《Wayward Soul》


 Chapter 1: ~Brave New World~

    "Talking"


    Emphasis


    Thoughts


    *Sound Effects*


    <hr />


    Chapter 1: ~Brave New World~


    An ethereal woman, Airi, brushed her golden hair aside. This goddess'' gaze was filled with utter boredom. However, today she had a visitor.


    "Tired of your job?"


    "Sort of," answered Airi. "My realm has grown quiet lately and nothing too exciting is happening," she complained. "Even if things are about to escalate, the wait is still killing me."


    The person who had spoken earlier held out a glowing orb. Airi eyed the object with absolute delight.


    "Can I really have it?" she asked timidly. "Is this really okay, Chronos?"


    Chronos, another ethereal person, shook his free hand nonchalantly.


    "It''s just a small portion of my power," he explained. "I don''t see how you could possibly do anything too troublesome with it." Chronos gazed at the pool of water that Airi was sitting near and asked, "dearest sister, dost thou have a target in mind?"


    Airi nodded while waving her hand. The pool shimmered and focused on a distant point, within moments it was clear again. A young man in handcuffs was happily snoring.


    "I''ll use it on him," she claimed joyously.


    Chronos laughed at the poor sod.


    "Why him?" the god asked, having taken a slightly closer look.


    "Because he doesn''t care about his own life. At this point the boy still has hope and continues to move forward," Airi crushed the glowing, silvery orb. "I can''t wait to see what happens when he realizes it. I''ve always enjoyed watching him. To this day I still can''t predict what he''ll do most of the time."


    The two of them snickered as Chronos turned to leave.


    "Do tell me when he starts doing something entertaining... or goes mad, either is bound to be worth watching."


    Airi stopped Chronos by tugging on his loose gown.


    "You can''t tell?" she asked skeptically.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Use your power..." she implored eagerly, "and really look at him."


    Chronos paused for a few moments. His eyes narrowed while an amused smile graced Airi''s lips.


    "Oh wow ¡ª think I''ll hang around to watch. May I join you here?" he asked excitedly, like a child who just found a new toy.


    "Of course," Airi snickered. "We rarely see something like this."


    Chronos plopped down on some cushions while conjuring a drink.


    "How do you think he''ll react?" the god of time asked, obviously amused.


    "This boy..." Airi gazed willfully at her realm, "has a hero complex. Very little interaction with the actual world caused him to draw ideals from fiction. I think he''ll use it to try and save everyone of them. Even the ones that hurt him so deeply."


    "I take back what I said," he claimed dryly. "You''re going to get into a lot of trouble for this."


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber, this youth had always been a light sleeper. Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box. Nathan took advantage of the fact that she didn''t know he was awake and peered in her direction with a lecherous gaze. He was snoring again by the time she noticed him.


    "You can quit pretending to be asleep," the woman chided in a playful voice. "How could you possibly be asleep right now?"


    Nathan opened one eye, sat up, and bowed slightly.


    "Thank you for the meal," he said with an impish grin.


    She actually laughed a bit as his emerald eyes glanced at the box of donuts.


    "I go jogging in the cold for these donuts. They aren''t for you kid," she claimed without an ounce of shame.


    Nathan mused over whether or not he should come clean, then chose to let sleeping dogs lie. No reason to get this attractive officer of the law angry. In the end, he still couldn''t stop himself from staring as she tied her wavy, crimson locks of hair into a ponytail. Something about ponytails...


    "Are you really that hungry?" she asked, having noticed the look in his eyes.


    "I really am," he snickered.


    Nathan received an apple fritter for his trouble. Either this woman was naive, or he was being too vague. Normally he''d never act this way, but considering what he was in the middle of right now ¡ª Nathan was feeling pretty brave.


    Ignoring his inner demons Nathan went to town on the piping hot pastry. The slender officer actually turned and gaped, he really tore into it.


    "That was super delicious," he commented while bowing slightly. "May I know the name of my savior?"


    The woman suppressed a laugh.


    "You may not," she said coldly, still a little angry at him.


    "It was worth a try," he rebuked while falling onto a stiff bed. "Seven days right?"


    "Six and a half now," she answered, then cocked her head sideways. "Why did you do it?"


    Nathan smirked proudly as he gave his brief, albeit misleading answer.


    "I''m skipping school," was all he said, plain and simple.


    She absentmindedly flicked his identification crystal. A soft hum resonated from the translucent, jagged object hanging like a keychain.


    "Nathaniel Lucas Verasparion Dela''marthus, sixteen years old. No juvenile record," she frowned. "Then again, being a Dela''marthus..."


    Nathan waved his hand at her dismissively, he knew what she was implying.


    "My parents definitely could''ve cleaned it up for me, right?"


    She nodded in agreement, trying not to blush after indirectly accusing him of subterfuge.


    He snickered and claimed, "they wouldn''t do that. It''d be easier to disown me."


    Nathan ignored her further questions until she asked, "why skip school? No dreams or aspirations?"


    "I don''t want to be a warrior, an artificer, or a magus. My parents gave me tickets to the most prestigious schools in Eritrea. The artificer''s academy ¡ª Regis, and the magus city ¡ª Valkfolgen." Nathan eyed the woman again, then proudly said, "I plan on running from them both."


    Her jaw hit the floor, that was a very incredible line he just dropped.


    "Why would you do that!?" she shouted, shock and awe sprawled across her face.


    Any normal person would jump at the opportunity, studying at either place nearly guaranteed your future. They were the best of the best after all. One for technological studies, the other for all things magical. No kid in their right mind would throw away the chance he had. Especially one who could clearly use magic effectively ¡ª Nathan performed a rather impressive trick to get jailed in her detainment center after all.


    "You have to leave now..." she started fumbling with her keys, "or else you won''t make it before they close the gates."


    Nathan smirked with a pure, happy, benevolent demeanor.


    "That is the plan," he said with a roguish grin.


    *clang clang*


    She had dropped the keys.


    "What plan?" the woman asked, until now he¡¯d seemed a simple trouble maker.


    "That''s for me to know, and you to guess," he said while frowning.


    The officer was gazing at him willfully, upset by something he had just said. It didn¡¯t take Nathan long to notice her displeasure.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked timidly.


    "I''m sending you to Valkfolgen, get up!" she commanded.


    "I just committed a small act of terrorism. I must serve my penance dutifully..." Nathan remained in his place, "as a man of this world. It would bring me great shame to leave now."


    A glare was leveled on the youth.


    "You''re throwing away so much..." she argued.


    Nathan couldn¡¯t fault a woman who was so worried about himself, a perfect stranger who had done nothing to deserve her kindness. However, that line she just said still irked him ¡ª painfully so.


    "You have no idea what I''m throwing away," he returned her glare. "Save your insights for normal people."


    The woman took a moment to gather her thoughts, then sat back down to finish her donuts.


    "I still can''t believe that a Dela''marthus waved around his flaming arms and set my uniform on fire... in the middle of a transit station," she drolled listlessly, occasionally glancing at Nathan.


    Nathan let out a hearty laugh. His eyes fell upon the crimson haired beauty of lithe proportions once more.


    "I certainly enjoyed it when..." a chill went down his spine before he could finish that sentence. "I am truly, deeply regretting that unfortunate accident. I never meant to compromise a woman''s modesty with my antics."


    "At least you paid for the new uniform," she let out a long drawn sigh. "What''s your plan exactly?"


    "Well, get arrested for a short period. Then wait here ¡ª both of those bodyguards should be trying to contact my parents now. By the time either of my them get back to you, it''ll be too late. After that, I don''t know... freedom?" he jested. "Those bodyguards were here to make sure I get on the right bus or train. Now that there isn''t any point, I imagine they''ll be angry."


    The fiery red head looked him over, then took out a piece of paper.


    "What should I call you?" she asked, having given up on him going to Valkfolgen.


    "I like Nathan, but my one true friend calls me jellyrolls."


    "Why?" she asked, genuinely curious.


    Nathan stood up, then raised his shirt and unleashed a tidal wave. The officer busted out laughing as his generous midsection rolled like thunder. With a slight cough, he sat back down.


    "I may be a little out of shape," he explained, despite knowing that some things need not be explained.


    By now the woman was scribbling while ignoring him. A few minutes later she was done with her task ¡ª a letter of some sort.


    "I never would''ve guessed by just looking at you," she said in a confused tone.


    Nathan smiled painfully and removed his ring. The form of his body visibly changed. He took one look at her, then put it back on. The officer was genuinely shocked at what she''d just seen.


    "That''s a pretty expensive optical device," she said timidly. "Makes you look quite a bit slimmer."


    Nathan shrugged nonchalantly while toying with the ring.


    "Couldn''t very well have a pudgy Dela''marthus running around. Mother dearest wouldn''t be able to take it," another pained expression covered his visage. "She''d sooner die than let someone tarnish the family''s reputation. When I said disown, I meant the kind where you find me in a ditch somewhere ¡ª less alive, more dead."


    The prison''s cast iron squealed, a sturdy gate swung wide open. Even the fading scent of freshly baked donuts couldn''t cover her perfume ¡ª some sort of flower, maybe a rose. Nathan looked up as the older beauty ¡ª a whole ten steps out of his league ¡ª waltzed in. He was actually pretty darn content when she started ruffling his scraggly, black hair.


    After a while she kissed Nathan''s forehead and gave him a sealed letter.


    "My grandparents are always looking to hire around this time of year. All the young run off to school after all. Seeing as you''ve got nothing better to do..."


    "How can I ever repay you?" he asked dramatically.


    While retrieving his identification crystal Nathan gave her the cosmetic ring. When she began to panic he boldly claimed, "today is the last day I''m a Dela''marthus. I''ve no need for that trinket ¡ª do with it as you see fit." While taking one final, lingering glance at her, he said, "a small token of my appreciation."


    The woman laughed nervously because he¡¯d just given her something easily worth fifty gold. Ten months of her salary in one lump sum.


    "Tell them Emma sent you," she said fondly while looking up at Nathan. "If it wasn''t for the fact that you''re nearly six feet tall..."


    Nathan snickered while being released from his cuffs.


    "I''d be a pudgy bastard, wouldn''t I?" he asked without shame.


    Emma actually blushed while averting her gaze from his own.


    Nathan didn''t give her the chance to apologize by quickly asking, "where am I going?"


    "A village called Gureld, do you know it?"


    "Yes I do... that''s actually pretty near,¡± he mused. ¡°Just one stop on the train, am I right?"


    "Yes, once you''re there it''s straight down the main road. About three miles out look for a farm on the eastern horizon," she explained carefully.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Nathan stretched a bit, his true form now on display for the world to see.


    "Looks like I''ll be pushing it to the limit today," he said in honest happiness.


    "Do me a favor, no more fireworks in the bus station," she begged dryly.


    Emma began to laugh again because Nathan was displaying his physical prowess. As she waved goodbye Emma gave a silent apology. I think farm work will do him some good...


    Before he got too far Nathan shouted ¡ª for everyone around the station to hear.


    "I''ll be back in two years to properly propose, please think of me every time you wear the ring. Thank you for accepting it and all of my heartfelt intentions!" Emma slammed the door as he blew her a kiss.


    Nathan waltzed towards the bus station and tore open her letter, after reading the contents it went up in flames. The one spell he could use without a chant, the only one he''d practiced enough ¡ª <Enflame>.


    Nathan silently gazed at the bus stop''s dome structure. He shook the dust off his auburn robes and started walking. Staying here any longer than necessary was asking for trouble. He had no desire to see either of his bodyguards again.


    As much as he''d like to go to Emma''s farm, there was already a plan. Use this transit station, ignore the trains, and catch a ride out of here.


    Within the hour he was boarding a northward bound bus. Gears cranked, coals burned, and steam shot out from long pipes. With a grinding noise the bus slowly accelerated. Nathan found a seat all the way in the back that was surprisingly comfy. The hum of hot coals churning from below was enough to sooth him back to sleep, it''d be a damn long ride.


    *pin pon* *pin pon*


    "Now arriving at Letli. Now arriving at Letli!" the driver shouted over his intercom. Nathan didn''t appreciate that, nor did he appreciate what happened next. People poured in one after the other. Within three minutes the bus was at full capacity.


    Not really being one to introduce himself meant gazing out the window with a pensive look on his face. About five minutes later it became apparent that his tactic was failing. No longer able to ignore the person poking him...


    "Nice to meet you," he claimed in a seemingly honest voice.


    A blonde boy around his own age replied, "likewise, I''m Peter."


    He quickly shook the youth''s hand. There was no point in being rude here.


    "Nathan, bound for the capital."


    "I''m being sent to Milvane," Peter replied. "Wish I could go to the capital."


    Nathan did not envy this Peter. Milvane was known to be a strict warrior training facility. The sort of place he would never set foot near. However, Nathan did enjoy their encounter when he realized that a Peter had poked him... multiple times. The blonde guy had no idea why Nathan suddenly lost it, he''d never seen someone laugh so much. When Nathan did manage to catch his breath the conversation died down. They didn''t have much in common after all.


    Nathan wasn''t too keen on getting to know others if he could help it. The less people who saw or remembered him, the better. His goal was to disappear for now.


    The fact that mother and father dearest weren''t likely to give a damn where he disappeared to was nice, but his eldest sister would still be trying to find him ¡ª discretion was key to this escape.


    The best part was that she wouldn''t be looking for him out of love. Nathan had set her precious villa on fire. That empty vacation home went up in flames as he left. It had been a liberating experience for Nathan, one he would never forget. Forever in his mind the words, burn baby burn, would be etched in flawless platinum. Certainly not one of his better moments, as liberating as it was.


    While he silently watched the landscape change Nathan mused what it would be like to travel across those barren plains, lush forests, rocky crags, mountainous hills, or deserted ruins. The only reason he''d stay in populated areas from this day forward ¡ª without fail ¡ª were monsters, the stuff of nightmares. Even if he could brave the environment, confronting a human sized tarantula was out of the question. He''d sooner scream like a little girl while streaking down the capital''s main road.


    A red band of skin around his pale finger still ached, one constant reminder that he''d never been what his mother wanted. It was sad really, Nathan had done it all on purpose. He''d lowered his grades to disappoint father. Let himself grow a bit plump and pretend he couldn''t cast magic to disappoint mother.


    All he''d ever desired was a loving family ¡ª shame it wasn''t real. Years ago, as a younger child he''d realized that his parents only cared about achievements. Some small part of him hoped that it was more than that, but when Nathan deliberately sabotaged himself... they hid him, threw him away.


    These past seven years ¡ª locked in a cold, lonely tower ¡ª had turned him indifferent. Who wouldn''t feel wronged after spending most of their days hidden away from the world. His only solace had been found in the fictitious books they let him read.


    For a long time now there was no family. Just strangers he''d last met seven years prior. Parents that coaxed and bribed him into going to the other''s school. His father, the artificer, had sent him a ticket to mother''s magus city. His mother, the magus, had sent him a ticket to father''s artificer academy.


    That was the last straw, the end of it. Fuck them, was all he could think. Nathan believed that his eldest sister was a haughty, pretentious, and annoying vixen. Burning her vacation home had been a bonus, nothing more.


    *pin pon* *pin pon*


    "Now arriving at The Holy Capital, Radison. Now arriving at The Holy Capital, Radison!"


    Nathan was immediately drawn away from thoughts of his family because he''d finally arrived after nearly ten hours. A loud crank sounded as the bus shut down. Gears popped, lowering and raising to their default positions. Sparse dregs of steam shot out from corresponding pipes as blazing coals cooled.


    Before him, reflected in emerald eyes, the Holy Capital. His new home, Radison. Four story stone buildings lining a brilliant marble street, easily wide enough for wagons and stalls. Merchants peddling goods like food, materials, tools ¡ª a whole lot of everything. Something about the way chimes rang in cold winter gusts pleased him to no end.


    His stomach grumbled and caused a quickening of Nathan''s pace. First stop, the bank. He had spent all of his money on a new uniform for Emma after all. In its own right, that had been very worth it. A pleasant mistake that the woman wouldn''t likely make again. When someone''s arms are on fire, you don''t try to cuff them... unless you do want to catch your shirt on fire and give people a show. In that case, it''s totally a good move to make.


