《The Lost Magician》


 Chapter 001.

    The Red Cloaked Magician


    The sun bathed them at 5 o''clock that afternoon. The white clouds and dusty wind blew past, stinging the eyes of the public watching the scene unfold at front of their seat. Standing on the coliseum with their dry mouths open, they scrubbed their eyes not believing the scene before them.


    A man with his water barrier at front of his hand, struggled to fend off the incoming fire spell that covered the arena in walls of flame. Forcing even three guardsmen to create a high class barrier that usually only needed one, as the public behind them fell on the floor, wetting their pants. They were relieved of being alive, even though they bet most of their wages on the ten in a row champion against the unknown man with a red cloak.


    "I beg of you, I concede!" The man tried to yield past the loud and accelerating wall of flame, which erupted from the sandy floor, reaching the sky and covered the man in shadows.


    But the man with a red cloak covering his whole body, grinned as his eyes were shrouded by the hood. He kept walking towards the helpless champion that struggled with his water barrier, casting spells after another that evaporated the barrier into steam.


    The champion knew that the red hooded contestor meant no harm, it was only his powerful spells that roared as if it was thunder itself, making it useless to hold a conversation between them.


    The champion frowned as sweat stung his eyes, he was nearly out of mana and breathed heavily as his barrier evaporated one by one. His back was soon near the wall. If this kept up, he knew that he would never be able to see his son after this tournament.


    A tragic future for his son that lived alone at a house nearby, a father that did everything to feed his only family member in the living world. What would happen to his son after he passes away? Whatever it was, the champion struggled to find a way to live for another day, as his 7 year old child studied patiently at home.


    The red hooded man was now a few meters away, bringing forth a sword made out of fire as he kept firing the overpowered spells, forcing his opponent to focus on defending.


    The champion clicked his tongue with the last barrier, jumping to the side he dodged the second incoming flame tower and kneeled before the now confused man.


    "I concede!" the champion yielded, hoping that his opponent would notice.


    The red hooded man extinguished his fire sword, walked towards the champion as the public still had their mouth gaped. He scrubbed behind his head and stretched his other hand forward. "Haha, sorry I got too excited..."


    Smiling, the champion grabbed the hand and helped himself up with a reply, "Hah, it was a good battle, a complete loss". Though he didn''t end it there, he held the hand firmly with his muscles towards the blue sky.


    A wind blew past, removing the red hood, which revealed a man around his twenties with black messy hair and black eyes.


    As he did, simultaneously the announcer shook his head from the intense battle and announced, "A marvelous battle that will be passed down generations! An inspiration for the children! The Winner is... the Red hooded Magician!!!!!"


    The public glances at each other, then started to clap one by one, overwhelming the arena with their cheers as it was a battle that no one would ever forget, even those with drenched warm pants couldn''t help but stand up and whistle. It was a battle that could only be seen at the most dangerous part in the world. The place called hell itself, the battlefield between the royal mages of the 3 kingdoms at Mont Grevyal.


    As the public trembled the coliseum, the proud ex-champion bathed in sun together with the new champion, waved to the public as they made their way back to the loungeroom.


    On the way back, the ex-champ boasted happily around, "It''s unbelievable how someone at your age could master the fire element to such an extent, not only that! You won against its weakness so easily! To think I would ever live to taste a battle like that in my whole life!"


    "And who did you learn that Flame Wall from? No, I mean where do you come from, you seem not to be from around here?"


    The black haired man, turned bright red and avoided his eyes. He had just made a new fan and that fan kept barraging him with new questions even though they were ignored.


    The ex-champion grabbed the hands and pleaded "it would be an honour to know your name, please tell me that at least"


    The black haired man scrubbed his red cheek with his icy cold finger and answered, "Tony... Call me Tony"


    A tear fell out off the eye from the fan, smiling with delight, he scrubbed the eye and added, "I am Carl, Carl Huskar the water magician, if you ever need me, call me!"


    Carl took the other turn around the corner as Tony kept walking straight ahead through the empty hallway. Though he tilted his head, how could he call Carl if he didn''t know where he lived?


    Tony smiled with a shrug as he made his way towards the loungeroom where he would attain his rewards for winning. Grinning as the gold shined marvelously on the counter, he grabbed a bag and shoved them inside.


    The money came from the bet on himself, considering how Carl had won over 10 tournaments in a row, no one would believe that he would lose to a unknown magician. Hence everyone gambled for the most part on Carl, tipping the balance of value to Tony tremendously.


    Chuckling he turned around with the bag, threw a golden coin that was worth at least 1 year of food for a family of 4 towards the beautiful lady behind the counter.


    She bowed with tears as he left the room for his real reward.


    "Ah, the winner is here" A large man snickered behind the wooden table. Dressed like a rogue with his leather clothings and a scar across his nose. Shady was written all over him.


    As Tony stood before him, he took out a card from his pocket, smiling as he waved it around, he said "As promised, the card that can get you past any borders as long as it is within the west continent"


    Tony smiled, he might be shady, but he is a man that fulfill his promises, one that he would want covering his back in the battlefield without being backstabbed.


    He handed the card to Tony, "Don''t lose it, it is harder than you think to obtain one, especially a non foraged version"


    Tony nodded as he held the card filled with magic aura.


    "Oh, and don''t forget, this is a neutral zone, the moment you pass by the borders, don''t ever boast about your skills like before. The Royal guards will do anything to recruit you, even forcing you if they have to... Remember that"


    "Thanks a lot owner" Tony answered, shaking his hand and then headed outside towards the crowd that awaited him. If they discovered him, they would probably charge towards him like rhinos, pushing aside the few guardsmen who blocked the entrance.


    Casually, Tony went past them without care, no one noticed him, as he had activated the invisibility spell, creating an illusion. He chuckled as his cloak flapped with the wind.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    A while after, he was now at the town square filled with citizens that brightened the city Loskantros with their smiles.


    Stretching with the breeze, a growl could be heard, disrupting the peaceful citizens that now chuckled. He shrouded his burning cheek in the red hood. Actually, it might be best to get something to eat. He thought, walked with the street filled with vendors and the aromatic food.


    ¡°Fresh oranges for sale!¡±


    ¡°Buy a good weapon now!¡±


    ¡°Spices for sale!¡±


    ¡°Freshly caught Fish from the nearby sea!¡±


    ¡°Kyaa!¡±


    ¡°Armor and shields for sale!¡±


    ¡°Best fish curry in Loskantros!¡±


    Tony rose an eyebrow, Did I hear a scream from nearby? Hopefully this alleyway leads to the source... Walking through the maze like alleyways, he found a girl backed to a wall as a group of three men took advantage of her child like appearance.


    A man with a black cape with his palm on the wall behind the girl, held her chin upwards face to face. ¡°How about it, come with us and we''ll treat you to food.¡±


    The girl in tattered clothings pushed the arm away, avoiding his eyes, she said ¡°No! Leave me alone!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahah!¡±, the second man rolled on the floor, hands on stomach with his leather armor and taunted, ¡°Boss, you got rejected!¡±


    ¡°Shhh! Don¡¯t make him angry or he¡¯ll kill you!¡± The third man covered the mouth of his partner.


    Frowning, the black caped turned back towards the girl, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a new set of clothings, come with me and I¡¯ll save you from poverty¡±


    The girl pushed him away, ¡°No! I know what you did to my mother! You sold her to slavery!¡±


    ¡°Smack!¡± The girl landed on the cobblestone alley, right cheek bleeding as tears rolled down from her blue iris.


    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯ll come with me or I¡¯ll force you to!¡±


    The spectator laughed.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± The black caped asked, turning towards the laugh.


    There he stood, resting his back with his arms crossed to the wall, watching the whole scene unfold. ¡°Don¡¯t lose your cool against a little child¡± He snickered.


    ¡°And what do you know?!¡± One of the thug said, taking out a knife, playing with it around.


    Tony shrugged, ¡°Not to get mad when I get rejected? I guess¡±


    The men turned bright red and clenched their knives with anger, the black caped made the fragments of cobblestones arise to the air together with his flapping cape.


    ¡°Leave, or I¡¯ll kill you¡±


    ¡°Pfft, kill me? Big words for a weak magician like you¡± Tony snickered, making the ground crumble, walls cracked and fragments ten times bigger started to float around him.


    The black caped grinded his teeth, canceled his spell and said ¡°We¡¯re leaving¡±


    ¡°What?! Boss, why?¡± his goon retaliated.


    The black caped grabbed the goon¡¯s collar and warned, ¡°We¡¯re leaving...¡±


    ¡°Sorry boss¡±


    As they passed, he whispered ¡°I¡¯ll be back for another day, illusionist¡± and left around the corner with his goons that stuck their tongue out.


    Tony shrugged, took a glance at the girl then left the alley, leaving the girl on the floor as he turned around the corner.


    ¡°Wait!¡± the girl called out for him, standing up and followed. Turning around the corner, she passed Tony as he stood with his back on the wall. But she was no fool, ¡°I know you are nearby, you used illusion magic didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I can hear your cloak¡­ ¡± she muttered and walked closer towards him.


    She couldn¡¯t see him, but yet, she kneeled with both of her pale hands on the ground at front of him and asked ¡°Please teach me magic!¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    Revealing himself, Tony walked towards the streets as she grabbed his cloak.


    ¡°Please!¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Please!¡±


    ¡°Take this gold coin¡±


    She slapped it away with tears, ¡°I don¡¯t want money, I want power!¡±


    ¡°No¡­ With power comes great responsibility¡± Tony warned, walked past the vendors as she held his cloak.


    ¡°Pleaaase!¡±


    He kicked her, she glided on the ground as the citizens walked by without care. They have been affected by illusion magic and couldn¡¯t witness the scene.


    She stood up, body aching and ran towards the red cloaked once again.


    ¡°PLEASE!¡±


    ¡°No¡± He said, frowned and turned towards her cheek.


    ¡°A girl should take care of her face¡­¡± Tony said and held up her chin. Casting healing magic that removed the bleeding wound caused by the black caped man. He saw that her eyes started to glimmer, he clicked his tongue of his mistake, kicking her once again.


    ¡°Leave, I don¡¯t have time to babysit¡± He said, tossing a golden coin and walked away.


    The girl didn¡¯t give up, took the golden coin and followed, ¡°I¡¯ll give you one gold if you teach me magic!¡±


    He laughed, turned to the right and asked a woman behind a vendor for the directions of a certain man. She nodded and pointed towards the town square.


    ¡°Thank you¡± he said, left a silver coin and walked towards the given directions.


    The girl kept following, quietly this time.


    ¡°Knock, knock, knock!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Someone yelled, running down through the staircase. Opening the door, his question mark turned into a smile. ¡°Ah, the new champion! What can I do for you Tony?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Carl¡­ I was wondering if you could teach the girl behind me magic?¡±


    ¡°Who me?¡± He laughed and peeked at the girl, ¡°I am not as powerful as you, wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to do it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to babysit, besides¡­ You won''t do it for free¡± Tony smiled, handing over 5 gold coins.


    ¡°No!¡± The girl retaliated, pushing away the hand, scattering the coins around the ground. ¡°I want you to train me!¡±


    Luckily the citizens have been affected by illusion magic, or they would rush to grab the coins..


    Tony frowned, picked up the coins and kicked the girl once again.


    ¡°Oi! You don¡¯t have to go that far do you?¡± Carl questioned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she isn¡¯t fully human¡­ Beastmen blood reside inside of her¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ That explains that hair and endurance to withstand 10 meters¡­ But still Tony, she is still only a child¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care, I am leaving the borders as soon as possible, so I can¡¯t babysit her. Beside with the ongoing war, it is even harder.¡±


    ¡°Though, it seems she doesn¡¯t agree¡­¡± Carl muttered, gazing down onto the girl who held Tony¡¯s cloak.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave her on the way then¡­ May we meet another day¡±


    ¡°Right, good luck taking care of the child!¡± He smiled, waved as Tony went further away.


    Who¡¯ll take care of the child? I have yet to fulfill my own wish¡­  And master is this how felt when I begged you 13 years ago? He thought, grabbing his chest and glanced at the half black and half white haired girl behind him. She¡¯ll give up sooner or later¡­


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 002.

    Rough Road and Clothings of the Past


    Climbing the tall hills, he turned around as the cloak flapped happily with the wind. Standing on the road, he took a heavy breath from the nature as he watched the sun fall from the sky over the Loskantros. The sea behind the city was dyed in orange as the seagulls far away flew around the city.


    But there she was, the girl in tattered clothings, followed Tony all the way out of the town, struggling to climb the hill with her delicate arms, yet fierce eyes. He sighed, turned around and kept walking.


    Passing the lushy trees one by one, the cold breeze made him shiver, as the owls sang their song. The two moons shone brightly as he illuminated the surroundings with a ball of fire, hovering above his palm.


    Someone grabbed his cloak , it was the shivering girl. Walking close with her left hand on her chest, gazing around into the darkness, her heart skipped a beat when a bush rustled nearby.


    Ignoring her, he kept walking as water started to rain from the clouds hidden in the sky. At first it was just a drizzle, soon after it started to pour, creating puddles and mud on the road as he walked.


    A thunder roared through the sky, illuminating the ground for a second and made the girl skip another beat. Her clothes started to get drenched, the cold raindrops that hit her face shattered into fragments and showered her away from the dirt.


    ¡°Achuu!¡± She sneezed, shivered, yet kept walking after the man that protected himself from the rain with magic. Still her eyes burned fiercely as they walked for hours.


    Wolves howling near the cliffs could be heard, bushes started to rustle as eyes glowing inside the darkness started to appear in pairs, one by one. Watching their prey, yet scared by the man with a fireball hovering on the palm, they growled. But their 6th sense didn¡¯t stop them from noticing the cold attitude of the red cloaked man, so they grabbed the girl as he kept walking without care.


    ¡°Tony!¡± She screamed, as the back of the man kept getting further and further away. Wolves started to surround her as the rain stung her eyes, they growled, she shuddered. Reached out her hand towards the man, the raindrops shattered on the arm, draining the warmth away. Did I pick the wrong choice? she thought, gazing down onto the muddy ground.


    Heavily sighing, he turned around, stomped the ground that erupted towards the wolves, piercing their body with spikes that tried to prey on the trembling girl.


    The remaining wolves sensed the danger and left the limping wolves. Though, the wounded soon after fell to the muddy ground, leaving their last breath before he stood before them.


    Using wind magic, he cut the wolves in pieces, blood dyed the girl in red as he removed the inedible parts and put the fresh meat inside a bag. He smiled, turned around and kept walking, not before he left the girl on the muddy ground with his red cloak.


    Eyes still burning, she pushed her muddy body up and ran after the man as the cloak reduced in size flapped happily with the rain.


    After yet another few hours, the rain stopped, clearing the sky as the sun rose from the dawn. A growl could be heard from behind, no both of their stomach. Scattering the birds that hid in their homes to the sky.


    Walking to the side of the road near the glittering pond, he cut a tree down, creating a cleanly smooth stump and sat on it. Curiously, so did the girl with the red cloak, snuggling beside him.


    The man frowned. What is it that makes her heart burn with will? And... is it the same as mine? he questioned himself, but as he watched the beautiful water, he grinned. Took back the cloak and sent her flying into the pond, water scattered everywhere as she stuck her head out, spitting out the water like a waterfall from her mouth.


    ¡°Take a bath, you smell¡­¡± He said while preparing a few sticks of wood.


    Nodding, she swam around the clean pond, removing the stench of blood together with the mud and dirt.


    The strong aromatic smell of meat started to cover the area, animals hungry for food started to appear from the bushes, yet ran the moment after they noticed that the man before them casted fire magic.


    A while after the pale girl, with her blue iris and long white and black hair, fully cleaned other than her clothes that screamed peasant. Glittered together with the pond as the sun shone strongly at them.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Tony shook his head, Those clothes doesn¡¯t fit you¡­ he thought, beckoning her towards him.


    Nodding she stood before him, tall as his stomach, body still drenched in water. Face turned away, bright red as the man removed her clothes, revealing her petite body and private parts as she stood there trying to cover a few. Everything for powerful magic¡­ She thought.


    ¡°Are you mentally prepared?¡±


    She nodded, face burning more than ever.


    But all he did was remove clothings from a hidden bag that she had never seen in her entire life. Some kind of white shirt. Short pants and a black pants that were longer than the one before.


    He smiled, seeing his old clothes being used once again after 10 years. He used wind magic to force her onto the stump, held her delicate feet and dressed the black briefs onto the girl. It fit perfectly. Yet, for him, he was confused to why the girl was avoiding his eyes, holding her delicate fingers near her shiny lips and cheeks bright red.


    Ignoring it, he kept dressing her. Starting from the black pants, shoes, then the white shirt and lastly, he took out a brush, and brushed through her long silky hair. Taking a few steps back as he stared at the girl, he then threw the red cloak upon her.


    ¡°I ask again, are you mentally prepared?¡±


    She hesitated, steeled herself as she rested the red cloak around her neck and gazed upon those black eyes, ¡°Yes!¡±


    The man grinned, muttered something, pushing her forehead onto the stump, a red magic circle surrounded her as her vision turned black. A pain coursed through her body, starting from the toe until it reached her brain and lastly the eye. She screamed, screamed for help as her body twitched around, eyes rolled everywhere, yet all she could feel was pain as the world turned pitch black.


    After he was done, she shuddered, gazed around and asked ¡°Where are you? Did I pass out until night?¡±


    ¡°From now on you are my apprentice, and in a few days you will be able to see again¡±


    She waved her hands near her open eyelids, then held her body, shivered and said, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m scared¡±


    He shrugged, embraced the tiny body that stole his warmth and calmly said ¡°I kicked you, I hurt you. You faced the rough road without preparation, without sleep and food, struggled past the cold rain in tattered clothing, stood beside me in the darkness and survived the wolves, even dyed in blood, yet you can¡¯t face losing the sense of vision?¡±


    ¡°Stay close to me and I¡¯ll protect you, I¡¯ll be your eyes for the week¡±


    She nodded, tears fell from her eyes that saw nothing as she hugged the man.


    Patting the head, he said ¡°The food is getting cold, lets eat shall we?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! But you¡¯ll have to feed me...¡±


    ¡°... No¡­¡±


    After somehow eating the delicious meal with the help of Tony, she held his warm hand as the cloak fluttered on her back with the wind. As the sun shone brightly, the sound of horses and a wagon from behind, accelerated closer by the second.


    The girl embraced the man, trembling as she couldn¡¯t see where it came from, other than from behind.


    Parking next to the man in black clothes, a old man asked ¡°Oi? Are you heading to the Capital city nearby? If so, need a lift?¡±


    Tony smiled, bowed and said ¡°Yes please, and thanks¡±


    ¡°Hop on behind lad, and don¡¯t forget your daughter¡±


    ¡°Right¡± He answered, used wind magic on the girl who flew onto the wagon filled with wheat. He then jumped into it himself and plopped down there on the cold bed of wheat.


    ¡°Hip hip!¡± The old man said and the brown horses started to walk.


    As the girl slept under the arm, Tony gazed upon the blue sky and white clouds that passed by together with the lushy forest and the smell of wheat.


    ¡°Oi, lad, that¡¯s some fancy cloak that girl has over there, are you guys from upperclass?¡±


    ¡°Heh, I could only wish, it¡¯s a cloak passed from my master onto me, we are magicians¡±


    ¡°I see, and if you need a rest, I¡¯ll wake you guys up over there¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mind me, but thanks for worrying¡±


    ¡°If you say so, Mr wind magician¡±


    Yet, Tony slept quietly on the wagon...


    The old man shrugged. ¡°Children these days¡±

 Chapter 003.

    The adventures in Arkantos


    ¡°Rumble, rumble, rumble¡±


    ¡°Lad, we¡¯re here! The capital city; Arkantos¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Opening the heavy eyes, he was blinded until the bright sun was covered by a tower. Trying to get up, the warmth of the girl held him down. He pushed her over to the edge, revealing dry drool near her lips. Looking around instead, he saw the tall stone walls reaching half the size of the towers and at the gates there was two large tabards, both identical with a yellow elk and a white shield crest. Impressive. He thought.


    As the brown horses walked through the bridge on top of a large dam that surrounded the city Arkantos, he shook the girl as the wagon passed by travelers and traders. ¡°We¡¯re here apprentice¡±


    She woke up, scrubbed her eyes and tried to look around, ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°Arkantos, capital city of the Photos at the north eastern parts of the west continent. Stick close to me or you¡¯ll get lost¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± she muttered, searching for his hand on the wheat.


    He grabbed the soft hand and asked ¡°Sir, where are you heading to?¡±


    ¡°Uh, well, I was planning to drop you guys off near the gates, is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Fair enough, thanks for the ride¡±


    The old man scrubbed his head, ¡°Heh, everything for young folks¡±


    He parked on the street near the gates, the streets that stretched so far until a fountain at the town square covered the rest. Large structures on the side hid the alleyways, citizens walked around happily with their baskets or tools. Guards with heavy armor and green tabards patrolled, as the white clouds above them passed by one by one.


    The magician and the girl left the wagon, waved to the kind old man who replied with the same, he turned around the corner with the horses and vanished behind the buildings.


    The girl got closer, in a way that would mistake you as lovers, she asked ¡°Master, what do we do now?¡±


    He frowned, calling him Master sent a shiver down his spine. He patted the head and said, ¡°Call me Tony, apprentice. Lets start by finding a place to grab a meal before we move on¡±


    She nodded, face shrouded by the red hood and followed him as he made his way towards the town square.


    ¡°Oi! Guard¡± Someone patted Tony on the shoulder, ¡°Whose family are you protecting?¡±


    Gazing upon the soldier that stopped him dead on tracks, the soldier wore a green cape decorated the same as the tabards with a yellow elk and a shield crest. Oh, a magician with the skills to avoid the cloak¡¯s illusion¡­ Wait a minute, Old man? No it can¡¯t be...


    ¡°Family?¡±


    The soldier rose an eyebrow, ¡°Yeah, the fancy clothed girl next to you, isn¡¯t she a upperclass?¡±


    ¡°No, but I can understand, how you could easily mistake this cloak on my apprentice as something only those with money could obtain.¡±


    He frowned, ¡°May I take a look?¡±


    ¡°No¡±


    The man Ignored the reply, pulled over the hood, revealing her black and white hair. Surprised by the unknown hand, the girl trembled behind Tony.


    Why did you even bother to ask in the first place¡­ Tony questioned himself, realising his mistake of not stopping the guard in the first place.


    ¡°White hair? Beastmen blood!¡±, He said, stepping backwards and readied a lightning spell that scattered blue sparks onto the streets as it chirped like thousands of birds. Curiously citizens were attracted and started to gather around the scene, even though they knew that it wasn¡¯t safe to watch a fight that had a magician in it.


    ¡°Oi, what are you doing?¡±


    The magician ignored him once again and sent the fully loaded chain lightning that roared as it traveled in the air towards the girl.


    But Tony just swooped his hand in the air, creating a flame barrier that blocked the blast and left burning marks on the once beautiful street.


    ¡°Oi, Lemme guess, someone important to you died by a beastmen? Though, that doesn¡¯t give you any reasons to attack an innocent girl.¡±


    "Shut up! Your kin will pay for what you did" He scowled and readied another spell.


    ¡°STOP!¡±, someone then said, pushing away the public and pulled the shoulder of the green caped magician.


    It was a old man with decorated heavy armor who held down the arm with the lightning spell and said ¡°Are you an idiot? This is a neutral zone, we have no part of the war!¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°Shutup! Come with me to the office, I will punish you myself!¡±


    The magician clicked his tongue, ¡°Sorry sir!¡±


    ¡°And what are you people looking at, nothing to see here! Move on!¡± the high ranked man warned the public and then turned around towards Tony. ¡°On his behalf, as his officer I¡¯m sorry¡± He bowed.


    Tony scratched his cheek, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just tell that blonde not to believe that everyone with beastmen blood inside of them is a bloody killer. Besides, she isn¡¯t even a half blood...¡±


    The old man bowed again, but the magician grinded his teeth, readied another spell but got pinched on the ear ¡°Ouch! Aaaah! aaH!¡±, he was dragged away and vanished behind the public that went on with their daily life.


    ¡°Change of plans, we¡¯ll head to the magician¡¯s shop first. I¡¯d better get some better equipment for my apprentice¡±


    The girl nodded, held the hand tightly as he moved around the streets.


    ¡°Ding ding!¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Charlotte¡¯s magicians shop!¡± A woman with a black robe greeted behind the counter.


    ¡°Ah, hi¡­ May I take a look around?¡±


    ¡°Be my guest¡±


    Tony took a glance on all the wares from robes, capes, cloaks, staves, rings, amulets and all kinds of equipments on display, they were made out of high quality materials, expensive at that, yet none caught his eye. ¡°Hey, where is the real deal?¡±


    The woman grinned, covered her lips with her icy cold fingers, ¡°Oh, you got the magician¡¯s eyes¡­ The real wares are inside here¡± she said, opening the entrance to the back behind the counter.


    Tony smiled, pulled the girl as he passed the bowing woman. Entering a room that revealed yet another shop with worn down equipments on display. No wonder they had the good looking goods outside, normal people would complain at their sight. Yet with a twist, equipments with a magical aura to them.


    Passing one item after another, he picked up a red and black tattered cloak. A sapphire star amulet, green emerald brooch for the cloak, a bronze shaft with no blade, a black skirt, a shirt more fitting for a girl and finally a pair of long leather boots. The woman who looked identical to the one at the entrance, grinned. ¡°Royal eyes, not magician¡¯s sister...¡± she muttered.


    Placing the wares on the counter, he said ¡°I¡¯ll buy these¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll be 16 gold and 21 silver¡±


    The Apprentice nearly stumbled if it wasn¡¯t the help of Tony, she had never heard of something that cost that much, though, not that she knew what he was buying...


    ¡°10 gold¡±


    A drop of sweat rolled down from her forehead, the twin knew that customers like these was a pain in the ass.


    ¡°16 gold¡±


    ¡°11 gold¡±


    ¡°15 gold and a half¡±


    ¡°11 gold and 1 silver¡±


    She forced a smile, ¡°15 gold¡±


    ¡°11 gold and 2 silver¡±


    Silence struck the room, it was her job to call the price, yet the young man before her threw smirks around and swayed the balance towards him. What a wretched bastard, she thought.


