A man in a dark hood stepped over a charred branch and placed his foot on the dry, blackened ground. He had been tasked with reporting the situation to headquarters and had expected a little disaster based on eyewitness accounts. ‘An unnatural fire that disappeared soon after’……even a small thing like this was always recorded in the Great Library. Those old timers never let anything go unnoticed. That’s how they had kept peace for the last few hundred years, after all.

He activated a simple detection spell with a pre-made scroll. That was what his division excelled at. Detecting and reporting. Where an unnatural event occurred, they were sent to survey it. If the incident involved mana, it would always be recorded in great detail. If not, only a few words would be written down.

The magic circle in the scroll responded to his mana. It was a spell that made mana in the air more visible by making it glow. The hooded man waited for the circle to activate as he inspected the area.

Suddenly, the air around him burst into blue light. Clear, concentrated traces of mana was littered everywhere, especially on the floor and on the burnt trees. The hooded man quickly took out a knife and gouged into a tree. His knife slid easily through as the black wood crumbed into dust to reveal an even darker inside. The trees had been burnt so hard that they had died standing on the spot. The man punched the tree and watched in awe as it broke apart easily.

This was no simple fire spell. Even the mages at the Academium or the Union of Magic would have a difficult time producing a spell with such intensity. The Saiton Consortium would definitely know of it. They controlled the Great Library, after all. He scribbled down detailed notes and picked up various samples of the area, putting them neatly into his bag after wrapping them with a specially-made cloth.

He then took out another scroll and poured his mana into it. When it activated, he would be able to feel any signs of life within a hundred meter radius. He waited for the effect to take place and tensed as his senses warped. As expected, none. Everything had died except tiny traces of organisms deep inside the earth. Well, he had to be sure.

His work here was finished. The higher-ups would decide what to do with the information. He stuffed his scrolls back into his bag and dashed towards the bureau in the area. He hoped he would be able to leave early today. It was tiring to run so much all the time.

The man sighed to himself. Peaceful days really were the best.

〄 〄 〄

At the Magic Awareness Bureau set up in the city of Danark, samples of the burnt trees and soil were being analyzed by a man in a grey robe with a long, grey beard. This was his job; to record things that were reported and to make sure nothing was amiss.

He placed a piece of black wood ash on the stone analyzer and activated the magic circle with his mana. The stone plate hummed silently as it illuminated the wood and the area around it slightly. As the notes said, he could feel the concentrated mana stuck onto the wood even before he had used any spells. The mana felt thick and almost tangible. No wonder the wood was in this state.

The machine stopped humming as it spewed out a piece of paper like a copier machine. Magic concentration, quality, the type of magic used, its intensity and temperature, the age of the tree—all of these trivial types of information could be analyzed with the stone plate. It was one of the inventions created by the Great Library some years ago. But what the man was curious about was the one who had casted the magic. People who could produce this much concentrated mana were rare.

He glanced over the piece of paper and his eyes grew at the name that was displayed on the paper. Or rather, the lack of name. Everyone who could use magic had to register themselves to a certified organization before they could start using magic freely and legally. All countries shared the same system to determine who had done what in case a disaster appeared.

But the mana from the wood was unregistered. The paper displayed no name. Which had to mean that the caster of the spell had learned magic outside of an organization’s help. Even adventurers with their mundane spells had to register themselves at the Adventurer’s Guild. But this was a caster who had managed to learn a high-level spell without guidance.

“Or rather, is there an organization we are not aware of?”

That would be equally as likely. However, it had been centuries since a foreign society had been documented at the Great Library. Almost all hidden sects of magic had come to light, to share, gain, and distribute knowledge to all. And to do that, they had registered their names at the Great Library. The more they gave to furthering knowledge, the more they had gotten in return.

For an unregistered magician to cast a spell meant he or his organization had improved their magic to this extent without any assistance from the library. The magic hadn’t been ignorable, either; it was too destructive.

Or?

Or had a notable magician taught his pupil and had not registered him yet?

Alas, he was but a simple Recorder. He walked over to a small desk with a large book on it, open after all the other notes he made before. Anything he wrote on it would be replicated inside another book at the Great Library. He wrote down the contents of the paper into the note and added some of his personal thoughts into it. ‘If this was truly a magician who had learned the fire spell without access to the tomes of knowledge, then either a genius had appeared, or someone was being irresponsible.’

He finished and stretched his arms and back. He was becoming old. He stood up, cleaned the stone plate, and went to the dining area to fetch some bread and soup. There was still work to be done, and he couldn’t do it on an empty stomach.

〄 〄 〄

“So, because of this and that, we have decided to move into the city!”

Rother stopped eating and stared at his mother with his spoon still half inside his mouth. The whole family was eating dinner when Melsei announced the sudden news. Shaden kept eating but was listening intently to what his parents had to say.

Garthan cleared his throat and spoke up.

“It’s about time you go to school, Rother. You’re already eight years old now. And your mother insisted that you should experience the city before you become ten.”

Rother swallowed his food and moved his eyes between his mother and father. He set down the spoon on the table.

“Wait, Mom! Dad! I can’t leave now!” he complained. I have friends, and we decided to hang out next week!”

