In the middle of an ashen field, Rowan kneeled, absolutely exhausted. He couldn’t stay down for long, though. Even this short reprieve was a mercy that could not be taken for granted. Mud and ash coated him, as Vorn had to use their flames to buy them time more than a few times, and though the monster masquerading as an Elf appeared incinerated, each time he would come back with not even a singed hair.

The movement of air currents behind him tipped off the next attack, and Rowan was barely able to crouch – and really, it was more of a stumble – under the attack. As he did so, he could hear the sound of a wooden dagger splitting the air only millimeters above his head.

Not giving him a moment to rest, the same dagger snaked its way downward. The instant transfer of momentum from the sideways slash to a downward cut was inhuman. Its pace so quick that his hair had not even fallen back over his shoulders before he was forced to roll backward.

For the first time since acquiring the [Movement] skill, his body could not follow along with his commands perfectly. It didn’t matter if the gap between mind and body was gone if the mind could barely process what was happening. Hell, the movement of the wooden dagger above him was so lightning fast that he could only sense the turbulent air it left in its wake, let alone predict its trajectory.

Rowan heavily suspected that the only reason he could detect where the attacks were about to come from was because the monster wanted to give him a chance. He would understand. After all, Rowan had done the same to many during his sparring sessions. He had never been on the other side, though…

By the time he was back on his feet, there was already another attack incoming, and this one was one of their instructor’s specials. From the upper right, a diagonal slash was incoming; simultaneously, a stab was being aimed at their back. The last few times this had happened, Rowan was forced to rely on Vorn, this time though, he wanted to see if he could dodge it himself.

Granted, he didn’t exactly have enough time to portray that to his Soulmate, so he narrowed his eyes and hoped that Vorn could read him well enough to guess what he was going for. If this strategy was good enough for a Behemoth hopefully it would be good enough for this monster.

The last three simultaneous attacks happened the same way, with the heavy diagonal slash coming just milliseconds before the stab. He was able to get a rough pattern from that and positioned his dagger in the nick of time, but he didn’t deflect the strike, he purposely positioned himself so he would absorb as much energy from the strike as possible. The wooden dagger hammered into him, but it did give him enough energy to dodge under the stab, the dagger stabbing through his hair where he was only a fraction of a moment before.

Suddenly, it was as if time sped up, and the air became lighter. His slow fall from being pushed by the dagger accelerated into a crash. It wasn’t because of an ability, – or at least, he didn’t think it was – but because of sheer presence. Or lack thereof in this case. The potent danger in the air dried up, and with it, so did his slowed perception of time. Of course, Rowan was still in danger assessment mode. Just because his body told him the danger was over didn’t mean it was.

“Sharp instincts kid, but I really am done. I’ve got your measure at this point, the only reason to continue would be if you wanted a few new scars. Might do you some good, that pretty face don’t exactly scream ‘dangerous’.” The demo- Elf spoke gruffly.

“Thanks for the spar, it was educational.” Rowan said, a slight manic edge lacing his otherwise monotone voice. Or, as monotone as you can be when you're gasping for air.

The Elf narrowed his eyes, “You're a combat junky aren’t you? Not the worst thing to be in this profession, but they don’t often live long. If you have anything you value, I’d recommend reassessing your priorities.” His tone was deathly serious for a moment, “What do I know, though? It’s your life. Do what you want.” And just like that he was back to gruff mercenary.

“I’ll take your advice under consideration.” Rowan said equally as seriously. He didn’t think he would change his mind, but he and Vorn hadn’t really talked about what the magic-obsessed man wanted from life. He could vaguely recollect a conversation between Vorn and Ark about that, but considering Rowan could barely care about breathing at the time, he didn’t really retain much of it.

“Consider me pleasantly surprised, I can tell you mean that,” He pulled out a pen and quickly scribbled on a piece of paper, “Meet me at this address whenever you have a free moment. I’m retired, and no one wants to apprentice under the scary Elf merc, so I don’t have much going on. If I’m not there, curse your luck and come back later. Bye.” And at that, the Elf walked away.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Hm.” Rowan hummed approvingly.

“Happy with your demonic instructor?”

“Yes. He is not only extremely skilled but a much higher level as well. Training with him will be very beneficial.” Behind the analytical speech, Vorn could tell that Rowan was practically glowing with joy. How the man could relish losing a fight, Vorn would never know.

— — —

Fifteen minutes after their previous instructor left, their next arrived. Blythe was a portly man with a slightly downturned expression, but the abundant smile lines on his face said that this was a rare occasion.