    As Nathan quickly trekked his way down Radison''s main road, leading deeper into this bustling city, he made a point of avoiding patrols. Something about armored knights ¡ª authority figures in general always made him uncomfortable. The clang of their armor or weapons was enough to alert him. Most never even glimpsed Nathan''s slightly large frame.


    He had done his homework so the bank wouldn''t be difficult to locate. It really only took about half an hour. After making his way down the main road it became visible ¡ª off to the west. A large fortified building that had been covered in defensive glyphs and surrounded by armored knights. Ignoring a somewhat absurdly large castle ¡ª obviously the royal home ¡ª he entered this bank with ease. No one saw the robed adolescent as a threat. A few long minutes of navigating the bustling crowd later, he was speaking with an employee.


    "Your crystal please," a small bald man demanded politely. "Need to know who you are."


    Nathan handed over his fake identification crystal.


    "Of course, sir," he answered, just as politely.


    The man scanned it with a basic scrying spell. His face was a complete mask to Nathan, betraying not a single emotion that he could read.


    "Nasir Valtorin, seventeen... account balance... seven hundred gold," the man smiled brightly. "Would you like to make a transaction?"


    "A withdrawal," he answered. "Five hundred silvers."


    The man nodded in approval, probably happy to collect his transaction fee.


    "That will leave your balance here at six hundred ninety-five gold."


    After receiving his money Nathan quickly left the building. It was uncomfortable ¡ª using a fake identity. His first order of business now was knowledge. The gold, despite its absurd amount, wasn''t enough to retire on. He''d only managed to smuggle it through some painstaking efforts.


    To make a living you need skills or knowledge. To that end, he decided to find a home and library. As far as a home goes, making a large permanent purchase may draw unwanted attention. For now a rental would suffice. He had seen a few inns near the cities limits, but being near the most crowded areas so often wasn''t something Nathan wanted. So he decided to bite the bullet and ask a local for information.


    Wandering around aimlessly only got him ignored by a few people. One roguish man took ten silvers to tell him that there''s a pretty park for camping. In bitter hindsight, it may have been wise to do a little more research about the capital before coming here. Feeling like a lost lamb and not wanting to admit that he got taken for a fool, Nathan made his way to the park. On the way there two silvers got him some meaty skewers and fresh water.


    Once the park was in sight he stopped in his tracks. It was big to say the least. A few massive oaks stood center, intertwined in an unnaturally artistic way ¡ª obviously formed with some sort of nature based spell.


    Wooden benches and tables were all over the place, plenty of oddly shaped bushes lined canals. Artistic people all around were practicing, some seemed to be having fun. At this moment alone he could count five people altering the hedges, trees, and plants. An old fellow explained to Nathan why they were all here. There was a nature glyph on the park. All of the bushes, plants, and trees return to their default state once a week. A great place to practice your magic manipulation or technical sculpting skills.


    Nathan made his way to a bench ¡ª on a raised platform ¡ª and gazed at the setting sun. He was determined to blow off some steam, it had been a quite the day. No place to stay, weary from a long journey, and cold in the winter''s wind. Despite the circumstances a fond smile graced his lips. Free at last ¡ª no more tower, no more confinement, no more rumors.


    A few minutes after finishing his skewers he went out like a light. It must''ve been his weary mood that caused it. Most people wouldn''t fall asleep on a cold bench like that.


    One of the people who had noticed him watching their work waltzed up to the snoring kid. She took a few moments to inspect him. Something about his pale skin and ebony hair struck her. Not just that, this brunette woman had seen his eyes ¡ª emerald eyes are seriously rare. The quality of his robes also made her believe he was likely a young noble. After packing away her tools she effortlessly hoisted him over one shoulder... and marched away with a stupid smile on her face.


    <hr />


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>N/A</td><td colspan=''2''>NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>REVIEWS</a></td><td colspan=''2''>UPDATES</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


    <hr />


    The beginning of a new story, yippee! :grin:


    Edit: I''m going through and changing the way I do dialogue a little bit. Also increasing the font by one size so that bold text is easier to read on smaller screens.(So no more complaining about it! ><; ) Edit: I don''t like the way it looks in a bigger font... so I''m switching it back. <.<: (This edit has been brought to you by SelfishHippy.)  -_-;


    The last thing I''m doing is taking out double spaces and destroying that bad habit. I was taught that you''re supposed to use double spaces, apparently that is an outdated practice or something?


    All in all, making a few minor changes.  Trying to please the peoples!  :grin:


    ?NaughtyHippy lives to serve the peons!?

 Chapter 2: ~Hero Complex~

    Chapter 2: ~Hero Complex~


    Nathan woke up to the sound of unfamiliar voices bickering. Three women seemed to be having a heated argument over him. It probably wasn''t a normal reaction, but Nathan was sort of pleased with the attention.


    "Look Lizzy, we know you''re a kleptomaniac and all ¡ª but a noble... really?" one reprimanded another furiously.


    "I think it''s funny," a higher pitched voice spoke. "Liz nabbed a cute and chubby boy. How much do you think the ransom will be?"


    The upset one sighed audibly and began to complain, "what if he''s some big name noble heir?"


    By now Nathan was on his feet. Ropes that had restrained him were engulfed in magefire. He slowly, silently made his way towards them.


    "Sorry," another chimed in timidly.


    "Nothing for it then," the angry one seemed to have reached a conclusion. "We gotta get rid of him and dump the body ¡ª is something burning?"


    By now Nathan was standing behind them, the ropes that bound his hands and feet ¡ª ashes. At the same time all three caught sight of him. Sadly, it didn''t help his situation when Nathan did a pirouette.


    "Kya!" the smallest yelped. It would seem she didn''t appreciate the rarity of a chubby naked guy who could spontaneously combust and spin on one foot.


    *cough cough*


    "Could I get some clothes?" asked Nathan, meekly.


    It took a few moments for the women to come to their senses. The one who just suggested killing him pointed to a wardrobe. Nathan, in all his glory, waltzed right past three shocked women to retrieve some clothing. He could almost feel the tallest woman¡¯s eyes on him the entire time, it was uncomfortable to say the least. Once he was dressed they started speaking again.


    A magus was unpredictable ¡ª possibly dangerous. They were less ready to deal with him now so Nathan cut in by saying, "ransom would certainly be a bad idea."


    "Why''s that?" the tallest woman asked, now blushing while averting her gaze.


    "My name is big, really big. You''d just be getting all four of us killed," Nathan answered, completely deadpan.


    The rowdy one raised an eyebrow in his direction.


    "All four of us?" she repeated skeptically.


    "Yes," he confirmed. "My parents would prefer me dead. I am Nathaniel Lucas Verasparion Dela''marthus, a pleasure to make your acquaintance ladies."


    Color visibly drained from all three women''s faces. The taller brunette laughed nervously, the petite one twirled her unusually green hair, and the rowdy blonde girl scowled.


    "The big klepto over there is Eliza..." the scowling woman started, "I''m Saori and the little twerp is Sati."


    "Can we all agree that ransom is a bad idea?" he asked.


    "Yes," Eliza answered quickly. "I''d rather not die just yet."


    Something about the way this tall brunette was looking at him felt distinctly¡­ unsavory. Nathan couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she had some sort of bone to pick with him. Especially from the way she started to huff angrily when he was dressing.


    "We can''t let you go though," Saori drew a blade. "For obvious reasons."


    Nathan held up both of his hands, now on fire. Her blade dropped as she took a step back. By now Eliza was glaring death at Saori.


    "How about we make this mutually beneficial," he claimed nervously. "I need information and you want money."


    The smallest girl, Sati, looked up at him. Her eyes, blank.


    "Terms," she said with finality. "Talk before I flay you alive." The girl was bluffing. She was actually a little scared. The level of control it would take to do what he was doing with fire would be insane. Too bad she didn''t know that he''s pretty much a one trick pony.


    Nathan had a feeling she could do it though, so he spoke quickly.


    "I smuggled five hundred gold from my sister''s personal account before running away, two hundred fifty could be yours. I just need to know where I can rent a place to stay, preferably near a library..."


    "Four hundred two," Sati spoke in a deadly serious tone. "You stay with us until we''re ready to leave Radison, and I go with you to the bank."


    "I''m afraid that isn''t possible," Nathan answered in an apologetic tone. "Smuggled, is the key word here ¡ª I used a fake identity. Bringing you with me is asking for trouble."


    Saori scowled in that same old malicious manner.


    "So we kill him?" she asked, half-serious. Nathan took a step back as she brandished a knife in his direction.


    Eliza threw her arms around Nathan, then shot the other two some impressive, watery puppy dog eyes. Nathan steeled his resolve and ignored the attention, he''d almost burned Eliza by accident. Sati and Saori both cursed at Eliza.


    "Now, now," Nathan chided playfully. "One hundred thirty-four gold each is quite the score. Killing me would be a terrible shame, wouldn''t it?"


    At this point he could only rely on their greed and Eliza''s bizarre attachment to him. After a few minutes they agreed, and let Nathan leave. Thankfully, he had awoken in the morning and that bank wasn''t very far away.


    Saori looked down at Sati, her demeanor was deadly serious.


    "Follow him, Eliza and I are gonna pack some bags. If the guards do something funny..."


    *whoosh*


    Sati disappeared in the blink of an eye. Saori cursed at the impatient little imp for leaving before she could finish speaking.


    Nathan actually didn''t have any trouble withdrawing the gold, this bank employee was more than happy to take a five percent bonus fee for his large withdrawal. Having it all sitting there in his enchanted bag was a little unnerving, but a deals a deal. He''d rather not piss off a girl that may be able to flay him alive.


    Moments later Nathan was leaving ¡ª a smirk ran across his face. He may not have been the most talented magus, but his senses ¡ª for other people''s mana ¡ª were darn good. Nathan could tell the little one was following him. With a wave of his hand he beckoned to her. In all of five seconds the girl descended from a five story building''s roof. A spell obviously went off, light gusts had easily broken her fall.


    "How did you spot me?" she asked, obviously impressed. The girl was more than happy to walk side by side with him now. Not alerting all those guards must have earned him some points.


    "I have this sensor," he claimed as she looked at him expectantly. "Cute girls and beautiful women never escape my notice!"


    That upset her more than a little. Nathan paid for it dearly with a penetrating jab to the hind quarters.


    "Gold?" she muttered. The simplicity and curtness of her speech was almost endearing. He''d have to be careful not to get a crush on her.


    Nathan jingled his little money pouch. She eyed the bag suggestively. Nathan sighed at his own stupidity ¡ª her eyes were greedy now.


    "The bag is yours," he said painfully in a bout of reluctant resignation.


    Sati actually smiled, an enchanted bag capable of holding large amounts of items was easily worth three hundred gold. He probably should''ve just carried their money in bank bags.


    A few minutes later they were back. The place these three called home was on the roof of a four story building. It was a hastily constructed log cabin of sorts. Nothing too impressive, but easily inhabitable. Nathan sighed audibly because he was to spend time here, in this small place, with three attractive women. All of them likely older than himself ¡ª not an ideal situation for the young romantic at heart. At least they weren''t about to sell him out.


    After distributing the gold Nathan made sure to not let it slip that he had plenty left over for himself. The three women seemed happy enough. It was his first time seeing greed up close. For some reason he was having trouble understanding them.


    "Why shouldn''t we kill you now?" Saori asked maliciously.


    "It would be monumentally stupid," Nathan answered with confidence. "My parents may not mind if I die, but killing me would stain their reputation. They''d hunt you down for sport..." he began while looking at them with a lingering gaze, "and a fate worse than death would await you."


    They all knew his family''s reputation, none were eager to step into that anthill. Some quick deliberation left them with one conclusion, they''d leave the city now ¡ª fast. Nathan actually had to stop them from walking out the door on him.


    "Please don''t leave before answering my very simple request..."


    Saori shot back, "you can have this place to yourself. The nearest library is, uhh..." she looked at Eliza.


    "Go to the park, head east. The library is a big, pointy, grey obelisk. I doubt you''ll miss it. Best library, aside from the royal one, in all of Radison," Eliza explained.


    When the brief explanation was done they left him ¡ª right after Eliza waltzed back up and pinched his cheeks for a while. He had to politely refuse an invitation to the bedroom, her interest in him was obvious now. Still baffling, but quite clear. Nathan had some childish ideals about how romance should work, and this definitely wasn''t it. However, he couldn¡¯t deny that he enjoyed it when she embraced him in a bear hug before leaving.


    Once they were gone he quickly looked around the room, then plopped down on a leather mat. Nathan was honestly happy they left. Staying with three women who have seen you full on nude was more than a little embarrassing. Looking down at his new clothing, more rags than anything else, he figured they must have sold his robes and linens. The bank employee obviously guessed he''d gotten into some sort of trouble because of it. The man didn''t know how right he was.


    Not the way he imagined his stay in Radison starting. On the bright side he had gotten a free, secluded place to live. The women had been kind enough to return his pocket silver, and Sati had given him her old pouch. Just a minor enchantment, but better than a normal bag. They probably wanted to leave him in a pleased state, less likely to tell on them. Not that he''d have done that anyway.


    After shuffling through a wardrobe to find some better clothing, he quickly started throwing things into the fireplace. They had left behind some undergarments, and if he ever had a guest it would be difficult to explain the sheer amount of women''s negligee. A few pieces baffled him, little more than strings. The faucet worked, surprisingly. He''d never been one to complain so any water, even if he had to boil it first, was better than no water.


    The main reason Nathan had mastered the <Enflame> spell was for his baths. It was easy to keep the temperature just right when you could spontaneously combust with magefire. The fact that <Enflame> helped him out on multiple occasions now was an unintended bonus. After pondering how they had managed to get the plumbing for a faucet up here, on the roof, he left in a cheery mood.


    Day light was burning and he loved the prospect of visiting a library. The books he could read in his confinement, in that damn tower, were limited. He''d never had much choice. Most of them were useless stories, things meant to entertain children. Even if he acted stupid for his parents, that didn''t change the fact that Nathan''s true nature thirsted for knowledge. He''d very nearly cracked on multiple occasions, but begging for books about geography or magic would probably have been a poor idea.


    Every step he took, every breath of fresh air, every ray of sun warming his skin did wonders for Nathan. His pale flesh was already regaining some natural color. Nathan couldn''t stop himself from smiling, a library where he could read anything he wanted. The only problem would be where to start...


    Within his contemplation Nathan nearly missed the obelisk. It had been very eye-catching, but he was immensely distracted. Moments later Nathan was at the entrance and waiting in a small line. It would seem that the library was a popular place. After a brief greeting he was given a nametag, Nasir. That made Nathan chuckle, it would take getting used to ¡ª being called by a fake name.


    The interior of this obelisk was exactly what he expected ¡ª spiraling central stairs, multiple levels, and books lining every wall. Most people seemed to already know their way around, but Nathan looked for an employee. Not seeing one caused him to go up a level, then another.


    On the third level he spotted a girl with her dirty blonde hair tied in a bun. The uniform, a solid blue skirt suit, was a dead giveaway.


    After peering at her nametag, he greeted, "hello, Elsie. Are you busy right now?"


    The petite woman put a few books back in their rightful place. She took a moment to glance in his direction, then descended from her step ladder.


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    "Not really, what do you need sir?" she asked in a practiced manner.


    "Well..." he answered, "it''s my first time here. Where can I go and what can I find?"


    "That''s a bit broad..." she peered at his tag, "Nasir."


    After thinking about it for a few moments she began to lay everything out for him. Nathan was listening very carefully, not that it was anything too complicated.


    "If you have a membership, all the way up to the tenth level. Without one, you only have access to fiction books ¡ª the first five floors. Eleven and up are all employee only. The underground levels are private collections."


    Nathan chuckled, he wanted information ¡ª not fiction.


    "How do I get a membership?" he asked politely.


    "Fifty silvers a month for membership," she answered. "If you have the silver on you I can do it now."


    Nathan showed her the money and was led further up the obelisk. The fifth level, half of it was sectioned off to make an office. Inside were four desks and multiple cabinets ¡ª stuffed full of parchments. After handing over his I.D crystal and signing a form, she gave him a silver card.


    "The sixth floor and up have illusionary glyphs, people like to test spells when they do their research. Feel free to give it a go up there. The library is open twenty-four seven," she explained with a slight curtsy.


