Oh, not at all! Applying an amplifier is painless. Some tingling, maybe. The most troublesome part is having to find an enchanter who can do such tattoos. Being a Crimson mage, I received a skill in match with my aura, Sea Storm. Not that useful, but certainly spectacular [laughs].

From an interview of Itaru Kobayashi, mage and actor of dorama “The Last Kiss”

The women in coats rushed forward. One of them waved her hand, and a huge crack ran along the road. Niji and Rem jumped away from each other, just in time to escape a stone geyser bursting under their feet. It was clear the attacker specialized at least in the Earth element manipulation.

Niji clicked her lighter and launched a few fireballs in the direction of the attackers, but they dodged it playfully. The Crimson mage blew the asphalt again, and the friends got separated even more. The second witch sent a sparkling energy sphere to Rem, but Niji was quick enough to raise a wall of flame to protect him. “That’s too bad,” she thought. The girl wasn’t used to fighting her own class in the Academy, and this lack of experience could turn fatal.

The second witch, probably a Celestial, threw something below Rem yet again, and dryad roots crawled onto him, squeezing as spikes blossomed. Niji hurried to help, but again the ground was torn apart. The witch who blocked Rem moved to Murasaki and hit her in the chest. Stinging cold rushed all over her body, and in a second she was thoroughly immobilized.

Never before had she been ready to accept her own death. She’d always thought that in such a moment she would scream and resist with all her might. Yes, she was paralyzed, but her mind was totally serene. “Well, that’s it,” was the only thing her consciousness managed to deliver. Even Rem’s hysterical screams didn’t make her heart cry out in unison.

The attacker, ready to cast a finishing spell, suddenly surrounded herself with a defensive energy barrier. Behind her back, a girl with a side-shaved head had appeared from a black ink-like cloud. The savior—from Golden mages, apparently—failed her stealth assault and teleported back smoothly, then jumped on her rival once again, trying to break her magical armor.

Another witch, who was guarding Rem, was challenged by a sturdy-built man dashing towards her with a loud battle cry. She somehow managed to escape the crash, flew to her companion with the power of wind and dragged her teammate away from the teleporting girl. The tough guy began to tear the roots with his bare hands, little by little. In this table-turning situation, the women in coats decided to withdraw; their disappearance was so rapid that it seemed the night itself had absorbed them.

“That’s it!” the semi-shaved one exclaimed. “Time for a joke about goin’ to the wrong neighborhood, but… we don’t talk trash, do we, Viktor?”

“Sorry, a bit busy here.” He finally managed to win over the dryad’s roots, and Rem fell into his hands, barely conscious.

“Actually, we usually don’t beat the Sisters up,” she turned her head to Niji, “but our place is not for pew pew. And… welp, the road service will rage again.”

Niji, now free from paralysis, gasped. “Thanks for the help. Are you from M.A.G.E.?”

“That’s it! Name’s Rebecca, or just Beckz. And that’s my bro, Viktor.”

“Hola.” The mage who saved Rem was carrying him like a feather.

This guy was in his thirties. Constitution one of giant, fair hair stuck up from his head, and a goatee to decorate his chin. He also possessed an aquiline nose and broad jawline to contribute to his vigorous appearance. “An Amber mage,” Niji figured, judging by his enormous physical capabilities.

She’d already seen the shaved one, but only on screens. Rebecca May herself, a permanent participant of Six Color Olympics—the most famous magical tournament, with millions of viewers. It was so strange to see her that close. Niji wondered whether she was dreaming.

“We’ve been looking for your pub for so long,” she complained. “But all we got was this bunch of psychopaths.”

“The pub? ‘Blue Cat,’ ya mean? Eh, it’s just around the corner. We figured out somethin’ was going on and joined the party right away. Okay, let’s go there to get some meds. Our healers already went night-night, but there should be no problem with makin’ a simple elixir.”

“Do you have some honey? I can craft a proper potion,” Rem said.

“Welp, if Dasnor didn’t fuck up, and brought me some rosemary like I’ve asked, we will do a super proper one. Off we go!”

The four of them moved back along the half-destroyed street.

“So, how on Earth didn’t you find the right place? Do I lose a lot of clients because of it, huh?” Rebecca asked.

One could guess that she was a Southerner by her specific ‘r’ sound and light-brown skin. While she was smiling, a scar on her right cheek became even more visible. Niji replied, “We thought it had some cloaking spell.”

“Say what?” Rebecca giggled, and Viktor joined her with a thunderous laughter. “Nah, it’s open like a train station. You can’t make money just on mages, y’know?”

“Trust Beckz, her mother is the owner.” Her partner smiled.

After another minute of walking, they saw an old-style wooden façade on the corner of the street with a ‘Blue Cat’ sign. There was a ‘Closed’ sign on the door, but reddish light was coming from inside. When the door opened, a delightful smell of french fries greeted the mages.

Was it worth mentioning that they’d passed this place two or three times?