《CHANGE IS INEVITABLE》 chapter 1 Dellum awoke in the night to the sound of cawing outside his field tent in North Crescent¡¯s black forest. Groggily he swung his feet off his cot one leg at a time. The transparent tent top allowing the moonlight to light his surroundings. He had gone through great pains to augment his pitch black eyes so that they could see in almost absolute darkness a project that involved him studying the eyes of countless nocturnal animals. Running mana through them attempting to replicate the sensory organs abilities in himself with alchemical restructuring. The memory of how painful that was still fresh in his mind years later. ¡°what the hell are these birds harassing me for?¡± he wondered to himself aloud and opened his tent to seea murder of Abysal ravenspecking at the barrier setup around his last kill. ¡°oh of course, you must feel cheated out of a meal, but I need that phantom prowler for my research.¡± The crows seemed to listen to him for a moment then cried out in dissatisfaction.Flapping thier ebony wings that seemed to devour the light. The massive cat¡¯s carcass whose body seemed to shift in and out of existence even after death was undoubtedly a tempting feast. Sighing he opened up his ration bag, which could hold nearly a years worth of rations and tossed the angry birds a 10 pound slab of lightning dear ribs. The birds descended on the meat quickly,a cloud of black swarming on the meat as they pecked wildly away at thier meal. It''s rare to see them this deep in the forest he thought to himself bemused by the sight. When he heard the slightest sound of rustling off in the distance over the sound of the crows feasting. ¡°hmm, footsteps maybe 10 or twelve sets¡­humanoid? Out here at night?¡± he thought to himself and realized the crows had become deathly silent. Now staring at him intently. Realization dawning on Dellam that these birds were probably familiars of some arcane ranger. ¡°damn.¡± he exclaimed pulling two vials from his robe and downing them quickly, then donning a short sword and a glove covered in runes. The association had called him back nearly a year ago after word got out about his experiments and rumors spread about him communing with the soul of the undead king. A call he ignored all too readily when he remembered how he was treated by them in the past and besides the rumors were not completely unfounded. His sight being as good as it was in the dark allowed him to see he was completely surrounded. ¡°now ladies and gentlemen no need for this to get violent I am just a humble researcher from Kareth.¡± Dellum bellowed into the night. ¡°Silence Dellum your appearance hasn¡¯t changed so much from your blasphemous experiments that I cannot recognize you.¡± A woman with an unforgettably smokey quality to her voice responded. ¡°Alira¡­ these birds are yours than I take it? i always did have a soft spot for them, but you knew that.¡± Dellum remarked.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Why did you refuse the call Del? You knew they would send me eventually and I always get my man.¡± ¡°That you do, but you will forgive me for not going quietly.¡± Dellum uttered, before dodging several arrows trained at his hands and feet from all sides. Deflecting several magical tracking shots with his sword while channeling energy into his glove. Suddenly he released the energy in a burst of light that would put the sun to shame and the forest was filled with a cacophony of swears and animal cries. Dellum moved toward the nearest archer who was clutching his face in agony then placed his magically empowered hand on his head and cast a sleep spell on him. The spell put him down immediately and he proceeded to take down three more with sleep spells at range and with touch attacks which allowed him to maximize the effects of low level spells. The arrows began to fly again two finding their mark on his left leg and foot but they snapped in half and were ejected from the wounds shortly after. Alira shot him a glare this time instead of an arrow ¡° that healing was done to fast to have been a spell and the poison was supposed to act on contact. What have you done to yourself?¡± ¡°I replicated the healing abilities of the Duren vampire clans who can heal from nearly anything and as for the poison well, I accidentally poison myself all the time with my new reagents.¡± Dellam responded. ¡°vampires¡­then you do conspire with the dead. I see, all hands lethal force authorized.