The Humble Noble Wanderer

Solomon took advantage of the smoke screen to place his hand on Leo"s back. Leo felt a wave of void magic permeate his being. The magic circle on Solomon"s hand was of the ground attribute, yet to Leo"s surprise, with Solomon"s palm on his back, he felt the movements of each mechanism inside of the magic circle, and he began to understand what Solomon said about "When the way becomes void: the void becomes the way." "I see!" Leo said to himself, "Void magic is the origin of all magic! If one knows void magic, they know every magic attribute!"

Solomon continued to operate the magic circle. Leo then felt another sensation. Pain coursed through his brain.

Leo screamed.

Solomon said, "Bear with it."

Leo continued to scream from the pain that a.s.saulted his brain. His mind clouded with information. Leo saw images of a young man wearing a crown. He saw the young man use earth magic, like Solomon did. The young man was surrounded by countless women, riches, and large pillars that supported the castle, he and Solomon saw when they approached Ahab"s city.

A thought ran through Leo"s mind, "Did this city used to belong to Solomon?"

The image of a book, a black book with the t.i.tle "The Five Rings," appeared. He saw the young man spend hours on the book. He neglected riches, he neglected the advancements of women, and he neglected the fame and honor he once enjoyed in the symbolic form of a castle. All of these images fluttered through the mind of Solomon.

The young man looked familiar. Leo hadn"t digested the information that poured inside his brain, but he noticed that the portions pertaining to ground magic became clearer and more defined as time went on. He could understand advanced earth spells he had never dreamed of using before. Leo"s element was fire. All Lionsmanes used fire magic. It was in their blood. But now, He felt it, a camaraderie with the element of earth. It wasn"t innate like fire, but overall, he understood the element.

Then, Leo felt freed. All the pain departed from his mind, and he felt the world come alive. He sensed the movements of the elements. He felt fire the most and felt earth was the second strongest. He sensed the flow of mana in living things. He felt the hardy will of gra.s.s and the will to rage from fire. He felt earth that surrounded every living being, and he felt the mana of life course through every human being within the radius of one mile. He felt three elderly people die. he sensed the birth of five babies. He felt the fragile life force of the sick, and he felt the surging life force of children. He felt the world around him ebb and flow, and then Leo shuddered.

He sensed auras of destruction steal life force from healthy human beings. He felt demons lurking, hiding behind corners and in the night. They surrounded the inn they stayed at, keeping watch. He thought, "It feels like they"re watching us, our room in particular."

"Do you feel it now?" Solomon said.

"Yes," Leo said, "They"re here... How did it get like this? Ah! My magic"s back!"

Solomon sat down on the bed in the corner of the other side of the room, while Leo sat up placing his hands over his body. Leo noticed that magic didn"t course through the wire that held leather to his skin. His heart felt free and unfettered! He felt a new sensation on his back though. The magic circle that was on Solomon"s palm appeared inside of his flesh, beneath the left chest. It seemed permanent. Leo was about to ask about the magic circle that enhanced his earth magic, but Solomon spoke faster. Solomon"s grave expression prompted Leo to remain silent as well.

"Ahab," Solomon said, "He signed a contract with a demon many years ago. He still thinks he"s in control of the demon, but the demon... has long taken control of him..."

"What"s your purpose, your real purpose?" said Leo.

"My purpose?" said Solomon.

"Yes, your purpose... Why did we come here? What"s your relationship to this city? Why did you return my magic?"

Solomon said in a low voice with heavy gravitas, "To right a wrong."

"What?" said Leo.

"Haha," Solomon chuckled with a solemn expression, "All you need to know is that something terrible has happened to this city."

"That"s far from enough," said Leo.

"Answers, Leo. They"re all around you. My only hope is that you find them for yourself over the course of the next five days. Meet people, the people of the slums, the people around n.o.bility, n.o.bility themselves. Meet all of them and come to a conclusion on whether you"ll support me, Ahab, or walk away entirely. But remember this: leave the city after five days. Stay no longer, and tarry no less."

"Why should I leave before the sixth day?" Leo said.

"Because," Solomon said, "I"ll have destroyed all my enemies--with chaos at my beck and call."

Leo didn"t know how to respond. He knew the old man was serious, but he couldn"t imagine how the old man would destroy a city that spanned three miles in diameter in a single day. The city looked ancient, liked it had stood for centuries. With a foundation, n.o.bility, wealth, riches, and demons supporting the city, Leo thought the old man was bluffing, but he couldn"t neglect the possibility of the old man having some sort of plan.

Leo thought back to the new magic circle the old man placed in his heart. He thought back to the sensation of Solomon"s palm on his back. He thought back to the excruciating pain and the knowledge implanted in his memory, and Leo knew... Solomon lack the magical power to destroy a single inch of this city without suffering consequences for his actions.

"So..." Leo said, "About the magic you just implanted in me..."

"What about it?" said the old man.

"Will it be possible for me to use all four elements?"

The old man burst out laughing and said, "Only a fool would become proficient in every trade and a master at none!"

Leo scowled and said, "But, then what"s the use?"
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"Invent new ways of mastering your main element, Leo. That"s the only way you can protect yourself or anything you care about in this world."

"Why not both?" Leo said, "How come I can"t protect both myself and everything I care about?"

"Because that requires strength of a whole other dimension, one I"m not sure you can access. I myself have yet to come close to accessing it, brat. Don"t get ahead of yourself."

"Then, what"s this magic circle you placed in my chest?" Leo asked.

"So many questions..." Solomon said, "After this, I won"t answer any more. Here"s the last answer. You ready?"

Leo nodded his head.

"Well," Solomon said, "The earth seal I made is just a layer of insurance."

Leo frowned and was about to lurch at Solomon, when Solomon said, "Not that kind of insurance! It"s a point of reference for you. Use it when developing your own fire techniques. That"s your main attribute. Correct?"

Leo withdrew his fist and sat back down and nodded his head.

"Good," Solomon said, "It can also protect you in your darkest hour."

Leo looked confused and said, "What?"

Solomon didn"t explain and said, "Nevermind. Just leave the city in five days."

Leo frowned. The old man started to pretend to sleep on the bed, so Leo decided to fall asleep as well. He figured that the demons would have attacked already if they really wanted to kill them. But, he could rule out the possibility of the demons waiting to kill them in their sleep. "It must have something to do with Ahab," Leo thought. So, he discarded his worries and fell asleep.

Leo was also curious to see, just how the old man would destroy the city, so he decided to obey the old man and wait for five days. He wanted to meet the townspeople, to stay and find the answers the old man hid from him. He wanted to learn more about the place where Solomon was born. He wanted answers.

So, Leo fell asleep in darkness, while clouds under the night sky thinned. They exposed slight parts of the black sky, but a large portion still remained hidden from sight.