《Aeterna Saga, Volume 1: Walking With Giants》


 Chapter 1: Prologue.

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    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Right now, at this very moment, a young boy was running for his dear life.


    His stage was a rocky yet smooth surface atop a plateau high up on a scary, jagged mountain range. The vista of a grand forest that span as far as eyes could see before the boy was one of a remarkable beauty and majesty, if it were not for the precipitous drop of thousand screams right alongside him. One mistimed footing, and he''d plunge to his death ¨C and he was acutely aware of that.


    His lungs fought hard for that extra intake of air with every step taken. Meanwhile, another fight raged on within his mind, one where he was trying desperately to keep a positive outlook on his chances.


    He kept telling himself that this was nothing, that he was already used to running bare feet on surfaces like this.


    Watch me break the Olympic Record, ma!


    He shouted inwardly to no one in particular. Maybe he was going mad. Maybe, just maybe, he was grasping at anything to keep himself motivated, no matter how silly it was.


    Too bad, a person''s mind never worked like that; in his case especially, as his subconscious mind was aware of the less-than-stellar attempt at morale-boosting.


    For all his troubles, what he received was a small voice coming from the back of his mind: who you trying to kid, fool?


    The young boy began to shiver like a wet dog; his heart pounding away like an out-of-control drumming monkey doll. Driven by an overwhelming fear he couldn''t help but wonder why he bothered to stay alive all this time, why he worked so hard to become stronger.


    He felt the scorching heat right behind him, closing in much faster than he''d like to. The boy dared not to look, lest he ends up soiling himself from the scary sight that was following him.


    I might have very little dignity left right now, but at least please let me keep a bit of that!!


    The boy prayed, nay begged, to whatever divine entity that was listening in. Rather than an answer from the heavens, however, there were audible hisses and cracks which were growing ever louder by the second. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing upright ever since the beginning, and now they were this close to being singed. He somehow prevented his legs from wobbling and carried on his escape.


    Even if he was determined not to look, the alarming sounds tickled his instincts and before he could stop himself, his eyes swiveled and now he caught the glimpse of the ground he ran past only a moment''s breath ago.


    Behind him, so close it''s practically a next-door neighbor to his butt, a sea of blazing inferno was engulfing literally everything his view contained.


    A wall of flame so tall it looked like a scene straight out of a video game, but there was no mistaking it as being all too real. Rocky ground melted like ice cream under a hot midday sun, telling the boy the flames were indeed mind-bogglingly hot. So hot, he guessed, that these flames could be hotter than the sun''s surface. A useless conjecture under the circumstances, but the thought still flashed past his brain regardless.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Funny how our minds works like that, no?


    And the second thought following on the first one?


    Oh, shoot. I''m gonna so die.


    As a result of this negative thinking, his knees buckled for a millisecond, and that led to his running speed dropping slightly. Which also led to the incinerating flames getting ever so closer to the fleeing boy.


    No matter how one looked at the situation, it was getting worse.


    As if on cue, a utterly gigantic black dragon burst through the wall of flames while roaring loudly. As it flew by the boy, he saw the blood-red stripes running on its sides pulse menacingly. He previously thought those stripes looked cool but at the moment, not so much.


    The dragon was bigger than a couple of double-decker buses stacked together. No, scratch that. It was bigger. The boy simply had no point of reference to measure the total size of the airborne creature. It simply defied all logic, all sensibilities, and crushed all hopes under its claw. That''s how big it was. Calling it a mobile flying fortress wouldn''t be far too off.


    The creature hovered in mid air, not really obstructing the boy but not letting him escape either. It didn''t stay in that position for long however, and it majestically swept around to the front of the flaming wall, positioning itself between the boy and the certain fiery death.


    However, it didn''t do that out of a goodwill. Instead, it roared menacingly once more, and from its snout, rock melting flames spewed out towards the direction of the boy. A handful of brightly burning ember fell on his shoulder nonchalantly as if to say yo, whaddup.


    The boy panicked like a little girl and patted the offending bits off of him in a hurry without slowing down his running speed one jot, which was actually quite commendable. The not-slowing-down bit, not the-freaking-out bit, obviously.


    The dragon saw his funny reaction, and began to guffaw. It began to mock the boy with its booming, powerful voice that matched its humongous size. The sound was loud enough for every living soul within the radius of a kilometer to hear all the insults.


    ¡°Hey, hey boy, is that all you can do? Bwahaha. Run you little rabbit, run!!¡± Then it fired off another: ¡°Gwahahaha, run brat, run!! Your mama''s teats are over yonder, ehehehe!!¡±


    The dragon repeatedly kept talking other, less family-friendly smack but fortunately for the recipient of the insults, the young boy, was far too busy trying to figure out a way to survive this ordeal to respond in kind.


    ¡°Run, boy! Before I burn you to a crisp and use you as a toothpick!! Kehehehe!¡±


    The dragon hurled another taunt and this one landed. The boy inwardly snapped.


    Gahh, darn it, come down here and say that to my face, you big stinking piece of lard ¨C I''ll punch you in the face!!


    Almost immediately, he felt foolish. He knew punching the dragon in its face was not possible. After all, he was only a seven-year-old boy, running away from a fire-breathing monstrosity that was clearly capable of causing destruction on the level of a nuclear warhead.


    There was not a whole lot he could do against an opponent like that, to be honest.


    Truth was, he didn''t start off his life getting chased around by a flying tank.


    Truth was, he wasn''t even sure why he was here, in this world at all.


    Knowing he was about to be eaten wholly roasted by a dragon, the boy began to reflect on both of his lives so far. Yep, both lives. Imagine that.

 Chapter 2

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    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    So, the boy''s story began with an awakening, literally.


    He opened his eyes after seemingly sleeping for an eternity. Couldn''t be helped, seeing that he was out the night before with a bunch of friends, celebrating his hard-earned and much-deserved promotion at work.


    After drinking up a storm, he remembered stumbling into his apartment, and not even bothering to undress, he plopped down on the bed and promptly passed out. It was Friday evening, and he vaguely remembered that his presence wasn''t expected on Saturdays anyways so even if he slept in, there wouldn''t be any issues.


    As he slept, he was dreaming of various things, which he could only partially remember. There was coldness, there was pain, bright light ¨C there was warmth too, mixed in there somewhere. The point was, he had one helluva weird dream.


    But when he woke up this very morning, he noticed something was amiss.


    For one, there was a lot of light coming from what he presumed to be a window without glass. Looked like either a midday or early afternoon, judging by the warmth and the color of the entering rays. There were unfamiliar, old-school drapes drawn back, letting the light and breeze in.


    The ceiling above him looked rather unfamiliar, with antique wood paneling rather than the usual gray plaster. The overhead fan was gone too.


    Huh. Ain''t that something.


    He was dazed for a moment and found it was a bit difficult to gather focus. He felt thirsty, cramped ¨C and wondered what time it was. He turned his head to the side to check the trusty alarm clock he picked up in a shady shop down by the China Town.


    He couldn''t see it. It wasn''t there. No, the bedside bureau itself that had the clock on top, was gone.


    Even more dazed, he stared absentmindedly at the dark drool stain appearing on the bed sheets. Drool was his, of course.


    Uhh.... What the hell. What time is it? Hope I didn''t forget any appointments. I''m not getting fired for missing work, right? No wait, where''s my clock gone off to? Is this my room?


    His dazed and confused eyes wandered off to the opposing wall, and immediately he felt anger swelling up: he just realized his wall-mounted, battered Korean flatscreen TV and the shiny new gaming console which should''ve been visible by the foot of the bed were nowhere to be seen as well.


    Oh god, did someone break in while I was out cold??


    That was his first line of deduction. Normally, he''d have been correct. But too bad, this wasn''t normal. Which became crystal clear only a few moments later.


    The bed he was lying on wasn''t his. The room he was in wasn''t his. The window which let warm rays of the sun into the room wasn''t his either. Everything as far as his eyes could see, wasn''t his at all.


    And then there was this fragrance, a pleasant and nostalgic smell of a flower he couldn''t quite recall. His place never smelled this nice before ¨C it smelled of a boys'' dormitory, casually decorated with, y''know, the assortment of empty beer cans, littered socks, and half-filled pizza boxes. Totally playing to the stereotype, without fail. Well, after all he was a card-carrying member of The Hairy Chested Caveman Club and he had no time for some sissy, metrosexual stuff.


    Still, he could tell there was something wrong here, just unsure of what that was.


    Definitely feeling creeped out of his alien surroundings, and wondering if he was suffering from a Grade A hangover, our protagonist tried to massage his forehead while sitting up. Surely a splash of cold water and a mug ¨C no, make that a jar ¨C of black coffee would wake him back to his senses.


    Except he couldn''t move his arms. Nor could he sit up. In fact, he could do nothing.


    To his surprise, he found himself totally wrapped up tightly in cuddly blue wool, like a Christmas present from Santa. Only his face was exposed. To say he was thrown off by this development was an understatement of the decade.


    Almost immediately his head was filled with scenes of many horror films he''d watched with his girlfriend ¨C a cackling mad scientist chopping all his limbs off; an evil cult leader performing a forbidden ritual with him as the sacrificial lamb; he even thought that he might have become the main character from the movie Source Code.


    Unfortunately, things his mind cooked up was getting worse by the second. Like a drowning sailor stuck in a whirlpool, his imagination ran wilder and wilder, plunging him deeper into a spiraling state of panic.


    Then it suddenly hit him ¨C his mouth wasn''t covered up. At least he could make a noise, call for help!! A ray of hope descended on him like a kiss from an angel.


    He forcibly pried open the pair of unwilling lips and cried out. His throat felt so dry and hoarse as if he''d chugged down a mug of gravel.


    The only sound escaping from his mouth was ¡°uwoo, ahwoo~¡±. Even worse, the voice was that of an infant.


    What The Eff??


    Unable to comprehend, again and again he tried to speak, to shout out. To scream his lungs out.


    In the end, he could only gurgle out some incoherent baby noises.


    At that precise moment, his inner table got flipped; he began to struggle with all his might like a nutcase in a straitjacket, trying to free the arms and his confined body. He''d had enough of this confusing crap, and he wanted answers. But first, he wanted freedom from the binds of this.... whatever this was.


    After a protracted battle with his bindings, he was finally successful in freeing his right arm. With that done, he tried to prop up the upper torso so he could sit up; yet he stumbled quickly as very little strength, if any, gathered on the freed limb. He surreptitiously looked at his right arm, and another hot knife of horror ruthlessly cut him down.


    He was looking at a tiny, tiny-ass hand. Baby fingers, digits so underdeveloped that they couldn''t point straight yet. Yup, those fingers.


    And he knew instinctively, that they were all his.


    The initial confusion gave way to a shocking realization: that he had suddenly become a baby. A new born, no less.


    He shrieked.


    Well, at least that was his intention anyway. But rather than a horror movie-worthy screech he bawled instead, just as a baby should.


    Hmm, to a baby crying comes naturally, it seems.


    He made a right royal ruckus. When a baby throws a tantrum that invariably summons the child''s minder; and in this case, that happened here too.


    In between his cries, he heard a pair of footsteps hurriedly approaching him. Automatically he stiffened out of fear.


    Such a thing was unwarranted, however.


    The first person he encountered after becoming a baby was a stunningly beautiful brunette in her mid-to-late twenties. Her hazelnut-colored hair pulled back in an elegant bun, she possessed this gentle countenance that could warm the cockles of the hardened convicts and set them up straight and narrow. If those convicts could look past the homely and drab one-piece dress she was wearing, that was.


    Alongside her, was a little girl, maybe of three years old, maybe less, who resembled the woman quite closely. As if they were a mother and a daughter. They probably were.


    This beautiful woman gently held him to her, uh, rather well defined bosom, and began rocking him slowly back and forth all the while whispering in a soothing voice. He didn''t understand a single thing she was saying, but her methods were super effective in calming him down on the double.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Just like how he was able to recognize the baby fingers as his own, he also recognized this woman as his.... mother. Which was disorientating, since he already had a mother and she didn''t look anything like this woman.


    Before he knew it, however, he was totally entranced by this woman''s voice and her dazzling smile. It felt wrong to keep on crying while comforted by such a beauty so, like a good little boy that he was, he turned off the waterworks for now and simply cooed.


    Just like a baby.


    She was relieved to see her infant son relaxing from what was troubling him, and carefully placed him back inside the crib.


    She murmured gently, ¡°There now, Kain. Mommy''s right here. Please don''t be alarmed. Your sister''s here too. You''re safe.¡±


    He didn''t understand her still. That wouldn''t have surprised her in the slightest, as he was still an infant. And infants weren''t supposed to understand words yet.


    Confirming her son was secure, she walked to the rocking chair nearby while holding the hand of the young girl.


    ¡°Mommy, is Kain alright?¡± the little girl asked her mother, while slightly tilting her head. Her large, curious eyes remained fixed on the crib, and the baby visible through the thin but sturdy slats on the side.


    ¡°Yes, Kaleena dear. Your little brother Kain is just feeling a little restless, that''s all. Now, shall we continue with the reading of the story book?¡±


    The beautiful woman sat on the chair and placed her daughter, Kaleena on the laps. Opening the page where they had left off, they resumed reading the book.


    As for our protagonist, who didn''t know yet that he was named Kain in this world, was now occupied with trying to organize his jumbled up memories. He believed that the clue to unraveling all of this confusion lay somewhere in the depths of his mind ¨C and all he needed to do, was to remember them. Chronologically if possible.


    Now that he was reasonably calm, missing bits and pieces of information began to flood back in. The process was painfully slow but hey, at least he was getting somewhere. However, honestly speaking what he remembered wasn''t encouraging at all.


    He remembered falling from the sky like a skydiver without a parachute while butt-naked. Really, quite an unsettling thing to recollect, when one was trying to piece together possibly a puzzle of the century.


    Disturbed at how ''exposed'' he felt by this bit of memory, he tried to go back further in time ¨C back when he was out drinking with his buddies at a local bar. Right, he was in that smoke and noise filled joint to celebrate his new promotion, from being a glorified gopher AKA intern to a fully-paid-up-with-benefits employee in a middling business solutions & IT company.


    Right, he got that job after spending a few years in the hostile wilderness called unemployment, after graduating from a no-name college. Actually, he didn''t land the job fair and square ¨C his older sister called in a favor to a former squeeze and then that got him in through the door. That''s how it was.


    He was digressing from the point, so he quickly shoved that traumatic period of his life deep down inside the box marked ''Do Not Reopen'' within his mind and concentrated on the rest.


    Right, so he imitated a sailor enjoying a shore leave, drank and made merry like there was no tomorrow. There was a karaoke machine at the bar and he remembered belting out a handful of Bon Jovi numbers in a falsetto. That was rather embarrassing, in hindsight.


    Right, he went home without getting into an accident from the get-together and crashed on the bed. He didn''t bother to undress. Right, right, right, he remembered all that. Then....


    Then he woke up in the middle of the night. The sleep had left him rather stealthily and he found himself in a hazy stupor, in a state between being wide awake and being unconscious. Something like this had never happened to him before, so that was weirding him out just a wee bit.


    He thought that either something foreign had forcibly woken him up, or that he was having one of those fabled, out-of-body experiences. If true, then he swore to drink excessively more often from now on ¨C imagine the story he could tell to his family and friends!! Hah.


    He was lying on his back staring at the familiar gray ceiling above. A motionless overhead fan stared back at him, its twin cords slowly swaying back and forth in a hypnotic dance to the tune of some invisible breeze.


    Feeling the need to use the john, he tried to get up. Suddenly a strong wave of dizziness swept across him like a tempest and he couldn''t move. It only got more scary after confirming that he could not even move a single finger no matter how hard he tried.


    His brain snapped wide awake at this alarming development, with all the previous haziness gone in a flash. His mind ran like a bolt of lightening, shooting past all the likely reasons why he was immobile. He tried to recall those throwaway TV shows that talked about what it was like to have those outta the body experiences to see if it was supposed to be like this.


    Nothing came. He was totally blank.


    So, his next thought was him going through some kind of medical crisis. Searching for his cellphone with his eyes, which he was certain of taking out of his trouser pocket before falling on the bed, he desperately looked all over the place ¨C and saw something straight out of a bad acid trip.


    The ceiling was growing taller.


    No, that wasn''t quite right. It was just him getting further away from it instead.


    He was sinking into the bed, literally. Like that scene, from that famous 80''s slasher flick.


    He screamed like a damsel from that movie too. Or rather, tried to. Of course, his lips wouldn''t move.


    He continued to sink deeper and deeper, and the further he was pulled in, the faster his head spun.


    What the hell is this? What''s happening to me? Help me, anyone!! Ah crap, this can''t be real. I''m just an average Joe, stuff like this doesn''t happen to a guy like me, god damn it!!


    His silent plea didn''t change the situation one bit.


    The aforementioned scene from the movie had a grisly and a definitely bloody end ¨C the poor sob who got sucked into the bed got ejected out in a fountain of blood. Too bad he knew that movie well ¨C the scene kept on repeating itself over and over in his mind.


    He genuinely thought that was going to be his fate.


    Oh crap crap crap!!


    The sheets closed in and began to suffocate him, obscuring and coloring his vision jet black. Only the sound of his heart pounding away accompanied his silent doom. It was the most terrifying experience in his entire life so far, being stuck in a total sensory deprivation while unable to move a single limb.


    He knew there was no going back from this. Might as well call it, he''s dead.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.....


    Or not.


    Suddenly, he was overcome with sensations of weightlessness and oddly enough, coldness.


    When he opened his tightly-shut eyes while expecting to see either the inky blackness that went on forever or the gut linings of the carnivorous bed, his expectations were betrayed by the sight of a clear and very starry night sky instead. Above and to his right, rather than a ceiling fan he spotted a large, pale and undoubtedly pretty, pair of full moons. One was smaller than the other much larger lunar body.


    What the hell. Those can''t be real, can they?


    And those sparkling stars ¨C so many of them blinking away like precious gems thrown up to the heavens by a naughty deity. Well, he wasn''t worried about that, rather he was thinking along the lines of, no way in freaking hell this is a Californian night sky. No way, Jose.


    He wasn''t incorrect in his assumption; there were pollution and smog and all that global warming stuff to thank for his skepticism.


    Oh, and for him being cold ¨C that was from the chilly night winds whipping against his bare ass cheeks like... ahem, a pro. Around him, there were several fluffy white clouds minding their own business. At first he thought they were fog, but that was nothing more than a momentary delusion on his part. They were definitely clouds.


    Because he was in the air, falling. Completely buck naked to boot.


    He was like, what the hell is this? Why am I naked? And I''m flying? No wait a minute, I''m not flying!!


    Yep, he wasn''t flying, but free falling instead.


    Like a buttered-up toast slipping out of a flailing reach, he flipped top to bottom, and that allowed him to see the ground far below. And boy, was it closing in real fast or what.


    Now his worry no longer involved dying in a fountain of blood, but rather, that of looking like a DIY flatpack cabinet from a local IKEA, being scrubbed off the floor with a shovel. Or maybe, a burst pancake topped with ketchup, whichever was visually less revolting.


    For some reason, he began to feel a little relieved inside. At least he got to see where he was going to die, poetically illuminated on the way by the ghostly pale moonlight.


    Oh, and the vista was pretty stunning as well, which was a bonus. Who''d want to die in a cramped and anonymous one-bedroom apartment smelling full of old socks?


    In a distance far far away, he saw a very impressive mountain range to his right. Shaped as if a large asteroid crash landed there, the jagged peaks and curtains of imposing heights standing tall into the sky gave off an impression of an impregnable fortress.


    To his left, he spotted a concentration of lights, which probably meant a town was that way, maybe a city. He couldn''t tell for sure, though. Below him, there were more spots of lights, here and there. Houses most likely.


    Sound of Music-esque rolling hills of grass surrounded the supposed houses below, with vast expanses of forest stretching into the horizon like a verdant green ocean. So much nature, everywhere.


    He was impressed. Being a city slicker, this much greenery was a dazzling departure from the norm and he very much appreciated it.


    To bookend the scenery, a wide river cut through the landscape like a snake trail on desert sand.


    His mind calmed down from seeing the sprawling, tranquil scenery. Sure, he was still scared but he wasn''t so frantic anymore. It was like, he finally accepted his fate since there was nothing to save him at this point in time anyway.


    He''d given up, and decided not to feel bitter about it.


    The light below got closer and he was able to confirm for sure they were indeed coming from several houses. It wasn''t easy making out the shapes and types of the buildings due to the darkness but at least he was falling near where people were around, which felt like an extra bonus to him.


    Imagine dropping dead in a middle of nowhere, like say, in Death Valley ¨C nobody would know whether you died or not, and thus nobody would come to collect your remains. Your loved ones would never be notified properly, and you''d be forever listed as a missing. No closure there.


    But now, the world should know of his fate. The big issue he had to contend with was that he had no clothes on at the moment. He had to wonder whether his DNA could be used to identify him, seeing that his fingerprints, or for that matter his face, wouldn''t survive the impact of the fall.


    He belatedly mused what kind of perverted killer would strip a man before throwing him off a plane. Too late to lodge a complaint now.


    Before long, the house had gotten real close. At this rate, he was going to land on a roof or near one. Either way, it was far too close for comfort, as he didn''t want his very last act as a living, breathing human being to be that of an accidental murderer. That would be just so wrong on too many levels.


    One blink later, and he could see a chimney puffing out smoke.


    Oh, how quaint.


    Another blink later, the thatched roof got close enough for him to count the number of straws on it.


    Relentlessly, the house was closing in.


    He heard not a single sound; every one of his senses had died.


    He closed his eyes, and silently whispered his goodbyes.


    He hit the house.

 Chapter 3

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    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    No answer came to Kain even after recalling this grisly event. Didn''t matter how hard he thought about it, he was still no closer to understanding how he got here, and how he had become a baby, out of all things considered.


    But he was somehow able to tell that this wasn''t his home, that this wasn''t his world. It was as if he traveled back into a distant past.


    As he mulled his current situation, he remembered waking up prior to this day, just that he wasn''t 100% sure of when. But definitely, he did regain consciousness right after the supposed fall to his flattened demise. It was fairly brief however, and was accompanied by a kind of excruciating pain that''s better purged out of his head or else he''d go insane.


    That pain must''ve knocked him out cold until now.


    Unfortunately, that revelation wasn''t going to bring him closer to the answer he was looking for.


    What kind of prank is this? No wait, didn''t I hit that house with the puffing chimney? So.... did I die from that and uh, get reincarnated or something?


    To his displeasure, he kept on reliving the horrid memories of being sucked into the bed and then falling buck naked from the sky repeatedly in his mind. There was nothing in those seemingly alcohol-induced madness that could shed some form of light on the matter, yet his mind replayed the scene over and over, until he felt nausea assaulting his stomach with vengeance.


    No way on god''s green earth that crap was real, man. It can''t be. I mean..., really this too must be some kind of a nightmare that I''m yet to wake up from. This is some A-level Inception stuff going on here.


    He somehow managed to convince himself that he was still dreaming, and felt better almost immediately. He even ignored the facts that were right in front of his face, such as him being trapped in a baby''s body, and that indeed, his perceptions were now functioning properly now. He even ignored that nagging little voice calling out to him from somewhere in his mind.


    The soothing voices of the brunette carried in the air, dancing a slow tango with the aroma of distant flowers seeping into his brain. He took a closer look at the woman and the young girl. They really resembled each other to an almost spooky degree. Kain thought daughters were supposed to resemble their dads while boys, their mothers. A slight discrepancy for sure, or maybe his brain got scrambled by the actions of this improbable reincarnation and got his facts all mixed up.


    The brunette''s warm and soft brown eyes were following the lines on the pages of the large, leather-bound but slim book. The girl, sitting on her lap, showed a good deal of enthusiasm, smiling, nodding and sometimes making a frown.


    Kain noticed the girl had heterochromatic eyes, but it was really slight deviation in color ¨C her left eye was two shades deeper brown than the other one. Almost unnoticeable, unless the angle of the light was just right.


    That made him wonder, if his own set of eyes were also like that. And, seeing that both the woman and her daughter were quite beautiful, could he be a ladykiller as well?


    He wasn''t a shabby looking guy back when he was still.... alive over that side, but having a face that was a few notches better sounded rather appetizing. Too bad he couldn''t confirm it just yet, as he hadn''t yet see a single mirror inside this room, which he figured was his nursery.


    As he was thinking up of a few other unrelated nonsense, the softly spoken words of the brunette continued to drift in the air.


    Kain tried to listen in but as expected, he couldn''t understand a single word. It didn''t even sound remotely like anything he''d heard before ¨C at least nothing European, that was. Having said that, it didn''t sound Oriental either.


    Not that he was an expert when it came to the matters of international linguistics; he himself had failed to learn a second language repeatedly, though not through the lack of trying. Another dark chapter in his life he''d like to forget.


    Giving up for now, he decided to study the room he was in a little bit more, and began to notice some details he''d missed previously, here and there.


    This place, there''s no electricity here, I''m sure of it. The d¨¦cor is also way too old school. Wood here, wood there, wood everywhere. All this, all of this, just feels too real to be a dream. I mean, can I even cook up stuff like this all on my own?


    The doubting voices were growing louder. He just couldn''t ignore it anymore now.


    Could this be....? No freaking way.


    Finally, he had to recognize this situation. He sure took his sweet time on it, but well, he was in a state of confusion so that was understandable.


    This development he was in had many of the hallmarks straight out of dime-a-dozen bad Japanese Web Novels, and their equally questionable ''fan'' translations. Bless their souls, it''s a crap load of Grade A hard work translating those walls of text for next to no pay but still, bad was bad no matter how hard one tried to redefine the perimeters.


    What tripped him up from making a solid connection was that he didn''t get to meet a bearded ojisan god or a scantily clad, definitely jail-bait goddess on his way here, proclaiming that he was hit by a wayward truck and died, and now he was endowed with some type of an amazing cheat skill or two. After all, that was how those stories played out almost without an exception.


    It sure would''ve been convenient to have a plot device like that, to throw in some exposition at our protagonist''s way but alas, he had no such luck on the matter.


    Also, in those stories, main characters were always blessed with over the top superpowers that suspiciously resembled a stuff of many Japanese role playing video games. Maybe, then he too had some of those super-duper, ultra-hyper skills hidden away, waiting for him to simply activate it; so, just for the experimentation purposes, he willed a Status screen to pop up.


    Of course nothing happened. It''d be weird if it did, actually.


    Well, there wasn''t any guarantee that he was the main dude in this unfolding story so it was far too early for him to assume anything. A possibility of him being a regular Villager A was also there too. That''d be quite depressing, he thought.


    He wanted to scratch his head in frustration, but his hand couldn''t reach the top of the noggin yet. More frustration piled on top of the other.


    Well damn, I just don''t have enough info to figure out what the hell''s going on here. First, I gotta find out where I am, and then.... oh right, before that, I must....


    He needed to overcome the language barrier first before starting on anything else on the to-do list of his; that much was obvious.


    That was a big mountain for him to climb, but it had to be done regardless. He felt tired just thinking about the enormity of the challenge; back in high school, he tried to learn a secondary language, believing that being multilingual would allow him to look cool in front of girls. Yes, there was something about living in the Global Village and all that nonsense too, but that wasn''t important.


    But it turned out he had zero aptitude with learning other languages. He had to find that out the hard, and sometimes, costly, way.


    At first he tried Spanish, because of this cute girl in his class. That didn''t pan out and so he moved onto French. The reason being, he heard somewhere that French girls were all shades of alluring, exotic, passionate and smoking hot. That went as well as a bull in a china shop.


    Later, it was the turn of Chinese Mandarin. Fail.


    Apparently, according to the language instructors his brain lacked a certain something; as to what that was, he was never told. Probably his parents were trying to protect his somewhat fragile ego. Probably.


    Because of these past traumas he was understandably nervous about the prospect of learning this foreign dialect. But he had no choice in the matter. It was either do or die ¨C something preposterous like that.


    Good news was, he was a baby. He couldn''t go anywhere, couldn''t do anything, nor could he get distracted by a friend request on Facebook.


    In other words, he had a plenty of time to concentrate on nothing but studying. Oh, how he danced with joy at that wonderful thought.


    Nope, not really.


    ~


    ¡°Oh yes, my cute little boy''s growing up splendidly, aren''t you? Ehehehe. Come here, you.¡±


    As he was hoisted up high in the air, Kain gazed at the man responsible for his current airborne antics; a young man in his late twenties, with a slicked back dark hair and a pair of deep, piercing azure eyes. Handsome, in a bookworm type deal, with an average height to boot. But his eyes had that dangerous glint to them, that said ¡°I''ve seen things. Don''t mess with me.¡± Oh and a small, almost indistinguishable scar just above his left eyebrow.


    Not to mention there was the small matter of his rather broad shoulders, as broad as an Olympic long distance swimmer. Yep, he was deceptively athletic, in other words.


    This guy was speaking to the hoisted baby full of pride and affection, with a big, Cheshire Cat-like grin plastered all over his face.


    Right now, they were in the main living room of the house, accompanied by the brunette and Kaleena, although the mother and daughter were getting ready for a long distance trip. Their luggage was being taken out one by one outside by the maidservants.


    ¡°And you''ve inherited your old man''s handsome mug. Heh, my bloodline''s really blessed by the gods, isn''t it. Little Kaleena''s a beauty and you''re a good looking kid already. And both of you are still so young!! Imagine when you''re a bit older!! You''ll be as popular with girls as your old man was back in the day.¡±


    Kain couldn''t help but sigh in his heart. This guy, who happened to be his father in this world, did this self-praising thing literally every freaking day, to a point where it was becoming really annoying. Enough was enough already.


    Although, in all honesty he wasn''t a bad person. Just that, the hair style and the scar didn''t impart a favorable first impression, and you know what they say about the importance of such.


    He began tickling Kain''s tummy while making those sounds made by dads with newborns. You know, those so-called baby talk, the inane babbling that had not much of significance, other than to rouse a smile out of the child.


    Kain reflexively giggled out because of his sensitive spot was under attack. And that made Damien''s face even looser, his lips visibly drooping in a happy trance. Spurred on by his success he kept up the tickling and the baby talk combo.


    However, such ways of talking didn''t sit so well with his boss, uh, wife.


    ¡°Damien, please talk to Kain properly. We do want our son to learn to speak well, don''t we, love?¡±


    She frowned slightly, and a couple of thin lines creased her otherwise smooth forehead.


    Hugging Kain closer, Damien the self proclaimed father-of-the-year-candidate smiled. ¡°It''s alright, babe. It''s only been what, seven, seven and a half month? He''s going to talk sooner rather than later. And when that day comes, we''re going to celebrate like there''s no tomorrow, right Liz?¡±


    It was Kain''s turn to frown, as his cheek got rubbed against the rough and unsophisticated material of Damien''s shirt. Even the cheapest knock off clothes from some run down factory off China''s underbelly were made with better quality materials than this ¨C it was painful just have it come in contact with his delicate skin.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He wanted to cry, knowing that he would have to wear these terrible clothes in the future too. Everything in this world was so backwards, it was way past the point of depressing and into the realm of helpless acceptance.


    At first, Kain couldn''t even believe this world, or at least his house, had no toilet. As a modern man, the very idea of using a bucket as a substitute then emptying the smelly contents out by a midden located behind the house''s stable was a horror story coming to life.


    Only saving grace for now, was that he didn''t have to worry about the matters of No.1s and 2s as he was still a toddler. The wool towel, serving as a diaper, did its duty rather faithfully.


    Liz, the brunette, sighed and patted Kaleena''s head, hugging her closer. ¡°Well, we''ll be on our way, then. But will you be able to behave yourself while we''re out? I don''t want to see Kain picking up any bad habits.¡±


    She threw a pointed question at her husband''s direction.


    ¡°That hurts, babe. Your words are sharper than the claws of a Highlands Liger.¡± Damien made a wounded face. ¡°Place your trust in me. You know everything will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do trust you, somewhat,¡± Liz smiled weakly.


    Damien began cooing at Kain, paying a little mind to his wife''s creased brows. She observed her husband for a moment, and gave him a reminder of his duty in a form of a playful slap on his rear end.


    ¡°Ouch, what was that for, Missus Lizbeth Ravenswood-Lomax?¡± Damien breezily smirked as he exaggeratedly rubbed his bum. ¡°What, you want me to start misbehaving in front of the kids?¡±


    Not waiting for a reply, he reached out with his free hand and pulled Lizbeth close, then landed a long, loving kiss. Kain and Kaleena became trapped in between the hugging adults, and while he was gasping for air, the girl simply looked up her parents curiously.


    It wasn''t unusual to see them snog but she was wondering what all the fuss was about locking lips. She thought it looked uncomfortable, honestly speaking.


    ¡°You''re incorrigible,¡± Liz smiled unabashedly, and ruffled Damien''s hair after the kiss ended. He chuckled happily, and tried to steal another kiss, but was interrupted by a soft knock, signaling the end of the family hug.


    ¡°My lady, the luggage have been loaded successfully on the carriage. We are waiting for you.¡±


    From the entrance of the living room, the voice of a maidservant came. She peeked around the edge and smiled warmly at the scene inside.


    Damien sighed. ¡°I''m going to miss you, will you miss me too?¡±


    ¡°Love, we''ll be away for only three days. But yes, we''ll miss you.¡±


    Lizbeth cupped her husband''s cheek and stroked it.


    As the hug ended, Kain was finally able to take a deep breath to replenish his lungs.


    He wanted to retort, ¡°hey you two, get a damn room,¡± but then they already did so it was a bit of a moot point to raise. Besides, he and Kaleena were the end results of the room sharing anyway.


    Gosh darn it, they looked so good together, he thought he saw rays of shiny, rosy lights coming from the couple, and a garden of pretty flowers blooming all around the two. It was so sugary sweet that watching their happy faces for any longer time might give him diabetes ¨C especially to a guy who had his fair share of girl troubles back when.


    So to save himself from getting sick with jealousy, he looked at the maidservant instead. His home had a pair of them, and the older of the two, named Delilah Bleier, was the one who announced the readiness of their means of transport.


    There was no other way of saying this, Delilah was a Dwarf. She was around four and a half feet in height, so wasn''t exactly on the short side per se, but then again she said she was one, so that was that.


    Somewhat of a stocky build, with a warm and a kind face like an auntie, plus a temperament to match ¨C she was the wise and patient caretaker of the house. She commuted every morning from her home which she shared with a hubby and three adult sons, and performed most of the household chores. She was a seasoned veteran when it came to managing the smooth operation of the house.


    Thankfully, she didn''t have a face full of bushy beard. Now that would have been too awkward to ignore.


    And the other maidservant, as far as Kain could tell, was outside, doing god knows what.


    ¡°The carriage is here already? I wanna see!!¡±


    Kaleena exclaimed and dashed out of Lizbeth''s grasp. She didn''t get too far, before tripping on a corner of the thick brown fur carpet laid out on the floor.


    Naturally, she began bawling immediately from the unexpected pain coming from her skinned knee.


    Delilah came to console the young girl but all she could do for now was to examine the wound and try to pacify the child.


    But, it was Lizbeth''s turn to shine ¨C literally. She hurriedly came to her crying daughter''s side and knelt down. Raising her hand, she spoke in a clear but strong voice.


    ¡°Blessings of the gentle morning dew,


    Warding off the cold dawn fog,


    Lest we surrender through,


    Keep turning the fate''s cog;


    I Invoke Light Heal,¡± and so Lizbeth chanted out a spell.


    Kain narrowed his eyes as his perceptions caught something strange began to appear in the living room. A thin fog-like substance was converging together with Lizbeth as the center.


    No, that wasn''t right ¨C the substance was present in the room all along, it was just that, he''d dismissed it as a simple dust floating in the air, although deep in his heart he knew that explanation was wrong.


    And now, that fog of substance moved as if it possessed a will of its own, and oozed around the kneeling Lizbeth. When the chanting ended, the unknown thing changed to a white veil of transparent light and blanketed her.


    This light then focused on her hand that gently clasped Kaleena''s bruised knee, repairing the damage almost instantaneously. The light wrapped around the girl from head to toe, and slowly dispersed afterwards as the wound healed.


    ¡°It doesn''t hurt any more, mommy.¡±


    Wiping away her tears, little Kaleena reported that it was all good.


    That was healing magic at work, and Kain''s eyes nearly popped out of their respective sockets from amazement. That was indeed one helluva effective demonstration, a reminder, of the reality he was in.


    Quickly recovering from the shock, he refocused and analyzed what he just witnessed.


    He thought that well, he shouldn''t have been so surprised to see magic at work; after all, one of his maidservant was a Dwarf, a fantasy genre staple. It wasn''t too far fetched to imagine the existence of magic and all that supernatural stuff being the norm in this world.


    But just what was that fog, though? MP?


    Judging by the lack of reactions from the people in the living room, it was safe to concur that it was a well known fact Lizbeth was a wizard, and that magic being performed was not all that uncommon a thing to witness.


    What he''s currently curious about, was whether others could see this fog like substance or not. Also, he thought that chanting was kind of on the long-ish side. It was quite cumbersome to recite the spell every time if someone wanted to use a magic spell.


    Shouldn''t there be a quicker, more efficient ways of chanting, he wondered.


    ¡°There, there. See, it''s all alright now, with mummy''s Invocation skills.¡± Damien smiled as he stroked Kaleena''s head. ¡°Wasn''t that great? When you grow older, I''m sure you''ll become as good an Invoker as your mother is.¡±


    Invocation? An Invoker? Kain tilted his head. Huh? What''s that all about? I haven''t heard those words before.


    ¡°Love, let us postpone such talks until after Kaleena is a little older and gotten her Results back.¡± Lizbeth cautioned her husband with a small elbow to his side. Turning to face her daughter with a warm expression, she said, ¡°Right, shall we get going? Sweetie, can you stand now?¡±


    She reached her hand out, and the young girl took it, standing up with a bounce. A radiant and innocent smile bloomed on her cute face and she ran outside again full of vigor.


    The rest of the family followed suit as well. It was pretty much the first time Kain had left through the front door, so he was sort of excited at the sudden opportunity of seeing the outside world. Previously he was taken to the backyard of the house but then he didn''t get to see much thanks to the tall wooden fences demarcating the perimeters.


    As he exited the doorway while being carried in the arms of Damien, he was greeted by the crop fields and distant vineyards, awash with lush green and teeming with life. Only a few droplets of clouds lazed about overhead, and the early morning sun felt particularly pleasant on his skin.


    The front yard had two rows of trees lining up the road leading to the front gate, which was a slight surprise for Kain; the place was larger than he expected.


    A familiar geezer was working on trimming one of the trees. He placed the cutting tool on the ground and walked over to see Lizbeth off. He was human unlike the other servants, and had a kind of face that had weathered decades of sun with grace.


    The Lomax couple and the old gardener exchanged cordial greetings, while Kaleena ran towards the large wooden carriage.


    Hurriedly Delilah went after her, to keep the young girl away from the quartet of large and skittish horses. Thankfully, the animals didn''t seem to be too bothered by the presence of a small human kid and carried on whatever they were doing.


    Its driver was busy trying to converse with the other, younger maidservant of the house, Rosy Matte. She didn''t seem to be all that interested but the dude was persistently trying his luck.


    Rosy, like Delilah, wasn''t exactly human. With looks that might be at home in a Disney family cartoon, Rosy Matte was a humanoid with cat like facial features, a Pantherikin ¨C smooth, reddish fur covering most of her body that was visible outside her clothes, a pair of ears atop her head, and short but prominent whiskers that swayed a bit when she spoke.


    She also happened to possess a pair of.... ahem, natural wonders of devastating power on her chest area that made pretty much all the male members of the society get rather distracted.


    Even Damien made an occasional faux pas. Kain caught the sights of him plenty enough times taking a quick peek at the jiggly pair.


    As a former hot blooded male himself, Kain sympathized with his current father''s.... uh, dilemma. Lizbeth was a beautiful woman, but it seemed no matter what the world''s setting was like, men were genetically programmed to forever be cursed with wandering, lecherous eyes.


    However, Kain wasn''t affected for some reason. He wasn''t into furries for one, but when he gave it some thought, it seemed most likely his current body was the cause, as it just wasn''t mature enough to react to the stimulus. Probably a blessing in disguise, that.


    However, he did stare shamelessly, no make that dumbfoundedly, at Rosy and Delilah the first time he saw them. Not for any lewd reasons, obviously.


    He knew what he did was rude, but hey, he had a convenient excuse all lined up; that one about young kids staring at things that were foreign to them, such as strangers. So he felt he was safe from the PC police.


    One thing he noted early on was that, these ladies didn''t wear any maid outfits, instead of opting for more regular dresses that were easy to move around in. And what he meant by the outfits were those frilly, black and lacy French maid ¡°uniforms¡±. Personally he didn''t see the appeal of such a get-up but he did hear it was a fetish for some. Maybe it wasn''t Damien''s cup of tea. Like father, like son? As if.


    Emergence of his passengers meant the driver had to reluctantly abandon his pursuit of the busty maiden. The disappointment was obvious in the young man''s face. Relief was written large on hers.


    There were two more people besides the carriage, holding the reins of their own horses and lightly armed with weapons.


    Kain recognized both of them too, as they frequented the house, bringing in muddy footprints that caused Delilah endless grief. Mud was from the unpaved road of the front yard so the blame should be assigned to the owner of the house but whatever.


    The one with a large bow and a pair of short swords attached to his hips were Terry Bonhams, a Lacertkin possessing striking blue and green scales. He rarely talked, but the impression Kain got from him was that Terry was uncomfortable around kids for some reason. Didn''t feel like pushing it so he let it be. Not like he could outright ask him about it anyway.


    The other, super-large guy was Rolf Harris-Shi, a Caniduskin. Outwardly he totally resembled a Werewolf so that gave Kain a huge fright when they met for the first time. Seven feet tall, hulking physique, at least 400 pounds or more and incisors sharp enough to puncture steel. Forgive him for nearly soiling his pants.


    Good thing Rolf was a chatty, friendly guy who liked to laugh a lot. The most scary thing about him after getting to know him a bit better was his bushy tail, which swung around in a lethal velocity when he was really chuffed or excited about something.


    ¡°Everything''s ready, my lady,¡± Rolf gave a thumbs-up sign. ¡°We can depart any time you wish.¡±


    Rolf and Terry''s job was to escort Lizbeth, Delilah and Kaleena during the journey to the nearby town of Lafayette, which was just over half a day''s travel away. The road was quite safe but it paid to be cautious so Damien had attached a pair of very skilled village militiamen to the carriage.


    As the luggage was already finished loading under Delilah''s supervision, that left Lizbeth to say the goodbyes and kiss her hubby one more time, before boarding the simple yet sturdy looking carriage.


    Kaleena seemed to be very much excited at the prospect of visiting a big city for the first time so she was bouncing around, full of energy. Kain felt pity for the adults who were going to chaperon her. He could see that it was going to be handful.


    He hoped that there weren''t any flags being raised here though, what with his sister and mother going off on a seemingly safe trip. Usually, tragedy that defines someone was supposed to happen on occasions like this.


    He wasn''t callous enough to wish for one. If anything, he wanted them to have a safe trip and enjoy themselves.


    Surely nothing bad was going to happen.


    Surely.

 Chapter 4

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">4</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Although he was confident of enjoying some quality father and son time together with his little boy, the reality proved to be a cruel mistress. Once Damien entered his office, all his plans got dashed, just like that, by the sight of piles upon piles of documents that required his immediate attention. It wasn''t like he had been evading his responsibilities or anything, it''s just that his work always had a way to overwhelm him at the most inopportune moments.


    ¡°Rosy, brew me a strong pot of tea, will you? I am going to need it quite soon.¡±


    Frowning, he asked the young maidservant for an assistance that should come in handy later. She peeked into the office from behind him, and gave a I pity you, sir kind of gaze before nodding, slinking away into the kitchen.


    Breathing in deeply, Damien looked around for a suitable place, and when he located one in his cluttered office, he brought the cot in from the nursery and set it there. Lowering his son inside, he stroked Kain''s head as he apologized.


    ¡°Hey Kain, daddy''s going to catch up on some paperwork. Can you entertain yourself for a little while? I promise I''ll be quick. In the meantime, why don''t you.... uh, read these books? It''s got lots of pictures and all.¡±


    Kain looked at him and thought, you must be out of your mind, giving a new born baby books to mess around in, but after seeing the titles, he revised his mind. They all sounded interesting, as far as his still suspect reading skills went.


    Even if he couldn''t read properly, since he was offered the chance he might as well take it, and improve his reading and writing. With that in mind, he nodded his consent right away.


    Damien silently swore inside that his seven month old baby boy was already understanding what he was saying. That would be quite outlandish if true, but he had to dismiss such thoughts as baseless, as he hadn''t had time to dwell on that.


    So, he simply patted his son''s head and said, ¡°Now there''s a good boy. I''ll be right over there, so you want something, just give me shout, alright?¡±


    Oh, sure thing, boss. Kain smiled weakly while sighing in his mind. Is this guy off his meds or something?


    A few things have happened in the last few months, but due to his diligent ¨C read had-no-choice-in-the-matter ¨C studying, he was at a place where he was able to listen in on conversations held by people around him. He still heard words he didn''t know yet now and then, but hell, the speed at which he developed at was quite clearly abnormal.


    Other than his consciousness being that of a twenty-something office worker, there were no other fitting explanations for it.


    He just fervently hoped that this thing about him picking up the language fairly quickly wasn''t his one and only cheat skill, otherwise that would surely be categorized as A Damn Waste.


    Reading was still a problem, however. Reaching out to the thinnest book in front of him, Kain flipped through a few ungainly and stiff pages and arrived at a part filled with texts on one side and some watercolor illustrations on the other.


    One of the biggest reason why it was difficult for him to wrap his head around on the lettering system, despite having seen the storybook in the nursery repeatedly, was because of the alphabets in use.


    In short, they looked like the result of an unholy union between some ancient Hieroglyphics straight out of an Egyptian Pyramid and Russian/Greek letters after a night of binge drinking gone wrong.


    Just looking at them gave him a mild migraine.


    Oh well, it''s not like there''s a better way anyway. Let''s just do this thing.


    Kain knew the faster he learned to read, the faster he''d get to his goal. Which was, needless to say, finding more about just what the hell was going on here. But his goal had shifted while he wasn''t really aware of it happening.


    See, the thing was, he got bored.


    Doing nothing but baby things, like sleeping, drinking, pooping, burping and spewing, these past few months got monotonous real quick and he needed a distraction fast, but that was easier said than done as there wasn''t really anything that resembled entertainment in this world, not that he had seen one as yet.


    Reading was seemingly the only way to alleviate the crushing power of the boredom around here.


    Although he knew how to read some words already ¨C associating them to images did wonders ¨C but he still faced limitations, forcing him to work around the hurdle to the best of his abilities.


    He was so very, very far from being a fluent reader, of course, but was at a place where he felt there was a definite progress being made here.


    The book he was holding didn''t seem all that interesting, so he put it away. The next one in line was quite voluminous, and he struggled to pick it up in one go. The cover was also seriously thick, with tough, darkened leather bounding it tightly. The letters on it were faded from the repeated thumbing, but overall the condition of the book was excellent.


    On the spine, the title was preserved and he could recognize some letters, but the word as a whole, he wasn''t sure. So, more out of curiosity than anything else, he tried to open it, and after some struggle he was able to flip open the stiff cover.


    He shuddered in delight as soon as he saw the contents.


    What he held in his hands was a book about magic, as hinted at by the illustrations on the pages.


    In other words, he''d stumbled into a potential gold mine.


    Going through couple more pages, he was dead sure of his findings. The images were of a robed figure taking various poses and effects of spells taking place around this said person. Words like ''fire'' and ''earth'' were written alongside, and the more he looked at them, the more convinced he became, that the texts next to the images were the chants required for the respective spells.


    Kain gleefully turned over the pages, not paying any mind to Damien who was neck deep in trying to thin out the piles of documents in front of him.


    He was sweating profusely. It was hot and humid as it was the onset of Summer, and leaving the windows open did little to lessen the stifling heat in his office.


    He read the reports written by a river engineer with a troubled expression. Every year without fail, the Monsoon season brought about flooding of the river Anders and her banks, causing a bit of a damage to the vineyards and wheat fields next to it. What luck for the village to be located right next to one of the most important rivers on the continent.


    According to the astrologists from Lafayette, the nearest big city in the province, this year''s rainfall was predicted to be more severe than the year before. The flood happening was a certain deal, in other words.


    Last year, Damien somehow was able to reinforce the weaker parts of the riverbanks within the allocated budget of the village and the overall impact of the flood was limited. But that was then.


    Going off by the top of his head, there was some wiggle room in this year''s budget for more reinforcement work, but since he was not a clairvoyant, he wasn''t sure whether the amount was going to be enough.


    He sighed, and scratched his head.


    Riverfield, the village Damien had been governing for the past five years, seemed like a relaxed, trouble-free place from afar. After all, it was a small community with less than four hundred souls living in it.


    Yet beneath the calm, friendly exterior, there were enough issues to make a stern man lose patience. The small populace meant there weren''t enough taxes collected to solve every problem that arose while he wasn''t looking.


    He missed being an Adventurer. Compared to this, that was better. Less to worry about overall, lower number of responsibilities to mull over.


    Feeling demotivated, Damien''s mind wandered until the faces of his older brother and father floated to the front of his mind.


    ¡°Hell, I don''t know how you do it, Dukakis,¡± Damien muttered his brother''s name to no one in particular.


    He mused how long it had been since he last saw that guy. Try as he might, not one good memory of his family came to him but, nor were they terribly unpleasant ¨C just a whole lot of indifferent expressions etched across the so-called family''s various stiff mugs.


    He looked at his son who was poring through the thick book and murmured, ¡°Don''t worry, son. I''ll never treat you like that. That much, I promise. They won''t even know of you until it''s safe for you.¡±


    He fondly gazed at his child, thinking what a smart kid he was, until he noticed the book the baby was holding. Then Damien''s face lost color.


    ¡°Oh hell.¡±


    Grunting in panic, he swiftly got up from behind the desk and dashed towards Kain. Then he pried the thick book off the baby''s hand, saying, ¡°Sorry kiddo. Your mommy''s going to have my head if she finds out I let you play around with this book.¡±


    Kain reached out reflexively to take the book back but it was well out of reach by then. Damien smiled apologetically at the frowning baby with rapidly rising puffy cheeks.


    ¡°I''ll get you another one, one with lots of pretty pictures inside. Let''s see....¡±


    Hurriedly, he cast his eyes at the only bookshelf in the office. It was filled to the brim with books but at a casual glance it was rather obvious there weren''t anything suitable for a baby''s consumption.


    There was a series of books on The Imperial Taxation Decree; another set on The Imperial Constitution. There were a pair of publications on the military tactics employed by a famous general in the last great war at the Norwich Pass up North. Another on how to achieve a highly efficient wheat farming.


    Nothing for a kid to look at, no matter how hard he searched. While he was sweating profusely at a sudden, increasingly combustible situation rising behind him in a form of a new born child ready to throw an almighty tantrum, he saw a potential savior. Tucked up pretty deeply in a corner of the upper most shelf, there was an outdated bestiary of the Continent Noa, the one they were living on.


    Unable to remember if it had scary pictures in it or not, he quickly pulled it out and blew away the layer of dust off it. Because of disuse the leather on the cover had gone very stiff and when he pried it open, he nearly snapped it in half.


    He nearly bleated out an expletive but held it back just in time.


    To his relief, there weren''t too many scary images inside, although some depictions of Fiends were a bit on the graphic side. Still, it was reasonably family-friendly so he figured it was safe to let his baby boy fool around with it.


    ¡°Here, Kain. Take a look at this!! Isn''t this more interesting?¡±


    Damien showed the boy a page that showed variants of hare and watched for a reaction, and when he confirmed that it was positive, he was able to relax just a little.


    ¡°I''ve brought tea, m''lord,¡±


    Rosy announced from the corridor before entering the office, carrying a wooden plate with a porcelain teapot, a smaller pot containing goat milk, a jar with sweetener, and some biscuits.


    Sitting back on his chair with a bumpf after averting a disaster, Damien welcomed the timely intrusion of his maidservant. ¡°Thanks Rosy. You''re a life saver.¡±


    After gulping down the bitter tea, he felt refreshed enough to tackle the problems of the village once more.


    He left caring of Kain to Rosy and dived into his work in earnest. The faster he finishes, the longer he''d be able to play with his son.


    Although, he did find the amount of documents he had to go through quite unnecessary. All this bureaucracy was making him go mad.


    The Imperial Office of Records wanted a fastidious record-keeping done on all of its territories no matter how remote. So it was the same with the other landlords elsewhere. Such thoughts didn''t give Damien a cause to celebrate however.


    Placing the river engineer''s report to the side, thinking he needed to locate the funds first before he can move, he shifted through the pile, as he tried to locate the other urgent reports, noted by the date.


    If he could sort out the important ones from the others which he can safely ignore, then he''d finish in time for lunch, optimistically speaking.


    And then he saw it. Well, not the important document, but something else.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Damien got an eyeful of Rosy''s bouncy cleavage when she bent down to pour him another cup. That relieved some of his stress a little.


    Quickly fixing his gaze away from the temptation, he absentmindedly looked at the document in his hand, something he grabbed without noticing.


    And felt an irritating itch develop at the back of his neck.


    It was a scroll, still sealed with a wax on top. The seal had a mark of the Imperial Office. A written communique from one of the numerous organizations hell bent on making his life as difficult as possible.


    He drew blank on just when he''d receive this. Usually, something like this would have been delivered by hand, requiring the recipient to sign a form signifying he or she had received it unsealed.


    He certainly couldn''t remember meeting a courier recently. Who could''ve received it and forgotten to tell him about it?


    ¡°Oh, right. I was wondering where that ran off to,¡± said Rosy as she noticed the crimson scroll in Damien''s grip.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Two weeks ago a messenger arrived on a fast horse and left it here with me. But I forgot where I''ve put it. Thank you for finding it, m''lord.¡±


    So said the big cat girl while presenting the refilled cup of tea.


    Damien fell silent, wondering what he should say. He didn''t want to utter something insensitive, as it was his fault, probably, as he failed to educate her properly on the importance of the Imperial Seal.


    In the end he didn''t say anything, and just received the cup. Then he unfurled the scroll, breaking the wax seal.


    Honestly, he didn''t really feel good opening it. The itch grew even more, thinking that this was some sort of announcements regarding a declaration of some new red tape being put in place.


    He was incorrect.


    It was a politely worded request to all the territories that neighbored special areas called the Sacred Acres. A Sacred Acre was, normally speaking, quite a dangerous place, a nest of man-eating Fiends and deadly curses. It just happens so that Riverfield did lay close to one, albeit it was as dangerous as a new born calf.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The simple reason was that the area in question was explored in its fullest, and the Fiends inhabiting it cleared out a few years ago. Damien personally led the detachment of militiamen and certified Adventurers to do so, and he was confident he performed a thorough job back then.


    The Imperial Request was seeking a material only found within the Sacred Acres; frankly Damien had never heard of such an item before, but judging by the tone of the letter in his hand, he inferred it must''ve been a rather important stuff.


    ¡°Huh. No mention of compensation whatsoever, anywhere. And the Capital expects the free handover, eh? How luxurious.¡±


    Damien shrugged his shoulders, then he crumpled the letter, chucking it away to a corner. The wax seal belonged not to the Royal Imperial Family or for that matter, any of the important branches of the government, but to the Imperial Institute of Research.


    It meant that even if he ignored the request the consequences wouldn''t be severe. Besides, he had other things to worry about; he was not in a secure financial position to hire Adventurers from Lafayette, nor could he spare the village militia to go on a goose chase of an item that may or may not exist in Riverfield''s Sacred Acre.


    ¡°So that''s that, then. Next.¡± Damien shrugged his shoulders and picked up another document, unfurling it to read the contents.


    ¡°M''lord, will it be alright to disregard the request? I mean, it is from that Institute, isn''t it? Won''t that prove to be troublesome?¡±


    Rosy asked worriedly.


    Damien looked at her slightly surprised. It must have been Lizbeth who told her the past issues he had with the darn Institute. But well, now that he was installed as a lord of a territory, even the Head Director of the meddlesome Institute had no way of disrupting him.


    ¡°Pay it no mind, Rosy. The ancient ruin near the village holds no value and I''ve people who can back that claim up. I''ll just write up a reply stating such, as well as adding in our unkind outlook of the financial situation and that''ll be that.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, m''lord,¡± she sighed. ¡°Will there be anything else, sir?¡±


    ¡°That''s all for now, thank you.¡±


    As Rosy turned, Damien''s still pin-sharp senses felt presences of a handful of horse-mounted figures approaching, then stopping by the front of his house. One of them he recognized, but the others, they were foreign.


    The old timer, Frank the gardener, should be opening the gates by now.


    ¡°....Rosy, looks like we might have guests today. Please show them in.¡±


    Her ears twitched as she tried to sense them; and when she did, she turned around to face him and nodded, leaving the office quickly without missing a beat.


    It had been a good few years since Damien had to give up on the lifestyle of a highly regarded Adventurer but his perceptions remained as reliable as ever. The fact made him happy inside.


    It meant he could return to that life without feeling too rusty, if the need ever arises again in the future.


    Lizbeth might beat me up if I mention that now, Damien grimaced a little when he imagined wife''s reaction. She could be fearsome sometimes. He had to bear the brunt of that fury before plenty enough times, so he knew what he was talking about.


    Soon, there were footsteps on the corridor.


    The sound reverberating told him a few things about the visitors; one, the unknown people were wearing traveling boots meaning they weren''t local, and two, this seemed like an official matter, the urgency of the each steps transmitting the intent quite well. And then there were the trained-ness to them, a certain orderliness, inherent to certain types of Capital-bred nobility.


    Damien felt like sighing again. Whatever this was, it wasn''t going to be nice. His instincts told him so.


    The footsteps stopped before the office''s door, and a light knock followed.


    ¡°M''lord, riders from the Capital Argos has arrived, seeking your audience.¡± Rosy declared from beyond the door.


    ¡°Enter,¡± Damien gave the permission. This exchange tired him already; why did the nobility find the need to go through the time consuming ritual just to receive someone? What a bother it was. But to establish the official tone of the meeting, even Rosy knew this had to be done.


    In through the open door, three figures entered the office.


    In front, a familiar face of a young village guard named Vagas, who was a part of group Damien had personally trained in swordsmanship last year. He was an earnest man, no, make that a boy, who Damien thought of having some decent talent if he worked harder. However there was no getting around the fact the dude looked the part of a country bumpkin. Oh well.


    Behind Vagas, a refined man in his early thirties and a tall woman with a self-important, uptight facial expression. The man wore an excessive mantle slung around his shoulders, while the woman had a navy blue colored hood. There were light covering of dust over their shoulders, a clear sign of hard riding.


    Damien kept his gaze on the pair, thinking if he''d seen them before somewhere; not likely, but possible, seeing that he''d gone to many, many places during his days as an Adventurer.


    Failing to recall their faces, Damien then proceeded to ascertain several information regarding the unknown visitors.


    He noticed that the man was a noble, or at least employed by one of a very high rank judging by the attire and the confident gait. The woman didn''t seem like one however, but her posture made him wonder.


    The grip of the sword on the man''s hip showed he was a capable swordsman, or at least he handled it for a while.


    The woman certainly possessed the confident aura of someone who had an absolute belief in her abilities, while the man, of the authority he carried.


    And finally, the condescending facial expression etched on the man''s face as he surveyed Damien''s cramped and disorganized office foretold this meeting wasn''t going to be full of happy handshakes.


    To make the matter worse, the man''s mantle was engraved with the seal of the Imperial Institute. Damien''s face cramped up slightly at that. What were the odds?


    ¡°Sir Damien, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Sir Jonas Bremble, serving under His Holy Grace Marquis Phillips. This is Lady Helga Hans-Struck, a Journeyman-ranked Invoker, certified by the Society of Invocational Research.¡±


    The cloak wearing man, Jonas, did a simple curtsy and made his greeting. The woman remained still, not bothering to change her stance.


    Releasing the cramped expression Damien tried his best to smile magnanimously.


    ¡°Welcome to the village of Riverfield, Sir Jonas and Lady Helga. It must have been a tiresome journey. Have you had a chance to rest?¡± While saying so, Damien signaled to Vagas, telling him that he''d take it from here.


    ¡°I''ll be right outside, sir,¡± Vagas waved his hand in a country bumpkin way, which as a matter of fact he was, and left the office while closing the door behind him. Rosy remained in order to pour the refreshments for the guests.


    ¡°Now, what do I owe this pleasant surprise to?¡± Damien maintained the smile as he offered them seats. Unfortunately only one chair was free, with stacks of parchments and documents resting on top of others.


    Jonas glanced at Kain disinterestedly once, and took the chair for himself, leaving Helga to stand around.


    That was to be expected; Jonas had a higher social standing, and therefore he had the right to take it first, chivalry be damned.


    Kain at that moment thought the man, who said his name was Jonas, was an ass, not caring to offer a seat to a woman ¨C which would''ve been a common courtesy. And his facial expression was one of someone who didn''t even know what he had done, nor did he care.


    Meanwhile, Damien was thinking furiously about the letter he just had crumpled and tossed away; he was trying to remember just where it dropped among the pile of documents on the floor.


    ¡°Forgive my unannounced intrusion, but we''ve come with the express wishes of His Grace to find the amount of progress that have been made regarding the reclamation of the item, Aerinite, mentioned in the missive that was sent to you.¡±


    Rosy poured the still-warm tea on spare cups, while giving her employer a quick glance. Damien said his thanks, and waited until she also left the office.


    ¡°Ah, that,¡± Damien finally nodded. ¡°As you can see, I am swarmed with work. There haven''t been a chance to write a reply yet ¨C the item hunt isn''t going to take place, I''m afraid. My decision.¡±


    ¡°Lord Damien, that is a rather unexpected, and somewhat unfortunate answer.¡±


    Jonas''s lips curled disapprovingly. He didn''t even try to disguise his displeasure.


    Damien observed Jonas for a second, and continued to speak while shrugging his shoulders. He did it knowing how much the nobles hated that gesture.


    ¡°Well, there are various circumstances. The folks in the Capital City of Argos may not think much of it but, out here in the sticks, there are other matters that require the funds more urgently. It makes no sense to send out expeditionary forces on a whim for some phantom material I''ve never even heard of.¡±


    ¡°My lord, it wasn''t decided on a whim. The researchers and several top Adventurers have confirmed Aerinite''s existence.¡±


    Damien thought Jonas''s face was getting heated up. Regardless of Jonas''s position, it was quite likely below that of Damien''s peerage, which happened to be that of a Baron. Although he never acted like one so people around him tend to forget that fact, but that also didn''t mean Jonas could afford to be rude to a man with a superior standing in the confusing hierarchy of power in the Empire.


    So all he could do was to hold his anger in. Knowing this, Damien pushed a bit more.


    ¡°You probably know about my past exploits, yes? I''ve been a registered, ranked Adventurer since the age of twelve. I''ve traversed many terrains, and explored my fair share of Sacred Acres. Yet I''ve never come across something called Aerinite. Not even once.¡±


    ¡°My lord, it exists. I can personally vouch that it''s real.¡±


    It was now the turn of Helga to speak. Contrary to her stiff upper-lip visage and the tall, lanky height, she had a soft and almost little girl-ish voice. Damien thought he was being tricked by some sort of an Invocation to hide her real appearance.


    ¡°It may be rude to say, but I do not know you. It''s all good and well to say this Aerinite is real, but for one, you do not know whether this item can be found within the Sacred Acre of this territory.¡±


    Damien quickly recovered from the surprise, and countered. Then he waited for a beat, and interrupted Helga who was about to speak again.


    ¡°Of course, I''m not averse to the idea. But there''s currently no leeway to hire manpower to explore a Sacred Acre which I was personally involved in clearing out a few years ago.¡±


    A Sacred Acre? Kain tilted his head slightly. He had heard of this term before, and even knew the spelling of it, as it was written in the storybook in the nursery. From what he was able to gather, it seemed this Acre thing was the unique term used to describe a dungeon, or a labyrinth.


    He was somewhat upset at the fact that earlier on Damien used his superior physical strength to take away the book on magic. The old bestiary was the only thing that barely kept him from venting out his frustration on his current father.


    But now, with the arrival of these uptight people, he was beginning to hear some funny stuff all of a sudden.


    Damien was an Adventurer? Wow. If true, then that kinda makes sense, doesn''t it? He''s athletic, got a stash of dangerous looking weapons in the house, and he trains every morning, swinging that wooden sword of his like a possessed man.


    Kain felt a new found respect for him rising deep inside. He wasn''t just some country bum taking it easy after all.


    But this business about a Sacred Acre interested him a lot. To think, a dungeon capable of producing untold riches was nearby. But that was in a video game, and this happened to be reality. The way Damien was saying he cleared it, it sounded like the Acre no longer held any value, monetary or otherwise.


    This talk about Aerinite though. Was that some kind of treasure? Since this was a fantasy world, it wouldn''t have been too surprising to learn there were gemstones Kain''ve never even heard of before in the previous world. But whatever it was, Damien the experienced Adventurer was saying he didn''t know of it, and if that''s the case, he had to wonder if there were some other hidden reason why these two stiff upper lipped people came here for.


    Damien too, was suspecting something fishy was happening here; the way this Helga woman was insisting made him think that this Aerinite or whatever was indeed a real thing. She didn''t seem like the sort to lie. Besides, he also saw no point in creating an official letter just to print a scam on it and leave it be as an evidence of malicious intent to damage relations.


    The biggest reason for the slight disquiet in Damien''s heart was the fact that it barely had been two weeks since he had received the request letter. Yet, there they were, the pair of Jonas and Helga right in front of him, trying to get him to get a move on.


    If the Institute''s head researchers and Marquis Phillips didn''t believe in the significant chances of the material being available in this territory''s Sacred Acre, then these two wouldn''t have come.


    With this line of thought emerging, it became increasingly difficult for Damien to keep a straight face.


    He started seeing a way to take advantage of the situation. This matter seemed like a god-send opportunity, to wring out some much needed financial concessions off the fat cats sitting pretty in the Capital.


    ¡°So, Sir Jonas, why is the sudden need for this Aerinite? And what makes you so sure my Sacred Acre has it?¡±


    Damien deliberately emphasized ''my'' part. It didn''t matter whether he was being sneered upon with contempt or not, the fact remained that Riverfield and its surrounding areas were under his lordship. No one, save for the Emperor himself, could march into his territory willy-nilly and do whatever they pleased. That would amount to declaring war.


    ¡°For now, I''m not at liberty to say. But I assure you, it is for the good of the Empire.¡± Jonas shook his head. ¡°As for this territory''s Sacred Acre, it fits the profile perfectly. The researchers of the Institute have identified Acres with a high probability of containing Aerinite ores. Yours happen to be one.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Damien sat back on his chair and sipped the now-cold tea.


    His cool and apathetic reaction to Jonas''s words brought forth uneasy silence in the room.


    Although he didn''t show it outwardly, Jonas was actually pressed for time. There were events afoot at the Institute''s headquarters, and if he failed to secure this chance then surely, all he achieved so far, all he did to climb up to the current position, would be for naught.


    And precisely because he had to bring about a favorable result quickly, the direction this talk had taken wasn''t ideal.


    Before departing from the Capital, he had done some research on just who Damien was, but that didn''t really prepare him much. From the very beginning, Jonas thought his opponent was a hick, a deadbeat provincial upstart noble with a grimy background.


    But here, he was reassessing the situation. Jonas should have considered the fact that, after all, Damien was a Lomax, a member of The Five Founding Families. It didn''t matter that he was only a second son from the branch family Lucius. It also didn''t matter he no longer associated with his greater family.


    Just as it was with the other Founding Families, the harsh conditions for survival amid the ceaseless internal conflicts meant he wasn''t short of ideas and of a thick skin. Moreso, in that he was also shaped in the fires of various battlefields as a Gold-ranked Adventurer.


    Jonas didn''t come here to antagonize the man, but to earn cooperation; he couldn''t just waltz into a territory of a Lomax as that would only cause troubles for himself, and for his boss.


    If that''s the case....


    ¡°Well, sir, what if I organize the necessary funds to gather manpower? Will that help you rethink the request?¡±


    Damien leaned back after placing the empty cup down on the tray. He purposely wasted time before answering Jonas.


    ¡°It depends. The time frame, potential personnel involved, supplies ¨C none of it are ideal. We are already approaching the fifth month of the year. That means I must hurry and finish the preparations for the upcoming monsoon. That also means the rise in the activity of Fiends so the hiring of soldiers and Adventurers will become harder. It all means, well, more money must be spent.¡±


    ¡°So, it isn''t possible?¡± Jonas raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°No, not necessarily. As I said, it''ll all depend on just how loose you are with the purse strings.¡± Damien smiled thinly.


    Jonas tried hard to conceal an expression of pure disdain. Again, he told himself not to start a fight with Damien the Baron of the territory surrounding the village of Riverfield. ¡°I have been entrusted with enough funds. It shan''t be an issue then. If settled, I shall depart to Lafayette immediately and make preparations.¡±


    ¡°There''s no need for you to hire people personally,¡± Damien kept his smile. ¡°I know a few talented individuals who will greatly appreciate finding easy employment. Besides, we should discuss remuneration first before that. It is a given that my forces will have to accompany you and your men, after all.¡±


    This time it was the turn of Jonas to cramp his face a little.


    It was unfortunate that Jonas didn''t know of the complicated history between the Marquis, who was the head of the Imperial Institute, and Damien. If he did, the talk might have gone the way he would''ve preferred.


    The talks of money made him subconsciously count the amount of Guinea coins he had on person. No doubt, there was a fairly ample funds to draw from, but in truth, the less he spend, the fatter his own purses were to become at the end of the day.


    Even Jonas didn''t know why this Aerinite was highly sought after by the Imperial government so suddenly. There were rumors floating around here and there, and he had heard of them but none sounded plausible.


    For now, all he did was to follow the orders of the Marquis obediently. So he didn''t know what Aerinite ores looked like; Helga was here for that. She was one of the brightest stars of the Institute''s circle of Invokers, known for her sharp intellect and high class Invocation abilities.


    But since she was young and relatively inexperienced, it was easy for Jonas to get her to come with him on this trip. She was an insurance, and she with the eyes of an expert would identify the ores in question.


    And he would claim the glory.


    The original plan was for him to get the permission to bring in an expeditionary force from Lafayette and explore the nearby Sacred Acre. Maybe six or seven Adventurers of Silver rank or lower would have been sufficient. Jonas was planning to skim off some Guinea off the top during the process too, as the hiring fees were going to be lower than projected.


    But now, he was sure of Damien taking him to the cleaners. This was not good.


    Not like Damien cared about that, however.


    He noticed that Jonas hadn''t touched the tea, while Helga was looking at it with a slight hesitation. It seemed she was thirsty but since her superior wasn''t touching his, she couldn''t just reach out for hers, lest she falls foul of the accepted social etiquette.


    All Damien could think of was, what a waste of tea. That''s money thrown out the window....

 Chapter 5

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">5</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    A few days later, Lizbeth and Kaleena returned from their trip to the nearest city of Lafayette, bringing with them all the new apparels for the young girl. And some for the mother too, on the side. Finances might be tight, but a girl gotta spend when she sees something nice. Their trip was almost problem-free, except for that one time when little Kaleena needed to go in the middle of the trip and go in a hurry, with nary a bathroom in sight.


    The real problem only came after that, as soon as Lizbeth learned of the meeting, and the subsequent arrangement, by her husband and a man from the Imperial Institute.


    She was unhappy, to say the least. The first line of her questioning was, ¡°Why didn''t you consult with me first, whether it was prudent of you to personally go?¡±


    It was a reasonable one to ask; indeed it made no sense for Damien to head up the group heading for the Sacred Acre. It didn''t matter if the labyrinth was safe or not, as that was not the issue.


    Besides the fact that there were literally tons of unattended documents in his office, he was a father of two young children. Even surrounded by a skilled group of fighters there was always an element of danger when treading on the barely explored grounds.


    If it was in the past, Lizbeth would''ve unhesitatingly followed her husband, but now things were different. She was a mother, someone with responsibilities. And so was he, but in her eyes, he was being completely thoughtless.


    His defense when questioned was, ¡°I''ll only be gone for a few days, a week at most. My skills haven''t rusted yet, and the forest on the way won''t be difficult at all. Just treat it as my much-deserved holiday.¡±


    ¡°But there are still matters you haven''t attended to yet!! What about your responsibilities? You simply can''t delay them till the last moments, Damien!!¡±


    Needless to say, they argued for a good while. Some harsh words were exchanged in the heat of the moment, and by the time they ran out of breath, things became rather awkward, to a point where it became tough to reconcile quickly, even with external help from Delilah and Rosy.


    It was Lizbeth who sort of relented first, giving up in persuading Damien to stay behind after seeing the irrepressible gleaming light in his eyes. She knew it was impossible to dissuade him when he had that shine, the spirit of adventuring burning fiercely still in his heart, it being reflected in those clear, deep irides.


    It took about another week of preparations before the group of twenty men and women, consisting of hired Adventurers from the Association in Lafayette, and militiamen from Riverfield plus the subordinates of Sir Jonas Bremble, left the village and headed for the Sacred Acre, located to the West.


    During the preparation period, it became rather unbearable, atmosphere-wise, in the Lomax household. The couple hadn''t made up, although Lizbeth did see off Damien on his way when it was time for departure. Putting up a united front, it was.


    Even though the pair did their best not to stress the kids, children were naturally sensitive to the unease permeating in the house. More so in the case of Kain, who wasn''t really a newborn kid with barely eight month old inside.


    He could see that both Damien and Lizbeth wanted to say something and maybe even apologize to the things that were spoken in haste but for the reason of pride and other unimportant stuff, the chances weren''t taken by both of them.


    Each of their gazes would drift to the other when not looking, and then turn away when their eyes were about to meet. The words would crawl up their throats but at the last moments swallowed back down.


    Only if one of them acted like an adult and had a serious face-to-face talk, the whole stiff atmosphere would''ve been broken a long time ago. As it was, Damien ended up sleeping in Kain''s nursery or in Kaleena''s room rather than in the main bedroom.


    Truthfully, Kain wanted to intervene and say something. He couldn''t bear to see Lizbeth sighing and shaking her head all the time while breastfeeding him.


    He didn''t know the divorce rate in a fantasy world like this would be, but it wasn''t an appealing thought to live in a separated family this early on in his new life. Although surely, such an abrupt split wouldn''t happen so quickly to a couple who were in love, or so he thought.


    And so wanting to impart some sage advice, he nearly blurted out to the couple, but stopped before making that slip. He realized it was way, way too early for a baby to form words, and the prospects of dealing with the ensuing consequences that would definitely follow on the aftermath if he did blurt out something, was one of those things he wanted to avoid like a plague.


    Well, imagine telling a mother of a new-born child that her son''s soul was possibly replaced with one from a twenty-something year old dude; surely, that''d go down as well as Donald Trump showing up at a local PETA meeting wearing a baby seal fur coat chewing on a panda jerky, muttering, ¡°I don''t know about this endangered species thing or what,¡± while having that smug look of his.


    So all he could do was just observe while trying to figure out if there was anything he could try. As a baby, his options were limited to taking the first steps, or start talking baby babbling.


    If he did either of that, there was a chance that Damien would be so overcome with emotions, he might forego leaving for the labyrinth altogether and stay behind. Or, he could be happy and still go on the trip, and because of the influence of the elated emotions, he ends up getting sloppy and resulting in.... bad things happening.


    Knowing him for the past few months, Kain could confidently say that Damien would act the latter scenario nine times out of ten. So he gave up on doing either of the available options.


    In the end, he could do nothing. He just watched on as lots of leather armor sets, weapons of several shapes and sizes, and pouches containing.... something, getting handed out to the folks he''d seen before with Damien supervising the process. There was a large, locked storage that was built behind the Lomax house, and all these dangerous weapons of war were kept there.


    As for the individual pouch''s contents, he wondered if it were simply healing medicines and some other balms, or one of those special magic bags that could swallow large amount of luggage which shouldn''t fit in the first place.


    Nope, it turned out, they contained various herbs, nothing else. Not a magic bag after all.


    Kain also noticed the lack of tension on the faces of those receiving their portion of supplies. Some were apathetic, some were happy, some were bored-looking. Sure, there were nervous faces in the mix too, but generally, it was more of the ¡°last minute pre-exam jitters¡± rather than ¡°pre-Normandy invasion a la Saving Private Ryan¡± faces.


    As for the relations between Jonas and Damien, it remained professional at best. No more was said other than what was necessary. Pretty frosty.


    Jonas had gone back to Lafayette after the ¡°negotiation¡± ended, although as a formal gesture Damien did offer him lodging for the night. The Institute member declined as politely as possible within the allowance of his mannerism. Which was, rather curt and impolite, to say the least.


    Various small things happened after that, until the departure date ¨C like Damien suddenly exercising vigorously daily, as if to rouse his sleepy body back to the fit form it once had. And he totally neglected the piled up paperwork, as usual.


    And just like that, with horses dragging along a large cart loaded with stuff, they left.


    Behind them, a pair of tracks imprinted on the dirt road by the turning wheels of the wooden vehicle. It bucked and twisted uncomfortably. Kain wondered about the cart''s durability for a second, watching the frame flex from a distance.


    With their departure, the silence filled the empty house. It felt oddly eerie with Damien gone.


    Lizbeth, who carried a calm expression in front of others, but as soon as no one was looking she couldn''t stop sighing and continued to knit her brows. She had faith in his abilities of course, but she couldn''t help but worry at a small but insistent feeling gnawing at her heart. She just prayed it was nothing serious, but simply of her thinking up unnecessary things.


    Unfortunately for her, an incident occurred three nights after the group''s departure. And it was certainly a big one.


    That night, after everyone had gone to bed, Kaleena woke up with a feeling of discomfort. Her body felt sore for no reason, with little irritating aches sprouting from her arms and legs. And she felt her temperature rising up.


    She didn''t let either of her parents know, lest she might make them worry needlessly, but this discomfort had been with her for some time now; it came and went intermittently, and when it did manifest it was never quite as bad but tonight, things were different. Previously, drinking water or warm tea calmed her down quickly so she thought by getting some fluids in may help her this time too.


    Because she was supposed to be in bed until morning like a well behaved little girl should, her room lacked a water jug. Ironic, seeing that there was a bucket for relieving one''s bladder in the room. So, she had to go to the kitchen to get water. But she wasn''t allowed to walk around alone, especially at night, even at home.


    Initially she thought about calling her mother but, knowing how tired Lizbeth was from worrying about her dad, she chose not to.


    So alternatively she went and called for Rosy instead, but when Kaleena carefully knocked on the door to the live-in maid''s quarter, the girl was so deep in slumber not even a dragon''s roar could wake her up.


    The sight of the cat girl with her ears and whiskers twitching as she dreamed while clutching a pillow, murmuring ''meat, more meat'' looked pitiful so Kaleena let her sleep.


    She tiptoed down the hall and entered the kitchen. She was well familiar with where all the cutlery was, and more importantly where the drinkable water was located.


    But after entering, she noticed the door to the backyard was slightly ajar. Which was odd, seeing that all doors were secured before the family went to bed.


    Puzzled, Kaleena approached it and closed it carefully. She thought that wind might have blown it open.


    After finding the water, she took large gulps and felt relief almost immediately. Satisfied, she decided to head back to her room when, the discomfort reared its head again. This vexed her slightly, as this never happened like this before. Unsure of what to do, she hesitated while standing in the kitchen.


    Then she heard a light sound of something falling coming from her father''s office and thought, mommy''s up? Should I go and tell her? If I do, will she get mad?


    A short moment of decision later, she moved. The office was dimly lit, and a flash of a shadow flickered occasionally. Kaleena slowly opened the door, expecting to see the figure of her mother.


    It wasn''t her.


    A masked figure was crouched by the bookshelf containing Damien''s documents, and he was rummaging through it in a hurry. He was clothed head to toe in black, almost blending into the darkened scenery like a mirage.


    Kaleena was stunned. She noticed that a very thin layer of dark, fog like substance was layered on top of this person and it totally erased his presence ¨C not even sound was being made as he moved, the fabric not making the usual rustling noise. The parchments that were also lightly wrapped in that dark thing, made no sound as they fell, the dark fog dissipated immediately as the said parchments touched the floor. Judging by that she shouldn''t have heard the sound from before.


    Kaleena stood there for a moment, observing this scene, unsure of what to do. The dark fog was different from what her mother was usually wrapped around in when she was casting Invocations, nor what little Kain had constantly around him.


    Mother''s were white like snow while Kain''s fluctuated like a rainbow. This man''s was ¨C Kaleena was intuitively sure of his gender ¨C dark so she wondered if that meant this person was bad.


    If so, she had to chase him out of her home.


    Thus Kaleena called out to the intruder.


    ¡°What are you doing in my father''s office?¡±


    The masked man flinched. He quickly turned his gaze over at the doorway and saw a little girl standing defiantly, hands on hips, staring at him.


    Grimacing, he unsheathed a dagger which gave off a chilling light, and stood up.


    Seeing this, Kaleena felt a sudden rush of fear ¨C she was unfamiliar with this type of sensation so it confused her as to what she needed to do now. Yes, she''d felt scared before but that was when Lizbeth was scolding her. This type of fear was different, it was a lot more nastier, lots more unpleasant.


    She understood why, when she looked closer at the man approaching her ¨C the dark fog that were surrounding him had begun to spread like twisted thorns, reaching towards her, as if to devour her.


    Kaleena screamed, just as the man with the dagger silently lunged forward.


    The sharp weapon aimed at the child''s head was suddenly repelled by an explosion of energy. The source was the screaming little girl.


    From her, multi-colored light exploded outwards, causing an intense white-out that blinded the man, knocking him backward into the office.


    He spat out a mouthful of blood as his internal organs were assaulted by the powerful rays of light.


    After crashing into Damien''s desk with a loud thud, he let out a shocked gasp while trying to regain his blurred sights. ¡°What? What incredible bursts of Aeterna!?¡±


    The blinding light continued to expand and it seared the man''s cloak of dark fog away, stripping him bare and causing burn marks to appear on his body as the black clothing got ripped apart, all the while forcing him harder against the desk, moving the heavy furniture back until it collided against the wall.


    Little more, and he would''ve been killed; but maybe because the girl was young, her batteries ran out and the light finally died down.


    The man staggered up and quickly picked up the dagger. He looked at the girl who was swaying dangerously before collapsing on the floor, completely worn out.


    Grabbing this chance he rushed out. He recognized the danger this girl posed in the future for his employer so even if he die and fail his mission now, he had to at least eliminate this Lomax child.


    Again his dagger approached the prone body of Kaleena. This time there wasn''t going to be a force field made of Aeterna to block his attack, and thus his blade sank into her shoulder, just above where her heart might be. He missed his mark due to the damage from the earlier Aeterna burst which he hadn''t had the time to recover from just yet.


    Before he could pull out the blade and try once more, he received a powerful kick to the side of his face from Rosy Matte and flew straight into the opposite wall, breaking it. He spat out another mouthful of his own blood, before seeing a fist heading his way, dodging it in haste.


    When he raised his head, he saw a red-furred Pantherikin girl snarling at him with her fangs bared. Behind her, Lizbeth was climbing down the steps hurriedly, and running to her wounded daughter.


    The man frowned; he knew of these two woman ¨C knew the levels of danger they were to him. Lizbeth was once an Adventurer ranked Gold alongside her husband before leaving that world, while Rosy Matte, although never been ranked, was rumored to be as good as her boss.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    It looked like his mission was surely a failure at this point so, he switched to a reverse grip and came at Rosy, while waiting for a chance to escape. Despite being hurt, he had gotten his bearings back and thus he was able to show a considerable skill while attacking the maidservant.


    Rosy was one step ahead however. She was enraged that this cat burglar had tried to kill the little miss, but she still managed to keep a cool head and assessed the situation quickly. Not affected by the darkness of the night she read the man''s thrusts and swings to perfection and easily got under his defense.


    The man received a huge rising knee to his sternum and felt his chest cave in. Not giving up he tried to counter but the dagger-held hand was then grabbed by Rosy''s tail, briefly immobilizing it. Swiftly she disarmed the man and kicked his thigh from the side, nearly breaking the bone but still destroying his balance.


    He cried out in agony as he fell. He rolled back to dodge Rosy''s foot stomp aimed at his head, and tried to open a distance between them.


    He was distracted by a sudden flash of white light coming from behind Rosy. It was Lizbeth quickly casting a high level healing Invocation at her bleeding daughter.


    The distraction lasted for a nanosecond but that was all Rosy needed.


    Before the man recovered, she dashed in and went for his throat with her knuckles. The attack connected splendidly and caused the man to stutter. Rosy finished up by sweeping his legs off the floor then landing a powerful rising kick to his spine in one uninterrupted motion.


    The man groaned as he crashed into a heap, unmoving.


    Victory achieved without killing the intruder, Rosy turned to her boss, and confirmed that Kaleena was breathing. The little girl lost a lot of blood but her wounds have closed and the immediate danger to her life was over. Lizbeth thanked Rosy for taking care of the assailant, and when she swept her gaze at the fallen man, deathly chill entered her voice.


    ¡°Please hold her for a moment, Rosy. I''d like to interrogate our guest properly.¡±


    As the angered mother walked closer, the man coughed out a large dollop of blood, and looked at her weakly. He smiled bitterly, causing Lizbeth to halt her steps, as she was still wary of this man''s hidden tricks.


    However, he pulled out a slender blade, no bigger than a razor, out from a hidden compartment in the belt buckle and slit his own throat.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    Letting out a little cry, Lizbeth hurried to the man''s side but it was too late; he was convulsing with dull gray foams bubbling out from the corner of his mouth. Oh, and the gushing blood soaking the wooden floor.


    ¡°....Poison.¡±


    Lizbeth muttered under her breath. A fast acting, deadly poison applied at the neck meant not even she could cast the right Invocation in time to avert the death of this man.


    Soon his body stopped convulsing. The best clue to finding the one responsible for this heinous act was now dead.


    Only the Kain''s shrill cries rang around the now-still Lomax house.


    ~


    Unaware of the happenings back at home, Damien led twenty men and women into the nameless forest located west of Riverfield. Their destination was a special area hidden deep within its depths, colloquially referred to as Sacred Acres. This particular Acre lacked a name ¨C no one''s gotten around to naming it for various reasons so in the meantime, it was simply known as the Riverfield Sacred Acre.


    The group of five Adventurers hired from Lafayette branch of The Adventurers'' Association, were recommended by Damien personally as they were his old acquaintances. His old adventuring comrades, in other words, before he decided to live out a life of a civilian.


    Damien had his old buddies hired not only out of loyalty, but as this trip happened to be a good source of easy income, it seemed to make sense to call on them. And since he wasn''t footing the bill, there was that too.


    He explained to his buddies that this request was more or less qualified as a paid vacation, and they all consented to it in a heartbeat. Jonas wasn''t charged too hefty a bill however. After all, they had moral compasses that still worked.


    As for the reason why Damien took the militia guys along, it was simple really; he saw this trip as a valuable chance to gain some actual experience plodding through a seemingly ¡°hazardous¡± environment, which should prove beneficial for the village''s defenses in the long run.


    A win-win for Damien in other words, not so much for Jonas who was looking at a fairly substantial financial expenditure at the end of the day for the mobilization of what is surely an unnecessary force.


    Unnecessary, because of how safe, relatively speaking, the forest near the village was.


    The thing was, Damien knew of the forest''s layout almost like the back of his own hand; it was a part of his job description ¨C no, it''s not actually, but he insisted on making it so ¨C to personally stop the Fiends, monsters, from taking root in the vicinity of Riverfield. Whenever his fancy and the opportunity lined up, he''d saddle up and dive head in with a child-like glee.


    It was a valuable and scarce way of de-stressing from staring at the formal documents the whole day, everyday for him. Sure, many times he went around the village and its surrounding fields performing manual labors that shouldn''t have been done by a Baron, as such a thing was rather unbecoming, but regardless of how hard he worked, at the end of the day, he found those type of labor unsatisfactory when compared to the exhilarating sensation of being on the knife-thin edge between life and death.


    Of course, there was the occasional tumble in the sack with the missus too, but that was a different kind of release, so....


    Anyways, the annual culling of the Fiends prior to the preparations, and the subsequent arrival, of the Monsoon season happened not too long ago. So the forest was quiet during their current journey, only the infrequent run-ins with the forest''s wild animals being a stuff to lightly worry about.


    It was all good, if a little lacking in excitement. He knew this was going to happen but hey, he went through all the trouble leading the group here, so he silently prayed for a bit of action. Anything would do, he mumbled softly.


    Behind him, a slender but athletically muscled woman of early thirties approached him. ¡°I''ll take the front now, Damien. Rest up a little.¡±


    Her name was Gillian Herts, a scout who also boasted a Gold rank in the hierarchy of the Adventurers'' Association. She and Damien had been friends ever since he became an Adventurer way back when.


    ¡°Thanks Gill. I''ll leave it up to you for a while.¡±


    Damien replied apologetically and fell back into the ranks near the group following loosely behind. Besides her, the Adventurer group consisted of Taylor Ryan, an Invoker specializing in Invocations of combat variety; Gordie Lann, a mountain of a man who carried a shield and a hammer, acting as a damage cushion of the party; and Ben Musgrave, a vanguard possessing a massive halberd garnished with fearsome-looking ax-head. Finally their leader, Philander ''Phil'' Cosier, whom Damien have known for what it felt like ages. Before Damien and Lizbeth opted for the relative calmness of a civilian life, all seven of them used to belong to the same band of Adventurers, but the ranks had thinned out somewhat since then.


    For sentimental reasons the empty spots were left as was. Phil and co did try to recruit several prospects over the years, but for one reason or the other, they didn''t pan out.


    Confirming the Adventurers'' formation have remained steadfast Damien checked the rest of the group. With a few exceptions, the travelers'' faces were cramped with fatigue and irritation. It was in the middle of early Summer so the irritating insect hoards were out in full force, and in particular, Jonas''s group were at the receiving end of hostilities that were harsher than usual.


    Damien shook his head slowly, watching them tiredly swat away the bugs in vain, and mumbled inwardly.


    I told you not to wear those plate armors, didn''t I?


    The trio looked pitiful, but the insect-repelling vermillion grass powder that were mixed in with water and sprinkled over a person''s clothing, could only do so much when considering the three of them smelled particularly bad, thanks to heavy sweating brought on by the thick metal armors.


    Everyone else wore considerably lighter, easier to move and most crucially, better ventilated leather armors. Even then it was still stuffy and hot. Imagine how boiling it was inside the metal trappings ¨C Jonas and pals must''ve been slowly cooked alive underneath.


    Damien ignored the fools who ignored his advice, and went near Phil. He was handed a waterskin as soon as he came near his old friend''s side.


    Thanking the man, he took a sip of the lukewarm water. There was a hint of herb in the taste of the liquid.


    ¡°It''s the blue nettle.¡± Phil winked at Damien who threw a ''when did you?'' look over at the older Adventurer.


    Blue nettle grass was sometimes used to combat heat-induced fatigue when soaked in water. Too much wasn''t good for one''s bladder but in moderation, it worked wonders.


    ¡°You always come prepared, Phil.¡± Damien chuckled.


    While walking forward, they discussed this and that, exchanging gossip and information. Outwardly, they seemed carefree, but in truth, both of their senses were wide awake, not taking anything for granted.


    Still, there was some amount of slack evident in their actions; that was because, both of them were present when Damien tackled the Sacred Acre just over five years ago. In fact, the current members of Phil''s party consisted of the very members that fought together at that time. They all knew the way pretty well as the result.


    The slackened atmosphere led, inevitably, to a talk of retirement.


    ¡°So yeah, still not planning to retire yet, Phil? You are not getting any younger, you know.¡±


    ¡°Nope. Not retiring. Not in a million years. You know me, I can''t be bound to a home and a nagging wife like you. I''m too free spirited.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Damien smiled. ¡°Still, there''s spot for you in Riverfield if you''re interested. We can always use an extra hand, no matter how wrinkly it is.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what about us?¡± Gordie tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°You don''t think we''re worth it?¡±


    Gordie''s giant frame leaned forward, in a threatening manner with a crease forming on his craggy forehead. Any ol'' regular people might be intimidated by that, but not Damien. He''d been around this tall man for far too long, and knew the big guy actually didn''t mean to exude such an aura at all, it was just that he was cursed with a scary face.


    ¡°Oh hey Gord. Right, there isn''t one. I can''t afford your food bills, man.¡± Damien lightly elbowed the big guy on the side.


    ¡°C''mon now, didn''t I say I''m just big boned? I eat normal amount, like everyone else!!¡±


    Damien laughed. ¡°Your definition of normal is not normal, Gord. I''ve seen you wolf down a whole boar in a blink, man.¡±


    Gordie''s face got redder as he tried to defend his eating habits. ¡°That time, it couldn''t be helped!! I was hungry an'' all.¡±


    Hearing this, Phil and Damien shared another chuckle.


    ¡°Leave the big man alone, you guys,¡± Ben interjected with a smile. He too was having a good laugh at the expense of his comrade.


    ¡°Right, sorry about that Gord. Of course you''re welcome in Riverfield. As long as you pony up the cash for food up front, that is,¡± said Damien with a big slap on the big man''s back, and he quickly took a distance from the irritated swat. More laughter flowed after that.


    Behind him, Vagas looked a little flustered, so he sauntered closer.


    ¡°How are you feeling, Vagas? If you are feeling under the weather, let Cray know.¡±


    Cray was a militiaman charged with looking after the supplies. He had half a dozen pack mules carrying provisions and of course, medicine. This job was ideally suited to the man, as he reared livestock as a main source of income. He even figured out how to drive recalcitrant creatures around to his will. Very useful skill, that was.


    If needed, he was able to dispense the correct balms at a moment''s notice. His experiences of looking after sick animals helped immensely with this part of the job ¨C one look was all he needed to select the medicine and invariably, he''d be right with the choice.


    ¡°Uhm, sir, it''s not that. It''s just that, uh, may I ask you something?¡±


    The young man''s voice was hushed and quiet, as he didn''t want the nearby Adventurers to hear him.


    ¡°Alright, what is it?¡±


    ¡°....Sir, I know nothing of Sacred Acres. What will we see when we get there? Will I fight lots of Fiends once we arrive there?¡±


    Vagas was still a small boy when Damien led a group to clear out the Sacred Acre, so it was natural he didn''t participate back then; it was reasonable to think that he didn''t know what to expect. Damien pondered how he should answer the questions for a little bit, before he turned to face the young man.


    ¡°The one we''re heading to, it''s a variant of an ancient ruin, from some forgotten civilization. However, it should be safe now. I personally cleared it out of Fiends and traps, with these fine folks walking up ahead so don''t worry too much about it. Just keep your wits about you and it will work out.¡±


    Vagas nodded. He didn''t look too satisfied with the answer but he knew it was something he had to see for himself first.


    ¡°I''m not worried sir. It''s just that, I''ve heard a Sacred Acre can become a breeding ground for Fiends, is all.¡±


    ¡°Not all Sacred Acres are. Some are, yes, but not this one. And what was there, it''s not anymore. In case we run into something, let''s simply smash it out of the way.¡±


    Damien smiled reassuringly and slapped the young man''s shoulder once. The usually brave and energetic Vagas could only return a cramped grin that was not a grin.


    One of the militiaman came over and asked how far they were from the destination, signaling the end of that conversation. Riverfield''s Sacred Acre laid just under two days'' distance from the village when traveling on foot. This was the third day on the move ¨C they were well behind schedule. Jonas''s party was to blame, of course.


    But they were near the goal anyway, so no one decided to raise a fuss about the delay and possibly sour the mood.


    After informing the inquisitive militiaman, Damien relaxed a bit more, wondering slightly whether he was going to see this mysterious Aerinite or not.


    And soon enough, them marching past the unruly undergrowth finally bore fruit as they reached the clearing in the forest that marked the boundary of the Sacred Acre.


    The surrounding was quiet, with nary a sound of wind blowing. Even the hateful insects preying on blood had ceased their attacks, as they were nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Is that it?¡±


    Jonas asked as he concentrated on the crumbling remains of a lone stone structure, standing precariously in the open, barren land. Outwardly, it looked unremarkable as it resembled an abandoned house. Those sensitive to the Flow of Aeterna however, could tell something was off about it just with a simple cursory glance.


    Almost everyone in the party had come in contact with the mysterious substance''s influence at least once in their lifetimes so, they could all feel the ominous, oppressive air oozing from it.


    ¡°It''s smaller than I thought.¡±


    Jonas muttered under his breath, as he readjusted his cuirass.


    The ground around the structure had nothing growing on it in the radius of well over several Ruten, and not even a blade of grass were to be seen, only the reddish, exposed soil that were hardened by the glares of the sun and the exposure greeting them. The place hadn''t changed since the last time he was here, mused Damien.


    ¡°Don''t be deceived. That''s just the entrance. The real Acre lies beneath the surface.¡± Phil said as he gripped his one-handed sword tightly. ¡°Oi Damien, this here sure doesn''t feel like a friendly place, now does it?¡±


    Damien grimaced at the astute observation of his comrade. It was true that something was wrong here. The atmosphere was getting heavier as they approached the structure and that was something not supposed to happen.


    But the thickness of Aeterna flowing out of the hidden entrance was far too dense to be ignored ¨C such density could only mean there were Fiends residing inside.


    This didn''t make any sense. Damien and co. properly cleared the Acre back then, defeating the Guardian that nested in its deepest, darkest part; he had the scars to prove it. He even brought out the rare materials that could be found in its depth and made a tidy profit off that. Which had to go into the village''s emergency coffers, by the way. And that was the catalyst for him becoming the lord of the said village, but that''s a story for another time.


    Usually, a Sacred Acre was supposed to lose its potency once cleared of its Guardian, never to recover its toxic atmosphere ¨C that was the general consensus, accepted by pretty much everyone in the trade. Yet there it was, right in front of them, a Sacred Acre oozing malice and menace.


    Damien suddenly found himself in a serious bind. His gut was telling him to go back, but when glancing at Jonas''s face, he knew that was unlikely to happen.


    The Imperial Institute''s representative was the one paying for this trip, and whatever he says, goes ¨C that was the situation. Phil and his gang were officially hired by Jonas, and he also paid for the mobilization of Riverfield''s militia. Unless Damien was prepared to refund the amount, which was impossible now as it was already absorbed into the village''s annual budget, he couldn''t simply back off and not expect repercussions.


    But maybe he could scare Jonas into retreating, then....


    ¡°Well, let us not waste any more time. Mister Cosier, Lord Damien, isn''t this a place fit for us to make camp?¡± Jonas said with some authority in his irritated voice, as he pointed at the ground near the structure.


    ¡°How about we head back to Riverfield instead, and return later? It seems the Sacred Acre is.... acting up at the moment,¡± Damien countered while crossing his arms. ¡°Surely, you can feel the unstable Flow of Aeterna yourself, coming from the ruin.¡±


    ¡°What of it?¡± Jonas looked at him with a puzzled expression. ¡°Have you gone unsteady with such trifling amount present, sir? My subordinate, Miss Helga here, can easily counteract whatever the Acre throws at us. May I remind you, that she is a Journeyman ranked Invoker, decorated with countless achievements and recognition. There is nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, you extolled her virtues enough times already, Sir Jonas. But surely, you can tell there''s something very wrong here at the moment. We should exercise caution in the face of uncertainty such as the current situation,¡± Damien replied while tensing up, careful not to raise his voice.


    ¡°We''ve your recommended Adventurers here with us. If it gets dangerous, surely they can perform to their exorbitant hiring fees,¡± sneered Jonas disinterestedly. ¡°Well, Mister Cosier? What say you? Are you up for the challenge?¡±


    Phil glanced over at his party, then at Damien. A silent communication went between two men, with the younger one pleading with the older to turn back, to say nope, siree, we''re not.


    But all Damien got was a look of resigned apology.


    ¡°Yeah, we are good to go,¡± announced Phil.


    Hearing this, Damien instinctively slipped his left hand inside the belt-mounted pouch to confirm the supply of healing salves. He had enough for himself, or at least he hoped so.


    He also hoped that they would not be needed later on.

 Chapter 6

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">6</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    The expeditionary force camped overnight just outside the border of the Sacred Acre, in order to enter it with as much preparation as possible the following morning.


    And during that morning, well before the sunrise, a short discussion between the ¡°senior management¡± members took place; it was decided to split the group into two, with one staying behind, while the other would raid the Acre. For the stay-behind team, two people were chosen; they were given express orders to not put up a fight if Fiends approached. Instead, they were told to evacuate to a safer place.


    Also, if for some reason the party fails to return within the allocated time, then the duo must head back to the village regardless of what their feelings might dictate.


    Once that was settled, those diving underground inspected their own equipment thoroughly. Phil gave out brief warnings on what to expect, and what to do when stuff goes down eventually. Some basic precautions, such as not panicking and always covering the backs of his or her mates, things like that.


    It only ended up making the inexperienced militiamen tense. Damien felt that was actually a bit better than being carefree ¨C but only by a little.


    ¡°Well then. Men, and ladies ¨C let us march.¡± Jonas declared triumphantly as he unsheathed his fancy one handed sword, and pointed forward like a commander willing his troops into a battlefield, his glitzy, polished metal armor reflecting the sunlight rather gallantly.


    He probably wanted to do that very badly ever since he was a child, Damien mused quietly as his eyebrow rose up.


    And like an over-eager child, Jonas tried to take the front. He was clearly in a hurry to get there.


    Luckily for him, Phil interrupted the hasty man by grabbing his shoulder, and suggested in no uncertain terms. ¡°Please sir, let Gillian take the lead. She''s a scout ¨C it''s her job.¡±


    After coughing away his embarrassment Jonas consented, and they were off to the lone ruin in the distance as the morning sun settled on the sky.


    The initial part of the Acre, the crumbling remains of a mid-sized building, was quite harmless, literally ¨C it was always like that. That fact still held true, as no nasties jumped out as the group carefully approached it.


    Just like that day when Damien and his Adventurer guildmates dived into this very Sacred Acre five years ago, there were no traps, no shaky footholds to trip the unwary, nor no slobbering Fiends to block the access to the interior.


    The sight of the said interior, and a gaping hole set at an angle on the floor, made Damien grimace as a recollection of the past crept into his mind. He still felt the same goosebumps from back then slowly caress his skin. The goosebumps made entirely of unshakable apprehension, a fear of the unknown, the stench of a certain death.


    Only, right now he was feeling it far more intensely than before. If he, a veteran, was feeling like this, then how would a newbie like Vagas feel?


    Careful not to disturb the walls of the ruin, Gillian descended first, and after a short while, signaled the others to follow in.


    The immediate passage past the entrance hadn''t changed as well; a wide-mouthed cavern with a gentle downward slope, smooth stone walls seemingly carved out by men possessing ancient technology long lost since. Wide enough to accommodate four adult men walking abreast, ceiling tall enough to swing a lengthy polearm.


    And lighting taken care of by the peculiar blue crystals, Lazulites, that protruded from the various gaps on the walls and the ceiling. These rocks were only found inside the Sacred Acres, and once removed from their depths, mysteriously lose the ability to emit light almost immediately.


    Those who were new to the world of exploration, looked around with their mouths agape, taking in the somewhat bizarre sights. But all of them didn''t utter a single word; even Jonas kept quiet as the group advanced slowly forward.


    They marched for almost thirty momenta, minutes, and nothing of note happened. Damien didn''t lower his guards but a small bud of doubt began to sprout in his mind, asking him whether he was overestimating the threat level.


    Honestly, he thought that the previous night, which was restless to say the least, might be affecting his judgments. Last night, after assigning the schedules for the lookout duties, he tried to catch some quick shut-eyes but couldn''t even get a wink in.


    The reason being the uneasiness that wouldn''t just go away, no matter what he told himself to calm down. And whenever he surveyed the darkened forest surrounding them, illuminated by the pale blue lights of the moons, the feeling became more exacerbated than before.


    One after the other, questions arose and revolved in his brain; if the Sacred Acre was still active for some reason, why weren''t there any Fiends present in the forest on their way here? Not to mention, there were no threats in the vicinity of the Acre itself.


    And thinking back, Damien knew he made no mistakes back five years ago. He was, to the point of putting his honor as a man on the line, certain of clearing the Acre by defeating the last Guardian. Phil was there, Gillian was there, Gordie and Ben and Taylor were there. Lizbeth was there too. They were all there, bearing witness to the feat.


    He knew the answer was residing within the Acre''s bowels, waiting to be exposed to the light. But quite frankly, he didn''t want to go down there while this ill-prepared.


    Phil had the same opinion when Damien consulted with him. He too was feeling reluctant, but since he had pushed his comrades to get ready for any eventualities, he was thinking that barring some hurdles that can''t be overcome, his group would emerge alright from the ordeal.


    Besides, there was no going back for him now that they have come this far. The money was indeed the issue ¨C Phil already had sent a considerable chunk of the request fee to his ailing younger brother, and there was simply no way to refund that amount now. So he was committed to finding this fairy tale-esque Aerinite or whatever it was called, without choice.


    ¡°This isn''t what I expected,¡± Jonas muttered, his voice verging on disappointment and trepidation. ¡°Perhaps it is true that you did clear it after all.¡±


    There was a hint of sneer in the last comment made by him, and that nearly got a rise out of Damien. There was a status difference to consider but the impunity shown by the Capital-bred idiot was bordering on social blasphemy.


    The night before, he even complained that he had to do a guard duty. Damien and Phil devised a lookout rotation schedule that would let everyone in the traveling party to participate at least once, but Jonas wanted nothing to do with that.


    Phil pacified the indignant man with, ¡°Sir, you''re the most skilled of us, so it only makes sense that you protect us during the time of rest.¡±


    That was doubly tiring.


    Recalling the unpleasantness didn''t help, definitely, with the slow progress the group was making. Looking around, Damien saw one too many tired faces, seemingly almost everyone of the militia not getting a good enough rest.


    So it was a blessing in disguise that there weren''t any attacks from some hidden Fiends. Otherwise, the damage could have been large.


    But at the same time, the lack of Fiends alarmed him deeply. The first time he entered here, his party was swarmed by the various Fiends almost immediately. Yet this time.... nothing. Not a single soul.


    He forcibly quashed the nagging thoughts down and sharpened his senses, making sure not to miss any little stimuli, any small bits of information. Smell, hearing, vibrations from the wall, the lot.


    Soon, the slope leveled out, and the second part of the underground began. The man-made cavern ended here, and it was replaced instead by something equally artificial: one lined with smooth, dark metallic panels on all sides. The passage took on a rectangular shape, and the width increased considerably, almost thrice of the entryway. The height didn''t change much however, and the Lazulites still dotted the gaps between the metal panels on the ceiling.


    ¡°This, this is....¡± Jonas gulped down nervously as he stroked the wall, his eyes shining with renewed spirit. He had heard about such arrangements of metallic panels lining the interior of some Acres but to actually touch one with his own hands ¨C it was a special feeling. He was getting overwhelmed with emotion ¨C at last, he had something to brag about when he returns to the Institute. All those lab-bound simpletons, possessing not a shred of adventuring spirit would all be utterly jealous of his achievement!!


    The thought alone made him as pleased as Punch.


    He lightly knocked on the smooth surface while saying, ¡°This metal, it''s a small wonder that no one has yet to pry it off the walls and carry it outside. The Institute would certainly pay handsomely to acquire a sample to analyze....¡±


    ¡°Don''t make any further noise, Sir Jonas.¡± Damien hissed angrily. ¡°We don''t know what''s lurking in the depths. Let us not wake ''em if we can help it.¡±


    Jonas nodded stiffly, annoyance at being interrupted evident on his face. But he managed to mumble an apology. Inwardly he was murmuring, what a killjoy.


    The party continued advancing forward, their movement speed still quite slow. Not long after, Gillian signaled that there was an anomaly up ahead. With a wave of her hand, she gathered everyone''s attention, then pointed to her nose.


    This action meant she picked up on a foreign smell.


    Soon the mystery odor entered the noses of everyone present ¨C it was a stench of rotting flesh. One or two faces turned pale at that, but under the weak light of Lazulites, all of their faces sported the exact same color so those guilty of weaker constitution were not found out by their peers.


    After a few more agonizing minutes of moving forward, accompanied by sounds of their racing heartbeats, they finally encountered the source of the putrid odor.


    There were bones with gnawed teeth marks and rotting lumps of torn meat scattered here and there on the floor. The shapes of the broken bones suggested the victims were varied in type, and the, uh, freshness of the remains indicated that they were butchered quite recently. A little further away, there were even half-chewed bits decaying away.


    Gillian poked several of the carcasses, confirming that all of them were indeed quite dead and inanimate. Pretty much obvious from the state they were in, but it was always safer to check anyway.


    Damien thought that these were likely a leftover from the current inhabitants of the Acre having a meal. Which begged the question, of how the hell did these animals got here. There weren''t any signs of animal or Fiend activity by the Acre''s entrance, and there was no visible indication inside either.


    He had to wonder whether there was a trickery involved here.


    Is it possible that some type of Invocation has been used? There are certainly spells that are capable of attracting & herding living creatures ¨C is that the reason for this ugly sight?


    Damien felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine just thinking about the odds of such an occurrence. The mere hints of meeting a Fiend, or Fiends, that were evolved enough to cast spells of this magnitude were enough to cause the outbreak of his secretion.


    Fiends or wild animals with the ability to wield Aeterna freely were referred to as Awakened Beasts. There were varying degrees of the threat level, but basically those were the worst type of enemies to encounter if you happen to be an Adventurer.


    Unlike humanoid Invokers, most of these creatures didn''t need to chant in order to cast spells and, on top of that they gained a large amount of intelligence when evolving, thus simple tactics didn''t work on them, making subjugation a difficult task.


    Once, Damien was involved with a wide-scale subjugation request of a Gray Wolf pack. Now normally, wolves posed little threat as usually these canids avoided interacting with men. But this pack was different; they purposefully sought out villages to pillage and destroy.


    And as it turned out, they were led by an Awakened, in this case a Gray Strife-Wolf.


    It had united two dozen packs and led them in daily raids into various small settlements, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction.


    A detachment of soldiers belonging to the local fief was sent to take care of the problem, but the commanding officer didn''t know he was facing an Awakened and had his troop walk into a battle utterly unprepared. All were slaughtered mercilessly.


    The Strife-Wolf was capable of casting Lightning Elemental Invocations at will, and by using its cunning, it set deadly traps for the soldiers. Suffice to say, they didn''t stand a chance.


    By the time the subjugation request was placed on The Board at the Adventurers'' Association, the number of civilian casualty was running quite well into the double digits, closing into triple.


    A total of fifty Adventurers signed up for the job, Damien included. At the time he was ranked Silver, which was very respectable, all things considered. Besides him, there were ten Silver ranks, seven Gold ranks, and nearly twenty Bronze ranks ¨C a truly formidable group.


    Yet when the dust settled on the battlefield, more than half of the group were so badly injured, some had to retire permanently from the active duty. They were lucky ¨C over ten people lost their lives, two of them Silvers and one Gold ranker who sacrificed herself to ensure no more lives were lost that day, Damien''s included.


    One Awakened Beast amid normal animals caused that much carnage; now imagine that kind of power but bestowed upon a bloodthirsty monster. It was going to be a tough battle. No, a deadly battle where casualties were going to be unavoidable.


    No matter how one spun it, it was easy to see the current group was just too ill equipped to handle the situation.


    Phil exchanged deeply grim looks with the rest of his party, then with Damien. He seemed to say, screw this, we better head back now before it''s too late.


    But before the seasoned Adventurers could open their mouths and say something, Helga, Jonas''s lackey, exclaimed loudly while examining a wall that was ways further ahead in the darkened passage like an excited child.


    ¡°Hey everyone, come and take a look!! These markings, these shapes!!¡±


    When did she get over there?! Damien looked at her incredulously. The tense examination of the surroundings made him not notice this foolish, pampered-in-The-Capital girl breaking the formation. He couldn''t believe something this sloppy happened right under his nose.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Or maybe that Helga woman was just that good at slipping past a defensive cordon. Either way, this was bad.


    ¡°Hey you girlie, get the hell back here this instant!!¡± Gillian hissed at the clueless Helga.


    ¡°Who are you calling a girlie, auntie? I''d much appreciate if you refer me with more appropriate terms.¡± Helga returned a prissy reply that didn''t really fit her tall, broad-shouldered stature.


    A spark briefly flew between the two women and none of the men present felt like intervening, out of fear for their own safety.


    Still, there was enough noise made, and the veterans strained their hearings to suss out whether they managed to rouse whatever monstrosity was sleeping within.


    There was nothing. Only the sound of buzzing coming from the inner ear filled their hearing. This made them tenser still.


    Helga continued to examine the wall and its markings like a child with a new toy in hand. Before her, geometric shapes, worn down from neglect and passage of time lay hidden beneath dust like an archaeological treasure. She brushed offending sand off one of the shapes and leaned over closely.


    A broad smile appeared on her thin lips as she was able to decipher the shape in front of her. It was a confirmation that Aerinite was indeed hidden somewhere here.


    While she was gleefully running her palm over the panels and muttering to herself, Phil approached Damien and whispered.


    ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°....We should leave. Quickly.¡±


    Both men nodded in unison. It was time to abandon this trip and return as quickly as possible. They both decided not to chance an encounter with an Awakened. Better safe than sorry.


    Turning around, Phil gave a silent instruction to his party members, while Damien quietly approached Jonas to update him.


    But he couldn''t do it. A soft clack was heard in the distance, freezing everyone on the spot.


    Another distant metallic clack, and Damien''s hand was gripping the hilt of his saber tightly. It felt heavier compared to a moment ago. His fingers nervously played with the tiny bit of loose, protruding string that tied the leather of the hilt. He always did that subconsciously.


    One more clack came from the passage further ahead. It was a bit louder. Whatever it was, sound was coming closer.


    The dim lights of the Lazulites weren''t enough to show the group what made that sound, but they all felt hairs on their skin rise; the oppressing Aeterna of the Acre just became even more unbearable, its dark strength heavily pushing them down mentally.


    Gillian, who as a scout possessed the superior eyesight, first noticed what was making that clacking sound. She inhaled deeply, and nocked an arrow with such haste, it jolted everyone out of their edgy stupor.


    ¡°It''s coming,¡± she sharply hissed. ¡°Miss Helga, get your butt back in here right this instance, or you''ll die where you stand.¡±


    ¡°Mmm? Did you say something?¡±


    Helga, who were mindlessly studying the wall''s geometric symbols, turned her head towards the older woman nonchalantly. It was obvious she hadn''t noticed anything, not even the ominous clacking sound coming from directly behind her.


    And she still failed to notice the intense glares she was receiving. Rooted to the spot, she tilted her head, utterly puzzled.


    ¡°Oh, for the love of Uunos, woman ¨C come over here now!!¡±


    It was Jonas who blurted the words out angrily at his subordinate, who was turning out to be surprisingly airheaded, something even he didn''t realize until now. Sure, she sometimes exhibited a personality trait where she seemed to forget her surroundings when engrossed in new research materials, but to think she was this clueless ¨C he had to do a double take whether this woman was the same person he asked for back in the Institute.


    Helga knitted her brows at the faces of tense people behind her. ¡°Is there something.... on my face? Why do all of you glare at me like that?¡±


    That''s when Gillian let loose the arrow.


    It whizzed by Helga''s face, flying straight and true to its intended target, still obscured by the darkness. She jumped in alarm but then even she heard the faint sound of arrow tip striking something in the unseen depths. And a low growl that followed it.


    She then belatedly recognized where she was; better late than never.


    She flipped open her mantle quickly and pulled out her mace, and fell back within the group in a flash.


    Damien was rather impressed by her movements. She was slightly annoying in The Capital Nobility kind of way, but as expected of a Journeyman Invoker, she showed an admirably sharp reaction as soon as she detected a potential danger.


    An Invoker was supposed to be a pinnacle of what humanoids were capable of becoming; an important source of pride for the denizens of The Empire. And Helga, as obnoxious as she can be, wasn''t planning on becoming an embarrassment to her peers.


    Gillian quickly nocked another arrow. By this time militiamen were readying their bows as well, their sights squarely set forward. Now, the target had moved close enough for its general outline to be shown, somewhat.


    It resembled a slow moving.... person.


    ¡°Tsk,¡± Gillian scowled, and fired the arrow again. It struck the head of the human shaped target with unnerving accuracy, causing the part to flop backwards while making a bone-cracking sound.


    But that did not stop its slow advance. It dragged its feet, and another soft clack could be heard. It was dragging something along, and whenever there was a small gap between the metallic panels on the floor, the sound was made by the object hitting it.


    ¡°....It''s an undead, but something''s off.¡±


    The usually silent Taylor murmured cautiously.


    Damien sucked in a deep breath after hearing the information. He felt a trickle of nervous sweat tease its way down his forearm, until it settled on the thick wrist protector worn below the simple metal-and-leather gauntlet.


    Undead Fiends were a bad news. Not only were they disgusting to look at, but they smelled bad as well, causing those with weak stomachs unable to withstand the assault on their senses. Not only that, regular attacks had no effect ¨C cutting, chopping limbs off, blunt weapons on the vitals, none of that worked.


    Light or Fire type Invocations were the most reliable way to deal with this type of enemies. Alternatively, one could try to find its ''Core'', which was located somewhere within its decaying flesh. Easier said than done, really.


    The Core itself was small, and never placed in a fixed position. Sometimes it could be where the heart might be; sometimes, where the brain was. Or even around the gut.


    Fortunately, the current party had two recognized Invokers in their midst, so a slow moving undead wasn''t going to be an issue as long as no one lowered their guard.


    Another soft clack, and the creature finally stepped into the pale blue light.


    ¡°What the....? Is that really an undead?¡±


    Someone in the back gasped out upon witnessing the sight unfolding before the group.


    The creature before them was indeed a humanoid in appearance. A man, in fact. It walked with a limp, as if its left leg was broken. On the right hand, it dragged a bent and rusting blade. His clothes, some remains of broken bits of leather armor, were all in a state of total disarray. His head was askew in a very much unnatural way, with two arrows fired off by Gillian stuck on it.


    Its jaw was slack, missing several teeth; dirty drool oozed from it, and there were nothing in its eye sockets, just a spooky pair of hollow spaces.


    It certainly fit the bill for describing an undead. However, what stumped all those present were strange metallic panels of different sizes stuck on the chest, side of the head, and parts of its legs.


    The panels resembled those from the walls of the Sacred Acre. It was as if the man ripped the metal off and had his mates glue it on haphazardly. But one thing was for sure, the exposed flesh just visible beneath all the decoration were in the process of decaying. This man was as undead as an undead could possibly be.


    The Fiend stopped its movement once it came to a certain distance away from Damien''s group. Its hollow eyes unmoving, the head stiffly, slowly rotated around, searching.


    Then, its slackened jaw slowly dropped further, more of that thick mucus-like drool falling out of it. Those who caught the whiff of the foul stench couldn''t help but lift hands to cover their noses.


    One of the militia let out a groan. ¡°Urgh, it stinks!¡±


    That triggered it into action.


    The undead Fiend let out a long, sharp screech. It was cold and shrill, piercing deep into the bones of all present; Damien''s focus was shaken terribly, making him momentarily unable to concentrate.


    The metal plates stuck on its body started glowing intense blue light. No, the plates themselves were not emitting the light but rather, thin lines suddenly appearing on them, were. The blue lights streaked in straight lines, and the Sacred Acre began to rumble at the same time.


    The blue lines also appeared one after the other on the walls, the ceiling and the floor, following geometric lines and spreading from where the Fiend stood; the lines extended from its feet outwards, racing past the confused and alarmed group.


    ¡°What.... What the bloody hell''s going on here?¡±


    Vagas cried out in shock. Damien too wanted to cry out, but somehow, managed to rein it in. Last time he was here, none of this happened. None of this bizarre light show accompanied his previous journey into its depths.


    This wasn''t supposed to happen, whatever this was.


    Helga and Taylor were chanting their respective Invocations already; Phil and his group quickly shielded the Invokers, picking up the sharp weapons that seemed to glisten under the disorientating shower of blue lights.


    Damien too, raised his saber and pointed its tip at the Fiend, ready to strike at a moment''s notice.


    The undead stopped its shrill scream, and lunged forward at speed that betrayed the ruse of its previous sluggishness. It swung the bent sword in a rising arc so fiercely, it seemed to leave a blue afterimage in the air.


    A militiaman, who happened to stand in the front as the formation dictated, desperately raised his spear to block the attack. When the two weapons collided, a shower of dull sparks exploded, and the spear was blown out of the man''s grasp.


    Before the others could lend an aid, the undead swung its blade back down. The militiaman''s headless body collapsed after that. Someone screamed out the fallen man''s name in terror from behind but Damien disregarded that and quickly issued commands.


    ¡°Encircle and retreat,¡± Damien shouted as he rushed forward. ¡°Give the Invokers a chance to cast their spells!!¡±


    Encircle and Retreat was a common battlefield strategy employed when an Invoker was involved in the fight. It took a bit of time to cast a spell so in order to prevent the target from moving, vanguards would rush forward to engage the enemy, and retreat when the signal was given. Damien shouted out the commands for the benefit of his militiamen who were frozen in fear.


    He understood instinctively that they had no chance of victory with brute strength alone against this foe. Invocation was the only way to reliably destroy this Fiend.


    However, something about those blue-line shining metal plates worried him, and the off-kilter reaction of the Sacred Acre terrified him. He was sure of it, more so than ever before, that they had to escape no matter what before something even worse decides to block them. Quickly defeating this undead should greatly expedite that process.


    Several spears and longswords found their way into the gaps in the tattered armor of the deceptively lumbering creature. None slowed it down, none of the attacks caused it to cry out in pain. Rather, it took a few more sharp, practiced swings at its attackers, knocking a few off their feet and making the militiamen to drop the precious weapons.


    Phil was astonished at the speed, the strength and the technique of the Fiend in front of him. What he just saw was simply not possible; an undead should not retain the skills learned during the time it was still alive. But what was displayed before him, was definitely of a high caliber.


    Perhaps, this a rotting, walking dead creature was somehow still remembering a little of its past, of its lucid days.


    He shook his head clear of such nonsensical reasoning; right now, there were much more urgent matters to get to, such as defeating the Fiend.


    ¡°It''s time!!¡± Ben Musgrave shouted out from behind, where he was standing guard for the two Invokers of the party when the spells were ready to go.


    ¡°Fall back!!¡± Damien gave a swift order the moment he heard the rear-most vanguard''s voice. With haste, all who surrounded the undead retreated. Those whose weapons were stuck in the creature''s torso, simply released the hold and went empty handed.


    As soon as the coast was clear, two powerful Invocation spells activated and attacked the Fiend.


    Taylor attacked with a mid-tier Lightening Elemental Invocation, Arcing Thunder, which as its name implied, arced towards the target in an instant; while Helga went with somewhat more accepted type of spell, a wide-area Healing Touch of the Spirit.


    The undead Fiends were weak against Light and Fire Elemental spells. However, using the latter in a confined space such as an underground passage like the one they were in was a stupid thing to do, so both Invokers went with other spells in their repertoire.


    An ill-placed flame not only caused smoke which led to difficulty in breathing, but it restricted the vision; also, if there was a pocket of trapped gas nearby, that could also ignite it, causing an explosion. Fire type Invocation was thus not used in underground caverns with tighter dimensions.


    The arcing, dancing Thunder struck the Fiend''s chest area, immobilizing it on the spot, allowing the Healing Touch to slowly wrap it in white light. The undead howled in agony for the very first time during this encounter, and dropped the bent sword while trying to ward off the warm light embracing it.


    Its howling weakened gradually, and soon there was only silence; when the white light dissipated, the Fiend was crumbling into bits and pieces, limbs and the metal plates falling on the floor with loud thuds and clanks.


    Damien remained tense, watching the creature closely for a sign of it rising one more time. Thankfully that didn''t come.


    As the rotting flesh melted and fell, Damien suddenly realized the man who''d became this undead was somewhat familiar. But he couldn''t really place the hollowed-out face with a name, or a place where he might have seen it. His unease increased further with that revelation.


    He just hoped that it was just a mistake on his part.


    The undead''s body finally became nothing more than a heap. It stopped howling too, and the only noise the group heard was their own harsh breathing.


    ¡°Aid the injured! Retrieve the fallen, hurry!! There might be more!!¡± Damien issued new orders to his men while surveying the damage. One life lost, four injured ¨C one heavily.


    ¡°I shall aid with the healing,¡± said Helga. ¡°Bring the injured over h....¡±


    Before she could say something, the ground beneath the unmoving undead began to glow.


    Everyone hastily took a step back, drawing their weapons ready.


    The ground shone in the same, eerie blue light as the lines on the wall, and a circular formation expanded below the heap.


    ¡°Look!!¡±


    Vagas shouted, while pointing somewhere else. The corner of Damien''s eye followed the young man''s finger, and saw the same blue circular formation below the body of the fallen militiaman.


    ¡°It''s the Sacred Acre. It''s absorbing the dead,¡± said Taylor, while his eyes focused on the patterns of the formation. It was obscured from his vision but nevertheless he was greedily taking in the sight as this was a valuable chance for an Invoker such as himself to witness a rare occurrence of Death Absorption, a unique phenomenom only known to exist within the Sacred Acres.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Cursing, Damien hurriedly tried to retrieve the body but he was pulled back by Gordie.


    Might as well ¨C the headless corpse began to sink into the solid ground as if it was a quick sand sucking in a hapless victim. Same was happening to the heap of the undead Fiend, being pulled under the surface.


    In less than half a minute, both lifeless bodies disappeared from the sight, leaving behind a spear and the bent sword.


    Everyone stood around in a daze. No one spoke a word, complex maze of emotions running through each and every one of them. Damien felt like he should''ve prevented the body from getting taken by the Acre. He had forgotten that an active Sacred Acre always absorbed the fallen that fit a specific criteria, such as being a humanoid or a Fiend. Now it was too late to give the man a proper funeral rite, and he had nothing to give that man''s family a closure.


    If this was five years ago, then he wouldn''t have made a mistake like this. Being a bloody lord of a village had dulled his instincts.


    Unacceptable.


    Damien gritted his teeth in anger. He hated failure, and this was one.


    But he couldn''t remain idle. He still had a job to do; he volunteered to lead the expedition, so lead he shall. ¡°Do not lose focus, there could be more!! Gillian, scout the area. Sir Jonas, we are retreating immediately.¡±


    He fired off the new orders while offering a silent prayer to the fallen man. That was all he could do now.


    ¡°Damien, there''s another one!!¡± Gillian called out as she readied her bow once more.


    He turned his head towards the passage and sure enough, he could hear another soft clanking sound. But unlike before, the blue lights emanating from the metal panels shone faintly in the dark.


    Seeing this, Damien issued the new order.


    ¡°We already brought down one, so we know how to defeat another. Everyone, in formation. We''ll go with encircle and retreat again!!¡±

 Chapter 7

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">7</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    ¡°Steady, men!! Don''t falter. We''re on the verge of a victory!¡±


    Damien shouted as loud as he could.


    It''d been several hours since the beginning of the one long continuous battle with the undead enemies.


    One after the other, enemies came. All of them were the same type of undead, with those light-emitting metallic panels glued on their bodies, carrying weapons and exerting ridiculous amount of power unfitting of things that were supposed to be dead. And to make matters worse, the enemies'' toughness progressively grew the more of them were taken down.


    They were strong, to a point where it would have been curtains for the adventuring group if two or more undeads showed at once. Everyone fighting were genuinely thankful that this didn''t happen.


    Currently, the group was facing their eighth undead Fiend. If these bastards were, for a lack of better words, normal, the each battle wouldn''t have lasted long. However, they exhibited some extraordinary skills and awareness that belied their mindless state.


    And so, the casualty on Damien''s group was severe as a result. Already two members of the militia lost their lives, and further five were seriously injured while the rest suffered less severe wounds. Of the heavily hurt, first aid made sure they were not in any immediate danger but, it was not possible to count on them as a potential fighting force, moving forward.


    The biggest problem facing the fighters was the fatigue factor; everyone in the group were feeling it. The worst affected were the Invokers. Casting a single Invocation spell sapped away stamina faster than swinging a sword, and both Helga and Taylor had been firing off one after the other without taking breaks. If they could just rest up a bit, and recover some of the energy.


    The situation so far didn''t allow for a simple break. Everyone was nearing their limit. But somehow, one way or the other, they fought and endured. And now, they were pushing back what was presumed to be the last Fiend.


    It''s lost its large and rusting war-ax and instead resorted to swinging its arms wildly.


    Pushing the monster back with forward march of the shields, the vanguards stabbed hard with their spears, pinning the enemy on the spot.


    As soon as they withdrew, Taylor put the finishing touch by casting a powerful Lightening type spell that caused fire to sprout from the insides of the Fiend.


    It howled miserably, and collapsed into a smoking heap, spreading the disgusting smell around the corridor.


    ¡°That''s it. There aren''t anymore Fiends!!¡± Gillian shouted, as she plopped down on the ground. Her face was soaked in sweat and caked in dirt. It was a same story for everyone else though.


    Coughing and waving the choking smoke away, Damien went over the front of the group to make sure the burning heap of the undead Fiend wasn''t moving. He pulled out a spear and poked multiple times, and got no response in the end.


    Confirmation done, he too retreated a bit and fell on the ground as the strength of the legs gave way with the sweet wave of relief rushing over. His sword arm was numb from overexertion, his armor was tattered, there were numerous chips on the saber''s edge and the buckler tied to his forearm.


    Feeling a bit of coldness around his lower chest, he reached in there with his weary hand only to find a puncture hole in the leather armor and a trace of blood from a graze on his skin. It wasn''t there before so, somehow a Fiend had gotten in a hit that was too close for comfort. If the hit were any deeper, then he''d be lying on the floor with blood leaking out from his side. Damien felt another bead of cold sweat trickle down his back as he understood how lucky he was.


    He looked around to the rest of the group, while chewing on a small, dried medicinal leaf. It had an effect of detoxification, and Damien felt that the wound might get infected if left untreated as was. The group had only one Invoker capable of using Light Elemental Invocations in Helga, and she was far too exhausted to heal everyone. This was the best he could do for now.


    He swallowed the bitter and crunchy leaf and decided to let the tired group enjoy the break in action for a few minutes, before rushing them out of this damned Sacred Acre. Not that he didn''t trust in Gillian''s ability of detection, mind you, but it was more about his fear of the unknown. His fear of this Acre and its undead denizens that weren''t here before.


    Previously, the Fiends he encountered inside weren''t all that significant. They were mostly a rabble of weak creatures twisted by the ominous Aeterna leaking out from the deepest part of the cavern and thus, defeating them was rather straightforward.


    But this time, the enemies were humanoid undeads. Worse still, undeads possessing the combat skills of their former selves. Something weird had happened when he wasn''t looking this past half a decade, and he didn''t like that thought one bit. Faster they leave, the better he''d feel.


    ¡°Lord Damien, how far, do you reckon, are we from the deepest chamber?¡±


    Jonas asked Damien suddenly after approaching him silently. The question took him by surprise, partly because he thought he was alone, and partly because he didn''t expect that particular question.


    ¡°Why do you ask about that, Sir Jonas?¡±


    ¡°We''ve come this far. Wouldn''t it be prudent to see the matter to its end?¡±


    Damien felt like throwing up a mouthful of blood when he heard this. Thankfully that was just his imagination but the nauseating migraine pulsing inside his head certainly wasn''t.


    ¡°Let us not get ahead of ourselves here, Sir Jonas. We have defeated all the Fiends in the vicinity but that does not mean there aren''t any more threats in front of us.¡± Damien raised his tired voice and said loudly enough so the others could hear him.


    To this objection, Jonas snorted. Then he gestured at Phil, who was looking increasingly nervous for some reason.


    ¡°Mister Cosier, would you come over here and speak to us for a moment?¡±


    For some reason, Damien''s headache grew bigger. The nausea was probably from the exertion on the muscles due to the continuous combat he had to go through. With a bit of rest and some food, he''d right as rain.


    But the cramped facial expression on his long time acquaintance said that, never mind resting and food, there was more to come yet. He shook his head inwardly; no matter what, this time he was going to insist on turning back the way they came, all the possible repercussions be damned.


    Phil dragged his feet but eventually he got close. Then the questions began.


    ¡°Mister Cosier, Phil, could you repeat what you told me before? The bit about these unusual undeads, and their possible identities.¡±


    Jonas said in a cocksure tone clearly designed to assert his.... something. Quite frankly, Damien couldn''t see what this pampered fool from the Capital was counting on really.


    Phil sighed in a resigned manner. He knew he shouldn''t have uttered that name while fighting back then. A small, minute slip up, were it not for the fact that he was protecting Jonas and the damned bastard had an attentive ear of a hare.


    ¡°Well, Phil? Time''s a wasting.¡± Jonas prodded impatiently.


    Phil slowly chewed his words out.


    ¡°....I was saying, I''ve seen one of them before. Before he became that.¡±


    A thick foreboding gloom clouded Damien''s mind.


    ¡°Where did you see it?¡± He quickly asked, wanting to hear some answers.


    Frankly, he was surprised by the revelation ¨C if he had seen someone he''d recognized, surely he''d be notified first? How the hell did Jonas get a hold of the info first?


    ¡°....Whew, right.¡± Phil cleared his throat. ¡°One of the undead we fought, the one carrying that Dwarven Ax? He''s known Bendis, originally out of the village of Elster by the Northwest.¡±


    ¡°And what else, Mister Cosier?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, he... had quite a bounty on his neck for various crimes. His wanted poster is plastered on The Boards of the most Association branches, including ours, in Lafayette.¡±


    ¡°Please go on.¡±


    ¡°....Bendis belonged to a bandit troupe actually. A big one. But they got hunted and cut down. Him and a few of his buddies escaped however.¡±


    Phil stopped here, and scratched the back of his head.


    Damien was confused. He was sort of relieved to hear that he didn''t cut down someone who was a friend of his friend but, so far he couldn''t see where this was going.


    ¡°What are you saying, Phil? Out with it, will you?¡±


    ¡°Well, after remembering the face, I also remembered the others too. I''m pretty sure of the undeads we''ve been fighting, it''s those bandits who escaped.¡±


    Suddenly, it dawned on Damien. ¡°....How many escaped?¡±


    Phil slowly shook his head. ¡°Ten.¡±


    Ten. They''ve fought eight so far. If following a simple logic, then there were two still left. The logic being, those bandits that have escaped death somehow got to this Sacred Acre and became the Fiends haunting the halls of this accursed place.


    ¡°And, one of those, were the leader of the troupe. He''s not among the undead. Not yet,¡± said Phil.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that the leader is now a Fiend? He might''ve dodged that fate.¡± Damien countered.


    ¡°Not likely, seeing that other than the two, all the rest were the escaped bandits. Chances are.... there are two more lurking around somewhere in here.¡±


    Phil was sure. He had to be sure. After a rookie mistake of muttering Bendis''s name when he recognized the rotting face which were then heard by Jonas, he needed to be sure as to not lose any more face. And seeing that the eight undeads were the former bandits he thought it was a sure bet.


    Damien shook his head. This new info didn''t change a thing; he was still taking his men outside. The expedition was done, as far as he was concerned.


    Then Jonas dropped this bombshell.


    ¡°It goes without saying, now there''s one more reason to explore the depths. We need to establish the why, why these desperate men fleeing for their lives became Fiends, before the same thing happens to other law-abiding citizens of the Empire. It is our duty. Your duty, Lord Damien, to protect your subjects.¡±


    His headache grew. A small groan escaped his lips.


    ¡°You feeling alright, Damien?¡± Phil asked when he noticed his friend moaning uncomfortably.


    ¡°No, I''m fine.¡± Damien sighed. ¡°Rather than worrying about me, worry about leaving. We lack personnel for this type of venturing. No arguments, Sir Jonas. If you wish to carry out your duties, then let us equip ourselves more adequately first and then return.¡±


    Jonas was going to raise his disagreement but then, a panicked voice from behind interrupted him.


    ¡°My lord, my lord!! Something''s happened to the exit. It''s no longer there!!¡±


    Everyone who heard that, watched their hearts sink into oblivion.


    ¡°What do you mean by that, the exit''s gone?¡±


    One of the militia shouted in panic. All the eyes were trained on this one man. It seemed he was at the rear and saw the passage behind them disappear.


    Damien too, looked at this man in stupor.


    No exit? Can''t leave? What is going on?


    He tried to stand, but then his legs gave way. The pounding headache became nastier and he couldn''t even breathe properly, all of a sudden.


    ¡°Damien!!¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Taylor shouted and ran to his side, while calling out to Helga. Damien wasn''t sure what all the flustered faces were for, as they gathered around him.


    When Helga got near him, her face turned pale, and she immediately began casting an Invocation in a hurry.


    An intense pain swooped in, wrecking Damien''s body the moment her spell activated. So much pain ran right through him and he almost fainted because of that.


    ¡°Damien, can you hear my voice? Do not fall into the abyss. Stay awake, man!! Stay awake!¡±


    Upon hearing this, he knitted his brows. What are you on about, Phil? What abyss? Ah, it doesn''t matter for now. Let me rest for a second. Damn it, am too I tired or what?


    From the edges of his vision, red and dark vines appeared out of nowhere and began to extend inwards. At first glance, they seemed like spider webbing but upon closer inspection, it now resembled more of cracks appearing on the surfaces of a marble floor.


    And as the cracks spread, the less he could see and hear. The headache increased as well, to the point where it was impossible for him to endure it anymore.


    Just like that, he fell into a deep slumber.


    ~


    ¡°M''lady, I''ve prepared some refreshments. Please drink it and rest for a while.¡±


    Lizbeth raised her heavy head up from her hands, and met Delilah who brought a plate of scented tea and some snacks. The Dwarven maid placed the plate on the small bedside table near where her employer was sitting down.


    ¡°Thank you, Delilah.¡±


    Lizbeth could only afford a small smile at the timely break; she certainly needed it. No doubt, last handful of hours had been some of the hardest for her to endure, and she was left quite exhausted by the time the morning sun began to color the sky reddish blue.


    She took a long sip of the tea and sighed. Kaleena, still in a fitful sleep, lay on the bed next to her. Her wound may have been healed, but there was no way to replace large amount blood she lost, and the little girl''s life was still hanging in the balance.


    Lizbeth was thankful for her daughter''s powerful Aeterna burst, which was bright enough to be seen by the patrolling village guards. That brought help over to the Lomax household in haste and got things moving. It also meant she didn''t have to send Rosy out to find aid, leaving her and her family vulnerable in case the assailant had accomplices hidden nearby.


    Using the authority of his post as the vice captain of the militia, Rolf Harris-Shi promptly had security increased. Perhaps, it was after the horses had bolted but he too didn''t want to risk it. After all, he was in charge of the village''s security while Damien was gone, and he wouldn''t be able to stand the shame of failing his duty.


    From the increased security detail, Lizbeth had received word not too long ago that a fleeing shadow was seen to the North, moving towards the Central Highway that led to The Capital city of Argos. A pair of riders were dispatched to pursue the target. No news arrived since then.


    For now, she sat by the side of her daughter and waited. Although outwardly she appeared calm, inside she was a raging storm personified. She leaked out a powerful killing aura whenever she thought about those potentially responsible for this cowardly deed.


    She was sure of Damien''s office being the target of the assailant ¨C signs of disturbance were clearest in there. The masked man was looking for something, but she couldn''t think of what exactly. As a lord of the village and its surrounding lands, her husband had to keep a few important documents but none warranted a nightly raid of such enmity.


    The sun''s rays entered Kaleena''s bedroom, and cascaded over the sleeping girl''s face. Lizbeth gently stroked her cheeks, afraid that if she was a little too rough, her sleep might be interrupted.


    Checking her conditions, she noted that Kaleena''s breathing was still ragged and heavy, with small beads of sweat forming and then falling off her forehead. The pillow underneath was soaked from the lost fluid.


    Rosy and Delilah took turns to either stay by Lizbeth''s side or to look after Kain. They brought boiled water, medicine, fresh rags to wipe the sweat down, changes of clothes and even brought news, if there were any. But most of the time, the somber mood of the house meant no one dared to speak a word that was deemed not necessary.


    The dead body was removed from the residence by the militiamen, and was taken to the local butcher''s ¨C he possessed a cooled storage that could preserve the remains so it might be examined at a later time.


    Lizbeth took another slow sip of the tea, barely noticing the flavor that had a relaxing effect on her nerves.


    She was very much aware of her current state of mind wouldn''t do anyone good. She was far too highly strung and angry to think rationally. Being level-headed and cool was what''s needed from her now, especially with Damien''s absence.


    A firm knock ringed on the door, and the familiar voice followed.


    ¡°Madam, it''s Rolf. I bring news.¡±


    ¡°Please enter,¡± said Lizbeth, feeling her anger flare up again. It seemed that the effects of the scented tea was indeed regretfully temporary.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Rolf apologized as he entered the room. ¡°First of all, we''ve secured the village and its outskirts and determined that there are no other suspects in the vicinity.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded. ¡°What about the pursuit?¡±


    ¡°That.... not too long ago, the men returned empty handed.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°My apologies, madam. The men I sent were inadequate.¡±


    Rolf lowered his head dejectedly, his usually energetic tail hanging low.


    She shook her head. ¡°No, it couldn''t be helped. The assailant was rather skilled, and it won''t surprise me to learn if his accomplice is just as so, if not more. Running away when confronted might have been in their plans all along.¡±


    Sighing, Rolf bowed and said. ¡°I shall take my leave. If there''s anything, please let me know. I''ll come as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Lizbeth managed to give him a parting smile.


    Watching the burly Caniduskin man squeeze past the bedroom door in order to leave, she suddenly felt more fatigued than before. Looking around the room, she was glad that Rosy and Delilah were with her. She was also glad that Kain didn''t throw any further tantrums and kept quiet. If her innocent son had cried ceaselessly under the current circumstances, she wouldn''t have known what to do. She felt her little boy was truly a godsend, as he was held quietly in Rosy''s arms ¨C his inquisitive eyes darting here, there, everywhere.


    The bed stirred, and Kaleena slowly opened her eyes. Lights in her eyes were weak, and her voice, just as so. ¡°Mommy, is that you?¡±


    ¡°Yes sweetie, mommy''s here.¡± Lizbeth held her small hand and stroked it gently. ¡°It''ll be alright, honey. Rest for a little longer. You''ll feel better soon.¡±


    ¡°....Where''s father?¡±


    Kaleena''s wandering eyes searched for the figure of her ever-reliable father. She knitted her brows when the confusion set in briefly, but then remembered he was out on an expedition in the forest.


    ¡°He''s coming back soon.¡± Lizbeth smiled. But her anger was making her shudder. Suddenly she felt really, really furious at Damien for not being here, by the side of his family at a time like this.


    Instead, he was out there, having fun and shucking his responsibilities as a father, as a husband, and as a guardian.


    If he was here, then the assailant might have thought twice before intruding and hurt her precious child. If he was here, then, he''d be able to capture the fleeing suspect and interrogate him or her. Or they, whatever the case may be.


    If he was here....


    Instead, he went off on a wild goose chase. He himself said the whole trip was nothing more than an easy and safe opportunity to earn coin; he said that it would help the finances of the village.


    He said, that he needed to go out there and enjoy himself every once in a while.


    She tried hard not to grit her teeth in front of Kaleena. That would come later, in private. When Damien returns, she mused, he was going to get thoroughly beaten by her fist of fury.


    Of course she was unaware of the deadly struggle her husband was going through at the same time. How could she have known?


    Willing her anger to cool down, Lizbeth brought a cup of water that had medicine mixed in close to Kaleena''s coughing mouth. Helping her drink it, she examined the facial complexion of her child, and thought it looked a little better now.


    ¡°Do you remember what happened last night, sweetie?¡±


    Lizbeth asked as she leaned in closer, stroking Kaleena''s hair.


    This may not have been a good time, but she was curious about the cause of the timely Aeterna burst. She felt it was Kaleena who initiated it for sure.


    However, she was too young to manifest an ability in controlling Aeterna just yet. It was a generally accepted fact that children of ages five and above only begin to display the talents at wielding the Elements. It was too early, unless she possessed tremendous natural talent.


    Regardless of that, the fact remained so ¨C if it weren''t for that burst of energy, Lizbeth would never have known about the assailant. Kaleena''s hidden potential may have saved her life, and that of her family. And for that, she was grateful. Grateful to her daughter, to her patron Goddess, and to Rosy too.


    And it went without saying but if Kaleena''s talents were real, then obviously it needed to be cultivated to its fullest.


    ¡°....No, mommy. I can''t remember,¡± Kaleena shook her head slowly. ¡°My head hurts,¡± she instead complained and made a sour face.


    ¡°It''ll be alright sweetie. Don''t you worry about anything, and just rest. Mommy will be right here.¡±


    Smiling, Lizbeth kissed her daughter on the forehead and noted that her high temperature had gone down. That was good. Kaleena was recovering quickly. Another sign that she was talented ¨C a person with a great deal of Aeterna residing within recovered faster than normal people.


    Kaleena visibly relaxed, and closed her eyes again. Soon her breathing became steady, and she was asleep once more.


    Meanwhile, Kain watched from the sidelines, observing and reading the heavy atmosphere. He had no idea exactly what happened but, after seeing a corpse of unknown man getting carted out of the house, he knew some serious crap had gone down.


    There were blood, walls were broken, tables were upturned; even an idiot could imagine the seriousness of the previous night''s event.


    He woke up when a burst of energy shook him hard. That was pretty hardcore, that sensation of enormous lump of power, boring a hole in his soul. Or some such like that. It was as if a loud firecracker had went off below his bed. What a racket that was.


    Listening in from the hushed conversations of the adults around, Kain figured Kaleena had something to do with the so-called Aeterna burst. He understood very much that energy was the mysterious formless substance called Aeterna. Little Kal did have a lot of that stuff around her so the strength of the explosion seemed right to him, although he knew nothing about such matters to begin with.


    He couldn''t help feeling a bit scared, looking at tense Lizbeth. She was normally a model of graceful calmness yet so deeply shaken as she was now, it was hard not to feel unsettled alongside her. Negative emotions had a way of spreading to other people in the same space, it seemed.


    Rosy was oddly calm however; not as if she was disinterested, no, but more like oh hey, there''s nothing to worry about here anymore kind of calm. Delilah was a little more frantic which he thought was how one was supposed to be, after an attempted break-in that resulted in the said robber lying dead in a pool of his own blood.


    Besides feeling scared, Kain didn''t know what else he, or for that matter, anyone should be doing in the current circumstances. Calling the cops was the obvious thing to do, if this was the Earth. But he was in a fantasy world, he was not so sure about an organization like the police existing in this world.


    In his previous life, he had no run-ins with the shadier element of the society. The only form of violence he was exposed to, was in the form of a camping sniper taking potshots at him in a FPS MP matches. It was natural he wasn''t sure of what to feel.


    One thing he did feel, was apprehension. Specifically, of his future. To elaborate, Kain held this grand delusion in his head, of which saw him living in a fantasy world where everyone and their dogs got along fabulously with one another. Sure, there were occasional troubles with monsters and such, but never with another human beings.


    But now, the illusion was well and truly shattered by the event of the night. And it made him think of the future. The threat was taken care of for now, but what about later on?


    Was there a need for him to follow one of the most well-trodden shonen trope of ¡°Need To Become Stronger¡±? Couldn''t he just live a quiet country life, not worrying about stuff like killings and crap.


    The more he thought about this, the more grumpier he got. Besides the fact that his life was threatened only a few months after his supposed reincarnation, now it felt like he had no choice but to become stronger if he wanted to live in the first place.


    Not that he was against the idea of getting all powerful and all that, but there was a downside attached to that ¨C getting noticed.


    When one possessed power, it invariably attracts attention from those in the seats of power. Simply put, there will be men who would try to manipulate him, and there will be jealous men trying to make his life a living hell. Not trying to conceited, of course, but that''s how he was feeling at the moment.


    He hadn''t really made up his mind on what he wanted to do after growing up in this world; but he knew that he wasn''t cut out to be a contestant in a Game Of Thrones, so to speak. Last thing he wanted was to get embroiled in some dastardly, secretive political maneuvering involving people dying in many horrible ways. His stomach wouldn''t be able to handle the stress, really.


    But anyways, that was stuff for the future. Kain had to worry about the present first.


    What did the robber wanted from his house? Weird thing, that, since his home didn''t have much of anything valuable ¨C no gold, no fancy gemstones, no expensive art works, none of that. Nothing to steal here.


    Or was it?


    When Rosy was busy carrying him around, he got a good look at the state of Damien''s office. The large bookshelf was rifled through, books and documents were strewn about, the drawers on the desk pried open, their contents spilled out on the floor.


    To be honest, it wasn''t an unusual to see such a disorganized scenery ¨C Damien was bit haphazard when it came to tidying his room up. So it was par for the course, really.


    But unlike before, there was a faint hint of the formless substance, Aeterna, present in the room. That wasn''t there before. Definitely not, otherwise Kain''d have noticed it. His eyes could pick up the substance lazily floating around people and objects so he''d have seen it.


    From his observation, he more or less understood some properties of this Aeterna thingy. One of them was, that it didn''t linger in a place where there were no one around, or at least where there were no signs of living beings around. Well, not in such an obvious concentration anyway.


    But inside Damien''s office, he saw a pale greenish substance softly floating around, escaping from a very thin gap on a wall. That color was new ¨C Kaleena was usually surrounded by three or four different hues but even hers weren''t of green.


    How mysterious, Kain mused to himself.


    Could it be, that the robber was aiming for that?


    Before coming to a conclusion, his tummy grumbled loudly first.


    Ever since waking up many hours ago, he''d nothing to eat. No wonder his infant body was complaining. Feeling slightly embarrassed for not reading the atmosphere, he sheepishly looked around to see if anyone noticed his faux pas.


    Everyone present in the bedroom was staring at him.


    ¡°I should feed him,¡± said Lizbeth, finally snapping out of the quagmire of anger-induced thoughts after hearing Kain''s belly asking for some motherly attention.


    She silently chided herself for neglecting her son. She knew caring for Kaleena was important but for now the danger had seemingly passed by so it was only right for her to care for the boy too. And he had been such a good boy until now.


    Taking Kain in her arms, she felt somewhat relieved, calm. She was glad no further harm fell on her family. In her heart, she once more offered a silent, heartfelt thanks to her patron goddess.

 Chapter 8

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">8</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    It sure didn''t feel like a long time had passed but when Damien woke up, it seemed a millennium slipped by while he was taking a nap, judging by the intense pain assaulting just about every fiber of his muscles. Immediately, he decided to forget about sitting upright for now and just take it easy, at least for a second or two. Or maybe even more.


    He was happy to feel that ache, however. It was a reminder that he was still alive, and in one piece. This ache also did a good job of reminding him of the old days, back when he first started out as an Adventurer ¨C back then, he often had to sleep on the hard, unforgiving surfaces, and as a result the following mornings were filled with these kinds of cramps and pains. Well, not exactly the same kind of pain but close enough.


    Looking around, he saw the now-familiar pulsing blue lines on the metallic panels, casting a soft and eerie atmosphere over the quietness of the Sacred Acre''s interior. He grumbled his dissatisfaction at the obvious misfortune of being still stuck inside this damnable place. He also saw his companions nearby, in various states of resting, spread about the cavern. Right next to him was Phil, sitting by a small lamp as he performed maintenance on the blade of his sword.


    ¡°You''re awake,¡± Phil leaned over and spoke when he noticed Damien sitting up gingerly.


    ¡°Sorry for worrying you,¡± Damien massaged his temples weakly. ¡°How long have I been out for?¡±


    ¡°Long enough,¡± said Phil as he passed over a waterskin. ¡°Here, wet your throat.¡±


    Damien thanked his friend and took a generous swig of the lukewarm water. Tasted lousy ¨C still felt like a nectar from the gods, so it was all good.


    He wiped the corner of his lips and frowned after recalling the moment when he blacked out. Returning the container, he asked Phil. ¡°What happened to me? I shouldn''t have passed out like that.¡±


    Phil knitted his brows and sighed. He hesitated for a second, searching for right words to speak. The experienced Adventurer had been trying to come up with a nicer way to break the news, but now that the person in question was looking back at him, he found it unusually hard to spit the words out.


    Naturally, seeing this reaction Damien knew right away the answer wasn''t going to be rosy.


    ¡°Come on. Just tell me, Phil. It''s better to know. I need to know what the matter is.¡±


    Phil nodded, and quietly spoke. ¡°Well.... I''ve no better way of saying this. You and a few of the men got cursed.¡±


    Damien expected something of this nature but still, a curse? He was shaken badly, but if it weren''t for him holding back the tide of emotions, he''d have a freakout right here, right then. He couldn''t stop a chill running down on his back, however.


    ¡°....How?¡±


    ¡°Taylor thinks the curse got in you through the wound. Those who got infected by the curse will turn into those undead Fiends, he thinks.¡±


    The wound? Damien sucked in his breath.


    That graze on his side!! He tried hard to remember when he got injured.


    He was drawing blanks.


    Phil continued his explanations. Few, if any, words entered Damien''s brain but he was able to understand the crux of the message.


    He was going to die if not purified of this affliction immediately. No, it would be worse than that, as he would come back as those infernal undead Fiends. And threaten the lives of others, maybe even that of his family.


    Such gloomy predictions of his future made it difficult to organize his thoughts but, after a short internal turmoil he somehow got his emotions back under control, more or less. Of course, he kept his expressions to a bare minimum ¨C he didn''t want to show a sign of weakness in front of his men, not even for a blink of an eye. Right now, upkeep of the moral was far more important than ever.


    Surviving the trip down into the murky disarray of the mind, Damien rearranged his thoughts quickly and prioritized the figuring out of the way to cure himself and those who were also affected like him. ¡°Alright then, what are we looking at here?¡±


    His voice was calm, just like his face. If someone were to look at him now, Damien was exuding an aura of unperturbed stalwart, a man who was not afraid of staring at the threat of death without flinching.


    As an Adventurer, one was accustomed to the very fact that one could die at any moment. A life, a human life at that, was quite fragile and everyone in the trade knew that. Accepting one''s fate calmly, came naturally to those who had seen some unsavory things in the past, like Damien had.


    But obviously, he was still a human and couldn''t fully shake off the fear taking root in his heart. He didn''t want to die. Not yet. He had too much to lose now.


    ¡°Miss Helga cast some Light Elemental type Invocation on you, and that supposedly slows down the spread of the curse. But it''s only temporary. She thinks.... no, she believes that we have to clear out the Sacred Acre in earnest if we''re to lift it from you lot.¡±


    Blue lights from the panels created an unnatural silhouette on Phil''s face when he said those words. It was like, as if he was here, yet not here at the same time, speaking yet not speaking. A mirage of an image, almost surreal and not tangible, even though Damien knew that was false.


    Shaking his head to clear the encroaching thoughts of irrelevance, he tried to focus on Phil''s continuing words.


    And continue, he did. ¡°She thinks the curse is related to the hidden Core of the Acre, the one we didn''t get to destroy back then. She further believes the solution is tied somehow with our original intention of retrieving this Aerinite. She got all of that just by staring at some walls here and there.¡±


    Damien remembered Helga acting all excited at a wall prior to engaging the undead Fiends. That might''ve been that. Might.


    It all sounded a bit unreliable to him, but then again, even he wasn''t privy to the boundless mysteries of the Sacred Acres. What the Invoker said may be true, or not. Regardless, the gist of the story was understood so there wasn''t a problem.


    Instead, the real problem currently was his inability to focus. Without a prompt, his eyes wandered all on their own until a particular pulsing bit of blue lines caught them.


    Outwardly, the light was nothing of importance; just that, in his current state it inexplicably drew him in. The rhythm of the pulse was proving to be rather hypnotic for him.


    ¡°Hey, you listenin''?¡± Phil asked after noticing he''d lost the audience quite unexpectedly.


    ¡°....Yes. My apologies,¡± Damien again shook his head briskly, trying to get his head on straight.


    Phil ended his update here, considering that his friend had just woken up from a curse-induced blackout. Overwhelming him with various news all at once wouldn''t have been the wisest of choices after all.


    In all honesty, if Helga was late even by a whisker in administering the Invocation, who knows what might''ve happened. The very thought alone had Phil sweating profusely. They''d already lost two other militiamen to the curse because of the fact that there was only a single Invoker capable of delaying the curse''s advancement. The damage had been done already ¨C he couldn''t afford to lose Damien too, in a place like this.


    ¡°Do we know whether the hidden Core is residing in that area? Or is it placed elsewhere?¡± Damien asked as he looked around. He saw that most of the group were asleep, recovering the fatigue that had built up.


    ¡°Gillian''s looking for it. She will have something for us soon enough.¡±


    Hearing this Damien nodded, while his eyes strayed onto Jonas, who was also asleep. The member of the Imperial Institute was looking rather content for some reason.


    He felt like punching the bastard in the face, but held the anger down. It wasn''t the time for that. If they manage to survive this trip, then it''d be a good way to release some of the anger he felt. Still, he knew not all the faults lied with the man, but with himself instead.


    Damien was regretting the decision of coming down here. At the same time, he was glad to be here as well. His friends needed him, and he was only happy to oblige.


    After silently counting the number of the survivors he figured there were casualties while he was out cold. He couldn''t help but feel even more conflicted after that.


    ¡°What about the exit? Can we send for assistance?¡±


    ¡°Negative. The passage is completely blocked by the damned metal panels. The Acre isn''t planning to let us out, it seems.¡±


    Phil said while making a deep frown.


    Damien pondered for a second, then slowly got up. His muscles felt rigid, cramped up ¨C he needed to stretch them for a bit, get some blood flowing in them. He did some quick rotation of his arms, and squats to loosen up his legs.


    Shortly afterwards, he felt noticeably better. In the end, it seemed that he couldn''t just ignore the Adventurer blood coursing through his veins. Moving about was indeed the best kind of medicine for his ilk.


    Breathing in deeply to fill his lungs with air, Damien reiterated in his mind the steps he should take. The goal was pretty much clear now, and turning back was not an option so in a way it lifted a load off his shoulders. The decision here was a simple one ¨C exactly how he liked his choices to be.


    Turning to face his old friend, Damien spoke.


    ¡°We''ll advance forward, when Gill returns. You should get some rest beforehand too, Phil.¡±


    Smiling thinly, the older man replied. ¡°Will do, boss.¡±


    ~


    After the undeniably hectic morning, things got quieter by the afternoon around the Lomax household. The number of people visiting decreased by a whole lot too, compared to a normal day. Considering the news had spread through the village, the villagers wisely figured it wasn''t such a good time to seek healing from Lizbeth.


    By Kain''s estimation, Kaleena should recover in a week or so ¨C not that he had any firm medical knowledge to base such a claim on but, at least he could make an educated guess with the little girl''s subconscious interactions with that formless substance.


    When she was half-dying, so to speak, the substance was really weak, thin, and barely identifiable. But now, it was more.... ruddy? It certainly looked like a sign that she was on the road to recovery, so there.


    So Kain wasn''t worried about that, not at all. As a matter of fact, he wished for a speedy recovery.


    Instead, what he''s worried about now, was his current situation involving a certain red-furred kitty.


    While Lizbeth was taking care of her daughter, and Delilah taking complete charge of the domestic affairs, it became Rosy''s responsibility to look after Kain''s needs.


    She wasn''t all bad at this particular job, but her inexperience showed every now and then ¨C just like now, when she put on the diaper the wrong way and it chafed uncomfortably against Kain''s.... son.


    That was painful.


    But she got the temperature of the milk right so that was a plus. The minus was when she got all dewy eyed and tried to lick the milk for herself. Her facial expression was actually quite adorable however, so maybe at the end of the day it wasn''t a minus after all, thought Kain.


    After that, Rosy started talking all sorts irrelevant topics, to a confused looking infant. She was babbling about inconsequential stuff, like boys that were giving her grief, or the time she forgot to take down the washing before the rain came.


    And then, exhausted of stories to tell, she decided to read aloud a storybook. She had seen her mistress do it for her children and it seemed rather effective in putting the said kids in a coma-like slumber so she thought it would put the baby Kain in a more sleepy mood as well.


    The only problem with her plan was, that Rosy herself wasn''t what you''d call a competent reader. Honestly speaking, it hadn''t been long since she was taught how to read, and there weren''t many opportunities for her to practice what she learned freely.


    With inquisitive Kain on her lap, and the picture storybook opened to a page, Rosy began reading clumsily, stumbling and repeating sentences and words regularly. This presented an enormously great chance for Kain, because Rosy read slowly, on top of her repeating words.


    How could he miss this golden chance? He was going to cash in as much as possible here and hasten the surmounting of this damnable language barrier. And learn to read well quickly, so he can take a good gander at that book on Invocation.


    ¡°Uhm, so, ah, the noble...., uh, knight rode...., uh, proudly on, on his horse in~to the battle~field to resc.... rescue his love. Whew, this is more difficult than I imagined,¡± Rosy sighed and wiped the sweat off her brows. She apologized to her little master. ¡°I''m sorry master Kain. But I''m so useless when it comes to things like this.¡±


    He wanted to retort, Yeah, I''m sorry too, as I can only understand less than half of what you''re saying to me, but refrained. Not that he was able to say anything anyways ¨C his vocal cord still was underdeveloped for that.


    Rosy continued valiantly with the storybook. ¡°The warr.... warrior duch.... duchess was, uh, surrounded, by the daemon soldiers, and had no means of, uh, escape. Seeing this, uh, the noble knight, entered with.... out, con~cern for his, well, being and, fought the enemy hero~ically.¡±


    Oh man, this is killing me, thought Kain inwardly. Thanks to her reading it slowly I can more or less hear her but, man this sure is painful listening like this. How long do I have to endure this? God, if you exist out there, have mercy....


    Then his ears perked on a word that didn''t seem right.


    Daemon.


    He had a bad premonition all of a sudden, hearing that word.


    Don''t tell me, isn''t that another word for demons, right? Does this world have demons and stuff? Well, there''s magic, although it''s called Invocation here for some reason, so yeah, it shouldn''t be too surprising for demons and whatnots to exist too.


    Ignoring Rosy who was still reading the story slowly, he instead thought about this carefully. It didn''t occur to him until now that monsters and demons were a part of reality in this new home of his. Why''s that happened he wasn''t sure, but it was a slip up on his part regardless.


    That earlier bad feeling remained with him as he began imagining more nonsensical junk in his mind.


    Whoa, this might get bad for me. In all those stories of reincarnated people, it''s always guys like me who winds up going against some evil Overlord or something.


    He shuddered at the suddenly-appearing image in his head, of a shadowy, horned and menacing creature cackling and roaring atop a mountain of corpses, declaring the end of the world while drinking the blood of its victims.


    Oh crap. Seriously now, do I really have to.... fight against a demon? Man, that sounds insane. I''m not a Hunter, nor am I an exorcist. Do I even possess an ability to do that anyways? I''ll probably die if I get hit once by a demon, that''s for sure. What should I do, to avoid a fate like that?


    Kain silently mulled this new, profound insight of his. He knew himself the best ¨C he did not possess a shred of heroic intent in his body whatsoever. Sure, he''d get miffed at hearing stories of injustice committed somewhere in the world, but he''d never, ever actively go out and uphold the law and order. He was a bit of coward actually.


