Epilogue 1
Another day of grueling training finally came to an end. Exhausted, Zycor bid everyone goodnight with the last of his strength and dragged himself to his room. Closing the door behind him, Zycor limped a few extra steps before collapsing on his bed and swiftly passed out.
After the door to his room had shut, Baz, Mylon, Clyde and Barroo gave each other a nod and stood up. The group then made their way outside onto the twilight-covered streets and made their way to the Angry Tortoise.
Entering the tavern, the group made their way through the crowd and ‘ethically’ acquired a table. As the group sat down Baz let out a hefty sigh, “Jeez, whatever that crazy spider woman is doing, it’s working.”
“Agreed. It's been only four months since he began training with her, but Zycor’s progress has been incredibly rapid,” Clyde responded, leaning back in his chair.
Mylon hailed a server for some mead and added, “That may be true, but there are limits to what improving his physical abilities will do. He still has the issue of his magic reserves being non-existent.”
Barroo nodded, “That’s true, though learning proper hand to hand combat is a great boon for his fighting style, but there is a limit. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can really do to help at this point.”
The server, an unusually bulky woman, slammed their drinks on the table and collected the thirty-two Solium coins from the group and left. After taking a swig from the mug, Clyde asked the group, “Speaking about Zycor and his magic, does anyone else find it… odd?”
Baz raised an eyebrow at the statement and curiously responded, “What do you mean ‘odd’?”
As he looked at the mead slosh softly in his mug, Clyde continued, “Well, sure his mana capacity being so low is out of the ordinary by itself, but I am talking about the magic he is able to use.”
Mylon, continuing Clyde's thought, said, “You are talking about how he has only been using his lightning attribute, isn’t that right?”
Clyde made a ‘sort of’ gesture with his hand and responded, “Sort of, but that is not all. He mainly uses lightning magic for pretty much everything, but while I thought about it more, I remembered something I cannot explain.” Clyde looked over at Barroo and further inquired, “You remember that manabear we fought with the kid?”
Barroo nodded, “Yeah, there were four of the bastards if I remember correctly. It took everything we had just to kill the first three. That was a rough day… but why bring it up?”
Clyde continued his explanation, “Well, towards the end of that fight against the last one, when it charged everyone it suddenly stopped.”
Mylon, in an effort to provide an explanation, offered up a suggestion, “Well, when a mana creature uses its trump card, it depletes its reserves of mana and energy. So didn’t it stop because it ran out of steam?
Clyde shook his head, “No, by the looks of it that thing still had enough fight in it to take out the injured at the very least. I was focused on the opening that had presented itself, but as I looked back on it, the bear ceased moving after Zycor shouted. It got me thinking, is it possible Zycor has acquired a new magic type?”
The whole table went silent for a moment, to allow Clyde’s words to sink in. Baz threw back the rest of his mead and slammed the mug onto the table. A large grin covered his face as he bellowed, “Well, ain’t that interesting! Now I am curious to know what will become of that! HA, now THAT is fun!” The rest of the group began to laugh. Through his laughter, Clyde agreed with Baz as he exclaimed, “Well said Baz!”
Mylon nodded in agreement, “I am now far more curious to see the results of his training. We can’t fall behind either lads!”
As the group cheered, further annoying the other tavern patrons, Mylon thought to himself, “If he really does have a new type of magic, it’s important he does not let anyone from the church know. It may result in trouble none of us want.”
Epilogue 2
“Another splendid day, you two! You both have come so far, it brings a tear to my eye. To think only a year and a half ago you two could barely hold a conversation!” Silvan excitedly exclaimed.
Aisha stood up and politely replied, “Thank you for helping us, Ms Silvan. Despite how grueling practicing with this socially inept fool was, we are both better for it.”
Zycor followed Aisha’s example and offered his own thanks, “As Aisha said, thank you for everything. It truly was a tiresome experience, dealing with such a spoiled child, but surviving it only made me stronger.”
His comment only served to drive Aisha’s annoyance through the roof as she exclaimed,“Excuse me!?”
“Now now you two, I believe that is enough learning for today. Aisha, you may depart for the day. My dear Zycor and I have other things to do. I will see you later, darling~.” Silvan said in her typical bubbly tone.
