ã€ŠThe Gatekeeperã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Thud.

    ¡°Eck! Pwah! Yuck!¡±

    That¡¯s Disgusting!

    Wait a minute¡ªis this¡­ grass?

    Yeah, it is. Does that mean I¡¯m still alive?

    ¡­

    No, no, no! Any Seldin worth his name knows that walking through that gate means death. But, then just what is going on here?

    The man stood up, dusting off his long black overcoat.

    He was a young man, by appearances¡ªperhaps in his early twenties¡ªyet his features spoke of many more years of wisdom and experience, though not in such a way as to clash with his otherwise youthful appearance. Long black hair flowed halfway down his gold-embroidered black coat. Seeing him for the first time, one might imagine he was a noble from a far-off country.

    Nevertheless, here he was¡ªin a different land, with a grassy taste left in his mouth, and alive; which apparently came as a surprise.

    Hmm. What to do. Well, if I really am alive, things should still work like normal. Let¡¯s give it a shot.

    ¡°Planet ID Return¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°ID: 437215.¡±

    Hmm. That would be planet Aretor. Yes, that should be right. I remember from those guys I sent over to¡ª

    ¡°ARETOR?!¡±

    What. The. Heck. This is real. I¡¯m really still alive. That¡¯s not how it was supposed to work¡­ Lets go back and try again.

    ¡°Portal Creation to coordinates (0,0,0) The Spacial Hall.¡±

    ¡­

    Huh. Not enough energy in this place. I could wait and absorb it¡­ Yeah right. The energy here is so thin it would take me half a term, and who knows what could happen in that amount of time. I mean, that¡¯s around 5 times the life span of the mortals here. Well, let¡¯s take a look around then. I always did want to personally see them incarnate with my own eyes.

    Reylor Seldin surveyed his surroundings, as the midday sun fully illuminated the grassy clearing he was standing in. To the south was what appeared to be a small faming village encompassed by a wooden baracade. A dirt path spilled out from the nearest enterance, splitting into one that continued north, and another that curved to the west, abruptly ending next to a dense forest.

    Reylor glanced over to the forest, just as a shriek hit his ears.

    Ouch. What was that?

    ¡°Aaah!¡± ¡°Shade! Shade!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shade wof!¡± The cries echoed as three small figures seemingly spat out of the woods, soon followed by an ominous black figure.

    True, it did roughly resemble a wolf, but there were a few differences. The figure was hard to make out distinctly, because it was surrounded by some form of dark energy. Its eyes were blood red and its movements appeared a bit stiff. That was not to say, however, that it was slow. On the contrary, what it lacked in flexibility, it more than made up for in brute strengh¡ªstrength which was bringing it ever closer to its prey with each passing moment.

    ¡°Help! Help us!¡± They cried out, hoping someone would hear.

    There was not much time, and there only seemed to be one person aware of their plight¡ªThis stranger from another land. But what would he do?

    Reylor sighed, leaning back against a nearby tree. What a pity. Fate truly is a cruel master. He thought.

    He wasn¡¯t inherrantly evil, but rather had a bit of a strange background, which included duties not unlike that of a judge and an executioner. Having done so for a full term¡ªor 1000 years, in human terms¡ªhe had developed a sort of detached personality, and therefore felt no need to interfere in the fate of these ¡°mortals.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Ugh¡± At that moment Reylor nearly doubled over as a wave of nausea washed over him. Any other person would not have noticed anything, but Reylor was deeply affected. Karma. I¡¯m under Karma now. Who would have thought¡­

    Dammit. Ok, let¡¯s do something about this.

    ¡°Earth!¡± Two brown clods broke through the grass, landing in his open hands.

    Calculations flooded his mind as he spoke.

    ¡°Matter! Physical! Titanium!¡±

    A wave of light replaced the rich brown with a silver luster.

    He paused for a moment as his mind raced through his memories. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what they were called.¡±

    ¡°Remodeling¡ªDaggers!¡± A quick burst of light replaced the two clumps of metal with a pair of long daggers.

    Sadly, anyone could have seen that it was too late. The fearsome beast was only seconds from its prey, while Reylor was nearly mile out, and his weapon of choice clearly showed that he was not a conjourer (magician specializing in barriers and ranged magic).

    It was painfully clear to the children that their time was over, as the wolf strained every sinew, putting its entire might into one mighty leap.

    And to Reylor, it was even clearer.

    ¡°Spacial art: Void Transfer¡±

    ¡°Thud!¡±

    In a moment¡ªnay, an instant¡ªReylor had traveled to a point right between the predator and would-be victims.

    The impact knocked the breath right out of him, as the wolf threw him backward. Reylor carefully stood back up, as he tried to regain his breath.

    ¡°Grrrrowl¡±

    The wolf could not understand what had just happened, but what it did know, was that this strange person definitely was not something good.

    The wolf circled its new target.

    Alright, this should give them enough time to get away. Reylor thought to himself.

    The wolf leapt, and Reylor dodged with nearly superhuman reflexes, also taking advantage of the chance to dig a dagger into the wolf¡¯s side.

    The wolf snarled before resuming its circles. Also, the wound on its side closed up, much to Reylor¡¯s surprise and dismay.

    Another leap.

    ¡°Riiiip!¡±

    This time he was just a bit slow, allowing the wolf¡¯s razor-like claws to slash into his left arm.

    What in the universe are these abominations? Reylor focused, unmindful of the red drops slowly painting the grass beneath him.

    Believing the children to be safe, his mind now turned to other thoughts. Do these things not die? What should I do? If I run, who knows what will happen to the village, but this thing¡­

    ¡°Pull back friend, we¡¯ll take it from here!¡± A lout voice boomed from behind him.

    He quickly glanced back before activating his transfer skill again to land behind an odd assortment of people. The one who called out was a burly man, wielding a sword, which was too large to be a longsword, yet not quite thick enough to be called a greatsword. Beside him was a lady clad in a white mage robe, including a hood which made her features indistinguishable. Running behind them were three others, each with a sword at their side and a lance in hand.

    The woman in white sounded out a chant in her smooth, glass-like voice. The wolf¡¯s movements became sluggish.

    ¡°Now!¡± the large man¡¯s voice bellowed out.

    ¡°Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh¡± ¡°Thud, thud, psh¡±

    The three lance bearers skirted around the other two, surrounding and attempting to spear the wolf with their lances. One missed, embedding itself in the grassy soil.

    ¡°Pull ¡®em tight!¡± The man again bellowed out.

    The lances were attached to ropes, sort of like harpoons, which the two successful lancers pulled tight.

    More chanting from the woman

    The black aura around the wolf lessened and faded into a dark gray

    ¡°Ready,¡± the glassy voice said, in almost a whisper.

    The large man explosively lunged forward, decapitating the wolf with a single swing as he passed by it. The creature fell down as the gray energy dispersed, revealing what appeared to be a normal gray wolf.

    ¡°Hey kid, you new aroud here?¡± The big man said, after returning to where Reylor and the mage stood.

    ¡°Brent.¡± With a voice like that, one did not even need to look to know the mage was glaring at the man.

    ¡°Oh, yeah, I guess we should do introductions first. Name¡¯s Brent, offically the head of Splendor¡¯s huntsmen guild, though Queen¡¯s words seem to hold more weight around here.¡± Brent motioned toward the mage with a chuckle.

    Would you mind if we got your name?

    Reylor Seldin. I¡¯m not from around here.

    ¡°Not from around here? You tried to fight a shade wolf with those¡ªthings¡ªfor crying out loud!¡± Brent nearly doubled over from laughter.

    Seeing Reylor¡¯s blank look, Brent calmed down a bit. ¡°Let me enlighten you a bit.¡± He glanced over at the lancers to confirm that they were disposing of the wolf. ¡°These guys are what you call shades. They seem to be infected by some sort of disease that affects theie eyes and some other things, as I am sure you have noticed. They are the ultimate dark monsters, as only light attribute magic seems to be able to get through to them. Normal attacks will just make them mad, as the wounds inflicted will just reheal, even if you cut off a limb or even their head. So in order to kill them, you need to purify them, kill them with light/holy magic, kill them with a blessed sword, or break this tiny little crystal in them that only the gods know where is. So in other words, those little toys are pretty much useless against them.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Well, you did alright in stalling for those munchkins, though, so thank you. Oh¡ªand Queen, if you would?¡±

    The mage, who apparently was called ¡°Queen¡± uttered another chant.

    A stream of soft white light came from her staff, enveloping Reylor and healing his wounds.

    ¡°Uh, thanks,¡± he said somewhat absently, his mind still digesting everything that had just happened.

    ¡°Where are you headed?¡± Queen asked in a soft, though cold voice.

    ¡°I do not know,¡± Reylor answered the mage.

    ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t you come and stay with us for now?¡±

    ¡°Might as well. I¡¯ll take you up on that.¡±

    ¡°Good, come with us.¡±

 Chapter 2

    Several Years Prior

    ¡°Lucille, it is time for practice.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Lucille reluctantly said.

    ¡°Now.¡± The maid¡¯s firm grip wrenched Lucille from her chair.

    She did not reply. This was ¡°normal.¡± After all, she was the princess of the Shildwell Empire. She was a descendant of the strongest mage family on the planet. She must be able to endure this much, right?

    Lucille entered the colosseum, a place reserved from tournaments and for the royal family¡¯s sparring practice.

    A windy greeting slammed her into the side of the building. A gasp escaped her lips.

    ¡°That poor girl,¡± an on looking soldier quietly said to another. ¡°She¡¯s only 7, and I hear she already surpasses what her father could do at twelve, yet she¡¯s still treated average at best.¡±

    ¡°Yeah I know. Rennel overheard it in an argument between His and Her Majesty. But don¡¯t let the king hear it from you¡ªif you want to keep your head anyways.¡±

    ¡°Grunt¡±

    ¡°Lucille, you¡¯ve grown complacent again. Our family does not have room for such shoddy work. What if someone was waiting to kill you? Block or avoid it next time.

    ¡°Yes father,¡± was the only reply.

    Practice resumed.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Is this our young hero?¡± A small man with light gray hair asked as they entered the village.

    Yes elder, it is as you say,¡± Brent respectfully replied. ¡°His name is Reylor Seldin.¡±

    ¡°Seldin. Hmm. Haven¡¯t heard that one before. Nevertheless, Reylor, welcome to the village of Splendor. My name is Glen, and I am the elder here. Please make yourself at home.¡± He smiled at Reylor

    ¡°Thank very much,¡± Reylor replied.

    ¡°Oh, we are the ones who are thankful. Speaking of which¡ªLesille, Mense, Gabby, come over here!¡±

    The three children, who happened to be nearby came over, and seeing Reylor, promptly hid behind the Elder.

    ¡°Come on, now, you know what must be done. Better sooner than later.¡±

    At the Elder¡¯s behest, the children sheepishly walked in front of him. ¡°We are sorry. Thank you for saving us. We won¡¯t cause trouble for you again,¡± they said together.

    ¡°This is sufficient,¡± The old man said, waving them off.

    Now please come with me Mr. Seldin, if you would be willing.¡±

    Reylor nodded slightly, following this elder to his house.

    Reylor learned quite a few things as they spoke. The Elder¡¯s name was Glen Swelton, and he was the head of Splendor Village, a small town in the territory call Otium. The territory was once part of a great kingdom, but internal strife led to its end. The nearby kingdom of Vilnor took this opportunity to annex most of the ruined kingdom¡¯s territory. The Otium territory was considered quite poor, and the forces of the now Vilnor Empire were already spread thin. Thus it was abandoned, remaining as its own territory.

    Of course Glen had his own questions. Reylor obliged, saying that he served the prestigious house of a distant land. His arrival in this territory was caused by an accident with a teleportation gate.

    ¡°Reylor, I would have liked to have given you a great present for protecting these children, but with the encroachment of the shade, all our finances have been put to the defense of our village. I will at least provide a place for you to stay until you know what you will do next. If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hold back. We truly are in your debt.¡±

    Reylor nodded as an acknowledgment and began to rise from his seat. Then he paused. ¡°Actually, there is something I would like to ask.¡± ¡°Go ahead,¡± the elder said.

    Training. To fight the shade.

    Silence.

    ¡°Sigh¡± Reylor, this is dangerous. There are shade much stronger than the one you fought. Exponentially stronger. Do you know why we only have one hunting party? Because no one else would join. Because everyone knows. Once hunters graduate from Vilnor Empire¡¯s most prestigious huntsmen academy, only 1 out of four survive for more than ten years. Of those that survive, less than half return with full use of all their limbs. Are you really sure you want to fight, with odds like that?¡±

    ¡°I will eventually be traveling. How can I live every moment of my travels in fear of the shade? This is the favor I will ask. I am willing to learn. If anything happens it will be on my own head. Furthermore, with this you can consider the debt repaid.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Glen leaned back in resignation. ¡°Elany¡± He called out.

    ¡°Yes?¡± a soft voice answered.

    ¡°Please take Mr. Seldin to the Hunting cabin. Tell Brent he has a new recruit.¡±

    A young lady entered the living room where Glen and Reylor had been speaking. ¡°Yes sir¡± she politely replied.

    ¡°Mr. Seldin, please fol¡­¡± She froze as her deep emerald eyes met his.

    It was true he was a sight to behold. His face was like finely chiseled marble. Straight black hair flowed part way down his back. He wore a long black jacket, and exuded a strangely prestigious aura. He was¡ªput simply¡ªflawless. However, her countenance did not show mere enchantment. It looked more like awe mixed with confusion and fear.

    ¡°¡­the gods,¡± absently slipped from her mouth. A dark pink flushed across her cheeks as she slowly regained her senses. ¡°Uh, er, p-please follow me.¡±

    *** *** ***

    One Year Later

    ¡°Is that guy even human?¡± Brent asked. ¡°He¡¯s been studying and sparring throughout the day and exercising throughout the night, and I swear I have not seen him take so much as a short nap.¡±

    ¡°He is a strange one¡± The delicate reply came.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that weird movement thing he did facing the wolf. If his isn¡¯t a magician then only the gods know what happened there.¡± Rell, one of the recruits added in before taking her seat at the large wooden table in the center of the huntsmen guild.

    In truth, Reylor did not sleep. As a Seldin, he was able to sustain himself on the energy of decayed space, though in a world where this energy was thin, this meant he was unable to recharge his energy reserves as quickly, unbeknownst even to him.

    ¡°His physical prowess is a bit lacking, but where in the world did he get such mental fortitude?¡± Brent continued. The question lingered in the air as all three were brought to their feet.

    ¡°Ding!¡± ¡°Ding!¡± ¡°Ding!¡± ¡°Shade sighted¡± ¡°Bear, it¡¯s a bear!¡± ¡°Southeast as usual.¡± Information came from one of the two watch towers. ¡°Everyone, please evacuate to the strong house¡±

    ¡°Looks like this one will be fun!¡± Brent grinned. ¡°Recruits, gather for the hunt!¡± ¡°We¡¯re using swords this time!¡±

    The shout was soon answered by hurried footsteps and clangs of steel from the armory.

    ¡°Alright, time for a new lesson.¡± Brent declared, as they made their way to their target, having gathered the whole party. ¡°Rell, what makes beast-type shades dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Their abilities are amplified by the infection, and they become more aggressive,¡± She said.

    ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Now Jed, why do you think we are not using the javelins this time?¡±

    ¡°Because bears excel in strength, and would be too strong to hold on to?¡±

    ¡°Almost. It is also because they weigh too much. You can¡¯t beat them in a pulling contest, and they are too heavy to lift off their feet by a group at our level.¡±

    ¡°Oooh, ok,¡± he assented.

    ¡°So, how do we defeat this guy, Delton?¡±

    ¡°Blow ''em up!¡±

    In cases where you have battle mage, yes, but let¡¯s assume Queen wasn¡¯t with us. What would you do then?

    No Reply.

    ¡°Almost every strength has its downfall. Bears naturally hear twice as well as humans, so when a bear turns into a shade, their ears become quite sensitive. Noise! Make lots of noise from multiple locations. This will cause stress, slowing its reaction ability. Then you can whittle it down. Normally even then it would be only possible for a seasoned hunter, but with queen¡¯s suppression, you guys should be able to make it out in most of one piece¡±

    Finding their target, the hunters surrounded it. Under Brent¡¯s direction, they took turns beating their armaments together and trying to take opportunistic strikes against the bear.

    Since bear-shades didn¡¯t show up very often, Brent made full use of this ¡°teaching opportunity,¡± as he saw it, waiting until the recruits were fairly exhausted before jumping in to finish it off.

    The battle was tough. Heavy drops of sweat fell from Reylor¡¯s face. The bear had swiped Rell¡¯s arm and she had to be treated by Queen. Jed had nearly fainted from exhaustion. Even with him giving pointers and moderate support from Queen, Brent eventually decided to finish it off himself to save time¡ªand the villagers¡¯ nerves.

    ¡°Dong¡± ¡°Dong¡± ¡°Dong¡±

    A gong sounded to alert the villagers that they were safe, sending everyone into a flurry of activity.

    Reylor walked with the group back to the camp as the weary Jed followed a distance behind. Everyone showered, got dressed and made their way to the Huntsmen¡¯s meeting area.

    Brent looked like he was almost glowing from happiness.

    Odd. Is he one of those weird battle junkies, or something?

    Reylor looked around, noticing that all the others seemed to be in a pretty good mood, as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± Delton cheerfully said. The door to the room opened as several figures entered, each tastefully clad in a simple dress, and adorned with a floral crown.

    What in the world? Reylor thought. His wondering must have been fairly obvious.

    ¡°It appears the Elder didn¡¯t mention the perks of the job,¡± Brent said with a grin.

    ¡°Mr. Seldin, if you would allow me¡­¡± A girl with beautiful green eyes and soft brown curls carefully linked her arm through his.

    The huntsmen were individually escorted to the Elder¡¯s residence, which housed the town¡¯s banquet hall. They entered and took their seats at a long oak table.

    The room was actually quite small for a banquet hall. It was arrayed with various plants and simple decorations befitting of their humble means. What truly stood out, though, was how they were treated. It was as if the village wanted each one of them to have the opportunity to feel like royalty.

    Unbeknownst to Reylor at the time, there was a reason for this. The mortality rate of huntsmen was incredibly high, but it was for this reason that huntsmen who made it to graduation were revered nearly as gods in the Vilnor Empire. This village followed suit in their own way. Whenever an unusually strong shade was defeated in their territory, the villagers would provide a feast for the huntsmen as thanks for protecting their homes. A shade bear was one such creature.

    The elder entered the hall.

    ¡°Once again I would like to express the gratitude of our village for your efforts in protecting us from the shade, as well as assisting in other matters. I hope you enjoy this feast we have prepared for you.¡±

    The hunters relaxed as they ate the food presented before them and listened to the music flowing from an old violin, a guitar, and various percussion instruments.

    They left with lifted hearts. Even Jed seemed to have a bit of life.

    *** *** ***

    I t-t-touched his arm. It actually felt k-kind of normal. Elany thought, in the seclusion of her room. But¡­ maybe that wasn¡¯t him. Yeah I must be jumping to conclusions. No! It has to be! Even the coat was the same! But wait, that couldn¡¯t be¡ªsomeone like him wouldn¡¯t... ¡°Arrrghh¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably just fluke.¡± He looked just like that man from my dream. Yeah, it was probably just a dream. Everyone says so. They must be right. It was just a dream. But why did it feel so realistic?

    Maybe I should just ask him¡­ No, I shouldn¡¯t do that. I¡¯m just a servant girl. And he is¡­ That¡­

    She fell into a fitful sleep.

 Chapter 3

    ¡°May his spirit be blessed, and return to us once more.¡±

    A casket was lowered into the grave.

    ¡°For the empire!¡± a shout rang out.

    ¡°For the king!¡± a chorus replied.

    The crowd dispersed with anxious hearts. The Shildwell emperor had died of mysterious causes. Though some were sad, there were a greater number who were scared. Each passing of a ruler brought with it changes, and most of the people knew that the next heir was bad news for the empire.

    Change did not take long. With the passing of the throne swiftly came oppressive tax laws, humiliating requirements for many officials, and a significant number of executions.

    The antics of this heir did not stop before his family either. The heir being a powerful mage, there was only one individual he feared-his sister. The brutal training regiments from Lucille¡¯s father had born fruit, as her heart quickly grasped the painful lessons. That combined with her resolve and natural ability brought her to nearly the pinnacle of the world¡¯s known power. This had not brought her to favor the empire, however, and her brother knew this. Through deceptive arts he managed to seal her powers with a powerful magic artifact, and then placed her in the royal prison.

    ¡°Lucille, have you heard?¡± A young official said from the cell beside her. ¡°The empire is growing restless. If this continues, I don¡¯t know if even the rest of the Shildwell house will be able to hold them back. Of course if you were still free I¡¯m sure it would be a different story, but nevertheless¡­¡±

    Brother, why¡ªoh why are you doing these things? Her heart cried out.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°So, what did you think of the banquet?¡± Brent asked in the morning.

    ¡°It was... nice.¡± Reylor said anticlimactically.

    ¡°Talk about an understatement!¡± Brent bellowed out. ¡°I have received the praise of many people from many different places, but I still believe Splendor out does them all! It¡¯s revitalizing!¡±

    ¡°Brent, today¡¯s orders,¡± A cold voice broke through.

    ¡°Oh, Queen, what¡¯s wrong with a little fun now and then?¡±

    *Glare*

    ¡°Oh, alright, fine. Our orders today are to scout out the forest to the north east. Old man Segur seems to think there is a pack of normal wolves threatening his sheep. Try to find and eliminate them, but remember this is the area where the shade usually come from.¡± ¡°Oh, and Reylor, please report to the Elder. He has another request for you.¡±

    This was not unusual. In the year that had passed since arriving on Aretor Reylor¡¯s 24-7 training routine had helped him become quite strong. Nevertheless, the Elder still worried about him having to fight the shad of the region¡ªparticularly because Elder Glen¡¯s beloved assistant had taken an interest in this man. Either way, he had a different task for Reylor.

    ¡°Ah, Mr. Seldin, the roads have become a bit dangerous these days. There have been reports of highway bandits, and I have a delivery to be made. Would you mind escorting Elany to the next village?¡±

    True, this was still a dangerous task, but it still paled in comparison to fighting the shade. Unless these highwaymen were magicians, this was still a far less dangerous task.

    Elany still felt a bit of apprehension around Reylor, but time had brought her to the point where she could talk fairly normally with him.

    Reylor enjoyed listening to her happy chatter, as they made their way to the town.

    As they made their way to the gates, Reylor grabbed Elany¡¯s shoulder and stopped walking.

    ¡°Reylor? Is something wrong?¡± Elany looked him questioningly.

    ¡°There is a barrier,¡± he said.

    Not only could Seldins freely manipulate matter, they also had perfect vision, able to see all things, including the composition of mana and aether, which is why he was able to notice the barrier.

    ¡°That¡¯s odd. They never had one up when I came here before.¡± Elany said.

    Reylor picked up a branch from the ¡°road¡± and touched the barrier.

    ¡°Halt, who goes there?!¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°We have a delivery from Splendor.¡±

    ¡°A delivery?¡± a man materialized from behind the barrier.

    ¡°It¡¯s for Shintle,¡± Elany said.

    ¡°For Shintle?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Elany! You should have mentioned that.¡± Please come on in.¡±

    A portion of the barrier dissolved, allowing them to enter the village.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. There has been word of the Crystal witch residing in Otium. Vilnor¡¯s looking for her, so we aren¡¯t taking chances with those dogs on the loose.¡±

    Rumor had it that Vilnor was pushing to annex the far Western areas of the continent. The likely would have managed, but they were stopped by a single mage-who they called the crystal witch. Her main affinity was with water, and her title came from wiping out an entire battalion of state magicians with her powers, not the least of which was the ability to rain down millions of enchanted ice crystals.

    Now having gathered an ultra-elite group of mages, Vilnor was on the offensive again, prioritizing finding and killing this Crystal witch.

    ¡°Anyhow, you¡¯ll probably find Shintle at the Inn. I¡¯ll let you go¡± The man disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.¡±

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s this way,¡± Elany said.

    After delivering the package of herbs to Shintle, the town physician, they were each given a room for the night. They set off early the next day, anxious to get back to Splendor to share the news.

    Nevertheless, the mood was fairly light as they set out, each having had a decent night¡¯s sleep.

    They had only walked for a quarter hour, when Reylor turned to Elany.

    ¡°Quick, hide¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Bandits. Hide!¡± Reylor urged, giving her a light push toward a patch of trees.

    Still confused, she obediently slipped into the woods.

    ¡°Snap¡± ¡°Woosh¡±

    Reylor dodged as an arrow nearly grazed his cheek.

    ¡°Tch, I guess we¡¯ll have to do this the hard way¡± The sound wafted through the trees on the other side of the path.

    ¡°Shiiing!¡±

    Two swords were drawn. Reylor followed suit.

    The two men walked out from the cover of the tree line.

    ¡°Hey, give us the money, shut your lips, and we¡¯ll let you go. We don¡¯t want to take up any more time than we have to.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any,¡± Reylor replied.

    Liar. It¡¯s with the girl, right? We saw her make the transaction.

    ¡°I do not know what you are talking about, please leave us alone.¡±

    Know your place, trash!¡±

    And so they fought.

    The thieves attacked together, hoping to overwhelm him quickly.

    Instead of cowering, though, Reylor also leap forward, shifting to the left at the last moment.

    Taken by surprise, the one thief felt a sting on his side as Reylor swept past him.

    The year of intense training had paid off. Alone, the two brutes were not Reylor¡¯s match. There were two of them; but even then, they still did not have the upper hand. Reylor had been trained to fight the wild beasts, which would include situations where there were multiple opponents. Moreover, their mentality was nearly the same as the wolves he regularly encountered

    ¡°@#$%!¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hunter!¡±

    The leader of the two had sensed that something was off with Reylor''s sword. He finally noticed the soft glow emitted from his sword, the glow of a blessed blade; and that meant one thing¡ªthis man was a hunter¡ªone of those revered as gods.

    But it was too late now. He had already lost a great amount of blood, and his vision was glowing dark.

    I guess my job hasn¡¯t really changed a whole lot. Reylor thought, as he sheathed his sword. I¡¯m still just taking care of bad karma. Heh.

    These were not the worst of the lot, though, so he showed some pity. He stopped the blood flowing from some of the greater wounds.

    ¡°It¡¯s safe¡± Reylor called out

    ¡°Oh, ok¡± Elany stepped out into the clear pathway.

    Somehow she didn¡¯t seem as worried as a normal girl would have been. Still, there was a relieved expression on her face.

    Reylor did not seem to notice.

    After backtracking to alert the local town guards they resumed their journey, eager to arrive back at their home village.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Reylor, Isn¡¯t this a wonderful day?¡± Elany said with a smile.

    ¡°It sure is,¡± He replied

    ¡°It¡¯s too bad we had to encounter thieves. Otherwise it would have been just perfect!¡±

    ¡°Good thing the thieves couldn¡¯t rob the weather.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true!¡± Her face lit up with a radiant glow. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so excited to get back! I¡¯m looking forward to seeing elder Glen, Uncle Brent, and Miss Queen so much!¡±

    While Elany was chiefly the Elder¡¯s servant, she also enjoyed watching the hunters practicing, and had thus become quite fond of the two. Sometimes they would even take her with them on low risk patrol missions¡ªmuch to the elder¡¯s dismay.

    Elany kept chattering happily as they walked along. However, Reylor¡¯s face had become solemn. Something wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°Reylor. Reylor? Mr. Seldin!¡±

    Reylor turned to look at Elany.

    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± She asked. ¡°Wait. Why does the air feel so heavy? And it smells like¡­¡±

    Smoke. That was the word she was looking for. She didn¡¯t have the chance to finish her words, though, because just then, they made a turn, bringing the village into sight.

    --Or what used to be the village. But now it was just a black smoldering patch.

    Rey (pant, pant) Reylor. Get out of here, you have to go. Find Queen in (deep breath) Vilnor.

    ¡°Brent?¡± Reylor widened his eyes. He could hardly make out the person in front of him through all the blood and soot he was covered in.

    Queen. Talk to¡­ queen in¡­ (Gasp) Then he changed his tone sharply. Just go! I¡¯ll distract them for awhile. Take. Elany from here.

    Brent turned around to face the dark figures that descended upon their position.

    ¡°Brent! Brent! No! Elany suddenly burst out.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Reylor simply said, as he grabbed her wrist and transferred them as far as he could see in the other direction.

    Reylor really did feel bad for Brent, but he realized there was nothing to be done. Brent was far more experienced in combat that Reylor was, and if there was even the slimmest chance of escape, Reylor knew that Brent would not take it so long as Elany was still in danger.

    He replayed Brent¡¯s words in his mind: Find Queen in Vilnor But how was he supposed to do that? Also, there was a more ominous part of the message. You have to go.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to realize the import of this message. Already, more figures were emerging from the direction of the village, heading directly toward them like starved vultures catching wind of new blood.

    Reylor turned to his companion.

    ¡°Elany, we are leaving¡±

    She numbly turned toward him

    Alright, plan B.

    ¡°Void transfer¡±

 Chapter 4

    Three days. Not a word was spoken.

    Eventually Reylor was able to get Elany to run/walk with him. Each time Reylor could sense their pursuers, though, he used a little more of his precious spacial energy to create a bit more distance; but the gap was closing, albeit slowly.

    They trudged on. By day, the two walked beside each other; and by night, the girl slept while carried on the other¡¯s shoulders. At all times their fate seemed to hang in the balance.

    How could such a thing happen? How could they?

    Reylor pondered the situation with each spare thought. He had reviewed the lives of many wicked people, and judged them accordingly, but this was different. This time he was experiencing first-hand the results of evil.

    Karma will be repaid in the end, but if nothing is done until then, suffering will only increase.

    He was no longer a lord over the spacial hall. His life should have been over, and his goal had been to make things to be as they were intended to. But now¡ªnow things were different. As he saw this young lady lifelessly plodding on beside him, his cold heart began to ache.

    Her first chapter of life in this world is over. And who knows what it will take to carry on with the next. I cannot let this happen again¡ªto her or to any other.

    There will be change. I may no longer be a part of the spacial hall, but I can still do my duty here. I will change this country¡ªthis planet. Aretor. I will serve this world. I will take on a new purpose. For the sake of Aretor, I will bring change.

    They kept going, reaching a forest. They plunged in, the forest seeming to welcome them as if it were alive. It was at this time that things finally began to look up, as Reylor gradually lost sense of his pursuers.

    Are they afraid of the forest? Reylor thought. Nevertheless, he was relieved.

    They traveled one more day, at last finding a village an hour after the sun had set.

    Finally, we can take a break. He thought¡­

    Still following the traces of karma, the two melted through a visual barrier, revealing a small town, crafted from live plants.

    ¡°Stop! What is your business here?¡± rang out from a guard tower.

    ¡°We are two travelers, looking for refuge for a time¡±

    ¡°This is a time of war outside, your kind is not welcome here!¡± the answer rang.

    Reylor clenched his fist, but he was far too disciplined to let his emotions get the better of him. They turned around and left.

    Several minutes later, he abruptly stopped. Someone is there.

    Knowing her cover had already been blown, an aged voice softly called out ¡°Please, follow me, favored guests.¡±

    Her karma was good, so they followed the old lady to a well camouflaged hut, a fair distance from the village.

    Following directions, Reylor laid Elany down on some cloth bedding.

    ¡°You should get some sleep as well; it appears you have had a long journey.¡±

    ¡°No thank you, I will be just¡­¡±

    A dim flash came from the old woman¡¯s hand. Everything faded to blackness, and Reylor¡¯s figure slumped down beside Elany.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Whoosh.¡±

    ¡°Kabam!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°LUCILLE!!!¡±

    ¡°Yes? What, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°You must leave. Quickly!¡±

    Lucille sleepily sat up from her bed, peering into the eyes of the guard who had called out to her.

    ¡°But if I leave you¡­ Brother will¡­¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The kingdom is finished. The territories are revolting, and they have even requested help from Vilnor. If they catch you, it¡¯s over for not only the kingdom, but you. LEAVE! GET OUT OF HERE!¡±

    Quickly changing her clothes, she met the guard who had by now released the rest of the royal prisoners. The guard paused, captivated by her sharp red eyes¡ªa trait of the Shildwell family.

    ¡°Well, then?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I am sorry, please come this way¡±

    She was led through a network of passageways out of the castle emerging in a forest just outside of the courtyard.

    (Whispered from a short distance away)

    ¡°Hey, dude, I found our first catch. It¡¯s even a princess!¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid?! She¡¯ll destroy you!¡±

    ¡°You forgot. Remember what his highness did to his prisoners?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Hahaha! I take it back, you¡¯re a genius!¡±

    *** *** ***

    In the morning, Reylor awoke, and froze.

    Woah, what just happened? Did I get knocked out or something? Everything was black after¡­ Her, where is¡ª

    ¡°Good morning,¡± the old voice softly declared. ¡°Did you have a good sleep?¡±

    Sleep? What even?! Don¡¯t tell me. She put me to sleep?

    ¡°By your puzzled expression, I can assume you are wondering what just happened. I simply used a spell to help you fall asleep a bit faster than you would normally.¡± The lady said.

    ¡°Sleep? You made me sleep?¡± Sleep is such a childish thing. I don¡¯t need that¡­ Wait, my energy is¡­ restored a bit?

    A grown Seldin sleeping? Whoever heard of that? Nevertheless, it was unmistakable that he did feel more refreshed, plus he had recovered a significant amount of spacial energy.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°You had quite the time of travel. I can tell by your features that it was definitely beneficial for you, regardless of your race. You see, that is how it is on this planet¡­ Mr. Seldin¡­¡±

    His body twitched.

    ¡°It seems as though I have guessed correctly. My name is Verida, and I am the record keeper for the Elves, although I am actually more of a spokesperson for the spirits of the forest. I have met one of your kind before. Not a much of a talkative fellow, but an interesting sort, nonetheless¡±

    ¡°Why are you accommodating us here?¡± He asked

    ¡°The spirits told me to.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, not exactly like that. Do you remember how the forest reacted to you, as you entered?¡±

    ¡°It seemed almost like it was opening itself up to make paths for us.¡±

    ¡°Yes. And in fact, that is exactly what was happening, though guided by the spirits. Do you know what that usually means? It means that the person entering either has massive spiritual power, has extremely high magical power, or is an Elf. Which category do you think you fall under?¡±

    More silence.

    ¡°None of those,¡± she continued. You don¡¯t have the physical traits of an elf, my spirits know you don¡¯t have spiritual power, and you don¡¯t have a magical aura strong enough to make the forest react in such a way. ¡°So now that we have come to the end of known and confirmed cases, we must move to less reliable records, and only one would be able to fit the facts. The case where this region is visited by¡ªa god. This is also corroborated by the fact you were talking with me in the tongue of the ancients last night¡± She had a very pleased look on her face.

    Dangit, Reylor! How did you not realize what was happening there?

    Reylor¡¯s lips curled into a faint smile.

    Seldins weren¡¯t technically gods, but only because of their inability to create original life. This lady¡¯s guess was fairly accurate.

    ¡°Will this answer suffice?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it will¡± Reylor answered.

    ¡°Good. Now I have some advice. While you must have been quite powerful where you came from, this planet is different¡ªthe fact that you were running from those Vilnor soldiers tells me so. Learn some magic. Mana is plentiful in this planet, and I believe it will help you greatly.

    ¡°I recommend Votran high for you. It is in the Vilnor Empire, but I do not believe you will be detected, as your aura is not identifiable, and your friend¡¯s magic has not awakened yet. Who knows, but there may even be some poor soul you can help out of that corrupt empire.

    Reylor let out a deep breath.

    ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I think your friend has something on her mind. I¡¯ll let you talk in peace.¡±

    Reylor turned to find Elany sitting on the bedding, with yet another shocked expression.

    ¡°Yes Elany?¡±

    Ugh. I guess she must have overheard out conversation.

    He braced himself for the impending question about him being a God. What he was not expecting, however, was what actually came out of her mouth. ¡°Mr. S-Seldin,¡± She said, almost reverently, as she stood up.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    She carefully looked at him as he sat down in front of him.

    ¡°A-are you¡­ a gatekeeper?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Yes, Elany. I am.¡± Reylor¡¯s sharp azure eyes focused in on her.

    ¡°The-then, village, the villagers! Can you¡­ bring them¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I have left the hall, and at this point do not have the ability to do anything about them. Even if I could get back, the most I could do would be to reincarnate them here again. Despite what Verida said, I¡¯m not exactly a God, but more of an empowered servant to the Karma cycle. However, I can tell you this. Splendor was a great village, not one resident was an evil person. The one who sits where I had been will see to it that they are reincarnated in a place suitable for them. Their next lives should be pleasant.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Ok. Thank you,¡± she replied.

    A tear fell to the floor.

    Elany¡¯s two blue eyes softened, as a small pair of hands grasped the shirt of her companion.

    ¡°Reylor,¡± she choked out, putting her head against his chest

    They, they¡¯re gone. I can¡¯t¡­ I¡­ I¡­

    With a deep breath, Reylor¡ªthe gatekeeper¡ªlifted his hands from his sides, to embrace the delicate figure before him.

    Hours passed by as Elany sobbed and cried to mourn for the loss of Splendor, and those who had been the essence of her glad life, but had now certainly passed on.

    *** *** ***

    The two stayed for a few more days, accepting Verida¡¯s hospitality. This was to buy time until Elany could manage to overcome the initial shock of what had just happened.

    Travel was a lot more pleasant¡ªif you could call it that¡ªnow. They were not being actively pursued, which meant that they could take a more leisurely pace. Also, Reylor was able to use his spacial abilities to acquire a few essentials, such as a tent, a backpack, and some containers for water.

    They journeyed west, making occasional stops along the way for Elany to rest; and to hunt, collect, and prepare food.

    After four days of travel they emerged from the forest, into the outskirts of the Vilnor Empire.

    Both companions each took a deep breath of the crisp air. It was not as if the forest was an unpleasant place. In fact, one would find it to be quite enchanting. However, it was not like what they were used to, and so they quite welcomed the experience.

    ¡°Aaah!¡± a voice screamed out, cutting Reylor and Elany¡¯s revitalizing spectacle short.

    ¡°Y-you! You-y-you c-came from t-the forest? D-don¡¯t k-k-kill me! P-please!¡±

    A man in a tan shirt and overalls sat, cowering next to the pickaxe he had just dropped

    Hearing the screams of the poor man, another worker rushed over.

    ¡°Roger, what¡¯s wrong?!¡±

    Seeing Reylor and Elany he paused for a moment.

    ¡°Um, would you guys care to explain what just happened here?¡± He asked, with a doubtful expression.

    Reylor spoke up. ¡°Well, we just got out of the forest and found¡ª¡°

    ¡°FOREST?! Did you just say you came from the forest?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I did. Is there something troubling you about that?¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell! No wonder Roger¡¯s up in such a spin!¡±

    ¡°Since the war happenen¡¯ and Vilnor violently annexen¡¯ all the countries on this side o¡¯ the planet, the Elves have barred entry from anyone other than their own kin from entering the forest. Sure, people have still tried to go in, but those that even manage to set foot inside, never make it back out. Poor Roger o¡¯ there¡ªsuperstitious fellow he is¡ªmust think he¡¯s seen the God of death himself, since you¡¯ve made it back out alive.¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡± ¡°I hate to be pushy, but would you folk mind leaving me to tend to the poor bugger? If you have any questions, the village up there should be able to help you out if you need anything. Just don¡¯t mention you came out of the forest. You know, for obvious reasons,¡± he said.

    Reylor nodded, and he and Elany headed off in the direction the worker had mentioned.

    After asking a few residents, they managed to get directions to the closest city with a teleport gate.

    Though they had now entered the Vilnor Empire, this part of it still felt like the rural Otium territories, just with larger cities and wider roads. Time went by quickly as they traversed the dirt road straddled by untamed grasslands. They made camp at a convenient spot along the way when it became dark.

    They sat down in front of the fire pit Reylor had made to cook their evening meal.

    ¡°Elany, I have a question for you.¡± Reylor said

    ¡°What is that?¡± she asked.

    How did you know I was a gatekeeper?

    ¡°Oh, that. I didn¡¯t really know¡­ I mean, I didn¡¯t think¡­¡±

    ¡°Relax, and take your time, there is no need to rush.¡± Reylor soothingly place his hand on her back and she leaned over onto his shoulder.

    ¡°I mean, there are not any records of anything like that. Of course everyone knows about reincarnation, but not of how it happens. As for me, I have flashbacks. Kind of memories of the past, but it¡¯s like I was a different person. Like¡ªreally different. Then I have this dream.

    ¡°In this dream I see a man that looks just like you, like the hair, the coat, and everything. And in the dreams I would appear before him, n-naked¡­ Uh, I-I mean not like without clothes and stuff, but like without even a body.¡± Her face grew pink as she continued. ¡°Th-then¡­¡±

    ¡°Breathe Elany, breathe¡± He said, stroking her back.

    Elany took a deep breath.

    ¡°Then he looked at me, but not like he could actually see me, but like he was in some sort of a vision, pertaining to me.¡±

    Looking through her past. Yes, yes, that sounds about right. Reylor thought.

    ¡°Then he refocused and looked like he actually was looking at me, and he said ¡®I the gatekeeper¡­¡±

    Oh, hells no! Clade you embassyle! You are an embarrassment to us!

    This time it was Reylor¡¯s face that changed colors.

    ¡°¡¯I the gatekeeper now decree that you shall be gifted with...¡¯ Reylor, are you ok?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯m fine, please do continue¡± Clayde, If I ever get back to the hall and you are still there I will personally beat you!!!

    ¡°Ok, so like I was saying, he said ¡®you will be gifted with a new life, and that will be on the planet Aretor.¡¯ And then I felt like I was being pulled toward a teleport gate, but not a regular one, but a really, really big and fancy one!¡±

    Yes, yes, we Seldins are the creators of the teleportation gates in the first place. Of course ours would be ¡°Big and fancy.¡±

    ¡°And then the dream (yawn) ended.¡±

    ¡°So I ended before you even got to the gate?¡± Reylor asked

    ¡°Mhmm¡± Elany sleepily consented.

