Astraea: The Journey of Magic

Diaboria City. A city north of Azralia, located next to the Crystal River, the pass through the Vanorith mountains, and with access to abundance of mines and mineral resources, its considered one of the main economic powers in the kingdom of Ronia. Comparable to the city of Ruthil in terms of merchant activity and economic prosperity, however Ruthil was more a frontier city. Diaboria meanwhile was in a different region, governed by a different Great House, and had its own complexities to it.

As much as Ruthil was becoming a den of snakes with all sorts of criminal organizations taking root, Diaboria was even moreso. Due to the tall mountains surrounding it, it got a lot more shade and shadow then one might expect, causing the town to be a bit darker and more mysterious. But perhaps that is why a lot of criminal elements also moved into the city. The city wasn't run by criminals, not yet, but they certainly had influential people in their pockets. Rumor had it that one of the Dark Three, a trinity of new criminal organizations, might actually be taking over, as the underworld had been going under some changes and chaos lately.

And in a dark section of the city's Undercroft, a man who appeared to be about fifty years old and was beaten and bruised was laying against a wall. The wall itself was made of cobblestone, dirty and damp, and it looked like it might be some overflow chamber for rainwater. The city seemed to get more rain then sunshine throughout the year after all. That said, the man himself was clearly injured. His clothes had various bloodstains, and blood ran from his nose.

His attackers were three people who kept their hoods up and wore masks so they couldn't be identified. Each of them held a sword in one hand, a book in the other, and wore blue raincoats that covered their whole bodies except for their feet, hands, and masks. Another seven joined them after, making for ten people in total now to assist with his "interrogation".

One stabbed him in the shoulder, and twisted his knife.

"Tell us about The Hidden. Who are they?! We heard you worked with them and know a lot, so tell us the details! Unless you want to suffer?"

"Please no! I promise, I don't know who these hidden are! I don't have any idea what you are talking about!"

"Shut it! We know the goods you have been buying up have been going to this group! Tell us what you know about them! Who are they!? What are they?!"

"Like I said, I have no idea who or what you are talking about!" the man whimpered, but they did not believe him. Suddenly, they felt a presence outside. They heard two young voices talking, probably children. Sounded like they were far off, but their hearing surpassed a normal human's. At the very least, they were not underground.

"Looks like we don't have visitors yet, but we should hurry the interrogation up" one of them said, his voice worried yet unempathetic. "We might not be able to remain Hidden ourselves if one of the Knights shows up".

Another one stabbed him in the leg, twisting the knife again to cause the man a lot of pain.

"Tell us what you know of the Hidden. You cannot hide the truth from us!"

Suddenly, at that shout, they heard something again. From behind them this time. They turned and looked to see a boy, wearing a dark rain soaked cloak over his head to protect him against the rain, chasing after a bouncy ball that fell down the stairs and then bounced off the wall, rolling right into the entrance of the room. He had no shoes or socks and was wearing just basic black shorts and a white shirt otherwise, all looked baggy on him. He had messy white hair, ears that were slightly pointed indicating he was a half elf, and sapphire blue eyes.

The man looked at the boy and pleaded.

"No! Please! Get away!" he shouted at the boy.

"Hehe...tell us what you want to know, or the boy gets it" one of the cloaked people said. One seemed to almost teleport next to the boy, drawing his sword and putting it around where his neck was. "You will tell us everything, or every single torture method we use on you, will be used on the boy as we..."

Before he even had time to finish the question, he fell over suddenly, a sword puncture mark right in his center torso. The boy meanwhile looked at them with a glare that just was barely visible from under the darkness of the hood.

"Go, Ashiko".

The moment he said those words, the ground ruptured under his feet as a strange thing slid out of the back of his cloak. Coming out from under his shirt in the back, appeared to be some sort of sword whip. It appeared as if a large shining sword had broken into segments, with mechanical interior part holding it together and allowing it to bend and be controlled. It looked entirely mechanical, but it was obviously being controlled and likely powered by magic. Furthermore, it was coming out of literally nowhere. However, much like Riza's Swords, there had to be a trick. There was no such thing as Pocket Dimension magic, and there was no way the boy had a magic bag hidden in there. This was commonly known in the world, and no amount of researchers, Starfallen, Heroes, mages, or such had over surpassed it. Rumor has it the gods did once, but one could not access such power without consequences.

However, any explanation that the demons could come up with were absurd. They were theoretically possible, unlike some sort of storage magic or supersized magic bag, but it was still absurd. Was it miniaturized inside of his body? Was it just a magically created object, expending huge amounts of mana? Was it some sword of Godblade or Divine Artifact? Perhaps what they saw was not real, but in fact a macro-illusion?

It pierced through three of the enemies with its first attack, skewering them as it dug into the wall behind them. Another immediately tried to attack the boy at his side, but a sword blade shot out from the ground and cut him in half, killing him instantly. The force was real and it was very solid, which immediately ruled out macro-illusion.

