"Please forgive my rudeness! As a proud member of the elven race I am ashamed that I didn't recognize such a presence sooner. I had thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I had seen you in the coliseum." Maycellia shouts desperately.
"Rudeness? To whom?" Amadeus asked the headmistress, who had yet to raise her head.
"To you, primal spirit. I pray that you forgive my transgressions." Her intense demeanor began putting everyone on edge.
"I don't know what customs and courtesies are expected when dealing with a primal spirit, but you don't need to follow them on my account. I am a being from another world. I doubt I am truly a primal spirit as the slate says. That's probably the closest thing I could be classified as when I was brought to this world. So please, lift your head and continue talking to me as you were earlier."
Maycellia raises her head. "That is a difficult request, but I will try."
She slowly pushes herself back up to her feet. "Us elves, especially those who are originate from Elthrese, hold spirits in extremely high regard. Even weak spirits are seen as guardians of villages. Some of the stronger ones, such as elder spirits, can be protectors of entire forests. In the case of primal spirits, well, they can be considered equals to minor deities."
"Is that so? Then, perhaps I should avoid showing this in public." Amadeus takes the freshly made guild card into his hand.
"That'd probably be for the best." Aron says. "No offense, but you're strength doesn't exactly scream 'Deity'. Its kinda funny though, the first time I saw Amadeus I thought Reid had been possessed by a ghost, or a phantom. Seeing as he's a spirit, I guess I wasn't too far off."
"Ahem," The guildmaster fakes another cough.
"This is quite the unexpected twist, but a welcome one to be sure. I'll have to think of how I can apply this new information to our plans… For now, we will continue with the first step. Report back here at the start of the week and we will begin your training. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that he sees himself out.
"By the way my lord, I have a couple questions about the magic you used in your fight." Maycellia starts.
"Lord?" Amadeus asks as he looks behind himself to see if anyone else was there. Realizing she was describing him, he denied the title calmly. "I am no lord."
"Oh, sorry. If that title is too much I can try something else. How about Sir Amadeus."
"…That's still a bit… That's close enough." He regretfully concedes.
"What type of spell were you using to create those odd effects? The runic structures seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place them."
"Oh, it was an adjustment on basic cleaning spells. I used it's ability to create matter and combined it with chemistry knowledge from my world to achieve some interesting results."
"Those spells were based on cleaning magic?! But they were so powerful! And Versatile! How did you achieve that from a beginner tier spell?"
In her excitement, the headmistress puts her hands onto the desk between her and Amadeus and leans forward, right in his face.
Fortunately Amadeus was unbothered by the emotional outburst. His only concern at the moment was discussing his innovations with the curious soul in front of him.
"The powerful reactions where achieved through understanding chemical properties and remembering various compounds."
"Hmm." The headmistress takes a few seconds to think through what she just heard.
"Hold on, are you saying your spells effects were a result of the materials you created and not the magical energy itself?"
"Exactly."
"Fascinating. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone using magic in such a way. This could be a revolutionary discovery!" The elder elves eyes sparkled like a child that had just been given a brand new toy. Despite her graying hair, the headmistress had a vibrant and youthful energy to her.
"Really? I thought it would be an obvious application of a spell that can synthesize any material."
"Well to be frank, most people aren't able to make adjustments to spells until the higher tiers of magic. This is because most people use chants as opposed to runic magic. By the time they reach those levels, they don't see the point in experimenting with beginner tier spells."
As their conversation progresses, the rest of the room sits back, completely alienated by their convoluted discussion.
"That does make sense." He was slightly with the mindset that after you reach a higher level of strength, the basics no longer matter.
"Since I answered a question for you, can I ask one as well?" He asks.
"Of course! I would be happy to help Sir Amadeus."
"Tell me, how advanced is this worlds chemistry?" He asks.
"Chemistry? Not alchemy? Is that a popular field of study where you're from?"
"Yes. You see the world I come from contains no magic or spirit energy, and I don't mean that in the sense of being ignorant to it, it simply did not exist. Because of that, we had to develop our society through understanding the physical world around us."
Amadeus continues in his usual cold and emotionless voice. "That is one of the reasons I am so interested in studying the field of magic. It defies my common sense and laughs in the face of every single convention of science I have held as an absolute truth."
"Damn, that sounds rough." Aron finally finds a spot he can interject.
"Quite the opposite. I haven't had something so fascinating to research in millennia."
