We stopped, and Marj and Tuno collapsed onto the roadside. I, on the other hand, helped Heck stay on his feet but couldn’t sit down myself—Burn, hanging off my back, was in the way. There’s no justice in this world!


    — No way, — I said. — Let’s keep going. We’ll rest at the outpost!


    The outpost turned out to be a collection of several dozen one- and two-story stone buildings of various purposes, all enclosed within a shared palisade with a sturdy gate, right where the road we were traveling on ended. The old Heck showed a silver plaque to the soldiers at the gate, and they let us in without question. Within minutes, we arrived at a large two-story building—an inn.


    — We need a healer, the three best rooms, and dinner! — Heck started barking out orders the moment we stepped inside.


    — Oh, and inform the outpost commander not to let any caravans through toward the forest. There are packs of second-class monsters and a few third-class ones. There’s even a possibility of a fourth-class monster! — he added immediately.


    A short middle-aged woman in a gray servant’s uniform hurried up to me.


    — Please, follow me, sir!


    She was clearly both terrified and disgusted, which wasn’t surprising given my appearance. The blood and mud on my skin hadn’t gone anywhere, and I probably reeked too. So, with Burn and Marj following behind, I headed upstairs. Marj remained in one of the rooms with his half-dead body, while I continued on with the maid.


    The room was spacious, with a wide bed covered in a thick gray blanket, a table, two chairs, a wardrobe, and… a large wooden tub. On top of the wardrobe lay a sizable stone emitting bright light.


    — Can you fill it with water? — I asked, gesturing toward the tub.


    — Of course, sir. Would you like it cool, warm, or hot?


    — Hot, please.


    The maid knelt beside the tub, extended her hand over it, and almost sang:


    — Spirits of water, grant me strength, so I may fill this vessel with hot water!


    — M-m-magic! — I whispered.


    A white magic circle appeared beneath her hand, and steaming water gushed out in a thick stream. I quickly picked my jaw up off the floor and thanked her.


    — Could you come back in ten minutes to change the water? — There was no way I could wash off all this grime in one go.


    The maid walked to the wardrobe, took out a small green sphere, and handed it to me.


    — When you’re done, toss this into the water. It will become clean and hot again. Also, use it for the night pot under the bed.


    I think I even blushed under all that filth.


    — Thank you again! — I said, closing the door behind her.


    Finally! I tore off the rag that had been serving as my toga and sank into the water. Pure bliss! For the first time in as long as I could remember, I could just relax and enjoy myself. I had to cleanse the water not once, but twice.


    Later, as I lay on the bed, reflecting on how I’d already completed the hardest part of the contract, there was a knock at the door—Marj calling me down for dinner.


    Everyone was at the table, including the still-pale but smiling Burn.


    — Whoa! Welcome back from the dead! — I said, taking a seat beside him.


    I don’t think they quite understood what I meant, but I didn’t care. The mood was high, with everyone joking and toasting with strong liquor.


    Everything was going well—until the doors suddenly burst open, and in strode a pudgy middle-aged man in leather armor, gaudily painted gold and red. Utterly tasteless! That was my instant assessment of both the armor and its owner.


    — What the hell is this eyesore?! — I blurted out before I could stop myself.


    — Oooooh, — Marj drawled. — That’s the outpost commander. Looks like we’re in for…


    — Who the hell is spreading nonsense about monsters and telling me how to run my outpost?! — His shrill falsetto was like knives in my temples. — Step forward! I want to see you!


    I turned toward him, still sitting on the bench, just as I was tearing into a well-roasted leg with my teeth while gripping the slick bone with both hands. Naturally, grease and saliva flew straight onto the commander’s pristine white collar.


    Oh, this is going to be a disaster! I had barely thought it when Heck spoke up:


    — Commander, I am Heck, head of the Merchant Guild in the Principality of Atun, and it was we who reported the monsters.


    Heck pulled out the silver plaque again, but the commander wasn’t looking at him anymore—his bulging, bloodshot eyes were locked on me. I swear, if that vein on his forehead popped, it would be a mess.


    — Y-youuuuuu! — he bellowed, jabbing a finger at me.


    In an instant, Heck was at his side, grabbing him by the elbow and pulling him away, murmuring something soothing.


    A few minutes later, they both returned to the table.


    — You claim there are fourth-class monsters in the forest? How would an ignorant fool like you know that? I might believe third-class—Heck and his guards saw those firsthand—but stop lying about the fourth! There have never been such creatures here!


    How do you explain to an idiot that he’s an idiot? Quietly, I assessed his strength—about the same as Marj, certainly no higher. It was worth a try.


    I stood up and walked straight up to him. Then, without warning, I unleashed my full aura.


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The effect was perfect—the dishes on the tables rattled, and the commander himself was thrown back a few meters, landing hard on his ass. Without giving him a moment to recover, I crouched beside him and whispered:


    — Listen to me, Commander. I could kill a third-class monster with my bare hands, and yet I ran from those creatures, leaving a trail of piss behind me. Is that enough proof for you?


    Silence filled the hall as I returned to my seat.


    — You shouldn’t have done that, — Heck said quietly. — He’s a distant relative of the prince. This will have consequences.


    — Whatever, — I replied. — He brought it on himself.


    I was trying to act tough, but even I knew I’d let my temper get the better of me. Anger is when your mouth and hands work faster than your brain. I should have just ignored him.


    — This… this is an attack on the prince’s family! — the commander shrieked. — I won’t let this slide! I’ll report this to the prince himself!


    That killed the mood for dinner, so we finished in silence.


    The next morning, Burn woke me, saying it was time to leave and that the driver was waiting downstairs.


    Outside the inn stood a covered wagon with a white canopy, harnessed to two massive blue lizard-like beasts, their bodies speckled with red circular spots. The moment I climbed in, we set off.


    — Well, gentlemen, — I began. — I believe you now have plenty of time and inspiration to tell me everything about the Principality of Atun.


    Thus began a three-day lecture on the structure of this world.


    The Principality of Atun belonged to the weakest type of states and, like other principalities, was subordinate to the Kingdom of Lygote, which was classified as a mid-tier state and, in turn, was under the dominion of the Northern Empire.


    Power in the principality was held by the prince and was inherited by the eldest of his children—or by the one who managed to outlive the reigning prince. His authority rested on the landlords who ruled the regions of the principality and on his personal army, whose warriors were bound to him by a lifelong contract of protection and service. The principality’s main sources of income were agriculture and mining.


    Yet, due to the fact that the majority of this world’s population possessed magic of either the first or second circle (even Hek wielded second-circle magic), their labor was not excessively arduous, and the standard of living did not provoke uprisings or mass unrest caused by dissatisfaction with the unchanging elites.


    However, the principality also had other forces that had to be reckoned with. First and foremost were the Merchant Guild and the Craftsmen’s Guild—eternal rivals for dominance in influence. Right behind them came the Mage Guild and the Alchemist Guild, followed by the Healers’ Guild, and, lastly, the weakest but still significant, the Adventurers’ Guild. The latter could lend its support to one faction or another—or even several at once—depending entirely on who could afford to pay.


    A separate power was the Church of the White Twins, the continent’s primary faith, which influenced the politics of its empires. However, the principality was so small that the church took little interest in it—unless its adherents were being persecuted. Because of this, all guilds, landlords, and even the prince himself sought to maintain the best possible relations with the clergy.


    Between lectures, Marj and Bern taught me the finer points of aura control. Although they were weaker than me overall, they had decades of experience. Marj was a second-class warrior of the high rank, while Bern was second-class of the middle rank. There were three warrior classes in total, ranked from first to third, with each class divided into three tiers. Above them stood the Battle Master, who also had three tiers, and beyond that—the Battle Ancestor.


    I quickly mastered all the exercises and techniques, usually perfecting them after just one or two attempts, even improving on some. The guys assumed I was merely recalling skills I already knew, but I decided to play the humble role and refrained from bragging about how easily I learned. We also trained with weapons—bow, spear, sword, shield, dagger—each of which they wielded masterfully at their level.


