The Arcane Guild's lecture was informative, to say the least. The speaker — a 3-ring Arcane Mage — talked about the essence of mana as an extraordinary energy before ending the session with constructive advice on how to improve mana control. Zane did not miss this opportunity and took copious notes, along with asking as many questions as were allowed. For the first time, he felt it was worth it to slave away in the guild missions to keep his membership.
"I have a feeling I will soon cast a normal spell using Projection Casting," Zane thought as he walked home. Sadly, he can't use magic until Tuesday. So, even though his hands were itching, he had to control himself.
"On another depressing note, I'll have to either pay or do even more work next Sunday to make up for today," Zane thought. As fun as today was, it still did not change the fact that he had missed an entire day of mission. "And I still need to pay Leon and Lysana." He realized the money from the dark web won't last him too long. The good news is that in the past month, he had completed another set of missions. Unfortunately, he'll still have to wait a few Earth days for payment.
While lost in thought, Zane arrived in front of his room and used his crest to open it. However, as soon as he opened it, he heard something that twisted his expression.
"Speak properly: it's not [axe], it's [ask]; it's not [ain't] but [is not]. It's not [finna] but [want to]. When I'm speaking to you, stop that Ghetto talk and speak proper English."
Zane's face turned red, but before he could react, Devonte rushed past him. He ran after the young man, but the knight was too fast. He forced him to return to the room, with a vein about to pop in his forehead. "What the hell is going on?" No one spoke for a moment, so Zane turned to Evans:
"You told me he wouldn't be a problem."
"I-I really didn't think he would say such a thing."
"You don't need to speak for me," James said.
"Shut up."
"Don't talk to me that way."
"You need to calm down," Sanjay added. "There is no need to be angry."
Zane's eyes turned sharp. "Since you two like the sound of your voice so much, how about we report this incident to the tower and see if they take kindly to you discriminating against one of your roommates?"
"What do you mean, discrimination? I was just —"
"You can explain it to them." Zane summoned his soul crest, preparing to act.
"Whoa, Zane, hold on a second," Evans said. "There is no need to escalate things."
"That's easy for you to say, but I don't want to spend another minute in the same room as him."
"Please, I'm begging you: don't report it," Evans said, his voice no longer as steady as it used to be.
"Don't beg him."
"Shut up!" Evans snapped. "Haven't you done enough?"
Evans exhaled deeply. "Please, do me this favor."
Zane looked at him for a few seconds. "I'm only giving him this one chance: I will not tolerate his nonsense. If it happens again —"
"I promise it won't."
Zane stopped his actions and left the room. The current priority was to find Devonte. The quiet Tom Nguyen followed him.
"Where do you think he went?"
"I dunno, but let's check the training hall," Zane said. "What exactly happened?"
"The three came in, and immediately, the atmosphere was off: Evans looked like he was about to explode," Tom Nguyen explained. "They approached me first, asking me to have dinner. I was a bit embarrassed to refuse, so I looked at Evans for help — he wasn't useful. So, I gently refused.
"They weren't happy, but they didn't say anything. Instead, they turned to Devonte, who also rejected them. Sanjay insisted and tried to convince him, but Devonte simply didn't want to.
"Then, James suddenly became irate and started yelling, calling Devonte uneducated and making fun of how he speaks. And it was that time you walk in, and you know what happened next."
Zane nodded. With the right context, he knew how best to deal with Devonte. The two of them searched the surroundings before deciding to check the training hall. However, whether it was the gym, gravity room, basketball court, swimming pool, or any other amenities, Devonte was nowhere to be found. Running out of options, Zane emailed Ahmed to ask if he knew where Devonte might have gone.
[Ahmed: There is an equestrian court in the knight training hall. Devonte loves riding the horses. Check that area. If he's not there, then check the Paladin Order building.]
"Let's divide," Zane said. "I'll check the equestrian court, and you check the Paladin Order."
"Alright," Tom Nguyen nodded. "Wait, I'm a Mage. Will they let me enter?"
"I don't know, but try; if they don't, email me. We'll gather, and then call Ahmed for help."
