《Thera of Rose Manor》


 Prologue: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning

    But for the sound of waves striking the metal hull of the ship and the tramp of the guards as they made their rounds, there was no sound at all. Briar raised her head carefully out of the water, and, aiming, let loose her grappling dart.


    The thin needle flew, carrying a near invisible -but incredibly strong-wire wrapped in black synthetic fiber along its path behind it. The dart pierced the knothole of a wooden crate. Briar pressed a button on her watch.


    The dart inside split apart and metal bracers dug into the wood around the dart, anchoring it firmly within the crate.


    Briar tugged on the wire to see if it held, then climbed swiftly on board, and hid behind the large stack of cargo nearby. She held her breath as she checked her surroundings, not wanting to give away any sign of her presence. All clear for now.


    She turned out towards the velvet black of the moonless night. Then she pulled out a mini flashlight, the kind that twists to turn on, and flashed a message in Morse code.


    [H- A-P-W-P-T]Have Arrived. Proceed With Phase Two.


    After that, she put away her flashlight.


    Footsteps warned of the approaching guard patrol. She listened, holding her breath. So there¡¯s only two. Good. She thought, as she made her way around the cargo to their blind spot.


    She struck in an instant, knocking both unconscious without warning. She leaned them against the cargo, out of sight. Her eyes then turned towards the next barrier: the door leading to the ship¡¯s interior.


    Come on, what is taking them so long?! She pushed down her impatience while waiting, well hidden from any other patrols. After what seemed like forever, she heard the familiar sound of water bikes making their way towards the ship and circling around, but staying out of the range of the ship¡¯s light.


    The other two patrol groups focused on the boats, eyes turned outwards as they faced the would-be intruders. Finding a good time, she slipped out of the cargo pile and streaked towards the door in a peculiar crouch-run, her feet silent on the metal deck.


    She breezed by, a dark shadow that no one need pay attention to. Once she slipped inside, she hid behind the metal hatch-like door leading to the rest of the ship.


    Soon enough, the guards outside sounded the alarm, and a stream of men armed with semi-automatics rushed by on their way outside. After the last one passed by, Briar came out from her hiding place, and raised an eyebrow silently. More than fifty men had passed by. An unusual response for a simple cargo ship; only, it was no simple cargo ship.


    Perhaps this would be easier than she had first surmised. She stalked silently down the metal hallways. The glass porthole on one of the hatch-doors reflected an image of a man approaching from around the corner, unaware that she was there.


    Before he had even finished rounding the corner, Briar knocked him out with a flying kick. He lay sprawled on the floor, out cold. She tied him up and gagged him, placing him in one of the rooms branching off from the hallway. Then she continued down the hallway, warily.


    Everything went as planned until she turned the corner to see a dead body lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the floor. What was a dead body doing here!?


    Briar used her foot to turn the body over. A long diagonal cut ran down from the left shoulder to the right hip, plus a puncture wound that had cut straight through the center of the heart.


    Considering the depth and extent of the fatal wound, it could only have been done using that. She made a face.


    ------------------------------


    The famous legendary cursed katana, Red Cherry Blossom Rebirth, had been stolen in a raid on the museum where it was on tour.


    This sword was priceless, a veritable national treasure, in fact. But the thieves had held it ransom for 50 billion dollars. An outrageous sum, to be sure; yet, even that sum was still only a pittance of its actual historical worth.


    But money was not all they wanted. They demanded the latest breakthrough weaponry and tech, and had threatened to bomb key points in cities around the world if their demands were not met.


    As a demonstration, bombs went off in the water areas just outside the cities, causing great huge geysers of water, and tons of panicked citizens.


    But, that was what had eventually betrayed their location. The only way they could have gotten that far out to sea with a bomb was if they had a boat.


    Only one boat had been to all these locations within the past year: the Harbinger. This was originally a private-owned armored vessel, but the great stock market crash had forced the original owner to liquidate his estate. And so it had passed from person to person until it had eventually ended up in the hands of these black rogues.


    Countries had sent complaints, angry that they had become involved with Japan¡¯s problems.


    And there had been a great debate. They finally came to a decision. While the money could be recovered, the latest breakthrough weaponry and technology were out of the question.


    Soon enough, the order was passed down to the Special Forces, and Briar had been roped along due to her expertise, even though she was not a true member of the Special Forces.


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    ----------------------------


    She had easily found the bomb switches and deactivated the bombs remotely, before destroying the remote controls. The only thing left was the blade.


    Someone had begun to use that blade: someone that enjoyed killing. Well, that wasn¡¯t very helpful. Everyone on this boat was a terrorist, after all. She returned to observing the wounds.


    She quickly deduced that he was not a professional swordsman. She had seen wounds stemming from professional swordsmen. These were not as clean.


    As she was contemplating her next actions, she heard the whistle of swiftly-moving metal behind her and instinctively dove forward.


    Clang! The sword cut into the steel floor where she had stood just moments before, leaving an impressive gash. Using her hands as a pivot, she twisted into a crouch facing her opponent.


    ¡°Aaah. I missed~!¡± The man in blood splashed clothes said calmly. He giggled, and pulled the sword out of the floor, jerkily. His movements were staggered and jerky, like a zombie.


    Is this man on drugs? Briar thought as she concentrated on him, wary, watching for his next move. His small beady eyes and sharp canines reminded her of a shark. ¡°Next time I won¡¯t miss.¡± He said, with cold unsmiling eyes set above a toothy grin.


    Briar reached toward her belt and inwardly groaned. She had no knives on her, not that it would have mattered, going by how the steel floor didn¡¯t really pose much of a problem for this particular katana. Dang, that¡¯s gotta be the sharpest sword ever! But still, perhaps she could have maybe thrown them at him and taken out his sword arm.


    Leaving no more time for thought, he ran towards her, swinging wildly, whooping with mad delight. She retreated, dodging, ducking, and jumping his leg sweep. Then she pivoted on one leg and cracked him one in the jaw with her foot.


    He stumbled back, but then renewed his assault, yelling. ¡°Is that all you got!?¡±


    Drunk with his power, he started attacking faster and faster, laughing and yelling. ¡°Ora-ora-ora-ora-ora-ORAAAAAAHH!!!¡± His sword swings easily damaged the walls and floors.


    He sliced at her once more. She dodged. But this time, was slightly different. This time, he sliced through a power line, and sparks flew as he was painfully electrocuted, giving Briar a moment to escape.


    She retreated through a nearby door. In that hallway with limited space, she could do nothing but dodge. In order to survive, she needed to open up some space.


    Luckily, she found the doo she had retreated through led into the much larger cargo hold. Her steps were quick and silent as she weaved her way into the room, vanishing between the stockpiles of boxed up foods and gallons of water.


    Whether it was by mere luck, or by a strange matter of fate, his pained thrashings caused him to jerk the sword out of the power line, and he collapsed on the floor, groaning. Tongue lolling out, panting, his reddened eyes looked around the damaged mettalic hallway for his prey.


    He noticed the nearby opened door, and grinned, purely intent upon joys of stalking and slicing his prey to death. Staggering to his feet, he followed her in, shutting the door behind him, and slowly walked down between the aisles.


    Having analyzed his amateur attack pattern, Briar had quickly come up with a plan. She waited until he had gotten ten feet away, then revealed herself.


    He charged her, roaring as he swung another wide, unbalanced arc of the sword. Taking advantage of this imbalance, Briar swiftly kicked the sword out of his hands.


    ¡°NOOOO!!!!¡± He screamed, but was kicked in the face and fell back.


    She swooped down upon the sword and grabbed it, facing her opponent. He clenched his fists and leapt at her, grasping desperately for the sword.


    ¡°IIIIT¡¯SSS MIIIIIINNE!!!¡± He shrieked. Avoiding his desperate lunge, she stabbed him through the gut, and then withdrew the sword, letting him fall to the floor.


    She backed away a bit from the carnage, and turned around. Watching the hallway, she pressed the button on her comlink.


    ¡°Briar Sparrow to Mountain Hawk-target acquired, over.¡±


    As she listened to the person speaking on the other end, she didn¡¯t notice the man slowly rising to his feet again, and approach her.


    Lunging, he snatched the sword out of her hand. Then, turning on one foot, he put all his weight behind piercing her straight through the heart.


    ¡°If I¡¯m going down, then you¡¯re coming with me.¡± He snarled, then slipped to the floor, as power left his limbs


    . [Briar Sparrow? Briar Sparrow! What happened in there? Repeat, what happened in there?! Blast! Her vitals are flat-lining! Activate plan B!] The voice came out of the comlink.


    Briar¡¯s voice failed to come out. Time seemed to slow down as she sank to her knees.


    Ah. I am dying? She thought to herself. I would have liked to have done


    more...much¡­.more¡­


    She closed her eyes as she felt herself slipping away into darkness.

 Chapter 1: Literally Reborn

    The darkness felt strangely warm. Briar had always imagined darkness being cold. Then she realized that she could feel. Shouldn¡¯t dead people, being spirits, not be able to feel anything?


    Hmmm¡­It was strangely soft, too.


    As she pondered this, everything suddenly became colder and bright.


    She heard voices around her as she was lifted up. She opened her eyes and tried to focus them on a rather large looking face staring down at her. He smiled and said something in an unfamiliar language.


    What? Hey! Put me down!


    She tried to say, but a child¡¯s cry came out, causing her to pause. Was there a baby in the room?


    She tried to move her head to see around her, but she felt incredibly weak, and could barely even move it an inch.


    What is this? Where am I? Who are you?! She tried to ask the man. There was that sound again! The baby sound was coming from somewhere incredibly close by¡­ She raised her hand jerkily to scratch her head and glanced at it.


    Her hand had become short and chubby, and oddly familiar. Then she remembered what it reminded her of: a baby¡¯s fist. She moved her arm right; the baby¡¯s arm moved right. She brought her arm left; the baby¡¯s arm jerked left.


    Then the large man said something in that strange language again and stooped down to hand her to another large person: a woman who looked down upon her, sweat beading her forehead, but a beautiful smile upon her face.


    ¡°Thera.¡±


    She said, and then spoke some more things Briar couldn¡¯t understand.


    Briar listened, confused. Even if she couldn¡¯t fully translate them all, she was quite familiar with the main languages of the world. But this was not any of them. It was a completely new language.


    The woman¡¯s large hand came up to caress Briar¡¯s forehead, lovingly cradling Briar in her arms. ¡°Thera.¡± She said again.


    Then realization dawned. She had been reborn as a baby, and had just been named ¡®Thera¡¯!


    ¡°EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!!!?!!¡± She shrieked with her screaming baby voice.


    Her mother¡¯s brow wrinkled in concern, and she made comforting noises and rocked Briar to and fro.


    As Briar¡¯s body was that of a newborn, she soon ran out of energy to shout. Her long drawn out screech of surprise was soon brought to an end by an overwhelming urge to sleep. Struggle though she might, Briar¡¯s consciousness still swiftly slipped back into the dark realm of sleep.


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    The next time Briar awoke, she stared at an unfamiliar wooden ceiling.


    The morning sunshine was peeking through a nearby window. Blinking in confusion, she tried to get up, but found she couldn¡¯t move.


    She found herself wrapped up in a huge soft, green blanket. This is strange. This  sort of thing shouldn¡¯t prevent me from moving! She struggled, but it was no use. She couldn''t move. She frowned and tried to move again, but her arms felt strangely weak¡­


    Then everything came rushing back to her.


    That¡¯s right. She had died and had been reborn as a baby, somehow, with all of her memories intact, in a land with a strange language.


    It was ridiculous. She had only ever heard of such a thing in fantasy novels. This never happened in real life! This has to be a dream-Gururururururuuuuruuu.


    Her stomach growled. She looked around. Now what to do?


    She tried to sit up, but her head was still about one third of her body weight, so after struggling for a few minutes, she gave up.


    Hey! Is anybody there? She tried to say, but it only came out as baby cries.


    She waited for about two minutes before her patience ran thin.


    HEY! IS ANYBODY THERE!! She tried to yell, which was then conveniently changed into a baby¡¯s shriek.


    After that, the giant face of ¡®mother¡¯ came into view. With light brown hair, and dazzling emerald eyes, she smiled gently at Briar.


    Another giant face popped into view over the crib¡¯s side, also, but Briar ignored it for now.


    Food was more important...


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    Later that night, Briar was awake, quietly staring at the ceiling.


    The people back home had probably heard of her death by now. Return¡­probably wasn¡¯t possible.  It couldn¡¯t be helped. She had died, after all. That¡¯s right: she had died.


    She accepted this fact.


    She had never really been one to cry or fret about things. Crying and fretting had never fixed her problems in her previous life, so she had gradually stopped by the age of seven. It was around then that she had vented her frustrations in running, jumping, climbing: exercises of all sorts.


    Eventually, even that wasn¡¯t enough for her.


    Once she was old enough, she had thrown herself into learning: martial arts, guns, traveling, observing, and changing herself.


    Even when others had asked her why, she didn¡¯t really know herself. It was just something that she felt she had to do. If she felt the ¡®her¡¯ at that time was pathetic, all she needed to do was improve, right?


    Thinking back on it, it all probably stemmed from the fact that her mother had never smiled.


    Perhaps everything Briar had ever done was to try to see her mother¡¯s smile, to gain her approval.


    Failure simply meant that Briar had not done enough


    -that she hadn¡¯t tried hard enough,


    that she was not good enough.


    Eventually, Briar had left her family behind in her pursuits of self-mastery: a pursuit which had led her to her death in the middle of the ocean, far from home.


    Briar recalled the smile on her new mother¡¯s face from that morning.


    This mother wasn¡¯t expressionless, or cold.


    She had smiled at Briar. That smile had nothing to do with whether Briar was good enough or had done amazing things. It was done simply because she had taken joy in Briar¡¯s existence.


    Up until now, Briar had hesitated to accept the reality of it all.


    She had hesitated to accept her new family because of her past life. But now she saw that she had a chance to start over from the beginning, to wipe the slate clean and discover everything that comes after that first smile.


    Maybe it won¡¯t be too bad. Her eyes took on a determined look as she made a decision. From now on, Briar would be Thera.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After about three to four weeks of intense observation, Thera was able to understand about half of what was said.


    The new face was her older sister, Margie. Her mother¡¯s name was Helen, and her father¡¯s name was Sir Maverick of Rose Manor.


    He was a lower noble and knight in the kingdom of Grayell. Tall, with brilliant red hair, and ice-blue eyes: he looked nice enough.


    But he tried making weird faces at Thera whenever he thought she was looking at him, at which point, Thera would just frown at him, not knowing what he was trying to do. This seemed to disappoint him immensely.


    It was only later that she realized that he was trying to make her smile.


    They had four maids and a cook, who all lived in the house. The maids¡¯ names were Jean, Rebecca, Martha, and Nessa. The cook¡¯s name was Ruth.  Later, Thera learned that they also had a gardener, James, but as he rarely came inside, she didn¡¯t know about him until much later.


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    While Thera could understand the language after a month, she still could not perform basic actions very well, like standing and speaking.


    In order to strengthen her arms and legs, and develop a better control over them, she decided to do some basic therapy exercises that she had had learned at a hospital. She would lift a single arm or a leg in the air, and lower it as slowly as possible, lifting it again as soon as it touched the bed.


    She repeated this as long as she could before she had to stop.


    The first week, she could only do it ten times before having to rest her limbs. The next week she could do it twenty times. Two weeks after that she could do fifty reps on each leg and arm.


    She could also sit up, although her head was still a bit wobbly, due to the normal head/body proportions of a baby.


    It was around this time that Thera first encountered one of the two books that would change her life forever.

 Chapter 2: The Impossible Loophole

    When she was five months old, she could crawl.


    She crawled everywhere, exploring the house from top to bottom. There were four bedrooms. One held Thera, her Mother, and her Father. One held her older sister, Margie. The really large one had the four maids and the cook in it. That one had bunk beds. And the last one was a guest bedroom.


    There was a parlor; a kitchen; a huge pantry filled with old-fashioned preserved foods and stocks of grains and spices; and a few rather large empty store rooms and closets. Finally, there was a study filled with an extensive library of books.


    When Thera found the study, she surprisingly found that the books were written with English letters.


    The words themselves weren¡¯t English, but they used the same letter system. Learning how to read the books in this world became a lot easier while working with familiar characters.


    Thera pushed the book across the floor to her father and-as it was relatively thick and heavy- she thumped it down upon his foot.


    ¡°OW! WHAT THE BLAZES-¡±


    Sir Maverick jumped up from his chair and looked around his feet. Spying Thera and the book, he smiled.


    ¡°Hullo, Thera~ What have you got there?¡± He picked up the book and read the title, then looked at Thera confused. ¡°How did you¡­never mind.¡± He walked over to the bookcase to put it back.


    No No NO! Thera thought. I¡¯ve got to get him to read it somehow!


    She did the only thing she could think of: she cried, reaching out for the book.


    Sir Maverick stopped, confused. What was wrong with Thera? After much confusion, and crying and reaching for the book, he finally got the right idea.


    Since he could not bear to see her cry, he gave in and took her to the couch nearby, where he sat down next to her, tilting the book so she could see it.


    Her father opened the book. Success! Took you long enough. She thought. Thera pointed to the book and babbled something happily towards her father.


    She pointed at words, and he sounded them out. It seemed that all the letters worked the same way.


    The book itself was rather interesting, as it was an introduction to a kind of energy called martial spirit.


    According to the book, this martial spirit could take on a corporeal form, if the martial artists had trained their inner energy. After a certain level, they could even take in outer energy and use it as their own.


    Each level gained added strength, defense, speed, and an increased comprehension of the physical universe.


    Training usually began around seven years old. It started early because there was only a three year window before the amount of martial spirit gain was fixed. Outside of extreme, life-threatening practices, the amount could never be greater than the limit.


    Thera imagined it as a bridge across a huge bottomless gulf, leading to a hidden mountain village. Depending on how well made it was, a certain amount and weight of goods can go across it at any given time.


    If one was lazy and only made the bare necessities to cross over, the amount of goods that could be carried along was not much. Perhaps only as much as one unit¡¯s worth.


    But, if one put in the effort and made the bridge sturdy and large and wide enough, then one could bring multiple units across at the same time, saving both time, and effort.


    So, say one person had a basic unit of ten per day, and another had a basic unit of twelve per day, and they both cultivated for ten days. By the end of ten days, the first person would have amassed one hundred units of spirit, but the other person would have amassed on hundred and twenty units of spirit, pulling ahead of the first person by an entire two days¡¯ worth of cultivation, according to his capacity.


    In the end, those who had a greater internal capacity quickly left the lower levels behind.


    Interesting. So this ¡®martial spirit¡¯ stuff adds onto the physical nature of the practitioner. Thera observed as she listened.


    There were different classifications of martial practitioner, and each class had ten levels. These classes were white, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, orange, brown, grey, and black. White was the lowest level, while Black was the highest. Kind of like karate. She thought.


    There were also rumors of a level above Black class, but as far as anyone knew, no one had reached that stage, so it remained a rumor.


    Sir Maverick smiled down at Thera when he talked about this. ¡°You know, your Papa is an Orange level two practitioner. That¡¯s how papa was able to become a noble and marry your mother.¡±


    Huh. So he was a relatively high class according to the levels. Most lower-ranked noble knights Sir Maverick¡¯s age were around the green level in martial spirit cultivation. So that meant papa was an exceptionally talented individual.


    It seemed that, the higher the rank, the greater you were held in esteem.


    What Thera didn¡¯t understand was why training didn¡¯t start before seven years old. If they started training around age five-per se- that would give them a much larger spirit capacity, wouldn¡¯t it?


    By this time, Thera was only five months old. She had taken the past two months to explore the house, due to the constant interruptions from the maids and her sister when she wanted to explore certain areas.


    Her father closed the book. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d say you chose this book on purpose.¡± He said to Thera. ¡°But you need at least six more years to reach the age of reason, or else we could start your training right now.¡± He sighed.


    Thera thumped the book. ¡°Da!¡±


    Sir Maverick answered in a light, joking tone. ¡°So, you¡¯re ready to begin right now, is it~? Alright then! It wouldn¡¯t hurt to show you how, I suppose. You¡¯ll forget it in a few minutes or so anyways. But¡­still¡­ it doesn¡¯t hurt to practice for when you¡¯re older, does it?¡± He placed the book on the desk and sat Thera down on the floor, where she could see him.


    ¡°Ahem~!¡± He coughed into his hand, and then raised two fingers.


    ¡°There are two different forms of matter: matter at rest, and matter in motion. Thus, there are two different ways to cultivate martial spirit. Neither is exclusive to the other, and both can be used interchangeably.¡±


    He raised only one finger this time. ¡°The first way of cultivation is cultivation of motion. In order to gain proficiency, you need to physically practice a certain skill, such as the basic punch. Scholars have called this, the ¡®cultivation of kinetics¡¯¡±


    At this, he threw a small punch, stopping his fist a few feet from Thera. That punch generated a huge wind which blew Thera over from her sitting position. Books tipped off the shelves, and papers flew off the desk.


    In a moment, however, Sir Maverick had sped around the room and gathered all the pages before they could go out the window. He placed the now-disorganized stack upon his desk.


    Thera sat up, laughing. That was an impressive punch!


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    ¡°You liked that, did you?¡± He chuckled, and added proudly. ¡°You¡¯d need to throw a punch of this caliber a thousand times before being able to know how to do it.¡±


    Thera¡¯s laughter petered out as she waited for him to talk about the other way of cultivation, although she could still somewhat guess what it was- given the introduction.


    ¡°Ah, but the first way is a bit difficult for a tiny baby to do. You can¡¯t even stand yet, how could you cultivate using this method~?¡± He asked her jokingly.


    Thera raised her eyebrows and looked up at him while nodding: a face which clearly came across as ¡°Go on; what¡¯s next?¡±


    He cleared his throat again.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s move on, then. The second way of cultivation is cultivation of rest. This might seem strange, but just because someone is sitting still, it doesn¡¯t mean that they can¡¯t move, right? But all you need for this method is to be able to sit up. Even at your age, if you had reached the age of reason, you could do this.¡±


    He sat down on the floor, meditation style.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter how you sit, actually. I just find this pose the most comfortable, since I have to sit still for a long time while I concentrate.¡±


    ¡°Focusing inwards, discover the pulse and flow of your internal energy, and where it resides compared to where you need it to go.


    ¡°Those who practice this method take their internal energy and concentrate it into their bones, muscles, tissues, organs, and skin: in that very same order. The higher the concentration of energy within the bones, the stronger they will become.


    ¡°Most people take up to fifteen years just pouring their internal energy into their bones until they arrive at the strongest concentration you can get: the diamond-bone stage.¡±


    He scratched his neck. ¡°I think the record was taking only nine years to acquire it? And even after that, the person still grew normally, so don¡¯t worry about staying a midget forever if you accomplish it by the time you¡¯re fourteen or fifteen.¡±


    By now, Sir Maverick had completely been taken up in his role of ¡®teacher¡¯ to the point where he forgot he was just talking to a baby.


    ¡°Next come muscles, which are separated into tendons and actual muscles. I say that because it¡¯s best to strengthen the tendons first. The tendons anchor the muscles to the bones.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to strengthen the muscles and then have them ripped out of their spots because the tendons weren¡¯t strong enough, right? Right?¡± He looked at Thera, waiting for an answer.


    ¡°Ga-gurul!¡± She crooned, uttering some encouraging nonsense word.


    He grinned, delighted. ¡°After the tendons, you strengthen the regular muscles. Don¡¯t worry about looking like a thick-muscled barbarian, though. While they do get stronger, they still look relatively the same. The only


    thing that changes is the explosive elasticity that gives you a major increase in agility.¡±


    Thera nodded in her sloppy baby fashion. She didn¡¯t really have complete control over her muscles, yet, so she struggled to keep from falling over again. When she had righted herself, she looked up at her father. ¡°Eijuuu?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that you asked!¡± He nodded seriously, continuing his lecture:


    ¡°After muscles, there are the tissues and organs. We strengthen these because there are some martial techniques that can bypass the muscle defense and deal internal damage. This also gives great benefits to martial practitioners in breaking down the various elixirs or spirit pills that we may come across.


    ¡°But don¡¯t use those things too often!¡± He warned. ¡°Someone who rises in rank due to elixirs alone has never reached Black class. Elixirs may help you to attain a higher rank in a shorter amount of time, but they skip the path of understanding, simply supplying raw power to breakthrough to the next level.


    Ahem! Getting back to topic, your papa is only just starting the stage where he is strengthening his internal organs. And it is one of the longest stages to complete, taking, at average, as much as thirty years to complete. But, papa here is a bit better than average, so he should be done in about fifteen more years: less, if I can gain enlightenment.


    One lucky guy gained enlightenment and managed to finish this in is ten years, and that person also became the quickest to become Black class rank ten. His name was Tharen, but afterwards, he became known as ¡®God-hand¡¯.¡±


    Thera stared at him attentively.


    ¡°After that is just the last stage: Strengthening the skin. It must be strengthened to the point where it is even harder than diamonds, or else any old diamond sword, given enough strength, could pierce you.¡±


    ¡°The higher the concentration of energy you have; the stronger the physical defenses are; the more force there is behind attacks; the faster the reaction speeds, and the more you can understand and use the laws of the physical world around us. Thus, scholars have come to call this way the ¡®cultivation of potentials¡¯¡±


    He looked out the window and chuckled, momentarily distracted by memories from his childhood. Thera waited for him to continue.


    He turned to look back at Thera. ¡°Where was I? Oh yes! Since children quickly get exhausted using the first method, they are often trained solely in the second method up until they are ten years of age.


    At that point, they can no longer increase their intake capacity, and are given physical techniques to practice the first method with. So, how did I do, Thera-tot? You could understand me no~? Of course you didn¡¯t. Papa used an awful lot of big words, didn¡¯t he~?¡±


    As soon as he was finished, Sir Maverick switched back to his usual ¡®doting parent¡¯ mode.


    Thera ignored his ridiculous display, ruminating on what she had learned.


    Yep. Huge skills still required a huge amount of effort. It was best to start as young as possible¡ªThen an idea came to her. If all it took to cultivate was reaching the age of reason and following the steps, then was there any real reason why she couldn¡¯t start out now?


    There was no reason not to. In fact, most of the Black martial practitioners were rumored to have started practicing at least half a year earlier than others.


    Also, Thera was insanely bored. As a baby, she really had nothing to do aside from her daily exercise. As a former adult, the toys a baby usually plays with were incredibly dull to her. This training method was far more interesting.


    At that point, Mother Helen came in and grabbed Thera. ¡°Here you are! Let¡¯s leave Papa to finish his work in peace, shall we? Mama thinks it¡¯s about time for your nap, anyways.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you can leave her here. She isn¡¯t bothering me at all!¡± He said.


    Mother Helen sniffed. ¡°Sure, and those papers are just going to end up doing themselves. It looks like you haven¡¯t done a thing! Therefore, regardless of who¡¯s bothering who: she is going to her crib, and you are going to your desk!¡± She huffed off, Thera in her arms.


    Papa¡¯s face fell as Thera was swiftly carried off. Then he looked at the stack of papers and sighed, beginning to sort them out one by one.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 3: Success, Bad News, and Magic

    Mother Helen wouldn¡¯t leave until Thera lay down and pretended to sleep.


    While Thera was excited about trying out her idea, she didn¡¯t want her mom to be there observing her. She wanted to practice in secret.Why did she want to practice in secret?There were actually several reasons why Thera had chosen to hide in in her previous world, which she felt also carried over into this world.


    Before anything else, she was used to practicing on her own, as well as hiding her true skill level. She had been on her own for a long time already, so the only person she could practice with was herself.


    Next, since many of her skills were highly lethal, she couldn''t use them in the peaceful law-abiding neighborhood where she lived.


    Moreover, if people knew that she was strong, then they''d try to use her. There had been several cases in the past, where people used her name to get what they wanted. There had even been a few idiots that had called themselves her disciples in order to coerce the local shops to give them protection money- a group which had quickly been dealt with personally.


    In addition to that, power attracts politics, and politics attracts trouble. To mention the many governments and factions that had tried to recruit-or destroy-her due to her high level of skill would be to name nine tenths of the world powers.


    It was only when the Japanese government had threatened to reveal her location to a very annoying pursuer that she had agreed to her final mission. In the end, you are just used if you''re useful, then dumped aside or killed when you''re not. In other words: the government doesn''t care if you''re happy as long as it gets what it wants.


    Thera admitted to herself that she might have been a bit biased due to her death. But she still wasn''t going to forgive the blackmailing snakes in Tokyo!


    This time would be different! In this life, if no one provoked her, then no one would get hurt. She had adamantly decided to play the pig in order to eat the tiger. While the idea seemed a bit sinister, it was a basic tactic in creating an advantage over future opponents. No one would use their full force in striking at someone they considered weak, right? This would create an opportunity to counter-attack or flee depending on the situation.


    Moreover, she wasn''t sure what her family would think if they knew about her. Would they shun her like her previous family? Would they send her away, fearing she was a monster? Would they try to kill her? That thought really scared her. She didn''t want to end up alone just like last time, with everyone wanting her skills, but no one wanting just her.


    And what if they accepted her? Would theybe able to keep their mouths shut if they knew about her?Especially that loose-mouthed papa of mine. Thera thought of her papa running around the capital telling everyone of what a genius she was.


    ----------------


    "Achoo!" *sniff* "Am I getting a cold?" Sir Maverick wondered as he despondently signed his name on yet another paper, completing one of many stacks of papers on his desk.


    --------------


    Too embarassing! This can definitely not be found out by him! REJECTED!And so, Thera sealed away the revelation of her cheat for a later time.


    Since your fighting class was basically equivalent to your status, the higher the class, the less people or monsters there would be who could ruin her nice family life. It was like a pyramid. The top would be the one with the most freedom-well, at least- among the martial practitioners.


    Kings and governments were the enemy of freedom-loving people. Thera wanted nothing to do with governments, for the time being.


    Even though she had taken up a lot of time ruminating onthese things, Thera was rather bored at the time, having nothing really to do. Jean, Rebecca, Martha and Nessa did all the chores, includinggetting her dressed in frilly laced dresses.They even took up the entire morning, one day, just dressing her up in different outfits: something that Thera considered a complete waste of time. But despite her frustrations, Thera still appreciated the love and affection given her by her family.


    Upon occasion, Thera indulged in daydreaming about her family¡¯s reaction when she finally revealed the results of her training.


    Papa¡¯s eyes would get as big as saucers, and his mouth would drop open. Mama would have the most wonderful smile on her face. And then Margie would grab Mama and Papa¡¯s hands and we¡¯d dance around in a circle and sing and laugh and celebrate for a week.


    You may think this a strange thing for a former adult to think, but having never advanced past trying to get ¡®mother¡¯s smile¡¯ Thera was still a clueless idiot in terms of family.


    Then she shook her head. No good! She needed to focus if she wanted to do this correctly. It would not do to get distracted in the middle.


    She closed her eyes and focused inwards upon herself, imagining the energy that she would put into exhausting herself crawling and climbing stairs. She found it easier to imagine it as a kind of sparkly, colored liquid.


    Then she imagined she could see that energy. It was there, within her. Most of it was focused around the muscles and the organs. She willed that energy to cover and condense itself within her bones.


    It moved sluggishly, surrounding the bones and melting into them, like fat melting in a frying pan. Thera felt a tingling feeling throughout her body, as she continued to move that energy into her bones. As soon as most of the energy had done so, Thera, exhausted, decided to take the nap that she was supposed to be taking.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera slowly awoke to the voices of her parents near her crib.


    ¡°Ku-ku-ku~ Look, Honey! She¡¯s sleeping like a baby~!¡± (Papa)


    ¡°You silly-she is a baby.¡± (Mama)


    ¡°And there¡¯s nothing wrong with that~.¡±(Papa)


    ¡°Muu...I¡¯m a bit concerned, though. She¡¯s been asleep all day. Won¡¯t that mean that she won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight?¡± (Mama)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let it bother you. Children her age are supposed to sleep a lot. It¡¯s part of their growing cycle.¡± (Papa)


    Thera frowned. Can¡¯t you go into a different room and discuss this? Let the sleeping babe sleep, after all! And Papa, since when are you an expert on children¡¯s growth cycles? But they continued to talk, despite her mental Tsukkomis.


    ¡°Haaa¡­.and I was hoping to see Little Thera¡¯s smiling face before I left.¡± Papa said in a somewhat dejected tone. The conversation had become serious.


    ¡°How long will you be gone?¡± Mama asked.


    ¡°It could be anywhere from three months to six years. Depending on what we find in that mountain range.¡± He said in a grim tone. The rustle of paper clued Thera in to the letter in his hands.


    ¡°The farmers have said that the local wildlife had started fleeing into populated areas. It would be good if this could be resolved as soon as possible. But¡­.Dragon¡¯s Breath! Why did this have to happen now!?¡±


    Mother¡¯s calm voice of reason replied. ¡°It¡¯s better that it did not happen five months ago. Besides, if there is something dangerous in the mountain range who better to deal with it among the exploration team than you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the entire problem. There¡¯s no one aside from me. At this time, most of the experts are busy with other important duties. I heard even Master Thales is away on diplomatic business for the king. I¡¯m worried.¡±


    ¡°Then go as quickly as possible, and resolve the matter swiftly. Even if you take six years, you can return in time to help Thera cultivate.¡±


    He became silent, struggling with something he was thinking about. Then he whispered. ¡°But six years is so long¡­will she still remember me?¡±


    If Thera¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t closed, she would have rolled her eyes. Who could forget such a suffocating and talkative person? But, well¡­since he is going to be gone for a while, I should give him some encouragement.


    Thera opened her eyes, and started sitting up.


    ¡°Oh? Thera, are you awake now?¡± Sir Maverick asked.


    Thera looked at them both, and then stretched out her hands towards her father. ¡°Pa..pa.¡± They both paused for a second.


    ¡°Did you hear what I heard?¡± Father asked Mother.


    ¡°Mm¡­ I think so.¡±


    ¡°She said ¡®Papa¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°That is what I heard.¡± Came the reply.


    Then he grabbed Thera and lifted her out of the crib, twirling her around. ¡°You said papa, didn¡¯t you! That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right! I¡¯m your Papa!¡± He hugged her to himself, emotionally.


    Thera bore his outpouring of emotion, face expressionless as he rubbed cheeks with her, then whirled her around. By the time he stopped whirling her around, he had started to cry. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave now!¡±


    Mother grabbed a rather dizzy Thera out of his arms. ¡°You can¡¯t disobey the king! Rather, do this for Thera¡¯s sake. Whatever¡¯s enough to scare the wildlife is enough to be a major threat to her safety¡­ Thera will be here when you get back. But only you can make sure that the area is safe.¡±


    He lingered, looking at Thera. Thera took a moment, trying to ignore the whirling ceiling, and looked at him. Then she raised a closed fist in his direction. ¡°DAH!¡±


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    This finally seemed to strengthen his resolve. He sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes. ¡°Okay, Thera! Your super *sniff* amazing dad is going to go save the kingdom and become even more impressive!¡± He blew his nose on a handkerchief, and straightened up, a more determined look in his eyes.


    Once he had his act together, he really did look more impressive. Perhaps this was what everyone else saw when he was made a lesser noble. Thera had only mostly seen his ¡®spoil-the-youngest¡¯ mode.


    He kissed Mother on the cheek and left the room to make preparations to leave.


    Mother sighed and sat down on the bed, Thera in her arms. ¡°I said all that¡­ but after all¡­it¡¯s going to be a lot quieter from now on¡­¡± She said, looking forlorn.


    Thera gazed up at her face. She didn¡¯t like to see her so sad. ¡°Ma-manma?¡± She said, unsure how to help. Helen smiled cheerfully, but there was still a tinge of worry in her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Thera. Let¡¯s hope he returns soon, okay?¡±


    Thera inwardly agreed, if only for mother¡¯s smile.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    But the weeks went by, and Sir Maverick did not return home.


    Every day at nap time, Thera focused inwards, melting the energy into her bones.


    After about three months, Thera noticed that it was getting easier to condense the energy into her bones, which made everything much quicker. Soon, she was doing it twice a day: at nap time, and at bed time- after the light was blown out.


    Shortly before her first birthday, though, Thera discovered something that she had never encountered before.


    One day, Margie was watching Thera while Mother went to the marketplace. This was the first time she was doing this, since all the house servants had gone out to help Mother bring the goods back home.


    Margie watched as Mother and the servants left the house. Once she was sure that they were truly gone, she picked Thera up and brought her to Margie¡¯s bedroom, looking like she was trying to be sneaky about something.


    What is she trying to do? Thera watched her, puzzled.


    Margie shut the door, tight, then set Thera down on the bed, and sat down next to her, smiling down at her.


    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t tell Mommy, okay, Thera?¡± She said, putting her forefinger to her lips. ¡°Of course, you can''t really speak well just yet, but I know that you can understand me. This is going to be our little secret~!You¡¯re the first one I¡¯m going to show this to, until I can get better at using it.¡±


    Margie had a gleam in her eye. It was the same gleam that Thera had seen in the eyes of many an otaku. It was the same look they''d get before launching into lengthy details about their favorite Marin-ch*n or P*kemon character. Thera mentally prepared herself for a long talk.


    But, oddly, Margie said nothing. She sat there on the bed in a meditation pose with her eyes closed. Then, she opened her eyes, muttered a few words, and held her hand out. A ball of flame danced upon it, cheerily.


    ¡°This is about as much as I can control without it going wild, but I can see that that¡¯s still quite impressive enough for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± She chuckled as Thera¡¯s eyes grew wide, staring at the ball of flames.


    ¡°But¡­still, it¡¯s nothing compared to mother¡¯s healing magic.¡± She sighed, dreamily.


    ¡°It was two years before you were born; there was an outbreak of Thratpox in the kingdom. Mother had everyone who had it, or who had had any contact with them, brought to a huge square, then she stood on top of a house and created a healing area a mile wide! It gave me happy shudders just watching it!


    ¡°After that, I begged Mama to teach me how to do magic, and she gave me this book.¡± Margie tapped a large, thick tome that was as big as Thera was if she could stand up. ¡°I can do a few other spells, like [WindWhirl] and [LightBall], but I can¡¯t control them half as well as this one, here.¡±


    Margie babbled on and on about Magic, pointing out phrases in the tome that she had placed open her bed, until even Thera had a pretty good idea of how it worked.


    While Thera was listened, she was thinking. Is everyone in this family so ridiculously talkative and willing to give out all of their secrets to a mere toddler? I fear for the future of this family. Oh, wait¡­I am the future of this family¡­ Thera wasn¡¯t quite sure how to accept that.


    It seemed that, just as following the path of martial spirit leads to a better understanding of the physical world, following the path of magic lead to a better understanding of the spiritual world.


    Just as the martial artists had ten classes, each with ten ranks within them, so too, Magicians had a ranking system of a similar structure.


    Their ranking system had different titles, though: Student, Novice, Apprentice, Craftsman, Journeyman, Master, Mage, Arch Mage, Mage Elder, and Magi.


    Since Margie had broken through to the level where she could actually practice spells, she was now a first-rank novice. Thera surmised that Maggie must have studied furiously to get to this point. If she were not fueled by her circumstance-induced zeal for magic, she would not have advanced to the second class so quickly.


    Each new rank required further study and practice. Furthermore, only from the Master¡¯s class was one considered a true practitioner of magic. Being deeply interested in the subject, Thera listened to Margie as she explained everything that she knew.


    While listening, Thera remembered something one of her esteemed masters in her previous life had said.


    ¡°Matter or the spirit: which is more important?¡±


    She had answered ¡°Spirit.¡±


    But he had shaken his head.


    ¡°Nay, for a spirit without a body to follow it can do nothing. It is naught but a wandering ghost.¡±


    ¡°Then, matter.¡±


    Still he shook his head. ¡°Still, I say, no. The body can do naught without a spirit to guide it. It is nothing but a rotting corpse without the soul.¡±


    At this, Briar was very confused.


    ¡°Then, what was the purpose of your question? You negate the very answers you provided.¡±


    He grinned, wryly.


    ¡°Mankind was not made for one to act without the other, but for both to be used in unity. Like a kingdom, the spirit must rule over the body, and the body must support it from beneath as a solid foundation supports the roof of the house. Only then can the true potential of mankind be reached.¡±


    Thera then thought If martial practitioners enhance and perfect the physical, and magic enhances and perfects the spiritual, then I wonder what would happen if someone used both together¡­Interesting.


    From then on, Thera resolved to also study magic.


    When Mother arrived home, Thera had already had the basics of magic poured into her head by Margie¡¯s zealous preaching. She takes after her father, that one. Thera observed as Margie once more receded into her usual, less talkative attitude.


    But, every now and then, when their eyes would meet, Margie would wink at Thera, a sly smile on her face. Thera played dumb and pretended not to see it, reminded of a certain absent individual.


    Her first birthday came and went, with a small sponge cake topped with strawberries and cream for celebration. A gift arrived a week afterwards, sent from Father. It was a large, colorful, beautifully-painted picture book. It had detailed illustrations with the words for them underneath their images.


    Thera didn¡¯t really need it, since she knew the language and the alphabet was the same as that of her previous world. But, she used it to show her Mother that she was starting to learn how to read. She didn¡¯t really have to hide the fact that she already knew the language, but she didn¡¯t want to worry Mother any more, now that Father was away fighting whatever monsters had gathered together in the kingdom.


    Soon, Thera¡¯s legs had become developed enough that she could trundle about the house on two legs, instead of all fours. Now she could more freely go about the house. She hadn¡¯t been outside, yet, though. She wasn¡¯t allowed. Even so, she did her exercises, and her bone-energy condensation every day.


    And then Mother discovered Margie¡¯s magic talent when she caught her practicing her fireballs late at night. Margie was soon sent off to a magic school. Margie could have been taught at home, but Mother was worried that the magic practice would end up destroying the house. It hadn¡¯t been built for magic practice.


    Furthermore, there was still Thera to watch out for. Now that she could walk, what would happen if she trundled into the middle of magic practice? What if she got hurt? It was better for Margie to learn in a magic school. Magic schools had charms and barriers to prevent such things from happening.


    Margie was reluctant to leave home, but the idea of learning more magic to be like Mother also made her excited as she headed off towards the school, accidentally leaving behind her large tome for Thera to peruse at her leisure, in her haste to leave¡­or maybe it was on purpose¡­Thera really couldn¡¯t tell with Margie.


    ¡­Come to think of it, before she turned to leave, Margie had given Thera an awfully suspicious-looking wink. Perhaps it was on purpose after all?


    But now that Margie was gone, the house seemed far too large for just Thera, her mom, and the servants. And Mother was always busy in the study, taking over the house business while Father was away. Cook and the servants were polite, but they didn¡¯t want Thera to be under their feet in the work area.


    So, Thera trained herself, to pass the time. Thera added leg exercises like squats and stairclimbing to her routine. She also used one of the large, empty storerooms as a kind of gymnasium and began jogging to build her stamina.


    In the morning, she did physical exercises, and, after her nap. In the afternoon she read from Margie¡¯s tome, learning about magic. She also began sneaking books from the study to read about other things. This continued until she was four years old.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 4: Practice, Practice, Practice

    Thera was busy condensing energy into her bones, like always, when suddenly the fizzing feeling in her bones became a boiling feeling. Her bones felt hot, painfully hot. Thera bit her lip to keep from making a sound as she continued to focus her gaze inwards.


    Her entire skeleton had started to glow. It became brighter and brighter until Sora¡¯s outward body started letting off a reddish-orange glow through her skin. It hurt to the point that Sora¡¯s lip bled-she was biting so hard.


    Then, after what seemed the longest time, but was really only five or ten minutes, the glow slowly went out, and the pain receded as well. Using her inner sight, Sora was shocked to see that her bones had become clear, like glass.


    Thera stared for a long while, confused, but then remembered what her father had said. So this is the rumored diamond stage? Interesting~. Oddly, her teeth remained white, even though the rest of her bones were clear.


    Thera didn¡¯t really mind it, as it helped to keep her advancement a secret.


    As she had started training since she was three months old, she quickly managed to accomplish this feat three years before the age of training, and had broken the record by an insurmountable margin.


    Since everyone began training at the age of six or seven, and it took nine years minimum to break through,


    Thera had broken through a good twelve years before anyone else, with a monstrous speed.


    Now the youngest practitioner to accomplish diamond bones, Thera had broken through to first level, Green class.


    Incidentally, developing inner sight and being able to freely control inner energy were the corresponding breakthroughs for white and yellow, which were considered beginner classes. But now that she had entered green class, she had graduated from being a beginner, since green class was the point from which one could learn martial arts.


    Since the level of a martial practitioner could not be seen from the outside, without a measuring tool, no one would know that Thera was a Green class unless they fought with her, or saw her rank when she was measured for martial spirit level, which began as early as age six for nobles.


    Thera was still below ten years old, and her martial spirit capacity had grown at an incredible rate to the point where she had condensed nine years¡¯ worth of cultivation into a paltry four years. Moreover, it had shown no signs of slowing down.


    Thus, Thera had a monstrous martial spirit capacity, which sped up her training, which in turn increased her spirit capacity even more, in an ongoing outward spiral even the peak martial practitioners did not have as great a martial spirit capacity as she had.


    It was all due to Thera¡¯s memories from her previous world, and her daily persistence that she had accomplished such a thing.


    Of course, the significance of what happened had mostly escaped her. She was indeed pleased at having achieved diamond bone stage, for, now she could safely practice on her own without worrying about broken bones.


    But the fact that she had a capacity so large that her progress was accelerated by over 200% those of others had completely escaped her.


    ----------------------------


    Mother mended her split lip later, when Thera came to her tearfully, explaining she had fallen down.


    After that, Thera began getting up early in the morning, before Mother and the others were awake, and started practicing her previous life¡¯s martial arts she knew in secret. She also carried a bag around with her that was filled with books. Not only did it help her to train her endurance, she could sometimes double up her training by read a book in one hand while doing something else, like one-handed push-ups.


    Since no one knew she could now read even the difficult words, she camouflaged it by pretending to play as a kind of librarian messenger-postman. Whether there actually was such a thing as a librarian messenger-postman was unimportant. Children often try to mash things together when they play pretend, and it was quite an effective camouflage at making the rest pay no mind to her and her bag of books.


    ¡°How can you have so many bruises on you?! Do you dump your book bag over your head?¡± Helen, her mother, clucked at her as she healed Thera¡¯s mysterious bruises that kept appearing every few days. Thera shook her head, quiet.


    The house is not big enough for her to play in anymore. Her mother thought to herself as she watched Thera wander off again. It would be better to give her a play area away from any sharp corners or rock floors. Her eyes lit up as she went to go find James the gardener.


    ---------------------------------------


    A few weeks after that, Thera was brought outside to see what Mother had made for her. She had collaborated together with the gardener and had grown a huge dome made of bamboo, which had woven itself together under mother¡¯s magic, and the gardener¡¯s instructions.


    Thera stared at it, admiringly. This kind of creation required not only skill, but a well thought out plan.


    It even had windows strategically placed high up, and a rather large hole in the ceiling, so that it wouldn¡¯t be dark inside the dome. But, she could see that they had gotten rather carried away, for the dome was the size of a large barn.


    ¡°Do you like it Thera? From now on, when you want to play, one of the servants will bring you here and you can enter. You can play in there all that you want, but if you need to get out, you¡¯ll have to call for the servant again, because the entrance is enchanted so that only those whom I designate can open it.¡±


    Thera nodded enthusiastically. It really was the perfect thing for her. She could practice her martial arts and magic in here all that she wanted.


    She waited with impatient anticipation as her mother opened the door for her. Where they stood, it seemed as if there was no way to enter it. Then Mother placed her hand upon the wall and muttered something. The bamboo unraveled to reveal a fat teardrop-shaped entrance. Thera went inside and looked around.


    The ground had been combed thoroughly, and there was not a trace of any kind of stone or sharp sticks. Soft mosses and gentle grasses had been grown over the combed ground. Tiny beds of edible flowers had been planted around the edge of the enclosure. Mother had been thorough in her desire to not deprive Thera, but to also keep her safe.


    Thera ran around the whole dome, twirling and jumping and skipping. Her mother watched. It is as I thought. The house was too cramped for her. At her age, she should be outside more often. If only Maverick were here to take care of the estate, I would be able to watch her more. Her eyes followed Thera¡¯s gleeful bounding.


    Sir Maverick had not returned in the four years he had been gone. She still received a stack of letters from him every month or so, but still¡­Helen found that she had less and less time to spend with Thera as she dealt with the affairs of the knight¡¯s estate.


    She could find someone to do the work for her, but Sir Maverick had always taken care of the estate himself.


    He didn¡¯t trust any of the accountants that other nobles had recommended to him, since the people they recommended were often spies, or financial saboteurs. Sir Maverick had become tired of dealing with them.


    The last one had been an assassin, which he had swiftly dispatched.


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    It was hard to find accountants that were not allied to a particular noble or house in this world.


    When Thera returned to the entrance, she hugged her mother. ¡°I love it, Mama! Thank you soo much!¡±


    Helen smiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome~ I¡¯ll leave you here for a while to play, then. Mama¡¯s got some more paperwork to finish before supper. Remember to call Jean or Martha if you want to come out.¡±


    Thera nodded. ¡°Mm! I will!¡±


    After Helen closed the opening and left, Thera explored every nook and cranny, then she started her training.


    -----------------------------------------


    After two hours of hard physical exercises, Thera lay down in the center of the space and sighed, satisfied. It had been hard, but she could visibly see herself making progress in speed and stamina. This time, she was able to go for ten extra minutes before she had to rest.


    She stared through half-lidded eyes up at the blue sky through the bamboo-fringed hole in the ceiling. A single white puffy cloud made its way slowly across the opening. Once it had disappeared beyond the edge of the circle, Thera sat up, still feeling a bit tired, but what she would be doing didn¡¯t require much motion, so it was fine.


    While martial practitioners trained their eyes inwards, magicians trained their eyes outwards, and soaked up the mana from the surrounding areas, collecting it in a spiritual organ in the dantian region of the body.


    Strangely enough, no matter how much mana one absorbed, the organ itself would never expand. It was like a bottomless bag, except that only a certain amount of mana was allowed through the entrance.


    But, in the same way that martial practitioners changed how much they could absorb through continued meditation and absorption during their early years, so too magicians could increase how much mana they could absorb and use if they meditated during their early years.


    The only difference was in the meditation pose. While, for martial practitioners, the meditation pose didn¡¯t really matter, Magicians¡¯ palms faced upwards towards the sky and the surrounding mana. The mana was drawn in through their hands, up through the arms, down through the magic median vessels, and into the dantian, where it was absorbed.


    Thera was in the magician¡¯s pose, palms facing upwards as she concentrated outwards towards mana, which she could see as flitting specks of light surrounding her in the air, like dust motes in the sunlight.


    With her mind, she opened her spiritual organ. Like a vacuum, the nearby floating specks were sucked into it. When the organ was filled, it closed, allowing the remaining specks to dissipate in the large area.


    Thera concentrated. She stretched out her hand, and with a flick of her wrist, a four-fold barrier spread out from her until it fitted itself to the inside of the dome. This was the first thing Thera had learned to make.


    Unlike Maggie, who work only on the things which were easiest to her, Thera had worked diligently only on barriers until she could make this perfectly.


    The first layer was a physical one; it blocked any forces within it from escaping outside of it.


    The second layer was a sound barrier; it prevented any noise from being release outside of it.


    This was mainly how Thera was able to practice in a storeroom early in the morning without waking anyone up.


    The third layer was an illusion barrier. It filtered out all signs of magic being used.


    And the last barrier was a watered-down version of a time-altering barrier This made it so that the amount of time spent inside the barrier was two times as fast as that outside the barrier. That being said, it did not accelerate Thera¡¯s physical growth. It only accelerated her perception of time, and reflexes.


    Moreover, these were all one way barriers. They didn¡¯t allow certain things out, but anything could come in. The barriers themselves were all standard ones, but Thera had figured out how to make it so that the one-sided barriers were reversed.


    Only after she had mastered making and maintaining the barriers to the point where she reached the [No Chant] level, did she attempt to practice any other kind of magic. And the time barrier had been the trickiest to learn.


    Anyone who merely looked inside would only see a little girl dancing a weird dance and making gestures, and would think of it as a mere game of pretend.


    But, what Thera did not realize, was that-even though barrier magic could be used throughout all of the classes after novice class, only someone of journeyman class should have been able to cast even a watered-down version of a time-changing barrier, as it required a large amount of mana.


    The fact that Thera could create and maintain a barrier of that size for so long showed how great a mana capacity she had.


    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t mana capacity alone which raised ranks. Magic practitioner ranking depended upon one¡¯s understanding of the elements and spells which one used.


    You didn¡¯t have to understand every single last spell that was in your class. But the spells you did know had to reach a certain level of proficiency before you could advance. Thus, there were many who only focused upon spells in a single element, such as fire, or water. These were known as elemental magicians, and leveled up faster than others.


    However, most magicians agreed that it was better to have a more balanced variation of spells.


    Mana capacity did aid you in understanding your spells quicker though. For example, think of someone who had a capacity of ten units as opposed to someone who had a capacity of one hundred units.


    If each practiced a spell that used one unit of mana, the first one could only practice the spell ten times before he would have to rest and meditate to regain the lost mana, while the second could continue practicing the spell uninterruptedly, gaining ten times more proficiency in the skill than the first.


    Or, the second one could economize and practice ten different spells that each used one unit of mana. While he wouldn¡¯t have any more proficiency than the one who only had a capacity of ten units in the particular spell that they both practiced, he would have nine other spells that the first one didn¡¯t have.


    In this way, you can see how great an aid a larger mana capacity was.


    After magic practice, Thera would dispel the first three of the four barriers, and take out the books in her bag to read. She read many different kinds of books, learning geography, herbology, astronomy, history, currency, zoology, etc. The estate¡¯s books were her teachers.


    As for family time, even though Thera hardly saw her mother any other time, they still had meals together, and mother would listen to Thera talk about what everyone perceived to be a simple story-the kind that children tell about their imaginary friends, or their amazing feats.


    Thus, even when Thera told Mother Helen that she was able to do big magic, Helen had only smiled and said,


    "That''s nice dear, now eat your food."


    In this way, Thera often spent all of her time in the play area.


    ___________________________________________________________________

 Chapter 5: First Meetings

    A few months later, Helen went on a visit to the Murlough¡¯s estate with Thera. The carriage bumped along the road and Thera gazed eagerly outside, drinking in the unfamiliar sights. She had been dressed in her best, with her hair curled and tied up in a bow.


    Helen was watching Thera. Thera was almost five years old. Soon she wouldn¡¯t have much time to play, yet she had live all her life sheltered and boxed up in the estate, without as much as a single friend to play with.


    When Helen had made the play area for Thera, she had realized this and made plans with her good friend, Sarah Murlough, to plan a play date between their daughters.


    Many letters had gone back and forth in between the two estates these past few months, until finally it was decided. Thera would come with Helen on a visit.


    Even though the two estates bordered each other, it still took an hour¡¯s ride to reach the front gates. The Murlough estate was twice as large as the Rose estate. Instead of a manor house, there was a huge mansion with twenty maids to keep it clean, a whole kitchen full of master cooks, and two butlers besides, to serve the family.


    Thera said nothing. She just followed her mother, observing everything. A pretty lady, with auburn hair swept into the latest fashionable loose bun and wearing a pastel blue dress that almost seemed to float about her, came out at the entrance to meet them.


    ¡°Helen, dear, it has been such a long time!¡± She hugged Mother elegantly.


    ¡°Hello, Sarah.¡± Helen replied. ¡°How have you been? Are Frederick and the children all right?¡±


    ¡°Oh we¡¯re fine darling, we¡¯re all perfectly fine. In fact, we¡¯re so fine that it¡¯s been dull around here all week, what with Frederick gone on the king¡¯s business and all.¡±


    Lady Sara saw Thera over Helen¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve brought you¡¯re daughter with you. Lovely! Do come in, both of you, you¡¯re just in time for tea.¡± She ushered them both inside the mansion, bringing them to the parlor balcony.


    The ¡®tea¡¯ table was more like a buffet table; it was so loaded with sweets and food that there was hardly enough room for the tea and the teacups. Lady Sara and Helen sat down in two very comfortable-looking cushioned chairs.


    ¡°Now,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Come here, my girl and let me take a look at you.¡± She gestured to Thera.


    Thera looked at Mother, who nodded in encouragement. Then Thera came and stood within an arm¡¯s length of Lady Sara, who promptly grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around in a circle, examining her with blue-grey eyes the color of the sea.


    ¡°Yes¡­I see. You look just like your mother did at your age. Except her hair was a bit darker than yours, but that¡¯s probably your father in you.¡±


    She let go of Thera.


    ¡°Do help yourself to some tea and cake, darling! My own child should be along in a minute or two. I tell you, I turned my back and she dumped the inkpot all over her new dress-¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t dump it! It fell on me!¡± proclaimed a rather cross-looking girl with bright red hair that drifted about her head in loose waves, as she glowered from the parlor door. ¡°Mama, you should stop exaggerating everything I do. It really is quite rude you know, for a young lady.¡±


    Spotting Thera, she paused and looked her over. Thera glanced at her once, taking inher red hair and piercing sky-blue eyes, and then turned her attention back to the tea and cakes. They looked positively scrumptious. Her mother had already taken a slice of Gendhalt(their version of German) style Chocolate cake and was beginning to eat it, ignoring them as she concentrated on the flavor.


    ¡°Laura! We were just talking about you. Come here, child.¡± Lady Sarah held her arms out to Laura, who stamped her foot.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to. Not when I¡¯ve been so insulted!¡± She scowled.


    Thera, deciding it was all right, had picked out a slice of sponge cake with custard filling, covered in cream, and with a strawberry on the top. She began eating it as she watched the two go back and forth.


    Then she noticed that she had accidentally grabbed the fork for Laura¡¯s table setting. Well, it didn¡¯t really matter who used which fork, so she just replaced it with the one on her setting which she hadn¡¯t used. Satisfied, Thera went back to eating cake.


    Finally, after her second slice, she broke in between the two and asked Laura,


    ¡°Laura, there¡¯s only one slice of strawberry sponge cake left. Do you want it? Also, how do you do? My name is Thera.¡± She said as she held out the slice of cake on a plate.


    ¡°Hmmph. Yes, I DO want the sponge cake, please.¡± She took the plate from Thera and sat next to her, on the side farthest from her mother. By doing so, Laura made it clear that she was still very much cross with Mrs. Murlough.


    ¡°As you can see, I am Laura Murlough, although mother¡¯s already told you as much, I¡¯d expect.¡± As Laura bit into her cake, her expression loosened as she fully enjoyed the sweet sensation. She busied herself with eating, while Lady Sara and Lady Helen chattered about the latest news over the girls¡¯ heads.


    Instead of cake, Thera decided to try some scones with clotted cream. Delicious! The food here was good enough for a fancy restaurant. She happily ate them as she sipped her tea.


    Food aside, Laura was quite curious about her visitor. She kept asking many questions in between bites of cake and sips of tea.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame, though, really. I just got that dress at the dressmakers, Harriets, yesterday, and for it to be so ruined even before I¡¯ve had a proper chance to wear it- Have you been there?


    ¡°Well no-¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a shame. They¡¯ve got such a lot of beautiful gowns. But mama has already spent her apportioned amount on clothes for the week, so we can¡¯t get it replaced for a while yet. How old are you right now?


    ¡°Four.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m five. That means that I¡¯ll be ahead of you by an entire year of cultivation, in the future. If you ever need someone to turn to, you can just ask onee-san here.¡± She said so proudly.


    Not really¡­In terms of cultivation I¡¯m already seven years ahead. Thera thought, feeling rather awkward, but since she was keeping it a secret, she decided not to quarrel about small matters.


    ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± Thera replied, trying not to sound amused.


    ¡°I have a pet kitten! Do you have a pet animal?¡± Laura had switched gears. Thera was momentarily confused, but realized that normal children had really short attention spans.


    ¡°Ah, no-we don¡¯t.¡±


    Laura looked at Thera eyes shining expectantly for a few moments until Thera realized.


    ¡°Would you like to show me your pet kitten, please? I¡¯ve only seen them in books.¡± Thera asked, wondering if she had got it right.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask! Follow me!¡± Laura got down from her chair and curtsied to her mother and Lady Helen before leading Thera-who hastily copied Laura¡¯s curtsy- out of the room.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lady Sarah and Lady Helen glanced at each other and smiled, knowingly. It seemed their little scheme was a success.


    Thera¡¯s POV:


    ¡°Her name is Sarhan; it means ¡®sleeping forest covered in snow¡¯. Mama said that if I take good care of her, then maybe when I¡¯m older, I can contract her to become my familiar.¡±


    Ah, a familiar was it? I remember reading about that sort of custom in sister¡¯s tome. Families of the more prestigious ranks of nobility would sometimes gift their noble youths with rare animals.


    Those animals which grew up alongside the children would then be contracted as familiars. It was quite an old system. But that means that the Murloughs are more prestigious than I thought. Not that I have any usurious intentions, or anything.


    Laura led me into a huge room. Too large! I will never get used to how the nobles enjoy rooms with ceilings higher than a two-story house. Oh, and now she¡¯s showing me her kitten.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..TOO CUTE! It¡¯s like a Siberian tiger-no wait, it¡¯s too small to be that. It¡¯s like a grey tabby that accidentally got thrown in with the whites. There¡¯s just black and white striped markings; not a speck of grey to be seen. It also has sky-blue eyes. Oh man, it¡¯s so fluffy! I want to hold it!


    Ah, bad! I just let everything show on my face, didn¡¯t I? What should I do? Laura has a smug look on her face.


    ¡°She¡¯s cute isn¡¯t she? She¡¯s so fluffy you want to hold her and pet her all day long, right?¡±


    Geh! How did she know? Is she a mind reader? I could feel my face grow hot as I admitted.


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    She giggled. ¡°Then, here! You can hold her for a little bit.¡±


    She picked the kitten up out of its padded basket, and placed her in my arms. But as soon as Laura let go, the kitten dug her claws in, and climbed up onto my shoulder.


    ¡°Ow! Hey-OW!¡±


    It balanced easily on my shoulder, and refused to come down.


    Laura giggled again.


    ¡°She likes doing that a lot.¡±


    The little fluff ball had claws after all, huh. I reached my hand up to pet it, but it batted my hand away with its paw. So it wanted to play, did it?


    ¡°¡­Hey, Laura, do you happen to have a rather large feather I could use?¡±


    ¡°What? Hmmm¡­ oh! I do have one! It fell of one of my old hats, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to throw it out. It came from a fenril bird, after all.¡±


    Ah, a fenril bird, I see. As I recall, those birds live deep in the forest and have brilliant blue feathers. (imagine a completely blue peacock).


    ¡°Here it is, but what are you going to do with it?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Watch.¡±


    I made sure that the kitten could see it, then I used small jumping motions, back and forth. The cat¡¯s eyes opened wide, following it with interest. It leaned forward, trying to snag the bright flashing thing on its claws. It tipped over, and fell into my arm. Success~!


    ¡°Ah, I see! She wants to play right now! But, how did you know that, Thera? I thought you said you didn¡¯t have any pets?¡±


    Uh-oh. I need a good answer for this one. I can¡¯t just tell her that I used to play with alley cats in my previous life, can I?


    ¡°Of course we didn¡¯t. But that didn¡¯t stop me from reading about them. I even read several books on the subject, but I never had the nerve to ask mother for one.¡± I managed to bluff my way through it, somehow.


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why! But still, you¡¯re pretty good for it being your first time holding a cat. Most four year olds would just grab her around her waist and let her hind feet hang down, But you hold her like you¡¯ve done this before.¡±


    And you¡¯re too observant for a five year old! I wanted to yell a tsukommi.


    ¡°Well¡­I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m used to holding books.¡±


    ¡°Hah? What has that got to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°A lot!¡± I insisted. ¡°If you grab a big book around its middle, then it will most definitely slip down and fall on your toes! I got used to holding the books from the bottom so that they don¡¯t slip, so I just did what felt best, and this was it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why.¡± It seems I satisfied Laura¡¯s curiosity for the time being. Whew! But still, for her to be that shrewd¡­I¡¯m going to have to be careful around this one.


    Then she winked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll just bet that Mother¡¯s talking to Mrs. Maverick right now, trying to convince her to get you a pet since it¡¯s ¡®all the rage among fashionable noble society these days¡¯, as she would put it.¡±


    Surprisingly, I could imagine that happening with perfect clarity. I looked down at Sarhan. ¡°Oh I do wish it were true!¡± I whispered.


    Laura smiled. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t we go check? Here, I¡¯ll put Sarhan back in her basket. You know, I think that you¡¯d be a better cat owner than I am given time.¡±


    It¡¯s because I was single in my last world, wasn¡¯t it? Somehow, I started feeling belittled, or laughed down at by someone somewhere.


    I mentally sent ninja throwing stars aimed straight for the head of that person, somewhere.


    Oh great. Now my imagination is getting the better of me, I just know it. Let¡¯s just stick to reality, ne?


    Laura lifted Sarhan into the basket once more, then tied the fenril feather to a piece of string and tied it onto the basket so that it would dangle and sway in the breeze coming through the muslin on the window screen.


    She grabbed my hand and motioned for me to be quiet as we stalked down the hall towards the parlor. I used the ninja walk that I knew so well, erasing all sounds of my feet. But I made sure to stay behind Laura, or else she might suspect something again.


    When we reached the door, Laura looked through one of the keyholes in the double doors, and motioned me to look through the other one.


    While I could read lips if I wanted to, I wanted to try something out.


    I slowed my breathing and concentrated my martial spirit to my ears, temporarily, not forcing it to mesh with them, but holding it there, as a kind of enhancer. I had learned this from one of father¡¯s technique books.


    While Laura was screwing up her face trying to hear, I could hear every single thing they were saying. I could even hear the slight clink of the forks on the plates as they placed their plates aside and began to talk.


    ------------------------------------------

 Chapter 6: Aquired-Gluttony and Golden Eyes

    ¡°You know,¡± Sarah said as she placed aside her cake, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let Thera stay with us for a few months? She would have a playmate here, and plenty of good food and people to look out for her. And you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything. You could just enjoy some nice quiet time to yourself.¡±


    Helen smiled, weakly. ¡°And take my last family member away from me? You¡¯d make me unfit to work a single speck of magic, for missing her so. It¡¯s already too empty over there without Maverick and Margie. I couldn¡¯t bear not having Thera, too!¡± Thera was secretly pleased at that.


    ¡°Then, Oh!¡± Sarah smiled secretively as she presented her real agenda. ¡°What do you think about this: since today, Thera came with you to our estate, how about we pay you a visit at your estate. We¡¯ll have visits every weekend visiting each other. Oh it¡¯ll be such grand fun! Do let us return you the favor of visiting!¡±


    Helen blinked, then said, ¡°Sarah, you conniving cat! Of course that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do!¡±


    The two little girls suddenly heard someone clear their throat behind them. Thera had somewhat heard him coming, but pretended that she didn¡¯t to keep low-key.


    Laura jumped three feet high. It was a wonder that she didn¡¯t squeal. They turned around.


    One of the butlers was standing there, holding a silver platter with what appeared to be a white envelope peeking over the edge.


    ¡°Another one of your games, Miss Laura?¡± He asked, bemused.


    Laura¡¯s replied with a flushed face. ¡°As a matter of fact, yes! It was a wonderful game! We were on a secret mission to learn the plans of the two army generals-until you had to come along and ruin it.¡±


    I watched her, with a wide-eyed mask of shock. Busted. He can totally tell you were lying, you know.


    He once more cleared his throat. ¡°Very well, young miss. Would you like for me to bring you into the very thick of it? You can hear them much better if you were to join the meeting, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Laura¡¯s face was serious. ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not just going to turn us over once we enter?¡±


    The butler raised an eyebrow. ¡°Then, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll just have to trust me. I can give you no further proof than that.¡±


    And with that, he knocked on the door, waited a moment, then opened it, twisting elegantly around and holding the door open so that Laura and Thera could come in after him.


    ¡°Miss Laura Murlough, and Miss Thera of Rose Manor.¡± He announced. ¡°And a letter from Master Ferdinand as well.¡±


    ¡°Why thank you. You may leave it here.¡± Sarah replied. The butler placed the silver tray on the small table next to Sarah¡¯s seat, and left, winking at the girls on his way out.


    What a nice butler. Thera thought as Sarah ushered them closer. Helen noticed Thera¡¯s hair ribbon had been clawed out of place and had her sit on her lap to reposition it while Sarah talked.


    ¡°Laura dear, why don¡¯t you come away from around Helen¡¯s chair? Oh well. Anyways, guess what we were talking about earlier?¡±


    Thera and Laura looked at each other, and for once they were in perfect agreement.


    ¡°¡°You were talking about getting me/Thera a kitten!¡±¡±


    They both said, even though Thera knew that wasn¡¯t the case at all. But still, it was grand fun.


    Sarah smiled. ¡°No, not really, although, that is a good topic for another time. Perhaps when our own kitten has kittens of her own?¡± She shared a glance with Helen. Thera turned around to look at her.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Helen said, neither confirming nor denying the possibility.


    ¡°Oh well. Anyways, we were talking about Sarah coming over next Sunday to see Thera¡¯s place! Won¡¯t that be fun?¡±


    ¡°Can I bring my kitten?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Certainly! Just because there aren¡¯t any pets in the house doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t like animals.¡± Helen replied, warmly. ¡°If your mother approves, of course.¡± She glanced over at Sarah, a wry smile on her lips.


    ¡°Oh can I, mother? Can I? Please?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Oh, all right. But be sure to keep her in her basket until you¡¯re in a room withal the doors shut. It would not be a good thing to lose her at a friend¡¯s house.¡± She warned.


    ¡°Oh hurray! I get to see your place this time! You must show me everything!¡±


    Laura jumped as she grabbed Thera and danced her around, which was more whirling and twirling than anything else. Thera went along with it to humor her. Thera was twirled dizzy and breathless by the time Laura was done.


    ¡°When will the ceiling stop spinning?¡± Thera asked, placing a hand on her forehead to ease the discomforting feeling. Sarah and Helen chuckled.


    ¡°All right, Thera, it¡¯s time we were going.¡± Helen laughed. ¡°We need to start preparing for her visit on Sunday, right?¡± Helen then thought of all the paperwork involved and sighed a bit.


    Thera nodded,¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be! How do you raise your children, Helen? So nice and polite, a perfect little angel she is.¡± Sarah said, half in praise. The other half was aimed so that Laura could hear it and perhaps reflect upon her behavior before guests.


    Thera turned to look at her. ¡°Not at all, Mrs. Murlough: If I were an angel, I could fly. But I can¡¯t fly, so I¡¯m not an angel.¡±


    They all laughed at that, not realizing that Thera had maneuvered her escape from being set up as a standard of excellence. Angels were far more honest that Thera was, anyways.


    Oh well. It was best to keep things simple, so that people don¡¯t start asking a bunch of questions: questions that would lead to troubled expressions and worried looks.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Over the week, everyone was in a flurry preparing for the visit. Thera got a small table and a little tea set for her play area, along with two small chairs and a swing wide enough for two, so that they were ready for when Laura came.


    The cook was baking the most delicious-smelling things. Thera went out to the play-area so that she wouldn¡¯t be pulled over to the kitchen by the smell alone.


    In her play area, she could make a barrier to filter out smells, so that it wasn¡¯t so unbearable.


    Friday came soon. The visit was one day away. Yet, Thera felt unnecessarily groggy and light-headed. She thought it would just go away if she did some exercises. So she went out to the play area for a bit.


    After two or three hours, though, she collapsed with a fever. Martha found her like that a few minutes later, when she came to bring Thera in to dinner. She quickly picked up the shivering, burning child and ran into the house.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Thera only remembered things being black with bits of color jumping out at odd intervals, and voices muttering and moaning in a strange, excited way, like there was a crowd behind the voices, which amplified the words that echoed in her head. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying.


    It was cold, unbearably cold, but her limbs felt hot, hotter than the fresh tea that the cook, Ruth, would make. And yet, it still felt cold.


    In one of her more lucid moments, she remembered hearing, ¡°How? Why did you have to go and get sick with a magic-resistant illness? I can¡¯t bear to lose you now!¡±


    She reached out a hand for the voice, which seemed so familiar, but soon drifted back into the dark-cloaked menagerie of dreaming that the fever had brought on, where nothing made sense anymore.


    For days she slipped in and out of that dark uneasy sleep, asking for water to quench her parched throat, yet shuddering at the drink. It felt as cold as ice in her mouth, sending shivers down her spine again.


    She barely ate anything those days, hardly even swallowing the soup that the people tried to help her drink.


    Her throat hurt, her head hurt. Her body burned and froze. Her ears tickled with a fiendish prickle to them.


    If a doctor had been called for, Thera didn¡¯t remember his face, or anything about him, she was so taken with fever. She only knew that they tried to make her swallow a bitter herb every time she asked for something to drink.


    After feeling that she did not burn or freeze quite as much afterwards, she always took the stuff, nasty though it was.


    After who-knew-how-many days, Thera sat up and blinked at the room, groggy, with a throbbing headache, but sufficiently conscious.


    ¡°When¡¯s breakfast?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    Rebecca, who had been keeping watch, stared at Thera for a few moments. Then she jumped up and ran out into the hallway. The little miss was awake!


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Mother Helen hurried into the room to Thera¡¯s side, taking her in with her gaze: the paled cheeks, sleep-blurred eyes, and thinned arms.


    ¡°Mama? When¡¯s breakfast? I¡¯m kind of hungry right now.¡± Thera asked.


    Then Hellen collapsed on the bed, holding Thera close to her as she rocked back and forth.


    ¡°Mama?¡± Thera asked. Then heard Helen¡¯s breathing heave as she began to cry.


    ¡°I was so scared that I¡¯d lose you¡­ but it¡¯s over, now¡­Oh, Thank God! Thank God! You¡¯re alive!¡± She sobbed while repeating the words over and over.


    When she had cried it all out, Thera patted her hand.


    ¡°What is it, Thera?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Mama, I¡¯m hungry. When¡¯s breakfast?¡± Thera asked again. Helen laughed, relieved.


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera found out she had been out sick for sixty-seven days with a magic-resistant illness. Helen was still unsure how Thera had caught, much less, survived such a thing. Thera was quite unsure too.


    As things had stood, the Murloughs had been sent an urgent message telling them not to come, as there was an illness in the house. But, even so, the Murloughs had been gracious enough to send over their personal doctor to see if anything could be done.


    After examination, however, he could do nothing but give them something to bring down the fever. The fight itself had been left up to Thera.


    Thera surmised that she may have won because of her high level of martial spirit. Since the bones were diamond, they could not be taken over or weakened by something with such a weak attack, and she had somehow outlasted the life of the illness.


    However, it was not without consequence. Since Thera could not eat during her fever, her original healthy appearance had wasted away until one could see the ribs through her now pale skin.


    The most drastic change was to her eyes. Originally, they were a dreamy shade of sea-green. But now, they were a distinctly golden shade that almost seemed to shine in shadowed areas. After mother consulted the doctor, she was relieved when he told her that this was a positive sign that the illness had run its course.


    Thera also felt positive about her new eye color. Well, sure, it gave her a somewhat exotic look, but that wasn''t the point!


    Thera could see things farther away, and in much clearer detail than she had before she was caught ill.


    But something that vexed Thera to no end was that, even though she ate everything she was given, she was still very hungry afterwards, Thera was only allowed to have soup and water until they were sure she could take solid foods again. She was also not allowed to get up out of bed.


    Thera bore it for about two days before she went to the kitchen after cook had gone to bed. Keeping as quiet as possible, she ransacked the pantry of its breads, cheeses, various fruits, dried meats, pastries, cookies, scones, and a small crock of clotted cream.


    It was a rather heavy load of food, but Thera patiently bore it as she thought of the feast she would have in her room.


    Back inside her room, she commenced eating. When she was full, she looked at the tray still piled high with lots of food, puzzled. She was sure she had been hungry enough to eat everything earlier. Yet here was a huge pile still remaining.


    On a whim, she focused inwards and noticed that practically every corner was near filled with the sparkling blue color she knew to be martial spirit energy. Since she had missed practice for two months, she figured she might as well make up for lost time.


    She began integrating that energy into her tendons. It took scarcely five minutes to finish. She ended feeling not tired at all and¡­.somehow hungry again?


    Thera shrugged it away. If she was hungry, she would eat. And so she did. When she was finished, she had a thought, and once more focused inwards. The energy was there again, all sparkly blue, except this time, there was a definite current. It was flowing out of the stomach area.


    Ah, so that¡¯s why. Thera thought. Since I absorbed the energy I would¡¯ve gotten from the food, I became hungry again. She eyed the still large pile of food, now certain of a way to finish it.


    And so, she took three whole hours eating food, absorbing it, and then eating more food until the tray was completely empty. She left the tray, the empty crock, and a few crumbs on a side table to make it obvious that she was the culprit. And, with that, she fell asleep.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 7: A New Old Classic

    Warning: this chapter will make you very hungry. Read at your own risk~.


    In the morning, Ruth the cook shrieked when she saw the state of the pantry. A quick look told her how much had been taken. She was certain that it must¡¯ve been a thief, since no one could have eaten that much food by themselves. (Author: Lol. Normally, yes.)


    Everyone came to see what was the matter, and they too were stumped by the amount of missing food.


    ¡°If only there were some sort of trail!¡± Ruth wailed. ¡°Why, I¡¯d beat the red-handed blighter me-self! Those scones were fer brekkist¡­Now, I¡¯ll need Jean ta help me to make some toast while I cook some eggs up. Nessa, dear, see if the hens laid some eggs this morning, I¡¯m a bit short today.¡±


    Ruth put aside the problem of the missing food while she was busy slicing onions, bell peppers, cheese(which had escaped the pantry raid), and some rather fat-looking mushrooms into thin strips to make an egg scramble.


    It was Martha¡¯s duty to check in on the little miss, this morning. So Martha excused herself from the kitchen and went to Thera¡¯s room. Martha slowly eased the handle and opened the door silently to look in on Thera.


    She was still fast asleep. Good. Martha¡¯s eyes then fell upon the telltale tray with the crock placed upon it. She looked at it, sucked in a breath, and then looked back at Thera.


    A thought made her quickly draw near to the bed and check on her. She was breathing the soft shallow relaxed way that sleeping people always did.


    Martha studied her form, and couldn¡¯t decide whether to laugh or to sigh in relief.


    It was most definitely Thera, but not the illness-thin, pale Thera of yesterday. No, this was the rosy-cheeked, natural-sized Thera that everyone had known before the illness. There was not a rib to be seen through her clothing or skin.


    She smiled. This would be a good thing to show the others. Silently, she picked up the tray and the crock and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. She returned to the kitchen.


    ¡°Oh wonderful, I was looking for that-¡± Ruth started to say, but upon closer examination, she noticed the evidences. ¡°Martha.¡± She said quietly, ¡°Where did ye get that tray?¡±


    Everyone stopped. Although the cook¡¯s words remained pleasant, they had the hottest fires of hell and the coldest fires that ever burned in a blizzard behind them.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯ll follow me, I¡¯ll show you where it came from.¡± Martha set the tray down on the counter. The cook, having just finished breakfast, was just prancing to go.


    ¡°Follow ye?  Sure an I¡¯ll follow ye! Lead on, Martha! I¡¯ll follow.¡±


    Not only Martha followed, the maids also wanted to see where the food ha gone. Finally, Martha stopped in front of Thera¡¯s slightly opened door.


    ¡°What¡¯re ye on about, girl? Tha¡¯s only the lil¡¯uns room. I¡¯m here ta find tha thief!¡± The cook, Ruth whispered, puzzled.


    ¡°If only you¡¯d look at her, you would realize where every shred of stolen bread, scone, pastry, and cheese went.¡± Martha replied in a whisper, putting her finger to her mouth to motion to be quiet. They all crowded into the bedroom, silently, to look.


    After looking for a long while the maids left one by one, until only Ruth remained. She turned to Martha, eyes¡¯ shining with tears ready to fall. She motioned for them both to go outside. Martha shut the door.


    ¡°An you say ¡®twas my food that did this?¡± She asked, her voice hoarse.


    ¡°It could be none other. The tray was sitting by the bed as evidence when I came in earlier.¡± Martha replied.


    She nodded, then turned her head to look at the door, throat working for a bit. ¡°If¡¯n my food is what did this, I don¡¯t care if¡¯n she had ate the pantry clean.¡± She said, finally. ¡°I¡¯d best be gettin¡¯ back to me kitchen. I¡¯ll need ta make sure there¡¯s lot¡¯s fer her ta eat when she wakes.¡± Then she grinned and, turning, walked down the hallway, cheerily humming a tune.


    Martha smiled. Now to show the mistress.


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    Thera awoke to a cool hand brushing against her forehead, and her eyes fluttered open. It was Mother Helen, caressing her head.


    ¡°Good morning~.¡± She happily mumbled, and closed her eyes, feeling the caress trail down to her cheeks. It tickled.


    ¡°Good morning, Thera. Martha here has just finished telling me a very interesting story. Would you like to hear it?¡± Her hand started back up at the forehead and, this time, trained down the bridge of the nose to its tip.


    ¡°Mmmm. Whas Intrestin?¡± Thera asked lazily, too comfortable to even want to move.


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    Helen smiled at the picture of health lying there on the bed.


    ¡°Well,¡± She began softly her voice as gentle as the stars, ¡°This morning, Ruth and the girls found that someone had come in the night and seemingly magicked away most of the food in the pantry.¡±


    At this point, Thera had awoken sufficiently to remember what had happened last night, and Helen could feel her stiffen under her palm, then relax. Thera figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to tell the truth.


    ¡°Oh, that? That was me.¡± She looked up at Helen, smiling an angelic smile. ¡°I was awful hungry, so I went and ate as much as I could.¡±


    Helen raised an eyebrow. ¡°But this was enough food for twenty full-grown adults to eat. Are you sure you ate that much?¡±


    ¡°Uhuh!¡± Thera nodded. ¡°I ate thiiis much!¡± She spread her arms out wide. ¡°All of my favorites-well, the ones that can keep a while, anyways. I had bread and cheese and dried beef and fruit and lots of scones with cream. I used the scones to scoop the cream out. Then I had the pastries and cookies for desert and I finished it all up with a big cucumber.¡± Thera stayed in her four-year old role as she told the tale.


    ¡°A cucumber, huh?¡± Helen smiled. ¡°I see. But how did you manage to eat all of that without your stomach bursting with all the food?¡±


    Thera giggled. ¡°Cuz I was so hungry that it was gone as soon as I ate it!¡± She replied. It was true, but Thera didn¡¯t say that it was because she had consciously absorbed the energy.


    Helen looked a bit puzzled, but then sighed and gave up. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really know how it happened. But, honestly, I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m just glad that you¡¯re recovered and alive.¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Oh, Thera? After eating all that food, do you think you¡¯d possibly be hungry for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Am I ever!¡± Thera said enthusiastically. She quickly hopped out of bed to get dressed.


    ¡°Drat these buttons! Martha, come and help me, please! Hurry or breakfast will be cold!¡±


    Helen laughed and left them to their work, going ahead of them.


    At the breakfast table, there was egg scramble with fried vegetables and toast, and then the cook placed a tray of a huge stack of something that Thera recognized immediately. ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to bake ¡®em.¡± Ruth said.


    ¡°So I thought maybe it would be quicker to fry them instead. It looks like I went a bit overboard, though. This here is an intuition piece. Me and the girls have already tried it, and they think it¡¯s nice. I made this to celebrate Thera¡¯s ¡®Gettin-well¡¯ day.¡±


    ¡°Why thank you, Ruth, they smell positively wonderful! What are you going to call them?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Well-¡± She started.


    ¡°PANCAKES!¡± Thera interrupted.


    ¡°I was thinkin-¡±She started again.


    ¡°PANCAKES.¡± Thera interrupted again.


    ¡°That mebbe-¡± Ruth was looking at Thera who was now staring at Ruth, silently pressuring her to adopt the name.


    ¡°We could¡­call it pancakes, ma¡¯am.¡± Ruth gave in, grinning at the name.


    ¡°Indeed? Well, let¡¯s try it, then!¡± Helen and afterwards Thera began eating. Halfway through a pancake, Thera stopped eating.


    ¡°Wha¡¯s wrong?¡± The cook asked, wringing her hands.


    ¡°You ask what¡¯s wrong¡­¡± Thera said slowly. ¡°The thing itself is perfectly fine, but¡­I get the feeling that this would go really well with some butter and sweet stuff, like fruits and creams and stuff.¡±


    No, she didn¡¯t suddenly ¡®get¡¯ the feeling. She knew it would taste good with such things. She was just trying to give the cook a hint towards its improvement.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Helen tasted her pancake. ¡°She¡¯s right, Ruth. It¡¯s a perfectly marvelous creation, but it seems a bit bland by itself, perhaps if we add some butter and jam?¡± She suggested. Martha was at her elbow with the suggested condiments within moments.


    Thera accepted the suggestion. Maybe later she could tell the cook how to make crepes so that she could make a crepe cake, later. Thera remembered having a crepe cake in her previous life, the night before she died.


    With whipped cream between every one of the 100 layers, and a generous drizzle of chocolate-raspberry sauce: it had been the best cake Briar had ever tasted.


    Now that she was Thera, it would be such a shame to never taste it again¡­

 Chapter 8: Lauras visit (1)

    Later on that week, after it had been confirmed that Thera was completely recovered, and not contagious, Laura came to visit, a basket under her arm.


    As soon as Laura entered the room, she rushed to Thera and gave her a big, long hug.


    ¡°Thank God, you¡¯re back among the living!¡± She cried.


    Thera awkwardly patted her on the back. ¡°It¡¯s good to be back¡­I think.¡±


    Laura laughed, and drew back, looking at Thera. ¡°You know, I thought you¡¯d look deathly pale by now, and you¡¯d be so thin that your ribs would show through your dress. But here you are, looking the very picture of health!¡±


    Thera showed herself. ¡°Well, here I am? Why¡¯d you think it was something like that?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what they all look like, after catching the sickness. It wastes them away to little more than skin and bones. Most die because they can¡¯t eat anything for two whole weeks. Are you sure you were sick not five days ago?¡±


    Are you sure you¡¯re just a six year old? You shouldn¡¯t even want to know things like that right now! Thera thought.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask your doctor, then? He¡¯s the one that examined me.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve already heard it from him. That¡¯s how I knew what to expect.¡± Laura said impatiently.


    ¡°Really? Then why don¡¯t you tell me what happened instead? I feel the only one left out of the loop.¡± Thera asked. She didn¡¯t recall any of it, and the mother and the maids scarcely told her much of what happened while she was ill. Laura launched into a dramatic narrative.


    The doctor didn¡¯t even need to examine Thera. Once he saw the symptoms and heard that healing magic didn¡¯t work on it, he pronounced that Thera had come down with a mortal case of Hades fever.


    Mother had all but thrown him out of the house in grief, where he betook himself to retreat to the Murlough Estate and give warning.


    Knowing how long it takes for the illness to show up, Mrs. Murlough knew that Thera had caught it on their estate, and the whole place, top to bottom, was examined with magic lenses built to catch traces of such things.


    ¡°It was surely quite suspenseful!¡± Laura added. ¡°A whole army of magic sweepers came in, looking at things with their magic lenses. Really, it was quite exciting!¡± Thera had a different idea of what Laura called ¡®exciting¡¯.


    The culprit was eventually found: the cake fork which Thera had used. A pair of gloves and a vial in the garbage also turned up positive for the stuff. After a fuller investigation, it was apparent that Laura had been the main target.


    When Thera had gone to eat the cake, she had accidentally taken the fork from Laura¡¯s place setting, only later discovering her own and making the switch. If Laura had used that fork, she would most positively be dead right now, no question.


    So, you could say that Thera¡¯s misfortune ended up being fortunate after all. Her blunder had saved the life of the Murlough Estate young lady.


    But, in the end, who could want to have Laura catch a near-mortal illness? This was currently under secret investigation, but it seemed like there were no ready answers so far.


    ¡°Now why aren¡¯t you skinny as a twig right now?¡± Laura asked,interestedly.


    Thera laughed. ¡°Why, because I became a pig~! Only for a short term, though.¡± And she told Laura all that happened, minus the part where she used meditation to absorb the food as energy.


    ¡°I get the feeling there¡¯s something you¡¯re not telling me¡­but it seems to be the case. Your maid, Martha was telling us in the hallway just now about the pantry thief.¡±


    Then, why did you want to ask me about it!? Thera wanted to tsukkomi. But she didn¡¯t. She sipped at her tea and replied, ¡°Oh yes. It¡¯s such a dreadful business, what with starving people and looking for food thieves.¡±


    Laura giggled. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were funny! Just think how much fun we¡¯re going to have today! What is that big dome in the garden for, by the way? We saw it from the drive. It¡¯s most impressive! Is it perhaps, for your mother to practice magic inside of?¡±


    Thera smiled, wryly. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then, is it some sort of fancy domed off garden, or maze?¡± (Laura)


    ¡°Nope.¡± (Thera)


    ¡°Is it a kind of living storehouse for rare and costly goods?¡±(Laura)


    ¡°Yet again, no. Stop asking. A surprise is meant to stay a surprise until it is time to surprise.¡± Thera tired of the impromptu guessing game, refused to answer.


    ¡°Oh bosh! You¡¯ve no need to be all mysterious on me, come on! Tell me what it is¡­please!? I¡¯m dying of curiosity!¡± Laura pleaded.


    ¡°Curiosity killed the cat.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°I BEG your pardon!¡± Laura said, shocked, and drew her basket, kitten inside, close to herself.


    ¡°It¡¯s a saying.¡± Thera explained. ¡°It means that sometimes it¡¯s better not to be so curious. You may not like what you find out.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s a horrid saying! Don¡¯t ever use it again!¡± Laura frowned. Thera just shrugged. It didn¡¯t really matter to her either way.


    Thera glanced at the basket, and fidgeted. ¡°Did you bring Sarhan?¡± She asked, looking at the basket, pointedly.


    Laura¡¯s face took on a mystifying grin. ¡°Hu hu hu! Wouldn¡¯t you like to know?¡± Just then, Sarhan stuck her head out of the basket, and mewed, ruining Laura¡¯s fabricated mystery.


    ¡°Oh, so you did bring her! Can I hold her again?¡± Thera begged.


    ¡°All right, but we must keep the door shut while she¡¯s out of the basket. Look at this! She was playing with the feather the whole way up here, and was only quiet until now because she was taking a little nap, see? She often takes naps. I wonder if it¡¯s because she¡¯s still a kitten.¡±


    Laura chatted as she placed the kitten on the bed, in Thera¡¯s lap.


    The kitten stared about the unfamiliar room, wide-eyed, and curious. It tried to peer at everything around Thera¡¯s arms. Thera let it look, but didn¡¯t let it leave her arms.


    It was much larger than it had been the last time Thera had held it. While it had been a cute little fluff ball, earlier, now it was longer, sleeker, and just beginning to awaken its curious, roaming nature.


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    Thera stroked Sarhan¡¯s tiny pink nose with a finger, then tickled it behind the ear. It leaned into her hand. She petted Sarhan in the manner she remembered the cats in her previous life liked to be petted. By the time she was finished, Sarhan was purring with contentment.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Laura asked. ¡°She usually doesn¡¯t purr for me unless I play with her, or feed her milk.¡±


    Thera smiled, a small troubled smile. ¡°I was just petting her. How should I know?¡±


    Just then, Jean came in and said that the tea was ready. Sarhan was once more placed inside her wicker basket. Then Jean led them to the tea.


    Instead of the dining room, however, Jean led the two girls down the garden path to the bamboo play area.


    Thera watched as Laura¡¯s eyes grew wide with delight when Jean opened the doorway to get inside. Her face became bright with a huge grin as she looked upon the new tea set, furnished with small cakes, scones, and cucumber sandwiches.


    The tea was in a magic teapot that kept the tea nice and hot, so that it would not cool until it was served.


    Then her point of view broadened as she took in the swing, and the newest addition of a play structure for the kitten, complete with downy white chicken feathers, set up at intervals.


    ¡°It should be safe to let Sarhan roam about here.¡± Thera explained. ¡°Mother has it magicked so that small animals can neither come in, nor go out except through the door.¡±


    Laura immediately set the basket down on the grass, and unlatched the basket to let Sarhan out.


    Sarhan jumped out of the basket, and immediately commenced to checking out every tiny blade of grass and flower in her vicinity.


    Mother had also added a few catnip plants here and there, as was suggested by James, the gardener.


    The two girls gravitated towards the tea, with its cakes, scones, and sandwiches. Thera poured the tea.


    ¡°Cream? Sugar?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Both, please. And put an extra lump in it. I like my tea a bit sweeter than usual.¡±


    Thera placed the desired amounts within the tea, and handed Laura her cup before pouring her own. Now, having settled down on a comfortable chair, with a cup of tea in her hands, Thera was free to muse by her-self in the nice atmosphere. There was a long pause as both the young girls sipped tea and enjoyed the breeze blowing through the bamboo walls.


    ¡°Laura, what do you want to be when you grow up?¡± She asked suddenly, breaking the silence.


    Laura looked at Thera, mildly surprised. ¡°Hmm? Well¡­I don¡¯t really know what I want to be, yet. All I know is that I want to be strong: really strong.¡± She said, then took another sip of tea.


    ¡°Do you want to know my secret?¡± Thera asked. ¡°The reason why I survived?¡± She was watching Laura¡¯s face, studying her.


    ¡°Well, I sure am curious, all right, but if you aren¡¯t willing to tell me, then I don¡¯t want to hear a bit of it.¡± She replied, sincerely. ¡°It could very well be that you aren¡¯t allowed to tell your secret to anyone. Most of the other nobles all have their own secrets too. I want you to tell me when you¡¯re sure you can trust me.¡±


    Thera hesitated. She had no intention of revealing that she was from another world. But someone had tried to assassinate Laura. Chances were, most likely, that it would happen again. Thera didn¡¯t want Laura to die. So she was contemplating telling Laura how to cultivate. Even a year ahead in cultivation would give her the edge that she needed to survive.


    Thera sipped her tea for another minute, then placed her cup down on the tea table. ¡°The truth is,¡± She said, ¡°I¡¯ve already begun cultivating.¡±


    Laura stared, wide-eyed at Thera, nearly choking on her cake. ¡°Already?!¡±


    Thera nodded. ¡°Yes. I think that perhaps it¡¯s because I had cultivated enough that I survived the Hades fever.¡±


    ¡°Who taught you?! When? How? Will you teach me?!¡± Laura launched yet another barrage of questions at Thera, making her raise her arms in defense.


    ¡°I learned it from watching my dad.¡± She said. ¡°Although he doesn¡¯t know it yet. You¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve told this to, okay? So, please don¡¯t mention it around mother or the servants.¡±


    Laura nodded.


    ¡°As for teaching¡­¡± Thera said, ¡°Why of course I¡¯ll share. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take for you to understand it, but I¡¯ll try my best!¡±


    And so, Thera spent the next half an hour, trying to explain how to cultivate to a five year old girl in simple terms.


    Laura frowned in concentration, her eyes squeezed shut. ¡°Hmmm. I¡­think I see something! Say, does your energy look like a sparkly liquid?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s what it¡¯s supposed to look like.¡± Thera replied. ¡°Now, try to move it.¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    By the time an hour had passed, Thera had started Laura down the path of cultivation. But, she cautioned Laura not to condense all of the energy into her bones, otherwise she would collapse for an hour or so, until she restored enough energy to move. But, extra foodstuffs like cake or sweets could be treated as extra energy.


    Laura nodded, and promised to cultivate every day.


    ¡°Say, how long have you been doing this, actually?¡± She asked. You¡¯re father¡¯s been gone for four years, right? So, doesn¡¯t that mean that you started all of this four years ago?¡±


    Thera grinned. ¡°Even if I saw what needed to be done, do you think I could so easily do such a thing as a baby? Babies don¡¯t really know anything. But I¡¯m not a baby anymore!¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Laura replied, chagrined. She had been trying to discreetly figure out where Thera¡¯s level was. Thera had deftly sidelined the conversation again.


    Laura pouted. ¡°No fair! You¡¯ve already got yourself a head start! As things stand, you already outrank me!¡±


    Thera blinked. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing too, else I¡¯d have died.¡±


    Laura remembered that Thera had suffered the illness intended for her, and shivered. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not dead, though. Life would be terribly dull without you, you know.¡±


    Thera laughed. ¡°Yes, I know.¡± She replied, a twinkle in her eyes.

 Chapter 9: The Fifth of Matler

    After that, the two became near inseparable during their weekly visits, and would go somewhere alone to talk and Thera would suggest things to do to increase her stamina, like running, climbing, lifting heavy things, etc.


    She took the training game of the messenger-mailman-librarian quite well.


    It was so well-taken, in fact, that other noble children who visited Laura began to play the game as a new fad. This game later sparked the beginnings of the travelling libraries, but that wasn¡¯t to happen for years yet.


    And so, for months after that, Laura carried a pack nearly bursting with books around with her almost everywhere, along with Sarhan in her basket, which now had a kind of wicker grate so that she could see outside, but not leap out of the basket.


    When Thera wasn¡¯t with Laura, she was busy adding new things to her training regimen. She made little targets out of dried grass and hid them all over the area, then practiced her aim by throwing pebbles which she picked up here and there at Laura¡¯s estate, for mother Helen had done a thorough job in getting rid of all the ones in the play area.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Thera woke up that day to Martha shaking her awake. ¡°Wake up Thera~. Do you know what day it is?¡±


    Without moving, Thera replied. ¡°It¡¯s Wednesday, the fifth of Matler, year 1376 since the kingdom¡¯s founding.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Martha prompted.


    ¡° ¡®And¡¯ what?¡± Thera replied. Her eyes were still closed, and she turned so that her back faced Martha. ¡°No earthly reason to wake me up before six o¡¯clock, that¡¯s what. Give me ten more minutes and I¡¯ll consider getting up.¡± She replied grouchily.


    ¡°A shame.¡± Martha said, in a teasing voice. ¡°And we had so much planned for you today~¡±


    Thera sighed and sat up, finally opening her eyes. ¡°What on earth could you possibly have planned so much for? It¡¯s not Laura¡¯s play day today. Is this something mother came up with?¡±


    Martha raised an eyebrow, something which Thera knew to mean she was laughing inside. ¡°Well, I declare! And here I thought that all children keep track. But for you to go and forget your own birthday¡­¡± She trailed off.


    Thera looked blankly for a few moments, then she looked up. ¡°Wait. It¡¯s my birthday? But mine is on--¡± She paused. Oh. Right. She wasn¡¯t Briar anymore, so Briar¡¯s birthday didn¡¯t count. She was Thera, and Thera had a different birthday.¡°¡ªthe fifth of Matler.¡± She ended, sheepishly.


    Martha smiled. ¡°So you do remember~! And, since I¡¯m the first person you saw today, I get to give you my present first~!¡± She drew a brown paper package, tied up with a bit of ribbon, out of her apron pocket and presented it.


    Thera carefully undid the ribbon, and unwrapped the package, trying not to tear the paper. Inside was a small leather-bound book. Thera touched the clasp, which shone blue for a moment. With that, Thera was now acknowledged as the book¡¯s owner. She opened it. It was filled with blank pages numbered according to the month.


    ¡°I heard that all the fashionable ladies have a book they carry around with them to keep track of all the places they have to go during the week.¡± Martha said. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get you jewelry or fancy clothes, but I¡¯ll bet none of those ladies has a proper book that can weather the worst of storms. The book has a spell on it so that once the clasp is shut, no water can get into the pages.¡±


    Thera closed the book, and refastened the clasp. Then she looked up at Martha and smiled. ¡°Thank you Martha! This is the best!¡± And Thera meant it, but not for the reasons Martha thought. There were many uses for a waterproof book.


    With that, she got up out of bed and found a new dress waiting for her. That was Jean¡¯s present.


    Rebecca¡¯s present was a leather waist-belt that already held a small pouch on it. Nessa¡¯s present was a hair clip, sparkly with colored glass gems.


    The cook, Ruth¡¯s present was a small package of home-made sugar candies made into flower shapes, which went straight into Thera¡¯s new belt pouch.


    Then breakfast arrived. It was made up of Thera¡¯s favorite things: scones and pancakes with clotted cream, strawberries, and honey; pastries, fresh fruit, and cold milk.


    Then Margie-who was home, on holiday- gave her present: a magic carrier satchel called a Bottomless Bag. It wasn¡¯t really ¡®bottomless¡¯, but it had a magic spell that increased the storage capacity so that it could hold as much as a house inside of it, without the bag itself getting any bigger. Margie had gotten it from a senior, in return for her help with him on his research.


    Regardless, Thera immediately began carrying it with her, placing Martha¡¯s present inside, so that her hands could be freer. She also noticed that Margie¡¯s magic tome was already placed inside-another gift from Margie.


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    Then, came mother Helen¡¯s gift. Thera didn¡¯t know how mother had found the time for it, but the bamboo dome out in the garden had grown a second story¡ªgraduating from a dome-shape to a gourd shape.


    It now had two large rooms. And there were flowers growing out of wall in the top room. There was a tunnel made in the bamboo wall, with stairs, leading up to the second story. On the whole it was quite impressive.


    Margie was a bit jealous. But this only made her want to study more, so that she could make a structure of her very own, by herself, someday.


    Just after Thera had finished inspecting the second floor, a carriage pulled up to the manor, and out came Mrs. Murlough and Laura. They also came bearing gifts.


    Mrs. Murlough gave Thera a perfectly-crafted hat of the latest fashion, which Thera thought looked ridiculous, but she graciously accepted it, and began wearing it. Well, there was really no reason not to wear it, and she didn¡¯t want to insult Mrs. Murlough.


    Laura¡¯s gift was held behind her back, as she watched, beaming with one of those ¡®guess what my gift is¡¯ looks. But then she revealed it.


    It was a small basket, modeled off the one that Sarhan used whenever she came over. And inside was a kitten.


    It had a white underbelly, white stockings, and a white mouth-with a white stripe running up its nose bridge, beginning from the tiny pink nose. The rest of it was grey with black stripes.  It was the most beautiful kitten that Thera had ever seen.


    ¡°Sarhan¡¯s mother had another litter.¡± She explained.


    Thera cradled the basket in her arms, just looking at it. It was her very first pet. Even in her previous life she hadn¡¯t had a pet due to her mother¡¯s allergies. And after that, when she went travelling, she never really stayed in one place very long, and just never got around to it.


    Thera looked up at Laura, Mrs. Murlough, Margie, and Mother Helen. Her voice couldn¡¯t get past the lump in her throat.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± She finally said, in a shaky voice, as she hugged the basket, close.


    They laughed at Thera¡¯s reaction. Just then, Nessa came outside to call everyone in for tea. On the table was a triple-decker cake, covered in pink sugar roses and cream cheese frosting.


    There was tea, but there was also a large glass pitcher of handmade fruit punch, and a covered wooden pail, with cold air leaking from it which made Thera almost certain that it held ice cream. A small baby bottle with warm milk inside was at Thera¡¯s place setting, so she could feed the kitten.


    From the knowing looks the two mothers gave each other, and the extra place settings for Mrs. Murlough and Laura, Thera knew that they had probably been planning this for weeks.


    She stared at the spread. Then the little kitten began mewing for milk, so she sat down at her place and began feeding the kitten.


    -------------------------------------------


    Thera decided to name her kitten, Yukikage, which meant ¡°snow shadows¡± in Japanese.


    Later that day, after Mrs. Murlough and Laura had gone home, a package arrived by messenger.


    It was from Sir Maverick. Inside was a pair of boots made from dragon leather, and a rather long letter for Thera. Cutting out the mushy parts, it detailed the magic spells that had been placed on those boots: near-indestructible, self-repairing, growth along with the wearer, added speed, and a one-time protection spell that transported the wearer out of danger a safe distance of seven miles away.


    At the end of the letter, he mentioned that the leather had come from a dragon that he had killed, and that, after he made his report to the king, he was finally returning home after five years of fighting the beast.


    Thera didn¡¯t say much, she just handed the letter over to Mother, watching her for a reaction. She was not disappointed, either. For, as soon as she had read it, Helen¡¯s eyes began to tear up, and she hugged Thera to herself as she began to cry in relief.


    Thera decided the best present that day had been that one letter, even though she would never openly admit it.


    --------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 10: Returns

    A week later, Sir Maverick rode up the drive on his horse. As Helen came out to meet him, he dismounted and ran to her, lifting her up and spinning her around, princess style, while she laughed.


    The first words he said were: ¡°I¡¯m home, Helen!¡±


    The next words he said were: ¡°Now, what is that thing you¡¯ve got here in the garden?¡±


    She laughed.


    ¡°That is Thera¡¯s. Why don¡¯t you ask Thera to show it to you later on?¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Margie had already gone back to school, but Sir Maverick found another likely victim when he saw Thera in the hallway. ¡°Theraaaa!¡± He cried, breaking into a run.


    Thera shivered, and turned to look. That one look was enough. She took off running¡­in the opposite direction. She soon speedily rounded a corner, putting the speed spell on her boots to good use.


    ¡°WHYYYYY!?¡± He cried, falling to the floor in defeat. ¡°Thera, don¡¯t you remember me? THERAAA!?¡±


    He asked, reaching his arm out in the direction she had disappeared.


    ¡°Stop being so melodramatic, dear.¡± Helen said, smacking him on the head. ¡°She hasn¡¯t seen you in five years, you know! She¡¯s probably just shy. She¡¯ll come around once you¡¯ve calmed down enough to be nice and quiet.¡±


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Sure enough, once he had calmed down and became quieter, she poked her head around the corner again. She studied him, gauging the closest she could safely get without being crushed to death in a bear hug.


    Now that she had diamond bones, he couldn¡¯t break any of them. But that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t squeeze the breath from her body for so long that she¡¯d die of suffocation. She had seen many small animals meeting such a fate at the hands of unsuspecting toddlers.


    He was now seated at a table, with a mug of hot apple cider in his hand, recounting all that he had been through during the past five years.


    It had been a band of fire dragons that had settled down in the old abandoned mines in the mountains. They had terrorized the surrounding animals so well, that the dragons had to go farther and farther afield in order to get enough food, because dragons need a lot of meat.


    As he talked, Thera got closer and closer until she was also sitting at the table, listening to his story, allowing Sir Maverick to get a good look at her.


    A small frame, with wavy brown curls, she looked a lot like Helen as a child. But, those golden eyes were quite striking. Even though he had heard from Helen about how they changed because of her sickness, he wasn''t prepared for the sharpness of expression they made her seem to have. While Thera sat there, unsmiling, her eyes reminded him of a hawk. Seeing he had her attention, he threw himself into telling his tale.


    First, they had tried making realistic-looking ice sculptures, but the dragons had turned up their noses at them.


    To a fire dragon, ice was a near instantaneous poison. Therefore, something so obvious would surely not go well. Thera was beginning to wonder whether Sir Maverick''s tactician had not had his brain cells frozen in the process of the undertaking.


    After thousands of battles and trying a variety of different plans, they had waited until winter, when the dragons would go into hibernation, in order to survive. Then they had walked straight into each den and chopped their heads off.


    Well, Sir Maverick had chopped their heads off, since he was the only one with sufficient strength to slice clean through the neck.


    He had only kept enough of a dragon to make Thera¡¯s boots, and the heads as proof of subjugation. He then gave the rest to his men, to share. Dragon parts are quite expensive, so each had a rather large sum at the end of five years.


    When Sir Maverick had presented the dragon heads to the king, he had received a rather large reward of seventy thousand gold. Considering that 70 gold is how much the maids and cook make in a year: that was quite a big sum.


    He had been offered an alternative reward of a raise in nobility rank, but he had chosen the gold. Perhaps he abhorred a higher rank of nobility because he dreaded the increased paperwork.


    When he finished, he looked over at Thera, who was immediately on guard again, and sighed.


    ¡°Thera, aren¡¯t you going to say ¡®welcome back¡¯ to me?¡± he asked.


    Thera stayed on the other side of the table. ¡°Welcome back¡­.¡± She said, having no intention of getting closer.


    ¡°What about my welcome back hug?¡± He asked.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°And what do I do if you hug back? Death by suffocation is what¡¯ll happen.¡± She replied, calmly.


    ¡°Well, what if I don¡¯t hug you back? What if I just want your hug?¡± He insisted.


    She tilted her head to the side. ¡°Maaaybe. I wouldn¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know you.¡± Her words cut into him like a knife, but he persisted.


    ¡°You would have known me.¡± He replied. ¡°You would have known me five years, if not for the dragons that kept me away, whose skin you are now wearing in the form of boots. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time we got to know each other?¡±


    Thera sighed. ¡°I guess so¡­¡±


    He opened his arms. ¡°Then, where¡¯s my welcome back hug?¡±


    Thera gave in and gave him a hug, while he resisted the urge to hug her back and squeeze her hard. Helen was right, he sometimes forgot his strength, and could easily cause injuries to someone as young as Thera.


    Having been gone for five years, he had to rebuild a sense of trust between Thera and him. For now, he placed his arms around her carefully, as if he was holding a basket of eggs.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Thera woke next morning to Sir Maverick exercising in the garden. He didn¡¯t exercise quietly, at all. Every swing was accompanied by a ¡°HAAAAA!!!!¡± Or a ¡°DORYAAAAA!!¡± Or something like that.


    Oh, right. He¡¯s back. Who does he think he is? Link? She thought as she looked at him out the window, while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.


    While she had never really been much of a ¡®gamer¡¯, she still knew several of them, in her previous life. She even knew just enough to appreciate jokes based off of them. But, after playing a few videogames, she had lost interest.


    She liked doing things! She liked being, and feeling things: the feel of the wind in her face as she ran, the adrenaline of looking down from high up places, the endurance of trusting her entire weight to her muscles and gripping strength¡ª not sitting around and pressing buttons with her thumbs. That was just a monkey¡¯s game.


    Thera yawned and stretched before hearing a knock at the door. Martha had come to help her get dressed and ready for the day. Thera could do most of it herself, except for the insufferable amount of buttons on the back of her dress.


    There was no such thing as a zipper in this world, after all. But, Thera could have sworn they put on such a large amount of buttons in order to keep children from dressing themselves. Well, at least, for now, she didn¡¯t have to deal with corsets.


    Of course, the celebratory breakfast was pancakes. Sir Maverick was both surprised, and delighted by the new creation.


    ¡°But why call it pancakes? It doesn¡¯t even taste like cake!¡± He said afterwards, confused.


    Thera replied indignantly. ¡°I named it. If you think it doesn¡¯t taste like cake, just you wait! Me and Ruth¡¯ll show you!¡± Her plate had already been emptied of their small stack, along with a large amount of jam and clotted cream.


    And with that, she left the table and went to the kitchen. Of course, she already knew what she would do. She spoke with Ruth, and had her make the pancakes as thin as she could without burning them.


    They made around 100 of these pancakes. Once they had cooled, Thera carefully restacked them, spreading sweetened whipped cream in between each one, until it became high enough. Then, she frosted the whole thing in whipped cream, so that it looked very much like a cake.


    That afternoon, at tea time, Thera instructed Martha to give Sir Maverick the first slice of cake, which she had dribbled with a chocolate-raspberry sauce and a caramel sauce.


    Thera watched as Sir Maverick took a bite. His eyes opened wide.


    ¡°What is this delicious thing?! It¡¯s the best!¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°Heh? You think so, do you?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°I guarantee it.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Do you know what that cake is made of?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Whipped cream and chocolate¡­raspberry¡­.caramel¡­and¡­what is this? This thin flexible wafer-like thing in between?¡± He asked.


    She smiled sweetly and said in a voice dripping with mirth. ¡°That, father, is a pancake.¡±

 Chapter 11: The Strongest of the Generation

    It seems my writing was so well received that I managed to complete another chapter last night. *yawn* instead of sleeping. Well, enjoy the work of my untimely inspirations. </img>


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    The year flew by. Soon enough, it was time for Laura to go and be tested for her martial spirit capacity. Thera was invited to come with them and see for herself. Of course she went along, with Helen and Sir Maverick as well.


    After the measuring, of course, there would be a huge festive celebration using the best products of the district to welcome the new martial practitioners.


    Thera skipped from here to there, followed by her parents. She was curious to see how the children were tested. Of course, she herself was still considered too young. But she was allowed to watch, so that she would know what to expect.


    This was also one of the first times she had gone somewhere other than The Murlough Estate, so she was eagerly looking around wherever they went.


    The cooling fall breeze blew a few red leaves into her hair, which made Helen cluck as she teased them out and straightened Thera¡¯s bow.


    A big building in the center of town with red pillars, a large bronze bell, and a black slated roof had a large crowd around it. The names of all the martial practitioners that came from that town were inscribed within.


    This was the place known as Martial Hall. Thera guessed that it also doubled as a city hall, since the town governor was there.


    All the eligible children formed a line before the front step. Thera watched as Laura lined up at the very end of the line.


    Laura turned around and winked at her, grinning. Thera returned the conspiratory wink with a responding grin. Satisfied, Laura turned around again, after hearing the bell ring.


    The governor gave a speech that Thera only half listened to, because her eyes had been drawn to the man standing behind the governor, with a rather bored look on his face. He even yawned halfway through.


    To most people, he looked completely ordinary, and they ignored him. But to Thera, she noticed the uneasy way that the governor glanced at the man, every so often. Thera surmised that the man was higher in rank than the governor.


    Higher in rank, and yet he did not wear the clothes appropriate to his state. Thera kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to make a move.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thales¡¯s POV


    Thales rolled his eyes as the governor droned on and on. If it hadn¡¯t been for the King¡¯s orders, he wouldn¡¯t even be out here in the middle of nowhere. Yes, the previous official who would measure the children¡¯s levels had oh so conveniently broken a leg, but there were still plenty of others that the king could have dispatched!


    Having just got back from overseas, he had been looking forward to a rest. As it was, he had only just arrived after riding three days and nights.


    He yawned. The King¡¯s intentions couldn¡¯t have been clearer: he wanted Thales to pick a child of considerable talent, and train them with the special arts that he himself had developed.


    However, Thales was unwilling to take on a disciple at this time. He knew quite well, that unless a child had reached the green stage, Thales¡¯s training would do nothing but destroy future talent.


    He closed his eyes, to wait until the dull man was done talking. Yet, right after that, he felt someone¡¯s gaze upon him.


    He opened his eyes partially and slowly looked in the direction of the gaze. It was a child about four or five years old, staring intently at him, with a concentration far above her age level. Even a passing butterfly couldn¡¯t tear her to look away.


    Her unblinking stare reminded him of a kitten.


    He gave a small smile and winked at her, then closed his eyes again, inwardly chuckling.


    Well, well, well! A child with that much perception would most likely grow up to be something interesting~¡­


    Thera blinked and looked away.


    The man¡¯s wink had conveyed four things: that he knew she was watching him; that he knew she was aware to some extent of what he was; that he was asking her to keep his secret until it was time for him to act; and that he was both pleased, and amused at her vigilance.


    Right now, Thera was at ninth level, Green class. She had only a little ways to go before she reached Blue class, perhaps ten days or so. If the man had known that, then he¡¯d probably have fallen out of his seat.


    The governor¡¯s speech ended and the crowd applauded. Thera also clapped her hands, relieved that it was over. Then the testing began.


    Each child walked up the steps, to the man, who had them place their hands upon a blank white slate. Then the slate would light up to greater or lesser degrees of white, and the Man would announce their martial spirit capacity.


    It seemed the average was at around 30 martial spirit units. Not a genius number, but not a weak number either. The highest number was the governor¡¯s son, William, who had a martial spirit capacity of 45 units. The governor beamed at this.


    Finally it was Laura¡¯s turn. She placed her hands on the plate, and it immediately shone like a beacon.


    Everyone shouted in confusion, and had no choice but to close their eyes. Everyone within ten miles could see the light shining from the town. Then the light disappeared.


    The man was staring at the plate in his hands. It had broken. This girl had had such a great martial spirit capacity that she had broken the testing plate.


    He cleared his throat. ¡°It seems that you have a larger capacity than this plate can measure. Would you like to take the martial class test?¡± He pulled out another slate, which had a black border around it this time.


    Laura nodded her head. ¡°Yes, please, sir. I¡¯d like to know what my capacity level is.¡± She extended her hand again.


    Everyone else watched closely as the white light quickly changed to a creamy yellow. ¡°third level, Yellow class.¡± The man said, breaking the silence.


    There was a large intake of breath.


    ¡°Yellow class!¡± ¡°That girl¡¯s at yellow class! And not even the beginning stage! In about twenty years, she¡¯ll be the strongest of this generation!¡± the crowd began to murmur. But what came next caused the crowd to begin speaking loudly.


    The man stood up and nodded. ¡°Very good! What is your name?¡±


    Laura inclined her head. ¡°Laura Murlough.¡±


    He nodded again. ¡°Good, good! Nice to meet you, Laura Murlough. I am Master Thales, otherwise known as the Ranger. I would like to invite you to train under my instructions, seeing that you have the highest capacity of spirit power on the records worldwide. In other words, you are a prodigy.¡± He held out his hand.


    ¡°What did he say!?¡± ¡°Did he just say he was the Ranger?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really him! It¡¯s the Ranger! The strongest man in the kingdom is right here at the Martial Hall!¡±


    Laura¡¯s mind blanked. Then she frowned and muttered to herself. ¡°Wait, wait. If I¡¯m considered a prodigy when I¡¯m only this strong right now, then that person is the prodigy of prodigies!¡± No one but Master Thales caught what she had said.


    Master Thales¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°You mean to say that there is someone with an even greater capacity than you?¡± He asked her, in a voice that only she could hear.


    But, Laura, proud of her friend stood up straighter, and said in a louder voice.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! There is someone who has an even greater spirit capacity than I do. In a year or two you shall see the true person who will be the strongest martial practitioner, no doubt about it! So, if you¡¯re looking for the strongest, then I¡¯m afraid I cannot accept.¡±


    This time, the governor heard her, and was so shocked that he exclaimed. ¡°What? Someone else will be the strongest? How can that be? Who is it?!¡±Then Laura realized that she had said something she shouldn''t have, and covered her mouth, refusing to say any more than that.


    The whole crowd burst into a frenzy of talking then, and the noise was so loud that Master Thale had to retreat inside the hall with Laura to hear her.


    Laura still refused to say anything more, though. Even though she had almost told the secret that Thera had told her, she would not tell anyone Thera''s name. Her loyalty would not let her betray the person who had put so much trust in her.


    Master Thales tapped his chin. ¡°Very well then, I shall not ask any more about that person. About before that, I was asking you to train under me because, out of all the children there, you are the only one ¨Cas of yet-who has the qualifications for it. Well? What do you say?¡±


    Laura hesitated.


    ¡°If that person really will be as strong as you say, then I will invite them to train with us also at a later date. But, for now, you are the only one who qualifies, and I want to train you. Will you accept?¡±


    Laura glanced at her parents who had also come inside the hall, and saw her father vigorously nodding his head up and down.


    ¡°I-I accept, then!¡± She said.


    Master Thales sighed. ¡°Thank goodness! Now go along to the banquet. I have some business to attend to.¡±


    As Laura and her parents came outside, the whole crowd cheered, and the attendants closed in on them to usher them into place for the parade.


    Thera was watching, smiling happily. Laura looked at Thera. If I am this strong now, then you will be as strong as a monster by the time it is your turn. I must train hard if I am going to live up to my promise as your older sister.Laura thought before she was led off through the crowd.


    Then the festivities began with a big parade through the streets to the banquet hall.


    Flower petals were thrown and bells were jingling all through the streets. There was music and dancing and acrobatics all along the way.


    Outside the banquet hall, stalls were set up along the side of the road. Jewelry makers, woodcarvers, and toymakers set up shop there, selling paper fans, masks, jewelry, and many other things along the side.


    Thera thought that the only thing that was missing was cotton candy, but seeing that machinery hadn¡¯t developed very much in this world, there was no helping it.


    The people concentrated merrily upon their merrymaking. But, after that, they often ruminated upon the same question: who was the person that the prodigy could not measure up to? Who would be the strongest of that generation?


    Master Thales looked at the illuminations from the banquet hall glowing despite the darkening sky, thinking for a long time.


    Then, slowly, his face broke out smiling. A prodigy even among prodigies? He couldn¡¯t wait to see...


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Cold though it was outside, the inside of the banquet hall was warm from the heat of coals-still red from baking.


    The walls were lined with stalls selling various cooked harvest foods. There were soups, salads, pastries, pies, candies, meats, fish, cooked vegetables, breads, butters: all sorts of foods.


    In the center of the hall, were large round tables for people to sit around and eat, surrounding a rather hearty bonfire.


    Thera noticed that there was rice, too, which made her smile. Rice¡­a piece of the last place that ever felt like home to her-in her previous life. She cut her reminiscence short, however, since the smells were enticing her.


    Then and there, she made it her duty to sample all of the different kinds of food. But she underestimated how many different kinds there were. In the end, she had to use her energy condensing twelve times before she had come full circle.


    Sir Maverick and Helen had given up after not even a tenth of the way and sat at one of the tables.


    ¡°How can you eat all of that food?¡± Sir Maverick asked, rubbing his bulging stomach. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting fat?¡±


    Thera smiled sweetly and replied. ¡°No more than you are afraid of getting a beer belly.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°Good one! But, you know, I have a second stomach for beer.¡±


    Thera nodded. ¡°Then it seems I have a second stomach too. I must have gotten it from papa. I¡¯m going back for the stuff I really liked now, would you like to come?¡±


    Helen chuckled as Sir Maverick¡¯s face turned a bit green. ¡°Ah, no, that¡¯s okay. Why don¡¯t you take Laura with you? I bet she hasn¡¯t even had a chance to eat anything yet.¡± He pointed at Laura, who was surrounded by people.


    Thera¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Even better! Thanks, father!¡±


    Sir Maverick looked slightly dejected and a bit teary eyed. ¡°Father? What happened to Papa?¡± He sniffed.


    "There, there. Don''t you think Thera''s cute when she tries to be grown up like that?" Helen patted Sir Maverick''s shoulder to comfort him.


    ----------------


    Laura was caught in a web of people asking her questions, offering to show her aroudn the festival, and suck-ups trying to get into her good graces. There were a few of the more sinister type, too, who were looking for an opening to get close so they could harm her.


    Some had not taken Laura''s good fortune well. Williamin particular had looked on with a frustrated gaze when Master Thales had taken Laura for his apprentice. But he couldn''t do anything about how his martial spirit capacity was lower than hers.


    A few of his friends were encouraging him to get close and spill juice all over her dress. If adults had heard them, they would have quickly been hushed. But, being young children who didn''t know any better, they were only fixed on their jealousy.


    Laura didn¡¯t notice, but Thera did. Despite the noise, she could hear their jeering quite clearly. Since she was small, she crawled in between the legs of people. Not only was this to get closer to Laura, but it was also to help her get near the villains unseen. She took out a length of cord from her Magic bag and deftly tied off the feet of those who had evil intentions.


    After crawling through the crowd, Thera popped up right next to Laura and grabbed her hand.


    ¡°Come on, Laura! You promised you¡¯d spend the festival with ME today! We¡¯re going to the sweeets stall~!¡± She said and charged into the crowd, which had no other choice but to let them through.


    Behind them, Thera could hear the cries and curses of the ones whose feet she had tied up. Turning around, Thera saw William trip over his tied shoes, spilling his glass on another boy, which then caused the other to cry out in his misfortune and begin to scold Will.She grinned mischievously as she dragged Laura over to the sweets stall for Laura¡¯s first serving, and her own second serving.


    Thera kept Laura close besides her the whole festival, dodging those who wished her ill, as well as those who were trying to get on Laura''s good side. Since Laura was Thera''s friend, Thera didn''t want her to be involved with those who only sought her for her potential to become powerful. It was rather tiring work. Thera was so tired that she fell asleep on the way home. While her mind was that of an adult, her body was still that of a child, easily exhausted.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the words said by Thales¡¯s new apprentice was spread to every corner of the kingdom, and then on to the neighboring kingdoms. A prodigy among prodigies? Many factions wanted to witness it.


    And so, slowly, but surely, certain key people beganmoving towards the Kingdom of Grayelle.

 Chapter 12: I admit it

    It seems the story is coming along a bit faster than I had expected. Well, it is a pleasant pace. At least I got this one finished before bed time.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Now that Laura was away, training, the visits had ground to a halt. They spoke through letters now.


    But, even those letters only came around once a month, since Laura was training in the vast forests of the Fladian Mountain Range on Grayell¡¯s border.


    Thera wondered what sort of training she was getting, but Laura wrote nothing about it except that Thera would see it for herself in a few years.


    Margie came home for another rare holiday visit, before returning to school with renewed fervor.


    And so, the fall gave way into winter, and the winter into spring. Thera was now a third rank Blue Class.


    Already, her movements were much stronger, and faster than she had been, even in her previous life.


    But, she was not concentrating on making breakthroughs in martial spirit for now. She was busy reading a magic book, while swinging absentmindedly on the swing. Breakthroughs in Martial spirit were easy to acquire, but breakthroughs in magic were less easy to acquire.


    If any martial practitioner had heard her thoughts on the matter, they would have spit blood. Thera''s martial capacity was simply too big.


    In order to breakthrough into the Magic realm, there needed to be a sufficient amount of power, yes; but, even more importantly, you had to understand fully the forces behind the spells before even attempting the spell.


    Thera was stuck at Second Rank, Apprentice level, which frustrated her. Sure, she knew some advanced barrier spells, but the majority of spells in this rank were hard for her to understand. Thera sighed and put her book down, massaging the area around her forehead. This had become insufferably slow.


    Her barrier sounded the alarm, and she placed the book inside her bottomless bag just in time before Martha opened the door. ¡°It¡¯s dinner time, Thera. Time to go now~¡±


    ¡°Okay~¡± She answered in the same sing-song way that Martha had spoken. Maybe she would breakthrough another rank by tomorrow.


    Yukikaze jumped up and draped herself upon Thera¡¯s shoulders. She enjoyed the rides that this slightly smaller human was willing to give her. Already Thera had taken out the ribbon in her hair so that Yukikaze wouldn¡¯t play with it.


    The flowers were all in bloom as they walked to the house. Thera looked towards the drive.


    Soon it will be my sixth birthday¡­I wonder if Laura will come¡­She pondered.


    But she soon left her pondering as she came into the dining room to see two travel-worn, cloaked and hooded people sitting at the table, with their backs to her.


    She tensed up. Yukikaze, feeling Thera tense up, also sent out a hiss towards the intruders, a warning to keep out of the reach of her claws. Yukikaze then jumped off Thera¡¯s shoulders to go eat her dinner.


    Then Thera looked at Helen and Sir Maverick, who were relaxed and smiling, before calming down, and moving to her place on the other side of the table.


    She stared at the two, whose silhouettes seemed familiar to her¡­she recognized the smaller one, first, due to the basket in her arms which held a rather familiar looking white cat with black stripes, who hissed back at Yukikage. Then both cats turned their noses away from each other, huffily.


    ¡°LAURA!¡± She exclaimed, moving around the table to hug her good friend. ¡°And Master Thales, I see.¡± She nodded a greeting towards the taller cloaked figure, who tossed back his hood.


    ¡°So much for a disguise. You saw through is right away!¡± Laura complained.


    ¡°You just be glad I did, or else we aren¡¯t the best of friends that I thought we were!¡± Thera retorted. ¡°Are you back because you finished whatever you were doing in the mountains? How long will you be staying? Oh, have some tea!¡± She babbled, happy at seeing her friend again.


    Laura smiled a small, troubled smile. ¡°We¡¯ll be staying for two weeks. No we didn¡¯t finish. I followed Master Thales here, since there¡¯s something which he wishes to confirm. We should be leaving soon after your birthday, though.¡± She looked a bit guilty about something. ¡°Sorry.¡± She said.


    ¡°Whatever for? If you¡¯re here for my birthday, then that¡¯s all that matters! Are you going to stay at your parents¡¯ estate during your stay?¡± Thera asked, passing her a plate of pastries and another with fried chicken on it.


    Laura shook her head. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m not going home until I am finished with training. And don¡¯t you tell my mother either! I can just imagine her and father making a huge fuss over it, and then I¡¯d not get to leave for a whole month: that¡¯s a whole month I could be training, you know!¡±


    Master Thales chuckled. ¡°Indeed, it seems we¡¯ll have to steer clear of the Murlough estate for our stay.¡± He accepted a cup of tea from Martha.


    ¡°Thank you. So, is there anywhere close by which would have a room for two weary travelers? We¡¯ve already checked the inn, but, surprisingly, it¡¯s full up.¡±


    Sir Maverick shook his head. ¡°Nope. I¡¯m afraid that the inns for several leagues have been filled by a huge influx of tourists. I can¡¯t tell why, though. All I know is that, if you¡¯re looking for a place, then you¡¯re better off staying with us.¡±


    Thera¡¯s eyes brightened as she turned to Sir Maverick. ¡°Really, father? Do you mean it?!¡±


    Looking at Thera, he realized he couldn¡¯t back out now. He thumped his chest. ¡°Of course! Let it never be said that Rose Manor is unhospitable, or that Sir Maverick here goes back on his word. Master Thales can have the guest room, and Laura can share your room with you. You will stay with us, won¡¯t you, Master Thales?¡± He asked.


    ¡°It seems I have no choice¡­¡± He replied, looking at Thera, thoughtfully, a small smile on his face, then he turned to nod his head towards Sir Maverick. ¡°I thank you for your generous offer. We shall accept.¡±


    ¡°Yipee!¡± Thera cried, hugging Laura.


    -------------------------------------------


    The next two weeks passed by in a blur. Every day, Master Thales would ride his horse out of the manor, sometimes arriving late at night. Thera could tell when he got home because of his footsteps in the hallway.


    They weren¡¯t loud at all. Thera just had really good hearing. She doubted if any normal person could hear Master Thales¡¯s footsteps, or even a few martial practitioners.


    By the time Thera¡¯s birthday came around, Margie had also arrive home, elated. Margie was now a fourth rank Craftsman, which meant she finally knew enough to make her own magic items.


    She gave Thera a magic scarf that could change her voice. It was a gag party item, but it was the very first thing that Margie had made. Thera immediately wrapped it around her neck and mouth and said in a spooky voice.


    ¡°Maaargie~MaaarRggie~! I am grateful for you giving me this nice human¡¯s voice. Now I can speak from beyond the grave.¡±


    Margie shuddered. ¡°Stop that!¡± She replied with a frown. ¡°I didn¡¯t give it to you so you could scare the living daylights out of me or Ruth! Now I¡¯m regretting it¡­¡± She looked so bothered by it, that Thera agreed not to use it to play pranks¡­much.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn!¡± Laura said, taking a small packet out of her hands.


    Thera was surprised. ¡°What? You have another present for me? Lucky~! And here I thought your present was just being here!¡± But she accepted the present, nonetheless.


    It was a carved wooden locket on a cord. Thera looked at it, admiring it. ¡°Wooow! It¡¯s beautiful! Where¡¯d you get it?¡± She asked.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.Laura laughed confidently with a look of pride. ¡°I made it. The whole thing! It¡¯s large enough to put a portrait in, and round enough to place a gem or a medicine pill.¡±


    ¡°Eeh? Really?¡± Thera smiled and gave Laura a hug. ¡°Thank you very much! I¡¯ll treasure it!¡±


    At that point, Master Thales walked in, back from his day¡¯s outing. ¡°Eh, what¡¯s this?...Oh, right. It¡¯s your birthday today, right?¡± He said, realizing. ¡°I also have a present for you. I¡¯ll give it to you before the day is over.¡±


    Laura looked absentmindedly at Master Thales, bothered and preoccupied about something.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Laura?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°Eh? Ah, um-it¡¯s nothing, really, I suppose.¡± She replied, then snuck peeks at Master Thales as he walked down the hallway to his room.


    --------------------------------------------------


    It seemed Master Thales had forgotten about her present, for even when the festivities had died down around bed time, he didn¡¯t come out of his room.


    That night, just after Thera had gone to sleep, she awoke to find Laura sneaking out of bed, quietly, trying not to wake her up.


    Thera pretended to be asleep, keeping her breathing soft and even as she watched Laura get into her travel clothes and ease the door open.


    Once Laura was out of the room, Thera sat up, and grabbed a dark-colored dress from under the bed.


    She had hidden away a dress like this out of habit. All the buttons except for the two top ones were buttoned up, so that she could just easily slip it on over her head.


    Grabbing her boots, she was about to sneak after Laura, when she saw her silhouette out the window. She eased open the shutters and put her boots on.


    Then, she vaulted over the windowsill, landing catlike on the soft moss that she had asked the gardener to place there. The moss cushioned her boots so that she made no noise. Then Thera commenced following Laura.


    Laura didn¡¯t go very far. Just to Thera¡¯s bamboo-structure. Surprisingly, the door had been opened. She peeked inside. Laura was heading up to the second story.


    Then Thera stayed quiet for a bit, observing, but she could sense no one¡¯s presence on the first floor. Seeing there was no one there, Thera headed up towards the second floor, stopping before she reached the top of the steps.


    She could hear Laura speaking with someone.


    ¡°But what if she doesn¡¯t come? When I left her, she was still sound asleep, you know!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a very perceptive child. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll make her way here. You left the message, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Thera grinned. Laura was a terrible liar.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to worry about. If she comes, then I win. If she doesn¡¯t, then you win. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is so.¡±


    ¡°Ah, then what is that letter peeking out of your pocket? Isn¡¯t that the one I instructed you to leave with Thera?¡±


    ¡°What! No this, um, I, Uuuuuuu!¡±


    ¡°Trying to make things difficult?¡±


    Thera had already recognized the other person as Master Thales. Figuring Laura was fine, she turned around to leave.


    ¡°Well, never mind then. She¡¯s already here, right, Thera?¡±


    Thera froze, staying quiet. There was no way she would betray her location that easily!


    ¡°Must you make things difficult? You can see everything that happens outside the house from the window, here, you know? Someone sneaking across the lawn isn¡¯t that easy to miss.¡±


    He began walking towards the staircase. Thera jumped up and clung to the woven bamboo branch ceiling, flattening herself against it.


    Master Thales poked his head into the stairwell. ¡°Hmm? Perhaps she¡¯s still on the first floor?¡± He asked.


    His mask of surprise fell, and he frowned.


    No longer playing the fool, he glanceed up at Thera, a sarcastic expression on his face. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d fall for something like that? I¡¯ll give you points for creativity, but get down from there, already.¡±


    Thera landed lightly on the steps, and entered the second floor. A lantern with a weak flame illuminated the room.


    ¡°Sorry. I was caught.¡± She told Laura, who looked exceedingly guilty about something.


    ¡°Well, now that we¡¯re all here, we can start.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°First of all, do you know what I¡¯ve been doing for the past two weeks?¡± Thera shook her head.


    He continued. ¡°I¡¯ve been going to all the families who have children around the age of reason to test their martial spirit capacity because of what your friend, here, said last year. It ended up interesting quite a lot of people-including the king, I might add-as well as many who are not from this country. There were also people bothering Laura too, so that I had to take her into the mountains to throw them off the trail.


    ¡°The news of a prodigy among prodigies is good news for any kingdom that has it, but bad news for any kingdom that doesn¡¯t. If they have their chance, they will either try to snatch the Prodigy away, or destroy them, so that others cannot use such a great power against them."


    Thera nodded. She had already surmised that such a thing would happen.


    ¡°Therefore, the king ordered me to find the prodigy, first, before the ceremony, and hide them far away so that they would not be killed."


    Thera made a slight face. She wanted nothing to do with the government at this moment.


    "Pardon me, but what does all this have to do with me?" Thera asked politely.


    Master Thales smiled. ¡°Laura said that in a few years we¡¯d see a prodigy, which I surmised to mean that the prodigy among prodigies was actually younger than Laura. Couple that together with the fact that she was forever praising you for no reason this whole year, and I managed to piece it together. I told her about my guess a few days ago.¡±


    He paused, and looked pointedly at Laura. ¡°And now the time has come for Laura to give her answer. I made a bet with her. If she won, and you didn¡¯t follow her, then I wouldn¡¯t ask any more about the matter, regardless of my orders. But if I won, and you did follow her, then she would tell me if my guess was true. Well, Laura? Is it true?¡±


    Laura¡¯s face turned red as she looked away.


    "You do realize if I can figure this out, others also can put the pieces together. There are too many vipers out there ready to kill off the talented while they are young. You would do well to consider the future of that person, for their own sake." Master Thales pressed.


    "What would you do if you found them? That prodigy of prodigies, that is." Thera asked.


    Master Thales blinked. "Why, I''d try to recruit them for my apprentice, of course."


    "And if they said no?" Thera asked.


    "What?" Master Thales asked, slightly surprised. As the strongest Black Class in the kingdom, he had never thought of the idea of anyonerefusingto become his apprentice.


    "Well, then I''d try to persuade them, I suppose." Master Thales replied.


    "By using blackmail and forcing it to happen?" Thera asked.


    Master Thales blinked. "Not really. I don''t like doing such thing."


    Thera stared long and hard at him the whole time she was asking questions, testing his character, looking for lies. But it looked like he was telling the truth as he saw it. Master Thales turned back to Laura. "So? Your answer?"


    ¡°No need for her to answer.¡± Thera replied. ¡°It¡¯s me, I¡¯ll admit it.¡±

 Chapter 13: The Pale Hand

    Laura looked at Thera, confused. ¡°But I- you-didn¡¯t you want-?¡± Laura had spent a whole year keeping Thera''s secret-a hard thing for any seven year old to do. She had been cajoled, bribed, threatened, and hidden away for an entire year just for holding back the words: "Thera is the real genius of geniuses."


    For Thera to just go ahead and say such a thing, Laura felt quite bewildered.


    Thera smiled at Laura. "It must have been hard, right?" At those words, Laura''s eyes began to tear up and she nodded, wiping the tears that wouldn''t seem to stop away her eyes.


    "It was hard! I couldn''t meet mama or papa. I couldn''t walk outside without having my head covered. I even had to give up sleeping in a bed for a long time. Bu-but...after all my hard work...why did you go ahead and say it now, after all my hard work!?" Laura complained, distraught.


    ¡°Rather than force you to betray my trust, it¡¯s better that I reveal the fact, myself, isn¡¯t it?¡± Thera said. ¡°I can tell that Master Thales isn¡¯t a bad man, and he treats you well, despite the complaints I read in your letters.¡±


    Master Thales raised an eyebrow glancing at Laura. "Complaints?" Laura laughed sheepishly as she looked away, guiltily.


    "...I see. It looks like I need to increase the amount of training every day." Master Thales smiled. Laura cried out "No way!" Falling to her knees in despair.


    Thera smiled. From what she learned from Laura, Master Thales only ever increased the amount of work she had to do. But she failed to see that it was done incrementally and regularly. Even if Laura had been a perfect gem, the training would have increased. It was Laura''s fault that he almost always had something to find fault for with her, though.


    "Also, didn''t you hear Master Thales? There are large groups of super strong people interested in me. If they should even flick a finger, they can kill me like that. They only want me for my potential. They couldn''t care less about what I want to do or become. To live a life as a toolof such a person, do you think I could ever be happy?"


    Laura shook her head. "No, but couldn''t the king send some of his guards to protect you?"


    "Then who would the king have to protect him?" Thera asked. "I may be a genius, but I''m still just a lesser noble. Even if they send all the guards to surround me, it might still not be enough. If all of the strong people co-operate against the king''s guards, they''d be destroyed alongside me being kidnapped or killed. Even if--even if Papa were to fight all of them at once, can an Orange class beat a whole group of Black class martial practitioners?"


    Thera''s face wrinkled up as she fought the urge to cry. She didn''t want her family to live like that, always on the run, or defending themselves. But how can you run from someone who is much faster than you? How can you defend from those who are much stronger than you. That could only be a losing battle.


    She didn''t want to reveal her identity, but she didn''t want to lose the people she had come to love even more than that. Given the short amount of time left to make a decision, she didn''t have any other choices.


    "I''m sorry Thera! It''s all my fault! I was the one who said that last year at the ceremony." Laura apologized, a bitter taste in her mouth.


    Thera smiled wryly. "No, Laura. If you hadn''t done so, then they''d have probably gone after you to kill you, instead. If you had been the only genius, then they would have had a straight line to just killing you outright. It seems my existence has saved you on more than one occasion now. I doubt that even Master Thales could hold his own against an entire group of Black Class martial Practitioners AND keep you safe."


    "...Is that...so?" Laura turned to Master Thales, who nodded absentmindedly in acknowledgement at Thera''s wisdom that seemed far beyond her years.


    Thera turned towards Master Thales, who was surprised when he saw such a depth of understanding, but he did his best to hide it. ¡°So, I¡¯ll say it again: I am the prodigy that she speaks of.¡±


    Thales sighed. ¡°I had suspected as much. Do you mind if I confirm it?¡± He asked as he drew out a testing plate. This was not the testing plate for children, but for Martial Practitioners, and therefore could handle testing all up to Orange Class.


    Thera nodded and placed her hand on the plate. It shone a brilliant blue, which caused him to be very surprised, and Laura to stare openmouthed.


    ¡°Fourth-rank Blue class!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°WHAT?¡± Laura squeaked. Thera sighed. ¡°Yep. I had another breakthrough last week. And here I was hoping to catch up to the corresponding ranking in magic¡­¡±


    Master Thales dropped his jaw, and the testing plate, and grabbed her shoulders with both hands. ¡° WHAT!? You know magic too?! What rank?¡± He almost shook her in his excitement.


    ¡°Second rank, Apprentice class.¡± Thera responded. She was much calmer than Master Thales was, but her face wore a frustrated expression when she added ¡°The darned thing is taking forever to break through!¡±


    Thales stepped back and put his hand over his face, moaning. Then he began chuckling, which then changed to laughter.


    ¡°A martial practitioner AND a magician? Prodigy among prodigies indeed! I should have known.¡±


    He looked down at Thera, a bemusedexpression on his face. ¡°You were lucky enough to get so far into the Apprentice class. Most magicians are stuck at the first level unless they find a master willing to give them guidance. Why didn¡¯t you ask your mother about this?¡±


    Thera glanced over at Laura, who shook her head.


    ¡°Well, the thing is¡­no one except Laura knew that I was practicing. Mother and Father don¡¯t have a clue right now. Papa was away for five years, and mama was always busy, and even if I told her, she didn''t really believe me, because of my age and all¡­I just never found the right time to show them¡­¡±


    ¡°And so you kept it from them.¡± He finished. ¡°Very well, then. Let¡¯s go tell them now.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Thera asked, fidgeting. ¡°Why so soon? Isn¡¯t everyone still asleep?¡±


    ¡°Not since you place your hands on this plate, no. They¡¯re all standing out in the garden.¡± He said. ¡°And looking very confused, I might add.¡±


    Thera realized what had happened immediately and narrowed her eyes, examining his face. ¡°You planned for this to happen.¡± She finally stated.


    He inclined his head. ¡°Well, I expected no less from the household of Rose Manor is all. Sir Maverick is an old friend of mine.¡±


    Thera sighed. There was no time left to waste at this point. It was time to reveal her secret. Otherwise, when would she ever find the time to come out and tell them the truth?


    ----------------


    As she came out of the structure, she waved awkwardly at everyone.


    "H-hello everyone. Did you have a nice sleep?" Thera asked, then mentally kicked herself for asking a stupid question. If they were having a nice sleep, they would still be sleeping at this point, not standing outside in the garden.


    ¡°Thera? Master Thales what is this?¡± Sir Maverick finally asked, looking confused. "I don''t think we had any night training scheduled for the time being?"


    Thales shrugged.¡°It was nothing much. I simply gave her her birthday present. Perhaps you would like to tell them?¡± He asked Thera pointedly.


    She laughed nervously. ¡°Um---, for my birthday present, Master Thales measured my martial spirit capacity and, well¡­It seems I¡¯m fourth rank Blue class¡­¡± She said sheepishly.


    Everyone froze still as statues.


    ¡°Fourth rank, Blue class?¡± Sir Maverick mouthed. ¡°FOURTH RANK BLUE CLASS?!¡± he then exclaimed, as if he had awoken to find everyone walking on their hands instead of their feet.


    ¡°And, Mother, sorry for keeping this from you, but I¡¯ve also been studying magic¡­I¡¯m stuck at second rank apprentice class, though.¡± She hurriedly added on at the end.


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± She almost fell over with the news. Thera was talented in both magic and martial arts? Shocked though she was, she recovered three times quicker than Sir Maverick. ¡°Then, am I to assume that you¡¯re the Prodigy of prodigies that Laura was boasting about?¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Aheheheh¡­it does seem to be the case.¡± Thera answered.


    Master Thales then bowed his head to Thera¡¯s parents. ¡°Please excuse me, I am sure this is all very sudden. But, as I¡¯m sure you know, there are many powerful people interested in acquiring your talented daughter¡¯s power for themselves, or in killing her before she becomes a threat to them. I am here on orders from the king to take her away to a safe place, until she becomes strong enough to hold her own against such people.¡±


    Sir Maverick trembled, jolted out of his reverie, as he rushed over and grabbed Thera, lifting her off the ground possessively.


    "NO! You don''t have to go anywhere, Thera! I''ll protect you from all of them! They won''t lay a single finger on you!"


    Helen put a hand on Sir Maverick''s shoulder. "Dear..."


    "Papa-" Thera began, but was immediately cut off by Sir Maverick''s frenzied possessive rant.


    "No matter if we''re surrounded in a sea of practitioners, they won''t be able to touch a hair on your head!"


