DISCOVERY

Chapter 5

37.

With all the commotions that have occurred, Kane is back from the start. It feels like there are numerous lines to choose from and every time he picks one, he'll figure something as he moves further but it will inevitably reach the end of the line. Observing the track as he goes back to choose another line, Kane hopes that someday he'll reach the end that he is looking for.

Kane has been lurking for years now and he feels like he is way too far from his goal. The rest of the party waits at the tavern, believing that Kane has a new order for them. This time, he used a different approach.

*Kane entered the tavern*

"Yow Captain, what's our next step?" Ryuu asked.

"I'll give you a month or two to take the lead" Kane said.

"Wait what now?" Ryuu questioned.

"I've been dictating what to do for the past few months and I think you should have a chance to do what you want" Kane clarified.

"Soooo we can choose whatever we want?" Reiko asked.

"Can we include you in the plan or are you going to do something else for that duration?" Akari added.

"It's up to you" Kane replied.

"I can't believe this… Am I dreaming?" Ryuu commented.

"Okay huddle up, we need to thoroughly think this through, this is a once in a blue moon experience!" Reiko ordered.

"Yosha!" Akari and Ryuu shouted.

"I'll be back in the afternoon to hear your plan. I'll leave for now" Kane said as he walks out of the Tavern

Akari, Reiko, and Ryuu formulate a plan that will be in the best interest for all of them. Vacation, Travel, Sightseeing, they are weighing every angle to make this trip worthwhile.

After a handful of hours, Kane came back. Akari, Ryuu, and Reiko are sitting in front of the table, waiting for Kane while wearing formal outfits.

"Please, have a seat" Reiko formally said.

*Ryuu grab the chair and assisted Kane*

"What the hell y'all doing?" Kane asked.

"We are formally making a negotiation, would you like something to drink?" Akari offered.

"Cut this nonsense, spill it" Kane said.

"But we borrowed these formal outfits just for this" Ryuu complained.

"I actually kinda like it" Reiko said.

"Don't you like our outfits?" Akari asked Kane.

"Oooy, nee-san, that was a smooth move by Akari" Ryuu whispered.

"She managed to ask how she looked without actually making it too obvious, impressive…" Reiko whispered back.

"You all look good now tell me the plan" Kane answered.

"Did he just compliment us?" Ryuu asked.

"He is not good at complimenting people but I'll take it" Reiko added.

*Akari smiled, sweetly*

"So here's our deal, we decided to do separate things for 2 weeks. Then afterwards we'll meet up again" Reiko said.

"Why?" Kane questioned.

"Actually, we argued earlier. Ryuu wants to do a quest because he has already spent his gold. Reiko wants to go where we can relax since both of us have spare gold. And I actually want to teach Hikari some magic while we are here. Since we cannot see a midpoint where we can all agree, we decided to do things separately." Akari explained.

"What will happen after 2 weeks?" Kane asked.

"WE'LL GO TO GILWORD!" Reiko, Akari, and Ryuu excitedly said.

"We need more money before going there so that we can buy something great!" Ryuu said.

"Well you are the only one with financial problems but I guess I'll do a quest or two, just to be sure" Reiko responded.

"I'll accept some light quest as well when I have spare time, maybe I'll bring Hikari as well" Akari said.

"Speaking of her, we rarely see her even though she is living in the guild's room." Ryuu mentioned.

"I think the last time I saw her was when she welcomed us but she left the room immediately after that" Reiko added.

"She is working hard, I saw her proceed to her room when we were discussing things with Kyap. Probably tired from work or respecting our discussion since we suddenly came back" Akari said.

"Are we done here?" Kane asked.

"I guess so, we already said what we want. Do you agree with our plan?" Reiko replied.

"I'm fine with it. Let's start it now, see you after 2 weeks" Kane said as he left the tavern.

"Well that was quick" Ryuu commented.

"I think he is on to something but we need to respect his decision" Akari said.

The party heads to the vacant room in the guild and calls it a day.

