Reiki quickly finished three formations, without turning around, he said. "Via-san, what happened to Vulture?" While writing the two formations on the table, he turned his head sideways and continued. "Esta-san, it's good to see you unharmed." Esta rolled her eyes at him and said. "What was your goal in the first place? Kill me?" Reiki placed down the five formations on the table as he stretched his right hand that started to ache, he stood up from the table and walked past Selmer who was staring at them.
Reiki looked up to her and said. "No matter how badly you damage my non-existing reputation you won't be able to convince me to alter more. I already have my hands full." As he pointed at the line on the other side of the table, Esta's eyes narrowed, she said. "Is it me or did it get longer?"
Reiki said. "It did… At least I think so, I can't tell since I haven't even seen it move." None of the elves picked up the formations Reiki laid down on the table, Selmer picked all five of them up as he looked at it with a scrutinizing gaze. Reiki looked up to Vianola and said. "How about this time? Did you manage to bring a formation for me? Or did Vulture double down on what he said to try and keep his perfect image of himself?"
Vianola flashed him a friendly smile, she said. "His name is Vulre." Reiki let out a chuckle and said. "Two letters off, so what? From my impression of him, he acts like one." He let out a long yawn and said. "What time is it?" Reiki immediately waved his hand in dismissal, he continued. "You know what, never mind. I feel like time is slower for some reason for this day and I don't know why…"
Reiki walked towards his seat with Esta and Vianola behind him. All three of them sat down while Selmer remained standing while holding the five formations in his hands, he moved his gaze onto Reiki and said. "You're the one who's been altering formations?" Reiki nodded his head, he said. "Apparently." Selmer watched him play with the quill that went up and down between his fingers.
Selmer said. "Can you give me a few pointers?" Esta moved her gaze onto Selmer as she tried to sneak a glance from Reiki. Vianola pulled out her talisman again as it immediately glowed, she placed her left hand in her long hair and let out an annoyed sigh. Reiki stared at the quill at his hands as he spun it in his palm, he looked up to him and said. "Sure, I can teach you a thing or two if you're fine with someone like me."
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Second Floor Library
The sound of Melanor laughing could be heard throughout the entire room. Elanor was watching the screen with a serious expression while Enora dropped her quill onto the table. Melanor repeatedly smacked the table, she said. "If the other heads of the household saw this their jaw would touch the ground!" As she continued laughing, Elanor watched everything unfold while Enora picked up her quill and quickly went back to writing down notes.
Enora tried to write something but saw the word she wrote needed some ink, so she dipped the quill in a bottle of ink and started drawing more formations. Elanor placed a hand on her chin, her pupils started to glow as she tried to learn anything from what Reiki was doing. The door opened, Moranor walked into the room closing as it closed behind her. Moranor sat next to her mother and glanced at the screen, she said. "What happened? Hopefully, this is important because I was in the middle of training."
Moranor gave Melanor a side glance, Moranor said. "And why is mom laughing?" Melanor eventually stopped as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Elanor pointed at the screen, Moranor moved her gaze onto it and saw Reiki place down another five formations on the table. The table was slowly surrounded by more elves who were holding a quill and a small notebook.
The elves near Reiki and Selmer were trying to push each other as they tried to get a better view. Selmer pointed at a couple of formations as he asked Reiki a question, he started explaining the elves who were trying to shove each other immediately stopped and started taking notes. A look of realization slowly dawned on Selmer's face while Reiki passed the formations to the elves on the other side of the table who were quickly replaced by another five.
Moranor scratched the side of her head, she said. "I don't have that much knowledge in formations…" Enora pointed at Selmer, she said. "See that old elf who's listening attentively to Reiki?" Moranor nodded, Enora continued. "That's master Selmer." Moranor blinked twice, she said. "And I was called just because of that?" Melanor tapped her daughter's right shoulder which got her attention and made Moranor turn her head onto her.
Melanor said. "Didn't I tell you about him?" Moranor nodded, with a confused look on her face she said. "What's so important about it?" Elanor's pupils were still glowing, with her eyes stuck to the screen she said. "What do you make out of the situation?" Moranor said. "Isn't it a good thing? Reiki is proving he's not an ordinary human and is currently making a good impression."
