“We are taking a week-long break,” Rodrick grunted. “Frankly, we are way too spent to continue adventuring straight away, and our planned trip to Kilras is just around the corner.”

  “What?” Ciel’s half-shout rang out in the inn’s common hall, garnering some unwelcome attention from fellow adventurers eating their breakfast. “I don’t want a break, Rodrick! This is tyranny!”

  “You may not want one, but I do,” their team leader responded, his tone as flat as the wasteland they had just walked through under a week ago. “In addition to that, you probably don’t feel like it, but getting healed at the infirmary has drained us well and good. Their healing magic restored us to top shape, yes, but life magic still tends to drain your energy for quite a while. Right, Valar?”

  “What, me?” Valar asked confusedly.

  “Yes, you. You’re our life mage…”

  Oh, right… Valar blushed deep red, his embarrassment worsening as some adventurers at neighbouring tables tried to mask their chuckles with coughs. “It’s true. Elaine taught us that since life magic manipulates lifeforce, our patients could feel spent for days—even weeks—after bigger healing procedures. We were all kind of wrecked when we got to the infirmary, so our healing was quite extensive.”

  “I don’t feel like my energy levels are down…” Ciel muttered.

  “Eva told us to relax for at least a couple days when we were leaving,” Carla butted in, getting a glare from Ciel in return for her involvement. “Take it as a chance to explore the city, read up on some magic and cool down from the constant adventuring.”

  “I agree,” Arthur joined in. “The Kilras caravan route is pretty long, and we’ll need to be at the top of our game. Speaking about the Kilras trip, are you coming, Valar?”

  What?

  “What are you talking about, Arthur? Why wouldn’t I be coming along?” Valar asked in confusion. “I’m part of the team, right?”

  He looked around anxiously. Do they want to get rid of me this quickly? What did I do wrong? Wha-.

  “You’re getting the wrong idea, Valar,” Carla saved him from his suffering, her voice breaking him out of his anxious spiral. “You’re at the peak of iron rank. The next step is ascending, then it’s back to school for you!”

  Oh… Valar felt the strength leaving his body as he slumped on his chair. This soon, eh?

  Looking up at the wooden ceiling above, his breath rushed out from his lungs in an explosive sigh. “I kind of imagined doing this adventuring stuff for… a while before going back to school. It feels too early, too rushed.”

  “You can still come with us,” Carla said, her tone suggesting just the opposite. “But in my opinion, that would be quite unwise. Even though your time at iron rank has been shorter than most, it would be quite difficult for you to improve significantly while still remaining an iron ranker.”

  “You could do physical and martial training with us,” Rodrick grunted, pointing at himself and Ciel. “But even that would be much easier at bronze rank, since your physical attributes would be significantly higher.”

  “And if I ascend to bronze rank, I need to go back to school…” Valar sighed.

  “Not necessarily,” Arthur piped up. “But not going would be quite stupid!”

  Carla nodded, her eyes dancing with mirth. “What he said.”

  “So, ascension to bronze rank is definitely the best option?” Valar asked, praying that there would at least be some reason to wait a bit. As funny as it sounded, the time with team Cookie Sandwich—all the good with all the bad—had been the most enjoyable time in his life. Adventure, new friends, magic… Was that time coming to an end so quickly?

  I-... I don’t want our time together to end, but that would be like shooting myself in the leg at the start of a race. Even worse, that race is one that will continue for my whole life…

  “I understand your concern, Valar. I really do,” Carla’s tone was gentle, but her message was not what he wanted to hear. “I had the same issue at the end of my own internship. I really enjoyed my time with that team, but I still went back to the academy. It’s just the smart thing to do.”

  “Same here,” Rodrick said. “I went back to train with the guard at the end of my own internship, and that took almost as long as bronze rank academy studies! It’s not all bad though.”

  “How so?” Valar half-yelled. “To me, it sounds pretty bad!” He was getting more and more frustrated with the whole situation. It felt like he didn’t have control of his own life, and that felt horrible. It felt like his previous life at the orphanage…

  “All of us joined a new team at bronze rank, but you don’t have to do the same at all,” the warrior smiled. “I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say this: You are welcome to stay with our team once you’ve completed your academy studies. In fact, we’re glad to have you!”

  With each new word coming out of Rodrick’s mouth, Valar felt himself relaxing more and more. His shoulders, previously raised as high as to touch his ears, lowered and his breathing calmed. Not back to normal just yet, but much better.

  Being kicked out of the team at the end of his internship hadn’t been Valar’s main concern, but it had been a big one nonetheless. His team leader’s words reassured the boy greatly, allowing him to actually focus on the issues of now, not the future.

  “So back to school it is…” Valar sighed. “I didn’t expect to return so soon, but maybe it is for the best. My iron rank semester was kind of short anyway.”

  “It’ll do good for you to study some more. Even though you are…” Carla stuttered, her eyes going wild for a brief moment. Gathering herself, she continued. “Even though you are an effective combatant already, only having two spells limits your potential greatly. Better healing spells and maybe actual body enhancement, not to mention more general knowledge on magic in general, would be great benefits for you in the long term.”