“The decision is final, son. You’ll continue your training in the capital.”

“What! No! I like this place!”

Rother glanced at his mother and looked at her with pleading eyes.

“Listen to your father, Rother,” his mother said coolly. “Think about your brother too. It’ll be a great experience for both of you!”

“Why can’t we move when I am ten then!” argued Rother. “That’s what you said, right!?”

“That was our plan but…” Melsei eyed Garthan to explain the details to his son.

“There was recently a very dangerous explosion right behind our house in the forest,” Garthan began.

Oh no, Shaden thought.

“When I asked my superiors about it, they stated that it was a case of a mana-imbued explosion. It seems like an Unregistered may be on the loose,” he continued.

Shoot. I’m so sorry, Rother.

“When I asked if I could move to the city as our family has two children, they agreed and assigned me to the city guard. It’s a rare opportunity, Rother. For all of us.”

“But Dad! Mom!”

Rother’s eyes were already becoming wet. This was an eight-year-old, after all, where friends seem like the greatest things in your life. Shaden averted his eyes onto in porridge and tried his best not to look at Rother. He hated arguments like this one.

Rother got up from the table abruptly, and in silence and quiet fury, retreated back into his room. The light, happy mood that his parents had tried to create suddenly became dark and heavy. Shaden still continued to eat his porridge in silence. His body had to grow no matter the situation.

But it was his fault, wasn’t it? That they had to leave. Shaden knew the pain of being separated from friends, so he felt even worse for Rother. A part of him was excited to see a new environment, but the other part of him just felt bad. But there was nothing he could do to improve the situation. He was just a baby.

He finished scooping up the last of the porridge while his parents were quietly talking amongst themselves. He wiped his mouth on his baby handkerchief and signaled to his parents to let him down. His mother placed him on the ground, and his parents continued their talk.

Shaden looked towards his brother’s room. There was one thing he could do as a baby. Comfort his older brother.

Shaden waddled in front of Rother’s room, which was closed shut. He glanced at his parents to make sure they weren’t looking and used magic to open the door. He couldn’t reach it the doorknob, so he had to improvise. His parents hadn’t noticed. He pushed opened the door slowly and headed inside.

The room was dark, and Rother was on his bed with the pillow over his head. Shaden walked over to his body slowly and placed his hand on Rother’s back after sitting down on the bed. He couldn’t speak to him. But he could at least act nice so his brother would feel comforted. He was new at this. He didn’t know how brothers reconciliated or apologized. Shaden stood there and patted Rother’s back.

Rother glanced up from the pillow and looked at the small figure to the side.

“Shaden…?”

Shaden didn’t say anything. He just kept on patting Rother’s back.

“What are you doing…”

Rother got up and sat on his bed. He looked at Shaden for a second and gave him a hug.

“I really don’t want to go. I like this place. All my friends are here. What am I going to do…?”

Rother held his brother tightly in a hug. Shaden just stayed still. He wanted to say something.

“Is abuaba,” he managed to speak out in a distorted, baby pronunciation.

“You’re worried about me?” Rother asked softly.

Shaden nodded and put his tiny arms around his brother. Was he doing this right?

He heard Rother sniff and felt him move his arms to wipe off his tears. It had been so sudden for him. He deserved to be angry and sad. Shaden continued to hug his brother and placed his head on Rother’s small chest. It was very muscular.

Then Rother placed his hands on Shaden’s shoulders.

“I guess I haven’t been able to spend that much time with you…maybe in the city we’ll be able to play together more…”

Shaden nodded an oblivious baby nod. Rother looked at his little brother and let out a chuckle. Even his brother was managing to stay calm and comforting. As his older brother, he couldn’t be sulking all the time. He had to show Shaden how to be strong and show him fun things to do.

He would definitely miss his friends.

Their parents left them in silence after seeing the scene inside the room.

〄 〄 〄

“Goodbye Mart! Goodbye Ruffel! Goodbye Glace! I hope we meet each other again!”

“See ya, Rother!”

“We’ll miss you! Visit some time!”

“Don’t forget about us!”

Rother waved towards his three childhood friends as the wagons started to depart. He had had yesterday to enjoy their final moments together to compensate for the sudden move. Shaden had played outside on the grass while his parents furiously packed their things. The day was finally here. The day they were going to the city.

Shaden was very excited. He would finally be able to see a city! He danced inside his heart but felt a little guilty because he had been the one to partially cause this move. But what was happening was happening. And he would enjoy every last bit of it.

His family had rented two wagons and four horses for the move. Two horses pulled the wagon they were currently in (the heaviest one) while one horse pulled the other wagon. Apparently, Garthan’s friend was also here to help out with the move. The trip was funded by the garrison, surprisingly. This world was a better place to live in than what Shaden originally thought.

Garthan was on the last horse supervising the trip, which would last around a day. The roads were safe so there was no need for guards. Punishment towards criminals was very harsh in this country.

The trip would be a long one. Well, he was still a baby. He would sleep through the whole way. He just hoped he would wake up in time to see them entering the gates.

He placed his head on the side of the wagon and closed his eyes.