1 month later.
I was currently bent over with my hands on my knees. My chest was rising and falling rapidly, each breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
The sound was almost like a wheeze, as if I'd just run for three days straight, and a large amount of sweat was dripping off my forehead, dripping onto the ground.
It continued to drip off of my forehead and onto the hard, rough ground, and right beside where that sweat was hitting, was a large carcass much bigger than my five-foot-ten frame, with multiple stab wounds littering its pelt.
It was a rank one twilight beast, Winter wolf.
They usually travel in packs, so I was lucky to pick this one off I stalked it for an entire hour before it stopped to get a drink at a nearby stream.
I attempted to assassinate it but…. I was too slow and ended up getting into a brawl.
But this time I only got a couple of scratches. I've gotten much stronger in the past month.
Today was the final day of my training before I set off to Liberta, so I pushed myself to the limit.
I won't be able to train seriously for the next week or so because of the trip to Liberta, so I took advantage of today.
I even made Alaric an extra special breakfast, and I stopped by the mines earlier to say my final goodbyes.
I was ready and prepared.
More prepared than I've ever felt for anything in my life, the past month has been hard, but I've managed to make a lot of progress on some basic spells, and for camping purposes, I've managed to learn basic water and fire manipulation.
As for actual spells? I've managed to work on a couple.
I can cast a few pretty effectively.
For Earth, I worked on something simple, but I knew it'd play an essential role in my future battles.
It was a simple earth manipulation underneath somebody's foot.
As they take a step, I guide the mana into the ground where they're about to step and push it away.
The effect is rather small as it just moves the earth a little under their feet, making whoever I cast the spell on slip, or they have to change direction last second.
In either scenario, I'm benefiting by messing up somebody's footwork.
It's quite hard to use, though. I have to time it perfectly, and focus while within melee range on creating the spell.
For wind, I worked on some basic wind blades, as well as a large gust of wind.
The first one is a simple sequence of short blades that shoot from my hands, forming sharp wind blades.
The second is just a large wave of wind mana meant to push people back.
It's pretty easy to defend against with a shield or sword, but it's meant more for distraction anyway.
And the final spell I worked on was, surprisingly enough, a light spell.
Alaric told me I'd have to wait till Liberta, but I got curious and asked for his guidance.
Turns out I'm pretty talented in light magic, so I grasped the concept pretty easily.
I can now do basic healing spells for bruises and minor cuts, but for anything major, I'd probably just mess the wound up more.
The way I heal the cuts and bruises is by using the mana from their body to quicken their already enchanted healing process.
Doing this makes them tired and slows down their natural healing for the next couple of hours, but it's worth the trade.
It'll be helpful for little fights against mana beasts or scratches from sparring at school.
I placed the wolf corps onto the makeshift sled I made out of wooden sticks and some rope, and then headed back to the house.
It didn't take long since I wasn't that far out to begin with. Only ten kilometres or so into the forest, after walking for a while, I made it back to the house.
"Hey, old man, look what I killed today."
I showed him the sled with the wolf still on it.
Alaric gave a hearty laugh and a wide smile.
"Looks like you'll have a good meal before heading off to school."
Alaric used magic to save the wolf pelt and cooked a grand meal.
This was the last time we'll see each other for who knows how long, so I guess the two of us got a little emotional over supper.
We told some funny stories about our training and our plans for the future.
We ended the night by having a bit of wine we've been saving for months.
I was by no means an alcoholic, but I gained a certain likeness to wine and tea after living with Alaric for over a year.
It was an odd thing, after never having any access to such nice things, but it was a nice change.
I went to bed quite early.
I was still tired from fighting the Winter wolf earlier that day, and from using my healing magic to clean up my wounds.
I could've got Alaric to do it, but I needed the practice.
I woke up the next morning and made Alaric and me our final breakfast. It was simple and very enjoyable.
I was joining a merchant caravan as a bodyguard. After reaching twilight rank, Alaric and I went to the magus association and updated my status.
Now that I was a magus, I could do official work for them.
