RSTUM 117 (Patreon)

117: Alice

Annabelle taught Leon two magic spells that opened his mind to limitless possibilities. Not just that, it could be said that Leon's passion for magic transformed into something new.

The magical elements were one thing, but they were just about bending certain elements to certain degrees, and despite everything, their applications were limited.

As for the Magical arts, such as the Arcane Arts, things got very interesting very quickly. Leon started finding new ways to apply the Magic Circle spell; for example, he can maintain a magic circle around his forearm when he casts magic to accelerate the evocation and the assimilation of any spell.

Annabelle also stated that there was an ancient practice of forming and maintaining Magical Circles around the heart of a mage to form what is known as a Mana Heart. The number of reformed magical circles around the heart would determine the rank of the mage, but it proved to be very dangerous in advanced stages.

As of now, most mages use what can be called an Anima.

Leon heard that word a few times, but he never really understood what it entails. All he knows is that it is a magical artifact that helps accelerate the spellcasting process. It can be a wand, a staff, or even a weapon.

So with these limited methods of using Magic, Annabelle stated that the only reason Leon has been using magic so far is because he has had an Anima with him all that time; the problem is that he never realized it up until now.

"The Ring of Horus?" Leon asked.

"Indeed." She nodded.

An Anima can be a ring or any kind of accessory as well. The ability of the Anima is that it can tap into the Mana Waves coming from a Mage and affect the Mana of the World to form the phenomenon known as a spell.

If it sounds too complicated, Leon understood that an Anima is a remote control for World Mana and the Mage is the battery. If the battery is strong, the amount of World Mana it can harness is also strong.

A common misconception about Mana is that it comes from within the Mage and goes out to perform magical feats. That's why many spellcasters tend to say that they have run out of Mana and that they can no longer cast any spells.

Leon understood this bit from the book of the Arcane Theory. The Mana inside the Mage is known as Essence Mana, while the Mana outside is known as World Mana. People need to influence World Mana with their Essence Mana to cause the phenomenon of Magic.

The problem with the Arcane Theory is that, despite being a very in-depth book about how Mana works, it is not modern, and some of the techniques listed within are outdated because easier and less risky ways were discovered in later ages. An example of that is the Mana Heart, which Annabelle explained earlier.

Anima Spellcasting, however, is a modern method. Essentially, it is the most common method nowadays, and it made Annabelle laugh so hard when Leon realized he had been using an Anima all along without realizing it. He thought that Magic had been coming out of his hand all that time.

Still, there was a big problem Leon didn't even know about, and that was that he needed to "Calibrate" his Anima.

Every Anima Artifact possesses a certain magical script that programs it to cast certain spells way faster than others. This may be the only downside of Anima spellcasting, and it is that it limits the Mage to a few spells that can be cast at a better rate and at a lower cost.

Where the problem comes in is that the Ring of Horus is invisible and untouchable by anyone other than Leon. This makes Annabelle unable to calibrate it for him, and it would take him a long time and effort to learn how to calibrate Animas effectively.

That's why Annabelle decided to give Leon an Anima, which he can use, and since there are no limitations on how many Animas a mage can carry, Annabelle gave him a ring made of silver.

Leon equipped that ring right next to the Ring of Horus and started to learn how to manipulate it.

What amazed Leon is that he could use the "Mana Thread" spell in order to access this artifact and familiarize himself with it. Back during that time in the Illusion Formation, when he was trapped alongside Vadim and the mysterious Water Mage, Leon tried to activate the Figurehead of the Ship using a Fire spell, but he failed to do it properly because he needed to know the Mana Thread method. If he had used it at that time, he would have handled it quite easily, but there were other complications during that time other than that, of course.

Either way, Leon started learning how to handle the Anima ring he was given. According to Annabelle, he can store a few spells, and since his Anima ring is quite a rare one, it can hold up to five spells.

Leon chose to have the "Magic Bolt", "Magic Shield", "Light", "Heal", and "Flames".

He wanted to have "Vacuum Blast" on the ring, but Annabelle had no knowledge of that spell and doesn't know how to control the vacuum as a secondary element to the Air Element.

Either way, Leon's knowledge of magic has reached a new height, and he is now at least eligible for Academic Magic studies.

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[ Rare Anima Ring ] <Rare Silver Ring>

A ring that resonates with the Essence Mana of a magic caster and his ability to regulate certain Mana Applications. It contains the following spells:-

• Magic Bolt
• Magic Shield
• Light
• Heal
• Flames

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***

As the elders of the family promised, the situation regarding Leon's papers was being covered by the main Ducal palace. Leon's existence kept the duchy's upper echelons busy with handling both the temple and the anger of Duchess Eleanor, as well as taking precautions when the Duke would arrive and start asking questions as well.

In this inner family feud, the Elders chose to play the game according to the law without offending any of the sides. Lara Dark was overseeing the transfer of the documents to the Ducal Palace and how it all worked out in favor of Leon.

More than that, Lara had another goal, and that was to hoard as much evidence as possible against the family for going against Leon's best interests and hiding the fact that he was a late bloomer and possessed the Light and Shadow elements. Annabelle may have promised the Elders to give them time in order to keep the fire from burning their asses, but she wasn't dumb enough to not hold evidence against them.

Lara may have appeared as a peace ambassador between the Ducal Palace and the Duchess, but she has gathered all the evidence she needs to bury everyone under a mountain of trouble.

With all of that out of the way, Leon can now attend the Silver Peaks Academy.

