Wesley calmly addressed this new arrival. “Greetings, senior. What business might you have with us?”
“I am looking for the King-class mages of the Pooles Kingdom.”
“...” Wesley narrowed his eyes and cautiously responded. “That would most likely be us.”
“Oh?” The anonymous figure smiled. “It seems that my luck is good, then!”
He pulled out a summoning stone and activated it, summoning a golden set of armor alongside a silver spear.
Without hesitation, Wesley began to shout orders.
“Back up! Get into formation with me as the core! Brian in front!”
Alas, Emperor-class mages were just too powerful. Just as Wesley’s team managed to settle into formation, the figure had already reached Brian and stabbed him with his spear.
Luckily for Brian, he’d barely finished a defensive magic seal before the spear had hit him. Even so, he coughed up blood and was knocked out of the formation.
Wesley had panic in his eyes now. After all, Brian was their defensive specialist, and his defensive capabilities far exceeded those of the rest of the team. If even Brian was taken out by a simple spear strike…
If any of the others were hit, it would mean certain death!
Furthermore, the formation had been disrupted.
After knocking Brian out of the formation, the figure rushed forward, only to meet an ice wall that Wesley conjured to buy the team some time.
“Hmph! Trifling spells!” The Emperor-class mage was slightly perturbed by this tactic, but before he could shatter the ice wall with his spear, Wesley’s team had already regrouped with Grace as the forward piece.
She had summoned her defensive armor, called the Shi Set. It came with magically reinforced granite armor, as well as a similarly reinforced granite shield that could be split into two parts, one wielded by each hand. With this set of armor on, Grace’s defense was only slightly inferior to Brian’s.
At the same time, Katherine activated her Arcane Expansion seal.
In quick succession, Jasmine finished Venomous Vines to ensnare and delay the attacker, then the rest of the team seized the opportunity to bombard him with spells.
Finally, Wesley finished off with a self-created spell that he endearingly called, “Snow Globe!”
A sphere of ice formed around the attacker, then quickly compressed itself.
Normally, this would squish the target into meat paste, but this was an Emperor-class mage! With a simple shake of his spear, the sphere of ice broke apart and shards of ice crashed toward the ground.
“Die!” The Emperor-class mage drew back his right arm and lunged forward. One instant the spear was in his hand, and the next… it had flown past Grace before she could block it and pierced Jake’s head! Immediately, his body fell limp and dropped to the ground. He lay motionless with the spear still impaled through his face as his teammates and beloved friends hovered in the air, mortified and frozen with shock.
Seeing his close friend die, Wesley was livid! With his gaze as cold as a winter storm, he turned back toward the Emperor-class mage and softly asked, “What is your name?”
“Name’s Charles. Now, let me have some fun; I’ve been rather bored lately.” With a grasping motion with his right hand, the silver spear disappeared from Jake’s head and reappeared in Charles’ hand.
He flew forward and smashed Grace’s shield with his spear, knocking her out of the formation. A mere moment later, Charles impaled Jasmine in the head and knocked Lawrence down with the butt of his spear.
Hurtling toward the ground, Lawrence’s eyes filled with blood as he watched his wife’s body fall to the ground with him.
“You… I’ll kill you! We’ll die together!” With a sudden burst of determination and hatred, Lawrence flew back up, directly towards Charles.
On the side, Wesley saw Lawrence’s actions. “Wait, Lawrence, no!”
But it was too late. Just as Lawrence was about to reach Charles, he clasped his hand over his heart, shouted his grief toward the heavens… and exploded.
A monstrous wave of pure energy thundered out from Lawrence’s previous location, buffeting Wesley as well as the rest of the team.
Fortunately, Wesley had understood Lawrence’s intention from the beginning and, as the core of the remainder of the formation, drawn the others away from Charles.
After the waves of energy subsided, Wesley peeked back toward Charles’ location.
Charles was still there, hovering in the air, definitely looking worse for wear. However… there was no sign of injury.
Then his mouth moved.
“Alright, alright. NOW it’s getting interesting!” Charles suddenly dashed forward through the air and appeared, as if through teleportation, next to David and Katherine.
With two swift thrusts, the two King-class mages fell from the sky, never to soar again.
At this point, it was overwhelmingly clear to Wesley that while it was unlikely for any of them to survive if they ran, there was no chance of survival if they stayed!
“Run! Split up and if he chases you, try to buy as much time for the others as you can!” Wesley shouted this order of retreat with a mixture of grief and desperation in his voice while dragging Grace through the air as fast as he could away from Charles.
“Hmph.” Charles was not impressed. “Splitting up? It’s just like killing chickens…let’s save the leader for last, eh?
“Let’s see… I injured one of them earlier. He should be an easy picking and… ah! There he is!” Having found Brian, Charles lifted his spear again and chucked it in Brian’s direction. Seconds later, Brian’s body plunged toward the ground with a spear through his back.
“So, one down, three to go. Hmm… they actually fly quite fast. Looks like it’s time for a change.”
The golden armor and the silver spear faded from his body as he took out another summoning stone.