    Nathan hadn''t been expecting that, but it certainly made sense. If a student was reading in the library and trying to figure out the mechanics behind manipulating a new spell. May as well let them test it out here. He did cringe at the thought of how powerful that illusionary glyph must be though.


    Obviously Nathan didn''t intend to be a warrior, magus, or artificer. But each had their own uses. Magus spells were usually very helpful, even in everyday life. Many jobs required a few specific spell structures to be known.


    It wasn''t entirely rare for people to be born with the gift for magic, only one in a thousand lacked it. Something he''d convinced his mother he was, a desolate child ¡ª one without mana. Sometimes you''d be born with very little potential. Geniuses on the other hand could cast a mighty maelstrom from the get go. It was very unfair, sometimes talent did matter.


    The reason he had been able to convince his mother of this was because he had been born with no internal mana. There were two aspects about being a magus, one was how much mana you were born with inside of yourself. Obviously mana was easier to control if it came from within.


    The other aspect was your ability to draw ambient mana from the environment and use it for your spells. Confluence, Nathan was a frickin'' god at that, but his mother had scorned him as soon as she found out he lacked internal mana. No doubt mother would''ve taken very good care of him if she knew what he was capable of. That mistake of hers caused him to start testing his parents. It was because of the way she reacted to his desolate status that he first doubted them.


    Thanks to his mana manipulation ability he could even tell where someone was at, as long as they had internal mana. Everyone''s internal mana seemed to be unique, like a signature. He had yet to encounter two people who felt, or looked the same to him. As a young child he had mistaken internal mana for demons.


    Artificers were inventors for the most part, all of them strived to make new, unique devices. Most machines ran on steam, or mana crystals. There was no end to the innovations being made nowadays. Nathan had once gotten his hands on a device that ran using mana crystals, and holy hell did it work. His uncanny ability to draw ambient mana ended up overloading that machine.


    Most metals tend to interfere with the users ability to control mana, so almost all desolate ones become artificers or warriors. That meant he''d not be able to sense a good amount of them. Warriors used something only referred to as internal energy, it wasn''t like mana. There was a whole bunch of stuff about it that he didn''t understand. Something about widening your channels through meditation training. Building a proper base through physical training.


    Using that internal energy to power techniques ¡ª while Nathan didn''t understand the specifics, he did get the gist of it. Those techniques, some of them were pretty frickin'' neat. Being able to jump twenty meters into the sky, or sprint at fifty kilometers per hour was very impressive.


    As Nathan made his way up he scanned the surroundings. It wasn''t until the eighth level that he stopped. Books on geography...


    <hr />


    For the next few days Nathan did nothing but absorb public information regarding geography. Locations of cities, territories, known inhabitants, creatures, monsters, interesting history.


    Something that bothered him before had suddenly become a boon. He''d noticed his uncanny ability for memorization back in the tower. It had made reading the same story twice incredibly boring. Now however, reading something boring only once was a very welcome thing. Knowing where he should and shouldn''t travel could be the difference between life and death one day, so Nathan paid extra special attention.


    By the time Nathan had familiarized himself with everything on the continent of Rostma librarians had taken notice of him. Sometimes they''d actually give the studious lad a snack or beverage. It would seem that they highly approved of his thirst for knowledge.


    Nathan had a tendency to forget about that sort of thing. Living in the tower naturally caused him to grow accustomed to having meals slide through a steel slot. Actually going out to procure his own supplies was a new, welcome feeling. Now he just had to remember to do it.


    It had been nearly fifteen days and on his way home he noticed that the mood around Radison was different. So the next day Nathan asked Elsie, "what''s everybody all excited about?"


    "Wow," she gasped. "You don''t know?"


    "Know what?"


    "The parade is in about ten minutes," she grinned. "We get to see the queen ride through our city."


    "Oh, a what?" he asked. Nathan honestly had no clue what the hell she was talking about.


    "You don''t know what a parade is?" Elsie was taken aback. "Just go out there and watch."


    Nathan wasn''t really one to listen to others, but Elsie had been very nice to him during his time in the library. A few minutes later he was outside and standing among a crowd. Nathan wasn''t too pleased to be so close with so many people, so he retreated. It took him another minute to find a solution. Thanks to his sense he had noticed four people crouching near a second floor window. Nathan decided to join them.


    Halfway up a stairwell he abruptly stopped in his tracks. A voice had sounded out, an intimidating voice.


    "Get ready, she''s almost here. As soon as the snipers fire we attack, got it?"


    The other three quickly responded with affirmation. Nathan couldn''t believe what he''d just overheard, they sounded ¡ª no, they are assassins. Aiming for the queen''s own life no less. He quickly focused on his senses and noticed two men in the distance, both armed with something that had a mana crystal. Likely their rifles.


    The queen ¡ª her guards had to be warned, but he was just a useless guy. What could he do?


    As the seconds ebbed by Nathan remembered all of his favorite stories, all about heroes. He was sure that causing a commotion was the best way to warn her majesty, and the only way to do that in time could get him killed.


    Nathan snickered at his own reluctance.


    "Oh well," he muttered bitterly. "Fuck it."


    A few moments later Nathan was charging through the room like a boar, they noticed him too late to fight back. He had used <Enflame> to surround his entire body in a layer of fire. With both arms spread wide Nathan barreled into two men and out the window. Wooden railing of an extended balcony broke violently as he used every ounce of his strength to charge through. The sensation of falling headfirst was... terrifying and abrupt.


    *THUNK*


    <hr />


    *splash*


    The discomfort caused by a face-full of cold water made his eyes snap open. A single, agonizing jerk of his body revealed that he was restrained, locked in chains. Nathan could now say from personal experience that having your arms raised high with knees barely touching the ground was pretty painful.


    A rather grim man dropped one wooden bucket. As it clattered against the stony floor Nathan tried organized his thoughts. Slight pain, rather, a splitting headache made it near impossible to think. He must''ve used his thick skull to break the fall.


    "Who are you?" the man asked.


    Nathan vacantly ran his eyes along the walls of a foul smelling and nondescript dungeon. Knowing that lying here would be a very bad idea, he answered, "Nathaniel Lucas Verasparion Dela''marthus."


    "Not in the mood to lie," the man spun both of Nathan¡¯s identification crystals around an open hand. "Boring!"


    Nathan snickered, causing pain from his restrained limbs.


    "Figured it''d be stupid to lie at this point ¡ª how''s the queen?" he asked, more than a little worried.


    "Dead," the man''s voice was furious.


    Nathan cringed as his body fell limp with resignation.


    "Dammit," was all he could muster.


    "Before I start making guesses, you should probably tell me your side of the story."


    "I was looking for a nice place to watch the parade from when I overheard some men talking about an attempt on the queen''s life," Nathan explained. "I used an <Enflame> spell, then charged into them. The last thing I remember is breaking through a widow... no, I remember falling."


    The man chuckled and slapped his knee.


    "My name is Boris, and you almost landed on me."


    Nathan peered at the man and asked, "do you believe me?"


    "I do," he answered. "But that isn''t the issue here. Every one of those assassins, all eleven of them, are dead. The people are filled with outrage and have begun to riot, they need an outlet."


    "You don''t mean!?" Nathan gasped sharply.


    "Yup," Boris confirmed. "You''ll be our martyr. A young noble that happens to be the source of all sorts of nasty little rumors. We intend to have you executed on the 1st of Talomir. It''s Velanis 17th, so you''ve got fourteen days left to live. Nothing personal ¡ª you did try to save the queen after all."


    Nathan began to laugh, a cold smile appeared on his lips.


    "I have never known a more vulgar expression of betrayal and deceit," his voice was smoldering with fury. No good deed goes unpunished, how true.


    "Blame fate," Boris scoffed. "Sorry about this kid, I personally respect what you did. Stupid but brave, I''ll write it on your tombstone."


    Nathan resigned himself and asked, "mind letting me out of these chains. If I''m dying there''s no reason to torture me."


    "There is," Boris claimed. "We want you looking weary and half dead for the execution. You''re being presented as a traitor that worked with the Telmarian Empire''s assassins. Can''t have you seemingly well fed and clean when we march out there."


    Nathan simply fell limp, the light in his eyes slowly faded.


    Outside the cell another knight asked Boris, "how did he take it?"


    "I expected him to be angry..." Boris started, "kick, scream, curse, beg for mercy. Is that really the Nathaniel Dela''marthus rumored to be a useless child? I almost can''t believe it. A shame the king is ordering his death."


    "It doesn''t sit well with the knights, everyone there saw what happened..."


    "If you wanna keep your head," he spoke acidly. "You won''t tell anyone what really happened."


    The knight quickly straightened his back and saluted Boris.


    "I''ll be first watch," he said, obviously very attached to his head.


    Boris promptly left without saying anything else. Nathan was doomed...


    <hr />


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 Chapter 3: ~Waking Dreamer~

    Chapter 3:  ~Waking Dreamer~


    Nathan''s first day of renewed captivity was uneventful.  An armored man came in to feed him some sort of slop half-way through the night, that was all.  The second day he just hung there, no food.  Starving him a bit seemed to be the plan.  By the third day his shoulders began to creak, the pain was killing him.  On the fourth day they let his arms rest for an hour.  Nathan was very thankful and began to sing for the knight who had cut him some slack.  The man promptly hung Nathan back up.


    By now he had learned that the slop wasn''t just nasty punishment.  One of his keepers had told him that it was made to thin him out some.  Nathan couldn''t help but wonder what sort of food keeps you from starving while burning fat.


    On the fifth day he had a visitor.


    Nathan deliriously peered at a stoic looking individual.  The man certainly had a certain aura about him.  After some careful consideration he mumbled, "the king?"


    "Alastor to you," answered the king. "How have the accommodations been?"


    "Absolutely delightful," Nathan joked. "Great palace you have here, very gothic."


    Alastor actually laughed. "You''ll have to forgive me for this."


    "I won''t," Nathan snapped.


    "So you''re willing to die for my wife..." Alastor began in an amused tone, "but not my people?"


    "She was in actual danger," Nathan commented. "Your people are causing their own circumstances to worsen.  They don''t have assassins breathing down their necks.  If the fools want to riot, let them."


    "I suppose you''re right," Alastor easily agreed. "Still not letting you go.  As soon as we announced your execution the masses calmed down.  It was almost surreal how easily mutual hatred untied my people.  If only you could hear some of the terrible things they want us to do to you." The king absently brushed off his coat. "You should probably thank us for not listening."


    "I''d shrug if it wouldn''t tear my shoulders out," Nathan scowled. "This is seriously a bitch, no offense."


    The king raised a hand. "None taken," he responded. "I appreciate you attempting to save Altea and becoming our martyr.  Is there a reasonable last request you would like to make?"


    Nathan pondered for a few long moments. "My family ¡ª make sure that everybody on Eritrea, our world, knows it was a Dela''marthus who orchestrated the assassination of Queen Altea."


    The king went wide-eyed with shock.  He hadn''t expected this boy to use his final request in such a way.  To scorn one''s own family.  Alastor had predicted that Nathan would ask for his arms to be let loose, or the company of a woman ¡ª not this.


    "I already intended to do that," he explained. "Not much love for your family I take it?"


    "It isn''t that I don''t love them, that wouldn''t be so bad.  It wouldn''t warrant my malice." Nathan''s eyes lit up as he gazed at Alastor. "The problem is that I once loved them, yet they have never loved me.  If you can cause any blemish on the family''s reputation, their prestige, I humbly implore that you do.  Hold no quarter Alastor, mercy ¡ª they are undeserving of my mercy."


    Alastor scratched his head. "They don''t sound like my sort of people.  Consider it done, any other requests?"


    "You probably won''t let me down or give me proper food, will you?"


    "All part of the process I''m afraid." Alastor was happy with himself at that point, he was right about what Nathan would ask for. "You''ll be starved to skin and bone, then whipped on the 31st.  We want you looking properly beaten for the execution."


    Nathan cringed. "That sucks."


    "I imagine it does," he agreed. "Your request?"


    "A hero would only beg that you, the king, do his best to watch over the people he is dying for," Nathan mused. "But trying to be a hero is what got me here in the first place.  I''d like you to write a private message for me, two messages."


    "Consider it done," the king answered.


    After nearly half an hour Alastor returned with a table, parchment, and ink.  He didn''t carry any of that himself.


    "The contents?"


    "One for my mother, one for my father," he began in a calm, unwavering tone. "I have deceived you.  I''m much more intelligent than I ever let on, and I''d have made a damn brilliant magus.  All I ever wanted was a normal family.  You kept me imprisoned, hidden for nearly a decade.  The best part is that I was never crazy, the demons I spoke of ¡ª the things I could sense that got me put in that tower... it was internal mana.  You''d think a talented magus like mother would have noticed that I was just gifted.  Although my freedom was short-lived, these days I wandered Radison were the happiest of my life.  I met a few decent people, laughed like a normal person, and shared a meal with jolly librarians.  Every happy experience here only served to further the resentment I feel for you.  I hope you suffer.  Love, Nathaniel."


    Alastor laughed when he finished. "I bet this''ll piss them off."


    "That is the intended effect," Nathan confirmed. "Thank you Alastor."


    The king gave him one last guilty look, then left.  Nathan couldn''t believe it.  The look on the Alastor''s face, the way his voice sounded when he thanked Nathan for trying to save the queen... did the king have something to do with her death?


    <hr />


    *thwack*


    Nathan''s teeth began to grind as blood splattered across the wall.


    *thwack*


    His shoulders popped painfully, he refused to scream.


    *thwack*


    These days had let him get used to pain, he was numb.


    *thwack*


    Every lash of the whip only furthered his resolve, he refused to cry out in agony.


    *thwack* *thwack* *thwack* *thwack* *thwack*


    Nine lashes ¡ª it had stopped.  Apparently he looked sufficiently bloody by now.  Nathan couldn''t give a damn, he was delirious and losing consciousness.


    <hr />


    *splat splat*


    Nathan immediately scowled, he''d awoken with his head and arms stuck in wood.  Above his neck, a menacing guillotine.  Apparently they put him on display, Nathan had to laugh.  He was actually happy to watch the sunset one last time.  Tomorrow would be the 1st of Talomir.  The day he finally dies.  By this point the swift chop of a guillotine was more than welcome.  He was tired of pain, and the tomatoes being lobbed at him were quite annoying.


    When some people started screaming at him, asking for reasons, Nathan couldn''t resist shouting that he was only doing as father and mother told him to.  It kind of baffled him how this all turned out.  Who would have thought that trying to save a life, the queen''s life, would do this to him.


    On a brilliant moonlit night he gazed at the stars.  Something about this being the last time he''d ever see them was making his eyes watery.  How many nights had he spent on top of a tower gazing in their direction.  Just as the full moon was halfway through its arc, his vision blurred.  Nathan couldn''t help but close his eyes.


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.  His eyes shot open and he jumped out of bed.


    "What the hell!?" he shouted, then fell to one knee. "Ouch."


    Emma bit into a donut. "What the heck are you doing ¡ª are you okay?" she asked, more than a little worried. "You look really gaunt."


    Nathan''s ribs were a bit tender.  He quickly inspected his body.  The wounds on his back were gone, his shoulders felt fine, but he still felt hungry and looked half starved.  The fact that he was still twenty something pounds lighter was undeniable.  Nathan figured this had to be a dream.


    "Emma," he said in a resigned tone. "I''m seriously hungry."


    "Did I tell you my name?" she asked skeptically.


    "You did," Nathan confirmed.  Emma pursed her lips and eyed his frame, so he asked, "what?"


    "You look weird."


    "Oh," he sounded, then removed the cosmetic ring. "Illusionary glyph, pay it no mind."


    Emma handed him a powdered donut.  As he ate, she asked, "why did you do it?"


    Nathan was a bit uncomfortable right now, never had a dream been so vivid.


    "Mind shooting me with your gun," he asked while raising a foot suggestively. "The leg will do."


    Emma gaped at him and shouted, "no!"


    "Spoilsport," he laughed. "I''ve got very little time left to live and I''d like to be conscious for it.  So hurry and do something that''ll wake me up."


    Emma was seriously confused. "Are you alright?"


