58 The Soul (2/2)

”I Imagine she is putting on a nicer attire before she is to meet her future Lord,”

”She?” Rainer asked confused as he saw someone heading down the stairs. It was the same brown-haired green-eyed boy he had chosen from the group, barring the now longer hair tied with a ribbon.

Rainer felt a little ill at the reminder for why she looked like a boy during their first meeting before shaking away those thoughts.

She wore a simple gray and blue dress, though Rainer imagined it wasn't simple for this level of civilization and likely was something provided by the Baron. She gave a small curtsey, that varied quite a bit from what Rainer understood of his medieval world. In the end, it accomplished the same thing of keeping the dress from getting dirty during a bow.

The mood suddenly shifted as Rainer walked forward glaring at the Inn's owner.

”What the hell is this?” He said holding up his future apprentice's bandaged hands.

”It-s-” The older man who served as the Inn's owner and a Head Chef, stumbled over his words as the presence of magic came down upon him. Charles himself could not speak either.

Rainer instantly calmed down as he recalled his previous conversation with the Baron.

”Sorry…long day,” He said as he then looked down at the girl, hoping he hadn't just permanently damaged his relationship with her. However, her face was unchanged, not at all bothered by his anger nor presence of Magic.

Rainer sank into his thoughts for a moment. He wondered when he lost himself to such a temper. Rational thought told him any newer chef would likely end up cutting their fingers, on top of being a small kid. Yet his first reaction was anger and assumed wrongdoing on her teacher.

In the past, he could excuse it for caring for those he loved or held dear. But now, he wasn't sure.

How has having this much power affected me…

He wondered as he felt his Mana pool and still active [Arcane Awakening].

He shook his head as kneeled to her eye level surprising the two other adults in the room. He'd worry about his issue with temper later. At the very least he never once felt anger at those close to him in such a manner.

”So, what's your name?”

Several minutes before meeting the man who would change her life a girl was sleeping only to be awoken by her door being swung open in haste. Years of living in constant fear had given her a rude awakening at this sudden intruder before the familiar presence of the Inn Owner's Soul had calmed her.

Ever since the girl could remember, she could always tell much about the people around her. She could tell even when her father was angry and drunk that he wouldn't hurt her, despite the fear the retired soldier would draw from the rest of the village. She knew how to hide her own presence and make people feel certain ways about her. She understood the feelings of envy and jealousy that her fellow former slaves of the Goblins felt as one whispered to her the Lord Magus just wanted someone to warm his bed.

But she knew from the first meeting that, despite the darkness and power that surrounded the Lord Magus' Soul, he was a good person. So, she did not take this person's words to heart. Instead, she wholeheartedly worked towards the task he had her train for. The cuts she got occasionally did not bother her too much as her hands were already covered in calluses from years working in the mine.

”Get dressed with the nicest thing the Baron provided earlier, your future Lord has arrived. Quickly.”

She looked up at the Inn Owner and nodded her head as she awoken. It took her a few moments to register what he had said before she rushed away. She felt the familiar nervousness that followed the Inn Owner whenever he was around her. It was a different life being treated so cautiously.

She did not blame him. Everyone felt that same nervousness when it came to the Lord Magus.

She went downstairs after changing and quickly tying her hair that started to grow toward its original length in a bow.

Practicing the curtsy that the Baron had personally come over to teach her, she bowed before the Mage who was to be her Lord. That was when the mood suddenly shifted. She saw the Mage's Soul flare in anger but rather than it being aimed at her she felt as if his Soul sought to shield her.

In the end, she did not even feel the presence of Magic that had nearly sent the Inn owner and the Baron to their knees.

Soon she found her new Lord kneeling in front of her asking for her name.

And so, she told him.

”Lilia.”

”A lovely name,” Rainer said as he looked at the green-eyed girl, ”Do you know why I picked you out from everyone else?”

She shook her head.

”Well you see, I've been looking for someone to pass my Magic onto and you have the Gifts for some of the Magic I use,” Rainer said before he then recalled her strange calmness when he lost his temper earlier, ”And I imagine you know what I'm talking about,” He added taking a shot in the dark.

”I do,” She said quietly, wondering if he knew about her [Strong Soul Affinity]. She had felt a strange presence looking at her when she stood amongst the others to work for the Lord Magus.

Rainer stood as he ruffled her hair, ”You are to the be the Apprentice of an [Archon]. Have some confidence when you speak.”

