May 14, 2025

Niji and Rem had a sleepover on the first floor of the bar in one of the guest rooms. In the morning they munched warm sandwiches and together with Viktor and Rebecca set off on a car ride to a place Beckz, the driver, called “M.A.G.E. Residence.” Dasnor had already gone there on his motorbike at sunrise.

New Tokyo had awoken by that time, and streets were buzzing with life. Niji was feeling the city rhythm, created by cars and people hurrying somewhere on the target vector by bicycles, scooters, monowheels or just on foot. The metropolis was colorfully and generously lit, especially with advertisement panels all over the place. Pretty girls were smiling from the ubiquitous billboards, on a par with holograms of elite vehicles. Sakura S, an android idol with a lilac ponytail, was the local queen with her overflowing cuteness.

“Strange,” Niji thought, gazing through the window. “For all these bright signs and indications and traffic lights, the city during the day still looks dull and faded. Only at night can you see its true colors.”

She fell in love with New Tokyo at the first sight. Regular village life on the shore of Sora-no-Seki river had been painfully miserable. She was lucky to discover her magic potential at the age of twelve. Although her family had emerged from a conquerors’ clan, it rarely had wizards, so Niji was very proud of her status.

The newly born mage had been happy to move to the metropolis, which evolved so much it could be considered the second capital of the country. During the last century, this place had transformed from a small town of 2,000 to a home for millions of people and a pack of wizards. Almost all historical legacy was devoted to magicians, but in 2025 this magic was lost behind solid skyscrapers and the technological development of civilization. Sure, some memorials were still there, like the Omnious’ colonial-style residence they’d just passed. “I wonder how Shiny is doing,” Niji thought, looking at the gorgeous house full of meticulous symmetry and pride in itself. A bit later Beckz took the turn to the 2-level highway around the city.

“Can you tell us about yourselves?” Rem asked his new friends after a brief discussion of videogames.

“Welp, we both graduated from the Academy, as you did. At a different time, tho,” Beckz started, moving to a lower level of the road. “Then we contracted with the army.”

“Whoa!” the Lackluster exclaimed. “I’ve never spoken to a military mage before, and now there are two here!”

“And Professor Hugsted?” asked Niji. “Of the magical practice? He used to work for the government.”

“Like I visited his course,” Rem grumbled.

“There must be someone like us in your year too. We are contracted before graduation,” Viktor gave out a hem. “Training practice for a degree is just a formality, ‘cause military mages are chosen beforehand, so their destiny is pretty much set.”

“You sound like you didn’t like it,” Niji noticed.

“Not much.”

“Why did you join, then?”

“Well, it is generally thought that a mage can avoid it, but that’s an old deal—the Academy ‘sells’ its guys to the military, so the government won’t whine about us not contributing to society. You basically can’t quit in these conditions. And also… maybe deep inside I really wanted to prove useful.”

“And I just wanted to kick some ass!” Beckz giggled. “But the reality was a bit far from my expectations.”

“Really?”

“Welp, when you think about real action combat while jumpin’ on the training stadium at school, you dream you’d be a hero of a blockbuster with fireballs and such. But… it’s not like that. You are dragged into everyday hell. All the time you run, fly, swim and crawl, and if not—it’s even worse; you sit and wait for anything to happen. You kill politicians, terrorists, bounty hunters, good or bad guys… whoever you are told. Dozens, hundreds… for medics it’s the worst, never-ending job.”

“You get the feeling, though… like you’re a bit of a superhero,” Viktor added. “I am able to absorb damage, so I was always on the front line. And I saved many lives… not all of them, of course…”

“You’re lucky to think of it that way,” said Beckz. “I was hugely disappointed. Bein’ a puppet of the government is not that fun. It’s a mix of pain, blood, tears and dust. They say Violets are scary, but they say nothin’ about real life. Because it is somewhere where you’re not.”

“How many mages are contracted?” Rem asked.

“You can count them on one hand, actually,” Rebecca turned to a side road. “But politicians are greedy. Everybody understands that one mage equals a thousand soldiers. They sleep and dream about the whole army of mages, but never cross that line. PRISM tries to keep this shit balanced, but they still give us in by demand.”

“In my division, there was just me and… a medic,” Victor added. “The enemy had even less, like, I’ve seen a dozen of rival mages in my life…” he frowned and stopped talking.

“Do you serve until your magic runs out?”

It was obvious that this topic brought up some unpleasant memories to the Amber, but Rem was a merciless investigator. Rebecca helped her comrade with the answer. “Yes, but you can leave earlier, no sooner than after 5 years of service. How old is your professor, by the way? Maybe we’ve met before.”

“About fifty,” Niji answered. “He hasn’t faded out yet.”

“Huh, is he a serum user? Viktor is thirty two, and I am twenty nine. In about a couple of years we will go Lackluster or fade out. Typically, if a military mage is lucky to survive, they are quick to reach the state of disrepair. It’s too tiresome and cruel out there. No one would enjoy that, so you try to get out as fast as possible.”

“Is your other guy a military mage as well? Guess he didn’t like us…” Niji was surprised to notice that this thought made her sad.

“Dasnor?” Beckz arched an eyebrow. “Nah, never mind him. Grumpy is his usual state. You get used to it after a while, and you’ll realize that he’s not a jackass. On the contrary, he’s unselfish and will give it all to help his comrades. Even his life. A typical prince with a burden of dauntin’ responsibilities.”

“Eh? A prince?”

“Welp, that was figurative. I mean he’s a son of M.A.G.E.’s leader after all.”

“The leader?!” Niji shrieked. “Fiber Hunt is his father?”

“Oh hello there! I’m takin’ you to meet him, remember?”