The idea of losing his skill grew heavy on his mind. He didn’t think that losing his barrier would affect him this hard. It wasn’t the physical pain; the aches were normal by this point.
No, it was the psychological kind. His entire identity leaned on that skill. He was known as the ‘barrier guy’, something that he and others all readily agreed. He wondered whether this was the same as losing a job he was super passionate about due to external circumstances.
He didn’t think he could actually love a job, let alone something built mostly for combat, but there it was.
Still, his newly named Arcan family made him feel a little better. Knowing that he’ll be the same to them as he always was, even without the barrier, was proof that his identity didn’t just hinge on a single skill. That made him realize that it wasn’t his skill, but what he has done with it that really made them rely on him.
So even if he lost his skill, he still had his talent, memory, and capabilities as a mage. If he lost a valuable tool, then he can just make up a new one. In the end, it’s the same.
Still…
“I still can’t believe that asshole!” Mikella said, still grumbling about Cronus.
Eventually the Arcan family went ahead without notifying the attendant, whoever that was, and went sightseeing. At first Zeke was against it, but it only took a few seconds for him to give a middle finger to at least someone, so it might as well be the attendant. After all, who would leave the otherworlders unsupervised?
In the end, Zeke went along with Mikella’s deliquency, something that he enjoyed a lot. Especially since as she led the group herself, he could see her outfit much better.
And goddamn, what a view. At this point, Zeke could no longer hold back his admiration of her. How the hell can a simple man like him look away?
Still, he shook his head to rid himself of his disrespectful thoughts. In the end, she was his partner, so he was sure she wouldn’t like her only trustworthy partner ogling at her like some degenerate. That, and he was worried Clara might notice his wandering eyes.
“How can he just take away your skill?” She said, making doubly sure not to say it aloud for anyone else to hear. Thankfully, the amount of people that walked them by didn’t really pass a glance. If they were stunned by seeing a Draconian woman, a rarity among the mostly elven and fae-type Journeymen around them, they certainly didn’t show it. “I mean, it was a defensive barrier. Does he want us to get killed?”
“I can understand why, though,” Zeke said, though he agreed with her on the inside. “He wants to keep it a secret. Still, it’s not like I was gonna parade around with it for all the world to see.”
“Right? That guy is just an asshole! Through and through. Hah… still, it’s over now. How’s that skill working out for you?”
“It’s… weird.”
Zeke admitted, once again putting his palm up and activating the skill. As long as it wasn’t a combat spell or anything of the like, and made sure to not bother anyone else, he could use his new skill without issue.
He used Ethereal Manifest for the third or fourth time, but the feeling was… strange, as he said. It conjured a small rectangular turquoise colored square like his normal barrier, about a hand’s size and just as thick. It floated up on the top of his palm, moving along with him as he walked.
That was the strange part. It moved along with him. His barrier couldn’t do that before, and it felt a lot easier to manage than before as well. He could shift it, alter it, make it bigger or smaller, and he could even easily shape it into what looked like a bird with ease, sort of like his butterbird with his runes.
“It’s extremely malleable, sort of like playing with clay in my mind,” Zeke said, but then a frown showed. “But when I use a bit of force…”
Zeke returned the bird-like shape back into the rectangular barrier shape. Then, he closed in with his other hand and flicked it hard with his finger.
It cracked with ease, making a small shattering noise as it broke apart into pieces before dissipating into the air like his usual broken barriers from the past.
“And that was with barely any effort,” Zeke exhaled, his emotions once again deteriorating. Even with his improved Strength stat, the idea of a simple flick like that breaking his skill made him depressed.
The group stopped walking for a bit, noticing Zeke’s despair. He shrugged at the response, really unable to do much about it.
“I think he left this skill with me to at least keep my runes intact, probably because I showed off the Barrier Car to him. I’m not sure whether he left me with this because of that or he originally planned on giving this to me, though…”
“We should be thankful that he gave us anything at all,” Zoan said, leaving everyone to look at her. “Think about it. He could have easily left you imprisoned to do as he said without really giving you any freedom. Not only did he not do that, he also gave you valuable equipment, wealth, and a reasonable degree of freedom. That’s saying quite a lot for a Master in his position.”
The two had no choice but to agree to Zoan’s point. Cronus could have done all those awful things, but he didn’t. He might not have even had to give the skill to him, instead just taking the skill away.
Perhaps that might be a bad idea in one way, but they had to look at it in another perspective.
“That doesn’t mean we have to like it, though,” Mikella said, getting Zoan to tilt her head.
“I’m not asking you to like it,” Zoan said, sounding almost exasperated. “I just prefer that we don’t start making any trouble.”
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“What kind of trouble?” Clara asked.
“Like leaving without his attendant?” Zoan said, crossing her tiny arms while glaring at the two adults. Clara grimaced as she realized Zoan’s concern, but Zeke had a good argument.
“We’re not making any trouble,” Zeke said readily, showing an eager grin. “We just wanna spread our wings a little.”
Zeke took a glance at Mikella’s dragon wings, getting her to roll her eyes hard at him.
“Wow, really? A pun? I expected better from you.”
Zeke chuckled, raising his hands in defense. “Besides, do you really wanna stay there at the estate all bored rather than go around the town? Maybe get some food that’s only available here? Maybe even find a library…?”
Zeke said that last part hopefully, trying to fish something out of Zoan. The two girls looked at him as though he was trying to do the impossible.
However, Zoan looked down, her eyes frowning as though in deep thought. After a single solid moment, she looked back at him.
“I suppose… a distraction is healthy for the mind,” Zoan said, looking away as though wanting to do exactly what Zeke promised.
