"I still can't believe someone actually tried to rob you guys." Cyrus said as he placed the barbell that he was currently holding over his head back onto the rack.
"I still can't believe that they were dumb enough to try." Freddy replied with a slight chuckle.
At the moment, the two agents, along with Valerie and Evan, were all working out in the hotel's gym. It was still pretty early in the morning, so the quartet of young sorcerers had the place entirely to themselves. So there was no problem with them freely discussing the events of the previous day.
"You should've seen what Evan did to that one guy." Valerie added while she curled a set of fifty-pound dumbbells. "The dude looked like he caught the plague or something."
Cyrus then turned to the 'wind magic' user. "And you were able to do that with an enchantment?"
"A hex, technically." The dread-headed teen replied.
"Wow." The 'tree magic' user nodded.
To say that Cyrus was interested in the art of enchanting would be putting it mildly. Ever since discovering the skill a few months into his time working as a DPA agent, the young man had wanted to know more about how the whole thing worked. The fact that sorcerers could bestow what could only be described as "status effects" onto other people was a truly fascinating concept. Not to mention an incredible skill that someone like him should be able to learn.
Cyrus's previous attempts to learn about the skill had hit a dead end on account of the stunning lack of available information concerning the topic. Oddly enough, the station didn't have any books on the subject that were meant for beginners. And the already limited number of sorcerer-only websites wasn't that much help either. According to Ayako, the only real way to learn the skill was directly from another sorcerer who could enchant. And people like that were few and far between, mainly because of how time-consuming it was to actually learn it.
From what the 'tree magic' user could gather, obtaining a functional level of enchanting ability took well over a year and a half of constant training. And most people simply didn't have that much free time on their hands. Nor did they really see a point in learning it since they just used their magic to handle all of their problems anyway.
"Now that you mention it, I think Cyrus was interested in learning about enchanting." Freddy then spoke up. Which then caused Cyrus to give his friend a curious look before the 'dark magic' returned a wink.
"Oh? Is that right?" Evan seemed genuinely interested in hearing that.
Seeing as there was no real reason for him to deny it, Cyrus simply nodded his head in affirmation. "Yeah, it is. I've been interested in learning about it for a while now. Since my magic doesn't have a lot of direct combat potential, I thought enchanting could give me an edge."
"Smart thinking." Evan agreed. He could see the logic in the man's thinking. Cyrus's magic may have been a great support type, but its offensive power was lacking.
'I know he has great mana control. He needs it, considering how complex his magical attribute is. And he has enough mana to be considered B-rank, which is more than enough to be an effective enchanter. That being said, I'm definitely interested in seeing what someone with his powers would be able to do with a power like enchanting. And it might help move my plans further along if I help him with that.'
All it took was a few seconds before Evan had made up his mind. If his new associate wanted to learn enchanting, then there was no reason for him not to help the guy out. And if his hunch was correct, this could simply be seen as him making an early investment for a future asset. Besides, who better to learn enchanting from than the grandson of the man who invented the art in the first place?
"Say, I could teach you if you want?" Evan then said to Cyrus with a smile on his face.
"Really?" Cyrus' eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Sure, why not? You have already great mana control, and I have a hunch that you'd be pretty good at it."
Valerie couldn't help but ask a question. "Is mana control really that important for enchanting?"
The blonde never had any interest in learning the skill, mainly because it was an educational commitment that she wasn't willing to make. She did despise any form of schooling, after all. But part of her did want to know if she would even be able to learn it at all.
"It is." Evan answered truthfully. "Depending on the specific enchantment you want to use, the amount of mana needs to be precise, otherwise you'd risk seriously injuring your target...or yourself."
"Gotcha." The women nodded, albeit in a slightly disappointed manner.
"I mean...it would be kinda dumb to turn down the offer." Cryurs replied to the earlier question. "And I doubt I'd be able to find a better teacher. Sure...why not?"
Evan couldn't help but grin. "Sweet! And don't worry, it's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Most of the books used to teach enchanting were made using my grandfather's early notes. He perfected all of his theories long after they were published and made it way more efficient to teach beginners."
"Why did he never update the books?" Valerie couldn't help but ask.
"Because, according to him, you should always reserve the good stuff for yourself. All he was required to do was write down the basics so that others could learn and then teach themselves. He kept all the advanced theories and techniques for his family."
Freddy then asked the next question. "I'm guessing that's also why you guys keep the flying enchantment so secretive?"
"Yes." The 'wind magic' user replied. "That enchantment alone made our family a ton of money. Only people in our family are allowed to learn it. And that's after we prove to the old man that we're capable of doing it. It's also why whenever someone gets it done, they have to come to us directly. If one of us ended up getting kidnapped, then someone would be able to force it out of us."
"That makes sense." Cyrus agreed. It was easy to see how power like that would make anyone in the MacNamra family a target.
"Have you ever given it to someone?" Valerie then questioned as she moved on to a set of sixty-pound dumbbells.
"Elizabeth and I did the enchantments for each other. But I haven't done it for anyone else. At least not yet."
"Interesting..." Freddy rubbed his chin in thought.