    ¡°14 and 58 silver, final or no sell¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­Fine¡­ Wait, I only have 13 gold and 83 silver as you can see¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡±


    He smirked, handing over the money that she stowed away and later plopped down to the floor, crying behind the counter, she cursed the man.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Do you guys have a dressing room?¡± He asked.


    She pointed to a corner with tears, but she covered her bright red cheeks when he went inside together with the silhouette of a girl.


    ¡°Sit here¡± he said, placing her on a chair as she tried to look around.


    Her cheeks started to burn, he undressed her once again without a care, starting with the shoes, cape, shirt and then the black pants. A breeze passed her delicate body as she plopped into the skirt. His warm hands touched her arm and back as he dressed her in a new shirt.


    ¡°Comfortable?¡±


    ¡°A bit too large¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, you¡¯ll grow to fit it eventually¡­¡±


    ¡°CRACK!¡±


    Hmm? Did I hear something break outside? No matter¡­ The protective necklace.


    Something cold and metallic chilled her neck, A star Amulet? she thought, after shaping it in her mind by feeling on the amulet. He then held her feet to the air, plopping them down into leather boots that reached her thighs with the briefs. While he tied them, she called ¡°Tony¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°... Why, do you want to pass the border?¡±


    ¡°I thought you wanted to learn magic, not ask questions. Besides, listening in to others conversation is not polite.¡± He said, though he actually meant the two outside the dressing room.


    ¡°Ah, sorry¡­¡±


    Silence broke out between them as he tied the leather boots.


    He sighed, ¡°I need to explore the Labyrinths, I¡¯ve heard that a few has been discovered beyond the borders¡±


    ¡°Labyrinths? Aren¡¯t they filled with dangerous magical monsters?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but my master believes that what I seek is in one of them, never would I have thought that it was my only clue...¡±


    ¡°I hope you find what you seek¡±


    Even though she couldn¡¯t see, he looked away, ¡°We¡¯re done, let''s go...¡±


    She nodded, grabbed his coat and followed. Though, he instead held her hands.


    ¡°So cute! And please come again!¡± both of the clerks said, bowing and broke their magic staves in halves as the pair left the store, he shuddered, walked towards a bar nearby.


    Opening the bar door, the stench of fresh beer covered their noses. Revealing a restaurant filled with tables and guests. ¡°Welcome!¡± A barmaid said, dressed in white and red. ¡°Is it only you two?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡±


    ¡°That table over there, please¡±


    Sitting on the chairs around the round tables, a menu was placed at front of Tony. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ll pick this, that and that, and a glass of water for the girl¡±


    Writing something on a piece of paper, she ripped it apart and said ¡°That¡¯ll be 75 coppers¡±


    Handing over 1 silver, he said ¡°Keep the change¡±


    She nodded with a smile and left. A few minutes later, she arrived with two plates of meat together with fried vegetables, a cup of beer and a glass of water. ¡°Have a nice meal¡±


    Picking up a fork and knife, he was about to eat until his apprentice asked ¡°Tony, how should I eat?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ This will be your first training. Use your other senses and imagine the white plate at front of you, a large meat of any kind and a few side vegetables. Smell the aromatic meat, smell the vegetables, feel it with your fork and knife, the softness and warmth, even the taste. A good magician have the imagination, you¡¯ll need it for the advanced training later¡±


    She nodded and tried her best, though spilled on the table a few times. Or rather barely spilled, as Tony used wind magic to keep them on the air, laying them neatly back on the plate as he snickered and continued to eat and drink.


    While he did, he could hear the word ¡°Labyrinth¡± that caught his ear from a nearby table. It was a group of adventures made out of a archer, protector and magician.


    ¡°Hey, should we get a few more members before exploring the Labyrinth?¡± A man asked, clad in leather armor and a bow filled with magic aura.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s dangerous for only us three, hopefully we will also be the first one to clear it, since the adventurer''s guild found it yesterday.¡± The woman said, hugging her staff on the chair.


    ¡°Where should we start then?¡± The muscular man wondered, rustling his steel plated armor and giant tower shield filled with magic.


    ¡°Well¡­ How about we ask around in the town square or at the guild? Someone is bound to be interested¡± The magician answered.


    Tony smiled, ¡°Change of plans apprentice, wait here¡±


    She nodded, trying to prick the meat with her fork but missed. She sulked...


    Walking towards the group of adventures, he patted the shoulder of the magician and asked ¡°Can I join the expedition? I¡¯m a magician¡±


    ¡°Oh! one down! One more to go¡± The magician smiled with the other two and then added ¡°So what Rank are you?¡±


    Tony tilted his head, ¡°Rank?¡±


    ¡°You know, the rank that shows your strength based on the amount of Labyrinths and quest you clear on behalf of the Guild¡±


    ¡°Eh, I never done anything on behalf of the guild¡±


    The three adventures glanced at each other confused, turned around and whispered something like ¡°Suspicious¡± to each other and then the magician asked ¡°Oh? How about this then. How many have you cleared before?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Over 9000?¡±


    Their chairs fell onto the floor, causing a few other guest to check the cause, ¡°No way! You must be lying¡­¡± They said, quietly picking up the chairs.


    Tony laughed, ¡°Of course I am lying. Truth be told, I have never left my house, not until a few days ago. But I can assure you of my skills¡±


    ¡°Well, if you say so, what affinity are you then?¡± The archer asked.


    ¡°Affinity?¡±


    They facepalmed themselves, and then the archer signaled the magician to explain, ¡°Well, you should know as a fellow magician that we usually only specialize on one main element. Right?"


    "Yeah"


    "Well it consist of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Darkness, Light. After that, there is those that you obtain by combining them or advancing the element further, like water to lightning, like that incident half an hour ago near the gates, if you have heard of it¡±


    Tony nodded, he also remembered the lecture by his master years ago.


    ¡°Also, there is those that specialize in more than one, though they are rare as it is extremely hard to control them, especially those with more than 2. Legends say, that a man once had full control of wind, fire and earth. Creating a giant meteor in the sky¡±


    The archer with his arms crossed added ¡°Hence it is important to know what you specialize in, so what affinity are you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess it is fire then?¡±


    ¡°Ah, nice! Our friend over here uses the light affinity and a tiny amount of water, meaning she is more of a healer, so we really needed more firepower¡± He said, patting the tall shoulder of the magician.


    ¡°Anyways, my manners, I¡¯m Josh, the Magic archer and also the leader¡±


    ¡°Cratz, the Magic Shield protector¡±


    ¡°Unh, the Healer¡±


    ¡°Heh, Tony, the fire magician¡± Tony replied, turning around and pointed onto his apprentice, ¡°And that is my apprentice by the way, mind if she follows?¡±


    ¡°EEEeeeh?!¡±


    ¡°No no noo¡± Cratz shook his hands, ¡°You know how dangerous it is in there? She is just a child!¡±


    The others nodded.


    ¡°I told you, I can assure you of my skills. Besides, she is blind. Do you want me to leave a blind girl alone in an unknown city without a guardian?¡±


    They turned around, whispered once again and then faced Tony, ¡°Very well¡­ But don¡¯t blame us if it gets hairy inside there. But just in case, we¡¯ll try to find a few more to help us. So let¡¯s meet at the southern gate in¡­ How about in 1 hour?¡±


    Tony nodded, waved as they left the bar with smiles. ¡°Back to my cold refreshing beer, I guess¡­ OI! Apprentice! Wait, that¡¯s not food!¡±

 Chapter 004.

    The Traveler and the Past


    As the master and apprentice sat near the street, travelers, traders, carriages all sort of people from the south passed by either in groups or alone. While the magicians were waiting for the group of adventures, Tony himself thought it was the best time to train as the guards watched curiously on them.


    ¡°Apprentice, how many people has passed by since 1 minutes ago?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She poked the street with a stick, ¡°7?¡±


    ¡°Wrong, the answer is 10. Don¡¯t forget to listen to the amount of steps instead of only sensing if they have passed or not.¡°


    She nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard, but with time you would even be able to sense the rats behind you¡±


    ¡°Eek!¡± she yelped, standing up and backed away towards a large horse on the street, that was about to crash onto her.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± The driver of the expensive carriage warned, trying to pull the rope on the strong horse to no avail.


    Tony sighed, used wind magic and pushed her back to him. ¡°Sorry, sir!¡± He said, towards the driver who used a handkerchief to brush away the sweat.


    The driver sighed, ¡°Just keep a closer watch on the child will ya?¡± he added, before passing the red cloaked who held the girl inside his arms near the chest, vanishing behind the gates through the bridge.


    Tony patted the head covered by a black tattered cloak, ¡°Apprentice, remember this in your heart¡± he said, poking her beating warm chest, ¡°Always stay calm in any situation, or there might be dire consequences¡±


    She pushed him away, sitting right next to him and muttered, ¡°Yes, Tony¡­¡±


    Tony looked away and chuckled, he could recall the day on the streets with his master. It was a happy day with a blue sky, people passed by casually with their daily lives. Yet, he had the same reaction like his apprentice, running with his tail between his legs when his master used magic to show him that there was a rat behind him.


    He smiled, How did I even communicate with my master? All that came out of his mouth was gibberish¡­ He wondered, until someone pulled his cloak who was his apprentice.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡±


    She gazed upon his eyes with her blue iris, ¡°When will I be able to learn magic?¡±


    ¡°Heh, apprentice¡­ As a magician, patience is also your strongest weapon, that is what my master always told me¡±


    She rested her head on the right side of Tony, ¡°So, who was your master?¡±


    He laughed, ¡°The most lovestruck and crazy person I have ever meet, though also the kindest even when he doesn¡¯t show it¡±


    He gazed upon the white clouds, ¡°Yeah, he was also really shy filled with pride¡­ ¡±


    It was a blue sky just like today, clouds passed the window at front of a table, filled with alchemy tools. And there he was, a old man with a blue robe and blue pointy hat, he also had the white hair and beard. You could call him, a true wizard, a wizard from the stories like a sword in the stone or Merlin himself.


    Working with the potions, he used magic as if he was a conductor, swaying his fingers around, creating a trail of glitter as the liquid passed one tube to another. He held the finished bottle with a pinkish liquid, held it above the air, inspected it and shouted ¡°Apprentice! I have done it! The potion of life!¡±


    The footsteps of someone running up the stairs to the third floor could be heard, opening the door with a bang and revealed a young boy around his teens, ¡°Master! Have you finally done it?! The potion of life?!¡±


    ¡°YEAH! I can finally get the enormous mountains to bow before my knees!¡±


    The boy facepalmed himself, ¡°Are you talking about the barmaid nearby?¡±


    ¡°Why of course my apprentice, who else would I make such a beautiful potion for?¡±


    Silence broke down between them.


    The boy sighed and broke it, ¡°That¡¯s a love potion, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The wizard avoided his black eyes and frown, turned his head towards the window and scrubbed his forehead with a magic handkerchief. He gazed upon the passing clouds and questioned, ¡°Are you questioning your master?¡±


    ¡°Me? Nah, you want me to do the usual stuff right? Making your childhood friend drink the bottles while you stay in this lonely tower forever¡­¡±


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


    ¡°Hey! Who do you call a childhood friend! She is married you know¡­¡±


    ¡°... No she¡¯s not, and why do you look so old? Remove that illusion will ya?¡±


    And so he did, revealing a handsome blond man around his late 30ths. ¡°Ahem¡­ Now go now apprentice, it¡¯s an order from your master¡± He said, throwing the bottle towards the boy.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I can¡¯t understand why she is still waiting for you¡± he muttered.


    ¡°What did you say, you little frog?¡±


    The boy shuddered, recalling how his master forced a transformation potion onto him, ¡°Nothing!¡± He said, left the tower and went to the bar nearby with haste.


    Opening the bar door, the stench of fresh ale and the sound of their sizzling music covered the boys senses.


    ¡°Ah, Tony!¡± A beautiful lady who hasn¡¯t lost to her age embraced the boy, covering him in the large mountains that could probably burst out any second from the clothings.


    ¡°So, how is the stupid mage doing in the tower?¡±


    ¡°Still the stupid potions that he believes that you would drink¡­¡±


    She laughed, pulled the boy towards a table, ¡°Please take a seat, Tony¡±


    He nodded, sat on the wooden chair and relaxed his arms on the wooden table. ¡°Federica, I don¡¯t understand¡­ Why can¡¯t you just ask him out?¡±


    She rested her mountains on the table, causing other guest to take a glance, yet quickly turn back to their daily drinking¡­ They shuddered, the wrath of the magician in the tower was not something to joke about.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She rested her chin on her palm, ¡° I guess it is a woman¡¯s pride and a man¡¯s pride?¡±


    ¡°Pride?¡±


    ¡°He promised me that he would become the strongest magician before asking me out¡­¡± She sulked, ¡°Just like any boy would do when they were little¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just break it? Rules are meant to be broken, no?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Traveler¡­ When you get older you¡¯ll understand¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I guess, but¡­ What if it becomes too late? Wouldn¡¯t you regret it? the boy asked, playing with the table.


    She smiled, ¡°You are like my own son, traveler¡­ Worrying about an old lady, yet you are the one who have faced the true suffering of separation and regret...¡±


    ¡°Stop, I don¡¯t want to talk about it¡­ And stop calling me traveler so suddenly, it was only once¡­¡± He muttered, stood up and clenched his fist, ¡°This is my new life¡­¡±, he said and left the bar, leaving Federica alone with the potion.


    Tony sulked on the street, it was happy memories, yet, thinking back about it, there was also the painful ones¡­


    ¡°Tony, why did she call you a traveler?¡± The girl with glimmering eyes, yet couldn¡¯t see asked, resting her weight upon the young man¡¯s right side.


    ¡°I...¡±, he was interrupted.


    ¡°Oi!¡± Cratz the magic archer shouted out towards them. ¡°Over here!¡±, he waved his hand.


    Standing up with the girl, he held her hand and walked to the group of adventures with two new faces.


    ¡°This is Tony, the fire magician and the apprentice, I was talking about before¡± The leader Josh introduced us to the new members.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Dane, the magic swordsman¡±, he said, shaking Tony¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m Claria, the water magician¡±, the girl bowed and then asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the cute girl hiding behind the cloak?¡±


    ¡°My apprentice¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, what¡¯s her name?¡±


    A drop of sweat rolled down Tony¡¯s forehead, how could he have forgotten such a basic question of his apprentice, never once did he wonder about her name¡­


    The group of adventures started to look suspiciously at him, they probably wondered, why does it take such a long time to answer such a basic question?


    ¡°I.. I¡¯m Rin¡± She muttered, saving her master from his impending doom.


    ¡°So cute!¡± Claria squealed, embraced the girl who shuddered and then glared at her master, ¡°At least you could dress her better, look at these tattered clothings¡±


    ¡°Ah, well they might look bad, but they are filled with magic¡±


    ¡°These? I can¡¯t see anything with my Magician¡¯s eye¡­¡±


    Tony shrugged, ¡°Anyways, back to the real deal. Shall we head out to Labyrinth?¡±


    The group of adventures glanced at each other, smiled and then Josh said ¡°Of course! Follow me! I¡¯ll lead the way!¡±

 Chapter 005.

    Blue and White


    As the group of adventures together with the pair of master and apprentice, struggled past the thick forest, filled with bushes and surface roots that covered the thin path made by a large animal. While the sun tried to shine through the small gaps between the leaves, Unh the healer tried to start a conversation as she climbed a large mossy stone on the path when she noticed that Tony didn¡¯t have a crucial tool for magicians.


    ¡°Tony, where is your staff?¡± She asked, trying to search for a tool behind his cloak.


    Tony who held Rin as a princess, flew like a rocket launcher upwards, leaving a trail of smoke and landed on the large stone as the adventures struggled to climb with their equipments. Smiling as he gently placed Rin on the stone, he held her soft hands and said, ¡°Attaining mastery over mana, has given me the ability to ignore the needs of a medium¡±.


    Both of the magicians stopped dead on their tracks, while a leaf flew by, they gaped in awe of the skill they had never heard of. Though, it made Cratz who was the last in the line accidently bump face first into Claria¡¯s soft butt.


    ¡°HEY!¡± she said, kicking his helmet.


    With a clang, our Protector fell backwards with his heavy towershield, immediately pushing himself up he shook his head, checked the vicinity and said ¡°We¡¯re under attack! Something blue and white attacked me!¡±


    The group chuckled, but the magician clenched her fist, face burning as she walked towards the armored man. Grabbing the cold metal collar, she pulled him down with ease and whispered something. He became quiet for the rest of the journey.


    ¡°Heh, Making friends already, Claria?¡± Dane the magic swordsman snickered.


    She glared at him and smirked, sending a shiver down his spine as he now hid behind his new partner Cratz. Both of them became quiet for the rest of the journey as we followed Josh with his map.


    Unh shrugged, walked faster to catch up with Tony and Rin, she asked, ¡°Is it true that Rin is blind?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, can¡¯t you see how easily my apprentice stumbles here and there?¡±


    She took another peek on Rin who walked flawlessly around the surface roots, uneven path and vines that could easily trip one of the largest animals. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because I am helping her¡­¡± He released her hand, she shuddered as the group stopped on their tracks to watch. ¡°Apprentice, see if you can walk straightforward without struggle¡±


    ¡°Uh, but¡­ I can¡¯t see¡­¡±, she said, searching for her master¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll catch you if you fall. You have my word.¡±


    Unh crossed her arms, had seconds thoughts as the delicate girl trembled before her eyes. Concluding that this was unnecessary, she tried to stop Rin, but was forced to stand ground by Tony¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Uh, okay¡± Rin said, took a heavy breath before her first step, but immediately fell head first, barely touching the grassy path with her tingling nose.


    Tony shrugged, ¡°See?¡±


    The group nodded, heart skipping as the man before them caught the girl barely before impact. Such a fearless man, they thought, never would they have him show proof ever again.


    ¡°My apprentice, want me to show you the advanced stage?¡± He asked, placing her on her two feets once again and patted her hood.


    Smiling with her glittering blue eyes, she said ¡°Yes!¡±


    He smiled back, piggybacked her and said ¡°Now, cover my eyes with your hands¡±


    She tilted her head, ¡°How can you see then?¡±


    He grinned, ¡°I don¡¯t, I sense.¡±


    Nodding, she covered his eyes with her warm palms, as the adventures questioned his actions.


    ¡°Now, Josh I¡¯ll follow you blindfolded until we get to the Labyrinth¡±


    ¡°You sure?¡± The leader asked, waving his hand before Tony''s eyes.


    ¡°Yes, stop waving and let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ I¡¯ll call that a fluke.¡±


    As the group moved through the thick woods, struggling as the man before them but behind Josh, walked flawlessly with Rin around the vines, roots, mossy boulders and fallen trees. They were surprised, how was it possible?


    As his cape flapped with the wind, he held Rin¡¯s thighs and asked, ¡°Apprentice, remember how I told you that good magicians had the imagination?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Well, what they are actually doing is sensing the flow of mana inside of their body, the flow of mana in the nature and the flow of mana in every living being, including the peddle like this one¡± he said, kicking a tiny peddle on the path, ¡°Borrowing their mana if necessary and using it for their own needs to create spells. That is where a mediums comes in, unlike me, those two behind me need to use staves to help them sense the nature around them¡±


    She chuckled, as the other two stared at their staff, wondering if they should try to train their senses.


    ¡°Heh, as a bonus of mastering your senses, I can walk around with ease, sensing the mana in everything and creating a map inside my mind. Hence with a better understanding of how the flow of mana works, you can use this to your advantage, creating spells without a medium like I or simply advancing the magic further to a more powerful spell¡­ In my case, both¡±


    ¡°So, my apprentice are you motivated to reach great heights?¡± He finally asked.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± she said, snuggling behind his back as she covered his eyes.


    ¡°Sorry to interrupt your interesting lessons, Tony. But it seems that we have arrived¡± Josh said, rolling his map and packed it in his large bag.


    Rin removed her hands from Tony¡¯s eyes, revealing a crystal cave surrounded by the forest as the group of adventures stood on top of a cliff, the sun shone brightly down upon the other fellow adventurers camping outside the large entrance.


    ¡°So, how do we get down?¡± Claria asked, shuddering near the edge together with Dane.


    Josh shrugged, ¡°Easy, like this¡­¡± He said, pushing both of them down the cliff.


    ¡°Whaaaa!¡± they screamed, yet turned bright red when they noticed that they fell slowly to the ground. Unh had casted slow fall on everyone, a light based magic and she too was falling slowly with them together, meanwhile Cratz took his time by surfing in the air with his towershield.


    ¡°Well, what are you waiting for Tony? Let¡¯s go!¡± Josh beckoned and then fell backwards on the edge of the cliff.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Tony shrugged, jumped down together with his apprentice as she embraced him tightly, landing on the soft grass together with the group.


    ¡°This place is kinda crowded though¡± Dane said, checking the vicinity as we landed one by one. The area was filled with camping sites and adventures, which probably came here to gain the riches inside the Labyrinth


    ¡°Yeah, newly found Labyrinths are the weakest of them all, since the mana that created them from the nature has yet to fully develop.¡± Josh shrugged, ¡°Meaning that the beginners will take this opportunity to test their skills as well as gain stronger weapons before tackling the old uncleared ones.¡±


    ¡°Beginners?¡± Tony asked, now holding the hand of Rin.


    ¡°Yeah, everyone in this group other than you two and me are Bronze ranked. The lowest starting from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and then Diamond¡±


    ¡°Oh, what are you then?¡±


    ¡°Silver, I have cleared two of them, but left my old group from personal issues.¡±


    ¡°Right, so what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    He grinned, taking out a tablet from his bag and started to paint something. Curiously the group moved closer to find out what he was doing, but he was then patted on the shoulder by a unknown person.


    ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t the old Josh, the magic archer¡­¡± a man with a black cape said, followed by two others clad in leather armor.


    ¡°Ah, done! Okay, this is the plan we will...¡± Josh continued, as the whole group tried to find out what Josh had in his mind.


    ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t ignore me!¡±


    ¡°Aaah, if it isn¡¯t the earth magician, Lucas. I thought you had been promoted to gold? What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Me? I was close by and decided to clear this petty little Labyrinth for the beginners like you¡± He said, grinning as lightning from rivalry struck between their fierce eyes.


    "Oi, boss it''s him" His goon tried to warn him, yet he too was ignored. Sulking, the third guy patted his back out of comfort.


    ¡°Oh, since you have bigger matters to attend to, maybe you should leave my group alone?¡± Josh taunted.


    He shrugged, ¡°Pfft, your group? Those petty little¡­ HEY! It¡¯s you! The illusionist!¡± He shouted after taking a second glance on the group, pointing at Tony.


    Confused, Tony looked around as the girl hid behind him, ¡°Who me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah you, the one who cast illusions on every citizens in Loskantros!¡±


    Josh rose an eyebrow, ¡°Lucas, what are you talking about? He is a fire magician¡±


    "Yeah" the others added.


    ¡°No I know it¡¯s him! HEY! stop with that smirk! I¡¯ll have you know that¡± He tried to argue, but was interrupted with a pat on the shoulder.


    ¡°Enough¡± Unh muttered, ¡°If you have time to argue with another group, don¡¯t come to this place¡±


    He turned around, tried to retaliate but instead his eyes were filled with hearts . ¡°Oh my Aphrodite, I don''t know what struck my mind, but I believe your charm had made me lose it, please? May I know your beautiful name?" He said, kissing her hand like a prince.


    She dropped dead onto the grass.


    "Ahem, anyways... I''ll leave you guys alone for today and I''ll be back if you guys don''t clear this easy Labyrinth with this lady" He said, beckoned his goons to follow and left the area through the forest¡¯s path.


    "That was weird..." Dane said while he glanced at everyone.


    "Indeed..." Cratz added, trying to wake Unh up.


    "Anyways, back to the plan" Josh said, showing the formation on the tablet, whereas everyone awake replied with a nod.


    "Cratz will be our main defense at the front, together with Dane who will back him up"


    They nodded.


    "Me and the girls will be behind them, supporting with ranged attacks or in Unh''s case, supporting magic"


    Claria nodded and shook the head of the drooling Unh on the grass.


    "Lastly, we have Tony and Rin, you''ll watch our back. Mostly because the front is the most dangerous and I don¡¯t want to take the risk of Rin being in the frontlines"


    Tony nodded.


    "But for now, lets take a quick rest and fill our stomach as you guys must be tired from the way here, right?" He asked while preparing a few cooking tools, he had hidden in his bag.


    "Fair enough, though I need to ask you something Josh, privately if you may" Tony answered and left Rin with Cratz.


    "Oh, lets go over there then" He said, walking with Tony towards a few lonely trees.


    He crossed his arms, rested his back on one of the trees and asked "What can I do for you?"


    "Your friend Lucas, does he deal with slavery trading?"


    "Ah, who could have guessed... I believe you mean his father, someone with strong ties to the black market. Funnily there is also barely any difference between them. Unless you check their age or hair colour"


    He sighed, "Lucas usually loses his mind when someone believes that he is his father. So please don''t mention anything that has to do with him and not he himself"


    Tony glanced on the green grass that waved with the wind, "I see... That explains everything."


    "Please don''t mind him and I don''t know why you asked that nor what trouble he caused you. But once you get to know him, he is actually really kind compared to his father. Though, might express it in a different way than others... Forcefully I believe, more than for his own good. Probably his father''s influence" He added, scratching his hair.


    "Anyways anything else you want to ask?"


    "No. But thanks for answering my question Josh, lets go cook some dinner for the hungry kids over there" Tony said, tilting the head towards the pinkish and glittering atmosphere around Cratz who played happily with Rin, one could say that he was good around kids as he danced around her. Though, because she couldn¡¯t see, she just stared off to a distance...


    He laughed, "Yeah, the big one"


    As they walked back to the group, Josh couldn''t help but ask a question himself, "Is it true about what Lucas said, that you know illusion magic?"


    "Sorta, it¡¯s actually my magic cloak that throws most of the illusions around, thought what kind of illusion is a trade secret"


    "Hmm, very well, I shall not prey any further."


    ¡°Heh, if you say so.¡±

 Chapter 006.

    Separation and Fate


    After the good rest and surprisingly delicious and aromatic food made by Josh. They entered the crystallized entrance of the cave surrounded by a forest and went deeper into the cavern illuminated by the white crystals, formed on the wall like hexagon towers. While they did, the dense air was filled with sparkling light that floated towards the ceiling with the air, touching them they died out leaving a warm and comforting sensation on the skin.


