defeat.


    ¡°I accept your determination. So far my child, you have never led this nation astray. I''ll take the gamble. What do you need from me?¡±


    ***


    It was dark, and the guild''s dim lighting illuminated the countenance of a buff and stout dwarf with dark silvery skin who sat at the guild''s bar, drinking liquor. At his side, a boisterous young elf practically shouted to his companion as he boasted that he¡¯d get SS+-6 for sure.


    The gruff dwarf scoffed inwardly at the boast, such a lanky and pitiful elf wasn''t worthy of such a task, not that he was worthy either. He was here not because he needed a job, and since his wife was a well known and successful local artisan, she made enough money for both of them anyway. No, he was here to earn money for his drinking habits, using his wife''s money didn''t sit right with him. Some part of him wished that he could exercise a few sore muscles against an opponent, but that kind of life was long behind him, not when¡­ he shook his head. He dared not to push those thoughts back on the surface of his mind. He may have changed, but he was not a changed man.


    ¡°Old man!¡± Aesure called from behind the counter. Such a young and promising elf, stuck serving drinks and liquor to ungrateful adventurers. Last time he checked he was still nineteen and yet he already had such a powerful aura, probably on the cusp of reaching three hundred jiggs of mana. ¡°Wanna take on SS+-6?¡±


    ¡°Not interested,¡± he garbled, ¡°and shut your jabbering trap will ya, I''m not that old.¡±


    Aesure smiled, ¡°Whatever you say,¡± he said. ¡°Old man,¡± he winked at him, drawling that last bit. ¡°Anyway, with your strength, you''d win the bidding for sure.¡±


    ¡°Haven''t you heard,¡± Rodric scoffed. ¡°I''m odd-jobs Rodric, I only do odd jobs. You want your cat cleaned? I''m the man for the job.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Aesure leaned in closer. ¡°The request is from the High Mage herself, the most powerful elf in all the world. You sure aren¡¯t interested?¡± he eyed him with amiable disbelief. ¡°That one thousand shackal reward could surely buy you years worth of ale.¡±


    ¡°A pint of ale''s just thirty tushackalie, I can make do with odd jobs.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say, Old man. But I still think it''s worth the shot.¡±


    ¡°Again, not interested.¡±


    After their conversation ended, Rodric continued to order more ale, and when he had his fill he went home, tipsy and staggering on the streets. Once he went inside his house a familiar silhoutte greeted him, sitting on a rocking chair in the living room. When he turned on the lights, he was shocked to see his wife still widely awake and frowning.


    Oh this is bad, he thought.


    ¡°Went off drinking again?¡±


    ¡°You know why I drink, woman.¡±


    ¡°I did not marry a drunkard! I married an idiot who saved me from the fangs of a monster!¡±


    ¡°Well, not so heroic now, am I? Why be surprised, I did tell you that, didn''t I? Saving you was just happenstance.¡±


    ¡°No, this can''t go on,¡± she said, eyeing him with worry and irritation. ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Rodric didn''t know what kind of game she was playing but he sat down, not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill. Then she handed him a paper along with a thumb-print scanner which would scan and store his power status. These items where used whenever a specific request from the adventurers guild required a form of bidding. The highest bidder being the one whose abilities fit the requirements the most. What was she trying to do, make him bid on a monster-nest-subjugation quest?


    ¡°You know I don''t take this kind of requests, woman. What are you trying to pull?¡± Though he was drunk, it wasn''t too much that he''d not understand what his wife was making him do.


    ¡°Please,¡± the earlier bravado that her wife showed ceded to a now desperate and pleading tone. ¡°Rody, I can''t take seeing you like this all the time. At least do this for me.¡±


    Seeing his wife entreat him, a pang of guilt struck Rodric¡¯s heart. But he couldn''t do it, not when¡­. His wife looked him dead in the eye, determination moving him to act.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he relented. ¡°I''ll give this a shot. For your sake.¡± He pressed his thumb on the scanner, and a fluid-like substance flew out of the device and coagulated in the air to form symbols in the country''s native language.


    Name: Rodric Amond


    Mana: 300,127 jiggs


    Misc.: Instantaneous Enchanting lvl 1,990


    The fluid then flew back into the item, no doubt recording his power status.


    ¡°Now what am I suppose to write?¡±


    His wife breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Write about your experience on Monstrum.¡±


    A rush of blood raced towards his face, making it redder than it already was. This woman, she dared trick him into agreeing to the very thing he avoided? He stood up, fuming with rage.


    ¡°This is SS+-6!¡± He exclaimed, unrelenting. ¡°You know it''s the very reason why we''re even arguing about this. I-I can''t go back there!¡±


    ¡°Calm down will you,¡± she said. ¡°You''re an adult, yet your childishness has been unbearable. You keep drinking all your money away, wasting your body''s health and your mind''s acuity, and for what? Just so you can keep wallowing in guilt, hoping that the act of wallowing itself will acquit you of your crime?¡±


    ¡°Shut up you whore!¡± he exclaimed, reason awashed in liquor''s tantalizing hold. ¡°You''re right. Wallowing doesn''t acquit me of my guilt but at least it eases the pain! You ungrateful piece of¡­.¡±


    A hard slap woke him up from the liquor-induced stupor. It hurt as hell, but he gritted his teeth, ready to bear it at her in contempt.


    It had taken them the whole night before his wife was finally able to convince him to take this chance at redemption, or whatever she had in her mind for him to do.


    ***


    They were on a translucent disk that flew in the sky, but they would soon abandon it. The reason being that Monstrum had a distortion in its atmosphere that made it difficult to fly through, and even more impossible to teleport. Hence the only way through would be to fly towards one of the many outermost islands of the continent where civilization was alive despite the monsters, partially thanks to the countless adventurers who would rather risk dying amidst powerful monsters than play hero in their local dungeons that paid measly compared to what they could get from Monstrum. The distortion there was still strong enough that it acted as a shield against teleportation but stable enough to allow flight within its air-space.


    Rodric, together with the High Mage and three very powerful elves stood atop this flying magical construct conjured by the High Mage herself. His eyebrows twitched a bit as he did not expect the sudden revelation the High Mage had exhumed to them from her secrets earlier. He believed he may have taken a wrong gamble. Sure, a part of him was excited to stretch his sore muscles again after so long and even venture towards the center of the continent, which he previously failed to do at a very heavy cost, but this was all under the premise that the High Mage was at her peak. Really, he shouldn''t have let his wife talk him into doing this. Hearing that she could not access eighty percent of her mana due to it holding a kind of spell that was something¡­ something¡­. Bah! He was too dumb to get all that gibberish, but the point was, the elf, stupid if he might say so himself, was limited to only 200,000 jiggs of her resources. That''s a significant drop of power. Spells that could topple mountains would be out of the equation. This meant that their survival all rested in the hands of him and their other powerful companions.


    He turned an oblique glance towards the High Mage and saw the youth in her face, probably because she had thousands of years left to live. He on the other hand was a few centuries close to the end of his life, but he was certain he was older than her, even more experienced, and right now, more powerful¡ªperhaps. This might be offensive to the High Mage but he needed to make sure that she wouldn''t be a liability.


    Rodric walked very slowly towards where the High Mage was standing. He bowed his head with a greeting.


    ¡°Oh Great and Magnificent High Mage,¡± he announced. ¡°May this lowly dwarf be allowed to exchange notes with Her Excellency?¡±


    The High Mage smiled.


    ¡°Rodric the Shy. I know you very well, or at least what I have heard of you. You are quite famous among the adventurers. Drunkard and odd-jobs extraordinaire, but never a coward.¡± The High Mage looked at him with amusement and determination. Rodric visibly winced at being called brave, or at least the word coward but negated. He knew his past very well, and though the memories no longer lingered as strong in his head, he still did not take too kindly to being called the opposite of a coward.


    ¡°If you wish to test my skill then let us spar.¡±


    Rodric and the High Mage walked to the opposite ends of the circular disk. A gust of air brushed Rodric''s face. At first he thought the air came from opposite the direction their disk was traveling towards, just towards his right side. Then he realized that it was coming from the front. The High Mage had jumped in the blink of an eye ready to tackle down Rodric. Rodric, realizing his mistake, summoned his Instantaneous Enchanting and began altering his forearm. It melted into liquid metal and solidified into a shield. Normally body magic like this which altered or imbued magical effects to the caster''s body would be ranked unique, but thanks to his race-exclusive skill, the difficulty was down to common. But the metallic nails that the High Mage had somehow imbued to her ordinary nails punched through, and Rodric grimaced in pain. Though her hand did not completely push through the defense, nonetheless having nails pierce through his shield, which was still part of his body hurt a bit.


    Rodric swung his shield with all his strength to the side, flinging the High Mage with it. The High Mage let go of his shield and seemingly dropped to his right. Rodric returned his forearm back to its original form. Though wounds were not visible on his forearm, because the construct earlier was more mana than dwarven flesh, pangs of pain still reverberated from it. He brushed it with his other hand. The High Mage then summoned shards of ice in the air and flung it to Rodric. He dodged it quite skillfully. He wondered why she would resort to such easy tactics when he realized that the ice, once they had passed by him, reversed their direction and hit his back, piercing through his silvery skin. Wounds like these were really small and insignificant considering they had a powerful healer with them so this was still within the standard sparring bounds.


    Immediately, Rodric jumped from his position and swung his right foot towards the High Mage, the foot disfigured and formed into a gigantic hammer but it stopped just an inch from the elf''s face, hitting a sort of barrier that rippled outward from the strike. The High Mage smiled and struck a palm strike to Rodric''s chest, sending him backward a few paces and on his back. Rodric quickly stood up, unless he wanted to give his opponent time to retaliate.


    Red dots in the air, atop each of Rodric''s hands, grew to form orbs of flame. They flew in unison as Rodric swung his two beefy arms towards the High Mage. The elf widened her arms, summoning a force field. The flames flickered out as it hit the surface of her shield, but that was merely distraction as he teleported behind her. But before he could land a hit, a fist was hurtling down towards his face. A backhanded strike redirected her fist as he prepared to launch one of his own.


    Rodric and the High Mage exchanged strikes one after another, a series of blocks redirected the other, then the other would retaliate with their own strike but it would similarly be parried to the side or to a more guarded part of the body. But clearly, anyone watching would know Rodric was barely holding on. It was the same with spellcraft. Both would sometimes separate and fling spells after spells towards one another. But more of Rodrics''s spells were getting blocked or effaced. Rodric was worse for wear; his spells were more powerful considering he had access to more mana, but the High Mage''s spells were more creative, turning Rodric''s strengths against him. Surely the High Mage''s repertoire of spells was more varied and potent.


    As the spell-slinging died down, the High Mage teleported behind Rodric. It was the same tactic he had employed earlier, but quicker, clearly the High Mage''s mana control was greater than his. But it wasn''t quick enough, he flung a fist, glowing with raw energy towards the High Mage when¡­ his fist went through. Then a disabling palm strike hit him in the head, leaving him unconscious.


    ***


    When Rodric came to, he found himself lying on a hard bed; certainly not what he was used to but manageable. When he turned his head to the right, he saw an elf looking at him with a befuddled look. Very young, probably still within two-digit years of his life. Considering the average elf reached three hundred and fifty thousand jiggs of mana, the cub still had centuries of life left to live.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Seeing him awaken, the elf began to huff, somewhat coy but managed to finally speak the words he''d been trying to get out.


    ¡°Y-you were ferocious! I''ve never seen anyone go toe to toe with the High Mage like that. I would have never even thought of fighting her even while¡ª¡±


    The elf continued on and on, praising how admirable Rodric''s attempt to one-up the strongest elf alive. There''s the honey and up next should be the poison, or something like that. The elf was obviously buttering him up before punching him with something offensive, or at least something the elf thought might offend him. Rodric did not like these petty obsequious attempts at evading the heart of the matter.


    ¡°What do you want, boy?¡± The words came out gruff and annoyed, probably because he was, as all male dwarves were inclined to, at least in his experience. But the last thing he was aiming for was to chase the young buck away. He sighed. ¡°Look, I don''t mean to be irritable at you, what I mean is, you must want something from me don''t you? It''s better to just say it than beat around the bush, don''t you think?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the elf squawked, ¡°Of course! Pardon my chatter.¡±  The elf wriggled in his seat, probably unsure how to break open the matter to him. But then he continued. ¡°You see, while healing you I noticed something weird about your body. This is my first time seeing a dwarf, let alone healing one so it was a bit of a shock.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean exactly?¡±


    ¡°I mean,¡± the elf squirmed in his seat. ¡°Are you really alive or a product of some necromancy?¡±


    Rodric stared at him, bemused. ¡°I''m breathing, aren''t I? Last time I checked the undead couldn''t breathe.¡±


    ¡°Yes that''s true¡­,¡± the elf held a breath, about to explain more about his confusion. So Rodric waited patiently until¡­. ¡°Your cells¡­ they have moving parts as all cells do, but their movement is not fueled by any organic processes, it''s as if mana is moving them directly. In fact your cells aren''t organic at all!¡±


    Realization dawned on Rodric and he guffawed. ¡°Ah! That''s what you mean!¡± He wiped the bead of tears that formed in his eyes. ¡°This is what''s called IronFlesh, lad. It comes with the race-specific skill all dwarves have, you''re familiar with that, yes?¡±


    The elf nodded.


    ¡°You see, enchanting, which imbues special magical properties on a thing, only works for non-living objects. That''s why dwarves have evolved to develop non-living cells that form the basis for IronFlesh. Basically means tougher flesh overall, though not as tough as dragons, and a flesh that Instantaneous Enchanting can work on.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see¡­¡± the elf pondered for a while.


    ¡°Do they not teach you these things in school?¡±


    ¡°Well no,¡± the elf weakly smiled. ¡°I never went to any. I had a master who taught me healing, and eventually her investment in me bloomed and I became a very powerful healer, but she never taught me anything about the world.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Rodric said, staring blankly towards the ceiling, pondering. Then his head jerked to the side. ¡°How old are you exactly? And how much mana?¡±


    ¡°Sixty years old and four hundred thousand jiggs of mana.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Rodric couldn''t help but let out. Scratch his earlier assumptions, he had two milleniums left to live. ¡°You''re so young for your level, you must be a prodigy.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± The elf scratched his cheek, blushing. ¡°By the time the current High Mage was my age, she already had a hundred thousand more mana than me.¡±


    ¡°Don''t write yourself off, boy,¡± Rodric assured him. ¡°Comparing yourself to the High Mage is like comparing a tree to the sun, perfectly two different things that serve two different purposes. Plus, the High Mage isn¡¯t really normal, her powers are equaled only by two others, and they''re both more than a thousand years old.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the compliment. I''ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ***


    Rodric stood on the prow, looking at the horizon that the massive Monstrum continent blot out in the distance. They were sailing towards the continent because, well, there was no other way in or out. They rode a boat that ferried adventurers to and fro the continent. Their boat had about ten passengers on board, including five of him and the rest of his companions. A sizable crew of six managed the deck, the steering, and the mana engines that propelled them towards their destination. Most of the adventurers with them were hushingly whispering amongst each other. A little bit of Instantaneous Enchanting and he could hear their conversation.


    ¡°It''s really her.¡±


    ¡°So it means it''s true then?¡±


    ¡°What''s true? Why did no one fill me in about it?¡±


    ¡°Oh shush, some guards from the castle said he definitely was sure that the High Mage is planning on casting a world-defying spell, probably an epic-level spell¡­.¡±


    Their conversation continued but Rodric cut off his spying. So apparently she was here for a ¡°world-defying¡± reason, and maybe that''s the reason for why she had had the majority of her mana locked on a single spell. He wondered what sort of spell would need too long a casting time that she had to start casting it before even starting their journey. But who cares, well, those adventurers probably do, but him? It wasn''t close to any of his worries. What worried him most was survival. He knew now that the High Mage could pull her own weight despite being shackled by her own devices, but the monsters close to the heart of the continent¡­ he knew they were more than their current strength could handle.


    A tug on the boat woke him up from his reverie and he could feel the whole thing tilt to the side, before he could even react the captain of the ship screamed at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Kraken! Kraken''s tipping us to starboard.¡±


    Monsters attacking ships weren''t unusual, but they weren''t too common either that he would not be surprised. Large tentackles started wrapping around the body of their ship and a great battle commenced¡­..


    ***


    Rodric tottered on the shore wet and tired, battling that kraken had taken a toll on him. All five adventurers with them and the crew of the ship got swallowed whole by the monster, while the ship got ravaged to pieces. Thankfully, he deformed his body to an aquatic form just in time, allowing him to fight the monster while underwater. His elven companions were each protected by a barrier that allowed them to stay afloat on the sea, but apparently had no capacities to fight underwater. Fortunately, the High Mage was able to cast a barrier that traced her form all over her body that allowed her to breathe while submerged in water, and with boosts of mana to accelerate her limbs, she was able to fight on par with him against the kraken.


    They weren''t able to take it down though, its magical resistance too high for them to undermine. Given a few more hours, they could have probably killed it but that wasn''t the intent. They simply needed to survive, so driving it away, which was much easier and mana-cost effective, was the only best solution. Of all the sea beasts a kraken was a rare species, but their rarity meant they were also that much stronger. It took a team of five, highly trained navy sailors, masters at aquatic battle, to take down one in his homeland. But it was over, the ordeal had passed by without taking one of their companions. But those adventurers and sailors¡­ Rodric bowed his head, they were unlucky but that did not mean they were less deserving of mourning.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The High Mage asked, walking at his side.


    ¡°As if nothing has happened,¡± he said, letting out a weak chuckle.


    The elf smiled at him, surely an amiable gesture, and now that he got a good look at her, she looked less beat than him, in fact she looked pristine. He restrained a frown. Just how powerful was she, considering she could shrug off the battle as if, well, nothing had happened? He said that as a hyperbole for himself, but for her? It was the real deal.


    They trekked the continent for days, for weeks, and for months, but thanks to body magic they were able to storm through the terrain without much hassle. What would have taken years to traverse, they estimated would take only a year and a quarter, that is without them stumbling into monsters. With monsters in the equation, that time probably stretched to a little more than a year and a half.


    One particularly tormenting experience was when they encountered a swarm of High Bees. Rodric and the rest had had a hard time fending off the slew of savages that sought to sting them to death. It took the five of them all their combined strength to form an impervious force field for nearly three days, all of them surviving only through sustenance from their mana, until the bees lost interest and flew off, no doubt going back to their nest. One elf from the group lost a lot of muscle, sunken cheeks plastered all over his face, all because he did not have mana sustenance perfected.


    A year and two months later they were now very close to the Nexus, with a little more push and they''d arrive earlier than their estimate. So they decided to take a breather and take a longer time on camp. A day passed and all four elves slept in their tents except for Rodric who stayed later than usual.


    He fed a stick into the fire, and the fire crackled in response as if it were eerily happy to blaze in the darkness. Rodric shook his head; the days prior had been mentally and physically taxing to his health. And at some point he could swear he had seen her at the edge of the forest. Was it possible that she¡­ lived? He shook his head again, what was he even thinking about, who could ever survive that? And if she had, her condition couldn¡¯t have allowed her to live this long.


    Something touched his shoulder and he jerked, ready to launch into a fight. Instead of a monster, the placating countenance of the High Mage smiled at him. Smiling back, he relaxed his tensed muscles. Soon after, the High Mage sat on the log on the other side of the fire.


    ¡°Couldn''t sleep?¡± she asked, feeding wood into the fire.


    ¡°Aye,¡± he replied, grinning sheepishly. ¡°It has been two hundred years since I last braved these wilds and some ghosts still haunt me.¡±


    The High Mage looked into the distance as if pondering, and silence dominated the air for a moment.


    ¡°You know, growing up, the king has always told me that ghosts prey on the guilty¡­.¡±


    The High Mage, actually¡­ Sapphire¡ªRodric had come to call her by her name now¡ªthrew a rock into the distance.


    ¡°...Are you?¡± She momentarily met his gaze. Her eyes were full of purpose, which inspired admiration within Rodric.


    ¡°I suppose,¡± he replied, looking down. ¡°Did he ever, you know, tell you how to get rid of it?¡±


    This time, Sapphire chuckled quietly.


    ¡°All he ever said was that you can''t.¡±


    ¡°Then you just have to live with a haunted life?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Sapphire said, picking up a stick and starting to draw on sand. ¡°He said that the moment you''re no longer scared of the ghost, it would be as if it''s never there.¡±


    Her words strung on the cords of Rodric''s old and beaten heart, and he was curious where her train of logic would lead. He lifted his head, looking at her.


    ¡°How do you¡­.¡± Rodric paused for a moment, unsure how to put his question into words. ¡°...Stop being afraid?¡±


    Sapphire put down the stick she was holding and dusted her hands.


    ¡°Simple,¡± she looked Rodric dead in the eyes. ¡°When the ghost''s accusatory gravity bears down on you, you face it with a smile and say, ¡®True¡¯, and then you turn your back and walk forward. Or at least, that''s how the king always put it.¡±


    Rodric guffawed. The simplicty of the idea, and the difficulty of putting it into practice inspired foolish mirth to bubble from his heart.


    ¡°For a young lass,¡± he said with bated laughter. ¡°You sure have some wisdom.¡±


    ¡°Not mine. The king''s.¡±


    ¡°Well anyway, I suppose I''d have to tell you, don''t I?¡±


    ¡°Depends on you,¡± Sapphire said, smiling at him. ¡°I did notice how your write-up didn''t have an ending.¡±


    ¡°Yes well, it was a long time ago, lass. I guess since this is your quest, you deserve to know about my past. I was a royal guard in a far-flung dwarven country then. I was happy; I served my king''s daughter as a body-guard. She grew up to be a fine lass just like you. She had the prettiest of smiles and the most boisterous of personality, but all of that hid a dark secret. The little mistress had a physique that made it impossible for her to advance her Instantaneous Enchanting beyond the two hundredth level. This news broke her. For a lass dreaming to be an adventurer it was a most bitter pill to swallow. She cried in secret and smiled in the sun, two antithetical parts of her that warred for her mind. But she grew up reading history and myths. One particular myth, which she scholarly traced to find some historical grounds, was the myth of the Zephyr tree. It is said that a dew-drop from its leaves contains essence that can help a mage replenish his body and remove any and all blockage that prevents him from pushing through to the next level. However¡­.¡±


    ¡°It can only be found near the Nexus,¡± Sapphire put in, sympathy written all over her face as she could more or less predict the direction of the story. ¡°I''m familiar.¡±


    Rodric stretched his mouth awkwardly to mimic a smile, but his attempt was barely successful.


    ¡°Right,¡± he said, somberness now taking over his earlier mirth. ¡°She asked her father if she could be escorted towards the heart of Monstrum, but her father deemed it too dangerous for her, and risking so much for an uncertain reward was too high a stake to bet on. After his prohibition, the young lady became distant to everyone, even her father, and at nights when I guarded the door to her room, I would often hear the sniffles of a young lass who was denied her dream for adventure. And that was when I decided to gamble it all for her.¡±


    ¡°You took her didn''t you? You disobeyed the king and personally escorted her.¡±


    ¡°That I did. I was not much of a warrior then, and I''m not saying I''m more of a warrior now, but I believed, in my arrogance and pity for her, that the best course of action was to take her. So one day, we snuck out of the castle together. I carried her as we flew to the nearest outlying Monstrum island where a paltry imitation of civilization prospered. Arriving on the main continent on a boat, we started our trek. Three years later we were almost half-way to the continent''s heart. It took us that long because the mistress couldn''t use physical enhancement at her current level back then. I managed to drive away or kill monsters that kept attacking us on the way. But at this point I wasn''t ready for what I was about to face. We encountered a stage-9 minotaur blocking our path, now hearsay all told that stage-9 monsters could only be found at the heart of Monstrum where mana was the thickest. But this one was different.¡±


    ¡°Probably a straggler,¡± Sapphire put in, throwing a bunch of dry twigs into the fire, as it now began to dissipate. ¡°Sometimes when high level monsters fight for territory, the weakest at their level often get pushed outward, making them claim territories where their kind wouldn''t usually inhabit.¡±


    ¡°I guess it was,¡± Rodric said, as he wiped a bubble of tears in his left eye. ¡°Anyway, I fought the monster as hard as I could but I could not win. Lying on the dirt and wounded, I saw the behemoth lift up my mistress. I was trembling, I was scared for my dear life. Being a guard, I did have the training, but being from a relatively peaceful country, I never got used to the idea of death. I wanted to save her, but my cowardice took over me. I knew that if I ran away from the monster, while it was preoccupied with the mistress, it wouldn''t even attempt at chasing after me.¡±


    ¡°So you left her and ran away.¡±


    Rodric¡¯s eyes welled with tears, and when he couldn''t hold it in anymore, he cried. Sobbing, he looked at Sapphire square in the eyes.


    ¡°I left her alone to die, I ran away even as I heard her cries of help. I left her to die! What a ghost that haunts me!¡±


    ¡°And that''s how you got banished?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± he said, sniveling and wiping tears. ¡°I returned to my country, and the guilt haunted me still, so I told the king the whole story. Every dwarf belonging to any dwarven country has a jewel attached on their forehead as proof of character and citizenship, it is attached by some esoteric ritual and it is removed by another ritual. And the king took it from me when he banished me. Though it did not mean I was banished from every dwarven country, a jeweless dwarf can only live a life of shame in a country ruled by dwarves, it''s basically just the same as being banished from them. So I fled, came to know my current wife, and settled somewhere where my past could not haunt me, but it still does.¡±


    Rodric cried, he poured all the pent up regret and guilt into a one big sob.


    ¡°It''s okay,¡± Sapphire said in a comforting gesture. ¡°Ghosts prey on the guilty, but they flee from the humbled¡ªas the king would often say. If there''s anything I could say, it is that you must now walk a different path to redeem what was lost.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Rodric managed a smile amidst the onslaught of tears. ¡°Thank you by the way, for listening.¡±


    ¡°And thank you for helping us get through this monstrous wastes while carrying such heavy burdens.¡± Sapphire smiled affectionately.


    After the bursts of emotions, their discussion veered towards more mundane matters, the tension ebbing away, and mirth lapping in. A while later, they each entered their tents and went to sleep.


    ***


    Something was wrong. Sapphire swept her gaze across the wasteland, looking for something. The few trees that dotted the area had plenty of its leaves wrung off their stem, as if a stampede or a battle of great proportions had occurred here. But there wasn''t a single monster or anthropoid corpse. And the most worrisome detail of all was the eerie silence. No roars in the distance, no howls, no growls, no shrieks¡ªnothing. This close to the Nexus, one would expect to see a single stage-9 monster, but so far, everything had been uneventful.


    ¡°Too easy.¡± The thought escaped her and her companions nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Aye,¡± the rotund Rodric blurted out, his beefy arms crossed on his chest. ¡°I''d have to agree with you there. Something''s up.¡±


    I hope the reason for all this means my plan is working. This time, she kept her thoughts to herself.


    They continued running nonetheless. They were now only a day''s trip away from the Nexus, and though the suspicion that overcame them didn''t prevent them from pushing on, they were nevertheless turning their heads or closing their eyes to listen in for any signs of a monster. But nothing¡ªthey didn''t see or hear anything.


    It was when they reached the bottomless well of the Nexus did Sapphire see anything. A lone man stood just at the edge of the endless abyss; he wore loose-fitting clothes on his torso and his legs were covered with tough lizard skin. On closer inspection, potrusions like sharp bones lined his posterior forearms. At that moment she recognized who it was. Just as she had hoped he would come; she intentionally leaked parts of their plan to lure him here¡ªthe greatest dragon alive. He had something which she needed for her spell. Crossing her fingers, she hoped he brought it with him. If she succeeded, time would rewind and deaths would be restored, but if she failed, it would mean throwing away her life and the lives of her companions.


    Her companions grinded to a halt together with her, no doubt noticing the same man she noticed.


    ¡°It can''t be!¡± The youngest of them exclaimed. ¡°Is that who I think it is?¡±


    The figure, hearing them, turned around to look at them. They were still at a significant distance from him, so it was a shock when the youngest of them suddenly lost his head, throwing flesh and gore all around them. Sapphire instantly cast a spell to speed up the processing speed of her brain, just enough for her to see that Dracoy was pivoting towards her. She could see where he planned to strike. She immediately gathered mana towards her stomach and cast a force shield. Once Dracoy''s fist landed, the shield rippled outward from the hit, indicating how the force from the strike was absorbed and dissipated towards the air as heat or a gust of wind. However, despite the nature of her force-shield, she still skidded a few distances. If only the fullness of her mana control and mana weren''t locked on her world-defying spell, then maybe she could fight on par with him.


    She looked to where her companions were, and saw them standing, frozen in place, as Dracoy swept his gaze towards them.


    ¡°You brought bugs,¡± he said, now turning his attention towards her, ¡°to a battle of elephants.¡±


    She signaled to the others to stand down and not lift a finger. If she played this right, she could focus Dracoy''s attention solely on her. A sidelong glance to his right wrist and she confirmed the bangle that wrapped around it. A focus, not a mage focus but a literal focus, something that could focus immeasurable amounts of mana into a single point. Such an item was built by the ancients. Although the ancients lacked the variety and flexibility that modern magic offered, their mana focuses were second to none. This one in particular was designed as if to be used to harness the very sun itself, or in this case, the Nexus.


    ¡°I''m sure,¡± Sapphire began, holding her head high, ¡°You wouldn''t pay attention to ¡®bugs¡¯, would you?¡± She gave him a wink.


    She could see the visible irritation on the scaly skin of his face, which contorted into a frown.


    ¡°I killed¡­.¡± Dracoy started, looking at the elven corpse. Seeing the corpse, Sapphire whispered out a silent prayer on his behalf. ¡°...This one because I thought he was you, long hair and all.¡± A savage grin cracked on Dracoy''s face. ¡°Don¡¯t insult me. Bugs are nothing to a pristine beast such as myself. They may live, but you¡ªyou will die here. Whatever you''re trying to do, I won''t let you. The Anxiom Empire will remain the strongest nation in the world, and I will not suffer you to undermine it.¡±


    Good, Dracoy fell for her taunt; although it did not guarantee the survival of her companions if ever he got to kill her, but that gave her the opening to take the bangle.


    After finishing his declaration Dracoy blurred, and it took every ounce of brain power from Sapphire to see him dash towards her. A swinging claw winnowed the air directly above her, as he sought to cleave her in half. But she was quick enough to be able to sidestep, missing the attack. Dracoy''s claw stopped midway the place where she had been standing and the shockwave formed a crater on the ground and blew her a distance to the side. She held her side, rubbing it to assuage the pangs of pain that screamed to her brain. The trepid twanging of her heart pumped so much blood to her system that she remained highly alert, and the adrenaline that accompanied it meant she was just as strong. But without her full power, she stood no chance.


    Dracoy attacked her with unending ferocity, her physical enhancement and body acceleration spells barely able to keep up with his blows. Her force-shield was what kept her from dying from a single strike. During their exchanges, she noticed that Dracoy was holding back, probably in condescension to her meager showing of strength.


    ¡°Is that all you can do?¡± Dracoy screamed, his words barely intelligible to her hyper processing brain, due to the speed at which they both fought. She needed to find a way to extricate herself from this deadlock.


    ¡°There''s more of it I''ll tell you,¡± she replied. ¡°But you''d have to wait and see.¡±


    At that instant a claw pressed through her stomach, but instead of killing her, the hit merely phased through. It was a half-phase, allowing her right hand to slip around her hips and grab the bangle on Dracoy''s wrist from the very claw that passed through her stomach. She expertly took it and jumped back, with Dracoy being none the wiser.


    After her torso solidified she slipped the item into her blouse. Step one, check. Now, she only needed to slowly lead their battle towards the Nexus, and then activate her spell at exactly ten minutes from now. But Dracoy was relentless, his barbarity too huge a hill to surmount, she needed to¡­.


    The force-shield that defended her right shoulder shattered and some of the impact from the attack passed through, flinging her a wide distance from her previous spot. Her shoulder was broken, and she could not lift her right arm. This was bad.


    Dracoy jumped from his position ready to strike her when¡­ a manacle clamped down on one of Dracoy''s feet, its chains tightening tautly to pin him down to the ground.


    ¡°Go!¡± Screamed Rodric from the distance, his hands deformed into chains and holding back Dracoy for a brief second. ¡°I''ll hold him back, do what you have to do!¡±


    Dracoy turned towards his back and dashed towards that direction, with a fist hurtling towards the unsuspecting dwarf. She turned to the opposite direction and with all her strength, mana and body magic, sprinted as fast as she could. Rodric''s sacrifice would not be in vain, time will rewind and he will be restored. She took her time-rewinding item and placed the bangle around its pendant, all expertly done through a hand aided by telekinesis. The silvery glow of the core welled up and flowed outward, swarming the bangle with a serene silver light, suspending it in the air around the pendant.


    Utim retunas tictus ut rotatus bukwad. She intoned in her head, which meant: ¡®Time rewind, tick and rotate backwards¡¯. With the incantation being said, a flood of mana from her released and inundated the item, which all got sucked into the core. Then she threw it into the gigantic maw of the Nexus.


    Five, four, three¡­ a claw pierced her from behind and ended through the stomach, sending viscera and blood outwards. But a smile crept to her face as she breathed her last.


    Suddenly, an outburst of mana exploded from the abyss, but instead of scattering, all of the energy flew towards the time-rewinding item, passing through the bangle that ringed it, then seemingly absorbed by the core of the dodecahedron. The item exploded in blinding light and was no more.

 Book 1 — Chapter Three: The human who wished to be a mage

    A lone boy stood in the forest. The musculature of whom, chiseled perfectly into buns and molehills, showed from a half-naked body. Now, he wasn''t here to be a creep or advance his pervy agendas, instead he was here to prove that humans could be mages¡ªor at least so that he might one day prove it, for as currently, he was failing miserably at the endeavor. He knew the principle: intent to determine the form and spell control, aspected mana to be molded into the desired effect, and mystical words to impress the intent onto the aspected mana.


    He huffed, breathing heavily from the exhaustion of continually pouring mana out of his soul. A proper fireball required only fifty jiggs of mana to conjure, and he had a thousand jiggs in his reserve, at least according to the elf that had tested him and his fellow low-adventurers. A higher than average reserve compared to other humans, but nonetheless paltry compared to those cursed elves who had hundreds of thousands of the thing. He raised his two hands, positioning them opposite each other, and then formed them into claws. He imagined clearly in his mind what it would look like: a solid globe of burning fire¡ªform. That done, he proceeded to think of it as if a string connected it to his own soul, allowing him to move it wherever he wished, or throw it and all its destructive capacities towards a target¡ªspell control.


    Next, he imagined scooping a part of his personal mana, and then forced it to gain the properties associated with fire and solidity¡ªaspecting the mana. He then urged this aspected mana to flow through his unimaginably thin meridians and gather between his hands. Fieris, bunto, he intoned the incantation for the spell¡ªmystical words to impress intent onto aspected mana. He felt the mana violently shake between his hands as if the image in his head was being forced onto the mana. But when the mana started forming into the desired image, it collapsed.


    Tsk, not enough pressure. He noticed what he''d been noticing for as long as he had been trying to do magic¡ªhis mana lacked the pressure to push through the boundary between aspected mana and the actual desired effect, in other words with lack of pressure also meant a lack of robustness to the spell structure, thus causing it to collapse before forming into anything.


    He stopped casting and huffed gravely with every breath. Sweat overflowed from the pores of his skin, bathing him with the icky liquid from his own body. After he''d recovered for a while, he lifted his hand, thinking of flame and using fire-aspected mana, he conjured this time a raging tongue of fire just above his hand.


    ¡°A mere cantrip¡­¡±


    All this time, what he could successfully conjure were merely cantrips¡ªunstructured spells that simply required aspected mana and intent. If he remembered correctly, a structured spell was made by combining two aspects into a structure. In the case of a fireball, it consisted of both fire and solid aspects, able to destroy when hurled at something. A cantrip on the other hand didn''t have any structure, hence why they cost a paltry amount of mana and why they only required a single aspect. To his knowledge, that''s how scholars defined cantrips: they only used a single aspect.


    Finishing up his fruitless training, he picked up the shirt, sword and leather armor he had hung on a nearby branch. He donned them on, taking on the grave image of an adventurer, or at least a low-adventurer. For all his limited knowledge of the world, he knew of one thing: only Ethera allowed humans to become adventurers. In fact, only this country allowed humans to erect settlements with freedom. But thanks to dungeons and monsters, most humans congregated at Thuruk, the human city-state. With its outlying villages and towns, it was the greatest human country in the world¡ªactually it was the only one of its kind, but nevertheless still great. With all this speak of how great Thuruk was, he reminded himself of one important fact: Thuruk wasn''t completely free, it still needed to pay its taxes to Ethera while remaining autonomous in terms of rule. It and its surroundings were the only home he ever got to know, and the only place in the world he ever got to see.