The morning rises as well as their new individual agenda for the day. Sometimes, doing things alone and separately builds the overall individuality of a person. Choosing on how they will efficiently use their 2 weeks, the party started their journey individually.

"Ohayo Hikari, Are you ready?" Akari asked.

"I am excited to know if I can use magic! But I have duties in the guild. May we practice every afternoon after my shift?" Hikari requested.

"It's fine, I'll ask Kyap if you can take half days for 2 weeks" Akari said.

"Really?! That would be great! I'll go for now, customers on the guild are waiting, see you later!" Hikari responded.

-hmmm, I guess there's not much to do. For now I'll head to Kyap-san

"Oy Kyap, Ohayoooo" Akari greeted.

"Ohayo, what brings you here to my working area?" Kyap asked

"Nothing much, just checking. By the way how's Gali?" Akari replied.

"He really is an intelligent guy, Kinda tired of his wanting to die jokes. He always fantasized the day he would die but I think I'll get used to it" Kyap said.

"I guess his intelligence is beyond our comprehension, anyway we are planning to stay for 2 weeks, is that fine?" Akari asked.

"HAHA! You can all stay as long as you want, we have plenty of rooms here" Kyap answered.

"Also, I'm planning to teach Hikari some magic, would you mind letting her take half days for 2 weeks?" Akari added.

"Hmmm.. I guess it would be handy if someone else can protect the guild. Fine but she'll be working more for the next 2 weeks, how's that sound?" Kyap offered.

"I think it will be fine with her, I'll let you know if she's okay with it" Akari replied.

"By the way, you can borrow this, it's a magic item that scans the magical aspect of an individual. The color changes into red when they can detect a strong magical aspect but it turns blue when your mana is for physical aspects. The level of redness indicates how strong their magical aspects are and vice versa. Gali gave me that and I already studied its composition. I'm planning to reproduce the item because it will surely break the market!" Kyap discussed as he gave the gemstone.

"So it means if it's pure red, like bloody red, she's a strong mage?" Akari asked.

"Hmmm… not exactly, the color indicates only the aspect that your mana possesses, whether it's physical, magical or somewhere in between, but it does not necessarily mean you are a strong mage if it's pure red. It only means your mana directly flows into magical aspect and no room for physical. I have notes here in my notebook that explain every color that might appear" Kyap explained as he handed over his notes.

"Now I get it, I guess measuring someone's capability is quite impossible for now. Anyway this will be handy! Thank you!" Akari cheerfully said as she ran outside.

Akari is curious about the item that's why she pauses for a second and tries the item.

"So Kyap said I should fuse a little bit of my mana here and let the gemstone do its work, let's see" Akari said as she exerted a bit of her mana.

The gemstone glows and slowly turns into Magenta, a color close to red but still has an influence of blue.

"This is interesting… I still have a lot of time, I shall find Reiko and test this gemstone!" Akari said as she sprinted to the local's Hotspa.

Fortunately, Akari immediately found Reiko relaxing in the girl's hot pool.

"Oy Reiko-chan" Akari excitedly greeted.

"Ara~ mind joining me?" Reiko offered.

"I actually did not come here for the spa, I just want you to test something" Akari replied.

"You have a point, everything here is manmade, using steam and heat, it's amazing but I still prefer the hot spring on Graspmoon tho it's hours away so I should settle here for now. By the way, what do you mean by testing something?" Reiko responded.

Akari Explains how the Gemstone works and shortly, she give the Gemstone to Reiko

"This is fascinating, What color did you get?" Reiko asked as she exerted a little bit of her mana.

"Mine was Magenta, close to red but not exactly red I suppose. It says here that I'm a mage but can do minimal combat, especially dodging." Akari replied while reading the notes.

The Gemstone glows and slowly turns into bright magenta, slightly more red than Akari's result.

"Woaaah, yours is more red than mine. It says here that you lean more towards the magical aspect, approximately 80%." Akari mentioned.

"I kinda expect this to happen, I mean I can still do a little physical activity but I am more of a mage." Reiko said.

"I wonder if there is someone that wields a pure red? I mean running is already physical, right?" Akari curiously mentioned.

