Arveich port city, Biskar kingdom.
In a four-story inn with medieval architecture, North-west to the city center.
"Beer over here!
"Ain't following your decision! I should be the vanguard!"
"Beer coming right through!"
"Hahaha! And then I chopped the head of that damn bloody wolf with this axe given to me by my late grandmother!"
"Knowing your timidness, I bet it was a cub you chopped off instead of a mature wolf, Hahaha!"
"Shut your crap, the vanguard should be handed to someone who is good at leadership! Not to a short-tempered gnome like you!"
"Ye dare! I'm a proud warrior with dwarf blood coursing through my veins, you goddamn Long eared bastard!
"A table for four!"
Inside the inn, it was as rowdy as it could be. Some hunters argued without no end, while some drank alcohol to wash away the tiredness of the day, and others were just arriving at the place.
On the counter of the bar where the stairs to the upper flower were located to the right side, two boys, one with a black suit and the other with a white robe that had complex symbols on it, were having drinks. The one with the white robe was patting the other boy's back. They were Aelfryn and Coy.
Aelfryn said with an expression of sympathy as he drank from his berry juice with his free hand, "It is only the first time, buddy. Since you have done it thrice, you should be okay for the last one to the academy."
Coy glanced at him. 'This guy…'
***
A while ago in the outskirts of a starry city, Three people appeared out of nowhere like phantoms near a tree on a hill. Coy, who had just been teleported from the Blake duchy, over the forest of woeful souls, right here at the Carerlon city of Mira kingdom, staggered towards the tree's trunk and wretched greenish fluids.
His mind quaked hard as he couldn't distinguish right from left. His direction appeared disoriented, his knees buckled up as he pulled himself by grabbing on the tree.
He never imagined it to be this awful. He felt like a rock that had been eroded and then put back together, particle by particle, back to its original state. 'Fuck…'
Aelfryn who witnessed this scenario unfold in fore of his eyes was silently holding back his laughter as his eyes became damp. He would have rolled over the blades of grass on the floor if Caesy weren't there, giving him the eye; but, his shoulders were still quivering.
Done with his nasty business, Coy took a deep breath. A chilly breeze mixed with mud and leaves invaded his nose as his senses gradually made sense.
'After what I have been through, standing on the ground seemed like a reward,' he thought while looking at the night sky, with a blank face.
But the serene atmosphere was short-lived. {Ahahahah! I thank the 'Tree' for letting me witness this moment once again. Brat, you have my heartfelt gratitude.}
Brought to reality by Chóros, Coy's eyes twitched. {Are you a kid or something? Have you never ever seen someone throwing up their stomach before? You fucking cumber world.}
Coy couldn't care less if he cursed or not. Teleporting was bizarre than what he imagined it to be, and no one can change his mind.
Caesy came beside him as she cast a spell without a circle appearing, and no chanting. Coy felt a warm feeling entering his mind, before the faint dizziness plaguing him subsided entirely. Although the memory was still fresh.
'The world of magic sure seems full of tricks after tricks…' internalized Coy as he pondered over how his aching mind got better in an instant.
"That was only the first of our four stops. I can see that this is your first time experiencing teleportation, but don't worry. You will adapt to it after this short journey back to the academy," Caesy said as she conjured three light chairs and sat down on one of them. "Take 5 minutes of rest."
Aelfryn took a seat. Coy didn't bother as he sat on the frigid ground. The cold sensation helped him touch a hold of his body and refresh his mind.
Feeling that he was in a good state to speak, he asked, "What spell was that, Headmistress?"
"Touch of grace, simply known as heal." Her response was short.
"Back when my father used spells around me, there was a circle with complex engravings inside them, but there wasn't any when you cast Heal. How is that so?" questioned Coy curiously.
Caesy was silent for a second as she looked at him weirdly. "Your father didn't tell you about obscure spells?"
Even Aelfryn who was caressing his long ear with boredom while gazing at the illuminated city in the distance turned his head at him, puzzled.
'Is it common sense to know about that? Hmm.' From his memories, father only taught him little about magic, such as magic enhancement, commonly known as body enhancement, which was just circulating mana throughout your body except your brain to strengthen your body. The rest was about the basics and intermediates of swordplay. Although he had seen some magic being cast, every spell he saw yielded a circle with complex engravings.
"No, I have not heard of obscure spells, what are they supposed to be?" He asked. Judging from its name, he could guess it were spells obscured by something like a veil to hide your attacks or secrets from your enemies.
They say that if you are going to a fight, hide your weapons inside your sleeves and your poisons inside your chests.
"Father only taught me little about magic," furthermore added Coy.
When she heard that, Caesy massaged her temples and said with a thickening voice, "Does he think that just because you are his son, you will be above him in terms of magic talent through self study at the academy? But it was a good choice considering he wanted you to be a mage and a knight. Haa, we will examine your mana essence as soon as we arrive in the academy. Come here."
At Caesy's beckoning, Coy got up from the grass floor as he patted his bum and walked towards her. Caesy grabbed a hold of his hand and gently hovered her free hand above his navel. A few seconds passed before she pulled her hand back. "As I thought, your body has faint traces of ether waiting to be the catalyst for your ether cultivation."
