Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

"How small the world is…" he murmured, shaking his head, listening to Rick's words. Then, Lian began to recount his day and how he had met Master Corvan, receiving Rick's shocked and amazed looks.

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"What?? This is fantastic! At this rate, we will not even need to buy low-level artifacts from the shop anymore!"

"Stop shouting, or you will attract attention! Besides, it is not that simple..."

Lian tried to hush Rick, but it was too late—

"Look who we have here…" Three boys with a menacing appearance surrounded the group. It was too sudden, even for Rick. He was distracted by Lian's words, after all.

"Marcus. What do you want? I do not have time to waste." Rick's usual demeanor had vanished, replaced by a cold stare.

Marcus, a tall, robust boy with short black hair and an arrogant smirk, crossed his arms, staring at Rick with eyes full of disdain. "Rick Morticus, always running and hiding, huh? Did you really think you could ditch us yesterday at Seven Spirit Flavors?" His voice was sharp, and the two boys at his side laughed, a sound that made Lian clench his teeth.

Rick maintained his cold stare, but Lian noticed a flash of worry in his black eyes. "Marcus, I do not have time for your scenes. Tell me what you want, and let us get this over with."

Before Marcus could respond, his gaze fell on Lian, who stood beside Rick. Tall, handsome, with a calm but curious look.

Marcus's expression subtly changed. His smirk softened, replaced by a hint of uncertainty. "Wait a minute… you are that Lian Veyr, right? The newbie who took out Brutus and Zyra in the ring." He turned to his companions, who nodded, confirming his hunch. "So Rick found himself a… powerful friend." He whispered faintly, his eyes narrowed.

Lian did not like the way Marcus was studying him. Nevertheless, he kept his composure, his face impassive. "I do not know what you are talking about."

Marcus chuckled lightly. "Oh, do not play modest. I have heard about you. A Bronze 4 Iron 5 Mage, just arrived at the academy. You even caught the attention of a Defender Elder…"

He took a step closer, lowering his voice. "Rick, you have chosen an interesting ally. But do not think this changes things. You owe me 5000 gold coins, and I want them now. I do not want unnecessary conflicts with other people; debts are debts. I lent you that money, and now I want it back."

Rick clenched his teeth, his hands balled into fists. "Marcus, you gave me only 500 gold coins! How did you get to 5000?!" His voice was worried. 500 gold coins were one thing, but 5000 was an entirely different matter.

"Is it not obvious?" Marcus replied in a calm tone, while his two friends behind him laughed subtly. "If debts are not paid on time, they grow. It is called interest. Did you not know?"

Before Rick could reply, a hand rested on his shoulder. It was Lian.

"What if we found another way to settle this matter?" he said, his voice calm but resolute. "There is no need to make a scene in front of the entire academy."

Marcus raised an eyebrow as he glanced around casually. He could see numerous eyes fixed on them. Some were full of disdain, others of hatred, others indifferent. But one thing was clear. Nobody liked Marcus's group.

However, no one could do anything about it. Not only were the three all Bronze 5, but they were also protected by their faction. And the three were good at picking on the weaker ones.

Marcus was slightly intrigued by Lian's proposal, ignoring the stares of the other students. He did not care one bit about what they thought of him. "Another way? Let us hear it, what do you propose?"

"It is not much… a challenge. I propose a challenge. Your group against the two of us—"

Before Lian could finish speaking, one of the guys behind Marcus started laughing. "You two want to challenge the three of us? I must admit, kid, you have some serious guts!"

Next to him, the other boy laughed, nodding repeatedly at his companion's words.

Marcus raised a hand to silence his foolish companion. His look seemed to say, "Do not make useless comments."

Then, turning back to Lian, he gave a simple nod, as if to tell him to continue.

"As I was saying," Lian said with a slight cough, "The academy Mages' challenge against the monsters is in two weeks, right? Here is the bet. If our team scores more points than you, the debt is settled, and any enmity between you and Rick is over. But if your team scores more points than us, then…" Lian paused, letting the weight of his words sink in, "…the debt doubles."

A murmur rose among the students who had gathered around. They were not too close, but not far enough to miss the conversation.

Some whispered excitedly, others shook their heads, thinking Rick and Lian had just gotten themselves into bigger trouble.

An intriguing smile formed on Marcus's face. "Interesting…" His gaze shifted to Rick for a moment before returning to Lian. "Rick has struggled to repay the 500 gold coins. So what do you plan to do when the debt becomes 10,000 gold coins? And no, this time I will not accept a promise on faith. I want certainty that I will be repaid."

Rick merely stared at Lian. His face was grateful but worried at the same time. He did not think the two of them could win the challenge. But Lian's look was one of absolute calm. No worry showed on his face.

In truth, Lian was quite worried. He wanted to save his new friend, and to do so, he was getting himself into trouble. But he did not think he would lose. In two weeks, he would be incredibly more powerful; he would surely win the challenge. Besides—

"Do not worry about the payment. I will repay you, rest assured!"

"I said I do not accept any promises on faith. I want certainty, or there is no challenge. Besides, the longer you wait, the more the debt will grow… and who knows, maybe in two weeks it will be 10,000 gold coins!"

Laughter came from the two lackeys behind Marcus, while Lian's gaze became slightly hesitant… he did not know whether to reveal his talent for runes or not.

Lian looked at Rick, who shook his head slightly, as if to say not to worry, that he had done enough, but Lian did not want to back down.

Not now.

Lian let out a long sigh as his blue eyes shone with confidence. In truth, he did not want to keep such a thing hidden; he was just hesitant to reveal things about himself to everyone. They were not alone, after all. A lot of people were around them, listening with interest.

"In truth, I have a high affinity for runes… Soon I will become a Rune Master, and at that point, I will be able to repay the debt with ease—"