Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 217, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 96 –

“YES!” Rafael balled his fists and pumped them in the air.

“We made it…” Terry was more reserved in his exclamation. More relieved than cheerful. He inhaled deeply and looked up. The sky was an odd shade of yellow. There were several small moons visible in it.

Okay, definitely not Thanatos anymore. Good, but this place feels so strange…

Terry tentatively bursted his mana. Better to get this test out of the way early. After all, the secret realm was supposed to be a folded space. Who knew how it would react to a burst of oscillating mana?

Fortunately, Terry did not see the space implode on himself. Nothing happened. However the folding of the space for the creation of a secret realm worked, it did not work by the same mechanism as a dimensional transfer or spatial lock.

“Is it possible to teleport out of this realm?” Terry wondered out loud.

“Why would you ask such a question?” Rafael rolled his eyes. “There are treasures waiting for us. What kind of idiot would want to leave before looting such a treasure trove?”

Terry inwardly grumbled. The kind of idiot that just wants to go home. Me. I’m that kind of idiot.

“Come!” Rafael waved for Terry to come over. “The entrance ticket is pointing this way.”

‘Pointing’? Terry raised an eyebrow.

Seems like the ticket has other uses than simply acting as an unanchored dimensional transfer device.

Terry followed Rafael slowly, eager to first regenerate his mana for whatever was waiting ahead. His eyes darted around and he was trying to get his bearings in this secret realm.

He could make out that the moons in the sky were of a magical nature.

Terry’s mana sense also informed him that there was a much higher ambient mana density than in Thanatos.

The density alone reminded Terry of the Wastes or the deeper floors of a dungeon. However, in contrast to the Wastes, the mana here did not feel as invasive. Terry guessed that the mana here would not easily lead to mana corruption. In contrast to a dungeon, Terry did not get the sensation of mana suppression either.

Terry tentatively focused on harvesting mana from the surroundings, similar to how he would reclaim his own mana after a discharge.

Terry was not aware of how strange his act of naturalizing mana from a distance would seem to someone with lesser mana control.

While making the ambient mana his own, Terry mentally compared the sensation and changes in his mana pool to what he was used to outside the secret realm.

The results caused him to furrow his brow.

Is it due to the density?

Or could it be that the mana already has an owner after all…?

Terry was not sure what to make of the results. By his estimate, his actively focused mana regeneration was slightly slower than usual.

Terry’s eyes opened wide when he became aware that he was now able to fulfill a long-cherished wish…

Finally!

Terry retrieved one of his notebooks together with his practice pen.

Finally!

Terry was half-way to sitting down before he remembered Rafael’s presence. He awkwardly shouted out: “Ehh… Do you mind if we take a break first? I, uhh, want to recover some mana and verify a few things.”

And take notes!

So many notes!

Terry could not wait to finally get everything out of his head and onto paper, afraid that he would forget anything important about what he had learned during his stay in Thanatos.

“Break?” Rafael’s face switched from surprise to something sour and finally settled on acceptance.

To Rafael, Terry had appeared a freak that never lacked mana.

His second instinct was the worry about someone getting to treasures before him.

In the end, however, Rafael had come to trust Terry’s senses and if Terry wanted to verify something, then it might be worth knowing. They were not the only ones in the secret realm after all.

Rafael acquiesced: “Fine…” He pulled at the crimson Thanatos uniform. “I’d like to get out of this garbage anyway.”

***

“Don’t just dawdle at the door, I’m not that fragile,” scoffed Yesenia, who was recovering from her injuries and the after-effects of magic stimulants.

“I see the situation hasn’t dampened your cheerful attitude,” said Yana with a roll of her eyes.

“I don’t care what they’ll try to pin on me, I did the best I—”

“That’s not what I meant,” interrupted Yana. “Even General Eli has given you his full support. In fact, you will probably be commended publicly. You managed to put down the Librarian and contain the situation with the Blademaster.”

“The Bloody Duchess got away,” cursed Yesenia. “As did many others, including—”

“You’re an overseer in the Proving Grounds. It’s not your job to secure the prisons to begin with,” reminded Yana. “As much as you like to call me a workaholic, you would do well to take a look at yourself and not take more onto your shoulders than is appropriate. This wasn’t your job. This wasn’t your failure.” Yana shrugged. “It’s not really clear if it was anyone’s failure.”

“It’s always someone’s failure,” interjected Yesenia cynically.

“You know as well as I do that failure gets diluted by the number of related parties.” Yana winked at Yesenia. “Don’t worry and don’t blame yourself. No one of us could have guessed the involvement of— We are still investigating the origin of the lizan mage, but we’ve failed to come up with anything.”