The remaining five realized immediately what he was, and were filled with dread.

"You are...One of the Hidden! And you have a Godblade!"

Godblades: Weapons that were created by Godsmiths, a type of Divine Crafter. Less than ten Godsmiths existed in any generation, and not every single one of them was guarenteed to be able to create even one Godblade. Furthermore, they always had hyper extended lifespans, but generally could not utilize the Godblades they created as well as others could. They were said to be weapons that took a long time to master, but held great potential when they were. But also, each Godblade could be rather picky with who it chose as its user, to the point that it would probably refuse 99% of people at least. Furthermore, if a Godblade was too powerful, it would have to be destroyed typically. Sometimes the gods themselves would order such a thing.

And one of the people they had been hunting was wielding one while they were cornered in this room, underground, where no one would hear them scream.

"To think you lot finally learned of our existence. I won't say its unexpected" the child spoke, although his tone and the weight of his voice did not match his apparent age. Suddenly, the swordwhip freed itself from the walls as they cast a spell...only for nothing to happen. "Oh, trying to run with teleportation? I already sealed that escape route before I even attacked".

They all charged at him, desparation in their eyes. They knew now if they didn't kill him right this moment, they would all die. Unfortunately for them, "too late" was before he even arrived. Cracks formed under the ground where his bare feet stood, and seemed to grow in the direction of the five, spiraling around the room in the process. At the same time, the sword whip charged forward to strike again. Blades shot out of the walls, floors, ceilings, skewering all of the enemies in one go and ruding their disguise to tatters, revealing them to be Demons. Not only that, but they even seemed to extend their length or grow in size, allowing them an alarming degree of flexibility in combat.

Only one managed to survive the attack, but there was a broken blade stuck in his torso, and he was losing strength. He would be dead in moments.

"Sebastian, you did well not to break. I thank you. I sense that even your Contract of Confidence was not even remotely triggered, which means you resisted them of your own free will, and not because magic has sealed your lips".

"Of course, Master. I live to serve" the man said to the boy. "Unfortunately, it seems I was discovered. You should let me die here".

"Nonsense. Don't speak such foolishness, Sebastian" the boy said, using magic to heal his wounds as he removed the daggers from Sebastian's body. Once that was done, he looked at the dying Demon. "Now then, mutt. It seems you hurt my friend a great deal. So you will tell me who sent you, and how you learned about The Hidden. Which Devil was it? Or was it an Archdevil, or perhaps even the Demon King himself?"

"I...I won't talk!"

When he said that, the boy simply let out a sigh. He rolled his eyes as if to say "Really, you think you have a choice?" Next moment, blades emerged from inside the demon's own body. Several of them all throughout, however they seemed to use magic to prevent the shock from killing him or death via bloodloss, making it a strange and obscure sight. He was still dying from his other wounds, but these blades only caused him great pain, while preventing their wounds from inflicting his death.

"Tsk, to think you had this weapon..."

"Answer me".

The Demon tried to stop himself, but his own mouth began to speak as he died, with no control of what he said. He could not even move his body to try and forcefully seal his own lips, as the blades prevented his movement.

"Archdevil.....Chiamathelerif....heard the Hidden....might be connected...to the Starfall. Was told...supplies directed here...linked to a Hidden operation..."

"The hell?! Where did she hear that farce?! We have nothing to do with the Starfall!"

At least, that I know of.

"The Advisor to the....Demon King".

"Tsk. What the hell? Who is this Advisor?"

"Un...known..."

He tried to get more out, but the Demon expired right then and there, so without hesitation he raised his hand. Flames ignited from it, gushing out in a brilliant blaze. He had to incinerate the corpses instead afterall. He engulfed the entire room in a blaze, as the blades that he produced released retracted from the ground, as if they never existed there in the first place.

"Someone knows about us...and was able to track down you Sebastian. They clearly dont know much, but what they do know is too much. The name The Hidden isn't as big of a secret as being able to track down one of our assistants, but the fact they decided to frame us for being involved with the Starfall is...too strange to be just a coincidence".

Someone was playing a dangerous game, and they were getting heat for it. The boy...no, the man knew this, and he knew he had to act fast.

"Sebastian, have we heard from Black?"

"Not in a week, master. He said he was investigating the Starfallen in one region while going Devil Hunting. However, he did mention he felt a shift in the future".

"A shift in the future? From the Starfallen?"

"He wasn't sure. It could be related, but...he said it was different from the disruptions caused by the Starfall. He said it was similar to that of an Oracle, but...different".

The boy's eyes widened, as he heard this report.

"Shuuka vak'tan!"

"Master, you shouldn't curse, even in the fairy language".

"It can't be helped. Sebastian, any prediction we got before the Starfall is going to grow increasingly useless as time passes. That is a lot of predictions down the drain. At this point, the only one who can help us recover the Roadmap...would have to be the Oracle".

