After a few more days worth of traveling deeper inside the dense forest Jax came to an opening in the forest and looked up as the sun started to make a sunset. "Maybe this is the place I need to meditate at for a few hours and see if I feel more relaxed.." Jax thought to himself before sitting down in the middle of the opening and begins to meditate.
Max and Leonard at this time had already been past all the basics for all things magic related. Max had also already learned 4 spells within an extremely short amount of time as compared to others placing him as a "genius mage" of the kingdom.
"Well Max... you've outdid yourself honestly. I'm extremely surprised but also proud of your progress being extremely quick compared to others around your age." Leonard says with a smile cracking on his face and a small chuckle.
"Well you were the one who taught me right? The greatest magician of Finspell's history according to history and books from the library... so obviously it makes sense I'm doing so good" Max replied while laughing a bit at his own comment but also being semi sarcastic about what he had said. Leonard looked at him for a small moment and chuckled then sighed for a short moment before speaking again. "Listen Max, I know it hasn't been long but I've already taught you the basics of magic as you know already. I want you to go out into the world and see what you can do for yourself. I think this is the end of our training program."
"...I see I did expect it to happen soon but not this soon..." Max wanted to tear up but resisting the urge to do so as he already knew this short amount time spent with each other constantly all day would come to an end. "W-well...I do just want to say one last thing before I go Master. That is I want to thank you for everything you've done and shown me. The world, magic, and more importantly thank you for showing me that even a short time being with someone can make life long memories."
Leonard being the guy he is just stood up and walked into his shack before shutting the door behind him, not saying a single word after hearing that. Max had also picked up his small bag of items he had gathered over the time he had spent with Leonard.
Jax at this time had another weird dream of a dark place again with purple energy surrounding him but soon he awoke and found the energy around him had dissipated once again like it had happened last time. Jax stood up and went over the basics of magic his father had taught him and the books he had read in the kingdom.
"Come on Jax... Just stay focus on the spell, adept to the surroundings, and remember to breathe." He said to himself quietly aloud. Jax had began to cast a spell in this dense forest.
"Wind sits still as storms reap the same as a cloud filled of hatred among the land-" Jax had started to cast a spell to summon the wind and rain however something felt off compared to how it did it at home. He stops casting for a moment and opened his eyes.
"...I-I see I-is this what my father meant by "Upon opening the deepest corners of yourself, and revealing the secrets of that world inside.. only then you may possess the ability and knowledge of true strength." ... I'm not sure but... thank you father for the teachings you've gave me across my entire life up until this moment." Jac opened his eyes to see the forest around him drenched in water, with speeds of wind reaching a speed which he thought wasn't even possible surrounding him yet they were going around Jax, with him feeling the breeze of the cold wind mixed in with rain he felt calmer and safer in that one moment as if he was back home with his family. After a few minutes the wind, and the rain stopped completely leaving Jax in awe of what just happened. Jax turned around and left dropping his stick behind and leaving the dense forest with a curious gaze, and a lot of questions on his mind that he feels as if he wants answered yet not answered at the same time.
A few days go by since Jex leaves the forest, and Max left his teacher Leonar. Suddenly one day Max sees Jax in the kingdom at a clothes shop and goes up to him. "Hey man how's it going? It's been a while since I saw you." Jax turned around in surprise and sees Max behind him and then replies, "Yeah man.. It sure has been a while and I sense you have quite a lot of mana compared to last time we've seen each other huh? I assume Leonard did an amazing job at teaching?" Jax said confidently as he always had been the more confident type. Max started to chuckle a bit and nodded to agree. "So, what type of clothes are you looking for? I might be able to help you find some."
"Well, it's nothing much honestly. I just want a simple short snd some simple pants to get muddy and all without having to worry about the mess that comes afterwards a lot." Replied Jax continuing to look around and picks out a few black shirts he found and some pants to match the color of the shirt. "I'll take these seven items sir." Jax said to the shopkeeper walking over with the money out to pay him. The shopkeeper looked up at Jax placing a gold coin down and suddenly his eyes widen. "W-well ofc my good sir... come back whenever you need anything at all and I'll be right there for you sir." The shopkeeper replied walking away from the store for the day.
Jax looked over at Max and they both just walked out of the store. "So, what should we do about the quest the king gave us weeks ago? I know it's a contract deal and it goes for a while but still... it's better to be safe than not to be." Max looked up at Jax. After a few moments lost in thought Jax replied, "Well, let's go ahead and get started on this goose chase shall we? He said 4 years and what was his name again?" Asked Jax trying to remember the guy's name.
"Oh his name was apparently "sky ripple" the king mentioned it were you not listening?" Max said looking at him in a confusing manner. "Listen Max...I heard money and a lot of it so I of course was listening." Max just sighed and started walking towards the gates of the kingdom with Jax following. "So I assume we check the nearby villages and see if there's been any encounters with this "Sky Ripple" guy and we start from there?" Jax asked Max looking over at him for a moment. Max replied after a few moments of thinking as if thinking of an idea as to what they should do. "Well that was my idea as well honesty. How about to make this go quicker you go to the nearest villages South, and North. I'll check out the closet ones on the West and East?" After a few minutes of thinking Jax agreed and they both exited the kingdom showing the sponsorship badge of the king and they separated to go onto their ways of checking the villages.
"So, let's see here... there's two of them this time hm? I see very well. Let's see how long they'll last." Says someone in the mountains and suddenly the sky changes to a darkened state and lighting appears in a dark red color.