As she walked off, Aisha wondered what she would do with the remaining time she had until she was picked up. She settled on heading to the guild’s bar area. After taking a seat, she put her head down onto the table. Aislin, who was working behind the bar, nonchalantly asked, “Rough day?”
Not wanting to look at anything but the table, Aisha exhaustedly retorted, “That is the understatement of the year. I am fairly sure I upset Zycor again and further damaged our relationship.”
Aislin let out a slight chuckle, “Heh, that seems to be a normal occurrence, don’tcha think? Hell, it might be odder to hear your relationship improving at this point.”
Aisha lifted her head up and looked at Aislin with an annoyed look, “It’s not like I am trying to sabotage our relationship! It just sort of happens, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Perhaps taking a moment to relax and talk about it would help,” Adria commented, suddenly sitting next to Aisha.
“GOOD GODDESS, ADRIA, WHAT THE HELL!” Aisha exclaimed, startled by Adria’s sudden appearance.
Adria smiled as she apologized, “Sorry deary, I did not mean to scare you that bad. I was merely offering you a chance to relax and vent your frustrations. There is a spot I go to occasionally to relax, would you like to come?”
Aislin giddily chimed in, “Oh! Oh! Are we going there tonight!? Aisha you have to come!”
Unfortunately for Aisha, she had not been taught how to deal with peer pressure as of yet. Succumbing to said pressure, Aisha sighed, “So, where are we going?”
Adria smiled, “It’s a surprise, deary. Just meet Aislin and I out front in a few minutes.”
Aisha nodded and returned to sulking until it was time. Aislin tapped on her shoulder about ten minutes later and told her it was time. The two of them headed out front to meet with Adria. “Are you two ready?” Adria asked.
As Aislin wrapped her arm around Aisha she happily responded, “Yep, we are good to go!”
Adria nodded and had them follow her around back. She then tapped her foot on the ground, causing the chunk of earth beneath them to begin to sink as one large rock. After descending two-hundred or so feet, Aisha looked around in amazement as there was a tunnel reinforced with iron to keep it from collapsing. As they all walked forward a few steps, Adria tapped her foot again and raised her lower right hand. The earth then rose back to the surface as Adria and Aislin used fire magic to illuminate their path. “Where are we?” Aisha asked as she looked around.
“We are in one of the many secret passages I constructed so I could move around more freely without being noticed. This particular one brings us out into the forest area. I have something special set up there.” Adria explained.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Adria had them all stop as she began to imbue magic into the ground beneath them. As she did, loose dirt began to fall off of the metal being raised up. It was revealed to be an iron platform that locked into slits at the bottom of the walls. The slits extended through the rest of the passage, runes carved into them at set intervals. Adria poured mana through the rails to activate the runes and the platform began to accelerate.
After eight minutes of travel, the platform slowed to a stop. It descended into a slot beneath it as loose dirt recovered it. Adria put her hand on the wall in front of them. The wall began to descend in the same fashion as the block of earth they rode down prior. Ascending to the surface, the trio were met with stone circles that had relatively clean and seemingly polished floors in the middle. Adria created a water bubble right above the circle and heated it using fire magic, before she finally dropped it into the circle. She looked over at Aislin and Aisha and happily chimed, “Ta-da! This is a hot spring created by yours truly so I could relax! Especially when I get anxious thinking about what that conniving arachnid is doing to my Zycor.”
As they all got in, Aislin let out a huge sigh, “Ah~, now this is some good shit. It always feels awesome to soak in here.”
While Aisha settled in and she began to relax, her ears suddenly popped out. Though, considering her surroundings, she did not pay it any mind. “You guys have been coming out here to do this, and have not even thought to invite me? You guys suck for that.” Aisha complained as she sunk deeper into relaxation.
Adria chuckled, “Well, I am glad to hear you are enjoying it.” Shifting her tone slightly, she continued, “Now, I would like to hear about how Zycor is doing. Is he well? Is he causing trouble?”
