Adrin studied the glyphs projected by the ring. It was obvious he would have to recreate the glyphs on his own for the true first spell. The ring was just a training aid. A mold he had to copy to get the spell exactly right.

The less obvious was the layout of the glyphs which resembled electronic circuits. If he replaced the odd glyphs with ICs, capacitors, transistors, or etcetera, then it would become even more similar to the modern electric circuit board.

Of course, there were distinct differences. The circuit was arranged in a circle instead of the familiar square, but because of the similarity, he could literally see where he should fill first before the other.

In one look the whole magic circuit would look like a maze of lines dominated by symbols that ended in the middle. The spell was also executed based on how the glyphs were filled and it flowed almost like an electric current.

Luckily, he didn’t need to fill from connection to connection. He only needed to fill one set of glyphs to another set, or it would take forever. A person with a sword would have stabbed him first before he could even fill it up.

What the glyphs meant or what they did was a mystery, but this was what he understood after cleansing the five girls. Hana had asked him to practice with the ring until he didn’t need it anymore, and his first training subjects were the girls.

Two of them were even revealed to be cuties after their faces were free of dirt or whatever.

The girls, of course, had turned red as he held their hands one by one. They blushed because the wind would blow their skirts up if they hadn’t covered them. After the first blunder, he asked them to sit down so no one would have their asses in the air for no reason.

The last girl, Nerina, was a fellow apprentice, and he was tasked to get her control over mana until she could cast the same spell. She felt a lot older than she looked, but the prettiest girl in the tent hardly said anything other than a tiny hi.

Adrin wished that he had the flawed stone so she could practice on her own, but for now, he had to help her somehow. This also meant Emi was already a mage, as she had mastered what he had taught her. The girl had only needed a little push.

He wondered if she wanted to come with him. She had never said anything about it or even talked about her future plans. Maybe like Marla, she didn’t want to be at the whim of others like rich folks or nobles.

According to Hana, apprentices practiced in pairs by holding both hands and moving mana in a circle between the two of them. It was pretty similar to what he had been doing alone, only much simpler.

But because he was already adept at controlling mana, it was up to him to help his fellow apprentice. Nerina's face turned redder the longer they held hands, and it took her a while before she could get used to it. The poor girl must have never had such an experience.

Of course, Adrin knew Hana was just too lazy to train the girl herself. She had delegated this duty to him because she couldn’t be bothered to repeat the basics.

Adrin breathed in relief when the morning finally came. As the lady said, no one was able to sleep after the goblin raid. Everyone was just too nervous to even close their eyes.

Moreover when the guards reported that one of the boys had almost been kidnapped by the green monster. The unfortunate boy was already dragged out of the tent before the guards came to stop it. No one needed to be reminded what would happen if they were kidnapped by the goblins as even the adults were afraid of it.

The caravan of people pushed forward again after another round of water and bread were distributed among the kids. Most of them ate greedily as if it would run out when the time was up, but it was understandable because these kids had their rib bones sticking to their skin. Adrin would bet that they would even fight over the bread if there weren’t enough for all.

Pity tortured him as he ate the bread with the dried meat, and he had to sacrifice his collection of tasty smoked meat to feel less guilty about it. Most of them said their thanks at least.

After a few hours of rock-filled road, he finally could see tall stone walls further ahead. They were greeted by countless tree stumps beside the road before they came to a field of farmed land.

He didn’t know if the others noticed, but some of the farmers in the field had metal collars around their necks. They reminded him of Marla and what happened to her.

His attention was pulled away when the thick metal portcullis lifted up. The wagons had stopped on the bridge used to cross the ditch which surrounded the small town. The various marks on the walls made it clear what the walls and ditches were there for.

Men in uniforms saluted the captain as he passed while they continued to move toward the other end of the town. There weren’t many buildings on each side of the road and there were also not many people walking around. He imagined most of the area inside the walls were still empty or were used as farm plots.

The two wagons stopped in front of the biggest building around before the recruits were told to disembark. Around the main building, he could see two blacksmiths, medical tents, tens of training dolls, and even archery ranges. The place looked more like a forward military camp instead of a town.

“Welcome to Littledove boys and girls, you new home sweet home,” the captain said. “Get your asses into the building for registration and your tags. The faster you do this the quicker we can have lunch.”

Lunch seemed to motivate everyone as they rushed off the wagon and into the building. He let everyone else in before making his way towards the door.

“Not you, kid,” the captain stopped him by the chest. “You and the girls are under the lady’s care. Good luck, you’ll need it,” the man laughed and slapped his back towards Hana.

It was pure luck that he was an old man inside or he would have fumbled in embarrassment when he became the only man around six females. The view was nice, of course, but it felt like a nightmare coming true.

Only time would tell if he was going to be accused of something.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he followed the mage to another building. The young naive girls were charming, but it felt like he would be taking advantage of them if he chose to interact with them.

Adrin understood what the captain meant when he saw the fenced building. Women old and young walked in and out of the building while saying hi to the mage. Adrin couldn’t believe it, but it looked like he would be staying with the girls from now on.

A hand slapped on his shoulder and pulled him around.

“What are you doing here, boy!?” said a woman with a scowl on her face.

Dressed in military uniform, the lady looked like she would beat his ass for trespassing. Adrin held up both his hands, the universal sign of not resisting. He would be glad if the woman hauled his ass to the boy's place.

“Eh, Saliria, there you are,” said Hana from the front. “Don’t worry about him, he’s in my care.”

“You are saying this chump a mage?” She checked him up and down. “He doesn't appear like one.”

“He didn’t even know he was one before I told him,” Hana sighed, “but he is even better than those smug nobles who acted like hotshots.”

“Does he now,” Saliria smiled, it was even scarier than her scowl. “I’d like to see what he could do, I’ve been sweating all day today.”

“Adrin, would you mind?” asked Hana and he looked at her. The mage shrugged and he sighed.

He called out the magic circle and filled it with surrounding mana. Adrin offered his hand and the smiling lady placed her hand on his palm. A few seconds later the lady and her clothes were free from any stain or sweat.

“Oh, he didn’t even try to feel me up,” said the military lady. “You can go, boy.”

“My pleasure, my lady,” Adrin mocked with a bow.

“Cheeky aren’t you?” the lady scoffed. “So the other five are my charges?”

“No, only four,” Hana said excitedly.

“Oh, good for you, Hana, you’ve worked hard,” Saliria said before she patted the girl’s shoulder. “You four, follow me,” he ordered the other girls.

“Go on, she’s your boss from now on,” Hana said to the hesitating girls. “Don’t worry, Adrin will be staying with us, you’ll see him later.”

Adrin scoffed and shook his head.

She really should try something original, but it wasn’t her fault. In her eyes, he was a clueless young man while it was very far from the truth. He already had enough experience with women in both worlds.

Magic might close the gap between genders but they could never change how each of the polar opposites operated. He wasn’t claiming to be an expert, far from it, but at least, he would be easily embarrassed by her theatrics.

Adrin was already done playing games of feelings. He would have none of it.