17 17 (1/2)

Rainer stared dumbly at the unexpected scene in front of him. He nearly lost his grip on [Void Detection] at the shocking scene of a man apologizing for his centuries old son. Or rather a figure that old and powerful bowing to a 20-year-old. Not that said man would ever think Rainer to only be 20 years of age.

But scenes of Yarik being partly responsible for the all but dead Luna who laid beneath the Fae Queen's throne surged through Rainer's mind.

Operating his [Acting] skill, Rainer pushed back those thoughts as much as he could. Though he didn't drop his wariness for combat. His eyes flashed to the staff that had appeared in the [Master of Cursed Lightning]'s hand. With Yarik's father's right hand resting on it, the short staff appeared more akin to a cane. A single blue gem topped it, with greenish runic marks across the length of it, held in place by metal bindings, likely mithril.

[Staff of Storms: A short staff improving the power of Lightning and Wind. 75% General Improvement to Lightning Magic and Skills and Wind Magic and Skills.]

Rainer's eyes showed a bit of surprise at the percentage. Such a thing wouldn't be possible as a Trial reward. This was made by an Enchanter's hands.

Off to the side, Kara and Sarah stopped their pseudo-spar, and Sarah had long since restricted her Mana Pool as she always did. She appeared as a young teenage mage with no more than 30 Mana, albeit a bit wet from falling into shallow waters.

From the apology earlier, she connected this mage immediately to Yarik and the Skyborne from Rainer's story.

She thought it was a sad thing for both their worlds to have such organizations of mages. It made her brother's goals all the more appealing. Such organizations weren't all evil by any measure. Earth and its humans would be overrun with the supernatural if not for the Council. In fact, they had quite a clear policy of non-interference with the mundane.

”It is of no matter,” Rainer responded, doing his best to portray an uncaring Magus of a far higher station than the man in front of him, ”Nothing more than a bug following its instincts. How can it know whether it is biting a cow or a man capable of swatting it?”

If the statement bothered the older mage, he didn't show it.

Though, the lack of reaction confirmed a thought in Sarah's mind. She briefly tensed at the memories that went through her.

”That is good to hear. It would be most unfortunate if our fellow Mages from the North thought ill of us. Once more, I Yazir Van, offer my apologies for the actions of my son.”

While George was mostly tight-lipped with his encounter with Rainer, his son, while less knowledgeable of Rainer, was less discreet. By now the rumor of a powerful Foreign Magus from beyond the Forbidden North had already spread amongst the guild's younger generation and beyond.

And eventually, whoever knew of Yarik's battle, defeat, and near death spread that news as well. It wasn't long before the connection between those two events was realized.

Servants were always gossiping about their masters.

Rainer did nothing besides sitting back down from where he was watching Kara and Sarah spar. His legs hung over the pier. His posture didn't particularly matter when it came to [Void Call] or [Void-walking].

”Perhaps in the spirit of cooperation, you might share with me some simpler spells for dealing with ocean travel? My younger sister and I are most interested in a body of water so large. We have never seen one in person.”

”It can be arranged,” Yazir answered simply, before thinking of someone else who would easily agree to give the mage in front of him these spells.

It wasn't as if the foreign magus couldn't trade for such things from the Tideborne Guildmaster. That man was far too amiable for the position he held and even expressed interest in meeting the foreign Magus. Which made him a loyal ally and easy to manipulate, despite the former slave's insistence on blocking and destroying the slave trade. Though Yazir had to admit it was an effective measure, with all the Merfolk feeling safe enough to assist both Hunters and sailors alike. Even if that wasn't the man's intention with blocking the trade.

Even worse was that the man refused to prevent any Southern Continental children from reaching the Guilds that opposed the Tideborne or Skyborne. It took all Yazir had to even convince him to at least up the price in Magicite for the more talented ones instead.

Plus, the rumor of the foreign magus bringing freed human slaves to Grimlar Pass only made the Tideborne Guildmaster more eager.

Yazir made no moves from his original spot, further down the pier. His son's retelling of how this Mage killed Elijah, a powerful tier 2 Aura user, was quite frightening. Not that the mage was otherwise weak at long range, but no reason to offer him more options.

Another part of him focused on traveling with his lightning at a moment's notice.