The Silver Eagle Set! Wearing this set of armor tremendously increased the wearer’s speed.
Charles tapped his foot downwards and sped after his prey. A moment later, he had caught up with Alina.
“Hello there, beauty!” Charles casually slashed down with his hand, cleanly cutting Alina’s body in two.
“And now, for that loving couple…”
Instinctively, Wesley and Grace fled toward the little old shack next to the calm and beautiful lake. It was their place of safety, of comfort.
However, less than a minute after they had fled from Charles, Wesley could feel an ominous presence closing in on them.
Shit!
Wesley spun himself around in midair. “Keep going, Grace! Don’t look back!”
He prepared his last magic seal: Sealed Revelation!
There wasn’t enough time! Wesley stared at the incoming Emperor-class mage with discontent in his eyes.
He frantically drew, but he wasn’t going to make it!
With a wave of his hand, a scimitar appeared in Charles’s grasp. He raised his hand and slashed down!
Wesley watched the scimitar descend from above, expecting it to end his life in the next moment, when suddenly another body entered his field of vision.
With a ‘shhhhhlick’ sound, Grace’s body split in half right before Wesley’s very own eyes.
“...” Wesley eyes glazed over as he watched Grace’s body fall lifelessly to the ground, as if in slow motion. He heard a roaring in his ears and his chest tightened almost to the point of collapsing. Consumed by grief, Wesley could not move, could not make a sound.
An instant later, the scimitar curved back around and sliced Wesley’s body in half as well.
As the light faded from his eyes and his vision turned dark, Wesley heard an anguished shout of grief in the distance.
He faintly wondered who had shouted, and what that person had lost.
Book 1: The Seal
Introduction
It was the 10th month of the 1005th year of the Richerant Calendar.
6 years ago, o
n the ninth day of the ninth month of the 999th year of the Richerant Calendar, the Gia family received a special gift - a baby boy.
A boy born on 9/9/999! The number nine had long been associated with dragons, magic, strength. The Gia family took this as a sign – the new heir to the Gia family was to be a dragon amongst men!
Alas, this was but a hope, a dream. After all, the Gia family was but a Noble-ranked family, not part of the Royal family, and Wesley’s parents were only Advanced Magicians, not King-class.
The Gia family owned a fairly expansive estate on the outer edge of the first ring of Blue Wind City, the capital of the Conarite Kingdom of the Magmont Continent. Being a Noble-ranked family, they had many servants who tended to the estate as well as the family’s needs, as well as nearly a hundred skilled guards who protected the estate from thievery and harm.
However, of the noble families situated in Blue Wind City, they were perhaps the least influential and powerful.
Regardless, they were a noble family, which meant that Wesley, as the immediate family heir, enjoyed certain privileges. For example, he had several bodyguards that protected him at all times and multiple servants who cared for his daily needs.
Still though, their son’s birth date was a fun boasting point for Dean and Patricia. After all, even if their son wasn’t truly fated to be a dragon amongst men, it’s not like any of their friends’ sons were either!
As a six-year-old, Wesley’s days were rather carefree. He enjoyed life, messed around with friends and family servants, and ate the finest foods that the city had to offer.
Today was no different. It was several hours after noon, and Wesley sat along the edge of a training field with his friends, watching the older kids. They watched enthusiastically as hundreds of elementary mage students from the Western Conarite Institute of Magic performed what the school called “practical exercises”.
These practical exercises were simple. Hundreds of elementary mages would stand in file as their instructor talked them through the theory behind multiple spells and demonstrated the writing of the spells The students would follow along, practicing their writing meticulously. When the instructor was satisfied with the proficiency of the students’ writing, he would activate the spell and showcase its abilities. This teaching usually lasted the entire morning.
Wesley and his friends couldn’t be bothered to watch as the lectures could be summed up in one word: boring!
In the afternoon, after a short lunch break, the elementary mages would split into groups and compete against each other by writing and casting the spells they had just learned. At this time, Wesley and his friends would gather at the edge of the training field and watch.
“Hey Dylan,” Wesley pointed, “They’re starting up. How ‘bout it; wanna bet again?”
“Yeah, sure! Who do you think will win?” Dylan eagerly responded. The two boys, along with their friends, quickly agreed on their bets and enjoyed the wondrous displays of magic that followed.
…
While Wesley was busy betting candies with his friends, Wesley’s parents, Dean and Patricia, were in a far less festive mood. The two sat in silence at a table situated in the family estate’s garden.
“He’s already six years old, yet his mana channels and mana pool show no sign of development. At this rate… our family may be relegated to yet another generation of mediocrity.”
Dean sighed, slumping forward in his chair with his head between his knees.
Generally speaking, one’s mana channels would begin to develop between the ages of 7-9 and would finish about a year after, at which time one’s mana pool would begin to grow as well. As soon as one possessed a mana pool, no matter how small, one would be able to use magic. In almost all cases, the earlier one’s mana channels developed, the more future potential they had.
