Searching for Dike

"Come on I need to find him!" Mike shouts at the badge in his hand

"The user cannot find the location of any other badge holders for any reason," The robotic voice says

"Well... I know can I contact Grand Wizard Grosso?" Mike says trying to find a sliver of hope that he can grasp on

"Grand Wizard Grosso is not available at this time, please leave a message after the beep"

*Beep*

"..."

'Really?!'

"Grand Wizard Grosso this is Micheal Bridlington I assume that Master Daniel has talked about me before about me being his apprentice but I need your help Daniel is in danger an-"

"Badge energy is depleted and needs to be recharged," The badge says as it turns off and starts blinking red

"..."

'Dammit Dike why did you not charge this?!' Mike shouts in his mind as the call was disconnected by the lack of energy

Mike could have recharged it if he could use the system to then utilize his mana but unfortunately, that did not look like that would be happening any time soon. So Mike had two options now. Either search for Dike the old-fashioned way or he could charge this badge of his to use to call Grand Wizard Grosso once again. Mike at least knew that Dike was in the city still but he could be anywhere in this place both above and below ground which would take too long to do so just by himself. He could ask for help from the guards but Mike highly doubted that they would listen to him based on the fact that he had a non-charged wizard badge since they could assume that he had stolen it or something cliche.

So Mike would have to try to deal with this in a different way to hopefully help Dike out of whatever situation that he had gotten himself into. Mike guessed that whatever happened to Dike probably happened because he was investigating the mayor of Irondale since they discussed it the day before and Dike left last night probably to do some snooping on what was going on so Mike had to tread carefully since it would be extremely dangerous for him to get involved when a Royal Wizard got caught so easily.

So what could Mike do with his limited power at his disposal?

Mike left Dike or should he say Daniel's room now and entered his own with Orion walking behind him panting and obediently waiting for Mike to do whatever it was that he was trying to do. Mike walked back and forth for a bit trying to come up with a plan on how to deal with the new situation since he knew he could not just kick down the doors to the mayor's mansion and go in guns blazing since he was really lacking in firepower.

Eventually, a plan for how to find Dike formed in Mike's head and he soon had a pretty good one formulated and a backup as well since he knew that there should always be a plan B in case anything happens that he needs help with. So without further ado, both Mike and Orion leave the inn and head to the Market.

When they both entered the market area Mike began his search for some rocks while using his mana seeing eyes to check them. Now one might not expect to see many rocks at a market in the city but there were surprisingly a few that Mike was able to see that vendors in some stalls that were selling them as a part of jewelry and other knick-knacks. Mike searched through a few of the stalls and did not find anything until he stopped in front of a stall where a man was selling some jewelry that the man was selling.

One of the items was a necklace that had a regular looking green stone as the centerpiece that was polished a bit and placed in the middle of the necklace. It was very ordinary-looking, to say the least as it had no fancy designs or anything like that, but Mike looked at it and was seeing the faint flickering of mana surrounding the stone. Seeing this Mike knew that he had just found an unrefined mana stone here in this stall.

Mike was able to buy it for about 3 silver coins and he pockets it before going to other stalls in the hopes of finding these mana stones to use to recharge his system.

That was Mike's first step to his plan which involved him hopefully speeding up the process of his system shutdown through these unrefined mana stones. Still, Mike did not have much money on him at the moment. When the system shutdown Mike had most of his money in the inventory space leaving only a little bit that he had on him so he was on a budget so unless he found a really big mana stone that was worth a lot Mike would be spending his money carefully to purchase the cheap ones that were easy for him to buy without any problems. A few hours pass by and Mike was able to collect 4 mana stones that would need to be refined into mana crystals to actually be used.

Mike had those now and could not find anymore so both he and Orion return to the inn for lunch to take a break and come up with a way to utilize these stones to help him. Orion and Mike eat a quick lunch and they both return to his room where Mike places the stones on his bed and starts examining them in the hopes of finding a way to utilize the mana stored within. As stated before mana stones needed to be processed and refined before they could be used as mana crystals as to how that was done Mike had no clue as that was a closely guarded secret amongst the magic community.

