Chapter 37: Kraft's Departure
"Well done. You two are learning quite quickly."
Rhodes praised Norne and Eirik, who had both successfully managed to conjure a ball of light in their hands. It was the seventh day of their training. In that time, they had gone from complete novices to taking their first steps in magic. Their progress was quite fast, or so Serie had said after watching them.
"This is so difficult," Eirik said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he dispersed the ball of light. He had seen how effortlessly Rhodes used magic and had assumed it would be easy to learn. But it had taken them a week just to get this far with the basic light arrow spell, and they still hadn't fully mastered it. At this rate, who knew when they would ever become powerful mages.
Compared to the impatient Eirik, Norne was much calmer. He tried to extend the ball of light one more time before letting it dissipate.
Watching him, Rhodes nodded to himself. Although Eirik had more natural talent, Norne's patient approach would likely allow him to master magic sooner.
"How is the teaching going?" Serie asked, walking over to him.
"To be honest, it's a little difficult."
Rhodes had thought teaching magic would be easy, but it turned out to be surprisingly challenging. He couldn't treat Norne and Eirik the way Serie had treated him. He had to explain everything step by step, with great care. "You know, I'm suddenly realizing that I might have a real talent for magic."
"You're just noticing that now?" Serie rolled her eyes at him. To be able to replicate and even improve upon the elves' light arrow spell just by watching it once... "terrifying" didn't even begin to describe his talent.
"Ah, this is a problem. By the way, do you have any better teaching methods?" Rhodes was practicing with a small magic circle in his hand, honing his own skills while he taught the others.
"No. This is my first time teaching someone," Serie said flatly. She had taught him by demonstrating the spell and having him observe and try to replicate it, over and over, until he got it right. It had been effortless. It was only after seeing how he taught others that she realized how troublesome it could be.
"Well now! You two are learning quite diligently," Kraft said, walking over and clapping Norne and Eirik on their shoulders. He hadn't tried to stop them from learning magic. For a warrior, learning magic could only make them stronger. He himself didn't have the talent for it, so he had become a warrior-monk. But since these two did have the talent, they should make good use of it. That was the main reason he hadn't objected to Rhodes teaching them elven magic.
"Mr. Kraft, learning magic is so hard!"
"I know the feeling," Kraft nodded. For him, learning magic had been as difficult as climbing to the peak of mounain. "But this time, I've come to say goodbye. The war is about to begin."
"War?" Serie asked. "What war?"
"The armies of the three races have begun to move," Kraft said casually. "The Sky-Winged scouts have discovered a demon army gathering in the north." The north was where the Great Elven Forest was located. Although the Elven Kingdom and the Great Elven Forest were separate, the latter was the ancestral home of all elves. And they had only split due to a difference of opinion; there was no deep-seated hatred between them. Now that a demon army was gathering and threatening the Great Elven Forest, the allied armies had begun to mobilize.
Rhodes's hands stilled, and the magic circle dissipated. "Is it a large-scale war?"
"Comparable to the great wars of history," Kraft said, his voice low. "So I must hurry back."
Serie's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of interest in them. Norne and Eirik exchanged a look. Even though Kraft had spoken casually, they could both sense that this would be a war of unprecedented scale.
"Mr. Kraft, we..." Norne began hesitantly. He wanted to join the war. Though he knew he would be just an insignificant pawn, he had his own reasons. Staying in the village would do nothing to solve the current predicament of the human race. Before Rhodes had appeared, he had thought that the only way for humans to become strong was to become powerful warriors like the dwarves. But Rhodes had shown him another possibility.
As if reading his mind, Kraft patted his shoulder. "You two stay here and continue learning magic. This war is not for ordinary people to participate in."
Norne was surprised. "You're not going with him?" he asked Rhodes. He had assumed they would all be leaving with Kraft.
Rhodes shook his head. He first glanced at Serie, and after she gave a slight nod, he said, "We have another destination, one that is even more dangerous than the war Kraft is fighting in." Their destinations, after all, were the ruins of the Dwarven Kingdom and the Godfall Land, both of which were no-man's-lands for any living creature.
Norne felt a sense of relief. In that case, he could wait until he had mastered magic before going on an adventure of his own. But Kraft seemed to have other ideas.
"Rhodes, I have an audacious request."
"What is it?"
"Can you take these two with you on your adventure?"
Rhodes was confused. He had no intention of taking them with him; he had been hoping they would stay and pass on the magic he had taught them. "May I ask why? You know how dangerous our destination is, don't you?"
To be honest, Rhodes already felt a little guilty about Somme. After hearing their destination, the dwarf hadn't shown any reluctance, but had instead pounded his chest and declared he would go with them. And from his observations over the past few weeks, Rhodes knew that Somme truly wanted to go on an adventure with them. He was a reliable companion.
"They are both strong, but not strong enough," Kraft said, as if seeing right through to Norne's thoughts. "If they want to achieve something great, they need to be tested."
His words struck a chord with Norne. Could it be that the two of them...?
"This is not for you or I to decide," Rhodes said. "We should ask them for their opinion."
Kraft nodded in agreement.
"I have no objection," Norne said without much hesitation. He looked forward to adventuring with a fellow human like Rhodes. Perhaps, after hearing his own dream, Rhodes would support him.
"Me too!"
Seeing the usually cautious Norne agree so readily, Eirik quickly followed suit.
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yo guys trying something new for Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter