What is the deal with this guy? Sahra thought to herself as she looked at Adion once again killing a beast using Benji’s fire. This was the third attack they had to deal with during their journey, a lot more than Sahra expected. Thankfully, it was never something they couldn’t handle, and they were all uninjured.

At least we’ll be in Wender by the end of the day. I’ll soon get to see Dad.

The thought brought a smile to Sahra’s face.

She then turned to look at Adion again. He was still controlling Benji’s fire like it was practically nothing. Sahra would have passed out from the effort. Fighting the Will of the world wasn’t easy.

Should I also take an Oath to find out his secrets? It couldn’t hurt. I’ll ask later if he is fine with me knowing. I’m really curious. He says it’s not a power he can teach, but Adion is not exactly knowledgeable. There might be something obvious he hasn’t thought about.

“How long can you do that?” Sahra finally asked.

“Hm?” Adion looked away from the fire he was controlling, “I guess I’ve never really tested the limit, but a long time.”

“You mean you can do that for minutes?” Sahra asked, shocked. She had never seen him struggle to keep control over fire, but he had also never controlled for more than 30 seconds or so. At least until today. He was slowly approaching a minute now, Sahra was sure.

“Probably hours,” Adion shrugged.

That was a hit too hard to take. What reason is there to work every day, morning to night, every single day since she first heard of her mother’s magic, when all that work pales compared to some 15-year-old who doesn’t even seem to break a sweat doing the impossible?

I’ve always known this world is anything but fair. But do I really have to have it shoved in my face every day?

“Are you serious?” She heard Lomin ask.

“Yeah,” Adion nodded.

Even the fairy tale-believer is surprised for once.

“I’m gonna ignore you until we find a Moonlight Oak,” Sahra said with a straight face, and then made her way over to Benji. He was dragging the body of one of the dead beasts to the carriage.

“Adion can keep control over fire for hours,” She told him, “At least he says so, and I don’t think he’s lying.”

Benji smiled excitedly, surprising Sahra a little.

“I heard from a caravan passing us that there is a Moonlight Oak at the Outskirts Guild in Gerrinswood. It’s a pretty big town just two days north of Wender,” Benji said, “What do you say we go straight there after visiting your father? If we can’t find one in Wender, that is. We can come back here again after we’re done with the Oath, or if you want to stay here while the rest of us go.”

“No,” Sahra shook her head, “I feel myself losing motivation every time Adion shows off his abilities. I think I need to know the truth behind his powers to find my path again.”

“Hehe,” Benji chuckled and pulled Sahra into his arms, “I feel the same way. But this is more exciting, isn’t it? It’s not like we’re losing anything coming into contact with Adion. It’s actually the opposite. I feel like the world is filled with more possibilities than ever.”

“That’s true,” Sahra smiled, “I was only ever focused on reaching Bronze in time to get to Cyalis, as I heard that was how strong the best on the continent were. Then I got to Cyalis, and my goal changed to reach Silver during my time there, so I could graduate.”

Sahra then looked into her boyfriend’s eyes, “But since then, I’m not sure I have a specific goal anymore. I didn’t really think about it before meeting Adion. He seemed so shocked when he heard we weren’t planning on becoming Soul mages,” She then added in a grumpy voice, “The audacity, he’s just a punk. But I believe he will live up to his words the more time I get to spend with him.”

Benji laughed heartily, “He sure is cocky. But I can’t seem to be able to doubt him, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. And that makes me want to reach higher, too. My goal was to become a Gold mage and make a new family clan with you. But now, that seems so small, and Benji the Soul mage sure has a nice ring to it. What do you say? Want to become Soul mages together?”

“Like Adion says, ‘Since it’s not impossible, I’ll do it.’” Sahra said with a small smile, “But after we visit that town Gerrinswood, or whatever it’s called, I think I might rest for a few days at home. You guys can hunt in the Outskirts for a few days without me. Even Soul mages can rest sometimes, right?”

“Of course,” Benji said, “I can stay with you if you’d like?”

