A bright summer afternoon, in the Iron Wire High located in the Wind Flower City's Vanilla District.
The bright sun illuminated the classroom, passing through the light tints as it shone beyond, casting shadows and making students yawn.
It didn't necessarily help as the classes were held on the 2nd floor, the sunlight abundant.
"Enchantments, although vital in battles, are often discouraged by elders. There's a reason for that as well, because enchantments can only play a limited role,"
"The following Laws of Enchantments can be read on page seventy-five, ladies and gentlemen," the teacher, Riana Lanko, clapped to get the students' attention.
Wearing a professors' suit provided by the school along with a white shirt underneath along with a tie, she had her Wizards' Badge attached to her right shoulder, many apprentices' glancing at it.
"Having even the subtlest enchantment on a piece of paper is going to break it. Although the intricacies are going to be studied in higher classes, for now, it's easier to state the above as thickness and hardness of the material equates to better enchantments," she emphasized. "That's why armors such as plate-mail can be better enchanted than the likes of leather."
Her expression soft as she spoke, the woman in her early-thirties sighed, "We are merely recounting the basics to prepare you for the upcoming examinations. I hope you've written your thesis' well,"
The students cheered at her words, gesturing that they had, and she needn't worry.
Although Riana Lanko was confident most of her students would be definitely qualified to be a wizard, she was still worried.
Having no children, she viewed them as her own, helping them whenever she could and being seemingly stern at times.
She then looked at the one she was worried about the most; Ruiki Imara. The boy wearing a haggard complexion seemed quite stressed, dark circles beneath his eyes as they barely retained focus.
It was natural. The boy had gone missing for a week with no news whatsoever, and he'd only returned yesterday.
On further note, the students had to submit their thesis the next week's monday, while today was Tuesday itself.
He had very little time to prepare even a decent thesis that'd get him to pass, not to mention something that'd get him a decent score.
Triiingg!
The bell sounding at the end of school resounded as a few students erupted in cheers, many still gloomy due to the thesis.
Ruiki walked out of the class deathly pale, the narrow hallway looked longer than usual for him as he rushed outside, wishing to head home and write his thesis as soon as possible.
"Hey, Ruiki," Ruiki looked back, catching sight of Loen Roqueford, the only northerner in his class, as he bought Wa'eru Diskizi alongside him.
"Aunt Elenoir's apple tree has bore fresh fruits, do you want to check it out?" Wa'eru asked, Ruiki shaking his head in dread.
"I'm busier as I am, don't want to die writing my thesis this sunday," Ruiki waved his hands.
"Why don't you come, Ruiki? The both of us will help you with the thesis if you come," Loen pleaded. "Aunt Elenoir wishes to meet you, apparently. She said she wanted to check on you,"
"Tell her I'm fine, it's no big deal." Ruiki dismissed, "I just went on a vacation that I long awaited."
After fending off two of his friends quickly, Ruiki returned home in haste, taking off his shoes and heading for his room upstairs.
Their house was a typical-southerners house situated in the Dual-Mirror District of the Wind Flower City, quite close to the Graveyard District but far from Vanilla District.
It had a red roof on the left with an open area on the right which served as a rooftop where his mother often hung clothes, the winds drying them quickly. There was also a water container above, which was cleaned on a weekly basis by hired cleaners.
Ruiki closed his room's door, grabbing some snacks from the living room as he sat before the study table, the window in front illuminating it and giving him a decent view of the Dual-Mirror District.
The Dual-Mirror District was as lively as ever, with parents holding their kids' hands and walking alongside them, the guards checking the merchants and travellers and examining the goods.
The Dual-Mirror District was the main entry-point to the Wind Flower City, with Vanilla District and Graveyard District being in the southeast and northwest respectively. Vanilla District, big as it is, also extended to the southwest.
Ruiki sighed, Wind Flower City was a small and harmonious city. He knew the Dual-Mirror District like the back of his hand, having spent his whole childhood in it.
Although they had shifted houses — the current house being close to the Graveyard District so his mother and him could mourn his father — they had never moved from the Dual-Mirror District.
It served as a district for middle class to commoners, with fairly rich people also settling down along with merchants. The trade and economy did prosper in the city, however.
Shaking his head lightly to dispel the light-headedness, Ruiki opened various books he had borrowed and skimmed through them, thinking and filling many papers.
I'd had made Ployer pay, Ruiki sighed again, if the man in question wasn't dead himself.
Although he was still declared as "missing" in the city, many higher-ups and Ruiki knew the truth, and he didn't doubt the city would experience another power struggle.
He'd hoped the bastards would consult the king, but that was unlikely. The nobles would rather refrain from consulting the king on such matters, though the branch of the Order of Black Pits in the city might be in peril.
Well, he had to keep the complicated things out of his mind, otherwise he would have a harder time writing a barely passable thesis, although he was pretty much struggling even now.
Ruiki glimpsed at the book, finding the image of a creature he was all too familiar with.
