Narlou had trained his magic like crazy for the past week, being so obsessed with it that he didn't even try to explore the city, which he would have done in any other case. He had never seen something packed with that many people and things after all, so for him to not do it went to show just how captivated he had been by magic.
Every day, he would walk out into the woods, raising his proficiency until his mana reserved ran dry, only to repeat the cycle once again when it was full again. He had learned that meditating drastically raised his mana regeneration, so that's what he did all day. Training, meditating, training, meditating and so on until he was too exhausted to continue. Sometimes, the eager teenager would even fall asleep besides the river, unable to carry his tired body back to the inn.
It was very, very tiring, both physically and mentally, but the results more than made up for it, far surpassing his expectations.
With only a week of intense training, he had managed to raise his Pure Mana manipulation rank to 5 with 44% progress.
After he reached rank 4, his Pure mana became a lot stronger and less costly than before. But the real shocker came when it reached rank 5. It had not only become stronger again, but his control over the mana had shot up considerably, allowing him to do things he couldn't do before due to his lack of control.
He had, after reaching that point, experimented with it, trying to find out was his limits were, and what he found out was very exciting.
Pure mana, he observed, was not only a very powerful weapon that was able to destroy trees in the matter of seconds, but also a great shield. His knife couldn't even make a scratch on a pure mana shield.
Narlou also found out that raising his proficiency with magic increased his mana capacity too. Very cool indeed.
The sad part was that pure mana could do little else. He would not be able to light a fire or heal wounds or really do anything besides attacking and defending. It was extremely basic when it came to magic.
With that in mind, Narlou had tried to use some Natural magic, only for a window to pop up, telling him that he needed to raise his level to learn more magic, or his body won't be able to handle the strain of so much magic inside of his body.
He had decided to give up on that for now and to keep his focus on pure magic.
Right now, Narlou was on his way back to the city. He had trained the whole week, and as fun as it had been, he needed a to take a break and relieve some stress.
After the incidence at the first inn, sexual thoughts had started to invade his mind every once in a while, and it had become so bad at one point, that Narlou had not been able to concentrate on his training.
Narlou was no stranger to masturbation though, having done it often back at the mines out of boredom, so that's what he did whenever he became distracted by those particular thoughts.
"Halt! Identify yours- Oh, hello Narlou!" One of the guards at the gate shouted as soon as he stepped into their sight.
The guards knew him already. They barely had any entertainment as gate guards, so when they saw Narlou leave the gate every morning only to return later on, they were curious and asked him where he was always heading. They had seemed friendly, so he told them the real reason and not some made up lie. They had let him in without any complaints or questions after that.
Today was no different, and he was about to enter the city through the big gates along with some other travelers, when a rough hand held him by the shoulder, causing him to halt.
"I almost forgot to tell you; the higher ups have ordered for every healthy adult to register to the army. Apparently, a war is just around the corner. Thought I'd tell you since you are a magician and those are highly sought after. If you play your cards right, you might even be able to get into a famous general's division."
Narlou stood there for a second, swallowing the information.
A war was coming.
"Thanks for informing me." He eventually said, putting a bronze coin into the man's hand.
"See you guys around."
The guards smiled at him as he entered the surprisingly crowded city.
People were running around like headless chicken. Woman, young and old shouting at guards while clinging to their lover, desperate to keep them home. Kids crying into the arms of their mothers as their fathers were forced to leave, and Men packing their things to get ready for war.
It was a horrible sight, and not one that Narlou was pleased by.
He decided right then and there, in the middle of this chaos, that he did not like war one bit.
A big hand grabbed his wrist and Narlou forced himself to not punch the person as his survival instincts flared to life. A guard stepped into his sight, with heavy armor and everything.
"You look strong and healthy, have you registered yet?" There was a hint of impatience in his gruff voice.
"Not yet."
He knew that he was supposed to follow up by saying that he would soon, but he didn't. Instead, he stood tall and strong, daring the guard to complain.
"Then you are going to right now."
'Fuck.'
Narlou let himself get dragged along. He knew that he wouldn't be able to run away from this. He would only make it so far before Noxus would send soldiers to capture him, and the last thing he wanted to do was kill innocent people. He was aware that going to war also meant to kill innocent people, but they at least were also trying to kill him.
'What an empty fucking excuse.'
Narlou sighed, suddenly feeling very exhausted.
The guard shoved him inside a big white tent in which others like him were being registered. He looked around and found an empty space in front of an old looking man, sitting down on the wooden crate facing the man.
The registration went smoothly, and he was about to be assigned to a unit when the subdued talking inside the tent died down completely. Narlou turned to the entrance, trying to see the cause of the sudden silence, and felt a shiver run down his spine.
