Spell Weaver-Chapter 117. Home Front

Bass-heavy music thumped through the gym's speakers, and Alex waited nervously for Olivia to get there. She was returning from her trip, and he was killing time by watching Mark and Sam spar and using the other half of his consciousness to listen to a podcast on the current state of affairs in the Safe Zone.

He lounged against a bench that he'd pulled over to the wall and watched Mark and Sam circle each other with one earbud in. The podcast painted a grim picture of life beyond their little sanctuary, and for the first time of his own volition, Alex's thoughts drifted to his parents and Jake.

"—lines stretch for blocks outside the Safe Zone distribution centers. More arrive seeking shelter every day and look to the Hunters Association for promised protection. But space is limited, and resources are stretching thin—"

“Come on, man. You’ve got this!” Mark’s enthusiastic voice cut through the somber tones of the two women who hosted the podcast. He bounced on the balls of his feet with his large shield in one hand and his hammer in the other. “I know I’m close to getting my Earth skill just by throwing dirt on myself for a few weeks. If I’m close and don’t know a thing about magic, you can definitely get something from that vine.”

Sam adjusted his grip on the thorny vine that he wrapped around his forearm and chest. He winced as it poked him, and sweat plastered his sandy blonde hair to his forehead. “Yeah, well, maybe if you’d stop hitting me so hard, I could focus better.”

“No way, these are just love taps, kid. Come on, you’re double my level!”

Mark lunged forward and swung down with his hammer, and Alex could tell that he was certainly holding back on the blow. Sam twisted away, and through Alex’s Heavenly Eye, he could see green mana pulse from him and into the vine at the moment of impact with his covered arm.

Alex saw the mana fill the vine, and they jabbed into the hammer and into Sam’s skin at the same time, though one was clearly more likely to give way to their barbs. Sam winced, but the ethereal leaves falling around his head told Alex that he’d be healed in moments.

He’s close to getting it. I feel like it’s just going to take reps at this point.

“-military leaders are calling for increased deployment of Awakened personnel to expand the Safe Zone territories. Critics argue that this could leave other areas vulnerable, but food seems to be the most pressing concern.”

Alex lowered the podcast volume and watched Sam. He had returned to his normal self in the few days that had passed since the incident at the checkpoint. He had returned to trying to mimic Mark's wit and sociable manner, only occasionally attempting a more stoic "Alex impression."

“Love taps?” Sam scoffed while ducking under another swing instead of catching it on his arm. “Your love hurts, man.”

“Ho, hooo!” Mark laughed. “That’s what all the ladies—” He was interrupted as Sam took the offensive for the first time and ran into Mark, the thorns digging into both of them. When they reset, Sam had obviously taken the worse end of the encounter, despite his levels due to Marks high Constitution. “Hey! That’s more like it!”

The podcast droned on in Alex’s ear, and he clenched his jaw. He glanced out of the gym’s window toward the woods on his property. He’d asked Edwin to check, and the older man had confirmed that several neighboring properties lay empty. Their owners either fled to Safe Zones or moved out altogether.

Maybe it’s time to look at getting some more of that land or extending a helping hand if anyone decided to stay instead of leave.

While things hadn't quite reached the point of dystopia, Alex worried things were heading in that direction and he'd rather plan for the worst-case scenario. With Sam and his growing abilities toward plants and green magic, he wanted to see about starting a garden and if things grew well in the spring, potentially expanding on it to make their house more self-sufficient.

Edwin had been able to act as a liaison with the Safe Zone and get plenty of supplies, but if they were that short on food and rations, Alex felt it was prudent to begin setting themselves up as completely independent.

"Shit!" Sam's curse drew Alex's attention back to the mat, surprised at the language. The vine had left a decent-sized gash on Mark's arm, and Sam lowered his guard while stepping forward to heal it. "Let's take a break," he said.

"Oh, come on! You're so close," Mark said as he lowered his shield and held his arm up for Sam.

Sam shook his head. "You’ve been saying you’re close for weeks. I don’t think I’ll take your word for it."

Mark looked offended and gave Sam a playful shove. "Do you know how much dirt I’ve used and how many attempts I’ve made? Clara still gives me nasty looks for tracking that much mud through the house."

Alex smiled, despite the serious thoughts of his split consciousness. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall while thinking about the question the lead host had asked.

