Chapter 99 Book 2 – Chapter 3: Old Faces

The castle’s new guardian was twenty feet tall with dark blue skin. A metallic half-mask covered its snout. Crimson eyes pierced through the portal as it emerged. Its right arm and left leg were mana prosthetics, permanent, translucent light-blue barriers in the shape of its missing limbs. On either side of its head were two massive, coal-black horns. It carried an enormous staff that appeared to have once been the pillar of an ancient building. 

Sen’s friends looked toward him nervously, aside from Mori and Ilm. If Sen hadn’t been the one to summon it, his allies certainly would have attacked already. 

Milim swallowed. “Where did you find a creature like that? It reminds me of the one from the Academy Wars.”

Sen exchanged a look with Mori. “That’s because it is.”

This creature was one Sen encountered shortly after coming to this world. First during his entrance exams, and later in the final round of the academy war within the dungeon.  

A minotaur. 

The demon unleashed by the Cult of Harpis had already defeated this poor creature by the time Sen and his allies arrived. To keep the demon from feeding on the minotaur to heal itself, Sen had taken it inside his temporal world. He thought it would die there. But when Mori later went to remove the corpse, he found the creature still breathing. Its resilience had inspired Mori, and he made the creature’s rehabilitation a pet project of his with Sen’s blessing. A project Mori had finally completed in secret during their travels from the academy to the Kingdom of Magic. 

Just in time for the creature’s new role. 

The minotaur was twice as large as it had once been, and its skin was a dark blue instead of brown. 

Milim shook her head. “You’re saying this is the same creature? But it feels so much more powerful than before.”

Sen smiled. It was. In fact, if it had a rematch with that deceased demon today, the minotaur would certainly win.

Mori beamed. “Well, that’s because I’ve been training him. During my time as Ragmár’s court magician, I researched various methods of protecting the kingdom. One such method was the taming and training of magic beasts. It was ultimately unnecessary back then, but when I saw this fine specimen clinging to life so desperately, I knew I had to try. It will follow our simple instructions to the best of its abilities.” With that, Mori looked at Sen.

Sen filled his voice with mana, and the minotaur’s gaze swung toward him.

“Protect this place. Destroy any who would come to harm it, be they man or monster. Protect it until I return.” 

The minotaur nodded. It surveyed the exterior of the castle quickly and then turned to push open the giant doors. It headed inside to begin its work of watching over the ruins of the kingdom in Sen’s stead. Minotaurs were naturally territorial creatures. It would instantly sense if any entered the ruins of its new domain. 

[Well, it’s not an island sanctuary, but living in a castle isn’t half bad!] 

With that finished, Sen turned to Dirke. “You asked me to speak with the leader of your organization. Where can we find him?” 

Dirke glanced at the others for a moment, as if wondering if he wanted to share that information so openly. But after a moment, he answered. “The coastal town of Carremine. That’s where our base is. It’s about a three-week ride from here.”

The faces of Milim, Samara, and Ilm all fell at that. Mori looked over at them and then glanced toward Sen. His friends had followed Sen to the ruins of the Kingdom of Magic to support him. They’d been on the road ever since. Now, could he really ask them to make another journey nearly as long with no rest? 

“We’ve been on the road for a while already. Are any towns nearby? I think my friends deserve a few nights of rest in actual beds,” Sen said, to the relief of the girls. Besides, Fawna had spent the better part of the last thousand years as a corrupted version of herself. Giving her a few days of downtime was the least he could do.

Dirke didn’t seem as disappointed as Sen expected he might. “Sure, the town of Vitree. It’s a trading town not far from here. Great inns, great food, and…oh.”

“Oh?” Sen asked.

Dirke rubbed the back of his head. “I was supposed to meet someone there today. One of my predecessors contacts. Kind of forgot in all the excitement. To be fair, I’ve only had the job for a day, but still. Zed is gonna be pissed.”

Zed must be the name of the cultist who had watched over the ruins before Dirke took over. When he’d first met Dirke, he told them that the man before him had retired the day prior. Which was a bit coincidental for Sen’s taste. 

“Well, how far is it from here?” Milim asked.

“A few days on foot. By carriage…not sure.” Dirke admitted. “Anyway, I need to go grab a few things. I set up camp in one of the nearby houses. I won’t be long, where should I meet you all?”

Sen looked to Mori, who took the hint immediately. “I’ll come with you. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the kingdom for old times’ sake, and that way I can show you to our carriage afterwards,” Mori said.

