Chapter 002
In the Forest of Albear, a young man was walking through the pathway. Merlin was wearing the clothes that God provided for him, commonly wore by rouge magicians around the continent. (The clothes is hard to describe and I'm not good at it, so just look for it below.)
However, the aura he radiated was very mystical and magically attractive, coupled with his handsome face and white unblemished skin. Although, he wasn't tall, he was not short either.
If someone saw him, they might have mistaken him as a young girl because of his straight and long silky silver hair laid on his back, while at the same time looks majestic and dazzling as it was blown into disarray by the subtle wind.
No doubt, Merlin had a feminine air around him, which would made people mistaken him for a girl at first glance....
Even in his previous life, it was already his greatest problem. That's why when he came into his puberty, he decided to grew a beard and didn't cut it until it grew longer. Only then, the people didn't mistaken him for a girl ever again.
But in this new life of him, Merlin decided to not grew a beard. He would not grew a beard anyway, as he would stay 21 for all eternity. Luckily, his junior was already fully developed.
Continuing his travel, Merlin set aside this thoughts and focused his mind ahead of him as he formulate a plan to make his own foundation in this world.
With the informations God provided, he already had some in mind. That is to do everything he couldn't do in his previous life and then found a School for Magic, as well as erased the thoughts and teachings of Holy Church that all Witches were Evil and daughter of the Devil.
"But first, I'll find a mount. Although, walking is very enjoyable as I keep on seeing wonderful things, it is very much time consuming. Luckily, this forest is a home for Silver Mane Gallop."
Using his Mana Sense, Merlin found a group of Silver Mane Gallop at the lake not far from his location.
"Looks like my search won't take me far. Mana Sense is really, very useful at times like these." said Merlin as he walked towards the lake.
He strode through the bushes, smoothly swept the tall grasses and arrived at the side of the lake. A beautiful scenery greeted him. Birds chirping, playing on the air, while fishes were somersaulting, catching insects like dragon flies hovering near the surface.
It was like a paradise for animals, an oasis with drinkable, clear water for stags, foxes, and other animals inhabited the forest. Everything would have been alright, if not for the ferocious beasts dwelling deep under that lake.
Because of this, all the land animals were cautious when they were around the lake. Affecting the atmosphere, that had become tense, scaring all the small animals from going into the lake.
Immediately, Merlin spotted the herd of Silver Mane Gallop, peacefully drinking near the lake.
The adult males were 2.5 meters tall on four limbs, while the females were 2.1 meters tall, a bit shorter than the males that had a large solid hoofs connected to their four thick, yet fast limbs, covered in white skin.
The Silver Mane Gallop was only second to the 9th fastest horses in the whole Continent of Sorceth, the Great Phantom Steed which lived in seclusion in the Ghost Forest of Twin-star Empire.
Walking closer to the herd, Merlin noticed the shadow emerging in the water, but the Silver Mane Gallop which was drinking on the corner of the lake was oblivious to the danger that was coming.
As fast as lightning, the serene surface of the lake was suddenly disturbed by the emerging beast as it sunk its teeth onto the body of the unfortunate Silver Mane Gallop.
Not satisfied with the agonizing cry of the horse, the beast tossed its prey upward and snatched it in the air as it swallowed the dead Silver Mane Gallop.
This ferocity that emerged from the lake was called, Wyrm Serpent. It had a long and huge body just like a snake, covered with hard scales and equipped with sharp teeth, instead of fangs with toxic venoms.
A hard to find Mana Beast, which had the ability to used Mana for attacking, and defending. It could strengthen its teeth, while sharpening it at the same time. Such beast was definitely not the Silver Mane Gallop's match, and could only escaped to save its life.
Clearly, the Wrym Serpent still wasn't full as it leaved the water and swiftly slithered as it blocked the pitifully scared horses that was about to flee. As it roared, it decided to attack and kill again, but Merlin would not permit it.
Such wonderful horse must be saved! He thought.
Instantly, Merlin appeared in front of the beast and touched its scale, while he nonchalantly cast a spell to protect the horses.
It spotted Merlin and attacked him instead, but before it could even move, its whole body, inside out was suddenly covered in ice, creating a very detailed and masterful ice sculpture.
"That's Frozen Queen's Touch for you. Very effective to a cold blooded beasts and easy to use." Merlin stated as he punched the frozen beast and it exploded that became a glittering crystal that descended from the sky, while the huge chunks sunk deep into the lake.
After Merlin killed the beast, the herd of Silver Mane Gallop moved closer, around him as they neighed and brushed their head on his face, deeply expressing their thanks for saving their lives.
"Okay, then. As thanks, accompany me at the outskirt of the forest." Merlin said which was seemingly understood by the Silver Mane Gallop herd leader as it lowered its body, inviting Merlin to ride on him.
The next moment, Merlin was rushing towards the outskirt on the Silver Mane Gallop, accompanied by the herd of Silver Mane Gallop behind him like a horse pastor.
When they were already close to the outskirt, and the first city was within their sight, the Silver Mane Gallop Merlin was riding on came to halt, the same with the herd.
