The Bookstore Mage

After he took care of his injuries, Lucien quickly hopped into the shower. The warm water eased his tense muscles and he finally relaxed. Once he was done, he changed into a new set of clothes and lay on his bed.

He grabbed his phone and glanced at the clock. It was four pm, still rather early but he was too tired to open the bookstore. So instead he decided to take the day off.

While laying on the bed, he raised his hand above his face and studied it with a curious expression. The mysterious force that bound him to the door was no more. It seemed like whatever energy the remnant soul had was already depleted.

Lucian clutched his fist and released a long sigh before he relaxed and stared at the ceiling.

"Is it because the remnant soul is too weak?" He mumbled in curiosity.

Turning his eyes toward the grimoire sitting on the table, Lucien opened his palm causing it to come flying to him. He opened the page of the spell and read through it once more.

"As I thought, there's no mention of how strong the remnant soul should be."

The grimoire dropped to his side as Lucien fell into deep thoughts. He had the remnant soul of the monster he encountered, and he was sure it was stronger than the previous one.

"Should I give it a try?"

"No, no. I can't be too hasty," he quickly shook his head and jumped out of bed.

His eyes glanced at his bracelet before he made his way to the living room. The grimoire floating behind. Moon who was already there glanced at him before she came running and rubbed her head against his leg.

Lucien smiled wildly and settled the grimoire on the couch before he sat on the ground and started playing with Moon for a while. It seems like she was in a good mood, which was rare lately.

After a while, however, she promptly moved away and proceeded to ignore him again. Lucien could only bitterly shake his head with a smile. He then removed his bracelet and placed it in front of him.

He almost depleted all of the spells saved within in his previous fight against the monster. Thankfully, Usem was still there. He first proceeded by storing two Tajajiht spells and then paused when he was about to add Tadawsa.

"Tam, can you bring the candles again?" He called out, after which the fairy reappeared and neatly placed them in a circle, surrounding him.

"Let's see if this will work," he muttered and began to cast the advanced healing spell, only this time, his target was the bracelet.

****

After a few minutes, Lucien stood up and stretched with a satisfied expression. It worked, and now his bracelet had two Tajajiht spells, one Usem, and one greater healing spell.

Just as he was thinking about his next trip, Tamellalt appeared in front of him and bowed:

"You have a visitor, my lord."

"A visitor?"

"Yes, it's that mage boy from last time."

"Mage boy, oh! Ian? Let him in, i'll be right there."

The fairy nodded and disappeared, Lucien on the other hand quickly changed into a more presentable outfit before he made his way downstairs. The young mage was already sitting in front of the counter with an anxious expression on his face, his eyes would occasionally sneak a few glances at Tamellalt who was standing motionlessly by the corner.

"Ian!"

"Oh, Mr.Lucien! I-I hope you don't mind me dropping by without prior notice."

"That's alright, you're always welcome here," Lucien answered with a smile as he sat down behind the counter and continued:

"Would you like something to drink? Tea perhaps?"

The young mage nervously glanced at the fairy and hesitantly nodded:

"That would be lovely."

Lucien did not need to say anything as Tamellalt simply nodded and disappeared.

"So, how is it going?"

Ian's eyes seemed to shine as he hurriedly grabbed his backpack and placed it in front of Lucien before he took out a strange object.

"Please look at this!"

Lucien raised his brow as he scanned the pale blue orb. He glanced at it and then at Ian before looking at the orb once more.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

The young mage answered with pride as he raised his head:

"I went to visit one of the new portals with a couple of members from the Hermits. It was graded as safe, so not a lot of danger. We did, however, come across a couple of particularly annoying monsters. They looked similar to wolves but were much larger and faster. Thankfully though, they had no resistance to magic, so they were easy to dispatch."

Lucien nodded as he listened waiting for Ian to finish with his story.

"After a few hours, the two members that went inside with me wanted to go back saying that there was nothing worth it there, especially since the mana was thin," the young mage's face brightened as a wide grin stretched across his lips as he continued, "But they were wrong! The place was akin to a forest, with a few normal animals here and there, the fascinating part, however, was when I came across a dead monster."

Ian paused for a second, seemingly to gather his thoughts. It was then that Tamellalt reappeared with two cups of tea and placed them in front of them.

"A-Ah, thank you."

"Thank you, Tam."

"A-As I was saying, next to that monster I saw it!"

"Saw what exactly?"

Ian paused and gulped before he answered:

"I-I saw the monster's soul! I-I know that's hard to believe, and it sounds crazy, b-but It really materialized and was standing above the corpse! Once I tried to get closer, its shape got blurry before it disappeared leaving behind... This. A remnant soul."

Ian took a deep breath and grabbed the tea cup between his hands, the heat seemed to calm him down as he continued.

"I understand that it's hard to believe, especially with the theory that souls do not hold a defined shape and can not materialize, but I know what I saw! It was the soul! I'm not sure why it disappeared once I tried to get closer to it, perhaps it has something to do with our own souls? Maybe that's why it couldn't keep its shape."

Lucien frowned as Ian finished speaking. He was still very much a newcomer in the world of magic, so he had no idea what was the big deal. Ian, on the other hand, began to panic as he thought Lucien didn't believe him.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Lucien, you find it hard to believe as well, right?"

"Uh, no not really, I believe you."

"I know right, how could- Ah?! Y-You said you believe me?"

Lucien nodded, amused with his exaggerated reaction.

"Yep, I believe you."

Ian tried to say something, but he couldn't so instead he simply lowered his head and spoke:

"I- Thank you... Thank you..."