“Fine with me!” Dirke said. He walked to a nearby alleyway and paused before stepping out of sight. “If you can keep up, that is.” He disappeared around the corner. 

Mori chuckled. “Hah. If I can keep up, how unserious of him.” Mori walked casually after Dirke and rounded the corner. His eyes suddenly shot open. “What the…where’d he go?” He gritted his teeth, and Encapsulation suddenly exploded around Mori. He disappeared a second later, giving chase. 

With their work done here, Sen and the others made their way back to the carriage. On the way, he fell in beside Fawna to speak with her. “While I was in the vault, I got a notification about the Black Wolf Pack Leader. I prioritized the more major changes to my class, but I’m still curious. Did something happen?”

He’d left the pack leader and Xochi with Fawna while he and the others had headed deeper inside the vault. He doubted it was a coincidence that shortly after the System had informed him of a change to the creature. Fawna was the steward of all his other spirits. That had given her a great deal of experience in working with magic and creatures, even beyond her own specialties. But what had she done to the pack leader that warranted a System notification?

Fawna smiled. “Why don’t you summon him and find out for yourself?” she asked.

“Very well.” Sen did so, and the pack leader appeared next to him in a flash of black. It matched their pace. Milim and the others were walking ahead, but turned back when they noticed the burst of mana. Samara and Ilm returned to their conversation. But Milim fell back to join them. She walked beside the wolf and scratched its neck. 

When Sen and the others had first encountered the creature, it was during the second round of the academy war. Milim had been taken by the wolf and its mate, and ultimately Sen had used the artifact of the Stone Devourer to defeat the pack leader. The artifact had then unlocked the power to summon the wolf and its pack whenever Sen wished. During their journey to the ruins of the Kingdom of Magic, Milim had developed an affection for the creature. A mutual affection. The large pack leader wagged its tail like a dog at her attention. Sen smiled. 

But his smile turned into a frown when he sensed the change. He wasn’t the only one to notice. Milim tilted her head as well. “Something about him is different,” she said. 

The mana radiating from the creature was, in fact, different. In fact, it almost reminded him of Fawna’s. He stopped walking and turned to her. “He’s a spirit now. How? How did he become a full spirit?”

The wolf and its pack were mana beasts that his artifact had converted into pseudo-spirits. Unlike true spirits that were born of natural magic. But something had changed. He could tell the black wolf now had an aura of natural shadow magic. Did it have something to do with the Void Druid class it had received after consuming the book spirit of the Queen of Garden? Or was it the result of the druid artifact from the vault? 

Fawna eyed the wolf, who returned her gaze. “For a creature such as this one to receive a class, I knew it had to be special. The System has acknowledged it as more than a simple beast. It’s Void Druid class has an obvious affinity for shadow magic, and though you purged me of the corruption that plagued me all these years, I still had enough familiarity with it to recreate something similar. So I fed the wolf natural shadow magic. Or at least something close to it. His being reacted in kind, and he evolved into a true spirit. It’s likely his pack has evolved with him as well, though I can’t confirm that without seeing them,” she explained. 

Tutor, does this mean he’ll be compatible with the studious modifier? 

[Affirmative. The creature will be able to grow much stronger by gaining experience if you apply the spell modifier to it. Though I’m not sure whether that effect will spread to the pack as well.]

“That’s incredible. And what of the artifact?” Sen’s brow furrowed. “Wait, now that I think about it, it wasn’t in its case when Mori and I cleared the vault.” 

“Why don’t we have a demonstration?” Fawna beckoned around them. “Here’s as good a place as any.”

The Black Wolf turned to Sen for permission. 

He nodded and granted it. 

[The Black Wolf Pack Leader has activated the ability Forest of Shadow.] 

A shadow appeared in the path, cutting off Samara and Ilm. They both looked down in surprise, and then turned to look at Sen and the others who had stopped walking. From the shadow, a tree sapling slowly grew. As that sapling matured, new shadows formed and additional saplings rose. Eventually, a circle of trees had completely encircled them in the streets of the kingdom. The trees’ branches stretched and connected, and as they did, all light within the circle faded until nothing remained but darkness. 

It left them completely blind.

Milim screamed in surprise at something. Samara cursed. “Something grabbed my ankle!” She called out, and Sen heard her sword slice through the air. 

He felt a hand rise from the ground and grip his ankle as well. 

“Enough.” 