“What did you come up with then?” Yesenia sat up more straight, unreservedly showing an interest.

“A mess,” replied Yana with some frustration in her voice. “I assume you are familiar with Beatrice.”

“Everyone following politics in Thanatos is,” affirmed Yesenia.

“Apparently, Beatrice had a deal with some of the workers at the Proving Grounds as well as some of the public enforcers.” Yana sat down in a chair beside Yesenia’s bed. “It is difficult to get hard evidence. After the debacle, people are tense and hesitant to admit to even the smallest of faults. Anyway, we have found enough to put a few pieces together.”

Yana lifted a finger. “Occasionally some personal belongings from prisoners would go missing during transport. Not many. Mostly those deemed interesting, unorthodox, or suspicious, not necessarily very valuable.”

Yana rubbed her chin and continued: “One of those items was taken from the felan Rafael. The item was stored at Beatrice’s private estate. That item was precisely the teleportation device that Rafael and Terry used to escape from the city.” She held up two fingers. “The item held significance to the Thunderous Palm Sect, which is why they were tracking Rafael.”

“Is that why they appeared the moment that Rafael was out of prison?” Yesenia was scowling. “Bloody idiots. Beatrice too. If we had been aware of the item, we would have been able to exchange it for something of use. If they had not obstructed us and caused chaos, none of this would have…” She huffed angrily.

“Yes, and with the Thunderous Palm Sect rolling, the Blazing Sun Sect saw an opportunity to avenge their scions and their lost reputation,” added Yana. “Both sects probably thought they were using the other.”

“How does the lizan mage fit in?” asked Yesenia.

“Not clear,” admitted Yana. “She was definitely the party that freed the Librarian, the Bloody Duchess, the Blademaster, and Xuan.”

“Xuan?” Yesenia creased her brows. “But not Terry and Rafael?”

“Terry was the one that freed Rafael,” said Yana. “The Arcanian broke out on his own.”

Yesenia bit her lips while remembering the sight from Terry’s cell. A shudder ran down her spine. She could still not explain what she had seen there. “How?”

“That is another point of uncertainty,” admitted Yana. “We can see the process but not the means. He was in a magic containment cell. What we are seeing doesn’t make any sense. While the cell was not as fortified as the one of the felan, Terry had never shown anything close to the physical power to just break through.”

“He didn’t break through,” blurted Yesenia. “He somehow broke the lock.”

“Which was covered, reinforced, and with all critical parts shielded,” continued Yana slightly unnerved.

“Outside help?” asked Yesenia.

“If there was, then our scryers can’t detect it,” said Yana. “And as always with our person, everything is…” Yana clicked her tongue. “...contradictory.”

Yana rubbed her forehead and continued: “If there was outside help, then why the need to break the lock in such a manner? If he had the strength to break the fortified pieces, why not break through the walls of the inner cell directly? If he was able to somehow get around the magic containment cell, then why…” She shrugged. “I’m sure you can see our problem.”

“So what are your plans for Terry?” asked Yesenia. She leaned back in her bed again.

“It doesn’t matter much anymore,” said Yana. “Since the Arcanian is not in our hands, we can’t offer him to the Valkyrie, so that point is moot. Even if Terry really is an operative of the magic sovereigns, the information isn’t useful to us at this point.”

Yana caught Yesenia’s gaze and then added: “The only open question right now is if Terry will be deemed a recognized outsider in Thanatos or not.”

Yesenia raised her brows and showed some displeasure. “He has not finished proving himself yet.”

“I remember someone saying that if Terry manages to survive long enough, he will earn his recognition eventually,” retorted Yana. “Well, our person is still alive. Even if his performance in the Proving Grounds was incomplete, his performance outside is currently the talk of the whole city.

“It is undeniable that the Arcanian was at the center of the chaos and somehow managed to exploit everything to his own benefit.” While speaking, Yana smiled appreciatively as if judging a sports performance.

“Of all the escapees from the Proving Grounds, Terry might not have been the strongest, but going by the evidence, he was the only one breaking out without direct outside help. Not only did the Arcanian manage to hold his own against all the people wanting him dead, he even managed to inflict a significant blow to one of his blood debtors in the process.”

Yesenia listened and then exhaled sharply. She lamented. “If my assistants had known that Terry had a means of dimensional transfer, they could have…”

“Our scout said something similar. Complaining about insufficient information.” Yana shrugged. “No matter. Locking down space is costly and we don’t know if it would have worked given that there were a few players capable of breaking spatial seals.”

“You mean the lizan mage and the Librarian?” asked Yesenia.

