After the grand celebration ended, Charlemagne and the others still had to wait for the king's summons before setting out for Silvermoon City, so for the time being, they could only remain stationed at the ranger camp in Tranquillien.
Ranger-General Lireesa, however, had been summoned ahead of them by Sun King Anasterian to report on the situation. Before leaving, she entrusted all the camp's affairs to Yawen, Charlemagne, and Sylvanas.
Although Sylvanas had performed very poorly early in the war, she had earned credit for capturing Halazzi alive alongside Charlemagne in the final battle. At Yawen and Charlemagne's request, Lireesa had therefore reluctantly reinstated her.
Now she, too, served as an adjutant, managing all the rangers together with the veteran Yawen and Charlemagne.
But having regained her position only through others pleading on her behalf, the fiercely competitive Sylvanas considered it a deep humiliation. Lately, she had been training harder than anyone. Even Vereesa and Lirath had tried to dissuade her several times, but in the end, they had always left disappointed, their efforts fruitless.
After the celebration, Skarren had not returned to Farstriders Camp with his Farstriders either. Instead, he remained in Tranquillien. In his words, he wanted to personally wait until Charlemagne transferred over, which would also mark his official retirement.
"After I retire, I'll settle down here in Tranquillien and train rangers. General Lireesa invited me to serve as a ranger instructor and pass my experience on to the youngsters. I've already accepted."
Speaking of his life after stepping down from the front lines, Skarren showed no reluctance. Having achieved such a glorious victory in his final battle before retirement, he had no regrets left.
Even after retiring, the old ranger who had toiled all his life still could not sit idle. Training rookies in Tranquillien as a veteran would become his new job.
Yawen, who was likewise getting on in years, sighed enviously at this.
"Ah, I wonder when I'll be able to enjoy my twilight years like you. Still, if you're staying in Tranquillien, I'll have a drinking buddy from now on."
"Haha! No problem at all. I'll drink with you to the end."
"But an old rascal like you could retire whenever you wanted, couldn't you? Is there something still holding you back?"
Yawen shook his head with a wry smile. "If Charlemagne and the eldest young lady could both stay with the ranger forces, I could leave the front lines without worrying. But the young couple have both decided to join the Farstriders, so I'll have to keep at it at least until the second young lady can handle things on her own!"
Skarren patted Yawen's shoulder, looking slightly apologetic.
"Though I feel bad for you, this is the youngsters' own choice. I think Miss Sylvanas just has some of the impatience and impulsiveness of youth. After suffering such a major setback this time, she should mature quickly. I believe your retirement isn't far off either. When the time comes, stay here in Tranquillien with me and put what we have left to good use!"
Yawen raised his fist and bumped it against Skarren's. "Heh, I would even if you didn't say so. I'm an old fellow who can't sit idle either."
"Haha, well said. We're both old fellows now. Watching these young fledglings grow is what us old fossils enjoy!"
After the celebration ended, Xiao'en stayed for a while at Charlemagne's invitation. Charlemagne wanted to consult this formally trained Arcanist about spells.
"You want to learn Arcane magic? It's not impossible, but do you have that much energy to spare? Don't end up neglecting your own profession."
Xiao'en was somewhat surprised by Charlemagne's request and, as a responsible friend, gave him a reminder.
Charlemagne smiled and punched him lightly in the chest. "You don't need to tell me that. I have a pretty clear plan for my future. I won't delve too deeply into it. I just want to learn a few little spells I can use, like... Blink."
That was right. Charlemagne wanted to learn some purely Arcane spells, such as Blink and conjuring magical bread and water. He did not have much energy to spare for studying frost and fire spells.
If he had known Blink this time, he would not have taken Halazzi's blade head-on in the face. He could simply have blinked away, and everything would have been fine.
As for conjuring magical bread and water, that was preparation for his future travels. After all, dry rations and the like were not only troublesome to carry, but might run out at any time.
At Charlemagne's words, Xiao'en looked as though he understood. Then he grinned mischievously and nudged Charlemagne's waist with his elbow.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. Bread and water made with Arcane magic can fill your stomach and quench your thirst, but as for the taste..."
At this point, his own face went pale first, and he hurriedly shook his head to shake off that unpleasant memory.
"...Anyway, it's best to save that stuff for emergencies. It tastes absolutely awful. Blink shouldn't be much of a problem, though. In fact, quite a few rangers with a talent for Arcane magic learn Blink."
After all, Blink was relatively easy to learn and extremely practical. Learning it was certainly not something anyone would regret.
Charlemagne spent the following stretch of time learning from Xiao'en. The rangers around them all wondered why their Adjutant Charlemagne had suddenly begun studying Arcanist tricks.
"He's not planning to change classes to an Arcanist, is he? Though rangers really don't have the same standing as Arcanists."
"Idiot! Adjutant Theron is already an advanced ranger. If he wanted to change, he wouldn't have waited until now. Most likely, he wants to learn little spells like Blink."
"Oh! Right, right, so that's it!"
Charlemagne ignored the surrounding gossip, only explaining his motives to Lor'themar and the three Windrunner siblings when they came to ask.
Only after throwing himself wholeheartedly into Arcane magic did he discover that Arcanists and rangers really did have some things in common. At least in terms of energy, he felt no difficulty whatsoever switching between focus and mana.
"I know all you rangers can use energy arrows like Arcane Shot. That means you've already learned the basics of using Arcane magic. Blink isn't actually difficult. In essence, you're simply driving Arcane energy to push yourself forward."
"But the key is that during this push, you briefly enter a passage through another dimension. During that time, you can't touch anything around you, and others can't touch you either. You must avoid getting lost in that space, or else..."
Of course, Charlemagne understood the warning Xiao'en had left unfinished. If he became lost in another dimension, he would naturally never be able to get out again.
Although Lireesa had once judged Charlemagne's talent as an Arcanist to be unimpressive, that assessment... was only relative to his monstrous talent as a ranger. Compared with ordinary people, he was still considerably more gifted.
Under the experienced Xiao'en's clear, accessible explanations, he took only three days to gain a basic grasp of how to use Blink.
(End of chapter)