Chapter 224: Loss and Gain

Watching the female mage Peyton walk away, Shaoke felt lost. He figured seeing her was worse than not—that way, he could keep that innocent, beautiful memory from years ago until he left this world. Watching Peyton and her companions chat closely, the mage couldn't help feeling a wave of sadness. It hit him so suddenly, like he'd lost something precious.

He stood on the wall until dark, staring at where the female mage had left. The noise of soldiers climbing onto the wall snapped him out of his daze. He came to and realized he was crying. He didn't know if the tears were for that old, blurry love or something else.

Once he'd calmed down, Shaoke left the wall and went back to his room. The fire in the fireplace had been stoked and was blazing, making him feel warm. Looked like someone had been in his room. The messy desk was all cleaned up, and the black curtain near the big bed had been pulled back, showing a wall niche with books and a big mirror. Only Mage Roman or Mage Yisier, who came by a lot, would do that.

He leaned over the desk and pulled out some crystal paper, then started practicing ancient magic script with ink made from pseudo-dragon blood. After each character, he'd say it out loud over and over. Of course, Shaoke could only keep it up for one magic hour before he had to stop from exhaustion and use meditation to speed up recovery. With the top-level Fifth Tier Meditation Method, he'd be back to full strength in half a magic hour, but it drained his focus.

He just kept repeating the cycle of writing and meditating. When he first tried saying a slightly tricky ancient magic script, the silver light in his meditation space suddenly exploded. A ton of silver light poured into the vortex from the medicine, speeding it up. Even more silver light crashed into the walls of the meditation space. A few light hits wouldn't bother him, but this constant pounding gave him a killer headache.

He hadn't had headaches in a while, so he'd kinda forgotten what his meditation space was like. He didn't think saying a magic script would set this off again. But this time, he didn't go to the White-robed Cleric. Instead, he curled up on the floor, gritting through the pain.

After a while, the pain slowly eased, letting him breathe. From past experience, he knew the pain would stick around for a while, but it wouldn't be as bad as the start. The silver light explosion drained all his energy and then some. Fumbling for an energy-replenishing fruit, Shaoke ate it. As it kicked in, he felt strength return to his weak body.

Just as he struggled to get up, the door swung open. The visitor gasped, picked him up, and kissed his sweaty forehead. "Xueye, Xueye, can you hear me?"

Mage Roman's faint voice reached him. He forced himself to look up at the blurry figure and nodded, then went quiet. The medicine was working, but the energy couldn't keep up with the silver light's drain. The constant headache made it hard to focus.

Mage Roman laid him on the bed, took off his robe, and rushed out to find the White-robed Cleric. Back in the Bloody Fortress, a long, bad headache had pushed him to Third Tier Mage. Could he be advancing again?

She quickly dropped that thought. His pain had lasted years before he hit Fifth Tier Mage, with no sign of Sixth.

The White-robed Cleric hurried in. As she chanted, a golden spellbook floated in the air, pages flipping fast. Golden magic scripts flew out and sank into Shaoke. Then golden threads shot from her hands, piercing him before fading.

She knew her stuff—popped some high-grade energy meds into his mouth and gave him a quick massage. Watching, Mage Roman suddenly said, "You look like you'd fit my spot. You sure you and Xueye don't have something going?"

The White-robed Cleric blushed but kept working. "It's just habit. I've done this before." She shot her a glare, finished the massage, and once the golden light merged into Shaoke's head, she stood and left.

With her help, Shaoke came to quickly. Weakly asking Mage Roman, who was rubbing his head, he learned it was almost dawn. "I'm better. You should rest. There's work tomorrow."

She ignored him and kept at it. "I'll take the day off to stay with you," she added. "You're like those special genius mages. They get this too, just not as bad." She kissed his forehead. "Too bad there's no record on how to fix it."

Feeling better, Shaoke chuckled. "If it were fixed, they wouldn't be geniuses anymore. They'd lose their edge."

"When the empire started, a mage with this ate a fruit that cured his pain and kept his fast growth," she said. "Too bad he didn't write down what it was."

They chatted until Shaoke insisted they sleep together. This time, he didn't wake until noon.

Mage Roman, reading, saw him up and got him some soldier-brought food. "Feeling better?" she asked, worried. She knew from before he should be fine, but she couldn't relax without hearing it.

"Energy's still draining, but I think I'm okay," Shaoke said with a hoarse laugh. "Looks like I'll be bugging the clerics again."

"Do you like her?" Mage Roman gave him a weird look. "Don't deny it. Why else do you always call her?" She pinched his arm, annoyed. She knew about Mage Yisier too but didn't bring it up.

Realizing she meant the White-robed Cleric, Shaoke smiled awkwardly. "She's married. You want her husband, the Bald Officer, to chop me in half with his saber?" He put down his food and hugged her waist, his hands roaming her soft body.

"Not sure about that," she said, biting his neck lightly before letting him hold her. "Let's go for a walk." She looked up, waiting.

"Alright," Shaoke said after a pause, deciding to skip writing magic scripts. She'd dropped everything for him, so he couldn't say no.

She was happy—it'd been ages since she left the lab. Even with few shops in the city, she was glad to unwind.

After a quick tidy-up, they got ready. But leaving camp, they ran into Mage Yisier and others. The private outing quickly changed. Many mages in Shaoke's team wanted to relax too, so dozens gathered to explore the city. Their stop: the only big tavern. In this new city, it was the only thing that interested them. Some busy mages skipped it, knowing personal strength kept them alive in battle.