    "Dear." Helen repeated.


    Papa-" Thera tried again, but was again cut off.


    "You''re my daughter! You can''t leave! You just can''t!"


    "DEAR!" Helen shouted in his ear.


    "What is it? You agree too, right Helen?" Sir Maverick looked at her for confirmation, ignoring the ringing sound in his ears.


    "Papa." A small voice came from the child that his strong arms were squishing uncomfortably close to him. He looked at her, listening to what she would say.


    I''ve decided to go with Master Thales." Thera stated.


    "WHAT! NO! WHY!? Do you hate me? Is it because he''s got Laura? Is it because he''s stronger than I am?" Sir Maverick strongly disagreed. "NO, you''re staying here with me! I''m your Papa. I make the rules!" He hugged her tighter.


    While Thera appreciated his affection, it was getting harder and harder to breath. Thera steeled herself, and slapped his face with both her hands. "Get a grip, papa! Listen to what I have to say!" She declared loudly.


    Sir Maverick stared at her, shocked that she would strike at him.


    "I don''t want to leave! But, if I''m selfish here, if I stay here, everyone will be in danger! Even if I''m apart from you, I will always be your daughter. But I don''t want my first time leaving here to happen over your dead body. I don''t want to see papa being beat up and killed by people stronger than you because of me. If I leave, then I''ll be sad. But you''ll still be alive, which means I can see you when I get back! But if I don''t go. If I stay...then Mama...and Papa...and Martha, and Rachel, and James...you''ll all die!" Thera''s chin quivered, as tears finally began to fall.


    "T-then! We''ll all go with you!" Sir Maverick stammered. "There''s no need for you to go alone!"


    Thera shook her head. "If we all disappear at once, then they''ll know something is up. And if there are more people, then we''ll be found much quicker. If you stay behind, then at least you can misdirect them away from me...*sniff*"


    She wiped away the tears that had made her sight blurry before continuing.


    "I need to go far away from where they might reach me, possibly even outside the kingdom. Can you leave your country? Can you abandon your duty to the king? My super cool, amazing papa is a wonderful knight that will defend the king against all his foes! A knight that would abandon his duty...IS NOT MY PAPA!"


    Sir Maverick''s eyes opened wide. Then he gripped his hand into a fist, and punched himself in the face.


    "You''re right, Thera. Papa just wasn''t himself right now..." Sir Maverick said, struggling with his words. "We will all miss you very much...but...Papa will miss you the most." He hugged her to himself, struggling not to cry.


    "I know. Because I will miss you, and mama, and everyone here very much, as well." Thera replied allowing him to hug her tightly as long as he could.


    Master Thales looked at the rising moon. "We''ll need to leave now, while we still have the cover of darkness."


    Sir Maverick drew in a sharp, painful breath of air. ¡°So soon?¡±


    Master Thales sighed and whispered something into Sir Maverick¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯ll be perfectly safe where I am taking her.¡± Thales continued.


    ¡°Can we visit? When will we see her again?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be as few as five years, or as long as ten. It depends upon her talents, and also upon the persistence of her pursuers.¡± Thales answered.


    ¡°What I can tell you is this: you need to protect her from behind. Spread the story that you are sending her away to your sister, or some distant relatives for some reason: health, education, deepening family ties, I don¡¯t know, pick something convincing and stick with it. We need to leave tonight before the advance parties arrive, or we won¡¯t be able to leave at all.¡±


    ¡°Advance parties?¡± Thera asked, surprised. "Will Papa be all right?"


    ¡°Never you mind.¡± Sir Maverick said. " With Mama by my side, no matter where we are, I''ll be okay. Papa won''t die before you come back. This I promise." Right now he was serious, his face both tense and alert. ¡°Martha, pack her things, quickly. We need to get her out as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Ah, *sniff* use this!¡± Thera gave Martha her bottomless bag. ¡°Just stuff everything in there, I¡¯ll sort it out later.¡±


    With that, the household scattered: Ruth to the kitchen to prepare food rations for the journey, Martha to Thera¡¯s bedroom to pack her belongings, Nessa Rebecca and Jean to the storerooms to grab survival essentials like rope and oiled waterproof tarps for tents, Mother to her bedroom to get some items with protective spells, Father to the weapons room to grab something that he had commissioned to be made for Thera.


    Time was of the utmost importance, and so, instead of taking their turns, everything was placed inside the bag, and handed over to Thera, along with Yukikaze in her basket. By now, Thera had calmed down a bit, and stopped crying. She was well-wrapped in a warm traveling cloak against the night''s chilling mists.


    ¡°Be safe, my child.¡± Helen caressed her face and hugged her tight. ¡°Work hard and come back soon, all right?¡± Thera nodded, feeling her heart squeeze inside. This was all because of what she had done. ¡°I¡¯ll come back in five years.¡± She said.


    Thales and Sir Maverick looked each other in the eyes.


    "You better keep her safe. If you don''t, then even if I have to come back from the grave, I will strike you down."


    "You have my word." Master Thales nodded.


    Sir Maverick''s voice choked as he replied."I''ll leave things to you then."


    Master Thales said nothing more as he pulled up his hood, andswung up onto his horse, which was already saddled. Sir Maverick lifted Thera up on the saddle behind him. Laura was also on a horse, having prepared beforehand.


    Thera turned around to look at her parents once more, before she left.


    ¡°You¡¯d best hold tight.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°We need to cover lots of ground tonight.¡±


    Thera held on tightly as they broke into a gallop, riding like mad down thebarely visible road.


    Sir Maverick stood there, lost for several long minutes as he looked in their direction until even the sound of the horse''s hooves could not be heard anymore. "Take care." He finally said.


    Sir Maverick turned to the household. "Turn out all the lights, and get to your posts. Consider Rose Manor under attack until further notice."


    Swiftly, all the lights were doused, and the house once more regained its former appearance of a house where everyone was still asleep.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Later that night, many stealthy figures crept towards the manor house. Entering through Thera''s still open window, they made their way inside.


    They did not come out again.


    That morning, James the Gardener sectioned out yet another spot to plant flowers, and thoroughly dug the spot up, dumping a cartload of fertilizer on top, before planting the rose bushes he had planned.


    The last shovelful of fertilizer easily hid the pale hand that peeked out from under the bushes.

 Chapter 14: Madame Rothema

    Thera yawned and stretched, still a bit sore from the ride.


    They had ridden three days and three nights, with barely enough time to switch out horses. They had eaten, drank, and even slept in the saddle. In that amount of time, they had come from the flatlands in the center of the country to the roots of the mountains at its edge.


    Then they had had taken a deer trail up the nearby mountain.


    All along the way there, Thera had noticed well-hidden traps and pitfalls and defense mechanisms which Thales led them around, or disabled with a staff as they passed, re-enabling the devices afterwards.


    Then, Master Thales had led them down a barely-discernible path, over rope bridges and through a waterfall entrance into a beautiful mountain-surrounded valley, illuminated by the setting sun.


    ¡°Now, Thera, I don¡¯t want you to reveal your cultivation level to anyone for the next five years, understand?


    From now on, you are only officially here to study magic, and your name is Miss Rose.¡± Thales asked in a low voice that only Thera could hear. She nodded. It wasn¡¯t anything different from what she usually did.


    Thera didn¡¯t have much of a chance to enjoy the view before she had to jerk back her head. A stone flew through where it had been before.


    ¡°Raymond.¡± Thales growled a warning. ¡°That is no way to treat a guest.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you know it was me?¡± A freckled brown-haired boy around twelve years old asked as he poked his head through the bushes he was hiding in.


    Laura snorted. ¡°Because no one else would do something so tactless, nimrod. You start quarrels with every squirrel in the valley. One of these days you¡¯ll find you¡¯ve awoken a sleeping dragon, and then you¡¯ll have no way out.¡± She winked at Thera and ushered her horse forward.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go tell Madam Rothema we¡¯re here!¡± She called as she cantered down the road.


    ¡°Is that ANOTHER CAT?! What¡¯s she doing bringing ANOTHER CAT here? Are we going to eat it for dinner?¡±


    Raymond was getting on Thera¡¯s nerves. ¡°It¡¯s a familiar, meat-head.¡± She said. ¡°And if you even try to eat her, I¡¯ll roast you with a fireball and feed you to the beasts.¡± She frowned.


    ¡°Try it, I dare you!¡± He stuck out his tongue.


    She snapped her fingers and a fireball flared right in front of his face, singeing his eyebrows and causing him to jerk back and fall on his butt, before it disappeared. Laughter came from other areas in the trees.


    ¡°A warning.¡± She said in passing as they rode by.


    The boy''s face turned red at the humiliation, and his frustration felt like steam building up inside of him. His eyes followed her down the road, promising revenge for this humiliation.


    ¡°She sure got you good, Ray!¡± One of the laughing boys came out of the trees to help him up. ¡°For all that she¡¯s probably half your age.¡±


    ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll have her crying for home by week¡¯s end!¡± He snarled. Staring down the road, he muttered ¡°No one makes a fool out of me!¡±


    -----------------------


    After riding a bit longer, a large manor house, larger than Thera¡¯s own home, stood on one side of the road. A garden of bright colorful flowers grew right in front of it, and climbing ivy had climbed up the sides of the house, covering it in a leafy blanket.


    It was a very pretty picture indeed, although it seemed a bit out of place in a forest, far away from a city.


    Laura came outside and motioned that they were to go in, but did not follow them. Instead, Laura went to take care of the horses, after the long hard ride.


    When Thera got down from the saddle, she found that she could hardly stand, and simply collapsed onto the ground, completely saddle-sore.


    Master Thales laughed. "I forgot that you''re not used to riding." Out of pity, he picked her up and brought her inside.


    Madam Rothema met them in her study. She was an elderly woman, with grey hair just beginning to get streaked with white, around 40 years old, by Thera¡¯s reckoning.


    ¡°So, I am to understand that you wish for me to teach this youngling in magic? Well, I¡¯m not so sure about it. Cats are always welcome. But, as for this girl, it depends.¡± She said, sipping her tea, examining the little slip of a girl that had been carried in.


    ¡°Depends upon what?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°It depends upon whether you have talent or not, child.¡± She said, in a matter of fact way. ¡°What is your rank and class?¡±


    ¡°Second rank, Apprentice class.¡± She said.


    Madam Rothema did a double-take. ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re only six years old!¡± She fussed. ¡°If you¡¯re so sure, why don¡¯t you do an intermediate spell for me?¡±


    Thera nodded, and concentrated,pulling her sore legs up into a sitting position and casting [Levitate]. She could do all the spells she had learned at the no-chant level, she¡¯d practiced them so often, and this was the highest level of spell that she knew.


    ¡°I see¡­Did you have any help with this?¡± Madam Rothema asked, while Thera was still floating.


    ¡°No Ma¡¯am. This was all a result of self-study.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°Heavens! And how long can you maintain the spell?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Difficult to say. I feel that I should be able to sustain about five of the same spell for a twenty-four hour duration, if they¡¯ve got a similar weight as me.¡± She admitted.


    ¡°And can you use all of your spells up to this one at the [no chant] level?¡±(Rothema)


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Goodness! I see now why you wanted me to guide this young child, Thales. Any other magician would have their work cut out for them. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Madam Rothema inquired.


    Thales smiled. ¡°You know me so well, Madam Rothema, that it amazes me sometimes. I¡¯ll leave you with your new student, then. I¡¯ve got that band of ruffians to put right after all. That leader is going to find himself with extra homework when I tell Master Fraun what he¡¯s been up to.¡±


    He somehow managed to back out so quickly that Thera was honestly impressed.


    Madame Rothema watched him leave, a bemused smile on her face.


    ¡°That Thales, always in such a rush! ¡­Well, child? Would you like to see your room, or would you like to begin immediately?¡± Madam Rothema asked, making it understood that she had already accepted Thera as her student.


    ¡°Begin what?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°Why, learning, of course!¡± She replied. ¡°How long have you been stuck at second rank?¡±


    ¡°Two months.¡±


    ¡°Well, do you want to have a breakthrough before the night has ended?¡±


    Now that Thera was at Blue rank, she didn¡¯t need half as much sleep as others did. She nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s start learning!¡± She said eagerly.


    ¡°Wonderful! I have a feeling that your stay here will do you a heap of good with that attitude!¡± Madam Rothema chortled gleefully, her face breaking out into a beautiful smile. ¡°It¡¯s all about attitude. If you¡¯re reluctant to learn, then you¡¯ll not get half as far as one who learned eagerly. Come, come! Follow me.¡±


    Thera eagerly tried to get up, but was surprised when her legs gave out and she collapsed in the seat again. "Um, I''d like to, but..." She blushed.


    "Wait, you don''t have to tell me. You must be saddle-sore, right? That Thales! He might be smart, but sometimes he''s not considerate at all!" Madam Rothema snapped her fingers, and the chair Thera was sitting on rose up in the air a few inches and began to follow closely behind the lady with glasses.


    She led Thera down the hallway to the Library. Imagine a room twice as big as the one in Beauty and the Beast. Now, imagine bookshelves reaching all the way up to the ceiling covering the floor in between the walls as well, and you¡¯ll understand how many books there were.


    Thera stared for a long time. ¡°Have you read all of these books, Ma¡¯am?¡±


    Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°Yes, child, I¡¯ve read all of them. And by the time you¡¯re finished, you¡¯ll have read most of them as well, I¡¯d imagine. But we mustn¡¯t dally.¡±


    She cleared away several piles of books off a nearby table, placing them on the other table, which groaned under its new weight, yet still held them up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start off with some light reading¡­.Have you read Ghoeter¡¯s Theory of magic, yet?¡±


    ¡°No, Ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll start you off with that. Then Carews, Rhelmond, and Dartun, as well as Fleming, and Hegimond¡­¡±


    Madam Rothema¡¯s idea of ¡®light reading¡¯ was an entire 22 books long.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Read them all the way through, now!¡± Madam Rothema warned, before leaving to finish her tea.


    ------------------------------------


    Thera''s arms reached upwards, stretching once more. She had spent until midnight reading those books, but their contents were truly burned into her memory. Not only that, she had broken through into the third rank of Apprentice class as easily as walking through an open doorway. How had it been so difficult before?


    She tottered weakly out the library, and leaned against he hallway wall, yawning and rubbing her eyes as her stomach growled. She had been so busy reading that she had skipped dinner.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to get any sleep like this.¡± She mumbled and made her way as quietly as she could to the kitchen area. It seemed Yukikaze and Laura''s cat, Sarhan, had already eaten as well- judging from the empty milk saucers placed on the floor.


    On the counter, she noticed that there was a cloth-covered dish with a note and a key next to it.


    Child,


    If you finish before dawn, here¡¯s some food for you.


    Directions to your room: Go up the stairs, and down the hallway. It will be your third door on the right hand side. In the future, you may bring your reading to your room to study, as there is an empty spare bookcase. Even though I have given you a reading list, there really isn¡¯t any sort of restrictions on reading. As long as you finish the list of suggested books, feel free to choose a book or several that may interest you.


    Madam Rothema


    Thera stared at the message until her stomach started growling again. Then she lifted the cloth placed over the plate. Half a roast chicken, two dinner rolls, and a small salad later, she was feeling much better, but even more tired than before. Thera laboriously climbed up the stairs. Stopping every few steps and wondering if she shouldn''t just sleep on the stairway. But eventually, she managed to get all the way up the stairs to her room, falling asleep instantly as soon as her head touched the pillow-the key clenchedtightly in her hand.


    She awokeslightly after dawn, and changed into something simple and easy to wear. All those buttoned frocks were too difficult to put on without help anyways.


    She came downstairs to see Madam Rothema, sitting at the dining room table, having breakfast.


    ¡°I see you are an early riser. Have a seat, please, child.¡±


    Thera remained standing, despite feeling like her legs were made of rubber bands.


    ¡°Who is a child? My name is Ther-¡­Rose¡­my name is Briar Rose.¡±


    She remembered Master Thale¡¯s instructions just in time. While she wasn''t sure if those instructions applied to Madam Rothema or not, Thera wasn''t willing to take any chances. Of course, she added her name from her previous life, but if you¡¯re going to use a fake name, it¡¯s best to use a comfortable one.


    ¡°Miss Rose, is it? Very well then, have a seat, please, Miss Rose¡­ I¡¯ll expect you to call me Teacher from now on, though, in exchange.¡±


    Thera nodded, smiling ever so slightly, ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±


    After breakfast, She was given a pile of books twice as high as the previous pile-to read before lunch. It did not seem like a chore, though, but a challenge. Thera liked challenges; they made things interesting.


    ------------------------------


    The next day, Madam Rothema gave her a pile of a hundred books to read, plus a basket full of picnic foodstuff.


    ¡°Go outside and read. It¡¯s not good for you to spend all of your time indoors at such an early age. Once you¡¯ve finished with your readings, you may go play.¡±


    Thera looked surprised at the amount of books, but still accepted the assignment, nodding her head. ¡°Yes, Teacher! I¡¯ll be going, then.¡± She gathered the books and the lunch basket into her bottomless bag, and set out to find a good spot to read.


    Her legs were feeling much better now, as she could walk quite comfortably. She stretched and tested their endurance. Jogging was uncomfortable, but do-able if necessary.Wandering around, she soon managed to find a comfortable-looking tree to read under. Yet, just as she was getting comfortable, a shadow fell across the book she was reading.


    -------------------------------


    It was Ray, leering down at her. ¡°Well, well, well! Look who it is! It¡¯s the little fireball!¡±


    Thera merely glanced up once. ¡°Well, well, well. Look who it is. It¡¯s the big meat-headed numbskull~!¡± She said straight back.


    Ray¡¯s face twisted and turned red with anger. In fact, he was so mad that he couldn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re that bad from just a simple trade of words? Like my mother always says, ¡°If you can¡¯t take it, then don¡¯t dish it out.¡± Thera said, watching his reactions. From the looks of him, he wasn''t likely to remain quiet for much longer.


    She placed a bookmark in and closed her book. Then she stood up, patting dust and stray pieces of grass off the back of her skirt, before walking away.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Ray finally squealed.


    ¡°Somewhere quiet.¡± She replied. ¡°YOU may have lots of time on your hands, but I¡¯VE got homework to finish. Later, then!¡± She walked quicklyfurther into the forest, ignoring the stiff discomfort in her legs.


    ¡°Get back here!¡± he squeaked as he ran after her¡­But after thirtyminutes of running, he found himself gasping for breath, and quite left behind.


    ¡°How does she have so much stamina?¡± He panted. ¡°And how can she walk faster than I can run?! I¡¯m better off waiting outside the forest. I¡¯ll get her when she returns.¡± He said through gritted teeth.


    In the end, he ended up waiting for so long that he fell asleep, and she walked right past him on her way home that day, un-accosted. When he woke a few hours later, he discovered his face had been doodled on.


    ------------------------------


    After that day, Master Thales left once more, and did not return the next day, or the day after that. He would pop in every now and then, but Thera never realized when he visited. She was either buried in her studies, or outside exploring the hidden valley. He would only stay for a few minutes to an hour, dropping off supplies and letters from Thera''s parents before leaving just as swiftly as he''d come with the reply letters she''d written.


    Like that, the days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and soon enough, five years had gone by.


    During those five years, Thera unceasingly trained herself in magic and martial arts.


    She set up targets along her route through the woods, and she would practice her aim as she sped by, throwing needles she had gathered from a Porkiplant: a plant covered in needles spines. If the plant sensed anything coming near through the tremors in the ground, it would shoot out its needles to scare off predators.


    Thera had managed to get it to waste all of its spines by jumping into a tree out of its range and throwing rocks around it for a day. Only when it was completely out of spines did she gather them up. She painstakingly collected the spines. She also took the plant home, because porkiplant tastes wonderful in soup.


    She fought the local monsters to hone her skills, and gained many insights into different fighting methods.


    There was no one else to learn from, aside from the methods of her previous life, and the fighting methods of the wild beasts.


    She used the rugged terrain of the forest to train her stamina, reflexes, and speed.


    She never wasted a second, these five years. Everything she did, even while resting, was aimed towards becoming stronger, faster, smarter. This world was not a world where the weaker people would be left to their own devices¡­


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    Thera closed the last book from her allotted homework for that day and stretched, enjoying the cool forest air for a brief moment. Then she sighed.


    ¡°Well this is just sad. What do you want now, Ray?¡±


    ¡°You know what I want! A duel! If I win you become my servant and do whatever I say!¡± He said, with a confident grin as he rubbed his nose proudly. Thera regarded him as a child, since he hadn¡¯t learned to stop picking on people younger than him. It seems it was time to teach him that lesson yet again, today.


    ¡°Ah? But what if I win?¡± Thera asked, nonchalantly.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll give your mangy cat back to you.¡± He said. Ray had grown into a handsome young boy in the past five years, but for all that, he still had a foul mouth.


    ¡°Ara? A hostage situation? How interesting.¡± Thera smiled. ¡°Then, let¡¯s just see what you can do.¡± She stood up. "I hope you don''t lose pitifully like last time."

 Chapter 15: Thera Returns

    Thera flicked her wrist, turning on her time-dilation barrier, which she managed to bring in close, so that it only affected her. In this way, she effectively raised her speed and reflexes. Ray charged at her.


    By the time one second had passed, she was finished.


    Ray had been knocked out without knowing what hit him, and the two boys who were holding onto Yukikaze had needle holes in the painful part of their wrist.


    They were both rather shocked to see needles sticking out of them. One of the boys slumped to the ground, fainted, while the other one was still staring in shock at his wrist, his face turning white.


    Of course, Thera had made sure to miss the major arteries. She swiftly retrieved them from the boys hands. The one that was still conscious, slumped to the ground in a daze. Pathetic.


    Yukikaze was draped on her shoulders once more, upset from the rough treatment she had experienced, and complaining.


    Thera laughed and scratched behind Yukikaze¡¯s ears. ¡°Come on, Yukikaze! Let¡¯s see if Teacher has a snack made for us~.¡±


    She picked up speed as she ran towards the manor. She was now rank 9, Purple class, as a martial arts practitioner; and rank 8, Journeyman, as a magician.


    To have increased by so many ranks in such a short amount of time truly was amazing, for each rank was more and more difficult to cross over. Of course, this was all due to Thera¡¯s huge martial spirit capacity, mana capacity, and diligence.


    After five years of reading books, running from Ray and his lackeys, and observing in the forest, she wanted to view a bit of the outside world.


    The entire valley had been explored a bazillion times, and Thera probably knew more about the local flora and fauna than anyone, barring Madam Rothema.


    Arriving at the manor, she saw two familiar-looking horses. Grinning, she walked into the manor, loudly announcing, ¡°Teacher, I¡¯m back!¡±


    Walking into the parlor, she saw Laura and Master Thales sitting on the couch, as she expected. She began to greet them. ¡°Master Thales! Laura-¡± and then stopped. The expression on their faces was not a happy one.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re back, Briar Rose. There¡¯s some cream in the kitchen for Yuki, if you¡¯re willing to fetch it.¡± Madam Rothema said.


    Thera implicitly knew Rothema was trying to sidetrack her while the three in the parlor discussed something unpleasant.


    ¡°No, she should hear this.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°This concerns her fate as well.¡±


    Thera looked at Master Thales, whose face had a rather haggard look to it. Sitting down in a chair, she watched his face as she asked. ¡°What about my ¡®fate¡¯? Master Thales, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Having been kept inside a hidden valley for five years, Thera had no idea what was going on outside of it.


    ¡°In recent years, there has been a mysterious group. We don¡¯t know who they are or how large they are, but wherever they go, they have made entire villages disappear, with nothing, not even a message. A month later, all of the villagers are returned to the village¡­as bloodied corpses. In the past year, twelve whole villages have disappeared due to this repeated tragedy.¡±


    Master Thales paused, unsure how to say what came next. ¡°The most recent village which has disappeared¡­ is your hometown¡­ Dulce.¡±


    Thera petted Yukikaze, absentmindedly. ¡°Is that so? How long do they have left?¡± She asked.


    Laura looked at Thera with a twitching eyebrow. ¡°Here I was worried over how you would take the news, and you just ask questions like it was the latest piece of gossip! I misjudged you!¡±


    Thera raised her hand, to fend off Laura¡¯s temper. ¡°On the contrary, Laura. I am exceedingly troubled right now. But crying and self-pity won¡¯t save our families.¡±


    She turned her head to face Master Thales. ¡°That is why I need you to be VERY specific, Master Thales. How much longer do they have left to live?¡± She watched his expressions closely.


    ¡°Ten days. They have ten days left.¡± He finally admitted. ¡°But I¡¯ll be dead before I let you go there! You know I promised your father that I''d keep you safe!¡± It seemed he was telling the truth, judging from the micro-expressions.


    Thera stood up. ¡°Master Thales, I believe you said I might return by the time five years had passed?¡±


    He nodded slowly. ¡°Five, or ten, yes. I also told you it depended, right? There are still many different groups out there that could still be watching. But, know this: I will not let you leave this valley until you have reached first rank, Red class.¡± He said, pressure emanating out from him. He intended to use a near hopelessly goal to discourage Thera from leaving.


    If it were anyone other than Thera, then they might have thrown up their hands in despair. Thera simply asked. ¡°Then, the terms of me being able to leave the valley is reaching first rank, Red class? You won¡¯t go back on your word?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! I mean what I say. Unless you reach red class, you stay here!¡± He affirmed, thinking that she would try to get him to lighten up a bit, or lower the bar.


    Thera smiled. She had got him right where she wanted him. After all, Red class was a matter of a simple breakthrough.


    But, breaking through into the next class would require a large amount of energy. It would take any normal practitioner at least three more months to breakthrough from where she was.


    Still, she turned to Madam Rothema. ¡°It seems I shall be away for a while, Teacher. Please give me my homework in advance, so that I can further my studies. I will most likely be away for eleven-no-twelve days.¡±


    ¡°Foolish girl! Didn¡¯t you hear what I said?! You can¡¯t leave until Red Class! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Thales snapped.


    Thera turned to look at him her eyes finally revealing the impatient sparks of a raging flame within them.


    ¡°Then when shall I leave here, Master Thales? It was you who brought mehere. And I stayed, hoping it would keep my family safe. Like a sheltering greenhouse, you wished to keep me safe from wind and rain. I am already eleven, yet have had no proper martial instruction, and no means of seeing my family these past five years. I left to keepTHEM safe, Thales! And yet, you are telling me to just sit here as their time ticks down bit by bit?¡±


    If Master Thales wasn¡¯t sitting, he would have taken a step back at her tenacity. As it was, he felt she had a depth of character that was unnatural for an 11 year old girl.


    Thera inclined her head, reigning in the fire in her eyes. ¡°No matter, though. I do not blame you. But do not be fooled by my appearance, for I am no pansy that needs to be cared for. I am a wild briar, and I bloom in adversity to all that is harsh. And if harshness greets me, then I shall be doubly harsh in return." Her words rang out like a bell in the quiet room.


    She clenched her hand into a fist."If anyone should wish to steal from me those whom I hold dear, then you can be sure that I shall not rest on my laurels while it is being done!Tomorrow morning you will have your desired first rank, red class. And I shall be going home.¡±


    Then Thera glided out of the room with such a practiced noiseless grace, that it was as if she were a ghost.


    ¡°Well, well! This is what becomes of those who meddle in other¡¯s fates.¡± Madam Rothema muttered with a smile, shaking her head as she stood up to head to the library.


    Thales looked at her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re actually going to LET her leave?! By the crown, she¡¯s just an eleven year old girl!¡±


    The bespectacled elderly womanturned around, her expression a mixture of bemusement and annoyance, which slowly turned into a stern, scolding look as she spoke.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Well, let me tell you, GERARD: she is no ordinary girl. No ordinary child can make it from 2nd rank, Apprentice Class to 8th rank Journeyman Class in Five years! Not even an adult has a comprehension level that high!


    "Moreover, she¡¯s done this while CONTINUING to make breakthroughs in martial spirit ranks and classes. I didn¡¯t think I needed to remind you what it takes to do such a thing. It¡¯s not twice as hard to make continuous breakthroughs in both magic and martial spirit: it¡¯s a hundred times harder.


    "And this young girl did it without any instruction in fighting or defense on your part. All I did was assign her books. I didn¡¯t give hints or coddle her. She brought in her first defeated beast not three weeks after you disappeared to the crown knows where!


    ¡°And it was no minor game like a Pigumy or a Sqwarlit, either! It was a red-eyed Boar King-an animal that even grown men hesitate to go up against.


    ¡°She grew this way on her own, without either of our meddling, so don¡¯t you DARE think about meddling in the affairs of a life that you have no claim to!¡±


    Madam Rothema turned around and walked away. Master Thales and Laura were still sitting in their seats, stunned by Madam Rothema¡¯s rebuff.


    Laura had been amazed at the progress Thera had made, but she had gotten used to Thera being an impossible girl. She was pleased that her friend had become so strong, and resolved to redouble her own studies under Master Thales, in order to someday be able to stand at Thera¡¯s side. She kept these things in her heart, praying Thera would make it in time.


    Then Laura glanced over at Master Thales, a mischievous light in her eyes. ¡°So¡­Your first name is Gerard?¡±


    --------------------------------


    After locking herself into her room, Thera took all the food out of her magic bag. Perhaps it was a hidden feature, or a result of the space magic, but food didn¡¯t go bad in the magic bag, so Thera often put food that she wanted to save for later, inside her bag.


    And, after five years, she had amassed quite a lot of it. From sandwiches to cookies to cheeses to breads: the amount was enough to make a huge pile on her bed.


    And so, Thera began to eat. When she was full, she changed the food into energy, and then fused that energy into the cartilage within her body. The food would disappear from her stomach, and then she would eat again.


    Eat, convert, compress; eat convert, compress: the process went on all night long.


    When the moon peeked its head over the valley¡¯s high mountain walls, Thera¡¯s room was filled with a bright light.


    Thera¡¯s body was in terrible pain; her nose, ears, joints, and spine became burning lava hot. After experiencing the feeling of pain two times before, Thera still could not get through the experience without biting her lip until it bled, spreading a coppery taste in her mouth.


    Yet after a certain amount of time, the pain subsided, and the glowing stopped. Thera released a white mist from her mouth. It was finally over.


    Standing up, Thera could feel the raw power that was jammed into her body. Now she was capable of movements faster than the speed of a bullet, according to her memories.


    So this is 1st rank, Red Class, huh? Thera thought to herself. It felt completely different than the previous five ranks. Her speed, toughness, and strength had increased by a huge amount. She breathed in. The five senses -sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell-were all, once again, greatly enhanced.


    She let her breath out. It was only about 6am according to her internal sense of time. She stretched her body, stood up and executed a few punches and kicks, hearing the air whistle and snap as she did so.


    She sat back down on the bed, and looked at the still quite high pile of food. She had come so far, it would be a shame not to go as far as she could, right?


    ---------------------


    Master Thales stood at the waterfall exit, waiting, watching the sun dip towards the horizon.


    ¡°Teacher, do you think that she¡¯ll even appear today?¡± Laura asked, bored.


    ¡°We must trust her word. If she can¡¯t deliver, then she is not qualified to leave.¡± He replied. Laura glared at him. Her own parents had escaped the chilling event by being in the city capital for the yearly ball. But, she could also understand Thera''s worry over her parents. For Thales to know it, and still to remainas cold as stone made her sigh. Why did men have to be born so stubborn?


    Finally, as the sun touched the mountain¡¯s edge, Thera appeared in front of the waterfall.


    ¡°You are here.¡± Master Thales observed. ¡°But, it¡¯s so late in the day.¡±


    ¡°Please forgive the wait. I lost track of the time in training, and then I had to receive my homework.¡± Thera said, bowing an apology.


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ll need to confirm it then.¡± He huffed as he brought out the black-bordered plate.


    Thera smiled and placed her hand upon the plate. The light rising from the plate shined out a strong fire red.


    After Master Thales stared at it for a long time, he sighed, and put the plate away. ¡°I get it. If you want to go now, then I¡¯ll allow it.¡± He turned away.


    ¡°Thank you, Master Thales. I look forward to learning from you upon my return.¡± She bowed, before leaving through the waterfall.


    Laura watched his face as he stared at the sunset. He had a bemused smile.


    ¡°Geez! I said first level, but that little monster had the audacity and miraculous opportunity to breakthrough straight to level 2 red class!¡± he muttered. ¡°We might actually have a chance.¡±


    -------------------------------


    Despite it having been five years since she had last been outside the valley, Thera had made it a point to remember all of the different traps and methods for disarming them that she had witnessed five years ago. In fact, she had even made a map and burned it into her memory before burning the map.


    So it was very easy for her to pass through the many layers of traps that surrounded the mountain. In truth, she could have left at any time, but she knew only too well the price paid for impatience.


    As soon as she passed the last bridge trap, she jumped into the treetops. Jumping from branch to branch, she sped down the mountain range. In a mere four hours, she reached the main road.


    Upon reaching the road, she stopped for a short rest. Since she had strengthened her stamina over the past five years, running for four hours wasn¡¯t really a problem. However, since her lungs were not yet reinforced, there was a need to stop and rest for a bit.


    It was quite difficult to breathe while running at speeds that would rival a train, after all. Thera realized that if she wanted to do any sort of real fighting, then she¡¯d have to find a way of doing it while holding her breath, since it was too difficult to breathe while moving at such speeds as she was capable of.


    This bothered her. She was going to be plunging into a dangerous situation, after all. Being able to fight to her fullest potential was extremely necessary, since she didn¡¯t know who or what she¡¯d encounter.


    So, while she was resting, she wracked her brain to think of a solution to her dilemma. Hmm¡­if she couldn¡¯t get oxygen from the outside, then perhaps some sort of way of breathing without breath?


    Ah. There was that way¡­.Thera smiled as she stared off into the sky. Magic certainly had its special benefits.

 Not a chapter: Martial and Magical Hierarchy

    I feel I should make things clear before everything starts to get complicated.


    These are the differences between the classes. in order to graduate to the next class, you must accomplish the objective stated next to them.


    Moreover, each class had ten levels. Each level is 3 times more powerful than the previous level, and therefore 3 times more difficult to complete.


    I will not mention what happens when one is both a Black Class, and a Magi class, because that would be spoiling later chapters.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Martial Practitioners</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="431">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">White</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Develope inner vision</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Yellow</td>


    <td>Condense diamond bones</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Green</td>


    <td>Condense diamond tendons</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Blue</td>


    <td>Reinforce muscles</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Purple</td>


    <td>Reinforce cartilage</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Red</td>


    <td>Reinforce blood vessels</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Orange</td>


    <td>Reinforce lower organs</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Brown</td>


    <td>Reinforce upper organs</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Grey</td>


    <td>Reinforce brain</td>


    </tr>


    <tr style="text-align: center">


    <td>Black</td>


    <td>Condense diamond skin</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Magicians</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table width="431">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Student</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Develope outer vision</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Novice</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Absorb Mana</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Apprentice</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Basic Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Craftsman</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Lower Intermediate Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Journeyman</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Higher Intermediate Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Master</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">High Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Mage</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">High Spells-Multiple Targets</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Archmage</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Booster Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Mage Elder</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">Large-scale Spells</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td style="text-align: center">Magi</td>


    <td style="text-align: center">God-scale Spells, Regeneration, and Immortality</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ...sorry, I can''t seem to get rid of this blank space. Darn my level one White class programming skills!

 Chapter 16: Ghost Town

    -3 days later-


    ¡°General, we¡¯ve been through the entire town, and there is no sign of a single person!¡± A young man of 20 years said with frustration. ¡°What are you hoping to find?¡±


    ¡°A survivor, man! Or at least a clue! There¡¯s no way over 3 thousand people can just disappear like that overnight without some sort of evidence!¡±


    The older man growled with a gruff brevity. His physical stature was that of a bison, with large, emphasized upper muscles. Simply looking at him, one would guess that he was in his late thirties or early forties.


    ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you think that, in order to finish the job, they¡¯ll have to return to the scene of the crime in a week¡¯s time? If we can catch them, then the kingdom can finally relax, knowing it¡¯s safe once more.¡±


    ¡°Haaah. I suppose so.¡± The younger man sighed, scratching his mud-brown hair. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t make this town feel any less creepy. It¡¯s as if it¡¯s got eyes watching you, even when there¡¯s no one there. To be honest, it¡¯s giving me goosebumps.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re just being paranoid.¡± The general huffed. ¡°If there¡¯s no one here, then no one can watch you. And we¡¯ve already confirmed all the houses were empty, so what have you got to be scared about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know¡­how about a mysterious magical murderer?¡± the younger man replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± The general asked, training his eyes upon the young man.


    ¡°Say what?¡±


    ¡°That the murderer uses magic?¡±


    The young man scratched his head. ¡°The death counts is too high in too short a time for anything but magic, unless we¡¯re dealing with an unidentified black class, God forbid.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­Well, we won¡¯t know unless we find evidence, so keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious.¡± He ordered.


    ¡°Yes sir!....Um, sir?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Reporting something that looks suspicious.¡± The man said, pointing to a small, cloaked figure, wandering throughout the town.


    ¡°Good job. Now go catch them.¡±


    ¡°What? Me? Catch them?! What if they¡¯re the suspect, sir?¡±


    ¡°Then scream bloody murder, and I¡¯ll avenge your death.¡± He replied with a straight face.


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly encouraging to a man, General¡­¡± He replied, sarcastically.


    ¡°Men don¡¯t need encouragement. They¡¯re made of the stuff.¡± The General said off-handedly. ¡°And if you don¡¯t go after them now, you¡¯ll lose the only clue we have, so GO!¡± He clapped the younger man on the back, which propelled him out of the doorway and halfway down the street.


    He picked his head up and spit out a mouthful of dirt.


    ¡°Why me?¡± He asked, standing up. But, despite his grumblings, he hurried down the side street after the cloaked figure, which he caught sight of again, close to the martial hall. His expression hardened for a brief moment, before he reverted back to his previous expression.


    The figure paused, then turned this way and that as if confused. He took the opportunity to sneak up on the figure. Unexpectedly, the figure then promptly turned around and bumped into him, and fell down.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± The hood fell back, revealing the face of a girl, around 11 or 12 years old.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, are you all right?¡± He asked, rather awkwardly. After all, it was impossible for a little girl to be the cause of this mess. Thinking of how he was frightened of her earlier made him feel rather embarrassed


    Thera looked up at the armed soldier. It was time. She put on her best performance.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not all right. I come home after five years to find no one home at all! So I thought, ¡®Maybe there¡¯s some sort of festival. I like festivals! Let¡¯s go to the festiva-I mean, to find where everyone went¡¯. And now I¡¯m here, but there¡¯s no blooming festival at all! Er-I mean I can¡¯t find anybody! Where do you suppose they all went?¡± Thera asked, her frustration evidently rising.


    The young man grinned. ¡°Well, we¡¯re trying to find the exact same thing out. Would you like to help us? If you don¡¯t mind, we can go see the General-he¡¯s the man in charge of finding out where all the people went. But, mind: he may want to ask you a few questions.¡± The man smiled pleasantly.


    Thera''s eyebrow twitched. Blast. It was the king''s men. She didn''t really want to get involved with them, but she couldn''t let her disguise fall now, or else she''d never get to the bottom of anything. Thinking about whether to go or not go, her stomach growled loudly at that moment.


    ¡°Will there be food?¡± She asked. ¡°I¡¯m awful hungry.¡±


    ¡°Most certainly.¡± He replied. ¡°It¡¯ll be night soon anyways, and you wouldn¡¯t want to meet a monster out there on your way home would you?¡±


    ¡°No, I suppose not¡­okay then. Take me to your leader.¡± She said, frowning. Otherwise, she would have broken out into a wildly mischievous grin at her earthly reference. She sighed. References from a past life were not as fun when there was no one to share it with¡­an impossible wish.


    Hmmm? Or was it really impossible? After all, if Thera could end up here, then what prevent others from doing the same?...Whatever was the case, it was better to focus upon the task at hand.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    When they reached the building where the General was, Thera immediately noticed that he wasn¡¯t inside, but hidden in a blind spot between buildings. Still, she acted as if she didn¡¯t notice, and waited while the man went inside.


    A shadow fell upon her figure. ¡°Hmm?¡± The general stopped his swing just in time, noticing that the person he was attacking was just a child. ¡°Little girl, who are you? Where are your parents?¡± He asked.


    Thera turned around, and squealed as if surprised, but quickly ¡®recovered¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask for someone¡¯s name without introducing yourself!¡± She huffed, trying to cover up her former ¡®fright¡¯. He grinned. ¡°My apologies. You may call me General. And you?¡± He held out his hand for a handshake.


    She took it. ¡°Thera of Rose Manor. I just returned from a very long five years learning magic at my mom¡¯s sister¡¯s school. Not that she owns the school, mind you. It¡¯s just a tradition that one of the family goes there to learn magic if he or she has a good enough aptitude. As for my parents¡­¡±


    Her face fell and she began to look a bit teary eyed. ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure I really know. When I arrived home everyone was gone. I couldn¡¯t find a single person aside from this nice man who I met just a while ago¡± She wiped the tears away before they could fall, and then exclaimed. ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± The General asked.


    ¡°You just said you¡¯re the General, right? If you¡¯re called the General, then you¡¯re the person he was bringing me to see. Although, I can¡¯t seem to recall his name.¡± She said, slightly frowning in thought.


    ¡°It seems he¡¯s not insid-oof!¡± The man said to Thera as he walked out of the building and bumped straight into the General.


    ¡°Wha-General! How did you?¡± Thera inwardly smiled at his naivety. His momentary confusion was written all over his face.


    ¡°Yo, Darwin.¡± The General grinned broadly. ¡°So this is the suspicious figure that I sent you to find? What¡¯s so suspicious about a brat who just arrived?¡±


    Darwin gulped. ¡°There¡¯s N-nothing really, General, sir, aside from the fact that she¡¯s the only villager who hasn¡¯t been spirited away. There is a high possibility that she will be targeted by the mysterious murd-¡±


    The general wagged a finger near Darwin¡¯s nose, causing him to gulp down what he was about to say. ¡°Now, that¡¯s enough of that. There¡¯s no use scaring a poor girl who''s traveled a great distance. She must be starving, right?¡± He turned to Thera for confirmation.


    Her stomach growled loudly just then. He laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± Then he clapped Darwin on the back, lightly. ¡°Go make something for her to eat, got it?¡± He said.


    ¡°Yes, sir, General, sir!¡± Darwin saluted before heading for the kitchen to round up some food.


    The general glanced at Thera, but it seemed like she hadn¡¯t caught on to what Darwin was about to say. He smirked. It seemed like the heavens were on his side, that day. His face was back to normal by the time Thera turned to look at him, though.


    ¡°Since nobody is here, does that mean that something dangerous is coming?¡± Thera asked. ¡°You probably had everyone leave so that they wouldn¡¯t die, right? Is it a prophesied natural disaster? Monster wave? Are we secretly at war with another country? What is it?¡± She asked, eyes lighting up with ideas.


    The General raised his hand. ¡°At the moment, I am unable to tell you. King¡¯s orders, you know.¡±


    ¡°Whoah! Even the king is involved?! I must have stumbled upon something big!¡±


    Thera thumped her chest. ¡°If you ever need help, don¡¯t hesitate to ask for it! I know everything from water balls to fire balls. Just don¡¯t ask me about earth spikes.¡± She made a sour face. ¡°I¡¯m not too good with those.¡±


    The General chuckled. A kid Thera¡¯s age wouldn¡¯t know anything useful in a real battle, but he played along, his face the picture of sincerity. ¡°Sure! If I ever need your help, I won¡¯t hesitate to ask for it.¡±


    When Darwin came back with food, the General left to make preparations for that night.


    ------


    That night, even the moon was dark. Everything was blacker than pitch beyond the small globes of light caused by the gleaming torches.


    Thera lay in a bed in an empty house which had been taken over as a base of operations, her breathing light and even in sleep. the Generalwas guarding outside, patrolling at the front.


    A dark figure smirked as it stared at the house. The lights only helped to pinpoint which house the visitors were in, not that it needed any help.


    It could have found them even without the lights.


    But there was no need to alert that soft-hearted fool. It sent out a cry in a pitch too high for human ears to detect.


    A mist slowly rose, advancing towards the house. When it arrived, the Generalshivered. So quickly, everything became so much colder that he could see his breath in front of his face.


    Behind the dark figure, an army of dark figures appeared. It raised an arm, and dropped it in the direction of the house. The dark figures advanced upon the rear of the building slowly, making not a sound.


    Thera opened her eyes and grinned knowingly. The intruders were finally making a move.

 Chapter 17: The Masterful Murderer

    All of a sudden, a roar broke through the air. The General had discovered the intruders and commenced blasting the shadow figures away with his fists. The Shadows would leap back, then swoop forward, in an unnaturally swift manner.


    Darwin was also deflecting the shadows with well-aimed martial techniques, instead of brute strength.


    It seemed those two had been waiting for this to happen. Thera surmised. But it was too bad. The enemy had already reached her room.


    Thera, calm, pretended to have just awoken from sleep due to the General¡¯s roaring outside. She pretend-yawned and rubbed her eyes. She sat there with half-opened eyes. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± She asked, in a sleepy voice.


    A shadow creeped under the door, and stole up to the bed, then rose and surrounded Thera in a dark bubble as if to engulf her.


    Thera sneezed, and cast a flash ball at the same time-making it look like she had accidentally cast it, as young novices sometimes did.


    The shadow screeched as it was riddled full of holes. Then it fled quickly back under the door. Soon enough, the shadows retreated, and the General stomped his way hurriedly up the stairs.


    ¡°Thera! Are you all right?!¡± He shouted as he barged into her room.


    Thera was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. ¡°Huh? Yeah¡­Why were you shouting just now? I was having a nice dream.¡±


    He heaved a sigh of relief. He had broken into a cold sweat when he had heard the shriek from her room. He leaned against the doorway.


    ¡°Oh, just the boogeyman. I fought him away with these very fists, see?¡± He laughed. ¡°You go back to sleep. I¡¯ll make sure nothing gets by me!¡±


    Hardly encouraging when you just let an enemy, who was out to get me, slip past you right under your nose. Thera thought.


    ¡°Oka-yawn- okay¡± She replied, and lay back down again. This time, Thera actually went to sleep. If she had to, she could awaken within mere moments anyways. It seems tonight was not the night to catch the criminal.


    And so, the first part of Thera¡¯s plan ended.


    ----------------------


    Nothing happened for the rest of that night. The next morning, the smell of frying sausages and pancakes fanned out and tickled the noses of both Darwin and the General.


    When they followed their noses, they were surprised to find Thera, flipping a pancake onto a third large stack of pancakes.


    She spread butter and syrup over the top ones, adding just a dash of cinnamon, then flipping another finished pancake on top and repeat the process.


    The sausages had just been taken off the griddle, so they were still piping hot.


    The general laughed. ¡°By the King¡¯s Crown, Thera! What is all this? Did you make breakfast for us?¡±


    He knew she must have gotten up early in the morning to start on these. He was also wondering how Thera had gotten by him without his noticing, since he knew he hadn¡¯t heard a single sound since last night.


    Thera moved the griddle off the heat, the piles of pancakes completed. ¡°Yes. And don¡¯t you go and try to get out of it. It would be a complete waste of food not to eat this, and you know it.¡±


    ¡°I know what sausages are, but I¡¯ve never seen a food like this before. What are these? What are they called?¡±


    Darwin asked. He looked over the stacks, which smelled positively mouthwatering.


    ¡°Oh, these? They¡¯re something the cook came up with to celebrate my getting better. She called them pancakes.¡± Thera replied truthfully.


    The General¡¯s eyes sparked in recognition. ¡°Thera of Rose Manor¡­.you mean the same Thera who managed to survive the Hades fever in the Murlough poisoning case? You were quite the topic at the castle a while ago, Sir Maverick¡¯s seldom-seen daughter.¡±


    Ugh. Busted.Thera thought behind her smiling face.Now they know who I am. I should have just used my fake name earlier, but I wasn''t sure if they were using a truth-spell or not. Might as well make the best of it, I suppose.


    Thera curtsied. ¡°At your service~ ah, but before we continue talking, can you help me carry these to the table? They¡¯re a bit too heavy for me, so¡­¡±


    The General laughed again, grabbing two plates, while Darwin grabbed the remaining plate and the platter of sausages. Thera followed behind them with the silverware and some cups.


    After setting the table, she went back into the kitchen for a pitcher of water. When she came out, the other two were already half-finished with their pancakes.


    ¡°Hey! No-fair! You started without me!¡± She complained as she set the water down on the table.


    The General winked.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky. At my house, if you didn¡¯t eat your food, someone else would volunteer-eat it for you.¡±


    Thera frowned, and with a ¡®hmmph!¡¯ Sat down in her seat. ¡°Well, we¡¯re not in your house, now, are we?¡± She began to eat as well, concentrating upon her food.


    From what Thera remembered, the house they were in was a small inn with a bar. She also suspected that the General chose the location for the copious amounts of alcohol stored away in the cellar. But, naturally, she wasn¡¯t going to say anything about it.


    The General and Darwin just laughed and continued eating. When they had scraped the last bit of butter, syrup, and grease off of their plates, they chatted to each other as they turned their eyes to Thera¡¯s stack of pancakes.


    All three stacks of pancakes had been of equal height, and each stack was enough to fill the stomach of a grown man. Seeing a small girl trying to eat a grown man¡¯s portion, both men were wondering when she would give up and stop eating.


    But Thera didn¡¯t stop eating. The stack, which was half as tall as she, was gradually whittled down. As she ate, the faces of the two slowly ranged from simple observance, to bemusement, to concern, to amazement.


    Thera looked up from her food, noticing the talk had died down. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t your stomach hurt?¡± Darwin asked her. ¡°You¡¯ve eaten enough to burst three times over.¡±


    Thera tilted her head, innocently, considering. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Why is that a question!?¡± Darwin exclaimed, uncomfortably.


    Thera shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been this way ever since the fever.¡± Having said that, she kept eating. Darwin fell silent after that.


    Half of the pancake stack was left, a third, a tenth¡­finally, the whole stack of pancakes had been eaten. Thera put down her fork and sighed with contentment. Then she looked at the two men.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked.


    The General shook his head, chuckling. ¡°Nothing.¡± It seemed that when this little girl grew up, she would become something quite interesting¡­


    ----------------------


    After four more days of sweeping through the town, it was confirmed that there really was no one there. Thera glanced around with the General, but didn¡¯t say anything at all, aside from smiling and murmuring


    ¡°Interesting¡­very interesting.¡±


    Each night brought with it a new attack from the dark beings, who would then suddenly vanish as quickly as they''d appear. By the fifth day, the General and Darwin were feeling particularly frustrated.


    For lunch that day, they had sandwiches.


    As it began to get dark, once again, the three once more gathered at the inn.


    ¡°No sign of anything! A lot of good today did for us.¡± Darwin remarked bitterly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve had any particular insights either.¡± The General agreed. ¡°But we can¡¯t give up! The lives of this town are depending on us!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beginning to wonder if either of you even have eyes in your heads at all.¡± Thera remarked bluntly.


    ¡°¡°Whatever do you mean?¡±¡± Darwin and the General asked with blank eyes.


    ¡°¡­Well, regardless, the whole thing will come to a head tonight, so you¡¯d best stay on your guard.¡± Thera replied


    ¡°Hey, you just skipped the whole explanation! Don¡¯t just skip things because they¡¯re difficult!¡± Darwin threw out another tsukkomi.


    Strange: even though the culture here is mostly western, they still have Tsukkomis? Thera grinned. But she wasn¡¯t going to give out any hints this time. The culprit was present, after all.


    ¡°Ah, look at the sunset! Time for bed~!¡± She said, and then walked towards the stairs.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even had dinner yet!¡± Darwin exclaimed.


    ¡°I already ate! Bleeh!¡± Thera said, closing one eye and spitting out her tongue. ¡°Dinner¡¯s in the kitchen anyways.¡± Then she continued upstairs to bed.


    Darwin turned to find the General already eating a large plate of rice mixed with fried meat and vegetables.


    ¡°Oy! Where¡¯s my plate?¡±


    The General simply looked up at him.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? The kitchen.¡±


    Darwin sighed as he went to grab his plate.


    ----------------------------


    Later that night, Darwin and the General were once more guarding outside. It being the fifth night, Darwin would yawn every now and then.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Once more, the mist rolled in. Once more, the dark figure appeared with its army of dark beings, and advanced upon the house. Darwin and the General fought tooth and nail with them, keeping them from intruding.


    Only this time, there was no light flash coming from upstairs. Just like the last night, the dark figures retreated just as suddenly as they had appeared.


    The General once more ran upstairs to Thera¡¯s room. But this time, she was gone! Surprise, then shock covered his face, then finally guilt and frustration. He fell to his knees, pounding his fist upon the floor, which threatened to break under his blow. Darwin, coming up behind him, could only stand still in the doorway as he watched this scene, a bitter expression on his face.


    Then, through the window, they saw a light fly up and burst above the area in front of the martial hall.


    The General''s face immediately brightened a bit in hope, as he realized the firework was a sign from Thera, showing where she was. He immediately jumped out of the window, rolled a landing, and was up on his feet in a flash, running towards Martial Hall.


    Darwin stood there for a few more moments, then clicked his tongue in frustration and ran down the stairs, an odd light in his eyes.


    When The General arrived on the scene, Thera was surrounded by dark figures just beginning to attack her.


    He roared again, and barreled head-on into the fray, but soon noticed that no matter how many times they struck out towards her, they could not hit her at all.


    She simply sat there, on an odd black stone with her eyes closed, remaining unhurt. Then her eyes blazed light as she opened them, and pointed towards the sky, hurling a massive fireball up into the air.


    It went higher and higher until it seemed to strike something, and separated into a fiery spider web pattern, spreading and blazing above the town.


    After but a few moments, the fire went out, and the surrounding dark figures fell to the ground. The General looked at Thera, then at the figures on the ground, then at Thera again.


    ¡°How did-¡± He began to ask, but suddenly, a huge black shadow on the ground swiftly made its way towards Thera like flowing ink.


    The General sprang into action with [Lightning Steps], slipping in between Thera and the shadow on the ground.


    It tried to go left, but the General was in the way. It tried to go right, but the General was still in the way. The shadow suddenly backed off.


    ¡°Trying to run are you?! I won¡¯t have it!¡±


    The large man roared as he charged towards the fleeing shadow. It flowed up a nearby wall and launched past him. The General swung his sword, but the sword simply passed through it with no resistance whatsoever and once more sped towards Thera.


    ¡°THERA!¡± He bellowed.


    It was nearly upon her, leaping up and spreading out, a blanket of darkness speeding towards her.


    She looked at it, with a blank, uncomprehending stare. The shadow had almost completely engulfed her when¡­she sneezed.


    Instantly, light burst out, shredding the monster to pieces with a shriek. With a simple light spell, the dark monster had been killed.


    It was at that moment that Darwin arrived. He stared blankly at Thera, and then at the dark figures on the ground, and then at the General, who had since walked over by Thera. His usual expression-filled demeanor was gone, replaced by a deadpan expression.


    Thera continued sitting down upon the rock, eyes closed, as if she were sleeping in a sitting position.


    Unobserved by the other two, her shadow extended to link up with the General¡¯s and Darwin¡¯s shadow, as she cast an immobilization spell on their legs. As long as they didn¡¯t try to walk anywhere, they wouldn¡¯t even notice it was there.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Darwin asked, slowly. Thera ignored him. ¡°Thera? General?¡±


    The General scratched his head. ¡°What happened, you say? I can hardly believe it myself. If I hadn¡¯t seen it, I still wouldn¡¯t believe it.¡± He glanced over at Thera, who continued to ignore the two.


    ¡°And? Who defeated all the shadow beings? Why is Thera sitting on that rock over there?¡± He asked. "Where did that rock even come from?"


    Thera remained silent. The General finally said. ¡°She took down the shadow beings with a fire spell aimed at the heavens, and then destroyed an unidentifiable shadow creature with a light spell when she sneezed.¡±


    "Correction! There was only oneshadow being."


    Thera opened her eyes.


    "What do you mean, girl! Did you not see all these figures attacking you!?" The General exclaimed.


    Thera shook her head. "Those were mere puppets. The only shadow beast that was here tonight, was the one I destroyed personally."


    Darwin had a strange expression on his face for half a second, before returning to his usual pleasant demeanor.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Darwin?¡± Thera asked, staring at him in the same unblinking manner as a cat. ¡°Too impressed to speak? Or too frustrated now that your plans have been foiled?¡±


    He stiffened. ¡°I beg your pardon? Whatever do you mean?¡±


    Thera shrugged. ¡°The General was easier to figure out. He was simply using me as bait to draw out the group behind all the mass killings. But he was fully intending to protect me from them as well, once they showed up.¡±


    The General scratched his cheek with a finger, feeling a bit awkward to be seen through by a child. Wait. Plans? He turned to look at Darwin, who was frowning. Thera continued in a laid-back manner.


    ¡°You, on the other hand, were a harder nut to crack. You seemed perfectly normal, most of the time. But you slipped up eventually, you know. The other night, when I had just avoided being swallowed by the shadow creature, you looked much more frustrated than a mere five nights of lacking sleep would bring about.¡±


    Thera sighed, clicking her tongue.


    ¡°Impressive, really. To think that the mysterious group was actually a single man with his tamed circus. Even the way that you asked your questions betrayed who you were.¡±


    Darwin frowned. ¡°What does it matter how I ask my questions? You¡¯re being unreasonable, Thera.¡±


    ¡°Unreasonable? Perhaps in front of someone who doesn¡¯t understand what happened tonight, I may seem unreasonable indeed¡­.Very well then. I shall explain everything from the beginning.¡±


    Thera decided after musing for a few moments.


    ¡°Ridiculous! You¡¯ve done nothing but eat, talk, and sleep all day! General, this is obviously simply the overactive imagination of a child.¡± Darwin huffed.


    The General raised a hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll decide for myself whether it is simply make-believe or not, Darwin.¡±


    He said, in a grave voice. If Thera had tried to tell him such things earlier, then he wouldn¡¯t have believed her. But, having seen Thera defeat the previously undefeated shadow beings, there was definitely something more than meets the eye here.


    Thera nodded. At least it was clear that they weren¡¯t on the same page. In fact, it was highly likely that the General himself was innocent, but she needed to confirm it.


    ¡°Thank you. Now, might I ask you, General, how the bodies of the villagers in the previous villages were found?¡±


    The General jerked his head, and turned it aside, struggling inwardly.


    Thera glanced over at Darwin. His face was mostly still blank, but his breathing had sped up, and he stared into the distance-his eyes bright as if he were recalling a fond memory. The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile for but a millisecond. If Thera hadn''t been watching him, she would have missed it.


    I knew it. It''s another one of those murdering addicts. His expressionwas all that Thera needed to see in order to know that he was the killer.


    ¡°The villagers¡­were all found in a pool¡­of their own blood.¡± He finally revealed, gritting his teeth, his face filled with a deep sorrow.


    ¡°Rather, they were found swimming in a pool of blood, yet not a drop of blood was still in them, right?¡± Thera asked.


    The General¡¯s head jerked around and he stared at Thera. ¡°How did you-¡±


    ¡°Simple. I confirmed it myself.¡± She looked off into the distance. ¡°The last town was Barrymore¡­¡± Then she shook her head to clear it.


    The sight of the town as it was, one month old, with mummified corpses on the ground, and surrounded by dried blood had been a bad enough sight to see. To imagine that the same thing might happen to her own town was more than Thera could bear.


    She sighed.


    ¡°Regardless, such a thing cannot be accomplished by a man. Even though it may seem like they were cut open and bled out, the cuts were actually done after they had been sucked dry. In every man, woman and child, there was one distinctively common wound: a puncture wound in the shoulder, right above the heart.¡±


    Thera punctuated this with a finger.


    ¡°It is through this wound that all of the blood had been drawn out. Now, killing is all very common, but there is yet no man that is capable of a massive-scale operation like bleeding out an entire town in a mere three days-and through such a small puncture wound as that, too. No, such a thing is only possible with the aid of a flock of demonic beasts. And not just any beasts, mind you.¡±


    She watched Darwin¡¯s face as it became strangely more and more expressionless and calm. Then she let the words fall.


    ¡°This sort of bloody massacre is only possible with the aid of at least fifteen emperor-class vampire spiders.¡±


    Finally, Darwin¡¯s blank expression changed. His eyes flickered, and he stared at Thera hungrily, as if already envisioning her as a corpse, drowning in a pool of her own blood.

 Chapter 18: A Bloody End

    The General frowned.


    Emperor class vampire spiders! Even one was considered a calamity, not to mention that their number exceeded fifteen!


    These creatures were bloodthirsty, with a sadistic streak. Not only would they drain the blood out of their victim, if they became full before they had fully drained the victim, they would forcefully expel the blood within them in order to drain every last drop from their victims.


    Not to mention the fact that they were extremely territorial. Without a beast tamer, it would be impossible for so many of these things to tolerate living close to each other.


    On a side note, the name was also the off-the-books title of a certain *cough* kingdom¡¯s tax collector.


    But, seeing that they attacked and drained every warm-blooded creature they found without question, it was near impossible to tame an emperor-class vampire spider.


    If one could tame even one of these creatures, then that person would become known as a master tamer. The General knew this.


    ¡°Ho?¡­you¡¯re saying that my man has somehow tamed and commanded an army of untamable beasts, and is using that to massacre entire villages?¡± The General asked.


    ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡± She replied.


    Darwin smiled. ¡°You do realize how ridiculous you sound right now, don¡¯t you? If I was able to tame an army of such things, why am I still here at my post? Why wouldn¡¯t I be at the top rung, showing people my amazing abilities, and receiving my rewards?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s convenient for you.¡± She said. ¡°No one else has a chance of arriving on the scene first, and getting rid of any evidence that would point to your pets, like discarded skins, or poison hairs. And also, you have no desire for rewards...¡± She stared pointedly at him. "You pride yourself in your bloody work, you sick monster!"


    Darwin¡¯s nose twitched, betraying his annoyance under Thera''s gaze.


    Thera raised an eyebrow. ¡°Moreover, these puppets that I just defeated a few minutes ago were all suspended upon one great big spiders web, and I just burned it down. Do you know what that means?¡±


    The General¡¯s eyes widened. Emperor Spiders were very proud of their webs. Anyone who dared to burn them would incite the wrath of every last one into a veritable frenzy without fail.


    ¡°They are coming here, where the fire came from. If you want proof that this man is guilty, you need not do anything more than wait here until they arrive.¡± She said.


    A wind blew dust clouds by, as this realization sank in. Hissing cries of rage sounded in the distance.


    Darwin realized at that moment, that he had made a terrible mistake. He should have run when the General jumped off the second story. He should have sought to leave with every bit of strength he had. This girl -who had seemed such a simple, innocent young creature- was actually such a meticulous mastermind!


    For a moment, everyone was as still as a statue.


    A vein bulged in Darwin¡¯s head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t move his legs. Looking down, Thera''s elongated shadow seemed to loom over him. But, there was something wrong about that shadow...


    The moon! It was in the wrong place in the sky! In order for such a shadow to be cast, the moon should have been low on the horizon behind her. Instead, it illumined her face from her right, creating a second shadow, which stretched away to her left.


    "Oh? Just where do you think you''re going?" Thera grinned at him. It was this girl who had done something! He was certain of it! Darrin finally realized that even if he wanted to leave, he was now unable to. Thera¡¯s immobilization spell had been discovered.


    ¡°Enough of this foolishness!¡± He snapped. ¡°Even if what you say is true, and there are really emperor spiders in the surroundings, you have no proof that I have ever been in control of them! Release me! The true culprit could be laughing in the shadows as we speak!¡± His eyes jumped around here and there as he began to panic.


    "Don''t make the mistake of convicting an innocent man for a villain''s crimes!" He cried.


    "Oh? but I''m sure that if we examine these puppets we''ll be able to find traces of your mana upon them. These puppets were suspended from the web above us, and spiders have no need for such things. They also don''t naturally dislike placing useless things upon their webs. So, how did these puppets get up there?" Thera searched Darrin''s expression. Ah, he winced. Guilty.


    "That doesn''t mean anything! I''ve been fighting these things for five days and nights, so of course there''d be traces of my mana on there!" Darrin retorted.


    "...But...on every single one? While you may have fought them, would you be able to place mana traces in the individual pieces of the puppets themselves? There is such thing as a craftman''s mana record. If examined, I''m sure that every single one of these will come up as your possessions and creations." Thera pointed out.


    Darrin became silent. "E-even so, I am a soldier of the king! By rights I should have a fair and just trial in court! You can''t just accuse me without due proccess of law!" Hopefully a rich noble would be interested in his unique talents and pay his bail, allowing him to walk away free.


    Thera remained sitting on the black stone. By this point, Thera had released the binding onf the General. He had already been proven innocent.


    ¡°If you mean to take you to the court of bribery and corruption, then I''ll have to disappoint you. Not interested.¡± Thera replied airily.


    Darwin swore at Thera in extremely colorful language.


    Thera simply stuck her fingers in her ears, which caused him to swear all the more.


    The General now saw Darwin in a new light. No longer did he appear to be a sane, upright man.


    The Darwin before him was quickly revealing his true face: the face of a monster who had long tossed away his humanity.


    Every point which Darwin brought up to prove his innocence, Thera shot him down with more and more proof. Everything he used to prove his innocence was only helping to confirm his guilt. Thera was merciless.


    The General was also concerned, though. He approached Thera.


    ¡°I admire your courage, Thera, but do you not realize that if we stay here, we¡¯ll be surrounded by an army of Emperor level vampire spiders? Against one or two, perhaps, I could hold my own, but even an army would have trouble dealing with such a crowd, underneath brown-class practitioners.¡±


    Thera grinned. ¡°Oh they may try to kill me, but it won¡¯t work.¡± She tapped the black stone she was sitting on. ¡°They can¡¯t get within three yards of this.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡± The General asked.


    Thera¡¯s face fell. ¡°What? You don¡¯t recognize it? This is a ward stone. Moreover, it¡¯s made out of blessed silver, although the outer covering has oxidized a bit, I¡¯ll admit. I was surprised that you would put something so useful as a marker for the transportation spell, though.¡± She said turning to Darwin.


    ¡°Transportation spell?¡± The General asked, moving within the three yard protected area. Strangely, the ward stone for some reason did not reject his drawing near. He assumed Thera had something to do with it- a token of her trust.


    ¡°Yep. Although you can¡¯t really see it very well down here, this whole town is surrounded by a huuuge transportation array.¡±


    She tapped the black stone. ¡°With this for the center stone of the array. As expected of a beast tamer. Instead of you yourself providing the enormous amount of power needed, you substituted this ward stone as a sort of temporary battery. If I move it out of its spot, the whole spell should collapse and bring everyone back to the town.¡±


    The General raised his eyebrow at this.


    "And why didn''t we see this stone beforehand?"


    "Ward stones are enchanted to be hard to find. Unless you knew the exact location, and touched the stone, it would remain hidden from sight." She replied.


    ¡°And what if you¡¯re actually the one who''s the beast tamer, little girl?¡± He asked. ¡°You could be waiting for the best chance to kill me, you know.¡±


    Thera raised an eyebrow in response.


    ¡°Well, first off, if I¡¯d have wanted to kill you two, I¡¯d have done it in a much simpler way. Putting poison in the food I made, or throwing poison down the well would have been much simpler and effective. Or I could have created magic traps in town which only activated upon reaching a certain weight threshold. No need to beat around the bush and waste my vast amount of puppets and resources; and no need to anger my own emperor-class vampire spiders. That¡¯s just stupid.¡± She scoffed.


    ¡°No, rather, you¡¯re altogether too clever for a young lady of eleven years, so, even though it doesn''t make any sense, it could also have been a possibility for you.¡± The General said honestly, chuckling. She was right. She had had many opportunities to kill them before this. Purposefully injuring her advantage did not make any sense.


    Thera crossed her arms. ¡°Anyone who has ANY proficiency in magic is bound to be intelligent. Be it an old doddering codger or a mere eleven year old girl. The only difference between the two is wisdom gained through experience. You can¡¯t become a wizard if you¡¯re stupid. But, for arguments sake, if I were the murderer, then you''d already be sleeping with the fishes at this point.¡±


    ¡°Point taken.¡± He replied. ¡°Now, what are you intending to do with Darwin, here?¡± Darwin himself was just outside of the 3-yard ward protection.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to take him back to the king and have him tried for the destruction of many towns, and the murder of thousands of innocent people?¡± Thera asked. ¡°I certainly have no desire to possess him, either dead, or alive.¡±


    The General frowned. ¡°Well, I¡¯d certainly LIKE to, but taking into account that he is far too dangerous to the kingdom, should he escape with his peculiar talents, it would be best to just kill him and investigate afterwards, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


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    Darwin¡¯s face drained of color. ¡°General, you wouldn¡¯t do that, would you? You couldn¡¯t murder one of your own men in cold blood!¡± He sniveled.


    ¡°Says the cold-blooded man who planned the massacre of thousands with what could only be described as the worst of deaths.¡±


    Thera pointed out. ¡°But there¡¯s really no need to do anything, General. Emperor-level beasts have a peculiar habit when enraged: they recognize no one, either stronger or more powerful than they-including their tamers.¡±


    If Darwin¡¯s face looked pale, beforehand, now it was as white as a sheet.


    As the spiders began to get closer and closer, Darwin began to threaten, then to beg, then to shriek, then to cry for mercy, out of growing fear. But he could do nothing. He was bound to the ground, and no amount of effort could release him from it.


    Thera acted like he wasn¡¯t there. She had no mercy for a murderer.


    Every time he begged, Thera thought of the countless corpses that she had witnessed in the village that she had examined. She thought of her parents and sister sharing the same fate, coupled with his expression of joy when he remembered the moments of slaughter, and felt horrified and violently ill. But even more so, she felt a nauseating disgust, a cold rage, as she observed this wretched being.


    This kind of scum did not deserve to live not even a moment more!


    In her previous world, she had been a hair¡¯s breadth away from becoming her master¡¯s successor. But she had been missing one thing: sakki, bloodlust, the materialized desire for blood. He had sent her out into the world to travel and learn from other masters how to materialize sakki.


    Thera had never before felt such an anger, such an overwhelming desire to kill. She had always been level-headed and logical, but exacting. You could say that, in her past life, she had hated no one but herself, mistaking the failures of others for her own self-weakness.


    Having been reborn, she clearly felt for the first time an anger that could not be quenched by anything other than that man''s death. But, this execution was not revenge, nor was it self-defense, but an exacting and just retribution for the lives that had fallen under him. Anything less simply would not do.


    Unbeknownst to her, her tiny frame was radiating an insane amount of bloodlust at that time. To the point where the General was observing her carefully, in case her rationality snapped and she lost her right mind.


    Soon enough, the spiders became visible at the outskirts of the village. Darrin shivered and turned around. When he saw their red-enraged eyes he shrieked, but that only caused them to rush all the more quickly, as the sound of new prey easily reached theor location.


    Thera finally looked at him, her expression as cold as the cold rage that burned within her.


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re extremely unlucky. You could have chosen a different village, but you didn¡¯t. In your arrogance, you chose MY village to take hostage, with MY family in it. With no previous enmities between us, do you think I would simply let you kill my family? We may have never even crossed paths in our lifetimes. But your arrogance decided your fate. Die in the same way that all those innocents died.¡±


    With these words, she gazed unfalteringly at the nightmarish execution taking place before her. Thirty enraged spiders pounced on him at once, their abdomens becoming larger as they immediately emptied quarts out of him, while he was still alive.


    As the light from Darrin''s eyes dimmed, his face twisted into a wrinkled visage filled with regret. But there was no medicine for regret. The light in his eyes went out, and his body slumped over. When he finally looked no more than a skin-covered mummy, they separated, dropping Darwin¡¯s drained corpse to the ground.


    Having witnessed his execution, Thera nodded. Then promptly turned to the side and emptied her stomach of its dinner.


    Even in her previous life, she had only killed that sword-wielding madman, and had been killed in return. But, even so, the gruesome scene before her was enough to empty any soldier¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you turn away?¡± The General said, observing Thera.


    Thera wiped the side of her mouth with her sleeve. ¡°Turning away meant that I admitted I was doing something wrong. I was not wrong, therefore, even should I not desire to see such a thing, why should I turnaway?¡±


    He nodded. "Good answer, girl."


    The cold flame went out as Thera sighed. "But...Those villages with the victims corpses....they should have a proper burial now that the villain is dealt with."


    While I''d love to be able to bring about such a thing, I can do nothing if we can''t get out. I don''t suppose you have a plan for dealing with this current situation?¡± The General asked, eyeing the spiders that were as tall as ponies.


    Thera nodded in return. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re not going to like it.¡± Wisps of the mist were still floating about in the area, carrying a sweet scent upon them.


    The General frowned as his eyes began to blurr. He suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to sleep and fell on his knees. ¡°What- what. Have. You. Done?¡± He asked, he voice slurring as he fought the sweet-smellingsleeping powder I had scattered in the air before he had even arrived.


    ¡°Take a nap. I¡¯ll handle everything.¡± She replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­No¡­.fair.¡± And with that, the big man toppled over, fast asleep.


    Thera took a deep breath and spoke to the spiders. ¡°Hey, spiders! I know you can understand me!¡± With that, 240 eyes stared at her. ¡°I feel pretty bad for burning your webs, so I¡¯ll make it up to you: the strongest one amongst you, I will allow to kill me.¡±


    The spiders mandibles clacked together as the thought agreed with them.


    ¡°There¡¯s just one question I have to ask.¡± Thera continued. ¡°Who among you is the strongest?¡±


    At once each spider straightened out and clacked loudly, each claiming to be the strongest. They then began attacking each other in fury for seeing other spiders claim they were strongest.


    It was as Thera suspected. Once their tamer was gone, they basically went back to their original territorial, solitary way of living. Within minutes, the bodies of the spiders were riddled with wounds.


    ¡°Aw. Such strength! But I still can¡¯t tell who¡¯s the strongest. Well, no other choice but to heal you all up and start again.¡± Thera said. Extending her hand, she invoked [Heal].


    Holy light lit up the area. But, instead of closing up the wounds of the spiders, it had the reverse effect. The spiders shrieked as smoke came out of their wounds, their bodies quickly corroding in the holy light.


    Within minutes, The army of spiders had become mere piles of dust, blown away in a slight breeze. The early morning twilight warned of the coming dawn.


    Spending their entire time trying to destroy the damnable beasts, hundreds of years of fighters would havenever even had an inkling of a thought of healing the pests, which is why they were so hard to kill off.


    In fact, Emperor-level Vampire Spiders were considered to be more dangerous than Dragons.


    Sure, a Brown-class Practitioner could have easily dealt with them. But, for a little eleven-year-old girl to actually one-hit KO a group of thirty of these beasts, it was no minor occurrence. This event was first in the future book of her legendary feats.


    ------------------------------


    Thera meditated to regain the large amount of MP she had expended. She had shortened Mana Power to MP and Martial Spirit Power to SP in her head, since it was easy to associate such things to gaming terminology.


    Then, she stood up, and dusted off her skirt. Time to release everyone from the spell.


    In actuality, this was an ancient livestock transportation spell that not many would know about. It was only because of Thera¡¯s access to Madame Rothema¡¯s library that she knew about it at all.


    Originally, it was painted onto a large canvas, placed on the ground. Then the livestock would be placed upon it, and the spell would store them in a pocket space, in suspended animation.


    Upon secondary invocation, the livestock would then be released in the same state that they had been right before being stored.


    This method had saved on fodder expenses, and kept the traffic down. After all, it was easier to transport a cartful of canvases, than it was to escort a herd of cattle down the busy streets.


    But after the loss of many wizards in the great wars, this method had become lost to the world. Thera had recently run across it in passing in an ancient book that Madame Rothema had added to her collection.


    All that she needed to do now was to remove the ward stone. She pushed upon the ward stone...


    It remained in its spot.


    Thera frowned and threw her whole weight against it.


    The stone did not budge.


    She stamped her foot, and used the earth spell, [Tremor].


    It remained unaffected.


    Finally, Theragave up using physical force, and concentrated, remembering the back door way to reverse the spell.


    Since Thera had not practiced this spell very well, she had no choice but to draw a complicated sigil in the air, and speak the return incantation: ¡°Across space and time, give back what is mine!¡±


    And, with that, a bright light covered the entire town of Dulce as the sun simultaneously broke over the horizon, shining upon the town iluminatedwith silver lights reaching to the heavens.

 Chapter 19: The True One Who Should Be Feared

    ¡°What in the world!?¡±


    ¡°Hiya!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡±


    Many such cries came out from the surrounding houses, as the sun rose that morning.


    Thera used wind to dissipated the remaining sleeping powder, before carefully taking a blue bead out of her mouth. This, she tossed into the air, and hit with a spine needle. The resulting bang sounded louder than a hundred balloons popping at once.


    The bead had been a ball of condensed air that magicians used in travelling or searching underwater. If left to slowly dissipate in the mouth, then it would take four or five days to disappear completely.


    The only problem is that, if it¡¯s penetrated, then it will definitely explode.


    Thera had had this bead in her mouth the whole night long, in order to not breath in the sleeping powder that she had spread in the air. Then she moved the General to a sitting position, leaning against one of the Martial hall pillars.


    As a result of the sudden noise, many people began gatheringat Martial hall to see what the matter was. Thera cleared her throat, and used magic to enhance her voice so that everyone in town could hear it.


    ¡°Ahem, testing, testing. Please do not be alarmed about the state of your residences. Due to a rare space-time fluctuation caused by an ancient device, you have all been transported one month into the future.


    The device has been dealt with. However, certain things may be out of place, or different than you remember them. Please do not be alarmed. Everything will be explained today at a later date.¡±


    Thera checked on the condition of the General. While the sleeping powder was quick-acting, it didn''t have a long activation period. It seemed he would wake up in a few minutes.


    After that, Thera frowned at the ward stone. This should not remain in this spot. She grabbed a book from her bag, and flipped through to the section on ward stones.


    After glancing through the section, she sighed. Of course the ward stone would have some sort of password action necessary in order to move it.


    After trying a few of them out, she snapped her fingers and the ward stone, which had previously stubbornly remained in place, obediently shrunk to the size of a pebble.


    Placing it into her personal magic bag, she made her way to Pear-Haven Inn.


    The owner and the chef were already wracking their heads over the sudden large disappearance of food and drink.


    ¡°Excuse me, I have a message for the owner and chef?¡± She said. ¡°It concerns the disappearance of food and alcohol.¡± This got their attention.


    ¡°The message is this: Please calculate the costs for the missing amount of food and lodging for three people, send this bill to Rose Manor. Also, please calculate the costs for the consumed alcohol and make the bill out to the General. That is all.¡±


    While Thera would indeed pay them back for the food she had used, she was not going to take responsibility for a certain martial practitioner¡¯s drinking bill.


    After dealing with things in town, she left down the road leading towards Rose Manor.


    While walking back, she reflected upon everything that had happened that week. If but one of the factors had been wrong, then things would have turned out quite bad indeed. If she hadn''t learned magic, she would not have been able to capture and subdue the murderer. If she had not learned how to cultivate martial spirit, she would not have the strength or the stamina to set the stage. If she had not known how to read faces, she would never have known who the true culprit of all this was.


    This incident had only made her more convinced that her decision to continue down both magic, and martial arts, was not wrong.


    -------------------


    The first to spot her, of course, was James the gardener, who was cutting the grass. When he saw Thera, he dropped his shears and ran as fast as he could towards the familiar house yelling.


    ¡°She¡¯s back! She¡¯s back! Thera is back!¡±


    ----------


    As one might expect, everyone dropped what they were doing and came out to meet Thera. As such, after side-stepping Papa¡¯s bear hug attack, she was immediately bombarded with tons of questions from the maids, her parents, and Margie-who was home on holiday. James just stood off to the side, grinning his ears off.


    Thera held up her hands to ward off their questions, laughing.


    ¡°Hold on! One at a time, please! Why don¡¯t we go inside first? I¡¯ve been gone for five years, now, so I want to know everything that I¡¯ve missed!¡±


    They were only too happy to oblige.


    Margie had graduated from magic school with top honors, and now boasted of having broken through all the way up to first rank, Master class.


    Thera was surprised that she was only two ranks below Margie. She was only beginning to realize how much of a cheat advantage cultivating from infanthood had given her.


    Margie was considered one of the top prodigies, being able to breakthrough into the realm of true magicians by the early age of twenty-one. Most didn¡¯t reach that stage until they were at least 25 years old. It seems her obsession spurred her improvement by enormous leaps and bounds.


    Speaking of which¡­she sure had gotten tall, and was wearing a rather early-stage pair of glasses. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped, since technology hadn¡¯t yet developed very far yet.


    But¡­dang. She sure grew up quickly. Thera thought to herself, feeling rather old, despite the fact that her physical body was ten years younger than Margie. Mother was also sporting grey hairs in her hair that hadn¡¯t been there before. And Father''s hair had toned down from a bright red, to a calmer auburn. His eyes that twinkled, had many more wrinkles about them.


    She felt regret that she hadn¡¯t been home for the past five years. Perhaps she could negotiate to return home every month or so from now on.


    It was her Mother who came out with the question that was probably on everyone¡¯s mind.


    ¡°So? What ranks are you at now? How many classes have you advanced?¡±


    Thera grinned and gave a ¡®v¡¯ for victory.


    ¡°What! You¡¯ve only advanced two ranks? Despite the fact that you¡¯re a genius?¡± Margie exclaimed disappointedly.


    ¡°Who said I only advanced two measly ranks you magic-obsessed airhead!¡± Thera retorted, smacking Margie in the head. ¡°I¡¯ve advanced two whole classes! I¡¯m 2ndrank red class right now!¡±


    ¡°Tehee~ I knew it! That¡¯s my little sister~.¡± Margie pulled a perfect tehepero.


    Imediately afterwards, Thera realized that she had been manipulated. How can such a talkative airhead be so clever!? She stared at Margie''s face.


    Then, she commenced plotting to ambush Margie that night with the voice-changing scarf. Thera smiled when she thought about Margie¡¯s future panicked face.


    ¡°Eh? Why does your smile seem scary?¡± Margie asked. Thera didn¡¯t answer the question.


    ¡°Hey, now! UP until now, we''veonly heard of your Martial ranking. What about your magic ranking?¡±


    Mother Helen seemed to notice that Thera hadn''t revealed her magic class yet. How astute of her.


    Thera pulled a fake disappointed face. ¡°Well¡­the thing is¡­I¡¯m currently¡­¡±


    She watched as everyone leaned in.


    ¡°At 8th rank Journeyman.¡± Thera said with a shake of her head.


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    ¡°¡°¡°WHAT!¡±¡±¡± everyone exclaimed.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. And I was already hoping to be at first rank, Master class, already.¡± She pouted and looked helplessly at Margie. ¡°You beat me to it, older sister.¡±


    Margie was rendered speechless. Sure, she was two ranks above Thera, but Thera was ten years younger than her.


    If Thera continued to rise in ranks at her current pace, then Margie¡¯s new record would soon be surpassed by a near impossible margin.


    Then Margie laughed. ¡°Good, good! I¡¯m burning with anticipation now! Let¡¯s see which of us reaches Magi first, okay? Last one there becomes the support for the other one~!¡±


    ¡°I accept!¡± Thera replied, grinning in rivalry.


    ¡°Time limit is nine years from now. You better not feel bad when you lose-¡± (Margie)


    ¡°Girls, please! Calm down!¡± (Helen)


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Leave the competition for later. More importantly, I¡¯ve reached 6th rank, Brown class! Beat that!¡± Sir Maverick bragged, adding fire to the flames.


    ¡°Grr! Just you wait! Thera will beat you in no time, and wipe that smirk off of your face!¡± (Margie)


    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯ll reach black class before you!¡± (Thera)


    ¡°Hah hah hah! You need to get to where I am first~¡± (Sir Maverick)


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Helen finally exclaimed, smacking the back of Sir Maverick¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re a knight in the King¡¯s service, and you¡¯re no better than the children. You should be ashamed of yourself!¡±


    ¡°Eheheheh. Darling, surely I¡¯m not that bad?¡± He replied, rubbing the back of his head, then glanced towards the two girls and winked. The three of them knew that the contest had officially started then.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re even worse!¡± She affirmed.


    Thera and Margie laughed at his scolding.


    ¡°8th rank, Journeyman class, huh? I assume, since you¡¯ve gotten so far, that you have a proper teacher, right?¡± Mother asked Thera.


    ¡°Yep! Madame Rothema is a wonderful teacher!¡± Thera replied cheerfully.


    ¡°WHAT. YOUR TEACHER IS MADAME ROTHEMA!¡± It seemed it was Mother Helen¡¯s turn to be over-excited. She grabbed Thera by the shoulders, her fingers digging into them. While it wouldn''t cause any wounds, it wasn''t very comfortable, either.


    ¡°Y-yeah. Why?¡± Thera was surprised to see mother so worked up. ¡°Mama, it hurts!¡±


    Mother Helen realized what she was doing and quickly let go.


    ¡°Do you know who Madame Rothema is?¡± She asked, intently.


    ¡°um¡­my teacher? And a very knowledgeable magician?¡± Thera replied. Come to think of it, she had never really mentioned her past very often. Most of Thera¡¯s time had been spent reading books and exploring instead of talking, after all.


    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know anything.¡± Mother sighed. ¡°Madame Rothema is one of the top three most powerful Magi in the kingdom. There were millions of people were dying to become her apprentice.¡±


    ¡°Surely it wasn¡¯t that bad?¡± Thera said, surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. It got so bad at one point, that there was a veritable magic war fought among her admirers. Several magicians even died from sapping their life force away as a replacement for magic power. It got so bad that, finally, Madame Rothema couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and vanished from the capitol. No one has seen her since then, but every magician who¡¯s worth his magic admires Madame Rothema.¡±


    Helen had a glow of adoration on her face as she spoke. Sir Maverick grinned.


    ¡°And that¡¯s where I met your mother, girls: in the middle of a marketplace turned into a magic battleground.¡±


    Mother Helen blushed, and pinched his arm. ¡°Hush! I wasn¡¯t that bad. I only used protective barrier magic.¡±


    ¡°And ye were at the front of the lines, fighting with the best of them.¡± He added, teasingly, earning himself another smack to his head.


    While Mother Helen and Sir Maverick were busy reminiscing in a lovey dovey atmosphere which consisted very much of him teasing, and her slapping him, Martha, the maid, asked.


    ¡°Excuse me, Miss Thera, but precisely how long are you going to stay here?¡±


    Thera calculated. ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­today¡¯s the eighth day since I left¡­I can stay for-at most-three days, if we include today.¡±


    ¡°Three days! That¡¯s far too short a time!¡± Helen gasped, breaking out of the lovey-dovey atmosphere.


    Thera smiled sadly. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I left in the middle of training, so I need to return soon-¡±


    Just then, Rebecca came in the room. ¡°Excuse me, there is a man here looking for Thera? He said he¡¯s the General.¡±


    ¡°Oh him? It¡¯s okay, Rebecca, you may let him inside.¡± Thera replied, calmly sipping at her tea.


    ¡°Ho? How do you know that old Ox?¡± Sir Maverick asked, intrigued.


    ¡°I simply helped him on a small case, recently.¡± She replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°The General, and Master Thales-who just arrived.¡± Rebecca announced. Thera twitched an eyebrow. But Master Thales was certainly like that. You would never know when he decided to suddenly show up, and he would leave just as suddenly.


    Sir Maverick stood up to greet the two men. ¡°Welcome, gentlemen. To what do we owe the honor of this visit? I heard you were looking for my daughter, Thera?¡±


    Master Thales smiled slyly. ¡°Just a bit of official business, Sir Maverick. All good things, I assure you.¡± The General cleared his throat before taking out some official papers bearing the king¡¯s seal.


    ¡°Thera of Rose Manor, for your exemplary service to the kingdom in apprehending and defeating not only the village eraser, but also a group consisting of thirty emperor-class vampire spiders, you are to appear before the king to recount your tale, and to receive a suitable reward for your bravery. That is all.¡±


    The first thing that Thera thought after that announcement was: I am in so much trouble.


    And sure enough, after everyone recovered from their temporary brain shutdowns, Thera heard.


    ¡°Thera, did I hear that right?¡±


    Thera shuddered and slowly turned to look over at her mother, who was smiling amiably, but somehow there was a rather thick and dark miasma materializing behind her, comparable to the demon king.


    ¡°You not only went up against the village eraser, but, moreover, you also faced off against thirty emperor-class vampire spiders?¡±


    ¡°I c-can explain!¡± Thera stammered. But, it was apparent that Helen was not in a mood conducive to listening.


    Thera made a split-second decision. Suddenly, without warning, Thera dashed out of the parlor, trying to escape.


    Mother was close behind her, a splendid resemblance of an oni, long hair whipping in the wind.


    ¡°YOU¡¯LL EXPLAIN, ALL RIGHT!!¡±(Mother Helen)


    ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHH! SOMEBODY HELP ME!¡± (Thera)


    ¡°COME BACK HERE! WHEN I CATCH YOU, YOU¡¯LL WISH I HADN¡¯T!!¡± (Mother)


    The General burst out laughing. Master Thales sat down calmly, and reached for the tea. Sir Maverick sighed.


    In the ensuing chase, no one made a single motion to help.

 Chapter 20: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

    Thera sat down on the couch, sniffling; her bottom wasn¡¯t sore anymore. It had been healed long since. But, the mental trauma was still there. She was also irritated at the three men who had chosen not to help her in her time of need.


    Her mother had calmed down considerably since then.


    ¡°So, she was actually completely safe?¡± (Helen)


    ¡°Absolutely. I personally made certain of it. Besides, the ward stone wouldn¡¯t let any of them within a three-yard radius of the stone. She was perfectly safe firing spells at them from within the safety zone.¡± The General assured her, using Thera''s earlier words, as if he had been the one to plan everything out instead of Thera.


    Typical of a military man. They excel at taking credit for someone else''s hard work. Thera thought grumpily, still holding a grudge towards the man. Not only had he been the harbinger of Mother''s Asura, he shamelessly used Thera''s own words in front of her. he had forever lost any chance of earning Thera''s respect.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing I want to make sure of.¡± The General added.


    He turned to look at Thera. ¡°What spell did you use? They were all completely turned to dust by the time I recovered.¡±


    Thera simply ignored him and sipped her tea. She knew better than to tell this shameless person. Who knew if he would just turn right around and claim her solution as his own?


    "Thera?" The General asked again, noticing her change of mood. Had he done something wrong?


    "Thera, I also wish to know. Can you tell me?" Margie asked.


    Thera also ignored Margie. Her chatterbox of an older sister would only turn around and tell everyone, including this ungrateful person.


    "Why won''t you tell us? Come on, is it such a huge secret that you can''t even reveal it to family?" Sir Maverick asked.


    "While I would have been willing to tell you beforehand, I am no longer willing to tell you now." Thera finished her tea. "Even though I am still a child, I am not stupid. Why should I reveal my actions in front of shameless people?"


    "Exactly who are you calling a shameless person?" The General asked, looking around the room to root out the obstacle.


    Thera opened one eye and replied. "Whoever just spoke is the shameless person. Moreover, over half of the people in this room have earned my ire."


    The General shut up, and sighed. It seemed he was right. Somehow, he had gotten on Thera''s bad side.


    Master Thales chuckled. It was as he had thought. Thera was holding a grudge.


    "Oh come on, Thera! What have I ever done to earn your ire?" Margie asked, coaxingly.


    Thera glanced at her. "You? Nothing. But you''re a chatterbox that can''t hold a secret even if you were slapped in the face with it. It is because you can''t hold your tongue that I can''t trust you."


    "Ouch~ You''ve got me." Margie smiled and laughed lightly. She wasn''t bothered, since Thera would surely tell her if she asked later-after the uninvited guests were gone.


    "Surely, I wouldn''t do such a thing! Why don''t you just tell me instead?" Sir Maverick asked.


    Thera raised an eyebrow. "Because you''re even worse. Not only will you reveal everything, you''ll go brag to the world about how your daughter performed such a feat. I wouldn''t be surprised if you turned this day into a festival to commemorate!"


    *cough cough* Sir Maverick choked, as Helen laughed loudly. "For someone who''s been gone for five years, she knows you so well!" Helen teased.


    "As for the maids and James, since they are father''s subordinates, they can hide nothing from him. So I cannot tell them either." They all nodded completely understandingly.


    "Oy, you people! You''re supposed to be on my side!" Sir Maverick warned, feeling strangely alienated from them.


    Thera placed her tea cup down. "And so, I r-ee-aa-lly don''t feel like telling you anything."


    "Wait, not even me?" The General asked.


    "YOU MOST OF ALL!!" Thera scowled, then quickly withdrew to her play house, creating a barrier that forbade anyone entrance without her permission.


    -------------------


    It wasn''t five minutes later that Helen and Master Thales followed her. As expected of intelligent people, they noticed the loophole in her words.


    Noticing the barrier, Helen decided to try talking. "Thera, I remember hearing you say your reasons for not trusting Margie, the General, and your father. Yet I never heard you say your reasons for not trusting me or Master Thales. Could it be that you somewhat trust us more than them? Could you trust us enough to tell me and Master Thales how you managed to do such a thing?"


    The reply came back. "Mother can come." The Barrier shivered as Helen was given permission to enter.


    Master Thales called up. "What about me? Can I hear it as well?"


    Thera, finally showing her face, looked down from the second floor window, and extended her index finger. "Upon one condition."


    "Name it."


    Thera narrowed her eyes. "The General is to be the last person in the entire kingdom to hear this story."


    Master Thales laughed. "Done!"


    The barrier shivered, allowing Master Thales to enter as well. Thera was quietly sipping freshly-brewed tea of her own making.


    ----------------------------------------------


    ¡°Oh that? I used [Heal] on them.¡± She replied.


    Helen and Master Thaleswas unusually silent for the next few seconds.


    ¡°Stop joking, Thera, and tell the man what you really used.¡± Mother said, sternly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking! Emperor-class vampire spiders aren¡¯t vampiric for nothing! That very strain in their nature which makes them so bloodthirsty, also makes them extremely vulnerable to holy magic. [Heal] is the only holy light magic I know, at the moment, but if you used [Baptism]¡¯s holy water, it would be just as effective, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    There was another long silence.


    ¡°Vampires are vulnerable to holy magic?¡± Mother asked.


    ¡°Yes they are- Wait¡­You didn¡¯t know that?¡± Thera asked, confused.


    Mother put her hand to her forehead, as if nursing a headache. Then she started laughing.


    ¡°Of course, of course! It all makes sense now!¡±


    Thera was alarmed as her mother continued laughing for a long time.


    When Thera''s mother finally stopped, she spoke.


    ¡°It seems I misjudged you, Thera. I¡¯m sorry. I thought you were jumping into the thick of things and trying to be a hero. I never imagined that you had grown up so fast as to be able to make logical decisions.¡±


    Thera sniffed. ¡°Fine. I forgive you.¡±


    Master Thales, who had been quietly drinking tea this whole time, suddenly spoke.


    ¡°Well, for one so young, you sure are full of surprises, Thera.


    The question of the Vampires¡¯ weakness has been an age old problem. The king even issued a proclamation that whoever found the vampires¡¯ weak spot, would receive one million gold coins.


    While it wasn¡¯t really a weakness, one man found out that vampires abhor the smell of garlic. Soon, every village and town was surrounded by bundles of garlic, and every villager was compelled to eat garlic at least once a day for ten years.


    The lucky man received athousand goldcoins for his discovery of a counter-measure. If the edict is still in place, you may end up being the richest person in the kingdom, aside from the king.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even joke about that sort of thing! Didn¡¯t I spend five years away from home in order to avoid garnering attention?!¡± Thera replied, flustered.


    Crap. I won''t be able to avoid the government this time! It looks like the future is going to be an uphill battle from here. She was certain to be invited to the capital, where the greedy nobles and officials would try to gain the upper hand over her. Ahead was a battle where, if she lost, she would becoem someone''s subordinate-a detestable position.


    ¡°And now you¡¯re out in the public eye, where everyone can keep an eye on you. Relax. As long as you don¡¯t reveal your rank and class, no one will know that you¡¯re the rumored genius. Actually, this is considerably safer. [Heal] is a low-level healing spell that even a child can do, so popular opinion will be that you just got lucky.¡±


    Thales said, thinking that she was still worried about the undercover black Class factions that might still be on the lookout for her.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad YOU¡¯RE enjoying this.¡± Thera sniffed.The only thing she could do was appeal to receive a position or a title which wouldn''t lose to the upper class nobles.


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    ¡°Relax. Everything will be fine.¡± Master Thales sipped his tea. ¡°Oh, that reminds me, Madame Rothema saw everything from her mirror. She sent you some ¡®special¡¯ extra homework."


    After Thera accepted the magic bag-that seemed heavy despite its weight-reducing capabilities- Master Thalescleared his throat. ¡°Now that that¡¯s settled, I should go. It seems I need to make yet another report to the king. I¡¯ll see you at the castle, Thera.¡± Turning away, he grinned, holding back his laughter.


    Thera said farewell and watched him leave.


    -------------------


    After receiving Rothema and Mother¡¯s three days of emergency etiquette training, Thera was fussed over so badly, that she almost went crazy.


    It took all her willpower NOT to tear out the headache¡¯s worth of pins stuck into her hair to hold up her fancy hairdo, and throw off her suddenly-high heels, which were made in the latest fashion.


    She was met at the citadel¡¯s gates with an open-air carriage to escort her by way of parade to the king. It rode up the main street, which was freshly strewn with flowers, behind the large music band made of drums and trumpets, heralding her arrival.


    While this would have thrilled any ordinary person, for Thera it was just one big growing headache. Now that she was in a parade, her features were exposed. Well, actually, due to Helen''s good makeup skills, she didn''t really look like herself, so there was at least one bright side to it all. Still, she would have preferred not to be involved in all this ceremonial hogwash.


    But, of course, she couldn¡¯t say that, for it would be rejecting the hospitality of the kingdom. Then the nobles would start putting their heads together and question whether Thera were part of a political party-not that they wouldn¡¯t already be doing that as they were trying to rope her in.Once it was clear she wasn''t part of any faction, they would try to rope her to their side, threatening to expose her for being unpatriotic-or in their words "fomenting rebellion''.


    Naturally, her procession wasn¡¯t un-noticed by the people of the city, as they began to crowd together along the sides of the street to watch the parade. Consequently, thousands of eyes were upon Thera.


    Having never knowingly been the focus of so many people at once before, in her life, Thera felt dis-oriented and rather dizzy. Thera placed all her hope upon her poker face that she had been developing for the eleven years of her second life, smiled and waved at the people she passed.


    By the time she arrived at the castle, she sighed. Politics was the worst.


    Of course, the castle was huge, and a smartly-dressed announcer led Thera to the Throne room, which felt like it was at least a mile away from the entrance, although, Thera was actually sure that it was much larger.


    The large corridor leading to the throne room was richly gilded, and furnished with priceless portraits of the ancestors of the current royal family. A few were even strangely interesting, like the queen who wore an ornate eye patch.


    When they reached the throne room, Thera inwardly moaned. OF COURSE every available noble in the kingdom had gathered for the ceremony. As soon as she walked in, there was a hushed chorus of whispering as everyone sized her up.


    ¡°Thera of Rose Manor¡± The announcer belted out, before leaving Thera by herself. She stood in the entranceway, looking once to her left, and once to her right, and then straight ahead.


    She could hear snatches of conversation around the room.


    ¡°Thera of Rose manor¡±


    ¡°Oh, my! That¡¯s the handsome Sir Maverick¡¯s daughter, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°I heard that she intercepted the village eraser.¡±


    ¡°Intercept? My dear woman! Not only did she intercept him, she also caused his death.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Do tell!¡±


    ¡°Is that little doll really all that?¡±


    She took a deep breath and ignored them, choosing, instead, to count the number of guards within the room.


    Altogether, there were two hundred visible armored knights lining the walls in the room, one hundred men who were proficient with a weapon, seventy-five plain-clothes king¡¯s assassins-meaning they worked for the king, of course- fifty informants, and twenty-three spies from other countries within this very large throne room.


    Thera had also spotted the General and Master Thales by the king¡¯s throne, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Murlough among the nobles.


    ¡°Precisely the person I wished to see at the moment¡­Come forward, young magician.¡± A voice came from the back of the room. Thera focused her gaze on the man who sat upon the tall throne, and finally stepped out onto the rose-red carpet.


    King Rheims was a rather elderly man in his late forties. Most of his hair was hidden by an ornate crown. A five o¡¯clock shadow graced his jawline. He reminded Thera of her old mentor, with a patience and calm demeanor that was as tranquil as a lake whose surface had no ripples upon it; yet underneath slept a vast and terrifying power: a nightmare for those who disturbed its resting place.


    Next to him sat the queen, a lovely beauty with soft brown waves of hair peeking out from a lace veil, upon which rested her crown. She watched the proceedings with apparent great interest, although there wasn¡¯t really much to be interested in, according to Thera¡¯s opinion.


    Thera¡¯s pace was neither hurried, nor slow, yet she arrived on the other end of that vast room somewhat quickly.


    Once she arrived at the steps up to the dais, she stopped and made a low curtsy.


    ¡°Indeed, I hardly believed that such an amazing feat could be accomplished even by any one of my generals, much less a child just barely eleven years old. Yet, the report has been checked by means of a truth spell. Therefore, there can be no mistake.¡± He motioned to the General, who held a scroll in his hand.


    The General cleared his throat.


    ¡°Thera of Rose Manor, for discovering the fatal weakness of vampires- and consequently of emperor class vampiric spiders, His Highness, King Rheims, has decided to honor his ancestor¡¯s edict, and award you with one thousand, and sixhundredgold coins.¡±


    While they would have given Thera the full million, even if it emptied the royal coffers, Thera had explicitly refused to accept so much money, as it would only invite trouble from thieves and foment jealousy.


    The nobles applauded, with another frenzied bout of whispering. The General cleared his throat again. The applause died down.


    ¡°Moreover, for apprehending and helping in the execution of the traitorous madman, Darwin: commonly known as ¡®the village eraser¡¯; His Highness, King Rhiems, has decided to bestow upon you a military title of your own choosing. Based upon your title, you will receive the mansion that is most appropriate for its image.¡±


    The applause was deafening, as was the frenzied whispering behind the scene. While some would wonder why she was not going to receive the full million, the title would explain why the monetary reward was diminished.


    Thera recalled what she knew of military titles. They were more decorations than anything else, given to people who accomplished great deeds for the kingdom. Yet, any person who had such a title was, by no means, weak. Each person was absolutely strong in one sense. It could be anything, anything at all.


    The real prize was the mansion, as it was a sign of being one of the kingdom¡¯s core members, second in rank only to the royal family.


    The king had many mansions, and each was a symbol of his great power. To give one of his mansions away meant that he was also bestowing upon her a portion of his power. This was a privilege that not even a million gold coins could buy. It was also a sign of his express confidence in her abilities. Thera being a lower noble, this was one of the highest honors any noble could be given.


    When the applause died down, Thera lifted her head, which she had bowed in thought.


    ¡°I wish to be known as Briar Rose.¡± She said.


    ¡°And so you shall.¡± King Rheims nodded, standing from his throne, he held out his hand towards a servant, who had come up swiftly from the side, bearing a sheathed sword upon a velvet cushion. Grasping the sword hilt, he drew it from its sheath.


    It was a traditional two-handed sword, with a gilded hilt. The blade itself was unadorned, though, oddly enough. This caused the nobles to be somewhat surprised. Usually, a bestowed sword would have an inscription carved upon it in runes.


    Thera herself was unaware of such a custom at the time.


    ¡°You may approach the throne.¡± King Rheims commanded.


    Thera walked up the steps, and knelt on her left knee at the top of the dais.


    He touched the flat of the blade on each of Thera¡¯s shoulders, and upon the crown of her head while saying the following words:


    ¡°Thera of Rose Manor, daughter of Sir Maverick, I, King Rheims, hereby dub you ¡®Briar Rose¡¯. Your duties according to this name are to be wise, sweet and gentle towards the innocent, and to be just, dealing out punishment sharp as thorns to the guilty. This I bestow upon you, do you take it?¡±


    The king held out the sword by the hilt, with the blade pointed down towards the floor. Thera rose to her feet, and grabbed the blade hilt below the king¡¯s hand.


    ¡°It is accepted, my liege.¡± She said. And with that, the blade below the hilt began to glow, and change its shape.


    Gasps rose up from the noble crowds. And one man cried out.


    ¡°It¡¯s a magic sword!¡±

 Chapter 21: Unexpected Meeting

    ¡°A magic sword! Those are blades that only the royal family has been allowed to wield for generations!¡±


    ¡°Yes, but there is no true law saying that it cannot be done.¡±


    ¡°Magic blades! The swords of fate! What a lucky girl.¡±


    Most of the nobles gazed upon the sword with admiration, while some of them gazed upon Thera with envy and jealousy.


    Thera keenly felt the stares of the people digging into her back. It was quite unpleasant. She concentrated her focus upon the blade.


    While the nobles chattered among themselves, the blade in Thera¡¯s hand grew shorter, more curved and streamlined. The hilt also morphed to accommodate the blade.


    Finally, light burst from it as it completed its shape, and runes carved themselves along the length of the blade.


    King Rheims released his hand. ¡°This blade is now yours. Let it be known far and wide as the thorn of Briar Rose.¡±


    It now was the perfect image of a katana. Thera lifted it into the light to examine it, with the sharp edge still pointed downwards. In her previous life, she had been trained how to distinguish a good blade.


    The weight and size were perfect for her, since traditional two-handed swords were far too bulky to be of any real use. The rippling and shine were also good.


    She wished to test the cutting power of the blade, but doing so in the middle of the ceremony would be considered rude.


    While she remained focused on the katana, King Rheims spoke once more.


    ¡°This sword is a magic sword, as you may have guessed. Its shape has been set, and its master determined. No other can now wield this blade. It will remain ever sharp, and will not bend or break.


    Its special skills I leave to you to discover, as there were no records of either its powers or its name in our treasury. The longer it remains with you, the more it will grow in power. Use it well for the good of the kingdom.¡±


    Thera sheathed her sword, and bowed her head to acknowledge his words. Then, she attached the sword to her belt.


    The correspondingly deafening cheer from behind did nothing to distract Thera from her katana. She placed her left hand upon the hilt, running her thumb over the decorative metal emblem at the top. This¡­was this a rose bud?


    King Rheims nodded. He had been surprised by the shape that the sword had taken the form of. But, it couldn¡¯t be helped. Magic swords always took the shape of whichever weapon was most suitable for its master.


    There were even some rumored magic swords that had become spears, shields, or hammers. For Thera¡¯s best weapon to be a blade, even if it wasn¡¯t traditional, meant that the king had not chosen wrong.


    The General once more cleared his throat. This time, the cheering and applause took a longer time to calm down.


    King Rheims motioned his hand again, and a page appeared at his right hand, holding a velvet pillow upon which rested a ring of keys, which were attached to it with silk ribbons. Untying one of the keys, he presented it to Thera, who knelt once again to receive it.


    ¡°This is the key to Rose Mansion. Guard it well.¡± (King Rheims)


    ¡°It is accepted, My Liege.¡±(Thera)


    ¡°Good.¡± He sat down upon his throne again, and motioned to the General to continue reading.


    Thera knelt through the speech.


    ¡°Moreover, for defeating an army of no less than thirty emperor-class vampire spiders, you have been awarded the privilege of permanently being able to request a private audience with the king, and..¡±


    The General paused, and seemed to choke, but he continued nevertheless. ¡°A-and private lessons from the king¡¯s greatest warrior, the Ranger.¡±


    When he finished, the nobles cheer no longer sounded like an applause. It was a roar of exclamations, shouts, laughter, applause, there were even several people who were crying out objections, but those were quickly silenced by the plain-clothed king¡¯s-assassins.


    No, they didn¡¯t kill the nobles, for a noble cannot be killed without due process of law. They were simply put to sleep by a blow to the back of the head, and dragged out of the way.


    Thera pretended she didn¡¯t notice such a thing happening behind her. It has nothing to do with me~. She thought. Besides, a twelve year old girl noticing trained assassins would be too suspicious.


    The General had probably choked while trying to contain his laughter. As it was now, his face was red, and his shoulders trembled from the effort of holding back his hearty laughter.


    ¡°Master Thales will escort you to the office where you will receive the title deed for the mansion.¡±


    King Rheims nodded, and waved his hand, dismissing Thera.


    With that, the audience was finished. The king and queen stood up from their thrones and left through the doorway behind the thrones.


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Master Thales said, amiably, leading her through a door into an hallway.


    Once she was out of the public eye, Thera looked at Master Thales, sharply. ¡°You knew this was going to happen! Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±


    ¡°What? And miss out on seeing the look on your face? It¡¯s payback for the trick you pulled on me at Madame Rothema¡¯s.¡± He replied.


    ¡°That was no trick. It was because you didn¡¯t care to find out how much I¡¯d grown before giving your ultimatum.¡± She denied. ¡°I simply chose not to inform you.¡±


    ¡°As did I. Therefore, we are even.¡± He said, a smile twitching at his mouth. Thera disagreed, but voicing such a disagreement seemed to be a defeat on her end. Therefore, she could only wait until later to even the field.


    As Thera followed him down the hallway, she asked. ¡°So, which is your title? Master Thales, or the Ranger?¡±


    ¡°Both. I received two titles. My real name, as Madame Rothema knows, is Gerard of Derondale.¡±(Thales)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t His Highness worried that I might be used in order to further either my parents¡¯, or some other nobles¡¯ agendas?¡±(Thera)


    ¡°As he has received reports of you from both me, and the General, he is quite confident in you being able to hold your own against all but the sneakiest of nobles. The fact that you are aware of this matter only confirms our conjectures.¡± (Thales)


    ¡°What!? I actually confirmed something!? I was supposed to be a mysterious person whom no one could see through.¡± Thera joked straight-faced. ¡°I should go buy a cape and mask to make it complete.¡±


    ¡°The real mysterious people who can¡¯t be seen through have the perfect mask, so lifelike that you would think it was real: which is what we are trying to make for you.¡± Thales replied, seriously, stopping before a door.


    ¡°How is drawing-the-whole-kingdom¡¯s-attention-to-me going to give me the perfect mask?¡± Thera inquired, head tilted.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Was the reply he made before opening the door.


    ¡°Yes, I suppose I will.¡± She said, absentmindedly. Then, she stopped in the doorway. Inside the office, reclining on a red velvet chair was the king himself.


    ¡°Well? What are you waiting for? Come in, Briar Rose.¡± The king said.


    Thera approached, hiding her annoyance, and curtsied deeply.


    ¡°Does His Highness always hand out the deed to his kingdom personally?¡± Thera asked sweetly.


    The king snorted. ¡°No I don¡¯t. Call it mere curiosity if you will, but I wished to personally meet with the rumored genius of geniuses.¡±


    ¡°You flatter me. I am simply an ordinary person.¡± Who was reincarnated here from a different world and knows otherworldly martial arts. But Thera left out that part.


    ¡°And how might an ordinary person have destroyed over thirty emperor-level vampire spiders with a simple spell?¡± The king retorted.


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    ¡°It was simply my previous observances that saved me.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°I was trying to test out one of my spells on a vampire bat, but I overestimated and he started dying.


    So I quickly used [Heal] on him, but he died right after that. Then I was curious as to whether I was too late with [Heal], or whether it was something else, so I found a cave filled with vampire bats to try it out.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Is that something a normal person would do?¡± King Rheims asked, glancing at Master Thales. Master Thales shrugged. He was not a magician, after all, so how would he know what was normal for them or not?


    ¡°Anyways, I confirmed that [Heal] was the reason by aiming it at the cave-full of bats. As expected, the majority of them died near instantly.¡± She concluded.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®most of them¡¯? Moreover, it was ¡®expected¡¯?¡± King Rheims pursued.


    Thera made a face.


    ¡°Forgive my inappropriate use of words. I did not mean to say ¡®expected¡¯. What I meant to say was ¡®suspected¡¯. The whole reason why I went to test the healing spell out was because I ¡®suspected¡¯ that it would work: and it did.


    Most of them dropped dead, but [Heal] has a certain radius corresponding to the user¡¯s power, you understand. So, those outside of the radius escaped the first spell with their lives. They were not so lucky the second time.¡±


    King Rheims nodded. ¡°I see. So what you¡¯re trying to say is that anyone who had made the same observations as yourself would have been able to defeat that miniature army of vampire spiders?¡±


    ¡°They were also highly wounded from infighting after their tamer was killed.¡± Thera offered.


    He considered Thera¡¯s words for a moment. Then he sighed.


    ¡°You can drop the soldier act before me, girl. In public it is all very well and good, but in private you may drop the honorifics.¡±


    Thera sighed in relief and sat down in a chair. ¡°Thank you. Flowery court speech is certainly not my forte. But, let¡¯s cut to the crux of the matter: what do you want of me?¡±


    ¡°I could not simply wish to look at the country¡¯s greatest genius?¡± (King Rheims)


    ¡°If you simply wanted to stare, then you certainly had enough time to do so during the ceremony.¡± She replied, dismissing his explanation with a wave of her hand. It seemed like two rulers were meeting each other rather than a king and his subordinate.


    ¡°So what is it? I have no patience for word games.¡± She asked.


    He nodded. She was even more intelligent than the reports showed: a good trait for one of his nobles.


    ¡°I actually wanted to ask you the same question. What do you want?¡± he asked. ¡°Money? Fame? Soldiers? Power-¡±


    Thera quickly raised her hand. ¡°Stop!¡± Her face betrayed her displeasure.


    ¡°I have already received more than enough money today. I would have preferred to remain unknown for the rest of my life. I have no desire for an army position or personal troops. And power I can acquire on my own efforts, so don¡¯t even think about giving me any expensive or rare elixirs.¡±


    She leaned back, sighing.


    ¡°In other words, I am perfectly content with my life. As for my goals¡­let¡¯s just say that I wish to enjoy my life as it is now? I¡¯m sure you know that a genius rarely has a normal childhood. Honestly, I just want to stay home with my family and grow, for now. Mostly because¡­.¡±


    Thera¡¯s voice faded, and a rather solemn thoughtful expression was present upon her face.


    ¡°Because what?¡± King Rheims prompted.


    ¡°Because-I have no physical proof- but I suspect the kingdom will encounter turmoil in the future. Therefore, I wish to appreciate the good days as they come, so that I can face the days to come with no regrets.¡± Thera finished.


    It wasn¡¯t instinct which told her this, but history. Kingdoms had a certain cycle of rising and falling. Thera¡¯s kingdom had risen, and had risen quite high in the past thirteen hundred and seventy-six years.


    However, no kingdom can last forever. The philosophies of the nobles had changed from one of working for the good of the people, to constantly seeking pleasures and entertainments.


    Not all nobles had this philosophy, but a good deal of the younger generation of nobles, did. This fact indicated that, within the next ten years, something tragic was certainly bound to happen.


    King Rheims¡¯s face turned glum.


    ¡°You suspect rightly. Over half the nobles in my court are corrupted; their services bought by one country or another. With scouts at our borders in several places to test the waters, it is only a matter of time before we encounter another war. And then there¡¯s the matter of the huge amount of spies and strong martial practitioners who have gravitated here due to rumors about the genius among geniuses. I even sent my son away overseas in preparation.¡±


    He sighed.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Thera replied, rather surprised that the king was telling a mere child such information.


    He smiled, painfully. ¡°It may be that very same way of living that you treasure which I will not be able to protect.¡±


    Ah. So that was it. Even the king doesn¡¯t have a carefree life. Having to deal with plots and sub-plots and fake people all the time must really take its toll on a man.


    Thera lifted her head and promptly frowned.


    ¡°Who asked you to protect it? Buy me time and I¡¯ll be able to protect it on my own! My king, after all that happens under heaven and above earth, you are still only just a king.¡± She said with a sniff. She stood up. ¡°I do believe you mentioned a mansion deed earlier?¡±


    Master Thales tilted his head to the side. This was unlike Thera¡¯s usual self. Sure, if she continued at such a pace, then it was only a matter of time before she entered the black ranks, but she could still meet with someone stronger than her and die. The world was like that.


    For Thera to blatantly say something so fragile as the future, as if it were a pillar set in stone, seemed to intimate that either she had a failsafe, or she had a personal reason for saying so.


    King Rheims nodded and handed her the deed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve instructed the General to guide you to the mansion.¡± He said.


    She looked it over once, nodded, and excused herself.


    After she had left, Thales wondered whether to ask her to explain her actions, when he heard a laugh.


    He looked at the king in surprise.


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s right! That¡¯s right. To think I would have to be reminded of my duty after all these years. Mine is not to shield my citizens from the path of war. It is to stall until such time as they are ready to fight the winning battle.¡±


    He turned to Master Thales. ¡°I am the leader of this country, it is true. Yet, in a sense, I am also the double. I am the double of my people, and I stand in their place whether upon the battlefield or in the castle. If we win, then I and my generals display the honors of my people. If we lose, then it is my and my generals¡¯ blood that will spill in their stead. How could I forget this?¡±


    King Rhiems stood to his feet.


    ¡°Well, in any case, shall we begin? The counter-measure, I mean.¡±


    Master Thales smiled. Ah, so this is what she meant. He bowed gracefully.


    ¡°By all mean, Your Highness. With your permission, we shall begin.¡±


    --------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 22: A Fateful Encounter

    For the next few chapters, I will leave Thera''s story be for a while, and focus upon another character whom she will meet in the future. I am not starting a new story.


    Also, I went to see Star Wars VII last night. Mwahahah! But I won''t go to the dark side and spoil it for you.


    -----------------------


    Far away, in a land across the sea, a young man of fifteen stared at the bright and shimmering ribbon of water on the horizon. All his life, he had lived on the flat plains Dalrura continent.


    Now seeing the ocean for the first time, and smelling the salty breeze, he beamed a smile before heading down the hill in the direction of the port city.


    After showing his papers, which said his name was Barley, he was ushered in with all the rest of the people.


    This town was brimming with life. It was lively with children running about in the streets, and the cries of the stalls shouting their wares filled the air with a constant conversation.


    Men stood in their stalls, selling fish of all kinds. Women stirred large pots of chowder at open-air eateries, careful, lest they burn.


    There were several bars, which doubled as inns for the old, stiff sailors who drank their beer and told their tales with hoarse, salt-roughened voices.


    When Barley arrived at the marketplace, it was even more crowded with bustling people. Fruits from overseas were sold at high prices. Men shouted to make way for the carts filled with barrels of ale, or crates of food or bolts of cloth.


    His eyes roamed over the scene. It was the first time he had ever seen it, and already it felt like home¡­home? Wait, why did it feel like home? He frowned, as he tried to pinpoint what made him think such a thing.


    Unfortunately, he did not have so much time, since he was jerked from his reverie by the sight of a group of several dark-clothed men chasing another young man around the marketplace with swords.


    The young man dodged and ducked dexterously through the many stalls and carts, deflecting their weapons if they ever came too close.


    He kicked one man hard off the pile of crates he had jumped onto. The unfortunate man fell into a cart pulling a large load of manure nearby, successfully incapacitating him.


    Another unfortunate man was thrown into a barrel of fish guts, where his legs wriggled as he tried to escape the smelly, disgusting prison.


    Still yet another man was kicked by a donkey which the young man had aggravated in passing.


    Observing the scene, Barley noticed that the young man was headed in Barley¡¯s general direction.


    There was something about the black-clothed men that raised a never-before-known rage within him. He suddenly had an intense desire to help the man out, not for his sake, but just to spite the men following him.


    Looking around for something he could use, he noticed a cartful of large wine barrels close by, held up by a single bar of wood, and sprang into action.


    As the young man streaked past him, he kicked the bar, and dodged out of the way as the huge, seven-foot high barrels rolled out in front of the black-clothed men, smashing into the first few, and successfully stopping the rest of them.


    Barley noticed that even the young man had stopped to look behind him at the scene when he heard a loud and hearty laugh.


    Barley rolled his eyes and pushed the young man, motioning to run. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here before the guard arrives!¡± He said, a grin on his face.


    Whoever those black men were, the stall people were sure to enact their revenge upon them, if he knew stall people. Huh? This was his first time in a port city. Why would he know stall people and their behavior?


    Barley shook his head. Now wasn¡¯t the time for that. He ran faster, and urged the young man to run away through several streets, until they found a horse stall, where they could hide away and catch their breath.


    Sure enough, after they left, the black men stared at the barricade of wine barrels hatefully for a few moments, and then turned to leave.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± A large, muscular man said.


    ¡°Ye¡¯ve shattered all of my pots!¡±


    ¡°And tipped over my cabbage cart!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve spread all the fish intestines over the ground near my stall!¡±


    ¡°Aye, and ye¡¯ve ruined my perfect pile of manure!¡± This last one came from the owner of the manure cart.


    The muscular man cracked his knuckles. ¡°I think a little remunerations is in order.¡± He said.


    The men in black began to sweat.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Hah hah, hahaha! That was the most fun I¡¯ve had in ages!¡± The young man laughed while gasping for breath.


    ¡°What is your name, my fine fellow?¡±


    ¡°Barley. Yours?¡± He asked, panting from the run.


    ¡°Ah¡­You may call me John.¡± The young man replied, scratching his head.


    ¡°Who were those people, and why were they after you?¡± Barley asked, having finally caught his breath back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know who they are. An awful lot of people want me dead, though.¡± (John)


    Barley was beginning to feel like he had helped someone troublesome.


    ¡°Not because of anything I¡¯ve actually done, you understand. It¡¯s simply because of who I am.¡± John hurried to explain.


    Barley laughed. ¡°Hah! Nice clothes, excellent swordsmanship, not to mention a horde of assassins after you: if I didn¡¯t know any better, then I¡¯d say you were a prince in disguise, or a rich merchant¡¯s son.¡±


    John froze for a moment, then he laughed. ¡°Hahahah! Good one! I¡¯ll have to tell that to my father, when I return.¡± He laughed once again as he waved a stylish goodbye. ¡°Well, see you around, Barley!¡± And with that, he ran off.


    Barley¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Oy! Could that have been any more obvious! Even a sea dog like me can tell that you¡¯re faking, if my name isn¡¯t Keith O¡¯ Malley! He sighed as he leaned against the wall.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Then he froze. Wait. Keith O¡¯Malley? I am Keith O¡¯Malley? But, no, I can¡¯t be! My name is Barley! Barley crouched down, holding his aching head in his hands as the memories from his past life poured into his brain.


    Yes, he was previously Keith O¡¯Malley, a man who had made his fortunes trading buying things off of auction sites, fixing them up, and reselling them for twice their previous price.


    That¡¯s right. He had bought a boat The Harbinger, and fixed it up really nice. But instead of selling it, he sold all of his belongings, amassing a small fortune, and spent his days out at sea, helping the fishermen of his town.


    Then one night, as he was filling up the gas tank, a bunch of black-clothed thugs had put a gun to his head and taken him prisoner.


    He was only ever brought out to confirm the fact that this was his boat, and that it wasn¡¯t stolen. Even then, they had always been cautious by aiming a gun at his head from a building with a vantage point.


    Barley grit his teeth. He knew that once they were done with him, they would kill him. So he tried many times to escape. His last attempt found him slashed at by a sword-wielding sicko as soon as he had stepped one foot out of the door.


    As he slumped to the floor, he remembered the sicko saying ¡°Pitiful meat sack. He died too quickly.¡±


    Sweat dripped off of his forehead as he took a deep breath, and calmed down, relaxing the hand that had clenched nail-marks into his palms. All of that had really happened, then this would mean he had been reborn?


    He inwardly hoped that sicko had been stuck through the heart by someone. If it was a girl that offed him, even better! If it was a girl, then he would find her in the afterlife and marry her.


    He realized that the whole time, he had been sort of half-muttering to himself. He stood up, stopped muttering, and earnestly prayed: If someone killed that sicko with the sword, then whoever you are, I am eternally grateful, and forever in your debt!


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera sneezed into a handkerchief that she had grabbed just in time. ¡°Ah, pardon me!¡± She said.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± The General asked.


    She waved her hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Someone¡¯s just talking about me. That¡¯s all.¡±


    The General scratched at his beard. ¡°Girl, you just won the highest honor a noble could get. Everybody¡¯s talking about you. But I always did wonder about that superstition. If you really did sneeze every time someone talked about you, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to stop sneezing for months.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Thera said, looking out of the carriage that was taking them to the mansion. The royal carriage rolled through the countryside, which was a stark contrast to the cobblestone streets they had rattled through only ten minutes earlier.


    For the hundredth time, Thera missed the invention of the automobile as the carriage jolted its way through the ruts in the road.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Later on, after Barley had come to terms with his past, he pulled himself together enough to try and find what he was looking for. Looking down at a scrap of paper in his hand, he muttered to himself as he counted down the houses.


    ¡°Number 119, Number 119, Police please. Yes, I would like to report myself as a lost person. 119, Number 119. AH!¡±


    (Author: For those who don¡¯t know, 119 is the Japanese equivalent of 911, so he is joking about calling the police.)


    He stopped before a shabby- looking Blacksmith¡¯s shop. 119 was painted in faded white paint on the door lintel.


    ¡°¡­Maybe it¡¯s the next house¡­¡±


    After fifteen minutes more of searching, he was back in front of the Blacksmith shop. Heaving a big sigh, he musters his courage and opens the door. The bell rang.


    Honestly, it looked far more respectable on the inside with its polished wooden counter-top and floors. Perhaps they just didn¡¯t have the time to fix up the outside of the building.


    The store itself was filled with things from swords to whaling spears to fish hooks. Horseshoes, nails, hoes, shovels, candlesticks, box hinges, chains, locks, pots and pans. It had a lot of things.


    ¡°Welcome! How might I help you?¡± A bald man said from behind the counter.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for my uncle, Robert. Is he in?¡± Barley asked.


    The bald man pointed a thumb at the door next to him. ¡°He¡¯s out back making nails. I¡¯ll tell him you¡¯re here. Feel free to look around, though. It might take a while.¡± And with that, he disappeared through the door.


    Barley took his time looking at all the things that were made.


    By the time his uncle was finished, Barley had moved to the cooking section of the store. He was holding a large cast-iron frying pan in his hand, and swinging it like a sword.


    ¡°You know, if you¡¯re looking for a weapon, the swords are over there. That¡¯s a frying pan.¡± Uncle Robert joked.


    Barley concentrated on the pan. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think a frying pan could be a good weapon, too. It¡¯s useful as a club, a shield, and it can cook twenty-seven eggs at once~!¡±


    Robert laughed. ¡°It does at that. Until someone finds out the fatal flaw and cuts your fingers off the handle. But enough of that! Come here, let me look at you!¡±


    Uncle Robert clasped him by the shoulders and looked him over at an arm¡¯s length away.


    Barley was a handsome young man, with skin tanned from hours spent out in the sun, and black eyes peeking out underneath dark brown hair.


    ¡°Well?¡± Barley asked.


    ¡°I feel old. The last time I saw you, you were only knee-high to an anvil!¡± He replied in his joking manner.


    ¡°Do anvils even have knees?¡± Barley quipped.


    ¡°They will when I¡¯m through with them!¡± He winked. This was an old joke between them, and one which was likely to be played out every time they saw each other.

 Chapter 23: The Tsukkomi Duo

    Merry Christmas, folks! The second chapter should be up later on today...after I''ve finished error-checking it. But for now, enjoy~.


    -----------------------------------


    Barley took out a letter from his father and handed it to Uncle Robert.


    ¡°Father needs his yearly supply of hoes. It¡¯s almost planting season again, and he swears that the ground literally grows rocks, it¡¯s that stubborn every year.


    Also, since I¡¯ve always been good at figuring, he wanted me to attend school here, and probably asked you to help me find a cheap place to stay. I¡¯ve already got a job at the general store lined up for me. They told me to come in tomorrow and they¡¯ll show me the ropes.¡±


    Uncle Robert nodded as he perused the short letter. Father had never really been that good at writing, so many of the words were misspelled. But, it was exactly as Barley had said.


    He laughed. ¡°I see. So your father is still sore about that swindle that merchant pulled on him, is he? Ha ha! Of course, I¡¯ll help! What kind of uncle would I be if I could not help my own nephew? No need to go find a place somewhere else, though. You can take the guest room at my place, if you buy your own food. This¡¯ll help you save up some money for when you¡¯ll need a horse.¡±


    Barley¡¯s eyes opened wide in surprise. ¡°You mean it, Uncle?¡±


    He waved his hand.¡°No worries. Is that not what a guest room is meant for? If you didn¡¯t use it, it would simply end up collecting dust to no end. Might as well put it to some good use, especially when we¡¯re only a few streets away from the school you¡¯ll be attending.¡±


    Barley¡¯s former self, Keith, was surprised at such generosity. But, he was also pleased by it.


    "Then, it looks like I''ll be in your care. Thanks, uncle!"


    Barley and Roger shook hands on it to seal the deal.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    That week, he completed all the paperwork necessary for admission for the new term, and handed over the tuition money his father had given him.


    He also spent his hours getting used to his job as a clerk: Finding things in the catalog, writing things down, restocking shelves, adding up prices, and locating items for the customers in the store.


    The first day of school, however, was quite different from what he expected.


    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you that young man who helped me a week ago? Barley, right?¡±


    Enter, the badly disguised prince, stage left. Barley thought as he turned around. The prince was dressed in the school uniform, which did nothing to tone down his princely aura.


    I mean, come on! Nobody who¡¯s a commoner stands straight! He should at least learn how to slouch a bit.


    Barley criticized. But, points for trying, I suppose. He can¡¯t help who he is, any more than I can reverse the sun and moon. With that, Barley decided to play along.


    ¡°Yeah! Your name¡¯s¡­John, right?¡± He replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I had no idea that you¡¯d be coming to school here, too! What great luck! I¡¯m hoping to become a great merchant in the future. What do you hope to become?¡± He asked.


    Barley shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m here because my father wanted me to go to school. But, perhaps one day, I¡¯ll become a great captain, or an admiral of the seas!¡±


    ¡°Nah, you should work towards being the pirate king.¡± John snickered. ¡°You¡¯re too handsome to be a mere admiral.¡±


    Barley laughed. ¡°Speak for yourself! Besides, Monkey D. Luffy is the only one who¡¯s going to be Pirate King. I have been rooting for him for years.¡±


    ¡°Monkey D. Luffy? I have never heard of that one before. I¡¯ll make a note of it. I would not want to get on the future pirate king¡¯s bad side for not even knowing his name.¡± John frowned seriously.


    Suddenly Barley realized. Ahh! Noo! All the mangas and comics that I¡¯ll never be able to finish! Curse you, sicko guy! Darn it!


    ¡°Um¡­why are you crying while swirling your finger in the dust?¡± John asked. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Barley quickly straightened up. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine! I just realized that¡­.I left my lunch at home. Now what will I eat!?¡±


    Actually, he had brought money along with him to buy his own lunch, but the clueless prince would probably think he was mental if Barley told him the real reason.


    The prince laughed. ¡°Just that? Don¡¯t worry about it, my friend. As thanks for helping me out, how could I not even treat you to a single meal?¡± His whole attitude exuded a princely attitude. He even had a fan to complete the image.


    ¡°Ah, my Prince! You are so kind~! The flowers bow their heads in unworthiness at your virtue~!¡± He joked reaching his arms out, as if he were welcoming the sun.


    ¡°Hu hu! Praise me more-I mean, is that what you expected me to say?!  Your Uncle is a prince!¡±


    He threw a tsukommi, and his fan at Barley, hitting him square in the forehead.


    ¡°Ouch! Meaning no disrespect, but I am afraid you are mistaken. My uncle is a blacksmith~.¡± Barley returned, along with the fan.


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


    ¡°What? Really? URGH! I don¡¯t know anymore! How can you throw so hard!¡± Prince John placed his head in his hands. The fan had hit him in the center of the forehead as well.


    ¡°If one is willing to give something away, be it a present or a punch, he must be willing to receive the same in return.¡±


    Barley quoted a line from some obscure manga that he had read. He didn¡¯t remember much else about it, but that line had really struck a chord in him.


    Prince John clapped his hands in applause. ¡°Oh! Impressive! I¡¯ve never heard of that philosopher before. Is it Rembrauch? Or Trebes? Perhaps Chaunenbraums?¡±


    Barley¡¯s mouth twitched, and a vein stood out on his forehead. How many obscure philosophers do you think us poor commoners can get our hands on! This boke prince!


    As he was about to reply, the school bell rang, warning students that classes were about to start. Barley and John hurried away to the classrooms, so that they wouldn¡¯t be late.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    A few weeks later, in class, the teacher was returning the math homework to their students. Barley looked at his page. It seems he had gotten full marks.


    Of course I¡¯d get full marks! The homework that they give is so easy, compared to the complicated business math I was doing, back in the day. He smiled, and looked over at John, who was also grinning.


    ¡°You look full of yourself. What grade did you get?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Haha~I got full marks, as expected!¡± He said, waving his paper around.


    A red mark on the page caught Barley¡¯s eye. He snatched it out of John¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Huhuu~ are you gazing in wonder at my genius?¡± John asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m gazing in wonder, all right!¡± He turned the paper around and shoved it into John¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do you see that big red zero at the top of the page?¡± Barley asked.


    ¡°Yes. What of it?¡± John replied.


    ¡°Do you know what it means?¡± (Barley)


    ¡°That I got nothing wrong?¡± (John)


    Barley could only bark out a hollow laugh.


    ¡°This school grades on a point scale. Here, zero means that you got NOTHING right!¡± He explained.


    ¡°NO WAY!!¡± John¡¯s shocked face looked like that person in Munich¡¯s painting, the scream. ¡°Then all the homework I¡¯ve gotten since the beginning of the term¡­I¡¯ve gotten everything wrong?!¡±


    Barley¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°Where are your papers?¡±


    ¡°In the desk.¡± John weakly replied. Barley opened the desk, where page upon page of sheets were gathered with a big red zero at the top of each of them.


    Then he noticed one sheet towards the bottom of the stack that had the number five at the top.


    Checking the paper, it was the easy question: 2+2=4.


    Well, at least he knows that much. Barley thought. With a solemn expression on his face, he looked at John.


    ¡°John.¡± (Barley)


    ¡°W-what?¡± (John)


    ¡°Do you know what the most important thing a merchant needs to be able to become a great merchant?¡± (Barley)


    ¡°What is it? Tell me!¡± (John)


    ¡°¡­the most important thing a merchant needs, aside from being opportunistic and vague in speech, is the ability to balance their books. In other words, a merchant, in order to be a great merchant, needs to know his basic math.¡±


    ¡°¡­no way.¡± John looked like he wished he could shrivel up and die.


    ¡°What in the blazes were you doing when your math tutor was giving you your lessons!¡± Barley asked, growing angry.


    ¡°Studying, of course!¡± John replied, confidently.


    ¡°That¡¯s a bunch of bull! Studying WHAT, precisely?!¡± Barley fumed.


    ¡°Studying the art of running away and hiding! My math tutor was scary¡­.as a matter of fact, you¡¯re beginning to look like my math tutor.¡± John said, backing away.


    Barley smiled. It seems that only now do I understand that there¡¯s a reason why the oni mask is smiling.


    (see picture>>> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/453596993690870201/</a>)


    Then he put his hand on John¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°EXTRA STUDY SESSIONS BEGIN NOW.¡± (Barley)


    John swallowed, hard. It seemed that his carefree days had ended.

 Chapter 24:

    The day may come when I do not post a single chapter with reference to Thera in it; but it is not this day.


    On a side note, since I''ll be dragged about by family until after January 5th, the chapters may come sporadically in between now and then, since I don''t know when I''ll have the time to write them.  I will try my utmost to have at least one chapter ready each day, but please be understanding if I happen to miss a day.


    Yosh! Let''s go!


    ------------------------


    The Rose Mansion would have been absolutely stunning in the early summertime. But, seeing that it was only mid-spring, the grounds and mansion were covered with green leaves. The gardens did have a few early-roses, though.


    As the carriage pulled up to the mansion doors, a manservant stepped out and opened the carriage doors for them.


    Upon entering, Thera was greeted with the mansion¡¯s staff: the maids, manservants, butlers, cooks, and gardeners- of which, alone, there were over thirty of them. In all, the mansion staff totaled one hundred and ten workers, paid from the king¡¯s treasury to take care of the mansion.


    Thera greeted them in turn, and told them they could return to their respective duties.


    The first thing that Thera felt she had to do was to look for all the secret hidden passageways in the mansion.


    She swiftly made her way around the perimeter of the building,  measuring accurately with a yardstick, despite her swift speed.


    Although Thera had managed to create a new spell that mapped out her surroundings like a bat¡¯s echo-location, it could not penetrate through walls. Therefore, she had to do things the long way.


    Then, starting from the hallway, measuring each room, the closets and the kitchens, as well as the hallways; noting everything down on a piece of paper, she ignored the confused stares of the mansion¡¯s maids and manservants as she rushed by.


    The General, too, was a bit confused, until she drew an image of the mansion down upon a large sheet of graph paper that she had created. Then he began to understand.


    Having ruled out the places where the rooms were already known, it became apparent in which places there might be hidden rooms or passageways.


    Then, Thera went to those places and tried to find the method for opening them. It was usually a traditional method: pulling a book out of a bookshelf, twisting a torch-holder downwards, pushing a button hidden in a complicated wooden carving on the wall, etc.


    Before the sun went down that day, Thera had found every last hidden passageway. There were ten total, with three methods to get outside the mansion in secret.


    The other seven went to hidden rooms, where there were spy holes, hidden weapons, etc. There was even a hidden library, which Thera read through within an hour, thanks to her time perception barrier.


    Some of them were forbidden books. Others were rare copies of ancient martial arts. Thera burned all of the information into her memory before leaving the room.


    The General had left after the first one had been found, having been called away on some duty.


    The second thing that Thera felt she had to do, was to go over the mansion¡¯s expenses, and check the books.


    Using her time dilation barrier to increase her perception by her personal maximum of five times the normal speed, she managed to read through, and check all of the household records for the past three years.


    When the sun finally showed itself over the horizon, Thera called the butler who had been in charge of the books into the study.


    No one knew what passed between the two, but when she had finished talking, and the butler emerged from the study, his face had gone quite pale.


    When the other butlers tried asking about what they had spoken, all the man could say was, ¡°Don¡¯t pull any funny business from now on, if you want to keep your positions. That girl is monstrously perceptive.¡±


    The third thing Thera felt that she had to do was to speak with the cooks, after taking a three hour nap to dispel the mental exhaustion from her night¡¯s reading.


    Since the head butler¡¯s words had spread quickly among the household, the cooks were jittery and nervous at the start.


    But, after hearing what Thera wanted to talk about, soon they began to loosen up and were genuinely delighted to speak with her¡­since what they talked about was dessert recipes.


    Having lived in the capitol, of course these cooks knew quite a lot of recipes. But the recipes that Thera was telling them about were all new ones that they had never even heard about.


    Soon, they had grabbed whatever paper they could get their hands on, and were writing down the recipes, with haste, lest they miss a word.


    Once things had developed to Thera¡¯s satisfaction, she left the mansion with written instructions for the household to follow while she was gone.


    In the end, when Master Thales came to pick Thera up, she had decided to leave the spies alone.


    After all, a spy is only useful if he can spy on his chosen target. Since Thera wasn¡¯t going to live at the mansion, it was fine for the spies to congregate there. She would do something about it later, after her training was finished.


    Altogether, Thera hadn''t even stayed for twenty-four hours before leaving.


    ------------------------------------------


    After they were far enough from the mansion, Master Thales handed some items to Thera, who immediately inspected them.


    The first thing Master Thales had given Thera was a magic bag. Thera was quite puzzled until she looked inside the bag. Then she quickly shut it. There were piles of books inside, filling it up to the brim.


    That¡¯s right. The bag was filled with books. The amount of books and homework that Madame Rothema had sent Thera was enough for a little over three months.


    You might think it strange, but remember, Thera had her time dilation barrier, which sped up her reading so that she was now five times faster. Thus, a mountain of books would easily be demolished in three months.


    Within those three months, Thera would be studying under Master Thales¡¯s ¡®regime¡¯ as Laura called it. She had a strange smile when she said it, too...Thera naturally prepared for the worst.


    Even though, physically, Thera had already surpassed her previous life¡¯s speed, reaction time, strength, and eyesight thrice over; she still expected the upcoming training to be one which challenged the very limits of her strength and perception.


    The other thing that Master Thales had given her was a green hooded cloak, such as he and Laura usually wore.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a uniform.¡± Master Thales assured her. ¡°It¡¯s actually necessary for some of the techniques I will teach you.¡±


    Thera nodded and donned the cloak, pulling the hood up over her head to hide her face.


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    ¡°Brilliant!¡± She snorted. ¡°Now all that I¡¯m missing is a mask to hide this devilishly handsome face of mine.¡±


    Laura giggled behind her.


    Usually, the term ¡®devilishly handsome face of mine¡¯ was used to refer to the heroes in the legends, who were mostly all male.


    While there were a few female heroes among the legends, ¡®devilishly handsome face¡¯ had never before been used to describe a female, even if she had accomplished quite the heroic feat.


    -------------------------


    That morning, the word spread like wildfire that Thera of Rose Mansion had vanished from the Capitol.


    -------------------------


    After a month of extra lessons, Prince John was making average grades. While it didn¡¯t look like much to anyone else, they were a far cry from the original zeros that he had been making.


    Barley didn¡¯t know why, but constantly reminding John that he couldn¡¯t be a great merchant without knowing basic math turned out to be his greatest motivator.


    Man, even though you¡¯ve already got your career planned out for you, you really want to learn how to be a merchant? He thought time and time again as he looked at John¡¯s improved grades.


    But, well, if a prince wanted to be a merchant, then he might as well know how to be the best darned merchant there was.


    Alright! Basic math foundations were set. Now he needed to practice basic haggling. For this reason, Barley needed to take him to the marketplace, in disguise, of course.


    On their way there, he quizzed John on how to haggle.


    ¡°So, you want fifty yards of fine silks; but the seller says it is worth forty gold coins, and you only have thirty gold coins. What do you do?¡± (Barley)


    ¡°Why does it have to be silks? I hate silks! Why not something useful, like a sword?¡± (John)


    ¡°A great merchant will always have something expensive for the nobles to examine, even if he does not particularly enjoy the item.¡±


    Barley replied. ¡°But, for the sake of a better illustration, we¡¯ll go with swords: What do you do if you find a really nice sword which the blacksmith says he is selling for forty gold coins. You only have thirty gold coins, however. What do you do?¡±


    ¡°I would have him send the bill to my father.¡± John replied.


    Barley shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s assume that your father is dead, then.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead? How did he die? Did someone kill him? Am I getting the sword in order to avenge my dead father? Is that it?¡± John asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with that, then.¡± Barley relented. ¡°You are trying to buy a sword in order to get revenge, but you do not have enough money, what do you do?¡±


    ¡°Explain the situation to the blacksmith and ask nicely?¡± He replied.


    ¡°Do you live in the real world or not?!¡± Barley burst out with a tsukkomi. ¡°No one but a simpleton would do such a thing! They would throw you out of the shop instead!¡±


    ¡°I would go back home, grab some money from the treasury, and come back later to buy the sword.¡± John replied.


    Barley¡¯s eyebrow was twitching with anger. A vein stood out on his forehead.


    ¡°Instead of doing such a roundabout thing, this is the point at which you would haggle for the item. A great merchant must know his basic haggling skills, after all.¡±


    That got John¡¯s attention. ¡°Haggling? What is this haggling you speak of? How does it work?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an important method for getting what you want at a cheaper price.¡± Barley said. ¡°For instance, if it were me trying to buy the sword, I¡¯d ask the storekeeper how much it costs.


    ¡®Forty gold coins.¡¯ He¡¯d respond. Then I¡¯d say, ¡®Twenty gold coins¡¯. Then he¡¯d say ¡®Thirty-five!¡¯ Then I¡¯d say, ¡®Thirty gold coins, and not a copper more!¡¯ Then he¡¯d say ¡®deal.¡¯ And so, there you have an example of a successful bout of haggling.¡±


    Barley turned to John, who looked a bit lost.


    ¡°But, why did you buy it, instead of me? I need that sword to avenge my dead father!¡± (John)


    Barley sighed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t the point! Listen to me, you-¡±


    His voice was cut off by someone suddenly yelling ¡°Look out!¡±


    Barley looked up just in time to see a horse drawing a cart madly galloping down the street straight towards John.


    He didn¡¯t stop to think, and jumped into action, grabbing John, and shoving him to safety.


    The horse, noticing Barley, tried to avoid a collision, and move around him, but the carriage behind it skidded and slammed right into Barley, blowing him backwards so that he landed flat on his back in the streets.


    The frenzied horse then ran into an alleyway, where it was successfully stopped, after the carriage itself broke a wheel.


    ¡°Barley!¡± John cried out as he rushed over. ¡°Speak to me! Don¡¯t die on me, Barley! Stay awake!¡±


    Barley himself was in a lot of pain. His collision with the cart had broken several ribs, as well as his right leg and his left arm. He had also gained a concussion when his head had hit the cobblestones.


    A small stream of blood trickled down from his lips as he tried to look around.


    I¡¯m¡­an idiot, aren¡¯t I? He thought to himself, as he realized that he might die for real this time.


    Spotting John, he smiled. ¡°You¡¯re okay, right? Thank¡­goodness¡­¡± His consciousness drifted off into darkness. The last thing he heard was John crying out, ¡°Barley!¡±


    -------------------------------------------


    Author''s note:


    The reason why there is no romance included in the description for this book is because there are no romantic encounters planned for the duration of this book. The description will be subsequently added into the books where there will actually be some romance.


