The Slayer Office hadn’t been a grand adventuring hall like the twins had expected. Instead it reminded them of a post office on Earth. More to do with paperwork than any sort of hangout where grizzled old slayer masters would be sitting around swapping tales over a pint of ale.
A middle aged woman sat behind the desk reading over their green hunt form through horn rimmed glasses.
“She already read this earlier today,” Amos muttered to Aeric. The woman pursed her lips. Finally she set the paper down.
“Do you have your Oracle IDs ready?” she said. Lyric dug through her bag while Amos pulled a small blue piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to the woman.
“What’s an Oracle ID?” Aeric asked. “Some sort of database access key?”
“What?” The woman said, looking at him as if he’d spoken a foreign language.
“Oh Sparks,” Amos said. “I forgot you probably wouldn’t have those yet.” He pressed his hands over his eyes in frustration.
Lyric found her identification and showed it to the woman, then handed it to Aeric and Elsie. “When you meet with an Oracle they’ll check your status and create a card like this for you,” she said. The twins looked at the card she held out.
This reminds me of those blue screens we saw when being summoned.
Yeah, and the certificates on the magic armors.
[Lyric Thistlewood]
[Human Summon]
[Class: Diviner]
[Class Rank: Epic]
[Class Level: 4]
[Restricted Items Certifications: Sylvan Wands, Level 2]
[Oracle: Wortham - The Royal Academy of Astraeus]
Aeric glanced at Amos’s card on the desk as well.
[Amos Eagleye]
[Human Summon]
[Class: Master of Projectiles]
[Class Rank: Epic]
[Class Level: 3]
[Restricted Items Certifications: None]
[Oracle: Wortham - The Royal Academy of Astraeus]
The woman looked at Aeric and Elsie over the top of her glasses. “No IDs? No approvals.”
“Please, ma’am, they’re brand new summons,” Amos pleaded. “This girl’s a Legendary class too. I promise they’re classed.”
Classed?
Did he really just call me “this girl” so dismissively?
“Without proper IDs I have no way of knowing that. We have rules in place for a reason you know,” she said.
“But it’s a green hunt anyway! We’ll be fine!” Amos was practically shouting in exasperation. A man stepped out from a door in the back. He was tall, with broad shoulders, a square jaw, graying brown hair, and a bushy mustache.
“Anything I can help with?” the man said.
“Nothing to bother yourself with, Sir Alvin,” the woman said. “These troublemakers are claiming to have a Legendary class without being able to provide the proper Oracle IDs.”
“Sir Alvin!” Amos said. “Will you please help explain this situation for us?”
Sir Alvin looked surprised as he recognized Aeric and Elsie. “Ah,” he said, looking at Aeric. “I didn’t realize you had a Legendary class. Well done, boy!”
“I’m not Legendary. She is.” He jerked his thumb towards Elsie.
“Of course,” Sir Alvin said, nodding his head to Elsie. “My sincerest apologies for the incorrect assumption. Do you mind if I ask what your classes are?”
“I’m--,” Elsie started.
I’m going first this time.
“I’m a Nullifier,” Aeric said.
“Outstanding choice! We have so few of them available in the fight against the Enthralled,” Sir Alvin said. “I look forward to seeing your dispels in action once you’ve leveled them up. Assuming you’re willing to join the fight, I mean.”
“Oh, I sort of thought that was required,” Aeric said.
“The academy only requires a token effort from its students. Honestly it makes you wonder how this is an officer’s academy at all. Though most students are quite eager to help regardless. Quite a few of them end up joining the kingdom’s Astral Knights afterward. With a class like yours I can practically guarantee you’ll have a spot in my ranks. If you’re interested of course.”
Amos’s eyes went wide.
“I’m certainly not opposed to it,” Aeric said. “I’d like to find out more about it while I study here though.”
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear it. Forgive me, I don’t think I’ve introduced myself properly. I am Alvin Valero, Captain of the kingdom’s Astral Knights division stationed at the Royal Academy of Astraeus.” He nodded his head to each of the twins, one at a time. “I also volunteer with the Slayer Office when I can find the time. I like to keep apprised of monster activity around the academy.”
Is nodding just what people do instead of shaking hands?
Kinda seems like it. It’s almost like a bow.
“Aeric Stormrider,” Aeric said, returning the nod.
“Elsie Stormrider,” Elsie said. “I’m an Astral Manipulator.”
“Ahhh, so that’s the Legendary class our archery expert here was referring to,” Sir Alvin said, putting a large hand heavily onto Amos’s shoulder. Amos glared at him for getting his class wrong, but Alvin did not notice. “Astral Manipulators don’t always choose to specialize into combat spells, but they’re certainly capable of doing so. I expect you’ll be very pleased with your class.”
