Intrigued, Miles continued to read the rest, "If you intend to pay a visit to our humble fellowship, please take this poster with you. It will lead you to the closest branch of our Society and serve as identification.
Best of luck to you fellow Mages, and we hope to see you soon!"
'A Society of Magic? Of Mages? What exactly does magic even refer to, in a world of Fae and Fae humans? And why am I the only one who can see this?! It's obviously not something related to the System...'
His eyes widened in realization, 'That General Skill! Magicae Aspectus or Magic Sight!'
Unlike Sanguine Aspectus (Blood Vision), Miles had not been able to use that skill as he had lacked the knowledge of how to.
Perhaps it was always at work, with no need to be consciously activated?
Now that he thought about it, when he had first gained the skill, the notification had said something about 'achieving true sight'.
Maybe it wasn't a skill like others, but simply allowed him to see what cannot be seen ordinarily?
Seeing what though? Magic?
Well, this poster sure seemed like magic, the glowing stars and the fact that it was only visible to him, definitely made it extraordinary.
But then what about Xavier's skill? Marionette Core?
Miles knew for a fact that he had only been able to see the blue thread, the crux of that skill, due to Magic Sight.
So did that mean Xavier's skill was 'magic' as well?
'But it's supposed to be a Fae Ability! A skill gained through evolving Telekinesis! I even saw how Xavier first got the inspiration to create the skill, when I did the blood source assimilation. Although it ended rather explosively, I'm sure he tried again and found success.'
Then… could it be possible that all Fae Abilities are magic?
It was true that all Fae abilities would've seemed impossible and illogical prior to the Fae-human war. Some might have even considered it magic.
There were actually a lot of conjectures on this topic, but the general belief was that Fae abilities were naturally possessed by the various races of the Fae, a part of their physical makeup, gained over time through evolution.
Accordingly, Fae serums were made by harnessing the relevant essence, specifically that which gave the Fae supernatural abilities. Once transferred to humans, they would gain some of the relevant attributes or abilities, entirely based on how the serum had been distilled.
It was believed serums changed the DNA or biological make-up of the user, turning them into Fae Humans who could use the abilities of the Fae. It was not some supernatural magic unable to be explained with science.
However, it was also true that the exact process of manufacturing Fae serums wasn't public knowledge. Neither the Da Vinci conglomerate, the largest manufacturer of Fae serums, nor the other companies, would ever reveal it. It was their bread and butter, a golden goose, after all.
Then could there be some secrets the general public was not privy to?
Almost definitely, but whether they had something to do with magic or not, he didn't know.
It was too bad Lykaon Industries didn't deal in the Fae Serum trade, or Miles would have known more. Unfortunately, as lucrative as the trade was, it was not something the current Lykaon Industries could afford to invest in.
Then again, this entire hypothesis could be wrong.
When Xavier had used his normal telekinesis, Miles had seen no strange blue strings. Even with Magic Sight, he had not noticed anything out of the norm. This could only mean there wasn't anything 'magical' to be observed.
Perhaps you had to train and evolve the Fae ability, beyond what is generally possible, in order to make it 'magic'?
However, everyone trains and evolves their Fae abilities! Shouldn't every Fae ability become magic then?
So what made Xavier's Marionette Core so special?
Miles's eyes widened in realization. He remembered how that ability had been described by the system, 'Trained and evolved in line with the nature of the World Beyond the Veil'.
For some reason, he felt this wasn't something just anyone could achieve.
Then maybe, Fae abilities only became magic once this 'veiled world' was involved?
When they were evolved 'in line with the ways of the veiled world'?
But what were the ways of the veiled world? How should one go about training? What exactly should you do?
In the end, Miles couldn't know for sure. These were just his personal conjectures.
His gaze shifted back towards the poster, in his hand.
'The Society of Magicae, eh? Wonder why the last word alone is Latin. But if anyone knows the answers to my questions, it's these guys. Maybe they could even make a mage out of me! Hah, that'd be pretty interesting. A Vampire mage!'
Deciding to follow the instructions given, Miles slowly reached for the poster. His fingers touched the paper, and nothing special happened.
Carefully, he reached for the edges and peeled the poster off the wall. It would've seemed just like an ordinary piece of paper, had it not been for the glowing stars.
In a familiar flash of wind, Zhan Shen appeared behind him, "Master Miles, where did that piece of paper appear from? Is that what caught your attention?"
Miles turned around in surprise, "You can see it now?"
The old butler nodded, "Indeed. Although the reason you would find a blank piece of paper interesting, eludes me entirely."
"It's not blank? Can you not see the text?"
Zhan Shen shook his head.
'Interesting.'
"Well, I have a feeling it's going to end up being useful. And because of it, we might have to make a stop along the way."
Saying so, Miles quickly rolled up the poster and began to walk back to the Light Ray, Zhan Shen right behind him.
***
Back in the Light Ray, Miles frowned deeply, his eyes boring into the magical poster in hand.
Once he had removed the paper from the wall, it had become visible to everyone. Both Zhan Shen and Irina had stated they could see it clearly.
The only difference was, they couldn't see any of the text or even the glowing stars that he could.
That wasn't the problem though.
The problem was, the poster which had promised to lead him to the closest branch of the Society of Magicae, even serving as identification once he got there, had done no such thing.
It had not started to magically float leading him in the right direction, nor had it manifested new text revealing to him an address.
It simply remained as it was. Not leading him where he was supposed to go.
