Chapter 22: The City of Bac

It was the next morning, and the entire Kanezuka family had gathered outside. Ayame had given a brief—though rather shallow—explanation for the reason of their travels.

“Meisatsu and I are going to Bac to get him a Magi-Mobile!”

“He wants one of those?” Ragan’s strong voice still shook the others, despite his calm speech. “He doesn’t strike me as the type who’d be interested…”

Meisatsu chipped in, “It’s for a race…”

“Really?!” A new spark of excitement went off in Ragan’s eyes. “I’ve never seen one up close before. When will it hold?! Who’re you racing—!”

“That’s enough dear.” Leina cut him off sweetly, wrapping her children in a loving embrace. “You two be safe for mommy.”

A dreadful aura of despair suddenly enveloped Leina and her hold dangerously tightened. “I don’t know what I'd do if either of you ever got hurt…”

“I-I’ll protect him!” Ayame yelped.

Their mother could be quite terrifying sometimes—especially when it came to their overall well being.

Leina and Ragan saw them off with, cheers, waves, and calls of good luck.

The destination the two were heading—the Magic Travel Agency, located further up north in the deeper parts of Beetho.

Once again, Meisatsu suggested that Ayame simply teleport them there, and—as expected—she aptly declined.

It was a two hour walk from home. Along the way, they made several pit stops to get some snacks, water and most importantly, some rest.

Ayame also used to opportunity to sneak more than a few—not so pure—glimpses at her precious brother…

As they trudged on, they got to area of the town where the dirt road had ended, and cobblestone begun.

It stretched out into a wide, expansive town square, with buildings bearing more sophisticated designs surrounding it.

At the center of the square, was a fountain, crowned a statue of the Goddess Lyrica. She played a harp from which water streamed gracefully from its outermost edges.

Ayame pointed out the imposing building up ahead, towering over all the others. With its thick white-painted walls, and four large supporting columns—it would be hard to miss.

Meisatsu muttered, taking in its grandeur, “It sure does look like an agency…” 

Now standing before two looming double doors lined with gold, Meisatsu and Ayame pushed them together.

They were greeted with a soft, delicate atmosphere that carried professionalism. Beneath them, a wide stretch of marble gleamed, and some wooden chairs were arranged neatly in a corner.

Long, stained glass windows stretched from the ground to the ceiling, casting soft, colorful patterns across the interior.

The scenery reminded Meisatsu of an airport he had visited with his parents in his previous world—when they went to see a relative off.

He then inhaled deeply, sucking up the crisp, business-like air. “Haaaa… That’s the stuff.”

He sighed contently, savoring it.

A small counter stood in the far corner, a man stationed behind it. “Ah, welcome to the Magic Travel Agency. How may I help you?”

“We would like to head to Bac please,” Ayame replied, pointing first at Meisatsu then at herself. “How much would that be for the two of us?”

“If it’s Bac, that would be…” He looked up and tapped his chin for a short moment. “One gold each.”

The man smiled at Meisatsu and Ayame, deducing from their demeanor that they might be Explorers. “Pardon me for asking but, is the trip for a quest, perhaps?”

“You could say that.” Ayame leaned with her elbow on the counter, and a somewhat haughty grin tugged at her lips. “Super important.”

Sure it is… Meisatsu held a hand up to his head in resignation.

CLINK! CLINK!

Ayame gingerly placed two gold coins on the counter “Here you go.”

She had pulled the travel funds out of her own savings—she wasn’t about to spend as little as a single copper from the money Meisatsu had gotten from Umare.

Plus, she was still upset that he had been the one to accompany her brother on the quest.

“Alright, please head over that way.” The man gestured to a corner, where a group of people in robes had gathered.

As they approached, one of the robed figures spoke up. “Just the two of you?”

The voice was without a doubt female.

Shifting the hood over her head, a pretty young woman appeared. With her big, brown, beautiful eyes and long, matching wavy hair, she smiled at the two. “Hey! I know you! You’re the new Hero!”

She quickly grabbed Meisatsu’s hand, shaking it frantically. “I’m a huge fan! I saw your fight with Umare—Oh! Where are my manners?!”