Merlin unmounted the Silver Mane Gallop as it walked closer to him and brushed its head on him, as though saying goodbye to him.
A bit reluctant to part with, Merlin let go of the horse as he watched the herd disappeared deeper into the forest. He gave one more look to the direction where the horses disappeared as he turn around and walked towards the Balvion City, without looking back.
At the entrance of Balvion City, the city gate was heavily guarded by the soldiers of the kingdom as it was a border city.
The Border City of Balvion was the first place where traders and Merchants from another Kingdom would first arrived as it was one of the only five entrances that Ambrose Kingdom had, after the 3rd King built a huge, and strong wall around the border, marking as well as protecting his territory from possible invaders, illegal smugglers of goods, spies and run away wanted criminals from another Kingdom.
Even more, if they were Magic Artifacts Holder, or simply called by the people of Sorceth Continent, Magicians. People with amazing skills to perform impossible things that others could not, through the help of Magic Artifacts.
The inspectors at the gate were very busy. One could tell just friends the sight of long line of people and caravans wanted to passed through and enter the city.
Some of them were Merchants and Traders, while some were immigrants from neighboring kingdom, wishing to find a new and leeway life, and the others were people who were running away from their debts.
This group was more unfortunate than the immigrants as they would definitely not just granted passage, but would be locked behind bars and kicked back to their respective origins as well, with some added bonus, black eyes and body pains.
"Okay, you're clear. Here's your Entrance Token. Show it to an inspector if you're going to enter next time." said the inspector as he tapped the man's shoulder and shouted. "Next!" followed by the next person waiting on the line.
Then, a commotion happened when a new person came, and didn't wait on the line like others, instead head straight to the entrance. This caused other people to be mad, but when they saw whom it was, they just let it slide for once.
"Who's that girl? She's like a princess!"
"Look! Look! There she is!"
"She might be a Noble, a daughter of a Duke."
"Yeah, you might be right. I heard the Duke that controls Balvion City has a daughter with silver hair. She might be it."
"If I can just have a lunch with her I can already die peacefully!"
All this words were said lowly, but loudly. This made Merlin laughed, if they would know that he wasn't a she, they might faint from there foolishness. However, he could not blame them as his appearance was really feminine.
When Merlin arrived on the entrance, and was about to asked the inspector, an noble's carriage arrived so fast as it being pulled by the 7th fastest horse on the whole continent, the Golden Stallion.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The carriage stopped at the entrance and a man came out. The soldiers bowed to him and said. "Welcome back, Duke Sparrow!"
Then, he noticed Merlin. "Oh what we have here, a princess lost on her way. What's your name beautiful lady?" He said as he took Merlin's hand, but Merlin snatched it back. What Merlin did, made the Duke furious, but he didn't showed it.
Merlin laughed at his attempt and spoke. "I think you mistaken me for a girl, but actually I'm a guy."
The, silence ensued. "What?!!"
"What?! A man?"
"My dream princess is a man?! How could that happen?! Does it mean I'm a gay?!"
The people next to the man who spoke, backed away for a few meters. "Wait! I'm not a gay!"
"Ahaha-ha!" the Duke laughed awkwardly. "Your lie is really believable young lady."
"Actually, it's not a lie. Do you want to see my little Merlin?" Merlin said as he attempt to took off his clothes.
"No! It's okay! We believed you. Public nudity is punishable in this kingdom. If you don't want to be punished, don't do it." the inspector said.
"Oh that's okay. I don't want to undress anyway. It's just that people always mistaken me for a girl." said Merlin.
"Is that so? Then, it's nice meeting you." the Duke said and hurriedly leave with his carriage.
As the Duke left, the laugh of soldiers on the entrance resound as though it was their final laugh. "Hahaha! If you saw his face... Pfft!"
The inspector looked at Merlin. "Never thought you are a man. It's just your appearance is a bit confusing. So what are you here for?"
"It's okay, I'm Merlin Ambrosius by the way, a Magician."
"You're a Magician? Now that make sense. Anyway, since you're a magician you can enter immediately after some briefings. Come with me." said the inspector and walked towards the room instead the wall, while Merlin followed.
While inside, they said asked Merlin to some questions and he answered it truthfully. After some minutes, they stopped asking, and hid the wanted posters they used to identify if Merlin was a one of the wanted list. "Alright, you're clear."
"Can I ask what's the briefings for?"
"Ah that's for criminals, most notorious criminals are magicians. As they hold power beyond comprehension, we mustn't let someone like that to wreck havoc and spread terror in our kingdom. It's a soldiers duty to sacrifice his life for the kingdom's citizens. Specially, if it was a Witch." the inspector's face darkened as he said the latter.
"Alright, here's your Entrance Token. Don't lose it, that's important if you want to enter in another Kingdom. At least, it could lessen your burden when entering."
Merlin didn't lingered at the entrance any longer, and walked towards the City Plaza. There, he saw hundreds of stalls selling miscellaneous items, from items for house cleaning to many different accessories.
"I think, I need to check in an Inn first. Luckily, they are buying rare precious metals." he strode to a place with dirt road, not bricked and gathered gold element(Au) from the dirt, consolidating it into a gold plate and bars.
