Chapter 17

Becoming A Magus

We walk under the morning light, moving through the busy streets swiftly like a shadow. Too swiftly, perhaps, as I have to lope at his side if I don’t want to get left behind. He doesn’t seem worried about it, though.

“...This way,”

I heard his voice through the crowd. Luckily, people tend to avoid us, so bumping into another person is not a likely occurrence. I’m guessing it has something to do with how we’re dressed; two hooded figures in the morning rays do seem a bit sketchy, especially when one of them has a magic staff in hand.

After a bit of a walk, we arrive at an even more crowded area, with adjoining buildings of at least two-stories high chained at every side of the road. One of them is our destination; a building with a large plate above the entrance saying “Far...something, ass... associ..”? Some kind of governmental association, I think. Is this the place?

We enter the building and I take a breath of relief when I note that it’s far less cramped inside.

“May I help you?”

a woman in a dark uniform asked us.

“...Appraisal. Her,”

Sallis answered as he nodded at me. After that, the woman says something to another person behind the reception window. We wait for a bit before the woman comes back after going through some files.

“We have a room available at twelve o’clock. Would you like to wait?”

“No, private test.”

“Right, then I will need your magus credentials...”

After rummaging through the folds of his robe, Sallis hands her a status card and the woman gives it a quick glance.

“Fifth-sphere... Eh? Zef?!”

“...Are you done?”

“Ah, yes! Right this way, please,”

the woman replied, quickly switching back to her business persona, though some people have already stopped and looked at our way after her sudden outburst. She also made some kind of weird eye contact with the guy behind the window, probably asking him to inform someone about us.

The woman leads us up to the second floor and then further into a rather quiet hallway. Antique wooden doors are lined up on one side, basking in the sunlight coming in from the opposite windows. We enter one of the rooms and the inside is... surprisingly bland. There’s nothing in the square room except for a single pedestal in the middle and the object on top of it. Some kind of glass sphere?

“Then I will leave you to it. If you need anything, please use the switch on the side of the door and someone will come to assist you.”

The woman leaves rather hurriedly after that. As soon as the door is closed, all sound from outside is cut off and the room falls into complete silence. Is this a soundproof room? I can’t see any vent or the kind. Judging by the size of the room and the distance between the doors back in the hall, the walls are rather thick as well.

While I’m still figuring out what to do, Sallis nudges me on towards the pedestal. I just stand there, looking at my reflection on the glass, not knowing what to do.

Uh...

I look at him to show my cluelessness.

“Card. Insert it to the slot.”

Sallis points at a little opening on the pedestal. I take out my card and put it into the slot, finding a perfect fit.

“Mana. Pour inside.”

Pour mana into the glass orb. Right, then.

I take a deep breath as I close my eyes, letting my consciousness slip away from the plane. Soon enough, I am able to feel the mana around me. I reach out to them with my mind, letting them flow into me so that I can have a better control. I sense them swirling around my body, going around the arms and towards my hand as I raise it at the glass orb. The mana flows over from my fingers and the orb seems to suck it in.

“...Good control,”

I heard Sallis commenting behind me. After only a few moments, the glass ball’s appearance seems to change as now I can no longer see my own reflection. There’s a humming sound coming from it, like it’s vibrating, somehow. The vibrations are becoming stronger by the second, moving along the length of the pedestal down into the floor, spreading across the room. I can feel heat coming out from the object, quickly spreading as it raises the room’s temperature.

The formerly quiet room is now filled with a resonant, rumbling noise as it vibrates along with the glass. Then, suddenly, the heat from the ball abruptly intensifies and I pull my hand away, just as a crack appears with a loud ring.

“Get back.”

I feel a hand pulling me back, the same time as the sphere shatters explosively with a loud bang, large pieces of it now laying on the floor around the pedestal.

...Uh-oh.

I look at Sallis’ face, and plastered on his face is an annoying, knowing smile, as if he knew that was going to happen. Without saying anything, he presses the switch on the side of the door and a few moments later, the door swings open and a man steps in.

“Is there anything you need help with?”

Sallis just stays quiet, letting the man look inside the room and decide for himself.

“Oh, uh... I’ll get a three-five tester for you. Please wait for a moment.”

We did so, after which the man comes back with a new glass orb that’s nearly twice as big, around as large as my head. He ignores the pieces of glass lying on the floor as he approaches the pedestal, brushing some fragments off before placing the new orb and leaves the room.

I do the same thing as earlier, though this time, the heat and vibration build up is comparably slower than before.

It’s only after a few minutes later that cracks starts appearing on its surface. I’m ready this time, though, taking a few steps back as the orb detonates violently, more so than before. I look at Sallis again, expecting to find him smiling yet again. Instead, his face is frozen, his lips shut tight while his eyes are wide open, switching their targets between me and the shattered orb.