    Oh what he would give to see other parts of the world, to adventure into dungeons, or even collect monster cores from Monstrum. Hearsay said that one could become as rich as a baron if one simply got a hold of a single monster core from Monstrum. Then there were other parts of Ethera; where there were said to be floating carriages that moved without horses, and nobles that could command magic like no other. Instead of touring the world and vanquishing foes, he was stuck in this hell-hole¡ªnot Thuruk for he liked the place with all its imperfections¡ªno, he meant being a low-adventurer. If he had magic he could change all that, hence why he occasionally trained.


    He made his way along the bustling dirt road leading towards the city, occasionally seeing laborers, artisans, and merchants with their carts, farm and carpentry tools, elaborate dresses sewn with artistic intent, and much much more. Thuruk was home to a variety of humans, from emancipated slaves coming from all over the world, to dark-skinned humans from overseas.


    Not many who made their way to Thuruk survived. A batch of slaves, freed from the clutches of destitution in the mines up north by an accident, told him that they were a strong two hundred when they were liberated, and arrived only five. But they said it was all worth it. Here, they could at least train their trade freely, and if demand waned, suffer the consequences with the thought that they at least had a chance at life. This little niche of the world, all made for humans, by humans, made him secretly proud. Here, amidst the giants of the world, stood a little empire no less precious than the metropolises of the elves, or underground grand cities of the dwarves, or the lofty floating cities of the dragons. This was home.


    Nodding at the city guard, he entered the city-walls, strutting like the warrior that he was, moving forward towards the guild, where he might snatch a new job. He still had fifty shackalie¡ªequivalent to five hundred tushackalie¡ªwith him, which meant that if he slept by the streets and ate only twice a day, he''d be able to live a ¡®luxurious¡¯ two and a half days. Since meals were, at the cheapest, only a hundred tushackalie. But if he wanted a bed to sleep on, he should earn at least thirty shackalie, that should grant him at least four days of roof on his head.


    He entered the guild with the door ringing the bell that hung just above it. He scanned the room, all full of hardened and scarred low-adventurers; they briefly took stock of him before returning to whatever conversation they were blubbering about with each other, no doubt talking about what scant adventure there was available here in Thuruk. Real adventure was out there, where lurked monsters greater than the stage-2 ones they fought here.


    He went towards the quest board and looked for anything remotely close to any job appropriate for a lad his rank. It took him some time to find an apropo quest; after all, the higher you climb up the guild rankings, the scarcer the available work that was equivalent to your rank. He was currently an I-rank adventurer, with H to F the only ranks higher than his. For a teenager his age, his rank was already a telltale sign that he was a talented warrior: a fierce and efficient killer. Reaching H to F would take more time, but with the way he was rolling, he was sure to reach the peak in six years time. Although, he would eventually reach the boundary between the sane and the insane. That''s how he liked calling the difference between human and elven strength. Cutting a branch with one strike was sane, leveling a whole mountain with a bat of an eyelid was insane¡ªalthough, he had to admit it was a bit of a hyperbole, but nonetheless the idea was there. He dreamed of one day bridging that gap, but how he''d go about it, he did not know. For now, he decided to start with little things.


    He browsed the quest board and found interesting but unworthy jobs, from guarding caravans to slaying stage-1 monsters that kept destroying vegetation and crops, to more mundane ones like helping a carpenter build a house, dam or bridge. Those were not to his liking though. He was getting impatient when his eyes happened to gaze upon one job request: subduing a monster nest up north, requested by Sifon, an elven adventurer. They were paying a hundred shackalie for the job. That was something. He glanced at the difficulty and found it to be just I-rank. You would think it should''ve been ranked higher, but because ¡®real¡¯ adventurers were the ones to take on the full brunt of the attack, the difficulty was greatly subdued. Most likely, human adventurers were only needed to pick on the low-level stragglers.


    With a smooth and graceful motion, he waded through the numerous tables and their gruff patrons and went to the clerk helming the counter.


    ¡°Get me I-3,¡± he commanded, a smile plastered on his face.


    The clerk gave him a pen and a form to fill out.


    ***


    The trek had taken about two weeks to complete, and he had to survive in the wilderness without shelter, trudging through rain unprotected. Since he brought no extra clothes with him, stashing what meager belongings he had in a hidden cache somewhere at the forest, west of Thuruk, he exuded a particularly pungent odor. His breath fared no better as he was forced to eat what little game he could hunt, animals that tasted so bad he wanted to vomit it all out.


    But he was here, right at the border between Thuruk and Ethera. Well, technically all of it belonged to Ethera, Thuruk was just on lease, so there was no such thing as a border, but he liked to think of it in a different perspective: Thuruk was a nation under the aegis of a more powerful, benevolent nation. He wished he could say ¡®benevolent¡¯ for all Etherans, but reality was almost never within expectations. Even for a nation touted to have passed laws preventing human slavery, anti-human sentiments were still rife in every nook and cranny of the kingdom; in fact he was bracing himself for pejoratives his employers might throw at him; he could never be sure if they were aligned with the kindness with which the king handled Thuruk or they praised the anti-human slurs which some in the council nursed within their bosoms.


    He laid down under the shade of a tree and waited. If he had come here two years ago, when he was just a novice, he would have surely gotten lost, but thanks to experience, he had pretty much mapped out most of Thuruk''s landmarks by now. But if he somehow deviated, he was sure that his employers would easily find him, with that¡­. What was that again? Spiritual sense? Anyway it wasn''t long now until the agreed upon hour, and he''d be meeting with them. Surely, his odor wouldn''t help with the first impression but regardless, he was in it for the money. A little later, other low-adventurers arrived with stuffed bags full of whatever survival items they had. He recognized some of them, being I to F ranked adventurers. The request did say the more the merrier¡ªactually, it did not outright say that, but it did say: the more low-adventurers heed our call, the safer we can make this land. He counted fifteen low-adventurers in total¡ªthat''s a crowd in the adventuring business.


    Despite their number, no one even attempted to say hello to him. It was pretty obvious that they kept their distance from him, ostensibly masking their aversion with menial conversations about how that tree was better for shade or this rock was best for reclining and so much more. He did not mind¡­.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen swines out of their pigsty before.¡± Someone tittered.


    ¡°That''s him, isn¡¯t it? Winston Rossir? The anti-social prick who shrugged off Merlion''s invitation to join his team?¡± The other man smugly let out.


    ¡°Yep, that''s him, suddenly getting big headed just because he climbed a few ranks higher than his peers.¡±


    ¡°I bet he''s thinking he¡¯s way better than any of us right now. Well, I guess he''d be right about that. That stink can certainly overpower any attack.¡± The man smirked and cackled openly.


    Winston''s heart, ripe for violence, flared under the voices he was hearing. But he kept it all under control.


    ¡°Good for Merlion for having his invitation rejected, the guy smells like a thousand shits. He would have had to buy clips for his entire party to clip their noses.¡±


    ¡°Heh,¡± the other guy sniggered. ¡°Just thinking about what that would look like makes me want to laugh. Anyway, should we buy clips as ....¡±


    Before he could finish, a fist connected with his jaw, sending him whirling down to the dirt.


    His companion, somewhat shocked, quickly jumped back. ¡°What''s wrong with you?¡± He said. ¡°That was uncalled for!¡±


    Winston stood before them, huffing and red in rage.


    ¡°Swine you say!? Well I''d have you know I''m a proud I-rank adventurer, you owe me the respect due to someone of my rank.¡±


    The other man rolled his eyes, ¡°We''re all high ranking here¡­ but if you want a fight, I will not balk away from a provocation.¡±


    ¡°You were the one who provoked me!¡± Winston cried on the top of his lungs. ¡°You disrespected me, I demand recompense.¡±


    Instead of compensation, Winston got a fist hurtling towards his nose. But with an agile dexterity, he was able to move to the side before the fist hit, causing the other man to overextend, so that his side was now directly in front of him. He quickly swung his leg, hitting the other man''s stomach with a knee and sending him hurtling backwards.


    ¡°I am I¨Crank,¡± Winston claimed, proud and seething. ¡°You are I-rank, but we¡¯re not equal. I am stronger than you!¡±


    The two men writhed on the ground, nursing their bruises. When they stood up, still clutching their hurt, they readied themselves to attack, but before it could happen a towering man stood between Winston and the two men.


    ¡°Merlion!¡± One of the two men exclaimed. ¡°He just started hitting us and¡­.¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Merlion shouted angrily. ¡°In this world rife with monsters and magic that could literally wipe us all out of the face of Mundus, I would expect humans to stick together. But this! THIS IS UNBECOMING OF AN ADVENTURER!¡±


    Merlion was a respected F-ranked adventurer, so his shouting held a lot of weight for Winston, the two men, and all the onlookers.


    Merlion turned to the two men, ¡°I would not have you snickering or gossiping about, focus on the work ahead!¡±


    ¡°And you,¡± Merlion turned to Winston, with a grave and nagging tone. ¡°I expected much more from a talented young man; do you not have the restraint to let simple insults brush you lightly? And you had jumped to attack at the next opportune moment? You have done more wrong than an insult, you punched your fellow adventurer!¡±


    ¡°I-I d-demand recompense for the¡­ disrespect!¡± stammered Winston, averting his gaze away from the bulging man.


    ¡°And you have taken more recompense than necessary, you drew blood.¡±


    ¡°I did not draw blood!¡±


    ¡°You might as well have; attacking an unsuspecting comrade with a rage-addled head. You disappoint me lad.¡±


    Hearing the reprimand, Winston gritted his teeth and left, he didn''t want to hear more. He went deep into the forest and sat beneath a ginormous tree. Once he got magic, he''d surely revisit those punks and make them feel sorry they had ever had the thought of making him cross. But magic was still unimaginably far away that he wondered when that might be. Then his imaginings slowly shifted towards musings about his future, digging deeper and deeper into his thoughts until he fell asleep.


    ***


    It was dark. But instead of it being empty space, it felt like water¡ªno, it was something more viscous, making it hard to move without grunts of effort. But he moved anyway, walking¡ªor swimming? It was hard to know what sort of facility he enabled himself to move, as if his sense of balance and space were mussed by an external force. But he moved anyway, to what exactly he did not know. A dot of light appeared just ahead. It looked close¡ªno, actually it was far, farther than the distance between the world and the moon. It was just that this darkness made it look closer than the truth. He moved towards that light, desiring respite from this darkness.


    He jumped the galactic distance in just seven steps¡ªor seven sweeps? Weird. But he arrived there. And he saw what he could only call¡ªbeautiful. A gigantic orb flew in this viscous space, full of energy and strength. And above it were the words: This is sorcery, an unstoppable force. Understanding came to him as he read the words. He knew then and there that this was the magic of the great races.


    Then the light started to subsume him and eat him and burn him. In that instant he understood: sorcery was an unstoppable force. At that moment, he realized the foolishness of his endeavors. He could never attain the power to wield this magic; it was foolish of him to desire power like the elves when his own was miniscule compared to the power they wielded. He was but a mote in the tapestry of the great races¡¯ power. But then everything calmed down and the heat and burning disappeared. He opened his eyes, and now he saw a man whose skin was as black as the night sky, and similarly dotted with stars. Threads of light ran through his body and his eyes glowed with ethereal light. A nebula of the same threads of power circled behind him, and some errant lines emanated from it, angling at some points or curving at others.


    Beneath it were the words: This is magick, a constrained force.


    He felt familiarity with this new power. It was weak and subtle but he knew that those errant threads connected to mana, the source of all magic. These were not two demarcated powers; instead they were two sides of the same coin¡ªmagic. One was a power that screamed, the other hushed. One was freedom, the other was boundary. He never heard of anyone calling the magic of elves as sorcery before, nor did he ever happen upon the word magick and all that it entailed, but he understood nonetheless that these were all parts of magic.


    This new power swathed over him, welcoming him in its bosom. Hope dawned on him despite the searing image that sorcery had imprinted into his mind. But as to how to harness this different power, it eluded him. As the power swallowed him whole, he opened his eyes to a scene he could never ever fathom or believe. A city sprawled before him, dappled with towering buildings that he could only imagine as  belonging to an elven metropolis, but then his sense of sight draped over this whole vision, and he could see every nook and cranny of the whole city. He was shocked out of his seat when he saw humans, happy and violent, depending on what corner he looked at.


    Then he saw them: mages¡ªor at least they must have been, since they conjured flames, ice, metal or rocks and even crystals. What kind of world was this? So full of color and so full of humans¡ªfreer than the humans at Thuruk. If he could harness whatever magic¡ªor magick¡ªthey were using, then he could show those arrogant elves that humans could equal or even surpass them.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    When he had gotten all he could from the scene, he was whisked away to another dark place. Then as if light came into being while darkness still overflowed¡ªas if he could now see in the dark, though the dark was not dispelled by any source of light¡ªhe saw the countenance of a girl. She was crying, asking and clawing for help. Black fluid oozed from her eyes, then from her ears and mouth, and then the black fluid burst out of her skin.


    She was crying, ¡°Help me, Winston!¡±


    Winston wanted to move to her aid but his body moved in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Why am I running away?¡±


    He kept moving forward without stopping, and he kept glancing at the girl, horror now swallowing him as he saw the girl being reduced to bones. And he cried from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡°Why didn''t I save her!?¡± These words were not his, but it was as if it were, calling from the depths of his conscience.


    ¡°What''s going on? What have I done?¡± He jolted awake, his vision still blurry and the sounds around him muffled. The first thing he did, or rather felt, was how the vision burned into his brain a very realistic image. It was as clear as the memory of what he had eaten yesterday. He could not differentiate the dream from any real-world memory he had had from experience. It was there, and the magic those humans wielded¡­ it was all real.


    That girl at the end, and her gruesome death. Did he somehow cause it? Was that a portent of the future, or of a past he was not aware of?


    The moment that his thoughts about the dream subsided, he finally began to take notice of his surroundings. He felt jostling as if a cart was hitting a bumpy road. He wiped the tears from his eyes and immediately observed that he was now sitting in a wooden frame, and now that his eyes were clearing, he could clearly see this was a cage, and based on the bumping, it must be on a wagon.


    ¡°What the hell happened!?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± someone said. He turned his head towards the source and saw Merlion sitting diagonally in front of him, wearing tattered clothing more fit for a slave than an adventurer.


    Merlion seemed to notice Winston eyeing him for his clothes. ¡°This?¡± he asked with a smile. ¡°Woke up with them,¡± he pointed at Winston, ¡°like you.¡±


    Winston looked at his clothes and did in fact see a ragged piece of shirt and some dirty pants.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°Wasn''t really a job, they ambushed us, but even if they didn''t, they still had the overwhelming strength¡ªmagic and all. So we were no match. My guess is they''ll be selling us to a slave merchant.¡±


    ¡°Impossible! Slavery is prohibited in Ethera!¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But what if it was to a different nation?¡±


    Winston gritted his teeth. The slavers must have drugged him while he was sleeping and took him without a fight. Blasted elves and their condescension. If he gained the powers he had seen in his vision (if it was real) he would make them taste iron.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± Winston asked, irritation obvious on his face. ¡°I assume we were all captured?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, but if my hunch is correct, they''ll be selling us to different merchants. Less chance of their misdeed getting discovered that way.¡±


    A raging wildfire of rage crept up from Winston¡¯s heart, making him tremble with its violent potential. Cursed those slavers, cursed those elves who took away everything from him. They took his family, and now his freedom! The memory of his parents death seared itself on his brain. How that wanton baron slit their necks just because they couldn''t pay him their debt, just because they did not have the economic gearing to produce income that could pay him their debt. He will rain hell upon these foul, barbaric, fiendish and truculent bastards. How though¡ªthat was the question. The moment doubt crept into his head; the moment he realized how far that was from his grasp, was the moment his heart gave way.


    His earlier rage now turned into a whorl of despair, drowning him deeper and deeper into its maw. He was still angry, but he was sad at the same time. He was sad that he was powerless to untangle this knot of misfortune in his life. So he cried, he sobbed¡ªsnot mixed in with tears.


    Merlion stayed silent. Winston was free to interpret what his silence meant so he thought of it as Merlion''s way of respecting him. When Winston stopped crying, he did not say a word; he preferred it that way. Instead, he looked through the tiny window of their cage, looking beyond its rusty bars. Meanwhile, Merlion closed his eyes and slept.


    When it got dark, the wagon stopped. Winston could clearly hear the sounds of men disembarking from the wagon. An idea lit up in his head and he positioned himself in front of the door.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Merlion asked.


    ¡°Trying to take a kill.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious!? They''d kill you even if you fail.¡±


    He did not care if he died after, but he wanted to fight back, he wanted to¡­ ARGH! He wanted to eradicate all of them.


    The sound of clacking from the other side signaled that someone was undoing the door bolt. Then the door opened just a little bit so that he could see someone opening it. Not shackling him beforehand was a mistake these elves would soon regret. He lunged at the door, forcefully opening it. Dropping on the ground feet first, he turned to the man that had opened the door. He only had seconds before the man reacted and casted something. He immediately snaked his hands towards the elf¡¯s head and with a quick twist, stole the life out of him.


    The other elves were in uproar the moment they realized. Shackles immediately clamped themselves onto Winston''s hands and feet. Then an elf pointed to the shackles, and as if they came alive, they moved downwards, forcing him to kneel on the ground. Winston raised his head, scanning the whole scene. He could see more elf than the wagon could hold so he suspected there were more wagons just up ahead.


    ¡°You killed one of us!¡± The elf that had shackled him, screamed. Seeing as how all of the elves deferred to him, he must be their leader.


    Winston did not say anything. Rather, he spat on the ground with disdain. The elf slapped him on the face.


    ¡°Speak! Tell me anything that would make me spare you!¡±


    Despite himself, he stayed silent. Before the elf could chop off his head, a voice from inside the cage responded to the elves.


    ¡°I''m sure you''d earn a wealthy sum if you sold him as an elf-killer. If he has the mettle and drive to kill one of your own, he would be a great laborer.¡± It was Merlion, he was trying to negotiate with the elves for his sake.


    Winston turned his head to the elf and saw him ponder for a bit.


    ¡°But that would also mean he''d be dangerous.¡±


    ¡°To whom?¡± Merlion''s voice rang behind Winston. ¡°To elves such as yourselves? Surely if you keep him at arm¡¯s length he would be harmless. No brute could ever hope to bridge the gap between human strength and elven magic.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± the elf said, acquiescing. ¡°Did anyone have the recording of the attack?¡±


    Many of the elves shook their heads.


    ¡°I do!¡± One cherry-cheeked elf exclaimed.


    ¡°Good, good.¡± The elf turned to Merlion and sent magical shackles flying towards him, securing him from ever moving. ¡°As thanks for the good idea, you will have twice your portion of food tonight.¡± Then the elf smirked. ¡°Of course that means you get a bowl, no more, no less.¡±


    They made camp that night, and Winston stayed restrained and kneeling at the corner. He got no food, probably as a form of punishment for what he had done. The night turned deep, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    ***


    It took them about a week to reach their presumed destination, and based on what he saw through the tiny window, it was a city, and based on the smell of salty water, it was a port city. The unnatural speed with which their caravan traveled, and the durability of the wagons relative to that speed smelled of magic. He guessed they were using monster horses to tow a magically reinforced wagon. Not exactly the floating, horseless vehicles he wished to see, and he was not exactly in the condition he would like to be in when he''d be seeing a product of magic, but this would do. He had, in a sense, seen a part of the world that had previously been mystified by the squalor of Thuruk. This relaxed thinking was the result of resigning himself to his fate. He was still fuming at the slavers, but it was now subdued by the fact that no matter who he killed, or what he''d do, the reality of the matter would remain the same¡ªhe was now a slave.


    But instead of whining about his situation, he contrived a plan: learn whatever magic his vision had shown him¡ªthe one those humans wielded¡ªand break himself free of the fetters of elven cruelty. He was convinced the vision was real, because some part of him had changed after that; his senses were sharper, and if he just looked close enough, he could make out motes of light in the air. He guessed this must have been what they called spiritual senses.


    All his training in magic was neither aided by self-study nor a proper mentor. Instead it was the result of a program the king had commenced, where humans from all over the kingdom would be tested and taught the basics of magic. In the hopes, according to the messenger, of finding magic-abled humans and elevating humanity from their current state. That was where he had learned to aspect his mana into solid and fire, and the mechanics of how to cast a spell as well as the incantation for a fireball. He learned it all within a month, which, the elf teaching him said, would have made him a prodigy if he was an elf. Alas, he was born human and would never be able to aspire to the heights of magic.


    But maybe if he learned magick, he could race after the elves. He closed his eyes and felt for his mana; there was no time to practice than now, so he focused. Instead of aspecting his mana he tried something different. He imagined and remembered how those humans in his vision let out strings of mana and shaped them into various shapes. So he called from within him, slowly guiding the mana through his meridians and then releasing them as threads of power. He realized once he''d done that, that only a tiny portion of his mana had come out. Then he opened his eyes. He saw dancing strings, glowing in orange light, above his outstretched palm.


    ¡°Do you see this?¡± he asked, turning to Merlion.


    Merlion glanced towards him and shrugged.


    ¡°I see a violent kid, who shouldn''t have the business to be adventuring alone at his age.¡±


    Winston frowned. When it seemed that he wasn''t going to reply to Merlion, the other man returned to looking at the outside with what little view the windows offered. Winston then turned his attention back at the dancing threads on his palm. Okay, so other people could not see the mana. He could guess that maybe personalized mana couldn¡¯t be seen by others besides its owner, or it could be that only those with spiritual senses could see it and that the reason he was seeing his mana was because he had unlocked his spiritual senses. Whatever he could think of to explain how he could see the dancing strings of mana was as good a guess as any. He just didn''t have enough data to draw one reliable conclusion. As he began to knead the mana, he realized that he could control them, and with great effort, he could shape them! This was progress, at least to him.


    He spent hours trying to bend the strings into circular shapes because of no other reason besides the fact that he liked it. Then the cage turned dark, apparently entering into a tunnel. He felt the ground tilt to the front, indicating that they were now traveling aslope, descending into some dark facility. Winston and Merlion jerked to the side as the wagon grinded into an abrupt halt. The door then slammed open, revealing an elf standing at the far end who had obviously opened the door by magic. They crawled in the cage and then stepped out, their shackles jangling with the act.


    ¡°Walk.¡±


    They were nudged by the elf to walk forward, and they moved, following another elf who was taking the lead. Winston looked around for the other elves but found no sign of them, probably delivering the other slaves to other merchants. It looked like they were indeed selling them separately, or maybe by batches of two, but whatever be the reason, they were now too deeply sunk in the mire to get out. They approached a huge metallic door and the elf leading them knocked in an intentional rhythm. The door opened, and a stout, muscular dwarf, about a head shorter than him, greeted them with the most hostile stare he had ever seen. He had never seen a dwarf before but he was certain this man was a dwarf, because dwarves were said to have skins the color of metals and this one had a skin as brown-orange as copper.


    ¡°Inside!¡±


    At the behest of their captors the two of them went inside, and a corpulent elf eyed them with interest, not for what potential they had as persons, but for what potential sum he could eke out of them.


    ¡°Hm¡­ muscular. Good, good,¡± the corpulent elf said, the flabs at his side jiggling as he moved to inspect them. ¡°The other one is young, could fetch a lot considering he has the potential to work more years than this one.¡± He pointed at Merlion. ¡°But this one looks more experienced and peaceable. He could probably do more efficient work than the younger one. Good, good, specimen. I''ll take them all.¡±


    ¡°Twenty shackals for the youth, ten for the adult.¡±


    The merchant turned to the elf and snorted. ¡°Are you trying to rip me off of my wealth? The adult I understand but the youth is beyond overpriced!¡±


    ¡°Oh, but he''s not any ordinary youth,¡± the elf grinned odiously. ¡°He killed an elf, although admittedly by surprise, but a human capable of doing that is hard to come by. If he''s that stubborn, then think how stubborn he''d be when faced with insurmountable work!¡±


    The elf then took off a brooch on his chest and placed it on his palm. The jewel on the brooch glowed in green colors, then the brooch dissolved into the air. It reformed into a square screen where images rapidly rolled in a series, forming a moving picture. This was the first time Winston had seen moving pictures before; truly, the grandeurs of magic were unparalleled by any human crafts. The moving image depicted the scene when he had killed the elf, causing his eyes to widen. How did they ¡°collect¡± those images into one moving picture? Who had done that? He couldn''t remember any elf acting out of place during his violent act.


    After the scene finished playing, the screen clammed down and reformed back into a brooch, which the elf placed back on his chest.


    ¡°Or,¡± the merchant began, raising a finger. ¡°He''d be too stubborn to work.¡±


    The other elf pondered a bit, no doubt not expecting the merchant''s well-thought-out retort.


    ¡°Well damn,¡± the elf said, ¡°We didn''t think about that.¡±


    ¡°Tell you what,¡± the merchant said. ¡°I''ll take him for a hundred fifty thousand tushackalie, just fifty thousand less than your offered price, that way, both of us can get out of this happy.¡±


    The merchant grinned in the most crooked grin he had ever seen.


    ¡°Deal.¡± The other elf shook hands with the elven merchant.


    After they had made the deal, the two elves lead Winston and Merlion into a jail cell within this seemingly underground bunker. They shoved them inside and closed the bars with a lock. Winston felt helpless. He wanted to escape but couldn''t. But maybe if he was patient enough, he could one day break free from slavery with his own power¡ªsomeday.


    ***


    Winston groaned as he woke up, his palms sweating and his butt hurting from sitting all day. His stomach rumbled, grumbling in dissatisfaction with the gruel they were fed with. He had lost count of how many days it had been since their incarceration. Although not as accurate as the physical sign of the eternal dance between the sun and moon, he used the number of sleep he had had as a counting agent to determine the days. He had approximately slept about thirty one times, which meant the days were nine days short of being a month¡ªif his sleep accurately represented the demarcation of days.


    Their cell stank because they were only given a bucket to excrete with. He looked at Merlion and the man was as stoic as ever, resting his back on the wall and never eking out a sound. When Winston''s sufferings were bearing down heavily, he looked up to the metaphorical sky and prayed. Perhaps not to be pulled out of this state but at least for a small respite, at least, he thought, some meat would suffice. But nobody answered his prayers; his fate all but certain to end in misery.


    ¡°If there is any god out there,¡± he wailed. ¡°Please¡­ give us meat.¡±


    ¡°I believe,¡± a heavenly voice replied to his anguish. ¡°He would give you one if he could.¡±


    There was an odd tinge of a familiar tone from those words¡­ hold on a minute, it wasn''t someone at the gates of heaven who spoke up. Winston turned to the man sitting at the side. He frowned.


    ¡°Did I ask you to answer?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Merlion spoke hushedly and gave Winston a companionable glare. ¡°He used me to talk to you.¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap will you. What do you mean ¡®if he could¡¯? If he''s a god, then shouldn¡¯t he be able to do anything?¡±


    ¡°He could. He could magically pop up meat in the air as we speak.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Winston said, the scowl in his face steady and persistent. He prayed out of desperation but it did not mean he believed in any higher being.


    ¡°But what if,¡± Merlion offered, slicking back his hair. ¡°It was all meant to be a lesson.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up, I''ve already learned enough lessons, isn''t this slavery business enough of a punishment?¡±


    ¡°Not for you, you dolt,¡± Merlion smilingly pointed out. ¡°For others. What if it''s the way for the up high to teach them a lesson in kindness?¡±


    ¡°Using us as the sacrificial lambs!? Well fat chance of that converting me to believe.¡±


    ¡°It did make you pray,¡± Merlion giggled, causing Winston to roll his eyes. ¡°We haven''t been sacrificed by an unfeeling god,¡± Merlion continued, tapping his fingers on his knees. ¡°We were sacrificed by circumstance and by free agents who could affect it. I bet by now, there are a thousand other circumstances that are tickling the heart of slavers to change their ways. What I meant by ¡®he can''t give you meat¡¯ is that he can''t currently, because none of the slavers has yet to respond to his tickling and none of them plan on giving us meat any time soon. There''s a saying, ¡®God has no eyes, mouth, hands and feet in the world but you.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Winston grumbled. ¡°I just let out words by accident and it has now turned into a debate.¡±


    Merlion chuckled. ¡°I''m a firm believer, young man, and men like us tend to prattle on long tirades about our beliefs, though admittedly, it doesn''t mean we are any better a person for it.¡±


    ¡°Well, if someone gives me meat today, I''d consider believing.¡±


    The two locked gazes and a moment later they were laughing. What respite Winston actually needed was a simple companionable conversation¡ªeven about things he didn''t believe in. He might not have been a believer, but he nonetheless respected the stark honesty of the big man.


    Three sleeps later, a rotund dwarf waddled to their jail cell, clinking of keys audibly echoing all throughout the uneven surfaces of this bunker that seemed to have been a repurposed cave. The dwarf unlocked the lock fastening the latch in place.


    Winston''s blood boiled in anticipation, his adrenal gland pumping adrenaline heavily into his system. Sweat dropped from his pores, bathing him in their disgustingly slick consistency. His eyes darted around looking for any other elf or dwarf, then it locked down on the dwarf''s person.


    He could do this, they could escape here. When the dwarf pulled the barred door open, Winston launched from his position at lightning speed. He headbutted the dwarf causing him to buck backward, then Winston struck with his fingers at the dwarf''s throat, causing him to topple to one knee and cough. He snaked his two hands around the dwarf¡¯s head and with a twist¡­ hang on, his neck wouldn''t twist. The calloused hands of the dwarf wrapped themselves around his wrists, and the dwarf slowly stood up, overpowering Winston''s strength. Slowly but surely, pushing him to kneel down on one knee.


    The dwarf cackled. ¡°You think you could overpower me, human? It might have worked with a lanky elf, but me? Tut tut tut.¡±


    The dwarf''s unnerving smile painted the image of a monster playing with its plaything into Winston''s head. Then the dwarf swung his grip sideways, toppling Winston down to his side. Winston writhed in pain on the ground, nursing his bruised side that had hit a projecting stone on the cavern floor.


    ¡°Get up all of you, the sea is waiting. You can now only hope to find a good master at the Triumvirate.¡±


    Merlion, who had run to Winston¡¯s aid, looked to the dwarf.


    ¡°You mean we''re going to Kirisal?¡±


    ¡°Where else, you dumbo? Everyone knows Kirisal has the biggest slave market in this part of the continent.¡±


    Immediately after, both Winston and Merlion were forced to enter a cage on a wagon, and brought to the pier, at least to Winston''s guess, because he could see the sea through the window from where he sat. Then he felt the cage float in the air as it trembled by the act. Suddenly, it went dark all around, his guess being that they were now inside a ship. A few hours later a loud sound boomed¡ªa jarring siren. After the sound had rang, the boat steadily left harbor and moved.

 Book 1 — Chapter Four: A prelude to awakening

    The amphitheater was packed with elves¡ªfrom the stingy merchants that liked to haggle their way into wealth to disillusioned artisans who thought themselves the very best at their craft, from the lowliest baron to the most affluent duke, such were the intermixture of people that Sashaiuin''s scrutinizing gaze swept over. This ancient dignitary had a very open secret¡ªno, not the fact that she''s one of the three Primes leading this nation¡ªit was that she was frivolous, materialistic, and superfluous. She had a thousand foreign baubles decorating her estate, and she planned on collecting a thousand more. That was why she was here at the city of Thokos, the one place in Kirisal where the wares were never local, only foreign, and where the slaves were never boorish, only exemplary. This was Kirisal''s biggest trading hub¡ªa crosswalk of different cultures if you will. And that was what she and all the other participants of this auction were here for.


    Currently, she had her eyes set on a very trifling trinket. It had a long and sleek body of wood, and a metal barrel was attached on top of this body. The body curved near the butt, the curve serving as the handle itself. Metal ringed around a curved protrusion down the handle¡ªperhaps the trigger of the object. The auctioneer said it was capable of launching a projectile at incredible speeds¡ªa rifle it was called. She thought of how useless this item was against a well trained and capable mage. With sense, as well as physical enhancing spells, such weapons were at a disadvantage. But she nevertheless pressed her lips into an exuberant smile.


    ¡°Going once, going twice¡­.¡±


    She raised the card that had a hundred thousand written on it, and the auctioneer beamed.


    ¡°Fifteen shackals! Will it go higher? Let¡¯s go to sixteen¡ªnone? Going once, going twice. Sold to the lady over there.¡±


    Sashaiuin was ecstatic, another decoration had been added to her collection. Well, considering her duchy was one of the wealthiest in Kirisal, she didn''t mind the expense. The next item for bidding was not so much an item as a slave. But to many an elf, there was no difference¡ªa slave was an item just as there was no difference between a human and a slave. It was all fallacies for her taste; she didn''t really take kindly to slavery as much as she tolerated it, that was why she had as few slaves working in her estate and businesses as possible, and when she made them work, she made sure to give them a roof over their heads and food for their stomachs.


    ¡°This slave is special,¡± the auctioneer claimed, placing his mallet on the podium. ¡°He comes from a breed of humans coming from the city of Thuruk, and not only that, he is one of their revered low-adventurers. That means he can read, that also means he can plan. It is quite rare to find a slave with a sharp intellect these days, which means it is also that much more worthwhile to gain one.¡±


    Sashaiuin looked closely. The slave was dark-skinned, had a square and prominent jaw, a handsome face, and muscular build¡ªvery exotic. She thought hard about it. Since Kirisal and Ethera share a common tongue, the slave must know how to read and speak their language, which meant he''d be a handy assistant to have around. Looking at the man''s grizzled expression, he wasn''t that unfamiliar with labor as well. Strong muscles, sturdy stance. Alright, she had decided, she''s going to put him to work under her fiftieth-generation grandson. He would be very happy to have a new slave help run his store. The starting bid was nine shackals. She did not mind buying him for more.


    She raised the card for ten thousand tushackalie, adding it onto the starting bid.


    ¡°Ten shackals, any more bids. Eleven shackals from the nice gentlemen over there.¡±


    She raised the card for twenty thousand tushackalie


    ¡°Thirteen shackals! Anyone else? How about that distinguished mistress over there. Fifteen shackals!¡±


    She raised another card.


    ¡°Seventeen shackals¡­ any more? Going once, going twice. Sold again to that illustrious lady over there.¡± The auctioneer casually said, not recognizing that he was talking to a Prime. For if he had, he would have groveled at her feet.


    The symbolic as well as actual authority the Primes had were so absolute that citizens might as well have worshiped them as gods¡ªagain, another thing that wasn''t to her liking. If anything, she wished the Primes were more focused on improving the lives of their subjects. Alas not everyone in the Triad agreed with her. All they wanted was wealth and more wealth regardless of how it affected their subjects. Of course who would listen to her, a newcomer who had ruled as Prime for merely forty years after the death of her predecessor? She had no choice but to tolerate Kirisal¡¯s irksome political climate, which was why she wore a mask everytime she went outside on personal business¡ªno one needed to know she was a Prime.


    The attendants of the auction prodded the burly slave out into the back of the stage, perhaps binding him with the slave mark¡ªthe mechanisms of which would only ever be complete once she got her mana keyed into the enchantment. By then it would all be too easy to order him around. She could also have another person share that prerogative once she permitted them to key their own mana into the bind.


    A few more items were being auctioned and she almost decided at that point that she would be eschewing the rest of the auction, but her flight was all but too slow to prevent the next spectacle from arresting her gaze.


    Once you got to her age, you see, spiritual senses, especially vision, was already as habitually simple as breathing in air, that it was constantly running in the background. So she could not help but lock her gaze towards a young man¡ªtanned and a bit too muscular for his age, with black hair that slicked back on his head, eyes piercing and determined. This young man, of no spectacular form, caught her eyes because of the ghostly tendrils of light that danced outward from his eyes, visible only to her spiritual eyes. Usually that should have been dancing tongues of light that closely resembled the cracklings of fire. Regardless of how it looked, that should be an indication of¡­ spiritual vision. Was her sight playing with her mind? A human with an open spiritual sense? The shock stole her breath away for a moment that she had to breathe in a lungful, and release it into the most awkward sigh she had ever let out.


