Master Of None

”We can let him be, he was having trouble focusing with us there, when he gets like that it’s best to let him be. He will come get us if he discovers something really good. He even came and found me at the orphanage when he discovered something with his last magic attack boosting potion. Lin was angry but then realized that he had made all the medicine and came with us to the alchemy building. She took some time but eventually let me go there much more. Not that she could keep me from going where I wanted in the first place.” Remey walked toward the mansions front door with her hands over her head stretching after their activities. 

”You know Remey, out of all of us I think you have the biggest family. The orphanage, the old master alchemist, and now us. You are the luckiest one out of all of us.” Walker said this completely believing it. He had seen how all those Remey was surrounded by were such an intricate part of her life. He still thought she was a bit rough around the edges but she would fight to the death to protect those she cared for. 

”Psh, yea whatever…” Remeye didn’t stop to look at him but right before she opened the door to the mansion she paused. ”You know it was a tough fight today with that robber. You needed to do your best to survive. Don’t let it eat away at you, they would have killed you without flinching just for a small amount of gold. Life is worth more than that I know, but they were ready to throw theirs away. You are a hero and if it was wrong to stop such a criminal i’m sure you would not have that title any longer.” Remey opened the door and went inside leaving Walker to think about her words. He knew this was her trying to cheer him up, but he still felt that today would take some time to accept. 

After some time Walker started to hear the armored footsteps that he had heard so many times in his life. ”Walker, what are you doing standing outside the door? Don’t tell me you forgot hot to open it?” Garret laughed at his own dad joke and clapped Walker on the back.

”Ah! Do you have to slap so hard? You know just because I am an adventurer doesn’t mean my defense is as good as your attack!” Walker could feel the redness spreading where his father had just greeted him. 

”Ehh, you can use it to toughen up. I know you can power through it.” Garret gave him a few more pats to his back before realizing that Walker was still not making any move to open the door. ”You really forgot how to open the door…” Garret wasn’t sure if his joke had become reality.

”I know…” Walker sat there still. ”Did you hear about three members of the stone gang being captured today?” Walker was still stuck on this even though Remey had tried to cheer him up just a little bit ago. 

”Yes, actually they were caught trying to jump the wall back in to the lower tier. They spilled their entire plan to rob nobles and take the money and valuables to the lower tier for their own gain. I also heard that they tried to kill you and Remy.” Garet looked at Walker seriously, he had already known that this would have some effect on Walker but had not expected it to slow him so much.

”I know I should be fine with it since I have defeated monsters before. But this just feels different…” Walker studied his hands trying to forget that he had defeated a robber, a human from his own kingdom.” 

”Alright, sit down here.” Garret dropped his helm and shield on to the ground and sat in the front step dragging Walker with him. ”Whether you like it or not it happened. I would like to tell you that it gets easier the more you kill. Yes, kill. You kill monsters, animals, and even humans. There will be more too. But there is a difference. From the report I saw across my desk it was in self defense. Not to mention you two were trying to stop a robbery not knowing that they would turn and attack with other waiting members.” Garret was looking Walker dead in the eyes. For him this was a father to son talk that held more importance than any other thing in the world.

Feeling the weight of Garret’s words Walker started to feel much worse. It was true that he sugar coated everything by saying defeated but he was really killing things. He was taking life from another being.

”The robber you faced turned tail and decided to attack you. He bet his life against yours and you won. That doesn’t make you evil or cruel. It makes you firm in your beliefs and proves that you can hold on to the justice you preach. Because you didn’t hold back and run you were able to stand for what you believe. Tell me, what would have happened to Remey if you held back and retreated? Would she have won on a two on one fight? What if the other three joined in? Who would have won in a five against one fight?” Walker knew well that Remey was strong and could have taken two or three even but five Robbers could have worn her down and defeated her with ease.

”Would you have accepted the loss of one of your party members, no one of OUR family just so a robber who already decided to gamble on their life could live in prison? Would you?” Garret stood up and picked up his shield and helm. ”Take the time to think about it, as long as you need. I will tell everyone to let you be for now.” Garret had said all he was willing to. He knew that even as Walker’s father he could not change a perspective or fore an Ideal on to him. Walker would have to come to an understanding himself. 

Walker sat on the front step as the light faded to night. The stars were in the clear sky showing off just how expansive existence really was. Walker let every thought flow freely and released them in turn. He stared at the stars while meditating on his own beliefs. The moon reached the peak of the night before he knew it and Walker had the feeling that he had reached an understanding within himself. 

”If I spend my life like this I will be afraid to protect even my own family…” Walker told himself this and reassured his motivation in pursuing the path of a hero. Even a hero could not avoid death but they could do their best to fight against it. Feeling full of energy even though it was so late at night Walker decided that it was best to take it in stride.

Crossing his legs he entered in to a state of meditation focusing on the mana around him. He felt the dance of light and darkness elemental manas in the night. The cool breeze pushing the warmth of the earth about. The small bits of dew that formed on the sprouting plants in the garden rolling down their stems spoke of the connection all these elements had. Walker started to sue his elemental manipulation to enhance these small partners actions in the night studying the effects.

His system did not make a single sound while he meditated but his knowledge grew. The hidden strings that seemed to guide each elemental mana to cause the cycle of life and deal was much less blurry than it had been. He had no idea of how much time had passed but he could tell that the energy in the air had started to rise. The cool breeze was gaining strength and warmth. The dew on the plants was mixing with light and fire mana becoming a soft fog and eventually steam. Walker could sense all of this. 

When the chirping of birds joined the mix he could tell he was only scratching the surface of how this all worked. The bodies of insects, animals and even sentient creatures like humans would put off their own mana changing how the flow of the world moved about. This realization was enough to shake his very foundation. He had been manipulating each element alone. When he pushed them together to force new effects he had created amazing attacks like the lightning bolt but created no skills.

His experimentation had been just that, throwing things together without understanding what they truly did alone. This was the missing piece to being a real mage. Even the most adept fore mage would have weaker skills without the proper understanding of why fire burned. With this thought the system finally responded. 

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