    ¡°Mana...¡±, Tony whispered to himself as the sparkling light melted on his hand that held Rin¡¯s.


    Following the group deeper into the Labyrinth, passing tunnels and other group of adventures. A strong chilly wind blew past, crystallizing the walls filled with crystals thicker than before.


    ¡°The Labyrinth has gotten stronger¡± Josh said, magic bow ready, even though we had yet to encounter any magical monsters.


    ¡°Josh, I fear that we are facing one of the maze type Labyrinth, considering how young it is¡± Cratz said, towershield raised as everyone followed his broad back.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯ll be a race for the first group of adventures to find the hidden room¡± Josh added.


    ¡°Although¡­ That breeze might have helped us out, that way!¡± he pointed towards a tunnel where the crystallization came from.


    Tony held Rin on his arms once again, bringing her closer to his chest, he nodded together with the group and followed them through the tunnel. As they moved with haste, drops of water dripped from the crystals and shattered on their hair, wettening them and also creating a few puddles on the ground. The sound of a river could also be heard from above, getting stronger as the moved further into the depths.


    As they did, a unknown shout from behind said ¡°I believe it was this way!¡±.


    It seems another group of adventures had the same idea as Josh, but with each step our group took that scattered the puddles of water onto the crystals formed on the walls. The sound of a waterfall grew larger, together with a light that shone brightly at the end of the tunnel, blinding them when they stepped outside.


    Another strong breeze passed them, as they found themselves gaping wide at the edge of a cliff outside of the tunnel. Looking down, a bottomless hole was revealed, the walls was covered by orange crystals instead of white, illuminating the glittering water clouds in the air with orange. While a large waterfall rained down cold water from above together with the sun. Filling what seemed like a whirlpool that drained the water, never letting it fill to the middle of the deep bottle like room.


    Taking another look at the beautiful scenery with the green forest covering the edge above. Thorny vines hanged down from the trees and covered the crystals together with roses. Tony glanced at his apprentice who tried to sense her surroundings for practice. I wish that you could see the rainbow filled with colours¡­


    ¡°The scenery is one thing, that rainbow too, but what now?¡± Claria asked, looking down from the edge of the tunnel while the unknown group of adventures was still far behind.


    Josh scratched his hair, ¡°Well¡­ If it was I alone, I would jump into that whirlpool, because I am certain that the room is hidden behind that, but since Cratz has that heavy armor¡­¡±


    ¡°Hah, you underestimate me Josh, check this out¡± He said, grinning as he jumped into the whirlpool with his shield and disappeared inside the clear water.


    Unh shrugged and she too jumped, forcefully dragged Claria along who reflexly held Dane. ¡°Not again!¡± both of them screamed.


    ¡°Heh, what will I do with you two¡­ Let''s go!¡± He said, dived into the water with finesse of a archer.


    Tony took another glance at Rin, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect my apprentice from the water¡±


    She nodded, embraced Tony¡¯s shirt as he jumped down into the whirlpool that sent shivers down her spine.


    Plopping into the cold water, their magical clothings coated themselves in waterproof magic, as the strong currents pushed them together with fishes from small to large through the water filled cavern.


    Using magic so that both of them could breath in the water, he even casted water protection for his eyes. Looked around for the others as fishes passed by his vision, he found them no where near as the strong current pushed him towards the unknown.


    This place is filled with mana, I can¡¯t sense my surroundings properly, it''s as if it is being drained by something yet released a second after, he thought as the water currents pushed them for a while, forcing him to a room with light shining strongly through the clear water from the opening above his head.


    Swimming towards the light, he stuck his head out together with Rin from the water, taking a look around, he found the adventures laying on a sandy beach in a room filled with crystals and a tunnel at the other side. Probably taking a few breath from the currents that played around with them like ragdolls before venturing forth with their wet equipments.


    Shrugging, he casted a fire spell to dry them off, went to a large pink crystal, plopped down with Rin at the front while his back rested on the cold crystal. Gazing upon the ceiling, she cuddled herself in his chest and covered herself with his warm red cloak, she was shivering.


    He sighed, even though their clothings other than her briefs were water proof because of enhancements by magic. Her hair was still wet together with her pale skin and so was he. Tony casted yet another fire spell, dried both of them off while he took a brush through her silky hair. After a while, he then patted her head that rested on his chest with her warm palms, it was as if she was sleeping.


    He smiled, took another look at the adventures and said, ¡°What?¡±.


    All of them avoided his eyes, while a few also scratched their red cheeks, ¡°Well¡­ Let¡¯s go shall we?¡± Our leader Josh said, left the sandy beach through the tunnel with the others that took a few more glances towards him.


    Raising an eyebrow, Tony stood up, held her soft hand as he followed them deeper into the Labyrinth.


    While walking through the tunnels with Rin who had shrouded herself back inside her tattered black and red cloak. He the flow of mana got denser.


    ¡°Have we found it?¡± Tony asked as the adventures stood before him, weapons raised while gazing upon something at the other end.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ the hidden room of the Labyrinth together with a red crystal golem¡± Dane said, sword unsheathed, coated in mana that took form of lightning, chirping and sent sparks to the air.


    ¡°Get in formations in the crystal room, Cratz charge with the towershield, Dane do what you are best at, Unh remember the tactics, the rest spread out behind but nearby¡± Josh ordered, readied 3 arrows simultaneously that coated themselves in twisting wind magic.


    ¡°Use ranged attacks to our advantage and the crystal walls, now go!¡±


    Pouring out of the room, a room filled with crystals walls on a platform was revealed, together with a giant golem at the other end. The golem was covered in red crystals that sent red sparks from one crystal to the other on the body.


    It eyes glowed when it noticed the group of adventures that poured inside. The golem roared, trembled the platform and sent a strong breeze that made Tony¡¯s cloak flap happily with it.


    ¡°Apprentice, stay behind me¡± He said, bringing forth his fire sword and raised it at front of his eyes.


    She nodded and hid inside his cloak behind him. While she did, Cratz charged towards the golem with his towershield that was bigger than a normal one, suffering the drawback of not being able to use a secondary weapon.


    Though, mana started to coat his towershield, strengthening it and even lightened it, as he moved past the walls while the golem sent one crystal chump after another at him.


    He grinned, eyes burning, he shattered them with his shield, which made them scatter into fragments onto the floor. Unh who hid behind a wall buffed him in light magic, giving him more physical strength than ever to keep up with the attacks.


    The golem panicked, for the golem he saw a brave human, smaller in size yet rushing towards him clad in heavy armor with light effects and a shield that seemed unbreakable to the golem¡¯s attacks. It was if he was a golden rhino.


    Taking this chance for a surprise, Claria and Josh sent their ranged attacks together. Shattering pieces of the red crystals on the Golem broad stomach and staggered it backwards.


    Roaring, the red sparks on the crystals sent a laser beam towards them, though Dane who had been hiding somewhere, slashed the air, sending a lightning crescent towards the crystal on the golem. Cutting it in half that ended the beam.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Continuing with their combos without rest, another set of spells and arrows, staggered the golem backwards, it fell back first onto the platform.


    Dane took the chance together with Unh¡¯s physical buffs, he jumped onto the body, started to pierce the previous shattered spot with his sword coated in water while chanting, ¡°die! die! die!¡± within every stab.


    The golem roared, squealed, tried to break loose from the adventurers that bullied it, but to no avail as Cratz had a hidden weapon in his giant towershield. Large chains coated in mana¡­


    He threw the towershield to the other side, reversed the magic shield effect, making itself heavier, together with Unh who used magic to make the shield even more heavier than it already is. Not only that, she even made the armor on Cratz heavier, crippling the Golem to the floor as he held it down with the immense weight and physical strength.


    Tony released his fire sword, tears rolled down his cheek as the golem squealed multiple times, but was forever alone at the end of the platform. May you rest in peace, He thought, bowing towards the helpless magical monster that was bullied by a couple or so they say, beginner adventures.


    A minute after, the lifeless golem was stripped from all of its crystals, it crumbled into fragments while releasing the remaining mana inside of it. Gazing upon the magical monster, was the adventures that smiled to each other. ¡°Well, it was to be expected¡­ This golem didn¡¯t have enough time to get stronger¡± Josh said.


    Tony kicked a pebble from the golem towards Rin who somehow kicked it back, he then asked, ¡°How strong is a Labyrinth that has been around for a year?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, a group of bronze might still be able to handle it, but it depends on the type of monsters and how many inhabitant the Labyrinth. But the oldest is so hard that it has been called the Adventure''s graveyard, which is around 106 Years old I believe?¡±


    Unh nodded, ¡°Yes, you could say that for each year that passes, the strength of the magical monsters inside gets stronger by 2,3 times the year before. And if we take the hardest Labyrinth somewhere in the east continent as an example, it is said to be at least around 45000 times stronger than the day it was born.¡±


    ¡°Which is the biggest reason why it is best to clear the Labyrinths as soon as possible, or it may become impossible without a large nation¡­ " Josh added.


    "Luckily no magical monsters ventures out of the Labyrinth, as the mana inside of them acts like a drug, keeping them in place as the outer world barely has any like the concentrated inside the Labyrinth¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s also a drug for us adventures as the sole reason why we try to clear this Labyrinths is to collect the source of the Labyrinth. The crystal filled with mana.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What do you mean, Josh?¡±


    ¡°Heh, follow me everyone¡± He answered and went deeper into the Labyrinth that was once blocked by the golem.


    As Tony followed the adventures while holding Rin''s hand, he could feel the mana pulsating more than ever, soothing his skin in warmth. They had entered the chamber illuminated by a tiny crystal between a pillar on the floor and the ceiling.


    ¡°This is?¡± Tony asked.


    ¡°This is the Mana Crystal, well¡­ If what the guild said was true, it¡¯s a two day old one. Those that clears the Labyrinth, are to turn this into the Guild, gain our awards and strengthen our skills before the next Labyrinth appears or tackle those that no one dares to¡±


    Tony inspected the crystal, is this the clue my master told me about? Do I need a large amount of mana to achieve my goal? ¡°I can understand why the guild wants this, but, is this crystal draining the mana from the nature outside?¡±


    Claria tapped Tony¡¯s shoulder, stealing Josh¡¯s spotlight, ¡°You are correct, the Mana crystals forms with the help of excess mana from the nature, further increasing in mana capacity by draining more as times passes. And just like every living being it acts like one too, trying to protect itself from intruders like us by strengthening drawn creatures from the outside with mana, or creating their own like this Golem in crumbles behind us. Meaning the moment we take the crystal, the Labyrinth will start to cease to exist in a few days¡±


    Josh shrugged, grabbed the stone that opened a path behind them and said, ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s head back to Arkantos shall we?¡±


    Everyone glanced at one another, raised their fist to the air and cheered, ¡°Yeah!¡±.


    Though it was only Tony who didn¡¯t, ¡°Thanks for letting me participate in the Labyrinth, Josh, Claria, Cratz, Unh and Dane¡­ But me and my apprentice will head south to the next village, while we are already nearby¡±


    ¡°Huh? At least come with us and share the rewards?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yeah, no need to be in such a hurry?¡± Cratz added.


    ¡°No, I am thankful for you teaching me how the Labyrinth¡¯s works and why the Guild wants them cleared, but the sole real reason why I came here was to only experience for future references. Besides, I did nothing in the fight other than sightsee¡± Tony added patting the sulking Rin, who¡¯ll probably miss her friends.


    Unh shrugged, ¡°If the man says so, we can do nothing. It was fun while it lasted¡± She said, reaching out a hand towards Tony.


    Smiling, he shook the hand, though a barrage of hands came forward as they grinned. Scratching his hair, he shook every hand and followed them to the closest road.


    ¡°I hope we meet again in the future, Tony and Rin¡± Josh shouted and waved.


    Waving back, Claria took her time to hug Rin and whispered to her ear, Rin quickly turned around, face burning. Then Claria went back to the group of adventures and vanished around the corner of the trees.


    Shrugging, he left with Rin, walking towards the closest village near the borders. Leaving the green forest that revealed a farm filled with wheat that covered the hills in yellow as the sun fell from the orange sky. A breeze with green leaves made their cloaks wave with the wheat, as the sound of a large amount of soldiers made their way closer through the road


    Their armours rustled, a soldier that rode on a large black horse, galloped towards the them and warned, ¡°Move to the side traveler!¡±


    Heeding his warning, Tony pulled Rin closer and moved to the side, as causing trouble never ends well. Gazing upon the passing soldiers clad in black armor, tower shields and swords. They had a large amount of siege weapons together with men on horses that guarded them.


    Taking a closer look, he noticed that they had the dark red tabard with a black crest and a black crow on the middle that symbolises the empire. A country that controls half of the west continent, the Empire of Afauthien.


    Giving out a heavy sigh, a royal carriage pulled by horses passed by, taking a glance Tony noticed a man. A man older than he, yet also young with the outfit of a commander. As both of them stared into each others black iris, it reflected their heart, the soul hidden deep beneath their mind. The world lost it colours, they fell into a pitless white world that stretched endlessly as far as they could see.


    Both of them floated in a gravityless room, gazing upon on one another an immense mana bursted out of their body, one side filled with darkness that split the area between them while the other filled with light that fought to keep its place, but the contest ended with a strong wind pushing them further away. ¡°Who are you!¡± They shouted simultaneously as they glared with fierce eyes.


    Rin trembled, "Tony it hurts" she said, trying to remove Tony¡¯s hand.


    He returned to reality, sweat stung his eyes, wiping off his steaming face with the black shirt, he lightened his grip, "Sorry Apprentice, but war draws near, we should leave with haste", he said released the hand and piggybacked her instead, leaving the marching troops with wind magic.


    Now gone from their eyes, a soldier on a horse asked the sweating man in the carriage, "Commander want to take a rest?" the soldier asked, handing him a handkerchief.


    He grinned, wiped of his face with the handkerchief and laughed so loud that the forest nearby trembled and wittered until they were fully covered in black and finally crumbled into ashes. "I don''t know if it was destiny, nor if it was fate. But it seems that I am not the only one, sergeant"


    "Commander, could it be, that pair of traveler too?"


    "Yes, though I wonder if the red cloaked will walk the same path as me or the path of return..." he grinned, rested his chin on his hand.


    "No matter, it will be interesting either way, fellow traveler..."

 Chapter 007.

    Burn...


    A piping sound echoed through Tony¡¯s left ear to the other, a strong earthquake like tremble shook his body and caused him to open his heavy eyelids, awakening him from his cold slumber with a groan.


    A red flashing light stung his eyes. Blinking a dozen times, he blocked the light with the hand and rubbed the eye with the other. Trying to get up he fell down to the side, landing on something soft and comfy while a chilly fog covered his skin and stole his warmth.


    Pushing his heavy body up from the floor, he tried to make sense of the surroundings and found himself in a plane between blue passenger seats. Gazing straight ahead the passengers ran in panic from the left to right, screaming while stumbling onto the chair nearby by a strong wobble.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He muttered while trying to focus, yet head aching from pain, making his vision blurry as some warm liquid sent shivers behind his back.


    Feeling around his messy hair, a pain ran through his mind. A sticky liquid stuck onto his hand. Trying to focus upon it, his hand was fuzzy yet dyed in red.


    What do I do? He panicked, taking another look around, smokey clouds covered the ceiling, his body become heavier with each dripping blood that left red marks on the blue mat. He lost the control of his trembling arms that couldn¡¯t stand ground against the strong shaking wobble, hence his body plopped down onto the floor.


    Now layin with cheek against the mat as the stench of something burnt took over, darkness covered the edge of his vision as a lockers from above unlocked itself, making a large luggage slide slowly out towards the edge because of all the shaking.


    His eyes became wide, his heart beat faster enough for the brain to pick up the sound. If he didn¡¯t move, it would be the end of him his body warned. Taking a last stand to crawl out of the way with his useless arms and legs, it fell, covered his vision as darkness took over.


    Tony woke up, gasping with chest tightened as he checked the vicinity. After a while he took a deep breath and laid down onto the cushion, staring at the wooden ceiling of the inn. He thought.Just a dream of the past, but why now?


    The sun shone brightly through the window from the right, bathing him in warmth together with a slight breeze that passed his body from the tiny open gap.


    He curled himself in the warm and soft cloth, turned around to the left and glanced upon the long hair that covered her small nose as she held her hands together near her own cushion.


    Should I go take a look around the village? He thought, gently poking the warm and soft cheek of Rin at the other bed nearby as she slowly breathed in and out from the tiny gap between her lips.


    Removing the cloth that kept his warmth, starting with one leg than the other, he stood up on the cold floor, stretched his heavy arms and tight back with a gasp, covering Rin in his silhouette as he stole the shining sun. He smiled, hands on his waist and thought, It has been over 13 years I believe. Master, will I ever get back?


    Covering himself in the red cloak, he grabbed the rope to the left of his neck, attached the rope to the right and gently opened the screeching wooden door. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon¡± He whispered, while Rin rose from the single bed and scrubbed her eyes. She spaced out, then dropped dead the second after.


    Taking the wooden stairs down to the first floor, a lady behind the counter waved and said "Good morning".


    Tony smiled and replied the same. ¡°Good morning¡±


    ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, but thanks anyway¡± He answered and left the inn through the double door.


    Walking around the stone streets of the village, a wind passed by, making the trees and wheat rustle. Birds chirped, flying from one tree to the other as he inhaled the fresh air of the village. Though, taking a closer look around, he saw no one. Where is everyone? He thought, as usually, villagers would be walking outside around this time, doing their daily routine like swords training, magic training, chatting or even wash their clothes on the river nearby.


    He shrugged, took a stroll until he turned around the corner and found most of the villagers gathered together near the fountain square. They tried their best to stay calm, but the fear could be seen as they whispered about something to each other. A few even held their mouth as tears rolled down their cheek and finally plopped down onto the street, weeping.


    A bell from the church rang as Tony curiously walked closer, he saw that large amount of soldiers clad in the armor of the empire spread out into the houses, driving the villagers out of their homes and forced them into the crowd.


    He clicked his tongue, tried to walk away as he knew that it would turn ugly. Though, he was also pushed into the gathering of villagers together with the confused innkeeper.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this, I thought Photos had a mutual defense treaty with Afauthien?!¡± A old man with a crane argued as a soldier pulled him out from his house.


    ¡°Oh, you are a bit late for the news.¡± A man laughed, also clad in black armor, yet more decorated than the others.


    ¡°The royal bloodline of Photos has fallen. In a few days they will be executed at the town square in Arkantos.¡± He added.


    ¡°What?! This is madness. Are you backstabbing us?!¡±


    ¡°Madness, backstabbing? The beastmen from the east invaded us on the coast. Cruelly murdered innocent humans even young children who had yet explored the world. With all the reinforcement request to our, so called defense treaty friend, none were even granted and you talk about backstabbing?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you bloody warmongers started the war! Not them! As a neutral zone and according to the mutual treaty, we had the rights to deny!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, from now on. Everything once in Photos now belongs to the Empire. Including this village¡± He snickered, taking out a paper and faced it at front of the old man.


    ¡°This is the new laws from the Empire! Obey them and we¡¯ll walk out of this place peacefully¡± He said, handing it over to the old man.


    The old man read the paper, he frowned and slapped the black gauntlet with the crane as the wind blew the paper away. ¡°There is no way we can comply with these request!¡± He shouted.


    The soldier grinned, picked up the paper and said, ¡°According to the new laws, Mayor... Acting against an officer of the empire, will get you severely punished.¡±


    The officer gave the paper to his soldier, unsheathed his blade slowly, which let out a screeching metal sound and made the old man stiff. He walked backwards, eyes wide as the public could do nothing. The soldiers knew what their officer was about to do, probably from experience, hence they created a shieldwall against the crowd that tried to retaliate together with swords aimed towards their throats.


    The mayor fell back first, crawled backwards until his back hit a cold wall. ¡°No, you can¡¯t do this!¡± He said.


    The officer smirked, walked slowly towards the yielding man and thrusted the blade onto his soft chest. His heart was pierced and he coughed out blood dyeing his white beard in crimson red. ¡°Resistance is futile¡­¡± The officer said, slashing the head off of the mayor and scattered the blood onto the walls.


    The head fell to the side of the crowd, rolled until it stopped beside the feets of a little girl. ¡°KYAAAAAAAA!¡± She screamed until someone covered her mouth and hid her somewhere in the crowd.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The officer laughed, swung the blade in the air, leaving another blood mark on the wall and sheathed the blade soon after. ¡°Anyways, since the mayor is now resting in peace, I¡¯ll take the role of a mayor temporarily.¡± He said, walking towards the crowd.


    ¡°According to the law now bestowed upon this village, everyone who can hold a sword or have trained to become a magician will be requested to join the ranks.¡±


    ¡°Shut up murderer!¡± Someone replied.


    He grinned, ¡°Who ever said that bring him on his knees to me¡±


    ¡°No! What are you doing?!¡± A man got dragged out of the crowd by the soldiers.


    ¡°I will make another example, resist and you¡¯ll die¡± He said, unsheathed his blade and slashed the helpless man in two before he even had time to blink.


    The pale crowd gazed upon the blood that dyed the street in red as a tense atmosphere trembled them. All they could do was nod.


    ¡°So who will join the empire?¡± He asked.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°The rewards is great, your family will be compensated and if you make it through the ranks, you can get anything you want...¡±


    Everyone was pale with silence, the rewards might be good, but knowing that you are forced to join didn''t sit well with them. Especially after brutally killing two of the villagers when they could have talked it out. Even Tony who clenched his burning fist throughout the event couldn''t do anything. Calm down, if I kill them out of anger and the empire finds out that their platoon didn''t return, the one paying the price is the villagers not me.


    ¡°Change of plans then. According to the laws, if 20 of each villages don¡¯t join the ranks, they will be forced to. Any male above 16 will be joining and anyone who can wield magic no matter the age or gender will also join the ranks. The female can freely choose if they want unless they can wield magic. Private, do you have the papers I requested?¡±


    ¡°Yes officer¡±


    The officer took the paper and started to read, ¡°Steve Fox, come forward¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Not my son!¡± A brave woman begged at front of the officer, while her friend tried to pull her back, though a soldier kicked her friend back into the crowd.


    He grinned, ¡°Steve Fox, if you don¡¯t step forward, it will be counted as acting against an officer¡­ You don¡¯t want that to happen to your mother right?¡±


    ¡°No, Son, don¡¯t reveal yourself!¡± She yelled.


    ¡°SMACK!¡±


    She fell to the side, body on the street as she held her red cheek.


    ¡°Steve Fox, it was just a warning, the next time will be the last¡± He warned, bringing the cold blade to her neck that sent shivers down her spine as a drop of blood vanished down her chest.


    A teen pushed away the crowds, revealing himself as the officer patted his shoulder. ¡°Good choice¡±. He said, pointing towards one of the soldiers who showed the teen to sit in a wagon nearby, which continued until at least 41 recruits was brought to the wagon.


    ¡°Officer, we have recruited 8 magicians and the rest can wield the sword.¡± A soldier saluted.


    ¡°Good, Any¡­¡± He was about to say, until he noticed a young man with a red cloak behind the dead eyed crowd.


    ¡°You there, step forward¡±


    Tony poked his nose as the scared villagers opened a path, ¡°Why? I am a traveler, the rules are only for the villagers and anyone part of the nation, no?¡±


    The officer frowned, for him it looked like the red cloaked man was mocking him as he fired the snot onto a tree. Yet, he had to hold the anger chained from the provocation, since what Tony said was true.


    Though, a soldier then came and whispered something to his ear.


    ¡°What? Bring the beast here¡­¡±


    A few seconds later, Rin was brought before the officer as she struggled to get loose.


    ¡°Well, well, well¡­ Someone with the blood of a beast inside of them¡± He said, smelling her white and black hair.


    Rin shivered with silence.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s my apprentice you have over there, touch her again and you won¡¯t live to regret it.¡± Tony warned.


    ¡°Oh, are you threatening me?¡± He asked, caressing her wet cheek with tears.


    Ignoring the warning he immediately lost his balance and fell on his knees as a heavy tremble shook the ground underneath him. Turning towards Tony, he saw earth magic erupting from the ground, piercing his heavy armour with a sharp pillar and ended behind his back dyed in blood.


    He screamed, body stuck on the pillar above ground, blood dripped from his mouth and wound onto the street as he muttered, "How... This is one of the strongest anti magic armor..."


    "Burn..." Tony snickered, clenched his fist and a pillar of fire reached the blue skies, covering it in fire sparks as the officer burned to ashes. Leaving only a few scraps of the armour left as a black smoke rose from the ground.


    He walked towards the trembling Rin that tried to look around, he crouched down and whispered to her ear, ¡°it¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here¡­ ¡±. She embraced him, wept as he hugged her petite body back, ¡°Anyone else?¡± he asked.


    A breeze with leaves passed by the gaping soldiers, they shook their head and left with the recruits in haste as Tony picked up Rin with his arms like a princess.


    He turned around towards the crowd, happy as the officer has been taken by vengeance, yet sad as their family was forcefully taken to join the army, "Sorry I couldn''t do anything" he said.


    The brave mum from the first teen walked forward with a few others. Their face wet from tears yet frowning from anger as one pulled his cloak towards them. "... Why didn''t you stop them? With that strength we could have avoided all this!" The first mum asked.


    Tony avoided her red eyes from tears, he glanced at the rustling tree nearby as the fountain showered the streets with glittering water. "I couldn''t, if I did, who knows what they would do with the village?"


    She grabbed the collar as he held Rin and sniffed, "Still... What if they took her? What would you do then!?" You should know how I feel... No, us?" She pointed at every crying villagers. While a few kids tried to hit his back.


    "I''m sorry, unlike you, they will probably put me in the wanted list, besides... As I said before, if I did eliminate them, what would you do when I am gone?"


    Her frown turned sad, together with the grip that grew weaker.


    "Are you gonna force me to stay like how they forced the villagers to join? The officer might be cruel, yet what he said wasn''t a lie... If one goes beyond the ranks, they could even control the village for themselves or even the once called Photos"


    Avoiding his eyes, her hands dropped to her waist and she asked, "Can I slap you?"


    "... If that would satisfy... SLAP!!!"


    "I know that I am wrong... But, take this... I couldn''t give it to my son before he left" She muttered, left hand near her chest as the other with palm open towards Tony.