"Oh my, and I thought I was a fossil." Maycellia jokes. "A realm without mana or spirit… incredible! Amadeus are you implying that you come from outside the seven physical realms?"
"Hmmm. I am unfamiliar with that term, so I can't say for certain."
"In that case we need to-" The passionate headmistress was cut off in her questioning.
"Headmistress." Stella reluctantly cuts in. "The meeting."
"Right… Well as much as I want to stay here and chat, there's a meeting that I have no choice but to attend. I hope we can meet again soon, I have so many more questions I want to ask you! But for now, farewell, Sir Amadeus." She gives him a courteous bow. The gesture was polite, even with a look of disappointment marring her face.
"Likewise, I'm sure there are a great many insights into magic I could learn from you."
With another small curtsy Maycellia takes her leave, with Stella not far behind.
As she leaves Amadeus releases control to Reid, who immediately begins to lean back in his chair. He lets out a long sigh as he finally begins to relax now that all of the high profile figures have left the room.
"Man, that was a lot." The boy complains.
"Yeah, I could barely keep track of everything." Anna agrees.
"And being in front of the guildmaster and the headmistress for so long was terrifying. I feel like my nerves are fried. How did you keep it together so well?" She says as she looks at the boy.
"I would normally be terrified too, but I was way too tired to be on edge. That exam was exhausting." He says with another sigh.
"Can't say I blame you, that was a hell of a fight after all. Should've brought some of my rookies to watch it. Teach 'em a thing or two about guts." Aron grins.
"So you took the combat exam?" Anna asks.
"Yeah, except I didn't know it was an exam. I thought Barboda was seriously trying to kill me!"
"Ha! Makes sense he was able to trick you. Don't tell him I said this, but Barboda is actually a huge theater nut. Swears up and down that if his family didn't push him into working for the guild, he would've made it big in a theater troupe." Aron laughs as he imagines the massive man on stage.
"What?! Are we talking about the same hammer wielding psycho?" Reid asks in shock.
"Yeah, that 'hammer wielding psycho' is just a character for him. I mean you've met him before, he's normally got a sti- I mean he's super up-tight." Aron stops himself right before profanity leaks out.
"Yeah, I guess you're right… By the way Anna…" He trails off, hesitating to finish his sentence.
"Yes?"
"Do you think we can see each others guild cards? But... for real this time."
"…Yeah… I'd like that." A thin smile appears on her face.
They put their guild cards on the table. This time there were no thumbs or fingers getting in the way.
NAME: Reid
AGE: 13
GENDER: Male
RACE: Beastkin, Human, Elf
TALENT: Dual Soul, Enhanced Senses
CLASS: Runic Spearman
RANK: D
PARTY: None
NAME: Anna
AGE: 13
GENDER: Female
RACE: Beastkin, Human, Giantess
TALENT: Strong Body, Flexibility, Water Element
CLASS: Elemental Spearman
RANK: F
PARTY: None
"Whoa, Giantess? Is that why you're so tall?" Reid carelessly blurts out.
"I-I'm not that tall! I just had an early growth spurt! That's all!" Anna shouts defensively.
"Wait, wait! I didn't mean it as a bad thing, I just umm." Reid starts to panic as he has no idea how to deal with situations like this.
"Umm what?" Anna demands.
"Umm… my bad, sorry."
"Apology accepted." Anna says as she calms herself down.
"Man, you really need to learn how to talk to a lady." Aron says before laughing at his own joke.
"This coming from the man who can barely hold a conversation with Cynthia?"
Everyone stops at the unexpected comment before Anna and Reid burst out laughing.
Aron's cheeks go bright red before he speaks. "What? No, that's just… Dammit. He got me good."
⁘⁘⁘⁘
"Before we start, I'd like to say a few words."
Mary stands up from her seat. The table is completely packed with food never before seen in the orphanages dining room. From roast king boar to garnished flare birds, spiced apples to fresh cherries, savory pies to sweet pastries, even wine and ale were included in the unexpectedly lavish meal.
"This last week has been quite trying on all of us, and despite all of the trials, we have made it through safely. So I would like to thank you all, Reid, Aron, and Amadeus, for keeping us safe. I cannot thank you enough for what you've done.
While I may not have much to give in the way of thanks, Lord Enzius was gracious enough to give us a feast in celebration of his arrangement with Reid and Anna. So cheers to our heroes of the day, and to the heroes of the future."
