16 Days out of Kret
“Alright, Mr Dius. We’ll be entering Xyrtah territory soon. How was your first foray into the unclaimed wild?” Alexandar asked with a small raise of his eyebrow as he walked alongside his charge.
The seventeen-year-old was making good progress on being able to reliably create Magic Contracts, by this stage he could do it every four out of five times, by Alexandar’s estimates.
Of course, for someone that had been using magic since they were younger, that would be a worrying ineptitude for one of the most vital components to higher-level spellcraft, but for Alec it wasn’t quite so bad. The teen had just a little under two weeks of practice with his mana, the fact that he could even activate a Contract at all was a feat in and of itself.
Learning to use magic was like learning to ride a bike, at least in a tangential sense. Some people were naturally a little better at it than others, and some people happened to have the fortune of having ‘better made’ bikes than others. But at the end of the day, once you learned how to do it, it wasn’t that difficult to do it again and again.
Alexandar wished he could help a little more than he already had, but unfortunately learning to create proper Contracts was a pain and a half. The process requiring the user to learn how to imbue their magic, consciously, with a particular ‘purpose’. And as annoying as it was, that was something that each person did differently in some manner or another, so it was entirely up to Alec to figure out what his own, personal, method was.
“Other than being attacked by an egotistical vampire, surprisingly peaceful compared to the books I’ve read and stories I’ve heard.”
“Hmmm, well those books are usually only snippets of an entire journey, or overexaggerated.” Alexandar explained, rubbing his forefinger and thumb along his jawline on either side of his chin.
“I guess that makes sense…”
“Disappointing, isn’t it?” Alexandar grinned, nudging Alec’s arm with his elbow and getting a soft snort from the teen at the elderly man’s goofiness.
“Not really. I was just prepared to be seeing great beasts and such.”
“Well, we followed a main road that’s still very close to the territories of Kairahl and Xyrtah. If we saw too many that would be a bigger issue than a little Copper like you can handle.” Alexandar needled his charge, grinning a little at the dark glare he got in return for reminding the teen of his Adventurer-rank.
‘Not that he’s still a [Copper-rank] these days though. Mr Dius has grown quite well these past two weeks.’ Alexandar thought to himself, remembering the injuries that he had seen on the Von Lung heir.
“So, what? They come out here to hunt things down too?” Alec questioned, his tone snipped and his jaw a bit more set than it had been just a few moments ago.
Ah, teenage angst, how Alexandar missed it so.
“Of course they do, Mr Dius. This road not only connects Xyrtah and Kairahl but the intersection we passed a few days ago leads all the way up to Gladia.” The elderly mage explained, raising a finger and closing his eyes as he walked and talked.
“Right, I guess that’s pretty important.” Alec admitted, pulling his arm out of one strap of his bag and swinging it around to rummage through it.
It only took a moment before he managed to locate and pull out his map of the Twin-Continents, showing the recognized territories of all the countries, the capital cities of each country, and the largest, most traversed roads connecting them all.
“Why are you checking your map, Mr Dius?” Alexandar questioned, leaning over to look at the map himself as they walked.
“I wanted to see what the road looked like again; it really does almost go perfectly west until we reach Xyrtah’s borders. I thought maybe we could have avoided the Unclaimed Lands, but I guess not.”
“Well technically we could have.” Alexandar cut in, placing his finger over Kret and trailing it down the paper in a south-west direction instead of straight west, as they had gone.
“We could have gone down this path and stayed within Kairahl’s borders, but then we would have had to catch a ship across Kren-Tail Lake. And the fees on some of those ships can be, quite frankly, ridiculous.” Alexandar scoffed, rolling his eyes.
“Why not go over or under the lake? There are land borders north and south of it.” Alec questioned, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“Because there’s no roads north or south of Kren-Tail Lake. It’s all wilderness with the occasional monster nest, tribe or forgotten town.” Alexandar explained, waving his hand a little. “Besides going south of the lake means that we’d have to cross the river feeding the lake into the ocean. And do you see the size of it just on this map? It’s like…in the top five widest rivers in the Twin-Continents.”
“Ah…”
“Exactly!” Alexandar crowed, swiping his hand in front of him energetically. “So, we took this path. Besides, aren’t you glad you got to see a real Power Stance in person?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“That’s the spirit!” The older adventurer laughed, clapping a hand on Alec’s shoulder, the exact opposite to the teen’s low energy, very contained, vibe.
“I’m still annoyed that you helped put me in that position.”
“Oh, come now, Mr Dius. Aren’t you ever going to let me live that down?”
“Not even once.” Alec grinned, seeming to take some modicum of joy in the gargled sound of pain that left the elderly man at his verbal jab.
