“So I’ll be looking for someone to make me metal plums before I see him again,” Adion said, a little excited, “That’s a good way to reunite, right?”

Lomin nodded with a gentle smile, “Mm. That was a good story, Adion.”

“You think everything you hear is a good story, Lomin,” Rufus said and then turned to Adion, “I’m sorry, Adion, but that wasn’t a good story. It was more like a nice little anecdote.”

“I see what you mean,” Adion nodded with a serious expression. He had been impressed with Lomin’s stories over the last few days and wanted to be able to tell stories of his own. As he wasn’t ready to talk about his deepest secrets, he had been looking for other things he had been through so he could share something interesting with the others.

It was in part because he wanted to repay Lomin, the faelin seemed to enjoy hearing stories a lot, and yet it was always him who had to share. Another reason was simply that Adion thought it was cool how Lomin could captivate everyone with his words alone.

“A nice little anecdote is no worse than a good story,” Lomin said.

“It is, though?” Rufus looked at Lomin, confused.

“Rufus is right, Lomin, it is worse. I’ll practice and tell you a good story one day, I promise.” Adion said.

“Then I look forward to that day,” Lomin said with a smile.

“Looks like it’s lunchtime,” Rufus said as the carriage came to a halt. The three men got out into the open air, where they saw Benji and Sahra making a fire and getting food ready. Adion would occasionally travel up front with them when they wanted him to teach them about aura. They never accepted the offers from Lomin and Rufus to rest in the carriage as they enjoyed the alone time.

It didn’t take long for the group to sit down with grilled meat in front of them and eat to their hearts’ content.

“Are you guys fine with heading up to Wender right after getting to Hermot?” Benji asked as they were eating, “Sahra wants to visit her dad.”

“Anywhere is fine with me,” Adion said. Lomin and Rufus also agreed.

“We might be able to pick up an escort mission in Hermot, so we don’t make the trip in vain,” Sahra suggested.

“A little extra gold never hurts,” Rufus agreed.

Adion continued eating while listening. But suddenly, he felt something and raised his head to look west. The area they were in was mostly grass plains, but the terrain was still somewhat hilly, so Adion couldn’t see far. He didn’t need to however, as just a second after he turned his head, he saw eight Sun-Sabered Tigers cresting a nearby hill. They were running straight for Adion and his group.

“Beasts!” Adion yelled. He stood up and unsheathed his sword. Everyone else also dropped their food and got ready.

“Even if I knew beasts could show up, I didn’t expect they actually would,” Benji said, “Sahra and I will fight two beasts each. Lomin, try to lure away two or three of the remaining ones and cut them up with your wind. Rufus and Adion, cooperate to take out the last one and then quickly help Lomin, Sahra, and then me,” Benji ordered.

Everyone quickly got into position. Adion could feel that the beasts were all the way from low to high Silver. The tigers had released their aura as they began their assault. Benji and Sahra conjured large streams of fire that hit the four leftmost beasts, surely emptying much of their mana pool. It didn’t do much damage. Unfortunately, beasts had tough bodies, and these beasts had fire cores, making them somewhat resistant.

But it worked to provoke the beasts as they charged the two. Rufus had his hands on the ground, and Adion could feel him release earth mana and how the ground beneath all the beasts shifted somewhat, making them lose much of their momentum. Lomin conjured a gush of wind before running away with two of the beasts that chased after him.

“I will try to freeze the remaining beasts as long as possible!” Adion yelled to Rufus, “Get ready to strike them when they can’t move. I’ll hold them for two seconds at least. Make it count.”

“Roger!” Rufus said as he gripped his sword, ready to plunge as soon as the beasts stopped.

The two remaining Sun-Sabered Tigers were middle Silver beasts. Thankfully, Adion had fought beasts their strength a few times during the past four months, so he had some confidence.

He had released a sphere of his own space mana around himself and could feel every tiny movement, making sure to time his space prison perfectly.

Just as the beasts were about to bite into Rufus’s and Adion’s necks, he used his Authority and froze them in place.

No one moves through this space unless I say so.

Adion thought to himself as he pushed his Will to the limit. The beasts were fighting hard to break free. But thankfully, both he and Rufus were ready, and their swords cut through the tigers’ necks in sync, looking almost like a dance.

Adion immediately let go of the space when he felt that the two beasts had suffered a lethal wound. He didn’t want to exhaust his Will more than necessary when there were more beasts to take care of.

As soon as Rufus had cut open the throat of his beast, he had jumped out of the way, and Adion did the same soon after. Even if the tigers had suffered lethal injuries, they might have a surge of power in their last moments of life. Thankfully, he and Rufus managed to escape without injuries.

“Nice job,” Adion said earnestly, “You didn’t even flinch,”

“Not my first battle,” Rufus said, “And I’ve felt for myself what that Gift of yours can do. Now let’s hurry to Lomin.”

They ran off to where they could see Lomin fighting two beasts of his own. Enormous amounts of wind were blowing in all directions, cutting not just the beasts but the grass and earth around Lomin as well.

