Chapter 6: First order of business

After escorting Elijah to his room, Calvin retreated into his own. Much like Elijah, he spent the majority of the night experimenting with magic.

To him, he had just unlocked a game-changing new piece on his chessboard and was determined to uncover as much of its rules and mechanics as possible.

His intended focus wasn't on simply summoning flames again—he already knew that was possible. What intrigued him more was discovering all the other possibilities.

"Impossible feats," he murmured to himself, contemplating where his research should begin. Surprisingly, he had no idea where to start.

A flood of ideas ran through his mind—actions that were impossible for humans to perform. Walking on the ceiling. Changing the color of his shirt. Reorganizing the room with a glance.

The issue, however, was that he lacked a point of reference. He was clueless about how to apply magic to achieve those outcomes.

'A change in tactics, then. Let's focus on what I know.'

He closed his eyes, practiced his controlled breathing, and drew mana from the air. About six seconds later, he felt the warmth on his cheeks and saw the soft orange glow pressing against his eyelids—he had succeeded again.

He opened his eyes to find a small flame dancing on his fingertip. Just like before, it soon flickered and died out.

"I see… Both my ability to focus and to visualize the outcome are just as important as the fuel and my intent. In fact, it's better to treat the 'equation' more loosely. It's a simplistic explanation that ignores the many nuances of the process."

He stood in his room, deep in contemplation, trying to piece everything together.

"Visualizing flames was easy. The torches around the castle, combined with Elijah's analogy about ignition and fuel, most likely helped me subconsciously. Was that his intention from the start? What's the origin of the flame? The source? Did I draw it from somewhere else, as Elijah may have been drawn here? Or was it created from nothing?"

That was one thing he could test.

Calvin extinguished all the flames in his surroundings—both inside and outside his room. Once everything was cloaked in darkness, he attempted to summon the flame again. To his satisfaction, he had no trouble igniting his fingertip.

Taking it a step further, he tried to reignite the torches from a distance without touching them. That, however, ended in failure. He had to walk over and light them manually.

From this experiment, he concluded that the flames were indeed being created by him. They could have been drawn from some unseen source beyond the range of the extinguished torches, but the fact that the torches wouldn't ignite from afar convinced him otherwise.

The flames were his.

Therefore magic worked by manifesting his visualizations into reality, atleast this application of it did

He hadn't made any major breakthroughs, but he could sense that he was nearing the limits of what he could discover alone. He smiled, already looking forward to what he might accomplish with Elijah's guidance.

Elsewhere in the castle, two men sat facing each other.

Their resemblance was uncanny—like one man staring into a mirror. The only difference was that one was significantly older and wore a golden crown.

His name was Alazard Richmond II, the current king of the Richmond Kingdom. The younger version seated across from him was his firstborn son and heir to the throne: Alazard Richmond III.

They were in the middle of a serious conversation.

"Father, are you certain you've made the right call with this so-called magic advisor?" the younger Alazard asked.

"I don't disagree with recruiting him for the kingdom's sake. But why grant him noble status right away? Fraud or not, he's now going to sit around enjoying its benefits with no incentive to deliver." He sighed almost disappointedly

"The proper route would've been starting him at the bottom—only allowing him to climb the ladder through results."

"Alazard…" the king sighed, "it's a shame you weren't there to witness Elijah for yourself. He was remarkable. While everyone else tried to swindle me, he had no such intentions. I've already told you—he provided everyone in the room with the knowledge to harness this phenomenon. Magic, he calls it. He didn't hold anything back, or try to bleed us for every gold coin we had in return for his knowledge." He paused for a moment

"What kinda king… what kinda man would I be holding out on him in return? I merely gave him what he earned and deserves."

"I've already heard that more times than I care to," Alazard III replied. "I'm only concerned he is simply a better swindler than the rest—one smart enough to realize that restraint is the better strategy. This is the Richmond Kingdom after all. He would've been well rewarded regardless of him demanding anything or not."

He leaned forward, voice tightening.

"We have to keep in consideration how much our situation is changing"

"Furthermore, while Calvin's display was unprecedented, it wasn't that impressive. We need overwhelming strength and we need it now. This kingdom has been blessed with gold… with mine and Belladonna's strength. But not much else." He released a deep sigh before continuing

"The only reason they haven't stormed us and take our gold mines is because even if they all band together, they'd suffer significant losses. That and the gold we so generously give them—to leave us alone. However , with all these advancements the other kingdoms are getting from this phenomenon, how much longer will that deterrent last? How much longer before they realize they don't need to settle for what we give and instead try to take it all "

The king gave a solemn nod. " Alazard, I share your worries, it's for that reason I ventured into seeking experts of our own before it's too late. That's how we got Elijah and I believe he's capable of taking us where we need to go. He not only has the knowledge to but also the heart, I believe in him."

"I really hope you're right," Alazard III replied. "Regardless of what we believe, the first order of business should be results. Substantial ones."

He stood. "I'll pay him a visit soon. I want to discuss the potential for widespread application—arming an army, enhancing individuals, and determining the full extent of this magic."

"You should, Im sure you won't be disappointed.

Just like that their conversation ended

***

Elijah was alerted by the sound of footsteps approaching his room.

Each step was deliberate—intense. Purposeful. Almost excited.

He sighed.

'It could only be one person, Calvin must be eager for another lesson. Can't say I blame him'

Testing to make sure his finger was really back —bending and poking it—he got up and headed to the door. His strengthened body brimming with new found power with every step. He could feel it though, that strength was temporary. As soon as he stopped circulating mana he felt it slowly slipping away.

Both him and the footsteps got to the door together, but he pulled it open before Calvin could

Except …

To his surprise, it wasn't Calvin.

Instead—

Golden hair that shimmered in the light. Sharp, intelligent eyes. Skin smooth as silk. And a figure so perfectly proportioned, calling it "flawless" felt like an understatement.

Standing before him was a woman. A stunning one at that.

Elijah's cheeks flushed with color. He tried to play it cool, quickly composing himself.

"Who might you be?" he asked, finally mustering the courage to speak.

"Belladonna Richmond," she replied, her voice more melodic than Calvin's, though it carried a sternness his lacked. "Knight of the Richmond Kingdom—and second in line for the throne."

"You must be the magic advisor everyone's been talking about," she added.

"I am indeed," Elijah said, pausing as he extended his hand. "It's truly a pleasure to meet you."

There was a slight hesitation, but soon her hand met his.

"So, what brings you here, my lady?" he asked.

She took a moment before replying.

"Curiosity," she said at last. "I heard you made my little brother do something incredible. I came to both witness it… and do it myself."