Elsie gave a polite smile.
“Very well. I’ll vouch for them,” Sir Alvin said to the woman. “I was witness to their summoning. They will have Oracle IDs soon enough.” He turned to the students. “And you’d better bring them with you next time, understood?”
“Yes sir,” the twins said together.
“You can use my name to authorize the hunt,” Sir Alvin said.
The woman frowned, but took out a circular stamp and ink pad regardless. “What time do you expect your hunt to be finished?” She asked.
“By the end of today,” Amos replied.
“It might actually be tomorrow,” Lyric said quietly, though her voice was more uncertain than confident.
“Why would it take until tomorrow? Just mark it as end of day today,” Amos said.
The woman turned a dial that was set into the base of the ink pad. As the twins watched, the ink turned from a light yellow color to a dark brown. The woman pressed the stamp into the ink pad, and then slammed it onto the green hunt form. She entered some information in a notebook on the counter, and then stamped it as well.
“Fine. Despite the fact that you don’t have the proper proof of class registration for all of your party members, your hunt is hereby approved. Here is the information that the client provided when he turned this hunt over to our organization.” She pulled a hastily scrawled note from a file folder.
| Hedding back home with the missus. |
| I woulda killed the rats but my back still isn’t recovered good enough. |
| Wife says stop by for tee when you come. Just knock at our home next to the mill. |
The woman scrunched her nose at the sight of the sloppy handwriting.
“See, it’s safe enough that the clients are staying on the property,” Amos said to Aeric. “We really could have done this with just the two of us anyway.”
Lyric pursed her lips, but said nothing.
---
The group stopped at a general store for food and waterskins for the long hike.They would miss lunch while they were out, so they chose a few simple things to go. Finally they made a trip to a weapon rental store.
“What weapon masteries do your classes have?” Amos asked the twins.
“I can use any of the three major wand types,” Elsie said. “Though I obviously don’t have much practice with them yet.”
“That’s unfortunate. You can’t rent those out since they’re considered restricted items,” Amos said. “You’ll have to get a license through the academy before you can carry one.”
“I have a certification for Sylvan wands,” Lyric said. “I even have my own personal one. I’ll let you borrow it if you’d like, if you want to try using it.”
“I’d like that,” Elsie said.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Amos said. “What about your weapon masteries, Aeric?”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“None,” he said.
“None what? Wands?” Amos asked.
“My class has no weapon masteries. When I selected it the status screen just said ‘None’.”
Amos stood there dumbfounded for a moment. “I thought Sir Alvin said your class was practically made for fighting the Enthralled. How are you supposed to do that without any mastery skills?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. I just thought it sounded cool,” Aeric said. “I didn’t know anything about masteries when I chose it.”
“Lyric, do you know what he’d be good at?” Amos asked.
She smirked. “Oh I’m well aware of what he’ll eventually be good at. For now though I think I’ll just say he should choose to use whatever his heart desires.” She fluttered her eyelashes.
Is this what she considers flirting?
She does seem particularly fixated on you.
“Right,” Amos said, oblivious to her undertones. He walked up to the racks of rental weapons. “Well let’s just have you choose something simple then.”
“Won’t I just be using my class skills anyway?” Aeric asked.
“You just dispel magic, right? Nadia was right when she pointed out how useless that will be against minorats.”
Just dispel magic? Useless? I bet my class can unlock way cooler skills than the way he’s making it sound.
I’m sure you will be amazing, Aeric. And I don’t think he said it to be rude anyway.
“The shamans have magic,” Lyric pointed out.
“That’s assuming this nest has a shaman. And even then, that’s just one out of dozens of foes we’ll be fighting. Let’s get you both something to fight with. Honestly I’d recommend ranged weapons, but those typically take a lot more training to be effective. Especially in the rain.”
“If there’s a weapon skill you want to develop you should choose that weapon from the start. You can unlock the mastery skill with enough use,” Lyric said.
“I’d recommend something simple like a spear or a sword and shield. They’re easy enough to use as beginners. Especially against something simple like minorats.”
“Spear for me,” Elsie said. “I killed a few shadow wolves with one during my trial.”
“I’m fine with trying out a sword and shield,” Aeric said.
They selected their very basic looking weapons from the rack and took them to the counter. The academy had a student program worked out with the rental store, allowing them to take the weapons at no cost after signing them out with the shopkeeper.
“Normally we’d have to provide collateral,” Amos explained. “The school covers that for us. You’ll have to pay if you want to rent a fancier weapon than these, but it’s not too bad. The store gives you most of your money back if you return them in good condition.”