    She immediately raised a card, forgoing the need to watch the large screen in front, which, according to the auctioneer, would show them all how this young slave had been capable of killing an elf. That happening was the least unbelievable thing right now. What merited more attention was the fact that the boy had opened his spiritual eyes. The very persona of impossibility¡ªa sign of magical potential.


    ¡°One¡­ One hundred shackals from the lady over there.¡±


    The whole auditorium went silent. A million tushackalie¡­ such a large sum for a slave¡­ the best anyone could bid was twenty three shackals for a slave in peak condition. All eyes were upon her but she didn''t mind. She had raised that card on the spur of the moment, and she had not meant to bid that high. Regardless, she owned this interesting human now, and she had a hunch this would change everything, and that this would challenge all known conventions of magic. She was happy to help that ship sail, even if for no other reason than to spite the other Primes. But the chances of that ever happening was still largely too low. Various experiments had been done to test humans¡¯ affinity to magic and all of them came up empty handed. The purpose of those tests were dubious, most probably done in the hopes of using humans as tools for war. Again, another grim thing that she spurned even despite the fact that one of those tests was funded by her predecessor who had also been a close ally.


    She quickly filed into the back of the auditorium where bidders claimed their prices. She entered when it was her turn and met the slaves she had bought. The older man seemed to have already accepted his fate, while the younger one still had fire in his eyes. Whether it was fire for rebellion or determination, she could not tell. Mixed in with that gaze was also a little bit of hostility.


    At the behest of the auction employee, she keyed in her mana, setting the slave mark so that it would inflict pain on the slaves if ever they disobeyed her commands. Then she left, arranging for her possessions to be delivered to her estate, and since that was on the other side of Kirisal, that would take about a week to deliver by air, since delivery by teleportation had been banned long ago by the Triad when a terrorist took advantage of the system and had an important person assassinated by it.


    When she left the auction house, ready to teleport to her estate, she saw a very unpleasant sight of an elf staggering along the streets, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of a dragon. It was Skandrim of Beyond Enterprise, the very founder and owner. She didn''t like his ilk, all scheming and backstabbing. She knew of a thousand cases of him being accused of embezzling, and he was probably guilty a thousand times more than the cases let on, but the other Primes let it all slide without investigation because of the money Skandrim had been milking for them. Ugh, if she had been head Prime she would have already imprisoned the little rat. Again, another thing to tolerate.


    ***


    After Merlion had been whisked away through the curtains, Winston sat in his cage, alone and distant. He looked around him and saw various crates, which elves around him wrenched open, revealing various items¡ªfrom the smallest vials to the biggest axes, from the gnarliest vines to the sleekest cubes, such were the curio they contained. Then a little later, Merlion returned, escorted by two elves, his dark skin glistening with sweat, reflecting the light above them.


    Afterwards, one of the elves forced Merlion to kneel down, pressing the end of a metal rod, which was a circle containing a mark, on Merlion''s upper arm, causing the man to scream in pain.  Winston gritted his teeth as he rattled the metal bars of the cage, raving wildly like a mad man.


    ¡°What are you doing to him!?¡± He screamed on the top of his lungs. ¡°Get me out of here this instant and we''ll see if you''d still be smug enough to hurt any of us.¡±


    But the elf simply turned his head towards him, and with the most irritatingly, dastardly look, smirked at him. Winston''s blood boiled, his palms sweating copiously and his heart beating like the twanging of a guitar strung quickly. He tried to bend the bars on his cage but Merlion simply looked at him, silently conveying the message that it was alright. Winston huffed in response, sitting down in his cell, appearing calm yet actually still gritting his teeth. The elf opened his cell and threw Merlion in.


    The man pleaded with him, with two palms pressed against each other.


    ¡°Please boy, calm down. Just endure it for now, or else we''ll both be in big trouble.¡±


    Winston locked gazes with the man.


    ¡°They''re hurting you¡ªus! They have no right to do that!¡± He huffed, hurling expletives left and right.


    ¡°I know you''re angry,¡± Merlion said, coaxing him. ¡°But consider the situation, rebelling will only get us killed or plunge us to fates worse than death. You''ve got to understand that our actions, whether we like it or not, can either improve things for the better, or cause everything to descend into hell.¡±


    ¡°Then I will die trying! Or suffer any fate they plunge us into! And maybe you should do too! If not for successfully freeing ourselves, then at least for the principle of the thing!¡±


    Merlion¡¯s gaze fixed itself onto his eyes.


    ¡°I beg of you,¡± his tone still pleading. ¡°Listen to me and understand. There are times when we have to pick our fights. And this isn''t the right fight to fight for.¡±


    He scanned the man before him. He was a mess: his clothes covered in grime and his body in sweat. His right upper arm was burnt with a strange mark. His face was covered in a bushy beard far longer than the man liked it to be, he was sure. But his eyes were determined rather than defeated, yet nevertheless imploring. Some part of him felt guilty; he shouldn''t be dragging this man with him to hell or to whatever torture he wished to die in for the sake of his freedom. His blazing wrath slowly ebbed away, and his gritted teeth finally relaxed.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Seeing the man he respected reduced to this state, he can''t help but take pity, firstly on himself, for being unable to do anything substantial, and secondly on Merlion, for how he had turned out after their abduction. He clenched his fists in frustration, his mind racing through various thoughts about how to properly handle this, then his mind set on a decision. It did not dissuade him from being angry, but it did prevent him from lashing out.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll concede,¡± he said, releasing the tension in his body, finally relenting. ¡°I''ll play along, if only out of respect for you.¡±


    Merlion smiled at him albeit weakly.


    A little later an elf opened their cell and picked him up, holding him in one arm. Another elf approached and held his other arm. But as promised, he played along. He was escorted into the biggest hall he had ever seen. He was standing on a stage in front of thousands of seats where elves of various walks of life sat. There were also seats on elevated platforms that contained many wealthy-looking elves. Some wore frilly dresses coupled with furry scarves that seemed to pop up. While there were males wearing studded and decorated armors as well as draping capes that glowed golden in the dim lights. He scanned the whole scene until his eyes stopped on a masked lady, just in the front seats, who was getting up from her chair, and whose eyes glowed in golden light that danced like fire. He scanned the whole hall again and saw no one with glowing eyes.


    Huh, maybe the woman was casting magic of some sort.


    Then the woman raised a card with her hand. If he was reading it right, it was a card containing the symbol for one million tushackalie. When the elf at his side announced it, the whole hall went silent. That was when Winston realized that this was an auction and that the masked lady had just dumped a hundred shackals on him. What the hell? That was more than he would ever earn in five years of adventuring. He drooled over the large sum, wishing he''d been hired with it rather than bought.


    After the bid, he was shoved into the backroom and forced to kneel like Merlion had been. He knew what was coming next so he squirmed under the iron grip of one of the elves, screaming wildly and uncontrollably. He may have acquiesced to Merlion to play along, but the thought of pain made him lose grip on his sanity.


    ¡°Damn you!¡± He raved. ¡°Cursed¡­. Agh!¡± The mark on the metal rod pressed itself onto his right upper arm. ¡°Elves!¡± he drawled angrily and bitterly.


    The elves laughed in unison.


    ¡°This one''s an ass,¡± told one of them.


    ¡°Pity the lady who bought him,¡± the other one sniggered, pulling the metal rod from Winston''s skin. ¡°She has just wasted a ton for so little, this boy will not last a day under coercive service.¡±


    Winston''s breath quickened after the metal rod with the mark had been removed, no doubt because of his struggle to contain the pain that shot through from his burnt flesh. The mark did not only burn, it felt like some inner part of him, maybe his mind, was being clamped by a dampening force that made everything foggy, as well as increased the pain a thousand times more.


    ¡°Bah! Rich ladies and their impetuousness. Bet you a hundred shackalie that, that sum was only pocket money to her.¡±


    The elves pulled Winston up and imprisoned him once again.


    ¡°Bet with yourself,¡± the other elf smilled. ¡°I don''t want to lose that much money.¡±


    ¡°Good choice,¡± the elf grinned at his companion. ¡°¡®Cause I don''t actually have that much to spare, you just saved my ass dumbo.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up,¡± The other said, pulling a pocket watch from his trousers. ¡°Let''s go. Don¡¯t want to make the boss angry; he looks awful when he''s fuming.¡±


    Then the two walked away towards who knows where.


    Several rich looking elves came into the backroom and claimed several items which Winston surmised were their price. One of them¡ªan elven woman who looked forty by his estimate but was probably hundreds, if not thousands of years old¡ªtalked to one of the elven staff. The staff led her to their direction and she looked at him with curiosity. He, being too proud, looked back at her with unmatched ferocity.


    ¡°It''s not glowing.¡± The elven woman said, more to herself than to him. ¡°Maybe I imagined it?¡±


    The lady then whispered something and flicked her hand, causing an overbearing force to swaddle Winston, making his burnt mark itch like hell. Then the elf left, leaving him to wonder about what she meant by glowing. Maybe it was connected to how her eyes were glowing earlier? A hundred other guesses came up to his head and he ignored all of them. What''s the point? He''d probably never get to ask her the question anyway, what with him being her slave, and her, his master.


    ***


    Winston waited in the foyer, annoyed and barely restraining his growing dissatisfaction. The mistress of the house had commanded him by letter to come and talk to her, and he had been here for an hour now and there was still no indication of her showing up. The maids, who were elves, didn''t even bother answering him when he asked them what was taking the mistress so long, and whenever he intentionally let a thought, about flaking out, pass through his mind, a sharp, lacerating pain would eventually cripple him until he got rid of the thought. He guessed it was how the elves enforced their wills upon their slaves¡ªnot only through sheer, overwhelming force but also through a highly sophisticated but effective method. When he squinted his eyes a bit and focused dutifully on the mark on his right upper arm, light seemed to trace itself on the surface of the symbols, doubtlessly acting as the cause for whatever pain he had felt. Damn these elves, they may have been slaving bastards, but their magic was decidedly impressive.


    He turned his attention to the room as a whole, and it was huge, bigger than the adventurer''s hall back at Thuruk. What stuck like a sore thumb, however, was the fact that the whole place was overly decorated with trinkets that it, admittedly, did the opposite of whatever intention the decorator had had of beautifying the whole place.


    A moment later, a voice cut him off from his reverie and he turned to see an elven woman coming to sit in front of him.


    ¡°Mistress,¡± he professed¡ªas gently as he could¡ªwith a bow. He had not seen her since their encounter at the auction house, but he and Merlion had been well fed (for the last three weeks) and had a roof over their heads because of her. It wasn''t so much that he respected her as he wanted to remain on her good graces for fear of losing those privileges. ¡°I received your message and am here accordingly.¡±


    ¡°It''s nice to finally be able to talk to you,¡± she chimed, smiling at him. ¡°I hear you¡¯ve done a good job helping maintain my grandson''s store, offering needed muscle to take care of the heavy-lifting. I appreciate that by the way.¡±


    Huh, did she just thank him?


    ¡°If I may be so blunt, Ma''am,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but scrunch his face into a frown. ¡°Why would an esteemed mistress, as yourself, thank a lowly slave like me?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn''t I?¡± the elf raised an eyebrow. ¡°Working as a slave means you''d have to grind hours and hours of thankless work. Wouldn''t you want to hear a simple thank you from your owner? I certainly would, if I were in your position. I am a frivolous woman, but never stingy with gratitude.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­.¡±


    He wasn''t even able to finish his sentence when the lady cut him off.


    ¡°Enough of that,¡± she pronounced, fanning herself with her foldable fan. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business shall we? I''ve been wanting to talk to you about this ever since I saw you on that stage but failed to do so because of my hectic schedule. I am¡­ somewhat of an important figure, you see. Anyway, what I want to ask is¡­.¡±


    The woman closed her eyes, seeming to ponder how to put it into words.


    ¡°Do you, um¡­¡± she opened her eyes, ¡°perhaps know any magic?¡±


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Winston''s eyes widened. What an odd question. If he was asked by anyone what an elf of her stature would probably ask him if given the chance, he would reply: ¡®Why are you so dumb and dirty?¡¯ Not this.


    ¡°Um¡­ m-mistress,¡± he stammered. ¡°I don''t know how to answer that or why this is even a question in the first place.¡±


    She slapped her head with her fan.


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± she said. ¡°Stupid of me for not clarifying it first. You see, when I saw you on stage at the auction, I saw your eyes were glowing, or at least I thought I saw them. Were they? I mean, have you unlocked any of your spiritual senses?¡±


    ¡°You mean if I can see mana?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± she exclaimed, leaning in excitedly. ¡°Exactly what I mean.¡±


    Winston pondered for a bit. Should he tell her about his dream? No. He decided to omit the dream entirely and just talk about the skill he had gained from it. It would be too risky to reveal that to her.


    ¡°I¡­ think so.¡±


    ¡°Can you show me?¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Winston said, somewhat perplexed. How could he show her the very act of seeing mana? That would be like showing someone how to think. ¡°I don''t know how to show you?¡± It came out wrong. The words sounded more like a question than a statement, but all of that was because of his nagging fear of angering the woman.


    ¡°Oh, right. Silly of me.¡± She waved her hand in front of her. ¡°Do you see anything?¡±


    He squinted his eyes and looked very closely, just as he had been doing whenever he saw motes of light in the air or his own mana.


    ¡°I see a cloud of light¡­.¡±


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± the elf exclaimed. ¡°Your eyes are glowing, just like before. They''re tendrils of light emanating from your eyes, just like before! Holy shit, holy shit, this is news!¡±


    Winston looked at her eyes and saw them exuding the very same light he had seen during the auction, dancing like tongues of fire. He guessed that her glowing eyes meant that her spiritual eyes, or whatever that''s called, was active, and that she herself was seeing a similar phenomenon happening to his own eyes.


    ¡°Can you do any magic?¡± she said, putting down her hands, making the cloud of light dissipate. At the same time, he also lowered his focus. ¡°I mean have you done anything remotely similar to magic?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± he hesitated. He didn¡¯t know if he should tell her about his embarrassing foray into magic or if he should deny any involvement with anything magic related.


    ¡°Well? Spit it out boy!¡±


    He decided to tell her.


    ¡°I''ve been trying to learn magic for some time now,¡± he began, fumbling in his seat. ¡°When I was in Thuruk, I was trying to learn how to cast a fireball. It was difficult to aspect my mana at first, but then I learned how to feel it. After that, aspecting it was just a matter of¡­.¡±


    ¡°You could what!?¡± She stood up from her seat and walked towards him. Then she placed both her hands on either side of his shoulders, shaking him vehemently. ¡°You could feel your mana!? Not only can you see your mana, but you can also feel it? This means you''ve also opened your spiritual touch. This is big news, boy, big news!¡±


    She then walked backwards and flopped onto the couch.


    ¡°I hate to disappoint, mistress, but it never worked. Proper spells seem to fail because my mana do not have enough push to form the necessary structure.¡±


    ¡°Proper spells?¡± She looked at him with curiosity. ¡°What about cantrips?¡±


    ¡°Oh, those?¡±


    He waved his hand, causing fire to flicker on top of his index finger, then he snuffed it out.


    ¡°Could do the fire based one easily, but no more than that.¡±


    The elf just stared at him, stupefied.


    ¡°Boy, I am, by now, utterly and completely speechless.¡±


    He offered her a questioning look.


    She then recovered and looked at him with every bit of vehemence as she had when she shook him.


    ¡°No human, in recorded history, has ever learned to cast cantrips. You are the first!¡±


    ***


    The elf, who had tested and taught him the basics of magic, brushed off the fact that he learned in a month what took an average elf a year¡ªespecially the fact that he learned anything at all! It was supposed to be impossible, but the elf either ignored the fact that he could feel and aspect mana (out of some supremacist viewpoint) or the elf was just dumb beyond belief. Sashaiuin believed it was a mixture of both, adding something about him being one of a kind, and that he should be given the chance to advance, at least for the benefit of the world. For if humans had any dormant talent at handling magic, and everyone was just ignoring it, then the world was missing out on a lot because of it. Perhaps an elven babe (at the throes of death because of an incurable disease) could have been saved by a human who had the right confluence of perspective, experience and talent to cure her. The world¡ªespecially her, Sashaiuin¡ªcould not bear the burden of failing to train a budding talent before everything was too late.


    Such were the reasons why Winston was now standing in the training yard, carrying a wooden sword at his hip and waiting for the others to arrive. Sashaiuin had tasked him to join a team of elven mages under her command to learn from them how to overcome his mana''s lack of pressure. But when the elves arrived (also carrying wooden swords), he became unsure how successful this plan would be. They were giving him dirty looks, scowling and scoffing while whispering in hushed tones, doubtlessly gossiping about his presence.


    ¡°Everyone!¡± a burly elf announced, facing everyone. ¡°Get in line. Now!¡±


    The elves, fifteen or so, scampered to form two lines, facing a direction perpendicular to the lines. Winston, being a novice, blundered his way to the side of one very tall elf. The elf gave him a sidelong glance, then the elf smiled, and the next thing he knew, he was tumbling on the grass. Blasted elf! Was he picking a fight with him!? Oh he was going to get it. Winston abruptly stood and prepared to launch a fist at the elf''s stupidly long nose, when a hand blocked him, securing him in place.


    ¡°Slave Winston,¡± the burly elf spurted out, emphasizing the word slave. ¡°Attempting to hurt a comrade is a grave offense against the militia''s code of conduct. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±


    ¡°The hell? He pushed me first!¡±


    The leader¡ªthe man seemed to be one¡ªlooked at the others.


    ¡°Did any of you see Soreith push the slave?¡±


    The others shook their heads in denial.


    ¡°Then I guess that settles it,¡± the leader looked Winstond in the eye, with a dastardly irritating smile. ¡°I¡¯ll let you off the hook just this once. The next time you cause trouble, you''re out! Regardless of the mistress''s orders. I''d rather quit the job than be forced to teach a worthless slave who can''t control himself. I''m sure you don''t want that to happen?¡±


    Winston gnashed his teeth and (despite himself) nodded.


    The leader immediately stood in front, as Winston got in line at the back of the tall elf, while distancing himself just enough from the elf at his side, so the previous scene wouldn¡¯t repeat itself.


    ¡°We''ll be sparring for today,¡± the leader announced to all of them. ¡°No magic. And for the benefit of the slave in our team, I repeat this again. Training the body is important for a mage if he wants to reel in his magic more skillfully, that is if he has any or if he''s delusional enough to think that he has any,¡± the leader smirked obviously at his direction.


    Okay deep breaths, calm down, calm down.


    The leader moved his attention back to the whole group.


    ¡°The body, after all, is the foundation and main focus of any spell. Any questions?¡±


    Silence¡­.


    ¡°Alright, begin sparring.¡±


    The elves began pairing up with each other leaving Winston to partner with the asshole elf who had pushed him. Was this intentional? Were they intentionally annoying him, so he''d lash out, giving them reason to evict him from the group? Because if that''s what they were doing then it was working. But he refused to let them win, so he controlled his emotions and restrained his anger. He''d show this elf what he was made of.


    The tall elf¡ªSoreith as he was called¡ªstood confidently opposite him.


    ¡°Make sure to give me one hell of a fight, slave,¡± he arrogantly challenged. ¡°Personally, I think this is all a farce set up by the mistress. You are nothing special. And you''d never amount to anything.¡±


    Winston closed his eyes. The fuming rage threatened to harass his composure, but if he was going to take any good out of this, he needed to calm down.


    ¡°I''d make sure not to damage your pretty face, at least,¡± he intoned, opening his eyes and smiling at the elf.


    The elf seemed to take offense at this and lunged at him.


    ***


    A month had passed and Winston did nothing but spar with the elves, almost always losing every fight. He was sure that they were cheating with magic because they moved and struck with such speed and strength that it was impossible to have come from flesh alone. He suspected they were intentionally obstructing his growth, or merely underestimating his potential. Whenever they did exercises to improve their spell casting or learned techniques to better master their spell control, Acsmith¡ªthe leader of the team¡ªalways never explained it in novice terms. Instead, he purposefully spoke jargon that only they could understand. Such impudence and haughtiness. But what could he do? He couldn''t just go and whine at Sashaiuin with the hope of bringing Acsmith and the other elves to justice, that would just force them to treat him worse than they already did. No, he needed to keep silent and learn whatever he could. At least his combat skills had significantly improved in the span of the previous month.


    Now though, he was deemed ¡®worthy¡¯ enough by Acsmith to join them on a mission. That was why he was sitting on a floating carriage along with the fifteen other elves, while Acsmith manned the helm. The carriage had a long body and two seats that were parallel with each other, so that he and seven other elves sat opposite the other eight elves. The carriage''s roofed body was completely made of metal, and peering a little bit at the front revealed that Acsmith was steering the machine by some sort of levers. If the right lever was pulled down, the other would be pushed up, and the machine turned right and vice versa. What he was seeing piqued his interest grearly¡ªsuch amazing feats of magical engineering. He wished nothing more than to drive the thing, but aside from the fact that he was a slave, he was just not qualified to do it.


    When they came out of the estate, they followed a paved road that led to the city. Why the roads were paved he did not know. If you had floating vehicles why bother pave the roads at all? He got his answer when they arrived at the sprawling city. He saw that not everyone had floating vehicles. Some rode horseless, wheeled transportation that were also almost made entirely of metal. They were shining and beautiful to look at. Then he turned his attention to the city. Towering edifices that stood in almost every corner greeted his sight, while there were lower-storied buildings that were nevertheless massive albeit in the horizontal direction. His mouth was agape at the sights he was taking in.


    When they had been traveling from the auction house towards Sashaiuin''s estate, they were placed in a cage with two small windows, so he never got to see the city. And whenever they were called to work at the store, they always used those so-called tele-pads that teleported them to their destination, somewhat groggily and queasily. Working at the store granted few sightseeing chances as they were mainly working behind closed doors, a ¡®warehouse¡¯ they called it.


    He then brought his attention to his teammates who were all looking rather sleepy, no doubt because it was still seven in the morning. He had learned in his time with them that the elves were fairly young (around eighteen years old). Soreith himself was nineteen, the oldest elf among the trainees. Acsmith on the other hand was older than the lifespan of those few humans who got to the age of a hundred, having lived for a hundred and eight years old.


    After traveling for fifteen minutes they arrived at a town. It still had buildings that rose several stories high but not as impressive as the city¡ªthe capital of Sashaiuin''s duchy. But it was nonetheless impressive¡ªat least more impressive than Thuruk. What struck him as odd, however, was the lack of walls surrounding the town. But considering that the average elf was very powerful, he guessed, for the most part, that they did not need walls for security.


    Their vehicle stopped at the town hall¡ªthe biggest he had ever seen. Thuruk''s town hall was just the size of a house, but this one looked like eigth houses put side by side and stacked over each other.


    An elf, wearing a blue robe, greeted them.


    ¡°Welcome, Sirs, we have been expecting you. Come, come, we must talk.¡±


    The blue-robed elf led them into the town hall and then towards a briefing room.


    Once in, they began to scatter and sit in chairs arranged all over the room in columns and rows.


    ¡°What seems to be the problem, Mayor?¡± Acsmith asked, striking immediately at the heart of the matter without dallying.


    ¡°Well, you see¡­.¡± The mayor cooed, locking gaze with Acsmith and the rest of them as if he was gauging how serious they were about this mission. ¡°We have been faring pretty well against a few minor monster attacks this past month, and we do not know why they''re attacking unprovoked, as all of these monsters are herbivores¡­.¡±


    ¡°Then why for the life of me did you call us?¡± interrupted Acsmith, pointedly.


    ¡°Ah yes,¡± the mayor responded, scratching his head. ¡°We have wizened mages at our disposal but they aren''t really geared for combat, so while they are effective against a few monsters, they''re not qualified to handle what I''d like to request from you. They are more specialized in other fields of magic, most especially enchanting and healing. If we apply the adventurer''s ranking system on any one of them, the highest rank would only be rank D.¡±


    ¡°I see. That''s why you called for us,¡± Acsmith nodded. ¡°More for me than for my students. You want an A-rank adventurer to handle this case, supported by at least a dozen more D-ranks.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, I requested for you specifically because of your track record and because your students are among the best D-ranks out there.¡±


    Winston couldn''t help but notice how the young elves around him preened themselves, doubtlessly pleased at being called ¡®one of the best D-ranks.¡¯ For all it''s worth, he inferred from this that the strength of a mage didn''t solely lie on his mana pool (or else his teammates would never hope to equal those ¡®wizened¡¯ elves, much less become one of the best) but also on his combat instincts, expertise in formulating stratagems, as well as cunning and deception, which every member of this team had. He supposed that those ¡®wizened elves¡¯ had bigger pools than his teammates (hence ¡®wizened¡¯ being the operative word) but lacked any combat related skills. Nonetheless, in a war of attrition, the bigger pool would always win, or if it was a war of pure unadulterated power, the result would always tilt towards the bigger pool which enabled the casting of more powerful spells.


    ¡°Have you investigated where the monsters are coming from?¡±


    ¡°Yes we have.¡± The mayor nodded. ¡°There have been a few towns suffering the same problem as we have, and we have asked them about the direction the monsters came from. Coupled with the info of our own monster attacks, we have thus determined the source of the problem, and it all points toward Skurim.¡±


    ¡°Skurim?¡± Acsmith raised, his tone doubtful and unbelieving. ¡°You''re saying that the monsters that have lived in that forest without ever going beyond its boundaries for centuries are attacking towns?¡±


    ¡°I''m afraid so. There''s always a first time for everything,¡± the mayor''s eyes darted left and right, avoiding eye contact with Acsmith. Winston suspected the man had more information than he let on, but Winston chose to remain silent so that he wouldn''t provoke the ire of their leader. ¡°At present, only a few straggling monsters have attacked any settlement, so it hasn''t yet reached the attention of the higher ups. And as much as I want to simply shrug it off as a passing matter that would eventually solve itself, I have a hunch that it''s going to get worse.¡±


    ¡°So you came to us instead of the council, and you hope that whatever we find would convince them enough to take this matter seriously?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­.¡±


    The mayor fidgeted and fiddled with a coin, flipping it gracefully (and nervously) in his fingers. Okay, now he was really acting very suspicious. He seemed to be pondering what his next words should be as if careful not to reveal a secret that would jeopardize his safety (or if he was magnanimous enough, his citizen¡¯s safety).


    ¡°There is this other thing¡­. Probably unrelated but it would help us much if you investigated it¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±


    When the elf didn''t talk but instead closed his eyes in thought, Acsmith became visibly impatient.


    ¡°Just spit it out already!¡±


    The mayor opened his eyes with a start and backpedaled a bit, surprised at Acsmith''s outcry.


    ¡°W-well,¡± he stammered. ¡°Some of my citizens have been going missing for some time now. I was wondering if you could spare some time looking for them or investigating what the hell is happening to my town.¡±


    Acsmith looked the man in the eye.


    ¡°Will do,¡± he said, standing up. ¡°Leave it all to us.¡± He smiled.


    ***


    Winston and the rest of his company were peering over the ledge of a cliff. Acsmith clacked his tongue, visibly worried at what he was seeing. This close to the edge of the Skurim forest, which they reached after they had driven for a full four hours, they could clearly make out a group of Dako-Bears. Based on Acsmith''s estimation they were already at the third stage of their monstrous development. How in the deepest of hells (according to Acsmith''s rant) did a group of stage-3 monsters get this close to the edge of the forest? Mostly, only stage-1 monsters should roam these parts.


    ¡°Suspicious,¡± Acsmith admitted, standing up and walking back towards the top of the cliff via the ledge that jutted along its side which sloped up to the top and to the bottom. The rest of the company followed.


    ¡°We are attacking those monsters,¡± Acsmith explained, once they were at the top. ¡°We will have to, of course, investigate what''s causing this gentrification, but before that, we need to eliminate this hazard. They might push through and attack any nearby settlements.¡±


    ¡°Understood,¡± Soreith answered for all of them. Winston thought if he should remind everyone that he was severely handicapped against these monsters, a case in point being that he never won any match against the elves¡ªhe just wasn''t magical enough to deal with any threat above stage-2. Then he decided against the thought and would just stay out of the thick of it, only offering some needed support (if there would be any).


    Once they were done formulating the plan, they descended down through the ledge. They stalked the twenty, sleeping Dako-Bears, readying to attack. The plan was to take them all in one fell swoop.


    The sixteen elves jumped and struck at the monsters. But somehow, something alerted the beasts and they woke up from their slumber, buckling back. Only Acsmith¡¯s sword struck true. Acsmith pulled his sword from the corpse of the Dako-Bear and began to lunge at another one. Winston himself wasn''t left to his own devices as one of the bears pounced on him, but before the beast could maul him to his meat, he quickly jumped to the side, allowing the maw of the beast to pass by harmlessly at his side. The beasts were no doubt magically enhanced, and being stage-3 meant they were even more so, so dealing with them head on wasn''t the best of plans (at least in his case). The beast bounded for him again but was blocked by Acsmith¡ªsword on claw, the elf danced with the beast. Then he managed to slash a small wound on the beast''s cheek and it bucked backwards. Before he could deal a final hit at the monster, two more vaulted for him, their claws ready to grind him to mince meat. But Acsmith simply erected a plane of force that was mostly transparent save for the fact that rippling blurs emanated from spots where the beasts¡¯ claws struck.


    Winston remembered that stage-3 monsters were supposed to have already fully developed a magical ability. He wondered why he wasn''t seeing any signs of that¡­. A shard of bone flitted in the air that Winston barely dodged by leaning his head backwards. He only saw the attack from his peripheral vision. The sharp bone shard came from a Dako-Bear that one of his elven teammates was dealing with. Oh that magical ability. It took them (and by that he meant the elves; he was completely useless in the fight, a fact which he would make sure never to make permanent) about ten minutes to deal with the beasts completely.


    They proceeded to make camp for the evening and sat around a camp fire, telling stories of tolerable bawdry and sometimes obviously made up horror tales of creatures of the night. Early on, it was clear that Winston had been demoted from barely tolerated companion to a non-existent expendable member of the team. He hated being made to feel that way, but what could he do? He had to endure it until he found some way to develop his previously budding but now stagnating magical abilities. He couldn''t shape the threads into the same shapes that the humans in his vision formed with their mana despite being successful in being able to bend them into rounded shapes. With those thoughts in mind Winston piled on top of his sleeping bag beneath the stark embrace of the night sky. The elves didn''t want to share a tent with him, that was why he was forced to sleep outside, amidst the crawling bugs and the annoying mosquitos that bit with annoying frequency. Soon enough he learned to shut off the world around him and drifted into sleep.


    Seven hours later Winston got up from his sleeping bag and went to take a dump. He made sure to walk far enough not to be seen by his comrades and at the same time close enough not to be hunted by monsters. Once he finished, he stood up and proceeded to¡­. What''s that sound? He swiftly panned his head around him and scanned for any movement. Halfway through his panoramic search an arm wrapped itself around his neck in a choke hold. Winston was finding it hard to breathe.


    ¡°Freaking human. Damn you all.¡±


    The voice was familiar¡­ Soreith, Winston was sure.


    ¡°How did you get the mistress''s favor? Do you know I''m one of her multi-generation grandchildren and she has never even bothered to send any resources my way?¡±


    It figured. Obviously an elf, as old as a two-thousand-four-hundred-year-old elf like Sashaiuin, is bound to have had thousands of descendants, that meant she could only focus her attention on so much, most probably on only those that caught her interest¡ªwhether it be because of their talent or their work ethic. Soreith just either didn''t have what it took, or he was just unlucky. But regardless what did that have to do with him?


    ¡°Here comes a human, a slave for that matter, and he has somehow curried my ancestor''s favor? What did you do, human? What trick have you performed to woo her favor?¡±


    ¡°I-I s-simply sh-show more promise than you.¡±


    Winston couldn''t help but smirk inwardly, and he felt Soreith tighten his grip. While that obviously wasn¡¯t the real reason Sashaiuin was helping him (most probably the real reason was that Winston was just an interesting human¡ªthe first to do magic in the span of forever), the pleasure drawn from intentionally irritating someone you hate made him feel smug towards Soreith.


    ¡°Why you¡ª¡±


    Winston elbowed Soreith on the side which made the other man jerk backwards therby releasing him from Soreith''s grip. Winston pulled his sword and prepared to launch a horizontal slash that would slice open Soreith''s stomach. But before Winston could do harm, he felt a heavy weight weighing on his mind, as if his head was being constricted by a python. What the hell¡­. He could see Soreith pointing a finger at him.


    ¡°More promise eh? Let''s see you break out of a sleep spell then.¡±


    Winston tried hard to keep himself awake. He bit his lips, causing a tiny drop of blood to drip down from them. Then he clenched his fist, allowing his fingernails to dig into his skin. But the pressure on his mind forced him to kneel down.


    A thud.


    Everything went black.

 Book 1 — Chapter Five: A talent from an orphanage

    She was awake or maybe asleep or perhaps both? She waded through without seeing¡ªthrough something that she recognized as nothing yet felt like something. She saw, no she felt, no actually she heard. Ah! She was seeing without sight and feeling without touch and hearing without ears. Then everything consolidated into something finally real¡ªor at least something she recognized as such. Around her was a forest, but instead of the vibrant greens and browns that effused out of forests this one had a blanketing blue hue, as though blue filters had been placed on her eyes. Who was she again? S-Sapphire? Yes, she was indeed. What was she doing here? What is this place? The last thing she remembered was dying¡­. She wasn''t dead, was she?


    She roamed around this forest to finally stumble upon a human boy bound to a tree trunk with a rope. He was unconscious, and scabs were covering small wounds on his lips and palms. What could have happened? Then she heard the prowls of a beast, which she recognized as a bear, but something was different about this one. Then a thought bubbled up from the depths of her mind and she remembered: this was a Dako-Bear. A bear turned into a monster by mana. She realized that it was stalking the boy, so she bounded on top of her toes and tried to undo the knot on the rope, but as she did so, her hands passed through the rope and consequently through the trunk of the tree. She was incorporeal? How could this be? Was she really dead?


    She racked her brain for a solution. Then she noticed the boy''s figure began to glow, and his material form started becoming ghostly, granting her sight into a black emptiness, like the darkness of the universe with the form of a human, while veins of light wrapped around this darkness and propagated through all his limbs. Then she noticed that some of those veins were tangled in a messy bunch just at his head. She looked to the beast and saw it starting to pounce at the boy, so she hurried towards the boy''s head. She instinctively knew what to do: she needed to untangle the veins of light that bunched up in the boy¡¯s head¡ªmeridians that clogged up the proper flow of mana into his brain. She could touch them and undo the knots. At a moment''s notice, the world started to slow down (including the vaulting beast) as if the processes of her mind (if she had any in this incorporeal form) somehow sped up to give her time to undo the snarling veins. Immediately, she started undoing the tangled mess of glowing meridians. When she finished undoing the last knot, the world sped up again, and the boy''s features returned. Then the boy looked at her briefly, then at the rope, as if wondering why he was in this mess.


    The rope that bound him crisply burst into flames; its ashen remains offered no resistance as the boy stood up, weaving to the side, barely dodging the Dako-Bear¡¯s maw that ripped through the trunk and pulled out a huge chunk of the wood. What just happened? She did not know for certain, but did the boy just cast magic? A human? The boy was still looking at her and she looked back. Instead of the eyes of a helpless, hapless human, he now had a fiery gaze, which, rather than indicating inexperience, represented a man who had a depthless knowledge of combat and an inimitable mastery of magic. When the bear turned its attention back to him, its maw soaring in the air towards his direction, he quickly raised his two hands in front of him. Tendrils of light escaped from his hands and began creating a pattern in the air¡ªsome angled, others knotted. Then she saw the mana in the air surged into the pattern, weaving through the symbols and finally transforming into the force aspect. A plane of force formed into a rectangular construct in front of the boy, starting from the center and rippling towards its edges.


    The bear''s teeth pierced through the shield but it did not get through. The boy clicked his tongue, seeming to be disappointed at his magic''s performance. The bear''s mouth appeared to be stuck as it tried to pull itself free but was failing to its chagrin. The boy took advantage of its plight by pivoting on his heels, rotating around the shield, keeping it intact to hold the bear''s mouth in place, and piercing the tip of his sword through the bear''s side. The sword reached midway when the Dako-Bear pulled itself free from the force-shield, shattering it. Then it backpedaled, freeing itself from the bite of the boy''s sword. Sharp bones then grew from the monster''s face.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the splinters of bone launched towards the boy. When the bones reached a certain distance from him, they flared up into flames, its ashes merely blown by the wind. Seeing its failure, the bear furiously roared. It sprung from its position, bounding for the boy. The edges of the boy''s sword suddenly glowed red hot, searing the beast''s flesh as it cut through its head. The beast died, headless. And the boy huffed in triumph.


