Chapter Three: Hard Choice

Chapter Three: Hard choice

Dark Alley, South Suburb

Walter walked through the alley, his hands in his pockets. Walking silently, he occasionally nodded to the people who greeted him.

This was the Dark Alley, one of those numerous alleys in South Suburb. It was the narrowest alley among all—so narrow that people had to squeeze past each other. Hence, it got the name Dark Alley.

Walter walked past a few blocks and finally came to stop in front of a house. This house, which was the same as all the terraced houses in the alley, was Walter's residence—he and his family lived.

Weakly, his right hand reached out to the doorbell on the door.

Ring!

The shrill sound of the doorbell pierced the atmosphere, making the house resonate with its shrill.

Walter waited, his hands retreating into his pockets. His eyes were fixed on the door and his face which was grim lit up.

I don't want my family to see me like this, he thought as his lips curled up into a wide smile. He was afraid his wife, Jane, would panic, seeing his moody face so he had to pretend.

Sigh...He remembered Jane advising him not to join the Arcane Guards. A teacher was better or a doctor, but not an Arcane Guard. It was a job fraught with danger and uncertainty. All year round there were news of Arcane Guards being corrupted or dying on missions.

Creak!

The door opened slightly and a three-year old girl poked her head out. Green eyes, red hair and narrow lips were the distinct features which made the woman beautiful. This was Amber, Walter's daughter.

"Daddy!" her faced curled into a smile as she opened the door fully and rushed out to hug Walter. Her red dress flayed as she jumped into his arms.

Walter scooped her up into his arms with his broad smile, "My little angel."

Then he walked into the house, pushing the door close with his foot. Tiredly he slumped into the chair, Amber still in his arms.

"Where's mummy?" Walter asked, straining his neck to look through the yellow curtain demarcating the dining room from the sitting room. He was checking if Jane was actually in the dining room.

"Mum went to the market," Amber smiled. "But she left a long time ago..."

Not now, Walter who knew Amber was pretty talkative, sighed. When she used the word, 'but,' it would take a couple of minutes before she stopped talking.

"...if she left a long time ago, that means something."

Then she looked into Walter's eyes, "Do you know what it means?"

"It means she'd be coming back soon?" Walter wasn't sure about the answer. His daughter was very smart and had a way of asking questions. No one has every answered her random questions correctly.

"You failed again!" Amber faked a grin. Everybody always failed her questions.

"I failed but the answer is logical," Walter faked a frown too. He knew Amber was up to her random question-answer fiasco.

"It's not, dad," Amber smiled again. "You see Mom left a long time ago. Normally she'd be back but she's not. That means she's doing something important and would be delayed further!"

Hehe, Walter laughed inwardly. Amber, don't be too smart. He was amused how his daughter always found ways to explain her answers.

"I'd get you a pizza for this," Walter promised as he planted a kiss on her left cheek.

"That was what you promised in the morning before going to work," Amber reminded.

Huh? I did? Walter had actually forgotten. These days I'm too busy to remember anything! Walter almost frowned.

"I forgot," he finally answered, feeling a pang of guilt in him. He felt he was too busy for his work and had no time to care for his daughter like a father should. He was always too busy.

"I know you would," Amber said. "It's always work."

Her tiny voice carried a tinge of sadness in it. It was obvious she was hurt her dad couldn't keep to his promises most times because of his forgetfulness.

Ring!

The doorbell rang again.

Amber rushed to open the door, her tiny right hand clutching at the doorknob. She opened the door only to dissolve into another excited scream as she leaped at the person outside.

"Mummy!" Walter smiled when he heard Amber's voice. His wife was back.

Thinking about his family life, he felt he was better off than most of his colleagues at work who were still single and 'searching'. At the age of 20, he was married to a beautiful wife and had a child.

Light, steady footsteps disrupted him from his thoughts and he looked up at his wife who was standing before him, Amber in her right arm. A white paper bag was in her left hand.

Amber was the exact replica of Jane. The same green eyes, red hair and narrow lips. The only difference was that Jane was tall and slender with a perfect feminity.

"You're back darling," Jane smiled, placing the

bag on the table. She then lowered Amber to the ground and gave Walter a kiss on his lips.

Amber, getting bored already, dashed out of the sitting room to the bedroom. She found it boring to sit with her parents and listen to their talks about life. It was very boring.

"How was work?" Jane asked. Seeing Walter smile widely, she resisted the urge to frown. The smile was wider for a normal smile; it was obvious Walter was trying to hide the situation at workplace.

This is how he usually smiles when he's lying, Jane sighed. Although Walter always told her things were fine at the Arcane Safety Department, she knew nothing was fine. She had a friend whose husband was also an Arcane Guard and usually came home complaining how toxic the missions issued to the Arcane Guards were.

Before Walter could reply, Jane had answered on his behalf, "Work's definitely fine."

Walter knew his wife was being sarcastic. Anytime she began talking like this, he knew she'd lecture him on leaving the Arcane Safety Department.

"Walter, you don't have to pretend every single time," Jane said calmly. "Everyone knows your job is a job between life and death. It's not an easy one!"

"We've gone through this, Jane," Walter sighed. He was tired of listening to Jane's endless lecturing. It was always about becoming a teacher or doctor or an engineer.

