Az was pulled by the girl into her room. Once there, he saw several mana crystals in different colors decorating the room. The girl had a bookshelf that went from the ceiling to the floor that was packed with books. Those books on the top of the shelf were full of dust. On the floor was a drawing board with pencils. The walls were simultaneously covered with several posters ranging from magic circles to the biological structure of the human body.

Az looked around the room. Such a well-decorated room was strange to him. As someone who had only lived in the village until the age of 12, sharing a room with his four other siblings, he was just confused. Each of his siblings owned only one book, lent to them for a short time by the village elder.

"Why do you look so puzzled? Doesn't my room look nice?" asked the girl watching Az from the side, tapping her finger against her forearm.

"Ehm, how should I say it. It's just unusual. You have more books in your room than my whole village had. Your room alone is more expensively decorated than my village ever was, and the crystals on the walls glitter so beautifully," Az said while feeling ashamed.

"So you are from a village?" she asked, dumbfounded with a smile.

"Yes, I am from a village. But now I'm wandering around the forest without a home," Az said with a pained laugh.

"I think maybe we should change the subject. By the way, what's your name?" she asked.

"My name is Az and yours?" said Az.

"My name is Hideka," the girl replied. Hideka was a girl with light red hair and red glowing irises. Her smile radiated with innocence and was infectious at the same time since Az couldn't stop smiling because of her. She was a thin child who wore a simple robe.

"Hey, Az, you're a mage, aren't you?" she asked him."Yes, and you certainly are one too, right?" he replied. "Of course. I challenge you, Az. The one who can cast the most spells wins," she stated while pointing a finger at him.

"Ok, this is embarrassing, but I only know three spells," Az said with a slightly reddened face while not daring to look her in the eye.

"Only three?" asked Hideka, dumbfounded. "Yes, only three," Az whispered back quietly while trying to disappear out of shame.

"Anyway, show them to me. I'm curious," Hideka said with a smile as she sat cross-legged on her bed with a twinkle in her eye. Az felt pressured and whispered, "[rot]" and in his hand which was wrapped around a mana membrane, a black malignant mass emerged.

"Omg, I don't know that spell," Hideka remarked as she tried to touch Az's spell. Az hastily stuck her mana weapon with the staff of his spear and extinguished his spell.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"You idiot. Don't you know how dangerous that stuff is you tried to touch?" Az scolded Hideka while putting his spear away. Hideka just looked offended at the reddened skin area before asking, " From which, mage discipline is that spell actually from?"

"That was a necromancer spell," Az replied before invoking the next spell."

"[Bone armor]," Az muttered, and bones emerged from his amulet, clinging to his body. In front of Hideka now stood a 12-year-old Az in white bone armor.

"But, But who taught you spells from the dark disciplines? Any mage with common sense would not teach a child spells from the dark disciplines," she stated to Az while she ran her hand through Az's bone armor.

"I taught it to myself from a book," Az replied while making movements in his armor.

Hideka had to laugh at the sight before asking, "Care to test how strong your armor is against mana spells?" "I'd love to," Az replied.

Hideka only muttered a few words Az didn't understand, and a transparent staff of pure mana manifested in her hand. She took a big swing, and Az swung his spear to block the blow.

"Hoho. Why don't you let me hit you?" she asked with a mischievous smile. "Girl, I'm scared of that strike," Az replied with sweat beading on his forehead.

He used all his strength at the moment just to keep her weapon away from his body. Az lost the fight in strength. Eventually, Az fell with his back to the ground. Hideka immediately sat down on his chest with pride before taking Az's helmet of bones.

Az had to smile when he saw Hideka force her head into Az's bone helmet. The helmet seemed to fit her and the red eyes shining out from under the helmet made the view even more beautiful. The rest of the time was spent with Hideka showing Az a large number of spells for beginner mages. For Az, it was just a nice magic show and he promised her that at the next meeting he would master at least as many spells as she did. Hideka just laughed and then explained to Az how to play chess.

On a lower floor, Satoshi was busy writing a long letter to two different people. One letter was addressed to Satoshi's wife, and the other letter was addressed to his beloved daughter Hideka.

To his wife, who is also a mage, he was honest and told her the situation and what he ended up with. In the end, he asked her to take care of his daughter. Her letter was stained by a few tears. Next to him stood three skeletons who also advised him on how to continue writing.

To his daughter, it was more difficult. He had to explain to her that he was going to disappear for a long time, and how could he tell her that he was a skeleton? That he can no longer give her fatherly affection and that he can no longer give her warmth? The only thing he could bring over his heart was a few words of encouragement, that he believed in her and that they would meet again in the future.

In the end, he decided to keep quiet about his fate. She should rather live in ignorance with the thought that her father was sent on an important mission rather than learn that her father died in a battle and was now a servant of someone her own age. Before closing the letter, he put a magic earring inside it.

Satoshi had two magic earrings that were linked together and could both find each other again.

Hideka, realizing that Az lacked general knowledge about magic, handed him a book to read. By now, she was so tired that she fell asleep leaning on his shoulder.

When Az wanted to sneak out, she grabbed him by the sleeve, and he heard her whisper: "It was fun with you, but could you please stay with me? It always feels lonely to be here alone, especially when your parents are never home and pursuing their careers." "I'd love to, but only until I'm called," Az whispered to her and continued reading.

An hour later, it was time, and Az had to leave her side. "Please promise me that you will come back to visit me," she told him with a smile while giving him a hug. "I promise that we will see each other again," Az replied and left her room.