The next couple of weeks were full of nice accomplishments. First of all, Valar managed to learn glade, and thus started his work with the spellform Healing Glade. Even though the spellform proved to be quite difficult, he felt that he was pretty close to casting it as well.

  Where the Edict: Restoration spellform had been hard because of its finicky nature, Healing Glade was just hard in general. It required interlocking the six different runes in a fairly complex manner, even using two glades and two restorations to make up the spellform. That meant that the total number of runes for the spell was eight, a respectable level of complexity for someone learning their first ‘complex’ spell.

  In the end, it took him two weeks more to be able to finally cast the spell. The whole process made him only appreciate Carla’s skill as a dedicated mage more, since she could cast spells like Winter’s Bloom—a highly complex spell that used ten entirely different runes in its casting—during an actual fight. The fact that she was able to cast it at all was impressive to say the least!

  Casting Healing Glade was an interesting experience. After the grueling minutes of preparing the spellform, he was finally able to breathe out in relief. A ring of soft green light spread out from him, creating an area of healing life magic in Felicia’s office.

  “Do you feel alright? How’s the mana expenditure?” Felicia asked, jotting down notes as Valar channeled his spell.

  “Manageable…” Valar mused. “I think it would exhaust me completely in just about five minutes.”

  “Middling efficiency, but good for a first casting, considering that you’re at the very start of bronze rank. Both the efficiency and your ability to hold mana will increase as you progress, so you’ll be able to hold it for significantly longer or output mana faster as you progress through the rank. At the end of the day, the spell is still meant for early bronzer rankers, so it’s better if you learn a more complex spell later in the rank. You can turn it off now.”

  He let out a small sigh of relief as he finally let the spellform dissipate, and the soft green light melted away. “Thank the gods that’s over. The edict spell was bad enough, but this…”

  “You still have some spells to learn, don’t you?” Felicia chuckled. “Self-healing and body enhancement, am I right?”

  This time, Valar’s sigh was full of frustration. “And only three months of time. The self-healing spell should be fine enough, as I think I’ve finally found an okay replacement for Berserker Regeneration, but the body enhancement… There’s a couple of extremely tricky runes that I need to learn.”

  “First of all, let me remind you that the three month limit you have is entirely self-imposed. The academy would let you study there for years. The tuition is around 100 gold, you know? Secondly, which spell did you land on?”

  Ignoring Felicia’s words of wisdom regarding his obvious stupidity, Valar focused on her question instead. “I picked Survival of the Fittest.”

  Predictably, his tutor arched her eyebrow in obvious disapproval. “Decided to forego efficiency completely then? I would say that you’re being stupid, but you have at least some explanation for the choice, right?”

  Valar nodded firmly. “I went over my use-cases for self-healing and adjusted them to match my current situation.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that since I have Edict: Restoration, I really don’t need a catch-all self-healing spell. For general self-healing, the restricted spell is almost always enough. Since it targets the most injured parts of my body and it’s pretty efficient, I only really need the heightened potency self-healing spells provide.”

  “Why not Troll’s Blood then? It abandons efficiency in the name of potency as well, if I remember correctly.”

  “The effect is more gradual, and it retains some of that catch-all nature. It’s meant to be used during a battle to heal all the time. Survival of the Fittest on the other hand…”

  Felicia shook her head ruefully. “If Troll’s Blood abandons efficiency, would it be right to say that Survival of the Fittest practically worsens it on purpose?”

  “Pretty much!”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  …

  Three months.

  To some, it was a long, long time. To a student trying to learn three new spells, two of which were full of new runes, and complete his courses, it was a hard task. Still, the one who had set that deadline was Valar himself, so he had no one to whine at. That was good; whining would’ve wasted his time anyway.

  Learning the last necessary rune for Survival of the Fittest, the aptly named survival, was done in two weeks. For such a complex rune, Valar’s time was absolutely ridiculous, but for his standards, it was too slow. The clock towards his planned departure kept ticking, and the world around him moved as well.