    ¡°Alright. Thank you. That¡¯s enough for today. Lets get you¡­¡± She¡¯s already asleep. Well, it has been another day of travel. I suppose humans and the like simply can¡¯t help it.

    Using simple spacial arts, so as not to disturb her peace, he spread out a blanket on the ground. He then picked up Elany, who had finally slumped onto his lap, and placed her on it. Lying down next to her he closed his eyes, thinking about the day; and listening to his companion¡¯s sleeping breaths, he was unwittingly lulled into a deep sleep as well.

 Chapter 5

    In the morning Reylor awakened to the sound of footsteps crunching along the path nearby their camp.

    Ugh. Did I really fall asleep again? Disgraceful. That could have been dangerous, I was supposed to keep watch¡­Well, at least I was able to store a bit more energy, though.

    ¡°Crunch¡± ¡°Cling¡± ¡°Crunch, crunch¡± ¡°Cling¡± A metallic sound was mixed in with the footsteps.

    ¡°Why are we still carting it around? I thought royalty sold like hotcakes,¡± a gruff voice sounded.

    ¡°C¡¯mon man, everyone knows Royalty from that kingdom¡¯s got red hair an¡¯ fiery eyes. This un¡¯s got black hair an¡¯ brown eyes.¡±

    ¡°Cling¡± ¡°Crunch, crunch¡±

    Reylor stood up and looked out, seeing two rogue-ish people walking along the path. This wasn¡¯t odd, but that metallic sound¡ªwhat was that?

    Then he saw it. One of the two was holding onto a chain. Tracing the chain back, he found it to be fastened to a collar, which was secured to the neck of a young girl. She had a thin frame, but he could tell that her muscles were far denser than the average person. Her hands were bound close together, while her ankles were attached together by a length of chain, which dragged on the ground as they walked. Her inky black hair fell down past her waist, while her eyes were cast down in humiliation. She was a slave.

    ¡°Reylor, what is happening?¡± Elany said, as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. The group had gotten close enough to wake Elany up as well

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a slave¡± She said with a tinge of sadness.

    ¡°A slave, huh.¡± ¡°Despicable.¡±

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a looker.¡± ¡°Tie this one up over there. We may get something out of this trip after all,¡± The first man said with a devious grin.¡±

    ¡°Leave us alone. We have no business with you!¡± Reylor called out, as they approached.

    ¡°Hey punk, we¡¯re not interested in you, just the girl. Leave her with us and we might let your sorry ass go.¡±

    ¡°Not happening.¡± A silent rage seeped into Reylor¡¯s words. Elany had just suffered a loss greater that they could dream about, yet these despicable humans wanted not only to sell off this other slave girl, but Elany as well! They must be judged.

    ¡°Then die!¡± The pair of rogues pulled out their daggers.

    Reylor pulled out his longsword.

    The fight commenced.

    They were quick, and it was obvious they were used to hand-to-hand combat, but they did not realize just how much of a disadvantage they were at.

    Most of the time Elany was sleeping Reylor was not sitting idle. He realized that if he was going to survive in this world, he needed to become stronger. Now with a way to recover spacial energy he focused on his most basic ability, void transfer, and honed it for use in close combat. He could now use it instantly, and also multiple times in quick succession. Combining this with the reaction speed he had cultivated both in practice and on the field with shade creatures, the match was not even a contest.

    They charged forward.

    Reylor grabbed Elany¡¯s arm, transferred her to a safer place, and then transferred back to the battleground.

    The two men furiously tried to stab and slash at him, but his instincts allowed him to smoothly dodge every attack. The first man stabbed at Reylor but lost his balance for a quick moment, but that was enough. Reylor transferred behind him, impaled him with the sword, and transferred back just in time to dodge an attack from the other man.

    ¡°Ugh. You, how¡­¡± The first man slumped over.

    Now that there was only one left, things became even easier. The man slashed with his right hand. Reylor transferred just behind his right side, ending that man¡¯s life with a quick slash.

    Meet your end, Karma-less brutes.

    Reylor flicked the blood off his sword before returning it to his sheath.

    After decomposing the bodies using his spacial arts, he brought Elany back to where they had made camp.

    ¡°A-are y-ou okay?¡± Elany asked with now fully-awake expression.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah. But you, you just kill¡­ killed¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes Elany, I killed them. And I¡¯m sorry you had to witness that. But they had really bad karma, and as a gatekeeper¡­¡±

    ¡°As a gatekeeper?¡± She looked up with questioning eyes.

    Dangit. I guess it would be easiest just to tell her, since she already has a bit of a clue on my previous occupation. Hopefully it won¡¯t go too badly.

    ¡°¡­ As a gatekeeper, directing reincarnation was not my only job. For those souls which were too corrupt, my job also entailed ending reincarnation cycles.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not so bad, is it? I mean, if they are already dead¡­¡± Elany scrunched her eyebrows in concentration.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°Think about it. Killing may seem brutal, but in the end, people will often just be transported to another world to live it. It doesn¡¯t do much to them. Ending the reincarnation cycle, though¡­ Well, it¡¯s permanent.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°My job, race, and fate have given me great powers, but with those powers come responsibilities. It isn¡¯t always fun, but it is not something I am willing to ignore. I am not willing to allow the few corrupt to destroy the lives of the innocent¡±

    ¡°Oh¡± She said simply.

    You don¡¯t have to stay with me. This probably won¡¯t be the last time something like this will happen.

    ¡°They were bad people, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they were¡±

    ¡°And¡­ and this will make the world a better place?¡±

    Yes, Elany, it will.

    ¡°Ok. I don¡¯t want to leave you, Reylor. And I don¡¯t like it, but I think I understand; and I¡¯ll try to understand better¡±

    She hugged Reylor and shook, trying not to cry. She had already lost so much; she didn¡¯t want to lose him as well.

    ¡°I appreciate it,¡± He said, returning her embrace. ¡°Now there is still someone we need to look after¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, y-yeah, the slave,¡± she said looking up

    Reylor glanced around and found what he was looking for.

    Approaching the slave, Reylor noted her appearance. The thin girl (probably from malnourishment paired back with questioning and fearful brown eyes. Her black hair fell down midway down her back and contrasted sharply with the rough cotton tunic¡ªlikely the only garment she owned, at this point

    Her ankles and wrists were shackled, with chains preventing full mobility ¡°leash¡± chain, which was connected to band around her neck had been wrapped around a tree, and secured with a lock.

    The girl backed up with a look of fear.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, we are not here to hurt you¡± Elany gently said.

    Reylor grabbed onto the chain close to the girl¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Remodeling, break¡±

    The link he was holding onto shattered.

    This was repeated for the chains between her wrists and ankles.

    ¡°Come now, Reylor said, you look like you could use some food.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, food is good!¡± Elany brightened up a bit, and grabbing the wide-eyed girl¡¯s hand, proceeded to nearly drag her over to the camp.

    ¡°Unfortunately it will take a little time before we can properly heat the food up, so take some of this dry food for now. Then I¡¯d like to hear a bit of your story, if that¡¯s alright.¡± Reylor reached into his back pack and pulled out some jerquee they had made from the remains of a prior hunting trip.

    The girl carefully took a bite of the food she''d been given.

    She took another bite. And then her natural instincts kicked it.

    Reylor and Elany didn''t have to wait long, as they watched her dig into the food like a starved lion set loose in a butcher''s shop.

    "I-I mean... I didn''t mean to eat it all!" She glanced up and quickly looked back down, as if bracing to take a blow.

    Reylor smiled.

    "I''m glad you did."

    "Now come with us, we are on our way to Votran and wouldn''t mind having another companion for a time."

    She lifted her odd brown eyes, meeting the soft expressions of her rescuers, but then looked back down.

    "I-I can''t do that. I''m branded, and-and they¡¯d turn me away when we got there, a-and I can''t use magic."

    "It''s ok!" Elany said, giving the girl a big hug. "Come with us, it''ll work out! Reylor is a..." Elany nearly flinched, as she could feel the sharp look Reylor was giving her. "...is a really good person for working these kinds of things out...." The sharp look melted off.

    "While I don''t mean to boast, Elany is not lying. Besides, if you so wished you could be quite a help to us."

    "Let me ask you a couple questions," He continued. "What do you think of the Vilnor Empire?"

    "What do you think?" She mumbled, touching the metal collar around her neck. Her eyes widened as she put her hands over her mouth and shrank back.

    "What''s your name?" Reylor asked bluntly.

    "L-L-Lucy" she stammered out.

    "Well look here Lucy." She fearfully lifted her eyes up.

    "You know almost nothing about us, but I want you to know one thing before anything else." He reached out and grasped a shackle on one of her wrists.

    Her hands trembled slightly.

    "What are you doing?" Elany softly cried out.

    Reylor was unmoved as he emotionlessly looked into Lucy''s eyes. "We are not your enemies."

    "Crrrr"

    "Clang"

    The shackle shattered and fell to the ground, as Reylor released his grip.

    Who is this man? He looks so scary, but... It''s different. His eyes, his eyes aren''t like theirs. They''re different...

    She took a breath.

    "Crrrr, Crrrr" "Crrrr" "Clunk"

    Lucy just sat and stared as one by one the shackles on her ankles, the shackle on her other wrist, and finally the collar on her neck were shattered and cast aside by this man--this strange man who was unlike any she had ever seen.

    When he smiled, it wasn''t the most bright and cheerful. When he was stern it was terrifying, but in a different way. He didn''t have the most charming personality, despite his looks, but there was something else about him. There was something comforting about everything he did, and about every expression he wore. He was¡­ sincere.

    ¡°Do you hate the Vilnor Empire? We have a score to settle with them ourselves.¡± Reylor said.

    Elany solemnly looked down.

    ¡°What do you think about the shade?¡± he continued.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like them.¡±

    ¡°We will get rid of them. All of them.¡±

    Lucy looked up as a tinge of hope replaced her face of fear.

    ¡°B-But what could I do? I¡¯d just be in your way.¡±

    ¡°I will answer that after you have made your decision.¡±

    His eyes, his eyes! It feels like he can see straight through me! But what could I do now? I can¡¯t even use magic anymore, and I¡¯m from¡­ But I really hate Vilnor! I hate them so much! And the shade¡­ Even if I was safe, the stories were so awful.

    ¡°If you think I can be useful to the cause against Vilnor and the shade¡­¡± She paused and then looked up at Reylor once more. ¡°I-I will do what I can to help¡±

    ¡°Yay!¡± Elany gave Lucy a hug, which was returned with a half-hearted smile.

    ¡°It will be great having an extra crew member¡± Reylor smiled.

    ¡°But all formalities aside, you must be wondering ¡®what can I do now?¡¯ And the answer to that is ¡®I honestly don¡¯t know.¡¯ However, I believe you know what you are capable of, and I will release you to do so.

    Lucy¡¯s eyes grew big as Reylor placed a hand on her back and the other on her breastbone. However this paled in comparison to Elany¡¯s reaction to come

    ¡°Spacial Art: Void Disruption¡±

    It was felt like a bomb had exploded as a wave of energy seemed to explode away from where the three were. This was an art which enabled its user to completely clear an area of mana for a short period of time. Additionally it would freeze all sources of mana in the area. In short, everything magical was made useless.

    Elany could hardly breathe, for not only did she feel the shock of mana dispersion, but Lucy¡­ She watched as the brown of Lucy¡¯s eyes melted away, revealing two blood red Irises, and the black of her hair seemed to have washed off, revealing a crimson hue.

    Lucy was frozen in place.

    ¡°Aetheric Art: Awaken¡±

    From her chest was emitted a light so bright that it even shone through the hand Reylor had placed over it.

    ¡°Bind to me¡±

    The light dimmed considerably and Reylor pulled his hand back, along with whatever it was that glowed so brightly.

    His face looked very strained as he lifted his hand up toward the sky.

    ¡°Release!¡±

    The object was vaporized, as it blasted outside the zone of Reylor¡¯s Disruption art.

    Lucy just stood there, frozen.

    ¡°Void Dispersion: Recall¡±

    By now Reylor was hunched over on one knee, gasping for breath.

    The zone of dispersion collapsed and the surrounding manna rushed back in to fill the area.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Elany cried out; for as the manna returned she watched as ¡°Lucy¡¯s¡± eyes turned from their dark red to a brighter color, giving them the distinct appearance of flames.

    ¡°L-Lucy¡­? Lucy¡­? You¡¯re Princess Lucille!?¡±

 Chapter 6

    "You are really Lucille Shildwell! This is so cool!" Elany proclaimed.

    Lucille, aka Lucy, paid no attention to Elany''s words. For there was one thing on her mind. Finally starting to recover from the shock, she stammered out, "The artifact--you--how--...." "You were a-able to remove it. Without... without killing me. How. Who, who are you?"

    "Just a timeless soul, wishing the best for an afflicted planet," Reylor replied.

    The artifact served two purposes. One, It sealed its victims mana core, to render him/her magically defenseless. However, it also had the purpose of being tamper resistant. In other words, if anyone tampered with the artifact, it would kill the person it had been embedded in. For this it had to allow some of the victim''s mana to leak out, and that small amount was enough for Lucy to use to disguise her distinctive hair and eyes. When Reylor used his disruption art, it cancelled the concealment she had cast, though the main purpose was to prevent the artifact''s activation during the removal process.

    Had she not met Reylor, she likely would have never been able to use combat magic ever again.

    Come on, we still have a bit of a journey ahead of us. Reylor smiled as he set to packing up the few things where he and Elany had camped out the night before.

    They continued onward, in the journey to Votran.

    *** *** ***

    "There will come a time when this will not be necessary, but you might want to reapply your disguise, Lucy."

    "Yes, sir" she timidly said.

    "Lucy," Reylor spoke somewhat harshly. "Oh, yeah, I guess we never introduced ourselves properly... I am Reylor Seldin"

    "And I''m Elany," a melodic voice rang.

    "Please just call us Reylor and Elany."

    "Yes si-- I mean R-Rey..."

    "Eh, close enough. Rey will do." Reylor smiled.

    "Ooh, nicknames! I want one too! How about calling me Elly?!"

    "Lucy glanced at Elany''s glowing face."

    "Privileged." She quietly breathed out. She glanced up to verify neither of them had heard her.

    Good, they didn''t.

    "Elly. That has a nice ring to it.¡± "Rey" returned a smile to Elany.

    "By the way Lucy, do you know where we came from?" He shifted his attention as they trudged along the endless dirt road.

    "No, at least I don''t think you''ve mentioned it."

    "Keep it secret, for it has to do with Vilnor.¡± He now spoke with a soft voice. ¡°We came from Splendor."

    Lucy froze.

    "I actually was only there for a few years, though Elany had been there for a much longer time.¡±

    ¡°Reylor?¡± Elany looked up questioningly.

    ¡°Lucy will be traveling with us now. It¡¯s only right she should know a bit about us. I just figured this might be as good a time as any to mention it.¡±

    He covertly shot Lucy a knowing look, and she looked down bashfully.

    *** *** **

    They finally arrived at the city of Glintell.

    ¡°Two guests and one slave? That would be 25 Velii¡± The guard stated, eyeing Lucy in her coarse and fairly revealing tunic. ¡°Unless you have a pass, of course.¡±

    Reylor looked at Elany, this time with a questioning look on his face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any money?¡± Elany giggled. ¡°You really must not have been from here.¡±

    She pulled out a small purse and pulled out two small coins and five smaller ones.

    ¡°Do you have five more Velii?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°Yes, but why?¡±

    ¡°It appears this guard has misjudged our friend¡¯s peculiar attire and thus only asked us for a slave¡¯s entrance fee on her behalf. As honest folk, we should pay the proper amount.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no! You¡¯re right!¡± Elany gasped. She quickly handed the befuddled guard 30 Velii.

    A friend? Why¡¯d they say that? They could have gotten off for less. Do they really think of me like that? No, it¡¯s impossible. Everyone sees me as a tool. There is no¡ªThis tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Alright, Lucy. Let¡¯s get you set up for the journey. Those clothes don¡¯t suit you very well, now do they?¡± Reylor interrupted Lucy¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Hmm? Ah, sorry, what did you say?¡±

    ¡°He said we are going to get you some new clothes!¡± Elany replied enthusiastically.

    ¡°And a weapon, if it would suit you,¡± Reylor added.

    ¡°Oh, ok. I haven¡¯t been here before, so I don¡¯t know where the second-hand shops are¡­¡±

    ¡°Who said we were getting second-hand clothes?¡±

    Well, slaves aren¡¯t allowed in other shops. And¡­ she looked down at her garment.

    ¡°I know¡ªI¡¯ll pick something out for you!¡± Elany exclaimed.

    ¡°Would that be alright with you?¡± Reylor asked Lucy.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me. Anything is better than this.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll leave that to you.¡±

    A few hours later Elany returned with Lucy, clad in matching orange sun dresses. Lucy also carried a simple staff.

    Reylor was far more amused than Lucy.

    ¡°Alright then. While you were gone I was able to ask around for some information on the teleport gate. Unfortunately, it costs 3,000 Verii a person to use.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no! The new clothes took most of what I had left, though I doubt I had enough even before buying them. Splendor wasn¡¯t rich, you know¡­¡±

    Reylor motioned to a large building close to the city gates.

    ¡°Huntsmen Guild¡± was printed on it with bold lettering.

    ¡°Time to hunt.¡± he said simply.

    *** *** ***

    They entered the huntsmen¡¯s guild.

    ¡°Hello, there is there aught I may assist you with?¡± A pleasant desk worker asked.

    ¡°Yes, we are huntsmen from another area. We are in a pinch and were wondering if you had any work we could do.¡±

    She glanced at the trio before answering. ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but all our low grade missions have been reserved for residents, as there has not been much work lately.¡±

    ¡°What about high-grade tasks?¡± Reylor shot back

    ¡°We have one, but¡ª¡°

    ¡°Hold on Millinda,¡± a man in a very fine suit interrupted her. ¡°What grade of requests are you used to taking on?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I am unacquainted with request grades, but we can fight shade beasts.¡±

    ¡°Shade?¡± The man¡¯s eyebrows lifted for a moment.

    ¡°Would it be appropriate to assume you are a swordsman?¡± He asked, eyeing Reylor¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Yes it would¡±

    ¡°May I examine your sword?¡±

    Reylor lifted the sword from its sheath and laid it on the counter.

    It¡¯s enchanted, the man thought as he lifted a small container from below the counter. He dipped his finger into the container and then smeared a clear liquid on the back of the blade. The liquid turned purple.

    ¡°Well, well, would you look at that¡± The man said, as Millinda gazed at it with wide eyes. ¡°Looks like we have a true huntsman on our hands.¡±

    Looking up at Reylor, he said, ¡°It just so happens to be that we have a perfect fit for your talents.¡±

    ¡°Glintell has been tasked with analyzing blood samples collected from shade creatures. To test a theory, one of our researchers injected to condensed shad essence into a colosseum wolf. As a result, the wolf turned into a shade, broke out of its cage, and killed the researcher. Now we have a shade wolf in our colosseum and no one to take care of it, seems how our holy magicians are out on another task, and the god¡¯s know that none of our swordsmen would be willing to jump into the pit with one of those creatures.

    The pay is only 30,000 Verii despite it being a class B mission, but I hear you are in a pinch, so if you are up to it, this task is yours for the taking.¡±

    ¡°We will take it.¡±

    ¡°Thirty th-th-thousand?!¡± Elany quietly gasped. She had never seen that much money in her life, and that much only? You could nearly retire on that in Splendor.

    The man, whom they later discovered was the guild president, commissioned an employee to escort them to the colosseum. After securing a place for Elany in the spectator stands, Reylor and Lucy entered.

    Both were silent, though Lucy was trembling slightly. It had been quite some time since her last real fight.

    ¡°Grrrrowl¡±

    Reylor put his hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Calm down, you can do this. I¡¯ll keep him at bay as long as you need, just think¡ªremember what you have learned before. We¡¯ll get through this.¡±

    ¡±Clang!¡± The wolf jumped out of the shadows, but was expertly parried by Reylor¡¯s sword.

    To be fair, Reylor could have taken it on by himself at this point. Wolves were small fry now, but he knew he should get Lucy back into fighting shape before they were to get into a dire situation.

    ¡°Lucille,¡± Reylor¡¯s voice lowered to nearly a whisper. ¡°Show me the fire of a Shildwell.¡±

    She looked up into his resolute eyes. Hers narrowed.

    ¡°One minute. Can you keep him off for one minute?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lucy took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

    Fifty-nine

    ¡°Bang!¡±

    ¡°Groooowl¡±

    The wolf, unsuccessful in his second attempt, circled his prey once more.

    Forty-Six

    ¡°Woosh¡± ¡°Cling!¡±

    The wolf once again attacked, aiming for just an arm, but was brushed off once again.

    Reylor began to notice a disturbance in the aether nearby where Lucille was standing.

    ¡°Grrrrrrowlll¡±

    It circled twice.

    Twenty eight

    ¡°Bang¡± ¡°Bang¡± ¡°Bang¡±

    Reylor was starting to breathe heavily. He was far stronger and more skilled than when he first came to Aretor, but facing a shade was still not small task, especially considering that this wolf was a bit larger than the ones he typically met in the Otium forests.

    Five. Four. Three.

    ¡°Bang¡± ¡°Cling¡± ¡°Growl¡±

    One.

    ¡°Reylor, move,¡± A sharp voice commanded.

    Reylor transferred to the side.

    The wolf, seeing his opportunity for an easier meal, jumped at Lucy

    ¡°Kaboom!¡±

    An inferno erupted from Lucille, launching the wolf into the side of the colosseum.

    The wolf snarled.

    Things were a bit different this time. Not only had the ¡°easy¡± prey warded it off, but it had also put it on the defensive, as huge balls of fire began flying towards it in quick succession.

    ¡°Boom. Boom. Boom.¡±

    Finally one connected with the wolf, burning its fur off and knocking it out.

    Reylor flexed his muscles as he prepared to finish it off.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± Lucille shouted at him.

    In the next moment a beam of fire seemed to descend from the sky, though leaving as quickly as it came.

    The wolf was gone. It was not simply dead. It did not even exist, for it had been wholly consumed by the flames of this fire mage. Still, this was but a small glimpse of the power of the Shildwell family¡¯s arcane arts.

    What was left was the fire mage. Not only her eyes, but also her hair seemed to be composed of some sort of otherworldly fire, and her whole body seemed to be surrounded by a fiery aura. She had the stern look of nobility that, with a transfixing raw beauty, made her seem impossibly desirable, but elusive.

    Not only Elany, but Reylor as well, were both captivated for a time.

    The fire died off, replaced by their previous shades of brown and black.

    ¡°Did I do what you wanted me to?¡± Lucy asked.

    ¡°Yes, good job.¡± Reylor snapped back to his senses.

    Good Job. Those words. It was those words she had craved so much from the time she had started her training in the royal courts. And now¡ªnow she had them.

    Looking up at Reylor, she became as a child and grabbed onto him, as drops of joy fell from her eyes.

    ¡°Good job. Welcome to the team Lucy¡± Reylor smiled

    Now let¡¯s pick up Elany and head for the guild.

    Lucy nodded her head and wiped her eyes as they headed out of the arena.

 Chapter 7

    <h1></h1>

    ¡°Yawn¡± ¡°Wow. We got enough to buy Lucy another set of clothes, recharge the enchantments on your sword, buy a staff, and rent an inn room, and we still have so much left over!¡± Elany exclaimed.

    ¡°Yeah, though I personally enjoyed hearing watching that guard running up to the guild master and telling him about how he had just seen fire descend from the heavens,¡± Reylor chuckled. ¡°But now, without further ado, let us depart for Votran!¡±

    ¡°Votran? Like Votran High?¡± Lucy timidly asked.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly where we are going.¡± Reylor replied

    ¡°But¡­ there are shade creatures along the way¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? They are a magic school though, so why wouldn¡¯t they keep the roads clear?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a test of sorts to make sure only capable people are able to make it there, which allows them not to have to conduct as many entrance exams.¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll have to be on our guard then.¡±

    Lucy looked at him with a worried expression. Had this been before the war, she would have been unafraid, or even excited at the opportunity of exercising her magic, but things were a bit different now. Due to her prior experiences, her self confidence had taken a huge blow; not to mention that her magical ¡°arteries¡± needed a bit of time to warm up since they had been inactive for so long (this is why she told Reylor she needed a minute in the colosseum).

    Nevertheless, the decision had already been made. Reylor was going to Votran, and neither of the girls was willing to part with their only source of stability and safety.

    Reylor walked up to a guard stationed at the teleportation gate.

    ¡°Three fares to Votran, please.¡±

    ¡°Votran?¡± he said, looking the trio over. ¡°You do know the roads are not guarded, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we do.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you got the Verii, I don¡¯t suppose I can stop you. Just make sure you make it out of the outpost territory. It¡¯s not fun cleaning up carcasses.¡±

    He took the money Reylor handed over and went over to a control panel. After punching in some numbers the portal sprang to life. Heeding the Guard¡¯s motions, they walked through.

    Walking out the other side, they were met with much different scenery. The portal they came out of was enclosed by what appeared as a wooden fort, though fortified with magic to protect the local guards from shade attacks. Walking out of the crude building, a dirt path ran out before them, cutting its way through a forest that appeared half-dead. Between the fort and the forest was dirt decorated with sparse patches of yellowing grass. To one side was another fortified building in which there were a few tents lined up. Most belonged to the guards on duty, but there extra space so travelers could take a break just before or after braving the road to Votran.

    ¡°Welcome to hell¡¯s outpost! May I ask what you are here for today?¡±

    Ignoring the pseudonym (since a sign clearly read Votran Outpost), Reylor explained that they were headed to the academy to enroll.

    ¡°Ah, budding mages, I see? Well, you are free to take off whenever, but if you want to check out the lodge first,¡± he said pointing to the side building, ¡°it seems there is another group with the same idea. Make some friends and you might have half a chance of making it together.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­ Thanks then.¡±

    ¡°No problem sir, just doing my job,¡± the guard said with cheesy grin.

    ¡°No sense in going it alone, if we can join up with some other warriors. What do you say?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°That sounds fun!¡± Elany said with a cheery smile, while Lucy merely nodded her agreement.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see who these others are.¡±

    After walking to the other building, it was not difficult to spot the eclectic group of student hopefuls among the sea of standard-looking outpost guards. Reylor looked them over as he approached, and their classes appeared as follows: A male warrior sporting sword and shield, a female conjurer in traditional mage clothes who held a staff, a muscular male berserker carrying a great sword, a male archer with a large compound bow, and finally a young girl carrying some sort of a globe.

    ¡°Hello friends,¡± Reylor greeted the group. ¡°May I speak with your leader?¡±

    The conjurer spoke up. ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯m as close as you¡¯ll get to a leader in this group. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°My name is Reylor, and these are my companions Elany and Lucy. We are going to be heading to Votran and a guard told us you were heading there as well, so we were wondering what you guys would think about teaming up on the way there.¡±

    Turning toward the rest of the group, the conjurer asked, ¡°What do you guys think?¡±

    ¡°Are you strong?¡± The berserker asked bluntly.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°We have fought shade¡± Reylor replied.

    ¡°Fine with me, then¡±

    No one else had any objections, so the offer was accepted.

    ¡°Alright then, if we are to be companions I suppose we should get to know each other. My name is Flira, and right now I am a general elemental conjurer.¡± Pointing to the berserker, she continued, ¡°This guy is Gelton, though we usually just call him Gelt.¡± Gelton nodded in approval. ¡°Then we have our warrior, Flint.¡± Flint raised a hand in greeting ¡°We three came from the same area, before recently meeting up with the other two, so I¡¯ll let them do their own introductions.¡±

    ¡°Hi, my name is Eric, and this is my sister Aileen. As you can probably guess, I am an archer, my sister on the other hand¡ªwell, I¡¯ll save that as a surprise.

    Dangit, Reylor thought. And that was the one I was curious about. Resigning himself to his fate, Reylor introduced himself as a swordsman and Lucy as a fire conjurer. ¡°And this here is Elany, who can cook and knows how to use money.¡±

    ¡°Unlike Reylor,¡± Elany said with a giggle. Everyone else besides Lucy had to smile at that¡ªwell except for Gelt, who had a bit of a sour expression. He didn¡¯t want extra ¡°baggage,¡± but he resigned himself.

    ¡°So, when are we heading out?¡± he asked.

    ¡°We were actually just getting ready to pack up. Would leaving in an hour work for you?¡± Flira asked.

    ¡°Certainly, better sooner than later,¡± Reylor replied.

    After a short while, Flira¡¯s group was packed and everyone set off.

    After a short discussion, Reylor and Flira agreed on a party formation. Flint, who specialized in defense, would take up the front. Reylor and Gelton each took a back corner. This would form a triangle to protect Lucy, Elany, Flira, and Eileen¡ªnone of whom were particularly suited for close combat. Meanwhile, Eric would travel on the outskirts of the group, enabling him access to the trees which he could look out from and attack from.

    The first half day went by uneventfully. Everyone shared stories of how they ended up at the Votran Outpost, though some in less detail than others.

    ¡°¡­and that is the story of how Flint ended up with a pink shield for a week. Hahaha!¡± Gelton let out a boisterous laugh.

    ¡°Real funny Gelt, think about how I felt!¡± Flint made an embarrassed face.

    ¡°How about the time Gelt almost kissed his sis¡­¡± Flira was interrupted by an icy glare. ¡°Haha, hehe. Ok, never mind.¡±

    ¡°Hey guys, we got company.¡±

    Everyone snapped out of the carefree mood at Eric¡¯s announcement.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Flira asked.

    ¡°Looks like a pack of wolves, I don¡¯t see any shade beasts, though, so we should be ok. It¡¯s a fairly large group, though.¡±

    ¡°Come here you mongrels!¡± Flint shouted out. Normally it was most convenient to try to just pass a wolf pack by, hoping that they would ignore you, but that would not be possible in this situation. The land was nearly desolate, which meant that any predators could not safely pass up a meal opportunity, and with a pack so large, the number of travelers was not great enough to be a deterrent. In short, it would be best to call them out and settle the situation sooner rather than later.

    Soon enough, the sounds of crunching leaves and twigs could be heard, as the wolves approached from one side of the forest.

    ¡°Schoof, schoof¡± Eric¡¯s arrows began flying through the air, hitting their marks more often than not. Not wanting to be idly picked off by their enemy, the wolves made their move, flooding toward the group.

    ¡°Ahhh! Come here you stinky beasts! I¡¯ll beat your sorry carcasses into the ground!¡±

    Wow, Flint can be really talkative, Reylor thought. Whether it was the words or just the noise, Flint¡¯s provocations were really working. Most of the pack went straight for Flint, only to be sent flying back by his shield, assuming they were lucky enough to get past Flira¡¯s ice and earth spells. Of course, a few circled around to the sides, but Reylor made quick work of those on his side, and those on Gelton¡¯s side met fates far worse. Lucy and Aileen were not even needed for the event.

    The members of Reylor¡¯s group were all thinking the same thing: What does Aileen do? They didn¡¯t ask, however.

    After taking a moment for everyone to calm down and for Eric to retrieve his salvageable arrows, they continued on their way.

    ¡°Hey Reylor, where are you guys from? Your sword form doesn¡¯t look like a standard Vilnor form,¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°I was taught by a local militia in Otium,¡± Reylor replied

    ¡°Oh, man. Good thing you weren¡¯t in Splendor; I hear they got a pretty good beating, haha.¡±

    Elany¡¯s face darkened, though only Reylor noticed. With an unassuming voice, Reylor asked, ¡°Hey Flint, what exactly happened in Splendor?¡±

    ¡°Oh, wow, I guess news really does move slowly around there. Oh, sorry, no offense meant¡­ Anyhow, they say the Crystal Witch made her hideout there, in Splendor; so they sent their elite mage battalion to wipe it out.¡±

    ¡°Who is the Crystal Witch?¡± Reylor questioned.

    Everyone but Elany gave Reylor a strange look.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard of the Crystal witch?¡± Flira gasped.

    Seeing the serious looks on Reylor¡¯s face, she regained some of her composure. ¡°Several years ago, Vilnor Empire began their continental conquest. They started out by annexing a few smaller city-states around them. Then came the rebellion against the Shildwell rulership, wherein the rebels brought Vilnor in to help. That provided an excellent opportunity, which Vilnor used in order to annex the entire Shildwell kingdom, which brought a lot of power with it. In just a couple of years they were able to fully annex the Shildwell territories, and so they began the rest of their conquest in earnest.

    ¡°No one could stop them. City after city, and nation after nation fell to the cunning and might of the Vilnor Empire. All that remained on this side of the continent was the ¡®useless and weak¡¯ Otium territories in the South-East; Sylva, the enchanted Elven forests to the East, and the inhospitable southern forests. Now they were reaching for Dregnest, the Dwarvan homeland to the north.

    ¡°Their preparations were complete. Their forces were far superior. They began their march to conquer the Dwarvan lands, to steal the rich ore deposits for themselves. Knowing what was about to take place, the Dwarves were ready, though they knew it would be a lost cause. The Vilnor general gave the command, and both sides ran to begin the war¡ªbut then something happened. A massive class 9 magical formation appeared over the battle field, and a figure with it-it was the Crystal Witch. She was magnificent¡ªpure white hair flowed down her back, blending in with her white robe. Her face was beautiful and awe-inspiring. Both sides paused their movements to gaze in awe at this person.

    ¡°Then she spoke. Her voice was soft¡ªso soft you could barely hear it, yet it was glassy and smooth. She said ¡®Vilnor, you arrogance has known no bounds. You have ruthlessly conquered each of all the human territories you have coveted, and now you dare to march on the soil of those who are not of your race. The time for your punishment has come.¡¯

    ¡°With that the entire sky lit up with a magic circle that expanded to cover the Vilnor army, millions of them. Time seemed to freeze, and everyone felt as if they could not even move a finger. Then it came. Shards like diamond rained from the sky, shredding battalions of Vilnor warriors, and leaving only a few alive. The magical circles then dissipated, and she was gone. The entire Vilnor army was reduced to nothing.

    ¡°This was the account of an imperial mage who used special techniques to watch the entire event from the capital. From then on she was dubbed the crystal witch, and Vilnor has been searching for her ever after.¡±

    A soft voice, smooth like glass. Could it be her? Reylor thought.

 Chapter 8

    Everyone walked silently as the sun began to sink into the horizon. Many had heard the tale before, but it was still vivid enough to leave an impression. Whether awe-inspired by her sheer might, or saddened by thought of the massacre, all were affected by the tale of the Crystal Witch.

    Soon everyone made camp for the night. Finding a large clearing, everyone set up tents in a circle, surrounding a fire pit area. After a meal consisting mainly of roasted wolf meat, most of the group went to their respective tents, leaving Eric to take the first shift with Reylor. Of course Reylor did not need sleep, and thus would stand watch the whole night.

    Reylor laid down next to the crackling fire, while Eric worked at whittling some branches into arrow shafts.

    ¡°Hey Reylor, can I ask you a question?¡±

    Reylor looked over at Eric. ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Who are you guys? As a hunter, I¡¯ve grown pretty good at reading animals, and as a side benefit, people. Elany smiles and tries to be cheerful, but she is not, as if she has experienced a great loss. And Lucy isn¡¯t any better. It¡¯s like she has experienced some sort of trauma, and psychologically reverted to a child¡¯s mentality, albeit without the joy. And you, you¡¯re¡­ different¡­¡±

    ¡°Eric, I have a couple questions for you. Depending on your answers, I may be able to tell you some things,¡± Reylor replied.

    ¡°Ok, what are they?¡± Eric knew he was intruding, and was not at all offended with the conditions Reylor raised.

    ¡°What do you think about the Vilnor Empire?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°Well, it is quite great and powerful. The rulers are a bit too arrogant, but other than that I don¡¯t have any qualms with them.¡±

    ¡°What do you think about the crystal witch?¡±

    Eric paused for a bit before speaking up. ¡°Her methods were horrifying, but at the same time I have to say her motives were pure. Vilnor really did overstep their bounds, and it was about time that someone stood up to them. I think a bit more positively than negatively toward her.¡±

    ¡°Final question. Can I trust you?¡± Eric turned his head too look at Reylor, only to find himself feeling himself drowning in the gaze of Reylor''s abyss-like eyes.

    He nodded. ¡°You can.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you a little. Elany and I are from Splendor.¡±

    Eric just stared for a moment before it finally sunk in, his eyes widening in understanding. ¡°Splendor?¡± he breathed the question out, before returning his gaze back to the branch in his hands. So that¡¯s why Elany¡­

    ¡°I can¡¯t explain much right now, but at least you know what¡¯s going on with Elany. And as for Lucy,¡± Reylor continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand soon.¡±

    Eric didn¡¯t ask anything more. A moment later, he figure shook as he instinctively clutched his chest. He silently reached down to grab something with his other hand before putting into his mouth. A short time after, he relaxed a bit, before returning to his arrow shafts. They spent the rest of the shift in silence.

    Flira took the second shift, and was obviously not in the mood to talk. Gelt took the third shift and spent his time with a blank stare directed at the fire.

    Morning came and they all took down the camp, except for Elany, who worked on preparing the meal.

    After everyone was ready to go, Flira made an announcement. ¡°We¡¯ve made it almost half way there already, but we are nowhere near half way done. What I man by that is that things are going to get a lot more difficult from here on out. This is where we will start encountering shade beasts, and possibly even packs.

    ¡°What? A pack of shade beasts?¡± Gelt cried out.

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s weird, but from talking with some of the guards it appears that people have indeed encountered shade beast packs in this area.¡± Everyone wore various grim expressions on their faces¡ªwell, everyone that was listening anyways. Lucy was distracted by Elany, who had run over to a pretty flower she just noticed. ¡°Useless,¡± Flira whispered as she turned toward the path. Reylor pretended not to have heard. Let¡¯s see what she says when Lucy blows a crater in a beast pack, Reylor thought to himself in amusement.

    Two more days passed. They came across a couple more wolf packs, but they were far smaller than the first one. The also met a few solo shade beasts, and a pair, but the group was more than capable of dealing with two shades. On the third day Reylor noticed something.

    Hmm, I sense something. It¡¯s faint, but distinctly negative¡­ Oh, there must be people near. Eric certainly had sharper eyes, and so regularly spotted beasts before Reylor noticed them, but there was one case where Reylor was superior¡ªnoticing other people, due to his sensitivity to karmic energy.

    Reylor kept his mouth shut, but the sensations were getting stronger.

    ¡°Guys, get ready for some bad company.¡±

    ¡°Found some shade beasts?¡± Eric asked, while wondering why he hadn¡¯t seen them yet. Everyone else perked up a bit, but otherwise continued as usual.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°No. People, and not anyone nice.¡± Reylor said.

    That got everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Really? Where?¡± Flira asked.

    ¡°Up ahead, and to the left a bit. We are still a bit away, but I¡¯m pretty sure they know we¡¯re here.¡±

    Everyone strained their attention; and soon enough, there was confirmation.

    Eric spoke out, ¡°Found them. There are five people: 3 Rogues, a Swordsman, and a conjurer. They seem to have decent gear, too.¡±

    ¡°What if they¡¯re friendly?¡± Flira asked.

    ¡°They¡¯re not,¡± Reylor shot back. ¡°I know they¡¯re not.¡±

    ¡°Well, I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be cautious,¡± Flint said. Gelt kept lumbering on silently. He did seem to be looking out, though.¡±

    ¡°Aileen, get ready,¡± Eric called out. Aileen nodded her head.

    ¡°Oh, boy. Guys, Reylor was right.¡± Eric said, with the tiniest shiver in his voice. ¡°Their mage is heating up. Everyone, stick next to Aileen, we¡¯ll counter after getting a bit closer.¡± Just as he finished saying that, a magic circle opened over the group and began raining ice crystals down toward the group. Reylor and Elany instinctively braced for the impact, while Lucy remained somewhat aloof.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The crystals fell, colliding with a dome-shaped barrier, as Aileen¡¯s glass-like orb began to glow.

    Woah, that¡¯s impressive, Reylor thought.

    Aileen was a barrier mage. While they did not have any offensive capabilities at the low to middle stages of ability, they would be compensated by being able to create barriers that were twenty times stronger than the barriers cast by a general mage. Additionally, they were a rare lot. The ability to use their orbs required a certain affinity that less than 1 in a thousand had, including those who chose to go a different route based on the lack of offensive abilities for low level barrier mages.

    ¡°Here they come!¡± Gelt yelled out.

    ¡°Come at me you useless pigs!¡± Flint yelled out. Unfortunately, people were a lot smarter than animals, and only the swordsman went after Flint. The rogues were kept busy with Reylor, Gelt, and Eric. Gelt was not suited for quick combat, so Flira provided remote support for him. The odds were fairly even. Even though the barrier was strong, it was taxing on Aileen, so they were forced into engaging the enemy outside the barrier. Meanwhile, the mage started working on the barrier, putting extra strain on Aileen. This meant they were on a timeline. If the barrier fell, not only would Aileen, Elany, and Flira be vulnerable, but if Flira was then struck Gelt would not be able to keep up with his opponent. Someone needs to go down, and quickly.

    Flira shot a bolt over to where the mage was.

    ¡°Dangit! They set up their own barrier.¡± She said. It was not nearly as strong as Aileen¡¯s but it was enough to keep Flira from being able to pierce it wile helping Gelt.

    ¡°Ding, Ding¡± ¡°Sching¡± Sounds from the clash of weapons rang out.

    ¡°Lucy! Can you take care of that mage?¡±

    Lucy just stood there with a blank look.

    Flira glanced over with a hint of disdain.

    ¡°Lucy!¡±

    *Stare*

    ¡°Lucy!¡± Reylor cried out again between breaths, blocks, and parries.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Flint grunted. ¡°That was my shoulder, you dumb donkey!¡±

    Gelt was in worse shape. Great swords, while powerful, were just not fast enough to keep up with a dance of daggers.

    ¡°LUCILLE!¡± Reylor yelled out. ¡°Kill the mage!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make it out, somehow,¡± Flira said through gritted teeth.

    But then, it was like something clicked

    Flira could hardly believe it, as out of the corner of her eye she could see a massive change come over ¡°Lucy.¡± Her glazed over eyes focuses, and changed from their deep brown coloring to a foreboding scarlet. Her black hair seemed to be licked up in flames and the interior of the barrier instantly began to feel like a grill that had just been turned on. A voice called out, which was feminine, yet filled with power.