A man with long grey robes stood at the entrance, his long beard swaying silently. Narlou immediately felt that this guy was a magician. He couldn't explain how he knew; he just did. The other mage apparently could tell that Narlou was a magician too, because he walked over to him with long steps, every pair of eyes following him.
He finally came to a stop in front of the nervous teen and turned the man behind the register.
"Has he been checked for magic?" It was less of a question and more of a demand.
Narlou could tell that this man had influence within this city.
"N-no, Sir."
"Then I shall conduct the testing myself."
His dark eyes turned to Narlou.
"Close your eyes." The battlemage ordered.
Narlou knew he couldn't refuse, so he closed them, trying not to make a face as the old man's hands set themselves above his closed eyes. He just sat there for a minute, waiting for the man to finish his evaluation, until the hands eventually removed themselves.
He opened his eyes again, staring at the magician with curiosity.
"I want him in Darius' special unit." The battlemage concluded, causing the people to gasp.
Narlou frowned, racking his brain for the name he swore to have heard before.
Then it hit him.
Darius, the rising star of Noxus and a champion of Runeterra. He had always heard stories about his great deeds for the country back at the mines and had always wondered whether he would be able to meet him one day.
This felt like dream, whether a good or a bad one, Narlou wasn't sure.
When Narlou imagined the capital of Noxus, he thought of beautiful houses, he imagined proud gates and massive walls and he thought of a city full of young and old, rich and poor as well as strong and weak.
When Narlou saw the city with his own eyes, he saw depression. He saw houses that were armed to the teeth with defensive weaponry. He saw soldiers beating up kids for stealing an apple and he saw giant, oppressive walls towering over everything in the huge city.
The capital practically oozed with strength, but the lingering taste of despair was ever present, no matter where his gaze wandered. There were people, lots of people, but every time he met eyes with someone, they quickly looked away, apologizing. The old looked fragile, the young looked scared, and the people in between looked empty.
And it was quiet. So quiet.
It pained him. Everything about this was wrong. He hated the city, hated how the citizens quickly bowed down every time the carriage rolled past them and most importantly hated himself for being unable to change anything.
What a cruel world.
'One day, I will make this shitty place better for everyone.' Narlou vowed with certainty.
As the carriage kept moving, the scenery changed from poor and forgotten to rich and beautiful. More plants could be seen on every corner, the houses looked bigger and better maintained and the people looked cleaner.
'Looks like we've entered the rich part of the capital.'
Finally, after another few minutes did the carriage stop in front of a huge mansion. The guide told him and some other guys in the cart who were elected for Darius' unit to follow him, and Narlou did so without any protest. Looking around with wonder as they were led behind the mansion to an even bigger training space, Narlou found himself speechless.
Everything looked spotless, chiseled down to perfection. There were guards and other people dressed in some weird black and white uniform standing everywhere, and even the statues were so well made that they might as well be alive.
It was as if he had changed cities. This didn't seem like Noxus anymore. It was as if he was on the property of some king.
Narlou almost vomited. How could people not even a few miles away barely have enough money to stay alive, while this guy over here was living like a royalty.
The frustrated boy was once again reminded of his inability to do anything about it.
He shook his head, trying to get rid of any negative thoughts and instead focus on the current situation.
The training space (or at least he assumed it to be the training space) they were being led to was already full of different people, and it almost made him stumble when he felt hundreds of exceedingly powerful forces dominate an entire area so completely. He felt like an ant in front of those guys, and it made him shiver.
"These are the best of the best." A voice from besides him said, startling Narlou even with his strong senses.
He turned to see who had managed to approach him so silently, only to come face to face with long grey beard. Now that he was so close, he could feel the suppressed but still utterly powerful magic of the mage that had elected him for this unit.
"Only the elites of Noxus gather here under Darius' command. I took you with me because I felt incredible talent in you." He stopped and turned to look at the few hundred people gathered here, stroking his beard slowly.
"Right now, every single one of those people could kill you with less than a thought, but I am confident that this war will make you stronger." He stopped for a second, letting his old eyes fall on Narlou again.
"Yes. Much stronger."
Narlou glanced back at the old man uncertainly.
'That's right, war.'
He could use this opportunity to become stronger. Strength was everything in this world after all. With enough of it, he might even be able to change this city. Right now, he knew it was only wishful thinking, but with this opportunity, he might come closer to reaching his goal.
"I see you understand why I brought you here." The battlemage said, a hint of pride in his voice.