What she had done was sending her mana in a wave like manner that reflected after making contact with another energy to detect the ether energy. Throughout this process, she did not touch Coy's mana circuits. It was a taboo to infiltrate another individual's mana circuit even if it is out of good will without first asking for their permission. As for Caesy not asking Coy, it was due to the fact that checking his mana circuits was not necessary currently, since that will be done later at the academy.
Aelfryn whistled as he said to Coy with mixed feelings of amazement and jealousy, "You are a lucky one, most of the people can only become a magician or a knight because their body is not suitable to cultivate and meditate different energies at once. But you sure have a lot of work ahead of you, that's one thing I don't envy about you, hehe."
'I really need to broaden my knowledge, there are a lot of terms I don't understand about this world even though I have a memory worth of 7 years,' Coy thought wistfully.
Caesy stood up from her chair and said, "5 minutes have passed, we are leaving." At her gesture, both Aelfryn and Coy got up, preparing for the teleportation.
Coy had a sour face, like someone who had just been forced to feed a lemon. Aelfryn looked at him with a smile. "Now that you know how it feels, you should be able to adapt to it incrementally."
Wrapping his tiny hand around Caesy's tightly, Coy nodded. This time he won't show an unsightly scene like before… Probably.
Caesy held their hands and disappeared from the place. The surrounding returned to its tranquility as the chairs dispersed, the Tree sharing company with Coy's spew…
…
The party teleported to one of the nobles of the vampires' territory before taking a short break, then to an island that was an adequate distance away from Sfragída, but close to Elefthería, before finally being greeted by the salty smell of ocean which was one of the traits of Arveich port city besides the intermixed smell of diverse products on the ship and the worker's vigour.
Arveich port city, as its name implies, was a city that was known for its ports. It had three major and two minor ports. Arveich was also the capital city of the Biskar kingdom. Here, money was easy to earn yet difficult without connections, because most of the businesses were run by few wealthy entrepreneurs and merchants who monopolised nearly all the products circulating in Elefthería and neighbouring continents. Among them was Kaz, owner of the Golden sapling company.
There is a famous saying concerning Arveich. It's said that there's not a single product on Mundus bought by someone that has not been to the land of money and traders at least once in its history.
Caesy and company dropped on one of the minor ports south-east to the city center. They walked with a destination in mind, Aelfryn leading the group.
To Aelfryn, Arveich was like the backyard to his house. Every time an opportunity presented itself to go on a mission aboard, he would search for ones located near the Biskar kingdom, especially in Arveich. It was as if he had a secret wife waiting for him in the port city. But of course that was a rumour shared by his acquaintances and friends.
They went past the workers at the dock and headed to a main street that its origin trailed towards the city center. Coy took in the busy street where carriages of different status went on along the roads, while peddlers haggled, adventurers strolled without fear, beggars settled on the narrow alleyways, and citizens with kaleidoscopic emotions plastered on their visages. It was a bustling street.
No one talked along the way until they reached the city center, where there stood a bronze statue of a remarkable figure with a cape draping behind them. A brilliant smile could be seen from the statue's face.
The statue was regarded as the heart of Arveich because every main street scattered across Arveich spread from it, like a glass that been struck at a focal point.
Coy asked with interest oozing from his words, "Who is this?"
Aelfryn replied before Caesy opened her mouth. "This is the first king's father, Biskar Haakim. The man who revolted against the great empire of Ordell back in the eons where blood was as common as water. With brilliant leadership towering over his army that he commanded when he was the second commander in Ordell's military. He led them with ferocious courage and occupied the vast south-east coastal land of Eleftería that is currently known as Biskar. Although he lost numerous troops and his dear wife in that civil war, he had a son who later on became the first king of Biskar kingdom, the land he conquered with blood and sweat. Oswald Biskar."
'A warrior indeed, I wish I had met him. But why wasn't he the first king? An injury he sustained, or something else?' It didn't make sense to Coy. A man who went through such an ordeal should reward himself with the fruits of his labour, yet he gave it to his son. Maybe it could have been that he had been building the foundation to this kingdom for his child and didn't have an ambition to be a king. Not every person is the same in terms of goals and objectives.
Caesy said to them before they got lost in a conversation concerning the past, "I have some minor business to attend to at the magic council branch here. Brat, don't mess with the kid. And you, Coy, tell me if he does anything wrong to you."
'I would personally break his fingers if he does such things.' Coy nodded as he harboured such feelings. Aelfryn said to her with a weary smile, "Don't worry master, I won't do anything…"
Seeing their response, Casey was assured and said, "I will be back after 3 hours. Do whatever you wish within that time frame," Before teleporting away.
Aelfryn glanced at the vampire next to him who was watching the denizens with interest and said, "I believe that you haven't had a meal since the ceremony, should we go to an inn?"
Although blood was the only source of income that provided energy and nutrition to vampires, normal food was also a delicacy Coy and vampires enjoyed, except for few odd ones. He mulled over the decision before agreeing. He was mentally exhausted from the three consecutive teleportations he had been abused to and needed to rest.
Aelfryn was happy to see that. He led Coy into the crowd of hundreds heading to the inn.
***
At the inn.
Hearing the words coming out of Aelfryn's mouth, Coy thought, 'This guy…'
He shook his head as he grabbed his drink and gulped it down with his tiny hands. He had already finished his food and was chatting with Aelfryn in this bar full of noisy adventurers and other customers.