    ¡°Tower of hell, stage one. I summon thee!¡±

    With a flash of light a pillar of fire seemed to condense from heaven and out of thin air, destroying the mage¡¯s barrier as easily as popping a bubble, and proceeding to consume the mage inside.

    Lucy walked out of the barrier.

    ¡°Phoenix skin, stage two!¡±

    Pure white flames emerged from her feet, swirling up to cover her whole being.

    ¡°Everyone, into the barrier! she shouted.¡±

    Eric, Reylor, Flint, and Gelt obediently retreated into the barrier. Flira¡¯s group stared out, unable to comprehend what that had just seen.

    Having lost their opponents, the rogues and swordsman turned to Lucy, though showing some hesitation in front of this girl who seemed to embody the word ¡°fire.¡± One of the rogues flicked out a dagger in an attempt to injure her without having to get close.

    ¡°Bang!¡± the phoenix armor was so hot, that it not only repelled and melted the dagger, but also caused it to explode!

    With ghastly faces, the remaining two rogues and the swordsman turned to retreat. They were clearly outclassed. Lucy, however, would have none of it.

    ¡°Shildwell Art: Magma Domain!¡± The ground in the entire area erupted as a field of molten rock, incinerating everything (and everyone) within range, excepting herself and those within the barrier.

    ¡°W-what. Just. What the HECK was that?!¡± Flira screamed out like a girl who had just seen a ghost for the first time. Gelt and Flint were speechless. Eric seemed taken aback, too, but he recovered somewhat quickly. ¡°I see,¡± was all he said.

    ¡°Mana return,¡± Lucy said simply.

    With that, the heat of both the magma and her phoenix armor dispersed, and the heat energy returned to her, a great portion having been converted back into mana.

    Her appearance became what it had been before, but she did not disguise her eyes this time.

    ¡°Woah, Lucy, that was cool,¡± Elany said, as her own shock began to dissipate.

    Lucy gave her a narrow look, which softened slightly before she turned to Reylor, staring piercingly into his eyes. She shuddered ever so slightly, before withdrawing her gaze.

    ¡°Shil-Shildwell?¡± Gelt finally stammered out with wide eyes. What in the world? Aren¡¯t they all supposed to be dead? But that fire-It was just like the stories. There can be no mistake, he thought.

    ¡°I will bring you to Votran. After we arrive, I will leave. Everyone will forget about this encounter and never mention what has happened. Is that clear?¡± Lucy looked out at every person until each gave their acknowledgment; except for Reylor, who she could not bring herself to look at. What terrifying eyes! It felt as if they were reaching into the depths of my soul! She thought.

    The rest of the trip went by quickly. Lucy stoically took the lead, allowing the party to progress much faster, finally bringing them near the city. Suddenly, Lucy turned around and said, ¡°I will be leaving.¡± Activating a movement skill, she disappeared into the forest. She was gone.

    ¡°Lucy, where are you going?¡± Elany cried out, receiving no reply. ¡°Lucy¡­¡± Elany sniffed, as her eyes started watering. ¡°Why did she leave us?¡±

    Putting his hand on her shoulder, Reylor said, ¡°Lucy is finally free, not only physically, but mentally. She needs time to heal and stabilize herself. This is what is best for her. Should we not want that for her?¡± Lucy nodded her head slightly before whispering, ¡°I guess so.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I believe we will be seeing her again, Reylor said, before turning to proceed towards the city gates.

    Eric silently watched everything, holding one question in his mind: Should he be the one I trust with this?

 Chapter 9

    ¡°Welcome to Votran! May I ask you purpose for coming to our city?¡± A guard spoke his good natured greeting as soon as the group arrived.

    ¡°We are here to enroll in the academy.¡± Flira answered. ¡°Could you tell us where to go?¡±

    The guard just stood there for a moment before recollecting his thoughts. He let out a whistle. ¡°Man, it¡¯s been a little while since we¡¯ve seen hopefuls come via the forest¡ªshades, bandits, and all. But don¡¯t mind me. The school is situated right smack in the middle of the city. See that tower over there? Head in that direction and you should come right up to the gates. Also, take these with you.¡± He distributed a plain blue badge to each person. ¡°I have high hopes for you all. Good luck!¡±

    Entering Vilnor City was like walking into a whole different world. Outside the walls there was desolation. The dead trees, absence of grass, and scavenging creatures made it look like a haunted forest, or a wooded wasteland. Inside the city, there were fields bearing fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The trees had green leaves, and the whole place seemed alive. They passed by merchants selling their wares and restaurants bustling with patrons. Drawing closer to the academy, they heard the explosions emitted from sparring classmates. It was good to be in the city.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting pretty late, why don¡¯t we stop at an inn and finish up our trip tomorrow?¡± Flira asked. ¡°I¡¯m down for it¡± Eric said. ¡°Sure.¡± Reylor shrugged his shoulders. He was eager to get to the academy and start learning as soon as possible, but he was a Seldin. He had lived long enough to refine his patience to a sky-high level.

    They found an inn before too long, and Flira led the party in. ¡°Hello, we would like to rent a few inn rooms.¡± ¡°Welcome, welcome, guests. Our rooms come standard for 100 VC per night, but if you rent five, I can drop that down to 80 each.¡± The innkeeper said with a smile. ¡°Wait, VC? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Oh? The innkeeper lifted his eyebrows. You must be from out of town. Here the standard currency is VC, which stands for Votran Contribution. It has been separated out from the rest of the empire to ensure that everyone here earns their keep. Of course, we do get merchants wealthy enough to hire mage escorts. For them we are willing to trade magic crystals for services. Of course you can exchange VC for Velii at the guild hall, but it does not work the other way around. So, do you have magic crystals you would like to exchange? ¡°Uh,¡± Flira stumbled the words out of her mouth ¡°I,  we, uh, thank you, but we will not be bothering you tonight.¡± They walked out, leaving the innkeeper with a sour expression.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s to the academy then,¡± Flira said, dejected. They continued toward the academy, as the sun slipped past the horizon.

    ¡°Hey Reylor, could I talk with you along the way?¡± Eric asked. ¡°Certainly. What do you need?¡±

    After telling Aileen to accompany Elany, Eric dropped back with Reylor. ¡°Could you tell me the rest of what happened? I know this may be a bit forward, but it is important for a decision I have to make.¡±

    Reylor sighed. Ok, his karma is fantastic, and he didn¡¯t freak out about Splendor. I think it will be alright. An hour quickly passed by as Reylor related the tale of his time at Splendor, the massacre, taking Lucy with him towards Votran, and saving Lucy along the way.

    Eric paused for a moment of thought, and then made a decision. ¡°Reylor, I have another request. Votran is not suitable for me. For me to progress to a high level, I need to master enchanting, requiring high level programs that Votran Academy does not have. Aileen needs someone to look after her. She is only 10, and with her unique ability, it will only be a matter of time before she gets into a dangerous situation. Please look after her until I can return. There is something that tells me there is more to you than what we can see. Some mysterious power is residing in you. I believe you have the best chance of being able to protect her, and I know from your story that you have a respectable character; so please, please look after her in my stead.¡± He bowed as words of sincerity poured out from his heart. ¡°She is all I have left.¡±

    Reylor felt a twinge in his own heart. Isn¡¯t he just like Elany? She lost everything, and everyone, and I am all she has left. This is a grand request¡ªone that should not be taken lightly. Nevertheless, I cannot turn him down. An addition to our crew it shall be. ¡°Very well,¡± Reylor said resolutely, ¡°I will watch over her until you return. She will be safe. You have my word.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Eric said, ¡°I only hope that in the future I can repay my debt.¡±

    ¡°Also, I should tell you one other matter-I am a timework phantom who was adopted by Aileen¡¯s parents. Most things about me are the same as other people, but every year I end up dematerializing to regenerate spiritual energy for about a month, so if you go looking for me at the wrong time, you will not be able to find me. This is the other reason why I need help looking after Aileen for now. Anyhow, I still thank you.¡± He gave Reylor a slight bow.

    After pulling Aileen away and talking with her for a bit, Eric brought her over to where Elany had rejoined Reylor. ¡°Aileen, you now have a new family. Stay with your brother Reylor and sister Elany. They will take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Do you really have to go? I want to stay with you!¡± Aileen sobbed. ¡°I will be back, but first I need to get stronger, to be able to protect you better. They embraced. Aileen cried.  Eric then left.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Aileen took the hand Reylor offered her. Dangit, DANGIT! Why does stuff like this keep happening to me? That the same look Elany had after losing Splendor, and the same that Lucy had for the longest of times. Dead and lifeless. Reylor sighed. I will make things change in this world. Reylor then picked Aileen up and carried her, allowing her to fall asleep as they continued forward.

    They arrived at the gates of the academy, which happened to be open. That¡¯s odd. Shouldn¡¯t they be closed during the night? ran through the minds of all there. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see anyone here, might as well step in¡± Gelt said. ¡°Sure¡± Flira agreed.

    As the group walked in, the space around them instantly changed. They suddenly found themselves trapped on a sandy island in the middle of the day. ¡°FORMATION!¡± Reylor yelled, after quickly passing Aileen off to Elany. As if woken from a dream everyone drew their weapons and surrounded Elany and Aileen. The blue badges they had acquired from the front gate guard all flew up into the sky and disappeared with a flash.

    ¡°The final evaluation begins now!¡± boomed from above, as twenty small golems rose up from the sand. ¡°Flint, provoke them! Reylor yelled out. ¡°Come at me, you pieces of dirt!¡± Flint screamed. ¡°Flira, attack with your hottest fire!¡± Reylor yelled out another instruction.

    Flint prepared to block the golems as Flira released a spell of white-hot fire, turning the outside layers of sand to turn into glassy encasements. ¡°Gelt, have at them!¡± Gelton sprang forward, shattering the encased golems with ease, then returned to his former position.

    ¡°Round one complete! Full party strength has been evaluated. ¡°Divide into two groups and each choose as location. You have 7 minutes to decide.¡± The voice sounded again.

    ¡°Flint, Gelton, with me! Flira yelled out.¡± Flint gave a somewhat sorrowful look to Reylor, but continued to the circle with Flira and Gelt. Elany is, after all, Reylor¡¯s responsibility. Flint thought. And Aileen is¡­ Wait where¡¯s Eric? He didn¡¯t have time to finish the thought as Reylor led Elany and the newly awakened Aileen to the other circle.

    ¡°Small parties chosen. Trial of the shade will begin now.¡± The voice said, as a massive magical barrier spread out, dividing the island in half and separating the two parties.

    ¡°Aileen, I need you to put up the barrier for you and Elany, ok?¡± She nodded. Good, she¡¯s not as far gone as Lucy was. We can do this. Reylor thought.

    The small island was instantly filled with shade beasts of all varieties. Flira''s group fought fluidly, as Gelt Shattered through the beasts with ease, Flint protected Flira, and Flira finished off the mangled corpses Gelt left behind.

    On the other side, things looked a bit different. Reylor instructed Aileen to focus on just protecting herself and Elany, so the barrier would last longer. In the meantime, Reylor took out his longsword and began to fight beasts one at a time. That being said, a massacre still followed. Reylor was not the battle-ignorant weakling that had originally arrived in Splendor. His movements were swift and fluid, his perception clear.

    After an hour Flira¡¯s group managed to finish off all the beasts on their side, and so they watched as Reylor single-handedly fought off the horde on his side. Whether it was a wolf or bear, badger or bull, Reylor¡¯s blade parted their bodies with the grace of a flowing stream. Finally, the last creature fell to his blessed blade. Flicking the blood off his blade, he placed it back into its sheath.

    ¡°Round two complete. Small party strength assessed. Round three will begin in ten minutes. Individual strengths will be assessed. Non-combatants enter the green circle¡±

    Elany walked over to the green circle, and a few minutes later all of the remaining combatants were separated by magic barriers, in which an unfamiliar mage was also placed. Only Elany was exempted. It was obvious that the strange mages were extremely powerful, yet held their power back.

    Gelton was the first to finish, receiving an injury that would severely limit his fighting ability until it was healed. Moments later a soft light landed on his injury, healing it at a rapid pace. He was released from his sealed area and directed to a light blue circle next to the green one. Reylor and Flira both were eliminated at a similar time, and were also directed to the blue circle. Flint was the next lose, finally being injured, despite his strong defenses. Only Aileen was left, weathering the storm of blows with her unbending shield.

    Reylor inspected her shield. It¡¯s getting weaker. The mage pitted against her did not seem to notice, becoming more frustrated by the minute. What in the world is this thing? The blasted thing just won¡¯t break.

    Finally, He lost all his patience. Raising his hand to the sky he called out ¡°Spear of the heavens, I beseech you, grant unto me the power to slay my enemies. Heaven Strike!¡±

    Matter seemed to coalesce from the sky, turning into a spear 40 feet long and two feet in diameter, causing the sky to tremble. Aileen trembled slightly as her breathing became ragged. Are you trying to kill her? Reylor thought. The frustrated mage had gone mad from being unable to break the shield of this little girl and had now summoned one of his strongest abilities.

    No, no! I can¡¯t let this happen! Reylor¡¯s mind began racing. There is not question. I have to do it.

    Reylor had been concealing his god-like powers as much as possible, to avoid making a scene until he was strong enough that it wouldn¡¯t matter if it was let out. But now was not the time to hold back.

    ¡°Void transfer!¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± The barrier obstructed even his transfer skill, putting his stomach in a knot.

    That¡¯s it, I gotta go all out. ¡°Aura, release!¡± His figure was enveloped in a dark mist¡ªwhich was all the spacial energy he had been saving up. This was a necessary step in order to execute Seldin skills quickly.

    He placed his hand on the barrier. ¡°Aetheric Art: Break!¡± The barrier shattered, leaving not only Flira¡¯s group, but also the various mages in shock. Who was this man? Even the principle would take at least a few minutes just to make a small hole, yet he instantly shattered the whole thing!

    He strode forward to Aileen who was just standing there with a petrified look on her face.

    Eric, I will not let you down.  Reylor glared at the mage facing Aileen. Recall your ability at once! He yelled.

    ¡°Shut up Plebian!¡± The mage fired back.

    Reylor told Aileen to cancel her shield, which she reluctantly did.

    ¡°Stop Xeld! The other mages called out. You are going to kill her!

    The spear began to descend, faster and faster. He obviously had no more care for the lives of those around him.

    Reylor! Aileen screamed.

    Reylor held out his hand, instantly condensing all the spacial energy around him into his palm.

    He opened his mouth and spoke: ¡°Seldin Art: Void Disruption¡±

 Chapter 10

    Reylor held out his hand, instantly condensing all the spacial energy around him into his palm and spoke: ¡°Seldin Art: Void Disruption¡±

    ¡°BANG!¡±

    A surreal scene was presented for all present. Everyone felt a dull pain in their chests as all the mana within half a mile was instantly dispersed from where Reylor stood out. All the mages in the area felt a chills run down their spines as their magical sense instantly went blank and their magical artifacts seemed to have gone dead. At the same time, the summoned spear combusted. But this was not all.  The entire space around them began to decay right before their eyes, before finally shattering.

    They all found themselves just inside the gate to the Votran Academy, as they had been transported into a formation, but Reylor¡¯s ability had broken through it, returning them to where they had been before, plus all the mages who had apparently been assigned to evaluate them. Along with the active evaluators, a few others who had been secretly watching the duels were stripped of their invisibility.

    Reylor¡¯s eyes had turned completely black, even the whites of his eyes, as he walked toward the mage called Xeld. Reylor placed the tip of his sword to Xeld¡¯s chest.

    ¡°You will not dare to touch those under my watch. If you cross the line one more time, you will die,¡± Reylor said coldly. Xeld looked up but could not utter so much as a word, as he peered into what felt like the eyes of death incarnate. He was petrified, not to mention having received a debilitating psychological blow when his spear ability was forcibly canceled.

    Seeing Reylor point his sword at Xeld¡¯s heart, a mage yelled out ¡°Stop!¡± And he reached out his hand to cast a restraining spell on Reylor. His already pale face turned blank. ¡°I can¡¯t use magic¡± he whispered.

    Reylor pulled his sword back and sheathed it, before returning to Aileen. His eyes returned to normal as he embraced her. ¡°You are safe,¡± he said softly, as she hugged him back. He and Aileen walked back to where Elany was.

    ¡°Void Dispersion: Recall¡±

    Mana followed back into the space and the mages felt their power returning to them. Their artifacts also began to glow with power again. Yet everyone just stood there for a time: Reylor with a calm but icy gaze, the mages with expressions ranging between shock and terror, and Aileen gripping Reylor¡¯s cloak as if letting go meant death. Elany was stunned as well, but recovered a bit faster than the rest, having witnessed this ability when Reylor removed Lucy¡¯s restrictive artifact.

    Reylor broke the silence. ¡°Do we pass?¡± he asked flatly.

    ¡°Uh, y-yes.¡± One of the three previously hidden mages stammered out. ¡°Each of you take one of these,¡± He handed devices which also appeared to be badges. ¡°These will be your means of identification in the school, so please take care of them. For now, enter your information into the blank spaces, and then we will continue with some ¡®ehem¡¯ less exciting evaluations.

    After tinkering with the devices enough, Flira and Reylor¡¯s parties managed to activate their devices, which could project interactive screens. The first screen available had blank spaces for basic personal information, such as names and where they were from. After filling out the necessary information, they were ushered into a building that had a stone in the middle, with lines extending from it to other stones of various colors.

    ¡°My name, by the way is Jelet, and I am the director of evaluations for the Votran Academy of Magical Arts. This building right here is our resonance hall¡ªa building which houses a system for assessing magical affinity. When a person places their hand on the center stone and directs a stream of mana into it, the stone with split the mana into multiple smaller streams, directed at various smaller stones. These smaller stones will then glow if the mage has an affinity for that stone¡¯s particular form of magic. The brighter the glow, the greater affinity the mage will have for that particular magic.

    ¡°Many mages will have a slight affinity for multiple forms of magic, but most will have anywhere from one to three major affinities. It is best to focus primarily on a single form to begin with.

    ¡°Many prefer this to be a private matter, so we will be testing you one at a time while the others wait outside. An exception can be made in the case of the barrier mage, if she so desires¡± he added on, noticing Aileen¡¯s young appearance and timidity.

    Flira¡¯s went first, followed by Gelt then Flint. They didn¡¯t say anything, but their faces implied that they were each satisfied with their result. They were pointed to another building by Jelet. Elany was the first of Reylor¡¯s group to enter. She came out with a bright smile on her face. ¡°Reylor! Reylor! I have affinities for light and holy magic! I can be a mage too!¡± she excitedly cried out.

    Every high level mage would learn at least one or two minor healing spells, but healing anything close to life threatening would be incredibly difficult, if even possible, for anyone who did not have at least moderate affinity for holy magic, or very high affinity for light magic. And while light mages were fairly common, holy mages were not. As it turns out, Elany had high affinity for both light and holy magic.

    After congratulating Elany, Reylor went into the hall with Aileen.

    ¡°Ok, so all you need to do is place your hand on the large stone there and emit a weak but steady stream of mana.¡± Jelet explained. Aileen walked over to the stone and placed her hand on it. As she emitted a stream of mana, the large stone began to glow brightly. Following that, many of the other stones began to emit colored glows at various brightnesses. ¡°Judging by the glow of the large stone, you must have an incredibly large internal mana pool,¡± Jelet continued to explain. ¡°This is not surprising, considering it takes so much mana to construct barriers. You also see that many other stones are glowing, but since most of them are glowing very dimly, that means they will not be useful to you.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Now that brown stone glowing over there shows that you have a minor affinity towards earth magic. You can learn earth magic. However, since you have some other stronger affinities, so I would advise against this. That glowing purple stone shows that you have a high affinity for the Void arts. This is excellent, considering it is the best type of affinity for constructing barriers, and Votran has the best void magic instructors.

    The blue stone shows you have a very high affinity for water magic, which is higher than you void affinity. However, I would still advise you to focus on void magic, as synergy between it and your natural barrier magic abilities will more than make up the difference in affinity strength.¡± Aileen nodded at Jelet.

    ¡°Ok, you may remove your hand from the stone and wait outside.¡± Aileen obediently left, joining Elany outside.¡±

    I wonder what it will say about this guy, Jelet thought. This guy nullified every magic in the whole area of the combat assessment, I wonder¡ªis he a master void mage? Or maybe it is some strange shadow magic dark magic ability, considering the dark kind of energy he used.

    ¡°Ok, your turn.¡± Jelet said. Reylor stepped up and placed his hand on the stone, smiling faintly. He poured mana into the stone, lighting it up moderately with a pure white glow. This was strange, because usually it would have a yellowish tint, but this mana was so pure that the light was snow white. Jelet was left in awe, but for a different reason.

    What the heck! What even! How in the world? Am I losing it? What is this? This has got to be a dream. Just what is this? He said in his heart, as he gazed at all the smaller stones in the resonance hall.

    None were lit.

    There was not a single glow to any of them, indicating that Reylor did not have even the smallest hint of an affinity for any form of magic.

    But how, why¡­ Just what is going on? Jelet could not understand. Reylor nullified all those magics, so he must be some sort of master magician, but then why did he not show up as having any affinities for magic? What made his wonderment even greater was the fact that being devoid of affinity on Aretor was unheard of. Even those with zero magic ability and no perceived magical potential would show at least a couple of miniscule affinities when tested, yet Reylor showed none.

    Reylor, on the other hand, wanted to bust out laughing. Having watched what happened with Aileen, he already knew what would happen here. Affinity was not actually dependent on mana quality. The stones would establish a connection with the meridians of the one being tested, and light up accordingly. For Reylor, the stones were unable to do so.

    As a Seldin, Reylor had spacial meridians, which were adapted to channeling spacial energy. These could channel either spacial energy or magical energy, depending on which energy pool he connected the meridians to. For the assessment, he did not want the school to know he had flawless affinity for every form of magic, so he left his meridians connected to his spacial energy pool and drew mana from his mana core via a less efficient path.

    In short, Reylor had just pulled an impossible prank on Jelet.

    Removing his hand from the stone, Reylor smiled at Jelet. ¡°I should tell you now, that my body is a bit different. This system will not be able to tell you what affinities I have. I have come to study void magic, so you should just write that down as my affinity.¡± Reylor said. Jelet just nodded and entered some things into his computer. It was standard practice for Votran Academy to record the affinities of their students for the reference of instructors, and for research purposes. ¡°Who are you?¡± ran through Jelet¡¯s mind again, a thought that would be repeated many more times in the future.

    Reylor Elany and Aileen made their way to the building Flira¡¯s group had gone to before. A huge sign read ¡°Housing office¡± They walked in, finding themselves in an ornate room with several couches lining the walls. Flint was sitting in one of them.

    ¡°Yo, Reylor! How¡¯d your evaluations go? Flint casually asked. ¡°Pretty good. We all had quite suitable affinities. Aileen and I will be studying void arts while Elany¡ªReylor nodded at Elany. ¡°I can use holy magic!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s awesome! As for me, I will be focusing on Earth elemental magic. The last sentence was spoken with a bit less enthusiasm than the first.

    ¡°Is there an issue with that?¡± Reylor asked. ¡°No, I mean it¡¯s not a big deal. I was actually hoping to be a paladin, but that¡¯s not going to work out. It¡¯s alright though, I mean, we did make it into the academy, so that¡¯s pretty cool.¡± To be a paladin, one must have a holy magic affinity.

    Reylor nodded his head at this. Reylor and Flira¡¯s groups made the trek, but both parties were exceptional, considering their lack of formal magic instruction. Votran was a prestigious academy, despite being located in such an obscure area.¡±

    A door opened, and Gelt walked out. He gave Reylor a casual glance before exiting the building. ¡°Next¡± rang out through the same door, which Flint then entered.

    A moderate length of time passed before Reylor¡¯s turn came. He left Elany and Aileen sleeping on the couches as he entered the room.

    ¡°Hello, my name is Dristle, and I am the housing manager.¡± A slim man who appeared to be around sixty peered out through his pair of spectacles, giving him a scholarly look.

    He explained where various major facilities were for the school, and also explained were the various housing areas were in relation to these facilities. ¡°Do you have a preference for where you will be staying?¡± Dristle asked.

    ¡°Before that, I have a question,¡± Reylor said. The man motioned for him to continue. ¡°Do you have any group living quarters?¡±

    ¡°A single apartment space can accommodate two people, if that is what you are asking.¡± Dristle was used to this question, as many mages liked to work in pairs, desiring to not only work, but live with each other. War would bring out a strong sense of camaraderie, after all, and many prospective mages were not unacquainted with bloodshed.

    ¡°I need a place for three,¡± Reylor stated.

    ¡°I am sorry but I am afraid the only residences that fit that criterion are the squadron houses, and they require at least an ¡°A¡± rank squad in order to access.

    ¡°Is there a test we could take to reach this rank today?¡± Reylor questioned. ¡°No,¡± the reply came ¡°You are lucky to have a place here, so please just pick a residence.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, thank you for your time. We will be leaving then.¡± Reylor got up from his chair and turned to leave the room. He was preparing to leave Votran Academy, just like that.

    Dristle furrowed his brows. Who is this man? Surely he knows this is Votran of all places, and yet he decides to leave just because of some housing situation? Something felt off, but he couldn¡¯t quite figure out why. Oh, well, he¡¯s the one missing out. I should return to my other work. The man let out a sigh.

    This was a mistake he would not live down for a long time.

 Chapter 11

    While Dristle only saw Reylor as some self-entitled snob, the truth was very different. Reylor had accepted Eric¡¯s request to watch over Aileen, while he had sworn to himself he would take care of Elany. He felt that this was not something he could do if they were placed in different residences. He needed them to be close. As such, he was unwilling to be somewhere that his was unable to accompany them at their most vulnerable time, which was when they would be asleep. That being said, He had not actually given up on Votran yet. He still had a plan.

    Dawn was already breaking as Reylor brought the groggy pair out of the office with him. After asking around for awhile, he was directed to Jelet¡¯s office. It seemed that all the offices were built with a similar principle- Having a seating area for guests or anyone waiting to see the official, with an actual office separated from it with a door. This waiting room was different than the other, however, as it was fitted with only a couple of couches and a coffee table.

    Apparently he didn¡¯t get as many visitors as Dristle. The door was open, so they let themselves in and sat on one of the couches.

    ¡°Hello? Jelet said, walking out of his office. ¡°Oh, Reylor, what can I help you with?¡±

    Reylor pulled out his ID device, along with the two he had collected from Elany and Aileen. ¡°Hey, it looks like Votran isn¡¯t going to work out for us, so I just wanted to make sure these got back to you.¡±

    Jelet¡¯s face darkened a bit, as he sat down on the other couch, facing Reylor. Ohhh, no. No, no no! That can¡¯t be happening. We can¡¯t lose a guy like him before even classes start! I mean, seriously, he totally wrecked all the magic in the area. Who knows what else he is hiding! And if he went to another school-well, that wouldn¡¯t be a good thing.

    After pondering for a bit, Jelet finally spoke up. ¡°Hey Reylor, could you tell me what went wrong? If there is anything I can do to resolve it, I will do what I can.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you want to listen, I¡¯ll tell you what happened.¡± Reylor related the story to Jelet, noticing Jelet¡¯s face slowly turn red.

    ¡°Friend, if I might impose on you, could you stay for a day here? I would give you access to a guest house for the night and speak with the director here. I am fairly sure he would be willing to fulfill your request.¡± Jelet said, though his thoughts. were in a slightly different place. What the actual heck Dristle! You are so dead! You almost deprived us of not one, but two variants! And one of them is an undiscovered type!

    Variants were magicians with rare abilities- such as Aileen being compatible with globes for making magical barriers. As for Reylor, no one had heard of a person being able to directly cancel magic except for S-Class Void magicians, not to mention the same person failing to show an affinity for anything. He was an entity that many magic academies would kill for!

    Accepting the offer, Reylor brought Elany and Aileen to the guest house, where they all¡ªReylor included¡ªfell fast asleep. It had been a long day and a half for the trio, and Reylor had exhausted nearly all of his spacial energy.

    *** *** ***

    Meanwhile, at the Votran Outpost:

    A large man exited the spacial gate and resolutely began walking down the road to Votran.  He had a relatively fresh scar on the right side of his face, and wore rough, hand-sewn beast furs. He had a large, two-handed sword on his back; which had a slightly curved blade. Its edge let off a soft white glow-obviously the weapon of a huntsman. If one could see under his clothing, they would also realize that his torso was covered in layers of runic tattoos.

    The guards didn¡¯t bother to say anything to him. They could tell he was oozing with some strange sort of power, and they didn¡¯t want to get on his bad side. He was definitely on a mission.

    ¡°Dang, kid. Why¡¯d you have to go out here, out of all places?¡± was mumbled under his breath.

    *** *** ***

    After Reylor and crew got some sleep and prepared for the day, they left the guest house and were promptly greeted by a servant who brought them to the dining facilities before taking them to the main administration hall. The headmaster had asked to see them before saying anything else.

    After entering the Administration building, they were brought up the stairs and into yet another waiting area. However, this time they were immediately escorted into the inner office, where a middle aged man sat behind a grand desk. While he certainly had many more years ahead of him, his features showed that time and stress had not been kind to him. Nevertheless, he still held a noble bearing, and his eyes hinted at undisclosed intelligence. He welcomed Reylor into his office, and this time Elany and Aileen joined them.

    ¡°Hello Reylor, Aileen, and Elany. My name is Earlstine, and I am the headmaster here. I have been told many things about you-especially Reylor. That being said, I will get straight to the point. You were having a bit of difficulty with housing, yes?¡± Reylor nodded. ¡°So you desire something akin to a squadron house?¡± Reylor once again affirmed the headmaster.

    ¡°Now squadron houses are usually earned by taking on assignments and ranking up. Taking on high class assignments, participating in defense activities for Votran City, and doing other distinguishable acts will grant reputation points. A group of people who have collectively gained over 2 million reputation points may then apply for a squadron housing unit. Other than that, S-Class residents may also be granted a squadron house.

    ¡°Granting a housing unit to people who have not earned it would create great dissatisfaction among our students, which is something we obviously want to avoid. That being said, I must ask: why do you believe you need a group house?¡±

    Reylor related the stories of him, Aileen, and Elany; leaving out a few sensitive details such as he and Elany being from Splendor and Aileen¡¯s brother being a timework phantom.

    ¡°I see. So you believe you cannot have complete confidence in their protection if they were to be separated. Still, this could be a difficult situation. I have potential solution to it, if you would be willing. I hear that you used a strange kind of energy during the entrance exam. As a research institute, we are very interested in this. If you would be willing to donate energy for our research, that would be reason enough for us to give you temporary squadron residence under the banner of you being a S-Class material supplier. What would you think of this?¡±

    The deal was accepted. Even if they researched it, it was highly unlikely that they would be able to capture any spacial energy without the help of a Seldin or Seldin technology. Also, it would not be able to reveal the extent of Reylor¡¯s abilities. This was a low risk solution to a complex situation.

    Following this meeting, they were assigned a residence. They then also registered for their first set of classes. Reylor only signed up for the practical classes, curiously enough. To an insider this would not be surprise, though. He was a god Seldin, so his memory was perfect. Then combine this with his massive IQ and innate understanding of base materials of matter, and you had a being with an absolutely terrifying learning capacity. He had no need for a teacher; and in fact, one would only be a hindrance. It was far more practical for him to just read the textbooks and comprehend them on his own.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    However, he still needed the practical courses, because this grant him useful battle experience and hone his perception and muscles. There were also many skills that were not available to him through books. He would have to learn these straight from the instructors.

    The day went quickly, as they collected the materials they needed, acquainted themselves with where their classes would be held, and settled into their new residence. Things were moving fairly smoothly.

    That night, even Reylor slept again. The fight at the entrance exam had taught him one thing-he still needed to be careful. He had been able to fight the spear off, but he had consumed a fair amount of spacial energy. If something else happened, he wasn¡¯t sure he would be able to contend with it. So until he had mastered a high level of magic usage he must collect as much spacial energy as he could.

    ¡°Reylor, it¡¯s morning.¡± A gentle had tapped on Reylor¡¯s shoulder. In fact, Reylor was already awake by this point. Having sensed Elany¡¯s karmic aura as he approached his room, he had already been wakened. Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t want to startle her, so he pretended to still be asleep. Ok, maybe he also wanted to see what she was going to do, but who is going to judge? ¡°Am I really still a Seldin?¡± flashed through his mind. Even he was beginning to notice changes in his previously stoic personality.

    Reylor opened his eyes to see Elany peering over him. ¡°Breakfast is ready,¡± she said with a shy smile. Reylor groaned inside. She does realize that I¡¯m over a million years old, right? Nevertheless, it still warmed his heart, as he hadn¡¯t received this kind of attention since he had started his term of work; and to be fair, his body was more like 20-year-old¡¯s.

    Aileen was already seated at a table when Reylor walked into the main area. She was staring intently at the fragrant biscuits and steaming gravy.

    ¡°Thanks for the food!¡± They ate everything, and Reylor was left thinking how Elany had become so good at cooking. He couldn¡¯t ponder that for too long though, as it was time for class.

    The first one was a practical, and as a general requirement for mages, all three of them were required to participate. The class typically met at general-purpose field, where mages could try out techniques without fear for destroying a classroom. Class began before too much longer.

    ¡°Hello class, a few new students have just joined our class, so please welcome Aileen, Elany, and Reylor,¡± She said, motioning to the three. The rest of the students greeted them. ¡°And by the way, my name is Professor Helen.¡±

    ¡°Well, since it is your first day in class, we will begin where we began with the others¡ªby getting a feel for you¡¯re the quality and potency of your magic.¡±

    Going in alphabetical order, she began with Aileen. ¡°Aileen, please step up here to this mark.¡± Aileen followed the Helen¡¯s instructions, placing herself in front of a mark in the dirt, and facing a column of targets spaced 50 feet from each other.

    In this exercise, students would be instructed to fire the element of their affinity at the targets. Assuming the student was able to aim their shot, the number of the targets it was able to blast through would give the practitioner and instructor and Idea of the student¡¯s range, while the size of the holes would give and estimate of their attack power. Of course there were many variables for masters of magic, but this was a fairly accurate test in the case of beginner magicians.

    As instructed, Aileen focused her energy, visualizing a stream of void energy emitting from her hand. A concentrated purple stream of energy was shot out from her hand, blasting through two targets, and leaving behind rather large holes.

    ¡°Well done. It seems you have a relatively large mana pool and excellent directional control for a beginner. Nevertheless, it seems that you could stand to improve your distance comprehension. I will give you some exercises to work on after evaluating your friends.¡± Aileen nodded her head.

    ¡°Next is Elany. Please step up.¡± Elany also stepped up to the mark where Aileen had just been. The targets were magical constructs, so Helen was able to replace the damaged target with ease. Elany Put her hand up and began to emit energy in the form of a soft, milky glow. Helens eyes widened for a moment, before quickly casting a spell, which prevented any of the students (except Reylor, of course) from being able to see this energy emitted outward. ¡°Holy magic. I have a holy mage in my class!¡± Helen almost squealed in delight. Holy mages were rare, and most would not go through the trouble to get to Votran, seems how Votran was so out of the way and was not superior to most other academies as far as the holy arts were concerned.

    Still she kept her wits about her and prevented others from seeing Elany¡¯s affinity, to keep others from pressuring her into their groups since she would later be able to heal their party members. She instructed Elany to practice her light magic instead when in public.

    And then came Reylor¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Could you set the targets up in the sky? I have used another form of energy before, but not magic, so I am not entirely sure what is going to happen, and I don¡¯t want to end up wrecking the school if things go wrong.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°Does he seriously think he could damage the school, not having used magic before? Well, Jelet did say to treat his group well for some reason, and moving the targets really is not hard for me. I guess it can¡¯t hurt.¡±

    She set up the targets to extend toward the sky. As if voicing her initial thought, many of the other students began murmuring to each other. ¡°Who does he think he is? A newbie could destroy the school? Give me a break!¡± ¡°I know, right? How arrogant. I¡¯m gonna laugh when he can¡¯t even hit the first target.¡± However, there was one person who didn¡¯t say anything, pondering what was about to happen. This was Flint, who happened to end up in the same division of this class as Reylor and his crew.

    ¡°Hey man, don¡¯t you think they guy is full of himself?¡± a person next to Flint asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure. There is more to that guy than meets the eye,¡± Flint replied. ¡°Hmph. Well see¡±

    ¡°Well, are you ready? Helen asked. She had laid out the targets in short order and was watching Reylor, concentrating on something. ¡°Hey you need to use the bathroom or something?¡± A jeering shout rang out from a student. Reylor was above that, and paid the comment no mind. What he was doing, in fact, was learning how to switch his meridians to connect to his mana core, as this would be the first time he has actually used it. Spacial energy was far more useful and abundant in the spacial hall than mana was, after all. Having finalized the procedure he raised he head. ¡°Yes, I am ready now.¡±

    ¡°Hey don¡¯t do it here, the bathhouse is over there!¡± A few students laughed, but were silenced by a glare from Professor Helen.

    He raised his palm to the targets. ¡°Now if it is anything like spacial energy, I should put about this much force into it to destroy the first three targets. We¡¯ll see what happens,¡± He thought. ¡°Aileen, could you put up a barrier around everyone else, just in case?¡± Aileen nodded her head and surrounded the students with her barrier, which elicited multiple cries of delight. Of course, barrier mages were not terribly common.

    ¡°Good grief, just get on with it!¡± is what a student started to say, but the words stuck in their throat as they felt a sudden influx of magical energy. Seldin meridians were special. Not only were they capable of channeling energy perfectly, but they had a passive effect of drawing in and collecting energy. This effect would become many times stronger when energy was actively being used, so not only would the Seldin¡¯s stored energy be used, but also the ambient energy. This was the case for spacial energy. Now magic energy was far easier to collect, and so in the end, the effect was a many times stronger.

    The students and even the instructor felt a huge weight pressing down on them as energy poured out from Reylor¡¯s palm. It exploded out into a purple beam that was twenty yards in diameter. It was fired with perfect directional control and exploded through all of the targets, continuing as far as any could see. Aileen suppressed a groan as her barrier blocked a pressure wave from the beam of void energy.

    With that, Reylor lowered his hand and walked over to Aileen. ¡°Thanks,¡± he said, patting her on the shoulder. The barrier was removed; allowing the teacher and students to receive a second shock¡ªall of the ambient magic energy was gone. This was an effect seldom seen except from certain A+-Class and S-Class spells, because the mana density on Aretor was high, and It took a very high level ability to use so much of it up, yet Reylor had done so, and with an ability that could hardly even be called a skill!

    The students and teacher were dumbfounded. The students were overwhelmed by the size of beam, which also emitted a terrible pressure. The teacher was thinking about slightly different things, ¡°What if I hadn¡¯t set up those targets in the air? It really could have made it all the way to the city walls, and maybe even broken through them! And what kind of affinity must he have! It must be exceptional¡ªno, not even exceptional is that amazing with such a pure flow of energy. Could his be¡­ flawless?¡±

 Chapter 12

    After a little while the teacher came back to her senses and was able to direct the class to their practices. Not a single mocking comment could be heard¡ªexcept for Flint. He felt good rubbing it in to the previous unbelievers.

    Truth be told, even Reylor was surprised. He now felt that magic was far more chaotic than spacial energy. That being said, he did see the benefits to it. Spacial energy was scarce here, but the ambient mana was rich, which meant he could use magic here almost as freely as he used spacial energy at the Spacial Hall.

    The teacher gave different pointers to the various students, as well as assigning exercises. She left Reylor to practice using less energy.

    The class dragged on.

    *** *** ***

    On the Path to Votran

    A lone man dressed in furs walked along the path, his sword dripping with blood.

    The creatures of the area were fairly smart, avoiding larger parties, if possible. He was walking alone, and so naturally attracted many predators looking for an easy snack.

    ¡°Whoosh¡± ¡°Sching!¡±

    A shade wolf blasted out of the trees.

    Without even looking at it, the man sliced it cleanly in half. It didn¡¯t even have the chance to whimper.

    ¡°Halt!¡± a voice called out, but he ignored it, walking on.

    ¡°Hey man, are you deaf or something?¡± A warrior stepped into the path to stop the man. Three mages began preparing high-damage spells, while four rogues blocked the path behind him.

    There was one main group of thieves along the route to Votran. A decent part of their group had been wiped out by a certain fire mage, and so they decided to play it safe and send out larger groups.

    ¡°Hehe, today is not his day,¡± one of the bandits thought. This was a single guy, and they had two A-Class mages, three A-Class rogues, and several B-Class fighters. The aftermath would not be pretty.

    ¡°You are surrounded, so give us your money, or we¡¯ll have to take it from you ourselves, along with your life,¡± the warrior said.

    ¡°Move or die,¡± the man said succinctly.

    Seeing that the warrior was not moving, the man in furs raised his sword.

    ¡°Attack! Rang out from one of the rogues, at which the mages let loose the spells they had been charging up. Three different spells converged on him at the same time. They were just about to hit him as three runes on his body began to glow, at which the three spells instantly dissipated!

    The man flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it. The bandits were in both shock and confusion. ¡°Didn¡¯t he just destroy three spells instantly? But then why is he putting his sword away? Isn¡¯t he going to fight us?¡±

    He was going to fight, but not with his sword. In fact, the sword was not his main way of fighting, but since he could not cast magic, the sword with a blessed blade was his only surefire way to kill the shade beasts, which was why he had been using it.

    He stopped in the path and began making signs and seals with his hands. A few people felt like laughing at him, but there was one educated person in the group. ¡°Oh, no. No, no, no! He¡¯s a grand auramancer!¡± Several faces paled. ¡°Crud, crud, crud. What have we gotten ourselves into? Run, I gotta run away. We are done for!¡± Many such thoughts were running through their minds. But it was too late. A surge of energy locked on to every nearby lifeform, including all the bandits and a few stray beasts. They were then all pulled together into one place and immobilized there. Several artifacts meant for breaking away from magical traps glowed, but they had no effect. He was not using magic.

