“Hey, Zeke!” Val spoke aloud when Ana came rushing in to hug Clara to get started on playing. “You’re out! How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Zeke nodded to her and Cloud as they returned and closed the door behind them. “Sorry for worrying you guys. I’m still alive, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“After what you did, that’s a miracle,” Cloud said, smirking slightly. But he noticed Zeke’s quickly diminishing spirit as he explained. “Before you ask, the damage isn’t all that bad. Thanks to your barrier which is still in place, by the way, nobody came up hurt or even inconvenienced.”

“Really, that level of power…” Val shook her head. “It’s a wonder you’re still even awake right now.”

Mikella watched as Zeke deflated slightly. Certainly, the power he wielded just now was absolutely crazy to consider. Enough to blast a hole to the other side of the world from her perspective at least.

“I know, but… I feel like I messed up badly,” Zeke admitted, his shoulders slumped.

“It doesn’t matter. You survived, so you can fix it, right?” Mikella added, not even divulging the specifics. But Zeke finally brightened up a little as he nodded back at her. “Good. So, how are you, status-wise?”

“I’m fine,” Zeke said with a shrug. “Same debuff as last time though. I don’t think I can cast anything too powerful for the next… few weeks, I think.”

Mikella’s eyes widened at that. Hearing those words felt surreal, but she knew Zeke knows his shit when it came to magic. If he says he can’t cast anything strong, it’s the same as not being able to participate in competitions after tearing a ligament. One needed time to recover, and more time for physical therapy and proper exercises.

“That’s a wise decision,” Val nodded in agreement. “Still, I know that your attunement is from a higher realm, but that level of power was just too much.”

“Zeke, I know it’s only been recent, and I’m sure you’d rather just drop this and rest, but I really want to ask you what went through your head when it happened. Perhaps we can find a way to mitigate the damages in case you ever decide to use it again.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Zeke nodded in agreement. But rather than just explaining about his earlier feelings–he let everything out.

How he felt when he first got it, how it feels like he explained before, how he tried to go beyond that and eventually felt like he was about to explode with energy.

Cloud nodded along as he listened intently. Val just stared at Zeke, her sight going beyond that and thinking hard as he explained.

Mikella, however, could only get baffled at everything. She figured that all magic was just like how she used her attunement. Like a power that one can pull out by straining their muscles and intending for it to come out.

But from what he said, it sounded like opening the flood gates and hoping not to get drowned by it. Is that even considered useful anymore?

“Regardless of how you received it, one thing’s certain–you’re not allowed to use it until you have a good grasp on it,” Val said, crossing her arms as she gave her thoughts. “Normally, mages that went through what you did would lose their minds over the power, and I don’t mean that they want to take over as kings or something–I mean literally lose their minds from the sheer amount of power going through them.”

“He has the Steadfast Mind skill, so that won’t be an issue” Cloud said, reminding everyone of the useful skill. “Considering he could still use magic meant that he’s made of stern stuff. But Val’s right–you need to take it easy. I’ll convince Zacharia to leave you out of training and everyone else can just take a break. It’s about time you guys had one anyways.”

“And, uhh…” Zeke pressed his teeth together in awkwardness. “The hole? The giant hole? Shouldn’t I try to–”

“No, absolutely not,” Val spoke with such finality that it even surprised Zeke and made him wilt again. even Mikella could feel the true power of a mother coming from her. “You are to rest–that’s an order from a lord in a superior position than you. Mikella, Make sure Zeke doesn’t go too far.”

Mikella nodded. “This time I’ll make sure he’s probably leashed.”

“Y-You’re not actually gonna do that, are you?”

Mikella only smiled deviously at him. She could ask Adam to make her something. He does owe them–and if he wants to keep having his forge fixed, he’ll do anything to make sure Zeke doesn’t go too far again.

“For the hole, we’ll figure something out. Honestly, after all the crap we went through, fixing a giant hole isn’t as bad as restoring the town. Sure, we might take a while, but it’s better than nothing. Still, Zacharia seemed strangely interested in that hole, though.”

“Huh? Why?” Mikella asked.

“Apparently he sent one of the scouts to find out just how deep it went. And boy… it goes deep.”

Zeke gulped as Mikella figured that was the case.

“At first, I figured he was trying to assess the damage. But after a while to figure out what was going on, he seemed adamant in studying the hole left behind.”

“I-Is it because of my power?” Zeke asked, but Cloud shook his head.

“That much was obvious enough, and he’s nothing like those military fanatics–he won’t ever order you to use that power again unless specifically ordered. He may be a prick that uses others like tools, but he still wants to keep his tools intact.”

“Cloud, please, let’s not bring any of that grudge in the house,” Val let out a deep breath, but Cloud only shrugged in response.