"With that logic, I also doubt that there is someone who can make this item pure blue. Even Ryuu has some skill with a little magic influence to it, remember his mist movc?" Reiko added.

"I guess you are right, By the way it's almost time for Hikari's training. See you again some other time!" Akari said as she ran back to the guild.

"Hai~" Reiko replied as she continued to relax at the hot pool.

38.

Not everyone discovers what aspect their mana flows. Most of the skilled blacksmiths, Alchemists, and any other activities that involve dexterity and/or craftsmanship, lean more into the Physical aspect. While those who do witchcraft, and any other activities that involve spell and/or creativity, lean towards the Magical aspect. With that said, it still does not speak for the majority since it's for them to find out.

The sun starts to fall as afternoon comes, shifts change as Hikari will finally learn more about herself.

"Hi! Sorry for the wait, I'm ready now!"Hikari greeted.

"It's fine, I actually chatted with Reiko earlier so I did not wait that long. Anyway, me and Kyap discuss your shift. Is it fine for you to take half days for 2 weeks but double your work for the next 2?" Akari asked.

"Hmm.. It's a good opportunity to spend time with you but with a cost… I'll gladly take it!" Hikari answered.

"Great! I'll inform Kyap regarding this immediately so that you can start your half days tomorrow. For now let's test your mana" Akari said as she handed the gemstone.

"Test my mana?" Hikari clarifies.

"Hai~ try focusing on the object and slowly you will be able to exert mana. This Gemstone will tell us if you can cast magic or if you are more of a combat specialist" Akari explained.

"I'll try.." Hikari said as she tried to focus on exerting her mana.

The gemstone glows.

"You are doing it! I wonder what color it will show" Akari mentioned.

Upon glowing, the Gemstone slowly turns pink. Light colors indicate that their manaflow can still change, pink means it can lean more to red or be influenced by blue. The same thing can be said when it is sky blue.

"It's close to red, I guess yours will still change depending on how you grow. It said here that it can still change! Ready to figure out which element you can cast?" Akari asked.

"Hai!" Hikari answered excitedly.

"Let's head to the guild, Every guild has an orb that tells the receptionist about the person's magic upon registration" Akari said.

Hikari and Akari head back to the guild to use the Guild's orb. They immediately entered and used the orb. Hikari placed her hand on the top of the orb and shortly, it showed Hikari's element.

"Wind?" Hikari said.

"That's cool! Different from mine but I can still teach you the basics" Akari mentioned.

"I wanted to be the same as yours but I guess this will work, Let's start the training!" Hikari responded.

Hikari and Akari immediately head to the place where Kane and the rest usually train.

"This place is quite messy but I love the atmosphere, it feels motivating for no actual reason" Hikari mentioned.

"We usually train here, that's the reason why there's quite a lot of random smashed rocks, moved boulders, and holes on the grounds hehe" Akari responded.

"It will be an honor to train here as well!" Hikari stated.

"Now let's start! First you need to extend your arms and open your palm. Just like what you did on the Gemstone but this time focus only on your palm." Akari instructed.

Hikari is trying her best to focus on casting her first ever magic but she is having a hard time to do so.

"Don't worry, you can take your time. It is your first time casting a magic so relax" Akari mentioned.

"Did you have a hard time casting your first magic?" Hikari asked.

"Weeeell, no. They called me the Protege at Bysstal before since I immediately learned how to cast multiple skills" Akari answered.

"Woooow, you must be very strong" Hikari replied.

"Back then I thought so too, but I realized how much improvement I should have when I met Kane. Believe me, he is way stronger than me, that's why I'm trying my best to be stronger as well." Akari responded.

"I'll do my best too!" Hikari enthusiastically stated.

After a couple of hours, the surroundings got dark but Hikari failed to cast any magic.

"It's dark now, do you want to continue this tomorrow?" Akari asked.

"Okay…" Hikari replied disappointedly.

"Don't be sad, I know you can do it! Maybe you are just tired from work. For now, have a good night's sleep, okay?" Akari softly said.