    In other words, just because there''s no romance now, does not mean there will be no romance later. It will simply be in a later book.

 Chapter 25: Thunder and Lightning

    When Barley awoke, he found himself in an unfamiliar large bed. Red curtains were tied to the bedposts, and the room itself was decorated with what his previous life¡¯s memories termed: old fashioned fineries.


    He blinked, feeling very confused. A bird called from another room.


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re wondering where you are, and what you¡¯re doing here.¡± A voice came from his left.


    Barley turned his head to see a rather annoyed-looking man.


    Greying hair was brushed back neatly, and hung almost to his shoulders. Several small scars were visible on his face, peeking out from his completely grey beard. His eyes were still sharp, though, underneath his wrinkled brows.


    ¡°That would be what I was thinking, yes.¡± Barley replied, cautiously. ¡°I bet you can guess what my next question would be, too.¡±


    The man leaned back in his seat, and the corner of his mouth rose in a sardonic smile. ¡°I might at that. But before I can answer you on those three points, I¡¯ll have to confirm a few things first.¡±


    Barley closed his eyes. ¡°You are free to ask, but whether or not I will answer depends upon the questions.¡±


    Since he did not know where he was or who he was speaking to, he decided to exercise caution. After having almost died twice, he wasn¡¯t in the mood for an interrogation.


    ¡°Very well, then. I will keep this brief.¡± The man said.


    ¡°My first question is what do you have to do with the young man known as John?¡±


    ¡°Him, huh? I¡¯m sorry, but if you just saved me to dig for information about him, then you¡¯re out of luck. I only just recently met him, you see.¡± Barley replied.


    The man¡¯s eyebrows raised, but he asked the second question.


    ¡°Who do you work for?¡±


    ¡°I work at Carpkin¡¯s Grocery store as a clerk. I have no other employers.¡± Barley replied.


    The man nodded, and leaned forward.


    ¡°Last question: why did you save John?¡±


    ¡°My body moved on its own, how should I know!?¡± Barley frowned. ¡°In hindsight I could probably come up with a few convincing reasons, but as for why I did so¡­He¡¯s a boke who couldn¡¯t even do math properly, and is obsessed with becoming a good merchant, even though he doesn¡¯t know how to haggle¡­but, really, I don¡¯t quite know why, myself.¡±


    Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m practically his teacher? Did I feel responsible for him, because I took him out to practice haggling? Barley mused. That practically made him that boke prince¡¯s caretaker, though.


    As Barley was musing, a familiar voice came from the door.


    ¡°Barley! You¡¯re awake! Franz, you meanie! I told you to tell me as soon as he woke up!¡±


    Barley turned his head just as a relieved John rushed to the bedside.


    ¡°Does it hurt?  Franz didn¡¯t bully you, did he?¡± John glared at Franz.


    First name basis, huh? Not his father, then, but a retainer? Barley mused. Either that, or a bodyguard, but he doesn¡¯t really have that bodyguard vibe to him. Retainer it is, then.


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s all right. I just woke up, so he would probably have called you in a moment or so. But¡­still, I never would have imagined that your father was this impressive. He must be quite the merchant, huh?¡±


    Barley sat up. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t feel any pain or dizziness at all. It seemed he could move around normally, as well.


    John looked rather embarrassed, ¡°well, er, um. Actually¡­¡± he looked over at Franz, who sighed.


    ¡°All right, he did save your life, after all. And he answered truthfully to every question, so I suppose we can consider this his reward.¡±


    Franz cleared his throat, and put away a blue gem that he had been fiddling with in his hands.


    What is that!? A truth detector or something!? Barley exclaimed in his heart. But he put the matter aside as he listened to Franz''s introduction.


    ¡°May I present his highness, Prince Jean Luke, crown prince of Grayelle kingdom. For saving his life, we would have rewarded you richly,¡± Franz glared at Prince Jean Luke.


    ¡°But this idiot already used an extremely rare and costly life-saving elixir to save your life. Since that was the only one that we had, we now have nothing to use in case a successful assassination attempt.¡±


    ¡°Prince Jean, you¡­¡± Barley couldn¡¯t speak. He motioned Prince Jean to come closer.


    ¡°What is it? Are you touched by my generosity?¡± The boke prince leaned closer.


    Barley knocked him on the head. Hard.


    ¡°ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! No, I already knew that! But still! How far does your stupidity reach!!¡± He yelled. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have simply called upon a healer to use a few heal spells?! It was just a few broken bones and a concussion! Yeah, sure, it hurt like hell, but it wasn¡¯t like I was going to die immediately!¡±


    ¡°Ouch! I¡¯m sorry! I should have done so, but I panicked!¡± Prince Jean was still a stupid boke prince after all.


    ¡°If you¡¯re sorry then make up for it! Now that I¡¯m involved in all of this, how the heck do you think I can leave you alone, now! I¡¯m not letting you out of my sight until I¡¯ve beaten some common sense into that boke brain of yours! Be prepared! You¡¯re not allowed to go out of my sight from now on!¡±


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Prince John flinched. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll help you leave quietly-wait¡­what?¡±


    Franz chuckled. ¡°Well, you¡¯re an odd one. Once people find out that he¡¯s a prince, they usually try to run away from it all. And we are in need of a bodyguard at the moment.¡± He sighed. ¡°Our last one was turned into a parakeet when he angered a witch in passing.¡±


    ¡°Why a parakeet?¡± Barley asked getting up out of the bed. That rare elixir had done its work, All his wounds had been healed. He felt better than he had ever felt before, in fact.


    ¡°Probably to demonstrate how much of a bird-brain she thought him to be.¡± Franz said. ¡°But, keep in mind, once you take up the bodyguard position, you¡¯ll need to take some proper training so that you can hold your own in a fight, and not die from a sword to the back.¡±


    Barley thought for a bit. ¡°When do we start?¡± He asked.


    Franz grinned. ¡°Immediately.¡±


    --------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera stared into the jungle, as she ran, annoyed.


    They had actually left the kingdom, heading into the no-man land of the jungle wilds. As soon as they arrived, Master Thales had asked her to exhaust as much of her mana as possible.


    Thera had done so by lifting a great rock that looked like a dinosaur egg, for one hour, only using magic.


    Laura was impressed, because the rock was bigger than her mansion four times over.


    After nearly completely exhausting her MP, The Ranger clamped a weird bracelet on Thera¡¯s arm, which immediately locked itself. The bracelet closed her off from the outside mana source, effectively sealing her magic spells.


    Now she could only proceed through the jungle based upon her physical attributes, alone.


    Well, Thera had understood why Master Thales had done so. If Thera continued to rely upon her magic spells to get things done, then she wouldn¡¯t necessarily understand the truths of the physical world.


    Subsequently, when she reached black class, she would find herself at a disadvantage when fighting those who had understood fully at least one of these truths.


    As far as quantity goes, Thera had an awful lot of raw power. However, as far as quality goes, it was like the difference between a barbarian and a swordsman. Raw power may get you far, but knowledge and techniques get you farther.


    But still, to have Thera run straight through to the other side of the jungle in a single day, it was pretty taxing.


    There were also wild beasts, poisonous and carnivorous plants, and the natural terrain to deal with, making it impossible to travel in a straight line.


    Just as she was distracted while sulking, the ground moved under her feet. She just so happened to step on the tail of a large cat beast, which was lying stretched out, asleep. The beast¡¯s eyes snapped open as it roared in pain.


    Oh crap! Thera thought as she started running away from the angered cat beast.


    It was a king-class Thunder Cat. While the power level of its strikes were much less powerful than that of a dragon, its speed was almost emperor-class, making it just exactly the kind of beast you wouldn¡¯t want to run into.


    The beast roared in anger as it chased after Thera.


    Thera ran as fast as she could, rebounding off of trees to increase her speed as she strove to outrun the Thunder Cat.


    Even though she was fast, the Thunder Cat was faster. It snaked through the trees at a lightning speed, quickly catching up to Thera.


    It jumped at her, sparks jumping off its claws as it swiped at her shoulder. Thera only just managed to dodge the claws, but she couldn¡¯t dodge the lightning sparks that jumped to her shoulder, making it numb.


    You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! She shouted inwardly. Even if she dodged successfully, if she got hit with a few more of those electric attacks, then she would probably soon end up too numb to move.


    Thera kept running, but this time, she readied her needles. She wasn¡¯t going to go down without a fight.


    If she couldn¡¯t touch it, then she¡¯d just have to kill it with something that wasn¡¯t connected to her body.


    Projectiles were perfect for the job, but, since the Thunder Cat was faster than her, she needed to time this right.


    The Thunder Cat launched itself at her again. She quickly threw her needles, aiming at its eyes. It snorted and swiped the needles out of the air.


    But that movement served to interrupt its attack, and so it flew by Thera without landing an attack on her, its sparking claws not close enough to give an electric attack.


    A dozen or so of these stalemate attacks happened as Thera deflected the Thunder Cat, all while running.


    The Thunder Cat¡¯s main weapon was its speed. Thera narrowed her eyes. What determined speed? In videogame rpgs, speed was dependent upon a stat called ¡®agility¡¯. Then, agility is what determined speed?


    As Thera had run, she also observed how the Thunder Cat ran, swerving around the trees like how water swirls around a rock in a stream. Her own speed was hampered by the numerous trees and the terrain, but the Thunder Cat¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t hampered at all.


    Agility¡­was what allowed a player to dodge attacks, right? There had to be some trick behind it!


    Thera grit her teeth as she paid even closer attention to the Thunder Cat¡¯s movements.

 Chapter 26: First test, passed! And the Strange Dream

    Hello, everyone!


    I apologize very much for the late post. I ended up being dragged around for most of the day, and so was unable to post until today.


    I am also pleased to inform you that this story now has its own website: https://sorashiroublog.wordpress.com/</a>


    ...which also has something to do with the late post.


    I will be uploading the chapters to both of these sites from now on.


    ------------------------------------------------


    The Thunder Cat growled: a deep rumbling sound which was true to its name. It was growing more and more annoyed that its attacks were being frustrated at each turn.


    Thera watched it carefully as she ran.


    It looked elegant as it ran, more like it was dancing, than running. The steps were quick, but Thera still saw a pattern begin to emerge.


    Circular motions¡­circles? No, more like three-quarter and half circles. As Thera watched, she started to copy its way of running.


    As she faced a tree ahead of her, she thrust out her foot as if she would go straight through it, and then thinly dodged around it using a half-circle step.


    The Thunder Cat  launching itself at her again. This time, Thera was a bit too slow. The tips of its claws grazed her arm, sending a painful jolt through her body.


    This is no good. I need to concentrate more, and get faster, or else I won''t be able to keep dodging the attacks.


    Thera focused upon the stepwork, copying the Thunder Cat''s running method more closely.


    As she got better at it, her speed began to pick up. This method didn¡¯t slow her down, or divert her path. Now she could truly run in a straight line.


    But, it was not just on flat surfaces. The circular motions worked as easily on the rougher pieces of the terrain as well.


    Within minutes, Thera was running as fast as the Thunder Cat, maintaining the distance between them. But Thera felt that this was not the fastest she could go. She grinned as she sped up the tempo of the dance, like the shifting of gears on a car.


    The Thunder Cat screamed its frustration as Thera soon left it behind.


    As she ran out of that stretch of jungle, she stopped, panting, and closed her eyes, burning the pattern into her mind. Since it was the Thunder Cat who taught her, she named this move [Thunder Cat Lightning Steps].


    When she opened her eyes, she suddenly saw Master Thales in a spot which had definitely been empty beforehand.


    ¡°Very good. You cleared that in ten hours and thirty minutes: a new record among my students. At her fastest, Laura only managed to make it at eleven hours and fifty minutes.¡±


    Thera nodded.


    ¡°It seems we can move ahead of schedule. The first lesson is completed. You have learned how to be as swift as the wind. With that, you have passed the second requirement.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Thera felt confused. ¡°But I thought I had already met all the requirements.¡± She glared at Master Thales.


    ¡°Who said that? I only said that I would test you to see if you were ready to learn from me. I never said that you had met all the requirements. Oh, by the way, the first requirement was being at Green class, or above, and under fifteen years of age.¡±


    Thera thought for a bit. ¡°What is the next requirement?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Encompassing Shadow and Light is the next requirement. But, before we get to that, why don¡¯t you sit down first, while we wait for Laura? She¡¯s got an hour and a half left before I have to go and find her.¡±


    Thera¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You sent Laura in there too?! But I just met a Thunder Cat on my way here! She¡¯ll be in danger!¡± Thera was about to jump back into the jungle, but Master Thales grabbed her by the cloak.


    ¡°WAIT. Unlike you, I didn¡¯t send her in there unarmed. She has a sword, a bow, and some beast repellant bombs. Of course, her grades drop if she uses any of them, though.¡±


    Thera started growing angry. ¡°And the reason why you didn¡¯t give me any?¡±


    Master Thales didn¡¯t look her in the eye. ¡°Of course it was because I knew you could make it through without them~.¡± His mouth quirked into a condescending smile as he looked upwards, towards the treetops.


    Liar. You completely forgot to prepare them for me, didn¡¯t you! Thera accused from the depths of her soul. But, she couldn¡¯t say anything; she actually had made her way through the forest without dying, according to what Master Thales claimed.


    A pain in her arm reminded her that she had been injured. It seemed the numbing sensation had worn off. She rolled her sleeve up to take a look.


    It was simply a small scratch, but it had started to swell.


    ¡°A Thunder Cat, you said? It sure looks like that. I¡¯m surprised you got away with just a scratch. The Thunder Cat¡¯s mark has been known to incapacitate many a brave man.¡± Master Thales said as he also examined the wound. He took out a few leaves and a strip of cloth.


    ¡°Tie that around the wound, and don¡¯t touch it from now on. That will take you at least a day to heal completely, even with the aid of medicine.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡° ¡®Understood¡¯? What are you trying to be? A soldier?¡± Master Thales fussed.


    ¡°No.¡± Thera replied, a slight smile on her face.


    ¡°Surely you must be at least curious?¡± Master Thales prodded.


    ¡°I am. But asking more questions will not provide me with any concrete answer. Besides, there are some things which are can only be understood after having experienced them. So I am better off just waiting until it is time for the second test.¡± She replied honestly.


    "Moreover, when the time comes that you acknowledge me as your student, it will not be too late, then, to ask you questions regarding cultivation and martial arts."


    Or, rather, that¡¯s something I only just realized. She thought to herself.


    Master Thales was secretly impressed. Most noble children had asked him tons of questions, trying to pick his brain for ways to pass the tests. It seemed that it was a good idea to wait until someone suitable showed up.


    But, outwardly, he kept his expression neutral. "Suit yourself." He said.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Barley bit back a curse as he eased into the hot bath. His whole body was bruised black and blue. Franz might not be a bodyguard, but he could still beat Barley black and blue, even blindfolded, and with his hands behind his back.


    Stolen story; please report.


    I might not be cut out for this. He thought as he sat in the hot water mixed with healing herbs.


    According to Franz, he would be completely healed by the next day.


    But Barley had just now realized what Franz¡¯s words had meant: that Barley would be in perfect condition to get beaten to a pulp again.


    Am I just going to be that man¡¯s punching bag? There¡¯s got to be some way of training that will give me an advantage over that over-powered old fox!


    After his bath, Barley lay in bed, thinking about it, before deciding to sleep on it and see if things would make sense in the morning.


    He tossed and turned for over an hour, before sitting up. He couldn¡¯t sleep.


    Fine! I give up! I guess I¡¯ll just go for a walk!


    He slipped out of the house, careful not to wake up his uncle.


    ------------------------


    Away up high in the sky, two figures streaked through the night, faster than airplanes, clashing ferociously many times. Each time they clashed, thousands of blows were struck, creating a sound not unlike thunder.


    Barley heard the sound of their fighting on his walk.


    ¡°Huh? Is that thunder I hear?¡± He paused listening. The sound of thunder was getting even closer.


    ¡°¡­Maybe now¡¯s not a good time for a walk.¡± He immediately turned around to go back the way he had come.


    If that was thunder, then lightning would soon follow.


    It was nearly spring so it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to assume that rain would accompany the thunderstorm. Spring rains were infamous for being ice cold, and Barley wasn¡¯t interested in an impromptu ice bath.


    The figures fought back and forth, retreating and advancing through the partially cloudy sky. Hidden by the clouds, millions of blows were exchanged.


    Finally, one of the figures fell towards the earth, its body speeding faster than a comet, heading straight for the city.


    As its body was darker than black, it was near impossible to spot against the darkness of the clouds, so no one was aware of its approach.


    As it was, Barley didn¡¯t even realize that something was approaching until the moment before it hit.


    But, strangely enough, there was no impact. The figure entered Barley¡¯s body, but did not come out the other side. All Barley felt was the fierce wind that had accompanied the falling figure.


    After checking to make sure nothing was clinging to him, Barley simply assumed that whatever had approached him, had missed, or flown away at the last moment.


    I knew it! There must be a storm coming! I need to get home quick, before it starts raining!


    He thought to himself as he hurried even faster towards home.


    Not long after, the other figure passed over the city, searching for a sign of the first figure. After scanning the area several times, it flew off in a different direction, still searching for the figure.


    But it would not find it, for the figure had hidden itself within Barley.


    -------


    As soon as Barley returned to his room, he suddenly felt very tired. He immediately lay down on his bed, and fell fast asleep.


    Barley found himself in a strange underground place. It was dark. He did not know where he was. But, suddenly, ahead of him, he saw a circle of stone pillars standing upright on top of a hill.


    Having nowhere else to go, he walked towards the stones, his feet echoing off the rocky surroundings.


    As he reached the circle of stone pillars, he saw that in the center was some sort of altar, or stone table. Upon this table was something whose shape he could not determine. Shadows swirled and danced about it, as if it were surrounded by black flames.


    ¡°You are the owner of this body?¡± A voice echoed from the surroundings.


    Barley jumped and looked around at the surrounding pillars. ¡°Who¡¯s there!? Show yourself!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°Now, now: there¡¯s no need to be so cautious. I mean you no harm.¡± The voice chuckled. ¡°I simply wished to ask a favor of you.¡± The voice really was coming from all around, to the point where Barley could not tell where it came from.


    ¡°What is this favor, then? Speak!¡± Barley said, relaxing a bit after hearing the voice was not hostile.


    ¡°I wish to be allowed to remain here for a while. My spirit has received too much damage for me to move to another suitable hiding spot. Of course, in return, if you have any wishes, then I will not hesitate to aid you.¡± The voice replied.


    ¡°Wishes? Can you make me strong? Really strong? Strong enough to defeat any foes I may cross paths with?¡± Barley asked.


    ¡°Strength, huh? Very well, then! In return for allowing me to remain here, I will help you gain your desired strength!¡± The voice agreed. ¡°Prepare yourself, boy. Tomorrow night, I will help you acquire the first realm of strength.¡±


    ¡°My name is not ¡®boy¡¯! It¡¯s Barley!¡± he corrected.


    ¡°Barley, huh? You may call me, Lute Sverde.¡±The voice replied.


    ¡°R-ru-lrooto Suverude¡±Barley tried to pronounce the name.


    ¡°Lute Sverde. Don¡¯t forget it.¡± The voice said as his surroundings began to fade.


    -----------------


    Barley awoke that morning to sunlight streaming through the window. He sat up slowly, trying to recall the strange dream he had. Then he realized. Sunlight was streaming through his window¡­which meant¡­


    ¡°THIS IS BAD!! I¡¯M GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!!!¡±


    He yelled as he leaped out of bed.


    ---------------------------------------------

 Chapter 27: The Jungle Run

    Due to an overly popular demand, I have decided to switch the main character over to Laura Murlough. Hence, the title and storyline will be immediately switched over to her name.


    See details at the bottom.


    -----------------------------------------------


    Laura was gasping for breath as she ran the now-familiar route.


    I wonder where Thera is right now? Is she still in here, or is she perhaps already out? Laura thought to herself as she tried to distract herself from her predicament.


    Behind her, screeching and swinging through the treetops, a large group of Babuchins was chasing her. (It¡¯s a cross between a capuchin monkey and a baboon)


    Even though Laura was a third rank-Blue Class, even she couldn¡¯t deal with that many Babuchins, but she couldn¡¯t use her weapons, or else her grade would drop.


    As things already were, she would fail if she didn¡¯t get through before the time limit was up. Therefore, she could only run as fast as she could muster her muscles to go.


    ¡°I have all the rotten luck!¡± Laura complained. ¡°WHY CAN¡¯T YOU GO ATTACK SOMEBODY ELSE!!¡± She yelled back at the Babuchins.


    The Babuchins, of course, didn¡¯t answer. Most of them were only at sapphire-class, so their intelligence was too limited for human speech.


    But, that didn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯t see an opportunity when it ran into them.


    Babuchins were considered the troublemakers of the martial world. They ganged up against those weaker than them, and caused trouble for those stronger than them. Unless you completely beat them into submission, they would not stop pestering you.


    That is why the phrases ¡®If you see a Babuchin, makes sure he does not see you¡¯ and ¡®more fiendish than a group of Babuchins¡¯ soon became a common one among the people.


    The leader Babuchin was a bit larger than the others, and had a bright blue star marking on his forehead.


    It looked over to its friends and chattered something in monkey language. The monkeys nodded and several of them broke away from the group chasing Laura.


    After a few minutes, when Laura looked back, she only saw about five monkeys chasing her.


    ¡°Huh? Where did all the others go?¡± Laura exclaimed, surprised.


    Then she had a bad feeling. She looked forward to where she was running, and immediately had to stop. She couldn¡¯t go forward because as far as she could see in the forest, there was an entire army of Babuchins!


    ¡°It seems I shouldn¡¯t have asked¡­¡± Laura barked out an empty laugh.


    The Babuchin leader with his four subordinates closed in behind her, cutting off any chances of a retreat.


    She couldn¡¯t go forward. She couldn¡¯t go backwards. But, still, she had to get out of the jungle, before the time limit!


    Stopping here was not an option!


    She looked to her left, but that side was cut off by a swiftly-moving river.


    She looked to her right, and her eyes widened in shock as she stared at something off in the distance.


    ¡°AAAH! What is that thing?!!!¡± She yelled and pointed.


    All of the Babuchins looked in the direction she was pointing. Laura took this chance and ran to her left, jumping into the river, and grabbing onto a passing log.


    For all their superiority in numbers, they¡¯re still just a bunch of monkeys after all~! She chuckled to herself. They can¡¯t beat the acting powers of a noble!


    The Babuchins looked back at where Laura had stood. There had been nothing where she had pointed. Then they realized that the girl had disappeared. THEY HAD BEEN TRICKED!!!


    A Babuchin was usually the one making mischief! To be on the receiving end of someone else¡¯s mischief, moreover a human who had been identified as their prey, was a huge blow to the pride of the entire Babuchin species!


    Henceforth, Laura earned the title of ¡®Enemy of all Babuchins¡¯, or she would have, if this were a world that was like a game. Suffice to say, that all the Babuchins that were there now knew her as someone to attack with extreme prejudice!


    -----------------------------------------------


    When Laura felt she had gotten far enough away from them, she grabbed an overhanging vine and made for the riverbank.


    Dragging herself up, she quickly determined the direction she had to go, by finding the sun¡¯s position in the sky.


    She was soaking wet. Her boots had gotten water inside them, making them squelch every time she took a step. The beast repellant bombs would be inoperable until they had dried.


    But, none of that mattered!


    Laura just needed to get to the other side of the forest! That was all!


    She was about to take her first step forward, when she heard a huge roar up ahead. There was also an answering roar, and the sound of a huge fight between beasts commenced to break the silence of the jungle.


    Maybe it¡¯s safer going around for just this once. Laura decided.


    After a slight detour, Laura was once more running towards the edge of the jungle.


    Laura grinned. Maybe this time she¡¯d break her own record. That would be wonderful¡­


    As she was lost in her daydreaming, she didn¡¯t notice the creature creeping up her clothes until it was on her shoulder.


    Noticing movement, she turned her head to look, and saw a very large black tarantula spider with green and red stripes on her shoulder.


    Immediately, Laura shrieked, slapped it away, and jumped in the opposite direction, slamming into a tree.


    The tree shuddered from the sudden impact, the vibrations reaching up into the tops of the trees, and shaking the small branches at the top.


    Immediately a rain of bugs, spiders, and small reptiles began falling down, dropping all around her.


    ¡°YOU¡¯VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!¡± She yelled as she swatted them away, her back to the tree.


    But then she realized her mistake. She should have run far away the moment it began, because now the jungle floor was covered with spiders, small reptiles, and bugs of all shapes and sizes.


    She was surrounded!


    Birds took to the air as Laura¡¯s scream emerged.


    ---------------------


    Laura emerged from the bushes, feeling emotionally drained. Luckily, a large branch had also fallen on the ground, giving her a bridge across the sea of frightful creatures.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Even though she had mostly gotten used to them, nobody in their right minds would enjoy creepy crawlies suddenly attacking like that.


    It must have been another planned attack! This time, it was from the creepy kingdom!


    Really, though: she was in a jungle. Literally, almost every inch of space was teeming with life. It was a good place for many small animals, bugs, reptiles, and other things to live in and multiply out of sight.


    Any other tree would have produced the same rain of terrifying creatures in that section of the jungle.


    But do you know another inhabitant of that section of the jungle? Wild boar. Wild boars look exactly like what you would find on earth, except they¡¯re about the size of a large cow, and have a devastatingly powerful charging attack.


    Laura jumped over a huge fallen tree, and came face to face with an entire group of wild boar.


    Both sides were frozen for three seconds.


    Then, Laura moved first. Waving a brief greeting, she jumped over the group of boar and took off into the jungle.


    The group then stirred into action, chasing down the sudden invader.


    ¡°Why is this always happening to me!¡± Laura yelled as she ran from the stampede of tusked pigs.


    She then made for a huge canyon that cut through the jungle nearby.


    She ran until she was as close to the edge as she dared to be. Finally, she jumped, grabbing onto a low hanging branch, she swung up into the trees as the group of wild boar thundered past underfoot.


    When the leader saw the edge ahead of them, he quickly tried to turn, but there was not enough space. They were going too fast.


    Thus, the entire herd of wild boar fell over the edge of the canyon, and into the river way down below.


    Laura swung down to the ground and looked at the sun.


    ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s almost time! I¡¯ve got to hurry!¡±


    Then she froze as she heard a sound behind her. She turned to look.


    Behind her was the very same group of Babuchins that she had left behind earlier! Laura waved at them blankly, before instantly taking off as fast as she could towards the jungle¡¯s edge.


    ¡°NO WAY! WHY ARE YOU GUYS HERE!!¡± She yelled as she ran from them.


    The Babuchins behind her were chasing her seriously, all of them had red eyes, a symbol that they were in a frenzied rage.


    ¡°And you¡¯ve gotten even faster, I see. Why can¡¯t you just give me a break!¡± she cried. Dodging a claw attack, she didn¡¯t see that ahead of her was a muddy downward slope.


    Thus, there was no warning when she slid out of sight of the Babuchins, and sped up as she slipped down the steep incline, getting progressively more and more caked with mud.


    When Laura finally managed to stand up, she resembled a golem, more than a twelve year old girl. She brushed as much of the mud off as possible and continued on her way.


    After walking for about fifteen minutes, Laura finally saw the exit and sped out of the jungle, sliding to a stop.


    ¡°I¡¯m out!¡± She announced with relief.


    The sunshine was bright as she looked around around her.


    Master Thales and Thera were sitting on a nearby log, staring at Laura.


    Dripping wet, and covered in mud, she was almost unrecognizable.


    ¡°Laura? Is that you?¡± Thera finally asked.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s me! Why do you ask?¡± Laura replied.


    Master Thales looked at his watch.


    ¡°You had one minute before you failed. Next time, I¡¯d appreciate it if you were a bit faster getting here. We¡¯ve been waiting for over an hour now.¡±


    Laura almost fell over. Almost an hour?! Give me back my hard work! She wanted to yell, but then she sighed.


    After all, it is just like Thera to do an impossible thing. I should¡¯ve expected as much from her, since she¡¯s now in red class. I should just gracefully accept defeat.


    ¡°Now, since we are finished with the light warmup, let¡¯s move on to the second test area.¡±


    Master Thales said.


    Laura¡¯s face grew white.


    ¡°The s-second test area? Why not just kill me now!¡±


    Master Thales paused.¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Thera, Laura, you should probably know that there are ten tests total before I accept you two as my students. As an added incentive, if one of you wins, then you¡¯ll both pass. But, the one who wins will be considered the higher ranked student, and the other one will have to do whatever the winner says.¡±


    Thera wasn¡¯t really interested in the incentive, but Laura¡¯s eyes began to sparkle.


    If she won, then she would solidify her position as the upper-classmen, and Thera would have to listen to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to win!¡± She exclaimed, all fired up.


    ¡°Before that, you might want to wash off that mud.¡± Thera replied, trying to hold in a laugh.


    ¡°Geh! That¡¯s right!¡± Laura hurried off to find a stream, the laughter of Thera and Master Thales coming from behind her.


    --------------------------------------------------------


    About the change in MCs, I am relieved to inform you that I was just kidding. [th_104_.gif]


    Rant:


    But, seriously, guys, you need to calm down. Barley will not take over as the MC anymore than Laura will.


    He is not a second MC. He is not even close to an MC. In fact, we won¡¯t be seeing him for quite a long time after this, so just chill, okay!


    I don¡¯t really want to, but your overly-insulting attitude towards Barley has opened my inner Elizabeth Bennet: If you don¡¯t chill, then I threaten you with really changing the storyline and REALLY turning this into a romance, even though I don¡¯t want to!  :gyaha:


    In other words, if you don¡¯t like my story, then just leave! Don¡¯t come here to insult all of my hard work! *end of mini rant*

 Not a chapter: Beast Ranking

    As you have probably guessed, there is a different sort of ranking for beasts than there is for martial practitioners.


    Since someone has requested it, I have decided to reveal the entire beast ranking system.


    Strictly speaking, the beast ranking system is based upon two different things:


    First, upon how much they were worth, in terms of payment for materials-this ranking system comprised the lower half of the ranking system;


    Second, upon how much of a threat they are to the populace. - this ranking system comprises the top half of the ranking system.


    Beast ranking System


    Copper class: the elite among the normal beasts. Worth 1 copper coin


    Silver class: those among the elites which have undergone a special evolution. Worth 1 silver coin


    Gold class: Those rare elites whose hides, fangs, or claws are wanted for weapon-making. Worth 1 gold coin


    Emerald Class: Elite animals desired for their fur. especially popular among the nobles, and very dangerous. No one who has not reached green class can defeat it, so it is considered a sign of great strength.                Worth 1 emerald


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Sapphire Class: Elite animal that is considered quite troublesome. No one who has not reached blue class can defeat it. Worth 1 sapphire


    Ruby Class: Elite animal with a fire attribute. No one under 9th-level purple class can defeat it. Worth one ruby


    Magic class: Those beasts which use magic to attack. Prices vary depending upon type.


    King class: A ruler among elites. These fierce animals create their own domain and rule over other elite animals. Quite dangerous and sometimes intelligent enough for human speech. No one below orange class can defeat it.


    Emperor Class: A ruler among rulers. These animals are dangerous enough to take on an entire country by themselves. Exercise extreme caution. It is suggested not to tangle with them unless one has reached brown class.


    Sage Class: Highly intelligent animals/beings. The Black Class of the animal ranking system. Can level mountains and destroy kingdoms with its powerful attacks.

 Chapter 28: Encompassing Shadow and Light

    I''m just wondering, but are any of my readers from Kansas? It would be really neat if that were the case~!


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After Laura had cleaned up a bit, the two were led by Master Thales to another area. Thera knew that they had passed through several barriers on their way there. Therefore, she was not surprised when they arrived in an altogether peaceful partof the jungle.


    It was a rather pretty-looking scenery.


    The rocks and trees were all covered in a green moss, and brightly-colored wild flowers dotted the clearing. The nearby trees created cool-green shadows on the soft-looking grass. Butterflies flit about here and there.


    The nearby lake was as clear as glass, with not a single ripple upon its surface, and the air felt clean and calming, as if it had a purifying effect.


    This!¡­This is a naturally-formed cultivation treasure!Thera was quite surprised as she surveyed the area.


    These treasures were desired by both magicians and martial practitioners, as it was the perfect environment for cultivation of both the body and the spirit.


    Most naturally-formed treasures had already been claimed by major martial sects. If you weren¡¯t strong enough to defend it from others, it would soon be taken away from you.


    Therefore, the only ones who were publicly in possession of such places were usually big martial or magic sects, which were under the protection of a black-class or a Magi.


    For Master Thales to have one all to himself, moreover such a large area as this, showed just how strong he was.


    Thera felt it was a shame that she couldn''t train her magic here, because of the mana shackle on her wrist.


    Laura had seen this scenery before, so it didn¡¯t have any impact upon her. The relaxing atmosphere was also wasted, since she was focusing on the next challenge.


    He chuckled to himself. ¡°Now I will explain the next challenge to you.¡± He said, as he stood before the two. He held up three fingers.


    ¡°Three days. I¡¯ll give you a three day time limit for this task. If you cannot encompass shadow and light by noon of the third day, then you will fail and have to start over again from the first test. The second test starts now!¡±


    Thera was beginning to understand why Laura looked so distraught.


    ¡®To encompass shadow and light¡¯ It was such a vague phrase, yet it seemed they could not move forward without understanding the concept.


    Laura immediately ran into the forest area, but Thera sat herself down upon a stone next to the lake, and stared into it, thinking about the words.


    Encompassing shadow and light¡­Darkness and light, yin and yang: two seeming opposites, yet both can be obtained¡­


    A breeze blew through the glade, creating a ripple upon the lake¡¯s surface. Staring down into the depths, Thera saw the ripples create light patterns upon the floor of the lake.


    After staring at the rippling light patterns, Thera had an idea. To encompass shadow and light, did it have something to do with camouflage, perhaps?


    The ninja using the cloak of darkness; If one wants to hide a tree, place it in a forest; using the sun¡¯s position to blind your opponent; hiding in plain sight: the concept of camouflage was not a new idea in Thera¡¯s old world.


    Therefore to encompass shadow and light should mean being able to hide both in the shadows, and in the sunshine alike: a perfect form of camouflage, per-se.


    Thera¡¯s eyes sparkled. She felt that she had touched upon the true meaning of ¡®encompassing shadow and light.¡¯ And it wasn¡¯t an unfamiliar concept at all!


    Thera grinned as she looked at the pond. There was some preparation that needed to be done to be sure, but it would be a shame not to take advantage of the benefits of this cultivation treasure.


    And so, Thera sat by the pond the rest of that day, and that night, and the next day and night as well, cultivating her martial spirit. Only doing a few things during this time.


    Master Thales said nothing as he simply observed the two girls, whatever thoughts he had during this time, he kept them to himself.


    The morning of the third day, Thera finally stood up, stretching her stiff limbs. It was time to make preparations, after all.


    -----------------------------------


    At the start, Thera had spread her cloak out on the ground besides her, and placed some local grasses upon it in random patterns, making sure not to cover it completely. She also did this for a scarf and gloves which she would use.


    On top of the grasses, in certain places, she also smeared mud mixed with berry juice in sporadic shapes, until she had acquired the broken pattern and green and brown coloring that she desired. She even worked a bit of moss and grasses into the hood.


    Next, she checked all of her gear. Anything that was shiny, she slapped mud onto it.


    Anything that made noise, she either wrapped in cloth, or oiled until when she jumped up and down, the only thing she could hear was the subtle tamp of her boots. The rest she stored in her magic bag.


    Last of all, she smeared mud around her eyes, and on the top part of her face, before covering the lower half of it with the scarf that she had treated. After donning the hood and gloves, her camouflage would be complete.


    Knowing that Master Thales was watching her, she took off into the woods, looking for a good place to disappear.


    Master Thales smiled and closed his eyes. He did not need to look to know where they were, since he could simply feel theirpresence. Laura was hiding in a hollow tree, and Thera was-huh?


    Master Thales frowned and opened his eyes. Thera¡¯s presence had suddenly vanished. He quickly flashed over to the section where he had last felt her presence.


    As soon as Thera had found a good spot and made a few preparations, she had donned her cloak, and lay down amongst a group of tall grasses.


    Breathing as shallowly as possible, Thera lay still. In her previous world, this was about as far as she had gotten. But now, perhaps it was the atmosphere, but Thera¡¯s heartbeat slowed down as she slipped into a strange calm.


    It was as if she were a member of the forest itself, a rock or a tree: she was living simply in the state of being, at peace with herself and the world around her.


    If any of the Magi were to be looking at her, right now, they would be shocked to see her mana harmonizing and mingling with the mana of the forest. She was neither absorbing, nor radiating mana. The mana that was hers simply changed its patterns to match those of the forest.


    Thus, although Thera herself didn¡¯t completely realize it, she had masked her presence to the point where even MasterThales couldn¡¯t distinguish between her and the forest, alarming him of the absence of her presence.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    When he arrived, Thera could sense his presence, but nonetheless, didn¡¯t move a bit. She was of the forest, now. Whatever happened had nothing to do with her. She was simply an observer.


    Master Thales flashed over to where Laura was hiding, checking to make sure she was really there.


    Laura was there, all right. Anyone running through the treetops would be able to see the blonde hair shining from the middle of the hollow tree trunk.


    While, on the ground, she remained unseen, she hadn¡¯t quite managed to hide all of herself yet.


    Master Thales then returned to Thera¡¯s area. He knew she was here, since no one had left the barrier. He frowned as he carefully examined his surroundings, looking for signs of the hidden girl.


    A slight depression on the ground marked a footprint, a few bent grasses signified her passage, but still, he couldn¡¯t find Thera.


    He frowned and grinned at the same time. It was frustrating, but he had to admit that she had done an excellent job in hiding, to the point where he was at a loss.


    Still, he kept looking for her. Checking the bushes and the undergrowth, as well as the bases of the trees, but she could not be found.


    Soon enough, noon came, and Master Thales hit a gong to signify that the test was over. The gong jerked Thera out of her calm state, and brought her presence of mind back.


    Her heart beat came up, as she was startled by the loud clanging noise of the gong. Her mana became out of sync with the forest, as she started.


    As soon as her presence of mind returned, Thera realized that half a day had gone by, and it was time to return to the clearing.


    Even though it was time to return, Thera did so as stealthily as she could, treading lightly, and making sure that she was not seen.


    Laura was already at the clearing, standing in front of Master Thales, with an impatient look on her face.


    -------------------


    Laura heard a rustling sound to her right, and turned to look, but there was nothing there.


    It must have been my imagination.She thought to herself.


    When she turned back, Thera was standing right next to her.


    ¡°Uwah! Thera, when did you get here? Oh, that¡¯s right, where were you?! We¡¯ve been waiting for over ten minutes, you know!¡± Laura scolded.


    Thera nodded, her amused expression hidden by the hood of the cloak.


    ¡°My deepest apologies. I was practicing the art of encompassing shadow and light, and completely forgot the time.¡±


    ¡° Goodness! Pay more attention, next time, okay? And what you¡¯ve done to your cloak will take ages to wash out! Make sure you take better care of your gear, next time.¡± Laura warned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely keep that in mind.¡± Thera replied.


    Master Thales cleared his throat.


    ¡°I will now announce the results of the three-day test:


    Laura, you spent most of your time these past few days hiding in that hollow tree by the rocky hill. Since I was easily able to spot you from the treetops, every time, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ve failed to understand the concept behind encompassing shadow and light.¡±


    Laura looked shocked. ¡°No way!¡± She groaned. Failing meant that she had to go back and run through that blasted jungle again. She looked as though her soul had already left the body.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not finished!¡± Master Thales said hurriedly, before turning to Thera.


    ¡°Thera, I¡¯ll admit, I had no idea what you were up to, sitting next to the lake these past few days. I even thought that, perhaps, you had decided to take it easy and fail on purpose. But when your presence vanished this morning, I was very impressed.


    Not only did you mask all signs of your presence, you were completely hidden to the point where even an expert such as I could not find you, even if I knew you were in the area.


    You have fully grasped encompassing shadow and light. Therefore, seeing that one of you has passed, you both are allowed to continue to the fifth test.¡±


    ¡°The fifth test?¡± Thera asked. ¡°But what about the third and fourth tests?¡±


    ¡°Seeing that even I couldn¡¯t find you, even while you were right in front of me, you have already passed the tests of silence and stillness. Also, considering we¡¯re quite ahead of schedule, you two are allowed to have the rest of the day to rest up in preparation for the test tomorrow.¡±


    Thera nodded. ¡°Thank you, Master Thales!¡± She said.


    Laura looked a bit dazed, before slowly collecting her soul back into her body.


    Thera passed, which meant¡­.that Laura didn¡¯t have to run through the jungle again¡­right?


    Having never passed the second test, Laura couldn¡¯t believe that they had so smoothly advanced, moreover, to the fifth test!


    It seemed more like some sort of dream. "We...passed?"


    She grabbed Thera¡¯s hands. ¡°Yipee! We passed, we passed! Thank you, Thera!¡±


    Thera smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome~!¡±


    ¡°More like, when are you going to stop relying on your junior and get your act together.¡± Master Thales pointed out.


    ¡°How cruel! Thera was originally my first teacher, you know! There¡¯s no way I could measure up to such monstrous talent!¡±


    Laura replied, feeling that it was unfair to compare the two, when obviously Thera was far ahead of her in rank, already.


    ¡°Suit yourself. But if you don¡¯t get your act together soon, she¡¯s going to leave you in the dust~.¡± Master Thales sighed, looking away. Having observed Laura for five years, he already knew which buttons to press to spur her motivation.


    ¡°Just you wait and see!¡± Laura pointed at Master Thales. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll be the one to pass the next test, and bring us both forward!¡±


    She stated it with such absolute certainty that Master Thales couldn¡¯t help but observe. ¡°Ah? Even when you have no idea what the next test is going to be about?¡±


    Laura said nothing, she looked like she regretted what she said, but she couldn¡¯t back down in front of Thera. ¡°Of-of course! I¡¯ll accomplish anything that you throw at me!¡±


    Thera made a complicated face.Ah. Now she¡¯s done it. I can¡¯t help you if you dig yourself deeper into the hole you¡¯ve made.She sighed, and watched as Laura fell into Master Thales¡¯s trap.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re so sure, how about we have ourselves a little wager?¡± Master Thales asked.


    Laura froze, remembering the last time they had a wager. Then she cautiously asked. ¡°What kind of wager?¡±

 Chapter 29: The Shocking Revelation

    It seems that I¡¯ve caught a sore throat. Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t develop into anything nasty.


    Also, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have a chapter for tomorrow, seeing as I¡¯m probably going to be resting (due to trying to avoid developing aforementioned nasty cold).


    On a brighter note: here¡¯s the next chapter. Enjoy~!


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­how about this: if you pass the next test, then I¡¯ll give you a rare elixir that will boost your cultivation directly to the next class. However, if you don¡¯t then I suppose I¡¯ll just keep it, since Thera isn¡¯t interested in elixirs.¡±


    Master Thales looked over at Thera, who had decided to ignore them and take out a book. It seemed she was ignoring them.


    If it were normally, then Thera would have finished five books by now, due to her time-dilation barrier.


    But, since a certain someone clamped a certain magic shackle upon her wrist, she had to read normally, and catch up on the homework she missed for the past few days.


    ¡°You¡¯re on! I¡¯ll pass it with flying colors, I tell you!¡± Laura said. Thera¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she turned a page.


    Getting motivated is all very well and good, but why do you have to involve me in this! She grumbled in her heart as she continued to read.


    Finally, she couldn¡¯t stand the noise level, and closed her book, moving once more into the heart of the forest to find some relative peace and quiet.


    Around sunset, she had to give up reading, since she hadn¡¯t brought a lamp. Reluctantly, she closed her book in the fading twilight and made her way back to the clearing. Something was beginning to smell good as well.


    In the clearing, Laura sat, humming and stirring a large pot of food over the fire. She looked like she was in a good mood.


    ¡°Ah, Thera, is that you? Perfect timing! I was about to ring the dinner gong, but it looks like I don¡¯t need it any more~.¡±


    ¡°Oy! Were you just going to go ahead and eat without me?¡± Master Thales asked as he too appeared in the clearing.


    Laura waved her hands in front of her.


    ¡°N-no way! Why would I do a thing like that? I just figured that you were probably¡­probably close enough to call to supper, instead of ringing the gong.¡±


    Thera looked over at Laura. She was looking away from Master Thales Oy! He totally knows that you¡¯re lying, you know! There¡¯s no way you can fool him with that lousy acting of yours. Or rather, you always were a bad liar. Thera began to smile at the thought.


    Laura noticed Thera¡¯s smile. Perhaps¡­ ¡°AH! Thera, are you laughing at me!¡±


    Thera¡¯s grin grew wider. ¡°No way. Why would I do a thing like that~?¡± She mirrored Laura¡¯s words on purpose.


    Master Thales laughed. ¡°Well, putting that aside, let¡¯s eat!¡± He said as he picked up a bowl.


    As things were, they ate without ceremony. Laura¡¯s cooking wasn¡¯t chef level, but Thera felt it was a bit nostalgic. She remembered the times when she did outdoor cooking. But¡­


    After about three servings, Thera looked at the huge pot of food and finally asked.


    ¡°Laura, I appreciate you cooking dinner for us, but¡­isn¡¯t that a lot for just three people?¡±


    Laura looked at the pot. ¡°Really? That¡¯s odd. I thought for sure that you definitely ate a lot more than this at the festival we were at five years ago. Or are you only going to pretend now that you¡¯re a proper noble with a butterfly¡¯s appetite?¡±


    Master Thales laughed. ¡°And I thought I was the only one who noticed. Laura, there is no way that three people can eat enough for fifty men. It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Thera looked at Laura, a bit surprised. She never thought Laura would remember something from that far back. ¡°You know, that time was a festival! Anyone would eat as much as they could at a time like that, surely.¡±


    ¡°Which means¡­No way! Does that mean that I lugged this heavy pot and made all this food here for nothing!?¡± Laura asked no one in particular, as she put her head in her hands.


    Thera sighed, and grabbed the ladle. ¡°I¡¯ve got no choice, huh? Fine, I¡¯ll finish it up this time. Next time, make normal portions, okay, Laura?¡± She really couldn¡¯t stand wasting good food like that, and poured herself another bowl.


    Master Thales POV:


    Master Thales was surprised. He never thought Thera would make a baseless claim such as finishing enough food for fifty men. He stared at the large mass of food inside the pot. Yep. Enough to fill the stomachs of fifty men. There was no way she could eat that much.


    ¡°Do you need my help?¡± He asked, finally.


    ¡°If you¡¯re still hungry, feel free to eat.¡± Thera replied. ¡°But not really, no.¡±


    He admired her courage, but he sighed at her stubborn-ness. Was Thera like Laura, after all?


    Master Thales could only shake his head. At most, she would only be able to eat about ten more bowls, surely! They would probably have to throw the rest to the wild beasts outside the treasure sanctuary.


    But he stayed silent. One of the lessons people had to learn was to bear the consequences for their own actions.


    He watched as Thera continued to leisurely eat the stew.


    You know, you don¡¯t have to put on an act, okay? You just had seven bowls. It¡¯s fine to look troubled. Thera continued eating.


    Which bowl was it? The ninth one? How long are you going to keep up this charade? If you eat much more than this, your stomach will explode. Thera still continued eating.


    Finally, Master Thales watched as Thera poured herself the eleventh bowl.


    Oy, oy! Are you seriously going to go that far for your friend!? Can human stubbornness go this far?


    He watched as she ate and finished the eleventh bowl, astonished.


    Thera noticed his stare. ¡°What is it?¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.¡°Aren¡¯t you full?¡± he asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you so full that you feel like you¡¯re going to burst?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Thera replied. She had just turned all the stew in her stomach into energy, so her stomach was rather empty at the time.


    Master Thales watched in disbelief as she downed her fifteenth bowl, her twentieth bowl, her thirtieth bowl, and her forty-fifth bowl without slowing down. If anything, she was speeding up.


    Finally, Thera put aside the bowl. Ah, it seems that forty five is her limit. Master Thales thought.


    But he realized he was wrong when Thera lifted the pot, which had cooled after being off the fire for a while, and simply drank the rest down.


    I¡¯ve heard of second stomachs, but this one is ridiculous! Even if she had a separate stomach each for sweets, meat, desserts, wine, ale, and snacks, she would not be able to eat that much!


    Thera then carried the pot over to a nearby stream to wash the dishes, since she hadn¡¯t set up camp or made dinner.


    Master Thales finally turned to Laura. ¡°That¡­eating that much should be impossible, right?¡±


    Laura giggled. ¡°With the look on your face, right now, it was completely worth it! It should be impossible, yes. But somehow Thera is able to do it. It¡¯s super interesting, right?¡±


    Master Thales looked at Laura and realized that she had done everything on purpose in order to get Thera to reveal what she could do.


    It seems he had to re-evaluate. Laura was not as foolish as he had supposed. In fact, she was quite shrewd in certain aspects. And Thera was certainly no ordinary genius of geniuses, either.


    ¡°Laura, watch the camp and keep the fire going. I¡¯m going to go set up a few things for the test tomorrow.¡± Master Thales said, before disappearing into the night.


    ------------------------------------------------------


    When Thera returned to the camp, Master Thales had already disappeared.


    Laura was busy tending to the fire. Even though it was warm during the day, the nights were still too chilly.


    ¡°Here. Your pot. I¡¯m sorry that you had to lug it out here. You should have asked me about that, before making assumptions, though.¡± Thera said as she returned the pot.


    ¡°Think nothing of it! I got to see something interesting after all~!¡± Laura said smiling. ¡°But, still, that is quite the neat trick, to be able to eat and eat and never get fat. Is it something that can be taught?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°I have no idea. I discovered it completely by accident.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°Is that so? You haven¡¯t tried teaching it to anyone, have you?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Who would I teach it to?! A bunch of boys who haven''t the presence of mind to listen to me? Besides, if I am being quite honest, then I completely forgot about it until a little while ago.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve been working on making breakthroughs in magic, you see. Eating more food didn¡¯t really help me when it came to cultivating mana capacity, or gaining proficiency in my spells, so...¡±


    Thera shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel the need to use it.¡±


    ¡°But, there¡¯s got to be some trick to it, right? You had to have had an inkling of what you were doing, right?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera scratched her cheek with a finger and looked at Laura. ¡°You want me to tell you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡± Laura answered, sitting at attention.


    Thera sat down on a log bench.


    ¡°Fine, then.¡± Thera raised three fingers.


    ¡°There are three points to this technique:


    1. Perception,


    2. Transformation.


    3. Absorption.¡±


    Thera held up the first finger. ¡°In order to use this technique, you need to know how to look at things. We eat food to replenish out energy. The whole reason for the stomach is to hold the food you eat while it¡¯s being broken down. But, even after it has gone through the intestines, your body has only, at most, absorbed about 15-20% of the energy residing in the food.¡±


    She raised the second finger.


    ¡°While just eating things normally is fine, but if you have too much, then you need to break the food down quickly. All food is made up of energy. What I do is I use the energy in my body to rapidly transform that food into energy. As opposed to the normal way, the whole mass of food is transformed, leaving nothing behind.¡±


    She raised the third finger.


    ¡°Which brings us to the last step.


    The energy, once it has been transformed, is completely identical to your own inner energy, and can be manipulated and absorbed as such.


    If you can accomplish these three things in succession, then you would potentially be able to eat a mountain of food with no bad effects. And, there you have it.¡±


    ¡°This skill¡­perhaps it is a power booster skill?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera smiled, slightly troubled. ¡°It seems to be the case. I was able to reach red class due to my use of this skill three months early.¡±


    ¡°AH! I KNEW IT! I just KNEW you did something that day! There¡¯s no way that someone could just breeze into red class like you did without a technique. So, that¡¯s what it was, huh?¡±


    Laura¡¯s fighting spirit had risen to the point where she began to look a little scary.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suggest extended use of it, though. Yeah, sure, you¡¯ll get more powerful, but if you go too quickly, you¡¯ll miss the important things, like the truths of the physical world. If you don¡¯t go slowly and pay attention, all that power will be wasted in the future.¡± Thera quickly followed through.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. This method is best for breaking through when you need more power, but it¡¯s not good for tempering the eyes or the brain. I understand. I, Laura, will not use this skill very often!¡±


    And so, Thera taught Laura the technique which would make Laura famous. In the future, she would be known as The Black Hole Beauty: the beautiful girl who had that impossible constitution where she could eat all she wanted and not get fat.


    -----------------------------------------------------------


    Master Thales was miles away, that night. The tools had already been set up for the test.


    But he had not brought them to this jungle just to test them. Master Thales quietly slid a knife out of its sheath. No, he was here for a different purpose.


    Advancing upon what seemed to be a bandit¡¯s group, Master Thales began to glow red as he let loose his martial skills.


    His cape wrapping around him, he swooped upon the unsuspecting camp, the harbinger of death, seemingly.


    Strangely, not a single cry rang out from the camp that night.

 Chapter 30: Interruptions

    Gosh. You guys are really stingy! So what if Thera taught her skill to Laura? Thera¡¯s still the most OP character there is! And she¡¯s about to get even more OP.


    Did you think that people who were not extraordinary would be able to keep up with her pace?


    As it is, Laura cannot even measure up to being Thera¡¯s disciple. If the power gap gets any wider, the friendship will be estranged.


    I am surprised. But, well...at least you''re being honest. Here''s the next chapter!


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    The gong sounded before the sun rose that morning, waking Thera and Laura up immediately. Thera was instantly alert. She straightened her clothes, combed her hair, and concealed her throwing needles up her sleeves all within five minutes.


    Laura had only gotten as far as yawning loudly and tying her shoes.


    Thera smiled. ¡°If your yawn gets any wider, a fly will land in there, you know?¡±


    ¡°Will not.¡± Laura mumbled, sleepily.


    Thera laughed. ¡°Oh, I see! I¡¯ll be leaving first, then!¡±


    Outside the tent, Master Thales was stirring a pot of porridge over the fire. The pot was much smaller than the one Laura had brought.


    Thera was about to sit down next to the cooking fire when she smelled blood coming from Master Thales.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­only porridge for breakfast, huh?¡± She said.


    ¡°What were you expecting? Cakes?¡± Master Thales responded.


    ¡°No¡­for some reason, I thought there would be meat.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Briar Rose. There¡¯s only porridge here. You¡¯ll have to make do.¡± Master Thales poured some porridge into a bowl and held it out towards Thera. ¡°Unless porridge doesn¡¯t suit your tastes?¡±


    ¡°No, if it¡¯s porridge, then I¡¯ll definitely eat it. But¡­Master Thales, you didn¡¯t accidentally cut yourself anywhere, did you?¡± Thera asked while grabbing the bowl.


    ¡°When you get to where I am, there is not much that can cut through even my skin. And, anything that can cut it is far away from here.¡± Master Thales said.


    ¡°Then, I suggest you take a bath later on.¡± Thera blew on a spoonful of porridge. ¡°You reek of blood.¡± Master Thales looked sharply at her.


    Thera concentrated on her porridge. ¡°Naturally, I won¡¯t ask what happened, especially since it probably required the skills of a Black Class. But, it¡¯s still not good to wear such a perfume. It makes it easy for people to find you, after all.¡±


    Master Thales smiled, good-naturedly. ¡°Thank you for the advice, Lady Briar Rose. I will certainly keep it in mind.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome~! But, what¡¯s up with calling me ¡®Briar Rose¡¯? You already know my first name.¡±


    ¡°I should say the same to you. Don¡¯t you call me ¡®Master Thales¡¯ all the time?¡±


    ¡°Then, should I call you, Gerard, I wonder~?¡±


    ¡°¡­Actually, it¡¯s fine. Please continue to call me ¡®Master Thales¡¯, Lady Thera.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we could come to an understanding~!¡± Thera replied as she took another bite of her porridge. ¡°It could use a bit of salt, though-the porridge, I mean.¡±


    At that point, Laura came out of the tent, yawning. The sky was starting to get brighter, even though the sun hadn¡¯t risen yet.


    ¡°And here comes the most important person, the one who¡¯s going to definitely pass the test with flying colors, Lady Laura Murlough! Applause~!¡± Master Thales clapped his hands as he teased Laura.


    ¡°What applause! Don¡¯t think that you can belittle me like this first thing in the morning!¡± Laura retorted.


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re not going to pass?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I. AM. But there¡¯s no need for that condescending tone! I¡¯m almost an adult, you know! Stop treating me like I¡¯m still a kid!¡± Laura sulked.


    ¡° ¡®Almost¡¯ means that you¡¯re not an adult yet. If you¡¯re not an adult, then that means you¡¯re still a kid. Therefore, it is still proper for me to treat you like one.¡± Master Thales replied.


    Thera laughed. What adults? All I see are two kids here. She thought to herself as she smiled.


    She finished her porridge and went to go wash the bowl out in the stream.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    After breakfast, Master Thales brought them into a certain part of the forest.


    Even before they arrived, Thera immediately understood what the next test would be, since she saw half-hidden targets in the trees and bushes.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the next test? I¡¯m ready for anything!¡± Laura said.


    ¡°If you were ready for anything then you¡¯d already know by now.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°As things are, I think Thera knows what the next test will be, right?¡±


    ¡°[Accuracy], and probably [Frequency] as well.¡± Thera said. By habit she used English words to describe them.


    ¡°Eh? Akyu-rashee? Furekwenshee? What are those?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera turned to Laura, smiling. ¡°It means he wants to test how fast and how often we can hit the targets correctly.¡±


    ¡°As expected of a student of Madam Rothema. You even know the ancient tongue.¡± Master Thales said in praise.


    ¡°No, this¡­er¡­Is it really so ancient?¡± Thera asked. It¡¯s just English, after all.


    ¡°Yes. It is said that the great heroes of the legends often spoke and wrote in this language. Many of their techniques and spells were written down in this language, so it is a subject of great interest for many people. If, by chance, there would come a time when someone could completely decode the language, then the kingdom would greatly benefit.¡±


    ¡°Ahahahahahah, Is that so? It¡¯s too bad, then. I didn¡¯t really learn anything significant about this language from Madam Rothema before I left. But, given the chance, I really would like to study the language for a bit.¡± Thera replied. I didn¡¯t learn any of it from her, after all. But, it would be a shame to have a hidden skill and not use it to my advantage~!


    ¡°So you are interested! I¡¯ll recommend you to the court librarians, then, when we return. Since even a single sentence written in this language is considered important, almost all of the ancient writings are locked up in the royal library. But, since you hold a title, you¡¯ll probably be allowed to try your luck with them.¡± Master Thales said.


    Thera narrowed her eyes at him. Does he suspect that I know more than a few words in English? Or is he simply trying to be helpful?


    ¡°For now, I¡¯d rather focus upon the task at hand. Are there any rules?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°You are not allowed to hit your fellow test taker. You may use any weapon. That is all. The one who is fastest and hits the most targets will win! Ready?¡± Master Thales raised his arm in the air, watching as the two girls shifted into a vigilant stance.


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Begin!¡±


    Laura and Thera began running through the forest in different directions. Laura was running through the treetops, smashing the clay-encased straw targets out of the trees.


    Thera was running along the forest floor, sending her needles through every target within range, while reading a book.


    After an hour, though, Thera ran out of needles, so she made do with a knife tied to a cord. Thera would throw the knife at the board. As soon as it struck, she would tug on the rope, and the knife would come back. She skillfully wielded the cord so that the knife didn¡¯t hit her, or the book she was reading, when it came back.


    How many she struck, she didn¡¯t even count. Her arms grew tired, and her breath grew ragged, but she didn¡¯t stop. She suspected the test wouldn¡¯t be over until all of the targets had been pierced through.


    The sun rose high into the air, reached its zenith, and them began to head towards the horizon before the gong rang out, ending the test.


    On her way back, Thera recovered her needles from the targets, once more hiding them away up her sleeves.


    None of them had bent, or were broken, so, therefore, they were still useable.


    Returning to where Master Thales stood, Thera was not surprised to find Laura already there.


    ¡°Ahem! Seeing that all 1,000,000 targets have been either pierced, or destroyed, I will now announce the results of the test.¡±


    Master Thales spoke slowly to continue teasing Laura. ¡°The one who struck the most targets was¡­¡± He stopped.


    A ripple made its way across the barrier around the cultivation treasure. Someone, or something, was trying to enter the area.


    ¡°Wait here.¡±


    Master Thales said, before vanishing west, in the direction the ripple had spread from. More and more ripples started to flash their way across the barrier.


    Thera jumped to the top of a nearby tree to see what the matter was. With her sharp eyes, she could see all the way to the barrier edge.


    ¡°What is it? What do you see?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°An army of beasts. Heading for the barrier¡­no, running from something. The beasts are running from something that¡¯s got them absolutely terrified!¡± Thera said, surprised.


    ¡°Can you see it?¡±


    ¡°¡­No. Whatever it is, it is still hidden in the forest, but I can see trees falling down in a line about ten kilometers away.¡± Thera said, watching the proceedings.


    The beasts, when they came up against the barrier, first tried to force their way through, but quickly gave up and ran along the edges, desperate to escape the terrible beast behind them.


    Many beasts died underfoot, or from the crushing pressure of the beasts behind them. Thera even saw the Thunder Cat she had raced yesterday, running as fast as its lightning pace would take it.


    An existence that would scare even a Thunder Cat-what kind of powerful beast was that!? Thera felt herself holding her breath as the fearsome creature approached.


    Thera kept her eyes on the moving creature as it approached even closer. It was definitely a large beast, considering how many trees toppled before it. Soon she could hear the groaning and snap of the trees that fell.


    Ten kilometers became nine. Nine kilometers became eight. And still, Thera had not managed to glimpse what sort of beast was coming their way.


    All of a sudden, the beast stopped. Trees fell to its left. Trees fell to its right. Finally, it turned down a different path, one that led it away from the cultivation treasure. An the groaning, snapping, clattering sound of falling trees faded once more into the distance.


    Thera let out a sigh of relief, and slipped down the trunk once more.


    ¡°It¡¯s over. Whatever it was turned away from here, thank goodness! It was almost worried that we might have another emperor-class on our hands to deal with.¡±


    ¡°What, didn¡¯t you defeat a whole group of thirty emperor-class animals by yourself?¡± Laura asked. ¡°They don¡¯t sound like they¡¯re that tough if you can take them.¡±


    Thera was about to open her mouth to reply when Master Thales¡¯s voice came from behind her.


    ¡°That was nothing more than a stroke of luck, considering Thera had found their weakness. Moreover, they were all severely injured through infighting, which made such a thing possible. To take on an emperor-class beast alone would be pure suicide if you¡¯re not a Black class: especially this particular emperor-class beast.¡±


    Master Thales sighed.


    ¡°Well, what was it?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°A Ten-thousand year old Devourer Worm. Its usual diet consists of rare elixirs, about one every fifty years or so. But, if there are no elixirs in the area, it will go on a hunger rampage, devouring everything in sight: trees, earth, beasts, birds, rocks, water, and so on. If it had found this cultivation treasure¡­¡± Thera¡¯s spine went cold as Master Thales continued.


    ¡°It would not have left until it had devoured every rock, tree, and scrap of moss. I managed to lead it away from here by baiting it with an elixir which I happened to have on hand. But I was in luck that Thera was the winner, otherwise I¡¯d now owe you an elixir.¡±


    It took Laura three seconds to realize what Master Thales had said. ¡° WHAT!?¡±


    Master Thales stuck a finger in his ear. ¡°You heard me. The one who was the quickest and most accurate was Thera. She accurately hit over two thirds of the targets herself, totaling at just over 650,000 destroyed targets.¡±


    ¡°No way¡­¡± Laura looked as if an ocean of water had been poured upon the raging fires of her motivation. She nearly slumped to the ground.


    ¡°But, it was to be expected. Thera is a red-class, after all. Naturally, she would have more stamina and speed. Moreover, every single one of them was hit through the center, as opposed to what you did with smashing them out of the trees with your fists.¡±


    Laura looked at Thera, in surprise. What kind of self-study would make someone that accurate?


    Master Thales thought about something for a minute before raising his head. ¡°You both have passed the test, and may have the whole day tomorrow to rest.¡±


    Thera nodded. ¡°Thank you, Master Thales.¡±


    ¡°I will be leaving to check out the origin of that devourer worm¡­For the time being, Thera, I will release the mana shackle.¡±


    He took out an amber-colored gem and placed it into a depression in the cuff. The shackles immediately fell off her arms.


    ¡°Thank you, Master Thales.¡± She understood what he meant by that gesture. If anything or anyone entered the barrier while he was gone, then Thera had been given permission to use magic to protect herself and Laura. It meant that things were probably going to get dangerous very soon.


    ¡°¡®And don¡¯t leave the barrier.¡¯¡± were the last words she heard before Master Thales took off down the path of destruction which the devourer worm had created in its rampage.

 Chapter 31: Prelude to Self-Destruction

    Was it just me, or was Christmas break an awfully short vacation this year?


    Please forgive the shortness of the chapter. I''ve been dealing with a bad cold, which has slowed my progress down, considerably.


    Also, possibly, I may have to stop writing for a while-since I am almost seriously behind on my student loan bills (my life is such a mess).


    I''m not dropping the story. I just need to take some time to get well and get things back in place.


    Next Chapter will probably be on Monday...I think.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera turned to see a rather scary-looking Laura glaring at her.


    ¡°YOU! You did more than just read books at Madam Rothema¡¯s didn¡¯t you? What kind of monster training did you accomplish in order to get such accuracy?¡± Laura said, while grabbing Thera¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Eheheheheheheh¡­¡± Thera wore a somewhat troubled face. And here I was about to finally catch up on homework! ¡°Well, I suppose you might call it that.¡± She replied.


    ¡°No way!¡± Laura¡¯s eyes teared up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the times I thought badly of you for being sheltered in a safe hidden valley while I was running through the jungle. When, all this time, you must have been training wildly, right? Right?¡± Her look of pity made Thera feel unpleasant.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± Thera tried to brush it off.


    ¡°You were probably training day in and day out, without holidays or weekends off, or even stopping to have tea time, right?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera wasn¡¯t sure how to answer. Oy, oy! Aren¡¯t you coming up with a huge misunderstanding?


    But, when she opened her mouth to deny it, she couldn¡¯t. She really had trained from dawn to dusk every single day, without giving herself a holiday.


    If she wasn¡¯t reading or practicing her magic, she was practicing her aim, or fighting the local beasts¡­It had just never really occurred to her that what she was doing was work¡­


    ¡°Geez! It wasn¡¯t as bad as you make it sound. Stop making me look like a training fanatic~!¡± Thera finally settled for a joke to lighten the atmosphere.


    ¡°So you really did do something that outrageous!¡± Laura pointed out.


    Thera tried to calm her down. ¡°Like I said, it wasn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°And? What are you planning to do until Master Thales returns?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to cultivate! Didn¡¯t you hear Master Thales? He said this place is a cultivation treasure! With this place to bolster my spirits, surely I can breakthrough to Master Class, level one by tonight!¡± Thera replied


    Laura looked at her, an accusing glare on her face.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ll cultivate up to Master class tonight. And tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Practice some empty-handed fighting techniques¡­Like Bujinkan, Silat, Systema¡­.oh, yeah. I was also going to practice some ninjutsu techniques. Oh, and since I now have a sword, I can do some kenjutsu as well.¡±


    She stopped suddenly because now Laura was looking at Thera with a gaze of absolute horror.


    ¡°What has that old lady been teaching you!?¡± She asked, having never even heard of the things Thera was talking about.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t learn any of these from Madam Rothema. She doesn¡¯t know any of them.¡± Thera said.


    ¡°T-then your father must have been extra strict with you the year that I was away?¡±


    Thera shook her head. ¡°My Father also does not know these.¡±


    ¡°¡­Well, whatever these techniques are, it¡¯s no good! I¡¯ll only give you the rest of today to cultivate. The whole of tomorrow is going to be your very first day off! NO working, NO cultivating, NO PRACTICING. Got it?¡±  Laura suddenly started ordering Thera around, which made her grin.


    Pretending to be the onee-san¡­oh, wait. She actually is the onee-san. Thera was not sure how she had forgotten that Laura was older than her.


    Laura¡¯s face was getting scary again. ¡°I said ¡®GOT. IT.¡¯?!¡± She asked, punctuating her words.


    In order to pacify Laura, Thera sighed. ¡°Yes¡­I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ve got it.¡±


    That was fine. Thera would just simply move tomorrow¡¯s practice to that night and practice all night.


    ¡°Good. Dinner will be at sunset. Every minute that you don¡¯t arrive, I will add one more portion of food to the pot.¡± Laura said. As things were, there was only about three hours left until sunset.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Thera nodded and went to her thinking spot over by the lake. She immediately sat down and meditated to recover her mana.


    Once she was full again, Thera threw out her time dilation barrier, stretching three hours to fifteen hours in a flash. Then she took out a book and began reading.


    About one hour later, Thera noticed the mana inside of her began to throb, attracting the mana outside her body to collect around her. Thera wasn¡¯t frightened, because she had read about these sorts of things happening during the breakthrough to Master class.


    Soon enough, there was so much mana in the area that a transparent, yet visible, mana cocoon formed around her, glowing pale blue at its edges.


    Thera was focused inwards. In her mind, she came into a vast dark space with lots of stars. Thera almost mistook them for the night sky, but then she realized that the constellations were not there. This was a different field of stars.


    They became brighter the closer she drew. Finally, she was there, among the stars, which then became attracted to her. It was as if they were pulled by a magnetic force, floating to a specific point an arm¡¯s length away.


    They circled Thera as if she were the sun. the more the light spheres that joined, the faster the other spheres flew towards her, Soon enough, there was an entire cocoon of light wrapped around her spirit-self, growing brighter and brighter.


    Finally, the stars all burst away from Thera¡¯s inner self, sending a small shockwave out from her body into the real world: A sign that she had stepped into the realm of Master class.


    When she came back to herself, she laughed. Her mind had never felt so sharp, and as clear as it did now. She felt completely relaxed and rejuvenated in her soul.


    Her body felt all tingly, from the hair on the top of her head, all the way down to her toes. After a few minutes, Thera realized that the feeling was only getting stronger.


    When she looked inside her body, she gasped. Strands of mana spread out and flowed like veins alongside her blood vessels.


    Nothing she had read in any of the books had prepared her for anything like this!


    She was extremely puzzled for a long moment, until she thought. Wait, is this perhaps a side effect of training as both a martial and a magic practitioner?


    With that, she relaxed. She might not know precisely what powers or effects the mana veins had in her body, but for the time being, they weren¡¯t causing her any harm. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Thera found that her mana ¡®veins¡¯ had increased her mana capacity by a lot.


    But, upon closer inspection, miniscule bits of mana were being absorbed into her bones¡­Thera wasn¡¯t quite sure what sort of effect this would have on her, but at least it did not seem like it put her in a disadvantageous situation.


    She stood up and threw out a few hundred punches in a mere moment, her fists disappearing into a blur, like the kind you see when you turn on an electric fan.


    She continued this way, for a while, practicing at a rate in which any normal person would not be able to follow her movements with the eye.


    ------------------


    Two men stood outside of the barrier, careful not to touch it. ¡°You¡¯re sure he won¡¯t come back?¡± One asked nervously, his head concealed by a black cloak.


    ¡°I told you before, even if he managed to run there, and immediately figure out what had happened, and run all the way back, it would still take any Black-Class at least a day to do so. Moreover I personally saw him leave, so he won¡¯t be back for a day at least.¡±


    The taller man with leather armor said as he slapped the other¡¯s back. ¡°So don¡¯t be such a worry-wart! We¡¯ll be in and out in no time.¡±


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t know about this. What about those two people he brought in with him, this time?¡± The cloaked man asked, fidgeting with his staff.


    ¡°Those two brats? Hah! What about them? Even if they find out we¡¯re here, they won¡¯t be able to do anything about it. They¡¯ll probably just go hide until we¡¯ve gone.¡± He confidently grinned.


    ¡°After all, they¡¯re just kids! How powerful do you think they could be?¡±


    -------------------------


    Thera¡¯s eyes narrowed as a barely discernable ripple moved across the barrier. If she had not been lying on her back to rest after her workout, looking at the sky, she would definitely have missed it.


    She instantly rose to her feet. Master Thales ha said that he wouldn¡¯t be back until tomorrow. So, the only other two explanations were, 1. Laura went outside the barrier. Or 2. Someone or something has entered the barrier.


    Thera headed for camp.

 Chapter 32: Digging a Hole

    Pssst! Watch this: Diggy Diggy Hole</a>


    Hahahah. I couldn''t help it....my little sis had me play this for her so many times...so...many...times...six year olds! Why must they watch the same thing over and over again?


    So sorry for the delay. I''m still sick, so the story did not come very easily this weekend. Hopefully I''ll get back into the rhythm of things by the time my cold is done. Anyways, enjoy!


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Laura was grinning wickedly as she stirred a cauldron of food twice as large as the one she made yesterday. Knowing Thera, she would probably lose track of the time and end up coming back to camp ve~ry late~.


    As such, when Thera returned to camp and was confronted by this scene, she stopped and stared. The spectacle of Laura stirring a huge cauldron of food reminded Thera of an image from her past life, of a witch stirring a cauldron.


    Thera¡¯s eyebrow twitched. Laura, you¡­to waste so much good food¡­How badly do you want me to punish you?


    In her previous life, after college, Thera had jumped into her journey around the continents, learning many different martial arts.


    But, that also meant that she had to clean and cook and do everything by herself. She quickly learned that if she was not frugal, then she would soon find herself coming up short on her bills.


    Knowing the importance of eating good food in order to maintain a healthy body, she could not bring herself to compromise with simply filling up on junk food and cheap store-bought ramen. She had even bent over backwards, doing side jobs in order to make sure that she could at least eat good food. For Laura to make so much food simply for two people was a sin against Thera¡¯s previous frugal way of life!


    She emerged from the forest quietly, stalking up to Laura from behind without a sound. Then, she asked.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Laura jumped, and turned around.


    ¡°Ah! Thera!¡± Then she realized the spectacle of the enormous cauldron behind her. ¡°No! This is not what you think it is!¡± She replied.


    ¡°Ho..? Is that so?¡± Thera eyed Laura and the pot, making it obvious that she did not believe Laura at all. Laura¡¯s face turned red with shame.


    ¡°Hmm...Very well, then.¡± Thera said. ¡°Put the lid on it and let it stew for a bit. We have an unexpected visitor or two coming from the east. It would be bad manners not to welcome them.¡±


    While Thera was indeed upset, she also knew that it was more important to discover who had entered while Master Thales had gone away. And now that she could use magic once more, she could easily deal with anyone under red class.


    I¡¯ll discuss this matter with you, later, Laura. Was what was implied underneath Thera¡¯s words.


    Laura, knowing she was in trouble, hastened to comply.


    ¡°Ah, well¡­It can¡¯t be helped, since we have guests after all.¡± She place the lid on the cauldron. ¡°The east, you say?¡±


    Thera nodded.


    Laura grabbed her sword, and fighting gauntlets. ¡°Okay! Lead the way!¡±


    With that, the two girls immediately disappeared from the clearing.


    ------------------------


    Thera kept her speed down to a pace where Laura could follow, as they sped through the trees. Suddenly, she stopped and motioned to Laura, before throwing her cloak about her and melting into the scenery.


    Laura also quickly hid herself behind a fallen tree. Moments later, two men walked into view. One wore a black cloak, and hid his face, while the other one wore leather armor, and tied his hair back with a leather strip, so that his face was exposed.


    ¡°But, what if he figures out something is wrong and heads back before he arrives there?¡± The black-cloaked man asked.


    ¡°You worry too much. What sort of Black class would leave such an incident unexamined? It¡¯s precisely because the Devourer worm was headed straight for Grayelle Kingdom that he couldn¡¯t leave it unexamined.¡± The Leather-clad man scolded.


    ¡°Look, now that we¡¯re inside the Cultivation Treasure, all we need to do is follow the map, find the artifact, and leave. Simple, right?¡±


    ¡°Ri-right. Simple.¡± The black-cloaked man replied. ¡°But what if the kids find out about it? Won¡¯t they go ratting on us to that Master Thales?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯ll be nothing to say if you just keep quiet! Besides, they probably didn¡¯t even see the signs of us entering at all. You know how kids are, after all. Those two gits are probably playing house somewhere.¡±(Leather-clad)


    ¡°You might be surprised. Master Thales is famous for refusing to train useless people. Maybe they¡¯re stronger than you think.¡± (Black-Cloak)


    ¡°Even if they¡¯re strong, I refuse to believe that two little girls can defeat your 1st level Blue-class. Unless they¡¯re complete and utter monsters, it¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Thera was the closest to the two, so, naturally, she heard every single word.


    Well¡­you¡¯re not entirely wrong, but to call us monsters out of the blue is rather troublesome. But, come on, Blue class? Even Laura is at least 2nd level, Blue Class, and she¡¯s the weakest one in the group. She thought to herself.


    Even though she hadn¡¯t heard it from Laura, Thera could roughly guess the level and class by comparing them to her own past speed limits.


    Anyways, Thera now recognized that the fools who had entered could be subdued at any time. But, their talk of an artifact that could only be found with a map intrigued her.


    No one knows when it started, or who created them, but, roughly about a thousand years ago, people began finding maps to hidden boxes in places all over the continent in obscure places.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Each box harbored something special: rare herbs, magic armor, enchanted weapons, etc. Once they were discovered, many people began travelling to see if they might have enough luck to obtain a map and find one of these boxes.


    For over 500 years, many people were involved in what was known as The Great Treasure Hunt, and many books were written about the adventures of the men who searched for them. To Thera, the enthusiasm was similar to how someone might seek a celebrity to shake their hand and obtain bragging rights.


    But, just like a celebrity, if too many fans show up at once, the opportunity to meet will be ever more and more scarce.


    Like the ward stones, these boxes were near impossible to find. Unless one were to bump into one, it would remain invisible for many years.


    To be honest, when Thera read about them, she was reminded of a certain Italian plumber in a certain video game. But¡­considering the timelines, it was practically impossible for such a thing to make its way to this world almost a thousand years before it was created.


    Unless the timeline in this world was skewed¡­Thera had stopped thinking about it, then, because considering such things only served to give her a headache.


    Thera paid attention to every word the two said, wondering about it. What kind of an artifact was it? Did it have some sort of special martial manuscript, or rare herb? Did it perhaps have some magic armor, or a priceless elixir?


    Thera decided to shadow the two. Whatever they were after, it was still within Master Thales¡¯s cultivation treasure, which was tantamount to stealing from Master Thales.


    Therefore, she would wait until they had found the box, and then deal with them accordingly.


    Black-cloak took out a rather worn-looking parchment from his cloak pocket. ¡°It¡¯s over this way.¡± He pointed.


    Leather-clad nodded and the two began walking in that direction.


    Only after they had gone far enough did Thera turn her head slightly to look at Laura. As their eyes met, Thera gave a mischievous smile, and angled her head towards the direction of the two men.


    Laura¡¯s eyes sparkled as she gave a barely discernible nod. The two silently left their hiding places, disappearing in the underbrush as they shadowed the two men.


    Although Laura was not as perfect at the technique as Thera, she had learned the art of stealth from Master Thales. Therefore, the two men were completely clueless to the fact that the hunters had turned into the hunted.


    After walking this way, and walking that way in the forest, they came upon a miniature clearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s here! Bro, the map says that it¡¯s right here, under our feet!¡± Black-clad said, getting excited.


    Thera raised an eyebrow. In the book she had read about artifacts, although they had been in hard-to-reach places, there had never actually been a case of the boxes being buried.


    The stories always had the discoverer stumble into, or over, or get thrown into the box where it sat.


    Thera began to feel that, either the map was a dummy, or there was something about the box that was left out of the stories.


    ¡°Good!¡± Leather-clad ¡®Bro¡¯ could hardly contain his excitement. He swiftly retrieved two shovels from his magic bag.


    ¡°Come on, help me dig!¡± He said.


    Swiftly, the two began over turning the long-undisturbed dead leaves, grass, and soil. Thera and Laura watched with interest from a safe distance away.


    An hour later, they had dug a pit nine feet in diameter, twenty feet deep, and they still hadn¡¯t found anything. Both men were sweating hard from the work they had done. Black-cloak half-heartedly poked his spade into the dirt in front of him.


    Ding!


    The sound of metal sounding on metal made the two men¡¯s eyes brighten as they quickly unearthed what the shovel had struck.


    It was a metal plate with writing on it.


    ¡°B-bro! Isn¡¯t this- isn¡¯t this that-?¡± Black Cloak exclaimed as he looked at the writing.


    Leather-clad ¡®Bro¡¯ clicked his tongue. ¡°You call this a treasure! It¡¯s in the ancient tongue! How the heck are we even supposed to read this?¡±


    ¡°Actually, Bro, it¡¯s easy enough to pronounce. Look, all the letters are the same as ours. Goo-do tu-rai, na-ow re-achee foru tha su-kai. I wonder what that means?¡± Black Cloak asked.


    ¡°How should I know!?¡± Leather-clad snarled. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the scholar, here!¡±


    ¡°Too bad¡­I thought maybe it was a clue to finding the artifact.¡± Black Cloak said, disappointedly.


    ¡°I knew it! Some Black Class know-it-all probably swiped it years ago! This map is worthless!¡± Leather-clad ¡®Bro¡¯ thrust his shovel in the ground, shoving it in up to the handle. Then he stamped vigorously upon the spot, burying it even deeper.


    Black Cloak tried to calm him down. ¡°Hey! At least it wasn¡¯t a total loss, Bro! As I recall, the kingdom still pays out rewards for relics of the ancient language. Come to think of it, a single phrase in the ancient language can go anywhere from a hundred gold coins to a thousand.¡±


    Leather-clad ¡®Bro¡¯ calmed down. ¡°What?! Why didn¡¯t you say so!? Let¡¯s hurry up and leave, then, so that we can collect the reward!¡± With that, both of the men jumped up from the hole, only just landing on the edges.


    ¡°Hold on there! What are you doing here!?¡± A voice came from off to the side.


    Startled, the two men jumped, and almost fell back into the hole they had dug. Turning to look, they saw Laura standing boldly on top of a small hillock, looking down at them with her arms crossed.

 Chapter 33: Dead Meat

    So, I''m mostly out of the danger zone. Still have a bit of a cough, though.


    The chapter is a bit short because I fell asleep around 6pm yesterday and slept a whole twelve hours. I figured that my body needed it, though, since I was able to fall asleep just like that.


    I had a really weird dream though....


    It was a fantasy game adventure through a honey factory/volcano/ steamworks area;that turned into a book series; that turned into people talking about the book series; that turned into me being at a huge indoor playground where a bunch of old friends of the family was having a get-together, and talking about the book series...


    And then one of the ones that I didn''t know ended up chasing me around the playground (of course, I was always one step ahead of him), and then I lost that person and started stuffing myself with leftover sweets from the buffet...


    And then they all started to leave, so I was trying to hurry up and finish eating my food before we left. And then I woke up.


    Weird, right?


    Okay, I won''t torture you any more. Here''s the next chapter!


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Thera stared at Laura, surprised. She hadn¡¯t thought that Laura would do something so bold¡­and rather reckless.


    After all, while it was true that the two men before her did not exceed her in rank, she was most likely unused to dealing with multiple enemies at once.


    But, Thera herself did not move. She preferred to observe for the time being. If things started to get out of hand, then she would intervene.


    The message that Black-cloak had read aloud clearly meant: ¡®Good try, now reach for the sky.¡±


    That obviously meant that the box was not below where the men had stood. In fact, it was hidden above where the men had stood. It was too similar. It made Thera recall that Italian plumber game even more-so¡­with the question mark boxes.


    Anyways, it seemed knowing English really turned to her own benefit this time! The edge of her mouth curled up into a smile. But now was not the time to reap those benefits, not yet, at any rate.


    The two men stared blankly for a few moments. Then Black-cloak¡¯s head jerked in recognition. ¡°Bro! It¡¯s one of the two brats Master Thales brought with him!¡±


    Laura laughed darkly. ¡°Yes. It is I!¡±


    ¡°Bro, I just remembered! One of the kids that Master Thales is training defeated over thirty emperor-class vampire spiders, and even received a title! You don¡¯t think¡­¡± The hood turned in Laura¡¯s direction.


    Laura definitely picked up on what Black cloak was thinking. She laughed with her knowing grin.


    ¡°Fu fu fu~I know what you¡¯re thinking~. You think that I am the one who defeat the spiders and received the title, didn¡¯t you?¡± She asked.


    The two men tensed up. A child who was able to defeat monsters that neither would willingly go up against was definitely formidable.


    ¡°The thing is¡­.you¡¯re wrong!¡± She said cheerfully, while forming an ¡®x¡¯ with her arms.


    ¡°I¡¯m Master Thales¡¯s other student: Laura Murlough~! Nice to meet you!¡± She said, raising a hand in greeting.


    Another awkward silence ensued as the two men wondered if the girl in front of them was crazy. Thera, off to the side, was wondering what Laura was up to.


    Whenever she was up to mischief, Laura would start acting really cheerful and angelic. This time was no different.


    ¡°Just when I was starting to get bored, what wonderful luck I have!¡± Laura said, reveling in her mischief.


    Leather-clad reacted. ¡°Oy! Just because you found us doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re here to entertain you! Why should we have to entertain some kid!?¡±


    ¡°Oh, then should I tell Master Thales about his new visitors?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Impossible! I personally confirmed that Master Thales left with my own eyes!¡± Leather-clad shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re just bluffing!¡±


    Laura posed, with a quizzical hand placed under her chin. ¡°So you came here while knowing that Master Thales was out, huh? Then that must mean¡­.ah! You must be here to meet Thera, then!¡± She smacked her fist on her hand as the words popped out of her mouth.


    ¡°W.R.O.N.G!¡± Leather-clad replied, exasperated.


    ¡°Well, if you aren¡¯t here to see Master Thales, or Thera, then the only person left is¡­.possibly¡­you came here to see me~?¡± She smiled her angelic smile.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way-¡± Leather-clad was about to retort, when suddenly, Black Cloak grabbed Leather-clad¡¯s arm. A meaningful glance passed between them.


    Laura seemed to be an innocent girl of only twelve years. If Master Thales returned to find his student had been killed or kidnapped, he would probably track them down to the ends of the earth and kill them mercilessly.


    If Master Thales came back and found that they had stolen something from his cultivation treasure, thanks to Laura¡¯s witness, then he would still probably track them down to the ends of the earth and kill them.


    But, if they tricked a twelve year old into believing they were there to see her, then perhaps they could get her to be quiet about it by having her keep their visit a secret. The plan was hatched in moments.


    The poor men did not even realize that they were playing right into Laura''s hands.


    ¡°Pardon me, ¡®There¡¯s no way¡¯ what?¡± Laura asked, still smiling her angelic smile.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­that we could pass by without taking a look at the very well-known disciple of Master Thales, Laura Murlough, of course!¡± Leather-clad finished, breaking out into a somewhat ¡®shy¡¯ smile.


    ¡°You must have some talent to be able to catch that Master Thales¡¯s eye! After all, it¡¯s said that, before you, Master Thales accepted no one as his students, ever!¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Y-yeah!¡± Black Cloak added. ¡°To meet with someone as talented as you is such an honor!¡±


    ¡°Well, well! Thank you, thank you~.¡± Laura curtsied. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize I had so many fans~. Ah, perhaps, are you two martial practitioners!?¡± She exclaimed, looking rather interested.


    ¡°Yeah! We¡¯re both pretty good! My younger brother is even stronger than I am, though.¡± Leather-clad said, proudly.


    ¡°How nice~! How perfectly wonderful! I would dearly love to see the martial arts of one who is so experienced in martial techniques~!¡± Laura said, putting her hands on her cheeks.


    Thera smiled, sarcastically. You¡¯re putting it on pretty thick, Laura. Then Thera pulled out a book. She already knew the end results of this scenario. Black Cloak and Leather-clad never even had a chance.


    Leather-clad hesitated. ¡°Well¡­ hasn¡¯t Master Thales been teaching you his own techniques?¡±


    ¡°Oh no! He hasn¡¯t taught me anything yet! He¡¯s got me doing things like running, jumping, climbing, then there¡¯s squats, dodging, and the art of falling down safely.¡±


    Laura enumerated the many parts of ¡®basic¡¯ training that Master Thales was putting her through. While it was a training regimen, it had no true martial techniques inside it at all.


    Leather-clad nodded sympathetically. Of course Master Thales wouldn¡¯t easily give away his techniques. But, still, it was obvious that a child who only did such repetitive actions would get bored of such things.


    ¡°Surely, I can¡¯t be as amazing as Master Thales, but perhaps I can give you a few pointers.¡± Leather-clad said. His pride as a martial practitioner would not allow him to take back his words.


    ¡°Yes! Please go easy on me~!¡± Laura said, jumping down from the hillock she stood on, and taking a fighting pose.


    ¡°Er...yes?¡± Leather-clad was confused. He was actually only intending to show Laura the technique. He wasn¡¯t actually intending to fight her. But now he felt a bit alarmed, since now it seemed that he had to fight her.


    ¡°Bro¡­you better go easy on her.¡± Black Cloak said in warning. If Master Thales found out that one of his students had been injured, there¡¯s no telling what he would do.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me twice!¡± Leather-clad answered with a growl. He faced Laura. ¡°If I could be allowed, might I ask what your rank and class is, Miss Murlough?¡±


    He used the most polite language he could recall, which was a very stiff form from an old tale of the adventures of a roaming noble.


    ¡°Well¡­let¡¯s say it¡¯s just a bit below yours.¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°¡­overconfidence will get you hurt, you know.¡± (Leather-clad)


    ¡°What? There¡¯s absolutely no way that my class could be above yours, right? I¡¯ll be fine if I just dodge it, right?¡± Laura played on Leather-clad¡¯s pride.


    He sighed. It seemed that she would simply have to learn the hard way. ¡°Very well. Shall we start?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are!¡± Laura said, her eyes sparkling.


    Leather-clad released one of his signature moves: [Tornado fist]. Air wrapped around his arm, as he aimed for Laura¡¯s side.


    Laura¡¯s eyes went wide and she dodged off to the side. But she landed on one of the piles of dirt that were around the hole. The dirt shifted under her feet. ¡°Ah!¡± She yelled as she fell behind the pile.


    ¡°Are you all right, Miss Murlough!?¡± Leather-clad asked as he moved around the pile to look.


    Laura held up her hands. ¡°I¡¯m all right. I just lost my footing.¡± She started to get up, but then suddenly sat back down. ¡°Ow!¡± Her eyes began tearing up.


    Leather-clad was stiff with dread as he confirmed the situation.¡° ¡®Ow¡¯? As in, you aren¡¯t all right?¡±


    Laura nodded.


    ¡°You got hurt!?¡± Black Cloak asked.


    Laura nodded.


    The two men looked at each other, horrified. We¡¯re dead! Was written all over their faces.


    Thera wasn¡¯t fooled, however, since she knew it was all just an act on Laura¡¯s side.


    She supposed it was time for her entrance, though.


    Thera stealthed her way around to the same direction Laura had come from, then she began calling.


    ¡°Laura? Laura where are you? ¡­.Where did you go, Laura? Laura-¡±


    At that point, Thera stepped into the clearing, clearly witnessing the two men, Laura hurt on the ground, and the big hole in the middle of it all.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO LAURA?!!!¡± Thera roared. ¡°SHE¡¯S NOT DEAD YET, SO YOU CAN¡¯T BURY HER, YOU MURDERERS!!¡±


    She leapt across the clearing, aiming for Leather-clad, who was closest to Laura.


    ¡°Wait! It¡¯s all a misunderstand-¡± Leather-clad tried to say, but Thera kicked him in the gut before he had a chance to finish, and tipped him into the hole he had dug.


    ¡°That¡¯s one!¡±(Thera)


    Then she placed herself between Laura and Black Cloak, glaring at him.


    Of course, this was also just an act.


    But, just as she was about to pounce on Black Cloak, Laura grabbed her arm. ¡°THERA, STOP! It¡¯s not like that!"

 Hiatus- 2 weeks

    Sorry everyone!


    Due to the fact that the end of the third quarter is coming up, I''ll be taking a two week break.


    If I happen to find a bit of time to write, then maybe I''ll get one or two chapters in, but don''t hold your breath. I have a lot of homework to go through, and grade averaging to do.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.If you are desperate for chapters, please pray that I get the grading done swiftly.


    Thank you.


    QAQ I''m sorry that I have to stop so soon!

 Chapter 34: The Artifact

    So, after working until I saw numbers underneath my eyelids...I decided to write a bit until I got tired...but I didn''t get tired, and it was morning by the time I realized it. And so, I ended up writing a whole chapter. Seriously, I''m still not tired, but it''s just too weird...it''s probably stress, though.


    And so, here''s the next chapter. I have no idea when the next one will occur, though.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°¡­So you just tripped over a pile of dirt while exchanging pointers? They didn¡¯t threaten you or anything?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°No! Absolutely not!¡± Laura replied.


    Thera frowned.


    ¡°But¡­I don¡¯t like this. The dirt from this pile came from that hole. The only ones who could dig such a hole so quickly are those two. And you still say it¡¯s not their fault? If they were only here to see you, what use did they have to dig a hole this big?¡±


    Laura opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it, looking like she just realized this.


    Thera turned to the two men, eyeing them suspiciously. ¡°Moreover, why are you two digging a hole here, anyways? What are you doing in this place? I was not told by Master Thales that we would have any visitors today. Explain yourselves!¡±


    Leather-clad and Black Cloak knelt in seiza nearby.


    Black Cloak raised his hand. ¡°U-um¡­we were actually here to see Miss Murlough, b-but¡­before that we had to retrieve something from here.¡±


    ¡°Retrieve something? Retrieve what, might I ask?¡± Thera interrogated.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t concern you!¡± Leather-clad replied, proud, even though he was in seiza. Thera ignored Leather-clad, focusing her golden eyes on Black Cloak. Under her unblinking stare, he spilled out quite the believable tale.


    ¡°It was a treasure chest buried here by my late Great, Great, Grand Uncle. We just recently found the map in a hidden compartment in his house, while going through his stuff after his death. Since we were in the area, we recognized the terrain and decided to check and see if there was still something here or not. But, please understand, our original purpose was to see Miss Murlough.¡±


    ¡°Well? Did you find anything?¡± She asked.


    Black Cloak shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, no. There was no treasure chest here.¡±


    Thera sat back, looking as if she were considering something.


    Of course, what Black Cloak had said was complete and total bull. They probably found the map in a treasure chest in the woods, or something. They were obviously hiding that piece of English text, but that didn¡¯t really matter to Thera, since she already understood the meaning.


    She was about to finish her act of thinking things through, when all of a sudden, a loud gurgling sound came from the two men in seiza. Leather-clad¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment. ¡°Ah, something smells good¡­¡±


    Thera sniffed, and realized that it was probably the smell of the stew that Laura had been making.


    While Thera had watched the two men dig their hole, Laura had returned to stir the stew. The smell was probably only just reaching this place.


    Thera nodded, and then smiled, her eyes twinkling.


    ¡°Right, then! Since you¡¯ve come so far, it would be a pity for you to leave before having a taste of Miss Murlough¡¯s wonderful cooking. I can almost taste it now~!¡±


    She helped Laura get to her feet, having her lean on Thera¡¯s shoulder. Then she turned to the two men.


    ¡°If you want to eat, then you¡¯ll have to follow me.¡± She said, before dashing off towards the camp, with Laura in tow.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The two men yelled as they fell over. They had been in Seiza for so long that their legs had gone completely numb.


    ------------------------------------------------------


    Luckily, the smell of the stew was more than enough to lead them straight to camp.


    When they arrived, they saw a huge cauldron of food, sitting on top of a small campfire. Around the cauldron, three logs had been placed for seats. Thera was already holding a bowlful of stew.


    ¡°You¡¯re late! What took you so long? Did you fall back in the hole you dug?¡± She joked.


    Neither man was willing to admit that their tardiness was due to losing the feeling in their legs.


    ¡°Thera, be nice~. They¡¯re probably starving by now!¡± Laura admonished, then turned to the two men. ¡°Do sit down. I bet you¡¯re so hungry that you can eat at least twice as much as me and Thera combined.¡±


    ¡°That I can, Miss Murlough! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re such an understanding and caring genius!¡± Leather-clad praised. The words obviously implied that Thera was neither understanding, nor caring.


    ¡°O-ho! So it¡¯s a fight you want?¡± Thera asked, her eyes sparking with fighting intent.


    ¡°No way! How on earth can such a responsible adult, such as myself, deign to fight with a little girl?¡± Leather-clad replied, still conscious of the beating he had gotten earlier.


    ¡°No dice, huh¡­All right, then, how about this!¡± Thera exclaimed, lifting up her bowl of stew.


    ¡°The one who eats more stew can be considered the winner, and the loser has to absolutely do whatever one thing that the winner asks them to!¡±


    ¡°But Thera!¡± Laura grabbed Thera¡¯s arm. ¡°What if they win?¡± She asked worriedly.


    Thera grinned, confidently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! If they win, then they¡¯ll probably just ask for your autograph so that they can brag about meeting the genius Miss Murlough to their grandkids.¡±


    Black Cloak motioned to Leather-clad. It wasn¡¯t a bad deal. Two adults against two children was literally almost no contest.


    Moreover, if the two men won, they could have Thera and Laura swear to be silent about their trespassing, and they could leave without being hunted down by Master Thales.


    It was almost a perfect example of a win-win situation.


    Leather-clad leaned forward, a lazy grin on his face. ¡°All right! Let¡¯s go! Me and my little brother against you and Miss Murlough.¡±


    Thera smiled. She wasn¡¯t bothered by what she was doing to the two men because they had lied to her face. But, such unscrupulous liars should not pass before her eyes without receiving their fair share of karma¡­


    ----------------------------


    The first person to lose was Laura, of course. After a mere three bowls of stew, she was finished.


    ¡°I entrust you with my fighting spirit!¡± Laura said dramatically, placing her hand on Thera¡¯s back.


    Even though Laura was out of the game, she still stayed there, ladling out the stew, and observing the eating ¡®battle¡¯ that was going on.


    After Laura¡¯s early retirement, Leather-clad and Black Cloak were visibly in much higher spirits. After all, who wouldn¡¯t be pleased to see that their side was most likely to win? It was obvious that Thera couldn¡¯t get past ten bowls of stew, unless she wanted to burst her stomach.


    The three remaining contestants kept eating stew.


    The second person to lose was Black Cloak.


    ¡°Sorry, Bro! I snacked on Jerky for a bit when you went to scout!¡± he said as he retired at eight bowls.


    ¡°No problem! It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll eat enough for the both of us!¡± Leather-clad said.


    Thera was surely getting close to her limits by now, right? He looked up, and paused as he tried to remember how many bowls she had eaten...


    ¡°Are you also going to retire?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡­Oh well. Suffice to say that that kid was probably quite close to her limits. Leather-clad continued eating his stew, bringing the bowl close up to his mouth.


    He had always been a big eater. Even his mother was amazed at how much food he ate, wondering where he could possibly put it all.


    After he had eaten about fifteen bowls of stew, he was getting full. He also realized that something was wrong.


    Thera was still continuing to eat stew!


    Thera had mastered by now the art of transforming food into energy swiftly to the point where, if you could look into her stomach, the food literally disintegrated as it arrived.


    Bowl after bowl she had eaten without a single change in expression. She was even reading a book while eating.


    The nerve! Leather-clad frowned as he started on his sixteenth bowl.


    --------------------------------


    By his ninteenth bowl, he was in a bind. He was now completely full, and Thera was still eating at the same measured pace, with seemingly no end in sight.


    If he ate even another bite of that stew, then his own stomach would burst.


    ¡°This is impossible! You must be cheating somehow!¡± Leather-clad accused.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been right here in front of you all this time. In what way could I cheat in a simple eating contest?¡± Thera replied evenly. ¡°But, for the sake of fairness, look around all you want. I assure you that you won¡¯t find anything.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see!¡± he said as he stood up and looked around Thera¡¯s log. There was not a single drop spilled behind her, or next to her. Leather-clad searched all about her until his eyes focused on Thera¡¯s magic bag.


    ¡°What about that magic bag of yours! You could¡¯ve easily poured it into there!¡± He crowed, triumphant.


    ¡°This is ridiculous. For the sake of winning a simple eating contest, I would pour stew straight into my bag and possibly ruin whatever else I put in there? Moreover, when did I have the time to put it in there? But, for the sake of the argument, let¡¯s do this.¡±


    Thera took off her belt with the magic bag and handed it to Laura.


    ¡°Now you can¡¯t say that I have anywhere to place it other than in my mouth, right? Consider all the bowls that I just ate as disqualified.¡±


    ¡°Sure! Now that your cheating weapon is gone, I¡¯ll gladly accept whatever results you get.¡± Leather-clad replied in a condescending manner. Obviously, there was no way that a brat like this could eat much more. It was clearly his win.


    Thera stood up and stretched. ¡°After such a long time of sitting it feels good to stand a bit!¡± Then she walked over to the huge pot of stew.


    ¡°About how many bowls of stew do you think is still in here?¡± She asked Leather-clad, a bright smile on her face.


    Leather-clad, looking into the cauldron, saw that it was still more than half-full.


    ¡°Fifty bowlfuls at least.¡± He replied. ¡°But, it would probably be about sixty bowlfuls.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Perhaps, she isn¡¯t thinking of tipping it over so that the contest can¡¯t continue!? Leather-clad thought. But, well, if she did that, it would still be his win, so he decided to simply watch.


    Black Cloak, watching this exchange suddenly had a bad feeling about this.


    What Thera did next was completely out of the scope of either of the two men¡¯s imaginations.


    She picked up the huge cauldron and started poured it in a long stream down her throat. The two men just stared with open mouths as she drained the cauldron empty.


    Leather-clad was even more astonished. There had been enough stew in that cauldron to make another Thera. Just how could a girl her size eat such an amount? His head went dizzy trying to make sense of it all.


    Thera set the empty cauldron down.


    ¡°Now, I have eaten three times as much as you, and twice as much as you and your brother combined.¡± Thera announced with an air of finality. ¡°Unless, you still mean to say that I cheated somehow?¡±


    ¡°Geh!¡± Leather-clad awoke from his mental stupor. ¡°Che!¡± He turned away, frustrated, but unable to refute what he had witnessed with his own eyes.


    ¡°So, about that thing that you absolutely must do for me¡­¡± Thera began.


    Leather-clad and Black Cloak flinched.


    ¡°I was thinking about it the whole time during the competition, but in the end, all I could think of was for you to leave the cultivation area as soon as possible.¡± She finished.


    ¡°What are you saying, Thera!¡± (Laura)


    ¡°Eh?¡± The two men¡¯s eyes turned into dots. What was she saying?


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of keeping up appearances. Just imagine the scolding we¡¯d get if Master Thales came back and found you two here. He would most likely¡­¡± Thera looked away, and shuddered.  Laura picked up on it, and looked down. ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯d hate to have to see that again.¡±


    That was all the two men needed to see to confirm their suspicions.


    ¡°A-ah! Why didn¡¯t I think of it before! We must have been troubling you.¡± Leather-clad said laughing nervously as he and Black Cloak stood up.


    ¡°Man, we were beat soundly this time! But, let it never be said that we brothers were sore losers. We will leave immediately.¡± Leather-clad and Black Cloak turned to leave.


    ¡°But, since it¡¯s getting dark, the least we two could do is escort you to the barrier.¡± Thera said, playing the courteous noble.


    ¡°Really? You don¡¯t really have to, though.¡± Leather-clad replied, with his hands raised.


    ¡°I insist. This way I can cover your tracks so that Master Thales won¡¯t find out you were even here.¡± She said, serious.


    ¡°A-ah, then we¡¯ll be troubling you.¡± Leather-clad replied. It was already a blessing just for them to be able to leave with peace of mind.


    ---------------------------


    That being said, she actually did escort them all the way back to the barrier, while diligently wiping out all traces of their passage. Laura remained behind at camp, due to her ¡®injured¡¯ leg.


    ¡°I am not allowed to go outside the barrier, so I must leave you here.¡± She informed the two.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll be able to make it back on our own from here.¡± Black Cloak reassured.


    ¡°Safe travels!¡± She waved as the two men went through the barrier.


    Once they were out, they immediately took to their heels and sped away into the night. Thera grinned as she watched them leave. They would not be back any time soon with the thought of Master Thales after them.


    After seeing the two men off, she waited a reasonable amount of time, and then vanished back into the forest, heading for the hole the two men had dug earlier. It was time to reap the benefits.


    -----------------------


    When she arrived, she found Laura already there, looking down into the hole.


    ¡°You know, there¡¯s nothing in there.¡± She said as she landed right next to Laura. Laura shrieked and tipped over. If it wasn¡¯t for Thera¡¯s quick reaction in grabbing her, Laura would have fallen in.


    ¡°Thera! Seriously, don¡¯t do that! My heart was about to leap out of my throat!¡± Laura scolded.


    ¡°Should I have let you fall in, then?¡± Thera pondered visibly, playing off of Laura¡¯s words.


    ¡°No! But a bit of a warning before you appear wouldn¡¯t hurt you!¡± Laura pouted.


    Thera laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry! I got it. I won¡¯t appear without warning next time.¡± She said nothing about the times after that.


    ¡°Still, for there to have been an artifact here at one point is really quite shocking.¡± Laura said, looking at the hole. ¡°It¡¯s a shame it¡¯s not here anymore.¡±


    ¡°Whoever said that it was not here?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see this great big hole?! They dug so deep and didn¡¯t find a thing! Also, Thera, why did you allow them to take away that piece of ancient writing? It could have been something important!¡± Laura blamed Thera.


    Thera chuckled. ¡°Sorry, Sorry~ I didn¡¯t know that it was such a big deal.¡±


    ¡°How is it not a big deal! It¡¯s ancient writing after all!¡± Laura pouted, turning away.


    Thera shook her head, an incredulous smile still on her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I thought you¡¯d be happy to know that the treasure is actually still here. I figured it out, after all: the trick to finding the artifact.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Laura¡¯s attitude did a complete 180 degree turn. ¡°Really?! Where is it?!¡± She begged, giving Thera the ¡®puppy dog eyes¡¯.


    ¡°Nope, as I thought, for my best friend to be so untrusting of me, I can¡¯t bring myself to share it.¡± Thera teased.


    ¡°Oh my best and most beloved of friends! What is a paltry piece of metal and a brief moment¡¯s scare compared to thee? Thou art the moonbeams of the night, which rests upon the trees, and scatters lights upon the waters. Thou art-¡± Laura was stopped by Thera¡¯s giggle.


    ¡°Jeez! Would you cut that out? I was going to tell you anyways.¡± She said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, then!¡± Laura watched Thera, listening intently.


    ¡°Before that, I need to return things to how they were.¡± Thera replied. Waving her hand, she cast an earth-manipulation spell and returned the dirt inside the hole, making it look like the hole never even existed.


    ¡°There we go. Now, Laura, how do you find invisible things?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± She asked, not understanding.


    ¡°The artifact is here, but it¡¯s currently invisible. How can we figure out where it is?¡± Thera asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°Perhaps this will help explain things. Do you remember the story of the invisible thief in Pranson¡¯s book, ¡®Mendlebane¡¯?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°You mean the one about the unrivaled master thief that Pranson went up against?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera nodded. ¡°The very same. How did Pranson find out where the thief was, when he was invisible?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he see the thief¡¯s shadow cast on the wall by the torchlight?¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°Correct! Therefore, what can we know about invisible things?¡± Thera asked, patiently.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Laura replied immediately.


    ¡°Even though they¡¯re invisible, they still cast a shadow.¡± Thera replied. ¡°Therefore if we-¡±


    ¡°If we shine a light high enough, we¡¯ll be able to tell where the box is! Thera, you¡¯re a genius!¡± Laura hugged Thera.


    ¡°Oh? I thought we¡¯d already established that fact.¡± Thera said sarcastically, her face expressionless. ¡°But, we only need two light sources to pinpoint its exact location.¡±


    Thera snapped her fingers and two balls of light popped into existence. They then floated up in the air, one ball ten feet higher than the other ball. Laura was looking up, watching the lights until they stopped, hovering just below the tree line.


    ¡°Why are you looking up? We¡¯re searching for the box¡¯s shadows. Look down.¡± Thera reminded her.


    ¡°Oh, right!¡± Laura looked around for the shadows, and there they were! Two box shadows about two feet apart.


    ¡°Amazing! It¡¯s just like you said!¡± Laura clapped her hands.


    ¡°Hmm¡­according to the trajectory, the box is about ten feet up in the air, huh? There¡¯s no other way but jumping. Who invented this crazy way of hiding things?¡± Thera grumbled.


    She stood on the spot where the hole had been and leapt up lithely, like a cat. Her hand made contact with an invisible surface, pushing it up, slightly, before she fell back down and landed silently on her feet.


    The light coming from the light balls suddenly started gathering, illuminating the edges of the box as it slowly became visible. Once it had become completely visible, it slowly lowered itself down to the ground, shining with a bright light.


    Thera and Laura looked at each other, excited. What kind of wonderful thing would be inside?


    Thera placed a hand on it, trying to figure out how to open it, when all of a sudden, the box shattered into particles of light, leaving behind a wooden chest.


    ¡°Hurry up and open it! I want to see~¡± Laura urged excitedly.


    Thera lifted the lid and they both stared at what was inside.


    Upon a velvet cushion sat a smooth white stone about the size of a bluebird¡¯s egg.


    ¡°This is-¡± Thera was interrupted by Laura.


    ¡°Just a stone!? Forget it! You can have it, Thera.¡± Laura scoffed. ¡°This was such a waste of our time.¡± She sighed and headed back to camp.


    Thera stood there, the small treasure box in her hands. Indeed, at first, Thera thought the very same thing, but something had caught her eye as Laura was talking.


    Using her outer magician¡¯s vision, she could see that the stone was actually absorbing the mana around it.


    What kind of an item had she come across this time?

 Chapter 35: The Final Test

    The Report cards are out which means...Hiatus is over! Yay~! I''m sorry for being gone for so long!


    I was trying to finish this chapter up over the weekend, but something weird happened, and I ended up sleeping a lot of the time. Perhaps it was because of the release of tensions...I dunno.


    But, I worked hard on this today to make it, so that you wouldn''t think I abandoned this story.


    So, the frantic, panic-ridden two weeks is finally over, and I can go back to writing the story. Yay~!


    The schedule will be a bit different, though. Since I''m still in a very busy phase of the year, I''ll only be able to turn out one chapter every two or three days. I''ve decided this so that I can  better focus on both my work, and this story to do both things well.


    Here''s the next chapter~! Enjoy!


    ------------------------------------


    Truly, the items which artifacts leave behind are never ordinary. Thera decided to try experimenting on the stone a bit, by feeding her mana to it.


    But, no matter how much she added to it, the stone simply continued to absorb it, regardless. Even after meditating to recover her mana several times, the stone did not seem to have any sort of limits.


    How long would it take to fill it? Weeks? Months? Years? But, by the time it was filled with mana, she was sure that its true functions would surface. What kind of thing would need so much mana?


    Thera made up her mind. Let¡¯s try and see where its limit will be¡­ She thought, a small smile playing on her lips.


    ----------------------


    Returning to camp, Laura dropped her fool fa?ade and frowned.


    Even after going through the list she memorized of the things that came from the artifacts, none of them ever looked like a white stone.


    But, even so, there was no way that white stone was ordinary. As Thera was the most powerful person in the area at the time, it only makes sense for her to hold onto it.


    After all, maybe with her large amount of book-reading, Thera would have already figured out by now what it was.


    Try though she might, Laura could do nothing with a stone whose function was unknown, effectively making it worthless to someone like Laura. Although, she had no doubt that it was incredibly valuable.


    Feh! What is an artifact compared to friendship? Thera was the one who found the box, so it is only right that Thera should keep it.


    She clapped her hands together, as if brushing away some imagined dirt. Speaking of dirt, it was time to clean up!


    Staring expressionlessly at the huge cauldron that weighed at least 200lbs, Laura lifted it up and carried it to the nearby stream for cleaning.


    Dark though it was, as twilight fell, the area inside the barrier was a bit brighter, as if a full moon was beaming down upon their surroundings all the time.


    Even with the light, though, it was slow going. Laura grumbled as she tried to use her sense of touch to tell if the area she was scrubbing was dirty or not. Leaves rustled behind her as Thera once more appeared.


    ¡°Done admiring it already?¡± Laura teased. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be a bit longer, what with it being such an important, awe-inspiring, mind-blowing¡­-ly ordinary stone, after all.¡±


    Thera beamed a friendly smile at Laura. ¡°Yep! All done! But you look as though you could use a bit of light, here.¡± She snapped her finger, and a light ball popped into existence behind Laura, illuminating the insides of the cauldron that was larger than the two girls.


    After Thera had poured all of her mana into the stone ten times, she had realized that it wasn¡¯t going to get filled anytime soon, so instead, she had  eventually decided to head back to camp.


    ¡°You have my sincere thanks, o wielder of the sacred flame~¡± Laura quipped.


    Thera snorted. ¡°Sacred flame, my foot! This just so happens to be a [Light Sphere], my dear ignorant friend. There¡¯s not a tongue of flame to be found within it!¡± Thera mimicked the typical narcissistic, elitist magicians that could be found everywhere in the Capital.


    Laura, trying not to laugh, failed in her attempts, giggling helplessly.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you two are enjoying yourselves.¡± A voice grumbled from behind the two girls, who both jumped in surprise before turning around to see Master Thales.


    ¡°I see what you mean about entrances, Laura.¡± Thera said slowly. ¡°It does do to give a bit of a warning first.¡±


    ¡°Hah! You wouldn¡¯t have even heard it, what with Laura chortling over there.¡± Master Thales sighed, and glanced away with a know-it-all look.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you! You just arrive and already you¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m in the wrong!¡± Laura voiced her complaint.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong about children laughing to themselves.¡± Master Thales replied, straight-faced.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a child!¡± Laura exclaimed. But, her pouting face made it hard to believe otherwise.


    ¡°Why, did I ever say you were?¡± Master Thales asked innocently.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Laura isn¡¯t a child!¡± Thera spoke up.


    Laura turned to Thera, looking at her as if she were her savior. But the next words dashed her newfound hope.


    ¡°She¡¯s the comic relief.¡± Thera replied with a teasing grin.


    ¡°YOU TOO!!!???¡± She exclaimed, the very appearance of Julius Caesar¡¯s assassination scene when he said, ¡°Et tu, Brute?¡± Pulling herself together, she waved her arms at them, like an injured beast.


    ¡°Feh! You two are meanies! MEANIES!!! See if I ever depend on you again!¡± She said, frowning and pouting at the same time.


    ¡°Oh, so you don¡¯t want the light anymore?¡± Thera asked, raising her hand to end the spell.


    ¡°I NEVER SAID THAT! JUST GO AWAY!¡± Laura replied angrily, all in one breath.


    Laura couldn¡¯t see it, but, behind her back, Master Thales¡¯ shoulder shook as he laughed silently at their antics. Thera saw it, though.


    But, as he turned his head to look at her, She looked away, pretending she hadn¡¯t seen anything.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Master Thales sounded surprised. ¡°Thera, let me see your arm!¡±


    ¡°This one?¡± She lifted up her left arm, puzzled, and held it out to him. Did she perhaps come into contact with a poisonous plant along the way?


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one.¡± He replied.


    Before she realized it, the mana shackle was once more clamped around her wrist. An identical shackle appeared on her right wrist as well.


    ¡°AH!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!!!¡± She exclaimed, upset. She had just found a new toy (coughthewhitestonecough), after all, and now she had to wear this thing again!


    ¡°Training.¡± Was the only reply.


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


    Temeeee![1]</a>She screamed in her heart. But she wouldn¡¯t give him the satisfaction of hearing it.


    ¡°Now, where¡¯s my dinner?¡± He asked expectantly.


    Two pairs of eyes glared murderously at him that night.


    ------------------------------------------


    The next morning, before even the twilight glow from the rising sun had yet made its appearance, Thera and Laura both woke to the sound of thunder.


    A flash of light illuminated the tent wall, briefly. The ground trembled from a nearby impact.


    ¡°What is it! What¡¯s happening!¡± Laura yelled, throwing her blanket off, and scrambling to her feet, disoriented from the sudden awakening.


    Thera grabbed her arm, raising a finger to her lips. With that, Laura seemed to calm down and recollect herself.


    Thera and Laura both quickly exited the tent, swiftly and silently melting into the shadows. They did not need to wait long before another beam of light attacked the barrier from inside the forest.


    ¡°Enemy.¡± Thera breathed to Laura, who nodded. The two took off towards where the light had originated.


    ------


    In the middle of a clearing of recently broken trees, stood a great stone Golem, which was only a bit shorter than the tops of the trees nearby.


    There was also no need to question whether this was the cause of the beam, or not, since as soon as they arrived, the Golem opened its mouth and let forth another white-hot beam of energy towards the barrier up above.


    Where is Master Thales? Thera wondered as she stared at the giant in front of her. Judging strictly from the power it was radiating, the stone Golem would be a difficult enemy to defeat.


    She had read a bit about Golems.


    About as old -or perhaps even older than the artifacts- one may still find scattered here and there the remnants of the Hero Magician¡¯s Great Golem Army. Where all the rest disappeared to no one really knew.


    They were made out of a thick stone-like material that was incredibly hard to break, as it was covered with a mixture of Mithril and Adamantine and infused with mana. In fact, many Mithril and Adamantine weapons were made from the metals extracted from broken golem parts, which can still be found in several ancient ruins throughout the land.


    Magic spells made it so that it could move, and gave it a basic [Program] to follow. Strictly speaking, they were like some kind of magical armored robot. Unless you were recognized as its superior, it would identify you as an enemy.


    Thera clearly remembered reading that fighting one of these beings was highly discouraged unless one was a Brown Class. Once engaged, it would be extremely troublesome to finish off without gaining serious injuries.


    But, the golem would not recognize a person as its superior unless it was defeated in battle. Which was the reason why it was so troublesome.


    ¡°Heh heh heh¡­what good timing!¡± Master Thales voice came from behind them.


    Although his tone was relaxed, the hairs on the back of Thera¡¯s neck rose in dread anticipation of what she predicted he would say next. Beside her, Laura shivered.


    ¡°Go defeat it, you two. This is your last test.¡±


    ¡°¡°EeeehhhHHH!?¡±¡±


    It came! The dreaded order! And furthermore, it was even linked to their qualifications for being Master Thales¡¯ students!


    What kind of monsters does he think we are? Lamented Laura.


    Meanwhile, Thera was thinking, Weren¡¯t there supposed to be about five more tests!? What happened to the other four!!?OI! Aren¡¯t you being far too lazy here! Both girls glared at Master Thales for completely different reasons.


    Thera sighed. Still¡­this is not going to be an easy battle. I can¡¯t even go all out with my mana sealed. Darn. And I was enjoying things so very much. She then paused, and struck her fist upon her open palm as she realized something. That''s right! I could just use that!


    She smiled and bowed her head.¡°As you wish, Master Thales.¡±


    Then she turned to Laura on her left. ¡°Laura, do you know what that is?¡±


    ¡°Erm, is it perhaps one of those things¡­you know, it¡¯s the¡­what is it called again?¡± Laura wracked her brain for the term.¡°Ah! I remember now! It¡¯s a Gol-a Gol..em, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Now, do you know what the weak spot on a Golem is?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°As I recall, there was only one weak spot, but I can¡¯t recall what it was.¡± Laura replied. ¡°Could you tell me¡ª¡±


    ¡°It spotted us!¡± Thera yelled, pulling Laura out of an energy beam that blasted sideways through the forest, leaving a path of destruction in its wake.


    Thera had already noticed that the Golem halted for about a minute after each blast, before it began to move again.


    Thera grabbed the rather dazed Laura by her shoulders. ¡°Listen, Laura, the only weakness is the mana core inside it. If we can somehow reach that, then it will shut down for a while!¡±


    ¡°B-but, isn¡¯t that inside the golem behind the unbreakable rock? How are we going to reach it! This is an impossible task!¡± Laura was scared. That thing was impregnable and could kill them from a distance with its death ray.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan, but I can¡¯t do it without your help, Laura!¡± Thera said, and pulled out her secret weapon. ¡°If you can do this for me, I¡¯ll call you ¡®older sister¡¯ for the whole day tomorrow!¡±


    Twitch.


    Laura leapt to her feet. ¡°Ha ha ha! Really!? In that case, I have no choice but to go all out! What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Get down!¡± Thera growled grabbing her foot and tugging so that she fell on her butt just as another energy blast whizzed by overhead.


    In moments they had switched to a new hiding spot.


    ¡°I need you to keep it distracted so that I can get close enough to look for a large enough opening.¡± Thera said.


    ¡°Large enough for what?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera winked, slyly.


    ¡°The secret weapon, of course.¡±


    <hr />


    [1]</a>Japanese for the ¡®you¡¯ in the line, ¡®you b*****d¡±

 Chapter 36: The Secret Weapon or "Call Me Older Sister"

    Hello everyone! I only just made the deadline. Whew!


    Now that I am finished with the end of the second quarter, I have loans to settle, tax paperwork to fill in, and the inevitable grand load of laundry to muscle through.


    But, don''t worry! I am not going anywhere anytime soon, although these things may delay or push back the next chapter by a day or two.


    But, no worries, because it''s only two days left until the weekend~!


    The chapter after this will probably be up by Sunday night, or Monday morning.


    Here''s the next chapter! Enjoy!


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Roger! Leave it to me!¡± Laura leapt into a somersault, just dodging the Golem¡¯s power beam.


    ¡°Yaah~! Come at me, you big hunk of rock! I, your older sister, will now show you what the meaning of frustration is!¡± She chirped cheekily as she teased the Golem even more.


    Master Thales watched from afar, occasionally deflecting stray beams that headed his way, with a mirror-like sword.


    Actually, the reason why he had been able to acquire and keep this cultivation treasure was the Golem.


    While training in the jungle, he had seen the spectacle of a huge beam striking against a barrier, making the previously-hidden treasure visible.


    After entering, he had been attacked by the Golem. Back then, instead of the light grey stone that it was now, it was previously a menacing black color.


    After battling for ten days and nights, He had finally managed to drain the Golem¡¯s large mana reserves to the point where it had to rest in suspended animation in order to replenish it.


    Defeating it in battle had made it his subordinate, and its color had immediately changed to a light grey. Master Thales figured it probably had to do with the mana expenditure.


    If Thera knew about this, she would probably instantly know the real reason. After all, the Magician Hero, who both created and owned the Golem army, was well known as the father of the ancient game of Othello.


    But, as things were, she did not know this.


    Already an area of about twenty meters around the Golem was cleared of trees and underbrush, with a damage radius of a hundred meters, with his mana beams.


    It seemed that the more it fought with them, the faster it was recovering from its mana beams.


    Thus, the one minute pause soon whittled down to a mere 30 seconds.


    But, due to its exertions, a swirling cloud of dust and debris now limited both the girl¡¯s view of the Golem, as well as the Golem¡¯s visual confirmation of the girls.


    It seemed a double-edged sword. As Thera pondered whether to use the cover of the cloud, the Golem released another attack towards the barrier, which rippled, but held.


    Thera paused, bothered. That had been a perfect chance for both sides to launch a hidden attack.


    But, why? Why wasn¡¯t it attacking them anymore?


    Then, an idea came to Thera.


    What if¡­what if it only attacks what it can see? She wondered.


    After all, the beams came out of its eyes. Therefore, it couldn¡¯t really attack anything that it couldn¡¯t see.


    She decided to test it out.


    While Laura was dodging with her acrobatics, Thera silently closed in from behind, checking its back for any hints with her sharp, golden eyes.


    But, once she got within five meters of it, the Golem¡¯s head suddenly turned around 180 degrees and launched an attack at Thera.


    Abandoning her former path, she dodged the beam.


    So, it didn¡¯t just use visual confirmation. How unfortunate.


    But, suddenly, Laura yelled out. ¡°I found it!¡± Distracting the Golem, once more.


    Thera and Laura immediately withdrew back into the forest.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± Thera questioned Laura.


    ¡°When it turned its head around, suddenly, an opening appeared in the front, at the base of the neck!¡±


    ¡°You mean, just now, when I approached the Golem?¡± (Thera)


    ¡°Yes! Just now, when you approached the Golem!¡±(Laura)


    ¡°¡­You know what this means, right?¡±(Thera)


    A shadow fell over the two girls from behind.


    ¡°¡°It¡¯s time for a change of plan!¡±¡±


    They both leapt out of the way as the Golem¡¯s stone fists smashed into the ground where they had previously knelt, pulverizing vegetation and earth into dust.


    Laura now took over the sneak attacks while Thera was the main distractor.


    After two or three practice runs, Thera finally had a feel for how long its head would remained turned around. It was only for three seconds.


    A three second window, with no magic, and she couldn¡¯t get closer than five meters to deal the finishing blow.


    She grabbed a few pebbles off the ground.


    If she couldn¡¯t get closer, then she would simply have to deal the finishing blow from a distance!


    The next time it turned its head around, Thera shot a pebble at the hole. It sailed straight inside, and the Golem shuddered for a few moments. But then, it went right back to attacking.


    She shot another stone.


    Again, the Golem shuddered. Both stones had landed in the space, just barely clipping its mana core.


    In P*Kemon terms: Thera used Pebble on Golem. Pebble is super effective! Golem¡¯s speed and HP has dropped considerably.


    Thera shot one more stone, just to make sure. Once more, the Golem shuddered. Laura began backing off to prepare for the next assault.


    The next strike would finish it!


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Thera, watching the Golem, suddenly noticed a change in its behavior. The blue hue of mana which encircled it swiftly changed colors to a brilliant red.


    ¡°Watch out! It¡¯s going berserk!¡± Thera yelled, reflexively.


    The Golem charged in Laura¡¯s direction, spewing a sweeping blast before it.


    Laura dodged with everything she had, using the trees as footholds to increase her speed and dexterity, while retreating quickly.


    After what seemed like ages, but really only took one minute, the golem halted to regain its lost mana.


    This time, the Golem took up to three minutes to recover.


    In that time, Thera readied her secret weapon: the white stone.


    Her previous shots had already predetermined that shooting a rock into the hole in the front would come into direct contact with the mana core.


    Since it needed mana for its attacks, if she managed to get this white mana-absorbing stone in there, it would effectively  cut off the mana beams, and most likely slow the golem down tremendously.


    Of course, to Master Thales, it only looked like a rather ordinary stone. One wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that it was a treasure unless they were in contact with it, or extremely sensitive to mana.


    But, after those three minutes, the Golem was careful to guard the hole by never turning its head completely around.


    It would twist around on one foot, or its torso would suddenly twist around, keeping the hole completely guarded.


    Laura finally got upset at it, and threw one of her beast repellant bombs at it. It may not have had the full blasting power of a regular bomb, but it still applied enough force to spin the Golem¡¯s head around.


    Thera took advantage of this moment, and sent the white stone whizzing into the hole which appeared for only a few moments.


    The Golem¡¯s shuddering seemed about to tear it to pieces, but it stubbornly held on, physically attacking the two girls, even while it looked like it was on its last legs.


    Thera stood still, watching as it rushed up to her, and was about to smack her half-way back to Dulce. But, all of a sudden, right before it was about to make contact, the glow of mana disappeared, and the Golem fell backwards, defeated.


    It had taken them an hour to down this great opponent.


    Laura, panting from the exertion, stared at the great pile of stone in front of her, dazed for a bit.


    ¡°We¡­did it? It¡¯s defeated?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well!¡± Master Thales appeared next to the downed Golem. ¡°It seemed you two handled this one so well that you even broke my previous record! Of course, my record was gained without the cooperation of another person.¡±


    He put a hand on the stone Golem to examine it, and whistled. ¡°Yep that¡¯s impressive, all right. All right, you¡¯ve both passed the test. Congratulations. You are now officially my two first-and only-students.¡±


    ¡°We did it! YAY~!¡± Laura cheered.


    Thera just grinned.


    ¡°Impressive solution, Thera. When I went solo against this small mountain a while back, it took me ten hours, and cost me fifty of my best mirror blades to bring it down.¡±


    Master Thales looked nostalgic for a moment, before looking at his students pointedly.


    ¡°However, do not get over-confident. Although this Golem is considered a Brown-class monster, if you were face to face with a Brown class Martial Practitioner, with a brain instead of a [Program], you would both have been dead after the first ten seconds.¡±


    Thera sighed. She knew only too well that the reason why they had won was because the opponent specialized one-sidedly in brawns rather than brains.


    Having only done self-study for five years, even though her strength far surpassed those of her own generation, her martial techniques were too few.


    She had grown too fast in the past five years. For the sake of her future, she needed to stabilize her cultivation level by understanding the physical truths of the world.


    Furthermore, being Master Thales¡¯ student had its own benefits, such as having a plausible source for her otherworldly techniques.


    Master Thales continued to examine the Golem. But, then his expression became clouded.


    ¡°Thera, what did you throw into this Golem? It would have taken at least twenty stones to down this one, and it still would have been able to move, although slowly. But now it seems like it doesn¡¯t even have a single drop of energy left!¡±


    ¡°Ah, hold on a bit!¡± Thera said, turning the Golem¡¯s head around, and grabbing the white stone out of the hole. ¡°It¡¯s just a stone, see?¡± She pocketed the stone, but not before noticing it had gained a slightly pinkish tinge to it.


    ¡°There we go! Good as new.¡± She said, patting the stone Golem. Suddenly, darkness swirled upon the light grey stone as the Golem turned Black.


    ¡°Is it supposed to do that?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°Well, when I defeated it, it was originally black, and turned to light grey afterwards.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t mind it. It seems as though switching colors is a thing natural to the Golem itself. Now, is anyone up for breakfast?¡±


    Thera and Laura¡¯s stomach conveniently growled at that moment. Laura blushed while Thera grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t know, do we have to fight an army of Golems, this time?¡±


    They all laughed.


    ------------------------


    The sun was peeking over the horizon while they ate.


    ¡°Ah, that reminds me! Here you go, Thera.¡± Laura said, handing Thera¡¯s magic bag back to her. ¡°You forgot to take this back yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thanks! To think that I actually forgot all about this!¡± Thera once more wore her magic bag on her belt. ¡°If I had returned only to tell Margie that I misplaced this, she¡¯d never forgive me!¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve forgotten something.¡± Laura said, a mischievous grin on her face.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯ve got my completely mind-blowingly ordinary stone, my bag, and Master Thales is finally going to give us some worthwhile lessons¡­Nope! I think I¡¯ve remembered everything.¡± Thera said, with an air of confidence.


    Laura¡¯s eyes twinkled as she said, ¡°Call me Older Sister.¡±

 NO Chapter today

    I thought I''d have time over the weekend to write, but I was dragged out to a winter festival on Saturday, as well as the Superbowl on Sunday night, and didn''t have a chance to write anything worthwhile.


    I promise an extra long chapter on Friday.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    While you wait, why don''t you watch this very funny ventriloquist /comedian? Taylor Mason</a>


    QUICK WARNING: the clip is about an hour and a half long.

 Chapter 37: Up

    Like I promised, a much longer chapter today.  Yawn Now, if you''ll excuse me, I''ll be taking a nap.


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    Thera smiled. A mischievous twinkle glinted in her eyes, before playing the most innocent twelve year old child you would ever see.


    ¡°Yes, Elder Sister.¡±


    Laura froze. While what Thera said did mean that she was older than Thera, ¡®Elder¡¯ was a title only used for people whose age had exceeded the life expectancy, which was about 60 years old for non-practicing folks.


    But, perhaps Thera didn¡¯t realize this. Laura was the Older Sister, after all, so she should properly help Thera in her education.


    ¡°No, Thera, ¡®Elder¡¯ is a bit too much-¡±


    ¡°But, Elder Sister isn¡¯t a kid anymore, right? Elder Sister is almost an adult, right?¡± Thera¡¯s wide eyes were innocent, showing an invincible absolute shining faith in Laura.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, but-¡±


    ¡°Then, Elder Sister is Elder Sister!¡± Thera said, cheerfully.


    Finally, Laura gave up. Thera had outmaneuvered her completely.


    WHAT WAS MADAME ROTHEMA TEACHING HER FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS?? Laura screamed internally.


    Thera helpfully gathered the breakfast dishes and went to a nearby stream to wash them, leaving Laura sitting on her log, feeling the wind blowing through the loophole in her promised victory.


    Truly, this last win felt like a hollow victory for her.


    ------------------------


    Later on that day, after Thera and Laura had recovered their energy, Master Thales took them out into the newly-formed field.


    ¡°So, what are we going to learn today, Master Thales?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°You mean, ¡®what am I going to teach you today¡¯.¡± Master Thales corrected. ¡°For, I may indeed teach you, but whether or not you learn depends upon your own close observation and understanding.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So¡­what are you going to teach us today, Master Thales?¡± Thera asked again.


    Master Thales hesitated. What he was going to teach required exact precision of muscle and energy movement. One wrong move could cause a buildup of martial spirit in an acu-point that could potentially wreck a person¡¯s future potential.


    As far as Thera goes, he had confidence that she would not attempt it until she understood everything behind it first. But, as far as Laura goes¡­Master Thales was not confident that Laura would be able to grasp the lesson correctly.


    ¡°Let me be perfectly clear, first.¡± He stated solemnly. ¡°You are not to practice this move without my supervision. Are we perfectly clear?¡± He stared pointedly at Laura.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Laura said, still feeling hollow, like a bamboo.


    ¡°Now then-¡± Master Thales cut off his speech when a shadow fell over the trio. He looked up and then narrowed his eyes in annoyance.


    ¡°Of all the times you could have bothered me, WHY NOW!!!¡± He yelled.


    The shadow that had fallen upon the three belonged to a flying mansion that looked awfully familiar¡­


    ¡°¡­Madam Rothema?!¡± Thera exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Hello, down there, Thera and Laura.¡± Madam Rothema¡¯s voice sounded out, as though she was speaking with you in the same room, having tea. ¡°Oh, for heaven¡¯s sakes, Gerard, ice your firestones before they explode. I decided to move house. After Thera left, those rascals have been making themselves as bothersome as fire ants on a Brawbear.¡±


    That was pretty bothersome. The venom of fire ants is hallucinogenic by nature, causing most humans to see themselves as on fire.


    Brawbears, however, have a very odd reaction to fire ant venom. The Brawbear itself is huge, and weighs several hundred pounds. When it is bitten by fire ants, it will literally find the nearest animal, and glomp onto them until the venom wears off.


    It won¡¯t do anything else, but, still, several hundred pounds of Brawbear glomping on top of someone would be enough to kill any small animal unfortunate enough to get caught by one.


    Afterwards, they won¡¯t even attack, and just amble off down the road, perhaps abashed and confused that they would spend so much time with a non-Brawbear.


    Once this fact was discovered, it became a popular prank to pull on those who become overconfident or annoying.


    Oh, and firestones are stones that still retain a small amount of heat from when they were in the volcano. They can be used for many things, such as cooking, or fire lighting. Some are even used in smelting soft metals.


    The only thing is, as time goes on, unless they are properly cooled, they would build up heat until they were white-hot, like melted iron, and explode into magma.


    The technical reason why they do this is that they absorb only fire mana. And continue to do so, even when they¡¯ve reached their mana capacity.


    Even humans can burst apart if they try to take in more mana than they have room for. That is probably why most magicians trust their instincts when their magic organ shows signs of closing.


    Madam Rothema kept talking. ¡°That Raymond boy was one of the worst. ¡®Where¡¯s Thera now? What is she doing? When is she coming back?¡¯ He even threatened to burn my library if I didn¡¯t tell him where Thera was. Finally, I told him that if he wanted to see her so much, he should go and find her himself!¡±


    ¡°Let me guess: He thought it was a great idea, and went for it.¡± Thera said with a sigh.


    ¡°That he did, Miss Rose. Or, should I call you Thera, now? Hmm¡­Well, anyways, he up and left that very night. But, would you believe it? He fell into a pit hole right in front of the waterfall! It¡¯s a good thing there were no spikes at the bottom. Master Fraun found him about half a day later, still trying to climb his way out.¡± Madam Rothema was talking their ears off, which was unusual behavior for her.


    ¡°Forgive me, Teacher, but¡­did you by chance make tea with the dark brown substance I placed inside the green crock in the second cabinet?¡± Thera suddenly asked.


    ¡°Why, as a matter of fact, yes! How did you ever guess?¡± She asked. ¡°After you left, I tried it by accident, and found I liked it very much, but I¡¯m not sure what kind of leaf makes such a deep flavour. Would you tell me what this wonderful beverage is called?¡±


    Thera sighed, feeling a headache coming on. She raised her index finger.


    ¡°First off, the substance in question was not made from leaves. It¡¯s the grounds from the roasted bean of a Caffreet tree.¡±


    She raised her second finger. ¡°Second, don¡¯t get into a habit of drinking that stuff. I was trying to reproduce a drink I had tasted once. That is a failure. I found out it had an effect similar to a truth serum, where the person¡¯s mental walls are temporarily suspended. The line between thinking and saying is erased so that whatever you think, you end up speaking.¡±


    She raised her third finger. ¡°Third, the substance itself is too stimulating, to the point where Squarrils would reach near the speed of a Lightning Panther while chasing their tails.¡±


    Laura¡¯s eyes opened wide. Squarrils are pests, but are no real threat to humans, since they only eat seeds and nuts. The sight of Squarrils running around at such speeds made her try to hold back her laughter behind a grin.


    ¡°I bet you¡¯ve already cleaned the house three times over since you¡¯ve drank that substance, haven¡¯t you? But, once it wears off, normal people would be exhausted for a week, alongside cramping muscles.¡±


    It was a good thing that Madam Rothema could use magic to simply flush the substance out of her system, unlike Thera because of a certain someone¡¯s cheap tricks.


    ¡°So THAT¡¯S what it was! I had the feeling that I had smelt this brew before. It was probably when you were roasting the nuts, though. But, now that I know what this is, I will be sure to keep it away from the tea cabinet from now on.¡±


    Madam Rothema said. ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve probably gotten rid of all the rest of that substance, correct?¡±


    Thera didn¡¯t really say anything in reply, as she had already perfected several concoctions based upon the Caffreet tree nut. She simply shrugged instead. But, still¡­it would be nice to be able to have a cup of coffee again¡­


    ¡°What are you doing here, Madam Rothema?¡± Master Thales asked, nearly grinding his teeth as he said it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to have a change of scenery.¡± She replied.


    ¡°By moving house right above my land?¡± (Master Thales)


    ¡°Nonsense, Gerard! I¡¯m not even touching the barrier that I personally put in place so many years ago. Besides, the sky is free enough for bird and man alike.¡± She responded. Thera could almost imagine seeing her hand brushing the matter aside as if it were so much dust.


    ¡°Fine! But if you keep interrupting my lessons, then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to change to a different scenery.¡± (Thales)


    ¡°Why, whenever did I interrupt your lessons?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°Just now!¡±(Thales)


    ¡°You could have simply ignored my presence, you know. I didn¡¯t say a thing before you decided to yell at me.¡± (Rothema)


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


    ¡°You¡­¡±Master Thales took a deep, deeeep breath, and then let it out slowly. Thera and Laura were enjoying the view of their most aggravating teacher in a futile word war with a Magi.


    Then Laura mumbled. ¡°Now I know where she gets it from¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Pardon?¡± Thera asked, turning to look at Laura. ¡°Did you say something, Laura?¡±


    Laura looked off to the side, away from Thera, repeating herself in her efforts to cover up what she had said. Too bad Thera had already heard it.


    ¡°Did I say anything? No, I didn¡¯t say anything. I haven¡¯t said a thing¡­why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no reason¡­¡± Thera turned back to look at the floating house. ¡°It needs balloons.¡± She said, finally.


    ¡°What are ¡®baa-loons¡¯?¡± Laura asked, curious.


    ¡°Well, they¡¯re big bubbles made out of rubber sacks that fly in the air when you blow them up with a certain kind of gas.¡± Thera replied.


    ¡°They can come in many different colors, too. Wouldn¡¯t the house be wonderfully eye-catching if it were decorated with colorful balloons?¡±


    ¡°What is rubber?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera sighed. ¡°Rubber is¡­a very stretchy material made from tree sap, kind of like soft candy before it is cooled, except it doesn¡¯t taste nice at all. It can be used for many different things from sword grips to water-proof boots, although I have yet to find such a tree in the vicinity.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I see¡­sort of.¡± (Laura)


    Thera glanced over at Master Thales, who had finally come to the end of his long breath. He looked up from the ground at Thera and Laura.


    ¡°If you two are quite finished speaking, then shall we continue the lesson?¡± Thales asked, ignoring Madam Rothema. But, he couldn¡¯t ignore the fact that she was probably watching.


    And, thinking about things, he decided to switch out the attack skill he was going to teach with a defensive skill. Attack is all very well and good, but the first thing that needs to be learned is how to protect oneself.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m no longer in the mood to teach you the skill I was thinking about. I¡¯ll have you learn a less dangerous skill today.¡± He said, acting as if he hadn¡¯t forgotten about it earlier.


    Wait, you were going to teach us a dangerous skill right off the bat?! Thera exclaimed in her heart, while beginning to wonder if learning from Master Thales was actually a good thing or not.


    Master Thales took a stance, bending his knees, and angling his body so that it stood in a streamlined position. Then he took out a dagger, and stood there for about a minute.


    During this minute, Thera¡¯s eyes noticed that he was concentrating martial spirit towards the dagger in his hand, building up the pressure within the blade until it had no choice but to show itself in the air.


    Surprisingly, the color of the martial spirit at this time was not dark blue, as it appeared within the body, but a bright blood red. Thera watched as Master Thales all of a sudden flashed his sword in a weaving star-like pattern that took but a brief moment to complete.


    Once the pattern was complete, he said pointedly ¡°[Stella Umbo].¡±


    Immediately, the bright red net solidified into an energy barrier, but that wasn¡¯t what caught Thera¡¯s attention.


    Wait, Latin?! He actually used Latin to invoke the chant? I know that ¡®star shield¡¯ doesn¡¯t exactly sound cool, but still¡­.Latin!


    The shield lasted a whole minute before fading from sight. Thera fought to keep her face poker stiff, instead of laughing.


    Must¡­not¡­laugh¡­


    Master Thales noticed that Thera had a strange expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Thera?¡±


    ¡°¡­no-thing¡­¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be just nothing with an expression like that on your face. What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Scio loqui lingua.*¡± She finally said. (*I know how to speak this language)


    ¡°¡­¡± Master Thales was silent for a moment, then coughed a bit to clear his throat. ¡°I see¡­well, let¡¯s continue with the lesson. Did any of you understand what I did?¡±


    Laura¡¯s hand immediately shot into the air, waiting to be called upon.


    ¡°Laura, do you know?¡± Thales asked, pointing to Laura¡¯s raised hand.


    ¡°Yes~! Using your blade, you projected an aura shield at arm¡¯s length in front of you.¡± Laura answered.


    ¡°Good! And do you know how I did that?¡± Thales pursued.


    ¡°Not at all!¡± Laura replied enthusiastically. Thera laughed, amused at Laura¡¯s enthusiasm. But, Thales was quick to jump on that.


    ¡°What are you laughing at Thera?¡± Thera immediately stopped laughing. ¡°Are you amused by Laura¡¯s ignorance?¡±


    ¡°No. But, there is a rare straightforwardness of character here, which is quite refreshing from the characters at court.¡± Thera observed.


    ¡°The fact that you allowed yourself to be distracted from the task at hand is the prelude to arrogance. Since you¡¯re so sure of yourself, why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Master Thales invited.


    There was absolutely no way that he was being harsh because he was still sore from his argument with Madam Rothema, nope. Master Thales was as composed and cool as a cucumber.


    But this cucumber seemed to have soaked in brine a bit too long and turned into a pickle.


    Thera realized that, in order to placate Master Thales, she would have to attempt something she had only seen once. She gave a short, terse nod in acknowledgement.


    ¡°I will do my best, Master Thales.¡±


    Thera stepped forward and concentrated inside upon her martial spirit. Master Thales had certainly done something internally before launching that skill, so it seemed rather obvious to start there first.


    Master Thales was inwardly pleased at Thera¡¯s prudence. So many people whom he had tried to teach would just attempt the skill first, before reaching into themselves to grab the necessary energy to do so, ending in failure.


    Thera focused, replaying the memory in her head while it was still fresh. The star had had twelve points, with the lines crisscrossing over each other like those in a pentagram. In order to draw the star, the angle of each point was a surprising exact 30 degree angle.


    Putting aside the question of whether angles, stars, or pentagrams played a significant role in the skill, Thera continued examining the scene she had witnessed in her head, deconstructing the movements in her head.


    Laura was about to ask her when she was going to start, when Master Thales hushed her by placing a hand on her shoulder and putting a finger to his lips. So, Thera remained uninterrupted while she thought.


    After thinking for about ten minutes, Thera raised her head. ¡°I am ready to try now.¡± She said.


    Master Thales nodded a sign for her to start.


    Thera did not take out her sword, since using her magic sword right now would feel like she was cheating.


    She had also not used her sword in the case with the two men yesterday because she did not want to kill them instantly.


    After all, ¡®in cases where fly-paper was enough to rid one¡¯s self of a fly, why should one use poison spray?¡¯ That was one of the sayings her old master in her previous life taught her.


    Besides, while learning how to use the magic sword was important, it was more important to understand how to use the martial skill first without the help of the sword.


    Otherwise, in the future, she might not be able to use the skill without the magic sword. It was better to learn how to do it without any crutches first, so that, even when she didn¡¯t have her sword, she would be able to use the skill.