As Mike was looking at one of the rocks however he failed to realize that Orion was also looking at the stones with a strange look. Mike had taken out the stones from whatever he bought them and had placed the small stones on his bed since the stones were what he wanted and not the stuff they were plastered on. Before Mike knew it the sound of gnawing is heard as Orion has rock in his mouth which he eventually swallows under Mike's stupefied gaze.

"Orion!" Mike shouts out startling Orion

"Why did you do that?! Those stones were precious!"

Orion realizing he did something bad and tries to remedy the situation by licking Mike's hand and whimpering a bit since he could tell that Mike was angry with him. Mike seeing Orion this way sighs and starts petting him to show him that he is forgiven for what he did.

"Sorry for yelling at you Orion I was just... frustrated at everything right now I hope you can forgive me," Mike says

"Woof"

Mike smiles at Orion before he picks up the other stones and places them someplace out of reach and in a safe space away from Orion who might eat them. Now Mike was also worried about Orion since he literally just ate a rock but since it seemed that he was doing fine and that the rock he ate was the smallest one that Mike had bought he was assuming that Orion would be alright... hopefully.

*Whimper* *Whimper*

By the time Mike is done putting away the rocks Orion was whimpering and standing near the door while also scratching at it as he wanted to go outside. Knowing what he wanted Mike follows Orion outside and into a nearby alleyway where Orion tends to do his business after eating. Mike of course being a good dog owner cleans up after Orion even though it is not required by the city Mike still did it as a form of common courtesy. As for how he does this Mike just burns whatever Orion does unless it is not solid and that is considered as clean-up to him since there is no such thing as doggy bags to use.

Same time as before Orion does his thing while Mike pays no attention before Mike sets it on fire with a torch that he borrowed and runs down the alley so that he does not reek of the stench of feces when he walks back in. As Mike was walking back through Orion goes the other way back into the alley once the fire was done burning since Mike stayed around just to make sure that he does not set anything ablaze on accident. Seeing this Mike was curious as to Orion was going back so he follows after him to see him picking up something in his mouth and bringing it over to Mike to show him.

"What is it, Orion?" Mike asks as Orion plops whatever it is that was in his mouth into his hand

Mike just stares at his hand frozen in place completely dumbfounded at what he was seeing in his hand. It was a refined mana crystal in his hand.

"Wha- how?" Mike asks completely ignoring the fact that this just came out of Orion's body

What Mike did not know was that he had just stumbled upon one of the two refining methods for making magic crystals. One was through magic users and smiths making them over a long and grueling process that wasted a lot of the mana in the stone and the second was the one that Mike stumbled upon. It was monster and beast refinement when a specific breed of monster eats the mana stone they refine the stone into a crystal through some sort of strange process that no one holds the answer to. As for why this method was kept so secret was because there are only a few types of nearly extinct monster in this world that can refine the mana stones into crystals which is why no one has stumbled upon this before until now with Mike being able to see that Orion was able to make mana crystals through eating them and then leaving the body.

Mike was still dumbfounded that Orion ate his mana stone that it then became a mana crystal through that. Still, Mike was not complaining but now that he was thinking about it it was kind of gross that he was holding onto an object that just went through Orion's digestive system so fast. Still, Mike was not complaining as he quickly runs back into his room and gets his remaining mana stones for Orion, and runs back out into the alleyway where Orion was just standing with a confused look on his face as he turns his head to the side.

Mike does not say anything but just shows Orion the stones which he also eats with ease due to their size. Soon Orion ate all of the stones and Mike waits for Orion to do his thing in the alleyway but even after a few minutes Orion is still showing no signs of having to go again. That was how Mike came to the conclusion that Orion could refine mana stones for some reason but he could not speed up the process of having to use the bathroom once he was done with refining them so Mike would just have to wait before he could get them.

Mike was still glad though that with Orion and his strange ability to refine mana stones he could give more mana to the system and hopefully unlock it earlier than expected. This was great for Alex since he was in a bit of a pickle. So Mike resigned himself to waiting for a bit for Orion to finish up while Mike inspects the current crystal in his hand after cleaning it cause it was just in his body right now so he was feeling a bit disgusted.

