Dillie stood in front of the giant spiky ball of ice that she had trapped everyone inside. She lugged her great black sword onto her shoulder and began to walk away.
"Tch, I got a scratch." She rubbed a small scratch Diana (Liba) made on her chest plate. Once she'd gone, an old man with a comically long beard that he had to pick up like a dress to walk, rushed over to the ice.
"Brave heroes. You must be patient, for this old man can't cast magic like he once could," He spoke in the third person. (This was Hig). "Progaro," He said a spell in his deteriorating voice. A crowd gathered around him as a flame came from his hands and melted the ice until he reached Elfie.
He stopped the flames just before they would've hit her, and with large rocks he took from the ground, he chipped away at the ice until she could free herself.
"Thank you, old man," She forced herself out of the ice and stood up to find that he was 5'3. "Wow, you're short," She said bluntly.
"How kind of you,"
"What's your name? Mine's Elfie."
"Higorius Demarcus III." They shook hands and helped the others out of the ice.
"Mighty heroes, this is no place for us to talk. The black guardsmen will patrol this area soon. Come with me." He led them away from the village and Divol's castle in the distance. The inn was nowhere near the capital city of Primea, Zimferopol, where Divol's castle stood.
But the castle was such a colossal structure that you could see it from a thousand kilometers away. It was black with five thin and tall structures of varying heights surrounding the central tower.
It was as wide as a village, and the main tower was as tall as the clouds. Right at the very top was Divol's throne, omnisciently overlooking everything. The Primean people called it the tower of hell.
"Where are you taking us?" Claudia asked as Higorius led them to a foggy river.
"I'm taking you to meet the forgotten. To the ones who seek vengeance. To the revolutionaries of old." Higorius said dramatically, bent down, and tapped the ground three times.
They all waited in silence. "Is something supposed to be happening?" Elfie asked.
"They must know it's me. Otherwise, they'll bite your heads off." As Higorius said that, three wolves cautiously revealed their heads from within the fog.
"Is that it? Three wolves? I was expecting some huge monster." Claudia asked. She used to be a monster hunter in her younger days, so she'd seen much more imposing monsters.
"No, it's not just any wolves," Tommie stepped forward, "They're Anidrous Wolves."
The wolves continued walking, and everyone realized that they were one enormous wolf with three heads.
"Higorius Demarcus III... Who are these people?" The middle wolf spoke; its voice echoed in the fog.
"They are the ones who shall bring Divol down into ruin." Higorius stepped into the muddy water toward the wolves.
"Them?" The one on the left sniggered, "The four little buttercups?"
"I must admit, they look weak." The one on the right agreed.
"Want to try us?" Diana readied her sword angrily.
"I've always wanted to see an Anidrous Wolf. What an incredible sight," Tommie said. They didn't notice that he had walked up to them and began stroking the bottom of the middle wolf's jaw. It purred with pleasure as he scratched just the right spot.
Tommie laughed as it rolled onto its back, hanging its tongue out. Higorius watched in awe as he played with one of the most dangerous tier III monsters.
"He who doth tame the trinities... The wolf. The moons. And the Realms." Higorius recited a great prophecy from long ago. "The Great Sage. It must be him. The Great Sage!"
"The what Sage?" Elfie crossed her arms, confused.
"The Anidrous wolves come from a forgotten land, Plece, where the moons converged. It is now resting at the bottom of the ocean."
"Wait," Paley cut Hig off in real life. "There's more than one moon?"
"Yeah, there's three moons," Nova answered, snacking on a sandwich.
The Moon Church prayed to all the moons. They put their personal wishes in the biggest moon, Luneium; their prayers for other people's well-being in the next, Luneme, and confessed their sins to the smallest, Luneius. All of them were named after the Moon Priestess, Luneia, also known as Luna.
"Not in the game. In real life. There are three moons?" His shocked expression and tone surprised everyone.
"Did you not know that?" Hig asked.
"No, I didn't. Whatever, it's fine, go on."