"If you wish to gain the Oracle's help, that will take time...and will require you to pick a fight with the Dark Side of the Church".

"I know Sebastian, if we make a move, the Dark Side of the Church might discover us and crush us. Or try to find us and enslave us. I will see if I can just get a meeting at least. I should be able to hold a private conversation with him, but I will need a new ID...are you ready to become a grandfather, grampsy?"

Those last words were in the tone of an innocent, cute little boy, and even managed to get the resolute Sebastian to snort with amusement. The boy then turned towards the Demons, and grimaced.

"It seems that someone either very ambitious or very long lived and patient is finally making their move. Either way, it looks like we have work to do".

"Of course, Master".

Kuroki was having another dream, stirring in bed as he clung to a sleeping Riku. The covers had long since been knocked off the bed, so their bodies were fully exposed to the night air, but it was a warm night so it didn't much bother them. However, Kuroki's dream, or rather, his nightmare right now, was bothering him.

In it, he was fully clothed in his mage battlegear and there were destroyed buildings all around him. Destruction rained out all over the place, and the cries of innocents could be heard in the distance. Shouts for help, screams of pain and suffering. A sight even more brutal than the warzone he was in against the Goblins. Many of these buildings looked old and sturdy, and yet they had been shattered apart by some sort of powerful force. Some of the corpses around him had been cut, or ripped, to pieces, and dark clouds eclipsed the sun despite it clearly being daytime, creating an eerie darkness to it. This plus the smoke produced by the countless fires around the city caused it to take a murky, darker tone then it normally would be.

There were some monsters running around, and warriors were everywhere, slaughtering people. Kuroki was taking them out, although he looked different. His height was still essentially the same, he was his petit self. However, Kuroki felt like this version of him was just a bit older and more experienced. The Grimoire he had at his side looked different too, and it felt like it had more arcane energy. Even if he didn't seem to age, he just had that air that made Kuroki knew this was an older, future version of himself. Although he found it a bit annoying that in his dreams, he didn't grow much at all in the future, but perhaps that was just the nature of dreams themselves. People tended to always dream with themselves as the age they currently were.

Still, this did nothing to reduce the tension or dread he felt, as that person walked down the street, staring right at him. Shivers ran down his spine, and he felt colder then if he was tossed naked into the snow. That person's eyes full of hate and rage, his face slightly scarred. A new feature that Kuroki had never seen before, but pleased him a bit. A large sword in his hand, and he threw something at Kuroki. At first, Kuroki didn't know what it was. But then he saw it, and the moment he did, he became a maelstrom of emotion. What he threw was Riku's severed head. Not only that, but he then tossed Akano's skewered corpse at him as well, as the hatred became a tsunami that wished to crash down upon the hated man in front of him. Anger and rage boiled up all around him, and he wished for this enemy to die painfully and quickly.

That man was Kuroki's father, if one could even stomach describing him as that. A number went so far as to only refer to him as "biological donor" or just "Trashscum" when they heard about everything he did to Kuroki. It went beyond sense and reason, after all. And he had just killed two of Kuroki's friends. Furthermore, he smiled as if to say "that isn't all", but showed no signs of Juno or Reiji, forcing Kuroki to panic as he lacked the knowledge to know what happened to his other friends. All he knew is that his greatest enemy had stolen two of his friends, his shining lights, from him.

"...I will kill you".

And yet, he felt Compliance hold him back in that moment. Indicating not to kill such a powerful and useful individual. Kuroki fought it though, as he prepared his spell.

"Looks like you need a good spanking. But first, I will have to strip you bare of those girlish clothes".

They were mage's clothes, and very much something any boy or girl would wear normally. But as they were full of magic, his father hated Kuroki wearing any of it. To his shitty father, he believed all magic was a girly thing for girls after all. The fact that Kuroki was not even a spellblade seemed to piss him off even more.

And so these two glared at each other hatefully. Magical sparks crackled around Kuroki's hands, and his father's blade was so sharp the little sunlight that came through shined off its edges. The very air between them felt tense, full of pressure, as if it would burst in any moment. Ash and soot fell upon their battlefield.

Kuroki unleashed spells in his dream that he had never cast before. Lightning that seemed to split apart and coil around, different from his bending lightning arc, this was more organic and controllable, almost like snakes that could divide and freely move. Ice that turned the battlefield into a frozen wonderland, and created countless ice spikes to fire at him. Even firing a beam of pure mana from his palm.

And yet his shitty father seemed to cut through it all, as he quickly made his way towards Kuroki. All while raising his sword. And yet, as he did, he was able to shoot a Crystal spike into his torso, wounding him. For the first time in two worlds, Kuroki wounded his father. He landed a successful hit, and it was with magic, not martial arts. This threw his father into a rage. Kuroki deployed barriers, but they all shattered as the sword came down...

"No!"

Kuroki shouted as he woke up, a squirming Riku being crushed in this situation.

