Balance Core, time to explore! [Job: Aven, Johann]

It's a sobering task, to explore the unknown. The moment Aven saw this job on the Fairy Tail job board, he knew it was the perfect chance for him to break out and improve his magic. Ancient civilizations, old ruins, lost knowledge, they sparked a fire within Aven that he couldn't place. What could be found, what could be learned: these questions drove him nearly as much as his oath to protect. He found resolve in the pursuit of his ideals, and beyond that, solace in the discovery of both new and old magics.

So, naturally, Aven was incredibly intrigued by the path to his destination. He found it constantly thwarting his attempts to circumvent it, to try and explore beyond the boundaries. Spell wise, upon inspection, it had almost everything one could pack into a magic effect: a magic sustainability matrix, material bonding to protect it from outside interference, defense and immunity penetration, and most impressive of all, full repeatability. Either something was actively supplying the spell with power, or it was absorbing latent magic so fast, that it was able to replenish the energy it took to apply the enchantment's effects indefinitely. He made  a mental note to return to the area at some point to investigate further, but for the time being, it was imperative he move forward. Apparently, he wasn't the only wizard hired for the job, according to the Scientists, who'd very clearly stated the insufficiency of a single wizard. Repeatedly.

Ave strolled along down the path, as the scenery became increasingly vibrant and lush. He spun his cane absently, surveying the area: vines were growing from the walls, and plants sprouted from the ground erratically. He took a seat, crosslegged, setting his cane down beside him. This would be a good place to wait for the other wizard. He wondered what guild they'd be from, and what their magic would be? It was very likely, he though somberly, that they'd be stronger than him. Inevitable, in a world as wide as this, that when starting out, stronger wizards would be found under every nook and cranny. Still, that's what this all was for, to become stronger. All he could hope was that they were willing to work together.

[Word Count: 375. Total: 375/6000.]

Johann stared down at his own two hands, once again finding himself in a corner of his office sunken into the comfortable old leather armchair, the room only sparsely lit by a few candles, the subtle orange glow illuminating the face of the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company, the old man who wondering just how much longer he could keep doing this. It had been a little while since the other Vice Presidents, the CEO and himself had returned from their mission to the Silent Glaciers where they had been reverted to their past selves, his fellow VP, Ruvel, still stuck in the form of his 4 year old body. Fortunately for Johann the spell had already broken for him, having restored him to his original appearance, but that was not the thing that bothered him. While they had been inside the Cor Torva facility Johann had, in his state of rage, lost control again, his senses blurring and his memories vague, only hearing later what had happened from his colleagues.

He couldn't justify or explain why this kept happening, but had come to the conclusion that something was seriously wrong with him a whole while ago. Ever since he had returned from Sakuramori there was this sinister sensation of a hungry pair of eyes following him around, watching his every move, a silent whisper occasionally creeping up from the back of his mind to speak words in a language wholly unknown to the Vice President, Johann starting to question his sanity more and more with each passing day. One thing, however, the old man was sure of. He had to get out of his office for a while and distract himself. His usual way to do this would be training in the HQ's physical training hall, but he felt that today he needed some fresh air as well as a more ... engaging form of training. With a deep sigh he lifted himself up from the seat, a pair of two familiar eyes rising up from a book in the other corner of the room, Artorias' gaze peering at the stretching Vice President from behind a pair of glasses, the falcon knights hands snapping close the book he was holding. "Are we going, my lord ?" "Yes, Artorias, I have to catch some fresh air. Are you coming ?" "Naturally". He had expected this answer. Artorias had been present for the whole Sakuramori incident, and naturally worried about his "lord", a title that Johann still vehemently refused to accept. Still, he just nodded his head silently, opening the solid mahogany door with a slight creak before stepping out, followed by the magical beast in human form named Artorias, taking a right turn towards the living quarters, more specifically his room to get his gear and, most importantly and just in case, his mask.

A short while later Johann, with Artorias walking behind, made his way through the dense jungle of Tolgalen. Sure, the job description had said that the place was around here somewhere, but Divide Island was vast, so vast in fact that even with his teleportation Johann couldn't perform exact transportations through space. Miscalculations where inevitable, but it was no matter, it would be no more than a short walk anyway, and, as he was about to finish that thought, his eyes found the small, rough looking brick path before them. This had to be it. Both Artorias and Johann, standing out like sore thumbs in there white company uniforms in this lush, green jungle, made their way over, each of them a hand on the hilt of their respective weapon, ready for anything that would come their way. And, judging from their experience, there would always be something coming their way. The job description had told of ruins of an ancient civilization right here in Tolgalen, the country, no, continent belonging to the West Fiore Trading Company, discovered by a team of scientists that had run into, well, a rather dangerous form of trouble along the way, and naturally Johann was intrigued by this, not passing up the opportunity to find out more about the enigmatic nature of this place, not least to the benefit of his beloved guild and family.