Before Yazir could relay a request to meet elsewhere, the supposed younger sister hopped onto the pier

”Sarah Nvos,” She cheerily introduced herself with an outstretched hand. She knew what the momentarily confused look on Yazir's face was about, but decided to misinterpret it as something else.

”You just join hands and shake them once or twice. It's the greeting of our homeland. Don't let my brother over there bother you. He likes prodding at people, an unfortunate character trait. He meant nothing by what he said earlier. You have my apologies.”

Yazir sensed at her Mana Pool in a way that would be considered rude by Earth standards and yet finding neither passive magics nor anything hiding her true strength, he approached the girl that likely was the young teenager she appeared as.

Seeing the young girl's older brother not even glance in this direction, along with his careless attitude from earlier, an idea formed in the old mage's mind. Given too that a greater mage of such a degree allowed even a family member to speak to him in such a manner illustrated just how important this girl was to him, or perhaps their organization.

The two possible guards filled to the brim with Aura were another thing. The younger girl in the background went unremarked.

Yazir offered a friendly smile as he approached the girl. Seeming all the while a kind old man, he most certainly was not.

Damn it Sarah, what the hell?

Rainer thought. He knew she was strong, but there was such a difference in age and level that he had no idea what that sister of his was doing. Never dropping his use of [Void Detection] since the start, so long as Sarah wasn't by his side it didn't particularly matter where she was in his range.

He covered his eyes with [Arcane Sight] as he continued his nonchalant attitude and glanced over at the pair.

Reaching out her hand, Sarah tripped and fell into the older mage.

”I'm so sorry,” Sarah remarked.

”It is of no issue,” The mage responded. He had already checked her for enchanted items and found none. The girl herself was entirely unremarkable, apart from a beautiful appearance.

She was a perfect target. Even if they actually managed to retrieve her, the curse of his lightning would have already delved deep into her after only a few hours of proper use. Too weak was she to resist otherwise.

Removing it would be impossible! Even the former Serpent King could only watch his prized son die in agony even after he expended half his treasury to acquire Unicorn's blood and a prized alchemist.

But as quickly as the plan came, so too did it fade from his mind.

His goals did not lay here. He looked towards the 2nd Tier Dungeon and his chances at ascending to the legendary third tier. What was waiting a year for potential revenge?

Even more so, he knew too little. And it was highly likely the organization backing him would be present at the Dungeon meet. No, it was too great of a risk to act now, perhaps not ever. There was no long-term harm done to his son. Nor could he guarantee that those behind this mage could not make that same leap to the third tier he planned.

And not when his goals were so near. He was even prepared to work with the damned Wolf King in attacking the Dungeon. What was making nice with the Mages in front of him compared to that?

He was here to make peace and perhaps even see if he could gain another supporter for the Dungeon Raid, not to enact a poorly thought out hostage plan.

Yazir made to help Sarah regain her footing only to suddenly lurch in pain.

Hidden from his sight by her body, Sarah let out a mana-charged jab into the older mage's stomach. Only his enchanted robe saved him from likely fatal damage. But it didn't save him from the severing of his Mana Pool right after.

”What-,” Yazir exclaimed before a hand on his head forced him to kneel. And before he could react, he screamed out in pain. Sarah's eyes glowed bright blue with Mana as she stole from the largest Mana Pool yet. Power overflowed and a small part became her own, permanently.

Seconds passed as Yazir's ragged cries filled the air. His powerfully enchanted staff shuddered in his white-knuckled grip, but there was no relief to be found.

Matheus?!

Yazir thought in his pain-filled panic, before trying to remove the shackle on his Mana Pool as he had prepared for an eventual meeting with the Hunter's Guild master.

And yet, even with his attempts and amongst his cries, his Mana Pool decreased and decreased. His method of defense slowly dwindled.

Rainer had already Void-walked behind Sarah after her attack. He hadn't had a clue what Sarah was doing, but he only cared about making sure nothing happened to her. Before he could try to understand the situation, a loud boom of thunder resounded out.

A massive surge of magic followed as it erupted in the sky. A great vertical eye formed, a mix of an illusionary flesh and lightning.

The momentary burst of magic caused a minor disruption in Sarah's ability. With a desperate attempt, Yazir tried to jump away with lightning, channeling power through his staff.