    She would have liked to talk to the boy but couldn''t. Then she was suddenly whisked away by a mysterious force. A vortex of light swallowed her and the next thing she knew, she snapped into the body of a girl and woke up.


    ***


    She jerked up from her bed, sweating profusely and huffing as if she had just run a marathon. No matter, this will just resolve¡­. A surge of foreign memory erupted in her mind¡ªno wait, this was hers but from another lifetime. She was Sapphire Auston, adopted daughter (or at least would-be adopted daughter) of the King of Ethera. She had just successfully rewinded time and would soon start her journey towards the peak of magic¡ªor at least that''s how she remembered it to be. About a month from now, she would be adopted by the King of Ethera from among elves more advanced than her. The first time it happened, it was purely by accident. She wasn''t supposed to get adopted that day, being still in the preliminary stages of mana-control development. But, lo and behold, when the King came out of the training hall, dejected that he had found no one of interest among the sixteen-year-olds presented for his picking, he chanced upon her, sitting on one of the couches scattered around the living room. The King saw, in his extraordinarily advanced spiritual eyes, that Sapphire was emanating vast amounts of aura that presaged her future potency in magic. At least, that''s how the King had described it to her when she pestered him later on for an answer.


    Looking at the wall clock in her room, just right above the door, it was already morning. She stood up and changed her nightgown to a more fitting outfit. Walking down the stairs she bumped into her fellow orphan¡ªa hateful, haughty gal that bemoaned everything in the world, including her.


    ¡°Fancy seeing you this early in the morning,¡± the woman sassily provoked. ¡°Bitch.¡±


    Being called bitch somehow made Sapphire prickly, but her long experience had forged her into a good humored elf, eschewing conflict whenever possible and whenever doing so was good.


    Instead of an acerbic quip, she offered her a friendly smile.


    ¡°Good morning, Saiena,¡± she blithely greeted.


    The woman scoffed.


    ¡°You and your toxic facad¨¦. No day is good with you around. Why are you always acting like a goody two shoes? I know you''re a caustic bitch inside. So show it. I absolutely despise you. Always doing ¡®good deeds¡¯ just to get everyone''s attention.¡±


    She¡­ was actually right. In the past¡ªSapphire meant her other past¡ªshe would always try to do good just so she could get Madame''s attention, which when earned made her preen herself as the better girl than her peers. Nonetheless, Sapphire was certain¡ªshe remembered¡ªthat this girl was jealous of her because of her sizable mana reserves of a hundred thousand jiggs. But Saiena had the better mana control, and if she applied herself more rigorously, she was sure Saiena would become a peerless mage. Sapphire guessed it was an infirmity of soul in many to want what they did not have and be blind to the things that they did have.


    ¡°Love you too, Saiena,¡± she jokingly said, smiling, but she meant it too at the same time. Truth wrapped around jocularity.


    Saiena merely glowered in return.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± she said, walking down the stairs. ¡°I''m not the one who''s in trouble.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sapphire said warily. ¡°I-I am?¡± She didn''t remember that happening in the previous time she lived through this. Whatever could be the reason?


    ¡°Yes, you are, dumbass,¡± Saiena gibed. ¡°Just get down and find out for yourself.¡±


    When they reached the living room, Saiena veered to the side towards the training hall, probably going to train her mana control. Saiena had not practiced since three days ago (?).... She forgot when the last time Saiena trained, it was a long time ago (for Sapphire, at least). Regardless, Saiena was already so advanced at it that she was exempted from mana-control training.


    When Sapphire set foot in the living room, the headmistress, or Madame as they called her, greeted her with a deadpan expression. Uh-oh, if she remembered correctly, that meant she was furious inside.


    ¡°You did not come to last night''s mana control training, young lady,¡± She groused.


    ¡°I-I didn''t?¡±


    Madame put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°You didn''t,¡± a moue of discontent formed on her lips. Of course she didn''t, she regressed back to that one time when she went to bed early because she was tired from helping take care of the little ones, entirely forgetting the scheduled training. ¡°When I sent one of the gals to fetch you, they came down saying you were fast asleep, and sleep-talking about a human mage or something. Have you gone soft in the head or something, huh, Sapphire? You know far more than anyone how I want my ladies to behave: punctual and responsible. Unlike those ruffians at the male side of this city''s Soul-House. You know how much the ones at that orphanage, especially their headmaster, give a bad name to the entire Soul-House branch in this city. You would do well not to emulate their behavior.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she announced, giving her ascent. ¡°I''ll keep that in mind Madame.¡±


    ¡°Oh you damn well should. You know full well that our reputation doesn''t stand up to the scrutiny of the folks in this neighborhood, calling us but a cheap imitation of the more successful orphanages that train young talents. That means we''re poor, because few sponsors support us; so much so that we need to hook a big sponsor soon or we''ll be closing down. That means the more fortunate of you will get picked up by houses slightly better than ours, while others would be left to the streets. And besides, skipping mana control practice just so you could sleep early is a rather poor display of your dedication. Despite your mana reserves, your mana control is horrible. Any respectable mage family would only ever choose you if you were the last orphan in the world. Your only redeeming factor being that you''re dedicated, a fact which has been smeared with mud by your actions last night¡­.¡±


    Oh, right. She remembered. This was one of the reasons, aside from vanity, that she strived to please Madame with all the fiber of her being¡ªshe was insufferable when she nagged, and when she did, it was never a quick lesson but a protracted lecture. But the tempering of all those years spent mediating conflicts between merchants, as well as intervening in disputes between raucous aristocrats, had molded her into an amicable elf.


    After listening patiently to fifteen minutes of irritating lecture, relief washed over her when Madame finally relented.


    ¡°I understand it fully well Madame,¡± Sapphire assured, while Madame eyeballed her carefully. "It won''t happen again.¡±


    ¡°It better not be, or else I''ll spank your bottom a thousand times more than you''d wish.¡±


    Sapphire shivered at the thought. A thousand spanking would really hurt, but she knew Madame did not have it in her to hurt her charges. She might have been very strict and imposed rules by taking things or activities the girls loved from them as punishment, but she would never hurt a fly.


    ¡°I''ll be off now, Madame,¡± Sapphire meekly said. ¡°I''m going to go practice my mana control to make up for the time I lost.¡±


    Madame snorted derisively. ¡°Make sure to use your time well.¡± She trailed.


    Sapphire waited for Madame to dismiss her.


    ¡°What are you staring for? shoo!¡±


    Sapphire then bolted towards the training hall.


    Once in, she was greeted with a spacious, empty, white room, which wasn''t actually empty as Saiena trained on one of the corners, sitting down in a lotus position. Activating her spiritual eyes, Sapphire could see a globe of unaspected mana in front of Saiena, which she dutifully shaped into various forms, those being fish, birds, four-legged animals, and various humanoid shapes. Yeah, she was better than her, and thanks to the reset, the mana control, which she honed through jaw-dropping dedication, had also regressed.


    Though mana control wasn''t exactly magic as such (all the magical, sentient races agreed), it was nevertheless a necessary, precursory basis towards the real path of magic¡ªdefined as being the act of drawing a spell-effect from mana, as well as that very spell-effect. In other words, no mana control, no magic.


    She immediately sat down on the floor of the training hall with only the sound of her and Saiena''s breathing flooding the room. Training halls for mana-control exercises were specifically sound-proofed so as to allow a mage in training to focus. This was also why such rooms were more commonly called as quiet rooms than training halls, which more accurately captured the idea of what the room represented.


    Sapphire closed her eyes, releasing a cloud of mana in front of her and trying as much as she could to form it into a sphere¡ªthe very first step to learning mana shaping. Somehow, she envied the human in her dream or was that real? But then again, how could something like that be possible? So a dream then.


    He was shaping his mana into thin lines that knotted and curved into various finicky shapes, the sort of mana shaping that could be considered as godly. She knew of no one who could ever pull that off, not even her¡ªthe pinnacle of elven magic. But she guessed she should put those thoughts aside and focus on the now, so she trained.


    ***


    Sapphire and five other female elves stood in line inside the quiet room. It had taken her about a month to drastically improve her mana control¡ªand even then it was still sub-par compared to the more advanced girls¡ªthanks to the variety of tricks that she had picked up in her previous lifetime that helped in improving mana shaping in the fraction of the time it usually developed. Some of those tricks she even developed herself to help her students advance far faster than possible. She did not bet on luck this time around. Now, she was part of the picking, alongside Saiena, who, just like last time, advanced fast enough to be included with the sixteen-year-olds despite being about ten-months younger than them¡ªjust like her, only, she was about a year younger than the others.


    Madame ushered in the first aspirant foster parent¡ªor parents, plural: a married couple who had astonishingly deep eyebags. The man''s hands were twitching every now and then, and the woman''s eyes were tinted with a shade of red. Sapphire was taught not to judge people by appearances as all of those signs could have indicated many things. One possible explanation was that the woman was suffering from an eye disease that reddened the sclera of the eye. Another could have been that the woman had suffered a backlash from an alchemical failure and its smoke¡ªan irritant¡ªbrazenly found its way to her eyes. As for the man, he could have had a physical condition that explained his tic, or it could have been that he was particularly just fond of twitching them out of some habit he formed since his childhood, or some such other numerous reasons. The point was, to provide an overarching impression of the character of a man by discrete (possibly situational) information formed from their appearance was a bad way to judge people.


    Although, the act of judging by appearance could be very well justified if a person foresaw possible risk to thinking otherwise¡ªa case in point being the eternal, proverbial warning for kids: ¡°Don¡¯t talk to strangers¡±. Maybe that''s why evolution had developed this instinct in all creatures: to aid in their survival. But the act of superseding that for a good reason, she supposed, was a facility of a higher creature. But¡­ she humored the judgmental urges and thought: They could be doing drugs. But let it slide as just a fanciful, humoring thought, as if Soul-House would allow people like that to adopt.


    The two elves briefly paused in front of one of the girls.


    ¡°If you were given a chance at power,¡± the woman began, smiling. ¡°But it means sacrificing an integral part of you, will you jump at the chance?¡±


    Now, that was a strange question. Some cynical part of Sapphire belabored her with thoughts about the possibility that maybe her negative judgment was true, but she still brushed it aside. I trust Madame knows what she''s doing.


    ¡°I-I don''t know how to answer that,¡± the girl replied, flinching on the spot. ¡°M-maybe?¡±


    The woman shook her head. She moved on to the next girl, namely, Saiena.


    ¡°Same question.¡±


    Saiena flashed an evil grin and briefly glanced askance at Sapphire, obviously gloating and smug.


    ¡°Would I ever,¡± she answered. ¡°Especially if it means I could crush my enemies.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Madame visibly winced at her answer, just as all the other girls were unnerved by it.


    ¡°She¡¯s the one,¡± the woman smiled, turning to Madame. ¡°Where do I sign?¡±


    Huh, weird foster parents for a weird girl, with the word weird being a mere euphemism.


    ¡°Yes, right,¡± Madame quickly gained her composure and led the woman and her husband to a table Madame had snuck into the quiet room before this whole thing began. ¡°Please sign here.¡±


    When the whole matter with the paperworks was done, Saiena strode with her new parents and left the room. A few minutes later, a burly elf was ushered in; his unkempt facial hair made him look like a thug, but guessing by Madame''s incessant simpering, the man had definitely dropped a huge donation at the outset, probably (actually she knew this as fact) becoming a loyal sponsor by the end. After all, this man was none other than Sorus Auston, King of Ethera. Although relatively young compared to most of the living leaders around the continent, his wisdom was second to none (which did not really reflect his age). If she calculated it right, Sapphire was sure that after the rewind, he should be five hundred and six years old now. A perfect glamor was cast around his facade, preventing the elves in this room, except for her, from connecting their memory of the King''s face to his present countenance.


    Immediately upon seeing her, the King¡¯s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. Realizing his reaction, he quickly composed himself, adopting a more serene expression. He walked over to Sapphire and stood before her.


    ¡°What''s your name, child?¡±


    ¡°Sapphire.¡±


    Her reply was terse because she did not want to clue the man in on the fact that she knew he was the King. Any sign of deferential attitude towards him would tip him off about Sapphire''s foreknowledge.


    ¡°Do you have anything you like doing?¡±


    The King scratched his beard.


    ¡°Studying about magic!¡± she exclaimed, beaming, and it was also true, considering she had spent all her waking hours in the past poring over tomes and scattered papers (on which she wrote her findings and ideas) to invent new useful items and spells.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± the King ruminated for a while, putting his hands behind his back. ¡°What¡¯s your ambition?¡±


    ¡°Protecting the nation! Helping it become strong, and helping the common people improve their living conditions.¡±


    The King shook his head.


    ¡°Too shallow an ambition, young lady. I need something more concrete.¡±


    Sapphire thought for a while. The King did not ask her this question the last time. Why now? But she resolved on an answer.


    ¡°I want to be able to cast magic by the end of the year.¡±


    ¡°That would be about seven months from now.¡± The King smiled. ¡°Very well, Sapphire. Henceforth you shall be my daughter. I will help you achieve, with all the resources at my disposal, your goal. By the end of this year, you shall be casting magic fit for your level. And the years after that, well, be creative, and I''ll help you achieve them all!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sir,¡± she said, grinning widely. ¡°But would you mind if I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± the king intoned, waving his hand in the air.


    ¡°Why did you ask me that specific question?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± the King began, folding his arms in front of him. ¡°I''ve heard you''re quite gifted, developing your mana control in a little over a month. Usually people like you are ambitious, some even become so consumed by ambition that they lose track of what they''re truly capable of¡ªwhich is, if I''m being honest, really sub-par. I had to see if you had a more concrete goal in mind, for the future.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Um,¡± Madame cut in, looking apologetic. ¡°I hate to cut your conversation short but the other aspirant foster parents are waiting outside, and I can''t really allow this to drag too long, so maybe¡­¡± she flinched, ¡°you both can end it here?¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± the King fluttered in embarrassment. ¡°Of course, of course. Where are the papers?¡±


    The King and Madame then took care of the paperworks. Afterwards, Sapphire walked out of the Soul-House, tailing his royal patron¡ªher new father.


    ***


    Sapphire spent another month honing her mana control, and when it had reached a decent enough level, her instructor¨Ca very demanding scoffer¡ªdecided it was high time for her to really learn magic. Namely, step one: learning how to aspect mana. She should have started¡ªthe instructor disclosed¡ªlearning how to aspect in the previous month, at least that was how it went for him in his youth.


    ¡°When I first started learning to shape my mana,¡± he bragged. ¡°I learned it at record speed, being already capable of perfectly shaping my mana into anything a month after. Then I learned how to aspect, much too early for my age.¡± He scanned her snidely, from head to toe. ¡°You, however¡­ sadly, aren''t up to par for someone supposedly gifted. What might have caused your spike in growth may just very well be a fluke, or perhaps you blundered onto a technique that speeds up growth purely out of chance. Regardless, you need substantially more than this to be a High Mage at the very least, but I''ll make a proper battlemage out of you yet.¡±


    Of course it was about that, it was always about that, wasn''t it? Her previous lifetime was littered with mage-instructors that hampered her growth out of fear that she''d overtake them and become High Mage before they could even be included in the roster. What made Sonak different from all her past teachers was the fact that he was on the roster. Another difference was the fact that at least he did teach her something¡ªmany few tricks she never got to learn in the past. Maybe he just didn''t see her as competition, that''s why he was forthcoming, or maybe he was just generous with his talents. Regardless, he was kind of an ass towards her. But she wasn''t so prickly as to be so easily affected by that. As to why he was teaching her this time around, and not those cheap masters with few tricks, she blamed her conspicuous growth for that.


    She smiled exuberantly.


    ¡°I''ve been waiting for this the whole time!¡± she exclaimed, startling Sonak, who obviously expected her to be discouraged by his brazen remarks.


    ¡°Very well,¡± Sonak immediately schooled his features, pretending he wasn''t affected. ¡°Let''s start with the basics. Tell me, what is mana exactly?¡±


    ¡°Mana,¡± she began, closing her eyes as if in thought, and then opening them as if she decided on an answer, ¡°is the element that we can form into a spell-effect.¡±


    Of course she wasn¡¯t going to reveal she had all the knowledge in the world, hyperbolically speaking (unless it meant all the knowledge that was essential to a High Mage, then it would be the truth), so she decided on a very generic answer which was not exactly right but common enough of an answer that a novice would get away reciting it by rote.


    Sonak face-palmed, not bothering to hide his disappointment in her.


    ¡°Very generic definition,¡± Sonak groaned, finally removing his face from his palm. ¡°But no matter, it isn''t your fault you weren''t taught right. Really, the King should have avoided going to a Soul-House, they''re one, if not the worst of all orphanages.¡±


    Sapphire frowned. ¡°I''m listening here you know?¡±


    ¡°That, you are,¡± the elf arched an eyebrow. ¡°And? Does that mean I should be feeling remorse? No. I''m here to teach you, and if I can help it, make you see how terribly educated you are so that you don''t get any ideas of being so far above your peers, just because you sped up your development by two months. Hardly rare if I do say so myself.¡±


    Sapphire rolled her eyes. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I get it, I''m not special. Now can we continue?¡±


    Sapphire wanted more than anything else to step out of the room and begin her lesson by herself. After all, she already knew what to do, she only lacked practice. But alas, if she was going to keep the pretense of being just a gifted elf rather than someone with foreknowledge, she needed to stick to the script, she needed to endure re-listening to stuff she already knew.


    ¡°Very impatient, young lady.¡± Sonak smiled, instead of actually getting irate with her. ¡°I expected as much from an obnoxious brat. Okay let me clarify what I mean by generic. Your definition only scratches the barest surface of the truth. The truth is, mana isn''t an element. It is purely immaterial; neither matter nor particle. It is, in truth, now don''t laugh, possibility devoid of information.¡± He paused, checking Sapphire for a reaction. When he saw that Sapphire wasn''t the least bit affected, he continued. ¡°Oh good, you did not laugh. Most of my students who hear this definition think it''s stupid, but it is the truth. But I digress. It is the fact that mana is pure possibility that allows a mage to produce an effect out of it.¡±


    Sapphire raised a hand, and her mentor gestured for her to speak up.


    ¡°So that means,¡± Sapphire began, putting down her hand, ¡°if mana is pure possibility, a spell is nothing more but a constraint to this possibility? So to say it informs it?¡±


    Sonak''s eyes widened. His mouth slowly crept into a smile.


    ¡°Why, I¡¯ll be damned. You actually understood! Yes, you are perfectly correct. Since mana is pure possibility, to make it into anything, one must constrain it. That is why intent has to be imprinted onto mana when producing a spell. If for example you want a fireball, you have to imagine its form taking shape and imprint it onto the solid and fire aspected mana.¡±


    ¡°Then why,¡± Sapphire brought forth, tilting her head as if in wonder, ¡°do we see mana as some formless cloud of light when shaping it? And as motes of light when viewed in the air?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a perfectly reasonable explanation for that,¡± the man paused, then sagely nodded. ¡°Since mana is an immaterial possibility, we cannot naturally perceive it as it is. Instead, our souls make it look like it''s a mass of light. But that is never its true appearance, since it doesn''t have any. What we''re seeing with our spiritual eyes is just an interpretation our mind makes through the filter of the soul. It is the same with the other senses.¡±


    ¡°So basically, our souls just make it look like that so we can make sense of it?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    The discussion went on for hours, with Sonak and Sapphire exchanging thoughts back and forth.


    ***


    Six months had passed and Sapphire had fully mastered aspecting mana, but not aspecting it to match all the aspects she had learned in her past life. She could only aspect it to the water, cold, solid, and force aspects, at least for now. She was creative enough to use these aspects and their accompanying spells effectively in battle. Her mana reserves had also jumped up by fifty thousand jiggs, giving her a full hundred-fifty-K. By her estimation, her strength should be equivalent to an E-rank adventurer. But that was enough for this case, as she would be fighting sub-par elves¡ªthose that grew their talents away from the Kingdom''s purview, where only the wealthiest had access to the necessary resources to make a proper mage. Slavers though? They had barely enough money to burn that they had to resort to slaving. Most of the wealth gained from slaving all but went to the pockets of their leaders, the most powerful of whom could only be D-ranks with sizable reserves.


    A case had been filed at the guild for a batch of human low-adventurers going missing a year ago. The authorities did not even think twice to just throw the case in the dustbin. The case had only wafted to Sapphire''s attention because of an auspicious encounter with a human low-adventurer, whom she happened to meet on one of her wanderings close to Thuruk. She was just asking for directions when the human scoffed at her and told her to die. When she prodded for an answer why he thought so, the man rhapsodized about how the elves had been ignoring a case they filed for missing low-adventurers who were, according to him, most likely caught in a slaver''s trap.


    Dagnabbit, she was a year too late to stop the kidnappings. The human also told her of a hundred other cases of humans going missing that just couldn''t be reported to the guild, with the higher-ups saying the guild only handled guild business.


    Anyway, because of that news, she had been tracking down this particular group of slavers for a while now. They were using the old ¡®wagon and swift-horses¡¯, probably to avoid tripping the wires of suspicious humans by the sight of self-motioned vehicles (selmoves for short). After three days of tracking, she finally found their camp, situated at a ravine with a thin, flowing stream.


    She estimated their numbers to be about four dozen. It would be extremely dangerous to take on that many elves at the same time, even if they''re weak. She needed a plan. A while later, she was herding a herd of skeeps towards the slavers¡¯ camp. There were about seventy five of them, all stage-3¡ªdangerous enough for her purposes. She chose the skeeps because they were mostly cowards, fearful of any creature they deemed more powerful than themselves; at the same time, when roused to panic, they would often bite and ram anyone nearby.


    She looked at one of the skeeps, a herbivorous ovine with a wood-like hide and three powerful horns jutting from its head. No matter how much she looked at them, she couldn''t help but feel they were sublime, namely, elegant in their form. She shook her head. Focus. She needed to focus. One small group of skounds started to deviate from the others. She immediately casted a whirling mass of water, splashing the area ahead of the separating skeeps, causing them to buck back. A few more splashes and Sapphire successfully guided the strays back to the group.


    When they arrived at the camp, she casted a water wip, whipping the skeeps with it¡ªuntil they were charging madly at the elves. She wasn''t left alone, however, as five skeeps shifted to attack her. She quickly pointed her palms to the ground and released a rush of water, pushing her up by the pressure, and catapulting her towards the center of the camp. She slowly descended by, again, blasting high-pressure water to the ground, freeing her from her pursuers as the five skeeps found new victims to ram into. She barely moved her head when she saw an elf running after her, screaming something; ¡°Die you bitch!¡± she might have heard, or maybe not.


    A shower of dust descended upon Sapphire''s vision, preventing her from seeing. But she activated her spiritual eyes quickly enough to see light congealing around her feet. She jumped at the right moment, realizing after, that the ground where her feet had been had now become a pit of quicksand. She turned her attention back to the charging elf. He was now sporting a rocky gauntlet, racing towards her, ready to crush. She simply bent back to allow the gauntleted fist to pass by her, and then grabbed his arm. Cold and water mana started coiling around the elf''s arm, and then suddenly, it started to frost, and her attacker cried in pain. There might have been two ways to produce ice¡ªeither combining the water aspect with cold or solid aspects¡ªbut there was only one way to produce frost, by combining cold and water mana, and that shit hurt like hell. The elf jerked backwards rubbing his reddened upper arm.


    ¡°We didn''t attack you! What have we done to deserve this raid?¡±


    Sapphire smiled. ¡°What have the slaves done to deserve your cruelty?¡±


    The elf''s eyes focused beyond Sapphire, causing his face to twitch a bit. Ah! A geyser of water erupted from behind Sapphire, hurling the furtive elf behind her up into the air, who eventually fell down with a loud thud. The elf writhed in pain for a while. Sapphire used that time to fling spheres of ice at the elven leader who deftly dodged her constructs.


    The elven leader then flung spikes of rocks towards her, which she blocked by erecting a thick ice barrier. A flurry of movement at her side caught her attention, and she dodged backwards. Burning balls of solid fire innocuously passed by her. Then tendrils of water began creeping from the ground, which successfully slithered around the two elves who had casted those fireballs. The tentacles of water froze after they had completely wrapped around the elves.


    The elves fell down while crying in pain from the frostbites that they should have definitely incurred from the attack. Before she could return her attention back to the leader, however, rocks, shaped like fists, struck her at the side, throwing her to the direction where the two frozen elves laid down on the ground. She howled from the throbbing pain her injury caused¡ªthat would definitely leave a mark. She turned to see that the attack had come from the leader, so she made a dash for him and summoned two ice spikes, which floated around her like planets in their orbits. She launched one spike to the leader, which he adroitly dodged. She sent another spike and he blocked it with his gauntlet.


    The elf then sought to maul Sapphire''s face by punching her with his gauntleted fist, but she was quick enough to blast a powerful stream of water under his arm, redirecting his attack upwards. With a swift motion, Sapphire grew ice nails on her fingers and impaled the leader. Blood trickled down from the wounds, and the elf backpedaled.


    ¡°Bull crap!¡± He cried, caressing the wound at his side. ¡°You virtue-signaling, goody-two-shoes! Always gloating at the fact that you are supposedly more elf than the dregs like us that just want to make a living!¡±


    ¡°By enthralling other people?¡±


    ¡°Humans are scum! You know that!¡±


    ¡°Apparently I don''t!¡±


    ¡°They are¡­ all of them. A human killed my brother despite all the help he gave them!¡±


    Sapphire gave the man a blank look, but uttered no word. The man seemed to take her silence as a sign to continue talking because he did proceed.


    ¡°He was a healer, and took care of the lowest of the low¡ªand yes, including humans. He would often go to Thuruk on medical missions where he helped cure and nurse the sick. Growing up, his kindness had been what I desired to emulate. I wanted to be a healer too, then it happened¡­.¡±


    The elf wiped tears from his eyes.


    ¡°One day, a human patient struck a knife into my brother''s chest when he was least suspecting it! The blade cut through his heart and he was dying faster than he could heal¡ªworse, the human kept stabbing him again and again. The reason? Because the ''patient¡¯ was actually a herbalist who envied my brother. They are all violent scums, it''s written in their genes. We have to keep culling them or else they''d multiply too fast for us to control! Humans are freaking low-lives!¡±


    Okay wow, that was hard to unpack. Sapphire commiserated with the elf, but even while he talked, shackles of eyes clamped down around his wrists when he least suspected it.


    The elf looked baffled, as if he had expected for Sapphire to understand his plight and then simply release him.


    ¡°W¡­ why?¡± he asked dolefully. ¡°Didn''t you hear what I''ve said?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± She tersely replied. ¡°But bad things happening to you doesn''t justify you doing bad things to others.¡±


    The life in the elf''s eyes drained away. Sapphire proceeded to defeat and restrain the rest of the slavers¡¯ band. It was easy to do while they were preoccupied fighting the skeeps. She discovered by interrogating them that, aside from the fact that their organization had been active for five years and had no plans of stopping, they virtually had no idea what''s going on at the top of their organization. They just did what they were told and then went on their merry way. But she did get the names of the one''s at the top, so she proceeded to trail behind those other groups whose leaders are in on the secrets of the slavers¡¯ guild (as they called themselves).


    She first struck at this group who had captured a fresh batch of slaves. It was hard to lure them into a trap so that they wouldn''t get any ideas of holding the slaves hostage. Sapphire spent an ungodly amount of hours trying to chip away at their numbers slowly, waiting for when any of them separated from the rest, such as when they took a piss. By her seventh victim, the leader became suspicious of why the others were not returning, so he sent a search party for them. Thank goodness he was too cautious for his own good and actually sent most of his underlings for the search, leaving only three at the camp. The search party broke into five groups with five members. She slowly whittled down their number by attacking each group clandestinely, leaving the group with the leader for last. When she got to the leader''s team, she restrained him and offed the rest, then went after the three elves left to guard the captured slaves. Once she finished them off, she released the slaves, who thanked her endlessly and bounded like hares towards the direction of Thuruk. Then she interrogated the leader, but since he was a tough nut to crack, she had no choice but to do him in, lest he alarm the other slavers¡¯ squads.


    She went on for five more raids until she struck gold¡ªa slaver who was high enough in the bureaucratic ladder, but at the same time fearful of death, that he spilled everything down to the last dregs.


    Apparently they truly had been in operation for only five years, but they had recently been ramping up their game because of a recent deal that they had struck with an unknown organization¡ªwhich only the Archmaster of the slavers¡¯ guild knew¡ªabout eleven months ago. Apparently, their contract stipulated that all the slaves the guild would catch after the signing of the contract would all be sold to this mysterious organization in exchange for a hefty sum.


    Odd. What organization paid so much for their slaves? No matter, Sapphire would delve deeper into this conspiracy soon enough. What she needs to do now is return home and report to the King.


    ***


    ¡°So you''re saying,¡± King Sorus brought forth, brushing his beard with his hand, ¡°that recently, these slavers are working for this shady organization?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Your Majesty.¡± Sapphire matched the King''s pace, as they ambled towards the meeting room. Sapphire had just walked up to the King as he marched towards some meeting the Noble Council had organized. ¡°I reckon, they have successfully delivered about two thousand slaves by now.¡±


    ¡°Where exactly is this organization operating? Because if it''s in Kirisal then maybe it''s connected to their recent aggressive behavior towards Ethera? They''ve been demanding concessions for trade these past few months¡ªconcessions that one-sidedly benefit them and put us at a severe loss.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sapphire exclaimed. ¡°Kirisal''s being aggressive? This can''t be, why this early?¡±


    ¡°What ¡®early¡¯ are you talking about, lass?¡± The King asked, giving Sapphire a concerned and suspicious look.


    ¡°A-ah, nothing. I was just surprised. One would think Kirisal would be the last country to resort to irrational demands, given their wealth with all their monopoly on petrolisiom in the continent.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± the King eyeballed her, still seemingly suspicious of her. Then he walked forward, leaving her behind. ¡°Anyway, look into this shady organization for me. I have a feeling it''s all connected, somehow.¡±

 Book 1 — Chapter Six: Suspicious activity

    Winston closed his eyes and remembered, not his past as the Archmage, but the ghostly image of a young elf staring right back at him. She wore nothing and had no genitals; probably because she was a ghost or something. He was sure she was instrumental to his memories returning back to him. Who was she? Or better yet, what was she?


    He sighed, shaking his head.


    It''s best not to dwell on the past. It had all happened eleven months ago. Why the memory still bothered him he did not know. Probably because it made him doubt his sanity. But whatever. He needed to focus on regaining his lost puissance.


    Recently, he had been working with Sashaiuin, running various errands for her, such as killing monsters and spying on people who least expected a human doing subterfuge. Mostly, he was doing the latter, which was honestly boring work, but if he wanted to buy his freedom back, this was the way.


    He walked through the corridors of the mansion, bounding confidently and casually. He could still remember the look on Soreith''s face when Soreith saw him return (safe and sound) after Soreith had literally tied him to a tree to be food for the local monsters. A dick move even for an A-hole. At least he got a stupid, panicked reaction for it. He was never outing Soreith for that; he wanted the man to seethe at his resurrection, to feel like he had been done a favor by Winston for not exposing him to Sashaiuin. It seemed to be working, as every time they would meet, Soreith would always glare daggers at him. Sucks to be you, A-hole.


    Sashaiuin''s surprise when she learned he could now do proper magic was also worthwhile. She basically exploded into gleeful cursing after he had shown her his abilities. She promised then that if he helped her straighten out some loose ends in Kirisal, she would grant him freedom, and all the resources he needed to grow more powerful. He asked if he could also take Merlion with him, and she said yes. But when he asked Merlion about it, he simply said that he did want to be free, but he wanted to keep working for Sashaiuin afterwards. Alright, he wasn''t going to be a bitch and stand between Merlion and his plans, so he supported his decision.


    His gains for the last few months, while fickle, still motivated him to do more. His mana reserves for example jumped from a thousand to a thousand and three hundred and ninety eight. That growth was faster than his past record. He had originally grown his mana reserves by incrementally siphoning mana from the environment, which was very thin on Earth, causing him to reach the pinnacle only after a hundred and fifty-six years had passed since his first foray into magic. Here though? With all the thick mana surrounding him (probably because Mundus was several times larger than Earth), he bet he could do it much faster.


    Anyhow, those thoughts were for another time, he had reached his destination: Sashaiuin''s office.


    Winston had barely touched the wooden door to knock when he heard a voice call out to him.


    ¡°Come in,¡± a hoarse and scraggy voice said.


    Winston promptly entered the room and Sashaiuin glanced at him with hopeful eyes.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± The question sounded like that of an exasperated slave, hoping against hope that everything would turn out great after she''d worked hard for many days and nights just to make things great.


    ¡°Bad¡­.¡± Winston grimaced. ¡°Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is.¡±


    Sashaiuin face-palmed.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡±


    ¡°Five battleships are in the process of being built. Would take a year to finish, since they''re pouring all the elf and technology they could get on this project.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I thought those propagandists could rally the people to sue for peace. Damn, damn, damn it. I''m guessing they won''t even admit they''re building those ships?¡±


    Winston moved to sit on the chair in front of Sashaiuin''s table.


    ¡°Worse, they won''t even admit they''re suing for war. Just saying it''s contingency for when worse comes to worst. But the ships are an open secret by now. Everyone who knows anyone already gets the gist of it. Kirisal is preparing for war.¡±


    ¡°How about the soldiers?¡± Sashaiuin said, placing her head on her hand. ¡°Don''t tell me they''ve amassed tons of manpower in so little time?¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± Winston paused, trying to think how to word this properly. ¡°The amount of men getting drafted has just slightly increased, just goes to show that even with the increase in pay, people don''t want to be risking their lives. But¡­¡±


    This was the hardest to convey to her; she was kinda sensitive for the weak. Personally, it did not affect Winston by so much, but he wasn''t a total jerk so as to just outright blurt out this info without caring for how Sashaiuin might take it.


    ¡°But what!?¡± She practically screamed. ¡°Out with it boy.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re arming the slaves for war, putting them into the military in droves, so much so that they''d make up at least ten percent of the military by the end of this month.¡±


    Sashaiuin burst into colorful language, sometimes slamming the table.


    ¡°Curse that Saioumon and Metrisqion. How low are they going to make Kirisal?¡±


    Winston had known by now that those two names represented the other two persons leading the Triumvirate.


    Sashaiuin massaged her temples, trying to relax herself.


    ¡°You''ve done well,¡± she said, calming down and looking Winston dead in the eye. ¡°They''re certainly milking the situation for all it''s worth. They''re using it to hush opposition and to allay the populace that the government is simply doing what''s best for everyone. What little force I can eke out to oppose them just keeps getting shrugged off by the fact that two thirds of our petrolisiom wells are swarming with monsters. They¡¯ve practically gained the perfect excuse for plans that are years in the making.¡±


    ¡°I wish I could help more,¡± Winston cut in, ¡°but all I could ever do is eavesdrop on important conversations and ask around, then report.¡±


    Sapphire gave him a look as if she''d just said something bad. ¡°I didn''t mean to imply you''re useless.¡±


    ¡°Oh I didn''t get that from what you''ve said, at all. It''s just that seeing you so distraught can''t help but make me feel a little guilty for doing so less. I usually repay my debts, but right now, I can''t give you anything worthwhile.¡±


    ¡°Oh, be assured, all your help has certainly given me some leverage. Most of the information that you''re supplying me are ones that I''d never unearth myself, nor any of my vassals. And I just don''t trust strangers to shut their mouths up when interrogated, for me to hire external aid. You on the other hand are in the very perfect position to spy for me, and for that I am grateful. And speaking of spycraft.¡­¡± Sashaiuin sighed; then she stood up from her seat and walked over to Winston. She placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I hate to be asking more from you, but I really need your help. I need all the help I can get. I have another potentially dangerous mission for you.¡±


    Winston smiled.


    ¡°All ears,¡± he chimed. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I need you to investigate Skandrim for me,¡± she paused, mulling over what to say next. Then she continued. ¡°He''s usually blanketed in scandal that it just seems so suspicious that he''s gone silent now. No theft, no bribery, no elven trafficking.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn''t that be a good thing?¡±


    ¡°It should be, but you don''t know the man. I''m sure he''s in on something nefarious. This is a very dangerous mission as you''d probably come face to face with powerful criminals.¡±


    ¡°I thrive in danger.¡± Winston smiled. ¡°So, what have you got so far?¡±


    ***


    Winston traveled to Thokos through Sashaiuin¡¯s private teleportation network. It turned out that travel and shipment by teleportation were thoroughly banned by the state except for a few choice officials who were allowed their own network, which even then were still limited to teleporting only people. This was because some renegade terrorist in the past, once used and tampered with the public teleportation network to send a bomb into an important noble''s mansion, killing him when it blew up. Regardless, a sufficiently powerful mage, probably an S-rank, could definitely easily tear through the anti-teleportation wards that blanketed the whole nation, but doing so with enough skill so as not to trigger the alarm wrought into the wards to detect and track such use of teleportation was possessed by few and far in between.