Turning a corner after a good couple of minutes of walking along this path he suddenly stopped, his ears and nose alerting him of the presence of another, unknown entity, his head turning to Artorias who, evidently, had picked up the same with his heightened senses. Peeking around a stone pillar covered in vines there it was. Or, he, rather. A young man sitting down, seemingly waiting for something, or, someone. That explained. Johann's hand around the hilt of his rapier relaxed before he walked forward, revealing himself to the other person. "Good day, friend" he exclaimed walking towards the other "I assume you're here to investigate the ruins, too ? A mage, I assume", stopping before the other, giving him a deep bow, his red left and grey right eye fixed on the stranger "May I introduce myself and my companion, Johann von Weiss, Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company" pointing over his shoulder to the similarly dressed man behind him "and Artorias von Weiss, my advisor" who, upon Johann mentioning his name gave a similar bow, now taking his turn with addressing the young man "We offer our help in the completion of this mission and hope for a fruitful cooperation", both mages of the West Fiore Trading Company staring at the man expectantly.

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Word Count: 926
Word Count Total: 926 / 6.000

Aven's wait was not long, before he sense the approach of a wizard, their magical pressure impressive, to say the least. Wait, two? Perhaps, his senses were slightly muddled by the ambient magic in the area, so it was highly possible. Sure enough, from behind a nearby pillar, a duo of gentlemen emerged, dressed just as formally as Aven himself. A smile spread over his face at the pleasant surprise, as they greeted him just the same as he'd been taught by his father. The West Fiore Trading Company... He'd heard of them, though only in passing. His research had eaten most of his time, Aven really had lived under a rock for quite a good portion of his life, even to the point where he hadn't been aware that Fairy Tail was an independent guild when he first joined. Things to be learned, worlds to be explored, he figured: all in due time. His eyes caught the presence of a Rapier at the first man's side, which gave him even more cause for respect. Truly, a Gentleman's weapon: he'd been trained to use one as a child, by his mother, though nowadays, he'd adapted the style to fit a cane instead, with a dash of acrobatics thrown in.

Aven stood as they spoke, his posture slightly more impeccable than usual. It was the norm for Aven's formal mannerisms to be an oddity, or at least a step above expectation; however, these two men, in their words and aura of authority, had set the bar, and as his father had taught him, it was a courtesy for him to match it. He dipped into an equally formal bow, his arm held lightly behind his back as his cane was pressed diagonally against his chest. "Aven Alveron, of Fairy Tail, Johann Von Weiss, Artorias Von Weiss; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintances. He straightened, his usual gentle smile plain on his face. His father had always said so, that there was good reason Aven could never follow his footsteps in business: his emerald eyes were too soft, unable to hide his thoughts and emotions. An endearing trait, he'd been assured, but one unfit for the rigor of trading for a profit. "It would be an honor to assist you with this mission, in whatever way possible. I must confess, I'm a bit green," He chuckled softly, adjusting the emerald ascot-cravat of his white suit, "No pun intended, in the Wizarding profession, I hope that will not come as an inconvenience to you-"

Aven cut his sentence short, his eyes flitting quickly past the two gentlemen, as what they'd all assumed was a simple, vine covered stone pillar hummed to life, and shot a barrage of fifteen bolts of arcane magic energy. The bolts careened directly toward their locations in a straight path, five a piece, each pulsing with a dangerous amount of magic. A trap!? "Move!" Aven shouted as a grey magic circle appeared perpendicular to his arm, propelling him quickly to the left, where he pointed his cane at what was now visibly a Totem head, and a blue magic circle appeared in front of him, before disappearing and reappearing on the stony assailant as a trio of identical circles. The three circles pulsated briefly, before funneling arcane energy of their own into the structure, shattering it to pieces. It didn't seem to take much force, the existing cracks simply spreading and dissembling the ancient defense system. As Aven skidded to a halt, he pivoted to check if the others had made it alright.

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Health: 300.
MP: 280.
Overcharge Circle: 2 posts CD remaining.

Word Count: 597.
Word count Total: 972/6000.