    "I''m about to be executed for something I didn''t do," he answered listlessly. "How could I possibly be alright?"


    "..."


    "What?"


    "You''re not about to be executed, and you did light my shirt on fire."


    "Yeah," he snickered. "That one was all me.  Assassinating the queen wasn''t, I was trying to save her after all."


    Emma went back to eating her donuts and ignored Nathan.


    "Emma," he said in a sly tone.


    "Yeah, crazy?" she answered with annoyance.


    "Mind taking your clothes off?"


    Emma looked at him with a flat expression. "Why in the nine hells would I ever do that?" she asked pointedly.


    "Well..." he started, "this is my dying dream.  Shouldn''t there be something... wonderful?"


    Emma laughed, then choked on her apple fritter.  After washing it down with coffee, she said, "I''m just gonna take that as a compliment, go back to sleep..." Emma paused, then asked, "what should I call you?"


    "Nathan is fine ¡ª I''ve lost the jellyrolls," he answered in a heartbroken voice.  His once bountiful midsection had been reduced to a thin slab of flesh.


    Emma ignored him.  Nathan slowly clambered back into bed.  This whole experience felt far too real.  He could sense everything.  The stiff bed, winter''s chill, fresh pastries, Emma''s perfume...


    <hr />


    He awoke with a gasp.  Emma fell out of her chair backwards.


    Nathan had to laugh at the glare she shot him from her downed position.


    "Sorry," he apologized.


    "Pain in the ass," she claimed while returning to her seat. "Nightmare?"


    Nathan rubbed the back of his head, he had been sweating. "Yeah, got my head chopped off."


    Emma cringed. "Ouch."


    A few minutes later they were eating a sandwich.  Nathan was thoroughly enjoying it.  When they both finished eating he gazed at her with forlorn eyes.  Something was very wrong here...


    "I might be insane," he jested in an increasingly alarmed voice.


    "Ya think?" she said sarcastically.


    "Mind hearing me out?" he asked honestly.


    "I''ve still got you for a good six days," she answered. "Go ahead."


    "Today is Velanis 2nd, right?"


    "Right," she confirmed.


    After that Nathan proceeded to spill the rough details of what had happened.  When all was said and done, she leveled a steady gaze on him.


    "The way I see it you have somewhere to be right now," Emma chuckled nervously. "Radison."


    "Why on Eritrea would I go there!?" he nearly shouted. "You heard what I just said."


    "Personally..." she started, "I think you''re nuts."


    "Thanks, I love you too."


    Emma ignored him. "One way to know if you''re crazy is to go there again.  If eleven Telmarian Empire assassins kill Queen Altea..."


    "Oh..." Nathan smirked at Emma. "Good point."


    Emma quickly opened the cast iron cell.  Nathan got up to leave, then stumbled and fell on top of her.


    "Sorry," he said apologetically while resisting temptation. "I''m... not feeling so hot right now."


    Emma silently helped him to his feet. "It takes about ten hours to get to Radison from here, eight from Gureld.  Why don''t you go to my grandparents farm and rest up for a few days?  In fact, there''s no reason to go to the capital.  You can regain your strength and just wait for news from Radison."


    Nathan smiled absently. "Think I can make it to Gureld like this?"


    "I don''t think so," she answered honestly. "Maybe if you rested for another day."


    "I''d rather not give my bodyguards a chance to show up," he said. "Best to just crawl there if I have to."


    Emma gave him a perplexed look and commanded, "wait right here."


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    Nathan did as told.  About twenty minutes later she came back with a burly, tall, black haired man.


    "Taler, Nathan..." she introduced, "Nathan, Taler."


    The large man bowed. "I''ll be taking you to Gureld."


    "Thanks," said Nathan. "I guess this is goodbye?"


    Emma leaned down next to Nathan''s sitting position. "If you do end up back in my cell a month from now... you better not keep trying to get my clothes off," she whispered maliciously.


    Nathan gasped. "I would do no such thing..." he began, "I''m a very moral person."


    Emma rolled her eyes at him, then signaled Taler.  The big guy picked Nathan up and stuck him in a barrel.  Nathan laughed as Taler strapped the barrel on and carried him away.


    "I have discovered a new mode of transportation!" he shouted with utter sincerity.


    "Shut up or I drop you," Taler threatened.


    Nathan promptly shut his mouth.  This time, instead of a bus, he boarded a train.  Gureld happened to be a larger city so the train runs right through its plaza.  The only reason that Radison isn''t connected to a train station is out of fear.  Someone could easily send a train full of powerful enemies right into the capital''s heart that way.


    Nathan managed to poke his head out of the barrel and admire this train.  He always enjoyed experiencing new tech.  This long bullet train ran on a combination of steam and ambient mana.  He still wasn''t sure how they operate without a driver''s assistance.  One day, he''d have to find out.


    Once in a while Nathan would drop his head into the barrel, then spook people who walk by their seats.  He was having fun with that until Taler decided it was time to play whack a mole.  That hadn''t been very pleasant.


    Within the hour someone called out that Gureld was in sight.  It really had been a short journey.  Taler didn''t waste anytime getting off and bolting down the main street.  It was a bumpy ride to say the least.  Nathan would''ve complained if he thought the man wasn''t willing to just leave him there... or better yet, barrel roll him and walk away.


    Just as Emma had once told him, about three miles out on the eastern horizon was an incredibly large farm.  One big brown barn, an intimidating mansion, various fields, surrounding woods, tall gates, and plenty of livestock.  Yup, a farm.


    The sun was still rising but two people were already on the fields.  Taler flat out ignored the mansion and made his way to them.  As they got closer Nathan realized that both were elderly, at least in their sixties.  Without saying anything he lowered himself back into the barrel and waited patiently.


    "Taler ma'' boy," a haggard voice called out. "Haven''t seen you in months.  How ya'' been?"


    "Good," he answered. "I''ve been very good lately."


    "Well come on in," the woman said in a friendly manner. "Family always gets a place at the breakfast table."


    Taler held up his hand. "Sorry auntie, uncle." Taler bowed apologetically. "I need to get back to work."


    Both of them let out a disappointed mumble as he took off the barrel.  When Taler placed it on the ground in front of them they weren''t sure what to think.


    "I assume you''re here for a reason nephew," the man said with a rough tone. "What''s in the barrel?"


    At that moment Nathan slowly poked the top half of his head out and used something he''d learned from Eliza ¡ª the watery puppy dog eyes.  The two elderly people really weren''t sure what to think...


    "Emma wants you to help him recover..." Taler started, "the boys been starved.  She also said he''d be willing to work on the farm."


    The elderly man looked at Nathan and inquired, "not going to a school?"


    "Nope," he quickly shot back while popping up and down..


    The elderly woman grinned at Nathan. "You''ll call me Mistress," she commanded proudly. "My husband is Master, understood?"


    Nathan suppressed a laugh while he agreed.  Best not to argue terms with his new caretakers.


    "Take him to the first floor guest room," said Master.


    Taler quickly did as told.  Nathan was a bit unnerved when they entered the mansion.  It was nothing like what should be on a farm.  These people were probably a lot more than farmers back in the day.  At least, that''s the feeling he got after spotting an armory filled with menacing weapons.  They should''ve probably kept that door closed.


    The room he was taken to had been near a tiny kitchen.  His bed was actually small, only taking up enough space for a single person.  Various devices warriors often use for specialized training and testing laid strewn about the room ¡ª that sealed the deal.  Nathan was positive that these people were warriors.


    Before Taler left he told Nathan to be respectful, it''d go a long way with his aunt and uncle.  He also confirmed that both were renowned warriors a few decades back.  That put Nathan a bit on edge.  The only reason he wasn''t freaking out was that he''d just spent some pretty terrible days in a dungeon.  No matter what they throw at him it probably wouldn''t be as awful as that... hopefully.


    Less than half an hour after Taler left he could smell something cooking.  Another ten minutes passed before his ornate wooden door swung open.  The smell of eggs was making Nathan''s stomach grumble.


    "Master," Nathan gleefully yelped with a look of expectation. "Thank you for taking me in."


    Master walked up and gave him a bowl.  It was filled with some sort of mixture ¡ª rice, eggs, green stuff... yellow stuff... purple stuff...


    "This is?" Nathan was absolutely horrified.


    "Medicinal food," he answered in a calm voice. "Don''t complain about the flavor.  This is meant to get you better, faster."


    Nathan actually laughed. "Aside from the sandwich and donut that Emma gave me I''ve been eating mystery slop for days on end," Nathan explained. "I doubt anything could be worse than that was."


    He had been wrong... it was worse.  At least the slop could be choked down.  This medicinal meal was almost pungent, and required a lot of chewing.  What''s worse is that Master watched him like a hawk.  Nathan couldn''t help but curse under his breath at having to eat the stuff.  Eventually he was happy to be done and Master seemed satisfied with his fortitude.


    "Well done," the elder said while giving him a look of admiration. "I didn''t think you''d actually eat it all.  I guess there''s a first time for everything.  Most of the young ones we take in for special training eat one or two bites and retch."


    "It was... special," Nathan drolled listlessly.


    Master slapped his knee. "I''ll go make you some real food now.  That wasn''t actually medicinal food, it was just a test."


    Nathan would''ve strangled the man if he had the strength.  Instead he settled for glaring daggers at Master''s back as the man walked away.  Before Master could return with a proper meal, his wife walked in.


    "Take off your robe," she commanded while taking a seat near his bed. "Need to see what I''m working with here."


    Nathan suppressed the urge to scream like a little girl and did as told.  He knew these people who trained not only themselves, but likely many young warriors, probably knew best how to help him recover physically.


    To be honest, when he did take the robe off it was a bit shocking.  Thanks to how tall he was there had never been too much fat on his body.  But having transformed from slightly chubby to skin and bones, in the span of two weeks, left him looking like a damn monster.


    It was odd, almost like he wasn''t even himself anymore.  Mistress was not pleased with what she saw.  Nathan wasn''t sure how she spotted it, but the woman guessed that he endured torture.  Apparently Nathan was subconsciously favoring his shoulders.  Thankfully there wasn''t any lingering damage from it.


    The fact that she was telling him these things nearly confirmed Nathan''s crazy predicament.  In the end however, he decided to reserve judgement until after the assassination.


    All of Nathan''s worries got sidelined when the smell of cooked meats assaulted him.  This time Master brought in a whole platter of food.  Pan-seared demonic bull flank steak with aquatic luger dumplings and a green smoothie.  Needless to say, it was heavenly compared to what he''d just eaten before.


    Both of them conversed from the side as he tore into the meal.  It seemed like they were still making up their minds about him.  Some things needed to be confirmed though.


    "Where and why were you held captive?" Mistress asked.


    Nathan stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment and decided to just blame his family. "Because I''m not smart enough, because I thought I saw demons, and because I''m a desolate one..." he began in pained resignation while choking down the dumplings, "I was hidden from the world in a tower on the Dela''marthus estate."


    Both of them shared a blank look.  Nathan tossed his real identification crystal to Mistress.


    "I''ll be damned," she said in a  surprised voice while handing it back. "The rumored Dela''marthus boy, you''re real."


    By now Master was grinding his teeth. "No parent has the right to do this to their child," he spoke with rage. "If I ever see Darvos again, I''ll rip his spleen out."


    Nathan chuckled ruefully while finishing off his dumplings. "Things are looking better now, I''m finally free."


    Both Master and Mistress watched Nathan fondly as he started chugging down the sweet smoothie.  Mistress ruffled Nathan''s scraggly black hair, and said in a gentle voice, "better days are coming child.  About the demons..."


    "That was just an early manifestation of my confluence.  I''m really good at gathering ambient mana, and with enough practice my manipulation skills should be enough to handle it.  The only problem right now is my mental endurance, using the low level <Enflame> spell for about five minutes is almost enough to knock me out cold," he explained.


    Master cocked his head. "I''ve never heard of confluence causing people to see demons." He wasn''t sure what to think, then again, he was no magus.


    "I was seeing people''s internal mana..." Nathan began, his hands started making some strange gestures while motioning towards his own head, "it''s like the structure of a spell.  I''ve yet to see two people with the same demon ¡ª for lack of a better word.  I may be able to see it, but even my skill in confluence isn''t enough for me to draw other people''s internal mana out.  I''m guessing it''s just impossible to do something like that."


    "That sounds handy," Mistress chimed in. "Plan on being a magus then?"


    "No," he answered pointedly. "I refuse to follow in my parent''s footsteps.  I don''t wish to be a magus or an artificer.  Unfortunately, I''m not exactly warrior material either.  So I''ll be finding a nice quiet job somewhere and settling down."


    Mistress clicked her tongue as Master laughed. "Believe it or not, you''ve got the frame for it," she claimed. "You''re a bit worn out right now.  However, with proper guidance you''d make a fine warrior."


    Nathan raised an eyebrow at her.  He''d always thought himself physically incapable of matching the standards of a warrior.  He''d always feared pain and fighting giant creatures ¡ª snakes, spiders, and the like.  His time in Radison however, had made him more fearful of humans than anything else ¡ª raised his tolerance for pain.  At least a monster wouldn''t torture him.


    "What about my internal energy?" he asked.


    Nathan knew that just like magic it was a seemingly random variable.


    "We won''t know until you''re back on your feet and actually training," Master replied.


    "Well, I don''t see the harm in trying," Nathan spoke hopefully. "If you''re willing to help me that is."


    <hr />


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td colspan=''2''>NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>REVIEWS</a></td><td colspan=''2''>UPDATES</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 4: ~The Things We Do For Love~

    Chapter 4:  ~The Things We Do For Love~


    Five days passed in the blink of an eye.  Nathan was never just sitting there.  If he wasn''t eating, he was watching demonstrations.  If he wasn''t watching, he was listening to lectures.  Everything you''d ever need to know about internal energy, or as they put it, vim.  Not just warrior techniques, they also taught him about various common methods for practicing multiple forms of combat.  Nathan found it all incredibly fascinating.


    The elderly pair had taken a shine to Nathan and saw fit to impart him with everything they knew.  Because he couldn''t really exercise yet they were just unloading tons of information on him.  At first they had gone slow, but when Mistress realized that Nathan was able to recite things word for word after only telling it to him once ¡ª they sped the teaching up considerably.


    Neither of the seasoned warriors had seen anything like it.  Although practicing a preferred method, or discipline, wasn''t difficult.  Remembering how to cooperate with, or combat, different styles and techniques was something that normally took years.  But here they were, speaking to a boy with incredible memory and deductive reasoning skills.


    They even made a game of it, telling Nathan two weapons and their corresponding techniques while having him guess which would be at a disadvantage.  Nathan''s win to lose ratio was seven to two.  Not perfect, but astounding none the less.  Every moment they spent with the kid made them more and more hopeful for his future as a warrior.


    The food that Master cooked was absolutely tasty.  Nathan had decided at some point that he should also learn to cook.  Good and healthy food was now one of his priorities, an essential key to happiness.  Once a day Mistress would massage his shoulders and lower back, trying to undo the lingering psychological effects of his imprisonment.


    Mistress even embarrassed him greatly by saying that a good woman would be the easiest way to get rid of his kinks.  Mentioning a few of her single nieces ¡ª including Emma ¡ª just made it worse.  Thanks to his reluctance Mistress made a false assumption and started to mention a few of her nephews instead, Nathan quickly shut that line of thinking down.  Not that Nathan had anything against men who liked men, it was just that he found women far too alluring to bat for the other team ¡ª so to speak.


    At some point Nathan mused that he should be a little thankful to his family.  If it wasn''t for the years of mental abuse, neglect and abandonment, he probably would''ve broken under the unjust treatment in Radison''s foul castle dungeon.


    Surprisingly enough, the resentment Nathan felt for his family grew more distant as he became closer to Master and Mistress.  He had once read that time heals all wounds, but he hadn''t realized that finding someone to care about could also be a remedy.  It was pretty funny after all, watching Mistress give Master a German suplex for feeding him the fake medicinal meal and letting Nathan eat all of it.


    Learning all about warriors ¡ª there was more to it than he had originally believed.  Training through meditation was nearly as important as physical activity.  Increasing your vim had obvious uses, just like mana.


