Thorin looked at the sharp petal-shaped paper hovering before him with sheer glee. He made it. This was his first cast of the spell and the symbol of his status as a Magus. Clay and Quin exclaimed on the side and stared at the paper petal as well.

  “You already succeeded?” Quin asked. “I’m still on ‘observing’ the soul space step.”

  “What do you do with it now?” Clay asked.

  “I don’t know,” Thorin said. “Should I shoot it? I think I can.”

  “Shoot where?” Quin asked. “You’ll destroy the shack.”

  “Go outside and shoot it,” Clay said.

  “I don’t know if I can hold it for that long,” Thorin said, as the paper blade trembled.

  “Shoot it out the window,” Quin said.

  “No!” Clay shouted. “If it hit the defensive barrier, it might cause a scene. Just shoot it at him.” He pointed at Quin.

  “Quin, grit your teeth,” Thorin said and pointed at him.

  “Fuck no!” Quin backed off. “What if it takes off my arm or two?”

  “Look at that thing,” Clay said. “It will just nick you at best.”

  “Then shoot it at the wall!” Quin yelled.

  “It’s coming!” Thorin hollered and launched the paper blade at Quin. It wobbled along its unsteady arc. At the end of its path, it took Quin as its target and scraped his forearm. The spell couldn’t break his skin.

  Thorin looked aghast at the conclusion of his spell. The cruel reality dawned on him again. His arcanas were truly garbage. They belonged in those black shades for a reason. Especially his Paper Arcana, which belonged to the bottom-most rung even among the outcasts.

  “Is this supposed to kill people?” Quin asked, scratching his forearm.

  “It will, one day,” Thorin said, grinding his teeth.

  “Well, at least you can practice your spells inside the shack without any worry,” Clay quipped, laughing, while Quin guffawed as well. Thorin glared at the two.

  “I’m hungry,” Thorin said as his irritation subsided. “Let’s go eat something. I’ll tell you how to observe the soul space on the way.”

  ……

  They walked out of the street market and strolled to the nameless town when the lamps lit up. They weren’t alone. The Greysnow street-market lacked anything but poor Magi. Thus, when all the stomachs had growled with the onset of dusk, the batches of broke Magi flooded the nameless town. They beelined for the eateries and the taverns. Delicious foods, cold ales, and the beauties awaited.

  “That’s all?” Quin gaped at Thorin. “Just imagine the dot and fall into it?”

  “It worked for me,” Thorin said.

  “What about the spell?” Quin asked. “How’d you do that?”

  “No trick to it,” Thorin said. “Do what the book says. Keep practicing and it should work.”

  “Should we call Byram as well?” Clay asked. “He might be eating alone since he doesn’t know anyone in the town right now.”

  Thorin and Quin agreed and the three went over to the area where all the carts and their animals rested. The carters had a line of shacks here that they could rent. So, if Byram had stayed in the town, he would be here. Before they could ask around for him, however, a commotion broke out by the next corner.

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  Quin looked at his brothers with a question in his eyes.

  “Nah,” Thorin said. “No need to get involved.”

  “Tch, my hand was itching,” Quin grumbled.

  “There are other Magi here too,” Clay said. “Many far more powerful than us. Don’t be reckless.”

  “Whoever came to this town at this hour is piss-poor like us,” Quin said. “I doubt he would have the capacity to create a ruckus with the mortals.”

  “Sir! Save me!” The three hadn’t walked away and Byram rushed out of that corner, plopping on the puddle before them. He was black and blue.

  “We left you for one day, and you changed your color,” Thorin said with a chuckle.

  Two men strutted over. They glared at Byram then looked at the three. “We only have business with him,” one of them said.

  “They look dangerous,” Clay said, a smirk tugging at his lips. The gap between Magi and mortals had already decided how this would end. Not to mention they had the numbers on their side as well.

  “Before you beat a dog, you better find out the name of his master,” Quin said, cracking his knuckles with a grin. “Your parents should’ve taught you that.”

  Thorin laughed and nudged Byram who still kneeled before them. “He called you a dog.”

