"Nix, how's the wife?" The baron said as he smiled and pulled the man into a hug.

  The former Nicholas Belfast returned the gesture to his friend, "She's doing well. What is up with the Mana concentration in this air?"

  "The neutralization of Cursed elements builds up clear Mana as the river gets cleaned." He answered as he led his friend on a tour.

  Helena felt more as she followed her human on this tour. Being the one that took Nix's Aura and gave him Mana, and the ultimate reason he was banished from his family, she made it her resolve to protect him. Her pet Hellhound Spirit will become his familiar once she can coalesce enough Mana to give his Soul a new body.

  A fallen Angel usually disperses into the world's Mana Tide because the divinity that typically holds them together is ripped away. But Nix offered his Aura of a Knight Lord in exchange for Mana. She was able to survive long enough to become a Greater Spirit and become the young man's Patron, making him a Warlock. Alongside the tutoring from Marcus and standard schooling, he learned spells and abilities personal to her.

  [Sacrifice] turned anything in the circle into digestible energy for her to continue living (She preferred desserts to human flesh). [Reflect] was a watered down version of one of her divine abilities, it took an incoming attack, reversed it's element, and fired it back at the enemy. [Sol Heart] was a passive ability that added fire elements to all his attacks, the 4 Mana rings around his heart spun fast and hot constantly.

  Their relationship was special. So much so that Marcus called their connection a marriage bond. You are bond under the only woman you listen to and obey with equal parts love and fear. If that's not marriage, I don't know what is. She had no interest in becoming a Patron to anyone else, so technically...

  "How the hell is this city not swallowed by the earth?" Nix burst out as they got to the center of the city. The [Draconic Crystal] looks like it might have gotten bigger since the last time Marcus checked in on it. But that's not right, a [Draconic Crystal] only grows if it absorbs equal parts Mana and Aura. Dew Roses can't absorb Aura too, right?

  Helena whispers in his ear, "I think we'll be happy here." She wrapped her arms around him as she floated behind him.

  "I think so too, but what if the dragons come looking for this thing?" Nix turned his head to her as he panicked. "How has this temperamental bastard not level the city?"

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Well it powers the barrier, duh." Marcus answered as he starts to head south, "Tour's not done yet. Chop chop!"

  "Duh." Nix mocks quietly as he follows him.

  \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

  A farm that grows crops too fast, a Mage Hall bigger than the lord's manor, a church to Jin and Terra, and a Quad-horn Ram farm.

  "Okay, you convinced us. We'll stay." Nix sighed out as they made their way back to the Mage Hall.

  "Nice! What convinced you?"

  "The fact that you have been doing all this without responsible adult supervision." Nix stated as they met up with Solus.

  "Howdy Nix!" She was way too chipper this afternoon. "Welcome to the West Allen Mage Hall! Here's your membership package. Here we got your uniform, membership badge, staff, gloves, handbook, and map. I'm looking forward to working with you again." With that, they shook hands and she went back to work on etching into a plank of wood.

  The uniform was a jacket with the Mage Hall insignia on the left breast. The right breast of the jacket had a spot for the membership badge. The membership badge said 'Vice Leader' which made him feel understandably queasy. The staff was made of Iron Cedar and adorned with a jagged red gem on top. He almost collapsed as Helena whistled at the Item that will no doubt keep him from exploding in a fiery inferno.

  The gloves were fingerless and made with some sort of Mana suppressor. He could feel his Mana flow redirect as misfiring from his palm no longer became an option. And the map. There were three floors and a basement. The third floor was for the offices, the second floor was for enchantments, the ground floor was for training and teaching the future members, and the basement was for potions.

  All in all, this whole city was a marvel. A month and a half after graduation and he had all of this built. He knew that Marcus was crazy, ever since he told him about that unorthodox Mana circle orientation that made him a 6 circle Mage at 17.

  "What are your plans now?" Nix asked as he put on the rest of his gear.

  "Well, I want to put up another water wheel. I'm thinking if I put one up in the south with the warehouses and turn part of the granary into a mill and have an automatic flour grinder. And I put in a order with this very Mage Hall to make an adjustable gravity spell etched into floorboards for the upcoming Knight training grounds. I need to find some strong enough people to handle the rams so that we can put the weavers to work."

  "I also want to try to reach the 7th ring sometime in the future. I want to take Madeline on some actual dates. I still haven't gotten back from the Quinn estate about that mine. I want at least some of that forest mapped, I can't find any Spirits past a certain point so I think I can find some nice Cursed artifacts that I can clean up. I also got reports of a caravan coming in from the south. Which might be a good or bad thing."

  "Wow." Nix muttered as he and his Parton look at him with wide eyes.

  "Yeah. Dammit, want a break..." Marcus hunched as he sighed.