    On the sixth day ¡ª Velanis 7th ¡ª  he had awoken to another hearty meal.  Mistress claimed that it was time to start training, Nathan agreed.  His body was filling back out by now, still nowhere near as plump as he had once been.  More like an average person''s build.  Thankfully he had been getting some sun again.  His once pale complexion was returning to a normal color.


    When she had first told him to do some push-ups he went at it as quickly and eagerly as possible.  That was a mistake that earned him a smack on the back of his head.  She promptly informed Nathan that the point wasn''t to tire out his muscles, endurance could be trained later.  For now, they were building his foundation.  Slowly was the key here.  She wanted him to strain and rip his muscles by slowly doing exercises.


    The elderly pair had decided to make him do strength training.  Nathan didn''t understand why they were having him slowly do physically intense training, that is, until the pain kicked in.  Doing a push-up slowly was pretty awful.  He could feel it as his muscles trembled ¡ª pain shooting through them.  Although it hurt a decent amount, this was still nothing compared to what he''d been through before.


    The elderly couple were both impressed with his willpower and fortitude, but they couldn''t help feeling a bit sorrowful while considering how he had become so headstrong at such a young age.  Needless to say, they were careful to stop him before he passed his limits and caused any permanent damage to his body.  One after the other he was instructed to take different poses, do different exercises.


    By the end of this sixth day his whole body was aching.  There were plenty of new muscles he didn''t even know existed.  Those ones hurt the worst.  While he was resting Master brought in a real medicinal meal.  This one was to help him recover so that he could train daily, rather than taking breaks.  Nathan wasn''t sure how he felt about that, but chose to not look a gift horse in the mouth.


    <hr />


    On the tenth day Mistress had claimed that it was time to test his beginning level of vim.  So for two hours straight he calmly listened to her advice while trying to enter a meditative state.  It was baffling to him, Nathan had a very logical mind so he couldn''t easily let himself feel within ¡ª as she put it.


    "Think of it like any other part of your body," she explained. "Just another muscle that needs to be trained.  Something that''s always there even if you don''t know it is."


    That line had helped him immensely.  It only took a few more minutes for Nathan to notice thin strands running throughout his body.  Something that wasn''t visible, something intangible, yet real.  When he first felt the vim within, there was a stream of invigoration that ran through his entire body.


    Mistress quickly took notice and excitedly placed a hand on Nathan''s chest after removing his shirt.  A minute later she gave him a very pained look.


    "I''m sorry Nathan," she said slowly, carefully. "With your inherent vim it would be a stretch to reach intermediate level within a decade.  At most, by the time fifty years or so pass... you might be able to use techniques that let you jump a few meters or form a minor defensive aura."


    Seeing her solemn expression, Nathan asked, "that bad huh?"


    "Yeah," she sadly confirmed. "Not good."


    "Well..." he started, "it isn''t like I had high hopes to begin with.  As long as I can live a normal life."


    Mistress smiled fondly at Nathan. "I''m glad you''re taking it well."


    <hr />


    By day twelve he was working in the fields.  Farming was physically demanding work.  Plowing a large plot of land with nothing but a hoe took patience and effort.  Digging ditches for aqueducts, herding horses and cattle, chopping down trees then digging up their roots ¡ª nothing was easy.


    Master once told him that farming would increase his endurance, and the man had not been lying.  Each day was easier than the first.  Something that would''ve killed him before was doable now.  To be honest, Nathan was happy for the first time in forever, content.


    Then the fifteenth day ¡ª Velanis 16th ¡ª came.  Along with it an urgent newsletter.  Yesterday on Velanis 15th Queen Altea was assassinated during her annual parade through the streets of Radison.  Feeling like he was no longer losing his mind was a good thing.  Realizing something was indeed very wrong had been another thing.


    Questions flooded Nathan''s mind.  How had it happened?  Why was he suddenly one month in the past?  Was it clairvoyance?  Visions of the future?  Or maybe time travel?  The fact that his body had physically changed made him guess time travel, as absurd as it sounded.


    In the end, whatever had happened didn''t matter.  He was thankful for it.  Nothing too grand had really changed.  The queen was still dead but he was free and alive.  Good enough.


    <hr />


    The news didn''t stop there...


    Velanis 18th ¡ª his mother, Lucretia, headmistress of the most prestigious magus school in Eritrea, leader of the magus city Valkfolgen... was dead.  On Velanis 17th, just past noon, she had been attacked in her office by three unknown assassins who managed to elude capture.  Nathan''s father in Regis had survived an attempt on his life the day before that ¡ª Velanis 16th.


    Nathan was at a loss, one after the other three leaders of the biggest cities on their continent, Rostma, had been attacked.  Two were dead...


    On Velanis 20th there was more news.  His father, Darvos, leader of the artificer academy Regis, was dead.  Valkfolgen and Regis ¡ª under siege by unknown armies and requesting reinforcements.


    By now Emma had arrived.  She was just as shocked as Nathan about the whole thing.  He had been in a dungeon the first time around and didn''t realize anything other than the queen dying had happened.  Certainly not the untimely demise of his own parents.


    "I can''t believe it," he said pitifully. "What the hell is going on?"


    Emma cursed under her breath. "Some assholes want the entire world to go up in flames," she answered spitefully. "That''d be my guess."


    Nathan chuckled nervously as she gazed at him. "What?" he asked reluctantly.


    "We could''ve at least warned the queen somehow."


    "I doubt they would''ve listened to either of us," he said with indignation. "You didn''t see the king like I did, it was almost like he didn''t care that she was gone."


    "You don''t mean?"


    Nathan nodded very slowly. "If I had to guess, I''d say he probably had something to do with it."


    "Damn..." Emma scowled while cursing, "that isn''t good.  Altea always promoted peace, if the king set it up so that Telmarian Empire assassins killed her..."


    Nathan''s eyes snapped open. "War!" he shouted in surprise.  Just like a damn story from one of his books ¡ª one of the worst ones.  Plenty of pain and misery to go around.


    <hr />


    Sure enough, two days later there was an official announcement.  Not only had war been declared with the Telmarian Empire.  That same Empire''s own queen was as dead as a doornail.  It seemed like the world was going insane, dead leaders and enraged citizens.  Prestigious key locations subjected to unrelenting assault.  All Nathan wanted was to settle down peacefully somewhere, but that didn''t seem likely at this point.


    All he could do was continue on with his daily life among Emma''s family.  Nearly twenty of them had gathered in the mansion by now.  Some weren''t too pleased with his presence, but they couldn''t go against their elders.  Everyone was on edge and discussing if they should aid Valkfolgen or Regis.  These people were warriors and they weren''t about to sit the fight out.


    <hr />


    Another day passed, they had decided to aid Regis.  On Velanis 23rd they all prepared to leave.  Nathan had decided to join them, even if he wouldn''t be much help.  These people had been more of a family to him in just a few days than his own had ever been.


    As the convoy made its final preparations to board one Regis-bound train, a thundering stampede sounded.  Heading in the direction of Gureld was a massive army.  Everyone was too dumbfounded to act until Mistress shouted, bringing them back to their senses.


    The enemy forces consisted of a terrifying forward vanguard.  Men clad in rust-colored armor rode towering beasts ¡ª warhorses, bulls, even razorback elephants.  It was a terrifying sight and he could do nothing but watch as the horde demolished Gureld.


    Emma''s family ¡ª the Kristof Clan ¡ª was the only force putting up a good fight.  They didn''t have any sort of formation, but each person was a skilled warrior.


    Some feats, like using a technique to lunge meters in a single bound were amazing.  Master did something he''d never forget, tear a four meter high column straight out of the library facade and lob it faster than his eyes could follow. Two elephants toppled with a single throw, their riders ¡ª dead.


    The fighting was fierce and people were dying.  Civilians were slaughtered mercilessly.


    Then it happened, the force following this malicious vanguard arrived.  Magus, powerful magus combatants poured onto the battlefield working in tandem with the vanguard.  Alongside the magus were men armed with artificer rifles and pistols...


    Nathan cried out in sorrow as he watched Master get gored from behind by a demonic bull while shielding himself from a hail of mana bullets.  Mistress and Emma perished under a compounding spell, <Maelstrom> and <Conflagration>.  He could feel the heat from violent torrents of wind as that mighty spell swept across Gureld.


    When he sensed someone coming up behind him, Nathan turned slowly.  Standing there was one of the enemies.  This person silently held up a rifle and aimed calmly.  Nathan cursed as he ran at the man.  He attempted to chant a <Shield> during his advance, but before he could finish speaking the bullet was fired.  Once again, the world went dark.


    Nathan''s final thoughts were that if this was how things would be... he''d rather die.  The people he finally formed some small attachment to were dead.


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.  Nathan slowly, fearfully opened his eyes.  It happened again, except this time he had died.  Time had rewound...


    After sitting up, Nathan silently gazed at Emma.  His hands tightened into fists as he looked away from her.


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


    "It isn''t that bad," Emma said while looking in his direction. "You''ll only be here for a few days.  Nothing to cry over."


    Nathan quickly looked back at her, tears streaming down his face.  Emma was taken aback.  The confusion and sorrow on Nathan''s visage was far more than she had expected.


    "Really..." she said quickly, "it wasn''t even much of a crime.  I swear you''ll be alright."


    Nathan bit his lip, then smiled at Emma.  Letting his hands fall loose reminded him of the illusionary glyph ring.  After removing it he wiped away the tears.  Going over everything he knew now, Nathan tried to gather his thoughts.  For some reason he was back in Velanis 1st...  Velanis ¡ª the worst month ever.  Short-lived freedom.  The world at war.


    He''d finally found some people that he really got along with, and they were dead... dying.  Nothing he could do about it.  What could he do?


    If time keeps looping him back like this ¡ª Nathan checked his body ¡ª maybe he could do something.  He could still feel his vim, every muscle on his body was noticeably stronger than it had been before.  As a single person it would probably be impossible, especially at his age.  One thought however, urged him forward.


    I''m not just a kid, I am Nathaniel Lucas Verasparion Dela''marthus.


    It was possible.  If he managed to do something significant maybe Gureld wouldn''t be attacked.  Maybe the Kristof clan wouldn''t get annihilated.  As he thought of Master and Mistress, of Emma ¡ª Nathan made his resolve.  Even if he had to use the Dela''marthus name and all of its connections.  Walking through hell and dying a thousand times wouldn''t stop him from saving them.


    "I''m sorry," he said, now at peace with his decision. "Bad dreams, that''s all."


    "Oh, you scared me there for a moment," she replied, still concerned. "Nice ring by the way."


    Nathan tossed the cosmetic ring to Emma. "I don''t need it anymore, and I''m very sorry for what I did yesterday."


    Emma toyed with the trinket and asked, "why did you do it?"


    Nathan took in a deep breath. "I was trying to avoid a path of adversity.  I was afraid to confront the demons of my past," he answered honestly. "But I''ve come to my senses now.  I know what I have to do."


    Emma laughed nervously while taking the ring on and off.


    "I know I''m supposed to stay here for seven days," he said politely. "But if I stay here any longer it may be too late."


    Nathan got off the bed and knelt down in front of Emma.  Through the cast iron bars he asked, "would you please release me so that I may get there in time?"


    Emma smiled at him and unlocked the gate. "No more fireworks in the bus station, okay?"


    Emma gasped as Nathan stood up and took her in his arms.  With a powerful, lingering embrace he nearly crushed her.  Nathan choked back his tears and let go when she chuckled nervously.


    "Goodbye officer," he spoke with a trembling voice.


    Emma had sensed something was still amiss, but let him go anyway.  He was a stranger to her after all.


    <hr />


    Sitting aboard a train heading for Valkfolgen was unnerving.  Nathan was on his way to a place that he once swore he''d never set foot in.


    The plan now was to go there and watch while staying out of the way.  He wanted to know everything that happened here, his mother''s demise, the city''s siege.  He needed to know more.  After he was satisfied with what he knew ¡ª Nathan would go to Regis... another place he once swore to never approach.


    He''d noticed by now that the way people were looking at him was different.  Instead of the slightly overweight guy he''d once been, Nathan had become a lithe and handsome noble.  His emerald eyes and quality robes were a dead giveaway.  He hadn''t trained for very long, but Mistress and Master were very effective instructors.  Between the medicinal food, and the fact that he was recovering from being starved ¡ª Nathan had undergone a full transformation.


    Nathan was thankful for the cosmetic ring.  Without it he may have had trouble explaining his changing appearance to Emma.  If he could learn some illusionary magic maybe he''d be able to fool people who had known him personally into thinking that way too.


    *cough cough*


    A girl with long, flowing, silken blonde hair had walked into the compartment Nathan was in, he had been alone until now.


    "Don''t mind me," he said in a strained voice. "Plenty of empty seats."


    The girl took a seat and started to clean her glasses with a small linen cloth.  Nathan caught a whiff of lavender when she walked by.


    "What are you doing?" she asked.


    "Training," he answered while switching arms. "I''m still not very good at it."


    The girl ran her petite white hands along a windowsill.  After Nathan switched positions again, this time with his back arched, she asked, "you are going to be a magus, aren''t you?"


    "I plan to study magic," he answered quietly. "But that shouldn''t limit me to only using magic."


    Nathan thought back to the battle, the slaughter he had just seen.  Three men stood out from the enemy forces.  Lightly armored spell casters using warrior techniques, it had been an eye-opening experience.  Most people focus on a specific field due to how long it takes to train, but Nathan felt like he just may have plenty of time ¡ª what with the whole looping back in time thing.


    She actually had the gall to laugh at him. "I''m sorry," she said with impudence. "It just seems foolish to me.  A magus training as a warrior."


    "It''ll seem foolish until a man uses spell shields and foot techniques to rip your throat out," he countered pointedly.


    Color drained from her face.


    Nathan thought about another aspect of his talent.  He was a piss poor warrior, but his confluence was insane.  Some larger artificer devices required multiple people to power their mana crystals.  But with his confluence it should be child''s play to do that sort of thing alone using ambient mana.  Another reason to go to the steamwork academy, Regis.


    "I''m sorry," she said humbly. "I didn''t mean to offend you."


    Nathan got up and took a seat across from her. "You didn''t offend me," Nathan retorted in an apologetic voice. "I was only telling you the truth.  Forgive me for being blunt right now, I''m seriously on edge here."


    The girl extended her hand, Nathan shook it firmly.


    "I''m Lisa Devroe, this''ll be my fourth year at Valkfolgen."


    "Call me Nathan," he responded politely. "This''ll be my first year here ¡ª you don''t look twenty..."


    "I started attending early at fourteen years old." Lisa absolutely beamed with confidence. "Got scouted...  I should be eighteen?"


    "Why is that a question?" he asked with an amused tone.


    "I''ve never been very good with keeping track ¡ª know any spell structures first year?"


    "<Enflame>, <Shield>, and <Force>.  Nothing special."


    Lisa nodded in approval.  When Nathan asked what he should expect upon arriving she started spitting out all sorts of details.  His first day would basically be administration, dorm housing, getting his schedule, and listening to the headmistress give a welcoming speech.  Afterward there would be a huge party for the first year students to attend.


    The first years shouldn''t actually know any magic yet.  She promptly informed him that the next few months would just be learning about magical theory.  Ways to create a spell program, why they work the way they do, why you can cast them without chanting once you know a spell well enough to program it.  How to effectively manipulate a spell.


    Nathan had already figured most of that out on his own ¡ª programming was something he''d have to look up though.  If he''d told Lisa that all three of his very basic spells were the result of self study without any books ¡ª she''d have been impressed.  Nathan was only able to watch people through a window use them a few times before extrapolating how to structure the spells himself, and that took years.


    Basically, the first month of classes would be absolutely pointless for him to attend.  When he said that to Lisa she quickly agreed.  If it wasn''t for the fact that ignoring them would probably get him expelled in a few months, she''d have even told him to skip those classes and self study.


    "What are the four basic principles of using magic?" she asked, obviously way too into this.


    "Drawing, confluence, manipulation, and structure," he answered.


    "Explain please."


    "Drawing refers to pulling your own internal mana out effectively..." Nathan started, "confluence is your ability to draw in ambient mana from the environment. Manipulation is your ability to control any mana you''ve gathered and structure refers to any basic principle you enforce upon mana, creating spells."