  The first thing to signify time’s endless march forward was Elizabeth’s departure. Having learned all the necessary spells for an iron rank fire mage in addition to a few extra ones, she was ready to leave for her internship. Such a momentous occasion was enough to drag Valar away from the library, as even in his constant state of focus, he recognized that his friend wanted a celebration. The Wendir scion’s family was of course in the capital, so she wouldn’t have been entirely alone without Zeke and Valar, but did that really matter? She obviously wanted them to join in, so they did so.

  Comparing Elizabeth’s celebration to Valar’s own around seven months ago would have been a fruitless endeavour. Where Valar had enjoyed a nice meal at the Iron Owl with his abstract mage friend, the fire mage held a celebration befitting a noblewoman. Valar and Zeke were invited to attend her graduation ceremony within the Wendir estate, and so were tons of other people.

  Her classmates, a ridiculous amount of her relatives and bronze rank adventurers that were looking for fire mages were all invited to join the festivities. Walking towards the estate with Zeke, Valar spoke. “I wonder if Helen put up an actual contract to attend the party? A lot of adventurers seem to be heading the same way as us.”

  “Probably a notice or something,” Zeke shrugged. “You’re the adventurer here; I don’t know shit!”

  Valar cringed a little at Zeke’s language. “We’re heading into a noble estate, remember? Swearing there is probably a bad idea.”

  “And so are about ten bronze rank teams,” the abstract mage scoffed. “Do you think I’ll be the only one to say a bad word in that company?”

  Looking at the people walking ahead of them, Valar had to agree. The party of adventurers, while clearly dressed in finer clothes than normal, still looked quite rough. The mages were also still in their robes, as apparently the dresscode admitted them. Makes sense… The one who is being celebrated wants to act as the mage in an adventurer party. She’s probably dressed in her robe as well.

  Valar was also wearing his mage’s robe, as was Zeke… kind of. Zeke’s robe certainly looked like a mage’s robe, but as it didn’t have the runes that made it usable by spellcasters, it wasn’t one in the true sense of the word. Based on what Zeke had told him, abstract mages were free to wear basically anything they wanted, as they didn’t use runes. The ones who used the robes were the ones that wanted to be seen as casters, just like any other mage. Valar’s friend belonged firmly in that group.

  In normal circumstances, Valar and Zeke would’ve been forced to stop at the end of the line stretching out from the estate gates. Being Elizabeth’s personal invitees, they seemed to have some extra privileges, however. As soon as they stopped, a middle-aged man, seemingly in his 50s, walked up to them.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Would I be right to assume that you two are Valar and Zeke Forger?” he asked politely.

  “That you’d be,” Zeke extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Edmund Wendir, the current caretaker of this fine residence,” the man with salt and pepper hair smiled at Zeke, shaking his hand. He moved his gaze to Valar, shaking his hand as well.

  “Nice to meet you, Edmund,” Valar shook the man’s hand. “Is there some reason for why you picked us out from the group?”

  “You two are young mistresses’ personal invitees, alongside some others. I’ve been busying myself picking you out from the other visitors, and you two are the last ones to arrive.”

  “Oh, are we late?” Valar’s question came out with a bit more panic than he intended.

  “Gods, no!” Edmund chuckled politely. “It’s just that the others were way too early.”

  “That’s good,” he let out a relieved sigh. “Lead the way, Edmund.”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  It was rare when Ophelia’s cruel teachings on manners got some use, but visiting a noble estate was definitely one of them. Being reminded of the matron of course sucked, but the hurt was lessened by some of her lessons getting actual use.

  Still, knowing the ‘right’ ways to act didn’t mean Valar could actually use that knowledge effectively.

  As Edmund finally left the pair on their own, Valar and Zeke were left standing at the edge of a positively opulent hall that was swarming with nobles. The magical lights upon the golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit the room in a soft light, leaving the very corners of the room to the shadows. The sound of dress shoes clicking against the white marble floor acted as a background for the talking members of nobility.

  Valar was a bit surprised to find out that the adventurers who attended the party didn’t seem to group up, opting to mingle with the nobility instead. It did make some sense when he thought it over; many adventurers were nobles themselves, so seeing a lot of them talking with other members of nobility shouldn’t have been a surprise.

  “Buffet?” Zeke’s sudden question broke him out of his musings and dragged a smile onto his face.

