Chapter 106: Meeting Latiel

"A round of beer for the two of us!"

To say that this meeting was sudden would be an insane understatement. With Nadia insisting on taking her break alone in some kind of private study, Fen had no other choice but to take care of himself during this free time… by himself.

Not knowing any other good places to rest but the Inn that Nadia has shown to him just yesterday, after a moment of hesitation Fen still decided to go there. While the prices in that establishment couldn't be considered to be low, with the total bill for several hours worth of snacks, drinks and two proper meals from yesterday amounting to nearly two silvers, given how he was going there just for a quick rest, the young man still decided to splurge a bit.

After all, what would be the better place to meet other arcanists that could potentially open the doors to look for some side work for him?

Yet, who could've known that this small scheme of Fen would come to fruition nearly as quickly as he stepped through the hole in the wall that leads to the interior of the establishment!

"Excuse me?"

Far from being used to some random people approaching him with such a huge dose of energetic sympathy, Fen could feel his innate introvertness poking out of the shell that he built around it when he decided to change himself all this time ago, back in the Akhaz arcanist school. 

"Come on, mate! I can see someone troubled from miles away! Just sit down, enjoy the drink and spill what is making you so anxious!"

Shouting with joy filling his voice, the young man slammed his hand against Fen's shoulder, instantly making his knees cave in. In this momentary period of falling, someone else actually managed to pull out the chair away from the table and prepare it right below Fen's bottom, saving him from comically falling to his humiliation on the floor.

"It's unsightly to see someone of our kind act so reserved and self-deprecating."

Out of nowhere, this strange young man changed his tone. It seemed as if this very short moment, the truth about his soul appeared before Fen's eyes, only to disappear in the very next moment, washed away with the consecutive appearance of the smile he used to greet Fen just a moment ago.

"Anyway, the drink is on me today. Tell me, what is making one of us so troubled? Given how few Phoenixians remains, I can't allow for any fellow brethren of mine to be down like you!"

Not giving Fen even a single moment to collect his thoughts or figure out the answer to his question, the strange man instantly created a cup of beer with some kind of dark, forgotten magic art before placing it right in front of Fen's face.

"I just joined both this academy and settled in this great town. While I should be safe from the perspective of starvation… I really don't like the situation where I need to actually think about every single coin that I'm using. In other words, I need to find some kind of work that won't spell death for such an arcanist newbie like myself!"

Deciding that there was no point in hiding this fact away, Fen spilt the beans to this randomly appearing man. In the worst-case scenario, he would be laughed at and potentially turn this stranger into a future bully of his. Thankfully, with the potential that Fen perfectly know that he had, no matter who would like to bully him now would be unable to do so in the future, once his talent would be honed to the level of true skill!

"If you are looking for some side jobs… Well, most of the weak arcanists can take up some of the auxiliary works like burning the fields to nourish them, fix the constructs in the houses across the city, serve the civil service… But if you are really looking for some kind of stable employment, then joining the ranks of mercenaries would be your best shot."

Suddenly raising his eyes and looking sharply at Fen's face, this strange man stared directly into the young arcanist's pupils with a weird look on his face.

"Unless you are still in the phase of thinking that arcanism is some god-sent talent, then you can join the adventurers guild and act all high and mighty, while being used by literally anyone who wants to take advantage of you for little to no remuneration. That is if you are naive and stupid enough."

With the topic of the adventurers appearing for the very first time since he left the empire, Fen was rather glad to learn that the general opinion of this type of work didn't vary all that much from what he learned already. After all, only rich nobles would even consider the idea of working for the cause instead of expecting a proper remuneration for their efforts!

"Don't worry. I'm not that stupid yet. Sadly, with how I only had literally a single full lesson until now, I don't think I can afford to join the mercenaries. I can say it myself, but I still need to learn a lot before putting faith in my own skills."

As interesting as the option of becoming a mercenary seemed to be, it wasn't something that Fen could hastily decide on. Given how he had Arla awaiting him back home, along with all the lessons that he still had to take to turn his natural talent into actual skill, this kind of commitment was still a bit too much for him.

"A reasonable approach. By the way, I'm Latiel. What's your name?"

Leaning to the back, this strange man dressed a content look on his face as he brought the cup of beer to his lips and took a hearty sip.

"I'm Fen. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Calmly responding to Latiel's inquiry, Fen could see how this man's face turned even brighter.

"Okay then, now that we know each other, let me point you in the right direction. If you have this kind of relationship with your teacher or senior to tell them what you want to learn, you should ask them to teach you how to create, manage and fix constructs. It's counterintuitive at first, but the earlier you implement it into your learning schedule, the easier it will be for you to understand what's actually going on with it. And once you are any bit proficient in managing the constructs, you should be able to make at least four silvers for a single day of work!"

Never in his greatest dreams did Fen expect that this man would give him such valuable advice. Sadly, it also meant that for now, he still had to put the idea of working for later, fully committing his attention to the lessons.

"Oh, right!"

Suddenly, Fen's face turned ugly. Just the thought of lessons managed to remind him that his very own have yet to end for today!

"I'm sorry, Latiel, but I came here just to take a short rest between my own lessons. I hope you won't hold it against me if I go back to the training hall right now."

Quickly finishing the drink that this strange young man bought for him, Fen placed the cup back on the table in a single, decisive move before standing up from his chair.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I don't have anything else to do today, so once you are done with your stuff, you can come and find me here. While I might be unable to solve all your problems in one go, remember that all Phoenixian brothers are always welcomed in this establishment. There is no need to look anxious here, as we are here to forget about the troubles of the day and enjoy ourselves!"

Summing up the entire purpose of this specific Inn, Latiel smiled while watching Fen's action.

"Thanks for the beer and the great advice, man. I really hope I will be able to rely on you a bit more later on."

Thanking this unusual stranger once again, Fen quickly turned around and left the place before Latiel would have the chance to hold him there any longer. Given how important the lessons were to Fen right now, wasting his time in the tavern while Nadia might be already waiting for him in their designed training room would be the worst thing he could do right now!

"Becoming a mercenary… That doesn't seem like such a bad idea!"

Muttering silently to himself, Fen quickly reached the small door of the training hall and moved back to the room where his lessons were taking place.

"I didn't expect you to come back so quickly!"

Not holding back in expressing her surprise, Nadia's eyebrows ventured all the way up on her forehead when she saw Fen's timely return.

"You already have shown to me how important honing my skills are. While I accidentally met someone potentially interesting in that Inn that you have shown me yesterday, I can't afford to ignore your efforts to help me."

Smiling obediently in response, Fen moved back to the spot where he was producing his flames before Nadia's showcase.

"It's nice to see that you are so eager to learn. Mind telling me who did you meet back in the inn?"

Openly showing her curiosity, Nadia asked.

"I don't really know him all that much. He called himself Latiel and gave me some advice about the possible ways of earning money in the city. Obviously, while he proposed the idea of joining the mercenaries, I'm not going to sabotage the time I have for lessons with you just to earn some cash!"

Instantly adding the other part as if just bringing up the idea of joining the mercenaries could be insulting to his Senior, Fen had the chance to see a rare smile of happiness mixed with uneasiness on Nadia's face.

"Latiel… Well, I can't say anything bad about him if you are determined enough to not let him stall your lessons… No, let's drop the topic. Given how you know how to practice your flames now, let's move on to how you should train your intent!"