    ¡­.Well c''mon, think ¨C what should I do, if that premonition ends up coming true? I don''t even know how to throw a punch for crying out loud.


    Seriously, if a demon confronted him, he''d most likely try to go and hide in a corner.


    It was depressing just thinking about how weak he sounded right now, but it couldn''t be helped ¨C this wasn''t a game, where you could simply reload a previous save file and start over. There was no guarantee of safety offered by a high level or stats, as that''s a stuff for a web novel, not real life.


    Oh wait a sec, aren''t I getting a little conceited here? Let''s not assume that I will automatically end up fighting against a Demonic Overlord or something. If anything, I''m just over-thinking this.


    That seemed right, thinking of the possibility of him facing an Overlord of terrifying constitutions. Kain thought that, if a dastardly creature hell-bent on conquering the world existed, then the world''s major superpowers would gather and handily crush such a miscreant well before the situation gets out of hand. So, it was unlikely, of his destined meeting with a demon.


    He was able to tidy up his thoughts, thanks to that chain of thought. The possibility of him being naive never crossed his mind, not even once.


    Rosy was also getting to the end of her story, which was just in time, really.


    ¡°...Uh, ah, the no.... ble kni~ght finally van.... quishe~ed the evil daemons and, lived happily ever, after. Yes. Whew, that was tough.¡±


    Rosy closed the book and wiped the fine sheen of perspiration of her brows. She didn''t bat an eyelid when fighting against dozen heavily armed men but when it came to reading a book, she was no good at all.


    ¡°Well, master Kain, I''m sure you''ll get better than me in no time at all. I can tell you''re whip-smart, see.¡±


    Uhm, you think I''m smart? Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess? But how can you even tell I''m smart? To be honest, you don''t look like the sharpest tool in the shed, you know....


    ¡°Oh right, I ended up telling you a scary story, didn''t I? Oh my. But don''t you worry your little head, because those scary daemons don''t live in our continent of Noa no-more, see.¡±


    Noa? That''s the name for this continent, isn''t it? I remember hearing it from others. Hmm. More importantly though, demons don''t live on Noa? What does that mean? Could they be extinct? So.... uh, I definitely don''t have to fight them, right?


    ¡°And lemme tell you right now, I''ll teach little master Kain properly so you can butt-kickin'' when you grow up!! Just wait an'' see.¡±


    Did she just say she''ll teach me butt licking? ¡­.I thought that''s something dog-related. Guess cats do that too....


    ¡°You have a great future ahead of you, master Kain. I know you''ll grow up to be a wonderful Lomax. I just know it.¡±


    Future, huh. Kain mused bitterly after hearing the word. Now and then he wondered about what his future might hold, the kind of uncertainty faced when in a foreign land where everything familiar was no longer within his grasp.


    What kind of life will I end up having? What should I be doing when this body grows up?


    He had no quick answers.


    Initially, he wanted to go back to his previous world as quickly as possible. But after a careful consideration, he felt that might not be the cleverest thing to do. He was a baby here ¨C which means, there was a decent chance that he had died on that side, and somehow reincarnated over here. Whether through luck or by design, he didn''t know yet.


    His soul, or consciousness, going back and commandeering his dead body certainly didn''t sound all that advisable a thing to do. It wouldn''t be much fun to walk around as a zombie, for instance ¨C for obvious reasons he didn''t much fancy becoming the Patient Zero or some such.


    And there was no absolute certainty he''d find a way to go back either.


    Besides, was there anything to go back to?


    Well, there was his job, working in that forgettable IT company. His family, consisting of a father, who was an insurance salesman; his mom, a typical suburban wife working part-time at a real estate agency; and somewhat unfairly popular older sister who shined like a star, no matter what she did.


    He didn''t really miss his job, even though he had to swim in the murky waters of Joblessness for years before landing ashore. He originally wanted to become a programmer, a coder of some kind, but ended up in sales and marketing instead. Talk about life taking unexpected turns.


    He wasn''t close with his father for some reason. Not sure when the rift started, but it was there. By the time the sucking-bed thingy happened, they had not talked for a long time. Kain had tons of things to get off his chest but now, that was impossible to achieve.


    His mom? She''d survive. She''d survived the Second Subprime Mortgage Industry Collapse of the year 203X, emerging from the still-burning ashes with her head held high so, Kain was reasonably sure of her pulling through the death of her child in the end.


    As for his sister.... he felt a sudden pang of guilt in his heart, for not saying ¡°thanks,¡± for all that she''d done for him over the years. Just like it was with his dad, he''d never get to say to her all the stuff tumbling around in his soul.


    ¡­.


    ¡­. This sucks donkey''s ass.


    Kain sighed dejectedly.


    ~


    Damien and his men advanced towards the final chamber of the Sacred Acre. They hadn''t encountered the two ¡°missing¡± bandit-cum-undeads yet; while one or two members of the expedition held a glimmer of hope for an eventless journey until the end, most were under no illusions. They knew what was waiting for them at the end of this tunnel.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    The walls narrowed as they went deeper. The ceiling became lower too. And the oppressive Aeterna became thicker and thicker with every step taken.


    The blue lines, still pulsating on the walls seemed to guide them forward, into the unknown. The overall topography of the underground Acre hadn''t changed since the previous time but the lights made it so that the familiarity was no longer there.


    Not helping the eerie atmosphere was the scratch marks left on the metal panels on the walls. These unknown metal were harder than a diamond, and thus nigh impossible to leave any marks on the surface yet, in front of their very eyes, the clear evidence.


    Everyone who saw the marks knew that they would have to face the Fiend responsible. They also knew that today might be their last day as a living, breathing humanoid.


    Even Helga stopped paying attention to the sigils carved into the walls. Left behind by the ancient, forgotten civilization who had seemingly built the various Sacred Acres dotted around the world, these mysterious symbols were yet to be deciphered in full by the researchers.


    What drew Helga''s attention back then, when she was nearly pierced by the flung arrow of Gillian, was this, a sigil that hadn''t been seen before. As a member of The Imperial Institute, a discovery of unknown sigils would allow one''s status and prestige to shoot up through the clouds in an instant. Moreso, if it was decoded even partially.


    But now, survival came first. The curse that was afflicted on Damien was something she had not heard of before, and the general Light Elemental Invocation to ward off any undesirable status didn''t leave much of an effect. This meant they were pressed for time, a fact even she understood well.


    ¡°We''re nearly at the last chamber,¡± Gillian whispered to the group following her.


    ¡°This is the final place where you can rest. Inspect your equipment, and make sure you have enough salves.¡± Damien instructed the militiamen as they arrived at an area that had widened a little before a dark, ominous looking passage ahead.


    The wordless rustlings of people moving about were heard right after; from Jonas, to Vagas, all carefully checked the edges of their blades, checked for cracks on their armors and shields, and counted the number of healing items stashed within their respective pouches.


    There were feelings of sluggishness and some form of lightheadedness still present that was bothering Damien to no end. To get his mind back on track, he stretched his limbs once more, and while going through warming up exercises, he visualized the forthcoming battle.


    Going by the examples of the previous encounters, the methods of subduing the undeads so far remained quite orthodox ¨C and he hoped this stayed as so. But life wasn''t that kind, and he had to prepare for an unseen eventuality.


    The opening under his chestplate was another thing that bothered him, as that left a hole in his defense but since he neglected to prepare an extra set of armor, the fault was with him. He had to mind the gap while on the offensive from now on.


    His saber had a small chip. Damien wasn''t sure where he had done that, but overall, his weapon was still in a serviceable state. In hindsight, he should''ve brought his favorite saber, Frostbane, with him.


    That sword was like a family heirloom ¨C no, it was an heirloom at this stage. When his kids grows up, then one of them were going to inherit it for sure. Anyway, he really thought that it didn''t seem right to take such a fine weapon on a seemingly easy job such as this.


    Well, he was properly reflecting on his conceited behavior now ¨C although it was debatable if that''d do any good at this point in his life.


    ¡°All good?¡±


    Phil asked around, and received a few positive nods of heads, and some silent but resolute stares.


    ¡°Alright. Let''s go and greet our fate, shall we?¡±


    Jonas stood up with a tense countenance, taking a long, deep breath. He took a glance towards Damien, turning his head away before making an eye contact.


    What was that about? Damien pondered for a moment before shaking the thought out of his head. Now wasn''t the time nor the place to speculate on matters such as that. After he''d survived this ordeal, then he would get around dealing with whatever the fallout of this ill-prepared sojourn might snowball into.


    Once everyone stood up and got ready, they approached the corridor up ahead. Within this part of the Acre, there weren''t any Lazulites offering a dim but still much appreciated lighting, and it came down to the explorers being proactive and coming up with solutions themselves.


    As he possessed prior knowledge Damien was able to ready a decent number of oil-soaked torches. However, they were ultimately not needed as the pulsing blue lines on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling created enough illumination, albeit in unnervingly eerie, pale blue shimmering instead.


    Soon, they arrived at messes of what looked like tangles of worn out drapes, hung loosely from the ceiling. They were quite different from the common spiderwebs or any fabric known to men, their transparency and elasticity something not even the most skilled Invokers could imitate with spells, never mind the craftsmen with decades of hands-on experience.


    Brushing past deceptively light curtains ¨C they looked as heavy as chain mails at first glance, see ¨C the party slowly, cautiously poured into the so-called Final Chamber.


    It hadn''t changed much. The dome shaped arena the size of a decent athletic field, with smooth metal panels lining up on the walls, the mere sight of this place brought about one too many unpleasant memories back from the depths of Damien''s mind, ones he''d rather not recall.


    But not every part of the chamber remained the same; on the far opposing wall from the entrance, there were no metallic panels. Instead, they were scattered about on the ground, as if they''ve fallen off some time ago.


    Near them, a pile of dirt, and some digging equipment like shovels and pickaxes.


    And a hole in the wall, where the dirt had come from ¨C a passage big enough to let two people walk across together appearing after that.


    The blue lines on the floor were, depending on how one looked at it, either originating from somewhere inside this passage or were converging into the area beyond it.


    That wall''s been dug up recently, Damien grimaced as he noted the relative freshness of the dirt. Did the bandits excavate the new passageway?


    What a coincidence this was turning out to be. So there was a hidden room beyond the final chamber, it seemed. If Damien and co. knew back then, they would''ve properly explored it. They had no way of suspecting it however, and there was no point in chastising himself for this apparent blunder.


    There was one more difference facing the group in this chamber. Right in the center, there was a simple, slab-sided stone plinth, a bit taller than a height of a man''s knee. It was an altar-like piece of earth, and on top of the flat surface, a huge and rusting greatsword was stabbed into it at a slightly oblique angle.


    A chain dangled weakly from the pommel, and a faint reflection of light came from a jewel hanging at the end of it. In the middle of the rather plain cross-guard, or the quillon-block, there was an insignia of something clearly carved onto it.


    ¡°That''s the weapon of the bandit''s boss. I recognize it from the wanted posters,¡± Phil noted quietly.


    Isn''t that a crest of one of the fiefdoms up North? Hmm, which one was it? There are just too many of them up there....


    Damien dismissed the sword''s decorations and maintained his alertness. So far there hadn''t been any sign of the boss yet, and that was actually worse for one''s heart. The anticipation ¨C and the dread that came along with it ¨C was causing him to sweat a lot.


    Not just him though ¨C pretty much everyone felt the same.


    ¡°There''s nothing here,¡± someone from the back muttered.


    It was true ¨C there was not a soul in here, undead or otherwise. There was that suspicious-looking passage though. It looked wide enough so anything could pop out of there without warning at any moment. Damien silently hoped for none of that.


    As to deliver a kick in his nuts, Gillian alerted everyone with a hurried whisper. ¡°Something''s coming from that opening. It''s big. Get ready.¡±


    They were already ready. Damien imagined hearing the sound of leather on the hilts tightening under the intense but nervous grips of men around him, including his own.


    A rough outline could be seen; indeed it was on the large side. A form of a humanoid no doubt, but it moved while making not a single rustle.


    And as it emerged from the passage, its appearance made everyone gasp out in shock, even the most experienced of them.


    ¡°What the hell.... is this monstrosity?¡±


    Jonas shuddered involuntarily. The rest was doing their best not to fall on their feet but reigning in their quaking bodies were a hurdle too high to overcome.


    Phil was swallowing a lump of unwilling saliva down his throat. Before him, approaching the middle of the domed chamber, was a creature with the unmistakable visage of the missing bandit boss. It may lack the eyes of a living person, and its left cheek was hollowed out in gruesome fashion but, it was the face that had adorned the numerous wanted posters plastered across many walls for sure.


    In the poster, it was said the boss was a hulking giant of a man, apparently strong enough to crush a person''s head with nothing but his bare hands. The creature walking towards him certainly fit the bill as far as the size was concerned. It was at least eight feet tall, and its shoulders seemingly broader than that of a bull.


    Only, the Fiend in front was not a normal undead. The usual, blue-light emitting metal panels were stuck onto the monster just like the ones before, and so were the rotting flesh peeking out from the gaps between the plate and leather armoring.


    What differed significantly, was the presence of another head, seemingly melted onto the chest of the Fiend, its slack mouth moving slowly as it chewed on the meat of a snake while moaning out a pained whimper.


    It possessed four arms, with one muscular pair in where you''d normally expected them to be, and the others sprouting out from the right hip and somewhere on its back.


    Then there was the secondary pair of legs, with one rotting, uncovered leg attached to its left shoulder and the other, on the left hip.


    The loose and torn flesh danced all over its body while it walked. The stench of dead and rotting, which the group thought they had gotten used to, renewed its disgusting assault once more, and coupled with the unbelievable sights, three men lost the contents of their stomachs through the mouths.


    Vagas trembled in fear and thought, if, if we''re to die here, is that going to be our fate? Oh god Luminos, please save us!


    The undead languidly walked over to the plinth, and after climbing on top, it grabbed the hilt of the greatsword in one smooth motion. The jewel at the end of the chain then shone in a sickly blue light.


    This light ascended in the air, splitting into two, and began spinning around in clockwise direction for a brief moment before it entered the hollow eye chambers of the undead.


    The lower mouth screamed. At the same time, the upper mouth roared.


    Both sounds were awful to listen to. Harpies had prettier singing voices then the racket this Fiend was making.


    The blue lights in its eyes were now firmly locked onto the intruders of its sanctuary. It stopped roaring after a while, but then it began to growl like an angry lion as it gripped the greatsword harder.


    ¡°Oh hell, what are you all waiting for?! Attack it before it pulls out that damn sword!!¡± Jonas cried out.


    The cry snapped all those who were fallen into a despair-induced daze. Some had already crumpled onto their knees from the overwhelming pressure the Fiend had released, and they struggled to stand back up.


    Of those who were the least affected, they managed to quickly release a volley of arrows, while Taylor and Helga began the chants for their respective Invocation spells.


    The initial barrage of attacks landed on target, but it produced little to no effect on the Fiend. Hell, it didn''t even flinch from the spot, nor made any attempt at fending them off. Unbelievably, the metal panels on its body had shifted their positions at the very last second, deflecting the incoming attacks away.


    This caused shocked hesitation from the vanguards. This was an unexpected problem. Not knowing how capable this new defensive tactic of the enemy was going to be, Damien decided to engage it upfront to figure out the extent of its strengths and weaknesses if there were any. So, he signaled the other melee attackers then rushed forward, causing them to follow.


    Quickly surrounding the unmoving monster, the militiamen thrust their various weapons in perfect harmony, their sharpened blades and tips trying to pierce the openings. Some landed while many others didn''t, the metal panels again shifting around to block them out. Of those that landed, they were far too shallow to cause any serious damage.


    The growling Fiend didn''t even flinch. It just tilted its head and surveyed those around it, sending out deathly stares at those poking it with puny toys of war.


    Then the corner of its lips curled upwards.


    Damien automatically felt a warning bell ring inside his head. ¡°Retreat, everyone, retreat now!!¡±


    A moment too late.


    A sudden surge of Aeterna spooled out of where the Fiend''s heart might be, shooting through its limb, past its hand gripping the sword, and down into the thick, dull blade.


    Damien only had enough time to take two steps back and shield himself, before the stone plinth exploded powerfully in everyone''s faces.


    ~


    Vagas weakly stumbled about in the hazy aftermath, unable to grasp his current location.


    The explosion had deafened him, and a cut on his forehead caused blood to obscure his vision. He had no feeling in his left arm, which used to hold a round wooden shield. In his right, a spear. Well, he was supposed to, as both of his armaments had gone missing.


    He raised his hands to see a couple of fingers bent in a wrong direction. They were definitely broken. There were blood on them too, but somehow, it didn''t seem like they were his.


    When he looked around, there was a twitching figure lying next to him, with a sharp piece of debris sticking out of his chest. It had pierced past the chest protector with ease, fatally wounding the man.


    A light of recognition flashed in both Vagas''s and the dying man''s eyes; they knew one another. Desperate not to die, he reached out and grabbed the boy''s leg, his eyes bloodshot. He mumbled his inaudible plea, his face turning pale.


    Dazed, Vagas just stood there, watching the sliver of light leave the man''s eyes. The fingers gripping his pants'' leg weakened, and fell away.


    The boy couldn''t figure out what had happened. How did that man die? It was not possible. It just wasn''t.


    Then he heard a scream.


    No, he heard a multitude of moans, groans, and screams, but only now had he noticed them.


    Searching for the origins of the pained cries, he searched but couldn''t see anything. The hazy smoke hung in the air like a thick miasma and blocked everything.


    He desperately stumbled about, trying to find the others in this dimly lit chamber.


    Eventually, he found a slight silhouette not too far away. Vagas rejoiced in his heart, and tried to rush forward.


    He took only two steps before coming to a complete halt.


    The silhouette revealed itself to be of Damien, engaging the huge undead Fiend. He had Phil and his group of Adventurers as his back up.


    Right away, Vagas could tell that he didn''t belong there.


    Sparks flew when the weapons clashed, and bodies were shoved back by the sheer brute strength of the monster. Damien skillfully turned his saber at an angle to deflect the incoming hit, but he was grimacing every time there was a contact.


    His right eye was closed shut, blood leaking from the corner of the closed lid. The other Adventurers were also not in a good shape either, but by working together they were able to keep the Fiend in check.


    So this is how a Gold-ranked Adventurer fights, Vagas gulped silently as he watched the battle from the sideline.


    The boy held a dream, an aspiration, of traveling to Lafayette and becoming an Adventurer one day. His father once told him that the meaning of his name in the Ancient tongue, meant ¡°to wander¡±. It sounded quite romantic to him as he grew up, especially when he was stuck in a small farming community, that seemingly had no future other than that of plowing land endlessly for a cart full of wheat.


    Five years ago, when Riverfield was managed by a retired soldier who carried a Honorable Peerage of a Divine Steel Knight, Lady Valette, the Sacred Acre first appeared near the village and caused a big headache for the residents.


    Vagas was too young to know at the time, but normally the Empire would dispatch a platoon of her finest warriors to deal with one if an Acre popped out near a settlement, but due to a behind-the-door political wrangling, it was left to the lord of Lafayette to grab a hold of the situation.


    Since the Acre itself was new, it was deemed not as threatening, and only a pittance was allocated as the budget for the conquest of the dungeon. The Lafayette lord commanded his vassal, Lady Valette, to take care of it.


    She hired the Adventurers for the job. The thing was, the village back then lacked a sufficient fighting force, seeing that the residents were either too young, or middle aged farmers with nary a combat experience to share between them. So the external help was brought in, rather reluctantly.


    Vagas could clearly remember the day the group of Adventurers, which were called a Guild, arrived at the village as if it happened yesterday. It left quite an impression on him.


    That was the day when Damien, Lizbeth, Rosy, Phil and his colleagues came to Riverfield for the first time.


    Their Guild was called Hummingbird for some reason but, no one dared to mock them of the weak-sounding name. They simply exuded strength from the every pore without even trying.


    Vagas so badly wished to become an Adventurer too. They looked so valiant, so honorable, so.... handsome. Never mind they looked like a motley crew of misfits, Vagas wanted to be just like them.


    And so, when Damien became the new lord of Riverfield after attaining the noble peerage of Baron-hood, he enlisted to become a member of the newly-formed village militia right away.


    He worked so bloody hard since then. Adults laughed at him, scoffed at him, took pity on him ¨C he went through whole lot of that, all the while growing in strength everyday. All in the hopes of standing as tall and shiny and righteous as them from that day.


    But the fight happening right in front of him opened his eyes to the truth. The thing was, the finish line in the distance was so, so very far away. He couldn''t even properly follow the movements of the Adventurers, nor could he understand the significance of each and every strikes, feints and blocks they performed.


    It all looked like an elaborate dance of the mad gods, seen through a hazy veil of fog deep enough to obscure, well, everything.


    Even then, Damien and the lot weren''t emerging as the favorites. The giant undead Fiend was deceptively quick and calculating. Utilizing all of the limbs and the shifting metal panels at its disposal, it was able to parry, block, deflect, and counterattack all of the blows coming its way, Invocations included.


    One swing of its heavy arm, and even sturdy-bodied Gordie was shoved back with force, making him slide along the floor as if it was nothing. Others, like Ben, Phil, and Damien, they were trying very hard not to make contact lest they lose a limb or some such.


    Vagas felt his face getting hotter. His thoughts swirled in his head, asking him just what the hell he was doing until now. All those harsh training he went through, all the sneers he had to endure, all the pride he felt after finally earning recognition from the other adult militia members, it all seemed so much a waste of time, if it all amounted to him doing nothing but standing around totally dazed and scared when he should''ve mattered.


    He tried to take a step forward, but his feet wouldn''t listen. He begged it to move, just an inch, maybe even less, but like an obstinate pack mule they didn''t budge.


    He screamed so hard inwardly, sending all his willpower down to his legs to make them go forward. But instead, they moved back, when he saw the Fiend swing its massive weapon horizontally in a huge arc, blasting all those near it away.


    It followed that up with a gut-wrenching roar that shook Vagas''s ear drums. It was a small miracle that they didn''t burst from the pressure.


    While the Adventurers were stumbling, the Fiend took on a weird stance suddenly, withdrawing slightly from the position it was in.


    Then a blue flame began to form in the mouth. No, not the one in the head, but the one in the chest. It started as a small spark, but almost instantaneously, it grew into a size of an earth drake''s egg, shimmering like a boiling water.


    ¡°Careful, it''s gathering Aeterna!!¡± Taylor shouted out, while reaching down to help Ben up who had fallen nearby.


    Damien was the first to recover; he tried to disrupt the Fiend and thus, rushed forward with his saber trained squarely at the undead''s neck.


    His swing was accurate, and it dug into the rotting flesh beneath the slender gap, exposed between the metallic panels. But again the cut was too shallow, and it didn''t go through. Instead, Damien''s blade was now stuck there, and he couldn''t pull it out.


    The Fiend grinned, as if it was happy. To say it was the single most unnerving smile anyone had seen in their lives would have been one hell of an understatement.


    Alarmed, Damien let go of the sword and retreated. He didn''t get to go far, before the Fiend grabbed hold of his left arm and pulled him in. It turned its body and faced the struggling man with the expanding blue flame.


    Damien''s face lost all color; even he could feel the dense, cold Aeterna accumulating in front of him.


    The Fiend opened its jaw and cackled. The light grew even brighter, and colder.


    The death beckoned Damien. He could not avoid it. Unless....


    Desperate to aid their comrade, other Adventurers rushed in, attacking, trying to divert the Fiend''s attention from its hostage but it had only a minimal effect. Using its other limbs it swatted away the attacks nonchalantly.


    But it was an opening Damien wanted. He unsheathed the back-up dagger tucked up in his boots and slashed at the Fiend''s hand that was grabbing him.


    Rotting fingers were cut off promptly, and he was able to feel freedom, but only for a blink.


    Because at the precise moment he got free, the blue flame shot forward, like a breath of a dragon.


    The resulting explosion was loud enough to deafen all those present, causing the settling dust into another ferocious, blinding maelstrom. Vagas was several steps from the arc of the breath attack, and was uninjured, but was still blown away by the shockwave. He crashed hard onto the corpse with a piece of debris stuck in its chest with a thump, coughing out a mouthful of blood.


    When he raised his head to see what happened, he expected the worst. Damien was right by the point of the blastoff, and it was horrifyingly obvious he''d have taken the brunt of that attack, not even leaving behind a bone to collect.


    But no ¨C that didn''t happen. Damien had tumbled away past the blast''s radius. Not unscathed, mind you, but he was still alive. The one who wasn''t alive, was Gordie who had jumped in at the exact moment to tackle his friend out of the way, and in the process, receiving the full force of the attack face on.


    Damien was missing his right arm up until the elbow, cleanly sliced off by the destructive blast. By the time he realized what had happened to him, Gordie was already dead, his eyes unblinking, forever open and cold, missing his entire lower half from the chest downwards. All gone, no traces left anywhere.


    Damien screamed Gordie''s name out. Not only him, but the others too. Didn''t matter they were disorientated, bleeding from the ear canals, nor their limbs twisted cruelly, they screamed.


    The Fiend turned towards Damien who was clutching the dead torso, trembling like a wet dog. The blue flame reared its cold head once more, coalescing into a single spot just as before.


    Damien held his right arm, what was remaining of it, to stem the flow of blood, and glared at the Fiend. But he was weaponless, exhausted, injured, and out of options. He couldn''t carelessly dodge to his side, unless if he wanted to change the target of the attack to those behind him.


    All he could do now, was to attract its attention while the others concentrate all their offense at it, hopefully defeating it in the nick of time.


    Ben swung his halberd with enough strength to cleave an oak tree in half but it simply clashed and bounced off against the metallic panel. Gillian rapidly fired arrows but they had very little effect, not even making the Fiend to flinch. Phil slashed at the back of the creature, at its limbs, all to no avail.


    Taylor fired off Invocations after Invocations, but the spells'' power were dropping fast as he was nearing his own limit.


    By this time, militiamen and Jonas''s group had recovered enough to participate at some capacity. Helga too had begun to cast her spells, and hers were more effective than that of Taylor''s ¨C bringing down the Fiend to his knee when a Light Elemental type Invocation''s white radiance wrapped around it.


    It may have buckled, but it was far from defeated, as evidenced by its low growl and a struggle to stand back up again. As if to mock all those who had been assaulting it, the Fiend let out another crazy-loud roar, that shattered the bright white light that were pressing it down.


    The knock-back effect of the spell failing caused Helga to vomit out a pained groan and a sliver of blood from the corners of her mouth, while the militiamen that were hacking at the creature were once more pushed back.


    This was hopeless. No one was able to land a decisive blow to finish it off. At this rate, all were going to die, even if the fatigue doesn''t get to them first.


    The blue flame resumed coalescing, and again, the Fiend was facing Damien. It was growing bigger, ready to fire at any given time.


    The faces of his family were flashing by; Damien gritted his teeth until it hurt out of frustration. He willed himself to stand, to move and do something defiant at the onslaught of death''s embrace. He wasn''t going to go down like this.


    No way in hell.


    Vagas watched his leader confront the impossible beast head on. He was not giving up against the Fiend that personified death. The young man felt a powerful stirring in his heart, seeing the burning flames of strength in Damien''s eyes.


    His hands felt the coldness of a metal handle. Turning his head to confirm what it was, it belonged to a fairly large warhammer, that used to be a weapon of choice for the now-dead militiaman Vagas was leaning against on.


    He didn''t feel fear, nor did he feel one iota of hesitation. He grabbed the hammer, and summoning all his strength, he threw it hard.


    It flew in a magnificent ark, flying straight and true, and just before the Fiend opened its lower mouth, the one in its chest, to fire another breath at Damien, the hammer struck the condensed blue flame.


    What followed was an almighty explosion, even louder than the one before.


    The dust cloud kicked up this time settled down much more quickly, allowing all those who were still alive to see just what had happened.


    What greeted them, was the most welcoming sight of victory.

 Chapter 9

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">9</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Jonas Bremble nervously paced about the solemn corridor of the Imperial Institute. It had already been a fortnight since his return to the Capital Metropolis of Argos with the recovered Aerinite. He wasn''t expecting an overnight promotion but, something akin to a recognition for his successful sojourn into the unknown; yet not a single word came. So naturally he became restless.


    Then all of a sudden, he received summons from the office of His Holy Grace Marquis Phillips. He was feeling agitated with a lack of news, and now he was rather beset with unnerved apprehension.


    In all honesty, he was just a lowly Associate noble, not even a baronet yet, although he had acted haughty and mighty in front of everyone ¨C in front of those whom he thought were not significant enough, at least.


    Marquis Phillips was a wholly different kettle of fish altogether to the usual riff-raff he was used to until now; that man was, by blood, related to His Holy Emperor Titus Hyperion de Argos, the undisputed current ruler of the continent of Noa''s biggest and most formidable union of races.


    Meeting a real big shot like that face to face, there was some amount of pressure on Jonas to present his utmost best behavior, for the sake of securing a financially comfortable future for himself.


    What he couldn''t figure out, though, was the reasons for him being here. Well, he did submit a completion report to the person above his immediate rank that detailed what had gone down in the Riverfield''s Sacred Acre, but the chances of that being the catalyst seemed slim.


    Reality was, Jonas couldn''t have been the only guy searching and locating the Aerinites all over the continent ¨C not to mention, to submit a report on the findings. Never mind the fact that Marquis probably had his hands full dealing with other, more urgent businesses for him to read all the reports coming his way.


    Actually, if a report did end up in Marquis''s hands somehow, then it would certainly warrant a more in-depth scrutiny. Jonas understood this; he also understood that perhaps the ordeal he had to go through in order to procure that lump of accursed Aerinite was unusual enough to cause this meeting.


    The corridor he was pacing around in, certainly didn''t help with his nervousness; it was just too damn quiet. Other than his own footsteps echoing on the massive marble walls and the impressively decorated pillars, there were only two Imperial Guardsmen standing impassively by the side of the grand oak doors. They made not a sound, leading Jonas to question whether they were living beings, or some elaborate dolls created especially to unnerve visitors. Like him.


    The gilded carpet that lined the length of the floor was also clean enough to make him doubt if anyone actually had stepped on them before.


    He heard the hourly bell ring twelve times, denoting the beginning of the afternoon. Raising his head, Jonas gazed outside the open windows, towards the endlessly expanding sea of the colorful city. The Marquis''s office was situated on the fifth floor of the Institute''s main building so was the corridor he stood in which led to the office itself. He was offered a grand view of the sprawling urban jungle.


    Midday smoke rose from various chimneys poking out from the skyline; most likely from people preparing lunch. The harsh sun cast a shimmering mirage-like image over the bustling city below. Even though he was in an isolated place, this building, this floor, he could still feel the pulse of all the people living down there.


    Mismatched architecture of the city was always eye catching to him, but not in a good way; there were more than 600 thousand souls living in the boundaries of Argos and it was not too hard to see that all of them offered their own take on how an ideal house should be like.


    Some buildings were tall, but not ''too'' tall, unless their wealthy owners end up buying the wrath of those who rule.


    If Jonas had his way, he''d raze all those ugly, haphazard dwellings to the ground and form a cityscape that better suits the glory of the Empire. And of himself, obviously.


    What a miserable pile of excrement, the lot of them, Jonas snorted inwardly. He cared not one jot for the masses; never did, and never will. Such sentiments did him no favors at all.


    Looking after himself first and foremost, was the one truth he adhered to quite strictly. Everything he had done, was for the sake of that.


    Because he was different from the rabble shuffling like undead on the streets. He was not going to live his life as a commoner, no. He had ambitions. He was going to go places, high up.


    The words his granddad spoke rang around his skull as clear as the day he heard it. You''re better than them. Show them your worth. Become a great man, Jonas.


    By a stroke of good timing, the great doors creaked open and as if they had been waiting, the Imperial Guardsmen stepped aside promptly while holding their glimmering halberds at attention. From the open gap, a strikingly attractive, hazelnut-haired slender woman in her early twenties appeared, and spoke in a business-like tone.


    ¡°Sir Jonas Bremble, please follow me.¡±


    Wordlessly nodding, Jonas slipped past the woman and entered. He noted the immense heft of the doors and couldn''t help but wonder how the hell someone as slender and delicate looking as her could''ve operated them. The thickness alone was as much as a length of a person''s forearm, never mind the height of them easily surpassing that of two men combined.


    The answer came to him soon after; she touched the doors, and chantlessly Invoked, causing wooden branches to sprout out from her own hands, and connecting with the heavy doors. She then effortlessly closed them as if it was as easy as moving an empty plate.


    Wood Elements, eh? Huh, that is a rare Affinity. As expected of someone working for His Grace....


    Jonas thought bitterly. Only if he had an Affinity with one of the Elements within the system of wielding Aeterna, Invocation. Not any Elements, no, but something rare and high class; then his life would have been set from much earlier on, instead of him going through all this hassle.


    He had his analytical skills as well as his sword arm which was not inconsiderable so, he guessed he wasn''t all that hopeless. Worth indeed.


    But he was unprepared for the sight that greeted him as soon as he entered. What awaited him was a sparse office, a couple of bookshelves, clean but austere desk; and no Marquis to be found anywhere. It sure didn''t look the part of someone holding a powerful station.


    Confused, Jonas turned to look at the woman, but she ignored his doubting eyes and instead reached out with both her hands towards him.


    ¡°Please relinquish your weapons,¡± she said.


    Unsure of where this situation was going, he hesitated briefly ¨C before handing over his sword and the dagger. If his life was threatened by this female for some reason, then he''d surely overwhelm her in no time. Even with her rare Affinity, he was quite confident of his skills. He did survive the hellhole that was the Riverfield Sacred Acre, after all.


    The woman received them with care, and carried them to a large wooden chest near the desk. Using her Affinity, she operated the heavy lid, and deposited her cargo gently.


    Once that was taken care of, she wordlessly approached the wall on the right side of the office. There was a small, ruby-like gemstone embedded into the marble surface, which she pressed with her palm.


    A small amount of Aeterna flowed in, and the wall itself began to creak.


    Alarmed, Jonas took a step back, only to have his eyes fall out of their sockets.


    The previously solid wall suddenly began to divide into dozens of smaller blocks in a flash. And as if guided by some invisible hands, the blocks shifted to the either sides swiftly and remained suspended in the air.


    What the opened wall revealed was, a very spacious, opulently furnished chamber.


    The space was a big. It must have occupied the entirety of the floor, at first glance. Grand paintings of all the Emperors, past and present, adorned the walls; the carpets expensive enough to buy a house with; and thick drapes hanging from the ceilings, etched with the crest of the Argos Empire.


    Oddly though, it all felt a little cold in here.


    There were five Imperial Guardsmen present here as well, but even Jonas could tell these guys were several steps higher in terms of ability than the ones guarding the corridor. As a matter of fact, they seemed to be the members of The Divine Knights Order, judging by the crest of exploding sun etched to their cuirasses.


    Jonas couldn''t see but, from the guardsmen''s weapons, faint traces of Aeterna were leaking out. Kain might''ve been able to see that. But not everyone was like him in that department, so there''s that.


    Anyways, there was one other man in this chamber that exuded a different kind of pressure from the others. This one was far greater, greater than all five guards combined. Even Jonas, who couldn''t discern Aeterna''s flow, felt the overwhelming presence of this man.


    So that is Marquis Gregor Arterus de Phillips, one of five Mythic ranked Divine Knight in the entirety of Noa continent. What a suffocating, overbearing presence.


    Jonas gulped down involuntarily as he saw Marquis Phillips. The man was in his late fifties but you wouldn''t have known that, seeing how large and solidly built he was, sitting behind a huge desk that dwarfed the one outside.


    His shoulder-length, almost white hair was cleanly swept back, his chiseled jawline adorned with the similar colored, closely cropped beard. His verdant eyes focused and darting between several documents he held in his gloved hands.


    His huge chest muscles rippled underneath the silk shirts every time he moved; he scowled at the document briefly as if something on it displeased him, and that increased the pressure by ten fold. Unable to resist, Jonas ended up groaning out a little. Still, no attention was paid to him.


    The woman walked past trembling Jonas completely unaffected by the strong pressure and approached Marquis with ease. She leaned in close and whispered that the subject of the current appointment has arrived.


    Phillips raised his head and stared at Jonas for a moment. Then he motioned him to come closer.


    Jonas''s feet felt quite heavy, as he dragged himself forward. The pressure increased gradually as he got closer.


    Cold sweat was pouring from the back. He swore he''d need a new shirt as soon as he leave this chamber.


    The suffocating pressure was suddenly lifted from his shoulders as if it were a lie when Marquis''s eyes softened.


    ¡°You are Jonas Bremble? The one who submitted this report?¡±


    Phillips asked in the baritone voice that suited his physique to a T, his eyes not leaving Jonas.


    ¡°Yes, your grace. It is I, Jonas Bremble, son of Matthias Bremble of the Chivalric Order of Blue Moons. It is my honor to be in your presence.¡±


    Still sweating, Jonas managed not to stutter or bite his tongue. He didn''t forget to bow courteously too. He felt that he scored some points with that.


    ¡°You had to go through quite an ordeal to procure the Aerinite, haven''t you? Well done, Sir Jonas Bremble.¡±


    ¡°Th- Thank you, your grace!!¡± Jonas smiled happily. Finally, he had received acknowledgment, from a marquis no less!! Things were looking up.


    Phillips nodded at the woman and she then brought out a parchment from a bundle of documents in her bosom. Looking at how she was acting in front of the Marquis, it seemed more than likely that she was his personal assistant ¨C no wonder she wasn''t affected by the pressure at all.


    ¡°Take a look at this, and then sign it.¡±


    Phillips said bluntly as the woman handed over the parchment to Jonas.


    When he looked at it, he narrowed his eyes at the content. It was a written agreement to be signed into action, stating that everything spoken within these walls will stay here. The penalty of death awaited those foolish enough to break the agreement.


    A non-disclosure agreement, in other words. Feeling the intense stare of those present, Jonas put forth his name on the dotted line, inwardly wondering just what he had gotten himself into.


    Once that was done, the assistant took away the agreement and placed it within the bundle once more. She then left the chamber swiftly, and the floating blocks of the wall quietly reverted back into their original positions.


    It didn''t simply end there, as the wall suddenly became nearly transparent, allowing Jonas to see into the smaller office space where the assistant was. This also made him speechless, seeing that he had never even heard of such Invocations before.


    Phillips stood up from the desk as if that was nothing to be surprised about, and began to speak.


    ¡°I''ve read your report with great interest. You have performed a wonderful service for the good of The Empire by recovering the Aerinite. I''ll let you know, the material you have personally recovered is by far the biggest, most intact sample of Aerinite ore ever found. Be proud of this fact, Sir Jonas.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your grace.¡±


    ¡°I''m sure you have questions. And I shall answer some of them, in due time. But first, I want you to regale me the details of the hidden chamber, or the vault, where the Aerinite was found.¡±


    Why does he want to hear that? It''s all written in the report. Jonas hid his confusion and nodded solemnly.


    ¡°Yes, your grace. After my group defeated the unnatural abomination acting as the Final Guardian of the Sacred Acre, the remaining, able-bodied men proceeded into the newly excavated passageway. This led into another chamber which differed greatly in appearance from all the others before it.


    ¡°The dimensions of the chamber was about the same as your grace''s office, but instead of metal panels that adorned most of the Acre''s interior, the walls were seemingly made out of crystals of unknown origin.


    ¡°A single light source was rotating on the middle of the ceiling and the crystallic walls reflected the resulting light, causing the chamber to be lit brightly.


    ¡°Upon closer inspection, the crystal wall was slowly revolving somehow, even taking into account the entrance. The Journeyman-ranked Invoker whom I had selected personally for this venture, Lady Helga, recognized presence of an unknown Invocation cast on the chamber itself.¡±


    Jonas took a breath, and licked his dry lips. Then he continued.


    ¡°The Aerinite, shaped as a rod, was placed on a pedestal-like protrusion situated in the middle of the chamber. The suspicious blue lights that had previously appeared in the walls, ceiling, and the floors of the Acre also were visible on the rod, snaking around it in a thin stripe. The rod itself looked metallic, perhaps of similar composition as the panels on the Acre''s walls.


    ¡°After examining it for a few moments, Lady Helga reaffirmed the belief that the Aerinite was responsible for the blue lights, and the curse that had befallen on the hired help.


    ¡°It was also determined that the bandits had unwisely touched the rod and thus activating it without realizing what it was. The cloth provided by the Institute was barely enough to wrap the Aerinite rod and, its anti-Aeterna property have prevented a mishap in handling from occurring while in transit.


    ¡°The rod was proved to be surprisingly heavy as its dimension was not much bigger than that of a regular sceptor or an Invocation wand used by Invokers of the SOIR, Society of Invocation Researchers.


    ¡°The moment the Aerinite rod was removed from the pedestal, words of the ancient civilization appeared one after another in the air, as if being projected by an advanced level Invocation. They flashed past too quickly for me or Lady Helga to perform a close inspection, regrettably.


    ¡°As soon as the words stopped appearing, all functions of the Sacred Acre ceased, including the revolving crystals and the blue lights. The curse was immediately lifted from the afflicted members, and the previously blocked passages were reopened again, thus enabling the group to return safely.


    ¡°That is all, your grace.¡±


    Jonas finished his story, and bowed.


    ¡°I see,¡± Phillips nodded. ¡°You have not left out anything else?¡±


    ¡°No, your grace. I give you my word.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t recognize any of the words that had appeared?¡±


    ¡°No, your grace. I did not recognize any.¡±


    Phillips nodded again.


    He then opened a drawer of his desk, and produced a lengthy blue roll.


    ¡°For now, I shall answer one question, Sir Jonas. If you have any, ask.¡± Phillips said as he stood before Jonas.


    Marquis was tall. Easily seven feet, he towered over Jonas like a parent would a child.


    Doing his best not to be seen as easy to cower, Jonas steeled his wavering heart and tried to find a question to ask. A question that wouldn''t make him look like a fool in front of Marquis, that was.


    ¡°Your grace, just exactly what is an Aerinite? What is its purpose?¡±


    This was the one question he felt was safe to ask, out of all those he could come up with; if Marquis Phillips don''t want to talk about it, then he''d shut it down immediately; if not, then he''d show him the inner workings of the Imperial Institute''s secretive laboratories.


    Either way, nothing would be lost, and possibly, he would be gaining instead; Jonas could live with that no problem.


    ¡°Sir Jonas, what is the objective of the Imperial Institute?¡±


    Phillips asked as he began to unroll the large blue parchment slowly.


    ¡°It is to research and create tools to protect the future of the Empire,¡± replied Jonas without hesitation.


    Phillips looked satisfied at the prompt answer, and nodded accordingly. ¡°Indeed. We, the members of the Institute, are the true vanguards in charge of upholding the value of this great nation, where more than one and a half million subjects call home.¡±


    After fully unfurling the blue document, Phillips straightened his considerable frame and motioned Jonas to come closer.


    ¡°Tell me Sir Jonas, what do you think, is the most effective way to uphold our values against our enemies?¡±


    ¡°Sir? ¡­. Well, the easiest would be to arm ourselves accordingly, and visibly, as a deterrent.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t say that is the easiest path, but indeed, Sir Jonas. Weapons, either visible in plain sight or only whispered behind closed doors, are the most effective means to uphold the Empire''s values from the assault of our enemies.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Jonas didn''t say anything, but slowly approached the grinning Marquis. He may have a rather disarming smile on his lips but his eyes weren''t laughing; no, they were hard and calculating. Jonas felt a chill down his spine, simply by looking into those eyes.


    ¡°To answer your question, Sir Jonas, take a good look at this document, which is called a Blueprint.¡±


    ¡°A blueprint, your grace?¡±


    Jonas peered over at the document, and his eyes narrowed at the drawings depicted on it. He had seen enough documents during his tenure as the Institute member so he recognized what this mysterious Blueprint was supposed to be, regardless of its foreign name, but what was drawn on it was something he could not understand at first glance.


    There were very detailed diagram-like drawings of a structure that could only be described as huge. The drawings were of its front, back, left, top and the bottom view.


    There were letters written here and there, but he didn''t recognize them either; neither did he, with what seemed like a precise measurement written alongside the drawings.


    ¡°This... this is?¡±


    Jonas stuttered softly, confused and awed at the same time.


    ¡°This, Sir Jonas, will change the shape of this continent. This will change the flow of history. This is where the recovered Aerinite goes into. The one you have recovered, the biggest, most intact example yet, will become the heart of the Imperial Fleet.¡±


    ¡°Fleet, your grace? Is this a drawing of a ship?¡±


    ¡°A ship, that''ll fly in the sky.¡±


    The smile pasted on Phillips''s lips was genuine this time. There was pure joy in his eyes, Jonas was sure of it.


    A ship that can fly in the sky? Jonas couldn''t picture it, no matter how hard he tried. Looking at the Blueprint, it certainly had some resemblance with grand ocean liners that were in operation South of the continent but to think, these heavy, sea-going structures would take to the skies? With what exactly?


    The obvious answer was by using Invocations, but Jonas couldn''t even begin to imagine the amount of Aeterna necessary to just lift one of these ships. It would be enormous, and tens of Expert-ranked Invokers may struggle in vain.


    Unless, the Aerinite held the key.


    ¡°Your grace, can the Aerinite be the reason why these large vessels can fly?¡± Jonas asked carefully, wondering if he''d get a reply. He was permitted a single question, and he''d exhausted it already. Asking another could cause trouble if not handled right.


    ¡°Aerinite is an artificial conduit. It acts as a funnel that guides Aeterna from the Ether and converts into Aeterna in our world. The larger and more intact one is, more Aeterna it can convert and put to use.¡±


    Jonas was glad that he got a reply. More to the point, he was right about Aerinite''s usefulness.


    The Ether, the world hidden beneath the current one that supposedly was the realm of the Twelve Gods of Creation, and where Aeterna was reputedly originating from.


    ¡°An artificial creation.... Was it the Ancients who created Aerinite, your grace?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. But one thing''s for certain; more Aerinite has been recovered, and will continue to be so. That means the building of the flying ships must take precedence above all else.


    ¡°Thus, we come at the juncture where the real intention of your presence here is discussed, Sir Jonas.¡±


    When he heard that, Jonas stiffened up and stood at attention. ¡°By your order, your grace, command me and I shall fulfill.¡±


    ¡°Good. When I read your report, I sensed a certain kindred spirit in you, Sir Jonas. You''re a man who never does things in half measures, correct? You are a kind of man who is not afraid of getting dirty, rolls his sleeves up and jumps straight into the crux of the matter. You are someone I need.¡±


    Phillips said those words without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. To say Jonas was moved beyond words was an understatement of the century.


    ¡°Yes, your grace!! I am truly honored at your generous evaluation!!¡±


    ¡°Now, the job I have in mind for you, is to become an overseer for one of the teams that will construct the ship at a secret location. Of course, utmost secrecy is required, and for the duration of the job, you will be forbidden from making contact with outside. This will be very arduous even for the strongest of nerves. But if it is you, I feel you''ll ensure the success of the project. Do you not agree?¡±


    Phillips said, as his smile became a little more crooked. Jonas didn''t notice it however; he was too busy trembling in excitement for that.


    ¡°Good. You''ll be reassigned in one week. See to your affairs before then.¡±


    Phillips observed Jonas with his cold eyes, thinking that he was going to be a useful pawn. A person like him was easy to manipulate, as long as the right trigger was used. In this case, judging by the way the report was carefully tilted to his own favor, plus the demeanor showed in his conduct as a member of the Institute, gave Phillips enough to play with.


    Man like Jonas, needed a promise of bright future as a bait. Even though Phillips hadn''t promised anything about what''d happen after the construction of the flying ships were completed, Jonas would simply assume he was now set for life because of the job''s brevity at hand.


    Phillips sighed, and while watching Jonas, another matter entered his thoughts. ¡°Sir Jonas, tell me about how the Baron of Riverfield was, before your departure from the village. In your report, you stated he lost an arm due to a carelessness.¡±


    ¡°Your grace? Uh, Baron Lomax seemed to be of ill health when I departed from the village. The curse was indeed lifted but the lost limb could not regenerate. Also, there was another upheaval during his absence. I only learned of it after fact, but apparently there was a break-in and an attempted assassination of the Baron''s young daughter.¡±


    Phillips raised an eyebrow at that, a small flicker of anger in his eyes. ¡°Was there an investigation? Do you know of the results?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not know if there were any investigations, your grace.¡±


    ¡°I see. How did the Baron handle the news?¡±


    ¡°Uh, he was.... distraught, I believe. The, ah, atmosphere at his home was not inducive for a peaceful stay, forcing me to hasten my departure from the village.¡±


    Jonas didn''t understand this sudden interest in the Baron of the hick village by the Marquis. Yes, Damien was a Lomax, but from a branch family not the main one, so the chances of the two knowing one another was basically none. Especially, Jonas always assumed that the man was quite likely demoted, vanished by his own family; and thus had ended up in Riverfield, not in some mid-to-large town.


    ¡°Is that so,¡± said Marquis Phillips.


    At that moment, Jonas saw a very brief flash of what looked like pity in his eyes. But that was so quick, he wondered whether he made a mistake.


    ¡°If nothing else, Sir Jonas, then our meeting has come to an end,¡± Phillips coolly said and motioned one of the guards with a wave of his hand.


    The guard walked to the transparent wall, and was about to press the gemstone embedded on the surface when Jonas felt a rare compulsion to speak without permission.


    ¡°Your grace ¨C there is one matter bothering me. Just who exactly designed this vessel? I do not recognize any of the writings on it.¡±


    ¡°.... For now, don''t pay it any mind Sir Jonas. The translated blueprints will be available for you by the time you''re ready to set off.¡±


    And that was the one and only time Jonas ever got to have an audience with the Marquis.


    ~


    Silently, Damien woke up from his fitful dream. It was quite early. In fact, there weren''t a single trace of sun''s rays reddening the dark sky yet.


    Carefully, he slipped out of the bed, trying his hardest not to rouse his sleeping wife, or his kids. Kain by the cot, and Kaleena between himself and Lizbeth. The family, spending time together, an idea Damien insisted on; he wanted to be close to his kids ¨C and yes, wifey too.


    He had been waking up before everyone else for a couple of days now, all in order to get better used to not having two arms. With his dominant right hand gone, he had to adopt to using the left which was proving to be rather challenging.


    The phantom pain persisted even after a couple of months had passed since the expedition to the Sacred Acre, and it kept on plaguing him ceaselessly. Everyday, he thought there was a progress with him adapting to his new situation, then he''d make the same mistake of trying to carry heavy items with both of his hands, as he did in the past. His heart trembled in anger whenever that happened, as it was a reminder of his failure at being a leader, a fighter, a protector.


    While he was coming back from the Sacred Acre having recovered the Aerinite, he had no time to grieve, as arriving at their destination quickly was more important than anything else. And when he did come back, there still wasn''t enough time for him wallow in self pity, as the news of his daughter getting hurt by an unknown assailant was waiting for him.


    With no time to process everything that had happened, all he could do was to fly into rage at every little thing. To prevent himself from going out of control he poured all of his available energy at uncovering the identity of those bastards responsible but during the past two months, the trail went too cold to pursue it anymore.


    After successfully slipping out of the bedroom, Damien headed downstairs to the backyard. He stopped by his office to grab Frostbane out of the weapons chest on the way.


    The Monsoon season was in full swing, and it had been pummeling with incessant raindrops the whole night long. Early mornings, however, were the only time during the day guaranteed to have no rain. It''d only last for a few hours at most, so he had to make the hay while the sun still shines.


    Without unsheathing the saber, Damien began to practice swinging the weapon with his left hand. Nothing fancy, just simple vertical, downward swings, repeated hundreds of times.


    Then, horizontal swings, left to right, right to left, then back again, hundreds of times, until his shoulder felt like it was on fire.


    Sweat pouring out of his bared torso, dripping down until soaking through his pants. But he didn''t stop. He couldn''t stop. No, not yet, not until he becomes familiar with his favorite sword once more and wield it like before.


    Like a possessed man, Damien swung the saber. He didn''t even notice the eventual rise of the sun. Didn''t notice that Rosy was up now, and was watching her boss from the side without interrupting.


    Soon enough, Lizbeth came down too. She carried a complicated expression, that of a woman worrying about her husband''s wellbeing, but not knowing what needs to be done.


    Before anyone noticed, this style of morning practice had become the daily routine. Somewhere along the line, two different Damiens emerged. One, where he was a kind, attentive father and a husband who tried hard not to burden the others around him with his disability.


    And the second, where he''d stare at a wall in complete silence, unmoving, while his eyes swam like a madman. Or when he obsessively does one thing and one thing only, as if he''d forgotten about everything else.


    At the moment, it was Lizbeth who took care of administration of Riverfield. No choice there, as when her husband tried to sign a document with his left hand, he flew into a sudden rage and nearly hurt himself. Ever since then, the only time he entered his office was to retrieve Frostbane, or to store it.


    The administration of the village couldn''t wait and after receiving the advice from the village elders, Lizbeth took over, at least for temporarily.


    It''s been like that for many days now. Having heard of what had happened from those who entered the Acre, she understood the ordeal the group had to go through.


    And the loss to the village was unexpectedly large; the compensation given to the grieving families after the funeral nearly had almost run the available finances to the ground. The money received from Jonas barely kept them above water. It was a godsend, that''s how Lizbeth felt, but she didn''t say that out loud.


    When the raindrops fell on Damien''s face, he finally stopped the practice, and went back inside to have breakfast. He happily fawned over Kaleena and cooed at Kain as if the morning''s obsessive sword swinging was nothing but a lie.


    Lizbeth was at two minds; on one hand, she felt it might be necessary to talk to her husband, but at the same time, she wasn''t sure how he''d react. In the past, when they were still adventuring, when they came to this village for the first time to subjugate the fledgling Sacred Acre, they lost people too.


    People like Rosy''s father. People who were very close to Damien and Lizbeth. Their loss was the catalyst in them deciding to settle down. Back then, when it all happened, Damien was nearly out of his mind and it took a great deal of healing to get him back to where he was.


    Now another, similar tragedy was eating away at him and she felt helpless to act. The advice she was given by Delilah, was to give him some space, before finding out if he wanted to talk. For now, Lizbeth decided to follow the older woman''s words. But her patience was running out.


    After the breakfast, Damien didn''t remain idle and tried to help here and there. His excuse was to get better at using his left hand. When that was done, then he''d walk around the estate with an umbrella, minding the horses by the stable.


    And when that was done, then he''d aimlessly stare at the rain. And stare. And stare.


    It so happened that Kain was with him during this time. Watching his new father behaving like this, he couldn''t help but feel bad for not being able to help; it looked like a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome to him but wasn''t sure how to deal with it.


    Kain mulled if there was some way to help Damien. It just felt bad looking at the normally happy, relaxed man looking so damn miserable everyday. The dude looked too damn pitiful to him, really. Not a nice thing to say to a guy who was going through some tough sh*t, but it was what it was.


    He may not know all the facts about PTSD but, as far as he could remember from those TV shows and movies, it didn''t seem like a good idea to let it brew all on its own and then go off without a moment''s notice, especially near young kids such himself and Kaleena.


    Kain''s options were still way too limited for his liking. Trapped in a toddler''s body, all he could do was to observe. He thought long and hard on how to help, until smoke rose from his head. Figuratively, of course.


    Then finally he remembered one important detail from that night; seeing the trace of Aeterna leaking out from Damien''s office. Based on nothing but his gut, Kain felt 100% confident that the thief-cum-assassin was after that. If he could somehow direct Damien''s attention to that, then maybe that might help, even if he didn''t know for sure. He was operating under the assumption of distract and conquer, for some reason.


    Distract Damien long enough, he might be able to bury the pain deep under his skin ¨C or that''s what Kain thought would happen.


    Now it was about how to skilfully guide Damien''s attention towards the mystery object in the office without setting off any alarm bells. That was going to be tough.


    But luck seemed to be on his side; Lizbeth, Kaleena and Delilah had to go out for some reason or the other, and Rosy was at the stable, tending to the horses, leaving Damien and Kain alone in the house. This sure was a very convenient development,.


    His body had developed to the point where crawling was possible for him. So then, the plan he cooked up was to make Damien lose sight of him for a second, and then let him search ¨C until he''s led into his office, where Kain would be waiting for him, tapping the exact spot where the trace of Aeterna was with his fat baby hand.


    After that, he''d have to play it by ear but it sounded like a decent enough plan. In the absence of another, it was as good as any. At least for something he came up with, that was.


    They were in the upper floor nursery, idling away doing nothing much, when Kain decided to begin his operation. He threw a small tantrum and caused Damien to go downstairs to fetch milk and a bottle. That was perfect.


    The kitchen was on the ground floor, along with Damien''s office. Kain followed his dad down and made sure the old man was out of his sight. He quickly crawled to the office with all his might, while leaving the door ajar, as well as a wooden toy block on the floor.


    That was very tiring.


    Once he was in the office though, he was slightly taken aback. He couldn''t sense that Aeterna anymore. Recalling the exact spot was proving to be difficult, so Kain began to wander about trying to jolt his memories into gear.


    The spot was near the back, so he crawled there and tried to check all the nooks and crannies, but predictably there were some problems. There was thick carpets on the floor and it turned into quite a bothersome opponent.


    Previously there weren''t any in the office, but Lizbeth wanted to cover the blood-stained floorboards until the end of the Monsoon season so the new floor could be installed.


    Another problem was the furniture; Kain couldn''t look behind them for obvious reasons.


    Finally, there was Damien himself.


    ¡°Oh, hey you. What are you doing in here, you naughty kid?¡±


    He found the bottle much too fast for Kain''s liking. Upon seeing the discarded toy block, Damien bent down to pick it up, and noticed the office door open. He was somewhat bemused to see his toddler son wandering in his office willy-nilly, but that was as far as it went.


    Damien bent down to pick up his son, who looked quite disappointed, and tried to evade capture.


    ¡°What the.... hey stop, Kain. What''s gotten into you?¡±


    An adult''s speed always was going to be faster than that of a toddler; Kain had no chance of escape. Damien easily blocked his route and lifted him up. Frowning, Damien asked his pouting son.


    ¡°Seriously now, what''s the matter, son? You''ve always been such an obedient child. It''s not like you to misbehave like this. Looks like I might need to keep a closer eye on you.¡±


    Chuckling, he brought Kain into his arm and held the boy. As he turned, he noticed the chest that stored Frostbane wasn''t closed properly. The latch of the locking mechanism had been damaged by the assassin who was looking for something inside the office.


    Damien wanted to have that fixed but it kept on slipping out of his mind. There were no locksmiths in the village so it was going to be a hassle just to repair such a small thing.


    He probably could get away with tying it tight with a leftover rope or something, he figured. No, that would be inconvenient if he were to practice left hand swings with the saber every morning. Besides, tying a rope with only one arm was going to be another hassle too.


    Thinking about how his missing arm was giving him more unneeded hassles, his blood began to boil suddenly.


    He angrily kicked the chest hard, and forced it back against a shelf with a loud bang.


    The saber clattered inside the chest loudly too, complaining of the mistreatment it didn''t deserve. Kain too, jumped up in his arms, alarmed. He thought the fuse had finally blown or something similar.


    Anger was clouding over Damien''s eyes, but as soon as he saw baby''s frightened face, he instantly calmed down from the red mist.


    ¡°Sorry about that, son. My fault entirely. Will you forgive your old man?¡±


    He apologized wholeheartedly, not really caring if the boy understood him or not. He noticed the furniture had shifted slightly because of the impact, and decided to fix it ¨C after he had secured his son inside the cot. He didn''t want to risk the crawling baby to go wandering around the house unattended.


    He quickly went upstairs, secured the baby, left the milk bottle alongside, and descended back to the office. And yes, he didn''t notice the grumbling Kain as he left the nursery.


    As soon as he entered his office, unwelcome sight greeted him: a rodent, frozen to the spot for an instant, before scurrying back behind the moved furniture with haste.


    Oh, that''s not good, Damien winced at that. Lizbeth hates rodents with passion. If she finds out there''s a rat in the house, she''s going to blow the roof off!! I better catch that thing before that happens. I wonder, didn''t I store away a couple of traps somewhere? Where did it go, anyway?


    Damien leaned and peered into the gap between the shelf and the wall. Sure enough, there was a hole there, just big enough to let a rat go through.


    Oh hell, so that''s how the little critter got in, Damien sighed in his heart. Last thing he wanted was another hassle on top of the ones he already had.


    He too began to grumble, and pulled the shelf out further. He knelt down to take a closer look at the hole, to see the inside if possible, and instead saw something strange.


    The lighting within the wall was of course not so good, but nevertheless he saw what looked like another wall behind the one with a hole.


    To make sure, he took the wooden practice sword out of the weapons chest, the one he had kicked earlier, and poked the hole. Sure enough, there was small gap, where it shouldn''t have been.


    He heard his own voice telling him to investigate. He didn''t want to know what was hidden, as the very thought of knowing itself became scary but if there was a false wall here that he wasn''t aware of after living in this house all this time, he had every right to be worried.


    Lady Valette, just what the hell were you hiding in here?


    Damien frowned deeply, and stood up slowly from the crouching posture. Right, he had made up his mind; he was going to do it.


    He went outside and called Rosy back from the stable, asking her to look after Kain. Then he retrieved from the storehouse the sledgehammer he used back in the spring to drive the stakes on the ground.


    Rosy looked confused herself when Damien began striking the wall. With only one hand he could only exert half the strength, but thanks to all the morning practices, the accuracy was good.


    While holding Kain, Rosy watched her boss destroy the wall in his office, wondering what she should do. Kain, on the other hand, was watching the scene unfold with some interest. He didn''t know why Damien was demolishing the wall, but if it was because he found something, then all the better for it.


    Soon, the wall, originally made of mud and brick, came down.


    And there was an empty space. No, it wasn''t completely empty ¨C as there was a dusty wooden lever coated in cobwebs on the wall staring at them.


    All those present silently stood there, staring back.


    ¡°....Boss? What the heck is that?¡± Rosy asked in her old manner of speech, when she was still an active Adventurer.


    ¡°...I''m not sure. Well, shall we find out? To be on the safer side, can you take Kain and step outside for a bit?¡±


    Rosy looked disappointed but consented and went out of the office, leaving Damien behind.


    Confirming that the girl and his son was gone, he reached in and pulled the lever, while bracing for the unknown, the sledgehammer acting as his sole weapon.


    He heard a soft but distinct click below him, and felt the floor jiggle ever so slightly. Then he heard another click, this time a bit away from him, below his desk.


    That was it.


    ¡­.That can''t be it.


    Damien approached the oversized desk carefully. This desk came with the house when he became the owner. The village elders told him that this very desk had served each succeeding lords of Riverfield throughout generations so he didn''t have the heart to throw it away and get a smaller one.


    It was a bit sentimental thing to do, but since the desk had some history, he thought it was the right thing to do at the end of the day. Anyways, one thing he had never done was to move the desk into another position, seeing that it looked really, really heavy.


    When he touched the corner of the desk, he felt the whole thing give as if it was on skates.


    His frowns got deeper, but he resolved himself already, so he pushed the desk. It glided quite easily to the side, and a gaping hole appeared there. A ladder was visible too, on the side.


    A basement? What the.... the houses around here doesn''t have basements built into them, because of the annual Monsoon season could end up flooding them. But why is one right under my feet?


    This was going to be difficult, with only one arm. He saw that there wasn''t any light under there, and although he didn''t want to believe it, but he could not discount the possibility of something not very nice lurking down there.


    One arm meant he couldn''t hold a torch and a weapon at the same time. He needed an extra set of hands, in other words. Rosy was with Kain, so that was not going to work.


    He decided to wait for his wife to return. Until then, he''d stand and guard this hole, whatever it led to.

 Chapter 10

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">10</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Lizbeth stared at the hole on the floor, and the demolished wall, with an awkward expression. Even though she heard the explanation, all she could focus on was that rat.


    She wanted to find it quickly before it got into the pantry, the bedroom, the nursery.... Just thinking about the little gray critter scurrying about in her home, made her skin crawl.


    ¡°Are you certain the rodent went underground?¡±


    She asked Damien once more, as she held her still-sheathed short sword tightly.


    Damien was feeling rather wary of her swimming eyes. He just gave up trying to fathom why girls were weak against certain types of varmint and insects. Even some female Adventurers were not exempt from this phenomenon. A strange thing for sure, to a person who could step on a roach without batting an eyelid.


    ¡°Yes, love. I''m quite sure it''s in the basement, somewhere, probably. Rather, that''s not the important part, is it? If you''re all set, let''s go down and see what''s in there.¡±


    Lizbeth gave him a scornful glare, and clutched the sword even tighter to her bosom. Seeing this, he couldn''t help but sigh.


    ¡°Delilah, look after Kaleena and Kain. As we discussed, if something happens, immediately escape and alert Rolf. Let''s go, Rosy, Liz.¡±


    Damien dropped a lit torch down the hole, and heard the sound of it hitting the ground below. Peering over the edge, he saw the hard ground, illuminated by the flames of the torch.


    Whew, I don''t have to climb down too much, eh.


    Damien thanked the heavens for the consideration shown ¨C it was going to be an exercise in dexterity trying to climb up and down with only a single arm so shorter the distance, the better it was for him.


    Rosy, with her above-average eyesight in the dark, knelt and looked at the basement, and said, ¡°There doesn''t seem to be anything too suspicious down there. Lemme go first, and I''ll call you down.¡±


    Taking another lit torch, Rosy jumped down nimbly while minding the hems of her dress. She looked around the darkness while shining the light but didn''t move too much from her landing spot.


    The space wasn''t too big, only slightly bigger than that of the office above. The air was very stale, thick with layer upon layer of choking dust. She crinkled her nose, thinking it would be such a bother if she was asked to clean this place. If so, then she made up half a mind to pester her bosses for a raise.


    ¡°It''s safe down here, except for lots of dust,¡± Rosy shouted out. ¡°Bring some masks with you.¡±


    Damien descended first. He could jump down, like how Rosy did it, but decided not too, after hearing about the dust. A hard landing would no doubt kick some of it up, and Lizbeth might shout at him for his thoughtless action if any of that entered the living spaces above.


    Lizbeth followed right after. All three of them covered the lower half of their faces with improvised face masks and looked around the seemingly empty space curiously.


    They lit another torch after deciding there weren''t enough illumination provided, which proved to be a wise choice.


    Because the third light source revealed a very faint line drawn on the hard ground.


    Lizbeth was the first to notice it, as she felt a hint of Aeterna emanating from the line. She cautioned the others of its existence, and motioned Damien to throw a torch forward as far as he could.


    As soon as the thrown torch flew past the line, weak green lights shot up from the ground, intercepting the object moving past it. The appearance of the light was in a circular diagram, with two layers of words written on its outer circumference. Within the circle''s interior, they saw a medium-sized metal object, itself surrounded by another circular diagram.


    The thrown torch stopped midway, before it continued to fly away with no loss of its momentum. The light remained for a while, flickering and swaying like reeds in the wind, until they subsided and quietly disappeared.


    ¡°It''s an Invocation array,¡± said Lizbeth after studying the circle while it was still shining the green light. ¡°It seems to be a barrier type. If a living creature tried to cross it, the barrier might have repulsed it.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it''s guarding that metal thing in the middle. What do you think? Should we attempt at breaking the array? Or leave it as it is?¡±


    Damien asked his companions for their opinions. Personally, he wanted to retrieve the mysterious object but if Lizbeth or Rosy raised objections then he''d consider them too.


    ¡°I''m happy either way, my lord,¡± Rosy said with a shrug.


    Lizbeth thought for a while, and said, ¡°I don''t see the rodent in here, love. Are you sure it ran into this basement?¡±


    Not that again, Damien sighed. ¡°Maybe we scared it off. Maybe it went somewhere else, babe. Naught we can do about it now. Instead, the array in front of us. What should we do about it? I''m mighty uncomfortable with that unknown object under the same roof as our children.¡±


    Lizbeth hurriedly looked around, the rest of the basement, the walls, and the ceiling. She even noticed a thick spot of bloodstain on the wooden beams above her, presumably from the slain assassin. The sign of the blood dripping down to the ground was visible, but she didn''t mind that. She was too busy thinking of ways to break the array safely, after her husband telling her, without saying it in so many words, to get a hold of herself.


    The dripping blood did activate the barrier the night that man slit his own throat; the resulting cast-off of Aeterna as the array came to life, and its seepage through a small gap in the floorboards, was what Kain had noticed that night.


    ¡°....Don''t we own an Invocation Tool that can temporarily disrupt a barrier type array? I''m sure it still have some Aeterna left in it.¡± Lizbeth spoke after searching through her memories for a bit.


    ¡°Right, we do. But it''s been more than five years.¡± Damien replied. ¡°But I guess it''s worth a try. Hold on, I''ll go find it.¡±


    Damien climbed out of the hole with little trouble, and rummaged through the weapons chest until he found a black wand-like object with a small red gemstone embedded on the tip. He frowned, as he noticed how dull the luster of the gem was, signaling it had very little charge left.


    Returning with the Tool, Damien jumped down the hole and cause a bit of heavy dust storm.


    ¡°There aren''t too much Aeterna left. Best to use it right away.... Uh, I made a mistake. I''m terribly sorry.¡±


    Damien apologized immediately upon realizing his action caused his wife and Rosy to be covered lightly in dust. Their unhappy, murderous gazes sent a chill down his spine. He bowed like a prostrating Japanese salaryman, casting away his pride as a man and a noble, fully knowing that his life was on the line here.


    After pacifying the two irate women, it was decided that Rosy, the quickest of the trio, would enter the array and retrieve the metal object. He didn''t like it, but Rosy said she was fine with it, saying Damien''s and Lizbeth''s lives were more of importance than hers.


    ¡°Have faith in her abilities, love.¡± Lizbeth said, when Damien tried to say something to object to Rosy''s line of thinking.


    The problem was the secondary array near the goal. They had no idea what that was for. The safe bet was that particular array was laid down as a backup in case the outer one failed for some reason. If so, it was not unreasonable to think that the inner array could be more deadly.


    The Tool was designed to disrupt the array''s functions when touching the outer line of the circle, by blocking the flow of Aeterna mandated by the inscriptions written within. The stronger the array, the more Aeterna required to disrupt it, and judging by the strength of the barrier, Lizbeth judged it to be exceptional.


    The thickness of the dust layer suggested no one had entered this basement in, perhaps, decades. To lay down an array that possessed such a frightening amount of longevity was not unheard of, but only a handful of Invokers were capable of such feat in the current times.


    To underestimate the barrier as something simple, was being foolish. Lizbeth had to be careful. Even though she trusted Rosy''s ability, if there were a chance of misfortune, however minute, she''d advise the girl not to jump in. She had a half a mind to call on the resident Invoker who was living in the village currently, a man named Master Ahres, to share his expertise.


    He was a researcher from SOIR who for some reason decided to stay in Riverfield. He mostly kept to himself so Lizbeth didn''t pay him no mind, but if he was from the Society, then he might be able to figure something out. The question was whether he could be trusted enough to let him know of whatever secret this room held.


    ¡°I''ll cast a simple Invocation to see how it reacts to the stimulus. Everyone, take a step back, please.¡±


    Lizbeth''s highest Affinity was with Light Element, but that didn''t mean she couldn''t call on the others. Every Invoker, regardless of their Affinities, could cast spells of other Elements, but took penalties doing so, some severe, some not so much, such as higher-than-usual Aeterna consumption, low spell effects, or sometimes outright failure to launch a spell.


    Of course, there were types of Elements that couldn''t be controlled without the appropriate Affinity, such as that of Light, making those who can, highly sought after.


    Because of the restrictions Invokers faced, unless being born with innate talents of having Affinity with multiple Elements, most of them concentrated on only a single Element they were capable of wielding.


    With Lizbeth, she was able to wield Fire, Water, and Wind to a varying degree of success. Besides Light, she could wield Wind pretty well, and the other two, with some difficulty.


    She chose to invoke a weak Fire type Invocation, a small ball of flame hot enough to boil a pot of water. She placed her palms together and whispered a relatively simple chant, and gathered Aeterna. A small bead of sweat formed on her forehead as a flame as big as a drinking cup appeared hovering above her hands. She then sent this little flame forward, towards the barrier.


    It floated like a will-o''-the-wisp and slowly got near the array''s area of influence. Upon coming in contact with it, the barrier flared up brightly and extinguished the flame.


    ¡°So Invocations won''t work,¡± Lizbeth nodded. She expected it to happen so she wasn''t surprised at all. After pondering for a bit, she spoke to her companions. ¡°Alright, so it seems we have a problem of getting past the two arrays before us. We can use what little charge is left in the disruption tool for the outer layer, but what should we do about the inner one?¡±


    Rosy was the first to chime in with her opinion. ¡°Maybe I can get inside the array, remove the tool, and then place it on the second one? If I move quickly, I think it can be done.¡±


    Damien shook his head. ¡°No, that won''t do. Besides not knowing how long the tool can hold up, trying to disrupt two different arrays will only exhaust the charge faster. All I can come up with for now, is to find someone to break the array for us.¡±


    ¡°That is assuming we can find someone trustworthy,¡± said Lizbeth. ¡°We do not know what is being kept here, for what purpose, nor from whom, by whom. We can''t carelessly expose this finding to anyone, not even to the upper echelons of the Adventurer Association.¡±


    ¡°I know that. The alternative method is to get another disruption tool. Although it''ll cost a pretty penny. The shop in Lafayette should deal in those.¡± Damien replied.


    Frankly, he''d rather not go down this route; an Invocation Tool always costed a fair bit of change to buy one, but the real hassle was in getting a permit from a local governing council to acquire one. An array disruption tool would definitely require him to go through a stringent process. That meant filling in paperwork. Meaning, he had to write with his left hand.


    He wasn''t looking forward to that.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    He could call for an assistance from the lord of Lafayette, but he was already knee-deep in that man''s favors so it didn''t feel right to ask for another one. Especially seeing that, as it stood, it all smelled a little bit fishy.


    As he was silently despairing, his eyes caught the torch lying on its side, on the far side of the array. It was the one he threw earlier on. That suddenly gave him an idea.


    ¡°Hang on, how about this way? See that torch over there? That went past the array no problem, right? What does that mean? I think, the array might let items that are not alive, just like that torch, go through. If true, then we can exploit that.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± Rosy asked, while her whiskers danced up and down, a telltale sign of her being curious.


    ¡°I''ll throw something sturdy at the metal thing, and try to knock it outside the second array. Then Rosy can retrieve the object as planned. Of course, I may need your help, love.¡±


    ¡°...You want me to use a Wind type Invocation to increase the speed of the thrown item, right? I think.... I think it''s worth a try.¡±


    ¡°Alright. We need to find something to throw then. Something that won''t break against the object in the middle.¡±


    The sacrificial item was chosen quickly enough ¨C it came down to either the leather armor Damien wore when he went to the Sacred Acre, or the short sword Lizbeth was holding onto. The armor was beyond repair now, after the battle it had seen. And seeing Lizbeth''s reluctance to part ways with the sharp blade, the choice was an obvious one.


    Taking the ruined armor from the weapons chest above, Damien descended back down but he was careful not to raise another dust storm. Once was enough, really, to learn his lesson.


    The plan they hashed out was thus: Damien would throw the armor after binding it tightly with a rope, so it wouldn''t flail about. Lizbeth would increase its speed by forcing it forward with a gust of wind. She had to cast the spell at the exact moment otherwise the barrier would block the attempt. Easy as pie.


    Only remaining doubt was whether Damien could throw as accurately as he wanted to, with his left arm. But he had been practicing with it and felt reasonably confident about his chances.


    ¡°All ready?¡± Damien looked at his wife, and then at Rosy, while taking a slightly low stance. He cocked his arm as far as he could and took a deep breath.


    With a short shout, he threw the armor, as hard as he could. He was kind of hoping to knock the metal object as far as possible, preferably past the outer barrier as well.


    Matching the timing of her husband, she cast a weirdly-named spell called Wind Slap. It was a rudimentary spell that required a very little prep time, but had the kind of effect they were looking for ¨C the spell molded air into a shape of a nearly-invisible hand, and it smacked the thrown armor from behind, noticeably increasing its speed.


    The armor splendidly struck the target, and it tumbled backwards from its resting spot. It was pushed back so far, not only it moved past the inner array, but it only came to a stop near the outer barrier''s edge on the opposite side. A person could retrieve it by simply reaching in now.


    This was a good news. There was enough room in the basement to go around the perimeter of the outer array without tripping it.


    Rosy quickly went there, and placed the disruption tool on the array''s outer line. The barrier was immediately erected, but the tool did its job and a slender portion of the green-ish light was diverted. There were minute sparks around the gem at the tip of the tool as it glowed weakly.


    Seizing this chance, Rosy reached in and pulled the metal object out with ease.


    Soon after, the gem lost all its luminescence, and shattered with a ''pah''. It had done its job.


    ~


    The metal object turned out to be a box. Moreover, a locked one at that.


    Everyone looking at it were at a loss for words. After wiping it down, the metallic luster was stronger than ever, and also, it became quite clear it was spotless, not even a speck of rust was on it. On top of that, it was hardier than any metal Damien had ever seen.


    Whatever was inside, it must have been rather important. At the moment though, they had no way of knowing what.


    The hole, or the trapdoor, was closed shut after they climbed out. No need to keep it open, Damien figured. He''d get some laborers to fill it up with soil after the end of the Monsoon. Same thing with the demolished wall; now that he took a look at it, he sure made a mess inside the office.


    The metal box was resting on top of the desk, and all were staring at it, unsure of what to do next.


    ¡°We could try and pry it open,¡± Rosy said while brushing dust off her fur.


    ¡°Well, it doesn''t seem to contain any type of curses on it so that''s a relief. Hiring a locksmith from Lafayette seems like the only option available.¡±


    Sitting on the chair, Lizbeth said as she breastfed Kain.


    Damien was also convinced of this. He saw no other way, short of him learning a new skill of lockpicking. Since it was out of those suspicious barrier Invocation arrays, it''d be easier to explain away the circumstances surrounding this box to a layman. In other words, easier to lie.


    Kaleena was sitting on Delilah''s laps, playing with her doll, having shown briefest of interest at the box before losing it.


    ¡°Perhaps we should consult the village elders first, before deciding what to do with this box,¡± the dwarven maid offered her opinion.


    It was easy to deduce just how long it had been since the box was placed in the basement. Decades, if not centuries.


    The elders of the village might have some knowledge on the item''s origins and its purposes. But whether they could be reliable or not was another matter. No guarantee there, of them keeping the matter to themselves after all.


    Two of the elders were trustworthy, but the rest.... were kind of like a leaky pot. Pour in water, and it leaks like there''s no tomorrow. Not ideal, if a secret needed to be kept amongst a few people. It was just that, a sleepy village like Riverfield weren''t blessed with any to be kept to begin with, so it was fine until now.


    Having said that, since Damien hadn''t heard anything like a basement in his home from the elders, he had to wonder if it was worth the risk asking them in the first place; they might not know themselves. The one person who was sure to know, was Lady Valette, the previous lord of the village.


    However her current whereabouts were unknown. Damien didn''t want to believe that her disappearance had anything to do with this box. But he was also convinced of it being the assassin''s true goal. It would do no good to let the outside world know he had discovered it. Who knows what kind of trouble that might attract.


    Lizbeth too was weighing up the options. She didn''t like any of them, but seeing that there weren''t much choice here, she was leaning towards the option of relying on either of the familial connections. Namely, that of her father, or of Damien''s. Whether he''d agree to that, now that was something else entirely.


    Rosy, either way, didn''t really care. She''d go as the events unfolded.


    As for Kain, he was looking at the box with quiet intensity. Because, he was feeling rather confused at the small marking on the corner of the box. His family members saw it but none of them knew what it was, and since it didn''t do anything, they paid it no mind.


    The marking actually was of a famous brand back in his previous world, Silver''s. And they happened to be an advanced equipment manufacturer, specializing in bleeding edge technology. Last he heard, they were working on weapons. Weapons straight out of the realms of science fiction. Weapons that a certain fictional Mr. Stark would''ve been more than happy to give his approval to.


    What the hell?


    Kain was confused, big time. There was a possibility of him making a mistake with his identification but, since in his previous job at the IT company as a salesman, involved pitching a product at the weapons manufacturer in question so he was 100% certain of being right.


    The whole metal box ¨C or a case ¨C was giving him the chills. Something was off about it. He couldn''t quite put his finger on it however.


    There was something else worrying him too. If it was indeed from Silver''s, the weapon maker, than how bad were the odds that a futuristic weapon was tucked underneath the lock?


    What could it be? A gun? Maybe some sort of a computer? A transceiver? Or a piece of chewing gum? Could even be a set of Cuban cigars.


    Reflexively, Kain reached out when Lizbeth leaned forward while getting up. His fat baby fingers landed on the marking by chance, and there was a clicking sound of something being unlocked.


    All present in the office except the culprit froze in place. Well, Rosy didn''t either, but she was always like that so that was fine.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Damien asked first.


    Since nothing happened, he got closer to the box, and touched it. Then he realized it was now open.


    Wordlessly, he lifted the lid up. Contrary to his thoughts, the metal was light, as if it didn''t weigh anything. That was strange, because when he carried the box, it was on the weighty side.


    Inside was lined with burgundy suede. A thing was wrapped in the same material, placed in the middle. Having never seen such a fabric before, the female folks'' eyes nearly jumped out at the soft, luxurious feel of it.


    Not minding them, Damien picked up the wrapped object, noting the weight he felt was actually from it. Uncharacteristically, he was somewhat nervous, a sense of apprehension tickling him on the backside. He couldn''t really tell what he was holding in his hand by the shape, nor by the bulk.


    Laying it down on the desk''s surface, he carefully unwrapped it.


    It was half a piece of dark, lacquered wooden board, that was roughly split in the middle. It was quite thick too, and on the upper surface various shapes were carved onto it. The overall shape of the board itself was unusual as well.


    A normal board might be in a rectangular shape. Maybe a square, even. But the one in his hand, disregarding the fact that half of it was missing, had a hallmark of being an octagon.


    The craftsmanship of the board was incredible. The tapered edges were super smooth, the vanish applied consistent and spotless. To think, it was kept in the metal box for who knows how long without showing a hint of decay.


    The carvings on the surface was equally mysterious. At some glances, it looked like a bunch of lines and meaningless squiggles that seemed haphazardly thrown together. But Damien could sense that each of the lines possessed strength of something indescribable, something intangible.


    Something he''s never, ever felt before. It was quite profound, really.


    Not only him, but Rosy and Lizbeth felt it too, although to a lesser degree, as they weren''t looking at it directly as he did. Delilah, being a person with no combat experience, didn''t sense anything.


    However, Kaleena also felt some sort of strange sensation and stopped playing with the doll, raising her head. Her curious eyes focused on the mysterious wooden board, and asked.


    ¡°Mommy, daddy, what''s that?¡±


    Naturally, they had no answers. They were certain of it being a priceless treasure, but what kind was it? Since it was made of wood, it couldn''t be treated as a gem. It wasn''t a weapon, at least Damien didn''t think so, and Lizbeth wasn''t sure if it was related to the system of wielding Aeterna, Invocation.


    Out of all present in the office, only Kain knew what it was, because he has seen something really, really similar to it before.


    In a Hong Kong kung-fu action movie, no less. Because it was a bagua inscription board he was looking at, with Chinese characters written on the peripherals.


    If this was a cartoon, Kain''s jaw would''ve hit the floor. Nevertheless, he remained speechless for what felt like an eternity. The appearance of something completely unexpected took him by surprise and he had no retort, no smart comebacks to fall back to.


    What the hell is that thing doing here??? Whaaaaat? Hold on, hold on a damn second. Wait, calm down, me.


    Let''s think about this logically. Right, it is conceited to think I''m the only one in the history of the universe to have reincarnated into other worlds. No, it would be strange if that''s the case.


    But, reincarnating and being able to bring a thing like that here is two different thing. No wait. A reincarnated individual who retained his past memory, like me, could have carved that thing. That''s a possibility.


    But no. That Silver''s case ¨C that''s something you can''t copy, right? And the suede too, those are most likely not something the technology of this world can replicate.


    Even with magic... no I mean Invocation, will it be possible?


    ¡­.


    ¡­.....


    ¡­.Could it be, that people got transferred here, while some got reincarnated? Maybe that''s the answer. In the case of former, I can see those who ended up in this world having one or two stuff on them. That makes sense, right?


    Wow, if my deduction turns out to be a bulls-eye, then just how many people from my previous world is living in this one??


    Kain grimaced deeply. A massive headache began to develop on the side of his head, and he wanted to massage it but that would be too weird a gesture to do it in front of the others here so he refrained.


    Still, Lizbeth noticed her son frowning, and sweating heavily.


    ¡°Dear, you should put away that object. I think it''s affecting the children.¡±


    Damien nodded, and wrapped the board back under the cloth. He realized how clammy his own hand was. As matter of fact, he was covered in sweat too, as if he''d been standing under a hot sun for too long.


    Kaleena, slightly irritated that her question was ignored, raised her voice again.


    ¡°Mommy? Daddy? What are you going to do with that?¡±


    Damien looked at his wife. She returned his gaze, silently debating on what to do themselves.


    ¡°Uhm, yes, what should we do? We should keep it safe, elsewhere. Perhaps it''s better to have it stored at the vault in Lafayette''s Association headquarters?¡±


    Lizbeth nodded her agreement. ¡°That sounds like a splendid idea. But we should also try to identify what it is beforehand.¡±


    ¡°True. Hire an appraiser, then?¡±


    The couple nodded at the same time, totally in sync with each other''s rhythm.


    ¡°As soon as the rain abates a little, I''ll head to Lafayette right away,¡± said Damien as he returned the board within the cavity of the metal box.


    Having said all that, he didn''t feel that confident of achieving any tangible results, at least not overnight. His life experiences so far told him this wooden board wasn''t something so simple to let any old appraiser find out its secrets.


    Whatever it was, he just knew in his gut, there was a storm brewing in the distance. Now, he had no doubt about what his new task was: making sure the secret doesn''t leak out to his enemies, whoever they were, wherever they were, whatever they were scheming.


    That was going to be a difficult, but very, very important mission.

 Chapter 11

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">11</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Two Years Later.


    ¡°She has the talent for Invocation. A great one, as a matter of fact.¡±


    A middle aged man sporting a graying, bushy but well kept beard spoke in an excited manner to Damien and Lizbeth. To emphasize his point, he made expanding balloon gestures with both of his hands. As he waved them about, several shiny rings on those thick fingers reflected the sunlight coming through the open windows. Even to Kain, those looked kind of extravagant, not something a man who wanted to remain anonymous might wear.


    He was big ¨C pot bellied, but wide of the shoulders like a retired linebacker. And as tall as the ceiling too, easily seven feet plus. If it weren''t for the wizard-like dark burgundy quilted robe he wore, one would have thought this dude lived a life of thuggery. What added to the unfavorable impression was a cherry-red nose that seemed to have been broken years before and then set back in place incorrectly. And no, he did not, emphatically, resemble another famous bike riding British wizard. Not at all.


    The Lomax family and this man were sitting in the living room. The whole family had gathered here, including the two maidservants ¨C both parents, Kaleena, and Kain plus Delilah and Rosy. The heads of the family sat on a wide couch opposite the guest, with the young girl sitting on her own on a chair next to her mother, while the son was on her lap. The two helpers remained in the background, silent. Since the meeting time was well past lunch, only tea and some simple snacks were laid out on the wooden table in the middle.


    This meeting was a second one to be held between the burly bearded dude and the Lomaxes. The first one was just over a week ago. Both meetings were no doubt important, since Damien was here. Nowadays, he was more hands-on than ever at running the village efficiently so it was not easy for him to make time but he did these last two occasions. That''s how important these meetings were.


    The burly guy in question was named Ahres. Kain didn''t get a chance to learn whether that was his first name or not. It wasn''t a big loss not knowing so he didn''t bother digging in. But what he did for a living, now that was lots more interesting. He was a genuine Invoker, just like Lizbeth was, but ranked higher. Apparently, he was in Riverfield for some kind of research, but he was also certified to carry out Aeterna aptitude tests. That''s why he was in the house currently, to deliver the test results.


    A pair of a broad smile lit up on Lizbeth''s and Damien''s lips. They sure looked happy; held in her arms, Kain was close enough to tell that the joy displayed by both of them were real.


    ¡°Master Ahres, how favorable was the assessment?¡± Damien asked. He didn''t even try to disguise the rising excitement in his voice.


    ¡°My lord, your daughter is indeed blessed. Her reaction to the flow of Aeterna is off the charts, and she enjoys Affinities with four different Elements as well. She will surely have a bright future as an Invoker!!¡± While nodding, the gray bearded Ahres reached into the opening of the robe. Kain half expected him to pull out a stash of.... an illegal substance, but instead he held a rolled up red scroll with a large coat of arms on the back.


    He handed it over to Damien, and Lizbeth leaned in closer to read the contents together. Kain could see it if he cranked his neck, so he did. The neatly written words confirmed what Ahres was talking about, but in a more officious manner.


    Obviously, Kaleena was interested in the contents of the scroll as well, but as she was a well behaved little lady, she remained in her seats per proper manners dictated and patiently waited for her turn. Her facial expression wasn''t too composed however, slightest hint of anxiety visible inside her clear eyes.


    Well, she was still a kid who was still too young to understand what was happening here, but since her name was mentioned, and her parents were in an excited/agitated state, the atmosphere would have affected her anyhow. If she didn''t tense up, now that would have been strange.


    ¡°Master Ahres, were there any irregularities with the readings? If there were none, then this.... this result, it is truly amazing. Incredible.¡±


    Damien spoke excitedly, his gaze glued to the open scroll. His hands trembled faintly. Lizbeth too looked happy and relieved, covering a huge grin on her face with her right hand.


    ¡°Please, my lord. I''m not a Master yet. Rather, simply refer me as an Expert; if my superiors hear you call me anything else, they might throw a fit and assign me to some unenviable location far away from civilization!!¡±


    Ahres laughed heartily at his own joke. Kain''s parents didn''t get it though, and accordingly didn''t reply. Their attentions were solely fixed on the scroll and its contents, nothing else.


    ¡°Ahem. Yes, the assessment of young Lady Kaleena has been verified by my peers at Lafayette''s branch of SOIR, and they saw no issues. You can rest easy, your daughter''s talent is indeed real. Ah, and also, the highest authorities of the Society, back in Argos, are being notified as we speak. If my hunch is correct, then the Honorable Elders will approach you with the Official Offer for her enrollment into the Academy very shortly.¡± Realizing his humor didn''t penetrate, Ahres instead opted for more official tone with his next words.


    That did the trick, and both the mother and the father hastily looked up at Ahres. Lizbeth spoke first. Her voice was cold.


    ¡°I have no desire to see Kaleena drawn away from her home.¡±


    She then motioned for her daughter to come and join her. Obediently, Kaleena trotted over and plopped on her lap alongside her younger brother. Lizbeth gently hugged both and stroked the young girl''s light brown twin ponytails.


    ¡°I agree with my wife on this subject,¡± Damien said firmly. ¡°I must apologize, Expert Ahres, but I''ll make this clear before the matter goes any further. We will decide when, where and from whom our daughter receives her education from. We''d rather Society not take charge in this matter.¡±


    Ahres frowned hearing those words. He pondered for a moment to find the most diplomatic words he could think of, then hesitantly spoke them.


    ¡°My lord, my lady. I assure you, your concerns regarding the Society are unfounded. Without a doubt, we all want what''s best for Lady Kaleena. Her outstanding talent ensures she''ll gather attention, well meant or not. The Society offers the best compromise, in my opinion. I''m not saying this merely because of my membership, but as a fellow Invoker.¡±


    Lizbeth smiled thinly. ¡°We are thankful for the consideration shown by the Society. However, we reserve the right for the final say on the future direction of our daughter. As her parents, it is our wonderful burden and not for the others.¡±


    Ahres could only nod. After all, he wasn''t going to force a mother, never mind a Baron''s wife, to hand over her child, regardless of how promising the talent was. It wasn''t morally right.


    Raising his hands in defeat, Ahres spoke in a gentle, conciliatory tone. ¡°I understand. Well, I make no promises, but I shall try my best to convey your wishes to Argos. As both you Lord Damien, and Lady Lizbeth, are highly regarded by my peers, I believe that if you are able to find a competent tutor quickly, then they could heed your request.¡±


    ¡°We shall,¡± Lizbeth nodded while holding Kaleena close.


    Ahres left soon after, leaving behind the scroll. He had a minor trouble squeezing his giant frame past the doorway but somehow, he managed to escape unscathed.


    Seeing him off, the family returned to the living room and sat on their respective seats silently. The overall mood was bit weird, somehow feeling like that of a bittersweet happiness, at least that''s how Kain interpreted it.


    ¡°Liz, don''t worry about the tutor. I shall take care of it,¡± said Damien with some confidence, as he gently squeezed her hand.


    ¡°You have a lot on your plate, my love. Will it be alright? I can also make inquiries in Lafayette,¡± Lizbeth replied. ¡°But moreover...¡±


    ¡°Do not fret, love. If he agrees to it, finances shouldn''t be an issue.¡± Damien smiled, hiding a face that was a mixture of complex thoughts and emotions.


    ¡°Who do you have in mind? Could you be referring to.... Derrick, perhaps?¡± Lizbeth asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Please, don''t worry. It''ll be alright. He''s just one of the candidates that I''m thinking of. There are others too.¡± Damien shook his head quickly, as if he made a slip and was trying to cover it up. It didn''t work. Lizbeth was too sharp for that.


    She gave him one of those looks that said, we''ll discuss this matter a little later, in private.


    Kain saw Damien returning a wry smile at her and thought, matters of education are stressful no matter what the world''s setting is, eh.


    The Academy Ahres mentioned was run by the folks at Society of Invocation Research, an organization that was run separately from the Imperial government. Unlike the Institute, which was a part of the Empire, SOIR acted independently, only answering to a circle of elders consisting of ten highest ranked Invokers on the continent.


    Located in the capital metropolis of Argos, the Academy was created to nurture the talented up and coming Invokers. And unlike most schools, they had no age restrictions. In fact, the guidelines for admittance stated that it was far better for the developing children to enter the Academy as young as possible.


    Their reasoning was simple, really. A person''s ability to control the Flow of Aeterna was not fixed, and it could be improved if one trained hard. So, earlier the start of that training, the better it was, later in life.


    Of course, there were prodigies like Kaleena, born with physique naturally suited to wield frightening amount from the get-go, but not everyone was like that.


    Damien couldn''t wield Aeterna, neither could Rosy. Delilah was able to, to some extent, but her limit was very, very low, and it was better for her not to bother. By the way, her Affinity was with Earth Element. How Dwarf-like.


    Kain wanted to know what his own Affinity was but he heard from his parents'' conversation that the aptitude test could only be taken at around five years of age. Meaning, he had to wait for at least two more years. Too bad.


    Not that he was impatient or anything ¨C he thought that as long as nothing crazy happens, there was no rush to get going. He was already used to the country life, the gentle pace of it all. No need to actively screw that up, he thought.


    ¡°But to think, our daughter has such a prodigious talent for Invocation. Four Elements? That is incredible. She''s even better than you, love.¡± Damien chuckled happily, as he hugged his wife. He was trying to lift the stifling air that was now uncomfortably silencing the room.


    Lizbeth returned his smile with her own, much more dazzling one. ¡°It''s the destiny of the children, to achieve greater acclaim than their parents have done.¡±


    Kain shuddered slightly after hearing that. Her words seemed to hide some dangerous connotations within. If she harbored impossible expectations of him, now that would be troublesome as he wasn''t sure he''d be able to meet them. Well, he hadn''t yet tried so there was that.


    ¡°Until the tutor arrives, I shall educate Kaleena,¡± Lizbeth added. ¡°I''m aware it''s not much, but I''ll do my utmost. She will be well versed in basics, if nothing else.¡±


    Damien wanted to disagree but didn''t say anything. No, he wasn''t disagreeing with her teaching Kaleena, but rather, her own evaluation of herself.


    He actually thought Lizbeth was selling herself short with those words. She was a Gold ranked Adventurer just like he was, so there was no need for her to be modest, after all. He contemplated silently while stroking his chin, as he suddenly remembered that since they both hadn''t been active for so long, their ranks probably have been lowered by now.


    After a short while, he spoke. ¡°It will get busier than before. We shall hire more help to cope around the house, then.¡±


    ¡°That won''t be necessary, love.¡± Lizbeth objected. ¡°Both Rosy and Delilah are well equipped to handle the household chores and looking after Kain. And I''ll still be here to lend a hand as well. Let us not strain our finances any further than it is. Besides, as soon as the tutor arrives, I should become free once again.¡±


    Damien was troubled by her words. His intention was to lessen the burden on his wife, as she had her hands full already. Teaching Kaleena was important, so it would have been better if she was able to concentrate on that full time. But it was not in her personality to neglect her duties as the healer, the mother of two kids, and as a wife of a Baron.


    Their finances weren''t so tight that employing a new helper would end up breaking their backs but, it was true some prudence was needed to keep it in black consistently.


    He didn''t want to be seen as disrespecting her wishes so, he reluctantly consented to her decision. If it was the old him, he might have gone out and hire someone behind her back, hoping to get her approval later, but he wasn''t like that now.


    Sighing, Damien called out to the two helpers already in employment by the household. ¡°Delilah, Rosy, you''ve no doubt heard of Kaleena''s talent from Expert Ahres''s words. From today onward, my wife, Lady Lizbeth will begin mentoring our daughter. Please give it your all, in aiding her at this endeavor.¡±


    The two maidservants deeply vowed at his dignified voice, a tone that befitted his position as a Baron and the lord of this territory, however small it was. Nowadays, it wasn''t so rare to hear him speak like this.


    Honestly, Delilah was happy to hear it, this dignified tone from her employer. Now it properly felt like she was serving a nobility. Her previous boss, Lady Valette, was also a bit lax in this regard too. Not that she disliked it, but it did feel a little too informal, not at all what she expected of a noble household.


    Ever since Damien lost his right arm, he had grown into a fine lord, Delilah mused. Perhaps that incident was a blessing in disguise.


    ¡°We shall not betray your expectations, my lord.¡± She replied delightedly, a happy smile pasted deeply on her face.


    Rosy glanced at her senior maid, thinking, oh no, she''s going to work me to death, isn''t she....


    A small, involuntary sigh ended up escaping from her lips.


    ~


    ¡°Successful casting of Invocation requires four parts,¡± Kaleena read aloud from a thick leather-bound book on her lap. It was the very same one Kain tried to read but then got thwarted by Damien a couple years ago.


    On its worn out cover, the fading letters proudly proclaimed its purpose: Beginner''s Guide To Pain-Free Invocation Training, Volume One.


    Maybe it was a blessing of sorts back then, when he still couldn''t read. If he did, then most likely he''d think this book and its contents were dodgy at best, mindlessly bad at worst.


    Kaleena frowned a little as she read the book. Some words in there were probably a bit on the difficult side for a child her age, but she was bravely soldiering on, which was good to see. However, she wasn''t trying to hide her expression of being annoyed even in front of her mother, who was right next to her while listening attentively.


    The three of them were sitting outside the house, out in the walled backyard. Rosy and Delilah were putting up still-damp linens and other articles on the washing lines, while the Lomaxes were under the protective shade provided by a parasol, cooled by sipping on moderately sweet fruit juices. Not a speck of cloud in the sky, a distant chirping of an insect, a scent of late blooming flowers in the air.


    It was like a scene straight out of a fat-free yogurt commercial replete with white linens fluttering against the wind, a red brick and wood colored double story house as a backdrop. Chuckling wryly at all the sarcastic comments he thought of, Kain went back to thumbing the pages of the bestiary.


    He had read it through so many times it no longer proved to be helpful for him with idly passing time. It was a nice book, sure, but it had reached the limit of its usefulness after two years of repeated browsing.


    The one book he was interested in was still out of reach for him, however, as Kaleena had dibs on it first. The disadvantages of being the second born, that''s what it was. The only way remaining for now was to eavesdrop while she read it out aloud. It was slightly painful listening to a five year old trying to read tough words but there was some odd charm in it too. It probably had something to do with the cuteness of her trying so valiantly not to fail, even though it was okay to do so.


    Not that he subscribed to that kawaii/moe rubbish though. Definitely not.


    Kain glanced at his share of fruit juice attracting a fly, and he shooed it away. The breeze must have spread the scent of the liquid around, calling forth the irritating little critters from who knows where.


    He didn''t feel too bad about it however. Lizbeth made a wise decision to hold the Invocation lessons outdoors, which was a good idea, seeing that it wouldn''t have been a laughing matter if a wayward spell cast by a five year old caused a very bad mishap.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Kaleena frowned as she continued on to the next paragraph in the manual. ¡°Firstly, the learner must memorize the Requisite Words to the desired Invocation spell. If you do not know the correct words, or make a mistake during the incantation, the spell will either not materialize, or backfire on the Invoker, causing harm.¡±


    Kain already knew about the four rules of basic Invocation, and so did Kaleena. See, the thing was, today was not the beginning of the Invocation lessons ¨C ever since the family discovered Kaleena''s talent at wielding Aeterna, Lizbeth had been slowly teaching her daughter the basics. Building the foundations and all that.


    She even sang the Requisite Words as nursery rhymes so it would stick to Kaleena''s mind easier. It certainly worked on Kain, so it was effective enough.


    Eavesdropping on lessons proved to be a sweet arrangement for him at the end of the day. Obviously, it''d have been ideal to actually do a physical practice but since that was not going to happen soon, this was the next best thing. Knowing the basic theory wasn''t going to hurt him in the slightest so, might as well.


    There were many questions burning a hole in his head, but unfortunately he was still playing the role of an oblivious, two-and-a-bit year old kid; so he just couldn''t outright ask any one of them. Funny thing was, Kain couldn''t remember when he''d decided to act like this, although the reason for the subterfuge was clear enough.


    He didn''t want to disappoint Damien and Lizbeth, if it turned out he was a trashy no-talent hack, utterly useless at Invocation and stuff. In this world, being an Invoker opened doors much smoothly than not being one.


    It was obvious, if you thought about it: out of the entire populace, there were only a small portion of it capable of bending the mother nature to your will. Also, there was a small matter of genetics lottery at play: just because of your parents were Invokers that didn''t mean the offspring would be one.


    So, the numbers-wise Invokers were a precious human resource, and an Invoker with several Affinities was even rarer still. Kaleena being one such meant she had the luck of the draw. Four Affinities, and a physique to wield more Aeterna than most people from the get-go that would only become even better as she grows older ¨C she had it all.


    ¡°Secondly, the learner needs to wield the required amount of Aeterna, and the correct Element by either controlling the Flow, or by forcibly accessing the Pool of Aeterna. If the amount is insufficient, than the spell will not materialize. Not only that, there are real dangers of the learner experiencing severe physical exhaustion caused by the draining of Aeterna Pool.¡±


    The very concept of Aeterna confused Kain initially, even after hearing an explanation on it from Lizbeth, in words that a five year old could understand.


    According to her, this world was one of The Ten Spirit Realms. Within the deepest, lowest realm, which was called the Primordial Realm, there is something called a World Tree that spews out Aeterna. There are apparently other World Trees that are connected to the one in the Primordial Realm in all the other realms, multiple of them in fact, and through these trees Aeterna permeates pretty much every-freaking-where.


    There were also some vague descriptions on deities with funny names but quite frankly it all sounded a bit random to Kain. Regardless of whether this Noa being a so-called parallel world or not, the basic structure of universe ¨C or a multiverse, either way ¨C shouldn''t have changed, scientifically speaking. So this story of World Trees and realms sounded kooky to a modern man steeped in an atheistic lifestyle. Of course, if he had studied, or at least paid attention to, the Norse mythology then he might have felt there was a bit of passing resemblance here.


    Anyways, by applying that modern logic, he arrived at the simplest conclusion, that Aeterna was simply a fancy term for MP in an RPG. Since Invocation was just magic in a mouthier title, his deduction made sense. Want to fire off a spell? Then prepare X amount of MP. Or in this world, Aeterna.


    The Pool of Aeterna was simply a term denoting a person''s own Aeterna reserve. Aeterna could be found on pretty much every object in this world, and that also meant people had Aeterna in them as well. So an Invoker can draw Aeterna required for a spell from his or her own Pool.


    But, possessing a big Pool of Aeterna didn''t guarantee one''s future as an Invoker. Some with no talent could still end up with a fairly substantial Pool, or someone with an earth-shattering ability might have a shallow one instead. So an Invoker strove to wield Aeterna found in objects and atmosphere freely as much as possible, rather than relying on their own Pools. The best of the best Invokers could draw from both the environments around him and his own Pool though, so there was that.


    The different Elements were sub-divisions of Aeterna. The idea was that every natural phenomena were tied to an Element or multiple Elements. Like say, a strong flame ¨C it''s Fire Element at work. So if one wanted cast a Fire type Invocation, the Invoker needed to wield the corresponding Elemental Aeterna. Simple.


    ¡°Thirdly, you need to stay calm and composed, so you can clearly picture the process and the end results of your Invocation. If your mind is not calm and collected, in other words when you''re distracted while performing Invocation, the spell may fail to activate, or end up backfiring.¡±


    This requirement sounded toughest thing to achieve so far. If an Invoker''s duty was to work in a safe environment, than concentrating wouldn''t be hard at all. But since this world was one full of monsters and hidden dangers, standing still while casting Invocation sounded a bit dumb thing to do.


    Just like in those RPG games, it was natural to find Invokers journeying together with capable companions.


    ¡°And finally, the target, where the spell''s effect will take place, must be within your optical range.¡±


    Kaleena read the last requirement and glanced over at her mother. She was trying to see if it was time to do actual, physical practice. Lizbeth insisted on drilling the basics into her so periodically she insisted on Kaleena reading up on them.


    Quite frankly that was boring. Throwing around real Invocations were much more fun. She couldn''t wait to get started. The only thing she needed now was the permission to do so.


    ¡°Do you know why you need to look at the target before casting a spell?¡± Lizbeth asked her daughter as she reached out for the manual. It had done its job for now, so she was going to hold onto it until it was required again later on.


    The last condition didn''t make much sense to Kain. It sounded like as if he couldn''t see where the spell was going to take effect, then he might as well forget about it and not bother with casting at all.


    But what if he wanted to, say, cast a curse on some poor a-hole from a far away? Not that he''d want to do that but, surely, there will be people mad enough to do something as extreme out in this vast world. So how can one do that, if the target of the scorn was too far to see with the naked eye?


    There must be some kind exceptions which Kain wasn''t aware of yet. One more thing to find out later on, then.


    After pondering for a bit, Kaleena answered sheepishly. ¡°So.... I can hit the target and not miss it?¡±


    ¡°That is partly correct. Remember Kaleena, that a spell isn''t a simple, mindless entity that blindly follows the Invoker''s will. Just like having a clear image of the spell is important, knowing where and how the spell will be used is also very important. That is why you need to see where the spell will land.¡±


    ¡°But mom, what if the target hides behind a table?¡±


    Kaleena asked while tilting her head a little. If a large question mark floated above her, it would have been perfect, Kain thought inwardly.


    ¡°Well, usually, you can wait until the target comes out from behind the table,¡± Lizbeth smiled softly and answered.


    ¡°But what if it doesn''t?¡±


    ¡°In that case, you can go around the table yourself, to see the target. Or, learn the spell that''ll go around the table itself.¡±


    Kaleena perked her head up quickly. ¡°Will you teach me such spells, mom?¡±


    ¡°All in a good time, dear. When you can memorize the chants of the spells in full like I asked you to, then we can move on to the next ones.¡±


    Kaleena''s shoulders drooped a little. ¡°But mom, all the chants?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my dear. You must recite the Requisite Words in full, until you become used to casting them. That''s the only way to succeed for now.¡±


    ¡°What about shouting out the Words every time?¡±


    ¡°No, that isn''t necessary. The chanting is for the Elements so they can hear your intentions and move according to your will. So, as long as you have become good at casting, then you can just whisper it so no one other than Aeterna will hear you.¡±


    Kaleena seemed satisfied, and dissatisfied at the same time, with her lips curling slightly and brows frowning deeply.


    Kain thought that memorizing countless number of chants was not a difficult challenge to overcome. Simply jotting down the spell incantations on a memo pad and then carrying it around so he could access them quickly when needed, sounded very sensible to him. Oh how he wished for a PDA or something similar. An iPad, maybe, that''d be great.


    Kaleena thought up of another question to ask but she got interrupted when Damien walked out of the house''s backdoor, and waved his hands at the family.


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    She smiled happily and ran right into his outstretched arm. Laughing, he caught Kaleena easily and lifted her up.


    Rosy and Delilah offered their greetings as Damien walked over, carrying the girl on his hip.


    ¡°Hey you. Studying hard?¡± He laughingly asked the impishly smiling girl.


    ¡°Yes, I am. I studied lots.¡±


    He put her down and playfully rubbed her hair, disarranging it into a mess. Her mouth pouted but her eyes were arced in a smile, showing how happy she was inside.


    ¡°Damien? You''re home early,¡± Lizbeth dusted herself off and greeted her husband with a little peck on the cheek.


    Shaking his head, he smiled and this time lifted Kain and hugged him. ¡°It''s nothing serious, love. There''s been a sighting of a Red Dingo Pack by the Southern Woods. I just came to get my gear. Some of the men and I will be heading there to investigate.¡±


    ¡°Red Dingoes? I see. Who will accompany you?¡±


    ¡°The usual guys. We are to meet by the South Gate before the sun sets.¡±


    Damien tried to pull a funny face so he could get a reaction from Kain, but all he got was the boy''s irked expression instead. That disheartened him big time. He''d swear, sometimes his cute little boy didn''t act his age.


    What were the chances of having two monsters being born under the same roof, he wondered inwardly. That should be really amusing if it were so, especially considering his position in the Lucius branch of Lomax family.


    ¡°You''ll be staying out all night?¡± Lizbeth asked as she smoothed over Kaleena''s ruffled hair.


    ¡°Sorry, love. It does look that way.¡±


    Damien apologized by kissing Lizbeth on the forehead, then he followed that up with another peck on Kaleena''s. He ended the kissing session with one more on Kain''s. The faint stubble on his chin tickled the boy''s sensitive skin, causing him to giggle aloud.


    Seeing this, Damien felt like he achieved a great victory today and his face loosened like an idiot''s.


    ¡°You''re not getting any younger, love. Please, why not hire a group of Adventurers to take care of this, as is the norm with other towns?¡± Lizbeth sighed, letting her unhappiness leak out just a little.


    Damien lowered Kain down, and stroked the frowning woman''s cheek gently. ¡°I know it bothers you. But you know the situation we are in. Besides, my mobility has recovered completely now. No worries, I''ll be fine. We''ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°You''re a lord of this village. A Baron, no less. You should think about the image of your house, at least even in passing.¡± Lizbeth admonished her husband, but there were no venom in her words. Rather, she had conceded already.


    Kain recalled from the bestiary that the Red Dingoes were not native of this area. Riverfield was located in the southeasterly region of the Empire Argos, right next to the provincial capital city of Lafayette. The critters in question supposedly roamed the plains of northeast, making them somewhat unusual sights around these parts.


    But they did occasionally appear in regions with no strong Fiends presence. No one had yet to find out how these ravenous creatures knew where to go, but since they were devastatingly cunning hunters in a group, it was a serious matter in a farming community like this village, full of livestock and grain.


    The village relied heavily on cattle and chicken farming, as well as other smaller livestock rearing for much of its income so the news of Red Dingo pack appearing nearby was definitely something to take up arms for.


    Just like most predators, they hunted in packs exclusively, and were nocturnal, mostly striking during dusk. To ensure the safety of the villagers and the livestock, Damien were to lead the militiamen and exterminate the creatures. An all-nighter was beckoning him, a prospect he wasn''t looking forward to, really.


    Bending down to Kaleena''s eye level, he patted her head and spoke.


    ¡°Now sweetie, daddy''s going to take care of the mean Dingoes for the rest of the day. Do you promise, to behave until I get back?¡±


    Kaleena nodded, standing with hands on her hips in a superhero pose. ¡°Yes!! Count on me, daddy!¡±


    ¡°Attagirl,¡± Damien laughed and ruffled her hair once more.


    He then leaned over and pinched Kain''s cheeks.


    Ouch, that hurts, you brute, Kain groaned unhappily.


    Chuckling to himself, Damien straightened back up, and said, ¡°Kain''s growing up really fast as well. Who does he take after, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully both of us,¡± answered Lizbeth. ¡°I''ll help with getting the provisions ready. Rosy, please assist us.¡±


    The two of them, accompanied by Rosy entered the house, leaving behind Delilah to look after the children.


    Having nothing to do, Kain sat back down on the chair and began snacking on the home baked cookies and the fruit juice that lost a lot of its coldness. It was still delicious though, so it was all good.


    The summer was approaching fast, and the temperature nowadays were getting toasty in a hurry. Kain didn''t believe this world suffered Global Warming, but he couldn''t help but think it was hotter than the same period last year. Could be his imagination. Or not.


    Kaleena turned her attention back to Invocation training, and started reading the manual again. She knitted her eyebrows, concentrating on the difficult words written down on the browning pages.


    After finishing his drink, Kain flipped the pages of the bestiary and searched for more info on those Red Dingoes. Dingoes, back in his previous world, were small and cunning wild dogs found in The Land Down Under, but this world''s version seemed to be lot bigger, and meaner to boot. Thankfully it wasn''t the scariest creature out there, so he felt confident of Damien kicking its ass nice and easy.


    Underestimating any living thing in this world was not a good habit, to be honest, but there was a reason for his belief in the one armed Baron, his father.


    After losing his right arm, Damien would train himself fiercely every morning, like a man possessed. He trained before becoming disabled, true, but the level of intensity were on a totally different scale altogether. Kain could still recall the meaty whoosh made by Damien''s sheathed saber slicing the air repeatedly.


    Come rain or shine, he trained, and trained, until there arrived a point where Kain was reminded of those training montages from the old straight-to-video martial art movies littering the shelves of any good rental stores. Only thing lacking in that delusion was the cheesy, wailing solo driven hair rock as the background music.


    Taking into account such a consistently remorseless training regime, there was just no way Damien would lose to a bunch of glorified feral dogs, fantasy world logic or not.


    Speaking of fantasy world, the lungs of the animal pecking order Red Dingoes occupied as an individual creature was on the lower side. According to the bestiary, the general consensus was to classify all of the wildlife in the continent of Noa into three tiers.


    The first tier was reserved for those ''normal'' creatures, like cows, horses, the aforementioned Red Dingoes, and similar animals. In other words, regular living things found all over, whether it was in this world, or the previous one.


    The second tier however, were categories for animals that had evolved to the point where they could use limited type of Invocations, usually tied to a single Element. Such beasts were often called the Awakened, and they were considered to be very valuable form of resource.


    The bones, skin, internal organs, what have you ¨C all of it were used in various medicines and weapons crafting. Of course, the Awakened beasts were rare and hard to capture, making their value even greater. The Strife Wolf Damien faced many years ago, belonged to this category.


    And then, the third tier: Fiends. Pretty much self explanatory, really.


    This tier was further split into two categories. Regular Fiends were just that, regular, simple minded and easy to provoke. They were hard to kill, unless you had professional help, and most were smart enough to evade traps.


    And then there were the irregulars. Now, Fiends that fall into this particular category was especially hated upon by all the humanoid races. These monsters actively sought out confrontation with other living creatures, finding pleasure in devastation left behind their wake.


    The most well known species of these Fiends were the genre-staple Goblins. They invaded villages and towns to rape, pillage and destroy like there''s no tomorrow, or something.


    There were of course lots more ferocious and dangerous Fiends out there, but the bestiary didn''t go into specifics, which was unfortunate for Kain. The author wrote on the footnote, urging the reader to purchase an authorized copy of Fiend Bestiary instead for a more comprehensive disclosure.


    What Kain understood from all this, was to never, ever become an Adventurer. It was apparently the most important job of Adventurers to fight Fiends and control their outbreak whenever that happens. It sounded very dangerous, just thinking about it.


    Since he wasn''t suicidal, he was going to pass.


    What he was feeling when he browsed through the bestiary, was this weirdness occupying his mind at the realization, of almost all the animals being similar in appearance and characteristics, between the two worlds.


    Damien and Lizbeth owned five horses, kept in a barn by the well in the backyard. They looked exactly like what horses should look like. That wasn''t all; chickens, sparrows, cows, crickets, snakes, beetles ¨C all same, as far as Kain could see. There were some differences, sure, but it was too small and insignificant in most cases, larger Dingoes not withstanding.


    The rough map of the continent Noa, drawn at the front page of the bestiary had a vague outline of continental Europe, making him think the possibility of this world being a parallel one pretty robust. Surrounded by plenty enough evidence to back his claim up, he was almost convinced of it.


    The map could be inaccurate, of course. Didn''t really matter, as it stood it didn''t help Kain much anyways.


    A whiff of horse manure drifted into his nostrils. He had gotten used to it already so it was fine, but what a reminder it was, of how underdeveloped this world was compared to his previous one.


    Horses were an essential part of life here. There were no public transport system in this world, obviously, so if one didn''t own the overtly fidgety and behooved mounts, you weren''t going anywhere fast. From the morsels of knowledge he gathered, there seemed to be stagecoaches traveling between cities and towns but since Riverfield had too low a population, those hardly ever came here.


    The city of Lafayette might have been close by, but other than Riverfield''s produce heading there, this village was non-existent for those city folks. Which was sad, considering Kain could see the blur of the city''s ramparts from the nursery window on a cloudless, clear sunny day.


    After a while, Damien emerged from the house, all geared up and ready to depart. Tan leather armor worn on the shoulders, chest, thighs and shins. Thick boots with toes covered in iron. On his hip, the trusty sheathed saber, its handguard sparkling clean and polished like new. A wooden buckler strapped to his left arm, and a rucksack slung over his shoulder completing the look.


    He bent over and kissed both of his kids and his wife.


    ¡°Well then, I''m off. Cheer for me, would you?¡±


    Kain frowned at that. Those words sounded like the event flags being raised. No way something bad would happen, like the last time Damien went out for a period of time, or so he mused.


    There was just no way. He thought that his life here wasn''t that eventful. Then he sighed weakly, realizing it was now him raising a flag instead.

 Chapter 12

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">12</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    The subjugation of the invading Red Dingo pack was a great success. It took a couple days of hard work, but in the end two dozen of voracious wild, oversized canines were driven away from the village''s boundaries. The militia group, led ably by Damien, managed to kill six of the beasts and wound many more.


    The resulting loot ¨C felt, meat, bones ¨C were evenly split and distributed to those involved in the operation.


    And no, no worrisome events unfolded during that time. There were some injuries, one or two quite considerable, but with Lizbeth making sure no one perished with her healing Invocations, no great calamity fell on Riverfield and its residents.


    Damien was pleased with the way it all went down, and decided to hold a small celebration full of liquor and merry making a week later. No one argued against that, which made him even more pleased.


    But he didn''t count on things going ever so slightly out of hand. In his head, he thought the gathering could be held in his backyard, with just the members of militia involved in the subjugation.


    The villagers had other ideas however, and by the time the promised evening came, the venue had to be changed to the village square, beneath the hundred-year old Yellowwood tree''s all-encompassing shade.


    Almost everyone pitched up. The word of mouth going around in a small village indeed possessed a frightening rate of infection, and before the end of the day everyone knew of the party.


    Damien and Lizbeth left a bit early in order to sort the chaos out, and it was left to Rosy and Delilah to bring along Kaleena and Kain. By the time they arrived at the venue, the sunset was an hour or so away. The preparation was in full swing, with lamps being hung on a wire crisscrossing the expanses between houses, and several large roasting pits being set up to cook the Dingo meat. Countless barrels of alcohol were carted out from the storage too, and all the men present, as well as some women, eyed them quite eagerly, like a pack of hungry hyenas drooling over a juicy prey.


    Kain caught a whiff of a delicious scent coming from the freshly baked bread, whetting his own appetite greatly. Kaleena was really excited too, looking forward to enjoying an evening of fun.


    The Lomax household didn''t have to provide everything for the feast. The villagers had brought their own cutlery, for instance ¨C as well as various side dishes, vegetables, tables, chairs, musical instruments and plenty of laughter. The normally sleepy little Riverfield transformed quickly into a lively carnival of food and people.


    Almost everyone with able bodies attended the feast and it became rowdy pretty fast. But not in a bad way. Just lots of vibrant laughter tinged with strong wine and mead, loud choruses of ¡°Cheers!!¡± sounding out here and there, as well as the joyfully exuberant wobbling of a violin-like instrument all bunching up and creating one monster of a festive atmosphere.


    The main attraction of the evening was the Dingo meat, roasted whole on the open pit. Kain was understandably reluctant to eat that, since it was technically a dog meat. Other people around him didn''t hold such a preconceived notion, and they all dug in quite happily.


    Up close, he was able to see just how big these Dingoes were. Each one was a size larger than what he had imagined previously, which was a bit of a shock. To think, a small group of people was able to kill something so large without suffering catastrophically horrible injuries ¨C he acutely felt this very day how badly the rules of the fantasy world was not in tune with his own sensibilities.


    Since they were so large, six of them proved to be plenty enough to fill the bellies of the villagers present. Kain forced himself to at least give the meat a taste, and to his surprise, it wasn''t as bad as he feared. Still didn''t eat a lot though. Every time he did, an image of Lassie popped up in his mind and he lost what little appetite he had. Bread it was, then.


    Sitting next to his parents, he encountered many new faces as they came up to greet Damien the Baron and his wife Lizbeth for their generosity. The Lomax pair had their hands full shaking each and every one offered, and had barely any time to enjoy themselves.


    What surprised him the most, was the range of diversity the professions of the villagers possessed. There was a blacksmith who was a former Adventurer, a butcher who could use cooling Invocations to keep his stock freshly preserved, hunters tasked with providing game, fishermen wrangling out on the calm waters of the river Anders that ran next to the village, and a leathersmith that mended everything from shoes to a leather armor.


    The blacksmith, Erik Henderson, came over and engaged in various small talk with Damien, before jokingly asking about Kain''s measurements.


    ¡°It''s for the time when the young master Kain decides to take up arms like his father, of course! My lord, just give the word, and I''ll ready a proper set of armory for our little Master here in a jiffy. I swear, he''ll receive the best I can hammer out.¡±


    A wide smile spread on this thin man''s lips, as he gestured with his hands animatedly. Rather coolly, Lizbeth put an end to the discussion quickly.


    ¡°My son''s a little too young for such items, don''t you think so, Mister Henderson? Perhaps we should wait longer. But thank you for the consideration.¡±


    Awkwardly scratching his head, Erik slunk off somewhere else, and other people came over to resume the regular ''programming''.


    Before long, a man named Alex Sylvain brought his kids along for a meet & greet with the Lomaxes. He was a member of the militia, in charge of training the recruits and keeping them in tip-top shape. A former residence of Lafayette''s garrison, he moved home after his wife fell ill and passed away not too long ago. His reasoning was that, he wanted less hectic lifestyle for himself, and his children. Damien, naturally, offered him a job.


    His two children that accompanied him were, by some miracle, the same sort of ages with Kaleena and Kain, meaning the respective parents saw fit to pair them up as friends. The oldest, Gwendoline, was a fierce raven-haired wild child, ready to kick anyone''s butt should they cross her the wrong way. She had a tendency of bullying in her, Kain thought inwardly to himself.


    In her comparison, her younger brother, Gavin was rather timid. Timid in stature, manners and speech, it was not that hard to see how he became this way, living in an environment where brashness was rewarded and his type of shyness wasn''t. Physically, he was a little smaller than Kain was, and personally the young Lomax didn''t believe he was a stirring example of virile manhood anyway, so that was nothing to shout home about.


    But he was still too young in that regard, with plenty of room left to grow, so that might change in the future.


    Then again, he was often told he resembled Damien, who wasn''t the tallest, the bestest looking dude on the block, so to speak. Damien often countered that and said Kain looked more like his mother, which was kind of confusing really.


    Honestly, he thought he looked kinda like neither of them, but then pursuing that line of questioning might lead to an awkward situation so, nope.


    ¡°Good evening, my lord, my lady,¡± Alex offered his greetings, and let the children mingle. Immediately there was a small competition between Kaleena and Gwendoline on who got the tastiest food and an argument started, but it was all harmless so the adults present didn''t mind at all.


    Kain looked at Gavin, who looked tired at his sister''s antics. They both shrugged their shoulders in perfect harmony. If a bystander saw that, they could''ve been mistaken for a twin.


    Not worrying about the kids'' conduct, Alex turned his attention back to Damien and spoke. ¡°I''ve received report earlier today that the Highroad Knight Corp had encountered the remnants of the Red Dingoes and defeated them. Apologies, my lord, for the delay.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s quite alright. We both expected that to happen, didn''t we. It''s good that the matter has been resolved so quickly. Those Argos-employed mercenaries calling themselves Knights sure do like to act quickly.¡±


    Damien chuckled softly, and offered a toast to Alex.


    ¡°Well, here''s to an all-round job well done. Cheers.¡±


    Both men took a long swig of the wine and grinned in satisfaction.


    They exchanged a few more words, this time unrelated to work, until Alex was called by some other villagers and had to leave Damien''s side.


    No matter, as soon as the seat was vacated, another presence sidled up in a flash. It was a big presence too, a burly dude with height nearing seven feet, and sporting graying beard and a crooked nose.


    ¡°Good evening, my lord, my lady.¡±


    Ahres vowed lightly, his cheeks clearly red from too much intake of alcohol. He also lightly smelled of the stuff too, coming from his robe and breath. Not to a point where it was overwhelming, but enough to be noticeable.


    ¡°Good evening to you, Expert Ahres,¡± Lizbeth somehow managed to break out a gentle smile, although her brows were cramping up. It was expected, that a drunkard might end up approaching them during inopportune moments. But she didn''t have to like it.


    Still, she had to tolerate it, at least for a while.


    ¡°Thank you, for your assistance with the subjugation effort. Without your expertise, injuries suffered by the villagers would have been far more severe.¡±


    ¡°Speak nothing of it, my lady. Riverfield is my home, however temporary that may be. I carry a desire to see the village prosper in my heart after all.¡± Ahres showed off a million dollar smile as he laughed heartily. ¡°Besides, it was nice to stretch my legs for a bit there.¡±


    Then he glanced over at Kain. His gaze startled the boy just a wee bit.


    It was difficult to fathom the intentions of the gaze but Kain''s intuition screamed out loudly: look out, this guy definitely wants something.


    ¡°So, my lady, my lord. How is little master Kain doing? Has he shown any aptitude in the ways of wielding Aeterna?¡±


    Damien looked at his wife for a reply. He wasn''t home during daytime and didn''t really get to observe Kain''s behavior, so it was up to Lizbeth, or the two maids to help him in this regard.


    ¡°Well, Kain is.... he hasn''t yet shown any indication.¡± She said slowly, while patting her son''s head. ¡°I''m sure, just as is with the others his age, he is terribly interested in Invocation but don''t know how to express his desires completely.¡±


    ¡°We should test in him, when he turns five. See how deep his Aeterna Pool is.¡± Ahres sounded happy when he said that. Must''ve been the alcohol. ¡°He is an offspring of strong bloodlines coming together. Just like his older sister, the fates should be kind to the boy. I''m eagerly looking forward to what the little master will grow up to be.¡±


    Those words stayed with Kain, well after the end of the party itself.


    The children were sent off to bed earlier than their adult counterparts, and understandably so. With exception of Kain all of the affected kids complained, but none of them could reverse the decision made by their parents, so that was the end of the argument.


    Taken home by also-upset Rosy, who clearly wanted to stay and gorge on the Dingo meat, Kain and Kaleena were swiftly put to bed after taking a relaxing bath.


    Lying on the mattress in the darkened nursery, Kain couldn''t really fall asleep, though he was physically fatigued.


    He was thinking about his future in this world, his imagination spurred on by the drunken words uttered by Ahres earlier in the evening.


    What should I be doing, when this body of mine reaches maturity?


    Kain pondered soundlessly.


    If he knew what he was capable of, then deciding what to do in life would become a lot easier, but since his cheat abilities hadn''t manifested yet, there was a growing disquiet in his head.


    He had confirmed that no Status windows or some abnormal skills were embedded inside of him. Nor would they appear at his calling. Basically, he didn''t seem to possess anything at all.


    The final avenue left for him to explore, was the Invocation. Since he could see the Flow of Aeterna with his naked eyes, he had to assume that''s where his talents should be at. This thought process was backed up by the knowledge that no one in the history of this continent claimed to see the same things as Kain had done.


    Meaning, he was the only one who could see Aeterna like as if it''s the living, breathing entity.


    That must mean something, right?


    He had to frown, thinking deeper about the matter.


    Because only a few nights ago, when Damien was out hunting Dingoes, Kain tried to cast an Invocation spell, and failed to do so.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    He knew the four basics ¨C the Requisite Words, the Aeterna required, the clear image of the spell in his head, and the target in front. Yet nothing happened.


    No, that was incorrect ¨C something did happen. He blacked out.


    That was caused by all of his Aeterna reserve suddenly being drained. It also confirmed that he had a tiny Pool, unlike his sister. That was slightly concerning. But, he also knew the size of the Aeterna reserve wasn''t be all and end all of the ways of Invocation.


    But what''s concerning to him, was his failure to launch the spell itself. It was a very simple spell of invoking wind, Breeze, the easiest of all rudimentary spells out there, existing only to help the rookies polish the basics.


    Yet he failed.


    Could it be, that he had no talent? Or could it be that his Affinity with Wind Elemental was bad? He couldn''t figure it out, from that single experiment.


    When he recovered from the blackout, it was morning already and he couldn''t try Invocation again, for the fear of being discovered. And since then, he had been trying over and over again to invoke Breeze. So far, no cigar.


    It was frustrating, really. He had half a mind to visit the small religious shrine at the mouth of the village to give an offering to whichever god was worshiped there. This being a fantasy world and all, it didn''t seem so far fetched to think a god or two did exist and occasionally listened to their followers'' request now and then.


    Well, if he had no cheat abilities, then wouldn''t that make things a bit more simpler, was what Kain arrived at. If he had no powers, no skills, no great blessings from a goddess, then he wouldn''t be embroiled in deadly battles against.... some evil lords and demonic kings.


    Usually, if a person got summoned to another world in one of those web novels, the protagonists had to fight the Big Bad, no matter the roads they chose. But they all had some sort of amazing plot devices to keep them going, in the form of way-too-powerful abilities. Be that a level of 311 plus, or exp growth cheat, whatever, they all had that.


    But if Kain had no abilities, then....


    Then, wouldn''t he be free to not pursue the heroic journey to his demise? Wouldn''t he be free to live his life unconcerned with the larger world at play, and enjoy this quiet country lifestyle?


    Turning to his side, his gaze fell upon the numerous stars adorning the darkened sky. Just like countless strangers living on this earth, they were far away and yet seemingly so close. If he reached out, maybe he could touch one, maybe grab a hold of it and never let go.


    As to why he should do such a tiresome thing, he didn''t know. He didn''t want to put his neck on the line for some blank-faced Mister Nobody from Nowheresville, Nowhere Province. He knew best, that he had not a single shred of that Do-Gooder mentality in him, to sacrifice his well being for a cause he may not believe in.


    He snorted, realizing that most likely those people wouldn''t even remember his name after a good night''s sleep. Not that he wanted fame and fortune, but still. Who didn''t crave even for a simple nod, a simple gesture of gratitude, a sign that his hard work was appreciated?


    He turned again, unable to settle down. He wondered if he could ever go back, back to the previous world. There would be no point going back if he kicked the bucket on the other side, that was for sure. Kain chuckled as he briefly imagined him walking around the streets of San Diego as a zombie, scaring the living daylights out of passersby.


    If he couldn''t go back, then what other options were available for him?


    Become the next lord of Riverfield, inheriting it from Damien? He didn''t know how the peerage was passed on, so he couldn''t be sure of that. Besides, if his parents had a choice, then surely Kaleena might be a better fit, depending on how everything turns out.


    Become a traveling merchant, wearing a ridiculous mask and communicate using only the messages? Well, the message and the mask part were a bit unreasonable so that''s a no. Still, a merchant? That sounded rather too dangerous, if he had to move between villages and towns to procure stock.


    Become a healer, and settle down somewhere? Also depending on his aptitude in Invocation, so no promises there.


    Maybe, just maybe, he could build and pilot a huge robot. After all, he did major on coding, and possessed some cursory knowledge on how mechanical things operated. And, didn''t he build that model airplane perfectly, back in junior high? And a working volcano? And a model of a Second World War battleship? Maybe he could create a robot, and conquer the whole world. Then build a harem full of busty, animal eared girls!!


    ¡­.Or not. Let''s be realistic here.


    Kain sighed, and picked his nose absentmindedly.


    Flicking the resulting stuff off of his finger, he wondered if it was possible to get on a ship, and start sailing around the oceans while searching for a mythical treasure at the end of The Line, where the four Blues meet.


    He''d certainly have to eat a strange fruit for that but, since it sounded like too much hard work, way more than being a merchant, so he quickly gave up on that idea.


    And when he turned over again, the sun was breaking the dawn''s darkness. A new day was beckoning, and he hadn''t a wink of sleep.


    He just knew that today was going to be rather rough. Lack of sleep tended to do that to a person, really.


    ~


    And he was right.


    Since Alex got a killer hangover, he just had to foist his kids in Lomaxes'' care. And that meant, Kain and Kaleena had to spend the time with Gwendoline and Gavin.


    What a pain, Kain grimaced, holding his aching head in one hand, while trying to fend off Gwen who was trying to hold him like she would a teddy bear.


    Kids always seems to have boundless energy, no matter what, no matter when, no matter where, and it was no different with Alex''s. Meanwhile, both Lizbeth and Damien were sleeping in, trying to shake off their own alcohol-induced sick feelings. Delilah wasn''t too perturbed, saying things like ¡°such little wine doesn''t faze me.¡±


    As for Rosy, she didn''t get to drink and eat a lot, at least not as much as she wanted to, so she was fine.


    Under the pair''s watchful gazes, the children played around under the summer sun. Even Kaleena forgot about the Invocation training, and was competing with Gwendoline on who can successfully catch Kain and hug him like a doll.


    Left with no choice, he had to run away, but since he was yet to reach three, his strides weren''t so wide and in the end, the girls jumped on him at the same time.


    Now normally, a child as young as him might start bawling after getting flattened like that, but since Kain was an adult inside, he managed not to. He was just irritated at his weak body not being able to get away.


    ¡°I got him first!!¡±


    ¡°No, I did!¡±


    Two girls were fighting on the side, while firmly holding onto him. Kain''s face cramped, and he looked over at Gavin for help but the Sylvain boy just returned the plea with a blank expression.


    Just what do they find so fun in hunting me down like this? Gahh, will you just release me already?!


    He was pushed so far by the bickering girls, he was about to lash out and make his displeasure known, but then he suddenly felt a weird sensation from a distance.


    He instinctively looked northward, towards the disturbance and saw a mass of swirling, nearly translucent Aeterna up in the air, not too far from the house. And the mass was huge.


    But that wasn''t what shocked him numb.


    The mass of Aeterna was surrounding an even bigger airborne object.


    The ground began to shake as the object drew near. The sound of whirring got louder as well, and the frightened birds began to evacuate from the tree branches in a hurry.


    By this time, all who were in the backyard, also have noticed the incoming object in the air, and stood around dumbfounded.


    ¡°What... is that?¡± Rosy gasped out first.


    ¡°I... I''ll go call on Lord Damien and Lady Lizbeth. Rosy, mind the children, I shall be quick.¡± Delilah said hurriedly, and dashed inside the house.


    Already, Gavin started crying fearfully, but both Kaleena and Gwendoline was staring at the object with their mouths open, their eyes shining in curiosity.


    Even Kain was like that too, although he had more than an inkling of what that flying thing was.


    After all, it''s shape resembled a mere Zeppelin. A flying ship, that was.


    ¡°Wow. So that''s it then.¡±


    Kain ruefully smiled. As if he needed another confirmation that he was indeed living in a fantasy world, now there was a new evidence right in front of his face.


    Judging by the surprised looks on the people alongside him, Kain thought that this flying ship must have been something new, something foreign and unexpected. Well, today was the first time he saw it too, so probably not many people in this region have seen it before either.


    Using the meadows and wheat fields below it, he was able to roughly gauge how big the ship was, and it was at least the length of an airplane. Its speed was also considerable, as only minutes ago it was a small speck in the sky, but now, it was looming large over the land like a black cloud.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡±


    Damien emerged from the house, followed by Lizbeth behind him. He turned his head to where everyone else was looking at, and saw the huge ship himself.


    He was totally taken back at the sight.


    ¡°No way. That can''t be.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Damien? You know what that is?¡± Lizbeth noticed her husband''s expression, and asked.


    ¡°Yeah. That is a Sky Ark. I can''t believe that thing''s finally complete, and is actually flying.¡±


    Sky Ark? Kain tilted his head a little, and started eavesdropping. It''s a skill he developed all by himself, and so he was proud of it.


    No, not really.


    ¡°It was way back when, when I was still working under that old fart Phillips. He was gifted a plan of a flying vessel, by some shady folks calling themselves The Visitors. Phillips could never make it work, simply because Aeterna required to move that thing was too much, but I can see he has succeeded in the end.¡±


    ¡°I see. If it''s Marquis, then is it safe to assume that''s for the military purposes?¡± Lizbeth continued with the next question.


    ¡°No. At the time, he wanted it as a civilian transport solution, to cover great distances om shortest time possible. He may look like a muscle head, but that man is a firm believer of economic subjugation rather than that of a brute force. He''d rather use the allure of easy, profitable trade between regions to decrease the antagonism towards the Empire. Crafty old fox.¡± Damien grumbled wryly.


    ¡°But what is it doing out here, of all places? Is it going to Lafayette?¡±


    Lizbeth shielded her eyes from the sun''s glare and concentrated on the Sky Ark. It certainly looked like it was heading towards Lafayette, and its speed was slowing down too as it neared the great city.


    ¡°Who knows,¡± Damien shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I''m sure we''ll find out sooner or later.¡±


    Kain nodded softly. He didn''t know who this Phillips fella was, but if he was Damien''s benefactor back when, he couldn''t have been bad, that''s what he thought. And if he was in a position to build something so epic, then obviously he was a very, very important man in this Empire.


    The shape of the Ark had more than a passing resemblance to the ill-fated Zeppelin, especially from the front. But towards the back, it looked more like a whale, maybe a shark. The dark surface seemed rough and unfinished, its tail ''fin'' swaying from left to right in a lazy motion as if it was underwater. Numerous propellers spun on its sides and made that whirring noise he was hearing. The vibrations of the ground seemed to have emanated from them as well.


    Below the concave shape, the shape was more conventional, that of a ship, albeit a large one. An ark, in other words. That''s where the passengers must be.


    Narrowing his eyes, Kain noticed something else flying around the Sky Ark itself. Several objects, in fact. At this distance, it was not easy to see what exactly, but they certainly weren''t birds.


    Maybe because it was a clear, cloudless day, maybe it was a miracle, but he finally saw the identity of it soon enough. It was still too far but, he was able to roughly make out its shape, and he was right about it not being a bird.


    It had a head of an eagle, a pair of very large wings, but a body of a four-legged animal. And to cap off the whole fantasy look complete, he was sure there was a man riding on its back.


    ¡°Oh, look!! Griffon Rider Squadron!! Amazing!!¡±


    Rosy shouted out in a high voice. As a Pantherikin, she had keener eyes than humans or dwarves, so she was able to discern the flying creatures far more easily.


    ¡°They are probably here to escort and protect the Sky Ark,¡± Damien said. ¡°That thing should be a great source of pride for the Empire. Phillips won''t spare any expense safeguarding it from Fiends and other undesirables.¡±


    Kain nodded again, thinking that makes sense. If the Ark had no way of defending itself then it would definitely need protection.


    ¡°Does the Sky Ark use Invocation too?¡± Kaleena excitedly shouted out her question.


    ¡°Yep. Pretty advanced one too.¡± Damien replied while standing hand on hip. ¡°But as to what kind, I don''t know. It was many years ago, and things change. Probably it''s got some kind of Invocation Tools I''ve not yet heard of.¡±


    ¡°Only the Specialist can manufacture an Invocation Tool, isn''t that right, my lady?¡± Not wanting to lose, Gwendoline chimed in her question this time, while raising her hand.


    ¡°That''s correct, Gwen.¡± Lizbeth smiled at the enthusiastic girl.


    Gwen glanced over at Kaleena triumphantly, eliciting a ¡°Hmph!!¡± from the young Lomax girl.


    ¡°Roy, my eldest, wants to travel to the capital and become a Specialist.¡± Delilah spoke, her voice full of wonder. ¡°You all know how he''s handy with normal tools, yes? I''m sure after seeing that Ark fly, he must be packing his bags right now!!¡±


    She covered her mouth and chuckled gently. But her expression was somewhat clouded.


    ¡°Well, if that Ark indeed uses Invocation Tools, then the demand for skilled Specialists will only increase moving forward. The Empire will more than likely, seek to build more Arks, after all. Perhaps, heading North isn''t such a bad idea for an enterprising young man.¡±


    Damien said, hoping to be helpful at easing Delilah''s worries.


    He couldn''t alleviate the heaviness in the atmosphere that suddenly had descended. The kids didn''t notice, save for Kain, and they busily chatted among themselves, pointing at the impressive sight of the Ark humming his way towards the ramparts of Lafayette, and its Griffon Riders that were too far away to see properly.


    The angle of the sunlight caught its side, and Kain saw the glistening coat of arms on the dark surface, previously hidden from view by the shade.


    A winged shieldmaiden with a golden spear, the symbol of the Argos Empire. Oddly, it looked like as if it was painted on only yesterday, the way it shone so vividly.

 Chapter 13

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">13</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Later that afternoon, heavens opened up.


    A bit too early in the year for the start of the dreaded Monsoon season, but as if to mock the expectations, the rain poured down quite heavily. The sun hid behind the thick veil of gray clouds, and never showed its face again for the rest of the day.


    This meant Damien had to go out and perform inspection on the riverbanks that were in the middle of getting reinforced. He stopped by at the house to grab a quick bite to eat, and left again. In his face, a permanent crease of worry staining his forehead, at another prospect of an all-nighter, this time accompanied by the unexpected deluge to boot.


    Because of the rain, Kaleena''s outdoor practice session for the afternoon was changed into an indoor theory studies. The two Sylvain kids went home when the sobered up Alex came to fetch them just before the weather turned truly dastardly.


    The atmosphere in the house was weird. On one hand, Lizbeth was worried about her husband. Having only one arm, the disadvantages were obvious in situations where the footing wasn''t certain.


    On the other hand, the kids were still abuzz after the sighting of the Sky Ark. Without a doubt, the appearance of the flying vessel signaled the arrival of Future, of a new beginning. A future where anything and everything seem possible, as long as one had the necessary drive.


    The Empire of Argos was massive, and traveling from one place to another took an unimaginable amount of time and money, not to mention requiring intense preparation. But with the advancement of the Ark, that was about to change. The speed at which the information exchanges hands now would definitely increase and with this, Kain was sure the development of the territories should accelerate. Which was all-round good news, he thought.


    It also meant that in not too distant future, he''d get to visit the capital city of Argos. Snippets of description from various books weren''t enough to sate his curiosity, and he genuinely wanted to see what the supposed metropolis in a fantasy setting looked like.


    In all honesty, Kain hadn''t even been to Lafayette yet. No, not even half a mile away from his home in Riverfield, never mind outskirts of the village.


    No wonder than, that he developed an itch where only way to scratch that was to get some sun, and feel the winds of wanderlust on his face.


    Obviously that would only happen when he was a bit older so, he had to play a bit of a waiting game. Good thing he was feeling rather well in the cozy environment of the Lomax household, all the while getting spoiled a bit by the people around him. Not that things were luxurious or anything, but as far as living in a countryside went, this was pretty ace.


    After dinner, the family, with the exception of Delilah who went home for the day, gathered on the upper floor nursery for a quality time together. Too bad Damien had to miss it.


    Lizbeth and Rosy went downstairs to get some snacks, leaving the kids alone for a few minutes. Kaleena was reading a book, while Kain was standing upright, leaning against the sills of a half-opened window, staring at the outside world.


    Of course there were no glass in the house. It was considered an item for the extremely wealthy folks, and cost an arm and a leg just to have one installed. So, despite being a Baron house, there were no glass here, including the windows. No mirrors too, although grooming of oneself was usually aided by the reflections on various polished metal surfaces throughout the house.


    The windows of the nursery were made of sturdy wood, swinging open outwards. The falling rain was kept out by the extended thatched roof section, allowing Kain to gaze out via the opened window and view the world outside without getting wet.


    Usually on a sunny day, he could make out the tiny outline of the city in the distance, Lafayette. But at this very moment, the pelting rain hid everything from him.


    A lightning struck somewhere far. A flash of white brightened the landscape for a second, and then, a boom followed. Windows rattled, coming loose from the position it was affixed to.


    Wincing, Kain leaned forward, reaching out to grab hold of the wayward window panel, but he realized belatedly he was far too short to do so.


    ¡°Why don''t you just close the window? It''s noisy you know.¡± Kaleena said disinterestedly without taking her eyes off the book.


    ¡°But I wanna gaze outside,¡± Kain replied, his voice full of frustration at his inability to do something as simple as keeping a damn window open.


    It did look rather dangerous, for a young child like him trying to reach out to the window panel, and if there were adults present, they would''ve stopped him already.


    What stopped him instead, was when he noticed a movement in the darkness. The rain clouds also blocked the moons from casting their lights so it was of course very dark and gloomy. Kain could only see the movement because of a several flickering lights, probably coming from lamps or torches. Whatever it was, its intended destination seemed like his house, as it got closer and closer.


    Kain narrowed his eyes, as if that''d help him out in getting a better look. He wondered what, or who could it be. The troublesome riverbank occupying Damien''s attention was to the opposite direction from where the lights were coming from, so it couldn''t have been his father.


    Soon the dark movement became a dark shape, faintly illuminated by a quartet of enclosed oil lamps on its four corners. Its general outline was that of a stagecoach, being pulled by a pair of horses. And alongside it, another rider with a cape and a hood pulled tight to shield the face from the incessant rain.


    Kain recognized the coach ¨C he could tell that it was from a ferrying service located in Lafayette, judging by the shape of the coach body. The rider next to it seemed like one of the village guards, someone who was usually standing by the entrance. The hood prevented his face from being seen, but Kain was fairly sure of the man''s identity. He also came to his house a few times before, riding the horse in the same posture every time.


    Watching them getting closer, he suddenly felt one of his trade mark bad premonition. It smelled like trouble heading his way. Thinking that he should inform his mother, he turned around only to see Lizbeth entering the nursery with a tray of cookies on it.


    Seizing this chance, Kain spoke, while pointing outside the window.


    ¡°Mom, there''s a stagecoach coming here. I think Mathieu is next to it.¡±


    Tilting her head, Lizbeth came over and looked outside.


    ¡°A stagecoach, at this late hour? Oh my, you''re correct, Kain. Wonder what''s this all about?¡±


    She frowned, knowing well it probably didn''t concern Damien''s wellbeing. But she couldn''t be sure, of course. Life, after all, had a way of throwing a curve ball when least expected.


    ¡°Kaleena, would you be a dear and look after your brother until I return?¡±


    Lizbeth stroked her daughter''s head, the hastily left the room, quickly heading downstairs, her footsteps slightly echoing against the sounds of falling rain. She went to find Rosy, and they headed for the front door, waiting.


    Kaleena came over next to Kain and tried to pull him deeper into the room, away from the window.


    ¡°Come now Kain, sit next to me and let''s read the book!¡±


    ¡°But I wanna look.¡±


    ¡°You will catch cold if you keep staring outside like that. Be a good boy and listen to your big sister.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t catch anything. Hey, don''t you wanna see too?¡±


    ¡°No, I do not. You aren''t going to make this easy, are you?¡±


    ¡°No~pe. C''mon, let''s look together.¡±


    Kaleena was about to blow a fuse when the stagecoach finally arrived by the low stone wall that marked the front yard''s boundary from the road. The rider, Mathieu, dismounted and jogged towards the front door, all the while keeping his head low.


    There was a short chat between him and Lizbeth, but it was difficult to hear the contents from where Kain was. He thought about going downstairs to eavesdrop, see what was being said. Kaleena leaned over the window sill next to her brother and peeked out as well, as she too could hear the indistinct murmuring. She was wondering just who could have come at this late hour, in this atrocious weather, no less.


    Whatever was said, Mathieu left and headed back towards the coach. He knocked on the door before leaning in to speak to whoever was inside. Kain felt that the occupant, or occupants, must''ve been some big shots from Lafayette, if the guardsman like Mathieu sought out proper decorum while getting soaked to the bones.


    Next, not minding the rain, he began dismounting the luggage from under the a large tarpaulin atop the stagecoach. The coach driver helped out with that.


    In the meantime, the passengers disembarked, allowing Kain and his sister to get a good look.


    There were two people; one big, the other quite small. Covered head to toe in plain gray mantle cloaks the figures moved silently towards the entrance of the house. The big figure slung a rather large slab-sided object, wrapped in similar cloak, over his shoulder with ease. By the looks of it, it must''ve weighed a ton yet this guy was handling it like it was nothing.


    Also, Kain noticed a soft shimmering of Aeterna oozing from the object, kinda like how it was with Damien''s saber. But that leak came from the minute gap between the blade and the sheath.


    With this object, Aeterna infused with it seemed quite thick and strong, since it permeated past the wrapped cloth, visible even through the rain and the darkness.


    Intrigued by the arrival of strangers, Kaleena silently looked on, unable to see the leaking Aeterna.


    The smaller figure walked right beside the large figure. Kain couldn''t see their faces but, their body languages had this worn-out feel, as if they were fatigued from a long journey. The roads would be in a bad shape in this weather, plus the distance between Lafayette and Riverfield needed at least half a day to cover on a horseback even in the best of the conditions, so it was likely his deduction was correct.


    The big figure looked up, at the window where the two children were. This allowed Kain to confirm that it was a he, a man in his early to mid thirties, slightly older than Damien. The darkness prevented him from getting a better look, but the piercing gaze was still felt by the young Lomax boy, sending a chilly sensation up his back.


    Kain shivered a little.


    The feeling wasn''t of unpleasantness, but rather.... it felt disconcerting, the way he was stared at.


    Or maybe he was looking at Kaleena?


    Kain mulled the possibility but one thing was for sure ¨C he didn''t enjoy the gaze not one bit.


    Steam rising from his lips, the man led the smaller figure hurriedly into the house, while the coach driver and Mathieu carried the modest amount of luggage behind them.


    Kaleena and Kain looked at each other, silently communicating their next moves. And they knew exactly what their actions were going to be.


    Immediately they headed downstairs, stopping at the middle of the steps when Lizbeth asked Mathieu to inform her husband. She then gave some extra cash to the driver as a thanks, sending him away as a rather happy man.


    The lit lamps in the enclosed space of the entrance revealed the identities of the guests, as their hoods were lowered.


    The big guy and a young girl similar in age as Kaleena; her resemblance to the big guy suggesting that they were a father and a daughter.


    The little girl definitely had a fatigued expression but still, she managed to stand upright proudly, while doing her best to come across as dignified. Kain thought she must''ve had a lot of practice to appear like that, but her hair was disheveled by the hood and her efforts were undermined by that.


    She wasn''t aware of that fly in her ointment, which was a bit funny and at the same time, pitiable.


    As for her father, he was tall, dark, and handsome in a dignified manner. Kain noted both the man and his child were quite refined. If someone told him this big guy was a really high-ranking noble, then he''d believed that person.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    The man had a short and dark hair, chiseled, square jawline, sharp and alert eyes, plus a small scar on his beardless chin. All in all, it was a look of a manly man.


    His current facial expression was like that of a saluting soldier in a military funeral, all solemn, regal and dignified.


    ¡°It has been a while, Lord Derrick,¡± Lizbeth greeted as she did a small curtsy. Rosy also followed suit. ¡°Regrettably, my husband, Lord Damien, is out attending an urgent matter. But I expect him to return shortly after receiving the news of your arrival.¡±


    ¡°Good evening to you, Lady Lizbeth. Forgive us for the sudden intrusion at this late hour.¡± Derrick nodded. ¡°You look well.¡±


    Kain thought that even his voice pretty much followed his face, all booming and manly.


    ¡°Thank you. You as well.¡± Lizbeth smiled warmly, and lowered her head, as well as her gaze, to the young girl at his side. ¡°You must be Lady Katrina. Oh my, you''ve grown so much. Do you perchance remember me?¡±


    The young girl, Katrina, returned a greeting that sounded a bit robotic. ¡°I am indeed Katrina of The House Septima Lomax. Thank you for having us in your beautiful abode, Lady Lizbeth.¡±


    Her voice was trembling a little, failing to disguise the tiredness within it.


    Lizbeth noticed this, and like a skilled mother that she was, she moved things along. ¡°Miss Rosy, please see to the luggage of our guests. Lord Derrick, the roads have become treacherous of late and must have been taxing during your journey. I shall have a bedroom prepared immediately ¨C why not rest awhile, and make a proper introductions early ''morrow?¡±


    ¡°That sounds rather agreeable, my Lady. Thank you for your offer; we shall gladly take you upon it.¡± He nodded slowly, as he rested his hand on Katrina''s head.


    As Lizbeth led the father and the daughter through to the ground floor guest bedroom, Derrick''s eyes fell on Kain''s direction once more.


    They were certainly aimed at him, no doubt. As to why, it was difficult to tell, as the emotions contained within were clouded.


    But Kain had seen enough episodes of those overwrought TV dramas to recognize the type of the stare Derrick was giving him. It wasn''t hostile, nor was it friendly. More like, something to watch out for, only to save himself from whatever trouble there might be in the future, if that made sense.


    Oh man, I just wanted to take it easy for a while. What now?!


    Kain could only lament his bad luck, for now.


    ~


    ¡°Everyone, this is my cousin, Lord Derrick Septima Lomax, and his daughter, Lady Katrina Septima Lomax. From today onward, they will be staying with us. Please, assist them if you are able.¡±


    Damien announced to his family during breakfast the following morning.


    Cousin, eh?


    Kain nodded softly, and glanced at Derrick, noticing some familial resemblance between him and Damien. But, just how far apart were they?


    Unless a person was a criminal, or in an indentured servitude, they all had a family name, a system introduced by the Emperor more than two centuries ago. It was all for the sake of a convenient tax collection, apparently.


    To differentiate those who had it from who didn''t, nobles had two or more surnames. In the case of Lomax, the branch families identified themselves, as well as their pecking order via the middle name ¨C Damien''s were Lucius, while Derrick''s were Septima.


    Kain had no idea which family was the main one yet as no one''s bothered to clarify that.


    ¡°Also, uncle Derrick has kindly agreed to become Kaleena''s tutor while he stays here. Isn''t that great? So, don''t you give him any trouble and listen to what he has to say, alright Kain?¡±


    Hey, wait a minute. Why did you single me out?! Kain looked at his father exasperated. He didn''t do anything too eye catching so far, and such warnings didn''t seem appropriate. But then again, Damien''s eyes were sparkling mischievously, so it was more than likely he''s just having a bit of fun at his kid''s expense.


    Realizing that he''s been played, Kain just shrugged his shoulders, and turned to look at Lizbeth to see if this arrangement wasn''t something Damien came up with in the heat of the moment.


    She already discussed this matter with Damien beforehand so she wasn''t fazed in the slightest by the announcement. But it didn''t mean she was 100% convinced of the benefits this situation would bring.


    Still, a loyal wife that she was, she had to concede that it was not a bad arrangement ¨C as long as The Septima house doesn''t act threateningly towards her family.


    Knowing her well, Damien sweated just a tiny bit, wondering how she''d react ever since he told her. Thankfully, she was far more understanding than he thought, so that was nice. But he knew she was not completely on-board with it.


    He wanted to help his distant cousin as much as possible; and when he found out about the challenges Derrick was facing, he had to offer him a job here as a pretext. He didn''t regret that one bit.


    Returning shortly after the complete inspection of the riverbanks, which was sometime before the breaking of dawn, he was relieved to see the Septima father and daughter fast asleep in his home, safe and sound from the possibly perilous journey from the Capital. Knowing they needed rest, he postponed the greetings till breakfast.


    It''d been only a few weeks ago when he sent the letter, inviting Derrick to come and stay in Riverfield. To think, he accepted it so quickly.


    But Kain and to some extent even Kaleena looked a little skeptical about this sudden appointment. Seeing their reactions, Damien decided it was wise to place Derrick on a proverbial pedestal.


    ¡°You see, uncle Derrick is a Silver ranked Divine Knight. That''s a serious pedigree we''re talking about right there. It all means that he''s really, really tough and talented at what he does. It''ll be great when he starts teaching you on all the cool spells and techniques.¡±


    Hearing this, Derrick coughed lightly, as if he was a bit embarrassed by all the praise. ¡°Damien, you don''t have to sell me that hard to your kids.¡± He hastily tried to stop his cousin from saying more unnecessary things.


    ¡°Well, still. Lemme just say this then. To reach a Silver rank as a Divine Knight, a person must be proficient not only at wielding arms, but at Invocation as well. Derrick should be no worse than a Journeyman ranked Invoker, if he''s measured by the current standards.¡±


    Kain vacantly nodded as he had no idea how significant the Silver ranking was. He had some inkling as to what a Divine Knight was supposed to be, but the way ranking works, no clue whatsoever.


    The members of the Divine Knight Order were some of the strongest, most capable warriors on the continent. The title was given to a citizen of the Empire upon reaching a certain milestone, or rendering a meritorious service to the cause of the nation and/or the Crown. That''s as far as the scope of Kain''s knowledge went.


    ¡°This is Katrina, my daughter. Introduce yourself to your cousins, dear.¡± Derrick urged the young girl gently. She hadn''t said a word since the night before, and during the breakfast, Kain got an impression she was educated to be a proper stiff-upper-lip aristocrat. The way she sat upright on her chair, the way she held the cutlery, the way she ate ¨C all so prim and robotic. Quite different to how Kain and Kaleena were like.


    As if she was waiting for the prompt, she stood up smartly from her chair and did a wonderfully theatrical curtsy, her combed, abundant dark hair bobbing up and down.


    ¡°Greetings, my name is Katrina Septima Lomax. I am seven years of age this past Spring. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    Katrina''s voice was just as rigid as her eating habits, with a slightly forced smile etched across her face. Whether that was because of her still being fatigued from the lengthy journey, or under a different type of state of mind, it wasn''t easy to tell.


    Kaleena, being a good girl that she was, returned a hearty welcome, trying her best to imitate the lady-like greeting her cousin just did. As for Kain, he did a small bow of the head and gave a big, impish grin, not knowing that from the side, his smile looked as mischievous as his old man''s.


    Formal greetings over, there were small talks abound, but since Kain wasn''t all that interested in it, he simply observed the Septima duo. Under the morning sun he could get a better look at both of them, and the impression he already formed from the night before remained largely intact.


    Derrick was certainly someone no one would like to run into in the middle of a dark street after angering him. Katrina had an air of aloofness about her, that indescribable haughtiness he had seen previously from Jonas Bremble, or whatever his name was.


    Although, it did feel a bit like as if she was putting up a facade, in order to hide from something.


    Kain shifted his gaze to his sister, who was trying her best to talk to Katrina, but their compatibility seemed low. Both girls were struggling to come up with things to say to each other, and even at their young ages, the awkward atmosphere was spreading quite quickly.


    This was surprising, seeing that Kaleena had a pretty good relationship with other kids in the village, including Gwendoline and her younger brother.


    Kain was debating the merits of meddling in their valiant efforts to become close, when his ears picked up on the conversations of the adults present.


    ¡°Thank you again for having us, Damien, Lizbeth. It means a lot to both of us.¡±


    Derrick nodded, his expression somewhat bitter.


    ¡°It is not a problem, Derrick. You''re more than welcome in my home.¡± Damien patted the broad shoulders of his cousin affectionately. ¡°You''ve offered your home to me before. It''s only right that I do the same, in this time of need.¡±


    Derrick sighed resignedly. ¡°In all honesty, I''m tired of it all. It is good to be out from under Father''s shadow like this, and not compete for the position of the successor any longer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know what you mean by that.¡±


    Damien nodded sagely. How could he not understand how Derrick felt in this moment? He too was in a similar situation no less than a decade ago, even though he was a second-born son. Well, he didn''t actively set out to inherit the position of the Lucius branch head but still, he was expected to compete regardless of how he felt.


    Before the crushing weight of expectations became poison, Damien got out from that succession rat race. Good thing, seeing that he met Lizbeth and married her, stumbled across a lot of grand ol'' adventures, had to face many good and bad people in equal measure, until he arrived at this point in life. Full of content, and growing old gracefully.


    As for Derrick, being the eldest meant he had to compete. No choice at all. And with him possessing such an obvious physical talent, it was just plainly impossible not to fight for the position.


    In the end though, it all came to naught, and now he was, in all intents and purposes, in exile here.


    ¡°Duncan isn''t going to give us any trouble, so do not fret. If anything untoward arises, I shall personally take the responsibility.¡±


    Derrick spoke with a stern face that was hard enough to be used as a material for a statue. He meant every word he said, of course. He was, without a doubt, that kind of a person.


    ¡°I''ll hold you to that, Lord Derrick. Your younger brother, Lord Duncan, isn''t the one to forget his enemies and opponents easily.¡± Lizbeth said, her voice only a few degrees above being cold enough to instantly freeze water.


    Even Kain felt the chill, never mind Damien and Derrick. Sweating profusely, the two Lomaxes tried to mumble some inaudible excuses and calming words. There were no indication if the target of their humility paid attention or not.


    Meanwhile, Kaleena''s attempt at small talk with Katrina took a turn for the worse.


    ¡°Uhm, cousin Katrina, you did not come with your mother?¡±


    ¡°....No, cousin Kaleena, I did not. I couldn''t, even if I wished to, as my mother is no longer with the living.¡±


    For the second time that day, in as many minutes, Kain felt the chill once more. Katrina looked supremely annoyed now, and there was a barely suppressed fire in her deep green eyes.


    Intimidated slightly by the intense glare, Kaleena drew back, and the uncomfortable silence filled the gap between them.


    It was painful to be near them, so Kain decided he would excuse himself and go to the nursery or something.


    Before he went too far though, he heard Kaleena trying to restart the conversation.


    ¡°I didn''t mean any ill with that remark. I apologize. I only wish to get along well with you, Lady Katrina.¡±


    Extending her hand in consolatory gesture, Kaleena spoke earnestly.


    Seeing this, Katrina hesitated for a second, before taking up the offered hand and shaking it rather firmly.


    ¡°I hope to get along as well. My father''s training regime can be unreasonable at times, so please, do try your best to keep up and not slow us down.¡±


    Oh snap, she said what now?!


    Kain grimaced when he heard Katrina speak rather coolly. Slowly turning back, he saw the two girls still shaking hands, but hot damn, he definitely also saw sparks clashing in front of them, with air surrounding the two warping weirdly. It was all his imagination, obviously.


    ¡°Who slows who down remains to be seen, yes?¡±


    Kaleena grinned but her eyes weren''t smiling. Her hand was shaking Katrina''s quite vigorously, as if she wanted to rip that arm off.


