Vin had his ride. It was faultless for the few supplies he had access to. Tristen popped over to the living room plant-packed corner to inspect the finished product, looking at it inquisitively. He pointed at the board and unenthusiastically asked, "Why is it so long?"

Evidently, the antsy fellow didn't share the human's fascination with all forms of boards. Vin sheltered his disappointment, displaying the tool and stating, "It's called a longboard. It's larger, but it'll be more sturdy and quicker on a straight than the one you're holding."

As if immediately doubtful, Tristen lifted and clanked the skateboard against Vin's elongated ride and challenged, "Hmm. I think I'd be faster."

"You should keep practicing," Vin responded. "I wouldn't want to embaress you too much in a race."

Tristen's eyes widened slightly at his retort. He hadn't seen Vin skate earnestly, but he could tell the human wasn't joking, so he quickly returned to training. Riding around the elven home to solidify his skill.

Vin watched the Ravenour flee and lowered his head with a dull sigh. Back to business, his longboard was only missing one thing before being ready for their quest.

He roamed to Maeve, who was sitting at the work desk next to Gideon, creating mission pamphlets. Jazzy dropped his pen and shot Vin with a glare of pure irritation as if the human was interrupting precious time between him and his dear princess.

Vin peered daggers back at the slick-haired Ravenour, then paused Maeve's work and urged her to share the magic, Sphere of Silence. The young royal didn't give it any thought, flipping to her list of spells and displaying the requested arcane circle.

It only took a quick glance before the companion skeleton captured and stored the image alongside Vin's other spell. Anything he requested from the assistant came through as a distinct mental image in the back of his mind, so everything became hands-off. While there was a list of benefits, there were also disadvantages, such as now needing to explain to the meddlesome Maeve why he hadn't withdrawn his Journal.

Not knowing Vin had already gotten what he wanted, the ruby-eyed royal with long, diabolically dark hair and sharp features continued to display the magic page. Since every second passed was another she could use to prepare to save her subjects, she quickly grew impatient. Her neutral gaze became fierce, but she didn't get angry, trying to be tolerant of the person she'd begun to trust, "Vin, is something wrong?"

Not daring to lie to the face of the living polygraph, Vin tapped the side of his head and remarked, "It's all up here."

Silent seconds sliced the space between them as she peered into his violet irises. She was well aware of his faultless memory, yet this was pushing it. Skectistism led her mouth into a frown, and she reminded, "You know magic circles can't function unless they are recreated properly."

"Without a well-constructed physical impression of the spell's mark, you will not be able to learn it."

Maeve had only spoken factually. However, Vin took her words as a challenge. He stepped in over the sitting royal and grabbed the pen from her hands, which had been too small and delicate to be as powerful as they had been.

He was going to prove he could draw the magic circle on his own- But... It was hard to concentrate on the image in his mind with the beautiful-

...

With the conventionally attractive ruler so close, he could practically hear her breaths. Nevertheless, he did his best to ignore the sudden flutter of his rebellious heart and focused. He was never artistic on Earth; however, this new body could do just about anything related to magic. This includes drawing spell circles just as well as, if not better than, its original creator.

Vin finished the drawing, dropped the pen boastfully, and examined Maeve's features to see if they'd churned with envy. The royal picked up the paper to get a good look at the perfect recreation of a spell circle, and she flatly stated, "As expected from the Eternal."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

'Eternal?' Vin thought, scowling at the side of her face. 'Shes just using that title as an excuse, so you don't have to admit you were wrong.'

Maeve felt the hole burning into the side of her head, put down the sheet, and pivoted her sights to the human squished at her flank. She looked at Vin with her usual probing gaze.

Vin didn't look away when her vision met his own, but- found himself locked in place.

Her face was close. Dangerously close.

For some reason, neither of them moved. They just stared at one another, so close the slightest motion would force their lips together. Perhaps Vin wasn't the only one mesmerized.