¡± Alira immediately nocked an arrow and exclaimed ''ignus arrow'' before firing the arrow at Dellam¡¯s heart at a speed that seemed to make the rest of the world stand still. Del managed to block the arrow with his sword which was shattered on impact. Flames and shrapnel were sent flying directly into his chest and neck. Choking on his own blood now dell began to send bolts of lightning at Alira but received shots from every direction all empowered with spells of acid and flame to counteract his healing. ¡°surrender Del. The council wants you alive and I would like to keep my flawless record intact.¡± Dellam¡¯s throat healed enough for him to laugh at that remark before pulling a vial from his robes and dashing its contents on the ground causing 6 golems to rise up around him each one smaller than your typical golem and much more human looking with a clear look of intelligence in their glowing crystalline eyes. ¡°disable them don¡¯t kill them anything else i can heal later.¡± Dellum hated that he needed to use his Shaitan summoning reagent here of all places but Alira was still pulling punches and if she got serious he would have to kill her before she vaporized him with half the forest. Still it is a shame earth genies were difficult to contract with. The genies made quick work of all but alira who managed to overwhelm two with her hydro shots releasing enough water in their wakes to drench everything for 200 meters in every direction. The explosion of water giving Del the opportunity to slip within striking range only to be met with two more shots both electro bolts. She smiled at him in that brief moment and he smiled back as he grabbed her just before the spells discharged, her smile replaced by shock in more ways than one. She fell over unconscious. Dellam ordered the genies to break down camp and bind the fallen trackers in stone while he prepared his phantom prowler corpse for transport and stuffed it into a large custom bag of holding. He then cast a sleep spell on his captives to make sure they didn¡¯t purse and a protective barrier around the camp to keep them from being eaten. Which would be unfortunate since he spent so much energy not killing them. ¡°I am sorry it had to be this way¡± he whispered to Alira as he began to walk away into the night. chapter-2 In Terasheth the second largest city in West Crescent and the seat of power for all of the crescent kingdoms mages associations, the high mages council has convened for their annual meeting. The Association''s main meeting hall is a grandiose thing seated atop a large mana crystal that powers its flight over the cityscape and providing a faint light during the night so that the city is always dimly illuminated. The Hall isn¡¯t the only such flying structure in town but it is distinct in that only individuals who have mastered flight magic unassisted may enter. A series of shifting magic circles floating around the structure indicate the presence of a complex monitoring and repulsion barrier. The building itself is wreathed in gold, mithril statues dot the landscape and adamantine gates sit uselessly at the entrance. All this existing solely as an obscene show of wealth and power. On the 12th and final floor of this monstrosity a meeting between 37 representatives of three parts of the once whole crescent kingdom. 12 representatives from each country and the head of the mages college, which was established before the country split nearly 400 years ago. The room was quiet as all members looked on at the center viewing orb that displayed a fight between one Dellam Naris and East crescents best tracking squad. ¡°He was able to heal without the use of a potion or a spell at a rate that would put any troll to shame¡± master Rodrick of north crescent exclaimed transfixed on the orb. ¡°And that summoning was performed in the heat of combat without a magic circle while summoning no less than 6 tier 5 earth spirits¡± remarked master Einera the eldest of the representatives her expression showing equal parts disgust and awe at the man displayed. Many such remarks circled the room comments on his unnatural speed and strength that allowed him to shatter through the protective barriers of his opponents only to deliver non-lethal sleep spells. Shouting master Wendell told the room in a fury ¡° now do you fools see we don¡¯t need capture squads, but subjugation units. I want to know where the man¡¯s research has lead as much as any of you but, he grows stronger every year and may even be a match for some of our best attack squads at this rate. Alira was no pushover and clearly held back since the forest is intact but she was supposed to be more than his match based off of our assessments from last year.