Mage Adam

Windflame 222 was scratching his head and said in a funny way, "Heh...Hello? What is... I'm doing okay, but I'll be even better once I get some fixing up. Iron 27 sent me to keep an eye on you. If you're wondering about anything, just ask."

"Who's Iron 27?"

"Iron 27 is the big boss of Ironburg, kind of like a giant big shot with royal vibes."

The fire wasn't the best at keeping a lot of knowledge; it was kind of limited in what it could hold. As Adam had found out in the rare bits and pieces left from the Original Flames.

Even though the metal beings didn't have a king-and-queen system, they did use royal titles. The real big-deal Royals were transcendent Titans. They didn't get special treatment but had more jobs to do. Their main job was to stand up to the powerful Metal Eaters.

The royals are the first and last hope for the Titans. As long as the Royals were standing strong, the Titans would be safe.

Others could spot the Royals and the nearly Royals by their names. Their names had simple metal elements like iron, gold, copper, and so on.

Being a Royal Titan wasn't about who your family was, but about growing and changing. Usually, when Titans reached level four or higher, they started cleaning up what they were made of. Adam isn't sure about the details of how this cleaning worked, and the inherited knowledge didn't tell much either.

Windflame 222 pointed at Adam's shoulder and said, "Let's head out. I'm going to take you to get some spark energy."

They walked to a different part of Ironburg. Windflame 222 seemed to know everyone; all the Titans they passed said hi to him warmly, and Adam got quite a few looks, especially about his appearance.

"Mithril Titans are pretty rare, we don't have any here in Ironburg, so they're all curious," Windflame 222 said as they walked.

"Why's that?"

When Adam asked, Windflame 222 just squeezed Adam's shoulder lightly, and it squished.

"That's why. See? Mithril, silver, gold, and those metals are too soft. I mean, it's not a good idea for new Titans to use these materials for their bodies. We usually pick these materials when we're almost at the Royal level."

Adam fixed his shoulder back and then asked, "Does that mean they're not that strong in defense? Are there other downsides?"

Windflame 222 thought a bit differently and didn't answer right away. Instead, he was surprised and said, "You talk differently from me, I can feel."

Adam then realized that after his first "Hello," the other's reaction was a bit off. It seemed like the way Titans talk is pretty different from mage language. He was worried he might have given away who he was.

Quietly, Adam got his spark energy ready, and his Vital Generator started working faster.

Windflame 222 suddenly stopped, leaned forward at a sharp angle, and spun his head around completely. His eyes shone like flames, really giving Adam a fiery stare. "You seem sharper than me. Are you one of those Intelligent Titans? Am I showing an Intelligent around?!"

"How did you figure I might be that?" Adam asked casually, patting his large head as the Vital Generator cooled off.

Windflame 222, still buzzing with excitement, admitted, "I don't really know."

Adam felt a bit puzzled, wondering why Windflame 222 was so thrilled without really knowing why.

"The Royals say that an Intelligent is smarter than a regular Titan. We're not great thinkers; fighting is more our thing. But the intelligent ones can do different stuff," Windflame 222 tried to explain. "Like mixing new metals, making strong energy circuits, and finding new power sources. All really cool stuff."

"My body and Vital Generator were made by an Intelligent in the royal city. They work with wind and fire energy, and made this body for me, calling me Windflame. Pretty cool, right?"

Windflame 222 showed off, with the level-three energy of wind and fire swirling around him. He seemed stuck on the phrase "pretty cool" to share his excitement.

"How do I know if I'm one of the Intelligent?" Adam wondered, stepping back a bit as he felt the mithril getting warm, maybe even starting to melt.

Pulling in his energy, Windflame 222 said plainly, "I've got no idea. I'm not one of you. How would I know something like that?"

The devil couldn't help chuckling at Windflame 222's answer in Adam's mind. He found the Titan more entertaining than many comical characters.

Looking confused at where Adam's Vital Generator was located, Windflame 222 straightened up and turned back: "Let's go get that spark energy."

Adam became a bit tense, realizing that even a small change in the Original Flames made Windflame 222 take notice. He understood he had underestimated the Titans' sharp senses and decided to be more careful from now on.

Luckily, Windflame 222 didn't linger on it and kept the conversation going as they walked. Soon, they reached a massive building made from some unknown metal.

The structure was smooth, with a huge fifty-meter door and a few Titans about ten meters tall going in and out.

Windflame 222 gestured for Adam to follow him inside, explaining, "This place makes the basic energy for newborns and Titan Knights. You'll need to record your spark's pattern here, then you can pick up an energy block every five days."

Inside, Adam saw that the place worked like a factory line, with energy blocks being moved down from the top on conveyor belts, and the workers looked like see-through fungus creatures.

"These are called Converter Fungi. They soak up energy that's just floating around or they eat plain old rocks to make energy blocks we can use. The Royals got them from different places a long time ago. We've only got the basic kind here, making simple energy blocks that don't have any special traits, which should work for you," Windflame 222 said in a serious tone, then quickly perked up again. "A really smart Titan, an Intelligent, told me all this stuff, and wow, Intelligent knows a lot."

Adam was pretty amazed by all the new info and had loads of questions. "Different places?"

Windflame 222 was more than happy to chat. "Yep, before the whole mess with the Metal Eaters, the Royals had explored a bunch of places around us and brought back cool things we don't have here in Titania, like these Converter Fungi. But then the Metal Eaters cut off the ways to other places, and we got stuck here. The Royals couldn't get back to those other spots anymore."

"Alright, after we pick up the energy, we've got to hit the library for some basic learning. We better get moving; I've got a fix-up session soon."

Suddenly, Windflame 222 slapped his head and, grabbing Adam's arm, started rushing out. "You haven't had a tune-up yet, right? Wanna come along? It's on me this time!"