    ¡°No need, it''s clear who it will be. Certainly, not someone who rode on the very first flight of The Sky Ark from the Capital, wouldn''t you say?¡±


    Not wanting to lose, Katrina matched the speed of Kaleena''s shaking, and then increased it some more.


    ¡°Is that so? How admirable. For a pampered city folk, that is.¡±


    Oh boy, this is getting dangerous.


    Kain''s grimace became deeper, watching these two girls growling at each other. But if he stepped in now, he''d get shredded to bits by them due to the size difference. Troubled as to what to do, he sent a helpless gaze over at his parents, but Damien and Derrick were in a world of their own, talking like two long lost brothers that they probably were.


    Only Lizbeth belatedly noticed the behavior of the girls, and made a move to stop them from wrenching each others'' arms off.


    ¡°Now now, you two, please behave yourselves. No more conducts unbecoming of a lady, this instant.¡±


    With a Hmph! Katrina withdrew first. She was trying to look unperturbed, but her face was flushed red from all the heavy shaking, sweat clearly visible on her face.


    Kaleena stood with hands on hips, also quite annoyed at this development. She was vexed at how to describe her current feelings, but one thing was for sure, she didn''t want to lose to this girl no matter what.


    As for Kain, he silently cursed in his heart, knowing that one more source of headache had entered his life. Nothing he could do about that now. Best he just accept it and move on ¨C he''s been doing that a lot nowadays anyway.

 Chapter 14

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">14</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Derrick''s training started, unexpectedly, with physical exercises first. Kain understood that a man doesn''t attain a body like that unless he works his butt off, so it wasn''t that surprising to see the big guy pursue such a workout routine, but currently his pupils were young children. So, no matter what, from his perspective it looked somewhat unreasonable.


    There were lengthy jogging, mixed with sporadic sprinting, to warm up the muscles. Then, followed swiftly by various methods to increase endurance. Another bout of running after that.


    Derrick''s reasoning for the spartan-like approach was that an Invoker often had to be physically fit in order to cast as many strenuous spells as the situation dictated without getting fatigued too early.


    Furthermore, he reasoned that to become a Divine Knight just like him, one needed to lug around a heavy full body armor made out of metal. It was a part of the job description. In simple terms, unfit fools wouldn''t be able to move in those ''protective'' gears and would end up getting killed.


    A weak body doesn''t get far in either worlds, huh, Kain thought aloud in his mind, watching his sister and Katrina run laps after laps of the house''s backyard, sweat pouring out from like thunderstorm.


    Beside the running and huffing girls, Derrick jogged lightly too, but he had enough leeway to speak words of encouragement to them.


    ¡°Stronger body equals clearer mind. Remember this, ladies.¡±


    His voice was stern, hard, and unforgiving. Kain, who wasn''t involved with all that running and was watching from the sidelines, felt that this method might not be the best way to teach kids as young as his sister. But hey, who was he to judge, when the guy teaching had more experience than him?


    Being a bit older, Katrina was slightly faster, and also had more stamina then Kaleena. It wasn''t a race between the girls, and Derrick made sure it wouldn''t devolve into one by keeping a close eye on them but inevitably, the difference between the girls came to light.


    Just after two and a half laps, Kaleena couldn''t endure and fell, utterly breathless, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She ran to the best of her abilities, not wanting to be looked down upon by her distant cousin, but she wasn''t aware Katrina had been following this training regime for almost a year before her arrival at Riverfield. There was no way someone not as fit would win.


    To compound the matters, Katrina wore a set of simple, lighter weight leather garments that didn''t restrict her movements, such as a wide shouldered tunic and loose pants tied with a sturdy string around the waist. Even the shoes were a simple and lightweight, easy to wear sort. And her abundant hair was tied back neatly with ribbons to keep them from poking the eyes.


    Kaleena owned none of those apparels ¨C up until now, Lizbeth only bought cute and adorable girl clothes for her daughter. She wanted her child to grow up as a refined young lady, not as a ruffian, but at the moment her plans were being ruined somewhat by the guest tutor''s actions.


    Since Kain was there from the beginning of her tutoring by Lizbeth, he was able to make a comparison and it was like heaven and earth so far. Suffice to say, there was no way in hell the young Kaleena Lucius Lomax could compete fairly against the older Katrina Septima Lomax.


    ¡°This is disappointing, cousin, I thought you might be able to keep up for longer,¡± quipped Katrina, not even bothering to look back at faltering Kaleena. ¡°Father has scaled back the intensity of the training, yet you are tired already? Oh boy, this might be hopeless.¡±


    She was putting on airs, but Kain could see that she was drenched in sweat, her breathing ragged and heavy. She was also worse for wear, yet her pride didn''t allow her to admit she was near the limit too. Her competitive spirit was burning fiercely, and made sure she''d earn a victory from this dirty yokel. This way, she''d be able to at least forget the pain of the humiliation she felt when running from her home, leaving everything she held precious behind. Not like she''d admit that to anyone, though.


    ¡°That''s enough, Katrina.¡± Derrick admonished her sharply. ¡°She''s not your enemy. Do not foster unwelcome conflict. That is not how a Septima should behave.¡±


    And there''s a welcome conflict?! Kain retorted silently. After learning of Derrick''s exile due to him losing in the inheritance battle, it seemed like there was a bit of animosity between that of the Septima brothers. Such an environment sounded super uncool to him, and he sure as hell didn''t want a similar thing to develop here if he could help it.


    ¡°Rest for a short while. We will then commence with the next step in the training schedule.¡±


    Derrick declared, as he resumed his jogging ¨C except that now it broke into a full-blown sprint. Since he didn''t have to slow down to accompany the children, he was reverting back to the pace he was comfortable with.


    He maintained this for a full twenty laps around the backyard. Kain knew that the whole place was quite substantial in its dimension so it was something else to see a person go around that many times and barely break out a sweat. And Derrick didn''t sweat at all, literally. It was all a very light warm up for him.


    Next to come was the lesson in Invocation theory, which Kain was interested in. So far, his solo practices had come to naught, as he still failed to activate any form of Invocations. He hoped for a chance to learn why, maybe a possible cause for his failures.


    He was thinking that perhaps his Affinity with Elements he''d tried were bad. Because of Kaleena''s Affinity were Fire, Water, Darkness, and Light, Lizbeth tried to tailor her tutoring based on that. As he eavesdropped on those lessons, it was natural Kain had only gleamed knowledge regarding those Elements. If he had bad compatibility with those four, then obviously with his seemingly small Pool of Aeterna, he''d not be able to Invoke any spells.


    It was just his conjecture at this point however. All he needed was some sort of confirmation, or a clue so he could find out for himself.


    Once the girls relaxed on the covered ground, Derrick began.


    ¡°I''m sure you know this already, Kaleena, that in order to Invoke spells you need to recite the Requisite Words. This is largely correct. However, it is also true that memorizing every single lines and words of spells is plainly impossible to achieve, no matter how talented you are.¡±


    Derrick intensely looked at both the girls, and glanced at Kain briefly, noting the boy was listening in while pretending not to. He didn''t show it in his expression, but it seemed like his suspicions might have some basis.


    He continued to keep some of the attention on the boy, and spoke to the girls who hadn''t noticed anything.


    ¡°Some Invokers get around this issue by specializing on a handful of spells only. That is acceptable to a degree, but in order to achieve ranks of Expert or beyond in the worlds of Invocation, that is not good enough. It is a minimum requirement to hold mastery over a vast array of spells, even from Elements you don''t possess Affinities with.¡±


    Girls listened attentively, their eyes glued to Derrick, who stood dead still, hands clasped firmly behind his back like a hardened military man giving out orders to his subordinate.


    ¡°So, how do you get around this wall?¡±


    Kaleena tilted her head, while she thought about it. But she didn''t have to, not really.


    ¡°You shorten the Words.¡± Derrick took a pause between sentences, as if to give emphasis to each one. ¡°The researchers working for SOIR had found that Invocations can be activated just fine, as long the Words are shortened correctly.¡±


    Oh, really? That''s interesting.


    Kain''s ears twitched after hearing that. If he didn''t need to remember the walls of text to cast spells, then all the better for it.


    But then, he couldn''t help but think, what''s the reason for memorizing all those chants if there''s a shortcut?


    As if he heard it, Derrick spoke. ¡°Understand this, knowing the Requisite Words is a must for any spell. That will not change. The Invocation will fail, if you only know the shortened version.


    ¡°In the heat of a battle, it is not practical to recite every single line of a spell. In such situations, many experienced Invokers instinctively shorten the chants to suit themselves and the crisis they are facing.


    ¡°For example, if you want to create an Earth-based spell, you must chant,


    Formless shapes to gather


    Leaving all in the ether


    Temper none the desire


    Extol and soar higher.¡±


    As soon as he finished chanting, Kain felt Aeterna''s flow right away. This wasn''t the first time he felt this particular type of Element and thus, he recognized it. It was Earth ¨C Delilah used it just once last year to fix the earthen sink in the kitchen. She had to take a rest for the whole day after performing that, though....


    A medium sized wall made up of soil slowly rose from the ground near Derrick''s feet. It''s shape was being supported by Aeterna, and Kain clearly saw the flow within it like it was a holographic display. The imagery was far more vivid than all the others he''d seen until now.


    ¡°This is a simplified form of a spell known as the Earthen Wall. It provides immediate protection to its caster from all manners of attacks, both physical and Invocational, as long as your Aeterna supply can withstand the impact of the attack.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Then he released his control over the wall, and it collapsed back down to the ground with a puff.


    ¡°Now, you may have noticed that the chanting of the Words took several moments. Several vital, crucial moments that could''ve determine whether you survived an attempt on your life or not.¡±


    Kaleena nodded, understanding that indeed, it took a bit of time for the spell to activate. In fact, she recalled that all of the spells she witnessed until now took some time to come to life, no matter what that spell was, or who cast it. She found that odd, but didn''t say anything.


    As for Kain, he was thinking of something else ¨C if the Earthen Wall was designed to protect its caster, then it seemed prudent to learn it ASAP. But since the Words were too cumbersome to chant quickly, activating it in the nick of time was going to be difficult.


    But Derrick had a solution.


    ¡°Thus, you shorten the spell''s Words, like this:


    Formless gather ¨C extol, higher.¡±


    Another Earthen Wall rose from the same spot right away.


    Kain nodded slightly, having seen the example. He felt the flow perfectly, and thought that when the time comes, he''d be able to replicate it. Hopefully.


    What he got out from that, was the idea of the lengthy chants not being strictly necessary as long as the Invoker was familiar with the spell itself. The caster still had to know the Requisite Words to the spells, since that was closely tied to knowing how the spell worked ¨C or, at least tied to how an Invoker was taught to imagine the spell.


    ¡°See how it''s done? Do understand that, different Invokers find different ways of shortening the length of the Words. If you wish to cast the Earthen Wall, you may find different wording to mine that works for you. It''ll naturally come as you gain experience and increase your skills via training.¡±


    This time, it was Kain''s turn to tilt his head, confused at what he just heard.


    What the. So this chant shortening thing is useless to us beginners? Why''d you bother telling us all this stuff in the first place?


    Then he felt Derrick''s deep gaze sweeping over him like a thick curtain. Pulling a poker face, Kain stared back until the older man turned his eyes away.


    In the meantime Kain''s back was drenched in sweat.


    Why was he looking at me? Did he figure something out about me? No way, he just arrived yesterday. Wait, does he possess some kind of special skill or something, that lets him see stuff?


    Whatever it was, Kain thought it was dangerous to remain close, and chose to go elsewhere, preferably well out of the suspicious gaze''s scope but not too far away, so he could still spy on the lessons.


    He got up, and totted away quickly. He was going to go around the stable, and stay there for a bit as he knew the wooden structure would provide some cover while he continued to eavesdrop.


    Going around the corner, he didn''t check where he stepped on, and tripped, falling head first into a newly dug up midden.


    Needless to say, it was a rather stinky affair.


    ~


    After everyone had a good laugh at his expense, Kain was put in the crib for an afternoon siesta. Both Kaleena and Katrina were also given some time off the relax as well. So naturally, they went to sleep, in their respective rooms.


    As for Derrick, he left the house with Lizbeth to take in the layout of the village and meet up with Damien later on, who was out doing his job, which entailed him consulting many farmers of Riverfield on how to seamlessly expand the crop fields and the resulting yields. Truly riveting stuff, that.


    As usual, Delilah and Rosy were asked to look after the kids. But Rosy was busy mending the mess Kain made with the midden, and Delilah were preparing for supper, only to check on the sleeping children now and then.


    Basically, Kain was pretty much alone, totally unattended by anyone really. Perfect time to try out the new spell he overheard earlier on: the Earthen Wall.


    He was itching to cast a spell ¨C absolutely anything would do fine, no questions asked. So far, whenever there was a chance, he''d try to cast one, and inevitably fail and black out. The cycle repeated over and over until, his impatience had ballooned to a point where it couldn''t be dismissed easily.


    He just had to do it, find out whether he had the talent or not.


    Previous experiences taught him he couldn''t cast either of Fire and Water Element Invocations. Initially, he refrained from trying to cast those two as they were rather unsafe to do so indoors. Imagine, if he lose control, he''d end up burning down the wooden house, or wayward water would rot the timber and give off not only the terrible smell but cause fungi to grow too. Not very appealing thoughts either way. But as desperation seeped in he tried them all, regardless of dangers.


    However, he had an Earth Elemental Invocation spell to work with, a first time it happened. The Beginner''s Guide was always with either Lizbeth or Kaleena so he never got the chance to take a proper look, even now. Maybe, if he had access to that book already, he wouldn''t have to struggle this much. There was no point in thinking about it now, so Kain decided not to worry about it anymore.


    The trouble of practicing an Earth Elemental spell, was that, he had to be outdoors to perform it. Otherwise, how would he be able to manipulate soil?


    Since he was not allowed go outside, he came up with an unlikely alternative. He was going to try raising the wall remotely. The reason was simple: when Derrick activated his spell, the soil didn''t rise up where he was standing but a bit away from him.


    Kain interpreted this phenomenon as the proof that the Earthen Wall could be raised as far from the caster''s location as long as certain conditions were met. He didn''t know of the said conditions yet, but crucially, he had a good line of sight on the target area from the windows of his nursery, meaning at least three of the requirements to cast Invocation were met.


    He knew the Requisite Words, he knew what the spell''s end result looked like, and he had the target in sight. The only variable being the amount of Aeterna he had to exert, and whether he could meet the demand for it with this weak body of his.


    Climbing out of the crib, Kain approached the window sill, and once he had a good view of the front yard, he picked a spot on the ground that was not likely to be easily seen by people passing by. A small, shaded spot behind a row of trees near the road looked a good bet, as it was hidden from the sights, and a few days ago the old man gardener dug up in order to plant new flowers. The soil was already overturned so any disturbance wouldn''t be noticed, plus the seeds hadn''t gone in yet so the damage was going to be minimum too.


    He concentrated hard, and felt his way around Aeterna that were lazily swirling about in the air. He then tried to guide it to the spot, all the while imagining the Earthen Wall coming to life. Finally, he whispered the Words: ¡°Formless gather, extol, higher!¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡­.....


    And absolutely nothing happened.


    Well, he did sense some minute amount of Aeterna leaking out of him, but other than that, nothing at all.


    Fighting the disappointment, he thought about the cause, and concluded that maybe he should''ve started with the full, un-shortened Words first.


    Okay, fine. I''ll do it the hard way, then. No biggie.


    Once more, Kain breathed in deeply, and imagined the spell. He began guiding the flow of Aeterna toward the shaded spot down on the ground, and murmured the words.


    ¡°Formless shapes to gather


    Leaving all in the ether


    Temper none the desire


    Extol and soar higher.¡±


    He felt minute amount of Aeterna leaving him, just like before. And just as before, nothing happened.


    A deep frown gathered on Kain''s face. This was strange, to say the least. This Earthen Wall was certainly not a basic spell by any means, so the Aeterna expenditure should have been great, at least as much or more than all the others he had been trying up until then. Yet, only a small amount left him, and nothing was happening as far as he could tell.


    I wonder.... Do I need to touch the ground with a part of my body for it to be active?


    Kain looked at the wooden floor, his gaze narrowing. Indeed, the only difference he could think of between Derrick''s attempt and his were the proximity to earth.


    If that were the case, then he had to go downstairs. He didn''t want that.


    What should I do? Can I just pour more Aeterna into the spell, and force it? Hmm.


    He felt less of resistance when trying to invoke this particular spell. He had no basis other than that, plus him being able to see the flow of the completed spell''s Aeterna more clearly than any others, to determine he might have an Affinity with Earth Element. If he was right, then using up more Aeterna than necessary seemed like something he should try out.


    So, he got ready for the third time, and began to concentrate even harder than before, guiding much more Aeterna down to the target area. And he spoke the Requisite Words in full.


    He felt it. He definitely felt it through his soul. Triple the amount of Aeterna escaped his body, then it continued to increase. He felt Aeterna flow through the house, down to the ground, and towards the spot.


    The soil moved. It truly moved. It was only a small hiccup-like bump that quickly rose and fell, but the point was, it bloody moved.


    ¡°Yeeeeees!!!!!¡±


    Kain punched the air with all his might. The sense of satisfaction overflowed out of him like a surging tide, and he began crying unexpectedly.


    He was happy. He finally used an Invocation. After such a long time of trying in vain, it finally worked. He wasn''t a talentless hack as he feared. He had a future. That was such a relief for him, knowing this. How could he not cry, after worrying himself to near-death?


    After wiping out the wayward tears, he felt motivation swelling in his heart. He was under no illusion here; this was merely the beginning, the tentative baby steps. He still had a long way to go from here. He knew all of that.


    But still. What a feeling it was, knowing he wasn''t a trash. Earth Elemental specialists were commonly employed as civil engineers in this world, tasked with building bridges, towns, castles, what-have-yous and earned big bucks wherever they went. Plus, he heard that Invokers with his Affinity were on the rarer side as well.


    If he just diligently train himself, then surely, he''d have no problem in the future as far as living expenses were concerned. He wouldn''t become a burden then, which made him even happier, knowing that. Indeed, it wasn''t as glamorous as knowing fancier, more explodey Invocations, but the benefits were probably better.


    He did make up his mind about not becoming a heroic person after all. Having Affinity with Earth Element worked the best for him under the circumstances. He was really pleased with the outcome right then.


    When he inspected himself, it seemed there were more than half remaining in his Aeterna Pool. Emboldened by this revelation, he tried to cast another Earthen Wall, but with the shortened Words.


    ¡°Formless gather, extol, higher!¡±


    He spent the equal amount of Aeterna, and it worked once more. The bump rose and fell, just like before. Another success.


    This time though, he was almost out of Aeterna reserve, and felt unsteady on his feet, lightheadedness assaulting him severely. He felt like fainting at any moment. But since he was already used to it, this much was fine. He could handle it.


    He dragged his weakened body back to the crib, and dived head first, a wide grin etched on his face.


    He slowly drifted off to a content slumber, knowing his journey had finally begun today.

 Chapter 15

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">15</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Two Years Later


    Before anyone noticed, time flew by at a seemingly break-neck pace. Kain was five years old, and it was finally the time to get his Affinities tested. For that purpose, he had to go to the neighboring city of Lafayette, a half day''s travel away on horseback.


    Previously, the test was done with the supervision of one Mr. Ahres. No, that''s not right, he was the one administering it, not simply overlooking it.


    But during the past two years, he had moved base, going back to Lafayette which contained a branch of the Society of Invocational Research. Since there were no one else qualified to run the test in Riverfield, Kain had to go to the city and meet the large Invoker personally. It was bothersome for sure, but at least he didn''t feel nervous or anything. Rather, he was looking forward to it.


    He worked hard during the past two years. He kept casting one Earthen Wall after another, going so far as to actually modifying it even. At first, it was simply practicing it in order to increase his Aeterna Pool, but once he got comfortable casting the spell, he wanted to see if the effect could be manipulated.


    And he succeeded after countless tries: now, when he cast an Earthen Wall it either remained standing, or collapsed back down depending on what Kain wanted. That was a big thing, as he did that all by himself with no one helping him out.


    Truthfully, there were advanced spells in Earth Elemental Invocation system that allowed the very same effect as Kain had achieved, so regular Invokers could learn those instead. But not knowing this, he had gone down the difficult route and created something that was entirely his own.


    The well-worn rutted road stretching between the endless fields of wheat and corn extended far into the horizon, towards the high walls of Lafayette. Other then harsh bumpiness hurting his butt, the trip itself was quite uneventful. The security on the roads were good, with no Fiends nor wild beasts threatening the travelers found here. Ditto for the genre-staple dirty and smelly bandits.


    Sure, they were there, just not on this stretch of road, or for that matter, all the areas surrounding Lafayette. There were plenty of work to go around even for the most uneducated oafs so it naturally led to the situation of a good public security.


    Of course, there was a small matter of the city possessing several regiments of highly-trained soldiers that patrolled the roads too, plus those Capital-hired so-called Highroad Knight Corps as well so, the security had to be good. If it weren''t than quite a few people''s heads would''ve rolled off their necks, figuratively speaking of course.


    As for the aching bum, Kain was trying something for a bit now, without success: Body Enhancement Invocation.


    Almost every Elements in Aeterna had a spell to increase a body''s sturdiness. For Earth Element, it was to increase one''s defence considerably, decreasing the amount of pain felt or the severity of wounds received. He saw Derrick using one a few weeks ago, and had been trying to copy it for quite some time, but to no avail.


    Of course, doing it during the trip was difficult, what with all the eyes accompanying him: his dad Damien, Derrick, plus two of Riverfield''s finest guardsmen.


    This trip was proving to be tiring on his little body, and fatigue was piling up rather quickly. But on Damien''s eyes, there was sense of urgency. He had lots of things to do on this trip. Finding Ahres and get his son tested was one of them, the other procuring some emergency funds and provisions for the village. The most unwelcome shortage came about when an unnamed disease threatened to destroy the vital crops. Didn''t happen, due to Damien''s quick thinking, but it also meant rapid depletion of the village''s coffers.


    As they neared the city, Kain held his breath back at the sheer scale of the grandiose walls and ramparts running the length of the outer perimeter. He always held a sneaking suspicion they were indeed impressive piece of engineering since he could see them from his nursery window on a clear day but still, they were bigger and sturdier than his imagination prepared him for.


    Without the aid of Invocation, there was no way such structures could see the light of day. Simply no way in hell, that''s how Kain decided.


    And the walls surrounding the Southern Gate their traveling party planned to use were easily taller than the apartment building he used to live in his previous life. That place had eight floors, by the way, so yes, it was pretty tall building.


    The gates themselves were enormous too, as big as a pair of airplane hangar doors. And since they were made out of steel, he could tell nothing would get through these once firmly closed. Absolutely nothing at all, not even a direct strike from a missile.


    Dozens of soldiers in matching armor stood guard by the gates, their eyes glued to the train of people waiting to enter the city. A handful of them were performing inspections, asking questions and searching the luggage of everyone, regardless of how well dressed one was.


    Beside Kain and his group, the waiting line of people were mixture of the fantasy genre tropes. Merchants pulling along horse drawn caravans and their guards; Adventurers equipped with weapons and armor, some bare handed while others, carrying sacks of.... stuff. Farmers, hunters, civilians of various job descriptions, all jostling in multiple lines leading up to the gate, giving him a somewhat nostalgic feeling.


    He remembered standing in a queue similar to the one now, waiting to speak to a clerk at the DMV. He also remembered that thing robbed him of three hours of his life. Then one more unpleasant memory of that day came flooding in - the clerk, an overweight African-American lady named Leticia, giving him the why''d you bother to come today eye.


    All in all, not a very good thing to remember. So he forgot about it as quickly as possible.


    Overhead, another Sky Ark was entering Lafayette. Ever since the test flight ended up successful, the airship routes were officially opened by the Emperor. And now, there were departures three times a week from this city to the capital Argos. The Empire had commissioned further dozen of the Arks in a hurry and put them into service and so far, there hadn''t been any word of accidents other than sporadic attacks by flying Fiends here and there.


    Even then, witnessing a Sky Ark in operation so close by, people waiting in line were letting out lots of excited oohs and aahs. It was the same for Kain too, someone from the modern world. He was also in awe at the sight of this laws of physics-defying machine floating about. The very thoughts of riding one in near future had him looking forward to that day, regardless of it happening or not.


    If not, he had half a mind to make it happen.


    The lines waiting to enter the city were divided into three. One of them was exclusively reserved for farmers carting in their produce into the market for immediate consumption. Another one was for the merchants with cargo, and the rest were herded into the last line.


    Suffice to say, first two lines had priority over the last in being inspected and allowed in. Seeing this, Kain mused briefly whether a stuck-up noble ¨C another genre trope ¨C would raise a fuss over this sort of arrangement, not being given a preference. Probably palms had to be greased, or some such.


    ¡°Impressive sight, isn''t it?¡±


    Damien tapped Kain on the shoulder and smiled once their eyes met. He brushed his son''s hair away from the forehead, his eyes showing how eager he was to explain this new and no doubt in his mind a foreign sight to his inquisitive boy.


    ¡°Can you guess how many live in Lafayette? It is incomparable to our home, Riverfield. Just look at the throng of people, waiting to enter the city. It''s even more eye-opening when you get inside. You''ll see what I mean soon.¡±


    ¡°Dad, you''ve been here before, haven''t you?¡± Kain asked rather innocently, fully knowing indeed, he had.


    ¡°Sure, I''ve come here on official business many times before. Oh hey, don''t look at me like that ¨C don''t forget, I am the lord of Riverfield, and the village produces lots of fruit and crop the citizens of Lafayette eat, you know. So I have more than my fair share of business here.¡±


    Damien spoke defensively as if to protect his pride after Kain gave him a doubtful stare.


    It took half a day''s worth of travel time to come here so it stood to reason that, including the return trip, an official visit would''ve taken Damien more than a day to accomplish, depending on the nature of the visit. Kain was a bit hazy on this, but there weren''t too many days of Damien being absent from his home in the past, so it all seemed a bit fishy. Not that he''d criticize his father, without an evidence anyhow. Probably, he mistook visiting the city once or twice as "numerous times".


    ¡°How big is the territory of Riverfield?¡±


    To changed the subject, Kain asked Damien the question that was bugging him slightly. On his way, there were a number of farmsteads with people living in them. He thought that majority, if not all, of those folks were not considered villagers under Riverfield''s jurisdiction.


    ¡°Oh, it''s pretty big. You remember the Wilder Bridge, the one we crossed not too long ago? The stream running under it is the boundary. The land after that belong to Lafayette''s administration. The rest, well, they are my headaches.¡±


    The Wilder Bridge was a stone bridge going across a branch of the Great River Anders. Built by a man called Wilder eons ago when the city of Lafayette was nothing but a fledgling frontier village, he had the audacity to name the bridge after himself. The history written about the man made him out to be a sort of person you wouldn''t really want to invite to your dinner party.


    Anyways, the bridge was several leagues away from the village''s entrance so that meant Riverfield was actually quite large, disproportionately so compared to the number of its residents. Kain thought this was a strange occurrence, seeing that surely Lafayette would have better resources to look after a larger area than a small farming village with hardly a thousand soul living in it.


    Unless there was some other unspecified reasons, it''d remain a mystery to the boy. Since he had no lasting interest on the subject matter, he stopped thinking about it right away. He did that with most subjects nowadays, actually. A bad habit, that.


    Derrick was mostly silent during the trip, only occasionally speaking to the escorts and to his cousin. Only a couple of times did he initiate chatting with Kain, and they were for small, trivial stuff like when to hand over the waterskin.


    As a matter of fact, in the last two years he''d been living with the Lucius Lomax family, the two of them never conversed in depth, nor did he try to care for the boy at all. It was not because he hated the idea but rather, his reluctance to do so for other reasons.


    There were the usual greetings here and there, but that was just about it. Kain continued to eavesdrop whenever there were opportunities present, but other than that, somehow it became a game of avoidance played by the two of them. Something that was easier to do, ever since Derrick took on the extra role of trainer for the village''s guardsmen a year ago.


    The members had this horrified expressions when the tall, muscular Derrick stood before them and declared that they lacked discipline and abilities to be recognized as a proper standing force, and he''d drill all that were lacking into their very souls. Kain silently offered a prayer for all affected back then.


    But thanks to that, village''s guards became more professional. More reliable. Less like a barely organized rabble but something closer to a proper militia ready to tackle the dangers facing their homes.


    Good example was the two men accompanying the traveling party. Rolf the Caniduskin, and a humanoid named Gabe. Rolf was a pretty solid soldier material before due to his racial traits, but now, he was polished enough to earn a good living as a mercenary if he ever chose to go down that road. As for Gabe, he too would be considered above regular grunt for the raw abilities alone. Only thing he lacked was experience.


    Normally, when Damien came to the city, he''d be with Mathieu and one another, but due to circumstances he chose to come with these two, who had never actually set foot in Lafayette.


    Rolf appeared fairly calm but Gabe was fidgeting like crazy. His freckled face was slightly pale, and somehow, he looked like a lost child. Kain sighed inwardly, wondering why did they have to bring someone so nervous in the first place.


    ¡°Because someday I wish to become an Adventurer, that is why this trip is important to me.¡±


    Gabe declared so before they departed from the village. He wasn''t the only one harboring such ambitions among the yonger generations of the villagers.


    There was a branch of the Adventurers'' Association in the city, according to Damien, that were large enough to handle new signings and training of rookies. The aspiring young man wanted to throw in his lot with the free-faring men and women calling themselves The Vanguards of the Unknown and The Collectors of Lost Knowledge.


    Whatever the case may be, Kain thought that Gabe should learn to stand tall like a man before anything else. The way he presented himself, no one was going to take him seriously although his physique was not bad. Tempered by the environment befitting a first-born son of Riverfield''s most famed hunter, Gabe Senior, he had a good sense as an archer and as a keen tracker. He''d do well as an Adventurer, provided he becomes one.


    Rolf on the other hand, crinkled his nose in disgust. ¡°This place stinks. I shouldn''t have come....¡±


    Unfortunately he had a very sensitive nose. As he grew up in Riverfield, the aroma of rural farmstead became ingrained in his mind so the big city like Lafayette with its farrago of foreign and unidentifiable smells were always going to trouble him ¨C never mind the fact that he worked next to livestock that let loose feces all over the place.... He rather preferred that instead.


    The group wasn''t even past the gates and he was already regretting his decision to travel. He did want to see the Sky Ark up close but now, he was blaming his curiosity at the moment.


    Still, he stood straight, unlike the younger Gabe. Because of his tall, imposing posture, coupled with scowling facial expression, he ended up attracting the city guards'' attention. Standing next to Derrick also probably didn''t help, even though they had dismounted from their horses while waiting in the line.


    But it turned out to be a good thing; the gruff, formerly-bored-looking but now alert soldiers asked for the travel papers cautiously, and as if on cue both Damien and Derrick did one better than requested by showing off their golden medallions, which signified their importance in the hierarchy within the Empire.


    The guards did a quick double take, and bowed slightly. Immediately after, Kain''s group was treated with a lot more respect and courtesy, amusing him to no end at how effective the power of peerage was in humbling others. Still, he decided not to abuse this privilege like some ignorant and conceited fool from countless web novels he''d read in the past. That''d be too cliched for him to endure the ensuing embarrassment, actually.


    The soldiers did their job and began the entry procedure. Stuff like the reasons for visiting, the plans for how long they''d stay and where, what was in the luggage, all the weapons on hand, as well as questions of anyone in the group suffering from an infectious illness, were asked. Kain thought the whole thing reminded him of security screening checkpoints in airports.


    While the information was being written on a thick scroll, Damien asked a nearby guard. ¡°Is Captain Giles off duty today? He''s usually the one commanding the guards at the Southern Gates.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes sir. Captain''s on a paternity leave currently. He will return to his post in a week''s time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. That''s a wonderful news. Convey my congratulations to Captain Giles when you see him next time. Is it boy or a girl?¡±


    ¡°I believe it''s a girl, sir.¡±


    Damien nodded sagely, half closing his eyes and scratching his beardless chin slowly. ¡°I have a daughter myself, beside this boy of mine. Captain''s in for some tough times ahead.¡±


    He and the guard shared a polite laughter together. Meanwhile, the inspection was complete, and it was the turn of the follow up process ¨C but it was not something Kain expected to go through. He literally was ready to write his name on an official-looking document and all that.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Instead, a wooden plank the size of a cutting board was brought out and the group were instructed to place the palms of their dominant hands on it, one person at a time.


    It seemed that everyone who wasn''t the resident of Lafayette had to do this. Derrick went ahead first, placing his right hand on the surface. Soon a sliver of silver light shone, from beneath his palm. He remained still for a few seconds, until the light faded.


    The guard then placed a clean sheet of paper over the plank once Derrick withdrew his hand. Another light, similar to the previous one, shone when an incantation was murmured to it.


    Just like that, a whole bunch of information was recorded on the paper, all of them about Derrick.


    Wow. Invocation, heh. How convenient it is. Xerox would''ve gone bankrupt in a heart beat in this world.


    Kain chuckled inwardly after watching the procedure from the sidelines. Second paper was imprinted the same way, and this one was Derrick''s copy.


    Next to get his document made was Gabe, then Rolf, and Damien after that. Kain was the last to try. Although he was just a kid, it still was the law to have a proper documentation issued, no matter the age.


    The plank felt cold against his skin but the surface itself was really smooth after seeing constant usage. Indeed, thousands of hands had touched this piece of wood since its introduction here.


    The design of the board was quite unremarkable, which Kain thought as a missed opportunity. There was a crest of Lafayette, an eagle spreading its wings, at the top but that was it, no other garnish on it at all. Objectively speaking none of that mattered in how it functioned but it was still nonetheless quite boring to look at.


    Oh well, not every magical things should look like magical things anyway, as long as they work, right?


    As disappointed at its plain appearance as he were, he didn''t show it and calmly went through with the procedure.


    He felt his own Aeterna seep out from his Pool, activating the light he saw before. But he didn''t feel anything different ¨C there were no warmth, no coldness, nothing uncomfortable, just a piece of wood and nothing much. He couldn''t help but feel silly at doing this for some reason, standing there with his palm pressed onto a piece of plywood.


    The paper he received afterwards contained the identifying information of himself. There were his name in full, his current age, registered home town, current occupation, and lastly, his criminal record.


    He found the last bit interesting. Obviously he hadn''t committed a crime in this life, not to mention in the previous life as well, so that part was left empty. But how would this wooden plank know whether a guy it was screening was a villain or not?


    ¡°Pretty amazing, isn''t it? That''s called The Truth Board. It can read a person''s soul and record it on a piece of parchment.¡± Damien helpfully informed his pondering son. ¡°Every big towns and cities in the Empire have a multiple sets of them. With it, the guards can find out when a person is lying to them or not and catch a wanted criminal when he tries to sneak in.¡±


    ¡°Dad, why don''t we have one of these in our village?¡± Kain asked, genuinely curious.


    ¡°....Uh, well. Son, that''s because we''ve no walls. That''s why.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I wonder. Say, dad. Is The Truth Board expensive?¡±


    ¡°Where did you learn of such a thing? Damn, I swear, you somehow always manage to surprise me. Besides, that isn''t important. You see Kain, it requires highly trained people to correctly use it. Riverfield lacks such men.¡± Damien replied testily.


    ¡°Alright, sure.¡± Kain just shrugged his shoulders.


    Damien smiled bitterly at this gesture, thinking, where the heck did he pick that up? That.... do I shrug my shoulders too? Oh man, Lizbeth will blame me for this too, won''t she?


    It took a long time but finally, the entry procedure was completed for everyone and were allowed beyond the open gates. Almost immediately, Kain was struck dumb by the widths of the streets. They were ginormous, just like the walls of the city. Buildings lined up on both sides, and all sorts of races went about busily on their daily routine.


    Architecture was as expected ¨C an incongruous mixture of early European medieval to late Renaissance-era shapes doting the cityscape as far as eyes could see. From thatched roofs to colored tiles, from rough glass windows to wooden slats serving as privacy screens, brick-and-mortar structures to wooden houses, it was literally a Licorice All Sorts of buildings.


    And the vibrancy Kain felt, it was truly refreshing. This sense of life, this sense of forward movement, this sense of things getting done, it was something missing from the idyllic tranquility of Riverfield.


    And boy, did he miss this urgency of life or what, as it oozed from the every imaginary veins pulsating under the surface.


    The group secured the horses by the city''s communal stables, located in each of its gates. Travelers weren''t allowed to keep their mounts in the city limits, only the guards and nobles with permits as well as transportation service providers were exempt from the restrictions.


    ¡°Right, this is where we temporarily split up,¡± said Damien, laying down the itinerary of the group.


    ¡°Derrick will accompany this smart alec son of mine to the city''s SOIR branch. Gabe, please go with them. Since you want to become an Adventurer, you should take some time to peruse the Association''s office next block. But, only when you''re free, understand? I''ll go with Rolf and attend to our business at hand. Barring any incidents, let us meet up at the front of SOIR branch before the nightfall.¡±


    As it was already discussed before arriving in the city, no one raised objections. Kain wasn''t really fine with this arrangement, but he had no voice in the matter, so that was that.


    Damien and Rolf grabbed a local taxi service and headed in toward the city''s administration district, located in the center and not easily reachable by foot.


    Derrick''s group also found a vacant taxi, roofless carriage pulled by a pair of horses, and headed towards their destination.


    Seeing the passing scenery, Kain was able to truly appreciate the size of Lafayette. The hustle and bustle tinged the air with palpable excitement. Everywhere he looked, there were people busy living their lives in full. It was hard not to get jealous.


    Kain understood that living in a rural village was nice. In his previous life, many city dwellers dreamed of waking up to the grand scenery of open meadows and towering mountains as the backdrop. Not him though; he was a city slicker by nature. He missed this buzz of a big city. Already, he was thinking of moving here, as soon as he was physically and financially able to.


    The roads were evenly paved with bricks and the ride was quite smooth. Occasionally hawkers came up to the carriage whenever it slowed down at a crossing to sell their wares, most of them things not needed by Kain.


    Derrick''s stern countenance and scary eyes easily chased away those not committed to their sales tactic though, so the harassment was kept to a minimum. Plus, the ostensibly big claymore-like sword slung on his back proved to be an effective deterrent as well.


    Kain was intimidated by this weapon. When he first laid his eyes on it, back on that rain-soaked night all wrapped in cloth, he had some inkling as to what kind of mad object it could be but once out in the open, it had this scary atmosphere that simply screamed don''t you dare mess with me.


    Resembling the famed Buster Sword to a fault, there was just no way a normal person could lift this off the ground without slipping a disk, let alone take a swing with it. But Derrick had no problem with either of those activities.


    He didn''t give the weapon any special names, which was typical of him. The way he saw it, this sword was simply a tool for getting the job done, which in most cases, to intimidate enemies with its impressive bulk. If that didn''t work, then the blades were imbued with Dark Element to boost its cutting potential.


    In other words, it could slice through a foot thick metal like a knife through the proverbial hot butter in Derrick''s hands.


    During the taxi ride, the weapon was on a prominent display. Now normally, Derrick left the wrapping on it as he didn''t have much reasons to show it off in the village. But since he had to show some amount of strength to ward off any unwanted gazes, even though he didn''t like it the sword remained on his back, uncovered.


    Good thing Lafayette''s law didn''t restrict wearing of one''s arms in the open as long as they were registered with the city guards. And with Derrick being a noble and a Divine Knight, a special consideration was given.


    One other thing with a convertible was that, smells tended to waft in from all over the place. The smell of food came in from all four corners, assaulting the group''s senses left and right. From the Southern Gates onward the streets were lined with food stalls and shops selling various dishes and cuisines.


    Kain was getting hungry real fast, stimulated by the sweet aroma of the unknown.


    Even Gabe was lost at the passing sights of all the delicious-looking items proudly on display. He had to suppress drooling like an idiot more than a few times.


    ¡°Uncle Derrick, can we stop for a bite before we enter the Society branch?¡± Kain asked as his hunger grew uncontrollably.


    ¡°....Very well. We still have provisions left. Might as well eat some of that.¡± Derrick answered, obviously not noticing the surroundings, certainly not as how a normal person should have.


    ¡°Uhm, no, uncle. I meant those.¡± Kain hurriedly pointed at one of the roadside stalls that were selling what looked like falafels wrapped in pita bread.


    Derrick looked stunned. ¡°But why? We have brought enough provisions for ourselves. There is no logical reason to buy extra sustenance.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what those are?¡± asked Kain.


    ¡°....No, I do not.¡±


    ¡°Don''t you want to find out what they taste like?¡±


    ¡°No, not particularly.¡±


    ¡°But, I do.¡±


    ¡°....Well, do you have any money? To purchase that?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    Derrick glanced over at Gabe, with a rare helpless expression. And the young Adventurer hopeful went with the flow and returned a I can''t help you on this one, sir-type look.


    After a short pause, Derrick sighed and gave permission. ¡°Very well. I shall procure suitable portions for our immediate consumption. Driver, halt the carriage. Both of you, wait here for my return.¡±


    ¡°Oh wait, uncle Derrick. Lemme come with you.¡±


    Kain quickly volunteered, as he had a sneaking suspicion that Derrick had never in his life bought a takeaway from a roadside vendor before. On his stiff face, a hint of nervousness was seen. A definite first for someone like him, probably.


    They dismounted from the carriage and headed to the stall Kain pointed out earlier. There was a small queue in front but it was moving swiftly. Quietly he studied people buying this falafel-esque item and thought that it was most likely safe to eat, seeing that it weren''t just humanoids who bought the stuff.


    And the smell from the food was heavenly. Kain was salivating pretty hard as his turn came closer. Then, he realized there was a small problem.


    He had no idea what the value of this world''s currency was. Nor did he know of how the currency system in general worked around here. At this rate, he wouldn''t be able to tell whether he was getting ripped off or not.


    ¡°Do you know the ways of money, Kain? Have Damien taught you this yet?¡±


    Derrick asked as they waited on the queue. Kain shook his head.


    ¡°Indeed, the need for monetary transaction in Riverfield is far and few in between, so it isn''t all that surprising your father has not educated you yet. This is a good opportunity.¡±


    From under his leather chestplate, Derrick pulled out a small brown pouch. He unfastened its lip and fished out two coin-like metallic items.


    ¡°See these? There are the official Coins recognized within the Greater Empire of Argos. There are four accepted currency in use. Bronze is the most basic of all the coins. Then, its Silver Coins, followed by Guinea Coins. Some people call them Gold Coins but most merchants have ceased calling by that term. And finally, Adamant plates. Those are rarely used in common trade among citizens, but rather in trades between large scale merchants and state institutions.¡±


    Kain nodded after hearing the explanation. The system sounded pretty logical. Simple, even. It must be, so even the illiterate could trade in relative safety, nominally shielded from potential fraud.


    Derrick continued. ¡°A hundred Bronze Coins make for a single Silver Coin. Likewise, a hundred Silver Coins beget a single Guinea Coin. Another hundred Guinea, then....¡±


    ¡°Then it''s one Adamant plate?¡±


    ¡°That''s correct. Very good, Kain. You understand well. But, as it is the case with Invocation, there are also other things to consider.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°It would be inconvenient to carry dozens of coins around. So there are Big Coins to solve that quandary. Ten Bronze Coins beget one Big Bronze Coin. Ten Silver Coins, one Big Silver Coin. It''s the same with Guinea as well.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for telling me, uncle Derrick. That was interesting!¡± Kain cheerfully smiled. ¡°Now I can buy things, right? Oh, hey. Uncle, does other countries accept these coins? You know, other countries that are not affiliated with the Empire.¡±


    ¡°Some do, but not all. Those who have a trade pact with the Empire will accept our coins but they will still have their own monetary systems.¡±


    While talking like this, they arrived at the front of the stall. Kain stepped up and asked what the stall owner was selling.


    ¡°It''s bison meatballs. I''m selling ''em wrapped in thin bread. If you want, I can get you skewers instead, young man.¡± The stall owner replied with a friendly smile.


    ¡°Oh no, we''ll take them with bread. Please give us enough for three people, please.¡±


    After ordering, he tried to look at the process of making the food but then, a new problem arose. Kain was too short to reach up past the stall itself. Realizing this, he briefly felt like killing himself. With tears wetting the eyes, he turned to Derrick and gave him plenty of hint until, the older man went ¡°....Oh, right.¡±


    Derrick promptly picked him up by the waist, hoisting the boy in the air. Finally, the beautiful sight of evenly-shaped meatballs sizzling in a large wok with oil and herbs entered his brain. What an appetizingly seductive thing it was.


    The layout behind the stall reminded Kain of those taco trucks he used to see lining up outside his old college. Nostalgia ran thick and strong, although the smell was different ¨C the greasy aroma of oil that were reused far past its prime, for instance. There was a bit more sweeter scent of herb mixed in there somewhere, wafting into his nose and further fueling his ravenous desire to consume.


    Derrick paid for the food, costing him the grand total of twelve Bronze Coins. He received his share rather awkwardly, having never eaten with his bare hands or sitting down. But both Kain and Gabe wolfed theirs down in double time. The meat tasted great, not too salty, nor oily, and the balance of flavor was excellent.


    Kain was so pleased with this snack, he felt like eating this everyday, even though it was on the plain side overall. Of course Lizbeth and Delilah would throw a fit, so that was the end of that dream.


    The brief stop now complete, the group continued on their journey. The carriage driver didn''t complain about the wait for his passengers. Kain figured it must be not uncommon an arrangement around these parts, which was actually true ¨C there was an unspoken agreement between the stall owners and the carriage drivers to use the main streets where food were sold.


    Before long, the next distraction entered the group''s view and made most of them speechless. In the distance, towards north-western side of the city, a scene of a massive construction project ¨C a structure so tall and wide its design easily discernible no matter how far away an observer was. It had that overall look of a lone baobab tree sprouting out of a rocky desert plain.


    The purpose of this half-built structure with all sorts of wooden support beams poking out from its side, was quite apparent to all. The Sky Ark Kain witnessed earlier was moored onto one of the completed platforms. It was a Sky Ark port, in other words.


    By his estimation, this Sky Ark Station ¨C Kain''s own name, of course ¨C was getting ready to welcome at least three more flying ships at once when it goes into full service later on.


    Derrick caught him looking at the distant platform. Understanding the curiosity of his young nephew, he placed his hand on the boy''s shoulder to get his attention.


    ¡°Looks like the plan to get as many Sky Arks in operation as possible before the end of the decade is proceeding along smoothly.¡±


    End of the decade, eh? Kain mused silently. The current date was in the middle of the Fourth Month of the Year of the Rabbit, 2855 C. W., so there were just about four and a half years left to achieve whatever the number was deemed satisfactory.


    ¡°How many Arks are going into service, uncle?¡±


    ¡°The talks back then was to build two fleets, each having a dozen, servicing the routes between the Capital and all the major Provincial cities. Lafayette were to receive four Arks from the Northern, Eastern and the Western territories as well as from Argos. However, depending on how successful the initiative was, the final target number would have changed.¡±


    He didn''t know whether that target was too rushed for their own good or not, but one thing''s for sure, this flying transportation system was too convenient to be underutilized. Great distances between cities, plus no easy means of transport and quick sharing of information meant governing the length and breadth of the Empire was no piece of cake. Having such a fast moving as well as inherently safe method of travel would definitely make ruling the subjects a lot simpler. And then, there''s that one important thing of advertising the power of the regime to all who witness them.


    Another thought bubbled up from the current train Kain was on, so he promptly asked Derrick about it. ¡°Uncle, will there really be no militarized versions of the Sky Ark, as my dad said before? It seems hard to believe.¡±


    Derrick glanced at the boy for a second before answering, his expression complicated. ¡°There certainly were no plans back then. The Sky Arks are meant for civilian usage, Kain. The Empire isn''t engaged in conflict with any other nations, so it isn''t likely a Sky Ark will see the light of day as a war machine. It isn''t really designed for such purpose.¡±


    Kain wasn''t convinced. ¡°But that could change, right? I can''t imagine people who came up with the Ark haven''t entertained such ideas.¡±


    Derrick frowned, but recovered quickly enough to assert his opinion. ¡°That is indeed true. But for now, Sky Arks lack any offensive or defensive capabilities. And since they are so large, it would be a sure fodder for sustained cannon fire. That is why it is guarded by the dedicated squadron of Griffon Riders throughout its travels.¡±


    Hearing this, Kain could only nod. Certainly, Derrick might possess more information regarding the Arks. And his belief that there weren''t going to be any military versions of them could be correct. But if he knew one thing, it was the so-called rule of never say never. Anything was possible, especially more so, in the land of fantasy like the one he was in.


    ¡°Looks like we''ve arrived,¡± said Derrick.


    Kain stopped pondering about things that didn''t involve him and turned his attention to those that did.


    And before the carriage that was slowing down, he saw the huge building of SOIR''s Lafayette branch looming large right next to them.

 Chapter 16

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">16</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    The entire city block was walled off to house the Lafayette branch of the Society of Invocational Research. It wasn''t some insignificant, small sized block either ¨C perhaps as big as that of a modern world''s idea of several meshed together. Scale of the whole thing was very impressive.


    The walls surrounding the massive property were tall and wide, and quite uninviting, with a thin layer of Aeterna moving in unnatural wave-like motions above it. Only Kain could see that, of course. He felt strong urge not to touch the walls haphazardly, lest he no longer liked his hand to remain attached to his arm.


    The white and smooth walls were so amazingly pristine, it was as if there were invisible cleaners tirelessly mopping away any and all grime on the surface. Not only that, the surrounding streets were spotless too, not a single trash dancing in the wind or some such. And no civilian traffic too. It was all so quiet. Like a church.


    The opposite of the SOIR branch was an empty plot of land, although it was lightly fenced off. Signs of destruction on the upturned soil were abundant, making Kain wonder why.


    The carriage stopped in front of the large pair of metal gates. There were a guard station built into the wall, and a half dozen soldiers keeping watch. Their steely, somewhat disapproving looks directed at the trio dismounting from the taxi.


    Their equipment, somehow, looked expensive. They were certainly better kitted out then their Lafayette counterparts, with all their armors enhanced with Invocation ¨C Kain could see faint traces of Aeterna on all the pieces ¨C and the flowing indigo-hued mantles imparted a feeling of luxury.


    The city guards in comparison certainly seemed shabbier, but just as well organized. Kain thought that either these guys were not part of Lafayette and were instead privately-hired, or because of their place of work, received favorable treatment.


    A couple of the guards walked closer, alert and scrutinizing. Kain could see the crest on their armors were different to that of Lafayette''s, the eagle, and instead it was three swords and a shield intersecting one another. So, a different brigade altogether, then.


    The air of superiority oozing from the approaching guards rubbed off on him the wrong way. Their condescending eyes, especially; it was as if they were sizing up Kain and his group on appearances alone, deciding in an instant they were beneath them or something.


    Basically, the kind of eyes that makes one want to slap the living daylights out of.


    Fortunately for Kain, he had just the right kind of man to deal with these type of irritating small fries. And that man''s name was Derrick Septima Lomax.


    ¡°We''ve come to speak to whoever is in charge.¡± Derrick said to the approaching guards without skipping a beat, not even leaving an opening to ask the first question. ¡°Time''s of an essence so, hurry up.¡±


    ¡°Well, sir, do you have any prior appointments? If not, then we don''t have any obligation to hear your requests,¡± said one of the guards, barely containing his irritation.


    Derrick coolly replied while paying the carriage driver for his services. ¡°Obviously I have business here. Why else would I have come? Do not waste my time if you''re unable to assist me.¡±


    ¡°You....¡± The guards frowned, their lips pursing in displeasure.


    But not giving a toss, Derrick produced a folded leather item that kind of resembled a billfold from under his chestplate, his facial expression one of not caring what other party was thinking of.


    The guards tensed up right away, becoming wary of the item. Even Kain had never seen it before.


    ¡°I am 357<sup>th</sup> Silver Ranked Divine Knight Derrick Septima Lomax, of 196<sup>th</sup> Battalion, Argos Division. This here is my identification. Now, let us through so I can speak to someone who can get things done.¡±


    He lightly flipped open the leather flap and revealed a magnificent golden medallion hidden within. It was shaped like a radiating sun, and a silver motif carved in the middle. Small amount of Aeterna leaked out from it too. Kain saw it as plain as day. Then Derrick poured a little of his own Aeterna on the medallion, and it glowed even brighter, with words floating up above it like a hologram display. The words were the exact same thing Derrick said, just now.


    The medallion denoted those of different ranks in Divine Knights. It was an Invocation Tool, a sure-fire way of identifying its owner to prevent fraudulent claimants trying to pass off themselves as Knights. Those who weren''t a Divine Knight couldn''t even carry it around due to Invocation cast on it, never mind hold it and show it off openly.


    ¡°Sir!!¡± Immediately the arrogant guards sobered up and stood at full attention, performing a military salute of placing right fist over the crest on the chest armor. The rest followed suit as well, one or two sweating a little. ¡°Sir, please wait here a moment, while I call for a representative to come and assist you.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± Derrick nodded dismissively, and tucked his leather billfold away.


    The guard hurried toward the in-built guard station to the left of the grand gate and ducked in. Kain thought he was going to hoof it to the main building just visible beyond the gates but no, it seemed there was some kind of alternative method to get messages across.


    Kain didn''t have to wait long. The guard nearly stumbled out of the station, and dashed in closer. He was out of breath when he relayed the instruction he received ¨C he was to escort the group to the foyer of the main building. The large metallic gate didn''t open, but the smaller side door was used instead to let them in.


    As the they walked past, Kain peeked past the ajar door of the guard station and noticed a murky brown crystal the size of an adult''s fist sitting atop a sundial, glowing weakly with a trace of Aeterna swirling about.


    Naturally, he asked the guard about it.


    ¡°That is a communication crystal. We use that to communicate with the reception.¡±


    The guard answered quickly. Kain waited for further explanations but none came. He was slightly frustrated at that, but he had to let it go, as they already had stepped into the inner sanctum of the SOIR. His curiosity would be sated later on.


    The main building was designed a bit differently compared to the rest of the city''s architecture. It even looked modern, the way it rose from the ground like a square peg, gleaming under the early afternoon sunlight like a marble monolith. Except, with windows spoiling its smooth surfaces like pimples on a teenager''s face.


    There was another building behind it, obscured from Kain''s view. Perfectly manicured lawn painted the ground green, with smattering of trees providing cooling shades. Benches were placed underneath for the tired bums to occupy. There were even water fountains and elaborate sculptures of animals and men doing various poses.


    Overall, the space inside the walls were huge. Enough to think of it as not a mere city block but maybe several of them joined together, as Kain had noted earlier.


    People of various races were mucking about on the grass. Their age ranged from early to late teens, some in their twenties. There were older men and women too, almost all of the men sporting the kind of lengthy beards often seen in cartoonish depictions of wizards, while the ladies were thankfully spared of unsightly facial hair growths.


    The kids were decked out in neat, school uniform-like matching apparels while the older men and women had on the kind of robes Ahres wore. Some of them stared at Kain and his group but soon lost their interest and returned to whatever they were doing previously.


    The whole place had this atmosphere of an exclusive prep school where, plebeian like Kain wasn''t welcome. Well, he wasn''t one, so his sudden lack of confidence blooming in his heart had no basis.


    Huh. Wow, so this must be a wizarding school, eh? Wouldn''t it be a funny development if I''m to be sent here to study, like in that famous British novel? Heh.


    Kain mused to himself as he continued to look around. Every single one present here leaked of Aeterna like crazy. The air was thick with the mysterious substance, so much so, in his eyes it was like small rainbows dancing all over the place.


    He saw kids ten, eleven years old practicing Invocation with what seemed like teachers alongside them. There were people standing around debating quite heatedly about something, arms moving about in wild gestures and voices raised, trying to subdue the opposition with sheer loudness of their volume.


    And a few were having lunch, sitting on those benches. All in all, a pretty relaxed scene, at least on the surface. Kain noted there weren''t any children as young as him here, so he figured one had to be of a certain age before being admitted to this institution to study.


    Regardless of all that though, Kain felt deeply pressured. From all that oozing Aeterna, he sensed several real monsters among the populace here. These people were, judging by their emissions alone, stupidly strong. Kain thought that they''d be able to fling man-killing spells all day long and not even reach the half of their Aeterna Pool reserve. It was hard to tell whether one or two of these fellas should be classified as humans, even.


    He was going to ask the guard about the identities of these men and women, when he heard a heavy breathing coming from Gabe. His face was turning pale, and he was sweating quite profusely.


    ¡°Hey, what''s the matter? You don''t look so good,¡± Kain tugged at Gabe''s pant''s leg.


    ¡°I, uh, don''t.... feel so well. I''m really sorry ''bout this.¡±


    His face was apologetic, but it was quite clear he was barely holding on from passing out.


    Is it because of the roadside food? Was it bad? But I feel fine. Derrick looks okay too. What''s going on?


    As Kain watched him confused, Derrick grabbed Gabe''s shoulders and squeezed strongly.


    ¡°Gabe, listen. You are under what''s known as an Aeterna pressure. Normally, Invokers living in general society will instinctively suppress their overflowing Aeterna as to not suffocate regular people. The low concentration of Aeterna in the air pooling around Invokers also contributes to that. However, in here that is an altogether different matter. Even the soldiers stationed in and around the entrance are equivalent of Iron Rank Divine Knight or higher, in order to cope with the powerful aura accumulated from all the Invokers gathered here. At this rate, you''ll faint. Here, I shall lend you a hand.¡±


    Kain frowned, hearing the explanation. So uh, is it kinda like Haki? I get why Derrick''s fine, but what about me?


    He got more confused at Derrick''s assertion when trying to figure out why he was fine and Gabe was suffering like that. Physically speaking, Kain was far, far inferior to Gabe''s constitution so, he should be even more woozy and sick, from all the accumulated Aeterna pressure emitted from the Invokers that had gathered here.


    ¡°By the look of things, you seem to be doing quite well, Kain.¡±


    Derrick changed his focus to his nephew and nodded. ¡°If you are this unaffected, then it could mean you possess substantial talent yourself. Hmm, this trip might turn out as not a total waste of time after all.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you weren''t expecting much from me?!¡±


    Kain raised a shocked voice.


    ¡°Well, you didn''t seem to show much interest in Invocation and also, not much reaction to Aeterna before. But, watching you in this environment, perhaps you do possess a modicum of talent. If so, it''ll bring great relief and prestige to your parents, having two children with Invocational talent.¡±


    What he said was true. Kain always hid what he was doing, trying to act like a five year old, or at least what he thought was the behavior expected of one.


    He wondered whether he made a mistake in concealing what he had done so far in private. Sure, he had an Affinity with Earth Element, and over the last couple and a bit years he worked on increasing his Aeterna Pool so if he got tested now, he''d be seen as a genius, a natural born talent, just like Kaleena was.


    But that wasn''t the case. He just worked his butt off to get this far. He wasn''t a god-given talent, he was simply born with a twenty something (now thirty something) year old''s mind and his thought process. He wasn''t a kid, not at all.


    Suddenly, he didn''t feel so confident at getting his abilities tested. Never mind the results of the said test, he was now more worried about the expectations that might arise afterwards. Because he didn''t deserve it.


    This is stupid, Kain groaned inwardly. Why am I hesitating over this? I just need to get tested and then, go from there. It''s not difficult. Wake up, me.


    ¡°....Dawson.¡±


    Because he was distracted, Kain didn''t hear what Derrick muttered in surprise right next to him, nor did he see what made him so in the first place.


    But the sudden surge of powerful, oppressive aura coming from Derrick was unmistakable, for anything else other than that of an intent to kill. It chilled him to the bones, making him raise his head and see the cause of this hostility.


    Before Kain''s group, standing in front of the grandly designed and decorated doorway of the SOIR''s main building, a man was waiting with a thin smile. He was tall, lanky and had a balding crown. His thin eyes were studying them carefully.


    Kain pegged him as middle-aged, but it was hard to tell, since his skin was as smooth as a baby''s bottom. No beard either, on the chiseled square jaw. But one thing''s for sure, his attire showed off how highly ranked officer this man was. Or a noble, which ever applied first.


    The white robe he wore were fundamentally different in design from what Kain had seen from pretty much everyone so far, Invokers or not. A pair of polished pauldrons ¨C armors that covered each shoulders ¨C holding a matching mantle, and a great number of small medallions affixed to the left chest area, with the same crest as it was seen on the side of the Sky Ark all conspired to give this man the air of authority.


    If Kain were to make a comparison, then it reminded of him the formal uniform of a highly-decorated colonel, or maybe even higher military rank. More importantly though, that incredible amount of Aeterna Kain sensed on this man; he might be the strongest monster of all here, by some margin. He felt slightly queasy just by being near him.


    Kain tensed up instinctively. Just who the hell is this guy?!


    ¡°It is indeed, a pleasant surprise, Sir Derrick, to see you all this way out here in Lafayette,¡± said the tall and lanky man. ¡°When the guardsman spoke of your name, I couldn''t believe my ears ¨C so I had to see for myself.¡±


    ¡°....Master Dawson, it has been a while.¡± Derrick replied curtly, his anger quickly cooling off behind a cold expression. ¡°What brings you this far from the Capital and her political infighting?¡±


    Dawson seemed to have a thin smile permanently plastered on his face. In fact, when he spoke, the smile never went away.


    ¡°My work has brought me here, to this beautiful city. As you very well know, my work has many layers, one of them requiring me to travel extensively. With the advancement of the Sky Ark, my life has become just a tad easier.¡±


    He might be smiling, but the eyes weren''t.


    Those sharp eyes came down on Kain next. The boy felt a creepy chill tickle down on his back. It was rather an unpleasant sensation.


    ¡°And now, what do we have here? I don''t remember you having a son. Hello there, child. I am Master Marcus Dawson of the Special Bureau. You are?¡±


    ¡°This child doesn''t concern you.¡±


    Derrick stood in front of Dawson, blocking the view. It was also to stop Kain from answering the man unnecessarily.


    Dawson wasn''t undeterred, however. ¡°Hmm, if I remember correctly, Lord Dukakis'' younger brother, a certain Sir Damien Lucius Lomax, resides within the village of Riverfield, which is nearby, no? Could this adorable boy be your nephew, then?¡±


    ¡°What of it? If you were on your way out, please, let us not stop you.¡± Derrick stepped aside with Kain still behind his impressive girth, away from Dawson''s view.


    The lanky man chuckled but it clearly had no mirth. ¡°Very well, Sir Derrick. I shan''t keep you from your business with the Society. It has been a pleasure seeing you again after all this time.¡±


    With that, he began to walk leisurely past Kain''s group.


    By this time, Gabe had already fainted with bubbles forming in his mouth. His carcass was being supported by the escorting guard, irritation writ large on his creased face.


    Kain noticed that Dawson''s gait was unusual, as if his feet weren''t touching the ground. It was impossible to tell, as his robe extended well down past his feet, brushing the floor as he moved.


    Whew, that was really frothy between the two of ''em, wasn''t it?


    Kain breathed a sigh of relief as Dawson''s back drifted farther away. But then, a sliver of voice, carried on the wind, reached his ears.


    ¡°We''ll see each other again, young Kain, son of Baron Damien Lucius Lomax....¡±


    It was so small and fleeting, momentarily Kain thought he misheard the murmur of a passing breeze. But no, it was Dawson''s voice, he was sure of it. Looking at Derrick, he realized he was the only person here who had heard it.


    Kain deeply frowned, slightly freaked out at this new development. Dawson used some sort of Invocation to convey a message to him, that sounded rather ominous for its own good.


    Determining that he needed more information on this Dawson character, Kain asked Derrick on the identity of the man.


    ¡°Who was that, uncle Derrick?¡±


    The question broke the brooding silence of the big man.


    ¡°A very dangerous man, someone you will need to be wary of in the future.¡±


    ¡°He said he''s from the Special Bureau? What''s that?¡±


    Derrick turned his gaze down to his nephew. He wasn''t sure if he should tell the boy what the Bureau was on the surface, and what they actually did behind the scenes.


    On one hand, to his eyes the boy was obviously far too intelligent for his age, the way he acted and spoke on matters a child shouldn''t even care about. But, on the other hand, he acted so oblivious to most mundane things, it was almost to the point of mistaking him as a blithering idiot.


    In the end, he decided to tell a little. It wouldn''t hurt, he thought.


    ¡°The Special Bureau is tasked with liaising with various other entities not affiliated with the Government. They are basically inspectors of sorts, making sure organizations have the best interest of the Empire at heart. Well, that''s on the surface, at least.¡±


    ¡°On the surface, is it? And underneath? What are they suppose to do?¡±


    ¡°....That''s the part of the world you''ll learn of, as you get older and start moving in the circles of nobility. For now, do not pay any heed to this Dawson or to the Special Bureau.¡±


    Derrick cut this conversation here. No need to tell a five year old kid that Bureau''s top agents were actually skilled assassins and infiltrators.


    Kain read the mood and figured he should drop it as well. It was just that, he couldn''t shake off the feeling that he''d see Dawson again sooner or later.


    As far as ominous event flags go, this one was certainly too big and shouty to ignore, just like that. The fact that he knew his name was also a matter of concern.


    It wasn''t like Kain didn''t have an inkling of what the Bureau might be, as insinuated by Derrick. His gut feeling told him that it was not something all fluffy and cuddly.


    What does he want with me, then? He has history with Derrick ¨C even I can see that. Man, I better not get dragged in whatever this thing is. That''d be so uncool.


    ~


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t the end of their troubles.


    The receptionist at SOIR''s main building informed Kain and his group that Ahres was no longer in the city. He was dispatched to the nearby town of Somerset out East on an assignment, a week''s travel on horseback away. The worst bit of the news regarding that, was he wouldn''t be back for months, maybe up to a year, even.


    Now normally, that shouldn''t be a troublesome matter. The real trouble came after.


    Derrick made a request for someone else to perform the Affinity Test on Kain, which was an obvious thing to do under this kind of situation. After all, they were in an institution where it''s filled to the brim with Invokers, top to bottom. Finding one to do a simple test procedure didn''t sound so difficult.


    The answer they got wasn''t good. Those permitted to perform the test were not on the premise at present, that most were on their own individual assignments. The timing itself was rather strange, thought Kain. What were the odds of every single one of ''em not being here at the same time?


    The receptionist''s recommendation was to wait a fortnight and then see if anyone was available then.


    At this point, Kain got impatient, and grumbled out aloud. ¡°It''s just a test, you know. How come it''s so complicated?¡±


    ¡°It isn''t just a test,¡± the receptionist rebuked him sternly. ¡°Only the qualified members of SOIR are permitted to carry out the Affinity tests with the special Modified Truth Boards.¡±


    ¡°Modified Truth Boards?¡± Kain tilted his head, and glanced over at Derrick.


    The older man nodded. ¡°Yes, modified. It works in largely the same manner as the normal Truth Boards used by the guards. But it has been changed in order to perform Invocation talent tests.¡±


    ¡°That is correct,¡± the receptionist chimed in. ¡°The Truth Board used for the test procedures has operational requirements that are far higher than regular items. And let''s not forget,, the information disclosed on the test apparatus is exceedingly important, and not to mention, private. Only the trusted members of SOIR hierarchy are issued with a single Board per person.¡±


    ¡°That''s all good and well,¡± Kain continued to groan. ¡°But how does that help me right now? Even if we come back in two weeks'' time to find someone to do the test, I still have to wait yet another week for the result, right? That''s almost a whole month gone by then.¡±


    ¡°That won''t be necessarily true,¡± the receptionist curtly stopped him from complaining further. ¡°The members of Lafayette SOIR branch has been issued with an improved version of the Board, thus acquisition of the test results will not take more than two days. It''s the verification process that will take another day, two at most.¡±


    Four days, huh. Kain sighed inwardly. A grand total saving of three whole freaking days. Yay.


    Kain of course understood the reasoning for all the secrecy and caution with this seemingly simple test. Recalling the time when Kaleena got her results back, it contained sensitive information on the amount of Aeterna Pool as well as her various Affinities. If her enemies got a hold of that, than they would be able to find vulnerabilities to exploit. He could imagine that a bunch of villainous guys doing whatever it takes to acquire such knowledge.


    Let''s say, a royalty got tested on the Elemental Affinity. It then determined this important personage had an Affinity with Lightning Element and possessed X amount of Aeterna Pool. The assassins coming after the royalty could use this info and plan out a sure-kill strategy by attacking with opposing Elemental Affinity Invocations, like Earth, thereby nullifying whatever advantages Lightning Invocations had. The end result would be, that royalty was going to be screwed royally.


    Of course, there were other variables in play, but the gist of matter was something like how Kain had envisioned.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    So, the need for the operators of these Modified Truth Boards to be honest, above-board, and also discreet was totally understandable.


    Regardless, it still didn''t improve his situation not one bit.


    ¡°Uhm, so what should we do, sir?¡± Gabe asked anxiously.


    Derrick glanced over at the receptionsit. ¡°Very well, we shall return and reschedule when there are invokers available.¡± Then, he turned towards his companions and said. ¡°For now, we still have time before Sir Damien completes his task. Let us leave and find a place to wait.¡±


    Gabe''s still-pale face brightened up a little. ¡°Sir, can we perhaps use this opportunity to explore the Adventurer''s Association next door?¡±


    Derrick was undecided, but only for a moment. Poor Gabe had been suffering badly from the Aeterna Pressure, and he looked like someone who had just seen a ghost. Or lost twenty years of his life. Whatever the case may be, it was true the boy suffered, even if it was for briefly. Thinking about him, Derrick chose the next destination easily enough.


    ¡°Very well. We shall head there. There is a canteen within the Association. We''ll grab a table and discuss our plans there.¡±


    ~


    Kain and his group left the Society''s gates and headed straight for that of the Adventurer''s Association building, located on the city block right next door. Although, it was theoretically next door, the distance between the two wasn''t a joke.


    But the difference in the atmosphere was readily apparent once the trio crossed the street on foot. There were immediately lots more people walking about, busy doing their chores and whatnot, unlike the front of SOIR, where hardly any souls could be seen. Even the street itself was grimier.


    If one was all about maintaining a tranquil, relaxed, school-like facade, then the other was a traditional street-side market choke-a-full of daily necessities on sale.


    The Association''s building was a five stories tall structure, with tiled roofs and robust brick walls. Unlike SOIR, there were no sky-high walls to keep out passersby, as if to send out a message of everyone''s welcome. On the other hand, SOIR was all about you''re not welcome.


    The contrast continued inside as well. While the reception area of the Invokers'' union was sterile and joyless, kinda like what one might find in a slick accounting firm''s waiting area, here it all felt more rowdy, like a cafeteria during a lunch break.


    The noise wasn''t deafening but it was certainly pretty lively. Lizbeth would''ve hated this place. She did enjoy a bout of peace and quiet, after all. Kain wondered how exactly Damien and her plied their trade here. Not necessarily here as in Lafayette, but somewhere else. He had no doubt that other Association branches were just as lively as this one.


    No one really paid any minds to the new arrivals pushing through the Wild Wild West Saloon style ''batwing'' doors. Civilians often entered to post a job or a request so the presence of Kain''s group didn''t attract too much attention.


    He curiously looked around the interior, hoping a little bit that the place operated like something out of a video game. That''d be cool. Immediately, he found something useful.


    It was the fact that Derrick was the definition of The Perfect Fit, especially for this place. Everywhere he looked, the Association''s first floor was brimming with scary looking mugs. Almost all of these faces were accompanied by equally sinister weapons, upping the intimidation factor by a few notches easily.


    Gabe was taken back by the aura of the place. Slightly terrified, but also intrigued, he steeled his trembling legs ¨C and his heart ¨C and studied his surroundings. It was his wish to become an Adventurer so, he knew he had to man up here and not falter. What he was seeing, and soaking in, was a good experience for him, without a doubt.


    The immediately visible interior space of the Association was divided into two floors. The upper three were accessible via a staircase but only the qualified personnel were allowed up there, no civilians permitted.


    Of the two open floors, the ground floor had the most traffic, somewhat reminiscent of a bank full of customers waiting in line to see a teller. There were benches where people sat, there were stern, guards-looking men, and this smoky, late afternoon bronze-like sheen permeating the air throughout like a lazy haze.


    As far as Kain could see, there were no open seats, which was unfortunate. Nor did he spot a corridor leading to a john. The upper floor utilized only a portion of available space, perhaps half that of the ground floor. The wooden stairs with thin guard rail were on the left hand side, seemingly the only way to go up there.


    Other than that, it was hard to get a good look at the place ¨C Kain was far too short for that. Still, he got a fairly okay-ish gander at the layout of the place.


    ¡°Let''s go upstairs,¡± said Derrick as he grabbed Kain''s hand. ¡°Don''t let go, now.¡±


    For a guy who hardly talked to him before today, he certainly was being assertive, Kain mused slightly.


    Not saying anything, he followed, with Gabe taking up the rear. Past the jostling bodies they arrived safely on the second floor. The breathing room up here allowed them to take a deeper breath, which, Kain instantly regretted doing.


    The stench of heavy body odor hit him like a falling sack of potatoes. He quickly covered his nose but alas, it was too late. The smell wasn''t so bad down on the ground floor, where there were many, many sweaty bodies yet weirdly it was worse up here, a floor with barely a dozen people. So he wasn''t prepared for the assault on his senses.


    Large windows on the floor were all wide open, and a woman in her forties wearing a fading red bandana was constantly casting an Invocation of Air Element to circulate the foul air. It seemed she was in charge of ventilation, causing all that smell to concentrate up here before she could drive it all away.


    However, she was alone, and one person couldn''t make too much of a difference. She looked over Kain, sweating heavily herself, and gave the boy an apologetic smile. Kain shrugged his shoulders and returned a smile of his own that said, oh well, what can you do, eh?


    The second floor was laid out like a restaurant. This place was what Derrick talked about earlier when he mentioned a canteen. A dozen round tables with oil lamps in the middle dotted the space. Directly in front of the stairs, a single piece bar with various bottles of booze lined up behind. Beyond that, a kitchen was visible, with cooks moving about.


    ¡°Let''s sit over there.¡±


    Derrick pointed to one of the unoccupied tables.


    It was well after lunch yet half the tables were still home to hungry men and women furiously slurping down food and drink. Kain didn''t know, but this restaurant was quite famous in Lafayette for providing tasty meals for a very reasonable prices. It was therefore, popular, with tons of customers fighting for a seat during peak hours.


    The table Derrick chose was right near the railing, offering a good view of the floor below. Up high Kain was afforded a better view of the layout. To the right hand side of the entrance, there was a massive wall mounted notice board. A countless papers and memos of varying sizes were plastered on it.


    Alongside it, on the next wall, two more boards of equally impressive dimensions. One of them had rough drawings of men on it, with large descriptions on who they were, and how much their respective bounties were. The another one simply had more memos and stuff.


    Unlike majority of those throwaway Jap Web Novels featuring some rudimentary Adventurer ¡°Guild¡±, there weren''t any so-called request or job windows with pretty girls manning them. If that were the case, it''d be too cliched.


    Here, things seemed to work a little differently. There were two passageways, one right next to these boards, while the other below where Kain was.


    Normal people, people that weren''t Adventurers, entered the first passageway, sometimes carrying boxes or rolled up parchments. Those looking to place requests entered the offices there.


    The second passage was for the ones looking to take up a job listed on the boards. An Adventurer would tear out the request paper or a memo, and approach the Association official to arrange the signing of the contract between the potential employee and the employer.


    The Association''s role was not only to manage the Adventurers but to play the middle man in establishing contact between those who were looking for work and those looking for help. All the contract signing and negotiations were done behind closed doors in order to lessen the intrusion from the prying eyes and keen ears.


    Kain was able to discern quite a few men and women walking around holding what looked like paperwork on them. Lots of them, as a matter of fact. Somehow, he had this image in his head, of Adventurers buried in a pile of paperwork as tall as a small mountain, slowly being forgotten by everyone.


    Certainly, not something he imagined what an Adventurer should be doing.


    ¡°Haven''t seen you guys around here before.¡±


    A sturdy looking middle aged woman came over to Kain''s table and asked in friendly enough manner.


    ¡°What can I get you?¡±


    Derrick answered first. ¡°Tea.¡±


    Gabe followed up. ¡°Uhm, not sure but something cheapest?¡±


    And Kain said, ¡°The most tasty one, of course!¡±


    The woman chuckled. ¡°Well, I can''t guarantee you''ll like the food here, but you got it, youngster. As for the cheapest, it''s ale, and you don''t look old enough to sprout hairs down there yet, so no, you ain''t having that. As for you, sir, what kind of tea would you like?¡±


    ¡°Either Lyden or Blackwood will suffice.¡± Derrick replied.


    ¡°But of course,¡± said she, her words slightly tinged with sarcasm before walking away.


    Derrick didn''t really mind the needle in her words. The establishment like these didn''t have a high number of patrons asking for tea, never mind the more exclusive Lyden, or Blackwood brands. Nevertheless, he was thirsty, he missed the fragrant scent of well cultured tea, and in a city as big and strategically important like Lafayette, he sure as hell was going to have it, sarcasm be damned.


    Not really caring about that, Kain and Gabe kept on staring at the floor below and all the hubbub going on there. It sure was a fun way to pass the time for them. The variety of races in the crowd was just way beyond that of what he had seen in Riverfield.


    The sleepy farming village may be a good example of harmonious mix of all the races but, nothing beat a big city like Lafayette for a true melting pot of diversity. Kain felt pretty happy that he came.


    Oddly though, he didn''t notice any long eared Elves. They were genre staple like dwarves and so-called beastmen yet he hadn''t seen one so far. He wondered why. Could there be that no Elves existed in this world?


    If so, that''d be crushingly disappointing.


    ¡°Hey, young master Kain, what do you think is going on today? I doubt it''s this crowded everyday.¡± Gabe asked the boy next to him, without taking his eyes off.


    ¡°Beats me,¡± Kain shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Maybe today''s a payday?¡±


    ¡°What''s a payday?¡±


    ¡°....Never mind.¡±


    Realizing that there was no such concept as monthly wages paid out on a specific day in Riverfield, Kain decided drop the subject before he ends up needlessly explaining it. Everyone there worked for their own keep, and at the end of the day, got their fair share. Maybe the concept had taken root in cities like Lafayette, but as far as his little hometown was concerned, it was still very much a backwater, rural place.


    Then Kain suddenly smelled something indescribably delicious, something roasted, something beautiful. The terrible body odor had been somewhat cleared out, and his nose had gotten used to the rancid aroma so the intrusion of a new stimulant caught his attention greatly. He turned his head to see the woman carrying plates of their order from the kitchen entrance.


    She was dexterously balancing a small plate of teapot and its cutlery, and on the other a hefty, steaming meat on a large plate. Kain could see that she was using Aeterna in some capacity to help with the balancing.


    Obviously he was surprised to see that. Besides him knowing that the number of people capable of using Invocation were low, it was that he couldn''t really understand the concept of this particular spell.


    And on top of that, he couldn''t fathom what Element it was, although it could''ve been Wind.


    Anyways, he wondered why on earth an Invoker was working as a waitress in a smelly joint like this.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    She placed the tea plate in front of Derrick, and the meat in front of Kain. The aroma of roasted meat chased away what little foul smell remained from his memories, and caused both him and Gabe to salivate like a pair of starved hyenas staring at a prey.


    The dish''s main attraction was a big slab of reddish brown meat, garnished with potatoes and carrots, dressed in thick sauce that vaguely smelled like creamy mushroom. Looking at this, Gabe swallowed quite hard.


    ¡°Wow, that looks incredible.¡±


    He wiped the drool with his sleeve, only to notice that his spot was empty.


    Confused, he asked. ¡°Uh, ma''am, where''s mine?¡±


    ¡°Told you, cheapest here is booze,¡± she chuckled. ¡°And you''re too young to drink. Better order something else.¡± She then handed him a wooden board, a menu.


    Looking at the prices on it, tears began to appear on Gabe''s eyes. He just had no money to spend on eating out like this, and the prices of even the cheapest dish were out of his budget.


    ¡°Oh hey, we can share. I mean, look how large this dish is.¡±


    Quickly judging the situation, Kain came to his rescue.


    ¡°It''s too big for me to finish alone. So, let''s share. I''ll eat first, and give you the rest. That''s cool, right?¡±


    Gabe smiled radiantly, a drop of water still lingering on the corner of his eye. Kain sighed inwardly, thinking he somehow averted a small crisis just now.


    ¡°Suit yourselves,¡± the waitress said.


    Kain then dug into the meat. It was good. No scratch that, it was freaking fantastic. Probably the best steak he''d ever have the pleasure of putting inside his mouth.


    He wolfed down the food like a madman. The potatoes were baked pretty nicely too, although it was a bit too thin on the palate. Delilah made a better baked potatoes in comparison. The carrots too, they were good but just not as much as the home cooking.


    None of that mattered with this meat as the center piece, however. The mushroom sauce was the perfect companion for this juicy and tender steak. He could very well see why this was the tastiest dish in this place.


    He lamented the fact that he had a small stomach and thus unable to enjoy the meat longer. He became full soon enough, and had to pass it over to Gabe who was staring at the boy with a pair of bloodshot eyes, barely containing his drool.


    Derrick just sat there, and drank his tea without saying a word. Kain thought that he truly was made of seriously stern stuff if he was not in the least tempted by the sight of this magnificent dish and its rousing aroma.


    While Gabe was tearing into the steak, Kain asked Derrick about something that had been bothering him, but not clarified it yet. And since the big man seemed to be in a deep contemplative mood, he thought it''d be easier to catch him off guard with a question.


    ¡°Uncle Derrick, who is Lord Dukakis? That man, Dawson, mentioned something about him being my dad''s brother?¡±


    ¡°It''s true. Count Dukakis Lucius Lomax is your other uncle. He is currently the lord of the town of Marlborough, up in the Northern Territories.¡± Derrick answered nonchalantly. ¡°Did your father not tell you about him?¡±


    ¡°Nope. I don''t know anything about my family on either side. Excluding you and Katrina, I''ve no idea how many cousins and uncles I have. Heck, I don''t even know whether I have grandparents or not.¡±


    ¡°I see. It seems your father wishes to insulate both you and Kaleena away from the bitter bickering within the Lomax family line.¡± Derrick sipped his tea like a proper gentleman that he was and sighed for some reason.


    After a short while, he spoke to his nephew.


    ¡°Listen well Kain. Soon, you''ll become a piece in the ugly and often brutal hierarchy of the Empire''s political system. Your parents reserve the right to tell you more about the situation within your branch of Lomax bloodline, which is Lucius. But, knowing the machinations of the Capital is vital for you, going forward. Especially so, since you''re a male heir.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Isn''t Kaleena the heir? She''s a first born, right?¡±


    Derrick kept silent, but he glanced over at Gabe who was still munching through the steak with tinkling eyes full of bliss. He was waiting for the teen to finish up, so he can be sent away for an errand, reducing one pair of ears listening in on his tales.


    Not reading the flow, Gabe took his his time savouring the taste of the steak. While chewing, he muttered.


    ¡°What kind of meat is this? Honestly, I''ve never ate anything like this before. And trust me, I''ve eaten all sorts of stuff over the years, I''ll have you know.¡±


    ¡°It''s the belly meat of a fiend known as Grell.¡± The waitress sauntered up with a medium sized wooden tankard, and placed it on the table before Kain. Smiling, she said kindly. ¡°Here, it''s on the house, kiddo.¡±


    Kain peered over at the content, but the aroma rising from the white-ish liquid inside confirmed his suspicion ¨C it was goat milk, but nicely warmed up. He returned a bright smile and thanked her.


    ¡°What''s a Grell?¡± Gabe asked, while still chewing vigorously.


    ¡°....Let''s just say, you don''t want to know. Not now, anyway,¡± said the waitress. ¡°Call me, when you guys are done.¡±


    Watching her walk away, Gabe mumbled between the bites. ¡°But I want to know....¡±


    A Grell, huh. Now where did I hear that name before? I swear it wasn''t too long ago.


    Kain frowned a little, wrecking his brain for an answer. Then he recalled an information regarding a certain disgusting monster, which he read from a missive sent to all the rural villages from the Capital, warning the residents of a man-eating monster living in densely wooded areas.


    A multi-limbed land creature the size of a raging bull that favored dark depths where sun rarely shined on, and preying upon pretty much anything but still partial to human flesh; covered in slick, oily black skin; a single, large eyeball, and a mouth located near the belly with rows of razor-sharp teeth; and to top it off, feeler-like tentacles growing on its back.


    That was a Grell.


    Kain felt queasy recalling that.


    He made a mental note never to ask for the origin of unknown meat in this world. There was a chance that he might end up eating something even worse than a Grell meat. Ignorance was, indeed, bliss.


    Since Gabe hadn''t finished yet, Kain asked something else.


    ¡°Uncle, did you see that lady when she was carrying the food? I think she was using some sort of Invocation to balance the plates.¡±


    Derrick raised a surprised eyebrow. ¡°Well, that''s certainly possible. If true, then it is most like a some form of Body Enhancement Invocation.¡±


    Eh? So that''s a Body Enhancement?


    Intrigued, Kain sat closer. ¡°What''s that, uncle?¡±


    ¡°It''s a field of specialized Invocation spells. Or rather, skills. Most people living in this world possess some amount of latitude with Aeterna. However, it''s far too minute most of the time to let the person become a full fledged Invoker. Still, with a right type of training, that amount can be utilized in any number of ways.¡±


    He pointed at his left, to his giant sword, now resting against the sturdy wall. ¡°Imagine, you want to swing this weapon around in a battle. Under normal circumstances, that won''t be possible no matter how hard you train your muscles. But, by using a Body Enhancement skill, you will be able to use a weapon that weighs as much as this. There are many other uses outside of simple strength enhancement as well.¡±


    Oh, this is good. I was trying to copy your Body Enhancement from before, but it was too darn hard. Maybe now I''ll get some pointers like this. Keep going, big fella.


    Kain grinned and leaned forward. ¡°Are you going to teach me that skill?¡±


    ¡°Not yet. You and Kaleena are too young, physically. You need to build your core muscle strength first before learning the Enhancement skills, as it would be dangerous to over rely on them and neglect your own body''s growth.¡±


    Oh well, that was disappointing. Kain shrugged his shoulders again. Didn''t expect a smooth sailing so he wasn''t that gutted.


    ¡°It is rather surprising that you thought the waitress was using an Invocation. What gave you the idea?¡±


    Derrick narrowed his eyes and proved.


    Feeling a slight panic, Kain mumbled out some words. ¡°Uhm, ah, you know, Rosy can''t balance so many plates well but that aunty did. So I thought, you know, this being an Adventurer''s Association and all, so uh, she must have been using an Invocation.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I wonder.¡±


    Derrick didn''t look too convinced in Kain''s eyes. Panicking a little more, the boy tried to steer the topic away.


    ¡°The waitress lady using the Body Enhancement skill, does that mean she trained before? Is there a school for waitresses?¡±


    ¡°Most likely, she is an Adventurer, although, probably not an active member.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean, not active? My dad''s a retired Adventurer. Is she something like that?¡±


    ¡°No, not like that. There are no retirements once you become an Adventurer. You''re either inactive, or expelled. That''s it. Your father is inactive, but he is still recognized as an Adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Can I become one too?¡±


    ¡°It is better you don''t.¡± Derrick shook his head. ¡°Your father went and became an Adventurer only because he was being rebellious. And that complicated matters later on.¡±


    ¡°I don''t understand.¡± Kain tilted his head to the side.


    ¡°Look, Kain. An Adventurer has no allegiances except to themselves, and to the laws binding them. They may be of noble goals, but once you sign up to become one, you must be ready to give up on your own country. You answer to no one other than to those of the employers, or if you''re in a Guild of Adventurers, then to a Guild Master. You are sworn to uphold the values and rules of Adventurers ¨C which, sometimes, doesn''t line up with the ideals of the rulers of nations, this Empire included.¡±


    Taking a long sip of his tea, Derrick sighed. ¡°Your father becoming an Adventurer caused a lot of trouble for him and for his family, precisely because of his background.¡±


    ¡°But he''s a lord of a village now, isn''t he? How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°Well, your father, being a person from a privileged backing, had enough fortuitous encounters, which lead to a decisive moment when he achieved a meritorious deed for the citizens of Empire. Thus, he was rewarded. And persuaded, to settle down.¡±


    Kain was going to ask what kind of deed but with a good timing, Gabe was done licking the plate clean like a hungry dog, and let out a loud, satisfied moan. His eyes moistened fondly at the lingering aftertaste, and sorrowfully gazed at the clean plate, looking rather pitiful.


    ¡°Gabe, I want you to go and wait for Lord Damien by the front gates of the SOIR branch. I wish not to miss him. When he arrives after the conclusion of his task, guide him here.¡±


    Derrick told the sad-eyed boy.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    Gabe stood up wearily and dragged his feet out the door. He was increasingly looking more pitiful by the second.


    Derrick turned to Kain, and finally spoke where he left off earlier on.


    ¡°There are six major bloodlines in the Empire. The ancient bloodlines, that stretch back to the founding of our nation.¡±


    Kain took a big gulp of the goat milk, settling down for a long lecture.


    ¡°Those are the House of Hamilton, the House of Lafayette, the House of Bloemgardtner, the House of Lomax, the House of Phillips, and the House of Argos.¡±


    Kain didn''t miss the Lomax being mentioned in Derrick''s speech. It obviously meant his family was a real big shot in the Empire. Which he had no idea of until now.


    ¡°The six Houses are the founders of the Empire, with Argos bloodline acting as the glue that holds the various factions together. But for so long, unity has been lost between the major families. And there are numerous other minor Houses that wish to become the force to reckoned with in the Imperial Court.¡±


    ¡°How does our family work? You''re my uncle, but there''s this Septima and Lucius thing.¡±


    ¡°I''m a member of the Septima branch of the Lomax bloodline. While you Kain, belong to the Lucius branch. We still come from a single forefather, the founder of the Empire.¡±


    ¡°How far are we removed from each other, uncle?¡±


    Derrick leaned back, contemplating his answer for a short moment. ¡°It''s far enough, but, also quite close. The main issue is this. You. You are the only male heir currently in your generation within the entirety of Lomax bloodline.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why is that a pro....¡±


    Before finishing his sentence, it hit Kain. He was the only boy born in this generation. Tradition dictated that only a male heir could inherit the family name. So, unless there''s another son born in the House of Lomax, then the family name would come to a dead stop, disappearing into the ether. Well, at least not the Lucius branch, that''s for sure.


    ¡°If that''s the case, then why not just have more children?¡±


    Kain asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.


    Derrick shook his head. ¡°It isn''t such a simple matter. There are other factors at play here.¡±


    ¡°Such as?¡±


    ¡°As I mentioned before, the unity between the major bloodlines have been strained. It''s only natural that enmity is formed under such conditions. Hostilities that are sometimes beyond our control to manage.¡±


    That sounded rather ominous to Kain.


    ¡°I''m sorry Kain, but you need to ask your father for more clarity. I''m not in the position to fully disclose this matter, which affects you. Only your father and your mother reserve the right to tell you what your future might entail.¡±


    Those words signaled the end of this conversation tree.


    But just from this exchange, Kain realized there were enemies of his family out there. Remembering the night when Kaleena was nearly killed, he felt chill crawl up his spine. Did the assassins come for him instead, that night? Did Kaleena got involved inadvertently? Or did the bastards aimed to take out everyone while they slept?


    Somethings still didn''t make sense, like why there were no other male heirs born into the current Lomax household. Just chalking it up to the outside interference didn''t sound right to him. If that was the case, then how did he survive?


    He definitely wanted to ask Damien about this, as soon as possible.


    Preferably, when they were alone.


    Suddenly, Derrick looked behind Kain, at the staircase, and slowly stood up. Kain too, gazed at the direction, and saw Damien climbing up with Rolf and Gabe in tow.


    ¡°That didn''t take long,¡± Kain exclaimed.


    ¡°Ah, right. Duke Lafayette was more than happy to provide assistance. Our talk was suitably short because of that.¡± Damien smiled. ¡°I didn''t expect you guys to be slumming here, however.¡±


    He sat down next to his son and brushed the boy''s hair. ¡°Hey little man. Sorry about the test. And you came all the way out here.¡±


    ¡°It''s alright.¡± Kain shrugged his shoulders. Again.


    Damien looked around, and when he spotted the waitress lady that served Kain before, he called out to her. ¡°Hey, Maria, can you get me the usual? Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Ho, look who it is, if it ain''t Damien Lucius. You back to Adventuring yet?¡± Maria the waitress chuckled as she brought him a tankard of what Kain assumed to be ale.


    ¡°Nah. I''m too busy taking care of my two kids. Here''s one of ''em.¡± Damien smiled and lightly slapped the boy''s back. ¡°Did you say hello to Miss Maria here? She''s a real big shot in this place, you know.¡±


    ¡°No, I haven''t, but thanks again for the milk, Miss Maria.¡±


    Maria made an astonished expression and looked closer at Kain. ¡°So, this here is your son? Now that you mention it, he kinda looks a little like you. Honestly though, I thought he was this sturdy gent''s child.¡±


    Maria was pointing at Derrick, who wasn''t really listening to this conversation.


    ¡°Your son even had a gall to wolf down a Grell steak and Toxic Mist Mushroom sauce!¡±


    Maria happily added, finally revealing the full name of the dish.


    ¡°Oh no, you didn''t.¡± Damien looked at her dismayed. ¡°You gave him a Grell steak? No doubt you told him what it was after he finished it.¡±


    ¡°That I did. And your son didn''t even flinch. And I think he knows what a Grell is already. While that young ''un didn''t even have a clue.¡±


    This time, she pointed at Gabe.


    ¡°But of course Kain would know. He''s the smartest kid in the world. So smart in fact, sometimes he scares me half to death.¡± Damien smiled and squeezed his son''s shoulder.


    Meanwhile, Gabe''s expression was turning sour, after hearing the words Toxic Mist Mushroom sauce. It certainly didn''t sound like something that would be good for one''s vowels. He still had no idea what a Grell was, but he felt like throwing up quickly to counteract whatever poison he might have ingested.


    ¡°Please excuse me,¡± Gabe said, and quickly got up, running outside in a hurry.


    Damien and Maria shared a long chuckle at that.


    She left, saying she''d bring Damien''s usual grub. Rolf just sat on his chair pensively, his nostrils plugged with pieces of cork. Kain sniggered at that.


    Derrick explained what happened in detail at SOIR branch, including the encounter with Dawson.


    After listening it all, there was some worried frown on his crease, but eventually, he brightened up and spoke.


    ¡°Well, that puts us in an awkward position, doesn''t it. So, what are our current available options?¡±

 Chapter 17

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">17</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments.Thanks!!)


    ¡°So, then. This Dawson fellow. How dangerous is he?¡±


    Damien let loose a deep frown, which looked many folds deeper as the weak light from a lone oil-lit lamp flickered about.


    ¡°Very. He''s not to be underestimated.¡±


    Derrick''s reply was bitter yet cautious, low and soft, as he tried not to rouse Kain, sleeping on a bed next to them.


    It was nighttime in the city of Lafayette. Inside a room in a mid-class inn, where the traveling group decided to spend the night in, only the two Lomaxes were awake, and discussing the matter of one Special Bureau agent. It wasn''t the most luxurious accommodation out there, but it sure was affordable. Situated next to the Adventurer''s Association building, the place was favored by the Adventurers and the like.


    Most importantly though, its security was top notch, only because of all the heavily armed folks staying here.


    ¡°Wait, could he be the one who got Hurst arrested for murder?¡±


    Recalling a fairly ugly story from a couple of years ago, Damien asked.


    ¡°Yes. I''ve no clear evidence, but hearsay indicates it was indeed him. My contacts have said Dawson was seen on the move during the investigation.¡±


    Derrick''s face was grim as he chewed the words out slowly.


    Hurst von Himmelmann was a middle-aged well-to-do merchant who single-handedly formed the support base of Derrick''s attempt at taking the position of the Septima branch head. With his backing, plus some timely introductions to many other influential individuals, the position was as good as Derrick''s.


    But overnight, Hurst was charged with the murder of a common prostitute, a songstress walking the night alley. There were witnesses, there were physical evidences. It was the so-called slam dunk, open-and-shut case.


    But the day in question when the deed was supposed to be committed, Hurst was with his secret lover, a man many years his junior. In other words, he batted for the other team. Yet, the supposed victim was a woman. No one knew of his sexual preferences until then ¨C after all, Hurst was married with children, and was a respected member of the community.


    Now normally, the discrepancy of the mismatched date could be explained away. And the lover would have made a perfect counter witness. Alas, this young man disappeared into the thin air, with nary a trace left behind.


    And thus, Hurst was gone. With that, the formidable backing Derrick amassed as well.


    The end result was, he was forced out by his younger, and infinitely more ambitious brother, Duncan Septima Lomax. losing the battle for the position of the Septima branch patriarch.


    After that, all Derrick could do was to flee the capital with his daughter in tow. Duncan may have been his younger brother, but their mothers were different, and they rarely spent any time together. They might as well be complete strangers, sharing only the family names.


    On top of that, Duncan had this streak of paranoia running in him. At this stage, it was a minute, weak strand of ill thoughts. However, since he was willing to not only have an innocent man incarcerated, but to have someone totally unrelated murdered just to complete a set up, Derrick couldn''t afford to put his child in potential harm''s way. Thus, they fled as far away as they could.


    Evidently though, it maybe wasn''t far enough.


    ¡°Dawson is just an agent. There must be someone higher up behind him, giving him instructions.¡±


    Damien said, as he gazed into his cousin''s dark, hooded eyes. It was difficult to see the type of emotion rolling around in them, but he could take a guess.


    ¡°It''s all a conjecture. There is a minister in the Imperial Court, and he always had a cordial relation with Duncan in the past. That person has a family member sitting on the board of trustees overseeing the Bureau. As I said, just a conjecture.¡±


    ¡°Damn.¡± Damien sighed. ¡°What''s done is done, I guess. Now the question is, what does Dawson want? He better not be here for my family. Otherwise, I won''t stay my hands. I mean, my hand.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, Damien. I''ve given you my word, no harm will befall your family. I''ll clean up any mess. But.... I do not believe Dawson was here for you. He is an agent of the Bureau, after all. He should be in the middle of other assignments, unrelated with me. With us.¡±


    Damien wasn''t convinced, but decided to trust his cousin for his judgment. There was only one more issue left to discuss.


    ¡°So, right. That''s that. Now.... whew. So we better head back home tomorrow, yes?¡±


    Derrick nodded, rather sheepishly, as he suddenly remembered Lizbeth''s face.


    ¡°Indeed. If we don''t consult your wife on what to do with Kain, then heaven help us, we won''t survive her wrath.¡±


    Damien could only agree. He had many, many first-hand encounter of her fury before. It was wise thing to get her.... opinions before even thinking of doing anything else.


    Turning his gaze at his peacefully sleeping son, he felt another frown forming on his face.


    Oh well. Whatever happens, I''ll deal with it. I''m stronger than I was before. And Derrick''s here too. Nothing''ll go wrong.


    ~


    It had been raining incessantly for the last five days. To say it was depressing, that''d been the understatement of the year.


    Kain woke up with a start, when the caravan he was riding in went over a bump on the uneven road. Momentarily, he couldn''t quite figure out where he was. In his dream, he was home, dry, comfy, eating a sweet cake baked by Delilah and idly watching the clouds roll by overhead, while underneath, Kaleena and Katrina were doing their rivalry thing, which always amused him to no end.


    But now, he was sitting on the rough surface, inside a moving caravan, surrounded by strangers and cargo of unknown identity. Not to mention, a waft of moldy scent reminding him of the bitterly falling rain seeping in through cracks on the wooden frame. This damnable rain had arrived far too early for the beginning of the Monsoon season. He wondered if it was an aftereffect of Global Warming. Even though this was a fantasy world he was in, pollution was indeed everywhere.


    Looking down on a little girl even younger than him, fitfully turning over, he remembered. She was resting her pretty but unkempt and sticky red hair on his lap, which he couldn''t remember giving out a permission to do so.


    Massaging his forehead a little, he thought about going back to sleep. Because of the stupid rain, he couldn''t even open the flap on the tarpaulin-like toughened leather covering the caravan to gaze outside, lest the water gets in. He already got reprimanded for doing that, and once was enough for him. Unless it was for an emergency, he wasn''t going to try his luck again.


    Instead, he made sure no one was awake around him, and decided to work on his Invocation. There was nothing to do anyways, might as well kill time more efficiently, or so he thought with a sigh.


    Truthfully, he was not in contact with any exposed soil, nor he could see one. Rather, what he was concentrating on was other Elements, more specifically Fire, Water and Wind.


    Having Earth Element was nice and all, but ultimately, it lacked a certain bite, a certain something. He quickly told himself it was not about looking cool, but all about living longer and safely.


    Since he knew he had no Affinity with any of them, all he could do was to forcibly Invoke them into life. He had some confidence at the size of his own Aeterna Pool so, the thought process was, he''d be at least able to cast the rudimentary spells more than once without keeling over like falling bricks.


    Kain decided to do this training way before his trip to Somerset was set in stone. He still didn''t agree with the reasoning of him going so far to get his Affinity tested, but there was nothing he could do to oppose his rather determined parents.


    After the group returned from Lafayette, the adults converged and had a lengthy meeting. They proposed two options.


    One, wait a few weeks and return to the city, then find another Invoker to do the test.


    Or, alternatively, head to Somerset and deal with Ahres directly.


    Any sane, practical person would''ve chosen the first option, because it was the most sensible, obvious one to choose. Somerset was at least five days of hard travel away, so Kain couldn''t see the reason why he should go, when there was already a huge branch of SOIR right next door.


    Damien and Lizbeth, however, expressed their concerns. They said it was all to do with the issue of trust, with familiarity. The couple trusted Ahres, as an Invoker and a person, so they reasoned it''d be difficult to build another relationship akin to the one they already had with the burly bearded dude.


    It was an impasse of sorts; Kain didn''t want to go, but his parents were leaning toward the trip. Since he was still a snot-nosed five year old brat, no one paid him too big an attention to his opinion and that frustrated him to no end.


    So out of desperation, he shouted out that his little butt ain''t going nowhere other than to Lafayette, and if his parents kept insisting on Somerset, he''d rather they send a letter of invitation or something instead, asking Ahres to come over.


    Reluctantly, the parents agreed, seeing that the tenacity displayed by their son wasn''t going to wilt any time soon. Immediately a hand written letter was dispatched to Lafayette in order to utilize the message delivery service offered by young and lowly ranked Adventurers.


    There were regular postal service going by mercantile caravans, colloquially known as Trains, but that would take forever to get to its destination, so even though it cost more, Adventurers were hired for their prompt delivery. Damien wasn''t happy but he swallowed the expense nonetheless.


    While waiting for the answer, Kain tried to ask his father about his family situation. Initially, he asked his mother, but she was also rather unwilling to speak about the Lomax situation. She was happy to talk about her own family, however.


    When he finally cornered Damien successfully one morning in his office, something unbelievable occurred. Damien actually made his escape by jumping through the open window, shouting: ¡°I''ll tell you later, when you grow a bit older!!¡±


    Flabbergasted at this unexpected reaction, Kain just watched disappearing silhouette of his father getting further away.


    And it got worse. The reply from Ahres came in, less than two weeks. The content was bad.


    Because of his assignment, he couldn''t leave the town of Somerset for more than a few hours at most. Apparently, he was there to witness and record a rare phenomena in the night sky called the Starflood, which was only visible in select places around the world, the town being one such location.


    As he was supervising a team of researchers, he simply couldn''t vacate his position no matter what, fearing that it''d be a black mark on his record. He didn''t state that implicitly, of course.


    The time frame also proved to be an issue, as the Starflood would continue to brighten the evening sky on and off for the next five years or so.


    There were many words of apology on the letter, and a suggestion by Ahres, saying that he could recommend another Invoker just as capable and trustworthy as himself situated in Lafayette.


    Kain liked the idea. It was sensible. It was cost effective. It saved on time.


    But still, he ended up in the Train, heading toward Somerset. If Sky Arks went to this town, at least he''d be happy to ride that. Unfortunately, the flying vessels only went to the provincial capitals so smaller towns and villages missed out. He had to endure the torture of traveling on unpaved roads, rutted and damaged by the falling rain and non-existing maintenance using primitive horse drawn carriages with no suspension whatsoever.


    This blows. Kain grimaced, and grumbled non-stop. How the hell did I end up doing this?!


    To console the heartburn caused by his dissatisfaction, Kain practiced Invocation, or more correctly, Aeterna manipulation. He figured that, since he could see it like flowing water, and control it to a degree, he might as well try to experiment various things with it, knowing his Pool would be able to support him.


    He had to be mindful, though. Outside the caravan he was riding in, dozens of well armed guards plus Derrick rode on horseback, bravely fending off the crappy weather and the muddy, broken roads. Naturally, he didn''t want anyone seeing him do something no other five year old was capable of doing. That''d be troublesome.


    Damien didn''t come on this trip. Actually, he couldn''t come even if he wanted to, due to his commitments as the lord of Riverfield. He just received the aid from Lafayette'' lord, and had to be on hand to organize it all. Plus, the annual Monsoon was around the corner. He had to get ready for that as well.


    As for Lizbeth, she really want to come, but then the issue of taking care of Kaleena and Katrina came about. Even with Delilah and Rosy looking after the girls, it was always going to be better to have a mother figure around. Derrick also argued that he preferred to have one less person to worry about when things go south. So, that was that.


    Rolf had come along as well. He was quite upset at the rain for wetting his fur and showed his acute disdain more openly than compared to when he was roaming the Lafayette''s smelly streets.


    Another village guardsman named Jones rounded up the traveling party. Kain haven''t really spoken to this man before the trip, so he knew very little about him other than he had two young kids and worked in the local vineyard. When times were lean, he''d take on guarding duties to supplement the income.


    The four of them first went to Lafayette, and found a Train of merchants heading to Somerset after making an inquiry at the local Tradesmen Coalition.


    Hitching a ride was quite easy, as long as a suitable fee was paid. The Trains allowed non-merchants to board on almost all occasions unless it carried a sensitive cargo. After all, as many skilled guards and Adventurers acted as shields and aids on the journey, there were no safer way to traverse the land than in a well organized Train.


    Foolhardy bandits did chance their luck on such parties now and then, but the odds were always going to be higher with a stronger group. And Kain''s party were in one such Train, as there were eight caravans each being pulled by a quartet of horses. And then, there were the guards. Total of twenty five strong, comprised of archers, scouts, vanguards and even a Journeyman-ranked Invoker. Regular bandits stood no chance.


    Kain had been in this Train for the past five days. The rain began to fall about half of the way through, and then it proceeded to pelt the earth with enough water to cause a mini flood. It only let up a few hours a day, and the already pathetic road conditions became even more treacherous, slippery, muddy, full of naturally created traps that could wreck the wheels of the caravans.


    Even if the wheels were fine, caravans continuously got stuck. The visibility was poor at the best of times when it rained. And during the nightfall, they had to set up camp in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense, foreboding forests and hounded by unyielding deluge. To say it was hell, was saying it lightly.


    To top it off, only this morning, the Train encountered a fallen tree the size of a tank blocking the road. Some of the guards thought it was the handiwork of some bandits. Staying vigilant, guards took turns clearing the blockage, while the others guarded the cargo and the passengers.


    The merchant leading the Train, a man named Olivier, said that the smoking chimneys of Somerset should be within the sight before the noon ''morrow. To Kain, that sounded like music to his ears. Unable to help in any shape or form, Kain was with other passengers, listening on Olivier regaling the first time visitors to his home town of Somerset, telling them the specialties of the region, its famous landmarks and past heroic warriors that had left indelible marks in the Empire''s history.


    Kain could only shrug his shoulders and listen.


    Clearing the road wasted further half a day. No bandits showed up, thankfully. Since the speculation turned out to be false, people wondered whether it was a stray lightning that caused the untimely fall of this ages-old tree. Kain couldn''t care either way ¨C he just wanted this damnable trip to be over as soon as possible.


    Finished recalling his misery-ridden trip so far, Kain sighed resignedly. He felt so fatigued, sitting inside and doing nothing but waiting. He missed riding on a real train; he''d be by his destination already if he was on one.


    Looking down once more on the red haired girl on his lap, he felt conflicted about the situation. He was naturally grouped with other children on the Train, but there were only the two of them here. The girl''s name was Sandra. He didn''t quite catch her last name, but that also didn''t matter much.


    She was traveling with her heavily pregnant mother, Laurel. They were heading to Somerset where her parents lived. Funnily, no father figure was around. Kain just knew there were one of those Kleenex-worthy tragedy-cum-sob stories behind them, but because of the crappy traveling conditions he was in no mood to hear it and add someone else''s misery on top of his.


    Besides the pair, Kain was bundled with other passengers. An old couple going to a village or a town near Somerset where their son had set up a farm cultivating potatoes.


    Another, a chandler who just about graduated from being an apprentice and now, wanting to spread his wings and make a name for himself. As a chandler, obviously. Kain thought that was going to a long road fraught with many, many perils.


    A young bard heading to the Eastern-most territory, hoping to find new inspirations for her songs.


    A farmer and his wife looking for a new patch of dirt to sow his dreams on.


    A carpenter heading east after hearing of a supposed construction boom somewhere there.


    And finally, an aging priest who kept on mumbling stuff about redemption.


    Other caravans had passengers too, but Kain never really got close to any one of them. He knew there were two other merchants in this Train, however. The cargo belonged to all three of them. As to their contents, Kain didn''t know, nor did he care.


    Kain was glad that they weren''t attacked so far on the journey. Physically, and mentally he was too worn out. He was almost at his limit and urgently needed a long, good rest soon.


    To think, he had to go back using the same roads later on, he felt like crying his eyes out.


    Actually, he had no room to cry anyways ¨C Sandra cried all his share too. No amount of soothing could appease her and she cried almost constantly. Since she was even younger than him, she was badly affected by the rubbish traveling conditions, never mind her pregnant mother. Of course, everyone here were dead tired. Still, gradually, the girl stopped bawling, and started clinging onto him for some reason.


    This was where the conflicted feeling originated from. He didn''t mind the way the little girl was holding onto him. But it sure was cumbersome. Once, he needed to go use the john, and she tried to tag along. So, Kain told her to stay put but she threw a fit, and cried. Adults gave up, not wanting to add stress on top of what was proving to be an already taxing journey by trying to pacify an unreasonable child.


    Kain was left to his own devices.


    Seeing this clingy kid, even Rolf broke out a toothy grin, having a good chuckle at the boy''s expense. ¡°Heh, our little master Kain already found a girlfriend!! How envious. It''s good to be young, isn''t it! Hehehehe.¡±


    Kain ignored him. The girl and he''d go their separate ways once they arrive at Somerset anyway. Since he was an adult inside, he had more than enough patience to deal with a persistent child.


    But he had to ask Sandra why she hung around him all the time. The answer was quite unexpected.


    ¡°Cuz you, sparkle!! Like stars!¡±


    He had no idea what she meant by that. He didn''t believe someone accidentally spilled a jar of glitter all over his face when he wasn''t looking so that possibility was out. What could she mean? He couldn''t just dismiss the girl out of hand, as it didn''t feel like she was saying random things popping out of her head.


    Because, he could sense quite a prodigious amount of Aeterna flowing around the girl. If she grew up in a good environment, Sandra might become an accomplished Invoker herself. That was in a far off distant future though.


    Maybe, she can see something, like I see Aeterna. I''m unsure whether these eyes of mine are unique only to me. I should assume there will be others with abilities like mine. Sandra could possess one too.


    Leaning forward while carefully moving the girl''s head off his aching lap, Kain slowly stood up and stretched his cramped arms. Feeling the blood flow into his muscles once more, Kain began his Invocation training.


    First, creating a flame. This was one of the most rudimentary spell in the entire sphere of Invocation system. Even those without Fire Affinity should be able to this.


    Kain did fail back then, but that was in the past. Before their departure to Somerset, Kain actually had succeeded in creating a small spark, no bigger than the size of a chickpea. Now, he was working on making it bigger, while making it last longer. More importantly, doing without a chant.


    He was sick and tired of chanting lame Requisite Words just to bring forth a flame no bigger than a snot so, he consciously tried to cast this spell without the aid of any Words whatsoever. That meant no shortening either.


    Easier said than done, really.


    Still, he was at a stage where a small flame would remain flickering for a minute or more. The trick was maintaining the constant Aeterna flow, as it was fairly heavy.


    Next, was Wind. He was casting simple Breeze spell. He got the inspiration from the woman at the Adventurer''s Association ¨C the one who continued to cast Wind type spell just to ventilate the thick and pervading body odor that had accumulated inside the building. She didn''t need to chant it continuously once it was activated. All she had to do, was to supply more Aeterna the moment the spell was about to end.


    Taking this into account, Kain also tried to cast Breeze without chanting. Once the first spell was set in motion, he''d try to regulate Aeterna flow at the right moments to extend the spell''s effects. Casting Wind type Invocation proved to be far easier, which was a good news for him and his Pool.


    Finally, Water Element. But he couldn''t practice this openly during this trip, since he was with other people. He had plenty enough material to work with, thanks to all the rain, but since there would be a definite aftermaths if he tried to cast any form of Water Invocations, it was a no-no, at least for now.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Finally, Body Enhancement. But he was still nowhere with it. Not that he''d given up on that yet, no.


    He diligently worked on casting Fire Invocation without chanting for a while, pouring his concentration on it. It was a hard work, but he felt that he was making some progress. A slow, but tangible improvement. Which made him quite chuffed at his own brilliance.


    After exhausting his Aeterna Pool somewhat, he felt a slight hunger creep in. There was a pot of Grey Meateater stew left over on the corner, but he''d have to wake one or two people up if he wanted to get to that. So he gave up.


    A Grey Meateater was a low-level Fiend that sort of looked like a wild hare, except that it had a mouthful of serrated teeth straight out of Jaws, and was as big as a healthy German Shepherd.


    Obviously, it was not a nice day for the creature as it had the misfortune of running headlong into Derrick''s massive sword. The end result was a single dinner not entirely consisting of dried meat and hard bread.


    It was a bit anti-climatic for Kain though. There he was, hoping to see a real Fiend at least once on this trip, only to see a rabbit getting chopped in half by his burly uncle. It wasn''t much fun. He didn''t expect to find a fire-breathing wyvern or something but still, it was a letdown regardless.


    As he gazed longingly at the iron pot sitting on the corner, he heard Sandra cough a little. Kain noticed that the temperature did drop somewhat even though it was supposed to be an early Summer.


    He too felt a bit of chill creeping up, and promptly hugged himself. He went back to his seat and sat down, only to catch a whiff of someone letting loose gas.


    Gimme a freakin'' break already!!


    Gritting his teeth, Kain reluctantly lifted up the flap near him. This qualified as an emergency, at least in his mind, so this violation of unspoken rule was justified.


    To his relief, he noticed the rain had eased quite a bit. The sky remained overcast but encouragingly, slender rays of sunlight broke through the thick clouds and were touching the world below.


    Those rays illuminated an enormous mountain range that suspiciously looked like some kind of a meteor crater. Kain was startled at the sheer scale of the jagged peaks and the tall, imposing walls of rocks. He knew that if it was indeed a wayward asteroid causing that scenery, the destruction it probably wrought would have been cataclysmic. Apocalyptic, even.


    And among all the tall peaks, somewhere around the middle of this crater-like mountain range, a sharp protrusion stood erect, literally piercing the heavens with its incredible height. So tall it was, in fact, the rain clouds actually managed to surround the top half and Kain couldn''t even see just how far it extended upwards. To his eyes, it even looked taller than Mount Everest. Probably.


    Then just now, he thought he saw something. A hint of a shadow, coiling, and moving, hidden among the clouds of the summit.


    Kain was too far away to make out the shape but, whatever it was, it was big. Massive. Humongous.


    He naturally gulped, hoping he''d seen a mirage or something. Maybe a trick of light, reflecting against the storm clouds and causing mischief with him.


    If not, just thinking about that huge thing coming over where he was caused a small heart attack. The whole mountain range/crater was separated from Kain''s group by the overflowing tributary of the River Anders, which snaked around just below the wide but high canyon roads, and the great verdant sea of trees beside the cliffs of the said crater.


    If a normal person was to cross that, he''d need a day or two; but for a flying creature the size of a small town, that distance would mean absolutely jack-all.


    Even though the rain had eased somewhat, the raging river in the valley below caused enough ruckus to drown out most noises. From where he was, Kain couldn''t see the torrent of muddy, dark water rushing past furiously. But hearing the accompanying roar, he could hazard a guess how much work Damien have to do soon ¨C this particular tributary of the River Anders, affectionately nicknamed Anderlicht, snaked its way along the Riverfield''s east before joining with the main river body and journeying into the Great Southern Sea.


    Ignoring the thunderous noise, he narrowed his eyes, hoping to see more of that shape, but no matter how hard he concentrated, there was nothing. As if it was all in his head, that he had imagined it.


    Maybe it was my overactive imagination. Whew, that''s a relief. No wait, it could be a sign that I''m going crazy with a cabin fever. But I''m on the move now, so, uh, should it be a carriage fever, instead?


    Shaking his head at yet another useless thought that had entered his head, Kain looked around to see where Derrick was. He was just behind the carriage, his eyes vigilant. Next to him, Rolf and that other dude, Jones.


    Way up ahead of the Train, a wide stone bridge crossed the gap between the canyons, with the Anderlicht pulsing below it. The terrain leading up to there rose gradually until the bridge itself seemed to be suspended on the precipices of sharp, pointy cliffs.


    The bridge itself signified that they were about to enter the territory of Somerset, although there was a guard post and a way station combined together, that were manned by the soldiers from the town a day''s travel back.


    Kain thought that the whole cliff thing was bit precarious, at least to his eyes. It didn''t sould like a fun experience, that''s for sure, losing one''s footing and plummeting into the raging river below.


    ¡°That''s the Tetamus Range.¡±


    Derrick goaded the horse he was riding on, and approached Kain, whose head was peeking out of the open flap. He pointed towards the crater-like mountain range.


    ¡°You mean, that one?¡± Kain asked, just to make sure they were talking about the same thing.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Derrick nodded solemnly, a thin white mist rising from his lips as he breathed.


    Even the thick cloak he wore couldn''t stop the rain from soaking him head to toe. Summer or not, he was feeling the chills, and Kain could see a minute amount of Aeterna circulating over his uncle''s body, signaling that he cast a Body Enhancement spell on himself to keep the possibility of hypothermia away.


    ¡°Did you see something flying near the summit, right there by the tallest mountain, that one in the middle?¡±


    Kain asked as he pointed at the distant summit hidden in the clouds. Although he figured Derrick might not have seen it, since he was conversing with Rolf and others, he felt it was worth asking just to make sure he wasn''t going crazy.


    The older man narrowed his eyes as well, focusing on the spot his nephew was pointing at.


    ¡°That''s the center of Hell, the legendary Tetamus Mountain. Although I do not see anything, that mountain is rumored to be a home of a powerful and dangerous Fiend, most likely a dragon.¡±


    Kain''s ears perked up at the mentioning of a dragon.


    Noticing the reaction of the boy, Derrick did a rare smirk, and continued with his story.


    ¡°A long time ago, a rich but landless noble organized an expedition in order to investigate the land hidden behind the impenetrable walls of the Tetamus Range.¡±


    Derrick then pointed at the southern side of the range.


    ¡°See there? There''s an opening. That''s the only way in or out of the range''s interior. One of the tributaries of the River Anders cuts across there.¡±


    Kain nodded, getting more interested.


    ¡°The expedition apparently succeeded in entering the hidden wilderness beyond the cliffs, but.... none returned alive.¡±


    ¡°Why? What happened to them?¡±


    ¡°There was an Invoker among the Adventurers hired for the expedition. She possessed abilities to send messages over a long distance, and right before the expeditionary team went missing, she sent out a message.¡±


    ¡°What was the message?¡±


    Suddenly, Derrick went quiet, and only sounds Kain could hear were the roaring rapids down below. Wondering if he missed something because of the noise, he leaned out even more. It was then, Derrick slowly opened his mouth, his voice low and coarse.


    ¡°...Do not enter this place, for it is cursed.¡±


    Kain couldn''t help but grimace a little after seeing the less-than-stellar attempt by Derrick to pull a scary face. It was contorted uncomfortably, and looked more humorous than scary. Completely unintentional, of course.


    However, Kain did appreciate the effort so he quickly acted like he was scared silly. He understood that all this was out of character for someone like Derrick, that the big man was doing it all for his benefit.


    Rolf rode in closer and chuckled loudly after listening to the story. ¡°What Lord Derrick speaks of, is true. It''s a story well known around these parts, young master.¡±


    ¡°Really? When did this expedition take place? Sounds like it was not too long ago.¡±


    ¡°It was a several generations ago,¡± Derrick replied as he wiped water off his face with a cloth. ¡°But, you won''t find any evidence of such expedition taking place in the official history. The Emperor had all of the records expunged, and the noble who started it all was imprisoned for other crimes against the state.¡±


    ¡°Why was that, uncle?¡±


    ¡°The secrets died with those involved, so no one knows the truth now.¡± Derrick shook his head. After getting rid of bothersome rain away from his eyes, he glanced once more at the peak of the Tetamus Mountain. ¡°It''s not inconceivable, that there is an absurdly frightening Fiend sleeping somewhere within the range. I''d venture to wager that there are numerous monstrosities hidden behind those solid walls of rock.¡±


    Kain frowned a little, thinking of stories about vast, unexplored spaces containing unbelievable natural resources, simply waiting to be plundered by an enterprising soul.


    Off-handedly, he asked. ¡°Do you think someone else might try to enter there?¡±


    Derrick scratched his chin, where a permanent five-o''clock shadow had made home for the last couple of days. ¡°Hmm. It''s not certain. Besides the threats of hidden Fiends, there should be other unknown dangers. Entering the range itself is far too difficult for now. But since the Imperial Military wishes to treat the entirety of the mountain range as a Sacred Acre, sooner or later, there might be a full-scale operation to explore it.¡±


    ¡°But if the military uses a Sky Ark, wouldn''t that be easy? Surely, one of those ships should be able to fly over the walls.¡±


    ¡°A Sky Ark was never meant for combat duty. It''s only for civilian usages, Kain.¡±


    ¡°But, I don''t get it. Why wouldn''t military try to use an Ark? Doesn''t make sense to me. If I was the Emperor, I''d make sure there''s a fleet of heavily armed Sky Arks, ready for battle at any given moment.¡±


    Kain humphed, and nodded.


    This time it was Derrick''s turn to frown. He just couldn''t believe this was coming from a five year old child. The boy''s thought process sometimes mirrored that of an adult. He found it rather unpleasant, and somewhat spooky.


    Thinking back, there was some rumbling on the corridors of the Capital, that the Imperial Institute was trying to retrofit a Sky Ark for a combat exercise. Derrick had left the city by then, before the rumored completion date, so he''d no idea if it was true or not. But as a military man himself, there was no denying how attractive it all sounded.


    ¡°Nah, little master Kain, using a Sky Ark for subjugating an Acre is a waste of money. I tell ya, all you need is a few strong men and spears. We''ll sweep away any terrible Fiends, big or small. You can count on men, not some strange machines making funny noises.¡±


    Rolf pursed his lips, showing his determined face. He was rather proud of his growing skills, and couldn''t wait to show it off. Honestly speaking, even he was looking forward to encountering some foolish bandits during the journey, but alas, it looked like he''d remain disappointed.


    ¡°Well, anyways. Lord Derrick, master Kain. I''ll just go on up ahead, and check the conditions of the road. Excuse me.¡±


    Watching the broad back of Rolf riding away on horseback, Kain thought that it was indeed quite reliable looking. Then he noticed the tip of his bushy tail peeking out from under the cloak. It contrasted the skin of the horse, making it easy to spot.


    Kain wondered how it might feel like, having a tail. He''d never tried it before, partly because he thought it might be seen as a rude gesture, but what would happen if he grabbed the tails of any non-human humanoids unannounced?


    Would they suddenly lose strength? Or go all mushy and blushy? Or would they become incensed, ready to choke him to death?


    Hah, what a stupid idea. This is real life. Let''s not do anything that might get me killed. Kain silently chuckled to himself. Maybe I should find a girl who wouldn''t mind getting her tail fondled. Now that should be....


    ...Hmm? What is that? That thing, sticking out of Rolf''s back? It wasn''t there a second ago.


    There was a thin, long stick protruding out of Rolf''s back that wasn''t there before. It was difficult to see well because of the still-falling rain, but a small, dark reddish blotch forming around the base of the stick was visible.


    It looked like blood.


    Kain was stunned into confusion.


    ¡°Bandits!!!¡±


    A panicked voice rang out from the other side of the Train, loud enough for everyone to hear.


    ¡°Damn it, Rolf!!¡± Derrick cursed out as he unsheathed the huge claymore from his back. He shouted at Kain as he rushed forward. ¡°Stay within the carriage!! Do not come out!!¡±


    Rolf toppled over from where he sat, an arrow piercing straight through his heart, an unbelievable display of accuracy.


    Kain couldn''t figure out just where that arrow was shot from. His mind blanked.


    Almost right away, he heard the metallic sounds of weapons clashing from the other side, followed by screams and shouts.


    All the sleeping passengers woke up from the commotion. Sandra, who was nearest to Kain, tugged at the boy''s sleeve and asked with confused eyes. ¡°What''s happening, Kain?¡±


    Adults knew, just by seeing his expression. It was one of terror. Well, he did see someone he knew well die in front of him, so it was expected.


    Color drained out of all the faces, panic quickly spreading like a viral infection. No one here were capable of defending themselves, so if the guards fell, then it''d be curtains for everyone.


    The old couple rushed to place Laurel behind them. The young farmers looked lost, their eyes spinning around like headless chicken. The chandler bravely held a short dagger in front of him like a talisman, while the bard also pulled out a dagger that was substantially longer and sharper.


    Only the old priest didn''t seem too perturbed, simply muttering that it''s fate, over and over.


    Sandra wouldn''t let go of Kain no matter how much her mother called for her. Waking from his shocked daze, he quickly brought himself and the clingy girl over, ending up in a shivering huddle together.


    The shouts and metallic clanging were getting louder and closer. The harsh noises reverberated, like a nail on a blackboard, almost tearing his eardrums out. The realness of it all made him think how much fake the sound effects of Hollywood movies were. It was incomparably harsher and sharper, each note containing cries and shrieks of death.


    ¡°It''s not safe here!!¡±


    The carpenter was the first to lose it. He cried out in utter panic, holding his head like a nutcase. The old couple tried to calm him down, but were interrupted when a loud, blood-curdling scream came from right outside their carriage.


    That helpless scream scared Kain almost out of his wits. He didn''t expect it to be this terrifying at all. At most, he expected it to be no more scary than watching a horror movie. But no ¨C it was far, far worse. He couldn''t even swallow his saliva, it getting stuck on the dried, lumpy throat.


    Then he heard a soud similar to a knife going through thick meat, and equally sickening splash of liquid across the canvas of the carriage. It was blood, painting the exterior anew.


    A lightening struck, illuminating shadow puppets dancing on the blood stained screen. The guards were fighting right next to the carriage.


    Kain saw the battle unfolding slowly, as if it were happening underwater. Every swish, every block, and every movement registered, right until the moment a sharp blade pierced the leather canvas, a silhouette of a man framing it from outside. A fresh bloodstain spread out from where the weapon had gone through.


    Kain instinctively knew that it was not safe inside anymore. He had to something, otherwise people were going to get killed. But what could he do? Gritting his teeth, he tried to get up, thinking that whatever it was, he had to make a move now.


    But Sandra held onto him, not letting go, her eyes squeezed shut tight. She was trembling in fear, not unlike everyone else. Kain glanced at her mother and she looked back at him with desperate eyes, one hand clutching her swollen belly, and the other holding her daughter.


    Kain felt helpless. Under this situation, there was nothing he could do. He wanted to curse at his powerlessness, but knowing that he was too young, it meant he was just being obstinate. He needed to have faith in Derrick and Jones to come around, and save the day.


    As if to ruin such a notion, the rear flap for the carriage flipped open, and he came face to face with a pair of unfamiliar, dirty, bloodied men wielding equally bloodied swords.


    For a millisecond, Kain found it strange that the falling rain didn''t seem to wash away all that red. It was all so very strange indeed.


    One of the men leered at Laurel. Kain recognized the look, and it was not a good one.


    The other grunted and thrust his sword at the chest of the carpenter without warning. He happened to be the nearest to the bandit, that was all. But he was slain, just like that, not a quarter of thought given to his life''s worth.


    People screamed in panic. The leering man stepped into the carriage, brandishing his sword like a club ready to strike. The bard then lunged forward with her dagger, showing some agility.


    With a snort, bandit lightly stepped aside, and cut. Blood flowed again like a river.


    In that less than half a breath of time, Kain reacted. He saw the light flicker in the falling woman''s eyes and it pushed him into action involuntarily. Even to this day, Kain would never quite understand why he reacted so suddenly ¨C it was like his consciousness was a passenger in a surreal and bloody ride, unable to change the course.


    He fired off chantless, a small ball of flame he''d been practicing all this time directly at the eyeballs of the murderous, leering bandit. He didn''t even know he could do that, but somehow, he did it anyway.


    The flame might be small, but it was still a flame. Thus, it was very hot. The bandit was struck on his eyes, and he fell off the back of the carriage, screaming his lungs out while covering his face.


    The second bandit pulled the bloody sword loose from the corpse and tried to help his friend, but Kain wasn''t going to give them time.


    He cast the second Invocation, again without any chanting, this time an Earth type. There were mud on the bottom of their boots, and by combining it with rain water, he could make it slicker and slippery. He had no idea how, but for some reason, he had confidence that he could do it.


    He willed Aeterna to flow according to his imaginations, and commanded it to do his bidding.


    It worked. The murdering second bandit lost his footing, and slipped, hard.


    While falling, he hit his head on the sharp edge of the carriage.


    He crumbled like a puppet with its strings cut, and didn''t stand back up again, only twitching occasionally on the muddy ground, his neck bent at a weird angle.


    A surprised shout then came near the carriage.


    ¡°Hey!! There''s an Invoker among the passengers!! Archers!!¡±


    Kain''s heart fell, hearing the shout. It was safe to assume that one of the bandits made that call.


    Man, just how many of them are out there?!


    Almost immediately, a volley of arrows flew in and ripped through the leather canvas as if it''s made out of paper. Kain ducked, dragging along Sandra with him. He tumbled out of the open flap and landed face first into the thick and foul-tasting mud.


    It was bastard-cold. The sound of rain was much louder to his ears than before, blocking every other noise from registering.


    He got up hastily, pulling the crying girl next to him as well. He reflexively turned his head towards the interior of the carriage.


    He regretted his action right away.


    It was a small miracle that he wasn''t hit. But almost everyone inside didn''t share his luck, not even Laurel. Not all died where they sat, however.


    The priest was trying to cast some kind of healing Invocation on the still breathing victims, but instead of Requisite Words, only blood gurgled out of his mouth. The farmer and the elderly couples were holding onto their respective loved ones with eyes closed in defeat, perhaps offering a prayer. They weren''t moving. Arrows stuck out of them like spindles on a hedgehog.


    And Laurel, she was barely clinging on, a couple of arrows piercing her belly, another against her breast. She was crying, a look of desperation on her face ¨C and a subsequent relief of seeing her daughter unhurt from the arrows. As if the knowledge gave her peace, she stopped breathing shortly afterwards.


    Kain stood there, getting drenched by the damnable, accursed rain. He somehow managed to keep Sandra from looking, but he was rooted to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away from the grisly scene.


    A realization dawned on him. It was the first time he saw corpses. Not dead bodies lying in a casket, not from a movie, not from a Call of Duty MP match, but real, tangible, mangled corpses full of arrows sticking out. Corpses that were missing limbs lay all around the Train. He even saw a pair of familiar boots, laying on the ground near the carriage on the other side, a man still wearing them. It was Olivier. And he was missing his head.


    Blood was spurting out from the gaping neck. No special effects there.


    The acrid smell of iron caught up to his senses, the falling rain failing to wash it away. Kain felt breakfast rising back up rapidly. The girl beside him was bawling her eyes out.


    A thousand emotions came crashing over, making him disoriented, dizzy, and sick to his stomach.


    Gradually, he remembered where he was, that he was not out of the woods yet. He had to move from here, unless he wanted to get involved in fights that were still happening all around him. He pulled Sandra with him, trying to get away, only to bump into the blinded bandit.


    The bastard was clutching his eyes, desperately howling in pain, shouting out ¡°I can''t see, I can''t see!!¡± But there was a murderous streak in that crazed facial expression of his, reminding Kain of a cornered wild beast.


    Sandra screamed even more when she saw the crazed bandit.


    The ruckus alerted him, and he took a wild swing at the kids'' general direction. Kain managed to drag the screaming girl back just in time, and missed the sharp edge of the blade by a hair''s width.


    His mind raced, trying to figure out what to do.


    The only one who could help them right now was Derrick. Searching for him, Kain held onto the girl, and retreated. But the bandit persistently swung his sword around, getting closer and closer.


    Out of the frenzied melee happening around him, Kain finally spotted Derrick. But he was far away, surrounded by three hooded men. Four more hooded figures lay dead on the mud, face down. These men didn''t look anything like the rest of the bandits. The aura they exuded weren''t normal. It was chillier, sharper, more lethal.


    Derrick was bleeding from a cut above his left eye. His left arm was limp as well, and he was having trouble holding his claymore properly.


    Kain''s initial joy at finding his uncle cooled rapidly, his shout of assistance dying on his throat well before materializing.


    Again, the blinded bandit swung, forcing Kain back even more. Not knowing how he got there, but looking behind, he was right near the edge of the cliff.


    ¡°Kain!!¡±


    Derrick called out, his voice shrill and urgent.


    He willed his Aeterna to flow freely, trying to overcome the wounds he received from a sneak attack by these assassins. His only objective was to protect his nephew. Nothing else mattered.


    He already felled four of them, but they were of lower skilled, so-called cannon fodders, used to tire him out. And now, the real threats had shown themselves, and things were not looking good. They were gunning for him, under the guise of a bandit raid.


    Although he had most of his Aeterna reserve intact, he acutely felt a numbing sensation from his left arm. There was a fast acting paralysis toxin added to the dagger stuck on his shoulder. Using his Body Enhancement, he could block off the poison from crippling him, but it was a disadvantage he didn''t need at the moment.


    ¡°Who sent you?¡±


    Derrick barked out. He had his suspicions but he still wanted to confirm it regardless.


    The assassins sneered, but no one answered. The bloodied sabers rose, and simultaneously, three of them attacked.


    Gritting his teeth, Derrick pushed his Aeterna flow onto his claymore to the max and swept in a rising arc, slicing the air and all that''s caught in it.


    Meanwhile, Kain desperately looked for a way out, before he was further pushed towards the edge by the crazed bandit. His efforts were being hampered by Sandra''s persistent crying, which sort of directed the swings of the blinded bandit.


    The overflowing, enraged River Anderlicht roared from below. If he didn''t know better, it was like it was beckoning him in, goading him into falling headfirst in the water.


    Kain thought that would be such a clich¨¦ if he ended up that way.


    ¡°Please, please stop crying, for Pete''s sake!!¡±


    Kain hurriedly shook Sandra, but that burst of anger had the exact opposite result to what he had intended. She cried even louder than before, and the blinded bandit zeroed in on the source of the sound.


    Ahh, sh*t!! Am I going to die here? Just like this?


    Kain grimaced, unable to figure out what to do. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to cast an Invocation. Without it, he''d die a dog''s death.


    He raised his hand to aim at the bandit, only to have his body pulled back and his concentration interrupted by Sandra, who was pulling back on him hard. He wanted to curse out loudly.


    All the time, the bandit came closer, his sword swings too close for comfort.


    While trying to counteract her weight pulling down on him, Kain slipped on the mud and fell on his butt with a splash. Sandra fell along with him, toppling on top.


    To make matters even worse, the blinded bandit was joined by one of his friends, brandishing an ax large enough to cleave a bull in half, a wide, murderous grin pasted on his bearded face.


    They closed in swiftly, their thick and sharp killing aura giving Kain goosebumps.


    It was now a do or die situation. Out of sheer desperation, Kain didn''t even concentrate, and simply cast an Earthen Wall. He thought that as long as it appeared before him and block their attacks, then he''d be happy.


    As soon as the wall made up of mud rose up, the surrounding area gave in.


    Along with the two confused and screaming bandits, Kain and Sandra fell into the river below.


    The water''s surface was as hard as concrete, and it robbed him of all the air in his lungs. The horrible taste of muddy water invaded his mouth, his nose, his throat. In the water, all he could hear was his own heartbeat, pounding away madly.


    He summoned all his strength to swim up to the surface, only to see the ax-wielding bandit closing in on him.


    Kain was shocked at the tenacity displayed by this bastard, but before he fell into another crisis, the rushing water forced the bandit hard against a boulder, his head hitting the protruding sharp rock with a bone crunching thud.


    One danger over, but he was still in the midst of another. He furiously swam up to the surface, breaking out of it to take in the air, only to get hit in the head by a falling rock.


    He blacked out at that moment, his unmoving body carried away by the raging torrent.

 Chapter 18

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">18</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    ¡°It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Damien. This servant of the Empire goes by the name of Marcus Dawson.¡±


    Damien did his best to remain expressionless. But it proved to be somewhat difficult, especially facing this unexpected guest, now standing opposite of him in the office.


    It''s hardly been two days since Derrick and his son, Kain, left for Somerset. The family judged it to be prudent to have the only male heir to the Lomax name away from home, at least for the time being, while the suspicious Agent of Special Bureau was nearby.


    But he didn''t count on the man in question, seeking him out on his own accord like this. He got caught off guard, so to speak. What a blunder that was.


    Regardless, there was still a matter of keeping decorum. He couldn''t be rude to an official of the Empire. No need to give the opposition an inch, lest he might try to take the mile instead.


    ¡°Welcome to the village of Riverfield, Agent Dawson. I do ask for your sympathy in this time of urgency, as I''m drowning in work. Please, tell me of your business here in haste, if you would.¡±


    Damien coldly smiled, studying the demeanor of the man in front.


    Even though he was balding on the crown, the aura exuding from Dawson was nothing to laugh about. Although obviously suppressed, this man would''ve been able to easily defeat several higher ranked Adventurers on the basis of his strength alone.


    Even Damien was getting chills, just thinking about it.


    Would I be able to fight against him on equal footing? He sure looks like a bad opponent to go up against. Derrick, you picked yourself one helluva scary fella as an enemy, didn''t you.


    Damien could only ruefully smile.


    ¡°I''ll be brief, my lord.¡± Dawson smiled thinly, his eyes unreadable. He then slowly reached into his robe, producing a rolled up scroll that had seen some usage. ¡°Sir, under orders, I''m currently in pursuit of one Lady Valette of House du Francis. I believe you are well acquainted with her, Sir Damien.¡±


    ¡°Lady Valette?¡±


    Damien was somewhat surprised to hear that name. Leaning forward, he shifted his focus onto the scroll.


    ¡°That''s a name I haven''t heard of, in donkey''s years. Well, at least not since I''ve been charged with the running of this village. That''s over seven, eight years ago.¡±


    ¡°That long? Haha. How unenviable a task I''ve been given.¡±


    Dawson pleasantly chuckled. Again, there was no mirth there.


    ¡°I thought she retired to somewhere more scenic. Why are you pursuing her? Is it related to what''s on that scroll?¡±


    The indecipherable smile never left Dawson''s lips as he placed the scroll down on the desk. ¡°It seems nothing escapes your attention, my lord. Indeed, it does. Now, normally I can''t show this to anyone, but since you are a member of the Lucius Lomax....¡±


    Dawson slid this scroll carefully toward Damien as if signaling it was okay to undo the strings and pore through its contents. For some reason, Damien had this premonition he shouldn''t even touch it.


    He touched it nevertheless.


    Only a single drawing was on it. But it was of something Damien knew.


    ¡°This is...?¡±


    It didn''t take considerable willpower to pull a confused face, as that was what Damien did, after seeing the drawing. It depicted an object, cut into a shape of an octagon, and various unknown symbols were scribbled along its perimeters.


    Momentarily confused at just how this Agent from Special Bureau had a drawing of the mysterious object found in the hidden basement of his own home, Damien only then grasped at possible motives why Dawson was searching for Valette, the previous owner of this building.


    Trying not to show any change in his expression, he returned the scroll to Dawson and asked in the best quizzical voice he could summon up.


    ¡°What is it? An ancient artifact?¡±


    ¡°Quite. It is indeed an artifact of tremendous value for the good of the Empire. My investigation has led me to your doorsteps, the last persons to see Lady Valette before her inexplicable disappearance.¡±


    ¡°So, you wanted to find out if I know where she might be. Is that right, Sir Dawson? Hoping that perhaps, she''s still in possession of this artifact.¡±


    Dawson nodded, as he hid the scroll away. ¡°That is correct, Lord Damien.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is unfortunate that I can''t assist you. As I said before, it''s been almost a whole decade since last I saw Lady Valette. I do not know of her current whereabouts.¡±


    Damien shook his head as if he was regretful.


    In his head, he calculated. Whatever that wooden block was, it must have been rather important. Why else an Agent as highly ranked as Dawson show up on his doorstep after all this time, trying to track it down?


    Moreover, he grew curious as to what it could do, never mind what it actually was.


    ¡°What is this mysterious item anyway? I''ve not seen symbols like that before. Could it be.... from the lands of long-eared ones? Or, even beyond that?¡±


    Dawson''s smile became even broader still. ¡°The symbols are letters of an advanced civilization, from a realm higher than ours. That is all the information we have at the moment. However, it is certain that it contains powers capable of changing the world.¡±


    Oi, oi, oi. Changing the world? Now that sounds very dangerous.


    Damien had a flash of another unpleasant premonition. If that little octagonal wooden block held such a deep secret, then he couldn''t help but think he was hoarding a potential disaster right under the same roof as his loved ones.


    The assault on his family almost five years ago seemed to make sense to him now ¨C the intruder was searching for it, Damien determined.


    If so, could it be possible, that it was an Agent from the Special Bureau that night? A lethal poison to commit suicide, infiltration technique that could circumvent the sensitive hearings of a Pantherikin, as well as combat skills to rival a Bronze ranked Adventurer while suffering grievous bodily injuries.


    ¡­.


    It is definitely possible.


    Realizing the possibility, Damien felt his long forgotten anger swell up. He didn''t know whether Dawson was involved or not in that incident, but he sure as hell didn''t give a damn either way.


    Holding himself back was difficult, but he had to do it. If he acted rashly here, the repercussions would be harsh. For one, he didn''t know who was Dawson''s backer, his superior. Plus, he had no evidence that it was the Special Bureau that night. Other than his gut feelings, he had no basis to form this opinion.


    He didn''t show his inner turmoil, remaining calm and nonchalant outwardly. Damien wondered if his little acting fooled Dawson or not.


    ¡°I''m well aware that you haven''t had any news of Lady Valette. I''m here for another purpose. When you became the lord, Lady Valette had left the village by then. Records indicate that she left just about every belonging of her behind. It is a long shot, but I''d like to take a look at them if they are still kept here.¡±


    Hearing this, Damien frowned. It was true, that Valette did leave almost everything behind as if she had to leave in hurry. Her collection of armors, prized spears, the expensive jewelry and literature were all left where they were stored as if forgotten.


    Over the years, Damien was forced to sell some of them in order to acquire funds for the village. The poor financial situation was mostly because he tried to reinvent the wheel called farming and most of that didn''t turn out as well as he''d hoped. Well, he did learn from his mistakes, so there was a silver lining at the end of it all.


    Anyways, the items of Valette weren''t complete. Surely, this would raise a certain amount of fuss ¨C first of all, they weren''t his to freely sell off, and secondly, they were evidence if a foul play was suspected of. And he had gotten rid of more than a few. Some might call that suspicious.


    It was natural for him to hesitate.


    As if knowing the problem beforehand, Dawson offered some help, with a clear sly smile.


    ¡°I''m also well aware of the financial hardships this village had to go through. And so, it''s inevitable that there were... certain concessions made to alleviate those said hardships. It is understandable, truly. I do not ask for much, my lord. I''d be satisfied if it were just the remaining articles.¡±


    Damien didn''t know whether to laugh or frown. He felt like he''s been had, for some reason.


    ¡°Fine. I''ll arrange it. You might take some time to go through them all, however. Have you arranged a place to stay the night?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is quite alright, Sir Damien. I''ve arranged an alternate accommodation for myself and my subordinates. But thank you for your consideration.¡±


    Dawson stood up from the chair and bowed slightly.


    Feeling a little relieved, Damien also got up, while rummaging his desks for the keys of the locked storage next to the stables.


    That''s when Dawson snuck in the next question.


    ¡°Hmm, it is peculiar. I was under the impression that Sir Derrick was staying here with you. But I can''t seem to sense his imposing aura nearby.¡±


    ¡°....He''s out on a personal business. He won''t be back for quite some time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see. How regrettable, indeed. Oh, and when I was in Lafayette, searching for clues to the mystery of Lady Valette''s disappearance, I ran into your son. A delightful chap, he was. I didn''t see him today as well.¡±


    Damien''s face grew cold. He stopped his search for the keys, and sent out an icy gaze to his guest.


    ¡°What are you playing at, Agent Dawson?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Sir Damien. I did not mean to offend you and touch upon a sensitive topic. Please forgive this servant for his slip of the tongue.¡±


    Even though he said that, Dawson didn''t look one bit apologetic. If anything, he seemed untroubled by the cold stare from Damien.


    There was a period of silence between the two men. The first one to break it was Dawson.


    ¡°If I may be so bold, allow me to offer a small advice, an insight if you will. During my investigations, I encountered a group of men in Lafayette who were, shall I say, quite hostile towards the Lomax household. Out of my loyalty towards the Empire, and for Her stability, I eliminated one or two of these despicable men, but the rest escaped.


    My advice to you, sir, is this. My lord, you should seek aid from your family. It isn''t too late for reconciliation.¡±


    ¡°I''ll take that under advisement. Now then, shall we?¡±


    Damien coldly pointed towards the door, signaling that Dawson should start moving.


    Ask help from Father, huh? Right, as if. I will never let Kaleena or Kain near that bastard. I''ve suffered enough. Dukakis suffered enough. Mother has suffered, my sister has suffered. Too many went through hell because of him. My kids will not go through that.


    Simply recalling his wretched childhood brought another tide of anger and resentment towards his father. He wanted nothing to do with that man at all cost, and that was why he was on the opposite side of the Empire, here in Riverfield.


    Although he felt a little bit of guilt, thinking that he''d abandoned his siblings, but in the end, they were grown-ups. They should be capable of wiping their own bottoms. And from what Damien heard, they were doing quite alright.


    If he were to seek aid from someone, might as well be that geezer Marquis Phillips. At least the feelings between the two of them were much more amicable, even if they parted ways under a bit of smoke.


    As Damien accompanied Dawson out the door, he sensed movement from afar, outside his house in fact. There was a rider on horseback, steaming in towards his residence.


    Dawson too sensed the approach and frowned. He couldn''t tell the purpose of this rider, although he felt that it was an incoming message of sorts. As to whom it was intended for, now that roused his intrigue.


    The answer came soon enough. The rider arrived at the front door of the house, jumped off in one breath, and produced a sealed envelope that Damien was familiar with.


    ¡°An express delivery, for Sir Baron Damien Lucius Lomax, from his lordship Count Dukakis Lucius Lomax!!¡±


    For the third time that day, Damien was struck with another unpleasant premonition.


    Receiving the envelope, he checked for the wax seal and felt its weight. A single letter, and nothing else. The seal was genuine too.


    Under interested gazes of the rider, Dawson, and Delilah, he slowly broke open the wax and read the contents, only to be stunned into silence by it.


    As he expected, it was only a letter, small enough to consider it as a memo. On it, only three lines were written.


    Father''s terminally ill. Please return home right away. Dukakis.


    Before Damien could sort out his jumbled bag of feelings, a raindrop fell on the letter, staining it. And soon, more drops fell, signaling the beginning of another Monsoon season.


    ~


    Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village, Lizbeth sat under a cooling shade of a five-hundred-year-old oak tree. Alongside her, Kaleena and Katrina, watched over intently by Rosy.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The family, minus Damien, came out here to enjoy the sun, and maybe get some Invocation practice done. Also, there was another special reason for the picnic.


    The night before, Kaleena dropped a bombshell that needed verification.


    Apparently, she could see Aeterna''s flow, if she concentrated hard enough.


    As far as Lizbeth knew, not a single Invoker alive have claimed he or she could do something like this. Not even those mythical ones who had broke past the rank of Master and soared to a realm no mere mortals ever hoped to touch. She couldn''t remember if there were any mention of it in historical records either.


    Yet her daughter said she could, although she also mentioned it was getting harder for her to see the Flow nowadays. From the things she said, it was almost as if her ability to see the Flow weakening recently had some kind of correlation with her growing knowledge in Invocation.


    The reason why Kaleena spoke out was due to this. She was afraid something was wrong with her somewhere, and after a lengthy deliberation, she let her parents know.


    Now usually, she was reluctant to talk about matters troubling her, and tried to solve whatever roadblock she encountered with nothing more than her own willpower and strength. She was that kind of child. But she told her secret. She was scared that much of this unknown problem.


    And it also scared Lizbeth as well. As a mother, she wanted to help but didn''t know how. Seeing the Flow of Aeterna was something out of her scope. Even more so, if this ability was slowly eroding away for some reason or the other.


    She wrecked her brain overnight but nothing came. Besides worrying about her son going on a distant journey for who knows how long, there was a small matter of her feeling rather unwell for the past couple of weeks.


    She was familiar with this sort of sensation, the one coming from her belly, as it had happened to her twice already.


    She was certain, that another seed of life was growing inside her. Thinking this, she was happy but at the same time, slightly miffed at Damien for being unable to temper his wild ways. Well, he did hold it back this long so, it was bound to erupt sooner rather than later. The fact that he held on for so long was a miracle in itself.


    Under the pleasant summer sun, with a rather thick and dark clouds mushrooming over yonder, Lizbeth was trying out various methods to see if there were anything she could do. What she excelled in, were always Light Elemental Invocations. She could reattach severed limbs, piece together smashed bones, and repair broken blood vessels. So, whatever Kaleena was going through, if she looked hard enough, Lizbeth thought she could fix it. Or at least, figure out the cause.


    She could do neither, after spending the whole morning under the shade. In order to utilize Light Elements to its fullest, it was always better under the direct sunlight, or a bright light source. This was a given. Hence them being outside. A picnic too, to help relax the minds while they were at it.


    But nothing she tried worked. She couldn''t really tell what''s the matter with her daughter. She was a perfectly healthy seven year old girl. Physiologically, she was as well bred as any parents could hope their children to be.


    So, the other possibility remaining was that Kaleena was not being truthful. That she was making stuff up.


    This was unlikely. Kaleena was not that kind of a child. So that left Lizbeth at an unenviable crossroad.


    Ignore this heaven-sent opportunity and let it die, or do everything to grab hold of it and reach for glory, so to speak?


    The answer was simple but the road leading to it was not.


    ¡°Anything?¡±


    Kaleena asked, after she saw Lizbeth frowning. She swiped the beads of sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief.


    She have cast one more spell but it was still a failure, and Lizbeth finally ran out of ideas. Leaning against the tree, she sighed in defeat. She was mentally exhausted from worrying too much and trying too hard.


    Seeing this, Katrina sneered softly from the side. ¡°Well, at least it''s nice outside. Chasing after a non-existent shadow is a complete waste of time anyway.¡±


    Sensing contempt in the words, Kaleena shot her cousin a sharp look. ¡°Are you accusing me of lying?¡±


    Faking a mortified expression, Katrina brought a hand over her mouth. ¡°Heavens, no. I would never dream of such a thing!! It''s just that, cousin Kaleena is lagging behind this magnificent me, so, it''s only natural you would try anything to hog the limelight.¡±


    ¡°What?! I wasn''t trying anything, you know!! It''s all truth ¨C I really do see the colors when people cast Invocation!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Katrina pursed her lips. ¡°And no one else can. How convenient.¡±


    Kaleena angrily gritted her teeth. It was true that she was not as good as Katrina was, but the reason for that was their age difference. The older girl had more time to study and practice, so she held an advantage in that regard.


    ¡°Enough, both of you.¡±


    Lizbeth rebuked the two quarreling girls with stern words, and returned to resting her weary shoulders. To help with that task, she picked up a cup full of scented herb tea and quietly sipped the light green liquid.


    Delilah packed a picnic basket before the departure so they weren''t short of snacks or drinks. If it weren''t for the search of her daughter''s mysterious illness, it would have been a pleasant day out.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Rosy''s ears perked up, as she sensed an approach from an unknown presence.


    Whoever it was, the movement wasn''t concealed, so she figured it shouldn''t be someone out to harm the mistress and the kids, but it paid to be prudent. She couldn''t recognize this presence at all, implying that it was most likely not an acquaintance of hers.


    In the distance, a cloaked figure on a horseback slowly came closer to the small hill and the oak tree, where Lizbeth and her family were. A warm breeze fluttered the light gray cloak, momentarily revealing the fine, embroidered tunic underneath, the kind of apparel not worn by common folk.


    The second person to notice the figure was Lizbeth. She sensed someone familiar approaching, and stood up from the ground, her eyes studying the aura of this rider. There was a bag of luggage slung over the rear of the horse, alongside a simple but solid-looking longsword tied to it.


    It didn''t take long, before she finally confirmed who this cloaked figure was. A radiant smile spread on her lips as she stood up greet the person.


    ¡°No, it can''t be?! What are you doing here?¡±


    Lizbeth''s excited voice surprised everyone present. She never sounded like this before, at least not recently, so it startled Katrina the most, who had never seen this side to her aunt.


    ¡°Why can''t it be? Is there a problem with me coming to visit my favorite pupil?¡±


    The cloaked figure chuckled, and lowered her hood. The face of an attractive woman in her late forties appeared. Her light blonde hair, almost pale silver in color, wrapped tightly behind in a bun, and a pair of deep green eyes sparking with health and humor.


    She was smiling quite happily as she dismounted from her ride.


    ¡°It''s been too long, teacher.¡±


    Lizbeth respectfully bowed her head.


    ¡°Yes, too long indeed. Ten years, no? Time flies.¡±


    Receiving her teacher, Michelle Matis Banovsky, in an open field like this, Lizbeth felt slightly unsatisfied. She should have greeted her important teacher in her home instead.


    ¡°Do not mind it, girl. It was a sheer luck that I run into you like this. I was on my way to meet you at your home, but this is just as swell.¡±


    Michelle laughed, and waved her hand.


    Lizbeth introduced the kids to her teacher. ¡°Kaleena, Katrina, this is my master, Michelle Matis Banovsky of the Invocation Academy I attended a long time ago. Please, offer your greetings.¡±


    ¡°Greetings, I am called Katrina Septima Lomax. A pleasure, miss.¡± Katrina smartly curtsied, raising the corners of her dress.


    On the other hand, Kaleena greeted with less sophisticated bow. ¡°Kaleena Lucius Lomax. Good day to you, miss.¡±


    ¡°Oh my. Suddenly, I feel rather inadequate, seeing my young disciple having a family before me. I should''ve found a good partner and settle down when I had the chance.¡±


    Michelle showed a mixed expression at the two girls in front of her. A hint of regret flashed past in her eyes. It passed by too quickly to be noticed by others, however.


    ¡°What brings you here, teacher? Last I heard, you were promoted to the position of an Elder in SOIR.¡±


    Lizbeth asked as they all sat on the picnic cloth.


    Thanking Rosy who offered her tea, Michelle waved her hand again, this time rather dismissively.


    ¡°I''ve decided to retire. Not as an Invoker, but as an active member of SOIR. I wanted to leisurely travel around the world, now that the Sky Arks have gone operational. So, here I am.¡±


    ¡°Wait, teacher. You did inform the Academy and SOIR properly, yes? Please tell me you have...¡±


    Lizbeth''s cheek twitched. She remembered one very unpleasant incident when she was still a student under direct tutelage of Michelle. Just thinking of that day made her shiver from apprehension unlike any other.


    ¡°Hohoho. Of course I have. What do you take me for? I wrote the letter of resignation and left it by the Administrator''s desk. Surely, that old fart have seen it by now.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t receive the approval?!¡± Lizbeth frowned.


    ¡°What''s the point? They can''t refuse me anyway. I''ve done more than enough for the Society. As for the rest, let the fossils masquerading as men do something for a change.¡±


    Michelle snorted derisively, and picked a cookie. She bit down on it with gusto, and exclaimed ¡°it''s good!!¡±


    Such mannerisms deeply shocked Katrina. To her, someone capable of teaching a lady as refined as Lizbeth should also be a refined lady but, right in front of her, there sat an individual that were boorish and totally not lady-like. If it weren''t for the luxurious clothing, she''d think this older woman was a commoner.


    Before Katrina came to Riverfield, she was supposed to enter the Academy when she turned eight. That should have been this year. But that plan had long thrown out the window.


    It was fine to enter the famed school for aspiring Invokers when one was aged a bit, provided she was still a teen, but there would be some disadvantages with that ¨C comparing someone who received a formal education from a group of dedicated masters to a person who got home schooled, there would be a large gap present, the longer this status continued.


    Katrina was unhappy at this. All those smug faces of her peers, sneering at her from the sidelines came back, haunting her ever so irritatingly. She had mostly forgotten about them while living this idyllic village life, but seeing this woman reminded of her past, of the pressure cooker life she lived in, from the moment she was born.


    Oblivious to her cousin''s dark thoughts, Kaleena innocently asked Michelle.


    ¡°Are you an Invocation teacher? Which Element are you specializing in?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I''m pretty good at almost everything. But my specialty is in erecting barriers.¡±


    ¡°Barriers?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I used to teach how to erect the most sturdy barriers to save lives. Among other things.¡±


    ¡°But no attack spells?¡±


    ¡°Hohoho. Of course, those too. It wouldn''t be much fun without knowing how to kick butt, am I right?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, please don''t teach the children unnecessary phrases.¡± Lizbeth swiftly tried to rebuked Michelle.


    ¡°Oh well. Fine, fine. No sweat. I''ll be staying by your place, if you don''t mind. You don''t, right? I''ll reimburse you for the lodging, obviously. I''m not that shameless, you see.¡±


    ¡°...Yes, you can stay with us, teacher. It''d be an honor to host you.¡±


    ¡°That''s good, ''cause now then I can take a good look at these two. You seem to have gotten yourself very good pair of eggs here, Lizzie.¡±


    Michelle slyly leaned closer and peered at the girls. Kaleena felt uncomfortable at the intense gaze, while Katrina brushed it off as if it didn''t affect her in the slightest. Of course, it did. She just chose to not show it.


    Lizbeth felt helpless at the sight. Michelle was always perceptive at finding Invocation geniuses with a simple glance. Her ability was legendary among Invokers the world over. It was a great deal to be chosen by her ¨C it indicated there were huge potential sleeping within a person. All sorts of doors would be unlocked after that kind of acknowledgment. Like how it was with Lizbeth.


    Suddenly, a thought occurred.


    ¡°Teacher, may I ask you about a confidential matter, involving the matters of Invocation and Aeterna?¡± Lizbeth quietly asked Michelle in a serious tone.


    Raising an eyebrow, Michelle nodded solemnly after recognizing how serious her former pupil sounded. ¡°Speak. I swear my lips will remain sealed.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Lizbeth seized this opportunity and told her teacher about Kaleena''s issue. She deeply trusted Michelle, a trust born out of respect and recognition of skill, and further tempered by years of friendship they shared. She knew her teacher would never betray this trust, no matter what.


    Plus, Michelle had researched a great range of topics regarding Invocation and its apparent Elemental dependency. The breadth and scope of knowledge possessed were unparalleled in SOIR''s corridors. If there were unanswered questions on all matters Aeterna, it was not a bad idea to consult with her.


    ¡°Is there such an ability? And if so, is there a way to slow down the process, maybe even reverse it?¡±


    Lizbeth desperately asked, as she gently squeezed her daughter''s hands. If her teacher didn''t know, then she was really out of ideas. If this condition were real, and it affected Kaleena in some negative way, she feared it might permanently damage her in the future, even threatening her life. She''d give anything to prevent that, of course.


    Michelle showed a surprised reaction, then it turned into one of more serious, contemplative mood.


    Digging through the maze of her memories, Michelle carefully raised her voice.


    ¡°...By the sound of it, it seems your daughter is born with a certain condition. It doesn''t have a name yet, as the condition itself is exceedingly rare. I can only recall two other cases that are similar to hers.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then, is there a cure? Something to help Kaleena with?¡±


    ¡°Mmm. In both of those cases, young children were born with abilities to discern the flow of Aeterna with their naked eyes. But as they grew older, this ability disappeared, leading to speculation that either those kids were lying their butts off, or as their body ages, something inside changes and they can no longer see it.¡±


    ¡°Meaning.... there is no cure?¡± Lizbeth asked, her face falling a little.


    Michelle patted Kaleena''s head and smiled reassuringly. ¡°No, do not worry. Those children lived their full lives, with no complications. I don''t think this little girl will be harmed in any way.¡±


    Hearing this, Lizbeth felt deeply relieved. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders. ¡°If that''s the case.... Even though it''s a loss, as long as my daughter will be fine, then it''s fine.¡±


    Michelle nodded, then suddenly, began to leer at the mother and daughter with an evil-ish smile. ¡°Hohoho, aren''t I the luckiest person alive. I decide to come and see my favorite disciple, and behold, I run into an interesting case straight away. Lizzie, you don''t mind me taking a closer look at your child, maybe prod her here and there? I promise I''ll be gentle.¡±


    Kaleena''s face paled in panic, and withdrew quickly. She hid behind her mother, shaking her head. ¡°Mommy, the old lady is scary.¡±


    A vein popped up in Michelle''s forehead, while a chilly smile remained on her lips. ¡°Old... old lady?! Listen here, girl. I''m not that old. Hear me? Besides, I''m not going to hurt you. I only want to help you. You see, there are variety of special medicine refined from rare herbs that helps with illnesses related to Aeterna. I think one or two of them might be the cure you seek. Let me take a look at you, and maybe I can find out what''s what.¡±


    Lizbeth''s face brightened even more. ¡°Ah, yes! Indeed, there are potions and elixirs that could help with Aeterna Pool depletion, addiction, and poisoning of internal organs. It''s possible there is a medicine that should help Kaleena retain her ability.¡±


    ¡°And that''s where I come in. I know most of those herbs and where to find them. And on top of that, I know the skilled potion makers.¡±


    Michelle bit on another cookie, a hint of smugness spreading on her expression.


    On the side, Katrina was listening attentively, but was feeling a bit more irritated than before. She still thought her cousin was lying through her teeth to gain attention but it seemed no one would believe her now. She wished someone would raise her voice and stop this nonsense from going any further.


    Oblivious to her thoughts, Lizbeth and Michelle continued on with their conversation.


    ¡°Which herb should be the most effective in your opinion, teacher?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Let''s see. There''s a herb called Firegrass, found on Northern territories. When refined into a potion, it stops any damage accumulated from Aeterna addiction and poisoning.¡±


    Aeterna addiction was a condition known to happen to regular people who were not Invokers, or haven''t received formal Invocation training. Once a strand of naturally-occurring Aeterna enters a person''s body without going through one''s Pool, it momentarily produces an ecstatic sensation.