¡± the greying man now out of breath fell into his seat to stare at the rest of the representatives, his eyes stopping when they meet the headmaster¡¯s. ¡°What say you now Headmaster Brontes, now that you see the laughable student who everyday grows more powerful and less human?¡± Brontes who was nearing his 200th year betrayed no signs of old age despite being nearly twice as old as any in the room with the exception of einera. Brontes was a half-elf of great power and knowledge which had earned him the respect his blood denied him in his youth. A dark skinned man whose eyes shone gold in the light of the room, those eyes now trained on Wendell. ¡°Is being in-human now a crime in this council¡¯s eyes Wendell?¡± he said softly to the man in the way an elder speaks to a child. Wendell glared at him for but a moment but then smiled, which Brontes returned in kind. Brontes rose from his seat to address the room,¡±many of you have expressed concern over this boy the last 5 years and your words did not fall on deaf ears. I have had Nihlo shadow the boy for nearly 2 years now and he has informed me that your fears were not unfounded. He has learned soul magic and seems to be researching ways to alter his connection between the mind, body and soul.¡± murmurs of disapproval spread through the room while some struggled to hide their interest.¡± it seems he is looking to defy the laws we have set forth and create an entirely new species of human using his own body as the base. What we have seen today is but the tip of a very large iceberg. I kept him alive in an attempt to discover his lab and research notes but Nihlo discovered no documents in any of his known hideouts.¡± Stills the southern Crescent head stood across from Brontes ¡°you unleashed that psychopath Nihlo onto the public in all our domains without warning? Why have you not simply had him retrieve this man and return him for interrogation?¡± ¡°Nihlo is under the effects of several restraint spells to keep his power limited and focused on his mission. His infiltration abilities are legend on their own which is why i needed him. 10 others were sent before him but none could get past Dellams magical protections. Nihlo himself says he can only get to within 10 meters of the man before his improved senses can detect him. To Have Nihlo fight him would mean releasing his combat magics in full and i can''t guarantee he won''t slip through my controls entirely at that point. Besides at full power he is more likely to obliterate him entirely, which i felt would defeat the point of this operation.¡± ¡°One of us could go.¡± Master Quinland said smiling as he watched the battle playing on a loop. ¡°He is still in the north, my territory and i haven¡¯t had a good fight since those Tolgothy bastards invaded 10 years ago. I can be there in a heartbeat.¡± He was a large man scarred from head to toe the scars on the boarders of his mouth made it seem like he was always smiling but when he did the skin split to reveal rows of teeth canine in nature.¡±or are you all scared to lose to this pup?¡± ¡°He he¡± gigled the woman next to him a green haired, green eyed girl who looked to be no older than 20. ¡°You will take me with you, i am tired of missing out on all the fun. Last time you killed that silver dragon before i could even catch up and after i teleported you to the foot of the mountain to.¡± she said feigning a stern look.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Yelling once again Wendell remarked. ¡°Enough the boy has already damaged our reputation with the populace by overturning nearly everything we said was possible now you want to risk him defeating some of the highest members of our order? Though you hardly deserve that distinction." Wendell remarked, the disdain in his voice clear as day." No i say we activate Nihlo and end this if need be we can have 6 of us subjugate him if he rampages. At least he was a former Member of the high council.¡± ¡°I will remember that remark old man, if you want to test me i am ready, coward¡± Quinland¡¯s smile widened as his eyes narrowed, muscles bulged and hair began to grow. Shouting started to spread through the room and spells were readied by everyone present until all magic fizzled out trans formations ceased and silence reigned. Brontes eyes glowing, spoke softly his voice echoing in the now silenced room. ¡°We will put it to a vote. Quin and his ward or Nihlo. I will abide by either decision but i will not have violence between high mages in my territories.