Chương 10

Vaela's appearance was a mess. Every part of her was covered in loose dirt and sand, from her hair to the same long black skirt she'd worn at the library. If someone saw her now, they wouldn't think of a competent mage, but a shaken young girl. As a mage, however, appearances had very little to do with one's skill. If anything, the dirt on her clothes was a testament to the battle against four mages she'd just lived through. I'd looked like her plenty of times after just practice sessions.

"No, I'm not here for kidnappings," I said.

"I don't know if I'm your ally, but I don't want any conflict." She took another deep, stressed breath.

"I was just trying to walk home. Is my damn pink core really that sought after?"

"Your first time getting hunted?" I asked.

"Second… But that was my first time almost dying. I guess I can't walk around alone anymore. I'm not really a combat mage…" She remained close to the door, regarding me warily.

"Technically… I would need to arrest you right now. I'm definitely not capable." No wonder she's stressed, I thought. Sounds like she isn't a mage who hunts others.

"Would you arrest me if you could?" I asked. She didn't have an immediate answer. After consideration, a hesitant, "No," came out.

"You saved me. The least I owe you is a favor…" Well, good enough. I thought of what to ask her. This whole thing had come as a surprise. I should have prepared questions for a situation like this. Vaela spoke first, suspiciously saying, "About your last spell… Did you burn mana to give yourself an aura?"

"The void effect was a pure scare spell, yes," I said.

"I'm just glad I cast my barrier in time to save you. I'm sorry I couldn't save the officer."

"You did all you could. That was a good trick. I can try to reward you, if you want? That could be hard. I'm not very influential in the grand scheme of things. Do you have any licenses as a mage?"

"No," I said.

"I'm not a violent gang member, but illegal, sure. Is that a problem?"

"It's a problem for my family," Vaela said.

"You know that we fight against mages." Her head wandered low again.

"So… thank you for saving me anyway."

"I didn't save you with any benefits in mind. I was walking by and happened to be in the right place. You were out of mana and helpless with a gang about to steal your core. I couldn't watch that." Vaela studied my face. I tried to look stern but not threatening. I didn't necessarily want material benefits from her; even if I abandoned all morals and killed her, her core upgrade was the wrong color. I could have killed the gang leader for his crimson core, but never Vaela.

"If there's something I want," I said, "it's answers. I've heard Ellaris is evil, yet I just witnessed the supposed savior gang attempt to kill a mage that ran out of mana. So what's going on here? Who should I side with?" The question prompted another stressed sigh out of her.

"We're just trying to keep the city safe. Except, it looks like I make any street unsafe by association just by entering. That was a coordinated attack on me for my mana core." Hearing her first and last sentence, Vora's memories warned me with alarm bells. He didn't believe Vaela in any way shape or form. He also insisted he had proof that Vaela was lying, yet the details of said proof refused to materialize. How complicated… My doubtful eyes were probably making her uncomfortable.

I turned my attention to a large thermos bottle and tested if anything was inside. To my pleasant surprise, the metal was hot to the touch, half full of liquid. Opening it, I smelled a rich, roasted chocolate-like scent.

"Want coffee?" I asked. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Sure… And I should call back up here."

"No, not yet. I don't want any more attention on myself. If possible, I'd like you to keep this a secret." Vaela stopped her hand just before pressing a button on the wall. That must have been a signal of sorts.

"I would like to stay anonymous, but I'll ask you for your opinion," I said.

"Should I bring you home and take credit and ask for rewards, or am I better off leaving?" She eyed me back for a moment.

"If safety is your concern, and you're not trying to steal anything from anyone, Asterra has nothing to offer for mages. I can only recommend leaving." I poured the coffee into mugs and offered her a cup. She hesitantly accepted it.

"In that case, I'd like you to take credit for pushing the gang back. Or tell them that an unidentified mage did it. Don't mention me at all." Vaela nodded.