    Grand auramancers were the bane of mages. To receive the title of ¡°Grand,¡± an auramancer must already be capable of consistently defeating Class-A mages. After evaluation, the auramancer would be granted a set of runic tattoos, which would nullify the auramancer¡¯s ability to use magic, but also nullified direct magic attacks made against them. They would then be able to receive a few more sets of these tattoos as they ranked up, shielding them from less common forms of magic.

    The man made several more hand signs and walked off as a great pressure descended, causing them all to black out and breath their last.

    The gates of Votran City loomed in the distance.

    *** *** ***

    As soon as class was dismissed, Reylor brought Elany and Aileen to the library and went up to the librarian.

    ¡°Hello, is there anything I can help you with?¡± A man asked. He was middle aged, but appeared to be quite fit¡ªso much so that he looked a bit misplaced.

    ¡°Yes, I am looking for a void magic that can detect presences and alert me of them from a distance. Do you have such a magic here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we have several, though that depends on what rank you have. Could you show me your identification?¡± The librarian asked. Reylor reluctantly revealed his badge. ¡°Man, if the spells are locked behind rank walls, then I will not be able to get what I am looking for.¡± He thought.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°As you can see, I have only recently enrolled here, however I am absolutely capable to handling higher level spells, as I am competent with another kind of energy. Is there any way for me to access the higher tier spells without taking the time to rank up?¡±

    The librarian furrowed his brows, as if scrutinizing Reylor. ¡°There are two, though quite unlikely. The first is to get permission from the headmaster, but good luck even getting an audience with him. He is always swamped with work. The second is by receiving permission from a fighter with an SS-Class certification. Unfortunately, that would be even more difficult, as there are only four even in existence. Even the Emperor seldom knows where more than one is at a given time, and they don¡¯t tend to meddle in the affairs of others¡ªof course that is if you can even find one. But nevertheless, if your reason is important enough, those are the other methods available to you¡±

    ¡°No hope of that.¡± Reylor sighed inside, but thanked the librarian for the information. He then proceeded to check out a stack of course textbooks. He then stored the books, and went to the practice fields with Elany and Aileen.

    Reylor continued practicing his spell intensity, though already being quite proficient at it. Aileen alternated between practicing how far she could shoot a void bolt, and practicing size adjustments to her void barrier. Elany was having it hard enough just being able to consistenly shoot in the righ direction¡­

    The day passed by, and so they headed back, ate some vegetable stew for supper.

    That night Reylor poured over the books as Elany and Aileen slept, comprehending the course materials with such speed and ease that other students would have wanted to puke from envy had they witnessed it.

    A few hours later:

    ¡°Errr, Errr, Errr¡± Alarms went off in several residences, waking the elites of the academy. ¡°Intruder Detected!¡±

    Mages poured out from multiple different areas

    ¡°Dang, where is this guy?¡± ¡°Endel, can you run a void search?¡± ¡°Sorry man, I¡¯m trying, but nothing is picking up!

    ¡°Felicia, give us some light!¡± ¡°Yes sir, I¡¯ll light this place up like daytime!¡±

    Multiple A-Class and even S-Class squadrons began working together to discover the intruder, but it was not going like they¡¯d think it should. So far, they could not even find a trace of the person.

    ¡°Maybe it was a false alarm?¡± ¡°Shut up stupid, theses systems are high tech-it knows there is another presence around here. Kell, alert the principal!¡± ¡°Will do!¡±

    ¡°Brr. Brr.¡± An alarm woke a sleepy headmaster. ¡°What is it now?¡± He went over to a window, and peered out with his nearly god-like eyes. He wasn¡¯t just headmaster for his management ability. He was an SS-Class void mage, with some abilities that even SS-Class mages did not possess. One of these abilities was his extremely perceptive eye-sight. It only took a single glance for him to spot the intruder and know what was happening.

    ¡°You again,¡± he said, as he face-palmed.

    He turned to another staff member who had rushed over to the headmaster¡¯s residence. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just let them fight, but keep them from using forbidden spells,¡± the headmaster told him with a magical technique. He then went back to his room, hoping to catch a bit more sleep.

    ¡°Dangit! Is the headmaster gone? He didn¡¯t answer me!¡± ¡°Aelen, mist the place. He must be using some sort of camouflage.¡±

    A mage executed a technique, flooding the entire academy grounds with a fine white mist. Through his connection with the spell, he was finally able to detect a person, who had been hidden from all the other perception skills used heretofore.

    ¡°Got him! He is¡­ Crud, he¡¯s standing in the middle of the main courtyard!¡± ¡°What?! Is he mocking us?¡±

    ¡°Took you five minutes. Shoddy work guys.¡± The mist cleared, and a person seemed to materialize from the middle of the courtyard. He was a big man, dressed in furs, wearing a very clear smirk on his face.

    ¡°So you''re just going to let me stand here?¡±

    ¡°Like that¡¯s going to happen! Squad A Formation 32!¡± ¡°Squads B through G, Control 83¡±

    Commands rang out as the mages spread out around the man. A sudden fluctuation in the atmosphere slightly shook the mages as massive group spells were released in rapid succession, descending on their target with vengeance.

    ¡°Haha, jerk. Play with fire and you¡¯re gonna get hurt¡± Witty comments came from a few arrogant mages, as they waited for the after-effects of the spells to clear.

    ¡°What? Ah!¡± A strong force suddenly gripped all the commenters, as they were all pulled to the center of the aftermath.

    ¡°Better wash your dirty mouths with talk like that.¡± The man sneered as he held his sword over them, gazing with the eyes of a savage beast.

    ¡°B-barriers, quick!¡± One of the guys in the center stammered out. Unfortunately, the others also found themselves frozen in place, and unable to cast spells strong enough to deal with the entity in front of them.

    Amid the terror of all the mages, the eyes of one suddenly opened wide. ¡°Grand auramancer!¡± The rest of the mages began to pale.

    ¡°Xendus, that¡¯s enough. You¡¯re going to kill them with fright.¡± The spectating instructor called out.

    ¡°Aww, man, I was just getting started!¡± Xendus called out.¡±

    An undetected energy field suddenly shattered, freeing the pale terror-stricken students.

    ¡°Lesson one. If you can¡¯t find your target in 30 seconds, for the love of Aretor, switch to another method! Lesson two: Outnumbered does not mean overpowered. Gauge your opponent before counting your victory. Lesson three: You can¡¯t match the Tyrant!¡± Xendus let out a raucous laugh.

    ¡°The heck? He¡¯s the Tyrant?¡± ¡°No wonder we lost, he¡¯s the Grimwood Tyrant!¡±

    The Grimwood Tyrant got his name from his start in Votran City, which was surrounded by thick woods. Back when it was just starting out, Xendus had been the main powerhouse, protecting the city from the wiles of the woods. The name was given when a Vilnor Empire official witnessed him slay an entire pack of shade beasts by himself. He brought back tales of a Grimwoods hero, who was no less than a tyrant when pitted against the shade. At the time, he was a new S-Class grand auramancer, and had only grown stronger since, spreading his fame throughout the entire empire with his shows of strength and oppression.

    He still remembered his roots however, and came to revisit Votran on occasion. At such times, he would always show up unannounced to ¡°test¡± Votran Academy¡¯s finest. Of course this was nothing more than a headache to the headmaster, but what could he do? This man could kill him twice before Earlstine had the chance to even touch him. Grand auramancy was such a huge cheat in this world.

    ¡°Well, enough of that, I still have some other business to attend to here,¡± Xendus said. Making a few hand signs a faint wave of energy expanded from where he was, enveloping more and more of the academy, suddenly coming to a halt after passing over where Reylor was. ¡°Gotcha, brat,¡± He thought with a smile. A few people tried to follow him, by they found themselves blocked by a sudden surge of energy. ¡°Think about those lessons, I¡¯ve got other things to do,¡± Xendus said, walking in Reylor¡¯s direction.

    Reylor, being awake, had naturally noticed something was going on, and so had climbed onto the roof of the residence to observe what he could from the incident, and so also noticed Xendus making his way over. Reylor jumped off the roof and went to meet him.

    Finally getting a good view of Xendus, Reylor blanked for a moment. Regaining himself, he could only voice a one word question: ¡°Brent?¡±

 Chapter 13

    Xendus lowered his voice ¡°We don¡¯t talk about Brent here. Does anyone here know where you are from?¡± Reylor shook his head. ¡°Reylor, my friend! How¡¯s it been? Why don¡¯t you let your uncle Xendus catch up with you for a bit?¡±

    Reylor caught the hint: Xendus was Brent, but no one should know about that. Leading the way, he brought ¡°Xendus¡± to the house to have a private chat.

    After talking, Reylor had learned several things. Votran Academy, while set a bit off from the interior of Vilnor, was nevertheless one of Vilnor¡¯s powerhouses. In other words, it housed many powerful entities who were quite loyal to the Empire, and so must not be allowed to know the connection between them and Splendor. Also, this ¡°Crystal Witch¡± indeed was Queen, who had disappeared since that time. Even Votran¡¯s elite were currently unable to locate her.

    They also discussed things on Reylor¡¯s end¡ªhow the trip went, what had transpired when they arrived, and the current situations at hand. He promised to settle Reylor¡¯s housing situation, as well as opening up the higher levels of the library to Reylor¡ªan opportunity that other students could not even hope for.

    There was a reason for Brent to help Reylor like this, besides just familiarity. Brent was out for blood, and since Reylor had been brought into the situation, Brent wanted to give him the opportunity to join the party. Vilnor would receive retribution for what had happened in Splendor.

    In the meantime, Brent would keep searching for signs of Queen, and do some investigation as to what had been going on behind the scenes with the destruction of Splendor.

    Just as they were finishing up, a door opened, and a sleepy Elany walked out, asking, ¡°Reylor, who are you talking to?¡±

    Reylor just smiled. Xendus just smiled. And they waited for a moment.

    With a look of confusion, Elany looked at Brent for a moment. ¡°Who is this man, and why is Reylor up talking with him in the middle of the night?¡± she thought. Then she noticed something.

    Her eyes grew wide and her mind instantly cleared. She threw herself at Brent exclaiming ¡°Uncle Brent! Uncle Brent!¡± as she sobbed with joy.

    ¡°Did you really think they could take me out that easily?¡± he said with a smile, returning her embrace. I have to go soon, but I¡¯ll be back; and rest assured, those dogs of Vilnor will get what¡¯s coming to them. ¡°Mmm hmm,¡± she agreed. This was the happiest day she had experienced since leaving Splendor. Uncle Brent was still alive!¡±

    Due to Elany¡¯s pleading as well as another matter, Brent agreed to stay the night. The next day he brought Reylor to the library. ¡°Yo, Librarian! I need to talk to you about something.¡± He called out. The librarian furrowed his brows. Who was this man who dared to be so disrespectful to him, an SS rank Void Mage? Unfortunately, Brent had not been around since this librarian was hired, or he definitely would have known better. However, he did not know.

    Seeing he had the librarian¡¯s attention, he continued. ¡°Give this guy access to the upper floors of the library.¡±

    The librarian was not happy. This guy is just rude! It seems I must educate him a bit.

    ¡°Mind your manner, man,¡± the librarian said, to which Brent smiled and replied ¡°I¡¯d mind mine if I were you.¡±

    The librarian shivered. This guy is audacious! I¡¯ll give him a little something to know his place. He secretly activated a high level gravity control spell, planning to force Brent to the ground, teaching him his place.  He smiled as Brent appeared to be bracing himself under an overwhelming pressure, pressing him down. What he did not notice, however, was a glowing rune behind Brent¡¯s fur coat.

    All of a sudden, Brent stood straight up, like nothing had even happened, with a wide grin on his face. He was playing¡ªthat¡¯s right¡ªplaying with an SS-class void mage! ¡°My turn!¡± he said, a cheesy grin plastered across his face. Making three quick hand signs, the librarian immediately crumpled to the ground from a strange, overbearing pressure.

    Reylor sighed inside. Was this really necessary? Nevertheless, he kept his silence as he silently watched the spectacle.

    ¡°Wh-Who are you?¡± The librarian choked out. He looked as pale as a ghost. Brent waved his hand, releasing the pressure. ¡°Have you heard of Xendus?¡± Brent asked. The librarian, who was just starting to get up, froze and immediately sat back down on the floor. ¡°The T-tyrant?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Brent said, with maybe just a little too much glee.

    ¡°I hear my friend needs an S-class mage to access some higher level materials. Now I may not actually be a mage, but I think I have the qualifications.¡± He showed his badge to the librarian, who just went silent. What the mess is that? Am I hallucinating? SSS was written on the badge.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Who was a triple S-class warrior? Put simply, SSS-Class meant that they had surpassed the Empire¡¯s ability to measure strength. It was only one full rank different on paper, but that meant nothing. If you had the triple S, no one could say for sure whether you were twice as strong as an SS-class, or whether you were twenty times as strong! For all intents and purposes, you might as well be immortal to all but the other extremely few SSS entities. This was the SSS-Class.

    The librarian, still pale-faced, regained some of his bearing. After apologizing profusely, he firmly declared that Reylor would have access to everything in the library, save for the spells that were considered national treasures. Only the headmaster could permit anyone other than SSS individuals to view those.

    Seeing that everything was now under control, Brent bid Reylor farewell and departed to do some espionage at the capitol.

    Meanwhile, Reylor was able to access what he needed-a spell that would trigger if anyone should approach the residence while he was away. With this in place he could feel free to leave Elany and Aileen in the squadron house while he refined his magic at the practice fields.

    *** *** ***

    In a place far to the west:

    ¡°Scrub harder! At this rate no one will buy you, and you know what happens to people who I can¡¯t sell, hehe.¡± A man disdainfully looked at a young boy who was currently scrubbing the floor with a rag.

    Meanwhile a figure approached his mansion. Clothed in flowing red robes embroidered with exquisite golden designs, she strode forward. Her smooth skin was as white as pearl, and she bore an air of dignity and grace fitting of a queen. He garments only served to accentuate her bearing. She was breathtaking.

    Nevertheless, the guards at the gate could not help but treble. Her bearing spoke of nobility, but her eyes¡­ Her eyes were as daggers¡ªsharp and with a murderous aura. This was Lucille.

    ¡°Count Cliry!¡± A woman¡¯s voice rang out, penetrating through the entire house. ¡°Come out! Death has come for you!¡±

    After waiting for a few minutes, she turned to her side, spoke a few words, and turned to face the structure again. An invisible figure rushed into the building. Soon many figures began walking out of the building.

    Speaking in a quieter, but still stern voice, she said, ¡°Everyone, get behind me. If not, you will die.¡± Those who had come out were a diverse group, including several middle aged women, quite a few young women, and even more children-both boys and girls. At the same time, there was one thing that was the same-they all looked tired, despairing, and broken.

    The girl in red clenched her fists in anger, but did not say a word. The two guards wanted to stop all the people who were leaving, but one look at the lady in red was enough to shake them to their core. The invisible figure returned to her side.

    ¡°Count Cliry! Come out!¡± She yelled again. She then turned to the gate guards. ¡°You two, do you want to live?¡± They nodded their heads. ¡°Bring out Cliry to meet me.¡±

    One of them respectfully replied to her ¡°But if we leave our post, the other guards inside¡ª¡°He was cut off. ¡°The other guards will pose no threat to you. Now go, before I decide to kill you anyway. The guard nodded and the two hurried into the mansion. It didn¡¯t take the long to understand why she had said the others wouldn¡¯t be a problem to the two: There were bodies everywhere. Someone had massacred all 60 elite guards stationed inside. The two remaining guards found the count huddled in his room. They dragged him out to face this lady in red.

    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± the lady asked. ¡°N-n-no, I-I don¡¯t. This must all be a misunderstanding! W-what a-a-are you doing?¡± he stammered out. Who was the woman, and why was she trying to pick a fight with him? He was not ready for the answer. No, he could never be ready for the correct answer to this question.

    Her eyes turned brown, and her red hair washed into a black hue. Cliry¡¯s eyes grew big. ¡°L-Lucy?¡± ¡°Good, I see your memory isn¡¯t as clouded as the rest of your depraved brain.¡± Her hair once again turned red, and her eyes returned to their previous appearance. ¡°I know your sins, for I have experienced them!¡±

    The Count bowed and stumbled out ¡°Have mercy.¡± Her eyes narrowed further. ¡°Have mercy? HAVE MERCY?!?! Tell me why! Tell me one time you showed me mercy, or mercy to my friend you killed out in the field that day! The time for mercy is past, you judgement has come!¡± She screamed out in a deafening volume. ¡°I have one last thing to say! I am not just Lucy anymore. My name is Lucille Shildwell, heir of the Shildwell Empire. You have disgraced the imperial crown and brought calamity upon yourself! Your time has come to an end.

    The count had been subconsciously moving backward, to the point where his back was touching the front wall of the house. At this point his legs gave out and he collapsed.

    ¡°Tower of hell, stage three, I summon thee!¡± The words rang out as she raised her hand to the heavens. Mana condensed, and the sky slightly darkened. Several people nearly threw up as a strange power coursed through the environment. Suddenly, a column of fire condensed right over the mansion. In less than a second, it had grown to envelop the entire mansion, including the count and his guards, save for the two. Had she not constructed a magical barrier beforehand, even the people behind her would have ceased to exist. Several moments later she lowered her hand and the column dispersed, revealing a crater with a pool of magma at the bottom. The figure beside her revealed himself¡ªa swordsman. He grabbed Lucy¡¯s waist just as her own legs were ready to give way beneath her. ¡°Your highness, you have done well to survive and to take your revenge at this place. Rest here while I send for a horse and deal with the aftermath.¡±

    Thus he sat her down and proceeded to direct the previous inhabitants of the mansion, as well as the two guards, who were quite obedient at this point.

    While this man was a mystery to all at this place, his history with Lucille was significant. He was a guard for the Shildwell household-specifically the guard in charge of the royal prison. Thus he had been given quite some time to get to know Lucille and grow fond of her. This is one of the reasons he had released her through a secret path, despite how he himself expected to be killed for this act if Vilnor didn¡¯t kill him first. Now fate had spared him and led Lucy to him. He now felt he had a purpose again¡ªHe could once again serve and protect the Shildwell household.

 Chapter 14

    Time passed quickly. One year. Two years. Three years. Four. In this period of time Reylor had become little less than a legend to teachers and students alike. He studied in the day, and trained at night. He took combat courses, in which eventually no one would want to spar with him. As for intellectual courses, he simply used his book knowledge to challenge the courses. He did not fail a single attempt.

    Elany kept a low profile, though she did attract the attention of quite a few different guys. She wasn¡¯t into that kind of stuff, though, so she stuck around Reylor outside of class, to avoid them. Everyone knew his name by then, so no one tried to mess with either him or Elany.

    As for Aileen, she was definitely one of the top of her class. She studied hard, and practiced for long hours. Reylor would even have to stop her from practicing so she would not be too exhausted for the next day.

    Both of the girls had matured as well. Elany¡¯s features had refined to give her a more dignified appearance, even if her personality didn¡¯t quite agree. Aileen, on the other hand, had changed from her childish appearance into more of a refined lady¡ªand her personality had changed as well. Though still a bit shy, she had a notably greater amount of confidence. For a teen, she was one of the most beautiful, with fine features and inky black hair, which accentuated her smooth ivory skin. There were few young boys who would not want to be in a relationship with her. Sadly for them, she was uninterested, as her mind was on her studies and her brother was the next most important thing to her. Unlike Elany, however, she was willing to talk with the guys in her classes. She kept slightly aloof, however.

    As for Reylor? His personality had grown slightly more colorful, but his appearance had not made an iota of change. He still looked like he was in his early twenties¡ªjust like he did one million years ago. Demigods didn¡¯t age the same as regular mortals, apparently.

    Right now, everyone from the same batch of students as them was congregated in a large auditorium.

    A loud voice sounded, contrasting with the tired appearance of the man who spoke: Earlstine.

    ¡°Students, congratulations on passing your classes! At this point will now be moving to the next and final phase of your education: Squadron missions! And I¡¯m sure you all know what that means. Time for the Annual Votran High senior tournament! This will have no effect on your mage class rating, however it is still of utmost importance. This is the opportunity to show off your skills and be recruited into the top squadrons! Keep in mind that there is limited space for squadrons. If you are not selected, then you will have to wait for another year to have your next opportunity, so do your best!¡±

    After the assembly was ended, an instructor approached Reylor.

    ¡°Reylor, I need to talk to you for a minute.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What would you like to discuss?¡± he replied.

    ¡°You have been granted a squadron residence, which should mean that you have the right to select more squad members. There is one issue, however, which is that one must hold an A+-Class rank in order to be considered a squad leader. Would you be interested in attempting the ranking test?¡±

    ¡°I would, so how would I go about this?¡±

    ¡°Simple. Tell us what rank you would like to challenge, and we will set up a match for you. In order to receive an A-Class ranking, you must be capable of single-handedly surviving for 7 minutes against 5 Class-B opponents. As for A+-you would then need to survive against 4 Class-A opponents, or subdue 3 in the time allotted. Do you think you are capable of this?¡±

    ¡°While I do believe I am capable of this, I have a request.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    I would like to take the S-Class challenge.

    ¡°Reylor! While I can certainly attest that you are quite a capable person, hence allowing you to take the A-Class test, do you understand what the S-Class test entails? 10 Class-A experts. You have to subdue 10 Class-A experts by yourself or subdue one person who is already S-Ranked. You can beat your classmates easily, but they are not experts. They are currently unranked, and I know that the best of them will not likely be even B+! I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t do that to you.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Reylor said, at which the instructor heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°At least he can listen to reason. S-Class is way too strong for a new squad member to challenge.¡± She thought, unaware of what Reylor was thinking. ¡°C¡¯mon, do I seriously have to bully the weak?¡±

    Yes, that was the whole reason why he wanted to challenge S-Class: He didn¡¯t want to bully the weak. Nevertheless, A+ was sufficient for his purposes. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to go with this, then,¡± he thought.

    ¡°Beep beep. Beep beep.¡± A short time later, all of the students received a notification on their badges, detailing that the positions for the tournament would be decided by the next day. In the meantime, there would be a few ranking tests they could spectate.

    In truth, Reylor was not the only one taking a rank test. Needing to fill gaps from departing students, they had to promote more students to A+, if possible, to make sure they had enough captains to fill the slots for their official Votran squadrons.

    ¡°Reylor, what were you talking about?¡± Elany asked. ¡°I¡¯m taking a ranking test, to officially lead our squadron,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Oh, so you are one of the people the message was referring to?¡±

    ¡°Yes, precisely.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok. We should get over there then!¡±

    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Elany was the one person who knew Reylor for who he was-a nearly god-like existence, hence she had full and complete trust in him. Meanwhile, Aileen simply said, ¡°Be careful,¡± with a faint but sweet smile. ¡°No need to worry, It¡¯ll be pretty easy,¡± he said, ruffling Aileen¡¯s hair a bit. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not a kid anymore!¡± she said a bit embarrassedly. Reylor smiled at her. She was still adorable to him.

    They finally made their way to the stadium where the exams would take place.

    Surprisingly, the person conducting the exams was their first teacher: Helen. After the previous matches had been conducted, Reylor was place in the arena with three Class-A experts. Turning to them, he bowed, saying, ¡°Thank you for coming to help me take this assessment. However, I elect to take a more difficult exam.¡± He turned toward Helen, who wore a confused look on her face, and disappeared.

    ¡°Bang!¡± Reylor appeared behind Helen with sparks flying off his sword. ¡°Assassin! Alert!¡± Someone called out. Reylor had watched as a person with nearly perfect invisibility walked up behind Helen. Just as the man swung his saber down, Reylor transferred in front of him, blocking the strike. Seeing how an intruder had managed to make it into Votran unannounced, several S-Class mages leapt up to attack, but then froze before settling back down. They had received a message from the headmaster, who happened to be watching the whole situation unfold. He wanted to take this opportunity to see what Reylor was truly made of.

    ¡°Clang! Clang!¡± Reylor and the assailant both exchanged blows with their weapons, though Reylor was the only one besides the headmaster who could see the assailant. It looked a bit comical, but in the gravity of the situation, laughter was the last thing on anyone else¡¯s minds.

    ¡°Headmaster, what¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t see the other person.¡± An instructor asked. ¡°I believe it¡¯s a mage of Hemlock, considering his techniques and garb.¡±

    (Gasp) ¡°Hemlock?! Why would they be here?¡±

    I don¡¯t know, but it appears to be something to do with Helen or her family. They do a lot of mercenary work, so we can¡¯t be sure who truly is behind this. Nevertheless, this has presented an excellent opportunity for our star student to showcase his abilities. Of course, I¡¯ll step in if things get too dangerous.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Earlstine was one of the few people who knew about Reylor¡¯s access to the library materials. That being coupled with his knowledge of the entrance exam caused him to consider Reylor as nothing ordinary¡ªhence him even being quite curious about this enigma of a person.

    ¡°Dang, brat. Who are you? Never mind. Matix of light. DIE!¡±

    A matrix was not exactly an attack spell, but a support spell, creating an area with multiple points which a mage could easily teleport to, and/or launch themselves from. Basically, it was a high-level spell which boosted the user¡¯s mobility.

    ¡°Void Matrix.¡± Reylor followed suit, but there were a few differences. The void arts had less raw power than many other kinds of magic, but it was much better suited for utility spells, such as the one now employed.

    ¡°Oh, my word,¡± the intruder thought, ¡°I totally forgot this was Votran! Bad move there, now I can hardly keep up!¡± In truth, if Reylor had any more experience with this spell, the battle would have been over within an instant¡ªsuch was the power of this utility spell when activated with void magic.

    ¡°Clang! Clang! Crash! Clang¡± the weapons kept flying, landing solidly on each other

    ¡°Breath of light!¡± The intruder¡¯s saber took on a bright glow. ¡°Void infusion!¡± The sword took on a purple glow.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± A shockwave was emitted each time the weapons collided.¡±

    ¡°Starlight Summon, 3<sup>rd</sup> Tier!¡± Four wolves condensed from light energy.

    ¡°Earlstine! That¡¯s a tier three summon! Reylor¡¯s going to get killed!¡± Helen, who had since escaped from the arena sat next to the headmaster, but was now worried for Reylor. Only S-Classes can pull that off, and each summon is a strong as a Class-A mage!¡±

    Earlstine lifted his hand. ¡°Wait for a bit. Let¡¯s see what he can do. If he can¡¯t cope, I¡¯ll step in.¡±

    The battle continued.

    ¡°Wow, these creatures are really annoying. How can I get rid of them? Hmm. Oh, yes, let¡¯s try that one out!¡± Reylor was not in grave danger, but he definitely was not having an easy time. He had fantastic control over magic, and his magic was exponentially more potent than that of his opponents, but close combat was usually more a matter of speed and reflexes, than of magical control and power¡ªat least how Reylor was playing it. This was a fantastic opportunity for practice! Nevertheless, he was quite hard pressed with the light wolves joining the fight. They would have to be the first to go.

    ¡°Void Art: Abyssal Chains Tier 2!¡± Dark Chains appeared, wrapping around each of the summoned wolves.

    ¡°Trying to beat a tier 3 spell with 2<sup>nd</sup> Tier magic? Get a life!¡± The assassin sneered.

    Unfortunately for him, there were three things he was ignorant of. First, base spells were not equal. Thus, the first tier of a particularly potent spell was capable of destroying even the fifth tier of a weaker type of spell. Second, void magic tended to have a rather strong resistance to other magics. Thirdly, this was Reylor. How could the spells of a Seldin be comparable to that of an ordinary human?

    ¡°Wait, what are you guys waiting for? Bust out and attack him!¡± The wolves didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Shred!¡±

    The chains constricted instantly, shearing through the masses of light.

    The intruders face went pale. ¡°What the heck? What¡¯s with this guy?¡± He was starting to get nervous, but sadly, spectating mages had already enclosed the area. Escape would not be a possibility until the barrier was released.

    ¡°Oh? I knew the chains would hold, but the way they shredded the summons looked just a little too easy for a 2<sup>nd</sup> tier spell. This guy really is strange.¡± Earlstine said, as he watched with rapt attention.

    ¡°Fine then. We¡¯ll do this the hard way,¡± The intruder said, as he pulled out a scroll and raised it to the sky. ¡°5<sup>th</sup> tier, Brilliant Judgment!¡±

    A blinding glow erupted from the scroll, and a powerful force blasted Reylor backwards.

    The glow became brighter and stronger.

    ¡°Crud, crud, crud! Helen cried out. He¡¯s using prime magic!¡±

    Prime magic was a type of magic known for being overwhelmingly powerful. The caster would have to take a great amount of time to utter the chant to cast it, but once released, its effects were peerless in destructive power. It was said that one particular mage in the past had used a single prime spell to sink an entire continent. Prime spells were powerful that they were completely banned from organized competitions, and Vilnor would only let S-Class mages learn even the most basic of them.

    Now there was a way to shorten the cast of a prime spell: One could use a scroll. This would weaken the spell a decent bit, but it would allow for a rapid cast, which is what had happened here.

    Earlstine opened a portal. ¡°All students below Class-S, get into the portal now if you care for your life! S-Class void mages, shield the others who are retreating then activate Void Shroud for yourselves.  S-Class Ice mages, protect the other S-Class mages with Bulwark. Support mages, strengthen the Bulwarks!¡±

    Earlstine was no dummy, he knew how to command a crew, and he knew just how strong this spell was: extremely powerful. Still, it was weak enough for S-Classes to counter it if they knew what they were doing.

    ¡°What about Reylor?¡± Helen looked at Earlstine. Not only was Reylor unranked, but he was also inexperienced with actual combat. ¡°This is a prime spell!¡± Her face showed great concern, but Earlstine only shook his head. Helen, do you know what happened at the entrance exam?¡± Seeing she did not, he continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, but all the reports were the same. This kid activated some kind of technique. Single-handedly, he broke a dividing barrier like thin glass before proceeding to nullify Xeld¡¯s Heaven Strike and the entire magical formation. This kid then walked up to Xeld and put a sword to his chest, threatening him not to even touch his friends. The others then stepped in to restrain Reylor, but there was a problem. They couldn¡¯t use magic. Not a single spell! He then walked back to his other companion, said two words, and everyone had their magical power back, just like that. If he isn¡¯t stupid, he cannot die from facing this guy. But naturally, I want to see just what Reylor¡¯s going to do.¡±

    Helen just looked at him blankly before turning back to the battle. She and Earlstine were both void mages, and so they activated Void shroud. This was an ability that could make them ¡°invisible¡± to many spells while still allowing them to see what was happening.

    Having regained his footing, Reylor looked at the man in front of him and the spell. Reylor moved, locking himself into a defensive stance. The pressure was already enough to make him sweat, but there was not a twinge of fright to be seen on his face. Instead, there was a slight savage smile on his face. ¡°Wow, I never got to experience any of these kinds of things in the Spatial Hall. This is exhilarating!¡±

    He lowered his center of gravity, digging his feet into the ground.

    The glow of the Brilliant Judgment exploded, and an overbearing column of concentrated light magic descended from the sky over the intruder and shot toward Reylor.

    Reylor raised his arm as if to shield himself from the light, but what happened next was not what anyone had expected.

    ¡°Void of the ancients, lend to me your strength: Arcane Aegis!

    Earlstine¡¯s pupils shrank to needles, as Helen suddenly felt sick. The spectating S-Class Void mages displayed shocked expressions. What the heck Reylor! Are you mental? That guy¡¯s not going to have the chance to kill you¡ªyour spell is going to the job for him!¡±

    Reylor had just activated an archaic spell. They didn¡¯t have tiers, since they were from the days of ancient magic, before anyone knew how to modify spells into tiers. They had a different structure from tiered spells, too, which made it so that their power was not limited in any way. For this reason, archaic spells had the potential to be many times more powerful than modern spells. Still, no one in this time period would touch them for one reason¡ªwithout sufficient control, it would suck all the mana out of the practitioner, cause their mana core to implode, and instantly kill them. The ancients had higher quality meridians, allowing most mages the necessary control. Now, there was not a single person who could use one of these spells without dying¡ªguaranteed. Earlstine had even seen it happen once. It still gave him chills thinking about it. Yet now this Reylor was using an archaic spell! What was he thinking?

    The aether trembled, and a purple glow took the form of a small shield on Reylor¡¯s arm. Another, slightly larger void shield layered on top of it. The ambient magic began rushing toward Reylor¡¯s arm. Some of the magic from the enemy¡¯s spell even broke off and was consumed by the shield on Reylor¡¯s arm. The shield was like some kind of ravenous magical monster! Seemingly unsatisfied with the energy in the area, the spell caused several rifts to form around Reylor, pulling more magical energy from them.

    ¡°Shoof!¡± The pillar of light collided with the shield. The surrounding mages prepared for the resulting sound concussion, but it never came. The shield, which was now twenty meters tall, was actually consuming the energy from the other spell, and converting it to void energy! The shield expanded to thirty yards tall, then fifty!

    Finally, the prime spell wore off, revealing the Arcane Void Aegis: a spell so beautiful and powerful, it would cause one to lose their breath just looking at it. Notwithstanding, Reylor waved his hand, instantly dispersing the spell, and walked over to the ghostly white intruder. He reached out his hand and tapped the man¡¯s forehead, causing him to faint in fright.

    Helen just stood there, pointing at Reylor without having the words to utter.

    Earlstine was still standing like usual, but he too was silent.

    The S-Class void mages were stupefied.

    At this time, the Ice mages withdrew their protective spells, leaving all with confused faces. What just happened? Why are the headmaster, Helen, and the void mages looking like they¡¯d just seen someone use an archaic spell, or something?

    ¡°Hey, hey Kelter, what¡¯s wrong?¡± a fire mage asked. ¡°A-ar-archaic¡­ Archaic¡­ He¡ªhe used an archaic spell!¡± the mage named Kelter finally fumbled out. ¡°Arcane Aegis.¡±

    No, that can¡¯t be right. Not even the headmaster dared to try one of those spells! The fire mage thought. Nevertheless, the appearances of all the spectators lent the explanation credibility.

    Now everyone was on the same train of thought: Just who the heck is Reylor?

 Chapter 15

    ¡°Bang! Bang! Bang!¡± ¡°Your highness, an urgent report!¡±

    ¡°Good grief,¡± The muffled sound came through the heavy oak door, adorned with gold, ¡°Can¡¯t I even eat in peace!¡±

    ¡°Your highness, it is a matter of utmost importance!¡± a royal official called out from in front of the door. ¡°Fine, bring it in¡±

    A young man opened the door and swiftly walked in, seeing the emperor at a large table, eating an elaborate meal set in front of him. Quickly arriving at the table, the young man bowed and passed a scroll to the emperor. The emperor opened the scroll presented to him and read through the contents. His eyes grew large, and he nearly spit out the food in his mouth.

    ¡°What?! Tell me young man! Is this a joke?¡±

    ¡°No your highness, it is not.¡±

    The emperor, His Majesty Sir Orvan Fostel Vilnor could not believe his eyes, as rage grew in his heart.

    ¡°Tell me! Just how did someone manage to infiltrate the imperial archives? The mages I hired were SSS-Class! Do you know what that even means?¡±

    ¡°Sir, from our investigations at this point, it appears to be the work of a grand auramancer.¡±

    Orvan leaned back in his chair a bit. ¡°A grand auramancer, you say,¡± he mumbled out. ¡°Are there any files missing?¡±

    ¡°We do not know yet, but the files are being verified as we speak. I will let you know as soon as we find out.¡±

    ¡°Very well, you may return,¡± Orvan said with a wave of his hand. Seeing the messenger had left, he let out a breath. ¡°A grand auramancer, huh? Those guys are a pain.¡±

    *** *** ***

    Meanwhile at Votran, the tournament was finally underway. Although Reylor¡¯s ¡°making people surprised¡± skills were SSS-Class, the skill of his opponent was still insufficient to justify giving Reylor a Class-S rank. Nevertheless, he was elevated to A+, thus enabling him to select additional squad members. Additionally, he was excused from the tournament so he could observe the contestants.

    This tournament would rank the contestants, but this was merely a means to an end. The ranking was especially for the sake of showing the observing squad leaders to pick out capable members to join their groups. As such, it was customary for many support mages to forfeit their place in the tournament, since it would not give an accurate representation of their abilities. As such, Elany and Aileen both opted to withdraw. Aileen technically was a combat mage, but at this point, she could only command a couple of offensive spells, which would be unlikely to be able to cause damage to any but the weakest of opponent mages.

    So naturally, their attention was turned to the companions who had traveled with them on the road to Votran. Flira¡¯s spell casting had improved quite a bit. She could now cast much stronger spells and with greater speed. She prioritized water spells, but augmented them with fire spells.

    Gelt¡¯s primary affinity turned out to be wind magic. Presumably because of this, he had switched from using a great sword to a longsword. Though the physical power behind his attacks were about the same as before, they were now augmented with magic and relied far more on accuracy.

    Flint, on the other hand, was completely different. He had foregone his plate-mail entirely, along with his sword and shield. His body armor was replaced with magically reinforced cloth, and he wore leather bracers. He had little fear of bodily harm nonetheless, because he had focused on earth magic, and while he could use it proficiently both at range and by augmenting his body.

    All three did quite well, not losing to anyone in their respective classes. They each finally met their matches against some of the students who were here since they did not make it into any of the squads the previous year.

    There was one other match that caught Reylor¡¯s attention. A caster was facing off against a close-combat augmenter mage. The caster moved skillfully, also using dark illusionary magics to stay out of reach, while occasionally counter-attacking. His combat prowess was formidable, but this was not the main thing that caught Reylor¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Where the heck is that guy¡¯s karma aura?¡±

    He could not understand it. Here was a guy, who certainly seemed human enough, but Reylor could not read his karma no matter how hard he tried. This was a very perplexing matter. He decided to approach this man at the conclusion of the tournament.

    ¡°What are you looking at, Reylor?¡± A pair of amethyst eyes looked questioningly at him. They were Aileen¡¯s.

    ¡°That dark mage over in that arena. There is something different about him.¡± Reylor pointed to one of the four arenas currently in use.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Khes. He is a bit strange. He has a hobby of playing by himself with puppets, but it¡¯s kinda creepy. They look like real things, but move differently. That¡¯s about all I know, though. He tends to be a loner.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°Hmm, puppets. Where have I seen puppets?¡± Reylor thought to himself, running memories through his mind.

    He suddenly stopped to take another look at the man, but peered a bit more deeply. A look of surprise flitted across his face.

    ¡°What even?! No wonder I can¡¯t read him. He doesn¡¯t have a human soul! And that hobby of his¡­ It could be¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll just have to ask after the tournaments.¡±

    He leaned back and relaxed, awaiting the end of the tournament.

    When all the matches had ended, the real event began¡ªthe squad selection process. The squad-less students were arranged in different areas, one for each ranking bracket, one for rankles combat support mages, and one for non combat specialists¡ªsuch as alchemists and enchanters¡ªwho were willing to work primarily for a single squad.

    Reylor walked over to the group of people in one of the middle brackets, much to the wonderment of many onlookers. Usually the captains would go straight for the people in the top bracket, so as not to lose out on the top contestants, or they¡¯d go for the group of active support mages to se if they could snag a healer. It was almost unheard of for a person to go straight for someone in the middle brackets, yet this is just what Reylor was doing.

    ¡°Woah, why¡¯s someone coming over here first?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but whoever it is he¡¯s coming for sure must be pretty lucky. Mid tiers usually go last, since there is less room for change, but we aren¡¯t the most powerful.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but guy was the one who got a squad residence on the first day. I wonder if he knows what he¡¯s even doing.¡±

    All mages under S-Class had been evacuated during Reylor¡¯s duel, so it was only natural that none of the contestants were unaware of his powers. Still, Reylor kept walking onward until he found his target.

    ¡°Khes!¡± Reylor waved at him.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Khes was at a bit of a loss. Why was a captain already looking at the mid-bracketers, and furthermore, why was this person looking for him? ¡°Hello?¡± He said. He was truly a loss for what to say. This was too strange¡ªhe hadn¡¯t even met Reylor!

    ¡°Hello Khes. My name is Reylor I was talking with Aileen, and she told me you had a unique ability, so I wanted to see if you would be willing to show me?

    Khes felt a bit uncomfortable. Those eyes. Those eyes! Why were they so overbearing! They made him feel like he was missing something. Well-truth be told, he was missing something, but he never felt it so much as he did right now! Unfortunately, many had seen his ¡°puppets,¡± so it¡¯d look strange if he withheld now.

    With a look of skepticism, he pulled out one of his puppets-a look-alike armadillo. He made it walk around in a couple of circles and change directions a couple of times. Its movements were slightly hurried, and sometimes a slight bit spastic, but there was another interesting aspect to this puppet.

    Reylor¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, for he could see what few others could. What he saw confirmed he suspicions. The creature was not a look-alike at all. It was real¡ªvery real. Reylor could see the cells at work as each of its tiny muscles contracted. When it was moving, its biology would behave in such a way that Reylor knew it possessed a sliver of soul. When it stopped and Khes moved to put the creature away, the sliver of soul dispersed.

    ¡°Khes, if you had really bit puppet, could you control it?¡± Khes nodded. ¡°Could you control lots of puppets?¡± Khes nodded again, though a bit more slowly this time. What did this guy want with him?

    ¡°Good,¡± Reylor said with a smile. ¡°Join our squad?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Khes was somewhat stupefied. ¡°You want a mid-ranker in your squad?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I like your puppets, and think they could actually be quite useful in combat if used appropriately.¡±

    ¡±Well, ok. It¡¯s really just a party trick, but whatever.¡±

    ¡°Awesome. Elany and Aileen are over there¡ªfeel free to join them,¡± Reylor said. Khes¡¯s eyes opened a bit wider, along with a few others. He had just been admitted to the same squad Aileen was in, along with Elany too! Luck was on his side today!

    A few other people around his chuckled and scoffed. ¡°Yeah he got into Aileen¡¯s squad, but so what? He has a captain without much of a brain. They¡¯re not going to really graduate for a few years at least. Hehe.¡±

    Reylor, of course, heard the banter, but he let it go. After all, he was going to have the last laugh. All the signs told him he had not simply chosen a dark mage, but also a lich necromancer!