    "This is... No, I cannot accept something that precious, not as a stranger"


    "No, you punished the one who killed my friend''s husband and took my son, at least give it to her, I know she will need it"


    Tony glanced at the elven ring, a artifact filled with magic,  presumably a heirloom passed down from generations. He closed his eyes and took the ring and said, "Thank you... If I meet those brought away, I''ll help them if they''re in need..."


    He turned around, never looking back as he walked further away from the villagers with each step towards the Capital of Afauthien.

 Chapter 008.

    Principle of Magic


    At a far away place, thunder roared through the darkened sky. Rain fell, drizzling heavily upon the black grass on a floating island. A structure that resembles an ancient temple from the greeks, that stood lonely on top of the island. Though, in crumbles as the passing of times has worn down the structure from its glory and beauty.


    Yet it was still in use, inside a few people, no ten of them, all shrouded in black cloaks, hiding their malicious grins in the shadows. They each sat on a tall throne that floated above the ground. Creating a circle as the dark clouds rained heavily upon their cloaks.


    Another lightning struck, causing a pillar to fall apart beside a man on a throne, resting his chin on his hand calmly. He grinned, his eyes glew red and said, "Those fools, easily swayed by greed..."


    A girl with a wry smile continued, "Heh, at least those beastmen will be busy for a while..."


    "And the elves, what about them?" Another man asked.


    "They? Still stuck with their ideas of not associating with the other species¡­¡±


    A kid laughed, "Either way, the plan is soon complete... To think it took us over 500 years to prepare for this moment."


    A old woman smiled, "Indeed, the time is near.¡± she said, raising a chalice filled with black blood to the air, ¡°A toast for our great leader!"


    "A toast for our great leader!" All of them said, gulped the liquid and let out their moan of ecstasy .


    The girl snapped out of it, as her briefs was now wet, "Anyways... What about the betrayer, the eleventh?"


    "Probably dead after all these years¡­ Besides, if he wanted to retaliate, he should have done it when he was at his prime." The old woman replied.


    Someone who was quiet the whole time then laughed, laughed so much that he nearly fell to the crumbled stone floor below him. "If he isn¡¯t alive, no one can stop us" An old man said, holding his mighty staff filled with skulls on a throne bigger than all other.


    They laughed once again, together with yet another roar of thunder across the cloudy sky.


    A few days later...


    ¡°Rumble, rumble, rumble¡±


    He gazed at the blue skies with his hands behind his soft black hair, laying neatly on a warm stack of hay as the tall lushy forest rustled, passing by together with the white clouds. A glittering river ran down from the tall mountain nearby, with a ring of clouds hovering at the tip like a snake biting its tail.


    Taking a look to the right, he could see the animals of the forest casted their reflections on the large glittering river. After a while the wagon pulled by the horses left the forest, leaving the animals behind yet kept the river. Revealing the sun that blinded him, bathing him in soothing warmth as it did, the sun that has fallen twice ever since they had left the third village in the country to the northeast of the western continent, Photos.


    Who would have thought that the Kingdom of Photos would fall that quick, not he at least. Laying there on the soft hay, Tony was lost in thoughts as a few fluffy blue birds chirped above him and then rested on the edge of the wagon filled with hay. He glanced at Rin who sat beside him with her back on the stack and leather boots on the wooden floor.


    Hopefully the group of adventures are safe. He thought, gazing upon the hills filled with grass to her left and then returned his eyes upon the birds.


    ¡°Apprentice, can you see the blue birds over there?¡± He asked, deciding that he shouldn¡¯t think about the fallen country as he pointed at the birds that scratched themselves with their tiny beak. They looked like handballs with their fluffyness and tiny wings, one wouldn''t think that they could fly in the first place.


    She tried to focus at the birds, but eventually stared at the wooden floor, sulking she said, ¡°Barely, I can only see the sparkling blue everywhere¡­ These glittering light that illuminate strongly, it¡¯s mana right? It¡¯s as if they are tiny stars that shines brightly like dreams...¡±


    Tony smiled, ¡°Yes apprentice, that¡¯s mana. Now take a look at me and tell me what you see?¡±


    Looking at him with her blue eyes, she then covered her eyes with her hand and said, ¡°I can¡¯t, the light is too strong¡­ Though, at the same time.. Soothing as if it is filled with hope¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it eventually, anyways¡­ Have you ever heard of the Magician¡¯s Eyes?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s what every mages obtains when they train to become one right. Like the ones you gave me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but have you heard of Royal Eyes?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I gave you, the main difference being, is that your eyes is more sensitive to the flow of mana than the magician¡¯s eye. You did say that my mana felt soothing, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t place it in words but¡­With just a glance, I could feel the tingling feeling inside my chest and the sparkling mana which envelops me, it feels very warm¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, now you can feel and see how anyone feels by looking at them, meaning that you can see through my very soul right now¡­ This also includes mana that doesn¡¯t want to be seen.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ This explains why I can see the mana coated on the tattered cloak. On the other hand, Claria couldn¡¯t see it, but the mana tells me that it can protect against any magic weaker than it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right Apprentice, though, don¡¯t tell anyone about the Royal eyes nor hint about it.¡±


    ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t everyone strive for these eyes?¡±


    ¡°Apprentice, it''s not possible to attain these eyes through training... Lets just say that no one knows when they first appeared and when they did, those that have the eyes is called the Royal Eye bearer.¡±


    ¡°Can''t these bearers share it to everyone, like you?¡±


    Should I tell her about it, how I obtained mine? He thought, gazing upon the fluffy birds as he recalled the events with his master.


    With the silence, Rin rose an eyebrow and took another glance at him, ¡°Tony, why are you su¡­?¡± she asked, yet quickly turned away, holding her knees, she shuddered as if she had seen death itself.


    A laugh came from the front of the wagon. It was the old man that brought them to Arkantos, the capital city of Photos. He held the ropes around the horses and said, ¡°Child, that¡¯s because you can only obtain it from another Royal Eye bearer and there isn''t a lot of them in the first place. Meaning that they are rare. So you''ll have to get them by bloody force or that the bearer willingly shares them by reducing the strength of their eyes permanently. In a way, you could call it inheritance and cannot be done multiple times.¡±


    Tony nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, since I gave the Royal Eyes to you apprentice, I have lost most of its true power including gifting the eyes to someone else.  Besides, the true power could also be called a double edged sword to these Royal Eyes and the reason why not everyone wants to sink an nation for it.¡±


    He glanced at the shivering Rin who held her legs and tightened chest, ¡°You took another look at me right? Did you feel it¡­?¡±


    ¡°Y..yes¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a powerful weapon since you can see through anyone, but also a deadly weapon against the users mental mind. Though, learn to control it and you¡¯ll have a powerful weapon... After all, what ties friend together for the most part is lies, hence if they cannot lie to you, staying friends will be hard.¡± He said, patting her head to calm her down.


    She tilted her head towards him with a sad expression, while also fiddling with her fingers coated in swirling mana.


    Oh, you have already gotten to this stage¡­ Should I give her the bronze shaft? He thought, after all, it was only yesterday that he had told her to try controlling her mana through imagination, like forming animals or weapons with her mana.


    He let out another smile, ¡°Heh, don''t worry, I''ll always be your friend. After all... I did force it upon you when you said that you were mentally prepared. Anyways¡­ Old man, you are fairly knowledgeable about this and... Don''t we also meet each other a lot lately?"


    He laughed, ¡°For the former question, you could say that I am and for the latter, that we do, but it¡¯s all a coincidence¡­ Ever since the Empire took over Photos, they assigned someone younger and stronger on my farm, hence why I am leaving for the west right now. "


    He laughed again, "Not that I really cared though, ever since I was young, I always wanted to travel around the world¡­ This is a perfect opportunity while I am still strong and not bound by anything like the farm.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough, but may I know where you are heading towards?¡±


    ¡°Well, I was planning to head south towards the flower garden in the kingdom of Pylla. Rumours say that it is really beautiful... Although..."


    "Although?"


    "The neighbour also called the empire has actually taken over Pylla, not only that, even Kaendas next to Pylla... Now it''s a war zone between Iberrawiel allied with Breallan and Zerran against the Empire at the middle of the west continent. And of course, we can¡¯t forget about the east continent, but it seems that there is some kind of internal strife.¡±


    "Really? Damn, Afauthien isn''t kidding around this year, considering how they make use of the confusion..."


    "Indeed, so I am actually gonna drop you off near the great wall and then head north to the mountain of snakes. I''ve heard that the scales of these particular snake is like a rainbow filled with thousands of colors"


    "That''s nice, but the Great wall?"


    "Yeah, the giant wall that separated Photos and Afauthien, also called the border"


    "Oh, I didn''t know that they called it the Great wall..."


    The old man laughed again, "Now you do, young lad"


    Tony couldn''t help but laugh softly himself, the old man was a cheerful fellow, it''s as if they had switched age between themselves.


    Taking a break from the conversation, a strong breeze filled with mana came from behind the wagon. His hair waved with the wind and dust stung his eyes, while he pushed himself up with his elbow from the stack of hay to find the source of the magic.


    "Swoosh..."


    A few jail wagon pulled by horses like a train yet not, as the horses was made out of wind and not flesh and blood. The coachman clad in the armour of the empire waved towards them as he passed their wobbling wagon with ease.


    Replying back with a wave, he caught the glimpse of the fluffy tails, ears and also the white hair behind the metal bars. All distinct for the beastmen race of the east continent.


    Slaves... He thought, recalling the first sentence that Rin said, the day he first saw her. Someone who look identical to Lucas, which happens to be his father who sold her mother to slavery... And power... Should I ask her about it, why she wanted power?


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Taking a look at Rin covered in her tattered cloak and silky hair behind her back. He was about to ask her, yet got interrupted by her own question.


    "Tony, when will I learn my first real magic?" she asked, making a unyielding expression as she focused to form a dragon above the tip of her finger. It looked terrible, more like a fish with legs...


    "Well...", He said, scratching his cheek. "When you can form five highly detailed dragons simultaneously, I''ll teach you the basics"


    Now eyes wide, fire burned inside of her blue eyes with the new goal at front of her. Trying to form all of the dragons right of the bat, she started to pant heavily instead. Soaking her clothes in sweat yet not, as the sweat instead rolled down from her forehead to the wooden floor of the wagon, since her clothings were waterproof.


    He chuckled, "Don''t be in a hurry apprentice, the time will come eventually¡­ Besides, I have yet to teach you the principle of the elements.¡±


    Taking a break by catching a few breath, she asked, ¡°Principle of the elements?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, every elements has a set of rule that is controlled by the state of the users mind. I told you that there is 6 elements right?¡±


    She started to count her fingers, ¡°Yeah, there is Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Darkness and light, Right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just how you can see through my soul by gazing upon my mana, mana also takes form with a element precisely at this principle. Lets say Fire¡­ If your state of mind is filled with rage and havoc, the mana inside of your body will take the shape of the burning flames.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°For water, you¡¯d have to be calm and be in peace. Wind, free like the birds yet sharp. Earth, firm and unbreakable.¡±


    ¡°What about Darkness and light?¡±


    ¡°Those are special cases and cannot be explained properly as they varies from person to person. Either way, changing the state of your mind in a matter of seconds is harder than you think, especially when you need to maintain it for the spell you are using simultaneously as you form the spell itself. This is also the reason why most magicians only choose one element or they will suffer longer casting time¡­ Of course, they also use a medium to fill their imagination. So, lets teach you only one of the principles for the time being. Hence, which one will you want to try out first, apprentice?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±, She was lost in thoughts as she started to fiddle with her swirling mana once again. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to pick, Tony¡­¡±


    The old man laughed, ¡°How about choosing the same principle which your master first learned?¡±


    Her eyes became wide and she stood up on the wobbling wagon, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea! So, what did you pick first, Tony?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He gazed upon the blue skies as he recalled the past, ¡°I didn¡¯t really pick mine¡­¡±


    It was a cloudy day, clouds that shrouded the surface around the tower with its shadows. The tower that reached the skies below the clouds, watching over the citizens with their structures around it. Yet, the people heavily sighed, gazing upon the tower that released the black clouds together with the strong smell of burnt chicken¡­


    ¡°Frederica¡­ The idiot magician is doing it again¡­¡±, someone ranted, scrubbing their hair as they walked around the streets.


    Meanwhile, in the tower¡­


    ¡°Achuuu!...¡± He sneezed and panicked¡± AAARRGH! Why can¡¯t I cook this chicken without turning it pitch black?!¡± The handsome blonde man forcefully shook the pan with coal burnt chicken.


    ¡°... Maybe because your past anger is building the heat up? Besides¡­ Why are you even using magic to cook the food?¡± the teen with black hair asked, flipping the next page of the newspaper as he leaned on the wooden chair against the wall.


    ¡°Apprentice! As a magician, you should always use magic whenever you can, or you¡¯ll rust around the corners. Nooo! I did it again!¡± He said, throwing the next batch out of the pan into the trashbin filled with wasted chicken.


    Tony shrugged and flipped to the next page, ¡°To think that the greatest fire magician lost his cool against a tiny chicken... And what''s up with that pink apron, is that part of the so called, not rust around the corners?¡±


    The pan turned red, flames reached the wooden roof, leaving black marks as he muttered, ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯ve heard that frog meat was delicious¡­ Especially if cooked by someone who has a pink apron at a cloudy day like today...¡± He gazed outside the window.


    Tony grinned, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I came prepared¡± He snickered, revealing a box filled with frog legs behind the newspaper.


    Master¡¯s eyes glowed red, ¡°Oh¡­ I believe this potion needs to be tested¡± he said, taking out a bottle from his apron pocket and wobbled it.


    ¡°Ah, another potion for Fredrica¡­ I''ll tell her to bring her own version of a apron whilst I do.¡±


    The pan melted, ¡°You are getting good at this¡­¡±


    ¡°So are you¡­¡± Tony replied, gently placed the newspaper onto the wooden table.


    ¡°Want to duel me?¡±


    ¡°No way¡­ I can only change the shape of my mana¡­¡±


    ¡°... How many?¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, how many dragons can you form simultaneously, my apprentice?¡±


    ¡°7?¡±


    His master smiled, ¡°Follow me¡± He said, snapping his finger and removed the black clouds that shrouded the blue skies and returned everything to its perfect condition like the melted pan and now empty trash bin. It was as if they had traveled back through time.


    ¡°Are you coming?¡± His master asked, beckoning to the teen that stood there in awe as he opened the door to another room.


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡±


    Passing the door, his eyes were blinded, revealing a white room that stretched as far as the eyes could see. It was as if they had gone to another dimension.


    "I call this the white room... Anyways, follow me."


    Tony nodded and followed his master tracks. With each step his master took, colors started to fill the area around him, grass appeared, bushes and trees also. The sky with the clouds and animals that gently gazed upon them. He could smell the nature, as a glittering river appeared while they went deeper inside the small forest that grew out of nowhere. It was if his master was a brush and with each step he swiped the white room with colors.


    "Apprentice, since I am a fire magician, I''ll will only teach you the principles of the fire"


    Tony nodded as he stood behind his master.


    He snapped his fingers and three target dummies appeared before him. They were made out of wheat like a scarecrow together with a wooden sword and shield.


    He then took a stance, took a deep breath and said, "Apprentice, first you must gather the mana inside your body or borrow the mana from the nature around you. Remember¡­ Use your senses and feel the mana."


    Tony nodded, took the same stance as he and gathered the mana that coated his body like a thin layer of invisible cloth. It tingled with warmth as more mana crept closer onto his skin. Though, while he did. He tried to hold in his laugh as his master still had his pink apron.


    "Now, you must form it in any shape or form like this, imagination is crucial" He said, creating a large ball of mana, hovering above his palm.


    Tony avoided his eyes, formed a large ball of mana like his master and tried his best not to lose to the tingling feeling in his stomach.


    "This ball of mana might be harmless now, but remember the principles I told you about. Feel the rage inside of you, feel the wrath that you want to bring upon your enemies or the chicken that never cooks properly" He said, as a swirling red flame started to take over the large ball of mana, creating a giant fireball that dried the leaves and grass nearby just by shining upon them.


    Tony held his mouth, not only because of the chicken, but also because his master''s pink apron waved with the wind while his master tried to be serious by demonstrating the principle. He couldn''t hold it anymore and bursted out in laugh instead, which made his ball of mana turn into a ball of shining light as he rolled around the grass. "Ahem", Eyes now wide, he stared at his master, wondering what he should do.


    His master was bright red as a pimple, yet smiled and said, "It''s fine, keep it like that. Now you need to imagine how it should work. Is it a projectile? Is it a ticking bomb? Or just something to illuminate the surroundings without hurting yourself or allies?"


    He snapped his fingers and the bright sky turned dark, filled with tiny stars. He threw the ball to the sky and it exploded into more glittering stars that shone brightly, illuminating the whole forest.


    He then grinned and said, "Your turn apprentice."


    Tony grinned also, focused his mind until he broke down in sweat. A shiver ran down his spine while the warm liquid left a salty taste in his mouth. He too threw his ball to the dark sky.


    It exploded, created a sparkling gold galaxy as if it was big bang itself, yet also vanished into tiny glitters a few seconds later.


    "Fascinating, though a rule you must always remember, the looks of a spell can be deceiving. Think always outside the box and you will succeed."


    "Yes, master!"


    "Heh, I''ll go back to my chicken while you train here. Snap your fingers if you want to leave the room."


    "... And that''s how I picked the fire element, besides the chicken also tasted good when I returned to the kitchen."


    Rin chuckled as she rested her head on his thighs, listening to his story while also fiddling with her own mana. "I will do my best!" she said cheerfully.


    "Heh, fascinating story you have over there... But it seems that I can see the Great Wall now. Might want to continue another time." The old man added.


    "Indeed." Tony replied, gazing upon the stonewalls that grew taller for each second the horses pulled the wagon towards the borders.


    After a while, the old man stopped the horses dead on their tracks. ¡°This is it¡­¡±


    "Yeah, thanks for giving us a ride" Tony thanked, bowing while also patting the shoulder Rin. Notifying the girl that avoided the old man with her eyes.


    "Thanks!" She added, eyes closed and also bowed.


    "My pleasure. May we meet again in our travels." He waved and left through another road that lead towards a mountain far away.


    "Well, lets continue on foot, shall we?"


    Rin avoided his eyes and body. "Can I still hold your hand? Your mana is still blinding me..."


    Tony shrugged, "Why not?"


    She smiled, grabbed the hand with her soft hands and pointed towards the gate with the other, "Lets go!"

 Chapter 009.

    Comrade?


    The thick wall that stretched endlessly to the horizons, lived up to its name. The Great Wall that didn''t only look sturdy with the stone bricks, but also proudly presented the red banners of the empire as it stood firm and tall before the apprentice and master.


    "You may pass" The guard said, handing back the pass that Tony had gotten from the coliseum owner. He then slammed the other end of his pickaxe onto the ground, signaling the other gatekeeper to open the gates.


    Holding Rin''s hand he passed the walls together with her. The trees rustled as they got further away from the walls. A arid air of water started to cover Tony''s vision, wettening his face, he sweeped his own cheek. "Water?" he questioned, inspecting his wet and cold fingers.


    Now glancing at the front, a cold breeze pushed him backwards a few centimeters, causing the dirt to build up behind his shoes as he stood firm while holding the flying Rin. He frowned, a sharp sound of a deadly weapon, cutting the air was accelerating towards them with the speed of a thunder as he was busy with the strong wind.


    Alerted from the unnatural events, he afterwards sighed out of relief. He wasn''t worried about the incoming attack that could slice him in half together with Rin, rather he was happy about how his enemies deliberately let him prepare for the attack. It was as if his enemy was boasting about how he could beat him at any given time.


    Accepting the challenge with a grin, he punched the ground as hard as he could, giving him a good imagination of how strong his spell should be. Also leaving a tiny mark of blood on his knuckles. It was necessary after all, he shuddered by the the strong emitting mana from the water crecent that would slice him in half if he underestimated it. Trading pain for his life was a given. Especially if he used fire magic against it''s polar opposite and usually also the weakness of fire. Usually...


    Tony knew that with strong enough Fire, he could evaporate the water, hence he measured the mana with the weakened Royal eyes from the crescent and casted a appropriate fire barrier that covered his front like a large shield made out of burning hexagons.


    In the blink of an eye, the sharp water crescent lost its lower half as it passed the barrier with the wind. A strong explosion from behind sent a tremble onto the ground. Turning his head towards the source while also balancing his body, his eyebrows rose as he stared upon the crumbling wall split in half. The gate was gone, together with the innocent guards.


    He clicked his tongue, created another fire barrier as another water crescent traveled towards him. Though, this time, a set of two that also lost their lower half after passing the barrier, sliced the wall even further beyond a few months of repairs. It was as if claws had sliced the wall in four, leaving two pillars left standing.


    The wall crumbled, a cloud of sand engulfed the pair, covering their field of vision as the dust made their nose dry. Rin coughed as she tried to cover her mouth and eyes.


    A malicious squeaky laugh could be heard from the front, the steps got louder by each step a silhouette of a man could be seen in the cloud of sand.


    "Kekekekeke, so the information from the soldiers were correct, being able to cast spells without a medium and a strong mastery over fire. I made a good choice of waiting here..." The man boasted, used water magic and blew away the clouds, revealing the man''s ribs through the soaked black cloak as he stood before them.


    He slammed his staff with a blue orb onto the wet dirt road. Draining away the mana from his cloak, a ball of water was created above him. He grinned with his craggy face. "Join the Royal Mages of the Afauthein and make use of your abilities or die by my hands..."


    Tony turned around, picked up Rin and held her like a princess. He turned back towards the Royal mage of the Empire that had a smile as if he was about to be promoted.


    Tony sighed and replied, "No"


    "Comon... Or are you already serving a country already?"


    "No, I serve no one, I walk my own path"


    The man brightened, hearing that the magician before him served no country, couldn''t have made it more easier for him. "Then you have no actual reason to not accept this! We will reward you greatly, just serve under the banner of the Empire and we''ll leave you alone."


    "No..."


    "Why?"


    "Because I have something more important to spend my time on, than joining a country at war?"


    The man shrugged, "You think that you could win with that luggage?" He said, pointing towards the girl.


    Tony glanced at Rin with her closed eyelids and grinned, "I believe so."


    He scowled, "So be it, if you''re not gonna join, I''ll kill you before you join another kingdom or until you beg for forgiveness. And after I do, I''ll play with your girl." He smiled towards the girl, hoping that she would react, yet she didn¡¯t.


    She knew that her master would protect her like promised, hence she calmly rested on his arms, leaving a grim expression on the man as if he was being mocked.


    He grinded his teeth, swung the staff in a arc and fired the water ball like a canon towards Tony.


    Retaliating with a strong leg sweep covered in burning red flames, a diagonal crescent of flames was launched towards the water spell. Eating the air, it grew larger and evaporated the ball of water into steam, it continued towards the man who ducked, barely getting out of the situation alive as a smoke rose from his burnt hair and hoodie.


    He clicked his tongue, but shuddered when the road behind him was blazing in flames. Angered by how the magician before him, gave him another chance before finished him off, he casted yet another spell as sweat covered his forehead. He smiled out of relief, he firmly believed that it was a crucial mistake of the fire magician before him and took this chance to surprise his enemy. Another ball of water was casted, penetrating the sound barrier as it exploded midair, creating thousands of water pellets fired towards Tony.


    He stomped the ground, creating yet another flame barrier that evaporated the water spells as it covered his field of vision. If it didn¡¯t, he might miss one pellet that could deal a deadly wound. Releasing the spell, Tony frowned out of his tiny mistake but it was because he had a weird tingling feeling of something missing. The Royal mage before him was preparing a strong lightning spell after the distraction, a chain lightning to be exact, filled with immense mana as if it was his last stand.


    ¡°Die¡­¡± He said, grinning out of victory.


    Yet, Tony calmly covered his leg in flames and swept his leg once again, blowing the wind away and launched a crescent of flames. It accelerated towards the man, but didn¡¯t grow larger this time, instead it concentrated itself and turned azure blue, the mightiest flame of all.


    The man released his own, a lighting roared through the skies as it clashed against the azure blue blaze. He lost, the flame ate the lightning and covered him in a conflagration of flames after impact. Yet he didn¡¯t scream. Rather a steam rose to the air, leaving only burn marks on the dirt road.


    ¡°Water clone¡­¡± He said, realising that the reason of his suspicion was how he couldn¡¯t sense that the staff was being used at all. Not only that, the water crescents were stronger than the recent attacks.


    A clap could be heard from behind the trees nearby, the man appeared once again without a staff, walking slowly towards the pair of master and apprentice onto the open field of dirt. ¡°Nice comrade¡­ I was just testing you, though¡­ I don¡¯t understand why you are hiding the pair of eyes of yours, the sign of our pact. I could barely notice that you were one of us..¡± He snickered.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Tony asked, confused of the comrade part.


    ¡°About the calling from the gods of course!¡± He said with ecstasy, raising his hands to the air as if he was praising the lords.


    A headache coursed through Tony¡¯s head, he nearly dropped Rin to the ground as he balanced his body with the help of his knees on the ground. Memories poured into his mind, he recalled the past, when he found his master¡¯s lifeless body on the floor.


    It was a few years ago, when he was still around his teens. It was the day that he decided to seriously train to become a magician like his master. The strength needed to seek a way home in a world filled with mana and magic.


    It was as if he was in autopilot the whole time, he never realised that he was in a trance until his master laid before him dyed in blood. Taking a look around him, the once happy town filled with citizens and the blue sky above, was now deserted, filled with broken and crumbled windows and buildings. He stood on top of the broken down Tower, whereas half of the tall tower that reached the skies was gone, no it had fallen onto the southern part of the town.


    Tony stood there as the wind blew strongly by him, rain started to drizzle as the sky was darkened to the same gray as the wet slate of the broken roofs. The cold air started to cover his wet skin, drops of water rolled down from his hair, he gazed upon his master once again.


    Tears dropped from his eyes, he muttered, ¡°Master... Please, wake up¡­ ¡°


    He fell on his knees onto the puddle of blood mixed with rain on top of the tower, rolled his master face up to the gray sky and shook the lifeless body. ¡°Master¡­ Weren¡¯t you suppose to teach me everything you knew?¡±


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


    ¡°...¡±


    He shook the body again, ¡°Weren¡¯t you gonna give me an apron like yours? Why¡­ why aren¡¯t you waking up?!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you turn me into a frog for once!... And the chicken you cook is delicious, I want more!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I know! It must be because you don¡¯t have the apron¡­ Wait here!¡± Tony stood up, ran down the stairs and brought his pink apron before him. Yet¡­ He had vanished¡­ Only the pool of blood was left as the drizzle of water, which poured the red dye away.


