Novel Aeterna Saga Volume 1:. Walking with Giants Ch. 47

Spoiler: Chapter Seven, part two.

“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 – 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 – 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 – 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?

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 - 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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.

 

A quick status update:

My apologies, but no chapter today. RL and stuff. It got caught up with me. Bah.

On Saturday? I'll try my best but.... :/

 

Another status update:

This past Tuesday, there was a massive power surge at the place I'm renting, and that fried half the electronics I own. Among them were my laptop which contained the story outline, the rough drafts and the character bios.

I'm "trying" to get it to live again, but according to the repairer, my laptop happens to be a granny and thus is hard to find the replacement part(s). Fingers crossed, but regrettably, no updates until I sort this out.

Really, I'm sorry. ....

 

Hiya folks, I'm BAAAAACK.

Good news is, I got the laptop up and running again. My Playstation and the phone charger's still kaput, but hey, one at a time, right?

So anyway, here's a rush job of a chapter, coming up.

Spoiler: Chapter eight, part one.

Eight


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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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.

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 much 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 – his vocal chord 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 a 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 – 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 – 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.

 

The rest of the chapter eight, nice and early - so me and someone ( ) can go and catch a movie later on.

Spoiler: Chapter eight, part two

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 onto 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.

The walls narrowed as they went deeper. The ceiling became lower too. And the oppressive Aeterna became thicker and thicker with every steps 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 were 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 – 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 – no, it was a 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 – 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 – they looked as heavy as chain mails at first glance, see – 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 – 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 feint 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 – and the dread that came along with it – was causing him to sweat a lot.

Not just him though – pretty much everyone felt the same.

“There's nothing here,” someone from the back muttered.

It was true – there was not a soul in here, undead or otherwise. There was that suspicious-looking passage though. It looked wide enough so anything could've 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 of 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 in 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 his 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 possible. It just wasn't.

Then he heard a scream.

No, he heard 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 – 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 onto 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 – 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 – 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.

 

Here's a new chapter, alongside a new avatar, courtesy of Eve Ventrue. Google her stuff - it's epic.

Spoiler: Chapter Nine, part one. A bit long one, actually. No idea how it became so...

Nine


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 – 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 – 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 and 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 than 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 – 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 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 then 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 then 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 had 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.

“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.

The suffocating pressure was suddenly lifted from his shoulders as if it were a lie when Marquis's eyes softened.

“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 – 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 then 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 occuring 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, regretably.

"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.”

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 – 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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter nine, part two.

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 – and yes, wifey too.

He had been waking up before everyone else for a couple of weeks now, all in order to get better used to not having two arms. With his dorminant 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 it 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter ten. Not divided into two parts. Imagine that!!

Ten


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 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 – 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 an importance than of 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 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.

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 – 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 – 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 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 being 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 gen 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 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 – or a case – 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 – 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.

It's a full chapter today. It just sort of happened. Dunno how. Oh well. Enjoy.

 

Spoiler: Chapter eleven, part one. A bit short one today. Okay, not really. ;)

Eleven


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 his hands. As he waved them about, several shiny rings on those thick fingers reflected the sunlight coming from 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 – 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. Whole family had gathered here, including the two maidservants – 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, a 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 pony-tails.

“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 the 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 my lord, and Lady Lizbeth, are highly regarded by my peers, I believe that if you are able to find a competent tutor quickly, than they could heed your request.”

“We shall,” Lizbeth nodded while holding Kaleena close.

Ahres left soon after, leaving behind the scroll. He had a monr 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 – 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 try 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 land 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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter eleven, part two. Dunno how it happened, but man, this one's a bit info-heavy...

“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.

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 – 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 – 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 – or a multiverse, either way – 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 – 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 Iovoker'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 read up on them.

Quite frankly that was boring. Throwing around real Invocations were much more fun. She couldn't wait to get started. 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 it's 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 eyes?

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 can 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 can 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 a 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 VHS 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 – 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 – 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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter Twelve. And it's not split in half!! Yay.

Twelve


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 and 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 – felt, meat, bones – 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 – 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 – 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.

He knew the four basics – 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 – 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 in 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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter Thirteen, part one. The usual service has resumed.

Thirteen


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 – 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 – 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.

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 – 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.

A bit early, but here it is, a new half chapter!!

 

Spoiler: Chapter thirteen, part two.

“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 – 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 – 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 – 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 - he's been doing that a lot nowadays anyway.

BTW, God of Cooking rocks. Easily the best web novel I've read. I'm totally, utterly addicted....

 

Spoiler: Chapter fourteen, part one.

Fourteen


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 then 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 – 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 - 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 – 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.”

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 spells was, or who cast it. She found that odd, but didn't say anything.

As for Kain, he was thinking of something else – 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 – 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 – 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.

No need to mention this again but, if you have any advice, please don't hesitate and let me know.

It's kinda lonely in here, you know....

 

Spoiler: Chapter fourteen, part two

After everyone had a good laugh at his expense, Kain was put in the crib at the nursery 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 yield. 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 – 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 phenomena 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.

Sorry for short-ish chapters of late. I ran out of things to type. Oh well. From next chapter onward things will... improve. Hopefully.

 

Spoiler: Chapter fifteen. Yep, it's a whole chapter today. Again.

Fifteen


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 – another genre trope – 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 – 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 terriroty 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.

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 – 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 – 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.

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 – 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 muptiple 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 complete 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – Kain's own name, of course – 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.

Lately, I've had this rough idea for a fanfic of Devil May Cry kicking around in my head. Don't worry, I'll see through to the end of the first arc before even thinking of doing anything else. I promise, hand on heart.

 

Spoiler: Chapter sixteen, part one.

Sixteen


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 – 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 – Kain could see faint traces of Aeterna on all the pieces – 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 357th Silver Ranked Divine Knight Derrick Septima Lomax, of 196th 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 – 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 – armors that covered each shoulders – 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 – 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 – even I can see that. Man, I better not get dragged in whatever this thing is. That'd be so uncool.

Regular chapter - or a half of it, anyway.

 

Spoiler: Chapter sixteen, part two. This is a long one....

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.

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 – and his heart – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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?”

 

Spoiler: Chapter seventeen, part one.

Seventeen


“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 – 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 lightening that caused the untimely fall of this ages-old tree. Kain couldn't care either way – 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 – 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. ehehehe.”

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 – 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.

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.

 

Spoiler: Chapter seventeen, part two.

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 – 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 sound 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 on 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 – 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 lungerd 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 – 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 – 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 cliché 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 friend, 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 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.