"Thank you for giving us the extra that the fat man gave you as a thank you. Take care, kid. We'll cross paths someday." Kelvin said, as he walked through the bustling streets of White Cloud City. Which, unlike the suggestive name, were made of interlocking floors of graphite color. The entire city being composed of warm-toned buildings.
Its size was clearly larger than the previous city and, having no walls, it was even difficult to know its center. Having large buildings of more than 6 floors on all corners, as well as small castles and temples. Most of them proudly displaying the black flag with a white cloud in the middle, the symbol of the city.
Lost in the city, Alex just strolls, admiring the stunning view of a real magical city. Uniformed guards patrolling every corner, clean streets, and a large amount of commerce.
Stopping in front of a building with a slightly more refined appearance of white and gold tones, Alex reads the large forged sign: 'Alighieri Hotel'.
Entering, Alex is dazzled by the decoration of the place. "Spacious, chic, oppressive." He murmurs, passing by the few customers sitting in the lobby.
Upon reaching the service counter, a man with gray hair and beard, in a serious but respectful tone, says: "How can I help you, sir?"
~~~
"Ahh... Finally, a good bed." He groaned as he stretched. "These super horses are at least 2 times faster than the horses from my old world and yet it took 4 days of travel to cross just 2.000 km... 'just', haha. The distance standards of this world are twisted and, honestly, very sparsely populated. We crossed only one city on our way here..." Alex thought, organizing the recent events.
As if remembering something, he quickly sat up in bed and, after confirming some things in the Knight book, he began to use his breathing technique.
Starting the whole process described in the book, after a while, Alex finally felt the heat of the technique, which contrasted greatly with the cold sensation that mana causes.
Breathing in, breathing out. Faster and faster, following the unique rhythm, feeling the burning sensation getting stronger and stronger, accumulating in his chest area, almost as if frying his own heart. A heart that pumped boiling blood that spread frantically throughout his body.
1, 2, 3, 4 hours. When Alex was ready to stop the Qi absorption training because he couldn't stand the burning anymore, he had an idea: "What if I enter the mental space?".
~~~
"Yeah, I was asking for too much. It's simply impossible to control the breathing technique within the mental space..." Alex sighed in the bathtub of his private bathroom.
After the Qi absorption training, Alex was completely sweaty and out of energy, but he already felt that his body, after 30 minutes of rest in the bathtub, was already bursting with energy.
Materializing the book in his hands, Alex quotes a specific passage to motivate himself: "'1- Muscular enhancement, 2- Bone enhancement, 3- Viscera enhancement.' Damn, I'm going to be a war tank that shoots rays, hehe.".
As Alex got out of the bathtub and dried his body with the fluffy white towel, he remembered Kelvin's words: "Boy, knowing magic, you won't gain much more in the mercenaries' guild besides money. I would advise you to at least enter the mage's tower...".
Excited, Alex smiled: "Let's see what a real mage tower is like!".
~~~
A large, dark blue cylindrical tower stood out even among the large buildings of White Cloud City.
Its solid appearance, like a large monolith without windows, was oppressive. At its arched entrance, unlike other important buildings, there were no large, muscular guards, but rather thin men of fragile appearance, almost completely covered by a loose black cloak. This was the most secure building in all of White Cloud City.
Unlike most people who passed without even looking at the large and oppressive building, a tall, handsome young man took confident steps towards the entrance.
"Sir, only mages have the minimum qualifications to enter the tower, turn back." One of the guards said while making a 'stop' sign with his hands.
Despite the term of address 'sir', there was no subservience or respect in his voice, which sounded more like an order and not a warning.
Without saying a word, the handsome young man just raised one of his hands, which shone with the cold blue light of mana.
With a look of realization, the guard nodded and returned to his position, while Alex continued his way, stopping just a step away from the door which, despite being open, had a black substance acting as a mysterious veil, completely blocking the internal view.
Placing his hand, although Alex was surprised by the icy viscosity of the dark veil, realizing that it did not pose a danger, he then entered with his entire body.
~~~
"Helia, I've already told you, don't insist on this matter anymore." Said the old man who, by his resemblance to a certain director, would certainly be sued for copyright infringement.
"Mentor, please reconsider!" Pleaded the girl with long dark brown hair. Her large, green eyes shone with tears, as she tightly gripped the sleeve of her brown cloak, hopefully waiting for the old man's reconsideration.
Sighing, the old man looked tenderly into the girl's moist eyes and said: "I'm sorry, dear, but this is impossible. You know, besides me, there are many other old monsters, wh-".
