It didn't take long for me to get home. The first thing I did when I got home, apart from kicking my boots off and throwing my armour onto the floor, was to head to the bathroom and fill the wooden tub with water and heat it with magic. Even though the amount of mana needed to do so was exhausting, I was already exhausted, so a little more didn't matter.
However, the hot water was soothing on my tired body as I settled into the tub. Although it stung the wound on my arm, I gritted my teeth and bared with it.
'This is the best end for a day like today.' I reclined in the tub, even though it wasn't the most comfortable, it was still nice to stretch in warm water.
The tingling of pain coming from my arm brought me back to myself. Lifting my left hand up, I used light control and much to my expectations, it was only light, there wasn't any healing or warmth to it. I then tried to replicate the purification spell from earlier.
However, it lacked the same warmth. It had the same look but just felt off, like if you watched someone give an impression of a famous person. It was close, but your brain still knew that something was wrong.
'Well, that's to be expected.' Magic is like a computer program, at least I think it was, I'm not a programmer after all. Simply put, you need to give each spell functions and conditions. The more you do, the clearer the spell but the more resources it'll cost, and the opposite was also true.
'That begs the question, do I really need light magic to use healing spells?' putting my theory to the test, I controlled some water wrapped it around my wound and infused mana into it with the intention of cleansing.
It took a while but soon, a glow emanating from the water and the wound started to sting, and then black liquid started to seep out, dyeing the water black. Discarding the tainted water into a small bucket off to the side, I continued to cleanse the wound until the water ran clear.
I was glad that I decided to cleanse the wound first before closing it as I could have been sick, considering cleansing is different from purifying. Basically, purification only got rid of the curse of blight, but didn't remove any bacteria that had accumulated.
Now with the wound cleaned, I wrapped my arm in the water again, this time I used the intention of regeneration. The going was slow, but the puncture holes soon started to close and even the skin was regaining its colour. Soon, the entire wound was gone and didn't even leave a scar.
Surprised by the results, I felt a little embarrassed that I didn't even think about using magic this way. I just assumed that light magic was the only element that can use healing magic but in fact, most elements have the flexibility to be anything.
Sitting in the rapidly cooling bath, I played with light magic a little longer and eventually came to the decision of what its guiding concept would be. 'Radiation, light is a form of radiation, after all.'
With that decision done, I rose from the now-cold bath, and I dried and clothed myself before cleaning up the bathroom.
The sun had set by the time I was all finished. I sat in front of the fire in the living room, as I didn't have anything in particular to do tonight, and I didn't have the energy to conduct any more magic research and craved the idea of doing nothing but resting.
I brewed myself a nice pot of herbal tea. 'Strange, I was never one for tea, back in the day. But now, I find myself enjoying them a lot these days.' I mused as I poured out a cup. Finding my mind wondering to distant places. I put it down to my exhaustion and troubles of the day.
Just as I got back to my seat and reclined into it, a knock came to my door. 'Who could that be?' I wondered as it was already evening. Way past normal visiting hours.
Making my way to the door, I waved my hand, taking the mana out of the magic circle on the door, deactivating the shielding array, and then opened the door. At first, my eyes struggled to see anything in the dark, until I realised that the person who knocked was small in stature.
Looking down, I saw a small boy, who looked to be no older than four years old. He had short brown hair, which matched his doe-eyed brown eyes. However, the thing that I noticed was his sickly complexion, even his body looked smaller and frailer than a boy his age.
"Hello there. Isn't it a little late for you to be out on your own?" I asked, as I recognised him as being my next-door neighbour, who I often saw on my way home from the windows in his home.
"M-My sister hasn't come home yet. She said that she'd be home before sunset, and I didn't know what to do." He spoke in a small voice. I could see him shake as he spoke and couldn't tell if it was because he was scared or cold.
"What about your parents?" In the time I have lived here, I haven't seen any adults enter or leave their homes. Though, it wasn't like I was staking out their home all day every day.
"M-My mum went to the next town over to sell some of her works. And my dad is away with the army." He explained. I knew that this country wasn't at war, so I assumed that his dad was either stationed at a nearby fort or was, in fact, dead.
"Ah, I see. Well, come inside. It's too cold to be talking on the doorstep." I said as I stood to one side to let him inside. The boy hesitated for a moment, but soon stepped inside, as the chill on the air was brutal tonight, as it was still autumn.
The young lad timidly took his first few steps inside. I gently closed the door behind him and walked ahead of him into the living room.
"Come take a seat by the fire, I'll pour you a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea," I said before I went into the kitchen to collect another cup of tea.
As I returned to the living room, I saw the boy sitting in a chair, he wasn't tall enough for his legs to reach the floor, so his feet dangled. He looked around, seemingly feeling a little anxious.
Placing the cup onto the table, I sat back in my chair. "So, where did your sister go?" I asked after waiting for him to take a sip of the tea.
"She said that she was going out to run some errands and buy some groceries." I listened carefully. I have been hearing whispers of people going missing recently. Knowing the cause of the missing people, I doubt they were connected to this case, but she did look, to be the right age.
"…Can your sister read?" I asked after a pause. The boy was taken aback by the question but soon nodded. "OK, well, it's quite late, so for tonight, stay here, I have plenty of space. I will write a note for your sister, so if she does return, she'll know where you are." I added.