¡± the spell faded and soun returned to the room. ¡°Now all for releasing Nihlo in full...and Quinland. Alright it Is settled.¡± Dellam Del sprinted through the forest slow enough for his golems to keep pace sighing in exasperation on occasion. ¡°How the fuck do they keep finding me.¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°I have every countermeasure imaginable active i should be hidden from all magical detection but still here we are. Again. And i know my physical sensors work since they easily pick up the grey eaters in this forest, which is good because they are unsettling to look at to say the least.¡± in the corners of his eyes his detection magic displays the 3 meter tall almost human looking creatures leaning against the forests massive tree trunks. The creatures grey of skin and long of limb stalk prey using speed and strength that could rival the giants of the southern isles. ¡° i can see every twitch of their elongated clawed fingers from nearly 3 km awaaaay!¡± dellam contorted his body and forced himself to the side with accelerated flight magic, narrowly avoiding a mass of grey fur that blew through the forest like a lightning bolt. ¡°Holy shit that was close, it came from the absolute edge of my detection spells.¡± A deep throaty laugh echoed from the wreckage of trees in Dellam¡¯s path a large were-wolf emerging from the wreck. ¡°Gooood reflexes boy i can''t wait to tear your limbs off and take you to the council.¡± ¡° That wasn¡¯t the kind of thing i expect from your average tracker, so you must be someone of note.¡± ¡°Where are my manners? I am master Quinland.¡± ¡°Quinland of the howling death? A little on the nose by the way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the sound my enemies make before they die smartass.¡± ¡°Quin you jerk you said you would wait this time.¡± A young woman decked in a brown and black tunic severed at the midriff, green eyes smiling at Dellam as she brute forced her way through his teleportation wards. Emerging seemingly from thin air and landing on Quin¡¯s head foot first. ¡° restrain them.¡± Del ordered his Shaitan, while pulling three reagents from his side pocket. He downed them quickly cringing as the acrid taste of as thelast one spread through his mouth. Watching as his assailants dispatched his summonings, the world slowing around him and his mana surging around him visibly. ¡°Oh¡± Quin said holding the head of a golem in either hand realizing that a series of magic formations had spread throughout the forest for nearly a km in every direction. ¡°Impressive.¡± A series of deafening shockwaves followed lightning magic strong enough to melt rock and ice pillars turning the surroundings into a sea of flames and steam. Several of the spells finding their way back to Del. The woman stood unflinching within the maelstrom casually opening teleportation gates connecting the attacks with Del¡¯s location. Quin was more terrifying in a sense simply shrugging off attacks one could expect some dragons to falter under. ¡°My name is Mira by the way¡± The woman said finally seeming to tire from her constant use of mana. She then teleported Quin to within striking distance all while maintaining her defense. Del dodged a series of punches only able to return on in ten even with his accelerated reaction speeds. Continuing his onslaught of spells he managed to land a firm blow on quins chin, but his arm was caught in quins vice-like grip as he tried to retract it. ¡°You cracked my shields with a single punch that glove must be something else.¡± Quin tightened his grip then punched Del in the cheek sending him flying through the forest leaving his arm behind. ¡°I did say you were coming back in pieces.¡± The magic onslaught ceased much to Mira¡¯s relief. She fell to her knees breathing heavily. ¡°He is almost as much of a monster as you. Who can attack that often that fast at full power for that long?! He is cheating.¡± ¡°Oh quiet if you are tired it¡¯s because i haven''t trained you hard enough.¡± Quin barked briefly holding his jaw whose pain was increasing for some reason. Fear began to spread through him as he realized his mana was rapidly starting to drain. ¡°Mira.¡± he started only to find her unconcious at his prey¡¯s, no this demons feet. Blood soaked and all to calm Del pulled another vial from his breast pocket and drank it in one swift motion. A new arm started to grow replacing the one Quin held in his hand. He was looking noticeably less enthusiastic now his shielding now gone and support stripped away. ¡°She had to go first, obviously i can¡¯t have someone that adept at redirecting attacks around if i am going to go all out. Besides i have some questions for you.