My hands… I watched them. No blood. I was in some kind of lake, all I could see was my reflection on the surface. I died? Why did my body still have cuts? I was still bleeding from the pectoral, from a huge opening. It would leave a scar. A breeze of air confronted my back, I turned calmly to look, but the horizon remained unchanged. A strong light appeared. I covered the front of my eyes with an arm, the glare was similar to sunlight, however its yellowish hue soon turned blue and burned in white flames. I managed to see a single reflection beneath all the grandeur of such power… It looked like a woman.

I opened my eyes, my breathing was fast. This time, my entire body ached. I was bandaged from my toes to my neck, and as far as I could feel, even my face was bruised enough for that. A dream… It was uncertain to say, but that voice was real, I could hear it clearly. A thump on the window snapped me out of my thoughts, which gave me a shiver and made me look around. The window was wooden, looked like it had been refurbished for high winds. This place was identical to the hospital room I stayed in last time, which led me to think… Impossible.

"You again. Yes I know." said the doctor who took care of me the other time, and the same one who I gave the blessed fruits to.

"What happened? I need to go see my parents—” A twinge hit my ribs as I tried to stand up, on the verge of a harsh groan. However, returning to the same position seemed more uncomfortable. Shit.

“I just received you here barely alive and did my job. Arvid brought you here"

“Arvid?

“He is a Royal Guard. You've slept for three days" Incredulous, so I've seen Ellie's beauty it's been a while. "and will stay four more. By the way, drink all that green juice there."

“Wait, I need to go train. Four days is a lot!" Speaking in a tone that was higher than a whisper brought an agonizing pain to my throat.

"You will rest and put to good use the fruits you brought" she said, before leaving as if it had been a definite order.

On the third attempt to pick up the cup, I finally realized my arm wanted a vacation and gave up. Wait, the fruit was blue. So why was the juice green? Well, I sure had a lot to think about, although that did pique my curiosity. The absence of a book here brought me mixed thoughts, as if my mind wanted to put this on the table ages ago, and only now had the chance — or the right piece — to pull it all together.

I slowly remembered what happened. That guy came up to me when I was coming back from the hospital and picked me up. Honestly, I knew I was weak to face him or anyone; and that was more acceptable. The sound of the water and the swaying of the window gave me a tense shiver and a heaviness in my heart, but I soon calmed it down with a long sigh. It was hard to understand. Why the hell did these things happen to me? A normal guy, without even using magic, getting humiliated every time he wants to go on a mission. It was too much even for me to swallow.

“Good night, my boy" I heard a familiar voice from the door. When I turned my face, I could see Bruno's mother enter. Right behind her followed her son, his right eye bandaged. He was dressed in a black coat and pants, but his hands were also covered in bandages. I needed to ask him later.

“Aunt Alyssa" I said in an unfavorable tone for myself. She looked as powerful as usual in her red queen's mantle detailed with gold edges. Her blue eyes the hue of the surface of a crystalline lake stood out next to her locks of lovely light brown hair.

My current state prevented me from giving them a tight hug, so I restrained myself with a handshake. It had been ages since I last saw her. Being queen of kingdom seven became a task that demanded too much time, even Bruno didn't see her for a while.

"I had to stop by, Bruno said you've been getting into a lot of things. Can you explain it to me now." Her anger scared me as much as my mother did.

It took me a while to count all the coincidences I went through, she heard clearly and sat down next to me. Bruno remained quiet in the corner. It seemed that the “burden” was lighter after that, I felt less sad about my situation of being helpless and without magic.

“What happened that day was an attack. These activities brought the Kingdom of Enguerrand to the attention, or the tenth if you prefer to call it that, since the Minotaur incident." she sighed. "And since you, oddly enough, have been to all of them, I'll be leaving two of my guards to defend you, okay? I also want you to avoid trouble."

Oh, if only she knew...

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Understood..." I replied reluctantly.

"Gerould Alb'en and Ataz Oligron are already here, anything just shout." I nodded in response. She kissed my forehead and said she had to go.

"Here." said Bruno as he handed me a book. Weariness flowed into his voice. "You will like."

I opened my mouth to respond, but he turned and left with Alyssa. Their visit brought comfort, made the environment more peaceful. I missed the moments we had before, I wondered how everything had changed so suddenly. I directed my gaze to the book, on the cover was written "Tales of Lu'ir". The cold, wet weather was wonderful to read, it was a shame my arms were at complete rest.

"Lumi. Kai." A tremor came to my body, that voice brought, in the same intensity, terror and protection.

A tall man walked through the door, his footsteps soundless. His left eye was dominated by a light green hue, and his right by a dark blue and light lines. He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, his brown and green hair fell around his neck. He approached the bed while giving me a peaceful look. I had no right way to react, just looking at him I could feel his strength.