With a staggered movement, he flips the switch again and the man enters almost immediately. His face makes the same expression Sallis made a moment ago as he stands there for a couple of seconds, before a tap of Sallis’ staff on the floor snaps him awake.

“...I’ll be right back,”

he said as he rushes out the door. Meanwhile, I let out a stressful sigh.

How many times will this happen? I mean, I’m glad we don’t have to pay for the broken orbs, but I don’t particularly enjoy the time I wait alone with this guy.

Another awkward moment of waiting in silence before a different, older man with a different uniform finally comes back with a new orb in hand. This time, it’s much smaller, even smaller than the first one. It also seems to be made up of a different material, with a pitch black surface rather than the glass-like. He carefully places the orb on the pedestal and I try the process again, but am stopped by Sallis before that. Then I realize that the man is still in the room, watching my movements curiously. Me and Sallis both just stare at him.

“Oh, right... I’ll be outside if you... something,”

he said before leaving us alone, closing the door behind him.

Then I continue on to repeat the process. The build up this time is drawn out, the heat intensifying gradiently, with no noticeable changes after fifteen minutes or so. Then I hear a click from the pedestal, and I turn to look at the source.

Faster than I can react, something flies out towards my face.

Wah! *thud*

What the heck was that?!

Sprawled on the floor, I hold my forehead in pain. I look at the object, which turns out to be my card. Instead of the usual dark colour, it’s now a glowing bright red, as if it was just heating up in a furnace. There’s smoke coming out of it too...

...I guess I’m not touching it for awhile.

...Huh?

Oi, what are you...

I look at Sallis dumbfounded as he picks up the card with his bare hands, looks at it for a bit, then hands it over to me.

“Here.”

...You’re kidding, right.

Nope. Not touching that.

“Heat insulation. You did it, in the Dread.”

Still not touching it. I might be able to do the same thing, but... nope. Maybe later when the risk is a little less than extreme blisters on the skin.

“Heat transfer,”

Sallis said as he makes small waving movements with his hands. Following that, I can see the air around the card distorting as the heat flows out, bit by bit. I follow the heat waves with my eyes and notice it being absorbed by something on Sallis’ chest. A... gem of some sort. A dark coloured gem he’s wearing as a necklet. I notice it glowing slightly as the heat wave is absorbed, and now the colour is slightly brighter than before. Sallis notices my stare and comments on it,

“mana stone. Will teach you about it later.”

I observe as the red of the status card slowly disappears, revealing the characters written on it.

⌠n□□□Δ□⌡ ┤Vim Rate├

│7│ │63%│

Σ⌠Δ□∞⌡ ┤Pull Rate├

│79│/

Name

Fay

Species

Human

Gender

Female

Age

17 years old

Titles

Indelible Survivor

Mana Affinity

High –

Mana Pool

│79│

“....Intriguing.”

What part?

“We’re done here.”

With that, Sallis turns and goes out the room, only to have the man from earlier standing in the doorway. Setting his sight on us, a big smile forms on his face as he greets us,

“greetings, Magus Sallis. I apologize for not having introduced myself earlier. My name is‒”

“Busy. Can’t talk.”

Without as much as a glance, he nips on over towards the staircase. I quickly scuttle over to his side when the unintroduced man speaks out,

“Wait! I’m the head of the Fallake Association! If you would just spare a minute‒”

“No time. Got an apprentice to teach.”

The man then darts to block our way again, the smile on his face even more forced than before.

“Now, now... we just need a few information for administration. I just thought that it’s unusual for Zef magi to use testers other than their own. I’m also eager to be acquainted with this apprentice of yours. What was the result? Just for the sake of curiosity...”

Sallis reacts by narrowing his eyes while sighing in an annoyed manner.

“We all know what killed the cat,”

he said as he sidesteps the man and continues downstairs. Behind us, I can hear the man saying in an indignant voice,

“What arrogance! Just because you’re a fifth-sphere from Zef, doesn’t mean you can just ignore us!”

Even as we walk way, the man follows us while spouting angry remarks, making everyone we come across to turn their heads, whispering on what it is about.

“Sir! You haven’t paid for the tests,”

a woman said, just as we’re about to go out the building. Sallis sighs in annoyance as he turns around to face both her and the loud man.

“How much?”

“The tests are twelve, twenty, and fifty-five treslings for each of the levels. Also, we oblige you to pay for the broken testers, which are five and fifteen regils each. The sum is... twenty-four regils and seven treslings.”

So we have to pay for the broken stuff, after all...