”I do?” She repeated in the same exact voice, albeit a bit more questioning tone, while not at all doubting nor affected by the recent revelation.

”We'll work on it,” Rainer said, ”I'm sorry to cut our meeting short Charles. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon.”

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”Ah…See you then…” Charles said as he wondered if he heard the…[Archon]…correctly. Finding his thoughts stuttering by the casual mention of Rainer being an [Archon] he didn't stop him for further questions.

Neither the Inn Owner nor the Baron moved for some time after. Charles was well aware of the confrontation between Yarik and Rainer, though only the one back in the mansion, and knew from Yarik's mood who came out ahead. The recent revelation only served to further that belief for why the Guildmaster of one of the largest Mage Guilds would back down after what had happened to the Prince he treats like a son.

They headed to pick up Maya before heading toward the Fae realm. Rainer had taken a moment before they left to check on Tiamat, as she had not asked nor accepted any [Draconic Essence] for a bit to find her slightly larger than before and happily sleeping. He noted the Dragon had also recently unlocked her Affinity, having already reached what he detected as 20 points of Mana.

He couldn't help but be a little jealous of the Dragonling who accomplished one of the most difficult achievements of Rainer's life by just eating and sleeping. He wondered too if this was how the rest of his party felt about his [Sleep Learning].

Once Rainer got over his amusement at the wide-eyed Lilia, who was enjoying the flight far more than anyone else, he took out Maya's recent gift. Lilia, however, having been recently awoken in the middle of the night ended up falling asleep. [Arcane-Wind's Ascent] kept its occupants floating, leaving it oddly comfortable in terms of a bed. As far as Rainer could tell apart from a few strange stares at Gunthar, she didn't particularly notice anything odd about the undead pair.

Maya had initially shared a bit of that same wide-eyed look at the sheer speed of the flight spell that the [Archon] apparently intended to keep up for hours.

To Rainer, the effort in maintaining the level 10 flight spell that was affected by his Arcane Bonuses was even less than driving a car. And while driving for several hours certainly wasn't a pleasant affair, with his Attributes it wasn't particularly taxing.

He flipped through the spells as quickly as he could manage, the pace being slower when he had to partially commit the Runic formulas to memory for [Sleep Learning].

As they approached the Fairy Ring, Rainer thought over his plans. Once he found a way to cure Akhor's Sickness whether, through his own means or the Courts, he'd leave the Fairy Realm and head for the Blood Soul Guild.

From there they'd head to the southernmost Fairy Ring of the Northern Continent and find a boat to take them to the Dragon Isles. The boat ride would make an excellent time to train his new apprentice and a nice open body of water he could freeze if he needed to level his future Arcane version of [Frozen Sun].

”Rainer, I don't know your plans for your new Apprentice, but I'd advise against giving her any Dust for now,” Elru said drawing the attention of the party, not that Lilia knew what Dust referred to.

”Why?”

”Would it not be suspicious for a young girl with no Talent for Mana to already have her Affinity unlocked?”

”Ah, good point. I'd rather they not know I have Fairy Dust even if I didn't force it out of anyone.”

”Fairy Dust?” The little girl asked curiously in her half-awake state.

”Magical Dust that lets you live longer and makes you into a Mage,” Rainer answered, though he couldn't help but be a little disappointed at how easily Lilia simply nodded her head in acceptance as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

He smiled, at the very least she wouldn't be losing many years of her life from constantly dealing with shocking events. He imagined Gunthar, were he not undead, would have lost a few already.

”So, how do you like the place? We'll be staying for a few days. I'll have some things to do so you'll have to stay at the Mansion, but after that, we can explore” Rainer said to the once more wide-eyed apprentice of his.

Rubbing her eyes at both her disbelief and likely her own tiredness she remained glued to the scenery as the Party moved forward.

The Fae guarding the Ring gave a few curious glances toward the new additions to the party but paid it no further mind.

”Maya, I'm guessing you'll be heading toward your wife?” Rainer asked.

She gave him a cautious glance, seemingly not yet desiring to reveal who exactly she held dear. Rainer did not mind and offered her an easy out.

”Come to Prince Yaf's Mansion, in 3 Days. I'll have them let you in,” Rainer said before they separated.

Shortly after, Rainer's party headed back to the Autumn Court Mansion they were staying at. Rainer had Luna cast a sleeping spell on him so he could spend a few hours memorizing and then attempting the newer Body Enchantments he had acquired.

Lilia, who had spent half the flight in half-awake wonderment at the rapidly passing scenery, fell asleep in the extra room provided for her. With Furtak staying behind the Mansion, Rainer trusted her safety to him.

Soon after waking up, Rainer's party was told by Laneth that his father's hunters had returned. Heading out to the courtyard of the Mansion, Rainer saw the numerous corpses of creatures thought to be related to Dragons.

Theodore had already finished setting up the formation by drawing on the ground with his sword. A borrowed bowl lay in the center.

”So how does this work?” Laneth asked. He curiously looked at the strange Runic-like circle that led to a bowl in the center. He smirked at how similar it looked to some sort of dark ritual. Added on was Rainer's fake order supposedly being against Devils and his earlier Soul related Magic versus the assassin had a strange tinge of humor to it for him.

”The circle itself is just an amplifier. The real work is done by mixing my Mana with the blood and drawing out the Draconic part of the monster. You're welcome to watch. Then again, I have no idea if any of these…things…are related to a Dragon even in the slightest,” Rainer said as he looked out over the monster corpses.

Some were a strange bird-like monster with dark-red feathers and 6 clawed legs that went across their stomach. Others were a winged horse with a large crooked horn above their head. Different from the Pegasus of Rainer's legends, their head was reptilian in nature and had vicious teeth. That, and a full coat of green scales covering their whole body. The final type of monster brought back was a land type monster, having some strange multi-jointed spikes leaving its back. They were just a red-scaled lizard of several feet in length otherwise.

After some time working, Rainer managed to end up with 9 times as much [Draconic Essence] as he had gained from the [Scaled Wyvern]. It certainly wasn't much compared to the sheer mass of the monsters used, but it was likely enough for the little Dragon.

To the disappointment of the members of the Seeker's Circle that had been allowed to watch and called over when Rainer first arrived, they did not understand in the slightest what he had done. In the end, the technique would only be another thing they were interested in trading for.

Having fully solidified the books given by Mira in the prior session of [Sleep Learning] he immediately went off to meet with her. It didn't take long for him to start connecting the rest of her Enchantment to the Aura Rune, especially as he understood that it didn't require full knowledge of her enchantments to do so.

As he worked, he thought over how to broach the subject of Fae demonstrating their gifts and spirit Magic for him. In the end, he hadn't put [Gift of Lightning] unto Kara without having first watched the Gift being cast. There was also a bit of aid from his understanding of Arcane-Lightning which had a similar effect to the Fae Gift.

”Hey Mira, do you know a talented Spirit Magic user that can demonstrate a bunch of Gifts and spells for me? I don't need any information, just the demonstrations,” He asked with a bit of apprehension.

”Done,” Mira said with a chuckle, ”I know I'm not doing much for any future negotiation power, but you must be seriously underestimating what you are doing for me. Hell, even if the Court said no to this trade deal I'd steal everything you needed and do it anyways. What would they do about it, since the Enchanter's Conclave would likely agree with me.”

”You should have told me that earlier…” Rainer said as the two shared a laugh. Neither seemed to have any love for the politics of the Courts.

”Is your Order attending the meet, about a year from now, for the recently appeared level 25 Tier 2 dungeon?” Mira suddenly asked as he began finishing up yet another connection.

”I am. Likely with Initiate Furtak. The rest of my Order doesn't particularly have a reason to,” He said.

Mira raised her eyebrows at his comment but seeing as he didn't elaborate didn't say anything further about his Order not needing to.

”Well, as you can imagine being a Fae amidst numerous experts who are nearing the end of their lifespan isn't the best situation. There are those who can see through Glamour. And while they wouldn't act against someone of my strength too directly…”

”You'll have an ally in me,” Rainer said. He had not a clue what meet she was talking about, but he'd visit at the very least even if he wouldn't participate in raiding the Dungeon. The chance to gain information on possibly the strongest individuals in the World was hardly something he'd pass up.

”That should be good for now. I plan on leaving the Fae realm in a few days, but I'm sure I'll have some new enchantments for you next time we meet. Off to talk with the rest of the Conclave…” Rainer said with a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to trying to explain how to use the Aura Rune alongside the numerous demonstrations he'd likely have to give.

”You'd better,” Mira said as she handed over a book to Rainer that caused his eyes to light up.