Chapter 3 Chapter 3
“Hey, kid, I’m not going to teach you magic. Fighting the evil necromancer will only lead to death. Go home and take a nap.” I threw the hologram bracelet at her, and while she scrambled to catch it, I hid the real bracelet inside a small pocket under my clothes. It’s where I keep my valuables, including my magic book. I moved so fast, the kid was clueless.
When she grasped the fake bracelet and put it on, she looked at me again. Her gaze was innocent, the hope in her eyes making me nervous.
“Go! Stop bothering me. I’m not going to teach you any magic. Go away!” I talked mean but I had no confidence in my voice; I could feel my shakiness.
The kid didn’t give up, though. She grabbed my robe again.
“What do you want from me?” I used my scariest expression on her. Now that I had what I wanted, I needed to get away from her. If I wasted any more time here, things would fall apart. There’s no glory in lying to a young girl.
“Teach me magic . . .”
“I’ll turn you into a rabbit if you don’t let go, and then I’ll toss you to the wolves!” I said, trying to instill some fear in her. Her face was terrified, but she didn’t let go.
“Teach me magic . . .” She was nearly crying.
“What are you doing?” A fully-armed soldier was at the garden entrance. I relaxed; finally, there was help. As long as they could help me get away from her, they were welcome.
“Let go of the princess . . .” The soldier rushed over. It took me ten seconds to realize that the so-called princess was the girl clutching my clothes. She was very different from what I considered a princess . . . This little rascal was a princess?
“Did you see who’s grabbing whom?” I put up my hands and questioned the soldier, who didn’t realize his mistake. Maybe to him, anyone wearing a magician’s robe and a half-face mask was suspicious. If he felt that way, I would be wrong no matter what I said or did.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” He warily pointed his gun at me. My surrendering pose helped to disarm him, so at least he wasn’t jabbing his gun at me.
“Your king asked me to come here . . .” I answered. The girl didn’t let go; she was still clinging to my robe.
“Do not be rude! He’s a magician, and came on the king’s orders.” The voice came from behind me; my savior was here. He was slow, but finally here nonetheless. I was actually grateful to him—without his delay, I wouldn’t have gotten the huge blue gemstone.
The situation was resolved quickly and perfectly. The naive and annoying girl was forced to let me go and the soldier apologized to me. I walked inside the palace in a good mood from a sudden windfall, and I didn’t forget to touch the bracelet, to remind myself I had it.
Security inside the palace was strict, with guards every three or five steps, and every soldier was cautious and on-guard. The official who led me had to show the king’s orders at every station before we passed. I started to understand why it took him so long to come get me, considering it’d be hard to move with this many checkpoints.
The complicated walk finally ended when I was led into a room, where a dozen or so people waited. I could tell from their clothes that they were either magicians or priests, but I noticed one problem: They were all too young; some were hardly twenty-years-old. They were no more than magic apprentices at this age. There were young and powerful magicians out there but they weren’t here, since they all looked so anxious, despite their efforts to hide it. A powerful magician was always calm in his mind. Nervous tension was to be avoided at all costs during magic.
They checked me out, too, but no one made an overture. I supposed I looked young, too. I had to say that since I took care of my looks, and in spite of my travels, I looked young and handsome. My half-face mask also gave me an air of mystery. I wouldn’t be bragging to say that I could seduce anyone I wanted, barmaid or queen.
In order to know what I was doing in future negotiations with the king, I needed to know what had happened here. I was still clueless about what was required of me in this situation.
I soon learned everything; the fact that the stories came out so quickly showed me how immature these people were. I didn’t test their magic yet, but I doubted their level was anything better than an apprentice.
Apparently, a necromancer came to a mountain near this kingdom recently. Life was peaceful for a while, but the necromancer soon demanded that the king deliver the kingdom or he’d use force to get it (so many crazy people in this world!).
The king ignored the demand for a while, but the necromancer started a large-scale attack with destructive magic, destroying an entire district in the city (where I thought someone had dismantled the buildings). The king organized a troop to counter-attack the necromancer on the mountain, but the necromancer had already controlled a lot of monsters and evil beings, and thus was able to annihilate the whole troop.
More battles followed. I didn’t listen to all the details . . . In summary, before I arrived, almost all magicians and priest-like figures in this kingdom were destroyed by this necromancer, who was still threatening everyone.
They’re not asking us to fight the necromancer? I thought. The necromancer is what people called a magician who allied themselves with evil forces; they tended to have terrifying powers, and they were feared and rejected by humans and regular magicians. I liked adventure, but this may be more than I had bargained for.
Perhaps it was time for me to leave; I already had the bracelet, after all. I didn’t want to lose a chance to enjoy this gem. If I had to fight the necromancer, my partners would be these inexperienced and powerless magic students. It’d be a suicide mission!
As I was thinking of how to back out of this high-risk mission, the king arrived, accompanied by his idiotic daughter. The king was middle-aged, but he resembled an old man today.
“Everyone!” the king began courteously. His polite tone made me want to leave even more. In my experience, if a king was super polite, it meant one of two things: one, he was new at being a king, or two, the people he talked to were about to die—obviously it wasn't the former. I did want to hang around for a little longer, since I had stolen a priceless gem from his daughter. I couldn’t be that much of a bad guy.
“The fate of our kingdom is up to you young people!” He surveyed the group; while I wanted to hide, he still noticed me. This was the first time I regretted my outstanding looks. His gaze locked on me; perhaps I was the only one around here who didn’t look like an apprentice.