How many more can the Safe Zones hold before chaos breaks out?

He knew all he could do was prepare his people. But a troubling thought hit him as he thought about the Safe Zones failing.

Would that mean that people would begin to fan out and look for their own safety? Would that happen even if the Safe Zone works out?

The thought of people pushing out from the Safe Zone and coming to his little oasis to scavenge and steal bothered him. Alex wanted to help people, but if he took on that burden, he wasn't sure how many he could help before hurting himself and his friends.

Alex jumped instinctively as the sound of a heavy bag hitting the floor yanked him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Olivia standing in the doorway, her dark hair somewhat windblown and the white Guild jacket unzipped and showing signs of travel. Despite the obvious exhaustion in her stance, her eyes lit up when they met his.

"Miss me?" She crossed the room in quick strides as Alex stood. She embraced him in a quick hug and put her forehead on his chest. "God, I need sleep. We're not leaving bed for the next three days."

"Oh really? We?" Alex asked, and his face flushed as Mark made a catcall from across the room.

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Olivia laughed and turned her head to the side, giving herself enough room to look up at him. "I meant what I said. Sleep." She pulled back and winked but said quietly enough that Mark wouldn’t be able to hear, "Maybe."

"Welcome back!" Mark called out as he and Sam approached. "How was Europe? Did you have to stab anyone?"

"Fortunately, no. But things did get a little nasty with the Rift that showed up while we were there." Olivia's smile was tired but genuine. "The actual conference was just a lot of talking. So much talking." She stifled a yawn and reached out to bump her knuckles into Mark's. "I need a shower before I fall over."

A blue streak zipped through the gym door, and Valtherion appeared between them. His azure wings flapped with excitement as his tail whipped back and forth in Alex’s face. He circled Olivia’s head, making happy chirping noises, somewhere between a puppy’s yipping sound and a bird’s chirp.

“Val!” Olivia laughed while reaching up to scratch under his new snout. “I missed you, too, buddy.”

Valtherion preened under the attention but suddenly froze in the air. His large, slitted eyes narrowed, and he focused on something behind Olivia. His fins bristled, and he let out an angry hiss while flaring his wings out as wide as they could go.

“Stupid snake! Go away! Prick!” He darted around Olivia and snapped at what appeared to be nothing more than her shadow on the gym floor. “Bad! Mean snake! No mana for you.”

Alex frowned and moved forward. “Val? What’s wrong?”

But Valtherion was already circling back and retreating to his shoulder while muttering what sounded suspiciously like curse words.

“Hey, when did you learn those words?”

Olivia’s smile faltered for a moment before she shrugged. “He’s on to something there. It’s… just a long story. Can we talk about it after shower and sleep? It’s all a part of the story.”

Alex squeezed her hand. "I actually really need to talk to you about something, but it can wait. Why don't you go get cleaned up, and I'll ask Gabby to make you some food?"

"Ugh, you're perfect." Olivia stretched and winced slightly. "I'll meet you after?"

Sam frowned at her tight movement and winced as she stretched her shoulder. He stepped forward and held out his hand, palm out, to face her. "Can I?"

She nodded and turned her back to him. "Thanks, Sam. Man, I really wish we had a healer like you while we were over there."

Sam smiled in response, and Alex answered her original question. "Yeah, whenever you're done, no rush. I'll grab the food from the kitchen and then meet you out in the new workshop?"

"Oh, nice, they finished it?"

"Oh yeah, they did! Just in time for him to break it," Mark said with a large grin that caused Alex to roll his eyes.

After Olivia left, Alex went to the kitchen to speak with Gabby before making his way to the workshop. The construction crew had made some progress in the last two days on repairing the hole in the wall from his earlier experiment. The tarps over the hole fluttered in the evening breeze, doing little to keep the space warm.

It only took him a few seconds to use his [Mana Thread] to lay down one of the modified heating rituals, and he sprinkled some ash from his spatial pouch into the catalyst node.

As it started to heat up, he settled in on one of the stools on the wider side of the workbench from the split mark it caused. He opened the notebook he brought with him and began to spread out some of the notes with his latest designs. He hadn't made any progress since his revelation with Maelis and Evan, but he still held out hope that he'd be able to figure out how to strengthen the modified ritual circles. Alex lost himself in the work, sketching out several designs during the time it took for Olivia to finish her shower and grab some food.