¡± The mass of mana surrounding dell began to rotate around him and dig into the soil, arc¡¯s of electricity burning a massive magical formation into the ground. ¡°So how do you keep finding me?¡± chapter-3 The magic circle pulsed and spread crawling along the ground until it covered the now glass like surface created from the barrage of lightning magic Del let loose. Then as the formation activated an audible cracking sound could be heard as a 3 meter sphere sphere appeared to shatter like glass. Revealing a smiling figure decked in a material so dark it seemed to devour the light around it. He sat calmly in the middle of the scorched field atop a chair glistening with black stones. ¡°A dispel magic circle created on the fly in just under a minute. I am very impressed.¡± The man cloaked in black said in his high pitched voice, staring at him the way a grey eater might stare at a child who wandered into the forest alone. Quin looked to Nihilo and shuddered at the presence of the man who almost single handed, managed to strike down the demi-god of shadows in an attempt to supplant him in a bid for divinity. Then back at the boy who had just humiliated him in combat with a simple trick and still managed to feel some pity for him. ¡°I at least would have given you an honorable death boy.¡± Dellam stood looking into the dark eyes of the man whose face no one had seen in nearly 14 years, he had seen him once in the headmaster''s study as a young student. Looking upon the man whose power was said to be on par with the best on the continent. ¡°So you were how they kept track of me?¡± he said struggling to get the words out. Dellam had carved the magic formations into the ground to strengthen the effect and lengthen it¡¯s duration. Magic can be cast in many ways but the strongest effects tend to come from methods that imposed the users will on reality through a physical medium. In general spell casting that medium is the caster. For those looking to strengthen spells with little effort during combat a spell circle projection could be made, but this had the distinct disadvantage of showing your enemy exactly which spells you were using. The most powerful widely known method was to physically carve the spell formation into an object with magic, but this method takes time and far more energy than the previously stated methods. This circle he had so cleverly set to hopefully block out whatever method the council was using, had just become his cage. Nihilo laughed while looking at the three in front of him. ¡° you managed to sever the communication spells i had set up for this fight. I wonder what Brontes would have me do in this situation.¡± Laughing now he started walking toward Del casually playing with his long black hair, twirling it around the finger on his left hand. ¡°Ah, i have been following you for so long i haven¡¯t been able to get my haircut in what feels like forever. It was hard hiding from you this long you know, which made this task a little more bearable. Brontes has asked me to do alot of boring jobs over the years. Things that required a ¡°light touch¡± with no evidence left behind, but they were all so easy. Not you though i had to keep my distance with you, even as i watched you sleep you would wake with a start whenever i got close. I have wanted to kill you for a long time. Your spell wasn¡¯t able to break Brontes¡¯s restrictions on me so now would be your best chance. Why not try your luck?¡± Del began to step back edging his way out of the circle, had he known this monster was what was lying in wait he might have considered running to a different continent. Maybe even a different world if he could convince a powerful enough country to give him access to a travel site. Not that it was likely, but a man can dream. ¡°You know i think i have had enough fighting for today.¡± Del lept backwards out of the circle and immediately prepared to use a long range teleport spell to Kareth. The country lying to the Lunar kingdoms south had been his refuge for years. ¡®Not sure how long this prick has been following me so all of my previous hideouts are out of the question.¡¯ he thought to himself lamenting the loss of his assets. ¡®But at least the research itself is safe thanks to the breakthroughs he made six years ago on his excursion to Helthorn the former seat of power in the undead kings empire. Back then they all thought i was a joke so there should have been no need to tail me, so the odds were good that they haven¡¯t made a real connection to my research and the undead king''s work.