Ancient Barons and the Returned Assassin

by Weiqi Wang

  ‘This just reminds me of Omi’s words,’ Soarame punched the mad bear in the chest. ‘Girls talk and shit happens.’

  ‘Hey dude, watch it.’ Vivarin teased. ‘He paid for that — you’re not the first one to feel pain on the butt!’

  ‘Dear lord, couldn’t you just forget it!’ Omifo’s face was as red as a matured apple. The friends all chuckled as they recalled that scene in the old days; everyone was there back then — including Rodka and Halgon.

  ‘How are they now?’ Jemario asked, peeking at Dileys and Soarame.

  ‘They are as well as us.’ Soarame answered, looking back to Jemario. The two were in a similar situation to Rodka and Dileys, in that Soarame was keen to grade up and graduate just like Rodka back then. But the difference was that Soarame still had a long way ahead — he had major difficulty in levelling up in Water, for which Jemario had been secretly thankful. She knew that if Soarame reached Expert in Water, he wouldn’t need to spend too much time in Lightning before it reached Expert too.

  However, the girl didn’t know that everything was going to change, due to the presence of Ecrif.

  Watching Jemario’s exceedingly beautiful face, which could overthrow states and cities, Soarame instantly felt better. He certainly understood the pending problem, and he had learnt a lesson from Rodka and Dileys, so that he had always cherished the time that he had with this girl he fancied. The bright side was that both of them were still young, and there was always a chance — in fate.

  ‘Meow.’ Snower pounced into Soarame’s arms, fawning and purring. The friends always felt it strange that Snower hadn’t grown much so far — she’s three now. Icer, Pipi, Niuniu and Gaga had grown much bigger, but Snower still looked like a kitten for some reason — although she did become a lot smarter. Soon enough, the smart kitten noticed the frozen wound on Soarame’s hands. {What happened to you?}

  ‘It’s the prize from the queen.’ Soarame replied orally, so that everyone could guess what Snower had asked. ‘No big deal, you can see what you wanna do.’

  ‘Meow!’ Snower seemed unhappy with this — she was smart enough to understand there was a teacher who had been injuring her big brother. Right now, Snower was holding Soarame’s right hand and licking it. Sandoray was very practical in terms of her attacking tactic; she always spent more power targeting her rival’s wand. The consequence was that Soarame’s right hand was frozen more badly than elsewhere, so even after being healed, it still needed some time to completely recover.

  But Snower didn’t agree with that — a few seconds later, Soarame was flipping a pen in between his right fingers, from the thumb to the little one. ‘Snower, you are truly amazing!’

  Snower’s ability to heal people had always amazed the friends. If she wanted, she could even cure people’s mind-ocean injuries, as she had already done unwittingly to Kriagon — he was sitting right beside her, unwittingly too. Besides that, this wonderful kitten had healed all kinds of wounds on the friends already; and they knew for a fact that even the best teacher wouldn’t be able to do it that well and that quickly — including the invincible queen.

  ‘Meow.’ Snower raised her little fluffy head upright, proudly enjoying the compliment. {It’s time to go out!}

  ‘Okay, okay.’ Soarame stood up with Snower in arms. ‘Where do you wanna go this time? We’re not going anywhere near the boundary, okay?’

  ‘Meow.’ Snower looked a bit embarrassed — she certainly remembered the mess that she had once got the crew into by breaking the magic seal of an Expert wizard trial site. {Tropical Spirit then!}

  ‘You do love Tropical Spirit, don’t you?’ Soarame tickled Snower’s little pink nose and looked around his friends. ‘How does that sound to you guys?’

  ‘Awww!’

  ‘Chacha!’

  ‘Gaga!’

  Before the friends could say anything, Icer, Pipi and Gaga were already dancing in full excitement. This left the friends with no other choice. ‘Sure, why not? Let’s invite Alicey, Niuniu and Kriagon too!’

  Tropical Spirit was a popular restaurant on campus, just like Aquamarine Sky. Moreover, this restaurant was unique for being the only magimal-friendly restaurant on campus. Because of that, it had always been the favourite restaurant of the little playful ones. The crew arrived at a gigantic tree — as tall and wide as the lightning tower — and pushed open a big wooden gate on one of its large roots. The restaurant was right inside the tree itself.