    She willed the sluggish dark blue gas/liquid to move towards her hands, which began to feel tingly as more and more martial spirit gathered there.


    Thera made a fist, and then raised her index finger, urging the power to compact even further into her finger. A faint red glow began to gather around her finger.


    Master Thales grinned. As expected of a genius, she was able to extend her martial spirit outside of her body on the first try. It usually took at least a day for the smarter ones to figure out how to extend their martial spirit outside of their bodies.


    But, what came next, he did not expect.


    Thera began drawing out the twelve-pointed star, precisely sketching out the 30 degree angles in the air.


    ¡°[Stella Umbo]!¡± She shouted.


    A smaller, thinner version of Master Thales¡¯ shield was illuminated for three seconds before shattering to pieces.

 Chapter 38: Three Months

    Okay, I have a new chapter today, albeit it is a bit short. I hope this will satisfy you until I can finish the next chapter.


    Enjoy~!


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Ha! She got it on the first try! How¡¯s that for a genius, eh Gerard?¡± Madam Rothema chuckled.


    ¡°Hardly. A barrier that takes ten minutes to form, and three seconds to break can hardly be called a barrier.¡± Master Thales replied.


    Thera sighed. He was right. As it was now, her barrier wasn¡¯t battle-worthy at all.


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that! You¡¯re really just happy that she was able to do it first try, right? Besides, the only thing that she¡¯s missing is practice. If she practices at it, then time, strength, shape: she¡¯ll be able to manipulate any piece of the barrier according to her will.¡± Madam Rothema replied.


    Actually, barriers were kind of Thera¡¯s specialty, if it was magic. The fact that she could make a barrier with martial spirit was truly fascinating, though, since the way to activate it was completely different from the way she activated magic.


    I wonder if I could make my own martial skills? She thought to herself, as she stared at her hands.


    ¡°True, but she is far from such a level of mastery as things stand.¡± Master Thales replied. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to make me release her from lessons so that you can steal her away when I¡¯m not looking.¡±


    ¡°Now you are truly judging a good man¡¯s mind with an evil man¡¯s thoughts!  I had no intentions of stealing anyone. Taking back what is mine, though, is a different matter.¡± Madam Rothema said.


    ¡°I thought we had agreed that I was to have Thera for these next three months.¡± Master Thales said, darkly.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be busy all this week just trying to teach Laura there how to use that skill. Why not let me work with Thera while you¡¯re busy?¡± Madam Rothema asked. ¡°Unless you¡¯re giving up on the other one?¡±


    Thera blinked. Somehow it had turned into a custody fight, with her in the middle of things. She was not sure whether she wanted to laugh or to cry.


    Master Thales¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°I am not giving up on either! Even though Thera is able to use the skill, she still needs to get better at it. Until she can have at least a normal time of thirty seconds per use, I will not allow you to take her.¡±


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s a deal. You have said it, now. There¡¯s no going back on your word. Thera reaches thirty seconds per use, and I take her up to work on her spells until Laura has also acquired the skill.¡± Madam Rothema said.


    ¡°¡­Thera, go practice your skill while I guide Laura.¡± Master Thales said. It seems he had relented under Madam Rothema¡¯s foxy onslaught.


    And so, a schedule was eventually formed where Thera would learn a martial skill from Master Thales and practice it until it was considered battle-passable.


    Then, while Master Thales worked on helping Laura to learn the skill, Thera would climb a ladder to Madam Rothema¡¯s floating mansion, where her magic shackles would be removed for increasing the proficiency of her spells.


    This went on for three months. During those three months, Thera learned skills that roughly translated from the Latin into: Stellar Shield, Meteor Charge, Thousand-Hands, Ghost Evasion, Yin-Yang Riposte, and Shadow Flight.


    Meteor Charge [Fax Collatus] was a skill that focused in pushing mana to the legs, giving a similar effect to a Sonic dash.


    Thera was amused at the idea of teaching this skill to a blue hedgehog wearing red shoes. But, due to the lack of such a novel little animal in the vicinity, she put the idea away for later.


    Thousand-Hands [Mille Manus] focused upon using speed, precision, and diversion arm techniques to create an area around the body where attacks would not get through. Unlike Stellar Shield, it did not try to pitch strength against strength, but was more of a technical skill.


    Ghost Evasion [Spiritus Evasio] was another speed skill that worked upon speed to the effect that after-images were formed, momentarily confusing the enemy into thinking that his strikes had hit before the afterimage disappeared, giving the user the appearance of a ghost.


    Yin-Yang Riposte [Yin-Yang Responsum] was a countering skill, wherein the energy from the enemy¡¯s attack would be used to power a counter-attack.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    This was one of the easiest ones for Thera to learn, as most of her other-worldly martial arts had similar-although not as powerful- moves. It also had the oddest trigger chant, having included a Chinese term alongside the Latin.


    Shadow Flight [Umbra Fuga] was a skill that allowed one to retreat or flee under the cover of any usable shadow in the area.


    Honestly, this one seemed to be most like a magic spell, but since it used martial spirit and physics instead of mana, it only just barely applied as a martial skill.


    Thera decided to think of it as a kind of ninja technique.


    It only took her three to five days to learn each technique, while it usually took Laura ten to fourteen days to learn them. As such, three months flew by before they knew it.


    ¡°Well, I suppose this is as prepared as I can make you.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°Even though I wanted to teach you some more things, if we don¡¯t leave now, we¡¯ll never make it on time.¡±


    ¡°Never make it where? Why are we leaving? Why do we need to be on time?¡± Thera asked, curious.


    ¡°It¡¯s the ten-year students contest, dearie.¡± Madam Rothema supplied.


    Ah. The ten-year students contest; so that¡¯s why. Thera nodded. She had read about it in Garkmel¡¯s History of Martial Arts and Practitioners.


    Since around 40,000 years ago, the Black Class people were insanely proud of their students. However, there was hardly a chance or them to showcase how wonderful they were. And so, an agreement came out between them to have a contest, to see whose student was the strongest.


    The winner would have access to Haven City¡¯s cultivation treasure for the next ten years. You¡¯d think that there would be enmity between those who won and those who lost. But even the students who lost were awarded prizes based upon their performance.


    Therefore, the contest became an event much looked forward to upon the continent.


    Wait. Does that mean¡­ Thera looked over at Master Thales for confirmation.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve got it.¡± Master Thales nodded his head, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smile. ¡°You two are attending as my students.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!!¡± Laura yelped. She was not so arrogant to think that a meager three months of learning could overcome another person¡¯s ten years of training.


    We¡¯re going to be slaughtered! She predicted in her heart.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. You think you can¡¯t win, don¡¯t you?¡± Master Thales said. Thera tilted her head to the side.


    Normally, it should be impossible¡­but the fact was, Thera and Laura weren¡¯t on the scale of ¡®normal¡¯ anymore, so the outcome remained uncertain.


    After all, Thera had never actually seen a true fight between martial practitioners, so how could she predict the outcome?


    ¡°Just three months of training can¡¯t possibly catch up to ten years. I say that, but actually, it¡¯ll take us nine months to get to the arena on Plateau Peak.¡± Master Thales said.


    ¡°On the way, I¡¯ll have you continue your training, so it¡¯ll actually be a year¡¯s worth of training versus everyone else¡¯s ten years.¡±


    His eyes took on a rather dangerous glint. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see their faces, too.¡±


    Thera and Laura both felt that their easygoing days had officially been numbered. Laura shuddered, while Thera simply sighed.


    ¡°¡°Yes, Master Thales!¡±¡± They both said.


    Thales turned to Madam Rothema. ¡°So? What will you do while we travel?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Why, come along with you, of course!¡± Madam Rothema declared.


    ¡°It¡¯s been ages since I¡¯ve seen a good fight. I won¡¯t be missing this one!¡± She cackled.


    Thales muttered under his breath.


    Old hag. You¡¯re probably just going because you want to make money on the bets, don¡¯t you?!


    ¡°I heard that!¡±


    Master Thales grinned widely. ¡°Did I say that out loud?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Say what?¡± Laura asked.


    Thera looked down at Thorn, the magic katana in her hands, quite sure that she didn¡¯t want to know what Master Thales had said.


    She gave the kashira (butt cap) and hand-guard an extra polish.


    ----------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 39: Bandits

    Thank you so much for waiting! I''m feeling much better than I was on Friday, although I''ve still got a pretty bad head cold. Hopefully, the next chapter will come a lot quicker than this one. Enjoy!


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    The next day, they packed up, stuffing the entire camp into magic bags.


    Madam Rothema argued that they could simply stay in her floating house on the way there, and save on mounts, but Master Thales would not hear of it.


    In order to maximize on training, Master Thales instead had them climb on what appeared to be a short-haired bison as big as an elephant. The local name for the beast was Baelithon.


    Baelithon would go about in groups on the plains, so it was surprising enough just to see a single Baelithon by itself. They did not speak, but were intelligent enough to understand what was said, and usually preferred to keep to their groups.


    For this Baelithon to be so willing to help Master Thales, a non-Baelithon, Thera could only imagine what kind of thing Master Thales had done to gain its favor.


    It was evident that Thales had been planning this, for in a short amount of time, a wooden platform sat on top of the Baelithon¡¯s back, which Master Thales had made for the two girls, so that they would not fall off.


    While Master Thales sat near the head, giving simple directions, Laura and Thera would practice their moves on top of the bison-I mean the Baelithon.


    The Baelithon itself did not mind it. He was rather tolerant of the energetic young man-pups of his benefactor and old friend.


    Laura couldn¡¯t do much for the first week, as she came down with a terrible case of motion sickness. Thera also felt mild symptoms of having her insides being turned into churned butter, but she got through it on sheer willpower alone.


    After a week or so, they had both got used to the swaying motion, and began practicing their skills in the limited space of the platform.


    It was actually a good method of training, since the limited space meant they had to be conscientious of their movements so as to make the most of their immediate area.


    Master Thales also had them practice their aim at moving targets, something which Thera was always first. Laura used her frustrations to fuel her efforts to get better at it, so that, even if she couldn¡¯t beat Thera, she could at least be on par with her.


    Sadly, Laura would never be as good at hitting moving targets as Thera was. Even the throwing knives that looked like they went off course seemed to home in on the targets for Thera.


    Of course, for Thera to do such a thing was actually impossible at the time. During her practice under Master Thales, she was always required to wear the mana shackles.


    ---------------


    The hot, tropical climate had become more moderate, the untamed jungle giving way to the more contemporary forestry at the roots of the mountain range.


    At this point, the Baelithon was far too large to take them through the smaller forest paths over the mountains, so Master Thales bade it farewell. But, Thera knew that the great gentle beast would return if he should call it again.


    They now trekked through the woods on foot.


    Every now and then, Madam Rothema would offer an invitation to afternoon tea, or to read poetry, but Master Thales always rejected the offers.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be training, then, would it?¡± He would say. Then the conversation would end.


    Thera inwardly agreed with Master Thales, as tea would only be a distraction. But, after five years of enjoying tea, she sometimes wished she weren¡¯t training, just so she could enjoy ¡®a proper tea¡¯ as Madam Rothema would call it.


    She had to make do at the evening meal, with a bowl of local herbs steeped in hot water. Tea was best in the evening to relax, and Dandelion Coffee in the morning to wake up.


    The Caffreet bean displayed too many side effects, so Thera switched instead to a Coffee substitute that she had learned about on her travels in her previous life.


    The root of the dandelion, once dried, chopped, roasted, and steeped in water, would produce a drink similar in taste and color to coffee. And, with the addition of a tiny portion of Caffreet bean, it had the same effects as regular coffee.


    Already, she had Master Thales and Laura addicted to it. She had made plenty over her five years of training, so there was no danger of her running out.


    Whenever they stopped for the night, Thera would look over the campsite for fresh dandelions to place in her magic bag to process later.


    They had left the tropics none too soon. Summer was approaching, and the forest¡¯s berry bushes were already starting to bear fruit.  Berries were included in the breakfast porridge, and as a side during lunch.


    Laura and Master Thales were already used to seeing Thera strip a berry bush, or a dandelion patch bare in just a few seconds in passing.


    So far, in their two months of traveling, they had not come across anyone. But soon that would change.


    One day, Master Thales stopped in the middle of his explanation of a certain skill he was trying to teach. He turned and stared ahead of them towards a small hill, a serious expression on his face.


    Behind the hill, a column of smoke was rising into the air.


    ¡°Gerard! It¡¯s a village under attack!¡± Madam Rothema exclaimed. ¡°I can¡¯t land anywhere; there are too many trees in the way. You¡¯ll have to go and scout out the situation yourself.¡±


    ¡°I know!¡± He replied curtly.


    He looked at Laura and Thera and nodded. It was a bit early, but he felt they were ready. Then he took out the key and released Thera¡¯s mana shackles.


    ¡°You two are going ahead. If you find any survivors, try to keep as many as you can alive. Thera, don¡¯t use your magic except for healing. I want to see how well you can use your new skills in combat.¡±


    Thera nodded. She understood what Master Thales was thinking. This was a test of their mettle.


    Some people could train themselves to a phenomenal level, yet at the sight of a real battle, they¡¯d forget everything they were taught and be practically useless, or run away.


    Yet, even should Laura freeze upon encountering what they might find, Master Thales already knew that Thera would not. She would, instead, make herself too busy to freeze, immediately jumping into action.


    Thera immediately shot forward flattening herself in the grass at the top of the hill, and carefully looked down, observing the scene before her.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The village itself was a small town of log houses and stones, situated in a quarry.


    Half of the buildings were already on fire, while screams and yells echoed as the village women fled before the oncoming bandit men. Dead bodies lay here and there on the burned side. The village men were fighting back desperately against the bandits.


    In a moment, Laura was by her side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Thera said, as she threw herself forward, sliding down the hillside, under the cover of the tall grass and low bushes. Laura followed behind her.


    When they got to the bottom, Thera ran for the nearest building and jumped on top. She began throwing her needles out at the bandits, effortlessly striking them in the throats, or the heart as she jumped from roof to roof.


    Madam Rothema was right. The houses were grouped too close together for her to land her mansion anywhere. However, that made them perfect for jumping.


    ------------------------------------


    Behind a house:


    Four figures lay there, one fainted, and three bleeding to death.


    The bandits had come too fast; there wasn¡¯t enough time to retreat. When they had arrived, only the youngest boy had been outside.


    Right before a huge bandit had attacked the small child, the mother had come running out and taken the blow intended for him, instead. She screamed as she was hit, fainting from the pain.


    The scream had alerted the two men inside that something had happened, and they had rushed out to see the mother lying on the ground, bleeding, with her child, who had fainted from shock, underneath her, and several bandits standing over them.


    Both the father, and the eldest son had gone into a rage and attacked them with a kitchen knife and an ax. But neither were skilled in weapons, and were quickly brought down.


    Now, there they lay, bleeding to death. The eldest son had already fallen unconscious from lack of blood.


    Only the father was still awake, fighting to stay alive, just barely breathing.


    How could this happen? How could this have happened?! He raged within himself for not being strong enough to protect his family.


    After listening to the shouts and screams in the village for a while, he realized that, unless a miracle took place, the village itself was done for.


    But his struggle was nearing its end as he grew weaker and weaker from the loss of blood. Soon enough, he found he couldn¡¯t keep his eyes open.


    At least, he had died together with his family. Hopefully they would be reborn in a better, more protected place. The death god was coming to take them away.


    Ah, it is here¡­He thought to himself as he saw a cloaked figure descending from above. His eyes closed right before the cloaked figure reached the fallen four.


    ¡°Heal!¡±


    ----------------------


    Thera had found them just in time. If she had arrived a minute later, then it might have been too late to save all of them. As it was, she quickly healed them and turned to Laura, on the rooftop behind her.


    ¡°Laura!¡± She called, Picking up and tossing the healed people up to her like they were rag dolls.


    Laura took it upon herself to grab the injured people and move them to a safe place as that they would not get caught up in the fighting. If any bandit tried to climb up to the rooftop, she would effortlessly down them with a punch to the face.


    Arrows could not breach her martial spirit shield.


    Soon enough the bandits realized that the villagers had powerful backup, and tried to overwhelm the two girls in numbers. But Thera remained unhindered, slashing her way through the crowds as if they were only so many bamboo shoots.


    No one could even touch her.


    The bandits, realizing that they were being mowed down like grass, began to run away from the little monster covered in the blood of those she had slain.


    Within moments, the whole horde was in full retreat, having lost hundreds of men in mere minutes.


    Thera continued to make her way through the village, finding and healing as many people as she could find who were still alive. The bandit bodies, she threw into a pile in the middle of the streets.


    The village men were also wary of this little girl, covered in blood, until they noticed that she was healing their injured. Deciding to accept her aid, they set out to extinguish the houses that were still on fire, grabbing water from the nearby lake.


    In total, fifty villagers had died that day. If Thera had not given immediate aid, eighty more would have perished from their wounds alone.


    Five hundred sixty-two bandits had been killed in total, with over four hundred of them being killed by Thera.


    Laura had killed fifty who had tried trespassing upon the rooftops, as she protected the unconscious people that Thera had saved. She was lucky that the fighting had lasted less than ten minutes. Her [Star Shield]


    would not have held up for much longer.


    After the battle was over, Laura immediately emptied her stomach behind some bushes, sickened by the smell of blood and smoke everywhere.


    Thera, wished to do the same, but she still had to finish treating the men who were injured in the fight, and was currently surrounded by people who were cheering and showing her their wounds to be healed.


    They tried speaking to her, but she didn¡¯t understand their language.


    About a half an hour later, Master Thales walked into the village. Thera noticed that he also reeked of blood. It seemed the bandits who had retreated had not kept their lives after all.


    He put a hand on Laura and Thera¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Well done.¡± Was all that he said, before going to speak to the village chief, whose eyes lit up as he saw Master Thales.


    Thera only nodded and continued working, helping the men to extinguish the last of the flames licking at the buildings.

 Chapter 40: The Bandit King

    I¡¯m not really sure if there¡¯ll be another one before Saturday, but I¡¯ll try. I do have a lot of things to do, though.


    On the bright side, I am feeling a bit better. Even though this cold or whatever it is takes ages to go away, it seems.


    Oh well. Enjoy the chapter!


    --------------------------------------------


    After the fires were put out, Thera took a basin and went to wash up with Laura as a lookout. Then she guarded the area while Laura washed up.


    The grime and gore gone, Thera and Laura quickly built a safe fire in the village center, underneath the large cauldron that Laura had brought. Soon enough, they were passing food out to the workers who were clearing the burned buildings of unsafe timbers and half-burned logs.


    Thera also boiled some water and passed out mint and chamomile tea to help the women relax their frazzled nerves.


    She sighed as she thought of how much she would have to gather to replace the amount that she had lost, but now wasn¡¯t a time to be stingy.


    About half of the people had lost their houses. Most considered themselves lucky to have been able to keep their lives, but there were also many in mourning over those who had died.


    Although Thera could not understand their language, she could guess from their expressions and gestures what they were trying to say.


    The villagers invited them to stay, but Master Thales would not hear of it. He shook his head, and said that they were on a journey, and had to continue on their way.


    Laura left the huge cauldron behind as a gift. And Thera left behind some of her herbal blends and Dandelion Coffee, but not before having Master Thales warn them not to drink the coffee at night unless they wished for no rest. She also showed some of the women how to make it while she was there.


    In the end, the entire village came out to bid them farewell as they left that afternoon.


    Watching the three figures escape into the forest, a little boy clasping the hand of his mother stared after them and said. ¡°Mama, I wanna grow up to be just like them!¡±


    -------------------------


    ¡°Well, I hope you¡¯re happy!¡± Madam Rothema huffed at Thales as her house once more hovered over the treetops above them.


    ¡°While you were there fraternizing with the villagers, I had to take care of several hundred dead bodies, so that the village wouldn¡¯t be swarming with wolves by now!¡± She grumbled.


    ¡°And even now, I¡¯m still not sure that the trees won¡¯t suddenly gain consciousness and decide they want to be vampiric treants or something equally troublesome should emerge.¡±


    ¡°Peace, Madam Rothema.¡± Master Thales said, grinning mischievously. ¡°Such a thing is only possible after hundreds of years. We will simply have to make a visit before any of that happens to prevent it.¡±


    Now that the tables were turned, Thales was actually enjoying his day, knowing that Madam Rothema was bothered. He considered it only just compensation for her having bothered him all this time. But, he was not so foolish as to admit it.


    ¡°Hmmph!¡± was all that Madam Rothema replied.


    Thales hid his grin, and turned to the two girls, as serious as if it had never happened. ¡°This place has become a somewhat lawless area since last I visited. You may do well to be on your guard while we are here.¡±


    Thera nodded. There was no telling whether the bandits they had killed were all of them, or even if any of them were the leaders in the bunch or not. As such, it would only be prudent to exercise caution in these parts.


    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t we kill all the bandits earlier?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Just because we killed all the ones we could see doesn¡¯t mean we killed all the bandits.¡± Thera replied. ¡°There could be a lot more somewhere else and we wouldn¡¯t know it until we walked right into them.¡±


    Also¡­there was a possibility of there being a bandit king in the area, considering so many bandits had shown up just to take over one village. If that was the case, then there was no way that their presence had not been made known to him, considering he just lost a huge chunk of his fighting force to a man and two girls.


    But Thera did not voice her suspicions out loud. It had been close to several hundred years since the last bandit king had lived. No one was likely to take her suggestion seriously.


    Master Thales had been silently conversing with Madam Rothema off to the side. Thera was not sure how they could do that, but she was sure from the expressions on his face that he was having a conversation with Madam Rothema.


    It¡¯s probably a skill that you get when you reach Black Class. She surmised.


    Thera wondered if they were thinking along the same lines as her, for there was no way that the group they had encountered was just a random leaderless band of bandits.


    But, if so, then where was the leader?


    -------------------------------------


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    At Bandit Cave:


    A dark figure sat upon a stone throne, muttering incomprehensible things, and occasionally taking a swig from his bottle. His clothes were all black, and his head was shadowed by a cloak, covering all the features aside from his mouth.


    Another figure appeared, cowering before this mysterious madman.


    ¡°King Darin, I-I have come to make my report¡­the men that you sent out¡­¡±


    ¡°Well? Whart abrout ¡®em?¡± King Darin growled groggily.


    ¡°It seems they were unsuccessful¡­ The whole group was de-destroyed...and their b-bodies seemed to have va-vanished.¡±  The cowering man said, stuttering in his fear.


    ¡°WHAT!?¡± Darin roared.


    The cowering man flinch.


    ¡°SAY THA¡¯ AGAIN!¡± Darin ordered.


    ¡°Th-the m-men w-were d-d-defeated, m-my k-king.¡± The man said, shaking, obviously terrified.


    Darin was silent for a while, his face unreadable as the news sank in. The man standing before him was growing more and more frightened as the silence stretched out.


    Finally, Darin spoke ¡°An¡¯? Don¡¯t learve me hangin loik dis! Who dun it, man? Who dun my men in?¡±


    The man jerked himself out of his fearful reverie and stuttered. ¡°Ah, y-yes! It was a g-group of th-three: O-one man a-and t-two g-girls.¡± He watched Darin¡¯s face for any signs of displeasure.


    Darin sat back in his chair and took a swig from his bottle.


    ¡°¡­heh heh heh hahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAAAHAH!¡± He began to roar with laughter.


    ¡°¡­my king?¡± The man asked, fearing that Darin had gone off the deep end.


    ¡°Nuthin¡¯ nuthin! Go get Andrick, man..¡± Darin waved his hand before breaking out into a bout of chuckling and laughter that would have made any man think he had gone off the deep end to be sure.


    Andrick soon arrived. By that time, Darin had managed to get enough control to keep his mad laughter down to an occasional chuckle here and there.


    ¡°You called, Oh Bandit King Darin?¡± Andrick asked, yawning terribly.


    ¡°So, Andrick, have ye heard about tha raidin par¡¯y we sent out a few days ago?¡± Darin asked with a grin.


    ¡°Not a thing,¡± Andrick yawned. ¡°after being shaken awake, all I¡¯ve heard is that you wished to see me.¡±


    Bandit King Darin¡¯s face broke out into a wide grin. ¡°Good, good. Naow,  wha¡¯ do yew s¡¯pose harpened to ¡®em this taim aroun¡¯?¡±


    Anderick yawned again. ¡°Didn¡¯t they just completely wipe out the village as usual?¡± He asked, still a bit muddle-headed from being awoken so early.


    Darin¡¯s wide grin grew wider. ¡°Ye¡¯d think tha¡¯, wouldn¡¯ yew? Heh heh heh!¡±


    Andrick immediately stopped yawning. ¡°You mean to tell me that they didn¡¯t wipe out the blinking village?¡± He asked, rather surprised, coming awake.


    ¡°No. They didn¡¯.¡± Darin replied.


    ¡°Well, then what happened to them!?¡± Andrick asked, curious. ¡°Are they still fighting? Did they come back? How many were killed?¡± He began asking questions, needing to know what had happened.


    Darin answered all of the questions at once, slowly speaking each word clearly. ¡°Eight hundred men left a few days ago, and none are likely to return ever again.¡±


    Andrick was so surprised that he dragged a nearby chair over to take a seat before he collapsed on the floor. After a long pause, he said ¡°It wasn¡¯t the villagers who did this, was it? Who were they? How many?¡±


    Darin held up three fingers.


    ¡°Three thousand!¡± Andrick exclaimed. ¡°Where did they get such an army!?¡±


    Bandit King Darin shook his head. ¡° ¡®Twas three people tha dun ¡®em in, Andrick. Jus¡¯ three. One man an¡¯ two girlies.¡±


    There was a long pause.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Andrick said. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then those three people are stronger than the Beast king of the mountain! They¡¯re monsters!¡± He clenched his hands.


    The Bandit king leaned forward, a big grin on his face.


    ¡°Aye. Tha¡¯ they be. Send out all the men, Anderick. Find em. But stay outer their way, an let me know as soon as possible where they be.¡±


    Bandit King Darin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°An do it as fast as ye can.¡±


    Andrick stood up so quickly that the chair fell to the loor with a bang. ¡°Immediately!¡± And ran out of the throne room.


    The Bandit King leaned back, chuckling to himself and murmuring things in a sing-song way. ¡°Birds wi¡¯ four wings swirling roun¡¯~Buildin¡¯s as reach up to the clouds~Shiny bugs tha'' swallow men, an¡¯ runs an¡¯ spits ¡®em out agin.¡±


    Then the man broke out into another round of laughter.

 Chapter 41: Briar

    Hello again! I kinda feel that after today the chapters will be rather spread out, since I have yet another busy period of hard work to prepare for.


    Hopefully I can keep the schedule, but if not, then you''ll know why. it''s because I''m busy.


    Well, anyways, I finished this one on time at any rate. Enjoy~!


    ------------------------------------


    ¡°I hate this job.¡± Laura muttered to herself as she trudged up the road, head covered up in a hood.


    ¡°Would you rather have my job? I assure you it¡¯s far more interesting than being a simple mysterious cloaked figure, ohime-sama.¡± Thera hissed.


    Laura shuddered, and hastily shook her head. ¡°Nope I¡¯m fine, thank you! I am completely okay with my part in this!¡± She would not have Thera¡¯s part at all, nope.


    The two were walking together, with Laura¡¯s figure hidden under her ranger¡¯s hood. However, Thera had undergone a somewhat shocking change.


    --------------------


    Three hours earlier:


    Master Thales and Madam Rothema finished another of the many voiceless conversations between each other.


    Then Master Thales suddenly said, ¡°We should split up.¡±


    ¡°What! Why?¡± Laura immediately exclaimed.


    ¡°If we were to meet with any stronger type of bandit, things would surely get troublesome.¡± Thales said.


    ¡°Why would it be troublesome?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°Because don¡¯t you think that by now, our numbers and genders have been leaked? There¡¯ll be spies everywhere now, looking for us!¡± Master Thales said, trying to keep a straight face.


    But, Thera could see that his eyes were looking elsewhere.


    I call BS. She almost said, but refrained from doing so.


    ¡°Well? What did you have in mind?¡± Thera asked.


    ¡°You and Laura will go together down the path, while me and Rothema will scout around the area for stragglers. We¡¯ll meet up with you at the inn in the village after the next one.¡± Thales explained.


    Thera nodded. ¡°It sounds reasonable.¡± She agreed.


    ¡°Ah, but..¡± Master Thales looked at the two girls. ¡°Two girls alone is too suspicious. One of you will have to go as a boy¡­Thera, I nominate you.¡±


    Thera started. ¡°What, me? Why do I have to be the boy!?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well, just look at Laura.¡± Thales said. ¡°She could obviously pass as some sort of foreign princess with that hair. You, on the other hand, have a more believable structure when it comes to boys, so you¡¯ll have to do.¡± Thales said with a lazy drawl.


    ¡°If it makes you feel any better, I¡¯ll unlock your mana shackles so you can fight to your fullest if you run into a brown class.¡± He said, laying the bait while showing her the key.


    Thera didn¡¯t say anything as she held out her wrists.


    ¡°Deal?¡± Master Thales asked. He wasn¡¯t a fool. No deal, no benefits. That was one of his rules.


    She sighed. It seemed she couldn¡¯t get out of this one.


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    The mana shackles fell to the ground.


    ¡°Good! Now that that¡¯s settled, can I place the illusion spell on her?¡± Madam Rothema asked. She had floated down from her flying house in order to perform the spell and get the fine-tuning done and out of the way.


    ¡°Go ahead. Better now than later.¡± Master Thales said. ¡°Oh, and Thera? You should go by the name Briar or Thorn, or Bramble from now on. It should be something easy to remember, so that we can find you later.¡±


    Thera rolled her eyes at that. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Rose bushes are briars, and briars have thorns. Sheesh! You could ease up on the name puns, you know.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with Briar, then.¡± She said, smiling at the irony of the situation: the former Briar being reincarnated as Thera, now roleplaying as¡­¡¯Briar¡¯.


    ¡°Hold still, then, Briar. I need to make sure the illusion fits you.¡± Madam Rothema instructed. ¡°You don¡¯t know how many times people have wrecked a good illusion by moving before it was finished being placed. Ah, perfect! That looks good enough.¡±


    Thera couldn¡¯t really see the transformation, but now she looked like a strong male adventurer, just a tad bit on the short side. She placed a hand on the band circling her forehead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take that off, whatever you do. It¡¯s the key to the illusion spell. You take it off, and the whole thing disappears.¡± Madam Rothema warned.


    Thera placed her fists on her hips in a traditional male pose.


    ¡°Well? What do you think?¡± She asked.


    Thales stared expressionlessly at Thera for a few moments before scoffing.¡°¡­Rothema, did you HAVE to make her into a pretty boy? Now she looks like a day-dreaming nimrod.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°My spell, my rules.¡± Madam Rothema replied. ¡°I you wanted a certain look, you should have specified~.¡± She pointed out. ¡°Now it¡¯s done, and I need a cup of tea. Call me when you¡¯ve found any sign of bandits in the area.¡±


    Madam Rothema floated back up to her flying mansion and the door shut near soundlessly behind her.


    Master Thales sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯ll have to do. Anyways, while we¡¯re scouting around, you two make sure to keep a low profile while you travel ahead, got it?¡±


    Laura enthusiastically saluted soldier style. ¡°Understood~!¡± She said.


    Thera began to feel the beginnings of a headache as she took out her magic sword, Thorn.


    ----------------------------


    Back in the Present:


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t that bad, masquerading as a boy. She could wear pants, and carry a sword, and didn¡¯t have any mana shackles. She was in a rather good mood, so when Laura blurted out that earlier bit, Thera couldn¡¯t help but tease her.


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s not forget this. I would hate to have to tell your father that you refused to do things simply because you didn¡¯t like them. princes-ahem, I mean Miss Laura.¡±


    She changed her address when Laura elbowed her in the ribs.


    ¡®Father¡¯ was their codename for Master Thales, not Laura¡¯s actual father. Although, quite frankly, Laura¡¯s actual father would have been ecstatic seeing Laura pretending to be a princess.


    A new voice broke into their conversation.


    ¡°Well well well¡­now what do you suppose we have here, eh boys?¡± A thin man dressed in rather high-class clothes, albeit a bit dull in colors of brown and green. He sneered as he eyed the two figures in front.


    Behind him, a group of large men built like lumberjacks came out of hiding.


    Thera knew it was time to play her role properly and quickly stepped out in front of Laura, unsheathing her sword. She had already sensed these people about three kilometers back, but they had decided to let them be if they didn¡¯t cause any trouble.


    ¡°Who are you! And what do you want with us?¡± Thera asked She had previously changing her voice with magic to sound a bit more masculine.


    The sneering man sneered even more. He had been told to be on the lookout for a man and two girls. These were a boy and a girl, completely different from the report.


    Judging from the fact that these two hadn¡¯t noticed them until they came out, they were probably just setting out after finishing the basic common education.


    The boy probably wouldn¡¯t be past soldier rank, considering his age. The girl, well, considering the blonde hair that peeked out from the hood, she could still fetch quite a lot of coin, even if she wasn¡¯t pretty.


    On the whole, these two would make quite a bit of profit for him as a slave trader. He chuckled to himself.


    ¡°Now, now. Let¡¯s not get too hasty. We wouldn¡¯t want to be considered damaged goods, would we-¡± He was interrupted when his face came into contact with Thera¡¯s foot.


    In half a moment, all the other men fell down as well, unconscious, with the imprint of a shoe clear upon their face. She hadn¡¯t even needed to use a skill.


    ¡°Darn it! Just a bunch of slave traders.¡± Thera grumbled. ¡°I thought we¡¯d get something bigger than these wimps. How many is that now?¡±


    Laura giggled. ¡°So far, we¡¯ve encountered fifty-two men. You really need to work on your manly presence, there, Briar. Everyone seems to think you¡¯re some sort of pushover.¡±


    ¡°One more word out of you, and I¡¯ll leave you down the first dry well we come to.¡± She grumbled, glaring at Laura.


    Thera wouldn¡¯t really¡­she was just playing her character of Briar, a short-tempered martial artist that had been roped into escorting a ¡®foreign princess¡¯ through dangerous territory.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare. My father would have your head. Literally.¡± She said.


    ¡°Maybe. Or just maybe he¡¯d congratulate me for ridding him of the kingdom¡¯s largest pest~Ouch!¡± Briar was once more elbowed by the cloaked figure at ¡®his¡¯ side.


    ¡°How rude! For a retainer, you sure do have a lack of manners!¡± Laura scolded.


    ¡°Then you should¡¯ve chosen a different man to be your retainer.¡± Briar replied with a scowl.


    ¡°Not every man will fall at your feet and die for you just because you¡¯re a princess. Some of us have lives to live, after all. And, quite frankly, princesses are a pain in the neck.Ow! Ouch! See? I have already proven my point~Hahah~!¡±


    Briar ran a little bit ahead of the cloaked figure, who was chasing after him with raised fists.


    ¡°Get back here, you incompetent guardsman!¡± Laura yelled.


    ¡°No way! And get hit by you again? Ahahahah!¡± Briar laughed. Already they had sensed another group of men further up the road.

 Chapter 42: Justice

    Surprise~! I know, I didn''t expect to finish this chapter so soon, either. And I was laughing the whole time I was writing it, too. I''m pretty sure my neighbors all agree that I''m a crazy highly-functioning sociopath...


    Oh well.


    On a side note, I sense a pattern forming of Thera using the special characteristics of local animals to rain terrors down upon the evil ones. Should I develop this even further? *brushes non-existant mustache*


    I seriously have no idea when the next chapter will be finished. maybe next Saturday?


    Oh well...enjoy~!


    -----------------------------------


    ¡°Haaah.¡± Briar sighed. ¡°Princess, how many satchels do we have left?¡±


    Laura checked her bag. ¡°About twelve. Why?¡±


    ¡°Oh, good. It¡¯s just enough.¡± Briar stretched a bit before grinning mischievously. ¡°Shall we go, then?¡±


    Once more they continued down the road. This time, Briar disappeared from the road. Before the men even had a chance to move, they had been taken down.


    ¡°And that should do it.¡± Briar said as he came out of the forest, rubbing imagined dirt off his katana.


    ¡°I can see the village now! How long until the first packet starts working?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Oh, not too long now. The first batch should start coming into effect right about¡­now.¡± Briar said, a smile on his face as he looked back down the road.


    ------------------------------------


    Back on the road to the village:


    ¡°Ugh!¡± the man groggily woke up, his face one mass of pain. ¡°What happened?¡± He then remembered the two kids he had met on the road, and his already ugly face grew uglier.


    ¡°Those little gits! The next time I see them, I¡¯ll rip them full of scars, I will!¡±


    His men also began to wake up at this time.


    ¡°Wake up, you useless clods!¡± He began kicking at them. ¡°The prey escaped! It¡¯s all your fault!¡±


    ¡°It weren¡¯t my fault, mastah. The blinkin¡¯ brat was too farst!¡± One of the men said, unaffected by his kicking.


    ¡°Ow!¡± The slave trader¡¯s foot was not as sturdy as his man, whose hide was as sturdy as a troll. The slave trader began hopping about on one foot, holding his injured one.


    ¡°Ow ow ow ow ow! It is completely you¡¯re fault, you incompetents! I¡¯ll dock your pay for this!¡± He squealed, as he nursed his bruised toes.


    One of the men looked at his neighbor. ¡°We were getting paid for this? I thought we¡¯d already gone down to no pay for a month with the last failure two weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t remind him!¡± The other man hurriedly shushed him.


    One of the men turned around upon hearing a certain tiny noise.


    ¡°Uhh¡­master?¡± He said, sweat beginning to run down his face.


    ¡°WHAT!¡± The slave trader yelled, turning in the man¡¯s direction, and freezing.


    A bunch of men were speeding down the dirt road as fast as they could, but that wasn¡¯t the real problem.


    Approaching at a rapid speed was a hoard of unidentified beasts. Within moments, however, they could identify the beast.


    The slave trader¡¯s tanned face became white as the blood drained from it. Then he snapped out of his daze and turned around, dashing off towards town.


    ¡°RUN YOU FOOOOOLLSSS!!!!¡± He shrieked. ¡°IT¡¯S A STAMPEDE OF WILD LUVMINS!!¡±


    ---------------


    Oh? You don¡¯t know what a Luvmin is?


    Well¡­it¡¯s rather hard to explain. Or rather, you don¡¯t want to know.


    ¡­.


    No, really. You don¡¯t want to know.


    ¡­.


    *sigh* Fine.


    Luvmins are a cute and loveable creature¡­most of the time. But they have their own dark side. Under the effects of a certain fragrance, they can become terrible, horrid creature that most humans should never, ever cross.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, if left on their own, they usually keep to themselves. Heck, they would never have shown up at all if not for the little *cough-present-cough* that Briar left on the men.


    Suffice to say, that most men know to never, ever get caught by a Luvmin when it¡¯s under the influence of that certain scent, or they will taste hell in all its different forms. Anyone captured by such a Luvmin will emerge an empty shell of what they once were.


    And I think that¡¯s enough explaining for now. Let¡¯s get back to the story.


    ----------------------


    Because of the scented packets that were slipped into each person¡¯s clothing, the entire local population of Luvmins had currently been drawn into chasing the group of running men.


    Several stragglers had already been caught and sucked into the roiling waves of Luvmins.


    Various shrieks and screams echoing out from within, spurring the chased men to new speeds, which also spurred the Luvmins to pursue them all the harder.


    One by one, the men were taken down, exhausted, tripped, betrayed. Some of the men were actively grabbing the men around them and throwing them into the Luvmin stampede in the hopes of slowing them down a bit. But the Luvmins only chased all the harder.


    The Slave Trader was already close to the back of the ragtag group of running men, burdened by his expensive silk clothing.


    Little did he know that Briar had placed not just one, but two scent packets upon his person when the slave trader was still unconscious.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    This drove the Luvmins into an even higher frenzy the closer they got to him.


    RUN! RUN! RUN! I¡¯VE GOT TO GET AWAY! The slave trader panted, desperation in his eyes as he kept running, even though his legs already felt like jelly.


    He looked off to the side. One of his own men was also running alongside.


    ¡°You¡­pant¡­fall back and keep the Luvmins occupied¡­gasp¡­while I go run ahead¡­wheeze¡­ and get the local guard.¡±


    He ordered.


    Heheheh~! your sacrifice will be going towards a worthy cause~. The Trader snickered inwardly.


    The man, a rather bull-like and sturdy fellow, looked over at him, and snorted. No way was he staying back there to get caught like that!


    Then his brawny brain came upon a rather simple and more agreeable idea.


    The man reached over and grabbed the slave trader by the neck, flinging him back into the stampede of awaiting Luvmins.


    ¡°NOOOO!!!! TRAAAAIIIITOOOOR!!!¡± He shrieked.


    The rest of the men ran on, silently praying that he rest in peace.


    Your sacrifice will not have been in vain. Was the attitude of the whole group of men there.


    Surprisingly, the slave trader did manage to stop the Luvmin crowd for a total of ten seconds.


    ¡°MOOOMMMYYYY!!!!!¡± A shriek pierced the heavens, causing the nearby birds to take to flight.


    ---------------


    Briar looked back from the village gates, grinning slyly as even he had heard an echo of that last scream, chuckling to himself.


    ¡°Whot¡¯s sew funnee, ey Laddie?¡± One of the guards asked, prodding Briar on the arm. Laura also looked at Briar, a question on her face.


    Briar turned back. ¡°Oh, nothing~. I just thought that the sky was extraordinarily blue today.¡± He said as he and Laura were admitted into the village.


    ---------------


    As the two walked through the village, looking for an inn to rest in for the night, they came upon a rather worn and aged-looking pub.


    ¡°Well! This looks as good a place as any, right prince-oof! I mean, right, Miss Laura?¡± Briar said with impunity.


    ¡°Hmmph! It¡¯s a step up from camping outside at night, I¡¯ll give it that.¡± Laura said, with a disappointed sniff.


    ¡°Well, SORRY abou¡¯ thar! We¡¯re all out uv mansions and palace quarters in these ¡®ere parts.¡± Chuckled a gruff old man whom Briar assumed was the Barkeeper. His balding head and single yellow tooth did nothing to make his appearance any more pleasant.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a different place.¡± Urged Laura.


    ¡°Heh heh. Dis ¡®ere be de only inn for miles, Lass. ¡®Sides, I wouldn¡¯t leave the village at the moment. It seems the local Luvmins ¡¯ve decided to par-ooz de area fer a bit. An yew wudna wanna be caught by a bunch of em aroun¡¯ night-time for the whole world.¡± The Barkeep said, then looked around and leaned closer, confidentially.


    ¡°I even ¡®eard tha¡¯ a whole bunch o¡¯ young¡¯uns like yerselves ¡®ave already been caught by ¡®em, not even an ¡®our ago.¡± He whispered loudly.


    ¡°Goodness! And to think, if we were any slower, we¡¯d be¡­¡± Laura paused and shuddered a bit.


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s settled, then. Mr. Barkeep, we¡¯ll be in need of a room for the night-oof! Make that two rooms. How much will that be?¡± Briar said, once more being elbowed by the cloaked figure beside him.


    ¡°Tha¡¯ll be thir¡¯y-six coppers, meals included.¡± The Barkeep said.


    ¡°Does that include a bath?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Baff¡¯s four coppers extra.¡± The man said, holding out his hand.


    Briar sighed as he counted out forty coppers into the barkeep¡¯s hand. After the man tested the coins, he nodded, satisfied, and passed two keys over the countertop.


    ¡°Yer rooms¡¯r tha two at tha end uv tha hallway upstairs. Dinner¡¯s at sundown. Don¡¯ be late. The bathwater¡¯ll be up in harf an ¡®our.¡±


    The old man turned to serve one of the regulars as Briar and Laura made their way up to the second level to go investigate their rooms.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Briar heard a knock on his door.


    With a knowing grin, he opened the door, admitting Laura inside, shutting the door and locking it securely behind her.


    Then Briar voicelessly made a sound barrier spell so that the conversation would not leak out.


    When he nodded to show they were safe from prying ears, Laura relaxed, grinning.


    ¡°You rogue! So that¡¯s what those packets were for? To attract Luvmins? What a shivering horrible punishment!¡±


    Briar laughed. ¡°Yes. Yes it was.¡± Then her golden eyes darkened as her voice changed to a somewhat steely tone.


    ¡°But, it was no worse than what they would¡¯ve done to us, and others. That¡¯s my policy, really. If you are willing to dish something out, then it should only be fair to receive a similar dishing in return.¡±


    Laura rolled her eyes. ¡°Noted. But must all of your punishments be so¡­unusual and torturous?¡±


    Briar laughed and tilted his head, extending a hand.


    ¡°Hello, I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met? The name¡¯s Briar.¡±


    ---------------------------------------------

 Chapter 43: The Deadly Scare

    Hey everyone! How''s it going?


    I just wanted to warn you all that this chapter is a warning for all creepers. Seriously.


    Oh, btw: can we all just assume that when I refer to Briar as ''he'', ''him'', etc. -that there is a (she) next to it? Thera did not quit being a girl. I just got annoyed at the way they kept interrupting the story flow.


    Edit: Never mind. You managed to convince me. I will refer to Briar as ''she'', even while she is under the illusion to appear as a male...


    Enjoy~!


    -----------------


    ¡°Keep that fa?ade up and I¡¯ll begin to start thinking you actually do think that way.¡± Laura said, sitting on the bed. ¡°What was the real reason?¡±


    Briar looked out the window, staring into the endless distance of the blue skies.


    ¡°Punishment, to be sure. But there also needed to be a certain level of distraction. Do you know by now how many eyes are upon us? There needed to be some sort of distraction to take the eyes away.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±(Laura)


    ¡°So that the magic trick can be set up.¡± Briar turned and smiled at Laura. While, on the surface, her face was the picture of mischief, in her eyes remained a single sad glimmer.


    Laura was quick to pick up on it.


    ¡°Why do I feel that you¡¯re crying inside?¡± She asked, slowly.


    Briar paused for a moment. Then she caught a glimpse of the faintest traces of two shadows near the crack in the door. She let the silence spell dissipate.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, no. It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m just a bit tired, is all. You¡¯d best get back to your room, Princess. Your bathwater should be there soon.¡± She said a little loudly.


    The two shadows disappeared from under the door.


    Laura stared Briar in the eyes a bit more, but when it became apparent that Briar would share no more with her at that time, she sighed with frustration and stood up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s eating you, but I suppose I¡¯ll leave so that you can mope about it some more.¡± She paused. ¡°I worry about you. Sometimes it feels like you¡¯re even more of an adult than most adults. And sometimes you seem more innocent than a child¡­seriously! I¡¯m right here! Can¡¯t you rely on me for a bit?¡±


    Briar turned to Laura, and looked at her with an odd expression on her face. Then the mischievous mask was back in place.


    ¡°Hahah! Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re starting to fall for me? That I should be so lucky!¡± Her teasing jab made it clear that the opportune opening had since vanished.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Stop being an ass!¡± Laura punched Briar¡¯s arm, and with that, she left.


    ¡°She¡¯s far too observant for a child her age¡­¡± Briar muttered to herself.


    Soon enough, the bathwater was brought up. Briar took a bath, dressed in some comfortable clothes, and went across the hall to knock on Laura¡¯s door.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Laura¡¯s voice came through the door.


    ¡°Kohun! I am here to remind you that dinner will be soon. Since the owner warned us not to be late, I believe it would be better to arrive a bit early.¡± Briar said.


    Laura didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Prin-I mean, Miss Laura?¡± Briar asked again a few moments later, after not hearing her reply.


    ¡°Ah, yes! You go ahead. I¡¯ll come down in a few minutes.¡± Laura replied.


    Briar frowned. Strange¡­Laura¡¯s voice sounded very strange.


    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t wait then. See you downstairs, Prince-I mean, Miss Laura.¡± Briar said, with a chuckle.


    For anyone who was just listening, then Briar sounded normal. But if anyone was watching Briar¡¯s face, they would have seen an intent, serious expression that belied the cheery tone of his (her) voice.


    Briar turned and ¡®skipped¡¯ down the stairs.


    -----------


    Laura stood still, not moving even an inch, a knife¡¯s sharp edge pressed against her throat.


    She had been taking a nice nap, when suddenly a man in dark clothes and a mask had slipped in through the window behind her, and easily restrained her.


    Laura found that she couldn¡¯t move. She struggled, her face growing red with effort, but she couldn¡¯t move a single muscle. Was this man a magician!?


    Laura¡¯s mind reeled as she began to panic.


    When Briar had knocked on the door, he had pressed a knife¡¯s blade against her neck, and hissed at her to answer, warning her with the knife lest she spout something to make the warrior break down the door.


    Now that Briar was gone, the man relaxed a bit, pulling his knife away from her neck.


    Satisfied that the plan was going well, he smirked, pleased with himself as he shifted his focus to his bag to get a rope, still holding the knife against Laura¡¯s neck. But he suddenly stiffened, the knife falling from his hands as he keeled over on the bed.


    Laura backed away from the man, to get some distance, and grabbed the knife, pointing the blade towards the man in case he attacked again. But there was no need to be on guard. The man was dead.


    Laura was confused. Upon closer inspection, she found a single needle lodged in the man¡¯s spinal cord.


    Then everything made sense to her. She walked over to the window, peering out of it into the street below, but no one was there.


    Down below, Briar whistled merrily as she waited for the food he ordered to arrive. It couldn¡¯t be seen, but one of her throwing needles just so happened to be missing.


    Laura joined Briar¡¯s table silently. Neither one said anything as they both tucked into a stew made from lentils, meat, and vegetables.


    The rest of the customers kept to their own tables, muttering in low voices, or playing card games. Every now and then, a round of hearty laughter would come from table furthest from them, as the men traded tales and stories and the occasional joke or two.


    Thera and Laura finished eating quickly, because the feeling that eyes were fixed on them gave that edge of discomfort that caused the hairs on the back of their neck to prickle. When dinner was over, they each returned back to their rooms.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    This time, it was Briar¡¯s turn to knock on Laura¡¯s door.


    ¡°Hey.¡± She said, leaning against the door frame.


    ¡°Well? Don¡¯t just stand there, hurry up and get in here before somebody sees!¡± Laura scowled. Of course, she was talking about the dead corpse that just so happened to be lying in her room, waiting to be discovered.


    -----------------------


    The first thing Briar did was unmask the black-clothed man. It held the face of a man who appeared to be in his late thirties, or early forties. His mouse-brown hair was just starting to take on a hint of grey, and a five o¡¯clock shadow graced his jawline.


    ¡°Do you know him, or have you seen him anywhere?¡± Briar asked Laura.


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve never seen him before, but he might be someone involved with someone that my dad knows.¡± Laura replied. Because of the fact that they were referring to Master Thales as father, Laura called the real one, her dad, to distinguish between the two.


    True, since Laura¡¯s father was a rather well to do noble, with a rather large estate, who dealt with his colleagues honestly and justly, there were probably at least a few of the unsavory kind of noble who wished to gain an edge over him, or deal him a low blow.


    As could be seen from the case of the Hades fever incident, Laura¡¯s father was not entirely devoid of enemies.


    However¡­this did not really make sense to Briar.


    First: how would they know that this girl was Laura Murlough? She had worn her hood the entire time they were out in public.


    Second: how would there be an agent from said unknown employer conveniently placed in a village in the wilds of a different country? They would have to know where the two of them were, but there was no such applied tracking magic, or item to help them do such a thing.


    It would be much more likely that this was something done regularly by an organization that specialized in capturing a randomly chosen target, rather than an assassin.


    Therefore, Briar concluded that it was probably another slave-capture attempt.


    After confirming things, Briar proceeded to loot the body. As she  began going through the pockets and clothes, Laura exclaimed.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°Shh! Do you want the whole inn to come up here?¡± Briar rebuked. ¡°If you must know, I¡¯m looking for anything useful.¡±


    ¡°But, still...this seems a bit¡­indecent.¡± Laura winced as she observed Briar¡¯s blatant disregard for the dead man.


    Briar paused. The two shadows were at the door again. She voicelessly threw up a silence spell and turned to Laura.


    ¡°He attempted to kidnap you and threatened to kill you, and you still think that this man deserves common decency?¡± Briar asked in reply. ¡°Think of it as just remunerations.¡±


    Briar turned back and looked at the dead man. There was hardly any blood, due to the nature of the death.


    ¡°Besides, if this man has any friends, and they get ahold of the body like this, there¡¯s no doubt that any evidence will be destroyed. If we have any luck, we¡¯ll find some kind of identification so that we can show it to your dear beloved father to make tracking his group down easier.¡± She added in his defense.


    Laura hesitated, but remained quiet after that. Briar took her silence as compliance, and continued to search the body.


    From what Laura had told her, this man was not an ordinary fellow. Yet, seeing that he had so easily been sniped, he couldn¡¯t have been that high a martial practitioner.


    It was so much more difficult to tell the level of the man, because after death the energy becomes released back into the surroundings.


    Briar found the man had a magic bag upon his waist belt and opened it, placing the contents upon the bed. The bed was soon filled up with items.


    Inside the magic bag on his belt there was the rope, a large bundle of throwing knives, about fifty bottles and vials holding different substances, enough food to last a week, and a rather tidy sum of money.


    There was also a leather-bound book tucked away in a corner of the bag. If not for Briar¡¯s improved eyesight, she might have missed such a thing earlier.


    After checking to make sure that there was nothing more, she took the magic bag off the man and tossed it to Laura.


    ¡°Here. This¡¯ll be useful.¡± Briar said, as she tossed everything on the bed into her own magic bag.


    Laura held the dead man¡¯s magic bag at arm¡¯s length.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do with this?¡± She asked.


    ¡°What you¡¯re supposed to do with any kind of magic bag.¡± Briar replied sarcastically. ¡°You wear it¡­actually give it here. We¡¯ll use it to move the body away.¡± Laura quickly handed it back as if it were a hot potato.


    After searching the body some more, Briar noticed a ring on the man¡¯s hand and took it off, hoping to find some sort of marking upon it.


    Unfortunately, it was a plain ring, and rather dull-looking too. But Briar thought it would be good for a disguise if she ever needed one, and pocketed the ring. There was no other jewelry on the man.


    After confirming that everything useful was taken, Briar managed to stuff the man into the magic bag. She swept all the man¡¯s items into her personal magic bag. And thus, all traces of that man in that room were gone.


    ¡°Keep the windows barred until you hear me knock to the tune of ¡°Dragon¡¯s Festival¡± Briar said, naming a widely known festival tune.


    Laura nodded and watched anxiously as Briar vanished through the window frame. But quickly barred the windows as ordered after remembering what had happened earlier. To be sure, she certainly did not want another strange man walking into her room.


    -------------


    It seemed like ages before she heard the rat-ta-tat-tat upon the window pane, but she quickly jumped up and unbarred the window.


    Briar lithely jumped into the room, clapping her hands to signify a job well done.


    ¡°That should take care of things.¡± She said with an air of finality.

 No Chapter this week

    Perhaps I''ll have one by Sunday, but I am a bit too busy this week preparing for a big pie day extravaganza that my school is holding. I also have a stack of papers to grade from all the extra homework my kawaii little students (*coughmonsterscough*)


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


    I will probably not be able to post anything after Sunday either, due to the fact that the end of the quarter is coming up which means more work, inevitably. I am extremely sorry for the delays. Please be patient with me.

 Chapter 44: A Misunderstanding

    Like I said, earlier this week, there probably won''t be another chapter until next Sunday due to how busy I will be this upcoming week.


    As things are, I only just managed to finish this chapter after working on it in my spare time this week.


    Hopefully I can make the next one a bit longer. Enjoy~!


    --------------------------------------


    Laura breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°So? What are you going to do about the Luvmin problem?¡±


    Briar smiled. ¡°Ah, that. Don¡¯t worry so much about that. It¡¯s easily taken care of.¡± She reached into her magic bag and pulled out another herb packet, handing it to Laura. Laura looked at the herb packet, then back up at Briar.


    ¡°Smell.¡± Briar encouraged.


    Laura brought the packet to her nose and cautiously sniffed at the packet. It smelled like lemons.


    ¡°Lemons?¡± She asked. ¡°How is the smell of Lemon going to get us out of this?¡±


    ¡°More specifically, that is Lemon Thyme.¡± Briar replied.¡°I couldn¡¯t get actual lemons from this moderate climate, after all. The point is, the pathway to town was lined with this stuff. According to Merton¡¯s zoological studies, Luvmins despise anything that smells of citrus, so if they get too close, we¡¯ll just throw one of these little scent packets at them.¡±


    Briar smirked, drawing the corner of his mouth up into a one-sided grin, and patting her magic bag. ¡°And I¡¯ve got plenty more where that came from.¡±


    Laura stared at the packet, then looked up at Briar. ¡°Okay, so we have our ticket through the Luvmins. But what about how we¡¯re going to make our way out of town unseen?¡±


    Briar¡¯s one-sided grin widened, becoming a full smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already taken that part into due consideration. We¡¯re going to have help.¡±


    ¡°Help?¡± Laura asked, frowning a bit. ¡°Help from where? Who?¡±


    Briar put a finger to her lips and crept noiselessly to the door. Then she opened it suddenly, startling the person who was standing outside. It was the stalker that had been outside the door earlier, trying to listen in on the conversation.


    The girl with honey-brown curly locks was the waitress that had served them downstairs. With her small stature and her doll-like features, she couldn¡¯t be more than eight years old.


    Her mouth gaped open and shut like a fish out of water as she tried to think of a way to justify her presence.


    ¡°Yes? What may I do for you, Miss Stalker?¡± Briar asked, her sun-shiney grin resembling that of a cer-tain cheshire cat from a cer-tain classical story.


    ¡°Erm, I- uuh¡­w-was wonde-wondering if-f y-you would l-like t-to o-order something¡± The girl stuttered, clenching the serving tray she had been holding.


    Briar sized the girl up, and then nodded her head in approval. ¡°You¡¯ll do.¡±


    Then Briar turned towards Laura. ¡°Hey, remember what I just said? She¡¯s going to help us.¡± Briar pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the shock-stricken girl.


    ¡°Wait, WHAT!! Me? H-help? H-help you with wh-what?¡± The girl exclaimed, stuttering over her words.


    ¡°Oh, just something of life or death importance, nothing really dangerous.¡± Briar replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°WHAT!¡± The girl¡¯s voice cracked as she took a step back in shock. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t I have to go help- I mean I was going to meet- or rather, I really need to¡­¡± Her eyes looked around for a witness of some sort so that she could excuse herself, but there was no one there. Everyone was still downstairs enjoying their end-of-the-day drinks.


    Then Briar placed a hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder and simply smiled a refreshing, bright smile. ¡°You know there¡¯s no escaping us now, right?¡±


    For such a cheery, angelic smile, the words she was saying were more like something you would hear from the mafia.


    These words struck a fearful chord in the stalker serving girl¡¯s heart as she became so terrified of Briar that she didn¡¯t even resist when she was pulled into the room.


    With the door shut, the waitress girl held the serving tray in front of her as if it the thin metal plate could possibly shield her from a deadly attack from the figure in front of her.


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    ¡°Hey, little miss stalker,¡± Briar addressed her with that 100-watt smile.


    ¡°Y-YES!¡± The girl flinched and tensed up as she answered, making her voice go squeaky.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh? Y-you want m-my name?¡± The girl asked, not quite understanding why something bad hadn¡¯t already happened to her.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s kind of weird just to keep calling you ¡®miss stalker¡¯ all the time. Besides, it¡¯s not like you know anything about us, so even if you are interrogated later on, nothing will come of it.¡± Briar said.


    The girl was quiet for a bit, thinking about Briar¡¯s answer. Then she spoke  in a quiet voice.


    ¡°¡­Helen.¡±


    Briar nodded. ¡°Well then, Helen, do you want to know why I confronted you instead of simply having you standing outside of an eerily silent room?¡±


    Helen shook her head, not making eye contact. Then her eyes widened and she stared at Briar with a look of horror, which quickly led to tears forming in her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­you want to sell me as a slave?!¡±


    Briar sighed dully. ¡°Now, for what possible reason would I need to do something like that? I won¡¯t do something so inhuman. What is wrong with your head for you to come up with stuff like this?¡±


    ¡°T-then, you want to keep me for yourself!?¡± Helen hugged her tray closer and shrank back against the wall.


    ¡°Like I said, where are you getting these ideas!?¡± Briar was losing her patience. ¡°Do I look like someone who deals in slaves?!¡±


    Helen gasped. ¡°You don¡¯t mean¡­you¡¯ll never get me, you monster!¡± She started reaching for items nearby and throwing them at Briar, who simply dodged them and closed in on the machine-gun-like girl.


    ¡°Like. I. Said.¡± Briar spoke, an angry red vein showing up on her temple. Finally she grabbed Helen¡¯s hands, forcing her to drop the pair of boots she was about to throw. ¡°WHERE. ARE. YOU. GETTING. THESE. IDEAS?¡±


    ¡°B-but, that¡¯s the only thing left to do to a girl of my age! Especially between a boy and a girl¡­¡± Helen said, hesitantly.


    Briar froze as if she had been struck by an anvil. Her eyes became two tiny dots as she took in what Helen had just said. ¡°¡­Between a boy and a girl...?¡±


    That¡¯s right. She was still in her disguise as a man. Slowly, she let go of Helen¡¯s hands, and sat down at the foot of the bed. Her face as blank as a noh mask.


    Helen stood there, waiting for the explosion, as she thought she had definitely angered Briar.


    ¡°Pff!¡± Briar¡¯s noh face cracked as she snickered, then chuckled, then outright laughed as she found she couldn¡¯t hold it inside anymore.


    Laura was already sitting on the bed, watching the comical interaction between the two girls, one of which looked like a man.


    She could not figure out what sort of plan Briar had hatched in her reclusive brain. In fact, she was finding Briar¡¯s vague answers and actions rather annoying. So, on a spur of the moment, she reached down and slapped the backside of Briar¡¯s head.


    ¡°Speak normally, and not in riddles! Can¡¯t you see that you¡¯ve frightened the poor girl?¡± Laura scolded.


    ¡°Ahahahah, sorry! Sorry! I was just thinking that it¡¯s almost scary how precocious some people can get. Pffft-AHAHAHAH! Oh this really is too funny!¡± Briar burst into laughter again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, mister bullseye mastermind.¡± Laura whacked Briar in the head again with a folded paper fan.


    ¡°Ouch! Hey, where did you get that fan from?¡± Briar rubbed her head.


    ¡°I had it made especially for the occasion.¡± Laura replied, resting the tip of the folded part against her chin in royal fashion. ¡°But for now, why don¡¯t you answer your own questions and give that girl some peace of mind.¡±


    Briar laughed and looked at Helen, mirthfully. ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything to you, Helen. I simply wanted to ask a favor of you.¡±

 Side Story: Briars Hidden Trauma

    Author¡¯s note: This is a story from Briar¡¯s previous lifetime.


    (actually, I''m going through a similar situation right now, which hasn''t been resolved. Please pray for me.)


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Briar heard the doorbell ring twice and put down the bokken she was training with, hurrying to the door.  As expected, it was the Aoki¡¯s pizza that she had ordered out.


    Loaded with mushrooms, spinach, seaweed, and beef- Briar¡¯s acquaintances always said that she had rather weird taste, but Briar would not compromise.


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± She would reply. ¡°It has a good blend of carbohydrates and protein, and the seaweed has a good amount of vitamin A, C, and iron. It also tastes good, if you¡¯d like to try it.¡±


    She was always met with a resounding ¡®no thanks¡¯. Briar always wondered about this, because they never chided her for any of her other food choices, but eventually she simply shrugged. That others did not like it simply meant that there was more for her to eat.


    It was rather chilly outside, since it was the middle of January. After paying the delivery guy, she was about  to hurriedly close the door when she heard someone yell ¡°Wait!¡±


    Pausing a moment, to see who had shouted, she realized the person had already slipped in through the door.


    It was a woman of rather average appearance, if they were in America. Mouse-brown hair, blue eyes, hefty appearance: she looked like the average out of shape woman that could be found anywhere.


    What on earth could this woman want? Briar wondered.


    ¡°Hi! You don¡¯t really know me that well, but we talked at the food market a few weeks ago.¡± She said.


    Did something like that happen? Well, probably. She does look a bit familiar. Briar frowned, trying to remember her name.


    ¡°I also used to live here! My mother rented this place way back in the day, and the landlord knows me as well.¡± The woman cheerily chatted.


    Well, if the landlord knows, then it¡¯s probably okay¡­ Briar assumed. To be honest, she just wanted to eat her pizza before it went cold.


    ¡°So, what do you want?¡± Briar asked, still frowning as she tried to remember what the person¡¯s name was.


    ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right! I need your help, actually. Do you think you could lend me some money?¡± The girl asked.


    Briar¡¯s mind blanked. Money?


    ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°Well, my room-mate suddenly started throwing things out of the house today and I¡¯ve got no place to stay, so I know it seems a bit sudden, but could you lend me some money to rent a room at a hotel? Just for one night, please! I need a place for me and my children to stay until I can find another apartment!¡± She bowed, holding her folded hands out in front of her.


    Briar blew air out of her nose, perplexed. She agreed that it wasn¡¯t nice for the woman¡¯s roommate to suddenly do such a thing, and it was the middle of winter. It would be bad if the children caught a cold.


    Briar sighed. ¡°All right. How much do you need?¡± She reached for her coat, as she didn¡¯t have any extra cash after paying for the pizza. The pizza would just have to be warmed in the microwave that night.


    ¡°Just ten thousand yen! I¡¯ll pay you back, I promise!¡± The woman said.


    ¡°All right, but we¡¯ll need to go to an ATM so I can withdraw the money.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Okay!¡± The woman brightened up visibly.


    On the walk to the ATM, she chatted with Briar about things that had happened. When they arrived at the ATM, the woman suddenly blustered.


    ¡°A-actually, could you lend me twenty thousand-no thirty thousand yen! I need to buy food for the children.¡±


    Briar scratched her head¡­it really was a bad thing not to have food after all¡­Then she made the worst decision ever.


    ¡°¡­All right. But no more than that.¡± It would have to be cup ramen for the rest of the week then. Briar was secretly weeping inside. I won¡¯t be able to get Aoki¡¯s pizza for a while¡­


    Handing over the money to the woman, she flashed a smile. ¡°Thank you so much! I¡¯ll return it as soon as I get my paycheck, I promise!¡± She said, before rushing off.


    Briar did not realize the hell that she had just signed herself up for.


    ¡­.


    A week later:


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but could you lend some money to me for gas! I had left my kids with my mother while I went to the store to buy groceries, but my mother drove out to Hokkaido with a friend who had lost their licence, got pulled over and caught by the police, and now I need to post bail to get my kids out! I promise I¡¯ll return you the money!¡±


    Briar lent the money to her. This time, the woman once more asked for more money as soon as they arrived at the ATM.


    ¡­


    Another week later:


    ¡°Can I borrow your cell phone, oh, and this speaker thing? I need to call the hospital, since my child fell and broke his arm, but my phone is also broken, since he fell right on top of it, while slipping down the stairs.  Also, can you lend me some more money for groceries? I promise I¡¯ll return you the money!¡±


    Briar was feeling rather annoyed, but kept it to herself. Certainly, next week the woman would pay her back, right?


    ¡­


    Another week later:


    ¡°Can you give me some more money to pay for the hotel? We haven¡¯t found a place yet, and the hotel is adamant that I pay them today, even though I get paid tomorrow! I promise I¡¯ll pay everything back tomorrow.¡±


    ¡­This woman...is she even intending to pay me back!? Briar began to wonder to herself. But, in the spirit of forgiveness, she decided to be more lenient in their family¡¯s hard time. Once more, the lady asked for twice as much once they reached the ATM.


    ¡­Do I even know her name?...


    ¡­


    Another week later:


    ¡°Can you lend me some more money! I know I¡¯ve not been able to pay for a while, now, but we¡¯ve finally got our own place, and the landlady had asked for a deposit tonight! I¡¯ll pay you back tomorrow, I promise!¡±


    What is your name! I need to know what to put on your tombstone! Briar thought angrily. This time, the woman had cut so badly into Briar¡¯s living expenses, that once all the bills were paid off, she wouldn¡¯t have any food money.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I guess I can pay the student loans back next payment¡­ She thought to herself.


    Wait¡­she didn¡¯t return my phone!!


    ¡­


    Three months later:


    Briar was fed up with that woman, who had borrowed more and more over the weeks until she had taken an entire month¡¯s worth of paycheck money. She determined to get both her money and her cell phone back.


    ¡­


    Two weeks later, and thirty thousand yen shorter, Briar came to a realization. The woman had had no intention of paying her back all along. The damned B**** had taken her along on ¡®trips to pay back the money¡¯ which turned into extorting more money from Briar with the promise to pay everything back ¡®once her husband returned with the paycheck.¡¯


    By now, she didn¡¯t even want to see her face anymore, but her phone was being held hostage. Her cell phone had all her contact numbers stored away on it. She could let go of the phone, but the contacts were the important part.


    The worst part was when she was let waiting outside in the freezing cold, while her ¡®friend¡¯ went inside ¡®just to grab her purse¡¯. Briar was waiting for an entire hour before she came outside and said that she was ¡®waiting on a text.¡¯


    Briar¡¯s fury grew to the point where one Saturday, she simply sat at her computer, typing messages to her cell phone to make it ring without pause and annoy them enough to give it back to her. ¡°Return it! Return it!¡± ¡°Return my phone!¡± ¡°You said you would pay me back weeks ago, do your promises and words mean nothing!¡± ¡°Return my money!¡±


    She was sick of the woman¡¯s loose-ness with her hard-earned cash. In order to pay her bills, Briar taught at a Kendo dojo, and was paid about once every two weeks. The woman¡¯s frequent visits had even cut into her electric bills.


    During this time, Briar found out that the woman¡¯s name was Coreen.


    But that didn¡¯t make her like the woman any more. Briar had even once seen Coreen go into a drug store one time and buy flavored lubricant right after Briar had given her money for ¡®food¡¯. At that point, something inside Briar snapped.


    Briar was disgusted with the woman. But she needed to get her phone back! So, Briar came up with an elaborate plan¡­


    -----------------------------


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but could you¡ª¡°


    ¡°Lend you some money? Sure!¡± Briar smiled cheerfully. And reached into her bag. Then she made a face. ¡°Oh! Darn it! Where is it?¡± She frowned and looked through her gym bag moving things around.


    ¡°It¡¯s not here! Oh No!¡± Briar said panicking.


    ¡°What! Are you sure? Look again!¡± Coreen said, now starting to worry a bit.


    ¡°...AH! Now that I think about it, I might have left it at the dojo!¡± Briar smacked her head.


    Then she glanced worriedly at her wristwatch. ¡°And it¡¯s almost 5pm. Michael will be locking up in ten minutes! I need to call him to make sure that he doesn¡¯t lock up before I get back there!¡±


    The woman took out a different cell phone that Briar¡¯s. Briar knew this because the woman had a touch screen I-phone, whereas Briar had a black flip-phone.


    ¡°Here! Don¡¯t you know his number?!¡± She asked.


    ¡°Well¡­not exactly¡­¡± Briar groaned. ¡°I had saved in onto my cell phone, so that I didn¡¯t have to type it in every time, and now I can¡¯t remember! If only I had my cell phone, I could call him!¡±


    ¡°Hang on! I¡¯ll call my husband! He should have it on him.¡±


    Seriously!!!!? YOU GAVE THE CELL PHONE I LENT YOU TO YOUR FRIGGIN HUSBAND!!!!


    Briar clenched her fist, but continued acting, seeming worried. If they caught onto the act, then it might not ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll get here in time?¡±


    ¡°No worries, he lives right around the corner!¡±


    Within five minutes, a car pulled up to the sidewalk, and a thin, boyish man got out of the driver¡¯s seat, and handed Briar the phone, who grinned.


    That¡¯s one part down!  She thought to herself. She ¡®called¡¯ Michael, and told him to leave the door unlocked, pocketing the phone. Then they hopped inside and drove to the dojo.


    The lights were all off. Briar went into the building herself, leaving he two waiting outside. ¡°You two wait out here. It shouldn¡¯t be a minute.¡±


    Briar had gone in one side of the building, but exited out the other side.


    That night, she changed apartments, and left no way of contacting her with the landlord.


    The rest she entrusted to an honest scammer who was rather adept at these sort of things. This particular scammer only scammed money out of people who did things like borrowing with no intention of repaying.


    By the end of a month, Briar had received every last cent back.


    --------------------------------------


    ¡°Hey, Thera! Can you lend me some money?¡± Laura asked Thera.


    Thera shuddered upon hearing those words. ¡°Money? Why can¡¯t you ask your mom? She probably has loads of money.¡±


    ¡°Mama said that I can¡¯t have anymore allowance for this week. I only need to borrow a few hundred silvers!¡±


    Thera shuddered again.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. I don¡¯t have any more. I spent it all, too.¡± Thera lied. Actually, she had been slowly saving up for her future weapons, so she had no intention of making that pile go down that quickly.


    ¡°Rats! We¡¯re so poor it isn¡¯t funny!¡± Laura sighed.


    Thera sighed too, remembering that awful day, with another shudder.


    ¡°On a side note, are you feeling a bit cold? You¡¯ve been shivering for a while now. Let me check your temperature!¡± Laura said, trying to pretend to be a doctor.


    Thera raised her hands up, fending off Laura¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but it does feel a bit chilly, doesn¡¯t it? Why don¡¯t we head inside for today? The sun¡¯s almost setting, after all, so mama will want to leave soon.¡±


    ¡°Double rats! I¡¯ll have to wait a whole week to see you again. We¡¯ve got to fix this system. Maybe if we pester them, our mothers will let us see each other twice a week!¡±


    ¡°For a five year old, you sure are a schemer.¡± Thera observed.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Laura asked, not having heard Thera.


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    The two girls ended their mini picnic under a tree in the Murlough estate, and walked back to the mansion.

 Chapter 45: The Innocent and the Guilty

    Hello everyone! As I''ve said before, I have entered into a rather busy time of the year. As such, I''m afraid I shall have to limit the chapters to once a week until such time as my schedule is more free.


    On a side note, I think the next chapter will start to actually have a bit of action involved. But that''s the next chapter. As for this one, enjoy~!


    ------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Are you sure this is going to work?¡± Laura breathed into Briar¡¯s ear. At the moment, they were sitting in a rather cramped position side-by-side.


    ¡°What? Did you have a better idea?¡± Briar asked, a rather lop-sided grin on her face.


    ¡°No, but I would have never imagined such an¡­unusual mode of transport.¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. If a not-so-normal person like you or Helen can¡¯t imagine anyone doing such a thing, that means this will work for the general populace as well.¡± Briar said with a straight face.


    Laura was about to retort, when Briar put a finger to her lips. ¡°Shh! They¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so these are the barrels, then?¡± A male voice asked.


    ¡°Yes! Uncle was ordered to make certain the shipment arrived on time. The person who asked was someone he couldn¡¯t say no to. I tried asking, but he wouldn¡¯t tell me who it was!¡± Helen replied, sounding sulky.


    ¡°But, Uncle is too busy at this time of year to leave town, which is why he thought that maybe you could do it in his place.¡±


    A rustle of paper sounded as Helen took out an envelope. ¡°Here. This should be the money and instructions.¡±


    There was another rustle of paper and a clink of coins as the man took the envelope with money. A tearing sound let Briar know that he had opened it.


    ¡°Two gold for a delivery like this? Good grief! It looks like someone¡¯s going to have a right good party tonight. And? Little missy, your face says that¡¯s not everything.¡± The man said pleasantly.


    Briar frowned. In the plan, there had been nothing more, and Helen should have gone back to the inn. Was she going to tell on them!? Briar waited in the barrel, a hard look entering her eye.


    ¡°Well¡­ if it¡¯s not too much trouble, I was hoping to go visit my aunt in that city as well. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen her, and Uncle says it¡¯s too dangerous to travel alone¡­so I-so I was wondering if-I-could-ride-with-you-to-the-city!¡± Helen sped through that last part as if she were afraid of being refused.


    ¡°Here! I¡¯ve even got some money to pay you with!¡± She added, with another rustle of paper.


    Oy oy! What are you thinking, Helen? Are you planning to betray us when we get to the city? Briar was on alert, but, being inside a barrel, there was a limit to what she could do. It¡¯s not like she could just pop up from the barrel and tell Helen off.


    ¡°Your aunt, eh? Haha, no need to pay me for that, little missy. You¡¯re so small, that I¡¯ll just consider you a part of tha delivery. Besides, it¡¯s a long ride to the city, so having someone to talk to would be a nice change. Ah, but ferst, I should get these barrels into tha cart, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± he replied with a chuckle.


    It seems you can still find that sort of person in the countryside places, huh? Briar noticed.


    Her plan was nothing too complicated, just a simple vanishing trick. First, she and Laura did up their beds so that it looked like they were asleep. Then Briar made an ¡®order¡¯ for two barrels of cider, with instructions to bring it to the next town, placing money inside the envelope.


    Then, the two girls slipped out of Laura¡¯s window, and made their way to the shed where the empty barrels were. Briar handed the envelope with the order inside it to Helen, who was to find a suitable deliveryman. Laura and Briar got inside one of the larger barrels, and Helen closed the lid on them.


    This way, they would leave town unseen, and the next day, it would seem as if they vanished.


    Up to that point, Helen¡¯s role was finished. For her to volunteer to travel along with them was definitely not in the original plan! What are you aiming for, Helen? Briar wondered.


    Laura glanced at Briar, clearly alarmed.


    After considering things for a minute, Briar decided to let things go and simply see how things unfolded from there. Obviously, she would be on her guard until they arrived in the city. But, for now, Helen¡¯s presence was neither a good nor a bad thing.


    Briar placed a finger to her lips and winked, indicating that it was fine.


    Thinking about it -aside from Helen, who was a small eight year old child- Briar hadn¡¯t seen a single woman in this town. That either meant that they had been kidnapped, like what almost happened to Laura, or this place¡­wasn¡¯t what it seemed to be.


    The barrel was suddenly pushed over onto its side, and Thera made sure to keep as quiet as possible while being squished by Laura, who had landed on Briar when the barrel had been tipped over.


    While the barrel was rolled up a ramp made of two wooden staves, Briar made sure that they didn¡¯t make any noise using a sound barrier inside the barrel. By the time they were in the cart, Laura was thoroughly dizzy, and began to look slightly ill.


    The barrel was placed right side up, thankfully. Sometimes, inexperienced deliverymen placed it upside-down, and the cork would come slightly undone, losing near half their load before it was discovered.


    ¡°Oy, are you all right?¡± Briar asked Laura, who was trying to hold in retching sounds. After all, once the sound barrier was up, no one would hear a single sound coming from the barrel.


    ¡°I¡¯m-urgh! I¡¯m fine. I-I¡¯ll be fine in a bit.¡± Laura replied, looking seriously ill.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry! Remind me never to take you to an amusement park.¡± Briar joked. She could easily see her getting ill from the merry-go-round and the spinning cup ride.


    ¡°¡­As I thought, I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re thinking at all.¡± Laura replied, bluntly. ¡°What on earth is an amusement park?¡±


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    ¡°I should think it would be rather obvious from its title.¡± Briar replied. ¡°An amusement park is a park somewhere where one goes¡­to be amused-urk! Ouch!¡± Briar rubbed her side, which had been spitefully elbowed.


    ¡°As I thought, you¡¯ve stuffed your head full of ridiculous stuff at Madam Rothema¡¯s place, haven¡¯t you? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that every park is an amusement kind of park?¡± Laura misunderstood.


    ¡°Well, she has taught me an awful lot. I¡¯m grateful to her for that.¡± Briar replied. ¡°However, not all parks are amusement parks~¡±


    ¡°Why? What sets them apart?¡± Laura asked. They both felt the cart lurch as it started forward on its trip to the city.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Briar replied scratching her head as she thought about how to explain them. ¡°Well, a regular park is an enclosed space with lots of flowers and trees and the beauty of nature, right?


    ¡°But amusement parks don¡¯t necessarily have any of those things. An amusement park is a specific place set aside for things that one goes to be amused. So, for example, an amusement park would have fun things gathered inside it, like a festival that goes on every day. It has games and food and fun things to watch and do.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see! As expected of Madam Rothema¡¯s education!¡± Laura clapped an appreciative applause.


    But, I didn¡¯t learn this from Madam Rothema~tehepero! Briar withheld this last part. It would be too troublesome to tell Laura where she had gotten that information from. And Laura was too sharp to let an opportunity to cross-analyze Briar pass by.


    ¡°So, what does that have to do with this?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, in some amusement parks, barrel rolling contests were considered a fun thing to do.¡± Briar replied.


    Of course, the parks she was referring to had all been in the early 1900s. Nearly all of them had disappeared since then.


    Laura¡¯s face took on an extra green tinge. ¡°Ah¡­I see.¡± She then fell silent as she thought on what Briar had said.


    ¡°So? What about Helen, then? Are we just going to let things be?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Call it intuition, but I believe that child has no intentions of harming us.¡± Briar replied calmly. ¡°And, even if she does, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Briar glanced over at Laura. ¡°Because she¡¯s an eight year old girl, a mere child. Even should she betray us, she would not realize the extent of the consequences of her own actions. Therefore, her culpability is minimized.¡±


    Laura didn¡¯t understand Briar. A betrayal was a betrayal. What did it matter if the betrayer was an adult or a child? Briar sensed Laura¡¯s confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s like this: imagine a baby comes across a shiny dagger on the floor and picks it up, pointing it upwards, but at that moment, the baby¡¯s brother trips nearby and falls upon the dagger, dying. Would you say it was the baby¡¯s fault?¡±


    ¡°No, but that was an accident. We are talking about a betrayal, here.¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s say that the babe had seen the father doing some sword exercises and tried to copy them with the dagger, except, it stabs its sibling and kills them. Would you say the baby was at fault?¡± Briar asked again.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be the fault of the person who left the dagger out? Oh!¡± Laura¡¯s face took on an enlightened expression.


    ¡°Yes. It is still an unfortunate accident, but the baby is not the one to blame. Instead, the neglectful one who left the dagger on the floor is mainly responsible. Just so, children do not realize what they are doing, and therefore cannot be held responsible for the consequences.¡± Briar confirmed.


    ¡°Heh! You¡¯re strange. If that was the case, then why are there so many child beggars and thieves being judged and death sentenced?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Is it the child¡¯s fault that it is hungry even when it does not have any food?¡± Briar asked in return.


    Laura opened her mouth, and then shut it. She had never really thought of that before. If she herself had been born an orphan with no money, even she couldn¡¯t live without food. With a raging hunger and a desire to live, perhaps even she would resort to thievery.


    The orphans weren¡¯t at fault. They were simply unfortunate to be born into such a situation.


    ¡°Well? Whose fault is it that beggars and orphans resort to thievery to live? I¡¯m waiting for an answer.¡± Briar asked again.


    Laura¡¯s answer came out slowly.


    ¡°The person in charge of them is responsible. As a noble, who bears a responsibility towards the commoners on their own lands, they would also ¨Cinvariably- be held responsible for the orphans and beggars within their own lands as well¡­therefore¡­the creation of child beggars and thieves is the nobility¡¯s fault? That can¡¯t be right!¡±


    ¡°That is why so many nobles have orphanages within their lands.¡± Briar said. ¡°Therefore, in this context, whose fault would it be if Helen suddenly decided to betray us?¡±


    ¡°The person who is in charge of her--wait, who would that be? The barkeeper? Helen¡¯s aunt? The local noble?¡± Laura¡¯s eyes started to spin as she tried to figure it out.


    ¡°In the end, it doesn¡¯t really matter much.¡± Briar said. ¡°The guilty party will stand out.  That¡¯s why I say it doesn¡¯t matter much if Helen decides to double-cross us.¡± Briar glanced sideways at Laura. ¡°Besides, even shut inside a barrel, we won¡¯t be caught that easily.¡±


    It looks like she¡¯s gotten over her motion sickness. Briar noted. But still, no matter what may happen in the future, I will never do anything that will lead to the death of a child.


    ¡°They are protected by their own innocence. Perhaps that is why, in a certain language, children themselves are mainly referred to as innocents.¡± She muttered to herself.

 Chapter 46: Whaaat? part 1

    I''v''e been preparing for this day for weeks now. Mwahahahaaah~!


    Enjoy...


    -----------------------------------------


    Briar''s plan had been perfect from its planning to its execution. The whole time they rode to the next town, hidden in the barrel, Briar did her best to cause Laura''s eyes to spin with moral implications and brain twisters.


    The trip to town had been completely uneventful, as expected.


    There were no bandits or wild animal attacks upon the lonesome cart, carrying its small load.


    Perhaps the bandits thought that, due to its small load this time, it would have an amount worth stealing the next time it passed by. Who knows?


    After the cart arrived at the town gate, the soldiers had checked one of the dummy barrels that had actual cider inside it, then sent the cart on inside after they paid the toll.


    Helen indicated where the barrels were meant to be dropped off, leaving the heavy lifting to the cart driver. After Laura got over her motion sickness, Briar thought it was the perfect time to get out.


    Then she realized that she had made a terrible mistake.


    It was easy enough getting into the barrel, but after sitting for several hours side by side inside a rather cramped space, her legs had become stiff.


    ...in other words: she couldn''t move.


    "What''s the matter, Briar? Just open the barrel, already, I need some fresh air!" Laura said, nudging Briar a bit.


    "What''s the rush? Don''t you want to stay and savor this moment of accomplishment?" Briar asked.


    "I would rather ''savor'' this moment outside where I can have some fresh air." Laura replied honestly. "What''s wrong? Have your arms turned to noodles?"


    "...Okay. If you want out so much, then how about you get up first? You''re the one who wants the fresh air so much. I''d rather smell the refreshing scent of cider that lingers here." Briar said, acting as if Laura was being unreasonable.


    Then, Laura suddenly realized something.


    "...Briar?" She asked, slowly.


    "...Yes? What is it?"


    "Is it possible that your legs are numb right now?"


    Briar felt sweat starting to collect on her brow.


    "What gave you that idea? Even though we''ve arrived in town like smuggled goods, and are uncertain of whether or not someone is watching, you''re the one who wants to get some fresh air. What if someone sees you climbing out of the barrel? How are you going to explain that to the town guards?"


    A knock came from above, and Helen said. "No one''s watching anymore. You can come out, now."


    Laura''s smile spread into a grin.


    "Did you hear that? No one''s watching~ Isn''t that great? Now we can finish this oh-so-brilliant plan of yours with the final step."


    Briar said nothing.


    "Oh well, if you''re going to be a stick about it, then I''ll go first~!" Laura said as she pushed her hands against the bottom of the barrel, slowly standing up like a four legged cat. then, she reached up and popped the top off the barrel in one fluid motion.


    "There! Isn''t that fresh air good against your face?" Laura took a deep breath.


    Briar remained sitting, and didn''t look up.


    Laura hopped out of the barrel, and began doing some stretches to get the ache out of her limbs from the bumpy ride.


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "Why isn''t he getting out?" Helen pointed to Briar. who was still inside the barrel.


    "Oh him? Actually, come here, I have something to tell you." Laura pulled Helen to a spot far enough that even Thera''s hearing couldn''t catch what she was saying, especially with the surrounding noises of a busy city life. Briar began to have a sense of foreboding.


    Briar heard Their footsteps when they returned a little while later, standing outside the barrel without saying anything.


    Just when she was about to ask what they were doing, a stick came through a small hole in the bottom of the barrel, poking her leg.


    "ASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM!!!" Briar cried out, as her leg started tingling something awful.


    Laura''s laughter could be heard from the outside.


    "Good! Now get the other leg!"


    Helen dutifully poked at a different angle, managing to land a hit on the aforementioned leg, because Briar couldn''t move at the time.


    "AUGH! L-Laura, I''ll get you for this!" Briar warned, but the poking came through all the more.


    -------------------------


    After ten minutes, Briar was able to move enough to tip the barrel over so that she could roll out of it, and get enough room to stretch her legs and massage them.


    "It''s getting hot." Helen complained, fanning herself with her hands.


    "Yes, it is." Laura replied, looking up at the sun that was getting closer to the horizon. Then she blinked and rubbed her eyes, looking back at the sun.


    "...two suns?" Laura asked, confused. It really did seem like there were two suns in the sky, but one of the suns was slowly getting bigger and bigger and bigger.


    Briar looked up at the two suns and her face went white.


    Then the colossal sized comet blasted the planet they were on into smithereens.


    "Oh darling! Look at what you''ve done! You ruined my perfectly good planet! Now I have to make a new one all over again!" A woman scolded from within the dark breadth of space, shining in the darkness like a star. "You couldn''t have just used a meteor to take care of it?"


    "You and your darned pet planets! I swear the next time I see such a ridiculous and nonsensical plot, I''ll tear up the whole garden of them!" A bishounen huffed a little distance away, frowning. "I''m serious this time!"


    The woman frowned. "You don''t understand the depth of how wonderful they can be! All you care about is your stupid strength and your bragging games with the others whom you call friends!"


    ""Humph!"" The two turned away from each other, unreconciled.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------


    The cart rolled on, slightly jostling the two girls asleep, side by side in the barrel.


    "Come on, you two, make up.." Laura muttered in her sleep.


    "I''ll get you for that, Laura, just you wait..." Briar mumbled by her side.


    Helen continued chatting with the cartsman as the scenery slowly passed by.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------


    This was the April Fools chapter that I had written, but I decided to leave it be. Thus, the next chapter will be called part 2.

 Chapter 46: Whaaat? part 2

    Okay, here¡¯s the real story~


    Enjoy~


    -------------------------------------------------


    Laura rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she woke up when the cart came to a stop. It had safely arrived at the town gate. Briar also stirred besides her, also having fallen asleep.


    Somehow, Laura felt strangely as if she had done this before, but¡­surely not? It reminded her a bit about the dream she had just awoken from, but, when Laura tried to remember what she had dreamt, her memory was like a fog.


    There had been no bandits or wild animal attacks upon the lonesome cart, carrying its small load. But the two girls could only wait until the cart had passed through the gates, hoping that they weren¡¯t discovered.


    After the cart driver paid the toll, the soldiers checked one of the dummy barrels that had actual cider inside it, before sending the cart on inside.


    Helen indicated where the barrels were meant to be dropped off, leaving the heavy lifting to the cart driver.


    After Laura got over her motion sickness, Briar thought it was the perfect time to get out, and motioned for Laura to remove the lid.


    Laura was about to get up, but then she realized something dreadful.


    It was easy enough getting into the barrel, but after sitting for several hours side by side inside a rather cramped space, her legs had become stiff.


    ...in other words: she couldn''t move.


    "What''s the matter, Laura? Just open the barrel, already, I need some fresh air!" Briar said, nudging Laura a bit.


    "What''s the rush? Don''t you want to stay and savor this moment of accomplishment?" Laura asked.


    "I would rather ''savor'' this moment outside where I can have some fresh air." Briar replied sarcastically. "What''s wrong? Have your arms turned to noodles?"


    "...Okay. If you want out so much, then how about you get up first? You''re the one who wants the fresh air so much. I''d rather smell the refreshing scent of cider that lingers here." Laura said, acting as if Briar was being unreasonable.


    Then, Briar suddenly smiled as she realized something.


    "...Laura?" She asked, slowly.


    "...Yes? What is it?" Laura replied, trying to hide her discomfort.


    "Is it possible that your legs are numb right now?"


    Laura felt sweat starting to collect on her brow.


    "What gave you that idea? Even though we''ve arrived in town like smuggled goods, and are uncertain of whether or not someone is watching, you''re the one who wants to get some fresh air. What if someone sees you climbing out of the barrel? How are you going to explain that to the town guards?"


    A knock came from above, and Helen said. "No one''s watching anymore. You can come out, now."


    Briar''s smile spread into a grin.


    "Did you hear that? No one''s watching~ Isn''t that great? Now we can finish this oh-so-brilliant plan of mine with the final step."


    Laura said nothing. But she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something like this had happened before¡­


    "Oh well, if you''re going to be a stick in the mud about it, then I''ll go first~!" Briar said as she pushed her hands against the bottom of the barrel, slowly standing up like a four legged cat. Then, she reached up and popped the top off the barrel in one fluid motion.


    "There! Isn''t that fresh air good against your face?" Briar stretched her arms out and took in a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of moving after a long time.


    Laura remained sitting, and didn''t look up.


    Briar lithely hopped out of the barrel, and began doing some stretches to get the ache out of her limbs from the bumpy ride.


    "Why isn''t she getting out?" Helen pointed to Laura, who was still inside the barrel.


    "Oh her? Actually, come here, I have something to tell you." Briar pulled Helen to a spot far enough that even Laura''s hearing couldn''t catch what she was saying, especially with the surrounding noises from the nearby market and the blacksmith shop across the street. Laura began to have a strong feeling of deja vu.


    Then, she heard their footsteps returning after about five minutes, standing outside the barrel without saying anything.


    Just when she was about to ask what they were doing, a stick came through a small hole in the bottom of the barrel, poking her leg.


    "ACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" Laura cried out, as her leg started tingling something awful.


    Briar''s laughter could be heard from the outside.


    "Good! Good! Now it¡¯s time to get the other leg!"


    Helen dutifully poked at a different angle, managing to land a hit on the aforementioned leg, because Laura couldn''t move at the time.


    "AUGH! Bri-Briar, I''ll get you for this!" Laura warned, but the poking came through all the more.


    ¡°What are you talking about? I said I¡¯d get you back for earlier, didn¡¯t I?¡± Briar smirked with a devilish grin.


    Laura had no idea what Briar was talking about, but she still felt a tinge of regret for something that she couldn¡¯t quite remember.


    -------------------------------------------------------


    When Briar finally released Laura from the tingly torture of stiff legs, Laura had no energy to move.


    ¡°What do you mean you said you¡¯d get me back? I don¡¯t get it!¡± Laura muttered, puffing out her cheeks like a sulking child.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t remember, then I¡¯m not going to remind you.¡± Briar replied, gazing unmercifully down upon her victim. ¡°For you to so blatantly forget means that you don¡¯t really regret anything.¡±


    Just then, Helen¡¯s stomach gurgled, luckily taking Briar¡¯s attention away from scolding Laura.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I almost forgot.¡± Briar said, focusing on the child before her. ¡°Why are you here? It¡¯s quite obvious that you don¡¯t really have anything like an aunt in this town.¡±


    Helen stepped back in shock. ¡°Huh?! Why? How could you know s-something like that!?¡±


    Briar groaned. ¡°It¡¯s rather obvious. If you really had an aunt, then you would have been living with her instead of working for that old geezer running a tavern that is almost falling apart at the seams.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about the tavern or the old geezer?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Who knows~¡± Briar replied, but then finished up. ¡°Anyways, there¡¯s just no way that a child who had living relatives would be allowed to stay in such a place.¡±


    ¡°Woow! Amazing..¡± Helen¡¯s voice was small, but her eyes were starting to shine. ¡°You¡¯re right, mister. I don¡¯t have a papa or a mama, ¡®n Baruch only let me stay if¡¯n I worked for him. Kept saying stuff about raising me into a barmaid, whatever that is. But I¡­but I..¡±


    Helen took a deep breath and stood a little straighter, speaking with a more definite tone. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be a bar maid! I wanna be an adventurer! I wanna go places I haven¡¯t ever been to before!¡±


    Briar had the unpleasant feeling that she knew where this was headed. Helen suddenly grabbed onto Briar¡¯s sleeve. ¡°So, please! Please, take me with you!¡±


    ¡°That request is rejected.¡± Briar smoothly and simply replied.


    ¡°Wha-WHY!?!¡± Helen asked, shocked.


    ¡°Because you¡¯ll be a drag.¡± Briar said bluntly. ¡°You¡¯re eight years old, so there¡¯s no way that you¡¯ve been trained in self-defense, yet. That means that instead of just one person, I¡¯ll have to protect and provide for two people.


    Moreover, you are unskilled in camping outside at night, can¡¯t stay awake for a night watch, can¡¯t hunt or catch any kind of game to supplement meals, and aren¡¯t wearing any gear appropriate for walking or traveling.


    What will most likely happen is that you will get captured by bandits, and we will be forced into a hostage situation where we will have to surrender or else you will die.


    Where did you get the idea that adventures were things that people WANTED to have? You are the greenest greenhorn when it comes to travelling, and you still want to ask me to take you on an adventure?¡±


    ¡°Guh!¡± Helen¡¯s chin quivered as tears began appearing in her eyes.


    Ah, Briar, you went too far. Laura was about to try and comfort Helen, but was stopped by a look from Briar.


    Laura held her tongue. Travelling was dangerous. This was a world where the strong ruled over the weak.


    To venture out into the world and expect for the best of experiences was simply a pipe dream. Adventurers had to travel through dangerous terrains and weathers, beating back the wild beasts that assailed them.


    They had to endure hunger and weariness, pain and suffering, and near-constant danger for years on end. To bring a soft little girl like this out into a harsh world was foolhardy at best.


    Briar continued to observe the small figure in front of her.


    ¡°Tha-that may be so¡­¡± Helen¡¯s small voice quivered with her chin. ¡°You-you¡¯re right to say that I know nothing¡­¡±


    Briar continued to watch Helen. Laura sighed, feeling that even though what Briar said was true, she could at least have broken it a bit more gently.


    ¡°¡­But.¡±


    Helen lifted her head up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to quit just because I don¡¯t know!¡± Her eyes were strangely fierce through her tears.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll learn! I-if I¡¯m caught, I¡¯ll deal with it by myself! An-and¡­if you don¡¯t take me with you, then I¡¯ll keep walking after you until I catch up!¡±


    Laura was surprised at this timid girl¡¯s tenacity. But Briar certainly wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    ¡°Heh!¡±


    Briar¡¯s serious face broke into a grin.


    ¡°I like your attitude, kid.¡±


    Here it comes! She¡¯s going to say, ¡®but the answer is still no!¡¯ isn¡¯t she? Laura thought, waiting for Briar to finish.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be harder than anything you¡¯ve ever done before. You¡¯ll get hurt, your feet will ache, your arms will want to drop off. And you¡¯re still certain that you want to go with us? It¡¯ll be too late to stop after you¡¯ve started.¡± Briar asked.


    Eh?


    ¡°Even so¡­I still want to come!¡± Helen barked.


    What?


    ¡°Is that so?...Then, let me see how strong your resolve is, personally.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°Wha-you mean?¡± Helen¡¯s eyes began to sparkle.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Laura was confused by the turn of events.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve decided to teach you until we reach the next town.¡± Briar said with finality.


    ¡°WHAAAAAAT?!?¡± Laura¡¯s voice squealed from the side-alley they were in.

 Chapter 47: The Marbled Cow Inn

    Sorry~! It looks like the action will happen in next week''s chapter, instead.


    The borrow-monger made her appearance again. She still has my beloved denwa hostage. I don''t really mind the loss of the phone, since it was cheap, but the loss of my contact numbers I simply cannot stand!!!


    Here''s the much be-waited chapter, enjoy~!


    -----------------------


    ¡°Hee hee hee! Yaay! I¡¯m gonna be an adventurer!¡± Helen giggled to herself as she danced around. Laura¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she edged closer to Briar.


    ¡°Oy, Briar! What are you thinking!? We can¡¯t take a little girl on a journey with us! It¡¯s definitely too dangerous!¡± Laura whispered fiercely into Briar¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much! I said I¡¯d teach her until we arrive at the next town, right? Well, according to the map, our next stop is three week¡¯s travel away as the crow flies. Besides¡­¡±


    Briar glanced over at Helen, who was still dancing around, overjoyed. Briar couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. With Helen along, things would definitely turn out interesting.


    ¡°I can¡¯t really leave a little girl alone in a town like this, and I surely even more can¡¯t send her back to that mire hole of rotten humans. If she¡¯s going to survive out there on her own, she¡¯ll need to learn some skills. And who better to teach her than me~¡±


    Briar¡¯s face loosened a bit as she thought of all the things she was going to teach Helen. Laura stepped back from Briar, feeling a cold shiver down her back.


    ¡°Briar¡­your face looks scary right now.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Briar put her hand to her face. ¡°Really? What did it look like?¡±


    ¡°Like an old geezer sitting on his rocking chair and laughing ¡®kukuku¡¯ while planning his dark nefarious evil schemes.¡± Laura replied.


    That snapped Briar out of her good mood. ¡°How rude! I never plan evil or nefarious schemes! Are you sure your eyes are on right?¡±


    ¡°My last doctor¡¯s appointment had me at sixty-twenty vision.¡± Laura said proudly, taking a victory pose. ¡°And that was when I was in Green class.¡±


    ¡°Whoah, impressive-wait, is that even possible? I¡¯m not that familiar with medical terms, but shouldn¡¯t it be just twenty-twenty vision?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s totally possible! Twenty-twenty vision is the best any non-practitioner can get. But, for martial practitioners, their five senses improve drastically with each Class. I¡¯ve heard that those who are Black Class can actually see stuff that¡¯s so tiny, no normal person could see it without a complicated assembly of glass lenses.¡±


    Laura retorted. ¡°But, why do I need to tell you this? Your own eyesight should be much better than mine is right now!¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, I suppose so.¡± Briar replied. It was true that her vision had improved at each crossing into a new class. So far, all that she had explored was how strong she was, how fast she was, and her accuracy.


    This brought Thera to realize that she had unconsciously been limiting herself due to her memories of her past life. Her current physical state was far superior to her last one, to the point where she didn¡¯t really even know her limits at this time.


    Tch! This can¡¯t be allowed to continue¡­Then, it¡¯s decided! As soon as I¡¯m done teaching Helen how to survive, I¡¯m going to test my very limits!


    Briar resolved within herself.


    ¡°This training obsessed dummy! Why is it that, when you¡¯re not training yourself, you feel the need to go ahead and train others!¡± Laura exclaimed.


    ¡°Ha ha! Well, it can¡¯t be helped. What I¡¯m planning on teaching her can¡¯t even be considered training.¡± Briar said. Laura¡¯s face drained of blood, clearly misunderstanding something.


    ¡°Y-you would make a little girl go through that much? Briar, aren¡¯t you concerned that you¡¯ll break her?¡± Laura asked.


    Briar¡¯s expression was easygoing. ¡°No? Rather, what are you thinking, right now? I said it can¡¯t be considered training, and it can¡¯t. What I will be teaching her is far too light to be considered training. At most, it¡¯s at the level of a leisurely camping trip.¡±


    Well, if I gave her any more than that, she would turn into a monster like me¡­ (author: gasp! Everyone run away! She¡¯s self-aware!)


    Growwwl


    Helen, Laura, and Briar all realized that they were famished.


    ¡°Well, for now, why don¡¯t we go find a place where we can eat?¡± Briar suggested. ¡°Since we¡¯re sight-seeing, let¡¯s see what the local specialty is~.¡±


    -----


    Master Thales suddenly frowned.


    ¡°What is it? Sense anything?¡± Madame Rothema asked.


    ¡°No¡­it¡¯s just¡­¡± Thales fidgeted a bit.


    ¡°It¡¯s just what?¡± She probed.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that, somehow, I feel that those two brats are slacking off somewhere! It¡¯s so frustrating! I¡¯m going to double the training for them when we meet back up!¡±


    So he declared.


    ¡°Now, now, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re perfectly fine¡­¡± Madame Rothema replied, waving her hands to calm him down.


    ---


    Laura flinched and looked around, carefully.


    ¡°What is it, Princes- I mean, Miss Laura?¡± Briar asked, still in character.


    ¡°I just had a bad feeling. I really hope that my dear father isn¡¯t planning to do something outrageous again!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Relax, relax~ Ah, that place over there looks good.¡± Briar pointed to a likely-looking inn.


    ¡°And besides, that, isn¡¯t a really nice smell coming from there, right now?¡± Helen asked, her mouth clearly watering.


    ¡°Ho? Let¡¯s see...¡± Briar inhaled a deep breath. ¡°You¡¯re right~ It¡¯s decided, we¡¯ll eat here today~¡±


    Briar¡¯s face had loosened into a relaxed smile that Laura hadn¡¯t seen in six years. Even during the training they had


    taken with Master Thales hadn¡¯t brought such a pure expression to her face.


    It was like, after meeting a kid, Briar had turned back into a kid, herself. The two of them walked quickly into the inn.


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


    Laura sighed and smiled. Perhaps it is fine, after all. Just for a little bit. She thought to herself as she followed them inside.


    There was no one at the counter. A sign indicated for them to ring the bell for the receptionist. Briar picked up the tiny thing and rang it.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll be right there!¡± A voice came from the back. Soon enough, a beautiful lady with a cooking apron emerged from the back.


    ¡°Welcome to the Marbled Cow Inn! Will it be a room for three, and possibly dinner? Or maybe you¡¯re here simply to eat the tastiest food in town! Either way is fine, but which is it?¡±


    The cheerful woman, who looked around 25 years old, greeted them with great enthusiasm.


    Briar, who was the only unfazed person immediately replied. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re just here to eat, but we may decide to stay here later on. Table for three, please.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Right this way, if you please~¡±


    Laura and Helen looked over at Briar, marveling in admiration. They had been so overwhelmed by the woman¡¯s greeting, that their thoughts had scattered, leaving them to try and quickly gather their thoughts when the lady had asked her questions.


    ¡°My, what a cute little family you¡¯ve got here! Are these your sisters, perhaps?¡± The lady asked, showing them the table closest to the kitchen, where a certain wonderful smell was coming from.


    ¡°No. The blonde one here is Laura. She¡¯s my best friend. And the small one here is Helen. She¡¯s my apprentice.¡± Briar replied, as they each took their seats.


    ¡°Ara, how wonderful!¡± The lady replied thinking that the whole trio was really cute. ¡°I am the innkeeper, Penelope. I¡¯m also the cook, so If you¡¯ll please tell me what you¡¯d like, I can quickly prepare it for you.¡±


    Penelope pointed to a slate chalkboard hung up on the wall with the menu and prices in white chalk.


    ¡°I want what smells really nice right now!¡± Helen piped up. Her mouth was watering with anticipation.


    ¡°Ah, me, too!¡± Laura said.


    ¡°Me, three~¡± Briar added. ¡°And add three glasses of the chilled fruit juice to that order. Unless you don¡¯t like fruit juice?¡± Briar turned her head towards Laura and Helen to confirm.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s fine! One fruit juice for me, please.¡± Laura said.


    ¡°I like fruit juice a lot!¡± Helen added.


    ¡°Got it. Wait a few minutes, please.¡± Penelope said cheerfully as she vanished into the kitchen. They had ordered the most expensive things on the menu, after all. Why shouldn¡¯t she be cheerful?


    Helen gazed at Briar in admiration. As expected of the person she chose to follow, nothing could phase him. The charm of the innkeeper was nothing to him, he even thought to add drinks to their order!


    What she didn¡¯t know was that Briar had been used to the rather over-the-top enthusiastic greetings from Japan¡¯s local shops. A greeting like this was considered nothing but good customer service.


    A few minutes later, she re-emerged with three glasses and a pitcher of chilled fruit juice, then vanished back into the kitchen.


    Laura looked around. Surprisingly, the inn here was completely empty.


    ¡°Hey, Briar¡­doesn¡¯t it seem a bit¡­empty for an inn?¡±


    Briar looked up from pouring herself a glass of juice.


    ¡°Well, it depends. Maybe it¡¯s the off season for tourism in this town?¡±


    ¡°But, even so, there¡¯d still be people who would come just for the food, wouldn¡¯t there? You don¡¯t think there¡¯s something a bit suspicious happening here?¡± Laura asked.


    Briar poured a second glass and handed it to Laura. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll keep my eyes out. But, if I am not invited, then I shall not get involved, got that?¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡± Laura said as Briar poured Helen''s cup, and then tasted her own juice.


    It tasted of cherries, lemons, and limes, and was very light and refreshing. Briar thought nostalgically of the Shirley Temples that she had been partial to.


    If there was only a way to carbonize this, it would be a smashing hit everywhere. But Briar didn¡¯t remember the process at all. She had been too busy with her training.


    ¡°The menu says this is the Chelimon fruit? Not bad!¡± Briar was impressed that such a complex flavor came from a single fruit.


    Then the kitchen door swung open and Penelope brought out the food.


    It was a dazzling, juicy marbled steak with creamed potatoes and a small fruit salad on the side.


    Helen¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at the flag stuck into her serving, which had been cut down to half the size of Briar and Laura¡¯s to accommodate for her stomach size.


    While Laura and Helen immediately dug into their food, Briar paused a moment, muttering, ¡°itadakimasu¡± before also digging into her own serving with gusto. This gesture was not lost on Penelope.


    All three of them quickly devoured their food.


    ¡°I¡¯m soo full!¡± Helen leaned back in her chair, sighing happily.


    ¡°It really was delicious, wasn¡¯t it? I was so surprised that such a flavor could be found here. I¡¯d have expected something like this could only be created by palace cooks!¡± Laura exclaimed.


    ¡°It really was delicious. I can only remember one thing that had a taste to rival this.¡± Briar said in satisfaction as she laid down her knife and fork. She nonchalantly handed Penelope the payment for the meal.


    ¡°Customer, this! This is too much!¡± Penelope gasped. The price for the steak was clearly marked at ten silvers each, with two silvers added for the fruit juice, the whole meal came out to thirty-six silvers. But, Briar had paid her with one gold. That was almost enough to pay for two more meals of that caliber for their whole group!


    ¡°Really? Ah, I forgot to mention that we¡¯ve decided to stay the night. Please deduct the costs of a room for the three of us, plus breakfast tomorrow. Whatever¡¯s left, you can keep.¡± Helen¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers. Not only was this person strong, he was also rich! Helen¡¯s good impression of Briar only continued to rise.


    Just then, a voice came from the entrance. ¡°OY! PENELOPE! IT¡¯S ME! GET OUT HERE, NOW!¡±

 Chapter 48: Predictions and Parabolas

    So, It didn''t take me a week, like I thought it would. This chapter came relatively easier to me, now that report cards have finally been finished.  Lucky for you guys, huh?


    Oh well, treat this as an extra chapter, I suppose.


    Enjoy~!


    ---------------------


    ¡°Yes~ Coming!¡± Penelope sang as she sprinted for the reception desk, leaving the trio to follow her with a somewhat slower pace.


    The view that greeted them when they arrived at the front desk, they did not expect. A somewhat burly, black bearded man was standing in the hallway, carrying a live cow over his shoulder. Briar couldn¡¯t help but wonder how he had gotten this particular species through the door.


    It was one of those long-horned varieties, as big as a buffalo, with somewhat of a goat-like beard. Briar almost snickered when she thought of the fact that it looked like an ancient imperial advisor, fat from his years of palace life.


    The cow just looked on at the proceedings calmly.


    ¡°Look at this beauty, eh? I found him at a local auction and just had to buy him.¡± The man said, obviously looking for complements.


    ¡°Oh Hades~ He¡¯s beautiful! To think of all the steaks I¡¯ll be able to make off of him~¡± Penelope said, enamored. The atmosphere about the two suddenly became pink with a lovey-dovey atmosphere.


    Briar fell to the ground. No wonder why there was no one there! It didn¡¯t seem like those two love-birds realized this, but showing where the food comes from is not always a good thing!


    She could just imagine people coming out from having had a good meal, only to come face to face with the very animal they had eaten. It¡¯s one thing to know that meat comes from a cow. It¡¯s another thing to see it and realize that meat comes from a cow. Did they want to turn everyone into vegetarians?!


    Already Laura and Helen¡¯s faces were somewhat green.


    Briar stood up with some effort. ¡°Mr. Hades, right?¡±


    The man suddenly realized that there were actual live customers in the building. ¡°What good fortune! Darling, why didn¡¯t you tell me that there were guests! Please forgive me, I¡¯d shake your hands, but my hands happen to be full at the moment.¡±


    Briar nodded. ¡°That¡¯s quite all right, Mr. Hades-¡±


    ¡°Please, call me Dez¡±


    Despite the interruption, Briar continued. ¡°Dez-san, then. We were quite impressed with the inn¡¯s food and cheery atmosphere. I must say, I was surprised that there weren¡¯t more people present a few minutes ago. But, now, I think I understand a bit why they don¡¯t come.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!¡± (Dez)


    ¡°You know why we don¡¯t have many customers!?!!¡± (Penelope)


    ¡°Mooo.¡± (long-horned cow)


    Both figures closed in on Briar to the point where she was surrounded on three sides by faces, if you included the cow.


    ¡°Yes. I think I understand why. Do you want to know?¡± She asked.


    ¡°¡°Please!!¡±¡±


    ¡°If you do, I¡¯ll even throw in a free picnic lunch!¡± Penelope added.


    ¡°Then, it seems I must do my best!¡± Briar chuckled. ¡°First, I wish to confirm something. Dez-san, do you always bring your cows in through the front entrance?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± He nodded. ¡°The front doors are the only one¡¯s large enough for me to bring the cattle through, after all.¡±


    ¡°I thought as much. That¡¯s the reason why you have no customers.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°¡°Huh?¡±¡±


    ¡°Moo?¡±


    ¡°Let me give an example. Say, for instance, that you ran the best breakfast stall in the world. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs in a basket, eggs benedict-you name it! Any kind of eggs at all, you could cook perfectly to the customer¡¯s satisfaction.¡±


    ¡°Like the way I can cook a good steak!¡± Penelope said, lifting her right arm.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Briar said. ¡°Now, say that Dez, here, is the one in charge of supplying you with the eggs-¡±


    ¡°Like how I find all these beautiful cows and steers.¡± Hades interrupted.


    Briar was getting annoyed at the interruptions.¡°Right¡­Let¡¯s just say that whenever that happens, every single time you delivered, one of the eggs hatched, revealing a cute, fluffy, yellow chick. The customer sees this cute little chick, and what does he think?¡±


    They both looked blankly.


    ¡°They¡¯d say it was cute, right?¡± Penelope asked, but then realization dawned upon the both of them.


    Seeing such a cute thing after eating, the customers couldn¡¯t help but think of the fact that they had eaten what could have been a fluffy yellow chick. This, in turn, would make them feel upset- especially the women and children.


    ¡°What have we been doing all this time?¡± Penelope fell on her hands and knees.


    ¡°I feel so-so foolish!¡± Hades facepalmed, drawing his hand down his face.


    ¡°In other words, seeing cows and eating cow meat are both fine, but when both happen close together, it can cause the customer to feel upset, and give them a bad experience, regardless of how much other good service there was, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Briar nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s why, Des-san, you¡¯ll have to change the way you bring your steers and cows to the inn.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°But, I don¡¯t know any other way to do this, other than by hand!¡± Dez said. ¡°And the backdoor is too small for the ones I like to bring.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ve got just the thing. All I need is a piece of cloth large enough for a cow to stand on with all four feet inside its borders, and some ink dye.¡± Briar said. After all, it was a shame to waste the efforts of this young couple-even though Briar was younger than them.


    -----------------


    ¡°AHAHAHA! I can¡¯t thank you enough, young magician! You¡¯ve saved our inn, that¡¯s for sure! Whenever you come back in the future, our door will always be open for you, as a savior to our inn.¡± Dez laughed as he pounded Briar¡¯s back.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°And now, with this, I can transport any number of cows as I want! The sky¡¯s the limit!¡±


    Of course, the thing that Briar gave to them was the ancient cattle transportation spell. It only took half a day to make a portable version that Hades could carry with him on a large canvas tarp wrapped up like a huge scroll.


    ¡°Ahahaha, don¡¯t worry about it. Let¡¯s just say that it was for a selfish reason.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°And? That selfish reason was?¡± Laura asked, standing right behind her.


    ¡°Aesthetics.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°I call cow excrements. You don¡¯t care at all about aesthetics.¡± Laura replied.


    ¡°Do I seem that crude of an individual? Although I look like this, I really am a member of the nobility. I have my own personal tastes, after all.¡± Briar replied. Most of them being Japanese, though.


    ¡°But, if you want another reason, I guess it¡¯s because I was glad it wasn¡¯t a bit darker of a problem.¡± Briar added climbing the stairs to their room.


    ¡°Darker problem?¡± Laura asked, following her.


    ¡°Well, I was under the impression that Penelope¡¯s steak was so good, that a rather pushy nobleman was trying to recruit her as his chef, resorting to chasing away the customers so that he can force her to come under his house. I somewhat expected the man¡¯s name to be Hades, either way, though.¡±


    ¡°What! Pfft! You got the situation wrong, but the name correct? What kind of weird magic oracle are you?¡± Laura jabbed at Briar, who had found their door.


    ¡°How rude! I¡¯m not an oracle. I just enjoy predicting things based upon what can be expected from a world like this.¡± Although I was a training monster back at home, I also did some reading in my spare time on the subways and buses. A situation like a barfight or a gang trying to hustle protection money from the innkeeper was a common happening in wuxia novels.


    Naturally, Briar couldn¡¯t explain how she knew about the name. She opened the door to their room and immediately shut it again, pushing both Laura and Helen out of the way as a blast of throwing knives embedded themselves in the door.


    ¡°RUN!¡± She shouted.


    They all rushed down the stairs past Hades and Penelope.


    ¡°Hi, bye! We¡¯ll be back after we deal with a few somewhat persistent enemies, okay?¡± Briar hurriedly said as they whizzed out the front door, just in time to miss a cloud of throwing knives hitting it.


    Hades and Penelope looked up the stairway, confused.


    ¡°¡°Huh?¡±¡±


    ----------


    Outside, black-cloaked individuals chased after them, bounding from rooftop to rooftop.


    ¡°Who are they!?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Briar answered, carrying Helen under her arm.


    ¡°Why are they chasing us!?¡± Laura asked again.


    ¡°That¡¯s a really good question! Would you like to go back and ask them?¡± Briar ducked a knife aimed for her head.


    Laura jumped over one aimed at her leg. ¡°Nope! I¡¯m good!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± Briar sighed and looked ahead of them.


    ¡°Turn left up here! Left, left!¡± The three ducked down an alleyway before ten knives embedded themselves in the ground where they would have stood.


    The cloaked figures flashed by, over a cart filled with hay. Laura, Briar, and Helen peeked their heads out from the hay pile.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re gone?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Laura responded.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably best that we lay low for the time being.¡± Briar said in caution. If it was just her and Laura, she could probably take them on, but not when she had to protect Helen as well.


    ¡°Ah, wait a minute. I think this cart is actually-¡±


    The horse-less cart edged its way over the crest of a rather steep downhill slope and started to pick up speed.


    ¡°MOVING!¡± Briar finished, sitting up to take a look at the direction they were heading. The bottom of the hill had a smaller hill at the bottom of it, giving it the appearance of a natural ski slope.


    ¡°¡°AAAH!¡±¡± Laura and Helen shrieked, clinging onto each other as the cart became faster and faster on the bumpy cobblestone streets.


    ¡°Out of the way! Out of the way! RUNAWAY CART! RUNAWAY CART!!¡± Briar warned the people who were in the middle of the road so that they wouldn¡¯t get squashed. Then she narrowed her eyes at the hill at the bottom.


    According to the projected trajectory, speed, and weight¡­.we¡¯re going to end up¡­


    ¡°Oy! Laura, Helen! Find something in the wagon to grab onto!¡± Briar yelled behind her as the wagon neared the bottom.


    ¡°¡°YES!¡±¡± Laura grabbed onto the sides of the wagon, while Helen grabbed onto Laura.


    Briar clung to the side facing the hill, and turned around to watch the black cloaks chasing after them and trying to throw their daggers, which were falling pitifully short.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna fly over the wall!!¡± Briar exclaimed, taking a deep breath as the cart ascended to the crest of the smaller hill and left the ground behind.


    ¡°¡°¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!¡±¡±¡± The three girls screamed as the cart flew in a beautiful parabola over the fifteen-meter-tall city walls.

 Chapter 49:

    I just thought of something spine-chillingly horrendous...what if people actually begin to ship my characters?


    OY! THIS IS A WARNING. I BETTER NOT SEE ANY DOUJINSHIS OUT THERE OF MY STUFF WITHOUT PERMISSION, YOU HEAR ME!!?


    It''s bad enough having to deal with Thera becoming self-aware that she''s a monster. Well, at least she''s not throwing it around left and right, trumpeting it to the heavens, like a stupid elephant that I know.


    And I''m not sure when the next chapter will be. Just assume it''ll be on Saturday, if not before that.


    Enjoy~!


    ----------------------------------


    ¡°Man, who were those dark-cloaked people anyways?¡± Helen asked, picking leaves out of her hair.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­but¡­¡± Briar stood up, clearly angry. ¡°How dare they ruin my vacation!¡±


    ¡°Ahahahahah! That¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about?!¡± Laura asked, sarcastically.


    ¡°Of course it is! Day after day was nothing but training, training, training! Then we finally exterminate a bunch of bad guys, and Master tells us we have to lay low and can¡¯t kill anyone¡ªwhich gave me the perfect excuse to relax, and now these guys ruined everything!!!!¡± Briar was angry to the point where her martial spirit energy was manifesting on the outside as a flame.


    ¡°Unforgivable!¡± The voice broke out of the forest, disturbing the birds from the trees as they took to flight.


    ----------------------------


    In a dark place somewhere:


    A cloaked figure approached a candle-lit table with a single chair at the end. The back was facing the cloaked figure, but a single hand was visible, drumming out a rhythm on the arm of the chair.


    ¡°Master, we¡¯ve located the capture subjects of the late Nezumi-san. They somehow managed to arrive at the next town, where they subsequently vanished after flying over the wall in a straw-filled, horseless cart. Should we extend the search for them?¡±


    The hand paused. ¡°No. Withdraw your troops and have them expand to the neighboring towns. Sooner or later, they¡¯ll need to show up in one. And when they do, that¡¯s when we¡¯ll catch them for sure!¡±


    The hand clenched excitedly into a fist as the cloaked figure retreated with his orders.


    Soon I¡¯ll be able to see what that master Thales¡¯s students are made of.


    ¡°Hu hu hu huhuhuhuhuhuuuuuuh!¡± the figure chuckled mirthfully.


    -----------------------------


    ¡°Ano¡­Sensei, who is this ¡®master¡¯ you and Laura keep talking about?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Geh! Um, well, right now¡¯s not really a good time to say¡­I¡¯ll definitely explain everything later, though. I promise!¡± Truth to be told, while she was enraged, Briar had forgotten that Helen was also present.


    ¡°So? Have you got some sort of plan?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, so far, we haven¡¯t been pursued, which is a good sign, but it means that whoever those cloaked fiends are, they¡¯re pretty confident that they can catch us somewhere down the line.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°Which means?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Worst case scenario, they¡¯ve infiltrated all the neighboring towns, so it doesn¡¯t really matter which one we go to, we¡¯ll be captured or chased in any one of them. Even more worst case scenario: they¡¯ve occupied some point on the road that we can¡¯t avoid going through, such as a canyon or a bridge.¡± Briar sketched out.


    ¡°Which means?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Which means, we¡¯re not going to be sleeping in any inns for a while. Lucky for you, chibi: it seems you¡¯ll get more adventurer practice while we travel through these lands.¡± Briar said, ruffling Helen¡¯s hair. ¡°I¡¯d give them about a month before they realize we¡¯re onto them and they attempt to comb through the forest with a fine-toothed comb.¡±


    ¡°How much supplies do we have?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, if we¡¯re not having any more eating contests, I¡¯d say enough for about three weeks before we¡¯ll have to hunt in earnest.¡± Briar said, taking out the leather book she¡¯d taken off the dead man from Helen¡¯s town.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Something I took off the dead intruder-san from yesterday.¡± Briar replied. ¡°I was hoping to figure out who he was, who he worked for, or what his objective was.¡± On the front of the leather book was the painted impression of a rat.


    Briar turned the pages, reading with a practiced speed that not many could emulate. After about half an hour, she closed the leather book, a solemn expression on her face. ¡°It seems we¡¯ve involve ourselves in something serious this time.¡± She said with a sigh.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°This Nezumi-san was involved with a group of slave-traders as we had both surmised, at first. But he originally came from a local group of martial artists. It was only after he was expelled from their group that he became involved with the slave traders as a provider.¡±


    ¡°Artists!¡± Laura gasped. "Strong ones?"


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Briar nodded. ¡°At least brown class, and from the looks of it, they¡¯re quite the talented ones, at that. Not to mention that they¡¯re also a band of rather unscrupulous rogues. Compared to them, Nezumi was just a weak, sore loser who quit the game early because he wasn''t winning. I can¡¯t help but feel that this group was the reason why Master Thales wanted us to lay low in the first place.¡±


    ¡°So, now what are we going to do?¡± Laura asked.


    Briar didn¡¯t answer, but took a very detailed map out of her magic bag. This was also one of the things she had managed to obtain from ¡®Nezumi-san¡¯s belongings.


    She unfurled it and secured the ends down with stones, pointing to a spot on the map.


    ¡°This is where we are, currently, in the forest just outside of Wako Town. And this is where Master wanted us to meet up.¡± Her finger slid up the map to a spot half-way across the map.


    ¡°If we can just manage to avoid their scouts until we reach this spot, then we¡¯ll probably find ourselves outside of their area of influence. The only thing is, we can¡¯t enter any towns between here and there. After a few days, they¡¯re going to start to suspect that we¡¯re onto them. So, first, we need to throw them off our trail.¡±


    ¡°And? How are we going to do that?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Heh heh~ Well, it just so turns out that this Sensei has a reeaally good idea for this~¡± Briar grinned pointing her thumb at herself.


    ----------------------


    The next day:


    ¡°Master! We¡¯ve got reports of sightings of the targets in a town southwest of their previous point! It looks like they are attempting to escape towards the jungle area! They disappeared outside the city soon after that.¡± The black cloak reported to the man in the chair.


    ¡°Good. Withdraw your troops from the north and concentrate them in the southern region. We can¡¯t allow them to escape.¡±


    ¡° Yes, Master!¡±


    -----------------------


    ¡°Tell me again why we had to appear in a place farther away from where we¡¯re trying to go?¡± Laura said, annoyed.


    ¡°To mess with the people who are after us, of course!¡± Briar said it as a matter of fact.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s just going to make them more angry at you for doing that?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think they¡¯re getting a bit too complacent and arrogant?¡± Briar countered. ¡°They¡¯re the ones who think they¡¯ve almost captured us. I¡¯m simply giving them a lesson they won¡¯t possibly be able to forget. Moreover, this is revenge for them ruining my perfect vacation.¡±


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Briar was quite stubborn on that point.


    ¡°Vacation, you say? When nearly every step of the way was paved with slave traders, rogues, kidnappers, and assassins, and you say it was a vacation!¡± Laura sighed.


    ¡°Yeah. And the fun was just starting, too¡­It¡¯s too bad we couldn¡¯t pick up that free lunch from Penelope. Now we¡¯ve got at least three whole months before we can stay in a proper inn again.¡± Briar sulked.


    ¡°I agree! Penelope¡¯s food is yummy!¡± Helen added, mouth drooling at the memory.


    ¡°But, looks like you¡¯ve got a great chance, chibi~ Now you have more time to learn about the work of an adventurer~¡± Briar grinned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me a chibi!¡± Helen sulked.


    ¡°Kohon! Very well, then, Helen-chan. What is the first thing you need in order to be an adventurer?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°A really powerful weapon?¡± Helen replied, tilting her head in thought.


    ¡°WRONG!¡± Briar formed a large X with her arms. ¡°The first thing an adventure needs is survival skills! SUR-VI-VAL! It doesn¡¯t matter if you have a really powerful weapon or not: if you can¡¯t even light a fire, then you¡¯re chances of living until the next town is zero!¡±


    ¡°Oh! Now I get it!¡± Helen said.


    ¡°So, at camp tonight, you¡¯re going to keep at it until you can make a survival fire!¡± Briar assigned.


    ¡°EH!?¡± Helen whined.


    ¡°NO ¡®EH?¡¯!! You¡¯re the one who wants to learn survival skills! That¡¯s why the only thing you can do right now is practice, practice!¡± Briar pointed out.


    --------------------------


    Over the course of the next few weeks, Briar drilled the basics of survival into Helen¡¯s tiny frame. She learned how to start a fire, how to tie different knots, how to set up a tent, how to throw other creatures off scent, how to catch fish and cook them, how to trap food, how to find and test for clean water, and how to properly set up a safe camping perimeter.


    Only after Briar was assured that Helen had ¡®the basics¡¯ down, was she allowed to move on to the next stage.


    --------------------------


    Briar and Helen hid motionless in the bushes. Before them, a white rabbit with a horn on its forehead stood, quietly nibbling on some clover.


    Helen clenched her makeshift bow, trying hard not to make any sound as she took aim and then let the arrow zoom towards its intended target. The white rabbit was skewered through the heart.


    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re going to have rabbit stew for dinner tonight!¡± Helen celebrated.


    ¡°Good job! Your aim has improved these past few days.¡± Briar smiled, proud of her student. It had been almost a month since she had taken Helen on as an apprentice.


    ¡°Now, show me how good you¡¯ve gotten at skinning the beast.¡± She said.


    ¡°Eh? I¡¯ve got to do that too?¡± Helen complained.


    ¡°What are you talking about, chibi? Do you think you¡¯ll have me to baby you around when you go off on adventures of your own? Besides, for those who know how to skin, the pelts can become an extra source of income, which is always welcome amongst adventurers.¡±


    Briar ruffled Helen¡¯s hair again.


    ¡°Like I said, stop calling me chibi!¡± Helen retorted as she retrieved the dead horned rabbit.


    Even cooking was a learning experience for Helen. Except this time, she had two teachers for that, as both Laura and Briar freely offered advice on how to make a tasty meal fit for a hero. Under their tutelage, Helen¡¯s skills grew day by day.


    Until one day, when they came across a caravan camped out on the road.


    ¡°Should we go up and talk to them? Or should we just avoid them? It could be a trap, after all.¡± Laura consulted with Briar.


    ¡°Hmm...that could be the case. But, then, why are they camped out here in the middle of the daytime? In the middle of the road, no less? You two stay here, I¡¯ll go and see what¡¯s happening.¡±


    Briar wrapped a torn sheet around her head, forming a makeshift hood before making her way down to the road around the bend.


    Staff in hand, she really did look like some sort of nomad, or lone warrior.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid, it¡¯s no-it¡¯s no use!¡± A voice came from the caravan. ¡°Traveller, you¡¯ll have to turn back and find a different route.¡±


    Briar looked up from the road. ¡°Why? Has something happened?¡±


    A man came out from the circle of wagons. ¡°Indeed there has. The yearly floods have risen the water level to the point where it¡¯s too dangerous to cross the river, even with the stone bridge in place. Even though it¡¯s made of stone, the bridge is so old that we don¡¯t know when it may collapse.¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s really bad news! Are you sure there isn¡¯t a way to cross?¡±


    ¡°No, not unless you have a magician on hand.¡± The man said, bitterly. ¡°But good luck with that! I¡¯ve heard that magicians all like to keep to their towers and rarely help anyone unless they are paid handsomely for it. But who other than the king would have the kind of money to pay them outright?¡±


    ¡°Ah, True, true.¡± Briar sympathized. ¡°But, man, for the bridge to be so troublesome after I¡¯ve come all this way! To turn around without having done anything, it¡¯s too frustrating!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right!¡± The man said. ¡°We came with a load of herbs, spices, and animal furs to sell in the next town, but with things being the way they are, it looks like we won¡¯t be making any profits this time.¡±


    ¡°Heh? Herbs and spices, huh? I happen to have a bit of coin here. Would it be all right to have a look and maybe buy some of that off of you? I can also trade you some furs I¡¯ve collected on the way.¡±


    ¡°Sure, why not? After the waters go down, people will be wanting more furs anyways in order to prepare for the winter-time. I hear it¡¯s going to be a cold one, this year.¡± The caravan trader allowed Briar into the circle of wagons.


    ¡°Uwa! Not only herbs and spices, but dyes and colored cloth as well? There¡¯s even jewelry! Did you people make all of these?¡±


    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s our clan¡¯s specialty, after all.¡± The caravan trader said, puffing out his chest with pride. ¡°My name is Gypsum. I¡¯m the boss of this caravan, as you can probably tell. As long as you¡¯ve got money, you can buy as much as you¡¯d like from here!¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Then, How much is it for all of your herbs and spices?¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡±


    ¡°How much for all of it?¡± Briar asked again.


    ¡°At least f-fifty-seven gold coins. But, boyo, how are you going to carry it all? I assure you there¡¯s quite a lot of it!¡± Gyspum recovered from his stupor, realizing that he had a rich customer.


    ¡°There!¡± Briar placed the money in his hands. ¡°That¡¯s money I thought I¡¯d not get to spend. Lucky me~I was hoping to find some nice fresh herbs and spices in the next town, but I can just buy it from you fellows, instead!¡±


    ¡°Ah, Yes! Then, i-if you will follow me!¡± Gypsum led him to a wagon filled with herbs and spices.


    After Briar filled her magic bag with the countless bundles of herbs and spices, she bid the man farewell, and walked back down around the bend, before vanishing into the trees.


    Gypsum watched while the man disappeared around the bend, then smiled sneakily. ¡°Looks like he took the bait.¡± He chuckled darkly. The figures gathered within the circle of wagons joined him as they also laughed.

 Chapter 50: The Third Option

    Whoah! Whoah! Whoah! it''s the big Five Oh~ Halfway to a hundred and here we go~


    Have I really written fifty chapters?...I''m surprised that my commitment has lasted this long...onwards and upwards, tallyho~


    Enjoy~


    ---------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Right now the river¡¯s flooding, and the bridge is old, so there¡¯s no telling when it might collapse. But, this might be a chance for us! The caravan man, Gypsum, said that we should be able to cross safely if we have a magician amongst us, so this¡¯ll get us way ahead of those martial rogues that have been chasing us!¡± Briar said, with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t like the sound of that, it sounds kind of dangerous¡­or rather, how do you know you can trust this ¡®Gypsy¡¯ man?¡± Laura asked, pointedly.


    Briar smiled mischievously. ¡°Oh, it is most definitely a trap, I tell you.¡±


    ¡°A trap!?¡± Helen exclaimed. ¡°How do you know that?¡± She asked, mystified.


    Briar inclined her head, raising an eyebrow in a confident expression as she placed her hands together so that her fingerprints matched up, but her palms remained separate.


    ¡°No normal caravan would stay in place like that and lie in wait for travelers. By all the normal signs, those wagons haven¡¯t moved for at least two weeks. Their wheels have sunk into the road, they¡¯ve been there so long. At most, any normal person looking for business would turn around and look for another way to cross. Also, the man¡¯s name is Gypsum, and he is most definitely not a Gypsy.¡±


    ¡°Another one of ¡®those¡¯ huh?¡± Laura shrugged.


    It might not seem like it, but there were often many people strategically placed on the roadways who acted as informants, that spied on and informed about the travelers they encountered to anyone who was interested.


    Briar had noticed them in time to make sure that their travelling group of three was not recorded as well. When someone was looking for a specific number of people, changing that number can work wonders to throwing people off the scent.


    ¡°They¡¯ll probably have guards at the bridge as well, to spy and see who makes it across¡± Laura clicked her tongue.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a possibility.¡± Briar nodded. ¡°But there¡¯s one thing that they aren¡¯t expecting.¡±


    ¡°What? What is it?¡± Helen asked, eyes shining with curiosity. Laura took out a canteen and poured herself a cup of water.


    Briar smiled kindly down at the child. ¡°They aren¡¯t expecting us to have a magician in our company.¡±


    ¡°A magician!? A real magician!?¡± Helen asked, excited. ¡°Ah! I understand! It¡¯s Laura, isn¡¯t it?¡± Laura choked, spewing out the water that she had been drinking.


    ¡°WHAT? Hu-W-where did you -ha-get that idea from?¡± Laura asked, trying to hold back her laughter.


    ¡°Because I haven¡¯t seen Laura fight at all!¡± Helen said innocently. Her words pierced Laura¡¯s heart with a tinge of guilt.


    ¡°Now see here, I may not have fought a lot these past few weeks, but that isn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t want to, it¡¯s because I didn¡¯t have to.¡± Laura explained, feeling she had to justify herself. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m the one that stays up at night to guard the camp while you two sleep away!¡±


    ¡°Uhuh, I understand now! Laura really is the magician, isn¡¯t she?¡± Helen turned to Briar to confirm, completely disregarding what Laura had just said.


    ¡°OI! DON¡¯T IGNORE ME!¡± Laura exclaimed.


    ¡°She is, huh?¡± Briar responded uncommitally. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then I guess that would mean our group has two magicians.¡± She pointed a thumb at herself. ¡°I¡¯m one too.¡±


    ¡°Heeeeeh?¡± Helen made an unimpressed face.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that expression?¡± Briar asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t magicians cool?¡±


    Helen¡¯s unblinking stare focused on Briar ¡°You know, I may be a kid, but I¡¯m not stupid. You¡¯re too good at fighting to be good at anything else. I bet all your magic amounts to is a bunch of cheap tricks and sleights of hand.¡±


    ¡°PFFFT Hahahaha~!¡± Laura couldn¡¯t hold it in any more. She was laughing so hard that she fell off the log she had been sitting on.


    ¡°Ku!¡± Briar had not expected such a low evaluation. ¡°For my magic to be belittled to just being cheap tricks and sleights of hand!¡±


    Laura was laughing so hard that she banged her fist on the tree stump that she had been sitting on. ¡°I can¡¯t-I can¡¯t breath! Hahaha!¡±


    Briar scowled at Laura. ¡°What are you laughing at, eh!? It isn¡¯t that funny!¡±


    Laura continued laughing while Briar ignored her. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m going to scout out the bridge. It should be fine if I¡¯m not seen.¡± Already she was planning ahead to what she would do.


    ---------------------------------


    That evening:


    Three dark figures crept silently through the woods, keeping under the cover of the trees and bushes. Or rather, it was more like two dark figures. Since Helen had not mastered the art of walking without making noise at night time, she was currently being given a piggy-back ride by Laura.


    People under blue class did not have the strength of eye-sight to catch the minute subtleties of shade that indicated sticks and dried leaves scattered on the ground.


    Since Briar was red class, she could see things as well as if she were wearing night vision goggles; better than, even. Laura could also see, although her visibility was limited to a three-meter radius around her.


    The brief sparks of starlight were more than enough to see by for those two. The sound of rushing river slowly grew into a roar as they drew closer to its source, until finally they could see it through a gap in the trees ahead.


    As soon as they saw the river, Briar stopped, as did Laura. Then they looked at each other, before looking at the river once more.


    WHAT RIVER!?! ISN¡¯T THIS A SEA!? Laura complained in her heart.


    Briar remembered only seeing this sort of large river once back in her old world.


    It was at the widest part of the Amazon river. But even the Amazon river looked like a slow, sleepy kitten compared to the monstrous completely white, rushing dragon of a river that they faced. There was no comparison.


    And in the middle of this white, rushing sea of rapids swayed the only bridge across.


    It was made of the threads of a conquered Emperor-class Spider Beast which had been collected from a battle site long ago. The Spider threads were stronger than steel, yet flexible enough to withstand the fierce pull of the river at its very strongest.


    Nothing but the raging molten fires of a volcano could ever destroy such a near indestructible material, usually. But, the concern wasn¡¯t over the spider threads breaking.


    Rather, it was the foundations of the bridge, eroded by the fierce might of the river over the years, which were the cause of concern. If the ground crumbled away, then the bridge would just be swept away by the current, leaving whichever unlucky fellow was crossing to be subject to the river¡¯s fury.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Can she really help us to make it across this? Even if a martial artist fell into here, the water is so fast that it¡¯s sharper than most knives. They would be hard put to survive in such an environment. Laura observed.


    All of a sudden, the forest behind them was lit up from the glow of torches.


    ¡°That¡¯s far enough!¡± Gypsum announced.


    ¡°Haaaah. I just knew you would show up.¡± Briar sighed, with a bored look on her face, while she muttered. ¡°Typical bad guy villain lackey material.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Laura held back a laugh. A vein throbbed on Gypsum¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°WHAT WAS THAT? HAAH!?¡± He shouted, glaring fiercely at Briar.


    What are you, the Yakuza? Briar resisted the urge to roll her eyes. ¡°I was only commenting on your impeccable sense of timing. We were just about to disembark. All we were missing was a send-off party~.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you off, all right! Right back to the Boss¡¯s place! Give it up! If you choose to use the bridge, then we¡¯ll destroy the foundation on this side, and you will all perish!¡± Gypsum announced.


    Helen whimpered at the thought of being captured. Briar turned to look at her and smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She winked at Helen, before turning back to announce her decision.


    ¡°Your offer does indeed sound quite tempting. Unfortunately, I have no intentions to either be captured, or to use the bridge.¡± Briar said, bluntly. "I take care not to fall for false dilemmas."


    ¡°What are you talking about! There¡¯s no way you can escape us now!¡±


    ¡°Then, observe the miracle that I shall perform tonight~¡± Briar said with a bow. ¡°Behold, I have nothing up my sleeves-¡± She pulled her sleeves up, exposing hundreds of tiny throwing needles strapped to her arms.


    ¡°Oops! Wrong sleeves.¡± She said calmly.


    ¡°Get them!¡± Gypsum yelled to his men, who advanced cautiously towards the trio.


    Briar snapped her fingers. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s right!¡± She pulled a rather ugly-looking rug out of her magic bag, and placed it on the ground.


    ¡°If you would please sit down right here?¡± She indicated to Laura.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think sitting on a rug is going to change anything, Briar.¡± Laura said, but still, she sat down on the rather dingy-looking fabric.


    ¡°On the contrary, my dear Watson. This is the only creation of its kind: The magic flying carpet! Even someone without magic, like me, can use it~¡± Briar announced as she sat down in front and grabbed two corners as if she were holding the reigns.


    ¡°Soar, oh companion of royalty!¡± She exclaimed, and the rug obediently lifted straight up in the air, twenty meters, out of the reach of even the tallest of men.


    ¡°Forward!¡± Briar announced. The carpet effortlessly glided forward, over the raging river.


    ¡°Go! Cross the river! We must capture them no matter what!¡± Gypsum urged his men forward.


    The men did indeed begin crossing the river, and about half of them had made their way on the bridge before a terrible noise was heard: the crack of rock breaking, as the bridge foundations finally gave out, and the bridge, with all of its passengers, were swept away, down river.


    Gypsum could only stand there, steaming in his rage as his plan fell through. When he could finally speak past his rage, he grabbed the nearest subordinate.


    ¡°Get me your swiftest messenger hawk!¡± He barked at the man.


    ---------------------


    On the opposite shore, the carpet gently descended to the ground. When they had landed, Briar finally relaxed, sighing, as she released all of her tension. All of a sudden, Laura hit her on the head.


    ¡°Ow! What was that for!?¡± Briar complained.


    ¡°If you had such a magical device, why didn¡¯t you use it earlier!? We could have totally arrived at our destination by now!¡± Laura scolded.


    ¡°Woow! Older brother, to think that you had such a magical device as a flying carpet!¡± Helen admired.


    ¡°Oh, that? That¡¯s just a regular dirty old rug.¡± Briar said, sticking a finger in her ear as if she were cleaning it out.


    ¡°No way! Then how was it able to carry us over the river?¡± Helen said.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s so special, then why don¡¯t you fly it yourself?¡± Briar retorted in a mocking tone.


    ¡°Then I don¡¯t mind if I do~!¡± Helen replied, grabbing the corners of the rug as she had seen Briar do. ¡°Soar, oh companion of royalty!¡± She called out. Nothing happened.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it working!?!¡± Helen complained to Briar.


    ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s just a regular, dirty old rug.¡± Briar yawned. ¡° And to think the credit for all of my hard work goes to a rug-ouch!¡±


    Laura had smacked her over the head with her fan in the same place she had hit her.


    ¡°Explain!¡± She ordered.


    ¡°Okay, okay! Geez! The real reason why that rug was able to carry us all across the river isn¡¯t because the rug is magical. It¡¯s because, like I said before, I¡¯m a magician. It¡¯s your own fault for not believing in me, you know.¡±


    ¡°No way¡­then the reason we could fly is because of your magic?¡± Helen looked crestfallen.


    Briar snapped her fingers and gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Bingo! You got it~ But, don¡¯t get too down about it. Those men we encountered were also fooled by mere appearances. Now they¡¯ll believe that we¡¯re in possession of a magic carpet, instead of the fact that I¡¯m a magician, which will make them vastly underestimate our strength once more.¡±


    Laura was once more surprised by Briar¡¯s innovative plan, and nodded, proudly. As expected of Briar. A perfect plan which reveals misinformation that will cause the opponent to slip up the next time we meet. How lucky I am that my best friend is a genius~


    Briar yawned again. ¡°But, still, we should get as far from the river banks as possible at the moment. Gypsum likely has carrier pigeons or messenger hawks, and we don¡¯t want to run into another patrol.¡±


    But, how did Briar actually figure out what the opponent¡¯s actions were? Was it really just simply deductive guesswork? Or was there a more concrete reason why she had been able to avoid the enemy''s motions for so long?

 Chapter 51: Lauras Lamentation

    Ugh. I have found myself in a bad situation. A $600 rent bill with no money is no joke.


    But, it''s all my fault really...I was convinced to lend out money I shouldn''t have, and now I''m the one biting the bullet, because that person has delayed returning what she borrowed.


    I''m sick of this situation.


    Please pray for me, that everything goes well.


    Because I''m tired of spending my days here in Hell.


    But, I guess I''m still too proud to ask people for money...this story, I really didn''t begin writing it for something like that.


    And I feel that if I do ask for money, that I''m somehow crossing a certain line that I shouldn''t cross. That this fun story I''m writing will become something it was never intended to become.


    In the short time that I''ve been writing, I''ve come to enjoy your comments and your enthusiasm. I''m glad to hear that you''re looking forward to the next chapter.


