Chapter 10: Getting Close

William Robel wiped a sheen of nervous sweat away from his forehead as he stared at the group of men standing in front of him, trying not to shiver.

His mind wandered as he tried to find out where everything had gone wrong.

The past few days had been some of the best of William’s life. After he successfully found a Sky Class Ironhide Wolf, and brought it back safely, he’d gained an enormous amount of merit.

The Robel Family of Yor City was one of the strongest groups in the western Obsidia Empire. There were over a hundred wizards in the family, though more than half of them weren’t actual family members, but hired on. The head of the family, Garibold Robel, was a powerful Grandmaster Class Wizard that specialized in Earth Magic.

William was the bastard son of an outer member of the family. His grandfather was the brother of the family head. If his horrid father, Ricard Nobel, hadn’t conceived him with a maid and instead with his wife, his status in the family would have been so much more secure.

He had been forced to claw his way up to where he was now. As a newly promoted Sky Class mage, his future was looking bright. Successfully capturing a live Ironhide Wolf was the cherry on top, a gift he gave to his great-uncle.

His hatred for his father hasn’t lessened. But now, his status in the family was secure, and he could truly live up to the last name he held. His grandfather had personally welcomed him and introduced him to the family head.

The past few moments, however, had been nerve racking for William.

He had been settling in to rest after a night out in the town with a few of the cousins he had met over the past few days. He’d been drinking, still celebrating his newfound acceptance into the family.

When he got back to the family compound, a large tract of land in the city with dozens of homes and buildings, he’d been welcomed by a large group of armed warriors and wizards.

In the 30,000 Worlds, training one’s Soul Spell Matrix was the only way to become strong. The strongest humans in existence were all wizards. However, the talent required to become a wizard is significant, and only 1 in 50 people will be able to step beyond the Earth Class in terms of magic.

If one has no talent in magic, one can always train to become a warrior.

Wizards grew their Soul Spell Matrix by accumulating experience in casting spells. A wizard’s soul would gradually adapt over time to the type of magic they used. The more times they cast one spell or another, their soul would become baptized by the magic energy and the laws of the universe, gradually increasing in strength.

This process could be sped up using Magic Herbs or rare concoctions made from Magic Herbs.

Warriors that couldn’t train magic, however, were forced to take a much cruder path. By training their body extensively, and repeatedly, warriors could also force their Soul Spell Matrix to grow via this kind of physical pseudo-baptism. This, when combined with Magic Herbs or crafted potions, meant you could become strong even without the ability to use magic.

The gap between a warrior and a wizard was significant, however.

It was generally accepted that a wizard of one Class could take out a dozen warriors of the same Class with ease.

A Sky Class Wizard could easily take out a dozen Sky Class Warriors. The higher the Class, the larger the gap.

An Angelic Class Wizard could sweep the floor with a higher ranked Ascendancy Class Warrior.

It wasn’t that the warrior was weak. It was simply that magic was far, far too powerful.

When William arrived at his home and saw the group that was welcoming him, he had almost fainted in horror.

As a Sky Class Wizard, he had a certain level of sensitivity to other beings. And he could easily detect that the dozen or so black armored warriors before him were all at least at the Master Class, with incredibly robust physical bodies.

He might be able to take our one or two of them, but a dozen? As a newly promoted Sky Class mage, he would die a nameless death.

Thankfully, the group hadn’t attacked him. The heavily armored warriors had stood off to the side, their black plate armor clanking against the large great swords they all wielded on their backs, while a quartet of people had approached him.

The Family Head, Garibold Robel, wearing a set of loose brown silk robes, his gaunt and aged face bearing a warm smile. A calm looking man wearing a set tight fitting grey robes, with a black, thunderbolt emblazoned on them. An overweight man wearing a set of loose blue robes, bearing a pale and exhausted looking face. And another gaunt, elderly figure, dressed in an expensive and very ornate purple shirt and robe.

He had nearly fainted again upon seeing them. All of them were radiating a powerful feeling of strength, an aura that indicated each figure here outclassed him.

The Family Head had made the first overture, giving him another warm smile, though a stern look of warning remained in his eyes.

“William, my apologies for the abrupt greeting.” He said as he waved his arms behind him.

“King Henry has personally requested our assistance in a certain matter. This is the Royal Wizard Aymon, specializing in Space Magic.” He introduced the elderly man wearing the ornate set of purple robes.

“And these two are representatives of the Fate Department and the Black Lighting Department of the Borrel Autrachy. Sir Oblong from the Fate Department, and Sir Graxital from the Black Lightning Department.”

The tired looking overweight wizard, Oblong, gave a friendly wave to William, while Graxital merely nodded his head at him.

