Carnos was not one to indulge himself with too much tea, but today had shaped to be an exception. He was sitting behind his desk, leaning on the backrest of his chair as he tried to calm himself from the day's events. He hadn't been successful.

The tea he was having was the best the new world had to offer. Grown on the side of the tallest explored mountains, it had a rich flavor that greeted him with every small sip and a relaxing aroma that was good to the nose. Not only that, but the tea leaves themselves were full of natural mana, making them prized for their ability to not just rejuvenate the body, but the mana reserves of a mage too. That said, Carnos was on his sixth cup, and he was on the verge of calling for a seventh.

A mana potion would have been more effective than the tea, but Carnos disliked the taste of most magical concoctions. He wasn't that desperate, yet. Maybe he would reconsider if he found himself on the verge of death.

Dasha stood next to the branchmaster, holding a teapot while having a concerned look on her face. The light of the setting sun streamed through the open windows on one side of the room, signifying the arrival of dusk.

Carnos tapped his fingers, hiding the tremors of his hands behind an action he could control. His eyes twitched slightly and his lips were sealed. He was exerting a lot of effort to keep himself upright and still. Sweat trickled between his brows in spite of the cold wind that blew from outside. The tea itself was warm, but it soon froze cold once it reached his stomach.

It had been a few hours since the duel and Carnos was yet to recover from casting the meteor spell. Doing so had crippled his mana reserves, causing him to be unable to use magic until he had recovered half of what he had expended. Not only that, but such a loss of mana also extracted a toll on his body, resulting in weakness and mild loss of muscle control.

It was a terrifying gamble for Carnos to have used such a spell against a young man with unknown powers, but the branchmaster wanted to be sure. The young man was, well, young. He had a fairly muscled build, a respectable demeanor, and an air of humility and shyness. The young man also lacked any sort of magic. From the moment he stepped foot into Carnos' office, he sensed nothing. No mana. No magic. No spells. Not even a hint of talent.

The young man was, from the get-go, a blank, but the letter of recommendation from Baran was genuine and sincere. On that special piece of parchment, the portmaster wrote rather fondly of the young man, making it clear that he had what it took to become an Adventurer.

Carnos was unsure what to make of it all. There was always the possibility that Baran had been mind-controlled or corrupted, but who would have the power to do such a thing? He was aware that the city had various safeguards in place to prevent a shadow or demonic incursion, which ruled out the possibility of otherworldly intervention. That said, there was also the risk of a bad actor operating behind the scenes, a master manipulator perhaps? Or a mind-shaper. Carnos suspected the latter.

Still, he had to make sure. If there wasn't anything nefarious involved, then surely the young man was wishing for death, and Baran was unwittingly granting him the sickle. But why? It still did not make any sense.

Then the questions came. His spell worked as intended, informing him of what was true, half-true, or false, and nothing of what was said was a lie. Which confused him more. Then the young man claimed that he was a mage, and it was considered a half-truth.

Carnos' only hope for clarity was the seer stone. A magical item that could see and present the magical potential and talent of any individual who placed their hands on its surface. He expected the seer stone to appear blank from the get-go, displaying no reaction.

But it did react, and it reacted in a way he had not yet seen before or since. The colors within churned, swirled, and grew to the point of intensity, summoning a wind that should not have been possible. Carnos catastrophic was about to happen, and just as he was about to move and summon a protection spell, the stone stopped, and finally turned blank.

Carnos became suspicious of the young man, but he also grew afraid for him. Looking into the young man's eyes, he saw what could only be described as an emptiness veiled by a thin layer of hope. Therefore, Carnos decided to test the limits of whatever he was facing. Baran would not have recommended the young man if he wasn't special, and Carnos was willing to give him the chance.

The duel happened, but calling such was a farce. It was a one-sided contest, and Carnos lost.

To see hundreds of his metal shards waved away by the mere swipe of a hand dumbfounded Carnos. Only an anemancer of equivalent rank or higher could have done something like that, and he would have felt the surge of magic in the air and saw the struggle in their eyes as they summoned powerful winds to redirect his attack.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The metal shards he shot were not just pointed metal sticks, but were also an incredibly hard-to-move projectile reinforced by a layer of magic which gave them their accuracy and sharpness. Winds wouldn't have budged his shards to the point of losing speed and neither would the shards have shattered once they stabbed the ground, but a few did. A disturbing few.

Then there was the meteor. He knew that casting the meteor spell was dangerous not just to the young man, but to himself. Doing so required using almost all of his mana, thereby draining him almost completely to the point of mana deprivation. However, he deemed it a necessary gamble. The stakes were high, but the possibility of high reward meant that it would have been worth it.