The next morning comes and as they planned, Hikari and Akari meet up again after Hikari's shift. They have a lot of time compared to yesterday since Hikari started to take half days. Once they reached their destination they saw Ryuu together with someone from a distance.

"Oy Akari! What's up?" Ryuu greeted.

"Nothing much, just teaching Hikari some magic. Who's that girl beside you?" Akari asked.

"Hi, I am Nin. Nice meeting you" Nin introduced herself.

"I'm Akari and this is Hikari" Akari replied.

"I met her at the cave, unfortunately we accepted the same quest. Someone must have posted it twice, that's why we decided to team up and share the reward instead." Ryuu explained.

"I thought that rarely happens since the receptionist filters it. Maybe there must have been some internal errors" Akari mentioned.

"By the way you said that you were teaching Hikari some magic. How do you know that she is capable of casting one? I mean no offense Nin and I both can't cast magic, only some skills" Ryuu questioned.

"Kyap gave me this gemstone that reads mana flow, whether it's magical, physical or somewhere in between" Akari answered.

"WOOOOAAHH! LET ME TRY!" Ryuu said as he immediately grabbed the gemstone.

"Insert a little bit of mana and let the Gemstone read your mana" Akari instructed.

Ryuu exerted a bit of his mana and in that instant, the gemstone glowed, slowly turning into Blue Violet.

"Now what does it mean?" Ryuu asked.

"It shows blue violet, it means your mana is for physical aspect but you can cast a minimal magic." Akari explained.

"Well that's oddly accurate. Nin you should try this!" Ryuu passed the Gemstone to Nin.

"Oookay" Nin responded as she exerted a bit of her mana.

The Gemstone glows and it slowly turns into royal blue, meaning to say her mana is solely for physical aspect only.

"That is a nice color, what does it mean?" Ryuu commented.

"Royal blue… Can you try it one more time?" Akari requested.

Nin repeated the process and the Gemstone glows, slowly turning into the same color as before.

"This is impressive, I thought Ryuu has a very high physical aspect but yours is different… You don't have any trace of a magical aspect in your mana…" Akari mentioned.

"Hehe.. I think it is because of my family, none of us can cast magic because all of us are warriors of different styles. Some are stealth, archers, spearmen, basically all of the weapons you can think of" Nin replied.

"So that's why you can use multiple weapons, THAT IS IMPRESSIVE!" Ryuu responded.

"I guess that explains why, I agree with Ryuu, it is indeed impressive" Akari added.

"Soo what color does Hikari get?" Nin asked.

"Mine was pink, it means there's a magic aspect inside my body but it can still change depending on how I train" Hikari answered.

"Have you ever cast any magic?" Nin asked.

"Actually, I haven't… I only started training yesterday" Hikari replied.

"I know you can do it, but don't worry if you can't, I've been living without any magic and I can beat plenty of opponents." Nin cheered Hikari.

"Hai!" Hikari responded.

"Do you have any other plans? I kinda want to watch them train" Ryuu asked Nin.

"Hmmm… Nothing much, we can do some sparring here then watch them after" Nin suggested.

"That is actually a great idea!" Ryuu said.

Hikari and Akari continued their training, meanwhile, Nin and Ryuu decided to do a little bit of sparring in the near vicinity. Ryuu is impressively fast but it looks like he can't land any attack on Nin. Throwing multiple punches and swift kicks, it is still not enough to hit Nin.

"How can you be so agile?" Ryuu asked as he continued to miss his shots.

"Weeeeell, I don't have any other talent. I'm sure you can beat me if you use some of your skills" Nin replied while effortlessly dodging.

"YOU'RE. TOO. HUMBLE. AAH!" Ryuu said as he tripped on his last attack.

"Hihi, I guess that's it for now. Let's watch them train?" Nin suggested.

"I ag.. gree…" Ryuu said while catching his breath.

The whole afternoon ends but it looks like Hikari is really having a hard time casting his first magic. Shortly, Nin said goodbye and left while Ryuu, Akari, and Hikari stayed in the area.