Aeric gave his rental sword a few practice swings, then sheathed it and attached it to the belt on his school uniform. Amos showed him an easy way to attach the shield to his backpack, leaving both of his hands free. Elsie didn’t have a belt: just her blouse and skirt. She decided to hold the spear like a walking stick.
With that, the party started their trek out of Brightglen towards Shaun’s Mill.
---
The watermill was just coming into view in the distance by the time the rain finally hit. Lyric handed one of the cat eared umbrellas to Elsie, then opened up one herself. She stepped up next to Aeric and handed him the umbrella.
“Here,” she said. As soon as he took it, she gently looped her arm through his, linking them together with her hand resting on his arm.
“Oh, uhh thanks,” Aeric said.
Is this normal? Do girls usually just attach themselves to you in this world?
She’s from Earth, remember? And I would bet that most girls don’t do that. Lyric seems… alone in that regard.
“Where’s my umbrella?” Amos asked. “Didn’t we give you a cash advance to get something for the rain?”
“They only had two cute ones left,” Lyric said. “I guess you’ll have to share with Elsie.”
“Cute… umbrellas?” Amos glanced at the cat ear decorations and rolled his eyes. He stepped under the umbrella Elsie was holding and took it out of her hand. “Try to keep up, he said to her,” as he marched forward.
Elsie did not link arms with him the way Lyric had done with Aeric, but she did try to stay next to him to keep dry.
“Hopefully the minorats are confined to the basement,” Amos said. “We might be able to dry off for a moment inside the mill before we go down there.”
“We should stop for tea at the farmhouse like we read on Shaun’s note,” Lyric said. “Waiting out the storm there before we fight the minorats is one option we can choose today.”
“Is that what you’re saying we’re supposed to do?” Elsie asked.
“No,” Lyric replied. “I just know that it’s an option we can take if we want.”
“The Diviner class seems really interesting,” Elsie said. “It was actually offered to me in my class selection.”
Hello? I was the one who was offered Diviner.
Oh, right. It’s just at the time we were still… well I have the memory as if it was me anyway.
“That would have been so cool!” Lyric said, turning her head back to look at Elsie. “I bet you would have been great at it. I think your class might be able to do divination spells anyway though, even if it won’t necessarily be as powerful as what a true Diviner like myself can do.”
“I think I’ll be happy enough with what I picked,” Elsie said.
Lyric turned to face forward again, then hugged tighter to Aeric’s arm. “It’s getting cold.”
Help.
No way, it’s cute. It’s amusing how innocently you’re reacting to her advances.
“Wearing a sundress in the rain is your own fault, Miss Clairvoyance,” Amos said. “You should have predicted a better outfit to wear.”
“I dressed exactly how I knew I’d need to dress,” she said, resting her head on Aeric’s shoulder as they walked.
Am I supposed to care about her dress?
You know I can’t actually read her mind, right? Only yours.
Elsie made Amos stop for a moment while she got her jacket out of her bag. The rain came on heavier as they arrived at the mill a few minutes later. The farmhouse was visible a few hundred yards away.
“Let’s go wait out the storm,” Lyric said. “Plus I need to put on my battle robes.”
“No. I am tired of waiting,” Amos said. “Let’s just see some combat already.”
“But my robes will be all wet,” she said.
“Tough. You should have been wearing them since the start. What if we’d been attacked on the way here?”
“Attacked by what, exactly? The Knights patrol the lands around the academy. The fact that these minorats managed to establish a nest here is honestly surprising.”
“You never know. What if there was an Enthralled incursion?” Amos asked.
“We’re nearly one hundred miles away from the Enthralled frontline. And even if some did find their way out here I would have known they were coming before they got to us. Trust me, there are no Enthralled encounters in our future for months.”
“Just how far into the future can you see,” Elsie asked. Lyric just grinned with a knowing expression in response.
“Look, if you want to wear your battle robes then just put them on here over top of your dress. Your robes give you extra magic power right? It could come in handy,” Amos said. “Besides, I think I see something moving inside the watermill.”
“Do watermills normally not have doors?” Aeric asked, looking at the dark opening into the mill itself.
“They usually do…” Amos said. “Look, there are a few splinters of wood along the hinges. Something’s not right here.”
“Maybe you’d better get ready after all,” Elsie said quietly to Lyric. The green haired girl looked confused.
“I don’t remember this…” she said. “You’re right. Time to get ready for a fight.” She pulled a full length dark purple wizard robe out of her magically enhanced backpack. She quickly shuffled it over top of her sundress, then pulled her lengthy emerald hair through the top. Silver stars were sewn into the fabric of the robes, making sparkling constellations around her body. Her lavender eyes matched well with the darker purple of her outfit. Finally she fished her Sylvan wand out of her backpack.
