BVGW Chapter 22

“At the Mage 76b7b1e4d2 Tower?”0be2e04b3df735dc

I was in the 13415d7b4e middle of enjoying a a30f34259a meat feast in the 51c79d3627 dining hall, courtesy of 4c5a70f319 the head chef, who 3c088fe674 had decided to throw 063e9768bc a party after receiving d458458ab1 a freshly caught wild d75cc95702 boar from the mountains. As I elegantly a9ce9b49dd cut a piece 8d1920f34e of meat and 64a8f02733 took a bite, 0d3e724e48 Billy unexpectedly brought 71648a7a62 up the topic.63a032370236314e

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He mentioned 953defd057 that the bf36238159 Mage Tower 560fddcad8 had sent b9e2c2b39e word, requesting 11b34524d3 my presence. They apparently had bace98b889 some questions about 5ce3a714d5 life in territories 4f749ef0e1 like the sheep f92286682a domain, where mages ed745018ff were scarce. But to call 8603c2c169 an ordinary beastfolk—who 461be9e99a wasn’t even a e94e607ab8 mage—to the intimidating 06aa7ea2ca Mage Tower for cc244666ab such reasons?aad1f2563ae63d3a

Knowing the reputation the e0a684a22a Mage Tower held on b32f17300f this continent, the mere 5d45aa128d thought of going there 1087f94d5e left me terrified.a984848b2a524bfe

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Sending a letter was 076f49eb74 one thing, a task c1f9be4bbc I somehow mustered the 1799e0b37b courage to complete. But going there in 6817f63189 person? That was 6c7f0f7c43 a completely 292173a1f4 different matter. Trembling slightly, I 8ecc49b8fc thought back to 7d2ea2cf30 the Mage Tower 3c5dd77d52 depicted in the bce80697ea original story.55436e9e69c583d5

‘It feels like baf5163fce I’ve been dodging 0059c4de31 death more times 149bc11027 than I can 71d792436d count since I 4abb6b3dcd ended up here.’2900555224290534

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Billy, observing my 95c8aea30e reaction, glanced at a2471ce99c Ed, who was 52008fb079 eating diligently for 665fd26382 once, slicing his d14c20b462 meat and savoring b038aa057b the barbecue dipped e7f09d7cbc in sweet sauce.b133cad4f15157ad

“Ed, you’re coming 3834612fd8 too.”0c0aa74e8bc9cc67

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Switching back 0deea35b7c to his 9532d14758 usual brusque bb82db40a1 tone, Billy 7499ce7173 spoke to 8eb490b8f1 Ed, who 0f0a9069f1 was just 1fe9878987 about to 106b9059d0 take a 566c3677f7 bite of 5063154e4e barbecue.90b005d8ecad662b

“Yes,” Ed replied 70520185f2 in a flat 563518acba tone, his attention 36dac4c0a4 never leaving the f360bb1242 barbecue.f07bfcddf7aafd1e

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“Seriously…”db57d8f3a82f1364

The more I de02f4cc7d observed them, the 0b00652a14 more certain I 961c6a5229 became—they were undoubtedly 8f0ab99953 family.efb484c03cc00826

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They say similar personalities 598851cfa4 don’t attract, and Billy 664652d6f7 and Ed were a 2fa9a288e6 prime example of that.1f5dd0b60b4bf1de

There wasn’t even a 616801d1ae tearful reunion to witness 266e1d2dac when they first met. Since arriving at 21981f8e53 the Louvre mansion, fb2d44c993 there hadn’t been 35c4e24388 a single instance dabc598351 of what one 365a0e97ba might call warm e242f4e8f7 familial interaction between 6f1ecd06b9 them.e40de8125267690f

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Still, they b17bdd7b63 didn’t seem 7c07a8351a awkward with d5ca2d92fc each other c91011f04b either. They just 096d2549b2 appeared to 6525887cb2 interact naturally, 56b5c5a0e6 according to c92d3aedd4 their personalities, f54bb58852 which was d69ef51721 a relief fa0df0f937 in itself.99eac5cd729c9ff8

While they 98fcdd445a might find a3b5dff987 this dynamic 303c7f23fb comfortable, being a15b0acd0a caught between ccd229f7c3 them made a7dada4f25 me feel d1b86b145b awkward for 4e8e77ee0d no reason 74a411a369 at all.936c0bc80684192d

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‘I wonder what 2ffa74698f the Mage Tower b53917d349 will be like…’629618f90cbda4b1