Just before either of the three agents could ask another question, someone entered the gym. A middle-aged woman who was very obviously not a sorcerer. With the new arrival, the group decided to cut their conversation short and return to their individual exercises. Neither of them wanted to deal with the consequences of accidentally spilling the secret of their kind to a regular human. The last thing any of them wanted was one of the DPA's ghost agents showing up at their doorstep.
That being said, Cyrus was genuinely looking forward to learning enchantment from Evan, even if it was just the basics. Either way, the 'tree magic' user was certainly looking forward to how the rest of this trip was going to play out.
-(o)-
Once the group was done with their workout, they decided to head back to their rooms to shower and get ready for the day. Just as they were about to set foot into the elevator, their senses alerted them to an oncoming, yet familiar, presence that was coming from the other end of the hallway.
The four teens quickly turned their heads and immediately locked eyes with Hannah and Mikayla. Two of the three sorcerers who were also staying at the hotel for the week.
"Hey, how's it going?" Hannah greeted the group with a wave. "You guys decided to check the gym out too?"
"Sure did!" Evan replied while returning the wave. "It's a pretty sweet up in there."
"Way better than I expected, too. They actually have hundred-pound dumbbells here!" Valerie added on.
"Good to know." The strawberry blonde replied.
"Anyways, you guys have a good day. Maybe we'll run into each other again."
"Or..." Mikayla suddenly interjected. "We can all just hang out sometime tonight? I still need to pay Cyrus back for helping me out with my shop after all."
The 'tree magic' user let out a slight chuckle. "You really don't need to do all that. I was doing my job after all."
"True, but I still want to."
"What did you guys have in mind?" Valerie asked.
Hannah quickly put forth an idea. One that she was genuinely considering long before running into the agents. "There's this restaurant not too far from here that has a great view of the beach during sunset. My brother loves seafood, but he's too antisocial to actually go himself. So, me and Mikayla were planning on dragging him there so he'd get a chance to try it out."
Cyrus, Freddy, Valerie, and Evan exchanged a series of looks with one another before the unofficial leader of the group gave the rest a shrug and a nod. It wasn't the worst idea in the world. And the place did sound like it'd be worth their while.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Evan said to the two women in front of him. "But, we'll have to double-check with my sister before confirming."
"Fine with us." Mikayla nodded in understanding. The 'bone magic' user then turned her attention towards Cyrus. "Shoot me a text later when you know for sure. We can work out the details after that."
"Sure, no problem." Cyrus replied.
With that, the two groups said their goodbyes before splitting off, leaving the agents and their charge to make their way into the elevator and up to their floor.
"I'm pretty sure that chick has the hots for you." Evan said to Cyrus with a devious grin, earning a quick laugh from Freddy and a confused look from Valerie.
"You think so?" Cyrus tilted his head in confusion. That wasn't really the vibe that he got from the woman.
"Oh, definitely."
"Too bad she's not his type." Freddy suddenly added, earning a couple of confused looks from Evan and Valerie. Cyrus quickly rolled his eyes before his friend decided to clarify what he meant. "Freckles here is pretty open about only liking older women."
"Seriously?" Valerie quirked an eyebrow at that. She certainly wasn't expecting that to be what the guy was into. Wait, wasn't that like a textbook sign of "mommy issues", or something?
"I mean...yeah." The 'tree magic' user shrugged. "All the women I've dated have been older than me."
"Hey, everybody has their thing." Evan stated as if he had just said something profound.
"And what about you?" Freddy couldn't help but instigate a little further. "What's your thing? What kind of woman is the genius son of the DPA commissioner into?"
Valerie suddenly became hyper-focused on this conversation. She was genuinely interested in what the response was going to be. The guy probably had a plethora of women who would be willing to throw themselves at him if given the opportunity. So, hearing about what kind of women were his type would certainly give her a bit of insight into how he worked.
The 'wind magic' user pondered over his answer for a moment while trying to figure out how exactly he was going to word this. Evan knew from recent experience that the type of women he would usually give his attention to were not exactly good for him, or how people viewed him. So, he gave an answer that was both honest and would reflect positively on him.
"I like tough girls with a cute face!"
"I see." Freddy nodded, albeit a bit sad that the man was indeed into women. Then again, he didn't exactly say that he wasn't into guys either. But that might have just been wishful thinking on his part.
On the other side of the elevator, Valerie maintained a calm exterior. However, on the inside, the tall blonde was secretly pumping her fist in victory. Granted, the 'fire magic' user knew that she wasn't exactly the prettiest woman in the world. A few of her asshole cousins made sure that she was aware of that whenever they got the chance. But she was definitely someone who most people would consider "tough". After all, she was a successful solo hunter who was not afraid to get her hands dirty when necessary.
'There's a chance!' The blonde screamed internally while maintaining her composure. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself in front of a bunch of guys.
Before they knew it, the elevator had arrived at their floor. The quartet of young sorcerers quickly parted ways before heading back to their respective rooms and getting ready for the day. There wasn't exactly much on the agenda for either Evan or Elizabeth. It was basically the same plan as they had for yesterday. But, the twins wanted to make sure that they accomplished their goals before even thinking about goofing off later. A sentiment that their parents made sure to instill in them at an early age.