    Through this training, I realized that weapons in battle must also be enhanced with aura. Without it, even scratching a second-class high-tier warrior with ordinary steel would be difficult. Of course, there were rare weapons capable of harming even a third-tier Battle Master without aura, but such weapons were exceptionally rare and cost a fortune.


    So, aura was everything—I came to that conclusion. If before I had wielded my aura like a drunkard swinging a club, now I thrust it like an experienced fencer with a rapier. By the fourth day, Marj and Bern no longer dared to spar against me, even together.


    — Who’s stronger? — I asked them one day as we lay resting in the shade after a sparring session. — Warriors or mages?


    — That’s not a straightforward question, — Marj replied. — Typically, warriors don’t engage mages in direct combat. But I’d say a Battle Ancestor’s strength is roughly equivalent to that of a fifth-circle mage. Meaning that mages of the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth circles are undoubtedly stronger.


    — Whoa! — I propped myself up on my elbow. — That makes them living weapons of mass destruction!


    — Do you think such powerful mages are common? There are only a handful of third-circle mages in our entire principality. You’d have to go to the imperial capital to find truly strong ones.


    — And where can I check if I have magical abilities?


    — To determine the exact strength and type, you’d need to visit the Mage Guild. But if you just want to know whether you have magic at all, even Hek can tell you. Hek! — Marj shouted. — Can you check if Aney has any magic potential?


    A drowsy Hek climbed out of the cart and walked over to us. He asked me to stand still and placed his hand on my chest, over my heart. He remained like that for a few minutes with his eyes closed, then sighed quietly and said:


    — Unfortunately, I am only a second-circle mage and have many limitations. I can definitely sense that you have a considerable amount of mana, but unfortunately, it’s unstructured. And more importantly—you don’t have a single formed magic circle. I have no idea how that’s even possible.


    — And how does one form one?


    — As far as I know, it’s impossible. — Hek spread his hands. — The first circle naturally forms around a person’s heart when they are about a year old, and it also determines the type of magic they will wield. Only later, through training, can additional magic circles sometimes form. But as for someone creating their own first circle—I’ve never heard of such a thing.


    Ugh! The fragile sprouts of hope were mercilessly trampled by old Hek! In this world, only strength mattered, and from his words, my potential ceiling was that of an average fighter at best—and only if I reached the rank of Battle Ancestor. As of now, I was scraping the bottom of the food chain. But visiting the Mage Guild still seemed worthwhile—maybe they knew something more.


    On the fifth day of our journey, we arrived in Atun, the principality’s capital. It turned out to be quite large, with a population exceeding two hundred thousand. Its stone buildings averaged three or four stories high.


    Since I was new here, Hek offered to let me stay at his estate for a while until I decided on my next steps, and I gladly accepted.


    Hek’s estate was located almost in the city center, right behind the massive building of the Merchant Guild. It consisted of several houses enclosed by a shared wall of yellow stone, with a cozy inner courtyard featuring a decorative garden and a pond. That’s when I realized—Hek was clearly a very, very wealthy man.


    Upon our arrival, he was immediately occupied with urgent matters, so Bern took it upon himself to show me to one of the small guest houses in the garden before disappearing, promising to send my personal maid for the duration of my stay.


    The single-story, three-room house with large windows was built from the same yellow stone as the rest of the city and looked cozy—perfect for some quiet rest.


    Left alone, I explored the rooms and kitchen, found a real bathroom with a large tub full of hot water, stripped down, and climbed in to bathe. On the wall next to the tub, I noticed a magic circle. After a bit of study, I figured it out, adjusted the water to be slightly cooler, and lay back, closing my eyes.


    I woke up to the sensation of small hands trying to lather the short hair on my head.


    Mmm, what a pleasant dream. Or was it a dream?


    I slowly opened my eyes and saw a cute girl’s face—with large cat ears on top of her head.


    — Holy hedgehogs, — I murmured. — A cat-girl…


    — Has my lord never seen a catfolk before? — my “dream” asked softly.


    — Bloody hell! — I shot up, splashing water everywhere. — You’re real?!