"Mr. Alveron, pleased to make your acquaintance" Johann replied to the young man's introduction, both mages of the West Fiore Trading Company bowing their head slightly in unison. "Don't worry, friend. Your assistance on this mission is highly appreciated.", the Vice President opening his mouth to reply anew to Aven's last comment when he noticed movement behind him, the ripples the sudden shift in air pressure causing his senses to go on alert immediately. A cascade of magical projectiles were launched from what seemed to be a stone totem coming to life, bursting through the air directly towards them. If it wasn't such a laughable excuse of an attack Johann would've probably made an effort to move, but instead he focussed, took a deep breath and drew his rapier, the world around him slowing down to the point where everything moved as in slow motion, his extreme speed making deflecting the projectiles with his blade a rather easy task, the bolts of arcane energy simply streaking off the rapier before disappearing into the jungle around. Artorias, with his body of pure lightning, simply zapped through the air, moving out of the way in an instant.

The Vice President would've gone ahead and disassembled the totem with a strike of histhe azure rapier, but it seemed that their newfound partner was more than capable of doing that on his own, similarly dodging the attack before casting a spell that broke the stone pillar apart entirely. "Most impressive, Mr. Alveron, that's a very unique magic you're utilizing there. Using the circles themselves instead of having them produce a magical effect. Intriguing to say the least. I'd love to talk to you about that more but ..." Johann raised the blade up, pointing the tip to 3 more totems that had come to life in the short brawl "... I think we have more company. Artorias !" "Understood, my lord", the falcon once again quickly zapping through the air towards the stone totems, getting closer with incredible speed before spreading his arms, sending out a wave of lightning erupting from his hands that instantly pulverized the ancient machinations before they even had a chance to set off their magical traps, bits of stone raining down around the 3 mages before, finally, things seemed to calm down again, the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company sheathing his rapier before sighing and turning back to the enigmatic mage of Fairy Tail. "So, where were we ? Ah yes, the circles ... you see, it seems that we utilize magic similar in structure, most fascinating, indeed" he kept babbling on and on as he walked down the path further "Oh, but where are my manners. Please, after you" gesturing for the other to join him, not noticing the large swarm of birds that had risen up from the surrounding jungle, seemingly very intent on following them ...

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Word Count: 483
Word Count Total: 1.409 / 6.000

Aven marveled as he watched Johann deflect the bolts of energy with simple flicks of his rapier. No... that wasn't it. Aven used a derivative of the same style, the Rapier was a tool of extreme precision, a weapon that punished it user with death more often than not for even the slightest tactical or dexterous blunder. It took only a few repetitions of the deflection before he realized just how superior Johann's skill with such a weapon was over his: in comparison, Aven's style was a cheap imitation. Also, the lack of excess magic energy in the air around the master duelist alerted Aven to the lack of magical enhancement, at least that wasn't passively coursing through him, which indicated that the feat was accomplished solely by his own prowess with the blade. It truly was extraordinary, and as Johann addressed him, his expression still held an ounce of unreserved awe. In fact, he was so distracted, that he hadn't noticed the emergence of the other Totems.

Too late, he whirled around, of course, as Artorias had already blasted them to pieces, the chunks raining down around the area. Aven's smile returned, as praise came forth from Johann regarding his magic. It made pride swell in his chest, to be regarded in such a manner, especially when he'd developed the technique with his own two hands. Of course, for the same reason, the consequent words surprised him, to some degree: not to any great extent, as he'd studied many magics over the course of his life so far, and many texts detailed the phenomena of simultaneous, as well as separate, developments of the same magical principle in different parts of the world. Therefore, he'd always considered the possibility that he was not the first to utilize circles as the medium for casting, instead of the catalyst or result. Perhaps he would not be the last, either. As he pondered, he gathered his wits, scanning the surroundings as Johann finished speaking, gesturing for Aven to proceed along with him. However, his advance was hindered by the burst of a large flock of tropical looking birds out of the canopy, silent but deadly as they rocketed towards the three of them.