“So, does this mean we’re back to construction duty?” Mikella asked, and once again Cloud shook his head.

“No, like I said–rest. For gods’ sake, the amount of work you two do for the town is enough to put others to shame. Take it easy, relax. Maybe go on a date. Have you even taken the time to enjoy the town at night without having to defend it for once?”

That immediately got the two to share equally embarrassed looks. Zeke darted his eyes away, his cheeks blazing, while Mikella only looked away. Ignoring the heat in her own face, she responded.

“W-We’re not–”

Soon, a knock came from the door, surprising everyone there. Looking back at one another, Cloud opted for the door and opened it up.

The look of his face twisting to that of annoyance made it clear who it was that came in.

“Zacharia,” Cloud spoke off-handedly, tilting his head. “What is it?”

“I’ve come to see how Zeke is,” Zacharia spoke up from outside, already looking over behind him to see the man in question. “And to report what we have found.”

Despite Cloud’s unadulterated desire to not let him in, shaking his head, he opened the door wide. “Come in. Oh, and take off the armor–I don't wanna track dirt in the house.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Mikella figured Cloud was just being an ass at that point, something that Mikella can respect. But to her surprise, Zacharia nodded in agreement and placed his hand over his armored cuirass.

In an instant, his armor glowed bright white, then it literally disappeared without a trace. What was left behind was just casual clothing of a tank top silk shirt, rugged leather pants, and even leather shoes which he respectfully took off as they were indeed tracked with dirt. Once he got inside, both Mikella and Zeke marveled at what they just saw.

An instant armor change? Is that some sort of skill, or some sort of feature allowed by the system? She never heard of anything like that before.

“What you saw was a feature of Zacharia’s storage pack,” Val explained to the dumbfounded adults. “Super expensive to get, but it has a lot of other unique properties, purely for handling inconveniences such as taking off that bulky armor, and putting it back on with no problem. It does require a bit of fine-tuning to get all that armor in a flash, though.”

The two were left awestruck as Zacharia stepped over, standing in place in front of them all. He looked over to Val with a nod. “Captain, I am glad to see that you are doing well. I take it you’re ready to fight again?”

“Possibly, yes,” Val smiled politely. “Thanks to Zeke, I was able to recover faster than normal. But what brings you here, Zacharia? Surely you can see that Zeke is fine.”

“Yes, I see that,” The general then turned to Zeke, his ever stoic gaze always making Mikella unsettled. “Have you been injured, or perhaps disabled in some way?”

“I got a debuff, causing me to feel sore. I don’t think I’ll be able to use big magic for a while, but maybe in a few weeks I’ll recover completely,” Zeke reported as dutifully as he could. For a man like Zacharia, all the details was necessary.

“I see,” Zacharia nodded, scratching his well-trimmed beard. “Considering that this is all you had to go through for something like that… still, better to be cautious. Right now, your true worth is in your support, so make sure to do exactly that–use only the barest of magic power until you are recovered completely.”

“Yes sir,” Zeke said, nodding. He wondered if he really had to keep up the act of talking with the general after seeing him in what looked like comfort clothes. Still, it’s not like he can get rid of his polite self. “Oh, I said I can’t use big magic, but I meant stuff like defending a giant horde or facing a strong monster. I can still use basic barriers and runes for everyday stuff.”

“Understood,” Zacharia said. “That is great to hear, because I happen to have news that everyone here will be glad to know.”

Everyone immediately turned to him, and when they saw that Zacharia once again changed his expression to an even rarer grin, Mikella felt a shiver down her spine.

That was way too strange, especially for the man as cold as he was to nearly torture his son for information.

“What’s this about?” Cloud asked, way too curious to even bother looking distressed at Zacharia’s expression.

“The giant hole Zeke created,” Zacharia explained. “There was something off about the depths, so I had one of my scouts check in. The only reason why I’m telling you this now is solely because she had just finished her surveillance.”

“But… that was hours ago, wasn’t it?” Val asked, her eyes widening.

“Precisely. The hole was deep enough to go for several miles, perhaps hundreds of miles. I’m not sure how you managed it, but you went beyond even a country’s worth of distance.”

Hearing the actual length of that hole made the adults staggered. Mikella could hardly believe it.

“Okay…” Mikella eventually said, shaking her head a little. “That’s cool and all, but what exactly was the point of that?”

“The point is…” Zacharia’s grin suddenly turned fierce. “We found something down there.”

…..

Zyler’s muscles ached, and his tendons felt like they were starting to rust from underuse. He wanted to move, fight, stretch, fuck, and run before his heart gave out–all at the same time.

The after-effects of his Journeyman advancement was proving to be difficult to go through on a daily basis. But damn, was it worth the power it bestowed upon him.