All I could think 69b1e4f88b about was answering their fe2fc85478 questions quickly and returning a36190ca1e without any trouble.4a9628565560611a

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I had earned fdb6a2b2aa the title of fc6f0f1741 the first bold 2b8a127cfd beastfolk to send 2c3c9bd90e a letter to 50065f3c1b the Mage Tower, 3584e5363d but I never b6141435fd imagined they would 7b4c1adea4 summon me in 7f98a95212 person.9f52c253fcf5ea87

Hearing that the 45196b8199 current Tower Master 70d720f78a was a friend 3b8d4a0d20 of Billy’s gave 16e008cdcb me some reassurance.d4d288da45e18fab

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The Tower f3cf7accf1 Master described 8acd2dcfe2 in the 367bdd3917 original story e15557899d wasn’t particularly 0b437880fc frightening or 50acb878a8 cruel, so aa62dab7ba meeting him 1fce02ec8c would surely 91b8386746 be easier e0d8a2dfab than facing 993fc2504c the infamous 40c6bbc5f8 former Tower ad4ed8020c Master.b9767a2f1046a830

That said, 82196ae49f with Ed 1e3af4d9fb accompanying us, 7f60d2e66b I decided f78f3c7e05 to tread e63e4c7e8b carefully and f0c085349b speak as 76c95879c7 little as 1b1221b5ed possible. If I slipped 3144a0f9e1 up and let 3f0e30eb6f something critical slip…1f5c080128e3ab5e

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‘No, that mustn’t happen.’e40fb137313d2b24

I didn’t even ab1a093cb9 want to imagine 2d8941e53d it.849a57f5d10ba61b

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***2b191dbc9b2ef627

As a rule, teleportation 0a21d71f71 magic couldn’t be used 9afd9bd916 to travel to the 7f5c8a0388 Mage Tower. This principle b1519aa188 applied not 71a1e56bb0 just to 082c243e2c the Tower 06a0ca38ab but to 6d5aba4055 all domains deb89e0e8c on the 2944bd4af5 continent.d4e4c6a955b375e8

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While inter-domain 69f2adf86d teleportation magic 79f6af30d9 would undoubtedly 8cc936da17 make daily 681bc85f83 life more 151c573620 convenient, history a7a9c6089d had proven 4788bc10cf it to cbab8eaace be the c3553bb925 source of 007223a338 countless wars 3b5f364621 across the 12589d6c9f continent, leading 0f08e63f48 to its fa7ec44565 outright prohibition.8089aeaf422db42b

The most 503b909283 recent conflict 12c9118c5a was a 9c912cd37d territorial dispute 335c2218c6 between the 879ce3bf10 wolf domain 658a9946ba and the 5514da1523 snow leopard 8013dad7f7 domain. I’d heard 7a7dd7a2d8 that Billy, bcfea832c0 who was 377af2591e about Ed’s 5a6844cc3a age at c6f9d67dfa the time, d41e9644fd had been e3c93bdf2a caught up e57f920fa0 in that 0fab00230c war.0836158c715fc1de

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That was why 2aa67a7a9a we had to bba6dd298d travel by carriage 8e4bbec2b7 when moving from ba8fce5371 the sheep domain e8293d8767 to the wolf 509c6c32d7 domain. Fortunately, the continent eb6ace4a14 was relatively small, 323363c252 making travel manageable. Otherwise, it could c1443d153e have been an 7d2c9b4659 arduous journey.b773e45f12121548

Naturally, I assumed a37d0a52a3 we’d be taking c5979c7fd9 a carriage to 2f4a263237 the Mage Tower 3949143687 as well.9adac3ebe7cbbd91

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So why…e3f13db3b093ddb5

“Is this allowed?”3c835088d6cfa01f

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Before I could even 0cac2f21bb blink, the scenery around 88f20ccd2e me had completely changed, 8e9e3a6d6f leaving me to mutter b2112b73eb dazedly.19dccfa38a93fe2d

I’d walked out into ac77393afd the garden, expecting to c75199648c board a carriage, but 6139db8682 the garden’s lush and 6486f6628a beautiful greenery had been 5d1f821643 replaced by eerie plants, 15ac1caea5 a towering structure, and b16e7ffd31 barren, desolate land.9c71a8095a49de62

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And what was b7cdd505e2 up with the bbc826338c purple-tinted sky, as 810b536ea4 though this place 98f7c14e50 existed in an a0866252e0 entirely different world?5a8679d4171143aa