    Most who experience it feel sick afterwards, but a small percentage would be addicted to that moment of bliss. Obviously such an activity would damage the internal organs, turning the victim into a crippled vegetable within years.


    The cure for such illness was rather costly. However, as most Aeterna addiction sufferers were wealthy to begin with, the high price was not an issue. The reason why the wealthy suffered the most was that the only way to absorb Aeterna without receiving training was to come in direct contact with Aeterna-rich Invocation Tools, and they were expensive to procure.


    The Aeterna poisoning was much rarer. It happened to a handful of battle hardened Invokers who have been in an environment thick with the air of death. The researchers at SOIR deduced that such air''s Aeterna were polluted by endless blood-letting and loss of life. A pure, unused Aeterna would be harmless most of the time, but in order to cast a spell, it had to be manipulated into forms Invokers wanted, and that process slightly corrupted it.


    When such corruption continuously stacked on top of another, then it inevitably led to Aeterna poisoning.


    It was just a theory, however. It haven''t been fully proved, or disproved yet. Still, those inflicted by the illness suffered a great deal of pain before withering away in agony. The only way to cure it were to consume rare elixirs and not cast any Invocation for a time.


    ¡°Firegrass, is it? Honestly, I''ve never heard of it. But it does sound promising. I should speak to Damien about this.¡± Lizbeth nodded. Then she caught on to that one part in her teacher''s words. ¡°....Did you mention Northern territories?¡±


    Michelle nodded, while sipping the tea.


    Lizbeth sighed, shaking her head. ¡°Damien''s family is from there. He doesn''t have a good relationship with them. Not for a long while. If we were to find a rare herb like Firegrass, then his family might get involved in some stage.¡±


    ¡°Hah. If your hubby knows what''s good for his kid, then he''d jump through flaming hoops to find help. What''s some bad family relation compared to that of his child''s health? And, there''s no guarantee that they have to talk to each other. Just ask an Adventurer Guild or something to find the herb for you. Simple.¡±


    Lizbeth agreed with her teacher. Indeed, it should not be so complicated. Just by hiring a group of Adventurers to procure the herb would be enough.


    A drop of rain fell on the cloth laid out on the ground. The dark clouds had gathered above their heads while they were conversing. From a distance, turbulent roars of thunder rang repeatedly.


    ¡°We should go back,¡± said Lizbeth, shielding her face from the falling rain.


    The picnic was over.

 Chapter 19

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">19</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (Apologies for the lack of a chapter yesterday. Had a small issue with electricity. It''s nearly solved for now. Nearly...)


    When Kain woke up, his entire body hurt like hell. It was worse than the worst hangover ever. If it hurt any more than this, than it would be better to just die, so he didn''t have to suffer through this pain.


    Knowing he was thinking of nonsense, he tried to get up. His head ached, a disorientating pulse of irritation coursing in his veins.


    Dude, it really does feel like a hangover.


    Kain groaned. Of course, he didn''t drink any alcohol. Physically, he was still a five-year-old kid. There was no way in hell Damien and Lizbeth let him anywhere near a cup of that fermented stuff.


    Yet, as soon as he stood up gingerly, the first reaction his body gave was to empty his gut on the muddy ground.


    Once the retching ended, then it was the turn of the bone-chilling cold, taking a bite out of him. When he confirmed his status, he was wet from head to toe, water dripping from his now-ruined clothes. If a passerby saw him now, he''d look like a washed-out hangdog begging for a penny.


    Totally dazed, his eyes wandered to and fro, trying to find out just where the hell he had ended up in.


    There was a raging torrent of a river to his right, the water gray and angry. He assumed that was either River Styx or Anderlicht. It all depended on how lucky he was.


    To his left, a dense forest, dark and foreboding. It was so thick that he couldn''t see past a few feet beyond the mouth. It was almost like nighttime in there, even though an occasional ray of sunlight peeked out between the heavy clouds above.


    Beneath his feet, a mixture of mud and round stones. He was standing on a shallow riverbank, a small opening in an otherwise inhospitable riverside.


    Kain slowly looked up, and around. He hoped to see a sign of civilization, but instead, what greeted him was the sight of sheer slab-sided cliffs surrounding the forest and the river. Like a wire fencing of a maximum security prison, it was tall and jagged and utterly imposing.


    He could think of two reasons why he was seeing this wall, that to his mind without a doubt cliffs of the Tetamus Range.


    One, he got carried down by the river and got transported near it.


    Or, he got carried by the river, into the opening Derrick mentioned before, and now he was inside the Range, pleasantly nicknamed as Hell.


    That first theory got busted almost immediately. He couldn''t see the cliff with the road on it, the one he fell from. Instead, in a not too far distance, he spotted a slender rift in the wall, and the roaring river storming through the said rift. It was a definite proof of theory number two, whether he liked it or not.


    Crap...


    Kain muttered inwardly.


    Shivering from the ever-present cold, he shifted his gaze toward the forest. He weighed his options at hand ¨C should he enter or not? He knew that he couldn''t stay here, like this, forever.


    He had never been stranded in his entire life before, including in his previous one. He didn''t know what should be done, in order to raise his chances of survival, until the rescue team shows up.


    A long time ago, he watched a program on the boob-tube, showing what to do when stuck in a wilderness, but for the life of him, he could only remember small bits and pieces, not the whole thing. He felt like cursing out loud. Not that anyone would hear him anyway. Or maybe something might.... So he didn''t say anything, in the end.


    At least, he figured he needed to keep himself warm. That meant making a fire. Then, finding a shelter. And it was quite likely he''d stuck here for a while, drinkable water and food.


    He had no idea how long it would take for Derrick to mount a rescue mission ¨C if one was coming at all. He had to be prepared for a long haul here.


    Worse still, Derrick wasn''t in too hot a shape, last time Kain checked. There was no guarantee that he survived the ordeal.


    Even he could tell those hooded men weren''t some common bandits.


    Did they come for Derrick''s neck? Or.... was me the target?


    He shuddered even more at the possibilities, remembering the ominous words about male heirs not appearing in the Lomax households due to some mysterious outside influences.


    Thinking about it a bit more, he concluded that he could not have been the target those men were after. After all, they were surrounding Derrick, not him. The rest of the travelers were nothing more than collateral damage, or maybe killed in order to leave not a single witness behind.


    If so, then who could have sent those assassins? Kain recalled briefly a piece of information he overheard from gossiping Delilah and the local village womenfolk regarding Derrick and his circumstances. It all seemed like a bunch of unfounded idiotic yapping back then, a story of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving high-ranking government individuals and a jealous brother, plus lots of wealth and political influence at stake.


    Derrick''s father, one Augustus Septima Lomax, a duke, fell sick with an unknown illness two years ago. So naturally his two sons who were, up until that point competing in secrecy, held nothing back and publicly clashed for the right to inherit the title. Allegedly.


    The result was that Derrick lost, and had to find a refuge at Riverfield, where his brother would not be able to reach out that easily.


    The now-reigning Septima Lomax, Duncan, was a complete mystery to Kain. No one in the house mentioned him, not even once. And outside of groundless gossips, there were precious few avenues of collecting information.


    It''s true that most of Riverfield''s residents didn''t really have much interest in the political matters of some distant city, and didn''t actively go out of their way to inquire about it. That fact alone made getting hold of useful facts quite hard.


    If those hooded men were sent by Duncan or his supporters, then it was probably safe to assume that he''s no saint. He fought and then kicked his own flesh and blood to the curb, so obviously, he couldn''t be a saint even from that, but still, to send a bunch of assassins after his brother...


    Kain wondered dejectedly whether that was how nobles behaved in this world. Was it a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world full of conceited, paranoid miscreants waiting to backstab each other at every waking moment?


    Will Kaleena and Katrina end up being just like that? Well, I dunno about Kal, but surely,if it''s that Katrina....


    Kain shook his head. Kaleena was a good girl. Katrina, on the other hand... she would just try too hard at times.


    Anyways, he held no desire to compete for the title of Baron Lucius Lomax. Kaleena was a better candidate for that. Smarter, kinder, and harder working. Surely, those were the qualities one needed to become a good lord of a village. And those were things Kain lacked severely in.


    There was a chance that he was over-thinking this whole thing. He had no proof that those men were after Derrick. For all he knew, they could have been just a regular bunch of bandits, simply wearing hooded raincoats because of the crappy weather.


    ¡°Whatever. Hope you made it, uncle Derrick. Just don''t forget to come and save my sorry ass,¡± Kain mused weakly, his voice barely audible even to himself.


    Then he recalled Sandra. They fell in the water together, but she was not with him anymore. She wasn''t on the riverbank too. She was gone.


    ¡°I hope you made it too, little Sandra. Sorry if you didn''t...¡±


    He imagined her laughing and crying, safe from the flooding river, in her mother''s arms. That was a mistake.


    Because when he did, he remembered the scenes of Laurel dying. He imagined the little girl''s bloated, decaying body being fished up by dispassionate men in uniforms.


    He felt bile rise up again.


    More and more, images of corpses entered his mind. The horrible smell of blood came rushing in too, hitting him like a freight train. It was like as if he was right back in the middle of the bandit raid all over again.


    He recalled screams. He recalled blood. Severed limbs. Lifeless eyes. Cries of help. Sickening sound of flesh getting cut.


    He vomited again. And again.


    He knew this was getting dangerous, his body shivering a lot harder than before. He needed a fire to warm his weakened body, and he needed it super fast.


    He could start one just fine, even in this condition, but sustaining it for a period of time without supplying it with Aeterna was something else entirely.


    He needed to find dry wood, or whatever he could use as fuel. But it stopped raining not too long ago, and there were heavy moisture hanging around in the air, meaning nearby trees and fallen branches would be too wet to be useful.


    After thinking for a bit, he had a lightbulb moment. He could modify a Wind type Invocation to dry out the wet wood. He had the target, the amount of Aeterna in the Pool, and he also had a good idea how it should be done. Better still, he didn''t need to chant any Requisite Words since he was going to combine spells he''d been practicing until now.


    But he also needed to either find a shelter or build it. Without that, when the heavens decide to open up and bless him with another painful deluge, it would definitely wash away the fire.


    That brought him another dilemma. Where should he try to build his shelter, then? Near the river? There was just too much risk of flooding if he got close to the water''s edge and it rained a little more than usual.


    But he couldn''t afford to get too close to the forest either since he could sense some sinister Aeterna floating around in deeper parts of the forest. Who knows what that meant, and he didn''t feel like finding out so soon.


    So, he stood there like a lone tree, unable to decide on where to build his precious shelter. He was getting colder still, and his limbs were growing numb. Even that couldn''t force him to choose quickly.


    As if it got tired of waiting, the mother nature decided to chose for him, playing the role of a cruel mistress. Rain started pouring down again, and it became heavy pretty quickly.


    The river swelled up further, and so, that was the clincher. He wasn''t going to stay anywhere near that dangerous-looking body of water.


    Sighing, Kain rushed towards the edge of the forest and summoned just enough Aeterna out of his Pool to cast an Earthen Wall. His plan was to build an improvised igloo with it.


    He quickly cast three Earthen Walls in succession, erecting three sides to a structure, and another to place a roof on top. He regulated the height and made them around five feet tall. He thought that there was no need to make it too tall, seeing that he was still a shorty anyway. All that''s left to do was to make a door to block out the wind and rain. That had to wait until he started a fire, of course.


    For that purpose, he tried to break off branches of nearby trees, but as expected, his physical strength was too pathetic to even bend one. He made a promise to himself that if he makes it out of here alive, then he''d dedicate all of his being into practicing the Body Enhancement spells in the future.


    He gathered fallen leaves and branches, but he felt that was not enough.


    After another brain-storming session, he decide to cast Breeze, but instead of a simple breeze, he would try to condense the wind as thinly as possible and turn it into a blade. Kinda like in video games. He modified Earthen Wall and Firelight, so it wouldn''t be too hard, or so he figured.


    He imagined a sliver of fast moving wind, sharp enough to slice a metal panel, and cast it repeatedly. First few attempts ended in failure, but the tenth one worked, and he was able to cut a wrist-thick branch.


    Elated at his success, he tried a few more. His limits were around the thickness of a human arm. Thicker than that, it was just an exercise in wasting Aeterna reserve.


    He cast this new spell of his, which he imaginatively christened as a Wind Blade, about a dozen times. He even surprised himself by having a reserve of Aeterna more than half of his Pool still left. There were enough to fool around if he wanted to.


    He shouldn''t have ¨C he forgot that the branches cut with his Wind Blade had very fine edges. And he got cut by that. It wasn''t a deep one, and the blood stopped flowing after a short while, but he did bleat out a four letter swear word that began with an F, ending with a K, the one he hadn''t used in the past five years.


    He learned his lesson. So, he took his hard earned loot ¨C branches ¨C to his shelter, and after digging a small depression on the ground with another Earthen Wall in order to create a door, he chucked them all in.


    Making sure there was ventilation, he set upon creating his second new spell of the day. Which he decided to call Drying Wind. Sounded about right, so he was more or less happy with his naming sense.


    He imagined a drying desert wind and cast Breeze. The resulting air was lukewarm at best, but it wasn''t dry enough. So, he gave it some more thought, wondering how he could improve it.


    He cast it with a different image in mind, this time of a wet washing drying under an intense, hot midday sun. That did the trick. The branches dried out real fast, withering right in front of his eyes. Hell, even the muddy walls were drying out as well. It seemed like he had stumbled onto a pretty useful Invocation through necessity.


    Unfortunately, it proved to be something of Aeterna hog. It tired him out as fast as the first time he tried to cast a spell.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    While he was feeling sluggish, coldness renewed its attack with vengeance, getting worse by the minute. And to make matters more complicated, he felt thirsty too, which he found to be rather ironic, seeing that he was literally surrounded by water.


    After a few more minutes of casting Drying Wind, the branches became brittle enough to use as the fuel source. Kain quickly cast a Firelight and just like how he shot it at the bandit''s face, he carefully transferred it to the pile of dried wood.


    It was a success. He made a fire.


    He cried out ¡°Hell Yeah!!¡±


    In no time at all, the warming fire grew and became pretty vigorous, spreading heat all over the shelter''s interior.


    Once some warmth soaked into his body, he felt a whole lot better. Still felt like crap, but at least a warmer crap, which was obviously better. Wet clothes on him were still a problem, but he wasn''t sure whether he should take them off or not. The rain was coming down pretty hard outside, and the cascade of the noise pounding on his eardrums gave him an unbearable migraine. Or it could be cold, he couldn''t really tell.


    As for the thirst, he knew better than to drink from the river. The bitter, repugnant taste was forever etched in his psyche now, and there was just no way in hell he''d gulp that down without purifying it first.


    There was this Water Elemental Invocation that he had never tried out before, as it required a large amount of Aeterna to pull off. The spell was called Water Vein Summoning. He heard about it being discussed when one of the farmers came to speak to Damien about his land not receiving enough water. Of course, he couldn''t try it now, regardless of whether he was exhausted or not. Such a spell needed someone with a good Affinity with Water Element. Which he didn''t.


    The one other alternative he could think of was to purify the rain or the river water, but he haven''t got the foggiest idea how to. And he had no confidence about succeeding either.


    He was really thirsty, thinking of all the water. And he couldn''t think properly, nor form a single, continuous line of thoughts with this pounding migraine playing a Thrash Metal number in his head. He felt drowsy as well. He mused those were one funny mixed bag of symptoms he got.


    He did a quick mental check on how much Aeterna he had left. It was enough to sustain him for a bit, but the real danger wasn''t him running out of the precious energy. It was actually encountering a Fiend or two before he fully replenished his supply by resting.


    He had no battle experience other than what happened with the bandits. Even worse, he was not sure if any of the spells he knew could be used as a means of attack. Maybe the Wind Blade, but then, it could only cut up to a thickness of human wrist. It wasn''t powerful enough. Not yet, anyway.


    He did blind one bandit with Firelight, and also, most certainly killed another by accident, but he had this gut feeling that when fighting a Fiend, an unpredictable monster, he''d need lots more than simple luck.


    He heard a distant roar, that snatched his attention right back away from the drowsiness. It sounded like it came from a far away, but the level of its fierceness didn''t diminish one bit. The vibration from the roar shook his innards, and he almost threw up again. Good thing, he had nothing to throw up in his gut, otherwise he''d have to work extra to clean out the sick.


    He wondered about just what kind of monster could make such a loud racket. It could be the dragon Derrick mentioned before.


    Grimacing, Kain sighed weakly. ¡°Oh, man. Just how the hell am I gonna survive?¡±


    As to mock his despair, another roar issued out from the depths of the forest. It was a different Fiend, judging from the sound. Another powerful, awful monster he was not looking forward to having a meeting with.


    He felt scared and frustrated. And helpless too, all at the same time. He felt so small and weak. Depressed, he could think of nothing at all anymore.


    It wasn''t easy to make out anything in the rain. All the sights and sounds were masked by the insistent falling water drops,and he began to develop an irrational hatred for it.


    All he wanted now, more than anything, was to go home.


    He hugged his knees close, and slowly buried his face in the crook of his arms.


    He drifted off to a fitful sleep, small but warm fire flickering away on an equally small pile of dried up wood.


    ~


    Kain was surrounded by the faces of people he knew. Only, they were no longer people. Their flesh bloated, rotting, bloodied, bits falling off. Gray, fading bones exposed to the elements, decomposing internal organs on show.


    These bodies slowly approached, gripping him, not letting go. Their hollow, distant eyes accused him of living while they all died. They accused him for their death, pointing bony, decaying fingers at him, disfigured jaws opening and closing in perfect sync.


    Kain denied it all. He shook his head fervently, denying it. None of their death was his fault. Those hooded men didn''t come for him. It was just a coincidence, nothing more. He too was a victim of the circumstances and was not guilty.


    ¡°Stop!! Stop accusing me, damn you!!¡±


    Kain woke up from his nightmare with a shout.


    Before him, the fire he took so much pain to create was dying. Outside, the accursed rain had eased its angry pounding, but the calm had not been restored yet.


    He heard winds howling sorrowfully, shaking the makeshift shelter like a washing machine on ¡°rinse¡±.


    All his muscles were numb. The dull and rhythmic drumbeat of a headache pulsed like a muffled bass of a really bad disco song.


    Besides being thirsty, now he was beset with hunger too. Things were not looking up. He threw up everything in his stomach, and his body needed energy. Regardless of how he felt about stuff, he was still a growing child. Balanced nutrition was a must. Obviously, that wasn''t going to happen here, however.


    He tended to the fire and noticed that there weren''t enough wood. At this rate, he would have to go out of the shelter and find more. Looking outside, he confirmed the rain had become a weak drizzle. Sighing, he decided to brave it, and head to the nearest tree.


    He has been sitting in a huddled position with knees pressed to his chest, and his thigh muscles complained loudly when he tried to stand up. It felt like someone hit him on the back of the knees. It was painful.


    He crawled for a bit until he got the blood circulation going in his legs. Even then, it was difficult to move, his body telling him its limits were reached already. Kain felt bitter about this ¨C if he had been training his body, then at least he would be able to better endure the ordeal. As things stood, he was far too pampered for his own good.


    ¡°Whew. Should''ve gone on camping trips with dad or something.¡±


    Kain sighed bitterly, mocking himself for looking back at a life that could have been but never was.


    Briefly, he pondered why his previous family never spent much time together. They didn''t even have a Sunday barbecue, just like how it was with most middle-income families.


    ¡°Yeah, there was something wrong with us. Definitely.¡±


    He couldn''t help but chuckle. Then he chuckled some more upon realizing that he''s been speaking in English, not the native tongue of Argos Empire. He got used to talking in Noa''s standard dialect, so it was actually strange to hear himself yapping in a language nearly forgotten. Not that anybody would understand anyway.


    Ignoring the drizzle, Kain gingerly left the shelter and headed for the tree. It showed signs of abuse, most of them coming from him practicing the Wind Blade on it.


    Once he reached it, however, he felt hairs on the back of his neck stand up.


    He came to a halt right there and then, and began to search up ahead with his eyes. He saw nothing other than the still darkness. Nothing moved, or breathed. But the creepy sensation didn''t go away.


    So, he instead tried to look at Aeterna fluctuations. All things attracted Aeterna to some degree, so as long as he could sense it, then he could also tell what might be lurking in the depths. He hoped that he was wrong, that there was nothing out there.


    There was something there. Something large.


    Something definitely not friendly.


    A cold chill ran down his back.


    Oh, crap. I got careless!! What do I do now?!


    His feet got stuck, unmoving. Gritting his teeth, he willed them to move and succeeded in retreating very slowly. He didn''t want to make any sudden movements. He still had no clear idea what was hiding in the shadows, but at that moment it didn''t matter. He couldn''t fight it, whatever it was, and running away was the only option on the table for him.


    The space between the raging river behind and the dark, foreboding forest up ahead weren''t all that big. By steadily retreating, Kain''s back pressed against the temporary shelter''s mud wall, and he couldn''t move anymore.


    More cold sweat broke out, but he had to move to his side. There was no choice here. Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, he shifted to his left.


    Right then, it pounced.


    A big, dark figure shot out like a flash of gunfire.


    It was a minor miracle that he somehow managed to dodge its unfurled claws by slipping and falling on the wet and muddy surface.


    Once out of the dark confines, Kain could finally see what it was.


    It was a black panther. But it was bigger than a 4 by 4. Much bigger.


    He recalled seeing its images in the bestiary back at Riverfield. So it wasn''t a Fiend nor an Awakened, just a regular, hungry apex predator out for a meal.


    Of course, he had no plans on sating its appetite whatsoever.


    Since it wasn''t a Fiend, he thought that he could chase it away by somehow scaring it.


    Knowing that it was just an animal and not a bloodthirsty Fiend, he felt oddly calm, surprising himself somewhat. Even though it was too large to be normal, he still felt not as threatened as before. Normally, he should have freaked out by now.


    He had a bit of confidence that he could handle a normal animal just fine, as long as he used the right Invocation at the right time. But he knew better than to become cocky. Nothing killed faster than being conceited, after all.


    The panther looked at the boy and snarled menacingly. Its bright, beady eyes firmly locked on him and nothing else. Its jaws slacked slightly, thick drool mixing with the drizzle. Its pink tongue slathering about its fangs, as if it''s already savoring the flavor of human flesh.


    Because of the adrenaline, Kain''s headache lessened a lot. He felt alert and ready. All that heaviness clouding his thoughts were blown away, allowing him to formulate a plan of escape quickly.


    He could scare it away using either Fire or Earth Elemental Invocations. If he could use it, Lightning Type would have been ideal, but he didn''t know how. Besides, it was raining, so there was a chance he might get sucked into the spell''s effect as well.


    It continued to snort, slowly circling the boy, its tail wagging this way and that. After maintaining the distance between them for a minute or two, it lowered its posture, and leaped forward, charging at Kain''s direction. It was fast.


    He was about to cast an Earthen Wall right in its face when, in the corner of his eye he picked up yet another movement.


    Before he could even lift a finger, this new player engulfed the panther and gobbled it up in one gulp.


    His brain froze. But he could still come up with some words as a natural reaction to the scene playing right in front of him.


    Holy. Mother. Of. A. Freaking God!! Is that, is that a goddamn T-rex?!


    Once he came up with the appropriate words, he woke up from the daze, and he started running in the opposite direction, as fast as his short legs could carry him. No way on god''s green earth he was going to stay around to observe that huge, brown scaled lizard-type Fiend having a nice little cat-flavored snack.


    He ran like a madman through the whipping branches, losing the track of time, moving ever deeper into the dark forest. Not even the shortness of breath bothered him.


    One little sentence continued to echo in his head, whispering like a small devil sitting on his shoulder.


    ¡°......This place is cursed.......¡±


    It seemed like there were some evidence to back up that claim.


    Every one of the trees and shrubs blocking his ingress looked identical. No matter how far he ran, it might as well that he was standing still. If it weren''t for the rude slaps on his face from the sharp branches and leaves, he''d have thought that he was indeed not moving forward at all.


    That illusion got painfully shattered when an exposed root tripped his ankle, and he tumbled down a small but steep incline, ending up in a ditch at the bottom.


    The rain had washed the mud off of him. The tumble down the slope coated him head to toe with the brown stuff once more.


    He was too spent to get up. He couldn''t even lift a finger, let alone move a leg. It was clear that he was done with the running. Not because he was no longer scared, no, but because his five-year-old physique just couldn''t take the abuse anymore.


    All around him, sinister, crooked and ugly trees leered at him. After five years of getting used to nice, friendly, shade-providing trees of Riverfield, he couldn''t help but shudder at these haunting vegetation that seemingly leaped straight out of a very bad nightmare. It certainly did his nerves no good whatsoever.


    It felt like there were eyes staring at him, leering at him. Watching, waiting, until he was lying dead on the ground so they could feed on his corpse.


    Bastards. As if I''d let you.


    Mustering what little strength he had left, Kain dragged and propped up his tired body against a wall of exposed earth. The drizzle doggedly found its way down, even with the dense canopy made up of intertwining branches and leaves above blanketing the overhead. As if it''s only mission was to soak him to the bones.


    He was too tired. He was too fatigued to cast any more Invocations, meaning that building another shelter was not possible currently. The ditch he crawled into had a small overhead cover and the falling raindrops didn''t bother him as vigorously as before. That helped a little.


    The goddess of a sweet slumber beckoned him ever so gently, and he was inclined to accept the tempting invitation.


    But he resolutely refused.


    Sleep was not a luxury he could afford at the moment. Not when he sensed many, many weird, unsettling Aeterna all around him. Like a toxic miasma, a fog of uncertainty pulled a wool over his eyes, obfuscating all before him.


    Damn it, I need to focus. Wake up, me!!


    Kain slapped his own cheeks hard, trying to stay awake.


    Right, I need to find a new shelter, make new fire, and for real, find something to eat.


    He thought about catching a rabbit or something, a prey small and non-threatening so he could hunt in relative safety. He hesitated slightly on catching rabbits though, after recalling something about their meat. It was no good as a wilderness survival food because it lacked fat. It was too lean, and so was not a good idea to rely on that exclusively.


    He thought about catching birds instead. He could improvise another Wind type Invocation and knock one off the air. It sounded quite simple to execute. Reflexively he looked above him, but maybe because of the weather, he saw not a single bird, not even one perched on the numerous, crooked branches.


    He decided to wait until the end of the rain. Then go on a hunting spree. A small pool of drool formed on the corner of his mouth as he thought of all the possibilities.


    Right, don''t forget. I''ve gotta do this quietly.


    He didn''t want to rouse the attention of that lizard monster, that huge Fiend, from before. At first glance, it resembled a T-Rex, but now that he was somewhat calmer, it looked more like a super-sized Komodo Dragon. Or maybe a Gila lizard.


    Whatever the case may be, that Fiend was no cuddly, kid-friendly neighborhood mascot. It could even be poisonous. It went without saying, that he needed to stay as far away as humanly possible from that creature.


    But he could still faintly sense that Fiend''s Aeterna in the distance. He was fairly sure of it approaching where he was hiding. As long as he kept on sensing its presence via his Aeterna.... vision, he would be alright, but still, he was worried about the fact that he couldn''t even see something that huge until it suddenly appeared to swallow whole the panther.


    And judging by all the reaction he got through his Aeterna vision, that Fiend wasn''t the only danger in this forest.


    There was no way he would be able to hurt that kind of Fiend with his puny powers, so should another creature with just as much ferocity and size appear before him, then he''d be royally shafted for good.


    It was truly a miracle that he escaped from the predicament unscathed. He thought that the lizard Fiend didn''t even see him as an appetizer, due to his tininess. Which was a blessing in disguise, really.


    One thing for sure, with those thick-as-a-tank, impermeable-to-all-things scales covering the whole body of the Fiend, he wasn''t going to leave a single scratch mark on it no matter how sharp the edges of his Wind Blade were going to be.


    All he could do was sigh and lament his weakness. Also his rotten luck too.


    With more of those monster roaming about, the thing about this forest being cursed sounded right to him.


    No, wait. Snap out of it, me!!


    He shook his head, admonishing himself for only thinking of negative things. He needed to keep a level, cool head, so he could survive in this place.


    Stay focused. Focused!! Yes. Yes, I can do it. I''ll live through this. And I''ll make my way back to Riverfield. You just watch. I''ll go home. I''ll be damned if I lose a home twice in a row.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.....I am going home. No matter what.

 Chapter 20

    <h2 class="western" align="CENTER">20</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Kain set upon immediately to disguise the ditch with Earthen Walls. He may be still thirsty and hungry, but by resting, he had recovered enough Aeterna to cast his most trusted spell. This way, he made a new shelter that didn''t stand out too much from the surroundings, that blended in pretty well with the small hill itself. Plus, there was enough wiggle room for him inside. With a little housekeeping, he could stay here indefinitely.


    He took another break after finishing the shelter. He was low on energy after all, and couldn''t sustain any extended activity. Feeling somewhat secure, he ended up drifting into a soft slumber, but only to wake up when he heard a sound he shouldn''t have.


    It was a distant, eerie laughter.


    He snapped out, and became alert immediately. He quickly spread his sense of Aeterna to see if anything''s amiss, but there were none. It was as if he was hallucinating.


    It probably was. The laughter was that of a girl, playful but ephemeral and fleeting. He told himself it was his mind just recalling Kaleena''s laughter from the past, because of his homesickness.


    The rain had stopped, and the sun was out from the overcast clouds. By his estimation, it might not rain for the rest of the day. He could be wrong, but still, this was good. He would use this opportunity to hunt for food.


    Procuring sustenance was the utmost priority. His belly has been growling so hard, he got scared that the noise might alert the nearby Fiends. That would not have been nice at all.


    Confirming there weren''t any man-eating creatures nearby, he carefully slipped out of the hiding place and started his search for birds. There were audible chirps coming from above, signaling they were indeed out and about. Strangely though, he couldn''t spot a single one.


    And so, Kain wasted an hour trying to locate a bird. He became pretty desperate, so eventually, he decided to expand the scope of his search to include even the small animals. At that point, even rabbits were fine because he needed food so bad.


    His searches were regularly interrupted by the massive Fiends the size of trucks and buses passing by, necessitating him to hide his presence, away from their sights. One common theme among these huge monsters were their sharp fangs. Even he could tell they were not herbivores. One bite, and he''d be a dead man. Hiding was all he could do.


    He had to rely on his Aeterna sense for the survival. It was impractical to do so all the time, however. It drained his stamina, and if he was too fatigued, then that would be curtains for him, for real. But it was truly an emergency situation, so there was no helping it. He had to rely on it, and push himself hard.


    When he couldn''t find anything, he decided to change tact. Rather than aimlessly wandering around, he''d stand still, and observe instead. Be still with nature, become as non-threatening as possible in the eyes of the small critters.


    Coupled with his Aeterna sense, his patience eventually paid off. He was able to spot well-camouflaged birds sitting on the branches, unmoving.


    Kain was understandably elated. However, his excitement cooled down quickly after that. Because it turned out that finding a prey and hunting the said prey were two very different things.


    He was able to pinpoint the location of a bird, but trying to snipe it with a Wind type Invocation was an exercise in frustration.


    The big issue was that he had no formal training, lacking knowledge in many different spells for the different occasions. He had to use an improvised spell to get by, and that was not sufficient enough.


    Just like it was with a Wind Blade, he modified Breeze into a sniper rifle-like spell thinking the idea might give him the necessary penetrating power he needs. But then, he lacked a projectile that could act as a bullet. So he picked up small pebbles and rocks. Two problems reared their ugly heads with his attempt at becoming a hunter.


    All living things, be that birds or rabbits, ran away the moment they sensed disturbance around them. Kain couldn''t hit a moving target at all, no matter how many times he tried. He needed practice and experience for that.


    Secondly, he simply lacked enough oomph to propel the pebble into a killing weapon. It needed to be really fast, but he just couldn''t do it. All that trying led to him wasting more time and energy, nearly depleting his Aeterna Pool.


    No matter how he looked at it, things were not going well at all. In hindsight, he hadn''t thought this through properly.


    But desperate struggles for survival could bring forth an amazing miracle. A lucky event that can only be described as a heaven-sent.


    When another attempt failed to hit a medium-sized bird sitting well hidden on a branch, it flew off with ruffled feathers. But rather than running off like the usual, this foolhardy avian creature swooped down and went straight for Kain''s head instead. It was clearly going for a retaliatory strike.


    Instinctively, he raised his hands to defend his poor head, and fired off an Invocation with his eyes closed out of fear. He wasn''t even fully aware of what spell he cast, but whatever it was, it worked splendidly.


    The speeding bird slammed hard into an invisible barrier mere inches from his face, and fell down on the ground. Its neck was bent at an uncomfortable angle, as if someone had twisted it hard. It wasn''t the first time Kain caused death with a broken neck, and his luck netted him one more victim to add to the list.


    He was dazed for a second, trying to understand what just happened. He picked up the limp bird, and it hit him ¨C he cast a spell of Earthen Wall, except he did that with Wind Element. So, he ended up with.... Wind Wall instead. Or was that an Air Wall?


    It was all done reflexively, to protect his body from harm. But now, he somehow lucked into a meal thanks to that.


    Realizing that he finally tasted success, Kain fell on his knees and thanked whatever deity that provided him with this glorious, life-saving meal.


    But again, his enthusiasm cooled quickly once more. A new problem came to light when he tried to pluck the feathers. He had no idea how to prepare this game.


    He didn''t know how to skin it. He had no idea what to do at all with blood and the internal organs. What about its brain? Just thinking about the gooey mess caused him to lose appetite.


    Oh, man. How the heck should I eat this thing?! Dang it, if it isn''t one headache after another. Gimme a freaking break.


    And looking at the dead bird in his hands, he felt slightly melancholic. He took a life without hesitation. It didn''t matter that this wasn''t his first time doing that. It still felt wrong somehow and the ordeal left a bad taste in his mouth.


    In the end, what''s done was done. There was no going back. In order to survive, he had to kill. Even though he understood this cruel and uncaring fact of life, he still felt like he had chewed on a cockroach or something equally bitter.


    What a screwed up way of living. Or is it just me who''s being too sentimental?


    As he stood around feeling conflicted, he was completely unaware of a pair of eyes observing him. Of course, there was no way he would ever feel them ¨C the eyes probing his actions were situated a huge distance away.


    There were no malice in those deep, mysterious stares, only the sparkling glint of interest, as it continued to probe the boy silently.


    ~


    In the end, he ate the bird faster than humanly possible. That was the power of unjust starvation at work. Kain got a small flame going once more, and he roasted the whole bird in one go. Using the newly-developed Wind Blade, he cut the meat in half, and ravenously dug into it, not even bothering to return to his shelter.


    The smell of sizzling flesh was too much for his ravaged psyche and he lost all decorum. The taste he experienced in that moment was the single most life altering one ever, unlikely to be forgotten for the rest of his life. It was that good.


    But he still held onto enough sense to avoid eating the internal organs, as well as its head, not to mention the feathers. As expected, he couldn''t go past the gross factor of those gooey organs and the brain. He had his limits, and those were in danger of breaching them.


    The remains were buried beneath a mound of dirt he dug quickly after the meal. It was to hide any traces of him being here, lest some Fiend catches on and seeks him out. He did not want that to happen, obviously.


    Still, to be prudent, he moved away from the area. Since he was now quite confident of his chances at catching his meals, he had no problem moving from this particular area which was well stocked with birds. He was able to hunt any type of birds now, so he wouldn''t go hungry, as long as he remained careful of his surroundings and utilize his Aeterna sense to its fullest.


    After moving, he hunted for a while longer. He''d rouse the hiding birds from the tree branches, and when they take flight, strike them down with Wind Wall. It worked 90% of the time, rapidly turning this day into a good one for him.


    Of course, he had to evade some troublesome Fiends and other, large fearsome predators roaming the forest. Thanks to Aeterna sense, Kain could avoid the biggest ones since they were easiest to spot, but since his detection range wasn''t all that stellar, the small to medium sized ones posed serious challenges.


    He''d hunker down, and stop breathing until the giant creatures sauntered by. This happened infrequently though, and he didn''t get discovered once. Scary, but they all counted as a learning experience for him. At the rate he was going, he might morph into a first class shinobi in no time.


    He did become painfully aware of his lack of power and a serious need to come up with other, more effective Invocation spells as quickly as possible. His current set of spells were too inadequate, too limited in scope. He wasn''t going to stay breathing for long at this rate.


    The forest was too full of dangers at every turn ¨C from easy-to-miss poisonous plants of various sizes and guises to giant centipedes spewing out toxic gasses, from purple colored insects that shoot out corrosive acids to giant scorpions with metallic carapaces, from ten-feet tall roosters with oily feathers to dinosaur-looking monsters as tall as a building, this place was a choke-a-full of super Fiends that would be classified as Walking Disasters in a modern context.


    Never mind killing one, Kain wouldn''t even be able to leave a scratch. The disparity of strength was too much.


    Without his Aeterna sense, he would have died a dozen times over. By the time he made his way back to the ditch after a bout of successful hunting session, the irrational hatred he developed for this forest grew exponentially. If he had power, he wouldn''t hesitate burning down every inch of this place. Good thing then, that he lacked such an ability to mad at will. Not yet, anyway.


    ~


    Kain fell asleep as soon as he returned to the ditch.


    And during his fitful slumber, he was beset with yet another dream of questionable caliber.


    He dreamed a dream where he was flying.


    Not falling, like that time when he came to this world, but flying properly. With wind on his face and warm sun kissing his cheeks, accompanied by the feeling of liberation.


    For the first time after falling into this forest, he felt content and safe.


    He looked down and saw the forest of Tetamus Range beneath. It was far, and to his delight, it was definitely not getting closer. He was flying for real.


    Overjoyed, he flew around for ages until finally, he noticed that he was no longer alone in the sky. He shifted his gaze behind, and saw a darkish, gigantic mass of convulsing.... things, nearing him at a breakneck pace.


    Alarmed, he squinted his eyes, trying to get a good look at just what it was, and received a shock of his life. That mass was entirely made up of all the birds he had hunted and eaten.


    The dream devolved into a nightmare in a heartbeat.


    Kain flapped his arms faster and faster in vain, hoping to increase his flying speed. But the humongous black mass caught up with him in no time at all.


    The angry birds swarmed him, pecking him, slapping him with their wings, punishing him for stealing their lives.


    Oh, god!! Help me!! I''m sorry, I''m really sorry for eating you. I was so hungry, I had no choice. Please, please forgive me!!


    Kain shouted at the top of his voice. Not a single sound came out. Not even a squeak.


    Then, before he noticed, the faces of all the people who died replaced the heads of the dead birds. They sang in unison, accusing him again and again. Same old nightmare, now with extra added flavor.


    He was sweating profusely. He was delirious. He lost all his bearings. Eventually, he fell towards the verdant sea below, screaming silently.


    Mercifully, a loud explosion jolted him wide awake from the nightmare, as the entire ditch shook like an earthquake. The concussive vibration was strong enough to dismantle the Earthen Wall he put up as the door like a pile of falling Lego bricks.


    Outside, it was raining heavily once again.


    Kain hurriedly extended his Aeterna sense outward. He may have just woken up, but he was already alert and poised to take action. He saw the need to quickly figure out the source of that explosion, and determine the level of the threat on his life.


    In front of the ditch, there used to be countless thick bushes and twisted trees growing abundantly, to a point where one couldn''t even see anything past them. Not anymore.


    Every object in front of him was totally leveled. Flattened to the ground, as if a truck full of TNT had gone off nearby.


    But he knew it wasn''t some modern explosives causing all this destruction, but something just as powerful and large. And certainly, just as deadly.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Outside his shelter, he saw that dinosaur-like giant lizard, the one he ran away from earlier, thrashing about violently.


    Kain froze on the spot. Not even a curse word entered his mind.


    It has been a few days since he saw this huge Fiend, and it still looked as imposing and scary as before. Longer than an eighteen wheeler, taller than a building when it stood on its hind legs. The rows of sharp, serrated teeth coated in thick, drool-y mucus. Muscular biceps cracking with hideous strength. A tail thicker than a pipeline transporting crude oil. Scales as thick as a tank armor.


    He was so, so very small compared to this monstrosity.


    Thankfully, its attention was focused elsewhere, sparing Kain from a quick, immediate and painful death. Almost exclusively, it was facing the other way from his position, which was a good news.


    Of course, it didn''t mean he was safe here. That massive tail swayed violently this way and that only a few inches from where his Earthen Wall used to stand. He didn''t have to think too hard to figure out the culprit responsible for knocking down his muddy and improvised door.


    He wanted to move away from this spot, but a cold fear of being discovered gripped his limbs and wouldn''t let go. If he moved just a whisker, then this Fiend would sense him and attack. Because of this cloying fear, he even forgot to breathe.


    Before his face went blue from the lack of oxygen, Kain finally noticed the reason why this Fiend was not looking at his direction. There was something in front of it, hovering in mid-air.


    Even from this distance, he could make out the shape of a bird, as big as a falcon, completely ablaze in crimson flames.


    If he didn''t know better, he would have said that was a phoenix.


    It was an awfully small one though, especially compared to the enormous lizard Fiend. The phoenix was no bigger than one of its claws. Maybe even smaller.


    This size disparity between the two cooled his enthusiasm quickly. From his point of view, there was just no way a bird that small could triumph over a creature a hundred times its size. That was not logical.


    Also, there was more important matter of him still stuck in a dangerous position, still pinned to the entrance of his ditch, a giant tail swinging close to his face. One hit from that, and he''d kiss his life goodbye.


    The falling rain bounced off on the lizard Fiend''s thick murky brown scales, and the distinctive roars of water breaking apart from the impact ricocheted around loudly.


    The fiery avian creature moved, unhindered by all the water around it. A fine mist of steam rose near its flames, its high body temperature dissipating the rain well before the creature was affected by all that douching.


    At the moment, the two seemed to have reached a stalemate, amazingly enough. Both of them didn''t move from their respective positions, nor did they take their eyes off each other. Kain felt the thick tension in the air, thick and heavy enough to slice it clean with a knife.


    There were wounds on the lizard Fiend''s body. As for the phoenix, he couldn''t see, but that was mostly due to the flames covering its body. The way things stood, he thought that the bird had a slight upper hand. Which was quite incredulous.


    Fascination gripped him. He too, couldn''t tear his eyes off the two, fearing that if he did, he might miss something miraculous. His heart pounded hard, fear and anticipation coursing through his veins like a drug, numbing his senses from every input other than what''s right in front of him. Even his Aeterna sense came on.


    Why aren''t they fighting? Why isn''t the lizard attacking right away? It has the size advantage, and that thick armor plating. Surely, a puny little bird should not stand a chance against that huge thing. Are they...., uh, sizing each other up?


    His Aeterna sense told him the answer, as soon as he looked at the bird.


    That phoenix was absurdly strong. Maybe, even stronger than the Fiend. These two locked in a stalemate wasn''t all that surprising, in light of this revelation. It still could go either way at a drop of a pin, but as far as strength was concerned, size no longer mattered. At least that''s how Kain thought at that moment.


    The amount of energy pulsating from the two of them were incomparable to Kain''s own pathetic little supply. He didn''t even feature into this situation ¨C he might as well be an invisible existence, forgotten by everything and everyone.


    He was a merely a spectator, or maybe a speck of dust.


    Now that he knew how powerful the fiery bird was, he hoped sincerely in his heart that the creature didn''t see him as food. If it did, then, he had to admit that was something of a poetic justice, since he preyed on birds extensively himself.


    Whatever the case may be, it was stupid to stay here and tempt fate. It was time he hightailed it outta there.


    He took the chance, and moved to his right ever so slightly. That was a mistake.


    Nothing more than a twitch from him, and both of the monsters spotted him. Just like that.


    The phoenix had the disdainful, arched-eyebrow facial expression, as if to ask him, what the heck are you doing, kid?


    The lizard on the other hand, stared at Kain with one of its beady, googly eyes, then suddenly, whipped its huge tail at him as one would swat a fly.


    There was no time to think. He just reacted. He threw up multiple Earthen Walls and Air Walls with no regard for Aeterna consumption, trying to make them as sturdy as possible, while diving backwards.


    Also, he did something he had never done before, out of the instinctive desire to protect his body from harm ¨C wrapped his entire self with Aeterna, like a protective membrane, a force-field energy shield, so to speak. In other words, a rudimentary Body Enhancement spell.


    All of these consumed massive amount of his Aeterna reserve in one go. Still, he had no guarantee he would make it from the impact. He rolled himself into a ball, raising his arms and knees to cover his face and chest.


    The thick tail smashed through all the barriers with a comical ease that beggared belief. However, each Wall managed to slow the speed down gradually and by the time it slammed into his torso, it was no longer as deadly as before.


    Still, Kain felt all the air being forced out of his lungs. His heart stopped beating for a second, and his blood flow halted.


    He nearly blacked out from the wringing pain. Quite literally, he could remember nothing from the impact other than thinking that he was just a pesky little fly in the eyes of the giant lizard Fiend. That was all he amounted to in this forest.


    When he recovered, the very first thing he did was to inspect his body for any serious injuries. As far as he could tell, no bones were broken, and other than sharp aching coming from here and there, he was okay. Those aches told him he would feel the brunt of all this damage tomorrow.


    If he manage to live through the night, that was.


    Somehow, he didn''t die from the attack. On top of that, he avoided getting hurt too badly. When he thought about it, the rudimentary protection he created in a hurry saved his bacon.


    Derrick mentioned in passing that Body Enhancement came in many different flavors ¨C not his words ¨C and if Kain wanted an example, he just got one.


    Now that he did it once, he could remember the feeling. With a little more practice, then he''d be able to cast it with his eyes closed. Provided, he lives through the night. Obviously.


    While all this was happening, the flame covered bird initiated an attack. There was a second of opening created when the giant Fiend swiped its tail on Kain. The assault of the phoenix was impressively fast, swooping in a graceful arc. The sharp claws aimed straight for those beady eyes of the lizard.


    At the very last second, the lizard turned its head, and the phoenix narrowly missed its intended target. Instead, the lizard''s ear was torn apart, capacious amount of blood shooting out as a result.


    As if the pain surprised it, the lizard Fiend thrashed even more wildly. The ground rumbled and quaked like a middle of stampede by an enraged Wildebeest herd.


    Kain had to dive again as fast as his reactions could act as the pointy, scaly tip of the rampaging lizard''s tail swung by where he used to stand, gouging out a chunk of ground in an explosive fashion.


    He continued to dodge by rolling on the ground from side to side, the erratic movement of the thick appendage making it difficult to predict just where it might come down next.


    He had to create as much distance as possible. That was the only way he''d survive this ordeal. He was discovered already, so acting timidly to remain hidden no longer mattered. Now, it was literal do or die situation.


    He took half a dozen steps before a crazy thought popped into his head, halting his movement.


    There must be something I can do to stop the dang lizard from tearing the whole forest down. At this rate, no matter where I go, it will remain dangerous, like, forever!! What can I do?


    It was mad for him to try something against these two monsters. Something inside him wouldn''t submit to the obvious course of action, however. That something wanted him to at least get a sucker punch in, for the pain it caused him. That something wanted him to teach the overgrown lizard a lesson.


    He shuddered at this crazy thought taking a firm root in his head. His heart was definitely swayed.


    He lacked power to deal any critical damage to the lizard, never mind the phoenix. But he still wanted to try, give it a shot, however long the odds were.


    It was preposterous.


    Yet his feet wouldn''t budge. He bit his lips, and turned his gaze towards the two entities battling in the middle of nowhere, causing utter devastation. Numerous trees were flattened, the ground were gouged, rocks were smashed, the land was on fire, and the persistent rain kept on pounding from the gray, overcast heavens.


    A scene of Apocalypse. And he was thinking of participating in it. It was pure madness. Normally, he''d never, ever even think of joining in the fray.


    But he knew.


    If he just ran now, then the Fiend, specifically the lizard, would come after him. Or not. But his gut told him it would. It could run faster than him. If it gave chase, then no matter what, he would die. So, he had to deal with it if he wanted to flee.


    It was better to defeat it here, right now, and cut the budding seed of trouble before it bloomed.


    He only knew one spell powerful enough to give him a fighting chance.


    Earthen Wall.


    When he cast this spell to make a wall of soil, the corresponding amount of it came from the ground below. If he were to make a ginormous wall of soil, then the amount of dirt needed would be equally ginormous. If he wanted to, then he''d be able to open up a huge hole on the ground. One big enough to trap the lizard inside. One deep enough to prevent it from climbing out of. Or, even burying it underground altogether.


    The principle of digging a hole shouldn''t be too different from the ones he dug to hide all the bones and entrails of the avian victims he caught. If it was deep enough, then it would not be easy to climb out of, especially with all this falling rain making the ground mushy and soft, offering little to no grip.


    He estimated that the spell this large might eat up all of his Aeterna reserve, and maybe even cause him to black out, but it could work. It was worth the gamble, if he wanted to live for longer.


    The biggest worry left was the phoenix''s eating habits. As long as it was vegetarian, he wouldn''t have any problems with it. If not....


    This certainly was a worrisome matter, but for some reason, he felt it was fine to take the chance. He felt he could trust the flame-covered bird and not get burnt in the process.


    He began to gather Aeterna and slowly exerted control over it.


    Meanwhile, the phoenix smoothly dodged snapping jaws of the giant lizard Fiend with grace. From afar, it looked like as if the much smaller bird was simply toying with the bigger Fiend, but Kain knew better.


    The battle was physically demanding, draining the bird''s stamina constantly. It was only a matter of time until it ran out of steam.


    The rain didn''t help. After all, Fire Element naturally had a so-called opposing Aeterna Nature against Water Element. Through his Aeterna sense, he knew the phoenix was utilizing Fire Element to its utter limits, enveloping its entire body in eternal flames.


    But the falling raindrops contained minute amount of naturally-occurring Water Element in them. One or two splashes were fine, but as long as the fight dragged on, the disadvantages would only grow. It might looked confident, arrogant, even, but the phoenix sure was not in any enviable position at all.


    To make matters worse, the giant lizard had one more trick up its sleeve.


    When the flame bird launched another swooping attack aimed at the lizard''s head, the giant monster shot out multiple lengthy protrusions from its scales without warning.


    Those things looked sharp enough to cleave a mountain. If one was to get hit by one of those, it''d hurt quite a lot.


    The bird reacted a fraction too late. It twisted its body midflight, and managed to avoid hitting it head-on, but still crashed into the side of one of the protrusions. The resulting impact was forceful enough to break the said protrusion clean off the Fiend''s scales, knocking the bird off the air. The phoenix spectacularly crash landed, raising an almighty cloud of dirt in the process.


    The sucker-punched avian creature slid ungracefully on the mud, until eventually coming to a stop near Kain''s feet.


    This was bad.


    Oh, crap, crap, crap. Don''t draw the dang lizard''s attention over here, you stupid bird!!


    The phoenix twitched weakly, barely alive. Most of the flames covering its body had died out.


    It was nearly dead ¨C and soon, Kain would be too, judging by the way that ugly lizard Fiend was leering at where he was.


    Kain grimaced, biting his lower lip in frustration.


    Ah, c''mon, c''mon, c''mon!! Stupid Aeterna, gather and form already!! I command you with my mighty will!! Make a big-ass sinkhole, right now!!


    The Fiend skulked over leisurely to him in that lizard-like gait.


    The Invocation was taking too long to prepare. With no guarantee of it working, he was rightfully nervous. It was too late to turn around now. Now or never.


    Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed. To whom, he didn''t know. It didn''t matter anyway.


    He heard a soft laughter of a girl, distant and echoing, fleeting and surreal. He had no time to check where that mysterious sound came from.


    Because, right then, he felt a ton of Aeterna leave him in an instant. It was the familiar feeling of an Invocation spell activating.


    Almost immediately, he heard a loud boom, followed by the earth shaking like crazy.


    He slowly opened his eyes. Good news was, that he was okay.


    Even more good news, he confirmed that the ground right in front of him had opened up, and the giant Fiend took a quite tumble towards the bottom in a comical fashion.


    He stood on the edge and checked how deep the hole was. It was really, really deep. Deep enough to reach the door to Hades, even.


    That felt oh-so satisfying.


    As Kain peered over the edge to the hole''s depth, the Fiend raised its bruised and dirtied head, confused at the sudden change in scenery. He could tell this monster was stuck there for good, with no way to climb out, at least not right away.


    ¡°Ha! Hahaha!! How''s that, for trying to bully me, you big dumbass?! Hey, wait a sec. Did you just eyeball me? Huh, what? You angry or something? Eh? So what are you gonna do? Nothing, that''s what!! Boo-yeah, eat that!! Hah!¡±


    Kain stood over the edge triumphantly and shouted at the top of his lungs like a madman. His words were laced with maniacal cackle, and even if the Fiend didn''t understand human speech, it would still get the gist of the words thrown at its face.


    It was quite a proud creature, so to be humiliated to this extent by an insect-like being, it was deeply infuriated. Angrily, it thrashed and stomped around, causing the ground to shake violently. Kain almost lost his balance and fell inside the hole, only managing to regain his footing inches away from the edge.


    He went pale from that near-death experience, and retreated quickly. He couldn''t help but wipe the cold sweat on his brows, realizing that was too close for comfort. It would not have been funny if he fell in there along with the enraged Fiend the size of two double-decker buses. He could be wrong about the size, though.


    Anyways, he at least knew he deserved a pat on the back. Celebrating his hard-earned victory, no matter how temporary, was in order. Hell, he still had a bit of Aeterna reserve left in his Pool too, which was a pleasant surprise for him as well. From the size of the hole he figured that the spell should have sucked him dry.


    ¡°Well, see you around, buster. Or not!!¡±


    Cackling, Kain turned around to run away, ignoring the ground still shaking beneath his feet. His worn boots pressed on the twitching bird, which, in all honesty, he had forgotten during all that excitement.


    Looking at the pathetic state the bird was in, he arrived at a crossroad without realizing how he got there. He stood there, debating what to do.


    Logically, he should leave it behind. He didn''t know whether this bird was a friend or foe. His gut said it was the former, but he had no evidence. He could very well be wrong. And if he was, then the consequences were going to be deadly for him.


    He could help it, somehow. He still had some Aeterna left. Like in comic books and wuxia novels, he could transfer that amount to this bird, and possibly get its fire going again.


    But why should he help it? Because it was fighting against the giant lizard Fiend? No guarantee it was doing that for his sake. For all intents and purposes, it could have been a territorial dispute between two top dogs in this forest. So, once the phoenix revived, it might try to eat him. Why should he try to get it back on its feet?


    Hmm. More headaches, huh.


    A deep frown formed on Kain''s face.

 Chapter 21

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">21</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    On a large clearing in a forest near the town of Somerset, a group of tents, with men and women of various races, stood erect. In the main tent, a number of people had gathered. Lizbeth, Damien, Derrick, plus a burly man. He was a leader of the guild of Adventurers Damien hired from the Somerset''s Adventurer Association, to aid in the search for his missing son. The atmosphere inside the tent was tense, however.


    ¡°I apologize. There''s nothing we can do anymore.¡±


    The burly Adventurer from Somerset shook his head. He sighed and gave meaningful gazes at the other occupants inside the large tent.


    ¡°Well then, I shall supervise the withdrawal process.¡±


    As he lifted the flap to the tent open, the roar of the falling rain entered, reminding everyone present inside the terrible condition they had to work in.


    The sound of the falling rain remorselessly echoed in the silent tent. No one dared to raise a voice, different reasons affecting their ability to speak for the moment.


    After a long while, the first person to break the lengthy, uncomfortable silence was Damien. Rather than speaking out, he angrily slammed down on the wooden table in front of him that had a map of the region on top. The table couldn''t bear the brunt of the force, and got pulverized, shattering into million pieces.


    The other two people present, Derrick and Lizbeth, didn''t say anything else. Their expressions were just as grim and gloomy. In Lizbeth''s case, she emitted a harsh aura deadly enough to frighten grown adults.


    As for Derrick, he was slightly pale from the lack of rest. Ever since he defeated the assassins, he managed to get to Somerset with the survivors and urgently hired help to look for Kain. He took not a single hour of sleep as he searched for his nephew. Only when Damien and his wife arrived to join in, did he get a few hours to himself.


    A week had passed by since then. The Monsoon season was in full swing, relentlessly dumping hundreds of liters of water on the world everyday. Visibility was poor, the footing was treacherous, and the constant lightning flashes threatened to strike those unwary men and women down below.


    It was the worst set of conditions to search for someone.


    The terrain made things more difficult; the overflowing river made it harder to launch boats to scour the bottom of the river. The surrounding forests around the river Anderlicht were vast, much more than that of Riverfield''s, and contained numerous Fiends.


    The hired Adventurers couldn''t simply continue with the search. To them, a five-year-old boy would not have survived the fall from the cliff. And even if he did, the untamed wilds were teeming with one too many dangers. There was just no way he''d live through all that. As far as their feelings were concerned, this was not a rescue operation, but a recovery of a body.


    Even that was hopeless. Owner-less remains were a free meal for the passing animals and Fiends. It''d be a miracle if a sliver of the boy''s clothing were to be found at this stage.


    It was not unreasonable for them to give up and return home. This was an errand with no good end to it. Rather than spending more time on it, it was better to find another assignments for the Adventurers and earn ¡°Request Completed¡± tokens that''d help them advance in the rankings.


    Damien and Lizbeth, of course, did not believe their son was dead. They simply couldn''t. Derrick at first also thought the same, but with every passing day, he too had to concede the fact that the chances of them finding Kain alive were diminishing rapidly.


    ¡°I refuse to give up,¡± Damien growled like a wounded lion. ¡°No. I will continue here. Damn it. There is the one sector we haven''t searched yet. He could be there, waiting for us at this very moment!!¡±


    Damien clenched his fist so hard, his nails broke skin and slight amount of blood drew up. Not noticing the pain, he picked up the fallen map and tried to find another flat surface where he could place it. Only then did he see the blood stain.


    Frowning, he wiped it on his leather chestplate, ignoring it for now.


    ¡°Look at this place over here. Originally we couldn''t go there, because it''s too close to the mouth of the Tetamus. But that''s the only area we haven''t searched yet. The river easily could have carried him there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it''s possible. That area is dangerous, so if we''re to go there, we must prepare thoroughly, and quickly.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded, her eyes shining with determination.


    Her motherly instincts told her that Kain was alive and well, trapped somewhere terrifying and fighting for his life at every moment. Time was of an essence, but she didn''t lose heart. She just knew it, felt it in her soul that her son was still alive.


    And she would do anything to ensure that. If that meant braving the dark, dangerous depths near the fabled and unexplored Tetamus Mountain Range, then so be it.


    Derrick didn''t say anything. He had never worked a rescue detail before, and lacked experience in dealing with these types of situations. He was a soldier, a knight trained in the art of war, not of humane actions. So, he didn''t take the lead, nor did he readily volunteer useful-sounding ideas.


    But even then, he felt compelled to voice his opinion.


    ¡°Hold on, you two. I wish to say something.¡±


    He raised his hand and spoke in a firm, resolute manner. No hint of hesitation whatsoever in his voice.


    ¡°We don''t have enough people with us to attempt a search in that area. Either we hire more, or.... I advise against going in that direction.¡±


    Damien shot him a sharp look. So did Lizbeth.


    Undeterred, Derrick continued.


    ¡°The Fiends become exponentially stronger the closer we get to the Tetamus Range. The hired Adventurers are planning to return to Somerset. Us four, including Lizbeth''s teacher, simply won''t cut it. And remember, we all still have children to look after. Getting hurt, or worse, dying, will not help us, nor help Kain.¡±


    ¡°So, are you suggesting we abandon him?¡±


    Damien spoke before Lizbeth could. But she was going to say something similar anyway, meaning there wasn''t a need for her to rebuke her distant cousin-in-law.


    ¡°No, that''s not what I am saying. We need to hire more people. For a start, we need to rehire the current set of Adventurers before they depart. As long as there''s money, then they will still cooperate. Then, hire more to expand the scope of the search.¡±


    Damien clenched his fist tightly. He knew this already. It was just that, he had spent a large chunk of his wealth on this operation. There wasn''t much left to hire more. Even if he called on his old acquaintances, it wouldn''t be enough to sustain the search for his missing son.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± a young Adventurer entered the tent hurriedly, carrying a letter with him. ¡°This is from a person in Lafayette, named Dawson. It''s marked urgent.¡±


    ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    Lizbeth, who was closest to the exit, received the letter and quickly opened it. Before setting off to this part of the world to find their son, Damien requested Dawson to search for those men mentioned briefly during their conversation, the ones who were allegedly unfriendly with the Lomax family.


    In return, Damien were to offer his fullest cooperation in regards to the mysterious, world-changing item Lady Valette supposedly had hidden with her. Of course, the item was now in Damien''s possession.


    If the origins of the assassins were uncovered, then he was going to offer it up as the suitable reward. He was clearly grasping at straws. According to Derrick, who fought off the attackers, they were seemingly after Kain.


    This revelation angered him much.


    To send a squad of men proficient in murdering for his kid, he swore to find the men responsible and make them bleed, regardless of who they were.


    He didn''t think it was a coincidence that those ¡°unfriendly¡± men were present in Lafayette the very week his son was trying to get his Invocation talents appraised. It could very well be, but he didn''t want to take that chance. If it was a lead, then he''d pursue it.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t do that personally. He had to find his son first. Everything else came second.


    Rosy and Michelle were taking care of Kaleena and Katrina, here at the base camp. That was one less thing to worry about. Still, he left Riverfield in a hurry, leaving behind a chaotic village under the threat of the Monsoon season.


    Well, it will be alright ¨C those old village elders know what to do, in my absence. The village will be fine. Do not worry about them.


    Damien believed in the elders. They were living there a long time before he arrived to take charge of the place. It stood to reason that the village would remain even if he wasn''t there to guide it. It was just that, he had left too hastily. He just hoped there weren''t any confusion in the village itself, what with their lord suddenly vanishing from his duties. He did leave a quick message with the sitting militia captain but, miscommunication did happen occasionally. Especially more so, when it was an emergency situation.


    The letter from Dawson held a simple message.


    Found an underground broker, extracted information encouraging. Tracking the group of assassins, perhaps from the Far West. Expect further communique.


    ¡°The Far West....¡± Lizbeth slowly murmured those words. She handed the letter over to her husband, before turning to the young Adventurer. ¡°How many men and women are still in base camp?¡±


    ¡°Two dozen, my lady,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Hold them fast. I shall speak to them about extending their contracts.¡±


    Before leaving the tent, Lizbeth nodded at Damien, and they exchanged a meaningful look. Damien trusted her to make the sound judgment so he could let her call the shots regarding the Adventurer issue. For now, he had to plan out their next course of action. One false step, and they''d end up wasting valuable time. That was not what he wanted.


    ¡°Look, Derrick, at this map. Over here, at this part.¡±


    Damien pointed to the spot of clearing near the river on the roughly drawn map. It was near where the river exited from the unscalable cliffs of the Tetamus Range.


    This unnamed river, cutting through the mammoth geological feature of the wall-like cliffs, was the only way in or out of the Range, unless one knew how to fly. Due to unknown reasons, the water was deceptively rough and didn''t allow anyone to easily approach.


    The river flowed outward during most of the year, but only when it was the Monsoon season, the flow reversed. If Kain were to carry down by the river, then he could have ended up there, washing ashore.


    As for the boy entering the Range itself, it seemed highly unlikely.


    There was a strong whirlpool blocking the entry to the inner parts of the Range. The rotation of this phenomenon was such that, once swept up, one would end up getting spit out outside once more. When it rained this heavy, the whirlpool became even more obstinate, meaning nothing was going through there.


    He believed His son was outside the Range. He had to. He felt that Kain was alive, so he had to believe that his son hadn''t been swept up in that crazy swirling pool of water.


    Derrick narrowed his eyes.


    The clearing Damien pointed at seemed like a good place to land a boat and go ashore. If the weather played ball, that was.


    Currently, there was no way they''d get there using the river. Going through the forest was the only way. From their current position, it was another full day of hard travel to get there, as long as Fiends didn''t interrupt the march.


    Derrick felt this was wrong. No, not the desire to find the boy, but something else. He was not knowledgeable in search and rescue operations but, his logic told him that the boy couldn''t have landed on that place Damien was pointing at. And even if he did, that place was too close to the Tetamus Range. It was too deep into the forest.


    It was too dangerous a place for a squad of well-trained soldiers, let alone a small child. If they were to go that deep, then it was no longer a rescue, but a recovery instead. On that basis alone, it made little sense to spend more coin to procure extra help, or endanger lives to find a dead person. It simply wasn''t worth it.


    Before, it was a feeling of guilt stopping Derrick from saying it aloud, but he only now understood that this was a lost cause. The moment the boy fell in the water, he was gone. No way he''d survive that kind of fall, under that kind of conditions.


    Obviously, this incident angered him greatly, as it highlighted his failures as a knight. He swore to protect, yet when the time came, he couldn''t uphold his oath. All he could do was to grit his teeth in self-admonishment.


    But now, with Damien about to commit further into a desperate and foolhardy journey into the dangerous Tetamus Range, Derrick felt it was his responsibilities to stop this. And allow his cousin grieve.


    To give him, and Lizbeth, time to accept their loss. To give them time to grieve for their son, and move on.


    In this world, lives were cheap. Many people died in unjust ways. Whether it was done by the Fiends, famine, natural disasters, plague or in the hands of other mortals, lives were ruthlessly taken away everyday. Just because Lafayette and Riverfield were peaceful, that did not mean it was safe throughout the whole of the Empire.


    Thus, people learned to accept the passing of their beloved ones as the matter of course, as the journey of the life itself. One was born from the Ether, and returned to it when dead. A cycle of life.


    ¡°Damien....¡±


    Derrick slowly grabbed his cousin''s shoulder.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°....It''s time to go home now.¡±


    ¡°....What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°We''ve done all we could. There''s nothing we can do here anymore.¡±


    ¡°You''re giving up too early, Derrick. There''s hope. Kain''s alive.¡±


    ¡°Damien. It''s more than two weeks already. Kain''s.... It''s been too long. If he''s alive, then we would have found him by now.¡±


    ¡°You said it yourself. You never participated in a rescue op before. I have, plenty of times. I know what I''m doing.¡±


    ¡°In your experience, what''s the window for finding the stranded alive?¡±


    ¡°That.... That doesn''t matter, Derrick! I know Kain''s alive. Damn it, man. Do not question me, I know my son is alive!! I know he''s out there, shivering in the cold, waiting for his family to come and pick him up!!¡±


    ¡°Listen to me, Damien. Kain''s gone. He''s dead. Those assassins caused his death. Come to grip with the reality, of this situation!¡±


    Angrily, Damien grabbed Derrick''s collar and twisted it.


    ¡°You better be careful of what you say beyond this point.¡±


    Damien stared hard at his cousin''s eyes while emitting bloodthirst akin to a crazed lunatic, but then, he was startled at what he''d found in them.


    He saw nothing but guilt and sadness. Something he never saw in Derrick before. He was an eye opener, for sure. Realizing this, Damien felt rather foolish.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    What am I doing? Why am I getting angry at Derrick? He''s just trying to help me.... I just need to.... I need to find my son....


    Kain''s smiling face flashed by in his mind. Then he imagined that he''d never get to see the boy again.


    Damien let go of the hold on his cousin, suddenly losing strength in his limbs. He stumbled, and clattered into a crate of supplies with a bang. A wave of dizziness overwhelmed him in that instant, and he couldn''t see anything, his vision blurring into a fog. He fell butt first, unable to stand back up again.


    Derrick hurriedly tried to help him, but he was pushed back. Damien just waved his arm about, shaking his head.


    The banging noise brought Lizbeth back into the tent, her face full of concern. She noticed the state her husband was in, and immediately realized what had transpired while she was unsuccessfully negotiating with the departing Adventurers outside in the pouring rain.


    ¡°Damien....¡±


    She knelt beside him, and cradled his head. He was sobbing silently.


    She too, began to quietly shed tears.


    The Adventurers told her the hard truth. That her son was dead, that it was a fool''s errand to continue this search. They said it was time she stopped denying the reality and accepted the situation as it was.


    Watching this scene, Derrick became even more angry. Not at the couple, no, but at himself, and at the men behind this murderous scheme. He swore, under his breath, to bring all those responsible to justice, if it was the last thing he''d do.


    Lizbeth held her love in her arms and while sobbing, she whispered to him softly.


    ¡°....I''m pregnant.¡±


    ~


    Dawson put down the quilt as he finished the status report, second of such letters he wrote today. One for Baron Lomax and his wife, and the other for his superior, back in Argos. He wrote the first letter earlier in the day and sent it via the messenger service in Adventurers'' Association. As for the second one, he had to delay it slightly, due to a slightly unexpected development, a windfall of sorts coming his way.


    A small sigh left his lips, as he felt cramping on his shoulders. He took off the heavy and cumbersome official Agent Robe long before and had slipped into less conspicuous garments, but still, the stiff muscles found their ways to bother him. He hasn''t had a good rest ever since agreeing to find the culprits responsible for the assassination attempt. There were many matters to attend to even before this, and now, adding another one on top of the pile sure didn''t help out with his resting schedule. How could he not sigh, under this kind of situation?


    Well, in the end he didn''t mind it, however. Such things came as the inescapable part of his job.


    Besides, when he thought about it, he was not the one in a terrible bind.


    Although he wasn''t there, Dawson understood full well that young Kain wouldn''t have survived the ordeal. Which was a pity, really.


    He leaned back on the wooden chair, and thought back to the day he met the boy.


    Dawson thought Kain had potential. For a five year old child, he certainly had an abnormally large Aeterna Pool. It was far too big, almost to the point where it didn''t seem natural. Trained Invokers would have been quite jealous, if it were known.


    Special Agent Marcus Dawson was one of only a few people in the world who had learned a very special Invocation spell called The All Seeing Eye, belonging to the system of controlling Dark Elemental Aeterna.


    At a glance, he could see the target''s Aeterna Pool, and if he spent a little more Aeterna, even the Elemental Affinity. In the entire Empire, those capable of casting this spell could be counted on one hand, Dawson being one of those fortunate few.


    And after seeing through Kaleena''s Pool and her Affinities, Dawson was rather envious of Damien. To be able to produce two monsters in a row took some doing, like the gods intervening or the stars aligning perfectly at the exact moment. Or his seeds were just that potent.


    These two children would''ve added a tremendous amount of firepower to the Empire''s defenses. A pity, then, to lose one of them under such a suspicious circumstances.


    Dawson did some investigation prior to his arrival at Riverfield, and knew of the assassination attempt at Kaleena''s life over four years ago.


    As he wasn''t assigned to the case back then, he couldn''t have known the finer details, but he wasn''t a fool to dismiss that incident now, seeing that Baron Lomax''s children were in the firing line once more. The evidence he compiled up to now, clearly showed that both of the incidents were connected, that it was done by the same culprits.


    Now normally, he could have refused Baron Lomax''s urgent appeal to locate those men Dawson took care of. After all, it didn''t line up with his real mission, that of retrieving the Bagua Board. But his instincts as the Agent, built upon the foundation of two decades'' worth of experience, told him it''d be good to lend a hand in the investigation.


    He felt that Baron hid things from him, but unsure of what exactly. The location of the board? Doubtful. Lady Valette''s likely whereabouts? Probably. And then, there was the matter of the case itself. His predecessor had no luck whatsoever in finding either Valette nor the Board for the ten years. So, Dawson thought that spending another few months currying a favor with a potential person of interest didn''t seem like a total waste of time. What were a few months, when already 10 years flew by? The Board, or Lady Valette, wherever they were, they could wait a little longer.


    He slowly scratched his chin, wondering about the current time. It was in the middle of the night, every soul in the near vicinity fast asleep. With the exception of the Agents under his beck and call, of course.


    He told his subordinates to notify him, once about 40 momenta, one hour in modern time measurement, had passed. By his own estimation, there were only a grain or two of sand in the hourglass left before the time limit was reached.


    If that''s the case, then might as well.


    Dawson stood up from the creaking chair, and stretched his shoulders. It was time, so he decided to move first. He checked his appearance and confirmed not a hair was out of place. He didn''t mind going bald, as he made peace with that ages ago. All the males in his family went hairless from fairly young age, so he had to resign himself to the fate awaiting him. Not like there was an Invocation out there to stimulate hair growth or anything....


    Sensing footsteps on the corridor belonging to one of his men, Dawson stifled a yawn and carefully lifted the oil lamp, the only source of light in the dark, sparsely furnished bedroom, situated on the upper-most floor in an abandoned three story building at the outskirts of Lafayette. This house, plus the surrounding land, belonged to a small-scale merchant, who was in reality, a sleeper Agent planted in the city as a local operative.


    Outwardly, it was a well maintained but unremarkable piece of property, one where not many passersby would give it a second glance at. Such a place was pretty much perfect for the kind of work Dawson and his men had to perform on a regular basis.


    Pushing open the wooden door, he encountered his subordinate, just about to knock on the door.


    ¡°No need.¡±


    Dawson smiled thinly, fully well knowing he timed it perfectly, giving himself a small spike of pleasure from seeing the bewildered facial expression of the Agent in front of him. This man was new at his post and wasn''t fully aware of his superior''s penchant for deriving happiness from unexpected places, mostly from the awkwardness of the others around him.


    The two of them climbed to the lowest floor of the house, the basement, in complete silence. Even their footsteps failed to emit any kind of noise. Only when they reached the basement door, did Dawson speak up.


    ¡°Does he feel like chatting to us now, I wonder.¡±


    Another thin, imperceptible smile appeared on his lips. He carried that as he pushed open the door and entered.


    Below, the passage extended to a disused cellar, bereft of wines and alcoholic beverages. The empty racks cast sinister shadows as the lit lamp moved past, cobwebs strung across the shelves performing a demonic puppet show on the walls behind.


    They stopped before a brick wall, flanked by broken wine barrels on both sides.


    Dawson gave a simple nod, and the junior Agent beside him operated a lever, causing the wall to canter slightly.


    Another darkened passage beckoned them in.


    The smell of feces was noticeably strong in here. Those who were unfortunate enough to get dragged into this place tended to soil themselves regularly so that was to be expected, what with none of the trained Agents caring much about being hygienic. It also added to the atmosphere of fear, which was quite helpful in extracting information from the said unfortunate subjects.


    They headed to the furthest chamber in the passageway, and Dawson knocked on the thick wooden door three times. When he heard an acknowledgment from beyond the door, he entered.


    It was quite hot inside, the high temperature of the chamber being the result of torture based on flames, a large hearth spitting out scolding heat menacingly at the back. There were four men present, with two of them strung up on the middle, their limbs lifted up and chained up to the ceiling, their postures spread-eagle and faces down. Dangling on the chains, the recipients of the brutal treatment looked about half dead, their clothes ripped, their flesh caked in thick blood and bits of mangled flesh.


    The other two present were, of course, the torturers, decked out in black leather aprons that were stained with dried and wet blood. Funnily enough, one was the torturer designate, while the other one was there as a healer. It''d do no good if there was an accident, and a valuable source of information ended up dying from too much pressure, after all.


    ¡°How are we this evening, gentlemen?¡± Dawson smirked softly. ¡°Forgive my men from being impolite to your stations. It does come with the territory, unfortunately.¡±


    He grabbed one of the tortured men''s head, and lifted it to take a better look at his eyes. It was half dead, distant. This man was barely breathing.


    Dawson continued. ¡°Now, you gentlemen of noble standings must have understood that we wish to talk to you urgently, and in earnest manner where there are no lies exchanged between us.¡±


    Letting go of the limp head, Dawson moved on to the next man. This time, he saw a deep hatred in the pair of burning eyes staring back at him when he jerked the head of the second man.


    Seeing this, Dawson couldn''t help but smile even deeper.


    ¡°How rude of me. I am well aware of who you are, but I''ve never really introduced myself, haven''t I.¡±


    Discarding the bloodied head, he walked a bit away and stood with his feet slightly apart, hands behind his back. He noted that the second man locked that hateful gaze on him, refusing to yield to the weight of his own head trying to droop down.


    ¡°I see your fierce nature have not been weakened one bit, Sir Alistair. Well, it''s to be expected of a man famed with his sword arm. Although, you have met your match today.¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth, you damn Agent dog!¡± Sir Alistair returned a heavy growl at Dawson''s taunts. ¡°You, you are Dawson. I''ve heard of you. A loyal mutt of the Empire, never questioning and never wavering. A fool, in all purposes but the name.¡±


    Dawson raised an eyebrow. ¡°I''m honored that you know of a lowly person such as I. Well then, perhaps you can also surmise why you were treated so poorly by my colleagues?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? Your men just kidnapped me from my home. You even bundled my butler like some kind of unwanted luggage. I swear, I shall have your head when all this is finished!!¡±


    Dawson chuckled. ¡°Oh, my. Playing innocent, is it? Even though you''ve heard of me, yet you try to pretend your way out of this predicament. How disappointing.¡±


    Alistair grimaced. ¡°Again, I do not know what you are on about. Release me, before you escalate this matter any further than you have already!¡±


    Shaking his head, Dawson gave a small signal to the torturer. The burly man pulled out a red-hot, scalding iron rod from the hearth, and began to sear the exposed back flesh of Alistair.


    Sizzling sound of meat burning and the oddly inviting smell filled the torture chamber for a short while. Alistair bit his lower lip, stopping a desperate scream from escaping his lips, thereby denying Dawson from deriving some amount of satisfaction.


    ¡°Shall we get started then?¡± Dawson knelt beside the trembling head of Alistair. ¡°Now tell me, honestly, what is.... The Children Of The Amber? And what do they, and you, want with Baron Lomax and his children?¡±


    Hearing the questions, Alistair suddenly let out a laughter. It grew, until it became a howl.


    Frowning, Dawson signaled his man again, and the hot iron rod worked its deadly magic once more. That put a stop to the uncontrolled, wild chortling quite effectively.


    After regaining his breath, Alistair scowled. ¡°Hahaha. I''ve never heard of anything like The Children of The Amber before. And Baron Lomax? Why would I want anything from a small time lord like him?¡±


    Dawson shook his head. ¡°You see, Sir Alistair. I''ve done my homework. I know for the last decade or so, an organization calling themselves The Children of The Amber had been active. I know that you are a member, and have been from almost the inception of the said organization. And then, there''s this.¡±


    Dawson received a small dagger, not much bigger than a person''s finger, from his subordinate, and slowly waved it about.


    ¡°This weapon is coated with a fast acting poison, too fast for an Invoker to cast a healing Invocation. My men recovered it on you, as well as on your butler. Not to mention, on the men who led me to your doorstep.¡±


    ¡°What of it? I carry concealed weapons for my own self preservation. Many other do the same thing. Are you going to arrest and torture them too, because of that?¡± Alistair barked back.


    ¡°Not everyone,¡± Dawson smirked again. ¡°Only those with the very same type of a dagger, as the one recovered from the assassin four years ago. At Baron Lomax''s residence, no less.¡±


    Alistair''s face went rigid.


    Back then, Damien requested help from the Lafayette City Garrison with the investigation. An investigator was duly dispatched, and this man kept various records.


    The investigation itself went nowhere but every single step the investigator and Damien took were recorded, and Dawson was able to peruse them. In those records, he read the extensive report on the poisoned dagger the assassin used on himself. Since it was an unusual design on top of a prohibited chemical applied on it, the investigator tried to pinpoint where the blade was manufactured, as that seemed like the easiest way to track down and identify the culprits.


    The dagger in Dawson''s hand was the exact same design as the assassins. It was too good to be a coincidence. As for the poison, he had yet to test it, but still, he was confident it was the same as well.


    On the side of the slender blade, a small carving of a mountain, and a sun rising as its backdrop. Again, same as the one from the assassin.


    ¡°I suppose this mark on the side signifies The Children of The Amber, no? I''m not sure what it means, but for a murderous organization such as yours, you sure picked an inspirational motif.¡±


    Alistair scoffed. ¡°Hmph. Is that all you have? A trinket I picked up in a market, and some words from a disreputable source? With only that much, you dare to put your hands on me? You''re finished, Dawson!! Finished!!¡±


    Dawson sighed tiredly. How many times had he heard such threats in the line of duty? Too many to count. And how many times did he yield?


    None. Not even once.


    With a signal, the torture recommenced. The scolding hot iron struck the exposed flesh of Alistair with vengeance, and his body twisted in agony. Dawson watched it with a calm expression, while glancing at the healer.


    Nodding, the healer approached the second, almost-dead man and began casting Water Elemental Invocation. Healing spells belonged not only to Light Element, but to Water as well. The latter Element''s healing spells weren''t as potent, however, but to compensate, there were more Invokers with Affinity towards Water, meaning, low to medium quality healers were not that difficult to find in the world.


    Oblivious to the healing of the other man, Alistair did his best to muffle the terrible screaming. His resistance continued on for a few momenta, until finally, Dawson raised his hand, a gesture designed to stop the pain and subconsciously increase a sliver of hope in his heart. A hope of survival, a hope of making out of here alive, and exact a swift revenge on the person who wronged him.


    Dawson lifted Alistair''s head and stared deep into the flickering eyes. ¡°Well, now. Sir Alistair, how about this. You tell us everything you''ve been part of, and we shall consider making a deal. Between us, of course. No one has to know, yes? As long as you can leave relatively unhurt from this ordeal, then wouldn''t you agree it''s a wonderful suggestion? Please consider it carefully.¡±


    Alistair gritted his teeth, blood dripping from the torn lips. His gaze became hard enough to smash a rock if it could, the previous wavering dissipating.


    Dawson simply returned an amiable smile, and continued. ¡°Let us be more realistic, shall we? You''re trapped and being tortured. And no one is coming to rescue you. Your comrades, if you can call them that, have forsaken you. If you do not take my deal now, then I shall simply dispose of you, and find another member of the Children to interrogate. Like your friend from The Far West over here.¡±


    The man next to Alistair shuddered, making a fearful expression. He shook his head, and whimpered. ¡°No sir, no. Please, please spare me. I''ll, I''ll tell you everything you know!! I didn''t even want to join them in the first place!!¡±


    ¡°You!! You shut your mouth!!¡± Alistair blared out in fury.


    Dawson calmly struck out with his fist. It was faster than eyes could see.


    The attack splendidly connected with Alistair''s face, spraying blood and broken teeth all over the ground.


    The second man grimaced even more, fear growing larger still in his heart.


    ¡°Now, good sir. Please enlighten me, as to what your organization''s purpose is.¡±


    Dawson smiled thinly, as he slowly wiped the remnants of blood off his knuckles with a cloth.


    Swallowing nervously, the second man opened his mouth hastily. ¡°These crazy people want to topple the Empire!! It''s true!! They wish to bring forth the Fall Of Crystal once more, and bring ruination to Argos!!¡±


    ¡°Fall of Crystal?¡± Dawson narrowed his eyes. ¡°What is that? How is that related to Baron Lomax''s children?¡±


    ¡°Lomax? Who? Oh, that man? No, it''s not him, it''s that Ravenswood woman''s bloodline they are after. They say she''s special. Her offsprings are supposed to be a bad omen. That''s all I know!!¡±


    Hearing this, Dawson frowned. This confused him slightly. Disregarding the fact that the Five Founding Families were locked in some high level political intrigue which caused various deaths, the Ravenswood family hardly had anything that could be called a remarkable legacy or history.


    But to go after that bloodline? To topple the Empire through that?


    And what was this Fall of Crystal all about? It somehow sounded familiar, but at the same time, so alien and distant.


    His expression darkened. ¡°What about Lady Valette? What do you know of her story?¡±


    ¡°Valette.... She.... We... I, was told to find something called Bagua. She had hidden it. I don''t know what it is. I swear, I''m telling you the truth.¡±


    Dawson''s frown deepened.


    What the.... This is strange. The search for the mysterious object known as the Bagua should be a top secret matter. Only a few should be aware of the investigation. But a group of rebels knows of it too?


    Dawson had to consider whether there was a traitor amongst their midst. A shadowy figure, acting against the best interest of his beloved nation. A figure very, very high up in the social status as well, not to mention holding a very important position in the government.


    Before he could ask his next questions, however, a loud boom resonated throughout the torture chamber. The ceiling shook violently, and so did the dirty chains holding the victims.


    At first, confusion entered his mind, but then, Dawson understood. He was under attack.


    He exchanged grim glances with his men, and immediately shot out of the chamber, trying to head outside, only to meet a powerful surge of Invocation aura slamming into him. A strand of blood escaped from the corners of his mouth as he collided with the wall, destroying it.


    Seeing this, the faces of the two chained up men twisted, one in abject horror, while the other, a sneer.


    The walls of the basement began to crumble, the foundation of the house itself trembled, and before Dawson could gather himself up, the whole structure collapsed on top of him, along with his men, burying them all under the barrage of rubble in a noisy instant.

 Chapter 22

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">22</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Oblivious to the happenings going on outside the Tetamus Range, Kain sat on a boulder, staring at the flowing river a short distance away from him. His eyebrows were deeply knitted, as if he had lots of things to think about. Which was true.


    At the moment, he was planning to build himself a raft, and float out of this hell.


    Next to him, a bird not much bigger than a hawk lay on its side, snoring softly. Its reddish fur reflected the warm sunlight, flickers of flames rising and falling whenever it breathed.


    Kain couldn''t help but contemplate the last few weeks that flashed by in a frenzied rush to survive, as he watched the serene waters gently flowing by.


    Lots of things had happened, most of them being, a too-close-for-comfort brush with death. He didn''t venture too deeply into the interior of the forest. He felt it was not a good idea, seeing that Aeterna got thicker the further he went in.


    He couldn''t even climb up on a tree to take a gander at just how big the forest was; his physical body couldn''t support it. Not only that, the trees were super-duper tall. Only a monkey with long, dexterous, and strong arms would be able to climb them.


    But to compensate for his shortcomings, he improvised a way to temporarily run faster by shoving Aeterna down to his legs, sort of how he protected himself from the giant lizard Fiend''s tail swipe. The whole thing tired him out super fast, but it proved to be invaluable a couple of times so he wasn''t complaining.


    Then, there were the passing days.


    He marked the walls of his new shelter every time the sun went down the horizon. This way, he was able to tell how long he spent in this place. And also, that''s how he knew no rescue was coming. Too much time had passed. Even if he was a pragmatic idiot, which he wasn''t, he could imagine the rescuers giving up, believing he was dead by now. If the shoe was on the other foot, he''d think the same.


    Therefore, he decided, it was high time he did The Great Escape.


    Monsoon came and went, and the sweltering heat enveloped the entire forest. Now, it was in the middle of a proper Summer.


    The river water had become a lot calmer, with the rain subsiding. He''d been waiting for that. Actually, he''d waiting for lots of other things too, but never mind that.


    He attempted to leave via a raft before. Three days ago, in fact.


    But then, his desperate escape came to a grinding halt the moment an aquatic Fiend that sort of resembled a goldfish sprung out of the water and tried to swallow him up. That monster was a size of a minivan. Thanks to the phoenix, he safely avoided becoming a fish bait.


    It remained a problem, though. He couldn''t sense its approach, even with his Aeterna vision. It seemed like he couldn''t gaze into the water. He wasn''t powerful enough yet for that. He had to wonder just how he lived through falling into the river and then carried down without getting eaten by these large fish.


    Now, how do I solve this, eh? C''mon now, think.


    Kain pondered. He couldn''t come up with an answer.


    The other day, he asked the phoenix whether it could carry him above the mountain range.


    Even though it couldn''t speak, it had amazing intellect, maybe even surpassing that of Kain. So, conversing with it was possible. Understanding what it wanted to say took some interpreting from his side, but still, it could be done.


    However, its personality could do with a little more friendliness.


    It totally dissed Kain, as if he was beneath it. Which was true, if one looked at it objectively. Still, its I''m-bettter-than-you attitude grated on his nerves a bit.


    Honestly speaking, the bird was fearsome enough to cause most of the medium sized predators to back away. And there were many, many medium sized Fiends and creatures in this forest, all of them possessing sharp talons, claws and fangs. Kain would have been shredded to bits if he were to fight a single one of them.


    ¡°....Well, I guess it''s better than being alone, right?¡±


    Kain muttered slowly, as he shifted his gaze at the bird. Its eyes were closed, it snoring softly. It was slightly irritating to see it so nonchalant about everything, but he couldn''t deny the fact that hunting for food became a lot easier with the bird around. He was thankful for that, at least.


    Sighing, he shook his head and concentrated on finding ways to overcome his current dilemma.


    ¡°So, yeah. Now what should I do, huh?¡±


    Kain looked back to his first attempt at escaping. The lone giant goldfish was enough to destroy his raft and nearly swallow him on one go. He poured his all in crafting that ¨C and to see it break into pieces, really made him shed a tear of blood.


    ¡°Maybe I should make the raft more sturdy?¡±


    He could do that. He used Wind Blade to chop down trees and then used various vines and roots as ropes to tie all the cut logs. This time, he could cut thicker, bigger trees and use double the number of vines to tie everything down.


    Kain''s index finger rested on his chin, his head tilting slightly as he fell deeper into thought.


    ¡°No. That''s not going to work. I need a way to defeat that underwater nasty first. Or, at least, a way to increase the speed of the raft.¡±


    He glanced at the river and narrowed his eyes, checking out the direction of the flow.


    It looked oh-so-serene now, as if the earlier deluge was nothing but a lie concocted by a passing drunkard. Even the wind was gentle, to a point where it might as well be an asthmatic trying to blow through a straw.


    Another sigh escaped from Kain''s lips. This was hopeless. Only if he was a bit stronger.


    ¡°Why can''t you just fly me over the mountains, you dang stupid bird?¡±


    He gritted his teeth, remembering the time he asked the sleeping phoenix for a favor. Instead, the damn thing cawed and aggressively lectured him in a bird tongue, ending the tirade with a cold harrumph.


    That was unpleasant. Not only it had a shrill, nails-on-a-blackboard voice, its chirping was quite incessant, enough to drive him around the bends.


    If it weren''t for his strong mental faculty, he''d surely try to choke the living daylights out of this flame-covered bird with almighty haste.


    Anyway, he knew he was asking the impossible. The mountain range itself was tall. Taller than his eyes could see the top, now that he was near enough. He craned his neck but still failed to discern just how tall the tops of the range were. The clouds hung like drapes over most of the top, obscuring his vision.


    Which was somewhat weird, considering he was able to see past the range and at the tall, spindly peak in the dead center before while traveling in the merchant train.


    Well, at the time, he was in an elevated position to begin with. Still, that wasn''t a good enough explanation for the height discrepancy.


    ¡°....Must be magic. Oops, I mean, Invocation.¡±


    He chuckled bitterly.


    The range was too tall. The bird was hardly any bigger than a well bred parrot. Even if it could lift him up, sustaining a lengthy flight while combating heavy headwinds wouldn''t be a walk in the park, even for an Awakened.


    Kain figured his avian partner was one such mystical creature. Otherwise, it was hard to explain away the flames on its feathers. It was not hot to the touch but still possessed enough strength to burn away things. Only the Awakened had the ability to wield Aeterna, so it was safe to assume the bird was too.


    Unfortunately, none of his deductions helped him out at the moment.


    Frustrated, Kain hopped down from the boulder he was sitting on and stretched his limbs a little. This kind of leisure could be afforded simply because of the phoenix. Unless it was a huge Fiend, others kept away. He was genuinely grateful for this breathing room, of course. One of many things he was grateful about, really.


    ¡°If anything, I''m glad I decided to save you back then,¡± Kain shrugged his shoulders slightly, and poked the still-sleeping bird. ¡°Hey, hey you lazy bird. You coming?¡±


    Irritated, it flapped its wing, brushing off his finger and sat up, drowsiness clearly visible in its eyes. Yawning loudly, it flew up slowly, and circled around his head for a while and then descended, perching itself on Kain''s head.


    Before he knew it, the top of his head became the bird''s spot. Kain at first tried to wave the stupid thing off but it was far more crafty and stubborn, and he had to give up in the end.


    As they carefully tread past the undergrowth, Kain suddenly remembered something rather important.


    ¡°Hey. I still haven''t come up with a name for you, haven''t I? I can''t keep on calling you The Bird.¡±


    Hearing this, the phoenix narrowed its eyes sharply in a frown.


    Ignoring this, Kain continued. ¡°So, yeah. How about...., uh, Firebird? It''s a great classic car, y''know.¡±


    The phoenix shook its head in disapproval.


    ¡°Okay. So... uh, how about.... Flame-O?¡±


    The phoenix slapped the back of his head.


    ¡°Hey!! What was that for?¡±


    The bird glared at him, its eyes cold and obviously not very pleased.


    ¡°Oh? So it''s like that now, huh? Fine. I don''t care. I''ll just call you whatever, whether you like it or not. I was just being nice but now, all bets are off!!¡±


    As he bickered with the bird on top of his head, Kain suddenly sensed some creatures up ahead. He immediately shut his mouth and crouched, making himself very small. Seizing all movements, he remained deathly still, waiting. Even the bird quietened down, although it didn''t look worried at all.


    A several breaths'' worth of time passed by, until a loud stampede could be heard, shaking the ground like a small earthquake.


    Kain raised his head and peeked past the dense, dark and fragrant shrubs to confirm the source of the trembling earth: a herd of large deer-like creatures, at least hundred strong, briskly running through the forest.


    Behind them, a dozen or so figures following the herd.


    Kain narrowed his eyes, and shrank himself further.


    Each of these deer was at least 1.5 times bigger than a moose, and possessed ferocious countenances that didn''t fit that of a peaceful herbivore. As a matter of fact, these creatures were actually omnivores. In other words, they didn''t discriminate when it came to food.


    Lots of animals living in this forest were like that. Even a small, furry little critters aggressively sought out meat, placing Kain at near the very bottom of the proverbial food chain. Were it not for his Invocation prowess, he''d be in the last place.


    One or two of these deer presented no problem for Kain. With the phoenix by his side, it was even better. Heck, he could prey on them if he wanted to.


    However, they weren''t the only parties here.


    Those following the herd consisted of one Hobgoblin, and a dozen Goblins. Now they were something else.


    Now, it was not the first time Kain ran into these dastardly foul-smelling fantasy genre staple monsters. Oh no.


    After the bitter struggle to entrap the giant lizard Fiend in a sinkhole, Kain carried the injured bird away, trying to find himself a new shelter. That''s when he ran into a group of Goblins, four strong.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    They were scouts, sent out to check out what all the ruckus was about. Obviously, Kain was shocked out of his skull at the sudden arrival of the unwanted players, and ended up freely firing off Wind Blade toward every which direction while panicking like a screaming little girl.


    These Goblins were only as tall as he was. And they weren''t too well armored. So, the sharp, compressed air sliced through them like a knife through hot butter. Gore and filth flung everywhere. That was not so nice.


    Even then, he had to struggle even more. He had to fight one on one with a single surviving Goblin which was missing its left eye, struck blind by a stray pebble roused from its resting ground by the wayward Wind Blade.


    Because of that memory, Kain dared not to tangle with Goblins. And if there was a Hobgoblin in the mix, stay the eff away. It was a rule he strictly adhered to, whenever he ran into a Goblin pack.


    A Hobgoblin was as tall as a teen, covered from head to toe in thick, dull green skin, and smelled even worse. At one time, he saw it cleave a bear-like creature with a single swing of its rudimentary ax, surprising him greatly. It was a wise idea not to tangle with one, at all cost.


    For now, he couldn''t move until the herd went past him. That much was obvious. He silently watched as the various members of the Goblin pack kept on shouting and herded the deer forward. It was like a scene from a cowboy movie, where a group of rugged-faced riders urging the slow and dimwitted steak-on-hooves toward the greener pastures.


    That alone showed these Goblins, Fiends or not, possessed intelligence far above that of ordinary monsters.


    Eventually, the stampeding herd went away, moving towards the river''s direction. They were probably trying to get water for their livestock.


    Thinking that this was a chance, Kain made his move and crept out from the bush, dashing madly deeper into the forest. Even with the aid of the phoenix, there was no guarantee he''d survive if he was found.


    After all, there was only one phoenix, and there were more than a dozen of them. It took a single hit from the smelly Goblin''s weapon to kill him. So being prudent was the best.


    He ran for a short while, mindful of other creatures in the vicinity. Thinking the coast was clear, he slowed down a little, only to hear an enormous boom coming from behind, followed by a huge, primal roar in some distance away. Near the river, where he was contemplating on his escape plans.


    ¡°I really don''t like the sound of that,¡± Kain grimaced, and increased his running speed. Unfortunately, he was still a little kid, with short legs, so he couldn''t run that fast, so, although reluctant, he began sending Aeterna down to his legs. It seemed too early for this life-saving emergency measure, but something about that roar disturbed him greatly, and thus he decided to not to dilly-dally.


    Even the phoenix sat up in alert, once it heard the roar.


    During his stay, Kain heard quite a diverse array of roars emitted by the largest, most ferocious Fiends occupying the forest, turning him into a pro when it came to identifying the sound, but this one, he couldn''t tell.


    One thing''s for sure, it was loud. Very, very loud.


    As he ran, a shockwave laden with Aeterna began to sweep up from behind him. Trees were pushed back, dirt and fallen leaves swept up, and Kain momentarily felt weightlessness as both of his feet left the ground.


    He stumbled back down to the ground, but quickly regained his posture and continued to run. Unwittingly, he ran past a few Fiends on his way, including, somewhat ironically, another pack of Goblins led by a Hobgoblin.


    And yes, they began chasing after him.


    There was not much Kain could do, even though a monster train was rapidly forming behind him. The reason being that, shortly after the boom and the roar, the deer herd emerged from the forest, frantically chasing him down. Huge panic clearly etched on their faces, and panting out of their skulls.


    Obviously, they were running away from whatever it was that made the noise near the river.


    Kain even heard screams of pain and death behind him, coming from the various Fiends and monsters. That made his frown deeper. Something was going very wrong back there, and he had a feeling it was not good, to put it mildly.


    He was sweating buckets now. He thought that during his stay in this forest he got used to being under deadly pressure but hell, he sure wasn''t. He was scared out of his mind too, the only thought running inside his mind was to escape. Didn''t matter where to, as long as he was safe.


    That statement proved to be so true when the source of that horrific roar came to Kain''s view. He had the misfortune of turning back when he heard the earth beneath his feet tremble unnaturally.


    A ginormous, blood-red head full of razor sharp fangs shot out above the treeline, like a nightmarish candlestick. Four whiskers thicker than a tree trunk flowed luxuriantly on its maw, a hind leg of a deer visibly stuck between its teeth.


    By his estimation, the parts that appeared above the forest canopy were as large as the giant lizard Fiend. And he knew that there were more to this new king of Fiends as far as the body''s length was concerned.


    Holy moly, jesus, mary and joseph!! What the hell is that thing? A dragon?!


    Kain felt the kind of chill he''d never, ever felt before. He froze on the spot, when the crimson creature bellowed out, sending out another shockwave.


    It wasn''t just him that stopped in their tracks. The Goblin pack, led by the Hobgoblin, also froze on the spot, gazing towards at the gigantic Fiend, their entire bodies shaking in pure fear.


    Kain''s daze broke only after the phoenix slapped him in the forehead. It then pointed towards a direction, with a grim expression, telling him to go that way.


    If he went as he was told, then he was heading straight into the center of the forest.


    Do I even have a choice?!


    Kain looked back at the crimson Fiend.


    The huge monster groaned, and thrashed its body once, sending out an incredible explosion of air as well as thick, murderous aura all around it. Goblins yelped out and began to scatter like a headless chicken.


    Kain inwardly cursed. It was just moving about, yet it was causing destruction on the level incomparable to pretty much anything he''d ever seen.


    As if to make the matters worse, it then turned towards Kain''s direction, and began to slither forward.


    His scalp went numb. All the hair on his body stood up.


    Without thinking twice, he ran towards where the phoenix pointed.


    ~


    The further he ran, taller and denser the trees became. Sunlight ceased to penetrate the black canopy. The air carried an aura of something arcane, something that should not be disturbed.


    Kain had no choice. Currently, the huge blood-red Fiend was right behind him, seemingly intent on chasing him down till the ends of the earth.


    Actually, if he bothered to change his direction ¨C like the way most of the fleeing Goblins did ¨C then he''d come to an understanding that it was not coming after him, but rather, they happened to share a common destination.


    And that destination was the center of the forest, where the spindly, towering mountain stood, unmoving for all of the eternity.


    A single flicker of strange fear, totally unrelated to the chasing Fiend, slowly took root in Kain''s heart, as he neared the unnamed mountain. He wasn''t sure why, but his fearsome ability to sense ominous future flags was coming back in a lively swing. This made him deeply worried.


    For the last few weeks in this forest, not once had it gone up. But now, as he neared the mountain, it was rousing from its slumber.


    He bitterly smiled inwardly, thinking that maybe this ability to foretell bad/inconvenient things happening was his cheat skill after all. What a waste of a cliched divine gift, if it was.


    Oblivious to his thoughts, the phoenix kept on directing Kain, making him stay on a certain course. The trees here became less crooked and sinister, but taller and unbelievably thicker. On average, the vegetation here would be as tall as a ten story buildings quite easily.


    Traveling below such tall trees, even the vicious-looking red Fiend looked somewhat less imposing than before. That did not mean Kain wasn''t scared of it, of course. Oh, no.


    Just like the taller trees, Aeterna got thicker, heavier and more sinister with every step he took. Now normally, this meant there was a powerful creature up ahead, but for some reason, he did not encounter any so far. It was as if.... there were no living things within the forest.


    Powerful boom resounded, and a bellowing gust of wind smashed into the back of Kain. He cried out in shock and pain, and rolled on the ground, smashing past several shrubs and low lying branches. Blood seeped out from the small cuts and bruises on his exposed skin, his already worn and damaged clothing becoming worse dregs in a blink of an eye.


    Kain hastily gathered himself and resumed running. But he knew. He knew that at this rate, he''d be squashed flat by the red Fiend. It was time to come up with a new plan. A plan to save his bacon.


    And that plan was pretty simple, really. He''d chance it and hide. It worked before, so he didn''t see why it wouldn''t work today.


    A place to hide? That was also simple as well; just dig a hole and climb in it. All he had to do, was find a patch of ground that was not covered tree roots or rocks, and then he''d be golden.


    Unfortunately for him, though, he was in a middle of an increasingly dense forest. Everywhere he looked, there were tree roots jutting out of the ground like writhing snakes.


    He had to find a small clearing. That''s all he needed.


    The trembling grew louder. So loud, in fact, his internal organs were shaking. Kain grew desperate at that.


    ¡°Damn it!! Hey you, you stupid bird!! Help me out here, will you?¡±


    The bird had an unsightly frown on its face. Not from what the boy had said, but from the deadly aura coming from behind. At the rate he was running, it was only a matter of time before Kain became food for the approaching giant Fiend.


    As to reinforce its premonition of the future, the red, bloodied and scary face exploded out of the thick undergrowth with vengeance, less than 20 Ruten, around 100 meters, away from Kain. The Fiend''s glittering golden eyes immediately locked on to fleeing boy''s terrified face, and the fiery bird perched on top of it.


    It was then the phoenix decided on its next course of action.


    It was told not to help Kain out in combat. But, it was told by its master to look after the boy and make sure he wouldn''t get killed before its master emerged from the secluded meditation. It was too early, but seeing how the situation was playing out, the phoenix knew there was no other choice.


    Sighing, the phoenix suddenly flew off Kain''s head, and swung around behind him. Before he realized what was happening, the sturdy claws grasped hold of his ratty tunic, and lifted him off the ground.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Kain could only emit a sound of confusion at his weightlessness. Then he screamed as hard as he could, when his body and that of the phoenix turned into a crimson blur, shooting forward like a bullet train ¨C leaving behind an unending streak of red.


    His face stretched at the sudden burst of speed. His uncut and unkempt hair smashed around like a bundle of whips on his face, his ears and the neck. It was rather painful. Most of them though, tried to rip out of his skull. And that was doubly more painful.


    Thankfully, he squeezed his eyes shut, so his eyeballs were spared from being mercilessly poked. Also, he clenched his teeth tightly, so he wouldn''t accidentally bite on his own tongue.


    The bird''s speed was quite extraordinary. If enhanced Kain could run as fast as an Olympian, then the bird was equivalent of a Bugatti Veyron. Quite clearly, incomparable.


    In a proverbial blink, he was flown deep into the forest''s core, towards the spindly mountain. However, it somehow didn''t really feel like he was getting any closer. In fact, he was, but the illusion was maintained because of the enormous size of the mountain itself.


    No matter how close he got, its huge girth didn''t seem to grow. His perception was thrown out of whack due to the impossible speed his body was moving at.


    Constantly, Kain sent out Aeterna out of his reserves to protect his body. He felt that if he stopped doing that, the air pressure would shred his skin to bits.


    His Pool was barely holding on. They were moving too fast, and he could not replenish his supply at all. At the rate it was being used up, he''d be running empty in less than ten minutes.


    Kain was inwardly angry. Not at his small Pool of Aeterna, no, but the fact that this bird could''ve easily taken him out of this forest, out of the tall mountain range if it was so inclined, judging by its amazing speed. Yet it refused to.


    Why? Why didn''t you take me out of this place? You could''ve done so easily!!


    Kain couldn''t voice his anger, though. He was far too busy clenching his teeth to open his mouth. His tirade had to wait for a bit.


    Amazingly though, the blood-red Fiend was keeping up. It was actually keeping up with the phoenix''s speed. Granted, the bird had to carry a passenger, and also had to weave between the trees, but still, it was fast.


    The giant Fiend however, it just smashed the blocking trees apart with its ginormous body. Simple, and Kain had to admit, way too effective.


    So effective, in fact, as the splinters of the destroyed trees whistled by Kain''s face like a sharp shrapnel. Get hit by one of those, and he might lose a pound of flesh.


    Kain panted, his face turning visibly pale. At any moment now, his Aeterna Pool would go completely empty. That meant saying a bye-bye to his skin.


    Miraculously, the phoenix then emitted a cold harrumph, and suddenly, Kain felt warmth flooding in. It was Fire Elemental Aeterna, deeply nourishing his depleted Pool.


    That instantly left Kain dumbfounded.


    Back when he rescued the bird, he had no idea on how to treat the wounds on the bird''s body. After some deliberation, he thought of transferring his own Aeterna to it. The problem was how he could do precisely that. He even tried to feed it a ball of flame produced from the Firelight spell, only to have his fingers nearly bitten off in anger.


    Thinking back to the ordeal, how could he not feel dumbstruck? Most likely, the dang bird knew all along how to send Aeterna back and forth between him and itself. How stupid he felt, realizing that possibility.


    His bubbling anger had no bearing on the chase itself, however. Ever since noticing the phoenix and the boy, the red Fiend continuously honed in the fleeing pair with a single minded doggedness that deserved some praise. It even disregarded other prey and focused only on two of them.


    With a cold snort the phoenix shot forward, pushing itself faster. And as if to answer the increase in speed, the Fiend roared and pursued harder.


    The distance between the giant, blood-red creature and the bird neither increased nor decreased. No one gained an inch nor lost one. It was a stalemate.


    They remained like this for two full days. Kain did not count incorrectly. Oh no. He definitely saw the sun go down and come up again twice.


    By this time, he was completely aghast at the sheer size of the forest. Logically, no such place should exist. But it did, and he was inside of it.


    What''s more, he was even more shocked at the seemingly boundless stamina of the phoenix itself. It was like.... it was like, as if the time it got injured by ''running'' into one of the protrusions of the giant lizard Fiend was all an act. An act to make him take the bird along, wherever he was going to.


    To say he felt angry, humiliated and whatnot was an understatement. Of course, it was natural for him to feel somewhat betrayed by this duplicity of a small, weak-looking bird of fire. All he wanted was a companion, a friend to ride out the rough patch together. Maybe, even a cute mascot, like a certain yellow rodent-like creature with a penchant for lightning attacks.


    What he got instead, was a sneaky, scheming piece of.... something.


    At the beginning of the third day, they finally arrived at the foot of the spindly mountain. What greeted him, was beyond his expectations.


    The mountain was devoid of any trees. It shot up straight through to the sky, like a thumb tack ready to prick an unwary finger. As for whose finger it might be.... well, it could only be that of a heaven, since Kain couldn''t even see the tip. It simply pierced through the cloud cover and disappeared into the blue.


    There were huge clearing around the foot of the mountain. The radius was massive enough to house all five boroughs of New York and still have space left for the rivers that ran in between.


    The place Kain and the phoenix emerged from was on a hill, looking down on the clearing and giving him a stunning view of the vast open space.


    And then, there was one more thing that waiting to shock him, down below: a ghostly city of ruins, stoically standing still against the elements and seemingly waiting for its first visitor for millennia: him.

 Chapter 23 + a small announcement.

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">23</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Kain thought he was hallucinating. He hadn''t eaten anything for the last two and a bit days, and intense hunger had a way of screwing with a mind.


    What lay before him, was definitely a city; a medieval city surrounded by tall, imposing ramparts.


    Yet, its bleached and decaying walls spoke of an unfathomable ancientness of the structures. He couldn''t even begin to speculate on just how old the city was.


    Between where he was, and the walls, lay a desiccated and barren wasteland the length and width of several football fields stuck together. Absolutely nothing grew on it, not even a blade of grass. Oddly, not a breeze blew through there either. It was all very eerie, and not in an "oh it''s so mysterious" kinda way. No, it was rather deafeningly silent, as if the only thing permitted to enter the area was death herself.


    Kain might have been dazed by the sight, but the phoenix wasn''t. It shot forward once more, its speed not slowing down one bit. It was clearing heading towards the decaying city with all its power. This caused Kain no amount of shock.


    Are we going to enter that dead city?!


    Kain grimaced, and gritted his teeth. He lacked energy to even voice any complaint at this point, and was a pitiful example of a hapless passenger, simply going along with the flow.


    As they got nearer, the forest behind exploded, and the blood-red giant Fiend''s head popped out amidst all the flying debris, its glittering eyes briefly searching, then zeroing on the city. It let out a shrill roar, as if it wanted to call forth the calamity of the heavens on itself, then charged forward even faster than before.


    Its roar felt like a needle piercing through Kain''s heart, causing an intense pain that felt like all his blood flow suddenly reversed its direction and tried to rush out of all his pores. The ground below them rumbled and quaked in ripples.


    When the dead area up ahead of them vibrated, an imperceptible changed occurred. Naked eyes would never pick up on the subtle change, but the phoenix felt it. And so did Kain, who at the time was employing his Aeterna sense, casting it all around him like a radar.


    What''s going on? There''s something.... underground!!


    As soon as he thought this, the soil beneath the flying duo exploded, and a hand shot out. A hand made up of rocks and mud and everything in between.


    It wasn''t just a single hand; one after another burst out of the dead ground, causing a thick mist of flying pebbles and dry, sandy dust clouds. The phoenix expertly dodged and weaved past the aroused dust storms, missing every one of them with a room to spare.


    Kain looked back to see humanoid shapes emerge from the dust storms one by one, each one exceeding twelve feet in height. Shocking amounts of Earth Elemental Aeterna oozed out of them, circling around them, fusing with each creature and acting like glue holding all the bits together.


    Golems!! They are the legendary Golems!!


    Kain held his breath, as he realized what they were. The question in his mind was now, whether these monsters appeared to repel only the giant Fiend, or everything else as well, which included him?


    By the time Kain and the bird got a third of the way across the dead field, hundreds of Golems rose and rushed toward the approaching Fiend like a mindless army of zombies.


    The resulting boom, and the shriek, made his scalp go numb with fear. Ignoring the sound of carnage behind, the phoenix continued to shoot forward at the top speed.


    The Golems pounded on the Fiend with wild abandon, completely disregarding their own safety in the process. Still, there was too much difference in the body mass; one hit from a Golem did very little damage, if any, to the Fiend''s tough scales.


    But one shake of its body, dozens of Golems broke apart into pieces, showering the ground with debris.


    Still, attacks didn''t abate. One after another, Golems pounced and pounded on the Fiend, overwhelming with it with sheer numbers. Whenever one Golem got smashed to bits, three more would take its place. It was one never ending cycle where there could be only one loser.


    Aeterna seethed and boiled over the whole land, and Kain felt it so clearly. He had never, ever felt so much of it, not even once. Truly, he was stunned beyond words, his hunger now long forgotten.


    Bizarrely, the reason why he could forget it was that his body began to rapidly absorb all that abundant Aeterna. His Pool topped up in a blink of an eye, and suddenly, began to overflow. When it did, his hunger was sated, albeit temporarily.


    Of course, he hadn''t figured it out just yet. He was too busy scanning the world around him with his Aeterna sense to notice the change happening in his own body. Talk about unable to see what''s in right front of his nose.


    By the time Kain got half way through, there were now more than two thousand Golems attacking the Fiend. That number didn''t sound like a lot, but considering each of those Golems were the height of two adult males, the amount of space they occupied was quite significant. So was the ruckus they raised ¨C it was rowdier than a post-final championship football match brawl between two opposing fan clubs.


    Weird thing was, though, not one of the Golems targeted Kain or the phoenix. Not a single one turned around and tried to seize the duo. Not one of them hurled massive boulders in their direction. Not one stood to block their flight.


    Why?


    Kain was puzzled at this. He couldn''t understand at all. He and the bird must be just as strangers as to these Golems as much as the giant Fiend was. Obviously, these non-sentient creatures of soil and rocks were guardians of the city up ahead, and would not allow anything remotely threatening to enter the domain.


    Unless....


    Kain shuddered suddenly at the possibility of the phoenix being a resident of the city. Or at least, being recognized as one. It clearly had intelligence, so it was possible that this place was the bird''s home.


    And then.... he felt he was missing something here. Something he should have foreseen. Something out here that was not included in his calculations, whatever the worth of that might be. This thought alone terrified him.


    The giant Fiend roared angrily at the growing number of Golems forcing it to retreat. Kain felt a huge suction of Aeterna right behind him, and reflexively he looked back, to see the monster sucking all of it in.


    As proficient as he was at knowing the fantasy genre must-have things, he could tell the Fiend was getting ready to use some sort of Breath attack, favored by the dragon type monsters.


    So, it IS a dragon, after all!! No wonder it''s so effing monstrous!!


    Also sensing the accumulated energy that was ballooning up, the bird cawed loudly, and exerted even more strength, obviously in order to escape the range of the attack''s influence. There were now more than 50 Rutens, 250 meters, between them.


    But that was not enough.


    The blood-red Giant dragon Fiend let loose a crimson colored Breath out. Winds howled, the ground seethed, the clouds dispersed.


    Kain felt all his blood freeze, figuratively. All because of the purest form of fear inundating him.


    Then his eardrums nearly blew out at the concussive sound of explosion. The light emitted from the blast blotted out the sun''s rays, paradoxically darkening the world all around him.


    It felt like all his internal organs were about to go bust. Even the phoenix let out a painful howl.


    Both of them tumbled out of the flight, heading straight at the tall, imposing walls at a breakneck pace, totally out of control.


    Oh, crap!! At this rate, we''ll become a pair of blotches on the wall!! Damn it, I gotta do something!!


    Kain gritted his teeth, and quickly shot his hands forward, casting Air Wall. He slammed into it with some force, the illusory wall shattering due to his and the bird''s momentum greatly exceeding what the Wall could withstand.


    He thought his bones broke. The pain assaulting him was indescribable. His vocabulary was not rich enough for it.


    Kain rolled on the ground and finally came to a halt about 10 Ruten away from the wall; same for the phoenix. It raised itself up from the ground, shaking loose the dirt on its feathers.


    Meanwhile, Kain pushed his upper torso up and tried to stand, only to falter and collapse on one knee.


    The phoenix hastily flew back up and tried to goad the disorientated boy towards a small opening at the bottom of the rampart. It cawed and slapped him all over the back, trying to get him to cooperate with its efforts.


    At the far back, the ground had become roasted blackness, a crater forming where the Golems used to be. The thick, acrid smell of sulfur filled the air like a stench of death.


    The Fiend''s face was unsightly, and growled angrily. Its attack was beyond powerful, absolutely pummeling every Golem within an arc of 40+ Ruten, but there were still thousands more rushing at it from all sides. After the Breath attack, it expanded a lot of Aeterna, and it needed to recuperate before it could use it again.


    There were just too many obstacles for that, thus its angry expression.


    Sensing it might get injured seriously if it remained, the Fiend roared, and began to retreat at top speed.


    It only took a few seconds, but the giant monster entered the forest, disappearing from the view quickly, its huge frame melting into the darkness.


    The Golems didn''t chase their quarry down. Instead, they froze on the spot for a few seconds, before slowly turning toward where Kain sat, slumped weakly on the ground.


    The phoenix let out an alarmed cry, and desperately lifted the boy to his feet, only to have a hand made of sand shot out from the ground, wrapping around him tightly.


    Kain let out a scream of pain, as he felt intense pressure bearing down on him. At any moment, his body would be squashed to bits.


    The phoenix hurriedly stabbed forward at the emerging Golems'' hand that held the boy, managing to destroy to the fingers and letting the boy fall down. It then snatched him, and flew up, fast.


    The Golem transformed, its damaged arm changing into a spike. It fired this new appendage like a bullet at the airborne duo.


    Sensing a crisis, the phoenix let out an angry howl and fired a large ball of flames from its beak. The flame and the spike collided mere meters away from Kain, causing a powerful blast that made him scream out more.


    Blood dripped down from all the wounds on his body, and he flickered between being awake and blacking out.


    Inside, he was flabbergasted. He was beyond feeling angry now. All he felt at that moment was an overflowing sense of shame.


    How can I be so weak?


    He felt tears welling up.


    How can I be so weak, as to let the others decide my fate for me?


    He felt the burning blades of shame branding him in his heart.


    Why? Why can''t I do something to save my own skin?


    He could''ve just said that it was because of his physical age. Because of his small and frail body.


    Yet, he thought all that was nothing more than some interchangeable excuses. The bottom line was, he was far too weak, far too unprepared. He knew too little, and he lacked motivation, an unwavering heart to wade through whatever tribulation he had to face. All he ever thought about was living a nice, comfy life in Riverfield, not worried about anything and everything, as long as he had a roof over his head and food on the table.


    Was that so wrong? Wanting simple things? Am I not supposed to have that?


    Gradually the shame became rage.


    Enraged, Kain lifted his head and stared hard at the Golem below. It was firing multiple spikes at the phoenix and him. Soon, two more Golems joined in, all of them firing spikes in unison. Even if the bird was one nimble creature, there had to be a limit, and it had been flying non stop for the last two and a half days. It was about to run out of energy too.


    Kain felt his rage boiling inside. He sharpened his senses, and sought out that one spot where Aeterna converged. From his knowledge, he knew about the controlling array, a formation of Invocation spell, or a disc performing the similar function, formed the nucleus of a Golem. Destroy that, and it was nothing more than a lump of clay.


    Found it!!


    Kain narrowed his eyes, and spotted a small disc-like item that acted as the control center for the Golems.


    Without hesitation, he flung off one Wind Blade after another, trying to hit the item, buried deep within the Golem''s torso.


    His ploy didn''t work ¨C its protection was too sturdy, and his spells lacked bite. He needed to change the tactic.


    Next, he tried to manipulate the Golem itself with his own Affinity.


    Since he had Earth Elemental Affinity, it was worth a shot.


    The affected Golems froze on the spot, trying to break free from his influence on it. Kain felt his blood surge painfully at the backlash of his attempt, but endured it and continued to exert pressure.


    ¡°Blow up, you bastard!!¡±


    Kain roared, blood and spit flinging out of his mouth.


    The Golem obeyed, and blew up. The item exploded too, sending a massive wave of accumulated Aeterna outward.


    The explosion this time was smaller in comparison to what the giant Fiend''s Breath attack caused, but nevertheless it was still quite a powerful one.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The phoenix was gripping Kain''s clothes to haul him around, but at that moment, the fabric decided to give in.


    With a loud rip, he was flung out of the shocked bird''s grasp, and flew over the rampart of the city. The bird itself was not spared from the blast, but it could endure it just fine; all it needed to do was to reorient itself in the air.


    The phoenix was about to chase after the flying boy, but was interrupted by the barrage of spikes fired by the Golems. Now, there was more than five of them, the number swelling up in an instant.


    Desperately it cawed at the boy''s direction, dodging the spikes and trying to weave past the incoming attacks.


    It was in danger of being overrun. On one hand, it wanted to save the boy before he crashed against the wall. But on the other hand, there was no room for it to do just that. Either it sacrificed itself to save the boy, or let him die and save itself.


    The phoenix cawed angrily at the hopeless situation. It tried to call its master, sleeping deep within the center of this dead city. Its pained cry pierced past the cacophony of explosions and destruction, reverberating like a church bell ringing to summon the faithful.


    And it got a reply.


    A booming voice resonated in the world. Only two words were spoken. That''s all it took.


    ¡°Be.... QUIET!!¡±


    A huge wave of unseen energy surged out from the base of the spindly mountain. It permeated past the buildings like ghosts, emerging from the other side unaffected.


    But when the Golems were hit by this wave, they all busted apart where they stood, like a series of fireworks going off.


    Meanwhile, a dozen or so of thin, withering vines shot up from who knows where, and wrapped around Kain''s weak, failing body, stopping him from crashing into solid objects.


    All of this took less than a blink of an eye.


    The vines were gentle, and Kain didn''t feel any hostility from them. As he began to black out, he thought he heard a soft sigh, coming from somewhere in the city''s center, near the base of the spindly mountain.


    It sounded weak, almost feeble.


    That was the last thing he could remember.


    ~


    The funeral dirge seemed to go on forever. At least it didn''t rain during the procession. Not one person present at the service thought of thanking the heavens, however.


    As soon as the rescue operation ended in failure, everyone involved dispersed and went their separate ways. Lomaxes returned to Riverfield, dejected, fatigued in both the mind and the body, heartbroken.


    Damien and Lizbeth barely spoke during the trip, and that continued after. They barely looked at each other, or anyone else for that matter. So, Derrick had to take over pretty much everything.


    The casket was empty when it was lowered into the ground. They couldn''t even recover the remains. Not a scrap of clothing, no bones, nothing. That was far, far worse than having an actual body.


    Kaleena, at first, didn''t fully understand what had happened, but gradually she figured it out. Katrina helped with that as she was already familiar with death. They both cried, one out of sadness, the other in a mixture of sadness, just like her cousin, and of the past, when her mother lay wasting from the incurable illness.


    Everyone seemed to cry for a long time. Beside Kain, Rolf and Jones also lost their lives. It was another heavy blow for the village, after going through the difficult period two and a bit years ago.


    But the time didn''t stand still for anyone, not even for grieving parents. On top of that, there were the assassins still at large out there. Damien, Lizbeth and Derrick simply couldn''t afford to wait. They had to do something.


    ¡°I propose sending the children to Argos, and to its Academy. I can''t think of a safer place than it for both Kaleena and Katrina at the moment.¡±


    Michelle offered her opinion.


    The Lomaxes and the famed Invoker sat in the living room late at night, discussing the future and the way forward from this predicament.


    Michelle continued.


    ¡°It''s not safe in Riverfield, not anymore. This was the second time, wasn''t it? First, it was Kaleena. Now, Kain. Since Katrina is here, she could be caught in the crossfire.¡±


    Derrick frowned. ¡°Dawson is missing. No correspondence from him whatsoever. At this point, something untoward must have happened.¡±


    Damien nodded grimly, his face deeply furrowed.


    Gaunt-looking Lizbeth wearily spoke up. ¡°I agree with the teacher. I believe it''ll be safer for.... Kaleena and Katrina if they are in SOIR''s care.¡±


    She was clearly pained to say such things, but objectively speaking, she knew it was the best option available. It was proven that she, her husband, nor Derrick could protect her kids from danger. She didn''t want to part with her daughter at all, but she knew there was little choice.


    Derrick massaged his temples for a few minutes, before picking up the wrapped object sitting on top of the living room table.


    ¡°So, this is the item Dawson wanted, yes?¡±


    Not waiting for confirmation, he unwrapped it and exposed the metal box. His eyes narrowed as he studied it for a second, before he creaked open the top, revealing the content inside.


    Damien told his cousin and teacher Michelle about the strange wooden board Dawson was searching for. He had not told anyone, not even his cousin nor his contacts at the Adventurer''s Association.


    But with Dawson helping with the investigation with this item as the compensation, he just had to tell the others.


    Now that Derrick looked at the object, his mind shook. He felt his own Aeterna Pool reacting against the aura oozing from it. Michelle too had a strong reaction, her breathing quickening.


    ¡°Never seen anything like this before. These symbols, this type of wood, the level of the craftsmanship ¨C it''s clearly not an ordinary item at all.¡±


    Michelle murmured after observing the Bagua Board for a few moments.


    ¡°We couldn''t get it praised at the time we discovered it. Couldn''t find anyone trust worthy,¡± sighed Damien. ¡°Well, that''s not important right now. Anyways, I can''t think of any other options. Let''s go with Michelle''s idea. I have to go and see... that man anyway. I don''t want to travel with Kaleena on an unsafe road anytime soon, nor leave her behind exposed.¡±


    Michelle gazed deeply at him and replied. ¡°SOIR will provide more than adequate protection. Even the Imperial Court tip-toes around the old Grand Elders. And since I know a few of those fogies, it''ll be fine.¡±


    With the exception of her, the others let out a long, weary collective sigh. The thick, invisible curtain of fatigue fell on the room like a fine mist, blanketing all.


    ¡°So, yes. Right, Lizbeth and I will head to Argos first on a Sky Ark. Teacher Michelle shall accompany us. We will stay in the capital for a few days while the admission for our children is complete. Only then, will we head North.¡± Damien spoke authoritatively. ¡°Derrick will remain behind in the village. I need a qualified proxy to look after this place while I''m away. Teacher Michelle, could I trouble you for staying in the capital and looking after the kids? Apologies, I know you just handed in your resignation letter.¡±


    ¡°It''s not a big deal,¡± Michelle chuckled softly. ¡°I was going to suggest it myself. I''d feel better if it''s me watching over the girls.¡±


    ¡°What about Kaleena''s condition?¡± Lizbeth asked her teacher. ¡°We still need to treat her fading ability to see Aeterna''s flow.¡±


    ¡°I''ll access SOIR''s archives and do some research on the subject. When I gain more concrete insight, I shall send you a missive containing what herbs you need to gather.¡±


    ¡°That works, I think,¡± Damien smiled warmly for a second, before changing back to a passive face. ¡°Thank you, Michelle. It seems like we''re always the one to owe you. Derrick, will you be alright? I''m sorry for asking you to stay behind.¡±


    Derrick shook his head. Raising his hand, he spoke firmly. ¡°As much as I''d like to go, I understand your reasoning. Don''t worry, I''ll do my best and run this village well. But....¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Look, Damien. I know it''s not my place to say this, but please, do not take it the wrong way. Go and make up with your old man. And seek his aid, however little. With his influence, finding the culprits will become much easier.¡±


    Hearing this, Damien grimaced. He stayed silent, sinking back in the chair. But eventually, he nodded, showing his consent.


    Lizbeth was the one who voiced her deep-seated fury. ¡°When their identities are uncovered, I shall personally make them pay. I won''t spare any, not even one.¡±


    Anger brought color to her wan complexion. She clearly was not settled in her grief, and needed an outlet to vent her anger. So far, she had done an admirable job of holding it in, but it was taking its toll on her physical body.


    Damien, though, was visibly worse. He looked like he lost ten, no, twenty years of his life force. He had no energy. He showed no emotions. He was like a walking zombie.


    He even stopped his daily morning training. Staying indoors most of the time, he passed the days by sleeping the whole time. He spoke to no one, unless absolutely necessary.


    As for food, he only ate the minimum amount needed to stave off hunger. His health would suffer even more so, if this continued.


    That''s why Derrick suggested that he seek out his father, Count Caleb Lucius Lomax, of the Grand Northern Territories. More than anything, Damien needed help. Whether that be financial, or comfort he needed it. Lizbeth was too angry to give the latter, and as far as Derrick knew, Damien''s relationship with his siblings was rather amiable.


    Lizbeth needed help too. She was pregnant, and a stable frame of mind and the body was critical for the development of the baby. With the couple unable to help each other, it was left to the rest of the family to do something. Being around Dukakis and Damien''s older sister would do a world of good ¨C or at least that''s what Derrick was hoping.


    And the real reason Derrick agreed to staying behind.... well, it was because he felt he saw resentment from Damien''s and Lizbeth''s stares. Not always, but sometimes. That''s why, he figured, it''d be better if they were to separate for a while.


    Derrick thought that by being near the grieving parents, he reminded them of their son. And most likely, his failure to uphold his promise to safeguard their child.


    The dagger of guilt, lodged deep in his heart, twisted every time he received their silent eyes. It was getting ever-so unbearable. If they were to separate and not see each other''s faces, then perhaps, their wounds might heal to a point where his own guilt would no longer hurt him.


    That was his reasoning. It sounded cowardly, but that''s how he felt about it.


    Currently, he didn''t show it, but Derrick feared being abandoned. He feared being alone. He always put up a brave face and stoically pushed forward, but deep inside he was afraid of being alone, shunned by the others.


    He would not be able to stand it, if Damien and his family were to give up on him.


    The silence in the living room grew uncomfortably. It was Damien who stood up first, and announced that he was going to bed. Lizbeth shot him an angry glare, but ignoring her, he left without even looking back once.


    Michelle sighed, and murmured her good night, leaving for her own bedroom.


    Lizbeth followed soon after, her destination Kaleena''s room.


    Derrick remained behind, trying to sort out his complex emotions. His heart didn''t want to be settled, continuously roiling about and making him feel terrible.


    He leaned back on the couch, thinking of resting his head. As his hip sank down, he felt a dull poking of an object buried somewhere between the cushions.


    Irritated slightly, he reached in and dug out the offending item. It was a simple wooden brooch that was used as a clothes pin for Kain''s diapers.


    ¡°Huh. How did you end up in there?¡±


    Derrick muttered, and disinterestedly left it on top of the wooden Bagua board. He no longer paid any attention to it as he leaned back on the backrest, his eyes closing.


    He didn''t notice it, but a few seconds after the brooch was placed on the board, the Bagua began to emit an eerie violet glow. It was soft and weak, not easily seen by a naked eye, but it glowed regardless.


    The brooch was near Kain for a very long time, slowly absorbing his life essence over the course. And as soon as it came in contact with the mysterious wooden board, a reaction occurred.


    It wasn''t just any old reaction, however.


    It sent out a small beep, undetectable by almost all living things.


    The beep traveled beyond the worlds. It traveled past the walls of each of the Ten Realms, threading its way toward a certain place.


    Not even the gods residing in the Ether, the world between worlds, could not detect its penetration of the realms. If they did, then surely, they would have done everything in their powers to track the origin of the beep down, and eradicate all evidence of it...


    The beep quickly traveled past one Realm after another, until it arrived on the most primordial Realm, the First, the nearest to the Zero Realm, the World Tree itself.


    The world of the First was quite different to that of other Realms. For one, there was no night, nor were there days. Instead, one could tell the passing of a day by the changing colors of the sky.


    When the sky was light green, it was daytime. If it was hazy blue, it was considered to be nighttime.


    And instead of distant stars, thousands of large constellation bodies could be seen. They seemed so close that, if one reached out, one could actually touch them.


    On this particular planet where the beep was shooting towards, the lands were rich with stunning amounts of Aeterna permeating just about everywhere.


    But not a single sign of life could be seen. Not a single bird, not a single animal, nor a blade of grass. The barren mountains stood tall, harsh winds kicking up dust wherever they blew. In the center of each massive continents, a huge tree grew, its bony, leaf-less branches shaking gently at the heavens, sending out waves of endless Aeterna as they danced.


    The beep finally arrived at a grand golden temple that stood majestically over a huge plateau spanning hundreds of kilometers. The tree spewing out Aeterna stood only a few hundred kilometers away.


    On the temple''s uppermost floor, a gigantic feng shui board, bigger than a small mountain, was suspended in the air, slowly rotating in the clockwise direction.


    There were numerous empty pockets visible on the board, and within each of the pockets, an old man or woman wearing strange robes sat still, meditating silently. An incredible aura of ancient wisdom emanated from each and every one of them.


    The beep came to a stop in front of one such man, and formed into a thin, visible white strand.


    This old man''s closed eyes shot open suddenly, and he snatched the strand off the air, his deep violet colored eyes glittering with a profound energy as he examined it.


    ¡°So.... that''s where you were.¡±


    He flashed a soft, mysterious grin, before resuming his meditation. However, his hands slowly began to form strange hand signs.


    Every time he completed a sign, Aeterna converged and dispersed in a strange fashion around him. A shape could be seen right in front of him, then it dissipated. Another form coalesced, then went away again. Whenever the ancient man performed a hand sign, a shape nearly materialized before dissipating like a fading smoke.


    Finally, a solid, dark gray form that was no bigger than the man''s palm appeared when the thousandth hand sign was performed. Even though it was ostensibly solid, its shape was not set, constantly changing from one to another in a span of seconds. At first, it was a crow, then a snake. Then, a lion. Followed by a bear. Then it was a spider, a deer, a stallion.


    The ancient man spoke, without opening his eyes.


    ¡°Go. Find me the boy. He''s in the Fourth Realm.¡±


    Shockingly, a violet eye suddenly opened up in the center of this ever-changing mass. It blinked once, before it shot out at the speed too fast to see, leaving behind the grand golden temple.


    The ancient man breathed in softly, and murmured nostalgically.


    "Perhaps, I may get to see you soon...."


    {The promised announcement: Hi folks, thanks for reading my amateurish ramblings. I get this rush of adrenaline whenever I check the number of people who had bravely clicked on my writing. Thank you.


    Now, with this chapter posted here on RRL, I''ve pretty much caught up with other two sites I''ve been uploading my story on. From today onward, the release schedule will become a bit more erratic.


    I''ve been releasing a half of a chapter on every Wednesdays and Saturdays for the past few months. With the holiday period, though, I''m aiming to shorten the intervals somewhat - around 2.5~3 days between each full chapters. It''s just a goal, and not sure if it''s 100% achievable yet, but I''ll do my best to stick to it.


    Again, thanks for reading my story. If you could, could you terribly mind in spreading the word around? I really, really, really would love tens of thousands more readers - now that would send me half way to the moon in ecstasy... lol.}

 Chapter 24

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">24</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    An annoyingly intense sunlight tickled Kain''s closed eyelids, until he had no choice but to open them.


    Dazed, he slowly sat up from where he lay, only to see crumbling walls, pockmarked with holes and vines coiling around surrounding him on all sides.


    Even more dazed, he looked down on himself, and saw that he was covered in animal fur as a sheet, lying on a simple bed made out of a hardened mud.


    His confusion grew, unable to recall how he''d got here.


    Uhm, where am I? Is this....uh, back in Riverfield? No, it can''t be, can it?


    When he swung his feet over the bed, he noticed his tatty, torn clothes were no longer on his body, instead replaced by altogether less tatty and torn ones.


    ¡°Huh. Imagine that.¡±


    There was an unfamiliar pair of shoes neatly gathered by the bed, waiting for him to slip his feet inside.


    Now he felt even more confused, and somewhat disturbed.


    Now wait a dang second here. I blacked out while being hammered by the Golems. I remember that. But how did I end up in here in this new clothes? No, no, no, WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!! Someone actually.... stripped me while I was out cold!! Eeeee???


    He hurriedly began checking his body parts. Lifting the loose fitting tunic up to check his torso, to see if there were any foreign incision marks around where his vital organs might be. No surgery marks, so that was good.


    Next, he checked his.... rear end. Seemed fine, no strange pain and stuff. One could never be careful in this world full of perverts and miscreants.


    After checking out his body thoroughly, Kain breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing wrong with him. He was so healthy, in fact, not a single mark or scars were visible on him. All those little nicks, bruises, and scratches were miraculously healed, not even leaving behind a trace.


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Kain scratched the back of his head, his confusion now firmly transformed into a speeding bullet train, barreling down the Lost Highway going around in circles.


    ¡°What the heck is going on here....¡±


    He cautiously slipped his feet inside the shoes. It was one size too big, but felt rather nice, warm and snug and all that.


    Next thing he did, was to approach one of the walls and try to gaze outside through a hole on it. His suspicions were confirmed when he did so: he was indeed inside the ancient dead city.


    Well, it wasn''t completely dead, as a flock of birds flew past not too far away from the room he was in. Judging from the angle, as he could easily see the roof tops of other smaller buildings down below, he figured he was at least on the sixth floor, or higher up. As for how deep he was in....


    Well, should I try to go outside and find out?


    He looked around, and to his left there was an ill-fitting wooden door, slightly ajar at the hinges and seemingly only a push away from falling down completely. It was so dilapidated that, Kain couldn''t even guess just how old it was.


    The corridor beyond the door was dimly lit, although there were holes and cracks that let sunlight in. Other than various vines here and there, he felt not a single sign of life, after he swept around with his Aeterna sense. Whether that was a good sign or not remained to be seen, obviously.


    So, uh.... go up or go down?


    After deliberating for a short while, he decided to go up. If he was in a tall structure, it''d be easier to get the lay of the land. Provided, of course, he could go up to the roof in the first place.


    Before that, though he didn''t know which way to go.


    Argh. Whatever, man. Let''s just start walking, see where that gets me.


    He went left first. It didn''t take long for him to run into a dead end. But it wasn''t a total waste of time as it turned out. He found another room on the corridor, that seemed to have seen some use not too long ago. A sign that maybe someone alive and possessing of some intelligence lived here.


    After retracing his steps, he eventually arrived a spiral staircase made of what looked like limestone. Signs of years of neglect and decay were clearly visible, what with broken steps, missing hand rails and piled up debris all accompanying the echoing sound of creaks and moans.


    One look, and he no longer felt like stepping on it. But since he had no choice, he steeled his nervous heart and climbed up.


    At the top of the stairs, he encountered a locked wooden hatch. The lock itself was rotted beyond recognition so it presented no problem, but the hatch itself was rather hefty.


    Kain nearly slipped a disc as he managed to pry open the heavy hatch and gained access to the roof. The fresh air and the warm sunlight brushing his face felt like a tonic for the frayed soul of his.


    Breathing in the air deeply, he trotted over to the edge and took a good look around. The roof was flat in design, with no guard rails to speak of, allowing a shorty like him to take a gander without clambering up dangerously over potentially worn down railings.


    Every single buildings he could see showed signs of disuse. Walls had crumbled, vines sprouted out of every pore. Roofs have caved in. The streets rutted and broken.


    The city seemed to go on forever. The building he was in was the tallest in the vicinity, and he saw the ramparts in the distance, with the forest beyond that in a blur.


    ¡°Wow, so far away.¡±


    Kain muttered, feeling somewhat shocked.


    He went to the other side of the building to take a look at the rest of the city, towards the direction of the spindly mountain, and saw that he wasn''t too far from the center, where the base of the peak lay.


    There, he saw a massive, massive fort built into the surface of the mountain.


    ¡°HUGE!!¡± Kain exclaimed after rubbing his eyes repeatedly.


    If this world had no magic ¨C Invocation ¨C then he''d have to believe he was seeing things. But since that wasn''t the case, building such an impressive structure didn''t seem impossible.


    The ramparts were taller than the outer walls of the city, and he could see nine spires set a fixed interval connected to a central tower-like structure. Numerous other, smaller buildings filled the gap in between the spires.


    Despite the decay and destruction, overall the fort looked remarkably well kept. Sure, those vines were visible everywhere, even on the surfaces of the fort, but compared to the rest of the city? It was like comparing heaven and earth. No comparison there.


    ¡°If this city was still.... alive, then that must have been where the lord lived.¡±


    He shivered as the aura of the place swept across him. Even though the whole architecture was very impressive, imposing and fantastic, at the end of the day it felt dispassionate and cold, as if the person who designed it wanted to impart the message where no one was supposed to enter.


    Well, it wasn''t like Kain was thinking of entering anyway.


    ¡°Okay, now that I see what''s what, how do I get outta here?¡±


    From where he stood, he couldn''t really see an exit of the city. There was a flowing river cutting through the Eastern section, and that could potentially lead him out. It looked deep, though, and he felt reluctant to jump into a body of water that was an unknown quantity at this point in time. Who knows what kind of Fiend was lurking in the depth?


    ¡°This can''t be that difficult. This is ¨C was ¨C a city, so there must be gates on the four cardinal directions, just like how it is with Lafayette. I mean, gotta be, right?¡±


    He decided to find the biggest street, and follow that outward. He figured that method would get him near the exit.


    But before that, he had to determine whether there were any Fiends within the city limits. He really didn''t feel like running into one at the moment.


    He spent a good few minutes checking out every nook and cranny, stretching his Aeterna sense as far as possible. Instead of spreading it around like a radar, he could narrow it which increased the sensing distance by a great deal. Both had their pros and cons, but since he was so high up, might as well choose the option to look far, or so he reasoned.


    Around the half hour mark, he decided the coast was clear.


    ¡°Whew, hopefully I''m not making a mistake here, trying to leave this city....¡±


    He was right to feel nervous about leaving the city, which seemed safe enough to him. The troubling thing was, he was smack dab in the middle of this unimaginably huge forest. If he ever wanted to escape, then staying so deep didn''t seem like a smartest decision in the world.


    Also, there was this air of uncertainty hanging around the city itself. Kain couldn''t really put his finger on why was that, but something definitely felt very off about this place. Even though it was a sure thing that the city was dead, it felt like someone was watching him. It was a very disconcerting feeling indeed.


    He wasn''t an idiot, of course. How could he forget that voice, booming out from somewhere in this city that disintegrated those sturdy Golems like they were nothing?


    Or, where was the phoenix? It brought him here in a hurry when that gigantic, blood-red Fiend came after them. Now, where was it hiding?


    At the moment, he didn''t even want to know. The further away he was from the bird, the better he''d feel. He didn''t even care for the fact that he wasn''t hungry either, nor why he wasn''t in the first place.


    ¡°Okay, let''s go.¡±


    He turned back to the hatch, but the moment he tried to lift it open, a new problem rose: it was too heavy for him.


    Veins on his forehead began to bulge as he gave the almighty heave, trying to lift the heavy and obviously stuck hatch. But it wouldn''t budge, no matter how hard he grunted and gritted his teeth.


    This infuriated him to no end. After stomping on the hatch for a few minutes relieving his anger, Kain fired a Wind Blade, hoping to slice apart the stupid wooden blockage.


    He got a small chip. Not very encouraging, but it was something. The sun was blaring down hard on him now, and Kain just knew he had to get under a shade before he withered up like a mummy. So, more Wind Blade it was.


    ¡°Break.... Open.... You.... dumb piece of....!!¡±


    Kain swore as he fired off one Wind Blade after another. One small shave after another, the wooden hatch slowly fell apart and his much deserved escape from this unjust entrapment was getting nigh.


    Emboldened by his rapid progress, Kain poured more Aeterna in the spell, and fired the most potent version of Wind Blade he had ever fired so far. It took a fair chunk off his Aeterna Pool, but he felt that it was worth the gamble.


    An extremely sharp Blade formed from his efforts and shot forward, slicing through the hatch as if it was a sponge cake. The cut wooden panel fell down, exposing the way down.


    But Kain had no time to celebrate just yet.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    For the second time in his new life, he emitted a sound of confusion, when the roof began to rumble, literally.


    His super-fine Blade cut past the hatch, and also ended up slicing a particularly thick vine that snaked around the staircase. When that bit was cut open, suddenly the support pillars that held the building together became weak.


    The end result was that the whole building buckled on its own weight.


    ¡°No way....?!¡±


    Kain muttered dazedly as the roof began to crack apart, brick by brick. In a blink of an eye, the building broke apart in a spectacular fashion, with the boy still on the roof.


    He spat out several expletive-laden screams as he plunged below.


    Oh crap, am I gonna die like this? After all that I''ve went through?


    It''s said that in the moments right before death, time would slow down. It certainly happened for him, allowing Kain to see smallest, most minute details of every falling pieces of debris surrounding his body.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    It was surreal. And also weirdly enough, serene.


    Morose images of his dying figure stirred up in his imagination. Now that was quite unpleasant, imagining himself buried and crushed under the piles upon piles of ancient rubble, with no one to dig him out.


    It sure as hell felt unfair, and he seriously wanted to complain to someone, anyone. Didn''t matter who, as long as he or she had ears to listen with.


    But it turned out, his intuition regarding him being watched by some shadowy figure proved to be correct.


    As Kain fell, a human-shaped shadow materialized on the roof top of a nearby building.


    The figure nimbly jumped across the chasm, rapidly closing on the boy by lightly stepping on the falling debris like they were convenient footholds placed just for the occasion.


    While approaching him, the figure shot an arrow toward another building''s roof, the end of which was tied to a sturdy, dark-colored rope.


    The rope in turn was tied around the figure''s waist, acting something like a bungee cord.


    Before Kain could fully realize what was happening, the figure snatched him off mid-air like a certain well known red-and-blue spandex wearing web-slinger, and by utilizing the momentum from the shot rope, dragged both the boy and herself across the gap.


    By the time Kain snapped out of his daze, he was standing on the rooftop of another building, relatively unhurt from the ordeal.


    Blinking his eyes like a goldfish, he turned around to see his rescuer, and felt his heartbeat increase by a ten fold.


    Before him stood a tall and elegant figure, the pony-tailed verdant green hair slowly fluttering from the wind. She flicked dust off her shoulders, and gave him a cool gaze, before asking him in English.


    ¡°Whew, you sure do know how to party big time, dontcha? And wowsers, you also know a lot of naughty words too. I gotta do something about that, since you''re still a little kid. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Something''s on my face? Oh wait a moment, you haven''t seen a long-eared kin before, have you?¡±


    Kain gulped as he focused on those pointy ears, barely hearing the non-stop assault of words directed at him..


    Because she was an Elf.


    ~


    As the pair made their way toward the grand fort in the center of the city, Kain found out that all his preconceived notions regarding Elves were smashed to bits. For one, he always thought they were aloof, dour and maybe even a little cold. Not her, though. She was a literal chatterbox.


    ¡°This one has inherited the family title of Schwinn Fransis. Hailing from the Great Forest of Boscage, the first name is Embouchre. My whole clan hailed from the Great Forest. It''s called a Grand Forest because it''s so big. Bigger than the Tetamus, by many measures. You should come and see it some time. You''ll be left completely flabbergasted!! Oh and the food there is truly divine as well. There are two hundred different tribes dwelling in the Forest, and all of them have different recipes on how to boil a potato!! And they all taste subtly different!! Oh, and then carrots!! Those too!! There was this one time, where Cousin Maratoma did something really funny with a carrot!! You want to know what she did? And, and... oh and....¡±


    Kain developed a pretty hardcore migraine when subjected to this non-stop barrage of yammering. It was a small wonder how she was able to keep it all in, while she observed his behavior from the shadows. The uncomfortable feeling he had back then was because her, apparently.


    Disregarding the million and one things she told him just now, Kain asked. ¡°Uhm, so, uh. How should I address you?¡±


    ¡°Embouchre is fine, young one. That''s this one''s given name, after all. Although I''d understand if it''s a smite too long. But I had no trouble from my fellow brethrens. So, yes, you can...¡±


    ¡°Riiiight, okay. Understood. How about Emma? It''s shorter.¡±


    Embouchre Schwinn Fransis of Boscage shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Mmm. I like it. But it really matters not, the young master can call me this or that, as long as there''s some semblance of Embouchre in there somewhere. I''ll be content.¡±


    As she continued talking, going off on her own pace, Kain let her words flow into one ear and slide smoothly out the other one, barely registering the words she spoke.


    Meanwhile, he took this opportunity to study her better. She was definitely an Elf, what with her long, pointy ears, tall, slender but stunning frame, and a peerless face of beauty. Her eyes, especially; they were of striking amber hue contrasting with her equally striking green hair.


    There was a shocking amount of Aeterna oozing from her, unfettered by the leather-and-metal body armor protecting her vital parts. On her back, a quiver full of arrows and a large greatbow slung around. A length of rope wound around her waist. And a curved scimitar tied to her left hip. A half dozen throwing knives slotted around the various parts on her armor completed the look of a warrior.


    One bit of decoration that looked out of place was her necklace. It contained a dull ruby-like gemstone, emitting a very weak Aeterna signature of indeterminable Affinity. It was fashioned like a common trinket that could be picked up anywhere, but the way she treasured it, it clearly held a lot of value for her personally.


    And there was something else about her; some sort of.... unseen energy that was similar to Aeterna, but at the same time, not really, pulsing and coursing about her. It was a bizarre sight for sure, but didn''t seem hostile, so Kain wasn''t too alarmed by it. Still, something to take note of.


    But there was this one question he asked earlier on that remained unanswered. When her presence was finally revealed, Kain asked her who she was ¨C answered ¨C why she protected him ¨C also answered, in a roundabout way ¨C and how come she spoke English, to which she replied, ¡°Why.? Is it so strange? All the other long eared tribes speak the same tongue. You call it English? That''s funny. We call it Elvish. So another tribe called Engs also use our tongue? Now that''s something new!¡±


    The final question, the most important one out of the lot, didn''t get the answer. You know, the one concerning about who it actually wanted him in here, inside this dead city, and had him placed under a careful observation.


    Rather than giving out an explanation she said, ¡°Just follow me to the Tetamus Fort. You''ll see when you get there. I promise.¡±


    So, against his better judgment, he was walking to the ginormous fort in the center of the city, guided by the ever-chattering Emma.


    That voice, though. Kain mused quietly as he followed her. That belonged to a guy. An old guy, no less. So it was definitely not Emma who, uh, shouted out back then. That means there''s another person here in the city. Is that who I''m going to meet?


    They walked on the snaking streets, weaving past the crumbing ruins that once formed a part of a thriving city, now nothing but a haunt of fading memories.


    Oddly though, Kain didn''t spot a single dead body. Not a single bone, nor anything remotely resembling a dead thing. Occasionally, he saw small, furry creatures scurry about here and there but other than that, there weren''t any signs of life at all, currently or in the past.


    They must''ve walked for an hour or so. Kain got this impression that were it not for him and his slow walking speed, Emma could''ve arrived at the destination in a few minutes. She didn''t seem to mind it though, as the stream of words leaving her lips continued to flow like a raging river he crawled out from not too long ago.


    She even complimented that he was good listener. To that undeserved compliment, he could only offer a cramped smile.


    Soon though, the time for talks came to an end, as the pair arrived at the only entrance to the fort. The once imposing archway had partially collapsed on its own weight, scattering pale white stones all around and creating sort of a field that might suit a paintball gun match.


    ¡°In through here, off you go,¡± said Emma, as she ushered Kain in.


    ¡°Wait a sec, you are not going in?¡±


    ¡°No no no. This fort''s a sacred place. I can''t enter. That''s sacrilege, you know!!¡±


    ¡°What is? You entering here?¡±


    She nodded vigorously. ¡°Yeah. I can''t enter no matter what. Why do you think my room was on the building you demolished, instead of here in the fort which is in a much better shape? Hmm? That''s because it''s a sacred place, that''s why!!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. I got it.¡±


    Kain stopped her from continuing, and hurriedly entered the fort. She seemed to pout a little, before vanishing into a nearby shadow like a ninja. Kain still felt her gaze on his back, though, so she was still carrying out her duty to keep tabs on him. How industrious, he mused.


    Now then, shall I? Do I even have a choice?


    Kain sighed, and slowly made his way forward.


    The fort''s wall was incredibly thick, even compared to that of Lafayette''s. Kain thought it was at least 1.5 times thicker. Even modern weapons like a ballistic missile would have trouble knocking this sucker down.


    Past the walls, the bailey ¨C or was that a ward, Kain couldn''t recall ¨C stretched out far. Weeds and the vines broke the monotony of the perfectly aligned tiles, a sign of color on otherwise white and barren land.


    He saw signs of other structures, but they were nothing more than foundations, with wooden bits above all having decayed away thanks to the ravages of time and the Mother Nature.


    There was more than three hundred meters between him and the entrance of the fort proper. As he got closer, he couldn''t help but notice that vines seemed to come out from the fort, although none were around the path he was walking on. Now that felt a bit unsettling.


    Closer he got, more awestruck he got. The scale of the fort built into the cliff face of the Tetamus mountain, the spindly peak, was something else. Although different, he was reminded of the ancient lost city of Petra when he studied the face of the fort.


    Vines came out of cracks and holes, giving off a sad aura of loneliness, unlike when he was looking at it from afar. Suddenly, even Kain felt melancholic just by staying still and leaving his gazes on it. If he lingered any longer, he felt he might burst into tears for no reason whatsoever.


    Maybe that malarkey about sacred place and whatnot might be true, Kain sighed weakly, and made his way towards the entrance.


    There were no doors blocking his ingress. Only the hints of metal hinges bigger than him hanging loose on the door frame acted as the surviving proof that there once was a pair of grand doors welcoming, or blocking, all visitors.


    ¡°Uh... Hello? Anybody home?¡±


    His nervous voice echoed against the massive but empty hallway.


    Kain looked around, and was puzzled to see the level of cleanness displayed. The floors, the walls, even the partially collapsed grand staircase, all shone majestically as if they were polished only an hour ago.


    Funnily though, he couldn''t see not a single furniture, nor any decorative things anywhere. No paintings, no sculptures, no obligatory standing plate armors that seemed to populate every haunted castles ever ¨C not one of them could be seen, at least in this hallway.


    There was one bit of decoration, if you could call it that, a huge carving of a blooming tree on the biggest wall on the middle of the staircase that was wide enough to allow an army to march up no problem.


    The carving itself was very, very intricate. Kain even thought that the tree was alive and actually swaying gently with the imaginary breeze. Such impressions only reinforced the overall aura of spookiness, though.


    So, which way?


    Kain pondered, as he weighed his options. There were passages on either side of him, both of them only sporadically lit and dozens upon dozens of vines curling in and out.


    Up on the second floor, there were more passageways, accessible by climbing up on the grand staircase.


    Hmm. This place is huge. I really don''t want to get lost in here. Right, last time I went to my left, and that didn''t go well, so this time.... to my right.


    After deciding, he carefully tread over the vines and headed slowly into the passage.


    Even here, it was rather clean and well kept considering the ancientness of the fort, with the exception of those vines of course. He found several rooms on the way but they were, as expected, devoid of furniture.


    What''s more eerie, was the fact that Kain didn''t run into a single dead body, just like how it was in the city.


    It just didn''t make any sense, not to encounter anything remotely resembling the dead. Surely, a city this big must''ve had population of hundreds of thousands, if not more. Yet, there were no signs of that.


    His imaginations ran wild, all of them without any basis whatsoever, yet there they were, busy frazzling his already nervous mind. In one of the more colorful versions, he wondered if there were some sort of Fiends that swallowed whole the citizens, not leaving a single trace. And now, those Fiends were asleep, deep inside the earth.


    In another one, they all migrated out of this place. That was a more pleasant version out of all.


    Maybe I should''ve asked Emma....


    Kain regretfully thought back to the time when they were walking toward the fort. Maybe she did say something about the city and its apparent lack of people. He wouldn''t know, since he was far too busy not listening to her. Oh well.


    Another thing that bothered him was the concentration of Aeterna. It was quite thick by the entrance, but as he got further away and deeper into the inner sanctums of the fort, it only got thicker and heavier.


    Such concentration even exceeded what he was subjected to while visiting the branch of SOIR back in Lafayette by perhaps a factor of ten or more.


    Regular people wouldn''t even come anywhere remotely close, otherwise they would just fall unconscious and even die.


    The passageway curved inwardly, making him think he was getting closer to the center of the mountain, or some such. The light got dimmer and dimmer, necessitating him to start a Firelight and maintain that as an improvised torch.


    Eventually, he had to stop when a pair of jet black doors made of unknown materials blocked the progress.


    Now, the passage he walked in was on the tall side, easily four meters high. The chamber he was in, though, this place was something else. On the opposite side he saw another passageway, leading him to believe that if he went that way, he''d no doubt arrive back at the main hallway again.


    The chamber was about the size of a gymnasium, with just as tall a ceiling. The black doors occupied almost the entirety of the wall to his right. If they weren''t ajar already, he''d have no hope in hell opening them.


    The question was, whether he wanted to open them or not in the first place. The answer he reached was refreshingly simple, which formed right after he took a gander at the carvings on the doors'' surfaces. Yep, he didn''t want to. Although a little curious about the doors and what was on them, he didn''t dare venture in any deeper. The fear of the unknown was stronger than the desire to satisfy his curiosity.


    It was difficult to make out what was depicted on the surface as a whole, but that didn''t mean there weren''t any snippets he could see.


    It looked like a some sort of battlefield where countless number of people lay wasting. People on horseback, people with swords and lances, headless corpses, hills of the dead, spears and other polearms sticking out of the mounds, cackling skeletons madly hacking away, flying Fiends swooping down on the people below.


    Thousands and thousands of soldiers clashing in waves upon waves.


    ¡°Damn. That''s crazy.¡±


    Kain muttered. He didn''t dare touch the doors, since he felt quite a powerful Aeterna oozing off of them, but he continued to observe and study the carvings. He figured maybe with this he might get some clue as to why this city was so barren and lifeless, besides it being so old.


    He was totally absorbed in what he was doing and forgot about the time. Minute after minute ticked by while he stood around poring over the carvings, trying to see if there was anything. Sure, there were lots of things depicted on it, but whether they were of any value wasn''t clear.


    Before he knew it, he had inched closer to the open gap, and the deep, unsettling darkness beyond.


    ¡°Okay, maybe I should stop here and go back.¡±


    No matter how much he shined his Firelight inside, it didn''t seem to illuminate anything, making him think that the darkness was busy sucking in the light and obscuring his vision.


    It was feint, but he felt a sense of danger coming from the depth of this darkness, so he promptly decided not to go any further.


    As soon as he turned on heels though, a snort rang out from the darkness, followed by a vexed voice that sounded quite unhappy and impatient.


    ¡°Hey, you coward! Where the hell do you think you''re going?! Come here, right now!!¡±


    Before Kain could start running with all his might, the vines around his feet wrapped around his waist tightly, forcing almost all the air out of his lungs. That meant he couldn''t even scream, only whimper in shock, as he was lifted up in the air.


    Next thing he knew, the vines were violently yanking him into the darkness beyond the jet black doors.


    He didn''t even have time to grab hold onto things.

 Chapter 25

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">25</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (I literally finished this chapter a minute ago. Dudeeeee, my fingers are hurting so bad....)


    (Actually, the reason why I finished this chapter so late is because I wasted time watching X-Men Apocalypse on Bluray last night, the time reserved to write things. I shouldn''t have. That movie licks donkey''s ass!! )


    Is this it? Is this finally the end of the brief life of Kain Lucius Lomax ¨C me? Oh, man....


    Kain''s face flickered grimly as his body flew in the air, yanked by the damnable vines. The stupid things had wrapped him too tightly and didn''t even give him an inch of space. Actually, that was for the better: the path he was on snaked downwards in a huge spiral, occasionally scything past stunningly massive pillars that seemingly propped up the spindly Tetamus Mountain itself. If he wasn''t secured tightly in the grip, then he no doubt would have flailed about, which could have resulted in him slamming into those massive pillars. That wouldn''t be too pleasant for him to experience, obviously.


    He didn''t feel angry, though. No, he wasn''t completely not angry, but at least it was no more than a simmer, not a full-on, boil-your-noodles kind of anger. The grim expression was simply due to the cramping of his stomach muscles.


    The reason was pretty simple, really. After going through one tough situation after another, he came to realize the fact that.... no matter how much his spirits were willing, his flesh just couldn''t keep up. He wasn''t some sort of a superhero from a Saturday morning cartoon who could power up in the moments of deadly crisis, and then overcome the said crisis like a champ.


    Oh no, nothing convenient like that existed for him. So, there was no point in getting all hot and peeved, he mused.


    Instead, he''d save his energy and enjoy the scenery in the meantime. Just go with the flow, he told himself. Let the fate carry me, to wherever I''m supposed to go....


    Every once in a while, Kain went through an open doorway, each with a pair of imposing black stone doors similar to the one with the depiction of an ancient battlefield.


    He must have gone through a dozen of those doorways before emerging into a clearing. It was so bright in here, he momentarily thought he was outside again, only to confirm that he was still underground.


    There were countless Lazulites shining lights all over the tall ceiling. There weren''t just the blue ones either, as he could spot the whole rainbow spectrum of colors above, these disparate beams merging into a single, bright, sun-like glow that enveloped the clearing.


    The area turned out to be some sort of a secret garden/jungle combo, filled to the brim with exotic vegetation and flowers, littering the landscape with dazzling display of colors. Tall trees swayed against the invisible breezes, chirping of multiple insects buzzed in the air, and most of all, confusing mixture of scents wafted all around the garden.


    This scent quickly overwhelmed his senses, causing him to experience the gamut of physical and emotional reactions, as the vines continued to yank him through the parts of the garden.


    He felt blissful, even languid, then disgusted and irritated; he felt excited, then sad. He felt his appetite flaring, then felt like falling into a deep slumber. All these, coming from the potent cocktail of odors from the plant lifeforms below.


    By the time he was pulled into the darkened passage beyond the garden, he was able to shake himself loose from the stupor.


    What the hell was that? Hallucinogens? I think I saw weed back there. Holy cow, did I get just high?


    Chuckling wryly, he began studying the new surroundings as he sped by. It seemed to him that this passageway was noticeably different from the previous one.


    There were Lazulites here and there acting as lamps so he was able to see, and even he could tell this passage was not man-made. It resembled a cavern, more or less. Except, there were none of the stalactites and stalagmites to be found anywhere.


    In their place, thousands upon thousands of vines completely covering the floor, and boring holes into the walls and the ceilings, like veins of blood. If they pulsed like real veins, then he''d think the whole mountain was actually a thriving, living thing.


    Man, this place is weird. Besides, just how long do I have to go? I must have flown for.... hundreds of miles. Okay, maybe not true, but still. This whole vine pulling thing is getting really tiring by now.


    Kain inwardly sighed, hoping this infernal ride to the very depths of the earth would end soon. Ever since he had accepted his fate, he felt calm about his current predicament. However, with such calmness, inevitably, boredom followed suit.


    He was bored stiff with the scenery that changed little. If it weren''t for the sudden appearance of the secret garden, he''d have fallen asleep a long ago, figuratively speaking of course.


    The passage continued to spiral downwards, but gradually, the slope was leveling out. Even the passageway expanded to double the original size.


    Before he knew it, soft, pleasing scent gently filled the air. It was quite subtle, almost imperceptible even. Catching a whiff of it, Kain couldn''t help but experience a nostalgic feeling sweep over him like a gentlest stroke of a master painter''s brush. It was a warm and comfortable sensation.


    In the distance, he saw a light, much, much brighter than what the numerous Lazulites could serve up. It was like, as if he was leaving the cavern and emerging outside into the daylight.


    But that wasn''t possible, since he was clearly deep underground.


    Kain''s heart grew nervous once more, the nostalgic scent unable to do anything to calm it. The concentration of Aeterna had reached a ridiculous amount and he felt the immense pressure trying to squeeze him.


    Oh boy, something big''s at the end of this road, isn''t it?


    He thought he was at peace with whatever the fate had in store for him. But now, he was genuinely feeling apprehensive.


    It was his preternatural pseudo-ability to sense the troublesome flags kicking in. The thick foreboding sensation warned him that, the moment he reached his destination, which wasn''t too far now, he would find himself in a heap of totally unnecessary complications.


    Oh crap. What are the odds that I''ll be proved right?!


    If he didn''t know better, it''d be too damn high.


    Soon, he was enveloped in that blinding brightness as the vines successfully pulled him into an area that defied all common sense.


