Chapter 20: Mabel’s Ranch

Both mages walked down the long path that led them to the main building at Mabel's massive ranch.

It was an unusually large place.

Many workers plowed the land, and others carried huge sacks hung on their backs. Nobody saw the young people walking.

Nobody paid attention to them as if their only real interest was work.

When Malcom and Skyler arrived at the main house, a young man with dyed white hair greeted them.

"Malcom, what's up?" The boy asked when he saw the newcomers. He stopped sweeping the porch, and watched them curiously.

"The witch called me," Malcom responded with a grin.

Ian smiled. He then glanced around as if to make sure that no one else would see them. It was an instinctive action to avoid any punishment for a servant.

Ian then leaned towards them slightly before whispering, "She is evil and powerful. But she's too hot to be a witch."

"I heard you!" A female voice cut Ian off. It was coming out of the house. It was at the same time Malcom was about to reply to his agreement.

They then shifted their gaze to a slim young woman with braided hair who appeared on the porch.

She was smiling, and her blue eyes were shining through the glass of her glasses.

The young woman walked up to stand next to Ian and said, "Don't be mean to women like that." Then she added as she looked at Malcom and pointed at him with her index finger, "And don't call the boss a witch, those creatures are horrible and disgusting, and they eat people. The Virtue is beautiful strong and helps the weak!"

Ian snorted, "But we're not sure she doesn't eat people," he said. As soon as he did, he got a strong slap on the head from Natalie.

Natalie again pointed towards Malcom, who was smiling. She then looked at Skyler. Her eyes noticeably brightened before she started speaking in a hurry, "I see you received the message. I am Natalie, it is a pleasure, and soon we will be companions at the ranch. It's great that you are a girl and I saw the fight yesterday. You are incredible. Those attacks were extraordinary. How did you learn to do that? Do you train daily? And your hair-"

"Nat!" Ian interrupted as he glared at her.

Natalie was startled. She then instinctively brought her hands to her mouth. Natalie coughed a little to cover her embarrassment before she softly said, "I am sorry. Sometimes I talk a lot…."

Skyler, who was smiling, shook her head and said, "No problem. Are you Mabel's students?"

"Not officially," Ian answered. "We are her employees, but sometimes she helps us train."

"But you are not in the tournament ..." Skyler said with unhidden curiosity.

"No," Ian answered before shrugging his shoulders, "Not in the league either. We have no interest in being a successor."

Skyler watched them for a second before nodding. Of course, being Virtue successor has its perks and also its downsides, so not all would just jump to the opportunity.

"And what do you guys want to be?" Skyler asked.

Ian looked at her, and, smiling, he said, "I want to be a medium. A Shaman capable of controlling the Spirits of Nature."

"And why do you want to do something like that if it's not to fight?" Skyler continued to ask. Not with complete interest.

Ian chuckled, "Not all the time, Miss. It could eliminate pests and help in natural disasters. That is what I want to be able to do! There are more ways to help, not only killing monsters!" He explained brightly.

"I see," Skyler said, somewhat confused with the young man's response.

Then Skyler turns to Natalie, "And what do you want to be? Why do you train?"

"I just want to be able to control my powers," Natalie replied, "And there are not many ways to achieve that. Mages like me are rare, and it is not easy to find people to teach me. And the idea of becoming a successor was never really possible for me. I am not very strong, and that is the most important thing, right? Well, you must know that well. I'm not… I mean, I'm good at some things, but fighting isn't one of them… I did it again. I am sorry!"

Skyler smiled as the young woman lowered her head in shame.

Malcom looked at Skyler curiously before speaking, "You don't talk to many people, do you?"

"Not my age," Skyler replied with much more seriousness and interest than Malcom expected. "I studied at home. I did not go to an Academy. The people of my age that I have met are either sparring for my matches or are members of the league. And I don't usually converse with many of them."

"I see!" Malcom commented with a smile. He then nodded, "You should go out more."

Ian and Natalie chuckled at that. Skyler was not sure how to respond to him, though.

"Where is the wi… I mean, Mabel. Is she available?" Malcom asked while looking at Nat playfully. He managed to withhold his words, thankfully. Else, Nat won't let him off.

"Yes, she's up," Ian answered with a smile.

"Good!" As they said that, both young people walked and entered the house.

Skyler saw the employees walking from one side to the other, taking care of their work, and neither paid attention to them who had just entered.

Looking at them more closely, she realized that something was not right.

"Malcom, Are these people dreams?" Skyler asked. A talented mage could conjure dreams in real life. Some called the ability illusions, while others called them fake ghosts.

Malcom looked at her, surprised by the question, and then said, "Oh yes, they are. Only Natalie and Ian work on this ranch. All the servants are dreams created by Natalie, just like the farmworkers we saw when we entered. They are all dreams of her."

"You are kidding, right? They are like four hundred dreams," Skyler replied with a look of surprise on her face.

"I know. It's amazing, isn't it?" Malcom asked before he put his hand on one of a dream's shoulders.

He then continued with a smile, "She says that she is not very powerful, but she means that she does not have much will. Her creations are fragile and had no personality, but if she could improve that, she could have armies at her disposal. The truth is that I don't know of any dreamer who can manipulate so many creations at the same time as Natalie. She is awesome."

The young men climbed the stairs, and a dream in the form of a woman opened the door to Mabel's office.

Skyler was still in awe of the number of creations that young woman could handle.

"Natalie is awesome!" Skyler could not help but feel amazed.

"She is!" Malcom agreed. He was smiling when he pulled a chair for Skyler to take a seat.

Mabel's expression was one of utter amazement at the courtesy these two were treating each other. They were talking with each other in her office without even greeting her or acknowledging her presence.

Actually , she expected to see the flames of resentment over what had happened the night before. Instead, she was surrounded by harmony between them that she couldn't comprehend.