Currently not checked for any mistakes, because I spent a whole night typing it up.

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“Hm…” Cross-legged atop the moving cart, Hiro was in great concentration.

“What are you thinking so hard about Hiro?” His father questioned.

“Gah! I was trying to meditate!” Hiro cried frustratingly, he wasn’t angry that his father interrupted his meditation. After all, meditating on top of a cart surrounded by loud and boisterous mercenaries wasn’t a good idea in the first place.

“Huhaha that again? I thought you had to go take a shit or something.”

‘It’s been 3 days since Tenga told me to to meditate. So far I can’t tell if it’s working or not. Day after day all I do is sit here and try to concentrate. I haven’t the faintest clue how this will help me… Plus all this friendly bantering amongst the escorts are not helping one bit!’

It has been 3 days since Hiro decided to try meditation. The first day Hiro fell asleep due to the constant drone of the carts rolling through the soft earth. The caravan was currently in a forest on their way to Adetia and because of that the sounds of spring were abundant.

On the second day, Hiro thought he felt something. It felt similar to the invisible barrier that he had tried to push through before he talked to Tenga. After feeling that strange sensation, Hiro grew excited and tried to focus more on that feeling, however the loud boom of Bjorn’s laugh startled him and made him lose his concentration. Ever since then, Hiro couldn’t find that feeling anymore and grew really irritated.

“C’mon talk to your old man. What are you concentrating so hard on?” His father let a laugh. It was one of the first times that he had seen Hiro struggle. Since Hiro could do many things after only seeing it once, Albert didn’t often see his son frustrated like this, save for the time during the magic potential test.

“Hah~ I’m trying to find the source of my magic through meditation.” Hiro exhaled, he had resigned himself to answering the inquisitive questions from his father.

“Really? That’s strange, I’ve never had to meditate in order to feel my Astral Body… So how did you come up with that idea?”

“Err- I thought that if I-I look more into myself, maybe I could feel for my ‘Astral Body’…” Hiro didn’t expect his father to question him on where he got the idea, just what he was doing. In his haste, Hiro though of the first thing that came to mind.

‘Wait! Did father just say he didn’t have to meditate in order to use his magic?’

[Tenga, can you hear what father is saying?] Hiro addressed Tenga in his mind.

[No, I have no ears remember?]

[Eh~?]

[I can only hear if I enter your mind, by doing so I’ll be able to hear what you hear. However I try to stay out of your mind. I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone hearing your deepest and darkest thoughts right?]

[Right…] Hiro had just realized how intimate the connections between Tenga and himself are. [So, um about the astral body that are the source of the mages power. Is that what you are trying to make me find?]

[What is that? I’ve never heard of that term before.] Tenga answered almost immediately, [What I’m trying to have you find is your source of life, I’ve already explained it to you. In order to perform miracles otherwise known as magic, you need to expend your life energy.]

[So you are saying that if I use up all of my life energy, then I will die?]

[Correct.]

[Hold on, I need to confirm something with my father, please listen.]

Turning back to his father who was spacing off while steering the cart, Hiro began to confirm his suspicions.

“Father, how do you cast spells?”

Coming back to reality, Albert answered his son’s questions, “Well, in order to cast a spell mages have to use some sort of magical conduit. For me I use the cross of Sienna, it amplifies the strength of holy magic. So by channeling the energy from your astral self through the conduit and speaking your intent, spells are then created.”

[Interesting, very interesting.] Tenga was amused after hearing what Albert had to say.

[Hold on Tenga, I’m going to ask father one more thing.]

“So what happens if a mage were to overuse their energy? If I remember correctly, the mages in the stories you told me all fainted, they never died from overusing magic spells right? Was there ever a time that they died after exhausting all their reserves?” This was the deciding factor in whether or not Hiro’s hunch is correct.

“What? No, they don’t die, they will never die from overusing magic. After overusing too many spells and exhausting all their ‘mana’, mages will faint and it will take a while for them to wake up. It usually takes two or three hours for them to wake up, but that is as good as death in the middle of battle.”

“Thanks father!” What Albert had just said confirmed his suspicions.

“Haha, no need Hiro. By the way, is something going on? You’ve been acting pretty weird lately and asking many random questions.”

“There’s nothing wrong, Father. I’m just really really really interested in magic!” Hiro had to lie to his father, he didn’t want to worry his father.

[Interesting!]

[Stop reading my mind, it ruins the fun of revealing what I had just found out!]

[Fine, fine.]

[So about what I was trying to confirm, what do you think about it?]

[I will also have to agree. It seems the method of casting spells is different in this era. Never in my life have I heard of the ‘Astral Body’ nor how spells have to be cast through a conduit.]

[So my suspicions were right. It seems the way you use magic compared to the mages today are different. Which leads me to conclude that either magic has changed since the time you were imprisoned in that stone or someone has altered the laws of nature and changed how magic works.]

[Impossible! There is no way that anyone can change the laws of how magic works. Not even the gods can alter the very thing that brought them into existence. Let me put it this way, if the person or persons who changed the laws of magic were to use the very same magic to cast the spell, it would defy the very idea of altering magic. In simple terms, it’s a paradox; when they use a spell to change how magic works it nullifies the spell they just cast so it’s not possible.]

[Thanks for simplifying for me.]

[You’re welcome, I knew that weren’t going to understand what I was saying.]

[Tch! Anyways, that would mean that my first guess was right.]

[Incorrect, remember what I said just now? There are no ways to alter the laws of magic itself. That means there’s no way that the method to use magic can change, no matter how long it has been it’ll always remain the same.]

[… Then please explain what you just heard!] Hiro was growing confused, what Tenga was saying is going against what they had just witnessed.

[You’ve forgotten Hiro. Magic is the power to create miracles. You could say Magic is miracles itself.]

[What are you trying to get at?]

[Hah~ You are too fixated on one concept Hiro. Remember this Hiro: a true man of wisdom is ‘one who sees one but knows all’, do not confuse it for ‘one who sees all but knows one.’ I said that magic is the power to create miracles, so what’s to stop it from creating another law of nature?]

[So… What you mean to say is…]

[Exactly, I believe that the person or persons involved have created a new way of using magic. Since creating a law of nature is an incredible feat, I’m sure that either it was a godlike person or a group of strong mages. This might also be related to that time…]

[That time?]

[It’s nothing. Let’s see… I suggest you keep meditating and hope for the best. How about this, I’ll teach you a spell.]

[Really?!] Hiro grew excited, this was going to be his first spell that he will learn.

[Well it’s more of a party trick, but it’s a spell nonetheless.]

[Eh~]

[Do you want to learn it or not?!]

Shutting up and nodding his head, Hiro agreed. Anything was better than nothing, this was also going to be the first spell he would learn.

[To use the spell you have to say ‘Reisa’ and that’s it.]

[Really? There’s no cool chant that I must do?]

[Do you really think that when you are in the middle of battle, you will have time to sit back and chant out a spell?]

[But mages are usually the back lines of a party…] In the stories his father told, mages were usually those who sat back and fired of strong artillery. Very rarely were there any warriors that also doubled as a mage, after all training the mind is just as tough if not tougher than training the body.

[If so then that means that mages today are weak! Hmph!]

[Uh… So what does ‘Reisa’ do?] Hiro had decided to accept Tenga’s reasoning. It does make sense that mages are really weak in direct combat, because of the chanting.

[It’s a relatively safe spells for beginners to use. Since we are currently unsure of how much life energy you have, we have to start small. This spell is the ‘true name’ of the word ‘rise’. This is what magic is based on, by uttering the true names of things we mages are able to control it. With this spell you should try to lift up a small pebble at first. It’s the safest option, never try to lift anything bigger or else you might die. Got it?]

[Got it.]

---

It took another 3 days for Hiro and caravan to see other travelers on the road. It seemed they were now on the main road that ran between towns. The day before they had exited the forest with no monster encounters at all, it seemed that the monsters were wary of such a huge caravan.

All around them were empty grass fields. Butterflies were moving about pollinating the new blossoming flowers. There were few wild critters running about searching for food and enjoying the spring afternoon. It was like a scene out of a fairytale.