After cleaning the crystal Mike and Orion were back in their room and Mike was currently looking at the crystal checking to make sure that it was the real deal. Confirming that the crystal was real Mike went into his meditative pose to draw in mana as he did some light exercises that were not difficult but necessary to keep his body limber.

Mike was able to only do repetitive tasks while in this meditative state so he could not do anything complex like reading a book or fighting something as it would require his full concentration to actually learn or do something. Thankfully doing some little exercises was difficult but manageable for him as he drew in mana from the crystal in his hand and from his surroundings. By the time Mike was done, it was about 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

Just like last time the mana crystal in Mike's hand had disappeared. With that done, Mike looks at Orion to see that he is now ready to go do his business outside so Mike was now able to gain three more mana crystals which he then began to absorb just like the first one. By the time Mike was done, it was about midnight so both Orion and Mike go to bed.

When they wake up and after eating a big breakfast they return to the marketplace to find more mana stones for Orion to eat and refine. A few hours after that Mike was able to find only three mana stones today but still, progress is progress, but Mike needs things to faster to get his system active again. Still, Mike absorbs the mana in the crystals after Orion refined them in his stomach. After all that it was about one in the afternoon and Mike was a bit frustrated with how the mana that he has been supplying is not working.

Mike just sighs as he will just have to help Daniel without his system so both he and Orion head into the slums once more.

For Mike to help Daniel, he needs to recharge his badge and call Wizard Grosso to see if he could provide some support or something in case Mike gets into something that he cannot deal with. As for how he was going to recharge the badge without any more crystals at his disposal Mike will just use another method to recharge it through someone else. That, someone, was obviously Synthia since she could also utilize mana so she might be able to charge his badge.

Entering the brothel once again Mike finds Synthia in what could be considered as the employee break room which had a bunch of chairs sofas and other things where the girls could sit down and relax after working for their guests. Of course, Mike entering this area drew the gazes of everyone there since he was the only male and he was also wearing his mask of fear once again to hide himself and his expressions seeing women in a little amount of revealing clothing.

"I am looking for Synthia the paladin," Mike says

"Who are you?" A girl asks

"A friend of hers"

"That ain't enough to get you to see her so I recommend that you leave before we all kick you out," The girl says again

"..." Mike did not know what to say as he did not want to cause trouble here plus he did not want to beat up some women since he had morals

So Mike was stuck between a rock and a hard place right now in what he should do while Orion was trying to get used to the smell in this establishment. He was sneezing a lot and sniffing every inch of the place since there were a lot of people here as well as other things...

Still, Mike was not just going to leave Orion out on the street since that would be more dangerous than bringing him inside the brothel where he could see him than outside where someone might attack him just for a chance to eat something. This was the slums so people were probably desperate enough to kill a wolf for some meat so Mike had no choice but to take Orion inside the brothel.

"Calm down girls I know him," Synthia says as she comes out from another room wearing her regular suit of armor

"Synthia I need your help with something," Mike says seeing the hostilities of the women in the room have died down considerably now that Synthia is here

"Sure come on in then," Synthia says as she enters the room she just exited from

Inside though there was another girl and it was the same girl that he paid for her services even though he only used her to test his mask on her. She was wearing the same clothes as before but was lying on a couch that was placed against the wall of this pretty bare room. There was nothing else except the couch and a table in the middle of the room.

"High there you remember me?" Mike asks

The girls expression turns scared for just a moment as she recalled what happened last time that Mike was there and how he made her experience the horrors of the mask. However that fearful expression leaves her face as she remembers that Synthia is also here in the room so with that comfort she felt a bit better but her eyes still held fear in them.

"Um what were you doing?" Mike asks seeing the girl here with Synthia

"As you know I work her not like the other girls. I am more of an enforcer and protector for them in case they get any difficult customers," Synthia says

"That still does not answer my question"

"Ah well I also help prevent them from getting pregnant"

"Huh magic sure has many uses," Mike comments as he takes off his mask and places it on the table while Orion just lies in front of the door

"So what is it you needed help with?" Synthia asks as she moves over to the girl and starts doing her thing

Black looking magic eminates from her hands and she moves it over the belly of the girl and sort of massages her belly.