He made it only a couple dozen feet towards the eye before adding in his own cursed lightning to the spell, unknowingly using the last of his Mana that lacked a pool. He fell dead moments later, his true Mana pool already removed and face pale, contorted in fear and pain.

The shock from losing his Mana Pool was too much for an ancient mage that consumed enough Magicite to keep himself alive as a small guild received as a whole.

The great eye crackled, its lightning now partially cursed.

And with a burst of power, it shot out towards the younger Nvos. A secondary power beyond the lightning and curse added in, bolstering the power.

With an outstretched hand, Rainer appeared in front of Sarah. [Arcane Awakening] surged to its maximum as a plating of Arcane froze him and covered his body just as a surge of lightning hit him head on. The power of [Arcane Awakening: Shield Mode] primed to defend its user.

[Skill Gained: Lightning Resistance lvl 1/10]

His powerful shielding only lasted for a moment, as the partially cursed and empowered lightning broke the barrier. The magic surged through his body, held back only by the [Arcane Invigoration] now cycling in contention.

The pain ravaged him as he desperately tried to find the mages casting this spell. Yazir had not come alone.

[Lightning Resistance has reached level 2]

Yet his [Void Detection] found none. And the detecting skill became distorted around the sheer power of the eye. A part of Rainer even felt the lightning trying to flow through him and lash out elsewhere, so he tightly clamped down on it.

But a flash of black fur interrupted his vision. And his pain.

Runic lines glowed as Kara both created a shield of Aura and clad herself to the brim, rapidly expending her massive resources.

Rainer wasted no time, [Void-walking] in rapid succession, trying to find the perpetrators. Gunthar in the meantime, rushed over as well, jumping in front of Sarah in his [Devil King] form as Kara lacked the same control to keep the spell from spreading.

Then, Rainer finally found his target. Nearly a mile away stood a Tier 2 mage in enchanted gray robes of the Skyborne.

Rainer, realizing his body refused to move, let out a furious and fast [Void Call], and the Tier 2 Mage lost his head in the twisting darkness of the Void.

Just as the Group Spell improved multiplicatively from added mages, assuming they had the needed skill, so too did it lose power with this one's death.

With the Group Spell collapsing, Rainer Void-walked all over the place, searching for the others, but they were gone in a flash of lightning. Hurrying back to his party, the [Archon] collapsed to the ground after confirming their safety. Kara was already covered in Luna's flame and seemed unaffected by the bit of cursed lightning that coursed through Rainer. He guessed it had all been used up on him.

Not passing out, Rainer was for once quite displeased at keeping his consciousness amidst the severe pain. But nonetheless used this opportunity to cycle both [Arcane Rage] and [Arcane Invigoration] to clear out the curse in its entirety.

Kara rushed over to him, no worse for the wear, having been fully healed by Luna as Rainer laid on the ground.

”Rainer! Are you okay?” The wolfkin kneeled over him. Luna already fluttered over, a comforting flame moving throughout his damaged body.

Rainer could only respond with a pain filled grin, not up to talking as of yet.

A few minutes later and seated on the ship, Rainer grimaced again as another jolt of pain went through his body.

Now shirtless, he saw the jagged scar lines that covered his entire body. And felt the curse that had once taken root.

Curses of the soul and curses affecting flesh both had different advantages and drawbacks. Soul curses were far deadlier, but souls were strong, resilient things. Especially if one had an exceptional amount of Aura or Mana. So long as one could overcome the curse itself on their soul, healing was a natural course, assuming the Soul hadn't been damaged in the same way it was when a True Sacrifice was done.

But curses of the flesh were the opposite. They were less deadly, sure, and easier to remove when it came to the curse itself, but healing the aftermath proved far more difficult.

The scars that victims of a lightning strike often took, at least on a small portion of their body, along with a redder skin from the sheer heat and burns now covered the entirety of Rainer's body. They were concentrated on the hand he outstretched towards the continuous bolt of lightning.

And both the resulting pain and damage seemed far too resistant to healing. Rainer could only grimace thinking of what could have happened if Yazir had been at full strength.

[Arcane Invigoration] plus [Arcane Rage] added to Luna's flame easily handled the minor amount of Cursed Lightning, but the damage just wasn't healing. At least not visibly.

