“Mmm-Wha-Ohmmmm” Aurelius let out a groan, ecstasy running through in the form of the rich, creamy liquid that was gracing his mouth.

  Without hesitation, Aurelius started to blow furiously into the cup, desperate to get the temperature of the soup down to a gulpable level.

  The velvety texture of the chowder, paired with the taste of the ocean, was irresistible. Aurelius could swear he saw the sun rising from the seas on the deck of a gently rocking ship, the fatigue of a thousand sailors washing away with the tides. Which, to be absolutely clear, was a feeling he was schizophrenically imagining entirely in his own head.

  The flesh of the fish in the chowder was firm and soft at the same time, practically melting in with the rest of the soup in his mouth, and the occasional clam burst in Aurelius’s mouth in a sweet explosion of flavour.

  Sage Tona sipped away on his own cup of soup contently, occasionally taking the time to bring his coffee to his mouth, savouring his breakfast with delight.

  “I will personally guarantee you that your cup of chowder uses the freshest fish in the city.” He stated matter-of-factly as he put down his first cup of chowder.

  “Why is that?” Aurelius asked, puzzled by his confidence.

  “Do you know how Tlacualtzin imports its fish?” Mr. Tona asked, smugly smiling at Aurelius.

  Aurelius frowned annoyedly at this condescending statement. Of course he knew about how the damn city imported its food.

  Portals!

  The Magic Commission had actively pushed to develop the magical technologies necessary to create stable and functional portals since its founding, making sea and land based trade routes into becoming nearly obsolete in the modern age.

  The relative stability that the end of the Greenwich War had brought the world had allowed for the heavy investments required to connect different cities with the proper portals, and encouraged globalisation and cross-border travel.

  Portals had, in fact, become such an important fact of life that the National Education syllabus included no more than 3 separate chapters on this topic for general world history classes.

  “You may know that portals are the main reason that you get to enjoy relatively fresh seafood so far inland. However, you’ll also realise that the portals strike a difficult balance in their maintenance.” Mr. Tona continued, unbothered by Aurelius’s increasingly uninterested face.

  “The seafood at the cheaper prices you enjoy are usually frozen, and fresh fish from the sea is a more luxurious commodity, simply due to the excess demand that is asked of these portals.”

  “It takes a lot to run the systems of bureaucracy that arranges for the continuous flow of imports and exports in this world. And seafood has only just become a commodity desirable enough to guarantee a fresh supply of.”

  “And portals are genuine miracles. I mean, it requires the bending of the relative concept of space within the spirit realm and connects two locations magically. What kind of lunatic could figure out the formulas to even attempt such ridiculous things?”

  “Only with modernity have mages been able to commit enough resources to create enough of these portals to drive the trade necessary to justify their implementation, and their maintenance.”

  “But, how about those old portals?” Mr. Tona asked, raising his finger with a smile, questioning Aurelius slyly.

  “Most weren’t stable, so they were all destroyed or phased out.” Aurelius replied, getting increasingly irritated by the old man’s long winded explanations.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Correcto. However, exceptions still exist!” Mr. Tona exclaimed in delight.

  “This particular building, for example, has been home to the Crooked Cafe for longer than the Commission, and will continue to exist after Walter here kindly croaks.”

  “The reason is simple. This inn is home to one of the few dozens of old portals out and about in the world!”

  “It’s a remnant of one of the old wars, I assume. I’m sure there are a few obscure papers about it. But, it’s remarkably stable thanks to its small size.”

  This made things click for Aurelius. The tavern was directly getting their fish using the portal!

  “It’s in fact, the perfect size to pass a few kilograms of seafood through every day!” Mr. Tona stated happily, taking another large sip of his chowder.

  “So there’s someone on the other side of the portal?” Aurelius asked, starting to get more interested in the long explanations.

  “Yes. It connects over to one of the small seaside cities in Aethernalis. Walter and the previous owners have all made contracts with the fishermen in the area to buy up some of their unsold fish for cheap.”

  “And the recipe for the chowder here is rumoured to come with the deed to this place!”

  “Essentially, you’re drinking something with a history spanning centuries. So, you're welcome!” Mr. Tona exclaimed happily.

  Aurelius glanced back at his chowder, scrutinising it once more.

  To be perfectly honest, this likely lay in the top 5 foods that had entered his body in his short 18 years on the planet, and he was impressed by the rich history of this weird, decrepit place.

  “Why is the place so run down anyway?” Aurelius asked, now fully invested in the story.

  “The portal here is bound to the structure for the coordinates, and excessive renovation could phase out the portal.” Mr. Tona replied with a shrug.

  “The structure wasn’t deemed important enough to warrant zoning this area of development around, and yet valuable enough to escape demolition. The city honestly grew around the place after the Greenwich War. So it’s stuck in this weird alleyway. But I feel that it just adds to the place and its character.”

  “I have great memories in this place…” Mr. Tona said with a nostalgic smile.

  “Now, try the coffee.” He instructed, prompting Aurelius to take up his coffee.

  To his surprise, the coffee was cold, with the condensation starting to form on the body of the cup.

  “Well, how is it, boy?” Mr. Tona asked in anticipation, expectant of a glowing review.

  “Err, I mean, it’s fine. But I’m not really a fan of coffee. Also, it clashes with the taste of the seafood…” Aurelius replied, making a bit of a face at the weird contradictions of flavours in his mouth.

  “...” The former sage stared at Aurelius.

  “...Say that again?” He asked, his playful demeanour replaced with a frozen smile.

  “Cough cough, I mean, it’s great! Amazing, in fact! What a complex palette!!!” Aurelius replied, plastering a stretched smile on his face as he sipped on his coffee tensely.

  “...I suppose it’s a bit of an acquired taste…” Mr. Tona muttered, sipping on his coffee glumly. He looked a little dejected by the lukewarm response.

  Aurelius looked away around the room, unable to lie to the man’s face with the necessary poker face.

  It wasn’t that the coffee was bad! It was an aromatic medium blend with a hint of sourness. It was tangy and flavourful, and well worth the price.

  It was just… that coffee was a little difficult to have with… seafood… Especially in the morning.

  In fact, looking around the room, Aurelius noticed only a handful of people with a similar combination. Instead, they seemed to all be having their tin cups with the other drink on the menu, the iced tea…

  Desperate to change the conversation, Aurelius asked the former sage a question.

  “Err, Mr. Tona, what kind of training are we doing today?” He asked innocently.

  This seemed to snap the sage out of his stupefied stupor, and returned energy back to his body.

  “Ah, yes. Excellent question.” He responded cheerfully.

  “As you’ve heard, I’m absolutely terrible with abstract applications of magic. It’s a little too difficult for me, see. This does lead to some gaps in my style, and I might get defeated by an archmage competent in the two realms of applications once in maybe 15 battles.”

  “I do make up for it in some of the spirit contracts, but quite a few have already expired, and I don’t personally advocate for mages becoming dependent on contracts.”

  “Both human and spirit can make mistakes, and you’d essentially be exposing yourself to a multiple of this rate of error in battle if you become dependent on them.”

  “So, how do we improve this margin of error?” He asked.

  Aurelius shrugged, having no real idea as to where the geezer was going with this.

  Mr. Tona sat up a little higher in his chair, and let a wide smile etch into his mouth, casting a shadow of the handsome, talented youth he had once been onto his face.

  With the last sip of his coffee, he stated passionately the objective of Aurelius’s training session for the day.

  “Physical combat.”