    ¡°Master¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t want to be alone again¡­ Please¡­ I won¡¯t complain about the potions everyday...¡°


    Thunder soared through the black skies, pouring more rain than ever onto the black eyes that stared upon the clouds covering the stars. He who sat on the broken tower, watching down eventually onto the town with no sign of life. He waited until someone like Frederica would call for his name as he waited.


    ¡°HELLO!¡± He called out, echoing throughout the ghost town.


    Though all that did show a sign of life, was the pouring rain from the skies that rustled the nearby hills of grass, together with another thunder. Just like all the other shouts he had done the past hours in the rain.


    ¡°Am I alone?¡± He muttered.


    Having enough of the waiting he dragged the drenched apron to his master¡¯s room. Hoping that he could find an answer to the disappearance of the townsfolk and his master. He searched around the room filled with nothing but an old drawer and a torn bed.


    ¡°Master¡­ I don¡¯t remember your room this empty¡­¡± He said, opened the drawer that revealed a red cloak.


    Taking it out, a book dropped onto the floor. Tony crouched down and picked the book that had hidden in the decorated cloak. Sat on the soft bed that started to get soaked because of the drenched clothings and hair, he flipped the cover to the first page, the page darkened by wet tears. He brushed them off from his eyes and started to read before more dripped onto the book.


    It was blank, hence he flipped to the next page that had a title called, ¡°My Diary¡±.


    He flipped the page once again, it was blank. He changed the page another time, but yet again it was blank. It continued until he was near the last few pages, barely having any will to continue at all.


    He noticed a golden glittering aura scattering to the air from the book, the letters was vanishing one by one by the second. Eyes wide, time was of the essence and he started to read through the remaining text.


    ...a grave mistake¡­ I finally got proof of it today, that my apprentice started to act strange¡­ Was it caused by the gift I gave him months ago? It cannot be, I should be a living proof of it having no drawback¡­


    Unless?


    Did I forget? I¡¯ve been having a lot of amnesia lately¡­ Without this book I wouldn¡¯t even remember who I was nor who the boy I picked up from the Labyrinth was.


    Tomorrow is the day¡­ I will question my apprentice who seems to not be my apprentice¡­


    Closing the book as the last letter disappeared with the air like glitter. Tony could feel that the letters was made out of mana, and the source sustaining it was gone. A self defense mechanism if the real owner gets out of reach? He thought, also wondering about what he actually meant with a grave mistake.


    Labyrinth¡­ Is it what they call the place I first meet my master? And¡­ Apprentice who seems to not be my apprentice. What did he mean? I don¡¯t get it¡­ Is he trying to tell me that I was the cause of the destruction of the town?


    ¡°Growl¡­¡±


    He heavily sighed, leaving the room lost in thoughts and hungry together with the pink apron and cloak. He went down to the kitchen, leaving the cloak and apron on the wooden table and soon after opened the fridge powered by mana. He smiled, even if his master was gone, he still somehow made him chuckle. A charcoal burnt chicken on a plate was waiting before him. He picked it up and threw it into the trashbin. No way he could eat a coal burnt chicken even if he was confused or sad from the recent events.


    Sitting down on the chair, he rested his chin on his arms on the table. Hoping that his master would return, covering him in a blanket from the cold and telling him it was just a prank. He leaned backwards, thinking about the future as the rain outside drizzled at the window.


    I thought I could live a new life here¡­ With him, Frederica and everyone else¡­ What do I do now? He stared at the red cloak decorated beautifully as if it was for the royalties. At first glance it was just a normal cloak, but after a while of gazing upon the cloak, he noticed a familiar aura and mana. Master? Wait, why can I see the mana in the first place¡­ Ah, that¡¯s right¡­ He gave me those eyes.


    Trying to recall what happened after he had gotten the Royal Eyes, all he could remember was the time when he was temporarily blind. Afterwards he woke up before his master, memories all fuzzy as if he had been in a cold slumber for a long time.


    Either way, his master was surely dead, no mana could be sensed inside of his body, the source of life, but at the same time. It didn¡¯t explain how his master could vanish into thin air after he was gone for a second. Not unless he was alive.


    All the clues he had gotten was, that he had something to do with the incident. Every clues pointed towards him, and only him.


    Tony heavily sighed , picked up the apron to hang it near the door, hoping that one day that his master would return even if the chances were tiny by a margin. Taking a last glance at the lonely apron, he tried to find something to eat. Walking around, a soft paper could be felt below his wet feets.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Picking it up, he inspected it. ¡°Merlin¡¯s Truth¡± was written on the back of the slightly crumpled envelope.


    ¡°Merlin¡¯s Truth¡± He read once again, eyes wide of a new clue, he carefully ripped it open and took out a thin white paper.


    Dear, Tony¡­ My apprentice, my sole reason for continuing my life instead of living in an illusion¡­ If you have found this magical envelope in my pink apron, I wrote this in case you would stumble into trouble without me. Sadly, it must mean that I have passed away.


    To tell you the shocking truth, the only living being in this islands far north from the main continents, is you and me¡­ And the animals like the chickens... Everything else is a illusion casted by the red cloak in my drawer. Frederica my beloved, the bar owner, everyone¡­ I will always remember them even though they were false...


    Anyways, It seemed real right? I thought so too, until I found the red cloak down in the basement of the tower, hidden away with the old furnitures. With the Royal Eyes, I could immediately tell that the mana emitting from the red cloak was fierce and unnatural as if it was a clone of myself.


    No¡­ If I think about it more carefully, I myself believe that I am the clone and the cloak is my real self, though I do not remember anything at all. It might be the cause of amnesia, but at the same time not. I only remember one thing before I realised that I stood before this grand tower in the middle of a lively town though only an illusion, as if I had been a walking dead until something hit my head, awakening me from my slumber.


    I need to train an apprentice, train someone until they became so powerful. An apprentice like you, but for what? I do not remember anything, but sure glad I was when I found you in that Labyrinth 4 years ago for whatever reason unknown.


    Meaning if you want to find a way back, which I know after all these years living together like a father and son even if we aren¡¯t bound by blood.


    Is that you need to get stronger, train to become a powerful mage, not because of my wish and what I lived for. But because the Labyrinths is no jokes, what you seek must be in there. And to find it, you need strength. Strength to rival a country itself.


    My apprentice, I wish you good luck as your master. And remember, if there is no path before you, create your own and never falter if you do. There is limitless possibilities in life. There is no right or wrong in life, what you choose is what you should firmly believe is right even if you have to face your close friends.


    Patience and Imagination is the strongest weapon of a magician. Keep that in mind.


    Ps, your master. The strongest fire magician.


    Ds. If you want to get out of this island, remember how we went to the west continent to get supplies¡­ Yeah, use magic¡­  Lazy apprentice...


    Tony chuckled, to think he was forced to train even if he didn¡¯t want to. So be it, he thought, clenching his burning fist with a new goal at front of him. Train and become the strongest magician for his master and find a way back, together with the reason why he needed a apprentice as a bonus.


    He covered himself in the warm red cloak and said, ¡°Master¡­ If you really are the cloak, watch over me, I¡¯ll succeed. You¡¯ll see...¡±

 Chapter 010.

    Royal Eyes?


    Shaking his head from the vivid memories on the open and dry dirt field together with Rin. He brushed her black cloak off from the dust, carrying the small girl up onto his arms once again, he wondered how he could have forgotten about the incident 9 years ago.


    No, it¡¯s no wonder how he couldn''t have forgotten, not after he had taken the spartan training upon himself nonstop each day after that drizzling day. He couldn¡¯t keep count of how many times he had passed out from exhaustion for each time he had depleted his own and borrowed mana.


    He closed his eyelids for a moment, took a deep breath to return to his senses. Now calm, he watched the magician from a distance. The man that didn¡¯t have his staff this time, nor was the clothings soaked like the water clone from before.


    He stood there patiently, waiting casually as his black cloak was coated in a immense dark mana without breaking out in sweat, he asked, ¡°Did you feel it? The calling¡­¡±


    Silent, Tony couldn¡¯t peel his eyes away from the man before him, the mana that sent cold shivers behind his neck. Gently pushing him towards the man, yet he stood firm with Rin like chains and aligned the new recent clues.


    The Royal Eyes is not what it seems to be as the legends says. Neither does it only give the user more strength, likely it controls them for another purpose. But how? Through Mind Control?


    The eyes he has been diligently using for these past 9 years without worries. The eyes he used to sense the mana and strengthen himself past the capacity limits, was actually a deadly ticking poison, waiting for the right moment to activate.


    Whatever it was, it seems that the old scrolls and ancient books he had read inside the well known libraries was for nought. Even the knowledgeable old man who had dropped them off a few minutes ago, must have done the same as he.


    He glanced at Rin¡¯s eyelids with a bitter frown, regrets was filling his mind as he watched the man before him once again.


    The man lowered his head, shrouded his face in the shadows of the hood. Increased the pitch dark mana that surrounded him in a burning circle and said, ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re not one of us¡­¡±


    A tiny drop of sweat rolled down from Tony¡¯s back. Thinking for too long, made the man before him realise that something was amiss, also giving him time to prepare his mana in advance. Avoiding his eyes, Tony gently placed Rin on the ground, held her shoulder while scratching his cheek and said, ¡°Well¡­ How would I know if you are what you claim to be?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Dodging the bullet, the man extinguished his mana with a shrug, covered his eyes with his palm and revealed them soon after.


    Eyes wide, Tony gently carried the light girl on his left shoulder for preparations. He gazed upon the glowing red irises, formed like a magic circle together with letters around the black pupils. So cool¡­ He nearly squealed, while preparing his free arm coated in a tiny layer of swirling mana.


    ¡°Satisfied? Now sho¡­ ¡°, interrupted, the man created a dark hexagon barrier in a blink of an eye, blocking the wind magic that should¡¯ve cut him in half.


    ¡°Tch, tch, tch¡­ I thought you were confused about if I was one of the bearers, to think you were actually deceiving my eyes for a second there¡±, he snickered, walked closer while conjuring five dark spheres that emitted a purple lightning around the black holes as they hovered around the manipulator.


    Deceiving my eyes? Looks like my confusion saved my skin. He thought, gathering mana onto his arm.


    ¡°Fire¡­ Earth¡­ and wind... What more do you hide, unless that¡¯s all?¡±, he asked, sending the dark spheres with the size of a football towards Tony.


    Covering himself with his arm as if he had a invisibleshield. A fire barrier was brought forth, clashing against the three first spheres that pushed him backwards as dirt builded up behind his shoes.


    The barrier shattered like glass, revealing another incoming sphere heading towards him in great speeds. Caught of guard, he made a split second barrier. The force of the sphere shattered the barrier and sent him further away as he carried Rin towards the crumbling walls.


    Using wind magic, he balanced himself as he staggered on the dirt. Countering with a azure blue blazing spear before the last sphere would connect.


    Eating the air, it grew larger, sharper, pierced the sphere, scattering the ball of dark mana into the air as the spear propelled through the air towards the smiling man with a happy cloak.


    Raising his hand, creating yet another dark barrier with confidence. Eyes wide, sweat dripped from the heat as the blazing spear barely covered his vision before his eyes. The spear vanished, together with the remaining pierced barrier. Eyes bulging from rage, he conjured more spheres, tiny but with quantity. Covering the whole field behind him with tiny pellets.


    A wind blew past, instinctively he sidestepped as yet another spear pierced through the wind, letting out a sonic boom as it barely scratched his cheek. The burn stung as the blood dripped, he frowned, angered he sent the spheres like a gatling gun.


    Tony used wind magic, dodging the explosions that left a trail of dust cloud behind him. Though, with a chill behind his back, the pellets followed him like homing missiles. He swung his arm, sending a blazing azure blue crescent back, hoping that he could interrupt his opponent. Whilst making sure that he still had Rin by tapping her back without peeling of his eyes from his opponent. She gently tapped back.


    The man couldn¡¯t underestimate his opponent anymore, removing the focus on the pellets, he  raising a concentrated barrier. Sliding backwards by the weight of the crescent that clashed, leaving a large crack on the barrier and blazing fire behind him.


    Not missing the chance, Tony swung his free arm multiple times, first like a cross, then a forward thrust and another side way swing. Creating three blue flames like the shape of his swings that soared across the cloudy battlefield towards the man.


    Mustering his dark mana that coated his arms, he sent a shockwave forwards, extinguishing the flames yet, a strong burn stung his blazing left leg.


    Tony watched the man as he soaking the leg with a splash of soothing water. He smirked, the one conjured like a thrust had more mana and pierced through his shockwave. Leaving his opponent¡¯s pants wet while dyed in red.


    Sweat stung his eyes as the adrenaline pumped through his systems. It kept him going. Panting, he conjured a large blazing dark sword like a cross. Emitting purple lightning statics onto the ground and arms as he raised it towards the pair.


    ¡°I admit¡­ you are strong, to be able to change the state of your mind that quick is a feat to brag about. I¡¯ll challenge you to a duel of swords, please accept¡± He said, hoping that the man before him would accept. Not because he was a wounded tiger, but that the man before him excel in long range combat. Meaning that he couldn¡¯t run away without showing his vulnerable back. And with a wounded leg against a man carrying a girl, he would have better chances in close combat.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°What if I say no?¡±, Tony answered, coating his right arm in swirling mana.


    ¡°I die without mustering a tiny piece of information, considering how you seem to not even know anything about the eyes.¡±


    Tony was silent, the man had hit the bullseye. Did he see through me with those pairs of eyes of his?


    He smirked, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what will happen to your little girl in the future if you beat me in swordsmanship, after all¡­ You know what I mean right?¡±


    Tony glanced at Rin, leaving her on foot would prove to be too dangerous, but that would also mean that he would do what the man before him wants. ¡°Fine, I accept your duel." He said, conjuring a sword of blazing azure blue flames. Information is vital...


    Walking slowly to him, Tony held the weightless sword in one hand, grinding it on the ground as it left a trail of blue fire. His opponent on the other hand, stood tall with his wounded leg in a defensive stance, waiting patiently for his opponent to make his first move as sweat dripped from his forehead.


    Advancing slowly, close enough until Tony only needed a few steps to reach him. He charged, went for a heavy foreswing. His opponent frowned from the pain as he clashed with the first swing with his sword. The weight sent him backwards as his sweaty hands held the sword with both of his hands. He parried the blazing sword to the left that pushed him backwards, though not enough to knock the sword free of his hands.


    He returned a backswing, followed by a foreswing, leaving trails of sparks that stung Tony as he sidestepped backwards. Dodgin the first, Tony parried the second upwards. Leaving the man before him wide open.


    Arcing a downwards slice, the fabrics caught fire. The man staggered backwards as he removed his black cloak. Though, with a smirk, Tony went for a sideway slash. It cut through his flesh behind by half a centimeter. The man had set a barrier, otherwise it would be deeper.


    He grinned as his wounds soaked his clothings.


    Tony was uncertain as he gazed upon his opponent¡¯s eyes, why would he grin like that?


    The opponent noticed the wavering man before him, grateful for the tiny advantage, he ignored the wound on his left limping leg and stomach. Charged towards Tony, swung a few times but missed as Tony only back stepped away.


    Countering with yet another foreswing, the man before him met the magic sword, weight sent the man down on his knees as Tony used his trembling hand and body on the sword.


    He frowned yet with a smile, removed one of his hands from the sword, leaving his right hand trembling, barely knocking the sword off, as he conjured a long dagger on his left.


    Eyes wide, impressed of how he have used Tony''s apprentice to his advantage. Yet, calm as he sent a forward kick on the chest.


    "I yield!" The man coughed, removing both of his weapons and sat down as Tony held his own sword near his sweating head.


    "Now tell me...", Tony ordered, still holding Rin.


    He laughed, "I don''t know how you got out of that sanity... But that girl over there who had inherited the eyes will go through the same"


    "Go through what?"


    He laughed, created a barrier that covered him like a sphere. "You''ll have to make a choice one day... Just prepare for it"


    Tony stabbed the sphere, though his sword extinguished instead. Leaving him silent from the immense strength created in a blink of an eye. He muttered ¡°Gae Bolg¡±, the blazing azure blue spear that can pierce anything appeared on his palm. Throwing it, it too proved to be for nought.


    "You''d better leave now, They''ll be here any moment.", he informed, staring at Tony with his glowing red eyes.


    "They? Why are you telling me that?"


    He laughed and soon after shrugged inside the sphere. "Next time we''ll fight each other with full strength, mark my words¡­ I won¡¯t underestimate you like today..."


    Tony gazed upon the wounded man, trusting him he carried Rin like a princess and used wind magic to leave the scene as fast as possible. Leaving the man that watched them run to the distance until he couldn¡¯t see them anymore.


    He released the sphere barrier that made him pant heavily as his mana wavered. Luckily for him, his opponent didn¡¯t notice. Clicking his tongue, he muttered, ¡°Ninth, it seems we have someone who is not bound by the blood, yet still has the eyes. He might prove problematic to our plans...¡±


    The voice of a girl echoed through his mind ¡°Pfft, did you lose? Useless... That¡¯s why grunts like you should stay at home, washing the dishes like a weakling you are...¡±


    Without speaking back, he started to heal his wounds with soothing water magic and asked, ¡°What is the new plans?¡±


    The girl was silent for a few seconds and soon after laughed, ¡°Rebels have appeared in Arkantos, kill them¡­ Kill their leader called Lucas¡­ I¡¯ll handle the red cloaked magician myself.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ninth¡­ Though, you should be careful¡­ he...¡±


    A cold shiver ran through his spine, chest tightened, he trembled as the girl spoke, ¡°Who do you speak of?¡±


    ¡°The ninth, one of the ten great beings¡­¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ It seems you have company, don¡¯t forget those eyes¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ninth¡­¡±


    A group of three men arrived, gazing upon their comrade dyed in red clothings as he finished his last wounds with water magic. The man waved towards them with a smile.


    ¡°David¡­ Is the magician that strong?¡± The tall man on the middle asked, with a thin face and a red cape of the empire as he lent out a hand.


    David snickered, accepted his hand and smiled with his brown eyes and said, ¡°Yeah, he will prove worthy for the empire as a Royal magician, especially with his mastery over azure blue fire. He could probably even rival you, second class sergeant.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Azure blue¡­ I wonder which would win, my white flames or his blue ones¡­ ¡°, He said, creating a cold fire ball, pure sparkling white as it hovered above his palm. ¡±So where did he go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ He left me alive after knocking me out with these wounds¡­¡±, David sulked.


    The second class sergeant nodded and ordered the two behind him, ¡°You two, get him back to camp and I¡¯ll go gather some information.¡±


    They saluted, left with David as the sergeant stood tall on the dry field with blood.


    ¡°Heh, someone who can single handedly beat David¡­ And that wall? Did the red cloaked magician cause it? This will prove to be fun...¡± He whispered, gazing upon the crumbling great wall that was known for its sturdiness, though¡­ Also because of the anti magic materials.

 Chapter 011.

    An Unspoken Rule


    Surrounded by the rustling forest, he panted heavily as he stood at the middle of the orange lit road. Drenched in sweat, the breeze chilled him down from the heat. He placed Rin gently onto the road, patted her head and soon after took a few deep breaths. Overusing the wind shoes is tiring¡­ He thought and then muttered, ¡°I think we should be fine from the pursuers¡­ For now¡­ ¡°.


    She raised her head towards Tony, staring at him yet not, as the eyelids were closed. She finally asked about the sentence that has been stuck in her mind ever since the battle near the Great wall, ¡°Tony, what did he mean with that I will have to go through the same?"


    He avoided her, turned towards the dirt road and held her warm hand. He kept walking slowly while lost in thoughts, until he answered, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I am right or not¡­ But whatever it is, those eyes I gave you has something to do with it.¡±


    He picked up pace, fast but enough for Rin not to struggle, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Apprentice¡­ But from now on, you are only allowed to see whenever we are training alone in our journey. Don¡¯t look at anyone but me, yourself and the surroundings. I want you to do this for a few months, I need to make sure of something...¡±


    She nodded without asking why. Shrouding herself in the tattered cloak, she then coated her free hand in mana, trying to form her first small dragon with the help of her delicate fingers as they walked across a crossroads with a wooden sign arrows. One pointing towards each directions, whereas they picked the road with a village beyond called, Maple Hills Village.


    Her dragon exploded, glittering it vanished with the breeze. She sulked, yet he smiled and followed the road until they left the woods. Revealing a village on top of a large hill. The name fit the village perfectly. Surrounding the hill was the orange maple trees, together with the houses, placed neatly around the hill like a stair.


    Walking closer to the village, he noticed a broken jail wagon, covered in bushes of the distance behind the trees. Tilting his head, he went deeper into the village. Wondering how it could have gotten there.


    At first glance, the sun that was about to set, dyed the village like a painting with the bright orange horizon. A place where villagers would run around happily, yet taking the first step into the fountain square, a gentle breeze blew past with a leaf. It was empty, the whole village was empty.


    She twitched his hand and asked, "Where is everyone?"


    He looked around, as a metallic screech sent shivers down their spines. It came from the gap behind the window at the house to the right. Sneezing he gazed closely at the wooden window, turning back with another sneeze, he quickly picked up pace with Rin.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Shhh, they are watching, lets leave the village and find a place outside to camp for the day." He whispered, glancing at every window with a gap and a glint of white hair.


    She nodded, followed closely as they left the village. After they had gotten far away, she asked Tony who took another look behind them at the distant village on the hill. "Who are they?"


    "The beastmen that escaped the wagon pulled by the wind horses. You know... the one that passed us with the old man."


    Gazing down onto the road, she stood still, forcing Tony to stop dead on his tracks. Head raised towards him, she asked, "What about to the villagers?"


    He made a bitter smile, "Don''t worry, they are probably safe. If they did do something to the villagers, it will take some time to clean up the mess... Not something that can be done in one day." Is what he wanted to believe, but with magic in their disposal they could easily cover the bloodshed in illusions. Not that it would affect him, but Rin on the other hand would be, unless she took a good look around with her Royal Eyes.


    Sighing, he gently pulled her arm, quietly they both continued through the road, passing the hills covered with swaying tall grass with the height of Tony¡¯s waist. While they did, the grass beside the road rustled a few times, wild critters appeared, running from left to right to hide from the newly discovered magician before them. He left them alone, but when a few fluffy rabbits the size of handballs appeared on the other hand, they got toasted for the day. With Smoke rising from the campsite while the sun fell, resting near the campfire, the bathing warmth soothed them


    Tony rolled the stick with the rabbit meat, making sure that the spiced meat cooked evenly as he powered the fire. The aromatic smell and the crispy sound filled his mouth with drool. He gulped and soon after checked on Rin at the other side of the flickering fire.


    She was smiling while sweating heavily, she could finally form her first dragon as she sat on the other side of the fire. Though, she still has a long way to go, since it only had the form of a dragon and the part where most apprentices struggles is forming the details itself. Or so his master told him.


    He chuckled, he himself made a highly detailed one in one day. Not missing the the sharp claws, teeth, the tiny scales and even the silky wings. He bragged about it to his shocked master while also covered in sweat like Rin, yet one could wonder how he could accomplish such a feat in one day.


    Was it because he was good at imagination, one of the strongest weapon of a magician?


    He wondered as he stared into the fire, recalling the past before the incident in the plane. Back when he was just a kid like all the other kids out there. Playing with their friends, families, going to school whenever they had to. Study for the test, homework, physical activities or simply play games together.


    None that he actually liked¡­ Scratch that, he loved to play games a lot and read books whenever he had the time, but mostly. He liked to paint alone in a room, somewhere none would disturb him as he relaxed with his brush. The only place where he could let his imagination flow beyond the limits and also something he could do without struggling. It was the only subject he excelled in at school, the rest was at average. Maybe this is why I have such a easy time to learn magic? He thought, wondering if he could ever return to the memories he cherished.


    Tired from using her mana, Rin sighed. Taking a break as a wind breezed through the swaying tall grass surrounding them, it chilled her body from the heat and sweat. She hugged her knees with the boots that reached her thighs, tilting her head as she gazed upon Tony curiously.


    With a wry smile, he was gently swinging his dominant hand around the air. Holding something while he did, yet not. He was lost in thoughts, forgetting about the meat that was starting to get cooked on one side more than the other.


    Crawling forward as he was staring off to the distance, she rolled the stick with the meat. Continuing where Tony left off as her small chest tingled with butterflies. Not because she was hungry, but because it was urging her to ask about what¡¯s in his mind, about his past, about who he is and why he doesn¡¯t use his power for world domination.


    Tempted she gently opened her tiny mouth, yet closed it right after. She couldn¡¯t. She was afraid that if she did, she would walk on the invisible thin ice. As if an unspoken rule has been set between them without both of their consciousness.


    She gazed upon his black eyes. Over 8 days has passed, and he still hadn''t asked her about herself, why she wanted to become a magician and what gave her the will to continue the day they first met. As if he was respecting her private life and thoughts. Making it awkward and hard to strike up a conversation between them about themselves, about their past.


    She sighed again, she barely knew anything about him, yet she still idolize him in a affectionate way. Someone that cared for her, love her for who she was. She shook her head from the reddened face. She wanted him to be like her mother, her mother with the white fluffy ears she loved to cuddle with. Also the fluffy and soft tail, filled with warmth that tickled her cheeks and nose like the red cloak he had.


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


    Tears rolled down to her red cheek. I want my mother back, I want to snuggle with her, She thought, sniffing for a while until her heart tightened when a handkerchief gently covered her teary eyes.


    He sat down beside her, brushing of her tears, he said. ¡°Tears doesn¡¯t suit you apprentice¡­ Besides it seems your eyes is now used to my mana.¡±


    She avoided his eyes, the eyes that stared into her as she took the handkerchief and brushed her wet tears herself.


    He did it again¡­ Apprentice¡­ She thought.


    Smiling he cut the meat in slices with his wind magic and distributed the meat evenly in two bowls, ¡°The food is done¡­ shall we dig in?¡± He asked, handing over a bowl filled with steaming meat together with a fork towards her.


    Keeping the handkerchief for unknown reasons to him, she grabbed the bowl and fork. Inspecting the meat with her small hands around the bowl, she began to smell the meat with her tiny nose, it made her smile towards him. He shrugged and quietly they sat next to each other.