He lifted a black sword-shaped cape — a small one — and placed it on my desk. The cover had some small, almost invisible details, like some snakes and rare birds dueling in a kind of ring on top of the lava. I looked at him and arched an eyebrow, he just signaled for me to look back at the cover. After a few minutes, I admitted to myself that I had seen all there was to see.

"It's just an iron dagger, why did you stare at it for so long?" he said, his tone playful despite his thick voice.

"You hinted at that." I growled.

“Anyway, I need you to keep this between the two of us. This dagger is a prevention… A means of helping you, so to speak" He lifted his hand and linked his middle finger with his thumb. “And that… it's just prevention."

He snapped his fingers and a current of air formed on his forearm, then took on a tornado shape and swirled through his entire body. The air was infused with magic to a degree I had never seen before, such control and elemental mastery was unusual for Karin. The air began to circulate and covered a larger area around him, and quickly hovered over the walls, ceiling and floor of this room. I marveled at how well mana could be put to good use, I wondered if I could do that too. Head forward, Lumi, only use magic if you run away from the beating. Although that hooded guy used both. The man pulled out a dark green stone, which had one or two phosphorescent lights at its ends.

"One more gift, this one is called Petrom. From the look on your face, I imagine doesn't know. Well, it basically serves you to call for help if you need it, which, in your case, happens a lot." I opened my mouth to retort, but thought twice. "You're a complicated boy, Kai, I hope you've realized that."

"Wait, why are you helping me?" Who are you anyway? And how can a stone call for help? And why this wall of air?" I spoke loudly.

"Unfortunately I need to withhold some information for now. Including, this conversation also needs to be kept secret. I know it sounds very confusing to you right now, but I also ask you to be wary of everyone, it's not safe here anymore."

"I don't even know you, it's contradictory to what you say! And I was almost killed recently, do you think coming out of nowhere to warn me was a good idea? And why wouldn't it be safe here? It's Karin!"

“See for yourself. All phenomena that you call 'unusual' are categorized as Abnormalities." I could hear the excitement in his voice. "And answer me, honestly, okay? How many of these abnormalities were you present for?"

My mind got more and more confused as we progressed in the conversation. Whenever I looked for a conclusion, an answer, I fell into the same question. The guy said his name was Arvid Milo. He introduced himself as a Royal Investigator, and who of his own free will decided to join Karin's cases.

“Okay, the fact that I'm present in the Hoasters herd, the Goblin, the flame bear, the minotaur and the guy in the green hood makes me want to cry all by itself, and you tell me there's something bigger in all of this?" I said in disbelief, I've barely been able to survive this far.

“I admit I've thought a lot about whether or not to tell you, but that would be unfair. I prefer that you see these images while I speak, so you will understand the seriousness of the possible situation."

I nodded. He took a few sheets from the inside of his suit and laid them across my — exhausted — legs. Three stood out, and my heart already wanted to come out of my mouth. The first one wore a mask with painted eyes, I froze and wanted to cry. That shit was bizarre. Underneath his photo was written… “Wanted: dead or alive. Reward: One thousand pieces of silver.” I screamed, and every cell in my body regretted it.

I closed my right eye from the throb that hit me and looked at Arvid, who kept his face straight this time.

"What the hell is that?"

“I believe this organization tried to kill you, they're called the Ritualists. They've been out of activity for two years, but it seems they've returned to challenge the Ten Kingdoms after invading your city."

“Arvid, I'm not following."

“If they tried to kill you, whether directly or indirectly, you need to be on your guard. I have no idea why, but it looks like they'll keep trying until they succeed." One, two, three tears welled up in my eyes.

It would be hard to tell if it was anger or sadness, the emotions felt bottled up, as if leaving now would only make my condition worse. He was telling the truth, none of what happened was normal. I tried to breathe, but failed. Arvid was patient as I tried to calm down, I lost track of how much time had passed.

“I know it's a lot to process, for anyone it would be. I only have three more points to deal with."

"You can continue"

"The third role is the one you should be most careful about." I looked, it was the image of a criminal wearing an orange mask with two red eye holes similar to those of snakes. Right away, looking at what was written, I noticed the difference. “Just dead. Obscure. Reward: One thousand gold pieces.”

“They haven't acted in years, but they're the ones who've caused the most trouble. Until we know why you're a target, I'll leave Pétrom. Remember, be wary of everyone, there are people who with their own powers rival a minotaur in the prime of his life." I swallowed hard as I imagined someone facing that thing.

Arvid turned and headed for the door.

"Wait, what about the third point?" I was already shaken up, so one more piece of information was okay.

“At the very least you are, or could become, a threat. Otherwise, why did they try to kill you? Just as kingdoms have their bounty system, villains have theirs too."

The wall of air dissolved, and a paper quickly floated into my lap. Arvid left with a smile on his face, it made me doubt his sanity. When I looked at the paper, I laughed too — whether it was nervousness or fear, it didn't matter.

"Lumi Kai. Just dead. Reward: Ten Bronze Coins."

My throat was already dry, but my eyes settled on my cover image. It was a picture of me… from inside my house.