"This is hopeless…" Hikari frustratedly complained.

"It's fine to be upset, I know you are trying your best. Don't rush things out, we still have plenty of days to train" Akari said softly.

"Akari is right, you can definitely do it someday!" Ryuu added.

"I just want to be like you…" Hikari said to Akari.

"You'll fail to know yourself more if you follow somebody else's footprint, just relax and make your own" Akari said as she hugged Hikari.

"How can you be so good with speech?" Ryuu asked Akari.

"Haha, come let's head back to the guild and call it a day" Akari chuckled as they headed back to the guild.

39.

After a long night of thinking, Hikari was finally able to digest what Akari meant that night. After her shift, Hikari immediately rushed to their training area and started to concentrate once more. Akari, Ryuu, and Nin are watching from a distance while Hikari tries to look deep inside of her soul, finding her real identity.

Hikari remembers how she desperately needed to live on a knife's edge every single day, from the day she started to walk. She needs to be quick, agile, and versatile to escape those who want to take advantage of her. Every single breath is a reminder that she is still alive, fighting to survive.

Hikari extended her arm and opened her palm. Slowly, wind started to swirl on her palm as she continued to find her core. The slow and weak swirl started to get faster and bigger, from a tiny spiral of wind into a human-sized tornado on her palm. Hikari closed her palm and the tornado instantly disappeared, everyone thought that it was the end but shortly, Hikari opened both of her hands and a tornado was casted on her lower body, lifting her up from the ground. From that moment, another potentially great wizard is born.

"SHE IS LEVITATING!" Ryuu shouted.

"Hikari! You can stop now! You might hurt yourself if it gets out of control!" Akari worriedly shouted.

"She'll be a threat soon…" Nin whispered.

After hearing Akari's voice, Hikari slowly comes back in control and ends the spell.

"DID YOU SAW THAT! I FINALLY CAST MAGIC!" Hikari proudly stated.

"I bet there are a lot of people who saw that, I mean you flew into the fucking sky! THAT IS SO COOL!" Ryuu replied.

"Congratulations Hikari, you'll need to control that next time so that you do not end up hurting yourself or other people" Akari added.

"HAI!" Hikari responded.

"I know this calls for a celebration!" Ryuu suggested.

"But we don't know where the others are," Akari said.

"Don't worry, Reiko and I are twins. She'll sense a party when I'm attending one. And by the way, this is not a metaphor coz she usually shows up out of nowhere and picks me up to stop me from over drinking" Ryuu explained.

"I hope Kane can be there too" Akari mentioned.

"How about this, let's celebrate at night, I'll try to find Kane while the rest of you prepare the food and venue!" Ryuu suggested.

"That's a great idea, are you coming Nin?" Akari asked.

"Me? Am I invited?" Nin clarified.

"Of course you are! We are friends now and I would like everyone to meet you" Ryuu answered.

"That's… That's thoughtful of you, if you guys don't mind, I'll join your celebration!" Nin happily replied.

"That is what I want to hear, now let's go!" Ryuu initiated.

While Ryuu looks over the whole town, Hikari, Akari, and Nin start to prepare their meal for the celebration. As Ryuu expected, Reiko shows up at the guild and eventually helps them to prepare everything.

Later that night, Kyap arrived and asked what the celebration was for. When Akari explained everything, Kyap warmly congratulated Hikari for her achievement. Those achievements are not only beneficial to themselves but also to Mechtown as well. Having a strong, trustworthy ally will be helpful for their security. In that sense, Kyap said he will invite Gali as well and enjoy the party.

"By the way, remember when you said that it's impossible to have someone who is pure blue or red on the Gemstone?" Akari asked Reiko.

"Yes, I bet even Ryuu is not pure blue" Reiko replied.

"I'm Blue Violet!" Ryuu shouted as he entered the room.

"You are back, did you find Kane?" Akari asked.

"Nah, I heard he was out of town" Ryuu answered.

"He'll be back soon, probably. Anyway, why did you bring that up?" Reiko asked Akari.