¡¯ Del¡¯s thoughts were cut short as Nihilo¡¯s cloak extended off his body and devoured the ground around him in an 8 meter wide circle effectively destroying the formations effect. ¡°Shit!¡± Nihilo launched forward as the teleportation spell took effect cutting Del¡¯s legs off at the knees. Nihilo smiled hearing his screams before he disappeared in front of his eyes. ¡°There is no running from me boy i will find you no matter where you go.¡± Del hit the ground shocked by how little the meaty stumps where his legs used to be hurt. They hadn¡¯t been cut so much as they seemed to have evaporated without a trace, a black film stretched over the ends of the wounds which slowly spread further up his legs reaching toward his groin. ¡°Nope, no no no no no.¡± he yelled using his remaining mana to form a blade and severing the affected areas, which were eaten by the dark energy and seemed to fade into nothing. ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± he said to himself rooting around in his side bag for more regrowth reagents. ¡°Damn i used the last one in that fight with the wolf, it will take days for these wounds to heal with my accelerated healing alone. Lets see i have 3 mana boosters, 2 maximize summons potions for 5 elements, strength, speed, more shit i don''t need right now...shit. I don''t have time for this he must have some way to find me, i can''t stay here.¡± Del downed a mana booster and a mana recovery potion then began to teleport throughout the forest looking for a good place to hide. The area was one he spent some time in when he was 18 he would hunt bandits in these woods to pay for his tuition at Luna academy. He didn¡¯t like to work inside the Lunar kingdoms at the time because adventuring work was against school policy for any student who had not graduated. This was all to maintain the school and the kingdoms reputation for having some of the most adept mages on the planet. Del hovered over a section of forest scanning for signs of life and extending his detection spells range to the limit. ¡°There.¡± he said looking in the direction of a clearing about 12 kilometers away. The spells accuracy wasn¡¯t as good when extended as much as it was now but it should be good enough he could see the location in his mind if he focused on the location. The information floods in like a waterfall though and if not for his many augmentations to his mind, body and soul, the flood of information would knock him unconscious. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Several men were making camp in what looked to be an battle damaged fortress ruin. ¡°Bandits by the look of them.¡± Del pulled out a vial containing a swirling white liquid and uncorked it. Then the air around him started to compress into 20 large translucent bird-like creatures that flitted around him happily dancing through the air. ¡°Alright calm down i need you guys to do some work for me. One of the birds flew up to his face taking the form of a young woman and laughed before returning to its bird form. Then the others followed in the laughter. ¡°Come on you all can play later. Right now i need you to head over to that camp and spread this.¡± dell pulled out another vial this one containing a blue and purple powder. He then opened it and poured it out into the air which the wind spirits happily took into themselves wrapping the powder up in its airy body. 10 minutes later Del approached the fortress to the sound of the spirits laughing and a man grunting. The bandits lay on the ground unconscious with the exception of one who was groggily swinging his sword at the wind spirits circling him. ¡°Damn you infernal things. What did you do to my men?¡± ¡°They put them to sleep.¡± Del remarked to the man who was fighting to stand and now eyeing him with disdain. ¡°My Name is Malcolm.¡± the man growled fighting to stay awake. ¡°And this is my territory, if you want it fight me for it like a man. No magic tricks coward.¡± ¡°I would consider your challenge if i didn¡¯t need the magic to stay upright right now but i don¡¯t have a leg to stand on at the moment. Your fortitude is really something though how are you still awake?¡± ¡°You think some half-assedmagic can take me down¡­¡± del cut him off with a sleep spell, then lowered himself to the ground, beads of sweat forming on his head. ¡°I need to rest for a minute sorry, didn¡¯t want to cut you off but i have been using way too much mana today. The boosters are starting to wear off and until i can make more i will have to use what''s left sparingly.