The Beginning After The End (New Heights Book 2) (9 page)

Sylvie
lets out a ‘kyu’ in excitement at the idea of exploring a dungeon but I stay
silent, looking at the two swords strapped to the back of my waist.

Today’s
battle with Kaspian confirmed a lot of things for me.  I’ve spent too
much time adjusting to and learning this world’s magic
system.  Assimilating with Sylvia’s Beast Will, honing my Lightning
and Ice Attribute techniques along with all of the other elements.  I
was so engrossed in the fact that this world made it capable to produce
physical manifestations of elements that I neglected my foundations, the very
thing I was best at, which was my body.  In my past life, I used the
simplest techniques to utilize the most of my small ki pool and with just my
sword; I was able to rise to the top.  This world offers so many more
possibilities but if I am to truly excel and become the best in this world, I’m
going to have to not only use my gifts in this life, but my experiences from my
previous life.

In the
midst of my thoughts, I feel someone bump past my shoulder.  Looking
up, I see the blond boy named Lucas walk past me with his entourage of guards
and servants.

“You’re
not bad for an Augmenter, but that’s it.  Don’t get cocky because we
happen to be in the same class.  Even in the same ranks there are
levels, and you would be at the bottom.  Cheh!  Know your
place.”

The
blond boy just smirks while intentionally leaning his head back so he can look
down on me.  The fact that his height was a fair bit shorter than
mine just made him look silly.

What a
cliché behavior for an annoying side character.

Not
even bothering to argue with him, I just face back to Jasmine, “Let’s go to the
portal.”

________________________________________

Crossing
through the teleportation gate, my senses jolt from the scenery.  The
City of Xyrus has the most teleportation gates among the cities since that’s
the only way you can enter into it, it being a floating city and all.  The
one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the
Beast Glades.

Hearing
the chirps of birds and occasional cries and roars of beasts, the constant
sound of water flowing filling the background created a natural
symphony.  The sight of tall trees and numerous hills filled with
different plants reminded me of anything but a dangerous landscape crowded with
monsters that can kill even the strongest of mages.  Only lower rank
beasts inhabited the outskirts of the Beast Glades, where the natural resources
were the least plentiful.  The deeper you go in, the more mysterious
the landscape turns into, with caves and hidden entrances to unexplored regions
of the continent.

I take
a deep breath, with Jasmine soon following up through the portal after Sylvie
and me.

Suddenly,
Sylvie hops off of my head and scurries off, as if chasing something.

Dumbfounded
at this event, I just yell out, “Wait, Sylv!  Where are you going?”

Sylvie
just sends me a vague response, saying she wants to train too.

“…”

My pet
dragon has never left my side ever since she hatched but she suddenly
leaves?  I was uneasy at first, but I realized after a bit that I
could feel where she was.

“I
think she will be fine.  Mana beasts have a natural instinct to get
stronger after a certain period of time.  She must’ve felt very
suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her
life.”  Jasmine says, walking next to me.

Putting
her hand on my shoulder, she signals for us to start moving.  “There
is a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon.  We have
to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night.”

Willing
mana into her body, Jasmine bolts off into the distance, with her wind
attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I
follow suit, forming two gales of wind below my feet before I dash after
her.  I made sure to keep tabs on Sylvie but it wouldn’t be much of a
problem since both she and I were mentally linked.  Even as the
distance grew between us, the connection remained strong and I was able to
sense that Sylvie was catching small prey, her ecstatic mood affecting me as
well.

The
journey lasted a couple of hours and it was growing dark.  The only
reason I was able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was a dark yellow
stage, was thanks to the use of mana rotation throughout the way.  This
skill has become almost second nature to me now, and I use it unconsciously
whenever I exert mana.

By
late evening, we cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small
clearing.  Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with
a stream of clear water flowing through it.

“We’ll
camp out here tonight and stay here for a few days.”  She announces
while setting down her bag and taking out a couple of things.

“Were
we not going to go into a dungeon right away?”  I ask while I set down
my bad as well.

She
just shakes her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them
together.