Chapter 3 Chapter 3
“Hey, kid, I’m not going to teach you magic. Fighting the evil necromancer will only lead to death. Go home and take a nap.” I threw the hologram bracelet at her, and while she scrambled to catch it, I hid the real bracelet inside a small pocket under my clothes. It’s where I keep my valuables, including my magic book. I moved so fast, the kid was clueless.
When she grasped the fake bracelet and put it on, she looked at me again. Her gaze was innocent, the hope in her eyes making me nervous.
“Go! Stop bothering me. I’m not going to teach you any magic. Go away!” I talked mean but I had no confidence in my voice; I could feel my shakiness.
The kid didn’t give up, though. She grabbed my robe again.
“What do you want from me?” I used my scariest expression on her. Now that I had what I wanted, I needed to get away from her. If I wasted any more time here, things would fall apart. There’s no glory in lying to a young girl.
“Teach me magic . . .”
“I’ll turn you into a rabbit if you don’t let go, and then I’ll toss you to the wolves!” I said, trying to instill some fear in her. Her face was terrified, but she didn’t let go.
“Teach me magic . . .” She was nearly crying.
“What are you doing?” A fully-armed soldier was at the garden entrance. I relaxed; finally, there was help. As long as they could help me get away from her, they were welcome.
“Let go of the princess . . .” The soldier rushed over. It took me ten seconds to realize that the so-called princess was the girl clutching my clothes. She was very different from what I considered a princess . . . This little rascal was a princess?
“Did you see who’s grabbing whom?” I put up my hands and questioned the soldier, who didn’t realize his mistake. Maybe to him, anyone wearing a magician’s robe and a half-face mask was suspicious. If he felt that way, I would be wrong no matter what I said or did.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” He warily pointed his gun at me. My surrendering pose helped to disarm him, so at least he wasn’t jabbing his gun at me.
“Your king asked me to come here . . .” I answered. The girl didn’t let go; she was still clinging to my robe.
“Do not be rude! He’s a magician, and came on the king’s orders.” The voice came from behind me; my savior was here. He was slow, but finally here nonetheless. I was actually grateful to him—without his delay, I wouldn’t have gotten the huge blue gemstone.
The situation was resolved quickly and perfectly. The naive and annoying girl was forced to let me go and the soldier apologized to me. I walked inside the palace in a good mood from a sudden windfall, and I didn’t forget to touch the bracelet, to remind myself I had it.
Security inside the palace was strict, with guards every three or five steps, and every soldier was cautious and on-guard. The official who led me had to show the king’s orders at every station before we passed. I started to understand why it took him so long to come get me, considering it’d be hard to move with this many checkpoints.
The complicated walk finally ended when I was led into a room, where a dozen or so people waited. I could tell from their clothes that they were either magicians or priests, but I noticed one problem: They were all too young; some were hardly twenty-years-old. They were no more than magic apprentices at this age. There were young and powerful magicians out there but they weren’t here, since they all looked so anxious, despite their efforts to hide it. A powerful magician was always calm in his mind. Nervous tension was to be avoided at all costs during magic.
They checked me out, too, but no one made an overture. I supposed I looked young, too. I had to say that since I took care of my looks, and in spite of my travels, I looked young and handsome. My half-face mask also gave me an air of mystery. I wouldn’t be bragging to say that I could seduce anyone I wanted, barmaid or queen.
In order to know what I was doing in future negotiations with the king, I needed to know what had happened here. I was still clueless about what was required of me in this situation.
I soon learned everything; the fact that the stories came out so quickly showed me how immature these people were. I didn’t test their magic yet, but I doubted their level was anything better than an apprentice.
Apparently, a necromancer came to a mountain near this kingdom recently. Life was peaceful for a while, but the necromancer soon demanded that the king deliver the kingdom or he’d use force to get it (so many crazy people in this world!).
The king ignored the demand for a while, but the necromancer started a large-scale attack with destructive magic, destroying an entire district in the city (where I thought someone had dismantled the buildings). The king organized a troop to counter-attack the necromancer on the mountain, but the necromancer had already controlled a lot of monsters and evil beings, and thus was able to annihilate the whole troop.
More battles followed. I didn’t listen to all the details . . . In summary, before I arrived, almost all magicians and priest-like figures in this kingdom were destroyed by this necromancer, who was still threatening everyone.
They’re not asking us to fight the necromancer? I thought. The necromancer is what people called a magician who allied themselves with evil forces; they tended to have terrifying powers, and they were feared and rejected by humans and regular magicians. I liked adventure, but this may be more than I had bargained for.
Perhaps it was time for me to leave; I already had the bracelet, after all. I didn’t want to lose a chance to enjoy this gem. If I had to fight the necromancer, my partners would be these inexperienced and powerless magic students. It’d be a suicide mission!
As I was thinking of how to back out of this high-risk mission, the king arrived, accompanied by his idiotic daughter. The king was middle-aged, but he resembled an old man today.
“Everyone!” the king began courteously. His polite tone made me want to leave even more. In my experience, if a king was super polite, it meant one of two things: one, he was new at being a king, or two, the people he talked to were about to die—obviously it wasn't the former. I did want to hang around for a little longer, since I had stolen a priceless gem from his daughter. I couldn’t be that much of a bad guy.
“The fate of our kingdom is up to you young people!” He surveyed the group; while I wanted to hide, he still noticed me. This was the first time I regretted my outstanding looks. His gaze locked on me; perhaps I was the only one around here who didn’t look like an apprentice.
