The Moonlight Swordsman

Aizel kept a safe distance from Vespara as they returned to the city, still reeling from the unexpected situation.

"Oh, come on, how long are you going to be like this?

"I have already informed Daisy that we are both going to share you," Vespara said.

"What do you mean 'share'? I am not your property." He snapped. "I refuse to believe Daisy would agree to that."

"So, you mean to say you want only Daisy to have you?" Vespara's lips curled into a sly smile as she spoke.

"That's not what I meant... look, your shop is here; I am going now. I am pretty tired from the journey."

Aizel answered by hastening his steps toward the inn, eager to get away from Vespara as soon as possible.

He made his way to his room and flopped onto the bed, sighing in relief at the thought of finally getting some rest.

He was fatigued, and his body ached from the lengthy travel. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly as he fell into a deep slumber.

The Magic Institute, the next morning...

Aizel and Soren had successfully completed their mission and arrived early at their destination. While the rest of their crew continued with their objective, they met with Professor Liam and went to the library.

As Professor Liam took them up to the third floor of the library, Aizel and Soren trailed behind him. They eventually arrived at a quiet area where two mages stood guard outside a small room.

"This is the room where you will get your Magic Grimorium."

"How many you receive will depend on how many cores you have, but remember you can only get one for your element or power," the professor said while winking at Aizel.

"So, he knows too," Aizel thought.

"Just head inside and simply release your magic energy."

As Aizel nodded in agreement, he took a step forward and reached for the doorknob.

The door gave way easily under his grasp, without so much a creak or a squeak. With a sense of caution, Aizel pushed open the door and made his way inside the room.

As Aizel entered the room, he found it to be completely white, with no shelves or books in sight. It was not what he had expected, and he couldn't help but wonder where the magic books could possibly be hidden.

Aizel did as he was told and released his magical energy.

As he did so, the previously empty white room began to vibrate, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, books began to appear one after the other.

The books were old, with thick covers that bore names and symbols.

Aizel was astounded as he saw the various books fill up the space, covering every square inch of it. The entire room had been converted into a wonderful library, complete with floating books.

Aizel's eyes darted from one book to another as he scanned their titles, which were etched in elegant calligraphy on their spines. Each book bore a unique name and symbol on its cover, such as Aqua, Terra, Glacies, Anima, and more.

"It seems like because of my imagination power, every book has reacted to it. But I can only pick two of them." He sighed as he thought.

Aizel's eyes scanned the spines of the books one by one, looking for titles that caught his attention. He found the books he was seeking, Fulgur and Ignis, and quickly took them and placed them in his ring.

Aizel left the room and made his way over to Professor Liam.

"So now that you have picked your grimoriums, let's go and meet the headmaster. He wants to meet both of you."

As they both nodded in agreement, they trailed behind the professor once again to the headmaster's office. The heavy doors to the office swung open and revealed the headmaster, who was sipping tea from a porcelain cup at his desk.

"Oh, you are finally here. Come take a seat."

The headmaster gestured for Aizel and Soren to take the empty chairs before him while he stroked his long beard thoughtfully.

"Now I have heard about your situation. It seems you guys had it pretty easy.

"Why do you think the rioters who were causing problems suddenly left, Soren?"

"Because they got scared of me." He replied plainly.

"Hahaha... Interesting man as always.

"What do you think, Aizel? Why is that? Why are the rioters and commoners who were causing so many problems now silent and starting to retreat?"

"I think, sir, either they have finally realized that they can't win or they have found a way to alter the whole situation." He replied.

"Excellent! That's what I think. How do you think they can change the situation?"

"They might have found some help from a neighboring kingdom and made some plans, or they could have recruited a powerful mage in their ranks."

"What do you think about a magic artifact?" the headmaster asked.

"I don't know much about magic artifacts, sir, so I can't say anything about it."

"The magic artifacts are really powerful things. They don't have any grades, as every artifact that is made or naturally formed serves only one purpose: to help mages by providing powers and magic.

"Have you heard about the 'Book of Nature'?"

"Yes sir."

"One of the powers the Book of Nature has is that it can accelerate the growth of any plants, trees, or herbs. Just imagine, an herb that takes 100 years to grow can become full-grown in just one week with the help of that artifact."

"Then maybe, sir, they might have found an artifact that can help them in some way."

"I suspect that might be the case; you are both excellent mages. I hope you will be vigilant and report immediately if you notice anything unusual.

"I am assigning both of you your new missions.

"Your job is to scour every corner of the kingdom; you have my full authority to apprehend or kill anyone if required. Find out what is going on and if the rioters are really planning something.

"I don't think that they will even for a moment give a second thought to not involving innocent people in this."