  What was that stutter? Carla’s usually so well spoken…

  “But if you’re still in Kilras when my studies come to an end-,” Valar started.

  “You can take a caravan contract as an extra healer and follow us there,” Arthur stopped him. “I send letters to my sisters all the time. We can do the same while the team is in Kilras.”

  Rodrick nodded. “We’ll send regular updates when we’re in Kilras just in case something comes up, but as long as your studies take a year or less, I think you’ll have to come to Kilras on your own caravan.”

  “Keep in mind that these things don’t need to be figured out immediately,” Ciel muttered between bites of her sausage and egg sandwich. ”Your academy studies will take a while, and even breaking through to bronze rank is a long and arduous process.”

  “Yeah,” Rodrick shook his head with annoyance. “My ascension to bronze rank took almost two weeks. Mom almost went crazy…”

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  “What? I thought that I could just… ascend? Like in a few minutes?”

  Apparently, that was quite funny.

  A wave of chuckling laughter—slow at first but growing to a crescendo—traveled through the opulent inn. Those who frequented inns like the one they were staying at were often silver rankers or nobility, so they had gone through the experience of ascending to the next rank, often multiple times.

  Valar felt his face heating up from all the attention, but he tried to keep his cool. Still, a tiny spark of teenage hormone-fueled rage burned its way through his psyche. I’m getting laughed at… How dare they-.

  “Valar?” Carla’s voice rang out in the middle of the laughter. What’s that in her tone? Is she… nervous? “Could we talk in private? Like right now?”

  Valar saw his chance to escape from the embarrassing situation and grabbed it. “Of course! Is your room private enough?”

  The brown haired young woman seemed to think for a bit, eventually shaking her head, “No, I don’t think it is. There’s a café with isolated rooms just a block away. I think that would be better.”

  “Alright… Right now?”

  “Right now.”

  Rodrick looked on in confusion as Carla and Valar got up—Valar sneaking the final bite of his sandwich—and walked out of the inn and onto the sunlit city streets. He glanced at the rest of the diners, but when his gaze returned to his teammates, he froze. There’s something wrong here…

  Arthur’s golden eyes were locked onto the seat Valar had just been sitting at. They were as wide as saucers, and the man was breathing heavily.

  “Arthur, everything alright there?”

  The archer’s eyes didn’t leave the empty chair, but he managed to shake his head slightly. “Rodrick, that was too close to something bad happening.”

  “What do you mean, disaster?” Rodrick asked in confusion. “Valar seemed a bit flustered, but you’re speaking like the abyss was going to swallow us all.”

  “He was going to do something, wasn’t he?” Ciel’s black eyes were as thin as slits and her tone was as cold as ice. “He felt dangerous.”

  “Valar? Dangerous?” Rodrick chuckled nervously. “He’s a healer. How could he be dangerous to someone like you, Ciel?”

  “He was plenty dangerous to the umbral terror,” the dark mage muttered. “As well as Edwin, I think. Aren’t you at least a bit suspicious, Rodrick? He reached the peak of iron rank between us passing out and waking up in the infirmary for gods’ sake!”

  True… True. “Let Carla handle this one, Ciel. She seems to know more than us. Let’s talk with her once we leave for Kilras, okay?”

  Ciel nodded, although she didn’t look like she wanted to agree. “I can do that… I can do that, yeah.”

  “Good.”

  “What’s this about a private discussion, Carla?” Valar asked, his tone nervous. What is this about? Did I do something wrong, or-.

  “You haven’t done anything wrong, I think,” the ice mage’s response snapped Valar out of his thoughts. “Honestly, I have no idea how I should even broach this subject, so I’ll just put it right in the open between us,” Carla sipped her coffee, dragged in a deep breath and continued. “I was awake when you fought Edwin, Valar.”

  Valar froze. It was the absolute worst case scenario. He had been caught!

  What should I do? Call Viktor with the medallion? Run? Ki-.

  The young life mage slumped down onto the comfortable chair and closed his eyes, breathing out with a sigh that could’ve blown down a house. Did I just seriously consider killing Carla—one of the only people I would consider a friend—just to protect my secret?

  Tears started emerging from his eyes, but they never made it on the ground below. Every drop of water turned to steam, rising up from his bright orange eyes. I truly am a fool, aren’t I?

  A small, sad smile grew on the boy’s face as he dragged himself back to a regular sitting position, fixing his gaze on the ice mage sitting on the opposite side of the small table. “You saw?”

  Carla nodded. “Yeah…”

  “Shit.”

  Honestly, Carla had expected the discussion to go much more poorly. Sure, Valar’s eyes were glowing bright orange, making the boy look quite dangerous, but he hadn’t attempted to run, attack or call for help. Considering his secret, she wasn’t even sure if she had done the same in the boy’s shoes.

  “I just want to talk,” she started, her tone made deliberately gentle in order to not scare Valar into doing something stupid. “What I saw is something I can’t find any reasonable explanation for, and honestly, that scares me.”

