9 Chapter 9

Illusions

Reskeme practiced his channelling for almost an hour, Rufus had insisted that Reskeme didn't try to cast any spells. His only goal was to channel mana for as long as he could before letting the mana disperse harmlessly into the air. This task was hard at first Reskeme could only channel his mana for 20 seconds. By the end of the hour, Reskeme could only channel his mana for five seconds before his body protested, vibrating uncomfortably.

Looking at Reskeme, one would think he was covered in water. Reskeme clothes clung to his dark red skin.

"Reskeme also has soul magic."Rufus said. Enis gave Rufus a questioning look.

"Before you summon your familiar, you will need a component. We at the guild don't have it, but I know of a place that does." Enis said.

"The component is five blood-red rubies the size of your pinky fingernail."Enis said.

"Rubies? Why do i need rubies for the familiar?" asked Reskeme.

"I know the merchant is going to buy them tomorrow night. He will be an easy target on the walk home." Enis said.

"One of my spies in the merchant's household spoke of the man going to pickup the rubies tomorrow. The spy will be here at noon. My spy is not sure what time the merchant is going to get the rubies. So you will have to wait for the merchant to leave for his house." said Enis.

Reskeme was contemplating the plan. It sounded good. Getting caught while pick-pocketing a merchant was ten lashes in the stockades. If someone gets caught pick-pocketing a noble, it is twenty lashes. Reskeme shuddered at the thought. He remembered witnessing a young boy's back torn, flesh peeling away from the bone. The thought of that crippling injury scared Reskeme more that he let on.

Enis stood watching Reskeme, who paced thinking. Rufus had left somewhere, only just returning. He had an old cloak with a hood; The cloak was grey, worn and dirty. The wool cloak looked warm and concealing.

For a young man like Reskeme it could cover his hands, his feet and his head. Reskeme was now a lot more willing to do the mission. He had no confidence in his illusion magic, it would be far safer with the cloak.

Rufus held up a shiny piece of steel and said, "Look into the mirror". Reskeme confused looked into the steel. Reskeme almost jumped back at the sight before him. He was looking at a demon. His heart skipped a beat. He was staring at a demon. The reflection had flickering green eyes that seemed to glow white hair like snow and skin a shocking red.

With a shock, Reskeme realized it was his own face. He had thick eyebrows, thin lips with sunken cheeks and a pointy nose.

"Focus up, boy."Rufus said. Snapping him back to reality.

"Channel your mana and change the colour of the skin on your face."Rufus said. Reskeme was tired from all of this practice, but covering his face shouldn't be too bad. Reskeme channelled his mana, willing it to change his skin from red to a dark brown. Reskeme used the same pattern Rufus had shown him. Reskeme wrapped mana around his head, letting the mana circle covering his face.

To Reskemes surprise it was far easier after all that practice. He still had red spots on his face, but there was far more of his face that was a dark brown colour than before. Reskeme was lucky that the cloak could cover his hair. He would need a second spell to change the colour from a shocking white to a more normal colour. And there was no way Reskeme could cast a second one with how hard it took to keep that kind of focus.

Reskeme was still pleased with this. He could disguise himself fully with the cloak, and he even got to leave the guild hall for a day.

" Always keep focused on your illusions. You will need to rebuild the spell every ten minutes." said Rufus.

" How will I know when the spell is going to break?" replied Reskeme.

"The mana will shatter against your skin, but it will be depleted so bad it won't hurt you." Rufus said.

"Are you sure it will not hurt me?" asked Reskeme, raising an eyebrow.

" Dont worry about it, its not near as painful as getting whipped." said Rufus.

Reskeme left the training hall and headed back to his room. He was much too tired to care about his surroundings. The stupid painted doors and much too shiny statues were a constant reminder of just how poor Reskeme really was. Reskeme cleaned himself up before discarding the filthy water down the stairs.

Reskeme hung his wet clothes and put his new cloak in the corner. It was his best clothing, and he didn't want it to get wet or dirty.

Reskeme yawned, his stomach grumbling. Food in the morning. He would need some for his mission to get the Ruby's.

Reskeme dragged over his sleeping sack and crawled in. The coarse fabric was warm on his naked skin as he drifted off to an exhausted sleep.

The morning came as it usually did, much too soon in his opinion. Reskeme cursed as he put on his wet cloths on. Shivering, Reskeme wanted some food. Soo he pulled off the board on the wall. To his joy, his coin was still in its hiding spot. Reskeme grabbed the coin and put back the board. He needed that scroll to help him keep track of basic magic theory. After all, he couldn't memorize it the first time reading it. The scroll could be helpful to keep around.

Reskeme made sure he re disguised the board. He dawned his cloak before making his way to the food hall. Reskeme tried his cloak and face illusion. He pulled up the hood and channelled his mana, focusing on dark skin to cover his face. After ten seconds of channelling, Reskeme wrapped the mana in a circle pattern around his face. Veins burning, he waited until the spell felt stable.