    Blowing the steam off from the meat, they took the first bite with a crunch. It was tender yet soft enough for a slight bite to cut through the slices and the crusty skin, it leaked salty juices together with the unique taste of the rabbit, or in Tony¡¯s case chicken and filled his mouth with drool as he munched them down.


    Rin grinned, gave a thumbs up, the taste of the spices they had gotten from one of the villages they had passed in the country once called Photos did their work.


    Together they watched the glittering stars at the open field surrounded by the dancing tall grasses. The stars that filled the black sky, the stars that was afterwards covered by the orange clouds and orange sky as leftover smoke rose to the air from the campfire.


    Birds chirped, the sunrise blinded Tony as he blinked a dozen times to focus. Trying to reach the sky with his heavy hand pulled by gravity, something soft yet heavy held his arm down. Turning his head to the right, he noticed the tiny lips point blank.


    How did she get here? He wondered.


    He turned his gaze back towards the bright sky. Reaching his hand out with the other, he created a large ball of water. Dropping it onto his head and Rin¡¯s, he woke up from his drowsiness whilst she jumped to the air.


    Soaked in water, he stood up gasping. Stretched his arms and said, ¡°Good morning¡­¡±


    She was silent. Not because she was angry, but because she was still tired.


    He shrugged, used water magic to remove the water and then patted her head.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here for long, I¡¯ll let you piggyback me whilst we continue our way towards the capital.¡±. Time was of the essence, sleeping for too long might give the pursuers more time to catch up. Even if he had covered a long distance by foot.


    She nodded, shrouded herself in the tattered cloak to avoid the sun as she walked slowly around him who crouched down into position with his cloak. She jumped onto his back and held around his neck, resting her head on the warm back.


    Holding her pale thighs he marched, marched past the tall grass beside the road for a while until he stopped dead on his tracks from a familiar sound.


    ¡°Rumble, rumble, rumble¡­¡±


    ¡°Oi! It¡¯s you guys again!¡± The happy old man waved, calling out to them with his wagon pulled by the strong two horses.


    He parked beside them and said, ¡°Hop on, I¡¯ll drop you off near the Capital city of Afauthien! That¡¯s where you were going right?¡±


    Tony smiled, used wind magic to propel him onto the wagon filled with less hay than yesterday. The horses must have eaten some, he thought, placing Rin gently onto the stack of hay, brushing her white and black hair into the hoodie to hide them.


    While Tony did, he whistled from the wind magic that always amazed him. He soon after said, ¡°Hip hip!¡±. The two horses started to march, continuing on the dirt path as the old man struck up a conversation. ¡°Hey, did you see the great wall? It¡¯s totally in crumbles!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, luckily we passed it before the wall broke down¡± He replied, laying next to Rin as he gazed upon the bright blue sky.


    ¡°Heh, lucky indeed¡­ For me it took a while for them to clear a path. Though while they did, the royal magicians of Afauthien asked around for information from the passing travelers¡­ Which includes me.¡±


    Tony rose an eyebrow.


    ¡°I believe they asked about someone with a red cloak, someone like you¡­?¡±


    ¡°Eh? Did he? Must be someone who loves red cloaks¡±


    ¡°Nah, I believe it is you, no I know it¡¯s you. But I told them that I saw you on the road towards Arkantos. More because I believe from my intuition that you didn¡¯t do it, not without a good reason¡±, he laughed.


    Tony laughed back and asked, ¡°Did you pass the Maple Hills Village?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the villagers were really nice to me, maybe a bit too nice? As if they were celebrating about something. Not that I really mind, at least their food filled my stomach!¡±


    ¡°Heh, I can guess why¡­ But, how was your day at the Mountain of Snakes, did you find what you were searching for?¡±


    He smiled, searched for something inside his chest pocket and threw a leather bag that landed on Tony''s nose. "Ops..."


    Grabbing the tiny bag, he opened it. Revealing scales with unmatchable glittering rainbow colours that shone brightly like the sun. ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow... Indeed, if only you could see the real deal, you¡¯ll probably be blinded by the light. Though I got really lucky, those snakes are known to be shy...¡±


    Giving the bag back, he recalled why the old man wanted to pass the borders and asked, ¡°You told me that you were going to the Flower Garden, right?¡±


    ¡°That I am young man! Why you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ When I have time with my apprentice, I think I¡¯ll will take a look to see if what the rumours says are true.¡±


    ¡°Please do young one, you¡¯ll not regret it. Besides, girls like her would be happy to see them.¡± He snickered.


    ¡°Probably¡­¡±


    Tony was suddenly quiet, making the old man look behind if to find out the reason. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked, eyebrows raised.


    ¡°I¡­ I might have done a great mistake that I am regretting for my life¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell me young one, and I¡¯ll see to if I could help you.¡±


    Would it be right to involve a passerby into this mess? No... I barely know him. Yet this familiar feeling¡­ Tony thought for a while and then finally answered, "Sorry... I can''t involve you afterall..."


    He shrugged, "If you say so, I will not prey any further... Just remember, if the shackles is too heavy for you yourself to bear. Share it with someone, someone like me. A old man who would be happy to help a youngster like you!" He tapped his chest.


    Tony smiled, he doesn''t know why. But the old man always made him calm with his overflowing energy. As if the container was sharing some of it to him.


    "Well¡­ Anyways, if you are tired. Just rest for a while and I¡¯ll wake you up when we arrive. Probably in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­¡±


    ¡°Heh¡­ No worries.¡±


    Being in the old mans care, he slowly closed his eyelids from the light. Sleeping comfortably as if he was at home, a place where he can rest without worries.


    The wagon made its way towards the capital city of Afauthien as Rin and Tony slept quietly.

 Chapter 012.

    Memories


    Again? I¡­ I must stay awake this time...


    The piping sound continued to echo in Tony¡¯s mind. Heart pumping, he struggled with a headache to escape from the luggage that was about to fall from the lockers above. It fell. Covered his vision from the fuzzy background as it accelerated towards him.


    He shuddered, looked away. Waiting for what felt like minutes until the luggage would make impact, yet it never came. Taking a tiny peek, he found the luggage on the floor below the locker, covered by a pair of large shoes at the front.


    He mustered his strength, pushed himself up from the floor to find out who it was, though it proved to be futile as all he did was plop back the second after.


    Weightlessly, The firm hands picked him up onto unknown person¡¯s arms. Giving him a familiar fragrance of a cigar smoke while the broad chest embraced him tightly.


    Tony frowned from the pain, but the warmth given by the man made up for it as he laid him back onto the passenger seats.


    The plane kept shaking, most of the passengers followed the emergency guide, lowering their head, tears fell from their eyes as they sat with their seat belts on. Others balanced themselves between the seats, trying to return before another wobble would come without warning. One that Tony could recall from the itching pain on the back of his head. The man on the other hand was undisturbed as he turned around, vanishing from Tony''s sight.


    Even with the blurry vision and headache, he could guess from the strong resemblance that it was his father. Trying to raise his head to look around once more, he couldn¡¯t. Forced to stare at the blurry ceiling, he could eventually hear a faint conversation.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of blood..."


    ¡°Please help him, doctor!¡±


    ¡°Calm down¡­ You being like the other passengers wouldn''t help¡­ And if you want to make yourself useful, go get the crew and see if they can help us. Tell them that we need anything that can stop the bleeding.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡±


    The stench of alcohol together with the smell of blood covered Tony¡¯s nose. A wet hand stung his wounds, as it raised his head slowly, the doctor said, ¡°Don¡¯t struggle, stay strong and calm, I know you can do it¡­¡±


    Even though it was blurry, he could still guess that it was a woman. Someone he didn¡¯t know, but had a natural pink lipstick. Cheeks tingled from the long hair as she turned him around. Later brushing his own hair away so that she could see the wound. A wobble stronger than before forced the doctor to balance herself between the seats. As she did, the plane tilted to the side as a metallic screeching sound scratched on the side of the plane.


    ¡°What the?!¡± she said, grabbing the arm rests of the seats while tilting her body with the friction so that she wouldn¡¯t slide to the side. It was as if the plane took a strong turn to the left, barely causing everything and everyone to fall with the gravity to the side of the plane.


    After a while, the plane returned to it¡¯s normal axis towards the earth, but kept the wobbling and screaming passengers.


    ¡°Tch¡­ Damn storm¡± The doctor ranted and then returned to Tony.


    As she did, her eyes turned wide, staring through the small window to the outside, her chest tightened and soon after she ran to the other side of the seats. Positioning herself opposed to the window, she tucked her legs under the seat and finally grabbed Tony¡¯s feets until it turned red.


    Within a second, the plane tilted, the cabin got ripped open on the side. Causing a strong explosion of pressure to tear the hole open even larger, including pulling the unsuspecting passengers out along with the seats and the floor around them.


    The oxygen mask fell from the ceiling, Tony breathed heavily as the strong wind tried to pull him outside. He shivered as the air got drained out of his lungs, trying his best to keep them inside, he was about to hold his breath.


    ¡°Keep breathing!¡± The doctor shouted, struggling to keep the boy from being ejected to the outside. One would wonder why she didn''t save herself. Pride as a doctor? Either way, Tony couldn''t be more thankful for her.


    As the decompression continued, the cold frigid air created a fog of water vapor, her grip started to get loose as the wind made her hair flutter. The thunder soared, the roar that was once blocked by the hull and the echoing sound in Tony¡¯s mind. The rain drizzled into the cabin, shattering into pieces as it stole his warmth on the cheeks.


    A strong flapping noise grew louder, as if it was a large bird flying closing in towards the plane. The wind which was already strong from the cruising speed, got stronger with each flap together with a wobble that kept tilting the plane from its axis further. Eventually, he was looking through the hole upside down.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡±


    The grip was released, Tony fell into the hole, revealing the darkened sky, gray as the clouds that kept releasing thunders. Thunders that illuminated the pouring rain and even himself. His heavy body started to itch, pain and cold enveloped his shivering body as he tried to reach the smoking plane that passed by his vision.


    This is it¡­ I must remember! I need to find out... How I''ve gotten to the other world...


    A few seconds after, a large silhouette of a bird dived through the gray clouds. leaving a large hole as it left him speechless as the thunder illuminated the creature. He couldn¡¯t see the details properly, but from the wings, the diving posture and the reptile eyes. He knew that it was a creature of legends and books, a dragon.


    The creature followed the plane that was long gone from his vision. Not being able to reach out for the plane anymore, he sought to reach the gray clouds. The clouds that might lead him to heaven for salvation. Trying to grab the clouds, he struggled to stay awake as the first stages of the frostbites started to build on top of the tip of his fingers.


    His eyelids got heavier, so heavy that he was barely able to keep them open. Frowning as a last resort. Darkness finally shrouded his vision as something soothing and warm grabbed hold of his hand. Removing the cold, the pain, the struggle and gravity, as if it all was just a dream.


    Something silky tingled his nose as it pulled him somewhere. He slowly opened his heavy eyes, in return, he got blinded by the edges of the sun that was straight above him as someone held his hand.


    Is this how I had gotten to the other world? No... He thought, but soon after realized that he had once again awoken before recalling the whole story.


    After pondering for a second, he then watched the silhouette with two red dots above him. Blinking a dozen times to focus properly. He could see Rin gazing at him with her teary blue iris that matched the bright sky as she held his hand that reached out towards the sun.


    That tears doesn¡¯t suit you¡­ He was about to say, but kept it to himself. Wondering if he should tell her that her physical trait is also crushing his hand.


    ¡°Lad, you awake yet?¡±


    ¡°Barely¡­¡± He answered, poking her pale hands that expectedly lightened her grip.


    ¡°Well¡­¡±, The old man scratched the back of his head. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t prey into your privacy, but¡­ You were shivering and breathing heavily, you know? Maybe you should go to one of the healing clinics for a quick therapy? One magic or two should fix it, temporarily if not.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just a dream...¡±


    ¡°A dream? Well¡­ If you say so¡­ Just make sure that you don¡¯t scare the girl, otherwise you have me to worry about.¡±


    Tony chuckled and with his free hand, he patted Rin¡¯s head, ¡°Hopefully it won¡¯t happen.¡± he said, ending the conversation as he removed her soft hands. Pushing himself up to take a seat instead.


    With his back on the stack of hay, he gazed upon the vast potato field that stretched out as far as he could see. Farmers with their own wagon filled with pumpkins and other vegetables passed by one by one on the road. Even Merchants with their large bags walked by as Rin eventually took a seat next to him.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    After a while, a large tree could be seen. Under the tree, children shrouded in shadows with their long sticks, imitating knights or simply dueling each other as they laughed. Rin grasped her chest, stuck her body forwards towards them with her wide eyes, as if she wanted to play with them.


    He sighed, Kids¡­ Hopefully I don¡¯t have to be that strict about her eyes, unless we are in the populated cities. ¡°Old¡­¡± He paused, remembering that they hadn¡¯t introduced themselves once in the entire journey. He visualized a facepalm, how could he ask now? ¡°Sir, I presume that we are close by, right?¡±


    ¡°Sir, I presume that we are close by, right?¡±


    ¡°Sir?¡±, he scratched his chin as he took a look at Tony, ¡°Now that I think about it, we¡¯ve never introduced ourselves to each other, right?¡±


    Avoiding the gaze, he turned towards the drenched farmers on the potato field. ¡°Eh, Yeah¡­ That¡¯s right.¡±


    He laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll start then! I¡¯m Merlin.¡±


    At first, he let out a sigh from dodging the bullet, but soon after turned around and asked, ¡°Merlin?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Merlin Edingrey to be exact. Once a farmer, now a traveler who travels around the world to visit the world wonders. And¡­ You don¡¯t have to be polite around me, it¡¯s kinda embarrassing.¡±


    Shrugging, Tony answered, ¡°Merlin eh, I¡¯m Tony, Tony the magician. Traveling around the world with my apprentice, Rin, just like you, but instead, I do it in search for clues.¡±


    ¡°Clues? Actually, I too am in search for clues to be precise, but anyways... Rise and shine. We have arrived¡±


    As they passed the stone bridge over a large river, he stood on his knees, peeking over the stack of hay together with Rin. Eyes wide, they both let out a ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°Cool right? Probably the largest capital in the whole world, fit with four anti magic walls. One inner wall for the magnificent palace. The one at the top of the hill near the center, which is also the thickest of them all. The second surrounding the wealthiest and the storage rooms. The third wall that surrounds the common citizens. And lastly, there is another wall that we passed whilst you guys were asleep, the wall that protects the farmers, the fourth wall.¡±


    Listening to Merlin as he gazed upon the street filled with citizens. The citizens bright like the white clouds as they walked between the row of houses that stretched towards the third wall, Tony then asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to protect this city? I barely see any soldiers at all...¡±


    ¡°Not really, most of the soldiers are stationed at the fourth wall. At most, invaders will only be able to break through the fourth wall and plunder the farm fields. Not only that, if you take a closer look on the citizens, you¡¯ll notice something peculiar.¡±


    Focusing his eyes, he then realised that the leather sheaths behind their waist wasn¡¯t for farming tools like sickles, but rather for swords.


    ¡°They are trained to fight?¡±


    ¡°Half right, they are actually soldiers working as farmers part time. It¡¯s a good way to strengthen the soldiers while also providing the necessary food.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they really planned this thoroughly.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, though it wasn¡¯t this until recently.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Around 30 years ago, the Afauthien Empire was actually one of the countries corrupted to it¡¯s core. Those with power controlled over the weak. Citizens lived in poverty, forced to work until they collapsed to the ground. Everyday you¡¯ll usually sit at front of the empty dinner table, just to find out that the soldiers have plundered your own storage room.¡±


    He lowered his head and continued, ¡°The stench, the disease from the dead started to fill the city in a cloudy miasma. Eventually¡­ None would ever want to leave their homes, including the wealthy ones¡±


    What about the leader? The King or the Queen? With glittering eyes, Tony was about to ask so that he could satisfy his curiosity. But was soon after interrupted as Merlin continued the story.


    ¡°You might wonder, how did this happen? How did they let the corruption go that far? Why didn¡¯t the King foresee this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because he was ill, so sick that he couldn¡¯t even leave his bed. And to add, he had no family members left, they were said to have been assassinated the year before. Heartbroken and ill. All he could rely on was his advisors, to lead the country for him as he rested on his bed. Little did he know that they lived for money, not for the people but wealth... ¡±


    Tony muttered, ¡°Such a high status, yet they still want more¡­ Greedy bastards¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was not until 17 years later, the people rose under one banner¡­ A banner filled with hope¡­¡±, He grinned and then asked, ¡°Young apprentice, want to take a guess?¡±


    Twitching once from the unexpected question, she quietly answered, ¡°The¡­ the princess?¡±


    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s right¡­ The daughter of the king they had thought had perished, returned with an army of armed civilians and soldiers that have had enough of the corrupted leaders. Long story short, the princess took back the throne and restored peace as the new queen. Though, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to do it alone. A man¡­ A man just like you Tony. Black eyes, black hair, a man filled with knowledge, knowledge none would have ever thought of¡­¡±


    ¡°What kind of knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Advanced agriculture, new tactics, system, trades, blueprints, techniques, culture, ethics, medical knowledge, martial arts, new rules, and so much more¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­ What¡¯s his background?¡±


    ¡°No one knows¡­ All we know now is that he was promoted to archduke, the rank just below the king himself and had full authority over the advisors¡­ Though, one year later, he became a marshall and later a commander instead.¡±


    ¡°What? Why did he get demoted?¡±


    ¡°Beats me¡­ They say that he was so lazy that he actually resigned from the position and turned himself into a commander¡­ He was famous for having his desk filled with towers of papers afterall¡­ I don¡¯t blame him. The new system changed everything. In return, all he was forced to do all day was monitor it.¡±


    ¡°Oh... I see¡­¡±


    Merlin shrugged, ¡°Well, either way¡­ The result is as you can see, a country under the rule of their new queen that prosper with each coming day. This includes expanding their borders.¡±


    Tony whistled, looked around upon the citizens that walked around laughing. Never would he had thought that this country was one of the most despised place to live in 17 years ago. He let out a smile, but a sudden stop on the wagon, made him fall head first onto the hay.


    Rin chuckled as the old man said, ¡°Anyways, we have finally arrived dear magicians.¡±


    Tony scrubbed his hair from the hay as he rose to stretch himself. ¡°So Merlin, what are your plans in the beautiful capital city?¡±


    He jumped of the wagon, landing with a thud, he then patted on his chest pocket and answered, ¡°First, I''ll search around for someone that would want to buy these scales for a hefty price. Afterwards, I guess that I¡¯ll have to restock the hay, my horses eats a lot.¡±


    ¡°Heh, I noticed.¡± Tony giggled, while simultaneously helping Rin who had her eyelids closed. He gently placed her on the street beside wagon. Not forgetting to also hold her hand.


    Merlin brushed the hair of the horses, ¡°Actually, I think we¡¯ll part our ways here. Gotta lead the horses to the stables first.¡±


    ¡°Need help?¡±


    He smiled towards them, ¡°Nah¡­ Besides, I am sure that we will meet each other in the near future anyways¡­¡± He said, stretching out a hand towards him.


    Smiling back, he grabbed the hand and answered, ¡°I believe so, this cannot be a coincidence after all¡±


    Laughing, he patted Tony¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yeah, now go¡­ This is getting embarrassing, it is as if I am parting with my son and daughter¡­¡± he answered, bright red whilst crouching down to the same level as Rin, waving her goodbye.


    Rin who had shrouded herself in the tattered cloak, waved back.


    ¡°Maybe you are?¡± Tony continued as he turned around and walked away with Rin, leaving Merlin alone, tending his horses as they went into the large gate.


    Leading the horses to the nearby stable, Merlin muttered, ¡°That red cloak¡­¡±


    <hr />


    Sorry, super busy these days xD

 Chapter 013.

    Bag of Coins and Faith


    Around noon, their cloaks were facing the bright sun that bathed them in warmth. The roof shrouding their heads from the heat. Sitting on the chairs at a food stall beside a wide alleyway. Tony, together with Rin munched down the fried chicken wings. Eventually he stood up. Fingers greasy, ordering another proportion for at least 3 men as he placed a few copper coins on top of the counter.


    The steaming chicken joins were placed before him. Recently fried, the chirping crispy sound from the exterior and oil made him drool endlessly. Scrubbing his mouth, he shared a few to his apprentice before he digged in nonstop. The crispness, the crusty exterior combined with the well seasoned white meat. With each bite on the soft meat. Hot juices squished onto his tongue. Forcing him to fill his stomach more than he would usually do.


    ¡°This¡­ This is madness!¡± He said, staring at the smiling cook with a manly mustache at front of his stove. The stove powered by fire magic as the cook pumped the heat.


    ¡°Madness? No¡­ This is chicken!¡±


    ¡°How, how can it be that delicious?!¡±


    ¡°A trade secret¡± He snickered, returning back to his stove to fry more chickens. As more customers sat beside the counter next to Tony and Rin.


    Sitting back on his chair, he took another bite. Barely squealing, he turned towards Rin.


    Gazing upon the black cloth that covered her eyes like a blindfold, he asked, ¡°Apprentice, you do agree that these chickens are good, no?¡±


    Dipping the drumstick into a bowl of garlic sauce, she took a bite with a strong crunch from the crusty exterior. With a bright smile, hand holding the chicken above the air, she answered, ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Smiling back, he turned back to the cook and asked, ¡°Mr Cook, can you describe this girl for me, please? I am doing some kind of research, a research that I cannot tell you why, or the research will fail. Hence I need this vital information for it to succeed.¡±


    The cook turned around with a raised eyebrow. He nodded, probably satisfied from the reasoning even though it was a lie. He held his own chin, inspected the girl and answered, ¡°I was wondering what that getup was for¡­ A research eh? A bright girl with milky white skin. I guess around the age of 13? She has black hair with a blindfold. Not only that, a ghostly tattered cloak?¡±


    With a smile Tony nodded and said, ¡°Thanks for helping the research!¡±


    The cook shrugged, ¡°Everything for a customer I guess.¡± he said and continued with his work.


    With the help of illusions magic, he had turned his apprentice¡¯s hair jet black. Though, he had to be especially careful with skilled magicians or those with a keen sense, as they could easily see through it. =


    Hopefully they won¡¯t care as I am just a passing by traveler¡­ He thought, continuing his meal until he was filled with a slightly inflated stomach.


    Brushing of the grease around the mouth and fingers with a drenched hot cloth provided by the stall. He took out his bag of coins. First weighing it and finally, he took a peek into the bag. Tears builded up in his eyes. Tony, The magic items for your apprentice was worth it¡­ You can always get more gold coins! Right, right? He tried to cheer himself up. The money he had planned to use his whole journey, vanishing within a few days. Eventually he glanced at Rin.


    Plate clean, fingers greasy and bits of the crusty exterior beside her lips. She took another drenched cloth provided by the stall and cleaned herself up. Though, she missed a few parts.


    He sighed, placing the bag back into his pocket as he had already paid before eating. He took a clean tissue from the stack nearby and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to clean yourself thoroughly, apprentice¡±. He soon after proceeded to clean the parts she had missed.


    Bright red cheeks, she laughed awkwardly.


    Raising from the chair, he said, ¡°Thanks for the meal, the meal was delicious¡±


    ¡°No props, please come again!¡±, the cook answered as Rin who noticed that they were about to leave, stood up and held Tony¡¯s hand. Waving to each other, they left the stall.


    Ventured to the town square. Sitting on one of the smooth stone benches around the glittering water, which spurted out of the fountain. Taking a break as the soldiers clad in black, patrolled throughout the capital city. Tony muttered, ¡°Lothenthein¡± The name of the capital city of Afauthien, as he gazed upon the citizens from commoners, upper class and adventurers around the circular square surrounded by the structures.


    The group of women, dressed with decorated dresses, muttered around the corner together with their hand-fan covering their lips. One could easily guess that they were wealthy as wealthy people usually stick together. Of course, their clothings also played a part, but mostly the way they move upright, talk politely, eat or simply ethics is what differentiate the commoners the most.


    Those that created clanging noise that echoed inside Tony¡¯s eardrum, were the adventurers. Mostly consisting of strong men, they moved with their groups clad in heavy or light armor. Carrying weapons from all variety like swords, bows, staffs and daggers, magical enchanted or not.


    The wealthy women cheered for them from the side as the men replied with naughty smiles. The adventures beckoned to them as they left the streets into a bar. The woman chuckled, followed inside, until Tony could not see them anymore.


    What if these adventurers were actually soldiers from another country? Tony thought, wondering how they could feel so secure, even though anyone could become an adventurer.


    Tony who had to use a pass to get through, pondered on the bench as he watched the buzzling stores that surrounded the square. They were mostly made out of stones, but with wooden pillars and roofs.


    He sighed, Does the guild has some kind of eternal contract? He shook his head, I should be thinking about the Royal eyes instead¡­  Apprentice¡­ He put his hands inside his pockets, leaned backwards and gently rested on Rin¡¯s small back. A few seconds later, she did the same.


    As they sat back to back, he watched the blue sky with the sun covered by the white clouds. Pondering about his next move, as he did, he felt around his pocket at the same time. Fingers touching something cold, thin and small with a hole.


    Picking it out, he noticed that it was the ancient like elven ring filled with magic. The one he had gotten from one of the villagers on the way to this place.


    At that time, he only took a glance because he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Mostly because they were staring him down, or rather they witnessed him burn a soldier into a smoking corpse within a blink of an eye.


    Thinking about all the creatures he had killed in this world. It was his first time on a human like himself. Yet heart icy cold, he burned the man into crispy coal without taking a clear look upon the face. Did the officer have a helmet? But nevertheless it was a death easily forgotten,  a death of a person of an unknown background, a death those from his world would scowl upon him for at court.


    We live, we eat, we sleep and eventually pass away¡­ Will I make it back before it¡¯s my turn?


    Sighing, he raised the ring towards the sun. Inspecting it, it was a ring made out of brass. Engraved with letters that bear a resemblance to those in books, a language also called elvish, those that live far to the west, on a continent with enclosed borders.


    The place where none enters and none leaves. One that Tony considered a weird rule as he rotated it around towards the sun.


    Hmm¡­ It¡¯s kinda too large for Rin¡­ Should I give it to her as a necklace instead? No¡­ That might lose the affect. A ring stays a ring afterall. But maybe?