"Sure. I can do that. If you want to make an exit, you should do that now. Someone might enter any second. If it's my sister, she'll take you in." That Vora agreed with. There were two mage sisters in the Ellaris family, and Vaela was known as the lesser of two evils. Her sister would definitely arrest me on sight.

"You don't seem evil to me," I told Vaela.

"We're not evil," Vaela said.

"Ellaris is not… perfect. But we're not evil. Even if the city likes to blame any problems on us." What I've seen makes me believe that, I thought. So why does Vora hate you so much? I sipped my coffee. What could I still ask her? I hadn't exactly prepared for this. She seemed to believe her family wasn't bad, or that their goals were ultimately good. She hadn't been out hunting anyone. It was the opposite. I was still missing a lot. I needed to find the truths Vora had supposedly found out.

I asked, "Where's the gang's hideout? The Survivors of Ellaris. Where are they hiding?" She blinked at me.

"Why?"

"I'll consider paying them a visit." She, in turn, seemed to consider whether she should reveal anything.

"If I knew that, they'd be caught already. They must know an entrance underground that we don't." I nodded.

"Thank you. Can I contact you later somehow? Privately, without other eyes seeing my messages." The look in her eyes wondered why I'd need to do that.

"I read all letters, but those get seen by butlers," she said.

"You can talk to me at the library. I'm often alone there." At the mention of the library, her head suddenly perked up at me.

"Hold on. You're the mage from there, no?" I smirked.

"You saw me?"

"I knew something was weird with your core," she said.

"It's like nothing was there. Your core was just an empty reflection."

"But you didn't come after me."

"I wasn't certain about what I felt," she said.

"And besides, we were in a library. I'm not going to chase mages in there. The library should be a safe space." That put a troubled look on her face.

"Gods, if they attack me in the library…"

"They won't," I said.

"I'll meet you there if I need to talk. Is that okay?" She nodded.

"Thanks for saving me… You sound like a good person. I'll still recommend leaving the country. It's not safe for mages. Or maybe you could become an officer? You look Asterran. I'll recommend you a position if you want to."

"Thanks for the offer." I smile.

"But don't mention me. Let's hope this all gets sorted out." I saw the hints of a smile spreading to her. She sipped her coffee.

"See you," I said to no response as I exited the building out to a back alley. Calmly, I walked straight out, back toward home. My outfit had survived, remaining clean enough to enter the nicer streets. A witness or two had probably already seen me bring Vaela to the outpost. A few more that saw me walking in the area wouldn't change much. My hope was that she'd cover my tracks well enough. She suggests leaving the country, huh? I thought. Vora knew leaving would come with problems.

Not because Asterra kept citizens inside. More so, the neighboring countries were strict about who was let in and for which reasons. The country itself was named after the capital city, Asterra. That practice was quite common here, especially for smaller countries that were known for one city. Asterra was at the southern end of the continent, Port Aster being the final district before a vast ocean. A hundred miles east was the border to Levinad—the largest and most populated country in the world.

Up north, our border was connected to another small country called Gondorra: a militaristic powerhouse and a strong ally to Asterra, who commanded a much more powerful army of mages than we did. Levinad's border continued above Gondorra, wrapping around them all the way to Asterra's western side. Essentially, Asterra and Gondorra were tiny blobs on a map full of Levinad's land, with Gondorra's insane military of mages being the only reason we hadn't been conquered yet. Vora didn't think much of either country.

He never had intentions of leaving. He did, however, know that moving countries required a lot more money than I had right now. Laws regarding magic were less harsh outside, but it wasn't like I could just walk in as an unauthorized mage and start a new life. Going forward, my best option would be to earn a fortune in Asterra, evolving my core here. I already knew what my next goal would be. As with all arguments, it was important to hear both sides before coming to a decision.

I recalled the feeling of the evolved crimson core the gang member had wielded, and I thought I had an idea to find the dungeon.