“Lomin, stop!” Rufus yelled, “We’re here!”

The wind calmed down enough for Adion and Rufus to approach. The beasts were a bit cut up, but nothing life-threatening. Now that they could move uninhibited, they rushed towards Lomin. Thankfully, Adion and Rufus were already by his side.

“I’ll take care of the high Silver one. You guys take care of the other,” Adion told them.

He wasn’t sure how long he could freeze a beast in the high Silver stage, so he didn’t want to risk taking on both beasts at once, especially not without a fully rested Will.

“We’ll get him quickly. Just stay alive, Adion,” Rufus said as he and Lomin gripped their swords tightly to meet the middle Silver tiger.

Adion conjured a ball of fire that he threw against his chosen opponent. The beast thought it could easily dodge, but little did it know that Adion had Authority over fire, at least the small amount he had conjured, and could control it perfectly, unlike the poor control fire mages generally had.

The fire hit the tiger square in the face, and Adion Willed it to burn hot and deep into the beast’s skull. But this was a high Silver beast, with a fire core nonetheless, even if it might cause some damage eventually. Fights like these usually didn’t last long. The tiger cried out in pain but still reached Adion quickly. Even without its sight, it could feel Adion’s aura.

So, Adion froze the beast in space before jumping out of the way and releasing it again. He also tried to hide his aura as best as he could. But a beast in the Silver stage wasn’t fooled so easily, and Adion didn’t have many years of practice in his aura compared to a beast, so the tiger still managed to find his location and jumped toward him.

Adion froze the space around the beast once again and, this time, stayed put to attack, but as he was in mid-swing, he noticed how the beast would break free from his frozen space before he could get a clean cut. Adion quickly abandoned his plan and jumped back while adjusting his sword to block the beast’s incoming attack.

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

The tiger got free and swung its claws against Adion furiously, fire still burning on its head. He blocked the first attack successfully, but when the second swing came, it managed to graze Adion’s forearm.

Thankfully, just then, Lomin and Rufus arrived, and being attacked on three fronts while fighting a fire burning on its skin proved too much for the beast, and it was slain.

“Let’s hurry to Sahra and Benji,” Lomin said, “There’s another high Silver among the beasts.”

Adion and Rufus didn't disagree, and they ran full speed to the two ongoing fights.

“I’ll help Benji. You two help Sahra,” Adion said. Even if he was technically the weakest among the group, he had very convenient tricks up his sleeve. And Lomin couldn’t even use his wind when others were around, thanks to his poor control.

As Adion approached, he could see that both Sahra and Benji were bleeding, but they didn’t seem to be seriously injured. The beasts, however, were on their last legs.

Adion quickly ran to the nearest beast and froze the space surrounding it. A quick slash with his sword, and the low Silver beast was dead.

“I’ll freeze it for one second,” Adion said to Benji as he nodded toward the remaining high Silver beast. It wasn’t as badly injured as the one Adion had killed but was still bleeding heavily, and large parts of its body were scorched down to its bones.

“That’s all I need,” Benji said as he rushed for a final attack.

Adion focused to his fullest on his space mana sense to get the timing perfect. He could probably freeze a high Silver beast for 2 seconds if he were fully rested, but Adion was exhausted by this point.

Just as the tiger’s claws were about to dig into Benji, Adion froze it still. Leaving Benji a clear path to the beast’s throat.

Adion immediately looked toward the others as soon as he noticed that the beast had died. Thankfully, they had also managed to kill the remaining beasts, and no one seemed too hurt.

“Good job, everyone,” Benji said after he took some heavy breaths, “That was more dangerous than I would have liked, but it shouldn’t be a common sight this far from the Outskirts. Anyone injured?” He asked.

“I have a pretty deep gash on my leg,” Sahra answered, “But a few healing pills and a few days rest, and I will be as good as new.”

“Good,” Benji smiled, “I’m pretty much the same.”

“I’m uninjured,” Lomin calmly stated.

“Me too,” Rufus said with a nod.

“I have a small cut on my forearm, but it will probably heal naturally,” Adion said.

“Take a healing pill just in case. We have plenty for situations like these,” Benji said.

“Is that really fine?” Adion questioned.

“Haha! Of course, we have a stockpile of money used for these types of things. Every time we clear a mission together, I put away a certain amount and buy necessities that we all share. So think nothing about it.” Benji said with a smile.

“Oh, alright then,” Adion accepted. He hadn’t contributed anything yet, but he would do so in the future. And the beasts they had just killed might sell for a few gold coins.

The group quickly gathered the dead beasts and loaded them into the luckily undamaged carriage. As they set off once again, Lomin and Rufus took over looking over the Iron beasts dragging the carriage, and making sure they stayed on course.

Adion got to sit with Benji and Sahra inside the carriage while they healed their wounds. Adion had his eyes closed and thought about the fight he had just experienced.

It seems that high Silver beasts are tricky to deal with. I can’t hold them in space long enough to quickly finish them off. And my fire didn’t do much. It’s strange. It worked well against Bronze beasts even when I was Iron. It seems to get less effective the stronger beasts I fight.

