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His eyes were framed with a network of fine lines, wrinkled with ages of experience. He was dressed in a long robe, which had different symbols stitched to it. They seem to resemble either a noble house or an organisation.

His guess was on the latter since it wasn’t the emblem of the Duke household he had seen in his room.

He had white hair and a long, white beard that went past his chin. The most striking thing about him was his green eyes.

His fingers, filled with rings, came in contact with his beard as he scratched it with one hand. Kai could bet that all of those rings were enchanted or at least valuable in monetary value. It was hard to say.

One thing he knew was that Actra was strong. He secretly checked the amount of mana in his Mana Heart and guessed that he was at least at the peak of the 3rd circle or the beginning of the 4th.

He needed to tread carefully here as Actra was his biggest threat, simply because, unlike the rest of his retainers, the man screamed shady.

"Good morning, Mage Actra," Kai greeted and looked at him.

Actra looked up. His eyes raked down Kai’s figure, taking a good look at him.

Kai calmly stayed still.

"Good evening. I have been in my room for too long. You look much healthier now, Arzan," he said and looked at Killian. "I heard that there’s an expedition to the forest, I believe it’s true?" he asked, turning to take a glance at the guards and horses.

Then, his eyes fixated on Kai. Besides him, Killian seemed to be lost for words, seeing how intensely both Kai and Actra were looking at each other.

"Yes, there is something that needs to be taken care of," Kai replied.

Actra’s green eyes seemed to reveal everything and nothing at the same time as he stared.

"Are you going too, Arzan?"

"Yes."

"If I’m not wrong, it seems to be the truth that you have awakened as a Mage," Actra said, his eyes shining.

"Oh, yes. I have. Did you hear about it? I heard that you’re busy with some research of your own?" Kai retaliated with another question.

Actra withdrew his eyes from Kai. "I’m in the middle of it. And, things reach my ears quite often. I couldn’t believe it until I saw you. Your organs seem to be working fine now."

Kai smiled. Of course, things reached his ears. It’s either that a maid or guard had told him or Actra kept a close eye on Arzan. A higher possibility was the latter among the two, but Kai shrugged it off.

Thinking that it was a chance, he stepped forward and whispered, "Yes. It is all thanks to the ritual."

His eyes bore into Actra to see at least a flicker of emotions. And for a second, he felt like there was something in his eyes, but it was quickly shielded away.

"I’m glad to be of help," he said and looked at him with a smile.

That at least confirmed that he had something to do with the ritual, but what? Was it something that worked or was it a hoax to kill Arzan? There was no answer to that for now.

He couldn’t just ask as it might give away his identity. Arzan suddenly awakening as a Mage would be enough for him to suspect something, especially if he was involved in his death.

He needed to tread carefully here.

Actra didn’t seem like he was going to tell him more about the ritual.

I will surely get to the bottom of it, Actra.

Kai thought and decided to play another move.

"Well, Mage Actra, if you don’t mind, why don’t you come with us to the expedition? It will be a big help if a Mage of your calibre would be around," he asked.

The closer he kept him, the better he would be able to gauge his strength and motives.

Actra immediately shook his head and his long hair waved left and right when he did that. "I still have to work on my research and that needs my complete attention. This just doesn’t seem like a big expedition that needs my powers, especially with Killian here to assist you" He nodded at Kai and continued. "I’d rather let you take all the glory."

Kai nodded. "It’s alright."

He had expected it. The old man really didn’t like to leave his room. He wondered what kind of research he was doing, but he could pry into it later.

"I only came out because I heard Arzan was going out," he said. "I also wanted to know for sure if the rumours about your awakening are true. Your father would be happy to hear that."

Kai nodded once again, wincing slightly at the mention of his father. If he could, he wanted to avoid Arzan’s family as long as he could.

"Lord Arzan, we need to get going." Killian’s voice came, distracting Kai and Actra from their stares. "Mage Actra, I will see you around."

Killian gave a respectful nod to the Mage and walked away.

"I need to go now," Kai said with a smile.

Actra nodded and walked back towards the estate, not bothering to look behind.

Two guards brought a horse and halted it right in front of Kai. With ease, he got onto the horse.

Horse riding had been basic training by his master and even Arzan had been taught the skill because it had been a part of a noble basic education.

Though with a different body, he could feel the difference when he got on to the horse.

His weight was not helping, but he managed to sit on top of the horse.

"Everyone ready?" Killian’s voice came loud.

A few guards were on top of their horses, and some were in the carriage with the weapons. The carriage was in the back and Killian and Kai were leading all of them.

"Yes!"

The guards said in unison.

Killian looked at Kai and waited. He was asking for permission to begin the voyage.

Kai nodded back.

The gates of the courtyard opened with a loud screech. The horses in the front began to gallop. They started to move slowly in the formation.

Soon, they crossed the bridge and found themselves on the main road.

Kai’s attention was taken by the people who walked out of their homes to look at what was happening. The loud noises of the horses must have made them walk out.

Some had their mouths wide open as they looked around. Kai saw a woman showing the guards to her kid.

The kids were amazed. Probably this was the first time the guards had gone on a voyage like this in quite some time.

Kai looked around as they continued to gallop even faster after reaching the middle of the city. The aim was to get to the forest as soon as possible, and from there, they had to tread carefully.

***

Kai and the rest of the guards went through the frosty, mud-covered roads. They had come far from the city and were now making their way to the Hagmons Keep.

It was the village that Palman belonged to and was half a day away from the City of Veralt.

The cold air hit his nostrils. He looked around. He could see the fields of harvests, which were now covered in snow.

From here, they needed to take a pathway through a small hill which would trail down to the villages.

