Blade Over Magic

Next Event

"... A Succubus, huh?" Aubrey rubbed her chin as she looked at the figure kneeling on the floor with a pouty expression.

It wasn’t just her. Everyone in their group was currently gathered in Xander’s room as per the assistance of Mia.

After Xander had allowed her to return to her body and he woke up, Mia revealed that she sensed Mira’s presence, and after gauging the threat level, she allowed things to play out the way they did.

Xander then explained the course of events leading up to this point. So now, everyone was looking down at Mira who knelt on the floor.

"Hm. I suppose this also counts as not being too hasty to choose violence. I’d never have expected something like this, though." Curtis scratched his head as he pointedly avoided looking at Mira. It seemed like, unlike Xander, he wasn’t as unaffected by her charm. But he wasn’t especially smitten either.

"Indeed. And control over dreams does seem pretty useful in certain situations. Hm." Aubrey rubbed her chin as she spoke objectively, but her gaze was sharp.

That’s because when Xander told them everything, he meant everything. Including her odd obsession with his body.

Curtis found it odd, but Aubrey and Falael?

’I get the feeling they would have killed her if I told them not to.’ Xander thought wryly as Falael looked ready to sock Mira in the jaw.

It was Mary who then spoke.

"Milord. I’m assuming you intend to use her for something?" She asked, and Xander nodded slowly.

"According to her, she’d already been acquiring a decent amount of information before she was directed my way. So..." He looked at Mira who still hadn’t said a word.

"I want her to continue what she’s been doing." At this, Mira looked up and raised a brow.

"Using me to get info on your fellow humans? Kinda hypocritical dontcha think?" She asked dryly.

"Yeah... I don’t care about any of that. Anyway, Aubrey, could you make a detailed list of the people who are hostile against us? Ranging from most hostile to least hostile, and most influential to least influential, and finally most dangerous to observe to least dangerous to observe?" He completely ignored Mira’s statement and look at Aubrey.

"Done." She pulled out a piece of compressed paper from thin air.

Mira blinked.

"Huh? Where did that come fro—"

Aubrey tossed the paper at her feet before she could finish, and Xander spoke.

"Every night, come back and tell us what you discovered. And any directives you receive from your superiors should be reported to us as well. If you notice something urgent that we should know immediately, then the rule of only coming at night should be subverted. Lastly, don’t try to look for any loopholes. Unlike normal contracts, I can simply kill you if you annoy me." Xander said flatly, and Mira grumbled.

"Guys are so much cuter when they are nice." She picked up the compressed paper and started reading through it. However, as she read more and more names and how they were divided, her expression became increasingly strange.

"Uh. I’m sorry... isn’t this like, half the people in this place? And this... ain’t this one of the princes? Damn, and I thought i was good at making enemies." Everyone’s eyes collectively twitched. Evidently, they were also aware of this fact.

"Phew. Seems like I’ve got my work cut out for me." She looked up at them.

"Do I at least get paid?" She asked in all seriousness.

"... Demons get paid?" Curtis tilted his head, and Mira looked at him.

"Well duh. You think I do my job outta the ’goodness of my heart’? Look, you can’t trust much in this world. But money is one of the few things you can. And I refuse to work for free." She folded her arms, and Xander could feel a headache coming on.

She had an attitude, that much was for sure.

"Then again..." Her gaze shifted to him, and her tongue swiped across her lips. "I accept... other, methods of payment."

PA

"Ow! Hey!" Mira clutched her head and turned back to see Falael looking down at her with a frigid gaze.

"Say that again and see what happens." She snorted, and Mira grumbled.

"Rude. You really gonna treat you fellow girl like that? Come on, you gotta admit, he’s fuckin ho—"

PA

"Ow Ow! Okay damn!"

Xander just rubbed his temples, suddenly feeling as though he’d brought himself quite the headache.

***

The night passed surprisingly smoothly after that, which immediately put the group on guard. Because while it made sense none of their enemies would try anything in the Palace, the fact that there was nothing, not even a surveillance attempt. Which made the group immediately suspicious.

After a quick breakfast in one of the many dining areas of the Palace, the group changed into mlre mobile attire and met up with Xavier and his daughters under the gazes of the guests.

"Alright, you guys survived the first night well enough. So here’s the deal." Xavier spoke freely, and Xander noticed that there was a small film surrounding the group, most likely to prevent anyone listening.

"This morning, there’s gonna be a hunt. This forest surrounding the Palace isn’t just there for flavor. It actually houses beasts within. And depending on how far in you go, the beasts become more and more powerful. I’m pretty sure there are some Elemental Spirits here and there. Anyway," The group listened closely as their entourage was led by a servant towards the Palace’s entrance.

"The ones participating in the hunt as us invitees. No one is obliged to join. Not on paper, anyway. However, it’s incredibly rude for a leader of an entourage not to participate, and those under him also don’t participate." He gave them a look. "You see what I’m saying?" The group fell silent.

"... You don’t intend to participate. So we will have to." Falael concluded.