  “This fight won't do you any good,” Clay said to the two men. “It’s better if you leave now. Remember not to bug this man in the future. He’s one of us.”

  “Fine,” one the men said. He dragged the other who stared daggers at them and left.

  “So?” Thorin asked Byram. “What happened?”

  “They wanted me to pay more than half my earnings if I wanted to work as a carter in this town,” Byram said. “Protection fee.”

  “Get up and talk,” Thorin said.

  “Did you think they would politely back off if you refused them?” Quin retorted.

  “But half my earnings is too much,” Byram said, standing up. “My bulls will starve like that.”

  “Whatever. I’m hungry,” Clay said. “Let’s go.”

  “I found a good place,” Byram said. “I’ll take you guys there.”

  “Is the food good there or the one who serves the food is good?” Thorin asked with a sly smile. Quin grinned beside him too.

  “Both,” Byram said and smiled along.

  “It’s them!” Alas, the conflict they rejected refused to end and barged back in. The two men had called for reinforcements. In a matter of moments, the tables had turned, and the four lost their advantage in numbers.

  “Hah!” Byram sneered at the mob and flipped them a finger. “Motherfuckers! I have three mighty Magi with me. What can you do?”

  Thorin gulped and took one step back. His eyes met his cousins’, and the three bolted away at once.

  “Siiiir!” Byram screamed and chased after them.

  “Don’t let them escape!” The mob of men with a variety of glinting weapons ran after them.

  The raging horde dashed Thorin’s dream of dinner with a beautiful waitress. He spent the good half of the night running away with his cousins and the cause of this mess. He wished to darken this bitch’s bruises even more now. Quin’s words had come back to bite their asses. If this fucker had to beat the dog, he should’ve checked who his master was before. Or how many. Even if they were Magi, they couldn’t take on that large group and come out unscathed. Especially when the only spell he could cast right now would just make the other side die of laughter.

  “I think we’re good now,” Clay said, panting on his knees. They’d threaded through the alleys of the town and even climbed on rooftops to lose them. Finally, after they ran into the woods and neared the street market, the angry mob gave up.

  “Let me catch my breath, then I’m going to kick your ass,” Quin said to Byram who’d sprawled on the grass.

  “This is…not good…for my heart,” Thorin said, huffing and puffing.

  “I thought there were only two of them,” Byram said. “I wouldn’t refuse if I knew their numbers.”

  “Where did you keep your bulls?” Clay asked.

  “I tied them away from the town,” Byram said. “No one will find them except me. Even if someone does, my boys can kick hard.”

  “Bring your bulls and come with us then,” Clay said. “If you go back to the town, you’ll probably lose a finger or two. That is, if you’re lucky.”

  Quin clicked his tongue. “The shack was already small for three,” he said.

  “What do we do now?” Thorin asked as his stomach rumbled.

  “I’ll go back and bring some food,” Clay said. “We’ll eat in the forest.”

  “There goes my time with the beautiful waitress,” Thorin said with a sigh.

  …..

  After their meal in the depths of the mountainous woods, they brought Byram with him. The guard let him and his bulls enter after pocketing some coins and checking his blood’s color. Luckily, the value of a mortal man and two mortal animals only reached the level of mortal coins.

  In the next few days, Thorin and the two learned and practiced their spells in the forest around, while Byram went into the market to try and pull his weight. He found a simple job that required strong shoulders. But nonetheless, he was a mortal. At the end of the day, he came back with a handful of mortal coins. Even with three Magi backing him, the employer refused to pay him in mana shards. A mortal could only do a mortal’s worth of job, he said.

  At least they wouldn’t need to worry about food with it in the short term, so Thorin and the two welcomed the pay. And so, Byram blended into their group. The only issue was that the shack was indeed too small, and now it also stank of bull shit.

  On their fourth day in the street market, when Thorin finally cast

  without any failure, the Archive gave him the prompt.

  [Spell mastery level-up.]

  [Papercut -: Neophyte Level 2/5]

  Finally…