¡± The wind spirits began to swirl around Del playfully chasing each other causing winds to knock over surrounding tables in the courtyard of the fortress, one picking him up in it¡¯s beak and tossing him into the air. He fell on the cushion of wind that was it¡¯s back and laughed. ¡°Thanks. Alright now i need you all to look for some supplies.¡± Mages council The Masters sit in silence watching the events that transpired before the images ceased with the completion of that massive formation. ¡°You see i told you all we needed to come at this with full force and let Nihilo handle the boy.¡± wendel yelled glaring at the representatives who voted for quinland to go. Einera shot him a nasty look in return, the old woman no stranger to fools like Wendell. ¡°You would have us cull what is still a minor threat by letting that beast get access to its full power again? At least the boy seems to take great pains to avoid killing, but what of Nihilo who has killed hundreds of people in his pursuits over the years. Had we not suppressed him when we did he may well have sparked a war with the Tolgothy god of war himself. We all know what happens when the gods go to war, do we not?¡± ¡°Old woman no one asked you for a lecture.¡± ¡°And yet clearly you need to be taught a lesson.¡± she began to glow her appearance reverting to a younger age, her cloudy eyes growing clearer and beginning to shine. ¡°What¡¯s all this talk about me being a monster?¡± the room froze at the high pitched voice emanating from behind Brontes who looked mildly annoyed by the intrusion. ¡°Hello Nihilo.¡± Brontes said in the even tone he seemed to maintain at all times. ¡°Why did you let the boy escape?¡± ¡°Boy? Is that all i have been shadowing for 2 years, a boy?¡± Laughter echoed from the rooms entrance as Quin strode in partially charred with his pupil following close behind, no longer smiling. ¡°Boy may not be the right word after all, i severely underestimated him, but next time¡­¡± Wendell scoffed. ¡°Next time? so we can see you find some other way to screw this up?¡± ¡°Enough.¡± Brontes said flatly. ¡°We will send Alira back out after Dellam along with Nihilo once i am done making adjustments to his restrictions. You may wait on the lower level Nihilo.¡± ¡°What you don¡¯t want me to sit in on the meeting like the good old days?¡± nihilo remarked before finding himself staring at a potted plant on the first floor of the building. ¡°Dick.¡± ¡°I will brief Alira on the parameters of her mission in the meantime preparations will need to be made for his punishment should we find ourselves unable to convinceDellam to cooperate. Alira Having awoken before the rest of her squad Alira wept silently for a moment seeing that that idiot put a barrier up to protect them after knocking them out. ¡°Damn fool, i am your enemy now. Why can¡¯t you just make this easy for me?¡± she wiped away her tears with he shoulder. Then broke the bindings around her wrists with earth magic and proceeded to free her men the same way. ¡®Del had always been to kind for as reckless as he seemed to be, it was why she loved him once and ultimately why she left him. Although he would tell the story differently.¡¯ A magic circle appeared on the ground near alira announcing the intention of someone teleporting in. A young green haired girl appeared looking depressed and mildly agitated. ¡°I was sent to get you by the council. Your boyfriend just evaded our surveillance.¡± Mira remarked agitation clear in her voice. ¡°We dated for 6 months almost 10 years ago, i have moved on.¡± ¡°Sure that''s why you pulled your punches during the fight right?¡±She intone mockingly. ¡°I see, you fought him and lost didn¡¯t you?¡±Alira shot back. Mira''s face grew red as she started to retort, but exhaled shoulders slumped. ¡°Quin said we were going to spend the next 6 months training in the Dregen mountains. It¡¯s full of arachne who cast powerful magic and use poisons to drain mana from their prey. It¡¯s a nightmare.¡± Mira wailed tears in her eyes. Alira looked at the girl confused by the sudden shift in emotion. ¡®i am not good with this sort of thing.¡¯ she thought to herself. ¡°Um, there, there.¡± ¡°Oh shut up, let''s just go!¡± mira extended a magic circle large enough for Alira and her men then teleported them back to the academy. chapter-4 Del sat in the remains of the ruined fortresses kitchen, which he repurposed into a laboratory. Using a combination of his remaining equipment and magically constructed replacements, that while imprecise would have to do for now. Malcolm sitting in the corner hands and feet bound continued to glare at del as he had for the last 3 days. ¡°What are you building those puppets for mage? Are you lonely?