Fagosin, Ruiki skimmed through the part, looking at the creature with red eyes, a pair of mouths looking as if stitched, and long, thread-like arms that extended several feet.
He still got chills looking at the image, the book depicting how the fagosins' produced their offspring and protected them while wrapping them in silk cocoons.
Apparently, the fagosins would be greatly fatigued after producing silk, and though silk was valuable and highly sought after, no one headed to the deep caverns near the Strenzo River just for some silk.
Except for the Strenzo River and a few parts of North, the populace of fagosins is quite scarce, they were highly sought after creatures, both due to their rarity and the silk they produce.
And as for brirads... Ruiki turned the page a fair bit further, a small image of a yellow rat with red eyes covering the top of the book.
They look harmless, even, But the creatures in question were far more harmful than fagosins.
Apparently, the ancestors of Brirads had whipped up some sort of plague in the past, being exterminated all over the southwestern part.
But regardless, Ruiki's thesis mostly included the fagosins and brirads — he had almost gotten familiar with them with all the time spent — and he also included a bit of Strenzo River and the Cavern of Black Lilies.
He wasn't overly worried about being questioned though, since the things he wrote were very vague and the Cavern of Black Lilies was hidden behind a river, the previously collapsed cave being shut down completely.
There's also that "contingency plan" Ployer had mentioned about... Ruiki sighed. He was overcome with a fear of the unknown these days, each day waiting for the inevitable to happen had the dead Baron's words been true.
But he still continued on with his life normally, spending a bit of time with his siblings and mother, taking time off to write his thesis and study, and moreover trying to improve himself, both physically and mentally, and even as a spellcaster.
The latter couldn't happen easily though. Spells above First-Dimension except healing spells weren't accessible to an apprentice, no matter which school. So all he could do was practice drawing freaking lines in his idle time, often learning some healing magic along with practicing magical language.
He had thought learning magical languages were necessary, but he hadn't ventured further into that for now. It had to wait until he had completed his thesis.
Ruiki pondered, writing about various elements as he mainly perused about the elements he had encountered in the Cavern of Black Lilies.
In hindsight, although alot of things he had encountered looked meaningless and insignificant, he recently noticed the details he had overlooked due to not being proficient in a lot of things.
Had a full-fledged Wizard been in his place, the wizard would have undoubtedly fared far better, he summarised.
Being a mere sixteen-year old, I sure have a lot of problems, Ruiki complained, looking at the time after he felt he'd hit his limit.
It was 7:35. Schools often ended at 5:30 to six o'clock but the time varied depending on the semesters and portions.
Reaching home and freshening up had taken him about half an hour, with the remaining hour and half being spent in thesis.
He felt drained. He had hit his limit far sooner than yesterday, he noted.
Looking at the newspaper that had been lying in a corner of his table, he read the headline; "Wizards speculate all-time low essence leads to anxiety, and stress. Use your magic carefully!
Typical newspaper titles, short and sweet; urging you to read more, Ruiki thought, then got up from his chair, Maybe I need a break
...
"Ruiki, don't touch my things!" His younger sister shouted, seeing the packet of fried potatoes in his hands.
"As if. Don't think I haven't noticed my missing books and utensils." Ruiki nonchalantly took a fried potato and put it in his mouth, the crunching sound making her mouth tremble.
"It's not my fault you disappeared," She accused, snatching the potatoes out of his hands and eating them all at once as Ruiki watched with mouth agape.
What a monster... He commented, shaking his head.
At this point, Ruiki's mother who had entered the living room, chuckled softly as she patted her daughter's head.
"Na'ari, that's not the way to treat your brother after he has come home.
Ruiki greeted her politely, getting up to grab another snack.
"But he—" Na'ari pointed an accusing finger at Ruiki, only to be pinched in the cheek and then lifted.
Ruiki smiled a little, grabbing another packet of fried potatoes and sitting on the couch, entertaining his sister for a change.
"How's your thesis going?" His mother asked, bringing two cups of coffee and a cup of milk as she picked the coffee cup and sat opposite of Ruiki and Na'ari.
"It's somewhat good," Ruiki said, taking the coffee cup and blowing lightly to cool it. "I had taken some precautions and done research prior just to be safe, looks like it has worked."
"Don't over exert yourself," his mother said, seeing Na'ari quietly drink her portion of milk. "It's enough if you pass. You could still be a decent wizard and lead a normal life,"
"I doubt it's possible, things being as they are," Ruiki said solemnly, having informed his mother about the incident and Ployer's threats.
His mother chuckled, however. "Don't think too negatively, what's the worst that can happen?" She took another sip as she told Ruiki, "I know my father all too well. He won't do anything rash, although he has aged considerably."
Ruiki nodded. "We still need to be cautious. Change our... location."
His mother's smile froze a little. "Why? You don't like our current house?"
Ruiki shook his head. "It's safer," he said. "You should know the situation far better than me. It's not just a family problem,"
"It is a problem of mankind, a war."