Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

After glancing at the document and the mission scroll, the two guards exchanged a nod. "Follow me," one of them said.

They act a bit too high and mighty… they are just Bronze 2, for heaven's sake! Lian thought in annoyance, his fingers slightly clenched into a fist.

The boy playing guard said nothing as he led Lian into the headquarters. The place was not overly luxurious but well reflected the arrogance of one of the main factions.

Statues of crouching tigers, leaping tigers, and tigers in every pose could be seen everywhere, giving a sense of strength to the entire structure.

Other students were inside, but none gave Lian more than a glance, too busy with their own affairs.

After several minutes of walking, they reached the spot. The guard lightly knocked on the door before casting a sideways glance at Lian. "When he tells you to enter, you enter." And with those words, he left.

Fortunately, Lian did not have to wait long. After about ten seconds, the same voice he had heard through the communication crystal sounded from inside the room. "Enter."

Lian did not wait a second longer. He flung open the door and walked in.

A rather stout boy was sitting on a swivel chair behind a desk full of papers. "Sit," he said as he tidied up the documents, a frown on his face.

Lian settled into the chair, his gaze fixed on the boy's eyes.

Upon seeing Lian, Darien's eyes sharpened slightly. "Sorry, I did not mean to make you come all the way here, but I have been swamped lately. That damn war at the front is causing a lot of problems even for us low ranks."

Lian raised an eyebrow. He did not expect an apology.

"But we are not here to talk about that, right?" Darien began explaining the mission details to Lian, starting with Flammer, his appearance, and how he had lost the artifact due to a bet before entering a Gate far from Grimreach.

The more Lian listened, the deeper his frown grew. It had nothing to do with his Plammer. In fact, they seemed completely opposite.

However, there were details that could not simply be coincidences.

Flammer, like Plammer, carried the same staff-shaped artifact and had the same wind element affinity.

Yet their appearances were diametrically opposed. While Lian's thief appeared fat, Darien's thief was fit and muscular.

"The artifact stolen from me is a dagger, earth element, Bronze 5. It belonged to me, and I want it back!" With a hand gesture, Darien made a pouch appear out of nowhere. "This is the advance. I do not want you to find the artifact; that is impossible. I just want you to gather more information about this guy."

Lian gave the pouch only a brief glance, not too interested in the small amount of gold. He had just received 5,000 gold coins; he was quite rich.

However, he had more information about Flammer.

"Actually, I took this mission because the name of the guy who robbed you strangely resembles the name of the guy who robbed me," Lian said after a moment of silence.

Darien's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded. "Go on."

Lian began explaining where, how, and when he had alternately lost the artifact, talking about Plammer and his appearance.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"They seem very similar, yet their appearances do not match…" Darien murmured, his gaze calm as a lake's surface.

"Could they belong to the same organization? Maybe the staff-shaped artifact is a typical symbol of their faction…" Lian said, trying to be helpful.

He did not know the academy's factions and could not offer much help in this situation. These were just speculations.

Darien thought for a second before shaking his head. "No way, there are no factions like that. But I think I know who it might be…" A smirk formed on his face.

"There is a rumor about a particular student in the academy…" he added slowly, each word carefully considered. "Unlike ordinary people like you and me, with an affinity tied to one of the basic elements—"

Speak for yourself, newbie—

"This student seems to possess not only a dual affinity but one that is quite… peculiar."

Lian's attention was piqued, his eyes fixed on Darien's.

"I do not know if it is true or not, but the element in question, if it can be called that, is illusion."

Lian raised both eyebrows, his mouth half-open in shock. "Such a thing exists?" he murmured under his breath.

The sound of a hand lightly tapping the desk was all it took for Lian to snap out of his shock.

"That is all, Lian. Thanks for your information. Now I understand who we are dealing with. I will try to recover your artifact too," Darien said as he stood from the chair, his gaze far less arrogant than before. "Consider it extra payment for how quickly you provided the information." He smiled.

Lian nodded weakly, still thoughtful about Plammer/Flammer's element. "Then I will thank you, Darien," he replied as he grabbed the 1,000-gold coin note Darien had left on the desk.

The two said their goodbyes.

A guard quickly reached Lian's position, escorting him out of the building.

"Well, that was easier than expected…" Lian murmured, glancing at the faction's headquarters. "These guys may be arrogant, but they keep their word."

With one matter off his shoulders and nothing else to do, Lian headed back to the Silver Twilight Association. He wanted to see if he could take on another quick mission. It was still early; Lian could take it easy.

Once he arrived, Lian went straight to the mission board.

"Wait a second…" he whispered, looking around. "Those three kids told me Gates have been more frequent lately. Let us see if it is true."

He moved around a bit, searching for the place where such missions were posted.

Shortly after…

"Damn!" he exclaimed under his breath. Before him were dozens of scrolls with requests for help. The number of Gates around Grimreach seemed incredible.

"Now I understand the gloomy atmosphere around the academy… The Silver students alone cannot handle this workload."

Other students were nearby, trying to form groups to clear some of the simpler Gates.

Fortunately, most high-level Gates were also handled by the kingdom's other sub-capital, Blackspire, thanks to the dispatch of numerous Steel-rank Knights.