The Runic Alchemist

"I'm sure something is going on here..." Valoris said, his tone filled with suspicion.

"That's absurd, Valoris. You yourself said he used the spells with proper chanting," Royce replied, his voice calm and dismissive.

"I know the spells. His form was completely off, and his pronunciations were all over the place. And that last spell...? Even he doesn't know what it was, and he's read every book written on spells back when we were in the academy," Valoris pointed out, directing his gaze at Royce, who was quietly sipping his tea.

"I was pretty far away, but it did look a bit weird..." Royce admitted, setting his cup down.

"So what are you saying? The boy made the spell somehow appear on Samuel?" Mira asked, her voice laced with skepticism as she exaggerated the situation.

"I don't know what he did, but I'm sure he did something... Could it be an Esper ability?" Valoris mused aloud, his thoughts seeming more directed at himself than the others as he became lost in contemplation.

"An Esper that lets him use magic? Don't be absurd..." Royce dismissed the theory outright.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. The kid is smart, and if he wants to keep his secrets to himself, he's welcome to do so," Mira added, dismissing the issue entirely.

"I just want him to be ready when the time comes... How do we train someone when we don't even know which class he belongs to?" Valoris sighed, turning his attention back to his tea, seemingly giving up on the stubborn boy.

"Putting the kids aside... How many have they asked for?" Mira asked, her tone turning serious.

"Half... And that's before the commander goes for the meeting. He'll certainly take some men with him," Valoris answered, his expressions grim.

"That leaves us with what, 30%?" Royce asked, tension evident on his otherwise handsome face.

"Less... We have to leave some for the city's defense. The chances of them crossing the ocean are slim, but they could send an aerial team," Valoris replied, his face darkening.

"I don't think we can ready these kids in six months... They'll die," Mira said, her face solemn with worry for her students.

"I don't think we'll even get that much time if Ashenvale continues to attack like this... How are their troops moving so fast? What are they even doing at the border?" the mage captain asked, his frustration evident.

"Lady Vidalia is the only third-ranker, and Ashenvale has sent two of theirs... The cursed mage has been summoned from his hiding, but it'll take him at least a month to travel that far... And he's the nearest," Valoris explained, laying out the dire situation.

"Things are really messed up if they have to rely on him..." Royce smiled slightly at the mention of the lazy genius's name.

"This is war... Anyone on this side of the border is a friend now," Valoris concluded grimly.

*****

The test ended within an hour, leaving them free for the rest of the day. Damian decided to head into the city; it had been weeks since he even smelled meat, and he was eager to eat something other than green things. He got ready, donning his coat over the casual clothes he had bought back in Emberlock.

"Why are you dressing up?" Yovan asked, yawning from his bed on Damian's right.

"I'm going into the city."

"Why?" Jorven asked from the top of his left bunk bed.

"I want to eat meat."

"Fah! Outsiders..! They have no respect for traditions!" Yovan scoffed.

"Ten days is too much respect," Damian retorted.

"I'm coming too," Sam said, getting down from his bed.

"We will too," Geldric added.

"Why are you two going?" Einar asked from the top of Yovan's bunk.

"Uhmm... Meat is good for the body. My uncle said so..." Geldric replied awkwardly.

"Hell, I guess I could check up on my grandma again," Yovan said as he got up.

"Coming?" Damian asked Einar, the only one left.

"I won't eat meat," Einar replied, jumping down.

"You don't have to. You can join Team Grandma," Damian suggested.

Einar looked from Damian to Yovan and received a very creepy smile that made him shiver.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of other things to do and see in Pyron," Yovan said, laughing like crazy at Einar's scared face before finally consoling him.

And so, Damian's half-hour trip turned into a much longer excursion with added companions. It was fine, though; they provided good entertainment. The line at the gate was long, filled with people migrating from the border villages due to the spreading news of war. Such scenes were becoming a daily occurrence.

If Pyron fell, Eldoris would lose one of its biggest assets in the war, and with reduced trading and supplies, this two-frontal war might really tip in Ashenvale's favor. But Damian was sure Lady Vidalia would never let it come to that unless Ashenvale had significantly leveled up its game in recent years.

She wasn't just a knight like others, she was trained to be the queen since her childhood and she had time. She must be some century or two old today. And even if they had, once the queen herself took to the battlefield with her elite guards, Ashenvale, with its smaller troop size and lower quality of warriors, might really be erased from the map.

But she couldn't do that without fearing someone would capitalize on the opportunity of her leaving the capital city undefended. It would only happen as a desperate last move.

"Shouldn't there be a system for receiving refugees in times like these?" Sam asked, his eyes focused on the children clinging to their parents in ragged clothes and with dirty faces.

"There usually is... What is the lord of this region doing?" Einar defended his country.

"Laughing in his palace somewhere... Thinking about how much money he's saving by ignoring the people..." Yovan said through gritted teeth.

"Man, the commander is really messed up... I never expected the lord of such a big city to be such a fool..." Geldric voiced his frustrations.

"Yours is good?" Sam asked, genuinely surprised.

"Lord Edorin is a proud warrior and a respectable man. There isn't a child or adult in our region who doesn't respect him," Geldric said, not missing the chance to flatter his lord.

Damian doubted that such a person even existed, but well, it wasn't like he had seen everything the world had to offer. There could be exceptions to everything.

"So you say..." Sam muttered beside him, his voice so low that barely anyone except Damian heard.

The city was the same as ever, bustling with hundreds of people doing countless things. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry except for the people shouting at their stalls; they had all the time in the world. Navigating through the beautiful streets of Pyron— a city that looked like a TV ad for Earth Day, with all the trees, vines, and flowers—was an experience. Greenery was everywhere.

It was more rare to find buildings made of stone, though there were some.

Damian led the way to one of the restaurants he and Sam had visited when they lived in the inn. It wasn't great, but it was one of the very few places in the city where meat dishes were available. Mostly, such restaurants were near the downtown area where the docks were. Foreigners were the target audience for such cuisine.

Yovan and Einar separated to visit Yovan's house with a promise to meet at the city square in an hour. The rest entered the restaurant and ordered their favorite meat dishes. It wasn't exactly delicious, but for them—the meat-starved ones—it was heavenly. They ate without any nonsense, focusing entirely on their meal. It was early for lunch, but who cared?

They were hungry, and that's all that mattered.

Finally satisfied, and with purses a gold coin lighter, they walked slowly toward the city square. Damian picked at his teeth, trying to dislodge residual meat pieces. Reaching the square before their companions, they waited, watching people come and go.

At last, they reunited and decided to follow Yovan, who had promised to show them "the most beautiful place in Pyron." Taking his words at face value, the group followed him, observing everything with childlike wonder. Well, Einar and Sam were technically kids... The cousins were around 15 or 16, and Yovan was near that age as well.

Technically, Damian was still a kid too, but that was only in appearance. Only he knew how old he really was. That old life sometimes felt like a distant, forgotten dream, but it was real—just as real as this one. However, before they could find "the most beautiful place in Pyron," someone else found them.

A group of low-ranking noble brats. Were knights even nobles? Damian just thought of them as goons of the region's lord, who acted more like a common street gang leader. This pompous group was nothing compared to the six of them, but they weren't alone. As nobles tend to do, they had called in more goons as backup—this time, adults.

One of them was even a second-ranker, probably a family member or relative of the leader of this troublesome little group. It was clear they hadn't cornered them in a street like this to talk. Sam unsheathed his sword, and the rest also stood firm, ready to fight the horde of attackers.

If there was one thing they had learned in that training camp, it was "Do shit first, then complain."

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