Aisha laughed, “Ha, you really care about that idiot, don’t you Ms. Adria? Well, you will be happy to hear he is doing just fine. Although I must admit, I don’t know if I like him better now, or before he was able to quip back.”
Adria leaned against the bath’s wall. “That’s good to hear. So, he is doing fine,” She sighed with relief. Changing the topic of the conversation, Adria continued, “ So, Aisha, what has been bothering you? I can tell something is going on.”
Aisha, embarrassed, replied, “Well, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
Adria reassured Aisha, “Oh my dear, no need to worry about such things here! In all honesty, despite my best efforts I can’t help myself from enjoying this kind of talk.”
Aisha awkwardly began to explain, “It’s just, I continuously damage the relationships that I have with people. I just don’t know how to… not do that.”
“Have you tried not being an asshole when you talk to people, specifically Zycor?” Aislin asked
Aisha began to blush hard as she stammered, “W-w-what does this have to do with that d-dumbass!?”
Aislin pointed at Aisha, “My point exactly.”
Aisha snapped back, “Hey! It’s not like I am actively being mean for the hell of it! It’s just, my dad always told me that I need to always talk with my status in mind. And that talking as such along with being mean to others, specifically boys, was the best way to make a connection.”
Aislin, after recovering from the utter stupidity of her fathers’ advice, asked, “And you believed that bullshit?!”
“Well, I asked the maids and butlers about it and they all said so as well.” Aisha replied
Aislin leaned back, “Well, I suppose if I had a daughter, I may also spout such nonsense as well.”
Adria interjected, “I feel that I should mention that most people are not a fan of that type of treatment. It makes sense now why you tend to be so overly aggressive towards the people you like. So a good first step would be to tone said aggression down. I am sure Zycor would like you more if you did that.”
Aisha’s ears stuck up as her face grew even redder while she yelled, “What is that supposed to mean!? I-it’s not like I like him!”
Aislin chuckled, “Do you even hear yourself? Everyone and their mother at the guild knows, the only one in the dark is that emotionally challenged moron. We can’t help you if you won’t even be honest with yourself.”
Aisha remained silent as her ears drooped down. Breaking the silence, Adria commented, “Well, I do remember he told me there was someone he liked a while ago.”
Aisha’s ears perked up and Aislin’s eyes widened. “Well!? Don’t just stop there, I wanna know!” Aislin exclaimed as Aisha leaned in while she nodded in agreement
Adria thought for a moment, then spoke, “Apparently, there was a girl he grew up with before… the incident. Anyways, he mentioned how he had a crush on her. He always talked about how he loved that she could and would play with him and his friends despite being a girl. But what he really liked about her was how kind she was. There is more to it than that, but for our purposes, I believe that this explanation is sufficient.”
Aisha’s ears drooped down again as she looked into the twilight sky. She felt a pain in her heart as she slumped into the bath. As Aislin pestered Adria for more information about what Zycor said about the girl, Aisha became lost in her own thoughts.
After a moment, she sat up and slapped her face with both hands. Filled with resolve, she stated, “Alright! It’s decided! I am going to try and not be as mean and insulting to other people! B-but don’t misunderstand, this has nothing to do with that bumbling idiot!”
Adria and Aislin looked at her in silence for a moment, before Aislin burst into laughter while Adria smiled gently, “Of course dearie. I think that is a wonderful idea.”
Epilogue 3
As he packed the last of what he would need into his bag, Zycor called out to Novos, “Hey buddy, time to get up. We’re heading out.”
Novos began to stir on Zycors bed as he wobbled to his feet. Rolling off the bed and hitting the floor, Novos stood up and stretched. Zycor chuckled as he motioned for Novos to follow. Leaving his room and peering over the railing down into the empty guild hall, Zycor smiled as he reminisced upon all that had happened in this hall. He thought about when he and Adria first got the guild house, meeting Clyde, Baroo and the other adventurers. Finding Aislin, Meeting Aisha, growing closer with Baz and Mylon. The good laughs they shared, and the fights they had. Thinking back on it, Zycor thought about how he couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to call his family and friends. He began to make his way down the stairs and outside before stopping one final time in front of the main doors. As he gave one final glance back, a somber feeling set in as he thought about how it would be a while until he saw this again.
