After Liam discovered I was a mage, he suddenly became less concerned with extracting pal and more about the town’s expansion. The old man was convinced I was able to hollow out the entire wall. As for me, I just wanted to make a living in my new life.

Day after day I repeated the same process. Break off the rock and send it to the factory. As time went by my magic started to feel like second nature. The more I used my spells the less focus they required, or rather the better I became at focusing. I was unsure of which it was.

After a few days of prolonged magic use I started using lighting magic more often. Of course with the added drain this caused made my job much harder, especially since I was only being paid by the hour. However, during this time I made a realization. Magic shouldn’t be thought of as a pool that can be drained. Rather, it was a part of the body. It is a muscle that can be trained.

This realization led me to push myself to nearly faint every single day, and every day I worked I managed to use more and more effective spells. One result came from this that was somewhat unexpected. The more powerful lightning I casted the louder they became, and the angrier Liam got.

Rumors started to spread about Liam. People took notice of the newly placed barricades and the sounds of thunder every day. Liam also managed to massively increase the production of palladium. He made sure to send sacks of pal to the poorest residents of the town first, after it was all said and done there was much more to go around and it was spread more equally.

My fingers snapped and another clump of rock came tumbling down the wall. Lately, my only source of fun has been attempting to dodge the pieces after they rolled after me. The risk is they often crush my toes, and once I had one crash into my shin and nearly shattered my leg.

“Vincent!” Liam yelled as he hobbled towards me from a distance with his cane, “I swear if you don’t quiet down I’ll just kill you myself!”

Most people probably would have taken his statement and a joke and chuckled, but this man scares me. I held both hands in front of my face as he approached to stop him from hitting me again.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I apologized.

Once he got within speaking distance he stopped to catch his breath.

“Put your hands down, I'm not going to hit you,” he said.

“Fine,” I said as I reluctantly followed his order.

Then, he hit me.

“What’s wrong with you!?” I yelled as I held my head tight. I was positive I was bleeding.

“I don’t give a damn if you’re getting comfortable with your powers or not,” he said somewhat softly,”People are saying things you know.”

“Why should I care what rumors go around?” I asked. It was clear that my words angered him.

“You should care because I care, and you work for me,” he said, “ and besides, I know you don’t want your secret getting out.”

“Wait,” I said in disbelief, “are you blackmailing me?”

His eyes widened and he paused for a moment. “It’s not like that,” he said, “you’re getting cocky.”

I suppose he was right. After all, I just wanted to avoid attention for a while, but I was putting that at risk.

“You’re right,” I admitted.

“Damn right I am!” he yelled, “Anyways, I think you’ve done plenty for the day. Take this and go home.

Liam handed me a small sack of palladium coins. The same amount he gives me everyday. I happily took my payment and made my leave. The bag seemed small, but I knew it was plenty to get by.

I held the sack in my right hand, repeatedly tossing it into the air as I walked home. The hood on my new robe bounced gently on my back as I walked. It felt so strange. The entire time I walked It was like I shut out the rest of the world, and all my problems. For once in my life I felt happy. I felt accomplished.

However, losing myself to my thoughts made me vulnerable. A young man who appeared to be in his early twenties with dark bags under his eyes seemed to trip over his own feet and landing on my side, nearly knocking me over.

“S-sorry,” he said in a shaking voice.

I ignored it at first and continued down the path, but it only took two steps to realize this man had stolen my palladium. Immediately my head jerked back and I saw the man clumsily running through the crowd of people, shoving everyone he passed.

My feet kicked dirt into the air as I gave chase. In that moment my only goal was to catch the man that had stolen from me, and I felt no shame shoving the people blocking the path. One after the other I clawed my way past the sea of people. It seemed the harder I tried to pass the denser the population got. Sweat dripped down my face as I watched the thief slip past the crowd with ease.

I watched as he took a turn down a dark alley. Just after I lost sight I broke free from the crowd’s grasp. The sudden release caused me to lose my balance, and I nearly fell onto the ground. After a moment I regained myself and raced towards the alley.

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As I sprinted I grabbed the corner of the building alongside the alleyway creating a pivot-point to rotate my body to face down the path. Here, I only caught a glimpse of the man with a terrified look on his face and clenched a rotten wooden plank. I wasn’t given any time to think about my situation before the man shattered the board against my face.

I yelled out in pain as I fell to the ground. The thief took this opportunity to run back into the main street. My head spun as I rolled in the dirt. Half my eyesight turned red from the blood. For a petty thief this guy sure packed a punch.

I stumbled to my feet and leaned against the building for support. There was a strange sharp edge to the wall that seemed out of place. When I looked I realized the sharpness was a hand-shaped imprint where I had grabbed the wall. There were clearly four fingers marked in the stone on the outer-edge, and a single, almost clawlike mark, on the inside edge where my thumb would have been.

I took a second to place my hand where the mark was. I realized I must have subconsciously focused my energy into my fingertips when I braced for the impact. I already knew I could manipulate the flow of energy in my own body. After all, it’s the basis for almost all of my spells, but I had no idea it could amplify my physical abilities as well. This was an amazing discovery that I knew I had to look into further, but I still had to return the favor for what that thief did to my face.