  “I can’t see it over the people. Does it look good?”

  “Really good…”

  It was time to enjoy the rewards of befriending a noblewoman!

  …

  Saying that noble fare was ‘good’ would have been an understatement, bordering on an insult. The bite-sized offerings of the buffet were all tasty enough to steal, although neither Valar or Zeke were stupid enough to try…

  “Have you tried the crab puffs yet?” Zeke asked, standing the absolute minimum distance from the buffet to be considered polite. Being polite was important in noble society, after all.

  Valar stood next to him, sampling a bite of slow-braised grond tail with red wine sauce. It was served on top of a thin slice of sourdough bread, making the treat handheld like many others lining the buffet. “Not yet. Where is it? Ohhhh, this one is good too…”

  “The grond tail?” the energetic mage asked. “It was divine, I tell you, divine!”

  “Divine, eh?”

  A gruff voice made both of the young mages whip their heads around. I think I recognize the voice, but I can’t put my finger on it. Who is it?

  Valar’s eyes told him the answer to his question as soon as his eyes found the origin of the voice. Red hair with a full, matching beard, red eyes and a toothy smile brought only one name up in his head: Adrien Wendir, the false phoenix.

  And his newest friend’s father, of course.

  “I see you’re enjoying the food. Good, good, these stuck up brats of the noble houses don’t seem to have the balls to go and grab some,” Adrien joked, his tone loud enough to be heard by the nearby partygoers. He didn’t seem to care about their glares, his smile as infectious as ever.

  “Yes, Mr. Wendir,” Zeke nodded enthusiastically. “The crab puffs are my favorite, but Valar here seems to be enjoying the grond tail too.”

  “Ah, I see,” Adrien nodded back, seemingly interested in Zeke’s opinion of his house’s food. “You’re the abstract mage my wife keeps yammering about, am I right? Zeke, was it?”

  The abstract mage in question raised his thumb, then pointed at Valar. “Yup, and that’s Valar!”

  “I know, we’ve met,” Adrien turned his gaze towards Valar. “Your scars seem to have worsened. Did you find another beast to bathe in alchemical fire?”

  Now… Even the most oblivious person on Aldun could have figured out that Adrien’s voice was full of sarcasm. Valar was nowhere near the most oblivious person around,so he sensed the suspicion mixed into the fire mage’s tone as well. The funny thing that he had realized in the past five and a half months was that he could just… ignore it.

  He could lie, and if he was called out for it, he could lie some more. The interest of strangers only went so deep, after all.

  “This time it was bandits, but yeah,” he smiled up at the gruff redhead. “I’ve taken a liking to the stuff, so I tend to carry a bottle around when I’m adventuring.”

  “A-ha…” Adrien nodded slowly, clearly not buying Valar’s lie. It was no issue, however. As long as the false phoenix didn’t know the actual truth, everything would be fine. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re enjoying the festivities. My dear daughter will be showing up any second now… Oh, there she is!”

  The room quieted down as Elizabeth walked down the elegant staircase, waving to the guests with a relaxed expression. “Welcome, all! I’m truly glad that so much of you have arrived, and I hope you’re enjoying the fare my house has provided.”

  Sounds of agreement could be heard all around, although Valar was pretty sure most of them hadn’t even touched the buffet table. The majority of guests were holding glasses of wine in their hands, so that was something, at least.

  “She’s really handling herself well, isn’t she?” Zeke whispered.

  Adrien leaned down, whispering as well. “She is! Elizabeth is so much better at this than I ever was!”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be there?” Valar couldn’t help but ask, pointing towards the rest of Elizabeth’s core family. Her mother, sister and a pair that looked quite a bit like they could be Adrien’s parents stood to the side of the stairway.

  “Hush,” Adrien bent his knees, sinking below the mass of heads. “Don’t speak too loudly or they’ll spot me. I’m trying to hide here…”

  “Father, I would appreciate it if you could come here as well!” Elizabeth pointed down at Adrien directly from the stairway. “I can see you just alright from here.”

  “Darn,” Adrien got up, laughing good-naturedly. “I was just testing your senses, since you want to be an adventurer and all..”

