Chapter 12: City of Geldern, Part 2
Gerald slightly bent his back and cupped his fist in front of his chest and said, "Teacher! Please impart thy knowledge onto me!" he said.
Sera facepalmed and said, "Are you messing with me?"
"Just a little bit," he responded with a giant grin.
"Uh, you bastard! It was you who wanted to know this basic stuff. Do you even wanna listen to my explanations or not?" Sera was a little annoyed because of Gerald's teasing.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I promise I will listen to my teacher like a good boy," Gerald said while lifting his hands in the air like he was surrendering to her. He made an expression like he was really repenting for his actions.
"Hmm," Sera looked at him awkwardly and then decided to ignore his crazy behavior.
She organized her thoughts before speaking, "There isn't much to tell about the Elements. Basically the more you have, the more complex and powerful your spells can be. Of course, you need to have an amazing memory and understanding of the laws of nature. Many genius mages can achieve high positions anywhere they go. Now that combat magic is starting to properly develop and the danger from monsters is increasing daily, it's easy for successful mages to swim in gold and fame."
Sera sighed and said, "There are of course some that have little to no talent in magic and stay at the beginner level for their entire life. Like me."
She continued with a frustrated and sad voice, "When I was younger I tried to study magic. It didn't go very well. I was bullied in the Academy because I was the worst in class, and after a few years I decided to quit and become a fighter instead."
Gerald listened to her story and then said, "Maybe I could help you with that? I got a pretty good grasp on magic I think."
"Pfft, hahaha…" Sera burst out laughing and said, "You? I admit that you know a few spells, but you don't even know the basics. No offense, but I don't think you are qualified to be teaching anyone."
Gerald stayed silent, he didn't try to argue that logic. He only just came into this world. He really wasn't qualified to teach. "Let's leave that conversation for a later date. Do you know if there are any mages that have three or four different Elements or more?"
"Let me think," Sera held her chin while sinking in her thoughts. "Three Elements are about ten times rarer than two, as far as I'm aware. There are a few hundred of those in Myrtana. As for more than that, I believe I heard something about a new mage prodigy with four Elements in the Empire. I don't know much about it though. As for more than four… I don't think there are any, or at least I didn't hear about it. It's possible, of course, that there is someone, but we don't get much up-to-date information on our missions."
"Is that so? I then I guess there is no one that has all six elements?" he asked.
"Are you kidding? Of course not. Even if someone was blessed by a hundred gods it wouldn't be possible. The amount of knowledge would be insane. Can you even imagine having a deep understanding of every single law of nature in your head at the same time? And just thinking about all the decades that person would have to spend studying... " said Sera, with a face full of horror.
Gerald looked at her with a weird expression. She reminded him about all those years he spent in school and at home, learning all kinds of things. When he understood one subject, he quickly got bored and tried something else to challenge himself with. The amount of knowledge in his head was probably much more than she could ever imagine.
"Yeah, you are right. A person like that would have to be insane," he said while turning away, looking at the plains around them.
The road was long. It went through many small forests and grasslands. He could see many roads going in different directions. They passed a few merchants on wooden wagons, that were being pulled by donkeys or horses. As time went on, more and more people came on the main road, going the same way as them.
From young children to old men and animals, all seemed to be going to the same destination. Travelers were going to Geldern to find a place to rest, merchants to sell their wares, and some people just went there to find a better life and work.
"We will reach the city before dark," Sera said, "I think we don't have to worry about bandits anymore. With so many people around they won't attack. Soon we will also reach the outposts where the road guards stay. It is pretty safe there."
Gerald nodded.
After a few long hours, they saw the city was in the distance. There were massive, ten meters tall stone walls, with guards patrolling on top. Gerald could see torches burning on the wall, giving it a majestic aura.
"Phew, we finally arrived. The city gates close after the sunset. If you ever go out, make sure you get back early enough or you will have to sleep outside," Sera reminded him after they went in.
"I'll remember that, don't worry." Gerald responded, "Where can I find a place to rest?"
"About that. If you become a fighter for the Warrior's Guild, you can get a cheap room there. But since you are new here, I guess you could get to the Crystal Dragon Inn. It's right there just follow the road." Sera pointed her with her hand in front of them to a massive well-lit stone building with colorful glass windows.
"I need to take a bath and report to the guild about my team," she said. "I'll see you around," Sera waved at him and then left in an opposite way.
Gerald waved back. Now he was alone again. At least, the atmosphere was more pleasant than in the Bloodhorn village. Since he was tired, he went directly to the Inn and ordered a room. For just one night it cost five silver coins. Luckily Gerald grabbed the money pouch from the bandit he killed. It had a fistful of silver and copper coins and he even found a golden one.
A gold coin was worth one hundred silver coins and a silver coin was worth one hundred copper coins. This Inn was more than thirty times more expensive than the one in Bloodhorn village. However, it was totally worth it. For dinner, he received roasted meat with something that looked like baked potatoes and a big wooden mug of delicious beer. And it tasted a hundred times better than that muddy water he was served in the morning.
It really brought a smile to his face.
He quickly wolfed down the good food and then finished the bear in one big gulp. Satisfied, he went to his room and jumped on the bed. It was nice and comfortable, giving him a feeling like he was floating.
After a few minutes of enjoying the rest, he suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.
Today he killed two people and he didn't feel anything while doing it. Or actually, he didn't feel anything wrong. Quite the contrary, when his life was in danger, it was the first time in his life that he felt so alive.
He thought about it for a while and then remembered that apart from a few words that Sera said at the beginning, she didn't seem too concerned with the death of the bandits, or even her teammates apart from her friend.
It seemed like it was a part of a completely normal daily life for people to kill each other. He decided to ask her about it when they would meet again in the future. If death was such a common occurrence, then standing out was probably not a good idea. Now he regretted not telling Sera to keep his twin Elements a secret. It could attract some unwanted attention.
"Oh well, I'll leave future problems to the future me," he murmured to himself and fell asleep.
The next morning he woke up to the bustling noise of a lively city. For a second he even though he was back on Earth.
For breakfast, he got a freshly baked meat pie and a mug of goat milk that he quickly finished. For today Gerald decided to find out more about the world. He asked for directions to the library…and discovered there isn't one. At least not for the public.
Gerald was standing in front of a massive building made of white stone. It was the Magic Academy. Only they had a library for storing history books and even the latest research. It was not easy to get inside.
Gerald still came up to their reception and asked if he could get into the library.
"The library is not for just anyone. You've got no business being here. Scram," answered the receptionist.
"Come on man, I'm just trying to learn about magic. This is Magic Academy after all," Gerald protested.
"No, no, no. If you wanna be a student, you can join the next time when the Academy accepts new students. That would be in a bit over half a year," the receptionist said. "Just leave and stop making my day more complicated than it needs to be."
"Ah~" Gerald sighed. "Fine, fine I'm leaving," he turned around and prepared to leave. So much for freedom of information. The internet was so much better suited for things like that.
"Hold on young man!"
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