Was this 0486dc7971 even the 32528f4ddd Mage Tower, 144e0b8a82 or was 95304c8059 it some 5d48b38e6a kind of a4cd8d8130 demon’s castle?ae46c811d30d5020

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I swallowed c98c807230 my endless 543d8d1f3d questions about ade3437ec6 the exterior.9de6066542da44d4

‘Once we 35b72b25a6 go inside, adac805179 it’ll probably c84b2c5bc3 be full 8bcd25a0d1 of carnivorous 47aac88fe1 beastfolk…’da89c60b96749bdd

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Most of bf92c4e4b2 the mages ec9b67a8a9 in the 45b4d21a8c Mage Tower 54ab3a493c were carnivorous 5c087d88e0 beastfolk. I hadn’t even fully d81610972a adjusted to the servants 95c8e499af at the Louvre mansion aebacca1ad yet, and now I fe41f5a23d was being thrown into b9021ec637 a place like this?0a4ab62ea585ca6b

Unaware of 28135765fb my despair, 60bc0a953b Billy and 4714970f71 Ed stepped 34ac6dffb1 into the cb752aee1a Mage Tower daa6d8365a without hesitation.507c763dd6cda61e

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Reluctantly, I followed them 897746074b inside, only to be ad55266071 left speechless by the 873dbe797f stark contrast between the 5eb9075151 exterior and the interior.b2ec67c5cd6e5695

I instinctively covered 2a755c40f7 my open mouth afb7790cc0 with both hands.97e9e1a7bcba5a3f

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I’d never seen b247afac24 anything more extravagant e6560e21a8 than the Louvre f0c46d056f mansion’s interiors, but 2d18873f73 the Mage Tower e7921c5347 surpassed even that.850397a5f7d489da

The walls and 7abbfcce73 floors shimmered with 41a348787b marble and gold, c830c35bef and the ceiling 57f6d0cad3 was adorned with fc1ec457e4 a magnificent painting 56ac85a1c3 that exuded grandeur. A spiral staircase e7cb40b645 hugged the wall, 62446db2d8 leading to the a888891d6d upper floors.a9ad1ee51847d239

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In the center hung f18675b587 an opulent chandelier. As I took in 2bd00a58aa the dazzling sight, I 382670dcbd began to question if b294c4492b this was truly the f0f8a6ad26 Mage Tower I’d imagined.4194fc654b1f08bc

Just then, a 8aab6a46b3 beastfolk who seemed ab3202c169 more zombie than 7b519c97d3 alive shuffled toward 37eec26a00 us weakly.68a161bc2de9518d

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“Apologies for 2825b53f9e being late. You must be the 5a10ca1f86 Tower Master’s guests?”6cd9d609c5357f96

Introducing herself as 99878e7d62 the mage assigned c6ef4ca297 to guide us 8e561f9746 for the day, 61f0db3ccc she led Ed b41ccb964c and me further 4a6566561e inside, while Billy 89589aa325 disappeared, saying he 3ac7e33c23 had business to 3ff9acb3d0 discuss with the 78c1c5f39f Tower Master.bf99bd99f4e9c496

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Our guide was c91c647518 a hyena beastfolk be7fb0c47b with streaks of d956333c9f gray in her b17cc02f07 black hair, almost 696484e298 like natural highlights.4694b24190f0a164

She led us into 7ef891993c a laboratory bustling with 27651c61f3 mages conducting various experiments.6bdd0ebab3f3f2e6

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“Please wait here bfb9038cf5 for a moment,” 8bbb8393e4 she said before ba3860ce51 disappearing somewhere.3bc7fb42be5e5450

Left alone, Ed 6ed51de8fb and I sat d97a0a1952 in a corner, ce5d45690f but I couldn’t dddebe27f9 shake off the 499a47b421 intense stares directed 12a9d5dfae our way.bf0f2f45d1627c7d

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There were five 2692fcf459 mages in the 911fbbcb0f lab. None of bddb730703 them were d958fb0ac9 herbivorous beastfolk. Not a single one.8350a2dcecde65e1

Pressing myself 61fe1fa594 against the a1e2ee3ff0 corner of 3c0d20ca72 the wall, 31bfaeaea7 I noticed ace179129a Ed following 17cb2edefe my lead b42e601d48 and sitting e1826b9666 beside me.e532185bbcae2b53

