“Wait, there are tens of thousands of people there. How are you going to kill one thousand by yourself?!” August questioned Leo and the scruffy middle-aged man gave that grin yet again.

“Son, ninety-five to a hundred is nothing like the gains from before,” Leo explained to August.

I had no idea what he was talking about, until August mentioned it, “Wait, are you talking about quint usage?”

“Why, yes. Just getting one measly point after you’ve achieved the ninety-five milestone is incredibly difficult, but even more rewarding. Getting to one hundred doubles what you would’ve been capable of at ninety-nine. So, keep on working, lad.”

An interesting revelation for August, and enough reason to continue training feverishly. “Give us by sundown tomorrow,” August told the man, referring to his wanting to equalise the number of deaths.

We returned to camp quickly that morning and had a talk with Chelleze and her two friends, Selene and Lana.

Is this right? The thought of leaving them to their possible deaths plagued my conscience.

“Well, considering you’re the one that killed all those shadow beasts, you should count yourself lucky he didn’t turn on you. The ‘mother’ or whatever understood that you weren’t properly informed. I think it best we leave, to be honest.”

Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.

I wished I had the ability to read people like Donna as we gathered the women to a more private place. We told them that since we already helped quite a bit, we’d be taking our leave with Melissa. They agreed because that meant we didn’t have to endanger August’s life. Of course, our ‘leave’ meant going back to Methelia, but they didn’t need to know that. So, later that day, we returned to Ansul.

Melissa didn’t pack much, just some memorabilia. She was quite relieved. Or should I say she found some much needed closure? There was always something she found revolting about the upper echelons of Hyzek and their strange reasons for sending mostly low-ranked holy warriors to battle. Despite her growing hatred for them, it also seemed that that very hatred dissipated just as fast as it formed. She was healing, and August was helping her somehow.

August on the other hand, focused a bit more on buying up as many things as he possibly could. Weapons, armour and just about everything you can think about. We returned to Aldrich’s house with more gifts than the family themself could use.

Aldrich of course was given a lot of enchanted items to help with his quintessence training. He was also given a very stern warning not to join the ‘holy warriors’ of Hyzek. His younger brother, Frank, got a similar warning, although a lot less threatening in tone. The boy was happy to see the fish people return, but just as sad when they left. At least he got to know the truth about the water elementals before we bade them farewell.

Holding the Diadem of Lunacy in my hand, I remembered that we never did go to Timothy Ansullar’s grand celebration. Oh well, I cast the portal and we returned to Methelia. The crown had been hidden in a small cave at the shore of Silverport. The second we got there, I went to the spirit world and gave the Diadem of Lunacy to Hydra for safekeeping. She also had all of the codices we gathered so far. Hiding it at the bottom of the ocean floor in the spirit world was the thoughts of an overly paranoid teenage boy, but at least I knew no one would get to it.

We flew back to Aquan where August and I helped Melissa get settled in. The moment that was done, I flew over to Dawn’s to spend the night. We only spent a few days apart but it felt like eternity.

~

“-end?” I heard a voice call out, “Hey, boyfriend!” someone shook me awake. My eyes opened to May literally straddling me.

Her face was so close I couldn’t even focus my eyes on her. Not that I tried to anyway because I jumped like a coward. “Sweet Hydra, woman! Stop scarin’ me! Are you low-key trying to kill me?!” I asked her when she sat upright and slowly grinded herself against my manhood. Talk about a compromising position. Man, if Dawn was here I… my thoughts immediately stopped when I saw Dawn off to the side nonchalantly brushing her hair.

The door opened not too long after and a rather shocked, yet quickly-composed butler saw May’s antics. He cleared his throat, “Lady May. Lady Dawn. The carriage is ready. Your parents await you.”

Despite my unkempt appearance, the siblings dragged me along without giving me the chance to get ready. I figured I’d keep my mouth shut and let whatever was coming surprise me, so I entered silent into the carriage. Dawn’s parents sat opposite to us and right away all the women began chatting. I pitched in a couple times but I couldn’t keep up with their pace. Some minutes after, we arrived at a prestigious hospital. I’d never entered the place before, but man was it different from the normal hospital. Being rich sure is nice.

“Yeah, we should get rich, then you can pamper me all day long.”

It goes both ways, missy. Better treat me like a goddamn messiah.

We finally encroached the room. The door was already wide open and a bit of commotion could be heard in the hallway. My curiosity continued piquing, and even as we entered the room, the number of people made it impossible to see the person they came to visit. But I did see some familiar faces. Volt, Pyro, Violet and Kira were there. Aldis and the Garrans were off to a corner chatting. August, his mom, and Melissa were also in the fray. Why’s he here? I asked myself. A bunch of other people were standing around the bedridden person as well. Some I’d seen before, some I hadn’t. In the mix, was a beauty I felt like I saw before somewhere. Her hair was a shoulder-cut dark green. Donna suddenly came out when I looked at her. A lot of eyes peered at Donna, which was natural. But this green-haired girl walked over to Donna and eventually they stepped outside for a minute.