Rainer with [Arcane Invigoration] monitored the progress, but found it to be so horribly slow he knew that at the very least his body would stay weak for several days.

Even more so…he recognized another power in the Group Spell. He wondered if that was a deadly secret of theirs that made them so strong in the first place. Divinity. Nothing more than the tiniest sliver, but powerful nonetheless. Were Group Spells, in fact, some sort of exchange with a higher power?

”Rainer I…” Sarah didn't know what to say. Either at her ambush not being as effective as planned or the fact that those other mages waited in ambush with such an insanely powerful spell. Eyes slightly reddening, she ran over to hug only to remember his injuries.

In this brief pause, she immediately noticed that no one else seemed worried at all. As if her brother hadn't just been nearly killed. Was she overreacting?

”Rainer I'm so sorry. I had no idea there was anyone else. If that had hit me instead…”

But to her surprise, Rainer didn't look angry at all.

”No apologies. Whether those other mages were reinforcements or a trap, we'll never know. If Yazir had been at full power when they attacked...” Rainer shook his head, ”even just the tiny additional Cursed lightning did this to me,” he added, waving at his body, only to grimace in pain.

Sarah nodded in response, everyone else's calm attitude influencing her. She went over in her head again why she felt such a sudden urge to see Yazir as an enemy needing to be killed. It was more than just his Mana Pool or the history he had with Rainer.

He apologized too easily. Brushed off insults too easily. Switched personalities too easily. Smiled too genuinely when she tripped. It reminded her of the first mage who had organized a kidnapping of her after her grandfather and mother disappeared. His sickly-sweet words of amiable conditions as she sat restrained. All of them were like that.

And she knew of the so-called level 25 2nd tier dungeon meet. If this man advanced to the third tier before Rainer, would he be so amicable? No. He'd kill him without restraint and probably keep her as a hostage in case whoever he thought was backing Rainer came looking.

Rainer frowned as he thought over the situation again. He had considered himself improved at handling his anger. And yet not acting against Yazir the moment he appeared could have led to his own death or Sarah's. Was he confusing inaction with managing his temper? Or had he made a correct decision that could have led to a bad outcome nonetheless?

Even more so, he wondered why Sarah had lashed out like that…her time on Earth, while he was uselessly abusing his [Sleep Learning] to live an easy life, what was Sarah doing? He sighed, knowing he could only ask.

And the Group Spell…

Rainer's idea of opposing the Mage Guild after experiencing one of their Group Spells felt further away.

Mages were horribly outnumbered on this world compared to Aura users. And while one versus one a mage often had the advantage, but the Aura users numbered too many, especially considering Demon-kind.

Mages should be at a disadvantage.

And yet exactly what allowed the Mage Guilds to rise and keep that power were the Group Spells developed and unique to the various guilds. They were not additive but multiplicative in power.Even Yazir's unknowingly final effort was enough to change the spell from being easily blocked by Rainer to life-threatening, curse notwithstanding.

Of course, the training required was equally demanding to its power. But with lifespans that surpassed centuries, so long as a Mage reached the 2nd Tier and had ample doses of Magicite, success with the spell was an eventual certainty.

It was exactly what made a relatively common tier 2 mage like George so valued. By himself, he wasn't particularly impressive even as a tier 2 mage. But so long as he was skilled enough to enact their guild's Group Spell, he became a valued force.

”A warning, or explanation of your magic, however,” Rainer added with a now pointed look fueled by the pain across his body, ”would have been appreciated.”

Sarah winced. The polite language definitely did not match the tone.

”I don't know…I didn't want you to think differently of me.”

It wasn't hard for Rainer to guess that her current Mana Pool was not a result of just training. Especially after the huge increase from stripping Yazir of his Mana Pool. At least he thought that's what happened. He still needed to discuss that with her. Both the screams and way Yazir died did not paint a pretty picture.

But rather than any sort of change in how he viewed his sister, he instead viewed himself as a useless older brother. If he hadn't been so weak would she have had to do any of that?

”Sarah…you've heard what has happened since I've come here. Let alone what I did on Earth.”

”I know but…I…”

Rainer smiled, ”I will admit having you back was a nice relief from the life I'm now leading. But I knew from the start you weren't the little sister from my fake memories. You should already know I think differently of you from the fact I got them back. And did anything change?”