  “Mmmmh…” Elizabeth’s tone was all but understanding. “Can you come here so we can actually start?”

  “Yeah…”

  …

  The ceremony itself wasn’t anything that special. Elizabeth’s grandparents congratulated her, her parents gave her some kind of medallion—something related to house politics—and her sister placed a golden tiara upon her head. It was all very traditional, filled with applause and quite boring. Regular noble stuff.

  Valar spotted a certain someone walking out from the group of Elizabeth’s relatives. Konrad Wendir was clearly quite drunk, and based on his glare, he was going to do something stupid.

  The hot-blooded man pointed at him, slurring his words. “You… You’re the one who got me kicked out… You fucking common slime…”

  Valar was put in a tough spot. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure on how he should act, meeting the disgraced Wendir scion in the party. The possibility had crossed his mind when he had gotten the invitation, but he hadn’t thought that Konrad would stoop so low as to cause problems in Elizabeth’s party.

  I should’ve expected him to be drunk; Elizabeth already told me that he’d been drinking a while back… Now, how should I handle this?

  Violence was obviously a no-go. Even if Konrad was the clear aggressor, Valar wouldn’t want to cause such a scene in his friend’s party. I could just take what he throws at me head on. I doubt Konrad has gotten much stronger, and his inefficient Flaming Bolt didn’t do much the last time he threw it at me… No, that would just cause a scene as well.

  The other partygoers, save for a few keen-eyed adventurers, hadn’t noticed Konrad’s angry approach just yet. He wasn’t exactly yelling or breaking stuff quite yet, but as his steps got closer and closer, Valar’s anxiety rose. Why does this pathetic man keep pestering me? Why can’t he just leave me alone?

  Just as Valar was about to call out for help, not ready to soil his own hands, his help arrived without asking. Many of the Wendir family nobles attending Elizabeth’s party weren’t active adventurers or soldiers, but there were a few exceptions. One of those exceptions arrived right in front of Elizabeth’s cousin’s feet in a flash of red hair and billowing robes.

  “And what do you think you’re doing, brat?”

  Adrien Wendir was a big man. His tendency to mix magical and physical might when fighting required a considerable amount of natural strength to enhance through spells, and it showed. Towering over Konrad—whose name was most likely unknown to the man—he looked positively monstrous.

  Valar couldn’t see Konrad’s face, but his wavering tone of voice told him plenty. “Elder, I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”

  Standing only a few meters away from the confrontation, Valar looked around himself. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the small bubble of strife within them, averting their gazes and continuing their lighthearted discussion like nothing was happening.

  “You probably expect me to not even know of your existence, Konrad,” Adrien’s low growl brought Valar’s attention back to the pair. “But I do. To be honest, for a long while, I didn’t, but your name came up when I was talking with my daughter a while back. Elizabeth mentioned that you had attacked a student at the academy… Would Valar be that student, pray tell?”

  After a silent nod from Konrad, Adrien continued. “You’re going to leave this party.”

  Nod.

  “I’m not going to see you again.”

  Nod.

  “You’re going to leave the young life mage behind me alone.”

  “But-.”

  And just like that, the pair was gone, nowhere to be seen.

  …

  “I’m so glad to see you two,” Elizabeth rushed to Valar and Zeke just as the party was coming to a close. “Sorry that I wasn’t able to see you two earlier. Family members and adventurers who wanted me to join them were practically swarming me all evening long! I hope you two still enjoyed the party!”

  “Yup,” Zeke raised a shaky thumb. “It was a good celebration!”

  “Definitely,” Valar joined in, trying to hold a straight face in order to save Elizabeth from the drama of the evening. “It was fun. Did you find a team to adventure with just yet?”

  “I got invitations from a couple of good teams, but before I can properly join them, we’ll hold interviews and the like. The normal stuff.”

  “Yeah… The normal stuff,” Valar coughed.

  It seems like my process of joining a team was anything but…

  He gathered himself before speaking again. “I wish you good luck with your adventures, Elizabeth! Remember to have fun while I coop myself up in the library!”

  “That I will!”

  It was time to finish his damn studies and get back to adventuring as well!