15 Chapter - 5: A Wish Granted, A Day Yearned For (3/4)

"Ho, ho. To think that you'd actually help them out, you aren't such a bad kid now are you Ashwaal? Aaah, this truly is the feeling of youth."

Help them out? To think he was actually paying attention to everything, and I thought he was just busy smoking from his pipe.

Right now, I was having a chat with the teacher, Grillmart. He might've been old but he still stood straight and strong.

"Honestly, teacher, what are you trying to pass on here? This 'training' was supposed to be given to kids. It might have helped them quite a lot in the long run if they were still kids but we both know there are some things that would help them more."

"Yes, that's right, why did I not choose other methods? I wonder myself sometimes."

'Was this old man not right in the head?' But he didn't really strike me as the odd type.

Grillmart had the appearance of the typical western elderly, except he didn't have wrinkles or pimples of the like, but age marks were there. He had glasses on and his short white hair was neatly combed to the side.

"Actually, teacher, I've been meaning to ask you about something."

"Eh? Well, that's rare, I feel that it's not about help with your magical studies."

"A part maybe, but the main point isn't. How are you acquainted with those two?"

"I was friends with the head of the orphanage they were in. I'd see them every time I went for a visit. We would go way back to when we were kids, much like those two."

So he was their 'unknown' guardian. Maybe if other teachers were giving classes and they were disrupted while giving up their 'precious' time then I'm sure they would have kicked the two out.

"More importantly. What can you tell me about Alkmard?"

"How should I answer you? Like I would to a student? Or do you?"

"To me." I guess we knew what the other was thinking.

"Whether or not you go attend the classes doesn't matter. There's a library even if you don't. As for attendance, come when they tell you to. The school badge comes with a notifying function, it really will tell you when the time comes. There'll be important events in the coming future, make sure you prepare well for them. As for the rest, you're young after all, you can find out for yourself."

"Thanks."

The rest of the students had all long gone by now. This old man helped me a lot by ending the class and dismissing the crowd. It was really awkward starting at the crowd, hearing their chattering, their judging looks, their conclusive beliefs. To judge others so quickly, I guess even Alkmard wasn't resigned from this fate.

As for the events of the aftermath... I'd rather not say. Why not just conclude it as a happy ending?

I didn't know why but I could tell he was one of the old hag's henchmen. Definitely not a weak guy, I wonder what he was researching.

"Teacher Grillmart, mind if I ask you something else?"

"Eh? To think you'd have something to ask an old man like me, now what might that be?"

"Since you're an earth mage, you should know the forbidden spell, Crust Removal, right?"

"Hmm..."

"Then do you know what it would take for one to cast such a spell? And who alive might be able to do such a thing?"

"That magic has been long gone. Such a dreadful one, to remove a whole city just like that. I know nought of anyone who'd be able to do it, at least, not without making the circle to cast it."

He probably knew why I was asking this. Not that it really mattered.

Spells were advanced uses of magic. One might be able to conjure fire in their palms, a bit of water or wind or any other simply without any practice and just one try. But the greater the purpose, the more complex it was.

For example, what if a fire mage wanted to cast the spell, or in this case magic, Firestorm? He couldn't just manipulate the mana like he did when he was conjuring a small fire on his palm. First, he would have to use the mana to heat the core region up, then came second and third and so on. The integrated whole of all these steps made simpler was a spell. It not only made the name simpler but also the casting magic.

But here, simpler did not necessarily mean quicker. It only meant it was quicker to slowly do one whole task, then slowly do a series of semi-tasks. If you could quickly do the series of semi-tasks simultaneously with no breaks, then you could instantly cast it. But just think about, say, chopping wood, smelting ore, frying fish, drawing water and sending letters all at the same time. The average person would not be able to accomplish such a feat. But we weren't exactly normal.

Special would be regarding ourselves too high, so I'd settle on the word 'different'.

There were many ways to cast spells, yet the reason why they could be cast in such ways remained a mystery. One such way would be chanting the spell, another drawing it's circle, another drawing the diagram through various means.

As for a forbidden spell, as the name suggested, it was 'forbidden'. If one did a 'forbidden' thing then he/she would be restricted. A small price to pay for wiping out an entire city only a bit smaller than Alkmard City. The main point being it was the city in which Castle MurkVeil resided. And if they could break the restriction, then...

I hadn't really noticed but Grillmart was no longer smoking from his pipe. His brows were furrowed a bit, probably thinking hard about something. Then finally returned back to his plain look and turned to me.