"Well it turns out, Nin is pure blue" Akari replied.

"She is amazing! I cannot even keep up with her when we do a little sparring" Ryuu complimented.

"Hehe, you are exaggerating, Ryuu" Nin said shyly.

"How's that even possible?" Reiko asked.

"Her family were all fighters, I guess it runs on their blood" Ryuu answered.

"Well I guess that explains why…" Reiko reacted.

"Pure blue? Who was it?" Gali responds as Kyap and Gali joins.

"Oy Gali! Long time no see. I thought you were already dead." Nin said.

"When I heard that pure blue color I knew it was you. What are you doing here?" Gali questioned as the atmosphere slowly changed.

"Just wandering around, how about you? What are you doing here?" Nin replied as the tension slowly built up.

"I was captured…" Gali answered.

"Seems like that is not the case, want me to bust you out of here?" Nin offered.

"Wait a second, What is going on here?" Ryuu intercepted the conversation.

"Stay away from her! She can kill us all in an instant!" Gali shouted.

"Don't be like that, Sure I can but you know that isn't my style, I only beat someone and let them suffer to death" Nin said.

Everyone slowly moves away from Nin and cautiously puts their defensive stance.

"Haaaaay… Gali, you are a party pooper, I just want some food and a little bit of party before I head back. I guess I have to escape and report that you are alive" Nin said disappointedly.

"GET HER!" Kyap ordered.

Everyone charges in to catch Nin but she effortlessly evades everyone in that room.

"You guys can't catch me if you are not gonna use any magic~" Nin taunted.

"Don't listen to her, she'll take advantage if you blow this place up" Gali warned.

"Tsk. I guess the only way to escape is to attack, sorry guys no hard feelings" Nin said while she was constantly jumping all over the room.

Nin attacked everyone's pressure point one after the other, paralyzing them and preventing them from moving.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you guys right now, I might taunt a demon if I do so. Tell Kane I said hi! I can't wait to personally meet him! Adios~" Nin said then she eventually left the area.

After some hours, Akari opened her eyes, luckily a knight came by to report and he saw everyone lying on the floor. He immediately gets the Guild's healers and helps everyone to gain their consciousness back. Reiko immediately interrogated Gali that moment.

"It's clear that you both know each other, now start talking, who is she?" Reiko asked.

"She's Nin, one of the highest ranking officers of the mad scientist." Gali answered.

"One of.. How many officers are there?" Akari asked.

"They are only 2, his older brother is a wizard, when we test his mana on the Gemstone, the result is pure red. Exactly the opposite of Nin's result but they both lean on a single aspect." Gali explained.

"So it means he does not know any combat?" Reiko asked.

"He is extremely fragile but he can use multiple buffs and debuffs to have an upper hand on a duel. He can blow up an entire town if he really wants to.." Gali furthermore explained.

"Wait, that's her brother? She said that his family origin were all warriors, that's why she can use all types of weapons." Ryuu mentioned.

"It's true that she can wield any weapons like a master but she probably made the family thing so that you don't have to ask her about the gemstone." Gali clarified.

"But why would she interact with us if she said that now is not the time to kill us? I mean if I were her, I'll stay away from the target if I am not yet allowed to execute them, that could blow my cover." Akari argued.

"You make her test the Gemstone right? She probably thought that I was alive when she saw that coz I'm the creator of the Gemstone. That's why she followed you guys, to get information about me." Gali answered.

"I am truly sorry for trusting so easily, I'm the one who took her in.." Ryuu apologized.

"No one wants that to happen, it's not your fault" Reiko responded.

"I also want to apologize. I learned magic but I was so scared I couldn't move when it's needed the most…" Hikari added.

"It's fine, we all got beat up by her." Akari replied.

"For now let's rest, all of us are tired from that surprise attack. I'm sure she'll take a while before she returns. We'll figure things out when that time happens" Kyap said.

Everyone heads to their room while the rest of the knights and guild's maid cleans up the mess. It is a long day for everyone...

-It is overwhelming recently, I thought this is the time to relax but it turns out, it's a never ending discovery....