    *** *** ***

    A lady clad in red stood atop the ruins of a stone castle, peering past the overgrown courtyard to a small, run-down village beyond, many thoughts running through her mind. It was bitter-sweet. Lucille was back at the place of her birth. She had been here before, but only briefly, as she spent most of her time looking for anyone who might have survived from the royal household, and then bringing retribution to the ones who had treated her so vilely. This was the first time she had obtained the luxury of being able to just pause, be still, and contemplate.

    She felt happy, in a way. Being able to return to her rightful home was nice, despite the current state of things; and she once again had an attendant, so that made her feel like royalty again. His loyalty also warmed her heart. At the same time, she felt like she was missing something.

    She started thinking of the events that had led her here. Her imprisonment, her days of slavery, and then her rescue. Her rescue¡­ She also thought of when she had parted from them, and returned, then left to carry out vengeance against her former masters, with the help of her guard. What was she missing, though? But deep inside, she knew.

    She missed them. She missed the people who had come for her when no one else would. The people who would always meet her with smiles, and took care of her as of a friend. These were the people who had shown her love, when there was nothing guaranteed for them.

    And then she had left them¡ªcast them off like common rabble. If only she could go back¡­

    She steeled herself. There was a lot of work to do. It was up to her to rebuild, and rebuild she would. While she was unable to find any of the royal household, there were still many villages close by that had been neglected after the annexation. Shade beasts frequented the area, and there were not many able-bodied men. As such, they had all been forced to focus solely on survival, and the cities had fallen into disrepair. The first piece of work would be to ensure the cities¡¯ walls were in good repair. Then it would be best to begin training a new generation of warriors to protect and possibly reclaim their homeland.

    She was a Shildwell, wielding techniques secret to only those of Shildwell blood. But this was a new age. She was probably the only Shildwell left, and her people needed her. They were her new extended family, and she would pass on her knowledge to the martially incompetent who so desperately needed it. By doing this, she also hoped to right some of the wrongs of her ancestors, who had ruled with such a heavy hand.

 Chapter 16

    Reylor and his group walked back to their residence. Along with Khes, he had also snagged Flint. Flira and Gelt were decent enough, but Flint still had better karma. Besides, Flint had never really fit in with the other two, so it was only natural for Reylor to grab this acquaintance.

    Figuring it would be best to get Khes introduced to everyone, Reylor had everyone gather around the table. ¡°The rest of us know each other, but I figured we should properly introduce ourselves to you, and give you the same opportunity. So, I¡¯ll start with my self¡ªI¡¯m Reylor, I¡¯m from the Otium region, and I¡¯m a void mage, but I¡¯m not exactly normal, as I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll realize if you haven¡¯t already.¡± He then nodded to Elany, who was stifling a giggle.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Elany, and I¡¯m a Holy mage! So if you get cut up or something, I can heal you!¡± She said with bright eyes and a cheery smile.

    Khes wore a slightly confused expression. Elany wouldn¡¯t give hardly any guy the time of day, yet here Reylor was making her want to burst out laughing, and now she was actually talking to him¡ªKhes! What a weird girl¡­ Also, did she just say she was a holy mage? What the heck! Where did that come from?

    Aileen just reiterated that they were knew each other and passed to Flint.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Flint, and I¡¯m an earth mage. I joined Reylor, Elany, and Aileen on the way over to Votran, so that¡¯s why I know them. In fact, I actually met Aileen and Er¡ªwait, what happened to Eric? Flint glanced at Reylor. ¡°He¡¯ll be back.¡± Reylor said simply. Flint understandingly did not push the conversation and returned to his discourse, oblivious to Aileen¡¯s somewhat darkened expression.

    ¡°So, Khes, what don¡¯t you tell our squad a bit about yourself?¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok. Yeah. My name is Khes. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m also a bit different. I use dark magic. I-I usually don¡¯t talk much¡­ I can control puppets. Uh, nice to meet you all.¡±

    ¡°Is he shy, or just unsure of himself? Oh, well. Doesn¡¯t really matter to me,¡± Reylor thought to himself. ¡°Khes, would you mind if I shared how you can control your puppets?¡±

    Khes scrunched his eyebrows a bit. Well, I suppose it¡¯s fine if you want to take a guess. I dunno why you find it so interesting, though.

    It was a lie, and Reylor knew it. Nevertheless, Khes seemed like a decent enough person, and having a necromancer would be very helpful for mass crowd control.

    ¡°Khes is a necromancer.¡± Khes¡¯s sleepy-looking eyes shot open, and he crossed his arms defensively. Apparently he had encountered many unfortunate events from his necromantic activities and was prepared for the worst. Contrary to his expectations, however, the worst ended up being a starry eyed blond cutie standing up and nearly bursting his ears with a shout of ¡°Woah, Khes! That¡¯s so cool!¡± Seeing the exchange, Flint nearly doubled over from laughter, while Reylor let out a few chuckles of his own. Even Aileen had to smile.

    Elany was just like sunshine. With just a single sentence, she had effectively ended every feeling of tension from the room and cheered up Aileen while she was at it.

    ¡°Khes, you¡¯re fine. I guess I should have stated that we are all a bit abnormal. As long as you aren¡¯t causing suffering with your necromancy, no one here will have an issue with it. In fact, it looks like one of us is quite excited about it.¡± Reylor tapped Elany, who was still staring at Khes. She quickly sat back down and looked at the ground in embarrassment, but she was evidently still happy.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s get down to business. We are not your average squadron. You can still back out, but there are a few things you will need to know, and they are very sensitive. I need you to swear not to undermine our cause, which in loose terms means fighting the shade, and fighting tyranny. That is all I can say before the oath.¡±

    A magical circle appeared, but it was a bit different¡ªthe magic seemed to be an eerie black that gave off an odd feeling.

    Seeing Khes¡¯s odd expression Reylor briefly explained what the formation was made from, then explained the purpose of it to everyone there. It was a divine contract. Everyone would put their hand on the formation, swearing according to the input terms, and they would be bound by its terms for the time length specified (20 years in this case) with the punishment for violation of its terms being soul destruction. Only a Seldin or a deity could annul the oath.

    This was strict, but necessary, in Reylor¡¯s mind¡ªespecially since Khes was not bound to the karma system. Having turned into a lich, the karmic system classified him along with common animals.

    Elany and Aileen immediately agreed to it, and after a bit of pondering, Khes and Flint agreed as well. The oath was completed.

    ¡°That being complete, I will inform you of a few things that will likely surprise all of you, save for Elany. That¡¯s because Elany and I have known each other for quite some time. You know we came from Otium, but we haven¡¯t told hardly anyone about where in Otium.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Flint raised an eyebrow, while Khes stared intently. We¡¯re from Splendor.

    Nothing happened for a moment, but then it was like a bomb had gone off, as all three; Aileen, Flint, and Khes, opened their eyes wide like saucers.

    ¡°What?!¡± Flint practically bellowed out. ¡°Are you messing with us?¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not,¡± Elany said softly. One glance at her darkened visage was enough to dispel any doubt. They were indeed from Splendor, and it wasn¡¯t pretty.

    ¡°I hear the Crystal Witch and her rebel army was from there. If not, then what really happened?¡± Flint asked.

    There is one part of the story which appears to be valid, which is that the person you call the Crystal Witch did indeed reside there, but I can assure you that the rest were by no means a rebel army. Splendor was a regular village, save for the frequent shade beast attacks. She was there to help the village, helping repel the beast attacks. Vilnor had a bone to pick with her, and so they sent an army to kill her. Sadly, the lives of the citizens were nothing to them in exchange for being able to kill her. So they fought with her and her friend, killing many citizens in the process. When she still managed to escape, they didn¡¯t want to lose face, and so murdered the remaining villagers to cover their acts. As we were returning, they went after us, allowing the ¡®Witch¡¯s¡¯ friend to escape. As far as I know, Elany and I were the only ones to escape, other than those two; and it is likely that the only reason we survived was because we made it to the Sylvan woods, and our pursuers were afraid to enter.

    Flint took a deep breath. It was a lot to take in. Khes was silent. Aileen glanced at Elany with watery eyes. She then went over, sat on Elany¡¯s lap, and hugged her. She whispered an ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± as they embraced each other. It was sad, but it was also nice to see they both were good friends, not just acquaintances through Reylor.

    Reylor spoke up again. ¡°Now that this has been said, let¡¯s talk about what the future will have in store for us. To certain officials of Vilnor, justice will be deal. That being said, it is more of a personal grudge for our lost people. I have no intention of involving the rest of you in it. What we will focus on is getting rid of the shade. While we are at Votran, our freedom will be restricted, so our first order of business will be to gather merit points. After we have enough, our squad, and therefore all in it, will be able to graduate.

    ¡°So, we should first start with our default battle formation. Elany is a non-combatant, so she will stick with Aileen, who can put up a shield whenever necessary. Being both a light mage and a holy mage, Elany will provide healing support and some buffs (spells which can improve someone¡¯s offensive/defensive strength).

    ¡°Flint and I will be aggressors, typically working outside of the barrier. Khes, you will be outside with us if there are not many opponents. If there are a lot of enemies, you will stay inside the barrier with Elany and Aileen. That way you can focus on providing support through necromancy.

    ¡°There is one thing that must happen with each battle: Everyone leaves alive. If necessary, Flint will help with defense. In the worst case, we will link up, and I will use spatial energy to teleport us away. True teleportation takes a lot of a limited resource, though, so it will only be a last resort. Of course, I will use void magic instead if possible. Sometimes it may not be, though.¡±

    Reylor leaned back in his seat. ¡°That¡¯s it for today. Make sure you sleep well, because tomorrow we¡¯ll select a quest and set off.¡±

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Patrolling for thieves? Come on! I was definitely looking for something more exciting,¡± Flint grumbled.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually glad we got this mission. Those guys are really mean!¡± Elany replied.

    Reylor chuckled before voicing his own opinion. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. Remember what happened on our way to Votran, Flint?¡±

    ¡°Uh, huh. If not for flame girl, we would have been the toast.¡±

    ¡°Yep. So it¡¯s probably more than just petty thievery. If my guess is right, the ones who reported the robberies were only let by so there would be some people who made it through, preventing Votran from getting suspicious. We are actually likely looking to take out murderers. I¡¯ll bet this Class-C squad mission is probably far underrated.¡±

    The mission they were given was to reduce the frequent robberies happening along the path between Votran and the Votran Outpost, so they were travelling along the same path as when most of their group had first come to Votran. It was quite nostalgic, and they all drifted off to their own thoughts quite quickly. Khes included, as he was not one to talk much anyhow.

    ¡°Hahaha! Well, well, aren¡¯t you a fast one?¡±

    ¡°Shevli, block him please? I feel like having a duel. He¡¯s fast, so I might actually get a bit of entertainment out of this.¡±

    Reylor¡¯s group froze in their tracks, glancing to see if everyone had heard the voice nearby.

    ¡°Sure, Glesten.¡±

    ¡°Bam!¡± A person slammed into a simple barrier.

    Hehehe, did you seriously think you could run from us? Now, cough it up now if you want it to be painless. We know you have money. Or, we can play a game of cat and mouse. So, what¡¯ll it be?¡±

    ¡°Help!¡± a man called out.

    ¡°Aileen, Flint, and Khes, you guys sort it out. I¡¯ll cloak Elany, so no worries there Aileen.¡±

    The three nodded before rushing off. Reylor and Elany followed a bit behind.

    ¡°Naughty, naughty! Calling for help was not one of the options.¡±

    ¡°Um, Gleston we have¡ª¡°

    ¡°Bam! Kapshhh¡± The barrier shattered before she could say ¡°we have company.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You guys want to play too?¡± Gleston said.

    ¡°Gleston, you moron, those guys are part of a Votran squadron!¡± Shevli was not stupid. Seeing three mages coming from Votran together, coupled with the focus displayed on their faces, there were no other less likely options. This was a full-fledged Votran squad, albeit with two or three missing. Even if the members were not all there, it was likely that the ones who were here were the strongest of the group. This was not a situation to take lightly with just the two of them. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Aww, Shev, I still want to play¡±

    ¡°Gleston. We are leaving.¡±

    ¡°Aww, fine, ok.¡±

    Just as Khes began to swing his sword down on the man before him, the two seemed to flicker, and then disappeared, leaving behind only air to slash through.

    ¡°Man! We didn¡¯t even get to fight!¡± Flint wailed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your chance, and It¡¯ll be better than just this,¡± Reylor said, as he examined the mana that had not yet dissipated since the magic barrier had been shattered. He smiled. Magic sure was useful on Aretor.

    He silently activated a spell.

    ¡°Void art: Mana trace¡±

 Chapter 17

    ¡°How many of you have stealth abilities?¡± Reylor asked.

    Khes and Aileen raised their hands.

    ¡°Alright. Elany and Flint, stick close to me so I can easily cloak you guys. This time, we¡¯ll be the ones attacking.¡±

    Flint cracked his knuckles. ¡°Alright! It¡¯s about time we did something fun.¡±

    The mood was contagious. They had been at the school for four years already, and this was their first unsupervised mission. Also, they were about to engage live opponents, rather than just sparring with other students. This was their first real fight since attending Votran.

    ¡°Void sight.¡± This was a skill that allowed a practitioner to have a bird¡¯s-eye view of any place within 100 miles of the caster¡¯s position. Seeing that the retreating mages had stopped he took a look at the area where they ended up. Sure enough, there was a camp. A casual onlooker would never have been able to identify it, but since Reylor knew this was a likely spot, he observed carefully and was thus able to make out a few irregularities in that part of the forest.

    I¡¯ve found the camp. When we get close, we¡¯ll have Khes do some internal recon to insure these really are our targets. After that Elany will cast a light spell to distract our opponents, giving us an extra moment to begin our attack. Other than that, we will stick with the default plan and formation. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The group used their stealth abilities and proceeded in the direction of the camp. When they arrived close by, Reylor had Khes send a scout into the camp. Being a Lich, he could directly see and hear what his reanimated creatures witnessed. His face turned a bit grim.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s them, if the pile of bodies in their fire pit has any meaning.¡± Elany and Aileen both took on dark expressions.

    ¡°Alright, good job Khes. Let¡¯s get a bit closer.¡±

    They carefully moved closer. Despite using stealth abilities, it was nearly impossible to become completely invisible, so they still moved with caution. As they did so, the camp revealed itself. There was a large fire pit off to the side, revealing the cruel fate of several recent travelers. There were a few people in watchtowers and a few groups of people in the camp, some engaging in various tasks, and others conversing. One thing was the same, though. They were all outfitted in their battle equipment, prepared to be ready at a moment¡¯s notice.

    After making sure everyone was ready, Reylor motioned to Elany.

    ¡°Brilliant lights, Star Fall explosion!¡±

    ¡°Bang¡± A white sphere materialized directly above the camp, releasing a blinding glow. Meanwhile, Reylor, Flint, and Khes rushed in. As they did so, Reylor¡¯s eyes narrowed as his senses were assaulted by the thick, negative karmic auras.

    ¡°These are monsters, show no mercy.¡± Reylor said under his breath.

    The brilliant glow lasted for just a moment, but that was enough for Khes, Reylor, and Flint to destroy five of the murderers.

    A yell rang out ¡°We are under attack!¡±

    ¡°Void Matrix!¡± Reylor called out. He then proceeded to get rid of the tower sentries.

    Though holding a longsword, Khes moved nimbly, reaping the weaker members like a god of death. Flint distracted the stronger members, allowing Khes to do his job.

    ¡°Die!¡± a berserker yelled out, as he swung his great sword down on Flint. Flint slightly curled his lips upward. ¡°Terran Wall!¡± A wall of earth exploded up from the ground. The berserker¡¯s sword sliced into it. ¡°Condense!¡± The wall shrank and turned into stone, trapping the berserker¡¯s sword in place. Flint flipped around the wall and planted his fist into the man¡¯s back, just behind the heart. The life drained from the berserker¡¯s eyes as he slumped to the ground.

    Suddenly, all the enemies retreated, at which point Reylor¡¯s squad heard the last three words: ¡°Rain of Embers!¡±

    ¡°Aileen!¡± Reylor shouted, as he dove into her dome barrier. Understanding the situation, she created a rectangular barrier over Flint and Khes, allowing them time to retreat to her dome barrier. Just as they made it in, her barrier crumbled under a rain of condensed fire magic. In contrast to that barrier, the dome barrier surrounding her was far stronger, and it easily withstood the area attack. The remaining enemies flooded back in, signaling the end of the fire attack. Khes and Flint resumed their previous tactics, while Reylor went straight for the mage that had unleashed that attack.

    ¡°Clang¡± His sword met the blade of another person, blocking his path to the mage. A surge of light energy passed from the swordsman¡¯s blade into Reylor¡¯s. Reylor smirked as he watched the swordsman¡¯s face pale. A torrent of void energy pushed all the light energy back. The man tried to pull his sword away, but it was too late. He was blasted into a tree, stunning him for a moment¡ªwhich was far more time than Reylor needed in order to send him to the spatial hall.

    (AN: Remember that the spatial hall is where souls go to after a person has died)

    And without the swordsman, the mage¡¯s fate was sealed, as well.

    The battle ended in just a few short while.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Help!¡± A muffled cry was heard.

    ¡°Hmm? Did you guys hear that?¡± Aileen asked.

    I think it¡¯s coming from that tent!¡± Elany quickly said. Flint and Khes went to investigate.

    ¡°Reylor, there are some Votran students trapped in here!¡± Flint called out. ¡°The inside is a prison, but the bars are enchanted. I¡¯m not sure if I can break through.

    Reylor walked over to see a steel cage inside the tent. Inside the cage were several Votran students¡ªpresumably a squad¡ªsitting in the darkness. Their clothes were shabby, revealing the fight they must have been put through prior to their incarceration. The reason Flint knew they were from Votran was the badges displayed on their shoulders. Squad members sent on low-risk missions were required to wear a badge to spread Votran¡¯s fame, but also to lend them credibility when dealing with civilians.

    Reylor placed his hand on the lock. A dark energy flowed around his hand before he said the word, ¡°Break,¡± at which the lock, along with the enchantments, crumbled. The door swung open, releasing the students, along with a couple civilians.

    Suddenly, a void gate opened. A man walked out with a cold look on his face. ¡°Reylor, what on Aretor are you doooing¡±¡ªhis voice trailed off as he saw the carnage before him. This was one of the instructors from the academy. Noticing that Reylor¡¯s group had left their appointed patrol area, he had come out to check on them. This is not what he had expected to see when he arrived.

    ¡°The heck?¡± finishing his survey of the bodies littered around, he looked up to see the tattered and famished Votran squad being helped out of the tent by Reylor¡¯s group. They hadn¡¯t eaten in quite awhile, and were quite weak.

    At this point a returning group of thieves had just made it back to the camp. Seeing the state of things they immediately turned to escape, but they were not fast enough to escape the instructor.

    ¡°Space Lock, Void Suppression!¡± The entire squad crumpled to the ground and passed out, just like that. Votran Instructors were way too OP!

    The instructor then waved his hand, opening a void gate to the academy. ¡°You guys help those students back to Votran. I¡¯ll sort the rest of this out when these guys wake back up.¡± He lightly kicked one of the guys he had just knocked out.

    Reylor nodded, and the two squads went back to Votran through the void gate. ¡°What a day!¡± he thought, as they made their way to the shrine, which served as both the school for holy arts, and as the medical center.

    *** *** ***

    Meanwhile¡­

    ¡°Your highness, a report!¡±

    ¡°You may speak,¡± Orvan replied.

    ¡°We have discovered a missing document from the archives.¡± The man said.

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°It is the one detailing our assault on Splendor.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Orvan stood up from his throne. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your highness. There is no mistake.¡±

    ¡°Dangit! Delstur, have the captain triple the palace patrols. Also, contact Votran. We need more detection arrays.¡±

    Things were not looking good. Orvan was, in fact, the one who ordered the assault on splendor. Now that the records were gone, he believed that the Crystal Witch was out for revenge. This would mean that his trusted men were in grave danger, and even he, himself. He knew the Witch was not someone he should underestimate.

    In truth, this was indeed the case, only he was outmatched by more than he knew. He might have fainted right then and there had he known that the one who had taken the documents, and was in league with the Witch, was Votran¡¯s very own Xendus. Things were not in Orvan¡¯s favor.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Reylor!  On behalf of Votran, I would like to thank you for your work.  When these students went missing a few weeks ago, we went searching for them but would never have guessed that they would be just right outside our door!  Also, destroying that camp was equivalent to an A+ rank mission, so your squadron has been automatically cleared for Rank-A missions.  Oh, and here is your pay for the missions.¡± An administrator for Votran handed Reylor a sack of coins.  ¡°This is just a bonus for the rescue mission. You¡¯ll also see that you and your squad members have received quite a few contribution points in addition.¡±

    Reylor thanked the administrator after taking the coins and promptly distributed the funds. He then checked the squad standing.

    Their merit had increased to 2 percent. This was for an S-Rank rescue mission. Apparently graduation would not be soon. Still, they had received a bounty of Votran contribution points, and a decent sum of Velii besides. The best part, though, was A-rank mission clearance. It would have taken a long time to unlock those otherwise, so this gave them a head start.

    Of course higher ranked missions gave better rewards, including the merit points necessary for official graduation. Now they could just quit whenever they wanted to, but if they stayed they would be able to select a prime spell at graduation. Even if Reylor could care less about them, this was very important to the rest of his squad, save for Elany. Of course she could be happy with just about anything if she was with her friends.

    ¡°What¡¯s next, Reylor?¡± Flint asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the mission board,¡± he replied.

    ¡°What about this one?¡± Aileen said, pointing a job posting ¡°They need someone to investigate an area with an abnormal concentration of shade beasts.¡±

    ¡°Rank B¡­¡± Flint said, a bit incredulously.

    ¡±I think it¡¯s a good idea, considering our mission is to get rid of them, anyhow,¡± Khes asserted.

    In the end, Flint was outvoted. Shade killing was their main purpose after all, so Reylor agreed with Khes. Of course, half the reason Khes even spoke up was because of Aileen, but minor details¡­

    After another night of sleep, they set off again, but this time in the opposite direction¡ªsouth into the deep Grimwoods region.

    ¡°Bang¡± ¡°Rip¡± ¡°Thud¡± ¡°Shing!¡±

    The shade beasts fell one after another as the group continued through the forest. The area became far less lifeless. Unfortunately, that was not a good thing, because more than half of the beasts were shade creatures at this point; but for a squad of Votran seniors, it was quite easy to dispose of the monstrosities. Exhaustion was the only danger posed.

    ¡°What that? Reylor said, looking at a wolf. It looked like a normal wolf, but moved like a shade wolf. ¡°Aileen, could you cage that for me?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± A barrier formed around the creature, trapping it within.

    They walked up to inspect it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shade,¡± Khes said. ¡°Or I guess you could call it a half-shade.¡±

    ¡°Half shade?¡± Reylor said questioningly.

    ¡°Yeah, shade beasts do reproduce, but the originals were all regular beasts to begin with. Then they become infected and slowly turn into shade beasts. This guy is in the initial stages of becoming a shade beast.¡±

    ¡°How do they become infected?¡± Elany asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think it has to do with were they live. Vilnor has done some tests that show the infection is not spread directly. Even if a shade wolf bites another wolf, the other wolf will not become a shade if it is kept in a city. Out here, though, it just seems to happen, somehow. That¡¯s about all I understand of the situation.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, interesting. Well, that¡¯s all I needed. Go ahead and release it. If it wants to run, let it, since we are a distance from the academy.¡±

    Aileen released the barrier. The wolf hesitated, but fled in the end.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

 Chapter 18

    They continued traveling into the depths of the forest.

    ¡°Hmm. Why does the feel like¡­ Spatial energy¡­¡± Reylor thought to himself. Switching his meridians to his spatial energy core confirmed it. Spatial energy began to slowly flow into him, though at a very low rate, but this was definitely strange. There should not be this much spatial energy in one place on Aretor, as it was only produced at an extremely low rate, yet the energy here was over 100 times as dense as it should be.

    ¡°Void Sense¡± this was a skill that, while unable to detect trained mages, was easily able to detect animals and monsters within a twenty mile radius.

    ¡°There is a dense pack of animals a distance from here. I would like to check it out, but it¡¯s getting a bit late. What do you all think about setting up camp here for the night?¡±

    Seems how no one disagreed, they all went to work setting up camp for the night. While Reylor, Khes, and Flint worked on setting up tents, Elany got to work on the evening meal and Aileen set up a semi-permanent barrier, which focused more on concealment than resistance. Still, it was strong enough to even resist shad wolves. Reylor would deal with anything stronger than that, or wake the camp, if need be.

    ¡°Dang, Elany. Your cooking is still like it was on our trip to the academy.¡± Flint voiced out, over a bowl of stew. ¡°It¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    ¡°Agreed!¡± Reylor voiced is approval, while Elany gave a sweet smile.

    Aileen smiled too, though it was a little forced. It was not because of Elany, but thinking about the Journey to Votran made her a bit homesick for Eric. She missed her brother.

    While everyone else went to their tents to settle down, Reylor went a short distance outside of the barrier (Anyone with a certain ¡°token¡± could freely enter or exit the barrier). The increased spatial energy was having an effect on him¡ªnamely that he was not the least bit fatigued. Though he realized his companions needed rest, he was feeling even more energetic than ¡°normal.¡±

    Having ample time for the night, he decided to work on improving his magical control. He was capable of directing magical energy perfectly, but he needed to refine his energy output. He knew the suppression spell that the instructor used, but if he had tried it himself,  he may have used too much energy, thereby instantly killing the people and having the effects of the spell leak out to their surroundings. He could have injured his companions along with his targets. Also, there were some spells that would break down if one used too much energy with them. This was not the case for archaic spells, but it was for modern spells. This usually wasn¡¯t an issue, as no person was even capable of using that much magical energy. It was a different story for Reylor, though, because he had perfect affinity for magic and Seldin meridians. And so he went to work.

    ¡°Void suppression!¡± A tree branch bent slightly, and a leaf curled up a bit. ¡°Too little¡±

    ¡°Void suppression¡± ¡°Bang!¡± The entire tree turned into sawdust. ¡°Ugh. Good thing I put a sound barrier over the camp.¡±

    He raised his hand to try again, but immediately stiffened. ¡°Someone is here.¡±

    He turned to look at the presence he had sensed, while wondering why he hadn¡¯t sensed the karma. This was something no human was capable of hiding.

    ¡°Reylor?¡± A voice spoke.

    ¡°Oh, Khes. What are you doing out here?¡±

    ¡°Was bored, so I decided to take a walk. I heard a loud sound and figured it was you, since there was a sound barrier over the camp, so I decided to see what you were doing.¡±

    ¡°You are not going to sleep?¡±

    ¡°Pffft¡± Khes tried to repress his laughter, but didn¡¯t quite succeed.

    ¡°You are a strange one. You knew I was a Lich, but didn¡¯t know this? Hahaha! Reylor, Liches don¡¯t sleep¡ªand I¡¯m included in that. So yeah, I¡¯m not going to sleep. I do take time to rest here or there, especially when I need to fit in with a group of humans, but I never truly sleep. Don¡¯t need to.¡±

    Reylor paused for a moment. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    ¡°So, what about you? You look pretty human to me, but you seem as energetic as normal, or rather, even more energetic right now¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a human,¡± Reylor said, as he turned began practicing with spells he did not need to chant. ¡°Like you, I do not need sleep¡ªnormally. Did you see what happened when I broke our friends out of the enchanted jail on our last mission?

    ¡°Not exactly, but it looked like you were using some kind of dark energy.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°It was this,¡± Reylor said, condensing a ball of spatial energy.

    Khes looked at it for a moment in silence. ¡°That¡¯s not dark energy. It is somehow synergistic with dark energy, but that is something else, something strange, and¡ªhonestly¡ªkind of frightening.¡±

    ¡°This is spatial energy. Where I am from, we do not use magic, because this energy is far more useful. We do not fight, but if we did, we still would not use it, because this energy can be used to nullify any kind of magic. Every single kind.

    ¡°That is not it¡¯s only use, nor it¡¯s main one, though. For one thing, it is what sustains us. We can live on it, without need of food or of water. We need a lot more than what is available here, though, so I have had to resort to eating and drinking like the rest, but I still do not need sleep. Now as to why I am more energetic than normal, it is because this area, for some reason or other, has an abnormal concentration of this energy ambiantly. I passively absorb it, and in turn, some is stored in my core while the rest is used to support my physical being, including my mind. Thus, I am feeling quite energetic¡±

    ¡°¡­Wow. You guys are different. No wonder you didn¡¯t mind me.¡± Khes had many more questions at this point, but he prudently chose to make a comment instead.

    ¡°So what about you? How did you turn out to be a Lich?¡±

    ¡°I was bored, to be honest. My dad was a necromancy scientist before he died a few years after my birth. My mom mad sure I was fed until I turned fourteen, and then left the house. By that time, I had the skills to take care of myself-foraging, hunting, fishing, and so forth; so I got by, but that was all life really was for me. I stumbled on my dad¡¯s writings not too long after and discovered a system he had written down to give a person eternal life. I read his other writings in my spare time and came to realize there was a mistake he had made in the process outline-which was probably the cause of his death. Having nothing to lose, I gave it a shot. In the worst case I¡¯d probably die, but that didn¡¯t mean anything to me, so I tried it out.

    ¡°It was a success, but there were, of course, side effects. I lost three-quarters of my sense of touch and found out that I was able to sense the residual souls of those who had died somewhat recently, whether human or animal. After some experimentation, I found I could control the corpses by forming a sort of spiritual connection to the bodies through the spiritual residue. It wasn¡¯t until quite some time later that I found out what I had really become, as I was targeted by parties of city guards and adventureres. I learned to use my new powers of necromancy to protect myself until I eventually figured out how to disguise my undead aura, the thing that alerted many people that I was not a human. After that, I found an instructor to teach me some basic magic and swordsmanship, and then I came here.¡±

    Reylor and Khes continued to chat, talking about spells and magic, life, and various mundane things. Reylor continued practicing his magic, and Khes joined in a few times. Before they knew it, morning had come.

    ¡°I have something else to do for the moment, so why don¡¯t you head back and make sure the rest of our party isn¡¯t freaking out about now?¡± Reylor said with a chuckle.

    Khes nodded and returned to the camp while Reylor turned away with a smile.

    ¡°Alright, Eric, don¡¯t be shy.¡±

    A figure dropped from a nearby tree with a laugh.

    ¡°I guess I can¡¯t fool you, can I?¡± Eric said with a grin, as he walked over to where Reylor stood.

    ¡°Nope! Now I¡¯d love to hear what¡¯s been going on for you, but I think I know someone who would be a bit upset if I kept you here.¡±

    Eric¡¯s smile grew even bigger. ¡°Yeah, I actually found your campsite first, but I couldn¡¯t get in without making a big commotion. Then I saw a tree combusting in front of me. Not what I was expecting, but seeing you, it wasn¡¯t that unbelievable, haha.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the camp,¡± Reylor reasserted. ¡°And here is a token¡ªit¡¯ll let you enter the barrier.¡±

    ¡°Thank you sir!¡±

    Flint was still asleep, but Elany had gotten up before Khes got back. She trusted Reylor would be close, though, so she didn¡¯t mind his absence. Aileen had just gotten up as Khes returned, and went to work helping Elany with the morning meal.

    ¡°Zurp. Zzzurp.¡±

    Reylor and Eric entered the barrier.

    ¡°Huh? Reylor, and¡­ Who¡¯s that?¡± Elany asked, looking at the extra person brought to the camp.

    Eric looked a lot different. When he started out, he used a decent bow, and was clad in a garb of rough cotton and leather. Basically, his attire was slightly above average for a hunter. He now returned wearing high quality leather and fine cloths. His quiver looked expensive, and his bow was exquisite. Looking closely enough, one could even tell that it was laden with various enchantments, aside from his clothes; his features were slightly more developed, giving him a more wizened appearance.

    Nevertheless, Elany was actually quite sharp. It took just a few moments for it to sink in. ¡°Eric?¡± She breathed softly. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± She could no longer hold in her enthusiasm, shouting ¡°Aileen! Aileen! Get back over here!¡±

    Walking out of her tent, where she had gone to fetch something, Aileen looked over at Elany. ¡°Elany, is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°No! No! Look, Aileen! Look!¡± She exclaimed, while pointing.

    Aileen looked. She froze. She looked again. And she shrieked, ¡°Eric! Eric! You are back!¡± as she tore across the camp to bury herself in Eric¡¯s coat, sobbing into his chest with tears of joy. ¡°I missed you so much!¡±

    ¡°Oi, Oi! What¡¯s going on?¡± Flint asked, as he staggered out of his own tent. ¡°Elany, Reylor, Eric, Aileen,¡± he thought as he scratched his head, trying to make sense of the situation. ¡°Wait a minute, Eric? Oh, so that¡¯s what it¡¯s about!¡± ¡°Eric! Good to see you again!¡± He said, arriving at the oblong circle.

    ¡°Good to see you, too! I¡¯d give you a handshake, but I¡¯m a bit occupied right now,¡± he said with a smile, while soothingly rocking Aileen side to side.

    But then Eric inhaled deeply as his eyes suddenly constricted. ¡°Reylor.¡± He said softly.

    ¡°Undead?¡± Reylor playfully ventured a guess.

    Eric nodded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. It is actually one of our party members. In fact¡­ Khes, come out here! I have someone for you to meet!¡± Reylor called out.

    Khes emerged, as Eric¡¯s eyes relaxed, and his emotions shifted from vigilance to curiosity.

    ¡°Eric, meet Khes, our neighborhood Lich. Eric made a surprised look. ¡°Khes, meet Eric, our friend and Aileen¡¯s brother¡±

    ¡°Uh, h-h-hi, Eric. Nice to meet you.¡± Khes respectfully bowed his head, trembling slightly as he greeted Aileen¡¯s brother.

    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Khes¡± Eric replied, with a light smile.

    ¡°Food¡¯s ready!¡± Elany called out.

    And with that, a new day began.

 Chapter 19

    ¡°Alright, guys, let¡¯s get back to business,¡± Reylor said, gaining the attention of his newly enlarged group.¡± Yesterday we discovered a half-shade beast. Also, there is an abnormally large group of animals a distance from here, but it was so late that we decided not to check it out until today. Ready to see what¡¯s happening?¡± He asked.

    Let¡¯s do it! Flint said, bringing his fists together.

    ¡°Actually, would you mind if Aileen stayed behind for now?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°Oh, of course. Take your time. We should be back before too long.

    ¡°Khes, Elany, are you two ready?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go¡±

    *** *** ***

    In a room at an undisclosed place:

    ¡°Creak¡± ¡°Creak¡± ¡°Click¡±

    A door opened, closed, and was subsequently locked.

    ¡°Queen, it¡¯s me.¡±

    A white-robed mage materialized from the corner of a room.

    ¡°Good grief. We¡¯ve really done it now. It¡¯s like we stepped on a fire ant¡¯s nest¡ªthose guys are everywhere.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re hurt,¡± Queen said, in a smooth glassy voice. This time, it did not sound cold, but maybe even a bit warm. The truth was that Queen hadn¡¯t always been such a cold person. Since playing a part in ending Votran Empire¡¯s conquest, she had been hunted mercilessly, and had lost her immediate family in the process. These events had caused her to become jaded and very cautious toward the general populace. With Brent, she felt safe though, and could relate with him as with friend.

    ¡°I got some important information, though¡± Brent announced, as Queen began healing his wounds. ¡°Orvan is in league with Hemlock.¡±

    Queen didn¡¯t make a sound, but Brent could tell she was taken aback, since the flow of healing energy was reduced for a moment.

    ¡°They sent a person to take out Helen from Votran high. His stealth was first class, but Reylor, of all people, got in the way. The assassin was sent to the capital for interrogation, but was released shortly after. That got me thinking, because Helen is not from Vilnor, but was an instructor at a small magic school in the Shildwell Empire.

    ¡°Instead of fighting with the main force, Helen took her students to hide until the storm blew over. Her school was destroyed in the aftermath, and since her funding came from the palace, she went to Vilnor for work, and eventually ended up at Votran High. Only Earlstine and I were supposed to know about this, but Orvan is crafty¡ªit would not surprise me if he had discovered this. He is a paranoid type, so of course he would want to get rid of a powerful Shildwell figure, but Earlstine would not stand to lose one of his star instructors. Earlstine is important to Orvan, so I figured maybe he sent Hemlock to kill her¡ªespecially after the culprit was let off so easily. So I did some investigating. I pulled some strings to get a financial audit of the treasury, and low and behold¡ªsomeone had removed a significant sum of funds from the treasury. Orvan is the only one I know of capable of this, since his movements are not restricted. I had to fight my way into the archives. If it were the treasury, I don¡¯t know if even I would have been able to keep my life.

    ¡°Now here is the kicker: the escape passage to the west was used recently.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Queen spoke as she thought. ¡°That ends right next to their territory, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it does. Oddly enough, though, this may also present an opportunity. I have an idea.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Queen tilted her head, her hood falling off to reveal a soft white face, and flowing white hair. Who would have though that behind such a cold facade was a person with such a delicate feminine complexion?

    ¡°What is your idea?¡± She asked, as she sat down at the table in the room to face Brent.

    He gave a half grin. ¡°Do you know how anarchy works?¡±

    *** *** ***

    ¡°What is that?¡± Flint asked, as he viewed the spectacle before him.

    They had arrived at the place where many beasts had gathered.

    ¡°Woah, there are so many shade beasts!¡± Elany shivered a bit.

    Before them was a circle with a diameter of 200 yards. There was not a single living plant inside, but the ground looked black, as if there had been a fire there. This was not the case, however. But the most astonishing thing was the pure quantity of shade beasts inside. There were hundreds! And they were not all full shade beasts yet. Many were still in the process of transforming.

    Reylor stepped inside the circle, and shuddered slightly. ¡°Spatial energy. There is so much spatial energy here! What even is going on? Let¡¯s start with how it is being contained and then move to where it is coming from¡­¡± As spatial energy began pouring into him, his thoughts ended changing drastically, unbeknownst to him. His now curious eyes darkened and his casual movements became extremely precise. He did not move in a jerky manner, but every step seemed to be filled with purpose.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Flint, Khes, and Elany followed.

    What is this? Khes softly voiced the question of all present. The felt like their senses were being assaulted with the entire spectrum of magical energies, causing their brains to feel foggy.

    ¡°Step back,¡± Reylor¡¯s cold voice rang out. ¡°This is spatial energy.¡±

    The three followed his directions, stepping back out of the circle.

    ¡°Woah, Reylor! That wolf is turning into a shade!¡± Elany blurted out.

    Reylor glanced over to where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a wolf, around which a black essence was gathering.

    ¡°Spatial energy. This wolf is being transformed by spatial energy,¡± Reylor thought. ¡°It is being contained by a spatial net. The source is from the far West¡ª¡°

    Reylor broke his concentration on the subject of shade beasts and spatial energy.

    ¡°Show yourselves,¡± He enunciated with a cold, emotionless voice. ¡°Never mind. I can see you anyways, so I guess it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He looked to the side. Augmented by the surrounding spatial energy, his eyes had undergone a qualitative change, and he was now able to see these people that were fast approaching.

    ¡°What are you here for?¡± he asked, staring directly at the perturbed leader. Realizing that Reylor¡¯s claim of being able to see them was not just a bluff, they canceled their invisibility and flew down to the ground.

    ¡°It is of no concern to a man on death row, the leader sneered¡±

    ¡°Click¡± ¡°Thud¡±

    Everyone, both in Reylor¡¯s group and the other group stared with blank faces.

    Reylor had just casually snapped his fingers, and the man in front instantly flopped to the ground, dead.

    ¡°Next. You tell me. What are you here for?¡±

    ¡°W-w-we can¡¯t tell you tha¡ª¡° ¡°Snap¡± ¡°Thud¡±

    One the two remaining mages began to activate an escape spell.

    ¡°Did I say you could go?¡± ¡°Snap¡± ¡°Thud¡±

    Sure, this might seem ruthless, or even tyrannical¡ªbut for Reylor, he was in his element, as these men were not positive citizens of the planet. Their deaths were grace to humanity.

    ¡°So, last chance. Are you going to talk?¡± He looked at the last remaining person, bringing his fingers up as if he were going to end this man¡¯s life, just like he had ended the others. The man fainted.

    This will work, as well. Reylor then proceeded to walk over to the fainted man, and placed his hand on the man¡¯s chest. Spatial energy began to flow around the two in a torrent.

    Reylor and Elany had finally regained their composure, to a degree, but one look said the Khes had not. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and his face was pale, even though he knew that Reylor was not an enemy.

    ¡°Khes?¡± Elany spoke in a soothing voice, as she put her hand on his shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°R-r-r-rey-Reylor¡­¡±

    ¡°Breathe, Khes, breath¡± Elany soothed.

    ¡°He¡­ He annihilated their souls, instantly. Each time H-he snapped his fingers, a soul instantly and completely dispersed.¡± When someone dies, their soul leaves their body and disappears somewhere, but this. This was different. The attack was directly on the soul. The soul is gone. Not even a thread of consciousness was left.¡± He shivered as the shock slowly began to wear off. ¡°Now that he is done with those three, even I am incapable of reanimating them.¡±

    ¡°Woah,¡± Elany though, as she and Flint both glanced at each other. This was too insane¡ªthough Elany understood, to a point.

    ¡°But what is he doing now, and why is he acting so different, all of the sudden?¡±

    Khes answered first, ¡°He is inserting a sort of soul into that man¡¯s soul. Wait, don¡¯t tell me¡­ He¡¯s soul searching?!¡±

    What is that? Elany innocently asked.

    That is one of the greatest taboo practices in the art of necromancy. It is an art used to invade a person¡¯s mind and soul, allowing one to rewrite their thoughts, but even more importantly, it allows them to read a person¡¯s memory, including what they have witnesses with their senses, and even what they felt. The reason it is so taboo, though, is because it traditionally is only possible by using the blood and life essence of many sacrifices, and if the victim survives, they will not be any better off than a dead man. Of course, a Seldin could do it without causing any harm at all, though Khes would naturally be oblivious to this fact.