    But, I''m not sure if I''ll be able to get myself out of this problem so easily. Therefore, please pray for me.


    Moreover, pray that I stop being such an easily-moved, soft-hearted dunce.


    And, for now, please enjoy this next chapter. Just a quick warning: this one''s a bit more serious than the one I wrote a few days ago.


    Enjoy~


    --------------------------------------------


    How could Briar be so brilliant? How could she know every turn the opponent was going to make? Was she psychic? Did she have powers to see into the future? The answer to those questions is a resounding ¡®No¡¯.


    But Briar had amassed many very useful old, or forgotten ancient spells during her five years of study under Madam Rothema. And three of those spells happened to be in near constant use.


    [Tracking], [Spy] and [Audio] were nearly always on. Only when Briar was sleeping did the spells stop sending information to her.


    [Tracking] was a spell that did just that. It places a tracking signature upon the person, beast, or item that the caster places it on. In order to place a tracking signature, though, the caster needs to be in contact with its subject for at least one moment.


    Briar had placed it on Gypsum¡¯s hand when she had exchanged the money for the herbs with him. So, the reason his appearance had not surprised her in the least was because she already knew he was there.


    [Spy] is a sub-spell of [Tracking]. What that means, is that it is a spell that cannot be invoked without having first placed a tracking signature. It gives the caster a visual of its subject, and the area surrounding the subject.


    Another sub-spell of [Tracking] is [Audio]. Like I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve realized, it helps the caster hear everything in the vicinity of the subject that the caster is tracking. These three spells were never made wide-spread, because this was from a magic book that Madam Rothema found inside an artifact a long time ago.


    She had decided that these spells were too dangerous, and so she kept them a secret, hiding them among her great library of books. Briar had unwittingly come upon them one day, and decided to learn them because of their great potential.


    Incidentally, the spell that Briar had actually used to fly was a combined succession of two spells: [Anti-Gravity] and [Levitate].


    First, she had used [Anti-Gravity] to lift them high up in the sky. Then she had used [Levitate] to hold their position in the air, while relying on the force of the wind in the higher atmosphere to blow them across the raging river.


    Search though she did, she had found no spells for flying that was possible for her class. It was only when she broke through to Master Class that she would be able to truly fly in the sky.


    Instead, she had found the spell [Anti-Gravity]. Since she already had [Levitate], she had come up with a way to combine the two to give the appearance of flying.


    The only thing was, these five spells in combination took up a lot of her mana, to the point where she was now near empty, which was why she was yawning uncontrollably.


    [Tracking] on its own might not have much of a mana drain, but she had placed tracking spells on all who had tried to fight with her these past few months. The sum total of these spells had a MP drain on a level similar to the [Anti-Gravity] spell.


    But, thanks to her [Tracking] spell, Briar was able to get a visual of a highly detailed map of the area, and commit it to memory. The map itself had shown hidden byways and side-paths that would bypass the problem of having to travel on the main road.


    In this way, Briar had heard of her opponent¡¯s plans straight from his own mouth, including the fact that the person in charge knew Master Thales.


    -------------------------------


    Briar¡¯s eyes had huge bags under them, as she shook her head in an attempt to stave off the beckons of sleep. She was exhausted. She hadn¡¯t had the time to sit and meditate to gather mana. And she had been constantly vigilant, in case of an ambush, that night.


    Moreover, with all the spells she still had active, the mana drain was starting to take its toll on Briar¡¯s state of well-being.


    Briar was about to fall asleep again when she heard the leader of the pursuers begin to speak.


    ¡°What did you say?! They crossed the Piercing Rapids River? And, moreover, they flew over it on a magic tool disguised as a carpet!?¡±


    Briar turned on [Spy] just in time to see the hand smash down on a nearby side table, shattering it into tiny splinters. She didn¡¯t know why, but she could never get a visual on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°It looks like those students are more resourceful than I gave them credit for. Send your swiftest messenger hawk to ¡®that person¡¯. He¡¯ll make sure they never even reach the border. Ah. Make sure to tell him to capture them unharmed. I don¡¯t care about that stupid habit he has: if Thales learns that his students were injured or killed because of us, he¡¯d probably level this whole country.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master! It shall be as you have said.¡±


    ¡°Geez! Wake up, Laura, Helen!¡± Briar said, shaking them awake. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to make for the border as soon as possible, now that they know the direction we¡¯re really headed in. I need you to be on lookout while I gather my strength.¡±


    Laura woke up immediately. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sleeping!¡±


    ¡°Good, then you can keep watch while I gather some mana. We¡¯ll be hard put to reach the border before the messenger hawk does.¡± Briar said, as she sat down nearby in the mana gathering pose.


    In order to free up as much mana as possible, she cancelled almost all of the tracking spells she had placed during the month they had spent on the run. Then, she entered swiftly into meditation, the mana swirling near-visibly around her as she gathered it in great force, at great speed.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    She had tried not to do this earlier because if the enemy had magicians in their ranks, then the disturbance in the mana was a near dead giveaway. But, seeing that their stealth had already been broken, Briar was willing to take the risk.


    All the mana in the area was being drawn in, becoming so thick that it manifested as a swirling tornado of light blue clouds surrounding Briar where she sat.


    Briar frowned. While it was true that the mana being drawn towards her was thick, she noticed that less than half of it was entering into her mana organ. The rest was drawn towards her magic bag, which surprised her, but she had no time to waste discovering why that was. She could only grit her teeth and gather more mana.


    It had not been easy, staying one step ahead. It had taken all of her wiles and wits and talents. If she fell behind now, Briar had the feeling she would never be ahead again, that she would forever be under someone¡¯s thumb-unable to follow her own path.


    Anyone trying to restrain her freedom, trying to control her future, would be punished with failure. Anyone who got in her way or in the way of her friends would have to face her wrath.


    But, this person that man had talked about, she didn¡¯t know anything about him. His power, his skills, his class, everything was a mystery, but Briar couldn¡¯t help but think that that man was bad news. Thus, a time of urgency was upon them.


    Finally, her mana had completely recovered, and she quickly barked out a spell, compressing the air into three thin wafers.


    She handed one each to Helen and Laura.


    ¡°Put these in your mouth. They¡¯re compressed air wafers. The way that we¡¯re travelling from now on will make it hard to breath. Also, whatever you do, don¡¯t chew on them unless you want to die.¡± Briar said, placing a wafer on her tongue, before grabbing both girls around the waist and activating her true speed as a red class.


    The trees and scenery flew by as Briar ran faster than a bullet train, heading for the border.


    --------------------------------


    Master Thales sat in his chair, tapping his finger on his arm impatiently as he stared out of the window. According to Thera and Laura¡¯s original route plan, they should have arrived in town already. Every second they did not arrive made Master Thales more certain that they had run into trouble along the way.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think that He found out about them, do you?¡± He asked Madam Rothema. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like those girls to be a whole week late. What if something unexpected happened to them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.¡± Madam Rothema said. ¡°After all, Laura has Thera with her, right? Her greatest talent is not her ridiculous strength, but her innovative ideas. Even were she to be surrounded, I have a feeling she¡¯d end up coming out on top, all the same. She has a sharper mind than most. Come on, stop being a worrywart and have a cup of tea, will you?¡± She poured another glass for herself.


    ¡°Muuu¡­But still¡­I don¡¯t like it.¡± Thales frowned out the window, feeling antsier than a caged tiger. Finally, he couldn¡¯t take it any longer and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to go for a walk. Who knows? I might meet them coming into town.¡± His footsteps could be heard briskly progressing down the hallway and stairs.


    ¡°My, my!¡± Madam Rothema sipped at her tea. ¡°But, still, they are quite late. I wonder what¡¯s keeping them?¡±


    ------------------------


    Briar¡¯s arms and legs were so overworked they felt like noodles. She had long outlasted her stamina, and was now only able to continue forward by reinforcing her muscles with mana, although she was now nearing her very limits.


    Sweat seemed to drip out of every pore. But still, Briar pushed energy through them and advanced at high speeds. Laura and Helen had already gotten used to the stress of the high speeds they were going at. But, Laura was trying to calm her queasy stomach, while Helen had fallen asleep.


    They were almost at the border. Almost there! Once they crossed it, they¡¯d be out of this area¡¯s jurisdiction. Then they¡¯d be close enough to contact Master Thales and Madam Rothema, and inform them of the situation.


    Briar looked up. Just ahead of them was the borderline! A tree-less area with low sparse bushes, the borderline was a kilometer wide. Once she was across that border, they would be safe!


    Without pause, she rushed out into the plain-like, grassy area, almost flying across the last kilometer, the goal line in sight. Almost there!


    ---------------------------


    Master Thales had gone for more than a walk, travelling down the main street of the city. But perhaps the girls were just outside?


    He meandered down that way to have a look, but they couldn¡¯t be seen from the gate.


    Maybe they were almost there? They could be just inside the forest? So, Master Thales¡¯s feet took him farther and farther afield until he arrived at the border.


    He stared at it, wondering if he should attempt to cross and look for them, when suddenly, he inhaled sharply in surprise. Out of the trees, Briar rushed headlong, carrying Laura and another child in her arms.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± Laura cried joyfully.


    When Briar was almost past the border, Master Thales was about to call out a greeting, when both he and Briar sensed something out of place. One meter before she reached the edge of the border, the ground suddenly gave way.


    ¡°Aaahhh!¡± Laura began to scream, the feeling of falling had begun to wake Helen up.


    Thales could only watch in horror as Briar, Laura, and the child she was carrying began to fall, seemingly in slow motion. As she fell, Briar¡¯s eyes met and locked with Master Thales, and he saw a fierce determination in her eyes.


    ¡°Catch!¡± She yelled. Without wasting a second, she threw Laura and Helen at him, even though the force of the throw only made the speed of her descent increase as she fell backwards down into a newly-formed, deep dark fissure in the ground.


    Laura turned around, and forgot everything as she shrieked. ¡°THERAA!! NOOO!!!¡±


    Master Thales instantly reacted, catching both Laura and the small girl in his arms, before realizing what Briar had done.


    She smiled when she saw that her two charges had arrived safely.


    Thank goodness¡­They¡¯re safe¡­I¡¯m glad¡­


    Then closed her eyes as exhaustion took over, and she sank swiftly into the darkness of unconsciousness as she fell.


    Laura stared, wide-eyed into the dark abyss that had swallowed her friend, and felt her as if her heart had been torn in two and rolled up into a ball that wadded itself in her throat. ¡°Thera, why? Why?¡± She whispered, falling down on her knees in front of the cliff.


    She pounded the ground in front of her. "Why did you have to go!? I''m the older sister! It should have been me!! If only I was stronger! I could have saved her! Thera!" She sobbed.


    Helen, who had just woken up, sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily and asked. ¡°Laura? Who¡¯s Thera? And where¡¯s Briar-sensei?¡± She looked around.


    But Laura couldn¡¯t answer Helen. Tears fell from Laura¡¯s eyes as she prayed with all of her heart. Any god that can hear my prayer, please! Please let my friend be safe!


    Master Thales stood there dumbly, staring at that accursed crack in the earth that had eaten his student. Then a harsh glint came into his eyes. If someone was responsible for this, they would soon wish they were never born!

 Chapter 52: "What are flowers?"

    Hi, Sora-sensei here~


    Still no sign of a repentant borrower in sight. *sigh* Oh well. Please keep up your prayers.


    Here''s a little something to help take the edge off of the cliff-hanger I left last time.


    Enjoy~


    --------------------------------------


    Briar¡¯s unconscious body fell into the seemingly bottomless chasm, picking up speed as it went. After who-knows how far or how long she fell, Briar¡¯s magic bag began to glow.


    Out floated the white mana stone, which was now shining with a vibrant pink color. It matched speed with Briar, floating just above her as the glow began to cover her entire body.


    Bit by bit, Briar¡¯s fall was slowed down, until, by the time she reached the floor of the chasm, she was serenely floating slowly down, like a dandelion fluff.


    All of her exhaustion, her muscle strains from exceeding her limits, and her rebound from severe mana depletion were healed just as easily as if they had never happened.


    Then the stone returned once more inside Briar¡¯s bag, its vibrant pink glow, fading to a more pastel pink color, before the glow disappeared entirely.


    Briar slumbered on, unaware of any of what had transpired.


    ------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Another corpse, huh? How many has that been? Seven in the past month?¡±


    ¡°A-are you sure he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°Silly, he must have fallen from the surface! There¡¯s no way he isn¡¯t dead, falling from that height!¡±


    ¡°B-but there¡¯s no blood or anything. An-and I think m-maybe I can hear him breathing.¡±


    ¡°What! Lemme see.¡±


    It was at this moment, that Briar woke up, and slowly opened her eyes, which shimmered with a mild golden glow as her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her.


    There was a sharp intake of breath. ¡°W-what are you?¡± Someone asked. This one sounded like a small girl. Briar turned in the voice¡¯s direction. It was faint, but she could just barely make out two figures the size of children.


    ¡°¡­of course, I¡¯m human. But this, where¡­¡±As Briar was about to ask, she remembered what had happened before she fell. ¡°Ah, so this is the bottom of that crack in the earth.¡± She said, finally understanding things.


    I probably shouldn¡¯t make a light, if I don¡¯t want to scare them away. I don¡¯t know how long they¡¯ve been down here, but I remember that too long in dark places will create a rather painful light sensitivity.


    ¡°How are you still alive?¡± The older one asked. This one sounded like the older brother.


    Briar shook her head, unable to answer. ¡°Actually, that¡¯s what I want to know. I was near unconscious when I fell, so I must have fainted on the way down. By all rights, I should be dead, or badly wounded at least. But for there to be no injuries¡­¡± She checked, stretching to see if everything still moved. ¡°Nope, nothing. This is so weird.¡±


    She turned to the two. ¡°So¡­ I suppose introductions are in order. Hello, my name is Briar, it¡¯s nice to meet you~¡± She held out a hand for a handshake.


    The two children hesitated, then the younger one plucked up her courage. ¡°My name is Rien, are those golden eyes real?¡±


    Briar blinked. ¡°They are. They¡¯re souvenirs I got from a particularly nasty illness. Ah, but don¡¯t worry! I got over that a long time ago, so I¡¯m not contagious or anything anymore. Before the illness, though, I was told that I had sparkling green eyes, like emeralds.¡±


    ¡°Heeeh? Green eyes, huh? I¡¯d like to have seen them. I hear that the upper world is covered in green plants everywhere!¡± Rien said in an excited voice.


    ¡°They couldn¡¯t be everywhere, Rien! What about the deserts filled with nothing but sand? What about the oceans full of salty water?¡±


    ¡°Oops! I forgot about those, heheh.¡± Rien sounded slightly embarrassed


    The older brother turned to Briar, and shook her hand.


    ¡°My name is Karu. We¡¯ve lived down here our whole lives, but we¡¯d love to hear stories of the upper world! The only one who knows anymore is Grandpa Thur, but he won¡¯t tell us anything unless we bring him something which fell from the surface.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Brother, look! Is this a plant?¡± Rien asked, holding up a rock which had a few blades of grass clinging to it.


    Briar was slightly surprised. Her eyesight, sharp though it was, could only make out vague shapes in this place, which said something for how dark it was. Even her echo-location wasn¡¯t nearly good enough to pick out a few blades of grass amongst all the rubble around her.


    ¡°How did you do that? How could you find that small thing in such darkness?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s something Rien is good at.¡± Karu said. ¡°She can tell based off of the essence that each things gives off. Me, I¡¯m lucky if I can distinguish a mushroom from a wall, but she can find anything if she knows what its essence looks like.¡±


    ¡°Essence?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s what makes things alive from not alive¡± Rien said, turning towards. ¡°You¡¯re really pretty, Briar. Your essence is all sparkling and bright, almost like Grandpa Thur¡¯s. It¡¯s a pretty blue color, too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Sparkling? Blue?  Things clicked into place for Briar. ¡°Rien, can you see mana?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ah! Grandpa Thur asked me the same question. What¡¯s mana?¡± Rien asked. ¡°Grandpa Thur wouldn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more or less the name we upper-worlders give that sparkly blue stuff that you see.¡± Briar said. ¡°Pretty, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Rien agreed.


    Briar switched to her mana vision, and suddenly, she could see a lot more. Kind of like a heat-vision, the two in front of her glowed with a sparkly blue light. The rock walls showed up black, but there was something on the walls which glimmered with a sort of mild light.


    Moss. And mushrooms, like they said. Briar thought, finally examining her surroundings. The area around her had faint sparkles, probably from bits of grass and bugs that fell from the surface.


    ¡°Ah! Your eyes, they¡¯ve now turned a pretty color! I always did like green. It¡¯s not golden, and it¡¯s not blue, but it¡¯s sort of got both inside it.¡± Rien observed.


    They don¡¯t just turn blue in her sight? But, that¡¯s ridiculous, mana sight only works on mana. And that¡¯s always a blue color¡­Unless¡­unless there¡¯s actually a different kind of mana out there which does have a golden color?


    Briar put the thought aside for later as Rien grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of a side tunnel.


    ¡°Come on! I want to introduce you to Grandpa Thur.¡± She said. ¡°He¡¯s really nice!¡±


    And, like that, Briar was led down into the earth.


    -------------------------------------------


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Laura sat there, staring languidly out of the window. Her cup of tea had long become cold, while Master Thales explained what had happened to Madam Rothema. Helen had cried herself to sleep, earlier on, and so was sleeping on a nearby couch.


    ¡°My my! It seems that girl has gotten into more trouble than she bargained for, this time. I suppose you¡¯ll give her a huge scolding when she returns, won¡¯t you, Gerard?¡± Madam Rothema said, near perfectly at ease, as she sipped at her tea.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right! Honestly! If she hadn¡¯t made it so that my hands were full, I could have rescued the whole lot of them!¡± Thales grumbled.


    ¡°How can you say that?¡±


    The two adults turned to look at the girl who was staring at them, with dead eyes.


    ¡°You saw! You saw her fall down! You know that anyone falling from such a height wouldn¡¯t be¡­can¡¯t possibly still be alive!¡± Laura said, remembering that moment with horror in her eyes.


    ¡°Why are you talking like she¡¯s still alive? Do you think I¡¯m such a child that I can¡¯t handle the truth!?¡±


    ¡°My, my! No wonder why you haven¡¯t touched your tea, dear.¡± Madam Rothema said as she turned to glare at Master Thales. ¡°I can see you didn¡¯t have the decency to tell her, did you?¡±


    ¡°Um, er¡­In all the general chaos, it kinda slipped my mind.¡± Thales looked away, slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± Laura asked, unblinking eyes focused on Master Thales.


    Thales took out a case from inside his cloak, and opened it. Sitting on top of a plush dark red velvet background were two shining blue gems. Silver plates indicated Laura and Thera¡¯s names. In front of them.


    ¡°I had Madam Rothema make these for me.¡± He explained. ¡°While I don¡¯t really understand everything that goes into them, they monitor your mana signatures. You could say that they¡¯re a kind of tracking device, except they can¡¯t tell us where you are. Instead, the gem turns red if you are seriously hurt¡­and in the case of death, your gem would shatter into dust. The fact that Thera¡¯s gem hasn¡¯t shattered-¡±


    ¡°Means that she¡¯s still alive!¡± Laura interrupted, her eyes once more coming back to life. Then tears formed once more in her eyes, but these were tears of relief. ¡°What¡¯s with that, I thought she was gone forever!¡±


    She began wiping the tears out of her eyes with her hands. When she was finished, she stood up straight.


    ¡°Master Thales!¡± She said, her old enthusiasm returning. ¡°Please, teach me how to become strong! It doesn¡¯t matter how hard the training will be, I need to get stronger so that the next time we meet, I won¡¯t lose to that girl!¡±


    Master Thales sighed. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Prepare yourself! This sort of training will be harder than anything you¡¯ve ever experienced!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Laura replied.


    As the two left, Madam Rothema chuckled to herself. ¡°My, my. To think that they¡¯ve gone and forgotten Thera¡¯s little apprentice in their enthusiasm.¡± She sipped her tea as she sat and waited for the sleeping girl to wake up.


    -----------------------------------------


    ¡°All we ever eat is mushrooms and moss soup, unless we can find some fallen upperworlder¡¯s things. One time, we found a bag of really wonderful stuff that Grandpa Thur told us was candy.¡±


    ¡°We enjoyed it bit by bit until it finally ran out.¡±


    ¡°You will not believe how yummy it was! Nothing like the food we normally eat.¡±


    ¡°They also have this hard, chewy red stuff that Grandpa Thur says is ¡®Jerky¡¯. I wonder how they make jerky? It tastes way better than moss! And there was one time that¡­¡±


    Briar was being led down through the network of underground caves while listening to the two children chatter away. But her interest in the conversation dwindled as she thought she saw a red glow up ahead.


    She even switched off her mana vision for a few seconds to check, and, yes, it was still there! Rien and Karu noticed where she was looking.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty? Grandpa Thur said that it looks a lot like the sunrise and the sunset. That reminds me, what does the sun look like? Is it really a great big shining ball of light that hangs in the sky? Does it really change colors? Is it really hot? But, if it¡¯s really hot, then why does Grandpa say that the upperworlders get cold in the winter time? Please tell me!¡±


    Briar smiled down at Rien. ¡°But there¡¯s so many questions!¡± She turned to Karu, and joked, ¡°Hey, which question do you think I should answer first?¡±


    ¡°None of them. Every time you answer a question, she¡¯ll have a million more questions stemming from that answer.¡± Karu replied with experience.


    ¡°How mean! I¡¯m not really like that~I just want to know everything!¡± Rien sulked, shoving against her brother. But, he being used to it, didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Alright, alright, that¡¯s enough, you two!¡± Briar clapped her hands like a school teacher.


    ¡°If you want, I¡¯ll try to answer your questions, but there will be some rules, okay?


    Rule number one: You are only allowed to ask one question at a time. It is always best to give one answer at a time, instead of two or three, because the answers will end up getting jumbled otherwise.


    Rule number two: Only after I am finished answering one question, can you ask another question.


    Rule number three: I reserve the right to refuse to answer certain questions based upon my own jugement.


    Rule number four: since I am only human, I don¡¯t know everything, so sometimes I will answer with ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯, and you will have to accept that. Does that sound fair?¡±


    The two nodded their heads.


    ¡°Okay, whose question shall I answer first?¡± Briar asked. Instantly, Rien¡¯s hand shot up, and she was straining on her tiptoes to raise her hand a bit higher.


    ¡°How about Rien? What¡¯s your question?¡± Briar picked.


    ¡°I have so much to ask! Let¡¯s see..hmmm¡­.Ah! I¡¯ve got it! My name means ¡®the sound of dripping water¡¯ what does your name mean?¡±


    ¡°Hmm..¡± Briar thought about how to explain it.


    ¡°You know how your Grandpa Thur wants you to find plants form the upper world? My name is the same as a particular kind of plant up there. It¡¯s a bush and has rows of sharp thorns that are there to keep people from breaking and damaging it. But, if it grows well, then every year, at a certain time, the most beautiful flowers in the world will bloom from it.¡±


    ¡°Really? What are flowers?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°Not so fast, Rien. It¡¯s your brother¡¯s turn to ask a question.¡± Briar said, turning to Karu. ¡°And what is your question?¡±


    ¡°Are there really lots and lots of people up there?¡± The boy asked. ¡°So many people that they can¡¯t be counted by the fingers of my hands unless I were to count until they fell off?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, that¡¯s probably right, but where did you get that idea from?¡± Briar asked, shaking the idea of fingers falling off of hands.


    ¡°When I asked Grandpa Thur, that¡¯s what he told me.¡± Karu replied.


    ¡°My turn, my turn!¡± Rien said, waving her hands gleefully.


    ¡°Okay, what is your question, Rien?¡±


    ¡°What are ¡®flowers¡¯?¡±

 Chapter 53: Grandpa Thur

    Still no change. I''m hoping to sell my bicycle and violin in order to be able to pay my bills by Wednesday, but so far, there have been no takers...which is strange because they''re both still good. I have  a GLIGA violin which is really expensive nowadays, but, to each his own..


    I may have to go on a hiatus until I can get out of this terrible situation.


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    Helen knelt on the floor, looking up at Madam Rothema, who was looking her up and down with an expression of deep contemplation. This little girl might not have any real martial strength, but her stare shone with a strong determination.


    ¡°Why are you asking this of me, little one? If it¡¯s fighting you wish to learn, then Thera¡¯s Master Thales would be much more appropriate.¡± Madam Rothema finally asked, placing her teacup down on the table.


    Helen smiled. ¡°Because I want to be strong, like Briar-I mean, Thera¡­and I-I too want to wield a magic that can create miracles!¡± The night where they crossed the river on a carpet had been branded into Helen¡¯s mind.


    Thera, it seems you¡¯ve unwittingly become this child¡¯s role model. Madame Rothema sighed in her heart.


    ¡°But, don¡¯t you know that Thera isn¡¯t just a magician? She first started out as a martial practitioner, you know.¡± Madam Rothema pointed out.


    ¡°I know. But Laura said that she¡¯s a genius above all geniuses¡­ I¡¯m just an ordinary person, so I can¡¯t hope to measure up to someone like that.¡± Helen looked down at the ground. ¡°But-¡±


    Helen lifted her head back up, her eyes shining. ¡°If I can focus on one thing, on just one thing, maybe someday I¡¯ll be able to become an adventurer who is strong enough to stand at his-I mean-by her side, as a trusted companion, and not just some powerless tag-along.¡±


    Madam Rothema stood up and walked over to the window, pondering the child¡¯s request. ¡°Why not? It seems I have nothing better to do, while waiting.¡± She muttered to herself, looking out the window. Rothema sighed. ¡°Haah¡­All right, child, I¡¯ll teach you magic.¡±


    ¡°Really! You mean it!?¡± Helen¡¯s face gradually lit up as the meaning of Madam Rothema¡¯s words sank in.


    ¡°I never say words that I don¡¯t mean.¡± Madam Rothema chided, smiling a bit.


    ¡°YESS!!! I¡¯m gonna be a magician! I¡¯m gonna be the greatest magician adventurer there is!¡± Helen jumped up from her kneeling pose and began dancing around in her joy.


    Madam Rothema smiled at the innocent display. I can see why Briar had taken such a liking to her. She noted. You just can¡¯t hate such an innocent little bundle of joy. But for this child to fulfill her dream, she¡¯s going to need a lot of work.


    Then her face turned serious. ¡°BUT. You are going to have to do EVERYTHING that I tell you to, understand? If I find you slacking off in your studies, even for a moment, the lessons will end.¡±


    Madam Rothema inclined her head, giving off an imperial feeling. ¡°I don¡¯t teach lazy children. When Thera was under my care, she used every minute of every day in order to learn as much as she could. I¡¯ll expect you to work just as hard while you are under my care.¡±


    ¡°Yes Madam Rothema!¡± Helen squeaked, standing straight at attention.


    ¡°Enough of that! You are to address me as ¡®Teacher¡¯, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, Teacher!¡± Helen stammered, clearly near bursting with glee.


    ¡°Very good¡­can you read, child?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°A-a little, Teacher.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I thought as much. Come, let¡¯s find out how much you know.¡± Madam Rothema beckoned Helen to come with her to the library room.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± Helen said, near skipping with glee as she followed Madam Rothema down the hallway.


    -----------------------------------------


    Briar stared at the incredible sight in front of her. A field of lava, bubbled and boiled behind a pan of what looked like glass-no wait, was that diamond!?


    ¡°Do you like it? Grandpa Thur made it so we could watch the fire field and have some light. Ah, but we¡¯re not supposed to touch it, though.¡± Rien chatted happily.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it.¡± Briar replied, truthfully. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa Thur says that it took him five whole years to gather enough fire-proof rocks to make that thing.¡± Karu pointed out.


    ¡°You mean, he made this?¡± Briar asked, clearly surprised.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Rien said, happily. ¡°Grandpa Thur¡¯s the best at finding anything related to rocks and stones. He knows everything!¡±


    ¡°He does, does he?¡± Briar laughed. ¡°Then, maybe he¡¯ll know the answer to a question that I have for him.¡±


    The light of the lava made it possible for Briar to finally get a good look at their faces. They both had black hair and pale blue eyes. Rien looked to be about five or six years old, while Karu looked to be about nine or ten. Both wore clothes that were too large on them.


    Briar assumed they came from the corpses of those who had been so unlucky as to fall to their deaths. She was very curious about these two children and their ¡®Grandpa Thur¡¯.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    No normal people would be content to live down here in the bowels of the earth. Was Grandpa Thur an eccentric magician? Perhaps even another Magi? But then, why would there be two children down here? Briar kept these things in her mind, as she listened to the two children chatter away.


    ¡°But, still, for these ¡®flowah¡¯ things to be so pretty, I had no idea! Show me again what they look like!¡± Rien pleaded.


    Briar sighed. When she had tried to explain what a flower was, earlier, eventually she resorted to creating an illusion with her mana. Rien was fascinated with them, and had bombarded Briar with questions and requests to see the flowers the rest of their journey through the tunnels.


    ¡°You really do like flowers, don¡¯t you?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Rien smiled with a childish joy.


    ¡°All right, one more time, but after that, you¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow.¡± Briar said, willing mana into her palm.


    Opening her closed fist, the mana surged out in the shape of a bud which began opening up bit by bit. Five minutes later, a red rose in full bloom seemed to rest upon her hand.


    Rien held her breath as she watched the spectacle, entranced by the show. When her face started to turn blue, Briar closed her hand, and the mana rose vanished. ¡°All right, I think that¡¯s enough for one day.¡±


    ¡°What! Come on, just a little bit more? Pleeeeez?¡± Rien begged.


    ¡°Pfft!¡± Briar involuntarily let out a small laugh. It seems no matter where you travel, children would always be the same. But if I let her watch another one, she might come down sick with oxygen deprivation. Briar decided.


    ¡°Sorry, but that was the last one.¡±


    Rien looked shocked. Then she looked so sad at the thought that she¡¯d maybe never see them again, that Briar took pity on her.


    ¡°-For today, of course. Tomorrow I might be able to conjure a few more.¡±


    ¡°Really! W-well then, I guess it can¡¯t be helped¡­¡± Rien sighed, but looked happier at the thought of still being able to see her beloved flowers.


    Karu laughed and grabbed Briar¡¯s hand, pulling her towards the first real door she had seen since arriving in this earthy depth.


    ¡°Come on!¡± He said. ¡°Granpa Thur is just through here! And, boy, will he ever be surprised, heh heh~¡± Karu chuckled at the thought of giving his Grandpa Thur a surprise.


    The door itself had no doorknob or handle to help open itself, looking rather more like an intricate wall carving, instead.


    Karu placed his hand upon the door, and Briar was surprised to both feel and see mana surge out of him into the door, filling up the pathways carved upon the door¡¯s face.


    Then the door slid silently to the right, rather like an automatic door, which Briar was pleasantly surprised at. But she had little time to recover before Karu called out.


    ¡°Grandpa Thur, we¡¯re back!¡±


    A rather ancient, gravelly voice echoed out to greet them.


    ¡°Welcome back. And what did you find on your journey this time, Karu?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve found something rather interesting that we¡¯d like to show you.¡± Karu said.


    ¡°Interesting, eh?...Well, don¡¯t keep me in the dark, Karu! Bring it in! I''ll look at it in a bit.¡± Grandpa Thur encouraged.


    ¡°Rien, Grandpa says you can bring our discovery inside now.¡± Karu called lazily back to little Rien, who tugged on Briar¡¯s sleeve, leading her inside the room.


    Except, it wasn¡¯t just a room¡­


    It was a work of art.


    Intricately-carved pillars wound their way up to the ceiling in uniform rows placed ten yards apart. Shapes and curves and different textures flowed together along the walls, heading up towards the ceiling, which was over a hundred feet high.


    One wall was a giant mural, depicting gallant Knights on horseback fighting against the hordes of beasts, while overhead, cultivators clashed arm to arm, head to head with flying beasts that had the appearances of demons.


    Looking upwards, Briar saw a small, beardless, balding man with light grey hair, seated on a bit of scaffolding, held up by an array of pulleys anchored to the roof.


    He was engrossed in his work, finishing the final cut off of a faun-like creature dancing under a harvest moon.


    Karu waited patiently while the old man finished what he was working on. He knew all too well how terribly cranky the man got when he was interrupted from his carving.


    After studying the carving one last time, the man sighed. ¡°If I only could get my hands on a bit of paint..¡± He muttered as he grabbed a rag to wipe the dust off of his hands.


    Turning to the children on the ground, he slightly frowned as he felt something off. Then he realized that there was an extra person there.


    Briar found herself looking up into two very ancient, but rather lively electric blue eyes.

 Chapter 54: Spring Cleaning

    I am uncertain when the next chapter will be, but please, keep praying for me so that I can get out of this dratted financial situation.


    ------------------------------------------------


    Both Briar and Grandpa Thur studied each other, neither betraying their thoughts on the other.


    ¡°See? Isn¡¯t it interesting?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a human? You see them all the time, after all.¡± Grandpa Thur shrugged, seeming to place more importance upon the rock he was just carving than upon the person before him.


    ¡°Yes, but this one¡¯s alive! And he has such interesting stories, too!¡± Karu insisted.


    ¡°Ho? Interesting stories? Well, I suppose that does add a bit more value than a dead one.¡± Grandpa Thur said, noncommittally. ¡°But, that is a human, after all. You can¡¯t keep him like that pet lizard you tried to keep a bit ago. Humans are too high maintenance. Just think of all the extra mushrooms and moss we¡¯ll need to harvest just to feed him.¡±


    Briar felt a bit uncomfortable being talked about as if she were some kind of stray cat, but she held her peace as she listened to what surprisingly seemed to be a negotiation.


    ¡°Yes, but now there¡¯s three of us, which means we have an extra pair of hands and eyes to look and pick these thing.¡±


    Briar interjected there.


    ¡°Um¡­might I say something?¡± She asked, raising her hand.


    ¡°¡°What?¡±¡± Karu and Grandpa Thur asked, in sync.


    ¡°I have plenty of food on my own, probably enough to last about a year on my own. If you¡¯d like, I can trade some of my food in return for a place to stay.¡±


    Briar not only had plenty of food, but also plenty of herbs and spices to help add to the flavor. The past month or so, while they were on the run, Briar would snipe down game whenever she had an opportunity.


    Since they did not know whether the place they would have to hide in would have anything edible or not, it was best to stock up for just in case.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯d give your food to us?¡± Karu asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a gift. It¡¯s equivalent exchange.¡± Briar corrected. ¡°If it were a gift, I¡¯d let you have it and not demand anything in return. You have a safe place to live, which I want, and I have food, which you want. Gifts are for people who know each other well, after all.¡±


    ¡°Then, the flowers that you showed us along the way, those weren¡¯t for free?¡± Karu asked.


    ¡°Huh? No, that was-well, for explanation purposes, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± Briar replied, ¡°And besides, I didn¡¯t give them to you or show you how to make them, so it wasn¡¯t a gift. It was more of a demonstration, if you will.¡±


    ¡°But, after you were done explaining things, you still showed us the flowers whenever Rien asked you to.¡±


    ¡°Ho? Flowers, huh?¡± the old man said, with a smirk.


    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Briar scratched behind her ear, sheepishly.


    Grandpa Thur flipped up a lever and the scaffolding he was on, quickly lowered itself to the ground, stopping just before it hit. Grandpa Thur walked over and looked Thera in the eyes, squinting, before turning around. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll allow it.¡± he said.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Briar was surprised. Her eyes seemed to turn into little dots.


    ¡°You seem to like children. From your eyes, you don¡¯t have any ill intentions. And you can provide for yourself easily. Isn¡¯t it fine?¡± The gruff old man said. He put his hands against his back and leaned backwards, his spine making popping noises.


    ¡°Good grief. It seems these old bones aren¡¯t what they used to be.¡± He muttered.


    ¡°Which means-¡± (Karu)


    ¡°-that Briar-¡± (Rien)


    ¡°¡°-is allowed to stay!?¡±¡± the two children finished up together.


    Grandpa Thur waved his mind dismissively. ¡°Yes, yes, he can stay. Rather, I¡¯m kind of tired of eating moss and mushroom soup all the time, you know?¡±


    ¡°¡°YIPEEE!¡±¡± The two children jumped for joy.


    ¡°That being said, I think I¡¯ll collect the rent ahead of time so that I can get started on making dinner.¡± The old man said, beckoning with his hand.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Briar had expected as much. She reached into her bag and brought out three large rabbits. ¡°This should be enough, right?¡± She said, handing them over.


    He nodded. ¡°Just right, I¡¯d reckon. Do you have any salt?¡±


    Briar nodded and once more reached into her magic bag, handing him one of the boxes of salt she had purchased off of Gyspum.


    Saying nothing, he nodded a thanks and turned, heading towards a different door in the cavern than the one Briar had come through.


    ¡°Karu, Rien, show the human where he can get some rest. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s probably mighty tired right now.¡± He called back over his shoulder.


    ¡°Yes~¡± Rien replied obediently. ¡°Will do.¡± Karu said at the same time.


    Rien took Briar¡¯s hand and pulled her to the right, towards another door in the wall.


    ¡°Come on! My room is this way.¡± She said.


    Briar smiled as she allowed herself to be pulled along. I wonder if I had a little sister, if this is what it would feel like? She thought to herself. And that would make Karu my little brother¡­yosh! I¡¯ve decided! Let¡¯s find something to give them as a present for when I leave. Briar smiled as she began making her plans.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The door opened up onto a decorated stone hallway, with several doors branching off of it. Along the ceiling and at certain intervals, glowing blue crystals lit the length of the hall. Most likely they¡¯re phosphorescent. But to find so many, this old man must have really been lucky! Briar thought to herself.


    Rien came to the first door, and opened it. ¡°This is my room, see!?¡± She said, showing off.


    Briar stepped inside and looked around. As expected, the furniture was made of stone. There were stone shelves built into the wall, upon which rested stone figurines of animals and houses, and doll-like people. The ceiling sported glowing crystals in a yellow color.


    The bed was round, and had a depression in the middle. Inside this depression, pillows, blankets, and furs made a rather cozy-looking sleeping nest. Rien also had a small table upon which rested her most prized possession: a rather faded-looking rag doll.


    ¡°Woow~¡± Briar made impressed sounds. ¡°But, how did the pillows and the blankets get down here? Don¡¯t tell me your Grandpa made them himself?¡± She picked up a pillow. ¡°Such even, delicate stitches, and is that embroidery? Nope, I definitely can¡¯t believe that this was made by your Grandpa! Absolutely not!¡±


    Rien giggled. ¡°Nope! Grandpa found them!¡±


    ¡°He found them? Where?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°On one of the bodies of the dead people who fall down every now and then.¡± Rien answered honestly. ¡°But Grandpa usually throws the bodies away into the lava pool ¡®to keep things clean¡¯ he says.¡±


    Well, that was true. You couldn¡¯t just leave a body to decay in the tunnels you used. You wouldn¡¯t know what kind of disease or foul sickness would breed on the remains of the dead body.


    Or it could be even worse: in this world, it¡¯s entirely possible for dead bodies that absorb enough mana to turn into zombies. That is why most bodies end up being burned at the funeral, to prevent their loved ones from turning into zombies.


    The lords and nobles tombs, though, were a bit special, because the crypts were usually heavily spelled to keep mana away from the bodies of the dead, which effectively nullifies the zombification process.


    I guess, in his own way, that old man properly takes care of his grandkids. Briar observed.


    Karu called from across the hallway. ¡°Hey! My room¡¯s over here!¡± He beckoned Briar over so she could come take a look.


    Briar stood in the doorway and observed. Karu¡¯s room was lit with green crystals, but the general layout was the same.


    On his stone shelves, figurines of warriors, archers, and magicians stood, much like how earth¡¯s boys would have their favorite superhero figurine displayed. Briar noticed a few dragons and monsters and the like hiding among the stone ranks as well.


    The only thing that¡¯s missing is a Gameboy and posters on the wall. Briar observed as she took a few steps inside.


    ¡°Hey, those stone dolls over there, did your Grandpa make all of them?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Yep! He makes one every time he tells us a story!¡± Karu replied, proudly.


    ¡°Heeeh? Is that so? That¡¯s really impressive!¡± Briar praised as she looked at the highly-detailed figurines. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could do something like this half so well.¡± She said.


    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s because Grandpa Thur is the best!¡± Karu grinned, smugly.


    Rien poked her head in. ¡°Your room is over here~ follow me!¡± She said, trying to deepen her voice in imitation of Grandpa Thur. Briar held back a chuckle and followed Rien down the hallway to what would be her room, for now.


    Rien placed her hand on the door, quickly sending mana into the carved passageways on its surface, and the door slid to the side. Briar took a look at the interior.


    At first glance, it had the same general layout as Rien and Karu¡¯s rooms, but scattered about the room were piles of furs, boxes of ointments, and a large pile of magic bags, off to the side.


    ¡°It was the guest room at first, but since we never had any live visitors, we eventually turned it into a store room for all the things we aren¡¯t using right now.¡± Karu explained, having followed behind them.


    Briar let out a relieved sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a mess, all right, but nothing a bit of cleaning can¡¯t fix.¡± Rolling up her sleeves, she got to work clearing a path to the general location of the bed.


    Rien and Karu followed behind, helping her to dust things off or to find other places to put things. Briar did all the carrying and heavy lifting.


    After who knows how long, the path was cleared.


    ¡°Whew!¡± Rien wiped the sweat off her brow. ¡°I¡¯m glad that¡¯s done-¡± Just as she spoke, her stomach let out a very large growling noise. Her face turned pink from embarrassment.


    Karu laughed. ¡°What kind of monster do you keep in that stomach of yours, anyways?¡± He teased.


    But Briar smiled kindly. ¡°I¡¯m actually a bit hungry, myself. Why don¡¯t we go and see if dinner¡¯s ready, hmm?¡± She cheerfully asked Rien.


    ¡°Oh! Goody! Come on!¡± Rien stuck her tongue out at Karu as shegrabbed Briar¡¯s hand.Briar let herself be pulled out of the room.

 Hiatus-1 month

    Sorry guys, but life is happening, and I''m not quite sure when I''d have the time to work on this, because I''ve recently moved, because of the borrower problem (I was evicted), which was what kept me from writing all this time. I have not forgotten you all, I just am not sure when I''d be able to finish the next chapter and post it.


    So, during this time, I may or may not post another chapter or two, but I''m trying to finish up the school year and move out to Kansas immediately afterwards, so my time is a bit strapped.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Please understand. Life is throwing me a bunch of lemons, and I''m running out of sugar, water, and hands. I also probably got some of the juice squeezed into my eyes by accident.


    But, I am not abandoning! I just need to set this aside until things get settled. Sorry for not saying this sooner, and I''m sorry for making you wait so long for the next chapter.


    :wozy: :wozy: :wozy:   :boworpushups:

 Chapter 55: The Truth Hidden Underneath the Art

    Hello! I had a bit of time, so I managed to finish this chapter.


    It''s five days until I leave for Kansas, and I''m kind of getting nervous the closer I get to it...Whew! All this flying stuff is not good for my heart. Taking off is alright, I usually grin like an fool, then...It''s just...I''ve never had a good experience with the landing yet...


    I''ve been busy finishing report cards -which are not finished yet- I just took a little break is all, honest!


    Yesterday was the last day of school. As soon as I got back to the house, it felt like I was a puppet with all of my strings cut. I slept for five hours, and then eight hours more, after that. I hope it''s not mono...


    A-anyways, since I finished it, I felt it would be bad of me not to post it, so here it is! Enjoy~


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dinner was ready when Rien led Briar to the room where they ate.


    She looked around. They were in a cozy little room, with what appeared to be a fireplace, but instead of a fire in the hearth, there was a red glowing stone that gave off heat and light steadily, like a mini sun.


    In another corner of the room, a bubbling spring emptied into a pool of water. No matter how much water poured into the basin, however, the water never splashed over the edge. Briar figured there might be some sort of drain hole near the top of the pool to keep it from overflowing.


    Grandpa Thur, himself, was at a stone counter on the far side of the room. He had already roasted two of the rabbits, and turned the third one into a stew, with mushrooms and some of the moss. The leftovers, he was currently turning into sausages to cure for later. Briar looked over his shoulder to take a look at what he was doing.


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have any pepper on you, do you?¡± He asked in his gravely voice, over his shoulder. Briar wordlessly reached into her bag, and placed a packet of raw peppercorn into his outstretched hand.


    Rien watched the transaction, curiously. ¡°what¡¯s pepper?¡± She asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a seed that comes from a plant. It makes meat taste better and helps preserve it and keep it from going bad.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Does it taste good?¡± Rien asked.


    Briar chuckled. ¡°Well, it helps the meat taste good, but if you eat it by itself, it doesn¡¯t exactly taste nice.¡±


    ¡°So it tastes bad? If it tastes bad, then how does it make the meat taste good?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s like soup, in a ways. If there¡¯s just mushrooms and moss, then that¡¯s all there is. But, if you add some salt, then it tastes better, right?¡± Briar explained.


    Rien tilted her head, still a bit confused.


    ¡°Have you tried eating salt by itself?¡± Briar asked.


    Then Rien¡¯s eyes widened with delight as she finally understood. Salt by itself was too salty. But it makes other food taste good. Then, it should be the same with pepper. Pepper by itself was too much. But, when placed with other food, it would enhance the taste the same as salt.


    ¡°Humph! The key is moderation. Too many darn younglings putting too much into their food, and ruining it, so they have to add more of other herbs and spices to balance it out. Wasteful, I say!¡± Grandpa Thur harrumphed again.


    ¡°Dinner smells amazing!¡± Karu said, walking in through the door. ¡°Is it time to eat yet?¡±


    ¡°Set the table, and we¡¯ll start.¡± Grandpa Thur said, taking the pot of stew off its hook. Karu eagerly grabbed the bowls, plates, knives and spoons, setting the table, which took up the middle of the room.


    Oddly enough, the vegetation seemed to go quite well with the meat. Usually, no one would ever think of adding moss to a rabbit dish, but the moss served to get rid of the gamey taste of the meat.


    Briar watched the two children dig into the food as if they could never get enough to eat.


    ¡°Seconds!¡± Karu shouted, holding his bowl out to Grandpa Thur. ¡°Seconds!¡± Rien echoed, holding her well-polished bowl out also.


    ¡°My, my! You two ate so fast, that I wonder if you even tasted the food before it ended up in your stomachs.¡± Grandpa Thur clucked his tongue and dipped his ladle into the rabbit stew.


    ¡°It¡¯s because it tastes so good!¡± Karu said, watching his bowl get filled up once more.


    Briar chuckled, watching the two cute children as they hastily devoured their food.


    -------------


    Later on, after the children had fallen asleep, Briar was lying in the big room with pillars, hands on her head, gazing at the carvings as if she were watching the stars. She felt a presence behind her, but didn¡¯t bother to turn around.


    ¡°It took me ten years to get this far along. The best in the world, I¡¯d say, if more people could arrive without dying, anyways.¡± Grampa Thur said, looking up at the carvings.


    ¡°That depends upon the beholder.¡± Briar said in reply. ¡°That which is priceless, for some, is just a worthless pile of junk for others.¡±


    She turned her head to glance up at him. ¡°Not to say that I don¡¯t agree with you, of course. For all of my lifetime here, I have not seen anything that could rival this colossal masterpiece.¡±  At least, in this life, anyways.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Ho? What¡¯s treasure to some is trash to others? That¡¯s a good saying. I like it. Which wizened grandma did you hear that tidbit from?¡± Grandpa Thur asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it from anyone.¡± Briar said again.


    ¡°Then, you must have read it in some book or something, right?¡±


    ¡°Although I have read many books in my lifetime, I have never come across such a line.¡± Thera took one of her hands from behind her head to stifle a yawn. ¡°It¡¯s just something I¡¯ve noticed while watching the people, in general.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s impossible for someone as young as you to suddenly start spouting wisdom one would only hear from wizened grandmothers.¡± Grandpa Thur huffed.


    ¡°Life is the teacher, who teaches everyone, but what we come away with depends only upon ourselves.¡± Briar replied. ¡°But, speaking of books, I happened to have read a certain one that deals with the importance of structures in transportation magic.¡±


    Grandpa Thur suddenly stiffened. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    Briar sat up, and scratched her head. ¡°Nothing much, nothing much. My, you certainly are quite the architect, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    The light in the wizened man¡¯s eyes took on a cold glint, as Briar continued.


    ¡°In all my life, I¡¯ve never seen such a perfectly disguised magic circle. You¡¯re making this to transport Rien and Karu to the surface world, right?¡±


    Grandpa Thur blinked, and the cold light in his eyes softened a bit as he replied suspiciously, ¡°Maybe. Maybe I am. What¡¯s it to you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that it doesn¡¯t have a specific destination. While it won¡¯t land them inside a monster¡¯s stomach, there¡¯s no telling if it will set them down in the middle of the ocean, or on top of a mountain peak or something equally hazardous. It¡¯s also lacking a power source.¡± Briar pointed out.


    ¡°I¡¯m no expert,¡± She continued, ¡°But shouldn¡¯t this sort of thing have a designated power source? If not, then it would continually drain the mana from the area-oh so that¡¯s it! You were going to use the mana power from the nearby lava pool, right? But, wouldn¡¯t the mana be too volatile-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that I¡¯d use that explosion just waiting to happen!¡± The old man Thur nearly spit blood, enraged at the thought of it.


    Briar calmly looked at him. ¡°No. No, I don¡¯t think you would. But using your own mana is not a good idea either.¡±


    ¡°¡­So I was found out after all, huh?¡± The old man sighed. His wrinkles seemed deeper, and his voice less gruff.


    ¡°It would be hard not to notice, especially for someone with my education.¡± Briar replied, in a matter-of-fact manner. ¡°But, like I said, using your own mana is no good. Especially, because of Karu and Rien: if they realized later on that you gave your life just to get them to the surface, then they would be very sad.¡±


    ¡°Be quiet! What business is it of yours what I do with what is mine own?¡± Thur growled in his deep voice, as he turned his head to look away.


    ¡°Since I have a solution to both of your problems, of course.¡± Briar said. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I offer a better solution if it keeps two children from losing their one and only living relative?¡± Briar retorted.


    Grandpa Thur was silent for a minute. ¡°You know how to input coordinates?¡± He rasped.


    Briar nodded. ¡°It was in Bryant¡¯s not-well-known second book, ¡®Theory on Coordinates and Adjustments¡¯. You¡¯ve probably only read the first book, right?¡±


    After hesitating a few moments, Grandpa Thur nodded.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s to be expected. After all, since the great fire in the Grand Library of Aldengur, there is only one copy left of Bryant¡¯s second book.¡± Briar said, stretching.


    She hoisted herself to her feet.¡°Well, if we¡¯re going to do this, I¡¯ll need your steady hand. Karu says that you¡¯re the best there is when it comes to statues and carvings, so I¡¯ll need you to carve the coordinates into the frame.¡±


    Grandpa Thur hesitated. ¡°What about the power source?¡± He asked.


    ¡°We won¡¯t need that until we¡¯re going to use it, so we¡¯ll leave it for afterwards.¡± Briar said. ¡°But, for now, let¡¯s make sure that it takes them somewhere safe, okay?¡±


    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not going to trick me?¡± He growled.


    ¡°Because, I like Rien and Karu too, so I need to make sure their stubborn old grandpa lives for a long time yet.¡± Briar said, making a face at Grandpa Thur, while she spoke in a prickly manner.


    ¡°Hey! Is that any way to treat your elders!¡± Grandpa growled, aiming a chop at Briar¡¯s head.


    ¡°Is that any way to talk to your helper~¡± Briar shot back, dodging the intended blow.


    ¡°Why you!!¡± The old man spoke angrily, but after raising his clenched fist, he paused. Then he let the hand drop, and gave up with a shrug and a sigh.


    ¡°What do we need to do first?¡± He asked.

 Chapter 56: An unexpected companion and a not-so shocking shock

    So, you know how I said it''d be just a week? Life psyched me with a whammy to the backside of my head.


    So, I safely got on the plane, and landed in Kansas with all my limbs attached. But then, I promptly realized that my laptop was not among the possessions in my luggage. So, I retraced my steps in my head.


    In the Manchester airport in NH, I went through the security screening and  grabbed all my things, but then decided to  get some water, because I was really thirsty. So, I went to a small airport shop and bought a water and some souvenirs for my family out in Kansas.


    Unbeknownst to me, my drivers licence slipped out of my hands, which were clutching it in between my plane tickets, since I didn''t have the presence of mind to just put them the heck away.


    So, after realizing that I had lost my licence, I was called down to the communications office to go pick it up, since someone had so ''helpfully'' brought it down there. I managed to get it and get back upstairs on time, but I had to go through the security screening a second time.


    It was during that second run through that I forgot to grab my computer, since I was in a hurry to get to the terminal before they started boarding people.


    And so, having made a terrible mistake, I had to give the airport my address and wait for my computer to arrive.


    The plus side of this is that I ended up with one very large sheet of bubble wrap~


    But enough about me. Here''s the much-awaited, much-belated chapter! Enjoy~!


    ------------------------------------------------------


    Sunlight shone through the window, illuminating tiny specks of dust floating in the room. A slight breeze made the pastel pink curtains flutter by the window, brushing past stray wisps of a golden braid that hung down Helen¡¯s back.


    Finishing the last page of the book she was reading, Helen stretched and looked out the window, admiring the brilliant blue sky and giant cotton ball clouds that breezed by below.


    It had been two months since Briar-er Thera had fallen down the strange rift in the ground, and with the wonderful tail wind they had been having, they would arrive at Plateau Peak in two and a half months, leaving extra time for training before the big tournament.


    Of course, that was for Madam Rothema and Helen. The ¡®two meatheads¡¯ as Madam Rothema often said, were stoically making their way there on foot. Master Thales would not budge in that regard. Laura enthusiastically agreed, seeing everything as a way of getting stronger.


    ¡°Fifty-three books, huh?¡± Madam Rothema observed as she came into room with the afternoon tea. ¡°That¡¯s good enough for now, come help me with the tea.¡±


    ¡°Yes, teacher!¡± Helen cheerfully helped her place the saucers, cups, spoons, and platters of tea snacks on the table in their proper places.


    ¡°Good, you remember from last time.¡± Madam Rothema nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Have a seat.¡±


    Helen sat down and waited while Madam Rothema poured the tea.


    While setting the table was something Helen could now do, making tea was not something she had learned yet, so Madam Rothema would make it.


    ¡°Did you properly understand what you have read?¡± Madam handed Helen a cup of tea.


    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± Helen accepted the cup and took a few sips of it, reaching towards the tea snacks in front of her. Today¡¯s snack was ginger-snaps with cinnamon sprinkled on top.


    ¡°Although the homework I gave to Thera was a hundred books a day, it¡¯s all right to pace yourself according to how much you understand. Because, honestly, that girl exceeds the limits of common sense time and time again.¡±


    Madam Rothema chuckled, thinking of all the times Thera managed to surprise her in the past five years. Helen finished her tea and her snack before she interrupted her teacher¡¯s reminiscence.


    ¡°Teacher?¡±


    Madam Rothema stirred, turning her head away from the window. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. That¡¯s right, let¡¯s see how your mana capacity is today.¡±


    Helen nodded and stood up, moving to the window. During the past two months, if she wasn¡¯t reading, she was growing her mana capacity. She shot off as many [Wind Shot] spells as she could, out the window. Today¡¯s count was thirty, before she started feeling that fuzzy, ache-in-her-bones feeling that meant that she had used up almost all of her mana.


    ¡°Oh? You managed to bring the count up by two again. Good! Good. At this rate, you¡¯ll be able to perhaps catch up to Thera by your eighteenth birthday.¡±


    ¡°S-so faraway?¡± The eight year old child panted, feeling a bit discouraged. She hadn¡¯t even lived for ten years, but she was already ten years behind?


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. You chose to chase the shadows of no ordinary magician, after all.: Madam Rothema sipped her tea.


    ¡°That is, if Thera is still continuing her magic training, to be sure. I bet she¡¯s probably forgotten, though.¡±


    ----------------------------


    ¡°Achoo!¡± Briar sneezed explosively. Ah. Is someone spreading rumors about me again? She wondered to herself, as she rubbed her nose to relieve the itching. One would think people had a better use of their time.


    ¡°Hey! How high up does this need to be?¡± Grandpa Thur barked from up on his rickety scaffolding.


    ¡°The top of the character needs to be thirty seven meters, three centimeters, and point six millimeters above the magic circle. The bottom of the character needs to be thirty six meters, seventy eight centimeters and four point three millimeters above the magic circle.¡± Briar replied immediately.


    ¡°You really weren¡¯t kidding when you said you needed a steady hand, were you?¡± The wizened old man grumbled as he placed his hand upon the stone, and poured his mana into the specified area. A perfect replica of the character in his hand was depressed into the stone as if it were nothing more than mere clay.


    ¡°Done! Now, what about the next one?¡±


    Briar checked her notes. ¡°The next one needs to be on the third pillar. The top needs to be twenty nine meters and five centimeters above the magic circle, the bottom needs to be twenty eight meters and 25 millimeters-¡±


    ¡°Hold on, hold on! The third pillar, you say?¡± He quickly manipulated some ropes to move the scaffolding over to the third pillar. ¡°All right, give me the directions again!¡±


    This had been going on all morning, or night, or whatever, since they couldn¡¯t really measure time this far down below the ground anyways.


    Karu and Rien had awoken by that time, and, not finding Briar in her room, they found her in the great pillar room that Grandpa was always working on. But when they did, their mouths dropped open in astonishment.


    Grandpa Thur-their own Grandpa Thur-the gruff old man who groaned and complained and knew everything¡­was following the directions of the mysterious young man, Briar!?


    Once Grandpa was satisfied with one of his works, he would not budge it for the world, but now, wherever Briar told him to put the strange inscriptions, he did. It didn¡¯t matter if there was already a carving there that he had worked months on. It was all done away with in the matter of a few moments.


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


    Briar, being closer to the ground, was the first to notice Karu and Rien.


    ¡°Good morning, you two~! You must be hungry, right? Breakfast is in the kitchen, so feel free to eat what¡¯s there.¡±


    ¡°Briar¡­what are you and grandpa doing?¡± Rien finally asked. Karu nodded, also wondering what they were doing.


    ¡°Huh? This? Ah. This is¡­¡± Briar saw Grandpa Thur shake his head slightly out of the corner of her eye. She tilted her head and winked. ¡°Well, the thing is, it¡¯s a surprise~ You¡¯ll have to wait until we¡¯re finished before we can tell you, because it¡¯s not ready yet.¡±


    ¡°A sur-prise?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a Surprise?¡±


    The two asked.


    ¡°Hmm¡­it¡¯s like when you tasted candy for the first time. You had never tasted something like it before, so when you got your first taste, you were like ¡®Whoah! How Sudden! But, how wonderful!¡¯ Or something like that¡± She explained.


    ¡°Oy! The next one, the next one!¡± Grandpa Thur shouted down from the scaffolding, eager to place the next one.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Briar replied, once more looking through her notes. ¡°The next one should be on the fifth pillar¡­¡±


    ------------------------------


    Briar stretched, yawning as she crawled into bed that night. After making the preliminary calculations and matching them up to the runes, she had checked and double checked the coordinates until they were deemed acceptable. She had done this for a month using a few maps from the pile of miscellaneous goods in her room.


    Now they were finally getting started placing the runes, but for the coordinates to be set, it requires hundreds upon hundreds of runes to be prescribed in order. Today they had managed to transcribe about two hundred and fifty runes before Grandpa had to stop for the day.


    ¡°Five hundred and twenty seven left.¡± She muttered to herself. ¡°If we continue at this pace, then we¡¯ll finish in three day¡¯s time. Which means I should solve the problem of a power source right now.¡±


    She began rummaging through her magic bag, in the hopes of finding something to use as a makeshift power source.


    ¡°Myaow~¡± A familiar sound came out from inside the magic bag. Briar froze. It couldn¡¯t be¡­.Her hand brushed by a familiar purring furr-covered mass in the bag. She grasped onto it and pulled the offending culprit out of the bag.


    ¡°Yukikage!? I thought I left you with Madam Rothema! Does this mean that you¡¯ve been traveling along with me the entire time?¡±


    The grey and white feline rubbed a paw across her eyes, then said.


    ¡°Nya? I don¡¯t know. I was tired and wanted a place to sleep and found somewhere super comfy.¡±


    Briar froze for the second time.


    ¡°Ah, but, now that I think of it, this place smells a lot different than the nice book house. Have we arrived somewhere new?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Briar stared in unabashed amazement.


    ¡°What meow?¡± Yukikage asked, tilting her head to the side.


    Briar took a deep breath, and then let it out. ¡°Right. This is a hallucination, or someone is playing a trick on me. Everything will go back to normal in the morning.¡± She lay down on the bed, turning her back upon the cat.


    ¡°Wha-! What happened to your face, Master!? Did some evil witch cast a spell on you!?¡± Briar twitched. That voice was still talking. Don¡¯t mind it, don¡¯t mind it! Ah, wait¡­this is a magic world, so what¡¯s wrong with there being talking cats?


    Briar sat up, and turned around to face Yukikage. ¡°How long have you been able to talk?¡± She asked, blurting out the first thing that came into her mind.


    ¡°What are you saying? I¡¯ve always been talking to you like this, haven¡¯t I? Nya¡­perhaps, the witch has messed with your memory, too!?¡±


    Briar finally remembered that she was wearing a disguise. ¡°Ah, this? This is something Madam Rothema made for me so I could get through a certain area without being caught by cat-hating rascals like Ray and his gang.¡± She explained using simplistic terms.


    ¡°I see, nya~That¡¯s a really good idea~!¡± Yukikage agreed hissing, with her hair rising along her spine. ¡°Just the thought of those boys makes me want to scratch up their bedding and chew their clothing to mushes!¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that, Yuki. They might retaliate by stealing away all the catnip.¡± Briar advised. ¡°Can anyone else understand what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Nope! Just Master!¡± Said Yukikaze. ¡°Ah, but I remember this really nice sparkly pink stone in your bag that was nice and warm, but then it turned white and stoppedglowing after a while. Since then, Yuki feels like she¡¯s gotten much stronger!¡±


    Hmm, so it looks like she used the mana in that weird stone I have to evolve her form?It turns white when it runs out of juice, huh? This sounds interesting~.


    ¡°Ho? Stronger? In what way?¡± She asked Yuki.


    ¡°Ah yes, look look! Yukican now scare those nasty boys away herself!¡± Yuki said excitedly. She grew from housecat size to cheetah size in the span of a moment. ¡°See? Yuki can growl at them and they¡¯ll run away! No more looking down on Yuki!¡± Yuki looked at Briar with sparkling eyes as if to say, ¡®praise me, please~!¡¯


    Briar laughed. ¡°I can see that, but for now, let¡¯s keep you at your original size, okay?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because if you try to eat your yummy food while you¡¯re big, there¡¯ll be a lot less of it.¡± She said.


    ¡°Oh no! My favorite sardines!¡± Yuki wailed as she quickly returned to her small, unassuming housecat size.


    Briar sighed. It seemed that there was yet one more care added onto her list of things to deal with. For the time being, she fed Yukikage and had her go back to sleep in the bag. Since Yuki liked sleeping, she didn¡¯t complain about it. Thera then closed the bag when she wassure thatYuki was asleep.


    There was no physical way that Yuki could have slept all that time without waking up from hunger, so did the magic bag keep Yuki in suspended animation as it did with the foods that she would put in there?


    She wanted to test it out, so she decided to experiment for the night. If the bag didn¡¯t do such a thing, then surely Yuki would wake her up in the morning to eat breakfast. But, if not, then hadn¡¯t she discovered a somewhat rather dangerous fact about her magic bag?


    Most magic bags couldn¡¯t hold living things inside of them. Only dead things would trigger the space magic. If one wanted to stuff a live hostage inside a magic bag, then it would become like a normal bag, and they would fail. Perhaps that upperclassman of Margie¡¯s was studying some ancient way of making magic bags¡­ oh well. The truth would come out in the morning.


    Briar lay down to sleep.

 Chapter 57: Preparations

    Briar didn¡¯t even need an alarm, though, since she awoke before any of the others were awake. Using this chance, Briar took the opportunity to meditate. Like the time before, over half the mana she gathered around her was siphoned off into the magic bag.


    Probably the stone recharging, huh? Briar surmised. Considering how it had managed to transform Yukikage, Briar did not feel aggravated by the slowdown in mana replenishment, though, because the mana down below the earth was much thicker than what breezed about on the surface.


    There was also the mana from the lava lake nearby, but it really was a rather volatile sort of energy. It could usually be taken in small amounts, but too much could result in mana poisoning, unless one was particularly suited to fire magic.


    When one has mana poisoning, even the smallest of spells could suddenly explode in your face, or die out at a crucial moment. It was much safer to absorb a calmer, more stable form of mana, like that which comes from the earth, instead.


    Not to say that there was a thing like elemental mana. Mana was mana, no matter where it came from. But, depending on its surroundings, it could have a different frequency of movement.


    The spontaneity of fire, the calmness of water, the formlessness of air, the stability of earth: mana that is among a great amount of a certain element can take on such extra characteristics as a kind of habitual movement that it has become accustomed to.


    That is why some magicians immersed themselves in a certain environment, since the characteristics of the elements can be felt more keenly in these areas.


    That was also the reason why Grandpa Thur had to rest so often. It took little to no effort to absorb mana, but to separate and repel the volatile mana which came from the lava lake nearby caused a mental strain.


    If there had been no fire lake nearby, then they could probably have finished all of the characters in one day. But one day or three days, they¡¯d get out eventually, right? Briar wasn¡¯t particularly bothered by it.


    Perhaps it was due to her mana veins, but Briar found it much easier to reject the more volatile ¡®fire¡¯ mana. Not only did she have a large mana capacity, but she also was able to take in more at once than normal magicians. Of course, this was all simply normal for her.


    Actually, Briar noticed that the fire mana she was repelling was being sucked into bag along with the other mana. It seemed that for the stone, it didn¡¯t matter what type of mana it was, so long as there was mana.


    Well, at least it¡¯s not picky. She let it go, as she absorbed more and more mana, re-directing the fire lake¡¯s mana towards the bag, since that was easier than simply repelling it.


    Having finished her meditation and replenished her mana, Briar then addressed the situation with the magic bag. It was already way past the time when Yukikage would have awoken and come out, yet she had not done so.


    So, it is suspended animation, as I had suspected. Briar nodded in confirmation. It wasn¡¯t altogether too shocking. There were stories about such things being among the ancient heroes possessions.


    But for something like that to appear in the current era, well, it seemed that she would have to look into it once she returned. It was likely the result of an ancient monolith, or of an artifact.


    If it was a monolith, then she would easily be able to acquire the secret herself, if given directions, because monoliths were famous for not being able to be moved by magic or by strength. Even the ravages of nature and time could not destroy them. And they often held hidden pieces of history upon them.


    But, if it was an artifact, then it would be rather difficult to research, due to the danger of the situation. Artifacts were highly coveted, and if anyone heard that someone was in possession of an artifact, then trouble would most assuredly be doomed to befall them.


    Ah that¡¯s right! Briar remembered. I was looking for a power source for the portal magic! Briar hastily began digging through her things again.


    ¡°Hold on, this is perfect!¡± She exclaimed, withdrawing something within her clenched fist. It glowed, making her hand look bright pink as the light illuminated her hand from within.


    Thinking of the surprise she was going to give those three, she couldn¡¯t suppress a wide  grin from forming on her face.


    ----------------------


    ¡°First we missed him when he travelled through our area, and then we missed capturing his apprentices when they passed through as well. Although I¡¯ve known him to be hard to find, there was always some small trace that could eventually be followed. But, for all of them to up and disappear like smoke for two months!? How incompetent do you have to be!?¡±


    The black-cloaked man¡¯s forehead was covered in sweat as a chalice of wine just narrowly missed grazing his head.


    ¡°My apologies, Master. It appears they have acquired the aid of a magician of rather high rank. King Darrin¡¯s men did mention a powerful magician who left the same day as The Ranger and his disciple. Unfortunately, they soon lost track of both parties.¡±


    Noticing full well that his Master¡¯s patience was growing thin, the cloaked man added, ¡°But, we did find out where they were going! One of Darrin¡¯s men overheard the apprentice saying something about attending the Ten-Year Student¡¯s Contest while she was out buying weapons. She also said that the other apprentice was sure to show up there as well!¡±


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    The hand unclenched and a finger thoughtfully drummed  upon the table as the shadowed man ruminated upon this information.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure of all this?¡± He asked, pointedly.


    ¡°He heard it quite clearly, since he was the one selling the weapons to her.¡± The cloaked figure added, nodding his head.


    ¡°Very well¡­It has been a while since I¡¯ve been out and about¡­Ready your swiftest steeds. We¡¯re heading out.¡± The shadowy man said, rising from his throne.


    ¡°Consider it done! Our destination?¡± The cloaked man bowed.


    ¡°Obviously, to the Ten-Year Students Contest. If we start now, we¡¯ll probably only just make it in time. I think it¡¯s about time to give out and gain a few prizes of our own.¡± He strode out of the room.


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± The bowing cloaked man suddenly vanishing like smoke.


    -------------


    Laura stopped for a brief moment at the peak of the mountain she had been climbing. Master Thales got up from where he had been sitting while waiting for her to arrive. Laura was lying down, panting from the effort she had put into it, but Master Thales had not even broken a sweat to climb to such a height.


    If Briar had been there she would have said that the mountain was as high as Mount Fuji. But, unlike Mount Fuji, its shape was more like that of a clam¡¯s shell, or an ocean wave. The mountain leaned out over the land below, making it a difficult challenge to climb. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t simply one mountain, but a whole huge mountain range.


    Laura had just finished climbing up the inner curve of the mountain, so the rest of the mountain was bound to be much easier.


    ¡°By my calculations, you should be able to start feeling your arms around now.¡± Master Thales noted.


    ¡°Ugh! You¡¯re a demon lord! An absolute demon lord!¡± Laura groaned, wincing as circulation brought a stinging, tingling sensation like fire ants crawling back into her arms.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°¡­Nothing.¡± Laura had learned that repeating what she had said was not a good idea with Master Thales.


    ¡°Recall, who was the one who asked me to train you? Who wanted to be able to beat a certain someone? Hmm?¡± He pressed.


    ¡°¡­It was me.¡± Laura admitted, inwardly cursing herself in the past. I wish I had never asked. But that little sentence remained un-said. The training was painful, but if it managed to help her to get stronger, then it was indeed worth the trouble.


    ¡°It seems your arms have returned enough feeling in them. But the cold is making it hard for the blood to fully circulate through. It¡¯s time for a quick massage before we descend the mountain.¡± Thales decided.


    Laura¡¯s face went pale as cold sweat started to pour out of her head.


    ¡°Wait, Master, you don¡¯t mean-UWAAAAHHHHH!!!!!¡±


    ----------------------


    Entire flocks of birds took to the air at the horrendous sound which echoed down from the mountains that day.


    Moreover, the people in the villages at the foot of the mountain range, witnessing this great flight of the mountain birds were filled with great concern. Upon consulting the village oracles, it was discovered that it was a sign of a great test. Whether the results became good or bad, would depend upon their devotion to doing good.


    The villagers were greatly disturbed and collectively decided to offer sacrifices of their best food and drink, burning them within a great raging bonfire. They did this every year as a renewed promise to be good.


    As a result of this, a good ending came about.


    A hundred years after this began, an evil merchant would pass through the village. During this time, the few villages had grown and developed into a place that had the best food and drink for miles around.


    The evil merchant, seeing all of this, was greedy for it, and fooled the villagers into thinking he was a trustworthy man. Even the head of the village could not see how black the merchant¡¯s heart was.


    The time of the bonfire grew near, and everyone was preparing their best to throw into the flames. But the merchant thought that they were preparing it for a feast, and thought to poison the village head, and take over so that all of these good things would be his. He poured a powerful poison into a flagon of his best wine, planning to present it to the chief.


    During the time for sacrifice, the merchant mistakenly presented the flagon to the chief, who kindly threw it into the fire for him, since the merchant did not know the custom.


    But at this time, the flames grew dark, and black smoke ascended to the heavens, due to the poison in the wine. And so, the merchant¡¯s evil heart was revealed and the villages were saved from a great calamity, thus ending the Time of the Great Test.


    After that day, they still continued to have a bonfire every year in memory of that event, although food was no longer tossed into the flames.


    This story was passed down from father to child until the Festival of the Bonfire became thoroughly engrained in their culture. Years later, this place would become a popular tourist area, with the story of the ¡®Time of Great Trial¡¯.


    And, the legend goes that anyone who is of evil will, should he stand before the bonfire, it will once more turn black: as black as the evil in his heart.

 Chapter 58: Out

    I''ve got  a new job now, so I suppose I can''t be called Sora-sensei anymore. Oh well! Here''s the nextchapter,enjoy~


    --------------------------------------------


    Briar found Karu, Rien, and Grandpa Thur in the kitchen, eating breakfast.


    ¡°Briar¡¯s here!¡± Karu announced cheerfully.


    ¡°Briar-ni! Briar-ni!¡± Rien called out.


    ¡°Yes? What is it, Rien?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Briar-ni, when is the surprise going to be ready?¡± Rien asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. Karu¡¯s ear seemed to twitch as he also was curious.


    ¡°If all goes well, then we should be finished in three more days.¡± Briar announced.


    ¡°Three more days!?¡± Rien exclaimed in dismay. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to wait three more days! I want to know now! What are all those strange drawings on the walls? Why do they have to be placed only in certain places? Tell me, Briar-ni!¡± She pestered.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t tell her anything, Briar, my lad. I¡¯ve spoiled her enough. A little waiting isn¡¯t going to hurt her.¡± Grandpa Thur interjected.


    Briar shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rien. You heard Grandpa Thur. You¡¯ll have to wait until we¡¯re done.¡± She slipped the item in her hand into her magic bag. Now wasn¡¯t the time to reveal such a thing.


    ¡°Boo! Unfair!¡± Rien pouted.


    ¡°Instead I have a little gift I made for you so that you can pass the time while waiting.¡± Briar added, bringing out a hand-carved kendama.


    ¡°Ooh! What is it, what is it!?¡± Rien asked gleefully as she jumped out of her seat to get a closer look at the curious object. Karu also left his seat to get a closer look at it.


    Briar showed off tossing the ball in the air, tapping it off both ends of the hammer, and landing it back on the spike that held it, perfectly. But, unlike a regular kendama, this one gave a reward for being able to accomplish the goal. A brilliant picture of a flower bloomed on the top of the ball. After a few moments, though, the image faded away again.


    ¡°Woow! Let ME try! Let ME try!¡± Rien reached for it.


    ¡°Can I try too?¡± Karu asked eagerly.


    Briar placed her hand behind her back and tapped her chin thoughtfully with the kendama, as if considering letting them play. But then she grinned and pulled out another one from behind her back and handed each of the children a kendama.


    ¡°Yay! You¡¯re the best, Briar!¡± Rien said, trying, and failing to hit the ball with the hammer.


    Karu managed to hit the ball once, but then missed the second time.


    ¡°Ahem! I believe you should finish your breakfast first before playing with toys.¡± Grandpa Thur coughed.


    ¡°Oops! Right, sorry Grandpa!¡± Karu and Rien returned to their seats and hurriedly began eating the rest of their meal.


    ---------------------------------


    Briar helped Grandpa Thur step down from the scaffolding, and they looked around at the finished product. The pillars were a work of art. Whatever part was not covered in magic characters, was covered with carvings.


    In order to make way for the characters, Grandpa Thur had moved his carvings to the backs of the pillars, giving the whole structure a rather ethereal look, as if this were a temple of sorts. Briar whistled in admiration.


    ¡°Not bad for a collaboration, eh?¡± She added, twirling the charcoal stick in her hands.


    ¡°¡­Child, if this is your definition of ¡®not bad¡¯, then I¡¯d like to find out what sort of thing you¡¯d call a masterpiece.¡± Grandpa Thur huffed.


    Briar scratched her head. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t do that until it¡¯s finished, right?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡± Grandpa Thur realized. ¡°You mean the power source, right?¡±


    ¡°Precisely~¡± Briar hummed.


    ¡°Well?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Well what?¡± Briar asked in reply.


    ¡°We¡¯ve carved all these runes everywhere, but can you keep your end of the deal?¡± He glanced over at Briar.


    His face was not as stern and scowling as usual. She could sense from the stiffness in his movements and the gleam in his eye that he was both nervous and curious as to what Thera could possibly use for a power source.


    ¡°All right, I guess it¡¯s time to show you.¡± Briar grinned slyly as she took a glowing item out of her backpack. It resembled a glowing crystal; however, instead of being see-through, it had opaque, silver mirror-like facets, which swirled with rainbow colors. Briar liked it because it reminded her of the rainbow light which seemed to swirl on soap bubbles.


    ¡°What do you think this is?¡± Briar asked him.


    ¡°Why, isn¡¯t that-ISN¡¯T THAT MITHRIL!!? How on earth did you get Mithril around here, Lad!? There¡¯s not a silver vein for miles around!¡± Grandpa Thur blustered.


    ¡°A spot of rather good luck~¡± Briar tossed the mithril ore into the air nonchalantly.


    Grandpa Thur hesitated, then shook his head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see how this is going to become the power source. It¡¯s rare, I¡¯ll give it that, but the only thing it can do is make things more mana conductive. It¡¯s also hard, but adamantium can beat it flat in hardness.¡±


    Briar smiled. ¡°Well, of course it isn¡¯t. But it is rather important in that it is both durable, and mana-conductive, so it fits my requirements rather perfectly.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about lad?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to build an artificial power source!¡± Briar announced.


    ¡°Oh really? And how are we going to do that?¡± Grandpa Thur huffed. Briar noticed little feet in the passageway, and could hear the breath of two little people with her very good sense of hearing. She pulled him a bit farther away from the door and began whispering.


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    ¡°Well, you see¡­..¡±


    ----------------------


    Briar stared at the dull red glow coming from the vent before her. Already, temperatures in this room were well past the boiling point. If not for the specialized skin-tight barriers that Briar had placed around her and Grandpa Thur, they would have already fainted through contact with the excessive heat.


    Mithril was indeed the perfect metal for what she had in mind, but the downside was that, in order to forge Mithril, one needed high temperatures and mana input to shape it. In other words, you needed a magician and a blacksmith.


    However, in lieu of a blacksmith, a magician would do just as nicely, as long as they had a high enough mana capacity. This is because, while heat can remove the impurities from the metal, only mana can soften it up enough to give it form.


    Therefore, Briar was acting as the magician, and Grandpa Thur was there to help with his knowledge of metals so that the Mithril wasn¡¯t wasted.


    If left for too long in the heat, the metal would turn brittle and easily be shattered. But, if it was not left in long enough, the impurities would impede the flow of magic, resulting in a failed product.


    In other words, they only had one chance to get it right, or else they would dash their only hope to pieces.


    Briar held the metal over the glowing vent. Although lava was not flowing into the room, it was providing more than enough heat to purify the ore. Black specks appeared on the surface of the ore and slid off, crumbling into dust, although the ore itself hardly changed as time went by.


    After a while, Grandpa Thur nodded. The ore had been sufficiently purified. They retreated from the rather hot room, after Grandpa sealed the vent up again. The room slowly returned to the milder 90 degrees Fahrenheit that it normally would display.


    Now was the easy part. Briar poured just enough mana into the ore to make it soft like putty. Any more, and it would be a puddle, and unworkable. She quickly separated it into two strips, and then turned them into two bracelet-like objects, while using her superior mana control to create magic pathways.


    Runes quickly began to appear along the outer and inner edges of the metal, providing protections, functions, and fail safeties. Grandpa Thur watched on as Thera added spells that he knew, and, on occasion, spells that he did not know.


    Finally, Briar sighed and stepped back from the table, dispersing the heat barriers that she had forgotten to dispel. Grandpa Thur stepped up to the table and picked up one of the bracelet-sized ring. It was cool to the touch, and the runes were already fading into the metal-the sign of a finished product.


    ¡°It¡¯s right pretty, but I cannot sense any power in this. Is it functional?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s functional, all right.¡± Briar replied. ¡°Don¡¯t let the rings touch each other, though. Let¡¯s install it first, and then we¡¯ll gather in the hallway after packing everything up.¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Rien and Karu had magic satchels filled with the items from their storage room around their waist. Grandpa Thur also had a carpetbag filled with his magic implements and an intricately-carved black cane that Briar had never seen him use during her time here below.


    ¡°If there¡¯s a bit of walking to be done, then at least I won¡¯t be without support.¡± Grandpa Thur said gruffly in reply to Briar¡¯s curious gaze. ¡°Get on with it. We¡¯ve all been waiting for this time, after all.¡±


    ¡°Then, Karu, You¡¯ll take the east position; Rien, the South; Gramps gets the North; and I¡¯ll be at the West point.¡± Briar indicated, bringing each person to their position. Rien was quivering with anticipation as she stood in her spot. Everyone looked to Briar, who held the bracelet-like ring in her hand.


    ¡°[Time and space displacement-portal activation: begin transfer]!¡±Briar cried out in English, touching the ring to its twin, which had been carefully embedded into the floor at the center of the circle.


    A bright light flashed as the mana began gathering around them, thickening into a near-solid, swirling mist. The light grew brighter and brighter until everyone had to close their eyes against the sharp brightness.


    Then a breeze blew past, scattering the mana fog away. When they finished blinking the spots from their eyes, the two children gaped with wide eyes and mouths at their surroundings.


    They stood halfway up a mountain, overlooking a vast land, with forests and villages, and rivers running along their long-carved out paths.


    Briar tossed the silver ring over to Grandpa Thur. ¡°Keep it. If you want to return underground, then I built in a return function that works by feeding magic crystals into the center of the ring. But only magic crystals will work. It will not accept your personal mana at all, so it¡¯s safe to wear on the wrist-¡±


    ¡°Grandpa! Can I wear the magic bracelet!?¡±Rien cried, looking up at her Grandpa with a practiced sparkly-eyed begging look. Karu seemed interested in the magic function, but he didn¡¯t want to wear such a girly-looking trinket on his arm. Wordlessly, Grandpa Thur relinquished the bracelet into her hands.


    ¡°Oh, Goody! Grandpa, why is the sky so blue!? What are those many lumpy green things down below? What are the puffy white things in the sky? What are¡­¡± Rien instantly began shooting off questions a mile a minute.


    Karu shook his head, while Grandpa raised his arms in defense, trying to get her to slow down with her questions so that he could answer them. Briar laughed, and then fished out a map to confirm their location.


    The rivers, the towns, the forests¡­yes, it seems they were spot on. They had landed halfway up Plateau Mountain, the location of the Ten-year Students Contest.


    Briar grinned and turned around to look up at the mountain. She could hardly wait.

 Chapter 59: Meeting an Old Friend

    Sorry for the delay. My new job happens to be quite taxing on me, so I haven''t been able to write as much...I have less and less time to do the things I enjoy....*sniff*


    Oh well.I''m here now, and that''s all that matters. Here''s the next chapter! Enjoy~!


    -------------------------------------


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we may have to part ways here.¡± Briar said suddenly. The sentence cut Rien¡¯s words short as if they were a knife.


    ¡°WHY?¡±  Rien panicked. ¡°Does Briar not like us anymore?¡± She ran over to grab at Briar¡¯s shirt. As if by simply holding onto the cloth, she could prevent Briar¡¯s leaving.


    Briar looked Rien and Karu in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯m bound for the Ten-year Students Contest. My master will be there, as well as my teacher. It¡¯ll be a very dangerous place, surrounded by dangerous men, which is why it¡¯s not the place for little children.¡±


    ¡°Noddindrums and Frasselfuds! No one would dare lay a hand on my grandchildren! If they did, they¡¯d be dead.¡± Grandpa Thur snorted. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been out and about, and such festivities sound just about perfect to me!¡±


    A vein in Briar¡¯s head throbbed. Stupid Geezer! You¡¯re probably just going there to gamble!


    She sighed, ¡°You¡¯ll do what you want, no matter what I say, won¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Grandpa Thur huffed. ¡°Besides, I may run into some old friends here. There was that one person that really liked to gamble¡­I wonder if they¡¯re still alive after all this time.¡±


    ¡°Fine, do what you want, then.¡± Briar replied, ¡°Now, who here thinks that we¡¯ll make it up to the top before nightfall?¡±


    ------------------------------------------------------


    Helen stood in the kitchen, spreading butter on a biscuit, because she wanted something to snack on. The honey pot, as well as several tiny jam jars, started slowly sliding towards Helen down the length of the kitchen counter. She absentmindedly placed a hand out to stop them, as she ate her biscuit with the other hand, while reading her book.


    ¡°Helen!¡± Madam Rothema called from somewhere in the house. ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in the kitchen!¡± She called back.


    ¡°Good! Can you secure the jam jars away in the pantry? We¡¯re almost there, and I¡¯ve lost so many jam jars that way!¡±


    Helen looked at her biscuit, and then at the jam jars. Then she continued eating her biscuit as she frowned and made a waving motion at the jam jars with her hand. They floated up and arranged themselves in the pantry, where the cabinets then shut and barred themselves. After doing so, Helen leaned back in her chair and sighed as she began to feel tired.


    This wasn¡¯t actually a spell. It was more of a method to practice mana manipulation. Madam Rothema had her practicing this as a way to gain greater control over her mana, as opposed to Thera¡¯s unorthodox barrier practices.


    Helen opened the nearby window and leaned out into the wind. The passing breeze cooled and refreshed her as she looked forward to the Great Piercing mountain range. Each mountain was incomparably high and pointed rather like a sword. There was only one mountain amongthat range which differed from the others. That was Plateau Peak.


    A long time ago, in a fight between a Magi and a Black Class Martial Practitioner, this mountain was not only severed near its roots, but vaporized so that nothing was left but flat plateau at the top, which was dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.


    Now, seeing it for herself, Helen held her breath. Although it looked small now, she knew that once they got closer, it would be many, many times greater than Madam Rothema¡¯s flying mansion. Even though it looked no larger than a pile of dirt surrounded by tall, towering spikes, its true size was monstrous, even for mountains.


    Almost like the entrance of a castle! Helen¡¯s smile began to glow with excitement.


    -----------------------------------------


    ¡°Ooh! What¡¯s that smeeelll?! It smells so yummy!¡± Rien said, trying not to drool at all the tantalizing scents of roasted meats and baked goods.


    Having arrived at the top, Briar and her companions had found themselves just outside a city built on the edge of the great plateau. Aside from the trees inside the city, there was no bush or shrub to be seen for miles.


    One could almost see clear to the other edge of the mountain if not for a group of stones standing up, piercing the setting sun on the horizon to connect the heavens and the earth. That was the arena for the Ten Year Students Contest.


    Briar had wanted to visit it, but the setting sun made it clear that it was getting late, and they should enter the city to find an inn.  So they had booked two rooms at the Dancing Cat Inn. Grandpa, Rien and Karu slept in one room; Briar slept in another.


    Now, it was the next day, and they were out and about, exploring the marketplace after a hearty breakfast.


    ¡°You just ate breakfast, though!¡± Karu objected to Rien¡¯s seeming never-ending desire to eat. ¡°I¡¯m older than you, and have a bigger stomach, and I¡¯m so stuffed, I can¡¯t even think of eating another bite!¡±


    Rien stuck her tongue out. ¡°I said it smells yummy! I didn¡¯t say I wanted to eat it right now. But maybe we can have some later, for a snack, right Grandpa!?¡± Rien turned her sparkley-eyed attack on Grandpa Thur.


    ¡°Maybe. But you¡¯ll have to be good and stay by my side if you want me to get you any.¡± He warned. ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯ll get lost¡± He looked at the stone and wooden buildings with their brightly-colored awnings and scarves and rugs covering the windows.


    ¡°Ah, how nostalgic!¡± He sighed, breathing in the dusty air. ¡°This way, follow me.¡± He instructed. The two children immediately stuck to their Grandpa. Briar followed along behind, curious where they were going.


    He led the way down several streets, and through several alleyways until he came to the wall that surrounded the largest mansion in the city.


    Um¡­I¡¯m pretty sure this is the city mayor¡¯s mansion¡­Briar thought to herself as she looked up at the fifteen-meter high stone wall.


    ¡°And we¡¯re here, why?¡± Briar finally asked.


    ¡°Nothing much. Just to see an old friend of mine.¡± Grandpa Thur replied.


    ¡°Grandpa, do you need to go inside?¡± Rien asked. ¡°But, the gate is over there. Why are we here?¡±


    The corner of Grandpa Thur¡¯s mouth rose in a sort of smirking half smile. ¡°No need. Who needs the gate when I can do this~¡± He pushed his hand against the wall, and a rectangular section moved back noiselessly.


    ¡°Whoah! Nice!¡± Rien and Karu clapped their hands in admiration.


    Meh. It¡¯s just earth manipulation. Honestly, I¡¯d be more surprised if he couldn¡¯t do something like that to the wall. Briar shrugged and followed the three people into the manor.


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    They came out into a garden filled with various fruit trees, edible flowers, and flowering fruit bushes. Briar¡¯s interest was sparked at the stark contrast between this garden and the barren plains outside the city walls. Why couldn¡¯t anything grow out there, but in here the plants were thriving, seemingly?


    Briar also remembered seeing the high prices for fruits in the marketplace. Putting two and two together, she muttered a low ¡®ah.¡¯ The situation was the way it was in order to create a monopoly on the fruit trade, probably to hike prices up. She was curious if the condition of the ground outside the city were that way naturally, or if it were a result of someone unnaturally tempering with the environment.


    ¡°Come, follow, this way. He most likely will be expecting me anyways, since my appearance has been noted by the city guards at the entrance.¡± Grandpa Thur urged as he walked towards the stone wall of the house.


    Are we going to walkthrough every single stone obstruction to get there!? Briar inwardly groaned. But her face betrayed none of her thoughts as she once more stepped through the newly-created stone doorway and came face to face with a group of spears pointing at her.


    Now, any other person would have jumped back, and grabbed their weapons, Briar stood calmly, raising her hands up above her head.


    ¡°Is the master of the house in?¡±  She asked lazily, knowing full well that she had fallen for Grandpa Thur¡¯s petty trick. She planned through half-opened eyes how she was going to get back at him as the men neither advanced, nor relaxed their poses, keeping the spears aimed at her throat.


    ¡°Why should we tell you? A man whose face is not known in this house is not allowed to know who comes or goes.¡± One of them answered harshly. By his appearance, he was the captain of the group, having much fancier-looking gear than the rest of the guards. Briar blinked in confusion for a moment.


    Ah, that¡¯s right. I still look like a man. She remembered. To tell the truth, Briar had gotten so comfortable that she had entirely forgotten that she was still wearing a magic disguise.


    I need to remember to get rid of that soon. She made a mental note, since her mission could be considered to be accomplished.


    ¡°What if I said that I¡¯m an acquaintance of an old friend of his?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°It would have to be confirmed by the friend.¡± The speaker said.


    ¡°Ah! In that case, you can ask him-¡± Briar turned her head to look behind her and paused. There was no one in the passageway behind her.


    THAT GIANT BAG OF HORSE EXCREMENT!! Briar inwardly cursed him. He had left her to fend for herself, leading Rien and Karu away from the violence that would soon break out in that room.


    She turned her head back to the men. ¡°Sorry about that. It seems I was mistaken. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll just let me walk away and leave this place, though?¡±


    ¡°You are not mistaken, young warrior. If you wish to pass through us, you will need to defeat us all.¡± The speaker said, readying his spear.


    ¡°And I was so hoping to be able to resolve things peacefully today¡­¡± Briar sighed, as she closed her eyes.


    ¡°Arrest him!¡± The captain shouted, and the spearmen sprang into action, aiming to incapacitate Briar by injuring her arms and legs.


    Briar waited until the last possible moment before the spears would strike, and then her figure seemed to disappear as the spears struck nothing but empty air.


    -------------------------------


    In a certain hidden room in that mansion, a man was staring tensely at a glowing crystal with a flat surface cut at the top. On that surface, the image of the ensuing fight was being transmitted with perfect clarity.


    ¡°Impressive, right?¡± The man jumped and spun around to behold Grandpa Thur, standing in a magic-made doorway.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± The man sighed with relief. ¡°You really need to stop doing that! Disappearing whenever you want, and then reappearing without even so much as a warning! It¡¯s enough to scare a man¡¯s ghost right out of his body.¡±


    ¡°Even if I did, you¡¯d probably jump to the wrong conclusion and I¡¯d come in to you ramming one of your ornamental swords down my throat. You were always a bit jumpy like that, even when you were a child, Bradley.¡±


    Humph! Don¡¯t bring up my childhood at a time like this.¡± Bradley grumbled. ¡°I take it you have a reason for bringing this monster into my mansion?¡± He waved towards the crystal displaying the ensuing battle.


    ¡°More or less, I suppose. But first, I¡¯d like to introduce my grandchildren to you.¡± He moved aside to show the two children behind him. ¡°Rien, Karu, come and meet your Uncle Bradley.¡±


    The two children came forward and stared at their Uncle Bradley, suddenly quiet. Bradley stared back at them. Then, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.


    ¡°So there was a reason for you to bring up my childhood, I see. Come here, you two. Come closer, and let me have a look at you.¡± He waved them forward with his hands.


    They came a few steps closer.


    ¡°Rien and Karu, huh?¡± Bradley pursed his lips. ¡°Which is which, though?¡± He stretched his arm out, to signal them to stop. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me!¡± He put on an expression of extreme concentration. Then he pointed at Karu.


    ¡°You¡¯re Rien, right!?¡± Immediately after that, he pointed at Rien. ¡°And you must be Karu! Nice to meet you!¡± He extended his hands out for a handshake.


    Karu had a strange expression on his face, unsure whether this man was joking, or serious. But Rien had no problems. She giggled and said in correction. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right at all! He¡¯s Karu, and I¡¯M Rien!¡±


    Bradley jerked his head as if taken aback. ¡°Oh my! For me to make such a basic mistake, I heartily apologize. Quite frankly, I¡¯m rather embarrassed about this~¡± He said playfully. With that small display, Rien and Karu started to warm up to him.


    ¡°Uncle Bradley! What is this shiny rock?¡± Rien asked. ¡°And  why can we see Briar-ni on it?¡±


    ¡°Cough! This is a special kind of crystal That is found in the forests of illusion.


    I actually have many small fragments of this crystal placed throughout the mansion. But they¡¯re all connected here to this main crystal through some sort of natural magic wavelength. They can capture any movements and display them on the main crystal, here.


    Impressive, right?¡±


    Karu suddenly burst out with applause. ¡°Wow! Briar-ni won against all of them! If I knew Briar-ni was this amazing, I would have asked for pointers from him weeks ago!¡±


    Bradley coughed awkwardly. ¡°Why DID you bring this Briar person, here, Grandfather?¡±

 Chapter 60: Discussions-part 1

    I was hoping for a double release, but I couldn''t quite finish the second chapter, so I decided to post this one first. The second should follow within one to two days-barring any unforeseen obstrictions.


    -----------------------------------


    ¡°What? Can¡¯t I bring someone I find interesting?¡± Grandpa Thur asked with a slight huff.


    Bradley grit his teeth. ¡°Not if he¡¯s hell bent on wrecking every able-bodied guard I own, no!¡±


    Grandpa Thur smirked. ¡°And that doesn¡¯t tell you anything? A mere brat able to waste so many people so effortlessly should give you a clue.¡±


    Bradley paused, a thought flashing through his mind. ¡°Perhaps¡­.maybe¡­your saying this boy may have a chance?¡±


    Clap clap clap. ¡°Well done, my little Brad, now it looks like your brain has begun to work again. I was afraid this time, that the damage from your temerity had caused your brain to turn dull.¡± Grandpa Thur applauded. Karu and Rien were busy watching Briar as she singlehandedly defeated every squad of guards that had the misfortune of encountering her.


    ¡°Humph! Why didn¡¯t you just say so!? You didn¡¯t have to make him go berserk just to prove your point! I think it¡¯s about time you call him off.¡± Bradley said, slightly miffed.


    ¡°Well¡­I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll listen to me right now. I kind of tricked him a little bit earlier, so he¡¯s probably really mad at me right now.¡± Grandpa Thur scratched his cheek.


    ¡°What! Then what about my guards!?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t suffer¡­¡­much.¡± Grandpa Thur replied nonchalantly. He had already noticed that Briar was inevitably pulling his punches so as to not injure them seriously.


    For someone with so much power to be able to accurately judge how much they should limit their strength at such a young age was like finding a gem halfway polished already. There were already too many young people who over-extended themselves due to rushing into things 100% only to find they lacked the stamina to act later on, resulting in their inevitable defeat or death.


    Of course, since Briar was a red class, if she went all out, expending her energy, she could make one large attack of a semi-nuclear scale. But, if she were to try and test her stamina, she could go for two weeks without sleep or rest.


    Briar brushed off a few specks of dust after defeating the latest guard troop. What she was doing now could only be considered playing. But her patience was nearing its end. She had already noticed the image crystals earlier, but she had been too occupied with the guards to do anything.


    Now she sighed and looked up at the nearest one with a clearly unimpressed face. ¡°Oy! Is this how you treat your benefactors, old geezer!? I¡¯ve already finished your little test, so get out here and explain yourself!¡±


    In the hidden room, three chills went up and down Bradley¡¯s spine. The first chill was when Briar had looked straight at the crystal. This wasn¡¯t easy at all, because the crystals were hidden behind pieces of magic mirror to make them impossible to spot.


    However, he couldn¡¯t have known that Briar was used to circumventing security cameras in her past life. This gave her explicit knowledge of vantage points where cameras would most likely be. Also, there were too many mirrors in this mansion. Unless the owner was a complete narcissist, there wouldn¡¯t be so many mirrors in strange places.


    The second chill happened when she said ¡®old geezer¡¯. Although he might not appear to be much, Grandpa Thur was actually really powerful to the point where no one had dared to offend him in the past, not even kings and emperors.


    Saying such a thing to Grandpa Thur was the equivalent to signing a death warrant. Bradley glanced over at the old man, dreading to see his expression.


    The third chill happened when Grandpa Thur laughed out loud. ¡°That child is more and more interesting every day! Karu, Rien, why don¡¯t you go let Briar in?¡±


    ¡°¡°Okay!¡±¡± They replied, going to a new door that conveniently appeared in the wall.


    For Grandpa Thur to completely forgive the two words that would usually drive him into a battle-frenzied maniac, what sort of person could this Briar child be?!!


    Too late! In almost no time at all, Karu and Rien had opened the door.


    ¡°Briar-ni! Briar-ni! Over here!¡± Rien called.


    ¡°Briar-ni, that was awesome! Especially the part where you avoided the swords of the two guards with the helmets and made them hit each other on their heads! And the part where you tied the ceremonial cloaks together while avoiding blows until the group couldn¡¯t move-I can¡¯t even say how amazing that was!¡± Karu babbled, obviously freaking out with boyish delight over what amounted to child¡¯s play for Briar.


    Briar smiled and ruffled Karu¡¯s hair. ¡° Just you wait until the Ten Year Student¡¯s Contest begins. You¡¯ll see a lot more awesome techniques than the ones that I just used. Ah, but remember to stick to your Grandpa, okay? I wouldn¡¯t want to see you get hurt.¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Yes, Briar-ni!¡± Karu¡¯s face shone as he imagined himself one day being able to do the things that Briar had done today.


    Rien tugged on Briar¡¯s hand. ¡°Briar-ni, come and look-it! There¡¯s a big shiny crystal in here! And it shows us pictures!¡± Briar allowed her to drag Briar into the room, where Grandpa Thur and Uncle Bradley were.


    Sly¡­Grandpa Thur was sly, using the children to lead Briar there. Now, even if she wanted to, she couldn¡¯t be violent. Briar stared at Grandpa Thur, eyes narrowed slightly.


    ¡°Well, geezer? I suppose you have a perfectly good reason for wasting my time and creating this huge misunderstanding?¡± She asked, her voice, although sounding as sharp and cold as ice, somehow seemed laced with fire as well, as though a volcano lay underneath a thick glacier.


    ¡°Calm down, lad. It was just a little test to show a bit of what you can do.¡± Grandpa Thur waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Anyway, you passed with flying colors, no harm done.¡±


    ¡°Except the carpet and wall tapestries that were shredded due to the spear attacks, broken priceless antique furniture due to people being thrown about, and various, numerous broken mirrors, spears, and shredded guards uniforms that all need to be replaced now. I have lost hundreds of gold coins in a matter of a mere fifteen minutes!¡± Bradley muttered tearfully as he thought of the loss he had sustained.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t gain back in the betting pools.¡± Grandpa Thur replied. ¡°Stop being a dried up Scrooge* and act like a man, you big baby.¡±


    Bradley sputtered and huffed at this sneak word attack from Grandpa Thur, but he couldn¡¯t reply, knowing full well that the other party was stronger. He could only grit his teeth and hope that a flying kangaroo landed in the old man¡¯s soup.


    Briar raised a quizzical eyebrow. ¡°Enough stalling. I really am not in the mood right now.¡±


    ¡°Ahem, very well then. This man here is Bradley Pendrag, my Great-nephew. He¡¯s also the mayor of Plateau Peak City, and the owner of all the fruit trees in the area.¡±


    Briar examined Bradley. Slightly pudgy, with a nervous twinge in his eye, clothes in the gaudy style of the high nobles, and a ridiculous salt and pepper walrus moustache to finish up: he was quite the clown in her eyes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t particularly see what¡¯s so great about him, but if you insist¡­¡±She shrugged, playing off the words ¡®great-nephew¡¯ that Grandpa Thur had uttered earlier.


    Bradley clutched a hand to his heart. ¡°I beg you, stop and desist, before I am punned to death~!¡±


    Rien giggled, knowing that none of the people here were truly angry at each other. Briar chose to bury her grudge until such time as she had ample opportunity to reciprocate her recent treatment.


    ¡°I see¡­we are in the presence of a venerable joker. My apologies, I did not realize that a closet-profession of yours happened to be a clown.¡± Briar said wittily, bowing.


    ¡°Good, see that you don¡¯t forget it-er-wha-I-I mean, WAIT! That¡¯s completely unfair, young lad! Do your words have to be so sharp and pointed?¡± Bradley blustered.


    ¡°My name is Briar.¡± Briar pointed out, tapping a finger to her temple. ¡°Being sharp and pointed is my specialty.¡±


    -----------------------------------------


    FOOTNOTES:


    -----------------------------------------


    *For future reference, the word ¡®scrooge¡¯ here means something slightly different.


    Suffice to say that it still describes an old withered man counting money; but, his story, instead of being the popular Christmas Carol that Thera grew up on in her previous world, bears more of a resemblance to the Azukiarai demon found in Japanese folklore.


    It was told to little children who were too stingy and didn¡¯t want to share their sweets or toys that they would be met by a withered old man counting out his clinking gold coins, and murmuring to himself.


    ¡°The price of bread is too high, too high!


    The price of a grain of rice is higher still!


    I am loath to part with my gold,


    but gold cannot a stomach fill.


    Let¡¯s put these down and have a look


    To see what tasties we can find:


    More delicious by far than others


    is the selfish ones of children-kind~¡±


    And those children would never be seen or heard from again.


    On a side note, there was a case in a certain kingdom where the actions of a certain covert kidnapping ring were attributed to the Scrooge, but they were discovered after being raided and cleaned out by a certain individual¡­but I am getting ahead of myself, again.

 Chapter 61: Discussions-Part 2 -Arthur

    Here''s the second chapter! I had to struggle between chapter title consistency and my artistic inspiration, so I had both. Enjoy~


    ---------------------------------------------


    ¡°Ha ha, very funny.¡± Bradley said with a deadpan expression, then he turned his head to look at Grandpa Thur.


    ¡°Let me guess: you want me to sponsor this person?¡±


    ¡°Why not? You can see that his combat skills aren¡¯t bad.¡± Grandpa Thur asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point! If I sponsor such a blatantly skinny and green twig like this, I¡¯ll be the laughingstock of the city!¡± Bradley retorted.


    ¡°Let them laugh. You¡¯ll be the one to have the last laugh when you rake in the profits.¡± Grandpa Thur said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say the idea isn¡¯t appealing, but¡­¡± Bradley remained undecisive.


    ¡°Excuse me, what do you mean by ¡®sponsor¡¯?¡± Briar asked, curious.


    ¡°In order to prevent cheating, and to keep the amount of Students down to a reasonable amount, there are seven hundred adult sponsors in this city. If you are sponsored by one, then that means you can instantly obtain the right to participate in the Ten-Year Student Contest without having to go through the preliminaries.


    This is really great for those who don¡¯t want their special skills seen and countered before they can even get up on stage. Although it is called the Ten-year Student Contest, it¡¯s more like two different competitions rolled into one. One part is the martial competition, and the other is the magic competition. That is why the stage where this happens is in a rather unique shape.¡±


    Bradley traced a figure eight in the air.


    ¡°Of course, if you¡¯re a Magi¡¯s disciple, then no matter who you are, you¡¯ll be allowed into the magic competition. But if you wish to enter the martial competition, then you need a sponsor. Each sponsor can recommend up to two people. If they try to sneak in more than that, their status as sponsor is revoked for good.¡±


    Briar was absorbing the knowledge like a sponge. ¡°Can you enter both contests at once?¡±


    Before Grandpa Thur could answer, Bradley burst out ¡°Why would you ever want to enter both contests!? Is one not challenging enough for you!? Sure, there¡¯s no rule against it, but still. If you¡¯re good at one, then surely you¡¯ll not be that good at the other. Why set yourself up for failure?¡±


    ¡°Just asking. The idea of someone running back and forth between arenas seems amusing. Especially since the resting areas would be right next to each other.¡± Briar replied smoothly.


    So there are no rules against doing both, hmm? I¡¯d have to be careful about the timing, but it seems possible. Briar thought to herself. Perhaps she could get Laura to help her when she and Master Thales arrive. Madame Rothema was also coming¡­hmm?


    Briar¡¯s palms began to sweat as she realized that she had missed several months of homework. She would have to attack the mountain of books in her bag as soon as possible.


    ¡°Briar, did you hear me? Hellooo?¡± Bradley waved a hand in front of Briar¡¯s face.


    Briar blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, come again?¡±


    ¡°Bradley has agreed to sponsor you.¡± Grandpa Thur said, a bemused expression on his face.


    ¡°Oh! Thank you, Mr. Pendrag!¡± Briar bowed stiffly, slightly embarrassed about her lack of attention.


    Bradley tapped his head. ¡°Nice moves, but a little spacey¡­I¡¯m already regretting my decision.¡± He sighed. ¡°But, oh well! A man can¡¯t go back on his word once it¡¯s been pledged.You¡¯ll need to figure out some sort of disguise for the martial contest. Sometimes students can hold a grudge and try to hurt the winners by striking out at their close family.¡±


    Briar blinked and considered what she should do¡­If disguises were allowed in the ring, then she could just go as is. Then she could remove the disguise when she crossed over to the magician¡¯s contest¡­Okay! It¡¯s decided!


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine the way I am.¡± Briar said with confidence.


    ¡°Are you sure? There can be some crazy students out there.¡± Bradley asked.


    ¡°The way I am is fine.¡± Briar confirmed. After the Ten-Year student contest, the boy known as ¡®Briar¡¯ would disappear. Therefore, even if Briar¡¯s face were to be memorized, it would mean nothing.


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re willing to be stabbed in the back afterwards, who am I~ Ah, yes, for those who are sponsored, you will need to make an appearance on the stage in about two weeks, so make sure you¡¯re not late. Those who arrive after noon will be disqualified.¡± Bradley warned.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Now, if we¡¯re quite finished, I have some damage control to initiate. Children, Grandpa, Briar: You are welcome in this residence at any time starting next week. I¡¯ll make sure the guards know your faces.¡±


    Bradley politely shooed them out of his manor. Briar watched as the large door swung shut behind them.


    Grandpa smirked and leaned close to Briar¡¯s ear and muttered.


    ¡°Planning on entering the magician¡¯s contest too, I see?¡±


    Briar stiffened. That¡¯s right! He already knows that I¡¯m good with Magic! I messed up!


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t say anything. But if you¡¯re going to disguise yourself for the magician¡¯s contest, then make sure that you tell me something so that I can know which one you are.¡±


    Briar looked sideways at him. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I want to try winning in the betting pools for both contests.¡± Grandpa Thur chuckled. ¡°It seems more interesting that way!¡±


    ¡°There are pools? Where!?¡± Rien asked, looking eagerly about her.


    ¡°Not that kind of pool!¡± Karu corrected her.


    ¡°Then, what kind of pool is it?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s¡­um¡­¡± Not really knowing what a betting pool was, Karu turned to Grandpa for help.


    ¡°Ah, you know what? All of a sudden I¡¯m really hungry!¡± Grandpa said, skirting around the subject. ¡°How about we go and see if those street vendors are still selling the tasty food we saw earlier, all right?¡±


    ¡°Yay! I want the Chiwa meat, the fruits parfait, the spun sugar candy, lemon ice, cinnamon bu-¡±


    ¡°What the heck! You¡¯re going to eat Grandpa out of money! You¡¯ll throw up everything that you eat-either that or you¡¯ll turn straight into a big fat flying pig!¡± Karu exclaimed.


    ¡°Am not! Bleeeh!¡± Rien replied, sticking her tongue out at Karu.


    Grandpa Thur and Briar burst out laughing, and the group made their way down the streets to the marketplace.


    -------------------


    As they were enjoying their ice topped with fruit syrup, Briar noticed a stone circle set up in the town square. Stargate SG-1. Flashed through her head for a brief moment, as it looked really similar, but the runes made it apparent that it was nothing more than an ancient transportation archway whose other end had already been given a fixed variable.


    In other words, as opposed to the one that she had made with Grandpa Thur, which could change as easily as rewriting a few runes, this one had already been anchored at both ends, and was riddled with non-interference runes.


    ¡°Almost as thorough as lawyers.¡± Briar muttered.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve taken an interest in the Grand Council¡¯s circle.¡± Grandpa Thur said. ¡°Incorrigible bunch of Fenrils, all of them!¡± (AN: Please recall that Fenrils are completely blue peacocks)


    ¡°I can imagine that. They¡¯re probably huge on ceremony too.¡± Briar replied.


    All of a sudden from behind them, a voice cried out. ¡°Briaaaar!¡±


    Briar turned around just in time to catch Helen as she charged headfirst into Briar¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Whoah! Helen!? Where did you come from? Is Laura here, too?¡± She asked, but when Helen lifted her head up, tears began to fill her eyes, and she began to cry.


    ¡°Thank goodness!...Teacher said that you¡­that you fell down a very deep crack in the ground¡­sniff¡­She said you¡¯d be all right¡­but how can anyone be all right after falling down a cliff? ¡­Sniff...uwaah!!¡±


    Helen¡¯s hands grabbed tightly onto Briar¡¯s shirt as the young girl started to bawl for good. Briar looked around, trying to find somewhere to calm her down, when her eyes locked with Madam Rothema.


    ¡°Teacher!¡±


    She nodded a greeting. ¡°Briar.¡± Then, Madam Rothema turned her attention towards Grandpa Thur, who was still enjoying a flavored ice at Briar¡¯s side.


    ¡°Hello Arthur.¡± She said smiling.


    Suddenly, things began to click together in Briar¡¯s head. Bradley Pendrag¡­Arthur¡­Arthur Pendrag- NO WAY. Arthur Pendragon!?!

 Chapter 62: Reunion

    Surprise~! Yeah, I felt guilty for not updating for a while, so here''s a bonus chapter! Yay~! *confetti confetti* enjoy~!


    ---------------------


    Briar first addressed the crying child clinging to her shirt.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry little Helen! Look, I¡¯ll give this to you, so please don¡¯t cry.¡± Briar gave Helen the flavored ice that she had partially eaten. Helen¡¯s tears didn¡¯t stop, but her volume lowered to a few hiccups here and there as she loosened one hand to accept the flavored ice.


    While she was distracted, Briar decided to clarify her suspicions.


    ¡°Excuse me, Arthur Pendragon? THE Arthur Pendragon?¡± Briar asked. ¡°The owner of the famous sword Excalibur, and the High king over all of Greater Britain?¡±


    The old man jerked back his head in surprise ¡°What? No, my name is just Pendrag-Wait, who told you about that?! I could have sworn I had shut up all those lousy fogeys about my dark past¡­¡± He muttered to himself.


    ¡°Can¡¯t a guy have a thousand year vacation in peace?¡±


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Madam Rothema said. ¡°You remember Marlin was always writing in that book of his, and we stole it and hid it? Perhaps this one found it during their travels.¡± She pointed to Briar.


    ¡°Impossible! It was lost in the spacial rift you opened up after being insulted by that lousy Prince Cray, Remember?¡±


    ¡°But Marlin was the only one to call that sword X-caliber, even though you already officially named it Fairn.¡± Rothema reminded. ¡°That Marlin was always a strange sort, muttering about giant metal golems and flying metal birds. It¡¯s a good thing we lost him in the Enchanting Forest.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, and how his a¡¯s always inevitably looked like e¡¯s because he thought it was too troublesome to finish them?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I had forgotten that! It seems the only good thing he actually did was make those magic swords that everyone is crazy about.¡± Rothema remarked offhandedly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why. You need to have a monster magic capacity in order to even use them correctly.¡± Arthur said. ¡°For a real weapon, it¡¯s better to have something that can be used multiple times, as opposed to something that can only be used once before you collapse from mana exhaustion. I was lucky that I naturally had a large mana capacity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Oh, and remember that magic cup that would never run out of whatever you put in it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, I had to have one made for each kind of drink I liked. I¡¯ve lost all of them since, though. Can¡¯t remember where I¡¯ve placed them. I remember my favorite one, though. It had great ale.¡±


    ¡°You know, everyone called it your ¡®grail¡¯ after that one night where you got so drunk that you slurred your words together. After you lost it, half the kingdom was mobilized to search for it.¡± Rothema pointed out.


    ¡°And it has remained lost all this time¡­¡± Arthur looked regretful as he remembered how good the ale had tasted.


    As she was listening to their remeniscences, Briar¡¯s face slightly paled.


    If people back on earth knew that the legend of King Arthur was written by a reincarnator with chunnibyou, then over half of them would vomit blood.


    As it was, the battles were mostly true stories, but Merlin-excuse me-Marlin tended to emphasize his personally-created tools, or his part to play in everything.


    Briar finally put a hand to her forehead. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to find a place to sit down.¡± She said weakly. While Briar was physically quite strong, her mind and heart had just suffered a series of blows one after the other. As such, she needed to withdraw and recollect herself.


    By this time, Helen had nearly finished crying, but they were attracting quite a lot of stares, so Briar headed into a nearby park to take advantage of the shade from the trees. Although they were this high up, the climate, instead of being cold, was rather warm.


    After setting up a barrier to warn her if anyone came near, and to cut off the sounds from the nearby vendors, Briar sighed and plopped down on a park bench. Helen also sat down next to her, still clinging onto a piece of her shirt, as if she would suddenly disappear. They sat in silence for a while.


    Then Briar took in a deep breath and slowly let the air escape from her lips. She turned her head and examined Helen.


    These past few months, Helen¡¯s demeanor had changed from that of an ignorant, lovable child to that of a well-behaved noble child. Briar grinned a bit as she saw Helen¡¯s bearing resembled Madam Rothema¡¯s a little.


    Out of curiosity, her golden eyes took on a greenish tinge as Briar used her mana vision to check on Helen¡¯s development. Hmm¡­Her mana capacity is roughly one tenth of what it was when I was that age. She observed.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    But, for a small girl like Helen to begin with even a tenth the size of Briar¡¯s capacity was really quite monstrous.


    Helen had only just begun training, and her natural mana capacity was already so large. If she had been left back at that old ramshackle inn, who knows when or what sort of unfortunate mana accident would have happened.


    Finding a person like this was as lucky as randomly picking a lottery ticket up off the street and finding out it was worth millions of dollars.


    But for a person whose existence exceeds the bounds of common sense, Briar didn¡¯t know how lucky she had truly been to pick up such a naturally talented person.


    But, after seeing how worried Helen had been, Briar felt guilty.


    After being silent for a while, Briar finally spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Helen blinked, confused. ¡°What are you sorry for?¡±


    ¡°For deceiving you. Laura already knows, but I am not the person who you think I am.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, aren¡¯t you Thera of Rose Manor? Madam Rothema says you¡¯re wearing that disguise to throw off the people who might cause harm afterwards.¡±


    ¡°What-so sensei told you, huh?¡± Briar said, figuring things out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your secret¡¯s safe with me. Except¡­¡± Helen hesitated.


    ¡°What? What is it?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°After this is over¡­can I see Briar¡¯s true face?¡± Helen asked.


    Briar smiled, relieved it wasn¡¯t anything serious. ¡°It¡¯s a promise, then.¡± She agreed.


    Her warning barrier alarmed her moments before she blocked a well-aimed foot striking at her head.


    ¡°Good to see you too, Laura.¡± She said calmly, ¡°Is Master Thales around?¡±  Judging by the speed and the blow, Laura was close to making another breakthrough.


    ¡°Aw shucks! And I was hoping to get the drop on you!¡± Laura clicked her tongue in frustration, plopping on the bench beside her. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s around. He told me to run along before his peers arrive and have their stupid apprentices challenge me to a ridiculous show of strength.¡±


    ¡°Ara? It sounds like you¡¯re not averse to it, you know.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m not averse to it, but I¡¯m not stupid.¡± Laura replied. ¡°If the Ten years Student Contest isn¡¯t enough of a stage, then why should I reveal my trump cards so early in the game? There¡¯s a proper time and place for these things after all.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? That sounds like something Master Thales would say rather than you¡­¡± Briar replied.


    Laura¡¯s ears turned slightly red. Briar pretended not to notice.


    Laura snapped her fingers. ¡°Ah! That reminds me!¡± Then she punched Briar on top of her head, hard. Briar saw it coming, but she took it head on.


    ¡°WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!! DOING SUCH A DANGEROUS THING!! DO YOUKNOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE!?? DON¡¯T EVER THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY LIKE THAT, EVER!!!!¡± Laura scolded her harshly. ¡°If you do that again, I¡¯ll be the one to kill you!¡±


    Briar, rubbing her head, was silent for a few moments and then said. ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is ¡­you¡¯ll kill me if I die?¡±


    Laura¡¯s relented a little. ¡°Well, maybe I won¡¯t just kill you. I¡¯ll have Madam Rothema resurrect you and THEN I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    Briar grinned. ¡°Why trouble yourself and ruin all of Teacher¡¯s hard work?¡±


    Laura snorted. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m trying to be upset here!¡± Briar and Laura both laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re okay.¡± Laura finally admitted.


    ¡°Likewise. It¡¯s good to know my efforts weren¡¯t wasted.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Okay, spill. Who¡¯s the old fogey next to Madam Rothema?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d not suggest mentioning that in his hearing.¡± Briar replied. ¡°He¡¯s not really someone you can offend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it. He¡¯s some high official? Another Magi? An old comrade?¡± Laura began playing twenty questions.


    Briar only replied with ¡°Guess.¡± as she pulled a flask of lemonade out of her magic bag.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it! He¡¯s her old sweetheart!¡±


    Briar spat a mouthful of lemonade out forcefully enough that not a drop landed on her clothes. The idea of them being sweethearts was rather unbelievable to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to ask him yourself.¡± Briar replied. ¡°I am not privy to such information.¡±


    And I hope I never am. She honestly wished from the bottom of her heart.

 63: Meetings and Partings

    Now that I think of it¡­most of the people she attracts are kids¡­.Hurray for popularity~!


    On a slightly off-to-the-side topic, Briar¡¯s relationships are strictly platonic, and I intend to keep them that way¡­.for a long time¡­.if not forever.


    Well, anyways! Here¡¯s the next chapter: enjoy~!


    --------------------------------------


    ¡°Hey, who are you?! And why are you being so close with our Nii-san?¡± Rien asked Helen face to face.


    After fidgeting by their Grandpa¡¯s side for a while (Author¡¯s note: make that great great great grandfather. Ohohoho~), they finally followed Briar over to the park, where the addition of Helen had sparked Rien¡¯s insatiable curiosity.


    ¡°¡­Helen.¡± Helen was taken aback by Rien¡¯s bluntness. ¡°As for this, why¡­ isn¡¯t it natural to be close to your teacher?¡± She asked in return.


    ¡°Briar-nii is your teacher? What does he teach you? Magic? Fighting?¡± Rien asked, intently curious.


    ¡°Neither.¡± Helen replied. ¡°Briar only taught me the basics of being an adventurer: how to start a fire, and make a camp, how to hunt and scavenge and cook and live outdoors, which plants have healing properties, and which have poison, how to aim with a bow, and how to traverse the wilds almost unseen. All these skills, I learned from Briar.¡± Helen admitted willingly.


    ¡°What? No magic?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°What? No fighting?¡± Karu asked at the same time.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m learning magic from Teacher.¡± Helen replied.


    ¡°Huh? But you said you didn¡¯t learn any magic from Briar-nii! Isn¡¯t Briar-nii your teacher?¡± Rien asked again.


    ¡°Yes, Briar-nii is my teacher. But my magic teacher is someone else.¡± Helen explained.


    ¡°Ooohh! I get it now!¡± Rien smiled. ¡°So can you do magic yet?¡± She asked Helen eagerly.


    ¡°Hey, Briar-nii, can you teach me a fighting move?¡± Karu asked Briar eagerly, remembering the mansion brawl. Briar began to feel a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples as she reflected upon how to answer.


    ¡°Hey, kiddo, if you want to learn fighting, you should learn it from me!¡± Laura said, butting into the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m your Briar-nii¡¯s older sister after all, which makes me your older sister as well through association¡± Laura was getting a little jealous at having all the attention stolen from her.


    ¡°Eeeh? No thanks.¡± Karu replied bluntly. He didn¡¯t really know Laura, but any older sister that ambushes their younger brother was not really someone he wanted to have for a sister.


    ¡°Really? Oh well. That¡¯s too bad. I was only going to teach you all of Briar¡¯s super amazing moves if you would assent.¡± Laura said sneakily.


    ¡°Urk!-That¡¯s not fair!¡± Karu grumbled.


    ¡°Well, suit yourself. I was going to tell you all about the training regimen Briar used to get here. I should know, since we¡¯ve grown up together, after all~¡± Laura rubbed it in. ¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll just have to wait for someone who wants to learn MORE than you.¡±


    That got Karu. As someone who admired Briar as a fighter, there was no way he could allow anyone else to take the top spot away from him. (AN: Briar¡¯s fan club is growing heeheehee~)


    ¡°O-¡­oni.¡± He mumbled.


    ¡°Hmmm? What was that? O what?¡± Laura looked at Karu with a cheerfully smiling face, but behind her, the demon king¡¯s miasma seemed to be pouring out. Karu began sweating spontaneously.


    ¡°O¡­nee..san.¡± He finally finished.


    ¡°One more time, I couldn¡¯t hear that~¡± Laura said, clearly getting carried away.


    ¡°All right, that¡¯s enough. If you don¡¯t stop, then I¡¯ll tell him about the results of that promise I made to you that time we were fighting that golem-¡± Briar began. ''If you don¡¯t stop, you¡¯ll be hearing more than one person calling you ¡®Elder sister'' again¡¯  was the hidden message behind her words. Laura, quickly deciphering the hidden message, immediately changed her tune.


    ¡°Ah, well then¡­I suppose that¡¯s good enough. Shall I teach you the spinning axle kick? The leaping axle kick? Or maybe even the roundhouse carnival!¡± Laura quickly got back on track.


    Oi oi! You can¡¯t teach him anything like that straight away! It¡¯s too dangerous for a kid his age! Briar silently made signs behind Karu¡¯s head.


    ¡°Really, you mean it?¡± Karu said, his eyes sparkling.


    ¡°S-sure! Follow me. As Briar¡¯s older sister, I¡¯ll be sure give you some pointers.¡± Laura replied, heading to a more open part of the park. ¡°Will I be able to become as good as Briar-ni?¡± Karu asked Laura on their way there.


    ¡°¡­Nothing¡¯s impossible.¡± Laura replied enthusiastically. ¡°With a bit of hard work, we can make you presentable in any bar. Let¡¯s start with the first thing every martial practitioner needs to know: the safety roll¡­¡±


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Liar. Thera thought with a smile as she turned her attention over to Helen and Rien. Laura could be trusted to instruct Karu, so there was no more need to pay attention to them.


    Helen was demonstrating what she was working on by floating a few pebbles above her hands. Hmm? Interesting¡­Thera used her mana vision to see the light blue mana forming a sort of cloud-like cushion underneath the pebbles. It made Thera think about her previous master¡¯s words about the body and spirit acting in unison.


    Shall I try it out? Thera mused. Of course, no one could really help her in this regard. For certain, there were mixed martial practitioners that dabbled in magic, just as there were some magicians that learned a bit of fighting. But what Thera was considering was something different. She wanted to create a fusion between magic and martial arts.


    Knowing full well that she would be setting out into uncharted territories, Briar began planning things out in her mind.


    In order to complete even one fused technique would take a load of experimentation and failures. She would need to find a place hidden away from professionals¡¯ eyes¡­.or¡­maybe not. Briar recalled the retired king Arthur Pendrag¡¯s talent with stone. It would be an easy matter for him to carve out a hidden cave somewhere on the side of the mountain.


    If any of the retired king¡¯s former subordinates knew what she was planning, they would spit blood. Using a king to create a cave? That was using a bazooka to kill an ant!


    But unfortunately, Briar¡¯s influence from her past life didn¡¯t really care about ranks. If you were good at something, then you were the person people would go to in order to get things done. It didn¡¯t matter if you were a king. If a king were to be the best in construction work, it would only be right to entrust the work to him.


    Besides, he was retired and bored after sitting underground for years. Unlike many kings, he didn¡¯t put on any airs either, a person that was somewhat easy to get along with (*cough* manipulate*cough*). Moreover, Briar could probably get away with it, too, considering their current friendly situation.


    Briar then thought of something. Arthur Pendrag was obviously King Arthur, but who was Madam Rothema?


    According to what she had heard, Madam Rothema was somewhat of an old friend, or rather, a fighting companion. There was no way that Marlin wouldn¡¯t write about someone he spent a long time with, right? As far as major women in the story, there were about two that Briar could remember that had magic powers: The Lady of the Lake, and Morgan Le Fay.


    While Briar wanted to ask, she didn¡¯t want to step on any landmines. While it would make sense that she was the Lady of the Lake¡­.since Briar had heard of her mischievous pranks on Marlin in the past, it was more likely that she was cast as the ¡®evil¡¯ Morgan Le Fay. But, well¡­it was safer not to ask. Briar nodded as she made her decision.


    Helen was rapidly running out of answers to give due to Rien¡¯s constant bombardment of questions. Helen looked over to Briar or help. Briar did so by clapping her hands.


    ¡°All right all right, that¡¯s enough. If you really want more answers, then you should go ask Helen¡¯s magic teacher. She would know way more than Helen and I do anyways.¡±


    Rien instantly fell silent. ¡°But¡­but¡­but¡­¡± Her eyes teared up. ¡°That person is scary!¡± She wailed as now she began to cry. Briar¡¯s eyebrows went up as she tried to hold back a laugh.


    Madam Rothema had been many things, but scary¡­


    On second thought, Rien was spot on. Briar remembered her unfinished homework and sweat began to form. Madam Rothema was usually very forgiving, but when it came to unread books, she had a way of looking at you that made you feel like you were the lowest person ever.


    I need to get that finished soon before she brings that topic up¡­Briar noted, feeling a slight shiver run down her lower back.


    -------------------------------------------


    After a while, Old Man Arthur and Madam Rothema decided it was time to return to their respective places for dinner, and so the group of reunited people once again split up.


    ¡°Briar-nii, aren¡¯t you coming with us?¡± Rien asked, noticing Briar wasn¡¯t following them immediately.


    Briar smiled, Rien was also quite perceptive. ¡°You go on ahead, Rien. I¡¯ve got something somewhat important to do first.¡±


    ¡°All right, later then, Briar-nii!¡± Karu waved as he walked beside Old Man Arthur, telling him about what Laura taught him that day. Old Man Arthur was nodding his head every now and then, clearly not paying much attention.


    Briar stood still and watched them leave, walking down the cobbled road towards the inn. Then, she exercised her red class agility and vanished from the spot in less than .5 milliseconds.

 Chapter 64: Thoughts of Shocking Proportions

    I did not forget. I was just having a hard time finding time to write recently, is all. The next few chapters will be a bit sporadic as well, until I can get through the festival season in one piece. No, seriously, Kansas is dead serious about their festivals....on a side note~ I''m going to the Japanfest in Kansas City this Saturday~ *flowers flowers* I can hardly wait!


    Ahem! Well, here''s your next chapter. Enjoy~


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Night fell quickly, like a black velvet curtain. The clouds covered the moon, making visibility no more than three feet ahead of a person with a torch. But Briar didn¡¯t need a torch.


    As she had thought, the bars keeping people from using the river to get out of were rusted and easy to break. Of course, the guards wouldn¡¯t notice it, once she deployed a sound barrier. Moreover, the reflection of the upper part of the bars on the water would lend the illusion that the bottom part was whole, thus creating a hidden way out. She cut them underneath the water using her martial spirit and a subtle application of Yin-Yang Riposte.


    Leaving the city, she climbed part way down the mountain a bit. For normal people, walking down the Mountain on such a black night as this was asking to get lost, or seriously injured. But for Briar, with her mana vision, her path was illumined by the mana springing up in the trees, and the moss on the ground, the bugs flying around, and the small animals in the surrounding area. It was as if fairies had illumined the forest with a blue-green ambience.


    Of course, this forest didn¡¯t have fairies, the land of fantastic beasts was on a different continent, one that Briar planned to visit upon the slightest of opportunities. The rumored beastmen, elves, and dwarves also lived there side by side with the humans.


    She had read in the seventh book of Hachi¡¯s History of the World that the continent she was on had been discovered by a fleeing defeated navy from a former noble, who had died in battle. Unfortunately, the seventh book was the only one of its series that had escaped the great fire in the Great Library of Aldengur. Musing over this, Briar understood the situation completely.


    It¡¯s like how Australia was to England during the rise of the British Empire, which makes Master Thales the teacher of the art of the Boomerang. She had chuckled then, at the image of Master Thales holding up a boomerang.


    Jokes aside, Briar finally discovered a crack in the side of the mountain. It was so small as to be nearly invisible to the naked eye, yet she had discovered it earlier whilst climbing the mountainside. Having steered the children away from it, the location was probably a safe one. The only one who would really know about it would be Old Man Arthur, and he was rather tight lipped about such things.


    When seen at a certain angle, the crack was just large enough for someone Briar¡¯s size to slip into, which she did. After following the crack along for a while, she found herself in a rather large cave. It was about the same general height and width as Madam Rothema¡¯s house, baring the jagged edges of rock and all.


    It¡¯s just perfect for experimentation- I mean practice~, practice~. Briar thought to herelf as she began examining the cave.


    The only problem was¡­she wasn¡¯t alone. Turning her mana sight up towards the ceiling, she could see thousands upon thousands of Vampire Bats roosting. Their blood-red eyes turned in her direction as they trained their ears towards her. Briar¡¯s already-smiling face grinned broadly, as she raised her right hand.


    A white light shone out of the crack as [Group Heal] was invoked within the cave.


    Many children awoke that night, shivering in horror at the collective scream of terror that rang out only once. The tale was passed on in later generations, after being embellished and added onto, as a popular ghost story.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The bats gone, Briar collected the usable parts which had resisted destruction within [Group Heal]. Mainly bat wings and fangs, these could be sold to physicians and weapons engravers to enhance both medicines and weapons.


    Then she power washed the Cave walls and floor with a high velocity form of [Water Spray] to rid the place of any residual filth. She dare not use a flame in this cave, as she could well run out of oxygen and die of asphyxiation.


    There was only one month left until the competition began, something that the people in the city were hyping up for. Prices were beginning to rise higher in anticipation of the people that had already begun to pour into the city in preparation for the Ten Year Student Contest.


    It was only a matter of time before a suburb of tents and hastily-cobbled together dwellings would spring up around the city. Then it would be twice as hard to leave the city. But the locals were used to it.


    Rather, they welcomed it as they brought out ten year old wines and cheeses, preserved fruits and pickled vegetables. Everything was prepared with the idea of huge profits in mind. There were also specialty foods and the marketplace flourished with people from all over the continent trading seldom seen goods for food and information.


    Gold would soon be flowing into the city in rivers, so how could they not be excited? Even the children would walk among the tents selling cheap candies and flasks of barley tea and lemonade.


    It seemed there was also a rather flourishing black market underneath, as well. Selling information about the combatants behind the scene, trading and collecting rare items for various unpleasant things, creating and buying rare poisons, slave marketing etc.


    Of course, slaves were illegal in Grayelle Kingdom, but that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t slave dealings in other countries, it seems.


    Well, if it didn¡¯t harm Briar or her friends, then she would allow it to live for now. Cleaning out a city of rats was not a quest that she had been asked to undertake. The local forces should be working on that instead. No need for an outsider to interfere.


    But, if they made it her business, then¡­the black market would become as if it never existed, and many people would suddenly go missing.


    Briar whistled a tune as she finished pressure spraying all the dirty water out of the entranceway. Cleaning was done, so all she had left to do was to compress the walls until they were hard enough to withstand an impact without shattering and burying her under a mountain of rocks.


    Then, as rarely does happen, Briar took things too far and turned the walls into a super-hard metal alloy. Using a mixture of knowledge from her world and this world, Briar extracted and merged several kinds of metal to create something to the effect of a vibranium steel alloy.


    It in itself was not vibranium, of course, because vibranium is a fictitious metal created by the Marvel writers in order to justify their ludicrous plot points.*


    Instead, by mixing iron, adamantite, Mithril, tungsten, and platinum, she was able to create a metal that was impact-proof. The precise increments are classified.**


    Now that Briar¡¯s secret base was mostly complete, she could start experime-practicing.*** She could begin practicing for the Ten Year Student Contest.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The first thing she did was to confirm all of her skills. As always, her marksmanship was impeccable, whether throwing knives, daggers, needles, or aiming magic, it was always able to hit the target 100 out of 100 times.


    As she was slightly strapped for time, this rough estimate would have to do. Briar thought back to her earth days with a sigh.


    Back when she had finally mastered throwing weapons, she had to get 1,000 out of 1,000 hits on the bullseye with every weapon that was presented to her from the smallest rock up to the largest of javelins. The Boomerang had proved slightly difficult to handle, but still, Briar had managed it.


    Then she began to go through the skills that she had learned one by one. She used the martial skills first, since she didn¡¯t want any large magic signatures to reveal her nice little hidey-hole. Since she had started with martial arts, she always began her practices with martial arts.


    Meteor Charge [Fax Collatus], Thousand-Hands [Mille Manus], Ghost Evasion [Spiritus Evasio], Yin-Yang Riposte [Yin-Yang Responsum], Shadow Flight [Negro Pedes], and of course, Stellar Shield [Stella Umbo]: all were able to be used with great precision.


    It seems that I have naturally become a speed/crowd-control character. Briar thought to herself. But, she also couldn¡¯t disregard her Red class level two natural physical strength, either.


    Somehow, she had become a general all-rounder sort of character, through her hours and days of practice and training. Even so, most of her martial skills were for protection and hit and run tactics. She tilted her head sideways.


    Well, wait a minute. Any Gorilla with a sword can hack away at a person. If it were a simple contest of strength, then just choose the one with more muscles, right?


    But it seems that once you enter the latter part of the Class Spectrum, cultivation depends not so much upon strength, but upon method and technique. Therefore, the true aim of this battle is to test the level of comprehension of our techniques, and how good our perception is.


    Briar paced a bit within the cave, as she thought of these things.


    For someone of a similar age to mine, to practice advanced techniques instead of raising battle strength would be considered quite strange. But, for a magician, studying tactics and laws comes first in the process, leaving their body strength building up for latter years.


    The more she thought of the differences between Martial Arts and Magic, The more she was sure that there were similarities between the two system.


    The Body is the Foundation, the Spirit is the Ruler¡­In that case, is there a way that Martial Arts lays the groundwork for Magicians? Can Black Class Martial Practitioners become Magicians? Or is there something more?


    Briar was switching between her inner perception and her outer perception. Outside, Light blue sparkles here and there showed the mana that was present in the air. Inside, Dark Blue Sparkly Veins extended throughout her body.


    These seemed to have been hidden even from Rien¡¯s mana vision, so it must be something that only Briar could observe. But, then the thought that would change everything that she knew about this world struck her. Light blue sparkles¡­dark blue sparkles¡­.


    What if, the martial spirit that I cultivate, and the mana that I use in spells is the Exact. Same. Thing?


    ¡°Eh!?¡± Briar jerked her head up in surprise. If this were true, then wouldn¡¯t this revolutionize the way Martial Practitioners and Magicians train themselves?


    Ah, but surely, it couldn¡¯t be something so simple? Briar felt that surely some sort of experimentation had been done beforehand¡­Surely? Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t this have been found out earlier?


    But, as she recalled, there had been no mention of such an experiment in the books she had read at Madam Rothema¡¯s. Nor had she heard mention of any such thing in passing¡­


    Could it be that no one knows because there has never been a successful dual practitioner and magician before? Of course, there had been many who had tried, but the vast amount of training that they needed to accomplish in order to keep up with their peers was so straining that they would quickly give up.


    But, in order to discover the similarities between mana and martial spirit, one had to be able to compare the two systems after having experienced them to a certain extent.


    Not only that, almost all the magicians and martial practitioners to date believed whole-heartedly that these two energies were separate. For someone to question that very basic belief, one would need to be either a genius, or a deviant heretic. In Briar¡¯s case, she came from earth, where it was only logical to question everything.


    Well, I suppose there¡¯s only one way to find out. Briar took a breath, and stirred her martial spirit. She was going to attempt to use martial spirit in order to confirm her shocking theory. If she were wrong, then she was wrong, there would be little to no change to what she would do.


    ¡­But what if she were right? Wouldn¡¯t this revolutionize everything that was known about magic and martial spirit? Wouldn¡¯t this lead to a huge breakthrough in martial and magical science?


    Briar breathed in, slowly. When she was sure she was ready, she lifted her hand, pointing it into the center of the cave.


    She paused a moment, then her eyes grew bright and determined as she poured the martial spirit out in the way in which she was accustomed to do with magic.


    ¡°[Light Sphere]!¡±


    ----------------------------------------------------


    *Sora-sensei: ¡°author is not impressed.¡±


    Briar: ¡°Oh? But you are all right using adamantite and Mithril, huh? And you end up scorning other people¡¯s use of fictitious metal in their stories? ¡­Be ashamed, you hypocrite!¡± *slaps author around with a paper fan*


    Sora-sensei (with several bumps on her head): ¡°I was wrong! Please forgive me!¡± *dogeza*


    **Sora-sensei: actually, tbh, Briar was just winging it by sight, so she really can¡¯t say precisely how much of each substance she put into the alloy, but this is a se-cr-et~!¡±


    ***Briar: ¡°You really were about to write ¡®experimenting, right?¡±


    Author: ¡°I don¡¯t know~ You tell me~.¡±


    Briar: =__=¡¯¡¯¡¯

 Chapter 65: Dont Ignore the Announcer!

    I apologize in advance, but I intend to leave that little cliff hanging for a while. Instead, I have decided to skip forward a bit to the time of the start of the Contest, in order to move the story along. Don¡¯t worry, I will address the results of Briar¡¯s experimentation as an explanation later on.


    That being said, here¡¯s the next chapter: Enjoy~!


    -------------------------------------


    A month later, the plains surrounding the city had become as Briar had surmised: a suburb of tents and quickly-cobbled loose wooden structures built to house as many people as possible.


    Some, like Madam Rothema, had a magical dwelling.


    Of course, these would be warded with spells so that only recognized people could enter. After all, wherever there were large crowds of people, there were bound to be thieves. And no magician enjoyed having their research or books about ancient magical spells stolen.


    The sounds of metal striking metal, dull thudding sounds, and cheering came from here and there among suburb of tents: a testament to the many small skirmishes between combatants daily taking place. The whole place was humming with excitement, for tonight would be the last night before the Ten Year Student Contest began.


    Students challenged each other to duels, checked their gear, or went over their carefully-concocted plans and schemes. Masters gave advice, watched over their students, or went to a local bar and drank generously in silence, watching the moon as it slowly rose in the sky.


    The moon was bright and full, shedding soft beams down over the landscape as it rose into the sky. That night, many people watched her path in anticipation: some with hopes, others with confidence, yet more with dread, and some with resignation.


    Briar herself did not watch the moon. Instead she was using her time dilation barrier to catch up on all the books that she hadn¡¯t read for the past three months, courtesy of Madam Rothema. Her preparations had been finished since three days ago, and so she had used these past three days to catch up.


    As she snapped shut the very last book, the moon reached its zenith, and a clear calm bell tolled out. Although it didn¡¯t seem loud at all, it could clearly be heard through the entire mountain, and far into the lands surrounding it, rippling invisibly into the distance.


    After everyone had heard this bell, all duels were halted, regardless of winner or loser. Each returned to their own tent or room to rest up well in final preparation for the coming day. Even though most knew that they would not be able to sleep that night due to their taught nerves, they still kept up the appearance of preparing.


    After the bell had struck, the students were not allowed to fight each other outside of the arena. If any were to be found breaking this rule, they would be banned from the ten year student contest for three generations of master and student.


    Briar lifted her head as she heard the bell chime out, realizing that it was now late into the night. She had completely forgotten the time in her concentration upon her studies. She stretched her body and rubbed her near bloodshot eyes, thinking about how bothersome it would be to get back to the city now.


    But, in the end, her desire for a real bed won her over. So she stretched, before hurrying back to the city, flitting from tree branch to tree branch at a speed which was quite fast to normal folks, but could only be considered a slow walk in the park for experts.


    She continued her way until ¡°Arah?¡± She noticed she was being followed. Briar narrowed her eyes as she contemplated confronting the stalker. But, after half a moment¡¯s consideration, she decided to disregard it. She would lose whoever it was in the city easily.


    Briar continued until she came to the plains and paused, surprised at how extensive the tent suburbs had extended. Then she smiled and waved as she glanced back towards the forests before vanishing among the tents.


    ¡­.


    After a few minutes had gone by a dark figure stepped out of the forest, chuckling, since he knew he had been detected.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve grown that much, huh?¡± Master Thales muttered as he gazed in the direction of the city. Not only had she detected Master Thales, but she had also identified him.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Soon enough, there will not be much else that I can teach you¡­¡± Master Thales sighed. At the rate Thera was growing, it wouldn¡¯t even take her five more years before she would reach black class. He also set off towards the city, vanishing into the city surrounded on all sides by tents.


    ------------------------


    THUD THUD THUD! ¡°Hey Briar-ni! It¡¯s time to wake up~!¡± Rien¡¯s voice came through the door.


    Briar lay quietly, hoping Rien would think she had already gone out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re back! Grandpa told us you finally returned last night, and he also told us that you haven¡¯t left yet, so GET UP!¡± She said in her childish 6 year old voice.


    Briar groaned and turned over in bed.


    Karu¡¯s voice also came in through the door.


    ¡°Briar-ni! Uncle Bradley says that if you don¡¯t get up now, then you¡¯ll be late for the starting ceremony! You only have half an hour left!¡±


    Briar sighed and sat up. All right, I guess there¡¯s no more chance of sleeping this morning. Better get breakfast then. Rubbing her tired eyes, she decided she was going to eat as she headed to the dueling stage in order to save on time.


    ¡°Briar-ni-!¡± Rien was starting to yell, when Briar jerked the door open. ¡°Yosh! I¡¯m awake, you two cretins, so go get me something to eat while I get ready, okay?¡± Briar shooed them away.


    ¡°YAY! Briar¡¯s up! Briar¡¯s up!¡± Rien and Karu cheered as they scrambled downstairs, competing for who would complete their mission first.


    Briar looked in the mirror at her unkempt hair and disheveled clothes that she had slept in last night, having fallen asleep as soon as she sat down on the bed. Then sighed and took out a large washbasin.


    After locking the door and closing the window shades, she quickly showered using a combination magic of her own making. Using [Hot water] and [Heavy Shower] together, she was able to make the effects of a showerhead from earth. Then dried off with [Warm Wind].


    Within ten minutes, she was showered, dressed, and downstairs, ready for breakfast.


    Rien and Karu did not disappoint as they presented her with a whole heaping plate of pastries of different kinds. There were egg and sausage pastries, cheese pastries, fruit pastries, and a few veggie pastries that they had gotten from the kitchen-of course, after the Old Man had paid for them.


    ¡°Uwaah! They all look so tasty~ You two are life savers! Here¡¯s your reward~¡± Briar said, relieving them of the heavy platter as she handed each of them some mochi that she had made a while back and kept in her time-freezing magic bag.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sweet from my home town. Eat it slowly, or else you¡¯ll choke.¡± She warned as she quickly sorted the entire platter of pastries into a nested obento box that she had made for herself while training under Madam Rothema.


    ¡°Uwah! What is this? This chewy, soft, sweet thing? So yummy!¡± Rien remarked as she immediately sampled the near fresh mochi.


    ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®mochi¡¯ because it¡¯s mochimochi.¡± Briar explained.


    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s that?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°It means that it¡¯s squishy.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Oooh!¡± The two children replied, tucking into their newest favorite sweet.