"Aren't you going to ask about anything else?"

"What would I ask? For help? For guidance? Maybe a hint? Or about everything? You and I both know that nothing would work out. The reply would either be silence or useless for me."

"Might be, but for an old man like me, I've seen plenty of the world to give a satisfactory reply on other questions. And not all the replies you might want to hear might be useless."

"Like what?" I looked at the old man with suspicion. Would he really be that knowledgeable?

"I might not look like it, but you won't find a better earth mage in Alkmard than me. Don't get me wrong though, you might find a 'stronger' one. I'm already at the point where I can feel the pulse of the earth, its veins, and can pass on my sense to it. So I do in fact know a few things. Aren't you interested in who exactly killed your family."

Interested? Hardly. Why would I find trouble if it didn't knock at my doorstep? There was just too high a chance for it to be coming at any moment.

"Let me get this clear, they 'Aren't' my family. We share the same blood that's all, a diluted one at that. I'm only asking because they might be coming for me next. You know what they say, 'Know your enemy, know yourself'. In fact, a few smaller fries already made an attempt on my life, or specifically, me."

"There are a number of smaller groups, associations and organisations after all. It's not so strange. Just treat it as a form of training, though you might no longer need that. There are bigger problems, and the biggest concern, Magus Sphere."

Finally, just what I wanted to ask about. The organisation that supported half of Alkmard, enough to rival the old hag.

"What is it then? This 'Magus Sphere'? I'm surprised they were able to rival the old... I mean the Principal, considering what she's capable of."

"I'm surprised myself. But it's true. They have half of Alkmard in their grasps. They're both ominous yet intriguing. Why don't I start from the top? These old bones get excited when they talk about a story."

"The one who started Magus Sphere could be said to be the Principal herself. It was a form of training first, an event she created. What happened inside was, by the correct sense of the word, madness. Yet this madness was what would draw out their potentials. The ones who went through it all did so voluntarily, all knowing the fact that it couldn't be stopped mid way. How many underwent it wasn't known, but out of all, only seven survived. These seven people, after all, they went through, unlocked every bit of their potentials. The seven of them combined could even rival the Principal in strength, though they would lose in the end if it was such a direct fight. These seven people founded the organisation which now serves as the other half of the core of Alkmard. It was a joyous thing, seven people who could lead Alkmard to a brighter future. But sadly, after all that 'madness', they, could no longer be considered human."

His eyes were filled with sadness and regret as he reached this point. Taking in the fresh air brought by the breeze, he continued.

"The Principal felt apologetic to these seven people. She couldn't be said to have forced them to go through all that, but she wasn't without fault. So she didn't mess with what they were doing at that time. If she wanted to, she could kick them all out before they spread their legs, their wings and wove their webs. In direct combat, who could actually beat her? But they've been stockpiling for so long and now, too much strength is needed to forcefully break through specific 'abilities'."

"Thus the Magus Sphere you hear of now, was formed. They named the organisation after the gruesome place that made them what they are today. They could actually regard the place that tormented them endlessly, so highly after that. But then, 'it' made them into monsters. They were no longer human. For them, it was possible. They lost feelings, emotions, things that were precious to them. When they came out, they didn't even feel any hatred towards the Principal."

Right now, Grillmart, I couldn't describe the feeling I got from him. Sadness, regret, anger.... hope and a wish.

"If they could no longer feel hate nor grudges, they why..."

"That's exactly why they're trying to overthrow the Principal and take over Alkmard." He continued,

"They, who lost their emotions and feelings, could only be motivated with profits and merits. And Alkmard was wide open in front of them. The best cake out of all, right in front of them. How could they resist taking it for themselves? Not to mention it would mark the start of their one and only desire."

"And that would be?"

"Immortality! To control their own fate, their own death. To become gods!"

"Impossible!" I blurted out so quickly, like a reflex that was ingrained in me.

"I agree too. But they don't. And right now, they've become too much to just forcefully pull out. We haven't the faintest clue just how deep their roots are. Even they wouldn't know either. Except for the seven at the top."

"And my purpose is?"

"If you think you're here to weed them out, then you're only half right. To be honest, even I don't know why she brought you here. We're already making preparations to retaliate, and since you're here, you might as well help out."

So even he didn't know. Would anyone know the answer? As for bringing me here, it was more or less forcing the fish to take the bait.

"Anything else I should take note of?"