    Khes explained what was happening, though in slightly less detail.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Elany voiced. Flint had another look of surprise on his face, but Elany did not. Knowing her soul had been laid bare in front of a Seldin before, she though it was only natural that Reylor would have this kind of ability. What she was truly thinking about, however, was this strange change in Reylor¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°You know, I think I have actually seen Reylor act like this before,¡± she voiced, after a moment of deep reflection.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Khes asked, shifting his attention to the new topic. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Nothing exactly, but it was when he first came to our town. He acted just like this¡ªvery methodical, emotionless, and incredibly purposeful. He acted like some kind of machine, though he didn¡¯t look unhappy or anything. That¡¯s just how he was. But then as time went by, he changed to what you guys see of him now. Wait¡­¡± Something registered in her brain. ¡°It¡¯s the spatial energy! Do you remember when he started acting all weird, and stuff? It was shortly after he walked into the circle. The energy is making him act weird.¡±

    ¡°Is that why he told us to go back out?¡± Flint questioned.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. In fact, I don¡¯t think he himself realizes what is happening. It¡¯s probably because he knew the energy was doing weird things to us, like how my head started feeling all fuzzy when we walked in.¡±

    At this time, Reylor walked back to the group. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the camp.¡±

    ¡°Reylor?¡± Elany spoke up

    ¡°Yes, Elany,¡± a very even reply came.

    ¡°I want the other Reylor back,¡± she said, tugging on his coat sleeve.

    He paused for a moment, with a slightly confused expression.

    His face relaxed, as if he had thought of something.

    ¡°Sssssss¡± a black mist poured out of his body and dispersed.

    ¡°Is that any better?¡± He asked in a very natural voice, if even just a little more subdued than normal.

    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Elany looked at him with starry eyes and gave him a charming smile.

    As the group traveled back, they discussed how the spatial energy had affected his personality as they patiently waited until the got back to the camp, where Reylor would give them a rundown of what he had discovered.

    Eric and Aileen were sitting by the fireplace, so everyone else also gathered around it

    ¡°Prepare yourselves. I have learned some things that most if not all of you are not going to like.¡±

    ¡°Tell us Reylor, what is happening?¡±

    ¡°Well to start with, I know what cause the shade. Tainted spatial energy. The area of the beasts had a high concentration of the type of energy I use, but it was slightly different, such that the beasts of the area were able to be biologically altered by it. My guess is that there are several of such areas scattered around, which is what spawns these creatures.

    ¡°However, this is not our most pressing matter. As of today, we cannot return to Votran High. We are fugitives. The Emperor of Vilnor has hired Hemlock to kill Elany and I, along with any companions we may have. There is a bounty on our heads, and such being the case, Votran is no longer a safe place for us.¡±

    The circle was silent. But little did they know, there was an even greater secret that Reylor had kept to himself. The circle of spatial energy was contained by a spatial net¡ªsomething only a Seldin would be able to create. The energy was also being channeled in by methods only a Seldin was capable of. Furthermore, these constructs were only a couple hundred years old.

    To put it simply¡ªas a Seldin on Aretor, Reylor was not alone.

 Chapter 20

    ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± Elany looked up at Reylor with her bright eyes.

    ¡°What would you guys think of checking up on Lucy?¡± He replied.

    ¡°Oh, can we?!¡± Elany squealed. Aileen¡¯s eyes also perked up.

    ¡°We can¡¯t disappoint the girls, now can we?¡± Eric said with a smile, wrapping his arm over Khes¡¯s shoulder. Khes gave an uncomfortable smile.

    ¡°Alright! It¡¯s decided. You guys pack up camp, while I have a little preparation of my own to do.¡±

    The group began to clear out the camp while Reylor returned to the zone of spatial energy.

    ¡°Earth!¡± a large clump of dirt broke through the ground to hover in the air.

    ¡°Split.¡± The clod split into multiple equally-sized portions.

    ¡°Modeling: Mirror¡± the small portions of earth formed a ring around him, each perfectly spaced apart from each other.

    ¡°Matter, physical, Gold¡± spatial energy began flowing through him, as the dirt clumps turned from their earthen colors to a golden yellow.

    ¡°Aetheric art: modeling¡± The space around him shuddered, as a ball of pure aether gathered in front of him. ¡°Matter, abstract, runic¡± The ball of aether condensed into a small, inky black ball.

    He then closed his eyes, as he silently processed spatial shapes and figures in his mind. The inky ball split, and a stream of microscopic runes flowed to each ball of gold, seamlessly integrating with the metal. These runes were abstract- meaning that effects to physical materials would not be able to affect the runes themselves¡ªtruly a godly ability.

    ¡°Remodeling¡ªRings!¡±

    The floating, rune-imbued golden clumps morphed into plain golden rings. He smiled, as he slipped one on as he returned to the camp.

    By now, the camp had been completely broken down, and the group was standing around the fire pit.

    ¡°Alright, ready to go? He said, walking up to the fire pit.

    ¡°Yep, we¡­ Huh? Reylor?

    ¡°Yeah? Is something wrong, Elany?¡±

    ¡°No, I mean¡­ You are Reylor, right? You look like Reylor, but I can¡¯t match your face¡­¡± She tilted her head to the side in concentration.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop now.¡± He said with a chuckle, before slipping his ring off

    ¡°Woah, you definitely are Reylor¡­ But what was that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a little gift for us in our travels,¡± He said, handing a ring to each person. ¡°It is a ring that inhibits recognition. While wearing this ring, no one will be able to memorize what you look like, and it will be extremely difficult to match your appearance with their memories. It allows you to be extremely inconspicuous. This should allow us to travel with relative safety¡ªat least from people specifically looking for us.

    Now, to start out with, does anyone know where Shildwell palace used to stand? I believe that may be the best place to start our search.¡±

    Elany nearly choked, trying to stifle her laughter. ¡°You are so funny¡± Flint also gave a wry smile, as Elany continued. It¡¯s right next to the Otium territories! We were practically neighbors.¡±

    ¡°Well, then¡­ I guess it¡¯s off to Otium!¡± Reylor said, before shaking his head.

    ¡°Void Gate!¡±

    Reylor waved his hand to materialize a teleportation gate, leading them to a dirt path within the Otium territory.

    ¡°Lead the way, Elany.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir!¡±

    *** *** ***

    At the edge of the Sylva region, a lone figure sat; his legs crossed and his palms facing up in a meditative position. It was a man with many runes inscribed on his body. He was an overbearing existence to nearly all he met; but one would notice a strange phenomenon if he or she were to see him in this situation. His aura slowly melted away, as if his existence had nearly reached its end. This, however, was not the case.

    Soon, his aura had completely disappeared. He gradually stood up and walked forward, the trees and vines seeming to welcome him in. His figure soon disappeared from sight.

    Hour after hour passed as he slowly made his way in a specific direction. Eventually, he arrived at his destination.

    Walking through a barrier, the world around him changed. The facade of an endless forest broke to reveal the gates of a massive city: Statera, the capital city of the elves.

    ¡°Thud, thud, thud, thud¡± ¡°creak¡±

    In an instant, he was surrounded by twelve elven swordsmen, and many figures drew back their bowstrings, aiming at his vitals.

    ¡°Who are you, and what are you here for, human?¡± One of the swordsmen asked with a numbingly cold voice.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°My name is Xendus, and I have come to talk with your king,¡± the man said, with an even tone and empty eyes.¡±

    ¡°We would normally send tell you to leave, but since you know where we are, we¡¯ll have to ask the captain what to do with you. Do not resist.¡± The elf snapped a vine off a tree, preparing to bind Xendus. He did not follow through, though.

    Xendus spread his fingers, lifting his right hand. The Elven spokesperson instantly paled at the sight of an artifact¡ªa ring embedded with an emerald, which bore the crest of the royal family.

    ¡°Is this how you treat the king¡¯s guests?¡± Xendus said bluntly.

    There was silence.

    ¡°Ssss, thud¡± The vine slipped from the Elf¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Uh, please come this way,¡± the elf said with a pale face.

    The gates opened, and Xendus was respectfully escorted into the city.

    In the years leading up to the isolation of the elves, Xendus had discreetly helped the Elven kingdom in many ways, which ended up saving many lives during Vilnor¡¯s conquest. As a show of gratitude, the king had bestowed him with a royal seal, vowing to return the favor if the opportunity came.

    The opportunity arrived. The overthrow of Vilnor¡¯s empire necessitated a covert operation within the palace. Unfortunately, there were too many enchantments to make it possible to see inside with magic. The Elves had something that could not be counteracted by magic, however¡ªspiritual abilities. To make things go as smoothly as possible, Xendus had come to ask for the help of Elven spiritual practitioners.

    Xendus was escorted into the palace, and took a seat while awaiting an audience.

    *** *** ***

    The group of Reylor, Khes, Elany, Flint, Khes, Eric, and Aileen all made their way toward the ruined city according to Elany¡¯s leadership¡ªthough Flint, himself had been to the city in the past.

    Time slipped by as they leisurely made their way through plains, hills, and valleys alike, finally arriving in what could be considered Shildwell territory.

    ¡°Wow.¡± Elany gasped. This is nothing like it used to be. The walls were tall, made of stone, and looked really pretty, but now¡­¡±

    The city before them, one of the many in what was the Shildwell Empire, looked like a pauper¡¯s town. The wooden walls were not even up to the standards of Splendor. Half the houses looked decent, though it was obvious that they were new, while the other half were makeshift. Apparently Vilnor had razed the entire city, walls, buildings, and all. They hadn¡¯t even entered the city yet, but the walls were so poor, that they could easily see inside from their current position.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside,¡± Reylor said. No one disagree, so they continued to the gates, which were locked.

    ¡°Bang, bang, bang.¡± Reylor knocked on the wooden gate. As mages, they were all quite capable of jumping over, but needless to say, it would not leave a good first impression.

    ¡°Shhunk¡± ¡°Get in, quick!¡± A board was moved, and the gate was partially opened. Strong hands quickly reached out, dragging them in quickly before the gate was slammed shut. Glancing around, they saw a few people dressed in shoddy armor. Apparently these were city guards.

    ¡°What are you guys thinking going out at a time like this!¡± a guard admonished.

    ¡°Actually, we are not from around here. So that being said, could you explain to us what is going on here?¡±

    Reylor spoke while the rest were still processing the fact that they had been so suddenly and violently dragged inside.

    ¡°Huh? Outsiders?¡± The guard¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Well, I guess it wouldn¡¯t hurt to tell you this. These parts are thoroughly infested by the shade. Not having any mages since the war, the previously manageable numbers have grown greatly. To make matters worse, a pack leader has recently decided to make its home on the outskirts of the city. Citizens have been forbidden from leaving the city for now, until the fire mage comes around.¡±

    Elany and Reylor glanced at each other.

    ¡°I see. Well, we won¡¯t be here for long, but it¡¯s getting late, so is there a perchance a piece of land where we could camp for the night?¡±

    The guard thought for a moment. ¡°There is the training ground, if you want it.¡±

    They accepted the proposition and camped there for the night.

    ¡°Plink, plink, plink plink!¡± Reylor and his group shot out of their tents at the sound of arrows hitting the barrier they had set up before the night. They were surrounded by sixteen guards armed with crossbows.

    The sclera of Reylor¡¯s eyes turned black, leaking out traces of spatial energy. This was not because he was about use Seldin abilities. This was rage.

    He stretched out an arm as he spoke slowly. ¡°Void suppression.¡± Clenching his fist, the crossbows of the guards¡ªall sixteen¡ªsimultaneously exploded.

    Their faces showed shock, while turning sheet white. ¡°Oh, no. They¡¯re mages. We¡¯re finished!¡±

    ¡°Void suppression¡± This time the guards felt their muscles give out, as half of them fell to the ground, the others simply fainted on the spot.

    ¡°Flint, secure them¡±

    ¡°Chains of Earth, bind!¡±

    Earthy chains erupted from the earth, binding the guards¡¯ arms and legs to the ground, one by one.

    Reylor made a motion, seemingly grasping at the air, which caused moisture to condense in to a ball of water in front of him. He split the ball into eight parts and sent them straight into the faces of the guards who had just fainted, awakening them to their plight.

    ¡°Lowly beings, give me on reason why I should not end your insignificant lives right here and now,¡± Reylor said, with the authority of a king. The guards could not do anything but shiver and their entire beings wanted to scream out in fear¡ªand oddly enough¡ªreverence.

    Flint, Khes, and Eric were all think the same thing right now: ¡°These guys don¡¯t know life from death.¡±

    Actually, Aileen was thinking the same thing, until she heard Elany snickering. ¡°What¡¯s so funny about this?¡± she asked, tilting her head in a charming act of confusion.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s¡­ Hehe¡­ It¡¯s, it¡¯s nothing¡± she replied, though obviously thinking about something else. ¡°The Gatekeeper is calling them lower life forms, hahaha!¡±

    The guards weren¡¯t having so great a time, though.

    ¡°Oh, no one has an answer?¡± Reylor continued.

    ¡°To tell you the truth¡ªI really feel like killing you.¡± The guards¡¯ faces sank. ¡°But¡ªyou are in luck, because I realize that the city is not in good condition, and it would be dangerous for the citizens not to have anyone to protect them, should a creature breach your dismal walls.

    ¡°So, we will settle for this. Tell us where the palace is, and we¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°Flint, Unbind one of each of their arms.¡±

    ¡°Crrrr¡± Several earthen chains shattered.

    ¡°I-i-its that w-w-way¡± One of the guards motioned to the east. Reylor sensed the man¡¯s karmic aura become slightly darker.

    ¡°Khes, he¡¯s lying. Kill him.¡± Khes shivered slightly, but not at the idea of killing someone¡ªrather at the extreme change that had come over Reylor. Reylor usually seemed pretty laid back and easy going, but now¡ªnow he was like a sovereign emperor dealing with royal traitors. Nevertheless, one swipe of his blade ended the man¡¯s life.

    The remaining guards shivered visibly. One of them had even fainted again from their fear.

    ¡°Where. Is. The palace.¡±

    ¡°Finally, another spoke up. S-s-south. Directly south of here, past two more cities.¡±

    ¡°Good. You and the rest may live for now. But let this be a lesson. Do not deal treacherously with those you do not know. If this happens again to me, you will die.¡± Of course, they were all still wearing the rings, so once Reylor and his groupleft, the guards would have to be weary of everyone, since they would be unable to remember what Reylor or his friends looked like.

    ¡°Release them¡±

    The rest of the chains crumbled to dust as they left. This time they didn¡¯t bother about a gate, but simply vaulted over the wooden wall and continued their journey to the palace.

 Chapter 21

    ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡±

    ¡°Watch out, there are shade beasts here!¡±

    ¡°Shing!¡±

    There were shade beasts on the other side of the wall. Unfortunately for the beasts, however, these were not the same people as they were before entering the academy. Needless to say, any who approached were quickly eradicated. Even the weakest of the bunch¡ªElany¡ªcould now hold her own against a shade beast.

    The path led up a sort of hill, which they climbed as the sun rose over the territory.

    ¡°Woah, you can see everything from here!¡± Elany exclaimed.

    ¡°So pretty.¡± Aileen breathed out.

    The Shildwell territories had indeed been ravaged by war, but enough time had passed that the damaged foliage had grown back, presenting them with a wonderful spectacle before them. Sure, there were countless ruins spread about the land, but it just tended to add to the mood. It felt as though they were exploring a long lost land.

    ¡°Not only can you see the next city from here, if you look closely, you can see the palace ruins, as well.¡± Flint pointed out.

    ¡°Anyone want to go ahead to check for signs of Lucy? I don¡¯t feel like making a big scene right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go¡± Eric volunteered.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll give you a little head start,¡± Reylor smiled as he placed his hand on Eric¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Poof¡± Eric was instantly transferred to a place just a short distance from the city gates.

    The rest walked, arriving at the city shortly after Eric exited it.

    ¡°I found some news.¡± His eyes sparkled. ¡°It appears that Lucy has set up a mage school, which she teaches at regularly. And do you want to guess where it¡¯s at?¡±

    ¡°Is it here?¡± Elany asked the obvious question with a look of excitement.

    ¡°Yes it is. Not only that, but she is here right now! She just took her students to a field nearby for some long-ranged practice. But keep in mind, she is going by the alias of Rose in case someone from Vilnor comes by.¡±

    Everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Eric said, leading them toward the plain.

    Looking closely, they could see a lady wearing a sleek white dress with gold and red trimmings, and with red hair tied up in a bun.

    ¡°Whoosh¡± There was a slight and gradual pulling sensation in the atmosphere.

    The eyes of Reylor, Khes, and Eric all narrowed at the same time.

    ¡°Link up!¡± Reylor yelled, holding out his hands. Everyone grabbed hands, and Reylor teleported them to the field.

    ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Rose¡± was taken aback with the sudden appearance of six unfamiliar figures. Well, some of the felt almost familiar, but not quite.

    ¡°Everyone gather together, or you¡¯re gonna die! Flint yelled out, after also catching on to the situation.

    With an expression of confusion, Rose paused for a moment. A moment was all it took for her face to take on a horrified expression. ¡°Do as he says!¡± She called out. She didn¡¯t know if these ¡°strangers¡± could do something about the situation, but she didn¡¯t have much choice but to chance it.

    A prime spell. A prime spell had been activated, and the caster definitely was not weak, as evidenced by how much magical energy was being channeled into it.

    The spell slowly, yet quickly began to form into a mass of ice-type magical energy.

    ¡°Arcane Aegis!¡± A shield formed in front of Reylor as he moved in front of the rest of the group.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rose yelled out, as her stomach began to churn and thoughts raced through her mind. ¡°Why? Why are you doing this? I was responsible for this, for not paying attention. Why does someone else have to be the one to die from my mistake?¡±

    ¡°Voosh¡± By this time everyone realize something was going seriously wrong, and Aileen erected her dome barrier over the group.

    ¡°Kabam!¡± The ball of magical energy exploded into various-sized fragments of ice, which began blasting down from the sky in front of them.

    ¡°Thud, thud, Schump¡±

    The ice shards slammed into the shield, with the smaller fragments being absorbed and the larger ones bouncing off. There was so much pressure, though, that Reylor began to be pushed backward from the residual pressure.

    Aileen began to sweat from the effort of holding back the after shocks released from the collision of the prime spell with the arcane aegis.

    ¡°Requiem of the saints, sing unto me¡± Elany softly voiced. The sound of an angelic choir seemed to descent from the sky, soothing the nerves and calming all within range. This reduced the pressure on Aileen¡¯s mind, helping her to keep the barrier up.

    At the same time, Flint was not idle.

    ¡°Crrr¡± ¡°Thunk¡± A pillar of bedrock broke through the ground and anchored itself just behind Reylor, giving him something to brace himself against.

    ¡°Thunk, Thunk¡± Two low but sturdy earthen walls rose up in front of Aileen¡¯s barrier, reducing the pressure even more. She was still under a lot of pressure, but at least her ragged breaths began to even out a bit.

    Unfortunately, Reylor was not as well off. The spell let off at Votran High was merely a low-class prime spells released from a scroll. This, on the other hand, was a very high level spell which had been activated by using a full chant.

    Sweat began to drip down his forehead.

    ¡°Oh, no,¡± Lucy thought. ¡°He¡¯s running out of mana¡±

    The even though the Arcane Aegis was able to pull magical energy from other dimensions, it still required a massive sum in order to maintain to form of the spell. And even though Reylor, as a Seldin, had flawless magical affinity, a large mana pool was something that would still have to be trained.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    As an expert magician, and now a teacher, Rose knew the signs of mana exhaustion intimately.

    ¡°If we are to die, it will be fighting.¡± She narrowed her eyes. ¡°Everyone, try to give me some space!¡± She called out, earning herself a small area in the corner of the barrier.

    Phoenix skin, stage one! Her body ignited with white flames, though this time the flames were not nearly as hot as when she faced the mages on the road to Votran.

    She stepped out of the barrier, and was immediately bombarded with the pressure waves. Her armor flickered, but held enough to help repress the pressure as she slowly pressed forward. ¡°Crrr¡± A set of solid stone footholds appeared, leading to where Reylor was, once Flint realized what Rose was attempting to do.

    Finally arriving behind Reylor, she braced herself against Flint¡¯s stone pillar, as well.

    ¡°This will be strange and hurt a bit, but bear with me¡± She yelled out, with her voice barely breaking through the cacophony of sound coming from impacts to the shield.

    She reached forward and latched onto his waist, to keep herself from being blow backward. She then slipped one of her hands under his shirt and placed it just below his chest¡ªright where his mana core would be situated. ¡°Sssss¡± Her hand grew hot, searing both his skin and hers. Then the heat went away and was replaced with a strange kind of warmth, along with another phenomenon¡ªthe meridians in her hands connected with the meridians just below his chest. Reylor felt an indescribable warmth as mana began to pour from Rose¡¯s mana core into his. This time Reylor was able to begin breathing a bit easier, as through their connection, he was innately made aware of her abundance of mana¡ªit was an insane amount.

    Not only did Shildwell descendants have fantastic affinity for fire magic, they also had another, less obvious advantage to the general populace¡ªthey had massive mana cores, even before they began training, no need to mention how much mana they could contain after being trained.

    ¡°Woosh¡± The prime spell fluctuated slightly as what ambient magical energy remained was retracted for use by another spell.

    ¡°No, this can¡¯t be happening¡± ran through the minds of both Reylor and Lucy at the same time. The others inside the barrier didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°We are having enough trouble against just this one spell¡­¡±

    But then something surprising happened. The magical energy condensed into a spear, but this spear was odd. First off, it was not pointed at Reylor and Rose¡¯s group, but toward a position in the sky. That wasn¡¯t the only thing, though. It didn¡¯t seem to be made from any particular type of known magic. It was translucent, yet shimmered, as if it were made of diamond.

    Suddenly, the spear flew forward and an incredible speed, and its movement was followed by a shriek as a mage fell from the sky, impaled by the spear.

    Also, at that moment, the prime spell dispersed. This being the case, Reylor waved his hand, dispersing the shield. Lucy severed the link between their meridians and then helped the extremely weak Reylor back into the barrier. Elany quickly cast healing spells on both of them.

    At this point, Reylor knelt down for a moment. ¡°Kachink¡± Now having a moment to spare, he was able to switch his meridians back to his spatial energy core. Life seemed to return to his eyes as the spatial energy began circulating through his body. Unfortunately, it took most of the reserves he had left just to get back to this point, so he quickly switched back to his mana core and sat down to regenerate his mana.

    Having been relieved from the pressure of the prime spell, everyone felt relieved. It did not last for long, however. They sky lit up with color as an army of Vilnor mages revealed themselves. ¡°Dangit!¡± Flint yelled out, voicing the thoughts of many. ¡°He even brought friends.¡±

    The obvious course of action at this point would be to open a space gate and run out of there, but unfortunately, Reylor did not have enough spatial energy left, and one of the mages was using a space-lock spell, which prevented anyone within a certain distance from opening a spatial gate via magic.

    Things were not looking good at all. But just when most were despairing, a single person appeared. A figure descended from the heights of the sky, clad in an exquisite white robe, and disguised under a hood. She gracefully spread out her hands as she chanted words that no one could hear. The earth trembled.

    ¡°They are pulling energy directly from the earth!¡± Flint exclaimed. Aside from earth and void magic, no spell should be able to accomplish this feat, yet here was some person who was doing so with a strange spell that was neither earth nor void-aspected.

    The whole world seemed to shudder, as a multitude of glassy figures formed in the sky. These figures ranged from the shape of simple fish to sharks to massive whales, along with all sorts of other swimming creatures. It felt like the sky had suddenly turned into an ocean!

    ¡°Feast!¡± A smooth voice split through the air, ringing out.

    The magical creatures shot out, devouring the mages they encountered.

    ¡°It¡¯s her! It¡¯s the witch! It¡¯s the witch!¡± an older practitioner called out.

    ¡°Shing¡ªth-th-th-thunk¡± A torrent of crystals rained down from the sky, decimating a squad that were trying to sneak up on the group under Aileen¡¯s barrier.

    ¡°Wrrrr¡±

    Several spatial gates were opened up from the outside as a new army of mages began flooding out. Meanwhile, the sea of crystal creatures had dissipated.

    All the students within the barrier began to wear downcast faces. They thought they were saved, but now even more were coming. And surely such a massive spell could not be repeated¡­

    Khes smirked.

    An eerie sight unfolded as all the mostly intact corpses rose up from the ground¡ªand they began attacking the new batch of mages!

    If one could see under Queen¡¯s hood, they would have noticed a quizzical expression on even her face!

    Unfortunately, undeads were significantly inferior to the living, when it came to people, but Khes was still able to take out a large group of the new arrivals, and each death meant another addition to his army. In addition, whoever he could not kill with his army, he could at least pressure and wear down. Meanwhile, one more portal opened¡ªthough this one was only large enough to accommodate one person. A muscular man emerged and immediately plunged down into the center of the fray.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A shockwave was emitted as he slammed into the ground, creating a crater and instantly killing everyone within 10 yards of him, and injuring everyone within twenty. He then proceeded to run forward. He would find a patch of mages and perform a few hand seals, and then a great pressure would come over them, ending their lives. A few were able to withstand the pressure, though, but for them he would simply punch in their direction. His fist never made contact¡ªbut it didn¡¯t need to, as a sharp aura continued out, slamming against the mages and ultimately ending their lives.

    Of course, many mages attempted to counter attack this man, but whenever a spell was close to making contact with him, a rune on his body would light up and shatter the spell. This was the might of Xendus.

    Meanwhile, an endless hail of crystals came from Queen, pelting the entire battlefield around Xendus.

    ¡°Xendus, you dare!¡± A man cried out, rushing toward his position. This man, as well, had bulging muscles and runes covering his body. He was another grand auramancer.

    While auramancers were rare, and grand auramancers could be considered anomalies in the world, Xendus was not the only one of his kind. His fame was not without reason, however.

    Xendus turned and raced in the direction of the voice.

    ¡°Kabam! An earsplitting noise rang out as fist collided with fist, and the earth fractured below them.

    ¡°Boom, boom, booom¡± Under the loud peals of aura collision, a vast area was cleared out since nobody wanted to deal with the sound and pressure up close.

    Meanwhile, the battlefield had cleared out enough that Queen had now begun targeting individual mages, instead of using her costly area-of-effect spells.

    At this time, Khes, Flint, and Rose left the barrier in search of their own prey. Rose would pick out a particularly strong mage to fight against, while Flint and Khes worked together to clear out any nearby mages until she could kill the one she was fighting against. It was a slaughter fest.

    Finally, the spatial gates closed, and all of the mages in the area had been defeated¡ªleaving only the one auramancer fighting against Xendus.

    Xendus and the other auramancer both pulled their arms back, preparing to put all they had into one final strike, as they both furiously gathered their auras into their fists. The nameless auramancer¡¯s muscles bulged. Xendus¡¯s¡­ Didn¡¯t¡­ He smirked. The other sensed something was wrong, but it was too late.

    ¡°Shoof¡±

    The auramancer fell dead.

    While he was gathering aura into his fist, the man failed to keep some protection around the rest of his body, since there weren¡¯t any melee soldiers nearby and mage spells would be repelled by the runes on his body. What he was not prepared for, however, was a sneaky ranger that had circled around them during the fight. With one arrow, Eric had taken the life of a grand auramancer¡ªand thus ended the war.

 Chapter 22

    ¡°Can any of you open space gates?¡± Xendus asked the group, obviously not referring to the fire magic students.

    ¡°I can¡± Reylor raised his hand, ¡°but I don¡¯t have much mana left, so wherever we¡¯re going, we¡¯ll have to jump through the gate quickly.

    After explaining that Queen would take the students back (and provide some psychological care); Xendus directed Reylor to open the space gate at a particular location.

    ¡°Wrrrr¡±

    The space gate opened, and everyone rushed inside. The other side of the spatial gate was the inside of a house. The gate closed as Reylor stepped out of it. At this point, Xendus performed a couple quick hand seals, and Reylor abruptly fainted. This eliciting gasps from the feminine part of the group, while Khes and Flint just stood there in confusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, he is fine and I mean no harm. It¡¯s just that this is a secret place, and I had to tell him where it was for us to get here. I just used a technique to erase his short-term memory. He¡¯ll be fine when he wakes up.¡±

    After recovering from that certain turn of events Rose knelt down by the couch where Xendus laid Reylor, and looked at him with questioning eyes. ¡°Who is this man, who suddenly came to our aid, and protected our little school with his life? And why would he do that? It almost even cost him his life!¡± She also felt gratitude towards the rest of Reylor¡¯s group, along with Xendus and Queen, but she especially wanted to thank him.

    ¡°Why is everyone acting so weird?¡± Aileen thought aloud, with a confused expression.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Elany replied, before pausing for a moment. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s the rings, it¡¯s the rings!¡± She nearly shouted out. ¡°Everyone, take off your rings! Uncle Brent¡¯s a good guy, he won¡¯t hurt us.¡±

    Hearing the name ¡°Brent,¡± Xendus snapped his head around to look at Elany just as she slipped her ring off.

    ¡°Elany?!¡± He gasped out, before reaching his arms out to embrace her. ¡°Elany, I was worried about you guys!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Brent, we¡¯re fine,¡± She said, as a warm feeling rose up in her chest.

    ¡°Then does that mean this man is¡ª,¡± ¡°Yep, you just knocked out Reylor,¡± Elany said with a giggle.

    Meanwhile; Khes, Flint, and Aileen had taken off their rings, and Khes went to take off Reylor¡¯s.

    ¡°Huu?¡± ¡°Reylor?!?!¡±

    Lucy inadvertently stood up and back up a bit as yet another look of shock ran across her face. Then her face turned red. ¡°I-I-I did that to Reylor?¡± At first she was quite embarrassed, considering that direct mana transfer can be quite an intimate thing, but at the same time her heart felt very warm inside. ¡°Reylor. I left you just like that, after promising to travel with you. Yet, you still came back to find me, and put yourself on the line to save me and my students despite what I had done to you.¡±

    ¡°Ya know, he might be handsome and all, but it¡¯s best to take things slow at first,¡± Eric called out with a smirk.

    She quickly turned around to see who had made the comment, as her face began to resemble her alias even more closely. ¡°You guys,¡± she said with a sweet trembling voice. Tears slid down her cheeks as she took a closer look at the rest of the people who had pitched in to save her and her students. They were happy tears, of course.

    *** *** ***

    A few hours later Reylor woke up. After being warmly hugged/thanked/apologized to by Lucy, Xendus got down to business.

    ¡°Do you guys know what was going on there?¡± Silence

    ¡°As I¡¯m sure you might have guessed, those were Vilnor soldiers. Catching wind of developments in Shildwell territory, Orvan ordered an attack on the instructor. He¡¯s a nervous type, and is afraid of anyone related to the Shildwells rising back up to seek revenge on his own head, specifically. There was another reason he was scared. It seems some sort of fire mage has laid waste to the properties of several of his vassals.¡±

    He glanced at Lucy with a smile. ¡°But don¡¯t worry about it too much. Things are about to change, Miss Shildwell.¡± Her eyes grew wide. ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised. Or rather, be careful of auramancers. Shildwell auras are quite easy to distinguish from others. Your magical essence camouflage is nigh perfect, but your aura feels like an inferno¡ªas did that of any other Shildwell I¡¯ve met in the past.

    ¡°Now, as to why I said not to worry too much, we are about to start making waves in Vilnor. They won¡¯t have the time to worry about you, Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Wrrr¡± A spatial gate opened, as Queen stepped through.

    ¡°Rey¡ª?¡±

    ¡°Miss Queen!¡± Her confusion was given not time to sort itself out as a pure bundle of joy slammed herself into Queen¡¯s arms.Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°Elany? Elany!¡± Her cool facade was broken for a moment, as she found herself unable to withhold the joy of seeing Elany safe after all the things that had transpired at Splendor.

    ¡°Then the Archaic spell?¡± Having regained most of her composure, she took a look at Reylor.¡±

    Xendus shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how he can do it either, but I wasn¡¯t lying about what happened at the academy.¡±

    ¡°Reylor, can you use divine magic?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Several heads turned at the same time. The use of Divine magic was a God-like ability. Unlike nearly any other type of magic, divine was a compound type. It required high affinity with not only holy, but also void and light magic. Only a pure genius would have high affinity in three different elements. Then it was nearly unheard of for the three a genius possessed to be the very ones necessary to use divine magic.

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Probably, though I have not tried.

    ¡°Try combining light, void, and holy magic together.¡± Xendus prodded.

    ¡°Whoosh¡± Magical essence combined to form a ball of glowing white energy. It felt very pure, and made one to feel more energetic in a way, but also intimidated. It also felt sharp, as opposed to the soft feeling that holy magic would emit.

    ¡°Woah.¡± Elany breathed out. Everyone else appeared dumbstruck, except for Queen and Xendus. Queen was still a bit surprised, herself, however.

    Xendus cracked a smile. ¡°What would you think of giving your old teacher a hand in a few days?¡±

    ¡°What are you up now?¡± Reylor asked with a smile as he dispersed the ball of magic.

    ¡°In one week, we are going to turn Vilnor upside down. Orvan has called a kingdom-wide meeting with all the major powers in his Empire. It would be very helpful if you could help us out with a small part of the ceremonies.¡± Xendus let out a devilish grin as he handed a scroll to Reylor.

    Reylor opened it, releasing a pulse of divine energy and revealing the drawing of a glowing magic circle, and nothing else.

    ¡°How by the gods... Where the heck do you get that?¡± Lucy asked, as she took a step back, trembling slightly.

    What is it? Elany asked.

    ¡°The Angelic Elegy or rather, the method for casting it.¡±

    ¡°The heck?¡± Flint said, also taking a step back. The rest of Reylor¡¯s group also stepped back a bit, though only because of what they saw on the faces of Flint and Lucy.

    ¡°That is correct,¡± Xendus replied. ¡°This is the method for casing Angelic Elegy, the only known divine domain in existence. In the past it was used by a magician to single-handedly annihilate every living person in an entire kingdom¡ªall at one time, which I am sure is what Flint and Miss Shildwell are thinking about.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Lucy, Uncle Brent,¡± Elany said while holding onto his arm.

    Brent nodded then continued. ¡°However, annihilation is not the use I have in mind for this spell. First of all, using a spell that large would likely kill the caster, as it did in the case of the man who destroyed the kingdom. Also, our aim is not to kill, but to liberate, even though some deaths will be necessary. This spell can indeed cause massive amounts of damage, but it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to. The effect I am looking for is the ability to suppress combat magic.¡±

    ¡°Like the Alteroy Kingdom?¡± Khes asked.

    ¡°Yes, exactly. There was a kingdom ruled by a practitioner of divine magic. Being a man who desired peace, he developed a mechanism that was able to continuously cast a domain over his capital city. This domain inhibited the use of all forms of combat magic except for divine magic. Of course, he was the only one able to use divine magic, so this was a way of protecting himself, as well as placing the common people in the capital city on an even playing field with those who could use magic. This led to the city being considered one of the most impartial cities in the world at that time.¡±

    ¡°So, you want to suppress magic, then what?¡±  Eric asked with a bit of hesitation.

    ¡°We¡¯ll utilize our next secret weapon.¡± Xendus grabbed something out of a sack, placed his fist forward, and opened his hand.¡±

    Silence

    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a lot of spirit magic,¡± Eric stated, while everyone was curiously staring at the small stones in Xendus¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, I pulled a few strings to get some help from a few spiritual practitioners to get these.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± This time it was Queen who reacted, though she quickly regained her expressionless appearance. You went to the elves? How the heck did you manage that? I almost got killed last time I went to their forest.

    Xendus smirked. ¡°A friend had some favors to repay.¡± The he continued with the main topic.

    ¡°These are spiritual projection stones. Using spiritual energy, my friends were able to record some questionable acts committed in the palace¡ªparticularly between Orvan and some Hemlock cronies.¡±

    ¡°Hemlock?¡± Flint blurted out. ¡°What has Hemlock to do with the emperor?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember when a staff member was attacked at Votran?¡± Xendus asked.

    ¡°Yeah, it was Helen, right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the one. Do you know why she was attacked?¡±

    Silence

    ¡°While we can¡¯t say for sure, we have reason to believe it is because she originated from the Shildwell Empire. With the economy obliterated because of the war, she moved to the empire to find decent work, eventually ending up at Votran. We believe Orvan, the nervous man he is, wants to uproot every sing potential root for rebellion, and so this included Helen, because she was from the Shildwell Empire. Now naturally, the Headmaster would not stand for this, and the losing his loyalty would strike a major blow to his military power, so he chose to outsource the operation to Hemlock.¡±

    ¡°So you plan to restrict magic so you can use the stones to reveal the sins of Orvan in the safety of the domain?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°Yes, exactly.¡±

    ¡°But won¡¯t that just make us sitting ducks?¡± Aileen asked.

    ¡°Nope, silly girl.¡± He replied with a glint in his eye, and proceeded to ruffle her hair.

    ¡°Hey!¡± She quickly backed away in embarrassment. She was not prepared to be treated so familiarly by this stranger.

    ¡°Elany didn¡¯t tell you about her Uncle?¡±

    Eric chuckled, as Aileen shook her head.

    Xendus slipped his shirt off, causing the already red-face Aileen to become even redder. ¡°Girl, stop blushing and look at the marks on my skin, hahaha!¡±

    Aileen, who had now partially backed behind Eric, stepped out a bit, this time focusing on the inscriptions on his skin.

    ¡°You have heard of auramancers, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Aileen looked up ¡°You¡¯re an auramancer?¡±

    ¡°Aileen, he¡¯s a grand auramancer,¡± Eric replied in Xendus¡¯s stead.

    ¡°Oh.¡± She then just stood there, looking at the runes with a dumbfounded expression. Khes was surprised as well, though everyone else in the room already knew from witnessing the earlier fight.

    ¡°So no, we are not sitting ducks, considering the domain does not apply to aura techniques. And besides, if your brother agrees to help, I¡¯m pretty sure he could hold his own, as well.¡±

    Aileen couldn¡¯t help but smile at that, as she leaned into Eric.

    ¡°So, think you can do it, Reylor?¡± Xendus asked, returning focus back to Reylor.

    ¡°Yes, I can,¡± he said as he handed the scroll back.

    ¡°For Splendor, this debt will be settled with blood¡±

 Chapter 23

    Votran Academy: Headmaster¡¯s Office

    ¡°Keldin, Report!¡±

    ¡°Yes sir! Unfortunately we have still been unable to find them.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Dangit! Give me something to work with!¡± Earlstine said, as he slammed his fist on his desk in frustration. ¡°A whole squad of mine ends up going missing, just like that, and we can¡¯t even find a clue?¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± Another voice echoed as a man rushed into the office. ¡°We found something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°We discovered a fire pit nearby their objective, one that had apparently been used recently.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Earlstine looked up.

    ¡°And that¡¯s not all. We found an anomaly-an area that contained a concentration of a strange type of energy, consistent with our research on the shade. But here¡¯s the interesting thing-all the shade had been annihilated, but it had apparently been done after the squad had left. Furthermore, we found poison on sever cuts on the shad beasts-the kind hemlock uses.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. In reference to some incidents a few years back, it would appear that Hemlock is searching for someone¡­¡±

    ¡°Vwrrr¡±

    A man clothed in black steel armor stepped out.

    ¡°Votran secret service? What are they here for?¡±

    ¡°Alright Keldin, Endel, keep it up. You may go¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡±

    ¡°Clink, clink, clink¡± ¡°Thunk¡± The man walked in, locking the door behind him.

    ¡°Earlstine.¡±

    ¡°Yes? How may I help you?¡±

    ¡°Orvan requests an audience with Reylor and Elany. Escort them securely.¡±

    ¡°I am afraid that will be a bit difficult right now¡­ Their squad has gone missing recently, and we have yet to locate them, though rest assured, we will put forth every effort to find them.¡±

    ¡°Find them soon, or there will be consequences.¡± ¡°Vrrrooop¡±

    The man left through a spatial gate without even waiting for a reply.

    Earlstine sighed. Something is going on¡­

    *** *** ***

    Two days later:

    ¡°Find the most open route to the destination. That¡¯s right. Strengthen the weak channels outside of combat, but only use the strong ones while fighting, if you can help it. Nope, nope, not quite. Yes, that¡¯s it, that¡¯s the right path for this spell.¡±

    ¡°So, are you guys ready?¡± Xendus asked, as he approached the pair of individuals.

    In the past couple of days, Lucy had been instructing Reylor on ways to channel magic more efficiently. His meridians already made him superhuman, but that did not mean he couldn¡¯t improve further. In fact that was probably a necessary lesson before the big event, considering how much magic is necessary to maintain a magical domain.

    Reylor dispersed a ball of water magic, and Lucy dropped her hand off Reylor¡¯s arm as Xendus approached.

    ¡°I think so,¡± Reylor replied, while Lucy nodded her head.

    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ve discussed the rest of the plan with everyone else, so let¡¯s head back and get this show started!¡± Xendus said, clapping his hands together.

    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    *** *** ***

    The royal palace, at the center of the Vilnor Empire:

    Several spatial gates opened at various locations around the palace, and several people walked out. They walked to their respective posts, each wearing a mysterious ring, and thereby melding in with the crowds.

    The proceedings for Orvan¡¯s meeting would be held outside, in the courtyard behind the palace to accommodate the number of people¡ªwhich was great. Several thousand people filled the seats laid out. The ranged anywhere from regional lords to Vilnor Secret Service agents. Of course magic academy headmasters also attended as well. It was a grand occasion.

    Reylor discreetly slipped in, as well as Xendus, Elany, and Eric, using documentation forged through Xendus¡¯s connections.

    Meanwhile, everyone else stayed outside the intended are of the domain, to catch anyone who should try to escape and to repel any reinforcements Orvan might summon.

    Reylor looked over at Xendus. Xendus nodded.

    ¡°Zrrroop¡± an official erected a sound barrier over the convention area.

    ¡°Light of the angels, brought to this world of fate.

    Hear the song, hear the chorus of the light that once was¡­¡±

    Reylor mouthed the words as he slowly chanted words born not from letters, but from a living picture, once printed on the scroll, and now imprinted in his mind.

    ¡°Let the morning end, and the day return to rest.

    ¡°Let the judgment of mortals and end of demons be. Hear the sound of what was lost and return to time immortal.

    ¡°This our song: Angelic Elegy!¡±

    Orvan stood up to speak, as the words flew from the mouth of Reylor with power.

