The Sigil Of Chaos 28 Endless Troubles

The rising sun was obscured by heavy clouds as rain descended upon the city. Despite this, the city was as busy and bustling as ever. Merchants hawked their wares, and some people walked from place to place without a care in the world. Those who were better off walked casually, surrounded by protective barriers that kept the rain at bay, while the commoners made do with small umbrellas that shielded them from the falling water. The city continued life as usual, unwilling to let a little bit of rain stop their plans.

Sania was in a good mood, and a smile adorned her face. After all, her father had almost completely recovered, and her brother had been admitted to a prestigious Academy in order to learn more about sigils and alchemy.

A peal of thunder streaked across the sky, but Sania was unconcerned as she sat safely in her home. As she looked toward the door, however, she noticed the silhouette of a menacing figure standing within the doorway. Frowning, she asked, "Who are you?"

Standing within the doorway was a young man wearing elaborate clothing, his face drawn into a scowl. "Who am I?" he asked, anger clear in his voice. "I am someone who should not be offended."

Hearing the commotion, Sania's parents rushed in from their room, stepping up to stand beside her as Kalio looked menacingly toward them. Kalio's emotions were overflowing, and he needed to vent all of the anger within his heart. He was not about to finish this without giving voice to his grievances. Besides, he wanted them to know that this was all brought about by someone in their own family. He felt that just killing them was too good for them. He needed to make sure they suffered both physically and psychologically first.

"You peasants are all only here for my enjoyment. You are weak in both power and status, and I am above you. It is impermissible for you to raise your hand against me. And yet, that purple-eyes… he dared to strike me. This is a crime worthy of death. However, that coward ran to hide in the academy, which he thinks will keep him safe. But, even if it does keep him safe, that's only as long as he stays within the academy walls. It should be easy enough to draw him out, though." Kalio's expression turned into a wicked and s.a.d.i.s.tic grin as continued. "I wonder what expression he will have on his face when he realizes what happened to his precious family…"

With that, he began tracing a Sigil in the air, causing a spear made out of earth and rock to form. Sania's eyes widened as she realized what was happening, and she and her parents quickly ran for cover. They pushed over their cable to act as a shield against the incoming Earthen Spears. The wooden table did block the attack, but also shattered into dozens of pieces, leaving them exposed.

Kalio smirked victoriously, then began tracing the Earthen Spear sigil once more. Before he could finish, however, a translucent purple claw suddenly protruded from his chest. Body stiffening, Kalio turned his head to look over his shoulder in shock. There, he saw the person the person who had humiliated him, the person who had injured him so badly that it took him several days to recover, even with his family's expensive medicine. He saw the person who had left him with a mental scar after he was bested by someone he viewed as useless. Kalio's eyes showed resentment, unwillingness, and anger as he looked into Nadran's eyes, before he ultimately collapsed to the ground, breathing his last.

Nadran dismissed his wyvern Claws sigil, then looked toward his family, guilt showing on face. He smiled awkwardly, then said "I'm back."

"Nadran!" Sania exclaimed, rushing toward him alongside their parents.

"I'm glad you're okay," Nadran's mother said with a mixture of relief and worry.

"Yeah," Sania chimed in. "Thanks for helping us deal with that guy. You really saved us."

"This was my fault to begin with," Nadran responded guiltily. "If it wasn't for me, he never would have attacked you in the first place."

"Don't blame yourself for this," his father said. "This is due to that guy attacking by himself, and you didn't know he would do something so drastic."

"But… I should have," Nadran muttered. "I should have seen this coming, I should have predicted this might happen." Having come so close to losing his family, the only people left in this world he truly cared about, he found that he could not calm down, and that his hands would not stop trembling. [If I had been even 20 seconds later…]

Nadran shivered, trying to get his mind off the subject. [I need to find a way to keep them safe, to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.] Taking a deep breath, Nadran gathered his thoughts before raising his eyes to look at his family. "I think staying here is dangerous," he said seriously. "I was thinking that maybe I could find a way for you to come with me to the academy. If we can stay there, you should be much safer than you are here."

"Is that possible?" his mother asked cautiously. "I don't know if they would allow family to stay at the academy long-term."

"I don't know either," Nadran replied. "But I need to at least try. I feel like this… won't be the end of it. Your safety is the most important right now."

"What about your safety?" Sania rebuked. "You're the one that guy really wanted to kill. You need to be careful, too."

"Yeah, I know," Nadran replied. "I need to become strong enough to protect all of us. I can't rely on others when it comes to your safety."

"You still need to be sure not to overexert yourself, though," his father cautioned. "If you try to improve too fast, you might not only leave your foundation weak, but also get hurt from challenging something before you're ready for it."

Nadran managed to calm himself down upon hearing the concerns of his family. [That's right,] he thought, [If I end up hurting myself, I won't be able to protect anyone. I should never allow myself to forget why I want to grow stronger. I should not pursue power for the sake of power, or I may lose sight of what is most important.]

"Don't worry," Nadran smiled as he replied. "I'll be careful. Now, let's get going."