Once more I chased down the thief, but this time I had no sight of him. I was merely hoping that he ran in a straight line and I managed to catch up. I continued to run down the path while still checking for any signs of the man, but it seemed he had gotten away.

I continued to run, completely ignoring how physically demanding it actually was. I was nearing the entrance of the wall just as I was ready to abandon my hunt, but that was when I heard it.

“Demons!” a guard yelled as he ran into the wall, “Call the guards!”

I stopped instantly. A guard calling for guards didn’t make sense at first. Demons wander near the wall all the time, but the guards always take care of it. At first I thought this particular one must have just been pathetic, but It wasn’t long before I was proven wrong.

He wasn’t just calling for the guards out of weakness. He was calling for backup, and he desperately needed it. From what I’ve seen in the past there were always at least five guards posted outside. Scattered to cover more area, but close enough where they could protect each other. The fact that there was only one that I could see meant the others must have been killed, and this one seemed to be wounded.

Unfortunately, the guard I witnessed running for his life never received his backup. Two demons came charging after him. Of course there was no way a wounded man would be able to outrun the rampaging demons. I watched in slow motion as the demons caught up to him. The closest of the two used his front claws to sweep him off his feet in one swift motion. The man was thrown over one hundred feet into the side of a stone wall. When the dust cloud it created settled it revealed the man sitting in an upright position with his head hanging low, and blood pouring from his cracked skull. He was dead.

As if on cue the crowd began to scream and scatter as the perished guard fell to one side, leaving a streak of blood on the wall. Many members of the crowd rammed into each other on their attempt to escape, and I was no exception. They seemed to be completely oblivious to their surroundings as they ran into me one after the other.

It would be ten minutes at least before any additional guards showed up prepared for a fight. In that ten minutes dozens of people would die. In the past I’ve been a coward, and because of that, people have been hurt. I planned to change that.

I grabbed my hood and threw it over my head to hide my face, and I ran towards the threat. Keeping my head low as I ran, I avoided eye contact with anyone I passed. Just as I neared the demons, I saw one pounce, and a man’s screams pierced the air, but I was too far to see who it was.

Finally, I arrived to see it wasn’t just any man they pounced on, it was the thief that had stolen from me. While I did want to see the man receive punishment, I couldn’t stand to let him die.

I ran to aid the thief as fast as I could, while still not ignoring the other demon. However, as if it could sense my presence, the demon that was inches from swallowing the thief locked onto me. The other demon did the same as if they had spoken to each other. This encounter was different than before. These demons felt like they had fire in their eyes.

The remaining citizens took notice of the hooded man going after the demons. Most who noticed still ran for their own safety, but a few stuck around and formed a circle around the battle. Maybe they wanted to watch me vanquish the threat, or maybe they’d rather watch me die a horrible fate.

Simultaneously, both demons ignored everyone surrounding them, and charged towards me. Either way, I knew demons were simple minded. With one hand I casted a small barrier spell directly in front of the closest of the two demons. I had used this spell so much I could do it without thinking.

Before the demon could walk around the barrier, I casted another in the clockwise direction. In an instant, I casted a total of four barrier spells to incase the beast in a confined prison. Just after this, the farthest demon passed its companion to go for the kill. Snarling with each step.

I prepared my fingers to blast a lightning spell, but a thought came to mind. If I used lightning, people might recognise the sound from the mines. Just then, a quick memory flashed before my eyes. The handprint I left in the building just before.

As the demon charged I decided to take a risk. I focused my energy all the way from my right arm to my left leg. When the demon got close enough to pounce I side-stepped to the left, and grabbed the demon by the throat. Before it even touched the ground I used the stored energy to heave the demon into the air, and slammed it into the ground.

I closed my eyes to focus, and I manipulated the magic into a fire spell. Fire erupted from the demon’s mouth, and it melted from the inside. I hadn’t had much practice with fire, so It still took some mental strain to accomplish. The gathering crowd gasped and mumbled about what they had just witnessed, but I couldn’t make out the words.

Slowly, I stepped over to the demon I locked away with barriers, and I placed my hand flat on the transparent wall. Just as before, I closed my eyes to cast a fire spell. Without physical contact, I was forced to ignite everything inside the barriers. This caused a massive flame to grow over the barriers and the fumes shot out the top as if it were a chimney.

I waited for the fire to cease before I released the barrier spells. I stared for a moment to be sure I had killed them. After I was sure, I grabbed either side of my hood to hide my face and ran to the nearest building. I knew everyone was still watching me run away.

Once I reached the building I casted a wind spell to create a powerful updraft. I was violently thrown into the air, but being as wind wasn’t my specialty, I just barely made it to the roof.

Just as I knew I was out of sight I quickly removed my robe. The moment I pulled the robe over my head I spent much more energy than I should have to ignite it. In the blink of an eye the flames had spread to every fiber of the robe, and it turned to ash before it even touched the ground.

It’s hard to say what happened after that. I can only recall fragments of me limping behind buildings, and voiding anyone else in the main streets. I remember peeking past the corners of alleys and holding walls as I searched for Wang’s Inn. I remember walking up the steps while I was drenched in sweat, and passing out mere feet from my bed.