Benji also fought a high Silver beast with fire, but he managed to cause serious injuries with his fire, even though he has no Authority over it.

“Benji,” Adion said, “Can I take a look at your fire?”

“Hm?” Benji looked at Adion, confused, “Why?”

“I can’t seem to do much damage with my fire. You seemed a lot better in that aspect,” Adion answered.

“Something we can do better than Adion?” Sahra asked with a grin, “Lucky.”

Benji shook his head and smiled, “Why don’t you show your fire? I’ll see if I can spot any problems.”

Adion Willed the surrounding pure mana to change into fire mana and conjured a small flame.

“Haha, do you never use your own fire mana to conjure flames?” Sahra asked with a laugh, “That might hinder you from doing as much damage as us.”

“It’s good practice,” Adion answered.

“Hmm.” Benji stared at the flame in Adion’s palm, pondering, “It’s a little weak, no?”

“It is,” Sahra agreed, “I didn’t think about it before, but it seems weak in concepts. It almost seems like a regular campfire.”

“Concepts?” Adion asked.

Sahra and Benji looked at Adion with a bewildered expression.

“You don’t know about concepts?” Sahra asked incredulously, “You know almost as much about aura as a Cyalis professor. You can manipulate fire to sculpture whatever comes to mind, but you don’t even know about concepts?”

Benji nodded along, agreeing with Sahra's questioning attitude.

“I mean, just look,” Sahra said while pointing at Adion’s flame, “You still have control over your fire and don’t seem to struggle against the Will of the world at all!”

Adion quickly let go of the fire and put it out as he realized it wasn’t normal for fire mages to keep control of their flames for so long. It was just so easy when you had Authority over it that Adion forgot.

“You’re too weird, Adion!” Sahra almost seemed upset. Her behavior reminded Adion of his sister.

“We’re all good at different things,” Adion defended himself.

“But no one’s good at the things you do! And every mage knows about concepts. My dad’s not even a mage, and I know about concepts.” Sahra said flabbergasted.

“Well, I don’t.” Adion’s mood soured, “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me.”

“It’s not like that, Adion. Sorry, you’re just…too strange.” Sahra said with a conflicted expression.

“Concepts are what makes mages’s magic different from how the elements behave in nature,” Benji explained, “Like how Lomin’s wind managed to cut into the beasts’ flesh. No wind behaves like that in nature. There is a concept of sharpness in his conjured wind.”

That makes sense. I can’t believe I never thought of that.

“What about fire?” Adion asked.

“Well, most mages' conjured fire is hotter than the size of the flame would suggest; they can also carry a hint of destruction and devouring. It differs from mage to mage, but usually not by much.” Benji said.

“There are mages with noticeably strong fire, though,” Sahra interjected, “Like the fire mages from strong family clans, especially Noble and Royal families.”

“Why haven’t I heard of this?” Adion asked out loud.

“That’s what's strange. You’re from a 2nd-tier family clan, after all,” Benji said, “It’s essential to explain the concepts hidden in your spark and how to develop them further.”

“Oh,” Adion said as he realized why he might have missed out on the information. He didn’t have a spark after all, so no concepts to ponder. He would’ve had to form his core first to begin thinking about how to implement concepts in his magic.

Another great advantage to having a spark it seems. You inherit concepts from your predecessors and don’t have to develop them on your own. They’re already embedded in your spark.

“‘Oh’? Did you realize something?” Benji asked.

“Yeah,” Adion nodded, “I left home before forming my core, so it would probably be explained to me eventually. I just left before anyone could.”

“I see,” Benji said, deciding not to dig further into Adion’s past.

“These things are inherent then, I guess?” Adion asked.

“It’s inherited through a large degree, through your spark and then your core. The fire mana gathered changes its affinity all so slightly, gaining the concepts embedded there,” Benji answered.

“That’s a big reason why Noble families are so strong,” Sahra explained, “They have strong concepts from birth in their sparks and continue to develop them from one generation to the next.”

“But most of the work must be done by the mage,” Benji explained, “I certainly believe that my concepts are better than any Stone mage, Noble birth or not.”

“That’s good, at least. So there is a way to develop concepts on your own?” Adion asked.

“Of course,” Benji chuckled lightly, “I spend a lot of time in meditation contemplating my fire core and the concepts hidden in the mana gathered there. I use my Will to change the fire mana to something hotter and more destructive. It’s a gradual process, and far from every session yields results. But once in a while, you stumble upon some inspiration that furthers the concepts embedded in your core.”

“Guess I’ll have yet another thing to focus on,” Adion sighed.

Sahra had a great smile on her face, “Sorry, but I just can’t help but enjoy seeing you this bad at something.”

“It’s a rare but pleasant sight,” Benji agreed.

Adion didn’t share their enthusiasm.

It’s going to be tough work. I’ll have to find a way to make my conjured fire contain concepts without having a fire core. But this might also help me develop my space magic. One thing’s for sure, magic somehow managed to become even more interesting.