    Orvan''s eyes widened, as Earlstine¡¯s shrank to needles.

    ¡°Zzzt¡± It was as if a shock exploded from Reylor¡¯s position. The ground turned to a golden-white color that was very harsh on the eyes.

    Reylor and Xendus stood up and took off their rings. Elany followed behind them, but left her ring on at this point.

    Seeing who it was, Orvan began to tremble, slumping into his chair. ¡°g-g-guards! Kill them!¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Several people stepped forward and began chanting incantations and making motions. If it weren¡¯t for the seriousness of the situation Earlstine and several educators would have doubled over from laughter. Even in this circumstance, he couldn¡¯t help but give a snort. ¡°They¡¯ve got us good. Our magic is useless, and they have an auramancer.¡±

    ¡°Well played Xendus,¡± Earlstine called out, as he slowly clapped his hands. ¡°I assume that you wanted our attention? Well, you have mine undividedly. We are cornered, and I know it. Yet I have a feeling that you aren¡¯t here to murder us all, though, so tell us: What are you here for?¡±

    ¡°What is going on? Why aren¡¯t you guys doing anything?¡± Orvan asked with a wavering voice.

    ¡°Earlstine is right. I am here for your attention. For the rest who are ignorant of your situation, let me explain,¡± Xendus began. ¡°Right now you are under the effects of the divine domain ¡°Angelic Elegy,¡± hence all non-divine combat magic is now useless. Furthermore, my friend outside of here has also enveloped the area in a spatial lock, so teleportation without a relic will not be possible.

    ¡°So now that you have your most immediate concern answered, I will continue with the pressing matter at hand. I could tell directly what concerns me, but I believe a little show-and-tell will be more effective for this lot.¡±

    Xendus pulled a stone out of a sack he held in his other hand.

    ¡°He knows the elves,¡± a scholar voiced with reverence, after seeing an inscription on the stone.

    ¡°Crunch¡± Xendus crushed the stone. Strange energies immediately dissipated, but then came back together to reveal a faint picture. It was a picture of Orvan sitting in his private office.

    The picture began to change, revealing a silent video.

    ¡°Wh-wha-what is this?¡± Make it stop! Guards, kill him! Why haven¡¯t you moved?¡± None budged. They knew that attacking Xendus at this time would only be a futile waste of their lives.

    The Picture continued moving, showing Orvan walk over to a rug and move it away from a trap door it had been covering. The trap door opened, and a man walked out to converse with Orvan.

    Now the picture was too blurry to make out exactly who this man was, but still, it brought questions to the minds of those present.

    ¡°Everyone, this meeting is over, you are dismissed!¡± Orvan summoned what little courage he had to attempt a salvage of the situation.

    Many people got up and began to heading out.

    ¡°Grrr¡± ¡°Arf, Arf!¡±

    But it was only for them to be met with a legion of shade beasts. Khes had been sent off to the Votran woods earlier and dutifully killed and collected a plethora of shade beasts. After Reylor shuttled the remaining crew to the palace, he set up a semi-permanent spatial gate, which Khes then used to return from the woods of Votran with his hoard. Everyone was here to stay until Xendus could say what he needed to.

    ¡°Now, does anyone know where that entrance leads to?¡±

    No one spoke.

    ¡°Do we have any wind mages here that would like to verify?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go¡± the scholar voiced out.¡±

    ¡°You dare?¡± Orvan squeaked out. By now his face was so pale that it was a wonder he hadn¡¯t fainted yet.

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m a lot more scared of that guy than you right now,¡± the scholar said while motioning to Reylor. When one invoked a domain, their eyes would reflect that, so it was quite obvious that Reylor was the one holding it up.

    ¡°Khes!¡± Xendus shouted, and the shade beasts opened a path into the palace.

    Eric had already undone any enchantments blocking the way, so the scholar entered with ease, and returned shortly with dull look.

    ¡°So? What did you find?¡± Earlstine asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot safely guess where it leads,¡± the scholar said flatly.

    ¡°Well put,¡± Xendus said. ¡°However, I am not afraid to say the truth. The tunnel leads nearby the camp of Hemlock!¡±

    Xendus then pinched various stones in rapid sequence, showing more people coming and going from the tunnel. Some would just talk and then leave. Others would receive documents and currency sacks from Orvan.

    ¡°Lies! He¡¯s framing us! We are in a mind-altering domain!¡± Orvan stood up, his pale face now replaced with red and accompanied with a murderous aura.

    Xendus snapped his fingers and Orvan immediately passed out, falling back into his seat.

    ¡°Even if he has done business with Hemlock, that still does not excuse your insubordination.¡± Earlstine said with a glare.

    ¡°Think of the most extensive actions Hemlock has taken. How many assassinations have taken place or at least been attempted. What has been similar is that in every single case where the person was not extraordinarily rich. What did these people have in common?¡± Xendus asked.

    ¡°They have blood from conquered nations. Think of Helen,¡± Xendus looked directly into Earlstine''s eyes. ¡°She was originally part of the Shildwell Empire. Do you think it is a coincidence that she was the only person in Votran who was ordered to be assassinated by a hand other than yours? ¡°

    Another voice broke their locking gazes. ¡°Who¡¯s the girl? Why are you putting her through this?¡±

    ¡°Tell them.¡± Was all Xendus said, to the girl as a few tears of anger and sadness rolled down her cheek.

    ¡°I¡¯m Elany.¡± She choked out before managing to clear her voice a bit. ¡°My name is Elany, and my home town is, or was, Splendor!¡±

    ¡°Woah.¡± A murmur spread through the crowd.

    ¡°Our town was beautiful. Yeah, there were shades there, but Uncle and Queen protected us. We were a farming village, and I was the assistant to our chief. We lived simple lives, but we were happy just being able to live and love each other.

    ¡°And then one day it all changed. Reylor and I went on a trip to a nearby village for an errand. When we came back, Splendor was gone. Wiped out. There were over 60 people there, and over half of them were women and children, but Vilnor¡­ Vilnor murdered them all!¡±

    ¡°They are gone. Nearly all of them. My friends and my family.¡±

    More murmurs went through the crowd, some of them were quite moved by this point, and were eager to hear what else Xendus had to say. Still, not everyone was convinced.

    ¡°Away with all your mumbo jumbo! So what if that was the case? What right do you have to speak against the royal household?¡± A noble called out from the crowd.

    ¡°Proof? You want more proof?

    ¡°Very well, then. I suspected there would be people here whose hearts had become numb to the cries of your charges. In that case, let us answer you as thus!¡±

    ¡°Queen¡± Xendus called out.

    A woman in white mage robes gracefully walked in, while the shade beasts surrounding the area dispersed. Khes¡¯s service was no longer needed, considering that Xendus had the audience¡¯s attention fully captured at this point.

    ¡°Woah¡± ¡°Is that who I think it is?¡± ¡°Wow, they are in league with her, no wonder they are doing these things!¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s her. I saw the whole incident with my own eyes that day.¡±

    Many things were said as she¡ªthe Crystal Witch¡ªwalked down the aisle to the front.

    A smooth, glassy voice followed. ¡°Do we have a scholar of history in the audience?¡±

    ¡°Many of us know history quite well. Go on.¡± Earlstine said curtly. His mood had become even worse when she entered the area.

    ¡°Can someone tell me what happened at the beginning, how Vilnor became a kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Of course, the race of the Praefecti g-granted the land and resources to begin with, and supported them through their unification of the various cities within the region.¡± Earlstine stuttered upon noticing something. A small knot started forming in his stomach.

    ¡°And what were the conditions of rulership over your fellow man?¡±

    Earlstine wore a blank look. ¡°Conditions? I don¡¯t remember hearing anything about conditions before.¡±

    ¡°They were these.¡± A sagely voice came from an old man in one of the back rows.

    ¡°They were to protect those they ruled over and to live in harmony with the other races around them.¡±

    ¡°Correct. And what would happen if they failed to keep these conditions?¡±

    ¡°The Vilnor bloodline would be cut off.¡±

    ¡°Oooh.¡± Another murmur went through the audience.

    ¡°This is correct.¡±

    ¡°Now, how has Vilnor kept these conditions?¡±

    No one spoke. It was obviously a rhetorical question, seems how Vilnor was out to subjugate every other nation and race; and Vilnor''s tactics to remain in power included atrocious acts against the common populace, including what happened to Splendor.

    ¡°And how did Vilnor treat the Praefecti, who so graciously brought it to rise as a nation?¡±

    ¡°Have you become so dull you don¡¯t even know what happened 40 years ago? How you murdered them in cold blood?¡± Queen asked with an unnaturally sharp voice. She paused for a moment to keep her emotions in check.

    ¡°Well, it does not matter at this point, for the fate of Vilnor had already been set.¡±

    At this point Orvan had reawakened, but this time he shut up and didn¡¯t dare to make anymore of a scene, though his rage was boiling inside of him.

    ¡°With such an elaborate, deceitful, back-stabbing trap, you thought you had killed them all, and were now free of your oath. But you were wrong.¡±

    ¡°My name Queensilvia Praefectus. I am here to avenge my family, and to reclaim the kingdom that is mine by right!¡±

    The final words deviated from her normal soft, cool tone. Instead they carried power like a flood, as a domineering, yet ethereal voice rang out. She discarded her white robe to reveal her true self. White hair cascaded over her shoulders, ending partway down the back of a light-blue sleeveless dress which was trimmed with golden thread and embroidered with mystical shapes. Her eyes glowed with a white color, as did her veins as well. She appeared like a goddess who had descended from the clouds. Everyone was dumbstruck

    With graceful steps, she floated over to the seat of the emperor, Orvan Vilnor.

    And she plunged a dagger into his heart.

 Chapter 24

    The hall was silent. This was simply too much to take in! In just a short moment, the Vilnor Empire had been condemned as an oath-breaker, an entire company of high officials¡ªincluding master magicians¡ªhad been taken captive by just a few people, and of all people a Praefectus had appeared! Not to mention, she literally just walked up and killed the emperor before all the leaders of his whole government.

    Following that, eight people dropped dead, one after another. It was unfortunate, but rulership cannot so easily be changed without blood. These people were close advisors and strong supporters of Orvan. Furthermore, many of them were responsible for the fate of Splendor. The countless innocent deaths had now been avenged at the hand of Xendus.

    Xendus nodded at Reylor, as if to say ¡°that¡¯s enough,¡± and the domain was released.

    ¡°Kill them!¡± Several figures immediately rushed at the group of Xendus, Queen, Reylor, and Elany. Unfortunately, they were all Rank-S at the most, and didn¡¯t last long. Thus the work of rebuilding the government commenced.

    In the span of a few short months, many new changes were enacted. A new palace was erected, and the old one was destroyed after any valuable items and documents were moved to the new palace site. The borders of the Vilnor Empire were redrawn, shrinking the Empire¡¯s territory by a considerable margin, especially from the north and from the southeast. Finally, many rulers were replaced, and many people were either admitted or freed from the prisons.

    All the while, Reylor and company helped out, whether as messengers, work supervisors, guards, or anything else that was needed. Flint also helped out with some of the building construction. Finally, however, things slowed down a bit, and both Queen and Xendus noticed a few of Reylor¡¯s crew growing a bit anxious.

    ¡°Reylor, Elany, Khes, Flint, and Aileen¡ªGo with Xendus. We have something for you to do.¡± Queen spoke in her characteristically smooth, cool voice. Since she no longer wore her hooded robe, they could tell that she definitely was not upset with them, though. She even wore a bit of a warm expression¡ªespecially when looking at Elany. Queen was so beautiful and elegant that all the guys, save for Eric and Xendus, considered how much of a shame it was that she had hidden herself for so long. Nevertheless, they had something to do, so they followed Xendus through a spatial gate.

    ¡°Votran?¡± Elany said questioningly. ¡°Why did you take us back to Votran?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± Xendus said with a smile, as he led them through the gates of the academy, then on to the main auditorium on campus. He then pushed open the heavy wooden doors (effortlessly) and brought them to the start of the center aisle.

    ¡°Umm. What¡¯s going on?¡± Aileen asked. The auditorium was full. The entire school had been summoned for some occasion, and here Xendus just brought them in and stopped in front of the walkway. It was kind of unnerving for her to just stand there, attracting more and more of the gazes of those present.

    ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t that Aileen?¡± ¡°Yeah, she was in one of my classes. There¡¯s Reylor, too. You know him right? The one that gave us that weird energy stuff to study?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Oh, I think that guy¡¯s name was Flint.¡± ¡°Yeah, but do you know who that other girl is? She¡¯s really pretty¡±

    There were many conversations going in hushed tones. No matter what they talked about, there was on question all of them had: what is the purpose of this meeting? Luckily, they didn¡¯t have long to wait.

    ¡°Clap, clap¡±

    At the sound, everyone turned their attention toward Earlstine, who was standing on the stage.

    ¡°Reylor, Elany, Aileen, Khes, and Flint, please come up to the stage.¡±

    At Earlstine¡¯s beckon, they slowly made their way up the middle aisle to the stage, as per Xendus¡¯s instructions.

    The room was still eerily silent, as none save Xendus and Earstine knew what was happening.

    ¡°All rise!¡± Earlstine called out, when the group had made it to the stage.

    The student body rose to their feet.

    For you service to, and at the decree of Her Majesty Queensilvia Praefectus, I elevate Elany, Khes, Aileen and flint to Rank-A as individuals. I elevate Reylor to Class-S+ as an individual.¡±

    ¡°Woah!¡± A murmur rang out.

    ¡°And I elevate your squad rank to Class-S, as well as declaring that you have earned the right to these official diplomas certifying your graduation from Votran Academy. Congratulations, you are now certified as full-fledged mages under the authority of the Votran Academy and the Praefectus Empire!¡±

    The auditorium erupted in applause. As the eyes of Aileen, Elany, and Flint grew big. ¡°We are going to graduate? I thought our opportunity was over! Wow!¡±

    Of course the shiny diploma wasn¡¯t the main thing they were looking forward to, but the prime spells they would be able to pick out from the collection. It was a great day to be alive!

    *** *** ***

    ¡°So, how did you like my little surprise?¡± Queen asked.

    After the festivities and the excruciatingly long time most took to select their prime spells, they had returned to the new palace to meet again before they set off on their next journey.

    ¡°Oh, thank you Miss Queen!¡± Elany cried out, flinging her arms around the wondrous figure before her.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The group one-by-one gave their thanks for what Queen had done for them in granting them full mage rights, and access to Votran¡¯s prime spell vault.

    ¡°Now, I believe you have other matters that must be attended to?¡± Queen stated in a questioning tone.

    ¡°Quite so,¡± Reylor replied. ¡°I for one have my primary mission still in hand¡ªto end the existence of the shade. I must ask, a question, however. I have learned of a place that may very well be at the center of the shade problem. Unfortunately, however, it seems to be quite a distance away, which means we will be traveling for quite some time. Now that we have graduated, it is unnecessary to remain in a squad. So, who wishes to join me, and are there any who would prefer to stay?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not getting rid of me!¡± Elany called out, as she moved from Queen to latch onto Reylor¡¯s arm. Since coming to stay with the Village Elder, she had become a one-person sort. She would have many friends, but there would be one person she would always stick with. In the aftermath of the elder¡¯s death, Reylor had become the one she had chosen.

    Reylor felt his heart become warm. ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t leave you behind,¡± He said, lovingly looking over at her. (AN: this is in a familial sense)

    ¡°You know, you¡¯ve become a lot warmer than you were when we first me,¡± Elany said contentedly.

    Reylor made a slightly confused face.

    ¡°We will come, as well,¡± Eric pronounced. ¡°Our town is on the outskirts of the empire, and so we have had quite a few casualties from the shade. If we can end this menace, our time will be well spent.¡±

    ¡°I think I will stay back. I honestly am not interested in this kind of excitement, plus I think my skill could be best put to work with helping rebuild the Shildwell territories.¡±

    Reylor nodded pleasantly. ¡°Very well.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll go with you guys,¡± Khes said quietly.

    ¡°Good choice!¡± Eric said with a wink and a thumbs-up, immediately causing Khes¡¯s face to turn crimson.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you say that?¡± Aileen asked, tilting her head in confusion.

    ¡°It¡¯s a guy thing, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Eric replied, thereby sending Queen and all the guys in the room in to fits of stifled laughter. Well, except for Khes, of course, who had retreated to the darkest corner he could find in the room.

    ¡°Alright, then. Looks like we are set,¡± Reylor declared, at which, everyone began adjusting their gear and preparing to move out.

    ¡°Not so fast, Reylor. You missed someone.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± He looked around the room. ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone else, and I¡¯m pretty sure Queen and Xendus have their own hands full as is¡­¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Huff, huff, huff.¡± A figure burst through the doors to the room, froze for a moment, and then relaxed a bit after seeing everyone was still there.

    ¡°You¡ªhuff, huff¡ªare not going¡ªhuff¡ªwithout me this time!¡± This person who had their hands on their knees as they were catching their breath, stood up. She was wearing a gorgeous black robe with red accents. Her skin was fine, like ivory. And her eyes¡ªthey blazed like fire. She had ditched on her friends before, and she was not going to leave them again.

    Lucy had felt quite terrible about what she had done at the gates of Votran City, and so now she wanted to show her companions that she was not the ungrateful person she had been, and so she had arranged several leading figures in her territory to cooperate with Queen and Xendus in the reconstruction, so that she could now accompany Reylor on his quest to end the corruption that was the shade. This time, things would be different.

    Reylor, whom Elany had released from her death grip at this point, walked up to Lucy and placed his hand on her shoulder and gazed into her blazing eyes. Lucy flinched a bit but returned the gaze, a teardrop threatening to fall from the side of her eye as she recounted the shame that Reylor had brought her from, and the shame that she felt she had returned in spite of his kindness. Yet what met her was a pair of smiling eyes and two words: ¡°Welcome back.¡±

    *** *** ***

    In an area far to the north and a bit west:

    ¡°Vwerr¡± Reylor and crew stepped out of a permenant spatial gate from the capital to a sight for very sore eyes. The land looked like a waste. There were hardly any plants, and the whole area was littered with tunnels and mountains of dirt. ¡°Where are we?¡± Elany asked to no one in particular. ¡°Is this Dregnest?¡±

    A gate guard replied, ¡°No, missy. This here is far worse than what you¡¯d find there. This is Gruvedrift, an unowned territory rich in minerals, and therefore a mining territory. It does border Gruvedrift, but you¡¯d need to head east for quite the distance to get there. If yer looking for dwarves, you¡¯d find quite a few just a bit to the west, but their not a sight fer your pretty eyes.¡±

    The word ¡°shameless¡± ran through Reylor¡¯s mind, but he just nodded and set off, dragging a bewildered Elany with him.

    Incidentally, west was the direction they need to go. Reylor had reinvestigated the circle of spatial energy from the Votran forest and came to the conclusion that its source was to the very far west. Unfortunately, there was a great sea at the western border of the Vilnor¡ªnow Praefectus¡ªEmpire. It was unknown if any ship had made the voyage to the next shore, and so they had little choice but to head north and the take a land route to the south-west.

    It did not take them long to find what the guard was talking about.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, is this all you got? If you can get more than that, Orvan¡¯s gonna take your nation next week, haha!¡±

    A young man in official Vilnor apparel was berating a group of dwarves that had just brought him the results of their day¡¯s labor, quite the chunk of minerals.

    ¡°Come on! Don¡¯t look at me like that! You¡¯re dwarves, you¡¯re supposed to, ya know, like digging and stuff.¡±

    ¡°We dig because we like to smelt. Not because we feel like supporting you¡­¡±  And angered dwarf started spouting off, but was cut short by one of his companions.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Bold are we? It appears you need a little reminder of your place here.¡± The young dwarf¡¯s eyes grew big in fright. ¡°Elgrin, kill the brute.¡± The soldier shouted to a mage sitting off to the side.

    ¡°Huh? Elgrin?¡± The mage was just sitting there, staring off to the side with a blank look on his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The heeeeeck?¡± He turned to face the direction the mage was staring off to. He wet his pants as he too, started staring with a blank look.

    What met his eyes was a group of six travelers. Well¡ªthat is only if you counted the person who looked like a personal reincarnation of the sun. Lucy was mad.

    ¡°Scum!¡± She screamed. She had experienced real slavery, and this didn¡¯t look much different. Thus her anger was kindled. ¡°Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are working for?¡± She yelled out with passion. ¡°Look, dwarves! And watch as I reap one of the last remnants of the scum of Vilnor!¡±

    Now the dwarves were the ones with blank looks on their faces. They were wondering ¡°Who is this flaming idiot?¡± nevertheless, this person was doing them a favor; and no one felt like doing anything to tick off this ¡°flaming idiot.¡±

    While Lucy commenced her ¡°stress relief¡± activity, Reylor attended to the dwarves.

    ¡°So from what I heard, it appears that you were told you guys have to supply Vilnor with materials, or they would return and take over your nation for real. Is that right?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°Uh, huh¡± One of the dwarves slowly turned his attention from the ¡°Flaming¡ª¡° yeah, you get the picture¡­ Anyways he assented that this indeed was the case.

    ¡°Well, I have a bit of news for you, though it is actually a few months old¡­¡± At this point the rest of the dwarves had managed to take their eyes off Lucy (who was now yelling unseemly things at the young man) and looked at Reylor with a mix of fear and distrust, but also a bit of hope. ¡°What is going on? What is he going to say? Will it be good or bad? I¡¯m so tired of working for these demons.¡±

    What he said was not what any of them were expecting.

    ¡°Orvan is dead. Vilnor has been conquered¡±

 Chapter 25

    The dwarves widened their eyes.

    ¡°What? Is this true?¡± And older-looking dwarf asked.

    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Reylor replied.

    ¡°By who?¡±  The young dwarf questioned, unsure if he should believe his ears.

    ¡°Have you heard of the one Vilnor soldiers call the Crystal Witch?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she was the one that stopped Vilnor''s first attempt to conquer our lands. But does she really have the power to overtake an entire empire?¡± another responded with a bit of incredulity.

    Well, she had a little help¡­¡± Reylor gave a wry smile. ¡°Also, there was one other matter that smoothed things over: she¡¯s a Praefectus.¡±

    ¡°What? Are you serious? I thought they had been all wiped out!¡± The older dwarf exclaimed.

    ¡°That¡¯s what they thought, too,¡± Eric added in with a laugh.

    ¡°By the way, have you seen any shade beasts out here?¡± Reylor spoke up again.

    Silence

    ¡°He means those animals that look kind dark and are really aggressive and strong and weird and stuff.¡± Elany said, noting their confusion.¡±

    ¡°This¡­ I haven¡¯t seen any around here, but I¡¯ve heard mention of something like that, but then again, no one usually travels to the southwest, so there could be something there. OF course, I wouldn¡¯t recommend it though. That place is dangerous.¡±

    ¡°In what way?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°That place is known to us as the dead lands. This is because it is literally a place of death. It contains a host of undead from ancient times. Zombies, skeletons, various beasts, and even dragons can be found there; and the strange thing is that becoming undead does not seem to have decreased their power by much. That fact combined with the sheer quantity of these creatures makes the place the most dangerous location we know of on this continent.¡±

    ¡°Thank you much.  Well we must be off. If you ever meet the empress Queensilvia, give her our regards. I¡¯m Reylor, and these are Elany, Eric, Aileen, and Khes. Also, that one is Rose,¡±

    He said pointing to the fire mage who was currently stomping on a pile of ashes.

    ¡°Reylor, thank you. My name is Derglen, this young one your group saved is Markli, and that one is Tirodial. I appreciate you for letting us know the situation. If you ever find yourself in Derklo, please visit us!¡±

    ¡°Will do,¡± Reylor said with a wave.

    ¡°Lucy! Time to go!¡± Reylor yelled out.

    Lucy froze, looked at Reylor and the rest of the group, and immediately turned red. This was not an act befitting royalty, so she felt quite embarrassed.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± She quietly said while returning to them.

    ¡°Roasted.¡± Khes whispered.

    ¡°In more ways than one.¡± Aileen giggled, leading to a chorus of laughter from Reylor and Eric. ¡°He¡¯s really quiet, but actually kinda funny,¡± Aileen thought. Of course, she kept that to herself, though.

    *** *** ***

    The area was very clear, so with the help of void magic, they were able to make it to the territorial border within a few days.

    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s really creepy.¡± Elany spoke up.

    There was no question about where the territory changed from Gruvedrift to the dead lands. At the edge, there was a line where the scenery changed from light brown dirt with sparse green grass to a land with nothing but black, except for the other ominous colors that painted the undead within, which were plentiful.

    They felt like they were staring at a massive aquarium. At the line, the very air was permeated with a fine black mist, making visibility quite poor. Despite this, it was quite easy to see that this land was teeming with life. Or death. Something of the sort, anyhow; as there were countless undead creatures moving around.

    Aileen and Elany¡¯s faces had apprehension plastered all over them. ¡°Do we really have to go through that?¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to guess what they were thinking.

    In contrast, another member of their group had unwittingly plastered a smile on his face, and his eyes seemed to glow¡ªwith a dark color, but glow nonetheless.

    ¡°Khes, think you can keep these monstrosities off us?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°Mhmm¡± was all he replied.

    Well, let¡¯s go then, Reylor said, stepping through the dividing line.

    Aileen and Elany looked at each other. Aileen put up her barrier and entered with Elany, Eric, and Lucy.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± A mob of undead rushed over from every direction. Flying beasts swooped down from the sky, creatures on the land ran over, and the ground trembled as burrowing creatures rushed up from below.¡±

    ¡°Thump¡± A pressure wave washed over the area, originating from Khes. As soon as it reached the undead, they immediately stopped.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head that way.¡± Khes voiced.

    Reylor nodded and changed his direction.

    ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Aileen asked nervously.

    ¡°A commander. A high-leveled undead. I can only control around 4,000 undead at once right now, but if I collect some commanders I can use them to indirectly control more.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Aileen opened her small mouth in surprise. ¡°4,000? That¡¯s a lot!¡± She totally missed the ¡°only¡± and ¡°right now¡± parts. Nevertheless, she was quite impressed.

    Elany was also impressed. ¡°That¡¯s a lot!¡±

    ¡°Not really. If you include all the bugs, it adds up quite quickly. Right now I don¡¯t have the capacity to control all of them, so I am using an aura to pacify them all. It takes quite a bit of energy though.

    ¡°In order to control an undead, I have to imbue them with some of my soul. It doesn¡¯t take much, but it does add up, and a being only has so much soul to give. On the other hand, a commander does not have to use soul to command beings, so controlling something as small as bugs is a cakewalk, regardless of how many there are.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Elany said, with a pleasant expression.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Aileen made a sound of surprise and a little bit of fear. ¡°The mist is going through the barrier!¡±

    ¡°Try using a domain, instead¡± Reylor said, nonchalantly.

    ¡°Umm. Reylor. I don¡¯t know how to use a domain¡­¡±

    Reylor looked at her over his shoulder. ¡°Hmm. Well have to fix that then. Void Haven!¡±

    A small void domain sprang out from Reylor, at which Khes quickly retreated outside of its area of effect. Also, the black mist immediately dispersed from the area.

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± Lucy asked.

    ¡°Put your hand outside the domain and observe. It should be pretty obvious¡± Reylor directed.

    Following his directions, she did just that. Her eyes widened a bit. ¡°No way! No wonder it leaked through the barrier!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Elany asked.

    ¡°Darkness energy. There is so much darkness aspected magical energy that it has condensed into this mist.¡±

    ¡°Ooooh,¡± Elany and Aileen said in unison. It all made sense now, because the barrier would only block physical elements and activated magic. Since the magical essence was not the result of someone or something casting a spell of any sort, the essence was dormant, and thus the barrier did not block it.

    Nevertheless, it was still potentially harmful, as any person subjected to strong magic they did not have an affinity for was likely to receive adverse effects. There were a few exceptions to this however, including void energy; thus Reylor activated a low-energy void domain to ward off the darkness energy.

    ¡°There it is!¡± Khes shouted out in an uncharacteristically excited voice. ¡°Yep, he definitely is not normal,¡± most of his companions thought.

    Approaching closer, the figure of a gigantic beast began to come into view.

    ¡°So how does this work?¡± Lucy said, glancing at the beast. Most of the group were wondering the same thing, and were preparing themselves for battle. ¡°That thing is huge!¡± ¡°How long is it going to take to gain control of that thing?¡± No one could tell how big it was at this distance, but their best guess is that it was at least comparable to a whale, but likely a whole lot bigger.

    The dragon lifted its bony head to face their group.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Soundwaves assaulted everyone as the beast took to the sky above them.

    ¡°Uh, Khes?¡± Elany called out.

    The dragon flew to an area directly above them. ¡°What¡¯s happening? Are we safe?¡± Elany and Aileen were starting to panic a bit.

    As for Khes? He smiled. ¡°Done.¡±

    Silence

    ¡°Whaaaat?¡± the two shouted in unison.

    Khes was beaming. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m a lich. As long as there isn¡¯t someone else already in control of an undead, it is a simple matter for me to control it, even if it were something five times as powerful as this.¡±

    Reylor and Eric let out wry smiles while Elany and Aileen gawked at Khes¡¯s performance. To be fair, it was pretty impressive, nonetheless.

    Khes and Reylor tensed up and glanced at each other.

    ¡°Link up!¡± Reylor shouted.

    Only Khes and Reylor knew what was happening, but all of them knew one thing: When Reylor said to link up, you better link up, and fast. They wasted not time in doing so, and as soon as they did Reylor teleported them 150 yards to the side.

    ¡°Kaboom!¡± A shockwave erupted from where they had just been as what appeared to be a giant fist left a 70 yard-wide crater from the point of impact.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Eric stated in a bit of a rhetorical manner, at which time Reylor¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    ¡°Reylor?¡± Elany asked. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Silence

    Reylor just kept staring at the fist, which was now slowly disappearing into the sky, as whatever it was connected to raised it back up.

    "Construct," Reylor voiced in an unknown language.

    ¡°Uh, Reylor? Is there something you¡¯ve been keeping from us?¡± Lucy asked, though in more of a questioning way than a demanding one.

    ¡°Stay inside the circle,¡± Reylor said, using a sort of Seldin telekinesis to draw a circle, which he also stepped into.

    He then stretched out his hand, which act was followed by various lines forming below them and forming a dim magic circle. Well, I say ¡°magic¡± circle, but this was actually formed from spatial energy.

    When the final lines were connected, all the lines began to glow fairly brightly, and the line forming the outer circle glowed incredibly brightly, even appearing to shoot into the sky like some kind of beacon.

    ¡°Stay¡­ Inside¡­ Cir¡­¡± Reylor said, passing out before even being able to finish the last word.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure what¡¯s going on, but I have a feeling we should stay inside this circle for some reason,¡± Eric said, scratching his head. The girls all glanced at him as if he had just told the world¡¯s worst pun.

    *** *** ***

    Reylor awoke to find himself laid out on the ground, save for his head on a comfortable pillow. He opened his eyes, as the purple glow of spatial energy filled his eyes.

    ¡°Good morning Reylor,¡± Elany said from his right, noticing some movement.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back with us,¡± Lucy said from a place a bit closer on his left. Ok, make that a lot closer¡ªlike almost right above him.

    He opened his eyes to see a pair of gentle red eyes peering down at him. His mind cleared instantly, and he gracefully, yet swiftly sat up. ¡°Crud, that wasn¡¯t a pillow, those were Lucy¡¯s thighs!¡±

    ¡°Uh, Th-thanks¡± He said, before quickly proceeding to call everyone into a circle.

    Elany and Lucy made eye contact, as they were both thinking ¡°So even Reylor can get flustered!¡±

    Lucy blushed and looked away, while Elany began to wear a big goofy grin.

    While Eric and Aileen amusedly enjoyed the show, Khes took over for Flint¡¯s obliviousness and launched into a question he¡¯d been wondering about.

    ¡°What in the world is this circle?¡±

    Quite content to redirect everyone¡¯s attention, Reylor launched into an explanation. ¡°This is a concealment spell, of sorts. I have quite a bit to explain, and it would do to have this conversation while also trying to run away from that thing.¡±

    ¡°Concealment?¡± Elany asked. ¡°But what about the bright light it¡¯s making?¡±

    ¡°Step outside and take a look. Just keep your bearings and don¡¯t wait too long outside.¡±

    And so Elany did just that. She stepped out side and turned back around to look at the formation, and then her eyes got really big. She stepped back in and proceeded to say ¡°Wow, Reylor, you¡¯re so cool!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Aileen asked.

    ¡°You try it!¡± Elany replied.

    And so Aileen, Eric, Lucy, and Khes all followed suit, though Khes with his undead army already knew fairly well what to expect.

    When one would step out of the formation and then look back, there was nothing. It looked like the formation and everyone inside it did not even exist. Not only did it mess with their sight, but it also concealed their very auras and presences. Khes noted that he couldn¡¯t even sense anyone¡¯s souls! This was nearly a perfect concealment.

    Seeing everyone¡¯s curiosity was satisfied, Reylor launched into his real explanation.

    ¡°That thing you saw strike into the earth is a construct. This one you can think of as a golem of sorts, but it is a lot more dangerous. We can take it down, but it¡¯s not going to be easy. It is nearly impossible to damage with physical attacks, due to what it is made out of, and it has high magical defense. Furthermore, it has a spatial energy shield. I can take care of that, but that means it will be up to the rest of you to bring it down in the meantime.¡±

    Eric raised his hand. ¡°Couldn¡¯t we just run from it?¡±

    ¡°Good question. Unfortunately, I¡¯m pretty sure we will have to take it down if we are to get to where we need to. You see, attacking is not its primary purpose, but a defensive measure. Its primary purpose is to maintain an impenetrable magic barrier¡ªwhich will likely something our objective from us.¡±

    ¡°Reylor,¡± Lucy softly asked, ¡°Did you say it has a shield made from spatial energy?

    ¡°Yes, I did. ¡°

    ¡°Does that mean¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she made an indiscernible expression.

    Reylor¡¯s next sentence went off like a bomb in everyone¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Yes, Lucy. There is another in this world like me¡ªanother Seldin.¡±

 Chapter 26

    ¡°Alright, so how do we take this thing down?¡± Eric asked.

    ¡°First, Elany and Aileen, come over here,¡± Reylor beckoned.

    They approached him. ¡°Put on your concealment rings,¡± he said, taking off his jacket.

    Elany and Aileen looked at him strangely as he did so. He wore a simple white button-up shirt along with black pants, but this was really weird, since not even Elany had ever seen him without his jacket on.

    Notwithstanding their awkward glances, he draped his jacket over the two of them.

    ¡°These constructs will not attack a Seldin unprovoked, so with the combination of your presence concealment rings and my jacket, its simple mind will not perceive you as a threat. That being said, do not attack the construct; but rely on support spells for the rest of us. I am not confident that you two are fast enough to escape its fists, and your barrier will be weaker than straw to it.¡± A sense of solemnity pervaded the area. Everyone knew how strong Aileen¡¯s barrier was, yet it was nothing before this construct.

    ¡°There are nodes on its body that will shoot magical bolts, though, so Aileen¡¯s job will be to help block some of those while the Elany uses support spells on us.

    ¡°Khes and Lucy, you will have to alternate your attacks to get by his switching magical immunity.

    ¡°Eric¡­ Uh, do whatever. Just don¡¯t get hit. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Hall of the saints, holy domain!¡± Elany created a small domain to replace Reylor¡¯s.

    ¡°Shadow Matrix¡± ¡°Shadow Matrix¡±

    Reylor and Khes both activated the darkness movement spell.

    Lucy, on the other hand¡­ Stepped out of the domain and began to chant.

    ¡°Holders of darkness, laying claim to the depths

    Keepers of molten gates, bearing witness to the flames

    Stand to my right and to my left and witness

    Alchemy of flame and shadow,

    Elemental reversal!¡±

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± Concentrated magical energy began flowing toward her, but right as it was about to hit her, something strange happened: It changed into fire-aspected energy! Now the resulting energy was only about 20% as concentrated, but considering how much darkness energy was in the place, this did not matter.¡±

    Her eyes once again began to glow brightly, and her hair seemed to burn with heavenly fire.

    ¡°Shildwell art: Ember matrix!¡±

    Eric shook his head. ¡°No wonder they once ruled an empire. Those people are amazing.¡±

    ¡°This way!¡± Reylor interrupted all the fascinated onlookers and led them to the west, at which point the massive construct came sharply into focus. Everyone looked around themselves in recognition: The construct was hidden within a barrier exactly like the concealment formation Reylor had use¡ªexcept this one was about 130 times as large as the one Reylor had made.

    At the sight of the construct, one could only breathe out in amazement at the sheer size of the thing. It was so bit that it felt like it could decimate an entire town just by laying down.

    The construct immediately began swinging its arms around, as if trying to swat a few flys away. Additionally, bolts of different kinds of magical energy began flying out from various points on the construct¡¯s body.

    ¡°Focus on taking an arm off. The nodes will regrow with time, so only take off as many as you need to in order to work on that arm.¡±

    The work was tedious. Reylor had to exert his full concentration to hold back a spatial barrier. Eric focused on taking off the nodes using enchanted arrows, while Lucy and Khes took turns attacking the construct, slowly chipping away at it. And of course, Elany and Aileen provided support throughout the ordeal. At long last they heard a beautiful sound.

    ¡°Crunch¡± One giant arm was separated from the body and began falling to the ground.

    ¡°Vwrrr¡± Reylor released his grasp on the barrier and opened a portal below the arm, which fell through it.

    ¡°Break!¡± Reylor called out, leading a charge back to the formation he had made earlier.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid it¡¯ll regenerate?¡± Lucy asked along the way.

    ¡°Nope. The nodes will and damaged limbs will too, but constructs are not purely magical entities. That is all to say that if you cut of an entire limb it will not be able to regrow it. Now if the cut off limb is nearby, the construct can reattach it, but I teleported it to a place out of reach. That being the case, it makes sense for us to take a break, rest up, and hit it again. We don¡¯t want to get exhausted and slip up¡ªone hit from that will kill us instantly.¡±Stolen story; please report.

    It was late anyways, so when the got back to the area they lit a campfire, and sat around it while Elany cooked up a simple meal for them.

    Everyone ate in silence. It may have sounded like a simple matter¡ªjust hit the arm section over and over with different elements, but it was incredibly taxing. Not only did the strikes need to be very powerful to leave anything more than a scratch, but they had to executed these strikes while also dodging the construct¡¯s flailing hands and whatever elemental bolts made it past Eric and Aileen, who themselves were hard put to their tasks.

    ¡°Were going to sleep,¡± Elany said after she and Aileen managed to set up a tent. ¡°Have a good night,¡± Eric replied, looking up from the arrows he was fletching. Reylor also waved from were he was lying on the ground next to the fire pit.

    Meanwhile, Khes sat on a piece of ground just outside of Reylor¡¯s reactivated void domain and commenced some sort of exercise using the abundant dark energy. Eric returned to replenishing his stock of arrows.

    ¡°Reylor,¡± Lucy said in a soft voice as she sat in front of the fire. Do you think we will have to fight that other person who is like you?¡±

    ¡°Probably. I¡¯m pretty sure that he is the one who created the shade, and so our ideals will not likely align. He has defied the Seldin¡¯s code of conduct, while also going against karma. If he exists, there will likely always be shade beasts.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think he is doing this?¡± She asked, turning to face him.

    Reylor again answered. ¡°For fun, probably. He probably got sent here the same as me, and so didn¡¯t know what to do. The hall obviously didn¡¯t work how it was supposed to, and so he probably gave up on the Seldin way and chose to experience the life of a villain.¡±

    ¡°The hall? You ¡®got¡¯ here?¡± She said, tilting her head inquisitively. ¡°Could you¡­ tell me a bit about where you came from?¡±

    Silence

    Reylor let out a sigh. ¡°I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt. What do you know about this world¡ªhow it began, what controls things that happen on it, and what happens when people die?¡±

    ¡°Umm. I never thought about that much before.¡± Lucy looked to the side absent-mindedly. ¡°I guess I just thought that the gods made the world and the people in it, and then those people bore other people, so on and so forth. And when people die¡­ They just die?¡± She looked back at Reylor inquisitively, like a student to their teacher, but with an extra touch of gracefulness.

    ¡°You would be right about the first part- the gods did create this particular world, and the first people in it. Also, it is true that sometimes new souls come into existence when people are born.¡±

    ¡°Only sometimes?¡± Lucy tilted her head.

    ¡°Only sometimes. When a typical person dies, that is not the end. At that time, their soul leaves their flesh and is moved to the Spatial Hall. This is where I come from.

    ¡°Growing weary of maintaining the Universe, the gods appointed caretakers, the Seldins, to work in their stead. We have been invested with the power to control all forms of matter and to manage souls. Hence when a person dies, their soul is sent to us. We look into their past and evaluate their karma. Those with high levels of karma are sent through a soul gate to reincarnate into a world which we believe would be fitting for them. Those with fairly neutral karma are also reincarnated, but less care is taken as to where they are sent. For those with negative karma, they are sent through the gate of death, and cease to exist. Seldins administer the final reward or punishment of karma.¡±

    ¡°Woah.¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes grew big. ¡°But then¡­ why are you taking us with you? If you can do all that, wouldn¡¯t we just be extra weight?¡±

    Reylor turned from the fire to face her, looking into her eyes and smiling gently. ¡°There are a few reasons. First off, even if I didn¡¯t need you, I like you guys. The Spatial Hall was extremely boring. It is a stoic world. You who live in the worlds are lively and interesting.¡±

    Lucy lightly scrunched her shoulders in embarrassment, but at the same time, she found she was unable to look away from those deep azure eyes, which simultaneously felt black as night. They were practically bewitching.

    ¡°That being said, there are other reasons.¡± Reylor returned his gaze to the fire, having noticed her nigh captive look.

    ¡°Our powers rely on spatial energy.¡± He formed a dark ball of energy into his hand, dispersing it immediately after. ¡°In the Spatial hall, spatial energy is far denser than even the darkness energy in this place. On Aretor, there is not much, and so I cannot make full use of my abilities here, and so I can really use your help. The final reason is karma. Despite leaving the Spatial Hall, I have not abandoned my duty as a custodian of the karmic cycle. Hence, I am bound to help the mortal¡ªI mean¡ªinhabitants of this world.¡±

    Lucy stifled a giggle thinking about how he had to change from looking at everyone as mortals to seeing them as peers.