As Vin stared into Maeve's determined and regal ruby irises, she peered into his. Saw his pride, conviction, and the darkness far below the surface that haunted him. Maybe it was because of her strange ability to read someone's eyes, but her face softened, and she leaned in ever so slightly as if diving deeper into the core of this- bizarre man.

Vin, too, had been misplaced, lost in the endless depth of this royal's soul. His mouth hung slightly agape, drool threatening escape.

A startling, wood-cracking CRASH affrighted both of the hypnotized individuals as Gideon lost his tolerance. Vin and Maeve flinched simultaneously and snapped their heads in opposite directions. The young royal covered her lower face with her petite hands, raising her voice, "Y-you have the spell. Now leave us."

Vin, Gideon, and even Tristen gaped at the future queen with wide eyes, likely holding the same thought, "She stuttered!?"

Jazzy angrily yanked Vin far away from the desk, trying his damnest not to strike him, "You have what you wanted; now move! We have business to attend to!"

"R-right, my bad," Vin replied, running his hand across his hair and staring at the ground to hide- well, hide whatever strange expression was on his face.

Vin returned to the elven home's corner, where all the furniture was placed to make room for Tristen to skate. He sat on the padded couch, passively felt his rapid heartbeat, and exhaled, 'Something to distract me...'

He decided to preoccupy himself with learning the spell. "Sphere of Silence." He wasn't in the right state of mind going into the memory, so the unexpectedly haunting vision lingered in his mind for days after.

In this memory, he embodied a starved Elven man whose folk constantly faced the daunting challenge of coexisting in an ecosystem overrun by sound-sensitive monsters. He invented the Sphere of Silence for the simple luxury of speaking with his loved ones without the danger of being tracked and killed. Of course, a slug monster like the one Vin fought at the swamp was one of the nightmares that appeared in his time as this creator.

Vin returned from that vision and began the final touches on the longboard. He used the Spell of Marking, which triggered a glow on his finger. This power, combined with the Shape ability, enabled him to precisely recreate the arcane symbol that could activate the effects of Sphere of Silence.

He embedded the glowing symbol onto his longboard and footwear. He took wild stomps around the room to test the effects of the magic and found his movements were completely hushed. There was no grey bubble like the spell that protected the house, so it was reasonable to assume enchantments on items couldn't replicate all the qualities. Nevertheless, it was an incredible ability.

All of his spells were straightforward and probably wouldn't impress someone like elves, who were talented with magic, but he was thrilled to have the few he did.

Vin's posture sank, and he lounged on the couch and peeked at his spell list. There was Center Gravity, Marking, Shape, Rotate, Bend, and now Sphere of Silence. Years ago, he would have never imagined becoming this- Fictional wizard. It was laughable.

There was a sudden turn of gloom as he sank further. All those spells were handy and had their uses, but in the end, none had the destructive force he needed to survive that realm... But, he knew what did have that compacity.

Vin shut his eyes and explored his essence. It'd recovered, but there was no telling what would happen if he continued to flash flames around like he'd done. There had to be a limit. Control.

Since the rest of his company was occupied, he decided to condition himself to use restraint. He lit a simple flame on his fingertip; even though it was small, it would burn forever until his target was destroyed. Instead of casting large attacks in hopes of hitting something, he needed to focus on precision.

'I wonder,' he pondered, channeling a blunt, dominating to the purple flame infused with his living essence. The blaze contorted and took the form of the first shape that flashed across his mind. A violet heart flickered with warmth in front of him. He mindlessly peered at the fire while it danced. It may have been something about how the Phoenix rewired him, but he found it entrancing. There was an almost primal instinct to see things incinerate.

Vin hurriedly extinguished the flame, stood, and tried to walk as casually as possible to the bedroom. Despite being embarrassed, knowing he could still feel some emotions like a teenage boy was relieving.

Then again, he would feel less awkward if that emotion was burned to ash...