    He shrugged, rose from the bench. Causing Rin to reflexly fling her arms around, trying to balance herself before falling backwards. He chuckled from the scene. Grabbing her left hand, he walked to her front and pulled her towards him. Forcing her to stand upright, he gazed upon her as she tilted her head for answers.


    Gently raising her soft hand, he started from left thumb, moving from one finger to another, until it fit perfectly in the left ring finger. Rather, the language glew brightly, until it shrank and fit neatly in place.


    Smiling, he poked her soft burning cheeks with his icy cold fingers and said, ¡°It¡¯s the ring from the woman in one of the villagers in photos, she did say it was for you afterall. Luckily, the Ring can shrink in size, otherwise you wouldn''t be able to use it.¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Without answering, she fiddled with her new ring above her chest.


    Lost in thoughts, he tried to catch her attention by poking her cheek. She snapped out of it as he took the chance to grab her left hand once again. Pulling her gently, enough for her not to struggle, they took a stroll around the capital city, Lothenthein. They passed streets, alleyways, stores, vendors and stalls. Mostly to take a look around, but also in search for some kind of useful information.


    He finally found what he wanted. A labyrinth few years old around a few miles to the west and a tournament within two days.


    He shrouded himself inside the hood of the red cloak. Stood in a dark alleyway with Rin beside, as he steepled his fingers and laughed maliciously. Once again, my pocket will be filled with gold! Or so he thought, until the clerk nearby tapped his shoulder and said. ¡°Sorry sir, the reward is actually a weapon of choice from those shown in the tournament. No betting, gambling of any sort allowed¡±


    The clerk lightly knocked his head and laughed awkwardly, ¡°Sorry, to think I actually forgot that part! But hey! At least it¡¯s free to spectate!¡±


    He sulked, even though the weapon might fetch a good price. And that he might have some haggling skills with the help of books. But he had no knowledge at all about how to sell items in this world. Rather, thinking about it, never in his life had he ever sold an item.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head towards the Labyrinth then.¡± He said, walking towards the west exit of the capital city whilst he held Rin¡¯s hand.


    The clouds passed by as minutes vanished. Around half an hour had passed, yet they still had not gotten outside the third wall, the wall that protected the commoners. Following the path a citizen showed them, he walked without looking around other than the street at front of his shoes.


    Eventually he stopped dead on his tracks. Staring at the silvery plated shoes that blocked his path. His head rose, staring at the large and broad soldier that didn¡¯t have the usual black armor. Rather, he was heavily armored for battle. A armor decorated with golden engravings of hawks. A red tabard that fluttered happily like the cloaks of the magicians with a golden hawk at the middle..


    As he gazed into the dark holes of the helmet, Rin took the chance to hide behind his back as Tony asked, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, sir?


    The large hands grabbed his shoulder, he shuddered as the soldier straightforwardly said, ¡°Madam, actually¡­¡±


    Gaping with wide eyes, he then avoided her gaze with a cough and apologized, ¡°Sorry¡­ Madam.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m used to it¡­ Besides, what are you guys doing in the slums?¡±


    ¡°Slums?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, slums¡­ Take a look around, does this look the same as the other parts of the city?¡±


    Listening to the soldier, he gazed around and eventually rose his eyebrows. It was clearly different, there was barely any citizens and if there were, they had worn and tattered clothings. Flies circling around their body that hadn¡¯t bathed in days. They snickered behind their back as they watched. Watched from the dirty alleyways between the worn down wooden houses.


    Facing the soldier or rather the knight, he bowed and said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t watch where I was going, rather I followed this street as someone told me that it leads to the west exit.¡±


    ¡°It does, and neither do I doubt you.¡± She looked around, ¡°This is place might be called the slums, but eventually the queen will rebuild it to its former glory¡± she said, crossing her arms whilst nodding, ¡°Everything takes time afterall.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I know the hardships and the struggles the people of Afauthien went through. But if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Tony said, turning around as he gently pulled Rin towards the way he came from.


    He was grabbed on the shoulder once again, ¡°Who said that you could leave?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m here for a reason¡­ May I check the one with the cloak, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t let you?¡±


    She tapped the pommel of her sword that was fastened to her waist, ¡°I don¡¯t want to use force. All I want to do is just to check.¡±


    ¡°If you tell me the reason, then I might let you.¡±


    Silence broke between them, staring at each other whilst not, as she had her helmet on, shrouding her eyes in shadows. She answered, ¡°A upper class I am protecting has gone missing, I¡¯m just doing my job by taking a look. That person should be at the same size as the one holding your hand, one I presume is a girl also¡±


    ¡°... Fine¡­¡±, Tony muttered, stepped to the side as the soldier crouched to the same length as Rin. Unveiling her tattered hood. Causing the silky black hair to rest onto her shoulders.


    With a metallic screech, the soldier stepped backwards. Causing Rin to swiftly hide behind Tony, as the soldier held her sword handle near the waist. Facing the magician with his blazing red magic hovering above his palm.


    ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡± The citizens of the slums cheered from the corners.


    A sigh came from inside the helmet as she removed her fingers from the sword, she apologized, ¡°Sorry, reflex from fighting to many beastmen. That white hair always catches me off guard. Not only that, I might be tasked to kill a beastmen at sight, but that doesn¡¯t include those who aren''t fully related to them.¡±


    Extinguishing the fire, he watched the soldier before making his move.


    ¡°I don''t know why she is blindfolded, but I¡¯m not fond of turning into a half cooked chicken either. Anyways, I¡¯ll take my leave. Please report to a nearby guard if you find a girl the same height with a tan. Blond hair and green iris.¡± She added, turned around towards the citizens that shuddered around the corner and shouted, ¡°That means you guys also! Find her and you¡¯ll be greatly awarded!¡±


    The people glanced at each other, with grins they split up and ran. As if all the language they needed were the blinking eyes. Now gone from Tony¡¯s sight with the upper hand together with the knowledge of the streets. He picked Rin up onto his arms and said, ¡°We¡¯re low on money. Let¡¯s get our reward!¡±


    She nodded, grabbed his shirt as he fired himself to the air with wind magic onto the damaged roofs. Roofs that might crumble with a tiny weight added. But with his quick steps of wind, he jumped from one roof to another before falling into the broken houses with the roofs.


    The sun started to set. The sky was colored with orange pastel as he searched within every inch of the slums. What if someone have already obtained the rewards? He thought, resting on a thick railing on the edges of a roof with Rin. Rin who kept fiddling with her ring as if she was Gollum from lord of the ring herself.


    Staring into every corner now shrouded in shadows for a while, he sighed. Those that took the head start with their sprint, were no where to be seen. Even the soldiers were gone. Either taking a break or their black armor camouflage them with the darkness.


    Stepping down from the railings, he helped Rin down as he kept pondering. Half a day wasted¡­ Might as well book an inn for the day. I¡¯m kinda tired¡­ The soft and comfy bed awaits...


    ¡°Tony, I hear noises under us.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be, this house should be abandoned. I checked before we rested here remember? Besides, I don¡¯t hear anything¡± Tony said, shooting down the clues before listening.


    ¡°Tony¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­ Let¡¯s go take a look¡­¡± He muttered, recalling that she was not of full human blood.


    With a bright smile, she jumped onto his arms. Actually, she would have landed onto the roof if Tony did not catch her. Using wind magic, he then jumped down from the roof, landing on the streets beside the house. The house made out of wood and damaged just like all the others.


    ¡°Can you still hear it?¡± He whispered.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It feels like they are about to leave the house.¡±


    Leave? But none have entered ever since we have checked¡­ What¡¯s going on?


    Hiding around the corner, he waited patiently. Trusting Rin of what she had heard. A few people did indeed leave the house. Shrouded in their hoods with their brownish robes. They were holding their hands firmly as if they were praying, walking further away from the master and apprentice until they eventually vanished around the corner.


    ¡°Sorry for doubting you, Apprentice.¡±


    She smiled, resting her delicate palm on her chest, she said. ¡°Just like how I trusted you to catch me. I want you to have the same amount of faith in me.¡±


    ¡°I will...¡±

 Chapter 014.

    Secret Hallway


    The door slowly opened with a squeak. Taking a peek inside, he illuminated the entrance with a ball of fire. ¡°Anybody at home?¡± He whispered. Proceeding to open the door wholly as a breeze made a dust of cloud cover his face. Coughing, he swung his arm around for a while. Eventually the dust settled and a giggle made him direct his eyes towards the source.


    It was Rin standing outside at the orange sky with watery blue eyes, she was covering her mouth with a smile as bright as the sunset.


    Turning back towards the darkness, face burning yet fingers icy cold, he thought. So much for telling her to be as stealthy as me¡­


    Shrugging, he stepped inside first without care and with each footstep he took, a loud cracking sound squeaked from the brittle wooden floor.


    Looking around, he found parts of the ceiling covering the floor with thick wooden pillars. It seems that the ceiling of the second floor had crumbled into the old house. Stepping over the pile, he searched around together with Rin who followed him, Rin who didn¡¯t have her blindfold anymore as they walked into a dark hall.


    ¡°Find anything?¡± He asked, peeking through the tiny gaps of the barricaded doors in the hall.


    ¡°Nothing yet¡± she answered, scrubbing her nose from the tingling dust and then sneezed.


    ¡°Shorry¡±, She sniffed.


    He chuckled, ¡°I know, it¡¯s hard to breath and even my nose is starting to run from the thick dust. But you¡¯ll get used to it... Besides, it seems that no one is here¡±. He said, taking another step deeper into the hall. A lightning then struck through his mind, causing him to mutter. ¡°Dust¡­ hmm... Dust?.¡±


    He crouched down, inspecting the dusty floor with his fire, he smiled. ¡°Good work apprentice. Now follow me¡± he beckoned Rin with a tilted head, realising that they didn¡¯t have to search throughout the whole house at all. They entered one doorless room after another, eventually standing at front of a door with wooden planks barricading it.


    ¡°The footprints leads to this place¡± he said, inspecting the door as Rin held his cloak, hands shivering as she gazed into the darkness behind them once in a while.


    ¡°Afraid?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no¡­ Just imagining things¡±


    Eyebrows raised, he faced the door and inspected the wooden planks. Covering his body in mana, he tapped the door a few times whilst glancing at Rin once in a while. He had to make sure that there was no trap, though Rin¡¯s actions worried him as she was still peeking into the darkness behind them, the darkness that was soon after scorching with blazing fire.


    ¡°No one is there, besides¡­ I believe we have found the entrance.¡± He said, extinguishing the flame and gently pushed the door open.


    ¡°It seems that the barricade was a camouflage.¡± He pointed at the end of the wooden planks, the planks which were nailed onto the door frame and was not connected with the planks stuck on the door.


    Nodding, she held his hand as he casted a new Fireball as a torch hovering above his other palm.


    Standing there as a gentle gust of cold breeze blew past them, he pondered, Imagining things? Has it something to do with the Royal Eyes? He shook his head and brought the flame forward. Revealing a circular staircase, leading further into the depths shrouded in darkness.


    He took the first steps down, hand still holding Rin¡¯s as he illuminated the stairs. Not noticing that Rin once again took a look behind them, behind at the door that closed with a gentle and silent thud.


    She tightened her grip, causing Tony¡¯s hand to redden. Yet he continued to walk down the stairs without glancing at her. Mostly because he could not shake the recent thoughts out of his head. While the other reason was that he was now in full alert. Making sure to sense if there was any disturbance with the flow of mana within the vicinity.


    Everything has mana in them, if I cannot see what she can see, I should be able to sense it¡­ Hopefully¡­ But it still hurts...


    With each careful step that echoed into the depths, the ball of fire flickered, whilst the chill covering his skin got colder. Cold enough for his breath to turn into vapor of white smoke, they eventually took the last step onto the underground floor.


    He fired the fireball slowly forward into the total darkness. Revealing a half crumbled hallway with walls made out of cobblestone and a smooth floor yet filled with cracks and footprints from the dust.


    Taking a look behind them before venturing forth. Rin asked ¡°Where are we?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just as confused as you are, apprentice. But it seems we are in some kind of underground pathway?¡­ No matter, we¡¯ll just have to tread carefully.¡± He said, frowning as he burned down the spider threads that tingled his cheeks.


    Nodding, she followed beside him through the hallway with a few wooden doors at the side. Walking on the tattered and dusty red carpet, they passed a few statues covered in dust together with ripped paintings on the floor beside the wall. As they did, they silently opened one door after another, which all revealed to be mostly the same, in a worn and broken state just like the hallway.


    ¡°Apprentice, let¡¯s ignore the rooms. And don¡¯t forget to tell me if you notice anything¡± He said, deciding that searching through the rooms were just a waste of time.


    She nodded and they kept walking through the dark hallway, eventually they stood at the middle of a crossroad. Crouching down, he inspected the footprints as a hot breeze behind his neck made him shudder towards the source. It was Rin who hugged him as she threw glances into the darkness around them.


    He sighed, The unknown is man¡¯s greatest enemy? Should I call it a day and find another way to earn some money? No¡­  half of the day I¡¯ve spent shouldn¡¯t be for waste.


    Patting Rin¡¯s head, he picked her up onto his arms and continued deeper into the unknown hallways as the fireball flickered above his head. Moving around for another minute a noise of someone speaking could be heard from the distance. It sounded like a speech that echoed through the hallway, but they could not or rather he could not hear what it was about, since it was still too far to make out the content of the voices. Luckily, Rin confirmed that someone was holding a speech.


    Nodding towards her, he gently put Rin on her feets and extinguished the fire. Light could be seen. The speech louder than before. They hid behind stone railings carved out to look like angels holding the rails itself. Peeking through the gaps, they gazed onto the floor below filled with people praying in a large nave before the altar as if it was a underground church.


    ¡°Look at her! Shivering on the holy altar, excited to be part of our plans!¡±


    Tony gazed around from the side of the room, finding the missing citizens tied near the corner with a rope, also stuffed with their own dirty clothings in their mouth. While a large group consisting of men and women, all clad in brownish robes below the balcony, stood in a rows watching the man at front of the altar who seemed to be of higher status.


    A man with a smile and a black robe that clearly differentiating him from the others. His ribs could be seen through the robe and with a face that seemed to have not been stuffed with food for month. He walked around the platform with a altar held by a pair of statues of angels, waving his hands around as if he held a bowl above the air. Ignoring the girl dressed in a white dress that shuddered with her eyes streaming of tears.


    Mouth blocked with a piece of cloth, she struggled to get out of the chains that made her wrist burning red. Yet, he continued his speech.


    ¡°For years we have covered ourselves in shadows. But that shall be no more comrades! Now that we have finally obtained one, one with their sacred blood flowing through her veins. We can now continue with the next step of our plans!¡±


    He stretched his hands out to the sides behind the altar, the altar surrounded by walls with torches that illuminated the room. ¡°Oh great lord who have been banished, what thou have foreseen, the prophecy given from one follower to the other. Thou wilt that gave our lives meaning! I present thee our sacrifice and savior. Thee sacred blood of the royal bloodline!¡±


    The public cheered as the man swiftly drew a dagger made out of bones. The girl trembled and shook her head, trying to scream to no avail as the chains echoed through the nave.


    Twitching, Tony or rather anyone could guess about what they were about to do. He had to take action before the situation become the inevitable. Slightly standing up he found himself still crouching on the floor. Trying to force his body to stand up from the weird gravity that held him in place. He discovered that his hand was stuck tightly with the cold floor.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°What the ****?¡± He muttered to himself. Frowning, he grabbed the wrist. Using all his strength to pull himself out, he eventually noticed that it was not his palm that was stuck. It was the delicate hands of someone he thought was helping him. Rin who used unimaginable strength held him down, yet also watched the man on the altar.


    But before he could question her, he turned his vision towards the man, the man in a black robe had caught his attention.


    ¡°Oh great lord! Thou return from banishment has come! Take revenge on those who oppose Thee! I present thee the sacrifices!¡±, he said, hands above the air with the dagger that left a few red marks on the floor. He then smiled towards the trembling citizens.


    Gazing into the gap, he sighed out of relief. It was a wound that Tony could easily heal. The man only slightly cut her wrists, causing the red liquid to drip onto the altar whilst tears gushed out of the girls eyes. Even the stone angels were crying with red tears, as if there were a hidden mechanism that connected the eyes of the angels with the top of the altar.


    Either way, he had been given more time. As the blood dripped from the angels, it started to form a pentagram with the help of some carved out path around the altar. He glanced back at Rin, Rin who still held his hand on the cold floor and gazed with tears covering her eyes towards the girl in pain.


    He rose his hand that was once glued to the floor. Testing his fingers, he wondered if it was just him imagining that Rin held him down, or that an unknown sickness had taken hold of him, paralyzing him without him knowing.


    A breeze made him shudder as he shook his head, he did not have time to ponder about the recent event. He had to save the girl before his reward would be taken away. Shrugging Rin¡¯s hand off with his finger resting on his lips. Rin nodded as he rose from his crouching position and jumped over the railings. Landing beside them, he left Rin safe at the balcony as he confronted the people in robes at front of him. Hoping that he could reason with them.


    Gathering mana on his arms beside the group of cultist, he awaited their response. Yet none even threw a glance at him, rather they stood there frozen with their mouth gaping, as if they were an ice block in the middle of a snowstorm.


    They were not alone. A cold chill gave goosebumps to Tony as his chest tighten, a rustic smell of blood covered his nose as he gazed upon his trembling arms. The mana on his arms started to waver, flowing towards a disturbance near the altar as if it was being drained. Urged to turn towards the source, the world fell away, drained of all the colors but the source at front of him.


    Isn¡¯t that?! I¡¯ve tried to cast one myself, but I could never give it a form! How?


    Staring at the large circle at front of the altar. The purple flames on the edges fluttered around as a breeze was sent from the dark hole. Forcing Tony to cover his eyes from the dust as it extinguishing all the torches of the large room, causing the cultist to step backwards together with the wind as the darkness shrouded everything in pitch black.


    Taking a peek, he covered his arm in new mana. The portal at front of the altar started to pulsate as it illuminated the room with purple light. Giving the cultists a bright smile as they got down on their knees, praying before the portal that somehow worked for them.


    Yet, Tony frowned, slightly bended his knees and pulled his arm together with his upper body backwards. His red cloak started to flutter with wind pulsating outwards from him. With his arms extended towards the floor behind his butt, his eyes bulged with a raging shout. He slashed the air sideways as if he was about to dislocate his shoulder. Creating a crescent as bright as the sun but with a blue tint of the hottest flame.


    It soured through the room, pushed everyone backwards and hit the portal.


    Panting with his hands resting on his knees, he rose his head and took a peek towards the portal. Did it work?


    Eyes wide, a blazing paw had extinguished the spell with its large black claws. A second after the hand extended out of the portal, grabbing the edge to push itself out, giving the cultists tears of joy as Tony trembled. This isn¡¯t good, if what the books in the library says is true, the banished creatures are the worst! What do I do!?


    Throwing glances around, he took a step forward but then backed away. Turning to the left, he then turned back and stood at the same position as before. Holding his head, he could not decide if he should confront the unknown creature or leave before it was too late. What made it worse, the creature denied his strongest close range spell.


    ¡°Tony! The girl!¡±


    Snapped out of his thoughts, he gazed towards Rin who pointed towards the bleeding girl at the altar behind the portal. Nodding, he used wind magic to run swiftly towards the girl who laid silent on top of the altar. Using precise fire magic, he melted through chains and then created a swirling green ball of light that closed the gaps of the wounds and healed a few burn marks temporarily. Nodding towards Rin, he threw the petite girl towards his apprentice.


    Now heading towards the citizens, the cultists stood before him blocking his way with their daggers drawn. They aimed it towards his throat as they bended slightly towards him. The cultists have finally decided that they couldn¡¯t ignore him anymore and tried to retaliate.


    Stomping the ground, the floor cracked and extended outwards towards the cultists, causing them to fly back first onto the walls. Sliding slowly from the wall onto the floor, they slept quietly out cold on the floor.


    Glancing behind him, another hand had extended out of the portal. Grabbing the edge as it tried to push the rest out.


    Clicking his tongue, he cut the rope holding the citizens quiet near the corner. Their eyes glittered as they removed the clothings blocking their mouth. Soon after they started to throw glances around, trying to find a way to escape.


    ¡°Help the girl!¡± Tony shouted, throwing the somewhat confused citizens one by one upwards towards the balcony through wind magic.


    Rin who tried to catch them, sidestepped left or right, yet failed miserably as the citizens landed stomach first beside her.


    They soon after stood up, checked their stomach with tilted heads, unharmed as Tony had coated their body with a temporarily wind magic that served as a cushion.


    Throwing the last person onto the balcony, Tony took a last glance around if he had missed anything. He only found a few wobbling cultists that tried to stand upright, recovering from their slumber.


    ¡°Die!¡± Someone screamed, forcing Tony to turn his sight to the left, finding the cultist of higher status charging towards him with his bloodied bone dagger. Where have you been?! Tony thought, thrusting his hand forward, creating a wind spell that blasted the cultist away.


    Or so he thought. The wall to the right shattered, bricks of stone and dust scattered everywhere and stung Tony¡¯s arms that covered his upper body and eyes. Warm liquid covered his hair and cheeks. Something soft bumped onto his head and landed beside him. Taking a peek, a large skinny beast with molten skin whipped arounds its tail as its head was stuck inside the wall. Barely scratching Tony¡¯s cloak, the beast had also created a trail of blazing fire.


    Taking his chance, be brushed the blood off his face. Hand covered in red dye, he rocketed himself towards the entrance they came from, leaving the cultists to their doom.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?! Go, quickly!¡± He shouted at the civilians of the slums that held the blonde girl, whilst Rin  stood there quietly waiting for him. Yet he quickly realised that it was not pride or honor that caused them to stand there. Without light inside these dark hallways, there was no way for them to return back, at least not unscathed.


    Clicking his tongue, he took a last look behind him at the molten like beast, the beast with four blazing paws with claws twice the size of Tony¡¯s head. Skinny yet had a broad upper body filled with muscles and a sharp thorny back. Currently the only source of light in the room, as the portal was gone.


    Creating a ball of fire, he grabbed Rin¡¯s hand and ran straight through the civilians. ¡°Follow me! Quickly!¡± He shouted towards the civilians that would have followed him even if they were not told.


    Running away from the depths of the unknown structure, a shriek sent a wind through the hallway. Causing the floor to tremble and the ceilings to barely crumble. It was the start of a race towards the surface.

 Chapter 015.

    The Truth


    The sweat that stung their eyes, their lack of oxygen that made their heart bang and their stomach to ache. Panting as the magician''s cape fluttering at front of them, they ran through the hallway that stretched endlessly into the darkness. The straight hallway illuminated by the only flickering light source above Tony¡¯s palm. The fire that looked like the light of hope at the end of the tunnel for those who followed him, causing them who sometimes stumbled and those who did not to wonder, why aren''t we there yet?


    For Tony and Rin, it took around one minute from the crossroad to the underground nave. Yet, even with the back of their clothings wet from sweat, they had still not even seen the crossroad. Had they lost their sense of time as they wandered through the hallways infested with spider webs and filled with broken furnitures? Or have they already passed the crossroad without anyone noticing the difference? Questions filled the runners'' mind, a few would have even given up hope if it was not for their friends encouraging them to continue running. A few even suggested that the beast was not to be feared, just to get slapped on the back of their head by their friends.


    This cannot be right¡­ Have we somehow passed the crossroad or have we been thrown into an illusion? But then... the beast should have already caught up with us unless the beast have also been caught in it?


    Wondering how they ended up in an endless hall, Tony took a look behind them, at the magmatic beast that was nowhere to be seen, nor did it give itself out by illuminating the surroundings. It was a unique characteristic that warned other creatures of this world that it was a beast to be avoided, but also a characteristic that gave Tony a sense of relief. Has the beast left us alone? Nevertheless, it is best that we get out of here before it changes its mind.


    A shriek like the one at the start of their escape caused pain in his ears whilst a chill behind his back made him shudder. Nevermind I guess...


    At his next step he stomped the ground, creating a wall of stone behind the group of runners, hoping that the beast would not notice the difference and turn back at the dead end. If not, he repeatedly created walls after another with each step, hoping that it would help.


    After around fifteen walls that would hopefully slow it down, he then checked on Rin who ran beside him.


    Her panting wavered, her fingers started to lose its grip while her legs slowly dragged her pace down. She might have a strong physical strength, but without exercise her struggling lungs could not keep up with her beating heart after the sprint.


    Stopping with the group for a second he extinguishing the torch like flame and created another one that hovered next to him. Just so he could carry her on his arms instead. But as her light body weighed on his arms, he flinched and nearly dropped her onto the floor that shared its cold surface onto the back of his hand.


    He sighing heavily as she grabbed his long sleeves tightly, tears fell from her blue iris that met his eyes and wavering words from the gasping came out of her tiny lips.


    "Tony... Your arm..."


    As he stood straight up with soaked sleeves, the sweat left a salty aftertaste on his tongue whilst the pain made his arm wobble. Trying to save his breath by not answering. He gazed straight into the darkness and continued with the rest, the rest that had already lost their proper running form, yet still had energy to carry the other girl as they followed the trail of blood.


    It''s not a deep wound, I know that I can last longer, the problem is those behind me... If the beast catch up with us, should I stay and help them or leave with my apprentice?


    Sweat stung his eyes as they entered a large room with at least the height of three adult length. The room was filled with dusty shelves placed in rows like a library. Some had fallen onto the others, while the rest was not. Between them there was also a few pillars holding the ceiling in place, the pillars also held a few torches that were left to the dust.


    Pouring more mana into the fireball, the fire grew and the other end could be seen with yet another dark hallway where the light could not reach. Guessing from the size of the shelves the length of the room had to be at least 30 meters long and around 20 meters wide.


    Putting Rin back on her feet, he said "Everyone, take a short breath and don¡¯t forget to grab one of those unlit torches on the pillars! I¡¯ll light them shortly after the break."


    Though everyone other than he and Rin fell onto the floor, barely licking the dust as they gasped heavily. Smiling as they had finally left the long hallway to someplace different. Yet still filled with sorrow and regret for venturing into a dark place like this.


    Tilting his head, he had second thoughts, maybe he should not have used the wind boots?


    Gazing into the hallway behind them, the beast was still nowhere to be seen, but a twitch on his red cape turned his gaze towards the source. It was Rin who nodded towards his arm, signaling him that he should heal the wound whilst he still had the chance.