"I've got nothing more... Oh, right, you don't have to keep it a secret that you're in Magus Sphere. On the surface, they're full of good people, so they're the target of millions of people's aspirations. Its a pride for students to be in it. You'll get what I mean. But remember, Magus Sphere is a place, an organisation and the 'evil' of Alkmard."

'Magus Sphere is the evil of Alkmard'. These words kept ringing in my ears. But I couldn't stay long. Couldn't waste the old man's precious time, as well as my precious first day in an actual academy.

"I'll be heading off now. Since I'm young, I have to go spend my youth. See ya lather, Teacher Grillmart."

"Off you go then. Oh wait, I forgot to tell you things, and you don't have to worry about going off. I'll be sending you myself."

Eh? The old man still left off some words? I hoped that they would be gimmick because normally these were the words that would 'haunt' me.

"About the MurkVeil Massacre. There wasn't just one forbidden spell. Think about it, if it was just Crust Removal then wouldn't the impact of the falling crust affect all Omera? This is what you should be pondering about."

This startled me. If what he said was true and another forbidden spell was indeed used, then I could guess what it was. Not only that, if there were already two people who could use forbidden spells, then wouldn't there be more? Were they a group? Why were they working together? I could think of other things later. Right now, I wanted to leave. I had an indescribable urge to leave.

"Anything else?" The old man really had a lot to say. But then, that showed he knew a lot, cared a lot. So I couldn't just leave and bolt like I did when I would run from stronger people and beasts.

I thought he would say continue to say something else. His lips parted for a moment, but then, they came together and formed a smile on his face. A strange smile. A mysterious smile. I couldn't quite describe it. It was a smile full of... Helplessness? Loss? Sorrow? Grief? Sympathy? Hope? Relief? Yearning? His smile was pushing on a truckload of responsibility on me. But why? It was easy to know after hearing the inaudible words he spoke by parting his lips.

"Take care of the Young Miss, for we unfilial servants failed to ease her responsibilities." I couldn't quite understand. His smile and his silent request. Arg! Just trying to think about them made my head hurt.

"She isn't a baby. She can take care of herself. And I don't even want to do that." I could only give a stark reply, devoid of any emotion.

"If only that were true." With that mysterious answer, he returned to the normal plain Grillmart. Would I ever comprehend the sorrow on his face right then? I didn't know.

"Alright then, you have another place you need to be. If you can fulfil this request of mine, I shall forever be in your debt. On a side note, you should also take care of those two. They might not be the greatest people, but I'm sure they would make the best friends for you.

"Huh? What the hell do you...Ack!"

"Make sure you land properly. That part's out of my reach. I hope we meet again soon. Farewell Ashwaal."

The old man had grabbed me with an arm made of rocks from the ground. What came next, I could tell without guessing.

"Old man, I swear, I'll kill...!" My words echoed out as what I saw rushed past me faster than wind from a hurricane.

How long would this flying take? Throwing me this fast, how the hell was I supposed to make my landing?

Suddenly a certain sight caught my eye. The figures were still small as they were far, which gave me time to focus. And as I did, what I saw naturally grew clearer.

Amongst a dense pack of trees, through an open part, I could see Cecille resting her head on a tree. As she was facing my side, I could see her eyes were closed. She should be out cold.

Caleb was in front, guarding her against the three people who were fighting with him. He was struggling since he was three on one. It was amazing enough that he could fight barehanded against three people without using mana. Even though the three people also didn't use any. Funny thing was, the three he was fighting all had the same short trimmed hair that made them almost bald.

If this kept on, Caleb would lose. I could see why Grillmart sent me flying.

I quickly formed three dark balls the size of my fists.

"Since I still have to land, let's use three fourth of what I currently have." Doing so, I threw the dark balls aiming for the heads of the three. The good thing was they were homing. Even better was what was in store for them. It would not only hurt but ..... Hehe...

"Eh? Wait!" I immediately regretted the first part of my decision, which was the amount of mana I used.

Caleb suddenly had a rise in combat strength. He was now moving swiftly and evading more of their attacks while returning even more. If this kept up, he might actually win.

If so then for three idiots who Caleb could beat bare fisted, it was obvious that.....

My spheres were overkill.

"Oh well, let's just leave it up to their fate. Whether they survive or not, we can all only blame fate."

Yes, they could only blame fate. Fate was more evil than I ever could be, right?

While I was thinking of this, the spheres were flying to their marks.

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