    When his eyes adjusted to the light, he was left speechless at the sight waiting for him.


    He was now in a dome-like space that seemed to stretch for thousands of miles in every direction ¨C left, right, front, back, the ceiling, wherever.


    Speaking of the ceiling, Lazulites, numbers easily surpassing millions, shone brightly. But their impressive light show paled in comparison to that of the crazily overflowing Aeterna and what this mysterious substance was doing.


    The source of all that indescribable amount of Aeterna, as well as of the countless vines, was a humongous tree that sorta resembled a Baobab, standing tall and proud smack dab in the middle of the space. Its bark was smooth like flowing water, the color flickering between pale green and gray. It looked old and sacred. Touching it might constitute a grave offense to some long forgotten religion considering how holy it felt to him.


    Instinctively, without being told by anyone Kain knew exactly what this tree was supposed to be.


    The World Tree.


    The supposed source of all Aeterna flowing in the world.


    The vines rudely deposited him right in front of the trunk. He landed on his butt, and let out a painful groan as he rolled on the ground.


    Veins bulging, he shot up to let out some choice words, but he saw that the vines have retreated far from him. At this point, it seemed like a waste of energy just to speak ill of them.


    Sighing dejectedly, he turned to look at the tree behind him, shuddering at the nonsensical scale of the thing.


    Actually, everything he had experienced so far in this dead city, this forest, the mountain range itself, bothered on total lunacy. His modern day logic was having a hard time trying to support his slightly-overworked brain.


    Kain was better prepared than most folks in his readiness to accept the absurd occurrences happening in front of him, although barely. He was thoroughly trained in boundless imaginations of web novels and all those anime shows, so this much wasn''t.... uh, much.


    But even then.... he had his limits, and if he wasn''t careful, he might end up breaching it in not too distant future.


    The World Tree in front of him emitted the kind of ancientness that easily surpassed all the others he had felt before in the dead city up above. If the city existed for ten thousand years, then this tree, probably for billions of years. The trunk was so wide, from where he stood, he couldn''t even see the edges, never mind trying to walk around it to satisfy his curiosity.


    As for the branches, there were so many of them he couldn''t count at all. But weirdly, there weren''t many leaves, making the tree look a bit barren and lifeless.


    The thick roots extended outwards to all directions. The vines seemed to sprout from them, like tiny root hairs. Except in this case, they weren''t tiny at all. Or, in relation to the roots themselves, maybe they should be considered tiny.


    The root Kain was standing on was thick enough to park an ocean liner on top with room to spare. And there were hundreds of similar roots, none of them smaller and some of them even thicker and bigger. What a truly absurd scale, especially considering that everything was still underground.


    All around him, streams of Aeterna oozed out from the tree''s surface like mist. There were so much here, now they no longer looked like thin fog but actual, flowing river. As a matter of fact, because of this stunningly high concentration, the normally-formless substance often swirled into various illusory shapes depicting countless lifeforms ¨C fireflies, birds, lizards, monkeys, what have you, right in front of him, glowing in beautiful and dazzling light shows. All these shapes were no bigger than his palm but, they were still beautiful to look at.


    Suddenly, a ferocious, palm-sized Aeterna tiger formed a few inches away from him. Its body flickering in a rainbow of colors, it roared soundlessly. When it did, Kain''s body shook from the resonance.


    He panted, his mind reeling. His somewhat unstable Aeterna Pool seemed to stabilize, then expand like crazy. Then without warning, it condensed into one fifth of its original depth, causing a massive, back breaking pain to whip him mercilessly.


    He fell on his knees, desperately enduring the pain. It took only a few breath of time for the excruciating pain to leave him, but it sure as heck felt like an eternity to him.


    Other illusory shapes materialized and roared soundlessly, but they didn''t cause as violent a reaction as before, and gradually, all the pain went away.


    His eyes bloodshot, Kain gingerly rolled on his back, gasping for breath.


    ¡°What the heck was that all about?!¡±


    He shivered like a wet dog, before crawling into a fetal position.


    As he continued to tremble, he heard an unhappy grunt not too far from where he was.


    Alarmed, he quickly shot up, and searched for the source of the noise, only to have his common sense nearly reach that breaking point.


    Before him, an old man stood. Wearing a white robe, his hair also white, his flowing beard white too ¨C almost everything about him was white, except his race.


    ¡°Uh.... Gandalf?¡±


    Kain muttered dazedly. Even though he already called out the very first name he thought of, after taking another look it''d be more correct to call this old man Master Pai Mei from that infamous movie about killing some man named Bill.


    The Old Man raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly showing how annoyed he was.


    ¡°Who the frack is Gandalf? Anyways, you kept me waiting, kiddo. About damn time you showed up.¡±


    Even the nostalgic scent couldn''t dispel the confusion in Kain''s heart, as he heard the Old Man speak in English. Because of his shaken mind, he nearly blurted out in English too, but he caught himself right before the blunder.


    He quickly replied in Argos''s standard dialect instead.


    ¡°Uhm, who are you? Where am I?¡±


    The Old Man gave him a bemused glance, then shook his head. ¡°Look kid, I know you''re not from this world. So, give up the acting, alright? Let''s not waste time here.¡±


    Kain persisted with the feint, because the longer he stood before this Old Man, the stronger that foreboding feeling grew. He knew he had to somehow weasel himself out of this place, or else something very troublesome might happen to him. He was so, so very sure of this now.


    The aura coming from the Old Man was neither threatening nor friendly, but still there was something rather overbearing in it. Kain didn''t want to get involved here if he could help it. Especially if he asked the boy to do something totally impossible. Like, go fight me a dragon, or some such.


    ¡°I''m sorry but, I don''t understand?¡±


    Kain tried his best innocent look, with the puppy dog eyes and all. This always worked on his mother and sister, not to mention his father so he was at least 60% sure of it working against the Old Man too.


    With a snort, the Old Man gave him a fat smack in the back of his head. Kain''s brain rang loudly, and his vision swam for a brief moment.


    When he came to, a vicious amount of pain assaulted him, so he squatted down and hurriedly rubbed his head.


    ¡°Ouch!! Hey, what''s the big idea?!¡±


    Kain angrily shouted in English at the Old Man who simply returned a cold snort, then pointed at him. ¡°Oh, now you feel like speaking properly, eh? I told you not to waste time. You got what you deserved, kiddo. Listen to your elders when they speak to you.¡±


    ¡°Okay fine. What do you want from me?¡±


    Kain grumbled as he stood up. He cautiously gazed around, searching for an exit. If there was an opening, he''d make a break for it.


    The Old Man''s eyes flickered, before he chuckled wryly.


    ¡°Oh my rotten luck. I knew you were a self-absorbed coward but to be this discourteous to your benefactor? Looks like I''ll need to discipline you properly from now on. Kids nowadays.¡±


    Hearing this, fear sprang up in his heart. ¡°Wait a second. You still haven''t told me what''s going on. Will you just tell me what the heck is happening here? Who the heck are you?!¡±


    Kain slowly backed up until he tripped on a rough bit of a root. He regained his balance before falling butt first, which was a first. This little break helped him regain his composure a bit, however. That''s also when he noticed a little ball of flames lazily gliding in an arc from the exit.


    Kain realized that it was the phoenix.


    The fiery bird gracefully danced in the air before settling on the Old Man''s shoulder, and softly cooed like a bloody pigeon, its face full of affection towards the person lending his shoulder out. Suffice to say, Kain''s jaw hit the floor.


    ¡°Hmm, on top of being rude, he''s unexpectedly slow, isn''t he, Orion?¡±


    The Old Man gently rubbed the head of the phoenix like it was his pet. What''s more, it looked happy to be stroked, which was in complete opposite to when Kain tried to touch it.


    ¡°Orion?¡±


    The boy blurted out. It wasn''t what he wanted to say at that moment, but somehow it came out first.


    ¡°Yep. She''s called Orion. A Fire type Roc hatchling,¡± replied the Old Man. ¡°I hear you''ve been trying to give her funny names.¡±


    ¡°I don''t think Firebird is a funny name, though... No wait, that''s not really important is it? Please just tell me what''s going on here... uh, sir. And.... you called me slow just now, didn''t you?!¡±


    ¡°Tsk, this kid. Alright, here''s the deal. You are currently standing in my domain. This whole mountain range is my home. I''ve been watching you with great interest ever since you accidentally entered via the river.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The Old Man waved his hand dismissively.


    ¡°You''ve been watching me? If that is so, then.... why didn''t you help me when I nearly died? Why were you watching me? Are you.... *gasp* a perv....?¡±


    ¡°This little punk!? You looking to die?¡±


    The Old Man flared up menacingly. Kain backtracked quickly but oddly, he didn''t feel all that threatened. Sure, he was still scared of undue violence erupting from this mysterious Old Man, but he felt that his life wasn''t in danger. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be pressing the wrong buttons deliberately like this.


    For some reason, he just wanted to irritate this Old Man. It was like an itch that had to be scratched. There was something about this man, the way he carried himself, the first impression of him, that irked Kain so much.


    The Old Man, sure enough, stopped short of pummeling him. Taking a deep breath, he continued with the explanation.


    ¡°At first, I thought about leaving you to your fate. But then.... I found out that you are not from here, from Noa. So, I sent my Familiar, Orion, to look after you whilst I decided on what to do with you.¡±


    ¡°Wha... how did you figure that I''m not from around here? It''s not like you can tell apart, you know. Or you can read minds?¡±


    ¡°When you were building your first shelter, you cursed out a particular word that starts with an F and ends with a K. And no, it''s not ''funk''.¡± The Old Man chuckled as he stroked his beard leisurely. ¡°Imagine my shock at the scene ¨C a helpless, cute little boy blurting out like a sailor. Very amusing, it was.¡±


    Kain remembered that. He wasn''t the type of a guy who swore a lot back in his previous life and that personality carried over to this one as well. So it took extraordinary circumstances for him to utter one.


    To think, there was someone around to actually hear him say that. Felt like he got wronged here, somehow, just unsure why that was so.


    ¡°Judging by your appearance, you were born here still possessing all the memories of your past life. Am I right?¡±


    Kain took a deep breath. His whole body shuddered from the shock.


    ¡°Surprised? Don''t be. You aren''t the only one who were brought to this world, The Fourth Realm, against their will.¡±


    ¡°Fourth Realm?¡± Kain mouthed the unfamiliar term slowly, until he vaguely remembered something about the Ten Realms and the World Tree. But more urgently though, ¡°Wait, if there are, were, others like me out there, then.... is there a possibility for me to return?¡±


    ¡°Well, I wouldn''t say it''s impossible but it is, for you as you are. But besides that. Let''s not beat around the bush, eh? You piqued my interest. You have a certain knack for survival, and is blessed with a decent amount of luck. Heh, and perhaps most importantly, you''re young. A good combination of qualities, for what I have in mind for you.¡±


    A deeply sinister light began to shine from the Old Man''s sneering eyes. The alarming chill Kain felt in that moment was indescribable. Instinctively, he began running, as fast as he could.


    A cold laughter rang out like a bell, booming around the huge underground chamber and causing numbness to Kain''s sense of hearing.


    ¡°You are not going anywhere, now that I decided to take you.¡±


    Like hell I''d let you!!


    Kain gritted his teeth and cast a Body Enhancement Invocation down on his legs, instantly increasing his speed.


    ¡°I''m going to train you, I''m going to reform your fragile, weak-ass body into something much, much more suitable for the tasks that await you in the future.¡±


    The Old Man continued to laugh as he talked. Bizarrely, no matter how fast or far Kain ran the voice seemed to come from mere inches away, right behind his ears. That was seriously terrifying.


    ¡°I''m going to teach you.... kung fu!!¡±


    They were simple words on the surface, but carried unseen power which struck him like a category 5 hurricane. Kain reeled in shock, dazed from the sheer force of will transmitted in those seven words. Before he knew it, vines swept him up again, and he was brought to face the Old Man once more. Seeing that hateful, leering mug, suddenly Kain developed this incredible urge to knock that stupid, content smile off of his face at any cost.


    Obviously, that would be very far in the future. Make that very, very far indeed.


    ~


    As the dawn broke, Derrick''s sleeping figure stirred quietly.


    It only took a millisecond before clarity returned to his eyes. As he sat up, he took a long look around the empty bedroom.


    Realizing that he was alone in the entire house, he let out a lonely sigh, before pulling himself up.


    With Damien and Lizbeth leaving only yesterday, taking the kids with them the house was eerily silent, devoid of life. Actually that was not completely true ¨C there were odd creaks and groans coming from the aged wooden floors and the roof. But other than that....


    Rosy had to accompany them too. Delilah commuted from her own home. Derrick was indeed all alone.


    Shoving the doubt rising in his heart, he dressed and went downstairs. The sun was about to break past the horizon. The early morning air was refreshingly crisp, none of the daytime''s stifling heat remaining in it. A good time to get some daily exercise done.


    After sweating, his mind was clearer. Much helpful, as the day beckoned. Today, was the beginning of the work as a proxy for a lord.


    He failed to become one, yet here he was, still able to act out as one. He wondered briefly if that qualified as ironic development or not.


    He took a long cold shower to wipe away the built up sweat. Since there weren''t the modern type of shower, he simply filled a bucket with fresh water from the house''s well, and poured it over his head. Normally a noble of a fine birth would never dream of doing such a crude thing, but now that he''d been doing it for the last two and a half years, he got used to it.


    ¡°How rustic,¡± Derrick commented softly, as he ruminated on his own cultural retardation. Or maybe it was a liberation. He couldn''t tell just yet. But one thing was for sure, if his peers back in Argos saw him like this, they might scoff and throw ceaseless ridicule at him.


    He looked down at the towel in his hands, wet from the water on his body. It was cheap and crudely made. A kind of cloth that not even a middle class commoner would use back in Argos.


    And now, he was using it, out of necessity.


    ¡°Maybe I should.... sell one or two of the items in my possession.¡±


    Derrick murmured, gripping the rough and unsophisticated fabric hard.


    When Damien was around, he didn''t dare to show off things he brought with him. Not because he was afraid of getting ripped off, no, but out of consideration for his cousin.


    Damien worked his ass off just make the ends meet, even though ostensibly he carried the title of the lord. He barely collected tax from his subjects, only just enough to keep his family going, and instead choosing to encourage the farmers under his care to cultivate the land more. He earned a lot of praise because of that, but that meant he never really had much wiggle room for himself when a time of need rose.


    Still, the man never complained ¨C much ¨C about it. Rather, he didn''t even really treat as a problem. His main focus laid with his family''s upbringing, and that of taking care of his people. That was it. Nothing complicated nor sinister.


    Derrick couldn''t just wave around his wealth in front of such a man. That would be unwise, and could also be the one of the fastest ways to buy irreconcilable enmity. He didn''t need that, nor did he want it.


    Entering the kitchen, he saw the breakfast readied for him by Delilah the night before. She hadn''t come in yet.


    Sitting alone in the dining room, he slowly chewed the bread. It was tasty, even if it was not freshly baked. The goat cheese was very good too. Sliced ham went well, accompanied with a mug of goat milk. He didn''t know how to warm it though, so he drank it cold. That was probably for the better. He recalled how much Kain enjoyed it however, and wondered slightly if it tasted nicer that way.


    He looked around blankly at all the empty spots around the dining table. Usually, there would be his family members chowing together. Katrina would yawn in an unladylike manner, earning a simple rebuke from Lizbeth; Kaleena would be busy trying to feed Kain her share of vegetables she hated eating.


    Damien would be frowning at some documents in his hand, not really noticing the food entering his mouth, until he ended up stabbing himself with a fork.


    Now, all gone.


    Derrick sighed, and not for the first time this morning, wondered whether he made a right decision to stay behind. Maybe he could have gone with his family. Surely, the village would survive without him acting as a proxy. There were elders who could take care of things just fine.


    Taking the last swig of the cold milk, he stood up and headed for the study, trying to dispel useless thoughts from his mind once more. The decision has been made already. It was too late to go back at this juncture. As the old proverb said, it was too late to un-spill the blood that''s already been spilled.


    He sat behind the old Oak desk, and began reorganizing the chaotic environment of the office. It was pretty hard to understand how Damien got any work done in such a messy place. Derrick liked things orderly and neat, so the very first thing he''d do as a proxy was to make everything all organized.


    He spent the next hour or so sorting out the mess. Before he knew it, Delilah came in and reported for her duty.


    She brought him much needed tea, which he appreciated.


    Time went by quickly, and it became afternoon. The office was more or less cleaned up, organized and orderly enough for him to easily find the documents or materials he needed.


    Delilah commented that it was truly nice to see the place so thoroughly tidied up, a small glint of tear visible in her eyes.


    That''s how the first day as an acting lord went. Pretty much eventless, as Damien predicted before leaving for Argos, and for his old hometown.


    But the next day came, and things changed.


    Derrick sat on the chair, pensively reading a report written by someone clearly not well acquainted with penmanship. Just gazing at the error-strewn document alone gave him a sense of hopelessness at the task before him, and a swelling respect for his cousin who endured nearly a decade of this sort of things.


    His outstretched senses picked up approaching presences in the distance. Wondering who could they be, Derrick stood up from the chair and headed for the window.


    His sharp eyes made out the silhouettes of three riders. It seemed like they were not in a hurry, their gallops relaxed and gentle, almost like as if they were on a stroll.


    Which was strange, seeing that not too many people living in this village would go on a stroll riding a horse. That would be seen as a waste of precious resources.


    ¡°Outsiders,¡± Derrick murmured. ¡°Most likely nobles.¡±


    Derrick wasn''t sure why, but he felt somewhat apprehensive about this unusual occurrence. Not once nobles came to Riverfield for a picnic nor a holiday while he stayed here. This village was for farming, not leisure. There were other areas around Lafayette that better facilitated such activities.


    Gradually, the riders'' profiles became clearer. As he suspected, two of them seemed like nobility, the way they held the reins. It was unmistakable. Even Derrick himself rode like that.


    The odd one out was the local village guardsman. Probably here to escort the nobles to the village lord''s residence.


    ¡°A courtesy call, maybe?¡±


    It wouldn''t be too surprising an etiquette to pay respect to the governing lord of the area.


    Both riders were males. Both carried an aura of knights. Both were formidable men, as far as Derrick could make out.


    Eventually, they were close enough for him to recognize at least one. The other rider, he wasn''t too sure.


    They too, seemed to have sensed Derrick''s eyes on them, as the person he recognized began waving his hand in a friendly manner.


    ¡°That''s.... Sir Alistair Patrona Warburton, from the Western Reaches. What is he doing here?¡±


    Derrick muttered under his breath. Alistair was a prominent member of the Western Reaches Knights Division, a prodigious band of warriors based out of Norwood province to the West. Well known for his fiery temper and a capable sword arm which he deftly advertised back a few years ago when he helped to quell a minor rebellion, he was not really known for traversing the countryside for a leisurely stroll. Derrick remembered seeing his face proudly beaming at the award ceremony held at the Imperial Palace.


    ¡°The person next to Alistair can''t be of a simple identity, then.¡±


    Derrick frowned. Why would two men like that come here, he mused.


    Soon enough, he got the chance to find out for himself as they sat in the office face to face.


    ¡°It''s a pleasure finally making an acquaintance, Sir Derrick. Please allow me to formally introduce myself and my associate. I am Sir Alistair Patrona Warburton and this is Sir William Fordham Wincaster.¡±


    Derrick observed both men deeply, quickly affirming the impression he formed earlier on. Alistair was bronzed, well-built, broad shouldered and roguish but quite handsome. He''d be quite popular with songstresses of the nights.


    On the other hand, William was a pensive man, hardly showing an expression on his cold, detached face. He was thin and tall, his bleached blonde hair swept back and tied firmly. So much so, it looked like his scalp might rip if he frowned a little.


    ¡°Welcome to Riverfield, gentlemen. I am Sir Derrick Septima Lomax. I''m currently in charge of administration of this village. How may I of your assistance?¡±


    Derrick consciously avoided calling himself an acting lord, lest it bring forth a moment of derision from the guests. It was not really necessary a caution, but he wanted to avoid dealing with that kind of stress if possible. Besides, they probably figured it themselves. No point in telling them, then.


    ¡°We came specifically to speak to you, good sir,¡± Alistair smiled deeply, as William pulled out a large navy blue scroll from his bag of holding.


    The wax seal on top was unfamiliar to him, a mountain with a pair of new moons on either side.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°That is the in-depth proposal for a cooperation between the farmers of Riverfield, and that of the Young Entrepreneurs'' Association I represent, Sir Derrick. In it, you''ll find terms favorable to both the people you represent, as well as to the people I represent.¡±


    Alistair laughed genially and handed the scroll over.


    Even though he had lived in the village for the last two and a bit years, Derrick wasn''t well versed in the trials and tribulations of farming. When he cracked the seal and started reading the scroll, he didn''t understand half of what was written in there, all the technical terms he was unfamiliar with flying over his head.


    This had all the hallmarks of turning into an extremely embarrassing situation if not handled right.


    Coughing lightly to clear his throat, Derrick spoke. ¡°This is not a matter that I can decide on my own. I must discuss it in detail with the village elders first, as it would affect them the most.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course. We expected that,¡± Alistair kept that genial smile as he nodded in understanding.


    Derrick found it difficult to get a proper bearing on the man. Whether the smile was faked or not, whether he was sincere in this proposal or not ¨C he just couldn''t get a reading.


    Perhaps, making him talk more might help.


    Derrick nodded softly.


    ¡°The decision shouldn''t take too long to make, but still, it might take a couple of days at least. In the meantime, will you two gentlemen be staying in the village? I can provide with accommodation if you so wish.¡±


    Alistair gazed at William for a few moments, before resuming his smile. ¡°We shall kindly take you up on that, Sir Derrick. Besides, it serves another of our agenda if we were to stay a little while longer in the village.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And what''ll be that agenda you speak of, Sir Alistair?¡±


    William then produced another rolled up scroll, amber in color and sealed in golden wax. This one had no emblem on it.


    ¡°We''re also members of a youth organization calling ourselves The Children of The Amber. We haven''t been active on the scene for long, but, our ambitions mean it''s only a matter of time before we reach the stars.¡±


    Alistair handed the scroll over to Derrick, urging him to open it. Feeling skeptical, he broke the wax seal and unrolled it.


    The contents were simple. It was hand written by a high ranking member of the organization who wished to have Derrick join them.


    Of course, it wasn''t the first time such an organization, or even guilds, tried to recruit him in the past. With his station being as it was, he refused them all. Although there was this one group that Derrick was advised to join as soon as possible back then, an advice given to him from Hurst von Himmelmann.


    But his arrest, and subsequent prosecution as well as the fallout of that, meant he was instead refused entry to the group. It was one of those things that left him shaken badly. He''d gotten over it, though. Or, at least he thought he had.


    But now, when he saw the name on the scroll, the name of the person who wanted him, his mind shook. Suddenly, he thought a shining path have opened up for him.


    Of course, he wasn''t a naive and impulsive young man anymore. If someone wanted him, obviously there was a condition or two attached. Or even some other agenda.


    However, it was hard to deny the attraction of this group. If Derrick were to acquire the help of these people, then maybe he could locate culprits responsible for Kain''s demise....


    ¡°I see. So your organization wants me to join. Well, it''s an honor to be considered like this.¡±


    Derrick replied, trying his best to keep a still face, not wanting to give anything away.


    Alistair chuckled. ¡°No need to make a hasty decision, Sir Derrick. I already made plans to stay in the village for a few days and convince you of the benefits of our little group. As you can see, we''re backed by that individual. We''re not lacking in power nor in finances. Plus, since we''re quite picky when it comes to who joins us. Meaning, there aren''t any wastrels poisoning our air.¡±


    Derrick nodded coolly, before turning his attention back to the scroll.


    He began to salivate. He felt a certain dormant excitement surge inside.


    Is this the chance I''ve been looking for? The chance to... redeem myself?


    ¡­


    ¡­.That''s funny. I thought I was done with all that. But now.... I....


    Should I accept?


    ~


    Many, many hours prior, the Sky Ark carrying the Lomaxes was entering the capital city''s airspace.


    Both eyes of Kaleena sparkled like a pair of diamonds as she excitedly pressed her face against the crystal screen acting as a window. Below her, the vast metropolis of Argos spread in all directions, the quietly setting Sun casting a soft orange haze over the city like a hazy blanket.


    She greedily took in the sight of the biggest humanoid settlement in the entire continent. Flying on a Sky Ark was an indelible experience in itself but being able to see such a majestic city up so high was an amazing stimulus as well.


    Next to her, Katrina was acting cool and lofty. She had seen the cityscape from the Sky Ark before, so she felt slightly less awed this time round. Instead, after sensing the arrival of a golden opportunity, she was doing her best to clearly assert her superiority over her country bumpkin cousin.


    Suffice to say, Kaleena was too busy being awestruck to care at the moment, the pain of leaving behind her friends in Riverfield all long forgotten, never mind the pain of losing her little brother.


    A new adventure was waiting for her down there in this new and foreign city, and she was literally chomping at the bits to get cracking.

 Chapter 26

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">26</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (A bit short chapter today. Somehow it happened after I reorganized the chapters a bit. Oh well. Plus, I am currently beset with an irritating migraine that won''t go away no matter what I do.  Bah. Maybe I''ll make up on other chapters. Maybe not. Who knows what''ll happen in the future....)


    The docking platform for the Sky Ark was, plainly speaking, impossible to describe without resorting to elaborate hand gestures.


    The entire station was built to the East of the Metropolis, where it wouldn''t impact the lives of the citizens too much. Might as well ¨C the real estate the station took over equaled that of a large town, maybe even more.


    It hasn''t been long since the introduction of the Arks but the number of them in service swelled remarkably fast. Currently, only those involved in the project knew the exact number of Sky Arks in service but a regular layman could estimate roughly thirty of them in existence. Building that many in relatively short amount of time were a feat of engineering far too difficult to achieve unless a humongous amount of resources were sacrificed on the project itself. A kind of resource a small kingdom could survive on for years.


    Seeing through the crystal window pane, Kaleena counted ten different-sized Sky Arks anchored in mid-air around the station, throngs of people bustling around them like worker ants doing who knows what.


    These Sky Arks had various paint schemes applied to them, signifying either the different routes they serviced, or the divisions of the Imperial Government they belonged to.


    The smallest was as big as a ship-faring galleon, at least thirty meters in length. The biggest one, however, that one was nearly ten times the size. It was painted in distinct hues of violet and gold, with the Imperial Crest prominently displayed on the bow.


    There was no mistaking it to whom this particular Ark belonged to the Imperial Family. More correctly, the Emperor himself.


    When Damien looked at it, his face hardened slightly, before relaxing a bit. The reason for that was, he saw what resembled a bunch of long range cannons on deck, with uniformed men and women milling about around them, clearly performing maintenance.


    Since it was the Imperial Family''s personal Ark, it stood to reason that some amount of protection was built into it. Damien remembered that Marquis Phillips initially had no plans to turn an Ark into a military weapon, but also had to remind himself that he had been away from the capital and its ever-changing political landscape.


    A lot could change in a month, never mind a year.


    Suddenly, he began wondering about the balance of power in the structure of the Empire itself. The Founding Families had not been seeing eye to eye on a number of matters, and had been for years like that.


    It was rather obvious to see, now that there were potentially many militarized Sky Arks out there, all of them under the command of the Emperor, those nobles thinking of dissent had to think hard before throwing tantrums.


    Out of the six Families, The House of Argos always fostered a close relationship with The House of Phillips. It was a given that the Imperial Institute developed and funded Arks would form the backbone of the Emperor''s expanding iron-like grip on power.


    Then there was the Lomax bloodline. He hadn''t kept up with the latest gossip but even Damien knew that the ties between his namesake House and that of the Emperor''s weren''t all that amiable at the moment.


    It wasn''t to the point where daggers were drawn publicly. The path for reconciliation remained wide open, but still, the history of enmity would be impossible to erase. Once a rift of distrust formed, it''d be difficult, nay impossible, to completely mend it no matter how much time has passed.


    Even one or two of these heavily armed Sky Arks would leave behind a trail of destruction never seen before, with very little means to defeat one without sacrificing even more.


    Things Kain said a few months ago suddenly sounded uncannily omniscient. How did a five year old kid predict stuff like this, Damien mused inwardly.


    Naturally, thinking about his son caused Damien to fall back into the previous gloomy state of mind. Frowning, he sat back on his seat, sighing. What did any of this stuff matter? His son was gone. None of this gave him comfort. All of it, was nothing more than noise.


    Lizbeth glanced at her sighing husband, her face wan and gaunt. She resisted the urge to shake her head in disapproval, and instead tried to keep a placid face. Her son''s death pained her immeasurably, but she still had to mind Kaleena and her unborn child. She''d dwell on her grief in private, and unleash the built up anger on those responsible when the time came. That was how she rolled.


    As the sun set below the horizon, countless beams of light began pulsating from the ground around the station, illuminating the area as if it was still in the middle of a day.


    Guided by the light, the Sky Ark carrying the Lomax family touched down and docked with a loud clunk. Dozens of metallic cables, each one as thick as an ox, connected with the Ark as circles of Invocation array swirled around them.


    There was a slight vibration as the Ark resonated with whatever Invocation spell there was in the docking station, which lasted for a few minutes.


    Soon, a disembodied voice announced that the passengers were now allowed to disembark.


    Everyone, even Katrina, couldn''t get used to this voice. They were told that it belonged to that of the Ark''s captain, and the messages were broadcast via an Invocation spell. Still, to hear someone speak but not see the person say it was a bit hard to swallow for the uninitiated.


    It was a simple affair, getting their travel papers processed. In order to travel between different provinces, a permit for each and every passenger was required from the point of origin. It acted sort of like as a passport, in other words. Everyone had to get it, regardless of age. Wherever they went to, there would be marks on the paper denoting where they have been to.


    Have a permit, stand in a queue, get a stamp on the piece of parchment along with the customary Truth Board once-over ¨C and one was allowed to enter the Capital of the Empire.


    By the time the family caught a carriage taking into the city proper, the evening had fallen. But unlike any other city, not even Lafayette, the sunset didn''t mean the beginning of bedtime for its citizens.


    Every street had rows of Invocation array supported street lamps casting bright light, illuminating the surroundings and allowing the public to carry on with their lives uninterrupted. Various businesses continued to offer their services deep into the night, and there were unending throngs of people walking around regardless of what hour it was.


    If Kain saw this scene now, he''d be all nostalgic and like. After all, it was exactly like the kind of nightlife he used to enjoy back when.


    Damien and Lizbeth, even Rosy, were acquainted with this kind of hubbub, but for Kaleena, this kind of vibrancy was completely unexpected and refreshingly different. The buzzing of life she felt here easily eclipsed what she witnessed in Lafayette. These two cities were totally incomparable as far as the liveliness went.


    The first thing the family decided to do was to find a lodging. Michelle still had her residence in the city but it wasn''t going to suffice for the six people in her party. She also had a small house in the Academy''s grounds, which she requested to be built when she first started working there because she couldn''t be bothered to commute every morning.


    But ever since tendering her resignation, it was most likely no longer there.


    After finding an inn that offered good food and clean beds, Michelle left them and went back home, in order to get some things ready.


    It was a truly good timing to arrive in Argos at this precise date because the admissions for entry were about to be open for the prospective learners. Certain portions of the would-be students had to go through a prior procedure to sort out their talent levels to see if they met the minimum threshold of acceptance, while some other, more fortunate individuals would be given a leeway of sorts when recommendations issued by recognized Invokers accompanied them.


    The procedure to determine the talent levels was held every mid-year in the capital cities of each of the six provinces. It wasn''t a tournament or something like that, but rather, it was boring exams concentrating on testing Aeterna Affinities and aptitudes in casting Invocations. Anyone aged between seven and seventeen could enter.


    Going by the inspirational name of The Festival of Soaring Will, it certainly presented a golden opportunity for those looking to make something of their lives. After all, becoming an Invoker opened a lot of doors, all of them leading to fame and fortune of unprecedented scale.


    Obviously, Kaleena and Katrina didn''t participate in The Festival, so they lacked qualifications. But with Michelle around, that bit was already not a problem. The question was the burden of the admission fee and who would be able to take care of that.


    Michelle assured Damien and Lizbeth that with little Kal''s latent talents, she would enter the Academy as a scholarship student so there was no problem. As for Katrina, she too possessed a solid foundation as well as highly sought-after Affinity with Dark Element so the elder Invoker foresaw no issues there.


    Feeling weary after a taxing travel, both Damien and Lizbeth retired early, but Kaleena couldn''t still her excited heart and so she kept on pestering her cousin on many strange things she saw in the city.


    ¡°Katrina, why was there men and women in funny dresses singing on the street corner?¡±


    ¡°They are traveling bards.¡± Feeling slightly irritated at her sleep being disturbed, Katrina frowned but answered regardless. ¡°Didn''t you see them in Lafayette? Oh right, they weren''t as elaborate nor as many of them there, weren''t they? Oh well. In Argos, there are lots of Bard troupes that perform for money. Even I can''t count how many of them are here in the city.¡±


    ¡°Singing and dancing for money?¡± Kaleena was shocked. ¡°You can earn money like that?¡±


    ¡°Obviously you have to be talented first. Failing that, you could earn coin in many other ways.¡± Katrina sighed as she fiddled with the pillow. She was all ready to hit the sack but Kaleena didn''t seem to.


    With more irrepressible energy bursting forth, she jumped out of her bed and directly landed on Katrina''s.


    ¡°Really? So there are other ways to earn money? Not just farming and being an Invoker, right? Just how many could there be? And can I see all of them here in the city?¡±


    ¡°Get off my bed this instance!!¡± Katrina tried to shove her cousin away and the two began engaging in an impromptu tug of war with a brown colored pillow.


    The struggle lasted for a few minutes, before the physical exhaustion forced the two to stop. Although Katrina kept on frowning, Kaleena didn''t, and a small smile was etched on her face.


    Seeing this, even Katrina broke out a rueful smile as well, then chucked the pillow at her cousin''s face. ¡°Just go to sleep, will you? Ask me tomorrow. I''m tired now.¡±


    ~


    The following morning, the family waited until Michelle returned with news. In the meantime, Kaleena continued to pester her cousin with more questions. Fluctuating from feeling irritated at the constant questioning, and proud of the fact that her country bumpkin cousin was relying on her, Katrina explained this and that to the best of her knowledge, sometimes even concocting 100% bull manure of a story when she had no clue about topics she was asked.


    Next to them, Lizbeth and Damien carried a pair of complex facial expressions, both of them mentally noting to correct all the misunderstandings Katrina potentially have caused before they become bigger headaches later on.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Before long, Michelle returned with news.


    ¡°Well, I''ve spoken to the dean of admission, and he has agreed to let Kaleena and Katrina take an out-of-season Festival. They should be ready by early tomorrow. For preparation, let us depart and head for my place in the Academy. Apparently, those old fogies left my residence as is. Not sure why that was the case though.¡±


    Michelle spoke, her face showing a bit of confusion when mentioning the last part.


    Lizbeth silently mused that the reason for her teacher''s place still remaining within the Academy was probably because of the Grand Elders knew of Michelle''s personality. She was impulsive, lacked deep thought regarding certain matters, and they figured that eventually she''d return once she got bored of whatever she was doing.


    And so, they were almost proven right, although it was with a different reason why she had to return so soon.


    Of course, Lizbeth would never reveal her thoughts on the matter to her teacher. That would be considered.... quite inconsiderate.


    After settling the account with the inn, they traveled once more. From one side of the city, to the other side where the Academy was located. The trip itself took several hours, due to the distance as well as something both Damien and Lizbeth least enjoyed about the capital city. Something that could not be seen anywhere in the world.


    Midday rush hour traffic.


    With a city this big, and with so many people living in it, all of whom needed to go somewhere at the exact same moment, a traffic jam was bound to happen, regardless of a fantasy world or not.


    As they ¨C Lomax family, Rosy and Michelle ¨C sat in the horse drawn carriage, they witnessed the kind of scene that Kain was quite intimately familiar with from his previous life.


    As far as eyes could see, the cobbled roads in every which direction were packed to the brim with other horse drawn carriages and goods supply caravans, as well as people on horseback scything between the stand-still vehicles, while raising the ire of those stuck in this stifling situation.


    Seeing this, Damien chuckled wryly. ¡°The traffic jam looks worse than before. Is it because of the Sky Arks with cheaper fares bringing in more folks to Argos?¡±


    Michelle shook her head, as if the whole thing was giving her a mighty migraine. ¡°You''re partially correct there, Damien. Ever since the introduction of the Arks, the speed of urbanization exploded beyond what the Imperial Government can manage. I hear that nearly ten thousand souls arrive in the city almost everyday.¡±


    ¡°Gee, that''s a lot,¡± Rosy murmured, her whiskers bobbing up and down. However, she looked confused. ¡°Uh, how many is a ten thousand?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, it''s one too many the way things are deteriorating.¡± Michelle sighed. ¡°I don''t mind folks migrating to find work and to provide better lives for their families, but there''s a need for a line to be drawn. The Capital is indeed very impressive, but even she has her limits. Exceed that, then all-encompassing anarchy will rise. An anarchy born from resentment. Resentment of not finding work, resentment of being marginalized, resentment of seeing other, less deserving people succeeding where you failed.¡±


    ¡°But isn''t that human nature?¡± Lizbeth countered. ¡°Such resentment grows whether it''s caused by migration or not.¡±


    ¡°Well, in the past, nations often went to war to quell the thirst of anger in the masses. Cull the number of mouths to feed, increase the breathing room, create opportunities, incite the masses into a frenzied, blinded loyalty ¨C that sort of things. But now, with the Empire at its peak with no one else to wage war with, I wonder how the current Emperor will tackle the matter...¡±


    ¡°A war averted is a precious victory earned,¡± murmured Damien as he recalled something the previous head of the Adventurers'' Association once told him. ¡°If I were the Emperor, I''d probably ask the citizens to expand to other, more available territories out there. I would think there are more opportunities for wealth and fame out there than here.¡±


    ¡°But can you deny the attraction of the Capital? Where the rule of the law is upheld better and the threats of Fiends and miscreants are that much lower, where their children can attend educational institutions, where they can find professional healers quickly? Where jobs are seemingly easier to find, even if the truth is different?¡± Michelle sighed again. ¡°Even with the loyalty of the citizens, at the end of the day, we all want what''s best for our individual selves, and not for the collective good which is something not many of us can sense on the ground level.¡±


    Not really understanding anything the adults were talking about, Kaleena, Katrina and Rosy ignored the heavy topic and gazed outside the carriage, hoping that the infernal traffic jam would clear up as soon as possible.


    ~


    The cross-town trip took almost the whole day, but eventually they made it to the grand gates of the SOIR''s Academy on the West section of the metropolis.


    Actually, the plot of land occupied by the Academy was not seen as a part of the capital city at all, but instead as a self-sustained district replete with its own branch of city hall and corresponding governors. In this case, the Grand Elders and the SOIR council acting as such. In all intents and purposes, calling it another city was not incorrect.


    To put into perspective the overall size of the Academy, it was as big as Lafayette itself, maybe even more. That''s how massive it was.


    Of course, it also included the training facilities which were larger than some residential areas in major cities and towns for obvious reasons ¨C when Invocations go off, even in mock battles the collateral damage was no laughing matter. A large, uninhabited area to train Invocation was a must. The empty plot of land in front of Lafayette''s SOIR branch served that very purpose as its own training ground, away from the areas where civilians lived.


    The entire Academy city was cordoned off by a series of gigantic Invocation arrays that prevented the unwanted from invading SOIR''s grounds without permission. Their protective power was so great, even an army of a million wouldn''t be able to breach it.


    Inside these protective spells, the Academy was further divided into several districts. The residential district where the resident Invokers, students, visitors and regular folks stayed, the open market district where trading took place and anything Invocation and Aeterna related could be purchased, the research and development district where dedicated number of Invokers devoted themselves in the matters of research, the central district where the old fogies, as Michelle liked to put, ran the day to day operation of the city, and the school district for, uh, schooling purposes.


    Suffice to say, there were thousands of buildings and structures in the Academy. And also over a hundred fifty thousand souls calling it home, more than two thirds of that number Invokers of various ranking.


    Right in the center of the city was a giant mountain that was shaped like a pyramid, every line and angle in a perfect geometrical symmetry.


    It was so wonderfully symmetrical, any person standing before it had to question whether the gods themselves personally carved it when they were bored silly.


    Also, it was kind of funny looking too, if you saw the mountain for the first time. The lower half was in lush green due to the dense forestation covering. But from then, jagged rocky surfaces lay exposed, coloring the upper half in the mixture of dull gray and brown.


    Right at the summit, a thick layer of permafrost coated the tip like a layer of sugary cream on a dessert.


    So, the whole thing sorta resembled a cake.


    Of course, no one dared to take a bite off the mountain, literally or figuratively. Not only it wouldn''t taste good, but it was heavily guarded by SOIR and even by some Imperial soldiers.


    The reason?


    ¡°Because that mountain, The Heavenly Ascension, is considered one of the holiest sites in the entire continent, that is why. Only the Grand Elders and the Emperor are permitted to enter.¡±


    Michelle explained to Kaleena and Katrina, her tone that of a kindly teacher.


    ¡°But why? It just looks like a mountain, you know. What''s special about it?¡±


    Kaleena asked, tilting her head in confusion. She had heard about places like Sacred Acres which were too dangerous to enter for normal people, but other than that, it seemed a bit fishy to deny everyone from climbing a mountain just because it was supposedly holy.


    ¡°One legend has it, that the mountain was the place where the Twelve Deities descended to this world and spread their teachings. Another one says that the mountain hides an enormous treasure, or itself is a treasure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I heard from father something similar before,¡± exclaimed Katrina. ¡°Father said that the mountain was the place where the First Patriarchs of the Founding Families met for the first time and became comrades over five hundred years ago.¡±


    Damien nodded as he looked out of the carriage and gazed at the mountain, The Heavenly Ascension. ¡°Right, I''ve heard that story before too. Supposedly there''s a hidden cave in the mountain that leads to some kind of an altar of worship built by an ancient civilization. That was where the Treaty of the Six was formed, or so I was told.¡±


    The road their carriage traveled on was wide and smoothly paved, no doubt with no small help from the Invocation spells. The traffic here wasn''t as bad as the center of Argos and they made up a good deal of time lost there.


    Lizbeth mused inwardly how the roadside scenery had changed since she last came here as a young novice Invoker looking to make a name for herself.


    Back then, it was wide grassland with a smattering of crop fields. Often times, a herd of cows or sheep could be seen, grazing lazily on the grass. There was even a small lake, where Nobles spent their holiday there on the shoreline.


    Lizbeth suddenly recalled that there was a restaurant there, by the shore. Damien and she used to go on a date there, with Damien struggling to order anything costly while trying to look manly in front of her. That recollection brought a small smile to her lips. When she turned to see her husband, now he looked less dashing, less manly. Instead, he looked withered, tired, and weakened.


    She felt anger swelling up again inside. Not at Damien, not necessarily, but at the bastards who cost her her family''s happiness. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to continue observing the changed scenery.


    And change they have done. All she could see now, instead of grasslands and a lakeside holiday area, was a sea of cheap housing projects built to offset the headache caused by the explosion of urbanization.


    There was an unspoken rule of not building any dwellings close to SOIR''s Academy but many unscrupulous real estate developers saw opportunities for a quick buck here. Their avarice meant reneging on this rule by expanding shoddily built houses and shacks around the area without caring for the consequences.


    Since SOIR didn''t own the land all they could do was lodge a complaint with Argos''s administrators, And all these greedy businessmen had to do was grease a few palms and et voila, they were the legitimate land owners. The complaint fell by wayside, rebuked by the same greased-up officials as privileged being insensitive towards the needs of the others.


    Of course, this wasn''t some unique problem only found near SOIR. No, it happened all around the metropolis. The trouble was that, as more and more people from the rural areas moved in, the middle income families moved out of the city center.


    The demand was high, and the developers were sort of justified in their actions as they were simply trying to meet this unprecedented thirst for housing away from the allegedly crime-ridden city centers.


    It was the beginning of suburb-fication of a fantasy world, basically.


    Thankfully, people still had some of their senses and the area around the protective arrays were devoid of houses.


    There were three ways to enter the Academy, via one of its four main gates, via Invocation short space/time displacement spell which cost an arm and a leg to operate, or by riding on a dedicated Sky Ark.


    Currently the Lomax family was planning to enter the Academy via the Eastern checkpoint.


    As they got closer the dome-shaped Invocation shield could be seen. A thin ethereal film rose from the ground and cast a misty haze that could not be pierced by normal means. A wave of multiple colors sometimes rippled gently on the surface of this film, pulsing upwards in a bizarre fashion that, once witnessed, imparted a certain unsettling sensation.


    Like, if you touched this wall of protection, you''d die. That kind of sensation.


    Four gates, situated in the usual cardinal directions, allowed normal people to move in and out of this protective shield. Called Checkpoints, the structures resembled The Arc de Triomphe with guard stations built by the foot. All who wished to pass by here had to meet certain requirements like holding a correct permit or a recommendation.


    As for flying in, the protective shield could be disabled in parts to allow the Sky Ark to enter.


    And for the space/time displacement Invocation, the permission must be given beforehand otherwise the spell wouldn''t work.


    Because Michelle''s presence, the family believed they could safely negotiate past the Checkpoint and enter the territory of the Academy. They didn''t get their wish, though.


    Because as soon as they neared the entrance, they encountered a huge blockade, preventing everyone from entering through the grand archway. In front, a large crowd had gathered, and they sure didn''t look friendly.


    ¡°What is going on?¡±


    Damien frowned deeply as he studied the commotion up ahead. He could hear the shouts of dissatisfaction but it was difficult to make out what was being said there.


    However, his past experiences as an Adventurer and the lord of a village told him that it was nothing good.


    Turning towards Michelle, he asked. ¡°Teacher Michelle, do you know what''s gotten into these folks? They seem very unhappy about something.¡±


    She looked concerned and confused at the same time. Shaking her head, she replied. ¡°Not sure. It wasn''t like this last night. Wonder what happened.¡±


    ¡°Shall we go and find out?¡± Damien swept his gaze across his family. ¡°Liz, Rosy, can you stay here and look after the kids? Michelle and I will go and try to find out what''s going on.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded. ¡°Be careful.¡±

 Chapter 27

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">27</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    ¡°Oh, this can''t be good,¡± Damien grimly whispered to Michelle as he stared at the twenty-plus caskets arranged inline on the ground. The lids were open, allowing all the observers to peer inside.


    Inside, cold bodies of men and women were seen. Even more worryingly, in five of the caskets there were young children lying in there, all no longer with the living, their faces pale and twisted in pain.


    Surrounding the caskets were men and women of various races, shouting at the top of their lungs. They held various tools of farming, as well as one or two crudely maintained weapons. Their eyes bloodshot, the level of anger flowing from each of them was unsettling to say the least. A slight push would be all that''s needed for the violent madness to break out and sweep over all those present here.


    Standing in front of them, in between the bloodthirsty crowd and the Academy Checkpoint were the two dozen grim-faced guardsmen, nervously holding their lances and spears tightly. Wearing the same uniform as the ones outside Lafayette branch of SOIR, their usual arrogant and aloof demeanor was nowhere to be seen at this moment.


    ¡°Bring out an Elder, now!!¡± One of the crowd shouted at the guards. ¡°I don''t care who, someone better come out now, this instance!! Or there will be murder!!¡±


    The crowd around this man churned and seethed in unison. Their blood-thirst rose to a new level, seemingly closing in on that point of no return.


    Michelle''s eyes flickered worriedly as she scanned the crowd. As she and Damien went in deeper within the mob, they also noticed not only the overwhelming presence of anger and murderous hatred, but of unprecedented grief as well.


    ¡°Can you tell me what happened here?¡±


    Damien asked a man who looked like an Adventurer. More than that, this person seemed to be a bystander and not involved with whatever was going on at the moment.


    The Adventurer shook his head. ¡°Not really sure. All I know is that, these folks came from the newly developed area just South of here. Apparently, there was an accident of some kind, and Invokers were responsible. Beyond that.... I haven''t a clue.¡±


    Thanking the man, Damien moved on. Because he wore a light leather armoring, and was equipped with the saber, Frostbane, hanging on his hips, he certainly looked the part of an Adventurer himself and drew very little gazes his way. As for Michelle, she also didn''t wear the usual garb that Invokers wore, making her more or less a neighborhood aunty in appearance.


    As Damien got nearer the front of the angry crowd, one of the guardsmen stepped forward, his hands resting on the hilt of a longsword by his hip. From the way other guards stole nervous glances at him, Damien figured he could be the captain of this particular post, tasked with wresting back the control of the situation.


    He looked unsettled, sweaty and ready to draw his weapon if things devolved in the wrong way. He addressed the crowd, with what seemed to be his best effort at sounding stern.


    ¡°Listen, every one of you. This is not a proper way to lodge a complaint against the members of SOIR. Fall back, and do not block the way!! Your presence here is illegal, and we WILL use force if necessary. Fall back, I say!!¡±


    ¡°Fall back? Are you serious? You stupid fool, get out of our way now!! Or else, in the name of Eternal Flame Goddess Aaromaeir, we will burn this place down!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!! Burn it down!!¡±


    ¡°Burn ''em all!! They deserve the divine punishment!! To hell with ''em!!¡±


    Damien grimly looked at those shouting out the harsh words and inciting the already incensed crowd. One or two were genuinely with the mob, but there were some who didn''t seem like they belonged here. They were dressed to blend in, but to his eyes, spotting them wasn''t too difficult.


    However, spotting them and doing something about them were two different matters altogether. Infuriatingly, the provocateurs hid among the angry mob, darting in and out and constantly changing their position, making it difficult to pin them down.


    Damien estimated that there were at least a couple hundred of people here, maybe more, and that made tracking the suspicious ones through the crowd harder than necessary.


    Meanwhile, Michelle asked another man who stood next to one of the caskets that held a boy no more than ten years old.


    ¡°What has happened to this boy? What happened to the others?¡±


    The man, half buried in grief and the other half in murderous fury, didn''t even look at her, but still answered, his voice roaring out like a lion.


    ¡°A damn group of Invokers, in the name of their research, fed my son poison!! They fed all these people, saying their medicine would make them feel better!! And now, they are all dead. Dead!!¡±


    ¡°Poison? Medicine?¡±


    A cold glint of suspicion flickered past in Michelle''s eyes, before something resembling calm was restored in them. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and knelt closer to the boy''s casket.


    ¡°Hey?! What do you think you''re doing?¡±


    The man roared, which drew the attention of the mob almost immediately.


    Damien knew this could become real messy if not handled right. He quickly stood beside Michelle, his left hand closely hovering around the hilt of Frostbane. He was ready to unleash the powerful weapon if it needed be.


    He judged that excluding a handful of Adventurers and those men who went around inciting the crowd, the rest of the mob consisted of nothing more than regular common folks with no combat training. It''d be bad if he were to cut any of them down even under the current circumstances.


    So, he decided to exert some of his Gold-ranked Adventurer''s aura on the mob, push them back and let Michelle do whatever she was trying to do.


    ¡°Let the lady take a look. No harm in that, right?¡±


    Damien''s tone was icy and dry. Normal people felt cold sweat breaking out involuntarily as if they were being pressurized by a horde of finely-honed swordsmen. Even the boy''s father was astonished by the pressure, and stumbled backward, his mouth hanging loose.


    Trained Adventurers, as well as the inciters'' faces, showed a glint of surprise at the display of hidden strength from him.


    Ignoring the commotion around her, Michelle went to work. She was one of the most preeminent Invokers of this generation when it came to the matters of medicine and healing Invocation spells.


    Her Affinities with Water and Wood Elements allowed Michelle to practice a certain type of spells where she could analyze the type of chemical compounds in pretty much anything, provided they were of biological in nature.


    Right now, she was trying to ascertain just what kind of so-called medicine was administered to this boy, if any. She placed her left hand on the cold forehead and softly murmured a shortened Requisite Words chant, inaudible to anyone except to herself.


    ¡°Willows of whisper, disperse and surrender.¡±


    A wane azure colored light emitted from her palm and sunk into the body. Michelle opened her right palm and gazed into it.


    Soon, a window of information began appearing on her open palm. Information regarding the composition of the so-called medicine, broken down to its fundamental composition and chemical make-up.


    Seeing this, one of the inciters exclaimed from among the crowd. ¡°Hey, look at that!! She''s one of ''em bloody Invokers!! I bet she knows who did it, and now is protecting the guilty!!¡±


    Damien grimaced. The bastard was too far for him to cut down without involving the innocents. The crowd''s bloodthirst was rapidly redirecting this way, and so he had to think of a way to defuse the situation quickly.


    If Michelle hadn''t stepped out to examine the body, then his headache would have lessened considerably. Not that he blamed her on the matter ¨C after all, for some reason SOIR and its members were being maligned here. She wouldn''t take that lying down.


    She was a proud Invoker, even if she sometimes acted like a slacker. The tumultuous road she tread to become what she was, made her very proud of all that she had achieved. That road wasn''t hers alone to tread either, and she knew that every Invoker had to walk a painful and difficult road, just to have a chance at grasping his or her dreams.


    To her, only Invokers, or at least people who tasted the bitterness of the similar level, were qualified to lay insults at other Invokers. That''s it. If there was an injustice committed by a group of Invokers, then she''d make sure those involved would pay.


    But if not, and the accusation was proved to be false, then she''d unleash her fury at those who pointed the finger. She was a firm believer of if you want to accuse someone, better be ready to face the equal amount of pain you wanted to dish out.


    It was easy to see where a part of Lizbeth''s temperament originated from.


    ¡°Congeal, and reveal.¡±


    Michelle finished her chant.


    The floating window of information rose up in the air, then suddenly, with a gentle swirl, changed into an azure-colored illusory and indistinct figure of a person, lying on its back. Many gasps echoed out at the same time when it happened.


    ¡°That Invocation.... could she be....?¡±


    The guard captain gaped in astonishment as he remembered this particular spell being performed. To his knowledge, only one person could use it, and that was Michelle Matis Banovsky, a former Grand Elder, currently an absentee, and totally, utterly, highly revered member of SOIR.


    He wasn''t the only one who recognized the spell, though.


    One of the faces belonging to an inciter turned ugly, after encountering an unexpected factor to their plan. He quickly shouted at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°Everyone, quick!! That woman is trying to destroy the evidence of their wrongdoing!! We must stop her at all cost!!¡±


    Damien frowned. He gripped the hilt tightly as the mob surged forward. At the same time, the guard captain raised his voice at his subordinates.


    ¡°Men!! Protect Master Banovsky at all cost!! Forward!!¡±


    Damien''s expression grew worse. Sandwiched between the two mobs, he was now firmly wedged in the worst possible position.


    On one hand, he had to protect Michelle. It''s not that she needed his ability to look after herself, but regardless, it was his duty to do so. On the other hand, he could not injure the mob of regular citizens. Well, not too badly, in any case. One or two broken bones would be fine.


    The complication, however, was the guardsmen. If they jumped in on the fray, then it was possible deaths might occur. The level of training was far too different here, even with the mob of angry citizens outnumbering them. The backlash from this clash would be rather substantial, in other words. SOIR would lose a lot of face here, and that could lead to further complications down the line.


    He had to make sure no one died here. That was a tall order.


    But he was going to try, anyway. Too many people he knew and cherished have died around him. He''d be damned if he let the strangers start dying around him too, if he could help it.


    He glanced at Michelle, right next to him. She was too absorbed in examining the illusory body floating in the air to pay attention. Asking her to evacuate wasn''t going to work when she was that deep into solving the mysteries of human body.


    Damien decided. He''d do whatever he could, and if it became little too hectic, then he''d evacuate with Michelle in tow.


    He had to maintain a certain area of influence, where he''d be in absolute control. Damien imagined drawing a wide circle around himself, longer than an outstretched arm''s length, but a handspan shorter than what would be like with his saber, Frostbane, drawn.


    This circle was his area of influence. This sphere demarcated his effective range of movement as well as which attacks he needed to defend against. If an attack entered this area of influence, he''d have to parry, block or dodge it. If not in the area, then he didn''t have to bother. And when an enemy entered this area, then he''d have to take him or her out. Simple as that.


    In a fight involving a mob, no matter how many there were, he only had to pay attention to four different directions at once. Front, both his sides and the back. These four directions were the only place potential attacks could come from.


    If there were more than four, all that could accomplish was interfering with each other and reducing the overall attack power and speed greatly.


    Damien didn''t draw his saber, as that would mean he might end up cutting a wrong person in the heat of the battle. For now, he''d keep it sheathed until the right moment.


    The first unlucky person to invade his area of influence was a guardsman holding a spear. It''d be more correct to say his spear invaded the area instead. He was making a beeline toward the dead boy''s father, who happened to be the closest to Michelle as well.


    Although the boy''s father wasn''t a threatening figure, nevertheless this guard figured it''d be better to eliminate a potential disaster early on. Damien disagreed.


    He lightly kicked the spear''s tip as it invaded his area of influence and altered its trajectory. As a result, the guard stumbled and missed his target. He looked astonished and looked at Damien confusedly, but he didn''t hesitate and swung his weapon over in the father''s direction again.


    So, Damien pushed forward, keeping low, and elbowed the guard in his stomach. That took the man out of commission.


    Next, this time a citizen wielding a pitchfork. Damien pushed forward again, deliberately making the man enter his area and thus keeping him in check. Less than a blink of an eye later, the pitchfork flung to the side and its owner toppled over on the ground.


    Meanwhile, the world around him became a madhouse. Guards engaged the incensed mob, and blood began flowing.


    Frowning further, Damien looked at Michelle again. She was still knee-deep in her thoughts while gazing at the illusory body. But, she was explaining things to the boy''s father. Encouragingly, the man was listening attentively, occasionally nodding, even.


    Damien''s focus had to move to somewhere else when he heard a scream nearby ¨C and noticed that one of the guardsmen was cut down by an inciter he had marked earlier on.


    The bastard had a cold, ruthless grin as he brandished his well-maintained shortsword.


    However, when their eyes met, the inciter narrowed his eyes, then shifted his gaze over at Michelle. A cold, calculating glint flickered, something Damien noticed quite easily.


    The inciter was quickly joined by another one of his colleagues, both of them sharing a whisper before heading towards Damien and Michelle''s direction.


    Seeing this, Damien couldn''t help but smirk a little.


    Oh, good. They are coming over here. That saves me the trouble of searching for them in the crowd.


    One of the inciters was a tall, gaunt man wearing a brown shirt. He was the one who slew the guard, so Damien kept a closer eye on him. As for the other one that held a blackened iron rod, he was nondescript and unremarkable in appearance. Surely, a plus point in this type of work, Damien mused silently.


    Ignoring the fighting breaking out all around, the two inciters approached rapidly, then split before arriving at Damien''s location. Partially obscured by the pandemonium going on around them, they closed in menacingly, cold smiles eerily etched on their faces.


    However, Damien wasn''t alarmed nor did he really care. His eyes were like that of a hawk''s, keeping tabs on the positions of both his opponents.


    The nondescript one came at him first. Damien correctly read the trajectory of this man''s iron rod and slightly adjusted his torso, dodging it effortlessly.


    He followed that up with a low kick on the man''s shin, destroying his balance. By this time, the gaunt man was on his six, his shortsword flashing towards Damien''s back.


    Damien stepped past the nondescript man, letting the strike that was meant for him land on the poor sucker instead. Of course, the unwitting victim screamed out in painful agony.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Before the gaunt man could recover from the shock, Damien moved. Pivoting on his front leg, he shifted his weight lower in one go, and by utilizing the momentum, let out a powerful kick aimed at the man''s kneecap. A loud cracking noise was the end result, the gaunt man collapsing in a heap, also screaming.


    This scene drew in the other inciters. Out of the remaining, only one of them decided to try his luck in fending off Damien while the others took flight, slipping out of the melee and disappearing beyond the proverbial horizon.


    Meanwhile, Damien used the gaunt man''s own blade to stab him on the shoulder, immobilizing him on the ground. His new opponent was slightly better skilled, as he swung his sword in a practiced manner.


    Dodging to his side, Damien unsheathed Frostbane and took a quick slash in a rising arc. His Aeterna-reinforced saber easily sliced through the man''s steel sword as if it was made of paper.


    Not stopping there, Damien switched the grip and held the sword in reverse. Thrusting forward, the pommel of Frostbane made a splendid connection with the man''s tummy, sending him tumbling backward and crashing into other, crazed combatants with a loud bang.


    That interrupted all the fighting going on around.


    Holding his enchanted weapon high, Damien shouted in his loudest voice. ¡°That is enough!! Cease all your fighting, NOW!!¡±


    An icy cold blizzard rose from the pale white blade, whipping the air like a mad hurricane, instantly sending chills down the backs of everyone around him. Excluding Michelle, of course.


    Suddenly, a deathly still silence descended on the impromptu battleground. Even the pained whimpers of the injured were suppressed by the overwhelming aura of the unsheathed Frostbane.


    ~


    While Damien was showing off his skills as a Gold-ranked Adventurer, Kain was showing off something else at the same time. His ability to moan.


    ¡°Just how long are you planning on beating me up, mister???¡±


    Kain whimpered in agony. He was strung in the air, spread-eagled. Each of his limbs were suspended by the thick vines, pulled tight with no wiggle room at all. What''s more, there were four more vines that were in the midst of.... pounding him silly all over his body.


    This had been going on ever since the Old Man took over the.... education of the boy rather forcibly.


    ¡°I told you, you imbecile. Stop, calling, me, mister!! Address me as your Shifu!! How hard can it be, eh?¡±


    ¡°....What was that? You want me to call you tofu?¡±


    ¡°You''re asking for it!!¡±


    The ferocity of the vines increased and now, one of them even struck Kain in his man sack. Or his boy sack. Whatever, it was still very, very painful.


    That took all the wind out of his sails, nearly doubling over in agony that was simply indescribable in all of the known human languages.


    Day in and day out, all he did was to get beat by the vines while hanging in the air. The Old Man never gave out any explanations at all. He just ordered the infernal vines to just go to town with Kain''s small and frail body.


    ¡°How is this kung fu training?!¡±


    Kain cried out more than once. His pained words fell on deaf ears. At least he was getting beaten under the sunshine, which was nice.


    After the introductions were made, the Old Man brought Kain out of the underground chamber of the World Tree, and out into the open courtyard of the fort. This was where the beating was taking place. Not too long ago, Kain even caught the sight of Emma, silently watching from the shadows of nearby buildings, her facial expression alternating from that of a pity to sympathy and horror and other, complicated ones.


    She was definitely thinking something along the lines of, better you than me, brother. Or, at least that was the impression Kain got.


    Today was no different. After force feeding Kain some disgustingly vile concoction that was supposedly breakfast, the Old Man then commenced the daily beating like it was a par for the course. That was a double the amount of torture ¨C the stinging pain besides, the food was the worst. But that was something to complain about later on.


    He got beaten black and blue until noon, which was the time for lunch. Kain was lowered from his position, and immediately, he fell head first on the ground, exhausted from the undeserved ordeal.


    ¡°You like licking the ground that much, brat?¡±


    The Old Man mocked him as he brushed past the prone boy.


    Gritting his teeth, Kain pushed himself up and couldn''t help but realize something was a bit different with his body, besides all the constant aching, of course. It was hard to pinpoint just exactly what it was, but most certainly there was a change.


    There seemed to be a bit more strength in him.


    I must be hallucinating things....


    Kain sighed bitterly and sat on the ground, trying to recuperate. Right on time, his stomach grumbled loudly, signaling to the world how empty it was.


    ¡°You not coming yet?¡± The Old Man grumbled from the entrance of the fort. ¡°I can hear your tummy from here. Come, come. We haven''t got all day.¡±


    Sighing once more, Kain forced himself to stand back up, again surprising himself with a surplus of energy in his footsteps.


    His destination was the grand dining hall of the fort, where his meals were served till now.


    It might have been grand once upon a time, but now, with the absence of any and all furniture it looked barren and forlorn. The signs of decay and time were visible everywhere, the tumbling vines failing to disguise the slow decline of the fort itself.


    In the middle of the dining hall, a round table made up of vines stood, with a pair of stools, also made up of vines, waited for the arrival of the guests.


    As soon as Kain and the Old Man sat, more vines sprout out of who knows where and brought plates of.... food out.


    Kain had to wonder whether these vines were sentient enough to know how to cook. Judging by the evidence in front of him, the answer was a resounding no.


    On top of the wooden plates, there was a rather suspicious looking lump of a thing that might have resembled a steamed bun that one could find in a Chinese takeaway. Except, it didn''t look anywhere as appetizing, nor did it smell as good.


    It more or less looked like what a dung beetle might have rolled on the dry Kalahari desert. And it smelled just as bad.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Eat up, kid.¡±


    Nonchalantly, the Old Man picked his share up, and began chewing it, as if it was a matter of course.


    Grimacing at the image, Kain replied testily. ¡°Look, I have a name, you know. Please, stop calling me a kid, or a brat, or any of the other rude stuff you''ve been calling me with.¡±


    The Old Man raised his eyebrow, a gesture that reminded Kain of Orion the Roc hatchling''s behavior whenever it was bemused of something. It was a case of ¡°Like father, like son,¡± except with a bright red fiery bird instead.


    With a voice full of ridicule, the Old Man asked him.


    ¡°Oh? So what should I call you, boy?¡±


    ¡°My name is Kai....¡±


    ¡°It doesn''t matter what your name is!!¡± The Old Man roared. When he did, the thingy he was chewing on came out like a shotgun blast. ¡°That name is what you''re given in this world. Remember this, you were taken without consent. You were forcibly ripped off from all you knew and cared about. That name.... it signifies the grave crime committed against you!! While you train under me, you will NOT use that name, got that?¡±


    Needless to say, Kain was stunned silent. He sensed real, naked anger in the Old Man''s hoarse voice, in his words. Instinctively, Kain knew not to argue with him about this.


    Seeing the shocked look on the boy, the Old Man regained some of his lost composure. ¡°Ahem. So, yes. In regards to your training, you must not depend on Invocation as well. I have seen you rely on that body enhancement spell quite often, but in truth, that''s only going to hinder your progress from now on.¡±


    Frowning, Kain slowly picked up the food. ¡°You say you''re going to teach me kung fu, although you look like a wizard. But why? You haven''t answered why you want me to learn.¡±


    He stuck his tongue out and licked the surface of the disgusting ball of something. He was hoping that the flavor had improved since from the morning when he constantly complained about it. But no cigar, it still tasted like a sweaty foot.


    ¡°I said kung fu, but that''s because I guessed, correctly I should add, that you''re a no good foreign devil who knows nothing more than some Hollywood CGI, chop socky Hong Kong movie scenes. That''s not real martial arts. What I''ll be drilling in you, will be proper wushu.¡±


    ¡°You mean, like Wing Chun, Shaolin and stuff like that?¡±


    Kain took a deep breath and bit off a chunk. His face paled but, since this wasn''t his first time eating it, he somehow could keep it down. Besides, this was the only form of food around here. He could go out and hunt for meat, but the Old Man wouldn''t allow it, saying given half a chance, he might make a run for it.


    The pungent taste rushed over his tongue like a sandpaper from hell. His throat burned and his esophagus went into an involuntary gagging reaction. Keeping it down was a real torture, much more so than the actual beatings.


    The Old Man looked at the boy''s reaction with a displeased face. ¡°What''s the matter, boy? Still can''t get used to the meat bun?¡±


    ¡°This, this ain''t no dang meat bun!!¡± Kain spat out flabbergasted. ¡°This, whatever this is, it''s absolutely horrid, you know!! What is inside this thing, anyway? And who the heck cooked this?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t cook it. But they did.¡± The Old Man disinterestedly pointed towards a wall behind Kain. And the boy nearly fell off his vine stool the moment he checked out what was there.


    His reaction was understandable. Right behind him, obscured by the shadows, a dark, slumped-shoulder figure was hovering about a meter away from his back. And the closer he looked, with a bone-chilling sensation he noticed other dark figures. Dozens of them, in fact. He was absolutely creeped out at this juncture, ready to scream like a girl in a horror movie. Again.


    What was worse, was that they were not humans, Caniduskins, dwarves or any of the recognizable races. Heck, they weren''t even the much-dreaded undeads.


    Rather, they were formed by the vines that came from the World Tree itself. The vines twisted and turned and combined together to form vaguely humanoid shapes, complete with heads and arms and what have yous. However, as they were in essence vines, their movement was naturally very awkward, uneven, as if they floated over things like ghosts. Of course they did. How else would they creep Kain out even more than he was already?


    To up the creepy factor to eleven, they even had.... faces. Eyeless, expressionless wooden faces. When Kain''s eyes met with one of the vine.... uh, man''s empty eye sockets, the wooden face contorted into what could only be described as an ill-advised attempt at smiling.


    Kain swallowed a cold spit, and slowly sank back on top of his stool, frozen stiff. Seeing that the Old Man was totally fine around these creepy vine-like creatures, Kain couldn''t help but feel a begrudging respect.


    ¡°Uhm... yeah. So, uh, what.... what are these, uh, people?¡±


    Somehow, Kain recovered some of his faculty, enough of it anyway, to ask the Old Man.


    ¡°Spirits. Spirits of the dead that have become a part of the One Tree''s Soul. Don''t wet your pants yet, brat. They are harmless as long as you play nice.¡±


    ¡°One tree? You mean, that big tree underground?¡±


    ¡°Yep. That''s the One Tree. Oh right, you kids are taught about a World Tree and whatnots. I s''ppose that''s not incorrect either. Anyways, be nice to it, as that thing feeds the entire area with Aeterna or whatever. As for the dead people, that''s a long winded story that''s got jack-all to do with you. I''ll tell you later. Now finish your meal.¡±


    Kain pursed his lips, and slowly picked up the.... alleged meat bun off the plate. Taking another deep breath, he was about to take a bite when he noticed the vine man gazing at him with an expectant face.


    Oh, c''mon man. Stop staring at me, dude!! I''m creeped out as is. You wanna give me indigestion or something?!


    Half smiling, and half frowning, Kain waved at the vine man stiffly and took a tiny bite, trying his very best to not to show his disgust. The vine man looked elated, and happily nodded its head, before fading away into the shadows.


    Grimacing even more, Kain sighed and took another bite. As he chewed, he did wonder how come he didn''t fall violently sick after consuming this thing before. If anything, he felt livelier and more energetic than before.


    ¡°Hmm. Wonder what''s in this so-called meat bun.¡± Kain muttered to no one in particular.


    The Old Man must have felt like answering, because that''s exactly what he did. ¡°Meat of some Fiends mixed with a cocktail of potent herbs and vegetables, all of them quite rare.¡±


    Hearing this, Kain tilted his head. ¡°That sounds more like a recipe for a medicine, not a meat bun.¡±


    ¡°Because this is exactly that, a medicine to fortify your flesh quickly.¡±


    Kain was taken aback. ¡°Eh? Really?¡±


    ¡°Yep, really. The herbs and meat of the Fiend will strengthen your body''s internal structure, the muscles, the bones ¨C the whole lot. As for the beatings, they are not just me having fun here. No ¨C they are reshaping your dan tian and the ch''i channels inside you. The thing about learning martial arts in this Fourth Realm isn''t a simple matter.¡±


    Kain took a deep, meaningful look at the ugly, alleged meat bun in his hands. It didn''t seem like he was being lied to. There wasn''t a reason, at least he couldn''t think of one, as to why the Old Man might lie to him in this fashion.


    Not noticing Kain''s glittering eyes, the Old Man leaned forward and put on a serious expression. ¡°Let me tell you a little secret. You came from the Sixth Realm, while I came from the Seventh. Even though there isn''t much of a numerical difference, in actuality, the gulf between the realms is incredibly vast.¡±


    Kain took another bite, this time a bit faster. He decided to ignore the terrible taste for now, if it meant acquiring a strong body quickly. After all, becoming stronger in order to escape from this hellhole was currently his number one priority, something he hasn''t even realized consciously yet.


    ¡°The realms above fifth receives very little Aeterna from the Mother Tree at the center of the Ether. Human bodies, therefore, went through some sort of genetic mutation where it''s just impossible to perform magical feats.¡±


    Ether? Mother Tree? Kain raised an eyebrow at the terms he hadn''t heard before. But he didn''t want to interrupt the Old Man''s flow, so he kept quiet.


    ¡°But throughout history, there are records of men and women performing miracles. Those are humans not originally from the respective realms they were active in. Lower the realm, the thicker and purer the flow of Aeterna becomes. As a matter of fact, there is such an abundant amount of Aeterna that pretty much every creature born below The Second Realm can be classified as a god.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That''s super interesting.¡± Kain muttered as he swallowed the last chunk of the bun. Then he lifted the empty plate and waved it in the air. ¡°Seconds!!¡±


    Ignoring the boy, the Old Man continued. ¡°Those creatures born in the lower realm, have found ways to traverse the Ether dividing the realms, and entered the higher realms to play gods and monsters of our legends. So, humanity of the higher realms found various ways of fighting back ¨C one of them is martial arts while the other, science.¡±


    The vine man suddenly reappeared from the shadows, looking rather happy. It carried another plate of the alleged meat bun, and left it in front of Kain, before scurrying away.


    Kain dived in for another bite, as the Old Man carried on.


    ¡°The buns you eat, the vines I use to pound you ¨C all of those will remold your body so it can be more conducive to ch''i absorption and integration. Your Fourth Realm body isn''t nearly as suitable, but with the method I have devised, soon you will be.¡±


    ¡°So that''s why you''ve been trying to kill me the last few days,¡± Kain mumbled as he chewed. Now that he knew this was good for his body, the taste wasn''t so bad. ¡°You know, I figured you were into S&M or something.¡±


    That last remark earned him a fat smack in the back of his head.


    ¡°I''m not finished talking yet. Ahem. Where was I? Oh right. The higher the Realm, the less amount of Aeterna there is, to a point where it''s hardly there at all. Like your Sixth Realm, for example. Out of seven billion people, only less than a handful would be able to wield Aeterna there. In Seventh Realm, there isn''t a single soul. But conversely, science and martial arts have made a great progress.¡±


    ¡°You said you''re from the Seventh Realm, right?¡± Kain asked, as he busily rubbed the back of his head trying to cool the stinging pain down. ¡°How different is it, compared to the Sixth, where I''m from?¡±


    ¡°How should I know? I''ve never been to the Sixth, you dunce. But I''ll tell you this, in my world, the Seventh, we have already colonized a vast chunk of the solar system well before I was dragged in here. How about your world? You haven''t even gotten to the nearest planet yet, have you? Tsk, tsk tsk. So unmotivated.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, whatever. Following your logic, then in Eighth Realm and above, they would possess some seriously sick tech, right? And how many Realms are out there anyway?¡±


    ¡°Nine Realms. That''s it. And yep, you''re correct about higher Realms and the advanced technology.¡±


    ¡°Well, color me confused. How do you know all this?¡± Kain asked, his voice not hiding his skepticism. The Old Man was telling him stuff that could not be found on books. And unless he had personally experienced it all, how could he possibly know all of this information?


    Suddenly, the Old Man''s expression reddened. He lightly coughed, clearing his throat, before urging Kain to finish his lunch so he could get back to the vine-induced beatings.


    Seeing this, Kain''s skepticism grew a bit more, but for now, there was nothing he could do.


    ¡°Okay fine. You won''t tell me. That''s cool. But you know, you still haven''t told me why I need to learn martial arts in this world. What''s wrong with learning Invocation?¡±


    The Old Man snorted lightly. ¡°You honestly think the abilities wielded by the false gods would be effective in taking them down? Fat chance. You need ch''i and martial arts for that.¡±


    ¡°Wait a second. I think I just heard some, uh, strange things in what you just said, uh, Shifu.¡±


    ¡°What strange things?¡± The Old Man shot back, irritated.


    ¡°You said something about taking down... false gods?¡± Kain asked nervously, his voice trembling in apprehension.


    ¡°What of it? Haven''t I told you already? That''s why I''m training you. Why do you think I was wasting my precious time buffing you up like this? So you can participate in Dancing with the Stars? This kid....¡±


    Kain lost all his appetite suddenly. The alleged meat bun fell off his hands, and rolled on the table before splashing on the ground. Automatically, vines shot out from nowhere and began mopping up the dirtied floor.


    ¡°You.... are crazy!! I knew it!! Are you out of your mind?! Why should I fight these so-called false gods? They haven''t done anything to me!! If you got a beef with ''em, then YOU do something about that, instead of trying to use me!!¡±


    Kain shouted until his voice cracked from the strain. That was the first time he raised his voice like that, to anyone, ever since he became the member of this fantasy world.


    The Old Man''s face fell. It flickered grimly, before he sighed. ¡°It''s your fate to be here. Think about it for a second, you fool. You were unceremoniously ripped out of your existence by a creature for whatever twisted reason. Then you were dumped here. And somehow, by riding the coattails of the river of fate, you are facing this old man, me, in this god-forsaken ruin, while your families and the loved ones are going through the shock and pain of losing you. Now, imagine that same pain and suffering, spread throughout all the Realms, repeated every once in a while whenever these false gods feel like it.¡±


    Kain''s eyes narrowed. Angrily, he spat out. ¡°Still, it''s got nothing to do with me. Are you asking me to become some sort of a hero, for a cause I don''t care about? Not interested. Leave me the hell out of it.¡±


    The Old Man frowned deeply, his sighing becoming longer.


    Shaking his head, the Old Man squeezed his fist tightly and spoke in a chilly voice. ¡°You don''t have a choice, kid. I''ll hammer in all that I know in you. And when I''m done....¡±


    He raised his head and stared directly at Kain, causing the boy to jump and then cower at the awesome pressure generated from that simple eye contact.


    ¡°....The false gods will be coming after you, on their own accord. To eliminate you.¡±

 Chapter 28

    <h2 class="western" style="font-style: normal; text-align: center">28</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Kain''s face was the very definition of pale at the moment. It was as if he had not a drop of blood flowing in his body.


    After a minute or two of total silence, he somehow managed to squeak out some words.


    ¡°....Say what? They will come for me on their own?¡±


    He even ignored the intense pressure emanating from the Old Man. Because to him, nothing else mattered except the shock of the revelation.


    Originally Kain stood up as he shouted at the top of his voice. He was full of righteous vigor back then. But now, it felt as if there was a giant boulder crushing down on him. The pressure weighing down was terrific and suffocating.


    He staggered backward, nearly tripping on the uneven floor.


    Seeing the pale faced boy, the Old Man sighed, and eased the pressure coming from his aura. ¡°Look, kid. Now that the things have come to this, you don''t have a choice. Train like there''s no tomorrow, and just maybe, you can defeat whatever bastards comes knocking on your doorstep.¡±


    Kain''s face flushed with color as he came round. He hadn''t forgotten about the difference between him and the Old Man, but still, his fury hadn''t cooled yet.


    So, without hesitation he angrily shot back at the Old Man instead. ¡°What?! Hey, this is all your fault, you know!! If you hadn''t chosen me to learn kung fu or wushu or whatever, then I wouldn''t have to worry about fighting in the first place!! Wait, that''s it!! I''m not going to learn anything from you. As a matter of fact, I''m gonna leave, right now!!¡±


    Kain then stomped his way out of the grand dining hall, storming out of the fort''s entrance. He didn''t even slow down, as he ran right out of the fort''s crumbling defensive walls and entered the empty streets of the dead city.


    The Old Man could only sigh and shake his head. He was about to raise his hand and command the vines to bring the boy back when, suddenly, his face darkened.


    Grabbing his chest, he began fitfully coughing, until he spat out a mouthful of dark blood that smelled like a rotten egg. He looked visibly weakened, as if the candlelight of his life was flickering unsteadily.


    Grim faced, the Old Man wiped the blood off his lips, wryly chuckling at his sorry state. ¡°Looks like.... I need to hurry.¡±


    As soon as those words left his lips, his expression changed to that of a determination. He closed his eyes, and manipulated the boundless ch''i swirling inside of him. This was the only way to suppress that dark blood from rising up again.


    As the pain in his chest slowly receded, some color returned to his face. By his own calculation, if he continued to exert pressure on this.... illness, then he''d be able to hold out for another dozen decades or so.


    By his own estimates, when that time arrives, then he''d be strong enough to face the tribulations that were coming to this world. But, as his eyes focused on the empty stool where Kain had sat, he knew there was someone, or something, that had thrown a wrench in the grand plans of the creatures calling themselves the gods.


    Taking a deep breath, he sent out his ch''i-infused sense, Yi Hai, outward, trying to locate the boy''s current whereabouts. To his bemused surprise, Kain had made quite a good distance, while the Old Man had to meditate for a second or two. Chuckling to himself, he wondered whether it was better to simply force him back, or let him taste yet another trial by fire, which could lead Kain to discover the reason why he needed to learn to become stronger.


    He extended his Yi Hai further, and swept across the entire forest in one breath, scanning and analyzing. When he found what he was looking for, the Old Man''s eyes glittered.


    While the vines shot out from nowhere to clean out the blood on the floor, the Old Man murmured a new command. As to who it was directed to....


    Meanwhile, unaware of what was happening back inside the fort Kain wondered around the dead city as he fruitlessly tried to find the elusive exit. He had run like hell using the Aeterna-bolstered legs but once he was out in the crumbling streets, it was not easy trying to pin down his exact location in regards to the city limits.


    Recalling what he had seen from the rooftop, he decided to head towards the canal on the East side.


    Oh wait, was it towards the West? Bah, can''t remember properly. Whatever, let''s just go there and see. Even if it''s the wrong way, I am sure there will be an exit somewhere. And no one can stop me from leaving this place. Absolutely no one!!


    He only wasted a breath before deciding on the direction. It was unusual for him to be so certain of anything, especially when it came to the matters of the unknown, but the harrowing experiences of the last few weeks had changed him. Whether he was aware of this change within him was another matter entirely, however.


    Before he could take another step, though, he was interrupted by a crisp voice of a girl.


    ¡°Oh hey, Lil'' Kain. Where are you off to now?¡±


    When he turned around, he saw Emma staring at him with her deep amber eyes, while munching on something that sort of resembled a carrot. She was half leaning against a wall, the jagged shadows of the ruined buildings embracing her like a cozy blanket. If she hadn''t said a thing, he''d never even find her there.


    ¡°Uh, hey Emma. Right, yeah. Well, I''m trying to leave the city, you see.¡±


    ¡°You''re leaving? Looking like that?¡± Emma gave him a wide-eyed stare of shock, her mouth agape as she stopped chewing for a second. After recovering from the shock, she resumed the consumption of the carrot-like vegetable, while shaking her head slowly. ¡°You do know how far it is to the outer rims of the mountain range, right? You could walk for weeks before arriving there, you know. And never mind all the fierce Fiends out there.¡±


    Kain froze on the spot when he heard this. Now that he was a bit calmer, it was easy to see how ill-equipped he was currently for the journey. He had no water, no food, no protective clothing, nothing. Not even a vague sense of where he should head towards, for that matter.


    ¡°Oh, well. I came here empty handed anyway. Might as well leave just as empty, too. Somehow, I''ll manage.¡±


    Kain shrugged his shoulders, and began walking.


    Emma tilted her head in confusion. She was wondering what had happened between the Old Master and the boy ¨C usually, the older man would shut himself behind the fort''s closed doors to meditate. But for some reason, he decided to open the doors for this kid.


    She couldn''t understand it. Sure, he had a bit more Aeterna Pool than an average non-Elves, but from as far as she could see, it wasn''t anything special. Heck, she could easily tell the boy haven''t even received the blessings of the Nature Spirits, like every Elven children ever born had. So what was so special about him?


    Suddenly, her curiosity flared up. Smiling gleefully, she swallowed the final stump of the vegetable in one gulp, before calling out to the boy.


    ¡°Hey, wait there, lil'' Kain. Let''s go together, wherever you''re off to. You don''t mind, right? At least you won''t get bored with me around, right? Right?¡±


    Kain hesitated. He turned around to see Emma and her excited face that kinda resembled that of a ten year old kid all ready to go to a Disneyland or something. ¡°Uhm... why would you want to go with me? It''s not going to be much fun, you know.¡±


    Emma frowned sadly, unable to hide her disappointment. ¡°I can''t go? You don''t want me?¡±


    Kain felt a knife of guilt stab him in the chest. Cursing inwardly, he smiled apologetically and scratched the back of his head. Her pleading eyes were bearing down on him like a sharp power tool, and he began sweating hard. Before long, he lost to her pressure, and ended up carefully weighing the pros and cons of her suggestion.


    Finally, he nodded his head. ¡°Okay, sure thing. Let''s go together.¡±


    Emma smiled brightly, and punched the air, before jumping right next to him in one motion. Seeing this, Kain too smiled, albeit in a wry manner. He was inwardly musing just how old Emma''s exact mental age could be.


    So, the two of them set off, followed by Orion the Roc hatchling who watched from a distant roof top, its face still and observant.


    ~


    Lizbeth and Michelle aided with the healing of the injured after the rioting was brought under control. There were many wounded, and some even perished but the good news was, due to Damien''s actions three of the men who incited the crowd were now under arrest by the Academy''s own garrison. Although having said that, one was only a hair''s breadth away from dying, while the other two were in not any better shape themselves.


    Of course, as it is a norm in life, a good news always had a habit of accompanying a bad news as well. In this case, because of the turmoil in front of the Checkpoint, the impromptu Festival, the rudimentary testing of Kaleena and Katrina''s abilities, were postponed to another day. This meant the family had to slum it out in Michell''s residence within the Academy''s borders for a foreseeable future.


    Her house was actually more opulent than that of Damien''s back in Riverfield, the fact which made him feel rather complicated. Not ashamed, no, just that he ended up contemplating all the decisions he had made in life so far. And he found that he didn''t regret becoming Riverfield''s lord one bit.


    Anyways, his job was far from over. After getting the girls settled in, Damian and Michelle were summoned to the central district of the Academy, to answer the questions of the investigators.


    They opted to rent a carriage rather than taking Michelle''s own supply of horses because she wanted to talk to him about that one body she was able to examine. And her analysis was a grave and uncertain one.


    ¡°Basically, you are unsure of the composition of the toxins,¡± said Damien while furrowing his brows.


    ¡°Yes. It is a strange concoction indeed. There were a few medicinal plants that even I''m not aware of. But....¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    ¡°I''m not certain whether the item ingested was supposed to be a poison in the first place.¡±


    Michelle wasn''t sure what to make of her own findings. Even though the concocted item took lives away, she couldn''t tell whether that was the item''s intended purpose. It was as if, the victims were nothing more than guinea pigs to test out the potency or the side effects of the so-called medicine.


    What she was sure of, though, was the level of alchemist required to prepare such a complicated item.


    ¡°I''m sorry, Damien. At the rate this matter is heading, it seems like I''ll be tied down for a while, trying to cooperate with the investigation. More than likely I will be too busy to look after your girls. Well, at least not until we find those responsible, that is.¡±


    Damien shook his head. ¡°Yeah, well. Don''t worry about it, Michelle. Somehow we''ll manage.¡±


    If Kain heard the words uttered by his father, his expression would''ve become strange. After all, they have said the exact same thing. Sure, the soul inside Kain was that of a twenty-something year old dude from another realm, but by staying together for more than five years, certain habits had become ingrained in both of them. In other words, like father, like son.


    Just like how it was with Orion and the Old Man.


    Their trip didn''t take too long, as there were no traffic jams within the Academy. Rather, the whole place had this vibe of caution, as if the late morning''s activity weighed heavily in the minds of the residents here.


    Arriving at a large, squarish gray slab-sided building, Damian and Michelle were ushered into an office of sorts with a large round table and not much else, not even a window. Michelle took a seat and waited, prompting Damien to do the same.


    While waiting, Damien looked around the room, thinking this place was more like an interrogation chamber than a room reserved for friendly interviews. The walls were devoid of any and all furnishing, and there were only two doors here, one behind him and the other on the opposite side. Other than that, it was eerily quiet.


    Damien didn''t like it. The atmosphere he encountered while coming here was somber, which he understood very well why so. But the way some of the Invokers were eyeing him when he entered this building was not all that friendly.


    Perhaps that''s not quite right. Not hostile, no, but rather wary. Wary of strangers, probably.


    Damien nodded as he reorganized his thoughts. He mentally went through everything that had happened, putting them in order so he could answer whatever questions the official investigators might have for him.


    Before long, a whole bunch of somber and serious-faced people entered through the door on the opposite side to where Damien sat. Judging by their attires, all of them were Invokers of high ranks. They sat down on the opposite side of Damien and Michelle, each of them placing various scrolls and notes along with quills and jars of ink.


    Michelle broke the ice first.


    ¡°This room never gets old, no matter how many times I''ve been here.¡±


    Directly opposite of her was a man in his late nineties, his face like that of a weathered leather bag. There was a large black spot on his left cheek, the only bit of skin on his face that actually had any sort of color. Even his swept-back hair was paler than white.


    He radiated such an aura of ancientness, Damien had to wonder, rather rudely, how the hell a man that decrepit still hasn''t died yet.


    The old, decrepit man opened his mouth and spoke slowly.


    ¡°Master Banovsky. I have to say, it is unfortunate to see you here in this room once more. Although, as I understand, it wasn''t completely of your choice.¡±


    Michelle chuckled. ¡°We''re all victims of malicious circumstances, Master Grisham. More to the point, though ¨C I''m not the one in the proverbial doghouse today.¡±


    ¡°You''re correct, Master Banovsky. This meeting is just a formality to ensure that we have visited all the avenues of investigation, nothing more.¡±


    The decrepit old man, whose name was Grisham, nodded as he languidly unfurled the scroll in front of him. Then he cleared his throat of phlegm loudly.


    He was handed a quill dipped in ink by the person to his left, an attractive Pantherikin woman with black furs and a pair of piercing golden eyes. Thanking her, Grisham coughed lightly again, before scribbling something on the parchment leisurely, his thick and ancient brows trembling in concentration.


    ¡°So.... Master Banovsky. Could you be so kind to tell us once more what you have uncovered in your primary examination of the.... corpse sample number 12? Ah, from the very top if you would, please.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Grisham said without looking up from the parchment. The other investigators also unfurled their respective scrolls, and readied their quills, ready to scribe.


    The way Grisham referred to the boy''s remains slightly ticked Michelle off, but she chose not to bring that point up. Instead, she nodded lightly and imperceptibly glanced at Damien to silently communicate her thoughts, before opening her mouth.


    She basically repeated what she had already told Damien. But she also added one more thing ¨C that she thought the toxin, or whatever it was, could not have been concocted by a non-Invoker. Rather, she believed it was done by a member of SOIR who successfully appropriated the Society''s considerable resources to his or her own gains.


    She added to that by saying she needed more time to closely examine the other ¡°samples,¡± which would then give her a better, more complete picture.


    Next, it was Damien''s turn, He described the facial features of the inciters that got away, and although he could not give a detailed description, it was better than nothing. Next up, was his opinion regarding the men he fought, such as their level of training and even their possible professions.


    The Q&A session went well, and ended soon after. Since there was a surplus of time, Damien couldn''t help but ask a question himself at Grisham and the other investigators.


    ¡°What of the three I''ve apprehended? Have they talked yet?¡±


    ¡°No, not yet. Even though their injuries are.... on the light side, one man hasn''t recovered from the coma, while one has asked for a legal council. As for the other one, he refuses to speak at all.¡± Grisham chuckled, fingering the black spot on his cheek absentmindedly. ¡°It won''t be long before one of them talks. We''ll make sure of that.¡±


    ¡°Will you provide council as he asked for?¡±


    ¡°Legally, we are compelled to, but at the same time.... well, there''s still time before the deadline for that.¡±


    Grisham flashed a cold smile, showing off his crooked and mostly missing teeth. He gingerly stood up from his chair, and waved his hand at the posse he brought along.


    As they began to file out one by one via the door, he turned around and gazed meaningfully at Damien and Michelle before speaking.


    ¡°Please don''t leave the Academy''s premises while the investigation continues. I''m well aware of the time isn''t on your side, Sir Damien, but please, try to understand.¡±


    Not saying anything, Damien vaguely nodded his consent.


    ~


    Later that night, Damien slipped out of the Academy and headed for the Capital. His destination was in the Commons District, where at night it was inadvisable to enter unless one was well armed and ready to take action. Damien was both of those things.


    Smuggling himself out of the Checkpoint wasn''t too difficult. In fact, calling it smuggling would be a disgrace to all the smugglers out there. All he had to do was to flash a metallic totem that was an Invoker''s identification. Lizbeth had one custom made for an assignment that involved rogue Invokers many moons ago.


    Even though he couldn''t use Aeterna all that well ¨C no, he couldn''t utilize it at all, unlike his cousin Derrick ¨C still this bit of fakey little identification totem came in handy numerous times in the past. It only reacted to his life signatures, his own unique Aeterna Pool. Just because he couldn''t cast Invocation, that didn''t mean he didn''t have any Aeterna in him. After all, all living things in this world were born with a certain amount of the mysterious substance in them. That included Damien.


    Since the totem indicated that he was an Invoker, the guards manning the station didn''t really look too hard. After all, only the qualified Invokers were allowed to carry a totem like Damien''s. Who in their right minds would suspect a man leaving the Academy while carrying a seemingly genuine totem in broad daylight? Or in this case, late evening, with the sun now well and truly gone for the day.


    He had borrowed a horse from Michelle and set off towards the city with one singular purpose.


    He still had the city entry permit on him so there was no need to get reexamined by a Truth Board. He breezed past the guards and entered Argos, and headed straight for a certain bar in the seedier side of the capital.


    He had to leave the horse behind in the city''s communal stables since where he was going to wasn''t such a nice place to be. It was a pain to walk there, but he had no choice as no carriage would go there at night.


    He walked briskly, and as he got deeper and deeper into the seedier underbelly of the city, he noticed there were more eyes scanning him than before.


    Even at night there were a fair number of people out and about, disregarding the ever-crumbling public order. Hustlers of various races and ages, burly pimps oozing arrogant attitudes, greedy-eyed cutpurses, hoodlums out to ruin someone else''s evening, those looking for a quick score of illegal narcotics ¨C all sorts of them wandered around the streets as Damien waded past all these shifty eyed men and women.


    Once, a cutpurse tried his hand in fleecing Damien but he got his fingers broken instead. Whimpering in pain, the would-be thief ran off in a hurry, screaming bloody murder and expletives at his way, even going as far as promising a righteous retribution.


    Seeing the back of the fleeing man, he ruefully smiled, his mind going back to the days when he was treading the very same streets all those years ago while working under Marquis Phillips.


    Nothing much had changed, even after all these years have passed. The buildings remained largely the same, the shops remained the same, almost, and the only thing that did change were the faces of the pimps, the whores, and the forgotten of the society.


    Passing by a gaudy bordello and the alluring girls in front, Damien opting to head for the back alley next to it.


    Hidden against the backdrop of a darkened backstreet, an old but sturdy three story building came to the view, lights dimly flickering out from the heavily draped curtains. Outwardly, there were no signs of this place being anything other than a regular residence. There was no sign boards, no drunkards loitering about, no litters and vomit stains.


    The only thing that could rouse suspicions was a pair of really butch Caniduskin males, sitting around on empty crates of supplies and conversing in a lively tone.


    When Damien arrived near the entrance, the two stopped their chatting and slowly stood up. Their eyes went over him like a fine tooth comb, searching for any untoward signs.


    Ignoring the pair, Damien pushed open the thick wooden door and entered the building.


    Almost immediately he was greeted by a thick haze of blue-gray smoke and the unforgettable stench of hard drinks.


    He walked past the scantily dressed ladies giving him a seductive gaze, their perfume wafting into his nostrils. With it, some of the memories of this place rushed back in, causing him to smile ruefully once more.


    There were thick burgundy curtains blocking his way, but first, he had to contend with burly men, also Canisduskins, giving him cold stares. One of them spoke in a cool voice.


    ¡°No weapons allowed, including hidden ones. Leave ''em here with us.¡±


    For this journey, Damien had loaned a simple steel shortsword before coming here. As much as he liked keeping his life, he didn''t trust this establishment enough to hand over Frostbane and risk it being stolen.


    Wordlessly, he took the sword off his hip and lightly tossed it over. A Caniduskin man then handed him a receipt. Not even bothering to read it, Damien brushed past the curtains and walked in.


    Past the narrow and dark corridor, until he was in the wide open hall. More husky smoke, more smell of booze, and more clamor of noise; before him, was an illegal gambling parlor, a casino of sorts.


    The Empire had banned all gambling activities, including even horse racing. Of course there was always a thirst for betting one''s hard earned coin on pointless competitions no matter what the worlds were, so without an exception there were many illegal, hidden-from-view casinos like this all over the continent.


    The walls were gaudily painted but devoid of any embellishments. There were two dozen tables reserved for the gambling activities, while to the one side, there was a large bar that served strong alcoholic beverages. The crowd mostly consisted of rowdy, half drunk nobles and merchants here to blow off some steam, accompanied by young and bouncy girls of various races.


    And as if remind everyone to behave, now and then burly Caniduskin bouncers could be seen, silently observing the organized mayhem unfolding on the floor.


    Wrapping them all in was a sensuous music gently floating in the air like a distant memory, just beyond one''s grasp but distinct enough to leave an impression of sorts behind.


    Damien ignored all these, and instead headed towards the very end of the hall, where there were several private booths set up for certain discerning customers who sought out privacy.


    Among those, there was one booth that was heavily guarded by the combination of Pantherikins and other races that rippled with power, intimidating all those wishing to approach.


    When Damien got close, one of the guards stepped forward, blocking his way.


    ¡°I came to see Mikael.¡± Damien unhurriedly told the guard.


    However, the guard didn''t even change his expression, and simply replied. ¡°So does a million others. Back off, human. Or you lose the other arm too.¡±


    ¡°Tell him its Damien Lucius,¡± Damien calmly gazed at the man, letting loose just a tiny bit of his Gold-ranked Adventurer''s aura. However, the guard wasn''t too badly affected, only narrowing his eyes and observing the one armed human in front of him.


    A short pause later, the guard signaled to his partner, who then entered the booth to convey the message. The answer didn''t take long, before Damien was allowed in.


    ¡°I''m watching you,¡± the Pantherikin guard threateningly growled as Damien walked past him.


    Ignoring the man completely, Damien stepped past the throng of guards to stand before a large table and a bevy of beautiful women surrounding a man.


    He looked young, yet it was difficult to tell what was his exact age. In one moment, he might be in his twenties, but then, in the next instance, in his forties.


    And he was shockingly handsome, almost otherworldly so. His skin was flawless, smooth and unsullied by the passage of time. His golden hair gently flowed downward, and he carried an abundant amount of elegance that seemed inborn, rather than from a protracted practice.


    However, all was not perfect, as shocking scars could be seen on both of his ears whenever he ran his fingers through the strands of his hair. It was as if the tips were roughly cut away, and the wounds were not healed properly since then.


    He wore simple yet expensive looking clothing, oozing the sense of refinement from every pore, and with every action he performed, such as picking up a goblet of wine and sipping it.


    The women were also beautiful but next to the man, their aura seemed to deem ever so slightly. Although, it was clear to see how besotted these women were with him, as they dotted on the handsome man like he was their god, their savior, their soul mate.


    ¡°Damien, it''s been a while,¡± the handsome man smiled warmly. ¡°Please, take a seat. Let us share a toast to your much delayed return to the streets of Argos.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mikael.¡± Damien nodded and sat down, but politely declined the drinks. Rather than beating around the bush, he stated the reason for his trip here. ¡°I''m looking for some people.¡±


    ¡°Aren''t we all,¡± Mikael chuckled lightly.


    ¡°True,¡± Damien shrugged his shoulders. ¡°But they are a bad news. To me at least. So, I came to collect on the favor you owe me.¡±


    Mikael kept his enigmatic smile as he took a long gaze at Damien. His eyes narrowing, the handsome man slowly tilted his head to a side and probed softly.


    ¡°You.... have certainly changed. A lot has happened to you, some of them rather unkind. The years sacrificed as a lord in Riverfield, was it worth it, now that you''re here at this point in life?¡±


    Damien grimaced a little. ¡°Mikael, I didn''t come here to discuss my life choices with you. I only seek information, and that''s it. I know you already possess the knowledge I came here for. Please, share it with me.¡±


    ¡°Impatient as always,¡± Mikael sighed softly, before shaking his head. ¡°I hoped that living in the countryside might have slowed your temperament a little, but alas, it is not so. Very well. But I still need to ask you.¡±


    Mikael leaned forward, and rested his elbows on the table, his hands locking with each other. He then lowered his chin on the hands and gave Damien a long stare.


    ¡°Why do you seek this knowledge? Do you feel you have enough strength to go up against whoever it was that caused you this grief, the knot in your heart?¡±


    Damien''s grimace became deeper. He didn''t say anything but his fist clenched harder, popping noise escaping from his knuckles.


    His mind flared up angrily just thinking about the bastards that caused his son''s demise. How many times did he dream of flailing the skin off those responsible? How many times did he think of tracking them down and punishing them?


    ¡°Mikael, just tell me. I''ll take care of the rest.¡±


    His voice seethed with barely-masked rage. The anger seeped out from him and tainted the air, causing the guards to frown in concern. One or two were ready to draw their weapons and strike Damien down if he were to act impulsively.


    Seeing this, Mikael sighed softly again.


    ¡°Very well. Even though it pains me, I can only provide you with small snippets of information on the men responsible for harming your children. My ability to collect intel has not diminished one iota, but it is difficult to gather any meaningful data on these men.¡±


    ¡°Who are they?¡±


    ¡°An organization of personages from across all spectrum of the society. More worryingly, they seek to introduce anarchy to the streets of Empire.¡±


    ¡°Why was my family targeted? Why my kids?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. But one thing''s for certain ¨C there''s a traitor in the midst of the Lomax House. More than one, in fact. Traitors intimately connected to this organization, and could become a major threat to you and your family. You''d do well to take note of this if you''re planning to return to your ancestral lands.¡±


    ¡°What are they called? This organization, what''s its name?¡±


    ¡°The Children. It''s only a half of their full name, and I''m in the process of uncovering the rest. But it''ll take time.¡±


    ¡°The Children....¡± Upon hearing the name, Damien''s face couldn''t hide his derision. A shady organization named like that trying to harm his children was a very definition of irony, at least from his point of view. ¡°You know who the traitors might be? Anyone I know?¡±


    ¡°I am certain of one man, but for the rest....¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°A merchant named Westbrooks. He has had a great deal of business dealings with your brother, and earned a considerable influence in the Northern Territories. It is safe to assume that some, maybe all, of his associates could be suspected of being in the same organization as him.¡±


    ¡°This information has been verified?¡±


    ¡°Yes. My augury skills haven''t let anyone down yet, least of all my valuable customers.¡±


    Damien nodded, and slowly got up. ¡°Thanks, Mikael.¡±


    ¡°A piece of advice, if you will,¡± Mikael raised his hand, calling for Damien''s attention on him. ¡°You need to tread on this one carefully. The reason why I couldn''t unearth more about them yet is because there''s someone very powerful, someone quite frightening supporting them. I wouldn''t be surprised if their hidden reach has already penetrated into the most spheres of the government.¡±


    ¡°I''m aware of that,¡± Damien replied coolly. ¡°Well, take care of yourself, Mikael. Don''t get killed.¡±


    Ignoring the gazes of pity and sympathy, Damien left the illegal gambling establishment and emerged into the cooler night air.


    Breathing in deeply to expel all the dour and corrupted smell out of his lungs, he headed back to the communal stables where he had left behind his borrowed horse.


    As he rounded the darkened corners one after another, he sensed several presences tailing him from the shadows. Their technique was shabby and easy to see through so that didn''t concern Damien one bit, but what made him frown was just how many of them were there, all emitting high level of hostility.


    It can''t be because of that pickpocket, can it?


    Damien held the hilt of the sword in reverse grip, ready to unsheathe it in a moment''s notice. He calculated that a wide open space with plenty of lights would serve him well and so, his eyes locked on a well-lit crossing ten Ruten away. There weren''t many people out and about around here, as if they all sensed something was about to go down and decided to avoid the trouble of getting involved inadvertently. Damien preferred it that way, actually.


    By the time he arrived at the crossing, he was surrounded. They were more than a dozen of them, all baying for his blood. All of them held weapons of various lengths and sharpness.


    Surprisingly, Damien recognized the faces on one or two of his attackers, as the ones from the day''s rioting mob. They were the inciters that had escaped, and now they were licking their lips in anticipation, circling him like a pack of predators eyeing a juicy prey. A cold, murderous light shone from each and every one of them.


    Damien examined them all indifferently. Inwardly, however, he was calculating whether it''d be better to aim for escaping unscathed, or taking them down for good.


    He didn''t want to get tangled in SOIR''s business. They had sufficiently qualified people to handle their own mess. He figured that as long as the fools behind the rioting situation left him alone, then he''d not poke them with a stick. Yet, here they were.


    Suddenly, a vicious and devilish smile lit up on Damien''s face. His chained anger violently rebelled against his control and began to break free.


    The truth was that he had been keeping his rage in check until now, hoping to unleash it at those responsible for his son''s death, but seeing that these men decided to kindly throw away their lives, he also figured that he might as well let off some built up energy.


    Otherwise, he''d go insane from the frustration.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? I haven''t got the whole evening. Hurry up.¡±


    Damien''s words caused the men to act. They attacked in unison. But he was faster.


    As the men closed in, Damien already identified the potential weak links in the group, and went for that first.


    As he bopped and weaved out of the slashing blades and other blunt weaponry, he caught the sight of the attackers'' shocked expressions. That was quite satisfying, he thought. Since he lacked an arm, his close quarter combat style had to evolve, where he never, ever blocked an attack, nor did he try to win in a struggle of pure strength.


    Rather, all of his moves consisted of dodging and parrying, a style of combat refined over time by sparring with Derrick on many occasions.


    Compared to his cousin, these men were nothing special. The number might put him in a disadvantageous position, but by adhering to the basics of watching out for the four directions, Damien would be fine. Him not losing concentration was the key.


    Since he was short of one arm, a lot of his attacks now centered around his legs. Using a feint of drawing his sword and swinging it in one motion, he caused his target to raise his own weapon to block. Of course the expected attack didn''t come, but instead, Damien''s well practiced kick directly landed on the unprotected kneecap, shattering it an instant.


    There was no time for a pained cry, as Damien''s naked blade smoothly came down, piercing through a minute gap in the chest armor of his target. He clearly felt the sensation of internal organs getting crushed by the thrust of the weapon.


    ¡°One down,¡± murmured Damien. His eyes radiated a cold killing glow, and if his wife, Lizbeth, saw him in this state, she''d have a hard time recognizing him.


    The swiftness and the decisiveness of the strike caused the others to stop in their tracks, shocked. One or two even looked hesitant, glancing at their comrades to see whether a withdrawal was on the cards for them.


    Damien calmly pulled the bloodied sword out and flicked the blood off it by sharply slashing downwards. A line of crimson streak formed on the cobbled stone ground.


    Cracking his neck, Damien coolly called out to the men. ¡°Hey. If you''re going to attack, then come already. If not, go away. It''s been a long, lousy day so I''d like to go and take a bath soon.¡±


    (Well, here we are. A bit early than the other chapters, I admit. It was a long weekend here - still is - and I had a surplus of free time, so yeah. Please enjoy, and as usual, if there''s something a bit wrong there somewhere, then let me know!!)

 Chapter 29 + yet another small announcement.

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">29</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    ¡°No, no, no, no. Not like that!! Look, Lil'' Kain, you grip it like this, and swing it just like so. See? Like so!¡±


    Emma impatiently swung a branch around in a practiced manner. All Kain could do was sigh and scratch the back of his head. ¡°C''mon Emma. What were you expecting? I''m not even six yet, you know.¡±


    Currently, they were at the edge of the forest, not too far from the desolate clearing surrounding the dead city. Due to Emma''s guidance Kain found the exit rather quickly, which turned out to be a crack in the city''s defensive ramparts big enough to let a person through on all fours.


    The real exits, the grand archways built to demonstrate the city''s wealth, all had collapsed due to the passage of time and damages from the weather among other things, making it untraversable by normal means. So the only way in or out was either fly over the walls, or crawl through the openings.


    Once out, none of the Golems appeared. Kain figured it was probably due to Emma being here with him. Whatever the case may be, as long as it was as uneventful as it had been so far, he''d be a very happy man.


    As the two of them conversed, though, one thing led to another, until they arrived at this point. The point where Emma was teaching Kain on how to properly hold a weapon, like a shortsword. The branch was supposed to represent that.


    How the heck did we get here?! I can''t even remember the chain of topics that led me till here. Did I get suckered in by her pace?


    Kain smiled bitterly as Emma handed over the branch with a face like a stern school teacher admonishing a naughty kid.


    Actually, he didn''t mind something like this. He had already acknowledged her as a far superior being than himself, so getting a tip or two sounded like a pretty good idea. As long as there was no string attached, obviously.


    Gripping the branch as he was told, Kain lightly swung the branch, making a swish sound. It was a bit crisper than before, at least to his ears, so that was something. One more swing, and he got this strange feeling in his gut, something akin to an understanding of the unknown, maybe even an enlightenment.


    Huh. Okay. So, maybe, if I use my wrist like this when I swing it....


    ¡­.


    Ohhh, would you look at that. Well, well, well. So that''s the trick, is it? This stuff is surprisingly easy!!


    After figuring out that by manipulating his wrist a little while slashing the branch he could add a little more venom to it, he was rather pleased with his level of perceptiveness.


    ¡°See, I told you!! Your wrists, use your wrist a bit more, and everything works out, right?¡±


    Emma chuckled proudly while checking out Kain''s repeated swings. Even to an untrained eye, his movement looked a bit more refined than before.


    ¡°Uhm, yeah. Sure thing.¡± Kain wryly smiled and nodded in agreement, not wanting to burst Emma''s bubbles by saying she never told him to use the wrists in the first place, that it was all him figuring it out by himself. No need for a sour face to cloud the happy occasions, really.


    ¡°Anyways, practice that non-stop for the next... uh, ten years, and you will be as good as me when I was six. I guarantee it!!¡±


    Emma sounded quite proud of her assessment. Kain wasn''t as sure as she was, but what could he do? He didn''t want to learn some shoddy kung fu from a shady old man which might get him killed in the long run.


    It''d be a big fat lie to say he didn''t regret running off in a huff. He knew he was being rash. He could go back and apologize. And, while doing all of that he could politely ask for an escort so he could leave the Tetamus Range safely.


    But for some reason, whenever he remembered the smug face of the Old Man, he just wanted to punch the guy so badly, all of his thoughts got jumbled up in a total disarray.


    He found that quite odd. Why did he feel like that? If looked at objectively, the Old Man hadn''t done anything to him. As a matter of fact, he sent Orion to watch over him during difficult times. Were it not for the fiery bird that sorta resembled a phoenix but wasn''t one, he''d be a poo of some large and toothy Fiend somewhere.


    The only thing that didn''t gel was the motivation behind the Old Man and his drive to train him. Obviously, fighting false gods or whatever was completely out of the question.


    Kain thought he had it all figured out. That he had come to grips with his situation. He was at peace with the fact that he was living a new life in a fantasy world full of magic and whatnots.


    So he didn''t feel any antagonism toward the so-called false gods who may or may not be responsible for his new life here. As for the beef the Old Man had with them, he had nothing to do with that stuff after all. Besides, he wasn''t 100% convinced of the motivation behind the Old Man''s desire to fight the gods, now that he thought about it more rationally.


    Oh, well. It''s not like I care, right? Me and him? That saga''s finished, as far as I''m concerned.


    Even though he was distracted thinking about other things, Kain kept on swinging the branch in the same manner as before, until Emma, who was growing bored of doing nothing but watching him, decided to take a break.


    ¡°Alright, let''s stop for now, and rest. Otherwise, your arm might fall off.¡±


    Emma''s words broke him out of his thoughts. Nodding his consent, Kain lowered the branch and as a test, moved his arm about, wanting to see if there was any change. Although he couldn''t actually feel it for sure, there seemed something definitely different about himself.


    Or maybe he was just imagining things.


    Emma pulled out a carrot from a bag she carried on the side and plopped down on the ground, urging him to sit next to her. Originally she didn''t have one when Kain ran into her, but as soon as he told her he was leaving, she went to her new home and fetched it. While she was at it, she blamed him for destroying her previous home, even if it was an accident.


    She offered another carrot stick at him, which he accepted hesitantly. He wasn''t really hungry yet. Still, sitting around doing nothing sounded a bit.... boring, so he began chewing on it.


    It was unexpectedly tough to chew.


    ¡°Hey, Emma. Where did you find this, uh, thing?¡±


    ¡°Oh, this? I found it in the forest a while ago. I liked the taste, so now I am growing them inside the city.¡±


    ¡°Oh. You grow anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, lots of stuff. I don''t know names of them all, but they are all pretty tasty.¡±


    Kain didn''t really find the carrot that good, but since it was possible his taste buds were adversely affected by the alleged meat buns so he couldn''t fully trust his senses just yet.


    Talking about senses, Kain took a glance at Emma. She was chewing while contemplating something quite seriously. That much was easy to see as her frown was deep enough for a canal boat to wade through if it were filled with water. Complete exaggeration, obviously, but that''s how deep it looked to him anyway.


    Also, he had to admit, the first time she was in total silence for an extended period of time.


    Something else came up in his mind at this point. How can a chatterbox like her live alone in a city as big as that, all by herself? The Old Man would not make for a good company what with his personality, and the rest of the forest was filled with man-eating Fiends and other unfriendly creatures. She must have been quite lonely.


    ¡°How long have you been staying in the city?¡± asked Kain.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, I don''t know. It''s been many, many years, but hmm, I am not sure really. You should ask the Old Master about it.¡±


    ¡°Why him?¡±


    ¡°He and I came here together. Actually, he brought me here. I think he knew about this place before meeting me.¡±


    ¡°So, how do you pass the time when you''re, you know, all alone?¡±


    Kain asked as he finished the carrot and dusted himself off the ground, ready to roll.


    ¡°At first? I was soooo bored, you have no idea. It was really really terrible. The absolute worst. In the history of the world, you will not find anything as boring as an empty city!!¡±


    Emma puffed up and began trembling in anger all of a sudden as she recollected her initial memories of the city. Kain thought she was ready to blow a fuse or something, the way she was reddening up like that.


    ¡°Right, okay. Cool. So what did you do?¡±


    ¡°I wandered around, here and there. And guess what? I found lots of cool and interesting places hidden deep, deep inside the city. They are so well hidden, it''s nearly impossible to find them even with hundreds of people!!¡±


    ¡°Then how did you find them?¡± Kain asked her skeptically.


    ¡°Oh, that''s super easy. I''m from Boscage tribe, you see. Things hidden in the shadows, we can find them with our eyes closed. It''s true!!¡±


    She nodded proudly as if she''d achieved something remarkable. Maybe she did. Maybe she did find some amazing heritage somewhere in the city''s underbelly.


    ¡°What did you find, then?¡±


    ¡°Old murals, paintings, books, the usual stuff. Lots of nice but old weapons, lots of weird, freaky items I''ve no idea what they are supposed to be. Those kinda things.¡±


    Huh, is that right, Kain mused inwardly. Maybe I should''ve had taken a look at those before leaving. Hmm, is it too late to go back now?


    He thought about going back quite seriously now. His mind was wavering. The mere mention of ¡°nice weapons¡± had his ears perked up. He may be a kid, but still, equipping a sharp blade or two would do a world of good to his confidence. Especially if he was serious about traversing this forest and make his grand escape.


    While he was dithering about, Emma got up and slapped him on his back. ¡°Alright!! Time to get a move on. Forward!!¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a sec. Where are we going anyway? Do you even know where we are headed to?¡± Kain asked hastily, while trying to regain his lost balance. His arms flailed about for a brief moment or two, before he was able to stand straight.


    ¡°Of course!! All you have to do is believe in your big martial arts sis!! I won''t lead you astray, you''ll see!!¡±


    Emma gave him an imperious, I-know-everything type of look, as she stood with her legs slightly apart, her hands on hips, in what could only be described as a heroic pose.


    ¡°Huh? My martial art sis? What do you mean by that?¡±


    Confused at the foreign term, he asked for some clarification. If it was nothing than a term of endearment, then it was all good. But if not....


    ¡°I''m your big sis, because we learned from the same master. That''s why. At least, I think that''s how it''s supposed to be. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Eh? You also learned kung fu from that Old Man?¡± Kain was surprised, both inwardly and outwardly.


    ¡°Yep. That sword move I showed you? That''s from the Old Master.¡±


    Kain ruefully chuckled as he couldn''t help but notice the sleight of hand played by the fate here. He thought he had escaped from the accursed future of not fighting the gods or whatever by not learning a thing from the crazed old fool, but now, he has received a bit of his knowledge, albeit in a second hand fashion. Still, it was a ¡°passing down¡± one way or the other.


    Oh, c''mon. Surely, this much is fine, right? I mean, there''s just no way this counts as that. No way.


    So off they went. further into the forest even though his heart was wavering this way and that.


    Occasionally, Emma made him hide and remain dead still, while a huge Fiend sauntered by. The so-called encounter rate wasn''t too high but hell, almost every single one they did run into could easily be classified as an end-of-level boss. If it weren''t for Emma''s great skills in blending in with the scenery, he''d be dead many times over.


    This feeling of smallness, of being totally helpless felt rather familiar to him by now. Naught he could do about it, unless....


    Unless he got a bit more stronger.


    When this line of thoughts crept in, he wanted to tear his hair out in frustration. He didn''t want to learn martial arts from the Old Man. No guarantee he''d become strong as he said he would. And just how long that process of becoming a kung fu master might take? He simply didn''t want to waste his life in here. Besides, that threat of a showdown with the false gods loomed too large in his mind. He couldn''t ignore that. That was the biggest reason he didn''t want to learn.


    His thoughts were mixed up, with no clarity in sight no matter how hard he tried. He couldn''t even ignore the small, bickering voices fighting with each other over this definitely life altering decision.


    Like this, the two of them traveled forward, slowly but surely.


    On the second day however, something bad happened that made up his mind for him.


    ~


    The progress halted more often than not as they left the city behind, further and further away. The number of strong Fiends increased dramatically, almost to a point where it was nigh on impossible to travel unnoticed.


    In the encounter that mattered, the two of them ran into a huge humanoid Fiend with six arms. It was as tall as a certain well-known Mech from a long-running Japanese anime franchise, had a dull gray skin like an armoring on a tank, and a row of viciously sharp fangs ready to devour any and all prey unlucky enough to cross paths with it. It had no nose but a pair of prominent nostrils that sniffed the air constantly. Worse still, it had eyes on the back of its head, literally. It had a total of six eyes, one for each of its arms, Kain supposed.


    It emitted such a terrifying aura, even Emma tensed up when she sensed its approach. And she rarely tensed up.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    When they encountered it, the gigantic Fiend was locked in a mortal combat with another creature, the two managing to destroy the surroundings like a pair of wild bulls in a China shop. Trees were leveled, blood flew off everywhere, the ground was gouged out. The giant Fiend used a powerful ray of something out of its mouth, scorching the earth and everything with it.


    The unlucky recipient of that blast was a flightless bird like creature, another giant Fiend with an impressive set of antlers and razor-sharp talons at the tips of its wings. It didn''t lose to the six armed Fiend in terms of sheer physical strength, but that, uh, energy blast done it in. It was too fast an attack to dodge.


    And as a result, the victor was set. The prize was the meat of the loser.


    Kain felt slightly sick watching the giant chow down the burnt and smelling flesh of the bird-like Fiend with wild abandon. Emma signaled to him that they should move, clearly not minding the grisly sight in front of her. Of course he agreed with her suggestion immediately.


    They didn''t go far away from there before Emma froze up on the spot. She felt a strong resonance coming from the forest, a sign of a massively powerful Fiend on the move. What''s more, it was headed directly to where they were.


    Kain couldn''t sense it just yet. He wasn''t as developed as Emma was. But if he did sense what was causing all that sweat to fall off her, then he''d understand too.


    Before long, the ground rumbled. This rumbling reminded Kain of one particular Fiend he didn''t want to meet, no matter the circumstances.


    Hastily, Kain looked around for a place to hide. None met his strict criteria of providing an adequate shelter. So he had half a mind to dig a hole and jump in there, dragging Emma with him.


    However, digging a deep enough hole would take time, and judging by the way the rumbling rapidly increased, Kain just knew he had no time. He exchanged a glance at Emma, who looked as pale as ice.


    Grimacing at this turn of events, Kain just grabbed the Elf and they dived into a thicket nearby, hoping to use that as a cover while they crawled to safety. Her bow nearly got caught in the branches, but she was quick witted enough to free herself out of it before she got tangled in it.


    By this time, the six armed Fiend also noticed the rumbling, and stopped its feast. Looking at the direction where the disturbance was coming from, it roared threateningly, chunks of bloodied entrails falling out of its mouth. The cause of the rumbling returned the roar in kind.


    When that roar hit Kain''s eardrums, his memories got triggered. He remembered this roar. It was from that crimson dragon-like Fiend.


    A cold chill ran down his back. Out of all the Fiends populating this accursed forest, that Fiend was the very last thing he wanted to see, even less than that of the smug face of the Old Man.


    Sure enough, the familiar head of the crimson Fiend burst out of the dense forestation like an explosion of TNT, emerging out into the open. Kain knew the Fiend only ran off from the extended assaults from the numerous Golems, but to see it not even hurting slightly from that fight made his heart sink to the very bottom.


    But that was the least of his problems.


    The moment Emma saw the crimson Fiend, she muttered a single word, before her eyes glazed over in fear, her body trembling like a wet puppy.


    She said, ¡°Wyrm.¡±


    The Wyrm easily dwarfed the six armed Fiend. Even its fierce countenance looked scared now, its six arms rising up in a defensive posture. Kain couldn''t tell how this fight would go, but whatever the case may be, he didn''t feel like waiting around to find out.


    ¡°C''mon, Emma. Let''s get out of here. Come on, snap out of it!!¡±


    Kain whispered urgently at Emma, who have completely lost all control of her self. She simply gazed on at the Fiend, her eyes glazed over. There was even a hint of tears in her eyes too.


    She then proceeded to hug her knees and plopped down on the ground, terrified out of her mind. This shocked Kain more than he thought it might.


    She had been unflappable until this point. She didn''t hesitate in her actions, she was precise in her movements, and most of all, she knew when to take an appropriate action.


    Yet, here she was, an emotional wreck, unable to move from her spot.


    And it got even worse.


    The necklace on her neck began to emit an eerie crimson glow. More correctly, the dull, ruby-like gemstone that hung on a cheap leather string around her neck did.


    The emission of light grew stronger in a blink. It was too fast for him to react. Panicking, he rushed in, trying to grab the necklace with his open palm. The idea was to hide the light-emitting gemstone inside his hands.


    He was mere inches away from grasping it, when an outward explosion of Aeterna knocked him off his feet, throwing him backward like a stuntman from an action movie. Kain nearly cried out in shock and pain.


    The light show and the Aeterna explosion attracted the attention of both the Wyrm and the six-armed Fiend towards where Emma was kneeling. As for Kain, he was tumbling backward into some bushes, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth, his innards in deep turmoil and his energy going haywire.


    He felt like all his blood flow reversed and was trying to reenter his heart, thereby causing a cardiac arrest or something similar. Suffice to say, it hurt like hell.


    When he finally stopped tumbling through the sharp and pointy branches he vomited out a mouthful of blood, before falling face first on the dirt with a thud. Every time he took a ragged breath, the dust of the forest floor swept up and some entered his nostrils, stinging him even further.


    As his mind cleared, he recognized this incredibly painful sensation. After all, this was not the first time he had experienced it. In fact, this was his second time that he got blasted with Aeterna like this.


    Back when he entered the underground chamber of the World Tree, the thick and pervading Aeterna flowed all around him and formed into various shapes of animals. One of them roared and gave him a similar internal injury.


    Compared to that, though, this one was a dozen times worse. He couldn''t even sit up, nor even move. He was literally licking the dirt, just like the Old Man had said before.


    It felt like every bone in his body was broken. It felt like both his lungs have ruptured. It felt like his brain had turned into a mush. Yet, his vision was remarkably clear.


    In his vision, he saw the two giant Fiends trying to approach Emma who remained rooted in her spot, still kneeling and hugging her knees.


    In his vision, he saw the two giant Fiends starting a fierce battle against each other, seemingly trying to claim Emma as the prize.


    In his vision, he saw the Wyrm tear off one of the arms of the Giant, making it no longer a six-armed, but five-armed instead.


    In his vision, the fight intensified, the destruction caused by the two giant Fiends increasing in its radius.


    The Wyrm swiped its massive tail out like a baseball pitcher going for a home run. The five-armed Giant caught the tail, but ended up throwing up a mouthful of black blood. The impact pushed the Giant back, causing the ground to gouge out and starting a minor earthquake and a tempest of fierce wind.


    Emma was swept up by the wind, and was flung away. She didn''t even scream.


    Kain watched, his eyes bloodshot, as the Elf flew and smashed into a broad trunk of the tree, completely shattering it. Amongst all the flying debris, he lost sight of her.


    No!! Damn it!!


    Anger swelled up in his heart, pushing down the bone-shaking fear until it was pretty much forgotten. He wanted to make a mincemeat out of those two Fiends, but he couldn''t even lift his finger.


    No, I can stand. I can, and I will!!


    Gritting his teeth, Kain somehow forced his arms to slide under his torso and support his weight. Every muscle, every ligament and every bone in his body creaked and moaned in pain. Yet, through nothing more than sheer willpower, he managed to sit up.


    Now what? What can I do?!


    Kain grimaced as the stabbing pain almost laid him flat again. Enduring it all, he kept on pushing himself until he was on his feet, swaying from side to side like a drunkard. His vision clouded over as blood from a cut on his forehead flowed down on his eyes.


    He raised his hands to wipe away the blood only to see the two Fiends still engaged in a mortal combat. However, Kain now could see the Wyrm had a small advantage. As for how he could discern that, he wasn''t quite sure, just his gut feeling telling him so.


    He also noticed a burn mark on his palm. It was jet black, it stung, and was still smoldering like a fresh brand.


    However, in front of his widening eyes, the brand, the burn mark, slowly morphed its form, its outline.... until it became a bird!!


    Through it, Kain felt an enormous amount of Aeterna converging from the nature surrouding him and trying to flow inside his body. That was just as painful as him getting struck with another Aeterna explosion. Stupefied, he didn''t know what was going on, nor what to do with this bizarre mark.


    Before long, there was so much Aeterna swirling and entering him, the ground began to crack apart, and the air started to boil. His long, unkempt hair stood up on the end, so did his ruined tunic, lifting up in the air as if there was some kind of updraft around him.


    Kain felt power like he''d never ever felt it. It was intoxicating and horrifying at the same time. His thirst for power exploded, and he began to laugh maniacally. Even his voice changed, sounding distorted and deep like a monster''s.


    He didn''t notice any of that. No, what he noticed was his perception increasing to an alarming degree. He could perceive every minute strand and wave of Aeterna flowing in nature. He could discern every little detail of each and all of those strands. And if he willed, he felt like he could control them. The more he looked, more he was sure of this.


    On top of that, he began to perceive another form of energy, hidden well beneath the flowing Aeterna, and much harder to spot. It was colorless, formless, shapeless, yet full of vitality.


    Is that... is that ch''i?!


    Kain suddenly gained an enlightenment. He knew, instinctively, that strange energy was the ch''i of the Nature, an invisible thread that held the heaven and earth together.


    When he reached out, just a tiny bit of it floated and entered him, nourishing him in an instant. When it did, his vision cleared up, his injuries hurt less, and he understood even more than he did before.


    What he understood was that, this boost in power and perception wouldn''t last. His body wouldn''t be able to bear it for much longer. He needed to release it, or else.


    But if he did, then all he gained right at this moment would be lost. His enlightenment, his ability to perceive ch''i, all of it would be gone.


    He didn''t hesitate. His choice was an obvious one from the start. He''d use up this temporary power up to kick some serious ass.


    His increasing aura caused a brief halt to the deadly fight between the Wyrm and the five-armed giant. Both their eyes grew even ruthless as they stared at him, avaricious hunger all too visible in their eyes. Now they wanted to devour him at all cost no matter what.


    Through the temporary clarity, he knew he couldn''t possibly take both of the Fiends even with this power up. He needed to become even more stronger than now. That was the only way to survive this ordeal. Good thing, he knew exactly what options were available to him at this very moment.


    Kain reached up and called out. ¡°Orion!! Get your butt over here, right now!!¡±


    His voice boomed out, sending out ripples of power that didn''t lose to either of the giant Fiends. When his perception increased, he also spotted Orion the Roc hatchling not too far away, as well as another type of sense observing the battle scene.


    Kain figured that sense belonged to the Old Man, the smug bastard observing and doing nothing again. This pissed him off much, and an idea formed in his head on how to mess with the crazy old fool.


    Since he seemed to cherish that bird, Kain would naturally abuse it and gain an extra boost of power.


    His voice reached Orion, who was watching the whole thing develop with a grim expression. But when the ripples contained in the voice entered its brain, it froze up, losing all sentient will. Instead, it quickly flew down to where Kain was, and landed on his outstretched hand.


    Kain roared out like a primordial beast, his energy surging. This feeling of power intoxicated him, inundating his logic like a golden honey drizzled over the finest pancake ever made. This power and him went so well together, it was as if they were meant for each other.


    The moment he realized this, one more amazing thing happened. Suddenly, a small void opened up in his lower belly. This void was invisible, and did not exist in the physical realm. If one cut open Kain''s belly now, it wouldn''t be there. Yet, he clearly sensed it opening.


    This change was accompanied by Orion dissolving into a form of pure flame-like energy.


    Kain''s body, without a prompt from him, absorbed this energy. It burned through all his nerves, his blood vessels, his marrows, and settled down on this open space, merging with it as a single entity.


    When it did, the surge in power went through the proverbial roof. His entire body was now enveloped in a pure crimson flame-like aura, burning away his clothes and everything around him in a 10 Ruten radius.


    With his clothes all burnt away, his body was now in full view, and even more shockingly, now on his back a mural of a grand, magnificent Roc wrapped in Eternal Flames appeared. It was so vivid, as if the Roc depicted was alive, and ready to take flight at any given moment.


    This Roc lifted its head and cawed. At its call, the heaven ceased turning over, the air stopped circulating, and the time came to a grinding halt. Even the two Fiends trembled in fear.


    The sunlight faded and the overwhelming darkness blanketed the entire world. The only source of light was Kain and the Eternal Flame burning as his aura.


    He slowly raised his hand, and pointed his index finger at the two Fiends. He spoke softly, but his voice was no longer his.


    ¡°Burn.¡±


    The Roc cawed again from his back.


    Suddenly, the ground rumbled like a magnitude 9 earthquake. The air sizzled, boiling and hissing as if it was water trapped in a pot.


    If they had hairs, the Wyrm and the five-armed giant would''ve felt theirs standing on end, as the indescribable deathly chills caressed their cheeks like a graceful lady grim reaper might do.


    It was at this point when the Wyrm decided to chicken out. It valued its life more than an opportunity to devour a creature that possessed such a strong connection to the Ether. Its long life had ensured it that a certain instinct to prioritize survival take root in its heart.


    Might as well, because as soon as the Wyrm turned tail and began to run, a two hundred meter-large Roc made up of pure flames broke out from the rumbling ground. It cawed aggressively and flew directly towards the giant and the fleeing Wyrm.


    The resulting explosion was even heard in Somerset, a hundred of miles away. It was so powerful, in fact, even the Old Man, who was sure enough observing via his Yi Hai, was deeply shocked and impressed by the ferocity and the scale. It wasn''t strong enough to take down a false god, no, but it sure was powerful enough to destroy a God Remnant if it were hit directly in the face.


    The Old Man was delighted, of course. This result exceeded his estimation. Who knew there was such a secret in the boy''s.... physiology. With a right type of nurturing, not even the heaven could oppose this kid at his full flight, let alone a puny false god or two.


    Meanwhile, out in the forest, the world was burning down. Nothing in front of Kain remained. Not a thing, not even a blade of grass. The absolute darkness that blocked the sunlight was fading away, and as the light returned to the world, the air once more began moving as well.


    The five-armed giant was burnt to a smoldering heap, and so was the vegetation around the explosion site. However, the Wyrm survived, just, and was fleeing at its top speed, not even bothering to look back.


    If it did, then it would have seen Kain limply falling back on the ground, unconscious. The mural of the majestic Roc slowly faded away, the aura of Eternal Flames dissipating away.


    And right next to the boy, Orion materialized as the last of the Flames disappeared. The bird looked quite confused, quickly looking around and trying to figure out what just had happened while it was distracted.


    Orion didn''t notice the open space in Kain''s belly closing up. But surprisingly, it didn''t close completely, and a tiny sliver, not even a 1/100<sup>th</sup> of its original size rapidly filled with ch''i that hadn''t escaped from the boy. The open space began to gently and quietly hum away and slowly filled him with restorative power.


    Orion was utterly confused. It could not figure out what happened here. It sensed a shocking amount of Fire-type Aeterna all over the site of destruction but as to what caused such a scary scenery, where the earth was scorched right in front of it in the radius of dozens and dozens of Rutens, it had no clue.


    Orion didn''t even contemplate Kain as the culprit. The thought didn''t even enter its mind, not even once.


    After searching for a bit, there was nothing more he could do, so it swept down to the heap of the giant Fiend, and rummaged through the ashes until it found a large gray pearl the size of a child''s fist. It cawed happily and embraced it like a lover, before throwing suspicious looks around to make sure no one saw what it was doing.


    However, Orion couldn''t do anything, as out of nowhere, the vine people from the Tetamus fort popped out from the ground and began carrying Kain and Emma back to the city. It heard its master''s call, telling it to hurry back.


    Reluctantly, Orion took flight, the glittering pearl reflecting the crisp late summer sunlight.


    (Okay, the next chapter is supposed to come out in three days'' time, but that puts it at 24th of December. Not sure whether I can make that deadline or not.... Most likely ''not''. If so, I''d probably post a chapter on 26th, as 25th is also going to be a busy, busy day for me. No time to write or browse the Interwebz!! Boo Hoo.)

 Chapter 30

    <h2 class="western" lang="en-ZA" style="text-align: center">30</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Kain felt somewhat rather strange at this very moment.


    As he sat on the stone bed inside a room in the Tetamus fort and covered in bandages from head to toe, he felt several conflicting emotions enter his mind, trying to gain dominance over other thoughts. It really was an incongruous feeling, indeed.


    The very first thing he felt was a bitter emptiness when he tried to recall the awesome power he experienced. He couldn''t remember. No, that''s not quite right ¨C he remembered being inundated with this otherworldly power, and using this power to overcome the obstacles in front of him. But for the life of him, he could not recall what it was like to live through it.


    It was as if he was only there as a mere bystander, looking through a TV screen. Thus, he felt empty and distant.


    The second thing was confusion, something the Old Man was responsible for. After all, he told Kain about the slight possibility that he might, just might, reacquire that very power if he stay put and train. So the confusion arose in his heart, because the next two emotions fought over each other.


    The third emotion he felt was a desire that bubbled up dangerously like a boiling magma. A desire to regain what he had tasted, grasped and controlled only to have it taken away from him. He subconsciously desired to get it all back. To feel that power and to bathe in it, to revel in it. He desired all of that.


    And the final emotion was reluctance. He was reluctant to believe the Old Man''s words. More than that, he was reluctant to tread the path that could lead to his eventual demise. If you knew where the road would end ¨C a dead end ¨C then why should you walk on it? Why not try to find another way?


    The power Kain wielded in that brief moment left an indelible mark on his psyche. It was like a powerful drug, intoxicating his senses and overwhelming his logic. He desperately wanted to relive those moments again.


    ¡°Well? Have you made up your mind or not?¡±


    The Old Man grinned slyly, as he leaned forward on his vine stool. His eyes carefully studied Kain''s face, tracking every minute change in the boy''s emotional state.


    Kain gritted his teeth. What choice was there for him to make? The moment he was given a taste of that power, the point of no return was reached for him. Even his reluctance, his fear of the future could not dissuade him from walking on this path. That was it.


    So, all he could do for now was to nod and show his consent. ¡°Yes. Let''s.¡±


    Uttering those two words took a lot out of Kain. Because he realized what saying them meant ¨C that he''d willingly stay in this forest for however long it would take him to regain that power. That meant he''d not try to go back Riverfield, to his parents in this world, to the comfy life he dreamed of having.


    It was a big commitment to make.


    The Old Man''s grin grew wider. He slapped his knee pleased, and stood up. ¡°Good. Good. Give your self completely to the training program I''ll set up for you. Don''t waver and fight for every inch, and you''ll be able to mount the ultimate summit sooner than you think!! That much I guarantee it.¡±


    Yeah, well. Whatever. Kain sighed weakly.


    His body ached and throbbed, like there was no tomorrow. It had been a week since that fateful day, and a full three days since he had woken up, but this pain did not lessen with the passage of the time. Instead, it felt like it was only getting stronger.


    ¡°Your body is going through a metamorphosis, that''s why. You need to endure until it''s complete,¡± said the Old Man. ¡°A human body begins to.... solidify, when it reaches a bone marrow age of ten years old. Luckily, you are not yet six, which is perfect. Now I can remold you the way it''s supposed to be. Just perfect.¡±


    Chuckling, the Old Man stood up. Waving his hand grandly, he continued.


    ¡°For now, rest up and recover. We''ll start training right away.¡±


    As he headed for the door, Kain asked for Emma''s condition. The last thing he remembered was seeing her hit a tree, disappearing into the dust storm.


    When he temporarily gained that amazing power, he could sense the flames of her life force flickering away like a candle in a tempest as if he had developed an internal radar of some kind. That''s how he knew she didn''t die.


    ¡°She''s fine. That girl is tougher than she looks. She''s resting now, something you should do, too.¡±


    Then the Old Man left promptly, not even giving Kain another chance to ask other questions. Questions such as, how did he come to acquire that kind of power in the first place?


    Kain silently mulled over. His deductions all pointed towards the mysterious ruby-like gemstone in Emma''s necklace. That thing began glowing when the crimson Wyrm suddenly showed up on the scene. Before that, she was frozen in a debilitating fear the kind Kain hadn''t seen before. Only in the movies, maybe.


    Can''t be a coincidence, Kain mused to himself, wondering what could be the connection here.


    He tried to think a bit more, but his head hurt, and so, he went to sleep. That was easier said than done, though.


    ~


    Katrina was sitting on a chair by a long and quiet corridor where only a distant murmurs could be heard. She was grumbling inwardly, slightly dissatisfied with some things that had happened so far. Next to her, Lizbeth and Kaleena sat, waiting for a door next to them to open and welcome them in.


    She was grumbling because of the results from the Festival of Soaring Will. And what it said was crystal clear ¨C Kaleena was a freak of nature.


    Truthfully, little Katrina already knew very well that her younger cousin was indeed a stupendously gifted girl, a fact she had to acknowledge regardless of the cost to her pride. Just that, by working hard she thought that just maybe, she could close the existing gap between the two of them.


    Alas, it seemed all her hard work for the past two and a bit years was somewhat in vain.


    The test results have clearly demonstrated Kaleena''s supreme compatibility with all things Aeterna. Nominally, she had four Elemental Affinities, but it was also proven that she had what was described as Quasi-Affinities with all the others.


    A Quasi-Affinity meant an Invoker could utilize the Element to more than three quarters of the potential while a full Affinity would be able to draw out all of the effects. Others without any Affinities whatsoever to that particular Element, like Katrina, it would be considered an accomplishment if she could utilize around a half.


    The day this incredible talent was announced, three of the sitting grand Elders of SOIR came down to see Kaleena. She became a big news in the Academy overnight. Some even went as far as saying that she was the second coming of the fabled One Sorcerer. This claim made Katrina grumble even more.


    The legend of the One Sorcerer was not well known outside of the SOIR''s circle of Invokers. But those who knew, or at least heard about it, understood the implications of such a claim, the weight that carried.


    Of course, being the daughter of a former Capital noble, Katrina had heard about the fearsome entity that was the One Sorcerer before, although nothing more than that of a bedtime lullaby sung to her by her mother, then later by the nanny.


    Every Invoker dreamed of becoming this One Sorcerer at least once in his or her lifetime. Even though the actual person had lived in the ancient times, nowadays it was more like a symbol, an ideal, a goal that all Invokers strove for.


    The One Sorcerer, truly at one in mind and soul with Aeterna, wielding it with absolutely no restrictions at all, capable of summoning up every imaginable spell there ever was. A figure of true legend, surpassing the highest of Invoker ranking currently recognized by SOIR, that was the One Sorcerer.


    And now, to think, Kaleena was being compared to that legendary figure. Of course Katrina couldn''t help but grumble, although she''d never do that publicly. She had too much class for that. Her father made sure to instill such important mannerisms in her.


    Right now, the three of them were waiting for the fitting of uniforms. Infused with a specialized Invocation, the fabric was designed to grow with its wearer. Once a student was measured and fitted, he or she had no need to find another uniform unless it was ruined in some way, or changed the learning institutions.


    The uniforms they were going to get denoted the district the two girls would study in, named Elder Emeritus Kobus District which was where kids aged ten and younger were sent to.


    Within it, there were dozen schools there, arranged in a way to separate those with clearly superior talents from those who didn''t.


    Either by a good fortune or rotten luck, Katrina was to enter the same school as Kaleena. Her talents were considered above average, bordering on a genius level, even. Normally, she''d be treated as a star but, with her cousin around, it all seemed a bit ordinary to say the least.


    Hence, them waiting in the same corridor, in order to get the same uniforms.


    There were a few days left before the official start of the school curriculum, and most of the kids accepted had in fact finished with their preparations, Katrina and Kaleena being the exceptions. For the last couple days Lizbeth led the two around in a mad dash trying to get everything sorted and it was so tiring. One more reason to grumble about, Katrina supposed.


    ¡°Hmm. The people before us sure are taking a long time,¡± sighed Lizbeth, as she took a glance towards the hourglass set up at the end of the corridor. It was an Invocation Tool designed to flip around at the sound of the hourly bell.


    Seeing the dripping sand, she estimated that they have been sitting here for the past hour. They still had things to do after the fittings were complete, so this wastage of precious time was not helpful at all to the schedule she had in mind.


    Deciding to stay patient for a little longer, she turned to the kids and asked if they were alright. The girls grumbled, one from boredom and the other from a mixture of emotions, but ultimately they answered that they were fine.


    Lizbeth was about to suggest reciting on Invocation spells'' Requisite Words to pass the time when without a signal the door to the outfitters opened suddenly.


    Through the open doorway, a throng of people emerged, at least fifteen strong in number. Even Lizbeth''s eyebrow twitched slightly, as she realized that most of these people were servants and only the two were not. As a matter of fact, those two, a mother and a daughter not any older than Katrina, were nobles of a high peerage. The pompous air they carried was a dead giveaway. The servants were carrying a massive amount of wrapped luggage, all of them seemingly that of the uniforms for the girl.


    No wonder they took so long, Lizbeth mulled sourly. Ordering that many outfits for her own child.... How envious.


    The older noblewoman paid a slight, nonchalant glance at Lizbeth and the two children, before walking past them in an elegant way. But her daughter hesitated a little.


    When the eyes of this pompous little noble girl set upon Katrina, a look of recognition flashed past, before a sneer of disdain formed on her lips.


    Katrina''s expression darkened in an instant as she too recognized who this was.


    The young noble girl then whispered something to her mother, which was followed by another look of surprise and then of a sneer, this time from the older woman.


    ¡°Well, isn''t it a delightful shock to see you here, Miss Katrina Septima Lomax? How have you been? It''s been ages since last I had the pleasure of your company.¡±


    The pompous little noble girl mockingly spoke, her tone dripping with sarcasm.


    Katrina did her very best to suppress her swelling anger, and just a tiny bit of shame which she couldn''t really understand why she felt it in this moment. Still, she managed to paint a fake smile on her face and curtsied like a proper lady.


    ¡°How are you, Lady Patricia Benedict Henson, Lady Almeria Benedict Henson? It has been a long time.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no need to be modest,¡± said the younger of the Benedict Henson girl, Almeria. She brought a white gloved hand over to her mouth and spoke as if she was slightly mortified. ¡°I do apologize, it seems I''ve forgotten to inquire about your fate after the unfortunate incident of your father. There were many other things, you see. Please, do forgive me, this once.¡±


    ¡°Yes, do forgive my dear. She could be rather forgetful, when faced with so many important prior engagements.¡±


    Almeria''s mother, Patricia butted in, also carrying a sneer in her eyes. Then, she swept her gaze over to Lizbeth and Kaleena. She didn''t recognize them, but that didn''t stop her from having a low evaluation of the two standing near Katrina.


    The reasoning was simple enough ¨C their clothes were shabby at best, and atrocious at worst. Even though Lizbeth was a clearly a beautiful woman that made Patricia slightly jealous, in the end the woman from the Benedict Henson family deemed it unnecessary to remember anything about her.


    Still, etiquette dictated that she should at least enquire a name. ¡°Oh, pardon my behavior. I am Lady Patricia Benedict Henson, wife of the Earl of West Skrife Valley, Sir Alfred Benedict Henson.¡±


    ¡°Well met, Lady Patricia. My name is Lady Lizbeth Ravenswood Lomax, wife of Baron of Riverfield, Sir Damien Lucius Lomax. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    Lizbeth maintained a neutral face as she offered a standard greeting. In her heart, she could already sense a potential disaster brewing here if she didn''t tread carefully. A disaster for her daughter and Katrina, that was.


    ¡°Oh, you''re his wife. I see. Well, I do have to say, in my humble opinion you''re wasted in a backwater territory like Riverfield. With your looks, and the rumored talent in Invocation, you could have had considerable fame and fortune here in the Capital. What a pity.¡±


    That wasn''t enough to ruffle Lizbeth''s feathers. Not enough barbs there. Instead, she answered with a flat voice. ¡°Not necessarily, Lady Patricia. The Capital is vast and filled with many more talented individuals than I. There is no guarantee I could have done anything exceptional here.¡±


    ¡°That is indeed true,¡± smirked Patricia, before her eyes settled on Kaleena, She cocked an eyebrow slightly, wondering why she was feeling on guard so suddenly when she looked at this little girl''s face. It was as if she should have remembered something about her, yet had forgotten completely due to not paying any attention. Or maybe she was too stupid and conceited to care.


    Either way, she thought it was rather unpleasant, so she harrumphed coldly, having decided that she would dawdle no longer and waste time speaking to a lower ranked nobility. Before all that was achieved, though, she felt a need to have the last word. ¡°Well, we shall be on our way, Lady Lizbeth. But do remember, just because your children have been granted entry into the Academy, doesn''t mean they were born with talents. Talents much inferior to my Almeria, in any case.¡±


    With a simple nod, she led her impressive retinue away silently and outwardly at least, gracefully like a finely cultured lady.


    Katrina glared at the back of Almeria for a bit, before realizing that from the look on her face, she was no longer in that girl''s thoughts, just like a passing wind that didn''t leave any impression behind. That was even more mortifying, being ignored and forgotten, somehow far worse than on the receiving end of ridicule by a contemptible person like Almeria or her mother.


    It was like as if she didn''t exist in this world anymore.


    It was when Kaleena quietly grasped Katrina''s trembling shoulders, waking her out of the humiliated state. Turning to vent her rising irritation on her cousin, she instead saw warmth and concern in those slightly different colored eyes and felt guilty thinking about getting angry at her.


    Her face reddening from shame and guilt, Karina turned her head away, this time glaring at the direction Amelia and her mother took. She swore that one day, she''d be able to properly put them in place where they belong.


    ¡°Do not mind them, Katrina, Kaleena. There are many odious people like that in the Capital. Although a noble is forbidden to flaunt his or her influence within the Academy, that doesn''t guarantee their sense of superiority suddenly disappearing into the thin air. It is best to grow stronger and pile up achievements that clearly speak for themselves. Understand?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Both girls nodded and replied with a resounding ¡°Yes!!¡±


    Nodding back in satisfaction, Lizbeth led them inside the open door and a waiting tailor who carried an indifferent expression to it all.


    ~


    ¡°So, uh, no more beatings?¡±


    Kain asked cautiously, as he eyed the surroundings warily.


    He still had a mental scar from that time, when a vine struck him in his man sausage. Just remembering that gave him an illusory pain down there.


    ¡°What do you mean, beatings? That was just to open up your clogged and closed meridians in conjunction with the meat buns to reshape your body. You should be glad that I went to that length to reform you, you brat.¡±


    The Old Man coldly harrumphed, and waved his hands once in the air.


    They were now in an empty chamber inside the fort, a space big enough for a bedroom. Once the Old Man''s gesture ended, vines rose from the ground, and formed into two rectangular paddings similar in shape to a yoga mat.


    He sat on one cross-legged, and directed the boy to sit on the other.


    Gingerly, Kain sat down. His injuries were mostly healed by now and he had no trouble moving. Still, he had never sat with his legs crossed before, in this life or the previous one, so he had to do it carefully.


    Once he was seated, the Old Man continued. ¡°Right. From now on, we will alternate between physical training where you get to grips with the current limit of your body, and of spiritual training where you practice dealing with ch''i freely.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean I get to do one of those cultivation sutras? You know, like from those Chinese Web Novels.¡±


    ¡°Cultivate? What, are you a bacteria? Or a cabbage?¡± The Old Man scorned, and shook his head. ¡°Hmm. Maybe it''s not that inaccurate a description in that yes, you indeed cultivate your mind and body. But still, what a lazy and ultimately incorrect method of learning martial arts.¡±


    Kain frowned, but refrained from making a smart comeback. Who knows what the cranky Old Man might do on a whim.


    They discussed the training regime for a bit. What the Old Man proposed was naturally quite outrageous.


    ¡°A thousand punches and kicks every hour?! And I have to do that for three hours straight? Are you kidding me??¡±


    Kain groaned in shock. Let alone being fit enough to achieve the quota, he might not even go the half way distance. And even if he did, he might lose all his hair and go totally bold in three years.


    Ignoring him, the Old Man then told him how to train the spiritual aspect of him, via a specialized meditation technique.


    ¡°But before that.... turn around, and face the other way.¡± The Old Man gestured with his hands.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Just do it already, will you.¡±


    Reluctantly Kain sat with his back toward the Old Man. Clearing his throat, he came closer.


    ¡°What I''m about to do now, I haven''t done it in decades so I might be a little rusty. If it hurts... well, endure it for now, okay?¡±


    Before Kain could reply to this unsettling revelation, the Old Man placed both of his palms against the boy''s shoulder blades. Even with the tunic, Kain felt the rough and weather-worn skin of the man.


    And more importantly, it felt very hot. Unnaturally so. Almost like as if there was a pair of scolding hot irons pressing down on him.


    ¡°Be still. This is all to stabilize the foundation of your Sanbao as soon as possible. So, endure no matter what!!¡±


    The Old Man then sent forth a sliver of his own ch''i to the boy''s still tiny and weak meridians, and to his three dan tians near his forehead, his heart, and down in his lower belly.


    The hot sensation from his palms entered Kain, and a sudden numbness gripped the boy like a steel vice. He found it exceedingly difficult to even breathe.


    As for the heat itself, it coiled and scorched inside his veins and internal organs as if trying to singe him alive from within. The pain was incredible to say the least.


    ¡°Breathe, you fool. Breathe, like this.¡±


    The Old Man noticed his difficulty in breathing and demonstrated a breathing technique quickly. Kain tried to imitate that, and was relieved to feel some of the pressure soften a little, giving him room to take in some much needed air.


    Then, just like that, he felt something inside twitch ever so slightly, almost unnoticed. A ton of pressure like hundreds of weights bore down on various parts of his body and he felt like he''d be crushed in mere seconds.


    But the heat from the Old Man''s palms weakened and lightened them whenever it shot toward the affected area. This heaviness and lightness alternated, all over his body, worming in and out of his vital organs and flowing like a stream of magma dancing to a beat of its own.


    Kain gasped out whenever this heat moved past certain points in his body, and whenever he breathed out like that, a dark mist-like air exhaled out from his lungs. The heat caused a powerful, rippling sensation that was increasingly more bone-shaking than the one that came before.


    ¡°Good, good. That''s good. Let it flow through you. Don''t resist it.¡±


    The Old Man mumbled slowly while observing the ch''i flow in Kain''s meridians. When the critical juncture arrived, he began to murmur in Mandarin the incantations of the ancient Tao system.


    Kain heard it, but he couldn''t understand it. But the weird thing was, every word uttered by the Old Man began to imprint itself within his psyche. One by one, like a hot brand left on a leather skin the words that looked like an indescribable scribble of lines burned into his mind, on top of each other like layers of a cake.


    He heard illusory booms echoing in his head. His vision blurred for a moment, before clearing up. All the heaviness that weighed on him suddenly left him as if all of it were lies.


    His pupils shrank as he received a shock after another shock as his metaphorical eyes opened up. Kain now could see things so clearly.


    He saw the veins on the wings of a fly as it buzzed past in a super-slow motion. He saw the streak of iridescent light in thousand little chemical vapors dispersing through the air, something no naked eyes should be able to see.


    And with that he witnessed the air molecules shiver as a soft breeze blew across. He even could see some sort of energy, vitality, coursing through the vines all around him, on the walls, under his butt, everywhere in this room.


    It was life. He was seeing it as clearly as he would see the flow of Aeterna.


    Is this.... ch''i?


    Kain mulled softly. He witnessed something like this when fighting to drive off the Wyrm and the six armed giant. Currently the clarity and the depth of his perception lacked compared to that time, but the mere fact that he could decipher this much at all, made his heart palpitate with excitement.


    ¡°What you are experiencing right now is because one of your dan tian, Shang, is opening up. Consider it as if your third eye has opened up.¡±


    Kain breathed in deeply, awed at the fact that this was happening to him. There were literally million and one questions he wanted to ask, but the Old Man cut him off. ¡°Don''t be impatient. This much is negligible. So don''t get too excited, you fool.¡±


    He snorted and suddenly, the sensation of heat left Kain''s body abruptly. The clarity of his vision dimmed to a point where as if he was a blind or something, but a tiny bit of that wondrous feeling remained. Still, the loss of it gave him the similar sense of emptiness he felt not too long ago.


    He turned around to finally satisfy his curiosity when a bout of lightheadedness assaulted him.


    Ugh, this feeling, again?!


    Kain groaned and slowly toppled over, his eyes closing gradually.


    Before he completely slipped out of consciousness, he witnessed the Old Man wipe the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of his white robe, a streak of crimson leaving behind a trail on the crisp fabric.


    ~


    Kaleena''s eyes glittered in excitement as she took the very first step into the lecture hall. She''s never been in an environment where there were so many kids of similar age to her. To say it was like a land of opportunity for her was not entirely incorrect.


    On the other hand, Katrina next to her was dreading this day. Not that she had no guts to face other kids, no. It was just that, she wasn''t so sure how she''d react to being stared at with antagonizing eyes. All she hoped for was to not act too violently or lash out unnecessarily.


    The hall was laid out in a fashion similar to how a university''s would look like, with the lecturer at the front with a blackboard-like surface behind him, and the learners, children of various ages, gender and races sat two across behind in tall wooden desks, each position higher than the ones in front to offer an unrestricted view of the board.


    Because of Kaleena''s results from the Festival of Soaring Will was so terrific, she was immediately placed into Andrea L. Pressario School of Excellence, the highest ranked learning institution in the Elder Emeritus Kobus District. Even in there, the class they attended was reserved for the very best of the lot.


    Katrina got in the same class by the skin of her teeth. She may not have been the natural born talent but her strict training regime by her father meant she had a very good head start compared to the other kids when it came to the areas of basics. Still, competing against talents was not a cakewalk at all.


    As soon as the two settled down on their assigned seats, Katrina immediately recognized two faces here. One of them.... was Amelia Benedict Henson.


    The other was a boy named Brendan Vulpes Gleeson, a third son of Vulpes Gleeson dynasty that wielded a considerable financial clout within the Empire. A descendant of the elusive Vulpes Vulpes clan from up north, they were known to be wily and cunning, but also highly skilled and honorable towards those who maintain friendly relationships.


    She met the boy with a luxurious light reddish brown fur and a pair of long, slender ears before her mother fell ill. Back then, Derrick enjoyed quite a circle of acquaintances and one of them happened to be Brendan''s dad.


    She hadn''t seen him at all after all the misfortune that fell upon her father. However, Brendan Senior had come to speak to Derrick on one occasion before the pair''s departure from the Capital, and the chat seemed to be amiable in nature. Katrina didn''t know what all of that meant, though.


    While Amelia was giving a scornful What on earth are you doing here kind of look at her, Brendan''s face lit up when he recognized Katrina.


    The boy eagerly waved his hand, his face full of beaming smile. Seeing this, Katrina''s face cramped up a little, remembering just how much this boy used to cling on to her.


    As a courtesy, she did return the wave but she made sure it was short, and ended it abruptly. Kaleena, who was watching this exchange, narrowed her eyes and giggled, after sensing something here.


    ¡°Who is that? You know that boy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do. But my dear cousin, please pay it no mind. Because I certainly won''t.¡±


    Hearing the tone in the curt reply, Kaleena understood immediately she had found something that could be a goldmine. So, she began asking all sorts of questions.


    Katrina felt a headache incoming. Her troubles were alleviated the moment the lecturer entered the hall, causing the noisy kids to quieten down and find their individual seats.


    The lecturer was kindly old male Bovidaskin, an Invoker of the Pinnacle Expert rank, only a step away from becoming a full Master. He wrote his name on the blackboard with an Invocation spell that glowed in rainbow of colors ¨C Expert Zeos Taurus Momoe.


    Even though he was on the old side, he still possessed impressive bulk that was a racial trait of his tribe, Bovidaskin. If Kain could see him, he''d scream out ¡°A Minotaur!!¡± by now.


    Bovidaskins usually were known to be recalcitrant and unfriendly towards other races so they hardly interacted out of their own territories. And Invokers hailing from there was just as rare too. So that point alone made Zeos something of an oddity, as he had a warm and patient personality, which was reflected in the way he spoke. This also put the young kids in his class at ease.


    He began his lecture by introducing the content of this particular curriculum, what he expected from the learners in his class, a reminder of the rules set up by the school and finally, with the very basics of Invocation, a system designed to allow humanoids to wield Aeterna as freely and successfully as possible.


    The lecturer coughed to clear his throat, and began his lecture in earnest.


    ¡°Now everyone, can you correctly name all three tiers of Elements that have been discovered so far? Raise your hands high, if you feel like you know the correct answer.¡±


    Many kids raised their hands eagerly, trying to get the attention of the lecturer.


    Katrina was among them, but Kaleena refrained from emulating her cousin. That was because she was not completely sure of the answer. If Lizbeth knew about this, then she''d shed a tear of blood.... After all, that''s what she tried hard to teach her daughter, the basics.


    After several kids jostled for the lecturer''s attention, finally a girl was picked from the back. And to Katrina''s disgust, it was Almeria again.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Almeria, please speak.¡±


    Expert Zeos smiled warmly as the young Henson girl spoke.


    ¡°There are three tiers of Elements that have been discovered so far. In the first tier, there are four known Elements, Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. On the second tier, there are three Elements, that of Lightning, Light and Wood. Finally, on the third tier, Darkness, Time, and Space.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Almeria. You may sit now. Yes, what she have said is correct. There is a total of ten known ''pure'' Elements in Aeterna. However, gradually you''ll come to hear about another term, called the Hybrid Elements, later on in this class.


    ¡°Now then, can anyone also tell the rest of the class what is an Affinity and why it is very important?¡±


    Again, many kids shot up their hands. Zeos took his time, smiling happily and nodding.


    Kaleena had half a mind to raise her own hand this time around, but again she hesitated. Katrina didn''t, and eagerly tried her best to get her turn to shine.


    Disappointingly, someone else, a boy, was chosen this time.


    ¡°Sir. An Affinity is very important because it tells us which Element we can wield the best.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, an adequate answer. Thank you. You may sit now.¡±


    Zeos walked around the desk in front of the board and stood before the kids and swept his gaze across, momentarily stopping at Kaleena''s direction before moving on.


    ¡°Yes indeed, an Affinity with an Element means you will have an easier time trying to learn Invocation spells utilizing that particular Element. But it also means that you will gain a greater understanding of the Element itself as well. Of course, an Affinity is not a be-all-end-all of Invocation. Even without an Affinity, you can still wield any Elements to a certain degree as long as you try hard enough.¡±


    Leaning his bulky frame against the desk, Zeos continued.


    ¡°You can develop a Quasi-Affinity by practicing spells from the Element you wish to wield well. If you do it long enough, you will develop it. Some can be born with it, as well. In fact, many of you here who have Affinities also possess a myriad of Quasi-Affinities as well.¡±


    When he was finished, he glanced at Kaleena once more, and waved his hands in the air, causing all four first tier Elements to materialize. A ball of flame, a blob of water, a clump of soil and a whirlwind, all of them no bigger than an apple.


    ¡°See? My Affinity is with the Light Element, but since I have developed Quasi-Affinities with these four, I can freely wield them just fine.¡±


    Seeing this, kids were murmuring to each other excitedly. It was atypical to see so many Elements being wielded all at once by a single person so it was causing a stir of sorts. Even Katrina was getting interested.


    Kaleena tilted her head slightly, wondering to herself if such a thing was something so laudable. After all, she could do it as well, maybe not without the Requisite Words like Zeos, but still.


    Carrying the four Elements around, bulky old lecturer smiled gently and spoke up.


    ¡°Now normally, a person is born with an Affinity toward a single Element. In rare cases, where the gods have given their blessings, you may see a person with two, or maybe even three Affinities.¡±


    Many kids frowned at this point of the lecture. They were all from the nobility, and ever since young, they were told they possessed a boundless might and talent because it was their birthright. But upon testing, it turned out none of them were blessed with the so-called multi-Affinity.


    Those who didn''t frown, like Almeria, did possess two Affinities so they felt their self esteem shoot through the roof, seeing the inferior ones around them.


    But that got crushed for good shortly afterward. Because Zeos couldn''t hold it in anymore and proudly announced to all the other kids in the class.


    ¡°Our class is quite special, however. Because, within our midst, a young lady has come possessing not one, not two, not three but four Affinities. And to top it all off, she''s even blessed with Quasi-Affinities with the rest of six Elements!! And she is your classmate, everyone. Please, if you have any trouble with wielding a certain Element, simply take in her example and learn from that.¡±


    Zeos, beaming widely, walked towards Kaleena, and rested his huge hand on her shoulder.


    Instantly, everyone''s stares drew at the surprised girl.


    There were stares of curiosity, shock, envy, jealousy, even hatred thrown in there. Such attention made her hesitant self even more hesitant here.


    Out of the eyes that watched and studied her, there were several pairs that seemed to take a greater interest in Kaleena more than usual. One set belonged to Brendan, while the other, to shocked Almeria.


    Next to her cousin, Katrina was frowning deeply, wondering whether this development was a good one or not.


    (Merry X-Mas to y''all. Hope you enjoyed the holidays so far.)

 Chapter 31

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">31</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    The commotion inside the lecture hall continued regardless of what Kaleena or Katrina thought, many kids clamoring to speak and if possible, befriend the girl as soon as the lecture ended.


    A school day was divided into three parts. The early morning session between Eighth Hour until Ninth Hour and a Half was called the Theory, while right after until the lunch was called the Application. After lunch, a session of the Reflection was held.


