William Kurtberg stared into a bowl of soup like it held the answers to life, death, and whatever weird magic fantasy puberty he was going through.
Unfortunately, it only held carrots. Too many carrots.
"So," he began slowly, trying not to sound like a reincarnated adult with zero context, "you two… wanna remind me where we are again?"
Miri, the cheerful bunny-girl sitting across from him, tilted her head. Her long ears flopped lazily in the breeze.
"You forgot again?"
"Y-Yeah," he said, forcing an awkward smile. "Weird side effect of… wyvern venom?"
Torrin, the grumpy lion-boy beside him, rolled his eyes and stirred the fire with a stick. "That was last week's excuse. You said you hit your head on a cursed toilet."
"Did I?" William blinked. "…I mean, sounds like something I'd do."
They both looked at him with concern. Miri leaned closer.
"Well… if you're really that scrambled, we could go over the basics again. Just in case."
William nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Please. Hit me with the 'Where Am I and Why Is Everyone So Pretty' lecture."
Miri clapped her hands and launched into full tour-guide mode.
"Okay! First thing's first — you're in Valdros, one of the Seven Continents in the realm of Tarsindel. Specifically, you're in the northwestern borderlands near the Ruins of Zeffaria. We're currently staying just outside of Westreach Forest, in the wild zone between kingdoms."
William blinked. "Why does everything sound like a video game expansion pack?"
Miri continued, completely ignoring him. "There are four major kingdoms around here: Thalor, Grenswald, Velmira, and Kaldross. Two empires: the Locran Empire in the east — they suck, by the way — and the Azurai Empire in the far south, which is a little more mysterious."
Torrin chimed in, his voice low. "And don't forget the Elven Dynasty of Sylaris in the north. They stay out of human wars, mostly. But they're powerful. High-magic weirdos."
"Hey!" Miri protested. "Don't call them weirdos! They taught me how to whistle using moonlight."
"…Exactly," Torrin muttered.
William tried to nod intelligently, even though internally he was screaming I understood none of that.
"So let me get this straight," William said. "Four kingdoms. Two empires. One elf superpower. And we're… where again?"
"Borderlands," Torrin said. "No law. No taxes. Lots of bandits and monsters. Great training spot."
William coughed. "You call this a training spot?"
"You survived a golem ambush last week!" Miri chirped.
"Did I… though?"
Torrin shrugged. "Barely."
Miri leaned closer and whispered, "You also screamed, 'I'm too old for this!' while casting a spell, which was weird 'cause you're sixteen."
William coughed. "Just… wise beyond my years."
"Sure," Torrin grunted. "Anyway—on to the fun stuff."
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a smooth crystal. It glowed faintly.
"This is a Mana Core," he said. "Everyone has one. You draw from it to cast magic or activate abilities. Each person's Core resonates with different affinities — fire, water, wind, void, etc."
William raised a hand. "Do I… have one of those?"
"Yeah, genius. It's literally glowing under your shirt," Torrin pointed.
William looked down. His chest faintly glowed blue-white under the fabric.
"…Oh cool, I'm a glowstick."
"Magic is trained through repetition, combat, and emotional outbursts," Miri explained. "But there are also Sealed Skills, which can unlock when your soul resonates with fate!"
William blinked. "When my soul what?"
"It's a real thing!" she insisted. "Sometimes people awaken unique spells or abilities based on who they were in a past life."
"Funny you should mention that," William muttered under his breath.
"There's also the Adventurer Guild System," Torrin added. "Ranks from Tin to Mythril. We're just trainees with the Crimson Ashes, but someday…"
Miri clapped again. "We'll rise to Iron-Rank and join the actual army!"
"Sounds… safe," William said.
"It's not," Torrin replied bluntly. "You'll probably die."
"Comforting."
Miri leaned forward again. "Oh! And there's monsters everywhere! Like Dire Frogs, Flame Beetles, Blood Vines, and the occasional Gigaduck."
"Gigaduck?"
"Don't ask," said Torrin, with a thousand-yard stare.
William rubbed his temples. "So. Let me recap. I'm a 16-year-old magic user, with a glowing chest, living in a continent full of warring kingdoms, political empires, cursed ruins, elf moon-whistlers, and ducks the size of wagons?"
Miri nodded cheerfully. "That's the spirit!"
He sighed.
At least they had soup.
But then it happened again.
That hum.
That weird, prickly sensation crawling up his spine like someone had connected him to a fantasy power outlet.
The mark on his hand — the spiral inside the triangle — began to glow.
"Miri…" he said, voice low.
"Yeah?"
"Is my hand supposed to be buzzing?"
She turned. "Buzzing how?"
Torrin saw it and stood up instantly. "Oh no. Not again."
"Wait, what do you mean again—"
A crackle of light surged from William's palm, shooting upward in a column of magic that briefly lit the whole forest clearing.
A floating sigil appeared in the air.
Then vanished.
Then silence.
Birds stopped chirping. The fire hissed.
Torrin slowly sat back down.
"…You are going to be a huge problem," he muttered.
Miri squealed, "You activated a Seal again! That's the third time this month!"
"I didn't mean to," William groaned.
"Your mana affinity must be off the charts," she whispered.
He sighed and laid back on the grass.
"Can I go back to my boring engineer life where the most dangerous thing I handled was unpaid overtime?"
Miri tilted her head. "What's an en-jen-ear?"
"Never mind." He stared at the sky and closed his eyes.
Maybe tomorrow he'd figure out how not to accidentally explode the forest.