    Basic spell structure was deceptively easy.  Once you knew that mana could be used a certain way it was as simple as learning the correct symbols then activating them to cast a spell.   Structuring a fireball for instance, literally took the symbols for projectile, flames, and sphere.  The process for most people was altering their internal mana to form symbols, then activating the spell.  That was easier to do than drawing and manipulating ambient mana.


    As far as magical symbols go, there had always been a set amount ever since they were first discovered.  He wasn''t exactly clear on how that happened, he just knew it happened way too long ago for him to care about it.


    The hard part about structure comes not from learning the spells, but manipulating them properly without blowing yourself up.  After activation there''s a small window of opportunity to manipulate your spell''s power or effect, but that''s incredibly difficult to pull that off so it''s normal to do any tuning before hand.  Like, say, making an entire villa spontaneously combust by spending an unholy amount of time on your <Enflame> spells structure before casting it.


    Lisa nodded in approval at Nathan. "Good, very good.  How''s your drawing?" she asked.


    Nathan had to laugh.  Drawing tended to be the most important aspect of being a magus.  Pulling out your own easily manipulated mana quickly could be the difference between life or death after all.


    "I''m a desolate one," he answered proudly.


    Lisa gasped in absolute shock. "I''m so sorry!"


    "Don''t worry about it." Nathan leaned across the compartment, and whispered, "I''m pretty frickin'' good with confluence."


    Lisa tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at Nathan. "I''ve never heard of a magus using pure confluence.  There''s a reason why desolate ones are all artificers and warriors...  I can barely get spells, very basic spells, to function properly when using ambient mana."


    "That isn''t an issue for me," he said in a detached manner. "I''ve never used spells the normal way, so I don''t even know what I''m missing out on.  My biggest problem will be raising mental endurance.  It isn''t fun passing out after holding <Enflame> for about five minutes."


    "Five minutes is three above the norm for first years." She chuckled nervously. "You do know that right?"


    Nathan looked at her, honestly shocked. "I guess things aren''t as completely grim as they seem."


    For the rest of the ride he tuned Lisa out.  The hum of a train sliding across tracks was something he could certainly get used to.  It was almost comforting at the moment ¡ª being here, being safe.  The only problem was seeing Master, Mistress, and Emma die again every time he closed his eyes.  Their deaths by far outweighed his years of built up resentment towards the Dela''Marthus family, his family.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he¡¯d found people to protect, maybe Nathan would¡¯ve just run away from it all.  His hero complex went down in flames after the way his heroics were rewarded in Radison.  If it wasn''t for the fact that the people he''d grown a little attached to could still be saved... he''d rather be dead.


    It wasn''t until now that Nathan truly understood what seven years in a tower had done to him.  Not to mention the episode of betrayal over Altea''s assassination.  Despite knowing that his fixation on the Kristof clan was unhealthy, he couldn''t help himself.  If Nathan had to put it into words, he''d say that they had brought his quickly dying heart back to life ¡ª and he loved them for it.  Their random acts of kindness had saved him ¡ª more than they could possibly ever know, or in this case, would know.  It was almost too much for him to bear, knowing that they had already forgotten him.


    Hopefully he¡¯d manage to save the Kristof Clan before this loopy time business ends. If it wasn¡¯t for Emma he probably would¡¯ve spent this month living in peace, over and over again.  Oh well, facing mother wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d enjoy, but he¡¯d do it for the Kristof Clan.


    Nathan snickered when he realized that they may not recognize each other.  His body had changed, and seven agonizing years have passed since Lucretia and Darvos locked him in that desolate tower after all.


    <hr />


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''>PREVIOUS CHAPTER</a></td><td colspan=''2''>NEXT CHAPTER</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>REVIEWS</a></td><td colspan=''2''>UPDATES</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

 Chapter 5: ~Breaking the Limit~

    Chapter 5: ~Breaking the Limit~


    "Look, look," Lisa yelped excitedly. "There''s Valkfolgen."


    Nathan peered out the window, he couldn''t see it.  Lisa yelped again, this time in a more startled manner, when he moved to sit next to her and leaned in.  She hadn''t realized his objective was to just peer over the shorter girl''s head.  Off in the distance he could see it now.  Valkfolgen was unique as far as cities go.  Normally something the size of a city would have stone walls, or towering buildings.  Valkfolgen on the other hand, was different.


    No buildings in the magus city were higher than three stories.  Every single structure had been made out of materials that don''t mess with mana manipulation.  Which basically meant that it was a city of wood, bricks, and tents ¡ª no metals.


    In fact, the only metal you were likely to find around this city was used for certain staves.  These were made of a few rare, choice metals that actually improved spell casting.  Most of the time they''d even be fitted with a sort of crystal to be used by mages as a focus.  Spells could be a lot more potent with the right sort of object to focus mana through.


    As the train stopped and Nathan followed Lisa out, he marveled.  Just as rumored, off in the distance were three gigantic trees.  Each one was used for third and fourth year classes, teacher''s private quarters, large scale assemblies, and tournaments.


    Every step he took made Nathan more nervous.  Lucretia, his mother, was the law in this city.  Just as he was getting ready to run for the train, Lisa gripped his hand.  She had noticed his reluctance to be here.  Looking back into the girl''s blue eyes calmed Nathan''s heart.  A fresh, natural scent of Valkfolgen washed over them as his pulse slowed to a normal tempo.


    "What are you so afraid of?"


    "Something you wouldn''t understand," he answered reluctantly. "At least, I don''t think you would."


    Lisa clicked her tongue at him as she dragged Nathan along.  It would seem he no longer had any choice in the matter.  Do or die now... Oh wait, if it get''s that bad I really can just die.


    With that in mind he started to pay more attention.  By now they''d crossed multiple wooden bridges.  Below those bridges were rapidly flowing crystal clear streams of shimmering water.  Once in a while you''d hear a child playing happily in the streets, or people singing and dancing in taverns.  As they drew closer to three massive trees he could see the actual school.  Surrounding the base of those ancient structures were many white, almost ashen buildings.  No doubt another type of wood.  He already knew that they''d be the facilities he''d not only live in, but also train in.


    You''d think he would be focused on the school, it was important after all.  Nathan however, was constantly distracted.  That fact that Lisa was wearing high heels had baffled him back in the train.  This became less baffling when he started following her.  Thanks to those shoes, this petite woman''s already eye-catching derriere was even more so now.  The fact that Lisa had grinned impishly at him a few times already, made him think she was doing it on purpose.


    Nathan stopped and looked up, he took a second to think of how the heck he was gonna get near enough to his mother''s office.  He needed watch how the assassination goes down.  Nathan didn''t wanna actually see it, but if he was gonna prevent Lucretia''s death he should at least see if he could sense her assailants.  Figure out how the heck they did it.


    "Over there," Lisa pointed. "All you have to do is walk in and give the receptionist your I.D. crystal."


    Nathan bowed down and kissed her hand, then said, "thank you Lisa Devroe.  I shall not forget your kindness."


    Nathan proudly waltzed off after making the older temptress turn beet red.  He chose to ignore a few choice words she threw in his direction.  Surprisingly enough, those choice words were followed with the location of her dorm room.  Nathan committed it to memory... for purely academic reasons.


    In front of him was the nearest of those three main school facilities, this also seemed to be the largest one.  There was actually a line of new students waiting to be admitted properly.  Nathan got in line because he wasn''t in any sort of rush.


    One after the other students would hand their crystal over, get their schedule, be told where their dorm room is, then be pointed in the direction of an assembly hall.  Nathan wasn''t looking forward to listening to his mother greet everybody, but he was interested in seeing what she looked like after all these years.  It was... a complicated feeling that got his pulse racing again.


    Finally, it was his turn.  After forking over his real I.D. the woman stared him down.  Apparently she decided he was the real thing because the receptionist promptly put up a sign.  It claimed she would be back soon.  After gathering a few things, and handing back his I.D. crystal, the woman motioned for him to follow.  Honestly, the special treatment was making him nervous.


    A while later they were outside ¡ª on the outskirts of Valkfolgen.  In front of him was a large two story building.  The woman quickly unlocked the door and led him inside.  Ignoring a large staircase she motioned towards the table near his new kitchen.


    Nathan got the message and sat down.


    "Your mother has prepared this place for you..." she began, "because it would be pointless for a desolate one to attend any classes that have to do with magical theory.  This..." she handed over a small card, "is a library pass.  It will give you access to Valkfolgen''s main library."


    "Where is the library?"


    "In the trower we just came from.  There were stairs past my desk, you take them up two levels.  Our library takes up the entire third level of that forward trower," she explained.


    "Trower?" he asked, hoping he was wrong about why it was called that.


    "Tree plus tower, trower." The woman scowled. "Don''t look at me.  I''m not the imbecile that named them.  Anyway, the forward trower is called sun trower.  Eastern one is star trower, western one is planet trower.  Understood?"


    Nathan tried not to laugh. "I think so."


    "Lucretia says that you may be a student here, but that''s all.  You''re free to do as you please.  Try to stay out of trouble."


    "No schedule, no classes?" he asked in a shocked voice.


    "None... your mother said it would be a waste of resources to send you to any."


    This time it was Nathan scowling. "Anything else?"


    In the end this surly woman gave him that library pass, some keys to his new private home, and a card that would get him anything he wanted to buy around the city.


    Nathan refrained from glaring daggers at her back as she left.  That had not been pleasant, there was obvious disdain for him in her voice.  He had been expecting something to happen, but not this.  What his mother had basically just done was excommunicate him ¡ª made Nathan a student in name only.


    This didn''t feel good, he was sure that his mother would lock him away here ¡ª like the tower ¡ª if she could.  But this wasn''t their estate and that would probably draw attention.  As usual, she believed he was dumb and desolate.  Nathan had expected her to sign him up for alchemy or glyph classes, not... well, nothing.  The woman had also made a point of telling him that he need not attend the greeting assembly for new students.


    As tempted as he was to go around and buy everything in town out of spite, Nathan figured that was more likely to get his sorry ass shipped back home.  His fear of meeting Lucretia was long gone, all he had left for her was seething rage.


    Suddenly more motivated to watch how his mother dies ¡ª so he can save her of course ¡ª Nathan took his time inspecting this new home.  At first he thought she had been trying to bribe him here, but it soon became obvious that the place wasn''t made specially for Nathan.  It had facilities that his mother would''ve thought were useless for him after all.


    Even if he did absolutely love it here.  A big spacious bath and kitchen, indoor training area with illusionary glyphs, alchemy lab, writing materials, a study, a fireplace ¡ª seriously this nature themed cabin was nice.  From the hand-carved mahogany railing to oiled pine pillars, nothing displeased Nathan.  If it wasn''t for the fact that this place was his new tower, he''d feel completely at home.


    In an attempt to take his mind off things for a while he decided to train some.  His previous workout had been interrupted by Lisa, so this was a good time to finish.


    Roughly two hours later he was lounging in his new bath with some fresh fruit floating on a buoyant platter.  He''d found that the fridge was fully stocked for him already, how nice.


    After drying himself off Nathan looked towards a rapidly setting sun.


    "Sixteen days till mother dearest dies," he mused. "Whatever shall I do?"


    After retrieving the library card, he was off.  In a matter of minutes Nathan had found his way back to the sun trower.  He had a few goals in mind as far as magic goes.  While glyphs and alchemy would be nice to learn eventually, Nathan was more concerned about his actual spell casting abilities.  That meant improving his mental endurance, manipulation, and learning new spell structures.


    Since he wasn''t taking any classes he''d have to figure all of that out alone.  Before entering the trower Nathan spotted a familiar sunny demon.  It was the internal mana signature of his eldest sister, the one who had a villa that he burned.  He was freaking out in his head and getting ready to run.  Then the strangest thing happened.  She took one look at him, then hurried off in the direction of his new home.


    Nathan sighed audibly, she hadn''t recognized him.  Hoping that his sister didn''t just figure out where he was living, Nathan carried on with his task.  A few minutes later he ascended both staircases leading to the sun trower''s third level.  A mental note was made that it is much easier to climb stairs without his jellyrolls, as awesome as they were.  You shall be missed jellyrolls.


    For nearly three hours, all the way up until closing time, he shuffled through book after book.  Having chosen what he wanted left him lugging around over a dozen books.  All but two of them were for beginners.  Things like elementary spell structures and mental endurance training.  The only advanced books he had were on manipulation and confluence.


    Nathan had pawed through the beginner ones and quickly noticed that he already knew and could do everything in them.  He had lit his sister''s ten thousand square foot villa on fire with <Enflame> after all.  It wasn''t like starting a small fire in the corner, every inch of that annoying building was literally covered with flames in a split second.  It had taken him nearly two hours of concentration to prepare the spell, but it was so worth it.


    The only reason she built it in that location was to block out his view of the rising sun.  Ever since she had the villa constructed he no longer enjoyed mornings... they hadn''t met since he first got locked up in the tower, but that really hurt him.  It made Nathan realize that it wasn''t just his parents who disliked him.


    Nathan knew for a fact that he was the only desolate one allowed on their family estate''s grounds.  If not for that he wouldn''t have burned the villa.  He could sense peoples internal mana and since there weren''t any desolate people around he knew no one would be in there when it burned.  Nathan was vengeful, but not murderous.


    As Nathan approached his new dwelling, the jovial mood surrounding him shattered.  Sure enough, the sunny demon was waiting for him inside.  Maybe he should have locked the door.  After taking a moment to calm himself down, Nathan waltzed right on in.


    *pft-hahaha*


    He couldn''t help but laugh at the sight of her.


    "Is it that good?" he asked jovially.


    "You have no idea," she answered, then continued to voraciously devour an entire slab of steak. "Mom and dad have me on this no meat diet right now.  I don''t got anything against people who don''t eat meat, but it just isn''t for me." She looked up at him. "I''m Neris Dela''marthus, are you a friend of my brother?"


    Nathan suppressed another laugh. Seeing her in this condition ¡ª hearing the way she mentioned his name without a hint of disdain had left Nathan incredibly happy.  Instead of correcting her he waltzed up and looked into her eyes.


    At first she backed up an inch, then ¡ª after noticing his own emerald eyes ¡ª she screamed, "Nathaniel!?"


    "The one and only," he claimed joyously. "I know its been seven years and all, but really?"


    "How was I suppose to know it''s you?" Neris looked him up and down. "Mom and dad always said you were fat..."


    "Well, our parents haven''t seen me in seven years either," he said acidly. "Thanks for sticking your villa in the way of my sunrise by the way."


    Neris washed up and looked back at him with her own emerald eyes. "Sorry, that was three years ago.  I was still an immature nineteen year old brat back then and you can''t exactly move a villa.  Besides, some asshole burned it to the ground.  I''d be angrier, but the whole thing is too impressive for me to go after whoever did it."


    Nathan suppressed another laugh while his sister combed her silky black hair.  Obviously he wasn''t a suspect.  That does beg the question though...


    "Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously.


    "I figured you''d be going here," she answered. "Father said he gave you a ticket to get here.  First time in seven years my little brother is running free, I was curious if you''re like what mom and dad say you are." Neris took a moment to look him up and down. "They have no idea how wrong they are.  Give me a few days to fix that messy hair and you''ll be a proper lady killer."


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


    Nathan was dumbfounded, he had always assumed that Neris hated him after she had that damn villa built.  It was nice to be wrong for a change.  Naturally, being the mushy sap that he is, Nathan''s eyes got all red and watery.  Someone from his family didn''t actually hate him.  However, she still let him rot in a tower for seven years...


    "You didn''t think to visit me in the tower?"


    Neris immediately explained that she had tried that four years ago.  Their parents went out of their way to make an example of her.  They didn''t want their daughters mucking around with the useless child ¡ª Neris ended up being suspended from Valkfolgen and the Dela''Marthus estate grounds for an entire year.  Admittedly, in her own immaturity, she had blamed Nathan back then for the whole ordeal and chose to block out his sunrise with her villa.


    "Please don''t turn on the waterworks," she sounded in an alarmed voice. "I can''t handle it when people cry."


    Nathan chuckled for a while, then asked, "planning on staying in Valkfolgen?"


    "For a little while," she answered honestly. "Got room for one more?"


