Chapter 81 - Whip (Patreon)

The third and final day of their training arrived quickly, and if Arien was honest with himself, he felt somewhat disappointed.

Not with Reyna or Harik, the hunter training their group. They were doing everything they could. The problem was that Arien had expected himself to be much better at this.

Books and movies had always made wilderness survival look fairly simple, as though a few lessons about finding water, shelter, and tracks should be enough to awaken some buried ancestral instinct.

For him, at least, even with his high Perception that hadn't been the case

Matt was the only one in their group who could consistently put Harik’s lessons into practice. Arien didn’t know whether it was because of his superior physical fitness, his familiarity with military life from spending his vacations around the army, or some other factor entirely.

The only person performing worse than him in their little group was Missy, a black-haired girl from the minor noble house Tamran. She didn’t seem particularly bothered by it, loudly declaring that such activities were beneath well-born people, while pointedly looking at him, Matt, and Greg, a quiet boy from a village near Wayhold who had spoken perhaps two complete sentences in three days and kept shooting nervous glances toward Reyna and Missy.

“I can’t believe I missed the tracks again,” came Elia’s embarrassed voice. The slender blonde was the last member of their newly formed group, and she somehow managed to outperform Arien despite spending half of her time talking.

“Matt, reveal your secret. How do you do it?” she asked for what had to be the tenth time.

“Elia, Harik explained it dozens of times. You just need to pay attention and look for things that don’t belong in the environment,” Matt replied.

Arien felt a strong urge to throw a spell at him.

A broken branch might stand out if it weren’t lying among hundreds of others.

They had been trekking through the forest for an hour, trying to find the second group, consisting of Reyna, Greg, and Missy, but only Matt seemed to have any idea where they were going.

The conifers stretched in every direction, their closely packed branches blocking much of the sunlight and leaving the ground beneath them cool and dim. The air smelled of resin, damp earth, and old needles, while a thick layer of moss softened their footsteps. Every now and then they crossed a narrow stream or climbed another low hill, only to find exactly the same trees waiting on the other side.

Granted, both groups had been assigned a specific section of forest in which to search for each other, but Arien had long since become hopelessly lost. Every tree, bush, and hill looked identical to him. The only reason he knew which direction was north and which was west was thanks to a rather useful First Circle spell Harik had taught them on the first day. The problem was that even knowing the cardinal directions didn’t tell him where he was relative to the estate or their designated search area.

“Arien, can you hit him with a spell?” Elia asked irritably.

“I really want to,” he admitted mournfully, “but then we’ll definitely lose to Reyna’s group.”

Reyna might not have been as skilled as Matt, but at least she seemed to understand what was going on, which was somewhat embarrassing considering she came from the highest levels of society and, according to every stereotype, ought to have been tripping over her own feet.

“If you keep talking this loudly, we’ll definitely lose,” Matt scolded them while crouching low over the ground.

Arien and Elia exchanged looks and shrugged.

Reyna’s idea of training had been good in theory, but apart from learning a few useful spells, they probably weren’t going to gain much more from this.

Good thing today’s the last day of this stupid trip.

Several hours later, they were the ones fleeing from Reyna’s group. Which was considerably more convenient. They no longer had to constantly search the forest floor for tracks and signs, they only had to avoid leaving any themselves. Or at least avoid leaving obvious ones. Harik could probably point out hundreds of broken twigs, bent blades of grass, or faint footprints left behind by their passage.

So far, the score was tied. Each group had located the other twice. This was supposed to be the final round of the day, so everyone in Arien’s team was giving it their all. No one wanted to see Reyna looking triumphant again.

The prize in their unofficial competition was leadership during the Academy’s upcoming expedition. Though, aside from their red-haired friend, no one seemed particularly invested in winning it.

They were walking through the forest several meters apart when they came upon another clearing. The setting sun hung low between the trees, casting long shadows across the ground, and for once there was no sound except the faint rustle of branches overhead.

A young man sat in the middle with his legs crossed.

Normally, Arien would have turned around immediately and never looked back. Unfortunately, he knew him.

Ramsy Voltorey, Reyna’s older brother by more than a decade, sat perfectly still with his hands resting on his knees. His pale face showed no expression, and his black shirt and trousers only made his long red hair stand out even more sharply. Above his head, a ribbon of fire circled lazily through the air.