    He arrived in Thokos without any fanfare, then inspected the enchanting work on the telepad¡ªas he was often wont to do¡ªlooking at the numerous sigils embedded onto the teleportation platform. Sigils were supposed to be the written version of the mystical language used in incantations to impress intent onto mana. Whoever built this contraption knew how to trap the teleportation spell into this platform somehow, very unlike how spell-circuit imprinting worked back home. But what caught his eyes was not the enchanting work on this telepad, it was the size. It was significantly bigger than the others. When he tried to finagle the information from the elves stationed in this part of Sashaiuin''s teleportation network, they simply scoffed at him and never answered. Talk about being rude.


    Then the elf at the control room got out and faced him.


    ¡°Identification!¡± he blurted out.


    Winston gave him Sashaiuin¡¯s seal of approval which they scanned and found authentic. He was promptly ushered out of the building and into the streets without much word. Again, talk about being rude. He strode through the streets, seeing neon lights in front of stores, and almost laughing at the dominant fashion¡ªmostly robes. Pretty old school if he did say so himself.


    This was a pretty crowded street, ending into a gigantic roadway. The streets and roads here were pretty much like those back on Earth, except here, floating cars dominated them. That was one of the things Mundus had that Earth did not. In some ways, this world was more advanced; in others, Earth beat it by a notch. He suspected flying vehicles were easier to maintain and support with this much ambient mana suffusing through everything. He exited the street and ambled through the wide road.


    Towering buildings flanked him on all sides, and storefronts decorated most of these buildings¡¯ ground floor. He could see numerous clothing shops that sold¡ªyou guessed it¡ªrobes. But there were dresses and suits mixed in with the more prevalent apparel. He guessed these were used for more important events¡ªlike balls and extravagant dinners¡ªwhile the robes were this world''s equivalent for the shirts and jeans that dominated Earth''s everyday choice of attire. Gigantic television screens were attached to the tall buildings, projecting adverts of various products. The screens produced images that were crisps and clean but definitely did not use pixel technology to project them. If he guessed it right, purely from observation, the screens were projecting the images by mixing together raw light, all done through magic. This was truly a feat of magical engineering. He wondered if it was possible to imitate this technology through spell-circuit imprinting but immediately dismissed the idea. Doing that would be less efficient than pixel technology. He guessed that this kind of screen technology was a mana hog, only possible because of the abundance of mana sources in this world¡ªlike mana crystals and petrolisiom.


    One particular technology that made him miss Earth was the internet. Oh, they had internet in this world; they even had computers and smartphones. What they lacked however, were a huge selection of games. All they had were tournament, fully immersive, online, fighting games, which were PVP games conducted in the virtual world, just like how VRMMORPG worked back home. Basically, a player could log in and project his consciousness into the virtual world, bringing all their real world strength into these games. But since these games were basically state controlled, they lacked the flexibility and variety that games back home had. Although Sashaiuin would gladly give him the chance to play these games, playing them would practically place the government''s crosshairs on him¡ªa strange human with strange magic.


    Man, although those nights he spent playing those epic fantasy games really did a number on his health, he still missed those days.


    Information was also greatly guarded in


    Mundus, unlike on Earth where information was ubiquitous, where only corporations that developed ultra specialized technology had secrets that were worth protecting. Here though? Most good information was hidden behind a paywall, and the best was locked away in vaults.


    But he shouldn''t really be ungrateful for his current situation. He was practically given a second chance at life, which for sure was purely because of luck. He remembered his last days on Earth, when he had slowly pushed his mana into the Seraphim, preparing to destroy it. Then he was cut off from his mana pool and stood helplessly before his old friend.


    He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.


    He had trusted the man, even stood by him during his darkest times, and yet Io repaid Winston with betrayal. Thankfully, instead of getting destroyed, the Seraphim partially activated and sent his soul through a wormhole and into this world¡ªinto the body of a dead fetus. The Seraphim wasn''t supposed to function like that; it was all purely accidental¡ªlucky, was what he''d like to call the fact that it malfunctioned in his favor. The Seraphim was meant to create wormholes by channeling energy from mana fission reactors, not transport souls to other worlds using miniscule amounts of mana. That was truly a lucky malfunction.


    Enough reminiscing. Now, onto the task at hand. He considered the first place to conduct his investigation; he had to find the right person to ask and ask the correct questions, or else he''d never get anywhere. According to the information he had gotten from Sashaiuin, Skandrim had a sundry of businesses, but his most prominent enterprise was in construction. Anyone worth noting knew that contracting Beyond Enterprise for construction work was a kind of status symbol, much like the Mexyphone back on Earth. They had the best silver bricks¡ªmagically reinforced blocks used to build skyscrapers without using rebars and mortar; the bricks just magically stick to one another. So where should he go first? Simple: most would think to start with any business currently contracting Beyond Enterprise. Wrong. The rule of thumb in spycraft was to always begin asking the competitor of any person or establishment being investigated. They were usually the ones who were keeping close tabs on their competition.


    That was why he was here, standing in front of the building that housed Skyward Builder''s main office.


    If someone wanted to contract Skyward Builder for construction work, all they had to do was call their number. Their main office wasn''t actually a place to carry out business with clients (it was an administrative office), so Winston couldn''t just barge in there and start asking. Thus, he casted a glamor on himself so that the workers wouldn''t recognize that he was human and waited. About three hours later, at five in the afternoon, workers started streaming out in droves. He had done research beforehand and knew that the administrative manager was someone named Riuq. Since he knew what he looked like, Winston could easily pick him out of the throng of people that were now exiting the building.


    He waited patiently but saw no Riuq going out. Looking up, light shone through the blinds of a small room on the very floor where the administrative office was situated. The man wasn''t clocking out, probably staying late to put in some overtime. This made Winston''s job harder. He couldn''t actually aspect his mana into the sensory aspect so he couldn''t yet tamper or even analyze the building''s wards. That meant it would be harder for him to infiltrate the building. What to do¡­. Ah! While glamors could not trick wards, it could definitely trick people. So he made a few tweaks to his glamor. Glamors were part of mind magic¡ªa very rare field of magic both on Earth and here on Mundus. This meant the elves¡ªas long as they weren''t particularly looking¡ªwouldn''t have any countermeasures against his glamor. Time to intimidate an elf to take him upstairs.


    He approached an employee, who jumped in place when he greeted. The employee widened his eyes, and started fidgeting in place, then bowed at Winston.


    ¡°Sir, how may I help you?¡±


    The elf acted like Winston was his superior, but he clearly didn''t know who Winston was. Perfect.


    ¡°Take me to see Riuq.¡± Curt and simple.


    ***


    Winston walked through the corridors, following an employee of Skyward Builder. They stepped into the elevator, which climbed up to the sixth floor. They exited and walked towards the manager''s office. The elf Winston was following knocked on the door, and a screeching voice resounded from beyond the door.


    ¡°Who is it!?¡± the voice said.


    ¡°It''s Ramrak, Sir,¡± the elf responded. ¡°Someone important is here to see you.¡±


    ¡°Someone important who?¡±


    The elf paused, as though mulling over the question. Visible confusion could be seen etched into the very expression of the elf.


    ¡°Just¡­¡±


    The elf struggled to enunciate what answer he should give to Riuq''s question.


    ¡°Someone important.¡±


    Winston could just hear Riuq giving out a sigh.


    ¡°Let him in.¡±


    The elf opened the door and let Winston in, then he fled the scene like a crow shooed by a human.


    ¡°To what do I owe this visit, from such a prestigious man as you are, Mr.?¡±


    ¡°Merlin,¡± Winston replied. ¡°Just call me Merlin.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. Merlin. A very important person who just happens to be under a glamor. I know how glamors work, and while I don''t have the ability to pierce through your glamor, I know it is covering you, so it won''t deceive me.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°I''m not hoping to deceive you, I just need information.¡±


    Riuq leaned back on his chair, mulling over Winston''s words. He then mumbled something about this being beyond his paygrade.


    ¡°On what?¡± Riuq gave him an exasperated smile. ¡°Better yet, on whom?.¡±


    ¡°Skandrim and Beyond Enterprise.¡±


    Riuq jolted in surprise, looking at Winston with befuddled eyes.


    ¡°Him? The biggest thorn in the side of our company? For what reason? My full cooperation will solely depend on your answer.¡±


    ¡°Some bigwig sent me to investigate him. And depending on what help you can give, we might be able to get rid of him.¡± Hook, line, and sinker. He needed to get Riuq''s full cooperation, and to do that, he needed to hook him in with a tantalizing bait¡ªnamely, the downfall of a competition.


    Riuq gave Winston an unsavory smile.


    ¡°You sure know how to pull people into agreeing with your demands. Alright, I concede. I''m going to tell you what I know, if you want the rest, I urge you to go directly to the owner of the company.¡±


    Riuq inhaled and sighed.


    ¡°Here''s what I know: Skandrim has forged ties with the Anxiom empire. And yes, the very same empire that''s at the top of the food chain in the world¡ªthe Dwarven and Draconic Coalition of Anxiom. They''ve been conducting meetings about a business venture they¡¯ve been pursuing together.¡±


    ¡°I suppose,¡± Winston said, running a hand through his hair, ¡°you don''t know what ¡®business venture¡¯ they''re pursuing?¡±


    ¡°If you want an answer to that, then you must go to the owner.¡±


    ¡°Do you know where I can find him?¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, I do¡­.¡±


    ***


    When Winston heard Skyward Builder''s owner had an illegal, underground, fighting ring, he imagined it to be a metaphor for a boxing gym turned into a tournament arena. He did not expect this. Well, he wasn''t talking about the entrance through which he had entered this place. It was just an out-of-the-way bar that had a secret doorway into an underground tunnel. The tunnel, it turned out, led into a massive underground arena that had a seating capacity of around fifty-five thousand people, at least according to the guy he had just asked. That was enormously huge for an arena supposedly underground. If Skyward¡¯s owner is running this business illegally, Winston was sure that the city council¡ªand its head, the Duke of Thokos¡ªwas in on this project and earned copious amounts of cash from its operation, because there was no way someone could build this without the authorities knowing.


    Regarding how to gain access to the owner, he was told that he had to champion in a division. Basically, the fights happening here were divided into divisions based on the adventurer guild''s ranking system. So his first foray should be to get himself tested and ranked. But before that, he just had to see what the fights looked like. So he bought a ticket and watched. Considering the size of the Arena, those on the higher seats were surely missing out on some of the details of the fights, hence why the Arena had huge screens hanging from the ceiling, projecting in detail what was happening in the ring. It was through them that Winston watched the fights, which were¡­ to be frank, underwhelming. The fighters were sure to be heavy hitters, but they were dunces with clubs. They certainly had power but little flexibility with the way they used their spells. Accordingly, if this was how they ranked their fighters, he was sure to be within the 1st-tier of E-rank, since he wasn''t a heavy-hitter yet (although if his skills were rated according to the real adventurer guild''s ranking system, which accounts for multiple factors, he estimated himself to be somewhere at the top of E-rank, maybe 5th-tier).


    The next day, Winston weaved through the tunnels that connected the underground arena to various establishments sprawled all over the city. The tunnels were much deeper than the sewers and were constantly pumped with air through small ventilation pipes in the walls and roof. He was told to find room 604¡ªthe place where contestants had their ability ranked. The clang of his steps on the metal floor reverberated all throughout until he stopped at an unobtrusive door. On its metal frame the number 604 was etched, but not emblazoned. This was it, this was the room. Winston turned the door knob and frowned. That''s some pungent odor. And as the door creaked open, it revealed a hundred or so slobbish elves, turning their heads towards him. Some grinned at him like predators, while others frowned, probably worried about the idea of having another person added to the long list of competition they''d have to fight against. The room was gigantic, more like a function hall than anything. At one edge of the somewhat square room, a counter was placed, which were divided into individual kiosks catering to the numerous elves signing up for a fight.


    Winston waited in line for what seemed to have been a day when it was in fact only five hours, due to the slowness of the line''s progress. The elven woman behind the counter, at the cubicle in front of him, asked him to prick his fingers with a needle. There were less bloody ways of testing a person''s mana capacity¡ªwhich was measured in jiggs here, but he figured one kyul back home was equivalent to one jigg, so there was really no difference¡ªbut those methods were rather expensive. It worked for the adventurer guild, but for an illegal operation that probably had most of its revenue siphoned to corrupt individuals? It probably was impractical.


    The elf''s eyes widened as she looked at the size of his mana pool.


    ¡°Sir, this doesn''t qualify for¡­.¡±


    Winston waved a hand and the elf looked at the numbers again.


    ¡°Err, actually having 139,899 jiggs of mana means that E-rank division is just right up your alley,¡± the elf said, blinking numerous times at the screen, as if she was looking at something blurry but so clear at the same time. Heh, glamors¡ªreally useful, that. ¡°But I wouldn''t recommend it, you should rather sign up for the exhibition matches.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he tersely replied, leaning closer. ¡°I want E, please.¡±


    The elf sighed, muttering something about lost causes and such.


    ¡°Okay, I need you to tell me: what''s the most powerful spell you can cast right now?¡±


    Winston smiled and stood straight.


    ¡°Fireballs!¡±


    He could see through his peripheral vision that the people in the next line turned their heads towards him, and a slow murmur rippled outwards from his position.


    Predictable¡­ They don''t have any idea how good I am at fireballs.


    The elf once again sighed.


    ¡°Very well,¡± she said, handing him a registration form. ¡°Please fill this out.¡±


    These elves are going to see one hell of a show. Winston grinned.


    ***


    The arena was loud, even here, deep in the tunneled entrance where contestants enter into the ring. Winston waited in a locker-room for his turn¡ªfor his first fight; his opponent was perhaps similarly trepid on the other locker-room found at the opposite side of the ring. The room was full of massive elves, completely unlike the lean and thin figure that elves were said to possess in stories back on Earth.


    A few minutes later, the door opened, and an elf went in, sweeping his gaze around the room as if looking for someone. Then when the elf''s eyes landed on Winston, his gaze stayed; the elf then stretched his mouth into a toothy-silver-and-gold grin. The elf approached Winston and stood in front of him and Winston stood up at the same time. The elf was literally three heads taller than Winston.


    ¡°Spunky,¡± the elf said in a grating voice. ¡°I would expect a fireballer to simply know his place before true might.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Winston replied, returning the elf''s smile with a brazen smirk of his own. ¡°I guess it''s everywhere now isn''t it? That a mighty fireballer is challenging the great ones? Chickens, if I do say so myself.¡±


    The giant guffawed, holding his belly and leaning back.


    ¡°You insult like a child!¡±


    Winston punched the elf''s belly, sending him staggering backwards.


    Winston laughed.


    ¡°You have to stoop down to the level of the one you¡¯re talking to. A child deserves a childish insult.¡±


    Winston beamed at the elf, triumphant.


    ¡°Damn you!¡± The elf was about to cast a spell when he was suddenly restrained by the guards.


    ¡°No spell casting!¡± one of the guards commanded.


    The elf yielded to the guards.


    ¡°This is not over,¡± the elf said, glaring daggers at Winston. ¡°You''ll see.¡±


    The elf was escorted out and the other elves in the room were now sending Winston threatening glares, instead of the indifference they had offered him at first.


    Two hours passed after that and the speakers inside the room announced Winston¡¯s name after a crackle. Winston stood up, got out, and walked through the tunnel. He exited into a bright ring with a shouting and screaming crowd.


    ¡°Down with the fireballer!¡± A large portion of the crowd chanted.


    Meanwhile, a small portion cried out to him that he should win and that it was non-negotiable¡ªsomething about them winning a boatload of cash if he won. So they weren''t real supporters then, just elves betting on all the luck in the world that he would win, and since the betting pool was heavily skewed against him, if he won, they''d be swimming in cash. Good for them. After all, he wasn''t planning on throwing this match.


    From the opening opposite Winston, a young-looking elf, about 18 years old, walked out. They both walked towards each other until they were at the center, where the referee stood.


    ¡°Talk to the mic,¡± the referee said, backing away.


    The other elf leaned in closer to the hanging mic.


    ¡°I''m going to beat you so hard your mother won''t recognize you afterwards,¡± the elf belched, eyeing Winston predatorily. The crowd cheered in bloodthirsty joy. ¡°It wasn''t nice what you did to my brother. I''m going to maul your face for that.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he was your brother?¡± Winston said, a bit of schadenfreude showing from his expression. ¡°Why, if I had known, I would¡¯ve hit harder.¡±


    His opponent visibly winced, ready to pounce at him, and prevented only by the referee.


    ¡°Three,¡± the referee began counting into the mic, flying away at the same time.


    ¡°Two.¡±


    Winston used force spells to jump backwards, preparing to tank or evade whatever attack his opponent would send his way.


    ¡°One.¡±


    The elf thrust a fist towards Winston and a rippling mass of distorted air flew towards his direction. From the look of things, Winston guessed the nature of the spell and did not bother defending against it. He quickly used a force spell to propel himself sideways, giving the spell-projectile much room to miss him. He landed afterwards by slowing his descent using a force surge towards the ground. The spell-projectile that had been hurtling towards him hit the force-wards (which prevented any spells from reaching the audience) and exploded into flames. Winston was right, it was indeed an explosion spell. The crowd went crazy at their display of skill and was apparently still within the bounds of his glamor or else they''d have noticed by now the weird way he was doing magic.


    Winston summoned a fireball and chucked it towards his opponent. The elf, on the other hand, was smug about it and simply chose to coat his hands in a force glove and flicked it away. At least, it was supposed to be flicked away, instead what ended up happening was that the fireball exploded into a force blast that sent Winston''s opponent flying backwards. Considering that he was caught off guard by the surprising nature of Winston''s spell, it was very impressive how quickly his opponent buffered his impact against the wall of the ring (and the force-wards) by casting a wind-layer spell (a combination of the wind and soft aspects).


    From what Winston had gleaned out of books he had found in Sashaiuin''s personal library, such methods of using fireballs weren''t really anything new, but they were heavily looked down upon. Why go through all the trouble of laboriously surrounding a force spell with a fireball (which was essentially packing two spells in one, ramping up the difficulty by a large margin) when one could just simply create an explosion spell? The answer to that was very simple and twofold: for one thing, Winston did not yet have the skill to aspect his mana into the explosion aspect, which, combined with the fire aspect, was fundamental to any explosion-type spells; for another, it was damn easy to blindside someone with an unorthodox use of a spell.


    Winston''s opponent rose up and glowered at him. They immediately launched into a series of back-and-forth. His opponent pelted him with a multitude of exploding projectiles, each with a different blast radius and flight patterns¡ªall of which were inexorably tanked with a layered force-ward by Winston. It was clear that his opponent was taking him seriously now. The crowd went ablaze in excitement, and Winston would have lied if he said that he did not enjoy the fight. Winston in his turn blasted force and fireball projectiles (and sometimes a combination of both) at his opponent which the elf deftly dodged and sometimes tanked with a force shield.


    Their stand-off was promptly broken by the elf who used a large portion of his mana to lob a beam of distorted air at Winston. The distorted air started exploding, starting from its tail-end, and trailing towards its head¡ªnamely, towards Winston. The speed of the attack was too fast to evade and it would be too strong to defend, but the closest response Winston had for the spell was his heavy force-ward. Winston decided (without any options left for him) to just tank it, to hell with the consequences. He erected the force-ward, layering as many force-shields as he could in front of him and tanked the whole beam of explosion.


    Needless to say, Winston was flung high into the air and eventually smashed onto the force-wards. Winston''s face was pressed firmly against the ward, giving him a close-up view of a startled elf, no doubt preparing to escape his seat if it were not for the transparent barrier that protected him. Had Winston not coated his whole body in a layer of force, he would have doubtlessly broken his bones (and if it were not for the wards that were placed on the contestants beforehand to prevent deaths, he would have surely died). That attack was overkill¡ªwell, maybe not, considering the infuriating nature of their standoff. Winston slowly pulled himself off the wards and slowly descended onto the ground. Fricking elf.


    Winston was forced to use his trump card. He peppered his opponent with a swarm of fireballs, all of which were adroitly evaded by the elf. A smirk formed on Winston¡¯s lips. He merited this celebration as the fireballs all exploded into swarms of force-projectiles¡ªone swarm for each fireball¡ªwhich animatedly weaved through the air and homed in on the elf. The elf was so taken aback by the attack that he forgot to shield, causing all of the projectiles to land a direct hit. A swarm hit him on the face, another on the other side of his face, then a vagary at his torso and other parts of his body. All those attacks were not stronger than a boxer''s punch, but they were strong enough to knock out his opponent. The crowd became still¡ªall their mockery frozen by his victory. Surely they must have recognized the difficulty of the spell he had just pulled off. A force blast wasn''t all that sophisticated, so it wasn''t that difficult to blanket it with a fireball, but swarms of force-projectiles in a fireball? And ones that could home in on their target? That was bordering the impossible (at least at Winston''s level).


    The next moment, the crowd that bet on him growled in triumph.


    ¡°Sucks to be you bitches!¡± One elf even screamed, jerking his hips back and forth.


    Sucks to be them indeed; they should''ve lost quite a sum with the defeat of Winston''s opponent.


    Winston''s display of skill should surely prove to them that he was a capable mage, and that there was more to magic than being simply a heavy-hitter. Sometimes, finesse can help you eke out a win in the most desperate of situations. Well, not that Winston had anything against heavy-hitters, after all, he was steadily working on reclaiming his lost power, but what he wanted to communicate across was that the strength of a mage was not solely based on his power but also on his stratagems.


    Winston continued on to dominate his division. His last fight in particular pushed the limits of his ability and forced him to innovate on the spot. This new innovation wasn''t something he had thought of on Earth, all because he didn''t actually experience a fight this intense when he was just a novice. Sometimes, when faced with a new problem, people could come up with really innovative solutions. By using arcane shapes he had learned from his past and rearranging them to form new spell-effects, he was able to create a dormant fireball inside a force-missile. The fireball wouldn''t form itself until the force-missile that contained it dismissed itself when it banged into an obstacle.


    The elf was none the wiser when swarms of force-missiles (coming from the inside of the fireballs he had sent in a swarm) battered his defenses. The elf was pretty smug when the force-missiles winked out (thus allowing him to drop his shields), probably proud that Winston''s trick hadn''t worked on him. But a blazing inferno of fireballs formed from where the force-missiles had been and purged the elf. The elf cried as the force of the solid fire bruised him, and the heat of the fiery balls burned his skin. The elf fell on the ground, limp. Of course he wasn''t dead, the wards ensured his safety from that level of attack, but he certainly needed some healing. Considering the level of skill healers had in this world, Winston¡¯s attack on him would barely leave a mark. But this meant victory for Winston, and that he had earned the privilege to meet with the owner of the whole illegal, underground gambling operation.


    ***


    It took Winston a week to plow through all his opponents for a total of 10 fights. It was exhausting, but it was all worth it. He had gained necessary experience after all. For all his hard work, he had raked in 500,000 tushackalie, but he wasn''t in it for the money, he already had plenty of those thanks to Sashaiuin. Time to receive the real price he had come here for: information. He reached up to a burly elf in a suit, sporting a cropped haircut and wearing shades. He almost mistook the elf for a CIA agent if not for the pair of pointy ears attached to his head.


    I''m no longer on Earth anymore, and I''m no longer the most powerful man in the world. Winston smiled. At least, not yet.


    ¡°I want to see him now,¡± he calmly informed the elf.


    The elf merely looked at him and snorted.


    ¡°This way,¡± he said, walking deeper into the tunnels.


    An eerie awkward silence descended upon the two as they walked on. Was it worth it to try and break the silence? Meh, might as well.


    ¡°So,¡± Winston began, trying to strike a conversation. ¡°Is this Partikule really the owner of Skyward Builder?


    ¡°I''m not paid enough to talk.¡±


    ¡°I''ll take that as a yes, then.¡±


    The elf grunted and kept leading him deeper. Winston didn''t bother talking after that. What a characteristically brutish elf, so very far away from civilized persons who did not shy away from a conversation.


    They walked on in silence until they reached a cul-de-sac that ended in a door. Winston followed the elf as they walked on towards the door. The elf then knocked.


    ¡°Come in,¡± a warm and exuberant voice replied to his knocking.


    Finally, Winston thought, perhaps someone who''s interested in a proper conversation.


    The elf opened the door and Winston went inside, and the sight of a pudgy dwarf greeted him. The dwarf had short, red hair and an almost protruding snout. He had a wrinkled face, and his skin was a teensy bit yellowish in color, resembling polished brass. Winston turned his head to look around the office and could see that it was decorated heavily with weapons and torturing devices. Just from that, Winston gleaned a tad of Partikule''s personality.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re taking interest in my decorations,¡± The dwarf said with a tinge of emphasis on the word ¡®decorations.¡¯


    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± Winston said, walking towards Partikule''s table. ¡°It''s not every day you get to see an office decorated like a murder could happen any minute now.¡±


    The elf guffawed at Winston¡¯s comment.


    ¡°I assure you, Mr. Merlin, that I plan on doing no such thing. And seeing that you''ve dominated in E-division, I doubt you''d have any problem escaping from my grasp.¡± The dwarf smiled challengingly at him, and also¡ªexpectant? What was Partikule expecting from Winston? Winston looked at him more closely, opening his spiritual eyes. Ah, so it was like that, huh? A deluge of aura emanated from Partikule, which was only possible if he was strong¡ªvery, very strong.


    ¡°I doubt that,¡± Winston admitted, running a hand through his hair. ¡°Someone as powerful as you wouldn¡¯t even break a sweat restraining me.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the dwarf smiled, leaning back on his chair. ¡°So you really do have the ability to see it, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes I do.¡±


    ¡°So that rules out the possibility that you cheated during your fights. The fact that you can see my aura supports the level of skill you''ve displayed. I guess you wouldn''t tell me anyway, but I would still hazard to ask: how the fuck are you using magic, human?¡±


    As expected, his glamor didn''t work on the dwarf. Partikule had probably been watching Winston''s fights while being fully aware that Winston''s magic was very¡­ different. If Partikule was in any way shocked at Winston''s ability to cast magic, Winston couldn''t guess. The man was pretty good at hiding his real thoughts behind a well crafted facade.


    Winston gestured towards the chair.


    ¡°May I?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh please, sit down,¡± Partikule said, scrambling in his seat. ¡°How rude of me to forget. I guess the whole idea of a human casting magic and performing an ungodly level of mana control has made hospitality slip my mind.¡±


    Winston sat down on one of the two chairs placed facing each other in front of Partikule''s table.


    ¡°I don''t mind at all,¡± Winston sighed. ¡°It''s a bit of a secret how I''m doing magic and I can''t just reveal it to you, all I''m going to say is that I represent an entirely different magic tradition than you''re used to, a tradition that was built for and by humans.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Partikule grinned. ¡°As much as I want to kidnap you and interrogate you about this ¡®magical tradition¡¯ you represent. I just can''t do that, because, aside from the fact that you''re connected to one of the Primes, you''re still one of my champions. Honor behooves me to ensure the safety of a man whose performance gave my little business an inflow of cash.¡±


    ¡°You did your research well,¡± Winston put in, shifting in his very uncomfortable seat. ¡°I was counting on that, I needed the name of my backer to ensure my safety before facing a¡­ let''s just say a very creative businessman like yourself. But adding your ¡®honor¡¯ to the things preventing you from harassing me is just as well.¡±


    The dwarf gave him a very toothy grin.


    ¡°So Skandrim? You''ve come for information about him, yes?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Winston replied, nodding. ¡°I need to know what he''s planning, what he''s doing, and why he''s gone silent somehow.¡±


    ¡°He hasn''t gone silent, he''s simply using puppet businesses to purchase stuff for him. He needs to keep quiet about this recent business undertaking he has entered in.¡±


    ¡°That being?¡±


    ¡°He has just signed a contract with dignitaries from Anxiom.¡±


    ¡°I''m aware. Your manager told me.¡±


    ¡°Good then. Now, I''ll tell you the rest.¡± Partikule coughed several times on the side of his curled fist. ¡°The Anxiom Empire wants something from Kirisal, and they''re using Skandrim to get it. As of now, Skandrim has bought thousands of mining tools, and has been keeping away from any incriminating, underbelly businesses and corrupt nobles. He''s trying to lay low so he can keep his project away from prying eyes. He''s also made a contract with slavers to specifically dump all their slaves on his lap at a very hefty price.¡±


    Winston mulled over this new information that Partikule had just dumped all over him. So the reason why Skandrim had gone quiet was so that he could keep working in peace? What kind of project needed to be kept secret even from corrupt nobles? If it was a very shady project, wouldn''t corrupt nobles be very cooperative with him if he just showered them with his graces? No, it was a project that was ominous enough to warrant safeguarding even from corrupt nobles despite of the difficulty that entailed. Whatever this was, it was bad news.


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°No, there''s more. Skandrim is planning a heist. A big one. But that''s all I know. He has kept his plans relatively secure. What information I''ve gleaned are but a mere tip of the iceberg.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Winston said, sighing. ¡°Do you have anything else?¡±


    ¡°As a matter of fact, I do. But this one''s not about Skandrim. Your dear little Prime isn''t so innocent after all. She will die sooner than you think.¡±


    Winston¡¯s eyes widened, his face scrunching up into a frown.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Partikule smiled conspiratorially.


    ¡°You see¡­.¡±

 Authors Note: this fiction will not be abandoned

    Hi, I thank those who''re sticking with me even when this story is still pretty early in the works. I''ve decided to post this author''s note to assure anyone, who might come upon this work and get hooked, that this work will not be abandoned. I will continue to write it one paragraph at a time.


    While I intend to update every 17 days, matters in real life complicate that.


    As for now, I''m 62% in with the 7th chapter. It''s taking longer than the previous chapters because I''ve been busy with school and stuff (I''m in college). Plus, I basically wasted two days just to catch up to the whole Dandadan manga¡ªI highly, absolutely recommend it!A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Anyway I assure you, readers, lurkers, and those that followed just so they could read this work once a lot of pages has been posted, this work will not be abandoned. It may take me 15 years or maybe 20, but I''m finishing it. This is my goal, my challenge to myself who have never ever committed to one hobby (or even master that hobby).


    I plan 9 volumes in total, each containing approximately 514 pages. I think that''s all I want to say.


    Anyway, enjoy!

 Book 1 — Chapter Seven: Heist

    Sapphire was twiddling with a gem encrusted staff. She was building a focus. At her level, a focus wasn''t yet necessary, but sooner or later she''d have to build one. The focuses she had built in the past were all discarded by her before the rewind (her reason being they were no longer of use to her), except for the tiara she wore, which she stashed in her pocket dimension. She hadn''t yet visited her library, but she designed the rewind spell to particularly preclude rewinding her pocket dimension, hence her library and all the items in it should have survived¡ªincluding the tiara. But that focus was too advanced, and it would be suspicious if an elf at her level was suddenly sporting a legendary item on her head. No, she needed a focus that was comparable to her level. Hence why she was building a new one.


    Sapphire held the wooden staff in the middle and channeled her mana through it. Rippling energy emanated from the wood as the mana circulated throughout its cells. Sapphire then turned the outer shell of the mana that connected her to the staff into the ethereal aspect (the only known aspect of mana that had a spiritual characteristic). Then she cast a spell, turning the ethereal mana into a pathway between her soul and the staff. Thus, she tethered her soul to the staff. By her estimate, the tether would hold for a distance of 250 meters.


    Then she filled the gem¡ªspecially engineered to store mana temporarily¡ªat the top of the staff with her mana. Then she cut off the supply of mana she was channeling through the wood, while still keeping the tether between her and the body of the focus. This way, any spell damage won''t creep through her staff and inevitably to herself. Then she used her spiritual touch¡ªthat which kneaded and aspected mana¡ªto the gem. She turned the mana in the gem into the water and solid aspects. She thus imagined a ball of solid ice forming from the mana¡ªexplicitly determining the structure of the spell. With a short incantation, she released the mana and a ball of solid ice coagulated in the air above the staff.


    Perfect. This was the result she intended.


    She admired the perfect imperfections of her new staff. She giggled as she thought herself becoming the wizened old crone¡ªa witch¡ªcarrying a wooden staff in the stories elven parents used to tell their children to scare them from staying out late at night.


    A knock at the door woke her up from her reverie.


    Coming!She stashed her staff under her bed. What is it?


    My lady,said the person behind the door, most probably a maid. Someone''s here to see you!


    Sapphire opened the door and an elf in a maid outfit greeted her.


    Who''s looking for me?Sapphire asked.


    Someone called Klime.


    Finally, it took him long enough,Sapphire mused. You can go now Miss Shenteli.


    Understood, young mistress.


    The maid scurried away leaving Sapphire by herself. Sapphire went back into her room and changed into more formal clothing¡ªa dress below a thick leather armor at the torso. She immediately descended the stairs, leading to the palace''s reception hall. Afterwards, she went to the elf helming the reception desk and was told her visitor was waiting at room six. She left towards the direction of the specified room, quickly opening the door once she had arrived. What greeted her was the sleazy face of a bald and scarred elf. A large scar ran down from his left forehead to his left cheek, demarcating his left eye into two. He was a little bit short by elven standards. Sapphire estimated him to be around 55tall. Sapphire scanned the room¡ªa very basic meeting room. It had a table and chairs at the center, and it was very small. She pointed her gaze back at the elven man. The elf sent her a menacing glare and an acrid smile.


    So we''ve finally met Miss¡­?the elf trailed, standing up from his seat and offering a hand to her.


    Sapphire,she replied, taking the elf''s hand in a handshake. Sapphire Auston.


    So I''ve heard,the elf grinned, letting go of Sapphire''s hands, then shuffled to correct himself. I mean not your name, obviously. I''ve heard the King just adopted you.


    Indeed,Sapphire nodded. He''s taken pity on a lowly elf such as myself.


    Oh, please,the elf chuckled eerily; his laugh was occasionally interspersed with rasp snoring sounds. I know for a fact that the King always¡ªand I mean always¡ªchooses the ones with the greatest potential. Take Sonak for example. He''s one of the strongest elves in the country, only surpassed by the few SS+ rankers that don''t really meddle with our trivial affairs¡ªtrivial only to their perspective. The king chose him from among the dregs of the kingdom''s army and installed him as a Head Court Mage. Some say he''s going to surpass the King in the near future and become the newest High Mage after, well, so long. Of course, I know you must know to whom the High Mage title is given?


    The elf seemed to be looking all smug at her. So it was like that huh? He was definitely looking down on Sapphire for her origins.


    To the strongest in the Kingdom,Sapphire replied. I know how it works even though I''m an orphan. Currently, the King is the strongest, so the High Mage title belongs to no one yet.


    The elven man looked aghast.


    Oh I didn''t mean to imply you''re any deficient because of your humble beginnings Miss. That I''d never do.


    Sapphire rolled her eyes.


    Can we sit down now?She curtly and brazenly asked.


    The elf''s eyes widened as if he had just realized it.


    Oh, of course, of course, let''s.


    Both of them sat down at opposite ends of the table.


    Let me get to the point,Sapphire said, tracing a circle on the table with her finger. It was just a simple habit she had developed over the years. Why have you sought me, Mr. Klime? I don''t need the circuitous route. I need you to be straight to the point.


    Klime sighed.


    And here I thought you''d understand.


    Understand what?


    You''re obviously very confrontational about this, which means you already know what I''m here for. Or at least you have an idea about what I''m here for.


    More or less, yeah,Sapphire said, shifting the chair more towards the table.


    I was hoping you''d understand my plight, but from the get go I sense you''ll be opposed.


    Was he trying to imply that enslaving people was a righteous and justifiable act? Of course she''d be opposed, what reason was there for her to just acquiesce to a slaver''s actions? Sapphire doused the flames of anger slowly roiling in her chest. It wouldn''t do to be impetuous at this time. Klime was obviously trying to goad her into making a scene, and thereby drawing the attention of the authorities to her at Klime''s own benefit. What a nasty, old, contriving bastard. The slaversguild''s Archmaster was truly one cunning prick.


