章節 10: Unknown Path

It was wednesday lunch when Lucius found himself sitting behind the table in a cafe. The cafe was the same one he visited previously and finding it to his liking, he didn't see a reason not to visit it once again. The people here were nice and no one really bothered him, so it was an ideal place to hold a conversation in relative peace.

After coming to an agreement about the time of their first lesson, he proposed this place for a start. There were students here as well, doing their own work quite diligently, so they wouldn't really feel out of place here. Besides, he thought that first lesson should be more free and open-minded, with her questioning him about the intricacies of magic. Although he had never taught anyone in his life, he still could take some inspiration from the ones that did.

After waiting for five minutes, Isabella finally arrived. This time, she was wearing a simple wool sweater with tight jeans and a long mantle on top. Besides that, she also wore a beret on top, with a blindfold still covering her left eye. Although it was quite an easy outfit, she still managed to catch attention of some people.

Lucius was one of those people. Although he could really care less about the beauty of a person, as he considered it as a simple shell for a soul to reside in, he had to admit that she was definitely charming in her own way. But what had really managed to slip his attention the previous time they met was her covered eye.

'It doesn't seem to be her style or fashion. If it was, she would have covered it in something more presentable,' He thought idly while he gave her a slight wave of hand to catch her attention, 'A wound or a scar? I would have thought that today's era's mages have managed to learn spells to heal any illness and ailment.'

"S-Sorry if I was late! I had to-"

"It's fine. I didn't wait for long anyway." He motioned for her to stop her apologies. Lucius couldn't care less about few minutes lost, especially when he always had different thoughts to occupy his mind.

"I see.." She visibly relaxed and finally sat down, but not before taking off her mantle. He could see that she was still somewhat afraid of him, as was probably normal, but there were other emotions was more overbearing. Curiosity, excitement, joy, determination- and a list of other emotions he had hard time deciphering.

It really made him wonder how easily humans could adapt themselves to any and all situations.

"Okay, let's start. First of all, I have never taught magic to anyone, so my methods might be.. different. Although I have have somewhat familiarized myself with your magic system, it's still different from mine, so don't expect to really learn a lot." She nodded enthusiastically, as if she didn't even hear his words, "Well, let's start with basics. What is magic?"

"Influencing different phenomena's with magic power?" She answered, unsure if her answer was the right one.

"It seems I won't have to clarify this point. And how do you cast magic?"

"With calculations in my mind?"

"If it's concerning human magic, then yes. You simply need to make calculations about the action or event you want to materialize in the real world and apply magic to it. Magic itself helps you in this aspect. Although you may not notice it, it has an uncanny way of influencing and strengthening the aspects of body that are most needed."

"You want to tell me that magic secretly makes our brains better?" She had an unbelieving look on her face.

"I really wouldn't say it does it secretly. After all, how can a normal human brain make most of those complex calculations that are needed in order to cast some high-tiered spell? You said it yourself. Even if you have talent, it's hard to overcome the age-barrier present amongst your race. With time, practice and some luck you will be better than newly-awakened simply because you are older and had more time for magic to adapt your brain to function better. Of course, there are still some monsters that can overcome this gap with talent alone, but they should be quite rare."

Although for Lucius it was old knowledge, it seemed that was not the case for Isabella. Looking at her shocked face, he couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape his mouth. For some reason, it felt good to bring such expression on the face of opposing party via teaching instead of using monstrous strength.

×-×-×

"Then I will see you in a week, Lucius! Have a great evening!" Isabella was running away excitedly after their lesson ended, her whole face beaming with joy. Lucius thought it would be another bothersome chore he needed to do in order to get more knowledge, information and useful contacts, but he strangely enjoyed this teaching session.

He never got to express himself about all the wonders of magic to anyone, really. Most people were afraid of him. Even those that took him in and taught him so much did so until they found out about his true identity. There weren't a lot of people he could even remotely trust, never mind people that understood him.

Isabella maybe didn't trust him and even held some fear against him, but she at least listened to him about magic. More than that, although some aspects escaped her understanding, she still was quick to learn and inquire more. The most respectable about her was that she didn't fear to ask questions, even if they might sound outrageous and dumb to some.

'I guess I can see myself enjoying those peaceful times.' After walking down the empty, quiet street for a while, he finally noticed that something was strange. Noticing no people around him, despite it still being early evening, he finally understood that there was indeed something wrong here.

He looked around and soon saw the unnatural mist spreading all around him 'Magic mist? An ambush?' Although he could be potentially in a dangerous situation, Lucius still found the whole situation amusing. Normal humans could provide him with some entertainment at the start, but they became boring quite quickly. Finally, he had the chance to put some of his acquired abilities to real test.

"Kekeke, you are a pretty boy. For your own sake, I hope you are a virgin as well." As if on cue, two beings appeared not far away from him. They both looked like normal humans, but their pale skin, red eyes and the cold sensation he felt from them, as well as the mist isolating them from the outside world were quick to confirm his thoughts.

"So not a Revenant. That's a relief." The androgynous looking vampires looked at him surprised, until the short-tempered one shouted out: "What are you mumbling about? Revenants? We are Vampires, not some lowlife shit!"

It looked as if it was about to pounce on him, which made Lucius feel disappointed. If a few words not even addressed against them could agitate them to such point, wouldn't they lose their minds with a few simple insults?

"It seems even after centuries have passed you still remain the same. A shame, really. Not to mention that you are low-leveled Vampires if you don't even know about Revenants. Did your superior really sent you on a suicide mission?" He looked at those two things with a pity. They were like lost puppies to him. Still, they would make up for a good exercise before he went on to savor the main dish.

"Y-Y-You dare?!" As the one on the left was about to rush forward, it was stopped by its partner. "Why would anyone need to send something higher against a normal human? Even mages are no match for us, never mind you." It spoke with arrogance, although it's tone was still laced with huge levels of hatred and sharpness.

"So you were on a hunt?" The levels of pity inside him rose, but he still accepted a free meal when he saw one, "Well, I guess it really doesn't matter. Besides, you would truly be right if you were against a normal human. Unluckily for you, I'm far from one." With a flick of his fingers, the expressions on the duo's face froze completely and slowly turned from shock to surprise and then slowly but gradually, transformed itself into fear.

"I have to say that you made my job easier with that mist you have set up. But don't worry, I won't use it against you. After all, why would I need something this weak to beat up two lowlifes?" He smirked at them, finally relishing in this feeling of control.

When in the Eternal Seal, everything he had was taken from him. His pride, power, knowledge and strength. They were gone.

Even after he escaped, there was a feeling of something lost lingering inside of him, tormenting his mind. Now though, he finally felt it once again. It still felt weak and barely beating inside of him, but he knew it was there.

The feeling of power.