She giggled. “Hi, I'm Mio, a High-Mage. I live around the Explorers Guild, so I got a chance to watch your fight. And I’ve so heard so many rumors about—”

“Easy now, Mio." The person beside her pulled back his own hood. “Please forgive my colleague here…”

A man definitely in his thirties. His mature face framed by a well-maintained mahogany beard, gave them a polite smile

But Ayame? She was not having it! Not while Mio still had Meisatsu's—sacred—hand in her clutches.

And Meisatsu… He could feel his temperature rising to critical levels, mouth parched, and his brain going completely blank.

Such a beautiful woman was fangirling over him. Meisatsu was—in his mind—on the door step to paradise.

“Y-yeah, it’s err—me, the hot—I mean Gun Hero…” He let out a weak chuckle as he finished.

Silence…

“Kyaa!” Mio squealed, hopping in place with excitement. “Sorry, kinda got carried away…”

The ends of Ayame’s hair sparked briefly, before small flames curled along them—a fuse had been lit!

Were doomed! Meisatsu thought in horror.

✦✦✦

After a few more heartfelt apologies from Mio, both High-Mages—her colleague and herself— raised their hands and began chanting in low, inaudible voices...

Golden specs of light began to coat their bodies, making them feel lighter. While the High-Mages chants, grew heavier.

In the blink of an eye, they were now outside, in the middle of a bustling street. 

“Where…are we?!” Meisatsu's vision jumped from building to building, baffled by his new surroundings. The people, the streets. Everything had changed drastically.

The roads were cobblestone as far as the eye could see and the buildings were larger, stacked with more stories. Their designs were even more advanced.

One thing was clear—they were certainly not in Beetho anymore...

“Welcome, to Bac!” Ayame spread her hands wide, spinning on her toes as her hair swayed in the breeze. “Let’s go!”

Awestruck, Meisatsu soaked up the sight of the city. From the towering houses to the constant buzz of many different races commuting the streets . It made him feel just like a country bumpkin stepping into the big city for the first time. 

“It’s way bigger than imagined...” he muttered, studying the countless passersby. “So many people…”

Ayame clasped her hands behind her back, skipping backwards.  She grinned, “That’s a major city for you!”

“Um, Ayame? I’ve been wondering... What’s the difference between a Mage, and a High-Mage?”

“Hmm…besides being able to cast more complicated spells and having ginormous magic reserves, nothing much.” She gave it some more thought, then added, “People say that three average Mages couldn’t beat a novice High-Mage. Baloney!”

“You’ve got some beef with them or something?” Meisatsu stifled a chuckle.

“Not at all! With the crazy amount of raw power, like that scared guy I beat in the forest, and magic artifact on top of that? You’d be plenty strong.” Her face softened as her tone fell into something more solemn. “I just... wish someday, I’d have an Ascendance.”

“Ascendance?” Meisatsu head tilted as they continued their walk. “Is that some sort of level up?”

An Ascendance was a phenomenon in which a person’s class, transitioned into a higher one. And so far, this only occurs in one of two ways: From Commoner Class to Royal class, or from Royal Class into an elevated form of itself.

Some rumors said that one could achieve it in moments of extreme stress and danger. Others claim that a person needed to have a single, unwavering goal...

“That’s about right,” Ayame chuckled. “A Mage can ascend to a High-Mage, a Craftsman to a High-Craftsman, a Priest to a High-Priest—or the legendary, Battle-Priest…”

After flipping through her mental notes for some moments, she added, “Oh, and a King could become a Warrior-King. But we haven’t had one of those in thousands of years.”

“Battle-Priest? Warrior-King?” Meisatsu ran his hands through his black hair, mumbling, “I can’t absorb all this knowledge…”

Ayame couldn’t suppress a laugh, tears forming. That’s my Satsu…

A few beats later, they had arrived at the door of a small workshop. It had a simple wooden door, and an even more basic sign at the front that read...

The Best Craftsman in All of Asturia!

It's literally called that?!! 

Pushing the door open, they saw a person standing, tinkering away at something with their back turned. Reacting to the the potential customers, they turned...

Meisatsu unintentionally blurted out, “A... Dwarf?!!”