Just that effort made him sweat, channeling was bloody exhausting, Reskeme thought. He pushed open the door. Reskeme lost in thought made his way to the food hall. He cursed, not time to disguise his hands. He was already in the food hall and there were people in here.

People looked up when Reskeme entered. When they saw him, they casually went back to eating their food. Why would a normal boy cause anyone to look twice after all? Reskeme's heart raced, and he grinned as he walked forward no one had given him a second glance.

He walked over towards the counter and slipped a copper out of his cloak without showing his hand. The chef eyed him up and down from behind the counter and grinned at Reskeme.

The chef said, "a loaf of bread again"? Reskeme's eyes widened, but he gave a nod, anyway. The disguise didn't seem to fool the chef like the others in the room.

The chef didn't seem to care that Reskeme was hiding and handed over a loaf of bread with a wink and a cheeky grin. Reskeme gave a smile back. Warmth rose in his chest for this chef. The man always seemed to be in a jovial mood, and that made him just too damned likeable.

Reskeme took his loaf over to an empty part of the hall. There were five students in the room, and Reskeme tried to avoid eye contact with all of them. Especially when he noticed Trisha at one table. That girl had seen him the most and was the one he knew the best. If she saw his eyes, she would know it was him immediately.

When Reskeme was walking past her table, she glanced up and looked right into his eyes, making him stumble. He clutched to his piece of bread and continued to the back of the hall while cursing his own clumsy ness. Sitting down in a seat facing the room, Reskeme noticed when Trisha got up and made her way over to his table.

"You look familiar have I seen you somewhere?" asked Trisha. Reskeme pulled up his sleeve slightly and revealed a piece of his hand to her. Trisha cocked her head, her eyes darting from his eyes to his hand.

"Reskeme is that you?" asked Trisha, mouth agape.

" Yes, it turns out I have illusion magic. Pretty cool, right?" said Reskeme, bouncing with excitement.

"More like creepy as hell, I can't believe it's really you!" said Trisha.

" I know! I can wait until I get better. I can look normal again." said Reskeme.

"To think you can hide your appearance. That is really cool." Trisha said grinning. Reskeme sighed with relief. At least, she hadn't gotten mad at him for sneaking around the hall.

"Eliya and I are going on a mission for the guild master today," said Trisha.

"Wasn't that next week?" asked Reskeme.

"Yes, it was. Enis changed his mind. He wants us to retrieve the item today. We are heading to the merchant's district." said Trisha, her deep brown eyes glinting in excitement.

"That is so cool, you will get to make some copper." said Reskeme nibbling his bread.

"Copper? we are going to make some silver." said Trisha laughing.

"We are going to make a lot of money on this trip, it should be able to buy us some new gear, maybe even a weapon." said Trisha biting into some meat.

Reskemes stomach rumbled. He eyed the juicy slab of meat in front of Trisha. In the excitement,

"Enis is sending me out as well to get components for a familiar summoning ritual. Can you believe it I am going to get a soul familiar." said Reskeme grinning at her expression.

Trisha stopped her spoon an inch from her mouth. Her eyes wide.

"Do you know how insanely rare it is to have soul magic?" asked Trisha, almost shouting.

"Rufus told me about it, he said it was rare. But it cannot be that rare." said Reskeme licking his fingers.

"I can't believe this. A familiar would be so cool to have. Imagine summoning something crazy strong, or cute and deadly." said Trisha grinning, lost in thought.

" Have you seen a familiar before?" asked Reskeme.

"Yes, a long time ago, it was a scaly salamander the size of a horse." said Trisha.

" You are lying, there is no way a salamander can get that large." said Reskeme.

" it is the truth, and that's not all. The salamander could use the same magic as the mage who summoned it." said Trisha, smiling.

" Thats so cool, I can't wait to make some money. I cannot wait until I can afford meat." said Reskeme, his mouth watering as he eyed her half eaten steak. to Reskemes delight, she pushed the rest of her steak across the table. She laughed as he picked it up and dug in like eating an apple.

'"That is why I'm practicing my illusions is so I can go into the city to get the stuff for the summoning ritual." said Reskeme around a mouthful of divine meat.

" Ewee, wait until your finished to talk." said Trisha gaging.

" Sowry," said Reskeme swallowing downing water and unable to stop himself, he licked the plate.

"What do you think you will summon"? asked Trisha, grimacing at his manners.

"It's supposed to be the other half of my soul." Trisha cocked her head at him.

"That could be dangerous, I do not know what a demon's familiar might be." said Trisha, fidgeting.

Reskeme shrugged at her concerned look. She was concerned for good reason in Reskemes opinion.

"I don't have a choice, the master said I have to summon it. He wants me to be as powerful as possible." said Reskeme. Trisha gave a resigned sigh.

"Those greedy jerks. I hope they don't regret that decision." said Trisha.