“Looks nice,” Elsie said, which put a smile on Lyric’s face.
“I’d give you a twirl, but something tells me now is not the time.”
“Let’s ready our astra before we approach the nest,” Amos said.
“Ready our astra?” Elsie said.
“You do know how to do that right? Try to form an astral connection to whatever the closest astra source is. There should be a leyline following this river, so it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes,” Amos said. He closed his eyes and entered a state of concentration. Lyric followed suit.
Elsie shrugged and focused on her trace sense. Within a few seconds she could feel the leyline below the river. She connected herself to it in the way that was now becoming slightly more familiar. Aeric followed how Elsie felt and established his connection to the leyline a few seconds after that.
Look at Lyric’s robes!
I know. They look so cool.
With their astral connection in place, the twins’ trace sense was much more noticeable. Lyric’s battle robes glowed with an inner light as they watched the astra follow special threads woven into the thick fabric. The silver star constellations were bursting with light that only the twins could see, giving an overall ethereal look to the whole outfit. The leather gloves Amos was wearing also glowed with astral flow, though it was not as fancy a design as the robes.
Lyric opened her eyes to find both of the twins staring at her robes.
“Well hello,” she said with a smile.
Amos opened his eyes too. “Did you need advice on establishing your connections?” He asked. “I know it can be tricky at first, but if you practice enough you’ll be able to connect as fast as I did.”
“They formed their connections long before we did, bowstrings-for-brains,” Lyric said.
“What? Huh. Well I guess your classes provide you with some combat advantage at least. Being able to ready up that fast would be great if you ever got ambushed.”
“What’s the point in forming an astral connection before battle?” Elsie asked.
“It lets you cast spells without using your internal astra,” Amos said. “You’ll learn more about it at school, but for now just try to use the leyline’s power instead of your own when you use any magic.”
“I need a wand if I’m going to cast anything,” Elsie said.
“Oh, right! You can borrow this,” Lyric said, pulling the Sylvan wand out from her pocket and handing it over.
Elsie took a few seconds to connect herself to the wand. The wand was able to transitively connect alongside her own channels to the leyline. It lit up with power that the twins could trace as well as a soft pink glow in the visible light spectrum. Lyric clapped her hands.
“You’re so awesome, Elsie!” she said. “You must have a natural talent for making connections!”
“Or maybe it’s part of her class,” Amos said. “I mean she is an Astral Manipulator after all. I looked it up last night: did you know her class can cast any spell from the three major spell schools? That means nine disciplines. She just has to spend enough time training it: they somehow avoid forming interference channels that would otherwise limit her to just one spell school like the rest of the classes. There’s not enough research available, but some scholars theorize that Astral Manipulators can actually cast from any spell school, not just the big three.”
“Blah blah blah, look at me I’m the best student in the class because I’m so good at reading books,” Lyric said with a mocking voice. “All you had to say is that Elsie is awesome!”
Aeric looked towards the nearby mill and on impulse handed his cat eared umbrella to Lyric. He started walking towards the watermill. Elsie understood and handed her umbrella to Amos, briefly stopping to pull her jacket’s hood up over her head, then ran to catch up to her twin brother.
“Time’s up, let’s do this,” Aeric muttered, drawing his sword.
Elsie put the wand in her jacket pocket, held the spear under her arm, and unhooked Aeric’s shield for him. He accepted it with a “Thanks”.
Lyric and Amos glanced at each other, then shrugged and followed them. Amos handed his umbrella to Lyric and held his hands out in front of him. Two throwing axes coalesced from astra physically manifesting in the air: one in each of his hands.
The twins stopped a few yards away from the chewed open door and peered inside. Their trace senses showed movement throughout the darkness in front of them. Dozens of astra channels were thrumming with power as whatever was in there moved around. More than that, they could trace random channels of astra sparking out at random in the darkness then dissipating, briefly manifesting as visible light.
“Huh,” Aeric said. “I thought minorats didn’t have magic. What is going on in there?”
The first minorat crept into view, slowly emerging from the darkness into the dim light within the mill. It was holding something in its mouth.
“It’s bigger than I was expecting,” Elsie said.
The giant rat slowly stood up onto its hind legs. To the twins’ trace sense, the beast's body was completely flooded with astral energy, pulsing beneath every inch of its skin and arcing out into the air. The minorat dropped the object from its mouth and let out a bestial roar, exposing razor sharp teeth. Amos and Lyric arrived a second later.
The party looked from the standing minorat to the severed human hand it had spat onto the muddy ground. A few random motes of astra-made-light crackled in the air around the rat’s body.
“Oh Great Astral Spark,” Amos swore. “They’ve been enthralled.”