    ¡°While sweets are all very good and all, we need to head towards the dueling stage, or you¡¯ll be late for the beginning ceremony!¡± Old Man Arthur harrumphed as he approached the trio. ¡°Bradley has already gone ahead, so you need to hurry if you want to make it in time.¡±


    ¡°Relax, I won¡¯t be late¡ªif I go by foot, that is.¡± Briar replied as she slid her bento into her magic bag. ¡°There! All ready! I¡¯ll see you three at the stage!¡± She called out as she left, jumping from housetop to housetop in order to head in a straight line towards the edge of the city.


    -------------------------


    Already there were almost no people left in the streets, as they had all headed towards the huge double-arena that was visible outside the city. The masters had been busy sweeping the arena from midnight to the ceremony to make sure that no foul plays, like pre-prepared traps, were set up.


    Briar arrived by Bradley¡¯s side just moments before the fanfare was blown, to signal the Sponsors and the Sponsored to move to the stage. Briar was surprised to find that Laura had been sponsored by a different sponsor, and stood at the other end of the stage.


    She waved at Briar impishly, which caused Briar to roll her eyes. Get serious, you!


    ¡°We will soon commence the start of the Ten Year Student Contest, the matches that everyone has been waiting for ten years to see. But before we begin, I will introduce to you the people specially chosen by our proud sponsors.¡±


    Briar yawned as she listened to the announcer introduce each sponsor and sponsored person¡¯s name. Then, in answer to her growling stomach, she pulled out a pastry and began eating it.


    Pachi! A vein throbbed on the announcer¡¯s head. Who was this person to disregard the introductions which he was painstakingly making. What nerve! What impudence!


    Feeling a bit petty, when it came time to introduce Briar, he decided to change the introduction a little and announced ¡°The next group is sponsored by our very own mayor, Bradley Pendrag! And next to him is the young boy who is so confident that he¡¯ll win the contest with relative ease, that he thinks nothing of his opponents: Briar!¡±


    Heh! How do you like that, you brat! That¡¯ll teach you not to be so rude during my introductions. Heheh! The announcer thought with savage glee as he instantly elicited a reaction from the crowds.


    ¡°How impudent!¡± ¡°Hah! Overconfident, I say! Just look at him! He¡¯s a scrawny little brat!¡± "You¡¯ll see, they¡¯ll fix him in the first rounds, mark my words.¡± The crowds had murmurings like that going around the stage.


    Bradley¡¯s brow broke out into a sweat as he remembered how easily Briar had trashed his prized guards, who were thought to be many times stronger than him at first glance. Hopefully the buy didn¡¯t take things too hard¡­right?


    He glanced sideways at Briar. But when he saw what happened next, his jaw dropped almost to the floor.

 Chapter 66: Either-or? Nope. Its Both-And.

    Briar smiled. She already knew what the announcer was up to since he began to announce her name. But what he didn¡¯t know is that he had actually saved her some trouble.


    ¡°Heeh? I was found out, huh? You¡¯re pretty good, Mister Announcer¡­¡± She replied in a lazy voice. Then she announced loudly so that everyone could hear. ¡°That¡¯s right. Today, I¡¯ll beat everyone here, and take the top place.¡± She glanced at the other candidates. ¡°That is, if no one here is strong enough to take it away from me.¡±


    After all, it¡¯s boring to win against people who aren¡¯t doing their best. This ought to rouse them a bit. She thought to herself.


    She didn¡¯t say it in a boasting manner, but as a matter of fact. There were not many students who could counter her red class level two strength, regardless of her many other techniques. As such, winning the contest was actually quite reasonable to assume.


    Moreover, from what she had seen, many of those on stage wouldn¡¯t even count as a warmup. But those who did not know her mistook her logical conclusion for arrogance. And, by those who did not know her, what others could it be other than the other combatants, the martial masters, and the people in the audience. The audience began chatting even more loudly amongst themselves.


    ¡°Who does he think he is?¡±


    ¡°I said, just wait! He¡¯ll definitely be the first person out!¡±


    ¡°My Little Ralph will knock him right out of the stage, hmmph!¡±


    Bradley wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and laughed gracefully. ¡°Well, well! Everyone here has an equal chance of winning the contest, right? It¡¯s that confident attitude of his that makes me intrigued, after all. Because if he did, then wouldn¡¯t that be really interesting?¡±


    Most people didn¡¯t take the mayor¡¯s words seriously, but a few old masters (cough cough Old Man Arthur¡¯s gambling buddies cough cough) narrowed their eyes and began paying close attention to Briar, who appeared to be a skinny little kid.


    The audience jeered. The Announcer followed up the mayor¡¯s words. ¡°You heard the man. Everyone has a fair chance to win at the ten year student contest. But¡­¡± He glanced at Briar, mockingly. ¡°Only the strong shall win.¡±


    The audience cheered in agreement, mocking the over confident fool on the stage.


    In the stands, Rien, hearing all the surrounding people booing at Briar, turned to Grandpa Arthur with a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°Grandpa Thur, Briar-ni is going to win, right?¡±


    The Old Man lowered his eyes to look at his cute grandchild and harrumphed. ¡°Of course he¡¯s going to win! Any candidate that I, your grandfather, puts forward has 100 percent chance of winning!¡±


    Then he winked a bit and said, ¡°But don¡¯t tell the others, okay? It¡¯ll lower the betting odds, after all.¡±


    Rien nodded seriously, and returned to watching the stage.


    On the stage, Briar shrugged and proceeded to ignore the announcer even more by sitting on the ground and unpacking her bento. ¡°You won¡¯t mind if I eat, right? I didn¡¯t have any breakfast today, after all. And I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want me to lose too badly due to lack of energy~¡±


    Everyone who heard this nearly fell over. The boldness of this youngster! To eat nonchalantly on stage during the commencement ceremony! Many were shaking their heads, believing that this person was just a huge idiot.


    The announcer¡¯s whole forehead was now throbbing with multiple veins, but he bore it through, ignoring the ignorant bumpkin, and continued introducing the other candidates. Haha, we¡¯ll see who has the last laugh. I know I¡¯ll be laughing my ass off when you lose! He thought, which made him feel a little bit better.


    When the introductions were finished, the sponsors returned to their seats, while the sponsored contestants went to wait in their assigned rooms. Each room was equipped with a thin sheet of illusion crystal, which was shaped like a roughly-cut oval. This way, the contestants could be able to watch the battles from within their rooms.


    For the first few hours, though, the contests between the non-seeded contestants would finish up in a grand battle royal, where the last fifty people standing would be able to participate in the actual contest. This way the possibility of garnering a black horse or two would be seen as fair opportunity for all.


    Bored, Briar realized that this final preliminary battle would take at least an hour to finish. She had just decided upon taking a nap, when Madam Rothema burst through her door.


    ¡°There you are! Just look at you! I get you all signed up for the magic contest, and here you are wasting time at the dueling stage! Ah, with your appearance like that, everyone will laugh at me!¡±


    ¡°Then-¡± Briar began.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°No time to waste! Here, just put this on over your old disguise!¡± Madam Rothema handed her a scarf that went on top of her head, transforming her from a young man into herself with long braids, a blue gingham dress, and a white apron.


    Briar was about to complain about the design, but madam Rothema would not hear anything as she dragged her to the other loop of the figure eight stadium. But, why a blue dress with a white apron?! Now I look like Kansas¡¯s mascot book character, Dorothy!


    She wanted to complain, but Madam Rothema wouldn¡¯t understand. After all, it¡¯s not like this world had ever heard of the W*zard of *z.


    I¡¯ll work on illusions next, to the point where I¡¯ll be able to change even Madam Rothema¡¯s illusions to something that suits me more. She decided.


    The magicians¡¯ side was about beginning to start their own commencement ceremony.


    Due to the fact that many parties had interest in both the magic contest and the martial contest, the events were staggered so that once one event ended on one side, another event would begin on the other side.


    Of course, battles themselves couldn¡¯t really be timed that well, but for the most part, they would not start until the other side had ended. Briar learned about this on the way to the magician¡¯s stage.


    That¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t even think of that! She realized. It¡¯s a good thing I still have a good opportunity then!


    Slowly, an anticipatory gleam shone from her eyes.


    Shall I go all out this time?


    ----------------------


    Having eaten her breakfast on the dueling stage, she was able to make it through the magic commencement ceremony without yawning or seeming disrespectful.


    After the commencement ceremony, all the students had to draw a number. Briar¡¯s number was 145, which meant that her magic duel would occur right before dinner. Perfect. Her martial duel was right after lunch, so she could take a nap before then.


    After nodding her head respectfully, she went back to her room and took the head-scarf off. Then she glanced at the projection of the battle taking place. But, then she realized something seemed odd.


    The two people up on stage should be the ones who battled right before her duel. She needed to start heading towards the dueling stage so that she wouldn¡¯t be late. On her way there, she wondered: what had happened while she was gone?


    ------------------------------------


    Rien and Grandpa (Ar)Thur had seen it all. The Battle Royale hadn¡¯t even lasted for half an hour. In less than ten minutes, only fifty people were left standing on the stage.


    Of the fifty, the five strongest were all wearing the same uniform, black clothes with silver braid. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that these had all been confirmed to be students under the age of twenty, then people would have mistaken them for experts the way they handled themselves.


    Many of the audience had witnessed their exquisite teamwork on the stage as they knocked more than sixty members off the stage. For these few to be so strong together, surely they would be much weaker when it came to the one on one duels, right? At least, that¡¯s what the audience was hoping for. Many of the audience favorites had been blown off the stage by these five. If they also took up the top five spots then that would be too domineering!


    But, unfortunately, after the Battle Royale was over, These very five were the first to come out for the main contests¡¯ first five duels. Their contestants were beaten into bloody pulps with broken arms and legs, and concussions from being thrown off the stage with great force. Not only were they strong together, it seemed that they were even more strong apart.


    And, due to that, the times for the subsequent duels was moved up, hence the reason why Briar¡¯s duel was up so soon.


    Already people within the audience were starting to warm up to these five, and cheers for them erupted here and there.


    *Whistles* ¡°Briar might actually have a run for his money, this time.¡± Grandpa Arthur said, after seeing the five subsequent wins from the five contestants. ¡°From what I know of that uniform, those should be The Dragon Clan¡¯s five young masters. I¡¯ve heard about them at the betting pools. Apparently they¡¯re quintuplets.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Kwi-qui kwentupalets?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°It means they were all born at the same time, from the same mother, like twins, except there¡¯s five of them.¡± He explained. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, they¡¯re projected to be the undefeated champions for this year.¡±


    Rien looked worried. ¡°Does that mean Briar won¡¯t win?¡±


    ¡°No, the young masters themselves are nowhere near Briar, but don¡¯t tell them that. The Dragon Clan is a very proud one. Anyone who lays a hand on their young masters would be given quite the bit of trouble afterwards. I hope Briar has a good place to hide after everything is done.¡± The Old man replied with a worried tone.


    ¡°You mean they¡¯re gonna hurt Briar if they don¡¯t win!?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°Well, they¡¯ll probably try, no doubt. But don¡¯t you worry, little one. Me and Madame Rothema will go and scare them away so bad that they won¡¯t touch a hair on his head.¡± Grandpa Thur patted Rien¡¯s head reassuringly.


    ¡°Good! Make sure you blow them away farther than the mountains are high!¡± Rien replied, fuming over the thought of people trying to hurt someone who was like an older brother to her.


    ¡°Of course! After all the help he¡¯s given us, it¡¯s the least I could do in retur-.¡± ¡°¨CAh, there¡¯s Briar now!¡± Karu interrupted, pointing out at the edge of the stage towards the figure waiting for his turn to duel.


    -------------------------------


    While waiting, Briar fished out another pastry to nibble on as she watched.


    ¡°Somehow, I really miss hot dogs and popcorn right now¡­¡± She muttered under her breath.


    The match soon ended, and the announcer called each person to the dueling stage. Whether by sheer bad luck, or by behind-the-scenes manipulation, the person Briar was to fight against was a big brawny man of 19.


    In fact, His birthday happened to fall upon the following week, so he was more like 20 years old, by his physique. But the fact was, he was still under 20, and therefore still qualified. His weapon was an ironwood staff capped at both ends with metal. From the cries of the audience, it appeared his name was Will.


    Briar was still nibbling on half a pastry when she was called up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hate me for this, young boy. It¡¯s just the luck of the draw. Too bad you ran out of luck. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll win the contest for you.¡± He smirked from the other side of the stage, as he waited for the signal.


    Briar shook her head, good-naturedly. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t hate you. Luck is really like that, after all. But as for who will win¡­¡± She smiled mysteriously. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see about that.¡± She tossed the rest of the pastry into her mouth, finishing it in one bite.


    ¡°Still thinking you¡¯re gonna win, huh kid? That kinda unnecessary thing-¡±


    ¡°START!¡± The referee called.


    Will launched himself across the distance using his staff. ¡°-you should just leave that up to this older-brother here!¡±

 Chapter 67: Round one-Martial Stage

    Front flipping in midair, Will let loose a flurry of thrusts from the staff, all aimed impeccably at Thera¡¯s head in an attempt to knock her out quickly. His staff was a near invisible blur. But, no matter how well aimed his strikes were, Briar¡¯s face avoided each thrust by a millimeter¡¯s distance.


    At this sight, many of Briar¡¯s former mockers had to agree that Briar had some amount of skill. But, instead of admitting they might have been wrong, they adopted a ¡®wait-and-see¡¯ attitude. Grandpa Thur smirked as he watched the old gamblers¡¯ eyes beginning to pay attention to Briar. Already they were probably wondering if they were mistaken. To regret is to have one¡¯s liver turn green, after all.


    ¡°Then, how about this?!¡± Will tried sweeping her legs out from under her, but she just hopped over the staff that no normal eyes could follow, even humming a little tune while dodging and whirling about the stage. Watching from the audience, the fight seemed more like a perfectly choreographed dance than a real fight.


    That being said, Briar¡¯s red class was no joke. Briar¡¯s eyes picked up the slightest shifts of gravity and form. Will¡¯s staff-work was completely visible to her, almost like it was in slow motion. Against these sorts of thrusts, no matter how well done or well-placed they were, Briar could easily dodge each and every one of them.


    People were starting to boo and hiss from the crowd.


    ¡°Real men don¡¯t run and hide!¡±


    ¡°Come on, face your defeat and let¡¯s get on with it!¡±


    ¡°Stop jumping around, twinkle toes! Fight!¡±


    Will, beginning to feel frustrated tried taunting her. ¡°Do you hear that? It doesn¡¯t look like you have a lot of fans out there. What¡¯s the matter? Can¡¯t take a blow from my staff?¡±


    Briar grinned and dodged another thrust. ¡°Hmm¡­that¡¯s too bad. I prefer real friends to fake pansies who can only be obsequious toadies to the truly strong men.¡±


    ¡°With that attitude, I¡¯m surprised if you¡¯ll ever get a girlfriend.¡± Will taunted, as he feinted a left strike before switching to an overhead slash.


    Briar¡¯s eyes twinkled mischievously. ¡°No need~ I already have one, and she likes me for who I am, instead of who people want me to act as.¡± Sidestepping the descending stave easily, she stood there, waiting for his next move.


    Will laughed. ¡°Hah! I think you¡¯re bluffing!¡± He threw out a forty-eight strike combo, all of which ended up missing Briar by the same millimeter distance.


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s the truth. But, I admit, it¡¯s probably not the truth that you¡¯re thinking of.¡± Briar grinned saucily as she dodged all the incoming strikes..


    To be fair, Will¡¯s grasp of the concept of circular motions was pretty fairly done. Briar admitted that he had a fair bit of skill. In fact, if he had met anyone other than Briar, he would probably have won this match and continued through the tournament until the semifinals, even.


    But luck is also a crucial part of any battle, and he had run out of luck the moment he was slated to face Briar.


    Briar grabbed at the staff that was being thrust out at her again and pulled it towards her, causing Will to stumble and go off balance. Then she let the staff go. Will instantly jumped backwards warily, keeping his eyes on Briar.


    ¡°One hundred and fifty seven openings: seventy-nine times instant death, twenty-six times severely injured, thirty-four times maimed, and eighteen times where I could give you minor injuries that created a larger opening where I could still kill you.¡± Briar said, counting off all the missed opportunities.


    ¡°You¡¯re bluffing!¡± Will cried, his face going pale.


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t Briar fighting, Grandpa?¡± Rien asked, confused.


    ¡°She¡¯s exchanging pointers.¡± Grandpa Thur replied, in a strangely solemn voice. ¡°She¡¯s performing the ancient and original honored exchange even---not the stupid childish brawls that it has devolved into nowadays.¡±


    ¡°Huh!¡± Rien watched as Briar dutifully dodged Will¡¯s newest sequence of strikes.


    To tell the truth, Briar could have ended it along time ago by using his weapon against him, but she was curious about different techniques and concepts that the battles here would be displaying.


    As such, she hesitated to end the match before Will could perform all his signature moves.


    And Will did not disappoint. If you were to watch, it would be like watching flippin¡¯ D*rth M*ul against kid G*ku.


    In the flurry of staff strikes, suddenly, his arm struck out, aiming to grab onto Briar¡¯s clothes. Having used only a staff the whole time he was fighting, for him to change styles meant that he was getting serious.


    Briar was impressed at his ingenuity. To fight solely with a staff gives the illusion that there are only two points of impact to watch out for. But, to suddenly add a fist into the mix was to change those two points of impact to three, thus increasing the number of things to pay attention to.


    For most young people, this would have caused their rhythm to be messed up, causing them to make mistakes, but not for Briar. She had been on the lookout for something like this the whole time.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Hup!¡± She somersaulted away from his outstretched hand, nimble as a cat, while his fist clenched upon air.


    ¡°Are you even a man!?¡± He shouted, angrily.


    ¡°Are you?¡± Briar asked, mirroring his question. ¡°You know, you asked me earlier if I could even get a girlfriend. And now I¡¯m wondering¡­are you able? Do you have a girldfriend? Come on, it¡¯s only fair that we trade personal information equally.¡± She said, tauntingly.


    ¡°Why you!!¡± His face grew red as his anger and frustration spiked to new levels.


    However, all of a sudden, his complexion returned to normal, and his face took on a disinterested expression-like a Bhudda. ¡°Then, let¡¯s see if you can take this next strike.¡± He said calmly.


    Will stood up straight--as if in silent salute-- with his staff placed in front of him, his forehead touching the wood.as it was held out straight up and down in front of him. Briar was curious about this stance.


    Interesting¡­let¡¯s see about this special skill. Briar thought to herself as she switched for the first time to the offensive.


    The staff¡¯s resting position was straight up and down, but once she approached, it flickered in and out of position like a snake, elusively striking fast and viciously. Of course, the blows never quite touched Briar, since this sort of skill was very similar to several forms of martial arts which she was proficient in.


    The whole time, he was muttering, which Briar could have interrupted at any time, but she decided not to in order for him to release his ultimate skill.


    But, while the audience thought he was muttering the activation key for the martial technique, Briar could actually hear him crystal clear.


    ¡°Ai! I can¡¯t let things end like this! I must get a strike on this pretentious kid or else I won¡¯t feel satisfied! Not even an adult and already has a girlfriend!? Stupid couples! They should just explode!¡± Will muttered continuously over and over again. ¡°If I could just hit him once! Just once!¡±


    Briar pretended that she couldn¡¯t hear any of that.


    Suddenly, the tip of the staff swiftly dropped, aiming straight at Briar, reminding her strangely of the aiming stance of gun-men on Earth. She quickly dodged to the side just as a red light shot out of the tip of the staff like a laser, brushing by Briar¡¯s face and cutting a few stray hairs off her head.


    ¡°A lucky miss! Let¡¯s see if you can continue to be impertinent!¡± He yelled, shooting again and again as Briar dodged the straight beams with practiced ease. Soon enough, though, his martial spirit had run too low for him to use it, and he stopped, to catch his breath.


    He heard a single applause.


    ¡°Wow! Impressive!¡± Briar clapped her hands, laughing. ¡°How did that go again? Something like this?¡±


    She pointed her fingertip at the staff and a focused red beam shot out of it, blasting right through the staff, and drawing a small cut on Will¡¯s cheek. ¡°Whoops! Sorry about that~¡± She smiled unabashedly.


    Silence reigned for a few seconds. Then Will stuttered, ¡°But- how? You-I-you¡­HOW?!¡± He exclaimed in frustration, falling to his knees.


    His ultimate move was actually the result of running his martial spirit through as series of amplifier spirit stones embedded in the hollowed center of his staff. These stones were placed in a coil shape so that the martial spirit could pass through more stones before exiting out the other side.


    For Briar to not only be able to see through it so quickly, but also to replicate it in a matter of mere moments after displaying it-Will felt a small chill go down his back-this kid had such a monstrous perception.


    His staff was broken and his ultimate moves were stolen¡­Even if he had more moves, bringing them out now, there was 100% chance of them getting stolen by the little terror in front of him.


    ¡°Well? Do you want to continue? Or do you have something more interesting to show me? Or are you going to give up?¡± Briar asked.


    Will considered the question, then shook his head, exhausted. ¡°I can already see that I¡¯m no match for you. I admit defeat.¡± He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pant legs, then held a fist out towards Briar. ¡°Just make sure you win. Being defeated by the champion isn¡¯t such a bad thing.¡±


    Briar blinked, then bumped fists with Will. ¡°Of course. Haven¡¯t I been saying that from the beginning?¡±


    Will just laughed as he walked away. ¡°So you have! So you have! You really are an interesting one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Unfortunately, this would be Will¡¯s last chance to participate in the Ten-Year Student Contest, as no one above twenty can join.


    Although his chances of winning the Ten Year Student Contest were completely shattered to pieces, he stepped off the stage with a strangely lightened heart.


    He was going to train even harder and harder, and the next time they would meet, even if he couldn¡¯t fight in the contest, he would definitely ask to compare notes with Briar.


    But it was not meant to be. After this contest, no one would ever hear about the boy named Briar again. He would vanish from history quicker than a ghost vanishes into thin air.


    Briar sighed. The technique itself wasn¡¯t even really a complicated one. It was just building up your martial spirit so that once it was released, it would have great speed and destructive power.


    In layman¡¯s terms, it was hardly even a technique. If not for the use of martial spirit, it would not even be labeled as such. Briar shrugged and waited on the stage, shoving a pastry into her mouth.


    In the audience, faces paled, and unhappy words were being muttered. Many people had bet upon Briar¡¯s defeat, only to find that they lost nearly all they had. But a few daredevils sat there with beaming faces. These were those desperate few who had bet upon Briar winning in the first round.


    Among them, Grandpa Thur and Uncle Bradley were unabashedly grinning. Although Grandpa Thur already had a ton of money, he enjoyed gambling like some people enjoyed fishing.


    He was already rich. Yet, oh, how he loved the feeling of reeling in a large catch. Already he had turned his initial bid of fifty thousand into a hundred and fifty million.


    Bradley had taken after Grandpa Thur in this regards as they both laughed in their seats, eyes gleaming over their recent win. Rien watched the ring, not even noticing her Grandpa chuckling darkly in delight.


    ¡°He won!¡± Rien laughed gleefully. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no one that can beat our Briar-nii!¡± Karu agreed, looking over a recording of the match on a spherical crystal that his Grandpa had bought him.


    It was able not only to record images, but also to play them back. However, any recordings over two hours long would only last for three days before the images began to fade away. The one in his hand was guaranteed to last for at least a month-longer even, if his Grandpa Thur helped him extend the lifetime of the playback.


    --------------


    Briar looked over at the announcer. ¡°Well? You¡¯re the announcer. Do your job and announce!¡±


    Actually, she had been waiting several minutes for the announcer to proclaim her the winner of the first round.


    This was just a lucky fluke. Next round he¡¯ll definitely be kicked off the stage. The announcer told himself as he cleared his throat.


    ¡°It seems that we have a winner. The young sponsored youth of Mayor Pendrag, Briar, has won in the first round! But, don¡¯t let winning make you overconfident! There are still many many strong opponents out there for you to face before you can even see the top!¡±


    The announcer couldn¡¯t keep himself from adding that part in at the end in order to satisfy his wounded pride. That country bumpkin wouldn¡¯t know what hit him in the second round!


    --------------


    Briar yawned noncommittally and returned to her room to take a well-deserved, much-desired nap.

 Update: Not a Chapter

    Sorry everyone! I know it¡¯s been a while since I last posted a chapter but the most terrifying thing has happened.


    ¡­.My


    ¡­Computer¡­


    DIED. T_T *RIP*


    Yeah, I know. So, not only did I not have access to a computer, I also realized that because my computer was so good as to save all of my passwords, I couldn¡¯t remember any of them¡­.including the one to my account here.


    So, after taking it to the doctor and asking if he could resurrect it pretty please with a cherry on top, etc., I got a call yesterday to say that I was better off buying a new computer than replacing my old one-so that is what I did.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I went to Best Buy. I Bought a computer. 0__0 ¡­and then I promptly got lost for about an hour and a half trying to find the stupid way home. I asked for directions 3 different times from three different people, and somehow ended up in Carbondale¡­.Topeka is a scary place at night time¡­


    I have everything up until the current chapter stored away on my external hard drive, but the next chapter, which I was about half-way through, disappeared along with my Toshiba¡¯s soul. Which inevitably means there will be delays while I get everything back in place and running like it should.


    So, please be patient with me. I am not delaying to cause you torture. I had a real life problem which I could not have foreseen or avoided.

 Chapter 68: Impossible Reunion

    Briar opened her eyes to the sound of cicadas buzzing in the trees, and stared at a ceiling she would never forget, even if she lived to be a million years old. ¡­Why am I sleeping on the ground? She sat up and looked around her, at the nostalgic scene, at the calligraphy paintings on the wall, at the tatami mats under her hands, at the rock garden that was always taken care of with careful consideration.


    She looked down at her hands, puzzled. Suddenly, she realized that her hands weren¡¯t the small, childish ones that she had been used to as of late. Moreover, she was also wearing modern clothing from earth!


    Somehow¡­I¡¯m back here? She thought, dazed by the sudden turn of events. Then, realizing something, she stood up quickly, and hurried down the hallway to the meditation room. Her footsteps slowed until they came to a stop as she stood in the doorway, silent.


    There he was, as stoic as ever, sitting cross-legged upon his meditation mat. Briar tried to get past the lump in her throat, but it was of no use. She could only stand there, like a wooden statue.


    His voice reverberated, slow and measured, breaking the silence, and releasing her from her paralysis.


    ¡°You took your time, my student. What kept you?¡±


    With that, Briar could finally get past the lump in her throat. ¡°Master..¡± She said, speaking the old familiar word.


    ¡°And? Where have you been, to have such an expression on your face?¡± He asked calmly.


    ¡°I was ¡­somewhere very far away.¡± Briar did not dare to even look away from him, afraid that he might vanish into thin air.


    ¡°It must not have been as far as you thought, since you were still able to come here¡­ Something is troubling you? ¡­Come. Sit¡­. Tell your master all about it.¡± He motioned towards the meditation mat in front of him, and Briar respectfully took a seat, also sitting cross-legged.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Briar hesitated. ¡°This can¡¯t be real. I must be dreaming.¡± She muttered to herself.


    He must have heard it, since he replied. ¡°Whether you¡¯re truly dreaming or not remains to be seen, but whoever said that what is dreamed cannot be true? Come, have some tea.¡±


    He reached towards the pot of jasmine tea to his left, and pouring it caused the fragrance to wash over the two. Briar¡¯s eyes softened as she remembered. Ah, that¡¯s right. He always made sure that there was fresh tea in the meditation room.


    After respectfully receiving the cup of tea that was offered to her, she took a sip. The fresh, subtle fragrance and flavor of jasmine tea tickled her nose and her tongue as it slid down her throat. It seemed so real, she almost wished it wasn¡¯t a dream.


    ¡°You have a question?¡± He asked.


    Briar hesitated for a moment, but then began. ¡°Like I said, I was somewhere very far away. In that place, the stronger people run rampant, while the weaker can only let them do what they want. I didn¡¯t want to be weak, so I trained to become strong.¡±


    ¡°And are you sufficiently strong?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Strong enough to win against most of my peers.¡± Briar dutifully answered.


    ¡°And? Are you satisfied?¡± He asked, pouring himself a cup of tea, causing the fragrance to once more envelope the room.


    ¡°No, there I want to become the strongest, so that no one can exorcise their will over me without my consent.¡±


    ¡°And? After that?¡±


    ¡°After that, I will become the cleverest, so that no one can trick me into doing what I would not.¡±


    ¡°And after that?¡±


    ¡°¡­Master?¡±


    ¡°After you have reached the pinnacle of strength, intelligence, and power, what will you do with it?¡± He asked.


    Briar grew silent.


    ¡°You said you wished to become the strongest and also the smartest. For what reason did you wish to do so?¡± He asked.


    ¡°To better myself.¡± She replied.


    ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°To be able to properly respond to whatever may come my way.¡±


    ¡°And?¡±


    Briar grew silent once again. Master¡¯s words would always come in the form of questions. But, truth to be told, some of them were hard to find the answer for.


    ¡°What will you do with the power you attain?¡± He asked again. ¡°Do you wish to look down upon the people around you?¡±


    ¡°What-no!¡± Briar exclaimed, drawing back, slightly.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Do you wish to take whatever you want, whenever you want, and use your strength and intellect to become lord over the strongest people?¡± He asked again.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to become strong so that no one can tell you what is right and what is wrong?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, either!¡± Briar groaned, frustrated. She knew he was prodding her along the way to finding her own answers, but she let him do so anyways. This was the way that Master taught his students.


    ¡°Then, why do you wish to become the strongest?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Is that wrong? Am I wrong to want to become stronger?¡± Briar asked.


    There was a moment of silence as he examined her, then he shook his head.¡°¡­You are not wrong in seeking, but if you do not know where you are going, then you will arrive nowhere, my student.¡± He sipped his tea. ¡°If you don¡¯t figure these things out now then you will only become more and more lost.¡±


    That caught Briar¡¯s attention. She smiled. Master was always right, after all. She earnestly applied herself to solving the puzzle that had been presented to her by Master, but after wracking her brains for a few minutes, she gave up.


    ¡°T-then, what should I do?¡± She asked. ¡°In order to find my direction, what should I do?¡±


    He did not answer immediately, but instead picked up the teacup and looked upon it. ¡°How beautiful this cup is, do you not agree?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it is quite lovely.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Yet its beauty is not full unless it is fulfilling that which it was made for. So too, your strength and intelligence are much desireable, yet, if they do not help you to get your desired outcome, of what use are they?¡±


    His expression sank as if he recalled painful memories from long ago. Then he sighed a long, heavy sigh, and, looking back up at Briar asked her. ¡°For whom are you fighting Briar? Is it only for yourself?¡±


    Briar felt the words strike a chord in her. ¡°NO! I¡¯m not just fighting for myself!¡± She blurted out. The room itself seemed to darken as if the sun had gone behind a cloud. A breeze sounded the summer chime hanging from the door frame.


    ¡°¡­Then, whom are you fighting for?¡± He asked, a somewhat kinder light in his eyes. The room seemed to continue to become dark, as if the night were rapidly approaching. Briar could feel the lids of her eyes become heavy. Huh? Who was it again? I have to remember! I have to remember quickly, who was it that I was fighting for? Her hand seemed to become rooted to the floor, too heavy to lift up.


    As she stared at her hand, she began, ¡°I¡¯m fighting for¡­I¡¯m fighting for¡­my¡­¡± Briar felt her limbs grow heavy as if she were rapidly falling asleep. Before her vision turned completely dark, faces appeared before her: Mother Helen, Maggie, Father, Laura, the maids at Rose Manor and James the Gardener.


    Ah, that¡¯s it.¡°¡­fa¡­mi¡­ly¡­¡± The room disappeared as her surroundings were enveloped in darkness.


    But, even in the darkness, she heard clearly the words uttered after her sight failed her. ¡°Live well, my disciple. And do not let either fighting or games of wit distract you from the truth that you have found. Grow strong so that you might protect and cherish your friends and family.¡±


    ------------------------


    ¡°Briar? Wake up! It¡¯s almost time for your magician¡¯s fight! Madam Rothema said that you¡¯ll need to put your disguise on soon.¡±


    Briar opened her eyes and blinked, as the image resolved itself into her waiting room at the fighting stadium. Ah, so it really was a dream¡­ She thought to herself as she gazed languidly up at the stone ceiling. How long had she been asleep?


    Helen¡¯s face appeared in her field of vision. ¡°Bri-ar! Come on, wake up already! You¡¯ve been sleeping all afternoon! There¡¯s only two matches left before it¡¯s your turn! Get up!¡± She tugged at Briar¡¯s sleeve.


    Briar yawned and stretched, sitting up on the couch. Helen pouted. ¡°You¡¯re too relaxed, teacher! You do realize that someone could have poisoned you or stolen your magic bag from you whilst you were asleep? What about all of your important magic tools and equipment?¡±


    Briar took a moment to consider the idea. ¡°Tell me, Helen, are items more important than family?¡± She suddenly asked.


    Startled, Helen blinked and then tried to answer the question. ¡°Of course not! Not even the most precious item in the world can replace a single human soul.¡±


    Briar smiled. ¡°Brilliant! That¡¯s my student!¡± She ruffled Helen¡¯s hair a bit. ¡°But still, I think if such a thing did happen, I think I would have happily kept on dreaming.¡±


    ¡°Briar!¡± Helen exclaimed, upset that her words seemed not to get through Briar¡¯s sleep-addled head. But Briar still stuck by her answer.


    ¡°No, I really do mean it, Helen. This was a dream that was worth more than the entire world to me. Its worth is simply priceless.¡± Briar sighed, burning the dream into her memory so that she would not forget even a moment of it.


    ¡°Sounds like it must have been SOMEdream! What did you dream about?¡± Helen asked, her curiosity now enkindled.


    Briar smiled kindly. ¡°Someone whom I have not met for many, many years.¡± She replied, her eyes taking on a faraway look. ¡°He was a father figure for me when I had no father. A friend where I had no friends. A teacher when I had none to teach me.¡±


    Helen observed Briar¡¯s strange behavior and blinked. For a moment, it had seemed as if Briar was an ageless being, reminiscing of times long forgotten by mankind. She blinked a few more times and the strange atmosphere dissipated.


    ¡°Cheer up, Briar! You¡¯re still alive, right? If you¡¯re still alive, then it¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll meet him on one of your travels, right?¡±


    Briar leaned against the windowsill and looked up at the heavens, which were streaked with layers of soft clouds, and laughed. Her laughter seemed unusually kind and gentle. ¡°No¡­I¡¯ll never be able to see this man again. That¡¯s why, this dream was our last meeting, and why I prize it more than the whole world¡­¡±


    She looked Helen in the eyes and asked her seriously. ¡°What do I need the world for? It doesn¡¯t care one whit for me or you. If we should die today or tomorrow, it doesn¡¯t care¡­but people-ah- people are our true treasures. The world may not care, but people? Family? Friends? If I should die tomorrow, I think I would be happy¡­happy that I had friends who cared enough to cry for me.¡±


    Helen sort of understood, but didn¡¯t quite understand all of what Briar was saying. ¡°But, why would you be happy that everyone was sad?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Because that sadness is a proof of my existence. It¡¯s the most solid evidence that I was there, that I truly lived.¡± Briar¡¯s smile grew smaller as she thought once again upon her dream.


    That¡¯s right. It¡¯s impossible for me to talk with him face to face.. She looked out the window up at the sky. He passed away a long loong time ago.


    Helen jerked her head as she realized that they had already wasted a few minutes just sitting and talking ¡°Come on! You¡¯ll be late!¡± Helen exclaimed, worriedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming! Don¡¯t worry so much!¡± Briar replied, putting on her scarf before leaving the room. her appearance instantly changed into her Dorothy image.


    As she walked down the hallway, she couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit.


    After all this time, even after death, it seemed that her Master was still guiding her, and keeping watch over his disciple.


    Thank you, Master. I know now what I should do.


    If beforehand, her confidence had been a fa?ade, now it was the genuine article. Thus, the person known as Thera of Rose Manor took her first step forward into the legend that would be passed down for generations to come.

 Chapter 69: A Really Strange Magician

    Briar and Helen arrived just in time to catch the end of the current match, with the water mage overwhelming the fire mage. It looks like all they did was gather their own respective elemental mana to disperse the opponent¡¯s mana. How very crude. Briar thought to herself.


    The battle that just finished was the very example of a cancelling battle, where mages use their own mana and spells to disperse the mana and spells of the opposite party. In the end, it all boiled down to who had the better mana manipulation and endurance. In that respect, you could say that the water mage won because she was more patient than the fire mage, and was therefore able to best utilize her element. Well, regardless of who won, it was luckily due to the delaying battle of those two magicians that allowed Briar to arrive on time.


    ¡°A magic slugging contest, heh?¡± Briar muttered, comparing it to the unrefined bare-fisted brawling of drunkards at a tavern. ¡°But, I get the feeling that this is not all there is to this magic contest.¡±


    ¡°What are you muttering, Briar?¡± Helen asked, hearing Briar speak in a strange language.


    ¡°Ah, nothing nothing! Let¡¯s watch the next match, okay?¡± Briar said cheerfully. That was close! Because of that dream I must have unconsciously spoken in Japanese.


    ¡°Briar¡­¡± Helen said, her face slightly twitching.


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± Briar replied, enthusiasm shining in her eyes.


    ¡°¡­the next match...it¡¯s your match.¡± Helen pointed out.


    Briar blinked. ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡±


    ¡°And now it¡¯s time for our next match! Ladies and Gentleman¡­¡± The announcer began.


    ¡°Hurry up, Briar! You have until he¡¯s done with his introduction to get on stage!¡± Helen said, panicking a bit.


    ¡°In that case, might as well roll out the red carpet~!¡± Briar exclaimed as she vanished from the crowds in the stands.


    ¡°Eh!? Briar? What-¡± Helen asked, but her words were cut short when the winds gathered dust from all directions, creating a miniature whirlwind whose tail stood upon the magic stage itself, stirring up a cloud of dust.


    But just as suddenly as it formed, it dispersed. When the dust settled, upon the stage, with not a speck on her, stood Briar. She watched her surroundings with interest as if the miniature whirlwind had nothing to do with her at all.


    ¡°¡­With a splendid and brilliant entrance, Madam Rothema¡¯s very own disciple, Briar Rose!¡± The announcer followed up, unphased by the excessive show of magic. The crowd cheered to see such an interesting entrance. Some of the magicians in the audience were shaking their heads at the seeming waste of mana, though.


    It was something which usually happened when magicians came together. The ones that weren¡¯t involved in magic slugging contests usually tried to outdo the others in their entrance.


    Although this was the first such entrance this year, it certainly would not be the last. Other magicians would adopt a flashy entrance if only not to be outdone by the other magicians in performance. There were those who had exhausted all of their mana in a mere few seconds just to give a flashy entrance, only to forfeit due to lack of mana.


    Briar had already activated her mana vision, so she was well aware when tendrils of mana spread out and formed themselves into visible leaves, which gathered to create its own miniature whirlwind on the opposite side of the stage. It was a girl older than her, about fifteen or sixteen, with striking platinum blonde hair falling in waves past her shoulders. Her striking sky blue eyes seemed to have an electric energy swimming through them.


    Illusion magic, huh? Briar noted. Originally, if that person were to encounter anyone else, then there would be no question that they would have undoubtedly won. But, unfortunately for her opponent, Briar had Mana Vision, therefore any illusions would be effortlessly seen through.


    Already she had seen through the illusion of a striking beauty. The real Morningstar had her platinum blonde hair cut into a short bob, and amethyst eyes, with a far thinner and less developed figure. Briar silently offered her condolences to the opposite side.


    ¡°¡­And on the opposite side, with just as brilliant of an entrance, is Master Silver¡¯s star pupil, Morning Star!¡± The announcer introduced her opponent with the same boundless enthusiasm. Briar snorted a bit at the name, remembering the ninja weapons which also were bearers of that name.


    ¡°Hey you! You laughed just now, didn¡¯t you!¡± Morning Star exclaimed. Ara? It seems this fake missy has quite the complex. Let¡¯s just end this quickly.


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡± Briar replied, deadpan. She openly admitted to laughing at Morning Star.


    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for that! I won¡¯t forgive you for laughing at the brilliant Morning Star!¡± The opponent growled, gritting her teeth as she called upon her mana.


    ¡°Ooh! Already there is quite the amount of provocation flying around. It really makes one interested in what will happen~I can¡¯t wait! MATCH START!¡± The announcer waved a flag to symbolize the start of the match.


    The two figures both stood in place, silently, neither one seeming to move.


    ------------


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Helen asked Madam Rothema, completely confused. Madam Rothema smiled slightly.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Well, it could be several things, actually, but right now I think they are just trying to gauge each other¡¯s remaining mana pools. It¡¯s usually the young people who start fighting immediately. When it comes to a Magi¡¯s fight, I¡¯d be surprised if it didn¡¯t take them more than a year to be fully prepared.¡±


    ¡°A Whole year?¡± Helen gasped.


    Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s only if it were an official fight between Magi, and, even then, there are many rules and regulations set in place so that we don¡¯t damage the environments or kill someone who was not involved by accident. Just because we have power doesn¡¯t mean that we can just go and blow everything up when we get mad, although I admit, I¡¯ve been tempted to upon occasion.¡±


    ¡°So being a Magi doesn¡¯t mean that you can do anything that you want?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°No, Helen, being a Magi is a lot of delicate and complicated work. Most are not able to cope with the scale of magics that we do, which is why for the most part, we make sure that our spells cannot harm those who are much weaker than us.¡±


    ¡°But, why doesn¡¯t she just shoot off a spell? I¡¯ve seen her do chantless spells before! She can totally beat the opponent!¡± Helen pouted.


    ¡°It¡¯s more than simply knocking the person out, Helen. Briar is here so that she can learn from the techniques of other magicians and fighters. This is one of the fastest ways to help her grow at this point¡­¡± Madam Rothema sighed.


    Usually, we wouldn¡¯t be so hurried for her to grow, but we won¡¯t be around for much longer. Already the time is growing short for us of the older generations.


    --------------------------------------


    During these past five minutes, neither seemed to have moved an inch.


    However, Briar¡¯s mana vision told a different story. Morning Star had already begun her attack, weaving her illusion magic around the two of them. Briar watched the light blue tendrils wrap around her like fog, allowing them to encase her.


    She chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got.¡± And adjusted her mana vision so that she could see the illusion, while still keeping track of Morning Star through her mana signature.


    The stage, people, and sounds faded away, being replaced by tall skyscraper buildings, cars driving through the streets, and cherry trees in full bloom, here and there.


    ¡°So it¡¯s something to this effect, huh?¡± Briar muttered to herself. Illusion magic showed the person a nostalgic scenery to catch them off their guard. But, what Morning Star could never have guessed is that Briar¡¯s soul itself had come from a completely different world, thus any illusions played against her would instantly be caught.


    ¡°Briar! What are you doing here?¡± the familiar Japanese words poured like music into her ears. Briar turned to look. It was Sister Allison from the local orphanage, and¡­it was also Morning Star. Morning Star¡¯s mana signature and Sister Allison¡¯s appearance overlapped.


    So you want to play around like this, huh? Briar thought, eyes narrowing. Very well. Let us call your bluff.


    ¡°I could ask you the very same question.¡± Briar replied, but not in the achingly familiar Japanese language that she heard. No matter how real this place seemed, it was only an illusion. If she were to reply in Japanese, then certain things would become exposed.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Sister? It isn¡¯t like you to be somewhere so dangerous.¡± Briar continued with the charade. She was stalling for time while she analyzed the illusion magic.


    Outside of the illusion, Morning Star sniggered to herself. She couldn¡¯t really see what her illusion magic showed her victims, but it seemed that Morning Star was being mistaken for Briar¡¯s sister.


    ¡°What, can¡¯t I walk about as I please? I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t realized it by now.¡± The tendrils of illusion magic began to move, and the once friendly scenery now took on a much fiercer appearance as clouds covered the sun and the wind seemed to be picking up. On the side, Morning Star was readying a highly-condensed [Wind Sphere] in order to push Briar of the stage, muttering an aria.


    ¡°Sister, if you walk around like that here, who will take care of the little ones? Hasn¡¯t it always been me who takes care of the dangerous things while you stay home with the children? The magic beasts would surely eat you for supper if you stayed out here too long.¡± Briar replied, acting this impromptu part to the fullest.


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense! As if you could defeat magic beasts without my help! That would require you to be at least a First-Rank Master Class magician!¡± Morning Star scoffed as she released the compressed [Wind Sphere] in Briar¡¯s direction.


    The [Wind Sphere] struck, once again lifting dust and dirt into the air, obscuring the platform. Morning Star clenched her hand in a victory pose. Before everything had been obscured, she had made sure to see that Briar was directly hit with the [Wind Sphere]. There was no one under Master¡¯s class that could completely repel such winds without being thrown back by the rebound.


    Everyone was looking for the place where Briar should have fallen, but strangely it seemed as if the intended victim had vanished. Believing she had already won, Morning Star dispelled her illusion magic. After all, there was no use to continue using up mana if there was no one left to target. But, unfortunately¡­


    ¡°Achoo! Ugh I hate dust!¡­Was that an attack?¡± A voice spoke out from the dust cloud in the center of the stage, and Morning Star¡¯s face grew pale as she realized that what happened was precisely what she hadn¡¯t been expecting.


    A slight wind picked up and dispersed the dust, revealing Briar¡¯s figure, still standing in the same spot she had since the start of the fight. Briar stood there still for a moment, then replied.¡°Eh? I didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Briar¡¯s eyes held a hint of sly mischief within.


    ¡°T-tell me what?¡± Morning Star stuttered out in reply to Briar¡¯s question.


    ¡°I¡¯m a first rank Master class.¡± Briar replied seriously. Actually I¡¯m a second rank, but I¡¯d rather not reveal that to you or anyone else before I let Madam Rothema know about it. Briar thought to herself as she struck a pose.


    ¡°F-first rank, M-master class!?¡± Her first reaction would usually be to laugh at such an absurd claim. But, Briar had withstood a highly compressed [Wind Sphere] that most rank nine Journeymen had trouble blocking, especially if they were ambushed with it.


    Morning Star¡¯s face grew white as paper. If that was true, then no matter how much Briar had laughed at her, she had every right to do so. Any twelve year old who could reach First-Rank Master Class was almost assured to become an immortal Magi. Compared to that, what was her Rank-Eight Journeyman Class?


    ¡°Ha ha. That air ball had nearly all my mana behind it.¡± Morning Star sank to the ground, exhausted and mentally drained. ¡°I can¡¯t go on.¡±


    ¡°Briar is the winner of the match!¡± The announcer proclaimed with his loud voice.


    Briar nodded, bowing before the cheering audience, then she crossed the stage to help Morning Star stand up. Morning Star hesitated at Briar¡¯s outstretched hand.


    ¡°Tell me one thing.¡± She asked. ¡°You were never really affected by my illusion, were you?¡± Briar smiled. ¡°It was a wonderful illusion, but in the end, it lacked the strength of the emotions behind it. Although, I really came over to thank you.¡±


    Morning Star snorted. ¡°Thank me? Thank me for what? Your winning?¡±


    ¡°No. Thank you for the illusion.¡± Briar replied. Morning Star was puzzled for a moment, but then nodded and grasped Briar¡¯s outstretched hand. Briar effortlessly pulled her to her feet.


    ¡°You really are a rather strange magician.¡± Morning Star said.


    ¡°Haha, thanks! There certainly will never be another magician like me. That¡¯s for certain!¡± Briar laughed as she walked back towards the stairs on the opposite end of the stage.


    Morning Star stared after her. ¡°Really¡­a weird magician. What kind of magician helps up their opponents after defeating them?¡± She turned around and walked down the stairs on the opposite side of the stage, reaching the shadows behind the doorway before her fake appearance disappeared.

 Chapter 70: I beg of you, please no.

    After Briar entered through the doorway, and could not be seen, she quickly whipped the kerchief off her head, tucking it into her magic bag. Lucky that she did, because not three seconds later a crowd of men burst around the corner and passed her by.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have gotten far, right?¡±


    ¡°Such a talented magician, I must bring her into the family.¡±


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? IT IS I THAT SHALL BRING HER INTO MY FAMILY!¡±


    Then, the crowd began to fight amongst themselves over who would have the honor of capturing ¡®Lady¡¯ Briar, not knowing that their ¡®lovely lady¡¯ was walking away un-accosted. Idiots. Who would marry the likes of you? Briar stuck out her tongue as if a bitter taste resided there.


    As she walked back to the place where Madam Rothema, the Old Man, and the children were, she looked up at the sky.


    Marriage, huh? I¡¯d completely forgotten. But since I¡¯m a noble, I¡¯ll have to think about it soon. As much as I do love my parents, I cannot enjoy the idea of having a fianc¨¦ or a marriage partner decided behind my back. She smiled. Looks like I¡¯ll have to have a few long talks with my parents about this.


    -----


    ¡°ACHOO!¡± Sir Maverick rubbed his nose, suddenly shivering for a moment.


    ¡°Have you caught a cold, dear?¡± Mother Helen asked, concerned.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so-¡± He shivered again. ¡°H-how about we put these marriage proposals to the side for now and wait until Thera gets back, okay?¡±


    ¡°Why, whatever is the matter? I thought we were going to find the perfect husband for our daughter.¡± Mother Helen asked.


    ¡°Ah, no...it¡¯s just that I have a bad feeling about this. We don¡¯t know which of these is right for her¡­what if we choose the wrong one and make her hate us?¡± Sir Maverick said seriously.


    Helen looked him straight in the eyes and said in a slightly darker manner. ¡°Tell the truth, dear.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair! I want to spend some more time with my baby girl before she becomes estranged from me!¡± Sir Maverick placed his head in his arms and sobbed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that she¡¯ll be fine. She¡¯s out little genius, after all.¡± Mother Helen said, looking down at the marriage proposals. ¡°All right, fine. We¡¯ll stop looking through these.¡±


    ¡°Really! You¡¯re the best, honey!¡± Sir Maverick almost leapt out of his chair at her, but was stopped by a raised hand. ¡°Please, dear. You know we can¡¯t do that for now.¡± Helen said as she put the proposal documents to the side, exposing her rounded stomach.


    ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s right. I wonder if Thera¡¯s little brother will be born before she returns?¡± Sir Maverick chuckled, and hummed a little tune in high spirits as he took over clearing away the proposal documents.


    Helen glared at him. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be a baby brother! It¡¯s definitely going to be a baby sister!¡±


    ¡°But the midwife said that stomachs that are round like a watermelon usually give birth to baby boys-¡± Sir Maverick placed the proposals up on the highest shelf of the third bookcase. Then he turned around and sweat dropped down the back of his neck when he saw a familiar dark aura begin to radiate from Helen.


    ¡°Ah, I get it, I get it! Whether it¡¯s a girl or a boy, though, it¡¯s our child, and I will love it no matter what.¡± Sir Maverick reassured Helen.


    And this time, no king¡¯s order is going to separate me from my children again! He thought to himself, beginning to daydream of what he will do when his child is born.


    ¡°Alright, now that you¡¯re done putting those away, you can grab the documents down from the top shelf of the fourth bookcase.¡± Helen said.


    Sir Maverick froze. ¡°Ah, but you said¡­¡±


    ¡°I said we¡¯ll stop looking through the ones for Thera. I never said that we would stop entirely.¡± Helen said, taking a sip of herbal tea.


    ¡°Instead, we¡¯ll begin searching for a good match for our eldest daughter, Margie. It¡¯s not good for the younger daughter to be married before the older one, after all.¡± Helen announced.


    Sir Maverick almost fell over. ¡°You mean there¡¯s more papers to go through?¡±


    Before Helen could glare at him, though, he took down the indicated box, carefully wiping off the dust so that his wife wouldn¡¯t sneeze. After he set it down upon the desk, Helen immediately opened the box, her eyes beginning to shine like a cat looking for its prey as she began poring over the marriage proposals for Margie.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Margiiee! Theraaa! Come back soon before Mama gets out of control! Sir Maverick cried out inside his heart.


    ------------------------------------


    Briar sat with everyone in Madam Rothema¡¯s parlor, drinking the tea that she had brewed herself alone with Madam Rothema, Master Thales, the Old Man, Laura, and the children.


    ¡°So, The-er I mean ¡®Briar¡¯, what happened after you fell down into the abyss?¡± Laura asked, curious. "After you fell, it kind of crusted back over, as if it had never been there. After Master Thales had taken us somewhere safe, he went back and tore the whole area apart looking for the entrance to the abyss, but he couldn¡¯t find so much as even a fault line!¡±


    ¡°Ah. That.¡± Briar said, remembering. ¡°Well, if you want the specifics of it, then the Old Man knows more about it than me.¡± She nodded her head towards Grandpa Arthur.


    ¡°But the short of it is that the place I fell was a special layer underground that moves under the earth¡¯s crust. So, even five minutes could change my location to hundreds of miles away. Think of it as the yolk of the egg spinning inside its shell. The shell can remain stationary even while the yolk is spinning.¡±


    ¡°How did you survive?¡± Helen asked. ¡°I heard it was really deep!¡±


    Briar chuckled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure about that myself. I fell unconscious for the last part of the fall. For now, let¡¯s just say that it was an unforeseen and welcome miracle.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s when we found Briar-ni, sleeping on the fallen rocks!¡± Rien announced proudly.


    ¡°That¡¯s true enough!¡± Briar nodded. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for those two, I¡¯d have probably been lost for years under there. I woke up when I heard them talking. They lead me to Grandpa Thur¡­and, well, I helped him finish his portal gate, which ended up getting us pretty close to town when all was said and done.¡±


    ¡°You forget the part where you talked me out of doing something stupid.¡± Grandpa Thur said.


    Briar shrugged. ¡°And I talked the Old Man out of doing something stupid.¡± She added, ¡°But that¡¯s up to him to tell if he wants.¡± Briar didn¡¯t enjoy putting herself on a pedestal or revealing the mistakes of people to others without good reason, so she kept the full story to herself.


    Then she smacked her forehead. ¡°OH! I plumb forgot about it! With all the stuff I was busy doing, she¡¯d slipped my mind completely!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Rien asked.


    Briar opened her magic bag smiling as she winked at Rien. "Let me introduce you to someone."


    ¡°Wait, what are you doing!¡± Laura gasped. ¡°Are you going to bring a corpse out in front of the children!? Everyone knows that magic bags can¡¯t hold living creatures!¡±


    Briar pretended to feel hurt. ¡°How rude! Just for that, I shall perform a magic that utmostly defies logic! I shall bring someone back from the dead!¡±


    Reaching into her bag, she grabbed Yukikage by the neck and brought her out. Yukikage flicked an ear and grumbled in her sleep, but did not wake up.


    ¡°It''s Yukikage the corpse! Ara? It looks like she¡¯s already alive though¡­I must be better than I thought!¡± Briar smirked at Laura, who found herself at a loss for words.


    ¡°Enough nonsense, Briar, or else you¡¯ll get in trouble when someone really does die¡± Madam Rothema warned. ¡°The real treasure is probably that magic bag isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°As expected of Teacher, you saw right through me.¡± Briar replied calmly, giving her a thumbs up. ¡°It¡¯s a magic bag that can hold living creatures. Based upon what I have observed, I am of the opinion that it holds them in suspended animation until they are taken out again.¡±


    ¡°Briar! How dare you deceive me!¡± Laura finally understood that Briar had been teasing her.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lesson: never be so narrow-minded as to think something is impossible. It may be that you simply don¡¯t yet have the means.¡± Briar replied just as easily.


    ¡°Perhaps we should take this outside then. My younger sibling must be in need of a sparring partner.¡± Laura implied having a friendly brawl outside.


    ¡°I would, except it seems that I am surrounded, so I¡¯d rather not.¡± Briar replied evenly.


    Ignoring the explanation of the priceless treasure in Briar¡¯s possession as well as the resulting exchange of words, Rien, Helen and Karu had gathered around the sleeping cat in Briar¡¯s lap, not daring to lift her up for fear of waking her from sleep. Instead, they compromised with petting her as she lay there asleep. Yukikaze stretched in her sleep and curled up, placing the tip of her tail upon her nose, further impressing the children.


    ¡°But, Briar, how did you come across such a thing?¡± Master Thales asked. ¡°By all appearances, it¡¯s just an ordinary magic bag.¡±


    ¡°Well, to tell the truth, I didn¡¯t come across it. Margie did.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Ah¡­you mean to tell me that your sister knowingly gifted you with a near priceless artifact?¡± Master Thales asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a sister, Briar-ni! What¡¯s she like? Is she pretty?¡± Rien asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she was aware of its value when she gave it to me, Master Thales. As for your questions, Rien, yes. She¡¯s my very beautiful older sister, and she¡¯s an even better magician than I am¡­or at least she was when I left around a year ago?¡± Briar scratched her head. ¡°I¡¯m really not certain if she¡¯s advanced since then, though.¡±


    Grandpa Arthur¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°That reminds me, you said that you were a first rank Master class? Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Nope it¡¯s a lie.¡± Briar replied. Everyone nearly fell over, except for Madam Rothema.


    ¡°T-then how did you defend against that wind attack!?¡± Karu asked, mystified.


    Briar turned to Madam Rothema and made a ¡®V¡¯ for victory with her hand. ¡°I¡¯m actually second rank Master class.¡±


    This time, everyone truly did fall over, aside from Madam Rothema, who was calmly sipping her tea. ¡°Why are you so surprised, everyone? I¡¯d expect nothing less from my pupil, after all.¡±


    ¡°Ehehehe~¡± Briar chuckled bashfully at the praise.


    Madam Rothema placed her teacup down upon it¡¯s platter. ¡°Which reminds me. Did you finish all of the assigned homework I gave you?¡±


    Briar¡¯s relaxed posture stiffened. ¡°Ah, of course, teacher! I would never do such a thing as forget to do my homework. I am your student after all.¡± A drop of sweat trickled down the back of her neck.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­and how much did you complete?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°Every. Last. One.¡± Briar said each word slowly and with emphasis, beginning to feel equally annoyed and tired as she remembered her cramming session that ended last night. I knew it. I was lucky I finished when I did.If I hadn¡¯t¡­Briar almost shuddered at the consequences.


    ¡°Hmm¡­it seems I underestimated you. If your reading speed has gotten that fast, then you should be able to advance to the next level easily by the end of the week, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Madam Rothema noted, once more taking a sip of tea.


    ¡°I beg of you, please no.¡± Briar replied reflexively. She had read enough books to not want to touch one for at least a year.

 Chapter 71: More Research

    ¡°Hahaha! It seems that this young one wishes to do more than train these next few festival days.¡± Grandpa Arthur laughed. ¡°Why not give Briar, here, a few days off? Even during the story of creation, there was a day of rest involved, after all.¡±


    Madam Rothema sighed. ¡°Very well then. Having not had a day off from homework for almost six years, I suppose Briar has earned a small respite. But, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing her practical applications in the fighting ring,¡±


    Briar sighed in relief in her heart and outwardly bowed her head, displaying a noble grace in her movements. ¡°As you wish, teacher. Thank you for allowing your student to fully concentrate upon her upcoming battles-¡±


    ¡°Ah, speaking of battles!¡± Grandpa Arthur interrupted. ¡°It seems that there was a young lass in the magician¡¯s contest that¡¯s caught my eye. Come to think of it, she has the same name as you, eh Briar?¡± Briar¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she saw the Old Man¡¯s bemused expression.


    ¡°Really?¡± She asked, taking another sip of her tea. ¡°That IS a coincidence, I daresay. Any idea of where she¡¯s come from?¡± Briar asked, pretending that the Briar who she had been on stage was a completely different person.


    ¡°I won so much capital off her that I could buy a whole forest of fruits here!¡± Grandpa Arthur laughed, as fruit trees were the most expensive item that could be found for sale. ¡°Who knows? I did hear one thing, though. It appears that this lady Briar was called Madam Rothema¡¯s student?¡±


    A vein began to throb on Briar¡¯s forehead, although her expression remained deadpan. Old man, if you continue, I¡¯ll have to make you forget¡­forcibly¡­. with a frying pan.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Arthur. That Briar is also my student, so don¡¯t you even think about trying to steal one of my students away from me.¡± Madam Rothema narrowed her eyes and smiled dangerously.


    ¡°Hmm? I see. Never mind, then. It seems that even though she is a super-talented once-in-a-lifetime genius, she¡¯s nearly blind.¡± Grandpa Arthur sighed, playfully.


    ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Because she mistook her opponent for her sister!¡± Grandpa Arthur chortled. ¡°Anyone who can¡¯t clearly tell her enemy from her ally is simply asking for a premature death.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­and yet that didn¡¯t seem to stop her from winning the match, didn¡¯t it?¡± Briar retorted taking another sip of tea, then smiling slyly. ¡°Still¡­. Maybe I should go and see this other Briar who has the same name as I.¡±


    Grandpa Arthur¡¯s chortling became coughing as he choked on the tea that he had just taken a sip of.


    ¡°Eh?!¡± Helen jerked her head after hearing that. Since she knew that both Briar¡¯s are the same person, how was Briar going to meet herself?


    ¡°Ohoh? I¡¯d really like to see that too. All right, Briar. I¡¯ll go speak to the other Briar and see if she¡¯s willing to meet you.¡± Madam Rothema said, a wry smile on her face.


    Grandpa Arthur couldn¡¯t take it anymore and burst out laughing. He had already guessed that the current Briar and the Briar on the magician¡¯s stage were one and the same person.


    Ignoring the easily amused old man, Briar quickly glanced over at Madam Rothema, wondering if she was also joking. Nope. She¡¯s serious. Briar immediately felt cold sweat dripping down her back.


    Madam Rothema was essentially this world¡¯s equivalent of a top-notch scientist. Therefore, although level-headed, the desire for research still came up, and at very eccentric times. She was probably thinking of a spell similar to N*ruto¡¯s K*ge Bunsh*n.


    I wish her luck on her research. Briar thought, mentally distancing herself from the fact that eventually, Madam Rothema would want Briar to try it.


    ¡°No need to bug her. She¡¯s probably concentrating on preparing for the second round, tomorrow. That being said, please excuse me, for I need to prepare for my own match as well.¡± Briar replied, placing her empty tea cup to the side.


    She didn¡¯t notice the mischievous light that started twinkling in Laura¡¯s eyes. If she had, then things may have played out different.


    But, as things were, she did not notice.


    Placing Yukikage upon her shoulders, Briar left Madam Rothema¡¯s Manor, heading for her recently-created research facility.


    But, she had forgotten something very¡­very important.


    ---------------------------------------------


    Seated in a private room on the second floor of a high-class restaurant in the city, a man sat alone, swirling the goblet of wine in his hand, deep in thought. Suddenly, he raised his head and threw the cloak hood over his features right before a knock was heard at the window behind the drawn curtains.


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    A black-cloaked figure seemed to materialize, kneeling on the ground in front of him.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Speak, what did you find?¡± He asked the subservient shadow.


    ¡°My lord, according to the description given by informer Gypsum, we have confirmed sightings of Thales¡¯ student, Briar, in this city. She did not enter as Thales¡¯ recommendation, but as Mayor Bradley Pendrag¡¯s personal recommendation.


    Moreover, it seems that she is companions with the famous Magi, Madam Rothema, and an unknown old man with grandchildren whose background is difficult to discern. But, there is no doubt that he is at least a Black class martial practitioner.¡± The shadow paused in his speech.


    ¡°Is that everything?¡± The cloaked man asked.


    The shadow continued, slightly hesitant. ¡°There is yet another young woman whom she is companions with, who also entered the Ten Year Student¡¯s Contest as Master Thales¡¯ sole recommendation. She is called Laura Murlough. From my observation of her and the subject, it appears that they are close friends¡­that is all, my lord.¡±


    The cloaked man leaned back in his chair, a grin slowly creeping onto the lower half of his face. ¡°Good.¡± He stroked his jawline, mulling over things.


    Madam Rothema was too powerful. The old man was also too much of a risk, which made him and his grandchildren off limits. Obviously, it would have to be outside the city, for Bradley¡¯s city is not one to mess with. Finally, he waved a hand towards the shadow.


    ¡°Have your men keep their eyes out for this Laura Murlough, and detain her, unharmed, should she venture outside the city. She is not to be killed, only detained. Once that is accomplished, please remain on standby until further orders are given.¡± He ordered.


    ¡°As you wish, my lord.¡± The shadow bowed his head before once more vanishing just as quickly as he appeared.


    The cloaked man sat back in his seat, a grin spreading on his face. At first, he began to chuckle, but -unable to contain himself- he ended up roaring with laughter. He drained the goblet of wine in his hand and set it back empty upon the table.


    ¡°Now it begins!¡± He said.


    --------------------------------------


    Briar slipped stealthily across the town. Now that her face was relatively well known due to the Ten-Year Student Contest, it was not a good idea to show her face openly. Therefore, she made sure that no one could see her face as she quickly headed for the hidden exit she had made at the place where the wall met the river.


    Before she left, though, she stopped and looked around, listening for pursuers. Hearing and sensing nothing out of the ordinary, Briar quietly entered the river and slipped past the barrier through the hole she had made, vanishing from the city.


    A few minutes after she had passed through, another shadowy figure stopped in the same place, pausing at the seeming dead end.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be right. She doesn¡¯t disappear into thin air, and she certainly didn¡¯t go anywhere else¡­then how? No no, there¡¯s something you¡¯re missing here. Think, me, think! What would Thera do?...¡±


    The shadowy figure removed the hood from her cloak, letting her golden hair shine softly in the moonlight. ¡°Come on, Laura, you know Thera more than anybody! How would Thera get out of this place?...¡± Laura bit her thumb as she thought long and hard.


    --------------------------


    Thera had once more arrived at her secret research facility. Yukikage, who by now had fully woken up, jumped down and stretched. Then she sniffed around, exploring the compound for a bit before she came back.


    ¡°There¡¯s nyo mice¡­¡± She said, disappointed. ¡°Nyow I have nyothing to play with!¡±


    Briar laughed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go play outside, then? If anything threatens to eat you, then you can just turn into that large form of yours and scare them away.¡±


    ¡°Nya?! That¡¯s a great idea! Why didnya I think about it nya?¡± Yukikage perked up.


    ¡°Just remember to tell me if anyone begins to approach, okay?¡± Briar added.


    ¡°I understand-nya! I¡¯ll be watching outside-nya!¡± Yukikage¡¯s tail thrashed excitedly as she ran out of the facility to terrorize the local population of wild critters. Seriously, with her new-found large form, not even a pack of Luvmins were her match-and that¡¯s saying a lot.


    ¡°Really, though¡­though I call it a facility, I really should probably call it a reinforced gym. There¡¯s practically no equipment to be found in here!¡± Briar sighed. But tonight she was going to finish her first technique that used both martial spirit and mana.


    She sat down and mentally went over the list of things she had discovered yesterday.


    First, it was indeed possible to cast a spell using Martial spirit¡­however the conversion cost was far too high. In order to cast a simple [Light Sphere] required her to use the equivalent of a hundred times the normal cost of producing the spell using mana.


    The technique was too dangerous at this point. Unless Briar found a way of condensing her martial spirit to the point where it was at least almost as dense as mana, then she would just be burning up her martial cultivation unnecessarily. Therefore, Briar decided to drop the point for now.


    Second, it is possible to cast martial techniques with mana, for a fraction of the cost. While tempting to use, the skill itself changed in color. Instead of the red glow that usually accompanied the skill, it was the bright blue glow of mana, which would be hard to explain should she be questioned, so Thera sealed this away as a trump card.


    Third, Briar had noticed a certain specific effect when using both martial spirit and mana together for both spells and skills.


    Should the two forces be used together for a skill, Briar¡¯s perception increased. In the radius of four feet around her, she felt she could sense everything, even what was behind her. Sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch: all her senses received a boost similar to a ¡®buff¡¯ in a game. While Briar wasn¡¯t quite sure what this was, but such an effect surely wasn¡¯t unwelcome. She labeled this effect as a ¡®domain¡¯ for now.


    Should the two forces be used together for a spell, though, the effect was slightly different. Even without using her time dilation barrier, everything seemed to slow down to the point where one second became five. Briar realized that it wasn¡¯t time that slowed down. Her brain was simply processing things much much faster than it usually did.


    While there were indeed drugs one could take to enhance individual senses or slightly improve the processing speed of the brain, they were very pricey, and the expense far exceeded the need. Moreover, these drugs usually came with dangerous side effects if used too often.


    Briar had her reserves about these new boosts due to the MS/MP combination. Tonight she needed to find out to what extent she could count on these boosts. Therefore tonight would be very important.


    Finished reviewing, Briar cast her usual time dilation barrier and stirred up her martial spirit and mana. Tonight she would discover the limitations of her newfound abilities.


    -------------------------------


    Laura leaned against a nearby wall.


    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything! Is this perhaps a practical joke? Did Thera somehow get out without me seeing? But I was watching the entranceway the whole time! That should be impossible. Argh!¡±


    She knelt down near the river and looked down at the moon reflected in the waters. Then her eyes shifted elsewhere.


    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Laura slipped into the river and swam towards the mouth of the exit. Then she smiled gleefully. She had found Thera¡¯s exit.

 Not a Chapter-Hiatus

    Sorry, everyone, but as my job is getting progressively more and more busy, I need to set aside the time I need to write just to rest up enough to face the next day.


    The past two weeks, I have been laid up with a bad cold, which has halted what little brain functions I still had remaining from college and teaching.


    Moreover, I know where the story is going, but I''m unsure how to get it there- a malady otherwise known as writer''s block.


    Therefore, I am going to take a few weeks to rest up and get my writing mojo back before it sinks into the black hole of unfinished projects.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Rest assured, I completely intend to continue writing this story. it''s just that, after two weeks of working on chapter 72, I find myself unable to make much progress, and it''s wearing me down along with my job.....


    I am extremely sorry for making everyone wait like this, but I''m afraid I shall have to ask you to wait a bit longer.


    Once more, I am extremely sorry about this. I know how much I hate to wait for updates to my favorite stories, and now I have to do the same thing...I can only say that I regret that I can''t live up to your blinding expectations...the only thing I can do is say the following:


    Thus, I will be on hiatus for two weeks: expect the next chapter to appear on or after January 25th!


    ...Because there is no better motivator than a last minute panic~ Ah, that was a joke. I will seriously write the chapter, okay? Sensei out.

 Chapter 72: Uneasy Worries

    The sun broke over the horizon before Briar came out of her base, stretching as she stirred her mana to dispel the drowsiness from staying up all night again.


    Since she was in Red class, she could potentially go for weeks without sleep. However, after the dream she had the other day about her past life, she was somewhat loathing to part with sleeping. Last night had been an exception, though, since it was important to find her limits for her new abilities.


    Come to think of it, I could just ask Master Thales if he knows something about it¡­Briar mused as she ran her fingers through her hair to make it look somewhat presentable. As I recall, I haven¡¯t spoken to him at all since we found each other¡­that¡¯s odd. He¡¯s usually even more uptight about practice than Madam Rothema. I guess I¡¯ll ask him about it the next time I get the chance, if he doesn¡¯t bring it up first. Briar decided as she breathed the morning air in, deeply.


    Looking around, she spotted Yukikage curled up by the entrance, sleeping peacefully with a few feathers clinging to her mouth. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be some sort of hawk¡¯s feather. Briar grinned as she imagined what Yukikage had done to take down a bird of that size. Judging from how large the feather was, the bird could have been anywhere in between the size of a vulture or the size of a condor.


    Picking Yukikage up and placing her on her favorite spot- Briar¡¯s shoulders- Briar once more put on her hooded cloak and took off again, heading towards the city. She didn¡¯t realize it yet, but events were already set in place. The roller coaster of troublesome events was soon to begin as both it, and the sun, slowly approached towards the highest point.


    --------------------------


    ¡°Rien, get away from the window. You¡¯ll fall down and break your head open if you lean too far out.¡± Karu pointed out.


    ¡°But, look, Karu! It¡¯s a flower! A real flower!¡± Rien exclaimed, pointing to the tree which had suddenly begun flowering overnight. ¡°It wasn¡¯t there last night. Hey, do you think it opened up to say hello and play with us?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. But Grandpa¡¯ll skin my hide if I let you fall out that window.¡± Karu replied, keeping an eye on her as he finished packing his knapsack.


    ¡°It¡¯s so close, I can almost touch it¡­just a little more¡­HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! PUT ME DOWN!¡± Rien bellowed and struggled as Karu effortlessly lifted her up by the back of her clothes and took her away from the window, like a mother cat and her kitten.


    ¡°NO WAY. You¡¯ll just try to grab the flower again, right?¡± Karu replied flatly.


    ¡°Muuuuu!¡± Rien pouted as Karu shut the windows and locked them before he set Rien down again. Rien, being younger, couldn¡¯t yet reach the latch, so she was effectively barred from attempting to grab the flower again.


    ¡°Hmmph! And I was just trying to say hello back! Stupid Karu!¡± Rien muttered, still pouting.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure if you ask Grandpa that he¡¯ll be happy to get it for you. But for you it¡¯s forbidden.¡± Karu replied. Rien sat down on the ground, refusing to move. ¡°Humph! I¡¯m not going then!!¡±


    Karu scratched his head and sighed a bit. Ever since they¡¯d arrived a few days ago, Grandpa Thur had been spoiling Rien rotten with treats and food and anything she wanted.


    Well, there¡¯s no helping her when she get¡¯s like this. I seem to have no choice¡­Karu made up his mind. ¡°Then, maybe you should have fallen and split your head open. I hear Grandpa was going to take us out to dinner to eat the most delicious meat in the world. Can you imagine that?¡±


    Rien didn¡¯t move, but the corner of her mouth twitched.


    ¡°And after that, there would be a whole pile of deserts and I bet that means tons of shaved ice!¡±


    Rien¡¯s nose twitched, and he saw her wipe the saliva coming out of her mouth.


    ¡°There¡¯s even going to be a candy artist that makes flowers out of chocolate. It¡¯s too bad that Rien wants to split her head open, though. But because she¡¯s going to, then that means that there¡¯s going to be a lot more for me and grandpa. I can just taste that shaved ice right now-¡±


    ¡°OH, NO YOU DON¡¯T! THAT SHAVED ICE IS MINE!!!¡± Rien shouted, pummeling him with her fists.


    ¡°Hey! That hurts! You want shaved ice so much? Grandpa says he¡¯ll give the most to the best-behaved kid today, so you¡¯d better be extra good. Otherwise¡­.¡± He grinned and rubbed his stomach. ¡°All that shaved ice will be miine~eheheheh!¡±


    ¡°OH, NO YOU WON¡¯T! I¡¯LL BE THE BEST BEHAVED!¡± Rien waved her hands around, like a bird trying to fly. Since she was trying to be behaved, she couldn¡¯t hit Karu anymore, so she had to make do with waving her arms around.


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s on! Whoever is the best-behaved today gets all the shaved ice, deal!?¡± Karu extended his hand for a handshake smiling fiendishly playfully.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Deal!¡± Rien shook his hand, also grinning devilishly angelically, of course.


    Karu watched Rien skip happily out of the room as her thoughts were full of imagined heaps of shaved ice. Soon, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pull one over on her anymore. But for now, she hadn¡¯t realized yet that she had been manipulated. He grinned as he grabbed his knapsack and followed her out the room.


    Of course, neither of them could have known that it had been ten years since this tree had stopped bearing flowers. For it to bloom now, what were the odds?


    -----------------------------------


    Master Thales tapped his shoe against the pavement as he stood near the arena gates, waiting for Laura. Although his student was cheeky, overconfident - and a bit strange in the head - she was a good sort of person who was never late, even to his punishing-to-the-point-of-almost-breaking training lessons. But, her perfect attendance record had been broken this very day.


    Seeing as it was nearly time for the tournament battles to begin again, Master Thales was getting more and more anxious. Was it possible that she slept in late? Like Briar, Laura hadn¡¯t come back that night, but, Master Thales had assumed that Laura was with Briar.


    What kind of reason could there be to explain why Laura isn¡¯t back on time? Master Thales started pacing. Both Briar and Laura were punctual to a fault. But, Briar could already hold her own against most enemies, so there was not much left for her to learn except to accumulate techniques and fighting experience. Laura, on the other hand, was still na?ve, impetuous, and more than slightly inclined to mischief.


    Regardless, Master Thales had already confirmed that both Laura and Briar were not in the city with Madam Rothema¡¯s search magic. That meant that they had somehow sneaked outside without the guards knowing it.


    ¡°Suspicious¡­¡± Master Thales muttered.


    ¡°Hmm? Suspicious? What is?¡± Grandpa Thur asked. He had just come in through the entrance. He waved Karu and Rien on towards the entrance. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and play with Helen?¡± He told them. Karu and Grandpa exchanged a glance between them.


    I¡¯m counting on you. Grandpa Thur¡¯s eyes said.


    Leave it to me! Karu¡¯s eyes replied before he guided Rien into the stadium.


    ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Master Thales replied. The Old Man was not only a huge gambler, but a huge pain. If he found something to hold over Master Thales, then any time they met in the future, he¡¯d be sure to mention it, regardless of the company. In comparison, it was best to say nothing.


    ¡°No, wait. Something IS suspicious. Both your student, and that Briar boy have been away all night long. If that isn¡¯t suspicious, I don¡¯t know what is¡­do you think they¡¯ve decided to elope?¡± Grandpa Thur asked whimsically, as if he already figured everything out.


    ¡°I highly doubt it.¡± Master Thur replied, a wry smile on his face for a brief moment. Since Grandpa didn¡¯t know which was Briar¡¯s true form, Thales wasn¡¯t going to be the one to spoil the surprise. Rather, it felt good to know something that Old Man Arthur did not know.


    ¡°Oh, come on. A boy and a girl both out all night long? What were they doing? Actually practicing for today¡¯s battles? Psshaw! I bet that lad had too much fun, drank himself under the table, and is hardly able to stand right now.¡± Grandpa Thur surmised, a wizened smirk upon his face.


    ¡°I¡¯ve known you to chatter a bit, but I didn¡¯t think you were prone to gossip, Old Man.¡± A voice besides him quickly shook the old man out of his imagination. He turned to stare at a completely sober, and awake Briar.


    ¡°Good morning, Old Man, Master Thales.¡± Briar nodded in greetings. ¡°Has anyone seen Madam Rothema or Helen this morning?¡±


    ¡°Madam Rothema is having tea in her own personal seating booth.¡± Master Thales replied as he scanned the surroundings for Laura¡¯s familiar blonde hair. Briar nodded her head in acknowledgement and headed for the arena entrance.


    ¡°¡­ah, Briar? You didn¡¯t happen to run into Laura yesterday after you left Madam Rothema¡¯s by chance, did you?¡± Master Thales asked, appearing calm, but his voice gave away his growing sense of dread.


    ¡°Laura?¡± Briar asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Why?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing. Everyone has the experience of being late at least once in their lifetime, I suppose.¡± Master Thales replied, as if trying to convince himself that this was the case.


    Laura¡¯s late? That¡¯s not like her. Briar thought to herself. Could she have gotten in trouble?


    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t show up soon, let me know. I¡¯ll help look for her.¡± Briar said, slightly worried.


    ¡°No, if it¡¯s her, then I¡¯ll probably be able to find her before her match starts. Nothing to get all worried about. You just concentrate on your match.¡± Thales replied. Then his figure vanished as he once more set out to scour the city in an attempt to find Laura.


    Briar stared after the swiftly receding silhouette. ¡°¡­Oh dear. When you say that, how can I not be worried?¡± But, still, she followed Master Thales¡¯ orders and returned to the arena.


    However, if Laura isn¡¯t found by the end of both my matches, then orders or no orders, I¡¯m going to go look for her! Briar promised to herself.


    -----------------------------


    Laura awoke with a splitting headache in an unfamiliar room. After staring dully for a moment in absentminded confusion, Laura¡¯s face became alert as she realized her situation. She tried to stand up, but suddenly found that she couldn¡¯t move.


    The rattle of chains made it clear that whoever had caught her knew who they were dealing with. Just in case, she tried-but it was no use. For some reason, although she could sense her martial spirit, it wouldn¡¯t move no matter how hard she tried. Heh. Now I know how annoyed Thera must feel when Master Thales uses those mana sealing cuffs on her. Laura thought to herself as she tried to reposition herself somehow using micromovements.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use struggling. I made sure you were given the utmost consideration for accomodations.¡± A voice came from Laura¡¯s left. Her head snapped in surprise as she noticed a cloaked man sitting in a chair on the other side of the room with a glass of wine in hand. He looked into his glass and swirled it a bit before he continued.


    ¡°You know I had to get a master smith to forge those chains. Hundreds of thousands of monster beast cores went into that. There¡¯s enough chaotic energy in those cuffs to cut you off from your power for months, if I wanted it. But, don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be in them for that long.¡±


    Laura glared at him, ¡°And? What are your intentions? Why did you kidnap me? Don¡¯t you know that Master Thales is going to more than half kill you when he finds you?¡±


    The hand that was swirling the wine paused. He set the cup down.


    ¡°Quite frankly, my dear¡­I¡¯m rather looking forward to it.¡±

 Chapter 73: Meaningful Mutterings

    Laura stared at him in unabashed surprise at this statement. ¡°You¡¯re mad.¡± She scoffed, but now she was on an even higher form of alert.


    If he didn¡¯t care about Master Thales, then it could only mean one of two things: either he really was mad, crazy, insane even; or he had reached a point where Master Thales could not interfere-whether by physical or political power.


    ¡°Am I really?¡± He asked affably. ¡°I had assumed that the whole world had simply gone insane.¡± He swallowed a mouthful of wine, grimacing at the flavor. ¡°Gosh I do hate this stuff!¡±


    ¡°If you hate it, then why do you drink it? There are plenty of alternatives to wine as a beverage, I¡¯m sure.¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Alternatives aside, the fact is this: I have chosen to drink wine at this moment-and so wine is what I shall drink. A true man doesn¡¯t go back upon what he decides even should he regret it later.¡± The man took another mouthful and shuddered, grimacing terribly.


    Laura might have found it amusing if she wasn¡¯t thinking about how to escape from this ridiculous madman with more than one screw loose in his head. As things were, she could only sit there and witness his self-inflicted misery as he continued to take occasional swigs of wine with a puckered face.


    --------------------------------------------------


    Back in the stadiums, Madam Rothema immediately waved Briar over when she saw her in her disguised male form, scanning the stone seats. It took Briar a few moments to notice because they weren¡¯t sitting in the common seating area like last time. They were situated in one of the seating areas in the center of the structure, where both stadiums intersected.


    Those seating areas are special in that they have a view of both stages. This central area could only be accessed by the most powerful of fighters and magicians. If one was a Magi, then one was practically guaranteed of having a reserved seat there.


    Madam Rothema had never really been interested in the seating position, but now, since Briar was fighting in both arenas, she had decided to use her privilege for the first time. Rather, sitting in one of these booths attracts a lot of undesired attention on its own. However, Madam Rothema couldn¡¯t be bothered to move simply because of a few inquisitive eyes.


    As the curtains for the special area had been drawn in advance, no one noticed Briar slipping into Madam Rothema¡¯s viewing room.


    ¡°They¡¯ve already decided in advance by lot yesterday. The first fight will of course be my lovely student, Briar Rose. It will be the second magic fight of the day. The other Briar is fighting right after that, before noon.¡± Madam Rothema said, revealing the lineup-which was already posted on the individual fighting boards near the stadium.


    Briar nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°And Laura?¡± She asked.


    ¡°The last fight of the day.¡± Madam Rothema replied confidently. Laura might not have been her student, but she was still awfully polite every time she visited, unlike those troublesome boys back in the mountains. That¡¯s why, even if she wasn¡¯t Madam Rothema¡¯s student, Madam Rothema also kept an eye out for when Laura¡¯s match was.


    ¡°Has Laura returned yet?¡± Madam Rothema asked. Master Thales had even been so bothered as to ask her to use her mana to search the whole city, and had come up with nothing. So it was only natural that she already knew that Laura had gone missing overnight.


    Briar shook her head. ¡°No, but if she doesn¡¯t show up by the time my matches are done, then I¡¯m going out to look for her.¡±


    Madam Rothema gave a small sigh. ¡°It seems I need to attach some sort of tracer magic on you two so that we can find you whenever you¡¯ve gone missing.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Oh? I thought that you can already track me everywhere, considering you¡¯ve got quite the spell on me.¡± Briar replied, jokingly.


    ¡°You, really! There¡¯s a rule that we can¡¯t put tracing magic on anyone below us without good reason. If I did so, I¡¯d have to spend at least half a year in the mages council to justify myself-and that¡¯s on the quick side. It could take anywhere up to twenty years before being approved. So that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t so far.¡±


    ¡°Is the magic council more powerful than you?¡± Briar asked, wondering why Madam Rothema seemed to be wary of them.


    Madam Rothema lifted an eyebrow. ¡°While I could tell you now, do you really think you have the time to sit and listen to all of the reasons why I want nothing to do with the mages council?¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s a pity, but I suppose I can wait until afterwards to listen to your tale. For now, it¡¯s almost time for my dashing entry~¡± Briar pulled out the scarf and tied it onto her head. Instantly, she transformed from a handsome adventurer into a budding young lady. Even the clothes morphed to change into a quite becoming dress.


    Geh! This blue ginham again! At least make it a different color, like green or brown! Briar groaned inwardly. Almost as if her thoughts were heard, because her dress and headscarf changed colors to a brilliant emerald green satin, and the white apron disappeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s not good for you to wear the same thing every day, especially when you¡¯re a girl.¡± Madam Rothema winked at Briar. ¡°Now if I add this, the outfit is complete~.¡± Madam Rothema tied a silken white bow with a round emerald-colored amber in the center.


    Briar smiled wryly. Madam Rothema always did enjoy picking out clothes for her to wear.


    While she was living in Madam Rothema¡¯s manor, there was always a new outfit in her closet for her to try on. Briar had simply thought it was an enchanted closet, but it was simply Madam Rothema¡¯s hobby of making new outfits for her.


    Even now, the clothes that Helen was wearing were probably made by Madam Rothema.


    After smoothing down the folds of the ribbon, Madam Rothema was satisfied with Briar¡¯s appearance. ¡°There. Now you¡¯re presentable as my student.¡± She said, satisfied.


    At that moment, Yukikage woke up again. Seeing that Briar was going to go fight in the arena, her feline familiar yawned and jumped over to Madam Rothema¡¯s shoulders, indicating that it would watch from the observation deck. Briar raised an eyebrow. What a lazy familiar I have¡­Well, I suppose having two against one isn¡¯t exactly fair.


    At that moment, the announcer¡¯s platform once more rose over the stage. ¡°Well, that¡¯s your cue!¡± Madam Rothema said cheerfully.


    Briar was silent for a moment, then she nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m off, Teacher.¡± And with that, she once more appeared in a swirling cloud of flower petals. The crowd cheered.


    ¡°Whoah! And here once again appearing like a brilliant flower, it¡¯s Madam Rothema¡¯s student: Briar!¡± The announcer began.


    But this time, the opposite party did not appear flashily. Even though the person had walked slowly from their spot, they stood upon the stage at the exact same time Briar appeared. Dressed all in black, with an aquiline nose, black hair, and fierce phoenix eyebrows, his complexion could be considered handsome.


    ¡°And appearing mysteriously in the other corner, is the East Crimson Dragon¡¯s disciple, Newt Ryuujin!¡±


    The crowd cheered yet again. But the dark figure only muttered under its breath. Even so, with Briar¡¯s lip reading skills, she could still understand what they were saying while grinding their teeth.


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®appearing mysteriously¡¯? I only walked up here. It¡¯s your own fault that you couldn¡¯t see me because of that show-off¡¯s flashy appearance! Hmmph! And this show off! Waste spiritual power, will you? What are you doing, looking down on me? I¡¯ll show you!¡±


    That being said, the dark-cloaked person quickly brought out a set of beads. Briar¡¯s eyes flashed in recognition. It was actually quite well hidden from everyone else, but Briar¡¯s mana eyes could see clearly the deep reserves of mana stored inside those beads. There could be no mistake. The opponent was in possession of a string of mana gems!


    Mana gems, in laymans terms, acted similar to batteries. They were stones that could store and retain high amounts of mana within them. For This person to have so many mana gems, they could outlast a typical magician by up to a hundred times longer. Strictly based on appearances, it was uncertain now who would be able to win, but Newt Drago seemed to have the advantage with his string of mana gems.


    If he¡¯s trying to drag things out, he¡¯s out of luck. Briar thought to herself. With her mana veins, if the mana in her body fell below fifty percent, then it would automatically aid in replenishing her lost mana. Briar had discovered this by accident during her experiments last night.


    But, the interesting thing is, the moment before the announcer declared the start of the match, Newt Ryuujin muttered something that made Briar¡¯s eyes open wide in surprise.


    ¡°Everyone is secondary before me, the main character. Like this, I cannot lose!¡±

 Chapter 74: Hero Bashing

    ¡°Let the battle begin!¡± The announcer cried out, his voice projecting to all ears within the stadium through a magic spell.


    Instantly, Newt sprang into action, reciting a string of words as if they were a buddist chant.


    While the audience couldn¡¯t hear him, Briar could.


    ¡°[Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball]¡­¡±Countless fireballs flashed into being around him, circling around him as if they were a protective spell.


    Ah, He¡¯s going to do that move. Briar surmised. This was a combination spell. The more of one kind of spell you can maintain, the stronger the combination. So, the amount of spells you could spam at once decided how powerful the spell was. In the end, the smaller spells were combined with a stacking effect to create a combined form which was almost on par with a spell from one who was one rank higher.


    While she could simply have closed the distance and knocked him out, she decided to see how far he would be able to go before he launched his spell. She watched with interest as the amount of fireballs increased. After collecting about ninety-nine fireballs, He then swung his string of mana gems and shouted out the key word. ¡°[Flame Dragon]!¡±


    The fireballs assembled themselves together into a large image of a dragon. Briar, watching this, narrowed her eyes. Instead of the usual depiction of dragons, with large wings and a build somewhat similar to a dinosaur, this dragon looked more like a Chinese dragon, with wizened whiskers flying back from a grimaced face as it wound its way through the air, wingless.


    So¡­it really is as I have suspected. Briar surmised. It seems this person really was a reincarnated one just like her. Seeing as I was the one who thwarted their plans, I suppose they wouldn¡¯t take too kindly to knowing I am also here, would they? Briar mused as she watched the great fire dragon as it circled up into the sky.


    Well, let¡¯s leave the past in the past. For now, shall I do something about this? Briar watched the flame dragon reach its zenith, within the protective magic barrier surrounding the stage, and then plummet downwards towards the ground that Briar was standing on, a dragon roar echoing out as it finally attacked.


    The crowd exclaimed as it seemed that Briar wasn¡¯t doing anything to prepare to receive that attack, which would surely deeply injure any first rank master class. Newt even opened his eyes wide as he watched her. While he wanted to display his great power, he didn¡¯t want to kill anyone. But before he could halt his spell it had already struck.


    Flames danced as a great conflagration erupted, to the point where no one could see Briar for a moment. The audience watched in dismay as they believed Briar had been seriously injured.


    Only Madam Rothema remained calm, sipping at her tea, as she watched the display.


    Some might ask why all mages didn¡¯t use combination spells, seeing as how they can unleash so much power. There are several reasons for this. The first and most important reason is that it takes too long to activate- which would never work in a real battle.


    The second is that it takes a vast amount of magic to use, so it would have to be something one threw out first to ensure they had enough mana for the spell, even though it¡¯s really supposed to be a move one makes as a last stand.


    Third, it¡¯s mentally taxing to hold a lot of the same basic spell all at once. And, finally, it¡¯s easily countered by a spell that is even slightly stronger than it.


    Several gems on Newt¡¯s string of ¡®beads¡¯ shattered into dust.


    When the flames cleared away, everyone gasped as Briar stood in the same place she had since the beginning, a radius of two feet around her completely free of flames. Obviously, this was the result of her bringing out her barrier at the last moment.


    Briar blinked. ¡°Is that it? I was wondering at what kind of power this ¡®Meen karakatura¡¯ would have for you to be so sure of victory, but it looks like I have been sorely disappointed.¡± Of course, she was pretending not to know what Newt had been talking about, after deciding not to reveal herself as a reincarnated person.


    Newt didn¡¯t answer, but ground his teeth as he began casting yet another combination spell, gathering fireballs around him again up to the count of ninety-nine. But, instead of [Flame Dragon], he cried out ¡°[Lava Field]!¡±


    Briar watched from behind her barrier as the Fireballs dispersed into the ground, which turned red, like molten metal. Aside from the ground which was protected by her barrier, the stage began to bubble not unlike the lava pool underground in Grandpa Thur¡¯s hidden domain.


    ¡°So, that is what he meant by ¡®Ryuujin¡¯ (Dragon-person)¡± Briar muttered.


    Newt, although in the middle of this lava field, did not burn, nor did any of his clothes catch afire. Instead, his skin began to display a qualitative change in appearance, black scales forming from the neck down. His eyes turned yellow; the pupils stretched into vertical slits: dragon eyes. His hands looked more like dragon claws, and from his back sprouted two black scaled wings, which he used to fly above the molten stage.


    ¡°Whoah! It seems that Newt is not only a disciple of the Eastern Crimson Dragon, he is also half-dragon himself! Things don¡¯t look well for Madam Rothema¡¯s Briar!¡± The announcer shouted, while pointing out the obvious.


    ¡°I have you now!¡± He cried as he thrust mana into the molten lava, manipulating it to move, and surge around Briar¡¯s defensive barrier. The lava encircled and completely covered the sphere, as if trying to drag it down underground with it. Once there was not even the tiniest hole left that could be capitalized upon, Newt released the spell.


    The red glow of lava faded as the ground turned back into hardened stone. Newt landed on the stage, folding his wings as he stared at the rounded stone that surrounded Briar. If she couldn¡¯t get out of there within a certain period of time, the air would run out, and she would fall unconscious-or so it would be if she were an ordinary magician, whose bones were far more brittle than those of martial cultivators.


    Several more mana gem beads shattered into dust, leaving a little less than half the mana beads left.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    But, all of a sudden, he leapt forward several meters, twisting in the air and landing facing the direction he had leapt from. ¡°Show yourself!¡± He shouted.


    Briar sighed as she dispersed the illusion barrier she had used to turn invisible. It seemed that Newt as a half-dragon was far more perceptive to her presence than she had given him credit for.


    ¡°Not bad. At least, in the future, suffering from sneak attacks will be extremely unlikely.¡± Briar complemented. ¡°What gave me away? Heat? Scent? Sound?¡±


    ¡°Hmmph! The vibrations from your movement do not simply travel through the air, but also through the ground.¡± He smirked with a smug face.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Her landing had brought forth hidden vibrations in the ground, which Newt had picked up through his connection with the earth mana.


    ¡°This time, for sure!¡± Newt cried as once again he began collecting fireballs. Once he had gathered ninety-nine, he once more shouted out ¡°[Lava Field]!¡±


    Once more the familiar red glow returned to the stage, and the crust that had surrounded Briar¡¯s barrier once more melded back into the flat ground. Then it surged to surround Briar, who once more countered with a barrier, which was engulfed.


    After paying close attention to the earth, to pick up any vibrations, this time, Newt was certain that he had finally captured Briar, and dispelled the lava field, letting it return to stone. All except for one of his mana gem beads had been reduced to powder, by this time, and he was starting to feel the heavy feeling that accompanies one whose mana is almost gone.


    But, he jerked again and twisted around in shock. ¡°HOW!?¡±


    Briar once more dispelled her illusion barrier and stood two meters away from him.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ve been really nice, giving you the chance to perform your spells uninterrupted. Otherwise, I could have ended this match easily from the first.¡± Newt¡¯s face twisted sour as he recalled that she hadn¡¯t attacked him even once the whole match.


    ¡°Now, you have two choices: are you willing to give up, or shall I, your older sister, teach you some manners?¡± Briar threw out the ultimatum, trying to gauge the boy¡¯s character.


    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± Newt grit his teeth. ¡°I choose neither!¡± He shouted, spewing out a flaming breath from his mouth towards Briar.


    But, this time, Briar was no longer polite. ¡°I thought as much.¡± And she dispelled her final illusion barrier, punching his jaw shut while he was in the middle of spewing flames, which caused the flames to back up and flow out of his nose-painfully. His muffled scream of pain was still loud enough to be heard by everyone.


    Even though dragons breathe fire, they refrain from breathing it out through their nose as it is a sensitive instrument for detecting scents. At most, they would only blow smoke out of their nose. As it was, Newt was lucky that only his nose hairs were burnt before the final mana gem bead disintegrated, and he ran out of mana, falling to the ground, unconscious.


    ¡°And the winner of this match is Madam Rothema¡¯s number one student, Briar!¡± The announcer blared out the results of the match while Briar sighed as she looked down at Newt.


    Back when she was reborn, she knew that if she really were going to leave the past in the past, then she¡¯d have to cut all ties with past karma. While she still held a grudge towards the maniac that had killed her, she could start with not begrudging this one who had appeared at such a time.


    At least, this one wasn¡¯t a sword maniac bent upon dicing up everyone they knew. As such, she wasn¡¯t going to worry about it. She reached down and placed her hand upon his forehead, transferring mana to help him revive from his unconscious state.


    When he opened his eyes, the healers who had been on standby with a stretcher returned to their posts, satisfied that he was conscious again.


    "Ugh! what smells like burning hair?" Newt gagged.


    ¡°That would be you. Luckily, due to mana depletion, it shouldn''t be damaged that badly. Your current situation is only a temporary fix, though. You¡¯ll still need to meditate a while before you can escape the rebound effect of mana depletion.¡± Briar said, helping him stand and slowly moved him to the edge of the stage, as he was somewhat too dizzy to stand completely on his own yet.


    ¡°¡­It seems I must thank you for this.¡± Newt said, slowly.


    ¡°What, the mana? The helping hand? It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t bother about it.¡± Briar replied, standing back up. ¡°Just worry about how that old man is going to kill you for destroying all those mana gems.¡±


    ¡°Nah, he won¡¯t kill me. Those gems are¡­.well they¡¯re not something to worry about.¡± Newt replied, scratching his head.


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Briar shrugged. Thinking about her own mysterious mana-absorbing stone. It didn¡¯t just hold magic power, like a regular magic stone, but it also actively drew power into itself. What a curious thing, indeed.


    ¡°Actually, that wasn¡¯t what I was thanking you for.¡± Newt snorted, good-naturedly. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking myself the hottest being on the planet, but now I think I still have a long way to go before I arrive at that point.¡±


    ¡°Self-realization is important for any sort of growth. But next time, realize it before you anger someone who is not as well-tempered as I am.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I can see someone has no small amount of modesty.¡± Newt rolled his eyes, sarcastically.


    ¡°Well. You could be dead.¡± Briar replied evenly.


    That made him pause. In all fairness, Briar''s words were certainly true. There were still an awful lot of people who could indeed still squish him dead as if he were an ant beneath their feet. While he understood that fact, his pride made him hold back from saying it out loud. Instead, he changed the subject.


    ¡°I must ask you, though: how did you get out of my lava field trap?¡± Newt asked, the problem bugging him like an itch he couldn¡¯t scratch.


    ¡°Right before your flame dragon attacked, I cast an illusion of myself before escaping the blast area.¡± She replied.


    Actually, that wasn¡¯t quite true. Before the lava had completely swallowed her barrier, she covered herself with a skin-tight invisibility barrier before using barrier platforms as scaffolds to climb out of her barrier area, and retreat high above the stage.


    Usually, the air would appear slightly distorted with such swift movement, but the heat waves from the lava were already distorting the air, and helped to mask her escape. He had only sensed her when she had touched down on the ground again, behind him.


    But, Briar was not one to lay her cards out for others to see, especially when they might become enemies in the future.


    ¡°A great plan to be certain, but how did you escape the lava, then?¡± Newt asked.


    Briar pulled her legs up, floating in the air with a chantless [Levitate].


    ¡°I have absolutely no idea.¡± She replied, a cheerful smile upon her face.


    "Show off!" He snorted.


    "Says the one who has a strange-looking flaming dragon for a magic opener." Briar retorted. "Seriously if it weren''t or the horns and the claws, I''d say it was some sort of weird lizard!"


    "Okay, I think I deserved that one." He sighed. "I think I can handle things from here, though."


    "You sure? Mana depletion isn''t something one should take lightly, you know?" Briar asked, returning to the ground.


    "Yeah, I know. But if I go any farther, your fans are gonna kill me. Moreover, I still have my pride as a man. I can''t let girls help me too much or else I''ll be looked down upon." He brushed off Briar''s helping hand.


    "Suit yourself." Briar shrugged as she watched him climb down the stone steps, and pause at the bottom. He turned back one last time.


    ¡°One last question. How did you arrive next to me so quickly? Do you know [Teleport]?¡± he asked, curiosity written all over his face.


    Briar smiled and winked an eye as an illusionary Briar stepped out next to her, mirroring her movements perfectly. "It''s a bit complicated, but it''s the result of including a refractory factor in my barrier magic. The me thatyou saw was just a reflection. created from a few well placed barriers."


    Newt blinked, finally acknowledging her explanation. ¡°I see¡­ It¡¯s my complete loss. I admit, I was no match for you. But, next time¡­Next time, I¡¯ll win for sure!¡± His eyes seemed to blaze with the fire of rivalry.


    Briar smiled. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡± Before she turned around and headed towards the exit.

 Chapter 75: A Different Sort of Bashing

    As Briar reached the exit, she remembered what happened the last time she had come through here. This time, it was likely that there were a ton of ¡®suitors¡¯ that were ready to do everything short of kidnapping to obtain the lovely ¡®Briar¡¯.


    Briar stuck her tongue out in distaste as she conjured an invisibility barrier around her before opening the door, stepping to the side. As she had thought, a whole gaggle of guys fell through, pushed forward by the people behind them. There were even quite a few handsome young men who were still at least twice Briar¡¯s physical age. But if Briar¡¯s mental age was factored in, they were all reduced to the age of boys.


    Jumping over the struggling group of boys, who were flailing their arms and legs as they tried to extricate themselves from the pile, Briar paid them no mind as she swiftly retreated to Madam Rothema¡¯s observation deck.


    I¡¯d jump straight back up to the deck directly, but I¡¯m Briar the Magician, right now- not Briar the martial Practitioner. Briar sighed inwardly. It was not really the younger generation that she had to be wary of, but the older generation. The younger generation were not powerful enough to sense what kind of energy she was using. But the older generation would know right away if she used both mana and martial spirit.


    ¡°Treasuring jade becomes a crime, I suppose.¡± Since her case was an extremely rare one, there were bound to be a few elderly whackjobs that wouldn¡¯t care about Madam Rothema¡¯s disapproval.


    They¡¯d just silently wait until Briar went outside Rothema¡¯s protection, and then snap her up for experiments, torture, or in most cases-to kill her before her special constitution becomes a major threat to them later on. That¡¯s why it was important to make sure that she acted properly while in disguise.


    As such, she could only hurry at a ¡®reasonable¡¯ pace down the hallways and up the stairs.


    ¡°Did they find Laura?¡± Was the first thing she asked when she arrived on the observation deck, quickly changing back to her male disguise after the curtains were closed.


    Madam Rothema placed down her teacup, which she had just finished. ¡°It¡¯s barely even been fifteen minutes, and here you are asking me if they¡¯ve found her yet?¡±


    Briar could only duck her head sheepishly, still waiting for her answer. Madam Rothema swiftly sent out a tendril of mana, which sped like lightning towards the town, and waited silently for a few moments. Although others couldn¡¯t see it, Briar¡¯s mana vision rendered the communication spell visible.


    After a minute or two, it returned, and Madam Rothema accepted the tendril into her forehead.


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t found her yet.¡± Madam Rothema said. ¡°But, Thales thinks he might have found a clue. I do wonder what it could be, because he seemed rather furious when I contacted him.¡±


    Briar tried to imagine Master Thales being furious. Annoyed, yes. Mischievous, yes. Serious, yes. Furious? No, she had never seen Master Thales furious before. And, as Briar¡¯s afternoon fight was approaching, she couldn¡¯t go out and help look yet.


    I hope that whoever kidnapped Laura gets flattened. Briar sighed, an annoyed frown beginning to form on her forehead. Little did she know that she was about to get her wish.


    ---------------------------------


    Master Thales, having sped through the entire city once more, in search of Laura, had had no luck. And so, he returned to the inn they had been staying at to search for possible clues about what might have happened. When he entered the door, the landlady waved him down.


    ¡°Sir! Sir! A letter was left here for ye not three bells ago.¡± She drew a white envelope with a plain red seal out of her apron pocket. ¡°He said I was to hand this ta you soon as you arrived, he did. Said it was something urgent.¡±


    Master Thales quickly accepted the letter, ripping it out of its envelope effortlessly. He read it standing right there where he had received it. His expression grew dark, but then smoothed out as a look of calm overcame it. He noticed Madam Rothema¡¯s communication spell immediately, and replied in a more relaxed tone.


    ¡°What? No, I haven¡¯t found her yet, but I think I might know where she is.¡± Then he waved the tendril back towards the stadiums, which sent it flying back quick as lightning to madam Rothema.


    When he had finished, he clenched the letter in one hand and walked quietly walked down the hallway.


    If it was that person, then there was only one place they could be found¡­


    --------------------------------


    His face still sort of twisted from the bitter aftertaste of the wine, the cloaked man began to pace back and forth. Laura was still trying to access her martial spirit. After all, there was always a chance that the equipment could malfunction. The cloaked figure wasn¡¯t even looking at Laura anymore. Instead, glancing outside to determine the position of the sun.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time¡­the letter should have arrived by now, and considering his temperament, he should arrive here soon.¡± The man muttered to himself, as he walked to stand in front of the door, lost in thought.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was when Master Thales kicked the door in to the point where it fell right on top of the man, sandwiching him between the door and the floor. But, Thales simply stood on top of it, making it impossible for the man to get out from under the door.


    ¡°MILES! GET YOUR BATTLE-BLINDED BEHIND OUT HERE, YOU BLASTED ROGUE!!!¡± Thales roared, one hand clutching a crumpled letter.


    ¡°The fires of brotherly love are felt clearly from here. But, perhaps it is a bit too suffocating at this point to have it all at once.¡± A rather strained voice came from beneath the door. ¡°You could start by removing your foot from the door-.¡±


    Thales easily ripped the door off Miles, and Miles stood up, brushing dirt off himself from his long passionate moment with the floor. He nodded his head, satisfied. ¡°Now, that¡¯s more like it! Ah, but shouldn¡¯t you be looking all over town for clues instead of here right now? I had made sure to place enough to make you search all around the city for hours-¡±


    Thales snorted derisively.¡°That cheap trick? HA! Don¡¯t give me that! You always create these time-wasting games of yours and then end up being right across the hallway from where I was staying. Don¡¯t you think I haven¡¯t figured you out by now.


    ¡°Oh, and you BETTER be fulfilling the punishment for the last game you sprung on me! One cup of wine every day, the magic contract is very exacting.¡±


    ¡°Ugh! H-how could I forget?¡± Miles looked slightly ill upon remembering the torturous experience he had just had.


    ¡°Thales looked at Laura, glad that she was alright, but sighed. He hadn¡¯t wanted for her to get involved with this mess. ¡°And? What¡¯s this? Why is my student chained up like that?¡± Although his voice was calm, his inner rage had gone up to a whole new level.


    ¡°Forgive me, but I am not as hardy as you martial artists. Some basic protection was necessary before you arrived.¡± Miles said shamelessly.


    ¡°And, now that I have arrived?¡± Thales asked, his eyebrow twitching.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy enough, when you think about it.¡± Miles began. ¡°You see this key here? Well, this key goes to the special manacles on Miss Laura¡¯s wrists, there. And-¡±


    But before he could continue, Thales had already grabbed the key and unlocked the cuffs on Laura, who began rubbing her wrists to return proper circulation to them.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not how the game is supposed to be played! You cheated!¡± Miles objected.


    ¡°Blast it all, Miles! I don¡¯t have time for you and your blasted mind games!¡± Thales roared out, causing Miles to flinch.


    ¡°My my, brother, you¡¯re beginning to look more and more like father, now.¡± He tried to sooth things down a bit, but it only became tinder to fan the flames of Thales¡¯ wrath.


    ¡°WHO DO YOU THINK MADE FATHER LOOK LIKE THIS!?¡± Thales roared, striking the table into dust.


    ¡°It was only a bit of a joke, brother. You don¡¯t have to take it so seriously!¡± Miles withdrew, sweating, trying to placate the scary form of Thales. Thales¡¯s expression once more relaxed, but an illusion of dark miasma seemed to form behind him, if one looked carefully, one could see the demon king.


    Laura looked between the two of them. With the hood that Miles was wearing having fallen back off his head, his facial features were now exposed. Laura head swung back and forth between the two men. Barring the difference in clothing, their features were identical!


    Well, not quite. Thales had a short beard, while Miles had not even the faintest indications of chin hair. This made Miles look rather younger than Thales.


    ¡°Brothers!?¡± Laura asked, as she looked at the two men.


    Miles smirked. ¡°You bet! Ours is a bond of blood and brotherly love which cannot be broken-¡±


    ¡°Pay no attention to this idiot.¡± Thales snorted. ¡°If you hear enough of his drivel, it¡¯ll turn your head as queer as his! He left us years ago saying that he¡¯ll become the pirate king. Three years later, I hear he¡¯s become part of a travelling bad of gypsy performers. Six years after that, it¡¯s the leader of a band of rogues that have now taken to pretending to be ¡®spies¡¯ if you will.¡±


    ¡°Hey! I resent that! They¡¯ve become perfectly good spies by now!¡± Miles objected.


    ¡°And yet they were singlehandedly taken out by a single man. I already dealt with the squads on the roof, basement, and surrounding buildings.¡± Thales then grabbed Miles by the shoulder. A queer demon smile floated on his face.


    ¡°You say we¡¯re tied by the bonds of brotherly love is it? I¡¯m not sure what kind of brother you were to go off and leave me to father¡¯s harsh training all on my own, but let¡¯s digress a bit. As a brother it is my duty to properly guide my kin, right? Let¡¯s see how much ¡®guidance¡¯ you can handle from me!¡± Thales said, a fiendish expression on his face as he began dealing out the most painful blows possible.


    ¡°AHHH! NOT THE FACE!!¡± Miles shrieked.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Suffice to say that Miles was beaten black and blue until his face was no longer recognizable from that of a pig¡¯s, and was made to sit in seiza.


    ¡°You went too far! Now my handsome face is ruined!¡± Miles whined.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Thales asked, as the demon king once more appeared behind Thales.


    ¡°N-nuthing.¡± Miles mumbled, glancing to the side.


    ¡°Now, if we are QUITE finished,¡± Thales glanced pointedly at Miles, who shifted uncomfortably, ¡°Let¡¯s return to the fighting arena before it¡¯s Laura¡¯s turn¡­ah, that¡¯s right. I forgot.¡± Thales placed Thera¡¯s mana shackles on Miles.


    ¡°Hey do you distrust me that much!?¡± Miles objected, but when he was met with the flat cold expression on Thales and Laura¡¯s face, he decided to bit back his retort.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I even spared your subordinates lives. Or would you like a list of reasons why I am doing this?¡± Miles seemed to shrink a little. ¡°Ah..No..no need¡­¡±


    But, when Miles was about to stand Laura spoke up.


    ¡°Wait. Before we leave, I have one thing left to do.¡± She stared pointedly at Miles, who was beginning to feel sweat accumulate on his forehead.


    Thales looked between Laura and Miles and nodded. After all, Laura had been the one Miles had kidnapped. It was only just that she got retribution.


    ¡°Heh! After Brother¡¯s beating, anything you can do to me will feel like a gentle wind~¡± Miles laughed through his nose.


    Laura ignored his words and took out her weapon of mass destruction: a stick, with a single leaf clinging to it still.


    ¡°Eh? What are you going to do with that?¡± Miles asked, ridiculing her. ¡°Stick it up my nose? Poke me in the eyes?¡± Throughout this entire time, he had been sitting in seiza.


    Laura smiled evilly and stretching her hand forward¡­


    ¡­..


    She poked him in the legs.


    ¡°AAAAAUUUUGGGHH! WHAT IS THIS NEW FORM OF TORTURE AAAH!¡± Miles cried out as he collapsed weakly from the very painful tingling in his legs. Laura only grinned the more as she kept poking, her stick a now successful instrument of turture.

 Chapter 76: Something Similar to Stage Fright?

    Briar gazed down upon the fight below her, and sighed. This one wasn¡¯t a display of martial techniques so much as a slugging contest between boys.


    Why am I so unfortunate as to have to wait for these muscle-for-brains? There¡¯s nothing for me to learn, and it still hasn¡¯t been confirmed that Laura was found yet. And I can¡¯t leave because I¡¯m up next!


    Agitated, she could only glance coldly down at the two below as the moments ticked by, much to her annoyance. This was one thing about her rebirth that had changed in her.


    During her previous life, there had been no family or friend that could have moved her to such impatience. She was always able to make quick, collected, and sound decisions. Having been reborn, however, Briar found that whenever it came to her family or her close friends, she could not simply stay still, but was moved by a burning feeling of almost jealous attachment.


    While she was unsure over whether it wouldn¡¯t eventually become a weakness for her, Briar didn¡¯t want to return to the colder lone wolf that she had been beforehand. She had discovered the warmth of family, and had no intention of abandoning it for other things.


    Power, weath, experience, technique: all of these things she could gain without leaving her family, but if any of these required her to abandon family, then those things would be abandoned faster than the speed of light.


    Having decided there was nothing better to do, Briar began stretching, loosening each muscle in preparation for the coming fight. Helen noticed Briar¡¯s strange movements and asked.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Briar continued stretching while answering. ¡°I¡¯m stretching.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because this helps me to get into top shape for when I am going to fight.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°The muscles are stretched and the bones are tested to see if each is in place and functioning correctly. If they¡¯re not, then this set of stretches can subtly move them back in place and get rid of any stiffness from sitting for a long time. That¡¯s why when someone is stretching, you will sometimes hear their bones cracking.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Helen said. ¡°Then why doesn¡¯t everyone use it?¡± Briar opened one eye and thought about it. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. Maybe it¡¯s a lost art?¡± Helen nodded as it did seem to be a good explanation.


    Briar was certain that at least one of the Heroes of old had been a Japanese. If so, then wouldn¡¯t they have known the stretching exercises? It was more than likely that people simply disregarded the practice after a while, seeing that it didn¡¯t really show any visible results.


    Oh well. It¡¯s their loss. Briar thought to herself as she pleasantly stretched out her fingers and cracked her knuckles. After she was finished, the match still hadn¡¯t ended, though.


    Props for holding out so long, I guess. Briar sighed, and boredly began watching the crowd instead of the match. While she had an almost uncanny level of concentration when she was working, but as a child she still grew bored when it seemed like there was nothing she could learn.


    The stadium was packed with thousands of people-probably even hundreds of thousands. A huge projection of the battle took place in the sky overhead, probably as a result of a magic spell. The loud chatters and cheers were as exhausting as Briar remembered them to be.


    I never really liked big functions, did I? She mused to herself, as she continued to lazily examine the crowd. Here one could already see a variety of races intermingled-and a few different racial factions on top of that.


    The top three racial factions that Briar picked up were the Human faction-made up of several large human groups--each with their own uniform, the Dragon-Kin faction, and a large faction of Dwarves in the front bleachers in a section of the stadium. Thinking about it, it made sense, since these were the races that most interacted on this continent.


    Briar recalled that Elves and Beastmen lived on a separate continent, and liked to keep to themselves in hidden villages, which came about as a result of kidnapping and pirate assaults from human dark guilds and outlaws. Briar didn¡¯t approve of such actions, since they made an enemy out of a race that was long-lived. And, like most long-lived races, they knew how to hold grudges well.


    She was unsure if the Elves and Beastmen in this world were the small and cute sort or the big and tall sort, but she knew that they took great care and pride in their forests and their people. To destroy or violate their pride was the equivalent of starting a war with them.


    And so, there had been many such wars in the past. At the current time, they had come to some sort of truce, but still, they did not trust each other well. The dragons tended to keep to themselves, unless provoked. But the Dwarves were happy to take part in the wars against the Elves.


    It was not out of any outstanding hatred, though, but out of a delight in being able to have their weapon creations used in war and gain glory through being wielded. They had a list of the dwarven weapons that had shed the most blood in glorious combat. Seldom did the top ten weapons on that list get replaced unless a great war ensued. And, since Elves excelled in combat, to have a weapon that had defeated countless Elves was a mark of honor for a weapon forged by a dwarf.


    A whole race gone to the bats. Briar mused. The warmongering idiots. But, it was true that the best metal equipment were created by dwarves, who had the racial ability to engrave enchantments into their weapons. Elves could too, but their weapons were made from the mana-moldable mithril and living branches of the Elderwood trees. It was different from the Dwarves ability to enchant any metal or even stone material that they came in contact with.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    The Dragon-Kins were not dragons taking the form of humans, but a special kind of half race; it was similar to how beastmen are beast and man at the same time. Briar didn¡¯t understand why Dragon-kin wasa not categorized among Beastmen, but perhaps it was a distinction brought about by their great strength? She could imagine the popular opinion being that the Dragon-kin are so much more powerful than the beastmen that they couldn¡¯t possibly be such a thing.


    Oh? It seems like this last attack will finish it. Briar thought to herself as she once more glanced at the fight on the large mana screen.


    The two combatants were already swaying, trying to remain standing long enough to gather their remaining strength. Each slowly flexed their bruised muscled arms as they simultaneously shot out with their strongest fist. The fists struck at the same time, and the two men froze there for a second, while everyone waited to know who would fall first.


    Both fell to the ground. The announcer cried out in surprise. ¡°WHOAH! It seems that we may have a tie here on our hands! Let¡¯s check that last part over again.¡± The large mana screen rewound to the part where they struck the ground. ¡°They both struck the ground at the same time! Oh no! We really might have a tie on our hands! Let¡¯s check the strike count, then.¡±


    The referee pointed to the left-hand fighter. ¡°This one struck his opponent three hundred and eighty-seven times.¡± Then he pointed to the right-hand fighter. ¡°This one struck his opponent three hundred and ninety two times.¡±


    ¡°And there you have it, we have ourselves a winner! But don¡¯t take my word for it. If you¡¯re unconvinced, please look at the record of the entire fight and count it yourself!¡± The announcer cried enthusiastically, even though everyone could hear him perfectly fine without his yelling. At his words, the mana screen began playing a recording of the fight from the start.


    ¡°Too loud!¡± Briar frowned, sticking her fingers in her ear, which did nothing to lessen their ringing.


    ¡°You should have practiced your noise control spells when you had the chance.¡± Madam Rothema said smugly.


    Briar made a face. She had practiced them to the point where she could make her footsteps and everything about her become silent. But, it was difficult to control the volume of someone else¡¯s voice. It was like trying to catch a breath of air when you didn¡¯t know what direction it would come from next.


    If she were Briar (female magician) she would have simply called up a selective sound barrier about her. But since she was Briar ((fake male) martial practitioner), she could only persevere and hope she avoided becoming completely deaf.


    Madam Rothema smiled. ¡°Oh, and Briar? I heard that the magician¡¯s champion and the martial champion of this year will go up and receive their awards together. If you should happen to win both, you know what that means, right?¡±


    Briar paused. She knew. She would either have to find a convincing enough double to go onstage with her, or she would have to reveal her double occupation. One required revealing herself to a single person. The other required revealing herself to hundreds of thousands of people. Suffice to say, Briar preferred the former to the latter.


    ¡°About that. I have an idea, of course, but I¡¯d like some time to see if I can make it happen or not. Would you give me two more days?¡±


    Madame Rothema raised an eyebrow. ¡°And if, in two days, your idea fails to deliver?¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll gladly use your experimental phase magic cloning spell.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°Ah, how did you know? I was sure I didn¡¯t say anything about that.¡± Madam Rothema smiled slyly as she questioned her intelligent student.


    ¡°I would be a poor student if I cannot understand my teacher after all this time.¡± Briar replied. ¡°Plus your interest was written all over your face when the topic came up for discussion yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll look forward to your loss.¡± Madam Rothema smiled wider.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak as if I¡¯m going to lose! We all know I¡¯m going to win this thing.¡± Briar said, adding a touch of fake narcissicm to her conversation.


    ¡°Whatever happened to your modesty, I wonder?¡± Madam Rothema asked, wryly.


    ¡°You know us boys and our men¡¯s pride: we can¡¯t stand losing face even if we are going to lose a match-not that I¡¯m going to lose, mind you. It¡¯s just-¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s time for your match!¡± Helen said as she saw that the two fallen combatants had been successfully carried off stage in stretchers.


    ¡°Very well.¡± Briar jumped out of the room, landing on the stage with a large BOOM. The stage, being magically enchanted, quickly restored itself as if the destruction it had suffered was only an illusion, nothing more. With her arms clasped lazily behind her head she observed her opponent, who had also landed on the stage-having jumped from the bleachers.


    Hmm? Surprisingly, it seems this one has a bit of skill. Briar thought as she noticed the lack of weak points in his stance. Well, it was to be expected, after all. With each victory the next opponent was guaranteed to be stronger than the previous ones.


    Briar was still relaxed, but she watched him more closely than the other ones. After all, it didn¡¯t hurt to be careful. Her opponent was also on his guard, choosing to remain silent rather than speak. He was also aware that Briar was a powerful martial practitioner despite her lean, boy-like stature.


    Madam Rothema had done a good job with Briar¡¯s male appearance, to the point where people would be surprised if they knew that Briar was any younger than 15 years old. Of course, Briar was still only 12 years old- a fact that would probably have many people shaking in their boots.


    While it was believable for there to be a twelve year old magician in Master class, it was considered impossible for Briar¡¯s martial level to be so high at a young age. Since magic practitioners only needed proper understanding and a large enough mana capacity, finding a genius, even at such a young age, was believable.


    But martial practitioners tempered their bodies, which required lots of time. Moreover, if they learned that Briar was holding her martial growth back to train the corresponding level as a magic practitioner, then forget about the title of ¡®genius of geniuses¡¯; she¡¯d rank straight up to ¡®monster¡¯ title.


    She wasn¡¯t really ¡®playing the pig to eat the tiger¡¯, mind you. It¡¯s just that, as she was aware of how unique her situation was, she realized that revealing it would attract a lot more undesired attention than she¡¯d be able to peacefully handle. Thus her low-key policy was placed simply to avoid more stuff like the crowds of boys trying to ambush her after each fight.


    ¡°Kyaa! How cool! Knock him dead, Briar!¡±


    ¡°You can do it, Briar!¡±


    ¡°Show us more cool moves!¡±


    ¡°Marry me!¡±


    Briar almost fell over.


    ¡°What the heck!¡± She retorted. While she had known that her male disguise was what Master Thales had called ¡®pretty boy¡¯, she had never truly known its effects up until now. The females of this world appreciated strength more than anything, but having a good face was also a plus. Unknowingly, she had gathered a fan base for her male disguise as well.


    That also meant that she had earned the ire of countless members of the male population, which were glowering at her to the point where she could almost hear their heart¡¯s cry: ¡®Riajuu¡¯s should just explode!¡¯


    Hey, hey! I didn¡¯t do anything to you! I¡¯m not even qualified since I¡¯m not even a man! Briar retorted in her heart.


    She felt a chill going down her spine at the amorous gazes coming from the female population and the furious ones from the male population.


    ¡­After I know that Laura¡¯s alright¡­.I¡¯m gonna go hide. Briar resolved to herself.

 Chapter 77: Sinister Undertones

    Her opponent simply stood quietly on the opposite side, as if all of this had nothing to do with him. Briar put what was outside the fighting stage aside for the moment and focused her eyes on him. It could very well be that this would become a serious fight at this point. No wasted movement. Even though he looked open, there were no visible flaws in his stance.


    Dressed in black¡­highly skilled¡­don¡¯t tell me-an assassin? Briar mused to herself. While normal martial practitioners only started martial training after the full development of diamond bones, assassins skipped the safety measures and jumped straight into training reflexes and killing moves from very young. But, what was an assassin doing here?


    Good, it looks like this time that little bugger will lose all his face. The announcer begrudgingly thought in his heart. ¡°For the next fight, it¡¯s everyone¡¯s new favorite fighter, Briar! And his opponent, the mysterious fighter Vex. Who will come out on top this time? Who knows! Match start!¡±


    As soon as the fight began, Vex used a strange foot maneuver to traverse over half the stage in a mere moment¡¯s time. ¡°You¡¯re not going to take out your sword?¡± He yelled, striking out towards Briar with his daggers.


    Briar blocked with the hilt. ¡°I don¡¯t need my sword to deal with you.¡± She said in return.


    Although she couldn¡¯t see his eyes beneath the shadowy cowl covering his face, she saw the corner of his mouth lift up in a sardonic smile. ¡°Suite yourself. It¡¯s your funeral.¡±


    Briar smiled in reply. ¡°What a handy piece of advice~ Make sure it doesn¡¯t come back to poke you one of these days.¡± With that, his smile disappeared and he jumped backwards, taking some distance.


    He hadn¡¯t noticed it until she had mentioned it, but upon examining his sword hand, he discovered three needles conveniently placed to obstruct with the hand movement. Taking them out, he noticed they weren¡¯t poisoned. After a moment, he began laughing. ¡°It seems I have greatly underestimated you. My apologies.¡±


    He cracked his knuckles.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get serious right now.¡± He promised as his speed kicked up a notch. Even with Briar¡¯s dynamic sense of kinetic vision, he was almost too fast for her to follow to the point where the next few exchanges were barely blocked. Oddly enough, even though Briar blocked the daggers with the hilt, the attack still managed to follow through and cut her clothes and skin.


    Now several small wounds were dripping blood on her arms and legs. There was even one on her cheek. Briar could hardly see it, but she quickly figured out how his strikes were magically causing injuries out of thin air.


    His attacks were so fast, they were creating a vacuum blade in the air. Of course, it was only about the size of a needle, but still it was enough to cause damage to her who was in red class. If she were an ordinary purple class, she would have been dead by this time.


    Briar glared at him, finally starting to get a bit angry. But before they could continue, he sighed and said. ¡°I surrender.¡±


    ¡­What? Briar¡¯s eyes became blank dots.


    ¡°What!?¡± Helen exclaimed.


    ¡°WHAAAT!?¡± The feedback from the announcer¡¯s exclamation sent the audience in pain.


    ¡°You heard me. I surrender. At the start of the match, he had already pricked me with three needles. If they had been coated in poison, I would have been dead right now, so rightfully, the match goes to that person.¡± Vex said, logically.


    ¡°Um. Well. That doesn¡¯t sound right doesn¡¯t it?¡± The announcer dithered, but his expression fell when he received a voice transmission. With a disappointed expression, he spoke. ¡°...I have been informed that it¡¯s not against the rules. Therefore, this match goes to Mayor Barley¡¯s contestant, Briar!¡±


    The audience¡¯s voices got louder as they spoke amongst themselves in discontent, but there was nothing to be done if the opponent backed out.


    Before Vex turned to leave the stage, he stared at Briar really hard. Then mouthed the words: ¡°We¡¯ll meet again soon.¡± Before he jumped off the stage and vanished into the shadows.


    Briar did not like it. She didn¡¯t like the fact that he hadn¡¯t stayed to fight until the end. She didn¡¯t like how he was so quick to leave. And, most of all, she didn¡¯t like the feeling that his words left behind. As if the next time they met, they¡¯d be fighting a true battle instead.


    But, being thirty-somewhat years old in spirit sure helps to see things differently. She could see that he was trying to manipulate her into a loser¡¯s mentality. In the end, everything he did was manipulative to a high degree. Now that he was somewhat on his guard against her, he¡¯d probably be looking for weak points.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Briar grinned sardonically. Two can play at that game, buddy. If, the next time they met wasn¡¯t during the Ten Year Student Contest: she wouldn¡¯t hold back.


    Stepping down off the stage, Briar remembered her impending predicament: the many people probably waiting behind that door.


    Such an ordinary door now seemed to hold so much trouble behind it. Since there was no need to jump headfirst into trouble, Briar avoided the crowds entirely by jumping back up to Madam Rothema¡¯s room, vanishing behind the curtain.


    -------------------------------


    Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°Shy?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that! I just don¡¯t like dealing with bothersome things!¡± Briar grumbled, remembering the unexpectedly awkward marriage proposal. ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t have to deal with these things at my age!¡±


    Madam Rothema sipped her tea. ¡°Well, no, of course not. I believe I was halfway through reading out the Grand Library of Aldengur at your age. It¡¯s such a shame that it burned down. Many of my favorites were burned up in that fire.


    I¡¯m sure the other magicians feel that way too. If we ever catch the one who was practicing fire magic in that library, I¡¯d bet that he¡¯d be the one person in the world who could claim to being hit by the most spells in an instant¡¯s time.¡±


    ---Back in his hotel room, the East Crimson Dragon suddenly sneezed three times in a row. ¡°Someone must be talking about me again.¡± He sniffed.---


    ¡°But, Teacher, didn¡¯t you save most of your favorites in your own library?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Puff! Those are only the top ten thousand. My personal favorites list spans millions of books!¡± Madam Rothema replied. ¡°Or did. It¡¯s hard to say that when half the books on magic went up in smoke that day. I tried salvaging what I could, but there wasn¡¯t much left after that.¡± She caressed the cover of the book in her lap.


    ¡°Since then, the number of high leveled magicians have dwindled. You¡¯re more likely to find ten high-class martial practitioners rather than one high-class magician.¡±


    ¡°Huh? But I¡¯ve seen a lot of magicians around here.¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s because this is probably most of the magicians still left. While the martial practitioners are limited to the students of black-class, the magician¡¯s contest even accepts rogue magicians if they¡¯re proficient enough, and are willing to have a background screening.¡± Madam Rothema frowned. ¡°It¡¯s also the Mage council¡¯s fault things have become this way.¡±


    ¡°Sounds complicated.¡± Briar sympathized.


    ¡°You have no idea.¡± She replied.


    I think I do though? If the council is anything like Congress or Parliament, then they must be a greedy bunch of crotchety old fogeys. Briar thought to herself.


    ¡°I think I prefer it that way. I get the feeling if I knew half the things they were up to, that my liver wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it yet. The upper organs aren¡¯t reinforced until orange class, after all.¡± Briar replied.


    That drew a laugh from Madam Rothema. ¡°That¡¯s a good one! I need to include that in my list of descriptions: enough to kill the liver of anyone below orange class just by hearing about what they¡¯re actually doing.¡±


    ¡°You sound like your reading from a book listing natural poisonous herbs or something.¡± Briar made a face.


    ¡°There¡¯s little to no difference between them.¡± Madam Rothema replied bitterly.


    ¡°Eh? Who¡¯s like poison?¡± Laura cut in, having just arrived with Master Thales behind her. Behind Master Thales, the figure of a severely beaten and bruised man was being dragged limply.


    ¡°Laura! You¡¯re back!¡± Briar¡¯s face lit up as she gave Laura a huge hug.


    ¡°Ahahah, yes, I¡¯m back. But hugging you while you¡¯re in your male disguise is a bit awkward.¡± Laura said.


    Briar hugged even tighter. ¡°As punishment for disappearing on us, I¡¯m not letting go until it¡¯s time for your match.¡± She shamelessly replied, while feeling relieved that Laura was so quickly found.


    Laura was a bit surprised, since Briar wasn¡¯t usually what one could call ¡®clingy¡¯, but she let it slide. Briar had often acted far beyond her age since the time she was young. It wasn¡¯t often that you got to see her acting her age. In fact, it made Laura feel a bit relieved. She also saw the rare opportunity to act as the older sister, so she was in a rather good mood.


    ¡°Suit yourself. Good day, Madam Rothema, and Helen! Has Briar gone up yet?¡± Laura greeted the others in the room.


    ¡°Yes, and Briar had quite the shocking experience, I daresay.¡± Madam Rothema replied.


    ¡°--Ah, speaking of which,¡± Briar steered the conversation away from the inevitable tale of that awkward love confession. ¡°The cause of your disappearance: that¡¯s the culprit right there, isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked, delaying the inevitable conversation.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± Laura sighed.


    They all talked as they pleased until it was Laura¡¯s match, in which she beat her opponent soundly, of course. Then everyone went to run their own small errands before returning to Madam Rothema¡¯s place.


    -----------------------------------------------------


    If she thought she could completely give them the slip, then Briar had underestimated the power of a fanbase. They were out there in droves, looking for her. If it weren¡¯t for Briar¡¯s quick reflexes and accelerated thought speed, she would have been caught countless times on the way back from the stadium.


    As things were, by the time she arrived at the house, it was already dark outside.


    ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± Madam Rothema pointed out.


    Briar sighed and said ¡°I don¡¯t know how you handled it thirteen years ago, but I do know one thing, I don¡¯t care what you call them: fans are scary.¡±


    Madam Rothema chuckled as she replied. ¡°You think? And this is why I moved house. Let me tell you, it¡¯s only going to get a lot worse unless you can find somewhere where your admirers can¡¯t reach.¡±


    ¡°Like some hidden valley in a mountain range somewhere?¡± Briar quipped back.


    ¡°It worked, didn¡¯t it?¡± Was the reply.


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m not willing to live a hermit¡¯s life for another thirteen years. I¡¯ve got things to do.¡± Briar replied, a bit crossly. ¡°And they require me to walk amongst the living.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see any undead skeletons in the valley?¡± Madam Rothema winked in jest.


    Briar looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Laura and Master Thales?¡± For the two people she most wanted to speak with, they were nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Out training again, probably. Master Thales also mentioned something about dealing with his foolish twin brother.¡± Madam Rothema replied. ¡°But, what¡¯s this I hear about plans? Come, sit down and tell me what these plans of yours are.¡±


    Briar sighed. ¡°Very well. I was going to tell all three of you, but I suppose you have the right to hear it first.¡±

 Chapter 78: Future Plans

    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Madam Rothema interjected, stopping Briar with her hand. ¡°I get the feeling this is going to take a while, so why don¡¯t I make us a fresh pot of tea, hmm?¡±


    Minutes later, each was in a comfortable seat, with a cup of hot relaxing tea in their hands.


    ¡°That¡¯s better! Nothing as good as a fresh cup of tea, I say.¡± Rothema nodded, leaning back in her chair. ¡°You may begin, now.¡±


    ¡°Well, first, I¡¯m going to take a few months and go on vacation with my family.¡± Briar said. ¡°I¡¯d like to spend some time with them now that I have become an overpowered monster for my age.¡±


    Madam Rothema nodded. She had been expecting this, after all. In fact, she was surprised that Briar hadn¡¯t tried to leave sooner in the almost six years that she had been with them. Thus she had been prepared for Briar to request for such a thing after the current contest was over.


    ¡°And after that, I¡¯m going to go traveling...¡± Briar added.


    Madam Rothema blinked. This she had also surmised would happen. One does not simply become strong in the comforts and confines of the home or estate. It requires life and death encounters, battles, and constant honing of skills. There was not a Magi or Black Class that hadn¡¯t gone through a series of life-threatening trials. Even if one were to accumulate a bunch of power: without knowing how to use it, such a thing would easily lead to death out of naivete.


    But, just when she was about to ask where Briar would go, Briar spoke again. ¡°¡­alongside my family.¡± Briar once more added.


    THAT certainly raised an eyebrow for Madam Rothema. It was easy enough for one person to go travelling. All methods were available for them. If they wished to walk, run, ride, or fly: as long as they had the opportunity it would be easy enough. But to uproot the whole family from their home and go traveling together? It was unheard of, unless they were driven from the area by a stronger opponent.


    Madam Rothema stared long and hard at Briar, who looked back at her with clear, determined eyes. There was a confidence there that there had not been a few months ago. As if, no matter what happened, things would proceed the way she planned them to.


    ¡°¡­While your plan seems simple in speech, to put it into practice is far more difficult, don¡¯t you think?¡± Madam Rothema finally said.


    ¡°Difficult, yes. But not impossible.¡± Came the reply.


    ¡°May I ask what got it into your head to do such a thing?¡± Madam Rothema rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache.


    Briar smiled. ¡°The country is crumbling around their ears. While I would like to leave things up to the king, it has come to a point where I can no longer place my trust in the defenses of my country. I intend to pull my family out before the borders completely collapse.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve heard the news?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard not to hear now that I am like this.¡± Briar made a face. ¡°It¡¯s plainer than dirt. Although there has been no declaration of war, the movement of the people is a sure sign of something covert going on around the borders. If I can get them out before war is announced, I can almost guarantee their survival.¡±


    Madam Rothema poured herself another cup of tea. ¡°While it indeed seems like a good plan, what about you and your father¡¯s duty towards the crown?¡±


    Briar closed one eye. ¡°What are you talking about? Me and father are simply going on a vacation. A vacation. Just because we are going where messengers can¡¯t find us, doesn¡¯t mean we are abandoning the crown. It¡¯s too bad that we¡¯ll be too late to save him, though.¡±


    Madam Rothema raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, as she stared at her student with an expression that clearly emanated ¡®enough of this nonsense¡¯.


    Briar smiled wryly. ¡°No good, huh? Well, actually, it seems I have a rather troublesome order written here, which I do not have the power to refute.¡± She pulled a scroll out of her magic bag. Surprisingly, it had the king¡¯s own personal seal on it. Briar handed it over to Madam Rothema to read.


    To Thera of Rose Manor, future title-holder, genius of geniuses:


    At the time I am writing this, we haven¡¯t yet met. But, already I have begun hearing of you for quite some time from your father and Master Thales. If it turns out that your character is different from what I have been told, this letter will never reach you. But, seeing that you are reading it now, I am glad that my country could harbor such a talented young girl.


    I know that with such a talent as yours, my paltry kingdom will soon become much too small to hold your future feats within its borders. I am also aware that you have experienced much grief because of my powerlessness against the copious strong factions that have snuck into the country. You were separated from your family, and have worked hard and long for five whole years. While I should be commending you for your work ethic, I feel that these words would only sound like an empty drum to you-hence I will be brief and blunt.


    For all the pains you have suffered, due to my inability, I am heartily sorry. I am well aware that my country may not last much longer. There are skirmishes at the borders, and reports of the neighboring countries gathering men for invasion. I offer no excuses.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Instead, I wish to tell you that if we do break out into war, you have my heartfelt permission-no, You have only one order that you need to follow from me:


    Should this country go to war, you are to take your family and leave this kingdom. You, and all your immediate family and household, are banished from the kingdom from the first day of the war, to the last day. And, should the kingdom fall, you are free to go wherever you wish, free of duty. All I ask is that you keep and cherish the title and sword that I shall bestow upon you, as a remembrance of the country you were born in.


    So have I written, so mote it be.


    King Rhiems


    The king¡¯s seal was once more applied next to his name.


    ¡°I found this in the study of my titled mansion.¡± Briar said, ¡°The day before I left to train with Master Thales. Since then, I have been planning my family trip through the kingdoms. It seems I am not welcomed in my own country during wartime. So, I¡¯d like to hurry home after this.¡±


    Madam Rothema sighed. ¡°While I¡¯d like to smack his head for this, that King Rheims is too softhearted to be a king during these times¡­ It would have been better had he been born in a more peaceful era.¡±


    ¡°But, he has one thing that no other king has, for the time being.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°He has my gratitude.¡± Briar said. ¡°And my admiration. This is a thing which many kings in this world will desire, and shall not have; will pine for, and will be remain without. They will only be able to wish for such a thing from me.¡±


    He¡¯s a good man. It¡¯s a pity that he was trapped and ensnared by government duties and politics. Briar looked out the window at the pitch-black night.


    ¡°Why, that¡¯s the first positive thing you¡¯ve said about the monarchy that I¡¯ve ever heard you say!¡± Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°Do you still think that governing systems are evil?¡±


    Briar closed one eye, and looked at Madam Rothema, with a somewhat slightly begrudging expression.


    ¡°Now see here, I told you already what my opinion is about governments! They¡¯re all good on paper, but when it comes to practical use, where you add humans to the mixture, they all fall apart sooner or later. It is because of the corruptible and weak part of mankind that is prone to making mistakes that they can never last. Power attracts the corrupted, and one bad apple soon spoils a whole barrel.


    ¡°Eventually, every government becomes filled with puss-ridden, fattened, selfish bureaucrats or nobles who can¡¯t ever measure up to real men. I myself wish to never be a part of something like that. If all I can look forward to at the end of my life is politics, then I¡¯d rather die, thank you.¡± Briar¡¯s expression was as if she had drunk curdled milk.


    Madame Rothema smiled. ¡°You sound so sure of yourself. Are you sure you won¡¯t collect quite a few of these ¡®corrupted¡¯ people yourself, once you reach the apex?¡±


    Briar chuckled darkly. ¡°I¡¯d like to see them try. I have the perfect lesson for fools who can¡¯t behave.¡± Entitled ¡®Hell¡¯s Regret¡¯, it was one of the most terrifying lesson plans which she had studied in her previous life. She hadn¡¯t ever needed it to be used upon her. Just studying the many parts of ¡°Hell¡¯s Regret¡± had made Briar certain that she never EVER wished to be subjected to it.


    ¡°But, true enough, I suppose. Eventually, people with ill intents will begin to gather around me, regardless of my intentions. At that time, I¡¯m afraid mine will become a lesson brimming to the fullest capacity of students.¡± Briar said, shaking her head, sadly.


    ¡°Where will you go?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a definite travel plan yet, but I figured a quick tour of all the continents should take at least five to ten years-give or take. Five years minimum, of course.¡± Briar said.


    Madam Rothema nodded. How could she not understand? Five years was how long she had been forced to stay away from her family. Even if there were letters, it would only serve to make their absence more pronounced.


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you from accomplishing this goal of yours.¡± Rothema said. ¡°How-e-ver! You are not allowed to slack in your studies! I will not allow my first student to become anything less than someone whom the Magicians Council can only shudder in their boots towards! Do you understand?¡± She stared sternly at Briar, who could see that Rothema really did have some sort of deep enmity with the Magicians Council


    Briar nodded with a smile. ¡°Have no fear. You can rest assured that this little monster will grow up to be a big monster that no one will be able to defeat.¡±


    Rothema¡¯s voice now held a touch of pride in it. ¡°Good. Now, earlier, you said that you intended to tour all of the continents. Does that include those with the elves and the Beastmen as well?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m really interested in studying the nature and spirit magic they possess.¡± Briar replied enthusiastically. ¡°There¡¯s also the study of the differences in culture and plant life that I¡¯m sure can¡¯t be replicated on this continent.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡±


    Madam Rothema was quiet for a time before handing Briar a page with a rune drawn upon it. ¡°Before you leave, inform me by tearing that paper. I¡¯ll have your homework ready for you at that time.¡±


    Briar accepted the rune with a mischievous smile. ¡°Somehow, I just knew our conversation would end up at this topic sooner or later.¡±


    Madam Rothema had been her teacher for the past five years. While they weren¡¯t related by blood, Rothema was already considered as family. Briar had a deep respect for her to the point of genuine admiration. In her heart, Rothema was second only to her own dear parents and her master from her previous life.


    Briar placed aside her teacup and rose from her chair. ¡°You have my word.¡± She bowed deeply from the waist, before retiring to her room. Since her fans and enemies were already probably swarming the inn they had originally stayed at, Madam Rothema had agreed to house Briar, Laura, Thales, and his brother for the remaining duration of the Ten Year Student Contest.


    Madam Rothema only chuckled to herself. ¡°The Elf and Beastmen continents, eh? Moreover, with her family in tow...I should hurry up so that everything is completed before she leaves.¡± Rising, she opened the window, and three streaking specks of light flashed out into the darkness like shooting stars, heading straight to Greyelle Kingdom.


    One light landed in Rose Manor, home of Sir Maverick and Lady Helen. Another light landed in the Rose Mansion that the king had bestowed to Thera. The third landed in the king¡¯s own bedchambers, unseen by either passing knight or observing magician. The instructions that these three lights contained would only be known by those who received them. And, of course, Madam Rothema as well.


    ------------------------


    In her room, Briar polished the kashira of her magic katana, Thorn, as she thought of everything that had happened that day. ¡°Vex, huh? Well, I¡¯m not sure what your aim is, but be assured that if your plans harbor any ill intent towards me or anyone I care about, and if you manage to survive the consequences, then your name will probably need to be changed to ¡®vexed¡¯.¡±


    Still fatigued from the long day, Briar put out the lamp and went to sleep, still holding onto her katana.

 Chapter 79: I Wont Tell

    The next day was the beginning of the semi-finals. Seeing that everyone who arrived was probably at a high skill level, Briar had prepared well in advance, checking over her gear one last time before once more lining up on the martial combat stage. The crowds were finding it difficult to calm down, seeing as there were only sixteen combatants left.


    Briar glanced over at the other candidates. There was Laura, the quintuplets, and nine other combatants. Of the nine combatants, three were female, while the rest were male. Briar memorized the appearance and names of the female fighters first.


    Xina, who had an appearance of a rather flirty female, was dressed in a romantic white shirt with cross bands at the collar, and a green wrap-around skirt, which facilitated ease of movement. A pair of brown pants and knee-high leather boots finished the outfit. Her black hair fell in ringlets down her back, and her pale grey-blue eyes stared straight ahead of her. Briar could tell that there were more than several small daggers hidden within her clothes. She was either a skilled thief, or an assassin-in gamers terms.


    Triss, was rather largely-built. She wasn¡¯t fat, but every part of her was almost gleaming with rippling muscles. Honestly, Briar was surprised they managed to find someone so buff like that under 20 years old, but there she was.


    She wore Leather armor only in key places, on top of a sleeveless robe, which billowed out around her. This striking figure was not all, though. The huge double-headed ax that rested upon her back was at least half as large as she was. Her shoulder-length red hair emphasized her huge temper, finishing her rough, rugged image.