    Nathan smiled as he led her to one of the spare bedrooms.  As she was dropping her bags Neris noticed the books he was carrying.  Nathan snapped his eyes open when he realized what had just happened.


    "Little brother," she said in a low voice. "Why do you have a bunch of magus books?"


    Nathan nervously averted his gaze. "I thought they''d be interesting to..."


    "Don''t lie to me," she interrupted. "I''m really good at reading people."


    Nathan let out a sigh of bitter resignation.


    "Wow, mom is so gonna lose her shit when she finds out!" yelled Neris.


    "Please don''t tell her!" he quickly roared.


    "Oh come on, come on, come on," Neris begged. "Can you imagine the priceless look on her face?"


    Nathan could, in fact, imagine that.  He''d been thinking of it for years now.


    "At least wait until next month," he said roguishly, for obvious reasons. "Give me some time to mentally prepare myself."


    "For a nearly six-foot guy you''re pretty timid," she complained.


    "You''re loud for a five-foot woman," he countered.


    In hindsight, that was a stupid thing to say.  Not something worth getting your foot stomped over.  Nathan didn''t bother saying that the reason he was timid is because she''s a Dela''marthus.


    As soon as Nathan dropped his books in the training hall Neris was dragging him off.  She intended to stay true to her word apparently.  Nathan wasn''t sure what to think when she started dumping shampoo and conditioner on his head.  At first he thought she was getting ready to water board him.  It was odd, smelling like an apple.


    Nathan looked up at Neris incredulously. "I forgot to mention that she may already know," Nathan mused. "My bodyguards might have said something to mom and dad about me using magic, but I doubt either will believe them."


    Neris continued to lather his hair. "You''re right," she confirmed with confidence. "Neither will believe it till they see it.  My stupid, chubby little desolate brother is actually learning magic... and he''s not chubby at all.  It''s taking a while to sink in."  Neris smirked at Nathan. "I don''t think you''re stupid either.  An idiot would''ve hit the town with your no limit cash card, not a library."


    Nathan looked away from her again, just as nervous as before.


    "Dad''s gonna lose his shit too," she snickered. "You''re the best little bro."


    "I owe you an apology.  I thought you would be haughty and pretentious... I was very wrong."


    "I think we can call it a clean slate for now."


    Nathan decided not to mention that he was the pyromaniac who burned her villa.  No need to sabotage this comfy new sibling friendship.


    "You should go change out of the Dela''marthus estate robes..." Neris started, "we stick out like a sore thumb wearing those."


    Nathan peered at his sister''s outfit.  A modest kimono, something he wasn''t sure fit her personality at all.  Then again, he had no idea what her interests are.


    After admitting that he only had the clothes on his back, Neris dragged him off.  The next hour was spent in a tailor''s shop.  She had him try on all sorts of stuff.  In the end, he walked out wearing some plain faded jeans and a tan one hundred percent cotton t-shirt.  Nathan was super comfy in the new threads ¡ª no complaints.


    The journey back to their new home was a relatively uneventful one.  At one point they had stopped to listen to a bard, the man was talented enough to catch his attention of all things.  Nathan didn''t have much of a taste for music, or rather, any of the finer arts.  He had been sheltered after all.  When they did make it back home Neris immediately dragged him off to the training hall.


    Nathan was feeling pretty nervous.  Neris had pushed him into the training hall and was intent on seeing what he could do.  So Nathan obliged.  After taking a few weak <Magic Missiles> with his <Shield> spell, then knocking her a few feet back with a <Force> spell ¡ª he stopped.


    "Those are the only two spells I know right now," he lied, not wanting her to know about the fireworks yet. "I intend read the book on increasing my mental endurance first."


    "Booooring," she drolled on in an annoyed tone. "Just let me teach you."


    Nathan slid the book away. "Alright, go for it."


    Nathan was awaiting her instruction on mental endurance, Neris was gathering her thoughts.  She was honestly shocked.  Spells were easy to learn, most people got a book and just started memorizing simple two, three, and four symbol spells.  The first thing a teacher does after you cast <Shield> is knock your confidence down a peg.


    Neris had just done the norm ¡ª fire four basic <Magic Missiles> at his spell.  Every student gets their <Shield> broken and ends up taking a hit.  However, Nathan''s spell hadn''t broken, in fact, it hadn''t even budged.  That led her to the conclusion that he had manipulated it during, or before casting.  Either way, her little brother took all of two seconds to cast the spell.  That was a bit advanced for only knowing two spells.


    What she didn''t know is that he had figured out the symbols from watching guardsmen muck around outside his tower.  When Nathan learned his <Shield> structure through trial and error, he had gotten used to doing it exactly as those guards had done.


    Because they were showing off their manipulation skills, he learned it in a very difficult manner.  It was slightly more efficient and nearly twice as durable.  The problem was that he sacrificed surface area, this left his default <Shield> structure only a couple feet wide.


    "There are a few ways to increase mental endurance," she stated proudly. "You can eat some legendary creature parts and risk it killing you.  You can go on a pilgrimage and risk a god killing you instead of granting you their boon.  Or you can do what all magus do and run personalized ambient mana through your brain."


    Nathan blinked a few times in surprise. "I take it you''re teaching me the last option?"


    "Right," she confirmed. "Minor warning though, it can also kill you."


    Nathan threw his hands up. "What!?"


    "Now, now." Neris laughed nervously. "That''s only if you surpass your limits.  You can only do so much before overloading your brain.  Once you pass that it''ll get real uncomfortable and you risk permanent damage.  Which usually just flat out kills you."


    Nathan intently listened to Neris about the dangers.  Careful this, careful that, blah blah blah.  He wasn''t worried, rather, Nathan was excited.  He had a get out of jail free card to test the limit.  Most magus wouldn''t dare get anywhere near it, but Nathan had just come back to life after eating a bullet...


    The second she said that you could get an incredible boost in mental endurance by hitting that limit, Nathan decided to go for it.


    A few minutes later Neris was shocked.  Learning the method usually take days.  Nathan only took minutes to reach out and manipulate mana, then start running it through his own body.  He still hadn''t told her that confluence was his specialty, and he had warrior meditation training under his belt.


    A few minutes later Neris was nervous and Nathan was sweating.  Most kids only go for about a minute tops on the first day, but he was pushing it.


    "That''s enough bro," she said fearfully. "No need to push your luck on day one."


    Nathan tensed up, and fell over...


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.  Nathan slowly got up.


    "Dammit," he mumbled in a self admonishing tone. "Sorry, Neris."


    Emma looked over at a scowling Nathan.  Then offered him an apple fritter.  While he was eating it Nathan cursed a few more times.  From her explanation he had been expecting pain, not just nausea.  He had obviously died, so it wasn''t actually like a huge warning.


    "Swear I''m only testing something," he said to Emma. "Don''t mind me."


    Emma got a little nervous when Nathan used <Enflame>.  After sitting there for around fifteen minutes he was feeling his limit in mental endurance.  It had almost tripled in a single training session... that killed him, unfortunately.


    After having a short conversation with Emma he decided to just get some mental endurance training out of the way.  It hadn''t hurt very much so he wasn''t afraid.  What did hurt was when he ran the personalized mana through his body, not his brain.  It had done something to his vim and made it feel like his body was on fire.  Nathan wasn''t sure if it had an actual effect on his vim, but he wasn''t willing to go through that sort of pain again.


    Nausea... dead... donuts...


    Nausea... dead... donuts...


    Nausea... dead... donuts...


    ...


    ...


    <hr />


    In a well-lit room three ethereal people watched a crystal clear pool of water.  It reflected images of Nathan.  They couldn''t stop laughing.  Airi, Chronos, and another god were all completely lost.


    "That''s one way to use the loop," she claimed in an excited voice. "He totally isn''t afraid to die that way."


    "Our little Nathan did get tortured the first time around," Chronos mused. "Then shot in the face."


    "Good point," a horned man spoke. "Best mortal ever.  Pass me the chips."


    Chronos quickly handed the ashen-skinned man a platter of fried potatoes.


    "We should stick people in time loops more often," Airi said while stealing a chip. "I wasn''t expecting him to go to Valkfolgen.  Completely blindsided me with that one."


    "We''d get in trouble for doing this," Chronos chided. "One''s the limit Airi."


    "Fast forward please." Airi had gotten tired of watching Nathan train already. "Give me some more chips Dozer."


    Chronos snapped his fingers, the pool of water shimmered.


    "Stop, stop..." the big guy, Dozer, interrupted, "he''s about done."


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.


    He had lasted nearly seven hours doing mental endurance training that time.  Considering that the first session had killed him in just a few minutes, Nathan was feeling pretty confident in his mental endurance right about now.  The next step should be getting his hands on some advanced spell structures and polishing manipulation skills.


    Emma looked at him with a smirk, then asked, "what are you smiling about?"


    "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," he claimed with a perfectly straight face. "Marry me."


    *crash*


    A few donuts rolled across the ground.  Emma blushed furiously as she tied her hair in that familiar ponytail, and cleaned the mess up.  He had obviously gotten to her that time.


    "Please don''t joke around," she said spitefully.


    "I''m honestly reflecting on it." Nathan grinned while looking at her crawl around. ¡°You missed one...¡± he pointed, ¡°over there ¡ª behind you.¡±


    Emma took a moment to crawl under her table and look for the donut he mentioned, then cursed audibly. ¡°You¡¯re staring at my rear ¡ª aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Nathan purposefully let out a content sigh for her to hear. ¡°Yup¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill you kid.¡± She looked him in the eye. ¡°One more stunt ¡ª I dare you.¡±


    He returned her glare while smiling and asked, ¡°when should we get married?¡±


    Nathan spent far longer than usual convincing Emma to release him this time.  The rest of his day was mostly trying to make things happen like they had on his first journey to Valkfolgen.  One key difference was that he caught a later train and missed Lisa.


    <hr />


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 Chapter 6: ~Alteration~

    Chapter 6: ~Alteration~


    Nathan was awoken on his second day in Valkfolgen by Neris ¡ª multiple times.  No, she was not literally there to wake him up.  Neris was snoring in an ungodly, annoying manner.  It was unbelievable how loud that little woman is.  He could hear her from all the way across the hall.  Eventually, Nathan began his day while resisting the urge to smother her.


    The first thing on his agenda changed.  Nathan had planned to do strength training, then meditate to increase his vim this morning.  Instead, he was now in the training hall reading a spell structure book.


    All of the spells had their basic symbols and order of formation.  Beside those spells there were brief descriptions of how they''re most commonly manipulated.  Like making a <Fireball> increase its blast radius or velocity.


    What Nathan had been hunting for right now was a common barrier type spell.  Not for defensive purposes, for sleeping purposes.  He needed a way to block out Neris'' unholy snoring.


    Nathan was a little troubled, all he could find was the basic <Ward> structure.  That meant he''d have to figure out the way to properly manipulate it.  <Ward> was a pretty harmless spell that didn''t do much of anything until manipulated in some way.  It basically remained stationary, last a set amount of time, and did whatever function you manipulated it to do.


    Nathan still hadn''t heard or read anything on magical theory concerning spell structure manipulation.  He''d done it himself before, but after reading about <Ward> it was clear that his knowledge had been lacking.  This was one of the most versatile spells ¡ª used in all sorts of manners ¡ª and not easily constructed.


    To Nathan''s eyes, when he first forms a spell it sort of blooms.  At that point the symbols end up surrounded with all sorts of garbled nonsense.  It''s trying to make sense of that code, and altering it properly to achieve your desired result, that''s the problem.  It had taken him two years of messing around with <Enflame> to get what he wanted.  Plus another year to make a chantless activation method for both of his arms, or full body.


    Doing that alone had greatly increased Nathan''s understanding of the subject on a raw level, but his self study method would take years at this rate.  So Nathan began to read his book on advanced manipulation.


    <hr />


    Just like that, five days and four rough nights filled with the snoring of a behemoth passed.


    So it wasn''t garbled nonsense he had been seeing.  The book had thoroughly explained what each and every little line or stroke really meant.  Knowing what all of it means, and how it works together ¡ª not the same thing.


    What had also interested him was a large chapter on a concept called programming.  It was supposed to be the most difficult thing to do as a magus.  Nathan laughed when he first read the description: "To familiarize oneself with the specific casting method of a spell, thus making it chantless."  He had already programmed <Enflame> two separate ways.


    At this point Neris was killing him with the relentless begging.  She was far more enthusiastic about making up for lost time than he was.  By now Nathan''s scraggly black hair had become silky smooth, just like hers.  Two or three times a day he''d have to follow her somewhere ¡ª usually to watch fights in the arena.  Neris kept track of all the scheduled duels between students.


    Nathan did actually enjoy watching magus duels, drawing concepts from other people''s blood, sweat, and tears.  Aside from that, she was killing him.


    One particular duel really caught his interest.  A rather bulky magus had overpowered four other students.  It was simple and effective.  The only spell that bulky guy seemed to cast was <Shield>.


    Five shields surrounded him blocking every spell that was thrown in his direction.  The opponents were admittedly idiotic in their method of attack.  When someone has no trouble blocking your barrage of spells you''d normally try something with a little more versatility.


    Once in a while he''d extend his hand and a shield would fly forward at high speeds, usually causing someone to get knocked off the raised platform and disqualified.  It was an inspiring spectacle that reinforced a common belief among magus.  True power was to be found in manipulation and mental endurance.


    Somehow, Neris had managed to score a date with that bulky upperclassman.  It probably shouldn''t have surprised Nathan.  She was two years the his senior, and a Dela''marthus.  Not someone you want to outright reject.  Anyways, Nathan was thankful to have her out of his hair ¡ª literally.


    Later that night Nathan was still reading his manipulation book when someone started knocking on his front door.  After poking a burning log twice, he moved to answer it.  Standing there was that impressive fellow with the <Shield> spell variations.  In his arms was an unconscious Neris.


    "What happened?" Nathan asked while peering at his unconscious sister.  The bashful look of bliss on her stupid face warmed his heart.


    "She tried to out-drink seven people in a row," he claimed in a respectful tone. "May I come in?"


    "Follow me," Nathan said politely while leading him through the foyer.


    Nathan was a little amused with how careful the guy was.  After he had laid her on the bed and tucked her in, this broad giant looked at Nathan seriously.


    "You can''t sleep till she wakes up," he said in a commanding voice that would allow no disobedience. "If she hurls in her sleep your sister might drown.  Keep her propped up on one side for now."


    Nathan wasn''t very happy to be in this position... then again, this person does know something he''d love to learn.


    "I''m pretty worn out ¡ª I''ve been doing physical training," he lied through his teeth. "Any chance you could hang around? Just in case."


    The guy took a moment to consider Nathan''s proposal before answering, "I''m the one who let her get drunk.  So I should also take responsibility and watch over her until she regains awareness.  I shall remain vigil until she awakens, please be at ease."


    "Got a name?"


    "Lucas," he said, bursting with confidence.


    With the introductions out of their way they were fast friends.  Lucas had a sort of gentle giant atmosphere going on.  His facial expression rarely changed, and it was usually just a faint smile.  Nathan was a little sorry for the guy, he knew that Neris was gonna have a ball cleaning Lucas'' wavy maroon colored hair up.


    Eventually he managed to steer their conversation into the direction of manipulation.  Lucas confirmed that it had been his primary focus of study, rather, he''d only been thoroughly exploring it with two spells ¡ª <Force> and <Shield>.  There was a reason these were the two spells Nathan had seen his tower guards use.  The spells worked well in tandem with one another.


    Lucas quickly explained that he hadn''t been moving the shields through manipulation.  He''d been using a force program to move them about.  That line immediately caught Nathan''s attention.


    Before daylight broke his sister woke up.  She was in a pretty poor mood until Lucas demonstrated some restorative healing category spell.  One cured hangover was all it took for her to happily go about the early morning.


    At that point Nathan apologized to Lucas for Neris'' behavior and offered him a spare room.  Lucas took him up on the offer, and collapsed on the spot.  Nathan had not been expecting that... the giant had been holding on by a thread apparently.


    Ten painful minutes later he had managed to drag the guy into his sister''s bed.  Despite his best intentions, that was probably a mistake.  Living in confinement for so long tends to leave you lacking in certain aspects of common sense.  Nathan was also tired and looking forward to crashing in his master bedroom.