XXXxxxXXX
Two Hours Later
Alec let out a slow breath as he held his hands out in a relaxed posture while walking, his gaze going from one hand to the other every ten to fifteen seconds. His elderly companion humming a small tune to himself that the teen vaguely recognized from Kret as he walked beside him, occasionally turning his gaze towards Alec for a second or two only to look back on the path once more.
“Your speed hasn’t managed to increase much.”
“You’re trying to make me transfer as much mana as I physically can from one hand to the other, it’s hard.” The teen shot back, a small bead of sweat forming on his temple as his gaze went from his right hand to his left.
“Well, if you’re hoping to be a solo adventurer, being able to call upon as much Mana as possible, as quickly as possible, is a vital component to staying alive long enough to reach [Silver-rank], let alone Gold.”
“Yeah, I know. That doesn’t make this any easier.” Alec grumbled, his gaze sliding from his left hand to his right.
‘Mr Dius has very little discipline, it seems. He only started to regularly, tiringly, train with his blade following the run-in with the Dune Worm. He’s not used to struggling like this.’ Alexandar thought to himself, letting out a small huff beneath his breath that immediately caught the teen’s attention.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just the fact that you keep looking where your Mana is going, Mr Dius. You do realize that that isn’t going to make controlling it any easier, right?” He teased the young swordsman, his grin turning into a full-blown cackle as the aggravated gaze of Alec snapped onto him, the teen finally looking away from his hands.
“Oh you think-“ Before Alec could continue talking, probably about to spew a threat of some kind, a sharp whistle caught the two adventurers’ attention.
Making their way out of the forest was a small squad of four lightly armoured figures. Leather greaves, vambraces, and chestplates adorning their forms with the symbol of the Xyrtahnian people proudly adorned over their hearts; A six petalled flower with a circular shield making up the pistil. No weapons adorned their forms, but that hardly surprised either of the adventurers given the fact that Alexandar himself made flagrant use of a hammer-space for his own staff.
Instantly all the Mana imbued in Alec’s hands receded back into his body where it could spread more uniformly and fold back into obscurity, and his gaze narrowed slightly as he took them and their forms in.
‘These guys are pretty dangerous. I’d guess possibly [Silver-rank], maybe [Gold-rank]. Who knows if that’s their actual strength though.’
“Yahoo! Adventurer’s! Welcome to Xyrtah!” One of the four squad members called out exuberantly, looking mostly human except for the slight ridges around the base of his jaw and slit pupils.
‘Scales…?’
“Hello hello! Doing a border patrol?” Alexandar called back jovially, getting a groan of annoyance from the singular female of the group, undeniably an elf if the ears and ever so faint green markings along her skin were anything to go by.
“Yes! Because someone here couldn’t keep his mouth shut in front of the Captain.” She huffed, turning to glare at the demi-human who had first called out to them.
At least he had the self-awareness to look vaguely guilty over landing his squad on border patrol. His gaze averted from the woman instantly and a soft whistle leaving his lips.
“Oooh, border patrol as a punishment, eh? Can’t say I envy you lot.” Alexandar hummed, propping one arm up by the elbow and scratching his jawline idly.
“Neither can we, and we’re the ones doing it.” The woman scoffed lightly, though it was pretty easy to tell that it was, mostly, in jest.
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“You two are adventurers?” One of the males, a large man standing over 210cm with heavily tanned skin short, brown, spiky hair that was buzzcut around the sides and back, asked with a curious expression.
‘He has a pretty equal distribution of muscle over his whole body but the musculature over his arms…’ Alec noted mentally, his gaze stuck on the, almost, marble statuesque musculature of the man’s forearm, upper arm and shoulders.
‘Those are some pretty scathing eyes that the kid has on him, has he figured it out?’ The man thought, having clocked the teen’s inquisitive staring almost as soon as it had started.
“That we are! I’m just aiding Mr Dius here on his first ‘solo’ quest. Helping him learn the ropes and teaching him a few things and whatnot.”
“Awww, a baby adventurer, huh?” The woman in the squad teased, her grin only growing wider at the small frown that Alec shot her on pure reflex.
“That’s right. Mr Dius here is a wee little [Copper-rank].” Alexandar announced jovially, only snickering as the dark look and frown at the seventeen-year-old snapped to him with a, by now, well-practiced ease.
“A Copper, hm? I noticed you staring before, have you figured out my role in the group?” The hulking man asked, taking a step forward and looking down at the teen, an easy task when there was almost a full 36 centimeters between their height.
“You’re the ranged support, right?” Alec guessed, getting a raised eyebrow from the fourth member of the squad and an impressed whistle from the young woman.
The fourth member was a fairly average sized man with seemingly nothing interesting about him, though Alec wouldn’t trust that judgement as far as it could throw him. He couldn’t exactly sense mana when it wasn’t being blasted in his face, but he’d bet money that this man was the primary mage of the squad.