    Naomi was neither agile, nor a bodybuilder. She was neither tall nor short, ugly nor beautiful. In fact, given her appearance, she seemed no more than the usual good-natured young lady whom you would regularly pass by on the street. But her sharp eyes gave her away. This one was probably the most dangerous out of the three, most likely specializing either in counterattacks, or an unconventional method of fighting.


    Of the nine men who were left, Briar only chose to memorize the top three fighters. The other six weren¡¯t that important, as she had already seen through their strength. Or, rather-the only thing that those six possessed was strength from the looks of their battle record.


    The Minstrel was a rather interesting fellow. True to his name, he carried around a stringed instrument, and his attacks were musical ones. By hitting certain key notes, he could temporarily create a lapse in concentration in his opponent, allowing him to attack with arrows coated in a


    mild poison that would send his opponents to sleep.


    These arrows were shot using the strings of his musical instrument. Briar felt it rather ingenious to use an instrument as a bow. However, his opponents felt it was somewhat unfair-seeing that they never clashed fists or weapons with their opponent. But they simply could not corner him, since his ingenious use of music and arrows would overwhelm them whenever they got too close. They all inevitably succumbed to sleep, due to the sleeping poison, though. Once asleep, they were easily tossed off the stage.


    Katar was a wirey youth of 18 with already a hint of a beard on his chin-making him look older than he was. There were two swords on his back, and two more on each side, hanging off his belt. The only reason why the belt could continue to hold up with such weight, was due to the single leather strap attached to the center front and back. He also wore a dark green bandanna on his head.


    Briar raised an eyebrow at the suspendered swordsman, but didn¡¯t think too much of it. He had used all six of those blades in all of his previous fights. And not only did he fight well with those swords, he also managed to win all of them, seeing that he was on stage there that day. It seemed he had a strange fighting style where he threw the blades at his enemies.


    Briar hadn¡¯t seen any of his actual fights, since somehow, she had always just managed to miss them. She had mostly heard about him from Laura before the kidnapping incident. Although it was a bit dangerous not knowing things first-hand, Briar wasn¡¯t that worried about it.


    As someone who is proficient with throwing weapons, though, she didn¡¯t think that she would lose.


    Dempsey was the last one. Honestly, this one bugged Briar the most, since he was¡­a narcissistic ikemen! From the top of his golden forelocked head to the tips of his armored feet, he looked every bit a prince, and he knew it. Even now he was smiling at himself in a hand mirror that he had pulled out of his armor somewhere.


    Nobody questions the fact that he has a mirror? Briar thought to herself, but, seeing it wasn¡¯t considered a harmful object, Briar soon put it from her mind.


    But she would still not let her guard down against him. Dangerous people are dangerous after all. And he had not gotten to the semi-finals simply by flashing a smile at his opponent.


    The five twin brothers¡¯ names, she gave up on memorizing. Since their faces were identical, it was rather hard to distinguish them, especially in the middle of a fight, so she would have to settle for simply defeating whichever of them she came across.


    The semifinals were to decide the top ten students. But, seeing as there were sixteen contestants left, one would think that there¡¯d be a few who were left out of the fighting, but that wasn¡¯t the actual case. Everyone would choose their opponent by lottery- taking the names out of a box with paper slips inside. Names could not be changed.


    This was the part where a panel of judges would be closely observing the fights. These judges would award points for martial techniques well pulled off, or exceptional cases offense or defense. Defense was on the lower end of the scoring grade, though. The one who scored the highest would be considered temporarily as first place. The six who scored lowest would be eliminated during this round.


    Then, during the finals, anyone in the top ten could choose to fight with those above them. If the tenth place won over first place, for example, the previous 1<sup>st</sup> place wouldn¡¯t become 10<sup>th</sup> place, but instead everyone else would be bumped down a place. So, the previous 1<sup>st</sup> place would instead become 2<sup>nd</sup> place, 2<sup>nd</sup> would become 3<sup>rd place</sup>, etc. This would continue for three rounds, and at the end, the positions would be official.


    In the end, Briar decided not to bother with the calculations. All she had to do was reach 1<sup>st</sup> place and maintain her position until everyone¡¯s turns were used up. Even if she was ganged up on by everyone, she would only have to fight 27 more rounds.


    While it would be difficult for normal students, Briar was still a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank Red class. Thus, her strength and stamina were much higher than the other students. Using her mana vision, she could see that the others were mostly in the green class, with Triss, the Minstrel, and Laura being the only blue class present.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    It might seem weird that they would be able to reach Blue class, so quickly. But, they were each students of Black Class Martial Practitioners. Their teachers would have bound to have had elixirs and aids to help them quickly advance. Briar knew well, though, the drawbacks of using external aids in breaking through to the next class. While their raw strength would increase swiftly, their understanding would lag behind, becoming a hindrance to them once they reached Black Class.


    In this respect, Master Thales was more of an advocate of natural advancement, growing stronger through hard work and perseverance, rather than relying upon external power ups. In this respect, his view seemed to have produced some rather satisfying results, as Laura was now a 3<sup>rd</sup> rank Blue Class.


    Some might say that- since there were two other blue ranks that hadn¡¯t had to go through what Laura did- Master Thales¡¯ stance with natural advancement was a moot point. However, that was simply not so. The other Blue ranks were at 18 and 19 years old respectively, while Laura was at 12 years old. A whole six to seven year gap was not something one could simply brush away.


    What¡¯s that? Laura¡¯s explosive increase in time was due to Briar¡¯s meddling back in their childhood? Briar only got Laura past the introductory stage classes. The rest of them Laura had to advance through on her own.


    It¡¯s like the difference between showing someone how to do the horse stance, and making them do it for over an hour. At most, Briar¡¯s contribution to Laura¡¯s strength could knock off a year or two. But that would still leave a 4-6 year age gap between Laura and the other Blue Class martial Practitioners that was won through her hard work, and Master Thales¡¯ instructions.


    Things are starting to get a bit interesting now. Briar wore a mischievous lopsided smirk on her face. As the introductions were over, everyone had to line up and draw lots to find out who their opponent would be.


    The overhead magic display now showed a very easy to understand diagram on it, which would be filled in with the names of the contestants. Right now, the name slots were empty, though. They would only be filled in after the corresponding numbers were drawn.


    Ah. It looks like the Narcissist Prince is going up first.


    Briar rolled her eyes as the man fiddled with his golden forelock, smoothing it out before he put the mirror in his inner jacket pocket and walked up to the box filled with names, waving at the audience as he went. His conceit had no equal. He didn¡¯t even try, and just quickly grabbed the piece of paper on the top of the pile.


    ¡°Dempsey Lir versus Laura Murlough.¡± The names were announced, and immediately showed up on the magic display, opposite each other in the position of the 1<sup>st</sup> fight.


    The next match had one of the musclemen versus one of the quintuplets. Briar¡¯s match was also against one of the musclemen. Luckily, her match was oriented towards the latter part of the morning, so she didn¡¯t see much of a conflict with her schedule.


    Once everyone had drawn an opponent, the first match was set to begin ten minutes later.


    Returning back to Madam Rothema¡¯s seat, Briar quickly switched out her disguises, heading towards the Magicians Stage. Yukikage glanced at her from her perch upon the stone railing, and jumped down to follow after her; as a cat, she had seen enough of the fights in the Martial arena yesterday, and was feeling rather bored.


    Briar glanced back at her. ¡°Are you sure you want to come with me this time? It may be quite dangerous for you, you know?¡±


    Yukikage twitched her pink nose and twisted her hears with a pleading look in her eyes. ¡°Nyo, I don¡¯t wanna sit still and watch! it¡¯s nyo fun if my favorite human isn¡¯t there!¡± She swished her tail emphatically.


    ¡°Oh? And are you sure that Madam Rothema wasn¡¯t your favorite human yesterday? I recall seeing someone begging for scraps from Madam Rothema¡¯s lunch of roast chicken? You weren¡¯t even the slightest bit concerned with my fights beforehand, were you?¡± Briar teased.


    ¡°Er, that was because¡­..I was..trying to¡­practice my begging skills! Right! Besides, I can¡¯t help it if I get hungry, after all! It would have been so impolite to interrupt you in nya(the) middle of your match, right?¡±


    Briar raised an eyebrow, hiding her smile at Yukikage¡¯s frenzied search for excuses, but afterwards, she didn¡¯t prevent Yukikage from following her, either. After all, there were no rules stating that familiars couldn¡¯t join their masters on stage. There was a rule against bringing house pets on stage, though.


    Due to the fact that magicians had to make sure their minds were in tip-top shape, the ceremony was set to start later than that of the hot-blooded martial practitioners. As things were, Briar ended up being one of the first magicians on stage for the semi-finals. Yukikage leapt to land upon Briar¡¯s shoulders, swinging her tail contentedly to and fro.


    Seeing this, many of the audience (especially the infatuated fan club) had faces with loose expressions. Mutterings of ¡®I want to be that cat¡¯, and ¡®How picturesque¡¯ could be heard in the stalls. To Briar¡¯s discomfort, she noticed that many of the young men of marriageable age had taken up the seats close to the stage. Her nose twitched only once, before she decided to ignore that group.


    But others grumbled under their breath about how some fool student was trying to break the rules again. In all fairness, it was hard to associate the cat on Briar¡¯s shoulders with a familiar. The most well-known familiars were impressive, brutish beasts like Obsidian Bears and Ptera-birds.


    Familiars weren¡¯t just an aid in magic, but also served to guard their partners from attacks out in the fields. Since an attack on their soul-bound human was like an attack on their person, familiars take their partners safety very seriously. Well, since Briar¡¯s strength was abnormally high, Yukikage hadn¡¯t had much of a chance to prove herself after her transformation.


    Moreover, familiars weren¡¯t just a dime a dozen. They were actually quite scarce in the world. It was considered lucky if 1 out of 1,000,000 could find themselves a familiar. But the reality of the situation was that it was more like 1 out of 100,000,000.


    Even now, there were only a paltry number of magicians who had found their destined familiar. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped, after all. Most of the people thought that a familiar was an already pre-destined thing bound only to specific souls. The truth of the matter was that a familiar was actually a soul-bound contract.


    Not just any random beast could enter into a soul contract. Not only did they needed to have intelligence and mana, but they also had to whole-heartedly accept the person they contracted with, and vice versa. It wasn¡¯t a master-servant relationship, but one of partners: who were closer than the best of friends. Therefore, not many could avail themselves of the opportunities to acquire one.


    Now that more Magician students had arrived on stage, they also had noticed the pretty little housecat sitting on Briar¡¯s shoulders. One of the girls, a timid-looking brown-haired shy young lady who stood next to Briar on her left, tactfully tried to warn her.


    ¡°Hey, you might want to get your cat off the stage. It could cause you to get into trouble if you don¡¯t remove it, soon.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Briar asked.


    Before the girl could respond, a scoff rang out from Briar¡¯s right side.


    ¡°Why? Because pets aren¡¯t allowed on stage during a wizard¡¯s fight, that¡¯s why! Unless, don''t tell me-you¡¯re trying to getus to believe that that tiny kitten is actually your familiar? Pah! Such a joke is not even humorous at this point! It''s simply distasteful.¡± Briar turned towards the source of the unpleasant voice, and both her eyebrows were raised.


    A blonde-haired beauty with ringlets in a fancy peacock-blue gown stood next to her. In Briar¡¯s otaku friend¡¯s terms, she would be the very image of ¡®rococo style¡¯. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the mascot characteristic of ¡®rococo¡¯ rang out. She could almost hear the ¡®ohohohos¡¯ ringing in her ears. She was almost tempted to say ''Gokigen yo~'' to her, but-due to the language difference, nobody would understand the reference.


    Briar and Yukikage looked at each other: Briar¡¯s searching; Yuki¡¯s questioning, can I? After a second glance at the Rococo miss to her right, Briar gave a small smile and nodded ever so slightly. Yuki winked and jumped down to the floor, wandering over to the Rococo miss.


    Sitting down at a distance of about a meter away, in front of that young miss, Yuki stared unblinkingly at her.


    ¡°Look, now it¡¯s just going to wander about the stage and get under everyone¡¯s feet! Can¡¯t you see that your pet is disrupting the whole ceremony?¡±


    Briar simply smiled sweetly. ¡°As a matter of fact, she isn¡¯t my pet.¡±


    Then Yuki jumped forward, swiftly changing size to become as large as a panther. Shocking the Rococo miss into dumb silence as she came face to face with Yuki¡¯s large form. The audience had not missed this small exchange either, and there were many exclamations within the crowd.


    ¡°But, since you told me not to tell you, I shall comply.¡± Briar grinned, as Yuki turned aside and leapt at Briar, returning to her small size before once more becoming comfortable upon Briar¡¯s shoulders. The audience and some of the combatants chuckled with mirth.

 Chapter 80: Pity and Emnity

    It was several long minutes before the audience could bring their noise level back down to under deafening. Some were still roaring with laughter. Many of those who had exclaimed were of the older generation of magicians. With the general momentum of the crowds, it was unknown if the noise would calm down to respectful levels by the time the ceremony began.


    Briar ignored the occasional cries of ¡°I love you¡± and ¡°Marry me!¡± from the front rows. If it hadn¡¯t been for the safety barrier in front of the audience stands, many would have jumped out of their seats and tried to leap down onto the stage. As things were, those who had been brave enough to yell out such words were quickly given the smackdown by the young men around them.


    To be perfectly honest, Briar had already set up a noise filter barrier on her person prior to her and Yukikage¡¯s small prank. It filtered out unnecessary background noise, and also protected her ears from being blasted by regulating the volume. She also paid no attention to the brawling in the stands. Therefore, no matter how loudly it was shouted or screamed, the amorous cries fell upon deaf ears.


    Briar also didn¡¯t need to worry about some old magician taking a fancy to Yukikage, and snatching her away. As familiars can only contract one person at any given time, if you kill off the one they are linked to, then most familiars also will not last long-barring some few stronger ones, like dragons and mythical beasts.


    Moreover, due to the damage to their soul from the loss of their partner, there is little to no chance of entering into another contract with a different person. Such a thing as murdering the owner would breed resentment and grief within the familiar, creating a near impregnable barrier between the newly ex-familiar and the one who would wish to contract with it. And so, although a familiar was rare, it was practically useless to others, so no one would want to steal it.


    The other contestants stared at Briar with scrutinizing gazes. As Briar¡¯s noise barrier was invisible, they had no idea that she couldn¡¯t hear the cries in the audience. Briar turned to look at the girl on her left.


    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡±


    The girl shook her head, nervously, and looked away. For someone to be so unmoved after such a display, she was beginning to develop admiration for Briar. Ah, but she shouldn¡¯t be admiring her opponent! The girl mentally scolded herself for being easily distracted from her goal.


    Briar had no idea what was running through the girl¡¯s head at the moment. If it was important, then she would have said something, right? She thought to herself. Then looked forward as the ceremony began.


    The semi-finals for the magician¡¯s contest were also done by drawn lottery. But, instead of slips of papers, the box was filled with translucent crystal balls the size of an egg. Each ball was connected to one other ball. And when the restrictive spell on them was released, the contestants would channel their mana inside and light up the magic number that was hidden in the center of the crystal. Before that moment, no one would have any idea who their opponent was. This was a measure put in place to prevent cheating.


    Since Briar didn¡¯t know anyone, she had no qualms about whom she would fight with. But, since Madam Rothema had placed the burden of monster-dom upon Briar¡¯s shoulders, if Briar was going to compete, then she very well had better win! Her teacher¡¯s reputation depended on it!


    This time, it was Briar¡¯s turn to pick first. Since they all looked the same, it didn¡¯t matter which she picked. She could only leave her opponent up to luck.


    Reaching her hand in, she grabbed the first one that came to hand, and retreated backwards to her place on the stage, making sure the crystal ball was in sight the whole time. If you did a covert action like placing it in your sleeve, or your pocket, or even moving it out of sight of the administrator, then it was the same as forfeiting your place, which was somewhat tiring, but necessary, to promote fairness.


    After everyone had picked a ball, a countdown showed on the screen, and the audience chanted aloud the numbers. Once it reached zero, the magic barriers around the glass balls were released, and all the contestants channeled a small bit of mana into the small crystal marbles. Briar¡¯s number was ¡®2¡¯.


    Briar inwardly moaned. Of all the times to have bad luck, why now? The 2<sup>nd</sup> match of the Magicians semi-finals overlapped with her match in the Martial semi-final. Would she really have to pick just one of them?


    Briar narrowed her eyes. No, wait. It might still be possible. The semi-final rules were somewhat different for the first round in both arenas.


    In the Magician¡¯s semi-finals, you were disqualified if you weren¡¯t on stage before the announcer finished speaking.


    But in the Martial semi-finals, there was a five minute grace period between matches where they displayed all the best parts of the previous fight on the magic display.


    So, while it was impossible to be late for the magician¡¯s match, it was indeed possible to be late for the martial match.


    But still¡­


    ¡°A five minute window, huh?¡± Briar muttered to herself. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no time for dawdling during the match, this time. Hmmm.¡±


    She looked at Yuki, who tilted her head, cutely. ¡°Are we gonya (gonna) play a game?¡± Yuki asked, her tail whipping excitedly.


    Briar smiled, speaking softly so that only Yuki could hear. ¡°Yep! We¡¯re going to play a game.¡±


    ¡°Goody! What kinda game is it?¡± Yuki¡¯s eyes had stars in them. ¡°Is there fish?¡±


    ¡°The reward is fish.¡± Briar said, with a straight face. ¡°Do you want to know the rules?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    While Briar was talking to Yuki, Laura was facing off against Dempsey. Truth to be told, he was a very tough opponent. It wasn¡¯t so much his strength, so much as his bewildering footwork that was frustrating Laura. It seemed to have no rhythm or rhyme to speak of, sometimes quick, sometimes slow. But no matter what the pace, Laura couldn¡¯t seem to hit him at all! He wasn¡¯t necessarily speedy, but he always managed to elude her fists.


    Laura realized that this couldn¡¯t continue. To keep going like this was just wasting her stamina. While she could probably keep going for half a day, She needed to find something more effective against this elusive youth¡­


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°I wannya play! Can I start nyow?¡± the pupils of Yuki¡¯s eyes had turned fish-shaped.


    ¡°Hold on, Yuki. We¡¯re slated for the match after this one. Save your energy for when it¡¯s our turn.¡± Briar said, while petting Yuki¡¯s head absentmindedly. Yukikage shook her head, and her pupils returned to normal shape.


    Then the first match began. Magical light blossomed in the arena, as the two magicians faced off against each other with magical bombardments. This fight was much more impressive than the last one. The winning magician even managed to come out with an [Earth Spike] in the end, which-aimed at the opponent¡¯s throat, swiftly prompted the other one to give up.


    While magicians had great magical power, in order to concentrate upon their spells, they usually neglected the strength and speed of their own body. Therefore, a maneuver which required high speed and reflexes simply was not a magician¡¯s area of expertise. Briar didn¡¯t have much of a problem, though.


    If one were to quantify the ability in numbers, a magician¡¯s speed falls about 50-60% while casting spells. But, Briar¡¯s dual-class occupation helped to rid her of part of the repercussions. Rather, quick speed and reflexes were almost intuitive for her at this point, so she didn¡¯t need to split her concentration between speeding up and casting a spell. While she did experience a 10% decrease in speed, her normal speed compared to a regular magicians was at a cheat level. At least 10 times faster, if not more.


    But, Briar had put a limit upon her physical abilities while in ¡®Dorothy form¡¯ as she had now dubbed it. The outfit for today was also a different one from yesterday¡¯s.


    Today¡¯s highlights were a cream-colored shirt, coupled with a multi-colored gypsy skirt that reached down to the ankles, attached by a large brown belt in the middle. A red scarf covered her head, with long dark brown braids peeking out from underneath it.


    The theme was starting to runaway from ¡®Dorothy¡¯ and become slightly more inclined to little red riding hood? Briar decided not to even bother asking Rothema what the original theme was. It was safer to pretend you didn¡¯t notice it at all¡­Otherwise¡­you would become Rothema¡¯s dress up doll.


    To voluntarily step into an exhausting display of themed fashions, where you couldn¡¯t train your Mana or your martial arts was, quite honestly, both uncomfortable and rather pointless. Briar only went so far to learn how to dress for every occasion so that she could use it to enhance her disguising technique.


    ¡­But she would never tell Rothema that.


    Otherwise, she would probably get an earful, and a complete re-education on the wonders of clothing: an entire year¡¯s course all packed into a single day due to overworking Briar¡¯s time perception barrier¡­It had happened once before.


    Briar stood upon the stage as soon as the previous combatants had left, watching the highlights from the previous fight being played over again on the Magic Screen. She kept one eye on the time displayed on the Magic Image Display, comparing it to her guestimations for how long the Martial matches would take to finish. It would be best if she could win within the first minute.


    After going over her calculations one more time, she looked at her opponent, the haughty rococo miss, and smiled, apologetically.


    ¡°W-what is that look you¡¯re giving me! Don¡¯t tell me you still hold a grudge against me for what happened earlier, do you?¡± The rococo miss blustered out, feeling slightly resentful towards Briar for embarrassing her in from of the entire audience.


    ¡°What is a grudge, that I should hold it?¡± Briar said dismissively. ¡°You think I care what others think of me? That anything you could say can reduce even one iota of my strength and experience to fit your presumptions?...You¡­think very highly of yourself, it seems.¡±


    Rococo miss blushed in embarrassment. ¡°T-then, why are you smiling?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m smiling because it¡¯s a pity.¡± Briar sighed.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°BEGIN!¡± The announcer motioned with his hand, starting the match.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I have to do this¡­¡± Briar said as she snapped her fingers and a light appeared above Briar¡¯s finger. But, this was no ordinary light. It grew brighter and brighter, sucking in the mana from the surroundings, until it seemed that a small sun was about to form on stage.


    The rococo miss had created a mana shield, but it couldn¡¯t block visual attacks. And so, she couldn¡¯t help but shield her eyes from the display, as she felt a soft impact of wind, which lifted her up, barrier and all for but a brief moment. She returned to earth, and crouched down to prevent it from happening again.


    Then the light suddenly went out. ¡°Second match! Briar wins!¡±


    The rococo miss tried to blink the spots from her eyes, as she felt confused. ¡°Huh?¡± Then her eyes cleared up a bit more, and she realized that she was standing on the ground surrounding the magic stage.


    ¡°But, how?¡± She asked, not understanding why or how she ended up falling off the stage.


    ¡°That was such a speedy round! Let¡¯s play it over again, and observe what happened once more. In order to counteract the light display, we have placed an obsidian plate over the magic device, so please pay close attention!¡± The announcer said cheerfully.


    The match was once more displayed over the big screen. Briar snapped her finger, and the light began to shine.


    ¡°Oh! Here¡¯s where things begin to take shape!¡± the announcer pointed out, and the perspective of the display switched to an overhead view of the stage.


    A tiny patterned figure darted around the edge of the stage, circling around the rococo miss after her eyes had been blinded shut by the light. The small figure suddenly grew large, and swiftly lifting the rococo miss, barrier and all, off the stage, carefully deposited her on the ground outside. This whole occurence took but a moment''s time.


    ¡°And the real hero of this round is Briar¡¯s stupendous familiar! Thank you for showing us one of the speediest victories in history!¡±


    Finally, the rococo miss seemed to understand. A vein popped out on her head. ¡°So¡­. this is what you meant by pity!? BRIAR-¡± She snapped her head towards the stage, ready to give Briar an earful for using such a cheap trick, but her eyes did not find the figure they sought. She grabbed a nearby combatant and glared at him with red eyes.


    ¡°WHERE IS THAT HATEFUL PERSON!?¡± She roared.


    ¡°You mean Briar? She left during the playbacks.¡± A different boy from the one she was shaking answered her.


    ¡°What! WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?!¡±


    ¡°She was rushing in the direction of the restrooms. Perhaps it was an urgent call of nature?¡± The youth answered honestly, offering a possible reason.


    ¡°¡­Fine! I¡¯ll go find her myself!¡± Rococo miss tossed aside the poor shaken up boy, and stomped off in the direction of the restrooms.


    ¡°What do you suppose that was about?¡± The youth asked the girl to his right.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Revenge? Or maybe she needed to go to the restroom herself?¡± The girl replied half-jokingly, half-sarcastically. ¡°It¡¯s a typical tournament trope, so don¡¯t go poking your nose into things until after your match.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m dead last!¡± the youth mumbled.

 Chapter 81: Surprises and Suspicions

    Briar quickly arrived at Madam Rothema¡¯s viewing room, and swiftly snatched the scarf off her head, returning to her male disguised form. She nodded at Madam Rothema and Helen in greeting before looking to the Martial stage. She was just in time to see a quintuplet smash a muscleman into the center of the stage with a blazing fist, knocking him unconscious. The medical crew started climbing up on the stage.


    Realizing she had enough time for a few words, she asked Madam Rothema. ¡°How did Laura do?¡±


    Rothema waved her hands. ¡°That girl is fine! Believe it or not, while she struggled for a bit chasing that Dumpley-whats-his-name around, she won the match with just a few well-placed words.¡±


    Briar was surprised. ¡°Words? What kind of words could help her win a match like that?¡±


    Rothema placed a hand over her mouth, clearly amused. ¡°Perhaps I should let little Helen tell you.¡± Briar looked at Helen, who¡¯s eyes were shining, clearly wanting to tell her about it.


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher!¡± Helen smiled cheerfully.


    ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t it nice to finally have a student who acts their age...¡± Rothema sighed aloud.


    Briar¡¯s eyebrows twitched at that. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±


    Madam Rothema simply smiled. ¡°Well¡­I wonder about that.¡±


    Briar decided to ignore the pointed jab at her personality and turned back to Helen.


    ¡°So? What happened?¡±


    Helen nodded. ¡°It happened about five minutes ago. Neither of them had any solid advantage over the other. Then, Laura stopped in the center of the stage and suddenly started laughing. Dempsey was confused and asked ¡®Weird girl. Are you finally going mad?¡¯ But Laura shook her head and said ¡®No! But I just can¡¯t help noticing what a huge pimple there is on your face!¡± Well, that got him super worried for some reason, so he quickly snatched his mirror out to take a look. But when he took out his mirror, she blasted him out of bounds with a jump kick.¡±


    Briar lifted her head up and looked at Madam Rothema with a ¡®is that really true?¡¯ expression on her face.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°Now his face is even more unsightly than a pimple. He smashed headfirst into the protective barrier, so his whole face must be one massive bruise at this point!¡± Rothema started chuckling as she remembered the scene.


    ¡°Well, looks like someone¡¯s collecting enemies.¡± Briar grinned. Helen stared pointedly with a look and retorted ¡°This coming from the one who just seriously angered your opponent not two minutes ago?¡±


    ¡°Well, it was unavoidable! I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d have enough time to make it to both matches if I didn¡¯t hurry!¡± Briar replied, with a sigh. ¡°Also, if I had used my full power, she would have been mortally injured to the point where I¡¯m not sure if [Heal] would be able to fix everything, and that¡¯s something I¡¯d like to avoid in a mere contest-wait how did you know about what I just did?¡±


    Rothema pointed to a crystal mirror that was once more displaying Briar¡¯s battle.


    ¡°As expected of Briar~ So packed full of power that she even needs to take care not to overdo things even with her opponents!¡± Helen cheered in admiration.


    ¡°Well¡­.¡± Briar thought to herself. It¡¯s a far cry from Madam Rothema, though. If I am at the level of C4, then Rothema is at the level of a Hydrogen Bomb. Hah. I¡¯ve got a long way to go yet!


    If Madam Rothema could hear Briar¡¯s thoughts, she would long have smacked her in the head for trying to make a comparison between them. After all, Madam Rothema had taken decades to get where she is today, while Briar had barely even lived past one decade, and already she wanted to be on the same level? Ridiculous!


    Glancing down at the stage, Briar saw that the healer team had removed the defeated muscleman from the area, and it was time to go. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s time. I¡¯m heading out.¡± She politely told Madam Rothema. ¡°We¡¯ll talk more after I beat this guy, okay?¡± Briar told Helen, patting her on the head. Then Briar jumped down onto the platform, standing at ready.


    Her opponent, another muscleman, smirked when he compared his own large frame to the small stature of his opponent. But Briar simply watched the musclehead quietly, waiting for the start of the match. The Muscleman pointed at her, then drew a finger across his neck. He was clearly conveying ¡®you are dead meat¡¯ to Briar.


    Briar simply smiled as she purposefully misinterpreted the sign to mean: ¡®You, please kill me!¡¯ Very well. I shall grant you your wish~ She thought, her eyes sharpening in focus.


    ¡°Begin!¡± The announcer signaled. This time for sure, that brat¡¯ll be flattened! He thought to himself not even bothering to announce the combatants at this point.


    The Muscleman immediately brandished his sword and dashed towards his opponent on the other end. The previous fight had made him aware that appearances were deceiving. Someone who was able to get into the semi-finals would not be a simple lad. It would be best to take him out before he could pull out any of his tricks.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°[Monte Caesus]!¡± Muscleman cried out, as he swung his sword. Briar noted that this was a martial technique, and paid full attention to the man¡¯s every move. No one noticed that her golden eyes began to shine with a faint green glow. She stood there, as the sword approached from above, not even trying to get out of the way.


    I¡¯ve got him now! The muscleman grinned. Even if he blocks, it¡¯ll do him no good. He¡¯ll be torn in two pieces from th hidden vacuum blade overlapped upon my sword blade.


    The sword continued unimpeded to the ground, and buried itself deep into the stone, a result of the vacuum blade¡¯s aid. Several drops of blood fell to the ground.


    ¡°Huh?¡± The muscleman could not seem to understand why his sword had not cleaved the youth in two. Looking down at his hands, he noticed a small hole had been punctured in his hand, from which blood dripped down slowly.


    His forehead began to sweat. He hadn¡¯t even seen when the boy had attacked. With that sort of speed, even if he used his [Monte Caesus] (Mountain Cleaver) multiple times, he would never be able to hit him even once. Moreover, with such a speed, he would surely be killed at least five times over before he could even let loose another skill.


    He instantly made a decision. ¡°Little brother, I acknowledge your skills. Thank you for going easy on me.¡±


    Briar nodded, acknowledging she had heard him. ¡°Likewise. Thank you, as well.¡± For the demonstration of your skill. She added in her head. The muscleman then turned and walked off the stage.


    The audience erupted in a frenzy of shouting. One skill move and all of a sudden the muscleman gave up? What sort of trickery is this? Some were even accusing this of being staged. The announcer¡¯s face was twitching uncontrollably. The black classes, who were scattered throughout the stadium, were not saying anything against the match.


    The audience continued to rage in an uproar. Finally, the announcer received a message, and his face looked like curdled milk.


    ¡°Those who are unable to remain calm, please remove yourselves!¡± He announced. ¡°Since there are so many of you who are unconvinced, the recording of the match will be played over again for everyone to see.¡±


    ¡°This is the fight seen at its regular speed.¡± The audience watched as the muscled swordsman swung his sword, then started bleeding from his hand. The fight was displayed on the magic screen. It was only one sword move, after all, so it ended rather quickly.


    Then, the scene was played over again, at half-speed. This time, when the sword had almost reached Briar¡¯s head, her arm blurred for a moment.


    ¡°This is the fight seen at half speed.¡± The announcer broadcasted.


    ¡°But if we lower even this speed by half.¡± It was played over one last time, at a quarter of the normal speed. Finally, they could see as Briar¡¯s hand clearly emerged from her sleeve, and punctured the swordsman¡¯s hand with a needle, then retracted it. The puncture force moved up the swordsman¡¯s arm, creating an involuntary muscle spasm which changed the direction of the sword strike slightly.


    ¡°As you can see, neither was it a staged act, nor was it a matter of cheating, but of pure and genuine skill. And with that being said, I announced that Briar is the winner of this match!¡±


    The announcer was grinding his teeth in dismay, but the audience thought for sure it was due to the fact that people believed Briar¡¯s win had been staged. They didn¡¯t know it was because he truly hated to admit that Briar was actually a highly talented youth due to his grudge.


    Briar nodded and leapt back up into Madam Rothema¡¯s observation room.


    Helen looked at Briar, wide-eyed. ¡°Briar, was that you doing something at your full power? I knew you were powerful, but to be that fast-¡±


    ¡°Is something that should not happen again unless you wish to ruin your body.¡± Madam Rothema interjected. I can see that you are trying to hide your arm, over there. Come. Show me.¡±


    Briar could only smile painfully and present her arm to Rothema, who ran her mana through it as she examined the damage. Even now, Briar¡¯s arm was inadvertently twitching from the pain of overuse. When Rothema had finished her examination, she sighed.


    ¡°Congratulations. You managed to sprain each and every one of the muscles in your hand and forearm at the same time. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you were already red class, then the damage might have even extended to the point of tearing the tendons from the bones.¡±


    She slapped Briar¡¯s arm, causing Briar to involuntarily inhale with the pain. ¡°This arm is sealed for the rest of the day.¡±


    ¡°But, it¡¯s just a few bad sprains. I can heal that up in a jiffy-¡± Madam Rothema interrupted Briar¡¯s words. ¡°That arm is sealed as punishment for going overboard.¡±


    ¡°Yes, teacher.¡± Briar sighed ruefully. She had only been observing the man¡¯s skill, when she had inadvertently perceived everything was much slower. Who knew that she could do so even without even trying to use a spell? As long as she used both MP and SP to use her magic eyes, she could induce a temporary boost in brain speed at any time.


    Briar had simply reacted to the approaching sword by reflex, but a reflex from an accelerated point of view actually turning out to be so dreadful had surprised even Briar.


    -------------------------


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s another match finished! Shall I go place this recording in storage?¡± One of the workers asked the other one, holding the crystal with the recording of Briar¡¯s match.


    ¡°Wait, can I borrow that crystal for a while? I¡¯d like to examine it.¡± A voice came from behind them. They turned around.


    ¡°Ah! Council-mage Syrel!¡± They both bowed. ¡°If Council-mage Syrel wishes for a copy of the match, then we are only too willing to give you one. But, according to the rules, the original cannot be given away.¡±


    ¡°¡­Understood then. But if you could please give me the best copy of all the angles of the fight that you captured, then that would be quite helpful.¡± Syrel agreed.


    ¡°Of course! Where should I send the copies to?¡± The worker asked.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours, right? I¡¯ll watch the matches in the meantime and wait for you to finish them.¡± Syrel replied.


    ¡°Understood! I¡¯ll go make them immediately!¡± The worker saluted, and retreated down the hallway. The other worker glared after him.


    Darn you! You left me to work the crystal recorders all on my own! He thought resentfully. But neither worker could afford to offend a great mage like Syrel, so they had no choice but to do so.


    Council-mage Syrel nodded and returned above to watch the semifinals. But, throughout them, he couldn¡¯t help but think of Briar¡¯s match. Playing it over and over inside his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s something about that match, that I can¡¯t quite place¡­.¡± He muttered to himself.


    Hopefully, the recording could help him resolve the strange impression he had about the boy named Briar.

 Chapter 82: Dual Magician scheming

    ¡°Stupid Briar! First you snub me, then you run away! When I find you, I¡¯m gonna¡­gonna¡­¡± The girl with the blond hair and Rococco ringlets didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, but she would know once she saw Briar again. Having checked every single last bathroom stall in the past half an hour, she not in a very cheerful or calm state of mind.


    ¡°But, seriously! That girl! Who does she think she is, disappearing like that! Stupid Briar!¡± She muttered to herself as she made her way towards the stands, hoping to find her in the ocean of seats.


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re looking for Briar?¡± a passerby asked. ¡°Everyone knows where Briar is right now, little girl. Wha-¡±


    Instantly, the girl grasped his arm and stared intensely at him. ¡°WHERE.¡±


    ¡°After each match, Briar always disappears into Madam Rothema¡¯s observation room at the centerpoint between the two arenas. Everyone knows that-huh? Wait, little miss!¡± He exclaimed as the girl ran off towards the center rooms. ¡°He¡¯s not accepting girlfriend applications at the moment!¡± He called out, but she couldn¡¯t hear what the man had said.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she know who Madam Rothema is? She¡¯ll get turned into a frog if she makes Rothema angry.¡± The passerby muttered.


    ¡°Hahah~don¡¯t let her hear that, or you¡¯ll be the one who¡¯s turned into a frog~.¡± His companion joked.


    I¡¯ve found you now! There¡¯s nowhere for you to hide anymore. She panted as she ran down the passageway towards the rooms.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found you now, BRIAR!¡± She cried out triumphantly as she opened the curtains to the room. Inside, Helen and Briar in her male disguise looked up from their game of chess. Madam Rothema had gone to speak with an old friend of hers in a different box, so she wasn¡¯t present at the moment.


    ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re looking for me?¡± Briar pointed to herself, who was now in her male disguise.


    As Roccoco girl now bore little resemblance to her previous appearance now that her face was all red and panting, Briar wondered who this person was. Her gaze landed on the golden curls. She looked somewhat familiar¡­


    The girl looked around, confusedly, before assuming that the female Briar was not there.


    ¡°AH!¡± Helen cried. Briar turned to Helen. ¡°You know her?¡±


    ¡°She-she¡¯s the one that the magician Briar beat in mere moments with her familiar.¡± Helen said, trying to help Briar remember her.


    ¡°Ah, the Rococco miss! What brings you here?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°¡­Y-your name is also Briar?¡± The girl asked.


    ¡°Uhn! It is.¡± Briar nodded as she replied. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    The girl crumpled to the floor, her face completely red. I MESSED UP! It¡¯s the wrong Briar! What do I do now!?


    ¡°Is she all right?¡± Briar bent over the fallen girl. Aside from being slightly annoyed at her for speaking ill of her familiar, Briar didn¡¯t really hate her. Any grudges that she may have had were swept away in the battle. ¡°Wow, your face is pretty red. Let¡¯s get you something to cool down. It¡¯s pretty hot out there, after all.¡±


    In practically no time at all, the girl was guided over to a couch, where a glass of iced tea was placed in her hands. Drinking about half of the tea, she managed to cool down.


    ¡°Oh, looks like the red¡¯s going down. It was the heat after all! Sometimes when people have red faces it¡¯s due to allergies. And it¡¯s hard to tell the difference between the two. But looks like you¡¯re all right now. Isn¡¯t that great?¡± Briar smiled.


    Finally, the girl had calmed down enough to speak. ¡°What did you call me before? Loco-coloc rocloc¡­.¡±


    ¡°Rococco?¡± Briar replied. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a term my people have for the style of hair that you¡¯re using, miss. It¡¯s really unique, after all!¡±


    ¡°¡­I see. Well, I¡­¡± She put the cup down, and stood up. ¡°I am Claire Marchand of the Marchand kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Claire! I¡¯m Briar, and this little one is Helen.¡± Briar replied. ¡°But, what takes you all the way over here?¡± While Briar already sort of knew, she was smart enough to be able to stay in character.


    Claire sat down again, and picked up her glass of tea. ¡°Well¡­you already saw my embarrassing defeat earlier. And, I know that this is no excuse¡­but I wanted to meet with Briar-the one who defeated me.¡± She replied, eyes lowered as she stared into her glass with a lost look.


    ¡°You wanted to meet her? What for? Are you trying to get revenge?¡± Briar asked.


    Claire looked up. ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± She burst out, and paused, then she looked down at her glass again. ¡°¡­That¡¯s not it. I¡­I want to become friends with her!¡± She declared.


    ¡°Ho? I see¡­why? Didn¡¯t she just defeat you? Weren¡¯t you really mad at her?¡± Briar asked.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Not mad. I just get r-reeaally nervous in front of people and end up saying things I don¡¯t really mean. So I wanted to apologize by inviting her to come to my father¡¯s kingdom.¡± Claire said, sheepishly.


    ¡°I see¡­ Now why don¡¯t you discuss the real reason why you¡¯re looking for her?¡± Briar said, arching an eyebrow.


    ¡°T-there¡¯s no-¡± She began, but Briar interrupted.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way there isn¡¯t another reason why you¡¯d invite a highly talented magician to your kingdom without secondary intentions!¡± Briar sighed and placed down her glass of iced tea.


    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of tricking her over to another country, then you¡¯re sadly mistaken. Briar will always consult me first before making a decision!¡±


    Claire looked surprised. ¡°But-who are you?¡±


    Briar grinned wickedly. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? ¡®Briar¡¯ is a two-person team. Nice to meet you. I am Briar¡¯s older brother. You may call me¡­.Briar.¡±


    ¡°Eeeeeehhhhh!????¡± Helen exclaimed. Briar¡¯s alter identity was seriously getting more and more complicated by the day. Moreover, Briar the magician and Briar the martial practitioner were two separate people! How could it be okay to put them together!


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Helen. She doesn¡¯t seem to bear my sister any ill will. Moreover, it¡¯s not like I was hiding our relationship or anything.¡± Briar patted Helen on the head, winking as she motioned for Helen to play along.


    ¡°But, Briar¡­Madam Rothema ¡­won¡¯t be pleased¡­¡± Helen murmured.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll accept her punishment later on. But I¡¯m quite sure that Clare isn¡¯t a blabbermouth, so it should be fine.¡±


    Briar then held out a hand to Clare. ¡°Let me introduce myself again. I am Briar, the martial practitioner of the Briar twins team.¡± Claire looked at Briar¡¯s face, and felt it did bear some resemblance to the other Briar.


    ¡°Claire, Princess and court magician of Marchand kingdom.¡± She said as she shook Briar¡¯s hand.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the real reason why you¡¯re inviting my younger sister to your kingdom?¡± Briar pushed, staring pointedly at Claire, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat underneath Briar¡¯s scrutiny.


    ¡°D-don¡¯t get me wrong. I truly do wish to become friends with your sister.¡± Clair began.


    ¡°Continue.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that our kingdom has been challenged to a magician¡¯s duel with the opposing kingdom. Three against three. The rules state that they have to be at least a first rate-master class¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait. Doesn¡¯t the Marchand kingdom have a lot of magicians?¡± Briar asked, confused.


    ¡°¡­And they have to be under the age of 18¡­¡± Claire added, in a somewhat smaller voice.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Briar understood.


    ¡°I-if our kingdom can¡¯t come out with the required number, then it¡¯s considered our forfeit, and the lands that are under dispute will be added to the other side. Usually it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, but the lands that are being demanded are our grain producing regions! If those are taken from us, the kingdom itself will starve!... We were hoping to borrow Briar¡¯s qualifications to meet the minimum number necessary for the bet. She doesn¡¯t even have to fight the opposite side, as long as she can just show up.¡± Claire tried to reassure Briar of her good intentions.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re bringing my younger sister into a potentially risky magician¡¯s fight for a country that has nothing to do with us?¡± Briar asked, her eyes narrowing. ¡°Princess, if you¡¯re here to ask a favor of us, then by all means ask. There is no need to hide things under the pretext of friendship.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s not it!¡± Claire replied. ¡°I honestly wish to become friends with Briar!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s cool, and has a cute familiar, and we¡¯re both magicians who have a lot in common together!¡± Claire said. ¡°And because she is a good person!¡±


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°She could have blasted me away with a tornado, or a fire elemental spell if she wished me harm. But she didn¡¯t. She even had her familiar make sure I didn¡¯t get hurt.¡± Claire replied. ¡°A good person is decided not by how they treat themselves, but by how they treat others who are strangers to them.¡±


    ¡°Ho? That¡¯s a good saying.¡± A voice rang out from behind them. ¡°And who might this little one be?¡± Claire turned around slowly. Behind her stood Madam Rothema, radiating an aura of power and scrutiny.


    ¡°Ah-¡± Was all Claire could squeak out before she slumped over in a dead faint.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done it now. And just when I¡¯d managed to get her to calm down, too.¡± Briar sighed. ¡°This is Princess Claire of Marchand kingdom. She came here looking for the magician, Briar.¡±


    ¡°Revenge?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°No. Actually it appears that she genuinely wanted to be friends.¡± Briar replied. ¡°But she also wanted to ask a favor which seems quite troubling.¡± After Briar explained the situation in so many words, Madam Rothema blinked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that fine then?¡± She said, pouring herself a cup of tea.


    ¡°Huh? But it¡¯s another country! Wouldn¡¯t it be a problem to go and get in between a political fight like that?¡± Briar asked, surprised that Rothema would suggest to go.


    ¡°Why not? It¡¯s not like you can stay at home after the TYSC (Ten year Student Conference)¡± Madam Rothema said, sitting down in another chair, she crossed her leg and took a sip of tea.


    ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you have that very troublesome order to deal with from the King? It¡¯s more like killing two birds with one stone. As long as they don¡¯t try to forcefully make you stay, there should really be no reason not to go. Unless you don¡¯t have any intentions of being friends?¡± Madam Rothema glanced at Briar with an inquisitive tilt. ¡®Should I get rid of Princess Claire, then?¡¯ It seemed to ask.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s all right. If you¡¯re fine with it, then I¡¯ll go. I simply wished to hear your opinion on it, first.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°But, why do you have to go?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t their magician¡¯s duel their own problem? Why does Briar have to get involved?¡± Helen was feeling rather upset by all this talk of leaving. She had finally met Briar after so long, and now it seemed that she was leaving again, so soon!


    Briar glanced at Helen and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right, Helen. I¡¯m not duty bound in the slightest to help the Marchand kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Then stay here, with us-¡± Helen began, but was interrupted.


    ¡°BUT, for someone to pull such a blatant case of bullying in front of me, they must be tired of living!¡± Briar declared. ¡°If I didn¡¯t go and knock their heads around, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to feel satisfied! Who cares if it¡¯s not my duty! Since when did it need to be my duty to administer justice, huh?¡±


    Briar ruffled Helen¡¯s head. ¡°As the first of Madam Rothema¡¯s little monsters, it won¡¯t do for me to twiddle my thumbs in the face of wrong, even if it¡¯s an entire country that I¡¯d have to go against. So just wait for me to return with news of my victory and we can have a huge party, okay?¡±


    Helen sniffled as she tried to hold back her tears. ¡°O-okay.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good girl.¡± Briar took out a kerchief from her pocket, and held it up to Helen¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Here, blow.¡± Helen blew her nose. After that, Briar placed the handkerchief off to the side. She intended to wash it with magic later, as it would be inconvenient for her to perform magic in her male form.


    Around this time, Claire began to come out of her fainting spell.

 Chapter 83: Food Court Mayhem

    ¡°Ah, she opened her eyes a bit. That¡¯s got to be a good sign!¡± Briar said, relieved. Clare frowned a bit in concentration.


    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked, confused that she had been sleeping in an unfamiliar room on a couch.


    ¡°You fainted after Madam Rothema returned.¡± Briar stated.


    Clare¡¯s eyes widened, and she quickly sat up, patting her hair to make sure it wasn¡¯t too out of sorts for a noble.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± She cleared her throat, pretending she hadn¡¯t just been lying down on Madam Rothema¡¯s couch. ¡°You are Magician Briar¡¯s magic instructor, yes?¡±


    Madam Rothema nodded. ¡°I am.¡±


    ¡°Then, I hope you¡¯ll excuse me while I confirm something.¡± Clare turned to Briar and asked. ¡°Did you...did you tell her what I said to you earlier?¡± Her face took on a slight tinge of pink and her voice grew a bit fainter towards the end of her sentence.


    Briar nodded. ¡°Of course. I spoke to her regarding your petition to visit Marchand kingdom.¡±


    Clare nodded and turned back to Madam Rothema. ¡°In that case, do forgive me for not speaking with you first about this. You¡¯ve heard of my kingdom¡¯s circumstances, I take it?¡±


    Madam Rothema nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve heard.¡±


    ¡°And, would it-would it be possible to ask you for permi-permission to invite your student, Magician Briar, to come to our kingdom?¡± Clare asked, feeling so overwhelmed being in the presence of a legend, that her tongue stumbled over itself.


    ¡°Well, I would first like to ask you something.¡± Madam Rothema took a sip of tea. ¡°If you really are the Princess of Marchand Kingdom, then where are your guards?¡±


    Clare tilted her head. ¡°Well¡­embarrassingly enough, most of our most competent guards are making sure that the borders are protected in case of a sneak attack.¡± She raised her arm, displaying an enchanted bracelet. ¡°Our country might be small, but our research into enchanted protection tools are the best in the world.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s so, then why didn¡¯t it turn on when you were defeated by Briar?¡± Helen asked.


    Clare coughed, her face turning a bit red. ¡°That was because enchanted tools aren¡¯t allowed in the magic duels, otherwise I could just stand there until my opponent¡¯s mana was exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Helen said, her curiosity now sated.


    Madam Rothema smiled. ¡°Well, I see no problem with it.¡± She said, taking a sip of her tea. ¡°But you¡¯ll have to ask her about it first. As long as my student has no problem with it, then I don¡¯t see why not.¡±


    ¡°Ah, if it¡¯s my sister, you might find her around the food stalls.¡± Briar said, chipping in her two cents.


    Clare¡¯s expression brightened immensely. ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll go look for her right now!¡± She exclaimed as she bowed her head, bidding Madam Rothema goodbye in royal style, before she left, hurrying out the door.


    Madam Rothema chuckled as Clare left the room, then she turned to Briar and raised an eyebrow. ¡°¡®Sister¡¯ is it? Since when did Briar the Martial Artist gain a sister?¡± She asked, her eyes beginning to sparkle with a dangerous gleam.


    ¡°Erm¡­well¡­¡± Briar felt cold sweat begin to condense on her back.


    ------------------


    At the food stalls, Rien and Karu were happily eating a pheasant that had been barbecued with fruit puree marinades, It was especially sweet-which made it one of the most expensive dishes among the food stalls. Rien and Karu were also wearing new clothes, tailor made for them. While personal tailoring was quite costly, the clothes now fit them perfectly.


    But that little bit of money was nothing to their Grandpa Thur, who had-in the course of the past few days-won every wager he¡¯d placed. Now he had a tidy sum of money that wouldn¡¯t lose out to that of a kingdom¡¯s size, all packed away in a personal storage pendant artifact that he had won from a rather unlucky magician.


    Their Grandpa Thur¡¯s blue eyes sparkled as he laughed heartily over his recent ¡®good fortunes¡¯. Both Briar-lad and Briar-girl had won him a small tidy sum compared to his ventures in his youth.


    ¡°Hah hah hah! If this keeps up, then I¡¯ll amass a treasure equal to that of my glory days! Maybe I should stop winning so much, it¡¯s too addicting!¡±


    Briar pulled her cloak tighter about her face and made sure they could not see her. She had not expected Rien and Karu and that Corrupted Old Gramps to be eating in the food courts at this time. If that old geezer were to get a good look at her, then he might be able to figure everything out-and then he¡¯d be a colossal headache.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    But still¡­She glanced at the wooden table where they were seated. Rien and Karu are so cute! If I had a phone I¡¯d want to take instant photos! She held herself back from a growing desire to spoil them with sweets. Jerking, she turned away. That was close! I almost blew my cover.


    Rien and Karu were familiar with Briar in her male disguise, but they had never met the female Briar before. It would simply be too suspicious if Briar were to suddenly walk up to them and talked to them.


    I¡¯d also be hearing it later from Madam Rothema if my cover were to be blown. Briar shuddered. She had just gotten out of a long scolding about her reckless actions.


    ¡°Miss?¡± The street vender asked, handing her the food she had ordered.


    ¡°Ah! Oh thank you! Here¡¯s the money-¡± She winced as her sprained arm twinged with pain again, and she dropped the money. It rolled along the ground, away from her.


    ¡°Oh.¡± She looked at the coin, which by a certain coincidence, had rolled over to Rien and Karu¡¯s table. Glaring at the coin, and pondering whether it was worth it, she turned back to the vendor.


    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry. My hands must have been coated in oil, everything seems to be slipping out of them today.¡± She laughed as she fished another coin out of her bag, and handed it to the vendor.


    Then she felt a tug on her cloak. She turned to witness Rien and Karu standing right behind her.


    ¡°Miss! You dropped this!¡± Rien said, holding up the shiny piece of silver. Briar smiled, while inwardly panicking. She chuckled an octave higher than she usually used.


    ¡°My, what good-behaved little children!¡± Briar said, patting Rien on the head. ¡°Thank you, little one!¡±


    Rien stared up at Briar, eyes wide. Briar felt cold sweat start to form on her back. Had she been discovered.


    Rien tugged on Karu¡¯s sleeve, and whispered to him. ¡°Karu! It¡¯s Briar!¡± Briar¡¯s heart skipped a beat as Karu looked at Rien with a somewhat unbelieving expression.


    ¡°You know, the magician one!¡± Rien explained. The light went on in Karu¡¯s head.


    ¡°Oh-OH! You¡¯re right! Nice to meet you, Briar! I¡¯m Karu, and this is Rien. Our Grandpa Thur is one of your biggest fans!¡± Karu said.


    ¡°Well, what a coincidence! He is?¡± Briar chuckled, inwardly glad that the disguise wasn¡¯t seen through.


    ¡°Yep! He says that half of his winning are from betting on you, and the other half is from betting on Briar-nii!¡± Rien said, happily.


    Briar glanced off to the side, making a face at Grandpa Thur. ¡°He did, did he?¡± Briar said, in a rather unenthusiastic tone.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what he says, but me-I really like your magic!¡± Rien said, waving her arms excitedly. ¡°And your familiar was really cute!¡± She looked around. ¡°Speaking of which¡­where is your familiar?¡±


    Briar placed a hand up to her mouth, giggling a bit. ¡°Rien, right? A familiar is a wonderful partner, but in order to make sure that no one hurts my very good friend, I had to leave him with a trusted guard.¡±


    ¡ªIn the special viewing platform, Madam Rothema instantly raised a handkerchief as she sneezed. ¡°Ugh! Is there some sort of pollen floating on the breeze?¡± She wondered to herself. ¨C


    ¡°That¡¯s why I need you to keep it a secret that you met me, okay? I don¡¯t want to run into any bad people on my way back, after all.¡± Briar said, warning them.


    Rien and Karu nodded firmly, expressing their strong determination not to tell anyone. Rien went even further and pantomimed locking her mouth with a key.


    ¡°Now, it looks like you¡¯re Grandpa is getting a bit nervous, why don¡¯t you go back and reassure him, huh?¡± Briar said, coaxingly, as she glanced at Grandpa Thur, who was sitting as stiff as a brick by now.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Rien agreed and ran back to the table, followed by Karu, who bowed a farewell before he left.


    Now I just need to bump into Clare, quickly, so I can get this over with. Briar thought to herself as she looked around, searching for Clare in the crowds.


    But, before she could find her, one of the passerbys recognized her.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Briar!?¡± He pointed at her.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right! It is! Shall we go ask for a mana signature?¡± The girl next to him asked excitedly.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Briar?!¡±


    ¡°Where! Where is she!?¡±


    ¡°Over there!¡±


    Briar knew the gig was up, and promptly cast a chant-less [Invisibility] on herself, quickly jumping on top of a nearby tree, hiding herself under the leafy canopy.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work this time! [Area Detection]!¡± One of the young magicians cast immediately.


    Crap. I should have known that there would be magicians around. Briar inwardly groaned. It was a good thing that she had also hidden in the tree.


    ¡°Marry me, Briar!¡±


    ¡°Where did she go!?¡±


    Briar¡¯s crowd of admirers pushed through towards where she had last been seen.


    ¡°What? Did it fail?¡± Someone asked the magician who had cast the spell.


    ¡°No, it should have worked.¡± He replied, confused.


    ¡°Ah! She ran away again! She really is quick! Were all magicians as quick as her?¡± A martial practitioner asked.


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s quite clear that she did a double cast!¡± A nearby magician argued. ¡°First she enchanted herself with a [Speed], then she followed it up with [Invisibility]. That¡¯s got to be it!¡±


    ¡°But, for someone to double cast both spells at the no-chant level, doesn¡¯t she need to be at least an Archmage rank first?¡± A companion wizard asked.


    ¡°Then, perhaps she used a magic scroll for the enchant. If it¡¯s Rothema¡¯s Student, then anything¡¯s possible.¡± The nearby wizard retorted.


    ¡°She¡¯ll have to return to the arena sometime, right? Why don¡¯t we go back and try to catch her then?¡± Someone suggested.


    ¡°¡°¡°THAT¡¯S IT!¡±¡±¡± The whole crowd exclaimed.


    ¡°Quick! Before she hides in Rothema¡¯s booth again! Stake out every hallway!¡± Someone ordered. Then, most of the people in the square quickly rushed back towards the arena, leaving the food court much less crowded.


    Well, as long as they¡¯re not searching in this area, I¡¯m fine for now. Briar sighed with relief as she picked a skewer of meat from the assortment of food she had bought. Ripping into it, Briar glanced around one more time for Clare¡¯s figure.


    Ah, there she is! Briar picked her out at once, sitting on a nearby bench, frowning.


    Briar once more used [Invisibility] and quickly approached the bench.


    When she was about three feet away, Clare let out a huge sigh. ¡°As soon as I hear the news, she goes and disappears! Should I just go back like the others? It isn¡¯t likely for her to stick around anymore.¡±


    Briar began to put her plan, ¡®Operation Meeting¡¯, into motion.

 Chapter 84: Active for a Magician

    Claire glanced up and around at the half-emptied plaza. Briar quietly sat down on the bench next to her, then she dispersed her invisibility when Claire conveniently was looking the other way. Having decided to trust Claire for the time being, Briar decided to meet her the way she used to meet with the orphanage children. ¡®Operation Meeting-Objective: Sunshine¡¯ was now a go.


    ¡°You know, most people who come here look awful exited, or at least cheerful. If they¡¯re not, then they¡¯ve either lost something, or they had bad luck. Want some?¡± Briar asked, holding out a box of skewered meat to Claire, who was now staring at Briar dumbly.


    Then realization dawned on her and she almost stood up-if not for Briar placing a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Hold on a minute. I don¡¯t want another stampede to happen like the last one. I had more than enough of escaping for one day, thank you.¡± Briar pointed out, and patted the bench.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine if we stay relatively still. But, if you go and make a fuss, then I¡¯ll have to run again.¡± She added. ¡°Mind telling me what¡¯s eating at you?¡±


    Claire noticed that she had been about to cause a scene, and calmed herself.


    ¡°Ah, right.¡± Claire said, accepting one of the meat skewers out of politeness. ¡°I¡¯ve actually also been looking for you.¡±


    Briar looked at Claire, and wrapped her arms around herself-staring at Claire with a look of absolute horror as she teased. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you want to marry me, too!?¡±


    ¡°What! N-no way! I¡¯m not looking for you b-because of that!¡± Claire replied, flustered.


    Briar couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Ahahaha! Your face was the absolute best there! Sorry, that joke was probably in bad taste.¡± Briar shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve just had so many suitors stalking me, that it seems I¡¯ll be hearing ¡®Marry me¡¯ echo in my ears for the next five months!¡±


    Claire chuckled.


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s a smile! Good! My father always told me that the best thing a girl can wear is a smile, so it must be true.¡± Briar said, glancing up at the sunlight dancing through a nearby tree. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± She asked Claire.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure your father and my father think alike.¡± Claire said. ¡°According to my father, a smile is a woman¡¯s armor. While men win battles with swords, women win battles behind smiling faces. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve found to be so. My cousins¡¯ smiles are scary.¡±


    Briar eyed Claire, doubtfully. ¡°But that makes a smile nothing more than a mask! Surely, you don¡¯t think that there aren¡¯t any genuine smiles left?¡±


    ¡°That may be so, but haven¡¯t you ever thought a person was scary even while they were smiling?¡± Claire asked pointedly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so-no-wait¡­¡± Briar remembered her mother¡¯s Asura face. ¡°Ah. It seems I have. Mom is scary when she¡¯s mad.¡±


    Claire inclined her head. ¡°See? What did I tell you-¡±


    ¡°But! That is not a smile! That is something else disguised as a smile!¡± Briar said pointedly. ¡°Smiles come when you genuinely feel joy or happiness from the bottom of your heart. If they are not accompanied by joy or happiness, then they simply cannot be smiles!¡± She struck her fist on her open palm decisively, and nodded her head. ¡°Henceforth, all other smiles shall be dubbed ¡®pseudo-smiles¡¯!¡±


    Claire looked at Briar in astonishment. Suddenly she imagined Briar standing before the assembly of court ladies, declaring confidently. ¡®Wearing nothing but pseudo-smiles and throwing about pseudo-pleasantries all day: henceforth, you all shall be dubbed as pseudo-court ladies!¡¯ while pointing at them. The ladies, so shocked by the event, would fall to the ground in a dead fake-faint, the fake smiles wiped from their faces.


    ¡°Pfft!¡± A small laugh escaped her mouth, which she tried to contain, but soon bubbles of laughter burst out of her mouth uncontrollably.


    ¡°What? Why are you laughing! I was serious!¡± Briar said, looking confused, which only sent Claire into another round of laughter, to the point where tears began to come out of her eyes.


    ¡°That was the first good laugh I¡¯ve had in a while!¡± Claire sighed happily, wiping a tear from her eye. It was true. Princesses were not really allowed to laugh out loud like that. The only exception was the courtly tittering and snickering that the Court Ladies deemed fashionable.


    Briar eyed her, in fake resentment. ¡°Seriously! I try to discuss something, and here you are just laughing without a care in the world! Perhaps I should leave, after all.¡± She pretended to sulk.


    ¡°Ah, my apologies. My mind went off on a tangent, there.¡± Claire replied.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, I guess. I can remember going off on a few laughable tangents myself while looking at the Mayor during one of his insufferably long speeches.¡± Briar said, describing him. ¡°He looked like an old bald tanuki with grey whiskers.¡±


    Claire laughed again at the mental image.


    ¡°So cheerful now, I wonder what it was that made you look so glum to begin with¡­¡± Briar noted, wonderingly.


    ¡°Ah. Do you p-perhaps know who I am?¡± Claire asked, hesitantly.


    Briar widened her eyes. ¡°Do you mean you don¡¯t know who you are!? If that¡¯s true, you need to see a doctor!¡± She acted flurried, as if she didn¡¯t know quite what to do first.


    Claire giggled. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I know who I am. I was just wondering if you remember meeting me a while ago.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I do.¡± Briar said, bringing her fist up to her heart. ¡°You¡¯re the Rococco Miss, right? Sorry I couldn¡¯t stay and trade pointers with you, but I truly had an urgent need to be somewhere at the time.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°You¡¯re not mad at me for saying those things?¡± Claire asked.


    ¡°Hmm? What things?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°No, never mind then.¡± Claire smiled ruefully as she stood up. ¡°But, my name isn¡¯t ¡®Rococco Miss¡¯! It¡¯s Claire! Princess Claire Marchand of Marchand Kingdom.¡± She curtseyed, dipping her head a bit, as she introduced herself.


    ¡°Hmm¡­I may not be well versed in the art of royal etiquette, but shouldn¡¯t princesses not lower their heads so easily before others?¡± Briar asked, with a troubled expression.


    ¡°Not to anyone except for people they hold in high esteem, and those above their rank, yes.¡± Claire replied. ¡°Since you have bested me in battle, it is allowed between us fellow magicians.¡±


    Briar rubbed the bridge of her nose ¡°I¡¯m flattered, really. But can you not do that again? It feels really weird.¡± While it was true that Briar was eager to become the strongest, she wasn¡¯t really used to people paying her respect. Moreover, if Claire truly was intent upon becoming her friend, then small things like courtesies could be dispensed with and forgotten.


    ¡°Where I come from, greetings are done this way.¡± Briar said, standing up and holding out her hand. She grabbed Clare¡¯s and gave it a good hearty shake. ¡°Nice to meet you, Claire! I¡¯m Briar! Briar Rose of Grayelle Kingdom, at your service~!¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re in service to Grayelle¡¯s King, I take it?¡± Claire asked, noting her introduction was done in military style. Usually, a person introduces themselves by their house, or their family name. If they introduced themselves by their country, then that meant that they were someone in service to the king.


    ¡°Well, I am a title-bearer, as well as an owner of Rose Mansion, although I haven¡¯t been back for quite a while.¡± Briar sighed as she sat back down. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m trying to hide it or anything.¡± Moreover, the way I obtained the title was done using magic, so even if they investigate, it¡¯ll still come up in accordance to my character.


    ¡°But still, to become a title bearer and mansion owner at such a young age, is rather surprising!¡± Claire exclaimed.


    Briar scratched her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s more of a pain, really. I mean, I¡¯d rather be traveling than stay for court functions in Grayelle.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you like travelling?¡± Claire asked.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Briar said, looking up at the sky. ¡°One of these days, I¡¯ll just up and leave, and explore all the corners of the earth!¡± Then she looked sideways at Claire and joked. ¡°And if there are no corners, then I¡¯ll make doubly sure not to miss anything!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve heard about that theory? It¡¯s become quite the rage in my kingdom. The idea that the world we live on is round is quite the novel idea.¡± Claire agreed.


    No, you¡¯re supposed to catch my desire to travel and ask me if I want to visit¡­. Briar wanted to tell her, but she couldn¡¯t make things too obvious.


    ¡°That gives me an idea!¡± Claire clapped her hands together. ¡°You want to travel, right? Why don¡¯t you start your trip in my kingdom? We could show you our kingdom¡¯s specialties, and I could show you the sights in the capital city!¡± Then she paused, and looked away.


    ¡°Or¡­maybe you could come by and visit later¡­¡± She said, remembering something.


    ¡°What? You invite me, and then you put off my visit indefinitely without my say?¡± Briar laughed. ¡°What is it? Does the king have something against foreign magicians?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± Claire said, politely.


    Briar raised an eyebrow and took on a stubborn face. ¡°Claire, if you don¡¯t tell me, then I¡¯ll assume that you actually don¡¯t want me to come to your kingdom at all.¡±


    ¡°Wha- no that¡¯s not it!¡± Claire retorted.


    ¡°Then spill it out. What¡¯s the problem?¡± Briar did her best stubborn impression.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Claire began.


    ------------


    ¡°So, if you can¡¯t get three first-rank master class magicians under eighteen years old, then they can just grab the land for themselves!?¡± Briar asked, frowning. ¡°That¡¯s just bullying! Why did you agree to that?¡±


    ¡°Well, our kingdom has always had a lot of magically gifted people, so we figured it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to find some people who would be willing.¡± Clare said.


    ¡°But?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°But, for some reason, they¡¯re all away from the kingdom at this time. Even those who were close to breaking into first rank master class ended up disappearing.¡± Claire sighed.


    ¡°That smells of something truly sinister.¡± Briar noted. ¡°Do you think these magicians are being ¡®courteously hosted¡¯ in said neighboring kingdom? Sounds like the typical evil villains.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± Claire said. ¡°We don¡¯t know if they won¡¯t suddenly come out into the open with them as hostages, mid-contest, either.¡±


    ¡°Full time villains, even! Is their aim truly just the lands, though? They aren¡¯t eyeing your enchanted items?¡¯ Briar asked.


    ¡°Not so far as I know, but I wouldn¡¯t put it past them.¡± Claire sighed. ¡°And that is why I¡¯m here at the Ten-Year Student Contest: to look for some magicians who might help me out.¡±


    ¡°Then, why didn¡¯t you ask me?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Because¡­I want to be friends with you.¡± Claire said. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to misunderstand my intentions. Yes, I¡¯m here to find magicians, but that is separate from my desire to be friends.¡±


    ¡°Well, do you know what I say to that?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Claire asked.


    ¡°I say that if you don¡¯t let me in on this, then I¡¯ll be quite upset! Count me in!¡± Briar said, determined.


    ¡°B-but.¡± Claire stuttered.


    ¡°¡®But¡¯, what? What¡¯s the problem?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°What about your brother? Don¡¯t you have to ask him?¡± Claire asked. Briar smacked her forehead.


    ¡°Right! I forgot! Don¡¯t worry, though! If I really want to do something, then my brother can¡¯t stop me! I¡¯ll convince him, though. Worst case scenario is that I leave here without telling him about it.¡± Briar laughed.


    ¡°Um¡­I kind of already told him about it when I was looking for you, earlier.¡± Claire confessed, a small blush on her face. ¡°But, it¡¯s really strange how you two are both named ¡®Briar¡¯. You¡¯d think that they would at least give you a different name from your brother.¡±


    ¡°Really? I like my name, and my brother does, too. We both wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± Briar said.


    Then, all of a sudden, someone else recognized her.


    ¡°Hey isn¡¯t that Briar?¡±


    ¡°But, didn¡¯t she run away already?¡±


    ¡°But it really does look like her!¡±


    ¡°Uh-oh! Discovered again!¡± Briar leapt to her feet. ¡°I gotta go! Talk to you later!¡± She rushed off as a crowd of people once more chased after her.


    ¡°WAIT, BRIAR!¡±


    ¡°CATCH HER!¡±


    ¡°MARRY ME!¡±


    ¡°So persistent! Why don¡¯t you just give it a rest!?¡± Briar complained.


    It¡¯s time to use that new magic I learned earlier! Briar thought to herself as she jumped up, landing on an invisible platform in the air.


    ¡°What!¡± The chasing crowds exclaimed as they looked up at her. ¡°Everyone! Thank you for your support! But I¡¯m afraid I must decline your invitations: I don¡¯t have time to wait; I don¡¯t want to be caught by anyone; And I have absolutely no plans to marry! So, with that, please stop chasing me! Those who persist, I can¡¯t guarantee what Madame Rothema will do to you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s worried about us, how touching!¡± A noble wiped a tear away with a handkerchief.


    ¡°Rothema¡¯s the real villain, keeping her from us!¡± another person yelled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what Rothema will do! I¡¯ll only do what I want to do!¡± Another stubborn suitor called out.


    Sensing the magicians in the crowds begin to cast their spells, Briar grinned cheekily.


    ¡°Toodle-doo, then~!¡±


    She jumped, forming magic platforms in the air with a kind of trampoline effect to them which launched her further up into the air. She jumped continuously, dodging immobilizing spells from the crowds below. They could appear anywhere around her, at any angle. Horizontal, vertical, at an angle, Briar was in full control of where these platforms appeared.


    She easily rose up higher and higher until she cleared the height of the stadium, and disappeared behind the wall as she landed in the stands.


    Claire watched her as she pulled off her great escape. ¡°She¡¯s really quite active for a magician. Is it because of her brother, I wonder?¡±

 Chapter 85: Identity Crisis

    Briar switched disguises back into her swordsman disguise in a dark corner and returned to Madam Rothema¡¯s observation room. Right before entering, she noticed there were extra presences within. She paused for a moment, then entered cautiously, prepared in case of a sudden ambush.


    As soon as she entered, though, she relaxed her stance. She knew them. Grandpa Thur, Rien, Karu, Master Thales, and Laura had made the rather large observation room seem moderately cozy, now. There was even an extra couch and set of table and chairs which had been set out for the extra people.


    ¡°It¡¯s Briar! He¡¯s back!¡± Rien called, running to Briar to grab onto her right arm. ¡°Yipee! It¡¯s Briar!¡± Karu followed, grabbing onto her left arm.


    ¡°Hey! Careful there!¡± Briar laughed, lifting Rien up with one arm as she clung there persistently. Rien giggled with laughter as she almost let go, but managed to hold on for about ten more seconds before giving up and dropping three inches back down to the floor.


    ¡°Me too! Do that with me too!¡± Karu asked, holding on tight to Briar¡¯s left arm. Briar winced. That was her injured arm.


    ¡°No can do on that arm, Karu. Here, grab my right-¡± Briar paused, then turned to look at Rien, who had possessively latched onto Briar¡¯s right arm again.


    ¡°Again! Again!¡± She cried.


    ¡°But I just gave you a ride. It¡¯s Karu¡¯s turn.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°Karu can hold onto your other arm!¡± Rien said. ¡°This arm is mine!¡±


    Briar looked at Karu then back at Rien, then she glanced at Rothema, with a questioning look. Rothema hid a smile behind her hand, and shook her head slightly.


    Briar turned her face to Karu. ¡°Later¡± she mouthed. Then Briar suddenly sat down on the floor. ¡°Oh, suddenly I¡¯m feeling super sleepy.¡± She pretended to yawn. ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy I think I might just lie down and sleep right here.¡± She leaned against Rien, who was still holding onto her arm, and pretended to fall asleep.


    Rien stood there, unsure of what to do. She had never come across a situation like this. She tried shaking Briar¡¯s shoulder a bit to wake her up.


    ¡°Briar-nii! Briar-nii!¡± she called.


    ¡°Mmmm Five more hours¡­.¡± Briar mumbled back at her. Grandpa Thur simply laughed out loud.


    Laura also laughed and decided to lend a hand. ¡°You¡¯re not going to wake him up that way. If you still want a ride, I can give you one!¡± She flexed an arm. Karu, backed away, wary from his last encounter with Laura.


    Rien made a face at Laura. ¡°No way! You¡¯re not Briar-nii! Who do you think you are? His wife or something?¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡± That made Helen laugh. Rothema¡¯s shoulders also began to shake as she tried not to chuckle. Laura tried to hold herself together and not laugh as she replied with a strange expression on her face.


    ¡°I may not be Briar¡¯s wife, but I most certainly am Briar¡¯s friend! Why? Are you thinking of being married to Briar?¡±


    ¡°YES! I am!¡± Rien announced. Briar fell over. I am going to trash this disguise as soon as possible. She determined.


    Helen descended into helpless giggles. Laura laughed. Rothema couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as well. However, Grandpa Thur had stopped laughing.


    ¡°Stop laughing! It isn¡¯t nice to laugh at Briar!¡± Rien scolded, thinking they were laughing at Briar for falling down.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°But, Rien, didn¡¯t you say you were going to marry me when you grew up?¡± Grandpa Thur asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to marry you first, and Briar after!¡± Rien said.


    That response made Grandpa Thur¡¯s expression grow a bit stony. If Rien were serious about marrying Briar, then this old man would not stand silently by. He would definitely test Briar¡¯s mettle. Briar felt a bloodthirsty aura begin to emanate from the old man.


    Wonderful. Rien, you just managed to make an enemy for me out of your Grandpa. And, old man, don¡¯t go taking the words of a seven year old so seriously! Briar cried inwardly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand the meaning of marriage¡± Laura said, still laughing.


    ¡°I do! You marry someone because you love them, and then live happily ever after!¡± Rien replied.


    ¡°But marriage can only happen between one man and one woman.¡± Laura said. ¡°And I¡¯m pretty certain that you have to be of age first. Not matter how you see it, I¡¯m closer towards being married to your precious Briar-nii than you are~!¡± She teased.


    ¡°Nwu!!!¡± Rien pouted and started striking at Laura with her tiny fists. ¡°I will get married to Briar-nii! I¡¯ll fight you for him!¡± Her face turned red with effort.


    ¡°What a violent wife!¡± Laura gasped. ¡°What would Briar think about this I wonder?¡±


    She would calmly ask you to stop instigating things before threatening you to make you stop. Briar muttered in her heart. Things were getting out of hand.


    Rien stopped and pensively looked at Briar, who was still pretending to sleep. Then she took a deep breath and let it go, before walking over to sit by her Grandpa Thur. She accepted the offered glass of iced tea, and proceeded to act as if everything hadn¡¯t happened.


    Laura was dumbfounded. ¡°Ara? What happened to your attitude from earlier? Do you not want to marry Briar-nii after all?¡±


    Rien shook her head. ¡°I really do want to marry Briar-nii. But, if Briar doesn¡¯t like violent people for his wife, then I have nothing to worry about.¡± Rien had heard from Karu about the demon-girl named Laura. Moreover, if Rien lost her temper here, then that would mean that she lost the bet she had made with Karu.


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Laura asked, making a face.


    Karu smirked. That morning he had once again tricked Rien into another deal. If she lost her temper more than three times, he would get to eat her desert that day. But, being able to see Rien earn a strike on Laura was more than slightly satisfying. Unfortunately, Laura noticed his mirth.


    ¡°Hmmm? What are you smirking at?¡± Laura glared at him.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Karu looked away innocently.


    Briar had to steel herself not to laugh. Laura had dug her own grave there, and Briar had no intentions of helping her out of this one. Gauging the distance between her and the curtain blocking the room, she waited until the people¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t on her. Then she quickly rolled out of sight behind the curtain, easily slipping out of sight.


    ¡°But, still, little girl.¡± Laura turned and smiled sweetly at Rien. ¡°I¡¯m not the only people out there that you have to contend against for Briar¡¯s hand. All the eligible young maidens out here at this festival are hoping to become your Briar-nii¡¯s wife!¡±


    Rien jerked in shock, looking as if the sky had shattered about her. Recalling the many young girls who had cried out ¡°Marry Me!¡± in the stands earlier. Rien sniffed as tears began forming on her face. Grandpa Thur glared at Laura. Anyone who made his granddaughter cry would feel his wrath.


    Briar, who had heard it, sighed. ¡°You really are a devil, making a little girl cry like that.¡± She muttered.


    Being a person of excellent hearing, Laura easily heard the tiny voice which could barely be heard even next to the speaker. She turned aside and muttered in reply. ¡°Better she knows now and gives up on the impossible, then to live on a false hope.¡±


    Briar was about to say something then paused. While what Laura said was true, Briar felt that she really couldn¡¯t accept the way that Laura had dashed Rien¡¯s dreams to bits like that. But it was also not good for Rien to wait for a man that would not exist in the near future. Moreover, she was still debating whether she should reveal her disguise to Grandpa Thur and the other two, or just bring her fake character to an untimely death somewhere¡­


    While, in her past profession, she would have no qualms with simply killing her fake persona off, she was Thera now-er¡­Thera playing the role of ¡®Briar¡¯. These were people that she knew, and cared about. More and more, Briar felt that she shouldn¡¯t be lying to those she cares about. It was pricking at her heart. Once or twice was negligible-but this was beginning to pick up the pace like a regular heartbeat kind of pricking pain.


    Cleverness was all well and good, but if you couldn¡¯t be honest to your friends, what good was it?


    She fiddled around with her voice-changing scarf for a bit. She had been using it to change voices between the male Briar and the female Briar, but now she was extremely tempted to throw off her disguise and reveal the truth to them.


    At the last moment, she took a deep breath, and dropped the edge of the scarf. She would not reveal herself. Not yet.


    ¡°Hey! Where did Briar go!?¡± Rien suddenly asked.

 Chapter 86: Tea Time

    Briar sighed. While Rien was as cute as a little angel, Briar knew she had to somehow distance herself from Rien-at least until the time her male disguise was terminated. Briar quickly placed the spelled headscarf onto her head and switched to ¡®Magician Briar¡¯.


    ¡°Teacher! I¡¯ve come to see you-oh my!¡± Briar acted as if she hadn¡¯t just been inside the room. ¡°Why, teacher, I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be having guests today!¡± She said, in surprise.


    Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°I just so happened to run into an old friend, earlier. Meet my friend, Arthur Pendrag, and his two grandchildren, Karu and Rien.¡±


    Briar smiled as she looked at Karu and Rien. ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve already met-outside at the food courts, I do believe.¡± Then she turned to curtsey to the old man. ¡°But, I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t made your acquaintance yet, even though your grandchildren were telling me so much about you earlier.¡±


    ¡°They did, did they? I hope it was all good.¡± Grandpa Thur chuckled lightly as he eyed his two grandchildren.


    Briar closed one eye. ¡°Well, it was a very interesting description, I¡¯ll give them that.¡± She left things hanging on purpose to bother the old man. There was no way he¡¯d drop the conversation without trying to find exactly what the children had said to her.


    Briar then turned to Madam Rothema. ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ve returned, but where is my brother? I was told by Helen that he¡¯d be with you.¡±


    Madam Rothema nodded. ¡°And so he was, right up until the time he left. It was no more than a few minutes ago. If it¡¯s important, then you may catch up to him if you go quickly.¡±


    Briar hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s no good to keep missing each other due to the both of us moving about. He¡¯ll probably end up coming back here, sooner or later. It shouldn¡¯t matter as long as I can speak to him before the contest is over.¡±


    Rien¡¯s eyes widened as she looked to and fro from Briar to Madam Rothema. ¡°So, does this mean that you¡¯re Briar-nii¡¯s sister?¡±


    Briar smiled down at Rien. ¡°Well, yes! Yes I am.¡±


    Grandpa Thur spluttered as he coughed on his tea. He remembered Briar boy¡¯s smile of death when he had tried planting a rumor about Briar-boy and Briar-girl eloping together with Thales. No wonder why that Thales had said it was unlikely! The Rogue had probably been laughing at him behind that grim face of his!


    The old man began plotting how to get back at Thales for making a fool out of him as he wiped the tea off his clothes, absentmindedly.


    Rien nodded. ¡°That makes sense, then.¡±


    ¡°What does?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°It makes sense that you¡¯d have the same golden eyes, if you¡¯re family.¡± Rien said, satisfied.


    Briar glanced over at Madam Rothema, with a question.


    ¡°Is it true? Did the eye color spell wear out that quickly?¡± She asked her.


    Madam Rothema waved her hand. ¡°Come closer, my dear.¡± Briar approached her seat, and sat down on a footstool nearby. Madam Rothema looked closely at Briar¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It seems that it did wear out. A whole three days early, too.¡± She said. ¡°Even though we¡¯ve been trying to make sure that you aren¡¯t discovered as your brother¡¯s sister, this makes it rather difficult¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Rien asked.


    Rothema glanced at Rien. ¡°Because it means that her eyes are resistant to the magic of a Magi, which is the highest known form of spellcaster in the world. If I can¡¯t hide her eye color, then it¡¯s almost impossible that there are any others who could.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Then why doesn¡¯t she just change the color?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, if I can¡¯t change the color, then it¡¯s near impossible for anyone else to-¡±


    ¡°But, I saw the golden eyes turn green when Briar-nii used magic!¡± Rien interrupted. ¡°If their eyes are the same, then maybe she can change her own eye color.¡±


    Briar paused. To be honest, she had long forgotten that her eyes could do such a thing.


    ¡°Is that true, my dear?¡± Rothema asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of such a thing. Now that she mentions it, I¡¯ve never really looked at myself while performing magic. Shall we test it out?¡± Briar said, performing a basic levitation spell.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. Land-sakes!¡± Rothema breathed. Recognition flashed in her eyes. ¡°Could it possibly be a new strain of mana?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Briar recoiled, as her feet once more landed on the ground. ¡°Isn¡¯t that no longer possible?¡± She asked.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Not quite. It was merely highly improbably. The mana we are surrounded with in our day to day lives is merely the mana which is most prevalent. There are actually documented facts of certain people becoming bearers of different colors of mana.¡±


    Looks like I¡¯d better not tell her about the mixed martial-mana mode. Briar noted.


    ¡°But, if that¡¯s true, then that sickness back then-¡± Her eyes opened wide.


    ¡°Yes. It is as you surmised. Hades fever is not an illness. It is a deliberate means of planting a new strain of mana into people, illegally, I might add. ¡®Hades Fever¡¯ was simply what the normal doctors called it. They had no idea that it was something this terrible.¡± Rothema replied.


    ¡°But, why go through the effort? What does the planter even hope to accomplish? Doesn¡¯t he know that most people would die due from mana rejection?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Of course he knew that. How could he not? But, he did it anyways.¡± Rothema replied.


    ¡°Then¡­why?¡± Briar asked.


    Madam Rothema pointed at Briar. ¡°Because they were probably hoping for people like you to emerge. Up until now, there are only a small percentage of people who survive Hades Fever. Moreover, it¡¯s unknown precisely what is so special about this mana that makes it different from the usual mana.¡±


    ¡°¡­And me and my brother going out in front of everyone like this?¡± Briar asked, pensively.


    ¡°It¡¯s like waving a large red flag and yelling, ¡®look! It¡¯s me! I¡¯m a successful experiment! I¡¯m completely open for capturing and further experimentation!¡¯ Or something like that.¡± Master Thales replied.


    ¡°How did it come to this!?¡± Briar collapsed to the floor. ¡°All I wanted to do was prove how well I was learning! I didn¡¯t think that it would come to making me the number one capture target in the country!¡±


    ¡°Well, to be perfectly honest,¡± Madam Rothema noted, ¡°We didn¡¯t think things would escalate this badly, either. While golden eyes are certainly rare, it¡¯s not like they can¡¯t be naturally found¡­My apologies. It seems I have somewhat failed you in this regard. If I had looked more into that Hades Fever, I might have discovered all of this within a year after you arrived.¡±


    Rien patted Briar¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t cry! We won¡¯t tell anyone!¡± She said.


    Briar smiled weakly at Rien. ¡°Thanks. But it¡¯s hard to hide something when it¡¯s already out there in the open. All of my previous matches have been recorded, so if anyone was watching closely, they¡¯d definitely notice if I changed eye colors mid-contest.¡±


    Briar looked up at the ceiling and sighed. ¡°I suppose this means that we¡¯ll have to keep our guard up from now on.¡±


    -------------------------------


    In a darkened room, a figure once more pored over the match between Briar and the Muscled Swordsman. He instantly paused upon a close-up of Briar¡¯s face. Her golden eyes shone out bright and clear in the battle.


    ¡°There we are. Now, what are you doing all the way out here? I could have sworn that the last batch was in the Grayelle kingdom¡­¡± He chuckled to himself. ¡°But, still. How sneaky. To hide yourself in plain sight like this! In front of the entire magic council, and nobody has realized it yet! Huhuhuhu!¡± He chuckled again, as he transferred the image to a flat crystal card.


    ¡°Well, we must make sure that this one remains under surveillance for a while. I would hate to have Rothema catch onto things too quickly, especially when her prime pupil carries such great potential within her~AHahahahahaah!¡± He laughed out loud as he tossed the card onto a nearby table.


    --------------------------------


    ¡°¡­Unforgivable!¡± Laura huffed. ¡°Spreading such a dangerous thing about with such disregard for life! If I ever find him, I¡¯m gonna give him a piece of my mind!¡±


    ¡°Might I remind you that you were the person who originally had been plotted against with this?¡± Briar said. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, this could be your story, you know.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Laura waved her hands. ¡°I¡¯d be deader than a dust bowl by now, and we both know it. You and your ..huhu..brother can handle this one.¡±


    Briar sighed and looked down on her hands. It was certainly unpleasant, but her main concern was that there was now another psychopath that she had to deal with. This time, a mad scientist! Of all the rotten luck! She frowned and closed her eyes.


    Master, how should I handle this? She wondered.


    Then she snapped her finger. ¡°Ah. In times like these, it¡¯s time for a cup of tea.¡±


    Laura looked at her oddly. ¡°We¡¯ve been having tea this whole time. What on earth will having a cup of tea do to relieve the situation!?¡±


    Briar waved a hand in reply. ¡°This tea is different.¡± She took out a porcelain tea kettle, several earthen tea cups, and some tea leaves. After pouring water into the kettle, she used a small spell to regulate the temperature of the water so that the tea would steep well. Then she placed the leaves in a small cloth bag and placed it into the pot as well.


    While it didn¡¯t appear like anything had happened, soon enough, a refreshing scent filled the air. After roughly five minutes, Briar took out the cloth bag and placed it to the side, then filled the earthen cups with the liquid.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Tea.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve not smelled any tea like that before! Is this another one of your strange concoctions again?¡± Laura asked, suspiciously.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to try some, I suggest you start now. While it also has a great fragrance when cooled, this tea is best served hot.¡± Briar suggested.


    ¡°Why should I drink something hot on a hot day when I can drink something cold on a hot day?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Briar said, sipping from her tea cup. Laura looked around and found that everyone aside from her had taken a cup, if only out of curiousity. She relented and took the last cup.


    ¡°Why, bless my soul! It¡¯s wonderful!¡± Rothema exclaimed. Briar smiled. Surprisingly, Briar had come across a field of wild jasmine one day, and had sneakily spent the morning twilight hours picking them. She had also marked the spot for future acquisitions.


    Since the flowers were kept fresh in the bottomless bag, she could easily store them indefinitely until she found some green tea. Preparing it was quite the chore, but the resulting taste was somewhat like the kind her master had used. The nostalgic scent instantly soothed and calmed her frazzled soul as she breathed it in.


    Worry and fear clouds thoughts and good judgement alike. While the situation was a cause for concern, it had not escalated to anything yet. Now was the time to consider options for what to prepare in self-defense. It needed clear thinking and sound judgement. That is why Briar opted to have a cup of tea as soon as she heard the news.


    But, while the others were only delighting in the flavor, Briar was also drinking in and sinking into her memories of her past life. The words and advice which her Master had given her over those years, surely, there would be something she could use!


    Then, she remembered.


    ¡°Briar Nee-san?¡± Rien asked. Briar¡¯s expression at that time was the very picture of mischief.

 Chapter 87: Peas in a Pod

    ¡°It seems you have an idea?¡± Master Thales asked.


    Briar nodded, and glanced over at Madam Rothema, who wordlessly set up a sound proof barrier. While Briar herself could do as much, a Magi¡¯s power was not to be underestimated.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s rather simple, really. We don¡¯t know who the person is, but we can assume from his actions, that he¡¯s either someone with a great power backing him up, or someone arrogant enough to flaunt the law. I think it¡¯s safe to assume that he¡¯d be a person of some importance-which also means that he is a person bearing great power.¡±


    Briar glanced over at Master Thales.


    ¡°It would not be a stretch to point to one of the Magicians Council, or the other Magi. That being said, let¡¯s assume that it¡¯s a Magi. How would we stop a Magi from stealing me away?¡±


    She paused. The room was quiet. ¡°Mind you, each Magi is in possession of countless spells from ages long past and forgotten, a near inexhaustible mana supply; and this one has a god complex.¡±


    Laura raised an eyebrow. ¡°I can understand the first two, but why ¡®god complex¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Who else would play around with life like building sandcastles by the shore?¡± Briar pointed out. ¡°He¡¯s powerful. He¡¯s impregnable. He¡¯s fully capable of leveling kingdoms, and we¡¯re not even certain of the gender at this point. So, how do you stop someone like that?¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Imprisonment.¡± Grandpa Thur spoke out for the first time. ¡°In the darkest, deepest, most dangerous prison ye can find. Somewhere where, even if he has magic, he can¡¯t use it.¡±


    Briar nodded. ¡°Precisely! The only problem is where to put him.¡±


    ¡°Why is that the only problem?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, we already know that he¡¯ll be coming after me, so¡­¡± Briar shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious that I¡¯m the bait.¡±


    ¡°No, wait! When was it decided that you were the bait!?¡± Laura asked.


    Briar blinked, and widened her golden eyes. ¡°The minute I survived.¡± Laura fell silent.


    ¡°As for where, I think I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± Grandpa Thur suddenly said. ¡°It¡¯s deep under the earth, a kind of natural prison. For those who are a Magi, it¡¯s pure hell. Since the surrounding mana is too volatile to use, they can¡¯t use spells without causing great harm to the mana channels. The exit is also far too far away to use pure strength to climb out. Moreover, the airspace in open areas is unstable, so even if this person had wings, they¡¯d still end up back down on the ground.¡±


    Briar naturally knew where he was talking about. ¡°The great fault line?¡± she confirmed. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s near impossible to find out where it¡¯ll appear next! How can we even get down there safely?¡±


    ¡°Yer brother told you, huh?¡± The Old Man shrugged. ¡°Did he also mention that he had a way to return there?¡± The irises of both Thales and Rothema shrunk into pinpoints. Briar was right. It was near impossible to pinpoint where the great fault would show up next.


    ¡°You mean¡­the teleport gate!?¡± Briar exclaimed.


    He nodded. ¡°The very same.¡±


    Master Thales once more opened his mouth. ¡°But, what if this powerful person can use fire magic?¡±


    ¡°He can¡¯t. If he does, he¡¯ll just be blowing himself up with it. I am not kidding. Even a fire dragon wouldn¡¯t spend ten minute down there if he could help it. It¡¯s an apocalypse just waiting to happen.¡± Grandpa Thur explained.


    How come it didn¡¯t feel that way when I was down there? Briar wanted to ask, but of course, she couldn¡¯t-since she wasn¡¯t in her swordsman appearance.


    ¡°So, the plan is, we prepare that place, lure him there, and escape before he knows what¡¯s happening?¡± Briar asked. ¡°Is that even possible?¡±


    ¡°Should be.¡± Grandpa Thur said. ¡°If I rig the pillars to move after a certain amount of times we use the portal, he won¡¯t be able to go anywhere. At least, not without the key.¡±


    ¡°And how did my brother set it up so that you could return?¡± Briar asked.


    Rien raised her arm. ¡°My bracelet!¡± She said, with a smile like sunshine.


    After that, the details of the plan were easily hashed out by the group.


    ------------------------------------------


    ¡°Good! Now let¡¯s finish watching the matches.¡± Madam Rothema said, glancing at the roster.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but think that we¡¯re forgetting something¡­¡± Grandpa Thur muttered.


    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s Briar-nii?¡± Rien asked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Briar-nii have the same eyes?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    There was a pause as the whole room went silent.


    Those, who knew, felt awkward.


    Those, who did not know, felt alarmed.


    Briar, the center of all this, sighed. It appeared that she really did need to step up her game.


    Master Thales stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for him.¡± He glanced at Briar. ¡°But before that, can we talk?¡±


    Briar nodded and followed him out into the hallway. After a few moments of silence, Thales sighed. ¡°Things are getting rather out of hand, now. If you feel something fishy is happening, then forget about the contest, I want you to throw the match and get as far away as you can. Understand?¡±


    Briar paused, reluctant. But she realized that Thales was saying this for her own good. She sighed. ¡°Very well then. If anything seems odd or suspicious, I will not hesitate to withdraw.¡±


    ¡°Good. I hope you¡¯ve been practicing that new duplication spell of yours, because soon enough, Both Briars will have to meet face to face.¡± Thales said.


    Briar smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master Thales, I have everything covered for that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget it. Rothema¡¯s looking forwards to the final match tomorrow.¡± Thales said before waving his hand and walking down the stairway.


    Which is another way of saying that you¡¯re looking forward to seeing me beat everyone, hmm? She smiled as she held this thought.


    Briar paused at the top. The remaining people were Briar, Naomi, The Minstrel, Laura, and four of the Five Dragon twins. Tomorrow she would have to fight three or four times. That also went for her magician side. If she didn¡¯t manage to split herself in half, things could very easily be revealed.


    ¡°Laura¡¯s fine, but the other two might be somewhat of a problem.¡± Briar muttered and decided to have one more practice session at her secret base in the side of the mountain.


    ¡°Briar-nee?¡± Rien asked from the entrance to Rothema¡¯s viewing room.


    ¡°Ah, he already left.¡± Briar smiled warmly at Rien. ¡°Sorry. Did you have something you wanted to tell him?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Rien shook her head, emphatically. ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, then don¡¯t you need to stay with the old lady and Laura? If Briar-nee gets taken away when we¡¯re not looking, then it¡¯d be terrible!¡± She said, waving her arms to emphasize. ¡°Stay where Rothema and Grandpa can see you. Even if the bad guy is a Magi, there¡¯s no way he can fight against two Magi at once, right?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Rien, your Grandpa is a Magi?¡± Briar asked. Of course, she had already surmised as such, due to his outrageous amount of skill and mana used while they were setting up the portal. Moreover, anyone who could keep up with Madam Rothema, would have to be at least near the Magi class. But, she had never heard him say his specific class out loud.


    ¡°Yup! So, you have no need to worry about anything!¡± Rien chirruped. ¡°Just stick with us! We¡¯ll protect you!¡± She dragged Karu by the arm out from where he had been hiding past the doorframe. ¡°Karu will help too!¡±


    Briar smiled. ¡°Why, thank you very much! I feel so relieved now, to have the two of you help to keep me safe. Of course, Madam Rothema and Master Arthur Pendrag also have my thanks.¡±


    Briar followed Rien and Karu back into the room.


    ------------------------------------------


    That night, after midnight, Briar was once more practicing in her secret base on the mountainside. Since it was after midnight, the ban on healing her arm was lifted, and she was once more in top shape for the contest.


    While usually, it would be bad for her to be out in a place where the mad scientist could potentially easily capture her, Briar wasn¡¯t worried. She knew that Master Thales was hiding out somewhere nearby. He had been tailing her since she left the city walls. Even if she were caught, Master Thales would quickly inform Madam Rothema of the situation.


    Never underestimate an irate Magi. They¡¯re older, more experienced, and have far greater power than most people can understand. Moreover, Briar now had two of them backing her up.


    While Grandpa Thur might have not cared about her predicament originally, who would willingly give up the equivalent of their cash cow? Since he now had a vested interest in Briar, he could no longer watch from the sidelines either. He would definitely jump in alongside Madam Rothema and shake the entire world upside down in an attempt to find her.


    Not that Briar would be complacent. She also had her self-defense needles, as well as a large repertoire of magic spells. Worst case scenario was that she had to take out Thorn, her magic sword. But she¡¯d rather not do that. Anyone who saw Thorn would unmistakably recognize it as a magic weapon. Magic weapons are easily traceable. If anyone digs too far back, they¡¯ll easily dig up Briar¡¯s real identity, which would put her family in danger.


    That could never be allowed to happen. Briar¡¯s family was her reverse scale. Anyone trying to take advantage over her using her family would be considered as good as dead.


    Briar had a hunch that she could create a dopple-ganger of herself if she used her combination MS/MP ability. It needed a clear image and exact parameters to work. But, creating a being out of naught but MS and MP was simply asking for it.


    Dead bodies were out of the question. Live ones had a mind of their own. Briar even considered asking for the help of Yukikage, but decided against it. She didn¡¯t want anything like Yuki accidentally agreeing to marry due to being distracted by fish.


    So, instead of a completely solid structure, it would indeed be similar to N*ruto¡¯s K*ge Bunsh*n. Moreover, to give it more stability, Briar decided to only allow it to use Martial Spirit. Memory transference would be nice too¡­ Briar thought as she studied the technique she had put together. But, beggars can¡¯t really be choosers. As long as the doppler did its job, she wouldn¡¯t be able to complain.


    Briar stood up and let out a long breath. Everything seemed to be in order. Now all that was left was to test it. She pulled out a full-length mirror to make sure that she caught the full visual details of her male disguise.


    Then, Briar stirred up her MS and her MP, staring at her reflection, she began the process by pouring her power into a prepared magic circle.


    ¡°My shared appearance. All that I know, you know. All that I thought, you thought. Accept my will, and be my double. Act the way I would act. Do what I would do. Take my place in the short life granted to you. Arise, Doppler-Briar!¡±


    The magic circle on the floor lit up, and slowly rose from the floor. Out of the magic circle, slowly were shown boots that were the same as Briar¡¯s. Then came the same trousers, belt, shirt, and finally a carbon copy of Briar¡¯s face-as it appeared in male form. The magic circle once more grew bright before vanishing completely.


    After the magic circle vanished, Briar approached Doppler-Briar. From appearance, it was her twin. Doppler-Briar blinked and then focused on Briar, the irises becoming pinpoints, before returning to normal size.


    ¡°Ah, right. Am I to assume that it worked, then?¡± Doppler-Briar asked, checking itself in the mirror. Since their memories were duplicated, there was no way Doppler-Briar would have any qualms with his duty.


    Briar smiled. ¡°Yep! But, after every battle, you¡¯ll need to come to me to recharge the energy you¡¯ll lose, so don¡¯t forget to find me as soon as you¡¯re done.¡± Briar placed her scarf on her head and instantly became Briar-magician.


    ¡°I know.¡± The Doppler said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home them.¡± Briar said, turning to the cave entrance, she stopped.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡± She turned around and smiled. ¡°Welcome back, Nii-san.¡±

 Chapter 88: Keeping up Appearances

    Master Thales looked dumbfounded as he stared at the two standing before him. One was Briar, and the other was Doppler-Briar.


    ¡°Well? Can you tell which is real and which is fake?¡± One of them asked.


    After staring long and hard he muttered under his breath. ¡°Although I know that this is just a spell, it¡¯s still blasted strange to see both at the same time.¡±


    With a few more minutes of consideration, he pointed at the left-hand one. ¡°That one.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What makes you say that?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to know, too.¡± Doppler-Briar asked.


    ¡°Because you feel more dangerous. Never underestimate a veteran¡¯s sense of danger. But, still. It¡¯s almost perfect. If I didn¡¯t know any better, and wasn¡¯t comparing the two of you, I¡¯d probably not be able to tell the difference!¡± Master Thales said.


    ¡°Aw, this won¡¯t do. We won¡¯t be able to fool Rothema at this point.¡± Briar said.


    ¡°Not to mention the fact that I can¡¯t use mana.¡± Doppler-Briar said. ¡°The old man would likely pick up on that real quick, if it weren¡¯t for this.¡± He lifted his arm, and pulled up the sleeve. Resting on the arm was a perfect replica of Master Thales¡¯ mana cuffs.


    ¡°Oh? How were you able to cast a spell with mana cuffs on?¡± Master Thales asked.


    Briar shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re fakes. I had commissioned a skilled craftsman make them in town earlier, before you arrived. They were just finished today.¡±


    ¡°And this is the reason why you waited until now?¡± Thales asked.


    ¡°There was also the fact that the timing wasn¡¯t right, and I was still undecided upon the method of duplication.¡± Briar offered.


    Thales sighed. ¡°What am I going to do with you, Thera?¡± He asked.


    ¡°What? Why do you need to do anything?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Madam Rothema¡¯s been teasing you this whole time about duplicating yourself. To be honest, we all thought you were going to ask Morning Star to stand in for you with an illusion. None of us actually believed that you¡¯d succeed at creating a double. This is a question that has plagued the top echelons of the Magician¡¯s circles! It should be impossible!¡±


    Briar froze. ¡°What!¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Doppler Briar also exclaimed, both faces aghast as they then looked at each other.


    ¡°How did you manage to do it?¡± Master Thales asked.


    Briar had a very strange expression on her face. ¡°Mana isn¡¯t everything.¡± She finally said, but refused to say more.


    ¡°Please excuse us, but even the forests occasionally have ears.¡± Doppler Briar said.


    Briar turned to look at Doppler-Briar. ¡°Now, on to a separate business. Brother, you need a nickname.¡±


    ¡°Right, we can¡¯t both keep using ¡®Briar¡¯ all the time. It¡¯d quickly get too confusing.¡± Doppler Briar agreed.


    ¡°Ooh! How about we call you Marshall?¡± Briar suggested, making a pun on the word ¡®martial¡¯ for ¡®martial practitioner¡¯.


    ¡°Only if I can call you Mana¡± He replied just as easily, tugging on his ear.


    ¡°But then Team Briar¡¯s names will be too different. It¡¯s not consistent.¡± Briar objected.


    ¡°Then how about I be ¡®Briar-nii, and you can be Briar-nee?¡± He asked.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should just call each other Brother and Sister.¡± She replied flatly.


    Master Thales watched their back and forth, with a slightly difficult feeling. It felt like he had gained yet another pupil who, although familiar, was also slightly foreign. According to the Thera he knew, she was always quiet and taciturn, unless she was playing with Laura. She only rarely came out with her childish side, even when very young. Now was one of those rare times.


    ¡°I insist upon a nickname! Others can¡¯t call us brother and sister, after all!¡± Doppler Briar said, offering an important point.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Master Thales broke into the conversation. ¡°Might I give a suggestion?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Ah, feel free! We¡¯re just bouncing off ideas right now.¡± Briar invited him, as Doppler-Briar nodded.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Since they¡¯ve already been established as such, both of your first names should remain as Briar.¡± Thales said. ¡°But your last names will be different as if one of you were taking after the mother¡¯s side. This happens occasionally within noble families where two direct lineages are united, for the sake of the separation of inheritance.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡± Doppler Briar was interested.


    ¡°As for last names, think of suitable ones for your positions, okay?¡± He said.


    Briar felt inspiration strike. She looked at Doppler-Briar. ¡°Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?¡± She asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re Briar Rose¡­¡± He replied.


    ¡°Obviously.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ve already pre-established my persona. You¡¯ll be Briar-¡±


    ¡°Just for future reference, I will not accept Emilio, Goku, Link, Bear, or Thorn.¡± Doppler-Briar quickly noted in interjection, crossing his arms in front of him. Thales raised an eyebrow at some of the names, secretly wondering if Thera was bad at naming things.


    ¡°A pre-established fact, to be sure.¡± Briar Rose agreed. ¡°Therefore, your name will be Briar Mikael. How does that sound?¡± She chose the Russian-sounding version of Michael, in reference to Saint Michael, whose statue stood upon the peak of San Miguel castle in Italy. In the past, she had been very impressed by the gladiatorial angel raising his sword into the sky.


    ¡°Not bad. It has an older brother, guardian-type vibe to it. I like it. Do I get to slay any dragons?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Not unless they strike first.¡± Briar reminded him. ¡°But since we¡¯ve established a proper name, you really do need a nickname now. How about Kael?¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­not bad¡­Actually, it¡¯s really not that bad. I can¡¯t stand being called Mickey, but if it¡¯s Kael¡­Okay, call me Kael, then!¡± Kael nodded, as they shook hands on it.


    ¡°Nice working with you!¡± Briar chirped back.


    Thales watched this exchange with interest. At one point in the past, someone was able to bring a sculpture to life. Considering it to be his belonging, the creator treated the living statue terribly, and eventually was murdered by that very statue. The statue then fell apart soon afterwards, inexplicably.


    Perhaps it was a good thing that Thera was the one to create a Doppler first¡­Kael was very lucky that his original treated him like a human being, instead of a slave or a tool. Of course, Briar gave Kael the same consideration that she gave herself: as equals and partners, rather than a master-subordinate. The two talked animatedly as they returned to the city, Master Thales behind them.


    Underneath all the chatter, both Briars considered long and hard about how they would explain things to Madam Rothema.


    When it comes down to it, we can only really tell her the truth. Briar decided.


    ----------------------------------------------


    The next morning, Helen yawned as she headed down the hall towards the bathroom. On her way there, she passed by Male Briar.


    ¡°Good Morning, Helen!¡± He said, continuing down that hall in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Good morning, Briar-nii!¡± She said with a sleepy smile, and half-closed eyes. However, when she reached out her hand towards the bathroom door, it unexpectedly opened, causing her to fall backwards on her bum to avoid getting hit by the door.


    ¡°Oh my! I¡¯m sorry, Helen! I didn¡¯t realize you were there. Are you hurt?¡± Briar Rose asked.


    Helen¡¯s eyes were now quite wide open. She turned to look down the now-empty hallway. Then she turned and looked back at Briar-girl.


    ¡°But you-that¡­um¡­huh?¡± She stuttered, as her head started spinning trying to figure out what exactly had happened.


    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just go down the hallway?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Ah, that¡­¡± Briar smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll explain everything after breakfast, okay?¡± She held out her hand to help Helen up. Helen nodded and grasped it, allowing herself to be pulled back into a standing position.


    ¡°If you say so, Briar-nee.¡± Helen said, still not quite understanding what had happened.


    ------------------------------------


    At breakfast, Madam Rothema didn¡¯t show any signs of anything out of the ordinary, aside from a minor twitch in her eyebrow when she saw one extra member. Helen, however, rubbed her eyes and stared long and hard at how both Briars were sitting side by side, eating breakfast.


    Those, who did not know, didn¡¯t see any problem. Those, who did know, were very much shaken by this sight. Only Master Thales, having come to grips with it earlier, was unaffected.


    It should be noted that Grandpa Thur and his two grandchildren were also seated there at breakfast. Grandpa Thur stared long and hard at Kael, with a somewhat discriminatory gaze.


    ¡°What is it, old man?¡± Kael asked, the mana cuff visible on his left arm.


    ¡°No, nothing.¡± He said, turning his head away.


    ¡°Nothing, my foot. He¡¯s jealous because a certain so-me-one is hogging all of Rien¡¯s attention~¡± Laura sniggered, as she glanced coyly at Rien, who was hugging onto Kael¡¯s right arm. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he hasn¡¯t done anything yet.¡±


    While Laura was also surprised, she had become somewhat numbed to Thera¡¯s ability to do impossible things. Instead, she had focused her energy on teasing little Rien terribly. Effectively, Rien¡¯s face turned red as she grasped Kael¡¯s arm even tighter, and pouted terribly.


    Grandpa coughed twice as he tried to get Rien¡¯s attention. ¡°Rien, you should eat your breakfast.¡± He said, but was splendidly ignored by Rien, who turned her head away in a huff. Finally, intervention came from a separate source.


    ¡°Come on, Rien. Eat your breakfast.¡± Karu scolded. ¡°If you don¡¯t¡­¡± He trailed off with a cheeky smile on his face, as he began demolishing the food on his plate.


    Only then did Rien reluctantly loosen her hold on Kael to also shovel food into her mouth. While she didn¡¯t want to lose hold of Briar, she also hated to lose at anything. Karu hid a smirk as he once more tricked Rien into behaving properly. He was beginning to enjoy this.


    Everything continued smoothly until the end of breakfast, when Madam Rothema finally spoke.


    ¡°Ah, that reminds me. Briar?¡±


    ¡°¡°Yes?¡±¡± both of them answered.


    ¡°Erm, can I speak to both of you in the library, please?¡± She asked.


    IT HAPPENED! Thales, Laura, Helen, and both Briars thought to themselves. Madam Rothema was finally going to interrogate them. Briar Rose and Kael felt nervous sweat begin to form. Hopefully the interrogation won¡¯t go on for too long, or else they¡¯d miss their matches.


    ¡°Sure! We¡¯ll be right there.¡± Briar replied, keeping up a cheerful front, while secretly feeling terrified. She¡¯s going to explode, I just know it!


    Kael also answered to the affirmative with similar hidden feelings of dread. But both of them couldn¡¯t put off the inevitable, so they soon excused finished eating and excused themselves from the table to head to the library.


    Standing in front of the door, they looked at each other for moral support. Then Kael took a deep breath before rapping on the door.


    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s us.¡± He said.


    ¡°Come in.¡± came the reply as the door opened inwards. Both Briars entered the now-darkened room.

 Chapter 89: The Bestowed

    Rothema sat in a high-backed chair in the middle of the room. All the drapes had been pulled shut, darkening the usually bright reading room. Briar Rose and Kael stood just beyond the threshold, watching Madam Rothema silently.


    In this dimmed setting, Madam Rothema appeared terrifying.


    ¡°I think you know why I have called you here, do you not?¡± She said, briefly.


    The two Briars looked at each other, before Briar Rose stepped forward.


    ¡°Yes, teacher. We understand.¡±


    ¡°It appears that you truly have mastered a duplication spell.¡± Madam Rothema sighed. ¡°You realize that this information cannot be allowed to leave these premises, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I understand, teacher.¡± Briar Rose said.


    ¡°I, as well, understand.¡± Kael nodded.


    ¡°Come closer, then, and have a seat.¡± Madam Rothema said, motioning to two chairs in front of her. They sat down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the time. I have a magical tool. The time in here is ten times faster than that outside this room.¡± Rothema said, to assuage their worries of being late. ¡°Now, before I begin, may I ask you if this spell broke any of the rules of the Magicians Council?¡±


    ¡°Not as far as I am aware, Teacher.¡± Briar answered.


    ¡°Good. Now, please tell me how in the world you managed to do what even a Magi could not.¡± Rothema asked impatiently as she examined Kael, her eyes shining with a strange light. Rothema¡¯s inquisitive nature took over as she began her examination. She started rapid-firing questions every so often, as she tested the appearance factor of Kael.


    There were indeed several discrepancies between Briar and Kael, some for the worse, and some for the better.


    As opposed to Rothema¡¯s illusion magic tool headband, Kael¡¯s physical body was fully that of a male. Briar was successfully able to change one x factor to a Y factor in her DNA when she added her blood sample to the magic circle. However, both Briar and Kael drew the line when Madam Rothema wanted to examine him physically. So, she could only take a step back.


    While the clothing Kael wore was similar to what Briar had worn while in disguise, it did not have the magic effects inherent to Briar¡¯s clothes. The magic bag on Kael¡¯s waist was just a regular bag with no magic attached- something which Madam Rothema easily remedied by replacing with a real one. Briar split her needles and herbs in half, transferring them into Kael¡¯s bag.


    Kael, being the brunt of her examination, did not have it easy. He was almost certain that if not for the fact that he was the sole example of a successful doppler, there would have been a more invasive study. As such, he was uncomfortable under Rothema¡¯s scrutinizing gaze. And he wished for things to quickly be wrapped up so he could open up some distance between him and Rothema.


    Briar spoke of everything that happened, explaining how she had come to believe she had found a way to combine mana and martial spirit. Then about how the combinations provided differing results depending on whether she used a skill or a spell.


    But, as for how she knew so much about the human body, or how she even managed to replicate her memory over to her clone, Briar couldn¡¯t say that the knowledge was from her last life.


    So, she could only say ¡°It¡¯s merely the results of my observations.¡± In answer to questions of that nature. When all was finished, Madam Rothema sat back in her chair, and sighed.


    ¡°Well. I know I said that you were to become a monster, Briar, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be this fast!¡± She exclaimed.


    Briar sniffed. ¡°It¡¯s teacher¡¯s fault for teasing me so much. I thought you seriously expected it of me, and worked my brains to mush just trying to find a proper method.¡±


    ¡°And yet you finished way in advance of the time limit, and managed to ace it on your first try.¡± Rothema pointed out. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not sure whether I should commend you for solving yet another age-old problem, or hide you somewhere far away, where no one will ever find you.¡±


    ¡°What can I say?¡± Kael grinned. ¡°We¡¯re a genius.¡±


    Rothema looked at Kael, and asked. ¡°How long of a time does he have?¡±


    ¡°As long as is necessary.¡± Briar replied. ¡°But, he¡¯ll have to come to me to recharge after every battle, just to be on the safe side. As far as battle efficiency goes, we haven¡¯t really had the chance to test things out.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Rothema pondered. ¡°Well, I wish you both good luck in your battles today. Welcome to the group, Kael.¡± She nodded, then waved a hand.


    Briar and Kael¡¯s irises shrunk to pin-hole size as the drapes suddenly pulled themselves back, and the room was once more bathed in sunlight. They both stood up.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°One final question.¡± Rothema asked. ¡°Do you think this new power of yours has something to do with that golden mana in your eyes?¡±


    Briar paused. ¡°It very well might.¡± She said. ¡°I can¡¯t really tell. There isn¡¯t really anyone similar to me to compare myself to, so this is purely speculation.¡±


    ¡°All right, thank you. You can go now.¡± Rothema said, clearly having a lot to think about as she waved her hands at the two of them, motioning them to leave.


    ¡°¡°Thank you, Teacher.¡±¡± They both said, Briar Rose curtseying, and Kael bowing, before leaving through the open doorway, visibly relieved.


    Madam Rothema sat back in her chair, and thought over the things she had learned from her student. It went without saying that Rothema already knew that Briar wasn¡¯t telling her the whole story. But, Rothema wouldn¡¯t pursue the matter.


    Briar was in a quite precarious situation. Any extra bit of strength or wisdom that could help her was very much welcome. It was troublesome that Briar couldn¡¯t confide in her, but Rothema had decided to trust Briar¡¯s judgement.


    It would do no good to be suspicious of someone simply because they find it difficult to explain some things. While Briar kept things to herself, it was not done in a manner to remove blame from herself, or in a spiteful spirit. Rather, it seemed more like she was troubled by this extra knowledge.


    On top of that, Rothema had already encountered several people like Briar. While she had never encountered someone so young, those she met had always become great, powerful figures during their lifetimes. She had kept her suspicions to herself as she watched Briar grow up. Perhaps Briar really was just a natural genius in magic and martial arts.


    But this incident had only proven to Rothema that her suspicions about Briar were correct. Her talents, knowledge, and level of personal control were far beyond those a regular twelve-year-old girl could ever hope to accumulate.


    It had been confirmed.


    Briar was one of the Bestowed.


    Bestowed were people with talents and knowledge far beyond the scope of the world¡¯s talents and knowledge. It was almost as if they had come from another world. Each person brought a great change to the world, whether in medicine, magic, swordsmanship, or craftsmanship.


    There were many Bestowed which had changed the world for the better. But there were many skills and crafts which had soon been lost a few hundred years afterwards. Take, for example, the profession of alchemists. While they had flourished around three hundred years ago, currently, the remaining single craftsmen had scattered and gone into hiding on other continents. The knowledge brought to them was slowly and effectively erased. Forgotten in the passage of time.


    Even now, the Magicians Council was a remnant of a Bestowed one¡¯s influence.


    Rothema¡¯s eyes drifted to the bright blue sky outside her window.


    ¡°It seems that a great upheaval will once more shake apart this world.¡± She mused. What would be broken? What would remain? What would rise to replace that which would disappear? Rothema sighed. Would she be able to live to see the start of another golden age?


    One thing she did know: Briar was, and would ever be, her student. Nothing would change that.


    ¡°The amount of reading will have to increase again.¡± Rothema decided. Time was too short to waste. And so, Briar¡¯s homework load was doubled without her knowledge.


    ---------------------------------------


    The seats were packed in both arenas that day. And the noise of he crowds were on a whole other level. People in the stands waved colored flags and chanted the names of their favorite combatants, eagerly. Vendors walked to and fro, selling chilled drinks, sweets, and snacks like meat skewers. A festive feeling was present in the air.


    In Rothema¡¯s viewing room, Briar and Kael shook hands with each other.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill anyone if you can help it.¡± Briar joked.


    ¡°Back at you.¡± Kale said. ¡°While my eye color can¡¯t be changed, I think you¡¯ll be fine if you keep using your mana vision during today¡¯s tournament. After going through the replays, the color didn¡¯t change until that last match yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay with that? It might seem like I¡¯m using you as a convenient shield if you¡¯re the only one who gets targeted.¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m your older brother now, right? Which older brother out there doesn¡¯t protect his little sister?¡± Kael asked, placing a hand on Briar¡¯s head in a show of affection. Briar made a face of concern.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Kael asked.


    ¡°I was just wondering if this would fall under a form of narcissism or not.¡± Briar said. That elicited a laugh from Kael.


    ¡°I never realized I could be so cute~¡± He teased, which brought a laugh in return from Briar. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be cute. You¡¯re supposed to be handsome!¡± She retorted.


    ¡°Oh. My mistake. But, really. It¡¯s fine, already. This is what I¡¯m here for, after all.¡± Kael said, assuaging Briar¡¯s concerns.


    As Briar¡¯s doppler, how could he not know what Briar was feeling at this point? Kael had already accepted his identity as someone other than Briar, as well as the duties and responsibilities that came with it.


    While he could have felt really bitter about everything, he didn¡¯t. He would be content if he could accomplish what he had been made for.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m just like you, after all.¡± He said. ¡°Stubborn to the core, and skilled, to boot. That¡¯s the Briar team¡¯s motto~¡±


    ¡°Since when did it become our motto?¡± Briar laughed. ¡°Here, Master Thales told me to give you this. It¡¯s one of his lucky daggers.¡± She handed over a blade the size of her forearm, with a very simple, streamlined style. Kael drew it from its sheath to have a look.


    ¡°Good blade. I¡¯ll use it well.¡± He replied, stowing it up his sleeve.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Laura coughed awkwardly in the doorway.


    ¡°Ah, Laura! Since when did you arrive?¡± Briar asked, surprised. Kael raised an eyebrow in recognition, and stepped backwards. After all, he was Briar¡¯s brother now, and had to act as such.


    ¡°Since the Briar¡¯s family motto.¡± Laura replied. ¡°Still, you¡¯re so sly. How come all this time I¡¯ve never heard of your handsome brother before?¡±


    Briar narrowed her eyes. ¡°Laura. Even though I can expect it of others, I would never expect you to be this dull. Stop teasing me already!¡±


    Laura laughed. ¡°Sorry! Sorry! It was just too much fun seeing the others at breakfast. Haha! Oh man! To think that you¡¯d actually managed to pull it off! Honestly, I shouldn¡¯t even be surprised anymore!¡±


    She glanced over at Kael. ¡°But, I do have a question¡­are you really a male? Or is it a disguise just like Briar¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Yup! I¡¯m a real boy, I am.¡± Kael answered with a grin, as he referenced Pinnocchio. ¡°So you can tell Helen to stop making weird eyes at me.¡±


    Laura laughed and turned to the doorway behind her as Helen looked suspiciously at Kael.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Briar-but you¡¯re not Briar?¡± Helen asked. ¡°Are you the Briar I know, or a new Briar? Are there other Briars out there? Is this some sort of secret organization of Briars?¡± Her imagination started to take flight as she confronted the fake Briar.

 Chapter 90: The Beginning of The Finals

    Kael laughed, before he motioned Helen to come closer. Placing a hand gently on her shoulder he explained.


    ¡°If you want to think of me as the Briar that you know, then that¡¯s fine. I remember everything that we¡¯ve gone through. Although the other is the original, that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t remember everything that she¡¯s done. But, if you don¡¯t want to think of me that way, then that is also fine.¡± He lifted his hand and shrugged.


    ¡°You can just call me Kael, instead. We¡¯re not part of a secret organization, or anything. But, if we do form one, then you¡¯ll be the first to know, I assure you.¡±


    ¡°Kael?¡± Laura asked, glancing at Briar.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t both be called Briar. It¡¯s too confusing.¡± Briar said. ¡°Master Thales suggested that we have separate last names instead. I¡¯m Briar Rose, and he¡¯s Briar Mikael. So we chose Kael for his nickname.¡±


    ¡°Kael¡­¡± Laura ruminated over the name, before grinning. ¡°Nice!¡±


    Kael smirked playfully. ¡°On a side not, try not to fall for my devilish charms~¡±


    Laura glanced over at Briar. ¡°Were you always this narcissistic?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to think not, but looking at Kael, now I¡¯m not so sure.¡± Briar said with a troubled face.


    ¡°Hey! It was a joke, a joke!¡± Kael explained quickly.


    ¡°We know. We¡¯re just trying to trouble you.¡± Laura admitted wickedly.


    ¡°Hmph! If that¡¯s how it is, I¡¯m going where I¡¯m appreciated!¡± Kael sniffed as he left out the window for the martial stage. Laura broke into giggling. ¡°Oh sure! He¡¯ll be so appreciated that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his rabid fans tore him to pieces.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s my bro that you¡¯re talking about!¡± Briar interjected. ¡°At worst, only his clothing will be torn.¡±


    ¡°Right, so I can assume he¡¯s about as skilled as you are?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Ma~aybe.¡± Briar replied playfully. ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll be even better than I am once this is over.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the judge of that. Don¡¯t go saying that I won unfairly if I end up defeating him out there.¡± Laura warned. She was also one of the combatants.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t.¡± Briar nodded, readily- an innocent expression on her face.


    ¡°¡­Suspicious. Why would you so easily say such a thing?¡± Laura squinted her eyes at Briar, looking for a catch in her words. Laura wouldn¡¯t believe that Briar gave concessions so easily when it came to herself.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re not going to win~¡± Briar stuck her tongue out playfully as she ducked out of the room, and dodged around Rien and Karu as she headed towards the magic arena.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you for that after this!¡± Laura called after her, leaning out of the doorway.


    ¡°You can¡¯t get me for telling the truth~¡± Echoed back down the hallway. Laura chuckled. Briar had no idea what Laura had been doing recently. This time, surely, Laura would prove who the older sister was once and for all.


    Karu grinned, and Rien giggled at the exchange they just witnessed in the hallway as they waited for their grandpa to catch up. Laura raised an eyebrow and glared at them sidelong.


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± She asked suspiciously.


    ¡°You.¡± Karu replied bluntly, then flinched when it looked like Laura was about to knock him on the head. Just then, the audience erupted in a roaring cheer.


    ¡°It looks like today¡¯s your lucky day, kid.¡± Laura said, as she realized she was late. Laura instantly accelerated, dashing towards the martial arena. She was gone in mere moments.


    Grandpa Thur had seen the display from the top of the stairway, as he watched with warm eyes. He had arrived just in time to see Briar slip out of the room as she teased Laura. Watching the playful banter between the young¡¯uns reminded him of times long gone and people long since dead. Unbidden, a tear formed at the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Oh dear. I¡¯m not going soft, am I?¡± He muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway. Before he stepped into Rothema¡¯s viewing platform, he paused, and lifted a head to glance around. Had someone been spying on him?Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He narrowed his eyes. Before he could confirm where the gaze had come from, it had passed on. Keeping in mind that it could very well have been the villain they were concerned about, Grandpa Thur made a decision, and boldly strode into Rothema¡¯s viewing room with Rien and Karu behind him.


    While, as a Magi, he could simply get a room to his own, it was not the best idea. If he were going to keep both Briars safe, it was best to have a central position between the two. Moreover, now he was equally curious as to who would be so bold as to try and spy upon a legendary Magi.


    ------------------------


    Briar stood upon the stage glancing at her opponents. While the martial tournament was an elimination round until the last 16 menbers, the magician¡¯s contest was not so. It was an elimination round to the very last. So, if she lasted until the end, she would immediately become the winner of the contest.


    She smiled boldly as she looked upon the remaining magicians upon the stage with her. These were the best of the best amongst the younger generation. If she beat all of them, she would bring credit to Madam Rothema¡¯s name, as well as solidify her position as one of Rothema¡¯s monsters.


    Ah, no wait! Briar shook her head quickly. She had been playing Kael¡¯s part so long that it was getting a bit difficult to switch mentalities. Where Kael would be bold bordering upon brashness, Briar was supposed be cheerful and mischievous. But now she had displayed ¡®brashness¡¯ by mistake.


    As things were, several of the contestants frowned at her, thinking she was looking down upon them. They secretly decided that if she became their opponent, then her overconfidence would soon become her downfall.


    There were sixteen contestants. And, although Briar had given up learning their names, she was well aware of their displayed power so far, as Helen had filled her in quite generously, earlier. Of course, Briar wasn¡¯t stupid enough to assume that this was all that they amounted to. Assuming that they had held back their trump cards for these last few rounds, Briar calculated their true power to be 1/3<sup>rd</sup> to 2 or 3 times their currently displayed spells.


    Even so, Briar was unconcerned. Because, after all, she was a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank Master class, magic practitioner. Simply looking at the ages of the children here, it would be a monster of a person who could become a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank Master class. 1<sup>st</sup> rank Master class would be their absolute limit.


    As Briar was currently disguised as a 15 year-old, it was acceptable for her to be a 1<sup>st</sup> rank Master Class. 2<sup>nd</sup> rank would also be stretching it, but acceptable if she was a once in a lifetime genius. But, to be honest, Briar was actually on the cusp of becoming a 3<sup>rd</sup> rank Master class, since her mana pool was sufficient, but Master class was not simply about learning high-level spells.


    Each level needed a certain amount of enlightenment in order to rise to the next level. Moreover, Briar hadn¡¯t been in 2<sup>nd</sup> rank Master class for very long. Therefore, she decided to get used to her current level first, and consolidate her base before attempting the next level.


    Even so, simply her status as a 2<sup>nd</sup> rank Master class was enough to give her the certainty that she would come in first.


    Out of all of the contestants, about three of them seemed like they¡¯d be a close second to Briar. Whether through luck of having their opponents not appear in time for the match, or because they finished up too quickly, Briar was unable to tell who among them were stronger.


    She already knew that she would be first. That much was a given. But as for who would be second, even Briar couldn¡¯t tell. There were two girls and one boy. One girl was a student of the Ice Queen, Elsha von Icht, who was another Magi. The other girl was a student of the leader of the Magician¡¯s council, ¡®Tornado¡¯ Ray Faerwind, yet another Magi.


    The boy dressed in white did not seem to have any Magi as his teacher. In fact, according to Helen, he had made it known that he was a self-taught mage. While interesting, Briar reserved judgement on how powerful a self-taught mage was. After all, it was enough to get him into the finals, so it couldn¡¯t be too simple.


    Briar glanced towards the martial section of the figure-8 coliseum. She wondered if they had started the martial matches yet.


    --------------------------


    Master Thales looked into his room, ready to ship Miles back home, only to discover the empty mana shackles on the table next to a card. Thales picked it up to read.


    ¡°It¡¯s been fun, brother~ But destiny calls me! By the time you see me again, I shall become the world¡¯s greatest Phantom Thief!¡±


    The hand holding the card clenched it, crushing the message within.


    ¡°Miles!¡± Thales growled through his clenched teeth, as the demon king apparition grew more and more lifelike behind him.


    -------------------------


    Kael looked across the stage at his opponent, Naomi, and sighed. Whether it was Naomi or the Minister, it would still be a rather tough battle. But, even so, Naomi was the more troublesome of the two. It¡¯s because her fighting style was similar to Jiu Jutsu and Aikido. It used the strength of the opponent against him.


    While he could try using his throwing needles to handle this, he decided not to. Instead, he decided to beat Naomi at her own game¡­


    When the announcer called the start of the match, he ran straight at her. Naomi, seeing the impending attack, stood still as she waited for the attack. But, the moment after, she blinked.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Kael had thrown a massive feint, but had brushed by her, without laying a single hand on her. She whirled around, ready for another attack, and-sure enough- Kael had headed straight for her, arms building up a massive amount of momentum for the strike. But, then¡­


    He passed her by again in a feint.


    ¡°What?¡±


    This time, it looked like he was seriously going to strike at her for real. He glared at her, a bold grin on his face.


    He¡¯s serious this time! Naomi thought to herself, and readied for the fight. But, this time, too, it was a feint. An imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Kael¡¯s lips. When Naomi saw it, she understood, immediately, what Kael was doing. This made her furious.


    He¡¯s just toying around with me! He isn¡¯t serious about this match! She realized.


    She grit her teeth as she faced yet another attack that seemed like it was going to strike. Let¡¯s see how long you can put up this farce before I get my hands on you. She thought as she readied herself against any surprise strikes.

 Chapter 91: Kaels fight

    After almost ten minutes of this one-sided feint festival, Naomi was starting to lose patience. Her fighting skills required physical contact with the opponent. If the opponent himself refused to make contact, then Naomi couldn¡¯t use them.


    The crowds were starting to call out for Briar to just hit her already.


    ¡°Come on! Stop dancing around the stage and strike at me like a man!¡± Naomi growled, also trying to goad Kael into attacking her.


    ¡°Is that what any self-respecting young lady would say?¡± Kael asked, ironically.


    ¡°Any self-respecting young lady who is a martial practitioner would not hesitate to say that after watching you flit about the stage like a butterfly.¡± Naomi replied.


    ¡°But, ojou-san, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to, it¡¯s that your skill is that dangerous, you know? All of your strikes would have hit lethal areas 100% of the times.¡± Kael pointed out.


    Naomi gasped. ¡°How did you know about that!?¡±


    Kael¡¯s smile turned dark. ¡°So you were deliberately aiming at lethal areas, instead of trying to disable me. That¡¯s real vicious, ojou-san. Am I to take that as a complement, then?¡±


    ¡°What kind of thing are you thinking of?¡± Naomi snorted.


    ¡°Well, seeing that you refuse to use debilitating strikes, instead opting towards lethal ones, means that you don¡¯t think you can defeat me without them. Either that, or you have no respect for life.¡±


    At this point, Kael ran at her, as if to strike her, getting within a centimeter of her outstretched hand, before bending backwards, using his forward momentum to dodge past Naomi¡¯s grab. For Naomi it was like grasping onto thin air. She had never encountered an opponent like this: slippery as an eel, always staying outside of arms¡¯ length, yet dangerous enough hat he couldn¡¯t be ignored.


    To be honest, Kael could have ended this with a single shot of the martial spirit laser skill she had learned in one of the previous duels, but he didn¡¯t want that. Since his martial spirit power couldn¡¯t be regenerated until after the end of the match, he had to use it sparingly.


    ¡°Yep. Lethal strike to the solar plexus, followed by a vicious kidney-crusher. Woman, did I harm you in a past life? Or do you not have any sympathy for your peers?¡±


    ¡°So what if I don¡¯t!?¡± Naomi retorted. ¡°In this world, only the strong will survive. What¡¯s wrong with me picking off the weak ones while I have the chance?¡±


    Kael¡¯s eyes glinted with a strange light. ¡°So, your lethal strikes mean that you think me weak? Ha-ha-ha. That¡¯s real rich coming from you. Let me tell you, the moment I strike you is the moment you lose.¡±


    He began to pick up speed. As he dashed around her, flashing past at faster speeds.


    ¡°You think you¡¯re invincible because you learned some technique? You think you have the right to choose who lives and who dies? Ha! You¡¯re just a frog in a well. [1]</a>Kaeru-chan, you may think you know everything, but you still have a lot to learn.¡±


    ¡°Stop calling me that! My name is Naomi!¡± She spat out. ¡°No matter how fast you are, you can¡¯t excape my counter attack!¡±


    ¡°No matter what the name, a frog in a well is just a frog in a well. It can never dictate the width and depth of the sky.¡± Came the reply.


    Kael was now going so fast that Naomi was having trouble keeping up with his location. She glanced about frenziedly, trying to keep him in sight.


    That¡¯s when Kael pulled his move.


    Naomi snapped her head to the left. There was no Briar. She snapped her head to the right. There was no Briar there, either. She quickly turned around, several times. There was no Briar. Her senses were screaming danger at her.


    Then her eyes grew wide. No way! He¡¯s above- Her thought was cut short there, as Kael descended down behind her. She quickly swirled about, arms ready to receive his strike. Surprisingly, her hand managed to grab onto his leg.


    ¡°HAH! Now I can finally teach you a lesson for running your smart mouth!¡± Naomi smirked, exerting her skill in order to turn Kael¡¯s momentum into her own. But, then Kael did something that she had never experienced before.


    Yin-Yang Riposte! At the last moment, Kael used this martial skill to revolve the momentum back around to him again. Naomi¡¯s eyes grew wide.


    No way! She thought to herself as she stared unbelieving at Kael, who was now close enough to strike. In her shock, she forgot to use her skill again. A hand flashed. Then she collapsed to the ground under a well-aimed strike to the back of the head from Kael.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know yet, that you¡¯re one of the weak ones, too.¡± He said, looking down upon her with a somewhat bitter expression.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°And the winner is Briar!¡± The announcer declared with a bitter look upon his face. Why had that brat not been flattened into a pancake, yet? Of course, he had been announcing every move, reveling in the fact that the skinny lad looked like he was exerting all that effort for nothing. But then, he went and actually pulled it off.


    Now, regardless of the other two contestants, Briar (Kael) was one step shy of first place. If that lad won one more time, he would become the provisional winner of the martial contest. The announcer felt like spitting up blood, he was that upset. But, even so, he had to do his job, no matter how unpleasant the person on top.


    Kael looked around at the audience, and then raised his fist in triumph. The audience broke out into a roar of cheering. Then it was time to vacate the stage. Walking down the steps, he passed by Laura, who was walking up the steps. He sent a wink at her as he passed by.


    Good luck. He mouthed, before directly jumping up into Madam Rothema¡¯s viewing platform. Once inside, he staggered a bit, feeling exhausted. It had been a long time since he had been in a life or death battle like that.


    This was the longest he¡¯d stayed in the ring so far, and it had been a very difficult battle. While most others simply saw it as him dodging about like an idiot, the more experienced martial practitioners could tell that each time he dodged, he escaped lethal blow after lethal blow.


    Many appreciated how the kid could recognize such strikes before they were thrown out. It usually took many years to acquire that kind of insight. No wonder why this kid had bragged that he could win this year!


    The older generation was somewhat flustered. Many of them muttered under their breath against Arthur Pendrag, who had bet against them that Briar(Kael) would seize first place that year. How he could find such a promising young man after disappearing for so long was almost beyond them. In the end, they could only sigh and curse their bad fortune.


    Of course, Grandpa Thur was practically beaming as he chortled over how much he had won this round.


    ¡°Cut it out, old man. Aren¡¯t you rich enough to start your own kingdom already?¡± Kael growled in annoyance.


    ¡°Capital is one thing, my boy. What¡¯s really the trial is managing to generate constant profits.¡± The old man said, as if he were an experienced merchant instead of an ancient king.


    ¡°Your enthusiasm for that particular metal could rival that of the dwarves.¡± Kael muttered as he helped himself to a cup of tea. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you fell down that death chute because you were cleaning out some poor unfortunate debtor¡¯s gold mines.¡±


    The old man coughed and said. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d be foolish enough to do something like that!¡± To get to the truth of the matter, he had fallen down the proverbial death chute while cleaning out an unfortunate debtor¡¯s mines of diamonds, not gold.


    As an earth mage, it was as simple as picking fruits off a tree. But, diamonds couldn¡¯t buy food in a place bereft of mankind. In the end, the diamonds were fused together into that large viewing screen of the fire lake, that Briar had seen when she had fallen down there.


    Then the old man¡¯s eyes flashed again as he felt that gaze once more aimed towards Rothema¡¯s room. He glanced around in a flash, but was still unable to pinpoint the precise person who was spying on him. Kael was already lying down on the couch to take a nap until Briar returned.


    But, that old man did notice one thing. That gaze seemed to originate from the general area of the Magicians Council. He frowned as he pondered who would be so bold. Was it really someone from the Magicians Council? He readied himself. The next time he would surely latch onto that person!


    ----------------


    Helen and Rothema were on the other side of her observation room, looking down at the Magic Contest. That day, there would be four rounds among the contestants. That meant that Briar would have to fight four times if she wished to become the winner. While it might seem a bit unfair, there was actually a good reason for it being this way.


    The back-to back duels were placed to judge the management and pacing of the young magicians¡¯ use of spells. Having one fight a day, you could spam all the spells you knew and not have to worry about anything aside from mana deficiency. But, having subsequent battles meant that you had to try to finish the round with as little mana expenditure as possible so that you would still have enough to put up a good fight in the other rounds.


    It was also the seniors¡¯ way of knocking the students down a peg so that they could learn how to manipulate their mana more efficiently.


    Briar, of course, was an exception. If there had to be a comparison between her mana capacity and that of the other fifteen contestants, hers would be at least three times more than the one with the largest capacity. Coupled with her mana veins, she had a much higher rate of mana recovery.


    If the magicians only knew her true abilities, they wouldn¡¯t even care if she was Rothema¡¯s student or not. They would all instantly gang up to steal her away.


    Of course, Briar knew when to hide strength and when to use it. She had decided to regulate her power levels down to when she was 1<sup>st</sup> rank Master class-just under 2<sup>nd</sup> rank. Even with that, Briar had an advantage, because her mana capacity at 1<sup>st</sup> rank master class was still about twice as much as the largest capacity of the other 15 contestants.


    Right now, Briar was waiting for her turn to fight, as her match was the last of the first round. That position was somewhat of an unlucky placing. Since round two started right after round one, the last fight basically gave the winner almost no time to regain their lost mana.


    But Briar¡¯s unique situation actually managed to negate this unfortunate deficit, so it was actually somewhat of a plus for her. At least, she wouldn¡¯t have long to wait before the next round began. Briar analyzed the fights before her, as she waited for her turn.


    In the end, it was as she surmised. The two Magi disciples were among the strongest. And the white-clad lad had the most interesting battle so far. Taking off his white cloak, he generated a swirling wind. Then, using the wind to hide his strategy in plain sight, he allowed the cloak to be swept away in the airy cyclone.


    While most simply saw it as he was feeling a bit warm under the sun, Briar quickly caught on to the blue sparkle hidden in the cloak. The cloak swirled around behind the opponent magician, and slowly crept up behind him. Then, while the magician and the self-taught lad hurled spells at each other, the cloak got as close as possible.


    When the magician turned his entire attention onto a large spell that the self-taught lad was using, the cloak finally pounced! Wrapping itself about the magician¡¯s head, it broke the magician¡¯s concentration, blinding him enough for the self-taught lad to knock him out of the ring with an air ball.


    Soon enough, there were only nine people remaining, and it was Briar¡¯s turn to fight.


    [1]</a> Kaeru means Frog

 Chapter 92: Magic Timing

    Briar¡¯s opponent was a rather nervous-looking young man with blonde hair and round spectacles: the very image of a magician¡¯s apprentice¡­ or a computer intern from the 1980s. Briar still observed him with an apparent leisure that showed nothing of her thoughts. No matter how wimpy he looked, he was a magician. And, for him to become one of the last sixteen contestants, he was either lucky, or skilled.


    Although Briar knew his previous attack patterns, she did not allow herself to be complacent. Even in this duel¡¯s case, Briar would rather err on the side of believing the kid[1]</a> was skilled rather than lucky. At least, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he pulled out a spell he hadn¡¯t used in the previous rounds.


    Generally, the more innocent a person looked, the more suspicious they were: especially if they were over seven years of age. Kids had this mischievous urge to try being ¡®clever¡¯ by squirrelling away trump cards for a rainy day. At least, Briar had always found it so.


    Blackmail, history, key information, techniques, skills, sayings, witty expressions: kids loved to save these trump cards for times when it would benefit them the most-especially if it benefits them in the form of good food.


    Briar learned that lesson at the orphanage she used to visit in her first life. Therefore, to see a rather gullible looking rookie up on the stage, while most would be celebrating their good luck, Briar felt compelled to pay more attention and be extra cautious of any sneaky tricks.


    Yukikage thrashed her tail in annoyance at the fact that Briar didn¡¯t take her along. Yesterday, she had even won a delicious fish from Briar for doing well in the game. But today, it seemed like Briar didn¡¯t want to play with her again.


    Is it perhaps that Briar doesn¡¯t have any fish left? She licked her lips and wondered as she watched the two magicians stare at each other, waiting for the start of the match to be announced.


    Oddly enough, the announcer hadn¡¯t appeared for this round, which was rather strange. People in the audience were beginning to murmur, wondering what was going on. But, then a figure emerged onto the announcer¡¯s platform. It wasn¡¯t the announcer.


    ¡°Ahem! Greetings! Unfortunately, due to an unexpected circumstance, the announcer was found passed out at the bottom of the hallway stairs. While physically, he¡¯s fine aside from a mild concussion, he is still unconscious from the fall. Therefore, as a proxy, I¡¯ll be the announcer for the rest of the contest. My apologies to those who are fans of him.¡± The man said, using a magic voice amplifier instead of an amplification spell.


    ¡°It¡¯s Council-mage Syrel!¡± Someone exclaimed as they recognized him. There were quite a few in the audience that clapped in applause once they recognized him.


    ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m afraid now¡¯s not the time for applause.¡± Syrel said. ¡°For now, we should commence with the duel!¡± He said in a more formal tone, as he waved his staff to begin the duel. The audience cheered even louder as the duel was finally begun.


    Briar observed the opponent as she silently set up an air barrier in front of her, compressing the air to an almost solid state, in preparation.


    Her opponent immediately gathered his mana and called out several spells. But when he thrust his staff forward, nothing came out. The whole arena was silent. Had the spells failed to activate? What kind of a finalist is this? Then laughter erupted as the audience found the situation humorous.


    But Briar didn¡¯t think so. Watching her opponent carefully, she noticed that he was not upset or embarrassed at all. In fact, he stood up straight, with a calm expression on his face as if he were waiting for something.


    Briar¡¯s green eyes glowed slightly as she slyly used her mana vision.


    Oh Carp!


    Her eyes grew wide and she hurriedly leaped away from her original spot. While she was still in midair, a large explosion took place behind her. Her air shield took the brunt of the blow, but Briar was still knocked back quite a few steps before she landed on her feet.


    Note to self: Melding Fireballs and Lightning spells creates Thunder-fire bombs!


    Briar quickly noticed. But, by the time she had finished dodging, the apprentice was already spouting off more spells. Briar got ready to dodge again, but once more, there was a long awkward pause in between the spell being cast, and the magic activation. But, this time, no one felt like laughing at that short period. Everyone could already see that the silence was dangerous.


    Wanna play dirty, huh?


    Briar raised an eyebrow as her green eyes focused on the balls of mana shooting out towards her. Briar pretended to use a buffer spell called ¡®Swift foot¡¯ as she broke out her [Thunder Cat Lightning Steps].


    Unlike the skills which Master Thales had taught her, Briar¡¯s [Thunder Cat Lightning Steps] did not use martial spirit. Instead of a skill, it would rather be something closer to a technique. That is why, when evading the cluster of invisible spells shooting towards her in the air, Briar had no qualms in using it. Dodging just around the spells, she nimbly sprinted toward her opponent.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    He grinned and Briar¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she immediately threw up a barrier behind her. The spells which where headed towards her location had detonated in midair behind her, causing her to lose her balance.


    He can flippin¡¯ control the detonation time!? What kind of freak is this? Briar felt an anticipatory shiver run down her spine. This one had certainly been keeping his trump cards hidden away. Just the thought that the activation times of the spells could be changed and controlled in such a way! Briar decided to play-er¡­observe this one a bit more in order to figure out just how he was changing the activation timing.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Council-mage Syrel watched the battle silently. Unlike the announcer, he didn¡¯t offer any commentary on the duel. Indeed, he didn¡¯t need to. Everyone was too busy watching this unexpectedly interesting duel.


    But, when Briar broke out with her [Thunder Cat Lightning Steps], his eyebrows went up.


    ¡°A skill?¡± He muttered, looking carefully for the telltale red aura of martial spirit. But, surprisingly, there was not even a hint of aura. Indeed, there wasn¡¯t any mana behind it either.


    ¡°Not a skill¡­or a spell?¡± He muttered once again in surprise. For a magician to study something which was neither a skill nor a spell was something quite surprising. Only rarely now could you find magicians that also new a few martial skills, but those were usually just acquired for reasons of keeping up health in old age.


    Looking closer, Briar was completely comfortable while using it, so she should be quite proficient in its use. Right now, she was accomplishing something somewhat foreign to the younger generation of magicians. The younger generations only concentrated upon striking their opponent with spells, and guarding against their opponent¡¯s spells. Seldom did any of them think about dodging.


    Spells took a lot of concentration to use, not to mention an uninterrupted segment of time to chant, unless they were polished to the ¡®No Chant¡¯ effect. Usually being the type to stay inside and read, most magicians weren¡¯t the agile sort of person. Nor, indeed, were their bodies fit enough to take running about on a stage well for very long.


