I can talk to you about anything

There were 17 days left until the fight with the arch ghoul, and Angelica was hanging out with her friend Sugar in the guild building. Alexander said he wanted to teach Angelica about something special, so he wanted to choose just where to go questing that day. He wasn't a registered adventurer however, never even been adventuring in his life, so at the moment he was officially registering as one and getting his license prepared.

Angelica and Sugar leaned back against a wall together. The wall behind them had been damaged in a fight just a day before, but now it was perfectly fixed up as if it were brand new thanks to magic. Magic was far more versatile than Angelica originally knew.

"Are ya still, like searching for a party or anything?" Sugar was the first to speak. "With Cyan always out for his training or whatever we can totes accept a new member."

"Thanks, but I have to pass," Angelica said. "I'm still doing my training with Alex, and we're tackling a quest together-"

"So it's basically a date!?"

"A date?"

"It's so tragic," Sugar said with tears in her eyes. "Why do you get the student teacher romance and I don't!?"

"I feel like you misunderstand our relationship."

"Maybe if a strong family 'dopted me or somethin', like the Rexes, more hunks like that would notice me," Sugar sighed. "Like that oldest girl, Zenith Rex, have you seen just how gorgeous she is?"

"I don't think I've seen her."

"Oh she's GOGEOUS gorgeus, it's insane, if I was a dude I'd marry on the spot. And she's so strong too! Guys like strong girls, right?"

"I don't really know how much they care."

"Angel, I'm ready!" Alexander ran to his friend, smiling as he held out his new adventurer's ID. It was a thin white card with personal information on it, not too unlike any other ID, but he held it like it was the most precious treasure in the world. "The guild said there has been an influx in dangerous monsters on most routes these days, so we'll have to use a rather unique route."

"HE CALLS YOU ANGEL!!?" Sugar fell to her knees, gripping her heart in pain. "And you say I misunderstand your relationship!?"

Angelica wasn't even phased. "You remember Angel is literally my name, right?"

"I want a pet name too!" Sugar pouted. "Hey stud, you can call me Sugar."

"That's also literally your name."

"Nice to meet you Sugar." The irony seemed to fly right past Alexander, who only responded with a smile. "You can call me Alex."

"Awawawawawawawawawawawa..." If Sugar died that day she'd die happy.

"We should probably get going quick," Angelica said, grabbing Alexander by the arm and heading out. "Bye bye bye!"

"Bye bye bye..." Sugar could barely talk, her eyes looking into space.

"Anyways," Angelica said as they left the guild. "You said something about taking a unique route?"

"Do you remember how many orcs you managed to defeat yesterday?"

"Quite a lot!" Angelica giggled. For someone who used to be helpless against such monsters on her own a few days ago of course she would be proud.

"Turns out that's not a freak coincidence," Alexander said, not even noticing her pride. "There have been orcs showing up where goblins reside, dragons where there should be salamanders, and most placed have been filled with stronger monsters than usual."

"I mean what's the problem? You know I can handle myself out there!"

"Yeah, but there's a specific place we need to go to, and I can't have you tired out before training. That's why I mapped out the path with the least monsters to come across. It will be a safe trip, trust me."

***Just Thirty Minutes Later***

"Are you SURE this is a safe trip?"

Angelica and Alexander were holding tight onto a pair of vines, dangling above a deep ravine. It was a bit high but just level enough for the bottom to be visible, which was decorated with an army of sharp and jagged stones.

"This is safe," Alexander said confidently. "I'm sure of it."

"Are you SURE though?"

Thunder bellowed in the sky, dark clouds threatening to come forth and consume them in its storms. A bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, sparking it and lighting it aflame. A forest fire was ready to consume the entire area.

"Like I said, it's safe."

"There are literally monsters here though?"

Just at the other end of the ravine were skeletons with bows and arrows, aiming them right at the pair.

"I never said there were never going to be any monsters. This is just the safest route."