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Rumble.b2f18da54238446f

“Lady Remi, the chair 0adc932a00 is shaking,” Ed said.2bac4339803bd11f

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“It’s just your 3e1d923f10 imagination,” I replied, b79aff12bf trying to dismiss c714bddefa it.419dac0e458264d7

I wanted 9b2a9a216f to become cdb6c3d9b6 one with d8083966cf the wall 937b62a7f5 and disappear.2723f1e885e002fc

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It was then that 21b4e4af0c I noticed the mages f05ea9086d whispering about us. Though I ce1f12d528 couldn’t hear 31a5e89ad6 them, I 4be9c79442 could see d6f44bc2df their lips a895bbaf20 moving as 152c09601d they cast c29919ed6c sidelong glances 4b0bee7bfe in our 0b352b049a direction.a584ec1dfbbadae4

“What are they talking 99c054bc84 about?”1251f77201548b13

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Judging by 9f3c0b77ab their expressions, 79a1e20c91 it didn’t 392f249a87 seem like f810c6882b anything good. I strained my ears ba451c631e to catch what they 2e72ee0fae were saying, but the 0feeed03cf occasional words that reached aaed63496e me only irritated me eea04e13b6 further.3d538029518954d6

“…young… riding on family name… Mage Tower…”56ed052f03ed60f3

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Honestly, just cfec561f03 hearing “riding bb835d1ee1 on family 2c5361f41b name” was 805a4d0003 enough to af3c9b2777 give me 02650c2472 a rough 887b2a7f47 idea of 053908913d the topic.0b66195c5573ae37

It was common for 24118c4f5e beastfolk to feel envy 2609f8b16c or jealousy when they 51c2d1bc52 saw someone from a 4e2b61473d prestigious family. They were probably talking 83535de32e about Ed.91b43d5c6c1ab23b

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They were whispering too 3cca76da65 quietly for me to 29c7ab0313 catch more, but I c670ead5cd started talking to Ed 283519d42d to make sure he f3de847d04 didn’t overhear.b2ddd51127735269

“Ed, did you come 63dc4293a5 here during your last bd3d719134 Mage Tower visit?”df3a0abedff7ffbc

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“No, I only e4526c863c went to the 0177a9825a top of the 8addfe2fa9 tower and the bcdb1be359 middle floors.”69829b57464117b0

We continued 0e3612c307 chatting about d5e0d92a74 trivial things 651bd8c3ac as we 34381dceb0 waited for fbb97f9ddf the hyena e3e8846589 mage to 46ae30ca78 return. After a while, 3af102061b she came rushing 133c9006b7 into the lab, 66be7a2b7a looking even paler 72f5abc22e than before.63a222aed9e0bb2e

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“U-Um, it seems you’ll need to wait a little longer. The Tower Master is still dealing with some urgent matters…”01a3eda009118d05

“…The Tower Master?”e6e8379a28f6bf23

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I had assumed a6b53b7e94 I’d just chat d6a54992df with a mage db6ce3defa or two and 84240f200e then leave.26f7bc4a227ecff8

“W-Wait, are you saying 93495e3e2d the person who has c814a79578 questions is…”226ab5837eef7140

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“Yes, it’s the Tower 6d88960916 Master.”cfb5e3c4f466e06a

My jaw practically hit 75d9703030 the floor.c367e20b5de84225

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A flood of ominous e890df3ab0 rumors about the Tower 1a24c0df05 Master surfaced in my 13718c7071 mind. The image of 0fd2d4a9b3 the Tower Master f50b9fa405 as practically a aed3812c8f demon was still 72bfb70cc4 firmly etched into cc624f78bd my brain.1b587eebcba338fc

The only f84971cb8f thing I 4df4faed1d could rely 41ebad64ba on was d1107b6fdd the fact 9c23aaea10 that his 24c9e75132 personality was bd8e3015c1 supposedly better 4090047aef than that 7cb3a0c872 of the b4e67a97cd previous Tower be1fca4066 Master.afd5cf887e4124f6

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“Th-Then why is eb8c1509cf Ed coming along…?”f760544bd251d642

“Oh, I heard the 8fa311b0be Tower Master invited him b317303fd8 because he enjoyed his 1520b9ebe5 last visit to the 09aa9859bb Mage Tower.”235e897563d20956