“Sweetie?” I heard Mary’s voice call out.

“Mom?” I asked with a very questioning voice. There’s no way she could be hospitalised. She’s Mary for Hydra’s sake! I snaked my way through the lining of people and beheld my suspicions were correct. A chill ran up my spine, then a scalding hot rage overshadowed that wintry phenomena. My teeth gritted, my fists clenched, but my face tried and horribly failed to persuade onlookers that I was calm. “Who did this?” my voice rumbled. The sight of my own mother hooked up to life-support constructs seethed a choler in me that desperately clawed in every which way for an exit.

Mom went through a myriad of emotions, quietly contemplating her next few words as she stared at me. “I… I know you won’t let this go,” she sighed, “so I suppose I should just tell you everything. There was a court proceeding yesterday for a rogue mage, a suspect the Order has been tracking for some time now. He managed to remove his manacles and get away. This is what happened when I tried to stop him,” she gripped onto the bedsheet and looked downwards. “His name is Clarke Rey and he is extremely dangerous. He headed toward Gassity. When we fought, I cut him on his face. Look for a man with a scar from the centre of his forehead going through the brow.”

I walked toward the window.

“And Eric,” she stopped me before I left, “give him hell!”

The window was blasted through with Divergence and I flew out, hitting max speed in just a few seconds. If I had to raze Gassity looking for this Clarke Rey, I’d do it.

Wait…

I returned to the hospital, “You lying demon! My mom would never encourage me to fight!”

Literally everyone that was present burst out in laughter and money began passing around. They were, betting? “What in Hydra’s name is going on here?!”

August shook his head in pity whilst Flynn had the greatest grin I’d ever seen. Mary had an innocent smile on her face, “Looks like father knows best after all.”

“You bastards bet on me, didn’t you?” I fixed the window piece by piece.

“Yup,” Flynn answered, taking a seat next to Mary. “So, how was your adventure? August didn’t have to babysit you, right?”

“Of course, he did. How do you think I made it back alive?” I jested and dad agreed all too quickly. “So anyway, what’s the deal then?” I aimed the question at both Flynn and Mary, then focused on Mary herself for the next one. “Why are you in the hospital?”

“There were some complications because he’s premature,” mom answered.

An eyebrow of mine shot up, with many revelations cascading down onto me.

“No way! You sons of bitches! Congratulations!” I moved in to hug her, but then stopped, “You won’t die or anything if I hug you, right?”

She rolled her eyes and hugged me instead. “Thank you, Eric. His name is Tacari by the way.”

We stayed and chatted, until visiting hours ended. That was when I chose to see the head doctor. Thankfully, the grey-maned man wasn’t too busy. I explained to him that my spell, Renew, was far beyond what his hospital’s healers could provide. Basically, I was just asking for his permission to discharge Mary. I could always just heal whatever complications she might’ve had, but talking it out with him at least made him push up the discharge date to the next day. Although, to convince the man, a rather painful and deep cut had to be made on my forearm to show him the power of Renew. Of course, I kept the ‘light’ part of it under wraps. He was quite excited to know the origin of the spell, and even begged me to teach it to him, offering me quite a nice price in gold for it. He also offered his daughter but let’s not get into that.

The next morning, we arrived just before noon to pick Mary up. My little bro, Tacari was just fine, besides from being a cry-baby. See what I did there?

We began walking out but the head doctor pulled me aside for a minute. “We scanned her. All her complications were gone. It was as if she wasn’t even pregnant. Young lad, is there nothing I can offer to change your mind? Charlene is–”

“Your daughter,” I cut him off, “whom you should cherish and not try to sell off. Besides, I’m already taken.”

“Please! Perhaps there is a healing spell you’re willing to teach. If I could get the hospital staff to increase their magical fortitude, then many illnesses and even death could be lessened. Would you not do it for your people?”

I took a seat, crossing my legs. What could I get from him? I gazed into the old man’s desperate eyes.

“Not magic, that’s for sure.”

“Sorry, I don’t feel good exchanging magic for,” I looked to the ceiling, as if searching for the words, “earthly desires. Instead, how about I make pills and potions for the hospital in exchange for gold.”

His eyebrow cocked up, curiosity taking over. Of course, I gave myself a few months to practise the pillar of creation that was alchemy. With August’s enchanted items, I could cut that time down to half and with basically infinite herbs to use from transmutation. I was pretty much cheating. Heck, these pillars of creation could give us a healthy living and we wouldn’t have to really work for our bread. It was a discussion to have with August, and the witch as well. I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about us selling stuff that basically came from her.

“See you in three months then…” I said my goodbyes and caught up with my parents. They kept Tacari a few days afterward to ensure whatever happened to mom didn’t affect him. Thankfully, their healers were competent enough to fix any minor issues.

“So, mom, what are your plans for today?” I asked from the other side of the carriage, my arms folded in thought.

“Hmm? Why? Are you taking me on a date?” Her lips curled up in anticipation. “We haven’t spent any time together recently. I’m tired of seeing Flynn’s face every day.”