“Don’t forget the Arcanian himself,” reminded Yana. “Reportedly, Terry wields specific anti-dimensional skills too.” Her voice softened. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened. No one else blames you either. No one that counts for anything anyway.”

***

After Terry had finally gotten all of his thoughts out on paper and felt comfortable with his mana supply, he and Rafael were ready to move.

Both of them had removed the Thanatos uniforms, but only Terry cared enough about the clothes to return them to his dimensional storage. Terry had to chuckle at his increasing hoarding habits and also because it made him recall the Captain’s grumblings whenever Devon had destroyed or lost his own clothes again.

Terry retrieved his messenger bag from the Arcana Academy and returned it to its reserved space among his equipment. Afterwards, they set out to follow the direction indicated by the entrance ticket.

“There are people there,” said Terry. “Mana martialists according to the mana signatures.”

“Ehh, anyone from the Thunderous Palm?” asked Rafael.

“No, I don’t think so,” replied Terry. “Their mana structures look different.”

“‘Mana structures’?” Rafael stared inquisitively at Terry. “Do you mean their cultivation?”

“Kind of,” said Terry. He did not bother to explain the difference between what he would consider mana cultivation like the one his aunt Sigille and him practiced and the martialist cultivation that Rafael and the martial sects relied on.

“Don’t worry, this will be fun,” assured Rafael. He stretched a bit before continuing.

After a while, the two could hear the sounds of an argument.

“Kneel down and admit your wrongdoings, then I can let you go!” A martialist in blue robes spoke haughtily while raising his head to look down at his opponent.

“No, YOU kneel down and admit YOUR wrongdoings, then I can CONSIDER letting YOU go!” Another martialist in brown robes retorted in a tone that was even more haughty.

“If you scram now, I can leave you an intact corpse.”

“It seems you have eyes but do not see…”

“What a strange place,” muttered Terry. He and Rafael were watching from an elevated area that was above the different groups of martialists.

“I know, I love it!” exclaimed Rafael with a wide toothy grin. “Let’s spread our names!” He squared his shoulders.

“For that I will drink your blood and eat your flesh!” shouted one of the martialists below.

Rafael jumped down right into the middle and drew his lips back. “Before anyone is going to eat, you should first prove to me that your teeth are sharp enough!” His lip curled further up to expose his own canines.

“What…?” Terry felt a headache coming. “Why…?” All he wanted was to get home.

Who even are these people?

You don’t even know what conflict they have or who is at fault!

JUST WHY?!

Flabbergasted, Terry stared at Rafael butting heads with the other mana martialists.

***

Several people were tied up and on their knees at a fair distance from the City of Proving in the Thanatos Empire. These people were all injured and nearly naked. In front of them were the tattered remains of their martial uniforms.

To everyone with mana sight, these people appeared close to manaless except for a few whose mana was still leaking from their bodies uncontrollably.

A scar-faced man with dark grey robes approached one of the crippled martialists that were kneeling on the ground. “To think that the heavens would finally answer my pleadings.” He drew his sword.

“You…” The sect elder from the Blazing Sun Sect tried to recognize the face.

“Someone like you probably has too many lives on their conscience to remember a pair of inn-keepers…” The scar-faced person stepped closer and glared hatefully at the sect elder. “But these ‘ants’ that you and your young scion stepped on were my parents.” His blade flashed and decapitated the sect elder. “May their souls finally rest in peace.”

While the scar-faced man disappeared, others were already approaching.

A veiled woman wordlessly killed two of the young martialists from the Thunderous Palm Sect.

A pair of martialists in dark green robes gagged an elderly couple among the crippled martialists and forcefully took the couple away.

More and more ‘friends’ from the martial lands came over to settle their own grudges with the crippled mana martialists.

The powerful martialist cultivators that had once lorded over those weaker than themselves were now helpless and could only accept their fate. They had lost against the Thanatos troops and even though they had threatened the Thanatos forces with retaliation from their sects, it was to no avail.

Thanatos did not bow to threats.

A man in a crimson suit walked towards the city while taking in the sight.

Damian was wondering what he had missed during his absence from the Proving City. Public displays of punishment were not rare, but this many martialists being humiliated and practically sentenced to death indicated that something large had happened.

“Damian! You won’t believe it!” One of Damian’s friends rushed over together with an assistant.

“Try me,” quipped Damian with a smile.

“You see them?” His friend pointed towards the crippled martialists.

“I’m not blind yet,” replied Damian drily.

“They are in their current state for destroying and looting an estate in the high district, guess which one?”

“If this is your lead-up to telling me, it was mine, I will punch you,” said Damian with creased brows.