A wellspring of pride exuded from Zeke as the two sisters looked at him as though he actually did the impossible. Knowing that Zoan was apparently quite the history buff, perhaps hearing more history from the town was something she might be interested in.
He didn’t bank on whether she already had a long history, being a former angel and all… but it looked like her thirst for knowledge was the same as him.
“We’ll definitely have that on the list. For now, let’s see what our new home is going to be like. How about you two?”
The sisters nodded in agreement and the four went ahead to their next location. Or at least that’s what would have happened if someone hadn’t spoken to them.
“Oi! You lot!”
He picked up the voice immediately, turning to the direction of two people facing their way.
Two men, either old or young, he couldn’t know. One thing was for certain was that they felt like Journeymen, and true ones at that. They wore rather expensive looking garments, ranging from well-embroidered robes and suits of random makings. They looked more polished as well, their faces shaven and propped clean, unlike the unnaturally boorish voice one of them did. Their ears were sharp and their faces were angular, proving that they were elves of some kind from their sub-race.
They approached the four, their bulk wide and strong, with one more dexterous than the leading muscled man. However, Zeke could tell that the dexterous man was a mage, if at least the amount of Mana was anything to signify.
“Yes…?” Zeke spoke up, figuring that if he was the only man there, he needed to respond.
“Who in the underside of Tarial are you?” The leading muscled man asked, pointing his rather fat finger at him. “I don’t remember anyone with sub-races like you two. Especially that dragon lady. So? Explain yourselves.”
Zeke hung his head back a little. Were they so perceptive to new people that they would call them out like this in public? He took a small glance to see some of the people around them staring, but most were just ignoring them to get on with their day. The comment about the sub-race got his attention, as he expected that Mikella’s sub-race is certainly unique.
Mikella stepped up. “We’re new here. We were just sightseeing.”
“New?” The muscled man asked, raising a brow. “Since when were there any ‘new’ people here? Am I hearing things right, brother?”
“You sure are,” The mage like man answered with a deeper voice, unexpected of his size. There was a studious gaze, his well-trimmed brows furrowing. “So that means you lot are commoners? And why were you so close to the estate of the great Master?”
Suddenly everything stuck into place. He should’ve imagined that nobody would bat an eye unless they noticed new people surrounding a rather important person of the country.
“And did you just speak to me, girl?” The mage asked, raising a chin at her imperiously.
“...Yeah?”
Mikella asked a moment later, tension rising in her voice. Something about this already sent a bad feeling down the pit of Zeke’s stomach.
“You there,” The mage turned to Zeke. “This your wife?”
“Uhh… y-yeah,” Zeke stammered. “She is.”
It wasn’t like it was his fault to get stammered. He didn’t think he would ever say those words, or at least agree to having a wife. Still, the mage man thankfully ignored his hesitation as he seemed much more interested in something else.
“You should really keep a steady hand on her. It’s common practice to keep your women in their place, boy. Even if you are commoners, that’s just the natural order of things.”
He could already feel electricity rising in the smallest bits surrounding Mikella, her eyes glaring at the man. Zeke felt his own anger rising, but they were just heading out of the noble centered district. What’s gonna happen if they start hammering away at them, especially Journeymen who looked like nobles?
He just lost his barrier. There was no way he could protect Clara and Zoan at her state if shit hits the fan.
“Ooh, did he hit a nerve?” The bulky man grinned, amusement in his voice. He lowered his knees to face the clearly pissed Mikella face to face, his lips puckering at her. “What are you gonna do, you overgrown lizard? Bite us? Come on now–give us a show!”
“I think that’s enough.”
Another voice entered the scene, and the two men looked over to the young woman approaching them. The two of them grimaced, their faces turning downright disgusted.
“Oh gods, it’s you…” The bulky man said with a grumpy tone. “What do you want?”
“We’re trying to teach some commoners manners here,” The mage said, contempt in his voice.
“That’s all well and good, the woman said. “But that might be problematic for Lord Cronus. Surely you don’t want to mess with his newest project, right?”
The two men quickly hesitated, their bodies freezing in place. The bulky man’s face paled as the mage looking man reacted promptly.
“So, that was it… it would’ve been better if they had explained themselves beforehand.”
“From what I heard, you didn’t give them a chance. Go on ahead. Surely you have better things to spend your time on than teaching these commoners a thing or two?”
The mage scoffed, tapping his supposed brother’s shoulder. “Come on. It ain’t worth getting this bitch on our case.”
“Ugh, and here I thought we were finally gonna have some fun. As always, Allisa has to ruin everything.”
The two men walked away, the bulky man still grumbling even as they parted. Zeke let out a relieved breath before turning to Mikella who was still scathing at the earlier remark. He was thankful that she held back, but he wasn’t sure just how far the men would keep pushing her.
Then he turned over to the woman that saved them and froze. Not only he, but Mikella and Clara looked at her in shock.
“Valerie?” Mikella said, her voice almost yelling in response.
The woman that approached them was basically a carbon copy of the co-lord of Eve Glade and the captain of the small militia force. Her long black hair was the signature look that Valorie always sported, and that goes with her facial features and bodily figure. She wore what looked like a red sweater with black slacks and boots, several bracelets covering both her arms and two belts hanging at her waist.
She also wore glasses, small and prim compared to Zeke’s squarish ones, that covered her eyes that were narrower and sharper than Val’s. She looked just like her, but she was more intimidating than welcoming. A disgusted scowl showed on her face, further separating her from the kind woman that took them in at Eve Glade.
“...Of course Lord Cronus would ask me to be your ‘attendant’. My name is Alissa Mon-Treant, and Valerie is my stupid twin sister. Now… don’t ever compare me to her again.”