The workshop door opened sometime later, and Olivia stepped in. Her hair was still damp from the shower, and she wore a pair of his sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The sight caused him to smile, and he happily pushed his notes to the side and closed the notebook. She looked refreshed but still carried that same bone-deep weariness in her movements.

She matched his smile and moved across the workshop before settling on one of the stools next to him. She gave him a peck on the cheek before asking, "What are you working on?" She leaned across from him and pulled over one page he'd been working on, despite the fact that he'd pushed it to the side.

I love how into magic she is.

"Just more designs for strengthening the ritual circles." Alex leaned back and watched her study his notes. "How was the mission? You mentioned something about a Rift?"

Olivia nodded and set down the paper. "Yeah, it was... intense." She glanced down at her feet for a moment before closing her eyes tiredly. "I want to tell you about it, but maybe after I've had some real sleep?" She rubbed her eyes. "Rylan handled it well. He actually saved my life when—" she stopped, noticing how Alex's shoulders tensed at the mention of Rylan's name. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I just—"

"Alex." She turned on the stool to face him fully. "You said you needed to talk to me about something. Is it about Rylan?" ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Alex met her gaze and saw the exhaustion there, but also the genuine concern. "A lot happened while you were gone. Things that... Well, they're pretty concerning. Well past the simple grudge."

"Tell me."

He took a deep breath. "It's a few things. For starters, Sarah can't work with the Guild anymore. That might've been in the making for a while, but someone directly reported her and claimed that she was helping the Guild. Her bosses think that she might be a spy."

"What? That's ridiculous. I might not like the HA, but Sarah's one of the most professional people I know. Hell, I think she's actually relaxed a little bit."

Alex gave a snort. "Exactly. Then, Mark had trouble with a party led by one of Rylan's good friends. I know this sounds like a stretch, but I think they basically set him up to fail. Mark's been beating himself up daily since then. A lot of people got hurt, and two people died because of the accident. There's a lot of crap going around the Guild about him right now and it’s just making things worse." Alex's fingers drummed against the worktable. "A few days ago, we had to get Sam out of detainment at one of the Safe Zone checkpoints. Some random guard said that he had issues with his paperwork and his pass, and then totally disappeared with it, leading Sam to be held at the checkpoint for two days."

Olivia frowned. "You think Rylan is behind all this?"

"The timing is too perfect. With you guys being out of the country, there's almost no way anything against him could stick. And there's more. Do you remember how we couldn't get into rifts before the team event? That mysterious note that was in the AG system?" He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Plus, all those weird rumors after my fight with him, though thankfully, the videos proved what really happened. But did you know he showed me his class evolution after the fight? His class is literally Tyrant… that has to set off alarm bells in peoples’ heads, right?"

Olivia reached for his hand. "I hear you. And I know you and Rylan have a history. But the man I just spent two weeks with? He genuinely seems to care about the Guild and the awakened community."

"Maybe he does. But that doesn't change the fact that he is targeting my friends." Alex squeezed her hand and tried to look into her eyes so she could understand the gravity of his feelings. "Even if his broader goals are noble, something about me or us threatens those goals. And he is not above hurting people to deal with that threat—the last two weeks have made that very clear."

Olivia was quiet for a moment, and her thumb moved back and forth on the back of his hand. "I trust you," she said finally. "And all of this together is suspicious. I’ll look into it and see if there's any evidence linking it all to Rylan."

"But you don't think he'd do this."

"I believe that you believe it. And that's enough for me. I haven’t seen everything you’ve seen, and I trust you enough to think I might be wrong." She smiled tiredly. "I just need to get some real sleep first."

Alex pulled her stool closer, his stat-enhanced strength allowing him to do it without even exerting any effort. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. "Yeah, of course. We can talk about it more later. It's just been pretty pressing here for the last few days, and I wanted to tell you about it." He stood, and as he pulled away from the hug, her head moved forward slowly, as if to follow him. He held out his hand and said, "Come on. Let's get you to bed before you fall asleep on my workbench."

Olivia took his hand with a tired smile. "My hero," she said in a teasing tone.

They left the workshop together, and Alex couldn't shake the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.