The glow in Elanor's pupils slowly faded, she moved her gaze onto Moranor and said. "You don't seem surprised." Moranor shook her head sideways, she said. "Not really, especially knowing he has that book with him-." Melanor placed a hand on her daughter's mouth covering it and stopping her from finishing her sentence. Melanor let out a chuckle, she said. "That's enough-." Elanor frowned, she said. "What is it?"
Melanor moved her hand away from her daughter's mouth as she let out a short sigh, she said. "I never saw the benefit of telling you since it could do more harm than good to the boy…" Elanor tapped the table, while Enora was quickly writing and drawing on her notebook as she tried to keep up. Melanor moved her gaze onto the screen and saw Selmer was sitting next to Reiki while he was slowly drawing a formation. Selmer pulled out a few pieces of parchment, his quill, along with a bottle of ink. Melanor glanced at Elanor's tapping finger, Melanor said. "Where should I start…"
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First Floor Library
Reiki finished another five formations while Selmer, who was sitting next to him, tried to make one altered formation on the parchment he brought out. Selmer made an altered one on the parchment as Reiki passed the formations to the elves on the other side. The elves who were watching were trying to take note of every little detail, Selmer finished one formation and passed it to Reiki. He said. "You can already do it, other than improving your movements with the quill there's nothing to nitpick about."
Selmer nodded, Reiki passed the parchment back to him as he tried making another one. Reiki noticed Selmer's hand was rigid as he made another one but the third stroke was a bit messy. Reiki said. "Use your forearm for horizontal and vertical strokes and your wrist for making curved strokes." Selmer stopped midway through the formation, he stared at it for a bit before he shook his head and started over.
Selmer started with his first stroke, Reiki held his hand out palm side up as another five elves handed him more formations and parchment. He held them in his hands like cards as he glanced at them and started altering them. Reiki moved his gaze onto Selmer's parchment while he already finished two without looking, Selmer was taking his time as he had only done about half. Reiki finished all five and handed them back to the elves as he lazily stretched on the chair making sure he didn't hit Selmer.
The elves who were watching didn't blink as Reiki stood up and took a couple of steps in place and sat back down, he looked up to Haruka who raised five fingers. Reiki let out a sigh and placed his head sideways on the table and watched Selmer finish the formation. Esta had a smile on her face as she placed a hand on Selmer's left shoulder, she said. "Nice job, master Selmer."
Selmer shook his head, he said. "No… I can't do it… More accurately, I can't replicate it…" Esta's eyes widened along with Haruka who was looking at him oddly, Selmer moved his gaze onto Reiki. Selmer said. "I know this is rude, asking for the method of creation… But, how did you manage to do this?" Reiki let out a yawn, he straightened his sitting posture and said. "Inscriptions." Selmer placed a hand on his chin, he said. "Inscriptions…"
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Haruka's eyes narrowed, she started rummaging through her satchel, she pulled out a thin blue notebook. Haruka placed the notebook on the table and started flipping through the pages, she stopped and pointed at one inscription similar to what Reiki made. With a smile on her face, Haruka said. "Look familiar?" Esta and Selmer moved their gaze onto the notebook while Vianola walked closer to them.