Higorious continued from where he left off. "Majestic men and women lived in Plece. They used Time Magic." Those words struck Paley's interest. He'd never thought of the concept of controlling time before and wondered if Time Magic even existed. Higorius continued.
"They peered into the future, though it came at a cost. As they used it more and more, their bodies froze and stiffened until they were paralyzed. Though, they grieved not. They had lost all attachment to materialistic pleasures through decades of mindful meditation. They were called the Sages of Plece."
Then, he recited one of their prophecies. "A great veil of darkness will fall upon the world. He who doth tame the trinities; the wolves, the moons, and the Realms; shall bring forth light and vanquish the eternal night. The Great Sage. Wielder of the Sage Arts. Wielder of all Magic." He quoted.
"What the hell are you talking about, old man?" Are you saying Tommie is a Quimnia?" Diana asked.
Everyone chuckled in real life.
"What's up?" Nova asked.
"Nothing, continue." Paley smiled slightly.
"No. The Sage Arts are different. They can replicate a Quimnia's power, but I do not know to what extent. No one does anymore. The Great Trifos Empire sank Plece in the ancient world war. Their knowledge of Time Magic and the Sage Arts sank with them.
The only thing remaining was these Anidrous Wolves. They're the last of their kind. In Plece, they served in the royal colosseum to train warriors. Though, no one has ever defeated them."
The wolves, now out of breath, begged Tommie to stop playing with them. "Stop! We must lead you to the Graveyard Fields!" The wolf composed itself after Tommie stopped. "Hop on us," The left wolf requested, and they climbed onto its back and heads.
"What are the Graveyard Fields?" Tommie asked as the Anidrous Wolves carried them deep into the fog.
"Exactly what they sound like. Every man and woman that Divol has murdered rest here. Well, not everyone. Most of their souls have been lost." Higorius said as the fog suddenly thinned, and they arrived at a massive expanse of minty green fields.
Overall, it was an open space with forests of trees with dark grey trunks and glowing leaves lining the horizon. The sky was black, but fireflies swirled about, lighting up the fields. Then, the group saw them. They saw the millions of marble graves stretching into the distance. Specters of varying colors - red, orange, green, aqua, blue - fazed out of the graves. They were souls.
(The Moon Church and Sun Church both believe in the concept of souls. Though, they differ in the fact that; the Sun Church believes the soul is sent to the sun to have all of its sins burned away before being sent back down to be reincarnated as a newborn; and the Moon church believes that the soul goes to Luneium, the biggest moon, to traverse into heaven, where they will live in luxury for eternity.)
There was a larger grave in the distance. It was a cylindrical marble platform that held a statue of the Moon Priestess, Luneia. From that one, a white soul came out and approached everyone.
"Hello, Higorius." It greeted.
"Hello, Madella," Higorius replied and bowed.
"Are you a spirit!?" Elfie yelled, her voice echoing in the massive fields.
"No, I am another of these souls," Madella answered.
"She is the one who mothered Divol and some of the Seven Ministers," Higorius explained.
"Seven Ministers?"
"Yes, the Seven Ministers. Second only to Divol himself. How do you not know them?" Higorius asked, "Come on, you must've heard of them. The Great Knight, Adimia-" They cut him off before he could continue with the list.
"Adimia?" Claudia asked with her hand over her mouth, shocked. "We went to the same academy... But he was such a kind man. Why would he side with Divol?"
"It's simple. The strongest weapon that Divol has isn't his Ice Magic. Nor his countless underlings. It is his words. With one speech, he can corrupt you into his servant. With one command, he can destroy a country. With one sentence, he can change the world." Higorius said, taking pauses for dramatic effect.
"He was always special." Madella began, "But I had to abandon him. My people would never accept a Black Spirit in their village."
"He's a Black Spirit?" Elfie asked. They were all taken aback by the revelation.
"No, his father was a Black Spirit. His mother was a White Spirit. She left him with me because he was going to be executed."
"He's half-Black-Spirit and half-White-Spirit," Tommie summed up, and she nodded.