Alas, unless Wesley’s mana channels suddenly and miraculously began developing at an incredible rate, it was likely that the Gia family would have to endure another generation of mediocrity.
After a few moments of pained contemplation, Dean finally sighed and leaned back.
“There’s nothing else we can do… we need to do what’s best for our family and our future. If we stay the course, we may lose our status and be thrown into the second ring.”
Each ring of the city symbolized a level of position, money, and law. The first and smallest ring consisted of royalty and nobles. Highly skilled guards guarded every street corner and alley; living here was extremely safe.
Affluent merchants, guilds, and the like occupied the second ring. These organizations needed to pay for their own safety - merchants had long ago banded together to hire mercenaries for protection, and guilds had naturally come up with similar methods. In fact, one of the guilds was a mercenary guild.
The third ring, however, was moneyless and lawless. A few people here and there would be found dead in the second ring every day, but tens to hundreds of people died in the third ring every day, be it from murder or hunger. Only a few guards were found along the wall between the 2nd and 3rd rings. For the most part, gangs ran the slums in the third ring.
Being relegated to the second ring wouldn’t mean the end of the world… but for the Gia family, who had prospered in the first ring for centuries, it was not a situation that they could accept.
As such, Dean and Patricia made the decision, along with the other family elders, to bolster the Gia family’s influence by backing the Crown Prince in his pursuit of the throne. In their opinion, this was a safe, but important bet.
The Crown Prince’s main competition for the throne was the Third Prince, who was but a year younger. Although the King’s three sons acted cordially with each other, their internal and personal conflicts were well known amongst the nobility. And as the King of the Conarite Kingdom’s health was quickly declining, tensions between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince and their respective factions only continued to rise, while the Second Prince had made it known that he was uninterested in pursuing his father’s position.
Today, it was announced to the various royal, ancestral, and noble families that the King would likely die within the next three years.
In the Richerant Calendar, each year was made up of 15 months, each with 24 days. As such, the Crown Prince and the 3rd Prince’s factions had just over 900 days to solidify their standing and overcome any opposition.
While the Crown Prince had the natural claim to the throne, the Third Prince had spent the last decade building up a faction that was, in many ways, capable of challenging the Crown Prince’s. In addition, many speculated that the Third Prince could have more support lurking in the shadows and may soon surpass the Crown Prince in the race for the throne.
Either way, the next ruler of the Conarite Kingdom would be decided within the next three years.
Wesley, living a carefree and sheltered childhood, was completely unaware of the political storm that was brewing.
…
Later that day, Wesley had returned home from playing with his friends to have dinner with his parents.
The three sat around a table laden with sumptuous dishes, the jewel dish being sweet plums and golden duck. Golden duck was extremely expensive, worth a month of the Gia family’s income;it was sought after not only for its taste, but also for its coveted magical properties.
If fed to children whose mana channels and pool were still developing, the meat of the golden duck would quicken their growth. If fed to adults, it would nourish the body and stall the consequences of age.
Patricia continuously pushed the delicious duck over to Wesley’s plate, urging him, “You have to eat more, Wesley, or you’ll never be as strong as your cousins! You want to be cool and strong like them right?”
“No! I’m too full! I’ll just eat more tomorrow.” Wesley’s stomach poked through his shirt as he squirmed away from the dining table. “I’m going to go play tag with my friends!”
With some difficulty, he waddled away as he patting his stomach an
d shouted for one of his servants. “Joe! I’m free! Let’s play tag!”
Dean and Patricia frowned as they helplessly watched their son leave the dining table. “Have we coddled him too much? At this rate…even if his mana channels and mana pool develop early, he might not have the right mindset to grow stronger.”
…
However, a few weeks later, at just over six years old, Wesley’s mana channels had finally begun to develop!
Wesley’s caretaker, Joe, had been the first to notice. He’d been playing hide and seek with Wesley, when he’d gotten tired of dealing with the little devil and cast a detection spell to “cheat”. The cast spell was a simplified form of the “Energy Detection” spell,a very common scouting spell that allowed the caster to sense nearby lifeforms by sensing their life energy.
Joe had sensed a larger energy presence from Wesley when he finally found the little boy. Without a moment of hesitation, Joe brought him to Dean and Patricia, who examined him further.
To their delight, Wesley’s mana channels had indeed begun to develop significantly, suggesting that his mana pool would also begin developing sooner than expected.
They promptly invited the rest of the family, as well as some of their friends from other noble families and a few merchant group heads, to celebrate. A child whose mana channels began developing at just 7 years of age was already considered a potential genius. For Wesley’s to begin just a few months after his 6th birthday, it was nothing short of the miracle that the Gia family was waiting for. If Wesley worked hard, perhaps he would become a King-class mage in the future and re-establish the Gia family as a powerful presence in the Conarite Kingdom.
Finally, Dean and Patricia could see some hope for their family’s future.
Chapter 1
A year later.
"Dang it, I'm going to be late again."
A kid could be seen zooming through a giant building, his face flushed red from running. After passing another six doors, Wesley finally saw his classroom
Memory Seal- Volume 1 Page 3