Chapter 78 - New Allies (3)

"Marya, can you do that too?" asked Calder as he watched Arya pass out.

"No, I can't," replied Marya flatly.

"But what was that? Why were his eyes glowing, and why did he only need a single word to cast his spell?" asked Calder, confused by what he had just seen.

Calder had worked with several mages during his time as a mercenary but never did he once see a mage whose eyes were glowing. And neither did he ever hear of a mage who only chanted a single word to cast a spell, and yet here he was. Arya had chanted but a single word to freeze his opponent's stomach, and until a second ago his eyes were glowing a bright blue color.

"The glowing eyes are a sign of mastery, or at least that a mage is close to it. Very few mages actually ever reach that stage. And the single word casting just means he is very close to mastering silent casting." replied Marya quickly as she approached Arya's body.

One of the thugs that Arya had hit was about to wake up before Calder hit him on the head with his fist, knocking him out again.

"Let's take him with us." said Marya as she raised her palm and chanted, "Oh mighty wind, grant us a blessing. A breeze or a storm, a power worth testing."

And a gust of wind lifted Arya off the ground. As Marya walked back to Calder, Arya's floating body followed.

"I still don't buy that he's a child Marya. Isn't it impossible to master an element at such a young age? He barely looks ten." said Calder still not believing Arya was really a child. After seeing the things Arya did to those men, it was more believable for him to be a midget or some sort of monster.

"What's so hard to believe? I'm just eight and I'm already a 2-star mage," said Marya as she removed her hood. Marya was a young girl with hair so blonde it looked almost white. She had very slender features for a child and was so beautiful that she could almost be compared to Arya. Almost.

But what was most captivating about her were her long pointy ears and her deep green eyes.

"That's different Marya. Humans don't progress as fast as elves do," replied Calder as he placed back Marya's hood.

"Don't take your hood off in public, it's not safe," said Calder as he turned around to see if anyone was watching.

"Okay, we'll take him back and ask him in our room. Let's hurry," said Calder as he picked up Arya from the gust he was floating on and ran from the alleyway they were in.

***

"Can't I take a break aunt Luna?" asked Luca as sweat dripped down his bare chest.

"A mage shouldn't only rely on their magic. You have to train your body as well. Now again!" shouted Luna as she shot three bolts of ice at Luca and he tried dodging them.

Luca and Luna were practicing magic in the open fields near their cottage. Luna had instructed Luca to never use magic against his colleagues as the gap between their power levels could get them seriously injured. So she decided to train Luca to fight back without the need for magic.

Of course, Luca wasn't too fond of this idea.

"Ahh." whimpered Luca in pain as another ice bolt hit his chest again.

"Suck it up child. The amount of mana I've put into these ice bolts isn't even at the level of a 0-star mage. If you think this hurts, just wait till you have to fight against a kid who isn't going to hold back. Now get up and try again." said Luna as three more ice bolts floated around her ready to attack.

"Why can't I just be like normal kids?" Luca asked himself as he tried to dodge the ice bolts that Luna had shot at him but managed to fail yet again.

"You'll rest once you've managed to dodge at least three of them successively. Now again!" said Luna after Luca had failed again.

After several more minutes of Luca being hit by ice bolts, Luna called for a break to eat lunch.

"Aunt Luna did you ever go to a magic academy?" asked Luca in between mouthfuls.

"Lillian would be ashamed if she saw you talking with food in your mouth," replied Luna flatly as she took a sip of soup from her spoon.

"But yes, I once did. However mine was vastly different from the one you're going to be attending," replied Luna.

"How so Aunt Luna?" asked Luca now interested in what kind of academy Luna had attended.

"I attended Belgard Academy. Probably the biggest magical institution on this continent. And due to where it's located it's one of the only places where we can find a mix of different races." replied Luna.

"Where it's located? Different races?" asked Luca confused by Luna's words.

"Did you really think humans were the only race that could use magic? At Belgard Academy all races are welcome, the only requirement is that you be able to cast magic. And about where it's located, you might not know this but there's a kingdom called Erandel to the west of us."

"They are neighbors with the elven kingdom living in the forest of Yggdrasil, the world tree. Belgard is located right at the border, it's actually a town governed by mages. And although some think of it as a fortified city protecting the kingdom of Erandel, it's actually a neutral zone where all races are equal." replied Luna, making Luca's eyes widen.

"Can I go there?" asked Luca as he became very interested in meeting mages from other races.

"Forget about it. The road to Belgard is filled with dangers, and it's not worth it anyways. Lokreem Academy is just as good as Belgard, and the fact that all mages are welcomed to Belgard means that even mages from the church can attend." said Luna as her eyes emitted a faint blue glow when she muttered the church's name.

"I-I see," said Luca, realizing that it was probably a bad idea to go there.

***

"He's awake," said Marya in her usual emotionless voice as she stood up from beside Arya's bed and walked to Calder.

"Are you okay kid?" asked Calder, looking at Arya from a distance.