    Oh?Sapphire arched her eyebrows at Klime. So you mean kidnapping and selling rightly free men and women is somehow a justifiable act?


    So you do know!Klime screamed with a leering smile. But I assure you Miss, there''s a perfectly reasonable explanation for that.


    Sapphire indeed knew, but she really didn''t have enough incriminating evidence right now to put Klime behind bars, and the elf obviously had backers within the noble council so that he could continue his slaving business uninterrupted by the authorities, or at least redirect their attention to more mundane but still easily criminal activities.


    You know,Klime began, twirling a knife with his fingers, through the ring that ended its hilt, I''m a very reasonable man, and I always like to think that others are plenty reasonable themselves, that is, if you strip away any emotionally charged reaction from anything remotely contradicting their way of life. And I get the feeling you aren''t that far from a completely stoic sagacity that is very rare nowadays, especially among the young¡­


    Get to the point,Sapphire groused.


    See, very reasonable.Klime dropped his knife to the table and slammed both palms on the table''s surface, lifting his bottom from the seat and leaning in towards Sapphire. Let''s get real little lady, you aren''t powerful enough to be threatening me, and I have all the cards, and I know you''re precociously aware about how heavily disadvantaged you are. If you keep your silence, I might just consider letting you off the hook for all the damage you have wrought my little slaversguild.


    Sapphire glowered at the man as he plopped down back into his chair.


    That''s what you call a reasonable explanation for your slaving business? It''s all nothing but threats!


    Klime offered a laid-back smile.


    I assure you, it''s perfectly reasonable. Humans were placed in this world to be the servants of higher creatures¡ªour servants! As you very well know, they have no magic, so it should have been impossible for them to have survived this long had the other races not reached out their hands and helped them. We are their benefactors, so it is just fitting for them to serve us.


    You make me sick,she said, bitingly. I never imagined the Archmaster of the adventurersguild to be this twisted. All sentient lives are created equal, regardless of their magical acuity. This all hinges on the idea of self. The idea that if you were to start justifying harassing another individual, then nothing stops anyone from doing the same thing to you¡ªand to anyone for that matter. All manner of laws crumble down to pieces if the idea of self¡ªthat a person, who is a sentient self, is perfectly owed his safety by another so that that other is also perfectly owed his own safety by others¡ªdeteriorates!


    Klime offered Sapphire a sinister smile, which once again made Sapphire''s bile roil with irritation, but she held it back.


    You''re a sicko!She screamed.


    Oh please, stop moralizing things little lady. The only way that would work is if I am in any way contradicting myself; so to say the contradiction between the acceptance of truth and action. I am not, in any way, in that position.


    So you''re saying your actions aren''t against the truth?


    Oh, heavens no, I know the truth that I''m a horrible person, and I''m more horrible for deriving pleasure from enslaving people. But you know what? I don''t have an ounce of care in the world. I know the truth of the horror of my actions, and I accept that. Can''t you see? I accept the evil of my actions without remorse, truly and fully, so there really isn''t any contradiction now is there? Anyway, I really hoped you could see things from my perspective. I hoped you could see that your moral sputterings are never really applicable in reality. In the end, those who''re more powerful than others, get to decide their fate.


    Sapphire''s eyes widened in disbelief, her teeth clamped strongly against each other, and her fingers curled tightly into fists beneath the table. Her heart was beating like a nebulous beast that was about to be released. The whole room started going cold, really, really cold. Then she saw Klime smile triumphantly¡­.


    She refused to let him win.


    Before she could make an irreparable mistake, she steeled herself, schooling her scowling face to a more serene expression. But deep down she was seething. It took every ounce of her will to keep her expression neutral, to bite back the venom that rose with each of his words.


    Oh?Sapphire smiled menacingly, despite herself. So I have your confession then?


    Why are you smiling?Klime asked, befuddled. I sense no recording devices, how can you use any of what I''ve said against me? It would be your word against mine.


    Well, no.Sapphire kept her smile stout and bright. But I know my enemy now. I bet it isn''t hard to find evidence against you.


    Ha! Fat chance of that, even if you can eke out an incriminating fact, it wouldn''t still be enough. I have people in the council, I''m sure you''ve guessed that by now.


    No man is invincible, Klime,Sapphire spoke, while casting a little cantrip. Klime was none the wiser, but he''d soon notice it. I''m off now, if you want anything more from me, please hesitate to contact me, cause I won''t be answering.


    Sapphire stood and exited the door, slamming it forcefully and sending a clunking sound reverberating throughout the reception hall.


    Shit!Sapphire heard from the other side of the door. You fucking orphan. Now, I look like I peed myself. Fucking kid.


    Using heat to evaporate that would take a lot of time, and knowing Klime to be a fire specialist rather than a generalist, she''d bet on the possibility that the Archmaster had no spells for removing water from a soaked fabric. Petty though it might seem, she praised herself for that little prank.


    Now onto more important matters, how was her library faring these days? She decided then to visit her little niche¡ªor not so little since it was massive.


    Immediately, Sapphire left in the direction of her library''s anchor.


    ***


    Sapphire hired a selmove to take her towards her destination, since it was kinda far from the capital and she couldn''t teleport yet. They took the scenic route which gave her a view of the wild flowers and plants that inhabited the forest. One humming bird flew next to the selmove right beside the window she was currently looking through. The bird flapped its wings, producing a buzzing sound she could hear through the slightly opened glass. She smiled at the sight. When was the last time she took in the beauty of nature like this? Since becoming the High Mage, she''d been so busy with her job that she barely got out of the tower to just¡­ exist. This one-time redo was proving very beneficial for her psyche. Her eyes followed the bird as it flew off into the distance, suckling a beautiful blue-petaled flower. Just beside the flower was a subsidiary dirt road that led deep into the woods.


    Just here!she said, holding the driver seat''s backrest. The selmove eased to a stop. Thanks for the ride.Sapphire fished fifty shackalie from her purse and handed it to the man. The man grunted like all grumpy cab drivers and took her payment with eager enthusiasm.


    Wait, let me give you the change.


    Keep it,she said. Its a trifling amount, really.She then bolted out the door and through the woods.


    After a quarter of an hour roving the forest, she finally found her landmark and proceeded to go deeper into the forest. She''d almost forgotten the way, what with the fact that she mostly used teleportation to get to her library back before the rewind. She stood before a gigantic oak tree that had a hollow space at its lower trunk. Most would think her pocket dimension was the very hole on the tree, but it was actually buried deep below. The tree was just a telepad a person could use to enter her pocket dimension.


    She placed a palm on the tree trunk and felt its energy bubbling and leaking to the outside.


    It''s been more than two years since we last saw each other, Old Girl.


    The leaves of the tree swayed as if to the brushing wind, although there wasn''t even a breeze. The leaves produced pleasing, shuffling sounds.


    I''ve missed you,a voice of a matured woman sonorously resounded in Sapphire''s ears. Welcome back, High Mage.


    Sapphire smiled. I''m glad to be back, Old Girl.


    The entity behind the voice immediately linked itself to Sapphire and sent her a gleeful emotion.


    I suppose I should open it now?


    Please, Aeroline,Sapphire uttered lovingly, caressing the tree bark with her hands. Much appreciated.


    The earth around the tree suddenly shook, its leaves dancing to the trembling might of the mini earthquake that befell the area. Leaves started falling from the branches and Sapphire looked up as she smiled. The sun peeked through the leaves, draping Sapphire in its warm light. Then the earth around her slowly cracked, and then broke open as roots limply exited their embrace. The roots shuffled themselves to slither around the trunk of the tree, avoiding her as they crawled, and as she backed away. The tree''s main stem, together with the roots, now expanded the width of the tree to three times its previous size, revealing a gnarly tree like the intertwining of muscles around human bones. The opening in the tree trunk widened and beckoned.


    Knowing what it meant, Sapphire quickly entered the space and waited for only a moment. Then the entrance slammed shut and enclosed her, but that was perfectly normal, nothing to be worried about. Soon, her contours petered out until she turned invisible, and ethereal mana linked her to a location beneath the tree. A powerful force then suddenly yanked her towards the other end of the tether. She blinked twice and her vision cleared and she could see herself standing on a square platform with sigils written on them. She had now arrived at her library.


    Sapphire smiled. The whole library was huge, bigger than the Royal Palace. Shelves upon shelves of books lined themselves vertically from her position, and there were shelves on the walls as well. Each tome on those shelves magically stored trillions of pages about possibly every information you can imagine. She herself hadn''t read all of them, but kept collecting them in the hopes that they may come in handy in the future.


    What are you looking for?the entity spoke with reverence.


    Anything about Kirisal''s history?


    Hmm,the entity hummed, as if processing her question. I''ve got 600,000,000 hits. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Sapphire frowned.


    I guess that doesn''t narrow it down.


    Perhaps if you told me why you wanted to look for that?


    Because Kirisal''s aggression has started too early¡­Sapphire paused, Uh, how do I put this¡­ I''m sure you''re aware of the rewind, Aeroline?


    If you mean the fact that everything around me one day became their younger versions in an instant and the fact that you''re younger now, then yes, I am aware of this rewind.


    Alright, that makes it easier to explain. Basically Ive lived through this once already, and Kirisal isn''t supposed to expand their borders until I''m 18, but now they''re doing it too early. They''re building new battleships, and arming soldiers, ready to invade us. This is very worrying.


    I get your dread, Sapphire. I''ll look into it; give me a few minutes to sift through all the information I have.


    Five minutes had passed, then 15, then 45, and then an hour.


    Alright, I have three hits.


    That took you longer than expected.


    That''s¡­. Um. I opted to use divination to narrow it down a little at first, then from there, I dove into the information myself instead of using divination so that I''d avoid missing important data. Thanks to that I''ve narrowed it down to three, while at the same time taking too long with my search.


    Thats alright Aeroline, you did a good job!


    Thanks, Sapphire.


    Now,Sapphire said, walking towards one of the tables sprawled all over the library. What should I start first?


    Perhaps you''d be interested in Kirisal''s beginnings?


    Oh. Yes, of course, of course. Let''s start with that.


    A tome from the deeper shelves separated its pages into two, and flapped them like wings towards Sapphire''s direction. Then it plopped onto her desk, like a dying bird. Sapphire turned the tome over to look at its title.


    Beginnings of Realmswas written on its cover.


    Aeroline''s consciousness materialized into a small glowing orb that flew before Sapphire.


    I remember this one,Sapphire said, smiling at Aeroline. I collected histories from all over the world and gathered them into a compendium of their beginnings.


    Exactly,Aeroline butt in. It''s the perfect tome to start with. It contains a brief history of the beginnings of Kirisal.


    Well then, let''s start,Sapphire said, opening the cover of the tome to its first page. What page?she asked Aeroline.


    A thousand and two.


    I see.


    Sapphire immediately traced her fingers on the tome''s first page. She poured mana into it and let her intent surge into the page. She willed page 1,002 to appear on the tome''s pages. Slowly, markings and writings started appearing in blotches that connected into comprehensible symbols, forming words, then sentences, then paragraphs until the page was full. On top of the first page, appeared the words, The Agreement That United Skurim.


    Sapphire proceeded to read.


    <>The Agreement That United Skurim<>


    <>By Skciour Giouomish, First King of Kirisal<>


    [5,000 years ago]


    Dear Mckrospuicle,


    I have searched for years to find the answer to the question that had boggled my mind for what seemed to be eternity. I was convinced that Kirisal would become in the future the greatest nation in the world. But the guilt of what I have done still harrows me to this day.


    My eternal question¡ªdid I do the right thing?¡ªbeleaguers my soul with doubts. For you see, 60 innocent city-states had to shed their blood so I could rule only half of the island of Skurim. So I could call it Kirisal. It all started you see, with a vision I had. One night, I was visited in a dream by a malignant horror. It beckoned me, and pulled me. When I awoke, I was suddenly in a ruin unlike any other, deep in the center of The Dead Elf''s Forest. I believe it traces back to the time of the Ancients. I knew I was in The Dead Elf''s Forest all because the malignant horror told me.


    Then, in an instant, the malignant horror summoned itself before me. It told me that I would one day unite Skurim''s splintered city-states, but that I would not be able to do so without its help. It promised me victory, should I accept.


    Our nation was poor you see, and had very few things in the way of precious resources, hence the offer interested me. But I would be a fool to accept an offer from an insidious horror. But then it showed me the future, and I could not resist nor deny that what he had shown me was the truth. He had shown me that Kirisal would one day become the greatest nation in the world. I don''t know what came over me, but I accepted its offer, all because I was certain that he was telling the truth.


    It gave me power. A power that could dismantle all the magics in the world. Untamed, wild and corrosive power. I shared that power with many of my soldiers and vassals. And with it we conquered all the 60 city-states in a span of 30 years. We won, but at a price; my soldiers, my vassals turned insane. They sought more strength, they became hungry for more and more power. I had to, with the remainder of my vassals that didn''t turn insane, eliminate these horrors. After the last horror was felled. I ruled for 20 more years until today, when the horror''s power has started to encumber me with its weight. Kirisal enjoyed prosperity unlike any other, but at a very heavy price. My vassals and I have decided to end our lives, before we started preying on our citizens. To you my son, listen well, I leave to you all my wealth and the future of Kirisal.


    I will die a foolish King, harrowed by an eternal question: did I do the right thing?


    <>


    The letter ended with that eerie and morbid note. But¡­ that did not answer anything whatsoever.


    It doesn''t make sense,Sapphire said, leaning back in her chair and craning her head backwards so that she was directly looking at the very high ceiling. Kirisal would attack us because of a mysterious creature that presaged its future dominance? Even in the future, that never ended up happening. Sure, Kirisal took a vast swath of land from Ethera but never any more, and never from another nation. What are you trying to point me to, Aeroline?


    Aeroline''s glowing orb flitted before Sapphire, she sent her a moue of defeat, indicating as if she were hurt by Sapphire''s words, but as good old friends as they were, Sapphire knew she was just being playful.


    Look at here,Aeroline flittered on one line in the letter, illuminating the page even as the overhead lighting blasted the tome with a very bright light. The line highlighted were the words: Our nation was poor you see¡­.There are many reasons why a nation would attack another; one notable one would be desperation. I picked this one to show you that there is precedence of Kirisal attacking states for resources, and there are a thousand more precedents of Kirsal expanding beyond its borders based on the same premise. Those 60 states that Kirisal in those days absorbed weren''t all that there were in their island that we now associate with the totality of Kirisal¡ªthat was only half of it. The next king after the first king of an expanded Kirisal, launched campaigns one after another all for the sake of resources. And many kings after that did the same. I just showed you this one because I believe this better represents the cause behind which Kirisal is now moving¡ªthey hunger for power, resources, and possibly even glory.


    Sapphire paused.


    Hm.She hummed. That does make sense. Thank you, Aeroline, you''ve given me a new angle on Kirisal''s intentions.


    You''re most welcome,Aeroline said, sending Sapphire a full smugness of emotions. I can''t believe I''ve become smarter than the High Mage that nurtured me.Aeroline sent a wink.


    Sapphire laughed.


    I can''t believe you''ve all grown up Aeroline, and you''d probably outlive little olme.


    Aren''t I the best?Aeroline preened.


    Alright, alright, you''re the best. Now as for the other hits? I''d like to read them too.


    Of course, of course.


    Aeroline''s orb danced in the air and a new tome flew towards Sapphires table and flopped down. Sapphire opened the tome and did as she had done with the previous. The contents of page 653 appeared on the tome''s first page.


    Sapphire poured over the text. This one depicted a relatively recent event, about a hundred years ago. It didn''t talk about a war between Kirisal and other states, instead it touched upon a tragedy that happened because of¡­ Beyond Enterprise? She was sure she heard that word somewhere. When she read that Beyond Enterprise was a big construction company (and a thousand other business ventures) in Kirisal she eventually remembered. The last time Kirisal attacked Ethera, Beyond Enterprise led the way for the construction of 250 battleships that Kirisal used to subjugate Ethera. The whole company screamed suspicion. Then she continued reading.


    A hundred years ago, when Beyond Enterprise had just gotten a foothold in Kirisal''s mainstream construction businesses, Skandrim, their very founder and owner, advocated for a mass expansion regime that would wage war on a couple of nations. Two of the Primes that ruled during that time (and who were still ruling now), really liked the idea, and considering most petrolisiom wells in Skurin belonged to Kirisal, guaranteeing their wealth, their military at that time was second only to Anxiom.


    The Primes were really bold and was about to sign a contract with Beyond Enterprise to shore up their navy by researching and building newer spells and weapons when the third Prime, by the name of Loritheil¡ªwho was opposed to their plans¡ªdid a very clever move that left the other two Primes paralyzed, unable to take action. She pretended, at the very beginning of the expansion plan, that the other Primes had her full cooperation on the matter. The other Primes, having seen only the greedy, frivolous side of the third Prime, never doubted her allegiance from the outset.


    Then she suddenly made a full one-eighty by making the other Primes sign a contract that they thought would serve their crusade without even giving it a second glance. Adding the fact that it was obscured by a very powerful glamor that would have required the other two Prime''s focus, they were readily fooled. As it turned out, the contract stipulated rules that gave the immediate nations around Kirisal rights to about half of the profits the petrolisiom wells produced for a period of twenty years. In exchange, the other countries must serve Kirisal as temporary vassal states in name only. She had readied the documents by secretly making agreements with the leaders of the countries immediately surrounding Kirisal.


    Loritheil didn''t also do this without any benefit for Kirisal; she made sure all technological and magical breakthroughs that each of the temporary vassal states made (from 30 years ago down to the duration of the contract) must be shared to Kirisal. That boosted Kirisal''s economy in the long run, improving the quality of their petrolisiom production, giving them the capacity to produce the best silver bricks in all of Skurin and arguably the whole world.


    The result? The other Primes were prevented from advancing their agenda, since 50% ownership of the petrolisiom wells meant that the other nations pretty much had control of a quarter and a half of Kirisal''s economy. The other Primes gritted their teeth through this but promised revenge. Forty years after the end of the stipulated 20 years, Loritheil mysteriously died of a mysterious disease.


    The end,Sapphire crooned. Wew, that was an intense read.


    Exactly 35 minutes,Aeroline stated, spiraling her orb around Sapphire, then quickly settled floating before her. I don''t suppose you still want to read the third hit?


    I suppose no,Sapphire admitted. I get the gist of it this time. Those two Primes mentioned here are still alive and ruling today. If they have the same sentiments as a hundred years ago, then surely, even today, those two Primes are still conniving to expand their territory. That leaves the new third Prime an unknown factor. Are they aligned with their predecessor''s conviction or are they allied with the other two Primes? This keeps getting complicated by the minute.


    Hmm,Aeroline thrummed. This also doesn''t preclude influence from outside forces or even, from dark, mythical creatures.


    That as well.Sapphire raised her hand and with a flourish, sent the tomes flying back to their shelves. But I''m more inclined to teeter towards the idea that this imminent war is nothing more, but caused by the two Primes mentioned in the text. Either way, this doesn''t look good for all of Ethera.


    Indeed.


    Sapphire rubbed her temples with her hand. This was going to be a long weekend.


    ***


    It was 7:30 in the night, and the moon hung effulgently in the sky. Selmoves entered the castle gates, driven by chauffeurs who parked the vehicles in the designated parking area and got out of the driver''s seat to open the door for their masters. Men and women¡ªnobles and wealthy merchants¡ªwearing their most prized jewels, dresses and suits, merrily sauntered on the paved promenade towards the castle, then entered the very building itself. A tall and heavily built elf took stock of the master list whenever important looking elves handed their invitation, making sure they were in the list.


    Above all of that, at the top of the fourth tower, the closest of all the five towers surrounding the main castle, overlooking the whole scene through the tower''s sole window, Sapphire took in the whole view together with the elf behind her.


    You''re not happy,resounded the voice of the elf standing behind her.


    Not in the least, Sonak.


    Sonak grunted in disapproval.


    Then why are you looking wistful?


    Sapphire turned, forcing through her taciturn mood. The tools that hung in the walls of Sonak''s lab clinked as the wind blew through the windows. She liked that, it helped calm her; that''s also one of the reasons why she liked helping Sonak with his work, assisting him with alchemy. What she mostly did was only offer a helping hand to Sonak, whenever he needed a tool and it was too far from his reach, or when he needed an ingredient that was stored in chemical cabinets or refrigerators. But today that''s not why she''s here.


    I''m just not getting used to having a big party be celebrated in my name.


    Oh?Sonak breathed. He wasn''t looking at Sapphire at all, instead he was focused on swirling a flask containing a blue liquid with his hands. He eyeballed it for a good two minutes. You sound like it''s not the first time you''ve had a birthday party celebrated for your sake. Did they celebrate your birthdays at the orphanage?


    Well no,Sapphire replied. It''s hard to explain, and it might be better for you if you didn''t know, but I''ve experienced extravagances before, like today, but somehow, I''ve never gotten used to it.


    I see.Sonak gestured for a small vial containing a viscous liquid the color of gold and yellow mixed together. Can you hand me the High Bee honey?


    Sapphire sighed. Of course,she said, picking up the vial and handing it to Sonak.


    Sonak poured a small drop of honey onto his concoction and it hissed, turning into an opaque red liquid.


    Good reaction,he said. High Beeshoney contains a substantial amount of life mana. Combined with a veritable health potion and a sundry of other ingredients, it produces the best mixture for the health enhancer I''ve been working on for some time now. Seems it''s working, the reaction isn''t the best, but it''s a start.


    You''re still on with that? I thought you perfected it a week ago?


    I''ve perfected 95 percent of the recipe. I still have to perform trial and error on the amount of honey I need to put into the mixture,Sonak prated. Anyway, regarding the party, if you don''t like it then don''t go.


    Sapphire laughed.


    I wish it were that simple,she sighed. Anyway, are you coming?


    Right, I will, just¡­ until I finish this.


    You''ll never finish that.Sapphire rolled her eyes. Then she grabbed her mentor''s arms and dragged him towards the door. Sonak fought at first but then he capitulated.


    Okay, okay,Sonak said, snorting. Stop dragging me, I''ll go with you. I was just kidding, you see how well dressed I am? I''m definitely going to my best student''s birthday party!


    Sapphire chuckled.


    If you say so,she let out, letting go of Sonak''s arm. Nerd.


    Don''t call me that,he groused. I''m a respectable alchemist, not some snobbish child who doesn''t understand the difference between being good at what you do and just being plain antisocial.


    Hey, you offend the council of nerds with those words!


    Sonak chittered.


    Let them be offended,Sonak said, puffing his chest, imitating the stature of a grand magistrate. True Alchemists do not meddle in the affairs of mortals.


    Sapphire punched him in the gut.


    If you say so, Nerd.Sapphire giggled.


    Sonak groaned, caressing his stomach. D-don''t call me that, mortal!he eked out a response.


    Sapphire accompanied Sonak to the ballroom. In her past life, she never took notice of Sonak¡ªwell, she never took notice of anyone at all, too engrossed in her work of advancing magic to its peak. She only knew Sonak as a colleague and nothing more¡ªa very powerful colleague. She remembered that by the time she had earned the title of High Mage, Sonak had already reached the 1st tier of SS+ rank. But now? She''d gotten to like the arrogant elf who didn''t think twice to talk shop in the midst of a throng of people¡ªboasting, full of pomp, and brandishing. But for all Sonak''s faults as a person, he was nonetheless a loyal and fair teacher. Although he had looked down on Sapphire in the beginning, he didn''t hesitate to divulge all his knowledge to Sapphire, training her as if he were raising the next High Mage¡ªalthough he coveted the very position himself. He wasn''t afraid of raising his own competition because he was passionate about magic and all its potential, rather than seeking the downfall of his competition. He wasn''t so much as addicted to the idea of power as he simply wanted what that powerimplied: mastery of the forces of magic.


    They walked through the hallways of the castle when Sonak suddenly tugged at Sapphire''s shoulders.


    Stop,he cautioned. Something''s wrong.He turned his head left and right and up.


    Sapphire frowned, turning to him.


    What''s wrong,she asked, looking around. I don''t feel a thing.


    No, the mana in the air is being pulled towards a single direction.


    Sapphire activated her spiritual eyes. She saw where the mana was flowing to. Sonak was right.


    Sonak pointed towards the walls¡ªactually he was pointing beyond that.


    Sapphire''s eyes widened.


    It''s as if someone''s striking the wards of the fifth tower, causing it to pull more mana into the enchantment,she said.


    Correct.


    The fifth tower was dedicated to the High Mage of Ethera, and it holds a very powerful relic from the first High Mage herself¡ªthe Sautur Aspifone, a supernal jewel capable of unsealing ancient seals. While ancient seals weren''t as powerful as modern seals, most of them contained safeguards that might kill the one trying to unseal it or destroy the object being sealed if he just brute forced his way through the seal. That''s why if you were researching ancient artifacts, there was a great need for techniques that could properly open ancient seals, or better yet, a single relic that could open any and all ancient seals. The Sautur Aspifone was one such relic, and even Sapphire couldn''t unlock the fullness of its secrets. As far as Sapphire knew, it had never failed in opening ancient seals excavated by archeologists. Judging by how the mana was being sucked towards that direction, there''s a very good chance someone was trying to steal the Sautur Aspifone.


    Whoever they are, they''re skilled.Sonak began walking as did Sapphire. Then they ran towards the castle exit. The way they silenced the guards without allowing any of them to activate the alarm¡­.


    And the fact that they didnt trip the detection wards,Sapphire continued.


    Means they''re powerful


    Right.


    Sapphire scowled. Who would steal during a party? Wait, scratch that. During a party where everyone was distracted was the best time to strike. Whoever they were, they''re not only skilled, but also confident.


    Should we sound the alarm?Sapphire asked, bounding on the floor as she ran.


    No need.Sonak snorted, swinging his arms back and forth, keeping a good running rythm. A 3rd-tier S-rank like me is plenty powerful enough against whoever''s trying to trespass on the fifth tower. Even if they''re many, I can hold off three 9th-tier S-Ranks just fine so I doubt we''ll be short of hands when we get there. Plus, I got my trusty student by my side.


    From where Sapphire was looking at Sonak he could see a grin tearing through his mouth, as if he were anticipating the oncoming fight. Sapphire grinned as well, it was going to be one hell of an evening.


    ***


    When Sapphire and Sonak got to the scene, they were in for a treat. The grounds were littered with dead elven bodies that were seared to perfection. The smell of tasty, cooked meat harried Sapphire''s nose and bile threatened to rise from her gut, owing to the fact that though everything smelled delicious, the realization that the smell came from human meat would make anyone''s appetite roil in disgust.


    In a quick instant, a gigantic fireball soared through the air, blasting against Sonak''s force shield. The shield oscillated back and forth as it struggled against the force of the fireball. Then the fireball winked and the figure of a masked man wearing black clothes jumped at Sapphire. Whoever this trespasser was, he knew to strike at the chain''s weakest link. With two knives half the size of a proper short-sword, the threat arose against Sapphire, striking diagonally from her upper right. But she dodged that strike skilfully. Then the trespasser struck again diagonally from her upper left, which she still dodged adroitly. Seeing that he wasn''t hitting his target, the trespasser casted a¡­.


    Sonak pounced on the thief, before the thief could even start his incantation. With a light blade Sonak conjured from his mana, he struck at the interloper with its tip. The thief scrunched backward, barely allowing the light blade''s tip to miss him by a hairs breadth. Then the thief started casting again but Sapphire had already summoned ice spikes from when she had dodged the thief''s attacks and sent them hurling towards the interloper. The thief shielded himself just in time, so he could finish casting his body enhancement spell. The thief''s muscle bulged, and his strikes became more pronounced.


    Sonak signaled, and Sapphire knew to stand aside. Sonak would be using more power this time. The enemy was clearly on par with him, likely an S-ranker. Both mages clashed in a jaw-dropping fight that left the grounds before the fifth tower riddled with craters. Sapphire danced with both of them, albeit keeping a safe distance. The interloper seemed to favour fire spells, which probably meant he specialized in it.


    In one sudden swoop, the thief roared, and fire blasted out a finger''s width in front of the cloth masking the thief''s mouth. The raging flames threatened to fry Sonak, but he was quick enough to erect a force-ward that resisted the blasting force of the flaring flames. It soon became evident that Sonak had the more powerful spell, and the intruders flames were a mere brush of the wind to Sonak''s stout shield. But something shifted in the flames of the enemy. Something ominous. The blazing inferno suddenly turned purple, as well as starting to swirl towards Sonak''s shield. Then slowly but surely, the flames began to tear through the structure of Sonak''s shield, as if the shield were being torn apart by speedy termites¡ªno, a more fitting description would be that the flames somehow corroded the structure of Sonak''s shield. That was¡­.


    ... Unheard of!Sonak screamed on the top of his lungs. How are you corroding my shield?


    The thief didn''t answer, still keeping his mouth wide open behind his mask, continuing to power the spell that used his mouth as its focus.


    Before the flames could overwhelm Sapphire''s teacher, however, she brisked up towards Sonak and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then she channeled her mana through him and casted a water vortex¡ªa swirling mass of water and force combined. It pushed the blazing flames back, but it was clear her spell was inferior to the enemy, even without the corrosive quality of the enemy''s spell. But that was enough. Sonak blurred in that instant, carrying Sapphire as they suddenly bounded away from the raging flames. The fire blasted through where both of them had been earlier.


    This isn''t working,Sonak sent telepathically. The enemy is five tiers weaker than me, but he has that corrosive element to his spell, if he could use that as generously as I think he can, then we''re doomed.


    What should we do?Sapphire sent through the telepathic link.


    I¡­there was uncertainty in Sonaks voice. I-I''m not sure. But I have an idea.


    Sonak strode towards his prey, conjuring light blades in his hands. Stay there,he said, let me handle this.


    Sonak and their enemy clashed in a bout of metal swords enhanced by magic, clinking against magical light swords. Then their enemy guffawed in the middle of their fight as purple light started covering his body, then a blast of purple flames emanated from him, swallowing Sonak in a dome of purple fire. It was only for a moment, and the dome dissipated revealing the burning corpse of Sonak lying on the ground. No¡ªwas it Sonak? No, that''s not it, it should have been him. No, actually it really was him. No¡­.


    Before Sapphire could process the whole thing, the interloper took large strides, as he set his eyes on Sapphire.

 Update for the next chapter

    Hi there loyal readers! I''m happy to announce that I''m 84% in into the 8th chapter. What''s delaying me is all the work I need to put in to design the hardware for our research project. I''d have to relearn cad software and all that and it''s taking a long time. But I''m certain I can finish the 8th chapter within this week (it''s Sunday where I am). Once again, thanks for sticking with this story. And for the new followers, I thank you for following. For those who added this work into their favorites, I thank you four thousand times more. Anyway, ciao! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

 Book 1 — Chapter Eight: Intertwined Fates

    The breeze stilled, and a cold shiver wiggled its way down Sapphire''s spine. The deep black eyes of the thief reeled towards Sapphire, anchoring themselves towards her direction. The thief murmured an incantation and a dim teal light swaddled him in their loom, making his muscles under the tight black clothing bulge even tighter. He brandished his swords in the air, causing the sigils marking the sword and keeping its enchantment trapped into the weapon to shine slightly like the gleam of the moon. The interloper reared his head back and laughed in an egregious show of pure malice.


    ¡°Now what?¡± the intruder spoke¡ªbellowed even¡ªin a magically distorted voice. ¡°Ya got no one to protect ya now, shrimp.¡±


    Sapphire winced. The thief may have been powerful, but he was a child when it came to insults.


    ¡°You stole it didn''t you?¡± she asked, loud and confident. Though she was screaming inside. Dying now would mean all her work in rewinding time would all be a waste. She secretly reached to the enchantment on a badge hidden under her dress¡ªthe alarm. She just needed to buy time before the royal guards came to her rescue. She felt the badge vibrate and immediately swayed her body left as the thief''s sword passed by her. The alarm has been sounded, now the only thing left to do is drag the battle a little bit longer.


    ¡°I did,¡± the thief distinctly uttered, stopping at where he stood. ¡°You''re using the Sautur Aspifone like a toy. It''s meant for great things. It''s meant for unlocking newer avenues of power!¡±


    Sapphire squinted her eyes.


    ¡°I''m assuming it''s connected to the corrosive quality of your spells?¡±


    Another strike soared towards her, which she adeptly blocked with an ice slab.


    ¡°I''m not outing our whole secret operation, but¡ª¡± the thief dodged as three ice spikes flew towards his direction. ¡°Tsk. As I was saying. I''m not outing¡­.¡±


    Sapphire took the initiative and ran towards the enemy with her upper body bent forward and ice shards trailing her from behind, held by both her hands. Then she struck by slicing at the thief''s face, which he defended against by raising the back of his sword in front of the ice shard''s trajectory. The ice broke, but Sapphire was on him again. She drew her other ice shard and sent its tip careening towards the man''s gut. The thief simply struck his swords together at the same time, and like scissors, cut the ice shard in half.


    Sapphire backpedaled. She was saving this as a last resort, and she didn''t want to spend more mana than she desired, but the situation was becoming less and less favorable by the minute. She spoke a long incantation, dodging from the man''s attacks. Then out of the blue, a powerful and gigantic ice hand materialized in the air. Sapphire slammed the ice hand at the enemy, seemingly flattening him to a pulp.


    Heartbeats passed. She waited. It couldn''t have been that easy to defeat him right? But there was no movement. Then¡­.


    Scheeew.


    The sizzling sound of melting ice resounded in the air. Then the ice hand abruptly burst into flames and evaporated. The thief looked at Sapphire, no doubt smirking behind his mask.


    ¡°As I was saying, little girl,¡± the thief stood upright, straighter than before. ¡°Yes, you are quite right, except I''m not telling you any more than that.¡±


    It figured. Such information would probably have to be wrung off the mind of his dead corpse before he told anyone their secret. A secret that apparently gave boosts of power to a person''s spells.


    ¡°Now for the fun part,¡± the interloper''s cloth mask stretched as the mouth it covered pressed into a thin smile. ¡°Killing you!¡±


    Power surged from the thief, he stretched both his arms forward, each palms facing one another. Then a glimmering spark popped at least three times in between his palms. A wave of mana rippled into the sparks, which materialized into a small, solid, fiery, purple orb. The orb grew in size, growing, pooching and billowing into a massive fireball. Sapphire readied her force shield, though with the mana¡ªonly a small fraction of her previous strength¡ªthat rippled within her powering the shield, it would not be enough. She would have to¡ª


    The intruder was about to throw his massive fireball when a glint appeared behind him. A teleportation spell? She guessed. An instant later, the thief''s right arm was sliced off his trunk, while the fireball veered to the thief''s right, hurtling towards the ground feet away from Sapphire. Sapphire heaved a sigh, and in that moment between breaths, the thief teleported away from the battlefield.


    ¡°Dagnabbit,¡± a voice coughed out hoarse sounding words. ¡°I missed! I was aiming for his torso.¡±


    ¡°S-Sonak?¡± Sapphire eked out between labored breaths. ¡°You''re alive?¡±


    ¡°Damn right I am! As if such petty tricks could slay a mighty alchemist such as myself!¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Sapphire giggled. ¡°You''ve proven yourself too stubborn for your own good again and again.¡±


    ¡°Have I, now?¡± Sonak snapped his attention towards Sapphire, eyes half-squinting. ¡°I don''t remember being stubborn around you.¡±


    ¡°Ugh,¡± Sapphire thought of an excuse. She''d said that with the foreknowledge about how Sonak pursued greater heights after Sapphire had stolen the High Mage title from his pawing hands before the rewind.


    He''d been stubborn back then, forcing himself to face greater dangers, and stronger magical beasts, just so he could acquire stronger and more powerful ingredients for a potion that would later endow him with immense power, catapulting him to become, arguably, the second strongest elf in existence. With a mana reserve of 823,600 jiggs, a mana control second only to Sapphire, and a varied arsenal of spells, he helped Sapphire cement Ethera among the world''s global powers. If not for the fact that she hardly knew the man in the past, then she would have considered including Sonak into the rewind. But thanks to the fact that the rewind spell could only do two things¡ªfling a single sentient creature''s mature soul back to the rewinded past (together with their memories), and keep a thing or person from being rewinded along with everything else¡ªeven if she had known him, she couldn''t fling his soul back to the past like she did hers, and she couldn¡¯t keep him out of the loop like Aeroline and her library since that would raise obvious red flags.


