Al stretches himself as he yawns. He looks outside his window and it was cloudy. The weather forecasts said that it was expected to snow this afternoon. The first snowfall of the year, declaring the official beginning of the winter season.
He only slept for a few hours, when he came back to get his new uniform from the bar it was already lunchtime, he ate there before walking back to the Slums. The bar was located at Calles street the red district of the lower society.
It's already 5 in the afternoon and the bar is opening at nine. Although its four hours until the bar will open, he needed to clean the place first then open. There will be unspeakable human fluids scattered all over the place. And not only that, drunkards who can't come home because they blackout will be on the floor still snoring.
Yeah, he needs to clean the bar so he hurried into the bathroom.
His apartment is small. It was so small that it only has 2 doors. One was in the bathroom and the other is for the main entrance of the four walls apartment. The living room, dining area, and the bed are in the place. He got the portable table that can be folded if he's not using it, an analog tv that needed to hit for the signal to work, and some sort of bed. At the entrance was the kitchen. When you enter the main door, you can already see his whole apartment.
The only innovative he had was his watch, where he was required to have. This is his identification, wallet, computer, phone, and everything.
His apartment's wall is thin, you can even hear your neighbors' snores. This is the Slums, the worst of the worst are here. So the apartments here weren't appropriate to the payment and the condition. Even the whole apartment building looks like won't hold much if a strong wind blew.
Since it has thin walls, the temperature outside his apartment and inside is almost the same, even the waster is freezing he had to warm the water pipe to get the water going.
Although it was in poor condition, considering this is the Slums, he's already lucky, at least he had a place to sleep.
Al fills the tub with water, while his hands hold the water pipe, the water that came out is already warm and steaming. After he washes, he sinks his body to the tub and groans in pleasure. At the same time, he also makes his whole apartment warm.
Al is a mage. Usually magic is hereditary but not always, some alphas could see magic particles, some omegas could feel magic but betas are usually who can use magic. Most mages are betas. He's a quarter mage. His late mother was half a mage. But since today's society, with the technology and stuff, there's hardly any magic resources you can use and remains, the magic in his blood is the only source he can use.
Mages, also known as magicians, are people with a propensity toward magic and those trained with its handling. They draw on the elements—earth, air, water, fire, and the void. They can manipulate and handle it and other forms of the elements, such as the wind and ice. With the elements, they can forge metal with earth, shape air into illusions, fire into prophecies, earth into bindings, and water into healing.
Mages are trained in the Palace. They specialized in an element appropriate to them. Each mage only had one or two specialized elements but sometimes, an uncommon occurrence, if they can master all elements, they will be called Masters.
Mages today are rare, and if one existed, their proficiency at controlling the elements is not that good. So most mages use the magic crystals to help them contain it and drawn it out easily. Magic crystals can be obtained by buying it which is expensive or kill a Zerg.
Inside the zerg was a nucleus. This nucleus if purified then becomes magic crystals. The higher the level the zerg the denser the magic crystals are.
High-grade crystals = Grand Archmage
Middle grade crystals = Master, Archmage
Lower grade crystals = Mage, Apprentice
The grade of the crystals and the people who can control.
Grand Archmage > Archmage > Master > Mage > Apprentice > Novice > Rookie - The ranking of mages, from the highest.
Some can use magic crystals to pull out its magic the only difference is that mages could draw out the highest potential of each crystal. Between the two mages is more valuable, it only a waste if it was handled by an ordinary. That's why the palace always seeks people who have minimal potential so that they can train them into a mage.
Since technologies' domination natural elements scarce it's really hard for Al to use magic. Most of the time he's saving up his magic for his estrus. Al is different, his estrus is stronger than ordinary and it also the time when the magic inside of him will run rampage. It harms himself and the people around him. So he needed to form a barrier around him.
When he was done cleaning himself and soaking, he dried himself with a spell and wore his uniform and his newly bought shoes. He was readying himself out when he go back and grab the coat to wear it again. It was a good coat he doesn't need warming spell to keep the cold out.
As he opens his entrance door, something black fall from the ground. It was a small body.
He looks around at first to see if someone put this outside his door but when he didn't find anyone, he got curious and approach the small body. He peeked towards its face and it was the familiar tiny human before. The tiny human was curled into a ball and eyes are closed as if sleeping. He poked his chubby cheeks only it fell cold.
Too cold for someone alive. He touches his forehead to feel his temperature and notice how he's stone cold.
Al immediately grabs the child inside his apartment. Realization dawned at him, the tiny human must have followed him. From the dumpster to his workplace and back to his house, he did that with just walking, since he doesn't extra money for travel expenses. He was so tired when he comes home that as soon as he was done eating he slept throughout the whole afternoon. Does this mean this tiny human is waiting outside the whole time?
It was so cold outside, it was the temperature where warm humid and cold snow mixes. The coldest before snowing.
Al wrapped the child within his arms and starts to give him warmth using his incapacitated magic inside his body. He thought he can just save up later.
The tiny human was cold and has shallow breathing. If minutes later he probably died without him noticing. The child has a pale complexion, lips are dark as blue. His small hands clenched and teeth clattered as he trembled.
For a while, Al continues to send warmth towards him together with healing spells, without noticing how much he's giving. He only felt a little exhausted and wanting to sleep.
The child within his arms started to relax his clench teeth and hands. He's breathing became normal but his eyes are still closed. Maybe he fell asleep, as soon as he felt some warmth.
Al sighed in relief.
. . .
An unknown time later, the child within Al's arms stirred. Feeling the comfortable warmth enveloping him, he jostles his small body further into that source. In his half-awake state, he smelled a fragrance, it was fleeting and vanishing. A very familiar smell, it smells like his father.
Suddenly his sleepy eyes sprung awake. He looks around to look for his father when he saw his surrounding is an unfamiliar place, he was relieved. They were lying on the floor at the entrance. The stranger beside him was the same person he followed this morning. The stranger holding him in his arms and giving him warmth.
He looks at the navy blue coat that the stranger wearing it was one of his father's that he took when he was taken. So that's where the smell is coming from. He panicked a little because he thought he might have been found by his father.
He blinked looking at the face of the stranger. The warmth from him is traveling within him is not a natural body heat, it could only be meant one thing. He's a mage.
He yawned and get back to his position before, feeling comfortably he closes his eyes. He goes back to sleep.