“No, that's fine,” Sahra shook her head. She then turned to look behind where Lomin and Rufus seemed to be arguing over something, Adion shifting his attention between the two, his eyes moving like a pendulum. “I don’t think those guys can last even a few hours without you in charge,”

Benji turned his attention to the three and overheard Rufus yelling.

“I’m telling you, girls like pets! If you can make a little pet out of that fire like you did with that wolf, I’m sure we’ll be surrounded by girls from all directions.” Rufus's voice sounded.

“Maybe I should take more responsibility for Adion’s education so he doesn’t end up like Rufus,” Sahra said.

“You would have if you thought it was necessary,” Benji said.

“Yeah, I guess it’s fine,” Sahra sighed, “He seems to listen to Lomin more than Rufus most of the time.”

“Lomin is a convincing guy,” Benji said.

Sahra nodded her head.

He’s even almost convinced me into believing those fairy tales. He’s a good storyteller, after all.

“Alright, guys. Let’s get moving. We want to get to Wender before the sun goes down!” Benji yelled at their teammates.

“Good thinking, boss. We want to have time for a few drinks before all the girls go home after all,” Rufus said as he came over.

“Next new member is a girl,” Sahra said as she looked sternly at Benji.

“Oh? Yeah, of course,” Benji smiled sheepishly.

“Haha!” Rufus laughed, “As expected of lady boss, you got the right ideas.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Sahra realized what the bearded womanizer was thinking.

“Never mind, no new members,” Sahra said.

“I don’t care if we get a girl or guy as a new member,” Adion put in, “But we should get someone that’s good at cooking.”

“Good at cooking?” Sahra asked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded, “It might be presumptuous of me to set demands, but I really think that ought to be a criteria.”

“Hahaha!” Rufus loudly laughed, “What’s with the choice of words? ‘Presumptuous’? You practicing to impress the ladies? Attaboy.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind having a good cook along as long as they can fight,” Benji said, “If the opportunity arises, I’ll make sure to act.”

“Adion is more than I can handle,” Sahra said, “My demand is that if we get a new team member, they can’t be a genius.”

“Why?” Adion asked.

“Adion, do you realize how-” Sahra stopped herself, “I take it back. It’s fine as long as they are more talented than Adion. I’ll enjoy seeing him dealing with someone like that.”

“I don’t think we’ll find someone like that, unfortunately,” Lomin said with a smile.

“Not to brag, but I also find it unlikely,” Adion said without any expression.

“What’s with your cheeky attitude today?” Sahra questioned.

“I’m cheeky?” Adion asked Lomin.

“A little,” The faelin answered.

“I guess it’s a good day, no?” Adion said.

Sahra smiled at that. “You’re right. It’s a good day, Adion.”

“I think I gained a lot of insights from Benji’s fire. My own understanding of concepts has improved a lot.” Adion continued.

Sahra’s smile immediately disappeared. She turned to Benji and spoke with a plain expression, “Make it a week. Maybe two.”

“Right,” Benji smiled awkwardly, “You should enjoy time with your family after all.”

Not many hours later, the group finally saw the big city before them. There were still a few hours of sunlight left, and Sahra could feel her mood lifting. The sun lit up the city in a beautiful way. She hadn’t been back here for months and felt like she could finally relax.

Sahra wasn’t from Wender originally, but a village a week away from here. But when she started earning money as a mage, she had no trouble making sure her father could live in the city, a much safer place, and she made more money as a Silver mage hunting in the Outskirts than her father could hope to spend.

So her father didn’t need to work anymore. He could spend his days any way he wanted. Usually, that meant he was volunteering at the orphanage in the city.

Sahra sighed as the thought entered her mind.

I should try to be more kind, like Dad. What will he say if he hears I’ve been spending the past weeks getting annoyed at and teasing a 15-year-old kid?

When the group arrived at the city gate, Sahra saw Gustad approaching Benji.

