The Bookstore Mage

The cab came to a stop on a desolate street. The buildings were sparse and quite old. The taxi driver, a middle-aged brown man looked at Lucien with concern in his eyes before asking:

"Are you sure you are going to be okay, kid?"

Lucien chuckled at being called a child, but he didn't mind. He flashed the taxi driver a bright smile and answered:

"Yes, don't worry about it. I'm just visiting some old acquaintances." He said before handing him the money.

Nodding, the taxi driver gave him back the change and replied:

"If you say so, but I wouldn't linger around here for too long." Leaving those words behind, the man drove off in a hurry.

"Well, that was reassuring." Mumbled Lucien under his breath. His eyes darted about scanning the area when he spotted the building he was looking for. The cab had dropped him off right in front of it. Besides, it was not that hard to find considering a large amount of colorful mana was swirling around it.

"I guess that confirms it." Slightly relieved, Lucien walked there unhurriedly.

Trying his best not to look, intimidated or bothered, Lucien placed his hands in his pockets, his grip over his phone tightened as the distance between him and the building shortened. It was an old 4-story house, one built before the war. Few like these remained throughout the city. The ones situated in better neighborhoods were renovated and sold or rented for ridiculous prices, these, however, were ignored.

Lucien came to a stop a few steps away from the building, the cluster of mana formed a wall of sorts, that surrounded the entire building. He tried not to look concerned as he studied the flow of mana in curiosity. At first, he merely wished to stall for time to see if they would open the door, but he quickly found himself fascinated with the movement of mana.

It was strangely familiar. The mana circled the building following a set pattern, it then stopped in a few key areas tha seemed to power the whole spell, formation? Lucien wasn't quite sure what the purpose of this magic was, but if he had to guess, it would be something like a barrier.

The seconds trickled by with him standing a couple of feet away from the door. His expression was deadpan as he studied the flow of mana, but his heart was full of anxiety. The longer the time passed, the more awkward he felt. He even found himself entertaining the idea of just leaving.

'No, that would be a sign of weakness. I don't know if this is another test or not.' Lucien inwardly noted, forcing himself to stay rooted in place. His eyes kept glancing at the flow of mana and the key areas in the spell when a wild thought ran through his mind.

If this was truly a test, then what was he supposed to do to pass it? Remove the barrier? That was his first guess. But how was he supposed to do that? Lucien had a faint idea that he already knew the answer to that question. The flow of mana in the barrier spell was somewhat similar to others he had glanced over in the magic book.

The main point of similarity was in the key points, where mana gathered around. If he compared it with the spells from the book, that would mean that should the key points of the spell be disturbed, then it would be much easier to interfere with it.

Lucien's eyes shined with bright determination. There was no point in just standing there while doing nothing. Besides, it was them that kept the spell around the building. No one even came out to greet him.

'Yep, it's not my fault.' He told himself.

*****

On the fourth floor, inside the building. A group of people, men, and women watched Lucien in curiosity and puzzlement as he stood there, unmoving.

"What is he doing?" Asked a black-haired lady with a sweet voice. Her dark brown eyes looked at Lucien with interest.

"I don't know, Layla. He seems a little bit weird, don't you think?" Asked a blue-eyed blonde-haired young man.

Layla didn't answer, instead, she turned her attention to the beautiful mature middle-aged lady standing in front of all of them. The leader of The Hermits, and the organizer of this meeting.

"My lady, what do you think?" Asked Layla. All eyes then turned to the light-haired brunette. Her hazel eyes were sharp as she studied Lucien's figure before she finally spoke:

"It seems like he is studying the barrier." Her voice was charming as she replied.

A few frowns overtook the invitees as they began to whisper amongst themselves.

"How arrogant. What can he even see?"

"The barrier is a spell lady Estrea made herself using old magic. Perhaps he's just fascinated by it?"

"That would make more sense, but the lady said..."

Their hushed whispering came to an abrupt stop as Estrea raised her hand. Her hazel eyes shone brightly for a second as she sensed the mana emitting from the young man's body. He used no incantation, nor hand gestures. Everyone followed her gaze and stared at Lucien in confusion and shock. Although no one could 'see' the mana strands, they could feel them.

"Impossible—" muttered the blonde young man.

"He's only standing there with his hands in his pockets, how is that even possible?!"

"Maybe he is using a medium to help him cast?"

"Do you sense any medium?!"

"Quiet!" Ordered Estrea. Her eyes were glued to Lucien's figure as she felt his mana strands move towards the barrier. Since she was connected to it, she felt it instantly, her eyes widened as she sensed his mana moving towards the four major points.

The second his mana reached them, the entire barrier began to collapse causing her to open her mouth slightly in shock. The rest of the people present were no better. Layla kept glancing at Estrea and then back at Lucien with bright eyes.

With a silent explosion, the barrier collapsed into countless tiny shards. Everyone watched baffled as a small smug smile made its way to Lucien's face. He nodded in satisfaction before he made his way to the door and knocked.

The knocking sound resounded throughout the building causing the hearts of everyone present to thump loudly in their chests. No one moved for a while as the knocking continued. After a few seconds, Estrea was the one to react first, she hastily made her way downstairs, and took a deep breath before she opened the door.