"Sorry".

Kuroki quickly let go, letting Riku gasp for air. It wasn't the first time this happened though, nor was this situation exclusive just to Kuroki. Both of them had their fears, including their fears of what might happen to them in this world, not just enemies of their past. They actually had decided to keep sharing a bed instead of looking into alternatives because the nightmares lessened when a friend was there with them, and so they would always be able to talk each other out of any fear immediately.

"It's...okay. Your father again?"

"Yeah, but...it was different this time".

"Hmmm?"

"Riku...you were dead...he cut your head off...and I managed to fight him..."

Riku's eyes went wide as they sat up in bed on their knees. It was still dark outside the window, although one could see traces of light in the distant sky.

"That...must have been hard...but you fought him this time?"

Kuroki nodded.

Kuroki had always desired to defeat his shitty father. He always beat Kuroki for his lack of growth, even though it was almost assuredly a major factor in his stunted growth. But then his father was just generally a cruel, narrow minded person. It wasn't the first time he had dreams of beating him. And these were just the dreams he could remember.

But lately he had been having the same dream over and over. Ever since they made it to the city, and he and Riku had been roommates together. They felt unusually real, and so far, Kuroki had always collapsed due to his father's aura and strength without being able to fight.

This was the first time he knew he had the dream since their battle against the Goblins, and it was different this time. It was the same location, the same clothes he wore, the same warriors. But this time, he mustered the strength to fight back. And he even landed a hit. He never even landed a hit in reality. So for Kuroki, even if it was just in a dream, he felt as if the events of the past few days had helped him take the first step forward.

It almost felt like the future was changing, even if only by a bit.

Still, the fear, dread, and shock remained. Riku was just happy such a dream didn't make him wet the bed. Riku couldn't say confidently the same wouldn't occur if their roles were reverse, although they did both pee right before bed.

Riku understood that to Kuroki, his father was likely the biggest nightmare, the biggest enemy, he would ever face. And that he would likely only keep growing stronger and stronger in this world, as he tried to cut his way towards Kuroki. And they never knew when, so it was unrealistic...and also unhealthy...for them to have Amyris, Riza, Ozlo, the GuildMaster, or any others around them constantly.

But he also understood that Kuroki needed to calm down. Biting his lip in frustration, he laid down on the bed.

"Hey, Kuroki. Could you help me look at something?"

"Yes?"

"So, I know we have both been curious about it for awhile, so...how about you try and look and examine to see exactly how my tail and ears are connected to my body, okay?"

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah..."

Both of them had been curious for awhile, but it was a bit weird for sure so they had not done it yet. Still, the two boys had boundless curiosity, and Riku would put up with it since he knew it would help distract Kuroki. Furthermore, the two had become entirely comfortable with each other now, and comfortable around Amyris. At the very least, aside from a very rare moment, they no longer got embarrassed being seen by each other or walking around the house naked, although that only happened in the morning until after they had breakfast, right when they were going to bed, or when they had no more clean clothes and had to do emergency laundry. Amyris had been only doing it sometimes lately, so the boys would get used to doing it themselves. Admittedly, when they heard the norms for doing laundry, they got embarrassed a bit, but they toughed it out.

In any case, Kuroki began with the tail, since Riku's hair didn't obstruct it. It was connected to his tailbone, so basically right inbetween his waist and his butt. They suspected there was even some bone in there maybe, or at least muscle, given how Riku was able to use it. Although it looked fluffy, it was more then just an aestetic trait. It seemed their tails could be used to sense things somehow, although neither knew how it worked. If one circulated mana through it, it would become even more formidable, and could even be used as a weapon during combat. There was also a weird sense of pride between Beastkin and their tails, so threatening one was ill advised. Kuroki briefly wondered if in addition to being some sort of strange sixth sense sensory antenna of sorts, it also was something related to mating rituals as well, although Beastkin seemed more person then beast.

As for the ears, Riku had demonstrated their use many times. For one thing, they did not in fact have human ears as well. So the ears at the top were their main ears, and they were far better then human ears. They could also close themselves in a lot of cases, to help protect them from sounds that harmed them. Kuroki also wondered if they had smelling organs of their own, and thats why Beastkin hated smells so much, or if that was just a general part of the enhanced senses and physical abilities they tended to have. Each Beastkin had its own various differences, but Wolves were a bit of an all rounder. They had strength, speed, senses. And they had an equal chance of being able to use magic as anyone else.

As for how they were attached, Kuroki had to brush the hair out of the way to get a peak, but it looked like they had a lot of roots around them. Still, they looked firmly and organically attached, like wolf ears to a wolf head, only in this case it was to a human head.

"And that's my report".

"Mhm. About what we expected then. Thanks" Riku said as he sat up again.

"No, thank you for distracting me" Kuroki replied. He realized what Riku was doing instantly.