    As the names suggested, during the Theory taught by Zeos, learners were subjected to a bombardment of information. Things like memorizing the Requisite Words for spells, gaining a deeper understanding of how Aeterna and the related Elements worked, history of certain spells, that sorts of things were discussed and taught during this session.


    During the Application, learners were brought out to a training ground and told to put what they learned into practice.


    The Reflection was reserved after that, a session designed to let the learners who had tried their hands at invoking spells reflect and analyze the experiences, see what they got right and wrong thereby further improving their skills.


    As the kids moved on under supervision from the lecture hall to a nearby training ground reserved exclusively for this particular class, many children were surrounding Kaleena and Katrina, asking equally many, many questions.


    Like, where she was from, or like which Elements she had Affinities with.


    Lizbeth taught both girls that asking about one''s Affinities openly was a bad thing unless the Invoker willingly spoke up first, so Kaleena simply smiled and didn''t answer. But she was happy to oblige other questions.


    In fact, she was getting along with pretty much everyone who approached her with friendly intentions quite easily. And that was slightly getting on Katrina''s nerves.


    Jealousy was one thing, but being brushed aside by the eager crowd wishing to talk to her cousin was becoming really annoying to her.


    All the way to the training ground, she maintained a sour face, occasionally glancing over at the face of her smiling and happy cousin, wondering how could she be so carefree under the circumstances.


    In the end, it was Katrina who gave up trying to understand. She sighed out loudly, and shook her head. Kaleena was a mystery not even a deity could solve at this point.


    And it was also at this point Katrina noticed a few hostile eyes firmly trained on her cousin''s direction.


    Almost all of them, she couldn''t recognize, but Almeria''s gazes, full of intense jealousy was as naked as it got.


    The Benedict Henson girl carried a twisted and ugly expression that spoke of how humiliated she felt about Kaleena taking the potential spotlight away from her.


    Her dark emotions stemmed from the kind of upbringing she had received. Back when her results from the test of Invocation talent arrived, she shook her household by possessing an unbridled potential by having two Affinities as well as three Quasi-Affinities.


    Her entire family celebrated this blessing from the gods like there was no tomorrow. After all, being an Invoker brought a great deal of prestige to any family regardless of the social standing.


    Everyone in Almeria''s family told her that she was special, that she was without a peer, that she was destined for even greater heights. And she believed those words unreservedly.


    Yet when she took one single step into the world of Invocation, the truth was revealed. She was not as special as everyone around her made it out to be. She met other kids with two Affinities like her, but possessing higher number of Quasi-Affinities, putting her firmly in the inferior category.


    Then there was that one boy in the very same class as her who possessed three Affinities. He was the proverbial king of the hill, lording over the other, lesser kids with a pompous attitude to match his natural talent. Which was might as well, seeing that he had quite a formidable background to begin with.


    However, Almeria didn''t feel bitter about that. A boy from a superior family possessing a superior talent sounded just about right to her. But with Kaleena here, everyone, even that pompous boy, was relegated to that of playing a supporting role. Such a thing obviously did not sit well with the kids who were told of their absolute superiority from the moment they started crawling in their diapers.


    So it was only natural for some of these children to harbor ill thoughts towards those of lower social standing possessing a better natural disposition than themselves. Not all, though ¨C there were others who got over the hurdle of understanding that there were always someone else who happened to be better than them regardless of peerage.


    Katrina was mindful of the hostile gazes as well as the envious ones. She really didn''t know why she was feeling nervous here, instead of Kaleena. Her cousin should have been the person wilting under the supreme weight of scrutiny from her peers.


    Yet, whether due to naivete, or simply because of a good-natured personality, she was all smiles and only happy to talk to other kids like it was an everyday occurrence and nothing to fret about.


    This whole first morning at the school was turning out to be a rather infuriating day so far for Katrina. And it wasn''t even her fault to begin with.


    Accompanied by teacher Zeos, the whole class arrived at the massive training district. Zeos was inwardly rather nervous. For some reason, he was told to bring his class here, rather than the usual ground just behind the school building. It was not according to the normal protocol but the Grand Elders assured him there was nothing to worry about.


    The training district within the Academy was split into two types of grounds, with one on the open grasslands flanked by a forest and an artificial swamp, and the other an enclosed laboratory.


    The usual school''s training ground consisted of a field designed for sports-like activities which would be beneficial in developing sturdy bodies for the students. But here, within the training district the aim was to build battle experiences. A place for combatants, in other words, not for these children not yet ten years of age.


    Their destination was the grassland portion of the training district. The class observed various training happening around them on the fields, lots of spells exploding and littering all over the place. Seeing all this cacophony of noise and tremor, it couldn''t be helped that many kids were getting agitated, some in a good way while the others, not so much.


    The grasslands weren''t simply a flat piece of land. Rather, several items of note were erected here, such as a handful of small houses clustered into a layout of a typical village, training dummies that looked like enemy soldiers and Fiends for target practices, a false wall made to resemble a wall of a fort ¨C that sort of things.


    There was another Invoker waiting for the class there. Tall and broad-shouldered, she looked fierce and her expression, cold. Her eyes swept across the children that had arrived with an indifference before instructing them on what her role was ¨C to supervise while under practical application of what they have learned during the Theory session.


    ¡°The rules are simple. You do exactly as I say, and everyone gets to go home safe and sound. Understood? In here, my words are the law. Remember that, you little tykes.¡±


    The Invoker in charge of this particular training ground grumbled icily at the kids, causing a few of them to frown in dissatisfaction.


    Ignoring them completely, the Invoker introduced herself. ¡°I''m the Pinnacle Expert ranked Invoker, Sonorra. From now on, always address me as ma''am. No exceptions.¡±


    While she said that, she released an intimidating aura that pervaded the air with a thick killing intent. Of course, the children were affected by this sudden emission of powerful negative energy, and almost all of them became pale faced, their knees trembling in shock.


    Zeos frowned and quickly intervened. ¡°Expert Sonorra. That''s quite enough, don''t you think?¡± He released an aura that countered Sonorra''s killing intent, the two clashing and negating each other.


    Clicking her tongue, she turned on her heels and pointed towards one of the mock fort walls. ¡°I''ll call out three names. You will then cast spells you think you''re good at. Doesn''t matter if it''s an attack spell or for defense. So, just go all out.¡±


    She called out three random names, and the kids with shaking knees slowly came forward. And as told, they each fired off spells they were most confident in ¨C or, at least tried to.


    They were still badly affected by the deadly aura from Sonorra before, and could not, for the life of them, recall the relevant Requisite Words properly. Inevitably their attempts at casting Invocations were a collective failure.


    Seeing this, Sonorra became even more aggressive.


    ¡°Pathetic. I knew you were all a bunch of pampered rich kids with no backbone. It''s depressing to think the future of Invocation lies with a lot of you. If you can''t even handle a simple pressure like mine, how were you planning to withstand something far more scary than me in the future? Useless!!¡±


    Zeos''s frown only became deeper. But he didn''t rebuke his colleague for stepping out of the line. After all, she was well known for her hardline approach. He had to wonder, though ¨C why did the Grand Elders saw fit to assign this particular class to be supervised under this tyrant of a woman. Usually, she''d be handling much older kids, not something like his class.


    Sonorra snorted derisively, and trained her eyes on Kaleena instead.


    ¡°Hey, you. Come over here. You the one with all those amazing Affinities, right? Show us what you''re made out of.¡±


    Once more, everyone turned to see Kaleena. She stood there, tilting her head slightly. She narrowed her eyes, after feeling that something was not quite right with the way this supposed lecturer was talking to her and her classmates.


    She and Katrina were two of the kids who weren''t affected by the pressure released by Sonorra. Derrick, Damien, and even Lizbeth, sometimes emitted intense aura like that plenty of times before, such as when they were sparring for real, or when the family was discussing Kain''s passing. So, that much wasn''t anything to write home about.


    But the tone of Sonorra''s words got her pondering. It didn''t feel like something a lecturer should say, and instead, sounded more like a provocation. Kinda like what a kid might say in a playground.


    In other words, it all felt like an attempt at bullying.


    When she realized this bit, her cheeks puffed up in defiance. A not-so-nice lady was trying to bully her and other kids into submission. How could she not take up the challenge? Of course she would.


    So, Kaleena bravely walked out in front, ready to cast all the spells she knew she could with no hassle. But then, she hesitated. One or two spells needed her to touch the target where the Invocation''s effects were to take place. Besides, she didn''t know any spells from Darkness Element at all. That one was one of the Affinities she had.


    Watching her hesitate, Katrina frowned a bit more than before. She sure didn''t want to see the idiot cousin of hers get into a tough spot she couldn''t get out of, although it was hard to tell how anyone could help her out at this point.


    Funnily enough, Katrina didn''t want to worry about Kaleena at all. She had her own problems to think about, so why should she care what happened to her clueless cousin?


    Somehow, though, she just couldn''t look the other way.


    She wasn''t a girl to suffer indecision so Katrina made up her mind to step out and help Kaleena. However, even before she could take one step, Almeria decided she''d have a crack at making a disparaging remark or two first.


    ¡°Ho. So an acclaimed and talented Miss Lomax can''t actually follow up on her lofty evaluations now is it? How disappointing. And here I was, thinking that it''d be wonderful to receive some pointers.¡±


    Her cold words were soon echoed by the others spewing similar kind of venom. They were taking this chance to bring Kaleena down a peg or two. The pettiness in their actions was rather unsightly to behold but no one was there to point that out. Except for Katrina, that was.


    Still, she had no chance to speak up.


    ¡°Hey, silence!! Let her do her thing, and then criticize if she''s found lacking. But as far as I can see, she''s better than the lot of you!! She''s not even that affected by my aura, while you, you, and you wet your pants like some little babies. You don''t get to raise your voices at her yet!!¡±


    Sonorra injected a little bit of Aeterna in her voice and shouted loudly, instantly silencing the class.


    After achieving the quietness she wanted, the cold-faced Invoker turned to Kaleena and spoke as if she was seeing her in a new light.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I''m impressed. You''re not scared of me, are you? You must have been around a few fierce men. I''m guessing your father is one such person?¡±


    Kaleena nodded. ¡°Yes, my father and mother are both Gold ranked Adventurers. And my uncle is a Silver ranked Divine Knight as well.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Sonorra snorted. ¡°You''ve been around a rough crowd, is that what you''re telling me? You think I''m impressed in the slightest? Your mommy and daddy aren''t here to help you. You are on your own now. So, do your thing, or if you can''t, go slink off to a corner and disappear from my view.¡±


    Kaleena became angry when she heard that. Without thinking, she raised her hand and pointed at the mock wall.


    Her eyes sharpened, and breathlessly she uttered the Requisite Words.


    ¡°Come, come forth in a wave,


    Mount and fall in a dance,


    Recede, break, grounds pave,


    All lost, in meetings of chance,


    Shake free, and roar for me ¨C Water Cannon!!¡±


    Suddenly, Water Elements in the air, serenely floating until now, congealed into a fast-growing orb. It rapidly grew to a size of a basketball, and shot out forward like a speeding bullet.


    With a loud bang, it struck the wall, shaking it hard.


    There was a noticeable indentation on the surface, a testimony to how strong the impact actually was. The mock wall was constructed out of real stone and bricks so it had almost the same toughness as the real fort walls it imitated. To damage it, even if slightly, at her young age was a shocking achievement to say the least.


    Of course Kaleena didn''t stop there.


    She then rapidly fired off Flame Javelin, the only non-beginner spell she knew. She even knew the shortened form of Words for this spell, so the whole firing sequence only took a blink of an eye.


    Plus, her Aeterna Pool was vast enough to support firing off such a strong spell with no penalties whatsoever.


    Next, she cast an Earthen Wall that would make Kain quite proud and surrounded herself with it. She expertly held the spell continuously for a few minutes before activating the one spell she cherished the most ¨C Light Heal. The spell she learned from her mother.


    Of course there was no injury on her or anyone around her for that matter, so it ended up only as a pretty light show, but still, a healing Invocation spell from Light Element Aeterna caused no small stir among the class.


    She could go on, but that''s where Kaleena stopped. Standing proudly, she looked at Sonorra, asking her whether that was fine for a demonstration.


    ¡°Is this good? Or should I continue, ma''am?¡±


    Her tone gave Sonorra something to chuckle about, albeit in her usual cold manner.


    ¡°You''re a feisty one, aren''t you. Taking after your parents, huh? Well, I''ve met little tykes like you plenty of times before. And I know just the way to handle the likes of you.¡±


    Sonorra glanced at the stunned kids and shouted once more. ¡°You see what this girl did, right? Now, if you can''t fire off spells as strong as her, then I''ll have you run laps around this training ground until you can!! Or, you''ll fall down and die!! Now, get to it, or else!!¡±


    Her bellowing voice boomed out, boosted by Invocation causing the kids to falter even more from the immense pressure.


    ¡°Expert Sonorra, that is going too far!!¡± Zeos finally rebuked his colleague, having had enough of her trying to scare his students like some sort of a terrorist. ¡°I won''t allow for your rough handling of these children. Please reconsider your words immediately!!¡±


    Sonorra snorted coldly and waved her hand. ¡°Fellow Expert Zeos. May I remind you that you are a guest in my class? Your authority doesn''t extend til here. I also allowed you to partake in my lessons out of kindness on my part. You don''t agree with my methods? Then I advise you to excuse yourself and go away. You are getting in my way as it is.¡±


    Zeos''s face reddened. ¡°Is that the stance you are willing to put up? If so, then I''ll be more than happy to report your conduct to the appropriate channels.¡±


    Sonorra simply shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Do what you will. I''m simply doing my job, preparing these kids for the harsh world out there. And that doesn''t include coddling them, last time I checked.¡±


    Zeos frowned deeply, before storming away in a huff.


    Katrina thought he looked really mad. He wasn''t the only one, though, as the entire class was also roiling over at the new command from Sonorra the Expert ranked Invoker. What she asked for was basically impossible to achieve. No one present could match up to Kaleena''s natural born talent for Invocation. It wasn''t even worth mentioning the discrepancies regarding Aeterna Pool sizes either. Hers was simply as big as over half the class here combined together. Maybe more.


    It was inevitable kids began to throw resentful glares at Kaleena, their eyes asking her why she had to go and show off, making the others suffer like this.


    To this kind of stares, she had no answer. Not even her anger could stay inflamed, nor her feeling of pride.


    As her face reddened up and tears began forming in the corners of her eyes, Kaleena trembled in humiliation but didn''t know how to vent it out. She couldn''t help but wonder how her mother would deal with a situation like this.


    Or, for that matter, her father.


    She gritted her teeth, hoping Damien would come back from his trip up north quickly and return to her. And maybe show this meanie a thing or two about the consequences of bullying people.


    ~


    In the meantime, Damien was stepping off the platform of the Sky Ark Station in the city of Marlborough. The disembarking crowd was thin, not many tourists opting to come to this neck of the woods especially as the long and harsh Winter months rapidly encroached.


    And as to reinforce that point, the winds brushing his face was quite chilly, a reminder that the Summer here was short and the warmth of that season lasting only for a proverbial blink.


    The source of that coldness, the imposing mountain range, capped off in permafrost stood majestically in the distance. There were a dozen peaks that reached up into the heavens, their inhospitable sides pockmarked by countless defensive walls built to keep the Northern Barbarians away.


    And in between the two tallest peaks, a gigantic glacier as wide as an ocean rested. From there, a river of some note flowed to the city, becoming its freshwater supply.


    Good thing I brought a coat, Damien chuckled to himself wryly. He had gotten used to the temperate climates of Riverfield, and it''d be difficult getting reacclimatized in the short time he planned to stay here.


    Also, he was somewhat weary of the fact that the so-called terminally ill father of his managed to live until now, a good few months after Dukakis sending that letter.


    To make the matters worse, he was all alone, Lizbeth deciding to stay behind in the Capital to look after the girls instead.


    As he stepped out of the station, a black stagecoach was waiting for him. Next to it, a butler with a familiar face, although it had aged since the last time Damien saw it.


    ¡°Young Master Damien,¡± the butler smiled warmly and bowed slightly. ¡°Welcome home, sir.¡±


    ¡°It''s been a while, Cassius. How are things?¡±


    Cassius the old butler scanned the sparse crowd and smiled bitterly, realizing that the Young Master of the Lucius Lomax bloodline didn''t come with his family. But right away he straightened up, and opened the stagecoach''s door, smartly stepping aside as he did so. Maintaining a wry smile himself, Damien climbed in and saw that it was empty inside. Besides the butler who raised him when he was little, no one else came to greet him.


    With Dukakis, it was understandable ¨C he must have had a crap load of work to do, seeing that he was the lord-all-but-in-name of this territory. But as for his sister.... Or, for that matter, his other cousins....


    More than that, though, he was searching to see if any of the members of this organization called the Children were here. Obviously he wouldn''t be able to tell who''s who, but as long as someone was giving him a suspicious air, Damien was more than prepared enough to pounce and find a lead.


    If not, he''d stick to his original plan and do it the hard way by finding that merchant Mikael talked about.


    Cassius entered after Damien and sat across him, giving the signal to the coach driver to get a move on.


    After that, though, the old butler sighed as he took a closer look at Damien''s missing arm.


    ¡°Young Master. You should''ve come home right after all that''s happened. There''s always a place for you here, sir.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Thank you for your words of concern, Cassius. But in all honesty, you know as well as I do father is not that kind of person. He''d look at my arm and go, ''what a weakling. You should have been stronger''.¡±


    ¡°Young Master....¡±


    Cassius sighed again. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat and nodded solemnly. ¡°In any case, you are back home, with your family, sir. Master Dukakis and Master Donatella should be delighted to see you again after all this time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well. Dukakis might be happy to see me, but as for the big sis Donna...¡±


    Suddenly remembering his older sister''s face, Damien couldn''t help but shudder in faint terror. He recalled the powerful arm lock she used to punish him with way back when. That attack really hurt. Even imagining it now gave him thudding ache around his neck where she used to apply the inhuman strength of hers.


    ¡°How''s the old man, anyways? I only came because Dukakis told me about him being sick?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Young Master. It is a.... particular illness that has been slowly eating away at the Master.¡±


    ¡°So it''s real? Huh, well, I''ll be. Never expected to see that man suffer something like that.¡±


    Damien leaned back, slightly shocked at the revelation. He briefly remembered his father''s stern, unforgiving face, always frowning, grimacing, narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing everything Damien and his siblings did. All of that for producing a worthy successor to himself and nothing else.


    Count Caleb Lucius Lomax, Damien''s father, was a military man through and through. He may only be a measly Count but it was a well known open secret that he wielded not inconsiderable power all due to him being the protector of the Northern borders against the Barbarian threat.


    A long time ago, when Damien was still living at home, Count Caleb had high hopes for his last born to succeed him. Dukakis was simply not physical enough, and Donatella was far too much of a musclehead to effectively lead a territory as crucial as the one he was entrusted with.


    Damien ably showed off that he had what it took to lead a county just fine ¨C his personality was good, his martial skill was exemplary, and had a good head on his shoulders.


    But because of his good personality, he rebelled against the expectations thrown his way unreservedly. It turned out that Damien liked the free and open world a little too much. Besides, because of the way Caleb placed all his expectations on him, naturally the rest of the siblings were discarded like an empty carton of milk.


    How many times did Damien see his brother and sister shed silent tears of anguish? How many times did he see his father tyrannically oppress them both, fearing that somehow, his own children might rebel against his rule?


    Damien had enough, and so he bolted. Some might say he took a cowardly way out, but what he did effectively forced his father into reevaluating his children and perhaps, even his priorities.


    After leaving home, Damien came to the Capital, applied to work in the Adventurers'' Association there, and eventually met Marquis Phillips. Then one thing led to another, meeting and falling in love with Lizbeth, going on many grand adventures together, finally settling down in the small village of Riverfield.


    Looking back, Damien had a small feeling that if his father wasn''t such a piece of work, maybe his life wouldn''t have been so interesting after all. Maybe that was something to be grateful for, Caleb being an a-hole.


    The passing street outside the windows of the stagecoach remained largely the same from Damien''s memories. The cobbled roads were used to be somewhat rutted and broken, but it seemed rather smooth and well maintained. He could hardly feel any bumps. No doubt it was Dukakis''s doing.


    Now and then, though, he spotted a heavily armored platoon of soldiers on patrol, which raised Damien''s eyebrows. There seemed to be more than what he''d remembered. Their equipment carried was no joke either.


    ¡°Cassius, did something else happen? Why all the heavy security?¡±


    Damien asked as he leaned forward. Now that he noticed, there was no family crest on the stagecoach they were riding on, which was odd as well.


    After all, this vehicle belonged to the lord of the territory. It was only a normal occurrence that such a fact was as widely advertised as possible to all the passersby.


    Yet, their ride was devoid of all markings. And it was painted in the shade of dour black, if such a thing was even possible. A coach taking a grieving family to a funeral might be more decorative than this very coach, Damien figured inwardly.


    Cassius carried a heavy expression, only nodding slowly. ¡°Young Master, there have been.... incursions of the Barbarian agents to our city in the past few months. Their targets so far had been the nobility residing within the city of Marlborough as well as the surrounding towns and villages.¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me that the matter has become serious enough to warrant removing all the Lomax family crest off the carriage?¡± Damien asked back, clearly astonished. ¡°How did the things devolve so badly? What is Dukakis doing?¡±


    ¡°Master Dukakis is doing all he can. Master Donatella is currently leading the suppression squad and has been successful in subduing unrest but it seems that the enemy has had enough time to infiltrate quite deeply into the territory. It is an ongoing struggle, Young Master.¡±


    Damien suddenly felt a headache incoming. Leaning back now, he massaged his temples, before asking again.


    ¡°How come this news is not known in the Capital? Dukakis could have requested for an assistance. Why didn''t he?¡±


    Cassius shook his head. ¡°I am not at liberty to speak regarding this matter, Young Master. But.... please, have a chat with Master Dukakis, Young Master. I believe he urgently needs your help.¡±


    Damien let out a long sigh, listening to this. So, now he had to worry about not only these Children bastards, but the Barbarian agents, too?


    The timing seemed too good to be true, according to his gut feelings. But since this was the first time hearing of such a massive problem, he had no evidence nor facts to reinforce his suspicions. That would have to wait a bit.


    ¡°We''ve arrived,¡± the coach driver announced as he brought the vehicle to a halt.


    Damien leaned out of the window to take a look at the grand residence of Count Caleb Lucius Lomax and his family, now surrounded by enough garrison to call the mansion a military barracks instead.


    A thick, foreboding rain cloud was gathering up ahead in the tall mountain peak that served as the background. In a few hours, the unceasing rain would begin its assault on the city.


    It was indeed a damp and dour welcome rolled out for the return of the prodigal son. Not that he felt that way, mind you.


    (So... another update regarding when I might post the next chapter. Three days from now is the 1st of Jan. As expected, I will be rather swamped with prior "engagements" to post a chapter. Unless it''s a half finished one, that is. Expect an update on either 2nd or 3rd of Jan. So in advance, Happy New Year!!)

 Chapter 32

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">32</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Damien was led into the study of the massive but foreboding mansion. A deathly hush pervaded throughout his walk, as if there was a prolonged funeral procession taking place. The oppressive atmosphere had seemingly blanketed every facet of life here, even the birds that should chirp and fly about were absent.


    Looking out through the ornately decorated windows, he could see that the grass on the lawn had grayed out, the once-lush trees now totally devoid of leaves and color. Damien remembered there being a few sculptures adorning the now-barren gardens but now, they were all gone, replaced by the footmarks of marching soldiers.


    Naturally, he asked Cassius as to why this place became like so, and the old butler replied that they had to let go of the gardening and landscaping team as Dukakis couldn''t fully verify the backgrounds of the workers and thus risk a potential breach.


    It was the same with the housekeeping staff ¨C only the most trusted servants were retained while the rest was either dismissed or sent on an indefinite leave.


    ¡°Chaotic,¡± Damien muttered the one word that popped up in his head. Because that''s what it was, chaos.


    Many of the furniture were covered in white sheets as well, which would serve to lesson the need to dust them often. Artworks were covered, suits of armor standing guard were covered, the unused rooms were locked tight, and there was a patrolling unit consisting of two men walking around every so often.


    ¡°Lord Dukakis is not in at the moment,¡± the smartly-dressed adjutant stood at attention and addressed Damien when he enquired about his brother''s whereabouts. ¡°But he is scheduled to return to his office before the nightfall.¡±


    It was the same for Donatella, his older sister. She was away on her assignments to eradicate the pockets of Barbarians that had infiltrated the Empire''s borders. There was no word on when she was expected back either.


    That meant Damien couldn''t avoid ''it'' anymore.


    Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the study and waited until he heard a sharp reply. ¡°Enter.¡±


    The heavy curtains were drawn over the shut windows, very little light entering the room. Countless books on tall shelves on one side, and to the other, a generously-sized fireplace. In it, a hearty flame bellowed, filling the room with a high degree of heat, almost making it feel like it was a middle of Summer. And there was this subtle but noticeable smell of bitter medicinal herbs floating in the air.


    In front of the blazing flame, an old man covered neck-deep in thick, woolly blanket was sitting on a chair, looking rather pensive but alert.


    His thinning gray hair was slicked back, cheeks gaunt and the skin pale, but his eyes shone brightly and sharply.


    At first, Damien did not recognize this old man. Yet, the more he stood there and stared, the more familiar it became. The nose, the lips, the furrowed brows, those unforgiving, scrutinizing eyes. It was without a doubt Count Caleb Lucius Lomax, but much, much older.


    Damien took another deep breath and muttered in shock. ¡°Father? You.... have certainly aged.¡±


    Count Caleb Lucius Lomax narrowed his eyes and stared at Damien and his missing arm, before opening his thin lips.


    ¡°You''ve decided to show up now? Hmph. ''Tis an unfortunate timing on your part, son. Now''s not the time for pleasantries, as the events have dictated so far.¡±


    Besides the Count, an aged maidservant was attending to him. She wordlessly drew a new chair for Damien to sit opposite his father.


    He remembered this woman. She''s been serving Caleb even before he was born, or at least that was what he''s been told. But he couldn''t exactly recall her name.


    So he simply nodded his appreciation and sat on the provided chair, and studied Caleb''s face closely.


    It was true that the once-robust military hardman looked wane and spent. It had been too long since he last saw his father, but Damien was pretty sure a person shouldn''t age this dramatically, especially in the case with his old man.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Damien asked, licking his dried lips unconsciously. The room''s temperature was not only high, but the heat also had an effect of making the air dry and parched. As a result his lips were cracking up from the lack of moisture.


    ¡°The enemy,¡± Caleb replied curtly. ¡°A cowardly, underhanded tactic to destabilize the entire region. But do not mind it, I shall overcome it.¡±


    ¡°How, father? You look half dead already. Never mind overcoming anything, you may not even sustain this.... charade much longer.¡±


    Damien grimaced deeply as he spat out the words.


    Truthfully, he didn''t care much about what happened to this man. He was certain of that. Yet, seeing his once-domineering father withering up like this, he felt an unexpected emotion rise up from the hidden depths of his heart.


    It was worry.


    And that made him momentarily angry. How could he be worried about this vile man-creature? Thus, to deny his foolish emotion, he uttered some crass words hoping to erase this ridiculous sentiment right out of his mind. It didn''t work.


    The pair of sharp eyes gleamed like ice as Caleb shot up from the chair, throwing off the blanket in the process. His raised voice was full of righteous anger.


    ¡°Charade? You don''t get to lecture me, boy!! You who have discarded the proud and noble name of Lucius Lomax in search of cheap thrills, only to call on it when the occasion suits him, does not hold the right to raise his voice, in my house!!¡±


    Damien was shocked further by the sight of his father, now in full view and unobstructed by the blanket.


    Once, Caleb was a towering man, as tall as the giant Barbarians, leading some to question whether he had a little bit of the Northern bastards'' blood running in him.


    Once upon a time, Caleb''s shoulders were broader than that of an oak tree. His fists were thicker and more calloused than that of a drake''s skin. His legs were thicker than most man''s torso, too. He was a freak of nature, in other words.


    Yet, the person that stood before him, rambling in madness and rage, was a frail old man with a shriveling figure, desperately clinging on the last vestige of his glory which was now clearly eroding away by the combined curses of time and the previously-mentioned unknown illness.


    Damien''s heartstrings twanged. His knees grew suddenly weak at the sight of the former tyrant in front of him.


    What the hell happened to you, old man?!


    Damien nearly muttered out his confusion aloud. Thankfully, he held back just in time, only thinking it inwardly.


    Spittle escaped from Caleb''s mouth as he berated his disappointing son. His words, however, entered Damien''s one ear and left swiftly via the other side.


    Rather, Damien was too occupied with observing the withered old man before him to really pay attention. Caleb still wore his military uniform but now with his weakened, frail figure, the formerly-impressive garment looked comically out of place, hanging loosely on the man''s shoulders.


    Dozens upon dozens of medals of valor hung on his chest, weakly reflecting light from the fireplace, clinging and chiming like cheap trinkets that they were whenever Caleb moved animatedly.


    ¡°Dukakis shouldn''t even have contacted you. Useless. Utterly useless!! What a disappointment like you can do? Hmm? I hear you couldn''t even save your own child. Your help is not needed here. Nor do I lack for your sympathy.¡±


    Caleb spat out sharply, before falling back on the chair with a loud thump. The maidservant quickly pulled the blanket over her master and stepped aside. She looked troubled but wisely kept her mouth shut the whole time. She knew better than to interfere.


    The silence pervading in the study was chilly, much colder than the air on the outside. Damien wasn''t affected in the slightest, however. Instead, he was fuming inside.


    He had half a mind to punch this weak old fool in the face but somehow managed to bring some sanity back into his mind. The last thing he needed was the added aggravation of getting physical with a dying man and then finding himself in a doghouse for it.


    Finally, Damien was calm enough to open his mouth.


    ¡°I didn''t come here for you, so rest easy. I came here to see to another errand. And to speak to Dukakis. Since he''s not here, I''ll be on my way, then.¡±


    He got up, turned on his heels and left without saying anything else. Cassius looked troubled as well but silently he bowed before the count and left hurriedly to follow Damien.


    Caleb grimly stared at the dancing flames in the fireplace before slamming his fist down on the armrest of his chair. The maidservant next to him twitched a little but again didn''t say anything.


    Caleb gritted his teeth, staring at the flames with increasing intensity as if he was trying to bore a hole in them with nothing but his sheer willpower. He looked angry, bitter, defiant.


    Inwardly though, he was cursing his weakness. His weakness at unable to beat this thing eating away at him, his inability to say what he thought of as he sat in this darkened room, his weakness to stop himself from unwittingly meditating on his life, and finally, his inability to say something, anything, as an apology to his children.


    He felt a stab of pain in his chest. Caleb coughed severely, bringing a handkerchief to cover his mouth, catching the phlegm of blood on the fabric in the process. Seeing the crimson stain, he frowned deeply.


    The maidservant brought a goblet that contained a medicine concocted by a local apothecary, but in truth, Caleb distrusted it. He drank this disagreeable and foul-smelling liquid for a while now but it hadn''t helped. If anything, he felt worse.


    Before he could take a sip, he saw the reflection of his aged face on the medicine''s surface. The man staring back looked tired. If he squinted a bit, he could see a little resemblance to the son he just had verbally abused for no good reason.


    This made him feel even worse. Everything he did, was for his children''s sakes. He felt his current state very much the definition of unfair. His father did the same, his grandfather too, and so he carried on the family tradition yet, why was that his own bloody kids looked at him like he was the villain?


    It was so damn unfair.


    Grimacing deeply, Caleb took a gulp of the foul medicine.


    ~


    Damien stormed off to the outside of the mansion. The sour taste lingered no matter how hard he tried to remove it. Cassius was behind him, handing over the Young Master''s thick coat at the foyer.


    ¡°Won''t you reconsider, Young Master? There are plenty of rooms available in the mansion.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s fine. I can''t be under the same roof as that man anyway. I''ll find an inn near the local Adventurers'' Association branch. I''m more comfortable that way.¡± Damien chuckled without mirth. ¡°Right. When Dukakis returns, please inform him I''ve arrived in the city. Tell him I''ll come and speak to him tomorrow.¡±


    Cassius could only nod, as he watched Damien walk away and enter the stagecoach. The old butler sighed weakly, knowing there was little he could do.


    Damien instructed the driver to take him to the Adventurers'' Association outlet in the city. He roughly remembered the location of it, but wasn''t sure if it had moved. After all, it was near the Eastern Gates of the city, which was going through a hefty renovation at the time of Damien''s departure.


    It hadn''t.


    The forlorn four story building stood as before, uninviting and drab just like the way he remembered it. There wasn''t much activity out front but judging by the time of the day Damien knew there shouldn''t have been too many bodies here. Otherwise, now that would have been an unusual sight to worry about.


    Instead of heading in, Damien searched for and found an inn frequented by the Adventurers, both local and visiting, like himself. He was surprised by the number of rooms available. The inn was as good as empty. It meant that he could haggle for a lower price for a room, so that was a bonus, in a way.


    Still, counting the pathetic amount of coins left in his pocket, Damien could only sigh weakly. He needed to start finding a way to earn money soon. Otherwise, he''d have to rely on his family''s generosity. He didn''t mind leeching off Dukakis or Donna but just thinking about Caleb''s disapproving face made him not want to do that.


    So, after almost a decade of not being an active Adventurer, he was starting again. He was more wizened, for sure, but also missing an arm. He wondered how would that go.


    Adventurers in Noa, especially those in Argos Empire, weren''t exactly adventurers as the title might have suggested. In short, they were a bunch of freelancers possessing a variety of skills, fighting being one of them.


    Adventurers acted in places where there was a shortage of manpower. If there were not enough hands in a construction site, then the low ranked Adventurers took up the slack. If there was an outbreak of bandits in a remote territory and the nearest garrison couldn''t do a thing about it due to some nonsense like jurisdictions and such, then it was the Adventurers who went and subjugated them.


    If there was a need for rare ingredients that were difficult/dangerous/tedious to obtain, then Adventurers were hired. In some cases, where the security of a region was at stake, the local lords would hire Adventurers to bolster the strength of the local garrison.


    Or, in some cases, Adventurers were hired to locate a lost pet. Maybe a stolen heirloom. Or even, search for a suitable house for the clients to move into. Basically, Adventurers did whatever, as long as it was above board.


    Damien wondered whether Dukakis had done precisely that, hiring Adventurers to bolster the security of the city. Or was there the issue of trust that stopped him from hiring any and all who came calling, due to the Barbarian threat?


    Making up his mind on what kind of requests he''d look up, Damien headed to the Association building. The layout was pretty much the same as it was in Lafayette, giving him a certain sense of deja vu.


    Looking at the Request Boards he couldn''t help but frown a bit. There were the usual Fiend extermination requests and the like, but the numbers available was pitiful. The three Boards here were barren, like the garden of the Lomax mansion.


    Damien was troubled by this. Of course, he could earn the small amount of coin he needed to put food on the table. After all, he didn''t come here looking to get rich.


    No, he came here to find clues regarding the organization responsible for his son''s death. Money was to keep himself fed, and to keep a roof over his head without worrying about the disapproving eyes of Caleb constantly trying to lord over him.


    Ideally, he''d find jobs related to the world of merchants. Mikael''s information was reliable and the man he mentioned, Westbrooks, was a merchant so if Damien could talk to a few in the same trade, he might be able to track the man down.


    As for why he was doing it in such a roundabout way? Of course, he could have just asked Dukakis about the man. Hell, he could just walk around and ask a total stranger he met on a road, even.


    The trouble was that Damien had no idea on how entrenched the influence of this Westbrooks was. For all he knew, his brother could be under the deep pockets of the man and inadvertently tattle on him. That''d be bad.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Simply by mentioning the merchant''s name might make Dukakis do something unnecessary. Damien would like to avoid that as much as possible. So, by relying on his status as a Gold ranked Adventurer named Damien Lucius, he''d find this Westbrooks, and beat the important info out of him.


    The lack of suitable jobs was hampering him in this regard somewhat.


    Damien pondered as to why this was happening. Every city with the exception of the Capital, the Association saw fit to establish a branch since they deemed there was enough work to go around for its members. Marlborough, being in close proximity to the Mountains of North, always held plentiful work for all.


    There was only ever a single reason Damien could blame this anomaly on: the Barbarians and their nefarious activities. If that was the case, then....


    Then there was little he could do, regarding that matter. He had a few questions himself about the whole mess but if no one asked him to do anything, then he would not butt in. He didn''t feel like bothering with it either at the moment as well. Too many complications where he didn''t need it.


    Looking around, Damien tried to read the atmosphere inside the branch. It was eerily somber, almost unnaturally so. As if someone deliberately said something rather awkward and no one knew how to handle it like adults. There were a few men milling about in the second floor bar, but none of them had any discernible expressions.


    They all simply chugged down copious amounts of liquor like it was water. Seeing them, even Damien felt a bit depressed for some reason.


    Should I switch to Plan B?


    Damien mulled softly, before making his mind. The plan B required more of his coin to be spent, but no one said he''d need to do it right away. Instead, he''d scope out the lay of the land first, then act accordingly. But before that, he''d need to attend to another matter.


    So he left the branch building and headed for where a certain retired blacksmith was living on the outskirts of the city.


    Crossing the city to the Western side, Damien shrank his presence as much as possible, not wanting to leave behind any sort of impression as people saw him walk past. He wore the thick coat rather loosely over his shoulders, like as if it was a cape, which effectively hid his missing limb from the casual view.


    Good thing was, even though this city of Marlborough was where he originated from, Damien knew even less people here than back in Lafayette. It was a funny situation for sure, but at the same time, perhaps a godsend for the things he was planning to do.


    As he walked, he saw increasingly frequent scenes of patrolling units of half a dozen men performing spot checks right there on the streets. The soldiers roughly shook down all they found suspicious, ignoring the voices of protest and on one occasion, even using the threat of violence to diffuse a potentially dicey situation.


    To say the tensions were running high would be an understatement of the year.


    Nevertheless, Damien successfully navigated through all the craziness and made his way out of the city. Utilizing his Gold ranked Adventurer status, rather than that of his family name, he was not held up too much by the guards although he received a distrusting stare or two.


    Walking past the bare crop fields Damien made his way towards a certain little hamlet half an hour''s walk away. There was a small settlement here consisting of about ten families, building and living a small community, largely unaffected by the goings-on in the city proper.


    His destination was one particular dwelling right at the rear of this little sleepy area. It had a sturdy wall, a smoking chimney, and a clinging sound of metal hitting metal.


    Damien stood before the slightly ill-fitting door and knocked hard.


    A few moments of nothing later, the door creaked open and a pretty young girl around the age of ten poked her head out from the open gap. Her face was covered in soot here and there, her unruly mob of brown hair pulled back loosely behind her, her inquisitive eyes studying the one armed person smiling toothily before her.


    ¡°Uhm, can I help you, mister?¡± She asked, tilting her head slightly.


    ¡°Yeah. I am looking for Ged. Is he in?¡±


    ¡°Grandpa? He is in but right now he''s real busy. Can you, like, come back later?¡±


    ¡°No can do,¡± Damien shook his head. ¡°I got things to do later on. Got too much stuff to do and all, you know. Can you tell your grandpa that a man named Damien Lucius wishes to speak to him? It''s about a commission.¡±


    ¡°What''s a commission?¡± The girl asked, looking confused.


    ¡°Uh, it''s work.¡± Damien suppressed a smile and answered simply. He forgot that not all young kids were smart like his own. It was better not to spew tough words at this little girl and create a misunderstanding of sorts inadvertently.


    ¡°Oh, alright, then. Wait here.¡±


    The girl disappeared into the gap, closing the door behind her.


    The low hanging clouds obscured the sun above, pretty much rendering the already-gray sky even more gloomier. The enclosing weather Damien noticed before was rushing in, fast. The prospect of him trudging through the muddy streets for his plan B was becoming a reality at a rate he didn''t care for. Naught he could do about that now.


    After a short break, the door opened up, and a short old man appeared. He was stocky and powerfully built, emanating an aura of strength of a much younger man.


    ¡°Ged. Been a long time,¡± Damien smiled and nodded at the man.


    Ged snorted wordlessly, before gesturing him in to entering the smithy.


    Damien entered and was immediately greeted by the kind of heat that could put most deserts to shame. A furnace was in the middle of cooling down on the opposite side to the entrance, a glowing hot metallic item resting on a jet-black anvil. The smell of coal and ores of indiscernible origin filled his nostrils. He found it rather nice and rustic. Quite nostalgic, as well.


    Ged gestured with his hands, silently asking what did Damien wanted from him.


    Smiling ruefully, Damien pointed to his missing arm. ¡°I need your help with this, right here. Like back in the day when you made a false limb for that Silver-ranked Adventurer.¡±


    Ged raised an eyebrow, then leaned in closer to take a look at the damage. He made Damien unbutton his tunic and reveal the shoulder and a little of stump remaining of his right arm. It had been a long time and the wounds had healed properly but there were clear scars left to remind all who looked at it the deathly battle he had to go through.


    The stocky old man examined for a few moments, before mumbling wordlessly to himself. Seeing this, Damien asked the girl who was curiously observing the two.


    ¡°So, uh, your grandpa is still not talking to anyone?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Must be tough.¡± Damien smiled at her.


    ¡°It''s alright. He''s been liked that since before I was born, so more or less, it''s fine.¡±


    She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.


    Ged never talked. As far as Damien could remember, the blacksmith never talked to anyone, ever. That even included the Count as well. That took some balls.


    No one dared to make a mountain out of this quirk due to the fact that this mute man was a legendary smith who could work miracles if he felt like it. For some reason though, he was always selective about the choices of commission he took on.


    Thankfully, one of them was when Damien came around to have his Frostbane serviced right after he had acquired it. The relationship of sorts formed back then, allowing him to come here and request for a prosthetic limb.


    There were various types of false limbs available on the market. Damien didn''t want to buy them. The reason was that none of those could match up with what Ged produced on his off day.


    However, Damien never could really find the time to commission the smith to craft one for him until now ¨C for one, placing an order had to be done face to face, thanks to Ged''s personality. That meant Damien had to leave Riverfield for a period of time which he was reluctant to do. Now that the circumstances had changed, he was here, and he was going to get himself a limb.


    As for paying for it.... he was thinking of sending the bill to Dukakis. He might not feel like leeching off his family for his food and lodging, but for this amount of money, he thought that Caleb owed at least this much. In his mind it made sense, so that was his bit of convincing argument if anyone asked.


    Ged nodded and pursed his lips subconsciously as he pondered a bit. Then he beckoned Damien to follow him.


    The trio left the smithy and headed to the fairly large storage, behind the workshop itself.


    There was a huge metal gate blocking the entry. Ged stood before it, mumbled a few words and placed his left palm on the door knob.


    A wan light emanated from the knob, and an Invocation Array activated with a swishing sound. An Invocation circle appeared and rotated on the door, and an elaborate chain of unlocking animation showed up on the circle with accompanying clicks and clonks.


    Inside the storage, there were dozens upon dozens of items waiting for their fated chosen ones. Whether they could enjoy the light of the day remained to be seen, however.


    Ged went to a large but flat chest that rested on a worktable. Once more, he murmured a Requisite Words, activating another Invocation circle on the top of the chest.


    Damien was slightly surprised at the content of this unusual looking chest. Inside it, a metallic arm resided. It looked like something that might have fallen off a suit of decorative armor.


    ¡°This is....?¡±


    Damien asked Ged, but as expected, he got no verbal answer. Instead, the mute blacksmith picked the arm up and gave it Damien, while pointing at his stump. It was at this point Ged''s granddaughter began explaining the item.


    ¡°That''s an advanced Invocation tool grandpa made a couple of years ago. When you put it on, it links with your own Aeterna Pool and connects to your soul. You can then move it around like it''s your own arm. Plus, it''s got lots of other hidden functions, you see. It''s one of the very best item grandpa has ever made.¡±


    ¡°Uh, alright. But, uh, I can''t use Aeterna at all. Sure, I''ve got a Pool, but that doesn''t matter if I can''t call on it, right?¡±


    ¡°No, no. It''s fine, fine. Grandpa is smarter than you, mister. He knows what he''s doing, you see. The arm links to your Pool without you doing a thing. It''s all au... au, auto...uhm...¡±


    ¡°You mean automatically?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that.¡± the girl nodded enthusiastically. ¡°I say, mister, you''re smarter than the average guys coming here to get a weapon for themselves!!¡±


    Damien looked at the arm. If it did what was advertised, then it was perfect in every way possible. However, he noticed that it had a left hand attached to it.


    ¡°Thanks, Ged. This is wonderful. How long do you need for the change of the hand?¡±


    Ged narrowed his eyes, pondering a bit more. Then he raised his fingers, three of them at the same time.


    ¡°Three days. Got it. Now, how much will it cost me?¡±


    Ged shook his head, then beckoned Damien once more to follow him. The metallic arm was left behind the storage as they left and headed for the main house. The large metallic gate closed by itself, the Invocation array activating to secure the contents inside.


    Ged produced a small parchment and handed it over to Damien when they arrived at the living room of the house.


    The granddaughter offered up an explanation after seeing Damien''s slightly confused face.


    ¡°That''s a job request grandpa was going to put up in the Association. But then those stupid Barbarians did something and he couldn''t. He wants you to take it up and complete it.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± nodded Damien. ¡°I don''t see why not.¡±


    This arrangement was better for him anyways. It could be a slight problem with the local Association since the request didn''t go through them, but not that Damien cared about that either.


    He unfurled the parchment and took a closer look at it. It was about finding someone to collect an unpaid due. Even better, this someone apparently worked for a well-to-do merchant operating out of the city of Marlborough.


    This matched perfectly with Damien''s own plan B. Smiling, Damien rolled the parchment that contained a rough drawing and a name of the person and he looked at Ged straight in the eyes.


    ¡°Consider it done. I''ll bring a good news soon. See you later, Ged.¡±


    As he walked briskly out of the house, the granddaughter followed him out. She looked at him with a skeptical gaze but didn''t say a thing.


    Damien asked the girl as he suddenly remembered something rather important. ¡°Oh, right. I don''t even know your name. You know mine, though. What''s yours?¡±


    ¡°Gemma.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Gemma. See you around.¡±


    ~


    Damien just managed to enter the Western Gate before the heavens opened up. The falling rain was bitterly cold, as if it was Winter already.


    Shrinking his presence back as much as possible, Damien entered the grimier parts of the backstreets, his aim to observe and to listen, and of course, to ultimately locate the man.


    Originally, he was going to trudge through the various watering holes in the seedier side of the city in order to find someone living on the wrong side of the line, preferably a thief, and to talk to him or her for a snippet of information. That was his so-called plan B.


    He figured that as far as knowing who''s who locally, no one could beat an active thief. He would possess all the knowledge on the fat cats of the city, especially when it came to the identity of the merchants.


    But now that Ged had asked him to find this guy, it seemed like things might get less complicated. All he had to do was to find this man, and then get the necessary info out of him. Which would let him acquire the prosthetic arm for free. Well, almost.


    Then, he''d devote himself to knowing more about this Westbrooks before moving in for the kill. A good plan, or so he thought to himself. Sometimes, the simplest plan was the best.


    He did try to find the merchant mentioned in the parchment first, as that was the easiest thing to do, what with the name of the business conveniently written on the request form.


    The person he was looking for, though, wasn''t there. After asking the other employees, he got a lead about his man frequenting bars down by the Southern section.


    That was the rougher part of the otherwise already rough city. Damien wasn''t looking forward to going there. Not because he was fearful, no, but because he could see there might be some unforeseen variables happening down there during the current climate of uncertainty. Not that discouraged him, obviously. He soldiered on foot, not minding the bitterly cold weather and the falling raindrops.


    The thick coat did its duty to protect Damien from getting too soaked, which he was thankful for.


    The grime here seemed more grimier than back in either Argos or Lafayette as the harshness of the weather got worse. And the folks Damien encountered on the road seemed just bit more on guard than usual, a little less friendlier to a stranger than before. All totally understandable.


    While remaining mindful of that, Damien fleeted in and out of the various bars and joints, his eyes always on the lookout for the guy he was searching for.


    Eventually, his feet led him toward a particular establishment near the Southern Gate. Here, the districts surrounding the Gate itself, there was more than a fair share of ruffians wanting to carve up territories among themselves. Usually, on a normal day the city garrison had their hands full quelling the miscreants here, but due to the Barbarian threat, it seemed things looked even more hectic than usual.


    Soldiers and checkpoints were seemingly on every street corner. Damien saw more than a few men tied down, faces in the mud while waiting for a transport to the city barracks for a questioning. All the faces, either peeking out of the helmets of the soldiers, or those walking by, or even occasionally looking up from the ground below ¨C they looked tense, tired, wary, haunted.


    They were the faces of those living in constant fear. A fear of the terror threats, a fear of the fidgety authority figures with no target to aim at, and a fear of not knowing how it would all end.


    Damien skirted past all that trouble and headed to the establishment, located on an extra-nasty looking street. Here, ironically enough, no patrols could be seen. Nor was there a checkpoint, but a few suspecting gazes thrown at his way.


    It was now well and truly dark. The evening had come in early, and combined with the rubbish weather, the darkness grew real fast. The streets lamps lit up one by one, except here. Only the lights coming from the half open windows managed to dispel a bit of this darkness and illuminate the way to the bar.


    As he approached the pair of swing doors to the joint, Damien sensed a rush of movement from the inside so he stopped in his tracks and tilted out of the way.


    Might as well ¨C because as soon as he stopped, a disheveled figure crashed out of the doors as if he was throwing himself out. This figure tumbled on the dirty street''s floor, rolling like a ball until coming to a stop near some collected trash on the opposite side.


    The figure stood up quickly, his eyes bloodshot, caked mud clinging on to his unkempt, messy beard.


    Damien could instinctively tell that this man was very much scared for his life. Whatever trouble this man got himself into, well, Damien couldn''t be bothered. After all, he wasn''t the one Ged was looking for.


    As he was about to turn around to enter the joint, the man suddenly shouted. ¡°Sir Damien? Is that you?¡±


    Damien reacted. He turned to see who could it be that had recognized him, only to miss two men trying to rush out of the doors. And the result was that the lot of them got tangled up rather inelegantly.


    However, Damien kept his wits about him and quickly extricated himself from the mess, standing up to face the bum-like man who had identified him out of the blue.


    When his eyes met those of the disheveled bum, Damien felt he knew this guy from somewhere. But he wasn''t too sure who could it be.


    The dirty, disheveled man grimaced at the men who collided with Damien, turning on his heels and began running away at full tilt.


    ¡°Move outta way, fool!!¡±


    One of the fallen men roared at Damien, shoving him aside as he got up before giving a hasty chase. The other man grumbled and pulled himself up, showing a slight bruising on his forehead where there was a small cut. He eyeballed Damien venomously before going after the fleeing man.


    Damien stood there, pondering again.


    Who could that be? I''m sure I know that man from somewhere. But.... who?


    ¡­.


    Wait a minute. That voice.... Those eyes.... Could he be....


    Jonas Bremble?! That snooty son of a dog from the Institute? What the hell is he doing here?


    (Happy belated New Year''s greetings. Hope you all enjoyed the festivities. As for me.... my head still hurts like crazy. Hangover''s a dangerous thing. As for this chapter, I had it all ready to go yesterday but then, I found a MASSIVE mistake in continuity in the middle so I had to revise it in haste. Hopefully it looks tidier now. Oh, well.)

 Chapter 33

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">33</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Damien''s eyes widened in surprise and quickly turned his gaze towards the direction where Jonas had run off to, but thanks to the darkness, not a thing could be seen anymore.


    What the hell?! Did I make a mistake? That man shouldn''t even be here of all places. I thought he might have gotten himself a cushy post with that haul of the Aerinite.


    Damien stood there, feeling rather confused about the unexpected encounter. The more he collected his thoughts, the surer he became about the identity of the disheveled man.


    He felt something weird was going on here, something that might prove troublesome later on down the line. But if he could help it, Damien did not want to get involved. He had no time to spare on whatever trouble that Jonas got himself into. To be more precise, there was absolutely no obligation to help out anyways.


    ¡°You comin'' in or what?¡±


    A voice called out from within the joint. Damien saw that it was from one of the bouncers hired to keep the place more or less orderly. Which he found quite ironical, seeing that there was a chaotic situation only moments ago and this guy didn''t seem to do much.


    Saying nothing, he simply nodded and entered, heading straight to the dingy and lowly-lit bar. Sitting on one of the unoccupied stool, he ordered a drink while silently shedding a tear for his depleting pool of coin. And while he was at it, Damien couldn''t help but ask the barkeep.


    ¡°You know what was that all about?¡±


    The barkeep shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The bum said he was waiting for someone. Then those guys showed up, there was a tussle, and now, they are all gone. Beyond that....¡±


    The barkeep shook his head and eyed Damien for a second. Usually, in an exchange like this, the one asking the question would pull out a fresh coin or two to loosen the lips and stimulate the memory of the barkeep.


    Unfortunately for him, Damien was short of coins, and he wasn''t really interested, so his silent goading went ignored completely.


    Reading the flow, the barkeep shrugged his shoulders as if he wanted to say he understood, and went away to attend to other customers which there weren''t many to begin with. All the other watering holes Damien had gone through today in search of Ged''s man, had suffered the same problem ¨C a lack of bums occupying the seats.


    The whole thing was not much of a mystery, though. As he figured, the Barbarian threat and the subsequent lockdown of the city by Dukakis had played a major role in it.


    A lot of the capable, highly ranked Adventurers were already roped into the subjugation force Donatella was leading. The term used there was conscription, but the way he heard it, there was generous enough compensation offered, so in the end, it was still a job nonetheless.


    In the meantime, lesser experienced and lower ranked Adventurers took to guarding the important parts of the city from the potential surprise attacks by the pockets of the Barbarian instigators still hidden within the shadows.


    Those who couldn''t really clear the issue of identity and trust were kindly asked to vacate the city for a period of time or stay indoors and remain inactive for a duration until the problem was sorted. Those who disagreed with this suggestion was promptly shown the insides of the city dungeon for a lengthy paid-for vacation. Euphemisms, of course.


    That''s what Damien was able to glean from eavesdropping in the various bars. There were also a few other tidbits he picked up on but wasn''t sure whether they were of any value to him as of yet.


    While reorganizing his thoughts, Damien took a sip of the warm liquor. It tasted surprisingly good for a drink served up in a spotty joint like this. Nursing it gently, he casually swept his glance over the dimly-lit interior of the bar, sussing out the place, searching and listening, wondering if he could finally get a break.


    And just like that, Damien found him. The guy Ged was looking for.


    He was sitting with three others, huddled together, whispering and minding the eyes around them.


    That took a while. Damien thought to himself, as he continued to sip the warm liquor.


    However, he found himself grimacing a little as he observed the group for a bit longer. Damien could tell these men were not in the trade of helping people out for giggles and smiles. If anything, the air they exuded was more like that of bandits or maybe even that of thieves, robbing others at night and hurting others for profit.


    The clues were there for him to pick up on: the equipment, the way they carried themselves, the way their eyes fleeted back and forth, always watching the surroundings. Those eyes also had that weary and alert shine, diligently searching for the next mark to pilfer and pillage.


    What the hell. Ged, what exactly did you get yourself involved into?!


    Damien took another deep swig of the liquor to calm his surprised mind and studied the man. He was short but slim. The equipment on him was great, their quality shining through even though they were on the dirty side. No doubt that was done to disguise the class of his items, Damien mused.


    He wasn''t too sure but if he was a betting man, and he sometimes was, those items on the man could have been the handiwork of Ged. Just how on earth did they end up with those good quality items, Damien could only speculate.


    The short man and his three pals continuously chatted among themselves in hushed tones, mindful of ears and eyes around him but not discovering that they were being observed. Naturally, Damien couldn''t hear the contents of the conversation but he could easily infer that it would not be about kisses and hugs.


    Damien was confused. How did that short man find work under a merchant? Did he infiltrate the business in order to act as an inside man? That sure sounded possible. But the way the other employees reacted to Damien when he asked around was strange ¨C it was as if they didn''t really want to get involved with whatever trouble he got into.


    Was he a known quantity within that place? If so, then the short man did a poor job of infiltrating.


    Whatever it was, a seemingly simple request had ballooned into something troublesome. Damien suddenly felt like he''d been suckered into doing something unnecessary, blinded by his own greed of the shiny new prosthetic arm.


    Now, how should I handle this, I wonder?


    The rest of the group, besides the short man, were all equipped with pretty nice items as well, leading Damien to believe that the business was actually good for these guys.


    Either that or they were pretty handy with their arms and were capable of robbing even the most well-protected targets.


    Regardless of what, Damien couldn''t take them on lightly. These folks of the Northern Territories were a hardy bunch. They were tough bastards to begin with, so underestimating them was probably not very good for one''s health.


    The truly troublesome part was on how to carry out what Damien had in mind ¨C that of not only getting what this man owed Ged, but to find out more about the merchant, Westbrooks.


    Damien could do this the hard way ¨C beat the living daylights out of them, and then ask away. Or he could pay them for information. Since he had little money left, there wasn''t even a choice here, really. The hard way, it was.


    As he was resolving himself, another figure entered the bar, the thick coat pulled right up to his chin and a woolen cap pulled low, obscuring the face.


    Damien noticed this entry. There weren''t too many patrons in the bar to begin with, and this new guy didn''t seem like he was looking to wet his throat here.


    He looked around for a second or two, hesitated, then approached the barkeep. Leaning over, he whispered while pulling out a Big Bronze coin.


    ¡°Was there a man that looked like a bum in here before? Has he left already?¡±


    Pretending to not notice the coin, the barkeep stealthily reached out to it with a washcloth and like a pro, took the money offered. Not even looking at the suspicious person, the barkeep simply informed him of what happened earlier on.


    Grimacing, the suspicious man straightened up and tried to take a leave, only for his eyes and Damien''s to cross each other''s. The man had recognized Damien. It was written so clearly in his shocked eyes.


    Damien recognized this man, too. It was the adjutant. Dukakis''s adjutant, to be precise. The one who informed Damien that his brother was out, back in the mansion when he went there to speak to his father.


    Panicking slightly, the adjutant hurriedly hid his face and left the bar.


    As for Damien, he sat there on the stool, utterly stunned by this new development.


    An immense headache rushed in, and he felt like ordering one more of this liquor to wash it all down.


    Oh, boy. Trouble just has the way of finding me, doesn''t she?


    As Damien sat there, ruing his rotten luck with a big gulp of the remaining alcoholic beverage, the group of thieves finished whatever they were talking about and stood to leave.


    Of course, he sobered up immediately and followed them out, albeit a beat slower to avoid detection. Whatever the problem Jonas and the adjutant were going to put him in, he''d take care of that later. He''d solve this quandary first and then find some free time to worry about whatever it could all be.


    Carefully, he maintained some distance while tailing the group through the darkened backstreets of Marlborough. This activity brought a sense of nostalgia to Damien, who used to tail quite a few people back in the day when he was still working for Marquis Phillips.


    Good old days, or so he mused silently to himself.


    Damien paid a closer attention to the one Ged wanted money from. The rest, he hoped for them to go on their own way. Sooner the better.


    As if the heavens were listening to him, the short man separated from his comrades, going to another direction altogether.


    Even though this was what he wanted, Damien thought it was all a bit... too convenient a timing.


    It was likely that he was discovered, and the quartet decided to deal with him by luring Damien into a deserted corner of the city.


    Alright, well, it''s not like I''ll fall into your little trap....


    Avoiding the patrolling soldiers the two of them walked, one leading the other, and lo and behold, Damien did indeed find himself in an area dotted with many uninhabited houses where there were no lit street lamps nearby.


    ¡°Why are you following me, mister?¡±


    And there it was, the expected question from the short man''s mouth. Damien half chuckled at that.


    ¡°I''m here to collect on a due.¡±


    ¡°What due? What the hell are you talking about?¡± The short man spat out, clearly irritated.


    ¡°Look, long story short, pardon the choice of the word, Ged sent me.¡±


    ¡°Ged? That.... old man sent you after me?!¡± The short man looked startled. But then, his eyes turned icy. ¡°Looky here, man. I don''t give a flying rat''s ass. Beat it, or we''ll beat you up. Now, choose.¡±


    As soon as those words left the short man''s mouth, the trio who left to go the other way emerged from behind Damien''s position a stone''s throw away.


    The four of them slowly advanced towards Damien''s position, emanating a threatening air.


    Damien simply sighed and shook his head. Even though he resolved himself not to underestimate them, a small smirk still found its way to his lips as he slowly reached to the hilt of Frostbane tied to his hip.


    ~


    There was a polite knock on the door to the bedroom Kain was using in the Tetamus fort. The crisp noise woke him slowly from the deep slumber.


    The morning had come once more like a clockwork, signaling yet another day of training.


    Before anyone had noticed, Kain''s life in the forgotten city of Tetamus became a comfortable one, where everything became.... normal.


    There was a roof over his head, a bed to sleep on, and food to eat three times a day. Most importantly, though ¨C he was safe from the bodily harm caused by the bloodthirsty Fiends occupying the forest.


    What''s more, when he left his clothes on the bedroom floor, the vine-man would swoop in and wash them for him. It was kind of super service that most five-star hotels could learn a thing from.


    If it weren''t for the nonsensical training regime, his life could be described as idyllic. But hell, even that became a sort of routine as well. Day after day, continuously doing the very same thing, and sooner or later, no matter the difficulty, a routine of sorts formed. And following a routine like an automated doll was a comfortable thing, indeed.


    The knocking continued as Kain sorted out his drowsy thoughts. ¡°Yes, yes. I''m up now. Please stop....¡±


    Kain dragged his feet and put on the freshly-pressed clothes. It was a size too big and hung on him a bit loosely. At least he didn''t have to worry about ventilation which was nice.


    He wasn''t too happy with wearing a hand-me-down from a dead child, though. For some reason, the vine-man had a stock of clothing for children his age all ready for an immediate usage. Remembering the Old Man''s words about all the past residents kicking the bucket, it sure felt a bit morbid to wear something like this.


    So today, for the first time, Kain offered a silent prayer for the dead. Not that he believed in a religion or stuff like that, but seeing that gods and monsters were real in this world, he saw no reason not to pray. It wasn''t like he''d lose something by doing it. And it''d nice if his actions alleviated the weight of the misplaced guilt taking root in his heart.


    After quickly washing up, he ran out of the room. He didn''t want to be late, otherwise the Old Man would chew him out good for being tardy. That was not the kind of stress one needed so early on in the morning.


    Utilizing the nameless Body Enhancement Invocation spell to strengthen his legs, he jogged at a speed that was as quick as a certain Jamaican multiple Olympic Gold medal-winning sprinter and arrived at the dining hall in a proverbial blink of an eye.


    The Old Man was already there, sitting cross-legged and meditating. Kain noticed that whenever there was an opportunity, he''d be meditating as if it was the only thing that kept him alive.


    At that rate, you might even turn into a bloody statue of Buddha....


    Kain snickered inwardly before sitting down on his spot. Seeing the Old Man''s current status, it''d be a while before he''d be ready to yell at him for no good reason.


    Especially so, when there were three gigantic, illusory blooming white lotus flowers slowly revolving around him.


    Kain couldn''t hep but admire the scene. The Old Man called this ''Three Heavenly Lotus Meditation'' technique, which was par for the course, really. After all, this was a world where a giant tree grew underground, a undisturbed forest size of a small country and a hidden, forgotten city existed for who knows how long. So, why not a bunch of flowers sprouting from out of nowhere? At least they were pretty to look at.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    When a martial artist entered a deep enough meditative state where the flow of the world''s ch''i was at one''s beck and call, such illusions formed around the said martial artist. It was a sign of being an ultimate being, according to the Old Man''s assertion.


    Kain wasn''t 100% sure of such a sweeping statement, but nonetheless, the whole show was quite amazing to look at. And to think, the Old Man was teaching the boy to achieve something similar to this.


    Crazy.


    Kain could not sense anything in those lotus blooms. There definitely wasn''t any Aeterna flowing in them. Through his ever-so-slightly awakened ability to sense a bit of ch''i, he did detect some but his level was far too shallow to decipher how this technique worked. He''d need more practice, in other words.


    Not that he had no confidence in himself, but it was just that the whole thing seemed like an impossible puzzle at the moment. He understood that he needed to practice kicks and punches if he wanted to be good at, uh, kicking and punching, which was what martial art basically was after all.


    But how could something so primal like learning to punch a face correctly help him to create a bunch of fakey white lotus blooms out of thin air? No matter what, it all sounded too fishy to be true.


    As he sat there pondering, the lotus blooms slowly ceased their rotation and began closing up. The accumulated ch''i stirred and swirled, entering the Old Man and settling inside him.


    Shortly after, he opened his eyes and spoke. ¡°So you''ve come. Then, let''s eat.¡±


    The vine-man brought out those meat buns that wasn''t a meat bun and the two began to dig in silently. This was the usual occurrence until now.


    Today was slightly different, however.


    ¡°Listen, boy. For a few weeks, I shall be stepping out of the forest. I''ll ask Embouchre to take care of you during my absence.¡±


    The Old Man spoke briskly as he wiped his lips clean with a cloth.


    ¡°You going somewhere?¡± Kain nearly rose from his stool, even forgetting to chew for a moment when he heard the new declaration. ¡°Can you take me with you?!¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? Of course not. You stay here and train.¡±


    ¡°Can''t blame me for trying, though.... Anyway, how long are you planning to go away for?¡±


    ¡°It''ll depend on the matter at hand.¡±


    The Old Man curtly replied, although there was a trace of unease in his voice, something Kain failed to notice as it was well disguised.


    ¡°Nevertheless, do not slack on your training. Every day is a precious resource that can not be taken back. Use it to its fullest.¡±


    ¡°What, you mean that kicking and punching stuff?! Or that sitting down and doing nothing AKA meditation? I can do both of those with my eyes closed, you know.¡±


    The Old Man scoffed disdainfully. ¡°Hah!! Such unfounded confidence!! Such arrogance!! Youth is a time of folly, indeed!! Fine. Why don''t we make a small bet? Hmm? By the time when I get back, if you haven''t mastered the ultimate level of this so-called kicking and punching stuff, I get to spank you til you turn black and blue!!¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?! Hell no.¡± Kaina vigorously shook his head. ¡°I am not some fighting prodigy from a manga or something. I ain''t gonna take a losing bet like that.¡±


    ¡°A wise, but cowardly choice,¡± the Old Man gruntled, apparently dissatisfied by something Kain have said. ¡°Hmph, where did your bravado disappear so suddenly? Didn''t you say it''s so easy, you can do it with eyes closed?¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright, please just give it a rest, will you. I get it. I get it already...¡±


    Kain, thoroughly defeated, raised both of his hands in surrender. However, that only got the Old Man going even more.


    ¡°What''s this? Why are you giving up so quickly, huh? What, you think you can give me slip by playing a coward? It''s true that you''re a coward, yes, but at the same time, you are also an over-confident fool. You wouldn''t give up this quickly if you believe you can win. So, what is with this weak disposition, all of a sudden?!¡±


    Kain grimaced and plugged his ears with his fingers, desperately trying to block out the loud voice of the Old Man.


    ¡°Look, fine. It''s like this ¨C you say I can become strong, but what can mastering punching and kicking do? I mean, if I can become an MMA fighter, that''s cool and all, but that''s not exactly what you''ve said, right?¡±


    When Kain finished speaking his doubt, the Old Man''s eyes narrowed to a slit, fully understanding the boy''s behavior now.


    ¡°Hoh, so that''s your problem. You''re skeptical of what I''m teaching you, is that it? Bah, what a fool. Didn''t I say your current body is too weak? It has to grow first.¡±


    The Old Man flicked his sleeves rather theatrically and stood from his stool, walking to a clearing in the dining hall. Here, he stood with his legs slightly apart and once more waved his hand in a showy, Sentai hero kind of way.


    ¡°First, you gain enlightenment regarding the ways of qi gong, the art of gaining subconscious and conscious control of ch''i. The universal life force, the truth behind all wushu,¡±


    As the Old Man''s hands traveled in the air slowly, it left behind afterimages of themselves, like how Bruce Lee did in one of his movies. Except, there was no special effect applied here.


    ¡°Second, you remold and strengthen your frail flesh via combination of potent medicines and basic martial art forms. This shall lay the foundation down for the higher tier, the natural next step in your journey towards becoming a master. When you can do this, with your eyes closed. Hmph!!¡±


    The Old Man''s hands coiled into tightly held fists which tucked neatly into his sides. Then he swept one leg out forward, the other bending low.


    With a snort, he punched out, his body unmoving. It looked simple, innocuous, even.


    Yet, when the fist flung out, it caused a sharp, explosive sound to wring out, and a cold blast of air slapped Kain square in the face.


    That wasn''t the end.


    The Old Man continuously punched out. Each of the fists caused a minor explosion every time he struck out, causing the entire dining hall, the fort and perhaps even the entire forest to tremble in shock and awe, including Kain.


    ¡°When you arrive at the Pinnacle, then I shall pass on the knowledge of Heavenly Northern God technique. By mastering this school of martial arts, you shall attain the godhood that will let you survive the onslaught of the false gods in the future.¡±


    He stopped punching and instead, began to form a series of elaborate stances in a seemingly languid manner. But each of his movements were punctuated with decisiveness so sharp, it could cleave the air clean without even trying.


    The city''s trembling seemed to increase as if it was busy applauding the Old Man. Even Kain''s hearts palpitated uncontrollably, as he sensed the ch''i writhing and coiling around the Old Man, in him, in the surroundings, in everything he could sense and see and hear and feel and taste.


    He couldn''t see it like Aeterna''s flow, but still, he was moved by the experience.


    Somehow, by seeing this demonstration, he thought he could recall a tiny bit of the moment when he was enveloped in that incredible surge of power. He could almost recall what it was like, totally at one with the almighty power that could sever the very fabric of reality with a wave of a hand.


    Salivating, Kain nodded eagerly. ¡°Alright. I''ll do my best. No, I''ll exceed that. I''ll surprise you, Old Man. You just wait and see.¡±


    The Old Man nodded and stood straight up. As he did so, the ch''i scattered and dissipated, leaving behind a void of sorts. As if to mend it, Aeterna swirled around like bits of paint on a painter''s mixing board, the faint colors bending and shifting. It was pretty as hell.


    As Kain was lost in thought, the Old Man walked closer and smacked the boy in the head.


    ¡°Ouch!! Hey, what was that for?!¡±


    Kain rubbed his head, nearly crying from the stinging pain.


    ¡°Didn''t I tell you to call me shifu? What the frack is this Old Man crap?!¡±


    Oops, that slipped out, huh, Kain grinned wryly. Turning around, he made up some excuse on the spot. ¡°Well, as you say, I''m a fool. So, uh, I forgot. Besides, you never told me your name, you know.¡±


    ¡°Just call me shifu. Simple. Names are unimportant to me.¡±


    Tch, fine. Kain grumbled inwardly. His head still stung from the blow, so rubbed it for a bit longer.


    The Old Man hovered behind Kain, as if he was studying a new specimen or some such. He oohed and aahed, raising his eyebrow once in a while too. All in all, it was rather disconcerting.


    ¡°What are you doing now?!¡± Kain complained loudly.


    ¡°Be still. I''m studying your meridians and the flow of ch''i in your body. So, silence.¡±


    Kain pouted but remained still as told. It took a few more minutes before the Old Man was finished with his examination.


    ¡°Hmm. It''s better than before, but still, there are ways to go. Tell me boy, how much ch''i can you sense, for example, in me? Or in the air?¡±


    Kain tilted his head, his brows furrowed. ¡°Uhm, I guess.... not much?¡±


    The Old Man nodded. ¡°Well, it''s to be expected. This rate of growth is actually commendable. Hmm. Judging by the amount of ch''i accumulated in your three dan tians, Shang in the middle of your forehead, Zhong, near your heart, and Xia, in your lower abdomen, I can perhaps teach you this bit before I go.¡±


    More Chinese gibberish, huh. Kain scratched his head in confusion. He had virtually no idea what the Old Man was talking about. What was a dan tian? What was that Sanbao? These things called Zhongs and Xias ¨C if he didn''t know better, he''d assume they were the names of some second-class Power Rangers villains.


    Seeing the confusion shining brightly in Kain''s eyes, the Old Man sighed dejectedly. ¡°Are you worried about all these technical terms? Don''t be. It really doesn''t matter to you at this stage anyway. Just remember the words, the locations of the dan tians, and that is all.¡±


    ¡°What is a dan tian anyway? I''ve never heard of it before, not even in a kung fu movie.¡±


    ¡°A dan tian is a meditative focal point within a person''s body. Simply put, those three places are where you store and begin the circulation of ch''i. There aren''t any physical organs or anything like that, but.... oh, right. You can wield Aeterna, no? That means you possess an Aeterna Pool. Yes, think of a dan tian as something similar to that.¡±


    Kain nodded, feeling like he had understood just a bit from all that.


    The Old Man continued in the meantime.


    ¡°A fully developed Shang will help you with your faculties ¨C quicker thinking, clearer minds, easy to memorize and recall. A fully developed Zhong will ensure you''ll control ch''i in the most efficient or explosive manner, as your heart desires. Also, your control will become finer and smoother. Finally, with a fully developed Xia, you will be able to store a heck of a lot of ch''i. Enough to move mountains, if you are so inclined.¡±


    Kain nodded again, this time slightly more impressed than before.


    ¡°Developing all three of them at the similar rate is going to be a real challenge. But in order to remold you into a false god-slaying being, it is a necessary hardship to endure.¡±


    The Old Man slapped the back of Kain as he said so. It was a rare display of friendliness from him, taking the boy a bit to recover from the shock.


    Before he could say a thing, the Old Man was already heading towards the exit of the dining hall. ¡°Hurry up, brat. We haven''t got all day.¡±


    Kain chuckled to himself at that. The friendly gesture was probably done unconsciously, and was likely never to be repeated again. So, it was not worth mulling over, after all.


    Once the two of them came out to the front yard of the fort, the Old Man rolled up his sleeves and beckoned Kain.


    ¡°Watch closely, and try to use your senses to decipher the flow of ch''i. Understand?¡±


    The Old Man then punched out again. But this time, it was slow, as if he was throwing it under water. There was no destructive shockwave generated from the punch either.


    However, when his arm was fully outstretched, there was a loud boom. The air in front of where the fist struck, exploded like a small bomb.


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Kain exclaimed in surprise. It was only for a short moment, but he thought he saw how ch''i moved in that moment before the air exploded.


    ¡°Again,¡± said the Old Man as he threw another slow punch. Which was again, accompanied by that explosion.


    After repeating that couple more times, then he kicked forward. Each of his outstretched kicks caused the exact same explosions of air.


    Kain''s eyes gleamed from a sliver of understanding he had acquired from watching the movements.


    ¡°Wow. That is pretty cool,¡± Kain beamed and praised the technique shown by the Old Man. ¡°What is that move called, uh, shifu?¡±


    ¡°It''s named the Soul Crusher. This technique is at the pinnacle of controlling ch''i to its most minute amount. When you master it, then performing it via various parts of your body becomes possible, turning you into an invincible warrior.¡±


    Soul Crusher?! Kain couldn''t help but make a weird face after hearing the name. Being able to fire it off however he wanted to sounded nice, but it was proving difficult to get past that rather lame name for some reason.


    ¡°A Soul Crusher is not only meant to injure your opponents, but to actually crush their fighting spirits as well by demonstrating your fierce willpower. Putting a dent in their confidence, in other words.¡±


    The Old Man threw a single, super-fast punch, and the air boomed loudly. It wasn''t as scintillating as the time he demonstrated his abilities just a few minutes ago, but Kain felt like this was something he could actually do with a bit of training.


    The Old Man then picked up a debris the size of an adult''s head. He lightly chucked it up in the air, and as it descended he struck it with a Soul Crusher.


    Suffice to say, the rock disintegrated into fine powder.


    ¡°The trick is to know how much ch''i you need to expand with each strike. Too little, then it''s a waste of time. Too much, and you might end up hurting yourself more than you hurt your opponents.¡± The Old Man dusted his robe nonchalantly as he spoke. ¡°Now, meditate what you''ve learned. Ingrain it in your heart. More than anything else, continue to practice the meditation technique diligently as that will help you to control ch''i flow within your body.¡±


    Kain tilted his head slightly. ¡°What do you mean, getting hurt by ch''i? Is there a backlash if I''m not careful? Like when failing to perform an Invocation spell?¡±


    The Old Man flicked the last bit of dust off of him and turned to look at Kain with serious eyes. ¡°Your body is a container for ch''i. However, that does not mean your body is indestructible from it. If you overexert yourself, push past your limits carelessly, then as a consequence, your body will suffer damage. Yes, a backlash, as you have put it. It can even cripple you if your body, the container of ch''i, is weak. No need to even mention how important the control of ch''i is, either.¡±


    Kain wasn''t convinced by the Old Man''s explanation. Sure, he was the expert so what he said was most likely correct, but in his mind, he was wondering why this was so. Wouldn''t one''s ch''i, uh, cultivation, run parallel to one''s physical growth? Like, as one piled up more awesome muscles, the more ch''i one gets to accumulate? Kinda like how it was with the characters from that Japanese anime series about seven amber crystal balls with stars inside....


    He got the point on the need for an exacting control over ch''i usage, as that was not too dissimilar to the idea of wielding Aeterna. But as for the body....


    Hmm, maybe it''s exactly like that. An Invoker, a top class one at that, is usually really buff. Like that Ahres dude. Even mom is like that, really fit and strong. And never mind uncle Derrick ¨C he''s a fitness freak, that guy. So, following that logic, I can''t wield a lot of ch''i if I''m not physically fit enough, is that right?


    Kain nodded with a flash of understanding. He was gaining little bits of so-called enlightenment, however small they were.


    He looked at his right fist for a moment, imagining sending a bit of ch''i to it from his lowest dan tian, Xia.


    He kind of felt ch''i circulating in his fist. It tickled a bit, like as if there was a mosquito sitting on his skin.


    He then mindlessly punched out with the fist, simulating what the Old Man did. Of course, there was a deep frown on the Old Man''s face. He immediately tried to stop Kain, but it was too late.


    There was a soft sound of Peng, followed by the pained cry from Kain''s mouth.


    His hand was mangled, blood spurting out of torn skin. The meat underneath was shredded as if he had stuck his hand in a blender. It looked rather horrible.


    ¡°You fool!! What the frack are you trying to do? To cripple yourself?! Damn it all!!¡±


    The Old Man hurriedly wrapped the boy''s damaged hand and began injecting some of his own ch''i into the messed up flesh which could stem the flow of blood to a degree. He had to be careful, though ¨C lest he end up sealing the wound by mistake and leaving Kain with a damaged hand for life.


    By the look of it, it''d need a good few months of intense healing to avoid it becoming completely unrecoverable. This was a bad news.


    The Old Man originally was planning to leave the Tetamus forest for two reasons ¨C one was to locate his old treasures, now scattered around the continent due to one event or the other, as well as to find rare medicinal herbs to aid Kain''s development.


    The second was to investigate the disturbance of the fabric of this Realm that he sensed a few hours ago. It felt like something that didn''t belong to this world had invaded here. The presence didn''t seem too large or all that powerful, but if it came to find this boy, then it paid to be cautious.


    But now, with this idiot injuring his hand this badly, he had to delay things. As it was said before, this was a bad news.


    The Old Man grimly looked up, and sent out a tiny ripple of Yi Hai out. He could still sense that disturbance towards the city of Lafayette, circling around like a bird of prey.


    Hmph, so it is what I suspected. Well, the One Tree''s influence will mask our activities for the time being, but I need to act quickly.


    He looked back down at Kain, whose face was turning pale real quick due to the loss of large quantity of blood. He was barely holding on, terrified but now gaining more understanding of how things worked when it came to the ch''i-related business.


    Clicking his tongue, the Old Man called out to his Familiar, Orion, via Yi Hai.


    ¡°Bring me the first aid kit, and call Embouchre. She''ll know the necessary medicinal herbs to treat this kind of injury.¡±


    Then he sent a bit more of his ch''i into Kain''s meridians. Chuckling wryly, he softly whispered.


    ¡°Idiot disciple of mine. Hopefully, from this mistake you have learned to listen to this old man.¡±


    His words didn''t reach Kain''s brain. He was far too busy fighting off the crazy amount of pain as well as the fear of losing his hand. He saw how desperate Damien was after he lost his arm. That was something Kain definitely wanted to avoid at all cost.


    (So, like, the funny thing is, I was nearly done with posting this chapter. I was 80% done, all the texts copy/pasted and everything. And then.... my laptop crashed. That meant I had to start all over again - it turned out, I haven''t even saved stuff I wrote a few hours ago on the original draft, which I left open, thinking I''d save it after I post everything.... Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. Damn you, Microsoft and your crash-prone OS Win 10!!!!!!)

 Chapter 34 + missing paragraphs added.

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">34</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (Although, having said that, since I''ve begun using a free Grammarly Firefox plug-in maybe I should stop with above notice in the near future....)


    While Kain had his hand nearly blown off, his father was waiting in a hallway of the Lomax mansion, slowly pacing up and down the crowded corridor.


    As promised, he came to see his brother, Dukakis. He was in the office today, although there was a constant stream of important looking men entering and exiting the said office. Damien had to wait until there was a break before he could speak to his own flesh and blood. Kinda felt like he was waiting to speak to his father back when he was still living in this house, with his father enjoying robust health.


    So, like father, like son, then.


    Besides that, though....


    Damien couldn''t help but cover his mouth and yawn. He did his best to do it discreetly.


    See, the thing was, he had to turn in pretty late the night before. Obviously, Damien couldn''t have foreseen that a seemingly innocuous money collecting request would morph into something infinitely more troublesome.


    One of those men got him pretty good. There was a stinging reminder to his right ribcage left behind by the bandits for hire. That''s what their job descriptions were ¨C hired by merchants to sabotage a rival''s operations. Pretty classy, sarcastically speaking. Nothing was broken, at least as far as he could tell, but regardless, this was the result of getting way too excited for his own health. He properly reflected upon it.


    Still, what he was told from the mouths of those fools troubled him greatly. To think, his son''s murderers were of such complicated origins...


    To make matters even worse, the adjutant from the night before was absent today. According to Dukakis''s personal butler who was acting as a stand-in, this absence was quite sudden and unexplainable. Apparently, the missing man was a hard worker who managed to never miss a day. And that was including the national holidays and even his own wedding.


    As much as Damien tried not to care, he wondered whether it was his fault for the poor sob not coming in for work today. He swore not to get involved here but, if he was indeed responsible for some of the guilt, then....


    Then, nothing. He had a bigger, tougher fish to fry at the moment to worry about a stranger. As heartless as it might seem, that was the truth. Not a thing he could do about it to change the fact.


    ¡°He''s ready to see you now, Young Master,¡± said Dukakis''s personal butler, Jennings. He was immaculately groomed, as was the case with all the highly experienced butlers of the world were, but Damien detected a hint of tiredness in his eyes.


    Jennings was doing his best to keep up with the demands of the commander of the local garrison but seeing that he lacked knowledge in the matters of the armed forces and their particulars, he was clearly struggling.


    He had half a mind to ask Cassius to lend a hand but that wouldn''t change things for the better as the old butler was just about the same as well. Two old men running around flustered and out of their depths would only increase Dukakis''s already considerable headaches, so Damien didn''t suggest it.


    ¡°Thank you, Jennings,¡± Damien nodded and entered the Count''s office.


    Inside the wide open space, a pair of humongous bookshelves extending all the way to the ceiling stood on both of the walls, filled to the brim with books, both arcane and new.


    On four corners, tall potted plants of unknown origins emanating green glow, all the while oozing out pleasant and soothing scents.


    And in the middle, a huge desk that easily dwarfed the one back in Riverfield, its top strewn with parchments and half-open scrolls in various guises.


    There were three brown-colored communication crystals of different sizes located in the office as well, with the two of them currently in use.


    The smallest one was connected to the Captain of the local garrison''s quarters, and his tense face was projected just above it. He was in the midst of giving an in-depth report.


    The medium sized crystal was projecting an image of a short-statured and heavily-armored woman who had a face of someone too young to wear such a fierce-looking things on her. She was speaking and listening to the man behind the desk.


    And that man, was Damien''s elder brother, Dukakis. And they looked almost exactly alike. Except for Damien being a bit shorter of height and hair length, as well as Dukakis being narrower of shoulders and also a bit paler due to a lack of sun, they could even be called twins.


    Maybe this isn''t such a good time, after all, mused Damien silently, seeing this scene in front of him. Dukakis, however, saw his brother''s entrance and nodded his welcome.


    The woman''s face in the projection looked somber as she listened to the captain''s report, but as soon as she saw Damien it brightened up, showing a wide smile.


    ¡°Damien!! You''ve come!!¡± The woman shouted, but the projection''s ability to transmit the loud sound was limited and it ended up sounding garbled instead. Still, her joy at seeing her younger brother was clearly transmitted through no problem.


    There were seven other uniformed and armored men in the office beside Dukakis as well. Before his sister''s outburst, only those closest to the door noticed Damien''s entry, but now, all eyes were on him.


    ¡°Hello, brother, sis,¡± Damien nodded at Dukakis and then at the projection of his sister.


    The older Lomax smiled thinly, before resuming the conference with the Captain''s projection. ¡°Do carry on, captain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord. Ahem. Yes, the systemic reconnaissance of the 3<sup>rd</sup> quadrant has yielded negative results. According to the gathered intel, the enemy combatants have relocated their base of operations to another sector. Please advise.¡±


    Dukakis grimly frowned as if the weight of the world was weighing down on him. ¡°Continue with the search, captain. We need to completely rout them for the sake of our city and its citizens. Post men around the predetermined strategic points in the quadrant as scheduled, and please report afterward.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±


    The garrison captain''s image flickered and then dissipated like a rising smoke, a small sundial-like disk below the brown crystal rotating automatically until the needle stopped on the spot marked ''0''. Dukakis then turned to the image of his sister.


    ¡°Donna, if you would.¡±


    ¡°Right, alrighty. I''m currently camped out near the village of Gomah-on-Bent and have encountered three groups of Barbarian idiots so far. Just like before, each group is no more than a dozen or so. I still think there''s a hall in a wall somewhere, Dukakis. I really think it''s high time you send someone, preferably me, to check out the borders.¡±


    Donna''s voice eerily buzzed out of the badly synched projection of hers. Still, her words were crystal clear. The military hardmen present inside the office murmured to each other and began to offer their own take on the situation.


    Damien patiently waited for the conference to end, all the while his eyes surveyed some of the open scrolls carelessly strewn about on the huge desk.


    One particular parchment attracted his attention. It was half unfurled, revealing a crest on top, but the content itself was obscured from his view. He was too far to get a good look at it, however.


    ¡°Donna, stay on course. We''ve reports of Barbarians disguising as bandits and performing raids all over the area you are in. We need to find them before the damage spreads too far. As for the borders, I already have made arrangements. So do not mind it.¡±


    Dukakis took in all the recommendations from his advisers and then began handing out his orders. Donatella wasn''t happy, but she nodded her head, and then she looked at Damien.


    ¡°Hey, little bro. Don''t you run away before I get back home, you hear? You''ve got a lot of things to answer for, you know?! I''m gonna make sure you tell me EVERYTHING!!!¡±


    Damien smiled weakly and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Oh, come one, Donna. I don''t know if I''ll be here until then. But do take your time out there. I mean, we need you to do a thorough job, right? And not let any enemies slip through the cracks. Well, good luck, sis.¡±


    ¡°Hah!! Whatever, Damien. But wait for me, alright?¡±


    Then her image flickered away. Like before, a small sundial, this time embedded into a pedestal below the large crystal, rotated as well until coming to a rest at ''0''.


    Dukakis ended the conference, but the truth was his work would never end. He sent his advisers out to do their respective jobs, which left Damien alone in the office with his older brother whom he hadn''t seen in a decade. Sure, there were exchanges of official letters in the past, but this was indeed, the first face to face after Damien had left home.


    ¡°You look good, considering,¡± Dukakis smiled bitterly. The expression wasn''t of malice, though. It was more like.... him unable to think of something brotherly and welcoming to say, so simply improvised on the spot.


    ¡°Yeah, well. You too, Dukakis.¡±


    Damien returned a similar sort of cramped smile that didn''t carry any ill intentions.


    ¡°I heard that you spoke with father. I''m assuming that didn''t go smoothly?¡±


    Damien genuinely chuckled at that. ¡°As much as you can imagine. No, he''s still a bastard, that one.¡±


    ¡°Look, Damien. Regardless of what he is, what he did, he is still our father. At least.... At least let us keep some decorum and address him in proper manners.¡±


    Damien wanted to disagree, but then he saw his brother''s tired face and shut his mouth up. Instead, he chose to simply nod his consent.


    ¡°What is wrong with him, anyway? Is it an illness? Or something else?¡±


    Damien asked about the condition of their father. Although he did not care for that man''s condition, still he found himself wondering about it in the end.


    ¡°It''s a combination of poison and the complication from the treatment. It was the Barbarian agents spiking father''s drink. The antidote was easy enough to procure but the side effects were severe. And the result of all that, it''s clear to see, isn''t it.¡±


    Dukakis sighed, massaging his temples slightly.


    His curiosity somewhat satisfied, Damien moved on. ¡°And what about this Barbarian situation? How did it become this bad?¡±


    Dukakis reached out to a large wooden box on the corner of his desk. Opening the lid, he fetched an ornately decorated smoking pipe carved out from a bone of a powerful Fiend. He went through the ritual of stuffing the end with tobacco then lit it with a small ball of flames which he created with an Invocation spell.


    Breathing in deeply the resulting smoke, Dukakis slowly leaned back and spoke. ¡°The rumor has it that a few months ago, three of the most influential tribes beyond the borders went to war against one another. A three-way melee, as it were. Don''t really know the reason, but it became a free-for-all very quickly. A bloody nightmare, is what it is. As you well know, there isn''t a central governing body with the Barbarians, so it became an utter chaos up there.¡±


    Damien silently listened, slightly perturbed at the information. Again, this was new to him.


    After taking in another deep smoke, Dukakis continued. ¡°One of the tribes involved in this mess is Northern Lepudia. From what the intelligence officers have gathered, that tribe is this close to being wiped out, their Tribal Mystic Totem in danger of something called A Corruption.¡±


    ¡°I think I know what that is,¡± Damien spoke when he detected Dukakis wanting a little break in explanation. ¡°A Tribal Mystic Totem is a sacred artifact passed down to the heirs of the chieftain, isn''t it? It''s supposed to be a representation of the Soul of the tribe. A Corruption only means that it''s close to being destroyed by the outside influences.¡±


    Dukakis nodded. ¡°That''s what I heard as well. As expected, you knew already, huh.¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah. It''s something forced down on me, so....¡± Damien shrugged his shoulders dismissively.


    ¡°The surviving members of the Northern Lepudia tribesmen have scattered all over. Some have tried to claim asylum in my city, so far none have been granted. However, there were a few that have slipped past the border control.¡±


    ¡°I see. But I can''t see how disrupting the peace of Marlborough could help them,¡± Damien narrowed his eyes. ¡°Is there something else?¡±


    Dukakis nodded. ¡°Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. Out of the three-way melee, the Tigris tribe gained a lot of power. However, the Tribal Mystic Totem of Lepudia tribe is missing, presumed smuggled out of the tribe''s safekeeping. Also presumed to be south of the national border. Even worse.... Tigris think father granted an asylum to the ones in possession of the said Totem.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see where this is going,¡± Damien groaned.


    In order to completely defeat an enemy tribe, the tradition among the Barbarians was to destroy the Tribal Mystic Totem. If not, it meant that the spirit of the tribe lived on and thus could rise up again in the future.


    So if the Lepudia tribe''s Totem wasn''t destroyed, then that means no matter how Tigris claim the victory, it''d be not acknowledged by the other tribes in the area.


    Dukakis exhaled the bluish smoke after sucking on the pipe. ¡°The Tigris thinks father is shielding the Lepudia''s Totem, since he did limited amount trading with them in the past. They want it out in the open so they can destroy it and claim the unconditional victory.¡±


    ¡°But knowing father, he did not grant an asylum. And we have no idea where the Totem or its holders are hiding.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Dukakis smiled wryly. ¡°But it''s not like the Barbarians to trust the words of us Imperials. We''ve been fighting them for the last five hundred years, so it''s obvious they wouldn''t believe our words.¡±


    ¡°I''m guessing that the reason for targeting the local nobles is to force your hand to negotiate for the peace at the price of the Totem''s whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that''s what the messenger said.¡± Dukakis sighed, shaking his head. ¡°The one who poisoned father left behind a letter demanding the reveal of the Totem and its holder, the granddaughter of the Lepudia Chieftain.¡±


    ¡°Oh, boy. Alright. I get it now. But why haven''t you contacted the Capital? When I stopped by there earlier on, the news of this situation hadn''t reached the ears of the populace. Surely, you could have called for an assistance.¡±


    ¡°It''s more complicated then that.¡±


    Dukakis carried a grim expression as he opened a drawer, producing a missive. Damien immediately recognized it. After all, as a baron and the lord of Riverfield, he had seen in many times before as well.


    It was the Imperial Decree, hand delivered by the Imperial Couriers and signed by the highest authority in the nation ¨C the Emperor himself.


    Damien opened the missive and pored through it. As he read the contents, his face lost color. ¡°Is this for real?!¡±


    Dukakis formed a fist and gritted his teeth. ¡°Yes, yes it is.¡±


    The missive wasn''t signed by the Emperor, but one of the princes who was in line for the throne.


    The contents speak of changing the lord of Marlborough to another family altogether, for a reason of incompetence in part of Caleb''s failure to secure a proper heir to his title.


    Apparently, Dukakis wasn''t an officially recognized heir even though he was the eldest child, because Caleb had failed to declare it so.


    This meant that in the event of Caleb''s passing, the peerage of Count Lucius Lomax would become vacant. Damien was not eligible due to having his own peerage of Baron.


    Using this as a pretext, a faction of nobles currying for a favor in the Imperial succession race, saw an opportunity to increase their influence in one of the most strategically important provinces in the whole of the Empire, plotted against Caleb, and was trying to evict the Lucius Lomax out of Marlborough. This much wasn''t stated in the missive, of course. It''d be something Damien would learn of much later.


    Having this mess of Barbarians would only compound the matters further and give ammunition to these bastards.


    Damien''s face was quite ugly at the moment. Not that he cared for who might be lord of this city, no, but of the future of his siblings. If Caleb didn''t pass the peerage, then both Dukakis and Donatella would be no better than commoners without a home as the nobles would be able to take the city away.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Yes, Damien could take in both of them in his capacity as a Baron, but that would have its own downside as well.


    This wouldn''t even be an issue if Caleb would just recognize either Dukakis or Donatella as the heir to his title. But that stubborn old fool hadn''t.


    ¡°Does father know this?¡± Damien asked, almost crumpling the missive in his clenched fist.


    ¡°Yes. And guess how he reacted? He went quite ballistic. But still, he didn''t even want to talk about the solution to the problem.¡±


    Dukakis took in another deep breath of the tobacco. He looked philosophical as he spoke the next words out. ¡±Sometimes, I wonder. I wonder what it would have been like if you never left home. That you stayed behind and became the next Count.¡±


    ¡°Dukakis...¡± Damien murmured weakly.


    ¡°Could I have been the painter that I always wanted to become? I was getting really good as well. My tutor had praised my talents more than once, you see. I even had the recommendations to enter the Imperial Atelier as an apprentice.¡± Dukakis''s eyes were distant as if he was reminiscing about the past. ¡°I still paint, occasionally. Not lately, however. As you can see, can''t seem to find the time.¡±


    Damien didn''t say anything, just quietly studied his brother''s face for a while. Finally, he spoke his mind as well. ¡°Dukakis. You know why I left. Looking back, it was not a correct choice, I admit. However, I don''t have any regrets. Because I left, I was able to live a life of my own, away from father. I met Liz, I have a family with her, a home in a warm climate, have.... had, a son and still have a daughter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you have lived a good life, so far.... No, that''s not quite right, is it. Yes, I heard you lost your arm as well as your son under tragic circumstances. It is belated, but my condolences.¡±


    Dukakis''s voice was pained. There was not a single hint of sarcasm in it but somehow, Damien felt there were hidden barbs in the way his brother spoke those words.


    ¡°Do you blame me for.... this, your current life?¡± Damien asked slowly the one question he wanted to ask his brother. A question that burned in his mind ever since.... well, ever since he abandoned home and became an Adventurer.


    ¡°Blame you? I admit that, in the beginning, I did. Father was always abusive towards us, especially so after mother passed on. But when you left, he shut us, Donna and I, out completely. It was like we didn''t even exist anymore. So, yes, I did blame you for my suffering.¡±


    Dukakis sighed again, this time even more weakly. Then, abruptly, he stood up and headed for the window. He pushed the heavy, mulberry-colored drapes out of the way and opened the windows to let the fresh air in. He then took a long breath of the pipe.


    ¡°Now, though? No, I don''t blame you. You were smart and courageous enough to seek your own fate. I, on the other hand, couldn''t because I was weaker than you. And during my time here, in this seat, I''d like to believe that I have done good things for the people of this city, for this territory as a whole. So, no. I no longer blame you for my position. Can''t speak for Donna''s feelings, however. But knowing her, well, I''m sure she''s the same as I.¡±


    As Dukakis leaned against the window sill, a chilly wind entered the office, and the documents on the desk fluttered. An awkward silence pervaded the office, turning the mood rather gloomy. Frowning, Damien searched for a different subject to break the insufferable atmosphere, only to have his attention involuntarily land on one of the open parchment that was the closest to him. It was the very same one he had noticed while waiting for the conference to end earlier on.


    Now that he was closer, the emblem on the top of the parchment was clear ¨C that of a mountain and a pair of new moons on either side of it. There was a line of words written below it.


    It said ¡°West & Brooks.¡±


    Seeing this, Damien''s face became ugly once more. Because it brought him the memories of the night before when he interrogated the quartet of thieves-for-hire.


    The info he learned then made him nearly lose out all his strength, all his drive for vengeance. Because it turned out that Westbrooks wasn''t a person. It wasn''t even a proper name, per se, as it was actually West & Brooks.


    No, rather than a single person, it was a name of a Young Entrepreneurs'' Association based out of the Western Reaches featuring tens of members. Meaning, there were lots of potential suspects for Damien to investigate.


    How could a reliable information broker like Mikael mess up so badly? It could only mean one of two things. Either that he was deliberately fed false info, or he fed Damien wrong info on purpose.


    However, the second scenario was unlikely ¨C Mikael knew Damien well enough to understand that such a tactic was useless. Besides, there didn''t seem like a good enough reason to get on Damien''s bad side like this.


    So, that only left one possibility behind, which was of the spreading of the deliberate misinformation by the members of the said organization. As to why they would go to such a troublesome length of subterfuge, Damien could only speculate, but whatever the case maybe, it wouldn''t be because of a nice, heart warming intention.


    Damien picked the scroll up and pored through the contents. It wasn''t anything special ¨C just that, it simply talked about potential investors wishing to join the collective cooperation laid down by Dukakis and the representatives of West & Brooks.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, that?¡± Dukakis noticed Damien reading the parchment and spoke amiably. ¡°That''s one of the good things I''ve done for the city''s wealth over the years, working with those men. Thanks to the trade agreement, during the last fiscal year we recorded the very first surplus in decades.¡±


    ¡°....Congratulations,¡± Damien smiled, trying to disguise the uneasiness bubbling in his mind. ¡°When did this organization contact you for an agreement?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it was one of the local merchants who suggested we should work alongside West & Brooks. It took a bit of negotiation, but in the end, the gains for the both sides are substantial. As for how long.... I guess, it''s been six, six and a half years? That sounds about right.¡±


    That long, huh. Damien muttered inwardly. ¡°What do they do, exactly? I''ve never heard of these people up until now.¡±


    ¡°Basically, it''s an amalgam of various children of nobles who might not get to inherit the peerage due to their circumstances. So, you would find merchants, architects, engineers, even Invokers among its membership. Their aim is to provide more than an adequate financial and political base for the members and friends alike.¡±


    Damien nodded, still poker-faced. ¡°Good to hear that these people are helping the city out. But with the things as it is, how are they taking it so far?¡±


    ¡°Oh, they have been a godsend,¡± Dukakis chuckled happily. ¡°They have somehow managed to keep any unnecessary information from leaking out to the Capital. And of the little bit that did, they have spun a nice tale to go with it as well. Then, there is the procurement of emergency supplies, as well as the extra combat personnel and equipment to go along with them.¡±


    Hearing this, Damien couldn''t help but let a small, complicated expression escape. Quickly reigning in his worries, he asked again. ¡°A good ally to have in this time of need, I guess. I wonder if I could entice them into considering having a working relationship with Riverfield too.¡±


    Dukakis brightened up. ¡°Well, I could introduce some people. You could have a chat and see what they have to say.¡±


    Damien''s eyes sharpened slightly at the turn of the events. ¡°Mm. That could work.¡±


    ¡°Then, it''s settled. But you''ll have to wait a bit for a meeting, unfortunately. None of West & Brooks''s high ranking members are in the city at the moment ¨C with the situation as it is, most of them have evacuated from here, waiting for a favorable news.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then how should we contact them?¡±


    ¡°I''ll let them know of your intentions via the communication crystal. But first, we need to rid my city of these Barbarian bastards. And then, we can arrange for a proper meet & greet.¡±


    Damien slightly tilted his head. ¡°Wait, you want me to lend a help? Is that it? My services don''t come cheap, you know. Just because you''re my brother, that doesn''t mean I''ll discount my usual rate for you.¡±


    Dukakis laughed softly and returned to his seat. Shaking his head with a wry smile etched in his face, he opened another drawer in the desk and produced a request form. ¡°Here, take this and register it in the Association or whatever it is you Adventurers do. Now, get out of here, brother. I got work to do.¡±


    ¡°You even had one of these prepared, just in case? Dukakis, I wasn''t aware that you could be so.... insightful,¡± Damien remarked in jest as he took the form and scanned it quickly. ¡°Alright. I''ll see what I can do to help.... but, I do have another errand to run in the city. Hopefully, the two won''t clash with each other, much.¡±


    After saying the temporary goodbyes, Damien walked out of the office and met up with Cassius. He offered light lunch which Damien obviously accepted ¨C if he could save even a single Bronze coin, that he''d take it. This also meant that he stayed in the mansion for a longer time than he had originally planned to do.


    Not once did he run into his father. Damien didn''t care too much about it, though. He had much bigger, more important fish to fry to worry about his old man''s feelings.


    No, he was looking forward to having a meeting with these West & Brooks bastards and see what''s what. This turn of events was something Damien was thinking of ever since he learned of the identity, or identities, of his targets. So far, his plan was sailing along fairly well.


    ~


    ¡°Basically, this is what they have said to me.¡±


    In a very foul mood, Michelle spoke to Lizbeth and Rosy after dinner. The girls ¨C Katrina, Kaleena ¨C were fast asleep, their tummies full and totally wiped out from another day''s intense learning schedule.


    Michelle''s foul mood originated from a meeting she had with the school''s administrator earlier in the day, regarding the children''s very ill-advised session with the cold-tempered lecturer, Sonorra, and the subsequent chain of events that followed.


    After that day''s hellish happenings, Katrina saw fit to report the injustice to her aunt as well as to teacher Michelle in the hopes that the mean lady would never have the pleasure of tormenting them again.


    ¡°The school''s administrator was apparently pressurized from someone higher up from SOIR''s circle of Elders. His hands were tied on that as he was merely following orders. Yes, yes, I called him a spineless coward already, so stay your anger, Lizbeth.¡±


    Lizbeth was about to explode with anger so Michelle quickly raised her hand in front as a gesture to calm her down.


    Grumbling, Lizbeth sat back down on the large couch, but her anger hadn''t cooled in the slightest. ¡°Who gave out such an order? Surely, a person with a grudge would be behind such a tactless and terrible move.¡±


    ¡°After I finished my little chat with the administrator, I headed to the Central district. Funny thing was, though, none of the old fogies were in the office!! Could you believe it?! What an incredible timing they all seem to possess.¡±


    Michelle fumed equally as hard as her former student. Her words barely could hide the thick sarcasm in her voice, all ready to burst out and go to town with a poor sob who fail to read the atmosphere.


    Rosy watched the two woman with a slightly bemused face. She was at a loss as to what to say or do in this case. She was well acquainted with her madam, Lizbeth going all berserk and showing a thing or two to Damien before, but having Michelle here too, made things a tad more complicated.


    Only if Delilah was here, Rosy muttered under her breath, wondering if she should get out of here before something bad happens.


    ¡°I met a few other concerned mothers there to make a complaint while in the Central district,¡± continued Michelle under her breath. ¡°They were all wives of prominent folks in the Capital!! And it was quite clear to me that the old fogies have totally let go of their senses, offending that many people. Yes, as SOIR members such things don''t really concern us, but heck, these kids are the future of our organization!! How would they think and act once they achieve adulthood? I shudder to think just what kind of idiotic thoughts were running amok in their brains to give out such an order!!¡±


    ¡°I should imagine!! Even I was up in arms regarding the terrible treatment my daughter and Katrina had received. If it wasn''t your advice to stay home and do research, I would have accompanied you to the administrator''s door and knock some sense into him!!¡±


    Lizbeth harrumphed angrily, Aeterna flaring around her like a coiling snake ready pounce on a prey.


    As the two women tattled on, pouring out their mutual anger, Rosy noticed a presence nearing the residence''s doorsteps.


    The presence itself didn''t try to mask its approach, leading her to believe it wasn''t a hostile one. ¡°Madam, Miss Michelle, we have a visitor. I''ll go see who it might be.¡±


    Rosy spoke briskly and stood up, neatly bounding towards the front door. The night had deepened and only the soft and distant lights lit the dim streets. There was a lamp hanging just above the front door, illuminating the late night visitor''s countenance.


    A lone gentleman in late fifties stood there, waiting. He held a simple black cane, a black top hat and a three-piece black suit and a robe combo. He oozed a sophisticated air of an aristocrat and that of a powerful Invoker. Not to mention he had a restrained elegance of a debonair lady''s man.


    As soon as he saw Rosy and her twitching whiskers, he smiled softly. ¡°I''d like to speak to Master Michelle Banovsky. Tell her it''s Master Omar Malick, young lady.¡±


    ¡°No need, Rosy,¡± said Michelle as she peered around the young Pantherikin girl. ¡°Master Omar, what brings you to my abode this late in the day? Surely, I''m too old for your tastes by now.¡±


    Omar Malick chuckled warmly. ¡°Your wit always had a stinging barb attached to it, Michelle. May I come in and have a word with you? It''s regarding the unfortunate situation with the children under your care.¡±


    Michelle raised one eyebrow, before welcoming him in the house.


    When Omar saw Lizbeth, his eyes gleamed brightly for a second before he smiled amiably and introduced himself.


    ¡°It''s an honor to meet you, Lady Lizbeth. This here is but a humble servant of SOIR, Master Omar Malick the Third. I am with the Central district and my job is to see to the Academy''s fiscal administrative duties.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded, knowing how important a person this Omar was. After all, he was basically saying that he was the one who decided where the considerable wealth of SOIR went to.


    Rosy was asked to prepare a set of tea but Omar politely refused it, before turning towards the two women to explain just what the hell was going on at the moment.


    ¡°I don''t have much time to describe in detail, so I shall be brief. Basically, your children have been caught up in a very nasty power struggle between two factions,¡± said Omar. ¡°To this side, you have the Queen''s faction featuring her direct family members and retainers. And to the opposite side, you have Emperor''s own siblings having other ideas.¡±


    ¡°So, what does that got to do with our little classroom?¡± Michelle asked irritably.


    ¡°It is not a well-known fact but, among the children in your particular class is one with a Royal blood in him. Not a direct descendant, no, but reasonably close to the top of the pile if a handful of heirs keel over inexplicably out of the blue.¡± Omar smiled thinly. ¡°SOIR is supposed to be removed from the struggles and all the politicking of the Capital, but you know that''s just a distant dream. No. Our Grand Elders are very much invested in which way the needle of the future swings to.¡±


    ¡°So, I presume the one responsible for that order was related to the Queen''s faction, then?¡± Lizbeth asked, narrowing her eyes.


    ¡°Quite correct, my lady. Such an order serves two purposes ¨C one is to retard the possible progress of the boy in question. After all, he is a tremendously talented child. Top of his generation if it weren''t for Kaleena''s sudden entrance. If he were to rise to prominence on the back of his Invocational talent, you can bet your house that Emperor''s siblings would use that to push forward their own agenda.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I understand,¡± Michelle nodded. ¡°And for the second purpose, let me guess ¨C the Queen''s faction does not wish for Kaleena to form a bond with this boy, no? By turning her into a villain of sorts in the eyes of impressionable kids early on they don''t have to fear a potential One Sorcerer becoming an enemy to their cause. Am I on the right track so far?¡±


    Omar chuckled. ¡°Quite. Well, it seems my errand here is almost complete. Now, I came here to offer an opportunity ¨C an opportunity to change the school to another one where the chances of harassment should be lower. It is within my powers after all.¡±


    Michelle waved her hand before anyone could say anything further. ¡°Which one of the Grand Elders is leaning towards the Queen''s faction?¡±


    Omar had a slightly calculating smile on his lips as he answered. ¡°Not even I can tell you that, Master Michelle. But, as you rightly suspect, not all the Elders see things the same way. There are those who disagree with pandering to the factions. If you''re planning to appeal to them, well, good luck to you. My offer to change the school shall remain on the table in the meantime.¡±


    Michelle and Lizbeth stared at Omar with strange eyes at that moment. If one didn''t know better the two of them could be described as a mother and a daughter ¨C although they didn''t have any resemblance to each other.


    ¡°What do you want in return? Surely, you are not offering this chance out of goodness of your heart.¡±


    Lizbeth was the one who asked first. Her skeptical voice was cold, wary, and a hint of threat contained within it.


    Omar smiled charmingly and shook his head. ¡°Indeed there is something I seek but it is not as nefarious as you might suspect, Lady Lizbeth. No, I merely wish to build a bridge of goodwill between us, fellow Invokers. There will come a time of upheaval in a near future without a doubt and more allies one has, more advantageous one would be. Wouldn''t you agree?¡±


    Omar left after that. He was very courteous towards the three ladies to the end, all handsome smiles and manners that could have charmed the underpants off many an unwary lady of the Capital.


    Not Lizbeth and Michelle, though. They were too busy digesting the information they just had received.


    ¡°What do you think, teacher?¡± asked Lizbeth as she sat back down on the couch. She slowly rubbed her belly, which had begun to show a smallest of small bumps.


    ¡°Hmm. Lemme talk to a friend of mine in the circle of Grand Elder first, see where that takes me. Andrea L. Pressario is the best possible place for both the education and the safety of our children, so if we can manage to avoid another one of those factional infighting spilling over somehow, then I would like them to remain where they are.¡±


    Hearing this Lizbeth nodded her consent. ¡°I agree as well. I remember wanting to go to Pressario myself when I was schooling here. This time period should prove to be an excellent opportunity for both of the girls. Let us ensure it remains so, regardless of whatever nonsense the others decide to throw at them.¡±


    The two of them came to a conclusion and decided it was time they should turn in for the night.


    Little did they know, the decision taken that evening would have a large ramification way into the future, several years from now.


    (Right, two little announcements incoming. One, this will be the "end" of the three-days-a-chapter marathon I''ve been doing. From now on, expect one, one and a half chapters every five days or so. It used to be a chapter every week but the past few weeks really helped me out with my typing skills. So, yeah, I can type super-fast now!! Okay not really, but you know what I mean. So there.)


    (Two, I''m thinking of asking for donations via PayPal. The thing is, my laptop - I think - is slowly dying on me. Instead of taking out from my retirement fund, I thought I could pilfer from the lot of yous. Fufufu. {evil smiles} It''s not a done deal though, as where I stay getting a PayPal transaction through is the proverbial pain in the butt. No, it''s more than that, it kinda feels like a whole squadron of fire ants have crawled up inside my pants. Not very pleasant at all. Anyways, when I make up my mind, you will see a "PLEASE DONATE" popping up somewhere in a chapter. Look forward to it!! {another evil smile})


    (OOPS. I''ve somehow missed copy/pasting a couple of paragraphs last night. I''ve added them in now. Apologies to you readers, if you thought there was something missing in this chapter....)

 Chapter 35

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">35</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    Kain woke from a dreamless sleep with a heavy, groggy head.


    The darkened room he found himself in was not his. There was very little light entering through the closed windows, leading him to believe that perhaps, it was nighttime currently. Couldn''t tell for sure, though ¨C his vision swam dangerously as he moved his head a bit on the pillow. Felt like he was under some type of sedation, a heavy one at that.


    Seriously, his head felt really, really heavy, as if he was drunk on absinthe or something. Unsure of what brought him out of the peaceful slumber, Kain managed to slowly turn his head to see around him.


    On the corner of the room, he saw Emma. She sat on a chair, resting her head on the top of a table with a small, lit oil lamp. There was a pool of drool on the table top directly below her mouth, but otherwise, she seemed fine.


    Funny, that. After the run-in with the giant red wyrm, she was a nervous wreck who hardly came out of her room in one of the abandoned ¨C or should that be uninhabited? - buildings, shunning all contact with the outside. Admittedly, there weren''t too many people to interact in this empty city to begin with, so there was that.


    Anyways, she emerged a few days later, sounding as if the past couple of days hadn''t happened at all. According to the Old Man, ¡°Let it be.¡±


    So Kain let it be and never asked her what the hell had happened to her.


    Currently, that wasn''t the most pressing issue, though.


    He couldn''t really remember how he got here, in this foreign room, sleeping.


    Groggily, he sat up and tried to rub his face. That''s when he noticed a dull but hard-hitting pain from his right hand. Grimacing in pain, he looked down to see it wrapped tightly in improvised bandages, with bits of plant matter sticking out of the gaps. A thick aroma of medicinal herbs wafted in the air. Even the individual fingers were bandaged and he couldn''t even bend one. But never mind that, there were hints of blood stains here and there. Some of it looked old, some looked recent, fresh.


    At first, he was genuinely confused. In his groggy mind, this bandaged hand didn''t seem like it should be there as if someone played a practical joke on him while he was asleep.


    Then the memories flooded in.


    He remembered his mangled hand, copious amount of blood oozing out of all the broken skin and muscles. He remembered the indescribable pain and the panic he felt. He even believed that his hand was lost forever.


    His grossly destroyed hand reminded him ever so briefly of the bandit raid from all those months ago. He was able to bury those ugly scenes deep in his subconscious, not recalling them until now, but the sight of his injury brought some of it back to the fore.


    All in all, he''d rather forcefully suppress those traumatic things out of his mind. He''d successfully gone and done that before, so why the hell not.


    He shuddered softly. He took in several deep breaths, trying to settle his mind. However, a sense of heavy, drowsy grogginess assaulted him almost immediately. Funnily enough, that was able to distract him away from the unpleasant memories trying to resurface, forcing his scattered focus to gather on trying to analyze his current status.


    The grogginess must be.... from these plants, Kain thought inwardly, as he dazedly sniffed the bandages. Even moving this much took a lot out of him. The pungent and strong smell certainly made things worse with the level of stupor he was trapped in.


    He fell back on the bed and stared at his bandaged hand, trying to think back to the moment when it all went to hell. Although his thought process was impaired initially, he found it increasingly easier to recall as he focused harder.


    Hmm, what went wrong back then? I thought.... I thought I got everything under control. Oh, right. My body, my flesh, isn''t strong enough to contain the explosive power of ch''i. That is the only explanation I can come up with. The ch''i flows inside my body, and when I tried to make the air explode, my fist blew up from inside out.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.....Geez, it''s a good thing that I didn''t have a lot of ch''i to begin with ¨C who knows what would have happened if there was just a bit more? Instead of this mangled piece of hand, I''d probably end up looking like Damien!!


    Kain mused bitterly as he raised his right hand high in the air. It looked so small and frail. Seeing this weak limb, he had to admit, he was a moron, getting all conceited and cavalier towards the dangers of his training regime. He could blame no one but himself for his current predicament.


    No, wait a sec. It''s also that Old Man''s fault too ¨C who the hell in the right mind subject a six year old kid to a danger situation like that?!


    Kain groaned softly, his anger rising up a little. But soon after, he slung back in the confines of the bed sheets and sighed weakly.


    Oh, well. Who am I kidding? He did say I shouldn''t try it out just yet. My control of ch''i and body is simply too underdeveloped to allow something as audacious as firing off a Soul Crusher or whatever it''s called.


    He rolled on his side, trying to get comfy. At the same time, he wondered whether he could get his hand back to how it was, with no loss of mobility. And the sense of touch, too. These thoughts made him realize how important a person''s limbs were. No, more accurately, he realized how important, or frail, a human''s body was in relation to what it had to go through every day.


    Hmm, is there a way to strengthen my body and take less amount of damage somehow?


    Kain bit his lower lip, mulling his current options. Growing up fast and building up muscles sounded like the normal thing to do. On top of that, he could ingest lots of medicinal plants just like how it was in those Chinese web novels. In that way, he could become the proverbial Superman, able to withstand the exertion of ch''i manipulation.


    Emma could help with ''em plants gathering. Playing to the archetype of an Elf, her extensive knowledge in all things plant-related even surpassed even that of the Old Man, to an extent that he had to rely on her at all times. That said a lot.


    Okay, that''s what I''ll do in the future. But, uh, what about now?!


    As he rolled on the bed this way and that, his thoughts got muddled. He was getting drowsy again ¨C the medicines doing its trick.


    As his eyelids got heavier, a small lightbulb went off in his head.


    Oh, wait a sec. Can''t I use Body Enhancement Spell to strengthen my body when trying to use a Soul Crusher?


    His mind was fading into a nothingness real fast. The sleep beckoned so sweetly that it was getting nigh on impossible to think at all.


    I.... I think it''s doable. I should.... I should, uh, try it sometime....


    And with that thought, he fell back into another dreamless slumber.


    ~


    Remarkably, it took only a couple of weeks to completely heal Kain''s hand. The potent cocktail of hard-to-pronounce medicinal plants and ch''i related rehabilitation by the Old Man greatly accelerated the treatment process, to a degree that the modern medical science would go green with envy.


    Kain had almost 100% of his mobility back in the right hand, and only the occasional phantom pain bothered him a little now and then. But otherwise, it was business as usual.


    During the healing process, the Old Man emphasized the ch''i circulation practice. In order to do that, Kain was told to meditate like there was no tomorrow. Which was fine by him, since this activity served a dual purpose.


    One of them was the obvious thing of ch''i practice and all that, but the other was to retrain his senses on controlling Aeterna. Ever since he started training under the Old Man, he had to neglect this important part of his arsenal due to either being too fatigued to do it, or not having enough free time on his hands for it.


    All of that was just simply an excuse, of course. If he was serious about it, Kain could''ve found himself time to do it. Now that he was serious, nothing would stop him, not even the Old Man and his insistence on not using Aeterna.


    So, Kain didn''t tell him of his decision to secretly work on expanding his control over Aeterna as well ¨C all for the goal of perfecting the Body Enhancement spell and casting it over his body.


    Now with his hand largely cured, he was ready to give it another go, this time slightly more confident of his chances. The sun was shining, the breeze was chillier than before but still quite pleasant on the skin, and there was a flock of birds flying overhead, chirping and singing. A nice day out, no doubt.


    Even better, the Old Man was not around. He said something about a business that could not be delayed any longer and went off to somewhere. Again, Kain tried his luck and asked if he could go together but was refused outright. So, in the end he had to be satisfied with asking the Old Man for a favor of stopping by at Riverfield and talking to his family, or at least confirming that they are doing okay.


    The Old Man said, ¡°No promises, but we shall see.¡±


    And he left.


    With that, Kain too was left to his own devices. He''d not waste this opportunity, grabbing it with both his hands and make the most out of it.


    Kain and Emma were not in the usual place of the fort''s open ground where he''d train. Because her reluctance to enter the fort''s boundaries, that was always going to be impossible. No, they were instead in another large structure that had seen better days.


    In its prime, the building must have been some sort of Colosseum, judging by the architectural style and the layout of the walls that were still remaining. Now though, it was just a fallen husk of its former glory, with only a fraction of it still standing.


    Whatever the case may be, it was also the second-most open area in the city next to the fort, so it was a good place to train here. He wasn''t being conceited when he figured earlier on that he could accidentally destroy a part of the city, its heritage if he wasn''t paying attention. So, better to be safe and muck around in a place with no obstacles, like here.


    He sat down on the ground first and tried to meditate. Emma was off to doing whatever that she liked to do normally, and was out of his earshot. Never mind the fact that she was supposed to babysit him, nor the fact that she made a promise to teach him how to forage successfully in a forest like Tetamus.


    Kain crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Next, he took in a deep breath, and mentally slowed his heart rate down as that would make it easy for him to feel the flow of blood in his vessels, his ch''i in the meridians, and of Aeterna around him as well as within his Pool.


    It took a great deal of concentration to achieve all these, but after a while, he could faintly feel them all. It was kinda like rubbing a super-thin strand of single hair between his fingertips ¨C it was there, but irritatingly indiscernible and too faint to get a firm grasp on.


    But the fact was, they were there, and he could feel them. That was the result of all the hard work he had put in during the last few weeks. A good starting point, he told himself rather smugly.


    First thing first, he manipulated Aeterna so it would slowly form the spell. Then he carefully laid it over his left hand, greatly fortifying it. Not trusting his handiwork, Kain then laid five more layers of this new Body Enhancement spell he cooked up on his flesh.


    With this spell, not only his muscles, skins and bones would be tougher, but they also should be regenerate a heck of a lot faster. The activation of this nameless spell chewed up quite a bit of his Aeterna reserves and required a huge amount of concentration in order to maintain it, but he thought that it was better to be safe than sorry.


    He remained like this, trying to get used to controlling the spell. After all, he needed to control the flow of ch''i as well while doing this tough spell at the same time. Currently, his mental capacity was not advanced enough to handle both activities.


    After about five minutes, his Aeterna reserve became perilously close to running out completely so he released the spell. It would not be funny if he blacked out from what he coined as an Aeterna exhaustion. There probably was a proper term for it in the outside world, but since he could not confirm it, he''d stick with this title for now.


    He rested while recovering the Pool. While doing so, he began on controlling the circulation of ch''i inside his body. Doing this was a lot harder than controlling Aeterna. For one, he could easily see Aeterna with his naked eyes. But the same couldn''t be said about ch''i, as he had to totally concentrate and try to see it with his senses rather than relying on his sights. Not easy.


    As it was, ch''i circulated along his meridians automatically like blood pumping through his veins. Having this image in his head certainly didn''t help him at all, though ¨C blood couldn''t consciously be controlled by a person''s will, so how could he hope to control something like ch''i? Without his three dan tians, it''d be impossible. Even with them, it was still a tough ask.


    He closed his eyes, filtering out all the unnecessary noises and focused on his dan tians. He imagined there were three small pools filled with clear liquid and interconnected to his body via numerous tiny rivers. Then he imagined gently guiding more of the liquid into his meridians connected to his left hand.


    Unlike before, Kain was extra careful as he had no plans to lose his left hand this time around. He definitely learned his lesson. He sent only the most minute amount of ch''i possible from Xia, and let it stew there for a while, trying his best to control it. He did this until he recovered his Aeterna reserve.


    Then, he recirculated the ch''i back to his dan tian and worked on the wielding of Aeterna instead. Alternatively repeating the two exercises, Kain spent a good few hours doing nothing but these two things until he was totally wiped out from the mental exhaustion.


    By the time he was lying on his back with no energy left, Emma returned from wherever she was, her hands full of vegetables freshly dug out from the ground. Kain could tell that by all the dirt still clinging to them.


    ¡°Are they suppose to be our lunch?¡± Kain inquired dryly.


    Emma nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yeah. Aren''t these just wonderful? Look how healthy they are, so full of vitality and energy! Hmm? What''s wrong with you, Little Master Kain?¡±


    Emma peered at him curiously at his tired and slightly pale face as if she was studying a new specimen of an insect.


    ¡°I''m fine. Just a little tired, is all.¡± Kain waved her gazes off and sat up. He felt sore all over. Not 100% sure of why but having a few guesses, he managed to stand on two feet on his own strength.


    ¡°Well, alright. Don''t overexert yourself now. The Old Master will get angry, remember. Oh, that''s right, if you need help, you can ask me, you know. I can cast cool spells to refill your energy!! I''ve done it a few time before in my life, so you can trust me on this.¡±


    Kain waved his hands again in haste. ¡°It''s fine, Emma. Thanks for the offer but I''m fine.¡±


    Emma shrugged her shoulders lightly. ¡°If you say so, Little Master. Let''s just have a meal together, then.¡±


    Not stopping there, she then proceeded to roughly brush his hair, turning it into a messy mothball. Seeing this, she giggled a little. ¡°Maybe it''s time you get a hair trim, Little Master. Otherwise, you''d turn into a furball. Or, you want a style like that of an Elven male instead? Long and straight, all dignified and handsome?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, I like it short and uncomplicated, thanks. I definitely need to cut it soon,¡± Kain rearranged his unruly hair, shoving away Emma''s disruptive hand.


    Emma just smiled and went about her business. Even though Kain had a hankering for something more meaty, he didn''t say anything. For one, he had no energy to complain, and more so, he knew how potent they were in restoring his depleted strength. She certainly knew what she was talking about when it came to plants.


    Whistling like a songbird, she then proceeded to produce a steady stream of water to wash the vegetables right there and then. Kain saw a vast amount of Water Elemental Aeterna swirl freely around her and coalescing into actual liquid form, which was impressive to say the least.


    ¡°Oh, wow. Emma, you have an Affinity with Water Elemental, eh? That sure is convenient, you know.¡± Kain commented as he watched her from the side.


    But Emma looked confused, as she tilted her head to the side. ¡°Affinity? What''s that? Never heard of that before. Is that a name for a new type of food?¡±


    Kain was taken aback slightly, but recovered his composure soon after and retorted. ¡°Not sure how you ended up associating Affinity with food, but no, it''s not something edible. It''s actually.... hmm, you are not joking with me, right? You really don''t know what an Affinity to an Element is?¡±


    She shook her head, not forgetting to continuously wash the veggies in her hands. The ground beneath her feet became wet and somewhat muddy, but she didn''t seem to mind it.


    Kain was confused greatly now. ¡°Wait, what? Don''t you Elves use Invocation, too?¡±


    ¡°Invocation? I don''t know what''s that, either. Sounds cool, though. What is it?¡± With her glittering eyes, she asked. If she wasn''t holding those wet vegetables, she would have leaned over toward Kain, maybe even jumping all over him and demanding to know.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Kain sensed genuine interest from her. She was not kidding at all. This made him confused even more.


    ¡°You... But.... Then, how did you make the water out of thin air? That''s by wielding Aeterna, right? Isn''t that Invocation?¡±


    Emma shook her head. ¡°Nope. That''s called the Nature Divine Arts. We Elves receive the blessings of the Nature Spirit so we can wield Aeterna freely with no objections. Although, now that you mention it, there''s something about Preference of the Spirits ¨C where an Elf can receive blessings by various spirits related to different Elements. No blessing, can''t use that Element. Perhaps you were talking about that?¡±


    At this unexpected revelation, Kain was shocked to the core. He really didn''t see this coming. Up until this moment, he believed that Invocation was just a fancy word for magic. However, with what Emma had said, this was obviously not the case.


    No, wait a minute. Maybe I''m thinking it all wrong. It''s true that no one ever said that Invocation is magic and vice versa. It''s more likely that Invocation is nothing more than a school of wielding Aeterna, just like the different schools of martial arts teaches how to punch a person in the face.


    When Kain thought about it this way, it became a little more clearer and his confusion slowly lifted away.


    Invocation was the way for the humanoids under the Empire''s rule to bend Aeterna to their will, while this Nature Divine Arts was for the Elves, which was different with how the rest of the races handled Aeterna.


    Why the differences, though? Why complicate things like this, I wonder? Back when I first met Emma, she emitted a strange fluctuation in her Aeterna Pool. I figured it was because her race-specific trait, but could it be because of this Nature Spirits or whatever?


    Kain puzzled over it but he had no ready answers. He thought that maybe it could have had something to do with the lack of Elven presence in the Empire''s territories, or at least in the places he''d been to. Even in literature, Elves were not mentioned at all. Now that he thought about it deeply, it was a rather weird thing.


    ¡°Hey, Emma, are you aware of the fact that us Imperials use Invocation to wield Aeterna? We don''t know anything about this Nature Divine Arts or whatever.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? That''s soooo weird. Isn''t everybody the same? No? Oh, yeah, I thought it was really curious seeing you wield Aeterna even though you had not received the blessings from the Nature Spirits.¡± Emma nodded as if she understood something important. ¡°Wow, now this is a revelation!! The village elders back home always said that you Imperials were a barbaric and cruel bunch who needed to be killed on sight, but I never knew why. Is it because you guys use this Invocation thingy? Without any blessings? I mean, that would be impossible. Only the Fiends could do that.¡±


    When she finished her monologue, she narrowed her eyes and began studying Kain top to bottom. There was a trace of hostility in the way she gazed at him, but after awhile, she sighed and shook her head, her expression that of a confusion.


    ¡°That''s funny, you sure don''t look like a Fiend. So, how can you wield Aeterna without a blessing? It''s so vexing, you know!! Us Elven children have to work so hard to gain the approval of the Nature Spirits and the blessings from them, yet you don''t have to? It''s not very fair, now is it?¡±


    Kain could only smile wryly at her tantrum. It was better to let her say whatever until she grew tired of it. In his experience, most women he dated in the past were like that.


    Although he got curious regarding one of the most popular cliches of Elves.


    ¡°Wait, how old are you this year, Emma?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Me? Uhm, let''s see.... Uhm,¡± She began counting with her fingers, folding one by one after thinking deeply each time she did. After a minute or two of this, she said, ¡°I''m pretty sure I''ll be 183 this year!!¡±


    Kain nearly choked on his own spit. 183?! Holy cow. So the long lives of Elves are real!! And this means she''s older than me, Damien, Lizbeth, Kaleena, Katrina and Derrick put together!! Gee whiz, and she looks so young....


    He sighed weakly after recovering from the shock. He did expect it, but still, to sit next to an 183-year old girl was something a bit hard to swallow.


    ¡°How long does an Elf live for?¡± Kain continued his questioning. Emma handed him the washed veggie and pondered slightly before answering him.


    ¡°Hmm, it depends. Us Boscage Elves live around five hundred years or so. But Terran Elves don''t live that long, maybe around three, four hundred? Maybe less? And High Elves, whew, I''ve heard that they can live well past a thousand years. One thousand!! Can you even imagine the kinds of stories you could tell if you''ve lived that long?!¡±


    Her voice was contemplative at first, then it increasingly became excited towards the end of her explanations.


    ¡°Wait a sec, who the heck are the Terrans and High Elves?!¡± Kain asked urgently before Emma somehow found a way to drift off topic.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, that''s simple, silly. Us Boscages live in woodlands, Terrans prefer to live underground or in plains, while the High Elves like high places. You know, like mountain tops or tall towers.¡±


    Oh, Kain nodded inwardly, having formed a mental image of sorts after listening to this brief description. So, Boscage Elves are the hippies living in the forest, dancing around bonfires and busy being one with The Nature, while the Terrans are the Dark Elves who live underground and mine for stuff, while the High Elves are the prototypical Elves from the popular media. Got it.


    Kain bit the vegetable and began chewing it. Surprisingly, it was juicy and rather succulent, which was not what he expected. From the outside appearance, he half expected it to taste like a bulb of onion, but no, it''d be more correct to call it cassava-like.


    Absent-mindedly chewing it, Kain failed to notice Emma still talking about various unrelated stuff about the different Elven tribes, thereby missing quite a few important tidbits in the process. If he knew, he''d smack himself in the face for that....


    Anyways.


    Suddenly, Kain felt a need to ask one more question. ¡°What''s the relationship between Imperials and that of Elves? As far as I know, there aren''t any Elves in the Empire, nor does its people know of you guys. Is there a reason for that?¡±


    Emma threw him a weird glance, before frowning deeply. ¡°Hmm. Maybe you don''t know because Little Master Kain is too young? Hmm. Could it be, that no one has told you? Hmm. Maybe the memories of the past have faded away in other tribes? Hmm. That could be because only the Elves live longer than everyone else. Hmm. Probably...¡±


    ¡°Emma?! Hello?¡±


    ¡°Oh!! Right, where was I? Oh, yes. See, the thing is, Elves and humanoids went to a big war five hundred years ago. Back then, apparently there was no problem between the species but for some reason after the Fall of the Crystal, everyone started fighting each other. I don''t know all the details, but you could ask a High Elves or an Elven Elder of a village as they might know more.¡±


    Emma gave him oh, well, that''s all I know kind of shake of her head, and began chomping down on her veggie.


    ¡°Is that it? You don''t know anything else?¡± Kain asked exasperatedly.


    ¡°Yep. That''s it. Sorry.¡± She shrugged her shoulders in a very French way.


    ¡°Oh, alright, then. What about that Fall of the Crystal, though? What''s that all about?¡± Kain asked since he thought he heard about it somewhere before, although not sure from where.


    This time, Emma was stumped for sure. ¡°I don''t know. I always meant to ask the village elders or even the Old Master but I forgot.¡±


    ¡°Old Master? What, are you trying to say the Old Man lived for five hundred years?! You know he''s a human, right? Humans can''t live for that long. It''s physically impossible!¡±


    ¡°Hey, why are you shouting at me for? All I''m saying is that the Old Master is really knowledgeable about the history of this world. You can ask him yourself, you know!! Plus, I''ve been with him for many, many decades, and he looks exactly the same as he was back then when I met him for the first time, as he is now!! Isn''t that a proof enough that he has lived a long life? Oh wait, you wouldn''t know that...¡±


    Kain was left speechless at this revelation, another of such occurrence in as many minutes. She basically confirmed that he exceeded the norm for a human being''s lifespan. Of course, she could have embellished how the Old Man looked like all those years ago, but since he detected no dishonesty in her voice, he had to believe she wasn''t lying about it.


    Jeez, then just how old is the Old Man supposed to be?!


    Kain scratched the side of his cheek, wondering if all those impossibly overblown age descriptions in Chinese web novels were in fact, based on some sort of truth.


    As soon as this thought arose, he dismissed it. Because it was not possible.


    But wait, there are Elves with long lives. So, it''s not completely impossible, isn''t it? With Aeterna, I''m sure extending one''s longevity should not be a fantasy.


    ¡°Yeah, now you mention it, it''s kinda funny how the Old Master hasn''t aged at all since then, seeing that he''s not an Elf, nor can he wield Aeterna,¡± said Emma, rather nonchalantly.


    ¡°Wait, what? The Old Man can''t wield Aeterna at all?!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Didn''t he tell you? No, he can''t wield it. He said he tried to learn how to a long time ago but just couldn''t do it. So, all these years, he never, ever used it.¡±


    There was a sliver of smugness in her voice as she spoke. She seemed to be feeling superior in the fact that the Old Man told her something intimate but Kain had been left out of the loop.


    Ignoring her, Kain fell into another deep thought. So, is that the reason why the Old Man didn''t want me to use Invocations during the training? I mean, it''s just my own conjecture, but having both would tremendously benefit me. Could it be that he''s jealous?


    Suppressing a snigger, Kain returned his attention on finishing the vegetable. After the meal, he still had his quota of physical exercises to do.


    Suddenly, Emma leapt to her feet and exclaimed. ¡°Oh, my!! I completely forgot there was that!!¡±


    Kain looked at her excited figure with a frown, as her sudden outburst nearly made him choke on the bits of the vegetable he was chewing on.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, little Kain, you wanna know more about the Fall of the Crystal and the war of five hundred years ago? Then you might as well follow me!! I''ve got something really cool to show you.¡±


    ~


    ¡°Over there,¡± said Emma, as she pointed out a large, flat building partially hidden from the view by other crumbling structures and overgrown vegetation. The building was on the other side of the city, behind the Tetamus mountain itself.


    Since he had never come here before, the surprise was great once he realized how overgrown with weeds the whole area was. As matter of fact, almost the half of all he could see was covered in greenery, a stark contrast to the other side of the city he was well acquainted with until now which was quite barren and lifeless.


    Outwardly, it didn''t look too remarkable, save for its enormous width. It was as if someone took a modern football stadium and then flattened it by pressing it from the top. Certainly, it dwarfed the collapsed Colosseum he''d been using as the training center until now.


    ¡°What is that place?¡± asked Kain, unable to figure out just what a structure like that could be used for.


    ¡°I don''t know. But it''s got lots of stuff inside. Come on, this way. The entrance is all caved in but I know a way in.¡±


    Emma led him around the South-facing corner where the vegetation growth was less severe than other places. Here, the walls were bare and exposed. And sure enough, there was a doorway with a door missing. What''s surprising to Kain, was that the doorway itself looked somewhat.... modern, for a lack of better description.


    For instance, it wasn''t made of stone, but of metal, just like the modern door frames. He peered over at the rusting hinges and saw the similar arrangements of bolts there as well.


    Suddenly feeling rather incongruous, he hurried inside the darkened corridor.


    Obviously, there was no light source and was pretty dark inside. Kain cast a Firelight to illuminate the way forward, with Emma taking the lead.


    ¡°Watch where you step, little master Kain,¡± so said Emma.


    At first he didn''t understand, but it soon became apparent why the warning was needed.


    The corridor itself was narrow. Just enough to let a couple of men to walk abreast. There were vines and moss of some kind crawling up the walls and the ceiling, but he could still make out the smooth, almost metallic like surface beneath the vegetation. Obviously, it was nothing like the fort with its exposed stone passageways.


    Also, there were rooms along the corridor. Small rooms, big rooms, rooms the size of a modern office, all sorts of them.


    And these rooms still possessed some of the furniture within, still standing after the god-knows-how-long. There were desks, chairs, cabinet-like things ¨C either rotted beyond recognition or covered in vegetation and dirt.


    As he and Emma continued to go forward, they arrived at a spiral staircase that allowed them to either go up or down. Unfortunately, Kain could see that the way down below was blocked off with a tangled mess of vines and whatnots. As far as he could tell, though, the staircase itself seemed fine.


    ¡°Going up,¡± said Emma as she lightly tread on the staircase, climbing up to the second floor.


    The corridor greeting them up here was much wider. He got a feeling that the previous passageway was something akin to a maintenance access in buildings, allowing workers to enter hard-to-reach parts of the structure to do their respective jobs, whatever that may be.


    This kind of feelings rose wherever he looked and observed. This building, the way it was laid out, its atmosphere after ignoring the millennia of decay all gave off the feelings of him walking inside a modern skyscraper.


    He was beginning to feel regret for coming here now. Because, his almost-preternatural ability to sense troublesome events coming his way was going through a massive, full-on panic attack at the moment.


    That could only mean one thing ¨C that, yet another flag he''d like to avoid was being raised and he was walking into it.


    As he mulled this silently, his foot inadvertently knocked on a debris rolling on the floor. When he looked down on it, Kain''s face paled.


    It wasn''t a debris, but a cracked human skull.


    He nearly jumped at that. He did scream out like a little girl, though.


    Emma groaned after seeing his reaction. ¡°Oh, no. I forgot to warn you about those. Yeah, so, um, there are a few of those bones lying around here. So, be careful, alright? It''s best not to disturb the dead.¡±


    ¡°Emma, what else have you forgotten to tell me in the meantime?! Please, I''d like to know right now!! If there was something you should have told me, now''s a great time, don''t you think?!¡±


    Emma pondered for a bit, her gaze slowly floating up. She didn''t slow down her walking speed, however, prompting Kain to hastily follow her.


    They walked for a bit before she turned to him and smiled brightly. ¡°I think there was something, but right now. I can''t remember. Sorry!!!¡±


    If she said ¡°Tee hee!!¡± and lightly knocked the side of her head while winking, Kain would''ve hit her. No, really.


    Grumbling, he carefully stepped over whatever was on the floor. Sure enough, more and more bones were littered all over the place. Some of them were in such a fragile state, a small prod turned them into dust. Some others, though, were in a much better shape than the others, like that skull Kain had stepped on earlier.


    Logically speaking, this made no sense. Assuming that these bones were laid out here exposed to the elements for hundreds of years, maybe thousands, then how come some were weathered terribly while others were not?


    He had no answers again. Having no answers had fast become the norm for him nowadays so he didn''t feel too frustrated.


    Bending down, he slowly picked up what he imagined was a calf bone of a human being. Inwardly he wanted to congratulate himself for being brave enough to do something so audacious. The previous him would''ve never done it.


    As he studied the bone, Emma called for him impatiently. ¡°Come on, Little Master. It''s not too far now.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, Emma,¡± Kain replied as he used his Aeterna sense to probe the bone. He felt.... nothing. No reaction.


    Not too discouraged by this discovery, he then tried to sense it with his Shang. Only then, did he get another shock.


    From the bone itself, he felt a minute amount of ch''i, hidden deep within the marrow.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Kain let out an involuntary gasp, which drew Emma''s attention as well.


    ¡°What is it? Did you see something strange?¡±


    She approached him, tilting her head slightly.


    ¡°No, it''s just that this bone, it has ch''i in it....¡±


    Kain murmured as he lifted it closer to the small ball of flame acting as the light source. His words trailed off at the end, as he remembered what the Old Man said before.


    That he was fortifying not only his flesh and muscles, but his internal structures as well ¨C organs, blood vessels, bones, and bone marrows.


    In other words, his whole body would become a suitable container for ch''i circulation via meridians in his body. These meridians were not physical but metaphorical. Thus, they were not subjected to physical and biological limitations of a human body structure. They could go past his heart, for example, without hindering its ability to pump blood to the rest of his body.


    Looking at it like that, then those meridians would also exist within his bones as well, not too mention the bone marrows.


    Could it be, that these dead people were... martial artists? Qi gong practitioners? How the hell....


    Kain grimaced in confusion. He felt like there was some kind of conspiracy afoot and that he was thrust into the middle of it.


    ¡°Hoh, ch''i is in those bones? Wow. Who knew?¡±


    Emma looked at the bone in his head, studying it interestedly.


    ¡°Yeah, just a tiny bit. But that bit is making this bone really tough. Look how sturdy it still is.¡± Kain handed the calf bone over.


    Emma received it and began waving it around. ¡°Yeah, it''s like a high-quality Fiend bone items we used to have back in the village. Not bad. Never knew they were like that, though. Oh well. If I knew, then I''d have fashioned all sorts of useful items out of them already...¡±


    She sounded a bit regretful for a missed opportunity, but Kain wasn''t sure whether that sentiment of hers didn''t clash with the earlier one about not disturbing the dead.


    ¡°What, you can''t sense ch''i?¡± asked Kain.


    Shaking her head, Emma sighed. ¡°Nope. The Old Master tried to teach me but just like him unable to wield Aeterna, I couldn''t.¡±


    Hearing this, Kain nodded slightly. As the Old Man had said before, the physiology of this Realm''s inhabitants did not suit the requirements of practicing the ch''i-based martial arts. Emma was only one example, but seeing that the Old Man himself couldn''t wield Aeterna, this assertion seemed about right as it would be the case of higher Realm beings unable to wield Aeterna in compensation to utilizing ch''i instead.


    Emma dropped the bone and sighed. ¡°Oh, well. It''s not like I''m going to fashion a bow or arrows out of humanoid bones. That''s not cool, right? Only a devil or a Fiend would do something so morbid like that. Speaking of which.... hey, Little Master Kain, would you like to learn Archery from me? I already taught you how to swing a sword properly, so I want to teach the next thing.¡±


    Kain couldn''t help but smile bemusedly. Her ability to change topics was still world-class. How did talking about human remains lead to learning how to shoot an arrow was beyond him, but she did it, and she was asking him whether he''d like to have a go.


    ¡°Sure, why not. After we get out of here.¡± Kain chuckled.


    The two of them began to move forward once more, deeper into the widening corridor, until they arrived at a huge, open hallway reminiscent of a fancy office building''s foyer.


    There were lots of vines and vegetation obscuring the view, but that was the vibe Kain got as he swept his gaze around the open space.


    ¡°Over there,¡± said Emma as she pointed to the lower floor.


    They were on the proverbial catwalk if this was a modern building and if this hall was indeed a foyer. The place she pointed to would have been an information kiosk or a security checkpoint. Maybe even a reception. The ground had risen to the level of a tall desk, but dirt and vegetation covered it so he couldn''t tell what was underneath.


    Enhancing his legs with Aeterna, Kain jumped down after Emma from the catwalk and approached the small.... hill. That''s what he decided to call it for now.


    She smiled in anticipation and spoke. ¡°Hey, now let me show you something amazing, alright?¡±


    Then she plunged her hand in between the gaps of the vines covering the hill. Kain, being a shorty, couldn''t see exactly what she did.


    She searched with the tip of her fingers until they brushed on the flat, smooth surface buried under all that vegetation. Smiling, she began haphazardly touching it.


    What happened next took Kain by a huge surprise.


    Because, out of nowhere, a life-like hologram of a sharply-dressed Oriental woman in her early twenties was projected right before him.


    She smiled brightly and bowed, although as if the batteries were running out her image flickered intermittently.


    Her badly synched words then echoed out from somewhere within the hill, surprising him one more time.


    ¡°Welcome to The Mirae Complex, where the bright future of all mankind awaits those who¡­.¡±

 Chapter 36

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">36</h2>


    (Please note, not edited - much - /checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    The hologram of the woman spoke in English first, before switching to a language Kain didn''t really recognize. It could have been either Japanese or Korean for all he could figure out.


    What''s important, though, wasn''t that. No, it was the fact that there was a working hologram standing in right front of him. That was important. Such technologies, even in their most crudest forms, hadn''t yet reached the wide-spread adaptation in his previous world. Hell, it''d be more correct to say that such things still belonged to the pages of a Sci-Fi novel. Or Sci-Fi movies, for that matter.


    Yet, here it was, greeting Kain like it was a daily occurrence in this long-dead city of mysteries. One had to sympathize with how he was feeling at the moment, facing a futuristic tech in a place that was clearly been abandoned and forgotten for god knows how long. Made no logical sense to him.


    Or, could it be, that this city was the result of people coming in from the higher Realms? Like, Seventh and beyond? Besides that explanation, I got nothing.


    He frowned deeply at the robotic smile of the hologram girl. Kain was sure that this was an automated greeting system, not a full-fledged A.I., so he didn''t bother greeting it back, but Emma returned a bright smile and waved her hand.


    The quality of the voice-over became worse as the recording went on. ¡°Our Mission is to provide a peace of mind for all the brave men and women of humanity who step forth into the unknown world, to provide a safe haven against the storm. A home away from home....¡±


    The automated message kept on droning about the future this and potential that until even Kain became a bit embarrassed hearing it next to a non-human Emma. She didn''t seem to terribly mind it, though.


    Before the hologram could finish her script, it flickered unstably, then with a puff, it dissipated. Then a thick layer of weird silence descended on the place.


    ¡°So, uh, what was that all about?¡±


    Kain asked cautiously at grinning Emma. She seemed rather chuffed about something.


    ¡°That, Little Master Kain, was one of the long-dead souls occupying this very building!! When you walk around, we will occasionally run into her. She gives you great advice time to time!! See, remember when I told you about the interesting murals and books and weapons and stuff I found in the city? Most of those are right here, underground, in this building!! She even helped me to find them and all!! And guess what? There''re lots more other places here that I haven''t even explored yet since it''s so big underground. Isn''t it exciting?! Who knows what''s hiding down there?!¡±


    Wanting to pacify her enthusiasm a bit, Kain hastily stopped her there.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I get it. So, this here''s the place of wonders, eh? Well, it does sound mysterious.... Yeah, we should check the place out. But first, Emma, please take me to the... room where you found those weapons. Assuming, that they are still there.¡±


    Emma nodded, but she didn''t seem satisfied at what Kain just said. ¡°Of course, I will take you there. And yes, they are still there. I didn''t touch any of them, you know.¡±


    She then led him into an opening next to the hill (formerly an info kiosk) that was barely big enough to fit her. As for Kain himself, it was not a problem, him being a short kid and all.


    It was really dark and humid inside the corridor. If it weren''t for the spell of Firelight, he''d be as blind as a bat.


    Emma babbled on by herself, saying that when she stumbled in here, she literally stumbled all over place ¨C having failed to prepare a lit torch for the exploration. She said it was a spontaneous decision that day so naturally, she had forgotten. ¡°But now, I''ve got myself a walking, talking torch so it''s fine!!¡± She cheerfully declared and slapped his shoulders playfully.


    He didn''t feel like joining her celebration yet, though.


    The darkened corridor led to what he assumed to be the office space for administrative duties and the like. Almost all of the spaces were blocked off, either via rubble and debris, or with thick and impregnable vegetation that twisted and filled as far as the lights could shine.


    The only way remaining was to go forward. And before long, the duo found an elevator shaft, its doors twisted and pried open.


    ¡°We go down this well,¡± said Emma.


    Obviously, she had no idea that this was supposed to be a shaft for a big block of metal to go up and down. If she knew, she''d be shocked out of her skull for sure, Kain mused silently to himself.


    Peering past the twisted wreckage of the doors, he could see nothing at all except a several metallic wires hanging from the top of the shaft. But he confirmed that there was vegetation growing on the surfaces when he moved the Firelight inside to get a better view. As for the ceiling, he could see the bottom of the elevator itself which was perched rather precariously on some vines.


    Emma pointed at the metal wires and said, ¡°We could climb down using that, but doing so hurts your palms a lot. Without proper equipment, it''s not really advisable. So, I was thinking, maybe we could climb down using those, uh, vines and roots?¡±


    Kain agreed with that choice. No way in hell he''d pretend to be a firefighter and slide down on that. For one, there was a considerable distance between where he was and to one of those wires. He could potentially make the leap but he''d rather play it safe. Who knows how long those wires been exposed to the elements for. They could just snap clean off simply by him latching onto it.


    The big question mark now was whether he could maintain the Firelight while climbing down the roots and the vines dotting the walls of the elevator shaft. In all honesty, he wasn''t 100% confident. He could do it, theoretically, but since he''d never done it before, he felt reluctant to try his luck now of all times.


    ¡°Let''s use this,¡± Emma said as she rummaged through a small heap on the ground to the side of the mangled elevator doors.


    What she found was a bone, strong and somehow still intact. She then proceeded to sprinkle some type of powder on one of its tip. ¡°Now, place the flames over here,¡± said Emma confidently.


    Kain was surprised somewhat when the fire caught on the bone and began to burn quite vigorously.


    ¡°Whoa, what did you do, Emma? A bone shouldn''t really catch fire like this,¡± asked Kain, quite amazed at what was happening before him.


    Smiling proudly, she quickly spoke. ¡°Hey, it''s not going to last forever, Little Master Kain. Hurry, chuck it in, and light up the floor below.¡±


    Nodding, Kain threw the bone with the healthy burning flame down the shaft. It traveled quite far before coming to a noisy stop.


    Kain could see the bottom this way, and also could see how deep the shaft went. And boy, it was quite deep.


    Frowning, Kain muttered to himself. ¡°Maybe, this wasn''t such a good idea after all....¡±


    But there was no time for regrets. Emma was already climbing down the wall. She wasn''t even looking back at him. Her speed was pretty damn shocking to Kain ¨C she was like a gecko with a quartet of sticky feet clinging to a cliff face.


    Kain was left speechless by the sight. One blink later, she already covered the distance of a few meters. At this rate, she''d leave him completely behind.


    The frown on his face became a grimace instead. Gritting his teeth, Kain began tentatively to step on the nearest foothold, hoping that it''s sturdy enough to support his weight. He had half a mind to ask Emma to stop but knowing her personality, she wouldn''t heed his words anyway so he didn''t bother.


    Contrary to his worries, the exposed root felt solid. A warm sensation of relief washed over him, and he let out a sigh, before carefully making his way down.


    He was only a fifth of a way down but Emma had already landed on the bottom. In order to ensure that the bone torch continued to flicker with the flames, she sprinkled more of that powder. Then she impatiently looked up at Kain''s slow and comically inept attempt at descending. He was hugging the wall with all his might, carefully feeling out each and every foot holds and hand holds.


    She had to sprinkle more powder on the torch to keep it going while waiting for Kain to make it safely. She grumbled softly at his tardiness but didn''t say it aloud.


    By the time he got both of his feet on the bottom of the shaft, he was totally out of breath. Not because he was physically tired, no, but the toll the descent took on his mental stamina was substantial. Never in his life did he realize he had a fear of heights. He didn''t have one, but at this rate, he might develop one....


    At the bottom, there was another pair of mangled elevator doors. And beyond them, a foreboding corridor, dark and uncertain.


    What could have damaged the doors so badly? Kain slowly ran his hand over the edges of the mangled metal, wondering to himself. It would have taken a tremendous strength to destroy them to this degree.


    Just imagining the culprit made his body shudder. On top of that, the collections of bones upstairs certainly left an impression on him as well. If he was a betting man, he''d say there was a fierce battle here and it resulted in many lives being lost. As to why there was a such a battle....


    There was a small change to the scenery as soon as he emerged out of the elevator shaft. There was a lot less vegetation here now than before, and the further he looked, less covered up the area was. In fact, he could clearly make out metallic walls and doorways that would have given off the feelings of being sterile were it not for all the catastrophic damage visible wherever he looked.


    There were more remains here too, the fabric draped on the skeletons too weathered to be identifiable. Kain cast another Firelight and sent it slightly farther forward.


    And as the light source drifted, the better it became to discern just what the hell this place was like. It looked exactly like a corridor straight out of a horror-themed Sci-Fi film, replete with broken and ripped walls, torn ceiling panels hanging weakly from the exposed steel beams up above with the hidden wiring hanging loose, as well as eerie, deafening silence that covered it all.


    If there were electrical sparks and hisses caused by the escaping steam then the mood would be pretty much spot-on. Add in a menacing, bloodthirsty alien monster lurking in the shadows, then the illusion would be perfect.


    ¡°Wow. Last time I was here, I didn''t notice this place looking this.... um, disorganized,¡± quipped Emma, clearly not expecting this level of damage.


    ¡°It''s a small wonder how you didn''t get into an accident here,¡± retorted Kain as he created another Firelight, this one close to where the duo was. ¡°So, which way?¡±


    ¡°Forward, of course!!¡± Emma pointed ahead and began to walk briskly. Not a care in the world, the way she leisurely skipped forward. That caused an alarm in Kain''s heart as he refused to believe there was no other sentient creature in this place besides the two of them, and more importantly, no guarantee that the said creatures would be friendly.


    ¡°Hey, Emma, slow down, will you. You''ve no idea what''s ahead of us,¡± Kain called out to her.


    She chuckled lightly. ¡°It''s fine. There''s nothing here, other than that lady from before. And she''s harmless. Besides, I can''t sense anything else that could threaten us in here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, c''mon, Emma. You can''t possibly sense things in this place. It''s not like we''re in the forest or anything,¡± Kain shook his head. ¡°Look, it pays to be cautious, right? Let''s just slow down for a second, okay?¡±


    She gave him a curious gaze before asking him. ¡°What''s the matter, Little Master Kain? Can''t you extend your senses and check your surroundings like the Old Master? He said anyone who wields ch''i can do that. What was it called, Yi Hai was it?¡±


    Having never heard of such a thing, Kain quickly retorted. ¡°Sounds like a yell made by a cowboy. No, that guy didn''t explain anything to me. I don''t know what that Yee Haw is supposed to be.¡±


    ¡°No, not Yee Haw, Yi Hai. And what''s a cowboy?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, I''ll tell you some other time. But for someone who can''t wield ch''i, you sure know a lot, don''t you Emma?¡±


    When Kain asked her in a skeptical voice, she feigned an outrage spoke in her defense. ¡°Hey, I''ll have you know that I''ve been with the Old Master for a very long time. Of course I pick up on things, you see? I''m quick on the uptake. Just like that!!¡±


    To emphasize her point, she snapped her finger and made a haughty face.


    Kain chuckled briefly as the tense atmosphere lightened up a little. Still, what she said made him think ¨C when his Shang opened up, it felt like he could see everything around him. And lately, while meditating he couldn''t help but notice the tiniest movements from his surroundings. Not all the time, but it happened enough for him to be aware of it.


    Maybe the enhanced version of that is this Yi Hai thing, Kain mused silently to himself. Should I give it a shot? Try to, uh, feel my surroundings? But do I need to meditate in the middle of this place?!


    It sounded a bit impractical to him, seeing the messy environment he was in currently. As he was still a rookie when it came to meditation, he needed a calm, relaxed and safe place to meditate. This underground corridor did not meet any of the criteria. Not by a long stretch.


    Then it hit him. He wanted to smack himself in the head when he realized his own mistake.


    No, wait a second. Can''t I just use my Aeterna vision thingy? Wouldn''t that be an easy and quick solution to my troubles?


    He was far too caught up in getting around the Old Man''s no Invocation policy and of training his Body Enhancement spells, and had forgotten about that ability of his. One that he didn''t tell anyone about, not even his parents in this world.


    With his mind made up, Kain carefully scanned his surroundings once more with his eyes wide open. To say he was slightly perturbed by what he saw was an understatement of the month.


    The dead city up above had its fair share of Aeterna lazily floating about. Inside the fort, it was a riot of dancing colors. Near the World Tree? Like an ocean of oily paints spilling over the canvas called the reality.


    But here?


    Almost not a single drop. Oh, there was a few strands visible here and there, but it might as well be non-existent. The whole place was eerily quiet, eerily dead, for all he could see.


    It was the first time he was in an area with so little Aeterna. He didn''t feel so good after understanding this fact.


    Crucially, though, he sensed no life forms. No moving things were hidden in the background or lurking in the shadows to jump out and scare the bejesus out of him. None of those. Which was a good news of sorts.


    ¡°See? There''s nothing here, Little Master. So, let''s get going already!¡±


    Impatiently, Emma grabbed Kain''s arm and began dragging him down the corridor the moment she saw the boy relax a bit. That was a mistake on his part, obviously. Because, the fact was he wasn''t convinced yet ¨C he was sure of the possibilities of some creatures possessing special skill sets allowing it to hide from the view, his visions included. It was too early to relax, in other words.


    But never mind that, Emma was dead set on showing Kain the proof of her solo adventures. She literally dragged him past several rooms that looked somewhat interesting, leaving him with no time to explore them by himself.


    Most of the metallic doors in this corridor bore the similar type of damage first seen on the elevator shaft as if a thing with massive strength ripped through them all while trying to find something.


    Eventually, the duo came to a stop on a massive door with its corner twisted open, like as if someone tried to pry the lid on a can of sardines by force and only going half way. Emma entered via this opening, pulling Kain along with her.


    Inside was a huge open space, but there were signs of chaos in here as well. Everything within was broken, destroyed, strewn messily about, turned over, completely, utterly disorganized.


    On the walls, he noticed panels similar to what he would have seen in the cockpit of a spaceship. From a movie, of course. Not like he''s actually been inside a real rocket, after all....


    Their state was pretty pitiful as well, all destroyed and damaged beyond repair. Even if they weren''t, Kain couldn''t see them operating after all these years, left unattended to for so long without any maintenance.


    Hmm, but that hologram upstairs worked, didn''t it? Maybe there''s something here that might switch on if I press the right buttons...


    Keeping this in mind, he swept his gaze around this particular space. The ''room'' was in a circular in layout, with a round, raised platform in the middle. He saw several doors on the walls, no signs of disturbance on them. Which was a surprise.


    The platform looked like it should be holding onto something, but now it was bare. There were remains of some kind of metallic apparatus hanging precariously loose from the ceiling, ready to fall at a slightest of prods.


    As he was looking around, in the corner of his eyes, he caught a small spark, a faint buzz of.... electricity.


    It was from a lone panel at a distant corner, on a computer terminal that somehow escaped the fate of total destruction.


    Thinking that he was seeing things, he observed it for a bit longer, but that was a waste of time, as Emma lightly hopped to this very terminal and began pressing this and that rather nonchalantly.


    Alarmed at her lackadaisical attitude, Kain rushed to her position in order to stop her from doing something monumentally stupid. He was one step too late.


    Suddenly, there was a bright light blinding him. The whole chamber was bathed in strong illumination and it took him a few moments to adjust. The change was not limited to that as there were various creaks and groans of hidden machinery moving into place.


    He was frozen on the spot, panicking and not knowing what to do. His Aeterna sense didn''t help him out here either, as he was picking up almost nothing at all. No discernible changes in an already fleeting amount of Aeterna in the air, meaning everything happening right now, right here was all mechanical in nature.


    With a pop, the hologram of the Asian woman came back on, her artificial smile flickering unstably as the whole projected image wobbled. Her disjointed words cut out intermittently.


    ¡°.... And now, the collective of the most brilliant minds of humanity have gathered here, to identify and analyze natural resources such as this sample on proud display....¡±


    Her hand gently swept over in economical movement and drew his attention towards the empty platform in the middle.


    Now that there was a bright illumination, he could see that the section where the platform was actually in a separate chamber than the one he was in. It was just that, there seemed to be some kind of explosion that occurred, shredding whatever walls there were originally. The platform itself was badly mangled as well, and all that overhanging apparatus were also badly damaged.


    Strangely, though, he saw not a single remains of a person anywhere in this chamber. Not even a scrap, which was odd to say the least, seeing that the preceding corridors were choke-a-full of them.


    ¡°See? I told you we''ll meet her again,¡± said Emma, grinning innocently.


    Not minding her and what the hologram was saying, Kain moved next to her and looked at the terminal. It looked outwardly okay but most of the lettering on the knobs and buttons had eroded or faded away, making it difficult to tell what each of them was supposed to do.


    The wide TV screen in the middle of the terminal had a spider-web like crack and didn''t show any sign of life. Kain thought that if it wasn''t broken maybe he could have found a clue or two. He could only rue his tough luck.


    ¡°If I push this one here, this happens!!¡± Emma pressed down on a slightly glowing button on the uppermost left corner. Then, a door to their far left slid open to its side with a strained groan. ¡°That''s where all the things I found are stored. Let''s go and take a look!!¡±


    Kain could tell that she was having a lot of fun here, judging by the eagerness in her actions. Well, she was an eager person to begin with, true, but the level of her eagerness seemed to reach another layer as she began to pull him along. Helplessly, he shouted at her.


    ¡°Hey, wait a second. I wanna explore this place a bit more, so please Emma, calm down a bit, will you? I want to see what''s behind other doors too!!¡±


    She shook her head emphatically. ¡°It''s no use, Little Master. I already tried all that. None of the other doors opened no matter what I tried before. It''s a waste of time, you know. So, come on now, let''s go!!¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Even before he could say a word, she simply picked him up like a stray cat and brought him near the door. At this point, Kain gave up resisting. He could only grumble a bit at this treatment, although not too loudly.


    The room they entered was really, a storage. There were strange looking cabinets that stood upright, glass cylinders filled with suspicious liquids, large flat tables with stuff on top.


    Most of the glass cylinders were damaged and cracked, with only three of them still intact. As for the cabinets, he could see only a few were locked while the others were all opened and empty. The table tops had a thick layer of dust, and there were some eye-catching items there that drew his attention immediately.