"Yeah, but..." Angelica would have put her finger to her chin if both hands weren't hanging on for dear life. "For a safe route this place doesn't feel very safe."

The skeletons shot arrows towards the duo, but a few magical barriers prevented them from even being touched by such attacks.

"Don't worry, it's safe."

"Sure," Angelica said sarcastically. "Very safe."

"Yes it is. Glad you understand."

"Have you heard of sarcasm before? And besides, how do you expect to get out of here?"

"Just use a spell?" Alexander spoke as if he was stating the most obvious thing in the world. "It's that simple?"

"Our hands are not free though, you realize using magic here might kill us?"

"Oh right, I never taught you how to cast from other parts of the body," Alexander suddenly realized. "It's an addition you need to make to your chant, like this."

Alexander twisted his body, arching his legs so that his toes pointed to the skeletons. With a chant bright red lasers burst from his shoes, blasting the skeletons through the skulls and making them fall apart.

"And now to get across."
He swung his body back and forth, before leaping straight to the other end of the ravine. With a spell he managed to create a gust of wind under his feet, boosting him to the other side safe and sound.

"Wow." Angelica would clap if she could use her hands.

"Now it's your turn. Copy the chant I made."

"Got it," Angelica said, knowing fully well that she didn't memorize a single syllable in that chant. Well it was the basic wind spell and she remembered some version of that, so all she had to figure out was that bit tacked on the end. Couldn't be that hard, right?

She accidentally sent the spell out of her forehead, and the gust of wind made her plummet down the ravine.

Fortunately second time's the charm, and with her second attempt Angelica managed to rocket herself out of the ravine.

"I felt like I was going to die!" Angelica screamed internally, her heart feeling like it could beat out of her chest. She fell to her knees, barely able to breathe from the intense shock shaking her to her core.

"No time to rest though, the storm is still approaching," Alexander said. "There is a cave around where I wanted to go, we can stay there while we wait for the rain to pass."

"Really!?" Angelica was too out of breath to move. "Can't you, like, part the clouds with magic or something?"

"Changing the weather with magic isn't something you should do so carelessly! Weather patterns are pretty complicated, stopping a storm here could cause a hurricane somewhere else."

"And here was I thinking if I could I'd make it never rain around here with my magic."

"You'd wreck the environment."

"I think I'm able to get up now..." Angelica barely managed to get to her feet. "How much further?"

"Actually not far at all. Just a bit right over here."

Angelica followed Alexander, and it wasn't long until they had made it. A beautiful clearing opened up, a field of flowers with so many colors, a rainbow laid across the ground. A crystal-clear stream flowed through the center, and by the start of the stream was a dark little cave.

"So pretty!" Angelica's heart was instantly calmed, encouraging her to stop and smell the flowers. The scent that filled her nose was sweater than any honey she had ever tasted.
Then a drop of rain fell on her head.
Then two.
Then so many it felt like a water bucket was being poured atop her.

"Quick, follow me!" Alexander grabbed her hand and ran, using a magic barrier as an umbrella, until the two of them were safe and sound within the stony cave.

"This storm looked pretty heavy out there," Angelica noted, shivering from her soaked clothes. "About how long would you say until the rain clears up?"

"At least a few more hours."

"There goes our hopes of training out here."

"Don't worry, the type of training I was thinking of can be done even in here." With a snap of his fingers Alexander created a tiny little flame that floated in the air, and sent to fly around Angelica. "Use this to dry yourself."

"Thanks." The warm glow of the fire felt like entering a warm bed after a cold day. "But what sort of magic are we talking about if it can be practiced here?"

"There are a few techniques I think you need to learn about, some more advanced magical techniques that I have yet to teach you. First, you need to learn about enhancement."

"Enhancement?" It sounded a bit familiar to Angelica. "I think I've seen some enhanced clothes and such at stores. They're always so incredibly expensive though."