"What does he want with our world?" Diana asked.
"An army for his revenge." Higorius answered, "He will turn every man and woman in this world into senseless monsters. Then, he will lead them into the Spirit Realm and exact revenge upon them all. He's going to destroy our world to avenge his mother."
Madella gritted her teeth. "The Spirits sent her to this world after beating her senseless. Divol was the only one at home that day. He found her, and she died in his arms. He was just fourteen. When I'd returned, he'd disappeared, leaving behind a note, telling us not to look for him."
"Wait, so, since you're dead... Did he kill you?" Elfie asked.
Madella shook her head. "I grew old and perished. I stayed in this world to find him, but by the time I did, it was too late. For two thousands years, he had been gathering thousands of people and had formed a link with his Seven Ministers."
"How are we meant to beat him? He's lived for two thousand years!" Elfie protested.
"He can," Higorius turned to Tommie, "I suspect you are The Great Sage prophecized to end Divol's darkness. Do you think you could use the Sage Arts?"
"I don't even know what Arts are."
"Well, then, I must explain them to you." Higorius began, teaching Tommie everything about Arts.
Arts are simple spells. Though, they're more like techniques that everyone can use regardless of magic type. To explain it concisely; Arts is the enhancement of the link between mind, magic, and the world.
There is a direct, one-way relationship between the mind, magic, and the world. Magic can create fireballs in the physical world that burn down entire forests. Magic affects the world.
The world cannot affect magic. Though, you can reduce the efficacy of a spell. For example, if you submerge someone in water and they try to use Firebolt, the fire will be extinguished immediately. However, the world can only affect the physical effect of magic. It cannot affect magic at all.
Like magic's relationship with the world, the mind and magic have a one-way relationship. The mind affects magic, but magic does not affect the mind - though, some argue that Mind Control Magic breaks that rule.
So, the mind affects magic, and magic affects the world. The mind is at the top, so by strengthening the mind, you can strengthen your link to magic and its link with the world.
Every powerful Knight has spent their early life meditating to enhance their mind. Some Mages have done this too, though it is much easier for Knights to do it. This is because Knights use Enhancing Magic (The majority of people can only use Enhancing Magic) to make them hit harder, faster, and with more precision. Also, Enhancing Magic is just less taxing mana-wise and takes less focus to use.
To enter the Art state, one needs to be incredibly aware of the mana in them and around them. This can be done by assigning a word like you would with a spell. So, Knights often shout something like: "Fire Art! Dance of the Dragons' Flame!" during battle to automatically put them into focus.
The only mages that have ever been known to use Arts are King Mages, Emperor Mages, and Quimnias. Arts have incredible benefits for mages, allowing their spells to become at least ten times stronger.
But they don't generally use simple enhancing spells as Knights do. They use complex spells that take tons of focus to use. So, the time it would take for them to strengthen their mind enough to be able to use an Art would be far too long.
This is why the majority of King Mages and Emperor Mages are very old people. They have spent decades meditating to reach their level. Though, most of them were part of the minority that are naturally talented and have a much more effortless time learning Arts and magic in general.
There is further power to be achieved when mastering Arts as a Mage. At some point, your mind's link to magic will be so strong that you can combine two or more magic types. This allows a mage to perform spells on par with Spirit Magic (Spirit Magic is just much, much stronger than the magic humans use).
Only two people in all of history have been able to do this; Neizin Jihwa, the first Quimnia; and Aneros, the third Quimnia, the world's greatest hero.
It was nearly 10:00 p.m., so Madella decided everyone should have a break and eat. They all went upstairs and changed into their home clothes as Paley cooked dinner with Madella.
Dillie came down first and sat down with Amasha.
"Dillie, you wanna train tonight?" Paley asked as he tossed a bunch of prawns covered in garlic marinade.
"Tonight?"
"Yeah. That session reminded me that you were trying to use Arts. Have you gotten far?"