    A few hours later the sun was glaring.  Neris was waking him up, this time for real... and she was pissed.


    "What?" he asked lazily.


    "That was mean little bro," the tone of her voice suggested annoyance.


    "What was mean?"


    "You put Lucas in my bed..." she started, "and I took that as an open invitation..."


    "...oops."


    Neris was a bit peeved with Nathan at the moment.  He was having a hard time ignoring the death glare.  From the way she smelled like a dozen fresh flowers Nathan was sure she''d just made an honest attempt at his new friend Lucas.


    "Well, at least you got the misunderstanding cleared up," said Nathan.


    "I got deliriously drunk," she countered. "Then came onto him while he was sleeping.  He thinks I''m a harlot."


    *pft-hahahahaha*


    Neris smothered Nathan with a pillow for a minute before stomping out of the room.  For a second there he thought she really was trying to kill him.  Dying a few times had made him a bit rash with his conclusions about people''s actions and motives.


    In the end, it wasn''t a big deal.  Lucas showed up a few hours later and apologized for passing out this morning.  Nathan was a little surprised that he''d still come back.  The older student had agreed to show Nathan his <Shield> and <Force> spell structures a few times after all.


    That was actually a huge deal.  Custom programs like his were usually something magus like to keep private, especially when it''s an effective one.


    Unfortunately, Nathan''s training session with Lucas was quickly interrupted.  Less than an hour in he had seen most of what Lucas wanted to show him ¡ª a few times over.  Once Neris got home she saw the big lug''s shoes and thought he''d come to reconcile with her.  So she happily pranced around the house before finally finding them in the training room.  After ¡ª to Nathan''s dismay ¡ª Lucas explained that he had come over to see Nathan...


    Neris stomped off again, but not before leaving a few surprisingly vulgar words hanging about.  Nathan''s ears were still burning from the upset little woman''s words when Lucas started talking again.


    "I think I''m in love," he claimed honestly.


    Nathan looked at the blue eyed giant in absolute shock. "What!?" he shouted.


    "I''ve never seen someone so..." Lucas mused while rubbing his chiseled nose, "alive."


    "Have fun with that..." Nathan spoke listlessly.


    It took Lucas all of half a second to walk out the door.  At least Nathan had gotten what he wanted for the most part.  Multiple variations for his <Force> and <Shield> spells to experiment with.  Hopefully it would help him better understand manipulation on a broader scale.


    Over the next few days Nathan continued to ignore his warrior training and focused on manipulation.  By now he could manage setting up multiple variations of shield and force spells.  He didn''t really have any standard to compare to, so Nathan didn''t realize how absurd his progress was.


    At some point he got the bright idea to use Lucas'' wide area, low power force spell with a large shield.  No, he wasn''t using it the way Lucas told him to.  He was standing on the shield, and trying to make it float.  Half a second after activating his force spell Nathan was on the ground, unconscious.  The thing had quickly tilted and flown out from under him causing Nathan to do a somersault.  Thankfully, his head broke the fall...


    Nathan woke up in his bed, once again Neris was rudely poking him.  It was already the 15th by now.


    "You okay little bro?"


    "I''m fine." Nathan looked up at them. "Hey Lucas."


    Lucas explained that he had hit his head pretty bad.  In the end, it was all healed up by one of the teachers.  They didn''t seem happy about wasting their time on Nathan.


    Neris held up her hand happily and shouted, "I''m getting married!"


    Nathan was very confused as he stared at an intricate wooden band. "Bit fast, don''t you think?"


    Neris pointed at Lucas. "Tell that to him."


    Lucas shrugged in a completely unconcerned manner. "I''m in love."


    Nathan had no idea what led him to that conclusion, but didn''t bother arguing the point.  Who was he to get in the way of a terrible disaster waiting to happen ¡ª not that all of this would matter in a few days anyway... but he was curious.


    After pressing the issue further Nathan found out that Neris accepted the proposal quickly because of their mother.  The woman had been trying to marry Neris off for the past two years now.  Lucas didn''t seem to mind that at all.


    "We''re gonna tell mom." Neris looked at Nathan timidly and asked in a pleading voice, "want to come along?"


    Nathan''s gut reaction was to yell hell no, but he suppressed it.  He knew that Neris just wanted him there to divert some of their mother''s attention.


    "We have to schedule a meeting right?"


    "Yes!" Neris laughed happily while giving him a hug. "Even we have to schedule a meeting."


    "How about noon, Velanis 17th?" he asked.


    "That should be fine..." Neris tilted her head and raised a curious eyebrow, "why?"


    Nathan looked at Lucas meaningfully. "I heard that three assassins are probably about to kill mom at that time.  May as well try to stop them while we give her the good news."


    Both of their jaws hit the floor ¡ª speechless.  Neris took it as a joke and walked off to go get some grub.  Lucas lingered for a while longer.


    "Seriously?"


    "Serious," Nathan confirmed. "Keep your wits about you.  If I say something out of place, don''t ignore me."


    Lucas nodded in affirmation and left the master bedroom.  Nathan passed back out, he still had a splitting headache.


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


    <hr />


    Every staircase they ascended together made his heart beat faster.  Nathan was sweating by now ¡ªafraid of how poorly this could go.


    Lucas and Neris were in corresponding outfits, no doubt she''d been the one who picked them out.  It was odd seeing the ginger giant in a yukata.  Neither seemed nervous at all, then again, he wasn''t sure Lucas could visually express that emotion.


    Just like that they waltzed up to a large chamber on the eleventh level of sun trower.  It was hollowed out and cordoned off with some glyphs.  The area in front of them had a few sofas and coffee tables ¡ª obviously meant to entertain guests.  Off in the distance Nathan could see an ornate desk... and there she was ¡ª unmistakable.


    Alluring emerald eyes, silky black hair tied in a bun, narrow brows, and a tall curvaceous frame.  It was hard to believe that she''s in her forties already, Lucretia Dela''marthus, a stunning beauty.  Although, Nathan had to suppress a laugh when he saw the rings she was wearing.  He''d worn one long enough to know what an illusory glyph ring looks and feels like.


    "Why are you here, Neris?" asked Lucretia, impatiently.  From the papers she''d just thrown down it was obvious they''d caught her at a busy time.


    Neris didn''t hesitate to hold her left hand skyward.  Mother immediately spotted the magus wedding band and charged over.  After glancing at Lucas and Nathan she made her decision.  Lucretia waltzed up to Nathan and took his hands in hers ¡ª at this point Nathan was still pretty angry with her over the whole excommunication thing.


    "I like him," she said confidently.  Obviously happy with her daughter''s choice.


    All three of her visitors were stunned.  The color drained from Lucas'' face, he couldn''t believe the woman hadn''t recognized her own son.  Much less, mistaken him for her daughter''s fiance.  Neris was at a loss for words.


    Nathan on the other hand... used <Enflame>.  Lucretia yelped and jumped back, favoring the hands he''d just singed.  Nathan was hurt deeply that she hadn''t recognized him.  That is, until he remembered that he looked a lot thinner than before.


    "Mom..." Neris grinned impishly. "That''s Nathaniel."


    Lucretia snapped her head towards Lucas and shouted, "he''s a ginger! You can''t marry him!"


    Lucas was out of commission at this point.  Neris was snickering as Lucretia looked down at her hands.  The expression on her face twisted, then she looked back at Nathan.  The moment she''d realized her son just used magic, a programed spell at that ¡ª this was something Nathan would never forget.


    However, all good things must come to an end.  They were so fast that by the time he noticed, it was too late.  Three people falling through solid floors of the building at high speed.  They were at least four levels up when Nathan realized it, but before he could even speak one had a blade driven through Lucretia''s back.  The look on her face at that moment was another one he would never forget ¡ª as much as he''d like to, some things can''t be unseen.


    It was worse than that though, Neris was dead too ¡ª a blade was running across her throat.  Lucas had repelled the one that came at him.  In a furious howl all three assassins were hit with his shields and flying towards a wall.  Nathan had thought they''d get smashed, he''d forgotten how those men got here in the first place.  A split second passed and they were gone, right through the damn walls.


    Nathan was crying again, clinging onto Neris.  He''d just gotten his sister killed, even if this wasn''t permanent getting her killed still felt horrible.  Watching her die was so damn painful.  Hating your family, finding one you actually like... then getting her killed.  It honestly sucked.


    Lucas had lost it ¡ª he was gone.  Just gone.  A blank, listless expression of disbelief was on his face.


    <hr />


    Two days later, on the 19th, Nathan was sitting in his home.  He''d tried to get Lucas to speak, but the guy was unresponsive.  They had him in an infirmary now.


    This house suddenly felt a lot less like home without Neris.  He was still perplexed about the whole ordeal.  Nathan had expected something like normal human assassins, not demonkin assassins who have the ability to phase through solid matter.  They were gonna be a bitch to deal with, one way or another.  He hadn''t even been able to tell what race they were.


    The big day was tomorrow, so Nathan was getting ready.  He''d already packed a nice supply of food, a sleeping bag, and some water.


    <hr />


    Velanis 20th, Nathan was sitting alone on a terrace.  He''d chosen the fifth floor of star trower as his vantage point.  After waiting for nearly three hours it began ¡ª in a  terrible way.


    A shadow flashed over Valkfolgen so quickly that he had almost missed it.  Seconds later a dragon the size of four buildings descended.  Its jagged white scales glowed ominously as flames and molten lava spewed across multiple streets.  The dying screams of countless people rang out through Valkfolgen.


    While the mighty beast was assaulting citizens ¡ª another threat emerged.  A group of people he recognized, the magus-warrior hybrids that had been a part of Gureld''s downfall.  There were many more of them than he remembered though.  A thousand men strong group at least, he hoped that they weren''t all hybrid combatants.


    The fact that they ran towards Valkfolgen with no formation in particular was probably out of confidence.  Magus were so distracted with the dragon that nobody noticed the threat closing in from their flank.  Just as the Valkfolgen magus began to take notice, nearly every one of the invaders simultaneously stopped.


    Before engaging in direct combat there was a near simultaneous volley of low level spells.  The invaders had timed their attack well, even beginner spells like a properly programmed <Magic Missile> could be lethal to an unaware opponent.  Nathan couldn''t help but curse audibly as he watched nearly half of the remaining Valkfolgen magus go down in seconds.


    The pattern didn''t stop, Nathan watched for an entire day... and it was over.  Valkfolgen in cinders, a dragon wreaking havoc on the sun trower, and men making their way up his own star trower.  He was actually thankful that there hadn''t been any more enemy forces.  Just a thousand men plus one dragon.  A few of the Valkfolgen magus had done some rather impressive things, but, in the end, they all died far too quickly for his liking.


    Nathan got up and stretched a bit, then took up position.  He had seen that the invading force wasn''t killing them anymore, people were being dragged off.  Nathan had no desire to be captured and tortured or something again, so he decided to just end it this time around.  With arms wide open he closed his eyes and fell forward off the terrace.  Nathan took a deep breath as cold winter air rushed by...


    *Splat!*


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.


    Nathan smiled fondly at Emma while he got out of bed.  He was trying to ignore something festering in his heart, something he knew no real hero would ever have.


    "Good morning," she said, returning his smile. "Donut?"


    "I''m not really hungry right now," he politely refused. "None the less, thank you."


    Emma tied her hair up in that ponytail that he so loved to see.  Nathan continued to watch her.


    "What?"


    "You''re Emma Kristof, correct?"


    "...I am," she said in a low voice.


    "I''m training to be a warrior and would like your opinion on something," he claimed politely. "If it''s not too much trouble."


    Nathan took off that annoying cosmetic ring and put it in his linen trousers. He then dropped his robe and asked, "I''d like you to assess my level of vim."


    Emma immediately knew what he wanted and placed a hand on his chest.  It took her quite a while longer than Mistress to examine him.  After all was said and done she pretty much told Nathan the same thing that Mistress did.


    Nathan was trying to resolve himself again.  He''d just watched magus-warrior hybrids tear through scores of Valkfolgen magus.  Sure the men were likely battle hardened warriors fighting peaceful magus, but it still left a distinct impression.


    Interrupting a chant with some sort of ground shaking foot technique then casting their own spells.  Even repeated magus bombardment didn''t help sometimes, those men and women had been capable of charging through magefire with their bodies coated in a pale aura ¡ª no doubt another technique.


    When Nathan had been increasing mental endurance he hurt himself by mistake a few times.  As personalized ambient mana was run through his body, instead of his head, it had interacted with his vim ¡ª painfully so.  Ever since he''d first unlocked the warrior internal energy, vim, he had been keenly aware of it.  So Nathan was sure what it was that caused the mind-numbing pain.


    With his mind made up Nathan sat cross-legged on the cold floor.  Within seconds he had enough ambient mana and was running it through.  Less than a minute later the veins on his entire body were bulging and he was choking back a scream.  As soon as Emma realized what he was doing ¡ª she swung the gate open and clubbed him.


    <hr />


    Nathan could smell something delicious.  His eyes opened to find a hearty full course breakfast and Emma.  With a single touch it was apparent that his head was bandaged ¡ª she''d really nailed him good.


    "What was that for?" he asked sarcastically.


    "Were you trying to kill yourself?" she rebuked.


    Nathan looked away nervously. "I was doing an experiment."


    "I don''t know what that was," she spoke with a soft, concerned tone. "But it was killing you.  Don''t do it again."


    Nathan sighed awkwardly and allowed Emma to spoil him.  He was more than happy to let her feed him by hand.  It probably would''ve gone on a little longer if he didn''t ask for water ¡ª mouth to mouth.


    After a few hours she reluctantly let him leave, he''d used the late for school enrollment excuse again.  It only took Nathan five minutes to find a secluded alley.  Seconds later agonizing screams could be heard...


    <hr />


    The scent of freshly baked donuts roused Nathan from his slumber.  Outside ¡ª past some iron bars ¡ª one rather attractive woman in form-fitting clothes handled a steaming box.


    Nathan was honestly shocked, that was frikin'' painful.  Beyond anything he had imagined.  You''d think dying is bad, but having your body feel like it''s on fire is worse than being shot in the face or falling from a really tall tree.


    "Something wrong?" Emma asked.


    Nathan wiped the tortured look off his face. "Not really, I''d like to ask a favor though."


    "What?" she said skeptically.


    Nathan disrobed ¡ª Emma screamed.  It would seem this was not the proper order to go about his request.


    Nathan quickly took off the cosmetic ring and dropped it in his pocket.  A metallic clink could be heard, his eyes went wide at the sound.  Nathan quickly placed his searching fingers into the pocket and pulled out two identical cosmetic rings.  This was definitely something he wouldn¡¯t soon forget.


    Because of his exhibitionism Nathan spent a good hour after that talking an on guard woman into testing his vim for him.  He wasn''t sure how they did it, otherwise he''d test it himself.


    "You''ve got a pretty low level," she said in a calm voice. "I doubt you''ll ever be able to use decent techniques.  Maybe by the time your fifty, but I wouldn''t pursue the path of a warrior if I was you."


    Nathan felt like something was off, but chose to ignore it.  It would seem what he''d done was painful for a reason.  Painful and useless. "That''s what I thought," he said dejectedly. "What''s wrong?"


    Emma was frowning at this point. "Why did you take your clothes off?"


    "So you could test my vim, of course."


    "You can do that through clothing," she explained skeptically. "I don''t need to be touching your bare chest.  To be honest, it''s a little uncomfortable."


    Nathan cursed at Mistress for the first time, that old fox!


    Emma spoke up again at that point. "Something''s seriously off with your vim though, I''ve never felt anything quite like it..."


    That made Nathan more than a little worried.  "Should I be concerned?"


    "I have no clue," she spoke with confidence. "Better find someone who does..."  Emma paused for a moment and considered Nathan''s predicament. "I might know some people who can tell you what this is, they live in Gureld."


    Nathan let that sink in for a while.  Feeling like an idiot was the least of his worries now.  He''d done something possibly irreversible to himself.  The only comfort was that he had poor aptitude as a warrior anyway.


    <hr />


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    <hr />


    My power has been cutting on and off for some reason.  I know it''s pissing off the people watching playoffs.  Anyways, I would''ve posted this yesterday if it wasn''t for the power problems, sorry peoples.  ><;