"Right. I think I smell Amyris cooking breakfast, so lets go eat, use the toilet, and then get dressed".

"...it seems you are getting used to this world faster than I am, to suggest those last two in that order. Well whatever..."

The two of them now both could smell the aroma of breakfast, so they jumped out of bed and raced down the stairs without so much as a second thought or another action. Amyris was an amazing cook, and his food could easily lure the boys to the breakfast table no matter what they were doing. By the time they reached the kitchen, there were already three settings set, and the food was already on the table.

Freshly sizzled sausages, wonderful scrambled eggs seasoned with a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, and a good amount of cheese, juice on the side for both of them, with four strips of bacon for them both. The juice was pulp free, which Kuroki still wasn't sure how Amyris managed that. The bacon was also perfectly cooked, and the sausages had been evenly cooked throughout. There were also fruit slices as well, completing the breakfast. Not just that, but the slices were from a fruit that was clearly at its perfect peak for ripeness, making them look delectable and juicy. The juice was just coming out just fine, and yet not a single bit looked like it had rotted at all. Not too late or too soon. The two boys quickly took their seats.

"Thanks for the food!"

"Thank you for the food!"

Neither of them felt out of place, but that might have just been Mental Fortitude, Compliance, and Adaptability at work. That or they were just used to and comfortable around Amyris, and were a starving ten and fifteen year old boys. It was fairly normal for people, especially children, of this world to not get dressed before breakfast, at least for commoners and merchants. After all, they could make a mess of their clothes during breakfast, so it was typically to eat and use the toilet before getting dressed. So while it was fairly rare, at least outside of summer, for anyone to eat lunch or dinner in the nude, for breakfast among the commoners it was an everyday occurrence. But that more showcased the difference in wealth then anything else. Commoners didn't spend money on excess wardrobes, especially not for children who were still growing. In fact, it was common for children as old as Riku even to be given long tunics or even dresses (or something like them at least) as clothes, even if they were a boy, since they could be made longer so when they grew it would just be a short dress then a long one.

Clothes were far more expensive after all, partially because while making them by hand, they tended to subconsciously imbue trace mana into them, making them tougher, more comfortable, and more resilient then anything a factory could make. Besides, factories often got targeted by the Demon King, and if they were built, often it was used for weapons of war and defense then clothing.

"Now, I am going to be busy researching, but Kuroki, I left a notebook I want you to read through. Considering what happened, and how you tend to push yourself, I think you might want to pick up on learning wards right now. You should still continue your quickcast spell studies, but given we know how Chianthias' magic words now, wards would probably be best. After all, it was proof that straightforward barrier and protection spells might not always protect you".

"But will wards work against her or those types as well? Isn't it another form of protection magic?"

"Hmmm. There are some quickcast wards for sure, but generally, wards are different. Almost all wards are made through creating magical array formations ahead of time and imbueing them onto objects. Its yet another reason why standard protocol for capturing mages, or really anyone, is to strip them naked. See, wards dont need a magic user to activate. They are more passive, able to absorb ambient mana to power them. But you have to write them ahead of time, and you have to be careful with how you set it up. Keep in mind the surface must be smooth or flat, preferably both but smooth is actually the more important one. If its rough or bristly or a surface with lots of hair or fur, it would interfere with the equations. You need to balance wards properly. But because of that, wards are an atypical defense. Chianthias' magic breaks through defenses and barriers, but wards are different beasts from those. Due to their complexity, they could redirect instead, like how Ozlo redirected it to force her into his Mental Realm. That was without a doubt aided by a ward setup".

"Wait, so wards use ambient mana instead of personal mana?"

"To power themselves yes. There are some that even use Expended Mana, although those can be risky and typically cant take too much, so you need to be careful with those. But yes. Wards are a passive form of barriers. Weaker, but they dont require one to constantly keep them active and fueled with mana. Some wards when they expend or are broken through might need time accumulating ambient mana to reactivate as well, keep in mind. Furthermore, advanced ward setups that take too much mana might still need mana or magic crystals to power them. So you should keep that in mind".

"Is that true with the ward schematic of this house?"

"Only if I switch it to the higher defense modes, but I have made sure I have plenty of fuel for that, to the point it would be able to stay in that state for a year non-stop".

"...shiza..."

"Yep. In any case, Ellie did a great job with the enchantments, but she left room on your mage robes to grow and experiment with wards. Eventually you should be able to make something that will really mesh well and augment those well, but for now, you should try and see what you can do and practice".

"Is there a way to quickcast wards?"

Amyris smiled a bit when he heard that question.

"Maybe, but it depends on the person. You have a natural talent for wards though, so you might find ways to use your mana with making wards that defies the norm. A lot of actual spell and ward composition comes from someone's personality and innate talents, so I can only teach you the core methods and then help give you feedback with your practice here".