"…Ok." The boy said after a silent pause. He seemed to be slightly impatient, but there wasn't anything I could do without knowing anything more. Plus, that meant leaving a small boy alone for the night while chasing Boogeymen. For now, it was best to wait until the morning.
Collecting some writing supplies, I asked for the sister's name. He told me it was Ula, and his name was Oswin. I of course gave my name as well. I wrote a short note for Ula and went to attach it to their front door.
As I came back inside, I saw Oswin sitting looking into the fire. Before I could say anything, a small growl echoed out from his stomach. "Have you not eaten dinner?" I asked to which he shook his head.
"Then follow me. It's a bit late but can't go skipping dinner." I said as I entered the kitchen with Oswin following behind.
With him sitting at the small table, I began to cook the simple meal of grilled meat, herb-fried eggs and some rye bread.
I could feel the young boy's eyes watching me as I cooked. If the small gasp was anything to go by, I think he first became enamoured when I used magic to ignite the cooking range, and he kept watching until the food was placed in front of him. Sitting opposite him, I tucked into my own plate of food, as I watched Oswin greedily enjoy his meal.
After scraping up every morsel, the boy finished his plate and seemed to be full and satisfied, his eyes started to become heavy.
Just before I was about to suggest he head to bed, another knock came to my door. 'I seem to be quite popular this evening.' Oswin seemed to perk up at the knock, hoping to see the familiar face of his sister.
As I opened the door, I did indeed spy a young girl standing there. "Ula, I presume?" I asked, as I looked at the young girl, I remember seeing hanging washing this morning.
"Y-Yes, are you Cain? Is my brother here?" She replied timidly, looking a little concerned. I couldn't blame her for being so, after all, I was still just the stranger next door.
"He is indeed." I smiled in response as I took a step to the side to reveal the small boy half-hidden around the kitchen doorframe.
"Ula!" He yelled as he ran for his sister. She leaned down to catch the boy who ran without thinking about stopping. "I was scared that you left me as well." He sobbed as he buried his head into her dress.
"Of course not. I was held up by the city guard for a while." Ula replied as she gently brushed the boy's hair.
However, the mention of the guards piqued my attention. "You said guards, would you mind explaining?" I asked. If it was connecting to the missing people, I could get a hint to the culprit's location before the guards chase them to the quest location.
Seemingly forgetting that I was still there, Ula jumped a little at my question. "Oh, well I don't mind." She acquiesced to my request.
"Perfect. Come on in, I'll brew a pot of tea." I said, stepping to one side to invite them both inside.
As they both walked past me, I sensed a foul scent in the air and a prickliness on my neck. Attached to Ula's back was a thick, black strand of mana, undulating and pulsing a sickening pulse.
In a quick motion, I snatched it in a mana-covered hand and tossed it out the door. 'Creepy bastard, putting a tracer on her like some sort of prey.' I cast a cold gaze out onto the dark street as I tried to spy on anyone skulking about but failed to see anything.
Closing the door, I turned to see Ula's worried face looking at the magic circle written on the door. "Don't worry, it's only a protective charm. The door still works as normal." I didn't know if it was my words of the tug of the dress and the smile from Oswin, but she seemed to settle a little.
Directing them to the kitchen, I brewed another pot of tea and sat to listen to the tale. The brief summary, during her shopping trip to the market, a fight broke out between two young men. One, however, seemed to be in an animalistic rage and even when the guards arrived, he still fought on, all in all, it took four fully armed men to put him down.
That wouldn't have been all that strange, however, the other man suddenly had an outburst and managed to steal a guard's weapon and began to cut bystanders down. Because of that, it was decided that it was an unnatural phenomenon, so everyone was detained and questioned.
"That must have been a difficult scene to witness," I said to the young girl who sat holding the teacup for warmth.
"I think it's best if both you and Oswin spend the night here," I added. Both of the youngsters looked at me with a confused look. "As you might have guessed, I'm a magic user. When you entered earlier, Ula, I noticed a tracer spell had been placed on you. So, at the very least, I think you should spend the night, just in case." My words struck Ula like lightning, draining the colour from her face. I could see her start shaking. I doubted that she understood fully what I meant by a tracer spell, but she clearly understood what I was saying, judging by her reaction.
"Don't worry, I have already removed the spell, and this house is protected from intruders." Her mind seemed to be in turmoil, I was unsure whether she heard my attempt at reassurance.
"Ula are you al-" My words were interrupted by a rippling sensation coming from my connection with the barrier around the house.
I stood up from the table with my eyes fixed in the direction of the front door. 'Someone is probing the barrier.' The little ripples that came from several points out front were proof enough. The only person that would be doing so would be the one targeting Ula.
"Is everything alright, mister?" Oswin asked. He probably couldn't keep up with the conversation as he seemed pretty relaxed. His sister, however, looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Yes, everything is fine. Just an uninvited guest." My voice was cold and severe.
'This isn't about any hidden treasures now. This is personal.' I could feel a smouldering fire burning in my gut, as I walked towards the door. I wasn't about to let a psycho run about, knowing where I live. Even if it was a powerful caster.