William forced himself to calm down. At this point, he was no longer surprised by the strange situation he was in.

“Greetings.” William pressed his hands together and bowed respectfully, not letting his voice tremble. Garibold nodded approvingly.

“How can I be of service?” He queried, feeling a bit lost.

The overweight wizard Oblong stepped forward,

“I am a Master Class Wizard specializing in Fate. A full cadre of my brothers has arrived here alongside our sister Department, the Black Lightning Department.” He began, waving his hand at the quiet Graxital.

“The Obsidia River Empire was kind enough to lend us the use of several of their established Space Ways. Aymon was kind enough to assist us in traveling here, while my brethren spread across the Empire trying to pinpoint a recent anomaly.” Though he acted like the Empire’s aid was out of kindness, the reality was that the Empire was unable to refuse.

Spatial or Space Magic was a well established field in the 30,000 Worlds. While it was almost impossible to travel between worlds with Space Magic, or to travel anywhere in a World Bridge due to spatial interference, transport across the surface of an individual world was very possible.

The Obsidia River Empire had a network of established Spatial Ways, special pathways that connected distant points to each other, created and maintained by wizards studying Space Magic. Operating a Spatial Way required a large amount of energy and focus, one that increased the farther it traveled.

The Spatial Way Oblong and Graxital had arrived through, alongside the dozen or so Black Iron Guards the Empire had lent them, required a Grandmaster Class Wizard studying Space Magic to operate.

Aymon happened to be one of only two Grandmaster Class Royal Wizards studying Space Magic in the Empire, and was assigned to help them.

Oblong continued,

“My particular Fortelling has led me to your family here.” He blinked and rubbed his forehead, looking as if he was trying to wipe away his fatigue,

“Specifically to you, William.”

William nearly fainted for a third time, his mind racing ahead of him. What on earth could have led to this?!

“I-I..” He stuttered, not knowing how to respond. The Family Head frowned at his response. William took a deep breath, quickly recovering himself. This situation was unprecedented, but he couldn’t let himself flounder now.

“Ahem. I have no idea what it could be related to. The only notable actions I’ve taken recently have been to break through the Sky Class with my Wood Magic, and to hunt down an Ironhide Wolf in the Nebra Mountains to the south.” His voice was calm and collected, not betraying his emotions.

However, contrary to his expectations, Oblong’s eyes lit up, the fat on his face trembling as he let out a laugh.

“Aha!” Immediately the fat wizard sat down on the ground, clapping his hands together. White light began to flash around his hands as he moved them in a complex pattern. Soon, this gleaming white light flooded into his eyes, giving him a mystifying appearance.

William gulped, standing still as he watched the odd antics. He recognized them, somewhat. He’d read about Wizards that studied Fate Magic. Many of their spells centered around using magic to interpret the world around them, to attempt to see into the future or past, and to see how the fate of every being was connected. This field of magic wasn’t always reliable and was very difficult to master.

The Black Lightning Wizard merely stared at his comrade, as if used to his antics.

A few moments passed before the fat wizard stood up, visibly shaking with exhaustion, but with a huge smile on his face.

“I think we’ve found a potential lead, Graxital.” He said, nodding at his ally. He turned back to face William. He then looked over towards the Royal Wizard Aymon and bowed slightly.

“It seems we will need your assistance once more, Aymon.”

The elderly man gave a sharp nod and spoke for the first time, his voice aged,

“It is my pleasure to assist in His Highness Telmon’s mission.” His voice contained a faint hint of awe at the name he’d spoken.

Oblong turned back towards William.

“Tomorrow morning, after I’ve sufficiently recovered, would you be so kind as to lead us to the place where you captured that Ironhide Wolf?”

..

The next day.

Dorian yawned as he came awake, feeling calmer than he had in a long time. He blinked his eyes as he came fully awake, taking a look at the dismal cave he was resting in.

It was the same as ever, poorly lit by the local moss. The damaged Space Pouch lay off to the side, discarded and broken. He smiled as he took it all in, feeling at peace with himself.

His stomach rumbled, however, reminding him that he was still in a body that was swiftly growing.

‘Ausra, how much longer am I in this baby form?’ He queried mentally, focusing on his Soul Spell Matrix.

‘Approximately 6 more hours,’ Ausra’s voice responded cooly in his head, ‘After which you will be able to evolve into a Young Adult Myyr Dragon, and freely switch between your Salamander and Draconic forms, or even merge them, though this may not necessarily create a stronger form.’

Dorian nodded. It was the answer he expected, according to what he’d learned so far.

His stomach rumbled a second time. He stretched his body, feeling the muscles twitch as he got up.

It was time to go hunting.