Most of what Amyris taught was not spells themselves, but rather techniques and core methods, since those were the true core of magic. Spells were the flashy end product, but what truly made a mage was mana manipulation, spell invocation technique, spell composition, an understanding of the optimal use of their mana and what it works best with. And those were all basic things. Then there was spell layering, multi-cast, remote cast, deceptive cast, fragmented casting, compound spells, and more. And that was just the medium techniques. When it came to advanced spellcasting, there was Multi-layering, Field Creation, Domain Creation, Realtime Spell Modification, Compact Spell Invocation, and more.

It wasn't just about elemental magic, or even spelltype such as transfiguration, evocation, or conjuration. Even those all depended on the techniques utilized above. What people see as just an ice spear or a lightning bolt or a beam of light, could actually be the result of countless techniques, and how well they are utilized will change how well the spell works, and how easy or difficult it is to counter. As such, Kuroki was still only beginning on his Journey of Magic.

But to ask such a question shows you are on the right track. As I thought, you were born into the wrong world. You have a natural and innate talent for magic. At this rate, you will be able to face D-Rank threats on your own in no time, and perhaps even C-Ranks as well. And with your party, who will continue to grow with you? The future is bright for you.

"Still Kuroki, with your talent, you should continue to follow your heart and experiment. I think that whatever you think of, will end up being amazing in the long run".

Kuroki, who was still unused to such praise from a proper father figure, blushed even more then when he was embarrassed about being naked for any of the first few days. Apparently, he had been more comfortable with that, even on day one, then he was used to genuine praise from a proper father figure. He couldn't help but squirm and fidget like crazy as he was on cloud nine for his hard work and interests being recognized by his dad, or well, the person who his brain had psychologically imprinted on due to various reasons, while Riku was feeling more nostalgic for his own parents.

My dad would have said the same thing to me. I need to...

"And Riku, I think if you work hard as well, you will become a great spellsword. It seems you have an unnatural affinity for Quickcasts too, and picking up premade spells. You even managed to bend one to combine it with your technique and created Brilliant Flare. I guarentee if you work hard, you wont be left behind by Kuroki at all".

Now it was Riku's turn to blush a bit. That was exactly what my dad would have said! Exactly what I was thinking too!

Once they were done eating, and went outside to relieve themselves, they went and got dressed. They seemed extra motivated, as they decided to study and practice in the morning before heading to the guild. After all, they planned on meeting their friends, Kaede and Ryuu. Kaede would be staying in town, but Ryuu was under Riza's guardianship and might have to leave with Riza eventually. There were thoughts to keep them all together, but they were trying to avoid any more attention towards them. It was one thing for kids to stand out and rank up fast. It wasn't common, but there were precedents, Riza was one of them, Ozlo was another, and so was Ayazi and Anna. However, if four kids just suddenly came out of nowhere and stayed together, more people would probably realize they were Starfallen. By having them come from different people, especially with those people being friends, it looked more like their apprentices were teaming up, which was normal for this world.

So that meant while Kaede would stay around with Ellie, eventually Ryuu would have to leave to maintain his cover when Riza had to go. That said, Riza was based here half the time, and was otherwise based in the capital, so he would eventually come back quite a bit.

In fact, Riza barged right into the basement where Kuroki was practicing his ward fomulas and Riku was practicing new quickcast spells to help with his swordsmanship.

"Riza, what are you doing here?"

"Does Ozlo know you are skipping out on work?"

"I am not! I am here to check up on you two! And also to deliver a message! Sheesh!".

"...the commander, and not a subordinate, is delivering a message?" Kuroki asked, having caught onto his overly dramatic behavior and blatant lie.

"Y-yes! I am! But also I wanted to see how you two were doing. Did Amyris give you guys a medical checkup after the battle already?"

The two boys went red the moment Riza asked that.

"...yes..."

"...I never knew magic could be...like that..."

"Ah. So he did it himself, with his personal magic. Well, I kinda expected it with Sebas around. He doesn't want your abilities and mana signatures being leaked to him. Surprised you didn't get mad or creeped out though".

"I mean, he looked even more uncomfortable than both of us put together, and he looked like he wanted to throw up, so..."

"...we couldn't exactly fault him. Plus he explained why".

Amyris used the same techniques he used to examine Kuroki, which included monitoring the old hidden scars on Kuroki but also checking them for curses, mana signatures, the like. That said, when he provided details on their background injuries and every wound they got during the Goblin War, they couldn't deny how amazing it was. Noto nly that, but he was able to deduce just about every specific injury Kuroki's father had done to him, even singling it out among the ones bullies gave him, and identifying roughly how they were given.

Amyris seemed to get more and more angry as he did, to the point Kuroki told him he was convinced before he got halfway through. Amyris, being an actual decent human being, despised what happened to Kuroki, and seemed like he actively wanted to repeatedly murder Kuroki's father. Kuroki had to admit, he had zero desire to stop Amyris.

