Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"Marcus, I finally see you! I thought you had run off!" Rick flashed a confident smile, but inside, he wanted to cry.

"Rick, is this the friend you were waiting for? Tell him to give me the artifact, come on!" Clara's voice, always melodious, now sounded more than ever like that of a diabolical demon.

"Friend?"

"Friend?"

A slow laugh resounded. Behind him, his two companions also laughed loudly. "We will be friends when Rick loses the bet. At that point, we might even call ourselves best friends—after all, what normal friend gives away three custom-made artifacts?"

The trio's laughter continued as Rick's smile froze.

"Custom artifacts?" Clara interjected, her eyes sparkling like heart-shaped stars. "Why did you not tell me earlier, Rick? I want a custom artifact too; why do you not give me one?!"

Rick's arm was tightly enveloped in Clara's ample bosom.

Rick wanted to scream and curse everyone, especially the girl beside him.

Turning his head, his gaze fell on her chest. Despite being short, Clara had two great qualities.

That was the main reason he was drawn to her in the first place. Besides being super cute, with blonde hair tied in twin tails, clear eyes… especially her rosy cheeks drove him wild.

Swallowing his curses, Rick sighed helplessly.

"By the way, where is your friend? Do not tell me you two fought? He promised to make me artifacts—"

"Relax, Marcus. My friend is coming. He was just busy with something. He called me earlier asking for help with a problem," Rick lied blatantly. It was what he did best.

"My friend needs me. But do not worry," he added convincingly, "I do not want to scam you. Here, I leave you this girl. She is our third member. Treat her well, okay? We will be back soon."

Before the others could process his words, Rick broke free from Clara's clutches, reluctantly, and ran off.

Of course, it was an excuse.

They are so soft… Shaking his head, Rick focused on the bigger problem he had to face. Maybe it was not bigger than Clara's chest, but it was still a problem.

Lian had not called him, nor was he answering! That was the issue.

He had to go look for Lian.

"Could he have passed out while trying something new?" Rick thought, heading toward the dormitory. "Or did he explode?"

After running for a while, Rick reached Lian's room. He tried knocking, shouting, peering through the windows, but nothing.

Without thinking twice, he decided to break down the door.

"Lian, are you in there?" he shouted, but nothing. Everything was intact, suggesting only one thing.

Lian had not returned to his room at all.

"Could he still be at the Rune Forge? He usually spends his mornings there. But it is strange…" he murmured, running toward the new destination. "Should there not be others with him? He mentioned a certain Torin, a Rune Master. If something really happened to Lian, he would have handled it."

Despite his thoughts, Rick did not stop for a second. He was used to running from problems, after all, like the first day he met Lian.

"Damn, he was not lying when he said this place is a dump…"

The Rune Forge sign was the only thing that seemed intact compared to the rest of the dilapidated building.

With determined steps, Rick entered the building, hoping someone would greet him, but it was empty.

"Anyone here?" he shouted, hoping for some ghost.

At that moment, a door slammed open with a bang.

"What brings you here, an aspiring Rune Master? You are the second this year, come, come."

The occasionally deafening voice of a burly man echoed in the main hall.

"No, not at all. I am here to find a friend. He usually works here. His name is Lian."

Master Corvan, the man who almost always resided in this place, furrowed his brows.

"You are his friend? And why are you looking for him here? Do you not know I got him his own house for becoming a full-fledged Rune Master?" Corvan's voice lowered as he observed the stunned expression painting Rick's face.

"His own house? I had no idea; he did not tell me before!" he murmured in disbelief. Well, I guess it was my fault… I was too caught up with that demon…

"The problem is something else," he continued, locking eyes with the man before him. "My friend is not answering my calls, and the academy event is about to start! He cannot miss it; we have a bet to win!"

Corvan's eyes narrowed at the boy's words.

Silence fell.

Could something have really happened to him? Maybe the Silver students? Damn, I did not expect them to be so bold… no, impossible. It must be something else…

His thoughts were inscrutable, and Rick was starting to worry seriously now.

After a few more seconds, Corvan looked at Rick, then nodded faintly. "Let us go check on him, then. Come with me, do not resist."

A large floating sword appeared with a gesture of the man's hand.

He approached Rick, grabbing him by the waist like a sack of potatoes. With a leap, he stepped onto the sword.

"Oh, damn!" Rick exclaimed, feeling the flying sword begin to hover slightly upward.

A moment later—

Swoosh—

The sword accelerated at high speed toward the Silver students' dormitories.

After several minutes…

"Here we are," Corvan said, tossing Rick aside while observing the villa with a grim look.

Rick rubbed his head, still shaken from the journey. He raised his eyes, trying to look in the same direction as the man, but the dizziness was still there.

"Damn," he murmured, holding back a sigh, "remind yourself never to travel on a flying sword again… and to think it was my dream."

The sound of Corvan's footsteps snapped him out of his useless thoughts.

Focusing his vision, Rick finally noticed the direction the man was heading.

Huh? A villa? Lian lives here? The thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head. Impossible…