“It was Beatrice’s,” replied his friend with a wide grin. “Heavy damage. The lady herself has been severely injured as well. And that is not even the best of it!”

“I hope Beatrice recovers eventually but I certainly won’t be wishing her a quick recovery,” commented Damian flatly.

“Beatrice is under investigation!” exclaimed his friend. “Nothing major, but apparently something she did was related to the mayhem that happened and someone high up has gotten annoyed.”

Damian smirked with unrestrained schadenfreude. “Great, then I can drop the play in the Proving Grounds. There is no need to keep Terry around anymore either. I wonder what I could do with—”

“Uhm, there is other news,” interrupted his friend. “Terry is, uhh, gone.”

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” Damian blurted out.

“Well, your Arcanian has escaped the Proving Grounds and he was apparently at the center of all the mayhem.” His friend scratched his head. “He managed to flee the city with some kind of teleportation device.”

“Wait…” Damian did not know if he should laugh or cry. “People know that I was more or less Terry’s sponsor in the Proving Grounds. If Terry is behind the damage, then won’t people come to me to look for answers?”

Terry had certainly fulfilled Damian’s original purpose for the Arcanian: Beatrice would be out of the political picture for a while.

However, Damian had never expected to be implicated in such a mess as a result.

***

Terry subconsciously frowned at the hundreds of martialists gathering and bickering in the area. It seemed as if these people could not walk two seconds without getting into a fight with each other or showing off.

There appear to be at least a dozen different entrances to the inner areas.

Terry noted the locations of all the mana signatures.

He reflexively kept a distance to the familiar cultivation signatures that represented members of the Blazing Sun and Thunderous Palm Sects. Even though the members at this location should have never seen Terry’s face, it did not hurt to be safe.

Terry was looking forward to a few peaceful days before seeing Rafael off and finding his way back home.

Huh? What’s… Terry thought he could sense something familiar. Darkwater?

It appeared and disappeared so quickly that Terry had no way to be sure. With the increased range and sensitivity of his mana perception, Terry’s conscious mind could not keep up with everything everywhere at once.

Before Terry had been able to confirm his instincts, his attention was already drawn to a signature of lightning and fire close to where Terry had sensed the darkwater before.

Cloaked but imperfectly and probably with the help of a magic item.

Lightning-aspect.

Fire-aspect… but with something different mixed into the fire.

Terry furrowed his brow. Something about this appeared vaguely familiar but Terry did not recollect sensing this exact mana signature before.

Or is it like when I returned to Arcana and had trouble recognizing the mana signatures of Lori, Jorg, and the others at first?

Who would—?

“This is great!” Rafael slapped Terry on the shoulder. He had been swaggering over the area, mingling, boasting, and sparring with a few of the other mana martialists.

Terry was jolted from his thoughts and turned to Rafael. “Something about the people here. How come everyone is so…?”

Terry halted before blurting ‘weak’. This would be a sure way to start another fight with one of the many martialists around. It was also not quite true, not quite what Terry wanted to articulate. “...how come I don’t see any, uhh…”

Terry tried to remember the words that Rafael had used before. “‘Wrinklefaces’? There aren’t any sect elders around, are there?”

“Naturally not,” said Rafael and rolled his eyes. “What kind of legendary senior would want their heritage to go to an old fart with one foot in the coffin already? The entrance ticket only works on those with a bone age younger than thirty years.”

‘Bone age’? Terry raised an eyebrow at such a weird term, but decided to let it go.

So the inheritance trials are a test of potential instead of strength? Okay, makes sense…

For some reason, Terry found himself frowning. It was less the specific revelation and more the fact that this was the first time he had heard of this aspect of the entrance ticket.

“What are you planning to do now?” Terry asked Rafael.

“Rumor has it that more entrances will appear and that each leads to different trials and rewards,” said Rafael. “I’ll just wait until one entrance picks my fancy and then I’ll test my luck.”

Terry nodded while looking over the large stone structure that led to the inner sanctums of the inheritance site. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Out with it, buddy!” Rafael grinned widely. “There are no secrets among brothers!”

“When you sparred with that one earlier.” Terry indicated with his chin. “Why did you use that weird hand slap to block the sword?”

Terry hesitated to call it technique. It had been completely ridiculous. If Bjorln or Isille ever saw Terry using something like that, they would certainly chew his ears off.

“For style, of course,” said Rafael with another roll of his eyes. “Winning isn’t enough. You have to win with style to crush the opponent’s spirit. Why punch if you can slap him to death? Why use two arms if you can win easily with one?” He grinned. “The pinnacle of style is to kill with a look. To block a sword with nothing more than a finger. To take control of your opponent’s weapon with a casual pinch. Got it?”