The birds had made quite a fatal mistake, however, clumping up into a flying 'V' as they dove. A grin spread across Aven's face, as he realized that unless they were much stronger than they looked, they posed no real threat. He tapped his cane on the ground, an orange circle appearing alongside a grey circle like to the one that had propelled him ealier, which shattered, causing the orange to pulse vibrantly. The newly empowered circle disappeared, three identical circles appearing attached to the bird at the front of the V. "I'm humbled by the praise of one with such a mastery of the Gentleman's sword." Aven turned around, and began walking alongside Johann, as three explosions echoed behind them forward toward the birds, wounding the front half of the flock, before three orange circles appeared on each of the fifteeen afflicted birds. The grin widened on Aven's face as they strolled, and with a dramatic snap of his fingers, the sky lit up with a giant explosion, forty five separate Explosion circles activating simultaneously. That single snap had been a check off Aven's bucket list, he'd need to find a replacement for that. "It would be fantastic if I could pick your brain about your particular casting method, as I'm always looking to improve my technique, and it's obvious you've a myriad of experience I've yet to encounter. Tell me, do you use Glyphs, or Rune types, such as Giel or Loage?"

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 235.
Overcharge Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Explosion Circle: 2 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 615.
Word Count Total: 1587/6000.

Johann watched in awe as Aven once again used one of his circles, the ring of orange magic appearing on the ground to fight off the onslaught of apparently mechanical birds that had decided to not just follow, but attack then directly, diving straight towards the mages in a reckless attack. Johann would've moved in to defend, but his hand stopped in its motion, freezing on the hilt of his rapier as the sky lit up, flared with burning intensity, explosion after explosion viciously ripping apart any and all birds in the formation in a chain reaction that left the Vice Presidents jaw dropping just a little. "Amazing" he whispered to himself, his eyes locked on the smoke and dust still filling the sky, debris scattering all around them. It was a truly ingenious use of magic, casting in a way Johann had never seen before, the spell situational, seemingly, but exceedingly effective at what it did. Their enemy had practically been erased from existence in a mere moment, and something inside Johann couldn't help but be deeply fascinated by the raw display of sheer power. Was this guy really as green as he said ? He seemed to be rather intelligent in the use of his skills, that much was sure.

"I have to admit, Mr. Alveron, I am amazed by your abilities." he uttered walking beside the other mage, still somewhat astonished that he had stumbled over someone so interesting on a job like this. What was meant to be a distraction from his troubles turned out to be so much more interesting, needless to say Johann had focussed his attention from his "inner imbalance" to this new situation. "Huh ?" he suddenly turned his head in surprise when the other mage inquired about his magic. Naturally, Johann had been so curious about Aven's magic that he had completely forgotten to, in turn, expose his own magical abilities, of which there were a multitude. It would only be impolite to refuse a man that had displayed so much of his own proficiencies an answer to his questions. "One might think I have a great many years of experience, and indeed, I have been and have trained in the use of a blade for the majority of my life, but quite the opposite is true for magic, actually.", Johann lowered his head a little, reminiscing the time he had finally managed to shape his magic energy into what others would barely consider a spell a couple of years back, he himself not possessing a lot of magic power, though the runes he worked with exceedingly powerful, and as he saw it, getting more powerful by the day.

"I am sorry to disappoint, but I only have a little more than two years of experience in the use of magic myself. If you're looking for real experience in the use of caster magic," Johann gave a quick look to the falcon knight over his shoulder "Artorias is many years older than both you and me combined, and has a vast experience when it comes to storm magic" the other, more reticent West Fiore Trading Company mage simply nodding his head. "As for myself, I use enchanted and powered runes to cast spells or produce magical effects. As for the type of runes, I have never given this a thought. I guess you could say I use them all, intertwining and twisting them to my liking, casting in layers depending on the situation. It is perhaps difficult to both explain and comprehend, but it seems that the art of runesmithing comes to me as easily as breathing or walking to others, I guess I could say ..." Johann paused for a few seconds before going on "... it's in my blood.", returning once again to the topic that had given him and some of his guildmates so much trouble recently.

"Anyway, I think we should -", the Vice President's sentence cut short by a deep, angry growl just ahead, a pair of yellow, mechanical eyes lighting up in the darkness of the jungle. With great speed, a monstrous creature, an automaton resembling a large tiger, jumped out of the plantwork before giving off a mighty roar, still a good 50 meters away from the 2 mages, but deafening nonetheless, especially for Johann and Artorias who, much to their displeasure, had a sensitive, enhanced hearing. Covering one ear with his hand the disgruntled Johann opened his mouth anew "Perhaps it's time for a more physical demonstration", raising the other hand, surrounding in an aura of swirling wind and air before bursting through the space between himself and the creature at breathtaking speed, an audible sonic boom shaking the ground as his fist impacted, hitting the massive head of the stone tiger dead on. The stone shattered, bits and pieces launched away to all sides as the beast disintegrated, the sheer, overwhelming kinetic force of Johann's strike launching the beast off its feet before it broke apart, shards and larger parts of stone scattering across the jungle behind. "Finally, some peace and quiet again ...", the older man thought to himself as he grabbed his fist with the other hand, cracking his knuckles before turning back to the other two mages.