"Makes sense. Enhancement is a long and dedicated process. You need to start enhancing an object for at least a month to start getting value out of it."

"Isn't it a bit late for me to start enhancing stuff then?"

"You can still buy enhanced clothes and rings and other gear. Such things would be incredibly useful in increasing your strength."

"I see. So what exactly does enhanced gear even do?"

"Well to enhance an item is to imbue it with mana over a long period of time, and mana is essentially life energy. In a way you're giving an item a bit of life, and the effects can differ depending on the object."

Alexander snapped his fingers, creating a wormhole beside him that allowed him to bring out a specific pointed stick.

"Here is an item I enhanced as an example."

"It's a stick."

"Yes, it's a stick."

"No, I mean, why did you enhance some stick?"

"Well..." Alexander got a bit red. "I started enhancing it when I was five. I used to play with it by pretending it was a sword."

"Aww," Angelica squealed. "That's adorable."

"Anyways, enhanced items like this tend to share a few properties. For one..."
Alexander stabbed the stick into the ground, cracking it and shaking the cave, but the stick was unaffected. "Enhancing an object makes it more durable. Enhanced objects can also serve as reservoirs of mana, allowing you to do stuff like this!"

Glowing mana flowed out of the stick, condensing onto its tip and forming a fireball that he blasted into the rain.
"If you draw on the mana of enhanced objects you can practically never run out of mana again!"

"Can enhanced items run out of mana?"

"Of course. They can replenish automatically over time but it's a slow process. Use up all of its mana and your enhanced item will be torn to shreds."

"Ouch..."

"There's one more thing you need to know about enhanced items." Alexander closed his eyes, mana flowing from his body into the stick, streams of light connecting the two, before slamming the stick into the ground. Flowers and little shrubs sprouted from the spot, a little garden growing in the middle of stone. "Each one has a unique ability, one you activate by pouring mana into the item. This stick for example has the ability to make plant life sprout wherever it strikes, but there are many other types of abilities out there."

"What type of abilities?"

"It can be nearly anything from what I've seen. I've seen items that shoot lasers, create fires, heal wounds, even some more specific ones. One of my sisters enhanced a cup to never run out of wine. The theory is that the mana that flows into an item carries traits of the caster's personality, and that personality shapes the magic."

"So the unique magic in every enhanced item is basically just personality magic?" Angelica smiled. "That means the fact that your enhanced item can make flowers grow..."

"Don't mention it." Alexander was even more red than before. "It's embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed, it's cute. Your magic creates life, I wonder if there's any other magic like it out there."

For a moment Alexander's heart felt a bit heavy, the thought wounding him.
"So you need to start looking into some enhanced items," Alexander said, trying to ignore the subject. "But that's not the only thing I want to teach you about. There are also conjuration spells, and those are some of the more difficult spells to master."

Alexander picked up a pebble, just a seemingly ordinary black pebble. But with a chant the rock started to float, crushing and compressing itself into a dense orb before expanding and forming a brighter and shinier diamond form.

"Conjuration is a bit of a misnomer," Alexander explained. "When such spells were discovered it was thought they were able to 'conjure' materials out of nothing, but truthfully these spells convert one object into another. I'd consider it more like transmutation than anything."

"I see..." It took a moment for Angelica to fully understand, for the full implications to truly sink in. "Wait, are you saying I can create anything out of anything!?"

"Theoretically-"

"THAT'S AWESOME!!" Angelica snickered from the thought. "I could basically make infinite swords, attacking with blades in every direction! I'll never have to worry about money ever again, I can just make my own! I could turn the ground the enemy is standing on into explosives!"

"Unfortunately it's not that simple," Alexander sighed. "This branch of magic is the hardest to learn and master."

"Relax, I have you as my teacher. This will be a piece of cake!"

"Conjuration magic requires knowing both the material compositions of what you're changing and what you're trying to create. This sort of magic relies on you breaking and reforming atomic bonds in order to change physical properties and-"

The moment Angelica heard science mentioned she fell asleep.

