n

n

n

"You sure that's enough for you?

" Foster asked, looking at an excited Kyla as she continued smiling back at him with a broad grin,

"Yep, it definitely is~!

" She replied, turning her sight back toward the book filled with notes on the unique boss monster that they had encountered. Clearly, she was already trying to fill some of the gaps that were in the notes, but was incredibly happy to see so much detail about its behaviour.

nSeeing that things were coming to an end right now, Lynol looked at his party,

"That being the case, I suggest that we meet again this evening. Just to have a drink, celebrating our first successful dive into the basement.

" He explained, and seeing that nobody was against it, he moved on,

"But for the rest of the day, I think we should just go and do our own thing. Relax a bit, and do whatever we want, or need to do for now.

"

n

"Ah, I was about to suggest that as well~; I wanted to help out at a church today, a friend of mine asked me to.

" She explained,

"Apparently, there's some kind of disease going around that they need help with...

"

nFoster raised a brow, his cheek still resting on his palm,

"Then be careful you don't get sick yourself.

"

nKyla smiled smugly,

"Don't'cha worry about that, clerics are bestowed resistance against diseases, so I'll be fine!

"

n

"Fair enough.

" Foster shrugged slightly, seeing Kyla stand up with a smile,

"Then I'll see you all tonight!

"

n

"Bye, see you later.

" Octer lightly waved at her as she left, before he got up as well,

"I think I should practice my new martial skill a bit more, so I'll head to my room to do that for now.

"

n

"Take it easy, bud. Just rest for today if you want, no need to go all out.

" Foster told him, but Octer just shook his head,

"It's fine, I would just really like to figure this out. See you guys later.

" He said, soon turning around to head back to the Inn's rooms, leaving Foster and Lynol alone.

nLynol turned his head toward his friend, noticing that something was wrong at a glance. It seemed like he noticed it earlier, but didn't want to bring it up in front of the others,

"Are you alright? You seem even more tired than normal.

"

n

"Hm? Oh, nah, I'm fine. The meditation works as a decent replacement for sleep, so I actually feel more rested than I did in a long time.

" Foster explained quickly. But even then, he knew what Lynol meant. He felt a little more depressed today than he did the last while, since a lot was on his mind. But he didn't really feel like talking about it, something that Lynol picked up on as well,

"So... you said you wanted to start learning magic more intensely. Did the books that we bought help at all with that?

"

n

"Kinda? I mean, not really. Everything is based off of ** I don't really get. I technically understand all the words in there, even super complex and weird ones, like I know what they mean, but I can't really relate to the meaning in the first place?

" Foster explained, letting out a deep sigh while leaning back in his seat.

n

"I guess that would happen when you suddenly get another's understanding of language.

" Lynol pointed out,

"But didn't you say your magic advanced a little?

"

nFoster raised his brow, and held his hand forward,

"Right, I did. I figured out how to do this while we were resting in the dungeon.

" He said, and a few moments later, small glowing dots of mana seemed to appear right on top of his palm, seemingly in a random manner.

n

"I see... even if you are unable to draw lines, this is still great progress. Which circle are you attempting to draw?

" Lynol asked, and Foster immediately shook his head,

"This isn't supposed to be a magic circle, it's the Salicia constellation with a proper scaled distance to each other.

" He said, placing his free hand's index finger onto a spot on his palms hand where a few of the folds were coming together,

"This here is where this planet should be in relation to them right now.

"

n

"...I don't get it, aren't stars just... flat up there or something?

" Confused, Lynol looked away from the glowing dots, and Foster somewhat smiled,

"No, of course not. Stars are the same as the sun, giant bodies of gas glowing in the distance.

"

n

"...But the sun is made of fire, not gas?

"

n

"I mean, fire is plasma, which is just... you know what, let's not get into that for now. Just trust me on this one.

" Foster said, looking back at the 'stars' floating on top of his palm,

"Anyway, apparently, this was enough for me to step on my own path of magic, according to the snake. Just that I don't know what to do next. I still don't even understand necromancy properly...

"

nLynol crossed his arms in thought,

"In that case, let's go to the Magic Tower.

"

n---

nThe two of them stood in front of the large building that towered over all the others in the area, and quickly stepped inside. The large, open entrance hall was mostly empty right now, with the exception of a few mages doing their own work, and both Foster and Lynol seemed to stick out here quite a bit. They both seemed like fighters, after all. Lynol more so than Foster, since the latter was still wearing a pair of gloves similar to what everyone else was wearing, protecting his hands from magic feedback. Lynol on the other hand, was walking around wearing a fur cloak with a greatsword made of bone on his back.

n

"Can I help you?

" One of the Mage Tower's employees asked, stepping in front of the stairs in what could only be an attempt at blocking them from entering the main part of the mage tower,

"Im just heading up to see Samria.

"

n

"...Why do you need to meet with him?

" The employee asked, her demeanor suddenly changing. She seemed somehow quite nervous. Foster pulled the small stamp out of his bag and held it forward,

"I'm a member of the Mage Tower, and I'm heading upstairs to meet with a fellow Necromancer. Something wrong with that?

"

n

"You're a necromancer?

" The employee asked surprised, looking at the sword on Lynol's back,

"I see... in that case, please head to Samria's floor as soon as you can,

" they said, stepping to the side, even more nervous than before. Foster rolled his eyes and started walking up the stairs, unsure what the issue was, but choosing not to think about it too much. Making sure to rush past a particular one of the floors to avoid a certain someone, the two of them soon found themselves on a practically abandoned floor. It was mostly empty, to the point that Lynol was unsure whether or not they were supposed to be here, but Foster led the way to the other side of the floor to reach Samria.

nSeeing the open door and cluttered space behind it, Foster stepped right inside, seeing some familiar, and some unfamiliar figures. Samria and the talking skeleton created by him were practically forced into a corner by three hooded figures. Of course, since they didn't walk in particularly quietly, they soon noticed that someone entered, and everyone turned toward the two of them. The three people that had their backs turned toward the door now revealed their faces, surprising both Foster and Lynol.

nFoster simply had never expected to see something like this in real life. They were plague doctors.

n