His mana wiped the spell out of existence in an instant. The wolf was bound to him, so overriding its spells was a simple matter. But Fawna’s point was clear.

The wolf would be far more useful than it had been before. He’d been reunited with the steward of his spirits for less than a day, and already she’d demonstrated why out of all his spirits, she’d been the one he’d chosen for the role. 

“Excellent work, Fawna.” 

He looked up and saw the Black Wolf Pack leader staring at him expectantly. In its mouth was the druid’s staff, an artifact from the vault. The wolf carried it like a stick. 

[The artifact is bound to the pack leader now. He can summon it and dismiss it as he pleases.]

The wolf opened its jaws and dropped the stick on the ground. Sen raised a brow. 

When Sen didn’t move, the wolf leaned forward and nudged the stick with its snout.

That was when Sen realized what it wanted. “Wait...you aren’t serious, are you? It’s a magic artifact.”

The pack leader whined.

Milim giggled. “Awh, come on. Play with him!”

Samara crossed her arms and nodded. “It’s only right. He did show us his magic after all. He deserves a treat.”

Ilm nodded in agreement. 

Sen sighed with closed eyes. He lifted the staff with his mana and grabbed it. He wrapped Aggression around himself to increase his strength, and then he flung a magic artifact as far as he could. It flew over the ruins of houses and businesses and landed in the distance.

The wolf didn’t move a muscle. 

“Seriously?” Sen asked it. “Fine, go fetch.” 

The wolf took off in a burst of speed, its tail wagging the entire way.

When they arrived, Mori and Dirke were already waiting at the carriage for them. Mori was inspecting the carriage to make sure everything was as it should be. Dirke wore a serious expression on his face. When he saw them, Dirke looked up at Mori. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?” he asked seriously. 

Mori raised a brow. “Tell them what?” 

Dirke sighed and looked at Sen. “I’m sorry, guys. It seems that while you were gone, something ate your horses. They weren’t here when we arrived.” 

Sen and the others exchanged a look. A moment later, the girls exploded into laughter. Fawna was just as confused as Dirke was. Sen stifled a smile. The carriage Zeke had provided them had a mechanism built in to summon horses made of mana. Apparently Mori hadn’t informed Dirke, and the cultist had thought the fact that their horses were gone meant something had eaten them.

“What?” Dirke asked incredulously. “Were the horses that bad?” 

The girls laughed harder. 

Sen gestured to Mori, who finally put Dirke out of his misery. He placed a hand on the seal, and two large horses appeared, conjured by Mori’s mana. 

Dirke jumped at the sudden deep blue horses beside him. “My god…they’ve returned as ghosts.” 

The poor man didn’t seem to be joking. Sen gave everyone a moment to collect themselves and then climbed aboard the wagon and into the driver’s seat. “Alright everyone, onto Vitree. Let’s see what this trading town has in store for us.”

“Oh, on the way out, I’ll introduce you all to some of the lizards outside!” Dirke said excitedly. “I feed them from time to time. There’s one I’m particularly fond of. I call him Jeb. He usually runs right up to people.” Dirke frowned. “Actually, now that I think about it, did any of them come up to you when you first arrived?” 

Sen did his best not to visibly react. 

“Mori, why don’t you show Dirke the inside of the carriage! I’m sure he wants to see it!” Milim said quickly. She shoved the two of them toward the door.

Dirke looked around in confusion. “Uh, okay? Sure.” 

“Hey! Why are you pushing?” Mori cried out.

She slammed the door behind them and shot a look at Sen. “You melted Jeb!” she whispered frantically. 

Sen threw his hands up. “I didn’t know it was friendly. You saw him! He looked like he was attacking!” When they’d first arrived at the ruins of the kingdom, purple horse-sized lizards had run up to them. It was only natural to assume they were hostile, so Sen used a new spell on one of them. It turned out that may have been a mistake. 

Samara eyed the two of them and then burst into laughter. “I’m so telling him. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he realizes his pets a pile of goo.”

“Silent Sphere Maxima,” Sen said. 

Samara tried to speak, but words didn’t come out. “Hey! Boss! This isn’t funny! Boss!” she mouthed. 

[Hah! It’s much funnier when I’m not the one getting silenced.]

Adamantine Mind Maxim. 

Sen turned his attention back to the reins of the carriage as it pulled out of the kingdom. 

Now they were off to Vitree. 

This would only be the second major town they’d visited since coming to this world and enrolling at Brightsail Academy. He wondered what adventures might wait ahead.