The man in question had black hair and eyes, but of a lighter shade than Crowell’s. His hair waving down to his shoulders and his eyes far rounder and filled with mirth than he was sure that the vampire heir was even capable of.
“You’d be correct, I’m surprised that a [Copper-rank] has the kind of instincts or deduction to figure that out.” The man congratulated the teen, getting an odd twisting of the teen’s lips in response, as if he didn’t know how to respond to the reminder of his rank mixed in with the genuine compliment alongside it.
“…Thank you.” The teen finally decided on after a moment’s hesitation, giving the much larger man a simple nod.
“You’re welcome.”
“Alright alright enough. I wanna ask the kid a question as well.” The young woman huffed, walking up and shoving the larger man away, though Alec guessed that he very much allowed her to do so, given the difference in both height and muscle mass between the two.
The young woman stood only a few centimeters shorter than Alec himself, green eyes paired with short, dark blonde, hair that flared out slightly near the nape of her neck and shoulders. Though given the fire in her eyes, Alec wouldn’t have been surprised if her hair and eyes had been the exact same shade as Peter’s.
“Uh, go ahead miss?...” Alec trailed off, raising an eyebrow curiously.
“Jasmine.” The woman answered simply, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly so that her face was closer to Alec’s.
Not to the point of invading the teens private space, but close enough to be vaguely uncomfortable for him.
“You’re planning to be solo for a while, right? Not just a quest or two?”
“That’s right.” He nodded, trying his best to keep his composure in check as he stood on the receiving end of a stare so intense it made him think that ants were crawling all over his limbs.
“Good. What is killing to you?”
Jasmine’s three companions, and Alexandar, all stood in silence as she stared him down, practically demanding that he answer her. And honestly, Alec found the answer coming to him quite easily.
Memories of when he was a child alongside his friends coming to mind. Of Peter always condemning killing. Of himself and Angelica always trying to figure out why they had killed another person. Of him and Angelica sneaking out of the orphanage to rough up and scare the crap out of the man that had harassed Miss Vira for weeks on end.
Alec had no love for killing, or the idea of it to be more accurate, nor did he enjoy it like some psychopaths that he had heard about. No, he wasn’t anywhere near that level. But he also understood that as an Adventurer he would, more likely than not, have to kill someone at some point in time. A fact which was only compounded by his choice in weapon, swords weren’t exactly famed for the inability to kill, after all.
“Killing is something that is, at times, required. Its not something to be avoided at all costs, nor is it something to revel in.” He finally answered, clearly and succinctly as he tried his best to keep his gaze locked on Jasmine’s own.
“Huh…Nice answer kid.” She grinned, reaching a hand out and rubbing the top of Alec’s head, getting a small eye twitch from the teen as he struggled to keep his cool.
“I think that such an answer shows a good sense of maturity on you, Mr Dius.” The behemoth of a man spoke, cracking his left index finger with his thumb idly.
“I have to agree with our large bowman here, Mr Dius. Miss Jasmine here had a good idea asking you about your opinion on such a thing. Unfortunately, one of the largest killers of solo adventurers is their inability to kill a humanoid enemy when necessary.” Alexandar explained, nodding his head firmly before a grin stretched his lips and a sparkle of mischief shone in his eyes.
“Though that reminds me, there’s so much we have yet to talk about Mr Dius. Like say, for example, whether you have a special lady friend waiting for you somewhere?” He tried to tease the teen, even teleporting next to him to place an arm on his shoulder so that he had no time to escape.
Only for Alexandar to be the one shocked as Alec just turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. The teen seemed to be utterly uncaring of the mans teasing, even a little confused if the curve of his eyebrow was anything to go by.
“No? I’ve never really had anyone interested in me in that way.”
“Ah. I see. Damn, I was hoping for some ammunition.” Alexandar sighed, sagging against the teen and getting a small squawk of argument as Alec suddenly had to deal with his body weight slumped against him.
“This kid really had no one ever take an interest in him?” Jasmine whispered to her black-haired companion, getting a small laugh from him.
“Sometimes it just happens. Besides, who knows, he might not have met many women his age at all.” He suggested, getting a small, quiet, hum from the woman as she seemed to mull his words over while tilting her head from side to side.
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Of course, I am.”
“Bite me, Conner.”
“No thanks. I’m good.”
Meanwhile, over by Alec and Alexandar, the teen finally managed to throw the elderly mage off him, letting him hit the ground with a small ‘thump’ and an overdramatic groan of pain from the man.
“Can we please keep going, now? I don’t want to spend forever on this quest.” Alec asked, utterly unconvinced by the rather obvious acting of his aid.
“You aren’t just teleporting?” The subtly scaled squad member asked, getting a low grumble from the teen and a dark glare pointed at the slowly rising Alexandar.