Esta's eyes widened in surprise, she said. "Now I get it… No wonder why it looked so familiar…" Vianola shook her head sideways, she said. "I have a faint idea but, since I haven't seen the altered version I had no ground to stand on." Selmer picked the book up with one hand and placed his free hand on his chin, he said. "I see… The formation you made wasn't a formation… Although it looked like one it only mimicked certain principles… It was an inscription disguised as a formation…"
Selmer flipped through a couple of pages and saw more inscriptions and a few that he saw on the altered formation. Esta crossed her hands as the long green cloak she was wearing hugged her figure revealing two decent size hills. Reiki thought. Talk about hiding in plain sight. Esta moved her gaze onto Reiki, she said. "Not only do you know formations, but you also know inscriptions on top of that…"
Selmer passed the blue notebook to Haruka, he picked up all his items on the table and placed them back inside his pocket. He stood up from the chair and walked towards Reiki and looked down, Selmer said. "It's more complex than that… The way he altered the formations would require knowing both of those categories like the palm of his hand… From how fast you make one, I can assume you've already surpassed me in my specialty…"
Reiki flashed him a smile, Selmer let out an amused chuckle which surprised both Vianola and Esta. Selmer said. "I knew it… I did gain something from you…" Selmer's pupils looked hazy as if he was seeing a faint image of something, he continued. "I would love to continue our chat and swap knowledge, but it seems we would have postponed it to a later date. You have my thanks." While walking towards the door Selmer said. "Mistress, if nothing important happens don't let anyone bother me. Not even meals or water."
Before Esta could say anything Selmer quickly opened the door and vanished before he could take a single step outside. Esta turned her head to look at Reiki as she gave him a scrutinizing glance, she said. "What did he learn?" Reiki didn't say anything for a couple of seconds as the expectation in the room turned slightly high, he said. "Beats me." Haruka let out a chuckle, she said. "That's what I expected you to say."
Esta pondered for a moment, while Vianola who was next to her said. "You don't need to hide anything Reiki. You're in elven territory, I doubt anyone would have the courage to lay a hand on you since you stayed a night at her majesty's palace, let alone being capable of something like this." Reiki shook his head, he said. "No, I don't have an idea of what he got enlightened on, it's not like I taught him anything groundbreaking. I only gave him a few pointers at best, my guess would be the accumulation of the knowledge he learned combined with my outlandish perspective of things."
Esta looked at him with suspicion in her eyes, while Vianola's pocket faintly glowed. She quickly reached in and held a talisman in her hand as a look of expectation appeared on her face. It was quickly replaced with a look of frustration as she pocketed it and crossed her arms, she let out a scoff and said. "Of all the times he decided to be prideful and meddle, it just had to be now."
Reiki moved his gaze onto Vianola, he said. "Vulture causing more trouble?" Vianola nodded, Reiki continued. "Want to hear my opinion about him?" His eyes turned semi-hollow, he said. "Get rid of him from your household. There will come a day where he'll bring the downfall of everything in it, and when the time comes Vulture will be the one to escape first." Both Vianola and Esta were baffled to hear his remark while Haruka looked at him with a narrowed gaze.
His eyes turned back to normal, Reiki continued. "This is just my very biased opinion though, who am I to judge someone I never had a proper conversation with." Vianola looked at him oddly, before she could say anything the talisman in her hand glowed again as she let out a frustrated sigh, she said. "Are you going to be here again?" Reiki shrugged his shoulders and said. "Don't know." Vianola rummaged through her pocket and took out a talisman and gave it to Reiki. Haruka looked at it with envy in her eyes, Vianola waved at him and said. "I'll update you when I manage to convince my father. Until next time."
Vianola walked toward the door, she opened them and made sure to close it while she vanished before it could even close. Esta gave Reiki another talisman, she gave him a nonchalant wave and said. "You know how to call me." As she also walked out of the library and vanished before the door could close. Reiki casually pocketed both the talisman as Haruka winced at how careless he was with them. He sat back down on the chair and saw another five elves were waiting on the other side with more formations on the table.
Haruka went back to jotting down notes inside her notebook as she glanced at Reiki from time to time. He looked at the elves in front of him and thought. Moranor a little help would be nice... Reiki let out a sigh as he picked up the quill, he continued his train of thought. They still didn't take back their quills… Looks like they're mine now.
Reiki picked up the quill as he heard the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere which made him look around the area. He noticed an entire shelf by the wall that reached to the ceiling was missing, Reiki softly nudged Haruka's forearm as he gestured at it. Haruka turned her head and noticed the missing shelf, with a knowing smile she said. "Wait for it." Both of them stared at the wall for a moment as most elves glanced at it from the corner of their eye. A few seconds later part of the wall vanished and revealed wooden stairs leading to the second floor.