  Although he had been here a few times, Soarame still marvelled at the spacious hall inside the tree. The entire restaurant always had a dim sheen of green colour in Soarame’s special eyes, indicating that the tree was actually alive. For some reason, Soarame sometimes also saw some golden colour flashing by in the green sheen somewhere, and that happened this time. Just as he was wondering about it, a waiter noticed the friends and came by.

  ‘Welcome, everyone.’ The waiter looked as though he was a similar age to the friends. ‘How adorable are your magimals! And nice necklace!’ He was referring to the pink necklace that Snower was wearing — it was the reward that Soarame chose from the Principal’s awards for the victory against Max. On the necklace, there was a jingle bell that rang when it was shaken, and the special sound helped magimals grow up in a healthier way and increase their potential power as they grow. When Soarame saw this necklace on the Principal’s award list, he decided instantly to pick it, so that all the little ones in his dorm could enjoy the nourishing treatment.

  ‘Thanks, they are very naughty and loud. I hope they won’t bother you.’ Soarame caressed Snower’s head, preventing her from jumping and screaming around — like the rest had been doing. ‘Are you a student too?’

  ‘I love magimals. They won’t bother me.’ The waiter smiled. ‘Yes, I’m a student, and my name is Ericson.’

  Working for payment too? Soarame instantly felt good about this young boy, because he was in the same situation. Soarame held out his hand. ‘I’m Soarame. Nice to meet…’

  ‘Hi Ericson, do you know how old is this place?’ Kardiac’s loud voice cut Soarame off. ‘The big tree scared me when I first got here.’

  ‘Sorry, I don’t. And I don’t think many know that.’ The waiter shook Soarame’s hand. ‘But rumours say if you could get to the top floor one day, you could ask the people up there.’

  ‘The top floor?’ The friends looked upwards subconsciously. They had always wondered what was up there.

  Ericson was very talkative and funny, and he and Soarame’s crew shared many similar opinions, so the friends all began to like him soon enough. During the dinner they’d been talking and joking and got to know each other very quickly. The dinner had therefore been a very enjoyable one, with a bonus as well —

  ‘Really? You are a Grade-4 Darkness?’ Soarame suddenly sat up and looked at Ericson. ‘You are the man!’

  ‘Pardon?’ Ericson looked confused. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Dude, you must join us!’ Kardiac smacked the table hard. The loud noise scared some of the other students and they all looked over with dissatisfaction. For that, the mad bear had to take a knock on his head from Catheray, but he was too happy to care. ‘Our team needs one Darkness player, you gotta be that one!’

  ‘Oh, you have a Dragon&Empires team?’ Ericson looked enlightened. ‘And you have a vacant spot?’

  ‘You never heard of the Resurgers?’ Vivarin was a bit surprised. ‘I thought this team was pretty famous.’

  ‘Sorry, my apologies. I rarely watch games, but I did hear about your team…’ Ericson hurriedly told a white lie — everyone could tell.

  ‘It’s all right, man. You should try it, seriously.’ Omifo said. ‘Join us please, we need a Darkness player!’

  ‘I…’ Ericson had to scratch his head. ‘I don’t have any experience at all…’

  ‘That’s not a problem, we’ve got you!’ Kriagon stood up and turned around — just as Gaga did when modelling for Soarame. ‘Look at me and my tummy. If I can do it, you can too!�
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  ‘I…’ Ericson seemed touched by the earnest invitation but he was still not confident enough, until he found his arms being pulled by the girls —

  ‘Come on, man!’ The girls certainly knew how to persuade a boy. ‘Just say yes, please!’

  ‘Okay… I’ll join you. But don’t expect too much from me, because I have to study and work.’ Ericson was finally swayed. ‘So if you get a better Darkness, I’m happy to be the secondary.’

  ‘What an amazing day!’ Catheray cheered as they headed back to the dorm. She patted Soarame’s shoulder. ‘Satisfied?’

  ‘Thank god!’ Soarame was the most excited one. Besides finally finding a Darkness player, he had also managed to save the position for Halgon.

  ‘Don’t thank god. Thank Snower! For her persistence on Tropical Spirit.’ Jemario caressed the fluffy white kitten and elbowed Soarame gently. ‘We should listen to her suggestions more.’

  ‘Well, last time we listened, guess what happened?’ Soarame teased. ‘But thankfully there’s not a single beetalbull this time!’