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"So, you wish to allow your family to reside within the academy's living quarters long-term due to safety concerns?" asked Falla Ritens, head of internal affairs at Mirror Dragon Academy.

"Yes," Nadran replied, trying to hide his nervousness in front of the strict-looking woman. "Is it possible to do so?"

Falla placed down the ledger she had been writing on, then reached into her desk for something. "Short-term residency is not a problem at this time. If they wish to stay for longer than a week, however, then you must meet certain criteria," she stated, speaking quickly while she traced a sigil in the air.

"…And what might those criteria be?" Nadran asked cautiously.

"You need to be deemed to have made contributions to the academy," she said, pulling out Nadran's file. "Hm, it looks like you have already made some pills of adequate quality, so you have met the basic criteria for internal contributions. As long as you make some external contributions as well, they should be able to stay for 3 months without issue."

"What type of external contribution do I need to make?" Nadran asked.

"You must complete one major mission outside the academy. If you begin the mission, your family will be allowed to stay in the living quarters in your absence for up to one month. Once you return, this time will be extended to three months. You may increase this time later with further contributions. After all, if you wish for the help of the academy, you must help the academy in turn."

"…Alright," Nadran nodded resolutely.

"Based off your current sigil level, a group mission would be the best way for you to complete the mission safely and effectively," she continued to speak, never seeming to stop to take a breath. Pulling out a stack of papers, she flipped through them before pulling one out. "I would recommend this one. Seven hours ago, an unusual atmospheric disturbance was detected in the nearby kingdom of Asden. Some concerns have been raised as to its source, and a request has been made to investigate its cause. This is an information gathering mission; once you have discovered the source, return immediately, preferably with proof of your claim. Does this sound acceptable?"

Nadran blinked at the high-speed word barrage, then slowly nodded. "That should be fine."

"Alright, the group will be departing at 10:00 tomorrow morning. Be sure to be at the front gates by then," she said, putting the file and mission papers back in her desk, tracing a sealing sigil to lock it, then picking up the ledger she had been working on before. Nadran left the room at this clear dismissal, before walking over to his family to explain the situation.

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Nadran walked toward the academy gates, wind rustling through his hair. Squinting due to the sun, he used one hand to shield his eyes from the unforgiving rays while the other slowly traced a sigil in the air. After he finished, a series of violet numbers materialized before him, reading out 9:57 AM. He glanced at the numbers before swiping his hand through them, dismissing the sigil. With his casting speed, he always found it inconvenient to check the time, but at least he was able to find it out without searching for a clocktower. After all, most people in this world could not cast sigils at all. Of course, he had heard that most n.o.bles and wealthy people had personal timekeeping devices called watches that they used to tell time, but Nadran's family did not have enough money to afford such luxuries.

After a couple minutes, Nadran reached the gates and looked at the small group of people that were standing there. His eyes quickly widened as he realized he recognized almost all of them.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Firen asked as he walked over to him, Icina in tow. "Surprised to see us?"

"Uh, yeah, a bit," Nadran responded disconcertedly.

"Well, you see, when we heard you were going on a mission to Asden, we thought it would be fun if we tagged along," Firen said, smiling.

"You mean YOU thought it would be fun, then dragged me along with you," grumbled Icina, though she did not actually seem to be too upset.

Next, Nadran glanced over at Rethara, who did not say anything, but he was able to intuit her reasoning with from her expression. After he had been attacked in such a strange manner by Selek a couple nights ago, she likely wanted to make sure nothing happened to him on this expedition.

He then turned to Lilia. "And what about you?"

"I have family in Asden," she responded. "It's been a while since I've seen them, so I figured this was a nice excuse to go say hi. Besides, my brother still owes me 300 slate pieces from a bet."

[I feel like she has a bit of a gambling problem,] Nadran thought. [Is she even capable of interacting with people without turning it into a bet?]

Shaking his head, Nadran glanced over at the last person he knew, Noctis, who appeared to be peacefully sleeping on the hard ground. Seeming to sense his gaze, Noctis half-opened one eye before stating "Serrated aurafern, one of the main ingredients in the enlightened rest pill, is predominantly found in the Avaren forest in Asden." After stating this in a matter-of-fact tone, he promptly closed his eyes again, clearly judging this to be sufficient explanation.

The one remaining person standing nearby spoke up next. "It seems like you know almost everyone else here, what a coincidence! My name is Torif, nice to meet you. Now, we should just be waiting for five more people, then we will be ready to go."

At this moment, Nadran heard a voice sound out from behind him. "Well, fancy meeting you here," spoke a familiar voice. Suppressing his sudden sense of dread, Nadran turned to see Tyval Evegart walking toward him, a smile on his face. Walking alongside him were four other cultivators. "What a coincidence that we happened to have the same mission."

Nadran looked coldly at Tyval, all too clear on what this meant. [I killed his brother yesterday, and I'm taking on this mission specifically to keep my family safe from him and anyone else who might seek revenge. This mission… just got a lot more complicated.]