The gateway city

The birds were singing loudly, and dawn was just settling in. Alpheus, tired from yesterday's events, was still sound asleep, while Atlas had already risen. He had been sitting in a lotus position for about an hour, a bit further from their campsite, meditating.

He knew he had to progress to continue the adventure. While his previous years of training had made him strong enough not to perish upon his arrival in Aspell, there were still things to learn, hurdles to overcome. And for that, he must train his mind through meditation, as a weak mind achieves nothing. But the body is equally important. Even with devastating spells, if his body can't bear their strain, he'll be pulverized by their effect.

To address these two essential aspects of his progress, Atlas had decided to meditate every morning and train physically if the environment allowed, or he could always practice by beating up a few thugs along the way.

"Ah... finally, I think I'm starting to understand how time magic works," Atlas said, opening his eyes before getting up. "It doesn't improve me much, but it's with time and repetition that one reaches a good level. Now, onto practice."

He moved even further away to ensure he didn't disturb his still sleeping companion.

"All magic usage depends on mana manipulation. Today's meditation has improved how it flows through my body; now I need to practice manipulating this mana to cast my spells. It's also crucial for me to be able to interact with the surrounding mana, as most space-time spells directly affect the user's environment."

"Alright! I'm going to try something with time magic," he added, opening his arms and closing his eyes to concentrate.

After a few seconds, the wind began to blow stronger and stronger, indicating that Atlas was perfectly synchronized with the surrounding mana.

When he finally opened his eyes, his red irises began to shine with a powerful light. As this happened, everything around Atlas froze. He no longer felt the wind, the leaves of the trees ceased to move, and the birds flying in the sky remained suspended, seemingly lifeless.

Only Atlas exuded life, and while his time magic was in effect, he unsheathed his katana that always lay beside him for training, before saying to himself:

"Slowing down time and stopping it are two completely different things in terms of mana consumption. I was able to fight Captain Iris by slowing time at times, but I'm already starting to feel exhausted just by stopping it for a few moments. I won't be able to use it against opponents too powerful, capable of transcending time itself."

He then pointed his katana towards the trees in front of him and frowned...

... When time resumed its course, it felt like everything around Atlas was being reborn anew. And slowly, about twenty trees fell behind him, cut in half, while he suddenly appeared several meters from his initial position.

...

- Barely on your feet, and you're already training again. Said Alpheus, who, now awake, had come to see what Atlas was doing. "So, not only do you master telekinesis but also time magic."

- Yeah! But it's nothing special. Atlas replied, sheathing his sword.

- Hmmm?

- Having an affinity with rare magic is not exceptional because it's merely the result of chance. Power is defined by the user. If you're weak, no matter your magic, it will be too.

- That's not wrong. Alpheus replied thoughtfully.

- Yeah!

- Are you weak? Alpheus asked provocatively.

- Why don't you find out for yourself?

- You're challenging me?

- Hehe... absolutely!

Alpheus didn't waste a second before running towards Atlas. He absolutely wanted to see for himself the strength of his new companion who, like him, had survived the crushing force of a captain, but without any overpowering artifact.

Atlas also wanted to know how strong his companion was, so he got into a fighting stance.

Alpheus began by using only his fists and legs. Atlas followed suit, and amidst the numerous exchanges of punches and kicks, the fight remained perfectly balanced and resembled a beautiful choreography, pleasing to as many spectators as possible.

But as Atlas blocked a final punch from his opponent, causing the forest floor to tremble, Alpheus asked him:

- When do we get down to business, Atlas?

- Now! He replied with a smile.

A simple blink of his eyes had sufficed to reveal the same gleam as before, but this time, only in his right eye and slightly less bright.

Alpheus then understood that it was the visible manifestation of his time magic. What Alpheus didn't even have time to notice was that in a fraction of a second, Atlas had already drawn his sword and was behind him, making a small cut on his cheek.

As the element of surprise faded to excitement, Alpheus let lightning bolts form all around his body. He thought he would need the speed of lightning to compete with his opponent.

Atlas then turned around, attacking his opponent again, who easily dodged his blade as the attack came from behind him. Alpheus then disappeared from Atlas's field of vision, leaving lightning bolts in his wake.