  The friends split up before night came. Soarame went to bed after repeatedly urging Snower not to wake him up by mind-talking during the night. The next day was the start of the weekend, which meant it was ice-carving time for Soarame again!

  A PACKAGE?

  ‘This is actually not bad.’ The next day, Dafinol was assessing Soarame’s ice-work based on Snower. ‘It’s a rabbit, correct?’

  ‘Err… Almost there.’ Soarame had to scratch his head on hearing this. ‘It’s a kitten, but she does look like a rabbit, especially the tail part.’

  ‘Oh.’ Dafinol looked at the work again and pondered a bit. ‘Next time aim at a rabbit, then, and see how it goes.’

  Soarame was amused by this genius idea; he then fetched another work of his —one of Pipi, Omifo’s young monkey. Dafinol’s eyes brightened when he saw this one, and he knew that the boy definitely needed some encouragement. ‘Nice job! It’s not easy to make a sculpture of a person. You surprise me, although you do need to improve on details…’

  ‘I’m afraid I’ve surprised you even more.’ Soarame wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. ‘It’s a monkey — a magical one though.’

  ‘Well, I guess that’s why it looks almost human.’ Dafinol had to cough before he managed his words. ‘It’s okay, it takes time.’

  ‘So I’ll aim at a person next time, and see how it goes?’ Soarame nodded, looking at Dafinol. For some reason, this seemed to suddenly scare the artist —

  ‘I’m not a good model, so try someone else.’ Dafinol hurriedly waved his hands. ‘And I suggest you don’t sculpt girls just yet, especially not your girlfriend if you have one.’

  Soarame had to laugh, and so did Dafinol. They’d always been pretty close while working together, and joked around all the time. However, Soarame did want to impress this talented artist somehow, so he decided to show him his mind-painting work for the first time.

  ‘Why are you showing me a photo of a fireplace?’ Dafinol glanced at the painting that Soarame unfolded, and he suddenly froze. ‘Wait… It’s a painting?’

  ‘Don’t tell me it’s your work too.’ Dafinol had to fetch his glasses and check the painting carefully. ‘It’s watercolour indeed… And the lines are fluent and even, so it’s not painted by a brush or anything… What is it then?’

  ‘How do you like it?’ Soarame was pretty satisfied to see Dafinol’s reaction. He wasn’t going to tell his teacher that he could have painted a real dragon if he wanted to, but he was hoping to convince this man of his mind-painting skills.

  ‘It’s strange… a paint that was not painted in any ordinary way.’ Dafinol hesitated. ‘I guess I’m not an expert in painting, so I can’t draw a conclusion, but…’

  ‘But what?’ Soarame felt much better seeing Dafinol struggle like this, but he didn’t expect his coming words —

  ‘But it’s worth at least 300 gold coins.’ Dafinol nodded seriously. ‘And I can get a more accurate price by checking with my friends.’

  ‘What… What?’ Soarame couldn’t believe what he heard. ‘Are you sure? 300 gold coins?’

  ‘I can pay you right now if you’d like to sell it to me.’ Dafinol looked at Soarame. ‘The real price could be up to 350 though, so it’s up to you.’

  ‘It’s a gift to you.’ Soarame tried hard to make his voice less trembling. ‘I’ll sell the next one, but this one is to thank you, so much, for everything.’

  ‘So it’s really your work?’ Although more or less prepared, Dafinol still couldn’t believe this. ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘I’ll show you. But this one is gonna be colourless.’ Soarame fetched a bottle of ink and canvas. ‘Oops, I’m sorry; I forgot you’re not a good model. So, better next time.’

  ‘Shut up!’ Dafinol punched Soarame’s shoulder, laughing.

  ‘Soar, what’s so good?’

  ‘Yeah, tell us quick!’

  In Tropical Spirit, Soarame’s best friends gathered together. ‘Same restaurant twice in two days, that’s not your style!’

  ‘Especially if it’s your treat!’ Kardiac couldn’t believe what he had heard. ‘Soar, you sure you’re treating us? It’s not gonna be a small bill, so it must be amazing news — say something!’

  ‘Patience is a virtue. Let’s wait for Ericson.’ Although Soarame couldn’t wait to share his good news, he managed to hold it back. ‘Ahh, there we go.’