Beside me, Sallis rummages the hidden pockets inside his robe, taking his time with it while everyone in the room just watches us quietly. Without taking out anything, he then looks at me and says,

“...Do you have any money?”

...What?

The angry man now has a sneer on his face.

“Someone call the city watch.”

--- --- ---

“A magus of Zef, is it...”

the officer said as he sits on the chair opposite of us, his narrow eyes watching every detail on our persons. I instinctively drew the tip of my hood lower, which drew a scornful click of his tongue. The man himself is wearing what I presume to be a city watch uniform, probably a senior officer’s, judging from the pistol at his hip.

“Now then,”

he said as he puts his helmet down on the table, revealing his perfectly bald head before he continues,

“why in the world would you refuse to pay?”

“...No money.”

“I’m no vazey, wise-nose. You magi always have a stash or treasure you can sell, especially those of the Zef. Elaborate for me how you came to have ‘no money’.”

Sallis takes a deep breath whilst answering his opponent’s glare.

“Coin purse. Forgot.”

“So your forgot your money. That’s different than no money, you git.”

The man sighs in vexation as he lays his back on the chair, still watching us curiously. I don’t really understand the exchange, but the bottom line is that he forgot to take his coins with him.

Sallis had sent word to the guild earlier, so this problem will solve itself in time. Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait in this dark interrogation room, just staring at each other. However, his stare feels like it’s becoming more and more curious at us. At me, to be exact.

“You there. Why are you hiding your face?”

Umm...

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”

“She can’t speak.”

“Oh? Why, too scared? Hah. Don’t worry, kid. I don’t bite, not unless you murdered someone in this city.”

Huh...

“So you’re a girl. Rats, can’t even tell with that blasted hood. Why hide your face? Fishy, if you ask me...”

Well, that’s...

“Come on, now. It’s impolite to hide your face when you’re being interrogated.”

Seeing me not doing as he said, he stands up and heads over to me.

Ah, crap... I’ll make more trouble if I resist, and Sallis is saying nothing to help me. Call me paranoid, but the more people see me, the more likely the church will find me.

With a flip of his hand, he pulls my hood off, revealing my face to him. Then he just stands there, his eyes locked to me with his lips slightly parted. His eyes seems unfocused, and from all that, I know that it’s his first time seeing an albi‒ a faean like me. A few awkward seconds with his gaze on me before Sallis snaps his fingers and the officer blinks awake from his daze.

“Oh, uhm... *cough* err, right.”

We continue to wait in silence, all the while the officer keeps stealing glances at me. Everytime I try to pull my hood on, he would glare at me threateningly, so I decide not to.

A few moments later, the door opens and a hairy giant walks in.

“Morning, officer. I came here for them.”

--- --- ---

By the time we got back to the guild, the sky is dyed orange and the hectic period is over. I guess I won’t be starting magic training today, all because a certain person forgot his coin purse.

“Hahah! For a renowned magus, you don’t act your part! Oh, and by the way, twenty regils is a bloody lot for one teensy test. What happened there?”

Instead of answering him directly, Sallis just looks at me.

“You can ask her.”

“Huh?”

Making sense of what he meant, I think about it for a second. The way Sallis acted back then was as if my results are better left with not many people knowing. Then again, chief also knows about my matter with the demon, so it’s okay if it’s him, I guess.

Thinking like that, I show the chief my card. Upon reading it, his jaw drops for a second, before he bursts into his trademark laughter.

“Hahahah! I’ve seen a lot of things in, but this little one doesn’t seem to run out of surprises, doesn't she!”

“..We’ll start tomorrow,”

Sallis said without even looking at me, walking away into the building.

I wonder... if I compare my stats to his, I should be able to know what they were being excited about.

Nexy, identify.

⌠n□□□Δ□⌡ ┤Vim Rate├ │21│ │88%│ Σ⌠Δ□∞⌡ ┤Pull Rate├ │70│/131 Name Sallis Tearfether Appellations Firemonger Species Human Age 28 Name Sallis Tearfether Titles Firemonger Species Human Age 28 Gender Male Mana Affinity High – Fire, Low - Light Mana Pool │70│ Skills Magus – [Pyromancer │5│, Photomancer │3│] Affiliations Zest-Flamel Society of Magic

Oh... there’s some new stuff too. Did it not appear on the girls’ cards because they were no data yet? Anyway, let’s compare it to my status card.

⌠n□□□Δ□⌡ ┤Vim Rate├

│7│ │63%│

Σ⌠Δ□∞⌡ ┤Pull Rate├

│79│/

Name

Fay

Species

Human

Gender

Female

Age

17 years old

Titles

Indelible Survivor

Mana Affinity

High –

Mana Pool

│79│

I think I’ll just leave it at that for now. I’m pretty worn out from all the waiting I did today.Right, so... I seem to have a slightly higher pull rate than him. There’s also my affinity, which just says “High”. Well, that’s confusing. I’m supposing it should include what element it’s referring to, but it’s just blank. Oh, and now that I look at it again, the number after my pull rate is also missing. I wonder why?