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Word Count: 878
Word Count Total: 2.287 / 6.000

Aven's face became one of astonishment. It seemed as though the gap between Johann's magical prowess and his own was so large, could he really have accomplished so much in only a few years? It was a humbling prospect, as Aven had studied to invent Circle Magic most of his life, to think that another had surpassed him in a matter of years. Even if Johann was far more talented than Aven himself, it pointed to an almost fatal inadequacy in Aven's own promise. At the rate he was going, it would be far too long before he was a strong enough wizard to reach his goal of Wizard Saint. After all, he'd been in the same room as Sorano, he knew the pressure they could exert.

It was disheartening, perhaps, but there was a glimmer of hope in him yet: over the past months, Aven had grown considerably, exponentially compared to his former years simply studying the magical arts and theories. He had a working hypothesis that pushing one's limits of magic in strenuous situations increased a wizard's capabilities much faster than studying them, an experiment that was yielding surprisingly astounding results. Considering his growth rate since he'd become an official wizard, next to the time period of a few months, if it continued, he could possibly reach Johann's current level within the span of a few years!

Still, that kind of projection was extremely generous, and hinged on the past few months not being a fringe case of development. Especially for Circle Magic, many advances came in short spurts, and thus, only time would tell whether his growth was merely a factor of his sudden exposure to many new forms of magic in practice, or an actual substantial increase in his productivity. After all, time was precious, the only resource he knew that could not be pooled or recovered. Whatever Aven spent his time on, he always made sure it was worth every second.

The time he was spending with Johann, of course, was truly worth every moment. He grinned, despite himself, at Johann's praise. Aven ears perked up further as the older Wizard began to explain his magic process. There were several key details that Aven was looking for, of course, things that he could build on or learn from. When observing another Wizard, in order for Aven to truly grasp their style and adequately predict or analyse it, several conditions normally had to be met: first, he needed to know what type of magic it was. Caster magic, of course, was the easiest for him to incorporate into his own magic. They were also normally the easiest for him to counter, as many Caster magics relied on the use of magic circles, which, provided they were within range, he could dismantle by adding the Destruction Glyph, Rho, or Protection Glyph, Kha. Requip magics also carried this stigma, more often than not, but unlike Caster magics, Requips required an extra-dimensional space to be maintained to use the magic, thus it was far too much strain to consider incorporating any into his own.

Aven listened intently, the first detail catching his attention was Johann's phrasing. By the sound of it, his magic was indeed a Caster Magic, as Aven's was, yet he employed runes instead of glyphs. Admittedly, this would be brushed off as a minor difference to any who hadn't delved into the subject, but there was actually a very distinct purpose to both, which was why Johann's phrasing was so relevant. He'd used the phrase, 'Casting in layers', which pointed to just how informed the dashing man was about his art: runes could be used to make full thoughts, multidimensional matrices within a magic, such as those that could modify an area with 'If X, then Y' type effects. In this way, they were much more versatile than Glyphs, which operated on an additive basis to a spell matrix, 'Spell does X, and now also Y'. At heart, they both characterized two very similar casting methods, though to be frank, it was much more skilled work to employ Runes amidst a battle, one of the various reasons Aven had stuck to Glyphs for his own development of Circle Magic. It was only now that he second guessed the decision, or at least, considered the merit of taking up the study of runes in his nightly text excursions, to perhaps further his own versatility.

The only inhibiting factor, of course, was Johann's final adage, 'It's in my blood.' It was a common, Aven found, for unique magic to surface, either passed through bloodline or inheritance, that were incredibly difficult to emulate without the prerequisite talent or natural ability. To assume he could successfully replicate the effects of Johann's magic was a fools errand, without the proper testing. Lost magics, in particular, erred on the side of unlearnable, and if the runic form Johann employed was of such a persuasion, it may be impossible for Aven to perfect it, and any magic he could not perfect would only eat up the time he had to practice those he could.

