Chương 83: A Bribe

The monster cores Sieghart had absorbed over the previous three years had not appeared simply because Mira wanted to help him get stronger. Lunar Arc possessed enough resources to support its members, but purified cores remained valuable materials. Giving them freely to one unusually talented child would have created resentment throughout the guild. Sieghart earned them by completing odd jobs across Seraphina and the surrounding countryside.

Most assignments appeared simple, but together they taught him more about practical magic than his years of isolated training. He helped farmers water fields during dry seasons, repaired damaged irrigation channels with Earth Magic, and healed livestock injured by predators or accidents. Other jobs involved charging enchanted tools, clearing blocked roads, transporting supplies, or removing dangerous animals before they reached populated areas. The assignments that interested Sieghart most involved monsters.

Small nests occasionally appeared near farms, trade routes, and villages. Many contained weak creatures that ordinary Aura users could eliminate, but Lunar Arc accepted the work whenever local fighters were unavailable. Sieghart initially accompanied experienced members and remained behind them as a healer. Once Mira trusted his judgment, he received permission to participate more directly while maintaining Phantom Image. Most creatures lacked cores.

Those that possessed one rarely produced enough value to justify keeping the entire reward for himself. Sieghart often traded his share of the payment for the core, paid the remaining difference with his savings, and then waited for Lunar Arc's specialists to purify it. Progress remained slow. Reaching Level Ten had required nearly three years of work, careful saving, and accepting cores instead of money that would have bought almost anything else he wanted.

Now that Sieghart knew how personal levels worked, he wanted more. The ten Free Status Points from his Level Ten milestone remained unspent. He planned to keep the points available until a situation revealed what he truly needed. If an enemy proved too fast, Dexterity would become valuable. If his body failed to endure long battles, Endurance or Health might matter more. The strategy required patience, but Sieghart had spent three years proving that he could occasionally practice that unpleasant virtue.

His existing skills had improved during that time. Fireball traveled faster, Mana Sword lasted longer, Muscle Reinforcement provided more physical power, and Phantom Image could conceal his appearance without demanding constant attention. Unfortunately, he had not unlocked anything genuinely new in several months. Sieghart understood that his growing collection of spells needed refinement.

Nevertheless, learning a new form of magic remained far more exciting than increasing the durability of a construct by another small amount. He had planned to visit Mira after breakfast and ask about Seraphina's remaining writings. If Seraphina possessed knowledge about broad magical affinity, core absorption, or the system behind their powers, Sieghart needed access to it before leaving the city. He was still deciding how to ask without revealing his status screen when Mira's voice appeared inside his mind.

I have a job for you. Come to my office. Sieghart paused while fastening one of his training bands. He had become accustomed to Mira's communication spell over the past three years, although hearing her voice without warning remained slightly intrusive.

"Before that, I wanted to ask—" The connection ended. Sieghart waited for a response that never arrived. Mira's version of telepathy functioned more like sending a message than maintaining an open conversation. She could contact him whenever she wanted, but he could not answer after she closed the spell.

"That seems deliberately inconvenient." Sieghart sighed and finished preparing. He activated Phantom Image before leaving the basement, replacing his distinctive hair and eyes with the ordinary appearance used throughout the city. The main hall remained busy despite the early hour. Several groups prepared equipment near the job board while others argued over breakfast and unpaid debts. Sieghart crossed the room and climbed the stairs.

He noticed Ronan speaking with two members near the entrance, but the man only nodded before returning to his conversation. When Sieghart reached Mira's office, he knocked and entered after receiving permission. Something felt unusual immediately. Mira sat behind her desk with fewer papers than normal. She did not appear worried, but her expression carried the restrained discomfort of someone preparing to announce an inconvenient decision. Sieghart closed the door.

"What happened?"

"Sit down." Sieghart sat opposite her and waited. Mira folded her hands on the desk before studying him for several seconds.

"You need to leave for work."

"I leave for work several times every week."

"For longer than an afternoon." Sieghart narrowed his eyes.

"How long?"

"Several weeks, depending on the situation." Mira leaned back.

"You've been cooped up beneath the guild for too long. Working around Seraphina is useful, but you need experience traveling and cooperating with people your age." Sieghart stared at her.

"That isn't the real reason."

"It is one reason."

"What is the important one?" Mira released a quiet sigh. After nearly three years, she understood that vague explanations only made Sieghart more suspicious.

"One of our younger groups is leaving tomorrow for a job near the western border. A monster nest has appeared in a forgotten mine."

"What kind of monsters?"

"Giant bats… they are reports of missing livestock, and travelers be attacked." Sieghart considered the information. An ordinary monster-clearing assignment would not explain Mira's troubled expression or the need to send him away for several weeks.

"What else?"

"There is a chance the nest isn't natural."

"A tamer?"

"Possibly." Mira opened one of the folders on her desk and removed a rough map. Several settlements had been marked near a town stretching along some mountains in the border. Sieghart recognized the pattern. The corrupted ridge prowlers had captured animals to feed their young, but coordinated attacks across several settlements suggested outside direction. Mira pointed toward the territory beyond the marked border. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author.

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"Scouts have also reported movement from an unidentified group on the other side. We don't know whether they created the nest, intend to exploit it, or are waiting for our people to become distracted."

"So the monster-clearing job might become an invasion."

"A small one. If anyone planned a full military attack, we would have seen more preparation."

"Unless they want you to think that."

"Exactly." Sieghart examined the map. The marked settlements stood far enough from major fortifications that a small hostile group could cross the border without attracting immediate attention. Eliminating the nest might create an opening. While the Lunar Arc team fought the monsters, another group could attack from behind or slip deeper into human territory.

"What is my role?"

"Support." Sieghart looked at Mira.

"Be specific."