"Mentor, you always use the same argument. But who would dare to speak against your word?" The girl interrupted, pressing the issue again.
"You dare, Helia." The old man replied, his voice now showing some dissatisfaction.
The girl, hearing the rare tone of her mentor, realized that she had crossed the line and, even feeling wronged and sad, apologized and left the large office, leaving the old man sighing, as he watched his beloved, yet problematic student, leave.
~~~
"Wow... This really looks like what it should look like." Said Alex, observing the grand hall in front of him.
Well decorated in wood, the entire place gave off a vibe of comfort and, at the same time, the huge walls lined with lush bookshelves full of books, exuded great mystery. Whether it was the floating books that constantly changed places with each other, or the numerous mages dressed in cloaks of different colors who picked them up to read.
The immense place had a designated area with leather sofas for reading and, at its center, a counter with some young women dressed in white cloaks, who attended to the other visitors. Immersed in the magical atmosphere of the place, Alex looked around, wide-eyed, as he moved.
*Thud*
"Hey, you idiot, watch where you're going." Said a brunette girl as she bumped into Alex.Surprised to see the girl fallen after the bump, Alex promptly extended his hand, saying next: "Sorry, I was distracted. Here, let me help you.".
"No excuses, you idi-" The girl cursed, interrupting her speech as she looked up.
The girl, for a moment, stared fixedly at Alex, then came to her senses and lowered her head to hide her reddened face. Getting up and running away without another word.
"Each crazy one... But her eyes were very red, did it hurt so much a bump with just 1 day of Knight training?!" Alex thought, confused, as he shook his head and headed to the central counter.
"Hello, are you new here?" The girl asked, seeing Alex approach.
"Yes. I came to register at the mage tower." Alex replied.
"Alright, sir. I suppose you are already an acolyte, right?".
"Ah, yes, I am. How did you know?" Alex asked, curious to know if there was any spell or device capable of identifying the levels of mages.
The beautiful attendant smiled as she pushed her hair back, saying next: "It's just that non-mages are not allowed to enter without an escort.".
"Ah...".
"...".
"Well, sir. You must pay a platinum coin for registration and, according to your magical level, you can take on different missions in exchange for resources or money. As an acolyte, you must do a rewardless mission once a month." The girl explained.
Taking a platinum coin from his mental space, while pretending to take it out of his pocket, Alex said: "Here it is, by the way, could you explain how these floating books work?".
"Well, the floating books are nothing more and nothing less than the most powerful 7th circle magic of the tower master. It is said that it, by chance, offers the best book to those who are willing to take it. The price of an attempt is 26 platinum coins.".
"Huh?!" Exclaimed Alex, mentally. "That's 250 gold coins, 500 daily from the Hotel!".
"This seems like a scam to rip off money..." Alex thought. "But... Where else could I get more magical content if not here?".
"Miss, do you have some basic magic books for acolytes?" Alex asked, restraining himself from entering the magic book lottery.
"Of course, sir. Our magic tower has its acolyte volume that you can buy for just 26 platinum coins.".
"26 coins for the lottery and 26 coins for the book... I would only have some gold coins left, but I still have some jewels that I haven't sold yet..." He calculated in his mind.
"No! 26 platinas for a book of potions for menstrual cycle!" A man shouted, after picking up one of the books, pulling Alex out of his thoughts.
"...".
"Was that what this guy needed the most?" Alex asked the girl, suspiciously.
"Absolutely!" She replied with a confident smile.
"...".
"Okay, miss. Please, give me the acolyte book of the tower and a chance with the floating book." Alex said, taking out 52 platinum coins from an empty leather bag.
"Here it is, sir." The girl said, placing the acolyte book on the counter, while extending her hand with a pendant.
"This pendant will remove the seal from the book you pick up and will destroy itself in just one use. Good luck." The girl said, with a smile.
Nodding in thanks, Alex leaves holding the acolyte book under his arm.
"Hmm, do I just pick up any of the floating books?" Alex wondered, as he looked at the huge ceiling of at least 4 floors, where books floated at all heights.
"Well, whatever." He murmured as he simply picked up a book that was passing over his head.With a black cover with some embossed details, the book did not show any information about what its content might be, a bluish light enveloped it, preventing the book from being opened.
"Hmm... It doesn't matter, now that I've picked it up, it must be fate.".
Holding the book in one hand, Alex brought the pendant close to almost touching the book and, the blue light that previously enveloped it, with the approach of the pendant, became weaker and, like ashes, disappeared into small fragments.
"Wow..." Alex thought, not holding back as he opened the book to see what subject it was about...
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