"""Cheers!"""
Everyone stood and raised their glasses to the sky. Aron and Cynthia were next to Mary at the head of the table. Danny and lance sat in the middle, with Faerie and Faeth next to them. At the foot of the table sat Reid and Anna as the seats of honor for their quant feast.
"Let us enjoy!" Mary declared, with a big smile on her face.
"Yay!" Faeth started grabbing food as soon as she heard the word, completely unconcerned about proper etiquette.
Lance was the next to move, with saliva nearly dripping out the corner of his mouth. After them, the floodgates were open and the feast began in full. Lively conversations were happening all across the packed table, only interrupted by small pauses to eat or drink.
"So are you really going to be leaving, Anna?" Faeth asks in a slightly dejected tone.
"Yes. But don't worry, we have a few more months together before then. That's plenty of time to have fun together!" Anna tried to cheer up the young girl.
"I guess that's true." She said, not fully convinced.
"Then how about tomorrow we go play in the park together?"
"Really? You mean it? Its been forever since you went to the park with us!" Faeth nearly yells from all of the excitement building up inside her.
"Lance, Danny, can you come too?" The young dark elf looks over at the boys with puppy dog eyes.
"Well, I don't know about that. We're supposed to be in training all day tomorrow." Danny responds gently as he looks over to Aron.
"Don't worry about it. I'll let Julian know you two will be busy, go have fun." Aron responds casually.
"You mean it, Sir?" Lance asks.
"Yep, but you two better come back extra motivated to make up for it." The captain of the guard says with a kind smile.
""Yes, Sir!"" The two guards in training respond in unison.
"Looks like we're in then." Danny says calmly.
"Heck yeah we're in!" Lance declares as passionately as ever.
"Yaaayyy!" Faeth shouts while practically dancing in her seat. "Isn't this great 'Rie? If we can get Reid to go too, then we'll have everyone!"
Her attention finally turns to her sister, who she'd been completely oblivious to.
"Umm… Yeah, that's good." Faerie answers, unable to look her sister in the eyes.
"Hmm?" Faeth finally notices the discomfort in her twins expression.
"What's wrong 'Rie, doesn't that sound fun?"
"Well, it just sounds like a lot, 'Eth." Faerie responds nervously.
"What?! But there probably wont be that many people there!"
"I know but-"
"And I thought you were getting used to crowds?" Faeth says, cutting off her sister.
"I am but-"
"Come on, you have to go! It'll be the first time in forever we all get to play together!"
While the two were going back and forth, with Faeth trying to convince her sister to join them, Reid leans in and whispers in Anna's ear.
"So she doesn't like going to crowded places?"
"Yeah, she's always been shy. She was getting better recently, but I guess the other day kinda ruined that progress…" Anna answered with a tinge of sadness in her voice.
"Hmmm." Reid replies as he thinks to himself.
"Hey, Faerie." Reid interrupts the twins, who were on the verge of fighting.
"Y-Yes?" She answers, a bit worried he might be trying to convince her to go as well.
"You said you like books right?" he asks.
"Mmhmm, I like them a lot." She answers, albeit a little confused.
"Well, Amadeus wants to check out the library at the hunters guild tomorrow. I was thinking if you don't want to go to the park you could come with us."
"Really?! I've always wanted to go to a real library one day. They'll really let us in?!" She asks with an unexpected level of enthusiasm.
"Of course! Are you okay with that, Faeth?"
"Mmmm, okay." Seeing the excitement in her sisters face, Faeth reluctantly agrees.
"Thank you Reid." Faerie mumbles under her breath. It was so quiet that she assumed no one would be able to hear it, but a warm smile appeared on the boy's face.
The eventful feast continued well into the night. Aron let Danny try wine for the first time. He proceeded to laugh as the boy spat out what he declared was the 'most disgusting liquid ever made'.
Lance told everyone about how great of a guard he was going to become, and that they shouldn't be surprised to hear he became a royal knight while they were gone.
At one point Faeth stood up and sang everyone a song, which surprised Reid and Amadeus with how incredibly beautiful it was.
At some point everyone noticed that Aron and Cynthia had snuck away form the group, causing the girls at the table to start whispering excited rumors back and forth.
One by one people began turning in for the night, it wasn't long until it was just Reid and Anna sitting at a now cleared table.