"Well I need your help with charging this" Mike says as he takes out the magic badge and shows it to her

"So you really are a wizard apprentice"

"Of course why would I lie about that?" Mike asks confused

"Well a lot of people have claimed before to be magic users but without the badge they are only fakes with most of them being executed because of the severity of impersinating a wizard for their own gain," She says as the glow from her hands disappates

"Alright but can you please charge it?" Mike asks

"Can't you just do it? You can utilize mana quite well so you should be able to charge it" Synthia says confused at Mike's request

"Well remember how you drained all my mana and almost killed me?" Mike asks

Synthia looks away in shame for almost killing Mike that time.

"Well because you drained my mana I can't gain access to it for now so I need you to help me until I can utilize it again," Mike says

"What? You can't utilize your mana?!" Synthia exclaims hearing Mikes claim

This just made her feel terrible as she had harmed Mike even more than she thought when she drained to much of his mana. Plus since he was going to help her become a full fledge paladin this just was the icing on the feel bad cake as she thinks that he may have crippled him.

"I can't utilize it now but I am absorbing mana from mana crystals so it should be fine after I absorb more of them okay," Mike quickly says seeing her down cast mood

"Really?" Synthia asks

"Really"

"Alright well here then" Synthia says as she takes out a large mana crystal from a sachel on her hip

"Um... I don't need that you should keep that for yourself," Mike says feeling bad that Synthia was offering something that could be considered priceless

The bigger the mana stone the more mana that was inside with a few of them being able to be recharged on their own without being placed in a gathering formation, but even those naturally replenising ones were hard to find. Still the ones that Mike had gotten from orion's processing thing were about the size of his thumb while the one that Synthia was offering to him was about the size of his palm and a bit more.

"Please take it Micheal you need it more than I do," Synthia says putting out the mana crystal towards him

"Um... no Synthia it is fine I don't blame you for this predicament you keep the mana crystal" Mike says trying to reject her offer

That mana crystal would defiantly have a lot of mana in it but Mike it would not sit well with him if he just took her mana crystal since he believed that she did nothing wrong. Still Synthia was not having it and tried to persuade Mike to take the crystal before eventually giving up seeing how he was not gonna take it.

"If you really want to make it up to me then can you help me with something then?" Mike says seeing her down cast and gloomy feeling she has

"Sure I will charge the badge for you," Synthia says reluctantly

"Actually I have something else you can help me with besides the badge," Mike says

"Really?" Synthia says seeing a sort of ray of hope to help him out for a chance

"Yeah but I need her to leave for a moment if you are done," Mike says motioning to the girl who was still on the couch

The girl taking that as her queue to leave gets up from the couch and exits the room after Orion gets out of the way for her to open the door.

"So what is it you need me to do?" Synthia asks

***Unkown location***

Dike or Daniel was busy to say the least. He was currently chained in a room under ground presumably from the lack of air in the room in the dark. His mana was suppressed by something, but he could not tell what it is that is doing it so he could not really access any of his high tiered spells, with the highest spell he can cast being barely a level 1 spell. He had woken up here just a few moments ago in the dark and found himself here chained onto this platform with there being nothing that he could see or feel.

He could move but it was limited to a platform that seemed to be suspended in air above a great fall or pit so he was stuck here since his glide spell was a level two spell which he was not able to access at this time. He had not found his wizard badge so he assumed that it was taken along with his belongings when he was taken.

"Can't believe I was taken so easily," Daniel mutters to himself as he recalls what happened in the mayors manor

Daniel just shakes his head and puts his hopes now on his apprentice Micheal who should be getting help to find him.

"Good luck finding me Micheal" Daniel says as he tries to figure out where he is

______________________

Alright, so a bit of clarification on the whole mana crystal thing. There are two processes for making mana crystals from mana stones. Mana crystals can be used to draw mana from the crystal by a wizard or other magic-user for a variety of uses they have. Mana stones cannot be used as they are not refined to the point where most if not all magical impurities are expelled from the stone so they have been deemed as unusable even if someone attempted to use them even though they can't.