Inspecting the 10 gold plates and bars before him, one gold was made without impurities. Merlin nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand as it disappeared like magic.
Heading straight to the Jewelry Shop, Merlin entered a three story building with a sign board written "Emeralds Treasure Shop". As he entered through the door, he first saw the different kinds of precious stones and crystals being displayed around the walls.
Merlin walked up to the second floor where the Gold buyer was stationed. When he reached the second, Merlin entered a room and was greeted by a woman.
She was wearing an elegant gown with long sleeves, embroidered with gold flowery patterns, revealing her cleavage and right leg.
Merlin was in daze for a second before he walked towards the woman. "I'm here to sell my golds."he said.
The woman raised an eyebrow and smile mischievously. "What a cute lady. What's gold is this you're talking about? Can you show it to this big sister?"
With a wave of his hand, the 10 pure gold bars and plates appeared on the table, which amazed the woman as her eyes twinkled with a sense of mischief. "Oh are you a witch?"
Merlin laughed at this question and answered. "Actually, I'm a man. And no, I'm not a witch, although witches are not all evil, still the word witch made people faint in fear so be careful on what you say big sister..."
"So how much you'll buy my golds?" he asked.
The woman could not speak for a second when she heard Merlin. "Hahaha, your not just pretty but a good liar as well." Then, she saw the serious face of Merlin. "Are you for real?! You're really not a girl?!" Merlin seriously nodded.
"Now can you buy my golds? If not I'll go to your rival shop."
"No, wait let me look at it first." the woman ceased her harmless inquisition and examined the golds before her, while sweating profusely. "Where did you obtain this golds?! It's all without impurities! We'll gladly buy it for... One hundred thousand Mana Crystals!"
"Oh that's a bit confusing. I thought it could be sold for 1 million Mana Crystals, but... I think I'll try selling this to the shop at the second block." Merlin said and attempt to take the pure gold, but the woman blocked his hands.
"Okay! We'll buy it for 100,000 Mana Crystals! Cash!" she said, flustered.
Merlin smiled at her and said. "That's more like it."
"Just wait here and I'll talk to the shop owner about this." she left Merlin with the gold, and hurriedly return with another woman with her, the owner of the Emerald Treasure Shop.
The new woman looked Merlin and glanced at the gold peacefully laid on the table. She sat on the chair and examined the golds on her own. "This is all authentic and without a doubt real. Where did you get such gold? Pure gold is rarer than Cat's Eye Diamond."
"Actually, I'm new here and this golds were my inheritance from my dead grandparents, and I know where they got it, but I'll tell you where, only if you tour me around the city..."
The woman smile at him and answered. "Sure, by the way, I'm Vivianne Ambrose. The owner of this establishment. Welcome to our humble kingdom." and extended her hand.
Merlin took her soft hand and kissed it. "I am known as Merlin, Princess Vivianne."
"So you're truly a man, I thought my assistant here is only bluffing, and she also said that you're a magician." Vivianne said, and a bit flustered as she took her hand.
"Yes, I am. Apparently, I'm here to be a citizen, but I don't know how. Since, you're a princess, you surely knew how it is done."
"Oh I'll help you with that, but first here's your Crystal Card. And since, this is your first time here, I'll tell how it is used. You can use it at any different banks around the continent. 1 Mana Crystal is equivalent to 100 Gold Coins, while the rest you know already. Wait for me outside, I'll prepare for our first date." said Vivianne and winked as she left.
Merlin left as well and awaited Vivianne's exit, outside the building, but after an entire hour he doubted that she'll come out. The sky was dark and it was already lunch time, yet Merlin was still waiting, for an entire 3 hours.
He already did all the sitting positions he knew, to wait and eased his boredom. Then, after another few minutes Vivianne came out, but with another man. They leave the shop, while Vivianne's assistant waved them goodbyes.
Only then, she noticed Merlin and looked at him with pity, but she concealed it. "Ah-ah! Merlin, you're still here?" she said.
"Who's the man with Vivianne? I thought... Nevermind. Anyway, what's your name?" Merlin asked.
"I'm Mellisa Henchwood. If you want I'll tour you around the town..." she offered.
"I'll gladly accept it. The fees on me tonight." Merlin said as he extended his hand. "Let's go?" Mellisa took his hand and nodded.
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What do you think about Vivianne and Melissa?
Ah! I know what you're thinking! But no! There will be no harem in this story! I hate harem! I like to call it LOVE INTERESTS! Yes with S! because they are many! Can be counted in one handssssssssss.
By the way, here's the picture.
http%3a%2f%2fmedia-cache-ec0.pinimg.com%2f736x%2f7...772512.jpg [http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/7e/15/11/7e15111030aa08ee0e82cd1123772512.jpg]
(Credit to the owner of this pic. Note : it isn't mine)
Anyway, his first chapter in Phantasia is still good so far, as there's Mellisa to accompany him. Although, Vivianne made fun of him....but she has a relevant reason to do so.
The following chapters will be exciting! So stay tuned! That's up to you as well!
See y'all!