The poster continued to remain magical, glowing with text invisible to ordinary eyes, but not doing what it was supposed to do.
And Miles had no idea what he was supposed to do to make it work either.
He had examined every inch of the piece of paper, looking for clues.
The front of the poster contained the text he had read, while the back was completely empty.
He had poked and prodded the poster, trying to make it activate.
But nothing had worked.
'Damn it, I thought this would lead me somewhere new! An organization hidden from the ordinary world, a possible ally! What a letdown! If it doesn't work, what's even the point of having found this thing?'
Just as Miles sighed in annoyance, Zhan Shen butted in, a cheeky grin on his face, "What's the matter, Master Miles? Have you not found where we are supposed to go? Is the magic poster only you can see, not doing its magic?"
Miles rolled his eyes in annoyance. The elderly butler was not just a mere believer but an actual practitioner of the spiritual arts. But for some reason, he was skeptical about the whole 'magic' thing. He believed that Miles could see something in the poster, but not in the authenticity of the Society of Magicae.
Ignoring his guardian's question, Miles asked his own instead, "Old Zhan, where did you say we were going again? I wasn't really paying attention before."
As always, the answer was instantaneous, "Like I said, it's a small property of ours located in Hamelin, the eastern region of the outer city. The neighborhood might not be the most stellar, but the property itself should suit our requirements nicely. Plus, it's under the Lykaon name. With you and the ring, it should be as safe as the Lykaon Mansion itself, perhaps a bit less."
His eyes falling onto the Lykaon ring, Miles fell into thought, 'So it's a Lykaon Property connected to our network. I didn't even know there was one in the outer city. I should really look into remembering the sh*t I own. But then again, I do have old Zhan, and he never forgets the important stuff...'
With a smile and a nod at his guardian, Miles shifted his gaze towards the window, as he began to watch the buildings pass by at rapid speed.
Only a few minutes had passed since he had got back into the car, but with Irina at the wheel, they had already traveled a great distance.
For some reason, the streets of this area were absolutely filthy. Like Zhan Shen had said, not stellar. Trash and garbage littered every corner, worthless scrap and junk were scattered here and there.
It wasn't like there were no trash cans in the outer city, he himself had kicked one after all.
But then again, that had been in the previous area. He hadn't seen any here yet. Maybe the people here kicked their trash cans too?
Bad jokes aside, with most of the people cooped up in their homes, the filthy streets had now become a haven for rats and all sorts of other vermin.
Miles was sure that more than a couple of rats had been burned to death by the flames of the Light Ray already.
Minutes passed, as he continued to observe, and they rode at a rapid speed.
Suddenly, Zhan Shen spoke up, bringing him back to reality, "We're here."
Whumpf!
And the car came to a sudden stop.
Without further ado, Miles pushed open the door and stepped out of the car. The street was just as filthy as elsewhere but fortunately, there was a clear reduction in rats.
It smelled bad, utterly horrible. But it just smelled bad. It didn't overwhelm his senses or anything.
Grateful for the silver lining, Miles's gaze fell onto the building in question, the property that was supposed to be his.
There really was nothing special about it, just another building among the countless others of the outer city. Except for the familiar insignia on the main door, a beautifully engraved L, the Lykaon Insignia.
Before continuing any further, Miles tapped on the black tinted window at the front of the car, instantly causing it to lower.
With a grin, he spoke to Irina, "Rina, want to come inside? If I understood correctly, you've been driving all day? You must be tired."
Irina smiled, but slowly shook her head, "Thanks for the invitation boss, but I'd rather not. It would be too much trouble, and I always prefer to keep driving."
'Ah, yes. There's a reason she doesn't like to get out of her car.'
He turned his gaze towards Zhan Shen, who was already standing next to him, his eyes conveying a silent question.
The old butler nodded, but his head slightly jerked towards the side, directed towards the inner city.
'It's ready, but at the Lykaon Mansion? Curse the orcs for choosing now of all times to invade the city.' I'll have to give it to her some other time.
Miles turned back towards the blonde driver, "Fine. But I can't in good conscience let you keep driving without rest."
Turning back towards Zhan Shen, "We have a garage somewhere nearby, right?"
The old butler nodded, "It should be right behind the building, underground. Master Miles, you should be able to open it."
Miles turned back to Irina, "There you have it. It's not any trouble. Get some rest, some food, and then if you want to, keep driving."
Irina seemed to be planning on refusing…
But he interrupted her and spoke sternly, "No buts. You have a choice, rest or no new engine."
Irina's eyes widened, "Y-You wouldn't! You monster of a boss! What happened to you never breaking your word?"
Entirely serious, Miles smirked, "I would. The health and wellbeing of my people are more important than my word."
Irina frowned but finally seemed to give in, "Fine. But only because you're forcing me!"
Miles grinned widely, "Good. We keep all of our properties well-stocked, so you should have everything you need. But just in case, contact me or him if you need anything else."
With an almost angry scowl and a shake of her head, the blonde woman drove off, the Light Ray turning into the street behind.
Now that that was taken care of, Miles turned towards the small building, beginning to walk towards the entrance.
Instantly, the ring activated.
"LYKAON PROPERTY #8 DETECTED. THE RING HAS CONNECTED TO THE LOCAL NETWORK. ALPHA ACCESS GRANTED."
Miles glanced at the ring for an instant, before continuing forwards with purpose.
He had quite a bit of work to do.