They had met him during dinner the previous evening. He had not even bothered to look at them when Reyna introduced them, much to her barely concealed irritation. The red hair was about the only resemblance Arien could find between the siblings.

The three of them stopped at the edge of the clearing, unsure whether they should greet him, walk around, or wait until he noticed them.

“Yeees?” the mage’s irritated voice finally broke their indecision.

They stepped into the clearing and stopped several meters away.

“Greetings, my lord,” Matt said on behalf of the group. “Forgive us for disturbing your rest. We are conducting a training exercise in this area and—”

“And I should leave because a bunch of peasants are trampling through my family’s forest so they can play tag with my sister?” 

The air in the clearing seemed to grow heavier.

“There’s no need to get upset, my lord,” Matt replied through clenched teeth. We’ll be on our way.”

Ramsy laughed coldly. “What times we live in A peasant telling me how I should behave on my own land.”

“I am not a peasant,” Matt said, his face turning red.

Arien was surprised. Surely Ramsy knew who Matt was. Maybe he wasn’t part of the highest aristocracy, but his standing was far from insignificant. Was Reyna’s brother deliberately insulting him?

Arien placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder and spoke quietly. “Come on. There’s no point dragging this out. We’ll withdraw and inform Reyna. Let her deal with it.”

Matt looked at him and slowly nodded, though sparks practically flew from his eyes.

“Ah yes, the son of some little general,” Ramsy said mockingly. “To me, there’s no difference.”

Matt stiffened beneath Arien’s hand. Mana began gathering around him, but before he could cast anything, the fiery whip above Ramsy’s head shot forward.

Matt barely managed to raise a Mana Shield before it struck. The crack echoed through the clearing, and the force of the impact threw him backward into a tree.

He slid to the ground and did not move.

For a second, Arien simply stared.

What...? How...? How did this escalate so suddenly?

Ramsy did not attack again. He stood there smiling, watching Arien as though waiting to see what he would do.

“My lord, please forgive us if we have offended you,” Arien said cautiously. “Allow me to take my friend and disappear from your sight.”

“Much better,” Ramsay said. “Can you believe your friend wanted to attack me? What dreadful manners. You'll testify to that, won't you, peasant?”

“Matt must be tired after the whole day,” Arien replied, slowly backing away until he reached his friend lying beneath the tree.

Fortunately, Matt was still alive, because he let out a faint groan when Arien touched him. He glanced at Elia, who looked completely shocked.

“Elia? Elia!” The girl finally looked at him with terrified eyes. “Go find Reyna,” he said. After a moment, she nodded and ran off into the forest. Thankfully, Ramsy paid her no attention.

“Peasant? You’ll testify that your friend attacked me, won’t you?” Ramsy asked again, his tone almost playful.

Why did he care so much about that? Maybe he realized that he knew he had gone too far?

Matt was a guest of House Voltorey and the son of a prominent military family. Ramsy might have been vastly stronger, but that did not mean he could attack him without consequences.

And now he wanted Arien to testify in his favor.

“My lord, this is all a misunderstanding,” Arien said carefully. “Please allow me to heal my friend, and we’ll leave immediately.”

“No.”

The pressure around Arien intensified until even breathing became uncomfortable. Ramsy had not moved, yet somehow his presence alone seemed to fill the clearing.

“Swear upon your name that you will testify to the truth.”

“I will testify to the truth, my lord,” Arien replied, hiding a smile.

That, at least, would not be difficult. He would happily tell anyone willing to listen exactly what Ramsy had done.

Arien kept his head lowered and his voice respectful, though every “my lord” made his jaw tighten. Matt lay unconscious beside him, and Ramsy was still smiling. Instinctively, he touched the boy and sent a small amount of Life mana into him.

The pressure in the clearing immediately increased.

Arien barely managed to raise a Mana Shield before the whip struck. The impact shattered it and threw him backward, though only by about a few feet.

When the next strike came, he was ready.

Mana Shield was one of those spells they had practiced so often at the Academy that casting it had become almost instinctive. Arien poured as much mana into the next one as he could safely control, and this time the whip bounced from the translucent barrier. A massive chunk of mana vanished from his reserves.

