Spell Weaver [Book 2 Complete]

Alex’s boots dragged across the front steps of his fancy mansion steps. He looked down at his shoes as he trudged up the stone stairs, unable to pull his thoughts from Rylan’s words at the Voss Estate.

‘…your progression will plateau once your luck runs out. Mine won’t.’

Alex made a frustrated sound as the words rung through his head. He grimaced as he thought back to his original thought about wanting to help his friends and he knew it was true, but didn’t lessen the sting of feeling like he was going to start falling behind if he didn’t start progressing again.

He went to open the heavy wooden door, only to have it open in front of his hand before it even made contact. Stumbling, he paused for a moment, then noticed Edwin standing on the other side of the door.

“Master Moore,” he greeted.

“Thank you, Edwin,” Alex said as he entered. He removed his jacket, and the butler stepped up smoothly to offer a hand and take the coat.

“Samuel is waiting for you in the living room. I believe he has something that he’s excited to share with you.”

“Hmm? Alright, thanks.” Alex answered distractedly.

Moving to the living room, he thought back to Rylan’s smirk and the shoulder check that he’d taken in the hallway. His mind couldn’t help but daydream about how he could have responded differently in the situation to at least come out more on top. He’d been so surprised by the larger warrior’s change in attitude and demeanor that he hadn’t even been bracing for the physical contact.

If it had been a punch, would I even have reacted quickly enough?

An idle, more childish part of his brain thought through how he’d like to have slipped the shoulder bump or stuck his foot out and tripped the larger man. Then, he would have been able to look down at Rylan and make his own snarky comment.

The worst part of the situation was that Alex didn’t feel like Rylan was all that wrong. He hadn’t gained a level since returning from the Epic Rift over a month ago. Sure, he’d improved a few skills here and there, but his overall power had remained largely the same.

The Teams Event shouldn’t even matter that much. Rylan clearly thought it was a competition for his team to win, but Alex hadn’t been thinking about it like that at all. His focus was on helping his friends grow stronger, making sure they could handle themselves, and trying to get the group to work together. He hadn’t even put much thought into how they might win or place high on the board. They were just going to try to get into the Rifts that they could and gather points while helping everyone progress.

So why does it bother me so much?

“Alex! Alex!” Sam’s excited voice cut through his brooding. The teenager practically bounced up from the couch and over to Alex. His face lit up with an enthusiasm that was hard to ignore in the normally quiet young man. “Something amazing happened today!”

Before Alex could respond, a blue window materialized in front of Sam as he shared the System window with Alex.