“Ooh yeah, I feel your pain.”

“Hey!” Flynn complained, “I’m right here dammit! If Tacari didn’t just fly out of you, I’d beat you up!” He flicked mom on the forehead lightly.

I mused. Their playfulness reflected a youth in them that never seemed to die out.

“So, when’s the next adventure, kiddo?” Flynn snaked an arm around Mary and crossed his leg.

I shrugged at his question and tapped my lips a couple times. “Eh, no time soon, I think. I’ll just chill out in Aquan for a while. Do some things, y’know?”

“Nope, I don’t. No one knows what the hell you mean, probably except Donna.”

“Hah, I guess so. Anyway,” I stretched lazily, “since Tacari will be home soon and you won’t get to be freaky as much anymore and do other non-freaky stuff together, here’s a cheque for a grand. Go spoil yourselves. In fact, I don’t even wanna see you home. Get a nice hotel in Endathal or something. Just uh, write a list of the stuff Tacari would need so I can get them.”

Dad’s eyes opened wide, “I don’t know who you met when you went wherever you went, but thank goodness for that person!”

“Pfft, shut up! When you write the list, I’ll fly you guys wherever you want. After lunch good?”

They both nodded, already dreaming of their little two to three-day vacation. Well, they deserved it. With that, I left the carriage and visited August, but that bastard wasn’t home. I stooped near his forge and was greeted by his father.

“Yo, pops, how’s it been?”

“I’ve been great! Just taking life one step at a time! Hey, uh, Eric, thanks for, being there for August and everything. Since Shyla passed, he’s been a little, um, not himself. But with Melissa here and all he’s a bit more chipper. I know I’ve got you to thank for that so,” he placed a hand on my shoulder, “thank you.”

I chuckled a little, “Lemme help you fire up this puppy.”

~

“Starting a business?” August looked at me a little then went back to staring into the ground as we strolled through the streets of the eastern district.

I proposed the idea to him. My goal was to have an umbrella over several different types of businesses, and the first two in my sights were August and Bad Ankle. I’d do alchemy myself and have a clone do mass production of potions and pills. The more I thought about it, the more ideas rushed to my head, so I scribbled them down into a book every chance I got. “I was already planning to sell enchanted items. So, sure, man. Let’s get rich.”

Alright, one down, one to go.

~

“…say my name,” she looked me dead in the eyes, not partaking of her afternoon tea for a while.

I groused internally after asking, “What?”

“Say my name, Mr Eric-Ashfur killer, druid killer, Ingen chieftain seducer, spirit summoner, polygamous-Archibald.”

“Alright, alright, Bad Ankle. I don’t know your name! Sheesh! What’s this all about anyway?”

“Why would I trust a man who won’t even make the effort to know my name to lord over my business? At least con artists would try to make a connection to the person even though they don’t care, but you…”

“Hey, well, we didn’t exactly meet in an endearing situation.”

Her hand clenched a little and the vein in her forearm peeped out on her skin, “How long are you going to remember me for that?” she asked in a soft, yet clearly infuriated voice. “Do you think that’s what I wanted to do for a living? Rob innocent people? How long would it take for you to look past that? You won’t even try to learn my name at all because we got off on the wrong foot, yet you let a total stranger into your little relationship circle? A person who does what I did but legally, all because she gave you a damn sob story?!” Her first slammed against the table, rocking it a little.

“Hah,” Donna started off with a single laugh and it snowballed into a lengthy and boisterous one.

Well damn, no wonder she’s so pissed at me. “You like me.”

“Liked!” she corrected, making the sure to emphasise the importance of the ending of the word.

I sighed, stood up and walked around to the feisty girl, stopping unnervingly close to her. “Stand up.”

She frowned, the anger in her face even more clear. When she stood, it was easy to tell she did it in a challenging manner, putting the ball in my court in a rather intimidating way. “What is your name?”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t, at least not yet. Would you deny me the chance of getting to know you?”

“Calla. It’s Calla Hugh,” she folded her arms and glared me right in the eyes. Her being a bit taller didn’t help.

I previously planned on firmly holding her hands but that was out the damn window since she folded her arms. So, I had to get a little bolder and opt for her waist. She backed off a little, but I didn’t let up. I gripped a little tighter as her back hit the wall – no I wasn’t forceful if that’s what you’re thinking – then got my face even closer to hers and said, “Calla, look me in the eye and tell me,” I said, even though she was angrily doing that, “and tell me I don’t still have a place in your heart.”

She forehead vein seemed to pop, then it went down and she simply broke off eye-contact with me, finding that her teacup was a more interesting subject. Bad An–I mean Calla, still liked me.

I released hold of her, the silence biting. Before I could finish turning away, she grabbed me by the collar and seized me.

“Yet another joins the ranks. Let’s throw a party!” Donna so tactlessly put forth in the middle of our romantic kiss.

After we parted lips, Calla couldn’t look me in the eyes.

I smiled, “I’ll take that as a yes.”