  “I… I really don’t know where to begin,” Valar started. “I’ve been told to never reveal this secret, but you’re a friend, and…”

  “Then let’s start with something easier. Who told you that you shouldn’t reveal this secret you’re speaking of?”

  “Viktor and Elaine,” Valar’s response got a small cringe out of Carla. Of course, the onyx and peak gold rankers… But I still need to figure something out.

  “Look, I saw you kill Edwin with my own two eyes,” Carla sighed. “I understand if the flames are a secret, but I can’t just let you stay with us when I don't know if those secrets could hurt my friends. We all have our own secrets, but we trust each other to tell the others when they could be dangerous to the team. Make me believe that fire isn’t of danger to us, and I won’t have to tell the others.”

  Clear panic flashed in Valar’s eyes. “No, you can’t tell anyone! Everyone could get hurt!”

  “And that’s why I want to know more, Valar. Trust me, I want the best for all of us. Please... just help me understand.”

  The boy buried his face in his hands, staying still for a very long while. As the minutes dragged on, Carla sipped her coffee and tried her best to look calm, although she was anything but.

  And really, who could blame her? She had seen the thirteen-year-old punch a peak silver ranker's head clean off just a few days ago, and worst of all, she had no idea how he had done it. Carla had spent practically every evening since the incident reading about different magical phenomena, but she hadn’t found anything that could explain Valar’s fire. The only option left was to ask him herself.

  Eventually, after minutes of nervous silence, Valar spoke. “I can’t tell you everything. Actually, I can’t tell you even half of it, but I’ll try my best, okay?”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  Valar started his explanation with a question of his own. “You and the others probably never truly believed me or Viktor when we said that I killed the umbral terror with alchemical fire, right?”

  Carla let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know about Arthur and Rodrick, but Ciel and I were suspicious from the start. The whole ‘alchemical fire’ explanation didn’t really work because we had already seen the umbral terror’s corpse. Besides, where would you have gotten that alchemical fire from in the first place?”

  “Yeah, that tracks,” Valar sighed. This discussion was a long time coming, wasn’t it?

  “We figured out how you didn’t do it, but we never managed to discover how you actually killed that scary cat. Is it safe to assume that Edwin’s and the terror’s fates were the same?”

  “The same? What are you talking about?” Valar asked. “I didn’t kill Edwin, he ran away.”

  Carla’s expression formed into one of incredulity, one of her eyebrows seemingly attempting to pierce the ceiling. “I saw you punch his head off… Vaporized, nothing left, and you’re telling me he didn’t die?”

  “Wait, you didn’t see Edwin healing himself?”

  “No, I passed out right after I saw you punch him. I assumed the fight ended there!”

  A sigh of relief exploded out from Valar’s lungs. Good… Good, she didn’t feel the aura then. I might just be able to give her a good explanation without talking about dragons!

  “Then let me get you on track, okay?” Valar mulled over his words, then continued. “Edwin didn’t die from my... fire, but he was out of mana and in bad shape after healing himself. I don’t know why, but he ran away.”

  “But your sudden influx of mana...” Carla muttered, her eyes flicking between Valar’s eyes and the aura surrounding his body. “You’re definitely a peak iron ranker, so you must’ve killed Edwin, right?”

  “I passed out myself too,” Valar chuckled nervously. “But I think you’re right. He must’ve died during his frantic escape.”

  “Hard to believe from a peak silver ranker, but I’ll take what I can get,” Carla harrumphed. “What I’m actually interested in is the fire you wield.”

  This is dangerous territory… What can I say?

  There were some things that the boy knew he couldn’t reveal. First and foremost, he needed to keep the link to dragons a secret. Based on Viktor’s and Elaine’s reactions, the consequences of that information leaking could be catastrophic, and he didn’t want to betray their trust anyway. But what could he reveal?

  Can I reveal that the fire comes from a wound in my soul? No… that information is almost equally as bad as the link to the dragons. Just saying that I have fire magic feels cheap though…

  Valar felt like he was navigating a maze where every single turn could lead straight to his doom. Frankly, he didn’t believe that Carla would do anything to him; She was a friend, and didn’t seem like someone with bad intentions. Still, the prospect of his secret spreading was dangerous, so he needed to limit what he told and who he told it to.

  Does it even matter anymore, really? If I’m to believe my own senses, the aura that crashed down onto the clearing was draconic. That would mean that a dragon already knows of my fire…

  Still, no dragons have arrived to abduct or kill me, so I need to work under the assumption that I haven’t been discovered. I have to reveal something, but what?

  “I really don’t know how much I should say, but I’ll reveal a couple details to ease your mind,” Valar muttered. “The fire is mine, that’s for sure. It’s not an item or anything like that.”

  When Carla tried to interrupt, Valar spoke over her question, soldiering on. “I can control it at least somewhat, but it’s tied to my emotions. I’ve lost control previously, but it has only happened a couple of times.”

  “And you get hurt by it too?” Carla asked. “I mean your fire, of course.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Frankly… That sounds like it sucks.”

  Valar could only nod, a single tear falling down his cheek. “Yeah…”