Exiting the building, Zycor and Novos were illuminated in the light of the dawn. Adria, Silvan, and Aislin were waiting at the entrance to the barren fields. Aislin, arms crossed, grinned as she chuckled, “About time, I almost thought you decided to not go because you would miss us too much!”
Zycor let out his own chuckle as he responded, “I will miss all of you, don’t get me wrong, but this is something I have to do.”
Aislin was flustered by his reply and embarrassingly retorted, “Yeah, well, of course I know all that. What do you take me for?”
As Zycor approached Adria, she smiled as she saw how big he had grown. She began to reminisce as she spoke, “My, it seems as though it was just last week I found you. And now look at you, you’re so big now!”
Without a word, Zycor embraced Adria and gratefully said, “Thank you mom, for everything. You have done so much for me and words could never properly express my feelings. I love you.”
Adria returned his embrace two fold as a single tear escaped her eye as she replied, “Oh my dear boy, it is I who should be thanking you! I never thought I would ever care about someone else, and yet here I am. I love you too, my dear.”
After their hug ended, Zycor turned to Silvan. Her eye twitching, Silvan stuttered, “N-now darling, you know I am not much of a hugger. L-let’s settle down now.”
Ignoring her pleas, Zycor used some of his lightning magic to dash over to Silvan and give her a massive bear hug. As he did, he thanked her, “And to you as well, thank you for all of your help. It means so much to me that you would go out of your way to help me. Thank you, Auntie Silvan.”
Hearing Zycor call her his aunt finally got her to crack under the pressure. The bond they had spent the last three years building appeared for all to see in the form of her blushing and returning the embrace. Adria grinned mockingly at Silvan while she made a poor attempt at hiding it. Silvan immediately ended the embrace and, upset, responded, “Well, darling, I must admit I had more fun than I had initially thought I would. So…thank you as well, Zycor.”
Adria let out a giggle as those words left Silvan’s mouth, the latter of whom snapped, “Oh you be quiet! Gloat about your victory later!”
Zycor, confused about what they were talking about, thought about asking, but decided it was better left a mystery. Novos came up next to Zycor and nudged him. Zycor looked down at him and saw he was now awake and ready to go. Zycor nodded and said, “Well, I suppose it is time for me to head out.”
Adria reminded Zycor one final time, “Remember, you are going to be on your own for this journey. I gave you some funds and you have the account Dreiford set up for you. I know you are eighteen already, but you are still going to a rank C dungeon, alone. I can’t help but worry.”
Aislin chimed in, “Aw don’t be like that Ms. Mori, the kid will do just fine! And he won’t be alone, he has Novos with him!”
Novos chirped in reply, most likely in an attempt to reassure Adria that they would be fine. Adria sighed as she continued, “I know that, but still, it’s nearly an eight month trip one way, on top of the time to clear the dungeon! I’m not sure I am ok with him being gone that long.”
Zycor smiled at Adri and reassured her, “Don’t worry mom, I won’t do anything crazy I promise. I also promise to write you letters to let you know how I am doing.”
Silvan gave Adria a pat on the back as she snarked, “My my, I didn’t think anything could get to the great Adria Mori! Well~, isn’t this interesting!”
Adria grabbed Silvan by her shirt as she threatened, “Oh yeah? Well then, maybe I should have spider for dinner, wonder how it would taste well-done!”
Zycor saved Silvan as he began to walk away while he said, “I love you guys! Try not to burn the guild down while I’m gone!”
Aislin raised a questioning eyebrow at Zycors statement. As they all watched him walk off into the wastelands and towards the dungeon, Silvan commented, “He’ll be fine. He is pretty talented for having such a limited mana pool. Honestly, that may have ended up being a blessing, forcing him to think outside the box to fight.”
Adria responded with a smile, “Yeah, he really is incredible. I’m glad you openly admitted that, because it makes what comes next easier.”
Silvan, knowing what she meant, reached into her pocket and pulled out five gold coins. She held her hand out as she complained, “Just take the five vols and say nothing more, I don’t want to hear the gloating…”
Adria chuckled as she took her reward, turning to open the guild for the day.