.....

..........

I decide to take a little walk around the guild. As I went, drifters would greet me as they all seem to know who I am—Fay, one of the four girls that stayed. Fortunately, no one’s been curious enough to want to take a look at my face. Even if they are, I feel like there’s some kind of misunderstanding that prevents them from asking.

A series of shoutings pulls me away from my pondering, telling me that I’m nearing the training fields. Yep, you read that right. Training fields. It was something I came across yesterday when they gave us the tour. There are two fields within the compound. One is used as a shooting range, while the other is for physical training and sparring.

Other than that there’s the large communal baths, one for each sex, and then the numerous rooms on the third and fourth floors. The second floor is mainly used for offices, while the first floor are for reception, infirmary, and guest lounges, as well as where the drifters take their missions.

Anyway, enough about that. As I walk on the corridors surrounding the fields, I observe the people there training with their weapons. Most seem to use rapiers, but there’s also some that use things like halberds and lances.

Kaelyn’s there too, her hair messy and her shirt drenched in sweat, somehow adding to her charm. She wields a single-handed spear, holding it under her arm as she slowly moves sideways against her large opponent. While her steps are clumsy, I can also see that she’s somewhat trained at using staves.

Within a single breath, she spins the spear in front of her, switching to both arms and then bringing it down from over her head. Hork, on the sharp end of the spear, simply catches it with the hilt of his sword and flings it back at her.

“Kyah!”

a scream came as she falls on her hind. Okay... maybe not as trained as I thought.

“Hahaha! That’s some fancy moves, kiddo, but that won’t help you. You ought to stop spinning your shaft so much. You’ll be spearing beasts, not people!”

“Ugh...”

She lay there on the ground for a while, taking her time getting back up. I saw her training this morning, so she must’ve been at it for the whole day and is probably dead tired by now. I can see her legs wobbling as she gets up, using the spear to support herself. At that moment, our eyes meets and her expression perks up. With a bright grin on her face, she jumps up and down while waving at me, seemingly forgetting her exhaustion. That is, until a fist comes down on her head.

“What are you grinning at, twitty girl! Oh, and you’re not allowed to have dinner until you’ve fixed your footwork.”

“Eeeh!?”

While watching them, I feel another pair of eyes on me. I look at the source and see Aira sitting on a bench inside the corridor. As soon as I look at her, she draws her eyes away, back to the redhead in the field. Finding that odd, I approach her to sit beside her.

“Miss Fay...”

she greeted me as I sit beside her.

Is everything alright?

I ask her that because she seems rather out of it, like she’s a little depressed somehow.

“I heard... that the magus is going to train you. Oh, and... I’ve been doing well. Everyone’s so kind to me, and they don’t seem to mind me being a non-human. Yeah... I’ll be alri—“

She choked on her last words and as she did, something in her eyes tells me that she’s troubled by something.

“Actually... t‒there’s something, I... I want to t....”

Her grip tightens on her thighs as she bit her lip, her gaze low and refusing to meet mine.

“...Sorry, it’s... it’s nothing...”

Doesn’t seem like it’s nothing.

“...They say we were saved because it was part of their social responsibilities, but... do you think it’s possible? To help other people without ulterior means?”

She finally looks at me in the eye this time. Her expression tells me that she’s asking this seriously, which makes me think about it for a while. Within my short experience of seventeen months, whether or not it’s possible to help others without strings attached...

To that question, I’m going to have to say... no. there’s no such person capable of such virtue, simply because it’s not within our nature. Yeah, you call me pessimistic or whatever, but I’m simply saying that from experience because no one I’ve ever met... not even them had such magnanimity.

...No,

I answered her. She somehow seems to understand, oddly smiling at my answer to that. Perhaps she’s just tired from adapting to this new environment. If that’s the case, then there’s nothing to worry about.

Besides, enough worrying about other people. I should start thinking about what to do from now on.

Tomorrow, I will start practising magic with Sallis, and then the day after that too. Then what? I still haven’t found a way to find information. Thalvos said I can make use of the nexus to read, but I’m not sure how. I’ll try it out when I get the chance. As for communication, it’s a bit more complicated. For now, I might be able to try writing a few words and then use thought transference to help people understand my meaning.

For now, the plan stays the same; get protection from the drifters while I confirm my own power. Depending on the result, I may or may not have to accept Luise’s proposal. We’ll see tomorrow...