"There was something on the tablet. Rufus said it was made my someone calling themselves an Archimage. What is that?" asked Reskeme. Trisha laughed.

" You cannot be serious, there is no such thing. Or at least there hasn't been a mage of that power in hundreds of years. I read an old book in the library that stated only one person has ever claimed the title. And that was over one thousand years ago." said Trisha, shaking her head.

"That is so cool. Imagine having that kind of power. Think of all the food I could buy?" said Reskeme. Trisha burst out laughing, grasping her chest and making everyone in the room turn towards them.

" That is all you want that kind of power for. Near god like power and you want it so you can eat food?" asked Trisha, gasping for breath. Reskeme crossed his arms at her accusation.

" I think it is a worthy cause, and maybe I will try to get the fancy title. Just to prove you wrong." said Reskeme.

" I guess it is not a bad goal." said Trisha, grinning wiping her eyes.

"Tell you what, if you get the title of journeymen I will pay for your meals for a day at the most expensive restaurants in the city." said Trisha chuckling. Reskeme sat up in his chair, staring into her deep brown eyes. He nodded his head, holding out his arm as he braced himself in a standard salute before crossing his forearm with hers.

" You have yourself a deal, I'm going to eat so much your coin purse is going to hurt." said Reskeme, smiling.

"If you can earn the journeymen title, and that is difficult. I still have a long way to go before I reach that level of skill." said Trisha, grinning. Trisha stood up and before she left the room, she said, "I hope you don't die today."

" Yeah, thanks for the meat. I hope to see you again too." said Reskeme.

It baffled Reskeme that someone was actually a concerned for him. Trisha had only known him for three days. Reskeme grinned widely and with a big smile on his face. He liked this place, well maybe the people. Scratch that, just one person. Well, the cook too.

Reskeme waved at the chef before leaving the hall. He made his way down the hall towards the training hall. He didn't want Terrance to punish him for being late.

Reskemes feet scuffed on the floor, his full stomach making him slow. The light scuffs of his boots bouncing off the walls. Upon arrival at the training yard, the door was partway open. The sand was bright; the light was shining in from above, the morning air chilling compared to the inside of the guild house. There were three students in the training yard standing separate.

Josh was over in a corner, ignoring the two girls. Trisha and Eliya were in another corner talking to each other. Reskeme jumped, something brushed against his skin. Did his spell brake? He could feel the mana wash over his face like rough cloth brushing his skin. Reskeme channelled his mana, causing the other three students to look over at him.

He wrapped the mana around his head, willing light brown skin. After he felt it was stable, Reskeme went for a second layer He kept channelling Reskeme felt he couldn't stop channelling. That was odd. Maybe this was how, using two layers of mana?

Reskeme willed his mana to change his eyes to dark brown before making a circle of mana around his head that was thin like a blindfold. To Reskemes shock, it easily went into place. That was the secret for the second layer of the spell? When it was in place, Reskeme made his mana rotate on the second layer. Reskeme's heart raced, unable to keep the grin from his face as Reskeme puffed out his chest.

Reskeme deciding to play a joke on the two girls went over to them.

Halting in front of Trisha, he said. "It's nice to meet you I'm a new student. What are your names?"

Trisha eyed him, ever suspicious. Eliya's stony gaze didn't flicker in the slightest. Reskemes hands were hiding in his sleeves and the cloak covered his feet.

"What is your name, stranger?" asked Trisha coldly. Eliya was holding her staff in her off-hand, looking menacing.

"You know me, I can't believe you would forget me after we fought yesterday?" before Reskeme gave them a wide smile.

" What the hell Reskeme, how did you change the colour of your eyes?" asked Trisha, gaping at him.

"I found out a secret to channelling. You need to cast both spells at the same time or they won't cover the same area."said Reskeme. With that, Reskeme gave them both a wide smile. Each girl looked a little stunned,

"Did you double cast? that is extremely hard it took me a month before I could do that." said Eliya grumble her stony face cracking for a moment."

"I covered my eyes and my face," said Reskeme.

"Oh, that is why your second pattern is small so it wouldn't be too difficult. Channelling two spells in under a week is insane. That so unfair." said Eliya, Trisha patted her shoulder consolingly.

"Dont worry Eliya, you can always kick his ass in the ring to make yourself feel better." said Trisha winking at Reskeme.

"How long can you hold the spells?" asked Trisha.

About ten minutes. Eliya let out a relieved sigh, a slight curl of her lips revealing her relief.

"Is that bad?" Reskeme asked.

"Your pattern must be very basic or it would last for thirty minutes or even an hour." said Eliya, standing to her full height.

"How many layers can you channel?" asked Reskeme.

"Terrance will not train us today. We are just meeting with Enise's spies and going out on our missions."said Eliya.

"Don't let people get close. I can see the red spots on your skin. At a distance it was good but close its easy to see through." said Trisha.

" Thanks, that's good to know." Replied Reskeme.