Skyrim: The Last Son of Akatosh

And as expected, the Guards did nothing.

In the game, the Guards were already corrupt, and here they seem even worse.

Even when they went to the Ratway, they claimed they couldn't find any trace of the Thieves Guild, which was an outright lie.

Most likely, they were either bribed by the Thieves Guild or by Maven Black-Briar, who is affiliated with them.

Anyway, some citizens were a bit confused and wondered, "If they're not in the Ratway, where else could they be?" Others said they were simply lying, but everything remained just speculation.

Things continued relatively normally, with no reports of theft from the Thieves Guild.

I also continued practicing magic and managed to change it a bit. Not only did I use the magic I already knew, but I also created small spheres of electricity that I could leave floating in the air. However, they would only last a few seconds before disappearing.

Sometimes I used them as if they were real spheres, playing with them a little.

When I did that, I infused a bit more magic to see if it would make them last longer. It worked, but they also grew larger, so I stopped until they disappeared.

I tried to prevent them from growing bigger while making them last longer, but I couldn't find a way to do it.

I asked Helena for help with Restoration Magic, and she agreed.

She taught me a bit about how to use Healing magic, but I already knew it, which surprised her. She continued explaining other aspects to me.

She told me that Restoration Magic involves controlling the life forces of living beings, which allows for healing the injured, harming the undead, and creating protective barriers.

She also explained that all priests of the Divines are required to learn Restoration Magic, including Healing, Healing Hands, Lesser Ward, and Turn Undead.

This was because they sometimes needed to travel far, and this was the minimum requirement.

When she was about to teach me a bit of Restoration Magic, I showed her that I could already use Healing and Healing Hands, so she had to demonstrate Lesser Ward to me.

"With this barrier, no damage it can withstand will pass through," she said.

I touched the barrier and found it a bit fragile.

"Are you sure it works?" I asked doubtfully.

"Of course. If you want, test it with Flames," she replied.

I hesitated because when a ward breaks, it slightly affects the user, leaving them vulnerable. However, it might not affect her as it does the first time you use one in the College of Winterhold when tested by Tolfdir.

"Alright," I said.

Following her instructions, I cast Flames against her Lesser Ward, which withstood my magic without any apparent issues.

"See? It held up perfectly," she said.

"I can see that," I replied.

"If you want, I can teach you how to use it..."

One more thing I managed to learn during this time was that if I saw a spell, I could use it without any issues.

"It's not that complicated," I said.

I cast Lesser Ward without difficulty, though it consumed a lot of magic quickly, so I stopped using it.

I discovered my ability to learn magic just by seeing it when the old woman Maerel used Telekinesis to retrieve an object. It was as if the spell had been photographed into my mind, and I was able to use it.

"You're incredible. I've never seen anyone learn magic so quickly," Maerel said.

"Not even with grimoires?" I asked.

"Of course, but that's different. Anyone can learn with grimoires, but learning a spell so quickly is something I've never heard of. Perhaps the College of Winterhold would have information on how rare or common this is."

We went inside since it was close to mealtime, but I kept wondering:

'Why do I learn magic so quickly?'

While I was alive, I could learn anything very fast. I could memorize a book in just a few days, no matter how long it was. Now, with magic, I can use it just by seeing it once.

Lunch was as pleasant as always since Helena arrived.

Constance helps her as much as she can, and she's noticeably happier.

Hjalmar, Celesse, and the rest of the children are freer and have more fun when they go out, giving me a bit of peace to train my magic.

"Children, pay attention," Helena said, clapping her hands to get our focus.

"You see, children, this morning I was informed that someone is coming to see you."

"Does that mean someone is coming to adopt?" Constance asked.

"Exactly."

Hearing this news, the children shouted with excitement. In all the time I had been here, no one had ever come, most likely because of Grelod.

"Then you must get ready. Finish eating, help each other with the dishes, and put on your best clothes for when they arrive."

"Yes!"

We finished eating and cleaned up before changing into our best clothes to prepare.

We waited a few minutes until they finally arrived.

We heard a knock at the door, and Helena went to check, while the children grew anxious.

'I suppose it's time for me to leave.'

Something I've noticed during my almost year-long stay in Riften is that people look at someone like me strangely, even Madesi, who is an Argonian. It's understandable—my human body has scales and horns in some places.

I don't know if the people coming to adopt are good or if they look down on other races, so to avoid interfering with the children being adopted, it's better for me to stay away.

"Hey, Lun, where are you going?" Hjalmar called out to stop me, but I ignored him and went to the yard to practice magic.

I created an electricity sphere and started playing with it, increasing its mana.

The sphere grew larger and larger until it resembled a soccer ball.

'Can I shrink it?'

I tried to decrease its size by absorbing the magic, but I couldn't, so I decided to do something else.

Slowly, I separated the magic into different smaller spheres.

Once I had them, I wondered if they could cause damage, so I threw them all into the sky and used Lesser Ward to protect myself.

The moment the spheres hit my Ward, it shattered instantly, injuring my hand.

"Wow, it seems I used too much magic," I said.

I had infused nearly all my magic into the first sphere, so when I separated it, my magic had restored a bit. I then added more magic, which almost exhausted me, and cast an extremely weak Ward that broke easily.

"I'll need to recover my magic to heal my hand."

After a few minutes, I healed my hand and then heard some noise. I approached the door and peeked to see an older couple with Celesse, who were saying goodbye to everyone.

'So they chose Celesse. It's better than living here in the orphanage.'

After they left, I went back inside and saw the children looking downcast.

'I guess it affected them that Celesse left.'

The children remained sad, but I didn't spend much time with them because Helena scolded me for being outside when the adopters arrived.

I apologized to Helena and asked about who had taken Celesse and where.

She told me it was a couple living in Whiterun who had been trying for years to have a child but decided to adopt when they couldn't.

At night, everyone went to bed, some sadder than others.

Lun stayed awake, practicing his Ward spell and recalling the Restoration magic from the Apocalypse mod.