"Hey, wake up."

"Huh..." Angelica slowly opened her eyes. "Is the smart stuff over?"

"This is a complicated subject. In fact, it's the field of magic I'm the worst at."

"Your worst is probably still unattainable for a lot of people."

"There are some tricks to it. All of the rocks in this cave are mostly carbon, which cuts out half of the equation when learning to change them with magic. If what you wanted to transform was something like dirt or sand, which is full of so many different stuff mixed together, you'd have a much harder time. If you start by learning to transform just one specific material you'll be on the right track by the time you fight the arch ghoul."

"Then I'll be able to make anything?"

"With the right spell, basically yeah."

"So I can kiss any problems with money goodbye!"

"I wouldn't recommend it. If law enforcement gets suspicious you could be jailed for that."

"I know, I was joking. But this is still incredible! I'll never run out of weapons again! I'll never have to go shopping again. Hey, what's the limit to how complex I can make something with this?"

"Complex?"

"Complex like..." Angelica tried to think, what was the most complicated object out there. "A person?"

"...a person?"

"Now that I think about it that sounds like something a mad scientist would say. But is it possible to conjure up life?"

Alexander froze, his body completely still. His heart was pounding like it could stab through his chest and split him apart.

"I'm sorry, was that a bad question?"

"No... it's..." Alexander took a deep breath, calming his shivers just a little bit. He was still scared, and he knew nothing he tried was going to remove that fear, but he did his best to act regardless. "Yes."

"So it is a bad question!?"

"No, I meant yes as the answer to your question. With enough skill you can use conjuration magic to create all forms of life. Plants, animals, monsters, even humans."

"I see." Angelica thought back to her battle with Cadence. The goblins and the orc, those all had to be made with conjuration magic right? Except from what Alexander was saying she'd have to be an incredibly powerful spellcaster....

Oh right, she was part of the Rex family too! Her memories of what happened as she ran low on mana were blurred, but she could definitely recall Alexander calling her his sister. Such talent could only come from the Rex family after all, it made sense.
But if she was so willing to conjure life whenever possible, why did Alexander seem so afraid of it?

"Do you have bad experiences with conjuration magic?"
It was the only thing Angelica could think of to explain this.

"..." Alexander's tongue stood still, not a movement nor twitch willing to emerge.

"I'm sorry, I know you might not feel comfortable sharing this but-"

"It's alright." Alexander pushed himself to speak anyways, even as his limbs shook, even as his heart pounded, even as his breaths threatened to fade away. "I should at least say it now."

He was scared, shaking, barely able to move his mouth from the fear. There wasn't anything to be scared of, yet it still felt like he was diving headfirst into something terrifying.
But eventually, with a single breath, he said it.

"I was created with conjuration magic."

"Huh..." It took Angelica a moment to fully digest what was just said. "Created? Is the entire family like that?"

"No, just me. My mother wanted a son, but after only being able to have daughters for so long she resorted to using magic to create a child. That child was me."

"I see. Did the magic somehow makes things hard for you growing up?"

"Not directly. I'm basically a normal person, just like anyone else. I eat, breathe, and sleep like anyone else, I haven't had any major health issues, my mother was incredibly careful to construct me as perfectly as possible. But I wouldn't say being made like this hasn't had its difficulties." Alexander struggled to say more.

"Is it your family? Have they caused difficulties."

"...yes. Even if I'm physically identical to any other person, the rest of my family doesn't see me that way. They... haven't treated me all that well..."

"And that's why they kicked you out?"

"If they could they would have kicked me out sooner. My mother died when I was young, and she put in her will that I should remain in the care of my family until I'm at least 19 years of age. The moment my 19th birthday came around, I was told to never step foot in the household again."

"I see."