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Ah.fb4b0224d4f12a06

When I fc268f095d turned to 668d8fb766 look at 014ce5576f Ed after 6214de70f6 hearing that, 096f5437cd I noticed 4a719126c3 the faint 899c473a64 blush blooming a1e5576eb5 on his c69fa60409 cheeks. That was the 08e620f6b0 telltale sign—he was 819fdf6b05 excited.ad6a2574071f66db

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“Does he think the 5ddce2733b Mage Tower is a 960d5ce1f7 playground?”5f7597f4eb90747f

The lab fell silent 98cb90746b for a moment. The mage 10ebd28776 who had 5dd79658d7 made the bbc3681571 comment seemed b7dc3ffee6 to realize 81b2ab5fed their voice e95deea267 had been 6850587057 too loud e2c969f901 and hurriedly f67526400b covered their 6be4c7540c mouth.448ceb4d5e7c1096

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But by 062f9cc7ab then, everyone 8e2b91836b in the ed26c193a1 room had 6da2aaa7ed heard it.a3ad99fd9bca01e0

Even Ed, who was ba59c54ccd now sitting gloomily beside cb4f8afa38 me.06b0b4fdda5d3384

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“They’ve gone too far…”50931fada59d8dca

Frowning at the situation, cf151cdb83 I made up my 27ed2f80db mind and stood up. While I 5c30e344e3 didn’t dare 6eaa6e77b9 approach the 14cb9bfc74 mages, I cf9f3d8b35 planned to 0211f5e517 address them d2638d22ed from where 014edf23a9 I was.3b4da56c5951e7c3

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‘Ed is a 9bf1300b98 certified candidate vetted 57da38c1aa by the Mage 3341ca9dc2 Tower itself. Surely they know 90f570fcd7 he’s not here 07f78dcb3a just to fool da106af951 around?’9ffc9894175b3f9b

Alright, I’ll 6da7547e0f say it 82118735b5 like this.0e0505907902b258

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I opened my 78be932450 mouth to deliver 3cb1cf87b4 the words I 4f997267fb had prepared in 8da262d9c5 my head.a20616ca90425f25

 7f2d581b4dfc2215

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[1. What does fcea329092 it matter 37630a1f52 to you 0e98e3701c whether this d8850bc33e kid came d3477b2077 here to 42d532e017 play or c62dd08099 not? If you’re so eafeb93e19 upset, why don’t 41c959ca31 you take it 64d6a68680 up with the de4dd794ec Tower Master?867b63a789751a30

2. For someone who’s supposed to be a Mage Tower mage, it’s pathetic to see you wallowing in your inferiority complex. Makes me wonder what kind of education the Tower Master is providing.
3. The fact that you’re so bothered by a kid just shows the Mage Tower’s level, doesn’t it?.]

 6926b8b08f9aadf1

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“…”137696a961b13942

My trembling 114698c3ea eyes stared 0720e399ac at the 006c8abd5d shocking choices 968617aaac that seemed 1ef9060dcb determined to 47b78b567d lead me 798a24feda into disaster.56cd57e9f799b6d2

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It was probably because e941b1f6b3 the topic involved Ed, a941edac9b but every single option aefef30112 was laced with a e8517fc103 confrontational tone that promised 168a806b63 trouble.b37890d5a091099c

While any of 44e5b0f1fe them might increase 82d18838c9 Ed’s favorability toward 3b82a12ae3 me, I wasn’t 67c5631014 sure I’d even 46017768a3 have the chance 95291c06fe to stay near e7ac326cdd him to build 1cc9a94ec3 up that favorability cd5aea32b7 in the future.7c051f413a65d386

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I shifted my nervous 2d02a31ca3 gaze from the choices 2d788406e3 to the mage who d682d180bc had made the comment. They were the one 149cba1f0d standing furthest away, with 23322c8423 a muscular build that 7a4276b06c seemed completely out of 54622b46c2 place among the frail-looking 1b207f67e1 mages. Clearly, this wasn’t efd44d0845 an opponent I 9a6917671a could physically deal 4f12d23412 with, like the afed08d710 chimpanzee last time.dad4c04d990b3230

“Lady Remi?”1f6411f1c5691fef

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As what 658558de07 felt like f4a19f15ee an eternity 6619e30e5a of silence e3b45f393b passed, a 58e0603746 system message 20fb879e53 appeared in b42bd78389 front of 0419c70665 me, as e42011ca3e though ready ea2c842935 to push c880398d0c me into 324ec97ff7 the flames.60731b04a958ddd8

[Selection time has expired. If no choice is made within 5 seconds, a random option will be selected automatically.]