And so I joined this caravan as a bodyguard. It'll hopefully be a good experience, and I'll also gain some coin out of it.
Fifteen silvers to be exact, which is quite an extravagant amount, really, but I suppose the caravan isn't lacking in wealth, just protection.
I made my way to the front door of our house. Aleric followed.
I turned towards him, not knowing what to say.
Snapping me out of my thoughts, Alaric hugged me.
It was weird. I've never been hugged before.
It felt different.
In a warm way, a good way.
I hugged him back.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'll come back when I'm rich and famous so you don't die of jealousy, old man."
Alaric laughed.
And then he separated while holding my shoulders and staring me in the eyes. With a grave face, he told me..
"I'll miss you, kid. Don't get too big a head, alright? Even I can't walk this continent without my head on a swivel. Use that stinking brain and don't be a retard, understand?"
He had his hand on my head, tapping it constantly as if to show me where my brain is.
"Another thing, and this is important, so listen up, Sylas. If the situation requires it, I hope you can take any means necessary to survive, even if that means killing another person."
I gave him a serious nod.
"I'll do what it takes. I want to become paramount, and I know that road will be filled with obstacles."
He nodded back and then gave me a sly smile.
"And don't forget to use protection. I don't want a little shit that looks like you anywhere near me."
I looked at him plainly and then gave him the middle finger.
He smiled, a sad smile. And then pushed me away.
"Good, now get a move on before you're late for your first official job as a magus dimwit."
I walked away while smiling. This wasn't a sad goodbye.
I knew this was necessary, and one day I'd be back here stronger than ever.
"Goodbye, old man, I'll miss your shitty jokes."
I mumbled while walking away and waving.
My walk through town didn't take long. Before I knew it, I was at the magus association building asking for directions to meet my caravan.
And in a stroke of good luck, it turns out that the caravan is meeting at the eastern gate, which was only about a minute's walk from where I was.
I walked with my hands in my pockets, with a giant backpack on my back.
I looked around, trying to take it all in for the last time before I went away.
It was a little sad. Alva is where everything started.
I was reminiscing for a bit, and before I knew it, I was introducing myself to the other members of the caravan, well, the ones that mattered at least.
There were four main people: the caravan owner, who was a renowned merchant in the local towns; his name was Rodney Swift.
The other three were all experienced mages. It seemed I was the only one still at twilight rank.
They introduced themselves one by one.
The first guy was around six feet three. He had a large build and dark brown hair, and a rather handsome complexion, as all mages seem to have.
" My name is Wick Randoff. I am a first circle magician at the dusk rank. I'm good at fire magic."
It also seems he's not much of a talker; he answered in nods and thumbs up for the rest of the conversation after introducing himself.
Next was a girl standing at around five feet seven. She was of lean build, with bright blond hair and blue eyes. She was very good-looking, but also seemed a little weird.
"My name is Gloria Randoff. I am also a first circle magician at the dusk rank. I specialize in wind magic. I also give pretty good haircuts."
After giving that interesting introduction, she winked. To whom? I'm not sure, but it was a cute wink for sure.
It seems those two are siblings, or related somehow.
I'll ask them about it later. The final guy spoke up.
He was on the shorter side, standing at five feet five, and he was of average complexion with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Randy Mackentov. I'm also a first circle magus of the dusk rank. I specialize in light magic, and I'm an accomplished healer."
Oh, a healer? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from this guy.
I introduced myself shortly after the rest of them.
"It's nice to meet all of you. My name is Sylas. I'm a first circle magician of the twilight rank. I don't have a specialty in magic, but I'm quite advanced at body augmentation."
It was a true statement. After Alaric showed me how to properly augment my body with mana, I can now do it while fighting constantly. Augmenting my body makes it multiple times stronger than when just using the mana circulating in my body regularly.
It was tough at first, but it was well worth the struggle in the end. I've become a very formidable opponent in close-range combat.
Rodney clapped his hands together.
"Well, this seems like everyone. Let's set off."
And so my trek started towards Liberta, my trek that nothing would go wrong during, right??….. I don't fucking buy it.
End of chapter 7