Thus, through skilled body control, years of training, and help from Dasha, he managed to bury the sharp pain and sudden weakness that came about after casting the spell as if they weren't there, and kept himself standing.

Much to his shock and horror, the young man stopped the meteor before it could slam against the ground, most likely injuring the young man near the point of death if it had done so. Instead, the meteor was the one who was turned to dust, crushed by what appeared to be the clenched fist of a man with power beyond his current understanding of abilities.

Then the young man walked up to him with a glare that pierced like a sword through his chest, extending his reach around Carnos. Carnos found himself frozen by a fear. A fear of being overwhelmed. He felt the young man's power over his skin, around his hair, and even on his eyes. Right then at that very moment, he knew he could have died. Should have died.

But Adam, instead, cried. And Carnos found nothing but pity, and saw nothing but sorrow. The young man was still but a boy, a boy who needed help.

"How much did they eat?" Carnos asked as he tapped away at the table with his fingers.

"Mr. Ruk consumed a table's worth of food. Adam partook in half as much." Dasha replied.

"They both like food. Good. They share something in common then." Carnos said.

"Sir, isn't that too much of a stretch to say? Everyone needs food to survive. Ruk is still an orc, and Adam is a young human with strange powers." Dasha pointed out.

Carnos' gaze traveled towards the window facing the setting sun. The sky beyond was plastered with an orange hue, painting faraway clouds with the color of flame. If he squinted, he could imagine one of the clouds to be a phoenix, the revered magical creature of the guild he served.

"And they're both far away from home. Both are outcasts." Carnos said.

Dasha raised a brow and tilted her head, "I know about Ruk, but Adam?"

Carnos took a small sip of tea, emptying the cup. He then raised the cup towards Dasha, asking for a refill. "His eyes grieve. The tears he shed were but a confirmation of the sorrow. Not only that, but do you think there is a human alive who doesn't know about mages and magic? About how guilds and Adventuring work? Especially considering how popular and lucrative this job is? No, I think not. But he doesn't."

"Anyone can be ignorant. Like I was once." Dasha said as she poured tea into the cup, filling it near the brim. The aroma was enticing, but not enough to make her crave one for herself. "The tribespeople from the southern reaches come to mind. They possess no magical ability, yes?"

"The southern reaches are half a world away. They despise the other kingdoms and races as much as they despise the ocean. I doubt one of their ilk would find themselves all the way here."

Carnos moved to take another sip from his steaming cup, but paused just short of the cup touching his lips. "Wait. Have we received a reply from Baran?"

Dasha shook her head, "The portmaster has yet to send back a message through the waystone. But I'm confident it will arrive come evening."

Carnos had instructed Dasha to send Baran a message. It was more of an inquiry, containing several questions as to the background of the young man the portmaster recommended and if he knew about his strange powers. Baran usually replied quickly, but it had been a few hours since the message was sent.

Waystones were magical items that could send and receive messages to other magically-linked waystones. Though distance and magical interference often degraded the quality of the message sent, most waystones had enough range and power to pierce through the maw that separated the world in two.

That said, waystones ran on a hefty supply of mana to operate effectively. Such an energy source was either provided by the user themselves or through the use of mana crystals. Because of this, waystones had proven to be rather expensive to buy and use, especially if the owner or user was not magically-able.

Carnos, despite his position, did not possess his own waystone. Instead, he made use of the guild-provided waystone which was built into the guild building itself, allowing it to be used by all members of the guild. Provided, of course, they paid or had the mana to do so.

Carnos and Dasha stayed inside the office until the sun eventually set. Once the stars showed their twinkling presence in the sky and the shadows reigned, they decided that it was time to go.

Dasha was the first to leave. Being an elf, she didn't need to sleep as often as humans or the other races. Such a boon allowed her to work longer hours, making her able to sift through paperwork more effectively than the average clerk.

Tonight, however, was shaping up to be busier than usual for Dasha. She needed to file the necessary paperwork regarding Ruk and Adam's recruitment, make special arrangements for the two's guardian-orc relationship, and pull some legal strings to justify why a newly-ranked rank 1 anemancy mage was allowed to partner up with an Orc Berserker.

Dasha sighed as she left the branchmaster's office and closed the door behind her. It was a mystery to her why Carnos had acted the way he did. Not only did he place a young human's life in danger, but unknowingly placed his own life at risk too.

The scene flashed inside her mind as if it had just happened mere moments ago. That outstretched hand. That tingle of influence on all their skin. That bored and empty stare.

Dasha felt a chill run down her spine, a rare feeling for an elf to experience. That said, she shook her head and focused. The night was just another shift. She trusted Carnos and the guild to always make the right decision. After all, none of them would be here if they didn't.