“No. He said that it wasn’t fair to all the other [Copper-rank]’s in the Twin-Continents if I got to skip a whole month of travel when they didn’t get to.”
“It’s true!”
“I just think that he’s so lazy he can’t be bothered to teleport us.” Alec finished, grinning over at Alexandar after taking his crack at him.
“That’s not true!”
“HAH! Great going old man. Well, we’ll let you both go on your way right after checking your ID’s, sound good?” Jasmine said, resting her weight on one leg and placing her hand on her cocked hip.
“Ah, sounds good. Here’s mine.” Alexandar said, taking the situation with far more stride than Alec did, the poor teen floundering silently for a second at the sudden switch in topics before fishing into his pack for his own ID.
“Hey, kid, mind if I give you one piece of advice?” Jasmine asked as he looked over his ID, getting a small nod from the curious teenager. “Keep your ID somewhere safe and easy to access on your person, if you don’t know how to make a hammerspace yet. Trust me, it’ll help more than it won’t.”
“I’ll…keep that in mind. Thanks.”
“Yeah, no problem, alright you’re both good to go, have fun.”
“Thanks…?”
“Oh, we will, Miss Jasmine. Come along now, Mr Dius.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Alec groaned, jogging for a few steps to catch up to Alexandar as they started to walk, the teen left a few ideas and a whole lot of new information to deal with.
XXXxxxXXX
3 Days Later, Xyrtahnian countryside
“Ok, ok. So, it’ll take us another 6 days to get to this town here.” Alec said, sliding his finger down the road they were travelling along to a town on the north side of a smaller, but still quite large, lake North-West of Kren-Tail Lake. “And then our plan is just to hitch a ride to Zenik?”
“Precisely! Travelling on foot isn’t a very common way for large trips to take place. It’s a good experience to do it once or twice like we have been. But if we don’t take a cart or wagon it’ll take another two weeks to get from this town to Zenik and neither of us wants that.” Alexandar huffed, waving a hand dismissively at the idea of walking for another three weeks.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Alec nodded, folding his map back up and putting it in his back once more.
For a little while the two of them walked in peaceful silence, Alec sliding mana from his left hand to his right hand as he walked. His sheathed longsword bouncing and bobbing slightly against his thigh as he walked, the faintest wisps of mana roiling off the hilt of the blade to the specialized and attuned senses of Alexandar.
“…When did you decide, you were going to practice imbuing your blade with mana?” The elderly man asked without warning, getting a shocked yelp from the teen as a giant burst of mana exploded out of his hand, covering it in papercuts.
With a quiet hiss, the teen lit up a small, dim, magic circle over his other hand. The cuts on his damaged hand beginning to slowly heal all at once as he hovered the magic circle over his limb.
“This morning. I couldn’t sleep so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to practice.” The teen admitted, not really surprising the older adventurer in the slightest.
The young swordsman seemed to be having nightmares every couple of days since the encounter with the Dune Worm, leading to quite a few early morning training sessions on Alec’s part.
And as callous as it may have sounded, even to Alexandar’s own ears, the man could see that it was clearly doing the teen some good. His movements with his blade, while nowhere near perfected, were clearly more refined than they had been a scant 19 days ago. Not to mention the slight changes in the teens muscle tone and stamina that were already becoming apparent.
Being an adventurer was hard work, especially for those aiming for/destined for higher ranks. It was a dangerous, gruesome and exhausting profession that had the opportunity to be rewarding beyond anything else in the world short of royalty, but those with natural talent and no wish exert themselves were often the first to drop. Either by choice or forcefully, as their remains were lowered into a deep hole.
But Alexandar took his ‘job’ as an aid very seriously for that exact reason, and when he had come across Alec on that fateful day –A young teen from the Blessed Generation that had instincts sharp enough to recognize the danger of the Guild Guards and a natural talent sharp enough to carry him all the way to the precipice of [Iron-rank]– He knew that he couldn’t allow him to fall into that same trap and meet that same fate.
Luckily for him, or probably unluckily if you asked the teen, he happened to be an absolute magnet for trouble. Just the kind of circumstances that were perfect to kick his ass into gear.
“I look forward to seeing your progress, Mr Dius.” Alexandar smiled softly, getting a small snort from the teen as he looked over at Alexandar from the corner of his eye.
“Good, because I don’t plan to stop.” He announced, the dedication and determination clear to hear in his voice.
“Then I suppose I don’t need to make you dinner tonight, do I?” The elderly man’s grin stretched wider, showing his pearly white teeth as Alec’s own lips pressed together tightly in displeasure.
“You know what I meant, Alexandar.”
The elderly man’s laugh was going to wake Alec up in a cold sweat for the next week, he just knew it.