Kai’s grip on the horse tightened as they moved up a hill. He signalled the horse from his leg to move forward. The horse obliged and galloped forward, passing a few guards who had started walking ahead.

"How far is it?" Kai came next to Palman and asked.

"Uh… A few more miles, Lord Arzan," Palman said. He coughed as the coldness hit his face. As he did so, the lines on his face stretched, showing signs of recovery from the mutation. "We need to take a trail down from a crossroad and then, if we are lucky, we will be there in two hours. More often than not, a tree would fall on the road and the road can be tricky since it’s a dirt one, but we will only know once we get there."

Kai nodded. "Okay, go on ahead and help Killian with the directions."

A few guards who were just ahead of them turned to look at Kai. Their expressions were weird and some even frowned at him.

One of them hesitated a bit before opening his mouth, "Lord Arzan, let me lead the way. I’m from Hagmons Keep too. That man is a cursed creature that would surely try to do something hideous. We shouldn’t trust him."

His face turned into a scowl as he looked at Palman who lowered his head, not defending himself.

Kai frowned, feeling like an internal conflict was going to occur sooner or later.

"Palman will be leading the way. If you want to go against my order, you are free to do so," he said, glaring at the guard who went pale.

"I apologise for my words, Lord Arzan," he lowered his head.

"Is there anyone else who wants to object?" Kai asked and no one among them nodded.

No one was crazy enough to go against his orders, especially when the word about him being a Mage had spread.

They moved on ahead and Kai stood in the back as Killian and Palman led the way. They passed several areas and he kept a close eye on everything, taking in the trees and plants that grew in his territory.

He recognised a few that might help out in his research and a few others that were toxic. In his past life, one of the magical arts he had taken was alchemy and thanks to that, he had good knowledge of plants. At least, the ones he would often use in his potions.

After a few hours, they reached the crossroad that led to a trail down to the village. They decided to take a short break and Kai stretched his body, getting off the horse.

Looking around, he saw guards sitting around in groups and talking. Killian seemed to be talking to Feroy about something and to his left, Palman sat alone.

Deciding to talk to him, he walked towards him.

"How are you keeping up?" He asked and Palman looked up, surprised to see him.

"I’m well, my lord. After you healed me, I have been getting back to my former self. I can’t be more—"

"About the other guards." He cut him off. "How are you keeping up with them? They aren’t treating you well."

Palman looked to be deliberating whether to talk about it or not before opening his mouth.

"Honestly, it’s been tough. I have lost trust with them and am still looked upon as a weaver. I don’t think it’s going to get better anytime soon," he said, sighing. "I don’t blame them. I don’t know what happened when I turned into that mana weaver, but I know I lashed out at them. I tried to apologise to everyone, but they have not accepted it."

"You can win their trust back. I know you are not a weaver anymore, but these people would take time to warm up to you again."

At that, Palman raised his heap, "How can I win their trust back?"

"By doing your job well. Be competent in it and show them that you aren’t a weaver. They would have to trust their back with you in the expedition whether they like it or not. A battle is a place where even two people who hate each other turn into friends. You can do it too."

Palman nodded and thanked him. Kai had no idea if he understood what he meant to say.

In the first place, he had very basic experience leading people. He had always been more of a loner in his previous life. At least until he had started going into old ruins, so this wasn’t as natural to him as being a Mage was.

The small break soon ended and they started moving forward. The trail down was smoother than what he had expected as they reached the end of it, it turned into a path, which was way narrower than the trail and led to the main road going towards the village.

It only allowed one horse at a time and Palman went first, followed by the others.

As they entered the road, they were met with big trees. Some were dead in the coldness and the rest were barely hanging.

The road seemed to have been cleared out by people who used it.

They moved fast, one at a time, and finally, the narrow road came to an end.

Kai could already see the village from afar, but suddenly, he squinted as he noticed something.

Thickly laced smoke rose in the air and it seemed to be coming straight from the village. It was burning!

"Everyone, move quickly!" Killian yelled loudly.

Loud yellings and cries became more and more apparent as they got closer to Hagmons Keep.

Kai used a spell for better vision as he got closer.

"[Hawk Eyes]," he muttered under his breath and formed a spell structure around his eyes. It wasn’t a complicated one and the next second, his eyes shone.

He wanted to preserve mana, but he needed to have a better look at the situation.

Through his improved eyes, he saw diminutive creatures running towards the burning gates of the village. Barely two to four feet tall, the hunched creatures were making animalistic sounds as they rushed on to attack the wooden walls.

Their shrill and guttural sounds pierced the air, louder than the cries of the villages.

Kai immediately frowned.

"Goblins are attacking the village! Prepare for battle!"

***

Actra entered his room which was filled with all sorts of things. Covering a side of the room was a bookshelf.

It was filled with several books related to magic, powers, the history of Mages, spells, and different forbidden ritual practices.

In one corner of the room, a crystal ball radiated energy and he walked up to it and touched it before sitting on an adjacent desk.

Finally, alone, he frowned and closed his eyes, thinking about the conversation he just had with Arzan and felt a headache brewing.

Finally, he stood up and walked towards the closed windows. They were fogged with mist. He wiped the window and stared down.

Arzan was making his way on top of a horse, looking determined. It was a completely different aura than what he was used to. Had he gotten confidence after awakening as a Mage? Maybe.

His thoughts ran awry as he focused on them. Various possibilities ran through his mind. But none of them seemed to explain what had happened.

He finally shook his head and went back to the desk.

Grabbing the quill and the paper, he started to write a letter.

To the Esteemed Council,

I trust this letter finds you in good health and unwavering resolve. Regrettably, I find myself compelled to bring to your attention a matter of utmost urgency and consequence...