¡± he mocked. ¡°Or are you building them to fight for you like the coward you are?¡± ¡°Very funny¡± del responded dryly. ¡°I know you are bored but I have to keep you near me since the sleep spells wear off on you way faster than they should your constitution must be monstrous. The others nearly took two whole days to wake up. Malcolm¡¯s scowl deepened glare intensifying, ¡°you know I had a run in with another mage years ago, back when I had first joined this group of idiots.¡± ¡°That so,¡± Del chimed back while etching his control runes into his puppets. ¡°Yea it is. Bastard knocked out the lot of us without a single one of us getting a chance to put up a fight. When I woke up we were already in custody our leader was strung up for us to see, just swingin¡¯ in the breeze.¡± ¡°If you are looking for an apology you won¡¯t get one from me,¡± Del remarked a scowl now plastered on his face as he continued his work. ¡°I have no sympathy for murderers or rapists, thieves I can tolerate, to a degree. The bounty on your boss helped put me through school by the way.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± Malcolm spat, chafing at his bindings in another futile attempt to get free. ¡°There three ought to do for now,¡± Del exclaimed and started feeding mana into the puppets control circuits. The puppets convulsed momentarily stuttering to life and finally stood, nearly forty straight hours of work nearly complete.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Del then coated the puppets in a thick potion ignoring the insults Malcolm threw his way all the while. ¡°Imprint on me,¡± Del commanded the three, control runes glowing brightly under what now appeared to be skin, shifting and changing color until three fairly convincing doppelgangers stood awaiting commands. Malcolms insults finally ceasing as he stared wide-eyed at the horror before him. Del then placed a harness around the first puppet, ¡°you two lift me up and place me in the harness,¡± Del commanded, his partially formed legs hanging over the edge of the workbench. ¡°HAAAHAAAHAHA,¡± Malcolm began laughing and wheezing, the sight of a grown man being carried in what was essentially a baby harness overwhelming the sense of tension. Del couldn¡¯t help but start laughing himself, ¡°you know,¡± he remarked, ¡° I won¡¯t apologize but if you help me get out of here I will pay you.¡± Malcolm¡¯s laugh began to fade to a chuckle, ¡°how much,¡± he asked eyes growing sharper as his chuckle faded into oblivion.¡± ¡° Two hundred karethy Kol notes,¡± Del said his puppet now kneeling so as to meet Malcolm at eye level. ¡°Six hundred notes,¡± he shot back. ¡°250¡± ¡°575¡± ¡°350,¡± Del exclaimed throwing up a hand to stop the bartering, ¡°and I will throw in one of my personal magic items, plus some basic mana training. I can tell your resistance to my sleep potions is at least partly due to some latent abilities.¡± ¡°I, I can do magic?¡± Malcolm muttered under his breath, staring Del in the eyes. ¡°Yea I think so, some of the stuff I have been dousing you with over the last few days was to test you. The one that made your skin itch and your eyes burn for two hours was the one that tipped me off.¡± ¡°I do hate you-you know that right?¡± Malcolm said, just before headbutting Del in the nose. Sending him and his puppet to the ground. ¡° I deserved that," Del uttered as he straightened his nose and spit out a mouthful of blood. " you know I am having difficulty healing at the moment, so could you save the violence for later? "I want 400 Notes and two magic items made specifically for me plus the training you promised and and and." "Quiet," Del interrupted, "deal we have to go now. three of my elementals connections were just severed." "who gives a shit?" "I give a shit if they had just been killed my connection would have faded gradually as the mana leaked from their bodies, these connections just vanished and the guy who is hunting me is very good at making things disappear." "wait who is hunting you," Malcolm cut in eyes narrowing? "...Nilo," Del muttered under his breath. A terror began to spread across Malcolm''s face, but suddenly he smiled, a big toothy smile,"two thousand notes plus the items and you will teach me until I am satisfied." "seriously, you are using this situation to up your price, you crook!" "No shit You said you didn''t mind crooks." "I said I could tolerate them." "well, how tolerant you feeling right now?"