“No…?” Terry creased his brows.

He remembered how his aunt Sigille had once talked about the mental aspect of battle and how it could influence the outcome of a fight. If he considered this to extend beyond the scope of a single fight. “Maybe.”

Terry thought over his experience in the Proving Grounds, the importance of reputation and what Thanatos had written in the Warlord’s inquiries. Terry eventually nodded with more than a bit of hesitation. “Yes… I think.”

Terry suddenly became aware of many mana signatures moving at once. Moving into their direction. He narrowed his eyes and warned Rafael. “I believe we’ll be getting company.”

“Oh?” Rafael squared his shoulders and spoke loudly: “Let’s see who wants to lose now.” However, his boastful attitude quickly collapsed when recognizing a few of the faces. [FUCK! It’s them! Who let them in?]

Instinctively, Terry positioned his back towards the stone structure in the distance to have a secure back. Rafael wordlessly stepped behind him.

“Who are you?” A haughty man in white-golden robes addressed Terry. “I have business with that one!” He pointed at Rafael.

Terry was surprised at the lack of a response from Rafael, but did not turn around. “Good to know.” He did not say anything else and merely observed all the mana martialists gathering in front of them.

Terry was already mentally preparing himself to fight. From what Terry had seen of mana martialists, it would lead to a fight one way or another, so why bother expecting anything different?

“How dare you act arrogantly in front of the Young Master!”

“Our Young Master has asked you a question, you insolent brat!”

“YOU!”

The voices of outrage were silenced when the haughty man that had first spoken raised his hand. “It appears you do not know who I am. Pardon me for I am lacking in manners. My name is Shen.”

“I’m Terry,” grunted Terry.

“Don’t interrupt, you miscreant!”

“Country bumpkin.”

“That’s enough!” Shen cut off his entourage and returned his gaze to Terry. “I apologize for their rudeness.”

Terry raised an eyebrow. This was going differently than how he had expected.

[Don’t be lulled into his pace. He’s probably just wary of you!] Rafael warned with a thought transmission. [He’s way more dangerous than the people we met in the Proving Grounds.]

“Did he bring you here, Terry?” Shen pointed at Rafael.

“We came here together, yes.” Terry did not let his attention slip and he remained ready for combat.

“Are you aware of his reputation?” asked Shen pointedly. “He does not have many friends in this place. None, actually.”

“He has one,” said Terry firmly.

“Does he?” Shen chuckled. “Are you sure that you want to make an enemy out of everyone here for the sake of a loose cultivator with even looser principles?”

“I know him, I don’t know you,” retorted Terry. “And what’s a few more enemies?”

Terry was surprised how his voice and words sounded so much like the martialists. He did not like the idea of them rubbing off on him, but there was truth in what he had said. At this point, the list of Terry’s enemies appeared to be increasing beyond his control no matter what he did, so why bother?

“I wonder how long you can keep that attitude up.” Shen smirked. “No matter what background or friends you have outside to give you such confidence, we are already in here. Many things can happen with no one outside the wiser. A year is a long time.”

“I don’t plan to stay that long,” retorted Terry.

“What an ass.”

“Ignorant fool.”

“Truly a country bumpkin showing off his ignorance.” A clamor broke out among Shen’s group.

Shen chuckled. “It seems you don’t truly understand where you are, Terry. Whatever background you have, it can’t be much if you don’t even know this little bit.” A menacing glint entered his eyes. “This secret realm will stay closed for exactly one year.”

A year? A whole cycle?!

Terry narrowed his eyes, trying to read Shen’s facial expression.

“Perhaps your ‘friend’ might have forgotten to mention it.” Shen sneered. “Only those with a ticket will be able to leave at that time.” He opened his arms. “The number of people leaving this secret realm alive will not exceed the number of entrance tickets. We’re in a life-and-death competition. Win, and soar above the heavens. Lose, and crumble to dust.”

Terry was thunderstruck. Somewhere between hearing the words and reading the expressions of everyone, he had started to believe what he was hearing.

While his mind was shaken, Terry had not noticed the mana signature in his back slipping away and dashing towards one of the entrances into the inner sanctum.

Terry dazedly glanced around to see the disappearing back of Rafael and Shen’s words echoed in Terry’s mind.

‘Closed for exactly one year.’

‘Only those with a ticket will be able to leave.’

‘The number of people leaving this secret realm alive will not exceed the number of entrance tickets.’

Terry clenched his fists and fury welled up in him to drown even the feeling of frustration that was threatening to crush his heart.

***

– End of Arc 5, Self-Made Fate –