  ‘Thanks Soar! It’s my first time here not as a waiter.’ Ericson rushed to the table. He was well dressed today, looking really smart and handsome — even Dileys, the girl who seemed to have no interest in boys since Rodka left, had to look at him twice.

  ‘You’re welcome.’ Soarame sighed inside. Ericson must be from a poor family too, just like himself. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Really awesome.’ Ericson looked excited. ‘Even better than I imagined.’

  ‘Dude, why didn’t you ever treat yourself here once?’ Kardiac couldn’t help asking. ‘Especially as you’ve been working here.’

  ‘Because I believed one day someone would treat me here.’ Ericson teased, making everyone chuckle. ‘Patience is a virtue, as I always believed.’

  ‘That’s exactly what Soarame said.’ The friends looked at the inviter of this dinner. ‘Believe it or not, he kept his Wind secret for seven years… how patient that was!’

  ‘I’ve heard that story, and I must say it’s really impressive.’ Ericson lifted up his glass and made a toast. ‘To the Water Captain.’

  ‘To the Water Captain!’ The friends burst into cheers and began applauding and whistling. Soarame was a little shy for that, but at the same time he really enjoyed it. He had been trying so hard, and had gone from being a nobody in Water to an actual captain carrying Water pride. Of course, there was still a long way to go, and he was determined to lead the Resurgers to shine in the upcoming championship this year.

  ‘So, it’s time to tell us your patient news.’ Catheray couldn’t bear any longer. ‘You got some secret source for the championship?’

  ‘Ha-ha, not really. It’s irrelevant.’ Soarame lowered his voice so that only his friends could hear him. ‘My painting just got sold for hundreds of gold coins.’

  ‘What?’ Kardiac barked at once. ‘Really! Which one?’

  ‘It’s a new one. I painted Dafinol today and he insisted on paying me.’ Soarame smiled. ‘And he said he could help me sell all my paintings from now on.’

  ‘That’s wonderful news!’ The friends looked at each other, all marvelling with joy. ‘Yes, we should have thought of that! Your painting is great enough to sell.’

  ‘Great job, bro!’ Omifo held Soarame’s shoulder. ‘You deserve it!’

  ‘What painting?’ The only one looking confused was Ericson; he had never seen any of the paintings. So Kardiac was again the one to tell the story, and Ericson had to cover his ears a bit for the loud voice before he had a chance to talk again. ‘Soarame, you’ve gotta s
how me the paintings one day!’

  ‘Sure thing.’ For some reason, Soarame seemed to see a flash of golden colour shine somewhere, but it was gone before he even managed to focus. The next second, he somehow felt hostility coming from behind him, and subconsciously turned round for a look —

  A figure turned hurriedly to the door, running out of the restaurant.

  “Who’s that?” Ericson also noticed that. Seeing everyone chuckle with a funny face, he couldn’t help asking.

  “His name is Robert.” Kriagon volunteered the information. ‘He once challenged Soarame to a duel, but never managed to follow up because he’s too busy all the time.’

  ‘I think I got it — from his walking style.’ Ericson puzzled for a second before he teased. ‘Is it because he’s afraid of the incantation choker — the Resurgers’ tradition?’

  ‘Hey, watch out, brat!’ At the same time, a familiar voice sounded from outside. ‘You chasing a chick or what?’

  ‘Oh no.’ Alicey frowned, as did everyone else at the table. ‘It’s Casavin again! Does he have to come here too?’

  ‘Well, well, well.’ There was no way that Soarame’s crew would fail to recognize that voice — it was indeed Casavin. As soon as he walked in with his friends, he instantly caught sight of Soarame. ‘Look who’s there! The famous Water Captain, and all his workers!’

  ‘They are my friends and teammates, not workers.’ Soarame frowned on hearing this. ‘Unfortunately, Sandoray is not here today — I know you must miss her a lot.’

  ‘Women’s best friend, Soarame.’ Casavin was certainly not happy with Soarame’s insinuation. ‘Every time I see you, they are either on the left, or on the right, or on the above — for that you must miss Sandoray too.’ Obviously, Casavin had heard about the queen’s prize to Soarame.

  ‘How dare you!’ Seeing Casavin’s crew all giggling, Kardiac was the first one to burst out. ‘Say that again?’

  ‘Oh my god, I’m so afraid!’ Casavin looked terrified. ‘Here’s the mad bear, and he’s gonna eat me alive!’