"The group has capable fighters but no dedicated healer. Your primary job is to keep them alive if the mission becomes more dangerous than expected."

"That sounds wasteful."

"Healing people is wasteful?"

"Sending someone with my attack power only to heal them is."

"You will be allowed to defend yourself."

"That is slightly better." Mira ignored the complaint and continued.

"You'll also examine any signs of corruption, taming magic, or unfamiliar spellwork. Your broad affinities might allow you to notice something the others miss." Sieghart looked at the map again. The job carried more risk than clearing small monster groups near Seraphina. It also offered far better rewards. A large nest could contain several mature creatures with cores. If another group had deliberately strengthened the monsters, their cores might be more valuable than those found inside ordinary beasts.

Sieghart wanted to level beyond ten. Waiting for occasional cores from minor guild jobs could require several more years. This assignment might shorten that process considerably. He still disliked the idea of joining a younger group. Mira called them young, which probably meant teenagers rather than children his age. Sieghart possessed the mind and memories of someone more than thirty years old, making prolonged cooperation with adolescents sound exhausting.

They would either treat him as a child because of his appearance or become irritated when he refused to act like one. Both outcomes promised unnecessary arguments. Sieghart nearly refused. Then he remembered the possible monster cores. He leaned back.

"How many people are in the group?"

"Four. You'll be the fifth."

"Their ages?"

"Between fourteen and fifteen." Sieghart closed his eyes briefly.

"Amazing… I need to work with kids." Mira understood his expression immediately.

"You're ten."

"They are going to be annoying."

"You haven't met them."

"I understand probability." Mira almost smiled before returning to the assignment.

"The group leader has been told that you're a healer and magical support specialist. They do not know your real identity."

"What name am I using?"

"Sieg. It is close enough that you'll answer naturally without providing your full name." Sieghart accepted that. His grandparents had called him Sieg, so reacting to the name would require no conscious effort.

"You will maintain Phantom Image whenever you are near them or travelers," Mira continued.

"Do not reveal too much of your skills or anything connected to the farm investigation."

"I know."

"Knowing and following instructions are different achievements." Sieghart looked at her.

"Was that everything?"

"Almost." Mira reached beneath her desk and removed a thick book bound in dark-blue leather. Silver lines formed several circles across its cover, surrounding the image of a floating stone. She placed the book in front of Sieghart. There was no title. Sieghart's irritation with the assignment weakened immediately.

"What is this?"

"A basic guide to Telekinesis." Sieghart lifted the book with both hands. He opened the first page and found diagrams showing mana extending from a caster toward several stationary objects. Unlike Physical Manipulation, the technique required no initial contact. The caster projected mana across the intervening space, enveloped the target remotely, and created a stable connection. Ronan had explained the difference years earlier while teaching Sieghart to control a rope.

At the time, true Telekinesis remained too advanced for him. Now Mira had placed the foundation directly inside his hands.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because you need something to study during the journey."

"That isn't the real reason." Mira gave him an unimpressed look.

"Must we repeat this conversation?"

"You taught me to question incomplete explanations."

"I occasionally regret that." Mira tapped the book.

"Telekinesis is difficult because it combines mana projection, remote envelopment, spatial awareness, and continuous control. Most mages fail before establishing the first stable connection." Sieghart continued examining the diagrams.

"Can you use it?"

"Not well enough for combat. My communication and mental spells developed through a different branch." That answer disappointed Sieghart slightly, although the technique remained valuable regardless of its author. Telekinesis would allow him to control existing objects without touching them. He could retrieve weapons, move obstacles, disarm enemies, manipulate tools, and perhaps attack from angles that elemental constructs could not reproduce. The technique might also improve his Summoning Magic.

Maintaining remote control over Mana Swords or Shields would become easier after he learned to envelop external objects across a distance. Mira watched his interest grow.

"I don't know whether you can learn it." Sieghart looked up.

"You gave me a beginner's book."

"Most people spend years mastering the first exercise. Some never manage it at all."

"You think this is where my affinity ends?"

"I think we need to discover whether your learning ability has limits." Sieghart looked back at the cover. Mira had apparently chosen Telekinesis as an experiment rather than simply another reward. Elemental Magic responded to emotion. Summoning depended upon construction and control, while Support Magic worked through intention directed across his body. Telekinesis required projecting mana away from himself and establishing authority over matter he had not created.

It was different enough to test whether his broad affinity extended beyond the branches he already understood. Sieghart felt unexpectedly satisfied. He had wanted more knowledge concerning Seraphina, but this book offered something immediately useful while potentially revealing more about his own abilities. His satisfaction lasted until he remembered the four teenagers waiting for him.

"You are bribing me."

"I am providing educational motivation."

"It worked."

"I expected it would." Sieghart closed the book and held it against his chest.

"If the monsters have cores, I receive a fair share."

"You'll receive the same share as the others based on contribution. Healing them does not automatically entitle you to every core."

"If I kill the monsters?"

"Then your share increases."

"Acceptable." Mira handed him the map and another folder containing the mission details. The group would depart at sunrise from Lunar Arc's courtyard. Sieghart had the remainder of the day to prepare equipment, study the route, and begin reading the Telekinesis guide. He stood and turned toward the door.

"One more thing," Mira said. Sieghart looked back.

"Try to speak with the others."

"If they have useful information."

"I mean like a normal person."

"That seems unrelated to the mission."

"It isn't." Sieghart left before Mira added social interaction to his official responsibilities. The assignment promised danger, a possible hostile group, unfamiliar monsters, several weeks near the border, and four young guild members who would probably ask too many questions. It also offered potential monster cores and the foundation of Telekinesis. Sieghart looked down at the book while returning to the basement. He hoped the new magic would be worth the hassle.

Considering his recent history, the hassle would probably arrive first.