Rex decided this was the perfect time to test his new spells.
If not now, then when?
He walked out to the testing grounds, the familiar open space scarred with old spell marks and half-burned targets. He reached into his pouch, pulled out the blue focus, slid it neatly into the Gauntlet—
Then froze.
"…Wait."
He stared at his hand.
"What was lightning called again?"
Sage sighed in his head, the sound heavy with judgment.
"Fulgur."
Rex snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah. Thanks."
He took a breath, planted his feet, and spoke clearly:
"Fulgur."
Light-blue arcs sparked to life around the Gauntlet, snapping and crawling like living things. Rex clenched his hand.
The arcs thickened. Grew louder.
He thrust his arm forward.
A single lightning bolt tore through the air and slammed into a tree, splitting bark and sending smoke curling upward.
Rex blinked.
"…Okay. Bolt rune works."
He clenched his hand again—held it for a few seconds longer—then released.
Multiple bolts fired outward, striking several trees at once, the impacts echoing through the clearing.
"Multishot works too. Nice."
He clenched his hand again—but this time, longer.
The lightning stopped arcing outward.
Instead, it folded inward.
The Gauntlet glowed with a soft, light-blue aura, electricity humming beneath the metal.
Rex tilted his head. "Is this the charge rune?"
On paper, charge was simple. In practice, it felt… different. He could feel the energy waiting, compressed and eager.
Then he frowned.
"…So how do I trigger shockwave?"
The Gauntlet wasn't arcing anymore. No bolts. No discharge.
"…Do I punch?"
He walked up to another tree and punched it.
Lightning exploded outward in every direction in a circular shockwave, ripping bark off nearby trees and sending Rex stumbling backward.
He stared at his hand.
"…Huh. That was surprising."
Satisfied—and a little giddy—Rex pulled out a small knife and nicked his palm.
He winced. "Ow. Okay, healing test."
He swapped the focus.
"…What's heal again?"
"Sana," Sage replied.
Rex nodded. "Right."
"Sana."
A red mist flowed from the Gauntlet, thick but gentle. Rex shaped his hand into a claw, guiding the smoke as it gathered into a small, swirling sphere. He pressed it against the cut.
The mist sank into the wound.
The skin sealed.
No scar. No pain.
Rex smiled. "Okay… that's way better than expected."
Then—
The front door slammed open.
Hard.
Rex jumped, spun around, and saw Dorian step inside, shutting the door behind him and groaning like the world itself had offended him.
Rex walked over. "What's up, Dorian?"
Dorian rubbed his face. "Guild investigators."
Rex frowned. "Can't Lira handle that?"
"No," Dorian said flatly. "They're from the main branch. Higher-ups. Lira doesn't get to tell them what to do."
"…That's a little suspicious."
Silence settled between them.
Uncomfortable. Thick.
Rex cleared his throat. "Okay, that's getting awkward. Wanna see my new spells?"
Dorian looked at him for a moment—then sighed. "Why not."
Rex explained everything: lightning bolts, multishot, shockwave, charged attacks. Then the healing mist—how it could be shaped, controlled, directed.
Dorian listened closely.
"…That's actually very good," he said slowly. "And based on what I saw in the village, your fighting style is… flexible. You use every resource you have."
Rex scratched his head. "I just kinda do what feels right."
Dorian's eyes shifted toward the ritual room. "How much has the Mistica Arcanum helped you?"
"It's been really useful," Rex said. "It records what I read. Kind of like a memory dictionary. But it also… guides me. Shows me new things when I'm ready."
Dorian nodded. "That's because it's personalized."
Rex blinked. "It is?"
"When I used it," Dorian said, "it showed me incantations, alchemy, forging. It adapts to the user."
"That's kinda cool."
Dorian hesitated.
"…Here's the problem. I searched history records going back seven hundred years. The book is mentioned—but barely. No origin. No creator. Nothing before a certain point."
Rex frowned. "So… no one knows where it came from?"
"No," Dorian said quietly. "And for something this powerful, that's disturbing."
Rex glanced toward the ritual room.
The Mistica Arcanum sat there.
Open.
Waiting.
The camera lingered on the book far longer than comfortable.