"Correct. Well, that’s the official version anyway. In reality they just wanna humiliate you guys by hunting better prey than you." He shrugged. He didn’t need to elaborate on who he meant by ’they’.

"... I don’t suppose this is gonna be a fair game?" Xander raised a brow. Xavier smiled.

"Probably not. Chances are that some participants are gonna use this opportunity to ’accidentally’ bump into you guys during the hunt to try and steal your prey. Perhaps even try to provoke you into combat." He shook his head, and Curtis frowned.

"Wouldn’t Archmage Irene be watching everything? She wouldn’t let them try any underhanded tactics." However, it was surprisingly Claire who walked out in front of Xavier that spoke.

"I wouldn’t be so sure." They looked at her, and she continued without looking back to them.

"Due to Xander’s actions last night, specifically his interactions with the youngest princess. Most likely, his Highness the King might want to test him and those close to him. So it’s not impossible that he would ask her Excellency not to interfere if anyone does attempt to cause problems for you during the hunt, simply to see how you would react." That... made an annoying amount of sense.

’Great. Now even the King is potentially involved in the matter. Just great.’ Xander just sighed.

That said, he wasn’t worried. Not really.

Once they were outside, the group was led to the edge of the forest where many other noblemen and women could be seen. Many with some of their knights/mages in tow. People from the Mage Tower were also there, and Xander spotted a few people from the other races as well. But the Wraiths were, predictably, absent.

Sitting on a purple Draconic Horse, the King could be seen. He was stripped of his royal attire and now wore a set of excellently made hunting gear, no doubt boasting all sorts of enchantments. And by his waist sat a wand.

Even out of his royal robes, he still looked very majestic and every part the king.

The figures of Archmages Irene and Finn could be seen standing near his horse, and next to the former was Archmage Bellion. Both sides appearing to be discussing something casually. Though, when Bellion saw Xavier’s entourage, his expression became carefully neutral, and he just disappeared.

Xander didn’t comment on this as Xavier sent them off, and they moved towards the gathered people standing near the treeline, and Xander had to crane his neck as the trees... were certainly quite large.

Even the smaller ones were over 50 meters tall, and the forest itself seemed quite imposing, and Xander once more had to marvel at the sheer scale of abilities Archmages held.

This didn’t last long, though, as shortly after they arrived, a belatedly familiar figure approached them.

Dorian Verd stepped near them with his usual confident smile, his gaze flicking briefly to Falael who just gave him a flat stare. Then he looked at Xander. It seemed like he had gotten over his humiliation the previous night.

’The fact he even has the audacity to approach us after yesterday is impressive.’ Xander tilted his head as he asked.

"May I ask why you’ve approached us, sir Dorian?" His tone was perfectly polite, though his eyes made it very clear that he’d like the guy to go back to wherever he came from.

Dorian was undeterred.

"Ah, Mr Xander, you seem like a straightforward person, so I’ll cut straight to the chase." He gestured to the forest.

"With how much I’ve heard about you... incredible skills with the sword." His eyes shifted to the sheathed Abscinde, a flash of disdain going across them before he hid it just as fast and continued. "... I was thinking, with this hunt as an impetus, why not use this as a chance to see just how good those skills are?" He spread his arms slightly.

"I propose a wager." Xander raised a brow.

"Oh? What sort?" Dorian smirked.

"It’s simple, really. Let’s see who between us can hunt more creatures. You with your sword and me with my casting. However..." He glanced at the others behind Xander.

"I mean the two of us specifically. We can travel with our companions, but they cannot assist us. Every hunt must be by us, if they interfere, it doesn’t count." Xander rubbed his chin.

"And how can we confirm this stipulation you set?" He asked, and Dorian hummed.

"Is there any need for that? We’re both men. Our words should be enough. Unless yours isn’t?" Xander almost rolled his eyes at the obvious jab.

"Alright, fine. What do you have to offer for this wager?" Asked, and Dorian’s smirk grew, as though he’d been waiting for that.

The ring on his finger flashed, and a black cloak appeared in his hands.

"This is a special cloak crafted and enchanted by the talented mages in our tower. It’s enchanted to have high resistance to physical attacks, cold, heat, and can self-repair. It also has a stealth function, allowing you to remain hidden even in plain sight." Surprised murmurs sounded from the surrounding crowd, and Dorian grinned. Clearly, this show of wealth seemed to offset the dip in reputation he’d faced last night.

Xander looked at the cloak, admitting that it wasn’t bad internally, and he opened his mouth to offer his part of the wager when Dorian spoke.

"Ah, I actually have an idea of what you could wager." Xander’s eyes narrowed slightly as he read his intent, and Dorian smiled.

"If I win, how about I get to spend the rest of the day with this beautiful miss over here." He gestured towards Falael who looked thoughtful.

Xander was about to refuse flatly, reputation be damned. But then...

"We accept." His brows shot up as he looked back at Falael who had spoke .

She stepped forward until she was standing next to Xander before repeating.

"We accept the wager and those terms."

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