The Lightning Mage

1 | The Magicless Freak

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Lyn tapped her fingers as she flipped through the pages of the Quester's Tribune. The orange tint of the sun illuminated her messily torn notepad and her cold, half-finished coffee.

She had been sitting at the cafe for hours, soaking in the strong coffee aroma and skimming through newspapers. Occasionally, she scribbled a request on her notepad. The sheet of paper lit up and then, as Lyn tore the page away, disappeared into thin air.

A large hardcover notebook fell in front of her with a thud, almost toppling her cup of coffee.

"Here you go," an annoyed voice growled.

Lyn's lips tugged upwards. "Oh hey there, Em. Good to see you."

Emily rolled her eyes as she plopped down on the chair opposite Lyn. Her short, blonde hair glistened in the sunlight; her expression, on the other hand, was as sullen as ever.

"That's the list of all the qualified fighters who left Dawn Avengers," she said. "Most of them are already in other guilds, so good luck trying to poach them."

Lyn opened the notebook. Rows and rows of names filled the page, along with each person's contact and background information.

"Em, thank you so much for this." She looked at her friend sincerely. "Really."

Some of the iciness in Emily's blue eyes melted away, but her brows remained furrowed. "So, found any jobs yet?"

Lyn scratched her auburn hair. "Not really. Every one of these commissions requires a fighter even when they don't have to." She tapped on the page she was on. "Like, look at this. It's a quest against giant ants. Even Irene can take this on by herself, but they want a team with at least one fighter. I just don't get it."

"I told you," Emily said, rolling her eyes again. "Fighters are as standard as healers."

A few months ago, Lyn would have argued against that statement. But now, after endless rejections and months of joblessness, she had no choice but to accept it.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it now." She sighed. "Honestly, this is discrimination against elemental mages."

"Oh shut the hell up." Emily rolled her eyes yet again—for the third time now. Her eyeballs always seemed to get a great deal of workout whenever they met. "It's about time that you let go of your stupid ego and find a fighter for your team, or you'll be jobless forever."

"I should let go of my ego?" Lyn stared at Emily with an exaggerated shocked expression. "You, Emily Enric, Queen of Haughtiness, are telling me to let go of my ego?"

Emily's nose twitched into a scowl. "Yes, you need to let go of your ego! You and your stupid ego that made you leave the guild in the first place."

Lyn raised her eyebrows as she chuckled. So, it seemed that after all this time, Emily still had not gotten over the fact that she had left the number one guild in the world to start her own independent team.

"Alright, alright, I agree, okay?" she said in an attempt to placate her fuming friend. "I'll put aside my ego and contact these people."

As Emily continued to grumble, a petite woman approached the table. It was Cydney Yen—a waitress at the cafe, and the cutest person Lyn had ever met. Her long, silky hair was tied up into a high ponytail, while her plump cheeks stuck out under her black eyes like fluffy clouds in the night sky.

As usual, Lyn could not help but smile (maybe a little overly) enthusiastically at her. "Hey there, Cinnamon."

"H- Hello." Cydney's voice was softer than usual, as she cast nervous glances at Emily. "Is there- Is there anything I can get for you?"