Behind the desk of an office cubicle.
Gael Robertson was slaving away as he worked hard to pay the mortgage for his new house and car loan.
He was thirty five years old and already balding. His face was haggard, his eyes dull. It would be impossible for others to figure out that he was actually a newlywed man.
Three months ago he got married to his girlfriend after dating for only half a year, truly a rash decision. Given his financial situation he was reluctant to hold a wedding as it was a huge cost but ultimately he couldn't overturn her strong request.
If not for the fact that she was pregnant with his child then let alone the wedding he wouldn't even have stayed in a relationship with her. Why? She had a strong alcohol addiction and was prone to violence when drunk.
At one time he almost lost his eyes from a glass cup she threw at him. A glass shard grazed his left eyebrow barely missing the eyeball by a few millimeters.
Of course, that was all in the past now. She had now reigned herself considerably following the confirmation of her pregnancy.
Given such an unpleasant history the only reason Gael didn't break up was because of a medical report. After having fallen in a rather embarrassing way and hurting his crotch badly, he became impotent! Gael's sperm cell activity was now so low that it was impossible for him to impregnate his partner in the future.
So, a major decision like marriage was ultimately influenced due to several such factors.
Growing up in a foster home he never truly felt that he belonged there and always had a strong desire to start a true family of his own. Entering society he was dealt a harsh blow and soon became more humble and went with the flow to establish himself in the big city.
Several failed relationships later he had to come face to face with reality and finally settle down for good.
"Ugh! Finally done!"
Gael stretched his hands and then rubbed his eyes. He had been working overtime for the past three days because of a project that was suddenly dumped onto his team at the last minute.
The deadline was approaching soon so despite their complaints they could only swallow this bitter pill lest their salary gets deducted due to performance issues again. That abominable manager truly deserved a beating!
Many times he really just wanted to quit and throw his resignation letter on that guy's face but then he would think about his mortgage, car loan, and his unborn child's future. His rebellious thoughts would thus be extinguished, replaced with helplessness and submission to his "owners".
Alas! This corporate hellhole!!
"I am heading off, fellas!" Gael waved his hand as he clocked out amidst the envious gazes of his coworkers. Nothing could be done, they could only try to finish their part faster to catch the last train home.
The elevator broke down yesterday so he could only take the stairs. Seeing a can of crimsonbull thrown in the middle of the stairs Gael couldn't help but curse. Who the hell was littering in this place?
He went down and picked up the can but just as he got up the lights went off!!
"Woah!" Gael panicked for a second and his feet touched the residual liquid from the can making him slip.
Thud! Thud!
He fell head first and tumbled down the stairs before loudly hitting the wall at the end. He lost consciousness at the first impact on his head and then his neck got twisted in an extremely horrifying angle from his own body weight during the tumble. The lights were back but he was already dead.
Gael fell to his death on the stairs.
Whoosh!
In the dim lights from the moon that entered the cramped room, the occupant on the top bunk got up with a start waking the light sleeper under him.
"Hey… why are you making so much noise?"
After mumbling weakly the voice didn't wait for a reply before pulling up the blanket and turning to the side. The one on the top bunk was anxiously checking himself and his surroundings.
"Did I really… transmigrate?" This question appeared in his mind after futilely trying to wake himself up by pinching his thigh. Except for tearing up in pain it unfortunately failed to do anything else.
Suddenly, memories of the predecessor rushed to his mind like a tide. After a long time had passed did he finally confirm that he indeed transmigrated!
"Same given name but different age, face and identity. What a cliche!" Gael mumbled inwardly. He had now become a thirteen year old orphan in a magic fantasy world.
It was still unknown whether it's a high fantasy or a low one. Sword and magic type or just pure magic?
The fact that he can quickly calm down and accept his current situation was no doubt thanks to the vast amount of novels and comics he read back on earth.
"I don't know if she can successfully claim the insurance and raise our child well…" Undoubtedly, he was still concerned about the aftermath of his death. One moment you were living fine but suddenly disaster struck. Fate sometimes plays such cruel jokes on people.
After a heavy sigh the new Gael lay down on the bed and adjusted his mindset, "Oh, well. What's gone is gone. I should try to live this life to the fullest and reach the pinnacle instead of repeating the same dull path I walked in the past."
He swore that he would never work for others but instead work for himself! Be in control of his own destiny!!
Just as Gael was having a passionate monologue and confirming his resolve a sharp pain seized his chest. "Ow!" He grunted in pain. It abruptly stopped when a transparent screen appeared in front of his eyes.
[The Kingdom of Caalmira at the heartland of the continent. An inconspicuous town caught in a turbulent wave.]