“Here is the mission paper with my signature. There is no need to protect us in the city.” Gustad said as he handed over the paper and stretched out his other hand for a handshake. “I thank you very much for a job well done, Benji. Without you, we would have no choice but to forfeit our lives.”

“We just did our job,” Benji said with a smile and returned the handshake. “We’ll be going then. We’ll bring the beast's bodies with us to report to the Guild.”

“I wish you luck. In a few weeks, you’ll hopefully be able to visit our store. Be sure to come by, and we’ll treat you warmly,” Gustad said.

“Of course,” Benji nodded with a smile.

Sahra helped carry out the beast bodies that they’d hunted along the way. Adion seemed like he was even more unhappy than her about the task.

“If you don’t want to carry them, can’t you do the freezing thing?” Sahra suggested. She had seen Adion use his Gift on dead beasts, and it was truly miraculous. She was incredibly jealous of that convenient ability.

“I’m pretty sure people would crowd him in seconds if he were to do that,” Benji said.

“I know, it would have been nice, though,” Sahra sighed.

“I remember from last time that the Guild has a branch outside the city walls not far from here,” Lomin said, “So we won’t have to carry them for long.”

“That’s a good idea. Thankfully, we ate some of them on the way, so we won’t have to make two rounds,” Sahra said.

The group carried the dead bodies through the busy but wide streets. They did not attract much attention as similar scenes to this played out often at places like this.

“How are we going to register the mission?” Benji asked as they arrived in front of the Outskirts Guild building, “Do you want us to register you as a member so you can gain some merit, Adion?”

“No need,” Adion shook his head, “I don’t really care, and it might be an unnecessary risk.”

“True,” Benji nodded and took over the beast Adion had carried before heading inside, “Wait here. We’ll be back soon.”

The group reported the mission and got their reward without problem. They also received some extra money for the Silver beasts they had hunted on the way.

After that, they headed to the Silver Circle. They had inns in most places around the Silver Wall. Sahra and Benji got a room together as usual, but Sahra wasn’t planning on staying long.

“I’ll head over to Dad and see if he is home. Are you coming by later?” Sahra asked Benji.

“Of course. I’ll let you two catch up first, and we can all have dinner together,” Benji responded as he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

“Good,” Sahra said and smiled, “I’ll see you later then!”

Sahra then skipped out of the inn and headed for the building on the southeast side of the city where her father lived. It took her almost half an hour before she got there. But to her surprise, she saw two strangers at the door to her father’s house. It was a young couple, seemingly heading out for a romantic evening.

Sahra approached the two and asked, “Who are you?”

“What? Why? Who are you?” The woman asked with a sour face. She was only a Bronze mage, but Sahra couldn’t do anything excessive to her in the city.

“My father lives here. Where is he?” She asked with a scowling face.

“You must be mistaken. The two of us are the only ones living here,” The woman said.

“We have lived here for a little over a month. Maybe your father lived here before?” The man asked Sahra gently.

“Then where did he move?” She asked sternly.

“I have no idea,” The man said as he shook his head.

“Useless!” Sahra yelled and ran off to the orphanage nearby. She was worried but tried not to think about it. Her father would be at the orphanage and explain everything.

She arrived at the orphanage in minutes and hurried inside.

“Sahra?” Kerta, an old woman working there, asked as she spotted Sahra.

“Where’s dad?” She asked in a strained voice.

Kerta sighed and looked at Sahra with a sympathetic smile, “I’m sorry, dear. Dennis got sick months ago. He fought the illness with everything he had so as not to leave you alone, but in the end, there was nothing to be done. He’s gone, Sahra, I’m really sorry.”

Gone?

“He’s dead?” Sahra asked.

“Yes, for a little over a month now,” Kerta answered.

Dead.

“I see,” Sahra said.

Like mom.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Kerta asked worriedly.

I won’t see him?

“Yes. Bye.” Sahra said and left on slightly shaky legs. She touched her face and noticed tears running down her cheeks.

I really wanted to see him, though.

She stepped out onto the street and turned to walk back to the inn again.

Please. Someone. Anyone.