I go
into the forest, finding some decent sized branches to make a fire
with.  After a bit, we got a fire started.  Making myself
comfortable, I take my mask off now and sit by her next to the
fire.  We sat there, staring at the light produced by the flame and
hearing the wood as it burns and cracks.

Trying
to break the silence, I ask Jasmine, “What made you want to become an
Adventurer?”

“…”

Her gaze
never leaves the fire and I just stare back at the flame, thinking she didn’t
want to answer.

After
a couple of crackles of wood made by the fire, Jasmine answers softly, “I
wanted to get away from my family.”

“I
see…  Are you on bad terms with your family?”  I respond,
my eyes staying on the fire.

“…”

*Crackle*

“The
Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against
Elves.  Our house has provided many powerful mages, both Conjurers
and Augmenters.  Our lineage in the fire attribute element is second
to none.  We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to
be the most powerful of the elements.”  She stated.

This
was the most Jasmine has talked in one sitting.

“But
Jasmine, aren’t you a…” I look up at, furrowing my brows.

*Nod*

“Since
early on, when I first awakened and started training, my family tried to test
my mana for fire affinity.  I went through various tests so they can
see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels.”

Jasmine
continued on, “When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for fire
attribute, my family shunned me.”

“…”

I
didn’t know how to respond to her.  For the first time, the always
aloof and cold Jasmine seemed… vulnerable.

“I’m
sorry for what happened…” was the only response I managed to utter.

Shaking
her head, she gives me a faint smile.  “The Twin Horns has treated me
well and I don’t dislike what I am.”

I see
her palm form a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her
face as she stares at it.

This
world was a place of discrimination and classification.  The
hierarchical roots imbedded into this land would never truly
disappear.  Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while
even amongst mages Augmenters were discriminated against by Conjurers.  It
goes further than that, where unless one is a deviant or a dual element
specialist, some elements were considered “higher class” than
others.  Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages,
she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had;
something that most mages would kill to acquire.  She was a dark
yellow Augmenter skilled in fighting and with mana manipulation at the ripe age
of 24.  Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she
grew up with, she considered herself average at best.

We put
in a bit more wood and laid out our sleeping bags a couple meters away so we
could still feel the heat.

Lying
down, I feel for Sylvie’s presence.  She was a good distance away but
I could tell she was safe.  She sends me a thought, saying not to
worry and that I should stay safe too.

Eyes
closed, I wait to drift off when I hear Jasmine mumble something.

“…It’s
weird.  When I talk to you, it doesn’t feel like I’m talking to a
child.”

I
don’t respond, pretending to be asleep, hoping she wouldn’t push further for a
reply.

_____________________________________________________________

“Good
morning.”  Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the
time I got up.

I look
to see that there were a couple of fish skewered on a branch being grilled.

“Good
morning!  You should’ve woken me up Jasmine.  There’s no
need for you to do all of the chores on your own.”

“…I
tried waking you up...  You wouldn’t budge.”  Her half
closed eyes that give off an apathetic atmosphere looks at me as if I was some
sort of wild animal.

“
..aha
… I’m sorry, I really need to fix that.” Maybe it was
because I was still growing.

After
eating the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire.  Jasmine
asked if she wanted to take a bath in the stream with her but I just told her
I’d go in after her.

Sigh…  Being
a virtuous King with morals seems to hinder me at times like these.

After
washing up, I put on my mask and swords, thinking we’d go hunting for some mana
beasts around the area when Jasmine stops me.

“Your
opponent for these few days will be me.”

“Huh?”  I
can’t help but be surprised at the turn of events.  We came all the
way here to spar?

“This
area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want
you to focus on fighting me.  I noticed that your fighting style
seems… awkward at times.  Like, you know it in your head, but your
body doesn’t listen to you… or something along those lines.”

Unsheathing
her two daggers, she points one at me, continuing, “We won’t use any kind of
mana for these next few days while sparring.”

I
unsheathe my shortsword too.  “Good idea.”

Mana
should be used as a supplement to your techniques, not a replacement to cover
them.