    ¡°It''s a secret,¡± she finally let out, smiling. ¡°Maybe I''ll tell you someday.¡±


    ¡°Bah! keep your secrets then¡­. Anyway, I''m a bit sad I didn''t get to mince the man. He teleported too quickly. Damn, all that glamor and still I couldn''t catch him.¡±


    ¡°So it was a galmor.¡± Sapphire figured as much. But that was a very powerful glamor, since it fooled her. The King wore a glamor while in public, but it was a thousand times weaker than Sonak''s, that was why she could see through them. Maybe the King had more powerful glamor, but if he had, Sapphire wouldn''t know since she¡¯d never seen him use a powerful one.


    ¡°We''d have to pursue him,¡± Sonak''s words cut her off her reverie.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± She said, dusting dust off her dress. ¡°I think I might just know where the thief''s bringing that relic.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Sashaiuin has grown desperate,¡± Partikule''s voice resonated inside the death-trap of a room. ¡°I''m well aware of your boss''s¡­ shall we say predilection for opposing the other two Prime''s penchant for supremacy. And it seems she has grown desperate, she has sent assassins to kill the other two, which, needless to say, failed spectacularly. The Head Prime has now sent his own assassins to kill your owner. Considering you''re a good pet and all, I''m sure you want more information about this?¡±


    Winston snapped and gnarled at the mention of him being a pet. He was his own man in the past and in the present. He observed Partikule. The man was grinning from ear to ear, not heeding the visible anger that rose up from Winston''s face. He was no doubt utterly confident that should Winston make a move, he could instantly dispatch him, and even give him a reason to capture Winston, which might have included a note of¡­ gruesome elements. Like dissection, maybe? Winston swallowed his bile, and heaved a breath.


    Seeing Winston calm down, Partikule''s smile disappeared, now replaced by a heavy frown.


    ¡°You''re no fun,¡± he said, leaning on his tabletop and reaching an outstretched hand, palms up. He curled and uncurled his four fingers as if he were asking for something. ¡°I might give you valuable information about these ¡®assassins¡¯, but I''m thinking, I don''t want to give that for free. I''d need you to part with some coins in your coffers for that information.¡±


    Winston gnashed his teeth.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he replied curtly. ¡°You sly old businessman. How much?¡±


    Now, the big grin on Partikule''s face returned.


    ¡°500,000 tushackalie.¡±


    Winston''s jaws dropped, and his eyebrows furrowed too deeply for a human his age.


    ¡°That''s all my winnings!¡±


    ¡°And that''s my price!¡± Partikule''s smile broadened even more.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he spat, hissing. If not for the fact that Sashaiuin ensured him vast amounts of wealth to help his advancement, he''d be haggling tooth and nail for the information. ¡°I''ll pay it all. I haven''t yet claimed my price. You can keep it.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Alright, I''ll tell you all I know. At the third district of Thokos, somewhere in all its sinuous alleys, sometimes, a masked man appears. No one knows where he''s from, no one knows his goals. All we really know is that he seems to know everything¡ªfor a price. And his currency is rather odd. If you find him, and pay him, you''ll know everything there is about the planned assassination attempt for the Third Prime.¡±


    ¡°Liar!¡± Winston screamed. ¡°You told me you''ll be giving me valuable information! This is a hoax!¡±


    ¡°I said it was valuable, and it is. Now leave my office.¡±


    ¡°Trickster!¡±


    ¡°Say what you want, but I''ve made good on my word. This is truly very valuable information. Now get out! Before I change my mind and just kidnap you!¡±


    Winston reluctantly stood up and clenched his fist. His face wore an undying frown, and his heartbeat twanged faster by the second. Should he punch the man? No, no¡ªthat''s exactly what Partikule wanted. If he punched the man in the face, he''d probably get knocked out of his wits and then wake up in a lab, strapped to a table. Winston slowly pivoted on his heels, his footsteps purposely heavy, while his teeth gnashed angrily. He strode off through the office''s door.


    ¡°Damn!¡± He screamed, decrying Partikule''s trickery. ¡°Now I''ll be stuck looking for a man who might not even exist! Damn it all.¡±


    Winston snaked his way out of the underground tunnels, eventually reaching a staircase that spiraled around a central pole. He stomped on the steps with as heavy footfalls as he could manage, exemplifying his frustration. No use crying over spilled milk now; at least he had a lead, the next thing for him to do is to find this mysterious and anonymous man.


    Winston calmed himself as he exited through a secret door in one of the bathrooms of one out-of-the-way restaurant. Alright first thing''s first, he needed to evaluate what information he had on his hand. He knew where the third district was, but not the alley where this masked man would appear. Does he know of any others who might be able to lead him to where this masked man could be? If this man kept himself anonymous and unpredictable, then he surely must be dealing with the felonious underbelly. That means whoever had made dealings with this man must be connected to anything criminal. Which meant Winston shouldn''t really be going to the third district first. Instead, he should first go to the Seventh District¡ªthe place where the most notorious criminal lords preened themselves and dug their den.


    Once the decision was made, Winston exited the barely filled restaurant and stood by the sidewalk.


    Numerous selmoves passed by from the right side of the road, going north, and the left side towards the opposite direction. Winston waved his hand and a selmove, floating above the paved road, stopped in front of him. He briefly took stock of the selmove''s design. It was shaped like a car, but instead of metal, it used those so called arcane wood, which were polished to a sheen, save for an aesthetically pleasing twisted protrusion here and there. However, instead of wheels, these ¡®cars¡¯ sported large orbs beneath the front and the back, each orb glowing in what Winston determined as force and spatial mana.


    These elegantly structured coaches were called metrifix here, which, translated to english, meant: a cab for hire.


    ¡°Good mornin¡¯¡± The coachman said, tipping his hat towards Winston. ¡°Where to?¡±


    Winston opened the selmove''s door, went in and slammed it shut; he noticed the elven coachman twinge at the sound. Winston couldn''t care less¡ªhe was grumpy, very grumpy. He had just been swindled out of his pocket money, so he was naturally steaming with hatred.


    ¡°Seventh District,¡± Winston gruffed, swiveling his head to the side, peering through the window. ¡°And don''t cheat me now, someone has just cheated me out of my rightfully earned cash. So I''m seething.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Sir!¡± The coachman screamed. ¡°I''d never dream of it!¡±


    ¡°Good, I''ll pay good money¡ªextra money, if you drive me there fast enough. I''m on a tight schedule. Lives are hanging in the balance, and all that.¡±


    The coachman shivered.


    ¡°R-right away, Sir. Right away.¡±


    The selmove''s engine roared to life and the vehicle shot forward to north, then through another series of turns, they were now traveling south on the main road. Winston felt worried that he might have been too late, but instead of belaboring himself with all the what-ifs and why-nots, he calmed his breathing and focused. Think. Assess the situation. Sashaiuin was a C-ranker, because despite the massive bulk of her mana, she was no fighter. This meant whoever the assassins were, they probably were around C-rank at least, and B-rank at maximum. And that was considering if the enemy was thrifty with their resources or were arrogant and complacent.


    If they were overly cautious, then they''d at least send an A-rank to dispatch her. Those ranks were a tad too powerful for Winston to take on alone. This meant that he had no choice but to use his spell-bombs¡ªor at least what limited stock he had left. A single spell-bomb could only be used once, and at his current level, he had no way of replenishing his stores. But¡­ he really should be grateful that he still had his little spherical trinkets¡ªand plenty of the other resources he had cached in his pocket dimension. He now knew that the tether between a human¡¯s soul and his pocket dimension was so strong that it could survive the process of ¡°transmigration¡± as plenty of the popular fiction on Earth called it.


    Alright. He had a plan. When push came to shove he would be using his spell-bombs. But if the heavens would offer him some respite, maybe just this once, he hoped he wouldn''t have to deplete his valuable, spell-imprinted glass spheres. Would you mind, if there''s any God out there, could you send some help?


    Winston chuckled. Look at lil¡¯ ol¡¯ me, now praying to stuff, I don''t believe in.


    ***


    The sloshing of the waves on the boat didn''t break her attention. She felt the mana surging from her core, then passing through her spiritual veins and circulating within her body¡ªsurging, excited to be turned into ¡®something¡¯. She reached out with her spiritual touch and kneaded and formed her mana. The process of aspecting mana was simple, you kneaded the mana like a baker would a flour; although that wasn''t enough to aspect it, just like kneading flour wasn''t enough to give it flavor. You needed to add the flavour yourself. This flavour came in the form of an ¡°idea¡±, an idea of the aspect you want the mana to take on. But unlike intent, which injected not only an ¡°idea¡± but also ¡°shape¡±, this idea was purely a list of properties that the mana would take on, which meant that this was simpler than intent. But make no mistake, it was still hard.


    Sapphire was closing in on a new breakthrough, namely, the ability to aspect mana into the spatial aspect. This was her first step in what would be an arduous journey towards relearning teleportation, one of the hardest spell known to any spellcaster. She strained as she imagined the properties of space. She imagined a sea of darkness stretching out from herself. This expansive darkness was empty, but it wasn''t nothing. This emptiness was an existence in which matter could persist. It was, so to speak, a vessel for anything that had mass and volume. Then she ordered this vast expanse to accumulate within her core, slamming itself into the mana she wished to aspect.


    The mana resisted and pushed back, causing beads of sweat to form on her face under the strain, which slid down her perfectly soft skin. The mana eventually won and expelled her attempts to ascribe the attributes of space to this arcane substance. She heaved a massive sigh and breathed in and out very fast, as though she had just ran a marathon.


    ¡°Almost,¡± she said between labored breaths. ¡°Once I succeed, I can finally cast telekinetic spells.¡±


    She continued to slog through the process of aspecting mana into the spatial aspect for a couple more tries until she finally succeeded. A long and satisfied smile broke away on her face.


    ¡°Perfect!¡± she exclaimed, reaching beneath her cot for her staff. ¡°Now, to learn the most basic telekinetic spell: levitation displacement.¡±


    She focused on her staff, then she called onto her mana and slowly guided it through her spiritual veins. She placed her staff on the floor and let the mana trickle out of her through her fingers. The mana gathered in between her hands. Then she began travailing in aspecting her mana into the force and space aspect. The force aspect came in naturally for her, what with the fact that she''d been using the force aspect constantly after she had unlocked it, but she had to strain by a lot for her newly learned aspect.


    She mingled the two aspects together and chanted an incantation underneath her breath. She pressed her intent onto the mana, imagining the space around her staff to warp. She could feel the slope of space which drew the staff towards the surface of the planet, just as a ball rolled downwards on a hill. Then she imagined that slope reversing, so that instead of going down, the staff would go up. Slowly, her staff started floating up in the air then stopped at her eye-level.


    Stabilizing the slope so that it would warp back down and then back up again and again so that the staff stayed afloat was proving to be rather difficult, but she succeeded anyway. Despite that, the stabilization wasn''t perfect as she could see the staff bouncing up and down in the air. The minute changes needed to warp space to stabilize an object in midair as though it was perfectly still was still beyond her competence. But that was enough¡ªfor now at least.


    Then, with the force component of her spell, she moved the staff forward and backwards, left and right. The staff obediently obliged her bidding, moving accordingly. Alas, levitation displacement didn¡¯t include very sophisticated movements in the air, allowing her to only move an object in a straight line horizontally in midair. But as she relearned more telekinetic spells, she''d patch up that little gap in ability in no time. She proceeded to immerse herself in training levitation displacement, only stopping when a knock on the door of her cabin woke her up from her hyperfixation.


    ¡°Sapphire, you there?¡± Sonak''s voice rang in a deep baritone behind the door. ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°I''m here,¡± Sapphire hollered, placing her staff back under her cot. ¡°You may come in.¡±


    The door knob clicked and turned, and the hinges creaked as the door levered itself open by the force of Sonak''s push. Sonak paused for a moment and Sapphire could see his eyes coruscate under what little light of the morning sun passed through the slats of her cabin''s windows. In that instant, Sapphire could swear she had seen Sonak somewhat perturbed, as though he had just realized for the first time that Sapphire was in fact a competition. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Sonak coughed.


    ¡°We''ve arrived in the richest nation of the south. The great Triumvirate of Kirisal,¡± Sonak voiced with outstretched arms.


    Sapphire giggled a little.


    ¡°You dullard!¡± she howled. ¡°You don''t have to embellish all that, you sound like a merchant selling his wares.¡±


    ¡°Tut, tut, tut, you underestimate my oh so great self, Sapphire. Everything, and I mean eve-ry-thing, every little achievement must be celebrated. Quote source by me. And speaking of achievements, I see you''ve made a breakthrough, or does this mean I should expect to see you getting all sweaty just from breathing from now on?¡±


    ¡°NO! You silly old goat,¡± Sapphire shouted. ¡°I have indeed made a breakthrough. I have finally learned the spatial aspect, and have performed what rudimentary levitation displacement I can do.¡±


    Another glint flashed through Sonak''s eyes¡ªand a slight twitch from his mouth?


    ¡°Damn it,¡± he swore, slumping his butt down on the bed. ¡°I have to up my game now that you''re catching up fast. I just thought you were lucky at first but time and time again you''re proving yourself to be quite the talented mage the King ballyhood you to be.¡±


    ¡°Well, it''s not like I didn''t get help to get to where I am now. If I didn¡¯t have your tutelage, I might have never grown as fast as I am growing now.¡±


    ¡°True, true.¡± Sonak puffed up his chest then slammed a fist on his sternum. ¡°I guess I am a pretty good teacher.¡± He brought his hands to rest on the cot. ¡°But seriously, I still have to elevate my efforts if I''m seriously gunning for the High Mage Title.¡±


    ¡°Well, don''t count me out just yet oh great and magnanimous pedagogue. I''m also gunning for the title.¡±


    ¡°Dream hard, loser!¡± Sonak gesticulated widely. ¡°I''m closer to it than you could ever wish yourself to be.¡±


    Sapphire chortled.


    ¡°Anyway, you were saying?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. We''re approaching the dock. A little over 20 minutes from now and the boat¡¯d be docked and ready to disgorge passengers, so best to get your items propped and ready.¡±


    ¡°I see, I don''t have much to ready, all my items are in the bag, except for my staff that is.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sonak said. ¡°I still can''t believe you were able to make a staff this early in your development, what godly talent do you have in mana control for you to perform such a feat? Your spiritual senses must be top notch. Tchk, this reminds me again of the bottleneck I''m currently laboring under.¡±


    ¡°And I''m sure you''ll overcome that in no time.¡± Sapphire meant all her words down to the last period¡ªshe knew the future after all, and what would become of Sonak. If she just handed him the solution based on her foreknowledge, then that would defeat the purpose of growth, where a man learnt to solve problems on his own without constantly being handed food to the mouth.


    Sonak shook his head. ¡°I hope so,¡± he muttered. ¡°Anyway, are you sure about this? Going to Kirisal to investigate the stolen relic? How do you know it''s there? There are millions or even billions of other places where that national treasure could have gone.¡±


    ¡°I''ve told you, something strange is happening in Kirisal¡­.¡± Sapphire exasperatedly breathed.


    ¡°And I''ve told you, I don''t know how you could have come to that conclusion.¡±


    ¡°And¡­¡± Sapphire paused. ¡°You know what, yeah, you couldn''t possibly comprehend why I''ve come to that decision. But if I have anything to put to the table that would convince you, I''d say I have nothing except for what may or may not be unconnected cases of slavers kidnapping rightful human citizens of Ethera. My investigation has borne a bit of fruit in that area. I''ve found out that the slavers had been sending their captured slaves everywhere around the world¡­!¡±


    ¡°¡®Had¡¯ being the operative word?¡± Sonak cut in, placing his chin on his knuckles while his elbows rested on his lap. ¡°Are you implying they''ve changed their¡ªerr, shall we say ''mercantile patterns''?¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Sapphire slid backwards on the floor until her back hit the wall just below her window, then she hugged her knees. ¡°I know slavery is a very terrible fate even if I haven''t experienced it, so this investigation really shook me.¡±


    ¡°Shook you, how?¡±


    ¡°It turns out that Ethera''s ¡®slaver''s guild¡¯ as they call themselves have recently been sending their slaves to the west, and precisely to Kirisal at exorbitant prices!¡±


    Sonak cocked an eyebrow, ¡°Oh?¡± He said, lifting his head from his knuckles. ¡°I mean, I''m not saying slavery''s a good fate to end up in but that just sounds like business as usual, no?¡±


    ¡°You''d think that, but whoever this entity is has been buying slaves after slaves as though¡­.¡±


    Sonak''s eyes widened in realization.


    ¡°As though they''re expendable,¡± Sonak finished for Sapphire. ¡°Which maybe because they''re treating them like they are¡­ which means they''re killing slaves as though they''re grinding meat for some yet unknown nefarious gain!¡±


    ¡°Precisely,¡± Sapphire replied. ¡°It''s an even more horrible fate to end up in than slavery, being just a utility meat bag people could use to feed their greedy stomachs.¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± Sonak gulped. ¡°You''ve got that one right. So you''re betting it all on the possibility that this thief might be working in conjunction with this anonymous entity whose coffers are as deep as the deep blue ocean?¡±


    ¡°That''s my wager, yes.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± Sonak intoned. ¡°Then we better get this over quick.¡±


    ***


    Winston traversed the empty road with bristling hairs all over his body. He didn''t let down his guard even for a minute, his eyes clearly alight in the eerie fluorescence of spiritual sight. Every step he made echoed in the unpopulated streets, while houses made of arcane wood stood tall on either side of him. These houses, whatever they were, surely didn''t belong to any sane family as they had no windows. This scene left a stark impression on Winston. These tall buildings were probably bases for hundreds if not thousands of criminal syndicates. The fact that they could openly subsist inside this well known trading hub of a city meant that Kirisal was deep in the mire of corruption.


    This now begged the question: where should he go next? He knew nothing of the syndicates in this area, nor did he have an inkling where the criminal group that had regular dealings with this anonymous informant dug their den. He guessed it would just be better to look around until he stumbled onto another person. It turned out it didn''t take long for that to happen. About fifteen minutes after his entrance into this place, as he barely made the turn around a bend on his path, he felt the presence of five persons tailing him. They didn''t even bother hiding their mana from him; they were expulsing copious amounts of the stuff, doubtless trying to scare him. Winston didn''t know the full extent of these thugs¡¯ powers so he didn''t want a fight if he could help it.


    ¡°I came to negotiate!¡± Winston shouted, raising both of his hands in the air. ¡°I came to talk, I''m willing to buy information from you.¡±


    If Winston could help it, he''d want the answer to his questions about the assassins being sent Sashaiuin''s way to come from these thugs themselves or whoever their boss was. That way, he didn''t have to go looking for that anonymous informant Partikule had informed him of in his sly trickery.


    But instead of answering, the five thugs attacked. A ball of raging flame shot through, heading for Winston¡¯s face. Winston twisted on his spot, spinning to the side, just in time before the fireball could hit him. The fireball passed by him and hit the ground a few feet away, sizzling the ground and leaving a black, burnt mark. Several ice, metal, rock and wooden spikes careened towards his direction. And with the deftness of a practiced warrior mage, he was able to dodge the attacks by turning his body to be parallel to the attacks, allowing the spikes to barely pass him by a hair''s breadth on either side of him. He then leapt in the air and used the rock-projectile coming his way, as it passed below him, as a stepping stone to jump higher in the air, causing all of the other projectiles that were targeted at him to harmlessly hit the pavement where he had been a heartbeat earlier.


    Winston then dropped to the ground in front of one of the thugs who had a bandana wrapped around his mouth. Winston struck him with a fist lance, but the conical lance of force, covering his fist, merely slid on the thug¡¯s force shield, being redirected at an angle away from the ruffian¡¯s face. Winston¡¯s fist continued to sail through in the air for a few moments before he could find the leverage to pull his fist back and parry steel claws that were aimed at his chest. The steel claws ended up breaking from the thug¡¯s knuckles, where they had been attached, once they collided with Winston¡¯s fist lance. Shoddy work, Winston thought to himself. As the hoodlum shouted in pain, Winston positioned himself to strike another fist lance through the thug¡¯s chest, but wooden hands blocked his attack, splintering into strips as Winston¡¯s fist slammed halfway through the wood. The hoodlum who was the real target of Winston¡¯s attack did not waste time and quickly jumped back before Winston could turn his attention back on him.


    Now, Winston was dancing with the other thug who conjured the wooden hand. Quite a complex spell if Winston had to comment about his opponent¡¯s ability. Winston dodged several wooden constructs and even had to fight animated wooden dolls. But he was able to tear through all of them with his fire and force spells. Eventually he cornered the thug and was about to end his life when a force spell blasted him feet away from the hoodlum. He groaned as he stood up and saw four other mages casting projectile spells and ready to punch holes through his torso. Winston gnashed his teeth and prepared to tank it all with a force-ward. However, moments passed and the attack never came. The four hoodlums, now joined by the other thug, faced him, bandanas covering their faces.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± the thug in the middle spoke in a raspy and harsh tone. ¡°You don¡¯t belong here.¡±


    Winston stood up from the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯m here for information, I¡¯ve got money, I can pay,¡± he regurgitated in bated breaths. ¡°I just need information about the assassination attempt on Sashaiuin¡¯s life.¡±


    The four mages shared a glance with each other, their eyes widening as if in realization.


    ¡°We can¡¯t give you that information,¡± the leftmost thug said, primly. ¡°You¡¯re tackling giants here boy, and we¡¯re just expendable pawns for the bigwigs. We can''t also bring you to our bosses, or they¡¯d have our heads.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­.¡± Winston mulled over it for a few heartbeats. ¡°Do you at least know anything about that presumably all-knowing informant who appears seemingly randomly within the third district¡¯s alleys?¡±


    The five thugs shared a glance once again, then shrugged.


    ¡°If we tell you, will you leave this place in peace?¡±


    Winston nodded. ¡°I promise,¡± he said, curtly.


    ¡°Alright then, here¡¯s what we know. The man you¡¯re talking about calls himself Kazinski, and no matter how much you look for him, you¡¯ll never find him unless you make this very strict purchasing pattern.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡±


    The second thug from the left sighed. ¡°Firstly, you need to buy a head¡­.¡±


    Winston frowned. ¡°Is there a less illegal way than directly buying a head?¡±


    The other four thugs stifled a chuckle.


    ¡°NO,¡± the thug burst out, then he looked left and right and hushed his tone. ¡°I mean, no, you idiot! I don''t mean a person''s head, I mean a Dako-bear''s head. That''s your first offering to the man.¡± The thug steered his head towards the guy in the middle, who then looked into his eyes and sighed.


    ¡°Aight, the next thing you need to buy,¡± the middle thug spoke, glumly, after a pause, ¡°is milk from a cow.¡±


    Winston scowled. ¡°You aren''t scamming me are you?¡±


    The five thugs sniggered.


    ¡°We''re serious,¡± the second thug from the right assured Winston. ¡°I know it''s unbelievable but this guy''s probably nuts¡­ but I digress. Milk really is your second offering. Mind you, we call them offering but the guy calls them ¡®gifts¡¯ or whatever¡­.¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± the rightmost thug butt in. ¡°We''re getting sidetracked here, the point is you need these things if you want an audience. The third on the list is an apple¡­.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Winston sarcastically intoned, rolling his eyes. ¡°¡®Cause he wants that sort of stuff.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he does,¡± the leftmost thug responded, crossing his arms on his chest. ¡°And the last thing you need is an offering that Kazinski hasn¡¯t yet ever encountered¡­ ever, in his lifetime.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Winston said, dusting himself. ¡°Is that all? And how much do I owe you?¡±


    ¡°You owe us nothing, the information we gave you is pretty much common knowledge amongst anyone belonging to the underground network. What we simply ask you is to leave this place, we don''t want any trouble.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Winston quickly filed away from the Seventh District.


    ***


    A deranged woman stood in the middle of the street, and everyone was giving her a wide berth. She flailed up and about the paved street, yelling and screaming, ¡°They took my son away! Oh please help me, anyone, please help me!¡± A couple of elves purposely bumped her with their shoulders and moved on while snickering. Then a couple more elves imitated them, and then more¡ªit continued until a silver-haired elf¡ªher hair all plaited on her back¡ªand with yellow eyes that seemed to pierce through gently at one''s soul, blocked the oncoming traffic, folding her arms before her.


    Then a male hand grasped her shoulder.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be conspicuous, Sapphire,¡± said Sonak, softly but clearly.


    Sapphire turned to him and scowled.


    ¡°You don''t expect me to abandon her do you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don''t¡­.¡±


    Sonak tugged both Sapphire and the deranged woman away from the crowd and into an alley.


    ¡°Alright now what?¡± Sonak asked, wiping sweat from his brows.


    ¡°Now, we ask her,¡± Sapphire turned towards the demented woman and sighed. ¡°Tell us what happened, and maybe we can help you.¡±


    The elven woman''s eyes widened, and tears welled from her tear ducts. She dropped down on both her knees, grasping Sapphire''s robe. ¡°Please, I beg of you, find my son,¡± she wailed. ¡°He''s been abducted, I''m sure of it. The authorities are turning a blind eye on the case, even though they keep saying they¡¯re looking into it. But there''s been no action ever since I filed a missing person report four months ago,¡± the woman continued between hiccups.


    ¡°I see,¡± Sapphire acknowledged, handing the woman a handkerchief. ¡°When was your son abducted and where did this happen?¡±


    ¡°We live in Duke Albert''s dukedom. This happened just before the monster incursions that had overtaken many of the petroliseom wells in Duke Albert''s territory¡­.¡±


    ¡°M-monster incursions?¡± Sonak raised, ¡°First time I¡¯ve heard¡­.¡±


    Sapphire stared down Sonak, raising her eyebrows. ¡°She isn''t finished yet.¡±


    Sonak cleared his throat. ¡°Right, right, sorry for the interruption. Please, do go on.¡±


    The woman¡¯s eyes turned glassy as new beads of tears welled up from them.


    ¡°He just went out one night with some friends and that was the last we have heard of them. I''ve become delirious these past few months. I came to Thokos in hopes of finding a foreigner who can help. Since my fellow countrymen won''t help me, I¡¯m willing to pay you five million tushackalie to look for my son. I''m begging you, I know it isn''t much considering what you must make to be able to afford Thokos, but it''s all our life savings. If that isn''t enough, I''m willing to offer myself for an indentured service to you dear miss. I beg you!¡± The woman clawed on Sapphire¡¯s robes.


    ¡°Please, don''t stoop down so low. A mother shouldn''t be made helpless by their own government like this. This is an injustice! I will help you for free¡­.¡±


    Sonak pulled Sapphire a little farther from the woman.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Where here to find the relic. We shouldn''t get sidetracked by other people''s business like this.¡±


    Sapphire frowned at Sonak.


    ¡°We''re also here to investigate how we can prevent war from breaking out. Didn''t you hear? Her son disappeared just before the monster incursions. Doesn''t that sound odd to you? Maybe this monster incursion business is relevant to stopping the possibility of war!¡±


    Sonak bit his lip.


    ¡°I hate to admit it but you''re right,¡± he whispered. ¡°But not about helping this woman, but the relevance of this monster incursion going on. I''m surprised we didn''t get this intel early on.¡±


    ¡°Kirisal''s capacity to control what information comes out is extraordinary. Well, sure, any more time passes and they''ll eventually slip, but perhaps by that time, it''d already be too late.¡±


    Sonak ruffled his hair with violent scratching from his hands.


    ¡°Ahhhh! Alright, I accept. We''ll help that woman, but only if it''s significant to our mission. If it isn''t, we abandon this side quest.¡±


    ¡°Perfect!¡± Sapphire smiled, I''ll go and tell her.


    Sapphire went to the woman and told her their conditions. The woman, seemingly desperate, tearfully accepted their help along with their stipulations. After that, the woman left them and moved on to where she was staying. Sonak and Sapphire, meanwhile, proceeded to make strange purchases¡ªone of which was a very illegal alchemical ingredient, which would be worth millions of tushackalie if bought from a state-sanctioned establishment.


    ¡°I told you, we need this stuff if we''re ever going to find this informant I told you about.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, it''s just silly to me, that''s all. This better be worth the hassle, you hear me?¡±


    ¡°It will be worth more than you think.¡±


    Sapphire winked at Sonak, to which Sonak merely rolled his eyes.


    ***


    Winston wrestled his way through the customers of the tent markets found in the Fifth District of Thokos. They were a vagary of individuals, taking their pick among the merchants selling their wares all around them. He sighed, resigning his fate to this anarchy of people. He''d been looking for the stall that sold those Dako-Bear heads he''d been told to buy but so far no luck. He¡¯d probably covered at least 25% of the tent markets by now, and it''ll take him a couple more hours to scour the whole area. If only there was an easier way to obtain his need.


    After scrounging for any sign of Dako-bears¡¯ heads for an hour, he stopped at a stall selling alternative medicines in the form of roots and plants and dried up parts of animals. If there''d be anywhere selling what he was looking for, this place probably knew where they were, if they did not sell the very stuff.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome,¡± the shopkeeper told him with a nasty, toothy grin, proudly displaying the few golden teeth on his mouth. ¡°How can I help you, dear customer?¡±


    ¡°I''m looking for a Dako-bear head,¡± Winston said, cutting to the chase. ¡°Do you happen to know anyone selling that stuff, or better yet, do you sell them?¡±


    The peddler¡¯s face turned sour a moment later, in an act of mock surprise.


    ¡°Why, how horrible! We would never sell something so illegal! Do you not know that Dako-bears are endemic to Kirisal? They''re under protection by the nature preservation group. Why would you ever suggest such a thing?¡±


    Winston''s face wrinkled in agitation, bile rising from deep within himself, threatening to burst out in a massive fit of destruction. He grabbed the man''s collar and pulled him near his face.


    ¡°Listen to me, whatever you call your damnable face, I¡¯m working on a time limit, and I need the stuff quickly. Name your price, stop trying to be discreet and indirect about it.¡±


    The vendor feigned shaking, and crinkled his face in a fake expression of fear.


    ¡°Why I would never!¡± he exclaimed. The vendor stretched out a hand and opened and closed it.


    Winston clacked his tongue and placed the sum of 100 shackalie on the merchant''s hand.


    The merchant''s toothy smile reappeared. Winston pushed him back, but the merchant merely dusted himself and spoke.


    ¡°All right, follow me please.¡±


    The merchant called another elf to man the stall and he winded through the maze of tents as Winston followed him to who knows where. After what seemed to be forever, they entered a used bookstore, then into a hidden entrance behind one of the bookstore¡¯s many shelves. They descended down too deeply to Winston¡¯s liking. As a result, flashbacks of his interaction with Partikule rang through his brain, immediately causing his irritable blood to boil over the rim of his veins. That bastard¡¯s gotta pay!


    The merchant finally stopped on a door, knocked on it once, then opened it, ushering Winston inside. What greeted him was the eerily wide smirk of the man he probably hated the most in Thokos. Partikule sat in an overly ornate chair, behind a giant of a table, both hands clasped below his chin.


    ¡°I heard you¡¯re looking for a Dako-bear head,¡± he said, taking a pen and scribbling down on a piece of paper. ¡°And I presume you¡¯d want to add milk and apple on that list. To make sure the buying pattern is consistent, I¡¯m assuming as well that you¡¯d want to buy and receive the stuff in the order specifically required by your¡­ shall we say pursuit?¡±


    Blood rushed to Winston¡¯s face, reddening his face in fury. ¡°Fuck you! You miser! You tricked me once, I¡¯d rather not waste my time losing all I have to your schemes. I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°Oh but you can¡¯t¡­.¡±


    Winston snapped his attention back at Partikule.


    ¡°Give me one good reason why I should still deal with you?¡±


    With an easy and cheeky chortle, Partikule reared his head back then seesawed it forward, facing Winston. Partikule glared at Winston with sharp and amused eyes.


    ¡°¡®Cause I alone sell Dako-bear heads in these parts you oaf! In fact I control all illegal trades regarding rare alchemical materials. I¡¯m sorry but you¡¯ve got no choice but to deal with me.¡±


    Winston bit his lip, drawing blood.


    ¡°How much?¡± It took all of Winston¡¯s strength not to lash out at the dwarf.


    ¡°Sixty shackals.¡±


    Winston¡¯s eyes went wide. He didn¡¯t expect it to be so¡ªcheap, at least relative to Partikule¡¯s previous prices.


    ¡°I¡¯m angry with you, you know that? You could have at least told me about these strange products and purchasing patterns I¡¯d need to buy and do just to get an audience with this freak! But you swindled me out of my winnings instead, you fucker! And for what? For something that is common knowledge among criminals in the underworld!?¡±


    Partikule merely gave a low chuckle.


    ¡°A businessman gotta do what he gotta do. That¡¯s how he gets rich.¡± Partikule winked at Winston.


    ¡°Fucker!¡± Winston heaved, gritting his teeth, all the while mulling over his choices.


    ¡°Alright! I give up,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m buying all the stuff from you if you have them on sale.¡±


    ¡°We have, certainly we have them.¡±


    The next forty minutes was spent waiting for all the stuff he purchased to be delivered to him, in the correct order people were supposed to buy them. Why the order of purchase mattered, Winston had no guesses. How powerful was this mysterious informant and whatever spirit under his control for him to be able to divine the exact order of purchase of the three ¡®offerings¡¯ he craved for? But enough of that, there are more important things to focus on, like how the heck would he be able to find this guy?


    After that less than unappealing transaction, or rather, ¡®confrontation¡¯ was the better word, Winston got out of the underground maze and came up to the bookstore and left for the third district. After two hours of scouring the many alleys that formed from the variety of buildings that were erected inside the third district, he stumbled upon two suspicious elves. One was a tall lanky elf, with short cropped hair and slanted brows as well as green eyes. And the other was an elven girl of average woman height, silver hair that was braided beautifully behind her; pale and reddish skin as well as yellow eyes that shone in power. This girl¡­ she was perfectly familiar. Winston knew who she was.


    Before he could even blink, ice spikes formed around her and soared towards his direction. He prepared himself to sublimate all of them with the heat of his fire.


    Bring it on.

 Book 1 — Chapter Nine: When Fates Collide

    The eyes, the braid, the silver hair, the contours of her face and body. This was the very girl he had seen back at Skurim, the very day he regained his memories. He had a hunch the girl had something to do with his awakening. He had thought the girl was a spirit at first but now he was sure¡ªshe was very much a living creature. And she turned out to be an enemy¡ªlaunching those spikes at him the very moment they met. Distortions in the air emanated from Winston, as heat irradiated from his body.


    A plane of burning force expanded itself before him, as he prepared to burn the icicles bundling his way, until¡­. The spikes harmlessly passed by him, causing him to turn his head along the path of the icicles. They strangely struck empty air, stopping there as though they had pierced a type of physical barrier. Then cracks started slithering outward from where the spikes had struck. The cracks began to branch, and the branches themselves began to branch, and so on until the space between the two buildings that formed the alley shattered into what seemed like fragmented space. Then the space warped by stretching and expanding bulbously, until settling back into normal space.


    Everything looked the same, except within the space of the distortion earlier, a red-cloaked man stood, his face covered and hidden within the confines of a deep hood.


    ¡°How did you know how to break my spacial illusion?¡± A gnarled, distorted voice rang out from the hooded figure. ¡°I have a perfect memory. I should know when and where I''ve taught you that technique¡­. Unless we''re on some sort of time¡­.¡± the hooded figure shook his head. ¡°It shouldn''t be possible without that¡­.¡± He paused. ¡°I digress, that''s besides the point. Why are you looking for me?¡±


    ¡°We need information,¡± the girl that had struck the man''s ¡®spacial illusion¡¯ spoke, prim and impassive. ¡°I believe you already know what we''re looking for?¡±


    ¡°The relic, it''s what you''re after?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and another thing.¡±


    ¡°I don''t allow two for the price of one. I need two special gifts from you, if you want both information that is.¡±


    ¡°Sold!¡± The girl exclaimed.


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    The man''s distorted voice somehow carried a tone of relief. Why was he relieved? Do these transactions give him some sort of benefit at all? Winston understood the special gifts he pawed after but the other three gifts? They were but trifles¡­ at least, except for the alchemical value of the Dako-bear''s head. But even that was also a trifle. A Dako-bear''s head, when combined with other rare ingredients, was supposed to be capable of charging a man with all the necessary invigoration he needed to satisfy his wife, but beyond that? Nothing.


    ¡°And you!¡± The cloaked man turned towards Winston. ¡°Why are you looking for me?¡±


    Winston, still dazed by the speed of how things were developing, merely gawked and paused for a few moments. When he recomposed himself, a full minute had passed and the hooded figure seemed to be staring right through him. But before he could put it out there what he wanted, the hooded man spoke.


