Summoner's Second Chance

Chapter 05

The imperial garden at dawn is truly a beautiful sight. The generous king had let all to come and marvel the magnificence of his gardeners' work. He thought it to be a sin not to share the joy he felt in his heart when he observed the garden's beauty, although the only one who knew the true beauty of the garden was the king himself.

"Such a shame... rare, beautiful flowers, who only bloomed one hour before sunrise... No wonder nobody knew of your beauty." The king knelt down, and plucked one flower from the garden. "If you never opened your heart to anyone... then how will someone love you?"

The king put the flower in his breast pocket, and slowly strolled through the garden once more. As he once again marveled at the beauty of his garden, his eyes caught a glimpse of a very peculiar figure. It was the figure of a young boy, with fiery red hair and noble clothing. Curiosity grew in the king's heart; who was this mysterious young boy, who came to his garden at this time of day?

As the king draw near, he can hear the sound of whispering. The whispering in the end turned into a chant as the king stood only a few feet from the boy. The boy was focused, almost in a trance, as he chanted a spell, which the king recognized as a mean to train one's Soul Power.

Done with his training, the boy relaxed and slowly opened his eyes. His amber eyes flickered until it's finally focused on the king. The boy smiled an innocent smile and knelt on one knee. "Greetings your highness. I am called Trace of the Redfate noble family. An honor to meet you."

The boy who called himself Trace, gave the king quite a nice surprise. Childrens would usually cower in fear and would sometimes even flee in terror because of his large build and a scar going from the top of his left eye to his cheek. But the young man who called himself Trace did not do any of that. His gesture told the king that this boy will one day be renowned.

"I will have to excuse myself my lord, for I have matters to attend to." Trace stood up, his back still bowed to the king, and turned around. The king observed the boy's gait only to be even more surprised. The king can feel the strength of a thousand soldier and the mind of a thousand years old sage coming from him. The royal family has always been blessed with the power to judge a man's strength just by looking at them, but what he saw in the young man was something he only ever saw in his deceased mentor.

The king's body moved faster than his mind, and he gave chase to the mysterious young man who have just left the palace garden. As the king took a turn toward the exit of the palace, the young man was already nowhere to be found. The king sighed in disappointment, and went back into the palace. "That young man... I have to meet him again one day." Promising himself, he dragged his somewhat heavy body inside the palace.

Meanwhile, Trace had made his way into the Summoner's academy library. Even though he had read all of the book in that building, he still need to hone his mind so he won't forget what he had learned. He pushed the oaken door, and found a young girl with beautiful violet dress inside. She was sitting at the corner of the library, with one book in hand. She seems to be absorbed by whatever it is she is reading.

Trace drew nearer until he can finally make out the outlines of the girl's face. It was Olivia Windwalker. In her hand was a book about efficient training methods. A smile formed on his face as he once again admires the diligence of this girl. Trace decided to just take the book he wanted, and leave the girl to study to her heart's content.

As Trace pulled out the last book he wanted, the supposedly empty slot was replaced by the vision of Olivia's face. Trace was taken aback from her sudden appearance, but it was not enough to throw him off. He gave the girl a smile and decided to go to where she was standing. As he approached the girl, Trace could see the deep furrows on the girl's eyebrows. As he tried to remember what happened to make her angry so, he finally remembered the promise he made her a couple of days ago.