Chapter 18: Detective

Barbados waited as the Erk approached him, menacingly.

"So, this pipsqueak is confident enough to challenge me." Barbados grabbed the handle of a random weapon and swung it from his space. It was a finely detailed short sword of an unusual weight attached to an angle far larger than usual. Resembling more of a spear, he grabbed the handle with both hands and waited for the Erk to prepare his weapon. The Erk conjured a vine from a seed and formed it into a whip. Using his mana, the Erk caused a spark to form on the surface of the plant, igniting the whole weapon on fire.

"Well, mister immortal, I'm sure you could endure one or two attacks before you succumbed to the pain."

Both fighters were waiting to attack, but were stopped by Okia as she summoned two black tendrils to ascend from the ground to grab the weapons. Taking advantage of the shock induced, she descended the tendrils back into the ground, taking along the weapons and leaving only shadows as evidence.

"Adam knew you would start a fight with the King, but he didn't anticipate a fight with the Arcanists. My name is Okia. It's a pleasure having you."

"You were saved this time creature," announced the foe arrogantly, "But the next time you won't be rescued by a silver knight in shining armour."

"Likewise. My knight won't be able to pry me from your mangled corpse."

Adam had arranged for the Arcanists to stay the following two weeks in a luxurious hotel, and for Gorg to guard Barbados everytime he went to explore the city.

"Is this really necessary?" the Sinborn asked while sipping on a carton of pomegranate juice. "You are actually humbling me by treating me like a child." He proceeded to laugh as they walked around the countless stalls, searching for any old artefacts or relics being sold for a cheap price.

"You don't know how I feel having to hang out with you every afternoon instead of finishing my work and having to rush it at three in the morning. I've started getting bags!"

"Try this," Barbados said while handing him a flask of pink dust, "Sprinkle some on your bags and they will disappear. Let's sit here."

Grog shook the bottle and grabbed a pinch of the powder, applied it to his face and felt his body loosen up. Looking into a mirror, he noticed his dark skin going back to its usual light brown colour.

"You're a life savour. But now my body feels drowsy…" Grog began to stare at Barbados as the Sinborn faced dead straight. "You didn't. Did you? Oh no you did." Grog tried to grab him but passed out and fell into a wondrous slumber.

"Pixie dust. Works marvellously. It's even able to put me to sleep. Sweet dreams pall." Barbados walked off to find the hotel the Arcanist stayed at. It was a large premise with multiple buildings and services. "They even have a winery!"

He approached the hotel, but was stopped by guards. One punch to the stomach knocked both guards out, and using an artefact designed to interfere with lighting and electrical currents, he made the cameras flicker every time he walked by one. The problem was that it was a device that created its own electrical field using energy stored from lightning strikes, and once it was on it couldn't be turned off so he had a limited amount of time he could be there. The other issue he discovered was that the doors were too thin for his body and wings, which meant he had to turn himself and carefully walk through each doorway.

"One of these days I'm going to rip these useless limbs." he muttered to himself.

He explored the exterior and found the group enjoying the swimming pool in the back. He launched a miniature metal scarab into a bush close by and waited for the bug to walk closer. As it got in place, Barbados listened through the bug on their conversation. The Erk tried to slander the name of the immortal, while a different member was only interested in how their body functioned. Since the bug was in place, Barbados left the area and walked out from the premises and sat on a bench. He couldn't be too far away otherwise the bug would get confused and send the sound and visuals in different directions. He focused on the strange humanoid being that Grog once called a 'Flesh Hunter'. They were formed from black and blue tentacles that had the ability to graft other creature's limbs to their bodies. They weren't around in the past, so Barbados assumed they came about around the same time humans discovered mana.

After listening to the two argue, a human woman asked the Flesh Hunter on the progression of the mana device, which he inferred to be the soul medium mechanism. They said it was ready and only needed to be tested on any willing subjects. What shocked Barbados was that they were given a name of students to pick and choose from.

"Let us try it on the male half-breed orc Chloutarg."

"Agreed." said all but one, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked a different member, this time being a half-human and half-Harpy that were called Archeas. "He has not moved for the past 20 minutes."

"Just leave him be. Andre is more than capable of surviving in the water. Just look how durable his skin is." Barbados couldn't identify the person. From his short stature, he guessed them to be part Dwarven, and once again infrared his other part to be that of human from the rest of the group. The Arcanist, in charge of mana and its development, was expected to have members who could use mana. And the only race capable of doing so were humans.

"I should just quit the teaching business and become a detective." Barbados laughed, but soon frowned as he checked the time. Adam was expecting Grog and him to be back at the Academy. "Best to wake up Grog." He left the bug to record the events and headed off to find Grog.

Grog dreamed of running through a field of wildflowers and rolling down hills of soft grass. Besides himself was a gorgeous Wendigo woman and the two faced each other while lying down and holding hands. A butterfly landed on her hand and he gently leaned in for a kiss, only for the face of Barbados to appear on the woman.

"G-r-o-g. Are you enjoying yourself? Come give me a smooch." he said as he puckered his lips.

"AHH!" Grog yelled as he jumped and woke up to Barbados shaking him.

"Hey there. You were out for some time. How was your nap?"

"Peaceful, until you appeared. I was dreaming of kissing the love of my life and touching her adorable… oh no."

"What?" asked the Sinborn intrigued.

"I can't remember her face. All I see is yours!" he heaved and almost vomited at the thought.

The walk back to the academy was a long one, and a quiet one too. Grog seemed visibly shaken by the nightmare.

"My face couldn't have been that ugly." he laughed.

"No, it was gorgeous compared to you." replied Grog. Okia met them in the front yard of the academy and asked if Barbados went looking for a fight. "Surprisingly no. No, if you excuse me, I have to go mark my students' work for the next couple of hours." Grog walked off with a depressed stride.

"Hey Okia. Can you give me any hints about yourself?"

"Nope." she replied rapidly. "You should be able to figure it out."

"If it is something to do with mana, I'll have to remind you that I have only been awake for 2 months."

"Well, you might want to start studying. I heard they had the entire library ransacked and filled with new textbooks. Ciao." she said as she walked off.

****

Veronica entered the library at 6 to find Barbados once again, this time wearing a small sleeping cap to cover his halo.

"Having trouble sleeping?" she asked as she took off her coat.

"I don't sleep." he mumbled as his head laid on a large book. He lifted his head and looked at her with bored eyes. "Do you know just how many ways there are for mana to be used? It can accelerate and decelerate the growth of cells, puppet mannequins from afar, be used as an extra limb, mimic the world, check for life signs, etc."

"And why are you looking through all this confusing mess?"

"Okia won't tell me her private information and wants me to find it. It's like I'm looking for a treasure chest using 10 maps at once."

"Has she revealed her face?"

"Yes. Skeletal."

"Let me give you a hint. Death."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"No more hints. Anyway, you have a student waiting for you downstairs.

"Is it already 6? It really is. I will see you later Veronica." Just like she said, Marten was waiting for him with his halbert.

"Hi sir." Marten said excitedly.

"How many times have I told you to drop the formality, it's making me feel old." The morning sessions have become normal for the two. The clashing of metal rang and echoed throughout the secluded area that was his classroom.

"Si- I meant Barbados. I heard that you will fight Erven in the upcoming event. How do you feel?"

"I completely forgot about that. Uh. I would say I feel invigorated at the thought of fighting someone everyone calls the strongest. Marten let me ask you a question. Has there ever been a case where someone was brought back to life using mana?"

"Yes. They're quite famous for it."

"Oh? And who may that be?"

"Okia." the student replied.

"Damn!" yelled Barbados as his only lead had led to a dead end.