    But this young magician was now pulling off such a ludicrous endeavor. Indeed, if one was able to accurately dodge the spells, they would be able to save their mana as well as wear out their opponent¡¯s mana first. But one would need the stamina to last through the entire bombardment of their opponent, first.


    Moreover, this young magician girl was somehow able to sense the spells¡¯ locations even as they approached, dodging them with a kind of pinpoint accuracy. And she was matched against a magician lad whose spell timings were erratic.


    And so, one had the ridiculous display of one person yelling out spells, while the other one dodged left and right in a kind of dance, with sleeves and skirts fluttering in the wind. And only after she had left the area did the spells explode out, making it seem as if with every leap, she produced a conflagration.


    The man¡¯s hazel eyes deepened in thought, as he rubbed his clean-shaved chin. Judging by how good that girl was, she could have easily beaten the lad. But, why hadn¡¯t she?


    ¡°Ah!¡± His eyes lit up and he chuckled gleefully. Of course! She was trying to steal his technique for delayed-time spells. He sighed, and looked away from the battle. At this point, the winner was already determined. The only question was, when the duel would end.


    -------------------------------------


    Briar watched carefully as her opponent yelled out another string of spells, watching as the mana once more formed into circular globes and invisibly thrust out towards her. He only said the spell name, but the amount of time it took in between the shout and the activation seemed quite familiar.


    Briar focused on the spell she was most familiar with: [Fireball]. The time from the name to the activation seemed to be the same for each one. In fact, Briar was starting to have an idea as to why that space of time was there. She waited until he shouted ¡®Fireball!¡¯ again, then began chanting the spell formula under her breath, jumping just before the end of the chant.


    A thunder-fire burst exploded right where she had been standing. With that, a light went on in Briar¡¯s head.


    So that¡¯s what it was!


    She finally she all pretense of dodging the incoming attacks, as her eyes glinted mischievously. She pointed imperiously at the youngster before her and cried out ¡°Air Bullet!¡± Interestingly to note, this was one of the first times that Briar had actually spoken her spells out loud in a long time, being a monster that practiced all the basic spells to ¡®No Chant¡¯ a long time ago.


    Her opponent quickly brought up a shoddy shield of earth to block the blow. But, when nothing happened, he paused, and stuck his face out to look. It was in that moment, that a blunt air bullet struck him right in the face, blowing him off balance, so that he flew off the stage.


    Briar smiled. The little prick had tried to attain ¡®No Chant¡¯ by saying the chant inside his head-but this only caused an awkward pause in between the spell title, and the activation. He wasn¡¯t truly at No Chant level.


    The difference between his silent chant and No Chant was the difference between drawing a picture by hand to copy it, or swiftly creating a whole stack with a copy machine. Obviously, No Chant was faster, and more powerful-the pinnacle of practiced ease.


    And now Briar had cheekily returned it all to him right on his nose, with his own technique, no less! The crowds exclaimed in both admiration and amusement at the sight. Briar had even mentally said her air bullet chant much slower than she usually did to max out the time until he couldn¡¯t wait anymore.


    He was more used to be the one giving out those time-bomb attacks, instead of being the one on the receiving end. This was the reason why he was defeated-because he didn¡¯t expect someone else to be able to copy his technique so well. And so, for this battle, it wasn¡¯t spell against spell, but technique against technique.


    The crowds were now cheering as Briar looked up at Council-mage Syrel expectantly, waving at him. This jerked Syrel out of his musings to recall himself and where he was.


    ¡°Ah, ahem! Yes! The opponent is out of bounds, therefore, according to the rules, Briar has won!¡± Syrel announced, waving his staff with finality, and thus closing the duel.


    Briar, feigning tiredness was about to leave the stage when she was held back by Syrel¡¯s next words.


    ¡°And now, let us begin the second round! The first duel is¡­between ¡®Tornado¡¯ Faerwind¡¯s apprentice, Lyra Harple, and Madam Rothema¡¯s apprentice Briar Rose. It¡¯s a showdown between two Magi apprentices!¡±


    The crowds began to cheer excitedly as chanting for both names began. Briar looked towards Rothema¡¯s viewing platform. Sorry, Kael. It looks like you¡¯re on your own for the next round. Briar thought bitterly as she remained standing on the stage.


    [1]</a> Briar almost always thinks of those younger than her mental age as ¡®kids¡¯.

 Chapter 93: The Fatal Feast

    At that point, Helen and Madam Rothema had arrived in Rothema¡¯s viewing platform and were viewing the magic duel with Rien on one side, while Grandpa Thur and Karu were watching the martial duels on the other, with Kael resting up on the couch behind them.


    Now, something needs to be said about this viewing platform. By all appearances, this viewing platform is a single room, only broken in half by a long red velvet curtain. The only exception is a doorway in the middle of the curtain, which leads into the hallway.


    From the hallway, the doorway across from that doorway would lead to the other side. However, this is a secret among Magi: if one did not wish to use the hallway door, they could simply sweep push aside the curtain and rush to the other side that way, bypassing the hallway completely.


    This was one of the magical marvels of the coliseum: to combine two rooms separated by a hallway into one large room, separated by a mere curtain. This was the brimming accomplishment of one of the other Magi, Distar, who was the expert on space and dimensional magic.


    In fact, the entire building was not a mere structure of stone, but a joint marvel creation between Martial Practitioners and Magicians. It had already withstood the test of hundreds of thousands of years¡¯ time. It even had a self-repairing function operated by magic gems. So, in theory, with an infinite supply of magic gems, it could continue to exist infinitely.


    At that point, Helen was giving the others an account of what was happening on the magic side.


    ¡°They¡¯ve started the second round! It looks like Briar is up first this time, against Lyra Harple, another Magi¡¯s student!¡± Helen said past the curtain. That was another thing about the room: unless the curtain was opened, one side couldn¡¯t hear the conversation on the other side.


    In an earlier chapter, Briar had escaped to the other side of the curtain. But, what she hadn¡¯t noticed was that the bottom corner had caught on her boot, folding open a foot-sized space at the bottom of the curtain, thus allowing her to hear into the other room.


    Now, Kael sighed to himself. Things had been a bit too good to be true. He supposed it was a good thing that Briar had learned her doppler technique when she could. Otherwise, it would have been simply impossible for her to attend every match from this point on.


    It was a good thing that he had economized upon his MS in the first round. Otherwise, he would be hard pressed to win the next one.


    The martial duels first round was also almost over. Kael, Laura, and The Minstrel had already won their prospective duels. The current duel was between the eldest of the five Dragon Twins, and the second eldest. Laura had returned to the viewing platform by that time. Kael glanced up at her, then blinked as he noticed the food trolley packed to bursting with all different kinds of dishes.


    ¡°You are seriously going to try and eat all that?¡± Kael asked. Laura still hadn¡¯t gotten the trick of transforming food into energy down. Rien looked at Laura wide-eyed. Even a child would know that they could not eat so much food. Karu looked over, interested. Not that he enjoyed watching people suffer, but there was some bit of satisfaction watching troublemakers cause their own pains.


    ¡°Hmmph! What I DON¡¯T eat, I¡¯m going to stuff down your scruffy throat!¡± Laura huffed at Kael in pretend anger.


    Kael only sighed. ¡°You¡¯re going to be very disappointed.¡±


    Laura ignored him and tucked into several tasty-looking dishes. But even she had to give up when her stomach was filled to capacity. The food trolley was still way more than half-filled. Laura picked up a plate and shoved it against Kael¡¯s cheek.


    ¡°Here~ Let¡¯s see you finish all of these for me, hmm?¡± Laura said, grinning wickedly. ¡°Or will you let your sister win over you as having the swiftest digestion?¡±


    Kael didn¡¯t say much. He picked up a fork and speared a mouthful of meat, quickly chewing and swallowing it. Then he sat there, with his eyes closed for a minute. With a snap, his eyes opened again, the irises shrunk to near pinpoints as he practically inhaled the food. Ignoring the utensils, he simply tipped the contents of each plate down his throat in a near endless stream until he finally swept the last plate clean of any semblance of food. All that was left on the trolley was a pile of completely empty dishes.


    Kael then took out a large empty glass vial, and heavily struck his stomach, spitting a dark liquid into it. He even cleansed his mouth out with water before spitting that too into the vial, several times-finally once more with a strong liquor. Then he corked the vial tightly shut and placed it away.


    ¡°What was that stuff?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Aside from various poisons, toxins, and substances that would most certainly guarantee fatal out on the stage? I do wonder where you picked this up from. Did you steal it from the food investigators on your way here?¡± He snorted.


    Somehow, after being generated, Kael could now more easily tell poisons apart from the foods he had eaten than Briar could. It was almost as if the poisons themselves carried a negative martial spirit. At any rate, that made it easier for him to discover before it was absorbed into his body, allowing him to eject it from his mouth. He even suspected that he could eject it through his pores, if ever he really was too late in preventing himself from absorbing the malicious substances.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Laura looked sheepish as she glanced away. She hadn¡¯t thought a bit about poison when she brought the trolley of food up.


    ¡°Wait, was it all poisoned? Was I POISONED!?¡± Laura¡¯s face turned pale.


    ¡°Should we check it out then? Here. Give me your hand.¡± Kael said reaching out to Laura. ¡°And don¡¯t resist.¡±


    ¡°Resist what?¡± Laura asked as she placed her hand in Kael¡¯s.


    But Kael wasn¡¯t listening to her. Instead, he was injecting his Martial Spirit inside to take a look around. Not being able to use mana, he couldn¡¯t use the Mana sight that Briar could. Instead, he had to supplement by using his MS to examine the scene.


    Almost instantly, he was met by a wall of Laura¡¯s own martial spirit. But Laura quickly realized what he was doing and put down her defenses. Kael didn¡¯t loiter and went straight to the stomach area. After observing the strands emerging from the food, he withdrew his Martial Spirit and shook his head.


    ¡°Am I poisoned?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re rather lucky. The poison that you ingested was the least dangerous to you.¡± Kael said.


    ¡°So I was poisoned!?¡± Laura asked, shocked.


    ¡°This particular poison is meant to make a Magician unable to contact or use his own mana for a limited time.¡± Kael shrugged. ¡°Since you¡¯re not a magician, you¡¯ll be unaffected by it aside form a mild headache.¡±


    ¡°How could you tell all of that?¡± Laura asked.


    Kael frowned. ¡°I just know, okay? Having just ingested more than enough of it earlier, I¡¯m sure that I would at least be able to recognize it by now. It¡¯s not something that you can¡¯t understand until you have sensed it.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Briar-nii is like a doctor!¡± Karu exclaimed. Kael grinned and ruffled Karu¡¯s head with a chuckle.


    ¡°Keeping the body healthy is the first step to martial arts, Karu. By the time you reach the top, I¡¯d be surprised if you also didn¡¯t pick up a few things pertaining to health.¡± Kael replied.


    Eating all that food had luckily replaced the lost MS that he had used in his match earlier, but after using it to check Laura¡¯s situation, the amount gained was cut by half. Even so, Kael still felt confident that he could at least win one more duel, if not two.


    ¡°Whew! Well, that¡¯s a relief!¡± Laura sighed. ¡°If it ends well, then all is well, right?¡±


    Kael Frowned and turned to Laura, somewhat annoyed at her naivete. He then promptly flicked her on the forehead, hard.


    ¡°Let that be a lesson to you!¡± Kael spoke in a stern voice. ¡°Never eat food of questionable origin!¡±


    ¡°Ouch! Hey! You ate it too!¡± Laura retorted, as she clasped her hands over her forehead.


    ¡°And I was also able to deal with what came with it.¡± Kael pointed out. ¡°Something you would be helpless against if a more insidious poison had been ingested earlier.¡±


    Laura sulked off to the side silently as Kael once more turned his attention back to the stage. It seemed like the battle between twins was finally coming to a close. Kael focused on the battle. Come to think of it, this was one of the first sword demonstrations that seemed reasonably well polished. Not that Kael was an expert on using swords. Of course, when it came to telling a person¡¯s skill with a weapon, that was different.


    Both twins seemed to be fighting at an even pace, but the younger one had a sheen of sweat clinging to his brow, while the older one fought effortlessly. Suddenly, the older one started forcing the other twin back towards the edge of the stage.


    He was only playing with his brother. He had never even taken his sibling seriously in this match. Kael realized.


    One other thing that he realized was that this swordsman was bad news for someone like Laura. As someone who specialized in hand-to-hand combat, sure, there were ways for Laura to disarm an ordinary swordsman. But a specialized style like this didn¡¯t seem to have any loopholes that resulted from a lack of effort. Even Kael couldn¡¯t tell who would win in such an encounter.


    If it were Kael, he could somehow deal with it using his fast speed and porcu-plant needles. All he would need to do was to strike a few acupuncture spots accurately and he could definitely incapacitate the irksome lad-er¡­young man. Kael had forgotten that in this world, boys are considered men once they turn 13.


    Then Kael had a somewhat boggling thought.


    How old am I? As this seemed somewhat important, he considered his own personal dilemma.


    How old could he be considered? He could honestly consider himself ¡®just born¡¯ yesterday, as it had not even been a day since he had come into existence. But, he also had a body that looked like it was 15, crafted by someone who was only 12-moreover by someone whose mental age had passed 30 years. And, on top of that, he retained all the memories of that person.


    Truly a quandary. Kael frowned in thought. Then he decided not to think too much about it. Yesterday was my birthday, that much is certain. He confirmed. So, for now, I¡¯ll just assume that I¡¯m 15? Otherwise things would be difficult to explain¡­


    Finally, he was brought back to reality by the thud of the younger brother landing on the ground outside the stage. The crowds cheered, and the Eldest Twin smirked as he raised a fist in triumph. The twin who had lost kept a passive expression on his face as he withdrew.


    Looking at the diagram, there was only Kael, Laura, the minstrel, and the last Dragon twin left. By this time, the matches had been set: Kael against the Minstrel, and Laura against the final Dragon twin. Whichever two won in this round would be facing against each other in the next for first place!


    But, at that moment, a gong rang out. Apparently, that meant that there was an hour-long break for lunch. While the martial practitioners were quite hot-blooded, this was a time-honored tradition that couldn¡¯t be broken. Incidentally, if the bell had rung out during the middle of a match, the match would be halted until the end of the break.


    I wonder if he timed it that way? Kael though as he observed the proud Dragon Twin dressed in black. But, questions like that could wait until after lunch.


    Kael strode over to the curtain and poked his head over to the other side to check on Briar, his ¡®younger¡¯ sister. He could have simply checked using the image crystal that was on his side of the room-but appearing in person felt more sincere to him.


    ¡°Did she win? Or has the match been delayed?¡± he asked Helen.


    Helen glanced back at Kael, still somewhat weirded out by the fact that there were now two Briars. Then she pointed out towards the stage.


    ¡°See for yourself.¡± She replied.

 Chapter 94: The Least Challenging Subject

    Upon the stage, both Briar and her opponent Lyra Harple were standing still as statues with their eyes closed, several magical seals glowing around them like a prison.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He asked, curiously.


    ¡°Dunno. They¡¯ve been like that since the start of the match.¡± Hannah said. ¡°It¡¯s very dull watching.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a spell construct: Mind Prison.¡± Rothema explained. ¡°This spell locks you in place until you¡¯ve solved all of the problems. No penalty on getting a wrong answer except for a loss of time.


    Both Briar and Lyra agreed to the terms that whoever finished answering the questions first would be the winner of this duel. While duels aren¡¯t usually done in this manner, for those close to the top, it would be a shame for them to be accidentally killed, so this is an alternative method that the magicians came up with to preserve their numbers.¡±


    Kael nodded in acknowledgement. So that¡¯s what it was. And, since it was a spell construct, it couldn¡¯t be stopped or deactivated until the objective was achieved. So, even though the bell had been rung, this single match could not help but continue until it was finished.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to grab lunch. If Little Rose finishes before I get back, please let her know I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Kael had taken to calling Briar, ¡®Little Rose¡¯, since he was her older brother.


    Indeed, as the ¡®older brother¡¯ what kind of brother would he be if he didn¡¯t have a pet name for his younger sister? But, only he was allowed to call her that. If anyone else were to take such liberties, they would soon bear the brunt of an almost vicious lesson from Kael. Knowing Briar¡¯s personality, should she come to hear of it, they would probably also bear the brunt of a second vicious lesson soon afterwards.


    Behind him, Laura moaned. ¡°Lunch? After eating that huge mountain of food already?¡± Laura shook her head. Kael is just as much of a monster as Briar is! She realized.


    Kael just smiled lopsidedly. The food wasn¡¯t for him, but for Briar. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t going to be buying it from a stall. Instead, he was going to cook it himself. Glancing up at the sun¡¯s position, he calculated that it wouldn¡¯t be over for at least another half an hour.


    ¡°Here, lad. I¡¯ll be going with you, as well. I could use some food myself.¡± Grandpa Thur said as he hauled himself up out of his very comfortable chair. Kael nodded.


    ¡°Me too! Me too!¡± Rien echoed raising her hand enthusiastically as she scurried over to Kael. She had learned early on that any food Briar made tasted unusually good.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to come as well!¡± Karu leapt out of his seat and dashed over, also in it for the food.


    Kael smiled wryly at the three who stood around him.


    ¡°Really, though. Don¡¯t blame me if you get bored.¡± He said with a sigh.


    ¡°¡°We Won¡¯t!¡±¡± the two young children said with expectant gleams in their eyes.


    -----------------


    Briar stared at the space in front of her, a transparent wall filled with glowing blue glyphs, a look of utter astonishment on her face. This wasn¡¯t a pocket dimension, but a specialized mental construct. Although they appeared as they looked usually, only the minds of the two magicians were present in this space.


    Briar¡¯s eyebrow twitched as she stared hard at the glyphs that filled the entire wall from top to bottom. For a test of knowledge, it sure appeared intimidating. And the challenger was the one who was allowed to chose the subject matter.


    But, what surprised Briar the most, was that¡­out of all the subjects that could be picked, it had to be this specific one.


    Her opponent, on the other side of the wall smiled in deep satisfaction upon seeing Briar¡¯s dumbfounded look. It seemed that her gamble had worked out after all. Instead of magic combat, a duel of brains was more up her alley anyways, as Lyra aspired to become the greatest researcher magi of her time.


    Briar glanced at Lyra, an odd expression on her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure this is the subject matter that you wish to challenge me on?¡± Briar asked one more time, doubtfully.


    ¡°I am absolutely certain! There¡¯s no way either of us can cheat our way through this!¡± Lyra nodded with certainty.


    ¡°It¡¯s a race! Whoever can finish the test first wins! No take backs. No best two out of three.¡± She smirked. ¡°So don¡¯t even think about trying to scramfy[1]</a> your way out of this one!¡±


    Briar¡¯s face seemed to have a convulsion as she finally managed to eke out a reply.


    ¡°It seems I have no choice but to agree.¡±


    Then Briar lifted her hand, beginning to answer the questions one by one. Her opponent, not to be outdone, also lifted up her hands and began answering questions.


    ----------------If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    After finding a relatively empty place, Kael washed his hands, and pulled out several things from his magic bag, including a table, cooking knives, several ingredients, and a griddle. This wasn¡¯t an electric griddle, but a magic griddle which Briar and Madam Rothema had worked together on.


    Able to be powered by martial spirit, it was a prototype model that had been completed a while ago. Since Briar had made a 2.0 version, she had passed this griddle to Kael for him to use instead. In fact, she had tweaked it to make sure that Kael could use his martial spirit, instead of the mana powered version that Briar kept.


    Today, he had decided to make egg-topped hamburgers with stir-fried potato wedges. Mincing and mixing the meat and the fat with various spices, Kael started to form patties quickly. Rien and Karu watched with delight as Kael placed a wad of butter on the griddle, sizzling as it began to melt into a bubbly pool.


    After adjusting the heat to a slightly lower temperature, Kael then quickly laid out the meat patties on the griddle, taking up half the space. On the other half of the space, Kael cracked eggs directly onto the griddle, letting them bubble a bit as he grabbed a knife in one hand, and a potato in the other.


    Tossing up the potato, Kael¡¯s knife blade swiftly blurred into a single shining arc, before it was returned to the table. The potato landed on the table, too, collapsing into ten segments ready for frying. Grabbing several perfectly-sized dinner rolls and bisecting them, he then turned to the griddle and grabbed a spatula.


    Both the eggs and the patties were flipped over to cook on the other side before Kael tossed up a block of cheese, his knife a singular blur. The block fell to the counter, and thin slices peeled away from the block. Karu placed a slice of cheese on each burger patty to slowly melt.


    Rien and Karu clapped at the demonstration, clearly impressed. But, Kael was not quite finished yet. Watching the burgers carefully, he then swiftly tossed them into the air with a flip of the spatula, followed by eggs. And, without even looking at them, the burgers and eggs fell each onto its already plated hamburger bun substitute.


    Grandpa Thur also clapped along this time with Rien and Karu. It was an impressive display of swiftness, accuracy, balance, and control of the items in the surrounding space. The old man understood from this display that Kael¡¯s close combat abilities were probably 10x more dangerous when a sharp pointy object was added into the mix.


    Kael presented the children and the old man with some of the burgers he had made. The old man got one large hamburger, while the two kids got two small hamburgers each.


    ¡°Hey, how come they get two¡± the old man grumbled.


    ¡°Both of theirs combined is less than even 2/3rds of yours, so stop complaining, old man.¡± Kael scolded with a ¡®no nonsense¡¯ expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m also expecting Teacher and Master Thales will want some-Helen, Briar, Me, Princess Claire, also Me¡­¡± Kael ticked off the people he was expecting to pester him for one.


    ¡°Hey, you were in there twice!¡± The old man objected.


    ¡°Personal food tax for having to cook all of yours. The worker is worth his wages, after all. Not to mention the fact that you¡¯re eating my food for free, so stop complaining.¡± Kael scoffed.


    ¡°Hmmph! I suppose I shall allow it then. But, why Princess Claire?¡± The old man asked.


    ¡°Do you honestly think that she won¡¯t come see Little Rose after her match? After they had just become friends yesterday?¡± Kael raised an eyebrow and shook his head.


    ¡°How can I expect for Little Rose to bear having her friend do nothing but watch her eat her food? While we are nobles, we certainly aren¡¯t ranked so high that we can slight royalty in front of their faces.¡± Then Kael eyed the old man critically.


    ¡°As someone who was once a king, you sure are someone who doesn¡¯t care about etiquette very much.¡± At those words, Grandpa Thur could only sputter and mutter into his beard about ambitious and overbearing youngsters.


    At that point, a cheer rose up from the magician¡¯s arena.


    ¡°Oh!? That should mean they¡¯ve about wrapped it up by now.¡± Kael noted as he quickly wrapped the burgers and placed them, and the cooking instruments away in his bag. Because he had wrapped the instruments in martial spirit, they hadn¡¯t got a spot of dirt or food on them, even after all that mincing. Therefore, it was fine to just put them into the bag, as is.


    As he set off towards Rothema¡¯s room, he wondered who had finished first.


    ----------------------------


    Briar stood before Lyra, who had an odd expression on her face.


    ¡°How!?¡± She finally asked. ¡°How were you able to finish answering everything so quickly!? Even answering the dozen bonus questions at the end!? Just how competent in the ancient languages are you!? Is your father a researcher!?¡±


    Briar didn¡¯t answer her question, instead asking ¡°Do you know how old I was when I was accepted by Madam Rothema as her apprentice?¡±


    Lyra shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. How old?¡±


    ¡°Seven years old.¡± Briar replied. At her answer there was a general intake of breath.


    Usually, a Magi only took on a student once their mana capacity, talent, and character were determined to be exceptional. For there were many with large capacities who became lazy in their pursuit of knowledge. Even more became complacent after reaching a certain comfortable goal. For Briar to be accepted at the age of seven, either her talent, or her mana capacity had to be exceptionally large.


    Of course, since Briar was disguised as a 15 years-old, they assumed that Briar had studied under Madam Rothema for 8 years, instead of just 5 years. Additionally, no one related Briar to the rumored ¡®genius of geniuses¡¯ in Grayelle kingdom, due to her external age difference of three years.


    Moreover, with such a teacher as Madam Rothema, it was perfectly reasonable for Briar to learn a language within eight years. Even other Magi had to ask to borrow her books after the fire burned down the Grand Library of Aldengur. Thus, Rothema was placed among the highest of the more knowledgeable Magi.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that Briar wasn¡¯t fifteen. Moreover¡­


    ----------


    ¡°Whoah! Teacher, you taught Briar how to read the ancient language, too?¡± Helen asked, her admiration for Rothema at an all-time high.


    Rothema made a somewhat troubled face. ¡°Actually, in this case, I haven¡¯t even breached the subject to her. It looks like she somehow managed to study it on her own free time outside of my lessons.¡± But, where on earth did she get her hands on that much ancient writing? Could she have discovered an ancient¡¯s diary? Rothema thought to herself. Whatever else she thought about it was not shown on her face at all as she watched the exchange.


    ------------


    On the stage, Briar shrugged.


    ¡°I did ask you whether you didn¡¯t want to try a more challenging subject, but you insisted upon choosing the easiest test on the list. You really shouldn¡¯t have given up academics in favor of cheap benefits like boosting your speed with easy subjects.¡±


    At that, Lyra almost vomited a mouthful of blood. What easy subject!? It is the universal agreement of magicians that the ancient language is one of the most difficult subjects of study in out of all the subjects a magician can pursue! Your grasp of the language is almost godly compared to mine! It¡¯s almost as if you studied under an ancient being, yourself!


    [1]</a> Scramfy: a weasel-like animal that is known for its speed.

 Chapter 95: Unexpected Guest

    ¡°I say, are you okay? Your expression is a bit pale.¡± Briar asked, noting the now pale color of Lyra¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lyra managed to say. ¡°It¡¯s my loss. As agreed, the one who finished the test first wins.¡± And, with the sting of her wounded pride, Lyra stepped down from the stage.


    Of course, the ancient language in question was, quite simply, the English language. While there were other ancient languages, like Latin and Japanese, the one chosen for the test was only the English language.


    As someone who was proficient with even several dialects of African languages, how could Briar not know how to read and write her first language? However, upon encountering it, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit conflicted, and therefore asked Lyra if she wouldn¡¯t change it to a different test.


    But Lyra had locked onto that particular test.


    While Briar couldn¡¯t help but feel she had an unfair advantage over someone who had not the privilege of reincarnation, she wouldn¡¯t let her pity get in the way of her path to first place. Indeed, only someone who was proficient in the ancient languages could hope to discover the mysteries shrouded in the past.


    Council-mage Syrel acknowledged the end of the match. ¡°Briar Rose, student of Madam Rothema, has won this match!¡± He announced, before leaving the announcer¡¯s stage to capitalize upon the remaining half-hour of the lunch hour.


    ------------


    Of course, by that time, Kael had arrived at Madam Rothema¡¯s viewing platform room with the food. Serving Madam Rothema first, he then served Helen, as well as himself. Afterwards, Briar entered the room and also partook of one.


    Unlike Kael, who unceremoniously ate with the burger in his hands, Madam Rothema, Helen, and Briar used cutlery. Briar glanced enviously at Kael for a bit. As a noblewoman, she had a reputation to keep up. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t use her hands to eat.


    As Kael had suspected, Princess Claire arrived as soon as she could, greeting Briar joyfully. After a brief inquiry, and a moment of thought, she also happily partook of the foreign cuisine.


    But after that, someone whom Kael did not expect to arrive had come.


    A knock resounded upon the closed door.


    Kael stood up and opened a small wooden compartment in the door that allowed him to see and hear who was outside.


    ¡°Please identify yourself.¡± He asked blandly.


    ¡°Council-mage Syrel requests permission to enter.¡± Came the reply. After glancing at Rothema, and receiving her nod of approval, he opened the door to admit Council-mage Syrel.


    Upon seeing who opened the door, Syrel¡¯s eyes lit up in recognition. ¡°Ah, you must be Briar! I¡¯ve seen a few of your previous matches.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Council-mage Syrel. But there¡¯s still far too much room for improvement to suit my tastes.¡± Kael nodded his head in acknowledgement. ¡°There¡¯s more than one Briar in here, so to prevent any confusion, by all means, please call me Kael.¡±


    ¡°Kale? You mean like the leafy vegetable known for its bitter taste?¡± Syrel asked.


    Kael shook his head. ¡°No no, it¡¯s Kael, which is short for Mikael. I take after my Mother¡¯s side of the family.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like your mother was one of the Ruchts-landers.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you could say that. There¡¯s not much left of their heritage except for the name, though.¡± Kael shrugged, and began introductions.


    ¡°It is my honor to introduce Council-mage Syrel.¡± Kael announced to the others formally. Then he introduced Madam Rothema, Claire, Helen and Briar, making especially sure to mention that Briar was his little sister.


    ¡°Your sister? But you both have the same first name?¡± Council-mage Syrel asked, confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of an odd tale, but we both ended up with the same first name.¡± Kael agreed. ¡°That¡¯s why I took my last name from my mother¡¯s side of the family.¡±


    Kael then tilted his head quizzically. ¡°But, what order of business does the great Council-mage have with our company? Perhaps is there something you wish to discuss with ¡®The Bookkeeper¡¯, Madam Rothema?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it must be something important for our dear council-mage to visit us during the luncheon hour.¡± Madam Rothema agreed. ¡°But, as you should recall, I never speak business during meals. So do sit down, and have a bite to eat, Council-mage Syrel, I insist.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Syrel winced. ¡°By all means, please stop calling me council-mage. I only took that office so that I could stop having people breathing down my neck every time I performed a simple test.¡±


    ¡°And look where it¡¯s got you. Stuck doing the annoying errands that nobody else on the council wishes to do. On a bright note, it has made your face more well known, which has done wonders to your popularity.¡± Rothema pointed out.


    Syrel sat down at the table. ¡°And it¡¯s only brought me more and more work, leaving me less and less time for my own pursuits. Whoever said that being on the magic council was a breeze should choke on his desert.¡±


    ---


    In a separate room, Magi Faerwind, a.k.a. ¡®The Tornado¡¯, descended into a coughing fit when he accidentally inhaled his pastry.


    ---


    ¡°Well, you can only say that I warned you. None of those old foggies would even consider letting any of the younger generation in on their cozy little group for anything but an errand boy. I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯ve lasted this long without flipping a few research tables at them.¡± Rothema sighed as she wryly looked at Syrel.


    ¡°Believe me, I¡¯ve been tempted to do just that upon more than one occasion.¡± Syrel chuckled. ¡°If it wouldn¡¯t put me in a quaranteen void prison cell, of course. Sometimes I think that maybe I should do it anyways so that I can finally have a quiet room to myself to do my research.¡±


    ¡°If I know anything about those beak-nosed, big-headed buffoons, they¡¯d confiscate your research and then claim it as their own a few dozen years down the line.¡± Rothema hmphed as she flicked a finger at the pitcher of iced tea. The pitcher then rose and poured Syrel and Rothema each a glass before returning to its spot on the table.


    Helen looked enviously at the display. While Helen could also lift things with her magic, the heavier items were still quite difficult to handle skillfully. Kael just shrugged and grabbed the pitcher by hand to pour his own glass of iced tea, since he had long since finished his own hamburger. Then he served Council-mage Syrel the last remaining hamburger.


    ¡°What is this? It doesn¡¯t seem to be a cuisine that I am familiar with?¡± Syrel asked, looking at the hamburger with a growing interest.


    ¡°That, my friend, is an invention of the young master Briar Mikael.¡± Rothema said, nodding towards Kael in acknowledgement. Kael nodded back, acknowledging the praise.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a Hamburger.¡± Kael said.


    ¡°Ohoh? So it¡¯s made with pork, then?¡± Syrel asked, surprised.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t the case at all, in fact.¡± Rothema shook her head.


    ¡°You mean to tell me that it¡¯s not made of pork, yet you insist upon calling it a HAM burger? Whatever for?¡± Syrel asked, curious.


    ¡°Kael thought fast, then an old joke popped out of his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s because the place that I thought up the recipe for it was a small town called ¡®Hamburg¡¯ that had a sizable selection of cattle at the time.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s made of beef, I take it?¡± Syrel asked.


    ¡°Indeed, you are quite quick on the uptake.¡± Kael laughed politely. ¡°There is also a blend of several spices, as well as a personal sauce recipe passed down through my mother¡¯s side of the family attached.¡±


    ¡°From the way you talk, it¡¯s as if your family got ahold of their noble title through cooking.¡± Syrel harrumphed. ¡°Let the food do it¡¯s own talking, please.¡± Kael inclined his head in agreement and kept his words to himself for the remainder of the meal.


    After lunch was finished, Syrel sat back with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s passable for noble repast.¡±


    ¡°Oh hush, Syrel! Even the king doesn¡¯t get food this good sometimes.¡± Madam Rothema scolded. ¡°You¡¯re just trying to find another excuse to grumble again!¡±


    ¡°Ah well. It¡¯s not like I only came here to grumble.¡± Syrel shook his head as he began to change the subject.


    ¡°Really? Because you seem to do that every time you come to visit.¡± Rothema smiled wryly. ¡°But, very well. What else have you come to talk to me about?¡±


    ¡°This young master¡¯s recent performance against the swordsman, Brom¡­¡± Syrel glanced over at Kael. The hair on the back of Kael¡¯s neck started to rise, as he had a sudden feeling that the conversation was steering into dangerous waters.


    ¡°Yes? What about it?¡± Kael asked, feeling his mouth suddenly become dry.


    ¡°It¡¯s puzzling. Now, I¡¯m no expert of martial practitioners, mind you. But that speed isn¡¯t something which just anyone can match. For someone to have that amount of skill, shouldn¡¯t we have seen more of it in earlier matches? Or have you been playing the pig to eat the tiger this whole time?¡±


    Kael inwardly relaxed. He wasn¡¯t asking about the change in eye color. ¡°Oh, that? Unfortunately, that speed was somewhat of a fluke. Even I¡¯m not too sure how I was able to reach that high of a speed. In the end, it tore the muscles in my arm badly, and Madam Rothema wouldn¡¯t allow it to be healed for the rest of the day as punishment for doing something stupid.¡±


    Syrel examined Kael¡¯s face for a bit. ¡°All right. I believe it.¡±


    ¡°Why the sudden vote of confidence?¡± Rothema asked.


    ¡°First off, that punishment is completely something that you would enforce.¡± Syrel pointed out. ¡°Second, it is apparent in the clip that even Young Master Kael was surprised at the sudden burst of speed. It¡¯s possible that he possesses a rare ability to raise his speed at the expense of his health.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Madam Rothema asked.


    ¡°They¡¯ve discovered another ancients ruin.¡± Syrel told Madam Rothema. ¡°This one seems to document mysterious and strange abilities in the ancient days, so a lot of researchers are heading there, hoping to find some new knowledge that could change the world.¡±


    He paused and took a sip from his glass. ¡°Others are simply hoping to find something valuable and strike it rich, the fools. Ancient writing is best decoded in the ruins it is found in, otherwise we risk loss of context.¡±


    ¡°Indeed-¡± Madam Rothema began, but her words were cut off by the rolling toll of the bell warning that there was five minutes left until the end of the lunch hour.


    Syrel sighed. ¡°And here I was hoping to talk to you for a while yet¡­oh very well. Once this blasted tournament is over, I hope we can finally find some time to have us a good chat.¡± Syrel got up and was escorted to the door by Kael.


    Before Syrel left, he turned and whispered something to Kael, who¡¯s eyes shuddered for a bit before going back to normal. Letting out a small breath, he closed the door.


    ¡°Did he say something to you, Kael?¡± Helen asked.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Kael said ponderously.


    ¡°What was it?¡± Helen asked, curiously.


    Kael looked up at Madam Rothema and took in a large breath.


    ¡°It seems we¡¯ll know about it soon enough.¡± And he said no more as he made his way towards the stage.

 Chapter 96: Blessing in Disguise

    The Minstrel, the Eldest Twin, Laura, and Kael stood just below the stage, waiting for the announcer to call out the names for the matches. There were only three matches left: two fights between the four of them, and the last fight between the remaining two. Then after that would be the bonus round, but it turned out that Kael¡¯s grasp of the bonus round was wrong.


    He wouldn¡¯t have to fight every one of the last sixteen contestants. Instead, each contestant could only challenge one level above them. So, worst case scenario was that he would have to fight with second place again. For this bit of practicality, Kael was very thankful.


    The tense feeling in the air seemed charged with muffled excitement. Even the crowd was infected with it to the point where they couldn¡¯t quite keep still in their seats. Three fights left, and there would be a winner.


    Kael stared ahead at the stage in front of him. Three fights left, and they could leave this dangerous place. Three fights left, and he would win. His heart thumped louder in anticipation.


    The announcer finally appeared, glancing sternly down at the stage.


    That brat isn¡¯t finished yet? He has the luck of a millennial rabbit! The man muttered sourly in his heart. But these last few battles will not be so easy as he¡¯ll expect them to be. Perhaps he¡¯ll be defeated in this round.


    The announcer ignored the growing sense that perhaps this lad that he had been despising all this time, may yet be the winner this time. He cleared his throat.


    ¡°The next match will be the Minstrel against Briar.¡± That meant that the following match would be Laura against the final twin. Kael nodded and stepped up onto the stage, along with his opponent, the Minstrel. This was yet another fight that was somewhat difficult.


    How does one protect themselves from sound? Sure, Briar could just magic up a sound barrier, quick. But Kael was only able to use martial spirit. How could he defend himself from the distractive mental attacks that the Minstrel was so good at?


    At this point, the Minstrel strummed his lyre, and spoke to Kael. ¡°You should just give up while you have the chance. There isn¡¯t anyone that can beat my sonic strings attack. You could even be seriously injured or killed with one attack.¡± As Kael had expected, the Minstrel was hiding his true power.


    Kael simply stood there nonetheless, a polite smile on his face. ¡°Indeed, it sounds very dangerous.¡± He agreed. ¡°Thank you for the warning.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking. You should retreat while you still can. Since I admire your strength, I encourage you to step down. It isn¡¯t too late for you to keep your life.¡± The Minstrel urged again.


    ¡°Thank you. But I¡¯m afraid I must disagree. Although you fear for my life, my life is not something easily taken.¡± Kael replied amiably.


    The Minstrel¡¯s face distorted. ¡°I¡¯m advising you not to throw your life away! How can you keep it, if you are so dogged determined to waste it!¡±


    ¡°Many thanks for your advice, but the life of a Martial Practitioner is not one for those who cower in the face of death.¡± Kael pointed out. ¡°As a man, I know you understand what I¡¯m saying.¡±


    ¡°Fine! Then let¡¯s hope you are as strong as you think you are.¡± The Minstrel gave up trying to convince Kael otherwise, and positioned his hand over the strings as he waited for the announcer to start the match. I thought he was smart, but it turns out he¡¯s just another fool stupid enough to stand in my way. He thought.


    Kael, on the other hand, although he appeared quite relaxed, was actually on high alert. Sonic strings? What kind of an attack was that? Did it use compressed sound-waves to cut through the air? Or was the sound at such a frequency that it directly cut through the brain?


    The former type seemed hard to pinpoint. The latter was unlikely, considering how close the man was to the origin of the sound. Either way, he had to be able to avoid the attack first, before he could take the Minstrel down. He had to stop the devil¡¯s music.


    ¡°And so! The Third match before the Final with Briar against The Minstrel! BEGIN!¡± The Announcer waved his hand down with a flourish. But, both sides remained stationary, as if they were frozen in place.


    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re supposed to be fighting me, right? Why do you not try to get near me?¡± The Minstrel asked.


    Kael flashed a toothy grin. ¡°I could say the same thing for you. Why are you not trying to kill me with your sonic strings? If it is as formidable as you say it is, then this little bit of distance shouldn¡¯t stymie it in the least!¡±


    ¡°If I did that, then there wouldn¡¯t be much of a fight. It¡¯s too pitiful to rob the audience of a show simply for a quick victory.¡± The Minstrel replied.


    From this, Kael had gathered several pieces of information.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    <ol>


    <li>Sonic Strings definitely had a distance limit-and was at its most powerful in short range.</li>


    <li>For something to be that powerful, it must use up a lot of Martial Spirit.</li>


    <li>The Minstrel was unwilling to use it unless he was certain that he had a 100% chance of hitting his mark. And, finally:</li>


    <li>To win the match, Kael must deal with the Minstrel from a distance.</li>


    </ol>


    A challenge, to be sure, but at least Kael now had a plan of action.


    ¡°The match has already begun! If no fighting ensues within one minute, the both of you shall be disqualified.¡± The Announcer said sternly, but inside, he was tickled with glee. Finally! An opportunity to throw this ruffian out of the competition! What luck!


    But then Kael laughed. ¡°Indeed, it seems I was overthinking things. Let us fight to our hearts content, today!¡± And with that, he concentrated his martial spirit into his legs, and used the martial technique: Meteor Charge.


    Interestingly enough, even though Kael couldn¡¯t use magic, everything seemed to slow down for him a lot, and become crystal clear. He could see every detail in slow motion. And so, he managed to catch upon precisely what the Minstrel¡¯s Sonic Strings attack was.


    Immediately, the Minstrel quickly struck his strings with a swift arm, the vibration of the strings with Martial Spirit cast a sort of vaccuum blade out into the air. It cut through the air, slicing towards Kael, who was barreling towards the blade at a similar sonic speed.


    The vacuum blade reached Kael and cut him in two.


    In only a moment, it was all over.


    The outcome was clear. Kael stood there, then looked at his chest, where the blade had cut through, then looked up at the Minstrel. The Minstrel just sighed.


    ¡°I told you it was dangerous, you idiot! Why did you run right into it!?¡± He asked, puzzled, but then froze as a knife blade was placed against his neck.


    ¡°I heard you. That is why I¡¯m still alive.¡± Kael said from behind him.


    ¡°But, how-?¡± The Minstrel asked, looking back to the Kael in front of him, which vanished like a ghost.


    ¡°You must be pretty thick not to see through a simple ghost evasion.¡± Kael laughed. ¡°You can stop trying to sabotage me. Those strings were severed a moment ago.¡±


    The Minstrel glanced down at his lyre only to discover the absence of strings of any sort. They had been severed completely, leaving the arches filled with nothing but air. Then he sighed.


    ¡°I suppose this is a somewhat better end than the one which I had orchestrated.¡± He said. ¡°All right. I give up. You win.¡± He dropped his broken lyre and raised his arms in defeat.


    ¡°Briar is the winner!¡± The Announcer affirmed as the crowd cheered.


    ¡°Defeat, huh? Well, even if you had won, I¡¯d doubt you could win your next match.¡± Kael noted in a muted tone, so that others couldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°Ahahah. It looks like I¡¯ve been seen through completely! You¡¯re right. With that last attack, I¡¯ve completely exhausted my martial spirit, otherwise, I might have played a bit longer with you.¡± The Minstrel admitted in a similar tone, reaching to Kael for a handshake.


    ¡°What ¡®longer¡¯? You were always intending to finish this in one move.¡± Kael snorted as he shook the Minstrel¡¯s hand.


    ¡°As were you, it seems.¡± The Minstrel replied.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty impressive, though.¡± Kael said, as he began to move towards the stairs behind the Minstrel. When their shoulders drew level, the Minstrel heard Kael¡¯s last words. ¡°To force me, a red class, to use two moves to defeat you. If we were equally in the same class, I¡¯m not sure if I would be able to defeat you.¡±


    The Minstrel¡¯s eyes widened as he turned around to look towards Kael. Defeated by a red class? Huh. I suppose that¡¯s not a dishonorable defeat. He smiled helplessly. But, still¡­a fifteen-year old red class? I¡¯m looking forward to hearing about him in the future! That day, the Minstrel resolved never to get on Briar¡¯s bad side.


    ---------------


    ¡°Good Job! You¡¯ve been so lucky with your opponents! Always able to finish so quickly.¡± Laura teased, as Kael stepped down from the stage.


    ¡°Luck is a part of strength, too.¡± Kael replied. ¡°And yours seems to be particularly bad. Keep your guard up. I¡¯m afraid your opponent is playing the pig to eat the tiger.¡±


    ¡°What? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Laura asked. Then Kael remembered that the expression was from her previous life.


    ¡°I mean he¡¯s hiding his true strength.¡± Kael said as he glanced over towards the opposite side of the stage. ¡°If you''re not careful, you¡¯ll be beaten without even knowing how it was done.¡±


    ¡°Hmmph! Who are you to tell me that I¡¯ll be beaten? Just watch me! I¡¯ll beat him so quickly, you¡¯ll have no time to recover even a bit of Martial Spirit!¡± Laura argued as she jumped up on stage. ¡°¡±Then I¡¯ll definitely defeat you!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. But first, you have to finish your fight against your opponent.¡± Briar pointed towards the eldest of the dragon twins, who had stepped onto the stage. Laura looked at her opponent disdainfully for a moment, but when she turned back, Kael was already walking away from the stage.


    ¡°Good luck! I¡¯d be careful not to take my eyes off him, though.¡± He said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Laura turned back and blinked. Since when had that boy gotten to the middle of the stage?


    -----------------------


    Kael jumped up into Madam Rothema¡¯s booth, directly, again. But, once he was out of the sight of public eye, he collapsed on a nearby chair.


    ¡°Remind me never to do two martial techniques simultaneously!¡± He said with a bitter face, as his legs twinged with pain. Doubling up on leg techniques had definitely torn several muscles in his legs. But that final jump had been the icing on the cake. Kael was unsure if he¡¯d be recovered before Laura was finished.


    ¡°Heck, I could¡¯ve told you the same thing beforehand, if only you¡¯d asked.¡± Briar said.


    Kael made a face. "That was a rhetorical question."


    "I know." Briar replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure you tore a lot of muscle to do something stupid like that. Let¡¯s fix that up.¡± As Briar concentrated on the spell, a magic circle appeared underneath Kael, with healing light glowing from it.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Briar was confused. Usually, unless it was physically drawn, a magic circle would not appear. ¡°That¡¯s definitely new¡­¡± She pondered. Kael grit his teeth as the feeling of muscle and tendon being knit back together was not actually that pleasant. It felt like an army of red ants had decided to crawl up his legs.


    Rothema was also interested in the unusual phenomenon.


    ¡°Perhaps, is it because he is your double?¡± She asked. ¡°Using a magic circle to create him might have induced some sort of restriction that any magic used on him be visible to him.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Briar asked Rothema. ¡°Then, would it be different if you placed a spell on him? Or is it just me?¡±


    Rothema snapped a finger and a second magic circle appeared, floating just above the first magic circle. ¡°It appears that it¡¯s the same for other spells. How odd! Well, I can definitely say that it may yet turn out to be a blessing in disguise.¡±

 Chapter 97: Dangers in Ice

    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Kael asked. ¡°How is this a blessing in disguise?¡±


    ¡°At least, you¡¯ll know if someone¡¯s using magic on you.¡± Rothema said. ¡°Especially if it¡¯s of the more forbidden kind like mind-controlling magic, or curse magic.¡±


    ¡°But I thought those books were lost in the fire?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°Just because the books were lost, didn¡¯t mean the magicians who read them were. Those who were familiar with the magic would certainly have written a few secret tomes of their own from memory. And those were only re-written so that future magicians would know how to fix the disasters that arise from such a practice.¡±


    Rothema tapped the lip of her cup as she pondered. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if a few of the more incomplete drafts trickled out through a crack, somewhere, and ended up in the hands of those who couldn¡¯t help themselves, since there still are people being found using such magic.


    ¡°So, what I¡¯m trying to say, is: this is definitely a good thing.¡± Rothema finished.


    Kael thought about it for a moment, then nodded. It really was a good thing. By that time, he had returned to the very picture of health.


    ¡°By the way, what was that other spell that you used on me earlier?¡± Kael asked.


    Rothema smiled and said nothing.


    Before Kael could ask her further questions, Helen pointed towards the stage. ¡°Oh, look at that! That was amazing!¡±


    Everyone turned to observe the martial stage, where Laura was fighting the Eldest Twin.


    Right, I forgot about that. Kael remembered. He also moved closer to watch and to gauge just how much Laura¡¯s strength had grown in the past few months.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Laura lithely jumped backwards, away from the swing of the youth¡¯s sword. While she could easily block its swing with her arm guards, the weight that the youth was able to place behind his blade was shockingly more than she could handle.


    To those in the audience, it seemed only like a case where the older contestant was naturally stronger than the younger one. After all, the Dragon Twin was fifteen while Laura was only twelve. A gap of three years was certainly something not easy to bridge. But what they didn¡¯t know was that Laura was a 9<sup>th</sup> rank blue class.


    To put things into perspective: one didn¡¯t start training until around six or seven years old when their internal vision was opened.  They would then focus on expanding internal energy capacity until the age of ten. At that point, no matter how much they trained, that capacity would remain unless they broke through to the next rank, in which they would acquire a small increase.


    Once they were ten, they would then enter the yellow class and start physical training and internal cultivation of the bones until they broke through by condensing diamond bones, which could take anywhere from ten to fifteen years. So, by the time most broke through to the green class, they would be twenty to twenty-five years old.


    On a side note, Briar¡¯s father, Sir Maverick, was on the higher end of the scale, able to reach blue class by the time he was 20.


    Laura, on the other hand, was only twelve. Moreover, she had already broken through to the blue class, an entire class higher than green class, which was the current class for almost all of the contestants (sans Briar and Kael). Therefore, for Laura to be overpowered by someone who -logically and mathematically- should be in green class, was highly irregular.


    Laura was even at the highest end of the blue class, only one rank away from purple class. But, even so, Laura had to decline facing the young man¡¯s attacks head on. Instead, she had been reduced to dodging or redirecting the strikes aimed in her direction.


    The youth¡¯s eyes suddenly sparked with a strange light as his sword suddenly flickered. Laura reached up to touch her cheek, only to bring her hand away with blood on it. Somehow, he had managed to cut her face without her seeing it.


    Seeing blood, Laura blinked her eyes, were confused. Then she realized what the blood meant, and she began to see red.


    How dare this boy attack the face of a lady! Moreover, he marred the face of a Noblewoman! Unforgivable! Laura took on an odd stance as she swayed back and forth. She was pulling out all the stops. This deplorable was headed for hell.


    Kael¡¯s eyes glinted with a knowing light. This young man had managed to get on Laura¡¯s bad side. He silently offered up a prayer for the man who had no idea what he was in for.


    The youth on the stage smirked at Laura¡¯s odd display, but he was not allowed to be complacent for long. Laura threw out several knives in a fan shape with a swing of her arm. While she wasn¡¯t as good at knife throwing as Briar, she had learned it just in case.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The young lad dodged them in contempt. And the knives harmlessly embedded themselves into the ground behind him, in a semicircular layout. The fact that they were able to cut into the stage was commendable, as the stage was magically protected.


    ¡°Is that all you got?¡± he chuckled. But his expression changed when Laura disappeared.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Her syrupy voice sounded from behind his back.


    He spun around and was only just barely able to defend against Laura¡¯s attack with his sword. After which, she threw out knives again. Again, they struck the ground behind him, missing him completely.


    He felt confused. Why would Laura use that crummy skill again? But he didn¡¯t have time to think, since Laura disappeared again. This time, learning his lesson, he spun around to block, but he was surprised when he was greeted with an empty stage. Where did she go?


    He didn¡¯t have much time to think before he was punched in the side of the head from behind, causing him to stagger sideways as his jaw almost dislocated itself. He spun to face Laura, whose stance had changed yet again into somewhat of a sideways boxing stance. Her eyes glinted with a somewhat dangerous light as she disappeared again.


    He quickly spun around, slashing out into his surroundings, hitting nothing but air. Where had she gone this time? He snapped his head around to behind him, only to find another stretch of empty stage.


    Unfortunately, his attention to what was behind him distracted him from what was in front. Before he could turn his head back to the front, he was clocked once more on the jaw. This time, from his front, sending him staggering back.


    What followed after was a carefully-calculated, one-sided pummeling of the youngster. In which he had no way of bringing out his excellent swordsmanship. Kael shook his head and sighed.


    Laura¡¯s attack patterns were built upon the assumption that the victim would learn from the previous attacks. Each subsequent attack was calculated to throw off the tempo of her opponent, creating openings for the subsequent attacks.


    Thus, there really wasn¡¯t anyone among the younger generation that would have an easy time dealing with her aside from Kael and Briar, who knew similar styles from earth.


    In all truth, he had been asking for it, though. Just because it was a fighting competition didn¡¯t mean that they had to throw all manners and common decency aside. The young women in the audience were cheering especially loud at Laura¡¯s display.


    The young men winced as they sympathized with the youth, and likewise offered up prayers that his soul rest in peace. There was no doubt that this young man was surely skilled: skilled at angering people he shouldn¡¯t mess with.


    Finally, Laura finished with another punch to the jawline, jogging his brain into the black dreams of unconsciousness.


    ¡°Laura is the winner!¡± the announcer cried. The crowds of young women cheered with respect for their newfound object of admiration.


    Now there was only a single fight left: the fight for the championship. By this time, Kael had already finished healing up, and was in top condition. However, Laura had just expended a large amount of energy. Seeing that this was the last fight, both Laura and Kael were given about twenty minutes to rest and recover.


    Kael, having little left to do before the final fight, decided to check up on how Briar was doing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    Just as Laura was finishing up her final blows, Briar was called up to the magician¡¯s stage. Her opponent this time was the Ice Queen, Elsa von Icht.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me as much as my previous opponents.¡± Elsa remarked, readily.


    ¡°Wow, for someone known as the ¡°Ice Queen¡±, you sure are heated up today. Is this the rumored ¡®firey sunset over the icy plains¡¯?¡± Briar returned in kind.


    ¡°Hmmph.¡± Elsa snorted, and stood at ready.


    Briar stood: her back straight, her arms by her side, her eyes looking calmly at Elsa.


    ¡°Begin!¡± Syrel announced.


    Elsa sent her magic into her staff, channeling a frost ground spell in her surroundings.


    At that moment, Briar did something that caused everyone to be confused. She closed her eyes.


    ¡°What is she doing!?¡±


    ¡°She closed her eyes? Could it be that she¡¯s throwing the match?¡±


    ¡°IS SHE CRAZY?¡±


    ¡°How is closing her eyes going to make her win!?¡±


    The audience volume raised as they discussed in a mutter about why Briar chose to do something so foolish as close her eyes.


    Briar then yawned and sat down on the stage.


    ¡°Are you trying to make a fool out of me?¡± Elsa frowned menacingly.


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s just that I have no need to fight an enemy that¡¯s no longer a threat to me.¡± Briar explained. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯d stop expanding that frost aura, if I were you. It won¡¯t end well.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elsa asked, when she noticed that the frost on the ground was starting to climb up off the ground and coagulate into a crystalline globe surrounding Elsa.


    Her frost field was no longer expanding out from her because Briar had flipped the proverbial cup over the bug and surrounded her in a clear, spherical force field. By this time, the ice sphere had completed itself to perfection. There was not a single inch of the barrier that had not been encased in ice.


    ¡°Hah! I may not be able to get out, but that also means that you aren¡¯t able to get in. Are you planning to tie for second?¡± Elsa scoffed.


    Briar politely shook her head.


    ¡°Oh no! There¡¯s no need for a tie at all. It¡¯s unfortunate, but there will most certainly be a winner to this duel. I won¡¯t even need to raise a finger.¡± Briar replied. After all, barriers were her forte. It¡¯s just such a shame that her loss is self-inflicted.Briar shook her head. She had been expecting something more¡­impressive.


    The whole time, Elsa was busy attacking the barrier wall.


    ¡°Ice shot doesn¡¯t work.¡± Briar sighed.


    Elsa tried to create a mini blizzard.


    ¡°Ice blizzard doesn¡¯t work either.¡± Briar noted in a bored manner.


    Then Elsa summoned ice into the shape of a large icy drill. Briar sat up a bit. ¡°Oh?¡±


    The drill did nothing to penetrate the barrier surrounding Elsa. Briar sighed again, seeing how the competition was pretty much in the bag at this point.


    Elsa didn¡¯t understand why her attacks weren¡¯t going through. Barriers normally wouldn¡¯t last more than a ten minute pummeling before they were shattered like glass. But this person¡¯s barrier was seemingly indestructible. Was it getting warm in there?


    Briar watched on for about five more minutes before, all of a sudden, Elsa fell over in a dead faint.


    ¡°Elsa has fainted. Briar is the winner!¡± Councilmage Syrel announced.

 Chapter 98: Magician Stage-Final Match

    At that moment, Briar, who had been close to motionless this whole time, jumped to her feet and dispelled her barrier. Unfortunately, in between Briar and Elsa was still a perfect globe of ice! Being a magician, Briar could not expose her physical strength.


    ¡°Hurry! We have to get her out of there!¡± Briar cried, worriedly. ¡°The air inside has gone bad¡±


    Indeed, Elsa¡¯s perfect ice sphere had done more than get in the way. It had blocked off Elsa¡¯s airflow. Briar¡¯s barriers, though hard, were not airproof unless specified during their creation. But, Elsa¡¯s ice sphere was made of water, thus naturally air proofing the interior. If only the sphere had had a single opening, Elsa would not be facing such a problem.


    This was probably one of the only times a magician lost a match because their magic spell was too perfect.  But, the ice sphere was in the way. If they did not manage to extract Elsa within a short period of time, then Elsa could have severe repercussions and could possibly die.


    But, the people in charge didn¡¯t understand why Briar was so worried, and so their response was delayed. Moreover, the barrier around the stage hadn¡¯t yet been removed, so no one could enter. The person in charge of the barrier spell had even accidentally dropped the control crystal by accident. He bumbled around to try and find it.


    They¡¯re too slow! I¡¯ll have to do this myself! Briar¡¯s eyes narrowed as she brought a hand up to the frigid sphere. The ice is too thick! A fire spell will not make it in time! Briar clicked her tongue. I also can¡¯t use Martial Spirit, or else I¡¯ll be giving myself away! She closed her eyes for a moment, then came to a split-second decision. I guess I¡¯ll have to use that¡­


    Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly brought out a metal staff with a large crystal fixture on one end, and several spikes radiating from the top of it.


    ¡°She brought out a staff?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a staff going to do to help her get through that?¡±


    The audience watched, curious as to how Briar was going to break open the sphere.


    Briar brought her mana to her finger.


    ¡°I was going to save this for the final match, but I suppose I have no choice¡­.¡± She spouted some analogous BS to mislead the audience, while she concentrated her mana to her finger, then outside of her finger.


    In a flash, she had swiftly written the formulas for acceleration and gravity enhancement down the length of the staff, then used her magic circle trampoline to jump up above the sphere.


    ¡°Support spells?¡±


    ¡°Body Enhancement spells? Why did she write that on the staff?¡±


    Then she swung, instantly activation both support spells by injecting her mana into the staff.


    As she had surmised, the staff instantly accelerated, it¡¯s weight growing heavy like a mountain. Sparks flew along it as it faced the friction from air resistance, but it did not stop. At this point, it couldn¡¯t stop.


    The staff then met with the ice sphere, and a loud noise echoed through the stadium.


    Briar stood on top of the sphere, her staff embedded in the ice, which still appeared flawless. A single spike from her staff had punctured through to the inside. A slight hissing noise sounded, and then nothing.


    By all appearances, it seemed as though her plan did not work. But then, Briar sighed and jumped down from the sphere, walking away.


    But her performance had shocked the audience into utter silence. It was generally agreed that body enhancements should be used on the body. Thus, while everyone had known about enhancement spells, no one had ever thought about using them to enhance weapons before.


    The older magicians then began discussing it amongst themselves while the younger audience was wondering why she had ceased to attempt to break the sphere.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she trying to break it open anymore?¡±


    ¡°Did she give up?¡±


    ¡°No, wait! Is she perhaps out of mana?¡±


    The audience was now louder than ever.


    At this point, the barrier man had found the control crystal and turned off the barrier. At that point, several experts had rushed on stage to remove Elsa from her ice globe. But, it turned out, they weren¡¯t necessary anymore.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Elsa had finally woken up. She sat up, and looked around, groggily holding her head. While she wasn¡¯t in the best of conditions, she could still dispel the ice on her own.


    ¡°What happened? I¡­how?... did I just lose?¡± Elsa asked.


    The experts could only inform her that she had lost. She sighed with disappointment, but she gracefully accepted her loss.


    Briar, had already returned to the side of the stage, ready to come out for the last fight. As Elsa was about to pass by Briar, she suddenly paused.


    ¡°I know that I lost. But what I can¡¯t understand is¡­how did I lose?¡± Elsa asked.


    ¡°I told you, didn¡¯t I? Encasing yourself in ice is not a good idea.¡± Briar replied.


    ¡°But, why isn¡¯t it a good idea?¡± Elsa frowned and tilted her head, not understanding.


    Briar looked at her with a measuring gaze. But Elsa was simply honestly trying to understand the reason for her failure.


    Then she smiled shyly. ¡°While magic can easily be made flawless, their casters are still human. Water, though highly manipulative, is also highly airproof. Even water combined with the north winds is no exception to this property. Humans still need to breathe air. In that respect, my barrier already had allowances for air. But your ice on the other hand¡­¡± Briar shook her head. ¡°If there had been even a single hole in that sphere, you would not have fainted from lack of air.¡±


    Elsa¡¯s eyes wavered, then she sighed. ¡°So that¡¯s it? Looks like I truly have lost to you this time. For you to know more about my ice magic than I do, who could have imagined it?¡±


    Briar scratched at her cheek with a finger. ¡°Just an observation I made. I¡¯m no expert.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then I look forward to witnessing your next performance, Miss Briar. Perhaps we could become friends in the future?¡± Elsa asked.


    ¡°Perhaps.¡± Briar replied a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.


    ¡°Until later, then.¡± Elsa ducked her head in farewell before proceeding out of the contestant area.


    Someone who reflects upon their mistakes to learn from them¡­this one will go far in life, if her path is not barred. Briar noted to herself, before returning her staff to her magic bag.


    While others might not know, Briar¡¯s staff was actually just a training staff for one to get a feel for the wind element. Thus, the spell matrix inside of the crystal was simple and harmless. And so, when Briar had struck the ice sphere, she did not simply cast two spells simultaneously, but three.


    Briar had used it to force fresh air back into the sphere through that single hole that she had created in Elsa¡¯s sphere. Otherwise, the air would not have returned to normal so quickly. If it was any other staff with any other spell, Elsa may not have returned to the world of the living so quickly.


    But, enough about Elsa. Briar stared across the stage at her opponent: the self-taught magician. This next fight would decide the champion of the magician¡¯s stage.


    -----Briar¡¯s opponent¡¯s side-----


    The magician waited for the fight to be announced. By his side, a girl stood unhindered.


    ¡°Ho? Looks like someone¡¯s staring at you.¡± She noted.


    ¡°I¡¯m blushing~¡± He joked back.


    ¡°You better not be.¡± She replied seriously.


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯m not blushing, then!¡± He replied in the same tone.


    ¡°Which is it? I need to clearly know the reason why I¡¯m killing you later on.¡± She said in a monotone.


    ¡°Haha, no need to get violent, Fee~ I was only joking.¡± The young man waved his hands in defeat.


    ¡°That is not something you should joke about.¡± She said blandly before changing the subject. ¡°That person¡­it is difficult to analyze the depths of her strength¡­the likelihood of you losing is over 70%¡±


    ¡°Whoah! That much?! I though it would at least be something a bit closer to 50% !¡± The man was clearly surprised.


    ¡°Even after performing such a mana-draining spell, she has neither lost focus, nor become out of breath. It is for certain that she has more stamina than you do. The only advice that I can give is to aim for a quick victory. You will definitely lose if this becomes drawn out.¡± The girl said.


    ¡°Thanks for your insights. I¡¯ll try my very best up there today!¡± The magician smiled at her before climbing to the stage, ready for the final battle.


    ¡°Yes. Try your very best, so that I can comfort you when you lose.¡± The girl replied blandly.


    The magician almost fell over.


    ¡°Hey! Can you stop trying to undermine my confidence here?¡± He exclaimed, not sure whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°So you really are nervous.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious!?¡± He stared down at the girl from up on the platform.


    The girl looked up, and finally her near expressionless face changed. She smiled. ¡°Do your best, young master!¡± She said, her smile turning her from an expressionless doll into an adorable little angel.


    ¡°Count on it!¡± He replied with a silly grin.


    ------------


    Briar witnessed that small personal exchange, patiently. While she wasn¡¯t 100% certain, she felt that this self-taught magician might just be yet another reincarnator from her world. While it could still be possible that he wasn¡¯t, Briar somehow felt that it had to be so. It was far too convenient for a self-taught mage to just pop up out of nowhere, so close to the time of her reincarnation.


    If he wasn¡¯t a reincarnator, then he was certainly a rare genius. However, if he was a reincarnator, then that could certainly explain how he was able to master a form of magic that not many had seen before in this continent. Briar calmly observed him as he stood there on the platform opposite her.


    He grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you would simply forfeit, right?¡±


    The whole audience was struck dumb at the nerve and audacity of that statement. To ask someone to forfeit either meant that they were more powerful than their opponent, or that they completely disregarded the opponent¡¯s strength. To say such a thing, either he was way more powerful than he looked, or he was very brash.


    Briar smiled and replied with a chuckle. ¡°Well, personally, I wouldn¡¯t mind forfeiting¡­¡±


    The audience was once more shocked into silence. Surely, she wouldn¡¯t just give up at the last fight? The silence was deafening.


    ¡°Okay then-¡± the magician began, but was quickly cut off by the rest of Briar¡¯s reply.


    ¡°But! Unfortunately, I¡¯ve promised my teacher that I am going to win this. Madam Rothema isn¡¯t one to approve of my giving up before I even tried. Isn¡¯t that so for your friend over there as well?¡± Briar asked glancing at the man¡¯s companion down below the stage.


    ¡°Ahahah. I guess you¡¯re right.¡± The magician replied with a good natured smile. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no use delaying things then. Shall we begin?¡±


    At that, those in the audience breathed a collective sigh of relief. It would be no joke to allow the last match to end in a forfeit before it even began.


    ¡°Ah, for that, you should ask the announcer¡­¡± Briar turned towards the announcer¡¯s stage, where Council-mage Syrel stood.


    He nodded. ¡°Let the final match begin!¡± His voice echoed through the stands, and the audience broke out into an excited cheer.

 Chapter 99: Magicians Stage-Final Match II

    The young man nodded. ¡°I see... In that case, my apologies in advance.¡± He said as he took off his robe, letting the breeze carry it away. Briar glanced at the cloak for a moment, before turning back to the young man.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± She answered, as she smiled and pulled her camo cloak out of her bag.


    The large cloth covered her figure for but a mere moment. However, after the cloak had blown away, Briar was nowhere to be seen. The youth¡¯s eyes widened, as he realized she had become invisible. But a moment afterwards, they narrowed.


    ¡°You think you can pull that cheap trick on me?¡± He laughed, sending a magic shockwave through the air around him. Tens of translucent mirrors shattered into nothingness, but Briar was still nowhere in sight.


    ¡°Huhuhu~ Whether it is a trick or not remains to be seen.¡± Briar¡¯s voice came from all around. But the young man still could not pinpoint where she was. His back suddenly was covered in cold sweat. If this young woman were to become an assassin, he would be quite helpless.


    Instead of keeping her advantage, though, Briar stepped out into the visible spectrum as easily as if stepping out of a door.


    ¡°Magic is like that, after all.¡± She said, with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Ho? Where is your impressive familiar? Are you hiding it in the shadows, too?¡± The young man asked, looking around.


    ¡°Unfortunately, they just served lunch upstairs, and she is taking her afternoon nap. My apologies.¡± Briar replied as she sidestepped the white cloak that had suddenly made a beeline in her direction.


    ¡°Did you honestly think that I would fall for a trick that has already been used once?¡± She asked.


    He shrugged.


    ¡°I can only try. Any and all techniques are acceptable as long as no one gets hurt.¡± He had the cloak try to wrap around her at every opportunity, but Briar swayed and dodged it every single time.


    ¡°Hey, is dodging all that you can do?¡± The youth asked, with a grimace. ¡°Magicians should fight with magic, not dodging manoevers!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Briar asked, with a smile before she said. ¡°Then I shall apologize in advance.¡±


    A bright light suddenly exploded in between them, blinding both the youth and the audience with its dazzling brilliance.


    Once everyone had blinked the light out of their eyes, they rubbed them again in surprise. Briar was still standing in the exact same spot she had been standing before she left.


    ¡°Haha! Do you think I am stupid?¡± The youth asked, quite annoyed. It¡¯s obvious that this is only an illusion!¡± He once more sent out a magic shockwave. But, what surprised him was that this time the image did not shatter in the least. Her braids simply waved in the breeze behind her.


    ¡°Huh? But how!?¡± He exclaimed.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this time I am the real deal.¡± Briar shook her head. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell the difference between a fake person and a real one?¡±


    His face turned slightly red from embarrassment. ¡°Nng! Try this!¡± He pointed. But nothing happened. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Briar pointed off to the side. Glancing over, he saw his white cloak had been completely entangled and pinned down by Briar¡¯s camo cloak, keeping it from lifting up off the ground with its weight.


    ¡°Good one!¡± He praised, giving Briar a thumbs-up. ¡°But now, I guess it¡¯s time I stopped fooling around~!¡± He said with a tehepero[1]</a> as he brought a wand out from within his shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear of it.¡± Briar replied. ¡°I also am tired of playing games.¡± She took out a simple wooden stave and gently let the end fall upon the ground. Mana rippled forth from it as if that simply touch had been upon water instead of ground.


    The audience was mesmerized by the beautiful display, but the youth was experiencing a different kind of admiration. The area effected by the rippling mana had an increased gravitational pull, thus it felt way more difficult to just stand up.


    Instead of speaking, the youth was forced to use one of his trump cards to break away from the effects of this gravitational change.


    ¡°Zero Gravity!¡± He spat out through gritted teeth.


    Instantly, all the pressure around him vanished. Briar instantly ended her now useless gravity spell, right after she cast the next one.


    ¡°Anti-gravity!¡± She smote the ground as a large magic circle appeared that encompassed the entire stage.


    It should be said that, while [zero gravity] was an intermediate level spell, [Anti-gravity] was actually a high level spell. When combining the two together, the results were an accelerated speed of rising into the air that was faster than both spells put together. Thus, before the young man could even understand what she had said, he had shot upwards and smacked hard into the magic barrier surrounding the stage.


    The blow to the back of his head jarred him into cancelling his zero gravity spell. Briar, likewise, dispelled her [Anti-gravity] as well, allowing him to fall towards the ground. After all, high spells-though powerful- had a correspondingly high mana cost the longer they were in effect.


    A cloud of dust blew up where he landed.


    ¡°Ouch! That was a bit brutal!¡± The youth shook his head as he stood up. Before he had hit the ground, he had been lucky enough to cast [Earth Pillow], a spell which softens the ground for those falling from great heights. It was due to this that he hadn¡¯t ended up in an unconscious state.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Briar narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°I would not have to be brutal if you were not taking me seriously.¡± She replied. ¡°Were you farting out of your mouth earlier when you said that you¡¯d become serious? ...Understood. From now on I shall take your words as fecal air.¡±


    ¡°Say, that¡¯s a bit brutal, don¡¯t you think!?¡± The youth complained.


    ¡°Not at all. A Master class like yourself should be ashamed for trying to pull such cheap tricks on me.¡± Briar replied, a dis-satisfied expression on her face.


    ¡°¡­So you¡¯d noticed?¡± He asked. His eyes became sharper and more focused afterwards. His general aura changed from that of a smiling idiot, to that of an elite intellectual.


    ¡°It¡¯s harder still not to notice.¡± Briar smiled wryly, as her magic eyes clearly showed her the extent of his mana.


    ¡°Hah!¡± He laughed. ¡°...I had taken this contest for a joke, but perhaps I shall get serious after all, then?¡± He spoke ponderingly as he began to accumulate his mana.


    ¡°That is all that I could ask for.¡± Briar said while she also began to accumulate mana.


    The audience knew what the two were doing. Their next spell casting would be their strongest spells. Their next exchange would be their last. Whoever¡¯s spell gave out first would lose.


    Everyone was on the edge of their seats, not daring to close their eyes, or to wipe the sweat that accumulated on their foreheads due to the hot sun. All felt that if they were to miss this next exchange, they¡¯d regret it for the rest of their lives.


    Finally, both sides began to move.


    ¡°Sword of Annihilation!¡± [Youth]


    ¡°Hundred Hexagonal Barriers!¡± [Briar]


    Both yelled out at the same time. A Great Sword appeared in the air over the stage, falling down upon Briar¡¯s position. But it was blocked by a barrier made up of a hundred compressed hexagonal grid barriers surrounding Briar. The ground around her showed signs of collapsing, but she continued to pour out her mana into the shields.


    At this point, whoever ran out of mana first would lose. But this time, Briar was placed in a rather precarious position. If the youth gave up first, then he¡¯d only be exhausted. But if Briar gave out first, then she¡¯d have to bear with the full brunt of the spell, and most likely be highly injured, if not killed. It was a highly suspenseful moment.


    But Briar had chosen not to move out of the way, but to face the attack with her strongest spells: Barrier Magic.


    The place where the great sword met the shield elicited a rather ear-piercing shrieking sound as the area where both spells clashed began to glow brighter. The air around it began to warp. Both sides were using all their mana to vie for the winning spot.


    Briar¡¯s quick emptying of her mana reserves caused her mana veins to start working faster, collecting more mana from the atmosphere to refill the emptying tank. This allowed Briar to keep up the hundred barriers as though they were all one.


    But they weren¡¯t. Compressed together, thought they were, Briar still had created a hundred shields instead of one. Instead, the youth only had one spell to concentrate on. And so, because of that, even with Briar¡¯s monster mana capacity, she still ended up only breaking even against her opponent.


    But then, Briar¡¯s barriers started to flicker, and the sword began to dip lower, until suddenly, the sword quickly descended, making contact with the ground, and sending up another, even greater dust cloud.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Did Briar lose?¡±


    ¡°Did the boy just win?¡±


    The audience murmured amongst themselves as the youth collapsed into a sitting position, sweat trickling in small rivulets down his face as he gasped for breath. It was a good thing the spell ended where it did. If it hadn¡¯t, the spell might have dug into his vitality and continued at the risk of his health.


    But when the dust cleared, Briar still stood in the exact same spot she had. Her Barrier still stood around her. The only difference was, now its shape was not semicircular. Instead, it was shaped more like a wedge of cheese on its side, with an almost sheer slope leading down to the ground at the side of Briar.


    A Deep crack in the earth showed exactly how much damage that [Sword of Annihilation] was currently able to do. The depth of the cut could not be seen.


    Briar approached the youth slowly as she asked.


    ¡°So, are you convinced yet? Or shall I need to go on the offensive as well?¡±


    ¡°Hah..hah¡­no..n-no need!¡± The youth tried to catch his breath. ¡°I can¡¯t recite another spell¡­.I concede.¡± He said with a wry, somewhat self-ridiculing smile as he slowly stood up from the ground.


    Briar nodded and dispelled her barriers.


    ¡°Briar has won the magicians contest.¡± Syrel announced, as the audience began to cheer the loudest they could.


    Briar held out her hand for a handshake. ¡°Don¡¯t let them tell you any different. You are actually quite powerful.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°Me? I¡¯m average. I can¡¯t even beat someone like you.¡±


    Briar shook her head. ¡°No, I just so happen to be an incredible exception, since I have a reputation to hold as one of Madam Rothema¡¯s monster students. Truth to be told, if I had not been your opponent, you could have easily won this tournament.¡±


    Then Briar curtseyed. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure meeting your acquaintance. My name is Briar.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He replied. Then a moment later, he realized that he hadn¡¯t introduced himself at all. ¡°-Er, um, I¡¯m Yohma.¡±


    Briar¡¯s emerald green eyes fixed upon the youth for a moment. Yohma, is it? Or is it Ryouma? She wondered to herself. While it was now quite apparent that he was a reincarnator, Briar still retained her decision not to reveal her status.


    How did she know he was a reincarnator? Only people from her world knew about ''tehepero''. Thus it was actually quite easy. And, while she wouldn''t reveal her own situation, she decided to keep on friendly terms with Ryouma-er Yoma.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Mister Yohma. Although, next time, perhaps we should do introductions before fighting~¡± Briar chuckled.


    ¡°What!¡± Yoma exclaimed pulling a bitter face. ¡°I¡¯ll still have to fight you!? No way! I learned my lesson the first time! Count me out of any fights where I¡¯m opposed to you!¡± And with that, the elite intellectual aura had once more changed back into the idiot happy-go-lucky one.


    ¡°If we ever meet again, go easy on me, okay?¡± He smiled as he made his way to the stairs, where his little angel girl awaited him. Briar likewise turned around to head back towards Rothema¡¯s side of the stage. The awarding ceremony itself would take place after the first place had been decided for the Martial stage as well, so until then, Briar was free.


    At the edge of the stage, Yoma paused and looked back, a rarely-seen serious expression on his face.


    Me? Powerful? Hah! His grey eyes seemed to darken as he looked at the retreating figure of Briar. Though our appearances are of a similar age: I, a twenty-one year old man, losing to a twelve-year old girl can be nothing but a big huge joke.


    His eyes returned to their original grey shade and he stepped down off the stage.


    Facing his expressionless companion, he laughed in a carefree manner. ¡°Well! I suppose I lost! Hahahah!¡±


    The girl, Fiona, nodded, and quietly patted him on the shoulder. ¡°There, there.¡± When he lowered his head, she also patted him on his head.


    Yoma nodded his head, in agreement with himself. ¡°Fee¡¯s comfort is truly the best!¡±


    He grinned, proudly, until Fiona lost patience with him and pounded a fist down upon his lowered head.


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense.¡± She replied in a monotone.


    ---------------


    Back in Rothema¡¯s observation room, Briar noticed that no one was on the side that observed the magician stage. ¡°Has the fight already started?¡± She wondered as she quickly charged through the curtain into the other room.


    The sound of loud cheering suddenly blasted her ears as her attention was immediately drawn to the stage.


    [1]</a> Tehepero: a motion by which one shows that one is being silly; wink + tongue stuck out [pero] + knocking fist against the head + short laugh [tehe] = tehepero

 Chapter 100: Martial Stage-Final Match/ The Awards Ceremony

    Upon the martial stage, locked in combat, were Kael and Laura. From the start, Laura had pressed to the advantage, sending the first attack.


    Laura was giving her all, sending out a flurry of kicks, punches, and sometimes even bursting out with flying daggers towards Kael. In the past few months, her form had become swift, steady, and accurate. But the things which she had gained the most of was strength.


    Briar, who was observing, could see clearly that the force behind Laura¡¯s strikes had become much greater over the past month or so. Even though the muscles in Laura¡¯s arm was still as skinny as ever, the muscles had become more condensed and elastic, allowing her arms to build up more force and a faster acceleration.


    And this was all thanks to Master Thales¡¯s regimented training.


    --


    Huh? Briar looked around the room. Come to think of it, where is Master Thales? While Briar wanted to see what was keeping him, she also felt reluctant to leave and miss seeing the end of the match. She decided to put off looking for Thales until later, after the match.


    --


    Kael retreated, dodging the flurry of strikes by a mere 5 centimeters. The knives were either dodged, or redirected using a well-aimed kick, or a palm strike. Laura continued to press the advantage, as Kael retreated around the stage in a circular motion, avoiding being cornered against the edge of the stage.


    Even when Laura began to use her martial skills and appear in different parts of the stage, Kael was completely able to keep up with her. It could be said that while Laura had become very proficient in Shadow Flight, Kael had become even more proficient in Ghost Evasion. The after-images frustrated Laura to no end.


    He could also tell where she would be fleeing to, since she always glanced in its direction before activating the technique. If they were simply engaging in a training spat, he would probably tell her about it. But, since this was a competition, why help her opponent out?


    Finally, Laura did the one thing that he had been waiting for: she teleported directly behind him. But, even before she finished, Kael had started turning, throwing a right straight punch at her. It struck her in the left shoulder before she understood what happened, tossing Laura back a certain distance.


    Laura landed, sliding back a bit before stopping. She paused, glaring at Kael with suspicion. How was he able to guess where she would escape to? Should she test it out again?


    Laura rotated the shoulder that had been struck. Although it wasn¡¯t broken, she was certain that she could only use half as much force with that arm now. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk to test whether Kael could tell where the destination of her Shadow Flight would be. She would have to assume that he had a way of knowing.


    And so, Laura decisively sealed away her Shadow Flight. It was better to set aside something that was not working, than to risk exposing herself due to a flawed technique.


    Kael raised his fists and struck a boxer¡¯s pose. Then he smirked and pointed his hand out towards her, waving her forward, tauntingly.


    Why this little-!


    Laura grinned in anger as a vein started to throb in her forehead. Without hesitation, she launched herself at Kael. If she could just get a clean strike on him, she would win!


    Kael continued to dodge, and block her attacks, as he backed up. Somehow, always managing to keep away from the edges of the circular stage. While bending over backwards, to avoid a facial punch, he landed on the palm of his hand, and kicked out towards the side of her head.


    Laura turned her face, tilting her head in the direction of the kick, which redirected the majority of the energy. She just barely managed to avoid being KO¡¯ed. Surprised, Laura¡¯s eyes flashed with a sense of caution.


    Kael flipped over sideways, and landed on his feet again. But he quickly jumped backwards as Laura smashed forward, pounding her fists onto the ground where he once stood. The sturdy stone stage cracked from the force of the blow.


    ¡°Is this all you are good for?¡± Laura raged. ¡°Running away?¡±


    ¡°The term, my dear friend, is ¡®strategic retreat.¡¯¡± Kael replied easily. ¡°Not everything can be solved by brashly charging into a situation.¡±


    ¡°Are you calling me brash!¡± Laura yelled.


    Kael smirked. ¡°Now why would you think that? I certainly don¡¯t recall giving out any names. Or is it that you also think that you sometimes behave brashly?¡±


    ¡°Rascal!¡± She hissed and threw a punch at him.


    ¡°Verily.¡± Kael agreed, as he dodged.


    ¡°Coward!¡± She booed, shooting a throwing knife towards him.


    ¡°Completely.¡± He replied, as he caught the knife between two fingers, flicking it away in a harmless direction.


    Laura then jumped back, and stood there, her eyes turning red.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°You are so frustrating! I trained hard to be able to fight you face to face! I did not come here to watch you dodge around like a dragonfly!¡±


    He paused and tilted his head to the side in thought. ¡°Then you can give up?¡± He said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that!¡± She yelled.


    ¡°Then, what do you suggest?¡± He asked.


    Receive the full force of my punch!¡± Laura cried out, gathering her strength.


    ¡°Good! Come!¡± Kael responded to her vigorous shout. Standing still, upright and unguarded. He opened his arms out.


    ¡°Let me see how good you¡¯ve become!¡±


    Laura once more launched herself at him, all of her strength behind this one last punch. Even up to six inches away, Kael stood still, waiting to receive the blow. But, when she reached 5 centimeters away, Kael finally moved.


    Falling backwards, he moved in the direction of the punch, grabbing both of Laura¡¯s arms as he fell, rolling backwards onto the ground.


    Uh-oh! NOT GOOD! Laura realized, as she felt herself supported by a foot at her stomach, to fly right over Kael¡¯s head, and swing headfirst into the stone ground just past him. All she could do was to clench her teeth before her head struck stone.


    THUD.


    Laura¡¯s head whirled with dizziness as she fell onto her back, temporarily unable to get up. Kael just stood up, looking down at her with a wry smile.


    ¡°You-you cheated!¡± Laura muttered unwillingly.


    Kael chuckled and sighed.


    ¡°Silly girl. Did I ever say that I would actually receive that punch of yours?¡± He replied.


    ¡°Of cours-¡­huh? You rascal!¡± Laura¡¯s bitter face could pickle cucumbers as she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s my fault then. I should have known better than to jump in headfirst after hearing something like that¡­ I admit my defeat. You win.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to stagger across the stage a bit more?¡± Kael asked.


    ¡°At this point, I¡¯d be lucky if all I could do was stagger. Your blasted move gave me a concussion!¡± Laura growled frustrated.


    ¡°Then, lie still and wait patiently for the medic to arrive.¡± Kael replied.


    ¡°BRIAR HAS WON!¡±


    The announcement sent shivers through the audience, awakening them from the daze they had been in. The final duel had been an eye opener for some, and a mouth opener for others as they dropped their jaws, with no sound coming out.


    But that silence did not remain for long. A deafening, frenzied cheer rose up from the crowds, one which didn¡¯t dissipate even after several minutes, as they cheered themselves hoarse.


    ¡°There will now be a half an hour break to recover. Then, afterwards, we shall begin the last part of the martial competition. Don¡¯t think that this is over! There¡¯s still one last round to finish.¡± The announcer reminded them, as the crowds filed down to the concessions stands for food, and to the stationed outhouses to relieve themselves.


    Kael had now been confirmed as the temporary first place. If Laura didn¡¯t challenge him to another match--or was not challenged by the dragon lad and defeated, allowing the lad to challenge Kael for first place--then Kael would be confirmed as the first place winner.


    At this point, Briar jumped up on the stage, to go examine Laura.


    ¡°She has a concussion.¡± Kael told her helpfully.


    Briar sighed as she got to work, placing her hand upon Laura¡¯s forehead as she chanted ¡°[Heal]¡±


    A blue glow surrounded Laura¡¯s head, and the damage was quickly beginning to be reversed under the effects of the calming blue light.


    Kael whistled. ¡°You can restrict the spell to just a single area now?¡± He asked. Usually, when [Heal] was chanted, the glow would spread to the entire body, unless otherwise specified. To do what Briar did meant that she was able to manipulate her mana to a very high degree. Several members of the Magicians Council were very impressed when they saw this. But, Briar didn¡¯t even spare a glance in their direction.


    ¡°Don¡¯t challenge him again.¡± Briar said to Laura, patting her on the shoulder.


    Laura made a face. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because you want him to win!¡± She muttered.


    ¡°I also do not want to have to heal your bruised head again. Otherwise, if there should be a next time, I might just leave you to suffer through it, Hmm?¡± Briar smiled cheerfully, but Laura shuddered.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll be good.¡± Laura muttered, feeling a bit happy that her best friend cared enough about Laura to be concerned about her health.


    ¡°Good. My job is to get you in tip-top shape so that Dragon Boy doesn¡¯t have even a chance at first place.¡± Briar nodded. Laura felt a bit better thinking that she might have another chance to bash that jerk¡¯s face in.


    Unfortunately for Laura, the lad was traumatized enough that he wouldn¡¯t dare to face Laura after that. And so, after the half-hour intermission, the first, second, and third places were confirmed for the martial competition.


    Of course, Kael was in first place. Laura was in second place. And the dragon lad was in third place. They made their way to the stage that had been erected outside of the double-colliseum under the thunderous cheers that besieged them through the magic barrier around the pathway.


    The magician winners were already present up on the stage. Of course, Briar was in first place. Youma was in second place. And Elsa was in third place. On top of the stage was the usual three steps for first second and third place. The two first place steps had been placed together, so that they could stand side by side.


    As Briar and Kael stood together, many people began to notice the similarities between the two, including the fact that they shared the same name. But before they could begin to hash out theories about why the two looked so similar, Council-mage Syrel stepped forward, alongside Mayor Bradley.


    While Syrel and Bradley were busy with the presentation of the rewards, Grandpa Thur was suspiciously watching the Councilmages behind the winners on the stage. The person who had been observing Madam Rothema¡¯s viewing room had come from one of these men, and Grandpa Thur would be darned if he didn¡¯t catch a clue as to who it might be.


    ---


    ¡°And so, Briar Mikael, I present to you this first place martial medallion, along with the first place prize of fifty thousand gold coins.¡± Syrel announced, as Bradley beamingly placed the medal around Kael¡¯s neck, and presented the coins to him. Kael bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement as he accepted the coins, placing them in his ¡®magic¡¯ bag.


    To his and Briar¡¯s great luck, not even one of the magicians noticed the fact that Kael was Briar¡¯s double, allowing the ceremony to proceed smoothly.


    ¡°And to you as well, Briar Rose, I present this first place magic medallion alongside this permanent pass to the Great Library of the Magician¡¯s Council. It will allow you to enter anywhere in the Library, of course, aside from the forbidden books section. I trust it shall serve you well in your pursuit of the peak of knowledge.¡± Syrel said, personally giving the prize to her this time.


    ¡°Thank you very much!¡± She said with a smile.


    ¡°And now-What is this!?¡± Syrel exclaimed as a blue magic teleportation circle opened up beneath Kael¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Magic Dispersal!¡± Briar shouted. But the magic circle only receeded for a moment before rebuilding itself. Syrel, finally reacting to the situation, slammed his staff down upon the stage. The magic circle shattered with Kael collapsing to the floor, his face turned pale.


    ¡°WHO! Who was the blasted fiend who DARED to interrupt this Ceremony!¡± Magi Faerwind¡¯s enraged voice boomed out like thunder as the wind began to gather around him in a mini tornado.

 Chapter 101: The After Party

    ¡°HAHAHA! I failed this time, but I don¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t capture them again. Let¡¯s see how long you can keep that young-un away from me!¡± A voice cackled in the air, as a figure sped off into the distance.


    Grandpa Thur blinked. During that time, not one of the council-mages had moved from his seat, or said anything aside from Council-mage Syrel and Magi Faerwind. He frowned. Could he have been mistaken?


    Several Council-mages took off after the fleeing figure, struggling to catch up to it, but the accursed intruder, whoever they were, was too fast. Regretfully, they could only turn back and return to the stage.


    Up on stage, when everyone felt that the crisis was over, both Kael and Briar suddenly felt the hairs on the back of their necks raise up. Immediately, they grabbed each other, as well as the second-place winners, and leapt off the stage.


    The second-place winners, startled, grabbed onto the third-place winners, who lost their balance. And so, all six winners fell off the stairs, and, consequently, off the stage right before a new magic circle appeared, covering the whole stage.


    This circle was a mana-depletion circle. And even the council-mages couldn¡¯t help but fall to the ground upon being affected by it. Briar and Kael, as well as the second and third place winners had miraculously missed being captured under its effects by a single moment.


    ¡°Ho? You managed to escape that did you? Well not for-¡± His voice was cut off by a blinding flash of light, originating from Madam Rothema, who had been tracking the source of the sound.


    ¡°Abdd-difscations!! My researc-I mean, Ahem! I¡¯ll be seeing you fledglings later then!¡± Briar heard a low hum begin in the air. And swiftly covered her ears.


    ¡°Quick! Cover your ears!¡± She warned the others. As soon as they did so, a large boom sounded from within the coliseum, as a wormhole seemed to open above it. A dark figure swiftly rose up and disappeared into that hole before it closed up.


    After that, the magic circle on the stage faded and shattered, effectively freeing the trapped magicians.


    ¡°Whoah. How did you know about that?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°I guessed.¡± Briar replied. ¡°He was using some method of escape. Judging by the hum of high frequency mana, I guessed he was using a method of transport that needed a lot of power. So, the first thing that came to mind was a makeshift teleportation device, the old kind. But those are usually unstable and prone to making deafening noises, which is why I warned you.¡±


    But, it was yet another half an hour before the magicians council members deemed that the assailant had truly fled this time. Thanks to Madam Rothema¡¯s voice-tracking missile spell, the assailant left while he could. If only he had stayed but a few more moments, Rothema might have finished her imprisoning barrier spell.


    Briar could only sigh. Since the attacker hadn¡¯t been captured, there was now a hidden element of danger in any future ventures. There was no telling where the wretched man would appear for his next attempt, after all.


    ¡°Why are you sighing! Briar, you¡¯re a hero! You saved us all from that doomed magic circle, and thwarted that rogue.¡± Laura clapped a hand on Briar¡¯s back.


    ¡°But now we¡¯ve lost sight of him. The chances of a sneak attack have been raised significantly.¡± Briar sighed again, upset at failing to capture the brigand.


    Of course, most of this was all an act. Briar had her suspicions that the assailant was, even now, still present. After all, the best way to sneak attack is from up close when no one suspected.


    ¡°Oh come on! Don¡¯t be such a downer!¡± Laura scoffed. ¡°We leave the future to the future. Right now, we celebrate! Later, we make plans. Got it?¡± Laura acted as if she were explaining things to a two-year-old child. Briar rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Fine. I highly doubt he would act again unless he managed to catch us separated.¡± Briar responded. The whole group climbed up the rope ladder to Madam Rothema¡¯s House, which had uprooted itself from the ground and flown over to right above where they were standing. Then they took a leisurely flight back to the city, where the house tethered itself in the air above Mayor Bradley¡¯s house.


    They alighted once more upon the ground upon receiving an invitation to an evening party, which included the names of several highly influential magi, and martial practitioners as well. Princess Claire was also among the list of guests to attend.


    Briar attended the party in an evening gown Madam Rothema had magically whipped up. Perhaps she should be grateful her teacher had a somewhat useful hobby? Briar wondered as she now looked more mature than her usual appearance.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Outwardly she appeared to have relaxed, but inwardly she was still vigilant. Kael was also acting relaxed in a matching suit of stunning blue. Every now and then, though, he exchanged glances with Grandpa Thur; a silent way of communicating ¡®all¡¯s well so far¡¯. Grandpa Thur was now fully vigilant, silently watching over the rest of the ceremony.


    With that, not only were medals awarded to the second and third places for mages and martial artists, but also both Briar and Kael were commended for their quick response to the situation. And, with that, the ceremony was over.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to head over to Marchand kingdom after this, right?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, I was hoping to stop by home first and see how things were doing back there.¡± Briar replied. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve last seen them, and I want to bring them with me on a vacation.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a vacation?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like a personal holiday that you take to go somewhere enjoyable, like the sea-side.¡± Briar explained.


    So you¡¯re taking you¡¯re family to Marchand kingdom?¡± Laura asked. After all, Marchand kingdom was in a dispute with their neighboring kingdom currently. It wasn¡¯t exactly what one would term ¡®peaceful¡¯ or ¡®enjoyable¡¯.


    Then Laura shivered as she thought. Unless Thera¡¯s family members are all fighting addicts from the start! Then Laura shook her head. Of course not! After all, Thera¡¯s mother is the picture of peace!


    Little did Laura know, that when Helen became angry, no one was safe.


    ¡°But, you¡¯ll be bringing Kael along, right?¡± Laura asked. ¡°How are you going to explain him to your family?¡±


    ¡°What about Kael?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s supposed to be your brother? Wouldn¡¯t it be odd if Kael¡¯s supposed parents did not even know he existed?¡± Laura argued.


    ¡°Oh, that? There¡¯s actually a very simple solution to that.¡± Briar replied calmly.


    ¡°What kind of solution?¡± Laura asked.


    ¡°Well, we could just say he¡¯s adopted, because his parents died, and they were related to us.¡± Briar said.


    Laura just stared at her. Then shook her head as her brain restarted. She turned to Rothema and asked. ¡°Can she do that?¡±


    Madam Rothema chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. He has the family genes after all.¡±


    Laura then grabbed her head, which was in pain. ¡°You are all crazy!¡± She moaned.


    ¡°You can¡¯t think of him as my cousin?¡± Briar asked.


    ¡°I can, but when I think of how he knows literally everything there was between me and you, it just feels odd!¡± Laura said.


    Briar shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not bothered by it. Instead, won¡¯t it make things less awkward? At least we don¡¯t have to take half a lifetime to bring him up to speed on everything that he missed.¡±


    At that point, Princess Claire approached Briar, so Laura retreated over by Master Thales to sit down quietly and relieve her now splitting headache. Thales was busy scanning the audience for signs of his errant brother, Miles, attending. There was no party that Miles didn¡¯t find a way to join in. If he was still in the area, he would be at the party.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Princess Claire said. ¡°I¡¯m glad to know that I was right to believe that you¡¯d win.¡±


    Briar raised an eyebrow. ¡°Was this before, or after you fought me?¡±


    ¡°After. Of course, how could I put my faith in someone I didn¡¯t know about?¡± Princess Claire readily admitted it. ¡°To tell the truth, I was simply looking for competent magicians at the time, so my winning was never really my first objective.¡±


    Briar nodded, silent for a moment, before suddenly speaking. ¡°After this, I am going to go home.¡±


    Clare began to panic. ¡°B-but you said you-¡±


    ¡°Hold on. I never said I was going home for good.¡± Briar interrupted her. ¡°I¡¯m going home to see my family and invite them to come along with me. You said there were a lot of nice tourist spots, right? So, while I¡¯m helping you at the contest, my family can have fun sightseeing.¡±


    ¡°Is Grayell kingdom in such a good situation that one of their main knights can up and leave?¡± Princess Claire asked.


    ¡°Well. Not exactly.¡± Briar shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s the king¡¯s orders for my father to take a rest for a bit, before all hell breaks loose.¡±


    ¡°Goodness! You have a gateway to hell there?¡± Claire asked, concerned. According to ancient folklore, volcanoes were referred to as ¡®gateways to hell¡¯ back before the people became more informed about what volcanoes were.


    ¡°Um¡­No, it¡¯s a local expression.¡± Briar corrected her. ¡°It means before things start getting busy to the point where one might hallucinate they were in hell.¡±


    ¡°Ah. What an interesting expression!¡± Claire said. ¡°May I use it?¡±


    ¡°Feel free.¡± Briar shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t own it. As far as I know, anyone can use a simple expression.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Claire said.


    ¡°But, because I¡¯m going home first, it¡¯ll probably take some time to get there.¡± Briar pondered. ¡°Unless I can ask Madam Rothema to bring us there in her flying house.¡±


    ¡°Just so you know, I trust you¡¯ll be there on time.¡± Claire smiled confidently.


    ¡°At least one of us is confident~¡± Briar joked.


    Then Claire looked around, slightly fidgety. ¡°Um¡­is there perhaps a chance that your brother is here?¡±


    ¡°Kael?¡± Briar asked. ¡°Sure! He¡¯s right over¡­there!¡± Briar pointed over by the grand piano, where Kael was stylishly leaning against the wall, a glass of juice in his hand as he surveyed the crowds.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Claire curtseyed before she began to make her way over to Kael.


    Briar¡¯s face twitched a moment as a thought came unbidden to her head. Maybe¡­She glanced in between Claire and Kael. As Claire finally reached Kael, her cheeks turned red. He smiled at her, and they both started chatting. Could it be possible¡­? No, surely not? As the topic began to make her head hurt, she decidedly shoved it into a corner of her head to ruminate upon at a later time.


    Of course, after that, there were many young lads who approached her with the intent of dancing with her, and possibly stealing her away to their family. For those young lads, Madam Rothema¡¯s hawk-like gaze managed to deter quite a lot of them.


    Instead, they could only manage a bit of conversation before their desire to flee overrode their desire to get on Briar¡¯s good books.

 Chapter 102: Farewells and First Greetings

    "You know, I think that Clare likes you." Briar Rose pointed out to Kael as they left the party venue with Magi Arthur Pendrag following behind.


    "Clare? Yeah, she''s a cheerful girl." Kael nodded.


    "No, I mean ''likes you'' likes you." Briar clarified.


    Kael eyed her dubiously. "Now I''m starting to wonder what you had in that drink you were holding earlier."


    "You know I don''t drink at parties. Too much mischief going around." Briar shrugged. "I held several drinks that are now the dinner of some unfortunate potted plants back at the venue."


    I feel sorry for the plants." Kael quipped.


    "And what about me?" Briar rolled her eyes.


    "I know you. If you''re anything like me, you can deal with it on your own." Kael shrugged. "After all, we''re Madame Rothema''s monster students: the Briar Duo!"


    "Haha, great! Sounds like something one would say while striking a stunning pose, don''t you think?" Briar laughed.


    It was Kael''s turn to roll his eyes. "You and your imagination. Clare is just a good person whom we are barely acquainted with. What makes you think she could like someone like me?"


    "Well, for starters, you really are a pretty boy. And it''s not like it''s impossible. After all, you do have noble blood running through your veins." Briar pointed out.


    "Yes, but for how long?" Kael sighed, and glanced at Briar, who understood and raised a sound barrier to prevent eavesdroppers. He ruffled his hair in frustration.


    "She doesn''t know any better, but you and I both know that I am a potential disaster in the making. I have no idea of my lifespan, reproduction, or even whether I can advance in levels like you. As the first of my kind, I have no idea whether I''ll simply cease to exist tomorrow. You do understand that, right? As it is, living with a girl''s memories in a male body isn''t exactly the most comfortable fit either. And only you, Thales, and Madam Rothema are aware of my situation. Other magi would be willing to kill to get their hands on me. Therefore, regardless of whether anyone likes me or not, until I know exactly how much of a hazard I am, I''ll need to keep them at a distance."


    "Che...But I want nii-chan to become happy too...." Briar sulked. She had never had an older brother before, but she had instantly accepted Kael the moment she met him. He was close to her in a way that no one else could understand. For, as of now, he was the only person to share her deepest, most intimate secret.


    "While I appreciate the sentiment, this is something I decided for myself." Kael inclined his head and smiled kindly at Briar. "Please respect my decision."


    "Then, let''s have a bet." Briar insisted.


    "A bet?" Keith asked.


    "Ten years. If, at the end of ten years, you have not found someone whom you love dearly, then I will never say a word about this again." Briar offered.


    "If you can go for ten years and we discover there is no difference between you and any other man, then there should be no problem in living your own life. No need to stick with me forever. Twenty-five isn''t too late to marry., after all."


    "Are you sure?" Kael asked.


    "You know me. Am I?" Briar returned, raising an eyebrow. "As the one who brought you here, I feel responsible for you. Sure, we have the same starting point, but I made you different from me for a reason. You were never meant to be my spy, or my shadow, Kael. From that day, you were your own man, with your own thoughts."


    "Maybe." Kael admitted. "But how are we gonna explain this to mom and dad?"


    Briar sighed. "Indeed, quite the problem." She dispelled the sound barrier. "Regardless, I am going to have to explain things. Do you think I should send them a letter?"


    "No. Best to talk face to face. Some things cannot be understood by mere text." Kael advised.


    "See? Only you understand me so well!" Briar laughed.


    "Oh?" Kael looked down the path ahead of them. "Looks like we have company."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Hmmn?" Briar also turned her head to look. It was Council-mage Syrel, out on a walk as well.


    "Master Syrel." Kael greeted with a slight bow. "What brings you here?"


    "Ah, just leaving, I see?" Syrel noted.


    "Yes. We''ve got a long trip home after all. It''s best if we rest beforehand." Kael responded.


    "We''ve met before. Ah! Is this your sister, here? A pleasure to meet you! My name is Master Syrel." He held out a hand for a handshake.


    "A pleasure to meet you too. Forgive me for not shaking your hand. I''ve been dealing with some rather toxic concoctions tonight. Is there something you wished to ask my brother?" Briar asked, also bowing her head a bit.


    "Well, by all means, he is welcome as well if he is proficient. But, no, I was actually hoping to speak with you, really." Syrel admitred.


    "Is that so? I''m not sure what you wish to speak about, though." Briar encouraged him softly to get to the point.


    "Ah, well, have you heard from your brother that the council has discovered another ancient ruin?" Syrel asked.


    "I''m afraid I haven''t. I''m sure it must have slipped his mind in all the excitement we had today." Briar replied, finally understanding why he wished to speak with her.


    "This is because of my duel with Lyra, wasn''t it?" She added.


    "Yes, indeed!" Syrel smiled. "I couldn''t help but notice that you had done really well on your ancient language exam. In fact, it was as if you knew how to properly speak the language!"


    Briar tilted her head. "Is it necessary to know how to speak the language?" She asked.


    "Not really. But the Magician''s council is formally inviting you to come examine the ruins as a guest translator. If you could speak it, things would go much faster." Syrel replied.


    "Me?" Briar asked. "But surely those in the Magicians Council are far more advanced in the study of the ancient language than I. What could they possibly need me for?"


    "They say that, but they really just want to make sure you know your place." Syrel shrugged. "As they''re somewhat at odds with Madam Rothema for the time being, they want to examine you to make sure you haven''t been ''corrupted to a dead end path'' or ''taught to disdain their elders''"


    "Is that so? Well you can tell them this: Respect is received when respect is given. If you do not respect me as a fellow artisan of the same path, or even as a fellow human being, then why should I care a rats ass about giving respect to you? I know the origin and meaning of these golden eyes. And Rothema does too."


    Syrel laughed. "Good! Good! Respect is recieved when respect is given, huh? That cannot be more true! But what do you mean about your eyes? They are a strange color, to be sure..."


    Briar made a somewhat troubled face. "Well, let''s just say that the kidnapper earlier today is quite invested in gathering those whose eye color has changed to gold."


    "Changed? That is strange. What did they look like before?" Syrel was surprised.


    "They were a lovely shade of soft sea green." Kael interjected. "Both of ours were. We came down with the hades fever when we were both five. It turns out we had taken a hit for Laura, as it had been meant for her instead."


    "Hades fever!? I thought that was already..." Syrel''s eyes widened in alarm.


    "Do you know something about it, Councilmage Syrel?" Briar asked, her eyes searching his expression.


    Syrel looked at her with a somewhat apologetic expression.


    "We thought we had gathered the last strains of that twenty years ago! It''s a sort of foreign mana that came from a falling star that caused the death of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. And you''re saying it''s hades fever, really?"


    "How do you know who had hades fever if they all died?" Kael asked.


    "The corpses....all had golden eyes..." Syrel admitted.


    "Well, Councilmage Syril, I hope you understand what I mean in my message, then?" Briar replied. "It''s not that I hate the council, but I''m really afraid that once I accept their invitation, I will be mistaken for an experiment instead of a human being."


    "We, we could extract it for you-the mana, that is!" Syrel offered.


    "It has been ten years since then, and it has neither threatened my life since then, nor caused me any problems. For what reason should it be extracted? Can you ensure that I''ll even be able to keep my eyesight once you are done meddling?" Briar replied, less softly.


    "I think your council members have meddled far enough in me and my sister''s lives." Keith said sternly. "Just because she doesn''t hold a grudge doesn''t mean I don''t. Unless your council can give us an explanation for how a foreign mana that was ''completely gathered'' could be weaponized to hurt children, we do not wish to have any further contact with your council. Don''t get me wrong. We are the victims, here. Not the council. It is already generous of us to give you a chance to explain. Rothema is also aware of this, so even if the council should try to capture us, there''ll be hell to pay."


    Syrel winced, visibly crestfallen.


    "But, taking into account your relationship with Madam Rothema, I feel out of all the others, you are the only one we can trust to speak about this. If the council wishes to contact us, we will only speak to you." Briar added.


    Syrel grimaced. "That isn''t exactly the most comforting, but I''m glad you can consider me to be a decent human being, at the very least."


    "A decent human being is what we should ever be, regardless of occupation." Briar sniffed. "But the fact that it''s become a compliment for you, seems to speak volumes about the council at current."


    "They''re usually pretty decent, unless they''re in the middle of their research." Syrel tried to defend.


    "Only decent when necessary? Some itches should never be scratched. Likewise, curiosity can be a dangerous thing when placed above decency. Remember that." Kael warned. "Remember it so that something like what happened to us..."


    He paused, a sad expression on his face, but continued. "...never originates from your own hands. I don''t want Madam Rothema to be disappointed, especially by those she considers her friends."


    Syrel looked at the siblings, who stared at him with golden eyes, awaiting his answer.


    "Fair enough. You have my word, and my cooperation." Syrel agreed. Once he returned, he would definitely look into the matter of the star mana being leaked to the outside. Such a grave matter had earned the animousity of two young rising stars, and lost their trust. How could he not look into it?


    "It looks like you pass, for the time being." Briar nodded.


    "I look forward to the results." She said as Kael led her past on the way to Rothema''s house.


    Syrel sat down on a nearby bench, trying to gather his thoughts together. There had only been a limited amount of councilmage members that were in charge of gathering the star mana. But, as for the culprit, was it a subordinate? Or a superior? Syrel clenched his mop of curly brown hair in his head. If it was the former, then he would be able to expell them from the council for good without repercussions. But if it was a superior...then he, himself, might be expelled, or even worse.


    Two pairs of feet stopped in front of him.


    "Yo there, young''un! Care to explain a few things to me?" A somewhat gravelly voice sounded from above.


    Syrel raised his head up to see who it was, then froze.


    "A-Arthur Pendrag!!?" He barely squeaked out in excitement. "They told me you were dead! Who- where- why- how? How are you still alive!?"


    "A long story short, I was saved by that young''un Kael. That''s why I couldn''t help but overhear what you were talking about earlier. What has happened in the council while I was gone?"

 Chapter 103: Farewells and First Greetings 2

    "Do you think we''ll be able to find the culprit with this?" Briar asked Kael.


    "Hardly. But it should cause him to turtle away for a bit, and give us time to gain more strength." Kael grimaced. "It seems that no matter where we go, or what world we come to, humans will be humans."


    "You''re not going to join the war in Grayelle kingdom?" Briar asked.


    "If it is such a mess that the king decides to banish his own first level brown class knight, then who are we red classes to try and intervene? Unless we should suddenly have a power upgrade and become black class, I don''t think the king would even think to allow us to intervene." Kael pointed out.


    "But...he''s fighting the war because of me. The kingdom is fighting the war because of me." Briar finally voiced out what she had been hiding in the depths of her heart.


    Kael looked at Briar, then flicked her on the forehead. "Stupid. Even if you weren''t there as a catalyst, they would''ve come up with some other reason to attack. This is why government doesn''t work. If people can''t even properly govern and protect themselves, how can they govern others? All we can do right now is to make sure our friends and family are safe."


    "But, still, what about Master Thales and Madam Rothema?" Briar asked. "They''ve been rushing things for quite a while. Don''t you think they''re preparing for the war as well?"


    "Then you might very well ask what sort of war requires a magi to intervene." Kael replied seriously. "And if such small people as us could make even a little difference in such a conflict."


    "Oof! You''re right." Briar agreed. "But, still...it doesn''t sit well with me."


    "Me neither." Kael nodded. "Shall we confront Madam Rothema and Master Thales about it, before everything becomes too late?"


    "I''ll ask tomorrow, I suppose." Briar sighed, looking around at the streets lit by the lights from magic lamps.


    "...should we tell them, I wonder." Kael murmured to himself.


    "Tell them what?" Briar asked.


    "About the origin of ''Briar'' before she became Thera." Kael answered. Briar glanced sharply at Kael before quickly setting up another sound barrier.


    "I thought we had decided to abandon that to the forgetful sands of time." Briar noted.


    "I meant to use it as a bargain chip to get them to be honest and not to disregard us outright." Kael explained. "It''s most likely that they already suspect something. We''ve been too impressive lately."


    "Let''s not." Briar shook her head. "I don''t want to be seen as anyone other than me."


    "Then why did you choose to be called ''Briar''? And why did you wait until it was your birthday to create me?" Kael asked.


    "Well, that''s...just for nostalgia." Briar blustered.


    "And why did you teach Helen survival tactics?" Kael asked. "Not even regular adventurers know some of the techniques you taught her."


    "I got carried away, okay!?" Briar shrugged.


    "Why did you tell Laura about yourself? You could have said ''I don''t know'' and fooled her."


    "Because...I don''t like lying to my friends." Briar replied, quietly.


    "Then, what are you running from?" Kael asked. "You are no longer Briar Sparrow any more than I am. This country is not Japan. These people are not your enemies. Even the king is worthy of our respect. The only thing you have that is different from anyone else is the memories from someone who isn''t you. Those memories gave you the opportunity to grow quickly and deal with things that anyone else would have been helpless to defend against. Although anyone else in this world can deny it, you and I know better, all right?"Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "I thought this was my chance to start over. That everything would be fine if I ignored it and pretended it didn''t exist." Briar said glumly, kicking at the ground.


    "But, much more than lying to your friends, don''t you hate lying to yourself? I''m not telling you to reveal it to the world like an idiot. But, surely the people close to you...that you hold dear....also have a right to know?" Kael tilted his head to glance at Briar''s head, which had drooped as she sought to hide her troubled expression with her hand.


    "But ...what if they should hate me for it?" The whisper barely made it past the knot in Briar''s throat.


    "I couldn''t bear it. To be hated by the people I care about most...not again." Briar crouched down in the middle of the street, with her face in her hands, as she tried to hide the tears that forced themselves out of her eyes.


    In all this time, Briar had not shed a single heartfelt tear. Whether it was because she could handle everything that had come her way, or hadn''t cared for much else, she didn''t know. But now, in this instant, she found herself unable to stop the tears.


    A warm hand patted her on the back. "Buck up, Briar Rose. Even should everyone else turn against you, don''t you have me? As someone who is closest to you, and also in the same predicament, you should know that I will never hate you. Do you hate me for knowing it as well?"


    "...thanks...and sorry about that." Briar replied, somewhat conflicted. After all, Briar had been the one to place Kael in this awkward situation.


    "Let''s decide what we can safely reveal first, and seal away everything else, okay?" Kael encouraged, holding out a hand to help Briar get up.


    "...Fine." Briar replied, accepting the help as she was pulled to her feet.


    The sound barrier dispersed, the two continued on the way back in silence.


    --------


    "This is a collossal mess." Arthur Pendrag sighed as he held his head in his hands.


    "How can the council mess up so badly these few hundred years, eh!? When I was buried, did they think my orders were, too!?"


    "I was only aware of these things after I was taken in not fifteen years ago." Syrel sighed. "All this time, I had thought it was your will. So it was all a plot?"


    "Aye. And I have a few ideas for who might be the plotter." Arthur snorted. "Tis time I pay that ole Fey Morgan a visit...you go back and see on your end where the leak came from. Report back to me when you''ve found something."


    Arthur''s blue eyes glowed pale in the light of the moon.


    "Tis more serious than I had thought." He muttered as he also headed back for the evening, following the footsteps of Briar and Kael.


    ----------


    Unfortunately for Briar, not long after they had arrived back at the mansion, Madam Rothema had called her and Kael into the study to talk. Master Thales and Arthur Pendrag were there as well.


    "So, I heard you told Syrel about your eyes?" Madam Rothema asked pointedly.


    "We did." Kael replied.


    "Good. I was about to tell him myself, with your permission, but that starstruck fan of Arthur''s would only think I was complaining about the council again." Madam Rothema shook her head.


    "Well, good thing he probably won''t think such a thing now that I''m back." Arthur harrumphed. "Looks like I''ll need to strike the fear of Arthur Pendrag back into the hearts of a few forgetful old fools."


    "Let''s not get distracted here." Master Thales reminded the other two. They quickly came back to the main topic.


    "The main reason for our talk today is because of Kael, actually." Madam Rothema explained.


    "Thales didn''t realize it at the time, but I fashioned Kael''s appearance after a certain old friend of mine when he was younger, while also changing it slightly to match your own appearance, if you know what I mean. I''m afraid that people who see Kael will mistake him for that acquaintances'' descendant."


    "...Okay? Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?" Briar asked.


    "Well, some people will undoubtedly believe it is a good thing." Arthur sniggered. "But others won''t like it one bit as they have enjoyed a cushy position under that man''s name for quite some time."


    "It probably depends upon whom you chose for me to look like." Kael pointed out.


    "Well, most remember him as the great magician, Marlin." Madam Rothema rolled her eyes.


    "Wait, I thought you hated that guy?" Briar asked, confused.


    "Not the real one. It''s just that a lot of people mistook him for Marlin due to having false expectations on what the real deal would look like. So, in order not to betray their expectations, he pretended to be Marlin."


    "Wasn''t everything revealed when Marlin found out?" Briar asked.


    "Oh no, he thought it was hilarious. He even bedecked the fake Marlin in a bunch of magic items to make him more like a magician. He''d rather make more magic items than deal with people. To be honest, we''d rather he did that too." Rothema laughed.


    "He was a rather annoying one, I''ll give him that. Never remembering anyones names, insisting upon going to many strange places for materials he needed, spending money like water. I''m rather glad we lost the real one back then." Arthur nodded.


    "Lost? Aren''t you afraid of him coming back?" Briar asked.


    "Where he is? Nah. It isn''t just anyone who can navigate the vastness of the void plane." Arthur shook his head.


    "He volunteered to check it out even before we learned what it was. And by then it was too late, so the bugger brought it all on himself for being hasty."


    "But, even so, I can''t imagine that fellow dying easily. He was as difficult to kill as a cockroach. By all rights, he''s probably still roaming the void plane."


    "So you had the fake one replace the real one after that?" Kael asked.


    "Yes. The funny thing is he''s a martial practitioner." Rothema chuckled. "And he still has to pretend to be a magician."


    "Still? He isn''t dead?" Briar asked.


    "How rude! He can still live twice as long as he has without a problem!" Madam Rothema harrumphed. "We''re all still considered quite young by magi and black class standards."


    "Is that so? Then how are you going to explain Kael''s appearance?" Briar asked.


    "The thing is, I already spoke with him earlier about it. He agreed to acknowledge you as his son, if you should so desire it, Kael."


    "That depends. Who is he?" Kael asked cautiously.


    "King Marlin of Merlin Kingdom which is a coastal strip on the shores the Mauritian Gulf-" Madam Rothema began.


    "Absolutely not!" Kael refused.


    "Ah...right. While we appreciate the offer, Madame Rothema, Kael and I do not wish to get involved in politics." Briar explained.


    "And here I was hoping you''d get rid of that fool idea-" Madam Rothema began, but was once again interrupted by Briar.


    "It''s not that we have anything against this Marlin stand-in. He may indeed be the nicest of people...It''s just that...Kael...that I have something to tell you." Briar took a deep breath, struggling to find the words. Her hand trembled as she tried to calm herself down.


    "I...have memories...of a life before mine." She said. "And in those memories, I was killed while on a government mission that I was blackmailed into joining. I don''t expect you to understand, but this is a rather deep trauma for me, which I ended up passing on to Kael, too... I am sorry, but I''m afraid we''ll have to decline your offer."


    Silence followed after Briar''s words.

 104: Farewells and First Greetings 3

    Briar stood there awkwardly in the silence, and Kael smiled wryly. The cat wasn''t just let out of the bag; it leapt out with a stunning force! Madam Rothema was the first to recover from the surprise.


    "So this is what you couldn''t tell me all this time, huh." She sighed. "While I knew there ought to be some sort of reason, I never expected such a thing to happen."


    "You''re not surprised?" Kael asked, blinking his eyes in confusion.


    Madam Rothema laughed. "My dears, I have been surprised so many times by the both of you that I''ve learned to expect it. If you had told us you were actually a shapeshifting three-headed cow, I wouldn''t even bat an eye."


    "So you''re both beyonders?" Sir Arthur asked.


    "Beyonders?" Briar tilted her head.


    "People who contain a wealth of knowledge about things that no magician or martial practitioner would know. They seemed to pop out everywhere a few thousand years back." Madam Rothema explained. "This is just a sort of nickname that historical researchers have given them, though. You don''t hear about it too often in regular conversation. But most hero legends can be traced back to a beyonder at some point in the past."


    "When did you know?" Briar asked Madam Rothema.


    "I''ve had my suspicions for a while now. But it''s mostly your use of archaic forms of address, like -nii and -nee. San and Sensei are all ancient words. I thought maybe you were pretending to be an ancient hero after reading a story book, but you seem perfectly comfortable using them in everyday language." Rothema nodded.


    "What? But Karu and Rien use it all the time, too!" Briar pointed out.


    "That is, in part, due to all the stories I told them of the heroes of old." Sir Arthur explained sheepishly. "They seem to have gotten it into their heads that it''s normal to speak like that."


    "Hmmph! I am unconvinced." Kael scowled.


    "There was also the fact that you knew how to do things that no normal noble girl would know how to do, such as kitchen chores or cleaning your room." Madam Rothema added. "There is absolutely no way a noble mother would allow her child to learn cooking and washing clothes. You weren''t even bothered by the idea!"


    "Come to think of it, looking back, there really were a lot of suspicious points." Thales nodded in agreement, sipping his tea. "Your impeccable aim, for instance."


    "And let''s not get started on your extensive vocabulary." Rothema nodded. "No mere seven year old would use words like ''preamble'' or ''defenestration''"


    "All right, I get it!" Briar gave up, and took a seat. "It doesn''t bother you?" She asked, pouring herself a cup of tea.


    "Should it?" Rothema asked. "Or are you telling me this whole time, you were ingenuine about learning magic?"


    "No, I seriously do want to learn." Briar shook her head.


    "You weren''t a murderer or a bad person in your prior life?" Rothema asked.


    "The only one I killed...was the person who got me in the end." Briar sighed. "And he was a psychotic murderer with a dangerous sword.


    As for whether I was a good person....I''m sorry. I''m afraid I don''t know. I was only ever acknowledged for my skills, not my character."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "You don''t intend to break off with us or betray us, do you?" Rothema asked.


    "Not unless you intend to do so first." Briar shook her head.


    "Then why should I be bothered? Rather, you are the same person you were before I knew. So isn''t this just fine?" Rothema shrugged.


    "I am curious about one thing." Sir Arthur asked. "How old were you when you died?"


    "Almost twice as old as I am now." Briar replied. "Why?"


    "So, in the end, yer still just a young-un, eh?" He chuckled.


    "Well, that is also partly why I felt it wouldn''t be bad to tell you..." Briar shot back mischievously. "You''re already so old that even though mentally I am thrice as old as I am physically, it''s only a paltry few years to you."


    Madam Rothema chuckled. "She got you there, Arthur! You really need to stop being so childish sometimes."


    "Just...please don''t tell Laura." Briar begged Master Thales.


    "Ah...Why not? Don''t you think she won''t like being kept out of the loop?" Kael asked.


    "Rather, she''ll say that all our previous contests don''t count because I am a big cheat." Briar rolled her eyes. "She also doesn''t exactly have the best track record when it comes to secrets."


    "Are you still upset about that?" Kael asked.


    "No...I have forgiven her." Briar sniffed. "But that doesn''t mean I''ve forgotten her either."


    That drew a laugh from everyone as the talk began to draw to a close.


    Kael stepped forward.


    "Please pass on my words. I don''t mind becoming an apprentice or learning martial techniques from that man, but I refuse to be involved in politics as his heir. I''d like to believe that, even though governments are doomed to fail, the people who make them up aren''t entirely all bad. If he can agree to this then I will have no further issues."


    "Bravo! That''s the closest you''ve ever come to exonerating governments!" Madam Rothema applauded. "I will let him know. Will you be accompanying Briar on her travels?"


    "At the very least, I would like to do so until the issue about our eyes has been dealt with." Kael replied bluntly.


    "I understand. I will pass him the message. But, knowing him, you''ll probably bump into him sooner or later." Rothema hinted.


    Kael smiled wryly, and stepped back.


    "Well, now that all of that has been dealt with, I think it''s time we discuss your travels. When are you going to depart?" Madam Rothema asked.


    "I kind of wanted to leave now. After all, it''s a year''s travels back to Grayelle kingdom, and I want to see my family as soon as possible." Briar replied.


    "Well, actually...it''s only about two week''s travel by flying house. Three days if using my speciallized long distance flight spell. Thales took you the long way around because he was busy doing last minute cramming before the contest." Madam Rothema pointed out apologetically. "But I''d like to request you stay one more day here."


    "I can, but why?" Briar asked.


    "Well, I had intended to surprise you after the contest, but it appears the surprise is a bit late in arriving..." Madam Rothema replied, slightly embarassed.


    "What was the surprise?" Kael asked.


    "Wouldn''t you like to know?" Madam Rothema''s eyes narrowed into a smile.


    "Er, please take it that I never asked." Kael said, stepping back, cautiously.


    Rothema chuckled. "But it is getting late. Perhaps we can continue this conversation in the morning?"


    "Um...teacher...before I go, can I take off this disguise now?" Briar asked.


    "Why, I had forgotten it was even there! Yes, of course!" Rothema acquiesced.


    Briar took off her headscarf, which made her look like Kael''s twin brother. Then she took off the headband, which returned her to her original twelve year old appearance.


    "I can see why you disguised her, Rothema. She looks far too young to be fifteen." Arthur chuckled.


    Briar, now back to being Thera, raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Why, I don''t recall ever mentioning that I was fifteen? In fact, I''ll be thirteen come the fifth of Matler."


    "Oof!" Sir Arthur clutched at his chest. "Are ye trying ta give me a heart attack, girl? I can see now why you had her disguise herself now, Rothema: a twelve year old dual martial magician? If we weren''t allies, I would have seriously considered her to be a possible major threat!"


    Rothema ignored Arthur. "Keep the headscarf, dear. You''ll need it for when you visit the Marchand kingdom. Now take a break from all your experiments for once and go get some rest."


    "Yes, teacher." Thera and Kael bowed forbally to Rothema before leaving the room.


    After a long, thoughtful pause, Arthur asked. "Do her parents know?"


    "About her memories? Most likely not. About everything else? Yes, to a certain degree."


    "Huh. You''d think her parents would be the first to know." Arthur muttered to himself.


    "Well? Could you do it?" Rothema asked.


    "Do what?"


    Rothema stared off into space. "Could you tell your own parents, ''Hello, I''m someone who was reborn into your daughter with all my memories from my previous life. Sorry for keeping it from you until now''?"


    "...no. I wouldn''t....I couldn''t!" Arthur came to a conclusion which surprised him.


    "It is such a truth as can either draw the family closer, or break them apart forever. Such a risk...I''d be too afraid...afraid that they''d hate me forever for taking away the innocent little child that should have been, if I were not there." He concluded.


    "So you would. But Thera is going to take that risk." Rothema looked into the flickering flame of the candle between them. "She has made up her mind to tell them."


    "How do you know?" Arthur asked, surprised.


    "She told us, didn''t she?" Rothema pointed out. "Not to mention she''ll need to tell them about Kael. Tomorrow promises to be quite the eventful day, indeed..."


    "Well, with all of this talk of tomorrow, these ancient bones need their rest." Arthur stood up from his chair, and nodded politely to Rothema. "If you''ll excuse me, I will take my leave."


    Rothema waited until Arthur had left, before she waved her hand, and the candlelight was snuffed out.


    ----------------------------


    The next morning, during breakfast, a rather rumbling loud noise was heard from the outdoors.


    "Ah, right on time, I see!" Rothema noted with a smile.


    Thera, disguised as Briar, glanced out the window, and her eyes widened as she looked to Kael, then Rothema, then back out the window, completely flabbergasted.


    "Surprise~!" Rothema cackled at Briar''s dumbfounded expression. "Was it a surprise, or was it a SURPRISE?"


    "Ahem! To be sure it is most definitely a surprise." Kael answered, still in the dark about what it was.


    "You are both excused, Briars. Go take a look. Not bad for a winning prize, eh?" Rothema chuckled.


    Briar grabbed Kael''s arm and dragged him out of the room.


    "Hold on, what is it? Why are you so blasted excited!?" Kael''s surprised yelp could be heard down the hallway as he was dragged off.

 Chapter 105: Farewells and First Greetings Part 4

    As soon as Briar burst out the front door, She stopped dragging and leaned over the railing to get a better look.


    "Careful! Teacher didn''t bring her yard with her this time, so there''s nothing to catch you if you fall!"


    Kael warned. But when he glanced up, he was also stunned by the appearance of yet another house which floated nearby, and was slowly drawing closer. Accompanying the house was about 4 acres of greenery. The house itself was also somewhat familiar...


    "WAIT, ISN''T THAT ROSE MANSION!!!???" Kael suddenly exclaimed. "And isn''t that our old playhouse that mother made?! Why...."


    Briar nodded. "Rothema turned the mansion into a flying house! Isn''t this great!? It''ll be like Howl''s Moving C*stle!" She laughed merrily, her eyes twinkling with glee. "The very best present!" She agreed.


    Kael noticed people at the windows. "Hold on, isn''t that Martha?"


    "And James?"


    "I see Jean, too..."


    "OH! And there''s Becca!"


    The two looked at each other, an idea beginning to form in their heads.


    "...She wouldn''t!" Briar exclaimed, in disbelief, as she nearly fell over the railing.


    "This is Teacher, we are talking about, right?" Kael replied, raising a critical eyebrow as he caught her just in time.


    "But she couldn''t have-!" Briar, replied, visibly shaken.


    "I do believe she already has. And you''ll need to take off your disguise soon." Kael noted, slightly more serious. "If I''m not mistaken-"


    "If the staff are here-" Briar nodded.


    "-Then the family''s here, too." Kael ended.


    "Oof. Well...Might as well get things over with..." Briar said, a bit more subdued. She glanced at Kael.


    "Together?" She asked.


    "Mmff! Together." Kael nodded.


    A window was opened upstairs, and the voice of a yawning Laura sounded out. "Hey, what''s with all this racket-HOLY SMOKESTACKS OF THE NORTHERN DWARVES! Is that another flying house!?"


    Kael and Briar burst out laughing below.


    "Who''s laughing!? Is that you, Thera!? Did you make up a fanciful illusion to trick me again!?You wait right there, you! Don''t go anywhere, you hear?!"


    "Again? When was the first time?" Briar asked, mirthfully. However, Laura had already vanished from the window.


    "Shall I head her off?" Kael asked.


    "Not necessary." Briar said, removing her scarf. "Oof. I had gotten used to the taller field of view. Now it feels like I''ve shrunk!"


    "Visually, it seems that way, too." Kael agreed.


    "It can''t be helped. I am only twelve." Briar shrugged, as she placed the kerchief into her magic bag, becoming Thera once again. Yuki silently slipped out the door, and jumped up onto Thera''s shoulders.


    "Hullo there! Where have you been all this time?" Thera scratched under Yuki''s chin. Yuki was about to answer, but paused. The thumping sound of running steps quickly approached behind them, alarming Yuki.


    "Thera!" Laura yelled as she charged out the front door. By reflex, Thera dodged. But, Laura was going too fast. She shot across the porch and almost sailed out into open air if not for...


    "Oof!" Laura slammed face-first into a barrier that Thera conjured a split second later, at the bottom of the stairway. Rothema also had a barrier set up. But, as it was two feet away from the steps to allow for people to climb up the rope ladder, Laura might well have slide down twenty feet before hitting the open air of a 1,000 ft drop.


    "You know, part of being in a flying house means the absense of ground nearby." Thera pointed out.


    "You..." Laura rubbed her red nose.


    "What me?" Thera fluttered her eyelashes with a laugh. "Oh, and the house is real, by the way. I have reason to believe that my parents are in it."


    Laura stared blankly. "You''re kidding, right?" She asked incredulously.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "It seems this is Teacher Rothema''s doing." Keith added, "But it is real, I assure you."


    "Wait...you''re not kidding!?" Laura exclaimed, surprised.


    "Kitty, come back here!" A call came from behind them as Rien ran out the door, with Karu close behind, in case she got too close to the edge.


    They both stopped in the doorway when they saw Thera, and stared.


    Thera was wondering what was wrong when Karu blinked and asked.


    "Hello! My name is Karu. Who are you?"


    Thera blinked in surprise until she realized that this was the first time they were meeting her without the magic disguises.


    "You...you''re Briar-nii, aren''t you?" Rien asked. "You were also Briar-Nee for a bit. But I can recognize that strange mana pattern anywheres."


    "What? Cool! How could you change sizes like that! Please teach me!" Rien exclaimed, her eyes shining eagerly.


    "Sorry to disappoint, but this is my actual size, kiddos. So shrinking is beyond this is beyond me." Thera shrugged.


    "Hey, Briar-nee, you''re also a kid, too!" Karu pointed out.


    "When I look like this, I am called Thera." Thera pointed out. "And I''ve only got half a year left before I turn thirteen, when I can be considered a young adult."


    "No way! You''re only a bit taller than I am!" Karu snorted.


    "A fact that will soon be remedied once I hit my growth spurt." Thera added.


    "By this time, the building had drawn close enough for other people to be recognized from the 2nd story windows.


    "Hey, Laura, isn''t that your mom?" Kael asked, pointing to a window on the second story.


    Laura''s face paled as she recognized the bright and cheery smile beaming down at her and her friends.


    "Do you think your dad is here, too?" Thera asked. In all this time, she had never met Laura''s father. So now she was somewhat curious.


    "I, uh...I gotta go change!" Laura said, as she realized she was still in her sleepwear. Slipping past Rien and Karu, she vanished back into the house.


    "What do you think the Murloughs will feel now that Laura has become a tomboy?" Kael chuckled.


    "Headache, nausea, and a possibility of developing an ulcer, with increased scolding? But she never really became a tomboy, she always was one." Thera replied musingly. While her mother had done her best, Laura was a strong-willed girl, despite her delicate features.


    "What''s with that? Those symptoms sound like they would really happen!" Kael laughed.


    "Why does it sound like Laura is making her family sick?" Rien asked. "Does she not like her family?"


    "No, she does, but their care and worry for her can feel a bit smothering to someone with her personality." Thera replied. "That''s because they have high hopes for her, and she hates to disappoint them. But she also wants to set out on ventures of her own, so she can''t help but disappoint them."


    "She doesn''t want to, but she has to?" Rien asked, summarising Thera''s words.


    "Something like that, yes." Thera replied, smiling at Rien.


    "Oh." Rien replied, still slightly confused. "Lookit, Karu! They have green grass and trees over there! And what is THAT!?" Rien stared wide-eyed at the green, gourd-like structure in the yard.


    "That, Rien, is the promise of much fun." Kael chuckled.


    "Is it a fruit?" Rien asked.


    "You''ll know later. For now, it''s a surprise~." Thera replied, tapping Rien''s forehead.


    "Okay, heheh! I can''t wait to see what it is!" Rien laughed in anticipation.


    ----


    After initiating the docking method, the barrier in front of Rothema''s house was removed, and the front steps were firmly secured to the pavement that led up to the mansion.


    It felt quite strange to be standing on ground that wasn''t...well, on the ground. Thera knew that they were thousands of feet up in the air, but the earth and the stone pavement surrounding the mansion was still just as solid.


    Master Thales came out about that time as well, completely cool-headed, with no sign of any surprise.


    "You were expecting this to happen?" Thera asked him as everyone came outside behind him to see the mansion.


    "I was. Rothema''s signature original spell is the flying house. That''s why, as her student, you were probably going to be getting one of your own, sooner or later. She probably set this up right after you left out training with me." Thales nodded.


    "I see...looks like this is one spell I absolutely have to learn!" Thera smiled, interest gleaming from her eyes.


    ""Well, first, shouldn''t we welcome the visitors?" Kael asked.


    "Right." Thera reached her hand in and pulled out the Rose mansion key. She walked up to the gate, where she met a rather pale-faced James the Gardener.


    "Long time no see, huh James?" Thera beamed up at him. "You look somewhat pale. Is anything the matter?"


    "Indeed, it has been a while, young mistress." James smiled. "I''m all right...it''s just that the full speed of the flying house can be a bit much. The Missus would have come too, excepting these past three days she has had very bad morning sickness."


    "Morning sickness?....!?" It took a few moments before Thera realized what those words meant. She was going to be a big sister, soon!


    Forgetting all semblance of protocol, Thera grabbed Laura and Kael and ran into the mansion.


    "Which room is mother in!?" She asked her older sister Margie, who was wearing a rather becoming magician''s robe.


    "3rd floor, master bedroom..." Margie immediately said, slightly dazed at her energy.


    "Thanks!" Thera called, as she rushed up the stairs.


    "Careful! Don''t rush or you''ll trip and fall-Ah!" Margie called in warning, but it was too late.


    Thera tripped on the last step, only avoiding getting her face planted because Kael and laura held her up. Thera thanked them before rushing off the the second stairway. Margie stood there, watching until her younger sister vanished from sight.


    "Haah! Still as energetic as ever, huh?" Maggie sighed, then smiled fondly as she turned back towards the entrance to greet the guests.


    ...Wait, wasn''t one of her friends just then a boy!? Margie''s eyes widened as she looked back towards the stairwell, thoughtfully.


    --------------------


    "Mom! Am I gonna be a big sister!?" Thera asked the moment she burst through the double doors. Her mother, Helen, was sitting up in bed; her father sitting on a chair by her side.


    Laura had been clotheslined by her own family, which effectively separated her from Thera''s grasp. In Thera''s haste, she abandoned Laura to the demise of a family reunion hug. And so, now only Thera and Kael had successfully made it to the room.


    "Arah? That was certainly quick. I take it you heard the news from James?" Helen smiled.


    "Mnn!" Thera nodded.


    "More importantly, Thera, could you please introduce your new friend here to me?" Helen asked Thera, noticing the ever growing impatience of her husband, whose polite mask was slipping by the moment.


    "Ah! I had forgotten!" Thera laughed, nearly overcome by joy. Kael was also happy, though slightly hesitant to show it.


    Thera''s smile became a bit more subdued as the topic was serious to her. In her hopes that Kael would also be welcome to the family, she used the only method she could: childish mischief.


    "Mom, this is Briar Mikhail. But everyone just calls him Kael. Can you guess how old he is?" She asked, cheekily.

 Chapter 106: Farewells and First Greetings Part 5

    "Hmm? He looks like he should be...fifteen, right?" Helen replied.


    "Nope!" Thera grinned.


    "Sixteen?"


    "Nuh-uh!" Thera shook her head.


    "...seventeen? I give up, dear, how old is he?" Helen asked, watching in amusement as the face of her husband twisted with held-in rage.


    "Hahah! Well, counting today.." Thera looked at Kael. "It''s been less than a day and a half." She said.


    "What?" Helen didn''t quite understand.


    "It has been two nights, one day, and half a morning, to be precise." Thera nodded. "I was right there, when he came into existence."


    "What do you mean by that?" Sir Malcolm, Thera''s father asked, his warped expression becoming serious and stern.


    "Um...I may have made a fairly substantial mark in the history of magic?" Thera replied. "Teacher Rothema said that no one has been able to do it before...that is...making a magic clone of myself..." her words became quieter as her parents eyes widened in shock.


    "Thera, what are you talking about? A clone? This is clearly someone older than you, with a separate appearance. Moreover he is a male!" Sir Malcolm pointed out.


    "I believe her." Helen replied.


    "What? But Darling, this is clearly strange-" Sir Malcolm turned back to Helen.


    "You''ve neglected the fact that their eyes are the same color." Helen pointed out. "Moreover, Thera wouldn''t lie. She may leave out a lot of things that will get her in trouble with me, but she will not lie."


    Thera felt cold sweat develope on her back. So this is what you think of me, mom? Am I only a troublemaker in your eyes?! She thought inside her heart.


    If her mother could have heard her hearts cries, she''d have laughed and said: of course you''re a trouble-maker; but you''re MY troublemaker...But, of course, Helen could do no such thing as hearing internal conversations and thoughts.


    She continued "Besides, something important like this, we''d only need to confirm with Rothema later, so why don''t we hear her out without interrupting, hmm?"


    It came out: Mom''s infamous smile-that-is-scarier-than-the-demon-king. Sir Malcolm''s words withered in his tongue as he shut his mouth and nodded.


    Helen turned her head back to Thera. "You were saying?" She prodded.


    "R-right...so...because we were travelling on the road, and Master Thales had to mislead a group of miscreants to prevent us from being bogged down on our way to the contest. So he had me disguise as a man while I was traveling, as two girls were a target, but a girl under protection would limit the number of potential kidnappers. The disguise, made by Rothema, is what he looks like." Thera answered Sir Malcolm''s question.


    "But, he doesn''t just look like a boy. He is one. I used a drop of my blood as the baseline, but I did make a few changes. Originally, he couldn''t live too far apart on account of his magical existence being unstable, and needing to be ressupplied with martial spirit. But we found out that he was able to recharge by eating food just like you and me..."


    "And why did you need a clone?" Helen asked.


    "This...it''s because...I wanted to show that I could win both in the magician''s contest, and the martial contest. But, as we learned not long ago, his existence became more and more necessary..."


    "Why?" Helen asked.


    "Do you remember the hades fever incident back when I was four?" Thera asked.


    Kael stepped forward. "We already know it was deliberate. But the mastermind...appears to be someone from the magician''s council. Hades fever isn''t a mana-resistant illness. Hades fever is a foreign mana from a fallen star."


    "I also think that it is partially due to this new mana that I was able to create Kael." Thera added.


    "...So, how do you want us to treat Kael, dear? What is your intentions?" Helen asked.


    "What?" Thera asked, surprised.


    "After all, if this is true, you''re the very first person to do such a thing." Helen explained. "Magicians have tried for years to create a physical magic clone. But, during research, the question came up about how they should be treated. After a grand debate, everyone agreed that the magician who succeeded would be able to decide their fate."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "In that case, I want you to treat him as my big brother!" Thera replied. "He knows everything I know. Since he looks different from me, no one will suspect he is a clone. We also get along very well. So, I have decided to treat him as family."


    Sir Malcolm''s anger had pretty much entirely abated. "Well..if you had asked us to treat him as your fiancee, I would have definitely refused."


    "Of course not! He has my family''s bloodline running through his veins. Fiancee would decidedly be out of the question. Think of him...as the person I would have become if I were born a boy instead of a girl." Thera replied. She knew her father had always wanted a son, despite the fact that he loved his daughters dearly.


    Sir Malcolm and Helen exchanged glances, and nodded.


    "Well, it looks like we''ll be having two new additions to the family then!" Helen''s smile reached her eyes as she beckoned Kael forward.


    "Come here and let me take a look at you, Kael, my son." Helen reached her hand out to him. For the first time in Kael''s short existence tears fell from his eyes. Now that they had a family, neither Briar was willing to give it up.


    "What a lucky woman I am!" Helen laughed. She hugged Thera and Kael to herself. "My daughter wins the magician''s contest, and I gain a son who also won the martial contest!"


    "Well, because I can do everything that he can, You could say that I won both!" Thera said, looking for more compliments from her mother.


    "That''s no good, Thera. If you''re going to treat him as your brother, then you can''t steal his achievements!" Helen scolded, flicking Thera''s forehead. "Kael''s win is Kael''s win. Thera''s win is Thera''s win. Got it?"


    "Ouch!" Thera covered her forehead and nodded obediently. "G-got it. Sorry, Kael. You won the martial contest." After all, she had given Kael permission to become his own man. It was just that, in the heat of the moment, she had wanted to impress her parents more.


    Kael smiled knowingly. "Ah, but didn''t you fight in all the martial battles before I arrived? Everyone says it was me who won. But I know the truth. It was mostly your own efforts. Thus, I think we can both agree that we won the martial contest together, right? At least inside the family."


    Thera beamed brightly and nodded, as she joined the group hug, which was completed when father joined in as well.


    --------------------


    In the greeting room, Margie had just finished being introduced to everyone. There was Master Thales, whom she already knew; Madam Rothema, whose fame had already gone down in the history books; Helen, her new apprentice; Sir Arthur Pendrag, whom she didn''t recognize; Rien and Karu, who were once more petting the captured cat, Yuki. The maid Rebecca had arrived with some tea and light snacks.


    "I must admit, when you sent me the structure design for your flying house spell, I was quite surprised! Magi are known not to propagate their personally made spells so easily to those who are not their students." Margie admitted with a smile.


    "Call it a thank you for seeing an interesting creation of yours." Rothema chuckled.


    "Huh? A magic item? I haven''t really made many magical items aside from....ah, you mean Thera''s magic bag? It''s a cute design, right~?" Margie smiled.


    "Indeed it is. Unique in design and function as well." Rothema admitted.


    "Hmm? Function? Is there something that I am not aware of?" Margie asked, tilting her head in confusion.


    "Yah! Briar-nee''s magic bag is so big on the inside! It can even hide kitty inside to play peekaboo!" Rien said, speaking bluntly.


    "WHAT!?" Margie exclaimed, standing up. "Wait wait wait...what? The magic bag I made can carry living creatures?"


    "Were you not aware of it?" Rothema asked.


    "Not at all! We were studying a magic formula from an ancient ruin. Seeing that the magic inscription was similar to a magic bag, we made one in order to compare, but it seemed to function just like an ordinary magic bag so..."


    Margie sat down, visibly shocked.


    "...So you gave your sister what appeared to be a regular magic bag, huh. Well, you could say that certain folks would dearly love to get their hands on that thing once they know of it." Thales sighed, and placed his cup down.


    A magic bag like Thera''s was indeed dangerous. Being able to transport living things, one could easily infiltrate a place with an army, poisonous beasts, kidnappings, illegal slavery rings: everything would be so much easier with Thera''s magic bag.


    "Have you made any more of them since then?" He asked.


    "...No. When our research turned up seemingly fruitless, we were moved to help out another research team." Margie replied softly.


    "Then it ends here. No one is to speak of this again. Margie, do tell Thera not to get in the habit of carrying around Yuki in that bag of hers." Master Thales sighed.


    "I do believe I heard my name?" Thera poked her head into the room.


    "Ah! Yes, we were discussing that present I gave you for your birthday..." Margie phrased delicately.


    Oh, the voice-changing scarf? I gotta hand it to you, you did a really good job on that! It came in really handy when I was in disguise." Thera smiles happily.


    "Ahem! Not that one." Margie coughed, looking towards Thera''s magic bag.


    "Aish. They told you, huh." Thera made a face.


    "She needed to know of this. It is imperative that we take proper precautions that sort of bag doesn''t land in the wrong hands!" Master Thales pointed out.


    "More like, the more you talk about it, the higher likelihood there will be that someone who shouldn''t will come to know about it." Thera pointed out.


    "...An astute observation." Rothema chuckled.


    "Oh, by the way, Mom wants to see you upstairs." Thera said, tapping Margie on the shoulder. "There''s a new family member you have to meet."


    "WHAAT!? SHE''S HAD THE BABY ALREADY!??" Margie exclaimed as she less-than-gracefully sped up the stairway.


    "No, wait that''s not it-AH! Careful at the top step! You might (THUD)


    ....trip...."


    Thera had called after Margie only too late. The dreaded falling and striking of the humerus bone was unable to be averted. Thera winced as Margie sat on the top step, holding a rather painful left leg. There would most definitely be a bruise from the fall.


    "Oof. Yup. Same old Margie! Always clumsier in a fluster." Thera sighed.