    Nodding back a mutter nearby caught his mind instead. It was a boy at around his teens, gasping while muttering something between, tears wet his pants as a girl around the same age patted his back.


    What circumstances had taken hold of the boy or most of those who lived in the slums, Tony had no knowledge of nor did he feel any pity as the boy could always choose a different path and start a new, like the path of an adventurer. But he did know that most of them would have already given up if it was not for those close to them giving them a new bright light.


    Smiling the smile nearly turned into a scream, someone grabbed his arm and made him shudder, staring at the once delicate pale hand now dyed in his blood, the fierce burning eyes made him recollect that he had to heal his arm.


    That he did, extinguishing his fireball, he closed his eyes and recalled a spell that he used in the past. Imagining a green swirling ball alone in total darkness. He opened his eyes and gathered mana into a ball between his open hands. It took a while, causing the tired people to question if the mage had left them in the dark underground place alone, after all they could not see the mana that seeped through the walls and furnitures, gathering between Tony¡¯s hands. Neither could they scream or speak up, their panting prevented them from talking properly, leaving them speechless whilst the darkness shrouded them.


    But it was not until he gave the ball life and its green color. Scattering a green glowing dust towards the surroundings like an erupting volcano, it left the spectators with glittering eyes as if they saw the stars. The green ball slowly swirled around Tony towards the ceiling, illuminating the surroundings as it threw sparkles behind its trail.


    Watching the ball with something warm grabbing hold of their hearts, they gulped down their saliva. Gazing at what seemed like silent fireworks, they forgot that they were still in a pinch as they sat on the dusty floor.


    The ball that had caught their eyes were pulsating with green rings, piercing through them, giving them tickling butterflies on their skin and rejuvenating them with new burning energy.


    As they stood up, they checked their body, finding that their heavily gasps was now gone, they also noticed that their recent or old wounds started to regenerate themselves. Wounds that was not life threatening, yet would have taken a few days to heal unless they paid a small fortune no matter what tiny wound it was to a healer. Smiling towards each other, they then nodded and separated themselves as a few went towards the other girl to pick her up while the other went towards the unlit torches on the wall.


    Satisfied Tony flicked his finger and the green ball that gave light to the room vanished, whilst the once unlit torches now blazed with fire. The citizens started to form a line instead of sprinting head first through the other hallway. Watching them, he wondered what they were really thinking as they stood there staring at him with a smile that curved creepily.


    He shuddered, but then pushed Rin forward. Rin who tried her best to not use her Royal eyes on anyone else but Tony as instructed, now looked at him as she were forcefully pushed forward towards the row of men and woman. ¡°I¡¯ll be stayin here, please take my apprentice to the surface and call for reinforcements.¡± He said, turning towards one of the shelves filled with dusty books.


    Leaving Rin with wide eyes, hand reaching out for his fluttering cape, yet held her burning red fist tightly, she turned her gaze towards the floor. What are you trying to prove Tony? She pondered as water welled up in her eyes, she then shook her head and turned around, pushing through the row of people, leaving them speechless but soon after followed her in the end. She knew that he would not change his mind or feelings for what he was trying to do. Her eyes told her that and it also told that he did not do this for her or anyone else, but rather for himself.


    Casting another ball of fire, he watched the glowing torches that eventually got consumed by the shadows. If this is an illusion or some kind of trick, I do not know how far or how long we have until we reach the stairs¡­ But even I do know that even I cannot last forever, especially if I know that someone is watching me.


    He shrugged, might aswell check one of the books whilst I wait...


    Venturing from one shelf to the other, a peculiar dusty book from one of the toppled shelves caught his eyes. It was mostly the leafy brass design of the book that resembled of those from the elvish, except it was also the familiar part of the title that urged him to pick it up. Brushing off the dust with his sleeve that was not dyed in red, he could clearly read, ¡°My Diary¡±.


    The title was nothing special, rather it was the familiar and different language it was written in, the language he had not seen for years. Latin alphabet? Opening the first page, his eyebrows raised as he read the text that were written in English. He then shuffled quickly through the pages, scanning for something that did not write about the daily life of John Pager in the world of Earth. It seemed that Pager had accidentally broken his old diary cover and placed the old pages in the new elvish cover.


    Nevertheless with a smile he started to read, 1959 February 12 I believe? It seems that I have been teleported to another world. How? No idea¡­ The day I arrived in this world, I panicked, throwing glances as I held my M16 aimed towards those¡­ Those human with long ears. Few dressed as if they were in a party, while the others equipped with armor of steel?


    With fingers shaking near the trigger, they walked towards me with bows aimed towards my body, as if they did not know that my M16 were far more advanced than those old wooden sticks.


    Still¡­ They kept talking gibberish and I would have opened fire if it was not for one woman with long ears, ordering them to throw down their weapons. Or so it seemed at least. It is kinda embarrassing but when I glanced at her, I nearly popped my heart out of my chest, I do not know how I did not notice it, but their beauty excelled in every proportions, even the men with their cold swords behind my neck and arrows aimed towards my heart could be easily mistaken as women¡­


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I feel sad in a way, but somehow I noticed that my shaking stopped¡­ A green light had enveloped my boots and then my body. I wonder what kind of machine did that, though, later I found out that it was some kind of magic as one of the men threw every armor and equipment onto the floor and reached a hand out to me, a hand that made me feel at ease as he mustered a smile towards me. Though, this is totally not gay¡­ Hell it might even be a girl! Either way I accepted the han,  followed him or her towards what seemed like a yard filled with kids?


    Freaking kids that threw fireballs everywhere! What the flipping HEEK!


    ¡­ That was when I fell head first, watching the blue sky with white birds flying by the large tower. I believe something or someone hit my head¡­ Or did I go crazy? Anyways, eventually it became blurry¡­ And you could guess it, I passed out like a wuss.


    When I opened my eyes, I meet someone who seemed to be a maid? A servant of some sort¡­ Not the same black and white style like in movies , but someone with a normal woolen shirt and clothings as if she were from the medieval times¡­ She was still cute though, hiding behind the door as soon as I rose with a headache.


    Took quite some time before she entered the room once again, my room I believe, after all I am writing the events right now? Either way, she started to show some pictures as it seems they guessed that I could not understand the language they spoke in.


    It started with a picture of some kind of yellow round shaped... Portal? A green stick figure with a black stick... I guess that represents my M16. Then a stick figure jumped through it, entering¡­ A map? The world I am currently in I presume as it look nothing like Earth.


    She then smiled. Pointed at me and then at the stick figure which nearly gave me a nosebleed. I could guess that the continent she pointed at far to the west beside two other continents was where we were right now.


    But¡­ She sulked soon after, as if something went terribly wrong. More pictures of stick figures entering the portal? Painting something gibberish on the map, she showed the map once again but with a twist. Stick figures everywhere¡­ Around 6 of them if I counted properly? If they meant anything at all...


    Tony held his forehead, closing his eyes he thought, Wait¡­ Wait¡­ Does this mean that I am here because? Because some elves summoned me? But.... why is this book here? No, rather, what luck gave me the chance to even find this in the middle of nowhere? Not only that, 1959 is it not around the time of the Vietnam war? I wasn¡¯t even born then!


    Kicking a nearby shelf, it fell with a thud, landing on another shelf that continued as if the shelves was a set of dominos. ¡°Ops¡­¡±


    Sighing, he walked around in a circle thinking as he held the book tightly. Sighing once again he opened the page where he left off and continued. The servant then took forth the final picture, one with all the 6 stick figures together, all with some sort of unique colored ball. Blue, red, black, gray, brown, yellow¡­ Magic I guess? Though, they were not alone¡­ A...


    A strong tremble made Tony fall backwards, landing with his butt first on top of the cold stone floor. He pushed himself up with wind blasting out of his palms. Hovering above the ground with wind magic, he threw glances around, checking the vicinity not only for the book that had fallen off his hand but also for what was causing the weird earthquake. Though the tremble only lasted for a few seconds and a grin soon after appeared on Tony¡¯s face.


    The book had landed under his hovering feets. Landing gently, he picked the book up and brushed off the new dust that had accumulated on the book. He let out a sigh of relief, after all it would be sad if his biggest clue would suddenly disappear right?


    His cape started to flutter gently. Glancing at this cape, he raised an eyebrow that turned into a frown when the fireball extinguished from the air. Bending his knees a wind bursted out of somewhere he could not see, causing him to glide backwards as dirt and dust forced him to cover his eyes with his forearms. Sparks of flames passed by him, something crashing into a wall nearby that shattered and scattered bits of stones that cut his cheeks. Not forgetting to send a shockwave that blasted Tony onto the wall behind the fallen shelves.


    Back aching, vision blurry, head about to explode from the echoing pain. He pushed himself up with wobbling hands, back resting on the wall he checked his hand for the book. ¡°Shi..Cough!¡±, he spit out some blood beside him and crawled towards a pillar to hide himself.


    The room was lit brightly by the beast. The diary was gone. Panting beside a pillar, Tony had paid for the price of not paying attention for the pursuing beast. The beast that struck when he had lost his sense of security, as if it was only playing with toys that it could catch up with within an blink of an eye in this long and straight hallway.


    Cursing himself with thoughts, he coughed out more blood onto his pants. Leaving the beast growling, walking around slowly nearby, sniffing for the rustic blood that lingered in the air.


    Covering his mouth, he swallowed the rustic iron taste with a pain that pierced through his throat. Soothing the pain starting from his head, it eventually eased the ache around his chest with the help of healing magic, the pain that caused him to cough once in a while was now gone.


    ¡°Crack¡­ Crack¡­ Crack¡­¡±


    Holding his breath, the magmatic beast walked behind the pillar, growling as it let out a scorching heat to the nearby surroundings. Sparks that gave the shelves fire, sparks that burned Tony¡¯s cheeks, yet chilled his trembling spine with each footstep. His heart punched repeatedly as if it was going to burst out of his chest. Panicking will get you nowhere, panicking will get you nowhere...


    Repeating one of the sentence his master teached him in his mind, his heart beating lessen, his gasp slowed down. Checking the vicinity for anything, he picked up a random book and threw it to the other end.


    Catching the beast ears, it slashed through the toppled shelves to find what caused the noise, finding nothing, it shrieking at the end as if Tony had made it out for a fool. At least it was a shriek that would have knocked him out if he did not remember the shriek before at the hallway, giving him the idea of muffling his ears with wind.


    Remember, just because your master used Fire, your spells should not be limited to fire as your ultimate spells. Everything you cast, you are a master of...


    Slowly standing up, palm resting on the pillar with the weight of his body, he faced the back of the beast that continued to search for him at the other end. The beast that digged around with it claws, whipping its tail that left marks of burning trails.


    Standing upright he inhaled the air that burned his nostrils, slowly breathing out, a cloud of vapor formed in the heat, his heart eased like ice. Chilling his body, chilling the air surrounding him, the chill that battled the heat. Reaching his hands out as if he was holding a sheath and hilt, it raised the ears of the beast, the large horns that slowly faced him, growling as it had found its opposite element, its archenemy.


    Devilux of flames, beast of the underworld...


    Separating the chilled hands away from each other, a short blade of ice formed. It was weightless, yet formed permafrost around his feet as the blade reflected Tony¡¯s eyes. Simultaneously the beast crouched down, trembling the floor, sending pulses of wind around itself that gave the surrounding objects zero gravity.


    It dashed forward, sending a sonic boom whilst wind bursted out of Tony¡¯s hand, he dodged to the side, leaving the Devilux crashing into the wall behind him, head now stuck as it left a trail of blazing fire. Tony clenched the swirling wind at his palm, the permafrost beneath the beast crackled, forming a pillar of ice that pierced but mostly shattered the armor of the creature.


    Retaliating with the tail, he parried with the blade, backstepping with each parry as the ice dyed in blood melted. With a safe distance he stomped the ground, ice formed from the water, piercing through the creature once again.


    Head unstuck, it turned around, scattering blood and squealed with claws resting on the floor. Facing Tony, a ball of flame glew brightly in the gaping mouth, growing with each spark and flame consumed by the ball.


    Eyebrows raised, he stabbed the floor, a wall of ice covered his vision, no¡­ His blade turned into a barrier, growing thicker with a crackling sound. The beast sent the beam of fire with a strong recoil, crumbling the ceiling, shattering the pillars, burning everything to its ground. Yet the ball of ice stood in place and somehow so did the ceiling without the pillars.


    The ice cracked, bursting out of it was Tony with the barrier as a shield, launching him forward with wind pushing behind his back. Knocking the beast over to the side, it whipped its tail, smacking Tony¡¯s shield, sending him towards a wall.


    Coughing as he slid down, his back ached, the Devilux squealed, raised its claws that grew larger with flames. Slashing the air, it sent crescents of flame towards Tony who crouched to a ball to fit the ice shield. Hair catching fire, he extinguishing the flames and clenched his fist, forming yet another pillar of ice through the permafrost on the bleeding Devilux.


    Squealing it flung its claws randomly towards Tony, the ice stuck through the body melted as it squealed repeatedly. Backstepping further away, he pressed the ice shield to a football sized ball, spun it around, accelerating it, forming a sharp drill between his hand that shrieked and crackled throughout the hallway.


    The Devilux wobbled, squealed as it tried to reach the fluttering cape on the magician. Rather it tried to escape through the hallway behind Tony''s back.


    However, coldly he muttered, ¡°Die¡­¡±


    Firing the shard, it pierced the air, leaving a crackling trail of permafrost that extinguished all the flames, piercing between the eyes of the beast, it drained all the blood, leaving the beast lifeless on the floor filled with holes bleeding. One through the face, the rest through the stomach.


    Darkness shrouded Tony once again, creating a ball of fire, he lit the room brightly. Glancing around, smoke rose from most of the books now burned into ashes, whilst the other were frozen stuck. Sighing he thought, there is no way that diary survived the fight. He then formed a chair of ice and sat down quietly with the ball of fire hovering next to him, waiting. Waiting for the one he knew was still nearby..


    ¡°Clap, clap, clap¡­¡±


    And there the person in question was, walking out of the shadows, the one who had followed Rin and Tony, ever since he had scorched the room of the worn down building to find out what Rin saw. The one who also gave Tony a smile as his plan worked perfectly... So far at least...

 Chapter 016.

    Realisation and Determination


    From the shadows, the armor''s clangs echoed through the hallway. With each step and clap, the figure in question left the shadows behind, revealing someone with the height around Tony¡¯s chest. A person with a petite body and was lightly equipped with a black steel armor that reflected Tony¡¯s flickering fire as he watched from the nearby entrance. Sitting on the chilly chair, his cheek itched by the tattered black scarf, although it was more like a cloak with a hoodie but had the size of a scarf. It was dragged along the icy and ashy floor, passing him and the smokes towards the beast laying quietly in rest.


    The fragrance of roses that was left behind soothed his mind, eliminating the thick smell of blood and coal. He gazed at the somewhat lightly armored black knight, guessing that it was a girl, even though she passed him with her head shrouded in the tattered cloak. Watching her from the side, his tightened chest eased from the anxiousness with her presence, even though he knew she was the cause of the beast and also the one who had been tormenting Rin without her knowing. Yet still, he felt as if he had known her for a long time as if he had finally returned home to one of his family members.


    At her moment of arrival near the beast, she clicked her tongue and then shrugged with her black armored gauntlets to the air. It was followed by a stomp with her slender leg onto the head with two large horns growing outwards.


    She sighed, tried to roll it around with her black armored boots that reached her knees, she then muttered, ¡°First my grunt¡­¡±. The head of the beast crackled, giving Tony shudders, even though the creature had a big hole through its head, the creature was still known to have a strong armor added with bones as hard as steel.


    ¡°Now my dear puppy I raised for a decade? Makes me wonder why I even lent them my puppy¡­¡± she muttered, cloak facing towards Tony as she raised her knee. Stomping the head, shattering the skull, turning it into a thick pancake as the juice squirted to her nearby surroundings and even onto herself.


    Yeah, you lent them the puppy that ripped them apart¡­ But still¡­ Is it not your pet?


    With her arms trembling, shoe grinding the meat, she muttered, ¡°How¡­ How dare you, you who should be one of our kin?¡±


    Gazing at the cruel scene of the dead creature, he shuddered, At least that¡¯s not me¡­ He thought, gathering mana in preparation for another battle as he sat there silent, watching the girl who toyed with the lifeless body of the creature as she was drenched in blood.


    Removing her feet from the gushy mess, she kicked the weightless pancake towards the wall. On impact it gave out a squishy sound as it glided slowly to the floor, leaving a trail of blood.


    ¡°Hey?¡± She called out, turning her head towards him, revealing her wide eyes with the magic circles that glew brightly blood red, the eyes covered by a fraction of her chestnut colored hair.


    Those eyes! It''s just like that dude at the great wall, but... He didn''t give me this kind of feeling...


    With a wretched smile, she asked ¡°How about replacing my pet?¡±.


    Finishing her sentence, she turned around and walked towards Tony. Tony who stood on his feet, melting the chair into a puddle of water that reflected her glowing eyes as he walked backwards towards the hallway where she came from. It was not that he was afraid, but there was something warm in his chest, something that eased his throbbing heart even though her actions only followed cruelty. Something he certainly did not expect. But he knew that if a battle would start that puddle will be his savior.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She asked, tilting her head, smiling with that devilish smile. Stepping over the puddle of water that evaporated into steam together with the surrounding permafrost as she closed in on him.


    Touching a wall behind his back, he felt around with his palm on the cold surface, glancing behind at the wall that was once the hallway, tears fell from his inside as his tactical trap had failed. Turning his gaze back at the girl, he asked "What happens if I become your pet?"


    The girl who now raised her hands out for a hug, answered, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you, play with you, snuggle with you. You won¡¯t have to worry about any outsiders¡­ None will enter my domain and none will leave unless I wish for it¡±


    Are you saying that the others has escaped? Though, you are so weird...


    Smiling once again from the silent response, she licked her glossy lips and hugged herself, wriggling her body around she muttered, ¡°I want a new toy...¡±


    Hair raising, he started to somewhat feel creeped out. Not because of her smile, her sentence or when she extinguished her gauntlets with magic to bite her finger until she bleed, but because she did it with blood smeared all over her. Giving him the sense of not being able to predict her course of action.


    Sighing, he recalled why he was here in the first place. ¡°It¡¯s nice to know that you need a new toy¡­ But, why are you following us? And what¡¯s up with those Royal Eyes?¡±


    Smiling, she tilted her head, pointing to her eyes she asked, ¡°Oh these? I don¡¯t know why everyone call them Royal Eyes, after all¡­ They were never called the Royal Eyes in the first place, you know? But why are you asking questions? Come! Lets go home¡­ The place where we the bearers belong...¡±


    She stretched a hand towards him, the hands he shoved away, ¡°What? No, why?¡±


    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you have the eyes too?¡± she asked, sharpening her eyes, trying to gaze into his very soul.


    ¡°Ah, I can feel it, the presence¡­ The power that binds us together, yet you are not bound entirely¡­ It makes me wonder how you got out of the shackles¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ Is this why I feel so strange?¡±


    ¡°Are you curious?¡± She asked, cheeks burning as she dashed towards him, gazing into his black iris face to face, she rested on his chest with her arms.


    Her fragrance of roses, her pale oval face and long eyelashes that grew in an arch that followed the slight curve of her round eyes. Her tiny and slightly open natural lips, the up turned nose and finally her natural curved eyebrows, everything that uttered the word innocence. Yet, from her actions it told otherwise. How one born with such features turned this crazy, he will never know. Though, this was the first time ever since 9 years ago that he had taken a closer detail on someone¡¯s face.


    Was it because she were forceful and bold? Avoiding her glowing eyes, he felt ashamed. Thinking about it, was it because everything that filled his mind was, how to get back? Back to his own world? Never did he try to get to know others background, their goals, full names and even facial expressions?


    Hell, I never told them my full name either and I could only remember the smiles from my apprentice, but what of the other parts? Was 9 years far too long to be alone?


    She grabbed the back of his head, pulled him towards her chest that had extinguished itself from the black armor. The small chest that cushioned his cheeks with softness, sharing her warmth and natural fragrance. His mind got filled with echoes, echoes of her throbbing heart that send waves of soothing pulses.


    ¡°Can you hear it? I don¡¯t know why¡­ But it is as if I have found my eternal¡­ As if you are one of the true bearers.¡± she whispered to his ear, swinging his heart left and right.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Shoving her away, face burning and mind wavering, he gazed at her lips, the lips that catched his eyes even though he tried to look elsewhere. Is this what you call first love? No¡­  no no no¡­  I¡¯ve just met her and she¡¯s also crazy! Besides, I¡¯m not here to talk¡­ I¡¯m here to end it¡­ I just need more information first!


    ¡°Wh...¡±


    With wide eyes he gazed upon her closed eyelids and freckles he could not see from afar. Silenced from speaking, her smooth lips covered his own, locking them in place as she held his head tightly. Not with her soft hands that glued his wrist onto the wall, but with her dark magic that he could not sense in time.


    Trying to set himself free, her warm tongue eventually entered his domain. Her chest rested onto his, sharing her throbbing heart that sent electric currents to his skin. Steam rose from Tony¡¯s hair, the taste of her drool swirled around his tongue, building up the warm liquid, she eventually pulled away with the saliva that shined as it connected their lips like a bridge, eventually falling apart with the distance.


    Staring at her red eyes, she swallowed what both had accumulated and licked the remaining around her lips. Sliding her fingers from his chest towards his stomach, she whispered to his ears, ¡°I know your wavering heart... I can see how you feel¡­ I can see how confused your mind are¡­ But all you have to do is... ¡°


    She opened his fist into a palm and held it near her burning cheeks, ¡°Pick me¡­ I¡¯ll do anything for you.¡±


    She is dangerous, she is dangerous, she is dangerous! Women is so scary! I can''t understand them! He thought, speechless as he could not understand what had just happened. His brain was at the edge of frying, he could not understand what the girl at front of him was thinking or what she had in plan for next. However he did know that he had to make the resolve, he had to decide what he wanted to do.


    Avoiding her eyes, he recalled that he did not train for all those 9 years for nought. 9 years alone in one island, learning magic, their speech and writing, knowledge, training with magical dummies and honing his own body to adapt to the way of the sword. He did it to get back to his own world, the world where he can finally find peace in his mind, not to get someone to love him or seduce him.


    Gazing into his soul her answer was told, leaving her without facial expression as she backed away to the middle of the room and covered herself in the darkness. The armor reappeared on her vital parts as she stood there waiting with her hand holding the skull shaped hilt of a large two handed sword. The thick weapon was twice the length of her own, swirling with a dark aura of skulls as it rested on the floor beside her, drinking the blood that covered her body.


    One might be thinking about how she could handle the weight, but since it is made out of mana, there was none to begin with unless she gave it one. Kinda makes the weapon a cheat against shorter weapons.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be leaving this place¡­ Not without my permission¡­ Unless ofcourse¡­ You become mine¡±


    Gulping down the remaining saliva that was left from his and her¡¯s, he walked forward, hand stretched out to his side as a blade of azure blue flames burned as bright as his determination.


    ¡°I might be confused to what had just taken place, but if I need to use force to get through, I will use force¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, that determination, that burning feeling inside of you¡­! it makes me want you more¡­¡°, She dashed forward, bent her knees and from left to right she swung the blade. Leaving a trail black mist as it slashed towards the receiving Tony.


    Receiving the blade covered in mist, his eyebrows raised as the mist dispersed without a blade. Glancing at the bent down girl with black static charges around her arm, he shuddered from her point blank finger gun.


    She smiled with her head tilted, the lightning from her fingertips send Tony flying onto a wall and then stomach first into the ashy floor. Rolling to a broken pillar away from her vision, he sat there trembling, Shit¡­ If I didn¡¯t have my cloak and my barrier in time¡­ ¡°CRUSH!¡±.


    Cold steel sent shivers to his neck, shuddering as the girl¡¯s two hander nearly chopped his head off. Standing up he ran around the pillar, moving near smoking bookcases he swung his blade upwards towards the smiling girl. Scattering the ashes on the floor into a cloud of smoke, blinding her vision as he prepared his mighty spear.


    About to throw his blazing Gae Bolg, a kick on his side sent him gliding towards a wall. Coughing, the shrieking steel scraping on the floor grew louder in his ears. As she swung it downwards he pushed himself to the side with a gust of wind, barely joining the cracks on the floor, he stood up and swung his arm. Sending a crescent of azure blue flames, she dispersed it with a dark barrier. Dashing forward yet again, he clenched his fist and punched the air. Barely scratching her cheeks, she was catapulted to the side by a large fist of stone from the wall.


    Comboing the blow with a stomp on the ground, another fist sent her upwards to the ceiling. As she hovered to the air, revealing her silky chestnut hair from her hoodie, he gathered mana on his palm, creating a blazing rod, he threw the Gae bolg through the stomach of the girl. The girl that dispersed into a mist, kicked Tony from his behind and sent him flying yet again, sliding head first towards a pillar.


    He stood up, darting his eyes around to follow the zig zagging girl that left a trail of red neon from her eyes and black static shocks on the ground with each step. He swung his leg sideways, sending a crescent of water that was blocked by her large sword. However, the water formed a layer of permafrost, building towards her gauntlets and ate away her movement.


    Dispersing the weapon and gauntlet, a gust of wind send shivers to her spine. She crouched down and formed a dark barrier, trying to block the spear that pierced through, cutting the hair near the side of her ears.  Her eyes welled up with tears, she stood up with open palm towards him, sending a beam of dark matter that followed his fluttering red cloak. Crumbling the remains of the broken pillars, the floor and ceiling, following the magician that used his wind boots to dodge around.


    Eventually mid air he threw his spear once again, causing her to sidestep and disperse a mist of darkness, covering the battlefield from his sight. He got down on his feet and sent a gust of wind to reveal her from her hiding, but with eyes wide, he had made a mistake. She threw her large sword between his eyes, shattering the wall behind him, she dashed into close quarters, sending heavy blows from her gauntlets into his lungs and then a final uppercut probably followed by a roundhouse kick. But missed with the second. He had fallen onto his knees, trying to inhale for air as he had lost his breath.


    Grabbing his ashy shirt, she held him above the air weightlessly. As his steamy vapor breath covered her nose, she gave him a gentle peck and then smiled. Forming a dagger in her hand, she stabbed him in his lower abdomen, soaking it with blood that grew larger as she twisted the dagger around.


    A scream echoed throughout the hallways, a scream he would never forget.