    Ignoring the others, he headed to the nearest table and tried to grab the item that caught his attention. It was bigger than him, looked heavier than him, had a long cylindrical shape in the middle and a place to hold it over the shoulder.


    In other words, it looked like a futuristic bazooka.


    Next to it, the odd shapes and sizes made him shiver with glee. No matter how one cut it, they looked exactly like some sort of futuristic firearms.


    He was very, very excited at this discovery. After all, there was no better weapon for him than a gun. And if it''s a futuristic pew-pew gun, then even better. Now, he wouldn''t have to worry about Fiends or whatnots trying to hurt him.


    Smiling happily, he reached for the closest item on the dusty table. It was shaped like a pistol. It felt a bit light on his hand. As for the size, it was obviously too big for him. The overall design screamed ¡°Cheesy Sci-Fi¡± but he could overlook such a minor drawback.


    He took one of those stances that cops seemed to take in the old cops ''n robbers films ¨C legs slightly spread out, knees bent, both hands firmly clasping the gun and pointing forward while the less dominant eye closed shut as he took an aim towards an unoccupied wall. Then he pulled the trigger, expecting some big things to happen.


    And.... nothing happened.


    Puzzled slightly at this new development, he squeezed the trigger a few times more, but other than some grindy, clicky noises, nothing of note happened.


    So he hurriedly looked below the grip where you would slot in a magazine of bullets. A short observation told him this particular model didn''t need such antiquated means of ammo. It had to be a pew-pew gun for sure.


    Um, so.... uh, its battery''s gone flat or something?!


    Kain dropped this gun back on the table then reached for another one. This one too didn''t fire. So he tried the others. Nothing worked, even the big bazooka.


    He felt the immense, crushing weight of disappointment weighing down on him. ¡°Hey, Emma, you said you found weapons. But none of these work!!¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean? What are you holding now? Oh, you silly. That''s not weapons now, is it? Stop playing with toys and come over here,¡± said Emma while waving her hand at him dismissively. Instead, she was standing before a tall cabinet, its doors half open. ¡°In here, silly.¡±


    Grumbling a bit more, Kain took a look inside the cabinet, and there it was, a silver lance that shimmered softly under the bright overhead light. Emma picked it up and lightly swung it in an arc.


    ¡°It''s so light, it''s like it''s not made out of any metal I know!! But it''s sooooo strong and sharp, I can cut through just about anything with it!¡±


    Kain raised an eyebrow and groaned. ¡°Is that it? Anything else, you know, my size?¡±


    ¡°Oh, there are lots!! But, ah, your size.... yeah, that might be little tough.¡±


    Emma scratched her chin slowly, looking all awkward and stuff.


    Kain facepalmed. So, this whole trip indeed turned out to be a massive waste of time after all. For the time he threw away in this place he could''ve had trained a bit more and become better at manipulating ch''i and Aeterna. He was feeling regret, and rightfully so.


    Sensing the level of disappointment in him, Emma hastily tried to cheer him up. ¡°Wait, wait!! There are lots of other stuff here, you know. Who knows, you might find something your size!! Let''s just take a closer look and see!!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure thing....¡± Kain sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He was like, oh well, what can you do.


    They went through other cabinets. There were locked ones, but after some forceful wriggling, the locks broke and let them take a gander at their contents. More spears, bows, swords, some body armor that looked more or less like what a SWAT team member might wear. One cabinet was full of riot shields too. In another, more pew-pew rifles but predictably, none worked.


    And none were his size. He''d need at least another ten years before even thinking of putting one of these armors on, or wield the weapons here. The glass cylinders had nothing of importance for him too, as the intact ones had some sort of syringes and clear plastic packs with some sort of liquid inside.


    The writings on the sides said ¡°MRE¡± on the plastic packs while the syringes had ¡°Adrenaline V. 2. 03.¡± So, not really something he needed right now.


    Emma took the bow with her, her face full of happy smiles. As for him, he just wanted to go home. Still, there were other doors here that might make his time spent coming here worth it.


    Kain went around all the closed doors one at the time, trying to figure out what each of them led to. There were plaques located above each door, with an access panel on the wall next to the doorway. There was some power going to them, but as far as he could tell, he needed either a key card or, by the look of the flat, crystalline surface on the panel with an outline of a hand, a matching palm print in the security database. That''s how these things usually worked, anyhow.


    There were three closed doors here and all of them had the same set-up. The letters on the plaques had faded too much to make out what was written there too.


    At this rate, he''d never be able to get inside any of those doors.


    Maybe I can pry them open with Invocation? Although, I''m not sure what spells in my arsenal that can do the job here....


    Kain frowned, standing in front of the panel, scrutinizing it for a bit longer. After dithering for a while, he carefully placed his left palm on the crystalline surface. It was pretty much out of desperate hope more than anything else.


    There was a line of red light that slowly moved up and down on the panel, scanning his palm print, followed by a distant and distinctive buzzing sound of 56k modem which was funny enough thing to hear in a place like this.


    Nothing happened for a while until a bright red ¡°ERROR¡± sign popped up on the panel''s display, as well as a loud clunk coming from behind the wall. Naturally, he stiffened up, imagining that soon, the walls would snap open and reveal a cache of guns, cocked and ready to fire at his face.


    That.... didn''t happen, thankfully. What happened instead, was the door slid to the side in an asthmatic fashion, lurching and coughing, figuratively, until it was half way open.


    ¡°Oh, wow, Little Master Kain, I''m not sure what you did, but do it again two more times,¡± quipped Emma as she stood behind him, still hugging that bow of hers.


    Ignoring her, Kain stepped inside cautiously. The air here was stale as if there hadn''t been a proper circulation until now. Also, it was remarkably well kept, considering the age of the place.


    The problem was, the chamber was bare, on top of being dark as hell. No, that wasn''t quite right ¨C there were moody lighting here, shining on the giant mural on a wall situated to the right of where he came in from. Other than that, though.... this chamber, which was considerably big, as big as the chamber with the round platform, was bare. Maybe it was the light playing tricks, but he couldn''t see anything here.


    The first thing to notice from the mural was the depictions of a handsome youth with flowing lock of golden hair and his faceless followers, heading towards a fierce battle. Well, it was closest to where he was, so he had to notice them first. Not like he wanted to, anyways.


    The youth was equipped with heroic armors, his cape fluttering in the imaginary wind, looking all gallant and stoic. As for the followers, they looked nothing like the hero.


    No, the more apt description would put them in the categories of ¡°Delta Force¡± soldiers, kitted out in camouflage clothing and carrying rifles of various lengths and sizes. Hell, one of them was even carrying a sniper rifle.


    Kain chuckled weakly at the sight, feeling ever so foolish about his whole situation. He wasn''t sure why he felt like that all of a sudden, but now that he had felt it, he could tell it might remain with him for a while.


    The mural was painted expertly. Each figure depicted seemed like they might pop out of the wall and start shouting out words right there and then. He glanced at the rest of the mural, taking in the scene of a great war being waged by innumerable creatures on both sides. On the ground, in the air, swords clashing, horses neighing, blood spilling, war planes dropping bombs.... It was a mural of chaos.


    There was a mountain in the background, however. Not only it looked out of place in this chaotic battlefield, it didn''t resemble any normal mountain he''d seen, in this world or the previous one. It was perfectly geometrical, shaped like a pyramid, and made wholly out of an amber-colored crystal. And it was huge as well.


    On the sky above this mountain, though, there was an odd depiction ¨C the exact same mountain, but reversed top to bottom and seemingly falling on the ground below at a steady pace.


    ¡°The Fall of the Crystal....¡±


    Kain and Emma murmured simultaneously after locking eyes on this falling mountain. They glanced at each other, instinctively understanding what that falling mountain was supposed to be, yet unsure of how they could tell.


    Even the normally chatty Emma shut her mouth up, as she stared at this massive mural.


    At the bottom of the mural, there was another plaque, but this one was well preserved and readable. On it, it said ¡°The War of the Domination, circa His Holy Years 4498.¡±


    Kain narrowed his eyes. Finally, a great clue to help him figure something out about this whole dead city have appeared before him.


    Let''s see, if I remember right, this year should be The Ages of Enlightenment, 0473. The Holy Years came to an end when the Empire was formally created ¨C 473 years ago. Uh, in which year did Holy Years end? Oh, come on, I read this before so I should be able to remember this.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.?! Ah, it ended around the year 6000 or so. So.... uh, does that mean this mural is 2000 years old?! No wait, that''s not right, is it? The artist could''ve just drawn what was written in the history. Hell, he could''ve drawn this yesterday, for all I know...


    It might have been a clue, but it also left him slightly confused as well. He didn''t feel so cool about that. He really thought this could have been a nice payoff to his small but difficult sojourn to this underground laboratory. Alas, it was not meant to be.


    He didn''t feel too disappointed, however, which was a markedly different to what he was feeling prior to entering this chamber. Right now, he felt like he had seen a part of history that was for some reason hidden from the public. Not once had he read anything about The War of The Domination, nor a gigantic mountain made out of amber crystal falling from the sky. This info was withheld from the regular joes, which was an interesting fact in itself.


    Since he had no other clues to go on, all he had was a bunch of groundless hypotheses. Still, speculating on things were a fun activity to pass the time.


    He wiped the plaque to see if there was other texts or letters but he saw none. Instead, a bolt on the corner came loose and the plaque itself fell off the wall with a loud clang that echoed in the empty chamber.


    Emma gave him a reproachful glare. ¡°What are you doing? You want to destroy this precious legacy of the past?¡±


    ¡°An accident, I swear,¡± said Kain, raising both of his hands defensively.


    ¡°Yeah, right. An accident, he says,¡± retorted Emma, before noticing that behind the plaque, there was a hidden opening there, with bits of exposed wiring. Kain too saw it, and bent down to take a closer look.


    It was a hole big enough for his fist if he was so inclined to put it in there. When he peered in, he thought there was something shiny inside, seemingly within his reach if he wanted to take it.


    Exchanging glances with Emma, the two of them debated without words on what to do. It was a simple decision for them, though. Kain decided to have a go at grabbing that thing, whatever it was. Maybe it could be a hidden medallion or a treasure worth untold millions. Who knows.


    So, he reached in. It was deeper than he initially thought, only his fingertips scratching the surface. He struggled for a bit, before giving a loud hmph and pushed in harder. As a result, his outstretched fingers surrounded it, inching it closer.


    Little by little, Kain dragged it until it was finally out in the open. Huffing and puffing, he lifted the item up in the air near the light to examine it properly, hoping that the haul was not a waste of his energy.


    It was a gold disc shaped in an octagon, no bigger than his palm which made it quite small, about the size of a Big Gold coin. Its metallic luster hadn''t faded not one bit, reflecting the light brilliantly.


    ¡°Score,¡± Kain chuckled, turning the disc this way and that. Even though there was no use for a trinket like this now, when he got out of here, naturally he''d need money to survive and a treasure like this would certainly help his cause.


    Emma shook her head in disappointment this time around. ¡°Oh well, I thought it was something important but turns out, it''s nothing after all.¡±


    Kain ignored her musings and carefully brushed the surface dust off it before biting it gently. He had seen some rich people do this on television, apparently this playful biting thing being a nice, roundabout way to confirm the authenticity of the gold itself. A real gold was supposed to be soft and malleable, meaning he should be able to leave his teeth marks on the surface if he bit down hard enough.


    There was no feelings of his teeth sinking in, no ¡°give¡± whatsoever.


    Of course, this meant nothing much. Not all gold jewelry was soft, after all. There were tough ones too. Whatever, he saw it as a gold treasure, so he was more than happy. Although, if he had found a weapon for his size, preferably a firearm, then he''d be even more happier...


    ¡°Should we go back now? We''ve spent far too much time in here,¡± said Emma as she rested her hand on Kain''s shoulder.


    He nodded his consent. ¡°Yeah, let''s. I think it''s nearly sunset too. Before it gets too late, we should head back. Other rooms, we can explore them tomorrow, right? It''s not like they are going anywhere, anyway.¡±


    So, the two of them headed towards the exit of this mural chamber, feeling like they have done something important and historic. Kain pocketed the disc in his trousers, securing it so it wouldn''t pop out by mistake.


    Emma slipped out of the chamber ahead of him as he was doing the securing bit. After safely tucking it in there, Kain was just about to step out when the sliding door noisily hissed and groaned, before slamming shut, locking him inside.


    Dumbfounded, Kain staggered from the shock for a second before running towards the door and trying to pry it open. His efforts were in vain as his puny little fists couldn''t do a thing to the sturdy, metallic door.


    Panicking now, Kain was going to fire off an Invocation spell, when he heard Emma shouting from beyond the door. ¡°Little Master Kain!! Are you alright in there?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so far. But we gotta open this door!!¡±


    ¡°What did you do before to open the door? Can''t you do the same?¡±


    Kain looked to the side of the doorway and saw the panel just like the one on the other side. However, this one had a couple more illuminated buttons on it, making it slightly more complicated to operate. And of course, predictably, the markings and letters were too faded to make out what''s what.


    ¡°There is something here. I''m going to try opening the door, but I don''t know what''s going to happen so stand back a little,¡± shouted Kain.


    After hearing Emma''s confirmation, he studied the panel for a second before placing the flat of his palm on the scanner.


    This time, there was a thin stripe of red light, but it only moved once before stuttering to a halt. He impatiently pressed his palm again and the same thing happened.


    ¡°Damn it!! Did the power run out? What the hell''s going on here?!¡±


    Kain continued to press his palm on the panel again and again until his skin turned red from all the force he had exerted. Clearly, this method was not working anymore.


    Feeling desperate, Kain then proceeded to push one of the buttons present on the panel, hoping that either one was an emergency door release.


    The button felt weighty against his fingers. It took a bit of force from him to depress it all the way in. And when it did, he heard a loud clanking noise, and a heavy tremor rocking the chamber''s floor.


    Then, there was a cacophony of mechanical noises coming from the deep beneath the floor, making Kain''s face pale with a fear of the unknown.


    Emma was shouting from the other side of the door. She too could hear the noises but was powerless to do anything. She even resorted to attacking the door but her strength and equipment were not adequate enough to even leave a scratch on the surface.


    Kain felt the vibrations through his back as he stood against the door, choosing to stick closely to it in case something fortunate happens ¨C like, it opening up.


    Rather than the door, the various parts of the floor opened up instead. The loud mechanical noises intensified, as things began to rise up from all the openings.


    In the middle of the floor, a hole as large as a minivan opened up, and a large rectangular box-like object rose up. Surrounding it were dozen bronze statues of burly men and women.


    Their ascending speed slowed as the noises lessened until all objects lurched to a stop with a crunching sound reminiscent of a failing clutch on an old car. The hidden dust was kicked up and swirled in the air, creating a vivid mist under the indirect light.


    Kain sucked in a heavy breath. Because, he sensed an oppressive aura oozing from the box surrounded by the twelve statues.


    It was jet-black in color. It resembled a sarcophagus, except that it wasn''t made out of stone. He couldn''t even tell what the material was. There were numerous markings and hieroglyphs all over it, lending it a mysterious and ancient air to it.


    The bronze statues were of warriors taking various threatening poses, their swords and spears and lances and staves drawn and ready to attack. The odd thing was, the statues had their weapons pointed at the sarcophagus, as if to restrain whatever was sleeping inside. As if, they were ready to strike down the black box the moment it showed a sign of life.


    Kain gulped loudly. The sound of his saliva entering his throat was loud enough to echo in the still chamber. He realized that the temperature of the room just dropped a couple of notches, causing goosebumps to break out on his skin.


    He hurriedly opened his Aeterna vision to take a look, and got a fright of his life.


    Because, for the first time in his life, he saw the color of Aeterna he''d never, ever seen before ¨C a pitch black light, emanating from a sun-shaped sphere hidden within the center of the sarcophagus. It felt like as if it was sucking up all the other Aeterna around it, greedily munching on them and absorbing them, eliminating the very forces of life from the existence. In exchange, it was oozing out this sinister black light instead.


    He felt his spine freezing up from fear. This was not from him being scared of the unknown. No, it was a purest, most instinctive form of primal fear. He feared whatever thing was letting off this.... this unholy type of Aeterna out.


    Knowing he had messed up badly, he frantically thought of a way to reverse this situation. He realized quickly enough that since there was a button to bring it up, then surely there would be another button to store it below ground. And if one was following logic when building the switches, they should have been right next to each other.


    Kain didn''t hesitate in pressing the button next to the one he pressed. This one didn''t budge, refusing to move. Stuck in place with years, decades, centuries and millenniums'' worth of non-maintenance meant it''d need more than simple but frenetic presses from a six-year-old kid.


    So he made a fist and slammed down on the offending button, hard. That made things worse.


    Rather than the sarcophagus and the statues descending back down, there was strange movement on the lid of the black box, as if it was going through an unlocking sequence. The statues then began to actually move. They actually moved, standing even taller and ready to throw down, their expressions becoming even more fiercer.


    A streak of cold sweat ran down his back. Kain was cursing like a sailor inwardly at the moment.


    What kind of a sadistic idiot places an ¡°Open Evil Casket¡± button next to a door release?! Huh? Shouldn''t it be ¡°Go the hell back down¡± button instead?! This is so wrong, wrong, wrong!! If I ever meet the douchebag who came up with this set-up, I''ll kick his ass real good!!


    ~


    In the meantime, the Old Man was standing at the front of the Lomax residence in the village of Riverfield. The double-story house looked exactly as Kain had described it.


    The Old Man gazed around, feeling rather impressed at the gentle vibe the whole place was giving out. He was here to talk to the boy''s parents as per his request.


    Although he wasn''t too sure about this, he knew that deep down, putting the minds of the grieving parents at ease would do a world of good to the boy''s psyche, helping him to steady his mind and focus wholeheartedly on becoming a fine, nay, a great martial artist.


    Having said that, he only felt the presence of two adult males inside the house, which was odd, considering the family situation his disciple mentioned in the past. Where were the women folk disappeared to?


    He slowly lifted his head and gazed at the skies above the city of Lafayette to the distance. There, he could see the servant of a false god circling in the air, searching and waiting, invisible to all naked eyes except his. His powerfully developed Shang, coupled with highly advanced Yi Hai allowed him to clearly discern the vile creature no problem.


    The Old Man thought that as soon as he was done talking to the parents of Kain, he''d go and take care of the servant but, even from here, he could tell that it wouldn''t be an easy battle, especially with his current illness.


    He had the full confidence to win, but he knew avoiding further injuries would be difficult. If so, then that threw all his plans into jeopardy.


    The Old Man had planned to go on a journey to find his old friend who would help out with the boy''s training. But he''d have to go into a secluded meditation once more to heal his wounds and that would delay the schedule even further. Worse, once defeated, the false god would know something happened here in this Realm, thereby complicating the matters unfavorably for the Old Man.


    ¡°Hmm, what to do....¡±


    The Old Man stood on the outskirts of the Lomax residence''s front yard, slowly stroking his beard. He had a complicated expression on his face, his eyes drifting away into a deep, deep thought.


    Only if he knew where his friend had gone off to. Then he''d send a ch''i infused soundwave that would send his message to the target and call forth the friend here.


    ¡°Hmm. How bothersome....¡±


    The Old Man frowned a little.


    He sensed that one of the males began to move inside the house. It seemed this person had sensed the Old Man somehow, even though he was hiding his aura.


    The man who appeared in the doorway was not Derrick, but it was a tall, thin man with a swept-back blonde hair pulled tightly behind his head. His cold, piercing gaze fell upon the Old Man, scrutinizing, studying.


    The Old Man understood that his man was expertly hiding his murderous aura. A man who had ended quite a few lives, the Old Man mused.


    The tall, thin man walked briskly over at where the Old Man was, before stopping a few feet away. ¡°May I help you, sir?¡± He asked in cold, detached voice.


    His face placid, the Old Man inquired. ¡°I came here to see... the owner of the house.¡±


    The Old Man spoke the note-perfect Empire Standard Dialect. He sounded just like a citizen of this sprawling empire. If Kain heard him now, he''d be utterly shocked by the natural intonation of the Old Man''s accents.


    The tall, thin man narrowed his cold eyes. ¡°Sir Baron Lomax isn''t home at the moment. But I shall take a message if you are inclined to leave one.¡±


    ¡°Oh? So, when is he expected back?¡±


    ¡°His absence is unscheduled and thus it is not known when he might return. Now, is there anything else, sir?¡±


    The Old Man chuckled. ¡°Hmm. That is unfortunate.... Well, whoever you might be, take this message and give it to... the baron, when he decides to come home.¡±


    The tall, thin man hid his irritation well, but the Old Man could sense that this guy was thumbing a dagger beneath his cloak, ready to strike him at a moment''s notice.


    He was bemused at such level of unwarranted bloodthirst. Outwardly, the tall, thin man hid it well, but no one could hide their desire to shed blood from the Old Man''s piercing gaze.


    The amusement factor came from the fact that no matter how proficient this guy was with handling a dagger, he''d stand no chance against the Old Man. Hell, a thousand of this tall, thin man attacking at the same time would still be insufficient to even ruffle his sleeves.


    Chuckling once more, the Old Man then decided not to waste any more time here and move on. ¡°The message is this; Baron Lomax''s son is safe and sound. He''s being well looked after, so stay your worries. That''s all.¡±


    The complexion of the tall, thin man paled briefly when he heard the Old Man''s words. But he recovered quickly, and without missing a beat, he stepped before the Old Man in a domineering fashion. ¡°Are you here to play a prank of such poor tastes? Are you trying to lose your head, sir?¡±


    The Old Man waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Believe it, don''t believe it, I don''t care. Do what you will. I only came here to deliver the message.¡±


    The tall, thin man then unsheathed the dagger and pointed at the Old Man''s neck. ¡°If what you say is true, then where is he? Tell me now, or forfeit your puny life right here, foreigner.¡±


    The Old Man raised an eyebrow. It was true that he looked nothing like the standard citizens of the Empire, who were all European in appearance, while he had a countenance of an Asian. Even with the perfect dialect, some would always suspect that he did not originate from within the Empire''s borders.


    Still, the word foreigner ticked him off slightly. So, the Old Man languidly raised a fingertip and lightly tapped the dagger. It crumbled to dust in an instant.


    Alarmed, the tall, thin man quickly withdrew and tried to unsheath his sword but the moment his eyes blinked, the white robe-wearing old man before him had vanished into thin air.


    Stunned into silence, the tall, thin man, Sir William Fordham Wincaster, stood there, hastily scanning the surroundings with little success.

 Chapter 37

    37


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (Sorry about yesterday. This chapter should''ve been posted yesterday evening but due to factors outside of my control, it had to be delayed. Also, I tried something rather ambitious with the composition of this chapter and I fear I may have bitten off more than I can chew. You guys be the judge.)


    William was dumbfounded. That mysterious old foreigner was only here a moment ago, yet now, he had vanished without a trace. It wasn''t like they were in the middle of the moonless night; the late autumn sky was clear and blue, the sun shining down brightly on the world. The visibility was better than good, even.


    Not to mention, they were quite literally many many yards away from anywhere remotely possible to hide in. A mangrove of trees were at least dozens of feet away and there was just no way anyone could move that fast. Just no way in hell, thought William. Unless Invocation was involved.


    But even then, that didn''t make any sense. To cast an Invocation spell, one would need to chant the Requisite Words. That took time regardless of how shortened it was. Plus, appropriate Aeterna Elements had to be wielded. With William''s trained eyes and highly attuned senses, detecting that subtle, invisible shift in the atmosphere wouldn''t be too difficult.


    Yet the old man was gone. No matter how hard he searched, he saw no proof that he was indeed talking to someone a minute ago.


    William''s face became a shade darker. If what that old foreigner said was true, then it was quite a blunder. There was no reason to believe every random stranger that came up to him but it paid to be cautious, especially in his line of work. He had to alert his comrades as soon as possible.


    ¡°Sir William, what is it? Is there something wrong?¡±


    Derrick asked as he emerged from the front door of the double story house.


    William hid his complicated expression and turned to see his current quarry, shaking his head a bit. ¡°No, Sir Derrick. I thought there was an unknown presence here but it seems I''ve raised a false alarm.¡±


    Derrick frowned as he felt there was something strange going on here, but held back his questions for now, instead choosing to simply nod. ¡°Very well. Shall we return to the office? I still require your expertise in correctly calculating the crop yield projections for the next three years.¡±


    Sheathing his sword back in the scabbard, William slowly walked back. His face was as same as always, cold and detached and disinterested, but inwardly his mind was churning at a great speed, deciding on what needed to be done.


    He''d have to find a way to get the words out, which wasn''t difficult as he possessed a short-range communication crystal. But as for making sure that no one would overhear the contents, now that might take some imagination on his part.


    After all, he was here to watch Derrick Septima Lomax, to make sure that he may never become a future threat to the grand plans of the organization.


    He was about half way to the entrance when a sudden flash of light in the skies above the city of Lafayette caught his eye. It was very brief, and by the time he turned his gaze towards the direction where it came from, he couldn''t see anything anymore.


    ¡°A flare from the sun....?¡±


    Narrowing his eyes, William studied the blue, cloudless sky, wondering whether he was going insane or not. He spent some time searching. Whatever it was, he didn''t want to miss it, like he did with the old foreigner.


    Noticing that William hadn''t entered the house yet, and rather spending the time observing the sky, Derrick followed suit and gazed outside as well, wondering what was so important as to draw the attention of normally cold and detached person like the young Sir Fordham Wincaster.


    As if to reward their curiosity, there was another flash, slightly brighter than before. Also, it lasted a smidgen longer too, allowing both of them to track the origin of this light.


    William brought his hand up to shield the eyes from the sun''s glare and concentrated. Just as he was getting accustomed to the distance, a bright light shot out like an extending rainbow, and an insanely large explosion rocked the landscape, blinding him completely.


    ~


    Captain Giles yawned loudly as a glint of teardrops formed at the corners of his eyes. The boredom was killing him.


    He was currently manning his post as the boss-man of the Southern Gate for his city, Lafayette, the job he''d been doing for the better part of a decade. First as a mere grunt, a poorly-paid foot soldier with no benefits. But now? He had successfully climbed the hierarchy. He had a platoon of men under him, following his orders like clockwork. His pay was good. People recognized him, respected him.


    He had made it, in other words.


    Wiping away the tears as discreetly as possible, Giles swept his gaze over at the queues of people waiting to enter his city. His underlings ¨C soldiers under his command ¨C was busy performing the entrance procedures on the new arrivals, explaining things, taking the Truth Boards and getting them registered.


    Back when he started out, that was Giles''s Job. Well, not anymore. As the captain, he had little to do currently other than to look important. Sure, there were a few ruffians chancing their luck trying to enter the city but hell, his unit operated like a well-oiled Sky Ark. Or should that be well-Aeterna-ed? Whatever, none of those idiots knew what hit them.


    Funny thing, though, was that nowadays he had more people ¡°initially¡± leaving the city via his Gate rather than the other way round. Those leaving came by Sky Arks, headed for the rest of the provinces for god-knows-what businesses of theirs. Giles wasn''t too terribly interested in them, obviously. As long as his city was safe and sound, especially for his fledgling family, all was well.


    ¡°Captain, you see that?¡±


    A rookie recruit came over to where Giles was standing and pointed at a caravan that was waiting in a queue some distance away. This young man was a son of some local bigwig or another; Giles was told by his superiors to make the boy comfortable if possible. What a bother that was.


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    Hiding his slight irritation at his young charge, Giles asked.


    ¡°That caravan.... isn''t that too big to be a normal sort of caravan for farmers, Captain? Shouldn''t that line up where the merchants go? It''s definitely too suspicious, sir.¡±


    Giles chuckled bemusedly. ¡°Well, my overeager subordinate, there could be many reasons why that is so. Maybe the owner of the caravan is new to the city and doesn''t know the rules. Maybe it is not a merchant''s caravan. Maybe, it''s packed full of city-raiding bandits!!¡±


    The young soldier frowned at Giles''s attempt at light humor. ¡°But sir, it could be important!!¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe.¡± Giles slowly scratched his stubble, contemplating with a sigh. After a short while, he decided on the next course of action. ¡°Oh alright. Go with a couple of guys and check it out, if it bothers you that much. Hey, Hannigan, Ruperse!! Go with this guy here and check that caravan at the back.¡±


    Giles didn''t see problems with allaying the fears of the rookie. Everything he did, people he came in contact with, all of that would become a foundation to become a better soldier in the future. So, no loss in checking out something that might be suspicious from a glance.


    The young guard nodded, his face bright. He immediately joined the senior guardsmen and headed to the caravan in question. Seeing the back of this eager young man, Giles sighed wryly. Once upon a time, he was just like that, wanting to make a name for himself. All to get a promotion faster and prove that he was indeed a jewel in the rough, simply waiting for a much-deserved recognition.


    After advancing through the ranks at no different pace than his colleagues, he had come to a realization, though. And that was....


    He was not that special after all. A crushing disappointment, that. A blow to the self-esteem. A low blow, too.


    Because of his pursuit, his goal, he ended up getting married pretty late in his life. His daughter was still a mulling baby, while his friends had all gone and became fathers of multiple children, settled households, respectable members of society and all that grown-up stuff.


    Giles, after realizing his folly, also became a lot more mellow. Nowadays, he was quite content with his post, his salary, and with his sphere of influence.


    He smiled wryly once more, thinking that if his past self looked at him now, he''d get a rude shock to the system. How people change, faced with the inevitable, constant and ceaseless flow of time.


    ¡°Oh, it''s Captain Giles.¡±


    A familiar voice called his name out so Giles turned to face the origin. A band of Adventurers, numbering a dozen heads and equipped for a journey of some length, was about set off, horses and a caravan packed with supplies alongside them. Their leader had recognized Giles and was calling out to him.


    Giles waved his hand. ¡°Phil. You''re heading out?¡±


    Philander Cosier, the Adventurer who belonged to the same guild as Damien, approached the captain and shook his hand briefly. ¡°Yes, a search and rescue op just came in. We''ll be gone for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. I wish you luck, Phil. Your men, too. I hear there''s some sort of outbreak of low-level Fiends down by the South? By the Sanctity Pass, was it?¡±


    Phil nodded. ¡°Yes, we''re heading there, predictably. We''ll be careful.¡±


    As the two men spoke, both of them felt a sudden chill creep up on their skin. All the hairs on their bodies were standing up.


    ¡°What the....?¡±


    Giles frowned and grabbed the hilt of his longsword. He hadn''t had to draw it too many times in this line of work, but he sure felt like unsheathing it right now. It was the same for the seasoned Adventurers. Phil had already drawn his weapon, searching for the origin of this aura.


    An aura of deadly threat bore down on everyone on the ground, making the normal, untrained civilians to shudder and faint in fear.


    There was a muffled grumble from above their heads, so both Giles and Phil hurriedly looked up. It was at that moment a brilliant flash of light blinded them all.


    ~


    The Old Man left confused William behind and took to the sky toward the city of Lafayette, making a straight beeline at the unknown creature. His plan hadn''t changed ¨C he still needed to kill that thing before it somehow latched onto the boy''s life signature, his Aeterna presence, whatever it was these false gods used to track their prey.


    He used ch''i to basically cancel his weight acting against the air molecule, thus enabling him to run on air, which, outwardly at least, looked like he was actually flying. Might as well ¨C his speed was terrifying to behold. As fast as a bullet train, as sharp as a glint of a finely honed katana; all his movements redefined the term ¡°awe-inspiring.¡±


    In a flash, he had crossed the gap between the skies of Riverfield and the city of Lafayette. However, his rapid approach didn''t go unnoticed. The strange creature, its nearly-black and almost illusory body that was constantly flickering in its shape, turned towards the Old Man, and began radiating a chilling aura of death.


    Having fought and survived countless battles involving powerful adversaries, the Old Man could sense its hostilities right away and so, he stopped a good dozen meters or so before the creature.


    What puzzled him, though, was the reasons for it to hover in the air over this particular city for weeks. As far as he could tell, Lafayette, while large and bustling, didn''t seem all that remarkable. Yet there was something here that attracted the creature.


    And whatever it was, it must have proved to be elusive as well, since the creature was simply going around in circles, as if it was trying to pinpoint the faintest of faint scents left behind by its prey.


    Before deciding to confront it, the Old Man did observe it via his Yi Hai but honestly, he could not figure this out. According to his cowardly disciple, he had only ever been to Lafayette once for a brief period of time. So, his....scent would not have pervaded the streets and the buildings of this city.


    If then, what could be the reason for the creature to stay doggedly behind, circling around like that tiny piece of crap refusing to flush down the toilet no matter how many times you try?


    As soon as the creature reacted to his presence, the Old Man had to abandon his thoughts on unraveling the mystery, at least for now. Him coming out of this encounter alive and largely unhurt was far more important.


    The current him was far too weakened, as shameful as it was to admit. Still, he would not be a man if he let a challenge go begging, even if it was due to misplaced pride, maybe even that of a martial artist''s ego.


    The Old Man slowly neared the creature, noticing its lone violet-colored pupil turning to place his image in its eye. He felt a chilling sensation, a premonition of some sort of deadly crisis looming ever so largely.


    Instinctively, he stopped his approach and raised his guards up, reinforcing his body, both internally and externally with a simple technique called Soul Defense. It was a skill that was exactly opposite in nature as the Soul Crusher, intended to perform the exact opposite purposes. And it could be done faster than the speed of light.


    The moment he got his dukes up, there was an enormous explosion of Aeterna-infused energy. When the shock waves slammed into the Old Man, his facial expression grimly flickered for a second, before returning to a calm one.


    With just this amount, the Old Man wouldn''t be harmed but more importantly, the same couldn''t be said for the people living below. He was not heartless enough to fight over the skies of a heavily populated city. Otherwise, the collateral damage would be a no laughing matter. A price that not even he was willing to pay.


    He thought about a way to draw its sole attention to himself. With him withstanding this initial attack, he was successful. All that''s left was to draw it away, far, far from here where he could then cut loose.


    So, as far as the first attack was concerned, he''d give that one to his opponent. Just that, he didn''t expect it to hit him so hard right off of the bat.


    Once the flash of light subsided, the Old Man emerged, unscathed. He flicked his sleeves as if he was annoyed, and stroked his beard nonchalantly as if he was contemplating the directions of the passing wind.


    ¡°Hmph. I don''t know who your master is, but how rude. If you want to throw down, I welcome it, but you should learn to discern the level of your opponents first, lest you get beaten black and blue!!¡±


    The Old Man infused ch''i to his voice and spoke out. He didn''t care whether the creature could understand him or not, as long as the crux of his message was transmitted.


    The creature trembled and its single eye narrowed as if it was assessing the current situation.


    Seeing this, the Old Man smiled imperceptibly. It did seem to possess a decent level of intelligence, which would certainly make this battle a bit more.... exciting for him. Well, a deadly type of excitement, to be precise.


    ¡°Come. This battle is inevitable. You are an ugly eyesore and I shall eradicate you, ridding this world of an unneeded headache. As simple as that.¡±


    The Old Man beckoned it, his facial expression one of imperiousness. The creature frowned, quite clearly unhappy at the Old Man. However, there was a small but definite change in the direction of its attention before things could develop further.


    The Old Man''s face fell when he saw this. Something had snatched the attention he had brought upon himself. As to what that was, he didn''t know.


    The creature then made an unreadable expression. Via his powerful perception, the Old Man felt a sudden spike in the creature''s aura.


    It was incredibly fast, the way this spike happened. Not even he could react quickly enough. That spike caused another Aeterna explosion to ring out, but this one was several times more vicious and deadly compared to the previous blast. Good thing, then, that he kept his defenses up, never slacking it, not even once.


    Mere moments before that sudden, unexplainable spike in the creature''s power, Kain was confronting the mysterious sarcophagus that was about to open up and reveal its contents.


    ~


    The atmosphere inside the mural chamber was fast becoming rather like that of a horror movie. Menacing, buzzing bits of reddish-black electricity arced all around the black sarcophagus, as the mechanical noises of things unlocking intensified.


    Kain''s face had lost all colors for some time now. Instead, it was quickly becoming pale blue from the lack of oxygen as he forgot to breathe. He was worried that by inhaling he might make too much noise and draw the attentions of the robotic bronze statues that were eyeing the sarcophagus with intensely hostile gazes. If the looks could kill, then those could definitely murder a whole bunch without even trying.


    Kain frantically stabbed the control panel with his fingers, hoping to create a miracle. Either opening the doors or at least stopping the whole unlocking shenanigans happening before him would qualify as one.


    His Aeterna vision was showing him that the tightly coiled energy of the black sphere inside was slowly unfurling like the wings of a devil, matching the speed of the sarcophagus''s lid opening up. The process was very mechanical, kinda reminding him of the casket from the movie Stargate, except that it was far more unsettling than that of the cinematic masterpiece. That''s a personal opinion, of course.


    The bronze statues began to take stances that looked even more threatening than before, almost getting ready to pounce with their weapons firmly pointing at the sarcophagus. The lid, and indeed the whole black box, lurched and creaked. Like an oversized origami puzzle, the whole thing unfurled methodically.


    The black light of unknown Aeterna intensified, spreading its overwhelmingly negative aura around the chamber. Kain swore that for a second there, he thought the walls were melting from the intense energy fluctuation emitted by the black sphere.


    His own Aeterna Pool undulated violently. It seethed and became increasingly difficult to keep it under conscious control. It simply wanted to go on a rampage, leave his body and meld into that sphere. Quite frankly, that thought terrified him even more.


    Emma was busy shouting from the other side of the unmoving door. She was doing all sorts of things as well, but Kain could barely hear her muffled words through the walls. The black Aeterna light was gradually drowning out all the other sounds in the mural chamber, and it was getting harder to even hear his own thoughts at this rate.


    Almost instinctively, Kain began rotating ch''i through his meridians. To his relief, he found that the intense pressure weighing down on him lessened immediately, allowing him to breathe in and out for the first time in what surely felt like in years.


    Encouraged by the result of this unexpected lucky happenstance, Kain continued to cycle what little ch''i he had in his system. The result was that his Shang activated too, and allowed him to peek even deeper into the black sphere.


    And inside it.... he saw a silhouette of a person, in a fetal position. It was black too, and the source of all that black Aeterna was this.... thing.


    Kain felt a huge dollop of chill run down his spine when this black figure slowly raised its head and stared at him directly. Which was funny, considering that there was the matter of still-opening sarcophagus between him and it.


    Oh, crap. I gotta get out of this place, ASAP!! What the hell is that thing anyway??


    Kain redoubled his efforts in trying to open the reticent door. He stabbed the panel until his fingers were aching from the pain. It was not working at all.


    ¡°Oh, c''mon, gimme a freaking break already!!¡±


    Kain shouted out aloud, no longer caring whether the statues noticed him or not. He then formed a fist and punched the panel as hard as he could out of sheer frustration.


    The panel''s surface cracked and hissed meekly. The ¡°ERROR¡± sign flickered on the display like a dying candle before whizzing off completely. Now, the panel was dead for good.


    Kain cursed inwardly and was this close to trying out a Soul Crusher fist attack out of desperation when he felt the chill on his back intensify greatly. His senses screamed at him, telling him that a monster of unimaginable horror was about to wake up. All thanks to him pressing a few wrong buttons in a poorly-designed laboratory from the past that was already suffering from the lack of TLC.


    This just felt so damn unfair, really, when he thought about it very, very briefly.


    The sarcophagus began collapsing on itself, the origami puzzle now fully unlocked. And with all that dramatic unveiling, the black sphere was finally revealed to the world ¨C or, at least, to this large mural chamber''s audience.


    Oddly enough, it was not black as he initially thought. No, it was gold. And shaped like an egg, too. What''s even more puzzling was that the whole thing was no bigger than Kain was. It shone with an utterly magnificent, brilliant golden light, which was completely different from what he saw before.


    Such a spectacle couldn''t fool Kain''s fast-developing senses. Through the Aeterna vision, he saw the intensity of the black light increase, to a point where now it began to manifest in reality as well, melting with the golden beam and thus turning into a violet hue. Meanwhile, via Shang, he saw the black figure slowly moving from inside the egg-shaped sphere. And it was still looking at Kain, although the terrified boy couldn''t tell what the creature or the thing was thinking of.


    The egg was covered in Invocation circles and arrays, and at a cursory glance, an experienced Invoker would be able to tell that all of them were meant to seal away whatever was locked inside.


    But, for some reason, those seals were getting weaker and weaker by the second. Even Kain could see that the flows of Aeterna around those arrays were markedly getting chaotic as the violet light grew harsher and harsher.


    Outside the chamber, even Emma was affected by the powerful aura. Her face lost all color, shocked at this emission of terrifying energy that possessed enough malice to unsettle the influence of Nature Divine Spirits''s blessings cast on her.


    She redoubled her own efforts to open the locked door, now launching proper attacks with weapons and items available on her person. The door, made out of the advanced alloy that combined titanium and a small amount of highly-refined Mythril, didn''t even budge.


    The golden egg slowly floated up in the air, and as if shaking off a layer of dust, it trembled gently. The arcane letters, symbols, and lines of the various Invocation arrays and circles drawn on the surface crumbled, sliding off the surface like fine grains of desert sand and fell on the bottom of the sarcophagus, finally dissipating like a wisp of a cigar smoke.


    The egg continued to tremble, as cracks appeared on the surface, one by one. At first, it was just one, then it became two, then three, four, eight, twenty, hundred.... Soon, cracks covered its entirety. The violet light grew so overwhelming that Kain could barely keep his eyes open. If it weren''t for his ch''i helping him, he''d go blind from the exposure to the blinding light for too long.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The eggshell melted away, and a small figure finally emerged from it, emitting a dense, brilliant violet light. Its proportions were that of a fit adult man but funnily enough, it was quite small, like a Hobbit. However, that was not important. What was important, was the identity of the thing.


    Kain blinked several times, just to make sure his eyes weren''t playing tricks on him.


    The small figure, who now stood in the air with a proud stance, a sneer of contempt plastered all over his face which was directed at the twelve bronze statues surrounding him, looked exactly like the young, gallant hero depicted in the mural. Apart from the weird smallness of his physique, that was. Even the heroic full body golden armor was the same as the mural.


    However, the aura oozing from this guy was nowhere near nice and hero-like, as it was in the mural. If anything, it was of pure arrogance, surely unfitting of a leader of men.


    There was something else that Kain noticed on this mini knight. Rather than a pair of normal, regular irides he had a pair of spooky violet-colored eyes. They shone with a cold gleam, surveying the statues as if baiting the bronze giants on to making the first move. And move they did.


    The bronze statue of an Amazon-esque woman attacked first. She held a long spear with a sharp and narrow spearhead that was actually longer than the body of the spear itself.


    The pointy weapon shot forward at a break-neck pace. The mini-knight slanted his head to left, dodging the thrust by mere millimeters. Almost at the same time, the bronze statue with a giant halberd swung his weapon down with a fearsome momentum.


    The mini-knight spun on his heels, letting the halberd slice the air where he used to be a blink of an eye ago. The third statue with a trident also thrust out his three-pronged weapon but the knight, with a sneer of contempt lightly jumped on the spot and twisted in the air, narrowly escaping the trajectory of the weapon.


    All this happened so fast that a normal person would not have followed the action with naked eyes. Only someone like Kain, who had his perceptions greatly enhanced with Shang, could barely keep up.


    The other statues pounced forward. The mini-knight was caught in the air, and he had to fend off the incoming attacks rather than simply dodging them.


    The mini knight used his bare hands to deflect and block the attacks, but whether due to conceit or the sheer level of skills of the statues, some of the weapons made their way past his seemingly impeccable defenses.


    A spear gouged a chunk of the knight''s side; another, an arrow as thick as a baby''s forearm slammed into the knight''s chest. A spear with Naginata-like blade sliced past the left arm of the knight, nearly severing it. A long sword pierced the stomach area while yet another polearm targeted the open back, successfully penetrating beyond the protection offered by the golden armor.


    Those weapons were massive even when looked at from a normal perspective, so when they struck the mini-knight, they looked comically out of proportions. It was a small miracle as to how the knight withstood the impact of all those weapons.


    The look of contempt was replaced by the one of outrage, as the knight shrieked in a high-pitched scream that no living human being could make. Kain felt his consciousness shake as the soundwaves of the scream reached his eardrums.


    It was a hell of a vicious scream, seemingly borne out of pure, unadulterated hatred towards his enemies, rooted deeply inside the knight''s core. The shrill scream pushed back the bronze statues off their feet, leaving behind the weapons stuck in the knight''s body.


    And as the statues stumbled backward, they could not launch the second volley of attacks. This breathing room allowed the knight to suddenly explode with a surge of power, his size expanding immediately.


    It only took the amount of time needed for a single breath; the mini-knight became a full-sized knight that quickly. Not even skipping a beat, the knight then grabbed the arrow still stuck in his chest and yanked it out, a stream of violet liquid jetting out from the open wound. Quite dramatic to look at, actually.


    The knight then turned his head once more towards Kain and stretched his remaining hand out. He opened his bloodied mouth and spoke, but no sound came out. However, a booming voice reverberated in the boy''s mind.


    COME!!


    The knight screamed in a weirdly digitized voice. Kain''s Aeterna Pool churned even more violently, trying to escape from his control, out of his body and straight into the knight''s grasp.


    Kain knew instinctively that if he allowed his Pool to abandon him, then he''d surely die here. Obviously, he would not let that happen without a fight.


    He immediately circulated almost all of his ch''i stored in Xia, not caring about the fact that if he was not careful in his control via Zhong, his body might implode. This was the only way he knew right now on how to counteract the overwhelming difference in controlling the flow of Aeterna that existed between him and the knight.


    Still, his accumulated ch''i was not enough. It was, for a lack of suitable words, too thin. Plus, his control of the energy itself was not good. Inevitably, all these resulted in his Aeterna Pool draining away.


    The moment his Aeterna entered the knight''s body, his vitality rapidly rocketed up. With a roar, he sent out a powerful pulse of pure, violet-colored energy out. At the same time, a small ripple broke away from this violent energy, heading out of the chamber.


    ~


    And this energy crossed hundreds of miles in a flash, punching through the time and space like a jet-black arrow. It headed towards the black creature currently engaged in a mortal combat with the Old Man over the skies of Lafayette.


    When that small, almost imperceptible energy entered the creature, it reacted with a delight. Because, for the first time since it entered this realm, it had finally found the location of its target, the boy with the shared bloodlines from one of the Original Sinners and that of a Fallen Battle Maiden.


    It calculated that there was no longer time to waste here, even though it sensed a minute amount of the Dimensional Gate Dial''s aura over this city of mortals. After it had found and secured the boy, it would return and seek the artifact out. Mere mortals of this Realm lacked the qualifications to hold such a dangerous item, as far as it was concerned.


    But first, it needed to eliminate the powerful human in front of it. Thus, it decided not to hold back and let out the most powerful burst of energy it could afford without completely depleting its own reserves.


    That was the reason why the second explosion was far more vicious and grand in scale.


    The aftermath of the attack left a crater the width of several football fields and the depths best measured in nautical miles over Lafayette''s residential area. It was quite obvious from even a cursory glance that there wouldn''t be any survivors from this devastating attack.


    Even the Old Man was left wounded, albeit only with superficial scratches that didn''t hinder his abilities to fight.


    However, that didn''t mean he was enjoying a pleasant day out, feeling all nice and happy. Nope.


    Right now. he was royally pissed off. His white robe was in tatters, revealing lean but tautly muscled torso that was full of minute scars and burn marks from the battles of the past.


    He was pissed because he dawdled for too long and people unrelated to this matter paid the ultimate price for it. He was pissed that he''d become this weak and feeble, unable to even counteract the simple attack of this third-rate creature. He was pissed off because the very same weak-ass monster looked down on him and tried to kill him with such a rubbish, unfocused blast. A proverbial slap in the face, that''s what it was.


    He began to let off a scary amount of ch''i-infused aura. Suddenly, the creature felt Death staring squarely at it and widened its eye in shock.


    The Old Man shot forward, covering the great distance between it and him in a flash, landing a huge kick. However, there was an invisible shielding of Aeterna protecting it from the attack. This shield served two purposes of protecting it from a sudden attack, as well as keeping it invisible to the naked eyes and the perceptions of the mortals.


    The shield did its job as intended and dispersed most of the force behind the kick. Nevertheless, it could not fully absorb all of the power and shattered with a loud ¡°Pah!!¡± The remaining force propelled the kick, continuing on until it splendidly connected with the one-eyed creature.


    The impact forced it back at a lightning speed. But the Old Man had already appeared behind it.


    Next was a mighty slap to its head with the flat of his palm, his other hand calmly tucked behind his back. It almost looked like he was swatting a fly.


    And like a hapless volleyball, the creature slammed down on the crater with a huge boom, raising an equally huge cloud of dust.


    The Old Man harrumphed coldly and came down to the impact site. On the ground where the impact occurred, there was another crater shaped like that of the creature.


    ¡°Come out now, you cretin. I''ll exterminate you, and leave nothing for your master to recover ¨C not even a bone. If you have one, that is.¡±


    Responding to the threatening words, the ground vibrated harshly, and a second later the creature burst out of the scorched earth. Now, it no longer resembled a formless figure, but of a person.


    Shockingly, though, now it resembled the very knight Kain was encountering at the same moment. However, it was only the outline of the creature. Its entire body was made out of a violet-colored, goo-like skin, seething and moving, sending out dense and deadly aura not too different from that of the mini-knight.


    Of course, the Old Man was totally unaware of such a thing. All he could see was a loathsome creature trying to imitate a human. That was it.


    ¡°How repulsive,¡± murmured the Old Man. He looked around with his sharp perception and noticed that his flashy actions had drawn an audience with local Invokers. ¡°Hmph. It''s getting more troublesome now, isn''t it.¡±


    Frowning, the Old Man narrowed his eyes and took a Fu Hu Bu stance, slowly drawing his leg out and centering his weight into a compact form.


    A single, violet eye split open in the middle of the creature''s head, revealing a cold, hateful aura as it gazed at the Old Man.


    ¡°First, I should draw you out of this dang city,¡± the Old Man whispered imperceptibly, and then by borrowing the momentum built into his stance, he shot forward faster than a bullet.


    His fist struck out, causing a rumble in the sky. The creature raised another Aeterna-infused shielding to block the attack, this time solely focused on defense rather hiding it from the eyes of the mortals. This naturally meant that the shielding this time was considerably tougher.


    When the fist collided with the thin violet colored shield, a huge, booming shockwave swept out, further flattening the already flattened surfaces of the crater.


    Snorting disdainfully, the Old Man struck out with his other fist, precisely on the exact same point where his first punch landed on. The shielding couldn''t hold on anymore and cracked open.


    The Old Man followed up with a devastating Soul Crusher which was on an another level altogether. The invisible explosion of ch''i utterly shredded the creature apart, not even giving it a chance to retaliate. The shielding shattered with an even louder ¡°Pah!!¡± and the creature''s mangled body was flung out backward.


    However, the lone violet colored eye showed no change. It continued to look on at the Old Man with calm, collected coldness.


    Irritated by this indifference, the Old Man again shot forward and slammed against the flying creature with his shoulder. Then, to follow it up, he held his hands together and pushed his elbow out with the strength of both arms.


    The elbow connected with the creature''s midriff with a thunderous boom, and a hole the size of bowling ball gouged out where the impact happened. Only then, did the creature react with a twinge of pain in its face.


    The creature stopped flying back, and its broken, shredded body reformed into a solid one in an instant. A sinister, toothy mouth split open just below the violet eye, and from it, a violet colored hilt of a sword emerged. It looked rather plain, if not for the fact that it came out of a mouth of the creature. The creature grabbed the hilt and yanked it out of its mouth, dragging out a gleaming blade along with it.


    Just by performing this action, the Old Man sensed another surge of power from the creature.


    What a cliched development, the Old Man groaned inwardly. What the hell is this? Is it going to power up every time I damage it? What a pain in the neck this thing is turning out to be. My initial assessment of me not walking away from this fight uninjured may come true after all. Damn it.


    ~


    As the Old Man was fighting the one-eyed creature, Kain was trying his very best to hold onto his own Aeterna Pool. He wasn''t succeeding at the moment, as he could only slow down the rate of it draining out.


    However, the revived knight wasn''t happy with the rate of the progress. The speed of draining the boy''s Pool was far too slow, making him realize that the child was putting up a fierce fight. Now normally, the knight would have been impressed by the effort.


    But he had no time to play a game with a child ¨C there was the urgent matter of these infernal guardian statues trying to kill him.


    The knight narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, intending to knock Kain out and weaken his resistance at once. It was only a single step, but the knight crossed the distance between them as if performing a teleportation. It was incredibly fast, too fast for anyone or anything, including the statues themselves to react.


    Grinning savagely, the knight reached out with his one remaining arm. His fingers were within inches of Kain''s forehead, and a single push would make the two points connect.


    Kain''s entire body quaked in fear as his ch''i-enhanced vision showed the knight''s face no longer resembling a human. It was twisted hideously to show a face of a decaying, corrupted monster.


    He leaned back, trying to keep his head away from the monstrous knight''s touch. Reflexively, he closed his eyes. This somehow made his awareness focus more on that vivid imagery that was burned into his retina, therefore making things even worse. He was about to poop his pants.


    The statues finally recovered from their knocked-down postures and pounced at the knight with an almighty haste. The time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the violently churning air became a hurricane, kicking dust and debris up in the air, black Aeterna whirling along with the tempest.


    The knight''s fingertip was about to touch the boy''s skin. If that happened, he''d die without a doubt.


    Right then in the nick of time, another golden light escaped from Kain''s pants pocket. The light was quite faint, too weak to be noticeable in the intense storm of the violet light.


    But the knight noticed it nevertheless. The vicious, greedy grin on his face instantly turned to a deep frown. Immediately, he backed off.


    However, with a loud rip, Kain''s pocket was torn right open, and the small golden disc shot out and hovered in front of Kain''s dazed gaze. It gleamed in a brilliant hue, unperturbed in the sea of violet, and emitted a shockingly piercing noise that seemed to slice apart all the other sound in the mural chamber.


    Seeing this disc, the knight howled in anger, but rather than pushing forward, he instantly backed up further, as if he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the boy anymore. Even him trying to siphon Kain''s Aeterna Pool stopped right there and then.


    This action gave the statues a wonderful opening, an opportunity they would not miss. They simultaneously launched a several, well-coordinated attacks at the back of the knight.


    The knight''s face flickered grimly, as he waved the only arm remaining and spun around sharply. Half of the attacks missed the mark but the rest landed as intended, and the knight spat out a mouthful of black liquid again. But the vicious grin returned to his lips.


    He grabbed one of the polearms that were gouging his chest currently, and with an enormous exertion of hidden strength, pried the weapon loose from the grips of the statue that held it, breaking the wrists of the bronze giant in the process.


    The giant staggered back, but his face showed no pain, only the inexhaustible determination to destroy.


    With the newly-acquired weapon in hand, the knight went on the offensive. However, he was heavily wounded and lacked enough energy to mount any serious attacks against the bronze statues. After all, these giants were placed here to defeat the revived knight so, in effect, they were designed to be stronger than him at his peak.


    Thus, the one-sided battle commenced right before Kain''s stunned and now confused eyes.


    Stunned, as the battle had progressed to a point where it seemed like the knight could not win no matter what.


    Confused, at the hovering golden disc that could easily repel the knight''s onslaught like it was having a nice, relaxed lunch.


    I don''t know what the hell''s going on here, but boy, I sure am glad that I found that thing, Kain mused to himself, feeling rather relieved for now. Whatever, my current situation hasn''t changed one bit. I gotta get out of here, ASAP. I could die if I get hit by a stray attack from one of those bronze giants!!


    Kain reached out and snatched the floating disc off the air, trying to take it with him. In hindsight, this action might not have been the wisest one to make. But as the popular saying goes, hindsight was a....


    Anyways. The moment his palm covered up the faint golden light emanating from the disc, the knight felt his repressed power surging back up.


    This allowed the knight to swing the polearm with more vigor and strength. Of course, that was still nowhere near enough to defeat the twelve bronze statues but, crucially, that increase gave the knight a moment of breathing room to come up with a plan to escape this prison and break out of here.


    Firstly, it had to deal with that child with the troublesome relic. That relic seemed to possess some sort of remnant will from the past him, well before he was influenced by the seductive qualities of the all-conquering power promised to him by the gods, the Undying.


    Somehow, his remnant will that was placed on the relic had a way to suppress his strength. It had to be destroyed, no matter what. The knight could not recall just when he had commissioned such a thing, but hell, even if he did remember, it would be a useless distraction for him.


    This short amount of breathing space allowed the knight to understand one more important fact: his current self was not complete.


    The knight could tell that the body he possessed right now was missing several vital parts, fragments of his being, his soul. He needed to track down the missing bits and pieces if he wanted to return to the way he was. After making his escape from here, of course.


    With his being whole again, then the knight would commence the one ambition that had eluded him before his downfall and the subsequent, humiliating incarceration.


    That was to ascend to the realms of Godhood, to achieve his own immortality. To become one of the fabled Undying, and to sail beyond the boundaries of the Ten Realms and conquer the new lands.


    The knight wanted to become a god. That was why he chose to become the corrupted being, all in the name of achieving that ambition. And nothing would stand in his way. Nothing.


    The knight swung the polearm in a huge arc, pushing the bronze statues away from him. Using this opening, he then approached Kain once more, his weapon tip firmly trained on the boy''s chest where his heart was.


    Noticing the danger, Kain panicked. He raised his hands up to his face and squeezed the disc hard. At the moment of deadly crisis, the golden disc reacted and it pulsed with the brilliant light once more.


    On top of that, Aeterna still remaining in his Pool also reacted with the disc, snaking out of him and fusing with the light. Before anyone could react, the polearm''s bladed tip had reached the combined light of the disc and Kain''s Aeterna reserve.


    The golden light suddenly morphed into an illusory blade, and clashed with the knight''s weapon, causing a huge, bellowing boom to resonate through the entire chamber and beyond.


    The boom was infused with the black Aeterna as well as Kain''s own, and fierce sparks coming from the two colliding with each other inundated the chamber. Whenever the spark hit something, there would be a total destruction ¨C the floating debris got annihilated to fine dust, the previously-impregnable walls were scarred and scorched, the bronze statues'' bodies got shredded. Even the knight bore the brunt of the backlash, spitting out another mouthful of black blood-like liquid.


    There was now madness in his eyes. He just had to kill this boy and destroy that disc. They were the vain of his existence. The boy and his disc must be utterly destroyed, even if he suffered a grievous wound to his soul!!


    It was at this point when one of those dangerous sparks scythed past Kain''s messy hair and struck the locked door with a bang. The result was that the door was ripped to shreds.


    This also allowed Emma to get a look-in at the chaos happening inside the mural chamber.


    She couldn''t hide her shock at the scene unfolding before her eyes.


    There was a tempest of wind, kicking up dust everywhere. There were giant bronze statues trying to approach the knight, but being repelled by the said tempest. There were countless sparks of Aeterna slicing and pulverizing absolutely everything they came in contact with.


    And in the middle of all that, little master Kain sending all his Aeterna to a gleaming golden disc, which in turn had formed an illusory sword around it, locked in a deadly stand-off against a human knight clad in tattered golden armor, a vicious grin etched on his face.


    The dull, ruby-like gem on her necklace reacted to the pandemonium and glowed in crimson light, surprising Emma even more. However, that surprise only lasted for a millisecond.


    Because she knew instantly what she needed to do here.


    She then took the new, high-tech bow she had acquired in this facility. She had only a quiver of regular arrows, but they were going to be just fine.


    She nocked one arrow on the bow, and pulled back, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration.


    The crimson light then swirled around her and the nocked arrow, forming multiple layers of reinforcements and turning the wooden arrow into a red, crystalline item, emanating a shocking amount of powerful aura.


    ¡°Fly straight.... and true!!¡±


    She whispered softly and let go of the bow string.


    The crimson arrow shot out. It flew, as she hoped for, straight and true towards the knight''s heart.


    The knight tried to react. But his weapon was engaged, and could not be freed. And he lacked one arm to fend off the incoming arrow.


    The knight roared as he tried to increase the density of the tempest caused by the black Aeterna. That was the only remaining defense for him.


    The crimson arrow pierced past the strong gust of wind and walls of black Aeterna and slammed directly into the knight''s chest. In that moment, the violet light in his eyes dimmed. More of that black liquid poured out from his mouth, his open wounds, his every orifice.


    Emma nocked another arrow hastily, and the crimson light from her necklace fused with it once more. She didn''t even hesitate and fired it, this time aimed at the knight''s unprotected forehead.


    The arrow punctured its target splendidly.


    The violet light in his eyes dimmed even more, flickering weakly. The knight stumbled backwards, dropping the polearm to the ground. He screamed in pain as he desperately clawed at the crimson arrow stuck in his chest, then in his head.


    The illusory sword of the golden disc swung down in a wide arc, aiming at the knight''s chest at this critical moment. Kain grimaced as all his strength drained out while performing that single move.


    The sword sliced the knight perfectly in half. The two cut pieces slid off each other and fell on the ground, and almost at the same time, the violent tempest dissipated as if it was a lie all along.


    Kain plopped down on his ass, utterly exhausted to even stand on his two feet.


    ¡°Little master!!¡± Emma cried out as she rushed inside the chamber. She was still mindful of the bronze giants ¨C they could be enemies, for all she knew. But before Kain could say out her name, the knight''s body suddenly let out a terrible shriek and began to dissolve into a mass of a strange jet-black fog.


    From this fog, countless shrieking wraiths emerged, all possessing horrifying shapes. They swirled in the air, dancing and howling like angry ghosts that they were.


    The bronze giants and the golden illusory sword did their best to fight off the wraiths but there were just too many of them. More than a half of them escaped via the open door of the chamber and fled outside.


    Many of theses wraiths flew high until they were out of the planet''s atmosphere, disappearing into the eternal darkness of the outer space, while a small handful stopped in their tracks and instead changed the direction towards the city of Lafayette, where the black creature was.


    ~


    Right at that moment, the Old Man was fighting a fierce close-range combat with the creature.


    Even though he tried to lead the monster away from the city, whenever they moved to a certain distance away from Lafayette, the creature backed up and re-entered the boundaries, making the Old Man''s blood boil like crazy.


    Now, he didn''t care anymore. The quicker he defeated it, the better it was for everyone involved.


    The trouble was, the monster used that violet blade too damn well. An expert of close quarter combat like the Old Man was having a hard time trying to land a decisive blow.


    Another problem was that the monster instantly recovered from all the damage inflicted on it, while the same could not be said for the Old Man.


    No wonder his facial expression was getting darker by the second.


    There were a handful of other techniques he could use to achieve the desired victory but by resorting to them his current illness would flare up, thereby shortening his already weakened lifespan. It was a catch-22 situation, in other words.


    While trying to figure out what he should do, his perceptions picked up approaching Invokers and high-rank Adventurers. Enough time had passed since the initial explosion so their arrival was to be expected. The Old Man just spent too long here, that was all.


    The creature swung the sword at the Old Man''s head in a diagonal direction, and then pulled back the blade before stabbing forward sharply, slicing the air apart as it did so. The Old Man shifted his weight to his side briefly to dodge the first attack, then by utilizing the momentum from the movement, lightly weaved inside the enemy''s blade to launch a counter.


    The creature used its free arm to block the fist and at the same time, slammed down on the exposed back of the Old Man with the hilt.


    Snorting coldly, the Old Man raised his other hand and nimbly redirected the hilt and twisted the wrist that held the sword. If it were a normal person, that wrist would have been broken.


    Instead, the creature smirked as the wrist rotated, the sword swinging back toward the Old Man like a needle of a clock. As it tried to pierce him in this impossible angle, the Old Man unfurled the fist that was held in the creature''s palm and pointed a finger at it.


    The end result was that the creature was blown apart with a powerful burst of ch''i-infused attack.


    The Old Man didn''t stop his movements here. As the creature''s body began to coalesce back together, his eyes were busy searching for the nucleus of this monster.


    In his experience, this types of creatures and monsters usually possessed a core that acted as the central control system, a brain of sorts. By destroying that, the liquid-like substance ¨C or, in this case, dense form of corrupted Aeterna ¨C would scatter and become nothing more than common mud.


    However, to his shock, the Old Man could not see nor sense the core in this creature.


    After realizing this, he quickly withdrew to a distance, his face grim with the slightest hint of disquiet.


    Have I made a mistake?! The Old Man grimaced. Is this creature fundamentally different from what came before?! Just which one of the false gods sent it here?


    The creature''s body reformed perfectly again, its single violet eye staring at the Old Man with a naked hatred and anger causing the Old Man to frown even more.


    Dang it, do I need to go all out? Is there no choice in the matter anymore?!


    (Whew, that was a lot of words!! Probably one of the longest chapter I''ve ever written, like, ever. Thank you for your patience!! I greatly appreciate it.)

 Chapter 38

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">38</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!!)


    (Also, thank you for your kind comments in the last chapter. Means a lot. For this one, I went back to something more simpler. Less hair pulling for me that way!! Lol.)


    The Old Man was stuck at the proverbial crossroad. The longer this fight dragged on, it''d only get tougher for him. His health and stamina would continue to decline, all the while the disgusting, loathsome enemy''s would not, at least from what he gleaned during their exchanges so far.


    With no weakness to speak of, the Old Man, who had fought and defeated stronger opponents in the past, could not see a way out with the current set of abilities he was forced to utilize.


    The creature also had figured out that for some reason, its opponent could not deal a decisive blow that could end this battle. The corners of its mouth curled upwards in a very creepy grin.


    The Old Man clicked his tongue in annoyance and rued the fact that he didn''t have a single reliable weapon on him. In his haste to come here and kill this monster, he chose not to go and reclaim that one sword he had.... recovered years ago. The current whereabout of that weapon was known to him and the distance was near enough to cross in half a day if he ¡°flew¡± with haste.


    What a blunder. I should''ve gotten that first....


    The Old Man shook his head slowly. Regretting over it wouldn''t help his situation now. Better to forget about it, lest it became a mental hindrance as the fight dragged on.


    Plus, he had no time for it anyways. His perception, or in this case, his sharp intuition, was busy telling him that he should not dilly dally anymore here. Because if he did, then an irreversible crisis might fall on him.


    His intuition never let him down so far.


    So, even at the cost of his own vitality, the Old Man forcibly accessed a portion of his stored strength, no longer giving a damn whether his body could take it or not.


    Just as he was about to put that bit to a good use, the monster pounced viciously and swung the violet sword as if trying to cut down the whole world in one go.


    The Old Man swiveled out of the arc and retaliated by aiming at the legs of the monster. However, a weird thing happened, something the monster hadn''t done until now.


    Just before the Old Man''s low kick landed on the monster''s legs, the gooey flesh of the creature split open and separated. And that meant the Old Man''s kick swished past the now-empty air.


    The unexpected miss slightly put him off balance. Not that such a thing would place him in mortal danger, no ¨C but it was an opening the monster used in order to hurt him.


    The arm that held the violet sword twisted to an unnatural angle again and tried to stab him from above. Rather that trying to dodge it like a regular person might, the Old Man simply carried on with the kick''s momentum and spun. The previously low kick then became a rising roundhouse to the side of the torso, all the while the slanting posture of the body caused by the kick ensured the deadly sword would miss its mark.


    The heel caught the shoulder of the creature that held the violet sword with a sharp, loud crack. The recipient of the blow was forced off its feet by the sheer venom hidden in the kick and was flung sideways at a rate of knots, causing sonic booms in its wake.


    However, the creature recovered its posture mid-air and landed on its two feet. Snarling, it opened its toothy mouth and suddenly spat out a violet colored ball of highly condensed Aeterna.


    The Old Man''s face flickered with the realization that this seemingly innocuous ball of energy was actually a miniaturized, focused version of the energy blast the creature used previously to create the crater they were fighting in.


    He could imagine that the power of this attack would be no laughing matter since all of that destructive force was focused into a single spot no bigger than the size of a baseball.


    The violet-colored Aeterna ball trembled for a millisecond before shooting out at an incredible speed towards him.


    Frowning deeply, the Old Man gritted his teeth and was resolved to dodge it, knowing full well that the current him couldn''t block this attack face on and remain unscathed. But then....


    But then, he remembered that if allowed to continue in its trajectory, the energy ball would no doubt slam into an area full of non-combatants. The resulting casualty would be immeasurable.


    ¡°Argh, damn it all to hell.¡±


    Instead of blocking it, he had to parry it. Easier said than done, really.


    Modifying the Soul Defense a tad, the Old Man circulated a fair whack of ch''i over his arms and the upper torso. By the time his body had taken on an ideal angle to deflect the ball of Aeterna, the attack was upon him. All of this took less than a blink of an eye, of course.


    Rather than a clumsy, brute-force punt off the back foot, the Old Man received the ball of Aeterna, then gently let it rise upwards on the angle of his arms which were lined up straight. The ball, still no bigger than a baseball, traveled on the path he laid out and flew into the sky at an oblique angle.


    In a flash, the violet-colored Aeterna ball flew to a height of a very tall mountain and exploded with an almighty boom. The resulting shock waves shook the cityscape below, even proceeding to flatten down the odd, poorly-built buildings here and there.


    Not only that, the sky became dyed in an undulating violet color that looked like it was welcoming the advent of The Biblical Armageddon.


    The Old Man didn''t stand around admiring the pretty colors. No, he was busy moving forward, planning to perform another round of a balletic beatdown on the violet creature.


    With the trembling sky looking like the surface of a violet sea serving as a dramatic backdrop, the Old Man arrived before his target and struck out with one of the techniques he refrained from using until now, fearing that it might worsen his condition.


    His master, bless his soul, used to call it The Unyielding Fist ¨C so called because it was to be used against beings deemed several times stronger than the user. A defiant statement of an unyielding desire to never back down from a challenge, this fist looked very simple at a first glance but the explosion of destructive power and speed behind the move was quite literally, unparalleled in any worlds.


    The ch''i distorted the air around the Old Man as he punched forward, his body leaving behind dozens of afterimages as he covered an incredible distance.


    As his knuckles were about to connect, the Old Man then sent even more ch''i forward to disrupt the creature''s flow of Aeterna. His experience had taught him that the huge internal backlash caused by that was as damaging as his fist itself. So, how could he overlook a chance to inflict double the pain on his enemy?


    The fist connected with a powerful thud. The ground below, and behind the creature caved in, cracking up into hundreds of small and medium sized chunks of debris.


    The creature''s facial expression distorted painfully, before letting out a howl of anguish. Its body briefly disintegrated in an explosive fashion before coalescing back into a single form again. As it solidified, the creature tried to grab hold onto the Old Man''s arm and slash at the same time with its sword.


    ¡°Quite persistent, aren''t you?!¡±


    Snorting coldly, the Old Man then sent forth the second punch. This time, he only pulled back his fist a few inches, before slamming forward like a thunderbolt. This fist also carried a hint of vibration, invisible to all but the man himself.


    This oscillating fist technique was something he came up with after years of battling Aeterna-laden monsters of this world. The harsh vibration was originally meant to disrupt the flow of blood, to damage the nerve endings, and in the cases of martial artists, to destroy their meridians. However, the Old Man also found out that in the right frequency, it could also heavily disrupt the flow of Aeterna and cause big injuries to the Aeterna-dependant creatures of this world.


    Of course, the price for activating this technique was not small for him either in his current condition.


    When this second fist struck the same area as where the first fist had landed, even the air behind the creature shattered, creating a vacuum void of all matter. The previously cracked ground also shattered, the rising dust and debris annihilated by the void and the devastating suction from it.


    The creature''s body shattered once more but this time, the way it did was different compared to before. Previously, it was like as if a gel-like liquid was scattering. But now, it was like a semi-hard plaster breaking apart. This slight difference did not escape the Old Man''s observation, even as a line of black blood streaked down from the corner of his lips.


    ¡°So, now you''re taking a proper damage, eh?¡±


    The Old Man grinned coldly as he wiped the blood off his chin.


    The violet creature quickly stepped back a several dozen paces even as its body reformed. As soon as its head was reconstructed, the Old Man noted that there was a trace of panic in that creepy, single-eyed face. That brought about a good deal of satisfaction in him.


    Might as well, because he was not feeling too good at the moment. His three dan tians were churning unsteadily after he used the oscillating ch''i technique. As expected, using that fist attack inflamed his illness which he had been suppressing until now.


    He estimated that maybe he could use this move five times and no more after that. That was his limit, otherwise his meridians would be too damaged to heal in a time frame he was looking at only with the closed-door meditation and resting. Worse, he could die if unlucky.


    Breathing in deeply, the Old Man slowly took the stance to launch yet another fist attack when he felt a whole bunch of seriously ominous auras oozing from the side. Immediately his face darkened as the realization dawned on him.


    ¡°Idiots!!¡±


    He cursed and hastily fled from the position he was in. Shortly after, the places he was standing on as well as where the violet creature stood recovering, were heavily bombarded with the variety of Invocation spells.


    The rainbow-colored explosions of several Elements were eye-catching, to say the least. Even though the Old Man couldn''t wield Aeterna, he was able to discern the different types of Elements cleverly mixed together to boost the destructive forces of the spells.


    Winds violently whipped, pebbles and stones flew all over the place, and crimson flames burned the world mercilessly, surrounded by the cracking bolts of yellow lightning.


    The Old Man jumped back until about a hundred meters away, coming to an abrupt stop there. He clicked his tongue in annoyance after seeing a few mixture of spells still stubbornly heading his way.


    He had half a mind to beat up those idiotic Invokers for getting involved in this fight. However, conserving his energy was far more important, so begrudgingly he postponed the punishment plan of his.


    As for the incoming spells, he dodged, blocked and blew them away.


    The violet creature too didn''t stand still and allowed itself to be bombarded by the foolhardy mortals. That would be too much of a slap in the face. It had already suffered serious injuries to its functions from the unknown human.


    For some reason, after it had received that second fist attack the creature found it very difficult to gather and wield the surrounding Aeterna to its liking. If it weren''t for the tremendous amount already present within, the creature would have worried a bit that it might not accomplish the sacred mission given to it by its supreme master.


    But the things were looking up. Because the foolish mortals were actually delivering the sources of Aeterna straight to it. If it could not absorb the energy from the atmosphere by itself, then well....


    It looked at the incoming barrage of spells and selected the ones that looked suitable. Among those, there were types he could not absorb due to the difference in the Elemental Affinity, as well as those that could damage it slightly if struck. So, the creature raised its Aeterna shielding up and deflected those that were threats, and for the others, it simply let through the barrier.


    As the welcome influx of Aeterna flowed into its body, the creature grinned in a very sinister fashion. It felt its unstable body solidify greatly, allowing it to gather Aeterna on its own again.


    However, it had made a critical mistake, something it failed to notice.


    The Old Man, while dodging the spells, was carefully observing the creature. And he clearly discerned the Elements it absorbed and those it blocked out by actually spending its own reserves of energy. This told him a few great hints to go with.


    So, you don''t like Lightning, eh? The Old Man didn''t show it outwardly, but he was carefully contemplating his new discovery. Specifically, red colored Lightning ¨C the kind in seen in dry deserts. Combined with Wind Element and of Lightning Element to cause not only electrical damage but to weaken the fleshly body of the spell''s target. Heh, not that I can cast this magic mumbo-jumbo anyways. Still, knowledge is strength, no denying that.


    The Old Man now had an avenue to explore here. Since the straightforward physical attacks were ineffective, he was bound to utilize techniques that were taxing on his body. Like the oscillating fist earlier.


    Since it had avoided Lightning-type spells, the Old Man could potentially use this.


    The truth was, by controlling ch''i cleverly, one could achieve results pretty similar to wielding certain Elemental types of Aeterna. Fire, for instance ¨C all one had to do was to raise the temperature of the surroundings by circulating ch''i. As for Wind, all a martial artist had to do was punch out hard and fast. Job done.


    As for the red-colored Lightning, that was akin to static electricity. Meaning, it needed a bit of friction. And one could get lots of friction by rubbing something non-stop. The oscillating fist could rub non-stop, if the Old Man wanted to. That way, he could ¡°summon¡± Lightning as much as he needed.


    The only trouble with this method was the burden placed on his body. He''d survive in the end, but now that the local Invokers had gotten involved, and they were clearly hostile, trying to get away in the aftermath should be tough if he was grievously injured.


    But the Old Man never suffered a bout of indecisiveness. If anything, one could accuse him of being too decisive. He had already made up his mind on his next course of action.


    So, under the hail of spells causing a bit of dust cover, he dashed forward. His destination? Right in the front of the creature''s face. He just loved seeing the look of bemusement on that thing''s face turn to pain and panic. It was very satisfying, seeing that.


    As he neared, the Old Man hid his left fist behind his back. It was to hide the fact that his fist had begun to emit reddish sparks. He cracked his knuckles a few times as he swiftly made his way closer to the creature, weaving and dodging past the Invocations spells, fully knowing that this attack better land, or else. After all, he was already feeling the pain from trying to oscillate his ch''i.


    The creature belatedly noticed the Old Man approaching, and smirked coldly. It was glad that the foolish human was saving the trouble of closing the distance by himself. Now, all the creature had to do was release all that absorbed Aeterna and form another mighty concentrated energy blast like the last time. And it would be a close-range blast as well, ensuring that the Old Man wouldn''t be able to deflect it.


    At the half way mark between the two of them, a seriously high-level Invocation spell landed with a boom. A flame-based spell that took on the shape of a magnificent mounted knight wielding a huge lance, it roared like a beast and gallantly pounced at the Old Man''s direction.


    He sighed grimly and canceled the Lightning-clad oscillation fist. He could not afford to have it accidentally exposed because of the interference from this spell.


    The flame knight rushed in, thrusting the lance with an incredible outburst of strength. The air around the illusory weapon boiled and hissed as the tip of the lance split into dozens of smaller lances, all of them trying to pierce the Old Man.


    However, The Old Man utilized his forward momentum and slid underneath the thrusts gracefully, and tilted his body at correct times to dodge every single one of the flame lances. He did all this while keeping one eye on the violet creature. And once past the obstruction of flames, he rose up with nary a loss of speed and continued to run toward the creature.


    The flame knight turned around and gave chase, although the Old Man was much faster and thus it was left far behind.


    All of this happened less than a person blinking for a couple of times. Normal people couldn''t even follow the action as it was happening too fast for their untrained eyes.


    In another breath or two, the Old Man was within the striking distance. So, he fired up the oscillation fist again, but then, he saw the violet-colored ball of energy rapidly forming right in front of the creature''s mouth. Naturally, he frowned.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Because of the time constraints, the ball itself was small. But as a trade off, it shot out faster than a .45 Magnum round. Compared to the previous energy attack, this one was much, much faster.


    The Old Man hastily dodged it and the energy ball narrowly flew past his right ear, slicing it and letting a stream of blood to gracefully dance in the air.


    Barely dodging the attack crumbled his posture. He had to balance himself on the ground with the fist behind his back and that greatly weakened the reddish lightning as he made contact with the ground.


    It was too late to cancel his movement now ¨C because he had already linked his dodging and counterattacking instinctively. The oscillating fist, clad in the weakened, reddish electricity, slammed into the side of the creature just as the energy ball collided with the flame knight that was chasing down the Old Man. The humongous and thunderously loud explosion that came from that impact masked the howl of pure agony coming out of the creature''s mouth.


    The fist worked wonders but as expected, at a great cost.


    When the attack connected, the Old Man felt his blood flow reverse from the backlash of the oscillating fist. He felt his arm wither as the violent ch''i ran amok inside his meridians. The result was that he spat out a mouthful of foul-smelling black blood, some of it landing on the creature''s violet skin.


    The moment the blood splashed on the creature''s goo-like surface, it began to melt with a loud hiss. This compounded the amount of pain the creature felt by a hundred fold. This foul-smelling black blood was actually burning away its life essence, which was granted by the supreme being, its master.


    Seeing the horrific scene of its flesh melting off its body, it felt genuine fear for its very existence for the first time in is brief existence.


    To make the matters worse, the melting of its flesh didn''t stop at the areas splashed by the blood. Oh no.


    The violet colored flesh continuously melted away, some turning into a fine mist, dissipating away while the others pooled below into an ever-increasing puddle of gooey mess.


    The Old Man found this new development rather bemusing. He didn''t know whether to laugh or cry at this turn of events. Who knew his illness was this effective in killing the creature? If he had known, then he''d have spat out lots more of his tainted blood well before getting tangled up with this thing.


    Besides the blood melting it, his oscillating fist also showed its effectiveness. The area he had struck had been shattered, but the scattered bits of the body didn''t coalesce back into one piece like before. Instead, each part of the violet flesh was sealed by the cracking red electricity and began to literally burn away.


    Clearly panicking now. The creature willed its flesh to regrow, to reform, to reattach. None of those happened.


    If anything, its desperate actions caused faster depletion of its reserve life force, ironically enough. Frantically, it swung the sword haphazardly, trying to slash at the Old Man and the barrage of spells coming towards it.


    The Old Man nimbly stepped back, wiping the blood off his lips in bitter satisfaction. His left arm was ruined, but he would resuscitate it with meditation and medicines later on. He was just glad the injury was not as serious as he feared.


    As for the creature, it howled in madness, trying desperately to hold on. The melting intensified, so was the burning away of the shattered bits of flesh. The air was filled with the smell of unchecked fire, with the rancid odor of rotted flesh burning away. It was not very pleasant at all, the Old Man mused quietly to himself.


    The Invocation spells ceased raining down as the creature melted and burned into a puddle of violet goo. The rancid odor intensified greatly, making the Old Man to hastily cover his nose.


    Hmph, so it is over....


    The Old Man sighed, feeling slightly relieved. If Kain was here, he''d retort that a flag was raised with that line of thinking, although the Old Man wouldn''t have the foggiest idea what the boy was on about.


    And sure enough, at the tail end of the long, tired sigh, the Old Man sensed a movement within the violet goo.


    A small bit, no bigger than a thumbnail, flew out of the puddle faster than a beam of light. Outwardly, it was not affected by the black blood''s melting nor was it burned by the red electricity.


    The Old Man felt a sliver of the creature''s life force still resonating in that small lump of flesh.


    Cursing inwardly at his carelessness, the Old Man chased after it, disregarding his internal injuries.


    The Invokers on the ground watched dumbfoundedly as they witnessed a human flying in the air. A squadron of Griffon Riders, mobilized to attack the enemies destroying the city, watched with their jaws slack at the sight of a tiny violet flesh shooting past them all, and an old man flying after it.


    And give chase he did, even as more of the black blood oozed out of his lips. He had to finish the damn thing now, or else the creature for a certainty would return later. Even though there was a slim chance that things could be fine if he let it go, in his guts he just knew that a loose end like this was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. He had to snip the fuse now.


    He wasn''t sure how long they had flown, but he certainly recognized the direction they were flying in ¨C toward the Tetamus mountain range. His face darkened considerably at this.


    However, his face darkened even more, when he saw a cloud of shadows rapidly approaching them from up ahead. The clouds appeared so fast and so suddenly, the Old Man was nearly caught off guard. He felt an alarm of deadly crisis go off inside his head like a mad siren. He involuntarily stopped his pursuit and hovered in mid-air, watching.


    And as he watched, he felt a sense of horror creep in. He felt all of his being, both his instincts and his mind, telling him to hide. So, he backed away and flew down to the ground in haste, then he hid in the undergrowth, lulling his presence almost to nothingness.


    Because, right at that moment in the air above, a whole group of shrieking wraiths had pounced on the violet flesh, competing against one another and voraciously consuming it. And as they did so, their semi-transparent bodies became less illusory. Not only that, as soon as the violet flesh was gone, the wraiths began devouring each other.


    As their numbers decreased, the black aura of death increased around the area, suffocating and suppressing all there was. Even the normally-pleasant sunlight was twisted and darkened under the oppressiveness of this aura.


    After a few minutes of frenzied devouring, only a single creature remained. It was black, round, and as big as a VW Golf. It trembled weakly, before setting off on a direction, flying away.


    The Old Man watched, noting that the new monster was no longer headed towards the Tetamus. Plus, he could no longer sense the violet creature''s life force anymore. It was now dead for sure, replaced by a who-knows-what. He had no idea what this situation meant, but as far as he could tell, this monster seemed to lack.... any tangible intelligence. It looked like it operated purely on instincts alone.


    Oh well, if it''s not going to threaten the kid, then whatever. I''m sure the Invokers of this world will take care of that. It''s not as strong as that violet creature anyways.


    Sighing with a relief, the Old Man leaned against a sturdy-looking tree, suddenly feeling too tired to stand straight. His body ached everywhere, the badly withered left arm being the worst culprit.


    His perceptions also told him this area was no good. Not that he''d be in any particular mortal danger, no, but of being constantly annoyed by the passing small fries. Now that would get tiresome real fast.


    I better find a place to meditate and recover, thought the Old Man. He couldn''t move too far in his current condition. He had to find a cover somewhere nearby.


    As he steadied his rough breathing, he felt a small prickle in his consciousness. Someone was trying to contact him telepathically over a great distance.


    Only a handful of beings possessed this ability. And most of them were his allies. Of course, most of those allies were dead now due to old age but never mind that. If someone was trying to contact him this way, then the number of possibilities were quite limited. Counted on one hand, as a matter of fact.


    And when the Old Man allowed the communication to come through, he couldn''t help but break out in welcoming smile as the gruff and nostalgic voice of his friend flooded in.


    ~


    In the meantime, Kain was having a nervous breakdown. Well, almost.


    Partly because the bronze giants were staring daggers at him while he was plopped down on the ground from the exhaustion taking its toll on the small body of his.


    It was the case of ¡°One Thing After Another.¡± At first, it was the sinister golden knight trying to suck him dry. And now, it was the bronze statues eyeballing him for god knows why.


    Only if he could read the facial expressions of the statues. The remaining ones all carried the same type of scary, angry scowl. The kind of grimacing face he saw once in a TV documentary about a famous Japanese Buddhist monastery. More specifically, on the faces of the aged wooden carvings of spiritual guardians allegedly protecting the said monastery.


    At the time, Kain thought they looked scary enough to chase away small children, thus depriving the institution of much-needed donations from the parishioners.


    No wait, can I even call the believers of Buddhism parishioners? Sounds not quite right, somehow. No, wait another damn second here. That''s not really important now, is it?!


    Kain shook the irrelevant thoughts out of his head and took a deep breath. That calmed him down slightly.


    Right. Let''s see. These statues are not moving to kill me.... yet. Does that mean I''m not considered a threat to them? I did kill that... uh, knight after all. Could it be.... are they considering me as an ally?


    Kain slowly stood up, his legs still shaking. His gaze never left the group of the giant statues, watching closely for any hint of movement. If it seemed threatening, then he''d hightail it outta here, pronto. The door was now open, so all he had to was perform the body enhancement spell on his legs and run.


    Oh, that''s right, Emma''s there, blocking the dang doorway....


    Kain belatedly remembered that the green haired Elf was standing on the frame of the mangled doorway, tensely surveying the totally messed up mural chamber with suspicious eyes. She had nocked another arrow and was ready to let it loose at any given moment, but the thing was, she was blocking the only exit, with not a single inclination to move out of the way.


    Oh, for chrissake, move your bum, will you?


    Kain shouted inwardly at the idiotic girl. Of course, she had no way of understanding his sentiments. After all, she was standing there, fearing that any sudden movements from her part might set off these bronze giants in a bad way. She was here to protect the little master, not to get him very much killed by the statues with scary faces.


    After standing up straight, Kain sensed that all of the accumulated ch''i in his body was exhausted. As for his Aeterna Pool, less than 10% remained. A lot of it got sucked out by that golden knight, while more got drained out of him the moment that golden disc activated. Speaking of which....


    Kain''s eyes drifted to the floor between him and where the knight used to be. There the small golden disc laid innocently, as if to taunt all the witnesses present that its deadly, earth-shattering power was actually a product of their imaginations.


    He stood there debating the merits of him trying to grab it. In order to do that, he would have to move a bit forward. That might make the bronze giants turn hostile. So, he had to decide and do it quickly. Was the golden disc that could suck out his Aeterna reserve to produce a massively cool energy sword worth taking the risk?


    Of course, it was. Besides the cool factor, it saved his life. He was getting a bit attached to it. Also, it could become his lucky charm, the proverbial last line of defense against the overwhelming odds.


    The distance between it and him was pretty close. If he took two steps forward and then reached down.... he''d be able to touch it.


    Oh well, that''s that, but what about the exit? Emma''s still there, not moving. Is there a way to alert her to my plans?


    His back was turned towards her. He thought about doing some type of baseball hand signs but the odds were, she might misunderstand and cause more problems instead. Still, he couldn''t think of anything else to do.


    So, he nonchalantly placed his right arm behind his back and began to frantically signal at Emma. Unfortunately, her eyes were fixated on the giant bronze statues and she managed to completely miss all the signs Kain made.


    If this was a comedy, he''d turn his head and make a funny but urgent facial expression trying to get her attention. Too bad the situation didn''t allow for that.


    As the atmosphere became even worse, it was Emma who surprisingly broke the uneasy silence first.


    ¡°Little Master, are you unhurt? What are these things? I sense no life in them, but they are not like any other Golems I''ve ever seen.¡±


    Her voice rang clearly around the chamber, echoing harshly against the background of distant humming noises and small hisses of gas expelling out of somewhere. Thankfully, the giant bronze statues did not react. If they did, Kain would''ve crapped in his pants.


    But since they did not move, Kain felt that maybe it was okay to speak here. He still felt a bit hesitant but decided to take the chance.


    ¡°I''m more or less fine, although a little tired. As for these statues, I think they are meant to guard this chamber. And to kill that knight, or whatever it was.¡±


    Emma nodded slowly after hearing that. ¡°Then, perhaps these giants wouldn''t see us as enemies?¡±


    Kain''s face became a bit apologetic as he explained what happened earlier on. ¡°See, the thing is, when I was trying to open that door, I pressed some buttons that I shouldn''t have and started this whole thing by accident. I think it was me who ended up, uh, reviving that knight dude.¡±


    ¡°So, does that mean they see you as a bad guy, then?¡± Emma''s face hardened a bit as she gripped the bow tighter, ready to take aim at the closest bronze giant.


    ¡°I honestly don''t know. I don''t know what these fellas are waiting for. If they are going to do something, I''d rather they do it sooner rather than later.¡± Kain sighed weakly, his shoulders slumping for a second, before recovering. ¡°Oh yeah. Hey Emma, could you just move out of the way? When the stuff hits the fan, I''d like to make a run for it, but you''re blocking the exit, you know.¡±


    Emma''s response exceeded his expectation, however. She simply replied, ¡°Wait, Little Master. I think.... you should reconsider. Firstly, you should pick up that golden medallion off the ground.¡±


    ¡°Uhm... why?¡±


    ¡°Just a hunch. Try it.¡±


    Kain wanted to scratch the back of his head in utter confusion, not to mention retort out what the hell, a hunch? You want me to die?!


    But like an adult ¨C inwardly ¨C that he was, Kain held back his tongue and glanced at the bronze statues.


    Come to think of it, when I used Aeterna vision on these guys, I picked up on some weird flow from them. I felt the same from the disc when it activated in my palm. Are they all related? Logically speaking, they are found in the same place so the chances of them created for the same purpose is pretty good. But how does that help me?


    Kain hesitated for a bit. He tried to look at the disc on the floor, but it showed no reaction from his Aeterna vision. Right now it looked just like an ordinary piece of metal.


    And when he looked at the bronze giants, the flow of Aeterna around them had stabilized to a point where they might as well be real statues, not a group of fully articulated death machines. Not a sign of movements from them whatsoever. The whole thing was quickly turning rather bizarre, to a Monty Python level of absurdity.


    As a test, Kain coughed lightly as he took a step forward. At the same time, he cast the body enhancement spell on his legs, ready to run at a moment''s notice.


    Again, no movements from the other side.


    Seeing this, Kain felt a bit more confident. He took one more step to make sure, and the statues remained dead still. This emboldened the boy even further, just enough to take another step closer to the fallen disc.


    This was working out pretty well. After all, he did want to take the golden disc with him anyways. The only worry he had was of Emma blocking the exit inadvertently when he was making the getaway. But now, with the statues not looking to attack him, there was no need to run anymore.


    To conserve the remaining Aeterna reserve, Kain canceled the body enhancement spell and bent down to pick up the disc off the floor. Even then, no movements. Not even a squeak.


    It was completely anti-climatic as it could possibly get. To think he was totally psyched for this, it was one big let down. But he wasn''t going to complain about this turn of the events, which was in effect better and safer for him anyway.


    Kain carefully pocketed the disc and glanced at the statues. Their scary faces remained, but for some reason, they didn''t seem so threatening now. If anything, they seemed to make those pained faces of people suffering from constipation instead.


    He slowly stepped back until he reached where Emma was standing. She too began to back away cautiously. The two of them were resolved to run away as soon as their feet touched the ground outside the mural chamber.


    Suddenly, the bronze giants began to move noisily. Rather than give pursuit, they returned to their original positions, surrounding the spot where the sarcophagus used to lay, and like robots switching off, became inactive again, lights going out from their eyes. Kain even heard the whirring noises winding down to a stop.


    Seeing this, he bitterly chuckled. If he knew, then he''d have left already....


    Emma shook her head wryly too, thinking that they were worried for nothing. She then turned to face the boy and began to shoot him with questions after questions. Of course, Kain suggested that they should get out of here first before he satisfies her curiosity.


    ¡°Hey, look. I can see that you''re dying to know but shall we get out of here first? For one, I''m really tired right now. And I''m not 100% sure but I think it''s getting pretty late already.¡±


    Emma begrudgingly agreed, although she was complaining a lot.


    As they approached the exit of the large chamber, the hologram of the Asian woman came back on with a pop. She still had that robotic yet polite smile as she began yapping without any prompts from either of Emma or Kain.


    ¡°The item batch no. DPX-154.73 Version 8.01 in your possession is not permitted to leave the research areas due to the concerns regarding the safety of its operations. Please refrain from exiting the premises until the security personnels arrive.¡±


    Kain raised an eyebrow. Even though the place was clearly wrecked, with barely anything functioning properly, somehow something here scanned him and figured that he was about to abscond with one of its prized tools.


    Of course, he was on high alert thanks to the words ¡°security personnels,¡± although he was quite sure that was, spelling-wise, incorrect. He was scared of confronting another bunch of death-dealing machines like the bronze giants. This time, he got a weird feeling that robots with outer shells resembling the Daleks from a certain British TV show might pop out of the corner next.


    Basically, he was readying himself for just about anything, really.


    ¡°Eh? I can''t leave with this? Really?¡±


    Emma tilted her head in dejection as she held the bow in her hands. There were tears in her eyes now as she hugged the weapon tightly. It was rather plainly obvious that she rather liked the bow''s performance very much.


    Kain glanced at her and at the bow, and couldn''t help but retort in his mind. Nope, I don''t think the hologram AI is unhappy with you because of some plasticky bow.


    After lightly shaking his head, he fished out the small golden disc out of his pocket and held it up under the glare of the overhead light. It sure looked totally innocuous.


    A flicker of determination flashed past in his eyes. There was no way he''d give this thing up. It was a phenomenal treasure, one that could save his life in times of emergency, so no way in hell he''d give it up.


    The hologram''s image wavered and broke up. After a second or two, it blinked into life again, still carrying that robotic smile.


    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. Please have a nice day.¡±


    Both Emma and Kain stood there, at first feeling surprised, and then immediately feeling relieved afterwards. Soon, even that was replaced with bemusement.


    ¡°But of course. It''s been too long. No way anyone in this building is still alive after all these years to stop us from plundering her secrets,¡± chuckled Kain softly. He then turned around to Emma and spoke. ¡°Let''s just get outta here. We can come back later to explore more, right?¡±


    (Well, I was supposed to post this chapter yesterday, but came down with a bout of flu a few days earlier and was personally finding out how tough it was to concentrate while under the influence of a potent cough syrup. Sorry.)


    (And before I knew it, my little story has broke into the mid 600s in RRL''s rankings. Wowsers. It surely feels like not too long ago when it was ranked somewhere in the 1200s... Thank you so much for rating it so favorably. I know I''m being a bit shameless here but if you could, please continue to read & rate my work favorably in the future as well.)


    (Of course, if there''s something wrong, don''t hesitate to point it out. And also, tell your friends to rate my story as well - dunno what kind of benefits there are for a highly-ranked story other than bragging rights, but hey - I''d like to find out for myself. Lol.)

 Chapter 39

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">39</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    (Yes, I changed the above notice just a wee bit. I''ve been using the very same one for the last 38 chapters, so it was about time I mix things up a bit. Lol.)


    ¡°So.... it was true,¡± muttered Lizbeth in shock as she sat down on the comfy couch, her hand absent-mindedly rubbing her gently-swollen belly. The faces of friends and acquaintances flashed past in her mind ¨C the memories of people she cherished rather deeply.


    The news of the destruction of Lafayette was not new to her. Not really. Earlier in the day, when she went to the Andrea L. Pressario School to fetch the children home, one of the noble ladies waiting for her son informed her in a hushed tone, as if to divulge a grave secret between the two intimate friends. Lizbeth''s and her daughter''s reputations meant people were actively trying to get close to them. So on a daily basis, Lizbeth encountered such folks frequently. So much so, she had trouble remembering them all sometimes.


    It''s just that, at the time Lizbeth thought it was nothing more than an idle gossip, a flight of fancy between the bored housewives lacking excitement in their lives. But now that her own teacher, Michelle, confirmed it, there was no doubt anymore.


    Currently, they were in the living room of Michelle''s residence, some time after dinner. Most of the maidservants had gone home with the exception of those lived here. Kaleena and Katrina were studying in their shared room, while the adults were enjoying a cup of finely cultured tea. And yes, Rosy was considered an adult too, as she there quietly sipping her share, her whiskers occasionally twitching.


    Although, now with this rather upsetting and a sudden news, it was pretty hard for everyone present to enjoy the bitter yet relaxing taste any longer.


    Lizbeth patted her belly, a habit that became the norm before she had noticed, and steadied herself. Then, turning to face her teacher, she asked for more information.


    ¡°The collated eyewitness testaments confirms that it was a fierce clash between two Divinity-class beings over the skies of the city. The report I received indicates that the collateral damage is enough to almost completely bankrupt the House of Lafayette. Over two-fifths of the city is now in complete ruins,¡± said Michelle with a long sigh.


    Lizbeth''s eyes twitched at the words ¡°two Divinity-class beings.¡± The mere mention of these mythical creatures in serious conversations would raise quite the amount of ire and ridicule.


    That was actually understandable ¨C in the recorded history of the entire known world, the sightings of a Divinity-class being was rarer than rare, to a point where people thought that it was all made up bollocks to scare small children at bedtime. Or not.


    Only those who fought and studied Fiends for a living ¨C like Invokers ¨C had some generalized idea of what a Divinity-class being was like. The most popular creature that fit this description was an Elder Dragon, an existence that had evolved past being a mere dragon.


    There were also demi-gods as well as The Remnants of the gods but these two were even rarer than an Elder Dragon. Although, rumors stated that there was a land which was an exclusive domain of all dragons, where all sorts of those scaly, gigantic kings of the beasts roamed without a care. It was just a rumor, though, since no one had yet to find it.


    Whatever the case may be, a Divinity ranked being was powerful enough to level mountains, scorch the lands and annihilate armies of a million. Good thing that they were such a rare existence. Otherwise, this world would''ve seen destruction on the unimaginable scale more often than most people would care for.


    But now, two Divinity-class beings were seen fighting each other. The whole spectacle was witnessed by the certified Invokers at the scene. It was no longer at the scale of a fanciful boast from a drunkard trying to impress his buddies down at the local pub.


    Michelle lightly dusted herself off and stretched her arms, yawning out loudly in the process. ¡°Well, I''ll get to see it with my own eyes soon enough. I''ve been asked to head over there on the very first available seat on a Sky Ark tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Teacher? You are going over there?!¡± Lizbeth''s eyes lit up after hearing the unexpected announcement. ¡°Did the SOIR branch in Lafayette fall victim to the destruction as well?¡±


    ¡°No, that''s not it,¡± shaking her head, Michelle scratched the side of her face, her expression slightly uneasy. ¡°On the aftermath of the battlefield, the resident Invokers recovered several small but significant biological samples left behind by both Divinity-class beings. They, the upper brass of SOIR, wishes me to take a look, maybe try analyzing what they''ve got on their hands.¡±


    ¡°That is.... an incredibly good fortune, teacher,¡± said Lizbeth, her eyes now as wide and bright as the pair of full moons in the darkened night sky outside. She couldn''t help but feel very proud of Michelle, whom she thought of as a close family member. Finding the intact samples was an amazing feat without a doubt, but to possess the level of recognition and respect from her peers to be entrusted with the analysis of something so important ¨C now that was irreplaceable prestige. A matter to be truly proud of.


    But Michelle''s facial expression was less than that of a happiness. When Lizbeth looked at her confused, with another sigh Michelle began explaining her situation.


    ¡°I get that understanding the compositions of the samples precedes all else. I really do. But I have my own things to do and promises still left to fulfill. I... I''m not sure whether I should go or not.¡±


    She held the head and massaged her temples. Lines of weariness dyed her face in a shade of pale.


    Over the last few months, she had been trying to work out just who was responsible for the deaths of innocent citizens via malicious, so-called medicines. She could''ve have left everything to the investigative team led by the decrepit Grand Elder Grisham but, she felt compelled to unravel the mystery behind this case. After all, it involved her profession, the honor of all Invokers around the world. Not to mention she had to bear the witness to it all, the grief of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters.


    If a no good son of a mud slinging Goblin dared to tarnish that most exalted of callings, being an Invoker, then she''d flail him, or her for that matter, alive until there was not a drop of blood left.


    Lizbeth too would react poorly against anyone looking to harm the Invokers and all the hard work they do as well, but perhaps not as violently as her teacher might.


    ¡°How far did your own investigation progress? Last time, you had identified over two-thirds of the ingredients used in the toxins. I thought you were getting quite close to identifying the suspects.¡±


    Lizbeth recalled the contents of the last conversation she had with Michelle regarding the disturbance. At the time, Grisham did allow her teacher to take a closer look at the victims'' remains but after she began identifying the ingredients, for some reason Michelle was asked to kindly leave the investigating process to the pros.


    It was all rather very abrupt, to say the least.


    That didn''t stop Michelle from poking her nose in, though. If anything, people telling her to drop it spurred her on even more. Utilizing her long-established contacts and favors, she went snooping around.


    Specifically, who in the corridors of SOIR might have access to certain types of materials required to concoct the toxins.


    Of course, Michelle was no blithering idiot, going around asking anyone she met willy-nilly. Oh no. Rather than that, she did not ask direct questions that could raise suspicions. What she went for was information, or to gain access to the said information. In other words, access to the records.


    SOIR kept a sensibly organized, properly archived records of every research being done by the numerous Invokers residing within its walls. After all, a great deal of money was required to perform any types of research, and keeping tabs on the spending activities of an Invoker was, at the end of the day, a prudent thing to do.


    Indeed, there were hundreds of these researches going on around the entirety of the Empire at any given moment. As a result, the sheer quantity of the records kept was ridiculous. Not possible for a single person to sift through, no matter how much time he or she had.


    But for Michelle, the scope of her search was far narrower to begin with. She knew the Invoker in question had to be an alchemist. She knew the person, or persons, had handled rare medicinal plants that even she struggled to recognize at a single glance. And some of those plants had to be procured via the services of Adventurers. In order to hire external help, that had to go through a certain approval procedure if it involved something harmful or/and dangerous.


    Those who fell under these criteria weren''t too many to begin with ¨C although, having said that, the number still exceeded three figures. So for the past few weeks, Michelle had been carefully going through the records, hidden from the eyes of the investigation team, trying to narrow the suspects even further.


    As for Grisham and his posse, they were doing their own thing. Michelle paid a closer attention earlier on in the investigation but as there was a constraint with time, she lost track. Now, she had no idea how far they had come. Or how stuck they were.


    Anyways, the not-so-shortlist of names she compiled contained some bigwigs of SOIR''s organizations. Serious big hitters, who had nothing to gain from the fall of the Society, both politically and financially. Still, humans'' hearts marched to their own strange drum beats, so Michelle never discounted anyone off her list. Not yet.


    There was also the matter of motive that needed figuring out as well, but for now, she''d identify the culprit or culprits first, and then move on to solving that topic afterwards.


    Michelle nodded and responded sourly at Lizbeth''s query. ¡°Mmm. It was going rather well. There were a few likely suspects I was interested in, and fit the profile I''ve constructed but with this request from up above, looks like I have to hold it for a while.¡±


    She then crossed her arms and chewed on her lower lip for a second or two, deliberating. Lizbeth saw this and carefully spoke to her teacher.


    ¡°Teacher, I know that this investigation is important, but the samples of the two Divinity-class beings are just as important as well, if more so. Why don''t you go on ahead and oversee the process? Or.... couldn''t they transport the samples over here via a Sky Ark? Surely, the facilities here in the Academy would far exceed those in Lafayette.¡±


    ¡°I asked the very same thing,¡± replied Michelle. ¡°The Invokers on site couldn''t tell whether it''s alright to move the samples long distance. They want me down there to ascertain that, too. If it''s safe to transport, I accompany it back here. If not, then I need to buckle down over there.¡±


    Two stayed silent for a period of time before Michelle finally sighed and stood up. ¡°Oh, well. Guess I.... sigh. I will go and pack up. Should I get a big luggage or a small one?¡±


    ¡°Well, you could use a medium one,¡± joked Lizbeth, her voice gentle.


    Chuckling, Michelle stretched her arms and yawned loudly again. After her opened mouth closed, she waved her hand as she began walking out of the living room. ¡°Yeah, well. I''m going to turn in for the night. Get a good sleep yourself, Lizzie. Right now you have another life to look after. Fatigue is the last thing anyone needs, especially in your condition.¡±


    Lizbeth smiled and rested her hands over the belly. ¡°Do not worry, teacher. The pregnancy is progressing well. I should know. As my husband might say, this isn''t my first ''Sacred Acre exploration,'' you know.¡±


    Mentioning Damien briefly stiffened her expression. But it returned soon after that.


    Lizbeth had been in touch with him recently. She was adamant that he needed to see to his family first. Not the ones up North, but the ones right here, but he said there were some men that needed his careful attention. He said that things were going well and could not vacate his position just yet.


    She wasn''t happy about this, but shouting at him over a borrowed communication crystal linkage was a waste of energy so she simply had reminded him of his priorities. Vengeance was important, but protecting the loved ones was much more so.


    ¡°If I leave and stay there for a while, watching over the kids might get tougher,¡± said Michelle as she leaned against the living room door frame. ¡°Perhaps, I could call for a favor? There''s someone who''d be perfect for the job.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded. ¡°If it''s someone you trust, it should be fine, teacher. Good night.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    After Michelle left, the pair of Rosy and Lizbeth sat there, conversing about this and that. Nothing in particular was important enough to discuss in detail ¨C the happenings around the neighborhood, in the school, around the house, in the local markets. It was all quite mundane and comfortable.


    Lizbeth hoped that it''d remain that way as long as humanly possible.


    ~


    In the following morning, Lizbeth and Michelle learned that the number of commercially available flight to Lafayette became extremely limited. Besides the area being declared a disaster area, the Emperor also saw fit to declare a temporary state of emergency on the province of Thousand Heavenly Mountains, where the city was located at. Quite a fitting name for a land filled with many majestic mountain ranges, including the likes of Tetamus as well as many others similar in size.


    Not many in the capital knew about the Emperor''s orders initially, but what with the travel restrictions put in place, it was only a matter of time before rumors spread around like a wildfire.


    For now, there were no flights available for those not approved by the army bureaucrats. No exceptions even for a highly-respected member of SOIR. But to a person like Michelle, such a thing was not an obstacle too difficult to overcome.


    Since the Imperial Military was sending out Sky Arks filled to the brim with emergency rations and supplies ¨C appropriated with utmost haste from the aviation company in charge ¨C all she had to do was speak to her old acquaintance within it. This person also happened to be that ¡°someone¡± Michelle had mentioned the night before.


    ¡°How do you do, Lady Lizbeth? It''s my pleasure and honor to meet you like this. I am Count Martinus Beaufoy Trentham the Fourth. Please, allow me to say that I''ve been looking forward to this day for a very long time.¡±


    A devastatingly handsome young man bowed respectfully at Lizbeth. He exuded a confident aura of an ages-old aristocrat, with a cultured facial hair, swept back light brown hair, gentle and warm blue eyes and a dashing perma-smile seemingly forever etched on his face.


    Lizbeth came to the grand estate of the House of Trentham, located Northward of the Capital, accompanied by Rosy and her teacher, Michelle. This place wasn''t the ancestral home of the Count''s family, but merely a small residence for him to rest and stay while conducting business in the city. Their territory was reasonably close, though.


    Count Martinus slowly but suavely took Lizbeth''s hand and kissed the back. At this gesture, she couldn''t help but look at her teacher with weird eyes, wanting to question her who is this man?! Where have you been hiding him, teacher Michelle??


    Obviously, Lizbeth didn''t want to jump to hasty conclusions, but the reverence in the eyes of this handsome young man was rather too bright to not notice. And that shine was directed at much older Michelle and herself.


    Although it''d be rude to say so, the Count was probably barely old enough to grow a mustache naturally, even if he was giving it a good go of it.


    As for Michelle, she was clearing her throat with a light cough, slightly embarrassed. Kissing the hand of a lady was not a violation of common etiquette, but depending on the occasion it was indeed seen as a bit excessive. Right now was just such an occasion.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Still, the young Count''s eyes shone brilliantly and earnestly. Lizbeth couldn''t really bring herself to correct him and cause embarrassment like that. Also, there was his station to consider ¨C as a Count, he was way above her proverbial pay-grade.


    Cordially, Lizbeth returned the greeting with a smile and a smart curtsy. ¡°Thank you for your generous words, my lord.¡±


    Seeing her smile, Martinus beamed, his face lighting up even more. He proceeded to squeeze Lizbeth''s hand, not out of malice or any other unsavory emotions, but with a heart full of admiration and enthusiasm.


    ¡°No, not at all, Lady Lizbeth. This is truly my great happiness to receive honored guests such as yourself. Your past exploits as a Gold-ranked Adventurer are legendary. I''ve heard and studied a lot of it. That is how I was able to make an acquaintance with Master Banovsky. I''ve been requesting Master for an audience with you and Baron Lomax for ages but only today do I get to speak to you like this.¡±


    Lizbeth''s weird expression became deeper. ¡°I beg your pardon, but may I hear of exactly what exploits?¡±


    Martinus''s face was full of excitement as he began recounting all the amazing adventures she and Damien allegedly enjoyed in the past.


    ¡°The very first tale I''ve heard was of the battle involving hundreds of Adventurers of various ranks and that of Fiends numbering the thousands. The battle lasted for the duration of one whole week before the Imperial regiments came in as the reinforcement, finally routing the enemy''s position comprehensibly. In this fierce battle, you have saved the lives of over half the combatants with your stunning healer''s touch!!¡±


    Lizbeth tilted her head, confused. It took a moment or two before she placed this tall tale to an actual event in the past. There indeed was a skirmish between a band of Adventurers and a small group of lost Goblins. Normally, such an encounter wouldn''t have been a problem as the number of Adventurers at the time easily exceeded that of Fiends but the funny thing was, there was a stomach bug going around at the time and more than a few fell victim to it. The actual villain of the story was a doe that the Adventurers had successfully hunted the night before, cooked on a middling fire and consumed in great joy.


    She was still an apprentice in need of an employment at the time, and only tagged along because Michelle said the experience would do a world of good for her. Nothing so grand about thousands of Fiends and Imperial reinforcements routing the positions and whatnots. What was plentiful, though, was the pained and no doubt embarrassed cries of grown-up adults seeking some privacy to relieve their bowels.


    Lizbeth winced a little after recalling that rather traumatic event.


    Martinus didn''t stop at that one. ¡°And then there was the heroic tale of conquering the fatal Sacred Acre in order to save your beloved. My personal favorite, though, is the one where you stood up against the corrupt local governor and brought justice to an impoverished community!!¡±


    On and on, young Count Martinus Beaufoy Trentham continued with the descriptions of Lizbeth''s past exploits that not even herself knew about.


    The end result was that her face began to cramp up uncomfortably. More memories flooded in, clearing the cobwebs from her mind and the events described in his tall tales coming back one by one. None of them was as grand and thrilling as Martinus was making them out to be.


    Lizbeth took a long, hard look at Michelle, silently demanding an explanation. This was the first time she heard of such a preposterous nonsense regarding her life. Not even a drunk, third-rate bard couldn''t have dreamed up such impossible stories like the ones this earnest young man was believing in.


    Michelle gave her a deep shrug of her shoulders and shook her head. Her eyes were saying, Oh, hey. Just roll with it. Too late fix all the misunderstandings now, Lizzie.


    Gritting her teeth, Lizbeth did her best to fix a pleasant smile and calmly replied. Well, at least she tried to, anyway. ¡°My lord, most of those stories have been greatly embellished. Please do not pay much mind to them.¡±


    Laughing heartily, which didn''t fit his young and handsome face, Martinus shook his head. ¡°Not at all. I do understand that the reality is somewhat more mundane than it is. But having witnessed your conviction and strength first-hand, I believe that those tales contain a large slice of truth in them. The crux of the matter is that you''ve performed many meritorious services to the Empire and to humanity in general, eschewing your humble beginnings and therefore becoming an inspiration to the younger generations.¡±


    Lizbeth was surprised, but soon after, felt rather relieved to hear that the young man was not a blinded idealist, easily swayed by simple, enticing tales whispered by a passing stranger. Which was good, if she were to ask for his help in protecting her children during their stay here in the Capital.


    ¡°Master Banovsky, as requested, I''ve arranged a safe passage for you on the Lafayette-bound Sky Ark. The departure is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Please prepare accordingly as well. As for you, Lady Lizbeth, I shall dispatch a suitable batch of men to discreetly monitor your surroundings. Hopefully, that satisfies your current needs.¡±


    Martinus smiled warmly. But there was a hint of anger flickering past his eyes as he spoke the next line. ¡°How dare they target your children like that in the open? When my men apprehend them, I shall make sure they pay dearly. I swear it.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded softly. She could tell that he was serious about this commitment, which was another good news. And judging by the estate belonging to his family, she figured that the influence wielded by Martinus was not inconsiderable as well. The protection offered by him would be better than good.


    After exchanging more pleasantries, a pair of well-built men entered the audience chamber they were conversing in and informed that the batch of men was ready to accompany Lizbeth, Rosy and Michelle back to the trio''s residence. With that settled, they parted ways there.


    On the way back, Lizbeth inquired as to why they haven''t sought out the aid of the young Count until now.


    ¡°Because, quite frankly, I didn''t want to owe that guy,¡± sighed Michelle.


    ¡°What do you mean? I thought he owed you a favor instead. Was it not?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. Not at all like that,¡± hurriedly, Michelle denied it. She then grumbled lowly to herself and shook her head. ¡°Please, Lizzie. Don''t ask anymore. It''s already embarrassing as it is. Please drop it. For my sake.¡±


    For some reason, Michelle''s face was dyed in the shade of crimson. Seeing this expression, Lizbeth felt incredulous. Blinking for a few times, she made sure she wasn''t hallucinating things out of the thin air.


    But no ¨C the slightly bashful expression remained on her teacher''s face. Finally, it was Lizbeth''s turn to carry a complex expression on her own. Rosy looked at the two women, herself confused at the suddenness of this awkward atmosphere.


    Rosy was this close to saying something, but then she saw Lizbeth giving her a glance, her eyes urging the young Pantherikin girl from uttering out things aloud that could create an even more uncomfortable situation.


    So that was that.


    ~


    The following morning, Lizbeth saw to her kids safely entering the school. Then, she accompanied Michelle to the Sky Ark station to see her off.


    Michelle was excited. It was clearly showing on her face. Only a couple of days ago she was reluctant to take the trip but now, she was raring to go.


    Lizbeth thought that was just like her teacher in the old days. Never dwelling too long on the past indecisions, always looking forward to the next adventure or whatever journey awaiting for her.


    ¡°Take care of yourself when you get there,¡± cautioned Lizbeth gently as she nodded at her teacher.


    ¡°Mmm. I shall. No, hang on, why do you sound like my mother all of a sudden?!¡± Chuckling, Michelle shook her head. ¡°Am I that unreliable in your eyes? Oh, Lizzie. Your words of concern are like the edges of a sharp knife. Anyways, I should say the same to you as well. Even with Count Trentham''s aid, keep your wits about you, alright?¡±


    And with that, Michelle, carrying her medium-sized bag of holding, entered beyond the entrance of the station, disappearing among the throngs of military hardmen busily rushing over here and there.


    With Rosy''s urging, the two returned to the carriage with its canvas roof tilted back to let in the Autumn sunlight, and headed back home.


    The ride was as uneventful as it got. Lizbeth glanced at the driver of the carriage, an agent dispatched by the Count, and tried to study him. The man was definitely a soldier. Maybe even a mercenary. Well-muscled, with an air of sharpness about him. A pair of calloused and worn hands indicated that he saw enough action in his lifetime. While driving the carriage nonchalantly, he was remaining wary of the surroundings, his eyes always flitting and searching, scanning, observing.


    Seeing a man like this next to her, she did feel a bit more relaxed than before. Being so high-strung almost all of the time was certainly not good for the baby developing inside of her. With several layers of extra protection, now there was some breathing room for her.


    Damien did say the men involved in Kain''s demise was a well-connected bunch, but she was pretty sure of their reluctance to tangle with a Count''s men so openly and in the process buy the enmity of a powerful figure.


    However, she couldn''t really shake the feeling of this uneasiness. All this time, barring the incident at Kaleena''s school, there hadn''t been any attempt at her kids'' lives. Not even once. It was as if the culprits had given up. Or were they biding their time? Lizbeth couldn''t tell. That''s what made her so uneasy about these peaceful days.


    As for Damien....


    She sighed deeply, thinking about her faraway husband with the misplaced priorities.


    Did he lose himself chasing after the shadows? Is he feeling as anxious as I am? Just what is that man thinking now?


    She slowly massaged her belly, looking distant. It''d be still a few months until the arrival of the joyous day. She''d have to make sure there were no dangers around by then.


    By the time the two of them returned to the Banovsky residence within the Academy''s grounds, there was an unexpected person waiting for them inside the house, sitting on the couch in the living room, sipping on the cup of tea as if he was the owner of the house, all comfy and the like.


    Even before Lizbeth and Rosy could take action, the man apologized profusely and introduced himself.


    ¡°How do you do, Lady Lizbeth. It''s our first meeting so you may not know of me. My name is Agent Marcus Dawson of the Special Bureau. It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, even at this late stage. Do forgive me for this unexpected intrusion.¡±


    ~


    Meawhile, Damien was walking towards the workshop of Ged the blacksmith by the outskirts of the city of Marlborough. His reason was simple enough ¨C to perform maintenance on the mechanical prosthetic arm. And also, to see if that guy was working hard now, trying to reform his formerly wicked ways.


    As he walked up the muddied road, white breaths escaped from his mouth. The air was now quite cold, but not yet freezing. Still, there were hints of snow in the shapes of slits fleeting about in the air. He knew that at the rate of the temperatures dropping every passing day, this upcoming Winter would be a harsh one indeed.


    Pulling the coat over his collar a bit closer, he hurried his steps.


    As he neared the blacksmith''s workshop, the metallic sound of a hammer hitting hard anvil surface echoed relentlessly. Damien knocked on the door and waited until a little girl of around ten opened it and looked at him inquisitively.


    ¡°Hey there, Gemma.¡± Damien greeted the girl and peeked around her. ¡°Is your grandpa in? Can I speak to him?¡±


    ¡°He''s in, but too busy. Busy fixing stuff Uncle broke while training.¡±


    Damien chuckled. ¡°Oh, is that right? Poor guy. Well, he did want me to track your uncle down and set him on a straight path, so all the hardship that follows are on him. Anyways, can you tell your grandpa Damien''s here for the arm''s maintenance?¡±


    Gemma nodded then ducked behind the door. Shortly thereafter, Ged emerged, his face dirtied with soot and grime. He motioned Damien to enter after perusing for a bit.


    The former bandit-for-hire, now an apprentice working under Ged, looked up at Damien and shuddered with fear after recognizing him. Damien, for his part, waved his hand at the shivering man with a refreshing smile.


    Damien then proceeded to remove the prosthetic arm. The process itself was quite quick ¨C all he had to was disengage his own Aeterna flow from the mechanisms hidden within the arm.


    Of course, as simple as it was, for someone who couldn''t wield Aeterna at all, it took a lot of practice to get it going. Since it didn''t take too much talent to control the minute amount of Aeterna, Damien got the hang of it soon enough and now, he could use this arm like as if he was born with it. His combat prowess had increased several folds, too. Always a good thing, that ¨C any boost in strength was appreciated, no matter how small.


    Ged took a close gander at the arm, its joints, the state of the armor plating, and the mechanisms inside. After a short while, he went to work, brushing the former bandit-for-hire away from the messy worktable.


    And as he began hammering and tinkering, Damien tried to engage in a conversation with the former bandit as he had nothing much to do anyways.


    ¡°Hey, man. You doing alright?¡± asked Damien casually.


    ¡°Uhm, ye... yeah, it''s kinda alright, I, uh, guess.¡±


    The bandit stuttered, sweating heavily. He was backing away a little, but Damien reached out and grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled the terrified man closer.


    ¡°Hey, has your injuries heal yet? I mean, I did go a little overboard with you back then. I apologize for that. See the thing was.... I was actually in a bit of hurry at the time, you know. You understand, right? We cool?¡±


    ¡°Yea, yeah. We cool. No problems, man.¡±


    Patting the back of the man Damien grinned. ¡°Good to hear. Oh yeah, sorry but, I seemed to forget your name again. Uh, it was Jon, wasn''t it?¡±


    The former bandit nodded nervously. ¡°Uhm, yeah, it''s not important. Don''t, ah, don''t worry about it.¡±


    The former bandit-for-hire Ged wanted Damien to locate was actually his wayward nephew. Not a real blood relation, no, but someone the old blacksmith happened to look after in this little hamlet.


    After he grew some hair on his man-sack, Jon thought it was a swell idea to become a bandit and earn coin that way, figuring that blacksmith work was too harsh a life for someone as talented and dapper as he was.


    Damien set him on a straight path, as he claimed before, so all was well now.


    As Ged''s hands busily moved about, suddenly Jon remembered something and spoke. ¡°Ah, that''s right. Uh, Sir Damien, there was a man who came here a few weeks ago looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Who was it? And why are telling me this now?!¡±


    Damien loudly smacked Jon on his shoulder, making the former bandit grimace in pain.


    ¡°Well, that''s because, uh.... because, sir, you haven''t come here to sort out your equipment for a while.¡± Jon rubbed his sore shoulder and was about to speak testily, but after receiving Damien''s narrow and piercing gaze, he changed his tone to a more respectful one right away.


    ¡°So, who was it? Why didn''t you send me a message? Huh?¡±


    ¡°Uh... sir, I did go to see you at the inn you were staying in. But I was told you were away on a mission.¡±


    Damien raised an eyebrow. If this timeline was right, this must''ve been right after he got the prosthetic arm and went off to check up on the borders up North. That round trip did take three weeks of harsh mountain trekking, so it was understandable he couldn''t be reached.


    ¡°Alright, fine. You still haven''t told me who it was.¡±


    When Damien leaned over Jon like a bully, the former bandit sweated even more and raised his hands defensively. ¡°He didn''t tell me his name, other than saying that the two of you recovered an Aerinite or whatever together. He left me a letter.... Wonder where I left that thing.¡±


    Hearing this, Damien''s face darkened.


    Jonas Bremble, is it? So, he''s still around? And why the hell is he looking for me?


    Damien felt rather uneasy at this unexpected news. He had half forgotten about encountering Jonas in front of that gin joint until now since he had too much on his plate at the moment. And to be perfectly honest, he didn''t want to get involved in whatever craziness that snooty Capital-bred noble got himself into.


    ¡°You know what, Jon? If you can''t remember where you stored that letter, it''s fine. Forget about it.¡±


    Damien waved his hand dismissively.


    ¡°Uhm, you sure, sir? It could be important. I mean, that man looked very desperate, you see. He wanted my absolute word that you get the letter no matter what.¡±


    ¡°And you don''t even know where it is now. So, I''m telling you, it''s cool. Don''t. Worry. About. It.¡±


    ¡°I know where the letter is.¡± Gemma unhelpfully pipped in, her eyes shining in curiosity. ¡°That dirty man, I remember too. Uncle Jon, he said it was a matter of life and death, didn''t he? He said the whole Empire might collapse if the letter couldn''t reach Mister Damien''s hands.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that he did, but don''t you believe everything a crackpot tells you, little Gem.¡± Jon shook his head lightly. ¡°If I get a single small Bronze coin every time a fool utters the words ''life and death'' I''d be a gazillionaire by now.¡±


    Puffing her cheeks, Gemma bounced up and down on her feet. ¡°But, but!! That man was serious, you know. Really serious. He wasn''t joking at all!!¡±


    Ged then turned around from the workbench and approached his noisy granddaughter, smacking her on top of her head. Then towards the teary gazes of the girl who was crouched down while holding her aching head, the old master blacksmith motioned her to keep quiet. After that, he returned to the work he was doing before he got interrupted.


    Somewhat bemused at the scene, Damien chuckled and decided to humor this little girl. After all, she got smacked because of her desire to fulfill the promise her uncle made with Jonas Bremble, a complete stranger.


    ¡°Alright, Gemma. Let''s take a look at this Empire-shattering letter, shall we?¡±

 Chapter 40

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">40</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    ¡°What happened to all the maidservants?¡±


    Lizbeth kept a level voice as she asked Dawson. Rosy behind her was crouching slightly, ready to pounce. Their eyes were sharp, exuding a cold aura that was chilly enough to rival a Winter snowstorm.


    ¡°They are safe. Sleeping soundly and none the wiser. I did that in case they become unwanted intrusions, my lady.¡± Dawson replied unhurriedly. Then, gesturing towards the couch on the opposite side, he smiled and spoke. ¡°Please, let us have a seat and chat like the civilized people that we are for a while, shall we? I assure you, I am a friend, not an enemy.¡±


    Lizbeth silently observed the man in front of her. Having only heard a cursory description of Dawson, she wasn''t sure if he was indeed who he claimed to be. For one, he had a hideous scar running from the top of his bald head down to the right side of his face. The scar disfigured his lips and the cheek quite badly ¨C not to mention that his right eye seemed to be blinded as well.


    He wore a large black robe that hid most of his figure, so she couldn''t tell whether the damage extended toward the rest of his body. What was surprising to her, though, was that this man obviously suffered such a grievous injury yet had not gone about removing the visible reminders off his body. With Invocations, something like removing a permanent scar was a possible, if costly, procedure.


    Tracing the gaze of the woman, Dawson slowly touched his own face, then chuckled wryly. ¡°Oh, these? Well, these were not-so-friendly parting gifts our mutual acquaintances left behind, just for me. And yes, I''m itching to return the favor as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°If you''re an Agent from the Bureau, do you have identification medallion on you? And do know this ¨C I can sense forgeries immediately, so it''ll be of no use.¡±


    Lizbeth readied herself from any sudden movements from the unwanted guest. Dawson looked at the both woman with a slightly bemused expression before sliding his hand under the robe. The women tensed up but relaxed a little when all he produced was a small wooden medallion the size of a child''s palm.


    He held it up high so both Rosy and Lizbeth could see the emblem etched on it clearly. A winged shieldmaiden wielding a spear, but now with a blindfold on her face ¨C the symbol of the Special Bureau. Dawson then injected a sliver of his Aeterna, causing the emblem to come to life.


    The shieldmaiden shifted her stance and slowly thrust forward the spear, causing a gentle whoosh. Then Dawson''s name, written with multiple golden wisps of energy, drifted out gently from the wooden medallion before fading away.


    ¡°Satisfied?¡±


    Dawson chuckled as he stirred the contents of the teacup with his other hand. His mannerism was of someone enjoying a relaxing Sunday lunch. He acted as if there was no reason at all to even bother looking up at the two glaring women before him.


    Rosy glanced over at Lizbeth, asking her with eyes silently for a confirmation of the medallion. Lizbeth nodded and whispered. ¡°It''s real.¡±


    Rosy then shifted her gaze outside. ¡°I''ll go around the residence, just to make sure.¡±


    ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Lizbeth nodded and focused all her attention on the stranger. She dared not sit down and stood still, ready to react to whatever this man might try his hands at. She acutely felt the extra weight on her tummy, making it difficult for her to move as swiftly as she''d like to. But since this wasn''t her first pregnancy, she knew already what to expect from her own body, agility-wise.


    Dawson smiled bitterly at the sight of a tense but beautiful pregnant woman before him. ¡°There is no need to act that way, Lady Lizbeth. Again, I assure you, I am a friend. Perhaps, only one you can place your absolute trust in at the moment.¡±


    ¡°That is an interesting position to take, Agent Dawson,¡± Lizbeth retorted coldly. ¡°And why should I place my trust in you, sir? As far as I can see, you have intruded on a private property without permission. Is that not a punishable offense under the laws of this Empire?¡±


    Dawson chuckled a bit and lightly shrugged his shoulders, before lifting the teacup to take a refined sip. After mulling the taste for a while, he sighed and placed the cup down, his face now quite serious.


    ¡°Well, you do have a point there, my lady. However, please ¨C I have been on the road for a long while and could not defeat the temptation of a fine cup of tea. Thus, I broke in, fully knowing I''ve committed an offense to you.¡±


    ¡°Since you know, please leave. Right now.¡±


    ¡°I shall. But there are.... matters I must inform you of before my departure. Matters regarding your son''s death. And the men behind it. Their motivations, their end goals, their memberships.... So many urgent yet difficult matters to discuss.¡±


    Lizbeth''s face hardened. She clenched her fist tightly and glared at Dawson, before recalling the conversation she had with Damien many months ago.


    ¡°My husband and you made a deal, did you not? You would track down a group of men in Lafayette who were trying to act out against the House of Baron Lomax. And in return, Baron would assist with your investigation. But before reporting on your progress, you vanished from this world. And now you''re here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, now I''m here,¡± Dawson nodded. ¡°I did vanish, as you''ve put it succinctly. But that was not my intention. Rather, the circumstances forced me into hiding. Your enemies had become mine as well, so it couldn''t be helped.¡±


    At this time, Rosy returned to the living room after going through Michelle''s residence once. ¡°Other maids are fine. No one else is here, except him,¡± said Rosy.


    ¡°See, as I said, no need to be so tense. Well then, shall we speak freely now? Oh, and the young missy, thank you for not alerting the Count''s men outside. If you did, it would have been a bit troublesome. For me, that is.¡±


    Dawson smiled affably but his eyes weren''t laughing. If anything, they were dead-still like a frozen lake. However, Rosy and Lizbeth didn''t sense any hostilities from him, which meant they weren''t 100% sure of how to act from this point onward.


    Seeing them remaining vigilant, Dawson sighed. ¡°Oh well, I guess the situation is too strange and unexpected to be resolved with mere words. Very well. I shall speak my piece and then let you ladies decide afterwards.¡±


    With that Dawson fished around inside his robe until he pulled out a dagger. Rosy stiffened in alarm, but Lizbeth recognized the article almost immediately.


    After all, it was the same dagger the would-be assassin of Kaleena wielded all those nights ago.


    ¡°This dagger isn''t the one from the assassin,¡± said Dawson. ¡°It''s from a man named Alistair Patrona Warburton. He was one of the men I was pursuing back in Lafayette. After apprehending and questioning him and one of his accomplices for a short while, I was able to pry out some useful information.¡±


    Lizbeth narrowed her eyes. ¡°Alistair.... Warburton? That name is.... familiar. But.... from where?¡±


    ¡°It should be familiar to you. Because he is a member of the Western Reaches Knight Division. He had piled up various achievements in the past, so he is well known in the sociable circles. And let''s not forget, he has Sir Derrick and your village under his thrall.¡±


    Lizbeth''s mind shook faintly before it stabilized again. ¡°Wait. Sir Derrick is working as a proxy to my husband. How can he be... under this person''s influence? If you''re about to slander him, then I shall not tolerate it.¡±


    ¡°Forgive me, my lady. I didn''t mean to insinuate anything untoward Sir Derrick''s loyalty nor at his capabilities. However.... that is the current situation in Riverfield. Alistair is, outwardly, an outstanding citizen of the Empire. He has many achievements, recognition, fame and fortune. It is all too easy to mistake his public persona as his real self. Privately he''s a fairly high-ranking member of a secret organization called The Children of The Amber.¡±


    Lizbeth''s complexion went yet another change upon hearing the words The Children.


    Damien said that the men responsible for her son''s death were members of a shady group called The Children, half of a name the information broker Mikael could uncover.


    Lizbeth frowned, realizing that the name Dawson mentioned just now could not be a mere coincidence. Of course, it didn''t mean that she was ready to trust everything this man said to her. Not even close.


    Dawson slowly fingered the hilt of the dagger, his eyes cold and still. ¡°I haven''t uncovered the reason for their existence, nor have I track down the financial and political backers of the bastards. But one thing''s for sure.... the group is targeting you. Or, more specifically, your children.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lizbeth questioned, her anger suddenly shooting up through the roof. ¡°What could mere children do? What kind of threat could they possibly pose?¡±


    ¡°I''m not fully sure, but it apparently has something to do with the mingling of bloodlines. Yours and your husband''s,¡± replied Dawson. He stopped playing with the dagger and put it away. ¡°Never mind the Lomax blood, I''ve been looking into your own household, Lady Lizbeth. I found that one of your ancestors was a famed Shieldmaiden of the Empire, Valeria of Hundred Battlefields.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so? She was an ancestor, among many. That was hundreds of years ago. How does that matter?¡±


    Dawson shook his head. ¡°I''m not an expert on genealogy. Even I don''t have a perfect answer. However, it''s possible that the intersection of respective bloodlines of Lomax, one of the Founding Fathers of the Empire, and that of Valeria''s is the cause of the abnormalities your children have exhibited so far.¡±


    Lizbeth''s frown deepened. She was getting more than unsettled now. ¡°If you''re referring to Kaleena, fine. Yes, she''s a prodigy. However, Kain was a normal child.¡±


    Seeing this, Dawson tilted his head a little to look her in the eye. Then realizing that she had no idea, he began to chuckle.


    ¡°My lady, your boy Kain was a monster. Maybe even more so than Kaleena is. His Aeterna Pool vastly exceeded that of Kaleena''s and yours put together. And this was when he was barely a five-year-old child.¡±


    Lizbeth stood there, stunned. Her mind reeled at this revelation all of a sudden. A total stranger knew something about her own child, something she didn''t even know about? That couldn''t be. It was impossible.


    She shook her head to dispel the stupor and hastily opened her mouth, but then she couldn''t find the right words to say.


    She tried to recall the memories of her son. They were plentiful, of course, but none gave her feelings of him being an Invocational genius the way Kaleena did. If anything, he seemed like a rather quiet, slightly subdued if whip-smart child. Sure, there were times when she saw him eavesdropping as she taught Kaleena, or when Derrick was teaching the girls. She put that down to a growing boy''s curiosity.


    ¡°How can you say such a thing so confidently? My son didn''t get his Affinities tested. No one knows what his results would have been.¡±


    Lizbeth''s voice was uncertain even if she tried to disguise it. After combing through all her memories, she was sure that there was no indication Kain was another prodigy. She hadn''t seen it. Yet, why did she feel so.... shaken at Dawson''s words?


    Dawson chuckled lightly. ¡°Well, I practice a certain type of Invocation that allows me to discern a few.... tidbits of an individual. With it, I saw your son''s future potential. He could have been.... a wonderful asset to the Empire, had he been allowed to grow and develop.¡±


    An Asset?!


    Lizbeth''s already boiling anger snapped after hearing the words objectifying her child. It only needed a small push thanks to the agitation she felt from the confusion and alarm, so a seemingly well-chosen word from him tipped her over quite easily.


    Suddenly, the entire living room''s temperature dropped below freezing point. The tea in Dawson''s hand froze in an instant. Icicles formed all over the furniture''s edges.


    Dawson''s eyes flickered momentarily before he stared calmly at Lizbeth. ¡°My lady, if something I said offended you, I beg your pardon. Again, I did not mean to cause any further grief than what has already transpired. The slip of my tongue is due to the exhaustion from the long travel.¡±


    His calm words did little to soothe Lizbeth''s chilly anger. She might be proficient in Light Element officially, but for whatever reason when she got ticked off, she''d sometimes bring forth a precipitous drop in the surrounding temperature. Damien knew this side of her very well, having been on the receiving end a few times before. But there was no way Dawson would know. It had never been recorded until now. As simple as that.


    Coldness was not a single, regular Element like Light or Water, but a Hybrid Element that required a careful synthesis of three rather disparate Elements. It was also different from Ice Hybrid Element and was a lot tougher to reproduce as well. It needed an uber-master level Invoker who had Affinities with multiple Elements and years of training to pull off. Even then, it''d be difficult to cause the drop in the living room''s temperature this fast.


    Seeing this new development, Dawson was, although outwardly remaining calm, inwardly found himself greatly shocked and nearly speechless. Because, Coldness Element was Valeria''s specialty, according to the historical records. Suddenly, one or two things began to make sense.


    The weirdest thing was, he could not sense her Aeterna Pool weakening at all from utilizing this absurd Elemental power. This was even more shocking to him. To his knowledge, he had never, ever encountered a case where calling forth a phenomenon wouldn''t chew away a person''s Pool.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He felt a cold sweat dripping down his back, sensing this unusual power. How such an ability was not reported or witnessed until now, that was a mystery. And he was rightly curious as to how The Children of the Amber seemingly knew of this. This made little sense to him.


    Since the blood of Valeria The Shieldmaiden flowed in Lizbeth''s veins, it was reasonable to assume that it also flowed in Kaleena''s and Kain''s. Only now, enhanced by the blood heritage of the Lomax Household.


    To a layman, such a thing might not mean much, but for those in the high echelons of the society, or for someone like Dawson who held the necessary clearance, knew that it was not a simple matter like that.


    The Founding Fathers were recipients of blessings, the heaven-defying fortunes that would allow their descendants to prosper as long as the main branches of the respective families didn''t die out. And according to the family registry, the Lucius Lomax branch only split from the main bloodline less than a generation ago. So the power of that blessing was still quite prominent in the family.


    Dawson didn''t really have to imagine the results of the marriage of such powerful legacies. It was in front of him in the form of Kaleena and Kain, after all.


    No wonder there were only monsters being conceived in this house. Through The All Seeing Eye spell, Dawson could easily see that the baby, a boy, growing in Lizbeth''s womb would be yet another monster as well. It was crazy as hell ¨C three in a row. No way this could be chalked up to coincidence or pure luck.


    The sound of air cracking up brought him out of the reverie. There were ice particles forming seemingly from nothing all around him. Dawson felt the incredibly cold and heavy pressure pushing him down, freezing his Aeterna Pool from operating properly. It felt like Aeterna itself was being suppressed here.


    Rosy, whose whiskers were fast becoming the resting places for miniature icicles, hugged herself and whimpered painfully as she shivered heavily. ¡°Lizbeth, please calm down. You know how much I hate cold weather....¡±


    Lizbeth snapped out of her anger-induced state when she heard Rosy''s complaints. The temperature of the room stopped decreasing, and Dawson could sense that the heat in the atmosphere returning, albeit comparably slower than when it dropped like a chunk of falling rock.


    Clearing his throat, Dawson took in a deep, cool breath. Normally, this was where he should wipe away a drop of perspiration on his brows, but since it had long been frozen over, there was no need. It tickled his scars, though. Which was a small annoyance.


    Once his mind successfully compartmentalized his newly-gained understandings of the matter at hand and marked them for an analysis later, he decided to continue with what he wanted to say. ¡°Alistair left one of his men, William Wincaster behind in Riverfield to act as an eye and an ear. And if the need arises, a blade as well.¡±


    Lizbeth has fully emerged from her state of blinded anger and was now paying attention to what he was saying. She knew of William, as the man was mentioned in one of the monthly progress reports Derrick sent.


    In it, it sounded like this fellow surnamed Wincaster was a detached but useful person. But now, Dawson was saying he couldn''t be trusted even with a ten-foot poll.


    That wasn''t all.


    ¡°Because of the sweet, sweet incentive of the economic cooperation that would benefit the village greatly, Sir Derrick fails to see the danger posed by this man. Your husband, perhaps knowingly, walks into the den of wolves, seeking righteous retribution when he isn''t aware of the fact that his enemies are ready for him. And, dare I say this, you are not any better off, my lady. Wolves are surrounding your doorstep and you are still flailing about in the dark, unable to build a decent wall to keep out the invaders.¡±


    Dawson then tapped on the bottom of the tea cup after hanging it upside down. Soon, a dark brown block of ice fell out and landed on the living room table with a solid thunk.


    ¡°Your most trustworthy defender had left you for a questionable assignment far away, and now you must rely on a whim of a stranger. Then there is the big matter of your baby. With it growing inside of you, your mobility has suffered greatly. There is only so far a single bodyguard can achieve. In the end, it''s a disadvantageous situation for you.¡±


    Lizbeth felt that all this one-sided conversation sounded like him taunting her. She didn''t like it. It was as if he was saying there was nothing she could do to save herself and her family, even with powers she possessed.


    As if reading her mind, Dawson confidently spoke out. ¡°Your physical powers are indeed impressive, but in society, such power can only get you so far. What you need, in order to survive, are wealth, connections, and capable pawns to act out your plans. Without those, you might as well not play The Game.¡±


    ¡°....And what game are you referring to? The one where my family is putting their lives on the line? I''d say that''s not a game at all.¡± Lizbeth retorted, her voice icy. ¡°Are you finished, Agent Dawson? If so, then please leave now. We have a lot to clean up, thanks to you. We''d rather not have any unwelcome visitors squatting in the premise during that time.¡±


    Sighing rather theatrically, Dawson slowly got up. After silently straightening his black robe, he looked in Lizbeth''s eyes and nodded. ¡°My deal with your husband remains in effect. I''ll fulfill my part in it. Just that, it has grown in its complications, is all. Rest assured, my lady ¨C I shall watch over you from the shadows time to time. And I shall make the guilty pay for their.... indiscretions.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Then, what of your original assignment? Is it no longer important compared to satisfying your personal grudge?¡±


    Dawson''s face revealed a cold smile as he looked at Lizbeth for a while longer. His hand slowly rose up and touched the scars on his face, an action performed without him consciously realizing it.


    ¡°My original assignment of locating Lady Valette.... Indeed, I feel this extra work have become a dangerous obsession. But can you blame me, Lady Lizbeth? It has consumed your husband as well, after all. And I had to bury many young and capable Agents entrusted to me. If this is a grudge, then so be it ¨C I''ll do whatever it takes to soothe the souls of the departed. Your son''s too, while I''m at it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for volunteering, but rather, you should worry about yourself first, Agent Dawson.¡±


    He didn''t reply but began to move toward the exit. As the two women watched him make his way, Lizbeth couldn''t help but ask.


    ¡°Why did you come here, Agent Dawson? You say you went into hiding because of our shared enemies. Yet, you ran the risk of exposure and came to see me. I do not understand your motivations at all.¡±


    He stopped on his feet, standing still. He pondered briefly for a sec before turning to face her.


    ¡°I came to see you because.... I wanted you to know that I have not abandoned my mission. That I am a man of my words.¡±


    ~


    Silently, Dawson exited the residence of Michelle Banovsky. Of course, he wasn''t stupid enough to use the front door ¨C the Count''s men were watching.


    They weren''t also a bunch of brain-dead fools either, as some of their members did rounds around the outer perimeters of the estate. All of it done inconspicuously, obviously.


    However, as far as sneaking techniques went, they couldn''t even hold a candle to Dawson''s years of training and his Affinity to the Dark Element.


    The learned few always maintained an opinion that Dark Element was not as useful in a straight up combat situation. The spells within this particular Element ¡°tree¡± were indeed, a little lacking in the firepower department. In the hands of an old hand like Dawson, though.... Now that was another matter altogether.


    Simply by throwing a veil of Darkness Element Aeterna over him, Dawson could minimize his presence to an unbelievable degree. Even during a broad daylight, it was hard to spot him with this technique. And by utilizing his walking technique, the one Kain had encountered previously way back in Lafayette''s SOIR branch where the boy thought he was walking on air, he left no sound or footsteps behind as well.


    In other words, he was a medieval equivalent of the legendary shinobi.


    Michelle''s residence had fairly low fences. It was also surrounded by other houses of similar sizes and configurations. Close proximity to the neighboring buildings allowed Dawson to slip in and out of the shadows rather easily, avoiding detection. And once he was out of the Academy''s residential area, his steps took him to the Market District.


    Even on his way there, he shrunk his presence as much as possible. His black robe didn''t attract too much attention as there were a few others wearing all-too-similar outfits here and there. Still, he remained vigilant. It only took a single bump against a stranger and his anonymity might be lost.


    After the Special Bureau''s secret base of operation was overrun by the members of The Children, he kept a very low profile. He didn''t even contact his immediate superiors, all because he feared that any one of them could be a traitor. He didn''t even board a Sky Ark to come to the Capital, fully knowing the journey taken on foot would take him months. It was less likely for him to be discovered by his enemies this way.


    There was a trade off with the wasted time here, but he could not mind it in his current state. With no one to truly trust and all his subordinates dead, he had to keep his wits about him to not only survive but to track down and expose every single one of the traitorous scum infecting his beloved Empire. And dishonoring his reputation, too, something he had cultivated carefully for so long. That point alone made them completely unforgivable in his view.


    The sun now was high up in the sky. The Market district was well organized, right down to the bricks lining the streets. There was a certain orderliness present here that was missing in the Capital only a proverbial stone''s throw away.


    Perhaps it was because the people living here were a well-monied bunch to begin with. No lower class riff-raff here to contaminate the waters, so to speak.


    As if to reinforce this view, to Dawson''s right, he saw a row of stores catering for well-heeled ladies who had made the trip from the noble districts in the Capital for the express purpose of shopping. Made sense, since many Invokers also moonlighted as capable artisans, either in their spare time or full time. People had to eat after all, regardless of whether Aeterna favored you or not.


    Talking of eating, that cup of tea made Dawson a little peckish. He''d have to hold it until the arrival at his destination.


    After walking for a couple of hours nonstop, he finally stood before an old outfitter''s workshop, located two avenues away from the main street. The whole five-story building looked very old and ancient. The sign board hanging out in front was written in the stylized arcane lettering that went out of fashion ages ago.


    Rather than entering through the front door, he went behind the building, just how he did when he went to meet Lizbeth. On the narrow path between the tailor''s and its neighbor, Dawson lightly clambered over to the second floor and entered through the open window there.


    Double checking that he wasn''t seen, he then went to the uppermost floor.


    The whole building was quiet. Not even a cathedral would be this eerie. But Dawson liked it this way. It allowed him to observe the surroundings better. The smell, the sounds, even a slight variations in atmospheric pressure created by sudden movements ¨C all of them were easier to pick up in a completely silent world. That''s why he preferred it like this. Also, a habit inherited from his master. Like teacher, like student, as one might incorrectly put it.


    There was only one room, or an office, on the top floor. It was reserved for the boss of the outfitters, obviously. Dawson cleared his throat once and knocked on the door respectfully. He waited until there was an almost inaudible reply coming from within.


    ¡°Enter.¡±


    With that prompt, he opened the old but sturdy wooden door, revealing a packed artisan''s work space beyond. The room inside had all of its curtains drawn, letting a copious amount of sunlight in. Dawson could see the bright sky, white clouds dotting the blue canvas like an oil painting by a master artist.


    There were wooden mannequins on either side of the room, wearing different outfits in various stages of completion. In front of one such doll, an old man in his late seventies, wearing a round magnifying lens on his right eye, was busily working on a leather surface of the outfit.


    The old outfitter''s aura was of a master craftsman who has been using his hands for decades. His thin, ash-white hair was pulled back in order to not obscure his eyes. His face was of someone who possessed an unfathomable wisdom and experience.


    His hands moved languidly, the needle with a dark thread attached dancing to a hypnotic rhythm as it darted in and out of the leather material. Dawson entered the room and stood to a side, watching and not saying a word. Waiting, as it were, for the old man outfitter to start the conversation first.


    The soft sound of a seasoned veteran working on the material gently reverberated in the room like a ticking clock, mechanical and always rhythmical, never missing a single beat. Like this, the two men remained silent for nearly half an hour.


    Without looking away from the leather material, the old outfitter murmured gently.


    ¡°Your face has aged somewhat, Marcus.¡±


    Involuntarily, Dawson touched the scars on his face again, his brows tightening a little. Sighing, he replied. ¡°Forgive me, master. I got careless and let the enemy get the better of me.¡±


    The outfitter, bemused, cocked a thick eyebrow. The magnifying lens fell out of the eye socket and he caught it smoothly. He turned his head slowly to look at Dawson with interested eyes.


    ¡°Do tell.¡±


    And tell Dawson did. He didn''t hold back. Every info and sliver of understanding he gained, he spat out unreservedly.


    After listening to the story, the old outfitter slowly scratched his chin, his eyes closed.


    ¡°How interesting. The Children of The Amber... well, it''s not my first time hearing that name. However, to think there was such a happenstance within the Baron Lomax household.¡±


    ¡°Master. I came here for your assistance. I do not know who to trust in the chain of command, here in the Capital. Please, lend me your strength.¡±


    The old outfitter chuckled. ¡°I''ve retired from the espionage game a long time ago. What can an old man like myself do? However, I''ll make some... inquiries. Traitors, indeed, are not what I wanted to see profaning the nation I helped to protect until now.¡±


    Nodding with satisfaction, Dawson was about to leave. But the outfitter stopped him.


    ¡°Wait, Marcus. I am not questioning your due diligence, but are you certain it''s Count Martinus Beaufoy Trentham watching over Lady Lizbeth? Then I advise you not to involve yourself on that front anymore.¡±


    Puzzled, Dawson didn''t say anything but waited for an explanation.


    ¡°Martinus''s mother is from the Imperial Household, even if it''s a distant relation. He''s too well protected, but more importantly, he''s also loyal to the cause of the Empire. If he''s sincere, then it''s likely he will keep Lady Lizbeth safe.¡±


    The old outfitter picked up the needle with a thread on the end again and began working on the leather. As he did so, he never stopped the stream of his words.


    ¡°Instead, there is another matter, an incident that happened not too long ago that I need you to.... take a look at. It''s related to The Children. The Bureau can''t officially get entangled in the matter since the incident heavily involves SOIR, and their internal disciplinary committee is investigating it. But since it concerns the overall stability of the Empire, we need to act as well.¡±


    Dawson hesitated for a moment but then nodded his consent. ¡°Details are?¡±


    ¡°On my desk, second left drawer.¡±


    Inside the drawer indicated, there was a scroll. Dawson perused the content. When he was finished, his expression was serious.


    The old outfitter didn''t turn his head as his hands continued its rhythmical movements with the needle.


    ¡°Agent Dawson, in the name of his Empyrean Highness, I hereby assign you a new mission: locate and execute Grand Elder Grisham of SOIR.¡±


    (A bit shorter chapter today. My bad.)

 Chapter 41

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">41</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    ¡°Master, this is....?¡±


    Dawson slowly folded the scroll and lowered it back into the drawer as if he was handling a sensitive bomb that could go off on the slightest tremor.


    The old outfitter replied with a tone of voice that suggested that he was troubled as well, although it was disguised well.


    ¡°The order came in only this morning. There was an incident involving a member of SOIR and the citizens of the Empire. Because the matter involved Invokers, the internal disciplinary committee had the jurisdiction in the investigation. However, additional information uncovered by our agents reveal that the head of the committee, Grand Elder Grisham is intimately involved with the suspect.¡±


    The old outfitter paused here, as the needle he wielded slid into a small and delicate part of the fabric. He concentrated until that was done, and only then did he continue.


    ¡°The Grand Elder, therefore, is now seen as a saboteur actively engaged in bringing disharmony to the Empire''s stability. It is our duty to serve the appropriate justice. Your role is to locate the target, eliminate and temper evidence to make it seem accidental.¡±


    Dawson glanced at his former teacher. All he could see was the back of the head, ash-white hair neatly combed back. In that moment, he wondered about the types of emotion rolling around inside the old outfitter''s mind.


    What would it be like to order the death of someone who was pretty much a friend?


    ¡°Master.... I see that information extraction is not requested. That is irregular. Your additional orders regarding that?¡±


    Originally this wasn''t what Dawson wanted to ask. However, he knew very well his old teacher was silently going through hell inside. So to be on the safe side, he didn''t say anything that might disturb the carefully cultured facade of the outfitter.


    Throughout history, many incidents required cooperation between SOIR members and Special Bureau agents. And for sure, many of them were dangerous, life-threatening affairs. In a backdrop like that, it was inevitable that bonds were forged between people. It was no exception for the old outfitter in this regard.


    He and Grisham had a long history together. Sometimes, on opposite sides of the fence, at loggerheads over the handling of judicial matters. Sometimes, as reluctant allies in a hunt to rid the Empire of villains who wish to harm its health.


    Basically, they were two wise and old warriors who had recognized each other. From that mutual recognition, the two built a working relationship that saw shared prosperity. It was an amicable friendship.


    But now, an order came from the highest office in the Empire. And the order called for the elimination of the outfitter''s friend. Of course the old teacher was not a happy camper.


    Dawson knew his teacher well enough to know that he''d put the completion of duty above all else, regardless of the personal cost.


    So, rather than say things that could only anger the teacher, he decided to hear the man''s thoughts through an indirect line of questioning.


    The old outfitter shook his head after hearing Dawson''s question. ¡°No need. The evidence has been compiled. The order given.... is absolute!! As agents, we must carry out our mission no matter the sacrifice.¡±


    The outfitter lowered his busy hands and rested them on his lap. He remained still, never showing his face to Dawson.


    The silence continued like this for a while longer, before it was broken by the outfitter''s calm voice. ¡°The HQ does not know of your return to the fold. I shall keep it that way until the threat against Lady Lizbeth is neutralized. Your anonymity is safe for now. On my part, I will dig out more about The Children of the Amber. When I recover something useful, you''ll be informed of it as well. So, focus your energy on this mission, nothing else. Understood?¡±


    Dawson frowned imperceptibly for a moment before turning on his heels to leave. And as he went past the door, he murmured softly.


    ¡°....Yes, sir.¡±


    ~


    Damien''s brows twitched funnily. The reason for that was fairly simple to deduce to anyone who saw the so-called letter, left behind by Jonas Bremble with Ged''s granddaughter.


    It was, logically speaking, not a letter. Nope. Rather, it would be better to call it a journal. It was a book, in other words. It was not something he''d be able to skim through in one sitting.


    Damien felt peeved. And rightly so.


    I don''t have the bloody time to go through this. Bah. Shouldn''t have cared in the first place....


    Damien groaned inwardly, knowing that it was too late to go back on his word. After all, he did say to Gemma that he''d take a look at this.... letter, and see what''s what.


    See, the thing was, he had this bad premonition about this whole thing. Although he wasn''t too terribly interested as there were much, much more urgent matters on his hands, it was definitely a curious turn of coincidence that someone who should have been kicking it nice and easy in the Capital''s high society was slumming it out in a.... town that was a million miles away from the twinkling starlight of glamorous lifestyle.


    And then.... There was also the matter of Dukakis''s missing adjutant that could be linked to this incident as well. No, not ¡°could,¡± ¨C Damien''s sensitive intuition was telling him it was without a doubt, linked.


    That young man hadn''t surfaced as yet from whatever hole he had fallen into. Even his close relatives had no news of him. Obviously, the man''s wife was suitably frantic for her missing husband''s safety.


    Since that guy was somehow involved with this funny business of Jonas, Damien figured that if he could unravel one mystery, then the other would come undone by itself.


    His past experiences told him that a person missing for this long either didn''t want to be found or was most likely rotting in a shallow grave somewhere. Or, already had become Fiend food and now, a fertilizer.


    Since none of his personal articles were recovered, Damien assumed that it was quite likely the missing man was dead and buried. If he was in hiding, he''d at least try to reassure his family of his wellbeing, but because such a thing didn''t happen, the likelihood of the death was higher.


    What a smelly business this was.


    Sighing, Damien pondered for a bit, staring at the leather-bound and foreboding cover of the letter from Jonas Bremble.


    He was no longer in Ged''s workshop. In fact, he was sitting on the bed in the room he rented from a kind aunty. The rent was cheap, food tasted good, and he was assured of better privacy, compared to an inn where any ol'' bums could come and go as they pleased.


    Of course, there was always a threat of nightly raid performed by his enemies. But he wasn''t too worried ¨C the aunty in question was an inactive Adventurer ranked Silver so she was no mug with her fists. It was the same for her husband, too.


    Anyone foolish enough to try breaking in would instead get their bones broken. So yeah, Damien was perfectly happy here.


    As he was pondering, he heard a soft knock on the door. It was the aunty, carrying a memo delivered by a local Adventurer. In it, a communication from The Capital. He thanked her and exchanged small talk before she went away.


    Reading the memo, Damien frowned a little. Michelle had to go to Lafayette, leaving Lizbeth behind. Thankfully, an acquaintance stepped up to fill the void, but it felt just a bit too convenient to him. What a timing, he mused to himself.


    Also, there was that thing about the partial destruction of Lafayette. That surprised him greatly.


    ¡°Two Divinity-class beings, huh.... Must''ve been something else.¡±


    Damien muttered slowly before putting away the memo. He closed his eyes and fell back on the bed, feeling mentally tired. The past couple of months, he''d been on an edge while traveling around the Northern borders, checking out the situations there with Dukakis''s men as well as hired Adventurers.


    During that time, they got ambushed twice. People died. Things got tough. Worsening weather didn''t help either. And now this? Lafayette destroyed, more people died? Many of them, most likely his friends?


    His head ached. He was feeling worse than before.


    Damien needed a good, long rest. Even he knew that. Yet, Jonas''s letter waited for him to crack open the seal and read its ¡°world-changing¡± contents.


    Massaging his temples helped a bit, bringing some clarity to his weary mind. Finally, Damien toughened up his psyche and picked up Jonas''s journal. Delaying wouldn''t help anyone at all so might as well get it over with ASAP.


    The cover was worn-out and faded, its leather showing the signs of a long-term use. It wasn''t in tatters but pretty close. After flipping through the pages, Damien realized that rather than a letter with an excessive amount of needless writing, it was a diary instead.


    On the first page, Jonas wrote thus:


    ¡°Dear Sir Damien. I entrust this record of my thoughts and the events witnessed by my own eyes with a heavy heart, knowing that by the time you read this, it is quite likely I will no longer be among the living.


    What you are about to read in here are not lies, nor have I hallucinated them during a bout of madness. All of it, I swear, is real, truly occurred, and I bore witness of their veracity before the uncompromising judgments of the Gods.


    I came to Marlborough not to seek the aid of you but from your father, the honorable Count Lomax. He''s the only man wielding a considerable political strength that was not affected by this, for a lack of better descriptor, scandal.


    I came in contact with the young adjutant under Sir Dukakis in order to facilitate the meeting, as he was an old friend.


    But alas, my enemies, and indeed the enemies of the Empire and all her good citizens, have interfered.


    This leaves me with very little choice but to rely on you, Sir Damien. It is truly a stroke of heavenly luck that I have run into you that evening.


    I pray that you''ll find the trustworthy recipients for the contents of my writing, my testimony. My final will.


    Thank you in advance, and may the Gods bestow you a good fortune as well.


    Sir Jonas Bremble.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, for a guy who seemed to be half dead, he sure wrote a long-winded introduction, huh.¡±


    Damien murmured to himself, before flipping to the next page. He checked the date written on the top left-hand corner and confirmed that it was written many, many years ago. The content of the page was about the day Jonas entering a famed Knights'' Academy in the Capital.


    That confirmed Damien''s suspicions. It''d be a waste of time to go through it all, page by page.


    Somehow, he had to find the relevant page out of these walls of text as he didn''t want to spend the mental energy reading about the early life of an overtly ambitious young man trying to make it in the society.


    Good thing Jonas had carefully labeled each entry with the corresponding dates, otherwise Damien might have had to sit through the dang thing for hours on end, trying to locate all those ¡°world-changing¡± contents hidden within.


    He casually flipped the pages until a date caught his eye. It was the day Jonas came to Riverfield to talk to him. Curious as to how the man saw him, Damien began reading, only to feel a desire to rip the journal in half and track the writer down so he could beat the living daylights out of the feckless punk who badmouthed him.


    In short, Jonas was an ass. He totally looked down on Damien, calling him a few unkind words to describe him.


    Obviously, such evaluations made Damien nearly chuck the damn journal out the window and be done with it. But he held back. It was not nice to speak the ill of a dead man, regardless of how unlikable that person was.


    Taking a deep breath to calm his angry mind, he flipped through the man''s impressions on the near-death experiences of the Sacred Acre.


    The next entry was about the time Jonas met Marquis Phillips for the very first time. The impression of the imposing man was just as Damien expected ¨C imposing.


    From this page on, things got a bit more interesting.


    ¡°Wow. So Jonas got to work on building the Sky Arks, eh. Lucky guy,¡± murmured Damien.


    Jonas went into a great detail about the piece of strange, blue-colored parchment that was as large as a military map that had dimensions and internal layout of the Sky Ark written on it, called a Blueprint. He also stated that the writings on it were mysterious and unknown.


    A translated version of this Blueprint was delivered to Jonas from the Marquis a few days after the meeting. By then, he was on his way to a secret location far from the Capital, or for that matter, any settlements of note.


    And to Damien''s surprise, that secret location was outside the borders of the Empire, up North, in a valley deep inside the Northern Mountain ranges. As to why such a location was chosen, Jonas didn''t know. But at least Damien was able to figure out why Jonas chose to come to Marlborough ¨C other than the stated reasons ¨C it was the nearest big city that could be reached by foot from where the construction was taking place.


    Initially, the building of the Sky Ark itself was proceeding swimmingly. No delays, no unexpected accidents, no rioting workers, nothing.


    But then, one year into the construction, something strange happened. No, rather than calling it something, someone came to ¡°improve¡± the working conditions. Jonas described this someone as a Visitor.


    A Visitor, from another Realm. Not only that, but several of them.


    Damien sucked in his breath. His mind shook slightly at the revelation.


    Just as it was with every literate person of the Empire, he knew the story of the Ten Realms and how Aeterna filled in the spaces between them. He also knew of the World Tree and how this wondrous being connected all the Realms.


    But never have he heard of an instance where Visitors from another Realm making an appearance.


    Hurriedly he dived in the journal for more info, only to feel a bit disappointed when Jonas simply noted that the Visitors were humans, just like everyone else. No special distinguishing features, no strange and wonderful quirks, no common-sense defying abilities ¨C none whatsoever.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Jonas was able to learn the important fact that the Blueprints had come from these Visitors. And that these men and women were contributing much to the advancement of the Empire from behind the scenes. Things like improvements of the road surfaces in the Capital, for example, were accredited to the Visitors and their practice called Science.


    The Visitors improved how the horse-drawn carriages rode on the rough grounds by introducing items called the dampers. They even suggested that the highways should be maintained and patrolled in order to stimulate inter-city trade thus boosting annual revenue collected in taxes. New military tactics were passed down, new medical procedures, new printing techniques ¨C all of them, gifted by these Visitors from another Realm.