He reinforced the spell once more and looked toward Ramsy, who still stood there wearing that same smile, apparently enjoying himself immensely.

“My lord, please, cease your attack. We are Reyna's guests,” he managed to say before Ramsy lazily flicked his hand and sent the whip at him again.

The next strike was even stronger, and Arien barely kept the shield intact.

Three attacks had already consumed nearly a quarter of his mana. Running was impossible while Matt lay unconscious beside him. He needed another option quickly.

Talking Ramsey down had clearly failed, while fighting him looked almost absurd. Even under the circumstances, he could not help noticing Ramsy’s control.

Flame Whip was only a Third-Circle spell, and Arien could cast it himself, but in Ramsy’s hands it behaved like something alive. He never needed to rebuild the spell between attacks; the whip simply returned to him, ready for the next strike.

Ramsy still wasn’t attacking. He simply watched, looking almost bored.

They said the best defense was a good offense. Right now, that sounded like a bad joke.

Arien looked at Ramsy, then at the Fire Whip twisting under the mage's control like a living snake.

And that smile...

He hated smiles like that.

Arien took a deep breath and reached for his mana, pushing every other thought from his mind.

He launched three Fireballs in quick succession. One veered off course and struck a nearby tree, setting it alight, while the other two flew straight toward Ramsy.

Fireballs were Arien's favorite offensive spell. They were simple, mana-efficient thanks to his assigned Aspect, and devastating enough for most opponents.

Ramsy did not dodge or raise a shield. He flicked one hand twice, almost lazily, as if swatting away mosquitoes, and both Fireballs dispersed before reaching him.

Arien stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring stupidly at the spot where his spell had been.

How?! The Masters at the Academy had never shown them anything like that.

Maybe it was something specific to Fire Magic.

He launched two Earthen Spears at Ramsy.

The man flicked his hand again, and both spells broke apart before they reached him.

Apparently not.

The next crack of the Flame Whip forced him back into motion. He raised an Earth Wall just in time, and the spell shattered it into fragments.

Then he poured nearly half of his remaining mana into a veritable barrage of Fireballs, launching them one after another. Most flew toward Ramsy, though several smashed into nearby trees instead. Roaring flames poured from the spell, engulfing dry bark and leaves.

Ramsy dispelled them one after another until only the final Fireball remained. This time, instead of destroying it, he extended both hands. The air shimmered around the spell, and somehow the Fireball slowed between his palms.

He caught it.

A delighted grin spread across Ramsy’s face before he threw the spell back.

Arien barely had time to process what he had seen. Ramsy had taken a spell shaped from someone else’s mana, seized control of it, and returned it as casually as if Arien had tossed him a ball.

That's impossible. 

All those years of training. All those countless hours studying and practicing. Only to die the very moment he first witnessed what true magic actually was. 

His own Fireball crashed against the Mana Shield. The interaction between the two spells felt strangely wrong, as though the mana resisted itself on contact, but Arien had no time to examine it.

He had almost nothing left, and Ramsy was already preparing another attack. Arien looked around at the burning forest. Well, at least part of his plan worked. His gaze drifted toward Matt. Why did the boy have to be so big?

Damn it. Time to leave.

"RAMSY!"

The shout came from the trees just as a man in black robes rushed past Arien and threw both arms forward. One of Reyna’s bodyguards.

Out of nowhere, an enormous wall of water appeared. The liquid seemed to possess the consistency of jelly. It caught the Flame Whip. The spell became trapped inside, unable either to break through or escape. Moments later, it began dissolving. 

Arien let out a breath of relief.

Oh, the cavalry has arrived.

Reyna emerged from the trees marching straight toward her brother.

The danger had passed, and the exhaustion Arien had been holding back hit him all at once. His legs gave way, dropping him onto the forest floor. Never before had he burned through so much mana in such a short span of time.

He sat there without moving, watching Reyna yell at her brother while Ramsy stood there with the same faint smile, completely ignoring her. Eventually, he gave Arien and Matt one last look before walking away. With a single wave of his hand, the burning plants around the clearing went out at once.

What level is he? And how can someone that insufferable be so strong?

Arien stared at the man’s retreating back. Ramsy had shown him magic that had never even been mentioned in their textbooks.

Something about this did not fit.

Only then did another thought occur to him.

Was that some kind of test?