"The way they treat the mere concept of conjuring life sickens me. They create lives by the dozen, and use them for whatever they want. As pawns, as twisted experiments, as meat shields, it's like they have no care for lives they created. And that's not the worst part!"

"It gets worse!?" Angelica's face was a bit pale. "How?"

"Do you keep up with news surrounding magic and spells?"

"Not especially, sorry."

"Don't apologize. What makes my family worse is that just last year the act of conjuring fully grown humans was deemed immoral and made illegal. But that hasn't stopped my family. They've been paying off law enforcement to keep them from paying any mind to their illegal acts. Even now my family is probably still creating and experimenting on conjured, conscious people."

"That sounds horrible." Angelica truthfully didn't know what to say. "Why?"

"For the sake of developing new spells and new magic. You don't become one of the greatest magical families of all by doing everything by the book, or at least that's what they say. I just think it's insane, but I still can't bring myself to stand against them. Sad, isn't it?"

"Don't be down on yourself for just that," Angelica said with a solemn smile. "You'd have to have the heart of a dragon to push yourself against them in such conditions."

"I guess." Alexander still looked down.

"Hey, since you've shared some of your past, maybe I should share some of mine? Maybe it'd help get your mind off your family."

"I guess. What was your childhood like?"

"I wouldn't say it was great but it was rather normal." Angelica sighed. Where should she even begin? "I was mostly raised by my dad, my mom was mostly out fighting and earning money as an adventurer. I guess it's because of her that I wanted to get into sword fighting. School was tough. Not only was I just a poor student I was also a bit unpopular to put it lightly."

"Sounds rough."

"It wasn't all bad. I first met Cyan back in school, he was a close friend. We grew a bit distant once he became the strongest guy in the guild or whatever and I was some nobody, but I think he still considers me a friend at least some bit. I also met Tom and Patty there. You wouldn't know them, but they're two of my party members. I kind of miss them."

"I see."

"They were the ones who would stand up for me when my teachers were being unreasonable. I've had a few too many bad instructors over the years, and with all they said I had resolved to never go to a school again. So to be able to have a teacher like you, it's a bit of a blessing I think. Thank you."

Alexander blushed and looked away.

"Is this also embarrassing?"

"I honestly can't remember the last time I was thanked like this. Thank you."

"I feel like thanking me for thanking you defeats the point of a thank you."

"Then I guess I should thank you for something else. Thank you for saving me."

"That's kind of heavy."

"But you literally saved me. I'd be out cold in the streets if not for you. You've given me clothes, food, and a place to sleep. Thank you."

Now it was Angelica's turn to blush.
"Now I'm the one embarrassed."

"Hey look, the sun is coming back out."
Alexander pointed to the outside, where the raindrops began to slow and sunlight began to peek through the clouds. The flowers shimmered and shined through the light, and a rainbow painted its brush through the air.

"It's the perfect condition to head back!" Angelica was ready to head on her way, only to remember just what exactly was on that path. "Or maybe we can stay here a bit longer."

"Hope you remember we're going back the same way we came."

"I wish I didn't have to remember. Why do there have to be so many monsters on every other route?"

"Well since the lesson is over I guess I can allow you to take a bit of an alternate route."

Angelica grinned from ear to ear. "Well I have no choice but to accept Teach!"

As Angelica ran through the forest, brandishing her sword, Alexander thought back to what she had mentioned just a moment before. The number of dangerous monsters everywhere was increasing every day, and it just had to happen after an arch ghoul had been spotted, a monster long thought extinct. A red dragon desecrated the area and nearly killed Angelica. His sisters suddenly appeared and began conjuring monsters while fighting them. Was it a coincidence?

He was thinking too much about this, this had to just be a coincidence. What reason would they even have for spreading so many monsters out in the open? What sort of conclusion could even be gained from such an experiment?

Well, there was no use overthinking it anyways. His job at the moment wasn't to deal with his family's crimes, it was to help Angelica become stronger, and he was going to stick to his job.