    Damien stared long and hard at that foreign word, Science, wondering what it could possibly be. A religion? A belief system? A system similar to Invocation, in order to wield Aeterna?


    Whatever it was, it sure sounded mysterious. To create a flying object like the Sky Ark where even the most powerful Invocation had failed, this Science sounded like a powerful weapon to possess.


    However, wonderment ceased there.


    Because, some of the workers began to go missing. There were a fair few other races participating in the construction work, and they were the first to disappear.


    As the on-site supervisor, Jonas had the responsibility to investigate the disappearances. However, whenever he tried to delve into the mysteries, he was cut off by the orders that came from above. He was told to not mind the unimportant details and focus on achieving the objective.


    And that''s what Jonas tried to do. He really did. However, as these things go, he happened to witness the Visitors forcibly kidnapping a Caniduskin worker, bundling the unfortunate man into a cage-like metal box and enter through the intense white light created by what Jonas could only describe as a pair of spinning giant metal rings.


    Jonas was shocked and horrified. Hoping that this was just simply a one-time deal, Jonas came to the hidden spot in the valley where these rings were located as often as he could in order to assuage his fears. And he saw these Visitors routinely kidnapping people. Sometimes, even Fiends, plants, animals and Awakened Beasts.


    Once, Jonas witnessed a lesser Earth Drake being dragged off by a squadron of men wearing clothes with varying shades of green and brown patterns, called Khakis. Even he could tell these men were soldiers from the way they talked and acted. But they were dressed too lightly. No plate armors, no helmets, no spears, no bows and arrows.


    Only armoring they wore, were on their heads, a roundish black metal object. As for weapons, many carried daggers but the main arms seemed to be short, slender black cylindrical objects that made a series of sharp, thunderous noises when pointed at a target.


    The destructive power of these items was truly unimaginable ¨C Jonas wrote in the journal that a handful of those cylindrical weapons could wipe out a regiment of an army in a proverbial blink of an eye.


    Damien was unconsciously gripping the journal hard, his knuckles turning white. He even forgot about the passage of time, too absorbed in the tales told in these pages to notice.


    Suddenly, he felt quite thirsty. Leaving the journal on the bed, Damien went to the lone water pitcher and drank out of it straight, not even bothering with a mug. The liquid felt cold as it slid down his throat, refreshing his head and helping him to gather his thoughts.


    He had learned quite a few shocking facts so far. One, the Empire''s higher-ups were in contact with these so-called The Visitors. And they possessed the means to easily suppress the denizens of this Realm.


    Two, these Visitors, for some reason, were kidnapping people. And the higher-ups, most likely, knew about this yet chose to ignore it because the benefits were greater. Thus, the lives of the citizens were treated as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.


    Damien wasn''t sure whether many would agree, though ¨C the inherent stability of the Empire, and its prosperity, laid with the various races cooperating and existing harmoniously. Each and every race that formed the backbone of this nation had their distinct, specific pros and cons.


    By working together, the good points could be enhanced while the negative aspects were erased, bringing wealth and prosperity to all. That was the foundation of the Empire.


    But now, the officials of this very Empire, who should have been upholding this foundation, were turning a blind eye towards the races'' kidnappings. This was a serious issue no matter how one cut it.


    If the respective Elders of the different races learn of this crime, then the repercussions would be severe. Maybe not to the extent where the Empire crumbled to nothingness, but enough to cause serious political upheavals and a period of instability that could prompt the enemies to crawl out of the woodwork, vying for blood.


    Damien took another long swig of the water and returned to the journal. Even though what he read shocked him, he repeatedly told himself that unless proven, he had to take the words written here with a healthy dose of skepticism.


    And he needed that skepticism as soon as his eyes settled on the contents of the next entry in the journal.


    ¡°That day began just as any other before it. However, during the middle of lunch, an unannounced person intruded on the construction site. He came with a veritable retinue of men and women seeing to every one of his needs and wants, which was galling to see right here in the wilderness where comforts of civilization are ages away.


    Who he was, what his station was, what his purpose was ¨C none of that was disclosed to me, the director of the operation. How angry I felt then, it could not be put down to words. Even my considerable vocabulary isn''t sufficient for this purpose.


    Instead, he shoved a crest of the Imperial Family in my face. As much as I hate to admit it, that crest alone means this man possesses the right to supersede my authority.


    Even though it was unfair if one took to account all my contribution to this project, there was no reason to voice my displeasure, as it turned out that this person merely wished to speak to the Visitors. For that purpose alone, he has traveled all the way from The Capital. He could''ve simply used a communication crystal but no ¨C he had to come here and bother me at this critical juncture.


    The Visitors does not know our language, save for their leader, a man in early-to-mid thirties. The content of the discussion that ensued between the person from the Capital and the leader of the Visitors was unknown to me. I was left out of the loop once more. It''s infuriating, to say the least.


    But for what it''s worth, it seemed to be satisfactory as the man from the Capital left with a wide grin on his face.


    However, the another trouble started from there.


    A few days later, the Visitors showed up with strange contraptions, telling me to mount them on the Sky Ark. Since I didn''t know what those were, plus there was no mention of such things in the Blueprints, I naturally refused and sought out clarification from the Imperial Institute.


    I was told to heed the request.


    After the bizarre contraptions were mounted, the Visitors then decided to test it.


    To my shock, the contraptions were weapons. Weapons of unparalleled destructive power.


    Until now, all Sky Arks are designed for the civilian use. Not a single one is fitted with a weapon. Not one.


    Mine is no exception ¨C my Sky Ark, which I have poured all my being into. Yes, it''s going to be bigger and more advanced in design, but still, its purpose is clear. Or was.


    To serve the community, to shorten the travel time and distance, for a safe travel across vast distances quickly.


    Yet, in a blink of an eye, my Sky Ark was turned into an ultimate weapon.


    Not only that, today I was given a brand new Blueprint. Then, I was told, rather rudely, to modify the Ark. It''s still far from complete so modifying certain areas should not be difficult, but even I can tell that my Ark will become a flying fortress sturdy enough to withstand an Elder Dragon''s attack.


    In other words, I am asked to build a warship.


    Naturally, I will make sure this new direction of the project is a resounding success. After all, I always thought it was strange that not even a single Sky Ark was commissioned for a military duty.


    But now, I am sure my Ark will be the very first one to soar the skies displaying the proud and noble crest of the Empire''s military might. It shall show the enemies of our glorious nation something to fear.


    I''m given an indelible chance to leave my name in history. Well, now that is one opportunity I shall not miss.¡±


    Damien checked the date of the entry. It was still more than a year ago. Something happened since then that made Jonas into a desperate bum.


    Impatiently, he flipped to the next page and resumed reading. It was all jumbles of Jonas''s thoughts and useless information so Damien had to flip quite a few pages until another date caught his eye. From there on, he began again.


    ¡°Today, that man from the Capital came by again to speak to the Visitors once more. This time, he seemed to be in a hurry. He looked agitated, less happier than before.


    What could they be talking about? Hopefully, it''s not about speeding up the construction. It''s not possible unless you supply me with more workers for all those the Visitors took away, and then some.¡±


    The next entry on the opposite page. However, the way it was written showed that it was scribbled in haste.


    ¡°The man from the Capital stayed over. I overheard something crazy, between him and one of his followers. To confirm, currently heading towards the area controlled by the Northern Lepudia tribe. They have been supplying several important materials needed for the Sky Ark''s completion until now. It will be disastrous for the project if what that man said was true.¡±


    Damien narrowed his eyes. Northern Lepudia tribe supplying the Sky Ark construction project with materials? It was true that the Northern Mountains were abundant in Aeterna-rich ores and materials. Geographically, it shouldn''t be too surprising to hear this.


    Yet, currently the said tribe was in dire straits. No, they might have perished by now. So, where did that leave the project?


    Suddenly, he felt the timing of the aggression shown by the invading Tigris tribe was too good to be a coincidence anymore.


    But he still had to keep a skeptical mind. None of this was confirmed. It was, still, just a writing of a potentially deranged man.


    ¡°I''ve arrived at the Lepudia''s territory. I confirmed with my own two eyes. We are supposed to be on friendly terms but the hostility shown to me was unbelievable. That damn Fool from the Capital did something unnecessary and made a deal with the barbarians of Tigris. Why? For what? I do not know. But many in Lepudia are dead. And they are blaming me for it. I need to hurry and leave.¡±


    This passage was written rather poorly, unlike the previous entries. Obviously, Jonas didn''t have the time to sit down and write properly.


    The quality of writing dropped further in the next entry.


    ¡°On the run. My men, dead. Tigris responsible, not Lepudia. Sent people after me. Managed to cut down some of the pursuers. One of them was a Captain-rank, I think. Anyways, he knew some things. Made him talk.


    Tigris want the Mystic Totem, whatever that is. Right now, I don''t care. Getting back to the construction site the only priority. Or I''ll die here.¡±


    Damien furrowed his brows. He knew that Tigris was searching for the Tribal Mystic Totem of the Lepudia tribe. And they were willing to rampage in Marlborough for that. After all, acquiring or destroying it was the sign of the victory in the tribal warfare.


    However, how the hell did that and the man from the Capital have anything to do with each other?


    ¡°I''m back, but something''s wrong. All the workers are gone. Missing. There are more Visitors here now. I''m told I need to return to the Capital. The reason is not given. Atmosphere is bad.


    But I saw a representative from Tigris here. The deal with Northern Lepudia is over. And I heard it all, straight from the mouth of the fool from the Capital. He was sneering at me, laughing at me. Bastard!!


    The Visitors want the Totem. They want it for Scientific reasons, whatever that is. And they are willing to commit genocide for it. The Fool from the Capital is willing to accommodate the request. In return, he wants the Visitors to complete the Ark faster and outfit it with weapons.


    The Fool wants to start a war. Not with any other countries, not with the dormant long-eared ones in the East, not with the sea-faring pirates of the Southern Isles, nor to conquer the dark lands further South of that. No, not even to explore the rumored Holy Continent to the West.


    This fool wants to start a bloody civil war. Just to hand-deliver the Imperial Crown to the Second Imperial Prince!! He wants a show of power to scare all the opposition into hiding, even if it means citizens of the Empire will suffer!! Including me!!


    Damn it all to hell!! I did not sign up for this!!¡±


    At this point, Damien nearly dropped the journal. His face was now as pale as a sheet of paper. Taking another deep breath, he steadied his trembling hands, continuing to remind himself that none of this was confirmed. That, all of this was nothing more than a rambling of a mad man.


    ¡°I somehow escaped my forced confinement and now am wandering the wilderness. I know a place in the borders where I can slip through. But where can I go?! Obviously, Marquis is aware of this plot. More than likely, he''s a part of it. So I can''t return to the Institute.


    What about my old acquaintances in the Capital?


    No. I can''t trust them. I know about the succession battle. The sides are chosen already. And I''ve been away for too long. Who knows where the loyalties lay now? Allegiances can shift according to the flow of wealth. I can''t trust anyone, at all.


    Wait. Maybe I can go to Marlborough. Count Lomax''s household, last time I checked, isn''t involved with the shenanigans of the Capital. Maybe they are not intimately involved. No wait ¨C the Count Lomax household is allied with the Grand Duke''s faction, not with the Queen''s side. That''s right.


    This means... Yes, I should contact the Count. It''s the only way.


    If I remember correctly, one of my mates is serving as an adjutant there. He was one of those do-gooders back then, so maybe.... Just maybe, he''s clean enough for me to rely on. He''ll listen if I plead earnestly.


    I must use this knowledge as a leverage. I must survive this hell and come out of the other side, alive. I''ve worked too hard until now.


    I can not throw it all away. I will negotiate for favorable terms. Then, I shall take all I''ve learned to the Capital, and expose all those who have conspired against the Empire ¨C and me!!


    I''ll endure. Just watch, I will!!¡±


    That wasn''t the end of the journal. There were few other entries after that, but none of them gave him any new information, other than a rough sketch of a map where the strange, spinning pair of circles were located in the Northern Mountains. Jonas noted that the circles seemed mechanical and not easy to move to another location. If anyone wanted to, they could just go and find it, using the map.


    In another page, there a rough portrait of a man, with the caption below ¨C ¡°The man from the Capital.¡±


    Damien couldn''t recognize the man. Not surprising, really, considering he hadn''t socialized with many, back when he was still living in the Capital.


    The final entry was full of gibberish. But Damien could just about make out the tone of despair in the entry. In it, Jonas was sure that his only reliable contact was dead, the pursuers from the Queen''s faction taking care of him.


    And when he saw Damien that night, Jonas thought of tracking him down and asking for his aid but was unsure where his allegiance lied. So, he didn''t carelessly approach. He observed Damien leaving the city to visit the blacksmith on the outskirts a few times, and made a mental preparation to intercept him.


    However, before he could do that, Jonas caught a frostbite while staying outdoors and was quickly losing the mobility of his foot.


    And by then, Damien was out of the city, checking out the borders. So, all Jonas could do was to leave the journal behind with the blacksmith. Or his granddaughter, for that matter.


    Damien massaged his temples silently. His headache had exploded into a full-on march of the Imperial Army, trampling down on his head relentlessly.


    He threw the journal on the bed angrily and began pacing the bedroom.


    In all honesty, Damien was too stumped for words. He had no idea what to do now.


    He came here to deal with The Children of the Amber, not this.... monumental mess.


    Damien stopped pacing about and sat down on the bed, thinking.


    No, wait. None of what Jonas wrote down here can be proven. Nor can it be summarily dismissed. Visitors and all that is one thing, but the kidnappings and the attempt to start a civil war is truly a grave accusation labeled at this noble from the Queen''s faction.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.Damn it, what should I do? It''s obvious Dukakis and Father do not know of these plots unfolding behind their backyard. At least, Dukakis would''ve mentioned it to me if he knew.


    But more importantly, how did such important matters escape Dukakis''s meticulous attention? It''s just not possible.


    Something else is going on here.


    Damien glanced at the journal, his eyes narrowing. He was on another crossroad, one he didn''t want to be on. Too late now to back off.


    If everything written on it was true, and indeed Jonas had died, then this journal became the last will and the testimony. In the laws of the Empire, this meant the accusations contained within must be thoroughly examined. The parties involved would be unhappy with that outcome, for obvious reasons.


    They would spare no expense to destroy any and all evidence, including a journal so damning like this. And by extension, all who clapped their eyes on the offending book as well.


    That included Damien, now.


    He grasped the journal tightly. He wasn''t sure what would be the best way to handle this delicate situation.


    But whatever the case may be, he needed to hide this journal first. And then, figure out what to do.


    As he fidgeted around the journal''s worn cover while lost in thought, a sliver of a pocket opened up and an item, a locket, fell out.


    Damien picked it up and carefully opened the latch. In it, he saw a tiny portrait of an old, dignified gentleman and a young boy sitting on his lap, also looking dignified and serious.


    The boy was Jonas. As for the old gentleman.... probably his grandfather. The two looked alike so it was easy to tell they were related.


    Sighing, Damien put away the locket in the pocket on the journal cover, wondering whether if he could locate Jonas now. If he could, then....


    Then nothing. Finding the snobbish nobleman would do nothing. The core of the trouble remained the same.


    Fine, I''ll have to talk to Dukakis about this. But before that, let''s make sure of the reasons why he hasn''t even heard of this noble from the Capital leaving the borders to rendezvous with foreign agents. There could be someone in his camp blocking the flow of information.


    If so..... looks like my workload just increased a bunch, didn''t it.

 Chapter 42

    42


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    Damien wrecked his brain the whole night, thinking of a good place to stash the journal. There were a few places that came to his mind but none of them were truly ideal.


    In the end, not only did he lose a considerable amount of sleep, but he couldn''t even come up with a good hiding place either. All in all, a total waste of his time.


    His worries didn''t end with the safe keeping of the journal. The big issue here was that Jonas successfully tailed Damien without being discovered. Now that was a troublesome matter in itself.


    His pride was properly shattered by this revelation. He was a hardened Adventurer, a Gold-ranked one, even ¨C yet, a snooty noble with no training in subterfuge was able to observe him unnoticed? That was one mean sucker punch to his guts. Was he getting old and his senses dulled? Whatever, he was not happy about it.


    And thanks to this blunder, Damien felt more cautious of his surroundings. While walking through the streets of Marlborough on his way to the Count''s mansion he was really conscious of everything going on around him.


    Damien felt doubly exhausted by the time he got to his destination. Coupled with the mental fatigue and lack of good rest, he was in a wry and irritable mood. At least the sun was out and about, which was nice.


    Cassius the ever-faithful butler was waiting for him at the entrance of the mansion with a warm, expectant smile. Damien found this expression welcoming, and to him, it was exactly what the doctor ordered for his tired mind.


    After exchanging some light pleasantries, Cassius led him into the mansion''s audience chamber and served a plate of sweetly scented tea as well as tasty biscuits.


    Although the treats didn''t cure all of his weary bones, Damien still felt a whole lot better after snacking on them. The tea was particularly nice, with a breezy, light feel to the taste, making him want to drink it more. He wasn''t a tea connoisseur, but hell, even he could tell how good this stuff was.


    As he snacked, Cassius informed Damien that Dukakis was in the middle of a meeting with military advisers and thus he had to wait a bit. A consequence of not making a prior appointment, or so he was told.


    Damien came this close to making a snide retort about the fact that he needed to seek permission before speaking to his own brother but since he knew such a thing came with the territory, in the end, he firmly shut his mouth.


    So, he quietly sat on the large couch in the chamber, eyeing the decoration that hadn''t changed in years.


    Right in front, there was a large painting of the legendary mountain, The Helix. The story went like this:


    There was a land where deities descended on the mortal world. The Gods wanted to teach the ignorant masses the correct way to live the precious lives granted to them.


    And after doing their teaching bit, they supposedly raised a massive mountain where they had landed originally as a reminder of their divine message that would withstand the passage of time.


    Funny thing, though, was no one knew where this mountain was supposed to be. So, ironically, the reminder could not perform its intended job. Still, fables kept the spirits of the story alive and passed it down to the younger generations, so there was that.


    However, the mountain being ¡°missing¡± from the world didn''t stop the enterprising artists to come up with their own ideas of how the majestic landscape should look like. As a matter of fact, Damien was staring at one right now. And it was rather a nice painting, too. Must''ve cost a fortune.


    There was a family portrait hanging on another wall. Perhaps tellingly, there were not a single group portrait ¨C Count Lomax was always alone while Dukakis and Donatella shared a frame. There was one for a very young Damien as well, along with his dearly departed mother.


    He grimaced a little at that. It had been a long time since he thought about his mom. Ages, actually.


    And just by thinking of her and the complicated childhood he went through, Damien was reminded of his dead son. And the unborn child in Lizbeth''s womb.


    He suddenly felt real melancholic and lonely.


    What the hell am I doing here?! He sighed wearily. I.... I can''t remember what I''m supposed to do anymore. How.... tiring.


    Damien blinked his eyes as the view became misty. The images of his wife and daughter filled his mind. He missed them. A lot.


    He counted the days in the head and concluded that the pregnancy was at an advanced stage. Fortune willing, Lizbeth would give birth to another life soon.


    Damien swore to himself that he''d be there, no matter what. Even if it was the end of the world. Even if the civil war broke. Hell, even if those silly Visitors abducted him, he would find a way to come back.


    Thinking this, he felt at ease. He glanced around some more and saw a rough approximation of the territories governed by the House of Count Lomax, displayed proudly on the largest, most spacious wall in the chamber. It was another one of those artistic reinterpretations of a real map, its only purpose to grandly inflate the significance of the land belonging to this family.


    As his eyes traced the lines of the map that wasn''t a map, he saw the undulations that represented the border walls.


    Unconsciously, Damien began comparing the map Jonas drew on the pages of his journal to this painting. He began matching the landmarks that were on both of the maps. Before long, his eyes stopped moving as the map of the territory ended before he got to the ¡°X¡± in Jonas''s handiwork.


    However, this gave Damien an idea.


    Hmm. Maybe I should go and look for that metallic rings Jonas described. He did say it couldn''t be moved, that it looked ancient and whatnot. Or did I read it wrong?


    If those things are still there, then is it safe to assume everything I read in the journal, although not entirely convincing, has at least a kernel of truth?


    Damien nodded his head slowly as he made up his mind. Jonas jotted down the place where he slipped in through the borders; he could use that to sneak across.


    He''d have to prepare well, however. The Winter was coming, and it was going to be another harsh season of white blizzards and howling winds. And there was the Tigris Barbarians to look out for, never mind the hungry Fiends intent on having a feast with human flesh. Damien would prefer it was not his.


    The question was, though, whether he could make the trip in time for the birth of his child. He still had to go back to Argos on a Sky Ark. And get on a carriage, travel like a madman across the gridlocked city, go through the Academy''s entrance procedure ¨C all that took time.


    Could he be able to arrive in time?


    If he was just going to take a look at the site where those rings were, then he could. He might be cutting it close, but as long as he hurried, then sure, he would be there for the birth. That he was sure of.


    Once he computed all this, Damien began planning. He thought about the equipment he''d need, the provisions, maybe even hiring help ¨C the important question was about procuring the necessary finances first.


    Dukakis should compensate him handsomely for the job well done, so Damien was confident that as far as money was concerned, he was fine. As for the help, he''d go with the Adventurers he worked with while checking out the borders. The Barbarian terror threats have largely been suppressed by now, and the most of the infiltrators have been apprehended and taken care of. So, there should be a fair few Adventurers free to take on another assignment.


    And having extra eyewitnesses seemed like a good idea as well. Who knows what might happen out there.


    He was beginning to feel rather excited for some reason. The mere thoughts of exploring the vast, hostile wilderness on a yet another adventure were making him happy. It was right up his alley, so to speak.


    As he was chuckling to himself, Damien heard footsteps. When he looked up and checked to see who could it be, a group of unfamiliar faces in a jovial mood walked past the hallway visible via the open doorway.


    Since this audience chamber was near the entrance of the mansion, these people had to walk past Damien''s scrutiny if they wanted to leave.


    ¡°Who are they?¡±


    Damien asked Cassius, slightly curious about their origins. They sure didn''t look like military advisers to him.


    ¡°They are weapon merchants from the Capital Argos, my lord. They arrived three nights ago, and were negotiating with Lord Dukakis until now.¡±


    The old butler informed him quietly, as if he didn''t want others to hear.


    Nodding his head, Damien resumed his snacking after losing the little interest he had. However, he then had a lightbulb moment.


    Wait a minute. That unnamed noble must''ve come via a Sky Ark. That means he had to register his arrival via a Truth Board at the Station.


    That means there are records of his identity.


    Damien''s eyes flashed with the realization. If he could take a look at the records then he''d able to largely confirm Jonas''s story. Couple that with him personally checking out the site where the Visitors entered this realm, then he had his proofs.


    Where are the records kept, I wonder? It should be either here in the mansion, or at the City Hall''s archives.


    Damien furrowed his brows. He was sure of the records being there in the City Hall, but the problem was accessing it. He could flex his familial connections and gain an entrance that way, but that would mean providing adequate reasons for wanting to see the records to Dukakis.


    Since Damien wasn''t sure of the ones responsible for the blockage of the flow of information, he didn''t want to alert anyone just yet of his discovery. In other words, he didn''t want to lie to his brother.


    Hmm. Should I sneak in? No, that wouldn''t work. The security around the City Hall should be too tight for me to break in. And I''m not a rogue to begin with. Infiltrations were never my fort¨¦. Yeah, never mind that. Let''s think of another option.


    As he sat there contemplating, this time another round of clamoring footsteps could be heard. They sounded urgent.


    The figures flashing past the open doorway were soldiers. The looks of consternation were palpable on their faces. Quite obviously something bad had happened.


    Instinctively, Damien got up and followed the soldiers to their eventual destination.


    And that was Dukakis''s office.


    The soldiers hurriedly entered without even knocking and announced loudly.


    ¡°My lord!! There''s a trouble down at the City Hall!! It''s the Barbarian agents!!¡±


    ~


    Meanwhile, Kain was trying to drag his sluggish feet over the broken cobblestones that lined the streets of the dead city.


    The sun mercilessly beat down on his tired body. There were no shades to cool his burning muscles down either, as the buildings all around him were all in the states of demolition.


    A small and fluffy brown-colored squirrel squinted its eyes at him inquisitively, before energetically sprinting away and disappearing behind some broken structure.


    Yeah, sure. Abandon me and go away. Like I care.


    He grumbled inwardly as his feet continued the excruciatingly slow march forward. Behind him, a large rubble the size of a car''s door, tied to his waist with a vine. A ton of sweat fell off his head, soaking the thin and tattered tunic the boy wore.


    Yep, he was training. Like a slave. Emma''s idea.


    He has been dragging this large and heavy chunk of what was, in essence, a small boulder back and forth for a couple of days right after his internal injuries were more or less healed up. Not that he was injured too badly from the beginning, though ¨C just the case of extreme Aeterna drainage which could be cured by a good, long rest.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Anyways.


    After coming this close to crossing the river Styx in the underground research facility, Emma decided that Kain was too weak physically and it was about time she put him through some spartan training.


    The kind that easily matched the Old Man''s own hellish regime, and then some.


    The boy just wanted to kick back and relax, maybe throw in Aeterna and ch''i practices via the prolonged meditation sessions now and then, but that plan got shot all to hell.


    Just how long are you going to make me drag this damn thing around for?!


    Kain groaned aloud as he trudged forward until the edge of the rubble caught on an outcropping of some sort. And it refused to budge. Not even an inch.


    Too wasted to complain, he sat down on the ground and heavily panted. Emma told him not to use any ch''i or Aeterna with this training so it was proving to be doubly difficult considering his tiny physique. Not to mention cruel, too. Just how the hell was he to endure this torture?!


    This was not possible for someone as small as he was. No way he''d be able to develop enough muscles like this. After all, he was not a protagonist from a Japanese Shounen manga who was endowed with a convenient plot device like some.


    Sighing, he finally gave up and lied down on his back, watching the Autumn clouds slowly drift away in the crisp blue sky. One of them looked like a vanilla-flavored marshmallow. Oh, how he craved for something artificially sweetened, right about now.


    Another one floating lazily by; kinda looked like a slick sports car. Oh, how he wanted to drive one. The car, not the cloud, obviously.


    He knew very little about cars or how they worked, but at least his sense of aesthetics was just fine. He knew a nice looking piece of kit when he saw one. Didn''t really matter now, though. It was unlikely that he''d ever get to see a car in this lifetime. Unless he straight up went and invented it, like so many of the transmigrated MCs tend to do....


    Next, he saw a cloud that sorta looked like.... Emma''s face, of all things. It was right above his head, actually, peering at him curiously. Just like that squirrel from earlier. He thought that was one funny coincidence.


    However....


    ¡°Hey, whatcha doing, little master Kain?¡±


    The Emma-shaped cloud opened its mouth and asked him. He wasn''t prepared for that sudden event and jumped up surprised, banging his forehead against the cloud Emma''s with a dull thud.


    Turned out, it was real Emma after all.


    Both saw a cluster of stars swimming in front of their eyes for a few seconds, before she smacked him in the back of the head, irritated at the uncalled-for assault.


    ¡°Hey, what was that headbutt for?! It hurts, you know!!¡±


    Kain rubbed the front and the back of his head, apologizing. ¡°Sorry. You startled me, that''s all.¡±


    After all the wringing went away, Kain finally noticed two sets of bows slung over Emma''s shoulders so he asked her about them.


    ¡°Oh, these? They are for you, little master. Well, one of them is.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Why?¡±


    ¡°Don''t be silly. Of course, to shoot arrows. What else? I''m gonna teach you archery from now on.¡±


    Kain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Eh? You want me to practice one more thing on top of all the others?! Are you trying to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Awww, don''t be like that. It''s for your own good, you know. Look, you''re too short and small so you can''t swing a sword in a fight and hope to hit something. So, why not use a bow from a distance? I think it''ll be much, much better for you like that.¡±


    Kain hesitated for a second, before nodding his head. After giving the matter some thought, he had to admit what she said made sense.


    As things stood currently, getting up close and personal to deliver a satisfying smackdown was simply out of question. Besides his short reach, he just lacked enough strength to deal any fatal damage. Besides, he''d only get in the harm''s way, trying to act like a hero.


    But if he was a bit far away and continue to pepper his targets with arrows, especially if those said arrows were coated in deadly poison....


    Just thinking about this brought a creepy smile on his face.


    Seeing this grin, Emma backed off slightly, feeling just a bit scared at the evil leer.


    Ignoring her, Kain immediately consented for the archery training to be added to his already taxing regime.


    However, almost as soon as he decided to do this, a big problem arose.


    ¡°Uhm... hey, Emma. Don''t you think all of these bows are a bit.... on the big side for me?¡±


    ¡°What are talking about?! These are fine!!¡±


    Emma grabbed the bow she''d been using until recently and handed over to Kain.


    But then, she saw the problem herself, too.


    The bow was taller than Kain. There was no way the boy would be able to carry it around, let alone pull the string and fire an arrow with it.


    Silently, she looked at the bow, then at Kain. Then, she looked at the other bows she brought with her. And she kept on alternating the end of her gazes at the bows and Kain, her head bobbing up and down repeatedly.


    Soon, her cheeks reddened in embarrassment as the awkward atmosphere descended on the area.


    Kain stood there, not saying a word but inwardly amused of the proceedings so far.


    Emma lightly coughed and cleared her throat. ¡°Uhm. Right. So, ah. Yeah, I see what the problem is. So, ah.... Hmm. Oh, I know!! Why don''t we go and find out if there''s a bow for your size!!¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Where? In that underground facility again? No thanks.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no. Not there, but there!! In the armory, inside the fort!!¡±


    ~


    Last time Kain entered the depths of the fort, he took the passage on the ground floor to the right because of stupid reasons.


    This time, after being urged by Emma, he went upstairs by the grand staircase and to his left. Even here, vines were everywhere but to his surprise, they were not as prevalent as on the lower floors. If anything, the decay and the damage done by the passing time were a lot less severe.


    There were many other rooms here, with plenty of sunlight coming in through the open windows. As he advanced slowly, he even began to find ones with locked doors. On top of that, there was a faint but still present Aeterna coming out of these inaccessible rooms.


    He did his best to pry open one or two, and every time the result was the same ¨C the door broke open, he''d find a well-preserved room with all its furnishing intact, but then, whatever Invocation that kept the place pristine would end due to his presence, and everything crumbled to dust in a single heartbeat.


    This pattern repeated itself for a while longer, until he got towards the back of the fort, which meant he was getting nearer the top of that huge black doors with the ancient battlefield depicted on it.


    Here, the Aeterna flow was a lot stronger and the Invocations supporting the preservation of the rooms were that much stronger as well.


    And as the natural light faded with him moving closer to the interior of the fort, small crystals emitting soft blue glow acting as light sources in many of the preserved rooms began to appear frequently. If Damien, or for that matter, any experienced Adventurers, saw those crystals, they might have recognized them as the ubiquitous Lazulites found in many Sacred Acres around the continent.


    As the luck would have it, he even found several chests full of kids'' clothing. Some of them even fit him perfectly.


    He couldn''t say no to a new set of duds since his current wears were all full of holes. Even better, none of these turned to dust the moment he took them out of the Invocation spell''s area of effect.


    He did feel a bit morbid about snatching stuff off some dead kid, but now wasn''t the time to be squeamish about things like that. If he did, then that nice pair of leather shoes, which he wore without reservation, would have to endure rotting in solitude for all eternity, never knowing the pleasant sensation of a person''s toes wriggling within their innards.


    With his actions, he had liberated them all. That''s how Kain decided to look at it.


    After going through more rooms, he finally got to the pair of pretty large, dark metallic doors with quite a huge amount of Aeterna oozing off them. Since he could see the emblems of shields and spears and swords carved on the doors, even he could tell this was his destination, the armory.


    But getting here and entering were two different problems. Emma had gotten this far before, and according to her story, she had opened the door to take a peek inside so Kain believed he should be able to do the same as well.


    Although he wondered how the hell did that Elf woman even got this far ¨C after all, she was the one insisting on not coming anywhere near the fort, saying the whole place was sacred or some such.


    When he asked her about this inconsistency, she blamed her impetuous youthful attitude.


    Well, that''s not important right now. Let''s see, how do I open this heavy doors? There isn''t a doorknob or a place to slot in a key... Do I just push them in?


    Kain leaned over one of the doors and gave it a small shove. And it opened easily enough. All that worry for nothing in the end.


    In front of his eyes, an expansive armory stretched far. He saw so, so many weapons, all waiting for someone to come and take them away.


    There were no vines here; the walls were rough and unadorned, save for a handful of large, red flags hung on the walls. The emblem on it was a foreign one to Kain. There was some kind of writings on the flags but the alphabets were foreign, too.


    Immediately to his front, he saw a giant Invocation array carved on the floor. There was a matching one on the ceiling as well, which was high enough to let the tallest giraffe trundle around no problem. Aeterna flowing off these two told him they were the ones keeping everything fresh and usable until now. What a preservation spell this was.


    They emitted an eerie glow, blanketing the armory and all its contents. Those crystals with blue lights were present in here as well, sensibly placed on top of each stack of carefully sorted weapons.


    Kain stepped cautiously inside, checking out the state of each displayed weapons. Spears and lances of various lengths and thickness were propped up against the walls on either side in the wooden racks. Shields were hung on the walls, plain steel swords, placed in leather scabbards lining the tops of many stone plinths.


    There were fewer bows here then other types of weapons, though. Like the shields, they were hung on walls by their limbs ¨C frames ¨C and not by the strings. Quivers of fine arrows were located below; Kain estimated there were at least ten thousand of them here. Whether that was a lot of arrows or not, he couldn''t tell.


    He went around inside the armory, carefully feeling the sharp edges of all the blades; not a spot of rust or decay was present - as if they were manufactured only yesterday.


    As he walked forward a bit, he saw a display cabinet that was different to the others. Many cabinets were filled with majestic swords and armors and other assortments of cool, fantasy-spec weapons, but this one cabinet gave off a slightly more somber atmosphere. When he looked in, there was a gleaming dagger placed inside.


    A medium-sized dagger if an adult held it, but a full-size sword for Kain''s diminutive figure, for some reason he could not tear his eyes away from it.


    Kain carefully lifted it out, feeling its substantial weight. He was equally careful as he slid the scabbard off the blade, revealing the ultra-smooth, beautifully polished surface. It was even shaped like the claw of a bird of prey.


    Both the hilt and scabbard also had elaborate, minutely detailed carvings and decorations of a large bird-like fantasy creature etched on the tough leather, showing off the kind of care and craftsmanship commonly seen in a super-expensive item.


    He clearly saw his own reflections on the blade. In that moment, he knew he wanted this dagger. He wanted it more than he wanted the next breath.


    So, he tucked it in the belt. This dagger was his now. And no one was going to stop him from claiming it so. Once so equipped, the heaviness of the weight seemed to disappear.


    And as for the bows, his original reason for coming here, they were all too darn big for him. Hell, there was a batch of bows so gigantic, it seemed like only the giants could use them ¨C each bow was as tall as two Kains stacked on top of one another.


    And as for the arrows, he decided not to take them either, as they were all designed to be used in conjunction with the large bows. In other words, he couldn''t use them.


    He could take a few for Emma, but she didn''t seem to be left wanting for the extra quantity of arrows, so it wasn''t really necessary. Besides, even a single quiver full of arrows looked pretty heavy. So, he''d rather not.


    Smiling contently, he left the armory and the door closed by itself behind him.


    Kain no longer saw the point in staying there anymore. So, it was time to leave.


    However, he wasn''t disappointed at all. Nope. He was as pleased as a man could get, actually. That dagger felt so right in his hands, it was as if the weapon was meant for him. That a blacksmith from the distant past knew Kain would come so he prepared it for that eventual day.


    As crazy as that might sound, that''s how Kain felt about it.


    Walking on light steps, Kain leisurely made his way out. In the meantime, he took out the dagger to examine it closely. He swung it around, taking a mock battle stance, thrusting it forward and following it up with a well-practiced kick.


    Oh, man, this thing feels so good!! Boy, am I glad that I went there or what. What a find.


    Normally, a man''s desire would be to hold a gleaming, heroic sword, like say, Excalibur or some such, but for Kain, he preferred this over those showy weapons. For one, he couldn''t even wield them in the first place, so unless he was looking for an expensive paperweight, he had no business with them.


    And two, this dagger, size-wise, was perfect for him. The blade itself was made of a metal Kain couldn''t recognize, probably the genre-trope magical metal only found in the realms of fantasy.


    He swung it one more time, smiling, then by accident he struck one of the countless vines in the passageway.


    Kain knew how sturdy these vines could be, so he wasn''t too disappointed to see only a small nick on the dark green surface, but that made him wonder.


    If he could reinforce his body with ch''i or Aeterna, or both, then could he do the same to weapons in his hands?


    He even scared himself for thinking of stuff like that. Could a regular person even dream of such a thing in the first place? Not likely, unless he/she was deeply invested in becoming a fantasy hero in a near future.


    Taking a deep breath, Kain tried to infuse just a tiny bit of ch''i into the dagger. To his surprise, it was like trying to fill up a bucket with water when there was a massive hole on the bottom. It was literally an endless black hole, continuously demanding the nonstop flow of ch''i into it.


    No, this is wrong. This can''t be right.


    Kain frowned and stopped what he was doing. After giving it some more thought, he then decided to infuse the dagger with Aeterna from his own Pool instead. Since his Affinity lay with Earth Element, that was what he went with.


    The dagger became incomparably heavier. He nearly dropped it because of that. But thanks to the added weight, the impact behind each thrusts were greater. In other words, he just haphazardly found a way to increase the damage of each of his swings.


    ¡°Cool!!¡±


    Kain chuckled loudly as he swung the heavier dagger around after bolstering his arm muscles with the Body Enhancement spell. It was still heavy, but not unreasonably so. He could definitely use this.


    As for the mystery of ch''i being swallowed up, he''d need to investigate more thoroughly later on.


    He believed that the golden disc and this nameless dagger would serve him real well in the future.


    Happily, things were looking up for him now.


    (A slightly short chapter today. My bad.)

 Chapter 43

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">43</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you manage to spot them, please let me in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    ¡°What is the current situation?¡±


    There was a deep frown on Dukakis''s face as he spoke to the small, flickering image of the city''s guard captain. The image was being transmitted from a portable communication crystal, the one held by the man. To say the man''s face was solemn ¨C now that was an understatement of the year.


    Currently, Dukakis was in his office, surrounded by his advisers and Damien. And none of them had happy faces, which was perfectly understandable considering the situation. The atmosphere within was also quite intolerable.


    ¡°My lord. The situation is volatile as we speak. Scores of Barbarian combatants have barricaded themselves inside the City Hall, holding the City Magistrate, City Officials as well as numerous civilians hostage. I have cordoned off the immediate area and placed archers on the rooftops just in case.¡±


    Dukakis held his head, his face now a pit of anger and confused agony. The frown on his head now was as deep as a canyon. Groaning like a wounded bear, he asked the image of the captain.


    ¡°What are their reasons for taking hostages? And how did they get inside the city, my city, without being detected?! Bloody hell. What else is there? Are they making threats? Demands? Anything?¡±


    ¡°No, my lord. They have only sealed themselves inside, and warned us that if we approach, they will execute all the hostages.¡±


    ¡°How can they seal themselves inside?! The City Hall isn''t a bloody fort, for heaven''s sake!! Can you not storm your way in and subdue the bastards, Captain?¡±


    Dukakis exploded in anger, his eyes bloodshot. He angrily slammed his fist down on the desk, rocking the contents on top. The flickering image then shook like the flame of a dying candle before restoring itself again. The face of the Captain showed a slight shock but he did well not to show it off for too long. Seeing that, Dukakis managed to calm down just a tad.


    ¡°No, disregard that, Captain,¡± Dukakis shook his head and massaged his temples weakly. ¡°You said that City Magistrate is one of the hostages. Has his safety been confirmed?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord. One of the Barbarians displayed the Magistrate near the window of his office. That was only a few moments ago..... My lord!! Someone''s come out of the building!! Please hold on for a while as I ascertain the current situation!!¡±


    Everyone in the room tensed up at this unexpected development. A thick, uncomfortable silence continued for a what seemed like forever while they waited for the captain to return.


    Finally, the static image of the captain reappeared, his face sweaty and his breath heavy.


    ¡°What say you? What news do you bring us?¡±


    Dukakis impatiently asked.


    ¡°That is.... the person was one of the hostages, a maidservant. She brought the demands made by the Barbarians. The invaders want all their brethren we have apprehended released, as well as the return of the Mystic Totem of Lepudia Tribe. They want this done before the day''s nightfall, or one hostage will be killed every half hour.¡±


    ¡°That again?! Are these Barbarians deaf? Or are they just too slow to understand? We repeatedly let it known that we do not have the bloody Totem!! Oh, dear goddess. This is just....¡±


    One of the military advisers angrily spat out, throwing his hands in the air in an exasperated manner. Other advisers too, went on various abusive tirades of their own.


    Of course, all these yappings did nothing to lift the taut and tense air of the office not one bit. If anything, they made it worse.


    Taking a short glance at the unhelpful folks, Damien wanted to shake his head but didn''t. He knew from experience that people like these did not take too kindly even the slightest of slights or disrespect towards them. Stuff about having pride and some such useless egotistical nonsense. In all honesty, Damien couldn''t care about stroking their ego any less even if he tried, but for the sake of harmony ¨C what''s left of it ¨C he decided to not to show his emotion.


    Instead, he thought it would be better to be helpful.


    ¡°Dukakis, setting aside the issue with the Totem, what can you tell me about the Barbarian prisoners? How many are in custody right now?¡±


    Dukakis''s face darkened even further before answering the question.


    ¡°We had 23, if I recall correctly. However, more than half that number have already been executed for the crimes of murder and destruction of the Empire''s property. The fates of the rest are pending in the military tribunal.¡±


    Damien was shocked to hear his brother''s reply, and could not hide his emotion this time around. ¡°....Well, that was unexpectedly expedient, wasn''t it? Were they even given a proper legal counsel? Did the due process even adhere to?¡±


    The tone of his voice didn''t go unnoticed by the military advisers. And sure enough, the man who did the exaggerated hand gestures chimed in with his displeasure.


    ¡°Of course, the constitutions of our Great Empire was adhered to!! We provided them with more than adequate defense, yet their guilt was never in doubt!! The speedy nature of their trials was only due to the overwhelming amount of evidence all pointing to the one inevitable conclusion, the verdict of guilty as charged. So, why waste time and resources on these murdering bastards?!¡±


    Damien briefly pursed his lips in annoyance before ignoring the man completely. What had happened, happened. Nothing could be done about it, now. The ones left behind had to do as the bargaining chip. Although, since their comrades were already mostly dead, it was unknown how the Barbarians would react to the news.


    Damien was pretty sure it wouldn''t nice, though.


    Turning his attention back to his brother, he asked. ¡°What will you do, Dukakis? Do you have anyone with hostage negotiation skills?¡±


    Dukakis shook his head. ¡°None. But do we need one? They are just a bunch of uneducated Barbarians. Surely, we could make them acquiesce either with threats or incentives.¡±


    ¡°No, that won''t work,¡± replied Damien. ¡°I''m not an expert, but have seen a few doing their jobs before, and let me tell you this ¨C uneducated ones are the worst to deal with in this types of situations. They won''t listen to reason and will try to stick to the script. Their script. Whatever incentive we come up with, they won''t bite. Worse, these guys are not soft. They took over the Hall ¨C they are intending on throwing away their lives if it comes down to that.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you suggest we do? We can''t even meet their demands half of the way. All I can think about is to gather up the troops and storm the building. Otherwise, will there be any other resolution for us? Any other options?¡±


    Dukakis seemed to age another decade as he exchanged words with Damien. He looked wane, weaker, pale ¨C as if he hadn''t seen the sun for a good few months.


    After thinking for a bit, Damien sighed out loud. He too, couldn''t see a good way to handle this without taking casualties. The one Dukakis worried the most was the City''s Magistrate; he was the top government official of the city. Dispatched by the Capital to oversee the complicated matters of carrying out the mandate of the Empire''s legal system, a Magistrate was, in essence, a Mayor and a General Secretary rolled into one.


    Needless to say, the man had quite a bit of political clout in the city and beyond. To have him fall at the hands of the Barbarians would be very bad for Dukakis and the Lomax household in general.


    Until now, the chaos that wrecked the city didn''t spread too far and wide, all because of the concerted efforts of the merchant company, West & Brooks. And later on, even Dukakis himself playing an active role in convincing the Magistrate to under-report the significance of the outbreak of violence in the city.


    That act of convincing took some doing on Dukakis''s part. He worked pretty hard to get the Magistrate on his side. Palms were greased a lot.


    Yet, now there was a chance that all his hard work was about to be unraveled here, all because of the thick headed morons from the land beyond the borders. It was so very aggravating to the extreme.


    When the news of the Barbarians invading the City Hall reached his ears, Dukakis tried to get in touch with the Magistrate via the communication crystal but to no avail. And now, his worst fears were confirmed. After this debacle, whether the man survived or not, the repercussions would be severe. For himself, and for his family.


    Taking a deep breath, Dukakis looked around his office, making sure he had a firm eye contact with everyone present. Only then did he spoke, firmly and slowly.


    ¡°Gentlemen. We proceed with force. We can''t bargain with these bastards. They have already taken too much from us, from this glorious city. I shall not allow it any longer. Get the men ready for an incursion!!¡±


    ~


    When Damien followed the flustered soldier to his brother''s office, he didn''t know what to think at first. But then, somehow, this whole incident had morphed into a god-send opportunity.


    How so? Pretty simple, really.


    Currently, Damien was looking at the City Hall as he crouched on the rooftop of a nearby building. He had volunteered his services for this operation, all in the hopes of getting inside the City Hall''s archives. And to take a gander at the records for all those who had entered the city via Sky Arks.


    Risky, for sure, but also potentially solving all his headaches in one go.


    The plan was two-fold. Literally.


    Two armed squads of men would enter the Hall, one team via the roof while the others via underground sewerage. For that purpose, Damien was assigned to the roof team. The building they were on happened to be taller than the Hall itself, allowing him and his group to attach a line of rope and zip-line down.


    The other team had a lot less glamorous and no doubt smelly proposition, as they would utilize the underground network of sewers that were built ages ago when the city''s foundation was being laid down. One of these sewer lines went under the Hall, a necessity in design since the government building, formerly of the Count''s residence before converting into what it was now, possessed several bathrooms.


    Each team faced their own challenges but their objectives were crystal clear ¨C to assess the enemy''s strength. To assess where they were located. To assess the level of threat they actually possessed.


    And then proceed to kill or apprehend all the Barbarians in the building. Try to minimize the civilian casualties but the priority should be placed on completely neutralizing the threat posed by the foreign enemies.


    Truly, easier said than done.


    When Damien looked over the edge of the rooftop and at the City Hall itself, he saw one or two Barbarian warriors gazing out of the upper story windows. The Hall building was three stories high, with each floor considerably taller than what''s considered the normal height. Still, Damien''s roof was higher.


    All in all, the angle of the infiltration was as ideal as it could get. He could see the Barbarian sentry just fine, but they could not see him. After observing for a while, Damien gave a nod to the team leader, a signal to fire a great arrow tied to a thick rope.


    The City Hall''s roof allowed people to climb on top of it in order to perform maintenance. Thus, there were a plenty of areas where a rope could be secured.


    The first to go was Damien. Using his prosthetic arm''s available strength he made to the other side in a jiffy. Then he proceeded to take down the sentry who happened to wander into the rooftop. Silently, of course.


    Next, he secured the rope to make sure the rest of the team could use it as well.


    The team consisted of twelve men so it took a bit of time for them to cross the gap between the buildings. It was one hell of a nerve wrecking thing to watch and wait for Damien, hoping that the Lady Luck was on their side today. And since they all carried weapons and wore armors, their speed was on the wrong side of slow.


    Still, no mishap occurred. All twelve crossed safely.


    Next up ¨C to wait for the signal from the sewer team, that they have made it inside. For that purpose, a tiny, one-time use communication crystal that combusted right after its usage.


    Damien didn''t have to wait long before the crystal went up in smoke, the sign they were patiently waiting for. He sent one of his own to let the other team know the operation was a go.


    The rooftop team entered the building through the access panel. Every time the soldiers who were not trained for these types of warfare, made a blunder by making too much noise, Damien couldn''t help but swear in his heart.


    Nothing he could do now ¨C even if he wanted to get angry, just one look at the scared faces of the soldiers accompanying him cooled all his anger right away. They were not Adventurers trained to become the jack of all trades but to guard the city from the ruffians and criminal elements. Sneaking around trying to silently take down numerous targets were not on their training schedule.


    Before commencing with the mission, Damien and the soldiers had taken a look at the layout of the City Hall and its various floors so he knew roughly where to go. The Magistrate''s scared face was displayed on the top floor, the one Damien was on. Also, coincidentally, the floor where the Magistrate''s office was located, too. Maybe, that wasn''t a coincidence, but whatever.


    If the Barbarians were wise, then the hostages would have been brought into a single room for a better crowd control. If they were playing it even smarter, then they would seperate one or two high value hostages in another room, not too far but not too close either.


    The archers stationed across the rooftops of opposing building had estimated that the most of the hostages were indeed on the top floor, something the freed hostage, the maidservant, corroborated earlier on.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    As for the Barbarians, they split up, with scores of them guarding the most obvious entry point, the front entrance while the rest guarded the hostages or went around searching for others they might have missed within the building.


    The ones manning the front were the sewer team''s responsibility. As for the confusion created by them, the rooftop team was going to utilize that and storm the office and rescue the Magistrate and the hostages. At least, as long as there were no unforeseen events.


    Once inside, Damien was not too surprised to find the hallways dead quiet. It was probably too much to imagine the top floor bustling with activities normally since the floor was off limits to civilians anyways, but still, it was rather eerily silent.


    After telling the soldiers to stay put, Damien went around stealthily and checked out each of the rooms and offices to see what''s what. Most of them were empty, save for the Magistrate''s and his secretary''s. There were signs of people in there.


    He decided to take a closer look if possible and was about to approach the Magistrate''s office when the corner of his eye caught a flickering light. When he examined it closely, there was an unfamiliar object placed on one of the walls, with a small red dot that continued to blink rhythmically.


    He slowly prodded it with his fingers ¨C and it kinda felt like clay. Even the colors were similar, except for the thing with a red blinking light on it. That one was black, and it was firmer to touch.


    Now that he glanced around the rooms, he spotted more of these weird contraptions. Damien was pretty sure these didn''t belong with the original d¨¦cor.


    What reinforced that notion was some kind of unknown letters written on each of the objects'' surface.


    If Kain was here, he''d most likely recognize what those letters were, though. After all, they were ''C'' and ''4.''


    Whatever they were, Damien felt a bit ominous vibe coming off them. So he wanted to check out the lower floors to make sure they were empty of people as well as these strange things, but something else ended up distracting him.


    The thing was, the hostages were divided into two groups in gender. Males were in the Magistrate''s office and the women were corralled in the other. What stopped Damien from moving on was that the women folk had terrible things being done to them. This made him forget all about the strange blinking red lights for now.


    He had half a mind to rush in and bash in the skulls of the Barbarians, but he held back his fury. Gritting his teeth, he returned to where the soldiers were crouching, while cutting down the Barbarian sentries as quietly as possible. He knew very well that the time was not right yet.


    Mercifully, that time arrived sooner rather than later.


    A cacophony of noise exploded from downstairs. A signal that the sewer team has engaged the enemy.


    It''s time!!


    Damien narrowed his eyes, the controlled anger being unleashed. Soldiers didn''t need his prompt in order to spring into action ¨C they were already moving, killing intents blazing in their eyes like the desert sun.


    The Barbarians who were busy forcing themselves on the female hostages looked around in confusion and disarray by the time Damien and the soldiers rushed in. As quickly as possible, the heads rolled off the necks, arrows from the crossbows stuck in various body parts, and before the dust settled, the women were freed.


    Ignoring their plight for now as their lives were no longer in danger, Damien and the soldiers rushed into the next door.


    The fighting here was fiercer. Might as well, since there wasn''t much to distract the Barbarians from their duties, unlike the situation in the next room.


    And inevitably, casualties rose. The Barbarians took human shields, trying to buy time ¨C something Damien couldn''t afford to waste. So, he exploded with action, not caring about the consequences.


    In the end, though, Magistrate was freed, largely unhurt but visibly shaken by the ordeal. A couple of hostages had died but all in all, better than expected result for the soldiers.


    However, his rescue was not what Damien came here for, so he left the clean up to the soldiers and swiftly made his way down the stairs, to the ground floor where the records were being kept.


    And that''s where the true trouble began for him.


    As soon as he arrived, something felt off about this particular floor. Sure, there was a fierce fighting happening towards where the soldiers and the Barbarians were. But that wasn''t it.


    He sensed other people, and at the same time, he didn''t. It was as if there were extra presences here that didn''t want to be detected.


    Feeling rather apprehensive because of this, Damien hid behind the corner and took a peek around the edge instead of walking down the corridor. He saw that the way up ahead was clear, and moved on, as quietly as possible, towards the archives where the records were kept.


    The doors, which should have been locked, were broken into. And this was where all that presences Damien felt earlier on were. He stiffened momentarily but after recovering his composure, carefully entered past the broken door.


    Sure enough, Damien witnessed a group of four men busy installing those clay-like things on the walls, while whispering in a foreign language to each other. Quickly hiding in the shadows, he studied what they were doing, or for that matter, who they were.


    After all, why would the Barbarians enter the records for? What were they looking for in here?


    From Damien''s observation, these people were in a hurry, as if something unexpected had occurred, or at least, things did not go according to the plan.


    Whatever the case may be, Damien was now pretty much sure of one thing ¨C these people were not Barbarians. Their physique was too different. For one, those Northern tribesmen were known for their huge bodies, rippling muscles and long, unkempt blond hairs. Many of them sported tribal markings on their faces, denoting which tribe they belonged to. Oh, and the most sure-fire way to tell a Barbarian apart from the citizens of Empire was the earlobes ¨C for some reason, theirs were always longer.


    And not to mention, more often than not, beards. Dirty and unshaven, shaggy beards.


    But these guys? For one, their hair was trimmed very short. Their skin was well tanned. And although fit and muscular, they were not as big as the archetypal Barbarians at all, even if they were dressed to blend in. But they did have beards, so Damien was slightly stumped on that one.


    There was one more thing that convinced Damien that these men were not Barbarians ¨C almost all of them held a black cylindrical thing on their persons.


    Now, he wasn''t sure what those items were but, he had an inkling. A good one, in fact. If his assertions were correct, then those were the very same weapons described in Jonas''s journal. Used by the Visitors.


    What the hell are the Visitors doing in here, in this City Hall?!


    Damien frowned, not sure of what to do. Should he wait until they were done with whatever their mission objective was? Or should he try to stop them? From what he read in that journal, it was rather plain that these people were not friends. If anything, they would try to kill him the moment he revealed himself.


    The unknown factor was those weapons. Damien just couldn''t tell what they could do. Were they an Invocation Tool? Were they some type of crossbows that fired darts? Or did Jonas grossly exaggerate their capabilities? He had no way to tell unless he started engaging them head on. Not ideal.


    And what were those clay things for? Why were they setting them up in here too?


    The longer he watched, the more ominous he felt about this whole thing. Suddenly, he wondered whether this hostage taking business was the work of these Visitors, and not the Barbarians, all just to enter the City Hall and do.... something inside.


    But what?


    The Visitors finally finished with their job and began to pile out of the exit. Damien remained hidden until they were gone for good before emerging from the spot. Taking another deep breath, he decided not to worry about what they were doing for now and concentrate on his own reason for coming here.


    He hurriedly searched until he found the cabinet storing the Sky Ark transit records. As expected, it had an Invocation lock placed on it. But that didn''t matter ¨C he had his prosthetic arm.


    Flexing his metallic muscles, Damien gripped the cabinet''s drawer and forcibly yanked at it. And voila: the spell could not endure the enormous strength exerted by the arm and snapped loose, spilling its contents like vomit.


    The numerous scrolls and parchments fell out in ugly, disorganized fashion, making Damien curse out inadvertently. Now he had to sift through all this mess just to find one or two scraps of paper.


    He knelt down and began to sort, grumbling inwardly. He didn''t forget to keep an eye out the door just in case as well.


    He remembered the dates from the journal so Damien concentrated on looking for anything around those. However, it turned out that the records kept here did not extend that far back, only going as far as two years prior.


    Realizing this, he grimaced deeply but didn''t give up. The last time that unidentified noble came here was less than a year ago, so something should still remain here.


    He finally found a bundle of parchments from the week of the date in question. Since it was unknown how long it would take for a group of snooty noblemen to make the journey past the borders, Damien thought it prudent to start looking about three to four days prior to the noble''s arrival at the construction site up North.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t get the chance to do just that.


    Damien discovered that man''s presence entering the archives a little too late. And by the time he sensed it, the two of them were facing each other.


    The man raised that black cylindrical thing and pointed it at Damien. The finger hooked around the top of the "handle bar" flinched. And instinctively, Damien flinched as well, raising his prosthetic arm to protect his chest.


    There was a trio of sharp but not so loud popping sounds, and he felt an incredible amount of force slam into his metal arm. He was knocked off the feet and sent crashing down on the messy pile of papers below.


    He felt dizzy but sober enough to pull his butt up and take a dive behind the rows of cabinets. Just as well ¨C as soon as he did that, more of those popping noises echoed out and the cabinets shattered into fine splinters.


    Damien cursed inwardly as the numbness spread all over his right shoulder, the one connected to the arm. He quickly inspected the damage and felt a chill run down his back, seeing three clear dents that had formed on the bicep and the forearm areas.


    Well, Jonas didn''t exaggerate, after all!!


    Damien grimaced deeply, knowing how difficult it was to damage his arm like this. Coming from the first-hand experience, obviously. Relieved to find the bundle of records still clutched in his grasp, he hastily stuffed it inside his chest armor and crouched low.


    He heard the footsteps from the Visitor, so he moved from his spot, trying to flank the man with the black cylindrical weapon. Damien then heard him whisper, but to whom, he couldn''t tell, never mind the contents of the whisper itself.


    More importantly, though, he felt the breathing was getting tougher. When he was hit, the arm was pushed against his chest. Damien knew something had to be broken or at least really bruised in his ribcage. This situation was not getting any better at all.


    Gripping his saber Frostbane tightly, Damien took a deep breath and unsheathed it with his left hand. A cold gleam shone off the blade like the pale Winter moonlight.


    Hardening his expression, Damien moved and went around the cabinet quickly, leaping over the top to surprise the Visitor. The pointy end of the black weapon was then sliced apart by the ultra-sharp edge of Frostbane while he kicked the man in the chest, forcing him to take a tumble backward.


    Grunting in surprise, the Visitor continued the tumble and utilized the momentum from that roll to stand right back up. He discarded the cylindrical weapon and it slung around to his back on a black strap.


    Then, he pulled out a black dagger with serrated edges on both sides. Rather than calling it a dagger, though, it was more akin to a short sword. That''s how big it was.


    Damien took his own stance and watched the Visitor look at him with feverish eyes. They were kind of eyes that a frenzied predator might have.


    Silently, the two sized each other up before the Visitor made his move first by lunging forward with that dagger.


    Damien blocked it with his metal arm and brought Frostbane forward in a sharp swing. The Visitor barely dodged it, the corners of his fur coat getting caught in the arc and got sliced apart.


    Surprisingly, this did not deter the man and instead, he closed in fast. Damien had little time to react to that.


    Again using the metal arm, he slammed against the Visitor but he was grabbed instead and had a well-practiced knee drive into his sternum.


    The stinging, numbing pain shot out of his chest, but Damien forcibly suppressed it and used his strong prosthetic arm to shove the Visitor off. The shock in the man''s face was writ large at this display of pure, explosive power.


    Taking this chance, Damien swung Frostbane down and slashed at the hand of the Visitor holding that dagger. Blood arced gracefully in the air as the black weapon and a severed hand flew, quickly followed by the pained cry coming out of the Visitor''s mouth.


    Determined to finish this fight once and for all, Damien raised the sword over his head to slash down when he belatedly sensed another presence hurriedly entering the archives.


    It was too late for him to dodge cleanly ¨C the popping sounds rang out once more, this time from the second Visitor. Something pierced past Damien''s shoulder armor and gouged his flesh, breaking the bone within.


    Ignoring the pain, Damien ducked out of the way again, behind the cabinets all the while being showered by the explosions of splinters everywhere. He rolled on the ground, trying desperately to shield his face and other vital areas from this unprecedented assault.


    ¡°Damn it!!¡±


    He shouted out in frustration as he crawled away towards the window.


    Even though the archives were ostensibly situated on the ground floor, it didn''t mean it was level with the outside ground. If anything, it was more like the second floor in height alone.


    But Damien had no choice in the matter. The moment the second Visitor came around the corner and began firing again, he jumped out of the window, breaking apart the expensive glass.


    He landed awkwardly and rolled on his back several times before coming to a stop. His entire body ached like hell. Blood was pouring out of his shoulder. His left leg was not responding to his commands. He couldn''t even feel it at all.


    But he still knew the danger wasn''t over yet. He stumbled forward like a madman, trying desperately to reach the safety. Far up ahead, soldiers that were manning the perimeters, saw him and came rushing in, looking surprised but still ready to fulfill their duties regardless.


    Damien quickly identified himself and raised his arms, only to feel the back-breaking pain from his hurt shoulder again. His blood still flowed out too, so even to a most idiotic layman, he was clearly wounded and needed help.


    Thankfully, the Visitors did not follow him out and attack indiscriminately. Otherwise, the civilian casualties would have been terrible. In hindsight, Damien knew he made a mistake, one made instinctively in order to save his own hide. Naught he could do now other than to reflect on it.


    As he was taken away for treatment, Damien watched the City Hall building, hoping that nothing bad would happen to it and the people inside.


    He was taken to a tent set up as a temporary medical center and was asked to lie down on a gurney.


    The Invoker in charge of healing carefully removed his blood-soaked armor; then his torn tunic. As a healing Invocation was being performed on him, Damien took a long, relieved breath. For now, his objective was achieved, more or less. Once alone, he''d take a good long look at the records and try to match the description of the noble with the transit papers.


    With this wound, it was obvious he was not going anywhere anytime soon. Whether that was a blessing in disguise or not, he didn''t know yet.


    ¡°What kind of wound is this? Did you get hit by an arrow? Did you pull it out?¡±


    The Invoker in charge of healing asked Damien, his face showing a bit of confusion.


    ¡°Err, not sure,¡± Damien replied quickly. He didn''t want to say it was a strange Invocation Tool used by a Visitor from another Realm. If he did, then most likely, rather than healing his shoulder, the Invoker might try to examine the state of his mind instead. ¡°I think it was an Invocation of some kind. It was too fast to see.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±


    The Invoker squinted his eyes, not looking all that convinced. Then his eyes flickered. ¡°Don''t move, sir. It might hurt a bit but try not to move too much.¡±


    As he said, it hurt a lot. Damien nearly fainted from all that pain.


    The Invoker, however, was too busy pulling out a shrapnel from Damien''s wound to notice the plight of his patient.


    ¡°Huh, would you look at that?¡±


    The Invoker showed the blood-soaked piece of tiny metal to Damien. This time, it was Damien''s turn to feel shocked.


    He was no idiot ¨C he could figure out pretty quickly that the black cylindrical thing was firing the metal bits like this one at him. It was exactly like miniature cannons employed by the Imperial Army, in that it fired a metallic projectile at a blinding speed. And both the cannon and the weapon of the Visitor were cylindrical and black in color.


    Couldn''t be a coincidence.


    As Damien grasped the metal, suddenly a huge, powerful explosion rocked everything.


    Stumbling out of the chair he was sitting on, Damien rushed out to catch the moment the City Hall building crumbled into nothingness in a huge fireball.


    (Situation report: it''s been raining like there''s no tomorrow here for a week solid. Before that, the whole country was going through a bout of a serious drought. And now, the reports of flash floods dominate the local news channels.... Well, what can I say. My thoughts are with the victims.)

 Chapter 44

    44


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    A chaos. That''s what it was. An utter chaos, to seemingly end all the other chaos in the universe.


    The fire that raged after the collapse of the City Hall building needed the whole night to bring under control. Even then, the destructive flames didn''t truly recede away, choosing to continuously burn and melt bricks and bones alike.


    And as the morning Sun broke the dark horizon with its pale light, the ceaseless streams of charred and mangled bodies flowed out endlessly. Lifeless, soulless carcasses being carried out one by one from the still smoldering ruin as the grains of sand fell in the hourglass.


    Damien grimly looked on from the side, a thick blanket wrapped around him to ward off the bone-chilling cold. He lost count just how many bodies were recovered so far. No survivors at all. Excluding him, that was.


    All the Barbarians, all the soldiers, all the hostages ¨C all dead, most likely.


    He could hear the occasional shouts from those charged with recovery of the remains. Some were asking for additional assistance, some swearing aloud, some were offering heartfelt prayers to their chosen deities for the souls of the departed.


    In the air, black ash and smoke swirled and danced with the wind, slowly choking all the unfortunate souls working hard below as they toiled away, fighting the horrors of the reality and all that nausea rising from within.


    The Sun''s rays soon overtook the lit torches as the source of illumination. Yet, no cheers could be heard. If anything, brighter light only served to starkly illustrate the ultimate carnage brought upon the scenery around the plot of land where the City Hall used to stand.


    The building itself was gone, with only the foundation remaining. Surrounding buildings that were too close also collapsed, either trapping or killing all its occupants outright.


    Streets that were once pristine and perfectly laid out were now pockmarked and ruined. Puddles were forming within those holes, remnants of the moisture that iced up during the night now defrosting under the sunlight.


    Damien slowly rubbed his shoulders; the healing Invocation had made sure the wounds he received from the Visitors were more or less all patched up. But he still felt the chills permeating into his bones whenever the winds blew.


    He sighed softly. So many people have died. No one could tell why that was so. No one here could provide any solid explanations how this tragedy occurred. No one was brave, or perhaps, foolish enough, to offer up any theories yet. Obviously, too early for that. The time for the vocal ones to rise up with the voice of discontent would be sooner rather than later, though.


    But whatever the case may be, things would never be the same from now on. For the Lucius Lomax family and for the city, mostly. And perhaps, with how the Empire interacted with the various Barbarian tribes beyond the borders.


    The military advisers had made their way from the Count''s mansion and were directing the relief efforts, for whatever worth they were at this point. Dukakis, on the other hand, was not around, having left the scene with his eyes totally bloodshot and crazed. It was plain to see that he was under an enormous pressure at the moment.


    Even Damien wanted to leave, in all honesty. What good could he possibly do here? If anything, he was a hindrance, nothing more, in his current condition.


    But to his chagrin, he found himself unwilling to leave. He simply couldn''t walk away from this place just yet. As the morning dew settled on his hair, he stood there like a scarecrow as the throngs of people moved around him, avoiding him like the raging currents of the floodwater going around a boulder.


    In his head, he was replaying everything that had happened inside the City Hall. Nothing seemed amiss ¨C apart from the thing with those Visitor bastards, that was.


    He had no basis for the one wild theory buzzing in his head. But he knew. He just knew deep in his bones, that this, all of this chaos, the destruction, the loss of many lives, was the handiwork of the Visitors.


    It all fit quite well. There was just no way a Barbarian was capable of an Invocation that powerful. No way. Never mind the fact that he would never choose to blow himself and his comrades up just because things turned a bit unfavorable for them.


    But the Visitors, on the other hand, were capable. No, whether they could wield Aeterna or not was unknown at this point in time, but those miniaturized cannons were a proof enough to convince Damien that they were capable of pulling off something of this magnitude.


    But why? Why would they enter a city full of regular, unaware folks to blow up a government building for?


    That''s why Damien continued to replay the scene inside his head over and over again, hoping for an answer to present itself. He wanted to understand their motivations for committing this atrocity. But nothing useful came to his mind.


    And how could he be so sure it was the Visitors that did this in the first place? He could be wrong about his assumption after all.


    Sure, he found the lot of them installing those strange clay brick things inside the archives, but he found those things all over the building''s interior so it was not specific that particular room was being targetted. It could mean they finished setting those things in the rest of the building and the archives were the last place to receive their attention.


    Damien grimaced, knowing how confused he felt right now. The longer he stood there and contemplate, the less certain everything seemed to him.


    Then, the sketch of that noble from the Capital suddenly popped back in his mind. How strong was the possibility of that the man somehow also involved in this attack? Like, the way he was negotiating with the Visitors to instigate a civil war.


    Damn it. I just don''t know!! I can''t think straight. Not like this.


    His head was chaotic. The smell of burning corpses and materials were clogging up his mind. This wasn''t the first time for him to stand so intimately close to the charred bodies but no matter what, the sights of blackened flesh, missing limbs, and their hollow eye sockets, jaws wide open in terror never became easier to look at.


    He really wanted to breathe in deeply, but could not. He just ended up feeling dizzy instead. Was it because of the blood loss? He wasn''t sure. It was not like this was the first time him experiencing a life or death fight, where he lost a bit of blood.


    No, it was something else. Something more psychological than physical. He was the kind of a man who could get over losing his arm. He had already gotten over losing his friends. Didn''t mean he forgot about them, but simply that he had finished grieving over them and have moved on because that was what they would have wanted from him.


    As an Adventurer, he had to develop a thick skin that allowed him to get over the various traumas that would come with his line of work.


    In truth, he wasn''t like that. When Gordie and his men died in that Sacred Acre, it hit him hard. It was personal. And when his son was taken away from him, that was even more personal. That broke him, although he had successfully hidden that fact from everyone. Including himself.


    But now.... he felt like he could taste his own fear. His own fear of mortality. In other words, he didn''t want to die just yet. He had so much to do. Like, for instance, getting his revenge against The Children.


    Yet, why was he so damn bothered about this matter regarding Jonas''s journal and the Visitors and this city and everything else unrelated to his vengeance? Why couldn''t he get over this and move on?


    Was it because he virtually hadn''t made any headway with the Children, after all? That he failed to even meet anyone from West & Brooks?


    Was it because he was angry? At the Visitors?


    Frowning, he looked around to see if, just if, the rescuers could find any evidence of those Visitor bastards getting buried under the rubble alongside the other victims but alas, it seemed that was nothing more than just his unlikely hope.


    Did they survive? No, did they somehow escape before the explosion? But how?


    It was too early to tell. Not all of the bodies were recovered yet. Not all of the evidence was found. He didn''t hold high hopes, though. Not anymore, anyways.


    Thinking this and that, Damien felt a bit dizzy again. No matter how sturdy his body was, at the end of the day, he was still just a human being. He was wounded pretty badly and did lose quite a bit of blood after all. And no matter how good the healing Invocations were, they could not replace the vital lost fluids. He definitely needed a good, long rest.


    But could he, though?


    He went back inside a large, drab green tent that was substituting as a makeshift infirmary. His things were temporarily placed there while he was recovering overnight.


    It was time to leave for him to leave and speak to Dukakis, let him know just what the hell was going on in his own backyard. Even if he wasn''t sure of himself, how he felt and why he felt that way, at least he felt certain about this one thing.


    Damien wanted to get out all of these secrets bubbling in his heart. Share it with someone else, regardless of the burden that might place on the other party. That could maybe help him find some clarity and of a way forward. Just maybe.


    The inside of the tent was also equally as chaotic as the outside. The blast caused numerous fatalities and injuries to those near the perimeters set up by the soldiers. Curious onlookers and soldiers themselves bore the brunt of the shock wave and scores were killed or hurt to varying degrees. Burns, burst eardrums, ruptured organs, dislocated joints and broken bones ¨C the all sorts. Add the collapsed neighboring buildings and the people pulled out from those on top of that....


    The scene inside the tent reminded Damien of an aftermath of a war zone. Like that time all those years ago when the group of Adventurers tried to confront an Awakened Gray Strife-Wolf and its massive, hungry pack.


    That certainly was another bad memory to be reminded of, so he lowered his head and simply grabbed his gear. Not even looking back, he left.


    His current destination? To the Count''s residence.


    The adrenaline coursing through his veins, which kept him going throughout the night, began to dry up as his feet led him away from all that deathly smell.


    His feet steadily grew leaden. Heavy. Difficult to move.


    Damien acutely felt his own weakness as a human. His body, lacking a quantity of blood, definitely needed a rest, not another tough trek in a cold weather towards a far off distance. But he pushed himself. His mind was screaming to make it. He kept on telling himself that he could rest at the mansion once he got there.


    More than once, he had to lean against a wall, a fence, a lamp post, whatever, to stay upright and to take a breather.


    Passersby shot him a weird, suspicious glance; Damien couldn''t blame them. His armor was damaged. It had holes here and there. And then, there was dried blood, caked all over. On top of all this, he was pale, panting heavily, walking warily, covered in soot and mud. Who wouldn''t look at him with wary eyes? No one, that''s what.


    Yet none approached him nor tried to stop him. As a matter of fact, people, even the hardened residents of the city avoided getting in his way. The reason was simple ¨C his eyes. Damien''s eyes were brimming with intense ferocity, with madness, with the kind of unbridled, unstoppable determination only seen on a man driven to achieve his goals regardless of the obstacles in his path. He himself wasn''t aware of the light. No, he was doing his best to make it there, to his destination, and say his piece.


    That''s all that mattered to him.


    Damien doggedly walked. He didn''t care that his energy had run dangerously low. He didn''t care about his heavy eyelids trying to close by themselves. He didn''t even care about the guards stationed in front of the Count''s mansion who were trying to block his way.


    If it weren''t for the timely intervention by Cassius, there could have been trouble. For the guards, that was.


    ¡°Young master, what happened to you?! Are you injured? I shall immediately call for help!!¡±


    Cassius sounded panicky. He roused himself early this morning after not getting a good night of sleep. He too had heard the news of the City Hall''s destruction and the countless deaths of all those inside.


    He also heard that Damien had made out of the carnage relatively unscathed so the current appearance of the ¡°young master¡± greatly shocked the old butler. He simply didn''t expect it to be this severe.


    Waving his hand casually, or at least he tried to, Damien spoke with a false swagger in his voice. As if to convince all in front of him he was perfectly okay.


    ¡°I''m more or less fine. Cassius, take me to Dukakis. I need to speak to him right this instant. If he''s asleep, then wake him up. If he''s having a breakfast, interrupt him. If he''s taking a dump, then hand him over a wipe quickly. This matter can not wait any longer.¡±


    Cassius looked flustered at first then his expression changed into uncertainty. The old butler couldn''t really understand this strange aura rising from Damien. It was something a man on a brink might exude.


    ¡°Master Dukakis is currently engaged in discussion with Master Caleb and it might be difficult to earn an audience with him at the moment. Why don''t we enter the premise and I serve you with breakfast, young master? I''m sure you hadn''t had the opportunity to grab a bite as yet.¡±


    Damien was about to open his mouth to say no, but his stomach went growling first. His initiative was now lost and no matter how much he might refute it, it would be difficult to be taken seriously now. Reluctantly, Damien went along with the suggestion.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    He followed Cassius in but even before he could get past the foyer, he was greeted by the sound of loud yelling and something smashing against a wall, shattering into million pieces.


    Damien immediately identified his father''s and Dukakis''s voices. It looked like they were verbally assaulting one another.


    The contents of the spat were obscured by the walls so he couldn''t hear them exactly but as a person with a working brain, figuring that out wasn''t all that difficult.


    Damien sighed and told Cassius. ¡°Looks like that breakfast may have to wait a little while longer.¡±


    Cassius wanted to stop him. The old butler did not wish to see Damien jump into the fray and cause an ever bigger bitterness and resentment by saying certain things.


    But he was too slow. He simply could not stop Damien who was moving on the strength of the determination alone. Nothing short of physically restraining him would work at this point.


    The room where the sound of fighting originated from was Dukakis''s office. The door was slightly ajar and there were a handful of concerned servants eavesdropping nearby.


    Damien knew the fighting must have started not too long ago. Maybe his father, Caleb, woke up recently and heard about the City Hall''s destruction. Maybe he fell off the bed this morning and decided he needed to vent out or something similar.


    Whatever, it didn''t matter. Right now, Damien had to tell the two of them the truth. He had to let them understand there were things happening right now. Things that impacted the future of his family, this city, the people living in it and most likely, the whole of the Empire. Their squabble seemed so petty and unimportant to him when he looked at the bigger picture.


    The servants stole glances at him. They all looked worried. Some of them looked tired, probably from worrying too much. Most of them looked scared as well ¨C scared that they might lose their only livelihoods.


    If they were let go because of the change in the lordship, then where would they find work to feed their own families in the meantime? Sure, they could potentially gain new employment with the new lord. Or find it with other nobles living in the city. But it was not guaranteed. Nothing was. No one could afford to give them such assurance of mind in this climate of uncertainty.


    Damien brushed past them and entered the noisy office. It was clammy and heated inside ¨C but not because there were a hearth and a fire, but the temperature spike caused by the flaring anger of both men present within it.


    There was no one else present other than Count Caleb and Dukakis in the office. The two of them was staring daggers at each other, veins visibly pulsating on their foreheads.


    They didn''t notice Damien intruding upon them. Too busy for that.


    ¡°Useless!! I let you run things just for a little while, and you turn it into such a mess!! How incompetent can you be?!¡± Caleb shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth.


    ¡°How dare you, father?! You call me incompetent? While your head was filled with pointless pursuits of martial path, I have been steadily building the wealth of this city!! We have achieved the level of prosperity never seen before during your reigns, and yet you call me incompetent? How dare you!!¡±


    Dukakis didn''t wither away like usual and was fighting back.


    ¡°Yes, I am calling you exactly that, an incompetent!! You let the enemy invade your own home, and you let the said enemy destroy and maim symbols of the Empire, and subvert the proud values of our nation you swore to uphold!! And just how many people lost their lives? Hmm?¡±


    Caleb didn''t let up. His voice became hoarser as he screamed at his eldest son.


    ¡°And how is that my fault? The Barbarians started the war by themselves. We, no, I, did everything to stop them. And when I did, their attacks decreased gradually. I was bringing back the order and peace back into the streets!! Oh, wait ¨C I see what this is. This is about you getting poisoned, isn''t it? You''re blaming me for your mistake!!¡±


    Dukakis sneered as he spoke the last line.


    It was at this point both noticed Damien standing there, looking at them with a tired expression.


    Caleb was about to launch a tirade towards his other son before noticing all the grime and mud on his face. Then he spotted Damien holding the leather cuirass that was full of nicks and scratches, a tell-tale sign of its wearer going through a hard battle. Not to mention, dried blood on the armor itself. All of those were enough clues to form a narrative in his mind.


    With a face full of contempt, he turned towards Dukakis and growled.


    ¡°It seems that your younger brother, a lord of another town no less, is more proactive in attending to the incidents occurring within your city. While you cower away hidden behind in the safety of this mansion''s walls, he was out there, getting blood on his hands. You should be ashamed, Dukakis. You lack the qualifications to lead this city. Any city.¡±


    Dukakis took in a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot. ¡°How can I being there help the situation?! I''m a lord, not a bloody Adventurer!! There is literally nothing I can do on the site!!¡±


    Caleb''s sneer became even deeper. ¡°Who cares what you can do or can''t? As a leader, you should have been there, remain there, talking and more crucially, leading the people. Yet you failed even that.¡±


    ¡°I WAS there!!¡± Dukakis exploded. His anger was seething like an erupting volcano. ¡°I was there, directing the rescue efforts!! But there was nothing else left for me to do, so I returned to attend to other matters!! You, you who don''t even know the full story, just keep your mouth shut and disappear from my sights!! Go back to your bloody room and just stay in there!!¡±


    Dukakis raised his fist, about to strike out at his father. Yet, his angry attack never reached the sneering face of Caleb, stopping mere inches away. It was trembling. His whole body was trembling in rage yet he could not make that short gap to lash out against his target.


    Caleb''s eyes goaded his eldest son, daring him to lash out if he could. Seeing this, Dukakis''s eyes became larger. New strength flowed in his limbs and he now found it possible to move.


    But before that, Damien quickly moved in and grabbed his brother''s arm, thereby stopping something unpleasant from happening right in front of him.


    ¡°No, Dukakis. Wait. Cool your head. He''s not worth it.¡±


    An uncomfortable silence descended on the office like a veil of fog. Only the rough breathing coming from Dukakis echoed.


    Once he was sure of his brother calming down, Damien let the arm go and proceeded to firmly close the door to the office. He too took a deep breath to calm himself down before turning around to face both men.


    ¡°There are a couple of matters I''ve been keeping to myself until now. One of them, a secret I brought with me to Marlborough. The other, dumped on me during my stay here. Both matters.... I need to tell you what they are. Right now.¡±


    ¡°Can it not wait?¡± Dukakis glanced at his brother, before slumping down in his chair. ¡°I need some time to reorganize. And sort out all the reports. Then, maybe I will have a leeway to listen to you.¡±


    Damien sighed and shook his head. ¡°I can''t wait.¡±


    Caleb bent down to pick up a chair that was knocked down during the argument with his son and sat down on it, grunting out as he did so. After he settled down, he looked at Damien with those critical eyes. ¡°What say you? What sort of matters you find unbearable to keep any longer, wishing to infect me with it?¡±


    ¡°First, the matter with my deceased son,¡± said Damien. He started by telling them everything. He began with how his daughter, Kaleena, was attacked many many years ago by an assassin. Then how Kain was lost on his way to another town.


    His deal with a Special Bureau agent named Dawson came up next, although Damien didn''t mention the matter with the strange wooden board and Lady Valette. Then, his meeting with Mikael the information broker.


    And finally, the matter about The Children and this shadowy organization''s connection to the merchant group West & Brooks.


    ¡°That''s why I came to the city. To track the members of The Children. To exact my vengeance.¡±


    When he was done, both Dukakis and Caleb were frowning deeply. They were nearly speechless as well. It took nearly a minute before Dukakis found his voice.


    ¡°Can.... can this broker be trusted? Forgive me but he sounds shadier than a shade of a tree.¡±


    ¡°He''s a shady character, alright. But his information is as reliable as an Exchequer official.¡±


    Hearing his brother''s firm voice, Dukakis took another deep breath. It was very discomforting listening to a grave accusation leveled against one of the most trusted friends to his city.


    ¡°That''s the original matter. Fine. Then, what''s the second?¡±


    Caleb asked, his voice cold, almost distant. Clearly, he was not amused by what he has heard just now.


    Damien glanced at his father''s face for a second, trying to read the unreadable expression on it. Half giving up, he then pulled out a worn journal and a pile of crumpled parchments out from his bag of holding.


    ¡°This journal was written by a man who was present at the time when I recovered the Aerinite Ore from a Sacred Acre. His name is Jonas Bremble, an Associate Noble from Argos. I want you to read its contents.¡±


    Damien lightly tossed the journal over at Dukakis. Frowning and also confused, he caught the book but didn''t open it immediately, instead choosing to examine its covers.


    ¡°What is this? Can''t you just tell me what''s in this book that is so important?¡±


    ¡°Turn to the folded pages. Read those,¡± said Damien as he began to urgently browse through the parchments in his hands.


    Dukakis read those pages. And as he did, the complexion on his face changed. And by the time he read the last page, his face became very dark.


    Caleb, who was silently observing his sons, stood up and grabbed the journal, prying it out of Dukakis''s hands. He too began reading the contents, only to furrow his brows in a rare display of shock.


    Meanwhile, Damien quickly went through the transit records, trying to place a name with the face of the noble described in Jonas''s journal. He had no luck so far.


    ¡°That is all lies, isn''t it? Yes, it has to be. Is this journal trying to implicate that the situation in my city is related to the Queen''s faction and these.... these people called the Visitors?! What nonsense is this? But my adjutant.... No, it can''t be the truth.¡±


    Damien looked up and saw the disbelieving face of his brother. There were despair and unwillingness to accept reflected on Dukakis''s face. Feeling pity for his brother, Damien sighed.


    ¡°Not lies. Well, most likely not. Because.... because when I entered the City Hall to get these records, I fought against the Visitors. Damn nearly killed me, too.¡±


    This time, even Caleb had to gasp in more shock. Damien failed to notice that, though.


    ¡°What records are you talking about? What are you searching for now?!¡±


    Dukakis asked, exasperated, at Damien after finally seeing the messy bundle of parchments strewn about his desk that wasn''t there originally.


    ¡°These are transit records. I went and volunteered my services to you because I wanted an access to the archives to find them without needing to answer any awkward questions beforehand. The only way to find out which noble it was. No doubt he came in via the Sky Ark. No doubt, he had to get his travel papers issued. No doubt, those activities left behind traces for me to grasp. And no doubt, they are here. I just need to find the evidence.¡±


    Another long bout of silence followed in the office after Damien breathlessly explained himself. Seeing the dazed face of his brother, he remembered something else and quickly added this.


    ¡°Oh, and quite likely, someone in this house has been deceiving you, Dukakis. You haven''t heard any word regarding a high ranking noble entering the city recently, have you?¡±


    To this question, Dukakis could only nod blankly.


    Caleb narrowed his eyes as he closed the journal, tossing it back on top of the desk. He loudly coughed, before wiping away his mouth with a handkerchief. Even though he looked frail now, there was a spark of fire, a different one from before burning in his eyes.


    ¡°Damien. I am assuming that it was the Visitors who caused that explosion in the City Hall?¡± Caleb asked, barely hiding the venom in his voice.


    ¡°It''s a strong possibility,¡± replied Damien. ¡°They seemed to possess the tools to pull it off. I remained on site to see if any of the Visitors were pulled out of the rubble but.... honestly, I think they all escaped somehow.¡±


    ¡°So.... it seems that this crisis, in part, was engineered by the Visitors and this Capital-bred son of a dog. And hoping to incite a civil war? On my watch?¡±


    There was indignation now present in Caleb''s words. The lit fire licked menacingly in his eyes as if someone poured oil in it.


    ¡°Well, nothing has been confirmed, not even the involvement of the Visitors.¡± Damien pointed out quickly. ¡°We can''t simply jump to conclusions yet without more conclusive evidence.¡±


    Dukakis watched his younger brother and his father converse as if it was a matter of fact, something that happened every day between them - as if they were very close. To him, it was truly a bizarre scene to bear witness to.


    His head was already knee-deep in turmoil. And now, with these revelations, his thoughts were mired in a bigger quagmire of helplessness.


    He literally didn''t know what to do.


    He wished there was someone to tell him which directions to take in order to bring back the order and sanity to his world. Didn''t matter if that was his knucklehead sister Donatella, or someone from the company West & Brooks, as long as he or she was someone other than his terrible father, or a brother who could only bring unwanted news.


    And as his head crazily tried to free itself from the despair clouding him, Damien slowly lifted out one parchment among the bundle, his eyes shining brightly.


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    Dukakis couldn''t see the elated look on Damien''s face. In fact, he had shut the world out while thinking about the future ¨C his future.


    In it, Dukakis was stuck in an endless bleakness, an abyss where escape was impossible. He felt dispirited. Weak. All he had built up, now all gone. Even if Caleb declared him as his successor, that would no longer matter. It was most certain that he''d be stripped of his peerage, of his post, of his current life.


    He was going to lose everything. So how can he feel anything towards, well, anything?


    ¡°This must be the man,¡± said Damien as he placed the parchment on the desk, pointing out at the name recorded on it. ¡°It has to be. This man here is a high ranking noble. You must have known if someone this important was coming to your city, Dukakis.¡±


    His eyes blank, Dukakis glanced over at the name on the paper.


    Slowly, he began to regain some of the lost vigors. He gripped the parchment and reread the name.


    A maddening idea suddenly, inexplicably formed in his mind. An idea that was crazy, bold and potentially deadly, yet a lifeline nevertheless. Again, it was nothing more than an idea but, if it could be pulled off, Dukakis knew that he''d survive. And live.


    ¡°Damien, what are your plans from now on? I''ll do what I can about finding out what West & Brooks is truly up to. But besides that, what are you going to do now?¡± Dukakis asked, intensity returning to his face.


    Damien felt reassured, seeing this face of his brother. Now he looked like a proper leader of a large territory. He looked like a man.


    Nodding, he spoke. ¡°I plan to head up North. I''m planning to find this place mentioned in the journal and confirm, once and for all, about the involvements of the Visitors. And if that special weaponized Sky Ark is still being built there, then find it too. No better proof than those, I think. And finally, take those findings to Argos.¡±


    Caleb demanded to see the parchment as well, perusing its written contents while listening to his sons. His expression was cold but the fire inside his eyes continued to burn. He was now trying to connect the dots in his mind.


    He was poisoned right after the breakout of a tribal war between the Lepudia and Tigris. Which, according to the journal, was more than likely incited by the Visitors. Then there was this noble, making a deal with these otherworldly bastards to usurp the throne. This noble slipping in and out of the city without alerting him or his son was a slap to his face.


    An alarming slap too, since there was someone close by that was acting against him and his family.


    Caleb softly muttered to himself. ¡°Just how deep do the tentacles of betrayal extend to in this house?¡±


    Both Dukakis and Damien overheard it. They looked at their father, various emotions flashing by.


    It was likely that the person or persons responsible for hiding the noble and his group was also responsible for the poisoning as well.


    It was literally the case of constantly watching one''s back all the time. No one could be trusted. Not even the most trusted friends and advisers.


    Damien smiled bitterly, realizing that for a famous and strong family, Lucius Lomax bloodline was being besieged on all fronts with enemies seemingly at every turn, waiting to ambush them at any given moment.


    What a crappy feeling.


    Damien mused silently to no one in particular but to himself.


    (The next update will come a bit later than scheduled. The reason being that I''m planning to post a couple of chapters in one go. So, yeah - my bad. See you next time!!)

 Chapter 45

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">45</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    The day started off the same as it had been for the last handful of months for Lizbeth and her girls.


    They woke up early in the morning, had their brief exercise, washed up, got dressed in their uniforms then ate the balanced and healthy breakfast, before leaving for the school.


    The only difference was that this morning, Lizbeth didn''t feel so good. Morning sickness had descended with a full force and laid her flat. Normally, she''d try to brave it and accompany the girls to school but on this particular day, she felt really bad, really weak.


    It kinda felt like all of her energy was being siphoned out by a specter or some such. It wasn''t a nice feeling at all.


    So, against her better judgment, she decided to stay at home today. Rosy went with the girls, quietly shadowed by the competent bodyguards of Count Martinus Beaufoy Trentham the Fourth not too far behind them.


    Even with all this extra layer of protection, she still felt slightly anxious at this arrangement.


    Ironically, it was because of the lengthy inactivity of the Children of The Amber members. If they had moved, showed some signs of threat or something, at least she''d know and take precautions. But with them not doing a thing, the uneasiness in her heart only festered into a full-on bleeding wound.


    Anyways, she decided to put her feet up and rest. She took a comfy seat on the living room''s couch with a cup of fine tea.


    Savoring the taste, she perused all that happened so far in this crazy year and a bit.


    Everything began with Kain. With him taken from her. Then, she had to leave her home of nearly a decade behind. Then her husband went off on a personal vendetta, not even bothering to call on her or inform her just what had happened to him.


    And then, there were the two girls. Kaleena''s academic performance was less than stellar.


    Rather embarrassingly, however.... Just because she was born with a natural gift of having a multiple Affinity, it didn''t mean Kaleena was smarter than other kids her age. If anything, the opposite proved to be true ¨C her daughter was a blockhead. She''d forget the simplest things the moment she turned around. It was quite infuriating, to be honest. However, she was improving gradually. Via learning through actual, physical activities, not through books and lectures.


    On the other hand, though....


    Katrina was the star pupil of the school. She swept all and sundry before her with the insatiable desire to learn and better herself. To a point where it was hard to tell whether she was still a child or not. Some said she was driven.


    Whether that was a good thing for a child her age remained to be seen but at least she was doing great which caused a good deal of pride for Derrick back in Riverfield.


    Lizbeth sighed and chuckled softly. Remembering how not worried her daughter was at not being the top of her class, taking everything in her strides, she thought that Kaleena was more like her father than her. That was slightly disappointing to her but not to the extent that she''d throw a fit over it.


    She erased the rueful smile upon hearing a rustle of footsteps. A maidservant appeared, carrying a letter.


    ¡°My lady, this came in the mail earlier this morning. It''s from Master Michelle.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± replied Lizbeth, briefly nodding her head.


    Her teacher had gone to the city of Lafayette to research the biological samples of the two Divinity class beings recovered at the site. That was several weeks ago. Her correspondences were frequent enough to alleviate any worries Lizbeth might have towards her teacher''s health and they contained a good amount of info to keep her entertained as well.


    ¡°Master also sent this to you,¡± said the maid as she left a small wooden box the size of a carry bag.


    Lizbeth examined it for a second, unable to recognize it. She then broke the wax seal open and read the letter.


    ¡°Dear Lizbeth. How are you feeling? The morning sickness must have gotten serious now. Remember to take the concoction I left behind to alleviate the symptoms.


    The analysis of the samples of the Divinity class beings is going painfully slow. I have no idea when I can come home. At this rate, maybe only at the end of the year.


    Lafayette is still as ravaged as is. There are plenty of reconstruction work being done but if I''m honest, there is still a very long way to go before the life here normalizes.


    Oh, and I do hope that boy Count is keeping his hands to himself ¨C he can be a bit frisky fellow, that one.


    By the way, remember the acquaintance I mentioned to you before? He gave me a special medicinal mixture. Let Kaleena take it ¨C it might retard the process of her losing the eyesight to see the Aeterna flow. I personally verified the ingredients and they have a high chance of success. Give a single dose every seven days, before she goes to bed.


    Let me know if anything changes.


    With Love, Michelle.¡±


    Lizbeth opened the wooden box and gazed at the dozen reddish pink pills the size of a lozenge. It looked like a candy, even.


    ¡°Well, at least Kaleena won''t mind eating this,¡± murmured Lizbeth before closing the lid shut.


    As she took another sip of the tea, yet another intrusion occurred and interrupted her quiet time.


    ¡°My lady, an Adventurer has come with a letter from your husband, Baron Lomax,¡± said the maidservant.


    Lizbeth was stunned to hear this news but composed herself quickly enough. She permitted the maidservant to bring the person inside.


    The Adventurer was shown in. He looked scruffy and young. Inexperienced. In other words, a low ranked, the type that was always used as messengers.


    Lizbeth frowned a little. Damien sent a messenger? After all this time?


    She was slightly ticked off but getting angry at a messenger was uncouth behavior so she held back and simply received the letter.


    After giving the young Adventurer some extra coin, she settled her mind and cracked open the wax seal on the letter.


    The contents of it were rather shocking, to say the least.


    She was already aware of the destruction of the Marlborough City Hall. It was a big news down here in the Capital, after all, and by that extent, the ideal gossipping material for the mothers of the kids attending the schools in the Academy.


    But what Damien wrote in the letter was incredibly worrying. This thing about a possible civil war, the acts of aggression of the Barbarians, and the involvement of the Visitors ¨C she had a difficult time wrapping her head around it all.


    What made her especially worried even more was the fact that Damien wrote this at the end of the letter:


    ¡°By the time you read this letter, I''ll be across the border. I''m planning to set off with a small group of Adventurers with a clear set of grudges up North to track down the Sky Ark construction site as well as the place where the Visitors enter our realm.


    I''ll do my best to return before our baby''s born, I promise.


    Dear goddess, I miss you, babe. Again, I''m sorry for being an ass and not sending a letter until now. Forgive me, please. When I get back, I will receive every punishment you have lined up for me without complaining.


    Wait for me. I will return to your side without fail.¡±


    Lizbeth nearly fell off the couch. Her breath was ragged, harried. How could she remain calm, after reading this? All she thought about in this moment was how foolish his actions were. And how irresponsible they were as well.


    She placed a palm over her heart, trying to still her erratic breathing. It wasn''t working. Combined with the weakness she was feeling due to the morning sickness, the strain on her body began to take the toll on her.


    Before she could call for help, she faltered and fell.


    The last thing she saw between the heavy eyelids were the face of the maidservant full of panic. Lizbeth''s consciousness was slowly swallowed up in the darkness, and a figure of an imaginary demon appeared in her mind, devouring the smiling face of her husband.


    All she could say at that moment was....


    No, don''t go.


    ~


    Whenever Damien blew at his hands trying to warm them up, the mist coming out of his mouth turned crystalline like a fog of ice.


    He grimaced. It was too early in the year for it to be this cold. He may not have lived in this parts of the world for the last decade or so, but that didn''t mean he forgot all about the climates of this land. Even the accompanying Adventurers thought the Winter was descending far too early this year.


    A unwelcoming cold snap was surely heading towards the city of Marlborough in the near future.


    Damien and six other seasoned veterans were moving along the ridges of the Northern Mountains, past the snowy peaks and dark, foreboding forests with sharp trees, and into the rocky cliffs of the nameless landscapes.


    It had been a week since they had set off. Damien glanced at the men following him, noting their toughened expressions and demeanors.


    All these men lost someone recently. Family members, loved ones, whoever. They all had a score of sorts to settle with the ones responsible. And thanks to Damien''s careful wording during the recruitment process, these men now had a clear target to direct their anger at ¨C the Visitors.


    The preparation for the expedition up North took more than a week, giving Damien a chance to recover from the physical and mental exhaustion.


    He didn''t simply dawdle during this time, though ¨C he fervently studied the available map, planning the route he would take with a religious zeal. He also went around recruiting Adventurers for the trip, with the finances allocated by none other than Count Caleb himself.


    And these Adventurers were a bit special; all of them lost someone important during the Barbarians'' assault on the city or when the City Hall exploded. It took a fair bit of doing, but Damien was able to convince them the real culprits were the Visitors and the nobleman from the Capital pulling the strings. Jonas''s journal and its testimony of a dead man, as well as his own status, helped in that regard as well.


    Dukakis, in the meantime, redoubled his efforts to bring order to the city while putting out the flames of ire coming from the Capital Argos. That was to be expected ¨C the Magistrate and a whole lot of people were killed, after all. And the acting lord of the territory was caught downplaying the severity of the Barbarian situation, under reporting it to the central government for months.


    He had his hands full, hoping to buy some time for Damien to start the expedition which was being organized in secret. Dukakis was literally calling someone important every single day in his office via the communication crystals. He was so occupied that he barely got a wink of sleep during the week.


    Damien was also busy during this period. Not as stressful, mind you, but intense enough to nearly forget all about his own wife back in Argos, heavily pregnant with his third child while looking after his daughter and the niece.


    If it wasn''t for Cassius reminding Damien of his duties as a father and a husband, he might have gone on the journey without letting his wife know of it.


    So, rather hastily, Damien tried to borrow a communication crystal to talk to Lizbeth but.... that idea was rejected just as quickly. Dukakis needed it more. And even though there were supposedly other crystals for a long distance communication, using one for himself was out of the question.


    The most obvious one was destroyed along with the City Hall. There were others held by the wealthier merchants but nothing short of being ordered to, they were all going to charge exorbitant sums for a briefest of brief time operating it. That was not going to work for someone with money issues like Damien. And he wasn''t willing to ask for some from his family when he was already getting a lot of help from them as was.


    In the end, he could only rely on writing a sealed letter and to hire an Adventurer to safely deliver it.


    As he stared at the gray clouds that seemed much closer than before, he wondered whether his carefully worded letter got to its destination unsullied. He had to believe in the young Adventurer, after all.


    The thing was, though....


    While he was finishing it, he couldn''t help but quietly shed a drop of tear or two. The smiling faces of his family constantly popped up in his eyes, blocking his view and kept on asking him whether this road was the right one to take.


    It was difficult to write that letter. He really missed his girls. He missed waking up in the morning next to Lizbeth, missed embracing Kaleena and ruffling her hair and complementing all the progress she had made. He even missed Rosy and her.... ample charms. And not to mention, Derrick and his uptight face, Katrina and her cute attempt at imitating her father, Delilah and her delicious cooking, the endless wheat fields of Riverfield....


    ¡°How far are we from our destination?¡±


    One of the Adventurers, a big dude named Feisty ¨C probably not his real name ¨C asked Damien, breaking up his nostalgia-filled daydream. The big man had silently stepped closer to Damien as they took a short break over the crest of a mountain range.


    Breaking out of the stupor, Damien pointed over at the huge, foreboding slope a league away, visible to the weary but determined eyes of the group.


    ¡°Past there, according to the map. Get some rest, Feisty. Who knows what matter of nasties is waiting for us over yonder? Conserve your strength.¡±


    Feisty nodded grimly. His eyes flickered with terrible killing intent. This man lost his entire family when the City Hall exploded ¨C he was renting a room in a nearby building that collapsed from the shock wave. His wife and two young children were home on that faithful day.


    Suffice to say, he had to dig three graves later that week.


    He wasn''t the only one angry. The rest of the Adventurers were itching to get some action under their belt. They all lost someone, after all.


    Looking and studying the hardened faces of these men, Damien swore in his heart that once this matter was put to bed, he would definitely go and see his family. And tightly embrace each and every one of them. Take a good, long holiday with them.


    He firmed his resolve and nodded at the men. ¡°If you''re rested enough, then let us move.¡±


    The men didn''t hesitate nor did they raise a voice of resistance. They moved in unison, like a well-oiled machine on their way to slay the proverbial dragon.


    The weather was playing ball as well. Besides the aforementioned clouds, the sky was on the clear side with no sudden snowfall expected.


    To the West, the sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon. The group had maybe less than three hours to go over the crest and confirm, once and for all, what was beyond there.


    Even if the night fell, the men would not suffer too greatly as they were all experienced in that regard as well. Yes, it was definitely not recommended that one operate in the middle of the darkness surrounded by the frigid conditions but all of them were accustomed to the extreme already so it wasn''t as big an issue as it might seem from the outside.


    Undeterred, the group soldiered on, leaving behind the continuous lines of shallow footmarks. And as they got closer to the slope in question, the sky overhead dimmed. The mountains obscured the sunlight and brought the night quicker than it should have been.


    However, to everyone''s tightening gut reaction, the world before them, past the blind crest, was as bright as the daylight. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that something major was afoot over there.


    Their suspicions were confirmed soon enough.


    As the group squatted down behind some snow-covered rocky formation, they had a great, unobstructed view towards the valley below. The area was huge; enough to relocate an entire settlement of Marlborough and still have space left over for a handful of its surrounding villages.


    That wasn''t the most bizarre thing, though. No, that honor belonged to a series of massive light sources that stood tall and shone incredibly bright with the kind of rays that didn''t lose out to the sun.


    They were so bright, in fact, it was hard to see past the glare and confirm what was happening down in the valley without getting closer. Still, the general gist of the matter could be grasped ¨C there were a couple of huge, black shapes that were unmistakably a pair of Sky Arks.


    One of them seemed near completion, while the other, only about half of the way, what with all the exposed skeletal frames and stuff on display.


    Alongside the massive structures, they saw what looked like giant warehouses; tiny specks of people slowly milling about around them. Again, too far for Damien''s group to check out the identity of those people.


    The group quietly studied the dockyard for a dozen breaths of time before moving on. This place wasn''t ultimately their destination but rather, a side attraction, so to speak.


    ¡°Let''s come back here later,¡± whispered Damien to his men.


    The group left the spot and headed further Northwards.


    The darkness had fully descended on them now. The bright lights of the dockyard behind them could not dispel this gloomy night. The only saving grace was that the weather was still playing nicely, which was good for cutting down on their traveling time.


    They climbed up the mountain side until encountering a rocky ravine. Here, all of them softened their footsteps, extra mindful of making any unnecessary noise.


    The loose gravel on the ground, coupled with the thick blanket of snow made the traversal of the terrain harder than expected, especially since they were trying to remain as quiet as possible, which was ironic in its own way.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The wind seemed to rise up as they moved in deeper into the ravine. The sharp and pointy rocks here possessed some unearthly, sinister gray color as if they were tombstones erected by the mother nature herself. It wasn''t just the color ¨C it was this eerie feeling coming off of them.


    As if they had entered a place they were not permitted to.


    The closest comparison Damien could come up with was that this place was way too similar to a Sacred Acre.


    Another half hour of walk later, the group finally came upon a ruin of ancient temple. And what a total ruin it was; only a couple of crumbling walls devoid of any carvings or fresco remained standing, trying to remind all the passersby of its former glory. Who knows how long they were left unattended to?


    But the most important part wasn''t the walls but what laid beyond them.


    The group took shelter behind one of the walls and crouched. Damien peered over the edge and checked out the massive Invocation Array carved on the flat, smooth rocky surface.


    Ancient letters and runes, long forgotten by the passage of time, dotted the spaces between the ornately carved lines of the Array.


    Right in the middle of the Array, a pair of metallic rings the size of a three-story building floated lazily ¨C not suspended by anything and not affected by the irresistible pull of the planet below.


    The rings themselves were full of the unknown runes and symbols. Each of the letters glowed softly and intermittently, and after Damien had gazed at them long enough, he could see that there was some kind of pattern to the light show, the way the symbols flickered in various colors. As to what they meant ¨C that wasn''t really important to them at the moment.


    ¡°That must be it,¡± Damien murmured.


    Around the Array, five men walked around the perimeters, covered head to toe in near-white coats, their faces covered in bizarre masks of sorts that covered the faces but also had a clear material over the areas around the eyes. Their job was pretty obvious even to the most casual observer ¨C to guard this Array.


    More importantly, though ¨C they were carrying the long metallic cylindrical things, just like the ones at the City Hall, except that now these weapons were colored white, just like their apparels.


    ¡°Visitors,¡± Damien signaled to the rest of the group to take a gander.


    Silently, the men took turns to check the targets out and exchanged silent nods.


    However....


    ¡°Something''s wrong,¡± said one of the men. ¡°Why are there only so little men guarding the... portal? Surely, if it were left to me, I''d stick a whole company of soldiers to protect that thing.¡±


    Everyone tensed up after the realization hit them. There was just too few of them here.


    They became fully alarmed; Damien''s hand reached down to Frostbane, ready to unsheath it.


    Then, a loud, thunderous echo cracking the still air.


    Suddenly, the dark night sky became as bright as day time. There were figures emerging from everywhere, loudly shouting at Damien and his men.


    The man next to Damien grunted and fell. The group couldn''t understand what just had happened. But Damien knew.


    ¡°They are onto us!!¡±


    He shouted and dived flat on the ground.


    Those with a quick wit followed suit and hit the floor. More of those cracking sounds boomed across the ravine, shredding the cold night air with the shrill scream of destruction.


    Of the six Damien came with, two were shot down where they crouched. It was a pinpoint sniping at its finest display. Each of the shots was not fatal but still at the points on the body that would disable the targets.


    Cursing inwardly, Damien and company try to hightail it out of there but were swiftly surrounded by the men wielding those cylindrical things. The Visitors were loudly shouting something at Damien and his men, but since the insurmountable wall of language barrier stood between the parties involved, no meaningful exchange of words took place.


    At least the gestures of pointing to the ground seemed easier than the most to understand. Damien quickly figured out that these Visitors wanted them to hit the ground again, face down.


    In other words, the Visitors wanted a total, unconditional surrender. Peacefully, if possible.


    The Visitors, shouting and threatening, pointing those cylindrical things at Damien and his group, approached even from behind.


    How did this happen?! God damn it!! Damien continued to curse. How did they know of our presence?! We were so careful with our infiltration!!


    One of the Visitors began to yank the longsword strapped to one of the Adventurers. He looked angry but since he was surrounded by the beings with unknown combat potential, he dared not to resist.


    As this was going on, Damien noticed that there was this one man who wasn''t dressed the same as the others. He didn''t even hold that cylindrical item either.


    He lifted the clear eye-mask thing, exposing his face to Damien and to others.


    Damien frowned. This man''s facial structure was foreign to him, although he was undoubtedly a human. A head full of dark hair, a matching pair of eyebrows, deep, dark eyes and flatter cheekbones and jawline ¨C not a face Damien had encountered before.


    If Kain was here, he''d recognize it, though ¨C as an Eastern Asian man.


    This Asian man spoke English in a cold tone.


    ¡°So, you''re the lot that made me freeze my ass waiting for you all this time. Boys, bag ''em and process ''em for an immediate shipping to HQ.¡±


    Damien didn''t understand what this man was saying, but the disdainful intonation was hard not to pick up on. Even Feisty, who was right next to Damien, just about to get stripped of his weapons, understood the sneering tone of the man in front.


    Feisty then whispered softly.


    ¡°Hey, Damien, listen. I''ll distract them. But in return, you go lay a flower at each of the graves of my family, alright?¡±


    Damien didn''t even have the time to say no. Because, as soon as one of the Visitor got close to Feisty, the burly Adventurer''s hands shot out and grabbed that cylindrical thing and pushed away, dragging in the surprised wielder of the said item into his embrace.


    Commotion broke out in that moment. Gritting his teeth, Damien too sprung to action, unsheathing Frostbane and swinging it hard.


    The blade of Frostbane shimmered icily as it drew an arc, and as it did so the air solidified into a frozen wall. Being in an environment that suited its natural attribute, the might of the sword was in its full display. Even the armor-piercing rounds failed to get past this Aeterna-created barrier.


    Taking this chance, the other Adventurers got into a confused tussle with the rest of the Visitors, and a melee broke out.


    Feisty cried out. ¡°Go!! Damien, run!!¡±


    Before any of the Visitors could block the way, Damien was up and running, breaking past the cordon of the Visitors in front and liberally swinging his Frostbane to cause the air to crack apart and freeze.


    He dashed hard into the snowy darkness, with people screaming and shouting far behind him.


    Bullets flew and grazed him but acting on nothing but instinct, Damien raised his prosthetic arm to deflect them, causing bright sparks to shoot out into the air.


    Seeing this, the Asian man''s eyes glittered in avarice. He looked around him, just in time to catch the sight of the U.S. Special Forces operatives finally restraining the rowdy natives, pushing them and locking them on the cold ground.


    Nodding coolly, he pointed at the fleeing back of Damien and said, ¡°Sergeant, please apprehend that man alive if possible but intact at the very minimum. His weapon is the first priority. Go.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Doctor Kurosaki.¡±


    The Sergeant then signaled to his men. A fireteam consisting of four men broke away from the full squadron and headed beyond the walls where they promptly pull the covers off five hidden snowmobiles parked there.


    Soon, the mountainous landscape was reverberating to the harsh and shrill cries of internal combustion.


    The sound, of course, didn''t escape Damien''s hearing either.


    What a nerve wrecking thing, that was. The air seemed to shred into bits, the whines of the engines piercing into his brain and scarring his psyche. Not even the most vocal flock of harpies could produce such a sharp screech.


    Not only that, those snowmobiles were equipped with high intensity LED lights and were capable of illuminating a deadened football stadium with their combined brightness.


    It didn''t take too long for the operatives to zero in on Damien''s location, as he stumbled past the snow covered ground.


    He felt the Visitors chasing him down with the kind of relentless pace he could not hope to match. His breathing was getting heavy, his feet were moving slower and slower with every step taken. His energy reserves were being quickly depleted. The overall outlook wasn''t too good at this rate.


    A snowmobile carrying the operative closed in from his right side. Damien raised his prosthetic arm just in time to receive a blow to his side. The metal arm absorbed most of the impact but he was still lifted off the feet and fell hard into the snow. His head rang as if a bell went off behind his ears.


    What a surprising strength, carried behind that attack. If it weren''t for the arm, his ribs might have been broken. As he laid on the snow, he grimaced in pain, his thoughts beginning to fade away.


    But the snow got in the way. Its coldness was truly refreshing. It seeped under his clothes, into his bones, and into his mind, telling him to get up and keep on moving. That''s what he did.


    Not only that, the clarity brought on by the bit of snow getting under his clothes meant his thought process livened up more as well. Immediately, he could tell that these Visitors riding on the noisy Invocation Tools were avoiding the grounds with rocky undulations, instead preferring to take the smoother paths.


    That gave him an idea.


    Rather than trying to plow through the relatively flatter snowy plains, he decided to take his chance and brave the narrower, more treacherous way down the slope of the mountains.


    Here, there were many, many more protrusions of sharp and unforgiving rocks; one mistake was enough to send the careless into the abyss below. Surely, those Visitors riding on those fast but unwieldy things would not be able to set foot there.


    His perceptions told him there were still several Rutens left before he could reach the potential safety. He figured that it best not to waste time and start moving already.


    Damien dived forward to dodge when another of those noisy things rushed in from behind. He got wise after the first hit so he wasn''t going to suffer the second time.


    He dodged again when he heard the snowmobiles getting closer. He was now seeing the pattern here. Dodging out of the way was getting easier.


    However, that didn''t mean the operatives would just stay still and not improvise. Oh no.


    Finally, one of them had enough of as-slippery-as-an-eel Damien and decided he''d rather shoot his quarry.


    So, he brought the telescopic lens to his eyes, trained the crosshair behind the moving back of his target, and squeezed the trigger.


    His aim wobbled a bit, but the bullet still found the mark and grazed Damien''s shoulder.


    The burning pain from being shot, a sensation that was already quite familiar, exploded from the wound, making him grimace bitterly.


    The red blood sprayed on the white snow as the bullet went through cleanly. Ignoring the searing pain, Damien took a calculated tumble forward and dived behind a large boulder, trying to put a barrier between him and those troublesome weapons of the Visitors. His head narrowly missed the rough edges of the boulder, but consequently, even though those cracking sounds rang out from the cylindrical weapons, he was protected from the further damage.


    Feeling relieved slightly, Damien quickly continued on his way. As for the operatives, they had to dismount from the snowmobiles as the terrain became too unsuitable. However, on foot, the soldiers exhibited the kind of trained movements not even the most experienced mercenaries of this world could pull off. In other words, they were fast. Like, really fast.


    The slight gap Damien had opened up was now evaporating fast. The pressure emanating from the operatives were weighing down on his back like a bag of bricks.


    More shots were fired, but Damien was somehow able to duck and weave past them. Or, more than likely, the natural formation of the boulders and rocky outcroppings helped him in this regard. Also, the darkness helped a bit too, shadows where the lights from the snowmobiles could not reach making sure he''d be obscured from the sights of the operatives.


    The angle of the slope became steeper as well. The footing became so loose, a single wrong step could mean the end of the road. It was the same for the operatives as well, so the playing field was entirely at a fair level.


    However, Damien held a slight advantage over these men. The reason being that he had seen the map and studied it extensively before climbing the mountains, plus him having seen this particular slope during the day. He knew roughly which way to descend.


    Now, the gap between the pursued and the pursuers was growing once more. His confidence at getting away grew as the distance increased. Even though the mission itself was a failure, as long as he made it out alive, then it was quite alright to call it a reasonable success. After all, his wife and daughter were waiting for him to come home.


    Before long, the pursuers were so far back Damien could afford to take a breather and slow down his mad dash just a bit. It was still quite dangerous to relax, of course, as the angle of descent remained precarious, and the footing just as loose as before, but if it was for a moment to recover even a sliver of his stamina which would bring him closer to his home, it was worth all the risk.


    A smile stretched across his face, the cursings of the Visitors and the loud cracking noises getting further away still. He slipped once or twice, but hell, that was nothing to worry about compared to the fate that may have awaited him if he got captured. So it was all good.


    His grin was destroyed in a heartbeat, however, when a roar exploded out of nowhere, coming from deep within the mountain range.


    It was a roar quite unlike any other.


    The mountains rumbled. The ground quaked suddenly.


    Damien lost his footing for good. And so did the Visitors.


    The roar continued on for a good few minutes, and the world trembled as if it was terrified by the being capable of making such an incredible racket.


    Gradually, the roar faded away, but Damien still felt the aftereffects. He was unable to stand, his knees still trembling in instinctual fear. He wasn''t the only one, too; the Visitors were shivering like a bunch of wet dogs, panting heavily on their kneeling position.


    Damien forced himself to stand. Even though his heart was beating so fast, almost as if it wanted to jump straight out of his chest, he had to continue moving. He may be momentarily safe here, but that could be easily shattered by the smallest, littlest things imaginable.


    He looked back towards the Visitors, and they too were trying to stand back up.


    However....


    Beyond them, behind them ¨C he saw a movement.


    A white wall was rushing down towards them.


    An avalanche was swallowing everything in its path downwards. And its next targets were the Visitors and Damien.


    It came down so fast, Damien couldn''t even think of escaping.


    All he could do was close his eyes, and think for a brief moment, the images of his family, their faces full of happiness.


    Then he was slammed by the rushing snow.


    He and the operatives fell headlong into the dark abyss below, their screams drowned out by the tumbling snow.


    ~


    As the morning sun rose that morning, Count Caleb stirred in his bed, waking up suddenly.


    He couldn''t remember when he tucked himself under the sheets. The last thing he did recall, was when he was taking a long, hard chug of the alcoholic beverage brewed up by a local. It was his favorite, this drink. Helped him with his sleep.


    He slowly pushed his thinning body out of the bed, and after putting on some robe, he strode out of the chamber. He was headed to Dukakis''s office, his former office, to check out what had transpired during his slumber.


    He was greeted by the members of the staff. Caleb returned their practiced bows with a short grunt, knowing that lengthy greetings from him were unnecessary and also not expected. No need to waste time and energy there.


    When he arrived at the office, though, he noticed that Dukakis already had a guest. He could see that through the doorway as the maidservants, after delivering the refreshments, were closing the door.


    It was surprising to have one so early in the morning, so understandably Caleb was taken aback.


    Not even hesitating for a second, Caleb cleared his throat and pushed open the door, striding inside as if he owned the place. Which, in truth, he did.


    Dukakis looked startled and stood up from his seat. ¡°Father, you are awake.¡±


    ¡°Mmm.¡±


    Caleb nodded and turned his gaze toward the person sitting on the sofa opposite Dukakis''s.


    The man was clearly a nobleman ¨C a very high ranking one at that, judging by all the luxurious trinkets worn around on his person. And never mind the fact that there were four other people standing near this noble.


    Even a blind bat could tell those people ¡°belonged¡± to the nobleman.


    ¡°Why don''t you introduce us, Dukakis. Who is this guest in our house, so early in the morning?¡±


    With a gruff voice, Caleb sharply looked at his son''s face, only to see a strange mixture of apprehension and determination swirling there.


    There was sadness in there too. Lots of them. And unmistakably, guilt.


    Before Dukakis could say anything, the nobleman spoke up first. His voice was calm and cultured, but the domineering attitude could not be disguised within. Nor did the man bother to do so in the first place.


    ¡°Oh, my sincerest apologies, Count Lomax. Where are my manners ¨C as you say, it is early in the morning and I don''t usually stay up all night long. Please do forgive my lapse in etiquette, good Sir.¡±


    The nobleman lightly dusted his lap before standing up smartly. With a grin that bothered on an evil sneer, the man spoke as he straightened his back.


    ¡°How do you do. I am Grand Duke Maximus Aurelius de Hamilton, the brother-in-law of the Emperor.¡±


    That name ran like a thunder inside Caleb''s head.


    Because that name was quite familiar. Only then, did he able to remember the face before him.


    This man''s name was on the transit records Damien dragged out from the City Hall. And his face was roughly sketched on one of the pages in the journal written by a man named Jonas Bremble.


    Caleb wasn''t a fool. He could put two and two together. His body began trembling like crazy when the implications of this man being inside his house became clear.


    ¡°....What did you do, Dukakis?!¡±


    Caleb breathed in heavily, barely containing his fury.


    Dukakis''s face was pale, ash-colored. He too was taking a deep, deep breath. He looked so much like a lost kid in that moment, unable to resist the guilt and fear of the punishment.


    But that moment passed by quickly and instead, a glint of madness rose in his eyes.


    Dukakis silently spat out the words, one by one. ¡°Father, it''s about time I take the proper reigns of this territory. His Imperial Highness has kindly agreed to oversee the process of me inheriting the title of Count as well as the smooth transition of all the responsibilities.¡±


    Caleb was now rooted on his spot, no longer shaking furiously. A chilling coldness swept up all over him as he realized what this was.


    ¡°Dukakis, what have you done? Did you make a deal with.... him? Did you sell out your brother?¡±


    ¡°I ensured that this House will continue on,¡± said Dukakis as he gritted his teeth. ¡°I have made sure we all will thrive in the upcoming era.¡±


    Caleb then dashed forward with a shocking amount of speed, taking almost everyone by surprise. He grabbed the collars of his son with a vice-like grip and shook him, hard.


    ¡°What?! Are you trying to doom us all? What have you done, you imbecile!!¡±


    Dukakis''s face remained pale but the madness in his eyes didn''t fade away. Rather, it became fiercer. With a powerful shove, he pushed his father down to the ground, panting heavily like as if he had run a marathon.


    Coldly, he looked at his trembling father on the ground and declared.


    ¡°Damien was a fool for coming back here. This territory is mine, not yours. Not his, but mine. He dug his own grave.¡±


    Maximus was watching the scene develop with a bemused expression on his face, calming drinking the tea. He was thoroughly enjoying this; after all, he was well aware how the old Count opposed his older sister, the current Queen and her concerted efforts to place one of her sons on the Imperial Throne.


    Straightening his rumpled jacket, Dukakis turned to face the Grand Duke and hastily apologized for the unsightly event before handing Jonas''s journal over.


    Clicking his tongue, Maximus perused the old and dirty journal for a moment or two, before tossing it in the hearth and its healthy flames.


    Then he spoke to Caleb, his domineering attitude fully intact.


    ¡°Your son has made the difficult but ultimately the correct decision for your bloodline, good Sir. After a lengthy but tough negotiation, he had struck an advantageous deal for your House, so you should be proud of him. And, as for you.... well.


    This is the end of the road for you, Count Lomax ¨C former Count Lomax. Just sit back and enjoy the new era soon to be upon you and this glorious Empire.¡±


    Caleb was short of breath. The poison that was suppressed until now with the help of the medicine, flared up violently and he felt like all the blood flowing within him were drying up.


    But he couldn''t care any less about that. All he could think about was the faces of his last born son, Damien, and his wife, Lizbeth. And the faces of his grandchildren. The last two were imaginary, though ¨C since he never got to see them, after all.


    One more regret, piled up on top of many others. How unfair it all were.


    ¡°Don''t worry, father. You will be taken care of, that I guarantee. I will also take care of Donna and Lady Lizbeth as well. I swear it,¡± said Dukakis, before calling the servants in from the corridor. ¡°Take Count Lomax to his bed chamber. He needs his medicine. Hurry!!¡±


    As he was being carried away, Caleb noted how gray the sky outside the open windows looked. They were the most gray he had ever seen in his entire life.


    (Apologies for being late with the chapter. Various things happened, most of them beyond my control. Anyways, there will be another chapter in a few hours.)

 Chapter 46

    <h2 class="western" style="text-align: center">46</h2>


    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments below. Thank you!!)


    And so, the morning of this particular day began just as any other for Kain as well.


    He woke from the bed when the vine-man knocked on the door in that irritating rhythm of his. Or its. Whatever.


    He splashed water on his face, got dressed, ran downstairs to grab a chow ¨C that still-disgusting meat bun ¨C and dashed outside the fort to meet up with Emma.


    He hadn''t forgotten about meditation and ch''i training, it''s just that the very first thing he did nowadays were the archery and combat training using that dagger he found in the armory.


    He felt pretty good with the rate of progress in Archery. Kain and Emma sat around making bows that would fit his smaller physique and although the first batch of a dozen was a total bust, gradually they got better at crafting it, so now, he had in his hand a pretty nice shortbow.


    It wasn''t still at a level that could be sold in a weapon shop but for a thing hammered out by two idiots with no experience, it was entirely passable, all things considered.


    That was a month ago. And now he had moved onto something slightly bigger, capable of firing an arrow that was also longer. He got better at handling them, in other words. Oh, how good he felt at finding something he was actually very good at.


    As for handling the dagger, he was still a long way off from looking the part of a professional. But he was getting there. Eventually.


    ¡°Hey, morning, Emma.¡±


    Kain waved his hand, greeting her. She waved back and beckoned him over impatiently.


    ¡°What''s the matter? You look flustered.¡±


    Kain came up next to her, noticing how riled up she seemed to him from the outside.


    ¡°That is because I spotted a herd of yellow horned goats passing by not too far from here only an hour ago!! Hurry up, will you? Before all that tasty, delicious meat disappears!!¡±


    She grabbed his shoulder and began forcibly pulling him towards the exit of the dead city.


    Kain tilted his head. ¡°Eh? So why didn''t you, you know, hunt them by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Dummy. It''s a good opportunity to get some live practice in for you. Those goats are seriously nimble, after all. So, stop being a slowpoke and come with me!!¡±


    Resigned to being pulled around like a log of wood, Kain just gave up and let her do whatever she wished. Not that he minded, though ¨C those goats did taste great when roasted in the open pit. Didn''t matter if they lacked spice, salt, oil ¨C the meat was way too good to be real.


    And them being a real handful in the densely wooded area did make them good for a target practice for him, too. So, there.


    Kain couldn''t help but wonder what the Old Man might have to say regarding this lackadaisical approach to his training regime. He would, most likely, not approve and throw a tantrum.


    It was his fault, though ¨C he left without saying much and hadn''t shown up until now. Nobody knew just when he was coming back. Granted, there were only two people here, not counting that crimson-colored bird, but still.


    Well, he did leave Emma in charge of his training. If things go awry then he should blame her for whatever mishaps that had gone down during his absence.


    Swiftly enough, the pair of them left the city and was hoofing it across the barren lands in front of the massive ramparts.


    However, it was here that their footsteps came to an abrupt stop. Because, almost at the same time, both Emma and Kain sensed a presence heading towards them from up above. And it was a big one.


    Reflexively, they looked up.


    Kain''s continuous meditation helped to develop his ch''i-related perception and unbeknownst to him, he was already forming a Yi Hai of his own. Since the Old Man wasn''t around to guide him, though, it was not being applied correctly, however.


    But such a thing didn''t mean Kain wasn''t using his new-found ability to casually check things out, even if that meant he wasn''t 100% sure of what he was seeing at that moment.


    But with something that big, it didn''t take a genius to figure out this was going to become a serious matter very soon.


    When they looked up at the crisp, late Autumn sky, they could see something flying over there. Even though his eyesight had improved significantly during his stay here, it was still difficult to make out what that something was.


    It hovered, then swooped around, flying at a supersonic speed towards the Tetamus mountain range''s naturally unscalable walls, before spinning back and coming to where Kain and Emma were.


    It''s huge, thought Kain. What the hell could be that big?! It''s as big as a Sky Ark from back then!!


    Not only big, it was also serious fast. Logically, to have something that big and fly so fast, it couldn''t be done. Not with the level of scientific progress this world had made. It made no sense at all. Kain felt a bucket of cold sweat trickle down his backside.


    At the same time, Emma was shaking like crazy. Her eyes were wide, her pupils were constricting, her nostrils were flaring wildly. Her lips parted and closed at the repeated attempts to say something, but her words were firmly stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.


    But her jaw finally drooped low. She could fully take in the incredulous sight of the huge flying thing that was now headed directly to where they were.


    And with her mouth finally slack, some stuttering words began to flow out. She sounded more like as if her soul was leaving her, though.


    ¡°No, no, no, no, no, no. No way. No, that can not be. That, that is.... that is not what I think it is, right? Eh? No way, that...


    That is an Elder Dragon!!¡±


    Kain froze on the spot too, after hearing her mutter the ¡°D¡± word.


    ¡°Wait, what? Hold up. What the hell is an Elder Dragon?!¡±


    Kain grabbed Emma and shook her hard. He had no idea what made it an elder, and by definition more special than a regular dragon, but since there was the distinction it must have meant something not very nice. And he''d love to find out why.


    But she didn''t tell him why an Elder Dragon was worse than a normal dragon sans the ¡°Elder¡± bit.


    Instead, she shouted out aloud.


    ¡°RUN AWAY!! Evacuate and hide, now!!¡±


    Like a lightning bolt, she grabbed Kain and then ran back towards the ramparts of the city.


    But the Elder Dragon was just too fast. Kain could tell that they were not going to make it in time.


    And just like that, with an ear-splitting ¡°BOOM¡± the dragon landed right before them, raising a thick cloud of dust to obscure the view.


    Kain heard a low growling that sounded like a really, really evil, big block V8 motor idling just off throttle, getting ready to rumble the moment the drag strip lights go green.


    The bass contained in that was thick and heavy enough to make his heart beat irregular; the earth vibrated faintly too.


    The silhouette rose like a ghost hidden behind a veil of fog; it was beyond humongous. Kain swallowed nervously as the dust curtain began to settle slowly.


    The dark shape before him, materializing bit by bit, was at least as big as three 18 wheeler trucks combined. Maybe even bigger. In all honesty, his head was spinning around too fast to get an accurate dimension for the creature right in front of them.


    The giant lizards he had fought against in the past ¨C the lesser Earth Drake he managed to trap in a hole all those years ago, or the red Wyrm he chased away when filled with power ¨C couldn''t even come close to the sheer scale of the thing right in front of him, so at least he did have some sort of reference to compare it to.


    Its scales were glossy black, and even the reflecting sun''s rays got dyed black as well - as if the dozens upon dozens of black paint cans were liberally sprayed all around it.


    And then, to cap off the sinister aura, a pair of thin crimson streaks ran alongside its side, starting from just below its eyes.


    And what scary looking eyes those were.


    Kain shuddered like a wet dog simply from the enormous pressure emitted from those eyes. Glowing in amber-ish hue and possessing ample hints of superior intelligence, it looked down on him, on them. Those eyes had him firmly rooted on the very spot, unable to break free from its withering stare.


    Emma was affected badly, too. She bit her lower lip in order to remain lucid against the powerful aura of the Elder Dragon, but her body was trembling heavily. It was not reacting as she''d liked it to.


    Seeing her like this, which was quite different from the kind of fear she showed before in the presence of that Wyrm, Kain became painfully sure of at least one fact: this situation was a very bad one for them.


    ¡°What should we do?¡±


    He desperately whispered at Emma, but she didn''t respond back immediately. She was too busy fighting back against the pressure to hear him.


    As for Kain, he had diligently been circulating the accumulated ch''i around in his dan tian, hoping to ease the pressure weighing down on him. After all, it worked against that violet knight creature from the underground lab. Surely it should work here too.


    Sure enough, a little bit of ch''i circulating in his meridians did indeed alleviate some of the pressure but it also had a strong side effect. Kain got to see the naturally occurring ch''i flow of the dragon.


    It was a terrifyingly violent maelstrom of pure power, pulsating and pummeling around like a hurricane blasting around a volcano that was just about to go off. Seething, coiling, tearing the fabric of reality ¨C that was the extent of the creature''s ch''i.


    It was, without a doubt, one of the most awesome and extremely scary sights he had ever seen.


    Next, Kain opened his Aeterna vision and took a good look at the dragon. In short, it was even more terrifying.


    Crimson-colored Aeterna seethed out of its pores, distorting and disrupting the natural flow of surrounding Aeterna like a darkened cheese curls.


    The amount oozing out of the creature was absolutely insane, too.


    So, to surmise: this dragon was an existence was something too far out of reach for his meager powers of comprehension. For a sake of clarity, he figured that his ¡°level¡± when he became a resident of this city would be around 3, maybe at 4 at a push. Of course, this world didn''t have those generic game elements to dumb down the complexity, but it was a useful and simple way to compare nonetheless.


    The lesser Earth Drake was probably between the level 30 to 40. The Wyrm was verging on 70+.


    But this dragon here, it was more like ¡°well over level 255.¡± If Kain had one of those Saiyan Scouters at hand, he''d break it apart in an overly dramatic fashion, too.


    Dang it all to hell, Kain swore profusely in his heart. What the hell is this crap? Why is this happening to me in the first place?? I didn''t sign up for this kind of rubbish.


    The black Elder Dragon dismissively snorted and turned its scaly, spiky head towards him and Emma, narrowing its eyes and leering at them. Now that gave him the bad case of the chills.


    He couldn''t understand why that enormous thing was looking at them like that. No way a pair of small, frail creatures looked that tasty, though, to a dragon the size of a mountain. So, it might ignore the two of them and move on elsewhere.


    At least, that''s what he hoped for, anyway.


    Whatever the case may have been, the situation was dire. They had to do something, anything, to overcome this predicament.


    The dragon sniffed the air for a bit, while the licks of flames small and large, danced and hissed around its snout.


    Was it not paying much attention to Kain and Emma? It seemed to swing its considerably large head around as if to search and observe the surroundings, ignoring the two small fries in front of it.


    But the two of them remained frozen, unable to even move. The pressure emitted from the dragon was just too powerful to overcome easily.


    Kain had a really unsightly facial expression at that moment. He suddenly felt the whole thing he was going through was rather unfair.


    He tried to get stronger ¨C and when every time he made some progress, a giant monster popped up out of nowhere without a warning to threaten his life.


    It was the lesser earth Drake, then that crimson Wyrm as well as the six-armed giant Fiend. And now, this Elder Dragon.


    What the hell. Am I a giant monster attracting magnet or something?


    He felt the whole thing was so patently unfair. Not sure why it was so, but the cards this life dished out so far made him feel so bitter at this moment.


    None of his feelings mattered as of now. The world was a cruel and unforgiving place, where a weak-kneed sentimentality only got people killed instead.


    Kain had forgotten that truth. After living a rather pampered life at Riverfield, and then here, at the forgotten city where everything became a comfortable routine, he became soft, ironically enough.


    There was the event with the raiding bandits, and his life being threatened by Fiends living in the forest earlier on but as his skill set began to improve, he had forgotten what it was like to be constantly near death and always surrounded by danger, both physical and psychological.


    The powerful presence of an Elder Dragon before him brought it all back.


    Finally snapping out of the fear induced state, Emma gripped Kain''s hand tightly. Any tighter, and she''d break it right off.


    ¡°When I give you a sign, run towards my opposite direction.¡±


    Kain nodded slowly.


    He understood the chance of one of them surviving increased by doing this. Surely, that chance, however small, was better than nothing.


    Even so, by soberly looking at the facts, one could tell that the dragon and its huge body would easily negate whatever Kain and Emma did with its ridiculous reach.


    They had to believe in their individual speeds. That they would be able to make it to safety somehow.


    The fort up ahead was out of the question, for now. The dragon was in the way. So the two of them had to run backward, to the forest behind them. The distance was great, but by splitting up, the odds were that one of them could make it.


    Kain tensed. His entire body was tightening up, ready to pounce.


    His eyes focused on the sinewy, muscular forearms of the black Elder Dragon, seeing and studying the way they flexed and bulged. Kain wasn''t sure whether to call them forelegs, though.


    The overall look of the Elder Dragon was a one-quarter salamander, and the rest the good ol'' fantasy-genre staple, fire-breathing, princess-kidnapping type dragon, just a heck of a lot larger and sporting a wingspan of a jumbo jet.


    And a snout full of crisscrossing fangs and teeth that jutted out like lances of a demon, the smallest being as big as a grown up adult.


    Three thick, huge horns adorned its forehead and a dozen smaller ones protruding from the aft of its skull.


    The aforementioned snout was long, as long as a collie. Comparing an Elder Dragon''s nose to a popular breed of a pet dog wasn''t cool but that was the very first thing Kain''s mind conjured up, so it couldn''t be helped.


    There was a hint of sulfur in the air, an obnoxious smell of rotten eggs. Accompanying that, also an acrid and bitter smell of something burning.


    Suddenly, Emma shouted.


    ¡°...Go!! Move!!¡±


    The signal finally came.


    They separated and ran in a V, each of them taking the opposite direction as fast as their legs could carry. Kain didn''t hesitate and cast Body Enhancement on his legs, as well as circulating as much ch''i as he could afford down there. That helped tremendously with the quick getaway.


    However, the moment Kain set off, he thought the Elder Dragon snickered a little. He wasn''t sure if he saw it properly but the image, whether real or not, lingered like the aftertaste of a bitter cold syrup.


    In a blink, Kain crossed half way mark to the mouth of the forest. He had this feeling that once inside, hiding from the dragon would be easy enough, provided he does the deed quickly. Which was convenient.


    Learning Archery and hunting for food in the forest, there was one added benefit ¨C learning to conceal himself in the shadows. Otherwise, it''d be tough to stalk a potential dinner, after all.


    He wasn''t at the level of Emma but still, even with the freaking Elder Dragon as his opponent, he was reasonably confident of his chances. He wasn''t getting conceited, no, but seeing that the dragon had such a massive body, it''d be quite hard to move freely around inside the forest while Kain would be just fine.


    Or, that was how things should have gone down.


    Kain heard Emma''s screams to his side, very far away. Almost purely acting on that disgusting instinct every person possessed, that inexplicable need to confirm the misfortune of the others, he turned his head to see.


    Why did humans feel the need to spectate when terrible things happened to others? Like when your neighbor''s house burnt down, or on a highway with a fatal car crash and lines of slow moving traffic manned by cars and drivers all craning their necks to get a better view.


    Truly a morbid thing for sure. Yet people did it anyways, all with the mentality of ¡°Better you than me, mister/lady.¡±


    In the case with Kain, it too was not a cool thing to do, anticipating the final moments of someone important to him. But his body reacted all on its own, wanting to engrave the brave sacrifice Emma was making for him to live on.


    And after she fell, then he''d definitely avenge her. Maybe not now, but soon after he''s gotten stronger, which would be many, many years from now on.


    But the thing was, instead of seeing a Boscage Elf in trouble, his vision was filled to the brim with that of a fast approaching set of black claws. The hand. A paw, whatever, of the Elder Dragon was coming straight at him and he couldn''t even think of dodging it.


    And he was swept up. The Elder Dragon snatched Kain up from the ground and flew up into the air.


    That was totally an unexpected event for him. Hell, he was so dumbfounded by this situation, he actually compared himself to a piece of stray Lego that was being picked up by an irate mom who had stepped on it barefoot.


    The pressure holding him within the grasp of the dragon''s claw was incredible ¨C if it weren''t for his ch''i circulating around his meridians as well as Body Enhancement cast all over, every one of his bones would''ve been grounded to dust.


    If he was proficient with Soul Defense like the Old Man, then it''d have been a walk in the park, but alas.


    Breathing got a lot harder for him as well, with his chest being compacted by the grip. Blood circulation was affected to the point where he was beginning to feel light-headed.


    On top of all that, he also felt a draft of wind tickling the soles of his feet. When Kain looked down, both of his tattered shoes were gone, having fallen below onto the endless sea of greenery that was the Tetamus forest. It certainly looked like he''d have to get himself a new pair of shoes if he somehow managed to survive this ordeal.


    The wind felt harsh against his face and it constantly ripped into his eyes, nose, and mouth.


    Kain''s unkempt hair slapped around like crazy and he could barely see where he was being flown to.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.This sucks.


    Kain groaned inwardly.


    ~


    Mercifully, the forced flight was short.


    The Elder Dragon lightly tossed mentally tired Kain on one of the highest flat pieces of land in the entire mountain range ¨C smack dab on the peak of the Tetamus Mountain itself. The one that sprouted out of the middle of the forgotten city. The one that kinda looked like a thumb tack.


    It was a huge, open plateau where there was enough space to hold several football matches side by side. Who''d think of such an open area on top of a spindly mountain like this?!The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Kain rolled on the dirt for a bit until coming to an eventual stop.


    Choking on the thick layer of dust, Kain gingerly stood up, his legs shaking weakly. He placed his hands on the knees to steady himself.


    He gasped for air ¨C unfortunately, the altitude meant that it was quite thin up here. He could hardly breathe in a satisfying, lung-filling amount no matter how many times he tried.


    On the upside, though, Aeterna up here was as pure and rich as the area near the One Tree underground so he lost no time in utilizing that to replenish his energy instead.


    The black Elder Dragon hovered above the boy for a bit, then landed with a loud boom. Oddly, there wasn''t too much dust being kicked up from that. The giant creature narrowed its eyes and studied Kain for a short moment before speaking in a thunderous, bass-heavy voice.


    ¡°You boy, you the brat living in that fort down there, right? Hmm?¡±


    Its jaw didn''t move as one might expect, but the sound coming from it easily reverberated through Kain''s skull. The dragon''s voice was deep and husky as if it was a chain smoker who burned through two packs of cigarettes a day. That, or a fifties Jazz singer, laced with enough whiskey to bring the house down. Using the funky grooves channeling out of the polished saxophone, of course.


    The fact that it talked, never mind in the Common tongue of the Empire, escaped Kain''s attention completely due to all the fear he was experiencing then.


    ¡°Oi, answer me, brat. Or you gone deaf after pissing in ye'' little pants?¡±


    It snorted and as a result, Kain''s face was hit by the considerably hot gust of wind coming from its nostrils. Thankfully it wasn''t at the face-melting temperature but was hot enough to wake him up from the petrified state.


    ¡°No, ah, erm, what, uh, was the question? I, ah, sorry but ah, I didn''t...¡±


    Kain stammered out some words but the Dragon didn''t look too impressed by the boy''s half-assed effort.


    Its head leaned in closer and the air around Kain began to boil ¨C and no, that wasn''t his imagination playing tricks on him.


    ¡°Huh, so yer deaf indeed. Hmm, so far, so disappointing.¡±


    I''m sorry. Didn''t mean to disappoint you, honest. Please don''t eat me.


    Kain fervently prayed in his mind ¨C although he could have said those words aloud. Maybe the desperate words of a scared kid might convince the massive creature to stop bullying him. Or something.


    ¡°Hmm. Fine. Doesn''t matter. Well then, start running, boy.¡±


    Eh? Run? I don''t get it.


    Kain stood there, confused and scared at the same time. But soon, he got it, rather forcibly, he might add.


    Because, the Elder Dragon started spewing out massive walls of flames at him. So, he started running away in order to save his behind from getting royally roasted by the fabled ¡°breath¡± of a dragon.


    ~


    And so, finally, right here. Where, Kain was busy contemplating all that had happened to him, of both lives he had lived so far. Right back at the very beginning of this little story.


    The black Elder Dragon was still merrily chasing the boy around while melting the vast plateau all around like it was the most fun activity in the entire world. Oh, and there was all that smack talk, too.


    And the situation hadn''t changed since then. Kain was still cornered. He was running for his dear life. But there was only a finite amount of land he could run on and unfortunately for him, at the rate of speed he was moving at, it''d be the end very soon. After that, it was a straight trip down to Purgatory. And no, he didn''t possess a miracle return ticket he could cash in at the moment.


    Usually, at this point, he''d be flailing around like a blind man without a cane, panicking like a screaming dame in a ''50s Sci-Fi Horror film. But thanks to ch''i circulating through Shang, at least now he could think on his feet with some amount of clarity, avoiding falling into a bottomless pit of despair.


    He knew that something had to be done, and done real fast.


    As far as he could tell, there were two options still available. One, he could take his chance and jump off the cliff, hoping for another ledge or something similar to land on. Otherwise, he''d die by plummeting down a million miles to the ground below.


    Two, he could take his chance, turn around and fight the dragon earnestly.


    Admittedly, both options weren''t very attractive, but they were the only ones he could think of at the moment. He could try talking to the big flying lizard, but his gut told him that he''d go nowhere with that.


    Seriously ¨C what could a mere human boy not older than seven years of age say to a dragon that would change its attitude for the better? Not a thing, that''s what.


    He glanced over the shoulder while running, to see the dragon''s mug. Clearly. the damn lizard was having a ball, judging by the way it was actually laughing hard at the flames scorching Kain''s rear end. He wanted to hurl back some kind of smart comebacks but as he was short of breath, it was impossible to even form a word. That also meant talking his way out was not going to happen.


    It was at this point where Kain seriously considered the second option of fighting, even if that was for a very fleeting second or two.


    Fight it? Can I?!


    He wasn''t an idiot ¨C well, not entirely. Even he could see that the dragon was way too powerful for him to take on single-handedly. It was also quite obvious that not even Emma lending a hand would not be enough to get him anyway near it, let alone scratch its glossy black scales. He didn''t even think about his hidden trump cards, the dagger and the golden disc. What good would they do when he couldn''t even get close to the darn thing?! And besides that, his bow was broken, the dagger was too short, the golden disc would only be good for putting up a temporary shield that wouldn''t last too long against the draconic breath.


    By fighting, wouldn''t he be able to create a chance, an opening, to make his escape? That was this one persistent thought buzzing inside his head.


    But he was also aware such a thing only happened in movies and in works of fiction. And, only to those plot-armor protected main characters. No guarantee here of him enjoying such a protection so far, recounting all the incidents he had gone through in the past.


    He understood that escaping to a lower ledge that might be there or not was the only sensible option left. So, to increase the odds of success, he needed to find out if there was a ledge to jump down to, in the first place.


    Without losing any speed, Kain ran towards the edge of the cliff and while taking care not to trip over the precipice by accident, he peered over the side. Maintaining his focus on running, keeping balance, surveying the land and at the same time staying mindful of the dragon behind took a lot of doing if it weren''t for his Shang working so well.


    He was prepared but still, got a frightening chill creep down his spine when he confirmed just high the plateau was. If he fell, never mind being a pancake, he''d vaporize into nothingness just from the impact.


    After a short scan of the area, Kain found what looked like a tiny piece of a protrusion on the cliff face up ahead. It was still a bit further so it was hard to accurately estimate just how wide and sturdy it was, but crucially, if he could nail the landing, that could potentially lead to a way down below.


    Because, like a staircase, there were other ledges spaced at a certain interval below the one he saw first. If he could make it, then he could jump down on those to, perhaps, reach the safety of the ground.


    It did look a bit tight, though, so he had to bring his A-Game and summon forth all his training he endured up until this moment if he wanted to continue breathing for longer.


    A lick of flame burned his butt when Kain slowed down for a fraction of a second to take a look. It was only for a brief moment, no more than half a second, yet, the draconic flames were in a full-on overzealous mode.


    Needless to say, it was hot. So hot, he desperately wanted to rub the screaming flesh to soothe the pain but could not afford the luxury.


    Ignoring the immediate pain, Kain timed his jump just right and leaped into the air.


    Behind him, arms flailing dramatically, a wall of Bay-esque explosions and scorching flames rose. Everything seemed to slow down to a crawl right then, allowing the boy to feel the smallest changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, a trickle of sweat teasing the side of his face, the worn tunic flapping about around his waist, the hair flicking back with the wind ¨C the whole nine yards.


    His thoughts remained lucid and fluid as before, though ¨C and that allowed his mind to observe so many things quicker than normal. One could say this was what a person experiences during a life-or-death encounter, his or her veins pumping full of adrenaline.


    The landing point became increasing smaller to his perceptions. No, it wasn''t getting physically smaller, but instead his confidence of safely arriving on it that was diminishing fast.


    Alternate thoughts of Oh no, I won''t make it and Yes, I can do this continued to ebb and flow as his airborne body neared the destination.


    After what felt like an hour had passed, Kain''s bare feet finally hit the rough and uneven surface. The momentum forced his body to carry on forward and as a result, he tumbled face first, rolling on the floor towards the edge of the ledge and to the endless abyss beyond it.


    He tried to reach out and grab hold onto something, anything.


    All his fingers felt were gravel and rocks that came loose at the mere hint of a touch or pressure. Not a blade of grass was here. Nothing to slow him down with and he continued to slide towards his demise.


    Gritting his teeth, he instinctively used Body Enhancement on his fingers to dig into the surface, just as his legs swung off the edge, dangling dangerously over the empty air.


    He felt incredible pain from all of his fingers, but somehow, he had stopped his body from falling thousands of feet down to his death.


    It was still not over yet, as the flame-spewing Elder Dragon was still up there, flying around and laughing its guts out.


    ¡°Oh, so you do have some gumption in ya. I''m beginning to respect ya just wee bit mo'' now.¡± The dragon roared with laughter. It was still having a grand old time up there.


    Kain pulled himself up and saw the state his fingers were in. The two fingers on the right hand were dislocated, pulled loose out of their sockets while the skins on the rest were pretty much gone and blood was seeping out of everywhere.


    Oddly, it wasn''t as painful as he thought. Compared to the time when his hand turned into a bloody pulp by carelessly using the Soul Crusher back when, this much was nothing. And by circulating ch''i over the wounds, they already began to heal up, albeit at a much slower pace than when the Old Man injected his own ch''i inside him.


    Kain looked above his position to confirm the ledge up there was now blanketed by the tall flames. Going back up there was completely out of the question. Climbing down by jumping to the lower ledges, it was.


    Honestly speaking, Kain found it rather amazing that, even without a fuel source, the draconic breath-induced flames could still burn the rocky ground so freely like that.


    The incredible amount of Aeterna was being twisted there to keep the immolation going ¨C and Kain was acutely aware of the simple fact that there wasn''t enough naturally occurring Aeterna present to sustain the flames. It could only mean one thing ¨C all of the burning was the result of the Elder Dragon''s own Aeterna Pool. Kain could hardly guesstimate just how enormous that reserve was.


    Grimacing, Kain turned his attention downwards.


    The walls were strangely smooth, almost pale and deeply opaque in appearance. Nowhere to place his feet, his hands, nothing to cling on to as he attempted to climb down. He wasn''t trying to crawl on the surface like Spider-Man anyways, so that wasn''t a big issue. After all, nothing prevented the Elder Dragon from taking a cheeky swipe at him like it whacking a spider off a wall with a rolled up newspaper.


    Now that he was on this ledge, he could tell how far the second one was. If a normal person jumped down there, his legs would be smashed to bits. Even with Body Enhancement and ch''i, he had no guarantee whether he could emerge from this jump unscathed.


    But he had no choice in the matter. It was too late to go back anyways.


    The black Elder Dragon was coming around and in less than it took to blink, it''d be "on" his position.


    He had to decide, now.


    What was there left to hesitate? There were none. So, while gritting his teeth, he jumped.


    He didn''t even get to a halfway point between the ledges before the Elder Dragon''s front paw snatched his body up in the middle of the leap, robbing him of all the air in his lungs from the impact.


    A crushing disappointment dawned on him, draining all the energy out of his already taxed body.


    He hadn''t thought of the possibility of the dragon increasing its speed so drastically at will ¨C or, for that matter, it seeing through his plan beforehand and stopping the boy before he could go any further.


    How stupid can I get, underestimating a being so powerful and obviously also quite intelligent, too? This creature isn''t like any other monsters and beasts I''ve hunted and evaded up until now.


    Stupid, stupid, stupid, that''s what it was. Should''ve come up with better ideas faster!!


    Kain angrily admonished himself for his conceited way of thinking. He thought that if he died here, then it was just desserts for being a stupid ass.


    Briefly, he wondered if he''d be ¡°blessed¡± with the third chance at life. By whom, he didn''t know. But if he was given the said chance, how differently would he live then?


    The flames had stopped melting the plateau by the time he was dropped on it. The black Elder Dragon must''ve decided it''s been scorched enough. Probably.


    Still, the surface simmered with heat, and Kain''s bare feet complained from being cooked slowly. Kain thought wryly at this.


    Huh, so the dang lizard wants to take its sweet time preparing me, and thus prolonging my agony, eh. Just wonderful.


    Kain did his best to remain upright, but it got harder as the second ticked by. His legs shook a bit, not just because of the fear, but mostly because of the frustration swelling up inside of him.


    A small drop of tear formed on the corner of his eye. He noticed it and quickly wiped it off. He was not going to cry, not here, not in front of this damnable dragon. If he was to go, then he was planning to do so with dignity. But the emotions were overwhelming him, fast.


    Why that was the case, Kain couldn''t be entirely sure.


    Thinking back, he must''ve known, subconsciously at least, that escaping from the clutches of this incredible monster was going to be next to impossible ¨C but at the same time, he wondered if he did give it as good a go as his puny abilities allowed.


    Maybe, it was the feeling of being so very, agonizingly close to success, only to see it unceremoniously ripped out of his grasp by an insurmountable wall that was making him so emotional.


    And what would happen, when such a frustration boiled over?


    In his case, it slowly morphed in rage.


    He got pissed off. He was angry at the dragon, angry at the way it treated him, angry at the patently unfairness of his situation. And most importantly, angry at his own powerlessness.


    He was so angry, in fact, he was this close to challenging the Elder Dragon. A tiny push was all that stood between him and it from having a cataclysmic showdown of all ages. Despite knowing he''d lose, and lose big time, Kain was too angry to care for the well being of himself. All he cared about was to vent out his dissatisfaction at this creature.


    That push arrived in the form of a giant black dragon settling down comfortably on its belly in front of Kain a dozen yards away. He thought that the posture suspiciously resembled a lazy house dog settling down for a spot of an afternoon nap.


    And he did feel weird for making yet another doggy-related comparison but that feeling quickly passed by. No harm done.


    Anyways.


    Seeing the smug face of the dragon, and it suddenly yawning out loud, Kain''s nerves snapped.


    Unconsciously, Kain began gathering an absurd amount of Aeterna from the air around him. Consciously, he forcefully drew out every little drop of ch''i and began circulating it to the maximum.


    He was concentrating so hard, he didn''t even notice the ground beneath his feet trembling and humming softly, as the power to demolish just about anything converged on his three dan tians as the focal points.


    Kain felt his scalp tingle. He felt the blood in his veins rush furiously, and sensed this power mushrooming rapidly inside him. It was, by far, the most he had ever harnessed before. Well, almost.


    Soon, he felt all his muscles groan and ripple in protest ¨C his body was still too weak to wield this much Aeterna and ch''i, reinforced or not.


    The air around him swelled and churned. The flowing Aeterna moved so fast it actually caused friction with air molecules.


    Kain felt the accumulated Aeterna weigh him down, his feet beginning to sink down into the molten surface. He found this funny, since Aeterna didn''t weigh a thing.


    The Elder Dragon noticed all of this, but he looked on impassively, as if it was waiting for something to happen. It even began digging into its nostrils and flicked the resulting piece of booger off its claw nonchalantly.


    Meanwhile, Kain could feel something familiar rising within him. From his back, a faint outline of a bird began to glow, slowly metamorphosizing into something tangible. It was here that Aeterna swirled into.


    Kain poured all his focus there, and tried to form the image of the most strongest attack he had pulled off until now ¨C the rising flame-bird thingy he used all those months ago against the Wyrm and the Giant.


    The image became so vividly clear suddenly. He could recall even the tiniest, smallest detail of this Aeterna-formed being.


    But it was also slightly different this time; Kain knew he could not summon up the same amount of destructive power as the last time simply because he hadn''t merged with Orion the Roc hatchling.


    Also, he knew it''d be idiotic to use an attack based on Fire Element when the enemy was obviously proficient at it as well. He couldn''t literally fight fire with fire.


    And so, he tried to modify it somehow. The most simple answer was to make the attack as cold as possible, but how?


    It was at this moment when he heard a slight echo of a girl''s distant laughter. This laughter was at once familiar and yet alien. He knew he heard it from somewhere, but couldn''t put his finger on where exactly.


    As soon as the strange laughter ended, a flood of new info began to fill his head up.


    He didn''t even have the time to question what the hell happened, as an image of a crazy snowstorm entered his mind, along with the Requisite Words required to bring the phenomenon into reality.


    It was a spell strong enough to seal away the dragon''s fiery breaths if Invoked properly.


    When this clear image formed in his head, Kain subconsciously extended both hands forward and began chanting the Required Words.


    He had never, ever heard nor read such a chant before yet, there he was, busy mouthing off some random words that came rushing in at the tip of his tongue.


    ¡°I look upon the Frozen Wastelands, lamenting


    Snows fall and fall, relentless and unremitting


    My Will closes the Sky, so I can keep walking


    Blocked paths before me, The Winds clearing


    I shiver and long for the warmth so welcoming


    Arrive Home for the empty coldness waiting


    My Hands grasp the Earth and starts digging


    So dig for the grave, the heroes and villains falling


    Look way yonder, for ''tis is not an ending


    Merely the hearts of all evil, lost and freezing!!¡±


    Kain rambled out some random words and the phenomena started; the air around him froze in an instant, and so did the ground ¨C cold, snapping, cracking sounds shattering the dominant howling of the winds.


    The heat caused by friction was now replaced by a deathly chill. The wide area around him was being covered in ice with sharp, spear-like icicles jutting out within the radius, all of them pointing towards the Elder Dragon.


    And it raised an eyebrow. ¡°Ohh, what do we have here? Hmm?¡±


    The dragon maintained a smug face, seemingly not too bothered by the new development. That irritated Kain so bloody much. So naturally, he vowed to wipe that smile off the oversized lizard''s lips once and for all. And then he''d turn the dragon carcass into his boots, belts, and handbags just for a good measure.


    He released the Invocation.


    The air and the ground between the dragon and Kain solidified into ice faster than he could draw another breath. Its speed and power were truly astonishing even to him who performed it. The freezing air was on course to directly strike the dragon in the face. Even if it was an Elder whatever it''d still hurt like hell, that much he was confident of.


    The air crackled loudly. The heated, simmering ground stood no chance against the spell. All of it ended up freezing solid by the storm of icy winds sweeping in closer to the target.


    The black Elder Dragon, however, nonchalantly took a shallow breath, and lightly blew at Kain''s freezing attack.


    Its breath easily overtook the boy''s Invocation like a big whirlpool swallowing up a hapless sailboat and rudely slapped him in the face instead.


    That definitely hurt. His pride, that was.


    Kain tumbled backwards and rolled a couple of times before coming to a dead stop.


    His mouth was aghast. He just couldn''t believe it.


    The strongest, most powerful spell Invoked so far by him was simply dismissed away like as if it was nothing. His pride was shattered into million tiny pieces, each jagged edge cutting through his heart like dozens of dirty scalpels.


    Kain stood up slowly but his legs shook too much to remain upright for long.


    But he couldn''t give up yet. He just couldn''t. He had come too far to throw in the towel like this.


    He needed to show this bully a thing or two. He hadn''t even shown that Old Man how far he progressed, that he could beat his teacher now.


    There''s just no way he was going to throw in the towel here.


    He somehow steadied his trembling limbs. That took a lot of focus ¨C he thanked the metaphorical gods for the ch''i training, otherwise he would''ve never been able to make the stand.


    He tried to gather Aeterna once more. This time, he planned to go with a different Invocation, something that couldn''t be so easily blown away.


    Yeah, I''ll go with an Earth type spell. Maybe I can trap the dragon using four large Earth Walls collapsing on top of it. That might work. Even if the spell doesn''t hurt the dragon much, I think it''ll buy me enough time for another attempt at escaping. Let''s go with this. This time, it''s going to work, for sure!!


    Kain desperately tried to jeer himself up. But then, something went horribly wrong. It became a lot harder to gather Aeterna. He couldn''t sense all the power that accumulated in him anymore. Not even the ch''i was circulating in his meridians.


    He was too exhausted. His mind and body were on the verge of blacking out.


    No, it can''t be. Come on, my body, don''t let me down now when I need you the most!! C''mon, just one more push, that''s all I need.


    Kain gritted his teeth, as he staggered about.


    Seeing this pitiful sight, the Elder Dragon let out a sigh. Then, it shook its head and spoke.


    ¡°Well now. I guess that is yer limit, eh. Good show, boy. I''ve now smidgen more respect for yer.¡± It looked directly into Kain''s half closed eyes. ¡°Now listen lad, and listen good. This is the difference ''tween yer and me, a proper dragon.¡±


    Suddenly, the visage of the black Elder Dragon became a thousand times bigger as if it shifted the time and space, lunging at the boy with the rate of million miles per hour. It was all illusory, of course, but to Kain, it seemed so very real.


    The whole world distorted in a terrifyingly ugly manner and he sensed Aeterna oozing from the scales turn violently black, rising and dissipating like a toxic miasma.


    Its sheer aura alone could blow away all the Aeterna he''d gathered so far. His ch''i circulation wasn''t spared either, and everything went absolutely haywire. Not that he had a lot of ch''i and Aeterna remaining in him anyway, but the losses could still be felt by him.


    He lost all strength as the overwhelming, indescribable killing aura froze time in its entirety on the plateau. Not even the howling winds dared to make a sound. Aeterna stopped flowing in nature as if it was frozen by the awful fear, too.


    Like, the way Kain was frozen stiff by the same thing.


    That aura put everything into clear perspective.


    Kain''s rage that was the fuel for his drive and his stubbornness clouding the judgment, dissipated like thin mist being wiped away from a window.


    He understood now.


    That he never had the foggiest chance of earning a hard-earned victory here, never mind the boy landing a single, glancing hit on the dragon.


    One overriding thought he had was that he just couldn''t think of anything that could stand up against this creature. Not even a deity could win a contest of strength against this monster.


    What an incredible being this dragon was. Kain could not stop his jaw from slacking and drool in an utter daze like an idiot.


    And just as suddenly, the aura was withdrawn. And the frozen world welcomed the flow of time once more. He sat there, on his bum, totally oblivious to the changing surroundings.


    He had lost. His will to fight, his anger, his frustration, all gone. And he was left here, alone, abandoned, and naked ¨C figuratively speaking, of course.


    He sat there, still and unmoving like a statue of Buddha, as a single thought entered his head ¨C why should he get flustered by an existence that was clearly incomprehensible to a mere human being like himself? There was no point in that, so he shouldn''t lose sleep over it.


    The Elder Dragon snorted boastfully.


    ¡°That''s how you show ''em unruly kids. Got that, boy?¡±


    Kain nodded slowly, still dazed like a stoner.


    ¡°Hmm, so that old coot maybe wasn''t telling no half-truths.¡±


    The dragon peered at Kain, perusing him and scanning him up and down like he was a new pair of socks it wanted to buy ¨C but wasn''t 100% convinced of the patterns on the side.


    It scratched its chin while cocking an eyebrow in a display of thoughtfulness. ¡°The Old Man did say he found an interesting thing to play with... so the boy wasn''t all talk, eh.¡±


    After looking at Kain for a few more seconds like this, it pointed its claw at him and finally announced, rather loudly, to the world its intentions.


    ¡°Harrumph. I''ve decided. You, Kain Lucius Lomax, shall become this Elder Dragon''s, the almighty and super-duper-great Draxus''s, first ever human disciple!!¡±


    With a whoosh, a cold wind blew by. A single feather of an unknown bird floated in the space between Kain and the Elder Dragon, Draxus. As well as an uncomfortable silence that drifted along with it.


    As for Kain, all he could do was gawk and think, Eh? You want what now?


    (Finally linked up with the prologue!! Whew, that has been a long road.)


    (I''ll be posting another, much shorter chapter in a few hours as well. There will be a "small" announcement that''ll accompany that, too. See you later.)

 Chapter 47: Volume 1 Epilogue

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    (Please note, not edited/checked/PR-ed. You may run into a questionable grammar or two. If you happen to spot them, please let me know in the comments. Thank you!!)


    His mansion was quite similar in appearance to Michelle''s, except that it had much taller, reinforced walls. Double storied, cast with various protective Invocations to stop any would-be thieves ¨C and assassins ¨C away.


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    Grisham saw an open spot on the sofa opposite the intruder and gingerly sat down on it. He cleared the phlegm with a cough and gazed at the man, before opening his mouth.


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    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


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    Grisham remained unimpressed. ¡°Oh? But you say was. What changed?¡±


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    ¡°I read them. These reports. Investigations discreetly performed by the members of SOIR.... I need you to tDimensional Gate Dial. And why the Children of the Amber is so hell-bent on locating the both pieces.¡±


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    ¡°Agent Dawson, that Dimensional Gate Dial operates a Dimensional Gate which connects our Realm to that of another. Without the intact Dial, one can not travel through the Ether. As for why the Children members search for the artifact, I can only guess, but it''s probably not for the betterment of the society as a whole. And.... heh, you are a clever man, I assume. You should have come to the conclusion by yourself already, Agent. After all, the clues are in those documents you hold.¡±


    completely different to Aeterna Saga. And I do mean COMPLETELY different.;))