Elder Duncan Dark paid a visit to the Garden Palace that night, and his knights bore a large coffer of 10,000 gold pieces. This amount would make the whole duchy eat and drink for an entire week. (The population of the Dark duchy is around 1.5 million.)

This amount of money is equivalent to 8 years of allowance for an S-rank young talent in the family. It was agreed that they would consider Leon's talent to have bloomed at the age of 10, making him the latest late bloomer in history.

On top of that, there was a huge gift waiting for Leon from Elder Morgan Dark, who insulted him back. This gift was a Fairuz Charger Stallion, a Noble Warhorse from an excellent bloodline of warhorses from the Fairuz Sultanate. The Stallion was 5 years old and came with a certificate with its name, the name of the stable it was born in, and the ancestral line of horses it hails from.

The stallion, Maroon, was transported in a covered and caged wagon pulled by four draft horses. The wagon was made of sturdy wood and had iron bars on the sides to keep Maroon from escaping. The wagon was also covered with a canvas tarp to protect Maroon from the sun and rain. The four draft horses were strong and sturdy, and they were able to pull the wagon along the rough terrain. Maroon was a beautiful red stallion with a long mane and tail. He was very strong and powerful, and he was known for his wild and untamed spirit. Maroon was being transported to a new home, and he was not happy about it. He reared up and kicked at the sides of the wagon, but the draft horses kept pulling, and soon they were out of sight. [A/n: this paragraph was written by A.I.]

Upon the arrival of the horse, the duchess ordered a small ceremony to be held. She invited an elder from the Fairuz sultanate, who lived in the duchy, to attend. According to Fairuzi tradition, horses are not to be owned, and they must be treated with respect and reverence. When a horse is transferred to a new rider, a small ceremony is held in its honor with music, incense, and musk. This is done to celebrate the horse's new home.

The ceremony is similar to a wedding, but with a familiar yet otherworldly atmosphere. There was even a pact and a vow between the horse and his new rider that felt like too much of a commitment, but according to Annabelle, it was merely a formality to win the support of the Fairuzi Merchant Association, to which that elder belonged.

As for Leon and the stallion Maroon, Leon had to personally take it to the stable to feed and brush it for the first time to break the tension. Of course, Lance and Galawin accompanied Leon in order to protect him from the stallion if it were to enter a state of rage.

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{ Maroon } [ Faruzi Charger Stallion ] < Lv.9 Large Beast >

[STR: 45] [END: 32] [AGI: 56] [PRC: 18] [INT: 7]

- Acceleration: The creature can rush from naught to top speed in three paces with its legs and has the ability to increase its speed further beyond its normal top speed as long as it remains unhindered and runs in a straight line.

- Trampling Charge: If the creature moves at its top speed, it can ram and trample any opponent of the same size or smaller to knock it down and devastate it with both its front and rear hooves.

- Blood Fury: The creature can enter a state of fury once, during which both its strength and endurance increase dramatically and it becomes an unstoppable force of nature. This ability tires the creature after using it, and it needs double the rest it takes to recover and use it again.

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"Calling it a horse is one thing; calling it a menace is more appropriate." Leon commented after reading the horse's status.

"What do you think?" Lance asked.

"It is a beast indeed. I can't believe this boy will be a quiet one." Leon said and turned to Lance, "And why call it Maroon? He's a brownish red, alright, but Maroon? It doesn't feel like the right name to me."

"You can't change the name of a Fairuzi horse, unfortunately." Galawin said, "Those horses aren't only sacred, but those Fairuzi nomads have them on their flags and sigils everywhere in their lands."

"Sounds like a religion to me." Leon said.

"Indeed it is." Lance nodded, "While the Light is an accepted faith in the Fairuz wastelands, they venerate the Horse Spirit that saved their ancestors and build tombs for their horses. The Light Temple still views them as heretical, though. Old grudges and bad blood."

"Well… I'm excited to learn more about History and politics, but I am more interested in Magic nowadays, so I'll be off to my room." Leon said after closing the horse's stall and making sure the horse has its hay and water.

As Leon walked back from the stable to the main building, he was met with Lara, who insisted on making him go through all the legal processes she had to go through all day because of him. While it was most certainly annoying, Leon managed to get a grasp of how the system works and how much knowledge he needs regarding this political and legal system if he is going to navigate its waters.

Just like that, an hour passed, but a new visitor appeared at the front door of the Garden Palace. He was the one and only Sir Devon, the Knight of the Godfrey Duchy, who worked directly under Archduchess Eleanor.

He was let in and allowed to meet directly with Annabelle and Erielle. There, he told them some news about the disappearance of Alice Godfrey.

Just at that moment, up in Leon's chambers, he opened the door and barged in with Lara on his tail, as she still kept nagging him on the importance of appealing to the elders the day after tomorrow in the Ducal palace to allow him a certain level of authority within the duchy.

However, this was cut short when Lara bumped into Leon, who stopped walking just as he was about to cross the threshold of his chambers. She peered ahead and saw the cause of his stumble.

"Hey there… Leon~♥️…"

Immediately, and without even warning her brother, Lara poked Leon's eyes and pushed him outside the room before slamming the door shut.

"HEY! GIVE ME BACK MY LEON!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITHOUT YOUR CLOTHES?"

"LEON LIKES IT THIS WAY!"

"WHO TOLD YOU TO…"

"STEP AWAY, LARA…"

Lying on the ground outside of his chamber after seeing such a sight, Leon thought of what he just saw.

That was some sexy gown that girl was wearing. He couldn't tell if his nose was bleeding from the sight of that transparent black sheer gown she was wearing or from falling on his face.

"Still… worth it."