Riva and Leone were riding back to the blacksmithing shop when they saw the flash of light. It peeked through one of the seams of the closed front door, though not many people seemed to care. Riva supposed it made sense. Not only was this a magic-filled city, but that building was home to a blacksmith. She figured the neighboring city folk were not in the least bit surprised by flashes of light or loud sounds coming from inside the building. They probably assumed it was just his usual business crafting tools, armor, and weapons in particularly flashy ways.
The two travelers, on the other hand, had reason to be more concerned. Riva got her horses running, leaving Leone tumbling in the back. When they made it to the shop, the two jumped out and started banging on the giant front door. When the two slammed their first fists against the metal sheet, they were met with a static shock that kept their hands attracted to the door for several seconds, sending static shivers through their entire bodies. After a couple seconds, a wave-like pulse repelled from the door, knocking Riva and Leone back and onto the pavement. The two laid there for a moment as the last of the static flushed out of their bodies, letting them move their limbs once more.
As they slowly got up, the huge door opened halfway, the terram blacksmith bending over to peel at who was knocking… or rather, trying to knock. Smoke poured out as he did so. When he saw that the strangers were none other than Azim’s companions, he quickly ushered them inside, shutting the door behind them. The whole shop was filled with smoke, and it was difficult to make out any surroundings. Reavius had opened a window but it was taking time for the area to clear. “Azim, dear!” Riva shouted. “Azim, are you alright? What happened to you, is everything okay?”
From behind them, Reavius frantically chimed, “I haven’t gotten a look at him myself, yet. The second it went off, it was light, then smoke. I have yet to see if it even worked. I hope the poor boy’s alright.”
As the gray clouds around them slowly wafted away, the three saw a silhouette standing opposite them. Riva rushed over to get a closer look. Now face to face with Azim, she saw that his wound had been repaired. There was no gaping hole in his chest or shoulder, and even the scrap piece of metal he had magically welded to himself had disappeared. The robot truly looked as good as new. “Hello, Riva,” the android greeted. “It is nice to see you.”
The woman giggled at the comment. “Azim, it’s only been about thirty minutes, maybe less.”
“Oh, my apologies then,” Azim replied. “It felt like longer to my internal systems.”
“Well, just take it easy for a while, boy,” Reavius interjected. “We don’t know if there are any side effects to what you did or any lingering… whatnots. Best to get some rest for now.”
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The three travelers and their new acquaintance sat together in the back of the blacksmith’s shop, which was still closed up, catching up on the day and getting a sense of everything that had happened.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Reavius said in disbelief. “You mean to tell me, son, that you took on the “Incredible Alpine”, Filio? Heck, even I’ve heard of him, and I don’t know nothing about all that.”
Leone laughed. “It’s true, it’s true! He was saying some pretty gross stuff to Riva, so I put him in his place!”
“Oh, listen to you, put him in his place!” the terram retorted, chuckling at the thought.
“Well it really was an intense match,” mentioned Riva. “That ‘Filio’ guy was really giving him a hard time. I even almost helped Leone at one point, but he didn’t let me.”
“Really, now?” Reavius was curious. “Well, I believe that he’d give you a hard time, son. Though I gotta say, you look alright now. Those docs at the club must really know their stuff.”
“Yeah, they had what looked like a whole rack just of Healing Elixirs,” replied Leone.
“So how exactly were you able to beat him, boy?”
“Well, ha, ha…” the young man began. “I don’t wanna get too into it, but basically I just had to hold out until the end. If I saved my strength until the end of the match, it would be enough to take him out. And luckily it was. The actual skill on my part came from living long enough to make it to the end of the match, ha, ha!”
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Reavius was rather impressed with the story. As far he’d heard, the up-and-coming fighter Filio was not to be messed with. Yet this visitor had just strolled in and taken him out by pure chance. What strange company I have with me today, the blacksmith thought.
“What about him?” Riva asked, gesturing her head toward Azim.
“Well I don’t want to answer for him,” the terram responded. “How are you feeling, boy?”
“My systems appear fully functional, and all processors are operating at desired efficiency,” the metal man informed. “Any damage none to my internal circuitry has been repaired, as well as damage done to my exterior armor. As far as all detection systems can identify, I am up to status.”
The other three just stared at the robot. “That’s… great, buddy!” replied Leone, who still had the least idea what any of that meant.
“Wait, so… how did you get fixed?” the woman asked Azim. “What happened?”
“As Reavius explained it to me, I appear to have an inexplicable connection to metal magic.”
“Inexplicable…”
“That is correct. He gave me a magic-detecting test, and I was found to have a baseline magic level of 0. However, I continue to exhibit traits of magic similar to that of any wizard, though my connection to magic seems to only fixate on one point.”
“Metal.”
“That is correct. When offered a remedy elixir by Reavius, I was not met with any of the results that one is expected to receive, which he demonstrated.”
Riva, as well as Leone, looked over at Reavius. “Oh, uh…” he stammered. “I burned my arm. For educational purposes.”
The two looked back at the robot as he continued speaking. “Despite being able to use some degree of magic, I was not affected by the elixir, which appeared to stem from the fact that the magic detecting test labeled me baseline magic level 0. In other words, the land of Irvana senses no magic from me or my systems, and therefore does not let any of my hardware or software connect to any magic around me, whether that be potions, elixirs, spell bottles, or even arts of magicraft.”
“Except…” Riva almost finished the thought for him.
“Except,” the android continued. “For some unknown reason, magic as it corresponds to metal. Effectively, I am a metalmancer… who has no connection to magic. I can use metal magic, though it is still unclear to my processors why, however any attempts at any other forms of magic will be met with failure.”
“Wow, dear, that’s really…” Riva started. “So, how were you able to heal yourself with just metal magic?”
“For one, Reavius taught me an extension of how to apply my magic use. Because I am not able to use even basic forms of magic or subsequent spells, I have to supplement those effects by thinking of metalmancy first. Once focusing on the idea of using metal magic, I can then, in turn, replace what would be needed from elementary spells with metal spells. So rather than using a healing spell or elixir to heal myself, I can instead use metalmancy to repair myself. Since this was the first time I attempted this, I needed Reavius to conduct electricity through my circuitry to bridge the gap between the unfamiliarity between the magic and my components. However, in the future, and as my nonexistent magic level improves, I expect that I will not need such a jumpstart and instead will be able to use metalmancy on its own to repair myself. My magic will now have a familiarity with my components and connect with me, despite what should be the lack of proper resources.”
“Ha, ha!” Reavius chuckled. “Seems like we’ve got quite the pair of wizards with us, don’t we!”
“Yeah… speaking of which,” began Leone. “Where exactly are we going after this? We only really came here to get Azim some help. Beyond that, there isn’t really anything else we need to do. Right?”
Azim softly raised his left hand. “Uh… yes, Azim?” Leone asked.
“Well, despite my new discoveries, it would be rather beneficial for me to find a way home. I do not belong here, and while I am happy to have met you all, it would be best if I return to where I am from.”
“And where would that be?” the young man questioned.
“I… I do not know…” Azim replied softly, sinking his posture as he did.
Riva smacked Leone in the arm, who mouthed, “I was just asking”. The two looked back at the android, who was still sulking. They looked over at Reavius, who just shrugged, not knowing how to help. After an awkward 20 seconds, Riva finally broke the silence, suggesting, “Well… it sounds like there are two things we need to do, dear. Step 1. We need to get back any lost memories you have… unlock whatever is behind those “walls” of yours you keep mentioning. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that, but it seems like just you being here and living life is already doing something. So that’s a start. Step 2. Once you’re sure you know everything your… um… ‘processors’ are supposed to know, we get you home.”
“And how do you suggest we get him home?” Leone inquired.
“That… is the not-so-easy part,” replied Riva. “I know there are plenty of portals around Irvana, but they all connect to each other, and if any new ones are made, they exist within Irvana as well. We wouldn’t be able to just find one that takes him home, especially when we don’t even know what that would be. Oh, I’m sorry, Azim. This is all just so unfamiliar to us.”
“Well,” Reavius chimed in. “If our goal is something that is unobtainable, we might need to think of ways to reach what doesn’t exist.”
“What are you talking about, old man?” Leone asked. “I mean I think I know, but why don’t you say what you’re thinking so we’re on the same page.”
The old blacksmith just gave the young man a look. “There’s an old Fairy dwelling a few hundred miles from here. Next to the Umbra Waterfalls. Not many know about it, but my sons are adventurers, so they go exploring quite often. They were the ones that told me about it. Anyway, fairies are known to grant wishes. It may be out of their scope, but it couldn’t hurt to wish for them to send the boy home. I will admit, though, that the dwelling is pretty apprehensive to outsiders. They do not just hand out wishes to anyone.”
“Hey, you hear that, buddy?” offered Leone, turning toward Azim. “We have a lead. We might have a way to get you home. And even if not, I’m sure it will still get us closer. What do you say?”