The two separated, and Zane rushed to the knight training hall, heading straight for the places with the horses. Luckily, no one stopped him, which saved him a lot of trouble. "Finally," Zane thought as he saw a young man with headphones sitting under a tree, gently caressing a black horse that lay on the ground to receive his caress. As Zane approached, the horse raised its head, looking at him with guarded eyes.
"At ease," Devonte said, and the horse returned to its position. "Please, leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anybody."
Zane frowned; Devonte was now speaking in Gremorian. Secretly shaking his head, he sat next to him. Devonte glanced at him briefly before raising the volume of his music. Ignoring the world around him, the young knight continued his affection with his companion; right now, that horse was the only reassuring thing in his life.
Meanwhile, Zane pondered his next word carefully when an idea suddenly popped into his mind; he forced a bit of mana into his ears, ignoring the pain in his head. "Is that J-Cole's Love Yourz? I love that song."
"Don't try to relate to me with things you don't understand."
"Is that a dig at my lived experience, or are you questioning my rap knowledge? I can forgive the former, but I will not accept disrespect for the latter."
Devonte ignored him.
"For what's money without happiness?
Or hard times without the people you love?
Though I'm not sure what's 'bout to happen next
I ask for strength from the Man up above
'Cause I been strong so far, but I can feel my grip loosenin'
Quick, do somethin' before you lose it for good, get it back and use it for good
And touch the people how you did like before
I'm tired of livin' with demons 'cause they're always invitin' more
Think being broke was better, now I don't mean that phrase with no disrespect," Zane sang.
"You really know the song?"
"Why are you surprised?"
"I don't know; you don't seem like the type," Devonte said.
"Most people say that when I tell them that rap is my second favorite genre after Jazz; they always say I look like a guy who listens to classical music."
"You do."
"Even before I started listening to rap, I wasn't that much of a classical music fan. Well, I wasn't much of a music fan. As long as it got a decent beat, I would listen to anything," Zane said. "But now, I'm a fan of the genre — from Nas to Hopsin — I listen to everything."
"Hopsin? That corny rapper that wears contacts?"
Zane chuckled. "He's indeed corny, and his lyricism leaves much to be desired, but his beats are usually full of energy, and he can rap."
"That's true. Although I don't like him, [Ill Mind of Hopsin 7] is one of my favorite songs."
"Oh, he really did his thin' on that track," Zane nodded. He was never religious and had to question his faith. As such, the song didn't truly resonate with him as it did with most people who loved it; he still thinks it was one of Hopsin's best works.
Devonte slowly removed his earbuds. "How did someone like you start listening to rap?"
"…Because of a friend named JJ. While I was…I was teaching him to read, and about literary devices, he pointed out how many of them were used in rap. I didn't believe him; to be honest, I was kind of biased toward the genre, believing it was too violent, noisy, and —"
"Ghetto," Devonte said in English.
"Yes," Zane calmly admitted. "However, after he began dissecting the lyrics and pointing out all the literary devices, I realized he was right. We used to spend hours dissecting lyrics. And now, I truly believe rap is a modern form of poetry.
"Well, Rap means Rhyme and Poetry --- it's in the name."
"True."
"He sounds like a cool dude --- JJ, I mean," Devonte said.
"He was."
"Was?"
"He's dead. Stabbed. I was there, but I couldn't save him."
"I-I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Zane said. "But, kid, listen, you can't allow people to dictate how you live — especially a white man. The way you speak is not a reflection of your intelligence. One of the most brilliant minds I've ever met was a Jamaican man who only spoke in Patois. Do you think he couldn't speak 'proper English'? Of course, he could, but he chose not to. And guess what happened to him? Nothing.
"When he gave lectures, people sat down and listened to him; they understood him perfectly well, and even if they didn't, they took notes. Some people even studied Jamaican Patois because of him.
"One day, when you're one of the most powerful knights in this dimension, people a hundred times richer and smarter than James will never dare complain about how you speak. Well, they won't say it to your face; those racist ass people will still badmouth you behind your back."
Devonte couldn't help but chuckle.
"My point is, don't mind someone like James — he's irrelevant. Anyway, he's probably not going to survive the next shift. Meanwhile, you and I — we have a wide world waiting for us. The tower is an opportunity to change our fate, and we can't let anyone get in our way."