Lukas realized he couldn't dodge Gandalf's questions; at the same time, Gandalf decided to elicit as much information as possible from Lukas; and, while the tree house was filled with an intense atmosphere, Jaguara chose not to participate and instead chose to play with Aries and Prose.
Lukas sat on an old wooden chair with a worn countenance, knowing that all of his energy had been exhausted due to the violent combat and his long journey.
He took a deep breath and stared at Gandalf for a few moments.
"Do you have enough power to protect these two kids and raise them as your child?" he asked abruptly while holding a leaf of Ashwagandha which he took from his robe.
Even the sage Gandalf must take some time to contemplate his response because he didn't foresee this question. This is because The Lazy Wanderer, a well-known adventurer, and skilled mage, asked the question; Gandalf therefore can't simply answer "yes" or "no" without considering it first.
Gandalf noticed Lukas rolling a leaf in his hands and deduced that he was preparing for another battle, but this time the enemy would be himself, not some random animal from the forest.
It is believed that wizards often use ashwagandha leaves before casting powerful or large-scale spells because they provide a brief boost while they are consumed.
It may appear odd because Gandalf and Lukas appear to be old friends, yet when it comes to information, they both are ready to do anything. The reason is that every wizard's sole purpose is to learn every truth about their planet Eclipsia and every knowledge beyond their world Eclipsia.
'In the course of history, many magicians turned wicked and lost all sense of self-awareness in an effort to learn more about obscure spell books or priceless relics. Although Gandalf wants to take every piece of knowledge that Lukas currently has, Lukas is well aware that some information cannot be shared.'
Lukas already knew he couldn't win Gandalf in a one-on-one battle, so he devised an escape strategy considering the worst-case scenario by enhancing his magic power with ashwagandha leaves.
"The fact that you use ashwagandha leaves alone speaks to the weight you hold in protecting that information, but if you want my answer to your inquiry regarding Aries and Prose, I require a significant amount of information about them" Gandalf stated to Lukas with a fierce look on his face.
Gandalf suddenly started smiling at Lukas and said, "It is true that I am more powerful than you at this moment, but I am not planning to battle with you." All of this was said gently, and he began looking at the box containing the pendants of Aries and Prose.
Even though Gandalf stated that he is not interested in battle, Lukas is not convinced, therefore he decided not to down his guard.
"It happened again," Lukas said solemnly as he turned to gaze at Jaguara, who was playing with Aries and Prose.
"The mana depletion of aimer" ― Gluttony, Gandalf retorted in a gruff voice, without pausing to think.
"So, you do remember," Lukas chuckled.
"This is not something a people like us can forget," Gandalf retorted angrily.
Jaguara became engrossed in the topic and began staring at Lukas.
Lukas looked at Gandalf and said that now could be a good time to tell Jaguara about the tragedy. Despite his displeasure, Gandalf decided to explain to Jaguara everything he knew about "The mana depletion of aimer Gluttony."
"Do you recall the day I took you as my son, Jaguara?" With a smile on his face, Gandalf questioned Jaguara.
Jaguara abruptly grabbed a piece of wood from beneath the table and displayed it to Gandalf.
Gandalf giggled and added, "So, you recall the day you met your father?"
"It was 10 years back, the day I decided to retire from the 'royal magical council of mages', every mage in the kingdom, a considerable number of knights who worked with us in our expeditions in the past and the ruler of the kingdom Aimer gathered in the courtyard to celebrate my achievements of mine so far.
But suddenly queen started to act like a completely different person and started to rampage by using high-tier magic toward the mages and the knights gathered in the meeting.
When we tried to restrain her, another unexpected thing happened.
The magical power of every person from the surrounding was reduced to almost zero, only the member of the royal magical council of mages and a few knights who had considerable magic power was able to prevent the complete loss of magic power by casting a protection shield around them, fortunately, the king was not affected because of his natural ability to use light magic.
The queen and other mages started to fall unconscious because of the lack of magic power.
The mages of the 'Royal Magic Council' noticed an unusual increase in magical power in the midst of Aimer's forest.
Knight caption Klaus decided to lead the expedition to investigate the unusual magic depletion and sudden increase in magic increase in the middle of Aimer's forest.
Members of the Royal Magic Council advised Klaus to have a few mages in his expedition party because knights are excellent at physical combat but suffer greatly if the enemy uses magic or ranged attacks.
Gandalf was curious about what was going on in the forest of Aimer, so he came forward of his own accord and agreed to accompany Klaus's expedition party.
Suddenly, a young mage who had recently joined the Royal Magic Council expressed an interest in accompanying Gandalf.
Gandalf looked at the young man, he was unique among the Royal Magic Council because usually only people over the age of 60 are nominated for the Royal Magic Council because in order to be a member of the Royal Magic Council you need to be acknowledged by 70% of the members, in other words out of 10 royal mages he needs to be acknowledged by 7 members and one of those 7 members will leave his position and give that spot to the new mage.
The other option is to fight a Royal council mage in a one-on-one battle under certain conditions. The basic condition is that the mage attempting to enter a Royal magic council in this manner must demonstrate mastery over two elements (fire, water, earth, and wind) or mastery over any one of these elements (light, dark, time)
The Royal Magic Council mages will agree to a one-on-one battle only after they have demonstrated their mastery.
This system was implemented because mages are often greedy and do not want to give up their position because being a royal mage grants access to many labyrinths and libraries that are forbidden to average citizens.
The young mage who expressed interest in joining Gandalf was acknowledged to the Royal Magic Council through the second method, which is only natural given that no mage is generous enough to acknowledge a 25-year-old boy by stepping down as royal mage.
This young mage was a prodigy from birth, so no one was surprised when he challenged Royal council members for the position of royal mage. There has been some conversation about his arrogance in challenging the royal members, but that is natural.
The royal battle of mages is commonly known as "Magico Tajemny."
During this fight, the participating mage will choose one of the ten royal mages of his choice, and that mage will battle him.
This event was celebrated like a festival in Aimer because it is so rare to see people challenge royal mages; another reason for this was to celebrate that someone in their town or city had mastered a particular element in magic.
There were also people who were interested in money who participated in many black-market events in the shadows, betting on who would win.
The day a young prodigy and a mage who had developed mastery over their skills and elements through time and battle arrived, the neighboring people of the city and many royal families gathered to witness that spectacular battle.
A young man with silver hair and green-colored eyes arrived at the battleground, carrying a small wand on his back like a knight carrying a sword in his back, his robe was not long, but rather short, and the dress he wore did not appear to be designed for long-range battles, but rather for assassins and spies who require more mobility.
The Royal Mages gathered in a line, each wearing a long and gleaming robe and wielding a majestic wand.
The Royal Magic Council's head mages began chanting, creating a magical barrier around the battleground, and initiated the "Magico Tajemny."
The audience began to scream and shout in support of the Royal mages, while many young maidens began to throw flower petals toward the young mage in support, and some maidens even declared their love for the young mage.
With his silvery white hair, green eyes, and majestic stand against the Royal mages, the young mage turned back and smiled at those girls. His smile alone was deadly enough to knock half of the maiden unconscious.
He slowly turned to face the 10 mages who were positioned in front of him, as if parents were waiting to discipline a child after they failed their magic academy exams.
The young mage slowly raised his hand and pointed to a specific Royal mage.
His actions quickly turned the tables on him, and the entire crowd began to yell at him for his arrogance.