Moranor slowly walked down the stairs and lazily stretched, she scanned the room as her gaze fell onto Reiki who was talking with Haruka as he pointed at the wall behind her that slowly reappeared along with the missing shelf. Moranor made her way toward Reiki, she stood on the left side of the chair on the opposite side of Haruka. Moranor said. "Reiki, time to go. Her majesty is planning an early lunch and has something to tell us."
Reiki thought. Jackpot. He nodded and said. "Sure, but let me just finish these last five formations. They've been waiting for a hot minute." Moranor glanced at them from the corner of her eye which made them look away and eventually nodded. Reiki picked up the quill as his hand blurred and almost instantly finished them, he stood up from the table and used the inside of his pocket to wipe the ink off the quill. He looked at Haruka, Reiki said. "Later." As he walked next to Moranor who as they headed out the library.
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Second Floor Library
Enora was gone from the table as Elora had a hand on her chin, she said. "Interesting… A notebook that he barely has any access to…" Melanor had a worried look on her face, she said. "You're not going to do anything drastic, are you?" Elora's eyes slightly widened, she said. "Why would I?" Melanor let out a sigh of relief, Elora continued. "I can't even think of a way to take the notebook from him… But if my deduction is correct there would be no method of separating it from him. You said he had a dream about some sort of figure mumbling about different languages?"
Melanor nodded, she said. "Yes, he said one night it could be growling and snarling. The next could be somewhat similar to human language." Elora looked at the large sphere floating at the ceiling, she said. "Then it should be some sort of will that was passed down to him…"
She narrowed her gaze and continued. "I don't know what conditions he met but, if what you said is true and he can read all languages then… Maybe he can help Nora with the bow?..." Melanor lazily stretched on her seat, she said. "I'm fine about it since we also have something to use against him. But I doubt we need to resort to such means, seeing how he acts around us."
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Outside The Library
Reiki took a big breath of fresh air, he said. "Between you and me, with how many elves around the table it was getting stuff inside." He turned around and looked up to Moranor, Reiki continued. "Thanks for the-."
[System: User has received 42 Damage.]
Reiki felt a sharp pain on the top of his left foot. Moranor flashed him a sweet smile , she said. "You're quite popular today, aren't you?" Reiki shook his head, he said. "Not really… If we're talking about me altering formations in the library it would be them taking advantage of the opportunity." Moranor let out a scoff as she started walking, Reiki walked beside her as he let out a yawn and said. "How's your day going?" A moment of silence passed, Reiki waited patiently for her to answer.
Moranor glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said. "I was in the middle of training before-." She took a sniff of him and noticed something odd, Moranor suddenly stopped walking which caught Reiki's attention, she crouched down and smelled him. Her eyes narrowed as she coldly said. "You smell like wine… Underage drinking perhaps?..." Reiki smelled his sleeve as he nodded, he said. "Correct guess, but not even close. I met Valen today."
Reiki was about to take a step but was stopped by Moranor who grabbed him by the sleeve of his tunic. She placed him in front of her and said. "What did he do to you?" The expression in her eyes took a complete hundred and eighty turn, she looked at him with a neutral expression and tried to discern something.
Reiki said. "He poured some wine on the top of my head." He thought. And with some help from Melanor, poured an entire bottle on him. Moranor moved a stray strand of hair away from his eye, she said. "Is that all? Did you manage to taste the wine that was poured onto you?" Reiki shook his head, he said. "Not really, that would be gross since my hair soaked most of it, and any wine that did manage to get on my face I used my sleeve to wipe it off."
A few seconds passed as the two of them just stared each other in the eye, Moranor nodded as she stood up. She mumbled under her breath. "I'm gonna shoot the useless elf myself." She took a step and turned her head sideways, Moranor said. "Let's go." Reiki walked beside her as he let out another yawn, he said. "Back to our conversation. How was training?"
Moranor tried to discreetly look at their surroundings, she said. "Nothing out of the ordinary, hitting moving targets in the dark and trying to… Improve my regimen." As a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. He thought. She's on guard and looking for someone…