    ¡°You want answers about those assassins?¡±


    Winston squinted his eyes, and immediately casted a simple mana shield around his mind. Quite rudimentary but he didn''t have any better spells at the moment.


    ¡°H-how did you know?¡±


    ¡°I''ve got my ways. Anyways, it seems everything is in order, so everyone, follow me.¡±


    ***


    Sapphire scanned the figure of this man who turned out to be another of Kazinski¡¯s clients. The man walked with a steady and controlled gait, his pace implacably hurried as if the candle was going to run out any time soon. He was carrying a huge leather bag¡ªwhat he had placed in it, Sapphire could only guess. The young man probably didn¡¯t know that you were supposed to grind the Dako-bear¡¯s skull into dust and brought the whole thing with him. This information told her nothing except that this man was a first-timer, because anyone who knew anyone would only expect that kind of mistake from first time clients. Everyone in Kirisal¡¯s underground illegal communities took it as a fun initiation to not inform new clients about this particular detail for the transaction that would be carried out with Kazinski. She herself experienced the humiliation of bringing a whole Dako-bear¡¯s head before the man.


    Looking more closely, the young man was also hidden under a deep and intricate glamor, quite the masterful use of both illusion and mind magic. This man, whoever he was, was not to be trifled with. Although she could easily pierce through his glamor, she decided it was best to respect the man¡¯s wishes. The man¡¯s presence bugged her thoroughly though; she didn¡¯t want this man to hear any ensuing conversations that they would have with Kazinski after they offered their gifts. But she reckoned Kazinski probably had a mind or illusion magic (or both) that would keep their exchange a secret.


    One other fact that she couldn¡¯t remove from her head was the look this strange man had given her earlier. It had seemed as though he was ready to fight tooth and nail against her and Sonak¡ªas though he was prepared to give up his life, even. All corroborated by how he had summoned a plane of burning force before himself, as well as widening his stance and clenching his fists. But that reaction could have been easily attributed to her actions. Casting a spell and suddenly slinging it towards another person¡¯s direction did seem to trigger some alarm bells in any man¡¯s survival instincts. But what she couldn¡¯t justify, however, was that glint of recognition in his eyes that seemed to note that he had known her even before their first meeting. What an odd reaction; although, it was possible she was just reading too much into it, so Sapphire simply dropped any and all concern save for the tiniest bit of suspicion that the man might be a spy.


    Before she could conclude anything, though, her attention was wretched away from her thoughts once she passed by a familiar spot. This was the very same alleyway that she had passed all those years ago when she had needed help from Kazinski. It was quite nostalgic if she were to be honest. Then memories of the cruelty that Kirisal had wrought upon Ethera all those years ago, when they had invaded, passed by Sapphire¡¯s mind. The powerlessness she had experienced during those times¡ªthe failure that not even the knowledge of a near-omniscient being (as Kazinski was touted to be) could forestall¡ªdisconcerted the hell out of her.


    NO! Those things happened in a different past, and those things haven¡¯t even happened yet. She proceeded to violently shake her head, which drew a concerned look from Sonak. Sapphire merely smiled back, which caused Sonak to shrug and continue moving. Thoughts of the possible past must not take up any partition of her mind; she had to keep churning solutions that could fix all of the problems laid bare on her lap. She needed to focus most of all on the things that mattered, and right now what mattered most was information about where the relic was and about missing persons. Right, focus, damn it!


    A few minutes after they began walking, Kazinski stopped at an alleyway corner. Sapphire, Sonak and the strange man all stopped together.


    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Kazinski spoke, ¡°Welcome to my abode!¡± He pivoted on a heel and turned towards them, arms spread wide. ¡°This is the home of the All-Seeing Eyes!¡±


    ***


    He couldn¡¯t be truly all-seeing, was he? Winston doubted the literal implication of the title, but before he could retort anything, his eyes were wrenched wide open by the scene that unfolded before him. They were facing a wall of a building, but the space before that wall started to distort¡ªas if a fabric, which had been placed flat on a surface, was slowly being inserted into a hole, creating creases that emanated from the center. Then the folds exploded outward, peeling the very fabric of reality; like a flower that was slowly blooming¡ªeach fabric of space, as though petals, opening up and folding away from the center, revealing what seemed to be a living room, illuminated by lights fixed on sconces attached to the walls. The room was furnished with a couch and several accent chairs, the cushions of which were embroidered with beautiful floral patterns.


    ¡°What are you all gawking at?¡± The gnarled voice of Kazinski emanated out. ¡°Come in, come in.¡±


    For some reason, Winston felt as though Kazinski was smirking every step of the way, starting from when he had opened space up like he was peeling a banana.


    Winston, and the girl and her companion, all followed Kazinski through this rift in space.


    ¡°Please, sit down.¡±


    At his behest, Winston and the two elves sat down¡ªWinston on an accent chair, and the others on the sofa. Kazinski himself sat down on a chair positioned to face all of them. The spacial hole then suddenly healed itself by collapsing shut.


    ¡°Fascinated by my pocket dimension perhaps?¡± Kazinski snorted.


    The elven girl snapped her head towards Kazinski. ¡°I am pretty much, I¡¯ve never seen a stationary pocket dimension open up like that before.¡±


    Kazinski laughed.


    ¡°Oh little girl,¡± he heaved. ¡°This isn¡¯t stationary¡­..¡±


    Then the elf widened her eyes.


    ¡°What do you mean this isn¡¯t stationary? Pocket dimensions are always stationary!¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not¡­.¡±


    The elven girl scoffed. But before she could rebut, Winston had to speak his mind right now or forever hold his peace on this fucking impossible conversation.


    ¡°What do you mean stationary? All pocket dimensions are always, and I mean always mobile. It isn¡¯t possible to build a stationary one, it would collapse!¡±


    ¡°The heck are you talking boy?¡± The lean elf beside the girl snapped back. ¡°Research has always concluded that the most stable way to build a pocket dimension is by making it stationary. A mobile one would, taking the very word out of your mouth, collapse!¡±


    That¡¯s impossible! Winston had a very good idea about how they did magic in this world. Basically, it was a one to one conversion of mana to magic from a mage¡¯s personal reserves. On the other hand, Earth¡¯s magic was the art of manipulating ambient mana using as scant personal mana as possible, and then using that ambient mana to produce magic. Although both systems were inherently different, the basics were still the same: convert mana to magic by using the equivalent amount of mana to the amount of mana needed to fuel the magic. So there shouldn¡¯t be any fundamental difference especially in areas like pocket dimension creation. However, before he could voice out his rebuttal, a loud and deep chortle interrupted their acrimonious squabble.


    ¡°Oh my!¡± Kazinski said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to start a dispute by my statements. What can I say? I¡¯m just saying you people should widen your horizons, that¡¯s all. You all are set in your ways, why, I remember when I was just as young as you are now and how rigid I was and how much an unexpected friendship opened up my horizons. Maybe, what I¡¯m trying to say is both of your groups would benefit much if you just learned to learn from each other, no?¡±


    Kazinski continued to laugh and howl inside this magical room. Then he turned to Winston, sweeping his gaze towards the elven girl and her companion.


    ¡°My, my you¡¯re all in for a treat. This encounter will catapult each of your destinies to greatness. This will be an exciting performance to watch; I¡¯ve never been so trepid now than when I had my own unpleasant problems to deal with ....¡±


    Winston thought the man would drone on and on about his past that were meaningless to Winston when the elven girl suddenly coughed.


    Kazinski turned towards her and wryly cleared his throat.


    ¡°Right, right, I¡¯m rambling. Thank you, Miss. Who first then?¡±


    ***


    Sapphire elbowed Sonak to which the man gave her a wry expression. But then Sonak unlatched his satchel, taking out a bottle of milk, one apple and a jar filled with a grounded Dako-bear skull. Kazinski telekinetically lifted up the milk and the apple and stored it inside a cabinet. Then he inspected the jar.


    ¡°Curious,¡± he intoned. ¡°As I¡¯ve already said, I have a perfect memory, and I don¡¯t remember interacting with you, Miss?¡±


    ¡°Sapphire.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sapphire. I don¡¯t remember seeing your face anywhere, but the fact that you saw through my carefully crafted spacial illusion and how you seem to know about this¡­¡± Kazinski raised up the jar, then continued, ¡°all point to the verity that you¡¯ve known about me beforehand¡ªmore than a first-timer should know, so I have three guesses as to how you¡¯ve done this. One: someone very informed about me told you all this information, even to the chagrin of most of the occupants of the underworld, who all insist to hide certain details about my transactions as an initiation rite towards newbies. Two: you stole the information from someone very informed. Or Three¡­.¡±


    Kazinski paused, and although she couldn¡¯t see through the darkness of his hood, Sapphire still felt the gaze of the man piercing through her.


    ¡°There¡¯s a certain reset involved¡­¡± Kazinski said, laughing rambunctiously.


    Sapphire¡¯s eyes widened as she stiffened on the spot. Reset. Did he know? Did he somehow know that Sapphire had performed the greatest feat of magic anyone could have ever performed? Or was he testing her? Damn it, all this taunting and mystery was bugging her mind out of her sanity. Damn it Kazinski, how did you even know?


    ¡°Oh?¡± Kazinski arced an eyebrow. ¡°Based on your reaction just now, it seems my third guess is correct.¡± His voice carried the tune of someone smiling while talking. ¡°How you even did it is beyond me, I know of only one way to do it, and I have to tell you, that way is a very unpleasant experience. But I guess I have no right to delve any deeper into it, everything must go on¡­.¡±


    While Kazinski prattled on and on, Sonak was giving Sapphire a suspicious look to which she replied with a pleading expression. Sonak merely grunted and whispered, ¡°Keep your secrets then.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­. Excuse me for butting in, but I have to know, is that jar the head of a Dako-bear perhaps¡­ err, I mean the skull?¡±


    Kazinski turned to the strange man. A moment before, Sapphire had forgotten the man even existed with them inside this room as she was too caught up in panicking about the fact that Kazinski had someone seen through her charade.


    The man raised up his leather bag.


    ¡°I thought you were supposed to bring the whole thing¡­.¡±


    Kazinski giggled and then guffawed.


    ¡°Supposed to be,¡± he said, ¡°for first time clients that is.¡± Then he proceeded to gesture as though he was wiping a tear through the darkness of his hood.


    ¡°So will you still accept this?¡± The other man remarked.


    ¡°Of course I will, but later I need to receive the special gifts from this young miss first, she¡¯s the first to present her gifts after all.¡±


    Sapphire jerked in her seat. Oh right, I¡¯m supposed to give him an offering. She unlocked her satchel and took out two small books containing the description of how to cast 2 original spells she had made herself in the past.


    ¡°Two for two,¡± Sapphire began, propping up the two books. ¡°Detailed in these books are 2 rank-1 original, legendary spells. You¡¯d find them very new in that these spells exist in no library anywhere in the world.¡±


    Sapphire could feel Sonak staring her down.


    ¡°What the hell!¡± Sonak spurted out. ¡°You¡¯re a noob at magic, where did you get that many powerful spells!?¡±


    Sapphire turned to Sonak.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you right now, but I promise you, I¡¯ll tell you the whole truth.¡±


    ¡°Soon?¡±


    ¡°Yes, soon.¡±


    Sonak simply plopped down at where he sat and sighed.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± he whispered, ¡°I feel so threatened right now that I¡¯m starting to doubt teaching you any of my secret techniques in the first place.¡±


    The young man with them grunted.


    ¡°What¡¯s so great about that?¡± he exclaimed.


    Kazinski, Sapphire, and Sonak all turned towards his direction. Facing their scrutiny and questioning glares, he merely shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got something better.¡±


    The young man smirked.


    He slowly reached for his leather bag and pulled out his gifts¡ªstarting with the Dako-bear and ending with the apple. Kazinski telekinetically lifted the gifts and stored it again inside his small cabinet that could not possibly contain an object as big as a monster head but nevertheless did.


    ¡°And? What¡¯s this surprise you have for me?¡± Kazinski taunted.


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ***


    Winston wrapped ethereal mana around his forearms, and casting the material ghost spell, slowly pierced the opening of his pocket dimension, which would have otherwise been impossible had he not temporarily turned his forearm into an ethereal matter, the only thing that could phase through the opening of a pocket dimension. Once in, he cancelled the material ghost spell and slowly peeled away the ethereal mana from his hands and forearm. Then slowly, he spread his mana all over the interior of his pocket dimension, and using them as an extension of his senses, felt his way through to find the spell bombs he would soon proudly present towards this mysterious informant. It¡¯s his turn to surprise the man. He commanded his mana to pull the spell bombs towards his direction, pushing away obstructions and paving a path towards his hand. When he felt the glass orb touch his fingers, he gently grabbed it and pulled his hand out of the pocket dimension, which prompted the opening into the inner space to heal itself, forming a barrier that no physical matter could pierce. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Behold,¡± Winston proudly spoke, raising the small glass orb with spell circuits imprinted within it, and on its surface. ¡°A spell bomb unlike any other, forged from a magic unknown to this world.¡±


    He expected a reaction from Kazinski¡ªperhaps a gasp of awe or a surprised exclamation. Instead he got his reaction from the elf accompanying the woman who calls herself Sapphire.


    ¡°How the heck did you just pull that out of nowhere!?¡±


    ¡°I''ve got my ways,¡± Winston said, feeling the glare from both elves. ¡°What''s important is that this spell bomb works.¡±


    ¡°Bonkers!¡± the elven man said, flailing his arms up then down. ¡°You expect us to believe it¡¯s a spell bomb? The most efficient material that can absorb mana from a magical enchantment is an arcane wood. It¡¯s the only ideal material for a spell bomb. And you¡¯re expecting us to believe that you found a whole different way of making a spell bomb? You¡¯re lying! If that is a spell bomb, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a very weak imitation of the real thing. Several magnitudes weaker than the real thing!¡±


    Winston couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself¡ªsmug and proud.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked Kazinski, instead of resisting the elf¡¯s accusations. He looked at the elven girl, and all she was giving him was a suspicious glare. Hah! Unbelievable isn¡¯t it? He gloated. Now to consume the cherry on top¡ªKazinski¡¯s reaction.


    The strange man merely laughed at himself.


    ¡°Let me check,¡± was all he said, then he waved his hand just once and Winston felt a strange wave of energy wash over him, something very familiar, something like¡ªa divination? It can¡¯t be!


    Winston couldn¡¯t fathom the ability to cast a divination without a spirit. At least, he was sure he didn¡¯t sense the mind of a spirit acting on that divination. How could this be? He could only guess two things¡ªthat Kazinski was so powerful that he could hide the mind of the spirit he was using to cast a divination spell, or that just as his magic was a completely different domain from the one used in this world, that Kazinski also came from a world that had different magical rules. On a fundamental level, Winston¡¯s magic is similar to that of the elves or any other magical race on this world, but Kazinski¡¯s magic is fundamentally different from Earth¡¯s or Mundus¡¯s magic. What that difference was he couldn¡¯t put a finger on it.


    ¡°Alright, I can confirm,¡± Kazinski said. ¡°This is indeed what you call it¡­.¡±


    Winston could see the lanky elf almost stand up from the sofa, but the elven girl held him back.


    Kazinski turned to them.


    ¡°It is the real deal,¡± he said. ¡°Please refrain from doing anything violent or any action that may be interpreted as such.¡±


    The elf merely gritted his teeth and backed down. Then Kazinski turned to Winston.


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal,¡± the strange man told him, which woke him up from his reverie.


    Winston merely laughed weakly and awkwardly.


    ¡°Good to hear,¡± he replied.


    This wasn¡¯t what he expected at all. He wanted to be the one doing the unexpected. He¡¯s the one being bedazzled instead.


    ¡°All has been well done,¡± Kazinski announced, clapping his hands. ¡°I presume it¡¯s time to move on beyond the pleasantries, eh, everyone?¡±


    The girl and her companion simply stared blankly and stolidly at the man, perhaps harboring suspicions about the character and true identity of their anonymous informant. But Winston had a bugging question in the back of his head that begged an answer, and he wasn¡¯t just going to sit passively and let that question sink into the void, forever harrying the mind later on, during what would probably be innocent activities he would partake in. This harrowing curiosity would stay with him for as long as he lived, and he didn¡¯t want that sullying his future. Winston decided to go for it and raised a hand.


    Kazinski turned towards Winston, and somehow, beyond anything Winston could contrive, he felt as though the man arced an eyebrow toward him, which made him gulp a healthy dose of saliva. Who the heck is this man?


    ¡°I have a question.¡± Winston dropped his hand. ¡°What do you need these ¡®gifts¡¯ for? They seem to be rather ordinary in quality and effect. What else could they help you with?¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, the first three items are merely for pleasantries¡ªespecially the grinded skull, it makes for a good bone broth. Who goes seeking information from an archmage and dare bring no gifts? None, if I should be putting it out there. So I only trade with those who go out beyond mere need and also bring gifts with them, albeit pricey if you consider the price of a Dako-bear¡¯s head, but the information I bring is worth all that.¡±


    ¡°And the special gifts?¡± Winston asked, bugged out of his mind.


    Kazinski waved his hand in front of him.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to you, young man,¡± Kazinski said. ¡°I need them for a¡­ shall we say a research endeavor of mine.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we know?¡± Winston replied.


    Kazinski slapped his forehead under his hood. Damn kids and their curiosity, Winston heard the man murmur. I¡¯ve been stuck in this realm for so long¡­.


    Winston¡¯s eyes widened and he turned to look at the two elves with them. They didn¡¯t even bat an eye. Did it not concern them? No, actually it looks like they didn¡¯t hear at all. The fact that Kazinski hinted at being from another world¡ªno from another realm, perhaps from another universe¡ªand that he seemingly imparted that news to Winston seems rather to be too purposeful than an accident.


    This man knew.


    Kazinski knew.


    That Winston was from another world.


    Kazinski didn¡¯t even bother letting Winston recover from his shock. He simply stood up and spoke.


    ¡°Enough dilly-dallying, we must hurry along, I haven¡¯t got all day for all of you.¡±


    Kazinski then snapped his fingers and everything went dark.


    ***


    Sapphire opened her eyes but there was nothing there. She thought she had gone blind but that was not it. Everything just went dark. She groped with her hands in the air beyond her but she felt nothing. Then a sound rang in her head, heralding an ominous image. Flashing before her was the sight of a city besieged on all sides by monsters of unknown stages in development. She tried to move her limbs but she felt nothing, it was as if what she was seeing was merely being streamed directly into her mind. In fact, it seemed she did not have any body in this space. She hazarded a guess that all of this was happening inside her mind.


    ¡°You are correct.¡± The sound of a garbled voice, belonging to a man in his prime, resounded around her. ¡°We are in your psyche, and what you are seeing is a glimpse of the near future¡­.¡± The voice paused, then continued. ¡°Well, one of the possible near futures. Currently, this is the most likely outcome of what¡¯s going to happen. I¡¯m showing you this because you, and that young man you were with¡ªno not the powerful wizard, although he will nonetheless be part of this scheme, I mean the human¡ª¡±


    Sapphire scrunched up her brows¡ªor at least she would have, had she a body in this place. Human? That boy who was sporting an obviously magical glamor? How could a human produce such an effect, which was clearly magic?


    ¡°Surely you jest!¡± Sapphire screamed to the invisible nothingness.


    ¡°I don¡¯t, young lady, he is human¡ªevery cell, bone, and flesh, perfectly human in all and every possible way. Anyway, I digress. You both will be essential to saving the world from a darkness that I cannot, through my vow, reveal in detail to you. Just know that it exists, and that you would later face this foe. I digress again¡­. I show you this to help you all forward. Skandrim is playing with dangerous magics and I wish to stop him¡ªwithout getting involved of course, since that would violate my vow.¡±


    ¡°What is this horror?¡± Sapphire bleated weakly. ¡°Why is this city besieged?¡±


    ¡°An inevitable consequence if you do not stop Skandrim.¡±


    The scene then changed and showed the figure of a man clad in all black, weaving through the city of Thokos, who then flitted like a snake, traversing meters in mere seconds, going beyond Thokos and into the next city¡ªHalbert. Winding through its streets he stumbled into a giant warehouse and there vanished in the darkness.


    ¡°This is all I¡¯m allowed to show you. Your thief arrived in Kirisal long before you did, and brought what you¡¯re looking for into their territory. Your thief is a member of Clan Ausir. An ancient, prestigious and infamous assassin clan, who¡¯ve lurked in the darkness for far longer than you, your companion, or your whole country has lived. Three days from now, the Sautur Aspifone will be delivered to their client¡ªSkandrim, the infamous old donkey.¡±


    ¡°So he is involved. Do you know if Skandrim stole it for his own devices or was he bidden by another master?¡± Sapphire hurriedly asked Kazinski.


    ¡°You only paid for two, young lady,¡± the voice of Kazinski responded, in a very booming and bellowing trill. ¡°I cannot reveal that to you as per my oath. But I will tell you this: you must know that this very clan you¡¯re after is the same clan that the human boy is looking for. It¡¯s up to you what you¡¯d do with this information. Will you team up with him or go at the problem separately? It¡¯s none of my business to pry.¡±


    Sapphire still couldn¡¯t wrap her head around the fact that the man shrouded under heavy glamor was a human.


    Then a memory rose up in her mind. Wasn¡¯t that person in her dream a long while ago, the one with entangled meridians in his head, who could suddenly cast elaborate spells using an ungodly level of mana control when she had unsnarled his meridians, a human? No it couldn¡¯t be. But it could, couldn¡¯t it?


    I¡¯ve decided, Sapphire thought. I¡¯m going to pierce through his glamor and really see who he is. I remember the human¡¯s face, so I¡¯d recognize him even at a single sweeping glance.


    The scene shifted again, of human slaves and elves alike being whipped on their backs by draconic enforcers. They were wearing nothing but burlap clothes, all saturated in blood, now dried and black. Under the heavy weight of their authoritarian despots, their wills dragooned and crushed, they toiled the earth with their pickaxes, building tunnels through, up and down the mountains. Where this place was, Sapphire couldn¡¯t hazard any guess, it was all unfamiliar.


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Kazinski put forth, as if in answer to her thoughts. ¡°I cannot tell you where this is¡ªshowing you this is actually only a little less than the limit of the bounds I labor under. You would have to do your own investigation. I tell you this though, you would do well to look deeper into Skandrim¡¯s current business enterprise.¡±


    ¡°Could the sudden shift in the slaver¡¯s delivery traffic back home be because of this? Were the slaves illegally bought from Ethera all sent here to do all this digging? But why? If they wanted this done quiet and fast, they should have done so with heavy machinery!¡±


    ¡°Aye,¡± invoked Kazinski. ¡°That is also one of the mysteries you would have to unravel without my aid, young lady.¡±


    Sapphire exhaled deeply¡ªor at least, whatever passed as a sigh in this world inside her mind.


    ¡°Right,¡± she noted. ¡°Because of this ¡®oath¡¯ again, whatever that is. But I can work with this information. Thank you, Kazinski, for showing me all this.¡±


    ¡°No, thank you! Young one,¡± Kazinski expressed. ¡°I would not have it on my conscience to idly stand by while there are things¡ªthough admittedly little¡ªthat I can do to save Kirisal even under the¡­ well you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Yes, perfectly reasonable. So, now what happens?¡±


    ¡°Now,¡± Kazinski muttered. ¡°I eject you out of my space.¡±


    ***


    The scene of gore that Winston saw, from a monster incursion happening all over the 500 cities close to Skurim, made him queasy. He saw it as merely an extension to the current monster incursion that had stolen thousands of petroliseom wells aplenty around Skurim. This was an even greater disaster than the present incident that had spurred Kirisal to prepare for war. That¡¯s when it clicked inside Winston¡¯s head.


    Could whatever be causing this be¡­.


    Manmade?


    But what did that concern him? He hated the elves more than the moral compass imbibed from 22nd century Earth dictated him to cherish life. Plenty of them were certainly vicious and deserving of destruction¡ªand if he could help it, by his own hands. This was just a just and deserving punishment for their deplorable practices¡ªtheir arrogance, and the hell they had put him through since he was just a child. An uneasy grin appeared on his face¡ªthat was, if he had a face in this mental world.


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Winston inquired, mentally wiping sweat from the tips of his eyes. ¡°I hate the elves more than anything in this world and second only to Io. It pleases me that they burn in their own conniving fuckery.¡±


    Kazinski was silent.


    ¡°Why have you gone so quiet all of the sudden? Cat got your tongue? You think that showing me this would somehow urge me to help them? Well fuck you, that¡¯s what. Just proceed to the information that I came here for and stop this tomfoolery!¡±


    Winston felt a jerk on his mental body and he spun in the air¡ªto be more exact, his mental perspective cartwheeled in a three-sixty turn. Once his perspective settled, a new view appeared before his mental eyes. It was a large warehouse. On the surface, Winston couldn¡¯t see any activity, but he felt sure that inside¡ªeven underground¡ªpeople were bustling to-and-fro. The moment Kazinski showed him this, a thought instantly lit up in his mind. Back on Earth, he¡¯d been part of various task forces that were sent to crack down on illegal drugs. Most of those drug dens were secretly based in private warehouses that operated like a normal business warehouse on the surface, while secretly operating drug-related pursuits. Those drug dens usually had assassins doing their bidding¡ªkilling competition, or traitors.


    ¡°You¡¯re partially right¡ªexcept this is a three layer operation,¡± Kazinski boomed inside Winston¡¯s head.


    Winston frowned. Kazinski was so silent for multiple heartbeats that he forgot the man was the one showing him this scene.


    ¡°On the surface, they operate as a normal warehouse under the employ of a certain business, which is popularly known as Beyond Enterprise. On the next level below that, they operate as a drug manufacturer and supplier. But below that, they are an organization¡ªa clan called Ausir¡ªthat specializes in assassinating both low-value and high-value targets, anywhere in the world.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Winston said. ¡°So the assassins will come from them eh? This isn¡¯t going to be easy. How do I stop them from assassinating Sashaiuin, when, if I kill anyone they send they could just send more? This has become rather complicated.¡±


    ¡°That it is, young man. But perhaps it would help to know that the two elves who¡¯ve come to seek my audience as you have also seek this very same clan and the male of the two is actually a very powerful mage.¡±


    ¡°I know he¡¯s powerful, I can see his aura pretty clearly. Stop patronizing me, Kazinski.¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­.¡±


    The atmosphere fell into a lulling silence as Winston mulled over it.


    ¡°A common enemy huh¡­. I might be able to strike a deal with them.¡±


    ¡°That you might.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winston beamed. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°Next,¡± repeated Kazinski. ¡°You leave my space.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Winston¡¯s perspective cartwheeled again and he felt his body lumped down on a hard, paved floor. Winston mewled as the pain of the drop had just registered in his mind. He rubbed the back of his head, which had hit strongly against the ground. He opened his eyes and could see the contorted face of the girl named Sapphire looking askance at him.


    ¡°How,¡± she hissed, standing up from the floor. ¡°How could this be?¡±


    ¡°Indeed how!¡± cried her companion, after he had dusted himself. ¡°It¡¯s really true! I can see it all now!¡±


    What the heck were they talking about?


    ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± Winston asked innocently.


    ***


    ¡°¡®My face¡¯ your ass, how are you using magic?¡± Sonak griped, pointing a finger at the man.


    Sonak¡¯s surprise was warranted, but Sapphire was perhaps more conflicted than surprised. This man right here was the spitting image of the person she had helped in that dream of hers. So it wasn¡¯t a dream! Nonetheless, even if the dream was real, it still didn¡¯t explain how the man could cast magic.


    ¡°The heck?¡± the man blurted out.


    ¡°We can see it now, you know,¡± Sapphire interposed, rolling her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t see through your shroud out of respect but now that I do, everything¡¯s so clear that, funny enough, reality makes me doubt my eyes more than the shroud you had been wearing.¡±


    The man widened his eyes and muttered obscenity under his breath.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°I can explain.¡±


    ¡°Explain away please!¡± Sonak rumbled, crossing his arms.


    ¡°Okay, look,¡± the man sighed, raising two hands like a thief caught red handed. ¡°I¡¯m not originally from this world.¡±


    Sapphire raised a brow.


    ¡°Meaning?¡±


    The man¡¯s brows furrowed. His mouth agape as if wording, ¡®What?¡¯ silently.


    ¡°Oh, no, no,¡± Sapphire said, double backing. ¡°What I mean is how does coming from another world affect your magical ability?¡±


    Sonak nudged her rather forcefully.


    ¡°You believe what he¡¯s saying?¡± he said, frowning at her. ¡°I¡¯m more inclined to suggest he did some kind of necromantic ritual¡ªprobably through the help of a powerful elf¡ªthat allowed him to steal the magic of a native.¡±


    Sapphire snapped her attention at Sonak.


    ¡°You believe something so ridiculous?¡±


    ¡°And you believe something even more ridiculous?¡±


    Sapphire sighed, rubbing her temples.


    ¡°Look, Sonak,¡± she began. ¡°The universe is vast and endless, I thought you of all people should know the possibility that other worlds out there¡ªother than ours¡ªare inhabited by living creatures.¡±


    Sonak flailed his hands up in exasperation.


    ¡°I¡¯m insulted,¡± he said. ¡°That you think I¡¯m uneducated enough to disbelieve the possibility of alien lifeforms. I¡¯m talking about a human doing magic! It¡¯s an even more ridiculous story than if he stole it by some unknown necromantic ritual done by an elf of some regard. Everyone knows human mana lack the pressure required to stabilize a spell¡¯s structure. It¡¯s a universal truth and should be true anywhere and everywhere!¡±


    ¡°You doubt your eyes?¡± the man butted in, conjuring a force chair and sitting on it.


    Sonak turned to the human and glowered.


    ¡°I doubt nothing but your lies!¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re just going to discount the fact that you¡¯ve just consulted with an unimaginably powerful being that was somehow able to hack into your mind¡ªeven though, and I emphasize, you probably had had the strongest mind magic defensive spell protecting your mind¡ªand inviting you in inside what¡¯s obviously a pocket dimension that¡¯s unheard of in this world as in my home world. That mage was clearly from a different world¡ªand if I were to hazard a guess, he¡¯s from a different realm entirely, a different universe.¡±


    Sonak, though still scowling, stood down.


    ¡°Alright, explain it then. Explain your magic to us.¡±


    But his tone was still clearly acerbic.


    The man sighed, drooping in his force-seat.


    ¡°Can we first introduce ourselves? It¡¯s hard to talk about these things with a person whose name you don¡¯t know,¡± the man turned to Sapphire. ¡°I know you¡¯re called Sapphire but can I call you that?¡±


    Sapphire nodded at him.


    ¡°Good,¡± the man approved. ¡°You can call me Winston, but out here in the streets, I¡¯d rather you call me Merlin. That was my official title as the Archmage of the United States of America back in my homeworld. And you?¡±


    Sapphire glanced at Sonak, sensing the tension that was all over his body, and seeing him grit his teeth¡ªbut only for an instant as an apprehensive laugh escaped from his lips. He rubbed his forehead in a disconcerted gesture.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I get it, we''re all going to pretend like we¡¯re all buddies. Yeah, I get it, I get it for sure.¡±


    Sonak sighed.


    ¡°Call me Sonak,¡± he said. Sapphire could almost see the hostility in his gaze belying his friendly smile. ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯re going to get from me.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winston said, wiping his hands on the leather armor over his pants. ¡°You all know that humans don¡¯t have the necessary pressure to produce spells I presume?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I¡­.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Sapphire cut in. ¡°We know it fully well.¡±


    ¡°But have you ever thought of just using ambient mana?¡±


    ¡°Are you¡­!?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sapphire replied curtly, before Sonak could finish his snide remark. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you know about our magic as well. If so, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d also know that spiritual touch can only affect a person¡¯s own personal mana. In that sense, it¡¯d be impossible to effect spells using ambient mana.¡±


    Sapphire could hear Sonak grumble beside her.


    ¡°But let¡¯s just say,¡± Winston said, smiling at Sapphire, ¡°for the sake of argument that you could manipulate ambient mana, could it be possible to effect spells out of them?¡±


    Sapphire pondered while Sonak silently brooded beside her.


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯d say that, for the sake of argument, that would be possible. Ambient mana is produced from the core of the world and hence possesses enough pressure to effect a spell.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Winston beamed, straightening up. ¡°Now, my next question, is it possible to direct ambient mana with personal mana?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Sonak grouched. ¡°If there¡¯s enough pressure diff¡­.¡±


    ¡°Difference,¡± Sapphire finished, biting on her thumbnail. The possibility finally dawned on her.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Sonak repeated. ¡°If there¡¯s enough pressure difference. But how do you effect spells from that?¡± He was slowly lowering down his guard, his gaze far and pensive.


    ¡°I won''t reveal everything,¡± Winston began, standing up and dispelling his force-seat. ¡°But I''m going to give you a little hint. ¡°How do you apsect your mana?


    ¡°We mold it,¡± Sapphire answered, playing with the latch of her satchel. ¡°Then we inject the ¡®idea¡¯ onto the mana to aspect it¡ªthe kneading, being an integral part in making the mana receptive to change.¡±


    ¡°Right, so¡­.¡± Winston released a tendril of mana which coiled into a knot.


    Ambient mana moved back and forth through the knot. When the mana passed through the knot, he squeezed the end towards which the ambient mana was moving to increase the pressure at that end. Then when the ambient mana doubled back and returned towards the other end, he squeezed that end to make the mana flow in the other direction. Winston basically repeated this until the ¡®idea¡¯ he wanted to impose on the ambient mana transformed and aspected the mana into the force aspect.


    Sonak moved closer to get a better look at the now aspected mana.


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± Sonak belched, rubbing his chin¡ªhis curiosity now overcoming his hostility. ¡°The ambient mana has indeed been aspected. How do you shape your mana like that? I don''t think I could ever make a tendril of mana as flexible as yours, let alone shape it into knots.¡±


    ¡°Let''s just say it''s a perk to having low-pressure mana.¡±


    ¡°So you use your mana to direct ambient mana and thereby produce spell-effects?¡± Sapphire asked restrainedly.


    ¡°Correct. Knots like this are called aspect conversion nodes. They are essential in any and all spells cast using spell circuits.¡±


    ¡°But surely you need more than that,¡± Sonak whined, lifting his eyes towards Winston. ¡°Simply aspecting mana doesn''t cut it, you also need¡­¡±


    ¡°Intent and the thing which will impress intent into the mana.¡±


    Winston smugly smiled.


    ¡°We have that, but I ain''t telling you everything. I still can''t trust you with the fullness of my knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Sonak admitted, then bowed deeply before Winston.


    Winston jerked suddenly where he stood. He probably wasn''t expecting Sonak to act like he had just done.


    ¡°I am terribly sorry for having accused you of murder and necromancy. It was childish and stupid of me. I wish to study this new magic, but only if you''d allow me.¡±


    Sapphire smiled at the sight of Winston standing gawkily before Sonak. Sonak may have been shallow and competitive, but he would never shun giving an apology that was righteously owed to another. At heart, he was an academic, and academics were largely concerned with one simple thing in the world: the advancement of their own understanding. No doubt he¡¯s salivating about the opportunity to study this new magic in depth. Of course Sapphire wouldn¡¯t be outpaced. She too was an academic at heart, and hence she too would want to study this man¡¯s magic to her heart¡¯s content.


    Tip tap, tippy, tap, tap. The clacking sound of a walking stick resounded in the alley way. All three of them snapped their attention towards the sound.


    A tall dragon wrapped in a coat and wearing a broad-brimmed hat greeted them with an uncanny smile from his scaly mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid, I¡¯d have to end this touching moment of growth for everyone. You¡¯d have to come with me. You see¡­.¡±


    The dragon tipped his hat upwards with the handle of his walking stick.


    ¡°You¡¯re all under arrest.¡±

 Update for next chapter

    Hello everyone! I''m here to announce that I''m 54 percent in with the tenth chapter! Wohoo. And I''m also here to tell you how happy I am for getting 33 followers! It might not be as great as the big guys, but for this human mage, it''s enough to celebrate about.


    Also if you''re interested about a small parcel of my life right now. I''m happy to tell you that we''ve passed our outline defense and are preparing for our design one, where we will be creating at least 50 percent of our duck egg sorter. I won''t lie to you, research has been affecting my writing schedule, but I''m still keeping on! This human mage will not give up!


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Also, I''ve deleted the previous chapter updates. I''ll be doing that (deleting chapter updates) every three updates. Since this is the third, the previous two are deleted so if people decide to download this fic, those previous updates won''t pull the readers out of their immersion (that is if this fic is immersing enough).


    Anyway, have fun reading!