Madella tapped him on the shoulder, and he set the pan down for her to pour juicy greens onto the prawns. Together, they stirred the whole thing before pouring a flavor-enhancing liquid that Bacha brewed earlier.
Dillie nodded, "Yep. I came up with an Art spell."
"What is it?"
"It's kind of like Enhancing Magic. I called it Fengsu Art. It's super cool!" She said excitedly.
"Can't wait to see it. You better cut my Golem this time with it." He challenged.
Negie watched the conversation from the stairs, gloomy from envy. She sighed and sat down.
"What am I thinking? He obviously likes her… They're perfect for each other." She mumbled to herself.
"That little-" Bacha appeared behind her, frustrated, and ran down the stairs, "Hey! Paley's gonna spend the night with me!" She fought Dillie.
"Bacha. I want to train with Dillie." Paley said as he finished plating the prawns and some mashed potatoes before bringing them over to the table with Madella.
"How about you all train together?" Madella suggested.
"I don't want to train with *her*," Bacha said, sneering at Dillie.
"You know what, that's a good idea. Bacha, what do you say about this: Dillie practices her Art and you can practice making Energizing Potions quickly for her." Paley suggested. Bacha would've been annoyed that he asked her to help Dillie, but since it was him asking, she agreed.
"Fine. I won't let you feel even a bit tired." She turned to Dillie.
"Mind if I join?" Negie revealed herself and came down the stairs determinedly.
"Sure. You want to be a professional monster hunter someday, don't you?" Negie nodded and followed him outside. Dillie looked to the forest quickly, checking it, as they spoke.
"What Magic Type are you?" He asked.
"Enhancer." Negie replied. Enhancer Magic Types were the most common. Libon was an Enhancer Mage too, but he specialized in Muscle Enhancing Magic.
"Ah, so you use weapons?"
She nodded.
"Do you use a sword?"
"No, I use an ax." She said casually, surprising Paley .
Her father used to be a lumberjack when they lived in Andi (A country in Nijia, much like India), following the family tradition. He let her use his old ax to train since he now worked as a cleaner. Although her parents wanted her to be a traditional housewife in the future, they loved the joy training bought her.
"I have it in my bag, hold on," She rushed back in to get it.
Paley noticed Dillie continuously checking the forest. "It's not going to be there, Dillie." He sighed.
"I know… I just can't get it out of my head." She admitted.
"Get what out of your head?" Bacha asked.
"Nothing, Bacha." Paley didn't want to remind Bacha of it.
Negie came out lugging a large ax on her shoulder. "How did you fit that in your bag?" Dillie asked.
"It folds," She demonstrated that the handle folded.
Paley set up two Earth Golems for Dillie and Negie.
"Dillie, let's see your Fengsu Art." He requested and she nodded, closing her eyes to help her focus.
"Wind Art: Fengsu." She mumbled and readied her sword. Her body emitted a soft white light and she snapped forward. Paley didn't realize it, but she was on the other side of the Golem. Though she'd lost her sword; it was trapped in the Golem's side.
"Crap!" She exclaimed and dislodged the sword, "It works. I swear!"
"You actually kinda did it." Paley showed surprise, "It takes ages to learn an art."
"It took my brother six months to perfect his Flame Art," Hig said. He and some of the others were watching from the orphanage wall.
"Flemme Reish, right?" Negie asked, "One of the strongest monster hunters in the world. Dillie, I hate to admit it, but that's really impressive."
"Thank you?" Dillie was confused. She had skimmed through the Arts book Paley gave her, so she was unaware of the time it takes to master an Art.
"Paley, can you teach me how to do it too?" Negie asked, readying her ax.
"I don't know how to use Arts. Why don't you teach her, Dillie?"
"You want me to teach her?" Dillie asked, outraged. She gave a frustrated look to Negie, who returned it.
"Negie wants to be a monster hunter. Plus, I think you'd be a great teacher." He said.
"You really think that?"
"Of course."
"I'll try my best!" And so Dillie agreed to teach Negie the Magic Arts.