Aven smiled at the two of them. "You flatter me, Sir Weiss, though I must admit, it's no small wonder how proficient you've become in magic in such a short while: truly, an accomplishment!" As Johann continued, however, he was cut short by an earsplitting roar. Aven covered his ears quickly, trying to retain as much hearing as possible. The other two seemed to be more heavily affected by the sound, possibly because they'd trained their senses to be sharper than his. A disadvantage at the current moment, but a boon any other time. He would need to work on that, himself. With a catchy one liner, Johann coiled up his body in a striking pose, then almost quite literally disappeared in an multilayered acceleration-type spell, the momentum shattering the source of their discomfort, a large stone lion. Aven's brain caught the entire process, due to its unique property of perception, the spell matrix creating a massive forward acceleration, seemingly by affecting the air around Johann, while also bolstering the maintaining an equilibrium in Johann's body to protect him from the sudden changes in momentum. The result, of course, transferring nearly all the momentum into the lion, veritably smashing it to bits. It was a terrifying spell, one that, at present, Aven didn't think he could dodge even with a blink circle; even if his brain could observe it, unless he was at a very fair distance, there would be too little time to activate the magic of the circle, and he'd be instantly defeated.

Aven clapped as they caught up with him, stepping lightly over the rubble. "Magnificent! If I'm not mistaken, that was a type of Wind or Pressure magic, correct? I see you've taken to more than simply runes, now haven't you?" He grinned slyly. "Keeping the aces up your sleeve till they're needed, eh? Speaking of which..." A light green circle appeared on Aven's back, as a grey circle manifested beside him and shattered, causing the first to glow beautifully. A contingency plan, in case something goes wrong. This should keep us healthy and in shape, if given time to charge, one for each of us." He reached out to the two of them, and an identical circle appeared on their backs. With his usual smile, he continued their strut. "I'd be disappointed if all this unexplored region had to challenge us with has passed, but I doubt that's the case, and I like to be prepared for as many scenarios as possible.

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Health: 300.
Magic Power: 205.

Overcharge Circle: No post cooldown remaining.
Explosion Circle: 1 post cooldown remaining.
Healing Circle: 4 post cooldown remaining.
Protection Glyph, Kha: 1 post cooldown remaining.

Word Count: 1269.
Word Count Total: 2856/6000.

"You are not mistaken, my friend" Johann responded, though cautious of the other man's words. Not many were able to tell the nature of magic simply by taking a look, especially his particular magic that produced it's effects with such rapidity that most of the time the casting period of the spell in question wasn't even observable to regular people. Perhaps the young man was already better with magic than he gave himself credit for, after all ? "I specialize in the use of elemental magic, though it is only wind I am so familiar with that I can use it's effects without producing runes before, much like Artorias is most familiar with his lightning". Naturally, Johann wasn't trying to hide any of his magical capabilities ... well, maybe that wasn't entirely truthful. His other didn't necessarily need to know about the darker side of his magical power. That wouldn't reflect well upon the Vice President of this prestigious Trading Company, wouldn't it ?

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Alveron. It is highly appreciated", Johann gave the man a bow in response to the casting of the healing circle onto them, Artorias doing the same. It's not like he or the falcon truly needed healing right now or even in general, not with his healing factor and Artorias' elemental lightning body, but the old man was still able to take damage, and so was the knight, so it might prove to come in handy later. You don't look a gifted horse in the mouth. "Oh, trust me, if you think this is all that this island has to offer you are misinformed. The strangest of things can be found here, and the Company has to deal with all of them, every day, week, month, year. I think at this point nothing would surprise me" the old man joked with an audible laugh, pushing forward together with the other two mages. What intrigued the VP more than the ancient, magical defense systems, the likes of which were found in myriads around these jungles, was the young Fairy Tail mage. Maybe they could, in the future, be considered something akin to allies ? In truth Johann believed that the two could learn much from each other to both of the men's mutual benefit. For the time being though, it would probably be best to focus on the task at hand ... that was until another mighty roar ripped the old man from his thoughts, a sudden shift in movement indicating they had activated some sort of contraption again, by getting to close ? Could be. A tree was pushed to the side, revealing what had produced all of this tumult, a massive earth golem moving out of the dense plantwork with mighty, ground shaking steps. Johann was about to start casting again when another one of the golems found its way out of the jungle, eyes glowing with blue, arcane energy, followed by a third one, and another distant, mighty roar, all golems taking a step forward in unison, slowly but surely heading towards the three mages ... . "So, do you want to start off this time, Mr. Alveron ?" Johann had demonstrated some of his abilities, thinking that maybe it would be time for the other to return the favor, drawing his rapier, his eyes locked on the approaching monstrosities of earth and rock.

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Word Count: 565
Word Count Total: 2.852 / 6.000