“Sorry for being so late! My son just arrived back in town from the frontlines! With a brand new promotion at that!” At that, his expression lit up, before quickly souring again, “Still, I do hate to make a poor first impression. Just for that, I’ll extend this session for as long as you like! Ask as many questions as you can think of. Marlin told me how curious you were, so don’t hold back!” And just like that, the man’s previously clouded expression became sunny once more.

Rowan surrendered control and let the tide of questions commence.

“How do you arrange a Spell Matrix? What are Runes? How does mana actualize an effect-”

Poor bastard, did he not realize that giving Vorn infinite questions was like giving military-grade stimulants to a toddler in a toy store?

— — —

“Wait, so the only reason we’re using Rune Matrix’s is because it was the first system thought of?” Vorn asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Ah, not quite. It was the first system thought of that worked. There are a lot of variables you have to consider when making a spell, and giving each a Rune that has an engrained meaning gives your mind an invaluable shorthand. That, and putting them in a matrix that follows a clear order, allows you to craft spells that are consistent, cheap, and powerful at the cost of being rigid and unadaptable.” Blythe lectured, and it was clear he knew all this information by rote.

“If this entire system is essentially just there to give shape to abstract concepts, then couldn’t you cast structured magic without them? And wouldn’t that hold especially true if you had high enough Intelligence?”

“If only it were that simple. To answer your question, yes, you can cast structured magic without the use of Runes, but it takes so much time that it completely removes the advantage of not having to use such a heavily structured system. Now, the main issue with those with high Intelligence using this method is that no matter how fast your mind works, you can still only think of one thing at a time.” Rowan wondered how he could talk about such a dry topic with a jovial tone. He was seriously considering just taking a nap. He had to be responsible, though. If anyone attacked, he needed to be ready.

“There are well known mages that have skills that give them a second or even multiple tracks of thought, though! Couldn’t they, with a high enough Intelligence, cast freeform structured magic?” Rowan was fairly certain that ‘freeform structured magic’ had to be an oxymoron.

“You aren’t wrong, they certainly could. Now you run into the second main reason people don’t attempt what you’re saying… fiercely ingrained habits. Mages are taught to have a very rigid thought structure as an extension of having such a restricting magic system. It allows them to quickly reach for the best spell for any situation, or even put together Runes into a semi-improvised matrix to make a new spell on the fly. By having a degree of creativity within the rigidity, people think they aren’t truly restricted. At most levels, this is fine, and probably preferable. But when you do get those rare prodigies that make it to the top with abilities unique enough to change their magical paradigm, they either don’t think to do so, or can’t because the Rune system is ingrained into their mind.”

Vorn seemed to chew on this information for a while.

“I can’t learn this system how it was intended then.” Vorn realized.

A warm smile graced his instructor's face, “No, you can’t. You can, however, draw inspiration from it.”

Rowan was completely lost. How was the Rune system restricting? Didn’t it allow you to do everything a theoretical freeform mage could? Sure, it was slower, but if you were at a high enough level you should be able to think fast enough for it to not matter. And why couldn’t Vorn learn the system as it was intended? Was it because of his unique magic? But the instructor couldn’t know that. How did running mana through a bunch of manmade symbols in a floating circle even cast a spell in the first place?

Instead of thinking himself into a migraine, he just gave up while he was ahead.

‘Fuck it, I’m taking that nap.’ Vorn was the more perceptive one anyway, and If something could breach through a wall of fire quick enough that Rowan would be caught unaware, then they would be fucked anyway.

*Sigh* “I’m taking a nap, wake me up if something tries to kill us.”

“Hmm? Okay, sleep well.” He barely spared a word before being pulled back into the lecture.

— — —

Roughly six hours later, Vorn hadn’t run out of questions, but he had become eager to test his theories. Blythe wore an exhausted smile as if he had just finished a trying, but rewarding, marathon.

As if sensing the lack of dry theory filling the air, Rowan roused from his slumber. “Are you done here? Know how to cast any new spells?”

“No! But I do have a new framework to think in, and I think I know more about the inner workings of mana! Did you know-”

“I’m going to have to cut you off there. I have been listening to you and Blythe talk about magic for three hours, and that was before my nap. I don’t think I could handle any more. Give me a few hours to reset, please.” His tone took a slightly pleading edge that only Vorn could have caught on to.

He rolled his eyes, “Alright you drama queen. I’ll keep the magic speak to a minimum for a few hours. I am going to be experimenting for a few more hours, though. Better keep your eyes closed or the big bad magic formula will come get you.”

Vorn stood and looked upon the vast plot of land before him. A grin split his face, and he began to put together a few experimental spells. They shouldn’t be too destructive… hopefully.