    Reylor was silent but groaned inside.

    ¡°So why did you come here?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone wouldn¡¯t willingly leave a place they are comfortable with without reason.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ That will be a topic for another time,¡± he said with another light smile, but she could tell this smile was only from his mouth, and not his eyes.

    ¡°Ok.¡± She said simply. ¡°Good night.¡± She gave him a quick hug and trotted off to set up her own tent.

    ¡°Got a looker,¡± Eric called out after Lucy was out of earshot.

    Reylor grunted as Eric unfurled a bedroll. ¡°Me? A looker? I¡¯m a Seldin¡­ Are Seldins even supposed to have romantic feelings? Isn¡¯t that forbidden for some reason or other? Argh. Let¡¯s not think about that. I don¡¯t I¡¯ll even survive long enough for that to matter¡­¡±

    The next two days were pretty much the same. After the morning routine, they fought the construct until they could destroy an appendage. On the third day, they even able to take off both legs, since they no longer had to worry about being crushed by the construct¡¯s arms and fists. Also, the construct was not very quick on its feet, as fast movements would weaken its connection to the remote barrier it was supporting.

    ¡°Thud¡± The construct fell to the ground as its last leg was destroyed.

    ¡°Aileen, cover me!¡± Reylor called out, rushing to the constructs body. He was soon enveloped with a barrier, protecting him from the remaining bombardment of magical bolts.

    ¡°Aetheric Art: Awaken!¡±

    The constuct¡¯s body lit up as glowing lines appeared all over it.

    ¡°Aetheric Art: Spatial Corrosion!¡± Elany, Lucy, and Khes all let out gasps as they watched a tunnel formed in its chest, tearing through the immensely hard material to dust.

    Reylor reached his hand into the hole, bringing a crystal out.

    ¡°Break!¡± The crystal shattered.

    ¡°Release!¡± The glowing lines on the construct faded away.

    Reylor turned to his exhausted companions with a smile.

    ¡°We have won.¡±

    *** *** ***

    In a dark castle on an Island to the far west:

    A man with fine features and black hair, wearing a black coat trimmed with gold sat on an old throne with an absent look in his eyes. Suddenly he stood up as a look of fear flitted across his eyes. He clutched his chest as he breathed heavily. He slowly released his hand as his breathing gradually became more regular. His eyes narrowed and he sat back down with a regal posture. ¡°It would seem I am not alone¡­¡±

 Chapter 27

    ¡°Thanks for the food!¡± Everyone said.

    Everyone went back to their original shelter area, in case the construct¡¯s maker decided to look at the area where his construct had been destroyed. After all had a good night of sleep, Elany cooked up a sort of victory feast for their victory over the construct.

    The party packed up after breakfast and prepared to get going.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Elany practically shouted.

    ¡°Let¡¯s!¡± Eric agreed, not minding Khes¡¯s unhappy expression

    ¡°bump¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so glum. You can always come back later.¡± Aileen said after lightly punching him in the shoulder.

    ¡°Mhmm.¡± Khes replied as his expression turned into a shy sort of smile.

    With the construct out of the way and with Khes and his dragon keeping all the undead at bay, they began moving quickly.

    A day passed. In the evening when Elany and Aileen got to sleepy, Reylor and Eric gave them piggy-back rides, each respectively. Of course, neither Reylor nor Khes needed sleep, and Eric said it would only be a minor discomfort to miss a few nights of sleep; so they continued on day and night, stopping only for meals and once every few nights for Eric. The Darkness energy gradually began to thin out, which told everyone that they were finally nearing the end of the region.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Ahh, fresh air at last!¡±

    ¡°I agree, Elany. It¡¯s nice to be out¡± Eric said

    ¡°But it¡¯s so cold!¡± Aileen exclaimed.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯ll get used to it. All of us have enchanted gear, so no worries about survival.¡±

    ¡°But it still feels cold¡­¡±

    ¡°Phoenix skin, stage 1!¡±

    ¡°Ahh, so warm! Thank you Lucy!¡±

    Stepping out of the region, the five were met with a gust of cold air and a blinding landscape. It was a tundra of sorts concocted from a surplus of ambient ice magic, or maybe the abundance of ice magic was because the place was cold¡ªno one really knew. Either way it was quite cold.

    ¡°Well, would you look at that?¡±

    ¡°What is it, Reylor?¡± Elany asked.

    I can already see a settlement.

    ¡°Oh, nice. Maybe that means we can sleep in an actual building this time!¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Reylor flashed a smile.

    ¡°Roooar!¡±

    ¡°Bye Sarah¡±

    ¡°Sara? She had a name?¡± Aileen asked Khes.

    ¡°No, I gave that one to her. It wouldn¡¯t be right to call one of my commanders by ¡®hey you, you with the big wings and stuff¡¯¡±

    *snicker*

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just respecting the ones who have helped me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re weird¡± Aileen gave his shoulder a light push.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Khes shot a glance her way, but wore a light smile.

    A short while later they neared the town gates.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Lucy asked, extinguishing her flames.

    They approached the gate, which had been opened just a while before, but this wasn¡¯t the strange thing. There were two rows of people, one on either side of the gate, forming a path to an elderly man at the end. The people who formed the rows consisted almost entirely of women, children, and old men. Furthermore, they were all bowing on their knees with their faces to the icy ground, save for the old man at the end.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Elany asked Reylor.

    ¡°Aileen, prepare to put up your barrier in case anything weird happens. Other than that, let¡¯s see what they have to say.¡±

    They walked through the path created by the prostrated villagers. When they came to the end, the old man bowed as far as his old bones would let him and spoke.

    ¡°Please good sirs, help us! We saw from afar that you are mages, and to have come from that place of darkness and terror, you must be powerful, therefore please, PLEASE help us! Help us!¡±

    ¡°What is the issue?¡± Reylor calmly asked.

    ¡°The beasts have attacked us! They are terrible monstrosities that can regenerate themselves, if even their head is cut off! They cannot be defeated by ordinary means, but we are but ordinary people, and we do not have that much strength. Usually there are only one or two that come at a time, but something has changed, and they are attacking our sister city directly! If you do not help us, they will fall, and after them, us! So please, please help us!¡±

    ¡°The shade,¡± Reylor whispered under his breath, to which Lucy nodded.

    ¡°Where is this other city?¡±

    ¡°Directly to the South. The road should take you directly there.¡±

    ¡°No need¡± Reylor said.

    ¡°Void sight¡± ¡°Location marked¡±

    ¡°Open!¡±

    ¡°Vwerr¡± A spatial gate opened, and they rushed through, leaving a dumbfounded town head behind.

    ¡°Vwerrooorr¡± They stepped out to see a city, far larger than the one they came from. Reylor had teleported them to the front of the city, so they also stepped out to a scene¡ªof carnage. The steel of weapons rang against the solid claws of wolves and Ice bears, as they were known in that area. The cries of myriad wounded called out for help, as they mixed with shouts of pain from those who were still standing.

    The warriors of the city numbered in the hundreds, but the hoard of shade beasts numbered in the ten thousands. It would have been a losing battle to begin with, but since the bodies had to be brought to the fire to be burnt, things were all the more grim.

    ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Mages?¡± ¡°A-a-a-are y-y-you fr-r-riendl-ly?¡± The terror stricken guard asked.¡±

    ¡°Yes we are. This here is Elany; she is a holy mage, so bring her to where you keep your wounded. Treat her well.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Uh, y-y-yes s-sir!¡±

    ¡°Aileen, help the field medics and transports. Eric, Lucy, Khes¡ªit¡¯s time to hunt¡±

    ¡°Ember Matrix¡±

    ¡°Infernal fires, wall of hell, tier six IGNITE!¡±

    ¡°Kabam!¡±

    It was as if a curtain of pure red arose, sectioning off most of the shade from the warriors, granting them time to deal with the enemies at hand.

    ¡°Light of the moon, shine of the stars, enchant!¡± Eric dashed around the battlefield, enchanting the weapons of any warriors who had a moment to breath. Also adding the message ¡°Don¡¯t slice their heads¡ªstab them.¡± Why was this? Of course because a headless creature was of little use to a certain dark mage¡­

    ¡°Clunk¡± A shade wolf slammed against Aileen¡¯s barrier ¡°Keep moving! They¡¯re not going to get through my barrier and we need to save all we can!¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± several men replied.

    Reylor had instructed them all to keep the shade busy, and buy him some time. Meanwhile, he began collecting mana, using a technique called overfilling. For a short time, one could increase the capacity of their mana core by ten or even twenty times by compacting the mana within. This could not be held for long, and if it wasn¡¯t released instantly the mage would likely die from the force wanting to be released, but in some instances this could be used to utilize extremely powerful spells.

    ¡°Roar!¡± an ice bear rose up from the ground, this time with completely black fur but empty eyes. It began moving among the battle field, shredding wolves one by one. Of course this wasn¡¯t the only instance like it¡ªthere were other ice bears and many more wolves, as well, laying waste to the shade hoard on this side of the barrier.

    Meanwhile, from the other side of the wall of fire, words echoed over the whole battlefield in an ancient tongue.

    ¡°From the aether we came and to the aether we return.

    The existence which once was will not be forever.

    The cries of life shall be silenced, the light fade from their eyes.

    I call out to all yet to none.

    Let silence fill the earth.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± A warrior shivered, and he was not alone. Every intelligent life form within one hundred miles of Reylor paused as they felt a chill run through their bones.

    The wall of fire also began to die down, as Lucy severed her connection with the wall of flame, with eyes filled with fear. She knew the cause was Reylor, and so she shouldn¡¯t be afraid, yet¡­ There was something terrifying about to happen.

    ¡°Let life be death, and death give not way.

    Hearken to me gods of the abyss, and make records,

    For the lost are many and the saved are few,

    As the end draws nigh.

    Arcane Art: Void Decimation.¡±

    Silence. It felt as if time had frozen, yet everyone could still think. The region was completely dried of its ambient mana¡ªso much so that the very temperature seemed to rise by a few degrees, but that was just to be replaced by another chilling sensation, as strange winds seemed to snake their way through the encampment, locking on to various targets as if the winds had their own consciousness.

    Still, Reylor alone was able to move or even speak.

    The winds died down and the space was still again¡ªeverything seemingly frozen.

    ¡°Release.¡±

    ¡°Thump¡± ¡°Cough, cough¡±

    Each man felt a pulse run through their very souls, while Reylor dropped onto a knee and coughed out a bit of blood.

    ¡°Reylor?¡± Lucy slowly asked. ¡°What was that?¡± She still spoke slowly, with little emotion as she struggled to pull herself out of a daze.

    He motioned to the battlefield, which she looked out at.

    She couldn¡¯t bring herself to say another word.

    The shade¡ªbears, wolves, and anything else unlucky enough to be added to the army were literally disintegrating before her very eyes. No, that was not merely dissolution; this was complete and entire destruction. Not even an ounce of residue would be left as the very matter they were made of literally returned to pure aether.

    ¡°Reylor!¡± Elany ran out of the city in a panic ¡°What just¡­ Happened¡­¡± Her words also slowed down as she saw, though struggled to grasp what was before her. Not a single shade was left. Not a single pelt or a stain of blood from those recently slain remained. Having seen what state the battlefield was in before, she was left with a sense of awe.

    ¡°Hak, cough¡±

    ¡°Reylor!¡± She quickly made her way through the dumbstruck crowd and the now open field to where he was.

    ¡°Lay back!¡± She commanded, to which he complied.

    ¡°Light of the saints and oath of the heavens, greater restoration!¡±

    A warm light enveloped his body and was slowly absorbed.

    ¡°Chink!¡± Reylor managed to switch to his spatial energy core and circulate the paltry amount that remained.

    He stood up, though unsteadily.

    ¡°What the heck were you thinking!¡± Lucy scolded. ¡°Given enough time we could have taken out the rest together without such consequences!¡±

    ¡°I. Wasn¡¯t going. To. But¡­¡± He pointed in a direction to the southwest. ¡°Prae¡­ Pref.¡± His head started spinning, and both Elany and Lucy move to catch him before he fell.

    ¡°Pray? Pref? Wait¡­ Are you trying to say there are Praefectii out there?¡± Elany guessed.

    Reylor nodded his head. ¡°Go, take¡­ me.¡± He paused to catch his breath again.

    ¡°Hang on, take a moment we have time,¡± Lucy spoke. ¡°Huh? WOAH! Ok, ok, we¡¯ll take you over there.¡±

    At mention of waiting, Reylor¡¯s deep blue eyes turned completely black, except for red slits, like a cat¡¯s, but terrifying. At her relent, Reylor¡¯s eyes relaxed back to normal as he hung on to Elany and Lucy¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Eric, Aileen, Khes, Get over here!¡± Lucy called out.

    Broken out of their stupor by Lucy¡¯s call they rushed over.

    There are Praefectii in that direction, and for some reason Reylor seems to think it¡¯s urgent that we get over there quickly, so let¡¯s go!¡±

    Eric went over and picked Reylor up. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he echoed back, and he started to run.

    A few miles later¡ª

    ¡°Oh my word. I understand now.¡±

    There it was¡ªthe last thing any of them wanted to see.

    Another construct.

    The strange thing was that it was on its side, with runic lines flashing all over it, signaling that it was full of magical energy, but something was not working.

    And then they saw the next shocking development. Not too far from where it had fallen was a building, apparent a target of the construct. Once they adjusted their eyes, they noticed another thing¡ªpeople. A group of eight or so people with snow-white hair and veins that also emitted a white glow.

    Surrounding the construct were glassy splinters¡ªevidence of their futile attempts against it.

    ¡°Four¡­ Teen. Minutes¡±

    ¡°You are saying it¡¯ll be back up in fourteen minutes?¡± Eric asked

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Fourteen minutes, guys. Let¡¯s get going!¡±

    They ran up to the construct, placing Reylor by its head, as they had seen him dance around it in the previous fight.

    ¡°Anyone have an extra sword?¡± Lucy asked.

    After a moment of silence Reylor pointed to his own longsword.

    ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped,¡± she said before drawing his sword.

    ¡°You guys work on that arm, while¡­¡± Reylor shook his head and crawled onto its chest and pointed to an area and motioned for Elany to come over. ¡°Me?¡± she asked pointing to herself

    ¡°Heal¡± he replied, pointing to the area

    ¡°Heal!¡± Elan cried out, as a soft white glow emanated at that point and Reylor put his ear to the construct¡¯s chest.

    He crawled over to a different part.

    ¡°Heal!¡±

    *point*

    ¡°Heal!¡±

    *point*

    Finally after about five rounds of this, he moved to a point at the construct¡¯s lower left abdomen.

    ¡°Crystal¡± he said, pointing, before staggering back to the constructs head and placing his hand on it.

    The construct immediately changed from a dark purple to an almost blueish color.

    ¡°Well, then. Here goes nothing¡± Lucy muttered.

    She picked up Reylor¡¯s longsword and held it with the tip pointing down at the spot Reylor had pointed out.

    ¡°Get back, and Aileen, protect Reylor¡± Lucy almost growled.

    Aileen nodded and went over to where Reylor was, making a barrier just big enough to envelop both of them.

    ¡°Phoenix skin, Tier 6¡±

    ¡°Whoosh!¡± Her body was enveloped with an armament of fire, burning extremely hot and so bright that everyone who was able doubled their distance from her.

    ¡°Wrath of hell and rivers of hate, course through my veins

    Grant me the fire of cleansing and the filth of blood.

    Shildwell Art: Sword of Cremation. Tier 7.¡±

    ¡°Woah, get back!¡± Eric yelled, practically dragging Elany and Khes back.

    Reylor¡¯s sword disintegrated in Lucy¡¯s hands, leaving a pure fire elemental sword behind. It was so hot that one literally could not see it, but could tell where it was only by how it distorted their vision. At this point Lucy¡¯s hair turned semi translucent as well, and her eyes turned completely white. She looked like an enraged goddess come to take vengeance on the world, though that was not the case.

    Aileen Closed her eyes, focusing all she had on holding the barrier up, as it threatened to crack for merely being within twenty yards of it.

    Lucy slowly lowered the sword down, piercing that insanely hard construct smoothly.

    ¡°Cr. Crr.¡± Aileen¡¯s barrier began to crack

    ¡°Sh-sh-sh-shink¡± At the last moment a wave of crystal seemed to condense just in front of her, giving enough reprieve for the barrier to mend itself. The mass of crystal kept melting but was replaced just as quickly, as the Praefectii fought to keep them both alive.

    The sword kept descending, until¡ª

    ¡°Bam!¡± The crystal inside the construct exploded.

    Lucy let go of the flaming sword, and it immediately dispersed. She then recalled her phoenix skin. Her eyes turned to their dark red, and her hair stopped glowing. And she fainted. Aileen released her barrier and passed out, as well.

    The Praefectii rushed over to pick up Lucy and Aileen, as well as escort Reylor. Khes, Eric, and Elany followed as they were brought into the white building, where they found more Praefectii. Not just one or two, but over twenty Praefectii, lying on beds, apparently in comatose states. Had they been any later, there would have been carnage, as the few who were lucid would not have had nearly enough time to evacuate anyone, and then they would likely have just ended up as shade food.

 Chapter 28

    After a night of sleep, Reylor recovered enough to think normally. Aileen also woke up after a night, but acted a little¡­ drunk? After ensuring that she was alright, Eric had fun teasing her. Isn¡¯t that what brothers are for?

    Anyways, Lucy was out for three whole days. Using a tier 7 prime spell takes an enormous amount of mana, and in order to stay alive in the midst of her own prime spell, she had to use the 6<sup>th</sup> tier of her phoenix skin spell. Mana exhaustion laid her out for quite some time.

    After convincing the Praefectii that he knew Queen and was indeed a friend of hers, Reylor was able to get a better understanding of them¡ªthat is, why they were there when they shouldn¡¯t be alive anymore. As for the comatose Praefectii, that was normal. Praefectii could each live for up to 3000 years, but after living for a hundred years, or so, they would need to sleep for about 200. Strange, but that¡¯s how it worked.

    But the real question was, ¡°Why are there Praefectii here at all in the first place?¡± The answer to which was that everyone had miscalculate the population of the Praefectii. Votran was able to simultaneously launch many surprise attacks killing most of the Praefectii who were up and about. At their safe house, they were alerted of the attacks, so they opened the spatial gate installed in their safe house and entered in random coordinates. The people awake in the safe house then began transporting the sleeping Praefectii out to the place they were now. Votran knew about this safe house, but it took them awhile to break through the defenses. The imperial forces were eventually able to reduce the place to rubble, wiping out the majority there, but many sleeping ones had already been transported to this area, and a few of the transporters were still on the end-side of the gate when the destruction closed it. There were so many losses that everyone had assumed that no one survived.

    Queen was in the Otium territories when this all happened, and somehow escaped detection. Now you may be asking, ¡°If the Praefectii were so powerful, why didn¡¯t they just wipe Votran''s armies out?¡± The reason is that not all the Praefectii were that powerful. Queen was an exception, in that she was one of the older ones at over 2000 years old, not to mention she was one of the ones most driven to train her war arts. There were other older and even more powerful than her, but they were all either assassinated by shrewd trickery, or they were asleep at the time of the attack.

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Lucy made a grunt as she sat up.

    ¡°Easy there¡± Reylor placed a hand on her back as she shivered from her fatigue. ¡°Hmm? Oooh. Reeeylorrr,¡± She said with a weak smile and let herself lean back into his hand.

    ¡°Umm, miss, please take some of this! It is good for you.¡± A beautiful young girl with glowing white veins held a warm bowl of broth up to Lucy.

    ¡°Queen?¡± Lucy tilted her head ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Queen?¡± The girl asked back, also tilting her head, as if to mimic Lucy¡¯s actions.

    ¡°She thinks you¡¯re Queensilvia,¡± Reylor commented.

    ¡°Ooh, Queensilvia,¡± The little girl beamed adorably. ¡°I¡¯m not Queensilvia, but I know her! My name is Chayliel. Oh, but I got sidetra-sidetu, side¡ªsidetracked! Here eat this! Ariuk says it will help you get better.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± And with that Lucy accepted the bowl of broth that was practically shoved into her face by the cute little girl.

    ¡°Queen?¡± Lucy tilted her head the other way.

    ¡°Hahaha, give it a rest Lucy. You¡¯ll understand after a day or two.¡±

    ¡°Mmm.¡± Lucy finished the bowl and Reylor laid her back down on the bed. She quickly fell back into a peaceful sleep.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°Darn you Seldin scum! I have no clue who you are, but when I find you I will KILL YOU!¡± The man in the old castle got up from his throne and began pacing around the room. ¡°It took me YEARS to build those constructs, and you just had to pass by and meddle in my affairs. Both of them. BOTH of them are gone. I knew I should have put the other one on a different continent. Grr. And I had just sent that new one to its station. Couldn¡¯t you have waited even a day before slaughtering it?A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Actually¡­ how did you even kill those things? It should have taken at least two of you, and the gods know there shouldn¡¯t be two Seldins appearing within half a millennium! Tch. Fine, then. Come and get me. I¡¯ll even let you know where I am. The gods know it would only be a matter of time until you found me. Better to get it over with sooner than later.¡±

    ¡°Sigh. I guess you probably wiped out my shade legion over there too, didn¡¯t you? Ahh, My life.¡± And with that he flopped back onto the throne and casually cast a spatial skill.

    *** *** ***

    ¡°You are so cute!¡± ¡°Giggle¡± ¡°See the coin? Oops! It disappeared! Where did it go? Is it on the floor? Or is it¡­ in you hair? Or is it¡­¡±

    They stayed with their Praefectii friends for a few more days, allowing Lucy to recover and giving Elany and Aileen time to play with the ¡°little Queens.¡± Eric and Khes kept quiet most of the time, mulling over the experience they had just gone through while leaving Reylor to keep Lucy company. This must have been a coincidence, right? Right?

    Anyhow, during their stay the Praefectii fed them well, in addition to the showers of thanks given by both sides to each other. Truthfully, without both Reylor¡¯s crew and the group of Praefectii, people would have died, so both sides had reason to be thankful to each other.

    ¡°Hey Reylor. Uh, Reylor? Are you¡­ Ok, so that¡¯s¡­ not normal.¡± Eric voiced. Khes and Lucy both turned to face Reylor, and there was one thing that stood out. His eyes were glowing purple.

    ¡°What do we do?¡±

    ¡°Just wait, I guess.¡± Just as Eric finished saying that, the purple faded from Reylor¡¯s eyes. Reylor turned and slowly sat down with an impassive look on his face.

    ¡°Oi, Reylor, are you ok?¡± Eric asked. ¡°Your eyes turned purple, and¡­ you don¡¯t look too good.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯m alright. That was a message.¡±

    ¡°A message? Oh, you mean from the other Seldin person?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°That bad?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well, if you want to talk about it, let us know.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll tell you guys. Just give me a little bit to process.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Take your time.¡±

    Reylor sat in silence. ¡°Do I really have to do this? He¡¯s a Seldin! But¡­ He no longer follows what is right and brings harm to others. I don¡¯t want to do this. I don¡¯t want to do this! But¡­ If not me, then who? The other¡¯s though¡­ If I don¡¯t survive, then what of Elany? But it¡¯s my duty¡­ Impossible. There is now way¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡± A warm arm stretched across his back. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lucy softly asked.

    Reylor took a deep breath, and lifted his head up a bit. ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯m going to have to do. And no one is going to like it.¡±

    ¡°Does it have to do with the other Seldin?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s no good. He has become corrupt.¡±

    Silence

    ¡°And does that mean you have to kill him?¡±

    Reylor nodded, still with a blank look in his eyes.

    ¡°So what do you mean by not everyone is going to like it?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ Ahh.¡± Reylor let out another breath. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not sure you¡¯ll be able to do it?¡± She prodded, gently rubbing his back.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. I¡¯m sure I can do it¡­ but¡­¡±

    ¡°Lucy¡¯s eyes widened a little you¡­ you don¡¯t think you¡¯ll¡­ survive?¡±

    Reylor silently nodded.

    More silence

    Yeah. We wouldn¡¯t like it. Lucy whispered, with a slightly quivering voice.

    Another sigh. ¡°Well. I guess I should¡­¡±

    ¡°Woosh¡± Lucy buried her face in his coat, holding on to him tightly. ¡°And there isn¡¯t another way?¡± ¡°No. with the amount of energy he has been collecting, it would be child¡¯s play for him to wipe out all life on this planet, and if we keep getting in his way that will be inevitable. I know how to judge a character, and that is the kind he has. That is the way it will be.¡±

    Silence.

    Reylor pulled her in closer, gently stroking her hair as she trembled in his arms.

    ¡°Lucy? Reylor?¡± Elany walked over, noticing something looked off.

    Eric put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her for a moment. He hadn¡¯t been trying to listen in, but with his sharp senses, he had unwittingly heard enough to know what was about to go down.

    Elany looked up at him. ¡°Why do you all look so sad?¡±

    Aileen soon followed behind Elany and Khes joined in too.

    ¡°Reylor looked up with eyes half lifeless, half determined. I guess there isn¡¯t going to be a good time to say this, so I¡¯ll get it over with now. The man who orchestrated the creation of the shade and of the constructs is beyond change. He must die. Only a Seldin can kill a Seldin, aside from a god, and the gods don¡¯t usually meddle in affairs with individual Seldins. I have to be the one.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°And when two Seldins fight, usually none survive.¡±

    Silence.

    ¡°Reylor. Do you really have to do this?¡± Elany¡¯s eyes began to water.

    ¡°The shade is nothing.¡± Reylor replied. ¡°This man is beyond change. He has already filled his hands with innocent blood, and if no one stands up to him things are only going to get worse. With such an intelligent mind, he is capable of unthinkable atrocities, and he has already started down that path. I cannot close my eyes to the suffering and the impending calamity of this world.¡±

    Her eyes turned blank for a moment, but then focused again as a tear trickled down her cheek and she threw her arms around Reylor and Lucy. ¡°Ok. I understand,¡± she said.

    But unbeknownst to the others:

    ¡°Maybe, just maybe it was for this reason¡­¡± She thought. And with her face hidden from the rest, her eyes sharpened with resolve, and her mouth turned into a depressed but somewhat terrifying smile. ¡°I won¡¯t be the one left alone this time.¡±

 Chapter 29

    ¡°Vwerr¡± Reylor opened a spatial gate to an island nearby. The other Seldin had given him the coordinates, which Reylor verified before preparing to go.

    ¡°Vrrruump¡± The space gate close as they exited.

    ¡°Grrr¡± ¡°Shing!¡±

    They we met with a welcoming party. Shade. A hoard of shade beasts came pouring out of the barren forest before them.

    ¡°Shadow slash!¡± ¡°Magma domain!¡± ¡°Light Bolt!¡± ¡°Void Suppression!¡±

    Everyone executed skills, one after another. Now that they didn¡¯t have to worry about protecting anyone, they decided it would be best to use less intense spell, so as to be able to recover more quickly after the fight.

    And so they fought. They slowly walked forward, slaughtering shade beasts like mosquitoes, or rather, roasting them like bags of marshmallows, was Lucy¡¯s domain that was doing most of the work since most other skills couldn¡¯t actually kill a shade beast.

    ¡°How many of these things are there?¡± Khes asked, echoing the thoughts of the rest.

    ¡°See that boundary line out there?¡± Reylor pointed. ¡°For now we just need to get over there, then we can take a breather.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ Isn¡¯t that like the circle at Votran¡¯s forest?¡± Elany asked.

    ¡°Yes, that is a field of spatial energy. Once we get there I¡¯ll be able to take care of most of them.¡±

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll keep going.¡±

    ¡°Shing! Shing!¡± ¡°Sizzle Sizzle¡± ¡°Shoof, Shoof¡± ¡°Thunk¡±

    Another Shade beheaded, another shade cremated, another step forward. Another step forward. Hour after painstaking hour they continued against the unending river of shade beasts, until finally¡­

    ¡°We are here!¡± Lucy cried out. Despite having a massive mana pool, maintaining a barrier for hours was not an easy feat, and she was nearing her limit.

    ¡°Stay right there. I¡¯m going to lift you guys up,¡± Reylor said as he walked into the curtain of spatial energy and raised his hand to the sky.

    ¡°What do you mea¡ªahh!¡± Elany screamed out as a circle of earth below her and the other gave way and rose out of the ground like a pillar.

    The black energy began to circulate around Reylor, as he absorbed more and more. ¡°Click¡± Reylor eyes turned blood red as he spread his arms out and appeared to mumble something from a different language. ¡°Kathump¡±

    All the nearby shade fell over¡ªtens of thousands dead, just like that.

    Reylor¡¯s eyes returned to normal, and he used a skill to jump up to where the rest of the group was.

    No one bothered to comment on what had just happened. They were exhausted from the fight, and were still reeling from the knowledge of what was likely to come.

    ¡°Where did they all come from?¡± Khes absent-mindedly asked as he surveyed the ocean of beast corpses before him.

    ¡°He¡¯s been collecting them.¡±

    ¡°Collecting them? For how long?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, but he has been working on it for years¡±

    ¡°Years.¡± Khes breathed out.

    It was getting dark, so Eric, Aileen, Elany, and Lucy pulled out their tents for the night¡ªnot that any of them got much sleep¡­

    Meanwhile, Reylor jumped back down and spent the night absorbing the energy and using it to form a couple of contraptions and inscribe runes on them.

    *** *** ***

    The next morning everyone was up by the time the sun could be seen on the horizon.

    ¡°Eric, take these,¡± Reylor said, handing him two orb-like devices.

    When you are ready to go back, press this button and throw it on the ground. It will create a spatial gate that will take you to the Praefectii camp we just came from. It will last for 15 minutes.

    Once you are ready there, do the same thing with the gold one to open a gate to the palace. That one will last for 42 minutes.

    Eric nodded his head in understanding.

    ¡°If you are going to watch, take one of these¡± he said, Pulling out an armful of plain black jackets. ¡°They¡¯ll protect you from the side effects of the spatial energy. Just keep at least 200 yards back, or you will die.¡±

    Each person solemnly took a jacket.

    ¡°Well, then. Let¡¯s be off.¡±

    Reylor lowered them all down, and they set off into the dark haze in front of them. They kept walking as a castle came into view, becoming clearer and clearer.

    ¡°This is it.¡± Reylor said, somewhat coldly. The spatial energy was once again having an effect on his personality.

    ¡°Go do it man.¡± Eric said emotionlessly.

    Reylor gave each of the girls a quick hug and a nod to Khes and Eric before taking the long walk to the front of the castle.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°My, my. Is this¡­ Reylor? A cold elegant voice called out from the entrance.

    ¡°Glistrel.¡± Reylor muttered.

    ¡°Oh, my my! Is this all I get? I even came all the way out to the entrance to welcome you! So cold!¡±

    ¡°Why have you done this?¡± Reylor asked.

    ¡°Why have I done this? Why, I should be asking that to you! After all, you destroyed my constructs¡ªand you know how long those things take to make¡­ Ahh, fine then. You know how booooring it was in the Spatial hall, right? Well, I got tired of that nonsense, you see, and so when I came time for me to ¡°retire¡± I though ¡®Hey, why not have a little fun first?¡¯¡±

    ¡°You¡­ You disobeyed the code?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did! And you did too, I see.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Oh, but of course you did! The code says that at the end of your 1,000 years of service, you must walk through the aethergate, and we all know that means you cease to exist. You get turned back into aether! Oh¡­ Unless¡­ You are telling me it malfunctioned?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it did, which is why I am here.¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha! The irony! You tried to die and it didn¡¯t even work, hahaha! Well, no matter then. You¡¯ll get your wish here.¡±

    Glistrel''s eyes glowed red, and spatial energy began to circle around him. The same thing happened to Reylor.

    More and more energy circulated around each of them, pulling from the vast reserves Glistrel had collected over the years.

    Eventually there was so much energy moving around them, that they no longer looked like people, but merely black shadows, save for their red eyes. As a side-effect, the atmosphere became a bit lighter as the Seldins collected the energy.

    And then¡ªthey disappeared

    ¡°eeeeeereeeeeekeeeeee.¡± A mind numbing screech assaulted the ears of Eric, Khes, Lucy, Aileen, and Elany¡ªproof that the two had not actually left the place, but were simply moving so quickly that they couldn¡¯t be seen, meanwhile generating a jarring noise from having broken the sound barrier many times over.

    Aileen put up her barrier to absorb to of the impact from the showdown.

    ¡°The heck?¡± Khes said. ¡°I can¡¯t even see them¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t either¡± Eric replied.

    Ten minutes later:

    ¡°They are slowing down¡± Khes said.

    ¡°Yeah, I can see them at times. It¡¯s so weird, I looks like they are trying to punch each other, but they are so in sync that it¡¯s always their fists that collide at exactly the same place.

    They stopped, floating in the sky.

    ¡°I see. So the rumors are true. A Seldin really cannot be stronger than his relative. And here I hoped to complete my subjugation. But alas, it seems it shall not be so.¡±

    ¡°That is right. You are no longer fit to rule over the mortals of this world. I shall put an end to your existence. This is goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we shall end it now.¡±

    ¡°Shuuuuunk.¡± All the remaining spatial energy covering the entire region was nearly instantly collected by Glisten and Reylor, who subsequently turned black¡ªthat is, instead of having black energy swirling around them, their skin, their hair, their eyes and nails, all turned pitch black as they raised they extended their palms toward each other

    ¡°Poof¡± ¡°Kachink, Kachink, Kachunk¡±

    Their features turned back to normal and a black ball was formed between the two. They just stood there, as if trying to push the black orb of energy away from themselves and toward each other, but they were at a standstill. Then it started happening:

    Wisps of matter started flying off of each of them. They were literally decomposing in real time. Despite being able to use spatial energy to do all kinds of things, even Seldins had their limits. When in the face of pure, undiluted spatial energy, their bodies could not handle it, and would gradually decompose back into the aether.

    While Eric, Lucy, Aileen, and Khes were staring in shock and grief¡ª

    ¡°Mother of Aretor, laws of the aether

    Listen to my plea¡±

    ¡°Elany?! What are you¡­¡± ¡°Its too late to stop her, but what is she doing?¡± Lucy thought.

    ¡°Though the flesh be consumed, let the life remain.

    Flesh for flesh, and a life for a life.

    The cycle of sacrifice is true.

    ¡°Oh, no. No, not that! Elany, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡±

    ¡°I give my life, a recompense for the lost.

    Let things that are be as they were.

    Look down on this plane and bear witness:

    Soul reversal¡­¡±

    ¡°No, Elany! You can¡¯t do this! Don¡¯t do it!¡±

    ¡°Holy Sacrifice, Tier¡­¡±

    ¡°Eight!¡±

    Lucy¡¯s face completely drained of color.

    Prime spells were said to only have seven tiers, but there was one more that people seldom spoke of¡ªthe eighth tier. An eighth tier prime spell was akin to an archaic spell, meaning the one who cast it¡­ Would die.

    ¡°Kathump¡± Just as the last bits of Reylor and Glisten were about to disappear, time once again froze. Elany slowly dematerialized, replaced with the full figure of Reylor.

    ¡°Kabam!¡± Time resumed with an explosion of the ball of spatial energy, washing over the island, and a bit further, before dispersing into the atmosphere.

    ¡°Crrrr. Pow!¡± Like a pane of glass breaking, the constructions that Glisten had used for channeling spatial energy all over Aretor shattered.

    Reylor stood up and looked around.

    ¡°Huh? Eric. Khes. Aileen. Lucy. Ela¡ªElany?¡± He looked around, scanning the area.

    ¡°Elany?¡± ¡°Wait, what happened to my vision? And I don¡¯t sense any karma?¡±

    He was in a daze, as he kept looking around.

    ¡°Void art: Presence¡­¡± ¡°Woah, am I completely out of spatial energy? Wait¡­ My core¡­ I don¡¯t have a spatial core¡ªso that means¡­¡±

    He looked around again, finally resting his gaze on Lucy.

    ¡°Did Elany¡­¡± Lucy nodded her head stiffly.

    ¡°Elany.¡± He breathed out, turning his gaze to the distance.

    His features relaxed, though his eyes seemed glazed over.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    They returned to the Praefectii to pick up one as a representative. With the coordinates known, the permanent gate at the palace could be redirected to the temporary Praefectii camp.

    ¡°Vwerr¡±

    ¡°Vwump¡±

    They arrived in front of the palace.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of things here,¡± Eric said gently. ¡°Take some time for yourself.¡±

    Reylor nodded.

    ¡°Do you want to go back to your castle?¡± Reylor asked Lucy. Lucy shook her head.

    ¡°Ok.¡± He nodded.

    ¡°Vwerr¡± He opened another spatial gate and stepped through, but as he did, a hand firmly grasped onto his arm. Lucy was pulled through with him, to greet the scene together. There were a few plants sprouting here or there, but it was still obviously the same place¡ªthey were met with a scenery of blackness. Charcoal was everywhere, save for a few bits of metal or other things that fire was not able to completely burn through. It was Splendor

    ¡°You can¡¯t do this alone.¡± Lucy whispered, and then paused. ¡°And neither can I.¡±

    She wrapped her arms around Reylor¡¯s waist, and he returned the gesture.

    ¡°Drip. Drip drop.¡± And so for the first time in over a million years, Reylor cried.

    ¡°Why?¡± Reylor choked out. ¡°Why would she do this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t know!¡± Lucy cried. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    They sat down on the ground, and stayed there without saying another word to each other, but only holding up because of they knew they were in this together. One night. Two nights. Three nights. They said nothing

    Four nights.

    ¡°Vwerr¡±

    A spatial gate opened and two people walked out. Reylor glanced over at them, but immediately lowered his head back down in grief and in shame.

    ¡°I thought I might find you here.¡± A cool voice drifted through the air, carrying no discernable emotion.

    ¡°Reylor, Lucy, get up.¡± A deep voice said, with an authoritative power.

    They stood up without a word.

    ¡°Puh-pah¡±

    Xendus and Queen pulled them both into a hug.

    Queen spoke, with the softest, gentlest voice that either of them had heard uttered from her mouth.

    ¡°Reylor, it¡¯s not your fault. It was her decision and hers alone. In fact, this is probably better. It would have been painful to lose yet another person after all she has gone through.

    ¡°And both of you, it¡¯s time to come back. You have brought back what remains of my family, and I now know that I can trust you. You are our family, as well. Time to come back. Eric, Aileen, and Khes are worried about you guys, too, you know? Time to come home.¡±

    And the gate closed as the four departed.

 Chapter 30 - Epilogue

    Five years later

    Birds were chirping pleasantly as a gentle sun shone from the sky. Reylor sat on a bench in front of a grand castle, Lucy beside him, peacefully resting her head on his shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s come a long way, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Reylor mused.

    ¡°Mhmm. It feels like we are actually a kingdom again. It¡¯s not, nor ever will be, the same¡ªbut I guess that isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. Power brings out the worst in a lot of people, and my, or should I say our, family was no different.¡± Lucy¡¯s cheeks turned a happy shade of pink as she snuggled up closer to him.

    In the wake of all that had happened, the shade population had not only stagnated, but had begun a steady decline. In some areas it could be argued that the beasts had even been wiped out. As for political matters, the Shildwell castle had been rebuild, though artisans were still working on the finishing touches. With aid from the Praefectus Empire, the other territories were also in the process of being rebuilt. Additionally, there were plans to annex the Otium region into the Shildwell Empire, though the process would be taken slowly, over the course of decades, at least.

    Meanwhile, Eric had returned to his home village and Flint was working directly under Brent, who had acquired the position of head general and advisor to the Queen.

    ¡°Hey Lucy, did you hear that Khes finally made it in?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, no, but I¡¯m not surprised he found a job there. Ever since Votran Academy hired Aileen as a special class instructor, he¡¯s been pounding at the doors to get a job there as well.¡±

    ¡°Yep. But do you know what they hired him as?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°No, what is his position?¡±

    ¡°Pest control¡±

    ¡°Snort¡± ¡°Ahahaha!¡± Lucy leaned forward as she shook with laughter. ¡°That. Is so. Funny!¡±

    ¡°Haha, yeah.¡± Reylor leaned his head back with a smile, continuing to bask in the spring atmosphere. ¡°I hear he¡¯s already making a name for himself, though. Though, not always in flattering ways, if you consider the screams of new students catching sight of his rodent legion.¡±

    ¡°Stop. Making. Me. Laugh!¡± Lucy said, out of breath and tearing up.

    ¡°That being said, we both know Queen has plans for him. He does possess quite the unique skillset.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s true,¡± Lucy assented, leaning back after finally getting a chance to catch her breath.

    ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°What is it Charlene?¡± ¡°I found him!¡± ¡°Huh, you mean¡­ Wait! Charlene! That¡¯s the king! Stop!¡±

    ¡°Pitter patter, pitter patter¡± ¡°Whoosh¡±

    A guard stepped out¡ªthe last remaining guard of the original Shildwell household¡ªbut Reylor raised his hand, telling him to stop as a little girl ran up to him and jumped on his lap.

    ¡°Hello?¡± He said, looking at the girl so boldly claiming his lap for herself. Her dark brown hair fell down her neck in tight curls, and her violet eyes spoke of joy and excitement.

    ¡°Your highnesses, please forgive us!¡± A middle-aged woman bowed to the ground before them, quivering in fear. ¡°She was looking for her friend, a-a-and thought it was you. Please, forgive her!¡±

    ¡°Rise.¡± Reylor spoke, and the peasant lady stood up, though still trembling, but Reylor paid her no mind as he returned his attention to the girl on his lap. ¡°What is your name, little girl?¡±

    ¡°Char-lene,¡± she said, looking up at him with an adorable smile.

    ¡°¡­But,¡±

    She put her hand up to her mouth, making it appear that she had a secret to tell him. He lowered his ear to where she was. ¡°But you can call me Elany.¡±

    THE END

    Acknowledgements:

    My Parents for funding my education, and thus affording me the time to write.

    My ex, for encouraging me to write (while we were still together¡­)

    Friends and family who have also been supportive of this endeavour

    Mike Lima, Minu, and others for your comments¡ªit may seem simple to you, but to me this feedback has been super encouraging!

    And finally, all my RRL readers, followers, and favoriters. Thank you all!