Sensing a strong concentration of mana behind him, Atlas turned to notice three water jets, dozens of fireballs, and countless spikes emerging from the ground. All of this was heading towards him at a speed seemingly exceeding that of sound, while Alpheus's blue eyes shone brightly under the effect of his significant mana usage. Atlas, who didn't even have time to think, reacted purely on reflex by creating a thick dome with his telekinesis, deflecting his opponent's attacks.

"Sheesh, he's not messing around!" he thought, concentrating to keep his magic from faltering.

Then, in one final movement, Atlas grasped his katana even more firmly than before. Then he incanted:

{MURAMASA WITH DEADLY EDGE}...

All of Atlas's spells suddenly stopped working, leaving almost all of his mana to be absorbed by his sword. And just as Alpheus's spells were about to hit him, he finished his words:

{Transcend anything that touches your blade!}

An aura more than impressive suddenly took form around his sword. He then charged, much faster than Alpheus's spells. Fireballs, water jets, and earth spikes were all astonishingly sliced into pieces by Atlas's exceptional magical blade. All of these attacks were going to crash into different parts of the forest, causing massive damage.

And in the blink of an eye, Atlas's sword was at Alpheus's throat, awed by his ally's strength.

"Whoa! That was impressive. Respect," said Alpheus, lowering the hand of a slightly possessed-looking Atlas. "Uh... are you sure you're okay?"

Upon hearing these words, Atlas, who seemed elsewhere, regained his composure and replied while wiping a drop of blood from his nose:

- Yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, you're stronger than I imagined.

- Hmm... yet I still lack a lot of strength.

- You're not the only one. But one thing's for sure, no one will be able to stand in our way at our peak. That's what I hope, anyway.

- Yes! By the way, we need to talk. Said Alpheus, taking on a serious tone. "We need to seriously discuss our next stop."

- Indeed. Let's talk over breakfast; I'm starving. It's definitely because of all the energy I expended this morning.

...

They then returned to the camp. There were provisions in the storage bags, probably intended to feed the bandits. So they used them for themselves.

During this meal, which they did not enjoy at all, judging by the expression on their faces with each bite, they began to talk about what was next:

- Last night, you said you had no idea where we're heading next. I hope you were kidding? Alpheus asked, fixing his gaze on Atlas.

- Not really, we have to find relics scattered across two really big worlds, and I don't know of any way to track these relics.

- So what do you think we should do?

- The only things possible, explore and gather information. Atlas replied, grimacing as he swallowed a bite of his dreadful meal resembling a mix of different vegetables accompanied by a dubious sauce. "We'll also need to buy some real food, otherwise we'll be dead before we find another relic."

- Absolutely! But we shouldn't linger too long in the kingdom's cities; the Grand Council's lackeys are probably already on our tails.

- Yes, I think we could go directly to the kingdom's Gateway city to leave.

- I think so too.

...

In the world of Aspell, Gateway cities are cities built solely to connect allied kingdoms: Valley, Eryas, Dorwyn, Kaoreb, and Windwyn. Due to the great distance between them, the rulers of these kingdoms, being long-time allies, decided to build a city, at strategic locations, in each of the kingdoms to link them to each other through various magical portals.

To be more precise, the Gateway city of Valley can take anyone to the Gateway city of any of the other four kingdoms allied with Valley's.

Obviously, these cities are extremely busy due to their utility. They constitute the largest commercial centers of each kingdom, thanks to the numerous tourists who come to visit them.

Atlas and Alpheus had therefore decided to continue their journey to one of these cities. They already knew that the Council wouldn't let them go, no matter where they went. But it would be safer for them to leave Valley as soon as possible because facing the Grand Council and the king once again might be dangerous for now.

So they hit the road after finishing their preparations by packing up all their gear into the storage bags.

Due to the vastness of the kingdom, the journey lasted all day on horseback. But finally, in the afternoon, as the sun was setting, they could finally see the walls of the city.

It wasn't as large as the capital of the kingdom. But at first glance, it was clear that it was important, due to the impressive number of people in the city. Most were bargaining with merchants, doing their best to lower prices. Others walked calmly to tend to their personal needs.

Now standing at the city gates, Atlas and Alpheus were about to turn a new page in their journey to find Infinity.

****

------------------------------

Hey guys, you wanna get access to some exclusive content, like pics of your favorite characters or dope info about the characters and the world of the novel, not to mention the awesome possibility to chat with me?

Hehehe boii, take a look on my patreon below and you should totally find your happiness.

patreon.com/Death_Side

Already hyped to catch up with you all there! ;)