[A lonely soul strayed unaware of his fate. Different decisions lead to a different state.]
[A winner in life or an insignificant ant? A dazzling prodigy or just a stepping stone for the chosen?]
[Only time could tell or perhaps even yourself? Fate is predetermined but luck makes it fickle.]
[Fortune is the correct choices one makes and destiny is the outcome of those choices.]
[Five Lands and Four Seas of Wismar. Danger in every corner and opportunities at each step.]
[Be prudent and choose well. What appears to be correct might not be the true way.]
At the Beacon Tower.
Russell put away his luggage in his assigned room and then went outside. After politely refusing Lydia Reid's offer he and Samantha followed them to take temporary refuge in this place.
The Beacon Tower was built on the junction between the local police headquarters and the Flowing Tide Pavilion. The purpose of this facility was to provide shelter and security to individuals who were under high risks of death till the culprit of a case was caught.
The proximity to the two organizations and defensive arrangements within the tower were enough to ensure safety to a great extent.
"It's a pity that I can't take her up on that offer. Without Walter's nod blatantly showing my eagerness to change affiliation would no doubt offend him."
Russell lamented inwardly. He was all too aware of the outcome of such behavior. If a Four Symbols Valiant Mage like him decided to make him suffer then in this town it would indeed be difficult for him to live as freely as he was doing now.
Entering the headquarters, the atmosphere was solemn. He stopped a colleague and asked about the situation. Goodness! People from the prefecture already arrived at early hours of dawn.
They had taken over the high command and were now repairing the field array.
"Then Chief Constable Walter is not here?"
"He left with distinguished guests to accompany them in inspecting our town."
"Inspection? Oh."
Russell was puzzled for a second but then understood. He guessed that high ranking officers were also present in the entourage of those Array Casters who were deployed to this place hoping to root out the hostile elements as quickly as possible for internal stability.
The severity of having a local settlement's field array damaged was extremely fatal.
In a world where higher ranked mages could wipe out cities with a wave of their hands the field arrays were the basic guarantee to prevent such a scenario.
No matter how high a mage's arcana realm is, if they exceed the limit of the local settlement's highest supportable realm they wouldn't be able to enter inside without the special permission from the King's Judge.
If they attacked from the outside then no matter how destructive their powers were the local field array, interconnected with the continent-spanning great array, would not collapse in a short time.
That period of time was more than enough for higher realm mages on the kingdom's side to teleport over and deal with the attackers.
Now, if the local field array was secretly damaged enough to spawn the likes of a full-fledged smuggling den then that means that the restricting function of not letting a far higher realm mage entry would become ineffective.
Clearly, the present situation of Little Clover Town was extremely grave.
"Speaking of which, I should change my specialized arcane craft after reaching the Adept Mage realm. How about array casting? With the detective identity the need for continuing down the line of Arcane Painter would be redundant."
Russell was having second thoughts after having found the correct path to better utilize his Eye of Inquiry. The combination of a detective from Flowing Tide Pavilion paired with Array Caster would undoubtedly help in this endeavor.
He could adequately make use of the information he obtains in a case with different array casting arrangements during any combat scenario or pursuit.
This arcane craft required one to be in the initiative and make advanced preparations. He could always unravel various crucial pieces of information quite easily so he always had an advantage in this regard.
Thoughts churned in his head as he made his way back to the Beacon Tower.
"Compared to niche unpopular arcane craft like arcane painting, within the kingdom array casting is always sought after and very competitive. But it has a far higher threshold and without strong talent it's difficult to achieve anything in this craft."
However, his decision to learn this craft remained unchanged. Excluding the more profitable aspects, the mere fact that he could reinforce and modify the mini-field array of his home was already enough of a reason for him to try his hand on it.
It would be a lie to say that he wasn't scared when he discovered those hidden surveillance items. If one day when he was resting or in the middle of something important another one of such effortless intrusion occurred then if he couldn't react in time wouldn't he be at their mercy?
Also the big fight yesterday where so many civilians and dullards died.
After he discovered those dark mages hiding among the onlookers, if he quietly set up an array to trap everyone and isolate the battlefield then not only the latter situation would not have occurred but they might also have been able to catch all the fish in the net.
Unfortunately, he couldn't make correct decisions every time.
Don't think that he only knows how to charge headlong into danger. Russell also reflects on his actions whenever he is idle and tries to improve himself in any way possible.
The fact that he can so fearlessly take the initiative and face off against the dark mages was not only because he knew plenty of information about them but also because of a trump card he hides on him.
The Fae of Clouds!
"Only a few days remain before my twentieth birthday. Hopefully you won't be interrupted again, my old friend!"
His hawk-like eyes held a strong anticipation for the future.