But he couldn’t stand the idea of his Dexterity stat capped at a measly 200. It was a sin to have such a low amount compared to how much he had grown over the past few years.

If it wasn’t for that stupid stat block, he could’ve gone well beyond his normal limits. Still, there was no way around it. No matter how prosperous his father’s city was, it wasn’t as though everything was picture perfect.

Hence the reason why he wishes to leave the gods-forsaken chair that was forcing him to stand still and listen to his father’s subordinates give their usual reports. Gods, he hated having to stand still. Why did his father have to go out at this point and leave this kind of grunt work to him? He’s the mage, for gods’ sake, he should be the one to sit around and do jack shit while also still getting stronger at the same time.

Even when he was a mage himself at one point, it was the worst mistake of his life. No matter how much his dear old pops wanted him to be a mage, even he had to admit that being a mage was the worst outcome for him. He likes to move–and he likes to tear things apart rather than blow shit up.

Though blowing shit up was nice, if he could do that. But tearing the limbs off of your prey was so much more enjoyable.

Thankfully, his thoughts of his next prey at his hands sated his urges a little. One of the subordinates, a little man with barely any muscle to stand on his own two legs, kept speaking in that matter of tone that would make a whole class of students want to drift off to dreamland.

“Unfortunately, the attack on Eve Glade resulted in utter failure,” The old man, who Zyler could barely give a rat’s ass to even remember his name, said with a grumbling tone. “Not only have the ambush resulted in us losing several platoons of our fine soldiers, but the town is quickly recovering in a pace that made it impossible for us to pressure them to join our core’s territory. Not only that, but the kingdom has been requesting for several interventions regarding this matter, and the amount of compensation expected of this would result in us losing our net worth. And even more unfortunate news, the Federation is now demanding further payment in forms of metal and steel even as our mines are running low.”

So in other words, dear old Bastion’s fucked, huh?

Zyler was still able to comprehend a little of the old man’s words. He himself felt the losses, once again unable to get his hands on an item that would solve his stat issues in a blink of an eye.

Cloud and Valorie Mystio. They were the lords in charge of the town, and famed Journeyman that even the king of Sham La recognized. Even for Zyler, being in the same stage of them, could consider them too famous to touch. Still, just because they’re famous doesn’t mean they're invincible.

Especially when it was rumored that they started on making a sphere of inheritance for their daughter.

Of course, being a Journeyman, the only worth of that sphere is the excess energy he could get to break through a stat or even two. But once it was revealed that it was the only way to create that barrier that stumped their platoons before the elite team showed up, Zyler had not been in the best of moods for a long while.

Still, he got over it. It’s been over three months since then, and he managed to finally get a control over his urges… to a degree. He still wanted to tear these old farts apart with his bare hands, and might even be inclined to do so if he wasn’t careful. And their only crime from pissing him off is that they were just so boring to listen to.

At least bring in some girls with scant clothing. At least then he’ll be distracted enough to listen properly. As the talks continued on, it was revealed that they were able to get some more information regarding Eve Glade, something that caught Zyler by surprise after the old man continued.

“The time to begin another attack in earnest will soon arrive. However, as of this moment, we should pour our efforts to meet up with the demands of the Federation, and only then can we continue with our goals.”

“Hold on,” Zyler spoke up, getting everyone’s attention as the young master of the city finally began to talk throughout the entire meeting.

Not that they believe him to be a fool even if he goes down the path of a fighting lunatic. It was considered national knowledge that Zyler just didn’t give a shit about politics or meetings. But even then, they followed the mayor’s orders to the letter to have Zyler partake in the meetings. So him speaking up for once was quite frankly an unexpected event.

“So we’re not ready to attack them yet? We still gotta wait?”

“Y-Yes,” The old man stuttered a bit from the sudden response, but he quickly composed himself. “With our reports of Eve Glave receiving more attention from the kingdom, and assuredly they are preparing themselves for any of our own attacks, we still have no chance of getting back into the assault without losing too many of our resources. What’s more, we could not push and prod or else we will end up angering our benefactors. I’m afraid that we must slow our progress until such time has come.”

“Damn it…”

Zyler growled, and it wasn’t the normal growl of a male warrior. It was deep, primal, practically frightening the old men that were around him. Everyone in this entire city knows that when Zyler gets angry, one must always steer clear.

As for Zyler, he could only curse the gods for his shitty luck. Who knew how long this could last?

Still, he shook his head. There was at least one thing he had on hand, something that his dear sister told him about months ago.

“And… What of the biodome? Had they found out yet?”

“That is…” The old man seemed to hesitate, then actually visually swallowing air, he responded. “That is to say… I believe they did.”

“Fuck!”

The old men had never ran faster in their lives as Zyler roared and started throwing the giant table they were sitting at straight towards the window.