"We haven't, Walter," Jane said. "We haven't."

Although she has tried talking her husband into resigning from the work, he wouldn't bulge. Being an Arcane Guard was actually fraught with danger! Also, for Arcane Guards at low Arrays, their monthly salaries weren't much for those with families. The salary of $100 was not enough!

Firstly, the Arcane Guard had to take care of family expenses.

Secondly, he had to save money to purchase items which were necessary for advancement into the next Array.

Thirdly, he had to buy mystical and magical items for protective measures. Nobody knew when an attack from the opponent would be launched.

These were what made the monthly salaries insufficient. It was almost akin to not being paid at all! If only Walter was to resign and switch to another career, maybe he wouldn't take the advancement stuff too seriously.

"Your salary is not enough, Walter," Jane pointed out. "You're not being paid well."

"That's why I want to advance as quick as possible," Walter replied calmly. "If I move out of the Mind Spelling Array into the Magical Circle Array, I'd become the leader of a team. And you know what that means? A pay of two hundred dollars!"

"That's not the case," Jane was not ready to give up this time. She loved Walter deeply and didn't want him to be overwhelmed with drudgery anytime he came back from work.

"What's the case then?" Walter asked, weakly. His smiling face had returned to the sad face.

"Advancing isn't easy!" Jane said. "I've seen Arcane Guards take a couple of years to advance to the next Array!"

"That's those Arcane Guards," Walter explained. "It took me three months to advance to Array two."

"And you think it'd take you three months to advance into Array three?" Jane raised her eyebrows. "Everyone knows the rule about advancements. The higher the Array, the harder the chance of advancing!"

"It isn't always so," Walter pointed out. He graduated from the School Of Thaumaturgy last year and joined the Arcane Safety Department immediately. He was well versed with the advancement process and knew a lot about it. Advancements were not always hard. Everything depended on the person's Magical Body[1]. The more powerful a person's Magic Body was, the more quickly he would advance.

The difficult thing was not in the advancement but in building one's Magical Body. It was very difficult and dangerous. Many Arcane Guards had died from failing to build their Magical Bodies. Building one's Magical Body depended on one's cognitive ability.

Sigh...Walter sighed. He was being reminded the danger accompanying failure in advancement.

"Look, Walter," Jane said. "I went to a magic school like you did and graduated from there. Everyone does."

In MythVille City, it was compulsory for people to have basic knowledge in magic. Thus, every parent sent their children to different magic schools. The choice of school depended on the child's future profession. For example, a medical doctor had to attend the School Of Alchemy while a priest had to attend the School Of Theurgy.

"You did graduate and became a receptionist at the Hands Of Arcane," Walter reminded. "You didn't take up a job related to magic."

"Everything's related to magic, Walter," Jane was now becoming emotional, her voice shaking. "You just have to wake up from your dreams and accept reality!"

"What reality do you want me to accept?" Walter asked. "Being an Arcane Guard is my duty to the government and my country!"

"Duchy[2]?" Jane questioned, her eyes becoming teary. "Your duty is to Duchy?"

It was obvious she was hurt by that statement. It actually meant Walter cared about the government and country than the family.

Walter who saw his wife's countenance have up arguing. He didn't mean to hurt her with his words but he did anyway. Arguing further would result into more hurtful words.

"Jane," Walter called gently. "Every family makes up the country."

"To hell with your country and duty!" Jane was not ready to listen to him anymore. "To hell with the Arcane Safety Department!"

"You'd want to lower your voice," Walter said. "You wouldn't want the neighbours to sue you for..."

"Let them sue me, I don't give a damn!" Jane said. "I don't give a damn about anything but this family."

"You have to understand..." Walter wanted to reason with her but Jane had cut him short.

"Go to the kitchen, Walter. Just go!" Jane was now shouting, standing up from the sofa. "There's no single food in the kitchen! No grocery!"

"That's the reason I want to advance," Walter maintained his calmness.

"Are you sure you really want to advance?" Jane asked. "Or you're dodging away from your responsibilities as a husband and father?"

"That's not true, Jane," Walter stood up and reached out to hold her but she moved backwards. He resisted the urge to frown because of this.

"Look at Amber and see the sadness in her eyes," Jane pointed out. "She longs for at least a short period of time with her father."

"Jane..." Walter called but Jane wasn't done.

"Don't Jane me," Jane said. "Just be a good husband and father."

Then she walked across the brown marble floor to the bedroom, forgetting the paper bag on the ground.

Walter stood for sometime, staring in her direction. He was speechless and could only stare. What Jane said made sense but he was not ready to quit, not when he wanted to have revenge.

Mac had being killed and Castor had escaped, probably hiding in another city because of the magical barrier around the country. Nobody had ever penetrated it as it was created by the Mind Spinning Array sorcerers also known as the Middle or Enlightened Tier.

He couldn't quit now that he was bent on avenging Mac. He wouldn't quit and nothing could make him quit—not even family.

[1] Magical Body

This refers to nascent soul—a growing soul which becomes powerful with each growth. All sorcerers have Magical Bodies which helps them perform magic.

[2] Duchy

This is the name of one of the three countries in the Southern Continent. This country is headed by an Array ten Grand Weaving sorcerer with other Array nines as members of the parliament. MythVille is one of the major cities in Duchy.