Narlou was about to answer when a massive figure emerged from within the mansion. The person stood tall, taller than anyone Narlou had ever seen. He could feel power beyond his current understanding emitting form the man like an oppressive summer day, drowning out any other source of power immediately.
Armor so heavy that it would surely crush any normal person covered this man's body and a huge axe was bound to his back. The parts of his arms not covered by the armor were bulging with muscle and covered in scars. His eyes were sharp, his face was the definition of manly and his expression was serious.
This was, without a doubt, the legendary champion of Runeterra, Darius.
People left and right bowed down, submitting to the champion without a second thought, and Narlou followed quickly. Soon, the whole place was silent, waiting for their leader to begin his speech.
"Men and woman of Noxus. My brothers and sisters of this nation, a war is approaching."
He paused and no one moved. The silence was not a silence of fear, but a silence of respect.
"You might be here for money, you might be here for power, and you might even be here for your own enjoyment, but at the end of the day, we all have the same goal of fighting for our nation, ISN'T THAT RIGHT?!"
The shouting was deafening, but Narlou found himself shouting along.
Darius continued after the shouts died down, his voice now calmer.
"We are Invading Ionia." He said, finally revealing what the purpose of gathering so many men were.
For the other people in this nation, this bit of news probably came as no surprise, but for Narlou, who had spent most of his live in the mines, this was something he hadn't expected.
He didn't know much about Ionia except for the occasional accusations thrown at the Ionian volk by drunk men in bars. He had no idea what kind of people lived there, and it scared him.
He might be getting ready for the slaughter of innocent people for all he knew.
"We, as a unit will be fighting at the front. We will be the people who the army follows. Where we go, Noxus goes. Do You Understand That?"
A lout mash of people shouting, "Yes sir!" could be heard across the field. This time, Narlou was not one of them.
"Lastly, we might be a unit, but on the battlefield, everyone is on their own. If you see someone in need of assistance and you are able to help, do so, but don't fight expecting other people to have your back. We will depart later today, so rest up while you can."
With that said, Darius walked away from the crowd and back into the mansion.
Slowly but surely, chattering broke out between the people, and before he knew, everyone was either talking or relaxing in the warm sun.
"Rest up. We shall see each other again soon." The old man said before walking into the crowd of people, disappearing into the masses.
Narlou stood there, unsure of what to do, when suddenly a person approached him. She looked only a few years older than him, wearing long robes that clung tightly to her curvy body. Full brown looks framed her pretty face and Narlou found himself blushing as she came closer.
"H-hey! I'm Sonya, nice to meet you! It's quite rare to see such a young person in a unit full of experienced magicians! Would you mind telling me what kind of magic you use?"
Narlou smiled. Maybe he wouldn't be as lonely as he thought during this war.
Sonya turned out to be a shy but very kind woman. They had talked a lot during the waiting, and Narlou found out that the reason she was in the unit was due to her healing magic. Apparently, healers were highly sought after since it was such a difficult magic to learn and only people with a natural affinity for it would be able to bring good results while mastering it.
Sonya, despite how young she looked, had lots of battle experience. Not because she fought herself, but because she had participated in many of them.
He and Sonya had quickly become friends. With Narlou's curiosity and Sonya's shy and friendly behavior, they fit together like bread and butter. They would talk about all kinds of things, and Narlou found their talks to be very pleasant for his first time properly talking to someone, especially someone of the other gender.
Eventually, Darius had brought them onto a downright massive steel warship waiting for them by the even bigger port of the capital. Around theirs, other equally massive warships were already filled with thousands of men and woman participating in the war.
It was impressive as much as it was scary. Narlou didn't envy the people having to face off against such a destructive force.
After that, Darius had informed them that it would take at least a few days to cross the ocean and reach Ionia.
Narlou used that time to get closer to Sonya. Not because he was interested in a romantic way, but because she was an interesting person that gave him the mental support he needed during the trip. He did not tell her of his struggles with the upcoming battle, but she somehow seemed to have sensed it anyway, distracting him whenever he had started to feel uncomfortable.
The kind woman was like a pillar of light.
The days on the ship went by in a flash. During the day, Narlou would spend time with Sonya, talking and laughing, but during the night Narlou would practice his magic, always fascinated with mana and its unending possibilities.
Now if only the food didn't taste like liquid coal.
By the time he went asleep for the last time before they would arrive in Ionia, Narlou had managed to raise his Pure Mana manipulation rank once again. He noticed that this time the power increase became much more potent than when he raised its rank from 4 to 5, meaning that the higher his rank would be when he increased it, the stronger the increase in power as well.
It made Narlou giddy with excitement, and he promised that he would practice whenever he had the time for it.
But for now, he would have to concentrate on not thinking too hard about his situation.