But right now, the bigger threat was the Devil, Chianthias. Following her was the Valiance Noble Family. And following that was Sebas, the corrupt leader of the Mage's Guild who had a hatred of Amyris.

And that was just the ones they knew of. Amyris warned them that there were other groups who might hunt the Starfallen, including those who felt they might be a threat to the Heroes for some strange reason. There were also those who might notice them standing out all of a sudden, and set their sights on them. Apparently, there were criminal organizations who targeted children, especially boys, who displayed great strength or capabilities, capturing them and illegally enslaving and selling them. Apparently, the more capable one was, the higher the price these scum could set.

Apparently despite all their strength, they couldn't just go around investigating and crushing these groups either. Otherwise it could be used as pretense by the nobles that they went too far, broke the law, and be used to bind them through legal restrictions and such, or even legally enslave them till they pay off their debts based on the damage they do.

Plus, such organizations usually were competent enough to not be easily exposed, and anyone who seemed the most exposed was usually uninformed of anything, even the non-important bits, and could be discarded easily without even having to kill them. Among them, three organizations had grown especially powerful as of late.

The Rose Garden was one that focused on human trafficking and smuggling. Supposedly led by a powerful woman, nothing else was known about her, even if she was an elf, dwarf, human, ect. They were also the source of the drug that was plaguing the region right now. Its said they even produce the drug themselves, and it gives people a pleasing high but also makes them uninhibited, and even warps their minds a bit. There are reports that some of them have even tried to assault, in various forms, mailboxes while on the drug. And for some reason they had this strange desire to lick cold, metal objects. Which in adventurers, tended to be their weapons. Extremely gross, to be sure. The drug was currently plaguing not just the Ronia Kingdom, but also the Empire to the west, and other countries as well, to the point a join constant request was posted for adventurers to bring in any information they found or any members of the Rose Garden they captured.

The Shadow Coalition was a sort of all rounder organization that dabbled in everything, and saw opportunity anywhere. Smuggling, human trafficking, illegal weapon production, theft, murder, assassination, cover ups, frame jobs, the works. If its a crime, they do it. They are very secretive, but part of their growth is due to the fact they get targeted less often, with even smaller criminal organizations being prioritized over them. That is because during critical moments of the last three Demon King wars, they have provided help and services during the harshest of battles, as well as other disasters. In other words, they end up being useful when the stakes are high enough, so they don't get focused on as much as a result.

And then there was Blank. Also known as _____. They were an organization who was involved in all sorts of crime as well, but especially human trafficking, illegal slavery, assassination, grand theft, murder, and more. No real details were known about them, to the point some think they might be utilized by a mysterious group in urban legend known as The Hidden. However, those almost immediately get debunked, as its confirmed no one has any confirmed details about them. No one even knows their actual name, or even if they use one at all. All they know is the organization has only had three members captured within the last decades, and of those three, one of them didn't know anything, and the other two died almost instantly upon capture. Its reached the point where the greatest Master Detectives in the world have been asked to hunt them down and bring them to justice.

Among those who are hunting them, those people include: Riza himself, a boy/man named Ayazi who is both Riza and Ozlo's friend, The Church's best guardian, nicknamed Black Dog by some, the X-Ranked Adventurer nicknamed Divine Might, and among the Master Detectives, the most famous one, a woman named Chiara Cross. Even a Godsmith has joined in somehow, a Dwarvern woman named Karek Throst.

"Wow. I am amazed you haven't brought Ozlo in".

"I will have you know, I can do my work on my own without troubling my grandson!" Riza said, overselling the fake rage. He calmed down instantly too. "In any case, there are also a bunch of smaller ones, including one we know is active here: Cherry Road".

"Cherry Road?"

"Yeah. No idea why they are named that, maybe it's so ridiculous so people don't think it's serious and just a false lead. But that's what we discovered. If anyone would target you first, it would probably be Cherry Road".

"Understood. Thanks for the warning...."

Riku however seemed dissatisfied.

"Hold on, while we have you, would you mind telling us something. How do you store your swords? And what do you think we can do to get stronger? Especially me, since we both use swords larger then us?"

"Hmmm, that is a fair question. The first technique however is a bit of a fraud. First off, Kuroki, have you figured it out yet?"

Kuroki looked at Riza's wrists. "Your bracelets, easily. You somehow condense the swords and warp them into bracelets and anklets, and then transform them. I noticed the number of bracelets tends to change when you summon swords".

"Oooooh. Clever boy. However, that is actually a red herring".

This shocked Kuroki. He was sure he had it right. There was no storage magic, so there was no way he could otherwise store them. And it always matched up.

"The bracelets are important, and do serve as more than just decoys however. But think about it, that's way too obvious, someone would see right through that. Its a clever trick so they would still be impressed though, and absolutely sure they got it right. Which means...."

"...it's the perfect decoy".

"Correct".

"Then how? How do you pull swords out of midair?!" Riku exclaimed. However, the words in his question gave Kuroki an idea.