“I wonder how much Adetia has changed since the last time I’ve seen it.” Albert wondered. It had been 17 years since Albert had last seen the prosperous metropolis. The last time Albert had been in Adetia was when he and his party decided to go on one last quest together before he retired from adventuring with his wife, Celia.

“How close are we to the city Father?” Hiro questioned. Ever since Tenga taught Hiro the word ‘Reisa’, Hiro had been trying to concentrate on casting the spell. However, due to the environment that he was currently in, he couldn’t concentrate without being disturbed by the rowdy adventurers, so Hiro had decided to wait until they have arrived in Adetia first.

“Hm… If I remember correctly, once we have exited the forest it should take another two days to get to Adetia.” Albert answered uncertainly, “Although it has been quite a while, so I’m not sure about that. Why don’t you ask Bjorn?”

“Alright.” Hiro called out to Bjorn who was riding out a couple ways and chatting with some friendly adventurers. “Hey Bjorn! Can I ask you a question?!”

Bjorn had heard Hiro and slowly trotted over on his horse, “Sure ya can kid. What do ya need?”

“How close are we to Adetia? I’m getting tired just watching the same scenery of endless grassland with random patches of trees sprawled about. I wanna see how big the city really is!”

“Hehe, kid ya gotta get used ta bein’ on the road. That’s the life of adventurers, the majority of the time spent on quests is the trip there. Don’t ya worry though, ye’ll git used ta it. Now ta answer yer question, we should be arrivin’ sometime at night.”

“Great!” Hiro had thought that he would have to wait a while longer until they reached Adetia. Hiro was beginning to become bored, since he loved to move his body. He wasn’t the type to sit back and watch while others do things. That’s why he was so intent on becoming an adventurer, he wanted to see the world and not just live a peaceful life.

“Ah that’s right, kid we should be seein’ some villages soon. This is how a village should look like. Not some quiet out-of-the way cluster of houses like yers.” Bjorn commented proudly as if to show off.

“What makes them any different from ours?” Hiro was confused at Bjorn’s comment.

“Heh, ye’ll find out soon ‘nough.” With that parting remark, Bjorn went back to the group of people from earlier and rejoined their animated conversations, leaving a bewildered Hiro behind.

Pretty soon fields and pastures began to dot the horizons. The once peaceful grassland began to become populated with men planting seeds and set cows out to graze. The sight amazed Hiro, never had he seen such a huge amount of land being planted, nor that many livestock grazing.

‘I hate to admit it, but Bjorn’s right. This is nothing like Torin Village.’ He began to grow excited. Everything was bigger, the closer they were to Adetia.

When the caravan passed by the villagers, some greeted them while others just waved. Judging by the way the villagers treated the caravan, Hiro had concluded that this was a daily occurrence for the villagers. Pretty soon the caravan passed by the village and the caravan once more entered a forest.

From the distance Hiro could hear Bjorn shouting out orders to the rest of the escorts. “Alright men! We’re almost home! Mitch has agreed ter keep goin’ till we reach Adetia! So light’em torches up and spread out! We might be near home, but we damn sure ain’t safe yet!”

Soon the sun sank below the horizon and the moon rose, illuminating the land once more. The only lights that was visible in the moonlight were the ones from the caravan and its escorts. From his seat, beside his father, Hiro could see many floating orbs of light above what he assumed were mages and torches that other escorts were holding. Hiro envied the convenience of the mages, they didn’t have to hold a torch which is quite bothersome while riding a horse.

The caravan continued their quick pace along the road leading to Adetia. Although everything looked calm, the riders were as vigilant as ever. If anything, this area was the ideal place to ambush anybody coming back to Adetia. In the past bandits used to hide along the edges of the tree line and ambush any unwary traveler that happened to use the road at night. There were still the occasional attacks and so that’s why the escorts were on guard.

“*Yawn* Father, I’m gonna sleep. I want to be well-rested once we arrive in Adetia, please wake me up once we’ve arrived ok?”

“*Yawn* Alright Hiro, although I’m not sure I can keep awake either, haha.”

Closing his eyes while staring at the mesmerizing magelights, Hiro soon dozed off and entered a peaceful sleep. At least, it was peaceful at first, but fate had other plans for him and Hiro won’t like it one bit.