Kuroki's eyes widened. He quickly went over to a magical textbook he had out on a table, and flipped through a few pages. Riza and Riku joined him, looking over his shoulder as he flipped to the pages he wanted.

"Oh shiza...you are using a Transmutation Spell? Wait, that means you are using Multi-layering to...wait what? How? That doesn't make sense! The mana potions required...you would die from this!"

"Kuroki, tell me. What do you know of adventurer rank population numbers?"

"That the higher ranks get rarer and rarer as you go up?"

"Let me tell you right now, there are probably only four or five X-Ranked adventurers on the planet. Now, that doesn't mean they are the only ones that strong or powerful. But it should tell you a lot. One of them is technically retired though. As for SS-Ranked Adventurers, there are probably only...two dozen or so? In the whole world mind you. Again, there are people who don't register with the guild or take rank up exams who might be on their level, but you get the idea. As for S-Ranks like myself, less than one hundred in the whole world, while there are probably only around 300 or so A-Ranks across the entire world by comparison. That means that for every one city that has a single S-Rank adventurer, there are five more that don't. Rounded up. And that is not including towns and villages. Furthermore, of all those listed above, some are stuck in endless combat on the dark continent, some are wandering around the various continents and lands of this world, some can only be deployed situationally, and some are needed to permanently be stationed around The Scar and The Grand Abyss".

"The Scar? The Grand Abyss?"

"Both are locations related to the Evil God. The first is where he first appeared and attacked this world. The second was...think of a dungeon from a video game or light novel or such. Only its way bigger. It formed from the Evil God's corpse at the location of his death. Both locations are constantly churning out super dangerous monsters, including regularly producing A-Rank and S-Rank monsters, as well as those above, and there are fragments of the Evil God's corpse that are sealed away but still might produce monster issues. In fact, one is in a forest near here. So not all of those guys are available. After all, each location needs at least around half a dozen SS-Ranks, give or take, and a good number of S-Ranks at each location just in case something weird happens".

In other words, even if they existed, they were not all available everywhere, so their actual numbers stationed around the world were lower then their count at all times.

Kuroki looked at him. "So...since you are an S-Rank adventurer..."

"I am not normal. Yes I admit it. Look, you saw me naked. I was clearly lacking any body or pubic hair. Does it look like I am just small?"

Indeed, from all appearances, he was a thirteen-year-old boy. He was actually like, sixty or seventy years old, a fully grown adult who was crass and lacked sensibilities. But despite his personality, he was 100% an adult. Although he could have found a better way to put it.

"So, my body is clearly not normal. It happens a lot. It happens a lot to you Starfallen as well. It happens to....well, a lot of people".

Riza stopped halfway during his last comment, clearly hiding something. But the moment Kuroki opened his mouth to ask, a wave of pressure went over him. It seemed to originate from Riza, and the message was clear. Do not ask that question.

Getting the message, Kuroki redirected.

"So in other words, people who reach S-Rank are not normal?"

"People who reach A Rank are not normal. B-Ranks are basically borderline normal and abnormal. S-Ranks...we had shit happen to us. We might not all be immortal children...although you would be amazed how common that is...but every one of us and up are weird in our own ways. I think the universe just finds it ironic to turn the fast growing children into unchanging immortals. Anyways, moving on. Sometimes its extreme natural ways. Sometimes its inherent abilities. Sometimes its just raw genius. Hell, I know this one kid, Yuyan. He doesn't have anything special about him in theory, but by the gods, his skill, talent, natural genius, AND he works hard. He is fourteen years old, and an SS-Rank adventurer. And he can actually beat up the Guildmaster too".

"...I think we understand, although the idea of anyone beating the guildmaster is...hard to imagine".

"Then you need to keep training. Because I think you both have what it takes to reach S and even SS-Rank. And I think you will want that Kuroki, because its proof of your efforts...efforts that will help you finally close the book on that shitty dad of yours. Provided I don't get to him first that is".

Riku looked at Riza, who had an air of malice to him. So much so that even Kuroki and Riku winced, despite it not being focused at them. Riku felt compelled to ask.

"You didn't see his memories or met the guy before. Why are you so angry?"

"...I am a grandfather is why. And you both remind me of my cute, adorable grandkids. As a father, a grandfather, and a knight...I cannot let such an evil existence to exist".

For the first time ever in the eyes of the two boys, Riza was completely and one hundred percent respectable.

And thus, newly inspired by such a sight, they vowed to further their training.

"Oh right, we got super sidetracked. Anyways, here is the message. Ozlo wants your party to report at the guild before noon today, so you should probably get going".

And then it went crashing down, since their conversation took nearly an hour and it was thirty minutes to noon now.

"Damnit Riza!"

"Sorry, but you are the ones who kept asking questions!"

"Less talking, more running everyone! We gotta rush to the guild! Ozlo is already overworked as it is!"

And so, the trio ran at top speed to the guild.